Category: Miscellaneous

Random sh*t we don’t know where else to put

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Miscellaneous Music News and Interviews

Thoughts on Lollapalooza Live Stream

WKNC 88.1 blog

I mentioned in my “Best Way to Consume Music” post that I wanted to go to Lollapalooza this year. 

It was racking my brain for weeks whether I wanted to spend money on going to Chicago and experience the adrenaline of large crowds, being squished in a mosh pit and standing at the barricade for hours to see my favorite artists perform, or sit in the comfort of my living room and watch those same performances on my TV.

Personally, after seeing how large the crowds got there I think I made the right choice. There is always next year if I want to go experience the rush in real life.

Anyway, I thought I could share my thoughts on the live stream for those who didn’t have access to Hulu or didn’t watch it.

To give more background about the live-streaming, there were two channels: Channel 1 and Channel 2. Each channel was streaming from around 2:00 pm ET to 11:00 pm ET.

In hindsight, being able to swap back and forth between channels to tune in to performances was much more simple compared to having to traverse Grant Park to see different artists in person. This way I could just turn off the TV or watch a different channel if I didn’t want to tune into an artist I didn’t enjoy. 

Lineups

These are the artist I tuned into and the days.

Thursday (7/28)

  • Still Woozy

Saturday (7/30)

  • Big Sean
  • Wallows
  • Tomorrow By Together
  • Willow
  • J. Cole

Sunday (7/31)

  • Djo
  • Måneskin
  • Beach Bunny
  • j-hope
  • Denzel Curry

Another thing to note, Lollapalooza has 1-day, 2-day, 3-day, and 4-day pass options if you attend in person, so it’s up to the festival attendees which days they want to go to the festival based on the lineups for that day. 

This was one thing I appreciated about Lollapalooza was, of course, the free live stream on Hulu, as well as the ability to choose which days you wanted to attend the festival whether it was on live stream or in person.

Here is a thought I had about Lollapalooza in general, especially after seeing someone of these artists perform in-person and through live-stream as well. I honestly think it takes a lot of talent to pull off performing on stages as big as the ones on Lollapalooza.

The performers kept a huge crowd entertained whether they were closer to the stage or farther back. They were able to get the whole crowd hype about the music. It was impressive to see their stage presence as well as the lights used for the evening performances.

The only downside of streaming is that due to the huge lineup, not all performances were shown. Unfortunately, I  wasn’t able to tune into Dominic Fike, Dua Lipa, Glass Animals, COIN, or Claire Rosinkranz’s performances because their stages didn’t have coverage. 

Regardless, as I’ve mentioned before, the way you want to consume music is all a preference and of course, preferences can change over time. Whether you want to attend Lollapalooza in person or stream it as I did, I’m glad the options are available both ways.

Enjoy music in the way you want to and experience your life how you want to.

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Miscellaneous

“The Colour of Magic”, Sir Terry Pratchett’s Own World

The Colour of Magic book cover
"The Colour of Magic" by Sir Terry Pratchett book cover.

Creating worlds rests only in the power of gods and authors like Sir Terry Pratchett. A world renowned British author, satirist and knight, Sir Terry Pratchett weaved his own world into the pages of novels in a collection called “Discworld”. 

Terry Pratchett published his first of the Discworld series, “The Colour of Magic”, in 1983 when he was 35 years old. The series grew to be 41 books in length, and it features many locations and time periods within Discworld itself.

I won’t ever be able to give a proper explanation of what Discworld is, but Pratchett’s website can straighten out all the details I don’t mention. 

“The Colour of Magic”

“The Colour of Magic” as the first installment of the series is perfect. The story features a disgraced wizard, Rincewind, and a tourist vying to travel all over the Disc with his magical luggage, Twoflower.

Rincewind and Twoflower battle dragons, pirates and demons while having no real goal except exploration and survival, which adds to the hilarity of the misfortune the incur.

By the end of the novel, it leaves readers the drive to crawl all over Discworld to interact with the crazy people that reside there. This want to explore Sir Terry Pratchett’s fantasy haven is from his extraordinary capability to imagine a world of chaos and magic that feels like it could exist. 

Worldbuilding Artistry

I regard Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld to be one of the finest works in worldbuilding. He weaves readers, characters and time together to create a fine thread of tales so thick and dense that it would seem impossible to understand, but in reality it isn’t difficult to understand. 

It’s fun to pick up one of the Discworld novels and explore the diverse array of characters, landscapes or cities that exist there. The realism and creativity Pratchett uses to blend his narrative style into his own universe is beautiful and breathtaking at times. 

Pratchett is not the only one with this gift. There are a few well known Game Masters (or GMs) that run tabletop roleplaying games that can elicit a similar response through their own worldbuilding techniques. 

Matthew Mercer and Aabria Iyengar both have extraordinary skills in storytelling and worldbuilding. The worlds these two GMs fantasize and pop into existence are built to explore. Players and characters have to live through dangerous dragon hoard raids, political plot twists and crazy complex puzzles that GMs make. 

The End of the World(building)

Worldbuilding makes our own real world bigger too. By having an audience tour small patches of life an author makes, we get a sense of how unique and wondrous our own planet is.

Seeing crazy characters some writers might imagine lets readers wish and find similar characters that mill about around the world. 

Many writers and creators of worlds make their fantasy universe to fix or even highlight problems in our own world. Their worlds can be used as mirrors and we can see our blemishes and scars that need fixing and healing.

I love drawing inspiration for new ideas from the most radical corners of literature as they themselves draw from some of the strongest wells of imagination.

Explore the universes

Ben

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Miscellaneous

WKNC Rocks the Switch

Rock N' Roll With It

WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 hosted its first video game event, a 111-entrant Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament on July 15 at the NC State’s 111 Lampe Drive.

With players traveling from all over the Southeast, WKNC’s “Rock N’ Roll With It” gave world-class players like Lima, Peabnut and Anathema a sneak preview of the NC State campus before the Just Roll With It two-day tournament in Talley Student Union on July 16 and 17.

More than $500 in proceeds from Rock N’ Roll With It entry fees was donated to Girls Rock NC, a youth-centered organization dedicated to building community and power among girls, transgender youth and gender expansive youth through musical collaboration, political education for social change and creative expression. Sales of posters specifically commissioned for the event by artist Cactulio added another $150 to the overall donation. Posters are still available for sale from the WKNC swag store for $10 each.

“Rock N’ Roll With It serves as a glimpse of the avenues in which WKNC hopes to provide the local community while providing high-quality fun events for the NC State Wolfpack,” said Adrian Lopez, WKNC program director and the tournament organizer. “While making WKNC a known name throughout Smash Ultimate communities spanning from Ohio to Florida, Rock N’ Roll With It and Just Roll With It also gave a welcoming atmosphere to many who are interested in joining the community and competing among Raleigh’s best and beyond.” 

NC State also hosts regular Smash events including Dair 2 Care, a biweekly charity tournament in Talley Student Union and a tournament held at 111 Lampe Drive every other Friday during the fall and spring semesters.

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Miscellaneous

Why Love the Vampyre?

Cut vampire graphic with text saying, Why Love Vampires?"
Image created by author.

What good is a vampyre story? Sure, they provide some entertainment and create a little bit of mystery in our history, but what do these stories provide for humanity’s culture?

The vampyre started out in many cultures as a being to fear. According to an article from History.com, many cultures across western Europe and India frequently referred to blood sucking demons that hunt in the night. Vampyres resided in villages and were thought to be the center of demonic cults. 

How did the vampyre become a mainstream media staple? 

