Media Diet: Culture nummies for February

Audiobooks galore, best shows on TV, music, podcasts about music, and an article that is not about kittens

Ask and ye shall receive! Or, you know, the more obscure variation of that old adage: mention it in your previous newsletter, and ye shall then actually write it in your next newsletter!

I’ve been half-finishing Media Diet posts for a few months now, and today I finally felt inspired to full-finish one. So here you go: a little list of some of the things I’m reading, watching, listening to, and otherwise enjoying as I consume it. Nom nom nom.

Hopefully there will be something here that’ll tickle your palate too. God knows we could all use a little joy and distraction right now.

(Oh, and btw, if you’re looking for the SNL anniversary specials, they definitely fit this category, but I wrote about it in my new chat, just for funsies. Head over and weigh in, if you’re so inspired.)

All the Worst People in the World (Article, 48 Hills)

I was gonna use the image of the actual Worst People in the World, but I didn’t want to give everyone an anxiety attack right up top, so here are some cute kittens instead (though frankly, these kittens seem to be having their own existential crisis, don’t they? Apologies, but I just can’t spend an hour looking for the right kitten pic. This is gonna have to do.)

Okay before we get to the pure fun, first: some balm for the agitated post-inaugural soul, via my former colleague/boss at the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Marke B., who grew up a queer Arab-American raver in Reagan-era Detroit, so he knows something about agita.

I found great comfort from his recent article (in 48 Hills, which he now helms, when he’s not busy helping run America’s first co-op nightclub), which draws parallels between living through the ‘80s and living through what’s happening now.

It’s fascinating AF, and also gave me some hope that we might just make it through this. Highly recommend.

One Song, Jane’s Addiction “Mountain Song” (Podcast Episode)

I frikkin’ love this podcast.

I consider it a cousin of one of my other favorite music podcasts, Switched on Pop, because both go deep about how a song is made and what makes it good.

But One Song is in the lead right now, because I like this host duo, and the particular way they dive both into the construction of the song itself (via stems) but also into the context of the band in the moment of the song’s creation or release.

And this episode, of course, is of special interest, because Jane’s Addiction IS the ‘90s. And because I started high school in 1992, I too AM the ‘90s. And “Mountain Song” is my favorite JA song, so… I AM “Mountain Song”…? (Okay my logic might be getting a little shaky there, but no matter. We’re in psychedelic grunge territory here, and everything’s supposed to be a little swimmmmy, right?)

In this episode, amongst many interesting tidbits about the band (Did you know Perry Farrell isn’t his real name and is supposed to be a play on “peripheral?” Yeah me either), their sound (it’s Dave Navarro’s metal background combined with Perry’s connection to the psychedelic desert concert scene that really makes the music special), and this song (Bassist Eric Avery actually wrote the bassline, which inspired the rest of the song, before the band was even a band), the hosts also make broader observations about music at the time, including how important and emblematic bass was to the sound of the ‘90s, perhaps because of improvements in audio technology that allowed us to hear and appreciate bass better. (Which would explain why I spent so much of my late teens and 20’s telling people how important bass was to me, like I was the only one who noticed.)

Smart, fun, nostalgic, will take you back to a time when that scary guy in office hadn’t even gotten his own TV show yet and, if you’re anything like me, your biggest worry was which flannel to wear around your waist to keep your pants up.

The Art Thief (Book/Audiobook)

My illness is forcing me to spend less time on screens (screen time = headaches), and my vision is so bad I can’t read more than a text message without getting seasick (thanks cataracts, cataract surgery that didn’t go as planned, astigmatism, and whatever weird eye-muscle-focusing-thing is related to my ME/CFS - whee!), which has meant I’ve become obsessive about audiobooks lately, and The Art Thief kicked off the run.

It was recommended to me by a dear friend who shares my taste in books (Is there a dearer kind of friend, really?) who called it “un-put-down-able,” and boy is she right. I don’t think I’ve read a book so fast in years. Just a compelling read, start to finish, about a real life Bonnie and Clyde duo who managed to be the most prolific art thieves in history while also somehow being, like, the weird arty goth couple who get together at the end of American Beauty (except much more glamorous and, like, much more French). I’m also VERY picky about audio - both the voice itself and how much mouth noise the voice makes (#misophonia) - and the narration on this is *chef’s kiss*.

