Welcome back to The Art Idiot!
Recently, reading has been hard. I know you’re probably thinking, “what a terrible way to start a newsletter” considering my goal is to keep you reading, however, what type of critic would I be if not brutally honest?
The best way I’ve continued to incorporate reading and creativity into my life is, oddly enough, through poetry. During high school, I had an intensive oral exam to best analyze and break down a Sylvia Plath poem that was chosen at random. While (exceptionally) angsty, 17-year-old me, rejected the beauty of poetry, luckily, I am entering the era of adulthood where you return to the things you loved as a teen, and, luckily, it now feels more acceptable to enjoy those things.
Poetry, for me, has become my attempt to express my emotions (in my sketchbook, not to be shared with the world – yet). Reading poetry, and listening to it (don’t forget that music is simply poetry with a tune behind it), also serve some type of solace, and I am grateful that other individuals are capable of stringing words together so beautifully when I am unable. Here are a few blurbs of poetry that have stuck with me lately1:
From Caged Bird by Maya Angelou:
“– a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.”
From America, I Sing You Back by Allison Adelle Hedge Coke:
“But here I am, here I am, here I remain high on each and every peak,
carefully rumbling her great underbelly, prepared to pour forth singing—
and sing again I will, as I have always done.”
From How To Write a Poem by Laura Hershey
“Don't think about
writing a good poem, or a great poem,
or the poem to end all poems.
Write the poem,
you need to hear;
write the poem you need.”
The Poetry Foundation features a “poem of the day,” which is something I’ve been incorporating into reading after I complete the New York Times Wordle every morning. Poem of the day can be found here.
Featured Films…
The theme of these recommendations is “phenomenal scores.” A score, the sound, is composed solely for the film.
Hulu…
La La Land - 5/5 stars
La La Land is the first film I ever saw alone in theaters, and even though I still don’t consider myself to be a musical lover, I was changed for the better. A musical? Touchy genre for sure, but trust me when I tell you that this movie is not overly cheesy and the plot does not rely heavily on dance and song. Additionally, it must be recognized that the soundtrack of this film is not the same thing as the score. The score, which consistently appears in my top songs in my Spotify Wrapped, is the core emotion evoking aspect of this film (not to slight the wonderful performances from Gosling and Stone). My brief critique does not to justice to the feelings I have for La La Land, but I will say that I can rewatch this 110 times and always find my eyes sweating every single time from both happiness and heartbreak. Please tune in.
Spencer - 3.75/5 stars
Another production about Princess Diana? Why not? While we all know the truth, Spencer takes a close look at Princess Di’s experience during one of the family holidays. Kristen Stewart’s performance is unexpected, but the cinematography and score are what made this film stand out and draw out the perpetuating feeling of anxiety. Jonny Greenwood, the multi-faceted Radiohead musician, is the composer of Spencer’s score, and I am always quite charmed by an artist that shows exemplary amounts of versatility. It’s unique that 111 minutes of anxiety can look and sound so beautiful.
Disney+…
Hidden Figures - 3.5/5 stars
It would be despicable, and downright wrong, to discuss phenomenal scores without mentioning the iconic, Oscar-winning, Hans Zimmer. Prior to my newsletter research, I was not aware that he composed the score for this film, but it is only right as most films with a Zimmer score are a complete success. The Hidden Figures score is not only composed by Zimmer, but iconic producer and artist Pharrell Williams steps in to collaborate on the film’s sound as well. What’s not to like about a phenomenal, true story accompanied by great music?
Some Sound to Go…
A continuation of the theme: scores and soundtracks
Kaveh J’s Screening Room -
As badly as I want to be a podcast girly, I am not. However, there are a few that make me laugh and offer up respectable, digestible opinions and perspectives, and to my luck, someone I consider a close friend created a show that does just that. Kaveh Jalinous, a current student and long-time critic, shares biweekly episodes covering all genres and topics, but a popular (and Kaveh-recommended) episode is Musicals, Musicals, Musicals. Check it out (and maybe find yours truly featured on some other episodes)!
What’s Going On? - A Tarantino inspired playlist
I’ll never forget watching Django for the first time, and there is a scene where the main character is riding on a horse through a field and the music simply did not match. Although my immediate reaction was to comment on how Tarantino can get away with anything, it grew on me quickly and added another comedic layer to the story. Here is a random compilation of songs that I started curating in 2019 that either appears in a Tarantino film or feel like they could be.
For non-spotify users, Kaveh J’s Screening Room can also be found on Apple Music, and a song list for the playlist can be found on The Art Idiot Archive.
That’s all for this week folks! Stay tuned as The Art Idiot continues to grow and evolve to bring you the best recommendations.
All snippets of poems are taken from The Poetry Foundation. The full poems can be search and found at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/