Any Other Business: Part LXIII

As the title suggests, so forth.

The Manchurian Candidate and the GOP

I was reading Richard Condon’s 1959 novel The Manchurian Candidate in the last few days and was extremely disconcerted to find what seemed to be the language of the present moment.

I will be representing the Senate, you might say – and I will be there to remind the forgetful rulers of Europe and England that the United States was established not as a democracy but as a Federal Union and Republic that is controlled by the United States Senate, at this moment in our history, through a state-equality composition designed to maintain this establishment and that it exists, in the present moment of our history, to protect minorities from the precipitate and emotional tyranny of majorities.

There is no list…

Spotify these 60 songs for a 90s mood

John Williams – JFK theme // Smashing Pumpkins – Tonight Tonight // Garbage – I’m Only Happy When it Rains // Natalie Imbruglia – Torn // Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me // Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box // Blur – To the End // Thomas Newman – Dead Already // Red Hot Chili Peppers – I Could Have Lied // Garbage – Stupid Girl // REM – Radio Song // U2 – Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me // John Williams – Jurassic Park theme // Smashing Pumpkins – Porcelina of the Vast Oceans // Massive Attack – Angel // Madonna – Bedtime Story // U2 – Numb // Radiohead – Let Down // Portishead – All Mine // Smashing Pumpkins – Today // Guns’n’Roses – You Could Be Mine // Madonna – Ray of Light // Garbage – I Think I’m Paranoid // U2 – The Fly // Massive Attack – Risingson // Red Hot Chili Peppers –Under the Bridge // Angelo Badalamenti – Twin Peaks theme // Pixies – Motorway to Roswell // Bjork – Isobel // Madonna – Vogue // Beastie Boys – Sure Shot // Metallica – Enter Sandman // White Town – Your Woman // Gala – Freed from Desire // Underworld – Born Slippy // Republica – Ready to Go // Pixies – Alec Eiffel // Alan Silvestri – Point of No Return // The Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy, Hey Girl // Massive Attack –Safe from Harm // Blur – Trimm Trab // Nirvana – Lithium // REM – Losing My Religion // Blur – The Universal // Green Day – Time of Your Life (Good Riddance) // Blur – Parklife // Portishead – Glory Box // Radiohead – Just // Pixies – Velouria // Beastie Boys – Intergalactic // Kula Shaker – Tattva // Portishead – Strangers // Happy Mondays – Step On // Red Hot Chili Peppers – Give it Away // REM – Man on the Moon // Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit // John Williams – Duel of the Fates // Beastie Boys – Sabotage // Radiohead – Creep // Pulp – Common People

Notes on Hereditary

Hereditary is the horror film proving perfect counterprogramming for the World Cup. Here are some notes on’t, prepared for Dublin City FM’s Sunday Breakfast with Patrick Doyle early this morning.

Ari Aster makes an impressive debut as writer/director, but while the marketing pushes it as this generation’s Exorcist there’s actually a lot more of The Shining in Hereditary’s cinematic DNA. Toni Collette is the parent going mad in a huge house, constructed on a soundstage to allow for fluid tracking shots, with much unnerving imagery and fear so intense that terrified screams remain silent. Aster is an incredibly patient director. There are a lot sustained close-ups of reaction shots before the camera slowly pans to reveal the source of the character’s terror. And, like Sinister, you find yourself an hour into the movie having been scared profoundly by tricks of the light or perfectly natural accidents or coincidences, nothing supernatural. But then Aster puts his foot down on the pedal and, as all films like The Babadook must it sees, abandons the terror of ambiguity for the terror of supernatural mayhem. Although it must be noted tremendous unease is generated simply by jarring jump transitions between the same locations in Utah at night and morning.

Hereditary at its best is imbued with a sense of creeping unease, and a profound fear on the part of Toni Collette’s character that the mental health problems that have afflicted her family are flaring up in her under the extreme stress of bereavement. Hereditary may indeed be a film for an older audience than the teen horrors like Truth or Dare that are a staple at the multiplexes, as the true horror that is the subtext of what it fantastically depicts needs some life experience to fully hit home with any sort of jolt of recognition. Not everybody has skeletons as extreme as schizophrenia or disassociative identity disorder lurking in their family closet but depression is a black dog that finds a home most anywhere. Collette is outstanding in the lead as an artist trying to process the multiplying horrors of her life by sublimating them into a gallery show, but constantly dealing with the nerve-shredding anxiety – are these things really happening or am I just going crazy like my mother and my brother?

I didn’t get to chat about all of these points, but we did cover most of them. Tune into 103.2 FM to hear Patrick Doyle’s breakfast show every Sunday on Dublin City FM, and catch up with his excellent Classical Choice programme on Mixcloud now.