Music and Movie Talk #2 - Happy New Year
Happy New Year. I hope your holiday season was a memorable one and you got to spend it in a way that brought you joy. Besides the snowstorm, I had an enjoyable end of the year and am looking forward to my plans for 2023. Though procrastination tends to get the best of me—as it does with so many others—I have a lot planned for the year writing-wise and musically. Woohoo for goals.
Regardless, I recently picked up a few records and thought I’d share them with you. I got a couple of gift cards for some local record shops for Christmas and immediately headed to them a few days ago to add to my ever-growing collection. Nothing more relaxing than browsing through a record shop’s catalog and picking up some new records.
Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
Genre - Experimental Rock
Release Date - 2008
Listen Here
One of my friends showed me this record a few years ago, and I fell in love with it. It’s one of those cult classic records that blew up in popularity years after its release, and nowadays you can find every finite detail about it on an obscure music subreddit. I always wonder how some albums spontaneously blow up from out of nowhere, but I suppose the internet is responsible for most of that.
Deathconsciousness isn’t for everyone and is lengthy, depressive, existential, and melancholic. The record begins with nearly eight minutes of reverberated acoustic guitar that floats around in a droning ambient soundscape. It takes an emotionally pummeling turn with Bloodhail and continues its ever-changing dense course within an 85-minute plus runtime. Give it a listen.
Little Simz - Grey Area
Genre - Hip Hop
Release Date - 2019
Listen Here
As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I’m a big fan of Little Simz, and her third studio album, Grey Area, introduced me to her catalog. It’s everything I love in a Hip Hop record, having catchy beats that direct your attention to Little Simz talent paired with production and lyrics that are always engaging. I’m not sure how I’d rank Little Simz catalog, though I imagine I’d have Grey Area first since it’s what got me into her music.
Porridge Radio - Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky
Genre - Indie Rock
Release Date - 2022
Listen Here
Look here, another 2022 release that made its way into my record collection! I really dig this record, and it's a part of my frequent album rotation whenever I’m driving. It has a broad range of post-punk and art rock while utilizing emotionally layered lyricism reminiscent of bands like Neutral Milk Hotel. I still have to dive into the group’s other releases, which I hope to get to sometime this week.
Bonus Movie Talk - The Daytrippers - My First Movie Of 2023
Hey, what’s the point of a music and movie blog/newsletter if I don’t mention both? Last night, I viewed The Daytrippers as my first movie of 2023. I’m hoping to hit 300 movies this year, so hopefully, this is the first of many for the year. Released in 1996, The Daytrippers is a comedy-drama directed by Greg Mottola in his feature directorial debut. You might know Mottola from the late 2000s with his films Superbad (2007) and Adventureland (2009).
Starring Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Anne Meara, Parker Posey, and Liev Schreiber, the film tells the story of a wife and her family investigating her husband after she discovers a love letter written to her husband by an unknown lover. It’s hilarious—very dry unlike Superbad or Adventureland—and has a level of authenticity that makes you feel like you’re a hidden camera with the family instead of the usual cinematic feel. Stick with the awkward parts and immerse yourself as best as you can.
The film doesn’t offer much plot-wise besides a quirky family arguing and meeting strange characters while looking for the eldest daughter’s husband in New York City. However, that’s not to say its modest scale is a negative, since the film’s strength predicates on its arid sense of humor and great dialogue. It works really well, and if you’re a fan of movies that focus on family issues with oddball humor, you’ll love it. I watched it on Criterion, and it’s also currently available on HBO Max and Amazon Prime.