I want my idols to be happy.
Also: Stipe, Stan Mack, "Hit Man" + a new comic!
It has lifted my feet to see R.E.M. back in the news cycle for their induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Following Anthony Mason’s reverential interview with Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe, last night all four guys played “Losing My Religion” at the ceremony. Insistent that there will never be a reunion tour, the performance may be the last time we see them making music together.
“I heard their songs on the radio all time, and it’s safe to say thousands of outcast kids in the South had that same experience,” Jason Isbell said last night. This quote makes me tear up — R.E.M. has been my favorite band since the first time I heard them, and their ethos and creative curiosity have informed my own work and life.
When the guys called it quits in 2011, I wrote an impassioned plea for them to reconsider. Today, I’d never do such a thing — some of my best times have been when I’ve decided to *stop* doing something and/or try something new. The older I get, change becomes more powerful. If my heroes are happy, I admire them even more, even if they’re no longer doing what made me fall in love with them in the first place.
On a related note, this week I saw Michael Stipe (in conversation with Janeane Garofalo) at the Tribeca Film Festival. It wasn’t a particularly substantive chat — Janeane admitted she’s not an ideal moderator — but it was sweet to see him so content and at peace with himself. Today, Stipe makes the art he wants, including working on a solo record at his own pace.
When a young audience member asked for creative advice, Stipe said simply, “Listen to yourself.”
33 weeks
Speaking of doing what you wanna, I’m so proud of up-and-coming cartoonist Dimitri Spiridakis, who just debuted 33 WEEKS, a short comic he drew that was written by … me!
Here’s a page:
Dimitri has been working with Dean Haspiel to develop his craft, and I am honored to have penned the first project he is sharing with the world. I urge you to read the four-page work and give it a heart/comment/share if you dig it, because encouragement is priceless. Congrats, Dimitri!
stan mack
Stan Mack had a dream job at the Village Voice: For 20 years, the cartoonist would venture out to places he “felt uncomfortable,” observe and eavesdrop, and then draw a comic about it for that week’s paper. A new book, Stan Mack’s Real Life Funnies, collects his work from 1974-1995. The strips are funny, insightful, offbeat and an incomparable document of NYC life.
This week I saw the 88-year-old artist speak at my new favorite bookstore, P&T Knitwear. I was thrilled to meet him (and, yes, I gave him a copy of my diary comics). Join Stan at an upcoming virtual or in-person book event.
hit man et al.
If I could only watch Richard Linklater movies and listen to R.E.M. albums ‘til my demise, I think I’d be OK, because both put me in a state of mind that’s worth holding onto. Linklater’s latest film, HIT MAN, goes down easy with two actors whose eyes are portals to the heavens.
Sam Fragoso interviewed Linklater about his career and philosophy of staying true to oneself, which seems to be the theme of this week’s newsletter. The chat ends with a Thomas Wolfe passage that surfaces in Before Sunset and has guided much of Linklater’s career:
We are the sum of all the moments in our lives — all that is ours is in them: we cannot escape or conceal it.
Last week I also saw FURIOSA, EZRA and IF, three movies that look and sound radically different but all basically address the same themes of coping with loss, being forced into a strange new environment and, ultimately, how our relationships with our parents affect us throughout our lives. Whether you’d rather see this transpire in the desert, on a cross-country road trip or beneath the Wonder Wheel is your call.
pop candy flashback
After I wrote about Mel Joulwan’s podcast, STRONG SENSE OF PLACE, Chris M. (aka BIG BUSINESS) sent me photos of when I happened to put Mel on a Pop Candy trading card many years ago!
For the cards, I chose several fans of the ol’ blog to be featured on one side. Collect them all to piece together an image on the back. These beautiful images were drawn by my frequent collaborator at USA Today, Keith Carter:
They’re playing me off the stage now, but before I go, I’d like to suggest you support my work by a) purchasing my book of short fiction, TRUDY SELLOUT; b) becoming a paid Substack subscriber; and/or c) sharing/recommending.
‘Til next week! Get well soon, Bonnie!
shaking the pinball machine,
wendell gee
The Keith Carter card art is phenomenal. It is one of my most treasured Pop Candy merchandise! 🖤
Oh, man! Still such a thrill to be on a trading card. What a fun surprise that was! (Is it iconic or no that I still have the exact same hair?)