2020 Reading / Listening / Watching recommendations

As 2020 draws to a close and everybody has a couple of days to kick back, I wanted to share music, books etc. that I enjoyed over the last months. Those are not necessarily new or freshly released, but rather simply what I liked or rediscovered last year. Also, as I turned 40 a couple of months ago, I’m probably ultimately released from staying hip to everything new coming out.

Reading

• William Gibson: Neuromancer trilogy. I re-read some science fiction this year, as (a) the “classics” remain highly entertaining, and (b) there are always new things to discover especially when comparing the worlds created by Gibson or Neal Stephenson to developments in reality. The books in the Neuromancer trilogy have an interesting take on how technology reshapes society and economy. Part of the stories revolve around the waxing and waning powers of AI, and the thinking about these scenarios does not feel “dated”, despite “Neuromancer” having been published in 1984.
• Sean Carrol — Something Deeply Hidden. Getting a better (or at least any at all) grasp around quantum theory has been my personal education goal for last year. While this will clearly be a lifelong journey, Sean Carrol’s book is a great starter.
• Haruki Murakami — After Dark. In general, the always somewhat slowly increasing weirdness of Murakami’s stories lends itself nicely to the overall mood this year. After Dark is no different. More of a novella then a full novel, it just tracks a night of misteriously intertwined characters in Tokyo.

Listening

Radio
I have rediscovered Radio shows to some extent. Not the truly traditional radio, but Apple Music radio shows in particular. You can think about it like podcasts that can actually play music, because the copyrights are all sorted out under the Apple Music framework. Anyway, there are some great shows but my recommendations are:

• Stretch & Bobbito Radio — the hiphop radio pioneers from New York are back spinning great mixes in actual DJ sets.
• Echochamber with Mike D — the Beastie Boy curates topical shows on specific artists or music styles.

Podcasts
2 recommendations:

• Pivot Podcast w/ Kara Swisher & Scott Galloway for everything tech, politics and society. Fun, bold, sometimes ruthless — and well informed and analytical at the same time. If you want a quick fix on Silicon Valley news and US politics, while being entertained at the same time, listen to Kara and Scott twice a week.
• Conan O’Brien needs a friend — Unapologetically silly, great conversations. I have been a fan since watching Conan’s original late night show was one of the first (and only available) English language programs in my youth, and the podcast is just straight-up fun without any fluff.

Music
With limited opportunities for live shows, clubs or anything, 2020 has been the year of the headphones and music as a much more individual experience. Here are some recommendations that lend themselves nicely to dedicated listening sessions:

• Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite — I only properly discovered this in 2019. Some of the compositions are familiar but in its totality the album has a very distinct sound and feel. “Isfahan” and “Amad” stand out. And while you’re listening to Duke Ellington check out “Fleurette Africaine” from the Money Jungle album. The base sound is tremendous.
• Run the Jewels: RTJ4 — in my mind greatest hiphop album of the year. I can hardly listen to new rap releases anymore because they sound tinny and the lyrics are meaningless, but Run the Jewels still know how to deploy a proper driving bass and rhymes that you actually want to listen to more than once.
• Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs and Englishmen — became available on streaming services this year. Live album from a truly unique tour. While hard on the artists (and Joe Cocker in particular) great music got made. And the line-up with Leon Russell on the keys and Bobby Keith on sax is creating great energy throughout. (Some live videos are also on Youtube. The Joe Cocker/Leon Russel dynamic also inspired some SNL sketches with John Belushi back in the day.)
• Curtis Fuller: “Five Spot After Dark” — Single song special mention due to the Murakami book. You can put this on loop for hours and won’t tire of it.
• Rolling Stones: “Ghost Town” — Old guys, but actually new song. Probably no new Stones song has sounded that fresh for the last 25 years.

Watching

• Queens Gambit (Netflix) — Probably on everybody’s 2020 list, so nothing more to say. Great story that leaves you feeling good.
• Mandalorian (Disney+) — Hard to admit, but this show alone is truly worth the extra subscription. Perfect combination of style, tone and storytelling approach for this series format.
• Blacklist (Netflix) — While it gets a bit more tedious in the latest season, it nevertheless remains entirely pleasurable to watch. James Spader as criminal mastermind is simply brilliant.
• Swedish Dicks (Netflix) — weird little comedy series about 2 Swedish private investigators in LA that resurfaced on Netflix. Come for the Keanu Reeves cameos and stay for the weird Swedes.
• Double mention in this post: Sean Carrol (see above) has a Youtube series on the biggest ideas in the universe, which is great. An educator with a board (well, an iPad and an Apple pencil). No special effects or anything, just great explanations and introductions to the most important physics concepts.
• Music documentaries: one of the greast upshots of the rise of streaming platforms has been a increased availability of very well produced documentaries on key players in the music industry over the last decades. “The Defiant Ones” on Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine or “Birth of the Cool” on Miles Davis are two great examples for such documentaries, providing background and context on what otherwise simply registered as great pieces of music.