I’d like to think a lot of the fascination behind vampyres, ghouls and all the undead tropes came from Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley and other gothic romantic writers. Their nightmarish stories exploited the human conditions and emotions of fear and death to look at parasitic immortality and rotten flesh. The attention these authors received 

Stoker’s novel, “Dracula”, inspired many of the modern day vampyre stories like “Nosferatu the Vampyre” by Werner Herzog, “Twilight” and maybe even Playboi Carti’s “Whole Lotta Red”. The following stories are only a select few of the hundreds that are inspired by the vampyre. 

Succulent Stories

“What We Do in the Shadows” by Taika Watiti is probably one of my favorite comedy films and vampyre flicks I have seen to date. This mockumentary is set in New Zealand and criticizes the common vampyre tropes by making the vampyre community a welcoming place and explores roommate relationships too. 

Here’s a great clip from the film (it does involve a bit of swearing):

This scene is from YouTube, uploaded by IGN.

I have written an article that looks at another vampyre film, “Only Lovers Left Alive”. I love this film and story because of how it looks at the music culture and influences of vampyres on the world from the shadows. If you want to read more about this film, you can read my article.

Another one of my favorite and more culturally unique vampire films is “Thirst” by Park Chan-wook, an elegant Korean director. This vampire film treats the affliction more like a virus that has spread rather than romanticizing the bloodthirsty nature in more common myths. 

It focuses more on the romance and relationship between the priest and Tae-ju, which means Park Chan-wook uses the vampyre affliction as a medium of storytelling rather than a central plot point.  

Here’s a clip from “Thirst” in which the priest and Tae-ju first start their relationship:

This video is on YouTube, uploaded by Focus Features.

Bland Bloodsucker

There are a lot more really great vampyre films, but I am going to focus on how some directors and authors don’t use the setting well.

I found Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” boring. I have never been a fan of found film or the book version, letters and found writings, as an interesting way to tell a narrative. I would have much preferred Stoker’s massively influential novel to be more narratively focused, but at least it created more vampyre stories that I enjoy far more.

One cool thing I found recently is a website/ company that will email the original Stoker story piece by piece as it follows the dates of the story. Dracula Daily might be a better way to experience the original Dracula story than his novel, so if that interests you, be sure to check it out. 

Undrinkable Narratives

“Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter” is one of the worst vampyre adaptations I have read. I still am not sure why I decided this book would be a good idea to read cover to cover, but it was extremely tropey and also blames most of American slavery on vampyres. I haven’t seen the movie and nor do I plan to. 

In “Dracula Untold” and “Dark Shadows”, these films involve vampyres just for the sake of entertainment. I found them to be lazy additions to the original “Dracula”, and if they tried to do something new to the story, it wasn’t handled well. 

Bad Blood but Fun Times

“Twilight” is not a good film, but it provides enough entertainment that the movies are almost watchable. Just look at these clips of Kristen Stewart and Billy Burke interacting as father and daughter.

https://youtu.be/b29rJuF6nOE
This video is on YouTube, uploaded by OFFALICK.

The acting is fine, but their script is awful and cringey. These are not normal teen to parent interactions, but they’ve made the relationship funny to watch and gawk at. 

Another rough but enjoyable vamp flick I’ve seen is “The Lost Boys”. There’s a whole lot going on in this movie, but between the fun cast, music and cheesy scenes it’s hard not to enjoy it. The trailer puts on a show and makes the movie seem a bit better than it actually is, but if you like tropey 80’s goth and vampyres, then you’ll probably enjoy the movie. 

Into the Sunrise

Vampyre aesthetics seep into music culture, architecture and clothing too. The romanticized gothic architecture of Dracula’s Castle is seen worldwide and the dark, dreary and sleek coats and styles that people wear all add so much beauty to the horrific nature of a vampyre. It’s interesting how much people love a bloodsucker and serial killer. 

All these vampyre stories have enough differences in them to add to the beauty of the vampyre genre. They create mystery, spill blood and have some beautiful costumes and aesthetics. The vampyre genre adds more than entertainment to the world. It adds a sense of glory and love to death and immortality.

