Whit's newsletter: 101 THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN 2019!
Dear friends,
Welcome to another newsletter! Since we're nearing the end of the year, I thought I'd attempt a looooong list of things that gave me joy/hope/inspiration in 2019. I know I'm leaving out a bunch, and I welcome any of your suggestions, which I may include next week.
Brace yourselves ...
101 (POP CULTURE-Y) THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN 2019:
In no particular order—with no spoilers!—here are tons of things that put a big ol' smile on my face this year. I hope they remind you of some music/film/art/etc. that brightened your life, too.
1. Every second of FLEABAG'S sexy priest;
2. Robin and Steve's bathroom moment in STRANGER THINGS;
3. When "Sharon Tate" watches Sharon Tate in ONCE UPON A TIME ... IN HOLLYWOOD;
4. Roman's scenes with Gerri in SUCCESSION;
5. The AOL episode of PEN15;
6. The way Patti Smith writes about Sam Shepard in YEAR OF THE MONKEY;
7. The time Katya rocked a "hair phone" on UNHHHH;
8. Orville Peck's smoky everything;
9. When Lizzo whipped out a flute on the BET Awards;
10. The final scene of CATASTROPHE;
11. Bill and Ted's rad reunion;
12. Andy Warhol in a friggin' Super Bowl ad;
13. Adam Scott's wig during the BIG LITTLE LIES costume party scene;
14. Tony Hale's final moment in VEEP;
15. The way Beck's "Die Waiting" breaks my heart;
16. The refrigerator moment in JOKER;
17. The "Jolene" episode of DOLLY PARTON'S AMERICA;
18. Justin Theroux's motorcycle toilet in THE OTHER TWO;
19. Matthew McConaughey's epic outfits in THE BEACH BUM;
20. The way Regina King can say everything with Just One Look in WATCHMEN;
21. Julio Torres' shape conveyer belt in MY FAVORITE SHAPES;
22. Drugdealer's milky "Honey" (with Weyes Blood);
23. Sharon Van Etten's nostalgic, perfect "Seventeen";
24. Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon;
25. Elisabeth Shue's performance in THE BOYS;
26. Jonathan Van Ness' refreshingly honest interviews;
27. John Goodman's conversation with Marc Maron;
28. The moment in VARDA BY AGNES where Agnes Varda dresses like a potato;
29. The Harry Nilsson earworm in RUSSIAN DOLL;
30. The way Taylor Swift's "Lover" reminds me of a Throwing Muses song;
31. New interviews with Michael Stipe and Mike Mills for MONSTER's re-release;
32. That time on BETTER THINGS when the family goes nuts to the PHINEAS AND FERB theme song;
33. When Angel sees her photo at the drugstore in POSE;
34. Jill Sobule's retro Instagram posts;
35. Alan Alda in MARRIAGE STORY;
36. The emergence of The Highwomen;
37. Davy Rothbart's stunning, 20-years-in-the-making 17 BLOCKS;
38. Wendy O'Rouke's insightful and inspired Twitter feed;
39. Gina Gershon on RIVERDALE;
40. The way Matt Berry screams "BAT!" in WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS;
41. Miley Cyrus' BLACK MIRROR episode;
42. Seeing WE MAKE COMICS come to life;
43. Alyssa Limperis' spot-on videos;
44. Patti, Allen, Bette and all the the celebrities who pop up in Scorsese's ROLLING THUNDER REVUE doc;
45. The binge-able weirdness of THE DROPOUT;
46. The Replacements' endlessly rewarding DEAD MAN'S POP;
47. Jenn Pelly's feature on Jenny Lewis;
48. That trippy sequence in DORA AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD;
49. Agyness Deyn in HER SMELL;
50. Duke Caboom;
51. Seeing the marvelous Paul Reubens;
52. Dean Haspiel's lyrical, filmic, intergalactic RED HOOK stories;
53. Iggy Pop's new meditative music;
54. The Cure's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame;
55. Ed Brubaker's and Sean Phillips noir novellas BAD WEEKEND and MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN JUNKIES;
56. Gregg Araki's colorfully twisted NOW APOCALYPSE;
57. New OMD, which sounds just as good as old OMD;
58. Karl Stevens' FLOPPY #1;
59. Noel Fielding's festive blouses on GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW;
60. Derek Marks' brilliant GRACE, JERRY, JESSICA & ME;
61. Tig Notaro's UNDER A ROCK;
62. All the SCHITT'S CREEK wigs;
63. The Morrissey tribute on DAYBREAK;
64. Howard Kremer's nutty "Mole Man" updates on "Hey, Gang!";
65. Bowen Yang's hilarious, commanding presence on SNL;
66. Geena Davis' shining role on GLOW;
67. Spotify's Clash podcast, narrated by Chuck D;
68. ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE's rom-com perfection;
69. Bikini Kill's return;
70. Built to Spill's KEEP IT LIKE A SECRET reunion;
71. The REALITY BITES reunion screening;
72. Ken Burns' COUNTRY MUSIC;
73. Drew Droege's one-man HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOUG;
74. BUTTERBOY Mondays with Aparna, Jo and Maeve (and others);
75. The return of Alan Partridge;
76. Gabrielle Bell's diary comics;
77. Megan Stalter's energy (and eyeliner);
78. The Whitney Museum's Warhol retrospective;
79. Basquiat's "Defacement";
80. How I don't have to love baseball to dig Rhea Butcher's THREE SWINGS podcast;
81. How BETWEEN TWO FERNS actually works as a movie;
82. Nicole Byer's fearless sex stories on WHY WON'T YOU DATE ME?;
83. THE BEST SHOW's sweet tribute to Avalanche Bob;
84. Taffy Brodesser-Akner's essay on THIRTYSOMETHING;
85. Kate Berlant's bananas banana phone videos;
86. Joseph Arthur's perfectly curated guests on COME TO WHERE I'M FROM;
87. All the lovely David Berman tributes, which made me a little less sad;
88. All the lovely Ric Ocasek tributes, for the same reason;
89. Conan O'Brien's podcast interview with Zach Galifianakis;
90. Oprah's soothing SUPER SOUL podcast;
91. David Marchese's enviable interviewing skills;
92. Learning to play Daniel Johnston's "True Love Will Find You in the End" on my banjo after hearing he had died;
93. Virtually everything on 41 Strange;
94. Seeing Ernie Kovacs on the big screen as part of his 100th birthday celebration;
95. The time my doctor prescribed episodes of LEVAR BURTON READS to help me get to sleep;
96. Watching Monty Don gardening shows on Netflix with my daughter;
97. Emily VanDerWerff's lovely essay about becoming who she really is;
98. The moment where 91-year-old Dr. Ruth reunites with her childhood sweetheart in ASK DR. RUTH;
99. Jason Mantzoukas' great, gravelly voice;
100. That baby who can't stop giggling at the letters W and M (which, incidentally, are my initials);
and
101. Well, YOU. You make me happy.
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HAVE A REVOLUTIONARY WEEK!
Thanks for playing, and please keep in touch via whitmath@gmail.com, 929-515-1988 and psychic volleys. Help me out by forwarding this to a friend and if ya haven't already!
Baby's on fire,
Beach Dickerson
"I like art. It's another way to rebel." - John Waters