The Crush Letter No 163: DEVOUR
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Hello Crush,
Welcome back, Summer! We missed your sultry ways, your shimmery haze, your seductive gaze. Cheeks out, loves. And butter them up with sunscreen.
Lisa Ellex and I are back with things for you to DEVOUR to get your weekend – and summer – started.
In This Letter. +DEVOUR +Social Media I Loved This Week. +Our Song of the Week Tell me mama how is freedom
DEVOUR {things to watch, read & listen to}
In our monthly DEVOUR column, we share all the things we think you should eat up.
Thank you to the CRUSH Readers who sent in DEVOUR recommendations. If you've devoured something you loved, please let us know here!
From Daniel. Read. The Algebra of Wealth: A Simple Formula for Financial Security” By Scott Galloway.
I’m buying this newly published book for all the millenials I’m close to. It is like an updated “I Will Teach You How To Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi, for today. It includes much more strategy on careers, from somebody who has mastered giving advice to this age group, as well as character and life decisions that affect your wealth. (Like, divorce is costly on every level emotionally and financially, so put a lot of thought into who you marry.) It covers investing basics, but it is a lot more than that. Also, NB: I find Scott Galloway tremendously annoying, so I was biased against the book. But the book is good.
From Mieke. Listen. Life with John Mayer.
I listened to his music channel, on Sirius radio, for three days straight and loved every song! No repeats either. His music list is a mix of new and all the old songs we have loved over the years. His picks are so his style and appreciation and his comments are ultra insightful.
From Sarah. Watch. Poor Things. (Apple TV/Amazon Prime/Hulu)
Starring Emma Stone (who won an Academy Award for this performance), Poor Things is perhaps the best movie I’ve ever seen. Perfect stage of life to reconsider how we let societal norms hold us back. And you can’t beat the name “Bella Baxter” as a main character.
From Sarah. Read. The Vaster Wilds By Lauren Groff.
It’s a story about a young woman on a journey of great personal growth. I liked that everything was from her perspective, so you were on the journey with her and seeing everything through her eyes. You can intensely feel as if you’re “living in her shoes.” You’re not switching from one character’s perspective to another. But since it is just her, there really isn’t much dialogue. It’s a unique, specific read.
From Sarah. Watch. Mad Men. (Apple TV)
(I re-watched the whole thing). I may have enjoyed it even more the second time. You already know the story line, though watching it a second time gives you a more nuanced appreciation for the characters and their respective arcs. The biggest thing, though, is that it is just so visually entertaining! The costumes, the set design, Don Draper. The story lines are great. You can focus on and appreciate all the visual aspects and the details even more the second time around.
From Rachel Solomon. Watch. The remake of Shōgun (Hulu and FX). Slight new twist on a classic we grew up watching, a compelling drama and a good romance with tension. It is an epic journey, and I started listening to a couple of podcasts on the show that provided a lot of additional insight and background, and they added rich layers to the show. There is an official FX podcast and there is Mangum Talks TV, where the host covers every episode from a reviewer’s perspective.
From Anita. Watch. Survival of the Thickest (Netflix)
First, it’s just very funny. Second, the lead, Michelle Buteau, is gorgeous and is always looking good as a fashion stylist. But mostly it captures all the things: the struggles to look and feel good in bigger bodies, finding yourself after a breakup, friendships, and how life isn’t a straight path.
Your recommendations are a beloved highlight in our periodic DEVOUR Letters, so please leave yours here. Thank you!
And now for some recommendations from Lisa Ellex and me.
Watch. HACKS (MAX)
This show centers on a stand-up comedian in her 70’s played by a brilliant Jean Smart whose toughness, resilience and take-no-prisoners competitiveness—the very traits that fueled her career—continue to play out in her personal and professional relationships. Said to be based on Joan Rivers, Deborah Vance’s humor (and life) is laced with toughness and sharp elbows.
That would be enough of a story in of itself, given what Deborah has had to endure, and make others endure, to get where she is. But the heart of the show is the evolving relationship between Deborah and Ava, a struggling L.A. writer in her 20’s who has her own tough traits. She’s impulsive, self-destructive, sarcastic, very woke and, of course, a know-it-all who can’t help but lecture Deborah on how to be the right kind of feminist, among other things. Their relationship develops slowly and with its considerable share of volatility and inter-generational struggle. Part mentor-mentee (though those roles shift back and forth between them), part surrogate Mother-daughter, part loving and part dark, their bond is fascinating, often humorous and—midway through its latest Season—entirely enthralling.
Watch. Shrinking. (Apple TV)
This show about a group of shrinks with issues of their own, starring Jason Segel as a recent widower whose grief has made him check out of both his and his daughter’s lives. As Segel’s Jimmy pulls himself together, he is supported by a wonderful cast of beautifully flawed and sympathetic characters that includes Harrison Ford, who (at 80) steals every scene he enters. The show is well-acted and successfully pivots between funny, tender and dramatic. The real reason to watch is its reassuring message that while being human means being deeply flawed, we are still also deeply deserving of love.
Listen. “Twenty Five” by Lake Street Dive.
