To me, Red Dead Redemption – Rockstar Games’ sweeping, open-world western epic from 2010 – represents an unequaled gold standard in video gaming. I’m fairly certain every single new video game I’ve played in the years since has been (unfairly, probably) compared to it in some way – a variation of, “Yeah, this is great… but it’s no Red Dead”, has escaped my lips more times than I can count. Sometimes a work just clicks so thoroughly, so entirely, with your sensibilities, tastes, and preferences that it’s difficult to put into words exactly why you adore it as much as you do, such is your passion toward it.
That’s Red Dead Redemption to me.
Redemption was almost entirely unconnected to its near-mythical sixth generation ancestor, 2004’s Red Dead Revolver, with only the vaguest of vague references serving as connective tissue. Was there any particular need to revisit the cast of characters from Redemption in any capacity, especially when it served so well as a self-contained story? I didn’t think so – but the powers that be did.
Such was my concern when Rockstar revealed RedDead Redemption II would serve as a prequel to its predecessor. Taking place fifteen years prior to the first Redemption, the new game would chart the dying days of the infamous Van der Linde Gang, to which Redemption’s protagonist John Marston (Rob Wiethoff) once belonged, and whose exploits were only alluded to in the broadest of terms.
My concern stemmed from a simple belief I’d formed over the years – with the rarest of exceptions, prequels simply don’t work. They tend to produce one (or more) of three outcomes: they struggle to establish their own stakes and instead focus on connecting the dots to their predecessors (hello, George Lucas), exist as hollow, forgotten shadows of their forebears (I’m looking at you, Peter Jackson), or result in a complete mess when an attempt is made to be simultaneously separate and connected (is anyone really still clamouring for another Fantastic Beasts?). I was concerned the follow-up to my favourite video game of all time would suffer the effects of the same apparent curse.
To my delight, I was very wrong.
Red Dead Redemption II is a masterpiece of prequel storytelling, perhaps even the definitive prequel. As I write this, I’m currently on my second full play-through of the game, and I’m still consistently stunned at how well it establishes its own individual stakes while laying the groundwork for those of its predecessor. Writers Dan Houser, Michael Unsworth, and Rupert Humphries expertly use framework, characters, and allusions from the original Redemption to broadly expand what we thought we knew of John Marston’s past. Redemption II broadly embellishes the smatterings of backstory established in its predecessor while refusing to be restricted by them.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Property of Lucasfilm.
There exists a tendency in prequels to present familiar characters as simply “the same, but younger”. Just think of Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi (as much as I enjoy that particular performance), or the crew of the Enterprise in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot, who almost all arrive fully-formed and entirely familiar. This reliance on overt familiarity when re-introducing established characters perhaps points to a wariness to present beloved characters as anything other than what made them beloved in the first place. The result, however, is the nullifying of any potential character growth and development, presenting the audience (or player) with a character who is fully-formed on arrival, sailing exclusively on a pre-destined course.
Redemption II avoids this pitfall by treating its returning characters exactly how they ought to be treated – as people. Some otherwise-familiar characters are very different, almost irreconcilable people between the two games. It’s difficult and disheartening to accept the sleazy, crooked bandit Javier Escuella as we knew him in the original Redemption was once the handsome, romantic revolutionary we meet in Redemption II. Likewise, the demented and psychotic Colonel Kurtz-esque Dutch van der Linde was once the charming and charismatic leader of a merry band of outlaws worthy of Robin Hood (at least, that’s how he’d have you believe it). Rockstar understand that people change – not always for the better – and treats their characters accordingly.
On the other hand, Houser, Unsworth, and Humphries are smart enough to know familiarity has its place. Sometimes, there’s no need to greatly change a character who explicitly serves a purpose – as long as they aren’t who the story is about. To this end, antagonistic figures from the original Redemption like Bill Williamson and Edgar Ross are almost exactly the same when we meet them again (or for the first time?) in Redemption II. That’s fine. Some people change, some don’t. Certainly, it works for these characters, and others like them.
Crucially, John Marston is not Redemption II‘s primary playable protagonist. That title goes to Arthur Morgan (Roger Clark), the Van der Linde Gang’s long-term enforcer and third-in-command who is neither seen nor mentioned in the original Redemption, leaving players with a somewhat daunting sense of inevitability during their time spent with him. Regardless, this shift in focus away from the familiar gives both Arthur and John the space to breath and function independently as fully fleshed-out protagonists. Even if their stories are intricately intertwined, it’s all in the greater service of the saga they inhabit.
John himself – at least, in the prequel’s first six playable chapters – is about as far away from the man we knew in Redemption as possible, and that’s exactly how it should be. Rockstar isn’t interested in softly-retconning the character in ways we’ve come to expect from other prequels (“Actually, Han Solo had a good heart all along!”). They’re smart enough to know that we want to know how he became the man he was in Redemption – not that he just alwayswas that way. This freedom of characterisation allows not only for all-important development and change – it also grants the prequel the opportunity to enrich and enhance the emotional experience of the original work, instead of diminishing and demystifying it.
