Welcome to Perfectly Imperfect #88 👋

If you’re new here after our June guests— welcome! Perfectly Imperfect is a 2x/week newsletter featuring good ol’ fashioned curated recommendations from real people and once a month the Perfectly Imperfect boys like to drop some hot recs of their own.

Check out the PI archive for more and join our Discord to keep the conversation going!

Without further ado

Tyler Bainbridge (instagram, letterboxd, last.fm)

📽️ Paul Schrader: Man in a Room (2020)

This is a short doc by independent filmmaker Alex Ross Perry that follows legendary auteur Paul Shrader during the making of his late career masterpiece, First Reformed (2018), a favorite of mine. If you watch the full thing (only ~30 min) you'll be treated to a delightful lil montage of his bizarre & unhinged old man FB posts (p.s. the "paul schrader's facebook posts" twitter account is a great follow).

📚 🥃 The Negroni: A Love Affair with a Classic Cocktail

While eating at Frankies 457 I spotted this lovely lil book next to their iconic Olive Oil and unfortunately they wouldn’t sell me their copy so I hit the world wide web and buy it there. Can't comment on the contents because I haven't read it (nor do I really plan to), I just bought it because of my love for hot book covers & Negronis.

🎵 Les Rallizes Dénudés

I recently stumbled upon this legendary Japanese psychedelic rock band and was immediately sucked in. After diving a bit deeper I noticed them being repeatedly referred to as "the greatest band to never officially publish studio material". Take that with a grain of salt of course, but apparently this '77 Live album is their best collection of work (the song ,"Night of the assassins", rules), so check it out if you're interested.

✌️👕 Layering V-Necks with a White Tee

Yeah I know this isn’t some profound deep cut idea, but I’ve been really into some sorta V-neck situation layered over a simple white tee. It feels classic & simple yet cool when tucked into some vintage denim or wider trousers and paired with a trucker hat. Try it out with a vintage v-neck sweater or sweater vest, or something like this navy jersey shirt from Our Legacy (see fit pic).

🎵 Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2 (2021)

Not much music from 2021 has blown me away, but Black Metal 2 is a standout to me. I still prefer Black Metal 1, but this here is a beautiful & short (10 song & 23 minute) collection of experimental pop tracks that are chock full of atmosphere.

🧢 🎨 Shrits2000’s Bootleg Art Merch

Apparently I'm kinda late to this judging by this Sam Hine's 2019 GQ piece on Shrits and his art bootlegs, but that's not stopping me from telling y'all today! These Monet caps caught my eye since I had just seen Water Lillies at the MoMA. I was lucky enough to snag one in purple before they sold out.

🎥 Jim Jarmusch - Night on Earth (1991)

Not usually into anthology films, but I was glued to the screen for all 5 of this film’s taxi rides (especially 1 & 2). It’s a pretty simple concept that’s enhanced by it’s incredible cast of Gene Rowlands, Winona Ryder, Giancarlo Esposito, and more, a great Tom Waits score, and all the other Jarmusch-isms you’d expect. If you like this film, check out Mystery Train (1989) too.

🗞️ ✈️ 🍸 Paper Plane Cocktail

I had a really good Paper Plane recently which sat on the menu as the lone drink under "bright & refreshing", which of course caught my eye. Being someone whose known to enjoy a "bright and refreshing" Margarita or ten, I decided to give Paper Planes a shot and…they definitely rock. It's perfectly balanced from it’s equal parts (1½ oz) of Amaro Nonino, Aperol, bourbon, and fresh lemon juice, and it's a beautiful shade of orange— what more could you want?

Alex Cushing (instagram, twitter, last.fm, goodreads)

🧷 Black Helmut

You may know Black Helmut from the blackbirdspyplane feature and giveaway, or else their GQ feature, but no worries the wait is over, they officially have the PI seal of approval™️, you can finally head out and cop that mini utility rack in pi blue and yellow. I’m a proud owner of the 18” mini utility rack, a beautiful steel cube mounted (very easily) to my wall, the perfect spot for my summer hat and piling totes. If your living space needs that beautiful twist of raw industrial steel, add that utility rack, or else look into their chair, table, or lamp. The endless color combinations are calling my name, and I’m sure I’ll be back for more in no time.

🤠👢 Lucchese Roper Boots

On the lookout for a cowboy boot that compliments your wild west aesthetic without leaning too much into the broadway-street-Nashville-mechanical-bull-riding look? The roper is a lower profile, more grown up looking cowboy boot. They have a shorter shaft, lower heel, and appealingly round toe with a slight point. The Lucchese’s came recommended to me from a youtube search, but it’s mostly the Roper style I want to recommend, after countless hours spent trying to find the perfect boot shape for me. 

