Robin James
@robinjames.bsky.social
editor & scholar. Pop music, gender, philosophy. Books: GOOD VIBES ONLY; THE FUTURE OF ROCK & ROLL; THE SONIC EPISTEME; RESILIENCE & MELANCHOLY. Writing a 33 1/3 on The Breeders. Bylines all over, views could only be mine lol. its-her-factory.com
“it just reworks classically liberal metapolitics into the neoliberal “empire of intensities”…affect theory is another front of 90s privatization, like the Telecom Act and the Welfare Reform Act, but operating at the level of epistemology and aesthetics.”
www.its-her-factory.com/2026/01/i-fi...
www.its-her-factory.com/2026/01/i-fi...
I finally figured out what bothers me about affect theory
www.its-her-factory.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:58 PM
“it just reworks classically liberal metapolitics into the neoliberal “empire of intensities”…affect theory is another front of 90s privatization, like the Telecom Act and the Welfare Reform Act, but operating at the level of epistemology and aesthetics.”
www.its-her-factory.com/2026/01/i-fi...
www.its-her-factory.com/2026/01/i-fi...
amid all the bonkers energy in the universe today I've been he/him-ed four times since 9am and it's not even the end of the workday
January 20, 2026 at 8:06 PM
amid all the bonkers energy in the universe today I've been he/him-ed four times since 9am and it's not even the end of the workday
I've been "Mr. James"-ed three times today and it's barely lunchtime
January 20, 2026 at 5:52 PM
I've been "Mr. James"-ed three times today and it's barely lunchtime
A reminder that Indiana’s public universities cut over 400 degree programs last year www.wfyi.org/news/article...
Indiana public colleges cut almost 20% of degrees
Public Indiana colleges and universities will eliminate 19 percent of their degree programs to meet requirements added to the states budget, according to the Commission for Higher Education.
www.wfyi.org
January 20, 2026 at 2:21 PM
A reminder that Indiana’s public universities cut over 400 degree programs last year www.wfyi.org/news/article...
January 20, 2026 at 3:47 AM
Can you block someone on LinkedIn? My 10 years no contact mother viewed my profile yesterday (so basically her “contacting” me bc they automatically show her identity to me). She can’t even give me the space I asked for.
January 19, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Can you block someone on LinkedIn? My 10 years no contact mother viewed my profile yesterday (so basically her “contacting” me bc they automatically show her identity to me). She can’t even give me the space I asked for.
Now! Starting with some Two Tribes, possibly the only modern rock track with a trio (as in the trio of a march)
SUNDAY from 5-7 it's my radio show ITS HER FACTORY on Inhailer.com. Come for new and old indie hits, stay for music writing & journalism recs from me. This week I rec a documentary about one of the most venerable (& dirtiest) independent music venues in the US.
Inhailer Radio | Cincinnati | Independent Radio | Indie Music
Inhailer Radio is Cincinnati independent radio. Founded in 2017 to fill the void left by beloved radio station WNKU.
Inhailer.com
January 18, 2026 at 10:03 PM
Now! Starting with some Two Tribes, possibly the only modern rock track with a trio (as in the trio of a march)
I never realized how much Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” is warmed-over New Order
January 18, 2026 at 5:05 PM
I never realized how much Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” is warmed-over New Order
TODAY 5-7p Eastern, see you on Inhailer.com
SUNDAY from 5-7 it's my radio show ITS HER FACTORY on Inhailer.com. Come for new and old indie hits, stay for music writing & journalism recs from me. This week I rec a documentary about one of the most venerable (& dirtiest) independent music venues in the US.
Inhailer Radio | Cincinnati | Independent Radio | Indie Music
Inhailer Radio is Cincinnati independent radio. Founded in 2017 to fill the void left by beloved radio station WNKU.
Inhailer.com
January 18, 2026 at 3:14 PM
TODAY 5-7p Eastern, see you on Inhailer.com
Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals (1887): reactionaries are unoriginal, not smart, and weak actually
Evergreen: “The men who were less-skilled at the game and performing worse relative peers—made frequent, nasty comments to female gamers. In other words, sexist dudes are literally losers.” www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-int...
January 18, 2026 at 4:45 AM
Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals (1887): reactionaries are unoriginal, not smart, and weak actually
IS THAT CILANTRO AND RED ONIONS ON THAT FIVE WAY NOOOOO LOL
Cincinnati-style chili stands out from the crowd, which is why it makes sense Anthony Bourdain was a fan. This was his tip for enjoying it like you should.
Anthony Bourdain's Tip For Enjoying Cincinnati-Style Chili To Its Fullest Potential - The Takeout
www.thetakeout.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:34 PM
IS THAT CILANTRO AND RED ONIONS ON THAT FIVE WAY NOOOOO LOL
The end of GOOD VIBES ONLY argues that existential phenomenology is a helpful method/framework for understanding and criticizing AI/LLMs/governance by vibes bc it models the same thing they do - orientations - but in the ontological absence of legitimating values beyond moral freedom.
January 16, 2026 at 8:40 PM
The end of GOOD VIBES ONLY argues that existential phenomenology is a helpful method/framework for understanding and criticizing AI/LLMs/governance by vibes bc it models the same thing they do - orientations - but in the ontological absence of legitimating values beyond moral freedom.