Suck up every last drop of life 🙂

Ben

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Miscellaneous

“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, Hunter S. Thompson’s Review of America

Sketch of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas cover
Cropped version of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" cover by Ky. Provided by Creative Commons License.

Journalism hasn’t changed much in the past 50 years. Sure there is a ton more equipment and technology to capture new types of media and perspectives, but the grime-y corporations in charge of pumping out the central perspective of what a country’s culture is and should be remains the same.

Sometimes this isn’t an inherently bad thing, as we are able to have more “objective” reporting through outlets like AP News. 

Hunter S. Thompson was a radical mainstream journalist, at least in American culture. I am not proficient in media history, but his efforts to create gonzo journalism, a style written without objectivity usually set in the first person perspective, is one of the more chaotic approaches and critiques in journalism’s history. 

In Thompson’s book, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, he is the protagonist, reporter, drug fiend and agent of chaos throughout the entire narrative. His perspectives offer a distorted and often terrifying view of Las Vegas and America. He is able to offer insights on the “American Dream”, journalism and one of Thompson’s favorite topics, Richard Nixon.

One of my favorite aspects of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” are the illustrations done by Ralph Steadman. None of them are able to be posted here but the drawings and artwork are all over his website. Fun fact, this book just turned 50 years old on Jul 7, 2022. 

Quick Synopsis (Spoiler Free)

Photo of Barstow road sign that also points to Las Vegas and is surrounded by desert.
Road sign outside of Barstow, CA. Photo by ChrisGoldNY. Provided by Creative Commons License

Thompson’s character is given the name Raoul Duke and his attorney (his travel buddy) ventures to Las Vegas to report on a road and desert race, the Mint 400. Duke is reporting for Rolling Stones magazine. While on their drug-fueled nightmare, they see a cacophony of lizard people, witness circus clowns doing inappropriate things with animals and they interact with too many law enforcement officers all while never getting arrested or put in cuffs. 

The drug abuse never really stops in this novel and can be hard to read and think about most of the time. It puts a strange abstraction on the entire series of events, which makes it difficult to assume what is real and what is a hallucination. 

At the end of the novel, Duke and his attorney have gone through the epitome of hell on Earth in Las Vegas. Their “journeys” lead them through the heart of the American Empire’s greed capital, a place where no one wins and you leave unhappy. 

Why Do We Need “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”

Thompson does many great things with this novel. He taps into the vein of America and drives a needle straight into it. Thompson is aware of racial inequalities, capitalistic greed and the villainous nature of Richard Nixon. 

Duke serves the purpose of reporting on a largely unimportant race and reporting on the sense of what it means to be a journalist in America. He portrays big media companies like Rolling Stones magazine as money grabbing snake pits and the casinos as a spike trap to lose it all. 

This novel serves as a reminder of how biases in the media can be beneficial to the advancement of journalistic techniques. Thompson gets to the heart of what he sees as issues and reports on them. His own perspective is able to critique and loosen the strict flow of how media empires operate. He creates the opportunity for change by showing the horrors of the backstage. 

A Few Highway Exit Thoughts

One thing I want to learn from this novel is how to write like Thompson did. His wicked fast style allows for readers to plow through his words while still appreciating their beauty and realism. 

His brevity creates the attitude that journalism and reporting should be quick and to the point, which allows for multiple stories to be ingested rather than one big clunky thing that weighs down the readers. 

Ingest more words and sounds,

Ben

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Miscellaneous Music News and Interviews

Songs That Have a Hold on Me – “Amoeba” by Clairo

I have a few select songs constantly on replay and I thought why not make a series covering them?

I’m starting a series about songs that have a death grip on my mind and we’re starting off with “Amoeba” by none other than Clairo.

Yes, it is one of her most listened-to songs and that’s probably why it has such a hold on me.

