Good Good Things – Issue 009
Hi friends, please enjoy another issue of Good Good Things, featuring some fun, informative, and helpful content.
Greatest Talk Show Entrance Ever
Many of you have seen this iconic entrance before, but guess what? You need to check it out again because it is a thing of beauty, and it will make you feel better. I’m not a film geek, but I am pretty sure this is considered a “oner.”
Beastie Boys Perform “Ch-Check It Out” from the subway to the stage on The Late Show with David Letterman (air date: 6/15/04). Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D. make a classic New York entrance to perform their hit from “To The 5 Boroughs” record.
The Letterman on YouTube is a treasure trove of laughs and exceptional musical guest appearances. Spend some time with the Chris Elliot videos. The guy was so ahead of his time, a comedy legend.
Lastly, I made a “90s Indie Rock on David Letterman” video playlist that you will love.
Cool News Shirts Inspired by The Pride of Athens, Georgia
Hi Friends, please excuse this self-promotion, but I’ve just created some fun t-shirts inspired by the timeless music of our favorite band from Athens, Georgia. I think you would all look great in them. Let me know what you think. Thanks for your support!
View all the shirts at the official Go Jeff Go Store >
Rising Star in the Classical Music World: Percussionist Vivi Vassileva
Honestly, I did not know percussionists were ever featured in classical music concerts. This might have something to do with me knowing absolutely nothing about the genre. Anyway, hear the drummer get wicked…
Vivi Vassileva’s passion is percussion. The German-Bulgarian musician discovered her love of drumming as a child on a beach in Bulgaria, and since then has dedicated her life to music. We caught up with her at a concert with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop in the Vienna Concert Hall.
“Jeff, we want more Vivi!”
Okay, okay, here you go…
Donate to World Central Kitchen
Help José Andrés and his team serve 1 million hot meals daily in Gaza.
Stuff I’ve Been Reading: Summer 2025 by Nick Hornby
Recommended by Nick Hornby? I’m in.
- Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses by Peter Wolf
- Cocktails with George and Martha: Movies, Marriage, and the Making of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” by Philip Gefter
- Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt
- Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
Peter Wolf, once a DJ and then the lead singer of the J. Geils Band, is pop culture’s Zelig. Woody Allen’s character, you may remember, managed to appear alongside Babe Ruth and Al Capone, Charles Lindbergh and Hitler, Hearst, Chaplin, and scores of others. Wolf—who, it’s important to stress, is not a fictional character—was put in charge of the mic that Eleanor Roosevelt was to speak into at his high school. He messed it up.
Norm MacDonald’s ManGrate
Whenever I need a pick-me-up, I watch this gut-busting supercut of the late great Norm Macdonald not doing his best to promote a grill enhancement system product on his show. Please be warned, “It weighs a lot of pounds.”
Larry King: “That’s what makes English the world’s toughest language.”
Norm: “It’s the toughest language? To me, it’s the easiest.”
These Dogs Are on a Mission to Rescue
I’d give these good girls and boys so many extra treats when their owners weren’t looking.
From saving avalanche victims in the Rocky Mountains to pulling swimmers to safety on Italy’s beaches, to keeping airplanes safe from bird strikes, and even raising orphaned cheetahs and wallabies, these dogs prove that not all heroes wear capes. Some wear fur. This compilation celebrates incredible four-legged heroes whose courage, loyalty, and heart make the world a safer (and cuter) place.
More than 200 Photographers Join Prints for Wildlife to Raise Funds for Conservation
For one month only, an uplifting fundraiser makes limited-edition prints by global wildlife photographers available for purchase, with proceeds directly benefiting Conservation International.
Since its launch in 2020, Prints for Wildlife has raised more than $2.1 million for conservation programs worldwide. As these initiatives face abrupt funding cuts and an uphill battle against the ongoing climate crisis, it’s more important than ever to make sure they can continue to protect the earth’s fragile, biodiverse ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.
Finding Good Vegan Food in Philly and Beyond
Rated V for Vegan is a YouTube channel devoted to checking out delicious plant-based food around the world. They recently stopped in Philly!
Check out all the cities they have visited >
Good Good Songs
“Could You Love Me?” by End It
“Hide-A-Lullaby” by Winter (feat. Tanukichan)
How Ancient Greek Technology Was Used to Sculpt Mount Rushmore
Two things:
- This is fascinating.
- Gutzon Borglum is an all-time great name. Gutzon Borglum. Say it aloud, it’s fun.
But when the workers got into their harnesses, how would they know where to direct their jackhammers into the rock? To guide them, Borglum adapted a mechanical technique used by ancient Greeks to copy statues, a “pointing machine” that could “measure specific points on a sculpture relative to a reference point,” making a three-dimensional shape transferable from one sculpture to another.
