Shuffle Synchronicities

Recommended by Dave Cowen

Memeforum

By Kathryn Winn

The first place on the internet dedicated to meaningful criticism of current memes.

meme theory is now

- Dave Cowen

The Grudge Report

By Bess Kalb

Screaming into the void if that's ok. No worries if not. Apologies.

Observables

By Rebecca Davey

Mystery in the mundane

she really does observe everything!

- 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

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

Warty Roses

By Bridey Elliott

Stories and Essays extracted from Bridey’s brain matter.

hollywood glamcore/satire

- Dave Cowen

Story Club with George Saunders

A place to explore the way the short story works.

the buddha of american letters

- 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

Trauma Spice

By Cecilia Corrigan

Barbiecore Materialism

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

- Dave Cowen

Garbage Day

By Ryan Broderick

A newsletter about having fun online.

great detritus like Substack's Pynchon

- Dave Cowen

Gary’s Journey Through Hell

By Gary Shteyngart

Nine Circles +

russian-american satire, never more necessary

- Dave Cowen

Daniel Pinchbeck’s Newsletter

I write about subjects ranging from the mystical and psychedelic to the political and mundane.

After School by Casey Lewis

Trends and youth culture analysis, 5x a week to 15K readers

y2k isn't ending the world again!

- Dave Cowen

Sluggish

By Jesse Meadows

Re-politicizing mental health and embracing the weird

essential mental health industry criticism and rest studies

- 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

In My Life by Luigi Cappel

A journey through my life experiences with 500 songs

a musical memoir from another land

- Dave Cowen

Robert Reich

Exposing where power lies — and how it's used and abused

clear, concise understanding of our 🌐

- 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

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

Cadence Weapon

Musical discoveries and observations from Cadence Weapon

a musician and a critic, rap's godard?

- Dave Cowen

Dylanology

By Eyolf Østrem

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

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

LOL (lots of links)

By annie rauwerda

internet rabbit holes

the queen of wikipedia enthusiastically explores even more of the world

- 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

Taylor Lorenz's Newsletter

Free weekly updates!! Subscribe now!

substack is twitter 3.0

- Dave Cowen

Blow Up Your Life

By Shayna Goodman

Serialized memoir + Millennial Eat Pray Love

showing us how losing 'our' way might be 'the' way...

- Dave Cowen

On Repeat by Kevin Alexander

By Kevin

New music, old favorites, record reviews, interviews, and more.

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

- Dave Cowen

NOTES FOR LATER

By Alex Ebert

VIBE SHIFT: Philosophical, spiritual, and political ideas... in note form... for later.

joyfully reminds us to keep our new age enthusiasms in check

- Dave Cowen

S/FJ

By Sasha Frere-Jones

photographs enthusiasms essays speculation interviews conjecture

the perfect but not perfect music critic

- 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

Greil Marcus / Letter in the Ether

Everyday culture and found objects

wait, greil is here?!

- Dave Cowen

Griefbacon

By Helena Fitzgerald

sitting on the floor at 3am at the party after everybody else has gone home.

hot&salty sad&smart takes

- 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

The Whalespout

By Dave Hunter

Stakhanovite film analysis

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

- Dave Cowen

feral masochism

By melanie zoey

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

out of control controller of narratives ;)

- 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

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

Breakfast for Five Hours

By Gabi Abrao

what I write while I have breakfast for five hours

Flagging Down the Double E's

By Ray Padgett

Bob Dylan concerts throughout history

Ray Padgett chronicles Bob Dylan's concerts to show no one has been better or worse at performing music live...

- Dave Cowen

Critical Conditions by Wayne Robins

A vivid, personal look at pop music and culture through the distinctive observations of a writer who has been in the middle of it all for half a century.

a music critic elder who has lived through it all

- 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

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

Meditations in an Emergency

By Rosecrans Baldwin

A micro-essay on Saturday mornings about something beautiful. For paying subscribers: a Sunday supplement with three-plus things to love, and a longer monthly essay for some inbox wanderlust.

musings about LA & tennis & culture & life

- 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