Pass the tissues. Hard to believe that little band from Boston – Lake Street Dive – has been together 20 years. We’ve covered their versatile lead vocalist Rachel Price here before and this week they’ve offered a sneak peak from their upcoming summer release album, Good Together, expected in June. “Twenty Five” is a nostalgic piece of long-ago love that will have you feeling all the feels. Give a listen.
Watch. Dream Scenario. (MAX)
Snap out of it! Never one to portray boring characters, Nicholas Cage does so brilliantly in his latest film, Dream Scenario, now streaming on MAX. In the role of Paul Matthews, an ordinary character in an extraordinary circumstance, Matthews suddenly begins appearing in the dreams of strangers. Though national media coverage begins to jeopardize his marriage, his relationship with his daughters, and his position as an evolutionary biology professor, he is so wrapped up in his 15 minutes of fame that he stops at nothing to pursue a book deal. With his quiet and boring life in shambles, he eventually rues his choices. Written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Kirstoffer Borgli, this film is a must-see for Cage fans.
Watch. The Ides Of March. (MAX)
What price politics? Imagine if a presidential candidate tried to cover up a sex scandal in the attempt to win an election? Oh wait – nevermind. Released in 2011, this political drama features a stellar cast that includes Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, and the late, great Phillip Seymour Hoffman all at the top of their form. The problems start when the candidate (Clooney) gets involved with an intern (Wood), who is involved with the second-in-command of the campaign (Gosling).
Watch. Night Music with David Sanborn and Jools Holland.
…play on. The music world lost a great one this month– saxophonist David Sanborn. The sound of his alto sax was unmistakable, and with 25 albums, 6 Grammys, 8 gold records, and one platinum, Sanborn is considered one of the most influential cross-over players in music. David took great pleasure in bringing musicians together, especially musicians of different genres who would never get the opportunity to play together. For that reason, he created and hosted (with Jools Holland of Squeeze) the show Night Music that ran for two seasons on NBC. With guests like Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Paul Simon, Phoebe Snow, Todd Rundgren, Leonard Cohen, Darlene Love, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Marianne Faithfull, Eric Clapton and many more, Sanborn put together episodes that have become part of television and music history. You can watch most of the episodes on YouTube here.
Read. Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me by Whoopi Goldberg.
The Girl with the EGOT. From that night in 1984 when I saw Whoopi Goldberg in the Broadway debut of her one-woman show, I thought she was destined for greatness. But Goldberg was already great. Here in her recently published memoir, Bits and Pieces, Goldberg shares how – with a mentally ill mother’s guidance and her brother’s love and devotion – she thrived in the projects of a culturally rich New York City and developed a sense of self that set her on a path to success and fulfillment. Goldberg has succeeded in telling a truly inspirational story that is simultaneously heartfelt and hilarious.
Read. Wise Girl: How the Mafia Taught Me to Succeed on Wall Street... and in Comedy by Elyse DeLucci
New Yawk Tawk. Following a successful career in finance, delivering twins, suffering postpartum depression, and enduring a divorce, how did an Italian-American girl from New York conquer comedy? Her tongue-in-cheek memoir tells all and gives humorous advice on getting ahead in business and in life.
You can hear from DeLucci everyday as she reports her daily down-to-earth observations on Instagram.
Go. Travel.
When Dogs Fly. The philosophy of Bark Air – the newly launched first-class airline for your furry friend – is that NO dog should ever fly in a crate. That’s why every dog gets their own seat in first class (right next to their human). As if that’s not enough, your pup will enjoy a pre-flight doggie snack accompanied by a beverage of their choice, a treatment of calming pheromones, and a nice dose of color and music therapy before receiving their noise-canceling ear muffs. With a capacity of just 15 dogs and humans, reservations are hard to come by despite the hefty price tag. Fasten your seat belts– traveling New York to LA fetches $6000 (for both you and your pup), with NY to London costing $8000.
Follow. Neil the Seal (Instagram).
Free Willy. Though it sounds like the plot of a Disney movie, Neil the Seal is for real! The determined southern elephant seal living in the Australian state of Tasmania emerges from the sea as he fancies to roam his village. Though he’s a local celebrity, he often wreaks havoc on traffic, destroys property, and causes a disturbance, forcing the authorities to capture him and return him safely to the water. Join his 150k followers in checking in on his daily activity.
ANTICIPATION: A FEW THINGS WE CAN’T WAIT TO DEVOUR:
Watch. Federer: Twelve Final Days (Prime Video). Coming on June 20th.
Watch. The Bear: Season 3 (Hulu / FX). Coming on June 27th.
Watch. Presumed Innocent. (Apple TV). Coming on June 12th.
Social Media I Loved This Week
Song of the Week
Thinking of You By Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz just turned 60. How does this shit happen? It’s funny how we’re roughly the same age and while I see the signs of my galloping maturity every time I look in the mirror (or go through a hot flash) I had him fixed in my mind at 25, the age he was when his first major song Let Love Rule came out. I do love that he recently said “I’ve never felt so young,“ about turning 60.
Kravitz wrote Thinking of You for his Mother, Roxie Roker, who played the character of Helen Willis on The Jeffersons. Roxie died in 1995 at the age of 66 from breast cancer.
As Lenny Kravitz says, let love rule.
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Dish
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