Some Events, Some Podcasts, and Some Recommendations
I think the title really says it all on this one
Hi all,
A quick note of a mostly self-promotional nature because I have some stuff coming up and I’m trying to get better about telling people about things with enough lead time that they might actually be able to experience them.
Events:
On Tuesday, March 11th, I’m going to be the conversation partner for the NYC book release event for Alissa Wilkinson’s We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine at the Atlantic Ave. Barnes and Noble in Cobble Hill. Registration and more information can be found here. If you had to rank the amount of attention the various branches of Didion’s oeuvre have received since her death, her work in and around Hollywood would almost certainly rank last, behind the novels, and essays, and memoirs. Thankfully, Alissa Wilkinson—one of our best critics, and a writer with a capacious intellect and keen eye—has now produced the definite work on Didion and Hollywood, documenting both how the mythmaking apparatus of the studio system influenced her upbringing and writing, and her own contributions to the movies (which include co-writing Al Pacino’s first lead role and working on the Streisand A Star is Born).
On Thursday, March 13th, I’m going to be the conversation partner for Alex Higley’s NYC book tour event for his novel True Failure. It’ll be at P&T Knitwear and you can find information about the event and register for tickets (they cost like seven bucks) here. Alex is a modern day Charles Portis, a man who infuses stories of the also-rans of society with a surreal sense of deadpan humor. True Failure is the story of a not-quite-young but definitely still aimless man named Ben who gets first from his job and makes two fateful decisions: First, that he won’t tell his wife he’s lost his job, and second that he is going to try to compete for a place on Big Shot, the novel’s version of Shark Tank. Does he have an actual product or idea to sell? No. Does that stop him? Also no.
Podcasting:
I guest hosted the Slate Culture Gabfest last week, discussing I’m Still Here, the oscars, and the current debacle at the National Endowment for the Arts. You can listen to that episode here, or download it wherever you get your podcasts!
As you may already be aware, I have a new podcast with my good friend Dan Kois, co-author of The World Only Spins Forward and man about town for Slate. The podcast is called Charm Offensive. In it, you get to listen in to that most lost of communications, the long phone call between friends about their lives. It’s a lowkey, fun hang. This week’s episode covers dog DNA tests, concert tickets, oscar pools, and more. It is also available wherever you get your podcasts. If that’s APple podcasts, click here!
I’m working on some possible podcast projects for the future, but they will have to wait until the book is turned in (look for it in stores next Spring!).
Some Movie Recommendations Available To At Least Rent on Streaming:
It didn’t get the same buzz as the other Best Foreign Language films, but if you are looking for a harrowing viewing experience, you should really check out The Girl with the Needle, Denmark’s entry to the Oscars. It’s a beautifully filmed, impeccably acted, gorgeously scored film shot through with imagery straight out of the work of David Lynch. It is also almost impossible to recommend because it is a grueling viewing experience, a horror film about what a society without abortion or equal rights for women (in this case, Copehagen between the World Wars) is like. (It’s currently streaming on Mubi, but you can rent it as well).
If you’re more in the mood for a film that plays like a great realist short story, I highly recommend Good One. The story couldn’t be more simple: A high school senior (Lily Collias) takes a camping trip with her dad (James LeGros) and his best friend (Danny McCarthy) and gradually becomes disillusioned with them both and the world of adults she is about to enter. It’s a subtle film, one that relative newcomer Collias carries with the grace and power of a seasoned vet. Everything in the movie happens on her face and in her eyes, and she just nails it.
Another film exploring similar territory—the interstitial period before college and the growing understanding that life is probably going to disappoint you—is Megan Park’s My Old Ass, starring Maisy Stella as a young queer woman who, after taking shrooms with her besties, is visited by her 39 year old self from the future, played by Aubrey Plaza. To say more would be to give too much away, but the movie is a charmer, the kind you emerge beaming from. Every person I’ve talked to who has seen the film gets that look in their eye—you know the one, the kind of wistful smile thing?—and says, simply, “I loved that movie.”
A Quick Music Recommendation:
If you, like me, love Tangerine Dream’s movie soundtracks for Thief, Sorcerer, and Legend and are annoyed that they didn’t make more mus
ic in that vein, let me recommend highly you check out Ashra, a project by the Krautrock pioneer Manuel Göttsching. Prior to Ashra, Göttsching had the simialrly named Ash Ra Tempel, who sound a lot more like Can. Is Ashra a little cheesy? Yes of course. But it’s great writing music.
More soon!