Impressive panel. Nothing earth-shattering was discussed, but still interesting. Cochrane was all about fiscal theory of the price level. Bernanke was surprisingly in favor of the idea supply shocks played a large role in not only the recent bout of inflation, but inflation in the 70s (although did admit with some pushback from Romer that monetary policy mattered a lot).
If you don't have time to watch the entire thing 1 hr 52 minutes in someone asks about nominal GDP targeting and the responses are unimpressive. It's a shame you weren't there ;)
Well, I can recall when Bernanke said NGDP growth was the best indicator of the stance of monetary policy. By that criterion, both the 1970s and 2020-24 were almost purely demand-side inflation.
Do you mean over the past three months? That would be The Third Realm and In the Land of the Cyclops. I've also read many of his earlier novels and essays.
I was underwhelmed by Anora. I liked the middle third (which reminded me a bit of the nightmare getting nowhere of After Hours). But the endless party at the start had me wanting to run screaming from the cinema.
My personal favourite of the year was Kill the Jockey (El Jockey) from Argentina I saw at a festival. Not sure if it is our more generally. Great deadpan acting and beautiful costumes and camerawork. If you like Wes Andersen and/or Aki Kaurismaki you will like this I think.
I'm looking forward to Blitz as it's the same director as Lover's Rock. My favorite film in Q4 was definitely Queer, fantastic performances and direction. Her Story is on my list but it isn't playing anywhere
Cowen has great taste in music, but he doesn't get Bob Dylan's subtlety and depth like you do. The power of Dylan's singing is in its honesty (even though he invents his voice), something that's hard to define in the context of singing but some people know it when they hear it. It's a voice that allows the words to glow like burning coal.
"The power of Dylan's singing is in its honesty (even though he invents his voice)"
Good comment. When I see him interviewed, I don't see the sort of person I'd expect to produce this depth of feeling. It's like he has an interior personality that he keeps hidden from the public (and which never appeared in this film.)
It's interesting how subjective this is. Dylan is my favorite singer, but most people I speak with cannot stand his singing. Each of us has a brain that processes audio information in a unique way.
I feel like people like you and I belong to a sort of secret society; we hear things that others don't. At the same time, I don't get lots of other singers that are undoubtedly great. My taste in music is fairly narrow. Lucinda Williams and Bjork are two other singers that I connect with.
Have you ever listened to Jeff Buckley’s covers of Dylan? Just curious, because while I don’t hate Dylan’s singing, I don’t think of him as being a good singer. I want singers who can both project honestly and are skilled at using their voice as an instrument. I think Chris Cornell could do this at times, maybe Marvin Gaye?
Yes, he was one of the best interpreters--great singer. But I've heard many covers of Dylan songs and not once have I heard someone sing it in a way I like as much as Dylan. There's a reason Rolling Stone listed him as the 7th best singer in the history of pop music, he's fantastically talented. Is his voice pretty? Obviously not, but neither are Picasso's paintings. I cannot think of a more expressive voice.
Having said that, my taste in music is pretty poor, so it may be I'm overrating Dylan because I connect so strongly with his voice. I'm reacting strongly to your comment because I do not think "not a good singer" is a defensible take. Sorry.
Regarding the Dylan biopic, there are two really good books that cover this period of time that are worth reading. David Hajdu's "Positively 4th Street" focuses on Joan Baez along with her sister Mimi and Mimi's husband Richard Farina (who ironically was a classmate of Thomas Pynchon at Cornell). The second is Suze Rotolo's memoir, "A Freewheelin' Time." Rotolo was Dylan's major muse and the character of Sylvie Russo is based on her. Dylan asked the moviemaker not to use Rotolo's name in the film. His breakup with Rotolo was bad for both parties though some very good songs came from it.
I'll second the recommendation for Rotolo's book. Dylan mentions her in his "autobiography" in a deeply emotional way. Of course, Dylan can't be regarded as a reliable narrator.
https://futradaysofficial.com
Big fan. Thanks for what you do. Try'd to experiment with the form on a much smaller budget.