And that is an exceptionally rare feat for a prequel to achieve.
By presenting otherwise familiar characters as entirely different people to those we thought we knew, Redemption II allows players to be surprised and engaged in ways we thought we couldn’t be. Yes – these characters are inevitably heading down a familiar path. But how do they get there, and why do they do it? That’s all up in the air. And if the story is told well enough, it’s every bit as engaging.
Arthur Morgan (Roger Clark) and Sadie Adler (Alex McKenna) in Red Dead Redemption II. Property of Rockstar Games.
Players know how the overall Redemption saga concludes, but that’s beside the point – with so many additional and unfamiliar aspects in play, we don’t know how this chapter ends. That’s not to say Redemption II doesn’t set up the original Redemption – it does, big time. In the prequel’s last two playable chapters, Rockstar goes the extra to connect every single dot it has to, but – crucially – refuses to rely on excruciating contrivances in the process (a dire mistake so frustratingly made in another otherwise-excellent prequel, X-Men: First Class). For example: major characters from Redemption II like Arthur, Hosea Matthews, Charles Smith, and Sadie Adler are never once mentioned in the original Redemption, despite having prolonged, meaningful relationships and histories with that game’s characters – and that’s fine.
The absence of these characters and their of lack of mention are, funnily enough, not in-fact a result of lazy writing (as is so often – and unfairly – accused in cases like this), and has a simple, real-life explanation: these characters debuted in a game released in 2018, and simply didn’t exist in 2010. But if you want a narrative, “in-universe” reason for their absence – as so many fans of, well, anything these days seem to insist upon – Rockstar does provide one (the epilogue of Redemption II makes sure these characters are literally and geographically far removed from Redemption’s story). But equally – and maybe more importantly – it simply doesn’t matter. They’re just not relevant to the story the original Redemption tells.
When Redemption II released, I was astonished at just how many people I spoke to who were playing it having not played its predecessor. Ultimately, I think that’s indicative of Red Dead Redemption II’s unrivalled strength as a prequel: it embellishes and enriches the experience of its predecessor without ever making the mistake of being beholden to it. If Redemption II wants to do something with its story that doesn’t totally match up with the original Redemption, it’ll do it. It doesn’t matter. The story and characters come first. And to that end – for this player – it established a new gold standard in video gaming, just as its forebear did before it.
Red Dead Redemption II tells us continuity should be painted in lush, broad strokes, not in minute, excruciating detail.
Sadly, that’s not the way prequels tend to go – but it should be.
Throughout the week, we update our Best New Songs playlist with the new releases that caught our attention the most, be it a single leading up to the release of an album or a newly unveiled deep cut. And each Monday, we round up the best new songs released over the past week (the eligibility period begins on Monday and ends Sunday night) in this segment.
Last week, Sarah Tudzin’s “tenderpunk” outfit illuminati hotties returned with their first piece of new music since 2020’s FREE I.H.: This Is Not the One You’ve Been Waiting For, bringing back that insane energy on the sneering and infectiously chaotic ‘MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA’. Tudzin also produced Pom Pom Squad’s latest single, the fiery ‘Head Cheerleader’, taken from their recently announced full-length debut and featuring vocals from Tegan Quin of Tegan and Sara. UK rapper Little Simz announced the follow-up to 2019’s GREY Area with the strikingly cinematic ‘Introvert’, in which she reflects on the events of the past year as well as her mental state with a mix of urgency and vulnerability; Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Rosie Tucker shared one of the strongest singles from their upcoming third album, Sucker Supreme, the charming and catchy ‘Barbara Ann’; New York City trio UV-TV also delivered a great teaser from their third LP with the driving ‘Back to Nowhere’; and finally, Wolf Alice previewed their forthcoming album Blue Weekend with its second single, the searing, grungy ‘Smile’.
The official trailer for Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Questlove‘s documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival (aka “Black Woodstock”), debuted during the Academy Awards ceremony last night. Watch the teaser below.
The film features performances by B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson and Mavis Staples, Nina Simone, and Sly & the Family Stone, among many others. It premiered virtually at Sundance earlier this year, taking home the U.S. Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Documentary category. “It has always been a dream of mine to direct films and telling this story has truly been an amazing experience,” Questlove said in a statement at the time. “I am overwhelmed and honored by the reception the film is receiving.”
Summer Of Soul is set to arrive in theaters and on Hulu on July 2.
Based on the comic by Charles Forsman, The End Of The F***ing World is a Channel 4 television adaptation, initially conceived as a limited series. After the first season’s success on Netflix, a second season was released to positive reception, even though the story could have been left open-ended at the end of season 1.
The show follows Alyssa and James, two British teens, as they run away from home together. Alyssa is angsty, snappy, and empowered, while James is shy, tight-lipped, and awkward. He’s also convinced that he’s a psychopath. Alyssa, meanwhile, is convinced that she’s falling in love with James.
They decide to leave their dysfunctional families and embark on an escapade across the UK, which involves exploding cars, sexual assault, gas station robberies, estranged relatives, and fleeing the cops. Despite the serious issues the show tackles, it always finds room for comedy, gruesome though it may sometimes be. The old-timey soundtrack is often used to heighten comedic moments or juxtapose violence against mundane settings and unlikely protagonists.
Though it’s set in the present day, the nostalgic soundtrack gives the show a unique tone. Many of the songs come from The End Of The F***ing World (Original Songs and Score) by Blur’s Graham Coxon.
She Knows – Graham Coxon
(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am – Nancy Wilson
My Special Angel – The Vogues
Wondrous Place – Billy Fury
Fly Away – Graham Coxon
Something Sweet – Graham Coxon
This Time Tomorrow – Graham Coxon
White Wedding – Billy Idol
Mash Potato – Graham Coxon
Who Knows Where The Time Goes? – Fairport Convention
RUBAN, a label founded by Yulia and Alisa Ruban, showcased their latest collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia on the 19th of April. The collection, which kicked off the event, embraced practical clothing such as trench coats alongside classy and embroidered pieces. The designers delivered monotone pieces that utilised black and beige to expose the Autumn feel driving the collection.
Here are some photos from RUBAN Fall/Winter 2021/22 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia.
Fejká, a music director and DJ, has added his touch to the melodious song “Amarcord” by vibraphonist Pascal Schumacher. The rework takes on a more downtempo rhythm with a melancholic vibe, exploring a more atmospherically interesting mood compared to the original.
Talking about the rework Fejká said: “I was looking for a specific part that’s easy to loop because my music is quite atmospheric but also repetitive and evolving. With ‘Amarcord’ I immediately felt that the percussive bell sounding loop created an atmosphere in my head which I wanted to continue working on.” Further adding “The drums and synths, and other leads followed suit and the whole sound was already created in a really short time.”
Stream Fejká’s Daydream Version of ‘Amarcord’ below.
Austin-based singer-songwriter Tyler Dozier, who writes and records under the moniker Lady Dan, grew up in a strict religious household in Dothan, Alabama. Struggling to find a community she felt a strong kinship with, she moved to Birmingham as she was enterig her twenties to attend a Christian ministry school with her then-boyfriend. After getting out of a controlling relationship, questioning the role of the Church, and grappling with the death of her father, Dozier focused her efforts on music, releasing her first EP, Songs for the Soulless, in March 2019. Now, she’s followed it up with her debut album, boldly titled I Am the Prophet, which was recorded at the home studio of Nashville musician Jeremy Clark and sees her expanding her sound with help from musicians including pedal steel guitarist Eddy Dunlap, Juniper Berries’ Josh Stirm, and drummer Aksel Coe. A heartrending document of a period in Dozier’s life filled with doubt and uncertainty, the album’s tone is at once melancholy and assertive, relaying her story through intricate arrangements and personal yet poetic lyricism that’s littered with biblical references. “My kingdom fell apart/ And you just watched it fall,” she sings on ‘No Home’; to listen to I Am the Prophet is to watch her pick up the pieces.
We caught up with Lady Dan for this edition of our Artist Spotlight interview series to talk about her upbringing, her relationship with religion, her debut album, and more.
What was your experience like growing up in Dothan, Alabama?
Growing up there, it was kind of all I knew, so I didn’t really have anything to compare it to. But I think now that I’m older and I’ve lived other places, it definitely wasn’t a great place to try to be an artist of any kind, because there wasn’t and still really isn’t a safe space or any space for artists. At the same time, I grew up in a house out in the country and there are parts of that that I really miss now that I live in the city. I don’t want to say it was dull growing up there, but it was pretty docile, I guess.
How would you describe yourself as a child?
When I was really little, I was pretty loud and outgoing, and I played a lot of sports and dabbled in some instruments. I’m the youngest of five siblings, so I really was just hanging out with my siblings all the time. And then as I got a little bit older into high school, I suddenly was really shy and anxious, so I became more of the quiet kid. And I got really involved in church, as I’m sure you’ve read about, and involved in music in that way and started actually committing to guitar and singing. I don’t know – I feel like for the most part, I was just kind of on autopilot for a while growing up, just doing what normal kids do.
What was it that drew you to music as more of a personal outlet? Or was it more just something you found enjoyment in during that time?
It was both, really. I mean, I would say certainly an outlet as far as processing my emotions and processing things that happened in my life. I think maybe I had and still have a difficult time talking about my feelings outright, and so I’ll tend to want to turn it into a song as a way to talk about my feelings, but maybe in a more reserved, less vulnerable manner. But I also really do love performing. I love having the outlet to connect music to things like fashion and visual art, so it’s just as much a fun thing as it as a necessary outlet for me.
