Inspir. §231001
Matthew Ketchum
Alternative real estate. Strange IT. Independent music. Fermentation.
Fuzzy Overdrive, Renegade Computers, Red Dudes, and Heavy-handedness
The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind - you’ll discover what that’s all about in an upcoming Above & Below release, but in essence change is afoot! And while change is never the most stable ride - it necessarily requires re-evaluating certain aspects of oneself and its situation within its varied environments - I’m a relatively seasoned vet of change management, and so I’ve planned out a reasonably comfortable trip ahead.
Part of that, of course, is having creative resources and inspirations to push on towards the goal. Thankfully, I’m also a seasoned vet of exploring the unknown when it comes to the arts and entertainment, and the below are some of what’s seeing me through to the end!
Music: Blushing
I’m not sure how I feel about the old adage about not judging books by their cover. On one hand, yeah, nothing’s perfect and your own past experiences color your perception of what’s placed in front of you, so there’s certainly at least some reason to take that message to heart. On the other, its the fucking cover - the first thing that is presented to your audience, whom you ought to be marginally familiar with, so you better try to get it right.
And here we have Blushing, a Texas 4-piece comprised of 2 married couples playing some of the dreamiest Shoegaze I’ve heard in some time. What does that have to do with book covers? Blushing is quite possibly the most appropriate name for a Shoegaze band since Slowdive, and they totally hit the mark.
领英推荐
Movies: 8 1/2
I’ve been having some weirdo dreams lately, presumably due to all of the novel stimulation I’m receiving in my current adventures. And then I wake up, brush off the indeterminacy those oneiric sojourns, and saunter into the daylight realms… also full of indeterminacy, but subtly more navigable.
And, that’s, like, what 8 1/2 is about. Its sorta frustrating seeing it reliably referenced as Fellini’s magnum opus to the idea of The Cool, as that evaluation totally misses the point. The Cool is the package that wraps the odyssey in a visual narrative, but is not that journey in and of itself, is merely reflective of it.
Which isn’t to (fully) equate myself with The Cool or to call myself some sort of master storyteller like Fellini, buuuuuuuuut hey that’s what art is there for, especially in times of flux - to look at, engage with, and search for some semblance of yourself within the echoes of someone else’s experience in order to keep your own feet on the ground as it endlessly shifts.
The End of the Line…?
Not at all! The full version of this issue alone also includes a very stylized FPS, and arguably the most important entry in the history of the Cyberpunk genre of literature, but there are many more issues like it! I also have a slew of fully vetted travel itineraries for Japan, and long form commentary on experiences across diverse business landscapes over at my Substack, so if you dig this head on over there and dig deeper!