No wonder there’s so much good art in the US. There’s such a huge amount of extreme injustice every day that writing music/making movies/writing books/building art is one of the only ways to let out the anger.

Ashton Pittman@ashtonpittman.bsky.social · 3d ago

JUST IN: The police shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley as he sat in his mother’s lap in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia, Miss., in June “was justified,” Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office said on Monday. Her office will not charge the white officer who shot the child.

Love this new band

GODDAMN THIS SONG HAS GOT IT. The drums sound like someone being killed with a hammer, the vocals sound like a drill sargent having a mental breakdown and the guitars sound like sentient, pissed off power tools. This is what my parents heard blaring from behind my closed bedroom door as a teenager.

Helmet - I Know

YouTube video by 00clandestine00

youtu.be

While I’m recommending underrated things, I can never give enough shout outs to Mr Inbetween. An Aussie series about a hitman that features incredible writing, acting, directing and cinematography. A truly great drama that deserves to be spoken about in the same breath as Breaking Bad in my opinion.

THIS DOCUMENTARY IS MEANT TO BE VIEWED ON VHS One of my favourite creation stories ever. Slint are the type of 90s mystery that is impossible to replicate now. The internets gift of access obliterated the whisper network. This album is so wrapped up in myth and this film doesn’t demystify it. Watch!

Breadcrumb Trail [FULL DOCUMENTARY] (2014)

YouTube video by Killer Potato

youtu.be

I am pleased to report that my 13 year old daughter has started a band at school and she named them Bloodsoaked Vinyl.

I’m a massive fan of LA crime movies and this list pretty much nails it.

The 33 best L.A. crime movies, ranked

Our list of the 33 best Los Angeles crime movies is an underworld worth getting lost in, and includes "Chinatown," "Heat," "Pulp Fiction" and "Kiss Me Deadly."

latimes.com

There are many hilarious things about an Architectural Digest interview where a celebrity is showing off a home they just renovated but my favourite part is always where the designers talk about “how involved the client was” and the classic “she really knew what she wanted”. Every. Single. Time.

Book recommendations incoming. Just finished these three. All great for different reasons. Everybody Knows is almost like influencer noir and it is hard boiled brilliance. Ripe is a surreal and scathing examination of late capitalism. Flesh is an acquired taste, so to speak. Spare and fascinating.

Two bands I’m so proud of right now are Deftones and Interpol. I’ve been a huge fan of both since they first came out but it’s been so inspiring to watch them stay the course and quietly do their thing over the years with artistic integrity intact, which has led to a rediscovery by younger audiences

Forgot to post about this because I don’t think to post about anything - but I saw The Odyssey opening day and the hugeness of it all peeled back my skull. Saw it with my friend Kevin McCarthy, who is the most excitable person to remind you that cinema is just getting started despite the doomsaying.

I can only recommend this track to those among us who breathe regularly

Snakes For The Divine

YouTube video by High On Fire - Topic

m.youtube.com

PS - there’s some offensive stuff in there. It’s a product of its time featuring people who did not have access to a crystal ball. If you want to see video of someone who DID have a crystal ball, find an early interview with David Bowie. Goddamn, could that man ever see the future with 20/20 vision.

I get that the guard rails of music distributors like Spotify and Apple force todays musicians to cloak songs in relationship metaphor blah blah for fear of algorithmic suppression - but I do often wish some huge artist would just get bluntly literal and write a song called Fuck Trump or Kill ICE.

I went to the 2022 Super Bowl in a custom made costume with my friend Derek. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

I highly recommend stopping what you’re doing right now and watching The Decline Of Western Civilization Part 1. Part 2 is great too but Part 1 is the bedrock. Available to stream but also available on disc. Directed by the great Penelope Spheeris. 🤘

ALERT 🚨🚨 INTERPOL HAS A NEW ALBUM OUT TODAY, STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND KNEEL IN PLACE

THE ORIGINAL GANG. So happy people are responding to this latest installment.

Amy Bames@bameballs.bsky.social · 2mo ago

My absolute GOATs. Seriously my dream team. @conanthecontrarian.bsky.social

Make record stores ubiquitous and mainstream again you cowards

Hot damn, I am loving this new Beck song so much that I thought I’d make someone else out there’s day a whole lot better by posting it.

Beck - Ride Lonesome (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by BeckVEVO

youtu.be

Fuck off, Bloomberg News. One of the biggest mind fucks of the modern era is watching everyone in the media pretend President Fuckhead is not a psychopathic infant. Canada is dealing with him the way bullies should be dealt with and your takeaway is “this will be bad for Canada”? Fuck. Off.

Bloomberg News@bloomberg.com · 2mo ago

The sudden collapse of talks has left Mark Carney bracing for the risk of a long winter.

I swear the 90s were exactly like this, I wouldn’t lie to anyone who wasn’t there

Sonic Youth - 100% (Official Music Video)

YouTube video by SonicYouthVEVO

youtu.be

Thus concludes my biannual contribution to social media.

I’m alive, you’re alive. That has to do some days when reading the news feels like falling into a Gympie Gympie bush (google what happens if you did that). Go outside and put your hands on nature. Place your fingertips on some sort of ground covering? If only there was a saying that summarized that.

Hollywood is toxic if you’re not careful. Insanely cliquey and there is a strict adherence to the social tiers that each clique is organized into (most people in a certain tier won’t talk to tiers below). Deep insecurity is covered by bravado. Makes me physically ill. Takes work to avoid culprits.

💥Rey💥@disarrey12.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Okie doke what’s life really like in Los Angeles then?

So many. I know this is not an original answer but ever since I Memento in a theatre, I’ve been following Chris Nolan (pun not intended) and I just love his whole approach - his commitment to avoiding VFX, his dedication to theatrical film releases, his ambition. It’s been so inspiring.

Vince Pacaro@vinsanity714.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Is there any director's body of work that has inspired you to pursue writing and directing? Thanks for taking our questions, I'm excited to hear about your new projects in the future and even though the world around us is very uncertain, I hope everything is going well in your personal world.

I hear you. Use the soul crushing mess as inspiration to create. Write something cathartic. Whether you’re expressing anger and sadness about an innocent child being shot by a soldier or viciously satirizing something you find hypocritical and gross about modern society, use your pen as a weapon.

Frannie Tull 🦕@moviegirlfrannie.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Any advice about how to be creative when everything is soul-crushing mess? Every time I sit down to write I feel like I’m trying to draw with dried-out markers. It frustrates me so much.

I can’t right now but soon

I think the huge success of Project Hail Mary, Obsession, Backrooms has shown that original movies are thriving. As far as physical media goes, I just bought the 4K version of Perfect Blue which was gorgeous. And the 4K edition of At Close Range looked beautiful and had some great extras.

BOOlian Singleton 🎃👻@juliansingleton.bsky.social · 4mo ago

What’s given you the most hope about the future of film lately? And with all the news about physical media’s precariousness in the last week, any recent boutique releases you’d like to shout out?

There is no such thing as a “socialist” politician in a country that doesn’t have universal healthcare, living wages, elections free of corporate money, mandatory paid maternity leave, a focus on green energy infrastructure or a ban on all assault rifles - and never will have any of these things.

Truthout@truthout.org · 4mo ago

“The mayor and I agree to strongly disagree about some of his endorsements,” Jeffries said after all three of Mamdani's endorsements won in NYC. “He’s got work to do in terms of the conversations that he’s going to have with members of Congress moving forward,” Jeffries said of Mamdani.