How 'Tár' gets social media right (and wrong), great music by a professional whistler (really), and more

Roundup 01/23/2023

Greetings from Read Max HQ! Every week, usually on Sundays, but sometimes, for childcare or hangover reasons, or both, a different day, I pick out some worthwhile and overlooked books, articles, movies, and music to recommend to paying subscribers. This week I’ve got:

• A fascinating book about the present and future of life outside super-cities and on the fringes of the economy;

• A new-ish EP from a renowned whistler that’s half Spaghetti Western and half Brazilian beach; and

• Some writing about Tár and its depiction of social media and attendant dynamics, because sometimes even counter-discourse newsletters need to participate.

If any of that sounds interesting -- and if you want to support Read Max in its continuing mission of explaining the future to relatively normal people -- please subscribe below. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you.

As always, we start with a dispatch from the future: