Hey friends!

Look, I’m struggling to come up with an introduction that’s not about the weather, so let’s just get this going.

Like many other people, I was surprised and delighted by Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie earlier this year. Now on Hulu, the comedy stars Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol as musicians/best friends scheming to book a gig at a Toronto club while pulling off escalating feats of “how did they film that?” and litigating the recent past via time travel in the process. I had no familiarity with the duo’s origins as a Viceland show and web series (how do I find this?) that preceded the feature, but I still had a great time. I’ve been watching the former now that it’s also on Hulu, and seeing such besties innovate ways to backstab and manipulate each other should tide me over until the final season of Industry. (As far as I can tell, these titles have nothing else in common besides the small possibility that a side character might suddenly get murdered.)

Speaking of Johnson, he directed the new young Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony. I’m admittedly not the most knowledgeable about the late chef/author/TV host, but it’s definitely a top-notch depiction of being an overconfident liberal arts college student! The Holdovers breakout Dominic Sessa stars as Bourdain during the formative summer in which he first experienced restaurant life. Johnson brings his particular interest in curing male loneliness to the project, which also features memorable supporting turns from Antonio Banderas and Leo Woodall. Tony is in theaters now.

My brain has, for whatever reason, brought me back to Alex G. I was first exposed to the Philadelphia rock stalwart when he was on the same bill as PAWS at Shea Stadium in 2014. I don’t remember much about his set from that night, but earlier that day, I had been hired to photograph a swanky daytime dance party on a rooftop in NoHo; someone spun “Deezy Daisy” by Portland and at one point I lost my phone and panicked that it had fallen like 18 stories. Anyways, after DSU popped off, I duly went back through Alex G’s Bandcamp and can pinpoint the moment I Got It to “Candy,” from 2012’s Rules.

Shelfdust’s Year of Evil: Gideon Graves (Shelfdust)

Hello Local Business, Your AI Ads Are Costing You Customers (Aftermath)

Strange Connection: Gregg Araki and Joseph Gordon-Levitt on the lingering power of Mysterious Skin (Letterboxd Journal)

Thanks for maybe reading all that. Find me on Bluesky or whatever.

Until next time!