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I took a lot of naps this weekend so this newsletter is largely being composed while I have a fancy dinner in a Dallas restaurant by myself, using research money from a sponsor. So I’m going to bookmark it as a reminder that things aren’t so bad.
Good Reads
The wonderful Grant Sharples pulled this long-form look back at the singular record from a one-time-only side project that’s doing its third tour on the album’s 20th anniversary — against all odds. This one is for everyone who is going despite that making them feel very, very old.
An interview with Alicia Kennedy on her forthcoming book, No Meat Required, in which she eviscerates the food world’s proclivity to dismiss vegans and vegetarians, and ignores the political history of food. Look, I’m no vegan and I don’t even flirt with a meatless life, but this was a compelling enough conversation that I will be getting her book.
He’s Been Single for Years. Now He’s Marrying His House (Texas Monthly)
When I saw this headline, I was like Jesus Texas Monthly what clickbait is this? But it’s actually a very sweet story about a man in Marfa that doubles as a commentary about finding fulfillment as a single, childless person in a capitalist society.
David Zaslov, Hollywood Antihero (The New Yorker)
As a member of the WGA (not the striking branch), I’ve felt highly invested in the fight between the WGA and SAG-AFTRA against the AMPTP. Zaslov has, throughout several news cycles, made decisions and statements that baffle the mind. This article is more than a recap of them. It gets into the financials of the streaming economy and how Zaslov’s salary and bonuses are structured, to expose some of the rationals behind the seeming disaster in progress at Warner Bros./Max/Discovery.
Hip-Hop’s Fiercest Critic (The Atlantic)
Bow down to dream hampton, the woman who introduced Biggie and Tupac, got Jay-Z to reconsider misogyny in his lyrics, and whose documentary led to the prosecution of R. Kelly. This honest profile of one of the women who helped define hip-hop, for audiences and artists alike, and who is most certainly its fiercest critic is such a great glimpse behind the curtain into one of music writing’s best and most controversial minds. It’s made only more interesting by the fact that she’s now in her early 50s, listens to indie rock, and lives in Martha’s Vineyard.
Good Stuff
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
This book is the completely unhinged story of a group of beauty pageant semi-finalists who end up on a mysterious island under the regime of capitalism merging into fascism. Its not America, it’s an alternate universe with its own slate of weird reality TV and corporate conglomerates, but girlhood really makes an impact. RIYL the Barbie movie.
My very favorite podcast is returning with new episodes in September. If you liked Black Mirror and are fascinated with AI and algorithms, and how they’ll speculatively impact our lives, you need to catch up and subscribe. It’s an anthology so other than listening to the very first episode to start, you can listen in any order or skip any episodes as you see fit.
Ladies and gentlemen, my song of the summer part 4
My Stuff
This week Niko Stratis joined us on Songs My Ex Ruined to talk about a drinking problem, grief, and an ex who became a fitness influencer and ruined Death Cab for Cutie’s “Steadier Footing.” Did it devolve into a debate about R.E.M. songs somehow? Yes. Was it a really vulnerable and touching conversation anyway? Also yes.
I made a Reel about pizza I love. Does it make you want to eat pizza?
