Charlie Curnow

What to make of the New York Mets in these opening weeks of the back half of the 2026 season? Well, they’re still in fifth place in the NL East, 18.5 games behind the Braves. In terms of the playoff picture, they’re 12 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, in front of only the Colorado Rockies in the National League.

Andy Green has been named Interim Manager for the remainder of the season. He joined the Mets organization in 2023 and previously served as Senior Vice President, Baseball Development. He also managed the San Diego Padres from 2016-19, guiding the club to a 274-366 (.428) record.

The 48-year-old Green started as a player, playing parts of four Major League seasons with the Diamondbacks (2004-06) and appearing in four games with the Mets in 2009. The Mets are 9-13 since Green took the helm.

But let’s focus on the bright side. Carson Benge was batting .295 (18-61) with eight runs, three doubles, two homers, eight RBI, seven walks, five steals with a .362 OBP, a .443 SLG and a .805 OPS before Friday’s game against the Dodgers. His .263 batting average was second in the NL among qualified rookies. He’d also collected 98 hits this year, which was fourth among all rookies.

Benge had also recorded 16 steals this season, the second-most by any rookie this year. The record by a Mets rookie is 24 set by Mookie Wilson in 1981.

Over the last four games, Francisco Lindor, was 8-15 (.533) before Friday’s game with two runs, two doubles, one homer, four RBI, three walks and a 1.478 OPS. He owned a .240/.315/.434 slashline against right-handed pitching this year.

In 17 games in July, Lindor was batting .270/.352/.460 with three doubles, three homers and an .812 OPS after returning from injury.

And so with the August 3 trade deadline now even closer, the contrast between the bleak standings and these individual hot streaks draws a clear line in the sand for the Mets front office.

While the Mets seem poised to sell off short-term pieces, the performances of a resurgent Lindor and a record-chasing Benge prove that the cupboard isn’t entirely bare. Offering hints of who is untouchable as the roster undergoes its next transition. And perhaps, who should be.

The New York Mets are fifth in the NL East at 34-41. In terms of the National League wild card picture, they’re 5.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs, with every team other than the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies in front of them.

One bright spot for them though is relief pitching. As of June 18, their bullpen had posted a 3.34 ERA so far as a group, ranking fourth in the majors and third in the National League. And they’d struck out 324 batters this season, the most in the MLB.

Overall, Mets pitchers had 672 strikeouts this season as of the same date, which was the fourth-most in both the majors and the NL. It was also their fifth-most in franchise history through the team’s first 74 games of a season.

Before the June 18 game, Devin Williams was unscored upon in 15 of his last 17 appearances dating back to April 26, with 24 strikeouts during that span. His 37 strikeouts were tied for 11^th among NL relief pitchers.

Luke Weaver hadn’t allowed a run over his last 17 appearances as of the same date. He’d thrown 19.0 scoreless innings, allowing 10 hits and four walks. And he’d struck out 22 batters in that span.

He was 2-1 with a 2.32 ERA for the season with eight walks and 30 strikeouts in 28 appearances. Recording six appearances of at least four outs, each of them scoreless.

And what about offense? Well, one reason for hope might be Juan Soto. As of June 18, he had reached base safely in 10 straight games, batting .382 with six runs, three doubles, two homers, seven RBI, 10 walks, a .523 OBP and a .647 SLG.

His 259 career home runs were the 11^th-most in Major League history prior to turning 28. Those 259 home runs were also 24^th among active players and 21^st all-time amongst players born in the Dominican Republic.

One might think this stark contrast between team record and individual brilliance puts the Mets management in a fascinating position as the trade deadline approaches on August 3.

With elite assets like a lockdown bullpen and a surging Juan Soto, the front office has to decide whether to push their chips in for a wild-card run. Or leverage these staggering individual stats for a future haul.

Which means the next few weeks could determine whether these bright spots are the catalyst for a summer comeback. Or simply the silver linings of another lost season.

