Katie Darby Mullins
@katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
380 followers 550 following 170 posts
Writer, Founder/Editor in Chief at The Apologist, Heavy-Metal mouth. I’m too online— I’ve lost the context. I want to be the OK Go of writing.
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katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
Friends, I took a summer vacation from @theapologistzine.bsky.social, and I am so glad I did: this first issue back, about liminal space characters, is the perfect way to kick off and celebrate my newfound independence. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I do. substack.com/home/post/p-...
Lost in Space(s): The Internal Wars of Liminal Characters
By: Dawn Adepoju & Briane Willis
substack.com
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
(I’d love if you’d talk about video games, too.)
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
My first essay on the site was about Lana Del Rey as America’s John Milton, but there has also been poetry about female songwriters who it feels like society has overlooked, one about Ross Gay, The National, and Dr. J, and one about Sonic the Hedgehog as an antinihilist hero.
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
That is actually one of the major things I want to talk about! What kinds of media did you sneak, what was worth it, etc. If you can message me your email address, I could send you details & you could see if you’re interested?
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
BUT I’m looking to do an interview with someone whose first deep connection to secular art came later in life, and I want to explore what that art is (high, low, in between!) and why it moved you so much. Would you be interested in thinking about this? I can give detailed idea of what I’m thinking!
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
@jasonkirk.fyi hey, I run a zine about the intersection of pop culture and personal journeys— I asked around about evangelical/exvangelical folks and what the first secular art they truly loved was. A friend pointed me to you! First, I’m PSYCHED because your book looks amazing & I love sports, too—
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
Man, I said OUT LOUD, TO HUMANS this week that I felt like Coach Prime had been suspiciously quiet. Apparently he was busy beating bladder cancer. Sorry Prime Time. I won’t joke anymore. Thanks for making sure my team had enough rings so I can be a jackass forever.
Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
earwormsmag.bsky.social
absolutely scrumptious pop is our game y’all, FEED US 😛😛 drop some hits down below and then drop some absolute bangers to our inbox, we want to read what u write when it’s all about that sweet sweet music
man eating lots of genetically altered foods behind words that say:
how it feels to enjoy a mainstream pop song
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
Crowdsourcing: when I was in high school, #marilynmanson released Mechanical Animals and was widely regarded as a mitigating factor in the Columbine shooting. Does #genz have any musicians/bands like that, that are shocking in a way that makes them beloved and reviled? #music #helpanold
Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
earwormsmag.bsky.social
🌟ARTIST SPOTLIGHT🌟

we were so lucky to publish not 1 but 2 @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social poems, and this one, “LANA SINGS THE WORLD ON FIRE,” inspired by Lana Del Ray’s “The Greatest,” is absolutely FANTASTIC

earwormsmag.wixsite.com/earwormsmag/...
LANA SINGS THE WORLD ON FIRE | Earwormsmag
earwormsmag.wixsite.com
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
It’s such a theatrical album. A real departure from his super fun pop music in some places. I always love artists who play with levels and drama. Thanks for talking to me about it! I’m always excited to talk music :)
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
@mohammed177.bsky.social oh my Lord, I just saw the work you are doing. Thank you for illuminating the struggle of Palestine and amplifying voices that are being silenced by bombs, hunger, and loss. You are doing something few people would have the stomach OR the heart for.
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
Also, for what it’s worth, anyone who sees the beauty in the Gin Blossoms and the tragedy of Doug Hopkins’s story is a friend of mine. Too many people spend this life jockeying to figure out what is cool and they miss some of the best art out there.
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
Lana Del Rey as a modern-day John Milton, but I’ve also featured things like “Sonic the Hedgehog as an anti-nihilist hero.” Maybe if nothing else, it’s the piece that gets you started on a longer book? (Maybe a 33 1/3?) Here’s my site— let me know if you’re interested! theapologistzine.substack.com
The Apologist | Substack
Love Letters to Moving Art. Click to read The Apologist, a Substack publication. Launched 5 months ago.
theapologistzine.substack.com
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
Any chance you’d have an interest in writing, at least a short form, apologetics essay about why they’re so important in the fabric of American rock in the ‘90s? I have a pop culture zine that focuses on one issue a month, just one essay, defending the love of art. (My first essay was about 1/2
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
I love the whole “Madman Across the Water” record, but “Holiday Inn” stands out to me like Pete Townsend’s “Sheraton Gibson,” Seger’s “Turn the Page,” or The Kinks’s “Sitting in my Hotel”: few songs about the loneliness of the road transcend the way that group does, and Elton John’s may be the best.
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
“Holiday Inn” or “And I Guess That’s Why They Call it The Blues.”
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
Man, if Luka isn’t on the court, all I want is a good game. I really wanted a game seven. I don’t want this season to end, at least not until football starts. But I actually teared up watching Hali go down. It is SO HARD to see a young man who is so joyful be in so much pain.
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
I’m personally offended by the Google AI commercial in which a guy Googles “What’s something cool going on in the city?,” sees “James Blunt concert,” and he goes, all the while “She’s So High” by Tal Bachman plays. Go home, Google, you’re drunk.
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
Also, few bands could write bangers, country songs, heavy rock, softer pop like “Allison Road,” put them all on the same record, and have it feel not only cohesive, but homey. They were amazing.
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
For me, “think” is a much stronger word here, and I also think Hopkins wrote THE BEST addiction song since The Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’?” in “Hold Me Down,” which I think is one of the best songs of the ‘90s. The Gin Blossoms take crap, but it’s unearned. That first record is a classic.
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
What’s wild is the original line was, “You can trust me not to drink,” but the band changed it out of respect for Doug Hopkins, who was dealing with acute alcoholism (and later, after a messy separation with the band, died from it, leading to the next album’s title, “Congratulations, I’m Sorry”)—
Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
tacobellquarterly.org
Literature is dead and no one reads anymore! I would still encourage you to make terrible life choices and become a writer anyway! Fuck a job, write poetry!
katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
Me rn cleaning the trash out of my daughter’s room: