Links for Days
What to read, watch, and listen to this weekend. PLUS: "The Oldster Top 10," Cliff Chenfeld's monthly playlist of new songs for old ears.š
I tend to read, watch, and listen to a lot of Oldster-adjacent content. Every other Friday Iāll pass some of it along to you in a Link Roundup like this one. If you like what youāre reading here, please hit the ā¤ļø button to give Oldster a boost in the algorithm.
While I have youā¦The advertiser- and venture-capital-funded approaches to media have failed and contributed to the demise of most legacy publications and outlets. They got all of us accustomed to never paying for content we consume, while deep-pocketed corporations and investors bought the power to determine what was presented to us. It turned out that wasnāt sustainable. Fortunately, the reader-supported approach is working. Support with your dollars the publications youād like to see survive.
Your subscriptions allow me to keep doing āExploring what it means to travel through time in a human body, at every phase of life,ā while paying essayists and interviewers. Thank you for all your support! š
Jane Goodall Dies at 91 While on Speaking Tour: She Was a āTireless Advocateā for Nature. The famed ethologist and conservationist did groundbreaking research on chimpanzees. - K.C. Baker in People.
Lally Weymouth, journalist of The Washington Postās Graham family, has died. - Audrey McAvoy in The Associated Press.
Henry Jaglom, Orson Wellesās Longtime Lunch Date, Dead at 87. - Bethy Squires in Vulture/NYMag. Iāve long been obsessed with his thought-provoking
1990 mockumentary, Eating: A Very Serious Comedy about Women and Food.
Bruce Springsteenās Long Journey Home - at Time, Eric Cortellessa sits down with the 76-year-old rock icon.
Carol Burnett Plays On - In The New Yorker, Rachel Syme profiles the 92-year-old comedy legend and star of Palm Royale, the second season of which launches November 12th.
What a thrill to hear Gail Rice on The New York Timesā Modern Love podcast, talking about her Oldster essay, āFor My 70th Birthday, I Hired an Escort.ā
In case you missed Gailās essay, here it is, plus the follow up:
As I mentioned yesterday, I forgot to get photos from Wednesday nightās Oldster event, but here are two from my friend Ryan Chapman.
Left, me singing a song. Right, Brian at the piano, singing a song, with a view of the full house. Hey, look, itās me in Hudson Valley One. Thanks for the thoughtful interview, Zac Shaw.
Oldster friend Neko Case is on tour with a new record she released last week, Neon Gray Midnight Green. Hereās a sweet track from it called āRusty Mountainā:
The Plot to Free the Nuns: The last of their order, they are now known for a dispute with the church they gave their lives to over where to live in retirement. And they wanted to stay home. - Christopher F. Schuetze and Jim Tankersley in The New York Times. I can only imagine the bidding war for the movie rights to this incredible story.
From The New York Times on Instagram āNumbering roughly 11 million today, the older workforce has nearly quadrupled in size since the mid-1980s. The increase is driven in part by the growth of the 65-and-older population.ā - A new Pew Research study on the growth of the older workforce by Richard Fry and Dana Braga.
Nothing Looks Cooler than Not Caring Youāre Balding - comedian and author Josh Gondelman in GQ.
Gondelmanās piece reminded me of this recent Oldster open thread:
āI found that question, āWhy are you still doing this?ā Like, well, why wouldnāt I? I have much to say.ā - 67-year-old singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter in conversation with my friend Carmel Holt on her wonderful Sheroes podcast.
Anatomy of an It Girl: How a British woman named Jane became the French bag named Birkin. - Joan Juliet Buck in Airmail, on Marisa Meltzerās new book, It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin.
The Queen of 90s Fashion: A conversation with designer Anna Sui on the occasion of her new Rizzoli book. - Viv Chen in Ssense.
āHow would life change if, whenever you found a free moment, you reached for a sketchbook instead of your phone? Make (Sneaky) Art is a way to actively engage with our world and reclaim our attention spans.ā I just ordered my friend Nishant Jainās book and canāt wait to get to work drawing things instead of scrolling on my phone!
Order the bookā¦and/or catch Nishant on tour. Also, check out his newsletter The SneakyArt Post. I just love Glynnis MacNicolās photos of āChic Older Women in Paris.ā - in Good Decisions .
āWhat Everyone Gets Wrong About Our GenerationāāAccording to 21 College Kids - Feed Meās Emily Sundberg in GQ.
