Andalusia - Pete's Newsletter - Issue #22
Photos of the Week
Song of the Week
Ray LaMontagne has written the best song of the year with "Such a Simple Thing." His voice pours in from the shadows, a man from a different time, lost in love, and looking for answers.
Album of the Week
Sounds like Billie Joe has been heading down the hill from Rockridge into the Rockabilly bars in Alameda. The album Love Is For Losers by The Longshot, his new side project, takes Green Day's punk anthems and wraps them around 60s greaser rock.
The lyrics seem to draw from the conversations between Billie Joe and the bartender at Lucky 13 as he laments marital discord in "The Last Time" and the passing of his glory days in "Chasing A Ghost."
Start with the first track:
Artist of the Week
Snail Mail is a new indie-rock solo project by Lindsay Jordan, a 19 year old, from the suburban town Ellicott City in Maryland.
Her songs will undoubtedly be the soundtrack for countless lonely lovesick Maryland teens as they drive aimlessly into the humid dark summer night, windows down, fireflies streaming by, wondering where to go and what to do next.
Start with these two songs:
Book of the Week
The Reluctant Fundamentalist was published in 2007 by the same author of Exit West and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. This book shares the fictional story of a Pakistani man slipping away from America post 9-11. Highly recommended, particularly if you enjoyed his other books.
Video of the Week
It was refreshing to see an adult in the room as Macron spoke to Congress and confronted the weak leadership embodied in Trump's MAGA brand of Nationalism.
We can choose isolationism, withdrawal, and nationalism. This is an option. It can be tempting to us as a temporary relief to our fears. But closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world. It will not douse but enflame the fears of our citizens. We have to keep our eyes wide open to the new risks right in front of us. I’m convinced that if we decide to open our eyes wider, we will be stronger.
The entire speech is worth your time.