April shoutouts
Hey, May.
It looks like 2024 is picking up. April saw some unexpected health difficulties (I’m better now) followed by a whirlwind European honeymoon that was everything we hoped it would be. Looking forward to the upcoming warmer months — with a patio and an Aperol Spritz in hand, ideally.
Here are some of the things I enjoyed last month.
Luca Guadagnino’s romantic sports drama “Challengers” was among this year’s most-anticipated releases in my household. And I’m happy to report the film, starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, did not disappoint. An extra-special bonus was the film’s pulsing club-ready score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
“Challengers” is currently in theaters.
In anticipation of the first leg of our honeymoon, I checked out the audiobook of “Pancakes in Paris: Living the American Dream in France,” which chronicles comedian Craig Carlson’s harebrained idea to open up an American diner in the City of Lights. What followed was a charming tale about second-chance dreams and how believing in yourself inspires other people to believe in you, too.
Naturally, we stopped into Breakfast in America while in Paris and enjoyed the small piece of home. The burger was exactly what I wanted after a long day of walking the city — high recommend if you’re in Paris!
I included several tracks from Vampire Weekend’s fifth album, “Only God Was Above Us” in a previous newsletter and I’ve been enjoying the full album since its April 5 release.
Standouts include “Prep School Gangsters” (the most Vampire Weekend song title I can think of), “The Surfer” and album closer “Hope.”
I didn’t finish Katrina Carrasco’s “Rough Trade” soon enough to write a proper review of it, though I had originally planned to. It’s unfortunate because I actually really loved this, the second in a series about a transmasculine opium smuggler who gets caught up in a series of murders in the Pacific Northwest. This 1888-set thriller is the second in a series but I actually have not read the first one (yet) and still understood everything pretty well. “Rough Trade” is fun and surprising and also very well-researched about queer communities in former ages.
I have to be honest: “Deal or Not Deal Island” is very, very dumb. I love it. NBC essentially said, “We want to have our own version of ‘Survivor’ but we don’t own ‘Survivor”…. what brand do we own? Oh, yeah. What about ‘Deal or No Deal’ but on an island?”
“Deal or No Deal Island” is available to stream on Peacock.
Author Conner Habib has a colorful career: writer, academic, podcaster and former adult entertainer. In many ways, Habib’s debut novel, the glorious “Hawk Mountain” pours flavors of all of the author’s life buckets into a cohesive story. “Hawk Mountain” is a claustrophobic dramatic thriller which follows single father Todd as he’s unexpectedly reunited with Jack, his high school bully, decades after their last interaction. But something is amiss: Jack remembers being friends with Todd and is happy to see him.
“Hawk Mountain” took several turns that surprised me and as shockingly inevitable as the ending seemed, as a reader, you will feel powerless to stop it. Big Patricia Highsmith vibes on this one.
I dove into Scorsese’s beloved but less-popular third film, “Mean Streets” (1973) this month and despite watching it a) on an iPad on a plane and b) while slamming face-first into jet lag, I loved every second. The film’s opening — set to the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” — is among my favorites I can remember in recent memory.
“Mean Streets” definitely has a lo-fi, master-in-progress feel to it and I get why it might not stand out too much among Scorsese’s several masterpieces (the movie’s low key plot and circular character arcs give it a “So what?” kind of feeling but that’s also part of its charm). Nevertheless, I adored this slice of (low)life and will be revisiting it for years to come.
“Mean Streets” can be streamed for free on Tubi and purchased or rented across all major streaming platforms.
ODDS & ENDS
ARTICLES — In “Taylor Swift Has Given Fans a Lot. Is It Finally Too Much?,” New York Times writers Matt Stevens and Shivani Gonzalez take a look at the pop juggernaut’s current place in pop culture. The recent release of the divisive “The Tortured Poets Department,” appears to have broken the floodgates for some who were already experiencing Swift fatigue. It can sometimes be difficult to fairly explain when or why Swift disappoints but Stevens and Gonzalez do a fair job.
In other T. Swift reading I did this month, this fun Vulture article does a deep dive into the r/SwiftlyNeutral subreddit, where former unendingly devoted Swifties go to critically debate Swift issues — without the threat of harassment from other Swifties.
VIDEO — “Overanalyzing that one moment in ‘Daria,’” lays out one of among millions of reasons MTV’s “Daria” is so great. Creator Ky the Kunoichi focuses on the character Jodie and why, though she’s one of the show’s few Black characters, the writers/animators’ portrayal of her is so widely celebrated. If you have never seen “Daria” or are due for a rewatch, all seasons of “Daria” can be streamed on Paramount+.
MINI MIXTAPE
“He Walks By Night” — John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies (After the slightly disappointing third installment in his “Lost Themes” musical project, horror master John Carpenter and Co. are back with some great new tracks that sound like forgotten film scores. “He Walks By Night” could perfectly soundtrack just about any obscure faux 1980s horror movie you could dream up. Lead single “My Name is Death” is also very fun and wouldn’t be out of place in a sequel to Carpenter’s own “Escape from New York.”)
“Club classics” — Charli XCX (Released ahead of her forthcoming album “Brat,” Charli XCX’s “Club classics” is noisy, catchy and genius. Part 90s rave, part lost Justice song, part “Music Sounds Better With You” — it’s a song I’m going to have on constant repeat through the summer. I’m also loving the other tracks released from “Brat” so far, including the sleazy “von dutch” and Ace of Base-goes-dark “B2b.”)
“Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other” — Orville Peck & Willie Nelson (Gay cowboy anthem. Willie Nelson crooning “A cowboy might brag about things that he’s done with his women/But the ones who brag loudest are the ones that’re most likely queer…” is a delight.)
“Hell is Near” — St. Vincent (St. Vincent doing a James Bond theme — particularly this one — turns into a 1970s R&B/rock groove. I’m slowly making my way through the artist’s seventh album and this was an immediate standout for me. Coming off the heels of the polarizing “Daddy’s Home,” I’m interested to dig deeper into her much more warmly received new tracks.)
“Risk” — Gracie Abrams (This one is a little bit of a cheat as it technically came out May 1 — but let’s pretend this April newsletter isn’t late enough to include something from May. I don’t know much about Gracie Abrams, aside from her being a notable nepo baby, but the early peek of her incredibly 2000s-aesthetic upcoming album “The Secret of Us,” and it’s lead single have caught my attention. “Risk” sounds like a cross between Michelle Branch and The Veronicas. It would sound perfect in the background of an episode of “Gilmore Girls” and I mean that as a compliment. )