Something New (This Week)
An alien, an old movie, and zoomers' "old" music.
Knock on wood, this year has felt really refreshing and inviting, and I’ve been interacting with other people outside of my house, and seeing movies in a theater every 2.4 days. I’ve had a great time going back to work and just crushing hours of music. And maybe most importantly, I’ve deactivated my twitter account and haven’t “posted” on any platform in 2024 (the lord knows I’ve been itching to post about how I’m not posting).
Here’s some things I’ve been enjoying and have been thinking about (this week):
The Space Lady
Last Friday, I was given a ticket to see The Space Lady perform at The Hollywood Theatre with my friend wyt. We watched a wonderful short film, an energetic opening band who was performing live for the first time, and then, descending down from another planet, The Space Lady came down to earth, and graced us with her presence. She meant to retire, she told us as she strapped on her microphone, but her fans wanted her back too much. The Lady has a wonderful ear for source material and for ways to modulate them on her old and really-old synthesizers, and told loving tales of her co-writer and life partner. My favorite part, and I’m sure The Space Lady’s least, was the haunting and un-sourceable feedback that creeped into the reverb device, creating booming crescendos that not even The Lady could control or understand. The show was truly blessed, and I’m sure I’ll never see anything like it again.
A Star is Born (1954)
It was amazing to find out that someone went back in time to remake Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born with Judy Garland in the central role. It’s amazing what science can do. Watching Garland, who was returning from a long stretch of being “unhireable”, wrestle with the ideas of fame and loss and fear and love and reaching for the stars was entertaining and heartbreaking, and the secret tie in to the book that I’m currently reading, Hollywood and the Movies of the 1950’s, was a fruitful experience.
New “Old” Music
I have got a new favorite era of music, which is the work that was coming out just before I was born that people younger than me probably think is “old” and “retro” and maybe “cool”? This week’s entries into the “this band obviously rocks but it’s still great to rediscover how much they do”: Lenny Kravitz and The Cure.
This week’s 60 Song that Explain the 90’s focused on Kravitz, and gave me a reason to go back through that discography. And you know what? It fucking rocks.
Also this week, on Popcast, editor Karen Ganz proclaimed that one of, if not her favorite, live show of this past year was The Cure, and gave me a reason to go back through that discography. And you know what? It fucking rocks (even my over-40 and under-25 coworkers agreed, which has never happened!).
The line between rediscovery and new discovery has been slowly blurring for me, creating a massive, almost infinite pool of work to enjoy at the deepest level. Everything can be new again, with enough time. What are some things you can revisit now that time has passed?
Thank you, as always, for reading. It’s The Snow Day here in Portland, an annual tradition. I am preparing to be on the couch for most of the day, letting local radio play, reading my Hollywood book, and probably watching one to three movies. Maybe a Yasujiro Ozu work, maybe a 2023 new release I missed, maybe a comforting rewatch of some kind.
What are you spending your long weekend with? Get at me.
TTFN,
Bobby