Jumpsuits and Weird Boots, Vol. 24
A surprisingly good Netflix series, my AI song experiment, a book about finding good food on tour, and more.
Baby Reindeer
Well, this one came out of nowhere. For once, I was sucked in by Netflix’s auto-play feature. I had finished watching something, I can’t remember what, but the credits played all the way through and page for a series called Baby Reindeer popped up. After about 30 seconds, the first episode just started playing. I reached for the remote, and then just decided to sit with it for a minute and see what it was all about. That’s all it took. A couple of minutes, and I was sucked in.
Long story short, it’s a 7-episode series about a bartender who dreams of being a standup comic, struggles with his relationships and his own sexual identity, and navigates the complicated dynamic between he and his mentally unstable stalker.
It was written by Richard Gadd, who also stars as the lead in the series, and was apparently based on real experiences he had. If any of you watched the BBC series The Outlaws, starring Christopher Walken and Stephen Merchant, you’ll recognize the actress who plays the stalker from her memorable comedic role in that show.
I blew through the series in 2 days. It’s shot well, and has some great song placements. I’m a sucker for those. Definitely worth a watch. [Trailer]
I Made A Song With AI and It Kinda Freaked Me Out
AI tools are fun. I’m always trying out new ones, just to see what they can do. They’re often a great way for me to bring my silly visual ideas to life just so I can laugh at myself.
There are plenty of AI-based things that terrify me, so don’t get me wrong, the fact that I made a song using AI didn’t terrify me on an existential level, but more on an “Oh great, this is going to be bad for musicians" kind of level. I’ve seen some tools out there over the past year or so that allow you to create a short instrumental song using a descriptive prompt, and the results aren’t too bad. They’ve been simple, but decent. But now, a company called Suno has started to take it to the next level. Suno allows you to create full, structured songs with vocals based on a prompt you give it.
I often will capture random phrases that pop into my head and go back to them later for song titles, things to put into visual art, etc. For this particular experiment, I went to my list and grabbed a random phrase that I have no recollection of capturing, and no idea what it means, but I fed it into this AI tool. The phrase was “Dining for the duration on a diet of isolation.” I asked Suno to create a “minimal synth/darkwave song about dining for the duration on a diet of isolation.” Within about 60 seconds, it gave me the following song. It’s completely AI generated…the lyrics, the vocals, the music. Everything. While it’s not mind-blowing, it’s still better than some stuff I hear out there. It even gave the song the title “Feast of Solitude”. Check it out:
Also worth checking out is this AI-generated vintage blues track called “Soul of the Machine” which I would have put money on was a real recording from many years ago if it weren’t for some of the lyrics.
All the Comedy Specials Coming Out Right Now
There seems to be an influx of great comedy specials coming out right now, and they need to be acknowledged. In no particular order, here are a few from the paste few months that I highly recommend:
Jimmy Carr - Natural Born Killer
Jacqueline Novak - Get on Your Knees
Alex Edelman - Just For Us
Neal Brennan - Crazy Good
Demetri Martin - Demetri Deconstructed
Tig Notaro - Hello Again
Rory Scovel - Religion, Sex and a Few Things In Between
David Cross - Worst Daddy in the World
Someone Lives Here: One Man’s Uphill Battle to Provide Shelter for the Unhoused
Sometimes, with all of the negative things going on in the world, I find myself feeling like I’m losing hope in humanity. It’s good to be reminded that there are still good people out there trying to do good things to help others.
"Someone Lives Here" is a 2023 documentary film that captures the inspiring yet contentious efforts of Khaleel Seivwright, a Toronto carpenter who builds small, insulated shelters for the homeless braving the harsh winter outdoors. The film focuses on the daily struggles faced by those without homes, highlighting the community's mixed reactions to Seivwright's initiative. He faces a difficult, uphill battle with city officials, who continue to dismantle and remove these shelters that he works so hard to build, despite a positive response from the unhoused community in the area. The film is a rollercoaster of emotions. On one hand, I found myself hopeful and inspired by the work he does. On the other, seeing how much resistance he faced and continues to face just trying to keep people warm at night…it filled me with anger at how broken our systems are across the board. It’s not an incredibly uplifting documentary, but it deserves a watch.
Taste In Music: Eating on Tour with Indie Musicians
This book isn't out yet—it's set to release on September 24, so I haven't had the chance to read it. However, I'm really looking forward to diving in. "Taste in Music" is a collection of reflections and anecdotes compiled by musician Alex Bleecker of the band Real Estate. He gathered these stories after speaking with numerous indie musicians about their experiences finding good food while on tour. Having been on tour myself in the early 2000s, I can personally attest to how challenging it is to maintain a healthy diet on the road unless you're exceptionally good at planning ahead. I have immense respect for some friends who were touring musicians during the height of their veganism. They had to go the extra mile, planning stops at grocery stores to stock up on non-perishable vegan foods and such.
I'm excited to delve into some of the stories shared by people featured in the book, including Chris Frantz from Talking Heads, Mark Ibold from Pavement, Devendra Banhart, Bob Mould from Hüsker Dü, and Brian Weitz from Animal Collective, among others. You can pre-order the book here.