Here we go!
Welcome to the end of the week and the beginning of "dress like Lloyd Dobler" season! (And yes, the R.E.M. shirt I'm wearing in that picture is the same one I've had since high school. Why were rock 'n' roll T-shirts so HUGE back then? I still have one from a Toad the Wet Sprocket show that hits my knees.)
Anyway, I hope you're healthy, smelling the marigolds, etc. etc.. Let's hang ...
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What I'm into right now:
TV: BETTER THINGS just wrapped another solid season. Creator/star Pamela Adlon reflects the tedium of parenthood without being boring or predictable, and that's something. Also, this show makes me wanna cook more AND it makes Matthew Broderick sexy (again?). Binge it on Hulu. ... And the whole concept of LIVE IN FRONT OF A STUDIO AUDIENCE is perfect. I teared up watching Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei sing the ALL IN THE FAMILY theme, and then I got misty again when Marla Gibbs appeared. It's on Hulu, too; here's hoping they remake the PUNKY BREWSTER refrigerator ep next.
COMICS: I finally read Nick Drnaso's acclaimed graphic novel, SABRINA. It's haunting and impossible to put down, and reading it reminded me of when I read JIMMY CORRIGAN for the first time years ago and, hours later, emerged a new woman. ... I also dug MY BOYFRIEND IS A BEAR, written by longtime fave Pamela Ribon and illustrated by Cat Farris. It's a romantic comedy about a woman who falls for a bear, hibernation be damned. ... And Malaka Gharib and Trinidad Escobar knock it out of the park with this webcomic about the origins of cheese pimento/pimento cheese. Now I *really* wanna get Gharib's new graphic memoir, I WAS THEIR AMERICAN DREAM.
PODCASTS: The next time you're having one of those "BUT AM I REALLY HAPPY??" crises, consider listening to this conversation with Scott Galloway on RECODE DECODE. He's kind of a gruff dude, but I liked most of what he had to say about the root of happiness. ... And Maron's Lisa Kudrow interview is a pleasant surprise. She's a millionaire mom who chomps nicotine gum.
MUSIC: I loved The Ocean Blue back in the day -- let's face it, I loved everyone who looked like this in the '90s -- so of course I had to hear this new song from the band. Singer David Schelzel sounds a little fuller and wiser than he did back in 1991, but it would be weird if he didn't. Their new album drops June 21, roughly 30 years after their debut.
KEANU: I've never seen a JOHN WICK flick, but I'm always down for a Reeves renaissance. This "Keanu loves bookstores" tweet thread led me to this article from 2008, in which he makes solid book and sandwich recommendations.
PINBALL: I made a Patreon video about pinball last week, and several of you asked about my own pinball history. I'm no expert, but I always enjoy playing STAR TREK, KISS and BATMAN '66, even though that one's pretty hard and I'm terrible at it. I like any game with old-school monsters (or Elvira, who's kinda in that category). I've never found a STAR WARS machine that I've liked. My favorite arcade is in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
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Yes, I saw the GAME OF THRONES finale. It was fine! If they must do a spin-off, I'll take nothing less than crime-solving dragons.
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And YOU recommend:
MUSIC: Big shout-out to Herman for telling us about Inhaler, which is fronted by the son of a very famous rock star. (I won't reveal the name, because the shock/amazement of hearing his voice for the first time is pretty special.) Just listen to this song and send me the expression on your face. If you wanna read more about them, Herman points us to this story.
MORE MUSIC: "Are you familiar with this '90s female supergroup?" Pete K. asks, adding that he'll be seeing them next month at the Hot Stove Cool Music event in Chicago. Looking forward to his recap.
BOOKS: Brad B. (and a few more of you) are into Howard Stern's new book of celebrity interviews, HOWARD STERN COMES AGAIN. "I've heard most of the interviews, but I'm still finding nuggets in them that I didn't pick up on before," he says.
TV: Seriously, so many of you are emailing me about SNEAKY PETE that I'm wondering if it's some underground publicity campaign. And Joanne is living for KILLING EVE and NOW APOCALYPSE on Starz, which she hopes will be renewed.
MOVIES: Someone called the hotline to recommend the PRICE IS RIGHT documentary PERFECT BID, which just landed on Netflix. It's good!
NOW YOU GO: What are YOU into right now? Share via email or text/voicemail at 929-515-1988. I'll throw you in a future newsletter.
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 Guests recs from ... author Michael Azerrad!
This week I'm beyond thrilled to feature Michael Azerrad, a music journalist whose work I've admired ever since I was a Teenage Whit. His 2001 book, OUR BAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE, is an indispensable history of influential '80s rock bands like The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Minutemen and Black Flag. And get this: As you can see in the photo, an all-new audiobook was just released!
The audiobook features Jeff Tweedy reading the Minutemen chapter, Fred Armisen reading the Butthole Surfers chapter, Stephin Merritt reading Beat Happening, Sharon Van Etten reading Dinosaur Jr. ... the list goes on, and it's incredible.
I asked Michael to tell us about whatever he's into right now. As expected, his answers rock:
- Joan Mitchell: "I carry my landscapes around with me” gallery show. I'm a longtime, deep fan of the late Joan Mitchell's paintings and there's a show of her work at the David Zwirner gallery here in New York and it is fantastic. Mitchell was a card-carrying Abstract Expressionist, but her paintings are uncannily evocative of nature — flowers, water, forest, trees — without ever directly depicting it. "I could certainly never mirror nature," she once said. "I would like more to paint what it leaves me with." And that just nails it. When I see Mitchell's paintings, zillions of neurons go off in my head. They're so, so beautiful and intense.
