Postcards: Amy Winehouse Against Fiona Apple

It's Friday, I'm traveling, and the rest of the day will be bananas. Let's talk about the innovation/invention tournament. A huge matchup looms this weekend. ͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­ Forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]() for more You are a free subscriber to Postcards from the Florida Republic. To upgrade to paid and receive the daily Republic Risk Letter, [subscribe here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Postcards: Amy Winehouse Against Fiona Apple]( It's Friday, I'm traveling, and the rest of the day will be bananas. Let's talk about the innovation/invention tournament. A huge matchup looms this weekend. [Garrett {NAME}]( Mar 15   [READ IN APP](   Market Update: Quad Witching today, so do not overreact to price swings. This is one of the biggest days of the year for market volatility. Global liquidity is at an all-time high… options are expiring… and it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day. Don’t take any moves too seriously. Over in our portfolio, PBF Energy (PBF) is on fire… and Arcadium Lithium (ALTM) is getting hammered. That’s the market. I wish I had recommended Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) two weeks ago instead. ADM is a buy up to $60. I’ll explain why tomorrow. If my arms are crossed, it means I mean business… Dear Fellow Expat: I wish I had something profound to tell you about the stock market. But it’s Quad Witching… and the equity markets are barely blinking. Bitcoin is getting punched, and the Nasdaq is taking a little drop… but it’s a critical options expiration day. There’s no real threat right now around liquidity. It's just profit-taking. It’s an excellent time to sell puts and credit spreads on insider buying. Think Occidental (OXY), Devon Energy (DVN), and Intel (INTC). More on that Sunday… I’m going to do something annoying. I’m going to talk about music today. Get to know me… My Playlist My favorite song is “Galaxie” by Blind Melon. The lead singer, Shannon Hoon, was Axl Rose’s backup singer on the MTV hit Don’t Cry. Hoon had a range that was better than Axl’s. Hoon sadly passed away at 28. People equate Hoon with the song No Rain. It was a great commercial song, but it doesn’t hold a candle to his better writing in Change… and, of course… Galaxie from their final album, Soup. I love this song on levels people can’t understand – it just explains me. I’m not a guy who wants to drive a Cadillac… I’m okay with a shitty Ford Galaxie… I’m in the business of making so much money… that I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t need much… But I’ll fill the damn hole to ensure that my wife and daughter (and her daughters) have it better than I ever did… Hoon was a massive mess in his final months… he didn’t remember [filming this video]( [but what a live show]( this was. You can see in the band’s face during this performance that they knew what was coming. Even the audience looks terrified. What’s so tragic about this performance is how good it is… as he is deeply under the influence. Can we go back and just talk to him? Hell… [the moment at 2:11 in the studio video]( he waves his hands and then shakes (what looks like a clear cry for help) them a moment later… this carves me in half. He is the most underrated musician in my lifetime, and I miss him. [No. 2 is Ave Maria]( by an unknown child in the 19th century. It’s not something I listen to often. But it reminds me of one of my favorite people: My mother. If you find a song that does this… embrace it. I don’t know what God looks like, but I assume God likes this song. Third is David Byrne’s “[Naïve Melody - This Must Be the Place]( [This cover by the Lumineers]( our wedding song. At the three-minute mark, where there is a VERY short break… I stopped dancing and hugged my wife. It was the best moment of my life. Nine years later, I can still feel it whenever I want. I saw Byrne’s America Utopia in Chicago; it was the best live show I’ve ever attended. Both versions are worth your time. Byrne had Benjamin Clementine open his show in Chicago, and he chose wisely. Clementine is one of the best solo artists in Europe right now and can write in ways that only Bob Dylan and Courtney Barrett (Australia) could. Fourth is [Don’t Get Lost in Heaven/Demon Days]( by Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz). I danced to Don’t Get Lost In Heaven via CD in the Gulf of Mexico after I finished my second novel… (Second best moment of my life, with apologies to my daughter’s birth, which was the most stressful 10 minutes of my life). About 45 minutes after the Gulf of Mexico incident, I got into a very aggressive shouting match at the beach bar with former Speaker of the House Dick Gephardt over the status of Maryland horse racing. What a great day that was. Have you ever called a House Majority Leader a word I can’t repeat to his face? Mission accomplished after the sixth vodka while Bear Stearns collapsed in the background on CNBC. And then… There is a debate about the last song on this Top 5 list. This is my postcard. I’m stuck… It’s innovation invention contest time… And that leads us to… Amy Winehouse’s “[Back to Black]( versus Fiona Apple’s “Paper Bag” Choose your fighter… This will be a critical 8 v 9 battle in the Republic Research Innovation tournament. New results this weekend… I must decide today… While “Criminal” by Apple is probably a better commercial song, I enjoy [“Paper Bag”]( because of the genius of her wordplay. “I thought it was a bird… but it was just a paper bag,” she sings. She’s talking about men… You know exactly what she means. In this song, Apple