Something New (This Week)
A new Netflix release, some working musicians, and a list of movies.
Good time of day to you, fine reader. It’s 8:11AM PST in my current world, and I’m sipping coffee that my beautiful partner made for me, sipping a large mason jar of water, and sipping a fruit smoothie. Things are going well, in other words. Triples is best. Sitting down and writing is one of my favorite things to do, and is certainly part of my ideal day and ideal future, though I haven’t been doing it much lately. I’ve been focusing on some necessary changes to my days, after an expensive couple of weeks of traveling the U.S. and celebrating bachelors. I have also been reading more than ever, and playing and coaching sports again, and staying generally busy. It feels nice! But so does mulling over the things I read and watch and listen to, and so does sharing good things with good people. So let’s get back to that. Here are some good things:
Hit Man
Today, after first hearing about it last September, HIT MAN is available on Netflix, who paid good money to have the rights to show it. It’s a new movie by Richard Linklater (BEFORE SUNRISE, BOYHOOD, SCHOOL OF ROCK), and is co-written by its star, Glen Powell, who might be our new It Man. I appreciate the work of these two Texas boys, especially Linklater, and I hope they both find success in this release, whatever success means for a movie released on Netflix. No, I haven’t seen it yet, but I know in my bones that I will find a lot of value in it. I hope you give it a shot!
New Music
It’s new music Friday, which I’ll dig into on my own after writing this, but I have found some great new (to me) music in random fashion over the last several days, digging in on long walks to and from coffee shops and grocery stores. The new Billie Eilish record is damn good, and I love the new sounds that she and her brother are exploring on it: new vocal styles, new murky and layered backgrounds, and new genres. It's really fun! Sasami is an artist I didn’t think I had heard of when I saw a blurb on them sometime last week, but when I launched and searched Spotify, I found that I was already following them? This happens a lot in my life. Regardless, their sound is fascinating, and spans loads of genres, and I have just completely latched on to them. The Miki Berenyi Trio, who is gearing up to release a new/first album, is the newest exploration of its eponymous leader, who also headed the group Piroshka (also new to me), and was a part of Lush, the 90’s dream-pop phenomenon. Berenyi continues to evolve their sound within a familiar dream-pop scope, and I love playing catch-up with them after only knowing their work from three decades ago.
Here’s a playlist of great stuff I’ve listened to the past week or three:
Stuff on Screens
I binged the entire season of SUGAR on AppleTV+, which had a great pilot and a great looking Colin Farrel, but was, in totality, a bummer of a hang. You can skip that one, I hate to say. I’ve also gotten my diet of movie-watching back into a place I like it to be: well saturated. Here’s what I’ve watched recently:
I would recommend all of them.
That’s it from me this week. I’m excited to put my thoughts down on (digital) paper about a new biography/thing I’m reading, and I have a great pile of new music to listen to, and a great pile of old movies to watch. I hope your piles are fruitful and fruiting, whatever they are.
TTFN,
bobby