📡 - 01.31.2020
This is a small collection of things I ~consumed~ recently. Not all of it new. Inclusion does not imply endorsement. All of it gave me something to think about.
This is a mirror of public posts which you can also find on my Patreon.
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Does it Look Like I'm Here? - Emeralds
Blue Bell Knoll - The Cocteau Twins
The other day I listened to Harold Budd for 9 hours.
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The Last Time Democracy Almost Died – Jill Lepore, The New Yorker
Mental Health Metaphors, Critical Theory, and the Baby Boomers – Chad Black
'Kentucky Route Zero' Pays Off on Nine Years of Hope and Doubt – Austin Walker, Vice
Nightmares on wax: the environmental impact of the vinyl revival – Kyle Devine, Guardian
Top Streamers Are Leaving Twitch Amidst Big Money And Shady Deals – Nathan Grayson, Kotaku
Brad Pitt and the Beauty Trap – Manohla Dargis, NY Times
How Advertising Conquered Urban Space – Darran Anderson, Citylab
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Research for a thing I'm writing has lead me down a rabbit hole of those food videos where they make, just, absolutely ridiculous recipes. You know the ones I'm talking about, right? I spent a fair amount of last night on Twisted, Tasty and few other Non-English variants. It is horrifying, but entertaining nonetheless.
Over the last two weeks I've also seen three films which feel very much like distant (from each other) poles in the coordinate space of "movie". Went and saw Jean-Michel Basquiat's unfinished Downtown 81 at a theater in the Lowest East Side, which was interesting because a decades-past version of the neighborhood made an appearance in the film. In it, Basquiat is evicted from his apartment, and spends the day looking for a place to crash. It's simple, funny – very unfinished and very ... conversational? – but very charming.
Two nights ago I watched Sans Soleil for the first time. I've known it only by reputation, and for a while - but it popped up in my Criterion Channel home screen and figured I'd give it a go. It's a very hard film to describe but holy moly it's pretty great. It's a travelogue documentary, with no characters or single setting or really any travel? It's focused on memory, and experience and there's no way to describe it that doesn't make it sound like nonsense, but it very much deserves its reputation.
And last night I started - but did not finish - Wim Wenders Until the End of the World, a nearly-5 hour Sci Fi epic road movie. I'm gonna save my final call for when I finish it, but in comparison to Downtown 81 and Sans Soleil, Until the End of the World's maximalism is even more pronounced (if such a thing is possible). I expect this'll take me more than 2 sittings, but I'll be glad to have experienced it in the end. Also I'm kind of a sucker for both Sam Neill AND William Hurt.
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Final stages of Death Stranding are in sight; hoping to finish it this weekend. Likely I'll put off Outer Worlds to replay Kentucky Route 0 (one of my favorite all time games) now that the final chapter, and the console collection is out. Very, very excited about that.
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Fun City Episode 11 came out today.
Posted a Music Process check-in last week, and am looking to turn the work posted there into a longer piece in the coming weeks. Also posted some work which has made an appearance here on Bandcamp for public consumption.
Finally, the Old Drip Catalog is almost done re-posting:
WRITES:
READS:
The text of all these pieces is also mirrored at rugnetta.com
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More soon! <3 Hope everyone has a great weekend.