Hi, how are you?*
My Summer Look is overalls, a '70s mood ring and ultra-visible gray roots. You?
This week I've been trying to crank out some freelance work and generally have been too pooped to party after 11 p.m. However, I *do* have a handful of delights to share, as well as the scintillating Patreon news that this month $20+ supporters get to place a short classified ad in this newsletter! I look forward to your creative/enlightening/super-weird messages.
Let's keep it movin' ...
* Got an instrument? Many Daniel Johnston songs only have four chords. You can do it.
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What I'm into right now:
MOVIES: I won't post spoilers for ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, but I loved it, and I'm *so* glad I saw it in a theater. The cast is spot-on. Brenda Vaccaro briefly graces our presence. Maya Hawke rocks. I laughed when Brad Pitt did Brad Pitt-y things. I adore all Tennessee references. I miss my car. Flames. Aging. Feet. Magic.*
TV: Speaking of Tennessee references, I flipped my wig during the fourth episode of VERONICA MARS' new season on Hulu, which features a Tennessee-themed bar and mentions (among other things) UT football, Dolly Parton, the Smoky Mountains and my former town of Murfreesboro. David Walpert wrote the ep, and if David or anyone who knows him is reading this, please holler.
MUSIC: Oh, speaking of DOLLY, I loved her presence at the Newport Folk Festival.
TRAILER: I'm digging THE LIGHTHOUSE trailer with Dafoe/Pattinson, but what I'm *really* jazzed about is Julio Torres' upcoming HBO comedy special, MY FAVORITE SHAPES. I fully expect this program to alter the course of my life.
READING: Amanda Petrusich's piece on "The Decline of Yelling" ... Please Kill Me's interview with artist Mark Sink about his friendship with Andy Warhol ... NPR's piece about U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" ... Henry Rollins' 1986 Black Flag essay ... Any and all news of this Replacements DON'T TELL A SOUL box set.
THANKS: Shout-out to the Walmart "food content" person who let me know that, yes, Peach Cheerios are available in my hometown (and maybe yours, too). Recently I wrote about how my parents were upset they couldn't find peachy O's anymore; a few days ago, they happily stocked up.
* FLAMES. AGING. FEET. MAGIC. = also the title of my forthcoming funk album
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I saw Jeff Tweedy play a free show at Lincoln Center last weekend. It was just him and an acoustic guitar, and he made us laugh and cry and even did a few bars of "Marquee Moon," which lit me on fire. (He covered the Meat Puppets' "Plateau," too!) Good times.
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And YOU recommend:
MUSIC: Our friend Ed Douglas in NYC is way into Brooklyn band Surfbort and hopes we will be, too: "I saw Surfbort open for Wavves, and at first I was kind of amused by them as they seem to be a throwback punk band, the kind of punk captured in Alex Cox's REPO MAN but kept alive by the likes of the Descendants and All. He adds, "There was something about this band and its singer, Dani Miller ... but at first, it seemed odd because the rest of the band had to be guys in their 40s or 50s. (In fact, they come from the Texas punk scene.) But it's really Miller's personality on stage that got me, prancing around and acting goofy with a cheer that I haven't seen often. The songs might seem silly at times but are also a lot of fun ... and the longest one is about two minutes long." Yes! Thanks, Ed!
MORE MUSIC: Elana in Israel wrote to say she's digging "Gone," the new song from Charli XCX and Christine and the Queens, particularly for its '80s throwback sound. Dig it.
TV: Joanne says QUEEN OF THE SOUTH "is killing it this season," particularly now that Alfonso Herrera is a regular.
YOUTUBE: Elora recommends DRESSING FUNNY, "a curious and funny product of the Netflix promotion machine on YouTube. Tan France from QUEER EYE dispenses fashion advice to celebrity comedians."
AND HEY: Tell us what you're into anytime at 929-515-1988, where I try to leave a new outgoing message every day. Email me at whitmath@gmail.com. I'll put your suggestions in a future newsletter!
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Pittsburgh-based reader David F. sent me this hilarious photo of himself as a kid, lounging in Smurfs pajamas on He-Man sheets. Life doesn't get more blissful than that.
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Releases worth noting:
TV/STREAMING:
- HBO debuts A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW (Aug. 2);
- Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette and Felicity Huffman star in OTHERHOOD (Netflix, Aug. 2);
- BAJILLION DOLLAR PROPERTIES finds a new home on Pluto (Aug. 5);
- BH90210 features Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth and other 90210 originals (Fox, Aug. 7)
- Kung fu meets sci-fi in WU ASSASSINS (Netflix, Aug. 8).
IN THEATERS/ON DEMAND (OUT AUG. 2):
- RIOT GIRLS takes place in an alternate mid-'90s post-apocalyptic world;
- The doc KINGS OF BEER tells the story of Budweiser;
- The doc LOVE, ANTOSHA profiles the late Anton Yelchin;
- The psychological thriller LUCE stars Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts and Kelvin Harrison Jr.;
- And Walton Goggins and Olivia Colman lead Appalachian-set thriller THEM THAT FOLLOW.
NEW MUSIC:
- Look out for new records from The Bird and the Bee, Cherie Currie & Brie Darling, Berlin and Ty Segall.
RAD BIRTHDAYS:
Aug. 2: Butch Patrick, Butch Vig, Mary-Louise Parker, Aline Brosh McKenna, Kevin Smith
Aug. 3: Tony Bennett, James Hetfield, DJ Spinderella, Evangeline Lilly
Aug. 4: Richard Belzer, Billy Bob Thornton, Daniel Dae Kim, Abigail Spencer, Greta Gerwig, Cole Sprouse
Aug. 5: Wendell Berry, Loni Anderson, Pat Smear, James Gunn
Aug. 6: Richard Prince, Michelle Yeoh, M. Night Shyamalan, Soleil Moon Frye (pictured) (Andy Warhol would've been 91 today, and Elliott Smith would've been 50.)
Aug. 7: Bruce Dickinson, David Duchovny, Kristin Hersh, Michael Shannon, Charlize Theron
Aug. 8: Gene Deitch, Dustin Hoffman, Robin Quivers, The Edge, Michael Urie
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Our friend Ellie A. in Topsham, Maine, sent me this rad photo of her in 1984-ish. (And yes, she still has that Duran Duran poster!) If you have a retro pop-culture-y photo you'd like to share here, email it to whitmath@gmail.com or text it to 929-515-1988. We love 'em.
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Let's all join the Ice Capades,
That's all for now! I welcome your email, texts and voicemail. Also email for my mailing address or if you wanna hire me as a writer/editor/speaker/psychic. I have a very good feeling about you.
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Your queen of the underground,
Joon Pearl
"The ones who love us least are the ones we'll die to please."
- The Replacements
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Read my kids' book, WE MAKE COMICS, on getepic.com! As I can attest, an Epic! subscription can keep your small friends quiet and enthralled.
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