best of not 2022
some good stuff that didn't come out this year.
Life for a while now has been one endless feed of new content, but recently it’s felt exhausting just to keep up with the things I’m supposed to enjoy. More and more, I get more gratification crossing a film or show off my phone’s watch list than actually watching said film or show. There’s a lot of bad content out there and not a lot of mental bandwidth left. We live in a helicoptering economy, terrorized by NYT push notifications, and constant reminders of what to buy, stream or subscribe to. Voter suppression is now brought straight to your phone in the guise of weather alerts, like the one we received on Election Day from the National Weather Service for a little rain in LA. Everything is “new,” and we must digest it ASAP. We’re all influencers, big and small, just throwin’ links around.
The culmination of that are year-end lists, when media orgs smother you into reading their best-of content lists. I get it, year-end lists are really fun, but there are too many of them, and they are all the same. I used to be addicted to them, but during covid I started to care less about them, maybe because I was stuck at home consuming too much and the years started to blend together. We know this year Beyonce discovered gay people and cornered the market on dance music. Renaissance was awesome, but seeing it top everyone’s list is just…too easy. Also: White Lotus sucks. And when I hear the ridiculous party saxophone of The 1975, whose album made a lot of lists, I can’t help but imagine their music being played during an 80s corporate holiday party while people get sexually assaulted in the bathroom.
This tweet about new information sums it up:
No new information should apply to all new content, not just the news. Eighty percent of new content is trash. So in an effort to ignore all the noise in 2022 and do something a little different, here are 10 things I was into this year that aren’t new:
Kiko, Los Lobos (1992)
Thirty years ago, East LA native sons Los Lobos, who had blasted their way up to mainstream acclaim with La Bamba, dropped Kiko, their version of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. It was a mix of roadhouse blues, Mexican folklore, and some cool studio experimentation. This album has resonated with me since living in Boyle Heights, the neighborhood where the band got its start in the 70s. The festive vibe of the neighborhood—the mariachis, fireworks, roosters and street vendors—are all felt here, adding up to one long party that feels like it will never end. Listen if you like Father of the Bride by Vampire Weekend, another record known for its jammy optimism.
Interrogation (1982)
A satire on life as a Polish woman under authoritarian rule. A woman is kidnapped and sent to a Soviet prison, where over and over again, she is told to sign a confession without being told what she is supposed to confess. The movie caused a stir upon release in Poland and was censored until the dissolution of the Soviet Union seven years later. In our post-Dobbs world, this movie especially resonates. It’s on Youtube with English subtitles or 35mm.online. ***Trigger warning***
35mm.online
This year the Polish government released a website archiving a ton of old Polish films—for free. The collection ranges from petty Soviet propaganda shorts, documentaries on miner strikes, ecological disasters to stone cold classics that deserve a bigger audience. There is so much good stuff that I’m still making my way through it all. You can check it out here.
Yard Work
It’s been around for years. There is nothing like hanging out with plants, watering them and making sure they are taken care of. Yard work is a great time to decompress and it doesn’t require a screen. And according to studies, yard work is good for your mental health. Act now and give yard work a try.
Paris, Texas (1984)
It resonated with me more when I re-watched it this year, and I still think about it all the time. Harry Dean Stanton plays a lost mute in a suit and red baseball hat, who is trying to reconnect with his son and ex-wife. It’s the American west through the eyes of a European filmmaker, and it’s one of the all-time great road films. Some amazing shots in this one. You can stream on HBO Max or for free on Kanopy (All you need is a library card).
80s Japanese Ambient
Japan’s economic boom in the 1980s created an interesting dynamic: corporations hiring artists who created some amazing ambient music. The music was for things like Honda and Sharp commercials, done by artists such as Hiroshi Yoshimura and Haruomi Hosono. Their music is more than just enjoyable, but utilitarian, offering a path toward recalibration. On many days, this is the only thing I want to listen to.
Sensory depravation tanks
The modern world is just too much sometimes, and the only respite is an hour floating in epsom salt in total darkness, simulating the time spent in yer mom’s womb. $65
Floating into the Night, Julee Cruise
I dove into this album after she passed away earlier this year. Best known for her gossamer performances on Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, Julee Cruise basically invented Lana Del Ray, Sky Ferreira and any other fractured avatar of the 1950s. Cruise collaborated on this album with David Lynch and composer Angelo Badalamenti (RIP), and the result is something gauzy, hokey, and dead serious.
Staring at Trees swaying in the wind
Anyway, thanks for sticking by me this year. This has been a place to experiment and have some fun. I’ve refrained from going paid on this newsletter in the hopes of reaching a bigger audience. So if you like something, spread the word, or forward along. I hope everyone gets to log off for a little bit before 2023.
Peace,
Justin