Curate Your Life: February 2021
Watching, Reading and Listening in the Covid Winter, February 2021
Hey all, this is a quick note about a few things I recommend checking out. I believe in living a curated life full of art, news, literature, history, film, great TV shows, great music; you get it. Is it Socrates who said we should live lives worth living? Something tautological like that. Enjoy quality, thoughtful, well constructed, insightful art and thoughts. You’ll feel better.
Here are a few recommendations.
Stay Free: The Story of The Clash
Stay Free is a Spotify exclusive podcast, narrated by one of my favorite humans of all time, Chuck D, about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, I mean, about The Clash. Am I into The Clash? Have I ever had a passion for The Clash. Not really, they mostly sound like precursors to mainstream pop punk in the late 90s, all swagger and little strum, but… The Clash. C’mon, they’re iconic. Several of their songs shifted our entire culture, like Should I Stay or Should I Go and London Calling. Most importantly, they survived when the Sex Pistols completely imploded. The Clash are important.
The real highlight of this podcast miniseries is Chuck D.
Chuck D!
Chuck D narrates the multi series show; he’s typically insightful, brilliant, personal. One of my favorite moments is Chuck D describing how The Clash were famous for thrashing (clashing?) their hotel rooms, but when Chuck D toured with Public Enemy, he could have never, ever gotten away with acting like petulant stars as young Black men on the road. I hadn’t considered the privilege in the much lauded punk rock lifestyle or what it was like for young Black kids from New York touring the country in the 1980s, or 1990s, or 2000s, or today, how completely scary it must be for so many Black artists when on the road. Chuck brings it home. It’s a distinct pleasure to spend so many hours with him talking to me. Just to me. And you too if you listen: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2JgBM7vWUEBu6eLDOoiu20?si=ROH_-AU-RXWofDpgZOmz_A
AOC’s Revelations About The Insurrection
Chuck D is a tough act to follow, but AOC is the one woman out there who can one up him, which I like to think would make Chuck proud.
Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has an honest and frank and slick Instagram presence. You know this. She has an honest and frank and slick everything. She’s from the Bronx, what do you expect? (My family is from the Bronx.) But seriously, she’s my hero. For some reason, many mainstream Democrats can’t stand Bernie Sanders, but when they experience his exact same politics packaged in a younger, hipper, savvier, beautiful Latina woman, they’re all for it. Hell, whatever it takes. But not to diminish AOC’s glow, she’s a star for a reason and on her own trajectory.
You may have read about her brutally raw retelling of how she survived the Racist, er, Republican, insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th. But reading third-party reporting about AOC is like me telling you about a really fine Burgundy Meursault white wine instead of tasting the damn thing.
See what I did there?
If you have an hour to cook dinner or fold laundry, please play her video. You’ll soon pause over your stove or stand still with underwear in your hand as you stop to witness one of the most important political speeches in the 21st Century. I’m not kidding. This is important.
View: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CJ-OkgNAO1N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The Expanse: Season Five
Is a streaming television show as profound as The Clash’s cultural legacy, 1980s genre-making hip hop or a progressive politics that seeks to collapse income inequality while saving our democracy? Nope, not even close.
But… The Expanse’s final season is fun, smart, well-told and let’s be honest, you have nothing else going on right now.
What is it? Season 5 is the latest season in an epic sci-fi streaming series about a rag tag group of rebel alliance… I mean, a rag tag group of unaffiliated humans from Earth, Mars and some big asteroid belt, “Belters” who fly around the universe solving problems, defending humanity and occasionally having sex with each other. I got a little confused at times in earlier seasons, but now the writers are more focused and clear. The show is a joy to watch, I find it intelligent, even moving.
Disclaimer. I’ve been boycotting Amazon for years and will have nothing to do with that company. It’s an anti-worker monstrosity that willfully maims its workers — and then fires them for speaking truth to power — all to make a buck for one of the world’s richest men. There’s no union to protect the workers. Amazon is way worse than Wal-Mart.
Bezos (and his enablers) has so much money he could buy houses, full time healthcare, free education and sparkling new cars for each and every one of his tens of thousands of workers. He would never notice the few billion dollars missing from his triple-digit billions. Instead, Bezos suppresses workers’ wages and exposes them to dangerous work environments. Why does he do that? It’s sick. How he or anyone affiliated with the company sleeps at night is beyond me. At least Facebook doesn’t maim their workers. Just morally. Ha.
The Expanse, which is regrettably on Amazon Prime, is a very fun sci-fi show. If you happen to have pirated access to the platform, go for it. Sorry for the rant.
The Impeachment Video Evidence from Day 1
Where do you go for solace after whinging about Amazon’s endless manipulations and battery of their workers? You dive into the gutter to spend time with the Republican Party, the vast majority of which is still loyal to former President Trump.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cypjAI8uLso&feature=youtu.be
One of the most shocking things I’ve seen is the video presentation shared yesterday by the House impeachment managers. It’s a harrowing and telling document of the most evil attacks on our democracy in our lifetime. Shivers. Lots of shivers. Please watch.
OK that’s it for now, enjoy a little curation in your life.
Yours,
Zachary