Consuming: November 2024
Mermaid Avenue, The Rest Is History, Blood Simple
MUSIC
Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg and Wilco recorded in 1998
https://open.spotify.com/album/0yTmT1i6yHb5EVyJOmIwGw
I started listing to the song California Stars while prepping a playlist for a San Diego trip in early September. And have been stuck on the album ever since. One By One is another standout track that I discovered just recently. The lyrics to Mermaid Avenue come from a collection of writings by Woody Guthrie.
Billy Bragg was recently on the Broken Record podcast and covers the Mermaid Avenue sessions in the second half the podcast.
https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/broken-record/billy-bragg?curator=MusicREDEF
PODCASTS
My favorite podcast the last few years has been The Rest Is History. They’re Brits. They’re historians. I learn a lot and laugh a bit along the way. Self described as: “quality historical punditry.”
https://www.goalhangerpodcasts.com/the-rest-is-history
Their most recent series covers the United States in 1968, during a time of social and political turmoil.
FILM
Back in the days of movie rental stores like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video, or Rain City Video here in Seattle, I liked to cycle through directors. Terry Gilliam, Danny Boyle, Marty Scorcese, Quiton Tarantino, etc.
One of my favorite directing teams is the Coen Brothers and I missed several of their movies over the years. I’m going to try and go back and watch them all in order, starting with Blood Simple. Great film. Small cast, simple story, likely a very small budget, and just awesome. It’s a murder mystery of sorts, but without any cops or detectives. They’re great at building relatable characters with shades of grey, who may do bad things for seemingly good reasons. Strong recommendation.
If you like Blood Simple, I suggest watching One False Move by Carl Franklin.