Fiver Friday #546 - Sports Imaging, Eclipse & Cool Country

Summer’s winding down and I am back from Croatia! Here is this week’s Fiver Friday…

1. Plugin

Knock Audio just updated KNOCK, the drum plugin built by DECAP, the producer behind Drums That Knock. Five modules: Punch for transient shaping, Saturate for harmonic distortion, Sub for automatic low end under your kick, Air for top end crispness, and Clip for extra loudness without actual clipping. If you’re cutting stingers, sweepers, or promo beds and the kick needs to hit right away, this is exactly the tool for that. $79.

Check it out here: https://knockaudio.com/shop/knock-plugin/

2. Inspiration

Barrett Media ran a piece this week called “Radio AI Age: Why Personalities Trump Algorithms.” One line stuck with me: “Why do we spend hours debating music rotations but only minutes discussing the stories, conversations, and personalities that no algorithm can duplicate?” That’s the whole business right there.

Read the article: https://barrettmedia.com/2026/08/18/radio-ai-age-why-personalities-trump-algorithms/

3. Music

Some Modern Country Summer awesomeness from Trucker Wetmore!

4. Web/Social/Whatever

Europe had its first total solar eclipse since 1999 last week. The moon’s shadow swept from Iceland down through Portugal into northern Spain, mainland Spain’s first total eclipse in over a hundred years. Hotels along the path were charging over a thousand bucks a night for it. The photos coming out of Spain are unreal.

Check out the images: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/total-solar-eclipse-europe-2026-photos