Newsletter comparison
Evil Speakers vs Grace Spelman Music Project
Short answer: Choose Evil Speakers for developed critical arguments and catalog context. Choose Grace Spelman for lively reactions and discovery. Keep both when you want the long case and the immediate human response.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
An independent guide. Scottie isn't affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Evil Speakers and Grace Spelman Music Project. Each publication owns its name, writing, and subscription terms.
A brief from both newsletters · July 31, 2026
See both newsletters in one brief
See what made the brief, what didn't, and the original links behind every included story.
In this brief: Scottie kept the selected stories separate because they added different value.
Reader priorities
A music fan wants records placed in context by critics with strong taste, humor, and enough explanation to make disagreement useful.
These are illustrative priorities, not a customer’s data.
What made the brief
- Evil Speakers3 read · 3 included
- Grace Spelman Music Project2 read · 1 included
Scottie
Scottie example brief
July 31, 2026 · Executive brief
01 / The rundown
- The Strokes released their seventh album Reality Awaits alongside a major tour, triggering familiar critical debates over their willfully odd art-rock choices.
- Catalog Club reassessed Deerhunter's abrasive 2013 album Monomania, highlighting its aggressive textures ahead of a August retrospective on nineties Neil Young.
- A new critical response outlines five essential rules for ranking top lyricists under forty while setting aside veterans who recently crossed the age threshold.
02 / The briefing
01 / main
The Strokes Release Reality Awaits to Predictable Fan Backlash
The takeaway: The Strokes released their seventh album, Reality Awaits, and launched their most extensive tour in years. Critical reaction immediately repeated a two-decade cycle of initial dismay followed by eventual reevaluation, with reviewers once again comparing it unfavorably to past releases.
Concrete details
- Rolling Stone panned the seventh record while asking if the band can still save rock and roll in 2026.
- The critic's book on the band's career drops on September 8 after two decades of polarized album receptions.
Why it matters for this reader: This sharp commentary gives you the exact historical context needed to decide whether the new record is genuinely unfocused or just classic Julian Casablancas subversion.
Original sourcesEvil Speakers
02 / main
Deerhunter's Monomania Examined as a Post-Southern Rock Finale
The takeaway: Catalog Club reevaluates Deerhunter's abrasive 2013 record Monomania, created during Bradford Cox's self-described Shit Era. Made of sheet metal and sandpaper, it turned away from Halcyon Digest's accessible polish toward Bo Diddley rhythms and punk aesthetics.
Concrete details
- Frontman Bradford Cox described the album's harsh audio aesthetic as constructed from sheet metal and sandpaper.
- Catalog Club transitions to nineties Neil Young coverage on August 3, starting with the 1990 album Ragged Glory.
Why it matters for this reader: If you love critical takes that unpack polarizing artistic pivots, this breakdown explains how intentional noise can make a challenging record worth revisiting.
Original sourcesEvil Speakers
03 / main
Music Critic Outlines Five Rules for Ranking Great Young Lyricists
The takeaway: Evaluating top lyricists under forty requires clear standards rather than easy default choices. Five core traits define great modern songwriting: quotability, a sharp sense of humor, vivid scene-setting, a strong auteurist voice, and lyrics that do no harm to the music.
Concrete details
- The strict under-forty cutoff excludes prominent writers aged forty to forty-five, including Ezra Koenig and Lana Del Rey.
- Quotability and a distinct sense of humor serve as the primary filters for lasting lyrical quality.
Why it matters for this reader: You get an opinionated rubric to test against your own favorite writers and spark debate over who actually deserves a top spot today.
Original sourcesEvil Speakers
04 / main
Early 2000s Playlist Revisits Pre-Algorithm Music Discovery Culture
The takeaway: Before recommendation engines dictated listening habits, music discovery relied on Livejournal HTML codes, skateboard videos, personal blogs like Purevolume, and word of mouth from older siblings or cool babysitters.
Concrete details
- Featured early 2000s highlights include Dashboard Confessional's album A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar.
- The newsletter post invites readers to submit their own early 2000s music discovery channels in the comments.
Why it matters for this reader: It offers a witty look at how personal taste was built through cultural word of mouth before automated algorithms took control.
Original sourcesGrace Spelman Music Project
Action items
- Pre-order Is This It before its September 8 release to read the complete chronicle of The Strokes' career.
- Revisit Deerhunter's 2013 album Monomania to test the critic's view on its harsh sheet-metal production choices.
See every issue behind this brief
Evil Speakers on the New Strokes Album
- "Reality Awaits" Will Be Loved By The Next Strokes Album (Which Will Be Hated)Evil Speakers · Included
Catalog Club: Deerhunter's Monomania
- Catalog Club: Deerhunter's "Monomania" (2013)Evil Speakers · Included
Ask A Music Critic: Best Lyricists Under 40
- Ask A Music Critic: Who Are The Best Lyricists Right Now Under 40?Evil Speakers · Included
Pre-Algorithm Early 2000s Music Discovery
- Early 2000s Songs I Was Obsessed With Before Algorithms ExistedGrace Spelman Music Project · Included
Charli XCX New Music
- NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Charli XCX challenges bandwagon fans, Fantano catches strays!Grace Spelman Music Project · Read, not included
The useful difference
The difference that matters
Evil Speakers writes longer arguments about rock, pop archetypes, lyrics, and catalogs. Grace Spelman offers quicker reactions, personal listening history, and playful discovery.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
What each is best for
Evil Speakers
Evil Speakers contributes essays about artists, genres, lyrics, catalogs, and the cultural patterns shaping contemporary popular music.[1][2][3]
Grace Spelman Music Project
Grace Spelman contributes track reactions, new-music notes, personal favorites, and an accessible account of why a song provokes a response.[4][5][6]
When it’s worth reading both
Scottie can combine shared release context while preserving each critic's conclusion, evidence, and comic voice.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Sources and official links
- Evil Speakers official publication
- Harry Styles, "Dull 2020s Pop Guy" Archetype
- Ask A Music Critic: Who Are The Best Lyricists Right Now Under 40?
- Grace Spelman Music Project official publication
- My Reactions To "The Life of a Showgirl" Track-By-Track
- Early 2000s Songs I Was Obsessed With Before Algorithms Existed