What better way to soundtrack your Saturday than with new albums from Henning Ohlenbusch and/or bobbie? Freak Scene has more: buttondown.com/freakscene/a...

With apologies to Don Henley: "Out on the road today I saw a MAXCRK plate on a Toyata Rav 4 / A little voice inside my head said 'why do that, why would you ever do that?'"

Hey it’s #BandcampFriday the day we all plug our cool music projects because Bandcamp waives their cut and gives all money to the artist. I made an album and I’d love it you checked it out.

Happy to have you!

As we face yet another delayed school opening, why not escape into local music? Freak Scene has you covered with new releases by @henningo.com, bobbie and Emily Margaret: buttondown.com/freakscene/a...

Still looking for a pilot to fly her home

Fascinating read

The Massachusetts Department of Correction has been fighting me for months, trying to withhold data about its collaboration with ICE. Yesterday, I won that fight, and obtained records showing that the state has transferred more than 2,000 people into ICE custody since 2009. A quick thread:

James Talarico money-grab text message tally: 2 so far, both of which I reported as spam

Somebody I knew a little 20 years ago when our work crowds overlapped in Hartford writes a massively solipsistic newsletter now and sometimes sends 2 or 3 missives a day. I've unsubscribed, yet my spam folder is full of his emails - and now he's charging for full access! Pure chutzpah

The recording could have stopped after the first seven words

Not a huge Margo Price fan, but that's a good booking for this year's Rhythm & Roots Festival in Rhode Island. Marty Stuart, Devil Makes Three and St. Paul & the Broken Bones are among the other headliners

Very sorry to report that dog park dad-bros are something that exists. Some of them wear weighted vests to really take that walk to the next level

This week in Freak Scene, we listen to some new singles by Deep Trees, the Barstool Visionaries and Tom Guerra: buttondown.com/freakscene/a...

We know the details behind this story, and let me tell you, the insanity described by the able @erdanton.bsky.social goes waaaaay deep.

Here it is: the weirdest story I've ever reported, with a bonus thread of weird stuff I didn't have room to include. In print Sunday in the Boston Globe. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/27/a...

Willie Nelson + Emmylou Harris is never anything short of spellbinding. I wish they'd recorded 30 albums together www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHVW...

This week in Freak Scene, we listen to some new singles by Deep Trees, the Barstool Visionaries and Tom Guerra: buttondown.com/freakscene/a...

Here it is: the weirdest story I've ever reported, with a bonus thread of weird stuff I didn't have room to include. In print Sunday in the Boston Globe. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/27/a...

i know the situation in kansas right now is dangerous and terrifying. that said, i'm hoping to speak to someone who's had their license invalidated. i will do absolutely everything to protect your anonymity and maintain your safety. i can be reached securely via signal at marisakabas.04

The epitome of small-town New England governance, Trumpian incompetence and FIFA entitlement, all wrapped into one story: www.nytimes.com/athletic/707...

Still getting weirder

I don't want to say kids today are soft, but the 11-year-old just said, "What do you mean it's not a snow day at school? IT'S SNOWING."

The weirdest story I've ever reported just got weirder. Looking forward to sharing it all soon in the Boston Globe

Remembering that time I wrote about the best gas-station fried chicken in Hartford for the Courant and the director of Real Art Ways got so mad he wrote a nasty letter to the editor about it

For whatever reason, strangers talk to me all the time, in waiting rooms, on airplanes, in cities where I don't live, in languages I don't speak. It's been happening for decades

Wrote about Landowner's new album a couple weeks ago in Freak Scene. LP is out Friday, and they've released another track, "Bow to Your Superior," which singer Dan Shaw says is "a short banger about obediently submitting to the supremacy of artificial intelligence" www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvB2...

In this week's Freak Scene newsletter: All Feels are back with a lovely new EP, while the Breadwinners new LP comes out today. And now there's a concert calendar! buttondown.com/freakscene/a...

In this week's Freak Scene newsletter: All Feels are back with a lovely new EP, while the Breadwinners new LP comes out today. And now there's a concert calendar! buttondown.com/freakscene/a...

I used to see Nuggets games occasionally as a kid in Denver during the Doug Moe era, and reading this obituary brought back a flood of names and personalities I hadn't thought about in years. Plus, those uniforms! www.nba.com/news/coach-d...

I used to see Nuggets games occasionally as a kid in Denver during the Doug Moe era, and reading this obituary brought back a flood of names and personalities I hadn't thought about in years. Plus, those uniforms! www.nba.com/news/coach-d...

Just a first-rate song that I can't stop listening to from Fantastic Cat: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ihd...

Just a first-rate song that I can't stop listening to from Fantastic Cat: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ihd...

Streisand Effect, activated

Some may not realize it, but that's why people lie about their previous immigration status to fraudulently obtain citizenship and eventually help destroy the framework of the place they held in such high regard

The week's Freak Scene newsletter has a new album from Valley rock veteran Ray Mason, plus Henning Ohlenbusch ambling through the snow in the video for his latest song buttondown.com/freakscene/a...

Al Olender is one of my favorite singers, and her music deserves so much more attention than it gets. Her new album "The Worrier" is out today, and it's really, really good. Check out her video for "The Cyclone": www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Dn...

Reference libraries and librarians are amazing, and I love what they do. That said, charging a per-page fee to email a PDF that ALREADY EXISTS, without telling me how many pages it is, is not my favorite

A big thank you to @erdanton.bsky.social for writing about my new music video in this week's Freak Scene! Also featured, my friend Ray Mason. buttondown.com/freakscene/a...

The week's Freak Scene newsletter has a new album from Valley rock veteran Ray Mason, plus Henning Ohlenbusch ambling through the snow in the video for his latest song buttondown.com/freakscene/a...

I keep wondering what instrument John Violinist plays

Andrew Julien has come a long way from going hands-free at the urinal in the Hartford Courant men's room while flipping through a legal pad to a devoted bag man for Alden

My dad used to joke about wanting to invent "people chow," which you'd pour out of a bag into a bowl and douse with hot water

Ooh, the Felice Brothers play the Iron Horse in Northampton April 30. Last time I saw them in concert was the Saturday after Election Day in 2016, in Tuners Falls, and the vibe was CATHARTIC.

"Alt-rock giants Hoobastank"

What a joyful performance from Bad Bunny. The whole thing felt fresh and spontaneous and fun, and the music-video aesthetic was a cool twist on the concept

Remember this? www.wbur.org/news/2025/04...

Got shut out of World Cup tickets, so we're going to see Weird Al instead

Landowner were incredibly intense last night at the Drake in Amherst. Outro sounded great, too, and Slant of Light's new songs came off really well onstage. But Landowner: wow.

Freak Scene, serving fans of independent music in Western Mass. and CT for two years now! Why not subscribe for weekly updates? buttondown.com/freakscene/a...