Friday Fixations
What I'm into right now
Happy Friday, my fellow suffering beings. Each week, I share two things I’m digging right now (books, TV shows, movies, music, and the like) plus one online video of nearly zero cultural merit.
Bon Iver, SABLE, fABLE. Back in the late aughts, I — along with many other people — fell in love with Justin Vernon’s solo project. The music was haunting and magisterial and also super catchy. Cuts like “Holocene” and “For Emma” became instant classics. I even interviewed the guy once and found him to be lovely. But then his music changed. I don’t say this to throw shade. His more experimental albums drew critical raves. It’s just that my ear is too impatient for this kind of thing. So, while I have continued to listen to his old stuff, I haven’t really kept up with his new material. Until now. He’s got a new record coming out in a few weeks, and I’ve listened to the tracks that he has released early. Many of them represent, to me, a beautiful return to form—especially “Everything Is Peaceful Love.” (Not a bad lullaby for people freaked out about the state of the world right now.)
Ocean’s Eleven. As loyal readers know, I’m always looking for movies and TV shows that are acceptable to both me and my 10-year-old son. This one hit the center of the bull’s-eye. It was made decades ago, but it really holds up. It’s hilarious, clever, and stylish. Alexander and I went on to watch the three sequels, none of which hit the same heights, but are nonetheless pretty good.
I’m pretty sure my cats never miss me like this.
Oh, and one last thing: Back by popular demand: I dropped a new BTS (behind the scenes) podcast episode today. Paid subscribers can listen ad-free here. (You can also listen—with ads—here, or wherever you get your podcasts).
In the episode, Executive Producer DJ Cashmere and I talk about a perennial question for me: Can you build a career—can you live a life—that is both ambitious and sane? It's a particularly important question for us right now, as we build a brand-new company. We also talk about some new offerings coming down the pike.
I'm curious what you make of all this, so I started a free chat. Smash the button below and give me some feedback, please.
Agree or disagree with these recommendations? Paid subscribers can comment on this and all my other posts, as well as get access to the 10% Happier podcast ad-free, participate in regular live video AMAs with me, and more. Join the party.
Ocean’s Eleven is darn near perfect. Fun fact: back when the movie was coming out, my dad was a commercial printer. He got asked to produce movie posters for the local premieres, but it all had to be hush-hush. He was asked to print them on off-hours and we had to sign NDA’s. Felt very cool to be “in-the-know.” We went to a premiere, and the movie has been a regular repeat watch ever since.
The Martian is a frequent "go back and rewatch" movie for me.