Sun, 23 June: Weekly Review 16

I had a first listen to Twice Nayeon’s NA album on Spotify. Then a second and third. It gets better each time. Specially like Magic so far. It’s a pity some of the song titles are so generic. There’s even one called Heaven, and there’s a good song with that same title on RM’s new album (other artists I know who have that title are Carl Wilson, Talking Heads, Bryan Adams, Eurogliders, the list goes on). The single and music video of ABCD includes a nice dance break section near the end, but it doesn’t seem to be on the album version, which is an edit. I’ll be getting the album digipak soon, so maybe the hard copy includes an extended version? The song seems to be doing the biz on the charts and the music shows. Go Nabong!

In more Twice news, there was a funny picture of Twice Sana on Twitter/X recently. It was snapped at her Prada event and features a female fan seeing beautiful Sana close up and, well, look at the picture. Most posters sympathized with the girl – while laughing at her.

Getting up close and personal with Kpop artists seems to be a theme today. I Watched a video on Youtube called Aespa Secret Transfer Student. They performed at a high school and interacted with some of the students. Though some students were noticeably cool about them, clearly not fans, many of the students were and went off their heads. It was great to see, and I definitely identify. It would’ve been a good day at school, seeing Aespa do Supernova and Armageddon. The girl who won the silly competition they put on nominated Savage as her favourite song, and got to sing and dance along to the song with the members as her gift. Lucky girl. It was just fun watching the members be themselves.

In yet more Twice news, next up was a Youtube of the other Twice members viewing Nayeon’s music video for ABCD, with the lady in question present. As expected, everyone was supportive of their Unnie’s efforts and offered many encouraging comments. I’ve mentioned before there’s what I’m sure will be an iconic part in the dance break section where Nayeon puts her hand on or near her crotch. When this was shown, the other members screamed with delight (or was it shock?). Jihyo asked, ‘Are we allowed to do that?’ Nayeon just looked kind of sheepish. In any case, I’m glad they didn’t just pass over it (or much worse, censor it). Jihyo quipped that Nayeon likes to play alone (with herself). Weirdly, the video came to an abrupt end when Chaeyoung spotted some bug near her, and the others panicked with her and did a runner – all except Dahyun, who stayed to inspect the insect. We’ve seen this before: Dubu ain’t afraid of no bugs, bless her.

Major League Baseball player Willie Mays died yesterday at 93 years of age. He mostly played for the New York and San Francisco Giants, my team. He was my favourite baseball player. I used to play baseball, back in the day. It’s the only sport I’ve ever been interested in. Willie brought so much joy to the game, and he was such an all-rounder. He could run, he could field he could hit (for power and position). He’s even in some famous songs, including Chuck Berry’s Brown-Eyed Handsome Man and John Fogerty’s Centrefield. It was a good innings, Willie. RIP.

I taped the noir film He Walked By Night on the PVR today. A 1948 black and white, starring Richard Basehart and directed by Alfred L Werker, it’s been described as a Copaganda piece, which is pretty neat. It’s told in a semi-documentary style, following its cop characters in a hunt to track down a cop-killer. It mainly gets a solid three stars out of five on Letterboxd, so I’m looking forward to checking it out somewhere down the line.

Saw a nice Twitter/X thread today from poster Pulp Librarian. It was about Top 10 Book Titles That Would Make Great Prog Rock Album Covers. Because ‘everyone loves a 10 minute drum solo, right?’ Some book title examples were The Wizard of Lin (A E Van Vogt), Murdock’s Acid Test (George Harmon Coxe), Thongor At the End of Time (Lin Carter). The Librarian also provided some entertaining descriptions of the possible music contained therein. I recommend this poster. Every tweet and thread is like a mini sociology essay in some arcane aspect of pop culture. Their most recent thread covered the Return of Custom Street Vans (bring it on!). I retweet these often.

I finished reading the Gregory Benford novel, ReWrite. I was a bit disappointed by it overall. Main character, Charlie, skips through different timelines that take him back to his sixteenth year in 1968 each time, learning more about himself and his world with each iteration. The book feels like it’s at its best when it forgets it’s a time travel story, during Charlie’s sojourn in Hollywood, where he becomes a successful film-maker. This section’s wry and funny and threw me for a bit of a loop it was so unexpected. I liked Benford’s playing with alternate timelines. He doesn’t do that single timeline bullshit. In Benford’s time physics you go back in time, you land in a whole new timeline, and there is no paradox.

(Spoiler alert) On the last time-skip Charlie decides to stop the assassination of Martin Luther King, which possibly also saves Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated later in the year (‘possibly’ because in Benford’s story the assassin is the same person). It’s a nice idea, going back in time to save someone – I did it myself with a story called The Butterfly Breeze. But it’s a big ask to think that saving MLK or RFK would lead to a better world, which is Charlie’s aim. At best it’s a wildly optimistic and naive assumption that doesn’t delve into all the structural problems in society that make it what it is. In any case, it’s not the point, and I’m pretty sure Benford knows this too (he’s humoring his character). The important outcome is that Charlie gets to go home to his family, bruised and battered, but filled with hard-won understanding and compassion, and a resolve to make things better for them. 

