Newsletter No. 7: Warhol, punks, turkeys, etc.
And we're back!
Hello there, friends! I hope you've had a smashing week; unfortunately, mine has been a bit phlegmy, due to an annoying cold/cough situation I can't seem to shake. Better it happens now than next week on the five-hour Amtrak ride to my parents' house ...
Per usual, I have several things to tell you*, so let's get on with it!
* Randomly, I saw Bobby Flay walking around with a camera crew the other day. As I passed through a crowd of older women gawking at him, I heard one squeal, "He looks so much YOUNGER in person than on TV!"
11 things I'm into right now ...
Aside from blowin' my nose, here are a few things I've been up to in recent days:
1. You better believe I got outta bed for opening day of the Whitney Museum's big Andy Warhol exhibition. It's got a little bit of everything: soup cans, early drawings, screen tests, disaster paintings, Elvises, flowers, dollar signs, etc. I adored all of it, particularly the smaller bits, like phone messages left for him at the Factory and footage of Andy just sitting around and chatting. It runs through March 31, and I'm eager to return with my daughter. (Shout-out to the gray-haired woman I saw vaping in front of "Ethel Scull 36 Times.")
2. The final episode of ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWN was a beautiful, poetic gut punch. In it, Bourdain pays tribute to New York City's Lower East Side and talks to pretty much everybody: Richard Hell, Fab 5 Freddy, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, John Lurie, Lydia Lunch, Jim Jarmusch, Danny Fields. It spotlights the creative energy that still shines throughout the neighborhood -- although gentrification has made it pretty unaffordable these days -- and also honors the folks who no longer wander its streets. Bourdain was such a gift to us all, and the final montage set to "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" knocked me down.
3. Sick days are for watching movies, and I'm so glad I rented UNLOVABLE, which stars Charlene deGuzman as a recovering addict who finds hope in the music she creates with her reclusive neighbor, played by John Hawkes. Hawkes does no wrong, and he wrote and performed a lot of the tunes here.
4. Speaking of finding yourself through music, I also watched HOUSE OF TOMORROW, which stars Alex Wolff as a punk-obsessed teen who helps an isolated guy (Asa Butterfield) emerge from his shell. Nick Offerman and Ellen Burstyn round out the cast, so they're not messing around. (Burstyn plays a woman obsessed with Buckminster Fuller, whom she knew in real life. I was impressed by how realistic the archival footage looked, and then I found out it was real!)
5. Please don't spoil the new season of THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE-OFF, because I'm still savoring every episode. My kid and I are having a blast cheering on the contestants, and co-host Noel Fielding is just the cherry on the sponge (or whatever the appropriate phrase would be). It's now on Netflix.
6. Right now I'm reading Haruki Murakami's WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING. I'm more of a walker, but I'm enthralled nonetheless, and I think it's one of the best books about writing that I've read in a long time. Murakami fans, tell me what to read next: WIND-UP BIRD, maybe?
7. I was too sick to attend Comic Arts Brooklyn, so thank goodness for comics champs like Heidi MacDonald and Robyn Chapman who shared their best discoveries. I need to catch up!
8. How much free food can you get on your birthday? In this charming video, Emma Fierberg celebrates her b-day by loading up on free pastries, sandwiches and more.
9. Out of all of the music festivals -- and there are too many! -- my favorite might be Big Ears, where the lineups are always cool, the people are relaxed and there are zero gross portable toilets. Another bonus is that it takes place in my beloved college town of Knoxville, Tennessee. The cheapest tier of tix is on sale now, if you're interested.
10. I can't remember what rerouted me to Alex Ross's 2017 piece about "The Fate of the Critic in the Clickbait Age," but every other sentence makes me nod my head. Publications have been laying off critics for years, largely because editors think "there's no audience for reviews" or "Hey, now everyone's a critic, so we don't need 'em!" However, as Alex points out -- and I agree -- it's often arts criticism that inspires folks to write in the first place. Anyway, call me sometime if you want me to talk your ear off some more.
11. By the way, the other amazing Alex Ross was one of many who posted a touching tribute to Stan Lee. I spoke with Stan a couple times over the years, and I was always struck by his energy and enthusiasm.
This week I was also saddened to hear about the death of Nikki Delamotte, a 30-year-old culture reporter in Cleveland. I never met Nikki, but her friends and colleagues have described her as kind, talented and passionate about art and culture -- in other words, someone I would've loved to have been friends with. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help pay for her memorial service and help her family.
The Whitney Museum launched a bunch of exclusive merch to go with the Warhol exhibition, including this rad tote. Other items include everything from socks to baby blocks to Calvin Klein dishes; browse 'em at shop.whitney.org.
... And 11 things YOU'RE into right now:
Wanna share a recommendation or just hear mine? Call/text 929-515-1988 anytime and listen to my new outgoing message every weekday. Email works too, as do singing telegrams.
This week you suggest the following:
1. Michael Caine's new memoir, BLOWING THE BLOODY DOORS OFF;
2. the movie MINDHORN on Netflix;
3. The British short film series SNATCHES: MOMENTS FROM WOMEN'S LIVES, which recently aired on BBC America and is now streaming;
4. DEVIL'S MILE: THE RICH, GRITTY HISTORY OF THE BOWERY by Alice Sparberg Alexiou (thanks, Bryan!);
5. the book NOTES ON A NERVOUS PLANET by Matt Haig (thanks, Clay!);
6. the new album PHANEROZOIC I: PALAEOZOIC from post-metal band The Ocean (and whoa, that just woke me up);
7. people who livestream trips to Disney parks, like TheDailyWoo and DisneyiRLTV (thanks, Randy - this is a completely new world to me);
8. St. Vincent's mind-blowing full set from the Austin City Limits Festival (thanks, Herman!);
9. Bikini Kill's THE SINGLES, available on 12-inch vinyl for the first time via Bikini Kill Records (thanks, Natasha!);
10. skin care from Laurel Whole Plant Organics; and
11. old episodes of MORK & MINDY, some of which include surprisingly timely social/political commentary (thanks, Chris!).
Thank you for brightening my days with these, and please keep sharing! (By the way, even if you don't have a recommendation, I still love hearing from you. A few folks have said these emails are helping you get through a particularly tough time, and I can't tell you how much it means to hear that. Hang in there.)
I was thrilled to talk to talented actor-writer Curtis Armstrong for PleaseKillMe.com this week. While we do discuss things like RISKY BUSINESS and BETTER OFF DEAD, I was also amazed to hear about, say, the time he worked on a screenplay for INFINITE JEST (with David Foster Wallace's approval). Thanks, Curtis!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Here's a handprint turkey drawn by my daughter. (And this bird wears a backpack, because she has PLACES TO GO.)
Before I sign off:
- Once again, I urge you to spread the word about this newsletter. Anyone can subscribe via WhitneyMatheson.com or this page.
- I welcome all feedback, recommendations, job opportunities and poems about '80s celebrities. Email me by hitting "reply" or leave a voicemail/text at 929-515-1988.
Enjoy the holiday! I'm truly thankful for your friendship and repeated attempts to get me into Norwegian metal bands.
Your Juliet in black jeans,
Whitney
"My god, I'll be 75, and I think I'm terribly attractive. I'm gonna be a mighty big smash and a sexpot and everything at 80." - Ruth Gordon