Well, hello there. How are you?
I took the last two weeks off for my birthday (shout-out to all my fellow September birthdays) and to prep for some new work. It was a much-needed recharge. As soon as August turned into September, it seemed like the floodgates opened, and now I’m trying to squeeze in all this new work that’ll run before the end of the year. It’s all exciting work, which is nice. This week’s mixtape signals this change of the season. This is the first mixtape I’ve done this year that screams “Fall!”
Speaking of the mixtape, let’s get to the dang thing. Here are some links and tunes for the week.
LINKS
Many of Tom Wolfe’s original New York features are now online. You should absolutely check them out if you’re not as familiar with Wolfe. Like Joan Didion, you’ve probably read a lot of bad writers trying to be like Wolfe—and Wolfe admittedly was pretty uneven himself—but when he hit, he was perfect.
Speaking of Wolfe: Back when I used to write more about literature, I wrote about Wolfe’s (in)famous “The ‘Me’ Decade” essay and how it’s aged. I haven’t read this feature in years. Today I would change much of it; it’s too long, and I definitely was trying too hard to channel some of that Wolfe energy. I didn’t pick the headline, either. But I can’t be too harsh on my younger self, can I?
Stephen Fry on American vs. Britsh comedy. I can be hot and cold on Fry, but I love his take on American optimism.
In the podcast world, I enjoyed a recent Indiecast episode breaking down the fallout from Jann Wenner’s very (very) cringeworthy NYT interview that cost him his board seat in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that he co-founded.
Elsewhere in podcast-land, I really enjoyed the low-stakes feel of Strike Force Five; this is the most I’ve enjoyed any of these talk show hosts in years. The Jon Stewart episode was especially good, where Stewart makes everyone noticeably uncomfortable by being real about trying to lead a healthy and fulfilling life once you’re out of the spotlight. (“Comedy is egg salad … doesn’t matter how good it is, it’ll eventually go bad.)
Speaking of podcasts with famous comedians, Jim Downey on Conan O’Brien’s podcast is a treat. I wasn’t too familiar with Downey … under Conan broke down his resume and I realized he’s responsible for 95% of my favorite late-night bits. Also, Downey’s idea of “claphter” is spot on.
One last link related to a podcast—my goodness, what has happened to me?—a new favorite podcast of mine is Matthew Belloni’s The Town, which is all about Hollywood news and gossip. I never thought I’d like a podcast like this, but Belloni is so entertaining and knowledgeable about this world that I can’t help but get into it. A recent episode in which he breaks down the Writers Guild negotiations and what writers actually won is especially good.
That recent GQ Martin Scorses profile is as good (and heartbreaking) as everyone says it is.
THIS WEEK’S MIXTAPE
Listen to this week’s mix on Spotify.
(Note: Not every song is available on streaming services.)
Mitski - “I Don’t Like My Mind”
A few newsletters ago, I was cautiously curious about the direction Mitski would take with her new album. The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We ended up being a great record. I didn’t think it was when I first heard it. It took me a few more listens by myself to really appreciate all the little touches that she’s putting into her new songs; I promised myself that I wouldn’t say this, but screw it, this really is her Nashville record. I first heard the record at a listening party in a packed theatre, and listening to it for the first time with so many other people really hit home how much I enjoy Mitski as an isolated listening experience, especially for such an isolated album. Her previous pop pivot ended up being a great career move. A mediocre album that blew up on streaming services and TikTok humanized her (often cultish) persona, made her label some money, and freed her to make music that only she could make. Truly a “one for you, one for me” move. Well done.
Wilco - “Infinite Surprise”
Wilco haven’t made any essential music since 2015. Even that is a stretch. Again, Wilco is my second favorite band of all time, so I’m thinking in “insufferable fan” terms; taking off my fan cap, the last Wilco album I would recommend to newcomers would be 2011’s The Whole Love, but only once they’ve gone through their early classics. I don’t consider Cousin essential. It is, however, quite pretty, and, to my surprise, consistently pretty. If it had a different title that didn’t suggest a parody of The Bear, this album would have made a better first impression. Wilco are still excellent with their album openers, and “Infinite Surprise” to me feels like Fall in Chicago in the best way possible. Nothing else on the album stands out as strongly on my first couple of listens, but unlike Cruel Country, nothing made me embarrassed to be a Wilco fan. It’s not an essential album, but I’m glad it exists.
