ABOUT THIS EPISODE
We had to rerecord this episode for several reasons (without changing the masterpieces), but this gave it added poignancy. The great farmer-poet Wendell Berry died in the intervening weeks (31st Aug 2026) at the age of 92 and so it was all the more special to focus on this poem, DO NOT BE ASHAMED.
It’s one of the hundreds that he published over his long, intentionally non-transient life. But the fact of his total commitment to living in one place throughout (Port Royal, Kentucky) gives this remarkable poem even greater force since in many ways it articulates the worst sides of small-town life. It gives permission, if not a mandate, to break free from the psychological bonds that high-control communities exploit to keep their subjects in step.
The backstory to this song is fascinating. Alexander Abraham was born to Nigerian parents in Athens, Greece, but the whole family moved to the USA when he was just 11. But he faced more significant setbacks in the States. His mother was killed in a car crash resulting in his being fostered, and then as a talented football (ie proper, NOT American football) player, a serious injury ended his career.
But during his convalescence, he started teaching himself guitar. Which is, of course, not necessarily going to result in much at all. But in Alexander’s case, it led to him starting a career in music. Who knows what might happen if injury ever prevents him from playing music?
We had some discussion as to exactly what he’s wrestling with in the song Stay. Why the sense of guilt (in the first stanza), where do the loyalties lie? But it does seem (though you can make up your own mind) that he’s wrestling between the roots he’s put down in Texas and the fun and excitement of London’s music scene. It’s a beautifully measured performance, and Joel particularly loves the guitar solo by Gary Clark Jr in this clip below.
Sam Mendes has a pretty impressive cinematic (let alone theatrical) track record. But 1917 may well go down as his masterpiece (unless his Beatles quartet is incredible…). Inspired by the stories told by his Trinidadian grandfather Alfred Mendes (who had fought in the First World War), the entire war is distilled into a 24 hour period in which we experience the constant jeopardy, futility and horror of the frontline.
Two British Lance-corporals (Schofield and Blake) are ordered to undertake a do-or-die mission to warn the 2nd Battalion Devonshires that if they proceed with the planned dawn attack on the next morning, they will walk into a trap and be massacred (because the Germans have only made a tactical retreat). It is the ultimate Quest story, and it certainly packs a punch. The cinematography is spectacular, the cast top-notch, and the cinematic immersion complete. It is an astonishing achievement.
I became quite obsessed with the film when it first came out, and ended up writing it up for The Rabbit Room here. It was the cyclical nature of the narrative that really got under my skin, so much so that I tried to map it out here.