Initially, when Clairo’s sophomore album “Sling” was released, I was drawn to the song title as a Biologist. However, it was the meaning behind the song and the catchy guitar melody that got me hooked.

Aspects of the song were described as what it feels like to be drunk, with this bounciness of background instrumentals. 

What I particularly love about this song is the lyricism and how many of the lyrics could be taken in multiple ways. It’s a song that Clairo took a creative risk with compared to her first album with less direct lyrics and it paid off. 

Clairo describes the track as being about what it feels like to navigate a toxic relationship or an uncomfortable social outing.

Yet the song is also about how she got so caught up with her career when she was first put into the spotlight and how she often forgot to keep in touch with her family and friends because of how drained and chaotic her life got.

The title amoeba actually related to the single-celled microorganism as well as meaning to change or alter in Greek. As a result, the track about Clairo shifting her lifestyle after realizing it was not the healthiest was given a fitting title. 

The piano chords along with the bubbly guitar instrumentals and soft vocals give the whole track an airy feeling. The drums kick in during the chorus and give the song an overall groovy funky beat.

The lyrics that hit the most are the verse “Aren’t you glad that you reside in a hell and in disguise? |  Nobody yet everything, a pool to shed your memory |  Could you say you’ve even tried? You haven’t called your family twice | I can hope tonight goes differently, but I show up to the party just to leave” 

Especially when we get into a new routine or start a new opportunity for the first time like a new school year or a new job it’s not hard to immerse ourselves in it. 

It happened to me last Fall when I finally got to experience college in person again. I was so caught up with school and events that I would often forget to call my parents.

I feel the song’s most underrated verse is towards the end. “Pulling back, I tried to find the point of wasting precious time | I sip and toast to normalcy, a fool’s way into jealousy |  I mock and imitate goodbyes when I know that I can’t deny | That I’ll be here forever-while, I show up to the party just to leave.”

Though all the lyrics in this song are super relatable if you’ve experienced anything similar, this verse hits the hardest. When you’re trying to blend in at a social gathering mentally count the minutes you’ve been there. Pretending you’re having fun when in reality you want to leave. You’re jealous of the people leaving early but you want to put on a facade that you’re staying longer to enjoy your time there. 

What I learned from this track is to prioritize your mental health and check in with those around you even if you are having the time of your life. It’s easy to be distracted but it’s still important to prioritize your needs at the same time.

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Miscellaneous

Rating and Reviewing My Headphones

gray image with a pair of earbuds. black text that reads "reviewing headphones."
Image by author.

Somehow, in my years of being a music enjoyer, Apple device owner and human being functioning in society… I’ve piled up 5 pairs of headphones/earbuds (which all have their different purposes).

I’m certainly no audiophile nor expert in sound quality, but I do have an above average number of headphones and I want to breakdown their pros and cons.

Anker Soundcore Q20 Headphones

I snagged this pair on sale last week and I must say having noise canceling headphones (of any quality) is a game changer. I think this pair of headphones is a reasonably priced introduction to headphones with good sound quality and they’re Bluetooth which is convenient. They’re a good fit for me, have great battery life, and are intuitive to use. My one qualm with these is that the built-in microphone is subpar.

Rating: 9/10

Apple Earbuds

I have two pairs of these guys because one has the headphone jack for my computer and the other has a headphone jack for my phone (which, is very annoying in my personal opinion). As far as sound quality goes, these are fine and get the job done, but now that I know what good sound quality sounds like… these leave something to be desired.

These do have an excellent built-in microphone. They are very convenient and portable, however the convenience is somewhat impeded by the fact that they are wired headphones. But again, for the price, they’re good (and are some of the only earbuds that fit in my ear).

Rating: 7/10

Airpods

I have an older generation of Airpods, so they don’t have noise-canceling or any of the other features that come with new Airpods. Airpods are fairly pricey, but I’ve had mine for over 3 years now and I still use them nearly every single day. It’s worth noting that the battery life decreases with time, they are extremely easy to misplace, and the microphone is terrible.

