Friday Vibes

This week it's all about movies and films. I don't know the difference between movies and films and if they're interchangeable, but I've found myself watching movies again and moving away from 10-hour TV shows. I like the fact I can start and finish something in one sitting.

Also…physical media. It's nice to never worry about buffering.

Here's some stuff I've been diving into this week.

Sidney Lumet

I watched The Verdict (1982) and lost my mind. It's a beautiful film; many argue it's the best Paul Newman film he ever made. It caused me to go down a rabbit hole of Lumet's other films.

This is a good list

Also, if you want more of Lumet's insight, he wrote a book (Making Movies) and gave a great interview with Charlie Rose about it. (Also, peep homies style. 🫡)

Paul Newman

Speaking of Paul Newman, I recently finished his posthumously released memoir. I'm often comforted when titans reveal their flaws – we're all so human, aren't we?

Warren Zevon

On the topic of Hollywood, I've been on a heavy Warren Zevon kick. I've found the best way to enjoy him is to remove yourself from what you know and like about music. Zevon was a gifted musician and storyteller (trained under THE Igor Stravinsky) who was so talented he would often purposefully make mistakes to add more humanity to his songs. I think the alcoholism was pretty real, though, unfortunately.

My personal favorite song is Desperados Under The Eaves. - Rolling Stone summarizes the song best, It’s an autobiographical tale of his life in the late Sixties, when he was a hopeless alcoholic living in a series of seedy motels around Los Angeles. When one place threw him out for being unable to pay the bill, he’d move onto the next one.

David Letterman was a massive fan of his and had him on his show tons of times, he  this article from the Ringer brings me to tears every time I read it.

Following the show, the pair were chatting while Zevon put his guitar away in its case. "It was small talk. Just fill the air with something while he's going through the business of putting the guitar in the thing," Letterman recalled. "He puts it in, closes the lid, snaps it closed, hands it to me, and he says, 'Take good care of this for me.' And I burst into tears. Uncontrollable. I had no idea that I would be bursting into tears, but I did. And I hugged him and I said, 'I just love your music.' And that was it."