WHAT I’M DIGGING

musings on music, film, books, art, and pretty things.

2020

December

The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

The Undoing (HBO)

Some Christmas stuff. Most notable new edition: the wonderful The Man Who Invented Christmas.

November

Bruce Springsteen’s newest, Letter to You, is wonderful. Not a slow-grow wonderful, which is often the case with me enjoying his work, but a rapid grow. Especially love the opening track and If I Was the Priest.

A little sci-fi gem on Prime : The Vast of Night. Been a while since I’ve seen a film that was equally in love with dialog and visuals, and that made me want to make movies like this one did. Lot of talking, lot of fiddling with equipment, lot of exposition expertly handled and just…crackling dialog. Reminded me a little of another debut a while back : Rian Johnson’s Brick.

October

Cobra Kai. Wrapped up season 2, and oh boy, what penultimate episode, what a final episode. A school fight scene to end school fight scenes. Totally ridiculous. And the ways in which I find myself caring about the relationship between the antagonists…just get along! Amidst the humor, hyperbole, melodrama, crushes, crazy family dynamics, and angst, are some beautiful ideas about empathy and the capacity to change. Or not change. Can’t wait for season 3 coming January 8, 2021. 10/15

Midnight Special on Netflix. A wonderful little science fiction gem from 2016 with a sharp cast led by Michael Shannon as a dad who will do anything to protect his eight-year old son…who has some extra-human issues going on. Shades of E.T., Close Encounters, Frequency, and the best chase films. Also, Adam Driver continues to impress me in ensembles. 10/14

Enola Holmes on Netflix. A delightful detective romp with joy, suspense, Wes Anderson-inspired quirk, and a heroine with moxie to spare. Wonderful.

September

Totally, completely caught up Cobra Kai and the masterful way it picks up Karate Kid thirty years later with the same protagonist and antagonist facing off…but in unexpected ways. A beautiful reminder of how important empathy is in trying to understand how people can end up being who they are.

Les Miserables 1978 version with the kids, for the third time. The most spiritual of all the renditions I’ve seen, and still my fave. Richard Jordan and Anthony Perkins are the duality of this beautiful yet adventurous romp through the human experience and the ways in which we relate to each other…and the role society plays people’s lives.

The kids have been doing Cosmic Yoga on YouTube. The British instructor, Jaime Amor, simply…magnificent. Her joy and vivacious energy, coupled with high production value and concepts, make for a wonderful experience in diving into yoga. Love. If you need a quick intro: Google “Cosmic Yoga” and “My name is Joe.” Or I guess you can click here (opens in YouTube in new window).

August

Border on Hulu. Swedish fantasy drama…sort of. One of the strangest fairy tale films I’ve seen, and I can recommend to few people. Very, very out there. Nothing I’ve seen quite like it. A woman who can smell people’s contraband and guilt…I was halfway through before I could really figure out where it was going.

Lost Bullet on Netflix. Here’s the thing: sometimes I want a b-grade action thriller…but I still want to feel I’m not completely wasting my time on the same regurgitated junk. Enter this: a French fast cars, criminal good guy on the run accelerating and kicking his way through and around everything and everyone as he tracks down the car carrying the bullet that will prove he’s not a cop killer. Fast, visceral, and a little different flavor than the thousand American versions you’ve seen of this. (2020, Netflix)

Courtney Marie Andrews’ newest album. A couple folk-root yearning gems. Sooo good. Guilty, If I Told You.

The Americans, season 1. Old fashioned Cold War espionage…and am I really pulling for “the bad guys?”

July

The Old Guard. Charlize Theron leads an army of, umm, four in a fight against bad people. Fortunately, they’re immortal, so that helps…mostly. One extremely disturbing scene that is much worse for me than the graphic violence. More thought provoking than expected in dealing with the downside of immortality. Worth a watch. Not for kids, by a long shot. (2020, Netflix)

…In a World. Lake Bell written by and starring. Wonderful little comedic drama or dramatic comedy film about a voice over artist looking for her big break, and the cast of characters supporting and dragging her down. Great script.

June

I cannot even say how much I loved Hulu’s adaptation of Normal People. Beautiful. Experiencing the chemistry of the two leads and the exquisite banter and heartrending dialogues pulled from Sally Rooney’s novel…moving and lovely.

