Wow, this one took me by surprise...and has shaken me. I have seen video of Lucius (the duo of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig) singing on stage with the all-star cast for Joni Mitchell's recent concerts known as "Joni Jams" but had not really encountered them on their own. Until this emotional song, "Final Days" from their self-titled album out just yesterday. The lyrics are quite raw and penetrating... they tell a story I have lived a few times now and can feel every word they sing.
I hope I didn’t let you down
‘Cause it’s too late to make a change
You’ve lived a hundred lives before me
So self-involved to think that I could hold that weight
Like a mother to them all,
With your arms stretched open wide
I hope you hear that heaven’s call
I hope they’re letting you inside
You look good like I remember
With all that sunshine on your face
I let you sit there without talking,
You let me sit there in your shade
You let me dream about the future
and all the plans we had to make
I hope I’m wrong about the after
and these are not your final days
Could’ve said I’m frightened but I couldn’t, I didn’t have the heart
Are you scared of dying? I couldn’t, I didn’t have the heart
So I said it’s waiting, your own true paradise
didn’t have the heart so I lied just to not see you cry
Yeah I didn’t, I didn’t have the heart
The world will go on spinning
Another day another scene
and I’ll be left with just a memory
and yesterday will be a dream
I’ll be looking out there for you
where all they see is empty sky
The space you left reminds me
that we don’t have to say goodbye
Could’ve said I’m frightened but I couldn’t, I didn’t have the heart
Are you scared of dying? I couldn’t, I didn’t have the heart
So I said it’s waiting, your own true paradise
didn’t have the heart, I didn’t have the heart
So I said it’s waiting, your own true paradise
didn’t have the heart so I lied just to not see you cry
Yeah I didn’t, I didn’t have the heart
Kate Bush released a beautiful animated video today. She tells the story at her site:
"In 2022, with war breaking out in Ukraine, I decided I wanted to make an anti-war animation. In particular, I hoped to draw attention to the children caught up in war.
I based the storyboard around the song, Snowflake, which was sung by my son when he was a child. I think his performance is extremely moving and although I‘d originally written the song to capture his beautiful descant voice before he entered adolescence, it has taken on a haunting new meaning within the context of this animation.
The original track runs for over seven minutes, but as animations take a long time to make, it made a lot of sense to shorten it to three or four minutes. I was concerned that the song might lose something by being edited so intensely but actually it’s held up pretty well.
I knew I wanted the featured character to be a child caught up in war, so I made a very rough, off the cuff story board.
Although I’d initially thought to make the character a human child – a little girl – I settled on the idea of a Caucasian pygmy shrew (Ukrainian shrew): a tiny, fragile little creature. I felt that people might have more empathy for a vulnerable little animal than a human…
This little shrew would take a journey on a moonlit, winter’s night through a war-torn city, initially unaware of what was going on around her in this land of the giants. She can sense that she’s being called by a kind of spiritual presence… HOPE.
She starts to search for HOPE. Sometimes hope is all there is to hang on to."
The wonderful story of the artist and animation team continues on her site here.
Kate concludes:
"There’s not meant to be an exclusive focus on the war in Ukraine, but it was that war that instigated the making of this animation. All wars leave horrific scars: ruined lives, families ripped apart, life-changing injuries, trauma and loss on a massive scale – but it’s the children who suffer the most in so many ways. Their past, present and future melt away into fear and uncertainty.
I would like to ask that if you watch the animation, please make a donation to War Child, or to another charity that aids children in war.
Even a tiny donation will help enormously. War can be an unimaginable horror for a child.
You could be hope for that child caught up in war. You could make a real difference.
I have a little lump of trembling emotion in my throat as I listen to this new song, "Black Poppies" by the divine Underworld (Karl Hyde and Rick Smith). From their album "Strawberry Hotel" to be released on October 25th, 2024.