Watch and read more >
Devo Doc on Netflix
Use your freedom of choice and watch the new Devo doc on Netflix. It just dropped yesterday. When you are done enjoying the doc and going through their genre-defying discography, fire up the Freedom of Choice album. It’s a perfect album that a young Jeff and his brother played constantly back in 1980. “Girl U Want,” “Whip It,” and Freedom of Choice” are all-time bangers, but don’t sleep on “Snowball,” “That’s Pep!,’ and “Mr. B’s Ballroom.”
Watched a lot of Devo videos on MTV, and I remember thinking, “These guys are nerds, BUT they are also very cool.” A transformative moment for a young dumb-dumb.
Be Careful Out There
Neighbor’s teen son: “I got a new Onewheel, wanna try it?”
Me (taking off): “Onewheel? More like FUN..”
8 months later, me in full body cast, coming out of coma: “…wheel”
Transit is Punk: Kamala Parks Went from Cofounding 924 Gilman Street to Urban Planning at BART
“When you’re a punk, you love efficiency, sustainability, democracy. Transit fulfills all these things.” Read More >
The transportation planner was a formative force in the Bay Area punk scene, particularly from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. This was an inflection point for punk, with bands like Green Day, Neurosis, and the Offspring making the leap from tiny scene venues to sold-out concert halls and stadiums.
Kamala is also featured in this great documentary: Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk (free on YouTube).
Battling Through a Bad Day
My friend Patrick is an ultrarunning coach and has completed many arduous ultras over the years. He’s very good at it. The thing about running long distances for many hours is that things can and do go wrong despite putting in all the work. “It was not my day” is the way most people in the sport refer to it.
Patrick set off on his tenth 100-miler on one of the toughest courses on the East Coast recently. It was not “his day,” but he did not let that stop him. Watching him push through the pain on his way to the last aid stations and the finish (attempting to beat the cut-off clock) is thrilling and inspiring. Hell yeah, buddy.
Ever wondered what it really feels like to come in DEAD FREAKING LAST at a brutal 100-miler? In this video, I’m showing my Eastern States 100 experience—chasing cutoffs, fighting blisters, battling self-doubt, and learning firsthand that even those that known what their doing can have a bad day
Quick Hits
- Terence Stamp: a life in pictures
- “Hey, Have You Seen This Thing I Haven’t Started Looking for Yet?”
- Free Band Names
- Radiohead Release New Live Album Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009)
- The ‘Brady Bunch’ Episode Barry Williams Filmed Stoned
- 16 breathtaking images from the 2025 Ocean Photographer of the Year contest
- The Nomad with Elhousine Elazzaoui
- The Tubs Live on KEXP
- The Most Puzzling UFO Case of the 20th Century
- World Championship Penny Farthing Hill Climb
20 Years of Podcasting
I started my first podcast 20 years ago with Russ and Todd. Did it for 8 fun years. I am a billionaire now because I was an early adopter (lol, never made a dime). Enjoy some small, low-res photos honoring the occasion.
— Jeff Lyons 🇵🇸 (@gojeffgo.com) August 15, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Featured Playlist: 1990s Alterna Punk Twee Emo Shoegaze Explosion:
Behold the decade that birthed “alt” rock!
Philly: Kevin McDonald Superstar (A Rock Opera) w/ Dave Hill
August 26 & 27, 2025
Kevin McDonald and friends bring you back to the nineties in a comic rock opera written by Kevin. Based on the true story of his relationship with his girlfriend, “Cheater”, and a stupid, awful thing he did in New York City while traveling with the Kids in the Hall. Featuring performances by Dave Hill, John Wlaysewski, Robin Rothman, and more.
Good Things on Bluesky
Dolly Parton has sent my daughter a new book every month for years as she does for thousands of children. She help fund the development of the Covid vaccine. She’s not a billionaire. I think as non wealthy people it’s hard to even imagine how much billionaires *could* be doing with their money.
— Kayla B (@queenofthesouth.bsky.social) August 13, 2025 at 9:51 AM
The car wash needs to be slower. It’s great in there. Make it thirty minutes. I will pay extra for the inconvenience
— Paul F. Tompkins (@pftompkins.bsky.social) August 18, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Need 600 dollars due to recent personal tragedy. Picture is not related, I cannot figure out how to delete it. The money is not for that. I don’t know what it is even
had to quit my job so i could read emails from my kids’ schools full time
— Robert Manchild (@robertmanchild.com) August 18, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Love the pull tab on soup. Love to pop open a Soup and chug it straight out of the can.
Heard my boss’s ringtone at the grocery store, and it woke me up like a sleeper agent (if the assignment was develop instant anxiety).
— Sam Sanders (@samanthasanders.bsky.social) August 17, 2025 at 1:26 PM
All I need is $20,000 to reach my goal of having $20,000
— Gef the Toking Mongoose (@geftokingmongoose.bsky.social) August 16, 2025 at 3:29 PM
— Dumb Runner (@dumbrunner.bsky.social) August 15, 2025 at 2:01 PM
We must preserve the US Postal Service because UPS or FedEx would never do this.
Evergreen.
— Brian C. Baer (@briancbaer.bsky.social) August 12, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Take care of each other
FDT forever. See you soon with more…
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