Look through all the Netflix shows and movies, scroll through your Kindle, search all you want: there always comes a time when you can’t find anything good to watch or read. And you give up. You decide to listen to music, but even your own playlists have started to sound ho-hum.
It happens to all of us.
So here is a quick little selection of things that deserve to be seen, read, and listened to. Unsolicited advice, sometimes haphazard and perhaps questionable, but valid for one fundamental reason: they’ve left an impression on us. And, who knows? They may leave one on you too.
Let’s start way back. At the beginning. Our first unsolicited advice is about us, about listening to punk and grabbing a beer, plus cult movies that epitomize a generation. But it is also about recent releases that reflect the spirit we were born with. Enjoy.
MUSIC
Operation Ivy, Energy, 1989
The only studio album by the ska punk band that defined the East Bay Sound and launched an entire music scene. Fun fact: the guitarist and bassist were Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong, two childhood friends who founded Rancid.
MUSIC
Johnny Cash, American Recordings, 1994
When word got out that Cash and Rick Rubin (the producer who discovered the Beastie Boys) were making this album, Misfits singer Glenn Danzig wrote a 20-minute piece especially for them. A crazy story for a record that is definitely not-to-be-missed.
BOOKS
Do What You Want: the story of Bad Religion, 2020
Just like the title, “Do What You Want,” you can, of course, do exactly that. But not reading this book would be a real shame.
FILM
This Is England, 2006
A young orphan becomes friends with a skinhead gang in England in the 1980s. We’re talking Dr. Martens, bomber jackets, community and big emotions. Beautifully told. A must-see (on YouTube!).
TV SERIES
Sons of Anarchy, 2008
A seven-season saga that catapults you into a California biker community. On Netflix for years, the series is now available on Disney+.