Newsletter No. 1: Culture recs, shout-outs, love, rockets
Greetings and salutations!*
Holy moly, welcome to my first e-newsletter. Pardon the disarray and experimentalism -- or revel in it -- while I figure out the right format and the intricacies of MailChimp. It's a journey.
Thanks to everyone who has subscribed and encouraged me to start something like this. Don't let anything destroy your confidence! So yay, let's share some stuff ...
* You're excited for this new HEATHERS series, right? (It starts Oct. 25 and goes for five nights.) Thank goodness they're still calling it Westerberg High.
11 things I'm digging right now ...
Below is a mishmash of stuff I've been into lately. For more recommendations, you can call my little arty hotline at (929) 515-1988, where I leave a new, positive outgoing message every day. Leave your own recs/musings/songs about Catherine Keener at the beep!
1. I'm almost done reading Michelle Tea's AGAINST MEMOIR, a fantastic book of essays by one of my favorite writers. Whatever your pleasure -- Warhol, Prince, the movie Times Square, writing, sex -- she has it covered ever-so-eloquently. (Just Google her for an afternoon of A+ reads; I've remembered parts of her Beth Ditto profile for almost 10 years.)
2. I'm also crazy about DR. GAMESHOW, the family-friendly podcast hosted by Jo Firestone and her incomparable sidekick, Manolo Moreno. In each episode, listeners suggest insane games, and guests get to play them. Sometimes kids participate, and their answers are always way better and funnier than anything I could come up with.
3. Have you heard about the new documentary called RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE? It's all about nutria, those creepy orange-toothed rodents that are taking over Louisiana (and it's narrated by the great Wendell Pierce). Check the website for a huge list of upcoming screenings. (In 2003 kickass filmmaker Matt McCormick made a short film about these creepy creatures called AMERICAN NUTRIA, and the entire thing is on Vimeo. All of Matt's work is worth further investigation.)
4. I feel like Henry Rollins' Showtime special got a little lost in the midst of all the other stuff on TV right now, but let me just say I appreciate it was a) a tight 58 minutes; and b) chock full of fun references, from J Mascis to RuPaul to Bowie to Ozzy. (And OH, that reminds me that J Mascis is going on tour to support his new solo album, ELASTIC DAYS. He's one musician who has never let me down and continues to crank out amazing stuff.)
5. And speaking of people who never let you down, these new Cat Power songs are just knocking me out. Did you see her on Colbert? I saw her in perform Chicago around 2001, and my love is still strong.
6. One of the first books I picked up when I moved back here was the ROCK AND ROLL EXPLORER GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY by Mike Katz and Crispin Kott. Every rock 'n' roll landmark you can dream of is in here, and I love that they divide it by band and neighborhood, so I could just spend an entire day following, say, Blondie's triumphs around the city if I wanted.
7. I'm years late to the dance on this, but I plowed through THE KENNEDY CHRONICLES by Kennedy, the former MTV VJ ... and mock me if you will, but I liked it. Lots of '90s nostalgia and weird trivia in here, including the fact that "Name" by the Goo Goo Dolls was written about her. Lordy. Here she is talking to Tori Amos in 1994 on Alternative Nation. (Remember when she crashed a golf cart at Woodstock '94?)
8. I mentioned this on my voicemail, but the 1989 movie SLAVES OF NEW YORK is on Amazon Prime right now, and I love it. Based on the Tama Janowitz book, it stars Bernadette Peters as a hat designer dating a dirtbag artist. Steve Buscemi steals every scene he's in, and it has a killer soundtrack, too. Critics hated this movie; Roger Ebert wrote a particularly scathing review when it came out.
9. I've loved Pagan Kennedy forever, and her podcast THE GREAT GOD OF DEPRESSION didn't disappoint. The five-chapter show is worth a listen, particularly if you're a William Styron fan and/or know someone who lives with mental illness and/or depression.
10. Comics artist Eleanor Davis wrote my favorite book of 2017, YOU & A BIKE & A ROAD. Now she's trying to finish another book, and you can get the first two chapters of it for $5 each or both for $9 to help her out.
11. I'm hoping by this time next week I'll get up to Half Gallery to see paintings by Genieve Figgis. I think her work is just wonderful, beautiful, funny and strange, and I can't stop staring. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter to see more.
So what are you into these days? I'm forever curious, so drop me a line via social media, hotline, email, owl.
On Oct. 5 I'll be speaking with the great, invincible Guillermo Del Toro at NYCC! He'll be joined by the cast and creative team from his new Netflix animated series, 3BELOW. Event details here.
A few links!
Next time you need something good to read, consider these:
- Popula has been rocking it lately and is worth frequent visits. One of my favorite things I read this week was Sarah Miller's essay about "how The English Patient almost ruined my life." (Spoiler: It's not really about The English Patient, which I never saw and probably never will.)
- Warren Zanes' Rolling Stone piece about "the Tom Petty story he didn't tell" is just lovely.
- Bravo to Amy Cuevas Schroeder for this story about how she put together Venus magazine (and her life since). I loved this music mag, which began as a zine in the '90s.
- I compiled a bunch of my favorite TV/music/comics/etc. recommendations that people have been leaving on my hotline. Again, that's 929-515-1988, if you wanna get it tattooed on your earlobe.
More NY stuff: I can't wait to chat with amazing author/illustrator Brooke Barker on Oct. 10 at Greenlight Bookstore. Brooke's new book is SAD ANIMAL BABIES. She's the best.
As promised in your welcome email, here's my grandmother's shrimp jambalaya recipe! Her name was Honey. If you make it, please send me a pic.
Oh yeah, before we go ...
- My logo isn't much to sneeze at, and I'm happy to use anything you come up with instead. Feel free to make something I could stick at the top of this page -- the only rule is my name has to be on it somewhere -- and send it my way. I'll give you credit if I use it, so include any social/promotional links.
- WhitneyMatheson.com is still a work in progress, but I'm slowly getting it together over there.
- Is there something you'd like to see in the next newsletter, content- or format-wise? I'm a one-woman show here, so feedback is welcome.
- And finally, if you enjoy my stuff, please tell a friend to subscribe!
With love and cheer,
*punches the air in black fingerless gloves*
Whitney
"Food has really come up. And rock 'n' roll has really gone down." - Iggy Pop