The Replacements - “Little Mascara (Ed Stasium Mix)”
I didn’t fall in love with or even like the new Tim remix until I went back to the original Tim mix and … wow, yeah. This new mix is a dream. The biggest winner of the new Ed Stasium mix is “Little Mascara,” which now has the strongest melody on the entire album and has an amazing updated outro, which is 100% the result of this careful new Stasium mix. It’s not the best song or my favorite song off Tim, but it might be the most perfect Replacements song. I was also invited to a special Tim listening party at LA’s Gold Diggers studio (shout-out to Grace for the invite) which was followed by a Replacements party at the kind of bar where you’d picture yourself listening to The Replacements with a bunch of other folks. The Ed Stasium remix of Tim gets a 99/100. Listening to any mix of Tim in a packed bar gets 5,000/100.
NewJeans - “Super Shy”
I don’t think I’ve embarrassed myself too much recently, so let me share that I literally just heard NewJeans for the first time last week on LA radio while driving to the store for an errand that felt anticlimactic for “Super Shy.” Queue up the “How do you do, fellow kids?” meme. Most K-pop still gives me a headache—these productions are so glossy and sugary, and the K-pop hyper fandom machine feels creepy and predatory to me as if I’m watching in real-time what we did to Brittney Spears many years ago. At least “Super Shy” doesn’t give me a headache. If I had to pick a favorite flavor of K-pop, it would be something more like “Super Shy,” which has an undeniable sense of rhythm, a simple top-line melody with great vocal delivery, and has that touch of electro-nostalgia that isn’t annoying. Thank goodness for LA radio for keeping me young. [Cries in his car.]
Strawberry Guy - “F Song (Strings Version)”
A new (to me) singer-songwriter who gives off that classic LA songwriting feeling that I’m falling in love with more and more each day. We’re probably never going to get another Tobias Jesso Jr. LP. You won’t regret letting Strawberry Guy fill that void.
Die Tired - “Better Off Alive”
Crunchy guitar riffs and melodic choruses that bring me back to the golden age of MTV2.
R.E.M. - “Devil Rides Backwards (Demo)”
Another perfect song, b-side edition.
Prefab Sprout - “Cars and Girls”
Another perfect song.
Bill Evans - “Peace Piece”
Another (like, actually) perfect song.
Foo Fighters - “Best of You”
“Best of You” was technically the first song I heard when I turned 31, which means … uh, it has to mean something, right? Maybe. This was the first Foo Fighters song I ever heard in my life, so there’s that. I heard “Best of You” a little after 3 AM when I left LA to drive to Joshua Tree for a solo birthday adventure. I tried listening to really loud rock music to keep me up (along with an unholy amount of coffee) for the drive out of the city and into Joshua Tree National Park …
U2 - “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
… and I timed my driving so that I would reach the center of Joshua Tree in time for sunrise. It worked! I managed to park my car and sit along a hill to watch one of the most beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. A perfect way to bring in a new year. I spent the rest of the day driving around Joshua Tree and stopping at whatever sights caught my eye. Of course, I listened to all of The Joshua Tree, though fun fact: that album cover wasn’t technically taken in Joshua Tree National Park. Oh well. A missed opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime Instagram post that would have gotten 12 likes. Anyway, I’m driving around the park and stopping for some lovely hikes and sights, including a giant (like, a really giant) rock. Neat, I thought. So I park and walk around and it’s all beautiful and serene until I see a nearby sign talking about …
Gram Parsons - “Return of the Grievous Angel”
… the life and legacy of Gram Parsons. Weird, I thought. Until I remembered that oh, wow: This was the rock near where Gram Parsons was “cremated.” (Please read this link because I can’t do this insane story justice.) Spooky. It gets spookier. After I left the park, I read up on this whole incident and learned that he was cremated … 50 years ago the week I was there. Gah! A very surreal trip to the desert indeed. At least I’m back to listening to more Gram Parsons, who never sounds out of style or touch.
The Rolling Stones - “Out of Time”
I recently rewatched Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and didn’t love it as much as I did on first viewing—weirdly, an issue I have with most Tarantino films except for Inglourious Basterds. But the soundtrack was still great, especially its use of this early Stones track. I wonder if we would care as much about the Stones if they stopped with Brian Jones’s death and only made it to Let It Bleed. We would have missed out on their “Rock!” era and decades of mediocre-to-fine AOR (and I love their “Rock!” era and a lot of their AOR albums) but their cleaner “We’re the Bad Boy Beatles” pop era is still stunning. To end a career on a masterpiece like Let It Bleed, which I sometimes think is as good as the best Beatles records, would have been the ultimate pop statement.
Jeff Buckley - “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”
Have the Zoomers discovered Jeff Buckley?????????
And that’s it!
Until next Wednesday, as always.
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-b
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