The Enjoyables #3
Hey folks,
I’ve been working on another main post, but certain things in my life have been eating up my time lately, so here’s another Enjoyables in the interim. If you try any of these things and like them (or hate them), please let me know! I’m always down to exchange Enjoyables.
Music
Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of ambient/atmospheric music at home and at work. I’ve had very little free time to work on personal projects, so when I find myself with an hour here or there, I’ve been relying on “lock-in” music.
My first recommendation is the album Face Always Toward the Sun by the artist Blithe Field, released in 2016. My partner described the record as “Major key Silent Hill”, which is very apt. It’s low-fi (kind of reminiscent of Alex-G’s soundtrack work) and retains the static-filled contemplativeness/disturbingness of Silent Hill while eschewing the straight-up horrific. There are all these beeps and boops, sonic irregularities and imperfections that tickle my brain. Perfect for dramatic morning commutes or late-night writing sprints.
Next is the soundtrack from Bungie’s new game, Marathon. I have no interest in actually playing the game (it’s an extraction shooter), but the soundtrack alone justifies its entire development cost in my opinion. It’s cyberpunk, but infused with a bespoke esotericism, and this aspect is reflected in the entrancing score.
Literature
After finishing the first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, I immediately ordered George R. R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg collection (I recommend the illustrated edition, it’s great). I didn’t realize how much I missed the world of Westeros until I watched the show, and having smaller, more contained adventures is exactly what I’ve been wanting from that universe. Great characters and amazing pacing make this the perfect escapism read.
While I’m certainly a fan of Absolute Batman, Absolute Martian Manhunter has quickly become my favourite of DC’s recent Absolute Universe. The art from Javier Rodríguez is nothing short of phenomenal, comprised of some of the most colourful panels I’ve had the joy of reading in comics, and paired with Deniz Camp’s reticent, ambitious prose, we have a winning combo. It has this intoxicating retro-futurist/psychedelic vibe that’s hard to put a finger on, like an expressionist romp through Hunter S. Thompson’s mind or something. It’s also a limited series—you love to see it!
Film and TV
Phantom Thread (2017) is easily one of my new favourite Paul Thomas Anderson films. It tricks you—with its classical score, costumes, sets, and aristocratic characters—into thinking that it is going to be a stuffy, serious period drama, when in reality it’s a playful, psycho-sexual romcom about two perverts. Awesome!
Netflix’s One Piece live-action adaptation shouldn’t work. Manga and anime have long struggled to make the transition to live-action, mostly due to the constraints of the medium, often resulting in lacklustre adaptations that are toned down to be grittier and thus more affordable to produce. But One Piece fully leans into the silliness of its source material: the costumes and wigs are ridiculous, the performances are ridiculous, the sets are ridiculous… It’s all ridiculous. And that’s what makes it so damn fun and charming!
Video Games
Resident Evil 9. ‘Nuff said.
That’s it for The Enjoyables #3! As mentioned, I have a longer main post in the oven, but I’m slow as hell, so it probably won’t see the light of day for another couple of weeks.
If you haven’t yet, consider checking out my last main post, “Thought Libations”. It’s me reckoning with a lot of concerns and thoughts I’ve been having about art, philosophy, and AI, and while it’s probably fair to say it’s overlong and maybe a little flippant, I’m still very proud of it.
As always, if you have anything you think I’d dig, feel free to comment/DM me, and I’ll check it out.
Thanks!!!