The Every-Other-Friday(ish) Link Roundup

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. If you like what you’re reading here, please hit the ❤️ button to give Oldster a boost in the algorithm.

A tremendous amount of work goes into publishing Oldster—mine, and that of my contributors. Paid subscriptions keep Oldster going, and allow me to keep paying essayists and interviewers. Thanks to all who support my work here! 🙏

“I've been searching for a publication that talks about aging with honesty and humor rather than panic or denial. Oldster does exactly that. I feel seen here.” - Jennifer Byrne, paid subscriber.

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• Late Fame looks great to me. Just released, it stars Willem Dafoe as an older poet rediscovered by a younger group, among them Jake Lacy and Greta Lee.

• Inside Tony, the Messy, Honest Coming-of-Age Anthony Bourdain Biopic Everyone Has Been Talking About - Bourdain assistant and confidante—and Sober Oldster Q&A-taker—Laurie Woolever in Bon Appetit. Another new movie I’m eager to see…

• Phil Collins, Who Was Almost Pulled From Life Support, Is Looking for Love - Devon Ivie in NYMag/Vulture.

• Anti-Aging Secrets of the Mega-Rich - A little humor from Jay Katsir in The New Yorker.

• I want to tell you what it was like to watch my Mom die... - a real beauty from Sarah LaDuke, in allfolks.

• Binged Margo’s Got Money Troubles on Apple TV this week, and found it both moving and (risque) fun. A great cast, including Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman, Greg Kinnear, and Marsha Gay Harden.

• The Comforting Resurgence of ‘Grandma Hobbies’ - Kate Brennan in The New York Times.

• A thrill and honor to see Alysia Abbott’s recent Oldster essay get a mention in Don Van Natta Jr.’s esteemed The Sunday Longread last weekend. In case you missed the piece:

• Sinners, Saints and Screenplays: On Jim Thompson and Stanley Kubrick - Oldster contributor Michael A. Gonzales in CrimeReads.

• Fabulous Furniture: 50 years of art and life in the Catskills—Steve Heller and Martha Frankel are the dynamic couple behind Boiceville’s famous furniture store - Skyler Gluck in my local paper, the Kingston Daily Freeman.

• BTW, that’s the very same Martha Frankel who was the first to take the Sober Oldster Q&A when we launched the series, a collaboration with The Small Bow, three years ago.

• Speaking of The Small Bow—the newsletter that expands on the definition of recovery, and one of my favorite reads: they are looking for help connecting with some of the 17,000 recovery treatment centers in the U.S. If you have any leads, email founder A.J. Daulerio with “TSB Reach” in the subject line.

• I want to check out Are They Dead Yet? The Art of the Obit, by New York Times veteran journalist Sam Roberts.

• The Doulas Who Help Us Die - Alexandra Schwartz in The New Yorker.

• The U.S. Relies on Family Caregivers. Millions of Them Are Kids. - Helen Ouyang in The New York Times.

• At 46 I Decided to Stop Fixing Myself - Nhi Mundy in Allure.

• The East Village Never Stood Still: Daniel Root Captures What Changed and What Didn’t - J. Scott Orr in The Lowdown.

• Jazz & The Mountains: From Newport Jazz Festival to the High Sierras in 36 hours - author and Knitting Factory/City Winery creator Michael Dorf

• Geezer Rock: New music by Madonna, Mike D and the Rolling Stones - Paper Magazine co-founder David Hershkovits.

• The Grateful Dead are everywhere: With Bob Weir’s death in January, summers are now Dead-less. Yet online, in galleries, on movie screens and stages from Newport to the Greek Theatre, the music never stopped. - rock critic and author Will Hermes.

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“I always enjoy the newsletter—but the playlist put it over the top for me! I have loved every song—and I want to support your work and your time.” - Karma Metzler Fitzgerald, paid subscriber.

🚨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 Last August, 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!

1. Nicole Atkins – Singing In The Mirror – So many good artists fall through the cracks these days and Nicole is one of them – she’s been making quality, sophisticated music for 15 years and this poignant single featuring her transcendent voice deserves some love.

2. Goose – Good2B – They are the most successful jam band to emerge in years but unlike some of their brethren, they can write and sing memorable songs.

3. Yebba – Earth Wind & California – Yebba’s second album is an album -- you know, a collection of coherent songs that work together and have a vision. President Obama picked her song “West Memphis” for his best -of -list and its wonderful but I’m going with this more energetic song. An artist and album to spend time with.

4. The Strokes – Lonely In The Future – 25 years in, they are more relevant than ever, headlining festivals and making new music people want to hear.

5. Charli xcx – SS26 – Her 2024 release “Brat” was a rare monolithic cultural milestone in a balkanized world. Her new album won’t reach those heights, probably intentionally, but it has the edge and moxie that she brings to every project.

6. Tyla featuring Zara Larsson – She Did It Again – South African star Tyla brings in pop sensation Zara Larrson for this infectious, Amapiano flavored confection.

7. Dexter and the Moonrocks – Freakin’ Out – One of the breakout alternative rock songs of the year, influenced by turn of the century rock like Fuel and Stone Temple Pilots.

8. Steve Lacy – the feeling – Truly an alternative artist, Lacy bends and combines genres from r+b to soft-ish rock to create a lush sound bath of longing.

9. Richard Thompson – Cocaine Walking, Booze Talking – Thompson is 77 years old, founded the legendary British folk rock outfit Fairport Convention when he was a teenager, is one of the world’s greatest guitarists, still puts on an amazing live show, and has been making consistently stirring music for six decades. An Oldster for the ages.

10. Angine de Poitrine – Fabienk – Be warned, this one is way out there. But this instrumental duo from Quebec (whose name is French for the chest pain that precedes a heart attack) are getting massive amounts of love for their proggy, King Crimson/ Zappa-induced kind-of-funk. Even if it’s not your thing, it’s worth being familiar with such an unusual record getting so much attention.

Hopefully there’s enough Oldster-adjacent content here to keep us all occupied through the weekend, plus some links to bookmark for later. If you like what you’re reading, please hit the ❤️ button to give Oldster a boost in the algorithm.

Thanks as always for reading and commenting thoughtfully, and for all your support! I sincerely couldn’t do this without you. 🙏 💝

-Sari