That made me think of a line from your song ‘Plagiarist’s Blues’, where you sing, “I don’t want to write my own songs/ I want to sing everybody else’s/ There’s no one that feels quite the way I do.” Could you reflect on the meaning behind that?
Yeah, I mean, that line I think will always ring true no matter what, because our problems and our lives are so multifaceted and it’s the same with our personalities, and so, while we can relate with each other on some level, no one is ever going to feel exactly the way or the exact amount of pain or type of pain or pleasure or whatever as you are as an individual person. There’s just too many factors into play, and so when I was writing that that’s kind of what I was saying, that I am the only person that can say exactly how I feel and know exactly how I feel. And as close as Joni Mitchell or Bonnie Raitt may get to that, it’s never gonna be exactly what I’m feeling.
How much of a shift was it for you after you left Dothan to go to ministry school in Birmingham?
I was 20 years old when that happened, so it was like my first taste of freedom, and yet still I was in ministry school so there were so many rules and curfews and stuff like that. I guess I was initially very excited to be moving to what I thought was a much bigger city – I quickly learned that Birmingham was just as much a small town as my hometown with maybe just a little bit more progressive people. The shift certainly wasn’t as big as when I left ministry school, but going into it was kind of like a continuation or a growth of the – honestly, the religious trauma that I was already in the middle of that I didn’t even realize was happening until much later.
Can you talk about when that realization started to happen? Was there a specific moment, or did it happen gradually over time?
It took time. It took a lot of time. I think initially when I had dropped out, I was just trying to take care of myself mentally, and so I put a lot of space between myself and that school and the church affiliated with it. And the more time that I spent away from it was when I started to slowly come to terms with – I would just have moments where I’d be like, “Oh, I think they were lying to me about that,” or like, “Oh, that’s actually a really weird way to look at things.” So it was a bit of a slow burn, and honestly, I still find myself coming to terms with a lot of things that I had been indoctrinated in. I have a handful of friends that are also in the process of, like, deconstructing their faith, and some of them are early on in that process, some of them are where I’m at, but it’s just interesting to see us all kind of start to recognize the world doesn’t actually work the way that we were told that it works.
How much a role did music play in that process of figuring things out?
I started singing in church back in my hometown, and really enjoyed it for the time that it was, and then when I moved to ministry school I didn’t have any musical outlets for about a year until I dropped out. And then I dropped out, I wasn’t in school, I wasn’t working a lot, so I had a lot of free time and started picking up my guitar more and more and having a lot of time to sit with my feelings. And over time, they just started to blend together, and so I started writing songs and writing songs that I was actually proud of and playing them for friends. And then eventually, maybe just a couple of months after I was writing songs, I got up the courage to start doing open mic nights with some friends in Birmingham. So that was when I started to actually perform those for people and get my bearings with performing them at all.
Were you performing under the name Lady Dan at the time?
For the open mic nights I just kept my regular name, but I kind of knew the whole time that I was going to end up using Lady Dan. So whenever I started getting actual gigs in Birmingham, I was doing that immediately under the name Lady Dan.
What was the inspiration for it?
So, my dad’s name was Dan, and he wanted to name me after him, Danielle, but my mom wouldn’t let him. And so when I got older and he told me, I was kind of pissed, I was like, “I wish my name was Danielle, because I would love it if my name was just Dan.” So it’s kind of my way of being able to have the name that I wanted, you know, I guess like living a double life or something.
How about adding “Lady” before it?
That was just a conversation with a friend. I was expressing the same sentiment to him and he was just like, “Oh, if your name is Dan, I would just call you Lady Dan.” And I immediately was like, “Oh, that sounds really good.” So I wrote it down on my phone and was like, “Whenever I start doing music, that is what I’m going to use.”
I want to return to that later on, but to the extent that you’re comfortable discussing this, could you talk about where your feelings stand now in relation to faith?
It kind of changes every day – I am still very much trying to sort through how I feel about it. It’s kind of messy, honestly, because I feel like sometimes I’m very much like, “I don’t think that God is necessarily a thing, and if he is I don’t think that he has an active hand in my life.” But I definitely believe in the devil, so it’s very, like, “Wait, what are you thinking?” It’s very confusing. But overall, I’m also not really pressing too hard to find any answers right now. I’m very okay with just not knowing, and I think that’s partially where I’m at, as well as, like, “Damn, there’s so many things that could be real that I just may never know.” And I’m comfortable with that.
How does that tie into the title of your album, I Am the Prophet? Can you talk about the significance of that?
It’s a little bit me being spiteful and a little bit not. So, I feel like – you were like asking about my faith and things like that – I think sometimes I like to imagine that I am my own god I have the power over my own future, and if there’s something out there that I want, I most likely can get it for myself. So in that sense, being my own God. And so, I Am the Prophet is kind of me saying that in a roundabout way, but also, I wanted to make a really, really strong statement that could possibly put some people off, just because, again, I can be a little spiteful. And for the church that I used to belong to and the people that I used to know, if ever they did come across my music, I wanted it to be very clear where I stood with them and with everything that had happened.
