We’re over the hump of the month, and the day we no longer call Blue Monday is receding in our rear-view mirror. The first Wolf Moon of 2022 has howled across the sky. The Cadbury Creme Eggs and Valentine’s Day cards are in the shops. That new car smell is off the year now, y’all. Let’s dig in for the long run to springtime.
This week: a rocketgirl, the Residents and hey, we need to talk about Bruno.
Now is the time. Here is the place. This is The Cut.
Who remembers We Are The Physics? Raved abut the NME for a brief spell in the 90s? Touted by some as the most perfect new band ever? Anyone? Beuller?
You’re not alone, of course. We Are The Physics burned brightly and for a very short time. Even Michael M, who was in the band, can barely remember his moment in the spotlight. But there are some things he can recall. Like their tour manager, the extraordinary and eccentric figure known simply as Gary…
Gary in Japan With The Best Band You’ve Never Heard Of
We’re a little twitchy abut posting this next link. It talks about the way Hollywood casts its films and populates its writer’s rooms in 2022. It asks questions without really offering answers but could easily be misconstrued as offering commentary in a way your loudmouth boomer uncle would cheerfully agree with. The ongoing culture war is a difficult subject, and it’s all too easy to get mired in an argument you didn’t start and don’t quite understand how you got tangled up in it. See? We’re tied up in knots already. Just read the darned thing and make up your own mind.
Right, let’s move swiftly on. Encanto has become a hit beyond all expectations, largely because it (mostly) subverts the traditional story path of a Disney film. The highlight song in the film, We Don’t Talk About Bruno, has become more popular than Let It Go amongst that all important pre-teen demographic. Author Laurie Penny explains what makes the movie and how it handles themes of family and politics so special…
The Family And The Casita And Everything Unspoken.
We talked a couple of issues back about the works of fiction moving into the public domain this year, including the real-deal old-school Winnie The Pooh. One film not making it out into the sunlight any time soon is Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, which has had a torrid time in and out of the courts…
How Metropolis Went In and Out Of The Public Domain
Right, brace yerselves, The Ninth Art Desk is ready for action. First, Vanessa Thorpe outlines the reasons so many of our best-loved superhero characters seem to be orphans, while bigging up a new must-visit exhibition on the subject.
Next, take a peek at this excellent strip at The Believer on how art transformed the prison life of one inmate, and taught him some very useful lessons on knowing the value of your skills…
Step By Bloody Step is going to be a highlight of the comics scene this spring. A wordless but gorgeously realised work of narrative fiction, the book aims to transcend barriers of language to bring us a tale with universal appeal. Creators Simon Spurrier, Matías Bergara, and Matheus Lopes tell us more in a preview for Screenrant.
Hunter S. Thompson knew little about the arcane arts of political reporting when he took on the onerous task of covering the 1968 Presidential campaign for, all all outlets, Rolling Stone. He should have been trampled underfoot. Instead, he fired out Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trail and cemented a fearsome reputation. There are lessons to be learned from his exploits, Readership. Strap in. Let’s get gonzo.
Five Lessons (on writing) from Hunter S. Thompson
We loved this set of pics of Mia Rovenko, taken by her photographer dad Andrew. We felt as if we were joining her on a mission of exploration, even if it was mostly in her head. There’s no sense of exploitation here—the story is clearly Mia’s, guided by her obsessions and imagination. Reach for the stars!
…Mia…wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. “She’s obsessed with space, particles, molecules” he says. The family live in Melbourne. Her ambition grew after watching the music video for ‘Intergalactic’ by the Beastie Boys….
Dave Haslam
The Residents were always a band into which you had to grow to enjoy. They are not an easy listen but, like Frank Zappa or Captain Beffheart, once you’re in and the trapdoor closes, there’s no easy way out. The roots of their curious toy box in a funhouse approach are dug deep in the rich soil of East Texas, fed by some darkly delicious nutrients…
And finally. There’s a place in the Midlands which is home to the strangest stockpile you ever did see. If mannequins make you nervous, you might want to skip the next link.
We lost Meat Loaf this week. His remarkable mix of rock and roll excess mashed together with theatrical and operatic bombast made for a heady mix. At his best and in full flow, frequently in fiery collaboration with writer Jim Steinman, there was no-one who could touch the man. Here’s a performance for The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1978 which gives the floavour of what he could do in a live setting. Holy cow, I think he’s gonna make it.
See you next Saturday, rocketeers.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 
My daughter heard a karaoke Paradise By The Dashboard Light coming out of a bar she was passing in Gun Street once. Ran in, grabbed the mike, pushed the singer off the stage. Turned out it was a tribute band. The urge to ‘loaf is strong in that one.