posted September 7, 2017 #

I've been doing a lot of reading and hypothesizing about Twin Peaks: The Return. I am not so much looking for answers as I am just enjoying the ride of reading more about the bits and pieces I may have missed. One rabbit hole that I've really been enjoying is the investigation of the music and sound of the latest series. The AV Club has a great piece on understanding Twin Peaks sound that postulates that the sound is every bit as important as what's on screen, maybe even more so.

The fan site Welcome to Twin Peaks has a number of articles regarding the music and Easter Eggs throughout the series. They're all worth a deep dive but here are a few of my favorites:

Mr C Intro Music - David Lynch remixed American Woman from Nashville band Muddy Magnolias for the introduction of Coopers doppelganger. The original is a far cry from the slowed down, EQ peaking Lynch version. It's insane that he was even able to audibly conceive how well the transformation would turn out.
"Last Call" with Sarah Palmer - Lynch slowed down and inserted his own song "Last Call" during the scene where Sarah Palmer is entranced by the nature documentary.
Yrev Good to See You - is this a conspiracy theory or does Mr. C speak backwards to Gordon Cole for a single word?
Moonlight Sonata with The Woodsmen - not only does Lynch, once again, massively slow down a piece of music to fit a scene but he also inserted howling monkeys, potentially a reference to Judy from Fire Walk with Me. It's so deeply hidden there's no way a casual viewer would have discovered it but it's that layering and attention to nuance that make the series so rewarding.

I loved Twin Peaks: The Return. I can understand a viewer being frustrated by it but I really can not imagine a better way to pick up a series 25 years later and still do something this original and consistent with the prior series.

Horrors Of Copyright

posted September 6, 2017 #

This Kaptain Kristian video on The Horrors of Copyright tells the tale of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead and how one omission from the title screen lead to being available in the public domain immediately upon release. The fascinating part of this story is not that Romero got screwed but that this oversight actually led to a massive world of new creative endeavors and, basically, an entire industry built around the notion of "zombies."

I can't help but think of Everything is a Remix, the Kirby Ferguson doc about the infinite cycle of lifting ideas for new creations. Had Romero copyrighted his film, that cycle would have been stopped short with litigation.

NukeMap

posted September 6, 2017 #

Given the state of things these days, this NukeMap web app feels less like macabre tinkering and more like safety research. You select an area, a bomb yield and a few other options to see what kind of fallout to expect, should a nuke be turned your way. I'm no Doomsday planner but it's definitely unnerving to think about the weapons available to humans and the fragile egos at the helm of them.

posted September 5, 2017 #

Brought by parents, these children had no choice in coming here. Now they'll be sent to countries they've never known. Cruel. Not America.

Twin Peaks music

posted September 5, 2017 #

read all this. ALL OF IT.

posted September 5, 2017 #

Oh, the forthcoming Saoirse Ronan movie (‘Lady Bird’, directed/written by Greta Gerwig) looks very fine. Trailer:… https://t.co/yESE7Ec6YE

We Own This Town: Volume 91

posted September 5, 2017 #

Another excellent compilation of Nashville music. The variety of upbeat pop, soundtrack music, hip-hop and even an R&B soaked demo is a tough varietal grab bag to top.

I'm happy with the pace of new editions of the podcast and I hope you're enjoying the incoming feed of new Nashville music. There's no shortage of places to hear new music but I think you'll find these selections to be quite pleasing.

Subscribe | Stream It | Download It

Tristen - Partyin' Is Such Sweet Sorrow
The Privates - Acoustic Induction Inhibitor
PANGS - NEXT TO ME
Bully - Feel the Same
Jessica Lea Mayfield - Sorry Is Gone
Jonesiii from the Moon - Black Moon
Snake Cheney - Taco Bell Fiend (Demo)
Hari -Days In The Sun
repeat repeat - Girlfriend

Pete Peppers

posted September 5, 2017 #

I've mentioned him in passing a few times but I'd like to mark a proper callout to the work of YouTube'r Pete Peppers. His channel consists of recaps, questions, "Things You Missed" and general breakdowns of a handful of shows - Twin Peaks, Game of Thrones, Mr. Robot. His insights are thorough and insightful as he presents his videos in a straightforward edit. There's no talking at the camera, there's no god-awful jokes or any of the features that a YouTube channel typically consists of. I feel the need to point this out because it's surprisingly rare in the sea of YouTube to find such a gem.

I recently backed him on Patreon as a show of thanks but I urge you to just dive into his channel and pick a show you're familiar with - maybe the Mr Robot trailer - so you can get hooked yourself and follow along as episodes are released. It's an excellent indulgence for when you're looking to nerd out on a show.

The Atlantic: Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation?

posted September 5, 2017 #

Despite the somewhat click-baity headline, this Atlantic article posing the question Have Smartphones Destroyed A Generation? is a good read. As a non-parent, I often wonder about the decision making process that goes into "screen time" with extremely young adults and with teens. Given how much smart devices penetrate our lives, how does one decide what is too much? Particularly when the distinct activities are hidden from view.

It's not a question I can answer but the article does a scary job of laying out the harms of the smartphone and too much screen time. Is this the standard reaction of one generation looking back at the younger and declaring it's unhealthiness? Probably a bit of that but there's plenty of data and survey's that come along with the article that make it hard to argue that's the only thing that's happening. It's hard to pick out a single factoid from the article that summarizes that fear completely but this one was certainly impactful:

Teens who spend three hours a day or more on electronic devices are 35 percent more likely to have a risk factor for suicide, such as making a suicide plan. (That's much more than the risk related to, say, watching TV.) One piece of data that indirectly but stunningly captures kids' growing isolation, for good and for bad: Since 2007, the homicide rate among teens has declined, but the suicide rate has increased. As teens have started spending less time together, they have become less likely to kill one another, and more likely to kill themselves. In 2011, for the first time in 24 years, the teen suicide rate was higher than the teen homicide rate.

That is a sad and scary statistic if ever there was one.

I don't think anything in the article is meant to be instructive, nor do I think it claims to be too specific - these are broad numbers from surveys (not exactly the most trustworthy source of information). But, regardless, it's a topic worth considering given all the numbers. Personally, I don't think this stops at Teens or Youth, I think much of this could be applied to a much wider net. Something for us all to consider (and I'm not a Luddite, I just like to be cautious and aware).

posted September 4, 2017 #

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posted September 4, 2017 #

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posted September 4, 2017 #

We will be admiring and analyzing Twin Peaks: the Return for a long time. A show that once again redefined tv. Than… https://t.co/UDrgLyESnI

posted September 4, 2017 #

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