“Mutiny After Midnight” is the new album by Johnny Blue Skies, the alter ego of Sturgill Simpson. It was recorded with the Dark Clouds, Simpson’s new band.

After being briefly leaked by Simpson himself on YouTube on March 1, 2026, it received a CD, vinyl and cassette physical-only release on March 13. Debuting at a surprise number three on the Billboard 200 chart. It was then released to streaming in an expanded edition on Monday, June 8 in honor of Simpson’s 48^th birthday.

The expanded edition includes two new tracks. A cover of William Bell (and Otis Redding’s) “You Don’t Miss Your Water” in the sixth position. And a cover of Procul Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale” in the final, twelfth position.

Back in February, Simpson described his process for recording the album in a letter to fans. Every day he and the band would start from scratch with a basic groove. Simpson then wrote the songs and lyrics in the moment on-the-spot. And everyone established their individual parts servicing the songs and not “the individual ego.”

The songs on the album break down into two categories, according to Simpson. The dark state of the world and the bright state of love. Light lives in darkness just as darkness lives in light, Simpson says. And he’s come to find over time that “it’s far easier to just embrace contradictions rather than attempting to resolve them.”

Hence the name “Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds.”

Simpson says categorizing the music will be tricky. But the term “American Music” pretty much says it all. The simple goal the band set out to achieve was to create a dance record.

The “mutiny” of the album is a protest against oppression and suppression, Simpson says. And the only tried and true antidote to that “is pure unfiltered, unapologetic, relentless disco-hedonism.”

Simpson says initial musical inspiration came from endless hours on the tour bus watching old clips of the great fusion-funk band Stuff, and revisiting off-the-beaten track concept records like Marvin Gaye’s “In Our Lifetime” (1981). In which an artist’s response to the seeming end of the world, according to Simpson, is “Let’s dance and make love.”

And so from its unconventional release strategy to its spontaneous, groove-heavy recording process, “Mutiny After Midnight” would seem to be a testament to Simpson’s artistic evolution.

By channeling the spirits of past R&B and funk legends, Simpson’s created an album that balances both light and dark, ego and collaboration, and protest and pleasure. Existing comfortably in the tension between these extremes.

He set out to make a dance record, and ended up making something much deeper. A mirror for our own dualities.

A recent article at Bloomberg Businessweek details an ongoing turnaround at bookselling chain Barnes & Noble. An effort the publication dubs a “radical retail experiment.”

Central to this turnaround are efforts by the only remaining US national bookstore chain to occupy a “singular middle ground” between Amazon and indie bookstores.

Currently, more than 70% of books are purchased online, the article notes. And well over half of all books are purchased on Amazon. Meanwhile, only 10% of Barnes & Noble’s overall sales are made through its website.

Online and social media trends, however, have become central to the chain’s retail strategy. Several years ago, for example, people started appearing on TikTok in Barnes & Noble stores across the country armed with shopping baskets and timers. As well as game plans for how they were going to hoard as many books as possible.

Known as the Birthday Book Challenge, this trend grew organically out of a formal partnership between TikTok and Barnes & Noble. And with the force of the algorithm, the dare went viral, with friends and family members often picking up the bill for birthday hauls.

Online communities such as Goodreads, Reddit threads and book-recommendation apps and influencers are also bolstering the retail chain. Right now these all converge on BookTok, the corner of TikTok devoted by all things books.

Within BookTok, readers frequently find new books by way of personalities instead of traditional reviewers, who tend to focus more on the usual suspects of publishing. Genres and formats once met with dismissal, such as romantasy and Jane Austen novels, are finding enthusiastic new audiences. By keeping up with these trends, Barnes & Noble has been able to keep pulling in the terminally online.

The chain is also finding opportunity in so-called “bookstore deserts.” Such as Visala, CA, a rural city of 150,000 that hadn’t had a bookstore since Borders closed in 2011. These locations may open with more generic inventory before they home in on what sells best. Whether that’s books or other merchandise.

