Jumpsuits and Weird Boots, Vol. 29
People who live in famous houses, an ode to Noel Fielding's amazing sweaters, a yacht rock documentary, bootleg hip hop toys, and more.
Did you think I left you? Did you even notice? It’s been about two months since my last newsletter and my only excuse is…well, life. It would be an understatement to say I haven’t had much going on lately. The short version is that exactly two months ago, my family and I, plus our two cats, had to move into an Airbnb due to water damage caused by the condo above us. On top of that, about two weeks ago, I lost my job again. Oh, and then there’s the whole election thing, which has completely wiped me out, mentally.
I initially started this newsletter as something to break the monotony while I was looking for a job that first time around, and found myself struggling to stay on top of it once I found something and ended up working full time for a bit, but now I’ve been feeling the pull again, and have some newfound free time on my hands, so here I am again with a few things that have been bringing me joy lately.
As always, thanks for reading. I have a small favor to ask. If you can think of just ONE friend who might enjoy this newsletter, could you forward it to them? Maybe they’ll subscribe, maybe they won’t. I’m bad at self-promo, but would love to expand the readership a bit this time around if I can.
Alright, enough babbling, here we go…
The House From…
Filmmaker Tommy Avallone makes some fascinating documentaries, all of which aim to appeal to people’s sense of nostalgia. I was initially exposed to him via his film The Bill Murray Stories, which documented a handful of interesting interactions that fans have had with the legendary actor. He also directed I Am Santa Claus, which was a behind-the-scenes look at some of the people who portray Santa Claus each year. During my time with RYOT, I tried, to no avail, to get RYOT Films to help Tommy get his film Waldo on Weed seen by a larger audience. That one is a touching story about a family’s search to get medicinal cannabis treatment for their young son’s rare form of eye cancer, and all the hoops they had to jump through.
Now, Tommy has released maybe his biggest film to date, and it’s right up my alley, unsurprisingly. It’s called The House From… and it highlights the people who live in houses made famous by film and TV. He talks to many of the homeowners about what it’s like living in these fan destinations. Some of the homeowners have built fences and gates to keep people out, others go out of their way to welcome the fans, and others monetize it. Some famous homes in the film include Pee Wee’s house from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, the Breaking Bad house, the Goonies house, and the Golden Girls house, plus many more.
Tommy has gotten some great support this time around as well. The film is narrated by Jason Lee, released by Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort channel, and had its premiere at Kevin Smith’s own Smodcastle Film Festival last month.
You can rent the film for pretty cheap via many of the services listed here. Please support Tommy so he can continue to make great films like these.
Noel Fielding: King of the Chaotic Sweater
If you've watched The Great British Bake Off, you've definitely noticed Noel Fielding's amazing sweater game. From his shows The Mighty Boosh to Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy, he's always had a flair for unique fashion. But on GBBO, surrounded by cakes and chaos, his sweaters truly shine.
Noel loves colorful, strange fashion that makes you do a double-take. Some of his sweaters are tributes to his musical influences, like The Raincoats' self-titled first album or Dinosaur Jr's Without a Sound. He's even worn one depicting some of legendary album cover and poster designer Martin Sharp’s work, and another that features a David Bowie sketch by Noel himself that says, "I was more upset than you when Bowie died” down the arm.
These sweaters are a peek into Noel's mind—chaos, creativity, and nostalgia. Many are bright and almost hard to look at, but Noel makes them work in a way only he can. Most of us wouldn't even try, but he's made it an art.
If you're as into Noel's looks as I am, check out @noel.fieldings.wardrobe, which has done an excellent job at documenting the items he’s worn on the show. The person behind the account hasn’t posted anything new in about a year, but regardless of whether or not the account continues, it’s an excellent archive.
Pipe-Eye “Lords of Lithium”
Pipe-eye is one of the solo projects of Cook Craig, who also plays with King Gizzard and The Murlocs. Cook recently dropped his latest album, Pipe-defy, on p (doom) records—a label founded by the Gizzard crew to release their own music and that of their friends.
The lead single, "Lords of Lithium," dives into technology’s grip on our lives, exploring the struggle for genuine connection in a digital world. There’s a sense of entrapment—feeling locked in cycles of addiction yet yearning for meaningful connection. Oh, and it's incredibly catchy.
Pipe-defy is Pipe-eye’s fourth studio album. Nearly a decade in, the musicians in the Gizzard orbit are still producing boundary-pushing, listenable music—and Pipe-defy is no exception. You can give the full album a listen over on Bandcamp, and it’s on all the streaming services as well.
Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary
A Yacht Rock documentary? Yeah, that's an automatic watch for me.
Directed by Garrett Price, who also brought us the Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage documentary, Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary dives into the smooth sailing world of Yacht Rock. It features interviews with legends like Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, and Kenny Loggins, plus insights from musicians and historians influenced by the genre, including Mac DeMarco, Fred Armisen, Questlove, and Thundercat. Noted asshole (but maker of great music) Donald Fagen of Steely Dan declined to participate in the film, but his voice can apparently be heard over the phone for a brief moment when he gave the director an expletive-filled earful and hung up.
It comes out November 29 on Max. It sounds like the perfect way to relax while nursing your post-Thanksgiving food (or booze hangover — I won't judge) on Black Friday this year.
Trap Toys
And finally…if you want to REALLY appeal to my interests (yeah, I’m easy to figure out), go ahead and release some extremely niche and extremely limited toys that combine pop culture nostalgia, hip hop, and you guessed it…puns.
Trap Toys have gone and done just that.
They've released limited runs of "bootleg rap toys" such as ODBeetlejuice, Eazy-He, Ghostbusta Rhymes, the NWA-Team, and Nasferatu. In addition to some of the "bootlegs" they've also partnered with some artists on some official toys. Those artists include Run the Jewels, A-Trak, The Alchemist, Riff Raff (of course), Murs, and Ill Bill.
A lot of them sell out pretty quickly, so keep an eye out. They also sell prints of some of these concepts. You can see more (and subscribe to their email list to stay up to date) over on their website.