I watched some Youtube, which is a thing I do from time to time, you know. Saw the new NewJeans music video for their song, Supernatural. Was very pleased to note it’s a citypop, apparently sampled from an old Pharell Williams tune. I tried to track down the original Williams song, but it’s not on Spotify. The vibe of the clip is very cinematic and impressionistic, even a little dark. Makes a contrast to the previous song and clip, the first Japanese single, Right Now, where the concept was cutesy and cartoony. And member Hyein‘s back, after recovering from an injury. I also saw a clip of Twice Nayeon in the studio recording her song, ABCD. She came off as very good, very professional, as did the Producer, Pdogg. I liked the way he gesticulated with his arms to guide Nayeon through the vocals, like a symphony conductor.

There was a nice list of the 15 Character Types That Describe Every Single Girl In Harem Anime by Jonah Dorrance on Anime Underground today. They consist of: the athlete, the young lady, the bookworm, the one with the ambivalent gender, the airhead, the first girl or fateful encounter, the sweet and innocent one, the teacher, the lewd one, the family member, the yandere (violent one), the tsundere (standoffish one), the childhood friend, the emotionless one, and the loli. That sounds about right; I don’t think they’ve left anyone out. Examples were given for each, like the classic High School D&D, though there were animes I didn’t know. The list also included notes about each one’s chances of bagging the MC. It’s a handy and humorous reference, and I think I’ll keep it in mind next time I’m watching a harem or ecchi anime, which could be anytime soon knowing my proclivities.

I watched the last two eps of those Icons Lord of the Rings docos, though this time the focus was on the Hobbit movies. There were apparently no less than five different studios involved in the making of those films, which goes a long to explaining why they turned out so bloated. The bloat meant more profits for the studios. The main take away therefore was that the blame for stretching the relatively short story over three films lies with the studios. It was not so much a creative decision that could be blamed on Peter Jackson, but a corporate one. Jackson basically had no choice. As the doco made very clear, he was told by the suits he had to direct (after Guillermo Del Toro bailed) or they would give it to someone else, and the films possibly would not be made in New Zealand. The other interesting tidbit was the fact that the original actor who played the dwarf Fili was sent packing because of his lazy on-set attitude and preparation. His departure required some reshoots, and the other dwarf actors had to adjust to having a new actor in their company. It was a damn fine series, adding much important detail to the ever-growing body of Lord of the Rings movie lore.

I read more of that Beach Boys coffee table book. We’re still in that 63/64 period where the British Invasion looms large, but the BBs are holding their own with number one hits like I Get Around. They released the Beach Boys In Concert album, which weirdly was their most successful album of the decade. It seems it wasn’t all quite live, with Brian Wilson going back in the studio and doing some overdubs and even rerecording some numbers. There were some quotes where mainly Mike Love talked about their performance on the TAMI Show, which was considered to be much better than their performance on the Ed Sullivan show earlier in the year. It famously has some classic performances from The Rolling Stones and, especially, James Brown. According to Mike, the Beach Boys were not friends with the Rolling Stones. I can well believe that: the Boys in their nerdy stripe shirts, the Stones in their cool leathers. It made me want to look back over my TAMI dvd to check out their performance again. It stands for Teenage Awards Music International.

After reading about it, I busted out my dvd and watched the Beach Boys’ performance on the TAMI Show. They only showed them doing four songs: I Get Around, Surfin’ USA, Surfer Girl and Dance Dance Dance. I wonder if they did more? I was surprised and disappointed they didn’t finish with Fun Fun Fun. The TAMI show’s gogo dancers danced behind them for the first two numbers, adding some goofy fun. Dennis was the star, belting out his drums from his riser on high. I can see why the girls sometimes mobbed the stage to get to him. Brian, Al and Carl laid down some solid music and sang beautiful harmonies, while Mike jumped around and frugged a bit while singing most of the lead vocals. He’s such a nerd. Surfer Girl slowed things down and was probably not what the crowd wanted. But this Beach Boys fan loved it. Brian’s high lead vocals were amazing. An awesome performance, but the set was far too short. I must revisit the entire concert again soon.

Watched the latest episode of Gruen, the ABC show about advertising. Todd Sampson was back in a Lara Tingle t-shirt that said ‘You’ve been Tingled’. Very iconic, very funny. His t’s are always an important part of the show. I’ve said it before, he’s so anti-consumerism that I don’t know why he’s in advertising. He’s definitely the show’s devil’s advocate to Russel Howcroft’s cheerleader for the industry. There was a segment highlighting an ad for a service called Spriggy, a gaming/banking app for young people, that Todd absolutely tore into. Besides telling how these things are all about capturing kids young and then keeping them for life, he revealed how the app keeps all the personal data and uses it in nefarious ways. Russel looked on at this screed nonplussed. He clearly thinks it’s a good thing. Just how embedded he is in establishment thinking was revealed during a discussion about AI when he said social media was a threat to Democracy, as if it was a true born fact. Excuse me, Mr Howcroft, but social media is the Village Voice. It’s chaotic, it’s contradictory, it’s crude, but it is the essence of Democracy. The mainstream media with its corporate interests that Howcroft is a part of is the true Fascist edifice that threatens it.

