I'm in a book and classical music in White Lotus
Sharon's Monthly Roundup
It’s the last newsletter of the year! (Unless I have a sudden burst of writing energy and free time which is…doubtful.)
I stopped by my P.O. box this week to clear out the usual backlog of mail; the majority of it is stuff for the medical professional who previously had the box (the good news about that is that thanks to all the catalogs, I now know where to buy various specialty medical equipment) and the rest is usually Limited Time Only Credit Offers for Your Small Business. So it was very exciting when, for the first time ever, I pulled out a slip informing me that I had to go to the counter to pick up a package.
The package turned out to be from Alex Humphreys, journalist and former pianist, whose book Playing with Reality is now out (in the UK—not the US).
The book covers the stories of people who turned to video gaming during the start of the pandemic, and I was inexplicably one of them. This is so weird to me, because I grew up in a no-video-games household, and as far as I know, all I did was jump on the Animal Crossing bandwagon along with everyone else when COVID hit. Humphreys “discovered” me through the Animal Crossing music video I made:
…and, after watching it, reached out to me and, well, here I am:
I am a whole chapter in the book (!) and I am frankly astounded by how much she chose to include. It’s also oddly strange reading my chapter, because it’s primarily focused on the surreal, scary year that was 2020 (I spoke at length about how badly the anti-Asian racism of that time affected me), and I feel like the vibe is just so different now, even though we’re still in a pandemic and not much has changed.
Like I mentioned, the book is not currently available in the US. I’m thinking of ordering a couple of copies from Waterstones in the UK to give to people as the most random, off-base, “look at me!” gift.
Book of the Month
After her passing, I saw a lot of people sharing excerpts from and praising Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Nickel and Dimed. I have a personal policy that if I get something out of a book excerpt on social media, I have to read the actual book—this is how I keep myself from becoming one of those insufferable people who are always talking confidently at length about things they didn’t actually read.
Nickel and Dimed is ridiculously good (and, if you are at all intimidated by the subject matter/premise like I was—an extremely easy read) and feels shockingly relevant still. It’s one of those books that makes me wring my hands and go “Why isn’t this required reading for everyone???”—hilariously, when I expressed this sentiment on Instagram, a high school friend helpfully pointed out that it had been on the optional summer reading list one year, and I had chosen not to read it. (Chris Traeger voice: Oh my god, I’m part of the problem.)
In times when it seems like everyone has strong opinions about poor people and income inequality (in other words, all the time), it’s frustratingly easy to get swept along in talking points and wishful thinking—I found Nickel and Dimed to be a really helpful (and self-aware) dose of reality, punctuated with Ehrenreich’s sharp humor and honest indignation.
Articles I Read
Sammy Sussman: Tainted History (VAN Magazine)
“Juilliard had this outsized responsibility. When you pride yourself on being the best in the country or in the world, then people look to you for their standards and expectations,” Snider said. “Teachers at other schools knew about it, they made references to it. It became a joke, a constant punchline.”
[CW: sexual harassment/discrimination, abuse of power in academia]
It’s always incredibly depressing when well-researched investigative articles like this surface precisely because none of it is ever surprising. I don’t have personal experience with Juilliard itself, but all of this extremely tracks with my own experience and stories I’ve heard. Insert generic halfhearted platitude about how we must be better here!
As always, when stories like this break, a lot of people feel motivated to come forward with their own experiences, so if you have something you want to share, here’s the contact info for the journalist of this piece:
Saskia Solomon: Where Did the Royals Find Prince George’s Nanny? (New York Times)
Norland’s quaint get-up hides the myriad skills acquired in this high octane, four-year course: In addition to the core curriculum of diaper-changing, sewing, food prep and sleep schedules, Norlanders receive training in martial arts and evasive driving techniques. They also learn to fend off potential kidnappers and shield strollers from paparazzi, while cybersecurity methods are imparted by former military intelligence officers.
Holy crap this is SUPER interesting. (Can I have a Norland nanny take care of me?? I am, after all, a former baby.)
