Most Useless Information June 2024
Hurt wrist, wisteria, limitations, and unknown recommendations
What’s the point?
I try to box three times a week. Most often this means a 6AM boxing class on Monday morning and Wednesday morning. A boxing class on Friday after work. On Mondays and Wednesdays classes end with a few rounds of heavy bag work. Most often this means throwing 1s and 2s (jabs and crosses) for a couple rounds, throwing 3s and 4s (left and right hooks) for a couple rounds, and 5s and 6s (left and right uppercuts) for a couple rounds. Wednesday morning a few weeks ago we were throwing 5s and 6s for a couple rounds. One punch my right fist landed wrong. Pain in my wrist. I thought, “Fuck, that wasn’t right.” Shook my head. Kept uppercutting. Mostly pain free. Didn’t think more about it.
Later that day I had to carry a stack of books from the mailroom to the front desk. My wrist hurt. I thought, “Fuck that’s not right.”
At home on the couch. Frozen peas on my wrist. It felt better.
On Friday I did yard work. In my backyard there’s a mulberry tree. The tree is covered in wisteria. Long term project removing wisteria from the mulberry tree. I pulled down a lot of vines. Once on the ground I cut the vines into ~3 foot sections. The city yard waste folks only pick up yard waste in ~3 foot sections. Cutting vines hurt my wrist. I thought, “Fuck, that’s not right.”
I thought, “If my wrist hurts cutting vines it’s going to hurt punching a bag or a person.”
I thought, “I shouldn’t box today” and I didn’t.
Sometimes your limits force you to recognize them. Sometimes your limits force you to miss things you’d rather not miss.
I mention all this because this month my limits forced me to recognize them. I couldn’t put together a normal newsletter. Instead, here are recommendations for books, music, and movies that I haven’t read, heard, or seen.
A most useful twist on a recommendation list.
Enjoy!
Books I haven’t read:
Body High by Jon Lindsey
You can’t judge a book by its cover. But you can recommend one. It rips off the Vintage Contemporaries covers from the 80s and makes it gross. Don’t know anything about this other than the cover and its something about LA.
Read it and tell me what it’s about!
Sula by Toni Morrison
A few years ago I read something that said something like “I didn’t like Elena Ferrante because I read Sula and it’s the same, but better.” A pretentious and bratty comment. It’s possible I’m not getting the quote or the spirit of the quote right. Either way, it made me want to read Sula.
Read it and tell me if it's the same as Elena Ferrante but better!
Eroticism by Georges Bataille
It used to be whenever someone I knew said they had read Bataille, or I read something that quoted or mentioned Bataille I would say and feel, “I’m jealous that they’ve read Bataille.” Since Bataille and I are both librarians I felt like I deserved to have read him more than everyone else. So I read Literature and Evil by Georges Bataille. Now my jealousy is more specific. I’m jealous when someone has read Eroticism by Georges Bataille.
Read it and make me jealous!
The Heartsong of Charging Elk by James Welch
Penguin Classics have reissued Welch’s first three novels (Winter in the Blood, The Death of Jim Loney, and Fool’s Crow). All three deserve to be classics. His last two novels (The Indian Lawyer and The Heartsong of Charging Elk) haven’t been reissued by Penguin Classics. I don’t know if they deserve it or not. They have ugly, or at least forgettable, covers. They are most easily found in thrift stores in the Northwest. From what I’ve read The Heartsong of Charging Elk is in the same vein as Fool’s Crow. Or maybe they’re both just historical fiction. I don’t know.
Read it and tell me if it’s in the same vein as Fool’s Crow!
Wait, Blink: A Perfect Picture of Inner Life by Gunnhild Øyehaug
There is a Norwegian literature and cultural journal called Vinduet (The Window) that I look at from time to time. A couple years ago there was an essay about Gunnhild Øyehaug. The subtitle of the essay said something like, “Gunnhild Øyehaug should have been more famous than Knausård.” Apparently even in Norway people can’t write about Norwegian writers without shoehorning a mention of our good friend Karl Ove. It’s silly. Sometime ago I read a review of Wait, Blink, but I can’t remember anything about it.
Read it and tell me what it’s about and if Øyehaug should be more famous than Knausgaard!
Headshot by Rita Bulwinkle
Last summer I tried to read every book about bodybuilding. Something like 5 books. This summer I want to read every book about boxing. So far I know of something like 4 books. I read the one by Joyce Carol Oates. Since Headshot is still in hardcover it’s not next on my list.
Read it and tell me if I should get it out from the library!
Albums I haven’t listened to:
Danzig III: How the Gods Kill by Danzig
For the last few months my go to album has been Danzig II: Lucifuge. It’s my favorite album of the moment. Every song is good. It makes me feel like I’m 14 years old and lifting weights with my friend in his uncle’s garage in New Jersey. It’s a weird feeling. I started listening to it because Keith texted “Mother” was in the second season of Yellowjackets. Since I’d only ever listened to Danzig’s first album (the one with “Mother”) I decided to listen to his other albums. I only made it to the second album. It’s too good. When I get bored I’ll move on. Keith says some of the best songs are on How the Gods Kill but at this rate it’ll be years before I hear them.
