BritBox trailer: https://t.ly/Af-z4

“The New York Times” said “Until I Kill You” was one of the ten best foreign TV series of 2024.

But it’s probably not for you.

When people ask me for streaming recommendations…they usually tell me they want something like “Ted Lasso,” upbeat, that will leave them with a smile on their face.

That is not “Until I Kill You.”

“Until I Kill You” is about a serial killer. And it’s true. And it’s vivid and dark and you can’t take your eyes off it.

So what we’ve got here is Delia, played by Anna Maxwell Martin. It’s certainly one of the best performances of the year. You truly believe Martin is Delia Balmer.

As for her love interest, John Sweeney,” Shaun Evans plays him with that charm we’re all susceptible to, and his good looks are enticing. Shaun is warm until…

He’s not.

Actually, at first you won’t know who is the serial killer. Because Delia is so strange. But by the end of the first episode…

There are only four, just under an hour long.

And one of the main messages here is you can’t trust the police, they’re not really in it for you. It’s just like the press, if you’re called to give a quote, or to be on TV, make no mistake that they’re using you, and you can instantly be replaced. The cops would rather not fight crime, they’d rather not be bothered/overwhelmed. And you’ve got to convince them your story is true and then they say there’s not enough manpower to make sure you’re safe and ultimately they can’t prove the case, so you’re SOL.

So you live in danger. Or do you? Is it all in your head or…

And what are the psychological effects of violence, and do you really want to tell your story again and again on the stand? No one seems to care about you, that you’re falling apart.

I don’t think they’d make this show in the U.S, Because we can’t handle something this dark. It’d be gussied up with a movie star, who supersedes the role, rendering the whole thing less than believable, probably some icon slumming for awards season.

We want to believe there are answers in America, that it all works out. But most times it doesn’t, or there is carnage along the way.

You probably don’t have BritBox and based on the above you probably won’t sign up for it. You probably stick to HBO and the Netflix algorithm.

But foreign television is almost always better than the American product.

You can see the “Times” list here: https://t.ly/qwOhv

I haven’t seen them all, so I have a lot to look forward to. We burned our way through the “Times”‘s best International TV of the teens, which was very rewarding. You can start here, there are so many winners:

Free link: https://t.ly/tvVZ-

And if you’re the kind of person who reveled in foreign movies in the sixties and seventies, someone who wants to finish a show and be affected, I heartily recommend “Until I Kill You.”

Once again, it’s TRUE!

King of the Dobro!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jerry-douglas/id1316200737?i=1000680954971

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/a29cd3e8-1496-4d9c-b0bf-a819460994f5/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-jerry-douglas

I’m disturbed by the annual Top Ten lists. In many cases, they’re comprised of music I’ve never heard, if not acts I’ve never heard of. And there’s a distinct focus on pop, what is in the Spotify Top 50, and hipster music that is loved by a small slice of the public. Meanwhile when you look at what is selling tickets it is completely different. Pop doesn’t dominate clubs, it’s almost completely absent. And clubs is where live acts start their journeys, where they build their careers. And these are careers that last, that are not dependent upon hit singles.

They’re not sexy for the press, because there’s no flash, no theoretical universal story that appeals to all.

There’s no rock on these lists, nothing that appeared on the Active Rock chart. These acts tour year after year to big bucks, they have dedicated fans, are you telling me that not one of them made worthwhile recorded music this year?

And even though the country is now driven by country, there’s a dearth of music from that genre too. Sure, Zach Bryan is occasionally listed, but let’s be clear, Zach didn’t break from the press, as a matter of fact the press were last, Zach broke via word of mouth long before he had a track in the Spotify Top 50. Zach was selling arenas and could have sold stadiums before the press truly acknowledged him.

The music scene is incomprehensible. Those at mainstream media outlets seem to have forgotten the pre-MTV era, where hits were not everything and lyrics dealt with more than love. Of course there are critical darlings, hip acts akin to those of yore, but most people have never heard of them and most people never will.

As for Sabrina Carpenter… Are we really treating her with gravitas? Teen star makes a pop album with the producer du jour. This isn’t “Jagged Little Pill,” another album made with a not as big teen star with a hot producer, but you’d think from the hosannas it is.

This is a shi*tty way to grow the business. The recorded music business is insular, based on an old model, and the media plays along. Oftentimes massaged tracks made for mass consumption when it’s the authentic and edgy that resonates, there’s a reason Chris Stapleton is the most revered act in Nashville. And in case you missed the memo, Chris Stapleton is a rock act, and plays stadiums himself. The public loves Stapleton, they love country, but since it almost never penetrates the top of the Spotify Top 50 it is ignored.

In case you missed it, we are living in the early sixties in the recorded music world. The lightweight artists that were wiped from the map when the Beatles came along. They are dominating the chart and many people are dismissing music as a result. Music is not hot. Sure, it’s a business with a lot of consumption, but there’s no superstar making everyone pay attention. The last time we had that here was with Adele, over a decade ago.