The melody...I...Hyde's voice...I just...it's just so...it's so...*sigh*
Who can handle who cares
And who never came, who cares
And keeps adopting, adapting and embracing change
And change you may feel a little strange at first
But keep changing
We got the best books and the best boys and the best buys
And the first the second will be last
And the dance floor is always full
To be it, to the rush
We got steps, well come in
You are, you are beautiful
You are, you are beautiful
Who can handle who cares
And who never came, who cares
And keeps adopting, adapting and embracing change
And change you may feel a little strange at first
But keep changing
You are, you are beautiful
You are, you are beautiful
You are, you are beautiful
"Cut a hole in the news
don’t make it complicated
we’re no longer alone
you may feel a little strange at first
Mr Mickey Marley
wild black and white
my eyes go crazy
keeps adopting, adapting
if nature is heaven
in her arms you live happy
glitter finger, numbering four weeks
studs like tiny stars
machines playing tunes to block out the life, block out the light
set fire to it if you want to see it go up in flames
follow the line to the rising sun
we are all of these things and more things"
Arranged for strings by Gus Nicholson
Violin 1- Will Clark
Violin 2 - Rocket Brooks and Sungeun Kang
Viola - Catherine McCardel
Cello - Maddie Johnston
Double Bass - Jonny Hayward
Wow. Another incredible, cosmic song from Palace (previously here). Here is "Goodnight, Farewell."
Think I want it, a different life
I'm too sentimental, for friends of mine
So please surround me, in a milk cocoon
Insurrection in a shuttered room
Tilt my head, towards the sun
The brothers both said, to the middle one
"Just remember, your inner child"
"Just remember, it's who you are"
Orange peel, kitchen sink
Late night love for my medicine
Belly turned to guts like a barrel eye
She bore witness to a precious life
Precious life, precious life
I'll never forget who you were, I'll never forget
I'll never forget who you were, I'll never forget
I'll never forget who you were
Never forget, never forget
Never forget, never forget
Forget
Here is the beautiful, touching song "Andrew" by Ben Platt. The innocence, the yearning, the naïveté, the heartbreak. It is weightier for us. For so many reasons. Even with more acceptance and changes in attitudes toward LGBTQ+ issues... it is still different.
His hair falls in cool careless waves without trying
Goes days without crying
But still treats me kind
And it's not his fault, all the sleep I've been losing
The way that I'm ruined
One look in his eyes and I'm gone
Helplessly dumb
My senses go numb
My brain is on fire
They say wanting someone is supposed to be fun
That's because they never loved an Andrew
Honey, I know there's no one to blame
But honestly, damn you
It's just a cruel joke that chemicals play
You don't wanna kiss me, 'cause I'm not at all
Likе the girls in the posters that hang on your wall
What a timе wasting heartbreak to fall
For an Andrew
Oh-oh-oh
He floats through the air unaware of the damage
A hard right of passage for soft-hearted boys
He smiles like a friend, puts his hand on my shoulder
If I can't get closer, then I am destroyed
And I'm gone
Helplessly dumb
My senses go numb
My brain is on fire
They just can't understand why it hurts me so bad
That's because they've never had an Andrew
Honey, I know there's no one to blame
But honestly, damn you
It's just a cruel joke that chemicals play
You don't wanna kiss me, 'cause I'm not at all
Like the girls in the posters that hang on your wall
What a time wasting heartbreak to fall
For an Andrew
What a time wasting, sweet happiness-taking
Self-esteem, mess-making
Heart-breaking shame
Wanna hold your hand, and be more of a man
Like your world falls apart for me or stays the same
'Cause you're
Andrew
Honey, I know there's no one to blame
But honestly, damn you
It's just a cruel joke that chemicals play
You don't wanna kiss me, 'cause I'm not at all
Like the girls in the posters that hang on your wall
Wish that I'd never met you at all
Sorry, Andrew
Oh-oh-oh
...by writer-director Andrew Haigh, starring Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy, and Jamie Bell.