In Visalia, for example, books about agriculture are much easier to spot. But the store location also places a much larger emphasis on what might be called “lifestyle pursuits” beyond the literary, including gifts, games, greeting cards and toys. As well as an entire Harry Potter section with Lego and crochet kits, and plush figurines in addition to books. Annual memberships give frequent local visitors discounts, loyalty points and free shipping.

All of which illustrates what Barnes & Noble’s “singular middle ground” might actually entail. Instead of viewing online trends purely as a threat, the chain has leveraged them to turn internet culture into foot traffic. Revitalizing its brick-and-mortar spaces, and customizing inventory to fit the unique pulse of each community it enters.

The question now, perhaps, is how permanently this hybrid approach can truly hold off the convenience of e-commerce.

“Play Monk” is the new album by European jazz group Ahmed.

The quartet has already released six albums dedicated to reimagining the work of American double-bassist and oud player Ahmed Abdul-Malik. With this new release, they now turn to the material of Malik’s bandmate Thelonious Monk in their search for what they call “future music,” according to their Bandcamp page.

Before going on to develop his own groundbreaking approach to jazz, Abdul-Malik worked in Thelonious Monk’s late 1950’s quartets, appearing on seminal Monk recordings. Including “Thelonious In Action” (1958) and “Misterioso” (1958). As well as the more recently unearthed “Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall” (2005).

In the music of both Monk and Abdul-Malik, fragments of time are scattered and re-arranged in the present, the group says. An idea that’s also central to the work of the Ahmed quartet.

All four members of the Ahmed quartet have engaged with Monk’s standards in various individual and collective ways over four decades. But “Play Monk,” recorded in the same three-day London studio sessions as the group’s 2025 album “Sama’a (Audition),” is the first released documentation of the group’s versions of Monk’s music which began with a spontaneous interpretation of “Evidence” in Novara, Italy in 2023.

Across 2 discs, Ahmed atomize Monk’s standards. Transforming each composition into a shifting quantum time artifact. Into the fissures of Monk’s form, the group pours their own play. Colliding and dancing with Duke Ellington, Cecil Taylor, Caribbean diasporic music, European improvisation and Jah Shaka.

The cover art was designed by Maja Larrson. And features a photograph of Thelonius Monk at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco in 1968 by Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter (1913-1988). A British-born jazz patron, photographer and writer who was a leading patron of bebop, and a member of the Rothschild family.

The album’s cover design places the Monk photograph sideways. So both his profile and the masts of the ships in Fisherman’s Wharf point arrow-like, to the right. Onward.  

“GarciaLive Volume 22: September 25^th, 1971,” the latest addition to the Jerry Garcia vault series, was released earlier this month.

Capturing almost every note across the early and late shows at San Anselmo’s intimate Lion’s Share, it’s a rare slice of two-guitar alchemy between Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia and keyboardist Merl Saunders. As well as a document of a parallel musical life for Garcia at the time.

Somewhat of a local phenomenon in small Bay Area musical clubs, Garcia and Saunders were joined that evening by rhythmic anchor and bassist John Kahn, and Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann. As well as Tom Fogerty on rhythm guitar, who had recently departed from Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The quintet specialized in power pockets and strong grooves. Which gave Garcia space to elaborate and extend his musical knowledge, free from the expectations that followed him elsewhere. The key ingredient was fun.

This setlist brims with rarities born from the band members’ restless energy for exploration. Including an opening 10-minute Saunders original that dissolves into an ethereal instrumental reading of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” A tender Garcia vocal on Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “One Kind Favor” contrasts with romping blues and the rare Jesse Winchester gem “Biloxi.”

The late show carries the same adventurous spirit, moving from the bluesy shuffle of “Hi-Heeled Sneakers” into an expansive “Summertime.” Fogerty steps forward with ‘50s R&B fire on “Annie Had a Baby” and “W-P-L-J,” the latter once called by Garcia one of his “junior high anthems.”

The set closer, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” unfortunately does not survive in the 1/4″ analog reels originally captured by Betty Cantor-Jackson and Bob Matthews. Aside from some unavoidable tape wear on “Biloxi,” however, what remains is an intimate performance in a small Marin County club, now preserved in full color.