When you said that, “I am my own god,” it made me think of another line from the album: “I am my own best man.” And that’s something I wanted to ask you about – obviously, there’s quite a few biblical references and there’s a feminist undercurrent throughout the record, and I find it interesting how all these different stories about men kind of intersect. We talked about the religious side of things, but how did the realization that these experiences are not that different from each other start to solidify?
Oh, yeah. I mean, it’s been pretty recent, just throughout the last couple of years of coming into my own and being an autonomous adult outside of religion, just navigating, I suppose, womanhood. Because when I first left ministry school, I started to see all of the religious things that were just weird and fucked up that were happening and had happened to me, and I also noticed how most of that was men on total power trips. And then I got into what the Christians would call “the secular world” and I was dating men, and just experiencing that side of the patriarchy and then realizing that it’s all very rooted in misogyny, on both sides. And so, over time, both sides of the coin have taken so much stock in what I’m writing about because it’s an experience that I really can’t escape. None of us can.
Was the genesis of the album at the height of that process?
I would even say I’m still at the height of that process. It was something that I was worried about in the beginning, like, becoming a “man-hater”, which is a really strong term, but I was talking to my therapist about it a while ago and I was like, “I don’t want to become this super hateful cold person and then hate all men, that doesn’t seem healthy.” And my therapist was like, “Well, sometimes the only way out of it is through it, so maybe you should just really lean into it.” And I was like, “Okay, if I have permission to lean into this I totally will.” [laughs] So yeah, don’t know if the height of this process will ever end, so long as there is such a deeply rooted patriarchy.
On that note, I was wondering if that has made you look at the name Lady Dan in a different way.
It actually has – I’ve been thinking about it a good bit recently here. You know, I already have maybe what you would call a gender neutral name, like my parents named me Tyler, I didn’t name myself that. And it’s caused me to really love gender neutral or just traditionally masculine names for girls. So, having a name like Lady Dan, I think it embodies both the masculine and the feminine. I really love that about it because I think that masculinity and femininity are both incredible things – I don’t know, I don’t want to call them energies, but they are energies, and I think they’re both extremely necessary for each person to know when to use both of those things.
I don’t know if that’s stretching it too far, but I also saw it as kind of reclaiming a term that can be used in a misogynist way.
Yeah, that’s a good point too. I think so as well.
Moving on, I wanted to talk about how the album musically expands on your debut EP, and part of that is collaborating with other musicians as well. What was the process of recording the album like?
Oh, it was so much fun. I mean, with my first EP, I worked with two different musicians, and really the both of them could just play so many instruments that they pretty much just did most of the instrumentation on the record. But for this full length album, we had an individual for each instrument, I got to, in some ways, meet a lot of new people. I say “in some ways” because we were in a pandemic and there were a lot of recording sessions where the musicians were in a separate room, masked; I never really got to see their faces, I just kind of got to know their names and quickly say hi, which makes me sad. But I got to work with a lot more musicians than before, which was something I was extremely excited about just because I feel like my own music process is very isolated as far as writing and even performing goes.
Is there a moment on the album that you’ve thought about differently since you first wrote it?
One thing that comes to mind is on ‘Plagiarist’s Blues’, when I had originally written the song, we completely changed the lyric in the recording process – that really changed a lot of the meaning. So, I believe it’s the second verse where it says, “I’ve got I love now/ He’s a keeper, he’s a Carolina Reaper,” and I used to end it with, like, “Honey, I’m feeling the heat” kind of deal, but we ended up changing that line to “I am the misery of defeat,” so as to say that, like, falling in love in a lot of ways makes me feel defeated as a person. And that’s multifaceted to explain, but it’s similar to ‘Paradox’ of like, “I want to be this strong autonomous alone creature that no one can touch, but at the same time I so badly just want to be loved.” And so then, accepting the love or allowing someone to see your soft side is kind of like a moment of defeat. Not in the worst way; it can be in a good way. But yeah, that song very much changed, and it reflects the way that I feel now because that relationship unfortunately didn’t last, although I did feel very much in love.
I wanted to bring up ‘Left-Handed Lover’, too, because I think it’s interesting how we started talking about other people’s songs, and then the album ends with a reference to someone singing ‘You Can Close Your Eyes’, I assume the James Taylor song. Is that based on a real experience?
Yeah, it’s very much something that happened. And it was this moment that I was having with a guy that I was dating, and again, very much in love with, and I had never experienced that much tenderness from someone before, at least not in my adult life, and so it’s just really stuck with me. It was a very healing moment, and definitely one I’ll never forget, especially now that I’ve immortalized it and put it into lyrics.
Was there a reason you wanted to close the record with that song? Was it more the narrative around it or did it feel like a good fit sonically?