Well, actually I watched it several weeks ago but I have been unable to really speak about it or even write about it without being overcome with emotion. The story concerns itself with a script writer, Adam (Andrew Scott) who is attempting to write about his childhood and parents who tragically died in a car accident when he was 11. At the same time, Adam meets Harry (Paul Mescal) the only other inhabitant of the new highrise apartment building they live in, and they begin a relationship. Motivated by his script, Adam returns to his childhood home to reconnect with a time long past, and through some sort of...power of...something...he encounters his parents, still living in the house, appearing exactly as they did before they died.
Normally when I write about a film here, I don't include spoilers, but I just can't do it this time. Warning: major complete spoilers ahead.
When I saw the trailer for this film late last year, I felt a resonance with it. I lost my parents in a very tragic way as well, albeit not at such an early age like Adam, but still young enough to regret that they were unable to see much of my later adult life and how things turned out. Like Adam, I am an only child and carry a theme of loneliness and alone-ness inside me. And of course, Andrew Scott is an out gay actor playing a gay character...and I am an out gay actor who has played gay characters. But what really shook me was his encounter with his parents. After my mom and dad died, I had dreams of them, which is not all that unusual when one loses a loved one. My father took his own life and interestingly, my dreams revolved around him coming to terms with what he did, not me coming to terms with it. But when my mom died many months later, they both came to me in dreams many times. These dreams had a very different texture than "regular" dreams. While I still dream of them at this much later stage in my life, the dreams feel more like "regular" dreams...not the hyper-real encounters I experienced just after they died. So I knew the idea of seeing someone encounter their dead parents in such a meaningful way was going to stir me, move me, perhaps upset me. But I was prepared for it. I can "go there." After all, I have been there, and come back. People can be so skittish of films (interestingly, books not so much) that take them to difficult places where they might be emotionally vulnerable. But as I said, I have been emotionally vulnerable, A LOT in my life, and it didn't kill me. So I was prepared. And looking forward to it. The film seemed to be something I needed to ingest.
What I was not prepared for was the extent of emotion and the tone of the film. It feels like a dream. There is a subtle, hushed quality from the writing, directing, and certainly the acting that creates an arresting sense of intimacy. All four leads are masterfully penetrating and perfectly thorough in what they are presenting...these might be career defining performances for each. Andrew Scott's staggering performance and his interactions with the equally amazing Paul Mescal give the film its real intimacy.
We are introduced to Adam and his seemingly lonely--and very alone--life in a London highrise. On a walk outside at night, he looks up to see the only other inhabitant of the building, Harry, staring down at him. Once Adam returns home, Harry knocks on his door and introduces himself. It quickly becomes obvious that Harry is quite drunk with bottle of whiskey in hand, and he asks to be let in so he and Adam can hang out, maybe have sex or not...Harry innocently and desperately says, "We don't have to do anything," which is a little heartbreaking right there. While both men flirt with each other, Adam declines and Harry wanders off back to his flat. So now we know our two main characters. And this interaction proves to be the paradigm for the entire film.
I've read some journalists and critics writing about this film who have come to the conclusion that Adam's interactions with his parents are completely in his imagination. But I am going to posit that it is completely not. After taking a train out of London to the town where he grew up, he first sees his father while on a walk on the heath. It actually plays out a little like a cruising situation, with the as-yet-unknown-to-us dad beckoning to Adam to follow him, and Adam follows out of a sense of curiosity, and probably that the man seems strangely familiar somehow. Dad, played by Jamie Bell, takes his son home...to the house he grew up in. When his mum, played beautifully by Claire Foy opens the door for them, Dad says to Mum, "Yeah, it's definintely him...look in his eyes." It is finally made clear who they are. And Adam of course is dazed and speechless at seeing his parents, as they were before they died when he was a child.
