MEDIA DIET
By:
March 17, 2026
A weekly series exploring the media “input” of a group of people — HILOBROW’s friends and contributors — whose “output” we admire.
Brother Watt has been a valued HILOBROW contributor since 2017. His first post was on the topic of DASHBOARD TOTEMS. His most recent contributions to this publication include: YOU’RE NOT BLANK (SO BABY WE’RE THROUGH) | SHAKE APPEAL | FASCIST.
San Pedro…
HILOBROW: What forms of media do you “take in” the most regularly/frequently, during a typical day or week?
MIKE WATT: from the internet: via youtube.com dr collier, vlad vexler, professor tim, stephen west and shannon kim
HILOBROW: What work of literature (old or new) would you recommend to someone trying to make sense of today’s world?
MIKE WATT: tommy pynchon’s latest book “shadow ticket” cuz I haven’t read yet and herman melville’s “moby-dick” cuz I just re-read and he’s trying to talk about everything.
HILOBROW: What work of nonfiction (old or new) would you recommend to someone trying to make sense of today’s world?
MIKE WATT: every bio on john coltrane you can find, especially bill cole’s and c.o. simpkins. dave gelly’s bio on lester young. wayne goins and craig mckinney’s bio on charlie christian. will york’s bio on michael belfer. “the kagero diary” by michitsuna’s mother (translated by sonja arntzen) and “the pillow book” by sei shonagon (translated by meredith mckinney). I think explaining any “why these should be read” would defeat the purpose of reading them, correct?
HILOBROW: What are your reading habits?
MIKE WATT: I read part of a bio every morning I can, trying my hardest not to fail, like how I do w/twentytwo minutes at a time w/the elliptical trainer. I read fiction later in the day, after prac or recording w/the bass.
MEDIA DIET series: MATTHEW BATTLES | DEB CHACHRA | ADRIENNE CREW | HOLLY INTERLANDI | CAROLYN KELLOGG | MARK KINGWELL | ADAM McGOVERN | CHARLIE MITCHELL | TOM NEALON | PEGGY NELSON | ANNIE NOCENTI | GARY PANTER | LYNN PERIL | JONATHAN PINCHERA | HEATHER QUINLAN | NICHOLAS ROMBES | CARLO ROTELLA | LUCY SANTE | SETH | MIKE WATT | JUDITH ZISSMAN | & more to come! Visit the SERIES INDEX.