May

Little Fires Everywhere…one episode in. And we’re in. Kerry Washington’s character comes across as edgy, street smart, and not overly likable. Reese Witherspoon’s as not edgy, socially smart, and not overly likable. A version of her off Big Little Lies. Moms balancing their lives, careers, relationships, and especially kids. I’m invested in seeing where things go.

The Strokes’ Why Are Sundays So Depressing? Makes me want to put together a good mix of them, Television, and Syd Barrett, with maybe a little TV on the Radio swirled in.

The Princess Bride with the kids. Ah, true love. “…know this: I shall always find you.” Never gets old.

April

The Stranger…limited series on Netflix, based on the Harlan Coben novel (have not read), and recommended by Jeremy. A wonderful example of well-balanced drama and melodrama; mystery and character sometimes not always making sense and a constant sense of over-emoting, but thoroughly enjoyable and suspenseful and…well, not altogether happy, of course. I like these limited run deals. The ones that have an end in sight.

Arrival…also with our nine-and twelve-year old. Appropriate? Don’t know. But I felt given the hundreds of hours of conversations we’ve spent discussing ideas of import, and their growing interest in thoughtful films of depth and substance, that it was time. So we did, over a couple nights. Still holds up; what a beautiful story full of suspense, science, love, language and communication, non-linear orthology, big ideas…and what the moments we live in mean, or should mean to us, regardless of where we eventually end up. Amy Adams remains a singular actor; a generational talent. (4-20)

A Quiet Place…with our nine- and twelve-year old. What a lovely experience. “This was my first thriller, right?! I loved it!” - Untitled boy. (4-18)

Homeland, season 8. Final one. Claire Danes as one televisions great all-time heroines. Believable. She’s believable. Like she learned how to act from living life rather than from acting classes. No one more expressive than her. There’s been up and down seasons. But with three episodes to go, I still have hopes they’ll find the right note to close things out on.

The second episode of Psych, where the title character, Shawn, ends up #spoiler alert# reading - or rather, having to make up - words for a regional spelling bee. “The word is…banana.” Tears were flooding my eyes.

flora cash. Love loving the Swedish duo’s latest album, a sexy, mumbly, earnest xx-channeling stream of longing and love.

Cast Away. The sparking of multiple conversations about how stories and films should end, and how much we the viewer are owed.

Millions. Yes, we do watch non-Danny Boyle films as well. This, about a young Brit boy who has a load of cash (in pounds) dropped on him from the sky right before England changes to the euro, is another stylized, spiritual, what-would-you-do romp through childhood and the loss and regaining of innocence. Like Yesterday, a fantastical take on life with Boyle’s special brand of magical realism. Charming, thoughtful, and fast-moving.

March

Absolutely loved Danny Boyle’s Yesterday; the musical fantasy in which a struggling musician is in an accident and wakes up to a world in which The Beatles never existed…and the moral quandary he’s in as he begins performing their songs as his own and becoming a worldwide celebrity. Full of romance and lovely moments; uplifting and the right amount of good-natured not-too-deep thought-provoking. And plenty of great music. I am becoming a big Lily James fan. Oh, and the scen where he plays Let It Be for his parents for the first time…sidesplitting funny. Almost crying. A beautiful cinematic family moment to experience with the kids.

One of my new fave sports films: 1993’s chess drama Searching for Bobby Fischer. No joke. So much more nuanced and powerful than I expected…and should be required viewing for parents, coaches, teachers, etc who have trouble with pushing kids beyond the limits of appropriate developmental health in the name of winning. So good. Bonus: Ben Kingsley as a sort of godfather to JK Simmons’s character a couple decades later in Whiplash. A beautiful film with some beautiful moments.

Rarely have I enjoyed a first episode of something as much as FX’s Breeders. What’s it about? Two parents negotiating with themselves and each other over how to get their young children to sleep. Profane, hilarious, hits the mark frequently with the paradoxes of parenting and the accompanying love and frustration. Not for kids to watch. But very, very funny. Thanks for the recommend, brother James.