He begins a series of regular visits to see and spend time with them...to catch up. He tells them he is a writer and they are proud of him. He has an afternoon alone with his mum where she asks if he has a girlfriend and he comes out to her, letting her know he is gay. She is a little put off, asks him if people are mean to him, and expresses concern for this new disease gay men are suffering from called AIDS. He assures her that things are different now and while she needs time to adjust to the idea, one can sense that her love for her son is greater than any anxiety about his sexuality. And in one of the most touching scenes, he spends a different afternoon alone with his dad. They speak of Adam crying alone in his room after being bullied at school, and his father confesses that he heard him but never came to offer comfort. This is a very common situation with young gay boys and their families but particularly their fathers, where culturally imposed homophobic beliefs and attitudes cripple and prevent fathers from connecting in a nurturing way with their sons. Adam's dad mentions that he probably would have harassed a gay kid like him when he was in school, but is now understanding of what it truly means. Dad breaks down and apologizes for not being there in the way that was needed the most. Andrew Scott plays Adam's reaction to this in one of the most powerful, authentic pieces of acting I have ever seen.
Meanwhile, the relationship that Adam and Harry are forging is really quite beautiful and authentic. The sex scenes are phenomenal...frank without being tasteless or merely titillating, and they are needed to show the closeness between the two. They bond over their shared loneliness--Adam speaks of his life long terror of being alone, and honestly, how could one not have such a morbid fear, after having one's family ripped away from them at such a young age--and the fact that while Adam's parents departed his life, Harry's parents basically disowned him for being gay. In a way, they are both orphans. But Adam is very excited to reveal to Harry that he has been spending time with his deceased parents, and begs him to come to the childhood home so he can meet them. Harry is dubious about seeing people who have been dead a long while and once they arrive at the house, the lights are off and no one answers the door, very unlike all of Adam's encounters so far. Adam is confused and doesn't understand why his parents won't let them in. He leads them around the house to the back French doors where, shockingly, both Adam and Harry can actually see the parents inside, simply standing side by side in the blackness. It's as though Harry's presence in the mix somehow interrupted the magic or power at play.
Adam has a final lunch with his parents at an American-style diner they all loved when he was young. The waitress mentions that the three meals ordered is a lot of food...for one person. Clearly the waitress cannot see his parents sitting in the booth with him. As they wait for their food, his mum and dad want to know details about the car accident that took their lives, they express their love for Adam and wish him well in his life, to not feel the crippling loneliness he has felt his whole life, and they urge Adam to promise to invest his emotions into a relationship with Harry whom they say they saw through the French doors as well. Once they fade away into another realm where they can finally rest, Adam is left alone in the diner. But he can now return to his building to see Harry and tell him about what has happened, that he is ready to dedicate himself to a life they can share, that he no longer feels alone because he can open himself to someone without carrying--or even perhaps clinging to--an idea of loneliness. He comes to Harry's apartment, and when there is no answer, he lets himself in. We see he is immediately overcome by a horrific smell and consequently discovers Harry dead in his bed, wearing the same clothes as the night they met at Adam's door, clutching the same now-empty bottle of whiskey. Apparently, Harry has been dead for quite a while. But then Adam hears a noise in the living room. There stands Harry, agitated, on the verge of tears, imploring Adam, "Is that me in there? Am I in there?" We sense Harry is now regretful for the end of his life--perhaps his death was an accident (an inadvertent mix of drugs and alcohol), perhaps it was a deliberate suicide, but the real tragedy is that Harry has fallen in love with Adam and has seen that he too no longer has to carry around a motif of loneliness...and now it is too late.
And here is why I think Adam was actually seeing and interacting with his parents...because he was actually seeing Harry the entire time, too. Unlike his parents, Adam did not know Harry was dead...he had never been to his apartment since they had always spent time together in Adam's flat. And I don't--I can't believe that Adam was completely hallucinating an entire relationship with Harry. That would make him truly delusional, and the brilliant script-writer/director Andrew Haigh gave us no indication, clue, or information leading us to believe that Adam suffers from any sort of mental illness. Adam has been having a love affair with a ghost, to put it too simply. But a ghost that was somehow, inexplicably made of matter.