As for Taylor Swift and BTS and the rest of K-pop, they’re niche acts. Very large niches, and doing boffo at the b.o., but if you’re not interested, you’re not interested and never will be.

People respond when I write about politics and streaming TV. They are hot, they are where the action is, there are issues to be debated. What is there to say about most of the acts in the Spotify Top Ten? NOTHING!

Now “The Guardian” did a Top Ten folk music list. I listened, some very interesting stuff that I’ve never heard of and almost no American is familiar with. But there is a scene there, with dedicated musicians unconcerned with the usual metrics of streams and charts.

Turns out mainstream music criticism is as out of touch as the mainstream media, and derided by the public as a result. The press doesn’t tout an act that breaks or surges on TikTok, the public does.

The system is broken.

And most Americans have no idea what to listen to when it comes to new music.

But never a negative word is heard in the halls of the major labels or major media outlets. It’s a world of constant hype, everything is groovy.

Thank god for the artists that don’t play this game. They are forging their own path and the public is reacting, at venues, irrelevant of the charts.

There are two trains running. And one is being completely ignored.

But that’s the one true music  fans adore.

https://t.ly/vi5fH

I loved this book!

I got it from the library a couple of months ago and read the first page and gave up. I’d just finished another book, and it’s oftentimes difficult to get into a new one. The tone is different, in so many books you have to get halfway through to get into it.

But then I saw “Shred Sisters” listed as one of the best books of the year.

So I reserved it again.

I’d just finished Jami Attenberg’s “All Grown Up,” which took me the better part of two weeks, since I’d been on the road. Which is to say when I ultimately finished it, there were only a few pages left, so I had no hangover, I immediately started “Shred Sisters,” and wow!

This is the kind of book that cuts like butter, it’s not hard work and it’s not long until you get invested.

What you’ve got here are two sisters with the last name Shred. One a nerdy science lover and the other a beautiful free spirit who…

Colors outside the lines, gets in trouble, and the mother can’t handle it and the father keeps being supportive and…

Life is a mystery. You truly realize this as you get older. You wake up one day and say HOW DID I GET HERE? How did I end up with this person, how did I end up doing this work… It never turns out the way you planned. You think you’re going to have one occupation but then the wheels turn and you end up doing something else. You get married and think it’s forever, but then it’s not.

People. And society.

Sometimes you get locked out. The opportunities in your chosen field dry up, and you’re forced to pivot. One thing I’ve learned about getting fired is you always end up in a better place. It may be hell getting there, but when you do you marvel how happy and fulfilled you are, and look back and can’t conceive of continuing to do what you once did.

And the people you meet along the way… They influence you. Some people risk constantly and flame out, others do so and become billionaires. Then there are others who are afraid of their shadows, but they’re victimized anyway. The factory closes, their spouse dies, your beloved has an affair with a coworker and you’re forced to deal…with situations you could never fathom.

So Ollie (short for Olivia), breaks the code, does all this stuff you’re not supposed to. How do parents cope with this? As Stewart Copeland told me about his seven kids…you never know what you’re going to get. You want them to love sports but they’re into the arts. They’re infatuated with something you pooh-pooh. Do you let them go on their way or try to corral them into being the person you want them to be?

And not everybody’s feet are planted firmly on the ground, not everybody is reliable. You can have a great conversation, a great sexual connection with someone you ultimately can’t depend on, who can’t be changed. You have to accept them as they are. But that’s almost impossible to do. You keep having hope that this time they’ll come through, you think this time they’re on the right path, but then they jump the tracks and you’re left holding… The emotions. That’s one thing popular culture never unearths, the pain of relationships, family, love, the breakups, the trauma, it can go on for years, DECADES!

So what we’ve got here is a family drama. Which really hits its stride in the 1970s. No one here is famous. No one here is rich. But the father’s lumberyard is successful and…

The story unfolds.

You’ll see yourself in this book. Not throughout, but at moments. And you’ll wonder how Betsy Lerner knows this stuff, you thought you were alone.

And then you’ll be pissed when it’s over, you’ll want more.

I always have to give these caveats… If you only read books to learn something, to help you further your career, “Shred Sisters” is not for you. But it will make you feel less alone.

If you’re a macho guy, doing the bro thing with your buddies, “Shred Sisters” won’t ring your bell either. Then again, are you hiding who you really are?

Books are not like records, they take more than a few minutes to consume. And too often people recommend stuff that is difficult to get into, stuff that makes them feel good about themselves that you want nothing to do with. This is not a tough book. But if you want to go on a ride with a family, you’ll ultimately find connection, and that’s what we’re all looking for, to not feel so all alone.

And that’s a paradigm that has been marginalized in the present. Everybody’s got their public face, their lives are so wonderful. The whole world is an Instagram post, filtered for consumption to make the poster appear superior and you to feel like a loser.

There are constantly divides in life.

Oh, I want to mention how you never know who your friends are, you’ll disconnect and then reconnect… Sometimes they’ll burn you and you’ll forgive them, sometimes you won’t.

I don’t want to tell you what happens in this book.

But I do want to tell those who the above resonates with to read it.