🏠🪑 The Local Project Youtube

The Local Project is an Australian architecture and design premium magazine, with a youtube channel that focuses on some of their standout featured properties. Last weekend, I threw this channel onto my Apple TV and ended up watching every video they had to offer. It was the perfect in-between of calming background videos for cleaning / house-related chores, and full attention-grabbing material I sat glued to as I took in beautiful very custom homes, often designed with an environment-first initiative. 

📚 June Reads - Murder on the Links - Agatha Christie & The Stranger - Albert Camus

This past week, I went to Cape Cod for vacation. The airbnb we stayed at was filled wall to wall with books of all sorts. Over the door, up the staircases, and in all the rooms, there were books stashed about boat racing, insect catching, antique grandfather clocks, a professional mixers menu from the 50s, and so so many more. Naturally, I couldn’t help myself but take this environment and do with it what I do best - escape into a Christie novel. This time I chose Murder on the Links. An easy to read Poirot mystery with several twists and turns, with a satisfying (if not sort of predictable) ending. 

After that, I finally dove into my first Camus, The Stranger. I expected this read to require more effort, as many classics so frequently brought up in psychological and philosophical discussions do, but it was such beautifully smooth read. The story was linear, the characters straightforward, and all very easily ingestible. It’s amazing to me such a simple book could have so much to say, but it really does and does it so well. 

👞 OL’s Camion Mule

These mules, especially the cracked white pair, have been making their rounds with many cool creatives. I recently discovered there’s very good reason for that. I’ve worn my Toffee colored pair for 6 of the last 7 days, and don’t see any reason I should stop. They’re versatile, give that relaxed Italian summer vibe, provide your feet with the utmost comfort, and elevate every fit to a tier of it’s own. Need I say anything else?

📣 Shoutouts

Check out my side ‘sletter, My Little Mind, where I’ll be dropping in when I feel particularly inspired to write a stream of consciousness on a random topic i’m feeling passionate about - the first being summer hats.

Serey Morm (instagram, twitter, vsco)

👜 Klein Tools Bolt Bag

I don't think I'm alone out there, but along with my 20+ totes, I can't stop buying everything that's made out of canvas. The the thicker the better. I recently found out about Klein Tools, and they make small bags and totes for tools all out of No.4 Canvas, one of the most durable and water repellent canvas out there. I'm not necessarily using the bolt bags to store tools, but I've been using them to tidy up and end up being a great shelf decorations.

☕️ Red Rock Roasting

In my last rec, I've been investing a lot more time to make my coffee from scratch as a self-care routine. My buddy Trevor was the one that completely flipped my routine when he told me he was gonna start his own online coffee bean shop, Red Rock Roasting. In addition to his full time job, Trevor's running this small shop all for his love and passion for great coffee. As opposed to buying beans from some shop, I really love that we get to experience his curated set of beans and you know we love a great sec of recs! I've tried most of the beans and one of my favorite is the Burundi - Kibingo because I prefer lighter acidity. Highly recommend placing an order and he'll ship you some freshly roasted beans!

🍺 Red Horse Beer

If you haven't heard of Red Horse, it's a classic Filipino beer that is known for it's strong alcohol content of 8%. The boys and I are big fans of Asian beers like Singha, Sappora, and Asahi. Red horse is creeping up on that short list of brews for me. It has the perfect amount of sweet and bitterness flavor, perfect for this heat wave. Keep an eye out for Red Horse and give it a shot 😉

🍹 Green Tea Shot

Let me start by saying that I have had a bad history with Jameson and was never really a fan of sweet drinks, but green tea shots may have changed my view. I've gotta say, it has got the perfect balance of sweet and sour and I am a huge fan. I even ended up making it myself on multiple occasions, and it's really hard to mess it up because the ratio is even between the peach schnapps, Jameson, and sour mix.

🎵 Cyn - Mood Swing (2019)

Spotify has this dope new feature called Blend playlists that creates a curated playlist between you and a friend, using songs you both listen to and also introducing each other to new music and that is exactly how I found out about Cyn. Cyn would fall under the super chill pop genre and her album Mood Swing is good vibes all around. Never Ending Summer has been on repeat for me these past few weeks to kick off this heat wave!

Follow Tyler, Alex, & Serey on Instagram

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