Off topic, but would be interested your response to this panel with Jason Furman, Christi Romer, John Cochrane, and Ben Bernanke.
https://www.aeaweb.org/conference/livecasts/2025/inflation-macroeconomy
Impressive panel. Nothing earth-shattering was discussed, but still interesting. Cochrane was all about fiscal theory of the price level. Bernanke was surprisingly in favor of the idea supply shocks played a large role in not only the recent bout of inflation, but inflation in the 70s (although did admit with some pushback from Romer that monetary policy mattered a lot).
If you don't have time to watch the entire thing 1 hr 52 minutes in someone asks about nominal GDP targeting and the responses are unimpressive. It's a shame you weren't there ;)
Well, I can recall when Bernanke said NGDP growth was the best indicator of the stance of monetary policy. By that criterion, both the 1970s and 2020-24 were almost purely demand-side inflation.
Which Knausgaard books did you read?
Do you mean over the past three months? That would be The Third Realm and In the Land of the Cyclops. I've also read many of his earlier novels and essays.
I agree that you're overrating Vanilla Sky. You're correctly rating Murder by Contract though.
Yes, it's probably the sort of film that catches the zeitgeist, but won't hold up over time.
I was underwhelmed by Anora. I liked the middle third (which reminded me a bit of the nightmare getting nowhere of After Hours). But the endless party at the start had me wanting to run screaming from the cinema.
My personal favourite of the year was Kill the Jockey (El Jockey) from Argentina I saw at a festival. Not sure if it is our more generally. Great deadpan acting and beautiful costumes and camerawork. If you like Wes Andersen and/or Aki Kaurismaki you will like this I think.
Yes, I like both directors, so I'll look for El Jockey.
I'm looking forward to Blitz as it's the same director as Lover's Rock. My favorite film in Q4 was definitely Queer, fantastic performances and direction. Her Story is on my list but it isn't playing anywhere
Thanks for the tip.
Cowen has great taste in music, but he doesn't get Bob Dylan's subtlety and depth like you do. The power of Dylan's singing is in its honesty (even though he invents his voice), something that's hard to define in the context of singing but some people know it when they hear it. It's a voice that allows the words to glow like burning coal.
"The power of Dylan's singing is in its honesty (even though he invents his voice)"
Good comment. When I see him interviewed, I don't see the sort of person I'd expect to produce this depth of feeling. It's like he has an interior personality that he keeps hidden from the public (and which never appeared in this film.)
It's interesting how subjective this is. Dylan is my favorite singer, but most people I speak with cannot stand his singing. Each of us has a brain that processes audio information in a unique way.
I feel like people like you and I belong to a sort of secret society; we hear things that others don't. At the same time, I don't get lots of other singers that are undoubtedly great. My taste in music is fairly narrow. Lucinda Williams and Bjork are two other singers that I connect with.
Have you ever listened to Jeff Buckley’s covers of Dylan? Just curious, because while I don’t hate Dylan’s singing, I don’t think of him as being a good singer. I want singers who can both project honestly and are skilled at using their voice as an instrument. I think Chris Cornell could do this at times, maybe Marvin Gaye?
Yes, he was one of the best interpreters--great singer. But I've heard many covers of Dylan songs and not once have I heard someone sing it in a way I like as much as Dylan. There's a reason Rolling Stone listed him as the 7th best singer in the history of pop music, he's fantastically talented. Is his voice pretty? Obviously not, but neither are Picasso's paintings. I cannot think of a more expressive voice.
Having said that, my taste in music is pretty poor, so it may be I'm overrating Dylan because I connect so strongly with his voice. I'm reacting strongly to your comment because I do not think "not a good singer" is a defensible take. Sorry.
Yes, Lucinda is another favorite of mine.
Regarding the Dylan biopic, there are two really good books that cover this period of time that are worth reading. David Hajdu's "Positively 4th Street" focuses on Joan Baez along with her sister Mimi and Mimi's husband Richard Farina (who ironically was a classmate of Thomas Pynchon at Cornell). The second is Suze Rotolo's memoir, "A Freewheelin' Time." Rotolo was Dylan's major muse and the character of Sylvie Russo is based on her. Dylan asked the moviemaker not to use Rotolo's name in the film. His breakup with Rotolo was bad for both parties though some very good songs came from it.
Thanks for the tips.
I'll second the recommendation for Rotolo's book. Dylan mentions her in his "autobiography" in a deeply emotional way. Of course, Dylan can't be regarded as a reliable narrator.