Is This Still Laughing Hyenas? By Lenguas Largas
First I liked this band because they released a split 7” with Mind Spiders and covered my favorite Mind Spiders song. Second I liked this band because they played in a basement a couple days after I moved to Bloomington. They had three drummers, which is gimmicky, but it sounded sick. One of the guys in the band insisted they had recently played John’s Alley in Moscow, Idaho. He said one of their band members was from Pullman. Despite knowing about John’s Alley and the existence of Pullman I didn’t and still don’t believe him. The album cover is the pic of the guy from the Minor Threat album imposed on the cover of Use Your Illusion I. Funny.
Leftism by Leftfield
I keep telling myself I’m going to get into electronic music. Sometimes I tell other people that too. Someday I’ll listen to this album and be into electronic music. There’s a guy who writes about Arsenal everyday and I read most of what he writes about Arsenal. A while ago he did an interview where instead of speaking about Arsenal he spoke about being a DJ, making electronic music, listening to electronic music, dancing to electronic music, and doing cool drugs. He mentioned Leftism is one of his favorite albums. As I’m typing this I’m realizing I misremembered. It wasn’t in an interview. It was on a day he didn’t have anything to write about Arsenal. He reviewed the bands he watched play Glastonbury on TV. Leftfield was one of the bands. He wrote that Leftism was one of his favorite albums. I’ve meant to hear it ever since. Maybe someday.
GUV I by Young Guv
Young Guv used to sing in a hardcore band called No Warning. When I was new at boxing there was another guy new at boxing wearing a No Warning shirt. I said, “Nice shirt.” He said, “Thanks, I thought there would be someone here who got it.” We went through level 1 and level 2 together. We talked about sparring but never did it. One day we were doing a drill and I landed a pretty good hook to his head. After class he said, “I was in the ring and like, ‘I don’t want to hit Tim, he’s my friend. But then you hit me and I was like, ‘Oh, okay.’” I felt bad. There’s no way I ever thought my punch would land. I told him that. A few weeks later he moved to LA.
Now Young Guv makes music that sounds like Teenage Fanclub. I love Teenage Fanclub
Bandana by Freddie Gibbs and Madlib
It got so much hype when it came out. I think there was an essay in The Baffler about it. Less than a year later Freddie released Alfredo with The Alchemist and that’s all I listened to. Now seems like a good time to go back and give Bandana its due. I thought Freddie Gibbs was in a movie recently, but I don’t see it on his wikipedia page. Can’t be bothered to look any deeper.
Universalists by Yonatan Gat
When I lived in Oswego, New York I became obsessed with a band called Silver Jews. I used to listen to their entire discography in chronological order in a single sitting. I watched interviews with them. I learned the words to their songs. I found out that David Berman produced this album. Or he was involved in some way. I’m a completionist. I need to listen to this album so I can hear everything David Berman did. Haven’t yet.
First Four EPs by OFF!
I like hardcore punk rock.
Movies I haven’t seen:
Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
I read a bunch of bodybuilding books last summer. So when I saw the trailer for this movie I thought, “That’s exactly my style.” Meaning it was about a bodybuilder. Saint Maude, Rose Glass’s other movie, was a surprise. Fantastic. A cockroach that is god and speaks in Welsh is almost as much as my style as bodybuilding. Maybe most of you have seen this already. I haven’t. I’m stoked.
Gilliap (1975)
A few years ago I became obsessed with Roy Andersson. I had a plan to watch all of his movies in a single sitting. I guess like I used to do with Silver Jews. I didn’t follow through. I still haven’t seen all his movies. Gilliap was his second movie. Apparently it was a flop and instead of making another movie he made commercials for the next 20 years. During that time he saved money to build his own studio and production company so that he needn’t rely on anyone else for making movies. Once he came back to making movies he made some of the best. Very distinct style. Gilliap I don’t think has that style yet. But I don’t know cuz I haven’t even seen a trailer. I don’t know anything about it.
Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Mikey’s Gyros used to sometimes have a soup called “Velvet Goldmine.” Someone who worked at Mikey’s Gyros told me that the movie wasn’t very good. My guess is that person was wrong. Based on all the other Todd Haynes movies I’ve seen I have a suspicion that Velvet Goldmine is actually very good.
The Boxer (1997)
Now that I’m done reading books about bodybuilders and I’m on to reading books about boxers I also want to watch all movies about boxers. So far Raging Bull and Million Dollar Baby are the only ones I’ve seen. I didn’t like either. Wait, I saw a Japanese movie on a plane called Small, Slow but Steady about a deaf boxer who’s gym closes. It was good. I hope The Boxer is good too.
Help (2021)
Stephen Graham is my favorite actor. Nobody on a tv screen makes me feel sadder than him. He plays a guy who has dementia. Jodie Comer plays his hospice nurse. Released in 2021. Set during Covid. Guaranteed to make me feel sad. Maybe you too?
A Dirty Shame (2004)
Johnny Knoxville and John Waters. It doesn’t look good, which makes me all the more interested. I think John Waters hasn’t made another movie since? Someone might correct me.
P.S. Heads up. It’s possible Most Useful Information might slow down or change schedule a little over the summer. Ideally I’d like to do the same thing I always do, but I’m trying to read some longer books, which makes pumping these things out a little trickier. I’ll prolly send something out every month, but it might not be a regular newsletter and/or it might not be on the first Thursday. We’ll find out what happens together!
Forever thank you.