Good Things from Good Folk: Brennan Jones

a new Good Folk recommendation series

Happy Monday Folks,

Couple of exciting things today—this newsletter is both an introduction to Good Folk’s newest team member and the kick-off of a new recommendation series we’ve been envisioning for a while, one that emerges out of a Resource Roundup series we ran back in the early days of Good Folk. One of the things I hope to show in curating a newsletter about Southern artistry is that Southern and rural artists are just as much driving the cultural zeitgeist as those in larger urban areas; as a young artist, it always felt to me that what was “cool” emerged from places like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles—and that, by extension, a move to these places, which seemed so far away from those I called home, would legitimize me as an artist and therefore as “cool”. But as anyone who stays on top of the cultural scene knows, that story couldn’t be further from the truth. Arts and culture have always thrived in Southern and rural spaces! So much of what we think of as “cool” today has roots in the American South and rural locales off the coasts: the explosion of country music over the last year! Chappell Roan’s wild path to fame with 2023’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess! Muscle Shoals and Americana culture, which artists from Beyonce to Lana Del Rey have leaned into as of late! All this is to say that not only are the artists in the South cool, but we are also contributors to contemporary culture. So with that rant out of the way, let me introduce you to one of the many cool people of the South and some of the things they’re obsessed with lately.

A formal welcome to Brennan Jones, who will be taking over podcast production here at Good Folk. A self-defined audiophile, Brennan will be jumping in to step up our audio game. Brennan holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and is pursuing a Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is originally from Savannah, Georgia and now resides in Durham, North Carolina. Drives home to see his family take five or five and a half hours. He has to crop a beer out of every picture of him going to professional use, including this one.

Mr. Omer in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

He makes coffins and clothes and he is always laughing despite his bad lungs. Borges said "the characters Dickens create are in perpetual rapture of being themselves."

Dr. Matthew O'Connor in Nightwood by Djuna Barnes

He may also be in rapture, but it is not one of being himself. Sometimes it is good if a novel can make you choke.

Playing

I like having fun and playing games and playing around.

Songs 7 minutes and longer

Seven minutes is a good length for a song. Longer is often a treat. Isaac Hayes's version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is over eighteen minutes and it's perfect.

Burning CDs

I will make you a mixtape if you would like one. I will then burn it to a CD, write something on it, and mail it you. I have a friend who actually prints labels on them, but I don't have that level of equipment.

Asking people if they know x person when you hear where they’re from

Oh, you're from Boston? I've been there for a total of six days over two trips in my life, do you know this person? What about this one who went to the same enormous college as you three years apart? If one of these hits—which they often do, small world and all— it feels like winning the lottery.

My cat

She is very cute and very mean, and I love her.

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