Arts & Culture
Music to softly cry to is a genre, right?
I’ve been craving analogue life lately. I have to assume it’s largely a reaction to the world going crazy all over. But I also think it’s because of the rise of AI. The BBC recently announced that it was launching courses with a resurrected Agatha Christie to teach people about crime novels. A survey from BookBub this week of 1,200 authors found that 45% are using AI and of those 50% are using AI to write their books.
As someone who has worked in the creative industry for 25 years I have personally navigated the changes technology has brought. I’ve adapted and changed picking up new skills along the way. But there has to be a line. The joy of being a writer is in the writing itself. Why would you want AI to do that for you? To say nothing of the ethics of stealing writers work to train it.
Last week’s newsletter included a Gen Z music producer that was amazed by Fleetwood Mac being able to play live and sound the same as they did in studio. He talked about how even in live venues now things can be auto tuned during the performance. As someone who grew up going to punk shows the concept of needing to sound perfect is lost on me.
So while I am currently streaming Apple Music on my Apple TV and writing this on my iPad I appreciate the irony of saying I miss analogue life. But I really think we would benefit from disconnecting a bit more. Focus on resurrecting crafts instead of long dead writers.
~Katherine
Movies
The Order (2024)
Written: Zach Baylin (US), Kevin Flynn (US), Gary Gerhardt (US)
Directed: Justin Kurzel (Australia)
Starring: Jude Law (England), Nicholas Hoult (England)
Filming: Alberta - Calgary, Drumheller, Didsbury, Bragg Creek, Kananaskis
Gary Gerhardt and Kevin Flynn wrote the original book this movie was based on called The Silent Brotherhood (1989). They were both journalists in Denver working for the Rocky Mountain News who broke this story.
The movie was filmed entirely in Alberta as a stand in for Idaho & Washington and stars two British actors playing Americans. It’s the true story of an underground white supremacist militia that was active in the 80s. It’s crazy to think that 40 years later we are right back in the same place.
The film itself is shot beautifully with Adam Arkapaw in charge of cinematography. And with Karen Murphy’s production design you will question whether or not you’re actually in 1983.
TV
Am I going to recommend a show that premiered eleven years ago? Yes.
In my search to support more Canadian content this week I landed on the show 19-2. I’m going to admit something, I saw all the ads for the show when it was airing but assumed it wouldn’t be any good. For too long Canadian made television came with the assumption that it wasn’t going to be as good as an American show. But in the past few years I’ve made an effort to watch more Canadian TV and found out that stereotype isn’t true at all. Sure, the budgets might be lower, and the actors might not have the PR machine behind them, but the storytelling is great.
So far I’m loving 19-2, it’s a cop show that’s actually not really about crime. They’re too busy trying to solve their own messed up lives. It’s more of a show about people who happen to be police than a Law & Order style procedural. And there is more sex in the first season than I’ve seen in… I actually don’t know that I can think of any other police show that compares.
Music
Do you remember the last time a song made you cry the first time you heard it? It’s happened to me on occasion, but I will admit it has been a long time. I’m not usually a listener of things slow and soft. I’m more of a heavy drum beat I can feel thrum in my chest kind of person. Spiderbait’s Black Betty or Eminem’s Godzilla frequent my car speakers. Nathan Johnson’s score to Knives Out goes on when I need to write. Harry Styles’ Kiwi or Medicine when I need to dance it out.
But there are specific artists, specific albums, that I will put on when I need to sit and think. When I’m working out my tangled brain. The times the existential dread creeps in and I question what I’m doing with my life.
I just wanted something mellow to listen to while I laid on my floor and thought about how I am running out of EI and the world is falling apart. So I put on Dan Mangan’s new album Natural Light (by new I mean it came out today May 16th as I’m writing this).
Back in 2003 I was in an HMV when I heard Damien Rice for the first time. His album O had come out the year before and something about standing against the wall with the store headphones on felt like a private concert. I would end up seeing him at the Commodore the following year with a band I’d never heard of before, The Frames. I had an equally strong reaction to their music.
I was reminded of that today while lying on my office floor listening to this new album. There is a sweet and calm sound with a haunted echo that becomes clear as a bell when you reach the track Soapbox.
At the risk of being very MySpace “lyrics are my feelings” I’m going to quote part of the song below. I don't know when it was written but I can say that it might be the perfect explanation of what we are all going through:
And they always talk of Jesus / Without a hint of irony / But they see kindness as a weakness / And they disregard the meek / So buy your groceries at the box store / And keep your head down in the line / They want you hungry so you’ll want more / They want you lonely so you’re quiet
So go on and batten down the hatches / Turn to whoever it is that you turn / The lunatics have found the matches / And they wanna see it burn / See I’ve been yelling about forgiveness / I’ve been all “turn the other cheek” / But I fear now there is a sickness / There’s something rotten in the seeds / So can a society have cancer? / And if so, who will lead this dance? / If we could have just one good answer / Maybe then we’d have a chance
This week’s CanCon Quota: 75%
Is that Jared Keeso in 19-2??