Recently I’ve been finding people that I just look up to a ton. Right now I’m in a kick with Anthony Bourdain, David Simon (creator of The Wire and great writer), and David Foster Wallace. It just seems everything they do is just about perfect and amazing. Even in interviews, they are wholly interesting and amazingly insightful. David Simon in particular has my utmost trust as he just seems to hit the nail right on the head every time I see some blog post or interview he does.
Yeah, I was a bit curious about that, too. I love David Foster Wallace, but wouldn’t consider his work in this category. Now, I gotta admit - I have been following his legacy - reading pieces by other authors, e.g., Jonathan Franzen, Dave Eggers/the McSweeney’s crowd (who considered DFW to be their standard-bearer), etc., and I read the biography by DT Max.
For living artists, I would go with Haruki Murakami - his most recent novel, 1Q84, was a letdown to me, but I went there. I would like to claim Neal Stephenson, but the Baroque Cycle was a slog and I threw Reamde aside after way too many pages - maybe 600 in.
Musically, I have to go with Jeff Beck - again, his work can be very hit-or-miss, with some attempts really not working for me, but others - an instrumental version of The Beatles’ Day in the Life - really!? Yes, really - totally smokes.
I guess that’s the point with “following a specific artist anywhere” - I like the risks they take, even if they don’t always pull them off.
Oh, hey - you know who I have come to see as a sign of “this could be interesting”? The actor Joseph Gordon-Leavitt - the big stuff he is in is likely to be good or at least worth a shot, and the small movies he is in, like Brick and his own Don Jon are worth checking out (I hope for DJ, but at least it has ScarJo for eye candy ;))…heck, even that silly bike messenger movie was fun…
I don’t tend to pick up on people to follow. Individual works of worth will catch my eye, of course, but it’s rare that I connect from one project to the next.
There are a very few people who’ve managed to create works that are so consistently interesting and of high quality that they’ve managed to pierce the fog of my apathy and stand out as people to look out for.
Joss Whedon - I haven’t loved everything he’s done, but it’s always worth a shot, and often turns out to be a favorite.
Paul Thomas Anderson - magnolia woke me up to what he is capable of, and I have found everything of his to be interesting and enjoyable, and I’m very much enjoying how much he’s developed in his craft.
The Coen brothers - Definitely some of my favorite movies are by these guys. Some of their earlier work doesn’t appeal to me as much, but most of their projects are worth watching again and again.
Vince Giligan - has just entered this list. His next project will determine whether he stays on the list, but I’m pretty hopeful.
I’m not sure why there aren’t any individual actors, writers, or musicians that have passed the bar, so to speak, for me. For the latter two categories, I think it may actually be a matter of too much competition - there are far too many types of music, far too many stories and novels, for me to lock in and absorb absolutely everything by one artist at the expense of experiencing many more.
Just authors, who rarely end up being interviewed, so I just keep an eye open for their new books.
Donald Ray Pollock, Tom Franklin, Ron Hansen, Stewart O’Nan, Laura Lippman, Kate Atkinson, David Mitchell.
But I’m fickle. Disappoint me once and you’re off the list. Joe Lansdale, David L. Martin, Dan Simmons, Stephen King are no longer having an impact on my budget.
Films – I don’t know enough about filmmakers to have many favorites, except for the Coen brothers. I’ve watched No Country for Old Men more than any other movie.
Leon Russell
Todd Rundgren
Dustin Hoffman
Judi Dench
Chuck Lorre (hey, I’m one of the masses)
Andrew Vaachs
Louise Erdich
Martin Cruz Smith
George Takei—he puts it all in perspective
Absolutely on both of those. As I remarked to my wife while standing in line for Punch Drunk Love “We trust Paul Thomas Anderson so much that we’re waiting in line to see an Adam Sandler film!”
Yes, a thousand times yes! Even when he’s doing something I don’t care for, like Arena or the album of Robert Johnson covers, he’s going to do something interesting. And he will frequently produce something I think is utterly brilliant, like the Liars album and tour.
