Book: “Lincoln in the Bardo” by George Saunders (2017)

Saunders drops readers into the hallucinatory, heartbreaking, and creepily beautiful “bardo” occupied by Willie Lincoln, the recently deceased 11-year-old son of a grief-stricken president. Bardo is the Tibetan Buddhist concept of an interstitial space where souls in limbo wait for whatever comes next. It’s an emotionally harrowing, sometimes hilarious, and indescribably imaginative piece of historical fiction. 

Movie: “There Will Be Blood” (2007)

“There Will Be Blood” wins out as one of only a handful of perfect films. The script (adapted from the novel “Oil!” by Upton Sinclair), the acting, the cinematography, and Johnny Greenwood’s score, all cohere seamlessly. The story follows wildcatter Daniel Plainview as he travels west with his son, securing oil fields against his rivals. It’s a pitch-black meditation on how the unbridled pursuit of wealth, power, and control corrupts the soul. Needless to say, beware of ambitious men whose circle of friends is held together entirely by their proximity to power. 

Song: “Cure For Pain” by Morphine (1993)

This is painful. In a former life I was a studio and live sound engineer; now I’m a sociologist who buys too many records. From a shortlist of 20 all-time favorites that deserve to be here, I grabbed one. This one is by Morphine: a jazz drummer, a two-string bass played with a slide, a baritone and tenor sax, and the late great Mark Sandman’s voice. It’s a vibe.