006: Sci-fi by Agnès Varda, songs James Baldwin liked, Twilight Zone episodes I like, etc.
I can’t believe that January is almost over, but I’m relieved I’ve managed to sneak this in on time. First, the playlist: a mixture of melancholy pop, rock outbursts, experimental everything, and a vocal jazz pick from the collection of James Baldwin that will transport you to a different place and time – more on that in the newsletter.
🕳️ Viewing Material: Les Créatures (1966)
Where: Criterion Channel
A bizarre Agnès Varda film that I absolutely adored, about a sci-fi writer and his mute wife, played by Catherine Deneuve. This film is peppered with strangeness from the start but takes an incredibly weird left turn. A lot of folks really didn’t like it at the time, though my favorite reaction is Jean Narboni of Cahiers du Cinéma, who “felt that Agnès Varda had thrown herself into a void with the film.” Later on other people liked it more, including Roger Ebert, who gave it three stars out of four, calling it a "complex and nearly hypnotic study of the way fact is made into fiction." I agree with him and found it deeply imaginative and very enjoyable.
🎶 Two From 2020: Room for the Moon by KATE NV // Suite for Max Brown by Jeff Parker & The New Breed
Where: KATE NV on Bandcamp and Jeff Parker on Bandcamp
Two underrated records from last year. A selection from each appears on this month’s playlist, but it was tough to choose just one song. Both of these albums, while completely different sonically, are really satisfying listens from top to bottom.
Room for the Moon is an enchanted synthpop record inspired in equal measure by ‘80s Japanese pop and Russian conceptualism. Exploratory and effervescent. I find myself listening to it over and over.
Suite for Max Brown blends post-Coltrane groove with samples to create a gorgeously contemporary take on soul jazz, influenced by hip-hop and ambient alike. (File under Of Course: Jeff Parker is the longtime guitarist of Tortoise.)
🛍️ Viewing Material: Twilight Zones I Have Loved
Where: Hulu
Did you know that the first five seasons of the original Twilight Zone are available on Hulu? What a fucking treat! We rang in the New Year with a marathon we curated ourselves, inspired by the annual one on TV. “The After Hours” was my favorite, a snapshot of a story about a woman who has a strange experience at the department store that takes a perfect detour into the Uncanny Valley.
You can’t just watch one Twilight Zone, though. Some more standouts:
“Five Characters in Search of an Exit”
A surreal bottle episode with an absolutely brilliant ending
"The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"
Another chilling take on the same theme Shirley Jackson explores in “The Lottery”
"Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?"
A classic alien episode with a great setting: a roadside cafe during winter
🎶 A Writer’s Soundtrack: James Baldwin’s Records
Where: Spotify
It’s been shared widely, but this excellent playlist composed of albums left behind in James Baldwin’s home in the south of France after his death – mainly vocal jazz greats and classic soul and pop of the ‘70s – is too good not to keep sharing widely. Press shuffle, hear something new-to-you from a famous voice, and learn a thing or two about a great writer’s taste and maybe psyche.
You made it all the way to the end! For a slug, take it all the way to the end here too.