August in Review
Films, music, books, and miscellaneous
This is my monthly review of music, films, books, and a miscellaneous recommendation at the end.
Music
Songs
“Lilac Wine” - Nina Simone
“Lilac Wine” - Jeff Buckley
I heard the song “Lilac Wine” for the first time this month and fell in love with it. I first listened to it in Nina Simone’s voice, then found the Jeff Buckley version and love that one equally as much.
“Despair in the Departure Lounge” - Arctic Monkeys
In the last couple years, Arctic Monkeys has been my favorite band. I’ve listened to all of their albums so much I know them in and out, and sometimes do crave something “new.” Thankfully, they have many stray singles, sort of B-side tracks, that didn’t make it into any of the albums. I’ve been rationing those out to hold me over until the next album release. “Despair in the Departure Lounge” is one that really captivated me, it’s one of their more stripped back, softer songs. I love that it kind of sounds off-the-floor, unfinished, like a demo, and Alex Turner’s voice is so front and center in it. What can I say, I can’t dislike anything they’ve ever made.
Playlists
“Reading” - Apple Music
I have to say, I don’t typically listen to music in the playlist format, especially if created by a streaming service, but the Reading playlist from Apple Music has been such a life-saver. It’s the perfect classical music playlist for me; it’s not too calm that it makes me sleepy and not too intense that it’s distracting. It’s the goldilocks of classical music playlists for me. I do listen to it when reading, but also play it when writing, working, cooking, etc.
Albums
Leisurevision - Leisure
I had never even heard of Leisure, but the album art lured me in—I love that green color. I listened to this a lot while working and driving. I’m not even sure how to describe the musical genre—it’s kind of pop-electronic-lounge music—but it’s very easy on the ears and enjoyable. My favorite tracks are “Back In Love” and “Last Dance.”
Starburster - Fountaines D.C.
I found this to be a lot less gritty and raw than their last album, Skinty Fia, which I really like. I missed that slightly, but also appreciated this pivot in direction. There were some moments that reminded me of The Smiths (in “Bug”) and Oasis (in “Motorcycle Boy”), which are two bands I love, so no complaints from me. My favorite tracks are “Desire” and “Favourite.”
A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead
Radiohead is big-brain music, so I’m still processing this one. It requires active listening—to sit down with headphones on, no distractions and listen. For now “Glass Eyes” and “Daydreaming” are two I really love. The instrumentals and Thom Yorke’s voice are so haunting.
Films
The standout film of the month is The Green Ray (1986, Dir. Éric Rohmer). We follow a woman on her summer vacation, as she goes from here to there, spends time with friends and tries to make new ones, but her loneliness follows her wherever she goes. As I watched, I kept thinking of the phrase “wherever you go, there you are.” As I said in my Letterboxd review, the main character was “painfully relatable at times. I wanted to hug her, but also shake her by the shoulders. Perhaps the most three-dimensional character I’ve seen from Rohmer.” It hit close to home. There were even a couple lines I’ve said myself, out loud or in my head.
Full list of everything I watched:
Pride and Prejudice (1995) — BBC series (not a film, but I’ll include it here anyway)
Scarlet (2022) — Dir. Pietro Marcello
Bonjour Tristesse (1958) — Dir. Otto Preminger
The Green Ray (1986) — Dir. Éric Rohmer
A Room with a View (1986) — Dir. James Ivory
Night is Short, Walk On Girl (2017) — Dir. Masaaki Yuasa
Books
Like last month, I only finished one book in August, Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. I wanted to read a quintessentially summer book and that’s exactly what I got. I thought the story and characters were interesting and it kept me intrigued. I had no idea where the story was going and I really liked that. I liked the simplicity and straighforwardness of the writing. I did watch the film adaptation right after and enjoyed that as well.
Miscellaneous
I watched this video and it was like a breath of fresh air. I love her definition of beauty, pushing back on the mainstream idea of beauty as “perfection.” It’s those “ugly” traits—an asymmetrical face, a large nose, imperfect teeth, scars, eyes that are too far apart or too close together, etc.—that make someone beautiful. To me, an interesting face, unique to that person, is a beautiful face. I agree with a lot of what she says and it was a good reminder. I recommend watching the video below.
That’s it for now.
Thanks for reading,
Jannette
So much great stuff in August for you! "Daydreaming" is a favorite Radiohead song of mine. I've always considered "The Green Ray" to be my favorite Rohmer. I'm really glad you like it, too. It's interesting you relate to the character but also want to shake her! Maybe sometimes we see unsettling things about ourselves in characters. How is your reading coming along in September? I've done very little reading myself.