Month: March 2020

Lost Highway / The Straight Story

NikkiLeave a comment

Hello again!  I’m back because there are two David Lynch movie scenes I really needed to share somewhere.

Last week we went to a late night showing of Lost Highway at the Alamo Drafthouse (they were screening it as part of their “Weird Wednesdays” series), which in retrospect was a pretty bold move on my part. Before going to the theater, when Alex asked if we should bring earplugs, I scoffed and said no, it was a movie, not a rock show. An hour later, I was white-knuckling the armrests, frantically considering whether to run to the lobby and ask if they sell Hearos, or go to the bathroom and grab a bunch of toilet paper to wad up and stick in my ears. Confession: I was not prepared for David Lynch Sound Effects at movie theater volumes.

Anyway, you’re going to have to trust me that the movie is darker than this (keywords: “psychological mindf*ck”, “murder scene on staticky VHS tape”, “Rammstein”), but I sought out this scene afterward because it was such a welcome/bewildering break from the horror in the rest of the movie, and will forever be the scene I think of when someone’s driving too close behind me:

The other scene I wanted to share comes from The Straight Story, David Lynch’s wholesome Disney movie, which we watched to soften the blow from Lost Highway. People say this movie is such a deviation for Lynch, but I see so much Twin Peaks in it: it’s a slow burn that follows an old man as he drives from Iowa to Wisconsin on a lawnmower, full of long tracking shots and dialogue with slightly offbeat characters. As you might expect, I thought it was excellent.

Here is the most Lynchian scene in The Straight Story:

Bonus: This scene, in which Alvin buys a grabber at the hardware store, is positively perfect in every way.

For those following along, here’s my list of Watched David Lynch Movies so far:

  • Fire Walk With Me
  • Mulholland Drive
  • Inland Empire
  • Blue Velvet
  • The Straight Story
  • Lost Highway

Help us decide: between Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Dune, and Wild At Heart, which should we watch next?

The Return

NikkiLeave a comment

Well, if this coronavirus scare is good for one thing, it’s forcing me to stay at home, sitting at my computer being bored and introspective to the point of reviving this blog. *dusts off WordPress dashboard*

To quickly summarize the last half a year in a nutshell: I started writing more for Hoodline (some recent stories I’m proud of can be found here and here), watched every Bon Appetit Test Kitchen video in existence and have expanded my home cooking repertoire by at least 2 recipes, and joined an all-women community orchestra in Oakland! It’s been a joy having weekly access to percussion instruments and the opportunity to play really cool pieces with epic chime parts like this one.

One of the pieces for our winter concert was Appalachian Spring, but as one might expect, the show was cancelled (thanks, coronavirus). So in honor of this famous piece I still haven’t played in concert, I wanted to share some other versions of Appalachian Spring.

A really impressive choreographed version by the UMD Symphony Orchestra:

1987 Cadets ripped from a VHS tape (good lord, that crowd reaction at 10:15):

Blast! (remember Blast!? The 2000s vibes are strong in this video):

EDIT: The musicians of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra playing their parts from home during quarantine. Amazing.

And, just for funsies, a different “spring” (YouTube suggested this video to me, and I won’t lie, it’s exactly the kind of content I want to see):

Death by time signature!