Of course where the film ends up is absolutely gutting, for three reasons: 1) Adam had just broken through his loneliness by working through the loss of his parents and was ready to dedicate himself to another person, 2) Harry too had worked through his ostracization and was ready to dedicate himself to another person, and of course 3) the couple cannot have a relationship since Harry is no longer alive. Now, you'd think this would be tragic, and it certainly is, (I have not been able to think about this film without crying and I am tearing up as I write this) but how the film closes is extraordinary. Adam now has emerged from his inner exile and has the strength and understanding to lead someone else out of isolation. Adam convinces Harry to accompany him back to his own flat. There, he leads him to bed and cuddles the ghost of Harry so he can heal and presumably move on from the physical realm, like how Adam's mum and dad dissolved. We see Harry, and then the pair of them turn into a pin point and a ribbon of light that expands and joins a universe of pin points and ribbons of light. So they are together...? However, Adam is alive since the actual physical world interacts with him. But perhaps seeing human beings as illuminated light, whether alive or dead, is meant to suggest that none of us are truly alone, that we are all connected in deeper, invisible, and powerfully immutable ways. However--and this could be my own issues of alone-ness--I just can't get past the idea that Adam is once again completely alone. He succeeded, he did it, he healed, he worked through his past and the death of his parents, and opened himself to life, but now he cannot be with Harry, and, having suffered two great losses now, he is still, horribly, utterly alone. My heart and spirit goes to Adam...but perhaps he has the strength now to either endure/reframe the idea of loneliness as well as the openness to allow someone else in to his life.
Recommend? Yes. It contains not only an incredibly moving, touching, tender story but also presents some of the finest performances on film. The film and actors have won several awards already including from the British Independent Film Awards, the London Film Critics' Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, and as of this writing has received six BAFTA nominations (awards given February 18, 2024).
Bombay Bicycle Club's (previously here) new song "Turn The World On" made me weep, lyrics and video. Don't make me explain why...
You always think you've blinked and missed it
on your last lap round the sun
I never felt so optimistic
since the days when I was young
I'd dream of growing old
and all the things I thought I would have done
Turn the world on
You'll make a fine young man
you'll smooth it out you'll see where I went wrong
You'll find your merry gang
they'll hang their bags a couple pegs along
They're leaving one by one
they're calling out they're begging you to come
Turn the world on
You make your bed just how you wanna
Make your bed how you intend
You take the page and fold the corner
Try to skip right to the end
You'll dream of moving on
to all the things you thought you would have done
John Koenig is the marvelous author of THE DICTIONARY OF OBSCURE SORROWS, a book of neologisms to express new terms for subtle emotions. His made up words are combinations of word roots from languages all around the world. While the words themselves might sound clinical, their definitions are lyrical and touching. I have felt a few of these and am happy to know others have too...and that we finally have names for them, thanks to Koenig's imagination!
1. Chrysalism
[kris-a-lizim] The feeling of tranquility when you’re indoors when it’s raining heavily outside.
2. Lilo
[ly-lo] The friendship between two people who feel as if no time has passed when they see each other after a long period of separation.
3. Sonder
[son-der] The realization that every stranger and passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. That each person is occupied by their own personal ambitions, worries, and problems.
4. Monachopsis
[mo-na-kop-sis] The inability to adapt to your surroundings and the feeling of being out of place.
5. Eramnesia
[eram-nee-ja] The realization that you were born in the wrong time period, wishing you lived in another time.
6. Anemoia
[an-em-oh-ya] The feeling of nostalgia for a time or place that you have never experienced.
7. Pâro
[pah-ro] The feeling that no matter what you do, you’re doing it wrong.
8. Xeno
[zee-noh] The powerful moments shared between random strangers, such as a smile or a laugh, which reduce feelings of loneliness.
9. Acatalepsy
[aka-ta-lep-sy] The apparent impossibility of humans ever comprehending the universe.
10. Liberosis
[lib-ero-sis] The desire to care less about things, to feel less.
This amazing song, "I've Learned That" by Dino Lenny checks all the boxes for me. Dance beat? Check. Otherworldly electronics? Check. A dark melodic sense? Check. Profound lyrics? Check. And the musical build to that buzzy, hallucinatory center section, driving in dangerous rain (we are all fragile), is incredible. This remix features a truncated version of the lyrics but the tighter narrative works very well and makes the sense of the song more immediate.
Thanks, Dino!
Lenny says:
“My daughter Victoria is seven years old. Since she was born, I always felt I had to make sure she knew about me straight away. You never know how much time you have. At first, I was going to write a diary with all my thoughts and stuff like that. But if she’s a little bit like me, she’d probably pick up the book a few times and leave it there. So I decided to transform my thoughts for her into songs. ‘I’ve Learned That’ is one of those.”
Now all this stuff’s happening to me
What is the point now of doing something proper if you can’t live it
Was it lesson to learn
I haven’t learned anything here or maybe I have learned something maybe I knew already
I’ve learned that life is too short
I’ve learned that I’m fragile
I learned that...I learned that
I want to live every moment of my life now
I’ve learned that...I need balance
I’ve learned that everything matters—EVERYTHING matters
I’ve learned that
It’s raining it’s pouring I’m riding the road that leads down to my house
It's raining I'm sorry I’ve decided to ride on my own to my house
I don’t want to waste time I don’t want to waste time with time wasters
I want real stuff
It has to be real now
I’ve learned that
I still want to laugh, I wanna have fun
Laughing is serious, it’s a serious thing
I wanna leave something behind, I wanna leave something behind
I think I deserve it
Light artist Tim Etchell has been making some wonderful pieces for public spaces over the last several years.
His website observes, "Etchells’ neon and LED pieces often draw on his broader fascinations as an artist, writer and performance maker, exploring contradictory aspects of language – the speed, clarity and vividness with which it communicates narrative, image and ideas, and at the same time its amazing propensity to create a rich field of uncertainty and ambiguity.
Through simple phrases spelt out in neon, LED and other media, Etchells strives to create miniature narratives, moments of confusion, awkwardness, reflection and intimacy in public and gallery settings. Encountering the neon sign works, in the streets of a city or in the space of a white cube gallery, the viewer becomes implicated in a situation that’s not fully revealed, or a linguistic formulation that generates confusion or ambiguity. As often in Etchells’ work, in the neons the missing parts of the picture are as important as the elements that are present. Invoking a story, or projecting an idea out-of-context, the work invites us in, but into what exactly we can’t be sure."
Indeed, these pieces are poignant, thought-provoking, and direct the viewer to a place of self-reflection where one is encouraged to ponder one's place in the world and our journey through time here on this planet. Like poetry, it is the brevity of these pieces that leaves room for such thoughts.
"This Time Away": a short speculative fiction film by Magali Barbe starring Timothy Spall. A future with AI robots might not be so bad after all...if they are programmed right...
CalArts animation student Alisha Liu created a gentle, optimistic short film called "3:45." I will say that I do what the young character in this film does, but instead of seeing one side or the other, I usually see both...at the same time...macro and micro...welcome to my head...
"One day you're seventeen and planning for someday, and then quietly, without you ever really noticing, someday is today, and that someday is yesterday and this is your life." --Mark Schwahn, "One Tree Hill"
"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ museum/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”
I am dedicated to posting the positive, the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, and the inspiring and uplifting. Sometimes I post cultural as well as personal observations, milestones, and remembrances. And just like life, all of these things may often have a bit of melancholy or even sadness in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious.
Some of the photos, art, poetry, and prose are my own original work, credited with my initials, JEF. When it isn't, I always try to post links to the original source material, but often I find photos on the web that are not linked or other material that is not sourced. In these instances, I post them without malice since it is assumed that such things, by being globally posted on something as uncontrollable as the internet to begin with, are in the public domain. If you identify the source of an image that is not linked, please politely let me know (without accusing me of theft, please) and I will be happy to provide a link. If you are the owner of an image and would prefer it be removed, I am happy to do that as well (again, without accusing me of theft , please).
I hope to inspire and entertain my readers with things that inspire and entertain me. There is a startling amount of beauty and creativity in the world and it enriches us all to participate in it.