Other picture books we have enjoyed this month

The Animal Awards / Martin Jenkins and Tor Freeman
Black and White / Dahlov Ipcar (1963)
Have You Seen My Duckling? / Nancy Tafuri
The Presidents : Portraits of History / Leah Tinari
Roger is Reading a Book / Koen Van Biesen
Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems / written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beckie Prange
The Three Pigs / David Wiesner
Wolf in the Snow / Matthew Cordell

Other books I have been enjoying this month

The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame / Peter Dreier (2012)
Booklist’s 1000 Best Young Adult Books Since 2000 / edited by Gillian Engburg and Ian Chipman (2014)
Stories of Your Life and Others / Ted Chiang (2002)
The Story of Mankind / Hendrik Willem van Loon (1921)

February

I will not hide behind bedroom doors and read Where’d You Go Bernadette.
I will not hide behind bedroom doors and read Where’d You Go Bernadette.
I will not hide behind bedroom doors and read Where’d You Go Bernadette.
I will not do that…for very long.

Harriet the film. Much more suspenseful than I was expecting. Like how they handled the violence: not shying away from the horrific nature of slavery, but making it possible for a wider-aged audience to see. Something I see as a good thing. Kids were moved by it (minus the three-year old, in bed). Up there with Selma. The way that horrific ideas become normalized at an institutional level. Kids need to understand the nature of the cycles of history and how these things are not simply something that happened once, and now we move on and read about it in the history books once in a while. Foundations are laid that allow terrible things to happen, and we need to learn and teach how to read the signs preemptively and fight for equality, justice, and respect for all.

February

The Strokes’ The End Has No End and its wailing guitar and Velvet-dripping vocals.

Aside from a steady diet of NPR, classical, and jazz in the mornings…I’m not sure if I’ve listened to anything else this month other than the twin masterpieces of 1980, Springsteen’s The River and Echo & The Bunnymen’s Crocodiles.

Haven't I told you, girl, how much I like you
I got a feeling that you like me too
- Springsteen’s Rendezvous from The River (1980)

Echo and the Bunnymen, Springsteen, Grateful Dead on a very wet January Sunday. Killer.

I go months at a time without watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the network cop comedy procedural my brother Jamey told me about in 2013. But then I pop it on to finish a long-ago started episode and am always glad. Its 23-minutes cram in plenty of jokes, gags, flying repartee that usually make me laugh way more than necessary…but its heart is the buddy dynamic between by-the-book stoic precinct Captain (Andre Braugher) and immature genius-ish detective (Andy Samberg). So much heart, especially in the way that it consistently weaves in some tough ideas throughout while rarely weighing down the funny. Perfect snack for little bits at a time. 01/20

If you love Mark Twain, rivers, and stories that have grit while still showing the unlikely beauties of strangers on a road trip becoming family…then you’re not gonna wanna miss Peanut Butter Falcon. One of my favourite stories and buddy films of the year. 12/31

I will write at greater length about both these books soon, but the 1-2 punch of Washington Black followed by Where the Crawdad Sings is significant. Entirely different, but masterful stories with page-turning plots that are slowed down only by the beautiful characterizations and rich descriptions of place, people, and the relationships - or lack of them - that drive us to do what we must do. / 12/22

David Nannon’s dialogue with legendary author Ursula Le Guin appropriately titled “Conversations On Writing.” Full of observations on genre, style, and most of all humanity. Sample, regarding point of view: “…if you read only contemporary stuff, always third-person limited, you don’t realize that point of view in a story is very important and can be movable.” (p.36) / 2018

Honestly, I don’t think Shane Black’s take on Predator (“The Predator”) is terrible. I dug it. Still tough to top Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s Idiot.

Today, I might have to say Arrival is my favourite film of the decade.

I should probably start listening to some stuff besides 80s synth pop (my choice) and Christmas music (everyone else’s choice).

Watched the first two episode of Fleabag, per my sis Lanessa, and uh, a bunch of telly critics, and oh wow, it is deftly and very funnily written. Hilarious, emotionally brutal and uncomfortable, very sharply written and acted.

Watched part of the first episode of the new Netflix Dennis Quaid Christmas show. The name escapes me, but it seems to be channeling a much less funny and much less charming fusion of Friends and Party of Five.

The first verse of Jeff Lynne’s Down Came the Rain. Achingly, devastatingly, matter-of-fact beautiful.

December (above)

November (below)

…and now am into Washington Black.