Or, as the press release describes, they “stretched the room wide.” A demonstration, perhaps, of what a change in context can sometimes do to help spark something new.

While the New York Knicks might not win a championship this year, they’re currently meeting the base requirement to make basketball history in a great basketball town, Ian O’Connor wrote in a recent article for the Athletic. And that’s to play championship-level ball.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are still the heavy betting favorites to win it all. If waiting on the other side of the NBA Finals, they’ll be more than a handful, O’Connor said. And fixing to go back-to-back.

But right now, the way the Knicks are playing defense and running what coach Mike Brown calls “an equal opportunity offense,” it’s hard to see them losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Detroit Pistons. Assuming Detroit, a team defined by a singular force in Cade Cunningham, gets there.

In Friday night’s Game 3 of the conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks won their sixth straight playoff matchup. This one by a 108-94 margin. Despite the home team scoring the first nine points and taking a 12-point first-quarter lead.

Many Knicks teams over the decades would have punted in this situation, O’Connor says. With a 2-0 series lead, the Knicks could or should have said the hell with Game 3, especially with forward OG Anunoby sidelined by injury. And waited to take control of the Sixers on Sunday.

But these Knicks don’t give away possessions, never mind games, O’Connor says. They fight for everything as if everything depends on it.

Despite the team’s recent success, Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has actually described them as something of a work in progress. Stating that they “still have a lot of room that we can grow.”

But if the Knicks keep getting better and better, they’ll frighten whoever they see in the next two rounds, OKC included, says O’Connor.

Even with the team sharing the ball like mad, Brown also understands Brunson will be the one who makes the team’s first title in 53 years possible. Saying that if he’s Linus, “Jalen’s my blanket.”

A comparison that perhaps shows some of the underlying tension beneath a team whose current success seems to rely in large part on “equal opportunity,” in a league often defined by “singular forces.”

In an article for Fast Company, staff writer Elizabeth Segran details a recent revitalization at Gap. And what lessons it could hold for fellow retail brand Lululemon as it grapples with a recent decline in stock value.

After several years of declining sales, over the past two years, Gap, the legacy apparel retailer founded in 1969, has had hit marketing campaigns every season, Segran says. Tapping stars like Young Miko, Troye Sivan, and Katseye.

Fashion designer Zac Posen created a high-fashion version of the Gap label, GapStudio. Which produced red-carpet garments that were worn by celebrities like Timothée Chalamet and Anne Hathaway. It has also launched collaborations with Béis, Dôen, and Victoria Beckham, all of them huge hits.

Gap president and CEO Mark Breitbard has made it clear that this has been the result of a lot of hard work, Segran says. And has required deep knowledge of the brand.

When Breitbard took his current role in 2020, he inherited some deep structural challenges. The brand had too many stores, many of them unprofitable. It had too much inventory, which resulted in heavy discounting. The quality of the clothing had declined.

Breitbard, a Gap veteran from 2009 to 2013 and then from 2017 onwards who is steeped in supply chains and merchandizing, therefore worked to improve the quality of materials and fit.

And consumers have responded, says Segran. People rushed to Gap to buy 90s-style jeans after the video starring global girl group Katseye that featured retro denim styles, and weren’t disappointed. When Gap created an activation at the Coachella music and arts festival focused on sweats, people loved how cozy they were.

This is an important lesson for Lululemon, Segran says. The brand has had many blockbusters in its past. Including its proprietary buttery-soft Nulu fabric, which is in its famous Align pants that have generated $1 billion for the company.

Lululemon customers come to the brand for its high quality and reputation for innovation. Once the pillar of product is in place, it’s possible to bring the brand back into the cultural conversation.

Gap’s Breitbard notably didn’t push out its recent creative campaigns five years ago, Segran says. Instead, he waited until he believed the foundations of the business were in order.

Or as Bill Bernbach said, “a great ad campaign will make a bad product fail faster. It will get more people to know it’s bad.”