begs for a responsible partner while acknowledging her own limitations. She describes herself as a mess. I’ll be the judge of that. On the other hand, Winehouse kicked perfection out of bed because of her limitations. “Back to Black” is haunting. It’s just a confession in Black and White. Listening to either song will not ruin your day. This is like choosing your favorite child… I am leaning toward Winehouse because I think she was the best vocalist in the 27 Club (Shannon Hoon was 28 when he passed). That means she tops Hendrix, Joplin, and Cobain. Yahoo! has Winehouse ranked as the 25th-best female voice of all time. These people need to be committed. She’s behind Houston, Turner, Fitzgerald, Dion, and Franklin? I’ll concede Houston and Turner… but come on… Drugs and alcohol suck… None of them… ever… had a song as well produced as Back to Black. Other Songs To Hear Today… I loved and hated David Letterman at the same time as a kid. When I was younger, I loved him. I stayed up in Ocean City and argued with my grandmother when he went to CBS and I just wanted to watch his first show on the new network. But as I aged… I found him to be a bully in his later years… He gave way to schmucks like Jimmy Kimmel… Letterman is one of those people I like one day… and dislike the next. So… I’d probably be friends with him. I have no ill will… Letterman had a heart issue before retiring… and [Everlong by the Foo Fighters got him out of bed.]( One of my fraternity brothers once argued that David Grohl carried Nirvana and was the more talented musician. I think he was correct the entire time. Letterman also had [an entire show dedicated to Warren Zevon]( (who was dying at the time). This was Letterman at his best… When Letterman asks him about life and death… and Zevon says… “Not unless I know about how much you’re supposed to enjoy every sandwich.” So appropriate… Letterman also launched [Radio Free Europe for REM](. But nothing… comes close to the Letterman performance of [Future Islands’ Seasons](. Sam Herring (Baltimore guy) just blows the doors off. I met him about a decade ago, and if I knew then what I know now, I’d have given him all my dollars. Letterman has said it was one of the best performances he ever saw. I agree. Herring is asked about this a decade later during every single interview. It’s that damn good. You can see him go from nervous to “whatever” in half the song. It’s so wonderful how it worked. If you get this, you will. If you don’t… it’s okay. This is one of the greatest live performances of all time – no one has the guts to do what that man did live. Letterman loved it. “THAT WAS WONDERFUL!” he said. Letterman rarely offered that sort of review to a band.   Damn it… if you have a shot… take it… please. But other Songs to Consider: - [Train Song by Vasthi Bunyan]( (Relaxation) It was in the 1960s and this song ignited my creative passive for a song I haven’t written. - [Chalk Dust Torture]( by Phish (Listen to the guitar). It’s really funny to be a fan of Phish and 25 years later… select this as my favorite song of theirs. It’s like saying that the best Bob Dylan song is “Rolling Stone” when the answer is clearly “You're No Good.” - [Condolence – Benjamin Clementine]( Remember My Way by Sinatra? This blows the doors off with a better message. This video… this video is a man walking barefoot trhough poverty in 75% of the video… and then in the last minute… he sends his condolences to his fear and problems in the heart of London. If you see this… go do what you want with the rest of your life. It’s so on the nose. He says: “You should know by now… you should know by now that I just don’t care.” Everything about him as an artist is worth your time. [Cornerstone too…]( this is an incredible song… one that should prove you have a heart.) I love this video where a bunch of Mainstream British artists try to compete against him… and they all know… in their core… that he’s on a different level.[This was a homeless man on the streets of Paris a decade ago]( and now he may be one of the greatest pianist players walking today. If you give people a shot, this happens.) - [Estranged by Guns & Roses.]( Fight me… Use Your Illusion II was the first CD I ever bought… and this could be either the best song on the album or the worst. I think this song is a national treasure. It’s amazing how edgy Axl thought he - [Brokedown Palace – The Grateful Dead](.  It’s a wonderful song that makes you think. That’s all I can ask.) I’ll return with market commentary and a few new trade ideas tomorrow. Stay positive, Garrett {NAME} Secretary of Finance. Disclaimer Nothing in this email should be considered personalized financial advice. While we may answer your general customer questions, we are not licensed under securities laws to guide your investment situation. Do not consider any communication between you and Florida Republic employees as financial advice. Under company rules, editors and writers cannot recommend their positions. The communication in this letter is for information and educational purposes unless otherwise strictly worded as a recommendation. Model portfolios are tracked to showcase a variety of academic, fundamental, and technical tools, and insight is provided to help readers gain knowledge and experience. Readers should not trade if they cannot handle a loss and should not trade more than they can afford to lose. There are large amounts of risk in the equity markets. Consider consulting with a professional before making decisions with your money.   [Like]( [Comment]( [Restack](   © 2024 Garrett {NAME} 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 [Unsubscribe]() [Get the app]( writing]()