Excellent Things: 08
I have been to Tulum once. In 2010. To escape a snowy New York winter. It was incredible, and this El Buho playlist, has a subtle way ofâŚ
I have been to Tulum once. In 2010. To escape a snowy New York winter. It was incredible, and this El Buho playlist, has a subtle way of transporting me back there.
It was a good few months for music.
New Nicolas Jaar under his A.A.L pseudonym.
New Nils Frahm.
New (old) Keith Jarrett, but especially Part IâââLive at Teatro Comunale, Modena / 1996.
The War on Drugs played live in Melbourne. It was magical.
Despite the backlash, YouTubeâs recommendation algorithm is a marvel of the modern internet. Itâs Alice in Wonderlandâs rabbit hole for music fans. Finding fan recorded live clips in this era of everyone holding an HD recording device in their pocket is a personal favourite pastime.
Frank Oceanâs âI Miss Youâ is the apex.
Bon Iverâs âCreeksâ renditions are equally striking. This one in Paris where he has multiple false starts soars (he figures it all out at 1:15).
On second thoughts, live in Denver might be even better.
Or âWoodsâ, live in Seoul.
Now weâre down here, let me show you around.
First Aid Kit covering Fleet Foxes âTiger Mountain Peasant Songâ in 2008.
Bon Iver on the Take Away Show in 2008.
That same song, sung by the Chant Claire Chamber Choir.
And just for good measure, Daniel Johns covering âSmells Like Teen Spiritâ.
âAnd every fatherâs pain
Casts a shadow over a broken sonÂ
Youâll be whole againÂ
And Iâll be whole againÂ
All those years I was hurting to feelÂ
Something more than lifeâ
â Silverchair âAfter All These Yearsâ
Film company A24 is five years into its life, and what a life itâs been. This GQ article captures it perfectly.
Hollywood, Disrupted: Inside the Scrappy Film Company that Made "Moonlight" and "The Witch"
The story behind the studio that brought you "Moonlight" and "It Comes At Night", as told by Barry Jenkins, SofiaâŚwww.gq.com
Having trawled almost the entire A24 catalogue, here are my favourites:
Moonlight
The Florida Project & American Honey & Spring Breakers
Oasis: Supersonic & Amy
Ladybird & 20th Century Women
I also loved the first two films A24 tried unsuccessfully to win the rights to when they were starting out:
A Place Among The Pines & Frances Ha
There are moments in time when certain firms capture the zeitgeistâââA24 from launch to now, Union Square Ventures 2004â2007, John Doerr & Kleiner in the late-1990s, Sub-Pop in the early 1990s.
Itâs fascinating to observe a moment like that. Itâs even more fascinating to watch as the moment slips away.
Constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity.
I completed my first Crossfit Games in a (dis)respectable 202,520th place worldwide (out of 227,590 participants).
The main outsider criticisms of Crossfit seem to be: people who do it are insufferable because they talk about it all the time (similar to vegans), kipping pull-ups arenât real pull-ups (fair), and itâs an injury-inducing endeavour (too many reps piled on to unprepared bodies).
But the Crossfit Games is truly a marvel. A wholly distributed, global competition with 500,000+ participantsâââitâs simply breathtaking if you view it through the prism of community building.
Anyway, enough. Iâll do better next year.
Today worried you yesterday and all is well.
Whatâs something youâve worked on that shouldâve been bigger?
What the fuck are you talking about? Iâve never had that problem. They were all big.
â Quincy Jones: In Conversation
âSome people donât realise that when you are in it itâs basically impossible to please the critics. They will always expect more. You canât win every single match, so you have to find a way to be okay with that.â
â Nick Kyrgios: Talent to Burn
A new favourite podcast: âInvest Like The Bestâ.
The two best recent episodes: Savneet Singh & Josh Wolfe (transcribed below).
This Is Who You Are Up Against Transcript
A conversation with Josh Wolfemedium.com
âDonât tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.â
â Anton Chekhov
Why didnât I fully comprehend the brutality of NFL concussions until I watched them backwards?
You can never watch this enough times.
Sporting miracles are the best.
âWhat day is it?â
Itâs today,â squeaked Piglet.
My favorite day,â said Pooh.âÂ
â A.A. Milne
One of the things (the best things) you have to believe about the world if youâre an investor is that more greatness is always around the corner.
Itâs utterly renewing to find something great for the first time. It reinforces that its OK to be blindly optimistic about whatâs coming. To constantly believe that more great people will emerge.
When we get a date night, Jules and I go to Longplay, our favourite bar in Melbourne.
In conversation with one of the bartenders last week, she revealed unassumingly that she was a pianist.
We went home and listened to her first album. It was so good.
âIt only ends once.
Anything that happens before that is just progress.â
For past editions of this series, see: