Well…oops.
It’s been just a hair over 6 months since my last update, and I bet you all are,
a) pretty bummed, and
b) looking for answers
Most likely it’s c) ambivalent. I will pretend that a) and b) are realistic options; I’m aware that this blog is almost entirely redirect posts for work I publish elsewhere, at this point, and that’s not terribly exciting. Mea culpa on that, and on the long wait between my last update and now. The truth is simple: If it’s ungratifying to read little posts pointing you to material published on real websites, then believe me when I say that it’s ungratifying to write those little posts. Even the dopamine hit I get from checking my meager stats is short-lived and overall a dud.
Wading through freelancing rotations is tiresome, especially with freelance budgets all over the place being slashed or, worse, cut entirely. This is increasingly the reality of writing online without a staff job; Slash Film, for instance, fired its longtime stable of freelancers on December 27th, which feels like an even Grinchier move than doing so before Christmas. (Note: I do not write for Slash Film, so this particular turn of events didn’t impact me – just my peers and buds.) Pitching is work. Pitching into an uncertain landscape, one that’s less stable than ever, is taxing. There is a difference. I don’t mind the work. I mind the tax.
Couple that with personal stuff and general frustration at seeing pieces run online and, in some cases, in print* that I feel I could’ve written better, and the extra lifting that’s required to keep this blog current, and you can, I hope, understand the radio silence. But I’m going to get back in the habit of posting here. For one, writing – any kind of writing – is to the author as exercise is to the weightlifter. Even just a little bit every day counts, at least as far as remaining in shape, and even a couple of short blog posts highlighting recent work is better than writing nothing. For another, I’m always on the lookout for revenue streams, and it’s possible that I may be able to do that using this site, though that’s going to come later in the year when I’ve actually figured out how all that works in WordPress’ context**.
All that said: I watched a bunch of movies last year, and listened to a bunch of albums. I didn’t watch much TV. I’ll only do that when occasion demands. I will never watch enough of that to make a “top ten” list. Being as I missed the cutoff on voting for BOFCA, for the second time in the last 2 years, I feel compelled to right (and write!) that wrong here. As usual, my final lists are both all over the place; I’m averse to considering only the movies and records deemed acceptable in a “best of the year” context for this kind of exercise. Frankly, I’m not impressed by most lists I’ve seen, though I should warn you that you may personally be put off by a select few of my choices. (I do not think films where brains are scooped from skulls are going to be up most folks’ alleys.)
Anyways. Music:
10) yeule – softscars
9) Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
8) Gregory Alan Isakov – Appaloosa Bones
7) Mammoth WVH – Mammoth II
6) Margo Price – Strays
5) Lowland Hum – From Self With Love
4) Lillie Mae – Festival Eyes
3) Mitski – The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We
2) Nita Strauss (and friends!) – The Call of the Void
1) Peter One – Come Back To Me
And movies:
10) Poor Things
9)Piaffe
8) The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future
7) When Evil Lurks
6) Sick of Myself
5) The Beasts
4) Showing Up
3) Jethica
2) Killers of the Flower Moon
1) The Zone of Interest
Honorable mentions: Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros; Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia
And, as the Beastie Boys might say: That’s it, that’s all, that’s all there is. Be seeing you in this, the year 2024.
*I’m endlessly pissed, for instance, that despite showing interest in writing a booklet essay for a certain fancy release of a certain top-tier favorite of mine, to the people who can make those decisions, three – three – other writers, only one of whom I consider my better and the other two I think are my equal at best, wound up scoring those gigs. This is effectively like punching me in the stomach while kicking me in the dick while farting in my eyes.
**Some people have newsletters; I have this blog. Newsletters are how lots of journalists, some good, some tiresome, make their money. I don’t really have the patience for getting up to date on a whole other platform and style of writing, but I do have patience enough to employ subscription widgets on this site – for pieces I write for this site only. (If this ever takes flight, I’m not about to charge for posts that link to other sites. That’s dumb.)
A Constant Visual Feast 