Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams are the Unlikely Karaoke Duo We Need

The joys of watching the grumpy movie star sing along to Sugar Ray.

Mondays are hard. But the Monday before returning to work after the holidays are like the final seconds before a race begins: all adrenaline and hope and anxiety and wobbly legs at the starting line, awaiting the signal to jump up and go.

This newsletter usually comes out on Sunday mornings, but I’m posting this now because of my own anxious and hopeful energy starting a new year.

The TV show Shrinking was the rare show I watched last year without multi-tasking: no reading, no crossword puzzles, no scrolling. It had my full attention because it was easy and warm and pleasurable, just like relaxing in a ray of sunshine.

Also, Shrinking has Harrison Ford being funny. Not just funny. Exhilaratingly goofy.

So, I have always secretly loved Sugar Ray’s “Every Morning.” It’s just that I have never said this out loud or even admitted it to myself. (Why? I blame my latent Gen X conditioning about “authenticity” and “cool,” neither of which have ever been applied to Sugar Ray.)

Watching Jessica Williams¹ and Harrison Ford sing “Every Morning” full-throated made me finally accept that I love this song, and one of its primary pleasures is how it’s GREAT to sing along with. As illustrated by Harrison Ford, who fully throws himself into this in a way that just tickles me. Especially his emphatic gesturing, and how he sings the word “ripped” with such fire-eyed rage.

These two actors are so fun together, one of the best comedic duos I’ve seen in a while.² And seriously: I would trade all his grim and serious Jack Ryan-type movies if we could have had Harrison Ford being this funny throughout his career.

A New Year’s recommendation:

Last year, at the end of every Saturday I chose one song that represented the past week in some way. (For example, a new song I discovered and couldn’t stop listening to, or a song that I associated with a particular time or experience).

At year’s end, I put all 52 songs in a playlist³ called “Songs of 2023.” A glimpse of it can be seen below and viewed in full here.

Doing this made me pay more attention to everything I experienced and felt, and what that inspired in me in turn.

I’m going to select a song per week again for 2024, and so wanted to recommend it here too! If you start now and make it a weekly habit, by the end you’ll have a unique and personal snapshot of your past year.

Reading recommendation:

On New Year’s Eve, I read an essay about “creative waiting.” And early on New Year’s Day, I had a writing breakthrough that I had been puzzling over for months. The right idea had finally arrived (phew!), which I had been hesitant to force out of myself. And now I know I was right to wait for it.

This was creative waiting in action, a process I had just read about in

The Pamplet

. I am thrilled to have discovered this thoughtful and fascinating newsletter, and recommend it as whole-heartedly as Harrison Ford loves Sugar Ray.

Mary Shelley (and a bit of Steve Jobs)—On the Art of Creative Waiting

This week’s fun fact:

2024 is a leap year, so here is a fun fact about the rare individuals born on Feb. 29:

Babies born on Leap Day are called “leaplings.” The odds of being one are about 1 in 1,461.

Notable leaplings include Ja Rule, Pope John Paul III and Superman. Who knew? And if they all wanted to band together and form a club, they can do that too.

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Happy New Year! I hope 2024 starts on a good note, and without the wobbly legs.

1. As fun as it is to watch Harrison Ford, the best part of Shrinking is Jessica Williams. She is a standout, and every scene is a thousand times better when she is in it. (Also, she’s great in the 2017 movie The Incredible Jessica James too.)

2. I really hope Season 2 of Shrinking includes them going to a karaoke bar. (Although I have a feeling that Harrison Ford’s character would totally hog the microphone.)

3. Which I’m actually listening to right now as I write this! Currently playing: a song associated with a past newsletter entry.