I finally finished Lincoln in the Bardo. It was a hard one to get into. All these mini-narratives woven throughout, and figuring out what was happening amidst the context of the larger story was difficult. But about two-thirds of the way through, there begins a luminescent final act that is filled with some of the most beautiful passages and ideas; some conveyed in terse and crude language, others in elegant and verbose musings. A hefty work unlike any other. If you read it, read it slow, and be patient.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s 1981 morose masterpiece Architecture & Morality.

On one of my a-ha listening kicks. Yep, the Norwegian threesome most famous in the States for Take On Me. A fabulous song, but whoever still thinks of them as one-hit wonders has no idea just how deep, prolific, and strong they’ve been through four decades of making synth-pop gems that stick.

Working through George Saunders’ Man Booker-winning novel Lincoln in the Bardo. A challenging start. Took me a while to figure out who was who and what was happening and follow the narrative structure the book is based around. Have to admit I slogged through the first hundred pages, but gradually picked up interest…and starting around p. 190 there are some beautiful, beautiful pieces and passages. Unlike anything else.

Please don’t make me admit this: I accidentally watched Nic Cage in The Humanity Bureau and I am a worse person for it. So much worse than a horrible movie: a boring movie. Not bad in the ‘going big and striking out.’ Just tepid, cliche, and mediocre in every way. I don’t want to talk about how I accidentally saw it. The whole thing. I’ll save it for a full blog post. Someday.

Amazon’s Modern Love anthology about…love. So delicious, so much deeper and layered than I imagined beforehand. Fave so far. Episode 1’s father-daughter-channeling When the Doorman Is Your Main Man…or Episode 4’s disintegrating marriage opera Rallying to Keep the Game Alive…or Episode 5’s second date beautiful disaster At the Hospital, an Interlude of Clarity. A wonderful look at love in different forms.

October

The Dears’ 1998 is one of the great melancholy anthems of this century. A 2017 gem.
While I wait here / keeping the wolves at bay / I open the door / Find your face / And all that you are packed in one suitcase / Yeah / This is being alive / This is being alive

I accidentally watched the premiere episode of Watchmen the night it came out, and I’m not sure what made me happier: the fact that it was really good (hyper-suspenseful foreshadowing), or the fact that for the first time in a decade or so I watched the premiere episode of something before my brother Jamey. Does this and Amazon’s The Boys signal the next wave of superhero series? Don’t know. But already looking forward to episode 2. (10/20)

Speaking of Amy Adams, the darkest, bleakest series I can remember watching, probably…ever is Sharper Objects (with her) which starts a dark gray and tumbles full on down a deep well of emotional and relational brutality, including the unfolding of a particular familial dynamic I will not list, as it would be a major spoiler. You’re welcome. Message me if you just wanna know the end. Or…skip to the Wikipedia entry. It’s dark. And I learned a few more definitions from the DSM-5 descriptions of mental disorders. Amy is terrific. If you’re super sad already, don’t watch. Go with The Sound of Music or The Goonies.

When I think of the worst things in the world that could happen, then trying to remake The Sound of Music is high on the list. Only Julie Andrews, only Christopher Plummer. Period. Not a purist most of the time, but unless Amy Adams signed up, then count me out. Some things don’t need to be redone.

James Arthur / Falling for You

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER

The first three seasons of Veronica Mars: terrific. Edgy, funny, suspenseful, fresh. The fourth season: devoid of charm, wit, suspense, or authentic relationship-development. Sad.

I am rather impressed with the new Futureheads album, Powers, and its angular dance punk that rises from the glory days of 2003-04’s Strokes-Franz Ferdinand and makes a great end-of-summer bouncy score. Try Mortals.

JULY

If someone spent a Friday night writing until midnight while listening to David Bazan’s mumbled 2016 classic Trouble With Boys thirty times on repeat, would you consider that obsessive? I wouldn’t. Sounds like a smart and wonderful thing to do. I mean, if someone did that. Fine. It was me. Now go listen.

U2’s No Line On the Horizon (2009) isn’t one of their stronger albums, but the title track is one of my fave Bono vocal performances. Try singing along with its sliding between notes whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh chorus. Someday I will stay on key. Until then…I keep practicing. You’re welcome, family.