I’m sure there are better Bluetooth earbuds on the market, but this is the pair I have and I love them dearly. 

Rating: 8/10

Sony MDR-V150 Monitor Series Headphones

These headphones were an impulse buy because I needed a wired pair of headphones for DJ purposes. These are fine for what I use them for (hearing myself during air breaks), but otherwise are a below average pair of headphones.

They were cheap and definitely reflect that… with these, you’re paying for what you get (for the worse). The wire is entirely too long, there is no built in microphone and they have a rather uncomfortable fit.

Rating: 3.5/10

Here’s to hoping all of these headphones and earbuds last me a long time.

Until next time,

Caitlin

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Miscellaneous Music News and Interviews Playlists

“Gilmore Girls” and Indie Music

Photo of the town Gilmore Girls took place in. Features a mountain covered in green trees in the background, and a white church building in the foreground.
An image of the town "Gilmore Girls" took place in. Taken by Flickr user Joe Flood under the (CC BY-ND 2.0) license.

For those of you who don’t know, “Gilmore Girls” was a show on The CW that aired from 2000 to 2007. 

The show was about a quirky mom, Lorelai, and her daughter, Rory. It focused on their mom-daughter relationship as well as their relationship with Lorelai’s parents and the people in their small town. 

Granted that their characters were seen as witty, sarcastic, and super knowledgable in terms of pop culture, music, and movies, the references to underground artists often came off as snobbish at the time. I would never understand the music references they made and felt like I was somehow behind.

A lot of moments on the show felt like Rory and Lorelai constantly wanted to seem “not like the other girls”, however, after watching it regularly I grew accustomed to their rapid banter and uniqueness. 

Eventually, their quirkiness turned into their charm.

There are a handful of bands I discovered specifically through that show. Rory and her best friend Lane, a female drummer, both were huge music geeks and after hearing their music references, curiosity got the best of me.

I wanted to see if the bands they referred to were truly worth the snobbery. 

Here is a brief list of the bands and artists that were mentioned in the show: The Bangles, Paul Anka, Sonic Youth, The Shins, Arcade Fire, The Go-Gos, New Order/Joy Division and The Libertines. 

The “Gilmore Girls” show writers were big music connoisseurs as well and wanted the music to be on the forefront to give the show its own vibes and sound.

Since the show’s primary audience was mothers and daughters, the music references in the show made pre-teen and teen girls get into music that Lorelai and Rory found to be cool.

A handful of the musicians they reference throughout the show actually made cameos as well.

The band Lane was a drummer for, Hep Alien, performed a lot of cover songs on the show too. They performed “London Calling” by The Clash, “Fell in Love With a Girl” by White Stripes, and “I’m the Man” by Joe Jackson along with many others.

The show is an acquired taste so I would only recommend watching it if you’re open to an eccentric family-centered show.

It’s a show that was revolutionary for its time making underground pop culture references seem like the ‘it’ thing and music was a huge part of Rory and Lorelai’s characters. 

If it’s not for the characters, there are a lot of great tracks found throughout the show.

Here’s a playlist if you’d rather skip straight to the music!

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Miscellaneous

A Bit of Love for Film Anthologies

WKNC 88.1 blog

What do anthology films bring to the film world that full length feature films cannot truly present? They show the synthesis and thematic similarities across a wide array of stories. 

There are many films, TV shows and books that split themselves into completely different segments, which take on new narrators, worlds, ideas and plots than the stories that already exist in the medium.

One of the brilliant uses of anthology collections is that it is a prime way for younger, newer artists to grasp a project and showcase their work through it. Young filmmakers that have limited experience in the film world are able to take a chance and make a story their own with a more limited screen time, which allows for a wider appreciation of their art. 

