A Little Brain Candy
An Oldster Magazine Friday Link Roundup. Plus "The Oldster Top 10," Cliff Chenfeld's monthly playlist of new songs for old ears.
I tend to read, watch, and listen to a lot of Oldster-adjacent content. Every other Friday I’ll pass some of it along to you in a link roundup like this one.
While I have you…The advertiser-funded and venture-capital-funded approaches to media have failed and led to the demise of most legacy publications and outlets. Fortunately, the reader-supported approach is working. Support with your dollars the publications you’d like to see survive. Your paid subscriptions help me to keep publishing Oldster Magazine, and to pay contributors. They are greatly appreciated! I make a point of keeping the price low, just $6/month or $55/year. Thank you!
RIP: Clockwise from top left: Reproductive rights champion, Planned Parenthood leader, Cecile Richards, who died this week at 67 after battling brain cancer. (Penelope Green and Remy Tumin in The New York Times) Surrealist/noir filmmaker David Lynch, who died at 78 from emphysema. (Kyle Norris at NPR) Satirical cartoonist Jules Feiffer, who died at 95 from congestive heart failure. (Matt Schimkowitz at A.V. Club) Garth Hudson, The Band’s keyboardist and “musicologist,” who died in his sleep at 87. (Oldster contributor Will Hermes and David Browne in Rolling Stone)
Clockwise from top left: Cecile Richards (carlb104/Flickr); David Lynch (Georges Biard/Wikimedia Commons); Jules Feiffer (Dick DeMarsico/Wikimedia Commons); Garth Hudson (Steve Eichner/Getty Images) Brian and I have also started rewatching Lynch’s wonderfully weird ‘90s series Twin Peaks, and somehow it’s even better than we remembered.
Sherilyn Fenn and Kyle Machlachlan in a poster for David Lynch’s cult 1990 show, Twin Peaks. Happy 79th birthday last Sunday to brilliant, kind, generous Dolly Parton.
I need to get to the city to see the new Liza Minnelli documentary, opening at the IFC Theater today (and at Laemmle Theatres in Los Angeles January 27th).
“What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?” - Oldster contributor Mark Armstrong with a new blog post about the evolution of his songwriting process, and a new song, “Don’t Get Too Comfortable”:
Oldster contributor Brooke Berman’s film, Ramona at Midlife is available for Pre-Order on Apple TV now and streaming on Prime starting Feb 11, 2025.
“At 74, I Don't Consider the Words "Old Lady" Derogatory” - always read Valerie Monroe, in this case, in Allure.
“How to Financially Plan for Taking Care of Your Parents” - Charlotte Cowles in NYMag/The Cut.
“Are self-care and elder-care mutually exclusive?” - at Poor Man's Feast, Elissa Altman writes, “Stepping Into the Caim.”
“Is not getting Botox becoming odd?” - Karen Flood at Vain Feminist.
“I’m a Gen Z Journalist. My Generation Doesn’t Know What That Means.” - Olivia Hicks in Formula Flash.
“36 Examples of Anachronyms” - Heddwen Newton at English in Progress.
If you read and/or took part in the recent Friday Open Thread on the challenges of driving at night with aging eyes, you might be happy to know I had my eyes examined today, and I do not have cataracts. But I was given a much stronger prescription than the one I received, gulp, six years ago. (I’d kept thinking, “I just had them checked.” The pandemic years really warped my sense of time…) Also, the doctor said those night driving glasses with the yellow lenses don’t do much.
Around this time last year: A Friday Open Thread on “The Quarter-Life Crisis”:
🚨And now it’s time to put some new music into old ears. 👂 Here’s the monthly Oldster Top 10 by Modern Sounds radio host Cliff Chenfeld: (PS At Oldster’s 3rd birthday party I played the Modern Sounds playlist and everyone loved it. Several guests asked me to share the Spotify link.)
Welcome to the Oldster Top 10, where we listen to hundreds of new songs each month to find some wonderful new tracks from noteworthy artists who may not have caught your attention. It’s hard to find the great new music amongst the tonnage, but we are here to make music discovery much easier for you. You can find all of these songs on the Modern Sounds playlist on Spotify. Enjoy!
Secret Sisters (with Ray Lamontagne) – All The Ways – There recently have been a number of terrific male-female countryish duets and these distinct singers have created another one.
Noga Erez – Godmother – A plea for some sort of conciliation from this Israeli artist who often stretches out the confines of established genres.
Rose City Band – Radio Song – The soundtrack to a perfect leisurely drive in the country with warm guitar solos, relaxed vocals and the possibility of transcendence.
Futurebirds – Movin’ On – Heartfelt, twangy, timeless rootsy tune about a perennial topic.
Magdalena Bay – Image – Dreamy, effortless dance-pop with a hook worth waiting for.
My Morning Jacket – Time Waited – Arguably today’s best live rock act is back with a poignant new single.
Kali Uchis – Igual Que Un Angel – This chart-topping song by the Columbian-American singer just glides and wonderfully does not fit into any specific genre.
Christian Lee Hutson – Carousel Horses – The refrain from this slackerish gem, “How Could You Know I Feel,” is an interesting contrast to the more famous line, “How Does It Feel?” making the rounds recently, and may reveal some differences between now and then….or not.
Amber Mark – Comin’ Around Again – This is a strong period of contemporary R&B with lots of excellent vocalists releasing catchy, passionate and accessible songs, including this one.
Wunderhorse – Rain – A rock band that rocks but isn’t too heavy, doesn’t look back too far and has the requisite amount of energy and tension.
That’s a good assortment of brain candy. Coming soon: new installments of “On the Path to 60” and “Ask the East Village Yenta.” Thanks as always for reading, for commenting thoughtfully, and for all your support. 🙏 💝
-Sari
When Things Fall Apart: A bible! Thanks for the lovely shout-out, Sari! xo
Thanks for all this. Glad to hear you do not have cataracts.
My advice for difficult times, especially for those in upstate New York: cute winter boots!