Happy Friday! Happy Pride! Oh my, I think I accidentally left every appliance on in my apartment …
It’s been a wild and busy week, partly because I was sidelined for a few days with a mysterious illness that has left me poked and prodded like a Pillsbury Perimenopausal Doughboy.
On the plus side, I seem to be on the mend *and* the downtime enabled me to catch up on some Hot Content of the nostalgic and/or female-driven variety.
split screen
One of my superpowers is browsing streaming services for hours without finding anything I wanna watch. This week I found my kryptonite: The 1990s/early 2000s series SPLIT SCREEN, which aired on IFC and features some of the biggest names in indie/groundbreaking film, including Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, Kevin Smith, Wes Anderson, Mary Harron, Todd Haynes, Christine Vachon, on and on. Host John Pierson wrote the book on indies (1995’s Spike, Mike, Slackers, & Dykes) and delivers a mix of well-curated shorts and inspired weirdness. You can see all 10 seasons on the Criterion Channel.
Here’s the first ep (and here’s part 2, which features John Waters):
women
Speaking of indies, Chloe Caldwell wrote the novella WOMEN in what feels like a frantic, beautiful spew of frustration/passion/lust/sadness/12 more emotions. When it came out in 2014, the hard-to-find book was promptly circulated and devoured, mostly amongst queer women.
WOMEN was just reissued by Harper Perennial with a new foreword by Katie Heaney and afterword by Caldwell. I read it in a day and was reminded of many past objects of my obsession, hot times/bad choices, etc. etc. By this point in the paragraph you probably know if this book is for you. If so, you’ll treasure it like a perfect mix tape.
everything must go
Hannah Einbinder makes me feel so hopeful about the future. The 29-year-old actor/comedian is gasp-good on Hacks and now has a big ol’ comedy special on Max. This week she spends the first several minutes of Las Culturistas crying her eyes out because she can’t believe where her life has taken her, and when some wild-haired scientist finally makes a cloning machine, let’s put her in first.
brats
Why are some folks being so bratty about BRATS, the new Hulu doc about the Brat Pack? No, it’s not a nostalgic I Love the ‘80s-style look-back, but I think that’s OK, because social media looks back for me like 2,100 times a second.
Instead, the Andrew McCarthy-directed film analyzes how David Blum’s 1985 New York magazine article — the one that coined the term “Brat Pack” — affected its subjects. McCarthy has heart-to-hearts with Emilio, Rob, Demi, Ally and others. It’s all talk, no rock. And what’s wrong with that?
McCarthy is more vulnerable than we’ve ever seen him, and he’s clearly working through something that has affected him for 40 years — while also questioning how entertainment journalism affects its subjects. And maybe I should be siding with Blum (and I’m not saying I don’t), but man, this movie made me feel glad to be mostly outta that business. Selling mags and papers and Content can get so dirty sometimes, it’s almost Hollywood.
Anyway, watch the doc and then go apologize to someone you’ve underestimated.
before sunset
I was sick in bed, I could watch anything, and I picked BEFORE SUNSET, which turns 20 this year. I still love the ending and think about it all the time. In 2025 I must step foot in Paris.
field trip
I wound up at Sotheby’s this morning and got a sneak peek at an upcoming auction. Here’s a signed copy of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, inscribed to his girlfriend at the time, writer Joyce Johnson. Bidding starts at $60,000.
And here’s a letter Jack wrote to Joyce, which poses a poetic question I will now ask myself until the end of time: “Are you still opendoored for another tender week?”
I was also excited to see a bunch of priceless items by William Blake — although I guess if you have $1.2 million, you can bid on them. (But before you do, would you mind spending 15 of those bones on TRUDY SELLOUT??)
60-second flashback
Look at these relics from the past! Chris (aka BIG BUSINESS) sent me this muggy pic that shows one of my favorite images — the “Rio”-inspired poster from a Pop Candy party I threw at South by Southwest. I’m pretty sure it was designed by Ron Coddington, another shining star in the USA Today art/graphics department. (In related news, did you hear they finally identified the model who inspired the famous Nagel image? Duran Duran owes her some VIP passes.)
Time for me to hop in the transporter and visit a planet without artificial grape flavoring. As always, thanks for reading.
love your lobes,
kirby keager
I recently rewatched the whole Before Sunset trilogy (with the secret bonus Waking Life scene as well) and it made me feel so warm and nice, and i was sad to leave that world when it was over. Glad you're on the mend!
The Whitney/Rio art is absolutely beautiful. 🤩
Hats off to Pop Candy contributing artist on multiple projects, Jason Campbell, for his work on the Big Business coffee mug. 😎👍❤️