What I Watched
(Don’t worry, there are no spoilers here!)
Do I…like this show? I can’t say for sure one way or the other. Did I get totally sucked in and spend an awful amount of time trying to guess what was going to happen? Hell YES.
Season 1 of The White Lotus left me with a lot of icky feelings and I wasn’t totally sure I wanted to give Season 2 a shot, but we started it and this freaking show got its hooks into me. Both seasons are objectively well-crafted and layered and say a lot about privilege and wealth, and are frustratingly realistic in how no one really gets what they “deserve.” It has, rightly, been pegged as one of those “awful rich people” shows (right there with Succession) but…Marie Kondo “I love mess” gif.
I am weirdly proud of the fact that I correctly predicted a lot of what ended up happening in the season.
More to the point, though (and after all this is tenuously a music newsletter), I was super intrigued by the musical decisions on this show—both seasons deployed classical music in rather strategic ways. TV shows and movies LOVE to slap cliche pieces on scenes—I’m thinking Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries,” Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” from the 9th Symphony, etc. etc. etc. I mean, just this morning I watched the (excellent) Barbie movie teaser trailer and look, it’s Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra:
Whoever made the musical decisions on White Lotus did very different things, though. I mean, I felt like the use of the Dies irae in the theme was a little too on-the-nose, but then again, it could also be very clever? The Dies irae is so often used to connote death, hence its use in many macabre settings, but the original Latin text is also about judgment. While the show’s conceit revolves around the mystery of which character dies, I think what makes it so compelling is that it is ultimately a statement about judgment and (unjust) deserts.
One of my favorite musical moments in Season 2 was the use of Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2, 4th movement, to underscore one doomed character’s tragic spiral. I can’t find the scene on Youtube, but here’s the movement, which so perfectly encapsulates frenetic, blooming paranoia in a politically fraught environment:
In Season 2, the biggest “whoa stop the presses” moment for me was in the season finale, which begins with “Dido’s Lament” from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.
Superficially, any tragic opera aria—and there are a lot of them—would have gotten the vibe across in that scene. But “Dido’s Lament” is a very pointed choice, and not an obvious one! I won’t go into it more for fear of spoiling the show for anyone, but there was a very clever little connection in there, and it foreshadowed who the season’s victim was. It was made even more obvious by the show’s use, and continued reference to, Madama Butterfly.
A lot of people on Twitter agreed with the sentiment that it felt like the musical choices were secret little clues for those of us who have any familiarity with the classical repertoire/music history. I am very for more shows doing this; after all, we survivors of rigorous education and listening quizzes need to do something with all that training.
Miscellaneous
Dear lord, I cannot believe I’m hyping up yoga gear in my newsletter. WHAT HAVE I BECOME.
This year, thanks to an injury that necessitated physical therapy, I got into doing yoga on a regular basis, even though I really hate working out, have almost zero discipline left over after practicing, and think most yoga stuff is a cult.
However, it’s annoyingly true that regular yoga practice has been enormously helpful not only for my physical well-being but also my mental health. I hate that people are right about this! The big, big downside for me is that the combination of intensive piano practice plus regular yoga has been absolute murder on my wrists, which were simply not designed to take daily strain at these levels.
I bought myself a pair of Yoga Paws and have used them twice this week and…they’re great. I try not to think about the fact that these were designed for hardcore yoga freaks to do impossible handstands on rocks in the ocean or whatever, and I’m over here using them because my poor fragile little wrists need extra support planking at home. The combination of generous padding at the palms, grippiness, and general scaffolding makes a huge difference and takes a LOT of pressure off my hands and wrists.
I can’t imagine that I’m the only person in the world who benefits from yoga but also needs to protect their wee hands, which is why I am hyping these stupid gloves up. I get absolutely no kickback for linking these, by the way—I am sending potential customers this company’s way for free, like a charitable idiot who doesn’t understand capitalism. Now that is Christmas spirit. 🎄