The Weekend Snack 6.16.24

I'm baaaaack!!!!

Welcome to the Weekend Snack - a quick roundup of my favorite bites from the past weekend.

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Happy Sunday!! And long time no talk. I’m back from an unplanned hiatus - which is a fancy way of saying that life got a little busy, and I couldn’t keep up with my regular cadence. But then, life got less busy, and I did the classic recovering perfectionist-induced procrastination dance where I built up artificial pressure in my head that returning from my unplanned hiatus meant I needed to create the BEST NEWSLETTER EVER. THE NEWSLETTER TO END ALL NEWSLETTERS. But then, the pressure to write a newsletter of that magnitude meant that my unplanned hiatus continued while I daydreamed about all the various quippy things I could write to distract you from the skipped weeks and broken posting promises. So, as I’ve oft had to do, I quieted those doubting voices in my head by playing one song incessantly (this go round, it was “Red Wine Supernova”) and forcing myself to put some words down on paper. Because if there’s one thing my recovering perfectionist self loves more than picking apart work I’ve yet to write, it’s picking apart work I’ve already written. And in a wild plot twist that no one saw coming, the person who finally got me to end my hiatus was Tom Brady. I could generally care less about Tom Brady, but I caught a quote from a recent speech he gave, and his words shone through to my dark procrastination cave: “The truth is, you don’t have to be special. You just have to be what most people aren’t. Consistent, determined, and willing to work for it. No shortcuts.” Apparently, he knows a thing or two. 

@nflready to run through a brick wall 😤 (via @patriots) #tombrady #newenglandpatriots #nfl

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I know I’m not alone in my elusive quest to find balance in all aspects of my life. I’ve heard so much about balance (work-life balance, balanced meals, balanced relationships), yet I’m still no closer to finding it. But then again, the people who told me about balance are the same people who sold me the dream that conjuring the perfect day-to-night outfit was the key to success and happiness. At thirteen, I was pretty convinced that being a working professional meant I would constantly be faced with the dilemma of how I would transition my serious daytime business lady outfit into my less serious, fun young city dweller outfit at night. But I digress, back to “balance.” As far as I can tell, there’s no such thing as balance. Instead, life is more of an exercise in juggling and figuring out which balls are glass and which are rubber, and thus knowing which ones you can and can’t drop. That’s not to say my Substack is rubber. In fact, it feels like the most precious, pristine Waterford crystal ball because I started this newsletter as a promise to myself. A promise that I would make more time to write about the things I’m passionate about and that doing so would somehow magically make me motivated to finish my half-written novel. It’s sort of worked! But I’m still learning to juggle, so this post is me picking up the broken glass. And, if, like me, you are a recovering perfectionist procrastinator trying to keep all the various balls in the air, I hope my vulnerability here serves as a sign to do the thing and be okay if some of the balls drop. Even if it’s not perfect, it’s a starting point. 

And with that deep dive into the inner workings of my brain, here are a couple of bites that are top of mind for me this weekend:

• 🎭 Stereophonic. The Tony Awards are tonight, so it only feels appropriate that I talk about my favorite show of the season (and the most Tony-nominated play of all time that will likely pick up a few awards). Set in a Sausalito recording studio in the 1970s, Stereophonic follows an unnamed band as they record an album that propels them into stardom while simultaneously unraveling their interpersonal relationships (yes - there are some obvious Fleetwood Mac making of Rumours parallels). Written by David Adjmi with music from Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, this play is something special. Adjmi says he was inspired to write the show after being struck by the intensity of Led Zeppelin’s cover of “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” and imagining what the recording process might’ve been like. That vision shows - the naturalistic dialogue gives you the distinct feeling that you’ve stumbled upon a private moment and you can’t stop eavesdropping. Stereophonic is a meditation on the creative process and the tedium at the center of producing greatness. There’s a scene towards the end where the central couple (the Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham of this story) have their big, blowout disagreement after you’ve watched the tension between them build the entire play. But it’s the kind of complex disagreement that feels so true to life, and you so clearly understand where both people are coming from, it’s not easy to pick a “winner.” And that’s how much of the play is - so delightfully authentic. It’s also just cool. Sarah Pidgeon (the Stevie Nicks figure) is THAT girl. But excitingly, you get to watch her evolve to become THAT girl and grow into her confidence. I particularly enjoyed this interview with Butler, in which he discusses the challenge of creating music for a successful fake band. And he did it so well (there’s now a cast recording I can’t stop listening to)! If you spend your money to see one show this year, this is it. See this one. It’s what Daisy Jones and the Six wanted to be. Trust me - see it.  

• 🎬 Meet Joe Black. Today is also Father’s Day! Besides being a day where I’m reminded that I’m in a stage of life where more people are posting pics of their OWN kids than posting the thirst traps disguised as father tributes of yesteryear, it’s also a day to celebrate my own Dad. My Dad is pretty amazing, and he also happens to be responsible for a lot of my cultural sensibility. A true Renaissance man, my Dad’s tastes are wide ranging. He was country before country was cool, but he’s also a classic film scholar (he’s been keeping TCM in business for years). From a young age, he taught me that my cultural interests didn’t need to fit into a prescribed box, and I’m grateful he gifted me with his encyclopedic knowledge of film, television, and music. To that end, it felt only appropriate to share one of his favorite movies that happens to have a father and daughter at its center. Meet Joe Black stars Anthony Hopkins as a successful family man about to celebrate his birthday when he is visited by Death, who has taken the human form of a very young and hot BRAD PITT (the titular Joe Black). To live a few more days, Hopkins’ character exchanges time for the promise of showing Death what it means to be human. Most criticisms of the movie are that it’s too long, and while I hear that, each watch still never fails to make me think more deeply about life or cry like a baby at the ending scene. It’s that perfect late-nineties sentimentality heavily aided by a Thomas Newman score that they just don’t make anymore. Treat yourself to it! And soak in the Anthony Hopkins wisdom and perfect line reading.

And I’ll leave you with wise, fatherly words from Meet Joe Black. 

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