Detransition, Baby! (Book/Audiobook)

Terrible title (though TBH it’s the kind of pun I would make and I’d hope an editor would talk me out of), but this book is frikkin’ great. It’s bold and queer and trans and full of personality, and deals with interesting topics discussed with nuance and heart, from many different perspectives.

The short of it is that it’s a book about a trans woman, her ex (also a trans woman who has de-transitioned but not for the reasons you might think), and her ex’s new girlfriend, who are all deciding whether to have a baby together. And yes, that’s as complicated as it sounds (actually, even more so).

I can’t think of a better time to read (and support) a book about trans people - or a book that’s just fucking interesting, diverting, fun, and good.

The Lady’s Handbook for her Mysterious Illness (Book)

I’ve been talking about this book for ages but I’m not going to stop, especially since ANNE PATCHETT recently endorsed it (which is why the paperback is on back order in most places, but you can get the ebook right meow!).

First things first, this book isn’t just for ladies, and it’s not just for sick people, but if you are a lady (or someone who has been socialized as or treated like a lady in a medical context) or are sick, or know or love someone who is one of those things, this will be especially resonant. But even if you aren’t/don’t, this is just phenomenal writing (and thinking, and reporting) about a riveting true story that also says many things about our culture, our healthcare system, and the way we treat disabled people.

It’s true that the author is my friend, the brilliant writer Sarah Ramey, who is also the brilliant musician Wolf Larsen (whose song “If I Be Wrong” was in that one episode of Wednesday), but she wasn’t my friend yet when I read and fell in love with this book, so I know my opinion isn’t biased. Plus, did I mention my opinion is SHARED BY ANNE PATCHETT? If we BOTH be wrong about this book, I don’t wanna be right.

Dexter: Original Sin (TV, Paramount+)

Remember how amazing Dexter was, and how a sequel could never possibly measure up, as evidenced by, well, the sequel that didn’t measure up?

Well, it would be fair to assume the same would be true of a prequel, but if you did so, YOU WOULD BE WRONG.

Dexter: Original Sin, which tells Dexter’s origin story, is every bit as good as the original series - maybe more so in some ways, only because we have the extra context of the original show giving us so many opportunities for Easter eggs and callbacks.

This show follows a college-aged Dexter (played so stunningly by Patrick Gibson it’s almost eerie) as he embarks upon his serial killing career, while still living with his father Harry (whose ambiguous, complex [a]moral compass is explored and highlighted more by Christian Slater’s version than James Remar’s) and his sister Deb (excellently cast with Molly Elizabeth Brown capturing the spunk, sportiness, and badass tomboy spirit of a young Jennifer Carpenter, and showing the growing alienation she feels as her brother and dad bond over their secret shared project while she processes the grief of losing her mother alone).

Other stellar casting choices include mind-blowing dupes for young Batista and Masuka (including the former’s distinctive accent and the latter’s weird laugh). Patrick Dempsey and Sarah Michelle Gellar also guest star, as the police chief and head of forensics, respectively, which are both choices I find a bit distracting but also really fun. (Plus, Sarah’s gotta do something until that Buffy reboot gets off the ground.)

And Michael C. Hall is back, as producer and narrator of this story.

It’s just a delight front to back. Good storytelling. Excellent flashbacks (with that new creepy technology that smooths everyone’s wrinkles while turning them technicolor). Tension. Twists. Background on stories we’ve heard and people we know. New details we didn’t. And all those glorious early ‘90s details, which skip the super obvious and drill down on what fashion, music, and culture was actually like in Miami at the turn of the decade (including the fact that early decades often have more in common with the previous decade than with the later parts of the one they’re in, and so music and fashion and architecture reflect that). There’s one anachronism, with Deb wearing a sleek middle-parted half-up hairdo and a claw clip, neither of which were part of fashion until much later (we puffy, wave, or poof-front bang-ed youngsters and our scrunchies would NEEEEEVEEEEERRRRRR), but we’ll forgive it because of all the high-waisted shorts, bold floral patterns, and the one glorious neon pink Body Glove sports bra bikini with thick black trim.

If you liked literally anything about the first Dexter, buy yourself a month of Paramount and binge Original Sin. I wish I could go back and time and do that with you, because I am genuinely disappointed the season is almost over and I won’t be able to watch this show again for like a year. I hope it’s renewed so many times people make Grey’s Anatomy jokes about it.

Challengers Mixed by Boyz Noize (Music)

One of the other side effects of me spending less time on screens (and thus less time watching TV) is that I’ve been listening to more music, particularly ambient music that calms my system either during meditation or mindful activity like painting. I love my Sigur Ros radio station, and my Post Rock radio station (which is apparently is the genre that Sigur Ros is in - who knew?), and my Classical Mix radio station, but I was tiring of that same loop, so I asked my favorite EDM geek friends for some good downtempo playlists.

While they gave me many good suggestions that I use and love, my favorite suggestion did not meet the assignment, but was suggested because it’s instrumental and because everyone knows if there’s anything I love on this earth, it’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vanderpump Rules, and NINE INCH MF-ING NAILS (read: Trent Reznor), and so my friend also linked to this remix of the award-winning Reznor/Atticus Finch Challengers soundtrack.

The Challengers soundtrack itself is good, but this Boyz Noize remix is next level. I legit can’t stop listening to it, particularly the first track, “I Know.” That driving beat and repetitive motif is at once so energizing and entrancing that I can somehow use it to get up and move, to sit and focus, or to calm myself down. The gradual build and little flourishes keep the track ever interesting. And every time I hear it I just can’t help but think of how perfect it is for a tennis movie, since it sounds exactly like it is made for - or maybe even FROM - the video game Pong.

I’ve been listening to this when I write, when I do dishes, when I wake up in the morning, when I just really want to have a good day. If I could still run, I would definitely make this a jogging playlist. As it stands, though, it’s head bobbing music. And now it’s your head bobbing music too.

(Also, a recommended pairing: this remix, and the book Carrie Soto is Back. I very much wish I had been listening to this while I was reading that book, because if ever an album had the energy, tension, and forward propulsion of that [yes, also tennis-themed] story - it’s this one.)

The Traitors (U.S.) Seasons 1-3 (TV, Peacock/NBC)

I just CANNOTH with Alan Cumming on this show. I mean, how couldeth ANYONE?

In this article about how he and his stylist come up with his looks for The Traitors, which are truly a cornerstone of the show, the stylist calls him a Bond villain and the writer calls him the conductor of a game of Clue in a 19th century castle, and, well, both pretty much nail what he’s doing here. Except that he’s doing it absolutely gorgeously, brilliantly, hilariously.

If you don’t know anything about this show, it’s basically a murder mystery game show that pits various reality stars against each other (well, first season was half reality stars and half civilians, but they figured out quickly - when real feelings got real hurt - that it wasn’t a fair fight and pivoted to only reality veterans) to figure out who are the Traitors and who are the Faithfuls as they compete in challenges to put money in the prize pot. At the end, if there are any Traitors not discovered and banished, the Traitors win all the money and split it amongst themselves (if they haven’t turned on each other and gotten each other kicked out). If all Traitors are banished, the leftover Faithfuls split the money. Every day, the whole group banishes one person (hoping to banish Traitors but often getting it wrong), and the Traitors “murder” one person.

This could be a very dorky show. A very boring show. A very silly show. In less deft hands, all the artifice and drama could just feel cheesy.

But with Alan at the helm, this is High Camp. It is opulent theater. This whole show is drag. He plays a heightened version of himself, with some elements of his character as the emcee in Cabaret, and he does it with such drama, irony, and obvious unmitigated glee that it just… works. It’s audacious. It’s funny. It’s gorgeous to look at. And it really commits to the bit (in a sense it reminds me of PeeWee’s Playhouse in that way - like PeeWee’s dark, gothic older brother and his creepier, twisted grown-up playhouse).

The whole thing is pulled together with incredibly well-designed challenges that involve everything from creepy singing dolls to exploding folk art and eerie clown mazes, plus a moody soundtrack that’s giving one part Scotland (in fact, there is a lot of Scotland and Scottish culture in this show, which is also part of its delight), one part dark church, and one part historical horror movie vibes. Oh and then there’s the excellent casting, including Season One’s Kate Chastain from Below Deck who flat out refused to do manual labor during a challenge and just threw money down a hill in petulant rebellious protest, and Season Three’s Tom Sandoval from Vanderpump Rules, whose try-hard cheesiness is on full display - and being fully roasted by other contestants - on this season.

As much of my TV watching has been sacrificed to the audiobook gods, this show (along with Original Sin) is very much the exception, because it just brings me such great joy. At least once an episode I laugh out loud. At least once an episode my jaw drops because of a gorgeous outfit, a ridiculous remark, or a twist I didn’t see coming. At least once an episode I actually utter out loud as I shake my head, “I love this fucking show.”

Sometimes we can have nice things, and this is one of them.