Archive | Music Matters

The Thrills of Life: David Bowie, 1947-2016

It feels so typical of David Bowie that he died when he was already on all of our brains, not only because of his birthday but because he’d just released an album that inclined us to especially celebrate his birth. He had a beautiful–and increasingly elusive–knack for keeping relevant through his art rather than his personal life. A few times I saw him out and about in New York, once by himself and once with Iman, the one woman who could so graciously overshadow him. Each time it was like glimpsing a ghost who would never entirely pass over, which is a fact I cling to today. We’ll miss him terribly but will have all the blueprints he gave us for as long as we listen to music alone and together. As usual, he said it best: “It’s the darkest hour and your voice is new.”

My Blood, My Holy Wine

I rallied last night. I’d been sick all week but wasn’t about to waste an opportunity to see the Alvin Ailey Company perform. It was probably ill-advised–now I’m sicker than before and I was feverish and hacking phlegm even when getting ready–but the ticket was a Christmas present to myself and my spirits needed lifting. So I bundled up in a fur hat and a big white scarf and sweeping black coat. I lined my eyes with kohl, painted my nails with glitter, pig-tailed my platinum hair with bits of leather, and put on statement earrings and the high-heeled boots that are bad for my back but good for showing off my legs. Then I shimmied out the door.

On the subway, people kept staring and I couldn’t tell if it was because I looked gorgeous or like a crazy lady. I hoped for Option A; knew it was Option B.

At the City Center, I was seated next to a handsome couple who’d been together for a while and still dug each other’s company. I knew this because they were enjoying their conversation but felt generous enough to engage me, and because they wore complementary colors. It is my observation that couple who choose complementary colors not only share energy frequencies but tend to dress together, which means they still seek opportunities to see each other naked. All in all, I found their presence bittersweet. Continue Reading →

‘Heart of a Dog,’ Swaddled in Fur

‘Tis the season for Oscar bait. Every week, more big-scale, self-serious films hit the multiplex, and though some are fantastic (“Room,” “Spotlight“), they tend to eclipse smaller projects like “Heart of a Dog,” a micro-budget meditation on loss, love, and one very charismatic pet. Yet this is quietly one of 2015 cinema’s best offerings – so much so that it’s gaining traction despite terrible odds. Recently acquired by Abramorama and HBO Documentary Films, it went into wider release a few weeks ago, and will receive an HBO debut in 2016. It’s no surprise, really, given that this film is written, directed, and narrated by Laurie Anderson. A true survivor in the precarious world of performance art, she has a long history of backing into success just by being her puckish, wondering self. Continue Reading →

"All, everything I understand, I understand only because I love."
― Leo Tolstoy