Substacks recommended by Dave Cowen | Shuffle Synchronicities

Recommended by Dave Cowen

Weekly enthusiasms for works of graphic literature that are partly serious partly comic as the author debuts a graphic novel SHOULD WE BUY A GUN?

notes on shapeshifting

By gabi abrão

a series of lists and notes

The Grudge Report

By Bess Kalb

Scribbling into the void!

Gary’s Journey Through Hell

By Gary Shteyngart

Nine Circles +

russian-american satire, never more necessary

- Dave Cowen

Publisher's Stack

By Daniel Lisi

Entries on the art and business of publishing by Daniel Lisi, publisher of Not a Cult and co-founder of Chapter House.

the other one of the big five ;)

- Dave Cowen

In My Life by Luigi Cappel

A journey through my life experiences with 500 songs

a musical memoir from another land

- Dave Cowen

Sluggish

By Jesse Meadows

Re-politicizing mental illness and embracing the weird

essential mental health industry criticism and rest studies

- Dave Cowen

Greil Marcus / Letter in the Ether

Everyday culture and found objects

wait, greil is here?!

- Dave Cowen

Mixtape by Jackson Bliss | ジャクソンのミクステープ

By Jackson Bliss

Adventures of a mouthy, mixed-race, Gen X author living in LA who is always in love

"the kendrick lamar of his form" i didn't say that but it's true :)

- Dave Cowen

LOL (lots of links)

By annie rauwerda

internet rabbit holes

the queen of wikipedia enthusiastically explores even more of the world

- Dave Cowen

Story Club with George Saunders

A place to explore the way the short story works.

the buddha of american letters

- Dave Cowen

Every Tom Waits Song

By Ray Padgett

Going alphabetically through the entire Waits catalog, one song at a time

Ray Padgett is back to chronicle the catalogue of another canonical troubadour

- Dave Cowen

In The Telling

By Molly Knox Ostertag

comics + thoughts from molly knox ostertag

come for the graphic novel class, stay for the one unfolding before our eyes

- Dave Cowen

I'm Fine I'm Fine Just Understand

By ND Stevenson

Quiet comics about gender, mental health, and getting older.

beautiful respites

- Dave Cowen

Observables

By Rebecca Davey

Mystery in the mundane

she really does observe everything!

- Dave Cowen

feral masochism

By melanie zoey

quaking pink lobster without a shell; wild & well-crafted

out of control controller of narratives ;)

- Dave Cowen

Berkana

By Swarnali Mukherjee

Built with a soft burning passion for obscure places, people, folklores, and cultural epiphanies

a mystic and a reformer

- Dave Cowen

The World According To von Roy

By Christopher von Roy

Life, science, music, politics, health, books, philosophy - learn to read minds, starting with mine. Researched and curated on a weekly basis. With a subscription you gain access to my weekly newsletter The World and my fortnightly podcast The Word.

somehow knows as much about culture as he does about science

- Dave Cowen

Robert Reich

Daily newsletter exposing where power lies — and how it's used and abused

clear, concise understanding of our 🌐

- Dave Cowen

Critical Conditions by Wayne Robins

Storytelling about rock pop music and culture through decades of interviews, reviews, and feature stories, shaken in a blender. Might be Steely Dan, Dylan, Springsteen, Stevie Wonder. Might be Laura Nyro, Tori Amos, the Ramones.

a music critic elder who has lived through it all

- Dave Cowen

God's Music Is My Life

By Tim Dillinger

Dedicated to exploring the histories of gospel and soul, contemporary Christian and Women’s music(s)—forms that contribute to the blurring of the lines between the sacred and the secular.

true for 'my' life too ;)

- Dave Cowen

Peter Pan Man Dan Newsletter

By Dan Marshall

A journey from Peter Pan to parent.

one of the funniest man-children alive

- Dave Cowen

Trauma Spice

By Cecilia Corrigan

Barbiecore Materialism

it's like she's a hyper-pop writer

- Dave Cowen

Dylanology

By Eyolf Østrem

The in-depth newsletter about Bob Dylan's music and lyrics

Black Music and Black Muses

By Harmony Holiday

Music writing that is not restricted by the demands, wishes, and timelines of the music industry. Writing, not advertising. Love, not a battle of the brands.

as deeply researched as it's deeply felt, essential

- Dave Cowen

NOW IS GOOD

By James Francis

an ongoing meditation on awareness, individual realities and communal expansion

now is a good time to be on team james

- Dave Cowen

Liana’s Newsletter

By Liana Finck

A weekly selection of drawings by New Yorker cartoonist and matador Liana Finck, sent out on Wednesdays. Paid subscribers will also get a Sunday email of autobiographical comics, process drawings, and other behind-the-scenes things.

otherworldly, avant-garde gag cartoons

- Dave Cowen

The Whalespout

By Dave Hunter

Stakhanovite film analysis

this would have been a village voice film column in the 1970s...

- Dave Cowen

Warty Roses

By Bridey Elliott

Stories and Essays extracted from Bridey’s brain matter.

hollywood glamcore/satire

- Dave Cowen

WOODRUFF

By Frederick Woodruff

I use astrology as next-level psychoanalysis…of the culture, the arts, the individual. I'm the House astrologer for Corridor Menswear NYC.

astrological wisdom both practical and meta

- Dave Cowen

Alex Ebert's Notes For Later

Philosophical, spiritual, and political missives from composer and philosopher Alex Ebert.

joyfully reminds us to keep our new age enthusiasms in check

- Dave Cowen

On Repeat by Kevin Alexander

By Kevin

Hot takes on cool records.

Like any repeatable song, very easy to get into Kevin's groove!

- Dave Cowen

Cadence Weapon

A music newsletter by Polaris Prize-winning rapper and former Edmonton poet laureate Rollie Pemberton a.k.a. Cadence Weapon

a musician and a critic, rap's godard?

- Dave Cowen

gate(less)

By Con/Jur/d

gate(less) is a practice, a log, an indulgence, spellwork, meditation, and an invitation to explore and experience the ecstatic adventure of every day. Join us to explore strange new worlds right outside your gate/door

perhaps the most Tumblr thing on Substack; an avuncular atman

- Dave Cowen

Tech Support

By Claire Stapleton

existential advice for the modern tech worker

criticism of tech and work culture with zeal 🔥 + compassion 🫶

- Dave Cowen

Meditations in an Emergency

By Rosecrans Baldwin

A weekly dispatch about something beautiful. For paying subscribers: a Sunday supplement with three-plus things to love and a long piece once a month for some inbox wanderlust.

musings about LA & tennis & culture & life

- Dave Cowen