Missed Connections: How to Tell if “Nathan For You” Is For You - Excellent essay unpacking the mindfuckery of one of America's truly great weird shows.
Adventure Time’s Kirsten Lepore on the joys and pains of stop motion animation - Fascinating interview with the director of the recent stop motion episode of one of America's other truly great weird shows.
Can Short Stories Still Shock? - Christian Lorentzen examines the state of the American short story.
Pazz & Jop 2015 - I've been obsessed with the Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll for a good 15 years. This year's includes a great roundtable discussion among some of the real heavies of contemporary pop music criticism, including my spirit animal, Robert Christgau.
The National Eater 38 - I like Bill Addison's commitment to appreciating a variety of culinary styles and presenting wider geographic diversity then you tend to see. So many "Best Restaurant" lists are half NYC/San Fran restaurants. There's a lot of good food out there, in a lot of places.
Why You Can't Love David Bowie and Hate on Jaden Smith - The headline is disingenuous, because of course you can love David Bowie and hate on Jaden Smith if your criteria is solely auditory. But the essay draws smart parallels between the fashion forwardness of Bowie and Smith and the necessity of supporting those pushing boundaries.
Meat Market - I'm a pretty major Anthony Bourdain fan, so I'll be reserving judgment on his Pier 57 venture, but there's a lot of good writing here about the authenticity trap and its pernicious effects on our aesthetic culture. I will say in Bourdain's defense that on his TV shows, he's much more knowing and perceptive in his understanding of the fluid ways the concept of authenticity has interacted with economics, migration and colonization patterns, and ingenuity and artistry in the development of cultural foodways. The piece is not quite honest when it comes to Bourdain's shows, which have showed him unapologetically enjoying, and examining about his enjoyment of, some very inauthentic eateries (Sizzler and Jollibee come to mind). If Bourdain has a single thesis regarding authenticity, it's that authenticity is simply one aspect of the unruly and complicated cultural beast that is human cuisine and its relationship to the rest of human culture.
editor's note: In general, I'd prefer to alternate links with reviews, but I wasn't able to catch any new movies last weekend. I should see Anomalisa this weekend, so expect a review soon, and I also plan to review the new David Bowie album.
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