Your On Repeat Questions Answered
Today in the mailbag: Nebraska, NSYNC, Neko Case, and more!
Good morning!
Today we’re digging into the mailbag and answering your questions.
Thank you all for the thoughtful, fun questions! If you have more, please hit me up. I still plan to make these Q&As a regular(ish) feature.
Let’s get jump in!
Q: Hey Kevin, I didn’t realize you were based in Madison when I signed up for this newsletter. I am too! What are some of your favorite things to do around town? Do you have a favorite record store or any favorite local bands?
A: Hello from the east side! First, thanks for being here! I’m always excited to see people from this part of the world join us.
When I’m not at work or typing away, I like riding the Lake Loop or crate digging at Strictly Discs. You can also often find me at Breese Stevens watching Forward Madison games. My son plays rugby, so I’m also frequently out in CG watching his games. In the winter, it's always a great day for hockey.
Favorite local bands? There’s a ton. We’re really lucky. I’ll go with Red Pants, The Flavor That Kills, Miscellaneous Owl, and Mark Croft.
P.S. Your EP is great, and thanks for sharing it! I would love to chat more about it and the band if you’re down. Anyone scrolling through the comments can check it out here.
P.P.S. I hope you 're wrong about the Brewers, but we both know you’re right.
Q: I would like your thoughts on women's presence or lack thereof in your record collection. I know that mine is dominated by male artists and I only hear female musicians through their work in bands with a few exceptions, such as Neko Case. I do not know why I do that, but I would like to hear your take on that.
A: Great question! If you look at “just” male artists and bands compared to female ones, it’s probably 60/40 in favor of the former, if not more. There are a few factors at play here: first, for better or worse, most of the bands I was raised on were male. I'm not rationalizing that—it's just how it was where and when I grew up. For every female band, there were 3-4 male counterparts. I also inherited my dad’s records. They’re primarily jazz and, by extension, primarily male. That skews the numbers for sure.
It gets (maybe) interesting when you look at how many co-ed bands are in my collection. If you add them back into the calculus, things suddenly become more balanced. There are a lot of those records, including, of course, Talking Heads, Throwing Muses, and New Order. Sitting in front of my collection, I’d also say that the records I picked up in the last 5-10 years lean toward female artists comparatively.
So, what’s my take on that? On a surface level, it's interesting to me to see what gender was playing, what style of music was playing, and when. For example, it’s unlikely a band like the Linda Lindas would’ve been around in 1992, and if they had been, I likely wouldn’t have had them on my radar. But in 2025, I sure do, and they’re incredible.
At the same time, Seablite is a modern-day equivalent of Lush, and I have records from both. My AOTYs for the last 3 years have all been coed groups (Dry Cleaning, The New Pornographers, Wussy), which maybe just means I'm a fan of mixed company. I dunno. I think the way music discovery has changed has helped. I’m not just getting music recs from one of the guys on my block or the local college radio station. It’s much more fractured but also much farther reaching. I have an agency as an adult that I didn't when my listening habits were limited to records someone else has picked up.
Mostly, I just want to hear objectively good music that appeals to my sense of taste. I’m happy to say that I’m finding more of that from women artists than ever before.
Q: Okay, so I have a question (with an agenda). I'm making a mixtape, and the theme is "my struggles in the modern world as a man" (but like, a liberal feminist man, not a reactionary MRA man). Are there any songs that come to mind and speak to you in this vein?
I had a few ideas I thought fit the bill, but I kept coming back to Fugazi’s “Suggestion.” You could also make a case for TuPac’s “Keep Ya Head Up.” Tame Impala’s “‘Cause I’m A Man” might work, but is a bit of a stretch. Neko Case was also top of mind while writing this, and maybe her track “Man” would fit nicely on the tape somewhere. More ideas as I get them!
Q: Pilot?! What are the myriad ways that has influenced your life in music or vice/versa? Gotta Pilot Playlist? Ever flown anywhere for a record store? It seems planes and musicians have lots of stories (RIP John Denver). Any personal or legendary we may not have heard?
A: I work on the ground in operations. I’ve flown a couple of places for record stores, though, to be fair, I was flying home to Portland and did some crate digging while there. I don’t have too many exciting stories about musicians.
I once saw Ted Nugent waiting at baggage claim all by himself. Darryl McDaniels (aka “DMC” of Run DMC) flew through here several years ago and was exceedingly polite, talking to everyone who approached him. Kansas flies through here relatively often and has an ungodly amount of gear. That’s about it; nothing too wild.
On the non-musician side, I once met Bill Gates and escorted him from the ramp, through an employee area, and out to a waiting town car. He was much more down-to-earth than I had expected. It was also really early in the morning, though…
Q: What is your favorite non-English speaking music? As you know, I am starting to discover music in Spain. I have only had time to barely scratch the surface, but I plan on going much deeper soon.
A: I’m a massive fan of Ye Ye and will listen to just about any artist in the genre. A close second is Cumbia. Honestly, anything with a Latin sound and some horns is okay by me. I’ll take all of that you got!
From Spain specifically? I like the band The Yellow Melodies. They’re a Sunshine Pop group from Murcia and switch back and forth between English and Spanish.
Q: If you could wave a magic wand and change one or two things about our commercial aviation system, what would they be and why?
A: The first thing I would do is upgrade the infrastructure. I’m talking about things like radar and instrument systems here. There’s been a bright light shone on it over the past several weeks, but the truth is it’s archaic. It’s a testament to the people working within the system who have kept it running so well, all things considered. It’s a coarse analogy, but it’s not unlike the cars you see on the streets of Havana. A modern system would benefit everyone.
The second thing I’d do is somehow make people “okay” with turboprops. Many cities can’t support 50-76 seat regional jets but could very likely support 2-3 flights a day on a 19-30 seat turboprop. One flight a day to stay in a market does no one any good. Some Part 135 carriers are making their bones flying even smaller planes, but I’m a fan of robust airline networks and, selfishly, like the idea of going from North Platte, Nebraska, to London with one stop. I also just really, really like Dash 8s and B1900Ds.
Lightning round:
Q: Backstreet Boys or NSYNC?
A. I just listened to both, and it’s Backstreet Boys, Hands Down. Sorry, JT!
Q: How many games do you think Yelich will play this year?
A: 132. At least. I hope.
Q: More Gizmo pics, please!
A:
Thank you again for submitting your thoughtful questions and feedback and for being here!
Kevin—
Before you go: As most of you have seen, I am a huge fan of the music streaming platform Qobuz. The sound quality is second to none, and the entire UX is fantastic. Thanks to our friend Kenn Richards, you can now see it for yourself.
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The Yellow Melodies - I will check them out! In fact, I am right now.
I very much appreciated the question and answer about female musicians. I was surprised when I went and dug my vinyl collection out - because a local brewery does a vinyl night weekly, and once a month they do a theme - I dug my collection out to participate in the “Femme Fatale” theme, only to find that I had only 4 albums by female artists (or coed) in my collection! Madonna’s Like a Virgin, Altered Images’ Happy Birthday, Romeo Void, and the Eurythmics. Male artists seriously outnumbered female artists in the 80s (when my vinyl collection was from).
I am more intentional about what I buy now, and have purchased more female artists on vinyl. I still buy male artists, but try harder to find female artists - I’ve had to order some.