“Memories”

One anthology where multiple directors came together to create a sci-fi anime collection is “Memories”. All three directors were in the prime years of their careers when they made this collection. Within “Memories” are three 40 minute short films that depict the human struggle to survive in an apocalyptic world setting. 

In “Magnetic Rose” (directed by Koji Morimoto) space garbage men explore an eerie, ancient dump. In “Stink Bomb” (directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, who made “Akira”) there is a bioweapon outbreak in Japan. In “Cannon Fodder” (directed by Tensai Okamura, one of the “Evangelion” directors) we experience a war-lusted world through the perspective of a young boy.

Each of the short films bring out perspectives only a science fiction writer could extrapolate from the world. I love being able to see the synthesis between the beautiful animation styles and stories that these directors have made for us to see. 

The diversity of the directors adds to the value and appreciation of this anthology. Because each story was handled and made by a different person, it’s like having a perfectly planned three course meal where each course complements the next or the one prior. 

“Coffee and Cigarettes” and “The French Dispatch”

Another way film directors use anthologies is to express themes that transcend one person’s life and they take on a more expansive view of humanity as a whole. In “Coffee and Cigarettes” by Jim Jarmusch and “The French Dispatch” by Wes Anderson, there is little to no overlap between the stories that are shot on screen. 

In “Coffee and Cigarettes”, each scene and story are focused on coffee and cigarettes. Cups of blasted clay clink together for a “cheers” and the sharp inhale then pause after a drag from a cigarette are seen and heard in almost every scene. This film collection focuses on the mundane and chaotic world we live in. Bill Murray, RZA, GZA, Iggy Pop and other familiar faces flash on the screen for a few minutes of time as their characters process cigarettes and coffee.

Similarly, “The French Dispatch” has a diverse cast, but the narrative thread is more prominent: it’s the last issue of the fictional newspaper, “The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun”, and all of the journalists’ stories are shown in order of publication in the paper. 

Each of the stories in “The French Dispatch” have their moments of tension and some are more passionate and evocative than others. “Coffee and Cigarettes”, I think, has the same issues. These movies combine all the fragmented pieces of life into one big place that can be split up or reassembled in many fashions. Both these anthology films are fun to re-watch, as the stories grow more powerful every time I watch them. 

“Chungking Express”

I put Wong Kar-wai in his own little section of this essay because of how well he is able to synthesize strangers’ lives. In “Chungking Express” specifically, Wong Kar-wai takes one tiny food vendor and a few characters to explore love.

The first half of the film is focused on a recently dumped detective who wants to fall in love, and the second half is focused on a cop who is dealing with an ambiguously defined relationship and being alone. Both main characters are remarkably different and are set in the same world, location and time. The two stories briefly overlap and that is it. 

“Chungking Express” (and “Fallen Angels” too) perfectly blend two seemingly separate stories into a beautiful hulking beast that is a testament to how chaotic and crazy finding love can be. 

Concluding Thoughts

All the mentioned anthology films are only a slice of what is out there. In TV shows like “Adventure Time” there are few episodes that focus on multitudes of stories that kind of overlap, and many literary magazines publish collections of short stories by different authors which can tie together in some fashion.

The anthology is not an uncommon form of media representation, but I think it doesn’t get enough attention and use by artists trying to pave their way in a culture where it is hard to make even enough money to live. I would love to see more budding artists combining together to create mass works of art in the future so I can see how the minds of collaborators make giant artistic feats.

Keep eatin’

Ben

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Miscellaneous Non-Music News

Movies, Music and the Deaf Community

In the past few years, the deaf community has been given more representation on the big screen in American cinema.

Whether it was with the sci-fi movie “A Quiet Place”, 2021’s Best Picture winner “CODA,” or 2020’s nominee “Sound of Metal”: deaf stories are being highlighted on the silver screen.

The latter two films, “CODA” and “Sound of Metal” gave the audience two unique perspectives about the deaf community and how music can play a significant role.

