My Back Pages: 7/4/26
Joel Paterson, Portuguese Flannel, & more Van Morrison
Welcome back to My Back Pages, a weekly digest recapping everything of note from the last seven days—pods, bylines, appearances, plus a few odds and ends.
Let’s get to it.
Pods of the Week
The big news of the week (in my world, at least) was the shocking departure of Bob Britt from Bob Dylan’s band. Steven Hyden and I caught up for a shoot-from-the-hip breakdown of all the drama on Never Ending Stories. Still a lot we don’t know (and probably never will), but we made our best Kremlinological efforts at interpreting the situation. One thing’s for sure: new guitarist Joel Paterson seems to have the juice.
Unlike our regular Never Ending Stories episodes, this one is free and unlocked for all. Give it a spin:
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We also had a hearty debate about the Curtis Hanson film Wonder Boys, for which Bob Dylan wrote the Oscar-winning song “Things Have Changed.” The song is certainly better than the movie, but I came around a little bit on the film by the end of our chat. I’ll give it another go in a few years. Maybe it just takes some time to fall in love with that rascal Grady Tripp…
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On Jokermen, we were joined by our friend Aaron Olson for a fine interview about his new record Songs Album II (which I also wrote about a little bit last week). One of my favorite releases of the year, scratches any number of rock songs itches—plus Aaron is a total mensch.
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Over on our Death Grips series, we were joined by Benjamin Booker for a conversation about Bottomless Pit—the most Put It On record in the DG discography. Still trying to get to the bottom (har-har) of this one, but it was valiant effort from all involved. Great to hear thoughts on Death Grips from another genre-defying artist, as well.
Chune of the Week
Van Morrison: “Philosopher’s Stone”
This section isn’t intended to just be random late-era Van tracks, but I guess that’s how it’s worked out so far.
Unlike the boppin’ “Did Ye Get Healed,” this one finds Mr. Morrison in a wistful, world-weary mood, pondering his unique burden. It’s a great conceit for a song, deploying the Philosopher’s Stone as a metaphor for whatever quasi-mystical process allows us to transmute the ruddy substance of our daily lives into ecstatic, eternal art. Lyrically, it’s classic Van shit: daddios, lonesome roads, and mystical mumbo-jumbo, all underwritten by a simmering sense of misanthropy (“Even my best friends, they don’t know”).
Musically, the song is a marvel, nailing that uniquely Morrisonian mix of melancholy, spiritual, and optimistic. Van lays down a little harp while organ and piano call and respond to one another like two stray cats on either end of a lonesome alley, strings swoop in from up on high, and you go out feeling like you’re just about to see the face of God. Makes for a fascinating listen paired with the alternate take released on the 2008 remaster of Back On Top, which is played as a straight blues. It’s still a solid number, but it utterly loses that misty sense of wonder that you can only ever get from peak Van the Man.
I may not have loved Wonder Boys, but salute to Curtis Hanson for introducing me to this one.
Fit of the Week
I wore this on Thursday July 2nd for our trip up to Sonoma for the holiday weekend.
It’s perfect summer weather in the Bay right now—low 80s, dry, occasionally breezy—so I took the opportunity to wear a new shirt from Portuguese Flannel. I’m typically skeptical of short-sleeve button ups, many of which strike me as juvenile, precious, and/or ~basic~. When I spotted this shirt at the great No Man Walks Alone, however, something about it caught my eye. They were sold out in my size, but I managed to snag one direct from the brand.
I’m glad I did. The heavyweight cotton allows the shirt to maintain its wide, boxy shape, which eliminates the slim-fit/Obama-era/Joseph Gordon Levitt vibes I’m often concerned about with short sleeves. At the same time, the open weave keeps everything light and breathable. Walking around in it, you feel constantly ventilated, as if planted directly in front of a perfectly-tuned air conditioner. The custard & cranberry color combination is nice, too.
I paired the shirt with some of my favorite pants, Casatlantic’s Tanger cut in a rich navy herringbone linen. I thought about going all-in on the mid-century leisure look with loafers, but I ended up going for something more functional and less referential with Bedrock Mountain Clogs. Shoes are always a great chance to do something dumb. Have fun with it.