Dave Purcell

Ooh, I'd forgotten about his solo record. Thanks for the reminder!

Sounds like amazing -- thanks for the tip (and the earworm)!

Most Americans Who Rely on Obamacare Live in Republican Areas (Gift Article) Millions of Americans depend on Obamacare. Here's where they live.

Of course.

NYT: Most Americans Who Rely on Obamacare Live in Republican Areas

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Oh So Near: The Cars’ Deep (and Deeply Underrated) Influence on the Future of Music A new biography on the New Wave crew underlines their unsung importance—everyone from the Strokes to the Killers to Nirvana took lessons out of Ric Ocasek’s playbook. So why are the Cars rarely mentio...

Good retrospective look at The Cars, inspired by a new book on the band by Bill Janovitz of Buffalo Tom.

www.theringer.com/2025/10/01/m...

The natural clocks that can pinpoint someone's time of death When something dies, a telltale radioactive signal ticks like a natural clock. Discovering it helped us solve all sorts of natural mysteries.

Science is cool. The BBC explains carbon-14 dating.
www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Episode 298: Sam Fender "People Watching"LISTEN: APPLE · SPOTIFY · AMAZON · OTHER APPSSam Fender is a singer and songwriter from the town of North Shields in England. He won the Brit Award for Best Rock/

Really lovely episode of Song Exploder about my favorite song of the year. Sam seems like such a good dude.
songexploder.net/sam-fender

What Was Behind David Bowie’s Genius? His Archive Holds the Answers. (Gift Article) The David Bowie Center in London is a new home for the singer’s 90,000-item archive. It holds the key to the pop star’s dramatic reinventions.

In these dark, stupid times, it felt good to spend a few minutes in Bowie's head.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Cereal Box Records Sound Horrible. They Still Look Incredible.

Fun NYT article on cereal box records. I know I had some when I was very young, but I don't remember the specifics. Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/a...

10 Entrances to Hell You Can Actually Visit Has someone told you to “go to hell?” If so, let us direct you to these potential portals to the underworld.

Surprisingly, "Middle Management" did not make the list.

www.mentalfloss.com/geography/wa...

The Tragically Hip: Fully Completely Read Alex Robert Ross’ review of the album.

The Sunday Review from @pitchfork.com takes on The Tragically Hip's brilliant Fully Completely. That's the record where I learned about the Hip thanks to American college radio airplay. The relationship between band and country is amazing.
pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...

What Nine Inch Nails and Michael Bublé Share: Josh Freese’s Drumming

Give the drummer some! It's nice to see a feature on the great Josh Freese. I was fortunate to see him with Devo in 2008 and he was incredible. Gift NYT link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/a...

YouTube video by Calgary Underground Film Festival CUFF.Docs 2024 Trailer: DEVO

The new Devo documentary on Netflix is great. I was a fan early on, and learned more about them while living in Akron and working at Kent State, and I still learned a lot from this. They were ahead of the curve in so many ways. Well worth your time.
youtu.be/4GxetgNVFLE?...

Kathleen Edwards “Billionaire” Canadian Americana maven continues her impeccable ‘comeback’, with added Isbell. Listening to the powerful and joyous declaration that is “Billionaire” it is almost impossible to believ…

The new Kathleen Edwards record is fantastic, a strong contender for my album of the year. Co-produced by Jason Isbell and backed by his 400 Unit. I'm so glad she came back. Here's @americanauk.bsky.social's take.
americana-uk.com/kathleen-edw...

Love this, thanks for sharing. Her new record is good. She is somehow underrated -- she doesn't have a weak record in her discography.

Kosmische Kid: The Celestial Soundscape Of John Was Trying To Contact Aliens | The Quietus Homepage photograph courtesy of John Shepherd “Imagine if we left behind the strife of Earth, reached Mars and built discotheques there, dancing our nights away in a state of cartoon perfection”, wrot...

I learned about it from an article in @thequietus.com. In the story, there's a link to a brief YouTube clip if you don't have Netflix.
thequietus.com/interviews/j...

Watch John Was Trying to Contact Aliens | Netflix Official Site A rural electronics whiz broadcasts radio signals into space and monitors for signs of aliens, but makes a more important connection here on Earth.

John Was Trying To Contact Aliens is a terrific 16-minute documentary about a man who built a massive tech hub at his grandparents' house in rural Michigan + spent 30+ years trying to contact aliens, including nightly live DJ broadcasts of Krautrock, Afrobeat, + jazz.
www.netflix.com/title/81252991

The latest threat from the rise of Chinese manufacturing MIT economist David Autor first documented the loss of millions of jobs to Chinese imports a decade ago. Now he sees an even more serious danger if the US loses the race for advanced manufacturing.

An important read that dovetails with Thomas Friedman's recent appearance on the Ezra Klein show + other pieces on the speed and innovation of next-gen manufacturing in China.

www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/07/1...

National Weather Service cuts degrade accuracy of Wisconsin forecasts, meteorologists say Meteorologists say that fewer weather balloon launches means less accurate forecast data, which is especially hazardous during storm season.

Excellent story from Wisconsin Public Radio with example of how the current administration's funding cuts are degrading the accuracy and availability of weather forecasts.

www.wpr.org/news/nationa...

YouTube video by ZMansAlabasterCharms Matthew Sweet- Girlfriend on the Dennis Miller Show 1992

Going down a Robert Quine rabbit hole tonight + remembered this clip of his incendiary playing on Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" on the Dennis Miller Show, 1992. Holy smokes.

youtu.be/Rzl3AB5tw-w?...

Oasis Ends a 16-Year Pause With a Familiar Goal: Conquering America

This NYT piece on Oasis' comeback reminded me of Noel's excellent line about Liam: "He's the angriest man you'll ever meet. He's like a man with a fork in a world of soup."

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/a...

How Glastonbury Festival is keeping spirit of The Clash frontman alive Joe Strummer's widow says he "absolutely loved" the festival.

How Joe Strummer's legacy lives on at Glastonbury. Via the BBC.
bbc.com/news/article...

Bruce Springsteen: 'Time Is Finite, and Your Performing Time Is Finite' Springsteen breaks down his new box set 'Tracks II: The Lost Albums,' reveals he has a new solo album in the can, and looks to the future.

Terrific interview with Bruce Springsteen, addressing the new Tracks II collection as well as what's next and the mythical electric Nebraska album.
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

@mcbride.house.gov @mcbride.house.gov Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the Ezra Klein podcast. This is the wisest critique of the left's current approach that I've heard, and it makes me feel less crazy as a liberal for feeling the same way. Best to you.

English soccer writer Barney Ronay nails the state of the US in this morning's @theguardian.com.

"With its surfeit of runaway hooks, its working-class rage, its ad-hoc penchant for insult comedy, and its communion with the idea of genuine human understanding, the dissociative classic that Learning to Crawl ultimately resembles most is John Lennon’s Imagine."

The Pretenders: Learning to Crawl Read Elizabeth Nelson’s review of the album.

Fantastic review by @paranoiacs.bsky.social on one of my favorite records of all time. Via @pitchfork.com's Sunday review.

pitchfork.com/reviews/albu...

"With its surfeit of runaway hooks, its working-class rage, its ad-hoc penchant for insult comedy, and its communion with the idea of genuine human understanding, the dissociative classic that Learning to Crawl ultimately resembles most is John Lennon’s Imagine."

YouTube video by David Byrne David Byrne - "Everybody Laughs" (Official Music Video)

I want David Byrne to host a version of Sesame Street for adults.

youtu.be/YM-BTJKIz0Q?...

Join the 60 brave NIH employees + 21 Nobel laureates in standing up for science and protesting the policies imposed on the NIH by the Trump administration.

Thanks for a great read, Michael. This sums up well how I feel about Ange. There are some gems in Bowie's middle period -- don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! ;-)