The Pitch segment, where two advertising agencies try to sell the impossible, was about compulsory organ donating. I thought the first one was garbage, but the second one was brilliant, a dramatic countdown to someone’s death if an organ isn’t donated. For once, both Todd and Russell were in agreement it was the best, but the two women on the panel, Lauren Zonfrillo and Carolyn Miller disagreed. Todd was incensed, and yelled ‘What?’ when he heard their verdict. Yep, people can be strange, Todd. Russel, who must be the biggest dagg on telly (at one point he threw in a random reference to Amyl and the Sniffers to appear cool), became uber enthused about the Speedos ad that was shown. He wants everyone to ‘go Speedo’. That’s not Democracy, Russel, that’s brainwashing, which is mainly what advertising tries to do.

I borrowed from the library and read the kid’s graphic novel, My Life Among Humans, by Jed McGowan. It was just left on a table by some neglectful child or parent, apparently waiting for me to pick it up and be beguiled by it. It’s about an alien who comes to Earth to research humans and maybe enslave them for its masters. I really liked the desert setting. It reminded me of the desert landscapes in those old Looney Tunes Coyote and Road Runner cartoons – all rocks, cacti and cool night vistas. The alien finds his first human subject, a young guy called Will, in a house on the edges of the desert. It gets close and emits spores into Will that enable it to sense the world the way Will does. I love the loungey, retro interior of Will’s house, and other houses in the story. It’s a look that reminds me of the artist, Shag. The people are also drawn in that angular, minimalist way that’s Shag’s specialty. The story unwinds intriguingly, including some suspense and even a little romance, and ends satisfyingly. It’s a good Twilight Zone-type scifi story. Not sure if kids will go for it, but teens and adults will have a blast.

New Car Saga

Endured some more car search wackness today. I called a guy about a Hyundai i30, a nice white 2019 number. The ad said one owner and 40,000 k’s. Turned out the guy had a number of other cars for sale and was in fact representing the business, a car wreckers, across the road. Later, when I visited the seller’s business lot to look at the car, he said the car for sale had been used by one person, an office lady, and the car was an ex-business fleet car. So the seller was actually a dealer but said he wasn’t. A red flag, according to my older brother, the car aficionado. And the 40,000 k’s turned out to be over 50,000. Despite all this, I liked the car, and would’ve bought it if my older brother hadn’t talked me out of it. When I relented, after all his blabber, I tell you I really wanted to let out a primal scream, my frustration levels were so high. I’d taken the day off and knocked back some work for this viewing, and now I’d wasted my day. Meanwhile, my younger brother performed the minor miracle of getting my own car going. I guess he was invested in doing that so he could get his own car back.

Did some more car searching, mainly just online at carsales.com. So many of them have comments like ‘ideal first car’ that really piss me off. I’m way beyond being a first car owner. Do they think it’s only young people who want smallish cars because they equate to cheaper cars that they could afford? Me, I’m downshifting from a larger car to a smaller car, because I don’t need the larger car any more. Then there’ll be assumptions like ‘two owners, both female’, like that’s supposed to comfort me, because women are much more careful drivers. I know certain people who think female drivers are the worst.

Actor Donald Sutherland died today. Among all the TV tributes featuring his many great roles, including Don’t Look Now, Mash and Klute, I thought one important role was sadly overlooked. I’m talking about his greatest role: as Kate Bush’s dad in the Cloudbusting clip. Okay, I’m only half serious, but it’s a great music video (and song), worth checking out. Kate actually plays Sutherland’s character’s son. She makes an adorable boy. And it was a sign of her standing that she was able to get such a prestigious actor to play in her little music video. Click here for an interesting account of how she persuaded him. One other more obscure film I enjoyed Sutherland in was The First Great Train Robbery (with Sean Connery). We’re gonna miss your goofball grin, Donald. RIP.

Now that I’ve finished Rewrite, I’m reading the book Sonic Life by Thurston Moore. It makes an interesting comparison to his former wife, Kim Gordon’s account of life in Sonic Youth, which she detailed in Girl In A Band. So far it’s just the early stuff, with young Thurston milling around CBGBs and New York in the mid to late seventies, and it’s enthralling. He sees all the great artists from around that time: Patti Smith, The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, and provides a clear-eyed view of the scene. I like his comment about drugs, how he used because his friends used, but he’d rather spend his money on records and books. This section also details his friendship with and then growing estrangement from his friend Harold, his partner in crime in exploring New York. There’s a random though revealing detail of Thurston and Harold hanging out in Harold’s home and knowing that Harold wants to come on to him, because he’s gay, but Thurston’s very straight. Instead, they spend the day listening to albums of the greats of the day including, appropriately, Skyhooks. That might have been the Straights In a Gay Gay World album. Thurston was into everything – except queerness, it seems. Can’t wait to get to the Sonic Youth section of the book.