I haven’t posted for you lovely folks in a while. I’ve been too busy to take the time to create anything worth reading here but I’m striving to consistently stick my head out and least say ‘hi’ in 2025.
It’s Sunday morning and I’m sitting against a wall in the Georgia World Congress Center waiting for my daughter’s volleyball games to begin. We’re still an hour from first serve and this wall isn’t gonna hold itself up so I’m mashing this into my phone with my big dumb mammal thumbs.
April’s Fool
My next album was going well and I thought it would at least be recorded by now but I stopped tracking when I realized I was rushing the writing process just to keep moving. In doing this I started grabbing some old songs and began trying to make them as respectable as possible to help fill out the album but I’m not happy enough with the results of this backfill method to waste my time pursuing it.
The key is to keep moving with new music and the songs will come but I stopped moving and switched to non-musical projects instead. I always write songs, I can’t stop (I’ve tried) but I let the monomaniacal focus on writing and recording a batch of songs slip away so that’s why the “album” became May’s Fool and then June’s Fool and so on until I lapped April and just gave up.
The notion of an album or record is an outdated one but I still consume music that way and I still want to make and release music that way. Having said that, I’ll probably focus on making and releasing singles and eps this year.
bertbacchus.com
The World Football Atlas
This has been taking up more and more of my time as I freak out about how close the 2026 World Cup is. The project exists outside of the WC but a North American Cup is huge and to miss its coattails would be heartbreaking and foolish.
My son and I dreamed this up years ago while down in Mexico looking for places to play fútbal. It’s an atlas, a website, a community, and about a dozen other things and I’ve been doing it mostly by myself. My son is no slacker but he’s even busier than me and getting ready to apply to colleges.
worldfootballatlas.com
Carrying the Songs
If I’ve ever talked to you for even 10 minutes I’ve probably mentioned one of my many, many podcast ideas. Carrying the Songs is the one I’ve spent the most research and pre-production on though. The first episode is called ”Anonymous” and it’s all about songs whose provenance we know not. There’s a lot of Leadbelly in the episode.
The Oblivion Ha Ha Radio Hour
The spirit of this here newsletter you’re reading but in podcast form and with music.
The Golden Spike Podcast
There aren’t very many Atlanta United podcasts and there aren’t any good ones in my haughty opinion. I’m working hard on this but finding co-conspirators has been difficult. I’ve recorded a couple of episodes by myself but it’s missing the mark without banter.
Folklore Industries
Art direction and graphic design is still how I make money. I’ve been freelance for the last couple of years but I’m always open to settling down with a nice agency or multinational conglomerate so think of me if such positions arise in your corner of the world. And if you need a designer yourself then let’s talk.
folkloreindustries.com
Documentary
There’s a documentary I’ve wanted to make for 20 years now and this is the last year it will be possible. The logistics are not easy but I’m working hard on finding ways to make it happen.
Thanks for reading.
Love,
BB
PS - Resist fascism.