The Thursday Murder Club Author Wants Us to Rethink Aging: Richard Osman, the author of a beloved murder mystery series, discusses the revolutionary act of growing old. - Michelle Cottle and Richard Osman in The New York Times/Opinion.
The Philadelphia Inquirer gave friend of Oldster Kathryn Grody a rave review for her one-woman show, The Unexpected Third, playing through October 26th at the Peopleās Light Theater in Malverne, PA.
āStep into Nonaās Supper ClubāNYCās premier interactive musical serving up a delicious dinner, electrifying original songs, and a feast of love, hilarity, and just the right amount of family dysfunction. Four performances only at Chelsea Table + Stage: 10/18, 11/2, 11/9, 11/15 @ 6:30 PMā - Written and directed by my pal Amy poux.
Why I Wrote a TV Show about a Menopausal Rock Band. - Sally Wainwright in British Vogue.
My Landline Keeps My Friendships Alive - Cat Zhang in The Cut/NYMag.
āAt 95, My Grandmother Is My Mirror ā and I Donāt Know How to Feel About Itā - Kristina Kasparian, PhD in The Alba Journals.
A Ruth Bader Ginsburg Monument Is Officially Coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park - Adriane Quinlan in Curbed/NYMag.
How about you? Got any recs? Books? Shows? Movies? Music? Plays? Podcasts? Art shows? Places to travel to? Restaurants? Remedies? Whatās good?
šØAnd now itās time to put some new music into old ears. š Hereās the monthly Oldster Top 10 by Modern Sounds radio host Cliff Chenfeld: (PS Last August, at Oldsterās 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. Itās 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 theĀ Modern Sounds playlist on Spotify. Enjoy!
Wolf Alice ā The Sofa ā Wolf Alice is a fabulous British rock band led by the very compelling Ellie Roswell. Their new single is a little quieter than most of their work but Ellieās declaration of freedom and agency couldnāt be louder.
Dar Williams ā Hummingbird Highway ā One of the most literate and original singer-songwriters is back with a splendid new album.
Nation Of Language ā Inept Apollo ā This Brooklyn band makes no bones about their love for 80s synth pop like New Order and OMD and write catchy earworms that linger.
Lamont Landers ā Lotta Love āUnashamedly retro Motown-ish soul that is hard to resist.
Riva Starr, Soul Speech, Harry Stone ā House Of Mirrors ā Iām so grateful to live in a world where a repeating seductive acoustic guitar lick, mysterious vocal and familiar chord pattern can transport you.
Woods ā It Aināt Easy ā Perhaps not, but this song goes down about as easy as pie with its hummable chorus and wistful lyric.
Portugal The Man/Neiked ā Glide āYou probably remember Portugal The Man from their huge hit āFeel it Stillā from 2017. They may be a one hit wonder in the pop world but they have been making smart, infectious music for years and this feel-good anthem should help keep you warm when it gets cold.
Raye ā Where Is My Husband? ā Brit Raye broke through in 2023 with her debut album that fused soul, hip hop, star power and virtuosic vocals. This is the first single from her very anticipated second album.
Greg Freeman ā Salesman ā Freeman works some of the same territory as MJ Lenderman ā a slacker but expressive voice, great twangy guitar work and sly, smart observations on his world.
Steve Lacy ā Nice Shoes ā Lacy won the Grammy for best Progressive R+B album with his second album in 2022 and the first single from his new album is fresh, explicit and a thrill.
Hopefully all of this is enough to keep us from doom-scrolling through the weekend. If you like what youāre reading here, please hit the ā¤ļø button to give Oldster a boost in the algorithm.
Thanks as always for reading, for commenting thoughtfully, and for all your support! I really couldnāt do this without you. š š
-Sari
Once again, thanks for these links! Can't wait to read some of them. Your hard work is appreciated as you continue to demonstrate how to use the internet as a force for connection and healthy exploration.
Thank you so much for the link to the Bruce Springsteen article! I have been a fan of his since high school, and was at the 2024 concert in Phoenix. I even made it into some YouTube videos, an unexpected treasure I found later!
He and the E Street Band (most of whom are also in their 70s) rocked the house as always. Bruce inspires me for many reasons (including his honesty about his bouts of depression and his political views). I am eagerly awaiting the movieās release later this month!