21: Meaghan Garvey, America's #1 vibes-based journalist

This time we’re joined by Meaghan Garvey, author of America’s #1
vibes-based newsletter, SCARY COOL SAD GOODBYE, and one of the
best writers in the game.


Meaghan started off as an illustrator, laundering a
semi-successful weed-dealing operation through an Etsy empire
before becoming better known as a music journalist. Whether
writing pin-sharp profiles of megastars like Lana Del Rey and
T-Pain or getting deep in the DIY weeds, Meaghan has long been a
BS-free voice in a sea of mediocrity. And ahead of the curve, too
– she broke up with Drake in 2015.


In 2020 Meaghan launched SCARY COOL SAD GOODBYE, a Substack
that’s somewhere between a confessional travel diary and a photo
album of nostalgic Americana. Recent editions include a rundown
of Milwaukee’s oldest dive bars, a crash course in train-hopping
and a visit to House on the Rock, “Wisconsin's tweaked-out
Graceland.”


When she returned to Pitchfork for a flagship review of Charli
XCX’s Brat, we knew the timing was right for a No Tags interview.
We talked about stan culture, the pantomime of vulnerability in
modern pop music, nostalgia for 2011, learning how to write about
yourself, and searching for honesty while fleeing from the
discourse.


Plus, Tom and Chal report on more examples of payola in
underground music and get into the Glastonbury debate: should
people be losing money to play it? Why is it so crowded? Is
Glasto finally… cooked?


Hit that like, smash that share, bosh that review, and be free.


Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe