Blog – Page 29 – The Designer Monologues

June 8, 2018

FAR WEST – Weekly Check-in

你好, Folks —

Trying to get back onto the schedule, so you’re getting me on Monday AND Friday this week.

Thanks to everybody who contacted me with suggestions for Western inspirography — I’m always open for that kind of thing, so if you’ve got any recommendations, whether they’re shows, films, comics, books, music, whatever… keep them coming! I want the Inspirography section of the rulebook to have TONS of suggestions. I have a bunch already, but the more, the merrier!

One of the suggestions that I got from a few people is a show that I had already seen, the Netflix mini-series GODLESS. It’s so good, I figured I’d pass along that recommendation to any of you who haven’t seen it. The trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMUiRYoc76A

A town where almost all of the men died in a mining accident faces predation not only from a wealthy mining company who wants to purchase control of the mine (and hence the town), but from an unhinged outlaw and his gang.

At it’s core, it’s basically the “village must be defended from a bandit army” that has bounced back and forth across the genre lines ever since Kurosawa’s SEVEN SAMURAI, giving birth to THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, SEVEN SWORDSMEN, hell, even BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS — but instead of the trope of ‘hiring professional killers’, the women of the town must save themselves.

Worth checking out.

It’s been a rough week for me — I’m having a devil of a time kicking this cold, and it fired up a bunch of migraines during the week, which has knocked me off my schedule, so I’ll be working through this weekend in an effort to get back in stride.

Before I go, though, I wanted to add this: I’ve been trying to be more open about the trouble I’ve had with anxiety & depression, and today I woke to the news that Tony Bourdain had killed himself. It hit me pretty hard — I admired him as a storyteller and as one of the few folks out there trying to make Americans less terrified and suspicious of other people. It’s a simple fact that when celebrities kill themselves, the suicide rate jumps noticeably. If you’re struggling, please don’t go through it alone. Call 1-800-273-8255 to talk to someone, or text HOME to 741741. (These are in the US — I’m sorry I’m not more familiar with non-US options, which I’m certain exist). The only way to really end pain is to get through it. You’re not alone.

Thanks for listening.

Gareth-Michael Skarka
Lawrence, KS
8 June 2018.

June 4, 2018

Weekly FAR WEST Update (Mea Culpa)

So yeah — I’m an idjit.

As those of you who follow on Twitter know, I got my ass kicked last week by a summer cold (as far as I’m concerned, there should be a law against catching colds in the summer — nothing more miserable).

I remembered to send an email to the rules group — but once I did that, I went back to being miserable, and completely forgot to post the update I’d planned for Friday.

Sorry about that.

Anyway — work continues. I’m still shaking off this damned cold, but I’m back in the office this morning. (The benefit of working from a home office is that I don’t have to worry about infecting any co-workers.)

On an inspirographical note — I’ve been taking in a bunch of Wuxia stuff over the past few months (via the DramaFever service I told you about a couple of weeks back), but pickings on the Western front have been slim. Do any of you have any suggestions for stuff in that vein, preferably available on Netflix or Amazon? Hit the comments below, or, as always, I can be reached via email or Twitter.

Back to it,

Gareth-Michael Skarka
Lawrence, Kansas
4 June 2018

May 25, 2018

Friday Music

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, but I’ve managed to squeeze some time during work to listen to some music, and so here we go with another installment of Friday Music!

Most of the time, I’m discovering new music via my “Discovery Weekly” curated playlist on Spotify — so it occurs to me: would it be useful for you folks if, in addition to these blog entries, I also put together a “Friday Music” playlist on Spotify, regularly updated, with the link shared here? Are enough of you even using Spotify to make that worth doing?

Drop into the comments and let me know.

OK — this week’s music: The album cover up there is from our first selection, a London-based 80s-influenced electro-artpop quartet called Artificial Pleasure, whose debut album, The Bitter End, is now available. I read a review that described the band as “If ‘Let’s Dance’-era David Bowie fronted Talking Heads.” Throw in a bit of Georgio Moroder & Bryan Ferry…but they manage to do it without sounding like a pastiche. Seriously, this is SO GOOD. Artificial Pleasure – “Wound Up Tight.”

I haven’t shared any hip-hop since relaunching Friday Music, and thankfully, this week I get to remedy that. Long time readers will recall that I’m into the less-commercial stuff. This is an excellent example — a stomping amalgam of Jamaican dancehall and Brooklyn beats by way of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Apparently, this track was also featured on the TV show “How To Get Away With Murder,” so it looks like an alternative hip-hop act might be getting some attention. LLgL TNDR – “Enormous.”

And now, a drastic shift in gear. Charlotte Gainsbourg is the daughter of British actress Jane Birkin and legendary French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, and has followed in both her parent’s footsteps. She’s an actress (several Lars Von Trier films, among others) and a singer with five albums — this track is from her most recent album, Rest, which was released late last year. I love the disco-house bassline mixing with Gainsbourg’s breathy vocals and the unexpected rhythm of those vocals. I put this one on repeat for a few times when I first heard it. Charlotte Gainsbourg – “Deadly Valentine.”

Another shift in genre — this time into a more folk-country-tinged Indie track from the Canadian band Carmanah. The quintet from Victoria, British Columbia refer to their sound as “West Coast Soul.” Canadian music critics have called lead singer Laura Mina Mitic “the Stevie Nicks of our generation.” High praise — and honestly? Well-deserved. Carmanah – “Roots.”

And lastly, also from Canada, but from the other coast, an excellent example of what some of my friends call “Beep Boop Music.” Richard Aucoin is from Nova Scotia and creates alternative electronic music, mixing in experimental sounds and a pop sensibility. When this track began, I thought Spotify had given me some avant-garde electronic, but it graduatually shifted, blending those sounds into a pop structure, and I fell in love with it. Richard Aucoin – “Release.”

There you go, folks. I hope you enjoy them!

See you again next week.