Something New (This Week)
Two movies, two songs, and a new record.
Happy Saturday. I hope you are softly preparing for a nice dinner this coming Thursday, and I hope you consume something new, or something tried and true.
Here are some things I’ve taken in recently that I think are worth sharing:
Two Movies
The Criterion Channel is currently filled with wonderful stuff that is older than me, my favorite genre of art. This past week, my partner and I barely stayed awake on the couch after work to watch two pretty random selections: Wim Wenders’ The American Friend, and Josef von Sternberg’s Dishonored — one of his many collaborations with Marlene Dietrich, who I, like everyone else before me, am quickly falling in love with.
In Dishonored, Dietrich plays an Austrian streetwalker who is recruited to be a spy by her government in 1915. Dietrich is slick, confident, seductive, smart, and brave as hell, as she takes on the unthinkable for her country, who absolutely will not be offering her any leniency, or any remorse. A slow but powerful burn of a movie.
The American Friend is strangely similar. Adapted from a 1974 novel by Patricia Highsmith, the 1977 movie stars Bruno Ganz as a picture framer who is recruited, rather unfairly, to become a hitman. He befriends an American art-dealer played by Dennis Hopper, who sizzles in his performance. Wender’s photography, which was done on location in Paris and Germany, is brilliant, nay unparalleled. This thing unfurls into bizarre chaos and closed itself in a memorable way. I’m glad to have seen them both.
Two songs
I discovered these two tracks while perusing other people’s spotify playlists, a valuable source of great new music. Two really great younger musicians combining different genres into something familiar and exciting, both beautiful and sad.
The Unexpected Return of Andre 3000
A few days after releasing my perfectly executed music-to-work-to piece, Andre 3000, the co-lead of the beloved OUTKAST, released a solo album……………………… of experimental, low-key, extremely vibes-based jazz flute. This thing goes so hard in a coffee shop, it is incredible. I’m using it to write this entire thing right now. Immediate entry to the music-to-write-to hall of fame. We are blessed.
If you’re hungry to see and hear more from the man himself, check out this video interview done by one of our finest chroniclers of American men, Zach Baron, for GQ.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Two big things are coming up for Something New: the one year anniversary (!!), and Christmas season (!!!!). I will be visiting both on these pages, coming to an email box near you.
Please, share what you are vibing on, with me or anyone else. As the days get darker, and the nights longer, it is important to keep your torch aflame, and to pass it to as many others as you can.
TTFN,
B