All-time Favorite Films
2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)
After Hours (Hysterical, hair-raising ride through NYC at night)
Amelie
American Beauty (Alan Ball)
Baraka (Stunning, transcending—the "spiritus mundi" on film)
Belle et Bete (Cocteau)
Big Sleep, The (The epitome of film noir)
Bringing Up Baby (Hepburn & Grant—the epitome of screwball comedy)
Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, The (Greenaway)
Crash (Cronenberg—DIFFICULT subject, not for everyone)
Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg—ultimate modern gothic horror)
Drowning By Numbers (Greenaway)
Easy Rider
Edward II (Derek Jarman)
Erendira (From magic realist Marquez’ brilliant short story)
Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick's last film)
Fearless (Jeff Bridges—life and death)
Funny Bones (Leslie Caron, Jerry Lewis, and the brilliant Lee Evans)
Holiday (Hepburn & Grant)
Howard’s End (The ultimate statement of the unfairness of class systems)
Hunger, The
Ice Storm, The
Inland Empire (David Lynch)
Interiors (Woody Allen's ode to Bergman)
Jetée, La (French short that inspired Gilliam's "12 Monkeys")
Jules et Jim (Truffaut)
Juliet of the Spirits (My favorite Fellini)
Kwaidan (4 Japanese ghost stories)
L’Age d’Or (Bunuel)
Last Temptation of Christ, The (Jesus was a shaman)
Latcho Drom (Beautiful visual documentary of Romany culture around the world)
Lion in Winter, The (Hepburn!—Like “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” but circa 1183)
Living End, The
Logan's Run
Lost Highway (David Lynch)
Magnolia
Maurice (Boy gets boy, they live happily ever after!!!!!)
Men Don’t Leave (Jessica Lange’s gorgeous delicate performance)
Mirror, The (achingly beautiful stream of consciousness Tarkovsky)
Nights of Cabiria, The (Fellini)
Orlando (Tilda Swinton’s pristine performance and Sally Potter’s ravishing visuals)
Orphée (HEAVEN! Cocteau was a genius)
Pennies From Heaven (Steve Martin/ stunning Edward Hopper sets!)
Philadelphia Story, The (Hepburn)
Pillow Book, The (Greenaway)
Planet of the Apes (1968...NOT 2001!)
Postman Always Rings Twice, The (Nicholson/Lange--WOW)
Prospero’s Books (Greenaway)
Rebel Without a Cause ("I got the bullets!")
Satyricon (Fellini)
Shining, The (Kubrick)
Solaris (atmospheric, haunting Andrei Tarkovsky sci-fi)
Stalker (chilling Andrei Tarkovsky sci-fi)
Thin Red Line, The (Terrence Malick--existential poetry cleverly disguised as a war film)
Titus (Julie Taymor does Shakespeare)
Tommy (Brilliant, audacious Ken Russell film of The Who's rock opera)
Tree Of Life, The (Terrence Malick masterpiece)
Un Chien Andalou (Bunuel and Dali, need more be said?)
Wall,The (Pink Floyd)
Wings of Desire (All the feelings of the entire human race in one film)
Woman of the Year (Dated yet charming Hepburn vehicle)
Zabriskie Point (Empty, open, classic early 70s)
ZOO, A Zed and Two Noughts (Greenaway)
The Sounds My Soul Makes: Music
Annie Lennox
Brian Eno
Cocteau Twins
David Bowie
David Sylvian
Dead Can Dance
Durutti Column
Elbow
Everything But the Girl
Gang of Four
Gem Club
Goldfrapp
Joni Mitchell
José González
Junip
Kate Bush
Laurie Anderson
M83
Morrissey
Nine Inch Nails
Peter Gabriel
Peter Murphy
Rickie Lee Jones
Sigur Ros
Simple Minds
Smiths, The
Sufjan Stevens
Talk Talk
Tears For Fears
This Mortal Coil
Tori Amos
Ultravox
William Orbit
Zero 7
Important Books That Have Influenced Me
100 Years of Solitude—Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Doorway (for young people but worth it)—Madeleine L’Engle