McDonald’s announced this month that it has expanded its McValue platform with a new Under $3 Menu and a $4 Breakfast Meal Deal.

Far more than a limited marketing play, this move reflects a calculated response to market conditions and consumer psychology, Gary Occhiogrosso, founder of Franchise Growth Solutions, wrote in Forbes. As well as the increasingly delicate balance among traffic, profitability, and brand strength in the quick-service business.

In 2026, McDonald’s recognizes that millions of consumers still want the convenience, speed, and familiarity that quick-service restaurants provide, Occhiogrosso says. But they are still far more disciplined about how and where they spend their money.

While still visiting restaurants, consumers are visiting more carefully, says Occhiogrosso. They are still eating out, but they are thinking more carefully before ordering.

And that’s why this move by McDonald’s isn’t only about adding another value layer to the menu. It’s about meeting a consumer who is becoming more selective, more price aware, and more sensitive to the feeling of whether a meal is actually worth the money.

Many consumers now approach restaurant purchases the same way they approach grocery shopping or household budgeting. They notice the price more, and compare more. They weigh whether purchases feel justified. And they look for deals, bundles, loyalty perks, and menu items that help them stay within a self-imposed budget.

In practical terms, that means customers are not necessarily abandoning their favorite brands. Often they are simply buying from them differently.

Instead of switching chains, they may order lower on the menu, says Occhiogrosso. Instead of purchasing a full priced combo, they may lean into a value offer. Instead of adding premium items, they may narrow the ticket to the essentials.

For the rest of the industry, this move by McDonald’s presents a challenge as well. Competing on price can bring traffic, protect share, and reinforce routine. But it can also pressure margins, weaken brand distinction, and train consumers to wait for a deal.

The chains that succeed won’t be the ones that merely lower prices, Occhiogrosso says. They’ll be the ones that understand how to deliver real value without sacrificing the health of the business.

All in all, seems like another argument for the importance of a strong and consistent long-term brand experience, regardless of the short-term economic conditions.

Tedeschi Trucks Band released their sixth studio album, “Future Soul,” this week via Fantasy Records.

The album includes the previously released singles “I Got You” and “Who Am I,” as well as the album’s title track. All of which were performed this month on TV on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The Kimmel broadcast in turn was actually a live feed from New York City’s Beacon Theatre, where the ensemble is completing a 10-show, sold-out residency.

“I feel like this is the most unique record we’ve done,” guitarist Derek Trucks said in the Concord Records press release.  “It’s my favorite collection of songs that we’ve ever put on a record. From song to song, there’s just not a weak spot.”

The majority of the songwriting on the 11-track album was done by Trucks with singer, songwriter, and guitarist Susan Tedeschi, and bandmates Mike Mattison, Gabe Dixon, and Tyler Greenwell. With the music, which relies uniquely on 12-piece, full-band collaboration, sonically pulling from a variety of influences including funk, rock ‘n roll, blues, soul, and punk.

In a first for the band, the album was produced by Mike Elizondo (Twenty One Pilots, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Carrie Underwood) and co-produced by Trucks.

“We wanted to shake things up,” said Trucks.

The album is the follow-up to the band’s 2022 conceptual quadruple studio album, “I Am The Moon.” As well as their 2025 live release, “Tedeschi Trucks Band and Leon Russell Present: Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited (LIVE AT LOCKN’).”

At Glide Magazine, Jim Hynes says new management and the outside perspective of new producer Elizondo perhaps account for the shift toward more radio-friendly, albeit less exploratory turf.

That said, Hynes remarks, “Future Soul” is also arguably the ensemble’s most fully rounded album to date. Coming close to the cliché of “all killer, no filler.”

While “I Am the Moon” was more inner-directed, Hynes says, “Future Soul” is more outward-directed. Although some fans will miss the lengthy improvisatory solos, the band will still likely bring those to the live shows.

It all seems to show how outside perspectives can help bring both new energy, and consistent quality to creative output.