I would say both. It’s actually one of my favorite songs on the record, sonically, so it was a little bit hard for me to put it at the very end, because I feel like generally the last song is the least listened to song on records. But it felt important to put it as a closing statement, because the narrative of the song is essentially, like, “I don’t know how much time I’m going to have with my life and I feel very much like I could accidentally waste a lot of it or not going to do the things that I want to do.” And part of that was not being able to fully flesh out a life with the person that I’m writing about in the song; not getting to have a future with them. And again, like I said, I wish to be this autonomous, untouchable person, but at the same time I fear being alone sometimes. You know, loneliness can bite you in the ass sometimes. But yeah, with the final phrase of that song being “I’m growing older,” it’s just a moment of like, “I really hope that I get to do the things that I want to do with my time but there’s a really high chance that I won’t and time just moves so quickly it terrifies me.” So it felt good to put that one at the end of the album. I think that was a good final statement which maybe added some closure, but at the same time kind of leaves things a little open-ended.
To close, I wanted to go back to that line from ‘Plagiarist’s Blues’. Having released the record, do you feel more comfortable expressing your feelings or leaning into that vulnerability through songwriting moving forwards?
You know, I’ve considered this, and I don’t know if I’ll know until I’m doing it, but releasing this record, even just the three songs that have come out alone, has been such a healing process for me, because I’ve had all these feelings and emotions that not everyone has heard and now a lot of people have. This whole record is basically my diary of the last four years, and I guess making peace with the fact that everyone’s about to know my business has brought me a lot of comfort and I just feel very seen and heard, which is such a great thing, but then I think about releasing music in the future and in my head I’m like, “Am I going to now write with this filter of ‘people are going to hear this’ or am I going to continue to write and just be as honest as possible without really giving a fuck of what people think or not?” So I think I’ll be able to continue to be bold and honest, although I will still be, like, shaking in my boots a little bit. We’ll see, though. Maybe not.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
Whether you like to drive cars or to look at them, we all love a good movie about cars. Hollywood is full of action-packed movies, so choosing the top car movies should be easy right? Well, we’ve made it easy with this list. If you’re looking for a movie to watch with your boyfriend, or if you wanna expand your film knowledge, here are our top 8 car movies of all time.
Let’s start from the beginning. What makes a movie a car movie and not just a movie with cars? To make a car movie, the cars need to be more than just vehicles for the main characters. In car movies, cars are integral to the plot, aesthetic, period, or design. There are also lots of subgenres car movies can fall into. Action, animation, biopic, musical, you name it! If there’s a genre out there, there’s a good chance that there’s an excellent car movie in it too! So let’s dive into our recommendation for the top 8 car movies of all time!
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
If you’ve heard of cars, and you’ve heard of movies, unless you’ve lived under a rock, you’ve heard of The Fast and the Furious franchise. This 2006 classic is the third of five installments of the popular series that earned millions at the box office. Although not critically acclaimed, the movie and series do have a cult following. What this movie makes lacks in CGI and graphics, it makes up for aesthetics, soundtrack, and action. It was also one of the first mainstream blockbusters to introduce the west to Japanese car culture, rightfully deserving a place on this list.
Rush
The next movie on this list is Rush. This film captures the rivalry between two famous and skilled Formula One racers and their battle to out-do each other in the 1970s. It’s an action-packed drama that explores just how much people are willing to go to achieve success. The drama and rivalry are a perfect addition to the sheer amount of beautiful, fast cars present in this film. If the subject matter or the cars aren’t enough, Chris Hemsworth is also a main character. If you’ve gotta sit through a car movie with your boyfriend, this is your best bet.
The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers is a peculiar yet noteworthy addition to this list. This 1980 masterpiece does a fantastic job of blending otherwise incompatible genres. If you’re a fan of blues and soul, police car chases, and huge explosions this is the movie for you. Thank goodness it’s a movie and not real life because these two brothers might need a Columbia Car Accident Lawyer, with the amount of chaos they cause. Weaving soulful blues, high-speed car chases, and saving an orphanage is a tall order, but The Blues Brothers manage it so well.
Duel
The next entry on this list is a classic. This 1971 film is about a man who comes across a truck driver in the desert on his way to a business meeting. The truck driver turns out to be a psychopath who decides to pursue and kill him. Duel is Steven Spielberg’s first feature-length film which should bump it up on your watch list if you’re a cinephile. Harsh desert aesthetics, suspense, and classic cars, this movie has it all. Duel is an engaging story about the desperate attempts of a man trying to escape from a deadly, hellbent maniac in a huge truck.
Ford vs Ferrari
Ford vs Ferrari may be the newest movie to come out on this list, but it has more than deserved its place. This star-studded Formula One-Esque biography directed by James Mangold came out in 2019. It is the perfect blend of truth, action, and drama. It tells the story of an American car designer and a race car driver, teaming up in a near-impossible task. The task in question is to create a revolutionary car that will beat Ferrari at the 1966 race in France. The film takes great care to show their real-life hard work and dedication and is a love letter to car racing.