- The 2015 Sylvain Pataille Bourgogne. I go through phases of my life when I get way into wine and this is one of them. This time, I'm obsessed with red Burgundies — mostly trying to find sleepers that are around 20 bucks or so since I don't happen to manage a hedge fund. This one isn't that cheap but wow, it's great. One of my favorite things about wine is detecting all the notes of things that aren't actually in the wine — and this one has notes of strawberry, cherry, pomegranate, a little floral scent of some kind, maybe a little cinnamon. The bouquet comes beaming out of the glass like a flashlight. It's a lovely bottle of wine.
- Sloths. I love sloths. First of all, they're adorable. And really slow, which I admire because I often rush even when I don't have to. But sloths are also their own ecosystem. Algae grows on their fur, which is why many sloths have a greenish tint to them. Little moths also hang out in sloths' fur and the nitrogen they produce helps the algae to grow. The algae not only provides valuable camouflage — it's also part of the sloths' diet. And then when sloths poop, the moths fly down and lay their eggs in it, and soon newly hatched moths fly up to the sloth in the tree and the cycle continues. I just think that's really cool. But also, did I mention that sloths are adorable?
Let's hear it for sloths! Thanks to Michael — and get your hands on the new audiobook! It's on sale now.
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The other night I saw Janeane Garofalo do a rad standup set that touched on everything from over-plucked eyebrows to Yul Brynner. Her boots rock, too. (Bonus: She says they have orthotics.)
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COMING UP: New TV/books/cool stuff
TV/STREAMING:
- Allison Williams and Logan Browning star in horror flick THE PERFECTION (Netflix, May 24);
- SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT returns for Season 2 (Netflix, May 24);
- Renee Zellweger stars in the limited series WHAT/IF (Netflix, May 24);
- KILLING EVE ends its second season (BBC America, May 26);
- GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH takes fans behind the scenes (HBO, May 26);
- Colin Quinn delivers the comedy special RED STATE, BLUE STATE (CNN, May 27);
- Julianna Margulies steps into THE HOT ZONE (Nat Geo, May 27);
- Go RUNNING WITH BETO (HBO, May 28);
- FOSSE/VERDON ends (FX, May 28);
- ARCHER: 1999 debuts (FXX, May 29);
- WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS ends its first season (FX, May 29).
IN THEATERS (OUT MAY 24):
- BOOKSMART looks like a fun night at the movies;
- ECHO IN THE CANYON explores Laurel Canyon musicians;
- And ALADDIN gets real.
MUSIC (OUT MAY 24):
- All hail Sebadoh's new record and Morrissey's new covers album, along with releases from Joan As Police Woman, Black Mountain, Justin Townes Earle and Cate Le Bon.
BOOKS (ON SALE MAY 28):
- Kids' author/illustrator Elise Gravel writes THE WORST BOOK EVER;
- Nick de Semlyen delivers WILD AND CRAZY GUYS: HOW THE COMEDY MAVERICKS OF THE '80S CHANGED HOLLYWOOD FOREVER;
- ANTHONY BOURDAIN REMEMBERED looks back at the beloved writer and traveler;
- Fans may wanna grab DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN: AN OFFICIAL STRANGER THINGS NOVEL;
- And Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark write STAY SEXY & DON'T GET MURDERED: THE DEFINITIVE HOW-TO GUIDE.
BIRTHDAY COOLNESS:
May 24: Tommy Chong, Bob Dylan, Patti LaBelle, Priscilla Presley, Michael Chabon, John C. Reilly
May 25: Irwin Winkler, Ian McKellan, Frank Oz, Stan Sakai, Paul Weller, Mike Myers
May 26: Stevie Nicks, Pam Grier, Bobcat Goldthwait, Lenny Kravitz, Helena Bonham Carter, Raina Telgemeier
May 27: Lee Meriwether, Siouxsie Sioux (pictured), Neil Finn, Yorgos Lanthimos, Andre 3000
May 28: Carroll Baker, Gladys Knight, John Fogerty, Kylie Minogue (and Wendy O. Williams would've turned 70)
May 29: Danny Elfman, Annette Bening, Noel Gallagher, Aaron McGruder, MY DAD!
May 30: Robert Ryman, Steven Tobolowsky, Topper Headon, Kevin Eastman, Tom Morello, Stephen Malkmus, Duncan Jones, Devendra Banhart
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Thanks for hanging out!
Drop me a line anytime via email (just hit reply) or text/call me at 929-515-1988. Also email if you wanna send me things, advertise or hire me as a freelance writer/editor/speaker. Subscribe to this newsletter here, and follow/tag me on Twitter and Instagram. If this email is landing in your spam/junk folder, you may need to add me to your address book or mark this as "not spam." Here are more potential fixes.
Love is the drug,
Bathhouse Betty
"My step-grandfather worked for Encylopedia Brittanica. In my room, I would just open them up. There was a curiosity there."
- Keanu Reeves
"My education came from two encyclopedias: One was an encyclopedia of health, so I became morbidly obsessed with anatomy, and I thought I had trichinosis, an aneurism, jaundice. And then an encyclopedia of art."
- Guillermo del Toro
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By the way, thanks to everyone who has said nice things about WE MAKE COMICS! Illustrated by Genevieve Kote, this digital kids' book I wrote features comic-making info and advice from some of the coolest folks in the industry, like Dana Simpson, Kate Leth, Kean Soo and Steve Hamaker. See the book exclusively on getepic.com, available via subscription or for free in schools and libraries nationwide.
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