Currently Digging II
Here's what I've been consuming (binging?) these past few weeks.
1. Watching: BoJack Horseman
I could go on forever about all the reasons to watch Netflix's BoJack Horseman—it's hilarious and heavy, creative and honest, poignant and silly. The visuals are mesmerizing and the cast is amazing (Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Aaron Paul, Alison Brie, and Paul F. Thompkins are the core, but it's a constant game of "don't I know that voice?"). It doesn't hurt that I've always been a big fan of cartoons, but this one is definitely something different. As we finished up the second season, here are two pieces on the show I really enjoyed: An interview with creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg and this New Yorker story on the recent trend of a sadder sitcom.
2. Reading: The World's Largest Man by Harrison Scott Key
The first thing I remember reading by Harrison Scott Key was "Fifty Shades of Greyhound" (wonderful title) in Oxford American. After that, I typed his name into the search bar in Twitter and tapped "follow," as I do with most writers I want more from. That's the most I've kept up with him these past couple of years, but his tweets are entertaining as hell (also, inspiring: see this insanely long thread about finding your voice through tweeting). ANYWAY, his memoir came out this summer and it was so. darn. good. He writes about his life growing up in Mississippi with his strange, huge father. It's mostly hilarious, but also sometimes heartbreaking. After I finished, the thing I kept telling people was that every sentence seemed to be better than the one before it—that's hard to keep up, you know?
3. Listening to: Courtney Barnett's Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
When Australian singer-guitarist Courtney Barnett's debut came out way back in March, the lead single "Pedestrian At Best" took a couple of listens to grow on me. Last month I finally gave the album a fair listen and can't stop listening on repeat. Right now I'm really digging "Nobody Really Cares If You Go To the Party" (chorus: "I wanna go out but I wanna stay home"—story of my late 20s!), "Elevator Operator" and "Dead Fox."
4. Reading: Uppercase Issue 17
Around the time I decided to start making greeting cards last year I stumbled across Uppercase magazine at Moxy Mercantile on South Main Street. I've collected a handful of back issues, and lately I've been flipping back through Issue 17, the stationery special. The quarterly has branded itself as "a magazine for the creative and curious" and features makers from all over the world on everything from handlettering to doilies, from printmaking to stamp collecting. This issue is particularly great for me because interviews touch on everything and anything you might need to think about when starting a small-batch stationery company. Take a look at Uppercase's back issues here and follow along on Twitter here.
5. Listening to: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Since I first heard Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats' infectious "S.O.B.," it's been near damn impossible to stop listening to their self-titled new album. All I know is it's going to be hard to talk me out of a road trip to Nashville to see this seven-piece in November.
But wait, there's more
This story on pop music's key team of songwriters, this explanation of how the London tube map was updated for the new night tube; this exploration of penning the viral personal essay; and The Weather Below by Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds.
Photos via netflix.com, amazon.com, nathanielrateliff.com, and my iPhone
