What you feel in the void is kenopsia by Christian Näthler Writing for his own lol/sos Substack, Christian Näthler writes about the very modern sensation that accompanies coming upon spaces — especially digital spaces — that were once booming but … Continue reading Outside Reading — Graveyards of Broken Images edition
The Cassette-Tape Revolution by Jon Michaud I am of the exact right age to be enthralled by a brief treatise on the bygone pleasures of the cassette tape, which is exactly what Jon Michaud provides in this piece. Using the … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Compact Audiocassette edition
‘She never pandered to fashion’: why Kirsty MacColl’s vivid pop career was no fairytale by Alexis Petridis The release of a massive new box set prompts Alexis Petridis to write about the great Kirsty MacColl. The article offers a consideration … Continue reading Outside Reading — And They’ve Never Heard of Love edition
The Crucible of History Surrenders To the Furnace by Erin Thompson Writing for The New York Times, Erin Thompson details efforts to destroy the various Confederate statues and other tributes to white supremacy that have been justly removed from public … Continue reading Outside Reading — Melt It All Down edition
‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’: A Hit That Initially Unnerved Disney by Carlos Aguilar I was managing a movie theater when A Nightmare Before Christmas was initially released, in the fall of 1993. Among my brethren, anticipation was high, but actual … Continue reading Outside Reading — Instead of Screams, I Swear I Can Hear Music in the Air edition
The Canonization of Lou Reed by Jeremy Lybarger Writing for The New Republic, Jeremy Lybarger reviews the new biography Lou Reed: The King of New York and uses the occasion to write more broadly about the life, career, and enduring … Continue reading Outside Reading — Caught Between the Twisted Stars, the Plotted Lines, the Faulty Map edition
Post-Punk Legend Leads Fight for Clean Water as Britain’s ‘Sewage Czar’ by Stephen Castle As part of the Saturday Profile series, The New York Times presents this article about Feargal Sharkey, former frontman of the Undertones and relatively short-term solo … Continue reading Outside Reading — A Good Heart edition
To amplify Trump? Or not to amplify? There’s actually a good answer. by Dan Froomkin The dilemma that the news media has been ineffectually wrestling with is how to address the increasingly incendiary, deceptive, and grotesquely cruel rhetoric spewed by … Continue reading Outside Reading — Desperate Despot edition
Biden’s UAW Rally Exposes the Bankruptcy of Trump’s Populism by Eric Levitz This column is a welcome corrective to the ongoing delusion of media outlets that take the GOP’s feints toward supporting working-class citizens and parrot them as sincere. To … Continue reading Outside Reading — You’ve Earned a Hell of a Lot More than You’re Getting Paid Now edition
The New Version of the Replacements’ Tim Is Quite Literally Revelatory by Jack Hamilton Much as I love the band and consider them highly formative in my college radio career, my penny-pinching ways have largely dissuaded me from stocking my … Continue reading Outside Reading — Razzle Dazzle Razzle Droll edition
Coffee for Two 