Ever since I watched the two movies, I knew I wanted to write about them. Not only were they a huge step forward in representation in the movie industry, but the movies themselves were phenomenal. 

I didn’t necessarily want to do a movie review, but instead, just start a conversation about these films, specifically regarding how they impacted me and what I learned from them.

“CODA” –

The title of the movie itself can be taken two different ways. CODA stands for Child of Deaf Adults as well as a music theory term that refers to the end piece of music.

This movie was interesting to me because it focused on a hearing girl, Ruby, whose mom, dad and brother are deaf. It showed aspects of her life that made her family reliant on her: such as acting as a translator for the family, helping keep their family fishing business running, and daily tasks like conveying their personal medical concerns to doctors. On the other hand, she wanted to pursue her interest in music and be involved in her school choir, and eventually go to Berklee Music school. 

It’s a simple coming-of-age story at heart.

A movie about Ruby trying to find her identity and essentially finding out what she wants to do with her life outside of her family. As she begins focusing on her passions and getting more involved with singing, she realizes that her choir rehearsals start coinciding with the duties she has for her family. It’s to the point where she really has to choose which path to prioritizing – her passion for singing or her love for her family.

What I loved about this more specifically is the charisma of all the characters. Her parents and brother were all amazing and were played by deaf actors. When “CODA” won Best Picture at the 2021 Academy Awards, it was a huge win for deaf representation. 

“CODA” is an adaptation of the French film titled “La Famille Bélier.”

It made me emotional watching it, and I recommend giving both movies a watch.  There are so many aspects of being deaf or hard of hearing that I was opened up to.

 “Sound of Metal” –

“Sound of Metal” is the story about a drummer for a heavy metal band, Ruben, who starts losing his hearing on tour and how he decides to deal with it.

The film does an amazing job of putting the audience in Ruben’s shoes by at times modifying the audio of the movie to make it sound like Ruben’s hearing ability. This stylistic choice allows us to really experience the progression of his hearing loss up close, first gradually and then all at once. 

Conversations are heard as muffled or muted as Ruben hears them, however the silences in the movie never feel empty and add to the piece as a whole.

Throughout the movie, we were able to experience Ruben’s character development firsthand. Initially, he doesn’t want to accept that he is losing his hearing at all. He plays show after show, not being able to follow along with the music of the band, till one show he can’t hear a thing. After a meeting with a doctor, he finds out he has already lost a majority of his hearing and that the only solution in his eyes is a cochlear implant. 

His journey of finding money to afford the cochlear implant is a majority of this film.

His girlfriend introduces him to a community for addicts that teaches them how to live with their deafness. It’s during this time that we really understand the importance of music no matter if you are a hearing person or hard of hearing. He eventually begins teaching the kids in this community to drum and use percussion instruments. 

What’s beautiful about this specifically is that the vibrations in the drumming and in music are how people in the deaf community can interact with music. It’s how Ruben learns to interact with music given his new condition.

The last scene of the movie is the most impactful to me.

After Ruben gets his cochlear implant, he realizes that it’s not at all what he expected. Instead of getting his hearing back, everything he hears is distorted and staticky. His girlfriend thinks he is healed now and their band can start touring again, but Ruben realizes his music career is over.

“Sound of Metal” comes to a close as we see Ruben aimlessly walking down the streets of Paris trying to adjust his implant.

Then he removes the device and we are left in silence. We experience Ruben accepting his deafness.

Although these are wins for the deaf community, in terms of representation there is always room for improvement. I really think these two films are worth a watch for their entirety. 

They are both big teaching moments as well. Moments that force people to understand that deafness is not something that needs a quick fix but it’s something to accept and take time to grasp and accommodate to.

The charisma of the casts, the acting talent, the writing, and the musical performances – it’s all impactful.

If you haven’t already be sure to check out “Sound of Metal” and “CODA.”