The sparkling Jill Sobule

Also: A link roundup and more

My friend Jill Sobule died last week. It’s still hard to believe — she had texted me two days beforehand, just a tiny “Hi” from the road.

Many wonderful tributes to Jill have appeared in recent days, and there will be so many more. She was hilarious, energetic and genuinely fascinated by everyone and everything. She loved a leisurely dinner where she could laugh and swap gossip, though her stories always won by a mile.

“So I’m singing next to Paul McCartney…”

“When I was staying at Todd Rundgren’s house in Hawaii, he ate lots of cereal…”

“…And that’s when I wore a see-through shirt with Boy George.”

Jill was always creating, which is the sign of a true artist, and she was always supporting other artists, which is the sign of a great human being. Every time we talked, she shared another big idea — and by the next time we talked, it was already in motion.

“I have this idea for a TV series,” she told me not long ago. The next time I saw her, it was in development with a team of writers.

Jill’s idea for a one-woman theater production, F*ck 7th Grade, became a hit musical that told her life story and ended with a joyous singalong of “I Kissed A Girl.” (The original cast recording will be released next month, along with a 30th anniversary edition of her self-titled album.) Jill and I had discussed adapting it as a graphic novel, an idea I still may help bring into the world.

At a 2023 performance of F*ck 7th Grade.

Piles of creative projects wouldn’t exist without Jill’s encouragement. At one leisurely dinner, I showed her some lyrics I’d written on a whim. “That’s good, you should record it!” she said. A few weeks later, the track (performed by Eytan Mirsky) was released. Another time I sent Jill a screenplay for a short film. “Ooh, let’s make it!” she said.

Jill had a similar effect on my child, who saw her perform several times and brought friends to her shows. The last week has had its sad moments in our house, but I knew things were turning around when my kid came out of the shower last night and said, “Hold on, Mom — I just got an idea for a song.”

When I heard Jill was gone, all I could think about was what an idiot I was for not texting or calling her back immediately.

“That was just her way of saying she was thinking about you,” our friend Carla told me after we heard the tragic news. “It was a gift.”

That night, I was too sad to sleep. I picked up my phone and looked at Jill’s last text.

And somewhere, I hope she felt my reply.

elsewhere

• I was happy to hear that Percival Everett’s James won the Pulitzer Prize.

• See the living rooms of Sarah Sherman, Spike Lee, Chloë Sevigny, Gloria Steinem, Julio Torres and more New Yorkers.

• The Las Culturistas Culture Awards — always refreshing in its ridiculousness — will air on Bravo in August.

• Michael Shannon talked about about the passion he has for R.E.M. with the Guardian.

• Andre 3000 wore a piano to the Met Gala and released a solo piano EP.

• Here’s a good list of “what to read after watching Sinners.”

• David Letterman traveled to Bangor, Maine, to appear on a local talk show hosted by a longtime fan:

• Congrats to painter Edward Hutchinson on his new exhibition “Ungrounded Men,” a showcase of spectacular paintings that depict men in freefall:

e.hutch66

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• Fiona Apple has released her first new song in five years:

• Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Jon Bon Jovi, Paul Simon, Bette Midler and a million other folks pop up in this new doc about concert promoter Ron Delsener:

• Ben Affleck has some great film picks — and now I want to hear his Armageddon commentary:

• And Cole Escola spoke in a very moving way about his love for his grandmother:

cbssundaymorning

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Happy birthday to Spring and Carla! Thanks for the paid subscription, April! And I wish a very happy, stress-free Mother’s Day to every mother and maternal figure.

with love,
whit
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Shout-out to Dennis, a longtime supporter who came out to the Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase (BICS) on April 27. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hello.