ONE TO CONSIDER: AMERICAN ROUTES
I have a bit of a Sunday evening wind down routine that involves cooking a good dinner and listening to American Routes, the radio show out of New Orleans. In my mind, it’s quite simply the best produced hour of music (podcast, radio show, etc) going. Amazing storytelling, interviews, backstories into musicians and genres and, well, just really, really good music.
Because of licensing laws, American Routes can’t be podcasted, but you can stream it online, which is essentially the same thing. It’s really nothing short of a national treasure. Stream it here.
Suggested Listening
Midnight Special, Shine a Light on Me: Prison Music From Angola Louisiana & Beyond
Record Mavens: Dan Auerbach and Joel Savoy Take on the Music Industry
FIVE TO READ
Life Lessons from a 97-Year-Old Lobsterman (Outside)
Jane Goodall Keeps Going, With a Lot of Hope and a Bit of Whiskey (New York Times)
In Jamaica With Island Records Founder Chris Blackwell (Billboard)
Tom Sachs on creative leadership and the importance of idealism (Vogue Business)
Robert Frank’s work. My favorite pieces about the legendary photographer who passed away this week. (Hand & Eye)
ONE TO WATCH
Insane landscapes and a pretty unique story make this film worthy of a watch this week.
Thanks to everyone who replied last week about my search for an American photographer producing images with the same energy and vibe as Martin Parr. The one who surfaced that I think gets pretty close is Lauren Greenfield. Her photos may not be quite as playful as Parr’s but they’re equally poignant. She’s told quintessentially American stories with a unique eye, unmatched commitment and masterful technique. I’m a big fan. Definitely watch Generation Wealth if you haven’t already.
That’s it!
Thanks so much for reading and as always, please consider becoming a paying subscriber ($5 a month) if you’d like to support the efforts.
Yours etc,
John
Thrilled to know about the new beverages! Is it possible that the extreme drunkenness nowadays is caused by lack of food? When I was in my twenties, in the ‘80’s, wherever you went had hefty FREE snacks. Some notable ones: Café des Artistes had hard boiled quails eggs and housemade burnt peanuts, Louis’The Toybar Ltd always had a crockpot of bean and sausage stew and cups (I took some members of the Clash there), the Monkey Bar had tiny hotdogs and hamburgers and infinity winecheese & crackers. It also had Johnny Andrews playing piano. We definitely chose where we went based on the improved ability to keep drinking thanks to sustenance. What do you think?