We’re breaking the format this week to give you some good content recommendations for your long weekend. Hopefully, you’re relaxing and making the most of a welcome pause. We’ll be back in regular form in early December.
Listening
Here’s a playlist that’s sort of an ongoing project of mine. I’ve been building it for about a year now I think. It’s just a long (4+ hours) run of ambient music I like to listen to while I work and relax. This was the year of ambient music for me. I started out in the world of Brian Eno, took a dip into film scores for Moonlight and other A24 films like The Last Black Man in San Francisco, and have now arrived at the glorious new album from Andre 3000. It’s all here.
Watching
We watched Squaring the Circle on Netflix this week and loved the deep look at a lesser-known but incredibly rich piece of musical history; the team that designed album art for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and many others. One of the underlying messages of the film is how creatives across mediums cross-pollinate, especially when given a lot of leeway to play.
Like a lot of New Yorkers of a certain age, I’m a bit obsessed with Fran Lebowitz these days. I appreciate her no-BS wit and humor and think we could all do with A LOT more of this kind of thinking in our lives. It looks like Pretend It’s A City was the inspiration for this visit of hers to the Met. Both are worth your time.
I’m a huge fan of Slow Horses, the spy series starring Gary Oldman. I devoured the first two seasons and have anxiously been waiting for season 3, which launches Nov. 29. That the series was conceived by a late-career writer with little success makes me love it even more. I’m a big fan of second and third acts. Read about it all here: Mick Herron Has Made a Blockbuster Career Writing About Foul-Ups and Has-Beens.
Reading
Speaking of second act changes. When men turn 40, they start enjoying spy novels and spy histories. No different for me. This looks like this will be the best book I read this year. An absolute page-turner. The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War.
Content Coverage Submissions
Worked on an interesting project? Seen a good video or have a photo project to suggest? Share your favorite pieces of content here and I’ll include the best in this newsletter.