Of course the best vocal opening of all time unquestionably belongs to Zepp’s 1970 Immigrant Song…and I would also argue that Bad Romance, Lady Gaga’s 2009 melancholic anthem, belongs in the Top Ten of that category. Play on Spotify

Did a smile break out upon my face when I spied an orange-spined hardcover on the top shelf of library stacks and realized although it shared a certain similar loving attention to jacket design aesthetic, it was not, in fact, a companion piece to David Byrne’s lovely ode to travel on two wheels, Bicycle Diaries, and was in fact a lovely ode to libraries by the wonderful Susan Orlean? Yes, a smile did break as I looked around in a moment of panic that fellow bibliophiles might trample me as they desperately stretched to rip it from my hands. That vision did not unfold as book-reading brethren and sisters apparently found other delicious works to quench their literary appetites. So yes, I own a copy. For the next two weeks. Thank you, public libraries. Especially Washougal Community Library.

Your life will undoubtedly be bouncier and better if you listen to a double-blast dance fest of Dizzy Gillespie’s Trumpet Blues and Dave Brubeck’s Rondo à la Turk today. Right now.

If you loved the 2013 chilling thriller Prisoners, you’ll mildly appreciate 2015’s The Secret in Their Eyes. Nowhere near as good, but with a notable cast led by Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and a few little twists as they try to solve a 13-year old murder case that hits close to home.

I can’t think of a show I would like to binge-watch less than HBO’s grief-fest The Leftovers. It’s the aftermath of the world surviving after two percent of the population poof! Vanished. But it’s not about that, not really, and it’s more about the process of asking questions than finding answers. Some of the best writing and performances on telly, though I’m not sure the sum is greater than its parts…and there are some parts that dig into your soul and psyche in full on Old Testament emotional brutality. But I finished it months ago and am still thinking about it. Binge? Nah. Took me a long time to finish. Best show about grief and loss I’ve seen.

Tone is so much. How do you make an action thriller where 85% of the stunts are absolutely impossible according to any universe’s laws of physics, yet still find the setup believable enough to care about what’s happening in a non-ironic way? That’s 2010’s Angelina Jolie spy flick, scripted by Kurt Wimmer, who will never top his 2002 Christian Bale sci-fi work of genius Equilibrium.

If you have ever spent a Friday evening absorbed in one of Jorges Luis Borges’ short story collections, such as 1962’s Labyrinths, I can assure you we would be at best great friends and at worst respected archenemies. Layers upon layers of meaning and plot to unravel and deliciously ponder.

Sunset’s Sunshine Hair from 2009 is sooo pretty. Like Beach House and the Byrds murmuring away together in a late night jam session at a villa on the…seashore.

So what if I’ve listened to James Arthur’s Empty Space 27 times over the last week. So what. It reminds me of that one Harry Styles gem from a couple years ago. Sign of the Times. Glossy, super-produced pop sung well by a high-voiced Brit boy. Super sad, super sexy.

My brother in law says I’ve gotta see Rihanna and Childish Gambino’s 50-min Amazon film Guava Island. Bumping it up the list from its previous spot of not being on it.

If you have ever thought about writing a paper deconstructing and contrasting the social metaphors of Peter Pan versus Pan’s Labyrinth, then I can assure you we are already unmet friends.

CW’s The Flash is nowhere near the greatest superhero series. But it is one of the most fun shows I can imagine watching together as a family. Not only is it a great conversation-starter for all number of Physics questions - and I hit the Pause button frequently - but there’s some unexpected emotional heft to various relationships with some little gems of perceptiveness and nuance that is rather beautiful.

Today, I think the three best Pixar films ever are Up, Incredibles, and Toy Story 3. But tomorrow is another day. Oh, I would include WALL*E and Monsters Inc. in the top three as well.

Did I love the Netflix high school romcom ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’? The answer is yes. I didn’t love everything about it, but I loved the tiny ways of subverting expectations and portrayals of often-caricatured roles - e.g. ‘clueless dad of teenage girl.’ Also, that one guy sounds like teenage Mark Ruffalo.

If you have agonized over whether it would be worth four minutes of your day to listen to Bruce Springsteen’s There Goes My Miracle off his brand new album Western Stars, then stop agonizing and go listen. And then take another four minutes and listen again.

July 2019

2013

August

Viewing

Cloud Atlas