Mad Max Fury Road
The next entry is another literal wild card. 2015’s Mad Max Fury Road, directed by George Miller, is the latest acclaimed installment of the Mad Max saga. Fueled by gritty, post-apocalyptic scenery and politically charged themes, this movie is a masterpiece. It follows a drifter named Max who accompanies a gang of female prisoners, led by Charlize Theron’s character, in their search for a better life. The movie is gorgeous and a majority of the high-energy action takes place on larger-than-life vehicles, racing through the desert. If you haven’t seen the previous two installments, this one deserves a spot on your must-watch movies list.
Baby Driver
If you’re a fan of heist movies, Baby Driver 2017 is one to watch. This Edgar Wright film takes a unique angle for a heist movie, by making the soundtrack a main character. The movie follows a reluctant young getaway driver who gets involved with a local crime boss. Against his better judgment, he takes part in a heist that is doomed to fail. A star-studded cast, stellar soundtrack, and action-packed car chases made this movie a must-watch. The action in this movie is fresh and upbeat. The suspense and tensions rise along with the score as the main character struggles with the increasing danger he finds himself in.
Bullitt
For the last entry on this list, we’ve decided on maybe the greatest car movie of all time. Bullitt, directed by Peter Yates is a 1968 action crime thriller that is as filled with gorgeous classic cars as it is filled with riveting chases. It tells the story of a no-nonsense cop who tries to take down a notorious local mob boss while keeping his informant safe. The cop in question is played by non-other than Steve McQueen: the original cool, tough, car guy. The high-speed chases are legendary and the cars are timeless. Bullitt is a cult classic and it’s the reason why we love Mustangs and fast cars.
There you have it! Whatever genre you prefer, there’s a fantastic movie out there for you. The best car movies find a way to combine great cars and chases with good stories, scores, and suspense. So grab your popcorn, open up your Netflix and enjoy!
Having a dinner party with friends followed by hearts card game seems like a distant, idyllic memory. Lockdowns and quarantines have turned Zoom gatherings into the highlight of the week.
Thankfully, there are plenty of online games that can fill the void of our once glorious social lives.
Our favorite is Cards Against Humanity, with the transition from the real-life version to an online equivalent now well and truly made. It’s obviously not quite as good as being together in person, but it’s as good as it gets.
Cards Against Humanity Lab
The official online version of Cards Against Humanity is its so-called “Lab” version. The premise is interesting: you are given the opportunity to play cards that are not yet available on the open market. The company sees it as a win-win. You get to play some unique cards, they get some intel about which they should introduce to the real-world game.
However, it’s disappointing. The reason this game is so good is that you play with friends. You enjoy it because you laugh at the ridiculous combinations of words others put together. Doing it alone saps all the enjoyment out of it.
And while it’s fun to have an insider’s look at what the company is considering for its new sets, it gets old in a real hurry. Luckily, there’s an alternative (see below).
All Bad Cards = The Online Alternative
While the official online version of Cards Against Humanity is nice and everything, it’s missing the core component that makes the game what it is: community. It’s about playing with your friends, not on your own (there’s the old school Solitaire for that!).
The devs over at @Bungie thought the same thing and came up with a solution: All Bad Cards. It’s essentially a carbon copy of the original game, but it’s fully playable online. You can join existing games, host your own, or even set up a family-friendly edition for when grandma wants to join.
The game is 100% free, but the developers offer “backer” versions, which give you a few extras. For example, the entry-level edition (just $1) adds Darwin Awards, Star Wars, and COVID packs. They’re a nice add-on, for sure, but they’re not essential to the enjoyment of the original.
Not Into Cards Against Humanity?
For those of you who have played every set or just aren’t into the game (we won’t hold it against you, promise!), there are plenty of other options out there to keep you
entertained through pretty much any lockdown or quarantine situation:
Multiplayer Blackjack
For those of you who may prefer blackjack, multiplayer online options have come a long way since the early days. You can now get online games that are not full of lag, pixelated video, or poor excuses for a dealer.
This kind of multiplayer online blackjack is a lot of fun, as you can really challenge your friends. It’s one of the games that can be played without downloading any software and it runs smoothly on smartphones which is one of the main reasons why people like no-download casino games that can be opened straight from your browser. You can play here by opening the game on a smartphone without needing to stuff up the precious memory, which is a winning advantage.
Words with Friends 2
The online alternative to Scrabble, this game is perfect if you don’t have a single chunk of time to play with your friend. The app is user friendly, fun, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The game also exercises the brain, which is a nice plus!
Of course, you can also decide on the official Scrabble Go version of the game, but in our opinion, it still needs to work out some of the kinks before it can beat Word with Friends, which has been around longer in the online space.
Psych!
This is something akin to Balderdash, and it’s available as an online version on the App Store or Google Play. Join remotely with your friends, pick your favorite categories, and channel your inner liar. It’s a fun concept: you get a bunch of trivia questions, and you have to make up answers to go alongside the real thing, with the aim being to get your friends to pick yours.
