Friday Fixations

What I'm into right now

Happy Friday, my fellow suffering beings. Each week, I share two things I’m digging right now (books, TV shows, movies, music, and the like) plus one online video of nearly zero cultural merit.

• Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary on Max. An excellent and cheekily produced documentary about the well-loved, oft-mocked, and widely misunderstood subgenre of 1970s and 80s soft rock, which included such excellent bands as the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, and Toto. The filmmakers scored interviews with some of the key players of the scene, including Michael McDonald and Christopher Cross, and they give us thrilling insights into the creative decisions behind the songs. NB: This film is part of HBO’s outstanding Music Box series, which has also produced terrific docs on DMX, Alanis Morissette, and the Woodstock ‘99 debacle.

  

• World’s Greatest Dad. Catchy, crunchy, country-fried alt rock with a great female lead singer. One of my favorite new (to me, at least) bands of the year. This record is crawling with bangers. If you happen to be a fan of the band Ratboys, this is for you.

• I find this dude hilarious.

• Oh, one last thing… If you're interested in studying with some amazing meditation teachers, these upcoming virtual courses at Spirit Rock Meditation Center might be of interest. All of these teachers have been on my pod, and I fully endorse:

  Matthew Brensilver: Buddhist Psychology Training

  Vinny Ferraro: A Year to Live

  Kaira Jewel Lingo: Insight Meditation Retreat

  Cara Lai: Steadying the Heart

Subscribers can comment on this and all my other posts. You can also chat with me, my staff, pod guests, and one another—about podcast episodes + whatever else I feel like discussing. Plus: podcast cheatsheets (with time-stamped highlights + full transcripts), live-streamed meditation sessions, and live video AMAs. Join the party.