Five Easy Pieces: Aug 19, 2002

What's tickling my fancy this week

Welcome to a new piece of the puzzle here at the Small & Simple Thing World Headquarters, Five Easy Pieces. (The name is an homage to the great Jack Nicholson film.)

Every Friday I will be sharing a quick hit list of 5 things I’m into. They may be wildly outdated or impossibly current. They may be overexposed and well known, or a hidden gem. This is for all subscribers, free and paid.

I hope you enjoy.

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1. The sonic landscape of War on Drugs

I’ve been playing these two War on Drugs songs (from their album Lost in the Dream) on repeat. “The Haunting Idle” leads into “Burning,” and I love the way the first track bleeds into the next until it erupts into a great American rock song. (You’ve got to take them in back to back, preferably loud, to get the full experience of the build.)

I never really understood the beauty of this sort of sonic experimentation until I watched the essential documentary on Wilco, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. It chronicles bandleader Jeff Tweedy and company as they create their seminal Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. They experiment together to create a spooky, moody aural backdrop to the album, which ushered them into a new era. Check it out.

2. An essential vinegar

I adore what Acid League is doing, creating vinegars and condiments that are just left-of-center. They are familiar enough to add to the grocery cart, but original enough to be in a class all their own.

Their Seaside Fish n’ Chip Sauce is a malt vinegar at first look, but this lives in another dimension. I use it dashed on fish, roasted potatoes, and mixed into the large pot of lentils we seem to make weekly.

For some reason I can’t find the vinegar on their site, but I buy it at Whole Foods. In my local it is stocked with the tinned fish, not the vinegar.

3. Embroidered dad caps

It seems there is only one type of hat in the state of Maine: The Dad Cap. In an era when restaurants have become full on merchandise engines (do I need a pair of socks from a restaurant?), I loved the throwback, simply embroidered caps. We picked them up throughout our journey at favorite lobster pounds, old school yacht clubs, and even one aboard a gorgeous sailboat we chartered for a morning sail.

4. Nathan Fielder’s trippy world of “The Rehearsal”

Lately Netflix has been feeding me drivel designed to appeal to the masses without much meat on the bone. (Hello, The Gray Man.) HBO Max continues to reign supreme when it comes to thoughtful, creative programming. Nowhere is this clearer than the trippy mind-fuck that is Nathan Fielder’s show “The Rehearsal.”

Much has been written about this show (and it’s surely monster budget) in “the trades,” and I get it. I’m not nearly smart enough to describe the conceit of the show, but I’ll try: what if you got the chance to rehearse all the major moments in your life so they went perfectly and you could plan for every potential outcome? This is the question that Nathan Fielder tackles, going to impossible lengths to create a world for his participants to inhabit so they may “practice” their own lives.

Episode One is an instant classic. Watch it and you’ll know why I plan to visit Alligator Lounge on my next trip to New York.

5. Light Phone

Months ago I deleted the Instagram app on my phone in an effort to reclaim moments of sanity in my day. I only check (or post) from my computer which is enough of a hassle to limit my usage to a more acceptable level.

Breaking my bond to my phone was very liberating, so I decided to take another step toward digital independence: I ordered the Light Phone. The phone is small and minimal - a black and white display that only allows for calls and texts. So, you know, basically a cell phone from 15 years ago. I could have just bought an older phone, but honestly, I like the design of the Light Phone.

It just arrived but I’m excited to put a dent in my incessant email checking and my reliance on texting over phone calls. You can text on Light Phone, but it’s a pain in the ass.