If you’re following her on social media, Lisa Naffziger‘s timeline is bursting with colour and vivid imagination. Immediately, you’re hit by the primary colours, rounded shapes, and unmistakable personality that define her style. She’s brought a plethora of classic movie monsters to life with it, but her original pieces are particularly striking.
One of those originals is her webcomic, Taking Back Toku, which follows Akiyo Tsuburaya, the special effects director for a struggling film studio. The monster movies Akiyo works on all lovingly take their cues from Japan’s considerable catalogue – making Naffiziger’s affection for the genre abundantly clear. With plans to publish the series physically, Lisa joins Our Culture to talk about her work, what inspires her, and what’s on the horizon.
Thank you for talking with us, Lisa! Please introduce yourself for our readers.
Thanks for having me! I’m Lisa Naffziger. I’m a comic artist and illustrator with a tremendous love for giant monsters.
Your style is instantly recognisable. What got you into art and illustration?
Drawing has been a lifelong adventure of sharing ideas and making people laugh. I recognized those things right away in my childhood and I haven’t stopped doodling since. Neon dinosaurs and rainbow creatures are always a part of my work, and I think my ’90s childhood of Lisa Frank and R.L. Stine is to blame! My time at Savannah College of Art and Design allowed me to really pursue visual storytelling though— I can’t express how amazing it is to spend four years taking classes specifically about creating comics!
Tell us about your webcomic, Taking Back Toku.
Taking Back Toku is a kaiju-themed slice-of-life webcomic that I update every Tuesday. It tells the story of an artist/single-mother trying to save her practical effects studio by using her son’s pet monsters as film props. Like any good monster story, it’s front-loaded with a tangled human dilemma before the monsters make their appearance. But hang in there! It will be worth the wait.
I really like that the series is very domestic in its scope. These characters are struggling with everyday trials and tribulations that many of us really face, just with a tinge of Japanese monster cinema to frame it. What made you want to go with this approach?
Thank you! Monster stories are wonderful on their own, but I’ve seen the way they can be a vehicle for more intimate, character-driven narratives. Movies like The Host and Colossal have been absolutely influential to me— I love the way human emotions and struggles are visually reflected in giant creatures. But I can’t deny the way online commentary has motivated me to make stronger human sections. I know there are many people who think these movies can remain “good dumb fun,” but I can’t help but feel frustrated when monster movies are minimized to bargain-bin bad flicks— “it’s a monster movie, it doesn’t have to be good!” I feel that we’re limiting ourselves when we think in that way.
Is there a character you identify with most?
I would like to think I’m a little more stable and organized than Akiyo, but she is probably more like me than I intend for her to be. Being underprepared in high-stakes situations and navigating the commentary and doubt from those around you is all too familiar to me. Sometimes we do the best we can, fall short, and still live to tell the tale.
Covers for Chapters 1-3 of Taking Back Toku.
The only thing that bugs me is that I wish I had Akiyo’s job! She’s certainly living the dream of many practical effects fans. But there’s also a sense of real stress and trouble that runs through her work and into her home life. As an artist with an online presence, do you feel that people don’t always see the problems that come with what some consider a “dream job”?
It’s a wonderful to be a creator and it’s a privilege to make things, but it still feels like work. The business side of art is strenuous in ways that people might not expect. Staying motivated and being mindful of mental health is a challenge too. I remember spending a long Michigan winter stuck inside working day after day. I felt frustrated that so many people romanticized the idea of working from home— the pandemic has fortunately spread the word that it’s not always a dream come true!
Where would you like to go with Taking Back Toku next?
Webcomics are fun and I love all the engagement I get while I’m in the progress of working on one. But there’s something so satisfying about holding a physical book in my hands. Taking Back Toku will be compiled into a single graphic novel at the end of it all. Whether I’m able to do that through traditional or self-publishing, I’m not sure. I just can’t wait to see it on someone’s book shelf.
What’s next for you on the horizon?
Projects pile up on me pretty quickly. I guess I still find myself biting off more than I can chew! In the midst of finishing Taking Back Toku, I am also working on a YA graphic novel about a young girl who interviews monsters, cryptids, and urban legends.
Your YA novel sounds wonderful, but I have to ask, who’s your favourite cryptid?
Thank you! Lake monsters and ocean-going reptiles of any sort really get my imagination going! It was a childhood dream of mine to meet the Loch Ness monster, so maybe I can still make that happen.
Where can our readers find your work?
The first few chapters of Taking Back Toku are available to read at takingbacktoku.tumblr.com. I also have a YA crime thriller graphic novel called MINUS that might already be at your local library! Check it out Amazon, IndieBound or Iron Circus Publishing.
Otherwise Twitter and Instagram are my main hubs for my artwork. Get ready for some #KaiJune drawings coming up soon!
Thank you to Liza Naffziger for joining us! Please check out her work using the links above. We can’t wait to see what’s next in store for Taking Back Toku!
