Yeah. We know. Come on in. The kettle’s on. We have biscuits. The good kind. The Aldi kind with the chocolate on.
Now is the time. Here is the place. This is The Cut.
This primer on how you get a tune to swing is pretty dang nerdy but there are plenty of good musical examples to listen to. Sometimes, it’s good to just wallow in musical theory for a while, understand how mathematically straightforward the whole thing is and how much the interpretation of a piece of music is down to the person playing it. If nothing else it implies an element of control, which has be comforting, right?
There’s a school of film criticism which excoriates the Daniel Craig era of Bond films as a wasted opportunity, heavily beholden to past glories. Of course, other opinions are available. Here’s a long but worthwhile examination of the last days of 007, paying attention to the construction of the films as a single piece of narrative and how callbacks to the past aren’t such a bad thing.
Boy, we’re skewing nerdy this week. What can we say? Reading is a comfort in uncomfortable times. You may have some questions after looking at this bit from Clive Thompson. Which is only to be expected, of course…
Darryl Cunningham is one of the British comic scene’s hidden treasures. Working in the factual realm, he has moved confidently from autobiography to politics. His latest book on Putin’s Russia is an absolute must-read, and a smart primer on understanding where we are and how we got here.
Putin’s Russia – A Graphic Depiction
BBC2’s Rock Till We Drop started this week and inevitably fumbled what could be an interesting idea—giving older people the chance to follow their dream of a moment of rock stardom—by framing it as a reality show complete with fake deadlines and contrived drama. Ugh, no thanks. We prefer the approach the Adult Music Club in Baton Rouge takes and their ace students, Your Mom. They’re in it for real, man. And they’ve brought cookies.
More music and another appearance from Stevie Wonder, as we look into his pioneering synth work. His run of solo albums in the seventies were an extraordinary outpouring of joyous creativity, sparked by Stevie’s realisation that he really could get the sounds in his head and give them to the people. All it took was a little bit of synthesis…
Why the story of how a young Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and took his revenge has not been made into a movie or graphic novel is completely beyond us. It’s a tale for the ages with a compelling, if brutal, leading man. And oh, that ending…
Matt Reeve’s long, dark take on That Batman opens in cinemas this week. Whatever you think of another gloomy version of the Darknight Detective, it gives us another chance to see a fresh take on the most enduring comic book backdrops—the city of Gotham. The Ringer takes us through the many movie versions of Bruce Wayne’s home town and how they came to be put up on screen.
Yes, we Wordle. The initial news cycle and Contrary Opinions on the simple but addictive game have passed, thank goodness. We think it’s safe to confess, we enjoy a quiet five minutes with a grid and a single word each day. It’s a community thing, which Austin Kleon makes clear.
And finally. One last burst of nerdery, which may come in handy if you’re a creative in need of inspiration. Ideas are everywhere. You just have to be able to spot them. Or, if the well is dry, find a way to spark a train of thought. Lots of useful techniques in here. We think the specific focus is on journalism, but honestly, we think these could work in any discipline.
Have a blast of joyous power-pop to see you on your way into the weekend. This one-two hit of crunch and bang come from Superdrag, pinged to us though the radar of Marlin Mann. This hit all our needs hard. Needless to say, you’ll need to crank volume for the best effect. Join us, take a bit of you-time and jump around a bit. We guarantee you’ll feel better for it.
See you next Saturday, dragsters .
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 