"regulation by ownership" is a great example of the kind of governance I discuss in GOOD VIBES ONLY - not norms or the traditional 'norm of regulation' in 19th c biopower (or neolib deregulation), but lineages of private property ownership and wealth
🧵 Trump administration AI policy is widely described as deregulatory. This description is misleading. What's happening is not the absence of governance but its rearrangement--intensive state intervention operating through mechanisms we don't typically call regulation. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The mirage of AI deregulation
One of the most interventionist approaches to technology governance in the United States in a generation has cloaked itself in the language of deregulation. In early December 2025, President Donald Tr...
www.science.org
January 16, 2026 at 7:43 PM
"regulation by ownership" is a great example of the kind of governance I discuss in GOOD VIBES ONLY - not norms or the traditional 'norm of regulation' in 19th c biopower (or neolib deregulation), but lineages of private property ownership and wealth
This new Charli song is very interesting! It's like *neo-Romanticism* for the streaming age (i.e. the age of under 3 min songs). There's TENSION & RELEASE, which is new and v un-chill, built thru timbre and texture rather than harmony.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHm1...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHm1...
Charli xcx - Wall of Sound (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Charli xcx
www.youtube.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:30 PM
This new Charli song is very interesting! It's like *neo-Romanticism* for the streaming age (i.e. the age of under 3 min songs). There's TENSION & RELEASE, which is new and v un-chill, built thru timbre and texture rather than harmony.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHm1...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHm1...
It's not incitement to discourse, it's repression
chef's kiss
January 16, 2026 at 6:17 PM
It's not incitement to discourse, it's repression
Reposted by Robin James
SUNDAY from 5-7 it's my radio show ITS HER FACTORY on Inhailer.com. Come for new and old indie hits, stay for music writing & journalism recs from me. This week I rec a documentary about one of the most venerable (& dirtiest) independent music venues in the US.
Inhailer Radio | Cincinnati | Independent Radio | Indie Music
Inhailer Radio is Cincinnati independent radio. Founded in 2017 to fill the void left by beloved radio station WNKU.
Inhailer.com
January 14, 2026 at 10:12 PM
SUNDAY from 5-7 it's my radio show ITS HER FACTORY on Inhailer.com. Come for new and old indie hits, stay for music writing & journalism recs from me. This week I rec a documentary about one of the most venerable (& dirtiest) independent music venues in the US.
Had a dream last night where three different marching bands played arraignments of three different REM tunes
January 16, 2026 at 11:13 AM
Had a dream last night where three different marching bands played arraignments of three different REM tunes
Meryn Cadell's "The Sweater": heteropessimism avant la lettre?
January 15, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Meryn Cadell's "The Sweater": heteropessimism avant la lettre?
Slowly coming to terms with the fact that the Last Splash book is only 30k words, which breaks down to under 2k words per proposed chapter. This will be so much harder to write than an 80k word monograph lol.
January 15, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Slowly coming to terms with the fact that the Last Splash book is only 30k words, which breaks down to under 2k words per proposed chapter. This will be so much harder to write than an 80k word monograph lol.
This scale of demonetization of musical labor is WILD
2025 streaming pyramid - only the white point and the first blue shade at the top peak above the 1,000 stream level - which means those are the only tracks Spotify accounts to for *any* royalties. 88% of streaming tracks fall below the line and earn $0 (source: Luminate and @musically.com)
January 15, 2026 at 2:30 PM
This scale of demonetization of musical labor is WILD
SUNDAY from 5-7 it's my radio show ITS HER FACTORY on Inhailer.com. Come for new and old indie hits, stay for music writing & journalism recs from me. This week I rec a documentary about one of the most venerable (& dirtiest) independent music venues in the US.
Inhailer Radio | Cincinnati | Independent Radio | Indie Music
Inhailer Radio is Cincinnati independent radio. Founded in 2017 to fill the void left by beloved radio station WNKU.
Inhailer.com
January 14, 2026 at 10:12 PM
SUNDAY from 5-7 it's my radio show ITS HER FACTORY on Inhailer.com. Come for new and old indie hits, stay for music writing & journalism recs from me. This week I rec a documentary about one of the most venerable (& dirtiest) independent music venues in the US.
Not that publications pay people to do that but someone should send me to The Breeders show in LA this August to review it
January 14, 2026 at 1:06 AM
Not that publications pay people to do that but someone should send me to The Breeders show in LA this August to review it
Reposted by Robin James
TODAY I’m on Inhailer.com with two hours of indie tunes and some musical thoughts about 1996 and a book about indie music in the UK that year
Inhailer Radio | Cincinnati | Independent Radio | Indie Music
Inhailer Radio is Cincinnati independent radio. Founded in 2017 to fill the void left by beloved radio station WNKU.
Inhailer.com
January 11, 2026 at 3:53 PM
TODAY I’m on Inhailer.com with two hours of indie tunes and some musical thoughts about 1996 and a book about indie music in the UK that year
TIL there is a Maynard Ferguson cover of "9 to 5" (of course there is) and it kind of sounds like...Sim City's version of jazz
January 11, 2026 at 6:36 PM
TIL there is a Maynard Ferguson cover of "9 to 5" (of course there is) and it kind of sounds like...Sim City's version of jazz
JB is right that everything going on in the US rn smacks of gender, but it’s bc we’ve had 40 years of rw media framing the experience of privatization & the elimination of civil society as something wm experience primarily as trespassed & personally injured masculinity
January 11, 2026 at 4:00 PM
JB is right that everything going on in the US rn smacks of gender, but it’s bc we’ve had 40 years of rw media framing the experience of privatization & the elimination of civil society as something wm experience primarily as trespassed & personally injured masculinity