You know how you’re always complaining that today’s music ain’t got the same soul (to quote Bob Seger) — or, at the least, that the music when you were a teenager was much better than today’s music? Don’t deny it.

Well, Spencer Kornhaber, who writes about culture for The Atlantic, hears you — but doesn’t necessarily agree with the doomsayers who argue that the current state of pop culture isn’t just lamentable but represents a death spiral. He lays out his case in this weekend’s long read. (If you stick with the story, you’ll see that Kornhaber makes an unexpected stop at a community radio station in Astoria.)

I’ve been following the efforts by Greater Idaho proponents to move the Oregon-Idaho state border so that a good chunk of eastern Oregon aligns with Idaho. The idea behind the movement is that eastern Oregon counties are a better fit with Idaho economically, culturally and politically. One of the big problems with the proposal is that it’s quite a heavy lift, with countless details to work out — not to mention the fact that it’s essentially got zero chance now of getting approved by Oregon lawmakers. So I was interested in this commentary piece by Randy Stapilus for the Oregon Capital Chronicle about a different proposal in Washington state that might have ramifications for the Oregon effort.

In a David-and-Goliath sort of legal battle, the Portland Pickles summer baseball team is suing the Walt Disney Co., arguing copyright infringement: A youth baseball team also named the Pickles is featured in the Disney+ streaming series “Win or Lose.” Disney also is selling merchandise branded with the name and logo of the fictional team Peaks Valley Pickles, complete with a smiling pickle. This is great news for lawyers and for people who enjoy typing the word “pickle,” and I qualify on one of those counts. The Oregonian/OregonLive is following developments.

Major League Baseball is grappling with a big issue involving pitchers, who learn early in their development that the key to success is to throw harder and with more velocity. The inevitable result: They get injured much more frequently. Leo Mazzone, the former pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves, saw this coming years ago, and has some sharp words about the trend in this Atlantic piece. Mazzone qualifies as an expert in this particular field, considering how his Braves staff included Hall of Fame pitchers like Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine.

One more baseball story this week: The New York Times was all over the week’s biggest story about Robert Francis Prevost — you know him now as Pope Leo XIV — after his election as pontiff: Is the Chicago-born native a White Sox or a Cubs fan? It stands to reason that the new pope is more of a White Sox fan — after all, one of the pope’s job duties is to comfort the afflicted.

I understand the pope may have other duties than praying for the White Sox, as time-demanding as that might be: For example, the Times informs me, the pontiff is the leader of Catholicism worldwide. Early signs are that Leo may follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Pope Francis — which might lead to trouble in the United States, where right-wing Catholicism is ascending. This absorbing story from the Times analyzes how that might play out.

Even more news about the pope: This piece from The Atlantic argues that the pontiff’s choice of Leo for his name offers intriguing clues about the course his papacy might take.

The Malheur Enterprise, the outstanding eastern Oregon weekly that has been run for years by Les Zaitz and his wife, Scotta Callister, is shutting down. It’s a sadly familiar story in rural U.S. journalism — Zaitz and Callister want to retire, and couldn’t find anybody willing to keep the newspaper running. Mike Rogoway had the story for The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Sunday is Mother’s Day, and the Times has a cute story about the cards our children give us for that occasion (and Father’s Day as well). Oftentimes, those cards (and the worksheets the kids fill out at preschool about their parents) offer insight into how our little charges assess our performance as parents. In other cases, the message can be a little unclear, as it was for the mother whose son presented her with a paper towel roll on which the lad repeatedly had scrawled the word “mom.” It’s the thought that counts, right?

That’s it for this week. Let’s gather here next weekend to compare the cards our kids sent — well, maybe the texts our kids sent. Everyone knows our grown children are too busy to send cards.