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jackson balling

@jax.blanktapes.co

• founder of blanktapes.co, NC’s local music webzine • writer, bassist, Buffalo native, Durham resident • yes, that’s my real last name Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/blanktapes | Merch: https://blank-tapes.printify.me/

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Latest posts by jackson balling @jax.blanktapes.co

Billboard outside Old Trafford today: "Immigrants have done more for this city than billionaire tax dodgers ever will"

Billboard outside Old Trafford today: "Immigrants have done more for this city than billionaire tax dodgers ever will"

this could be anywhere in the world

13.02.2026 18:02 👍 6 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

valentine's day is always a hard time for me because of the massacre

06.02.2026 23:47 👍 279 🔁 27 💬 10 📌 1

scum.

24.01.2026 23:37 👍 439 🔁 31 💬 5 📌 0
Dana Carvey from Waynes World with the caption "He Does this every Friday."

Dana Carvey from Waynes World with the caption "He Does this every Friday."

He does this every Friday.

23.01.2026 14:59 👍 115 🔁 55 💬 1 📌 4
Preview
Interview: Dylan Wishon (Bedroom Division) Greensboro’s synth pop artist reflects on his debut album, building community in the Triad, and how TikTok transformed his touring approach

today's piece is with Dylan of Bedroom Division, who makes fantastic synth pop/indie rock that brings artists like Acceptance and Dashboard Confessional to mind

even more impressive is how he's been co-opting the algorithms to actually get bodies out to shows

🔗 blanktapes.co/interview-dy...

13.01.2026 15:01 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Interview: Ayslee Pilkenton (nc.scene) How one college student's Instagram account has become an essential guide to the North Carolina underground scenes

the first is with Ayslee, an absolute powerhouse of a scene promoter. it's so inspiring what she has managed to build in just a year and even more critical for the success of our local music communities

🔗 blanktapes.co/interview-ay...

13.01.2026 15:01 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

we've got a pair of new interviews live at blanktapes.co this past week worthy of your attention

13.01.2026 15:01 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

will someone please think about the donors?

12.01.2026 01:35 👍 8 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

what even is this world

12.01.2026 01:34 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Real Talk!

So are we going to overthrow the fucking government or what?

Real Talk! So are we going to overthrow the fucking government or what?

09.01.2026 13:02 👍 9 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
screenshot from Star Trek: Voyager. title screen for episode "Year Of Hell, Part II" but the "II" has been exed out and under it is an exed out III and under that an exed out IV and under that an exed out V and under that an exed out VI and under that a non- exed out VII.

screenshot from Star Trek: Voyager. title screen for episode "Year Of Hell, Part II" but the "II" has been exed out and under it is an exed out III and under that an exed out IV and under that an exed out V and under that an exed out VI and under that a non- exed out VII.

the calender's doing the thing again, I see

31.12.2025 16:45 👍 33 🔁 8 💬 0 📌 1
Preview
2025 Rewind: Our Favorite Albums, EPs, and Artists from North Carolina Highlighting the abundance of music released from our artist community in 2025

IT'S HERE! Our 2025 Rewind is live and STUFFED with so much good music that you won't know what to do with it

🔗 blanktapes.co/2025-rewind/

16.12.2025 15:26 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
New Music NC: November 2025 Featuring Abigail Dowd, Burlap Circus, MAVI, scrape, and 32 new releases from North Carolina artists

we're barreling towards 2026 but don't let that distract you from the amazing new records of November! I've got write-ups on Abigail Dowd, Burlap Circus, MAVI, and scrape + 32 other releases to check out (so do it!)

blanktapes.co/new-music-nc...

02.12.2025 15:49 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Bonus Track: November 2025 Giving thanks, a Mountains to Sea Vol. 1 update, and getting tripped up by Geese

blanktapes.co just hit 100 published articles! 🥳

a few months have passed since I've done one of these "letter to the editor" columns. it felt like the best way to touch on the milestone and offer some life updates. can't wait to share what we've got in store for 2026!

30.11.2025 13:42 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
ben affleck smoking meme but he’s a liverpool fan

ben affleck smoking meme but he’s a liverpool fan

how it’s going:

26.11.2025 21:59 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

algorithms seem hell-bent on flooding every social media feed with articles about ICE in NC, but only to show off all the awful racists/bots who congregate in the comment sections 🤮

20.11.2025 14:37 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

damn now I REALLY have to listen to that episode

14.11.2025 00:21 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

doesn't matter how you spin it, you're a terrible representative and should just resign already bud

11.11.2025 14:51 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
if cheVelle wrote "SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW" by Gotye
if cheVelle wrote "SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW" by Gotye YouTube video by mac glocky

this man is single-handedly getting me back into chevelle

10.11.2025 14:45 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A man from The Good Place’s Good Place Committee, played by Paul Scheer, stands outside among other committee members, speaking earnestly but absurdly. Subtitles read: “He’s got a point. The fair thing for us to do is just keep on giving up more and more stuff we want, unilaterally, until this demon is finally happy.”

A man from The Good Place’s Good Place Committee, played by Paul Scheer, stands outside among other committee members, speaking earnestly but absurdly. Subtitles read: “He’s got a point. The fair thing for us to do is just keep on giving up more and more stuff we want, unilaterally, until this demon is finally happy.”

Posted for no reason

10.11.2025 01:48 👍 111 🔁 32 💬 5 📌 1
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Interview: Matia Guardabascio (Writer, Secret Astronomer / Durham Beat) Creating the local media you want to see, rejecting objectivity in music journalism, and finding community through curiosity

finally trying to get back into the social media groove after a chaotic few months of work/life 🫠 so here's my first interview in a hot minute with one of my favorite writers/zine creators in the Triangle

check it 👉 blanktapes.co/interview-ma...

07.11.2025 14:38 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

whos in the social media bubble now you gooncel freaks

05.11.2025 13:07 👍 3821 🔁 467 💬 19 📌 8
Preview
New Music NC: October 2025 Featuring Certain Seas, susong, Tab One, and 49 new releases from North Carolina artists

looking for some new music? check out this smorgasbord of releases from local North Carolina artists over the past month! blanktapes.co/new-music-nc...

04.11.2025 17:12 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

my favorite Joyce Manor song? probably “perfect sound whatever” by Jeff Rosenstock

26.10.2025 22:21 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

“you ever hear of that old movie, the emperor’s new groove?”

I am a thousand

21.10.2025 14:19 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

WHEN THERE’S TREASURE BEHIND THE WATERFALL: Oh wow. Yes, very clever! Waterfall treasure! No one’s ever done that before. Lazy jackass

WHEN THERE’S NO TREASURE BEHIND THE WATERFALL: Wow. Too stuck-up to put treasure there huh? Too much of a fucking ICONOCLAST for that? Piece of shit. FUCK you

15.10.2025 01:04 👍 7859 🔁 2273 💬 121 📌 105
Preview
Foxing’s “Beacons” is My Queer Anthem How singer Conor Murphy gave me the words to better define my sense of self

national coming out day is tomorrow and foxing is going on hiatus, so I guess now's a great time to formally say I'm not straight

10.10.2025 13:17 👍 6 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
a 3x3 grid of my most listened to albums from the past week

a 3x3 grid of my most listened to albums from the past week

[emerges from the void to throw some good albums into your feed]

[retreats]

03.10.2025 13:10 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
a close up of a man 's face in a car with a woman behind him . ALT: a close up of a man 's face in a car with a woman behind him .
27.09.2025 23:48 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Me at a The Wonder Years concert

23.09.2025 17:26 👍 53 🔁 5 💬 4 📌 0