I Finally Met My Teenage Favorite Band (On Zoom) I’m excited to have written the liner notes for the 40th anniversary edition of Fishbone’s 1986 album In Your Face. As you’ll read, Fishbone was a game changer for me, and it was surreal to spend 90 m...

It was a huge honor to contribute the liner notes to the 40th anniversary edition of Fishbone’s “In Your Face.” (!)

They just released the LP+CD and they’re touring the album now. I’ve shared the notes on my Substack / free / please share.

nabilayers.substack.com/p/i-finally-...

What Is It About Holding a Record That’s So Satisfying? Last weekend, I finally started cataloging my record collection.

👀
nabilayers.substack.com/p/what-is-it...

Wrote about some 1976 album covers that are somehow 50 years old but also timeless.

nabilayers.substack.com/p/the-lost-a...

Tonight in London with Adam Buxton and Florence Shaw

www.eventbrite.com/e/identified...

Taking Identified to London for a live podcast event next week 🇬🇧
identified-london.eventbrite.com

Excited to host Ronen Givony’s Brooklyn book event this Thurs eve…

greenlightbookstore.com/event/2026-0...

Sheila E. Live on the American Music Awards in 1985. Wait for the coat.

Sad to say that the NYC snow is preventing this event from happening. Refunds are available at point of purchase. We’ll be back soon. ☀️

The amazing Tony Williams in 1972.

Brooklyn! Feb 23 Identified live podcast with Allison Russell and Valerie June.

tinyurl.com/identifiedpodcast

Had a great time compiling my 100 best shows of all time.

nabilayers.substack.com

Bring on the arguments and Seinfeld jokes.

This Saturday is my 100th Substack post. To mark it, I’m working on a list of my 100 favorite shows of all time. What’s on your list?
nabilayers.substack.com

I’m excited to announce an LA live taping of my podcast Identified with Matt Berninger of The National. Thurs Jan 29. Tix go on sale 1/23 3pm pacific.

www.eventbrite.com/e/identified...

James Brown on Italian TV in 1971

Kate Bush appreciation post. Here she is on SNL in 1978 with Paul Shaffer on piano.

Tim Heidecker is our final guest of 2025 on the Identified podcast. @timheidecker.bsky.social

linktr.ee/identifiedpo...

One amazing minute of Isaac Hayes conducting “Theme From Shaft” 1971

A Year-end List I Didn’t Keep If it doesn’t come to mind now, it probably didn’t need to.

A year-end list of sorts. If it doesn’t come to mind now, it probably didn’t need to.

nabilayers.substack.com/p/a-year-end...

Ramsey Lewis trio performing “Summer Breeze” in 1973

Stevie Saturday: live on German TV 1974

The Music You Inherit vs. the Music You Choose Two musicians died this year who lived on opposite sides of an important divide for me: Jimmy Cliff, whose music filled my childhood home, and Ace Frehley from Kiss, the first band I truly chose for m...

Wrote about these 2 guys

nabilayers.substack.com/p/the-music-...

Curtis Mayfield “Move on Up” live on Beat Club / German TV 1972

love this new episode of Identified with my guest Yasi Salek

linktr.ee/identifiedpo...

How to start the show. Herbie Hancock on Danish TV in 1976.
youtu.be/9RsZifvSVSI?...

A Family Tree With Roots Deep In Slavery At first, the results of Nabil Ayers' DNA test made him feel less black than ever. But months later, those results uncovered his ties to a unique and specific black experience.

Annual Thanksgiving repost of this 2018 piece I wrote for NPR’s Code Switch about discovering my family tree… and a lot more

www.npr.org/sections/cod...

One of my favorite Identified episodes yet: Massima Bell on her journey growing up between rural Iowa and urban cities, discovering her gender identity, and navigating family relationships.

linktr.ee/identifiedpo...

1995

Did You Hear Hiro from Soundgarden’s Rock Hall Speech!? When Soundgarden’s singer Chris Cornell passed away in May 2017, I was deep in my new habit of writing about everything that caught my attention—still in private, not quite yet ready to share.

New Substack post about Hiro from Soundgarden’s incredible Rock Hall speech
nabilayers.substack.com/p/did-you-he...

Headed to Boston later this week for events at Berklee and Harvard…