Ponytail Picks #41 - Medium

For this week’s Picks, we try to cover as much of the term “medium” as we can. But with over 15 definitions, who knew the things between things could get so interesting?

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LISTEN

Songs that commune with the dead

Whether it’s the singer, their subject, or you, these songs are all reaching out to someone who’s met their expiration date.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “Requiem: K. 626: I. Introitus. Requiem aeternam”

The intro to what is probably the most famous of the requiems, this piece by Mozart won’t fail to strike the fear of death in you.

Grant eternal rest to thee, Lady, 
and let everlasting light shine upon thee.

Sufjan Stevens, “Come On! Feel the Illinoise Part II: Carl Sandberg Visits Me in a Dream”

Stevens never shies away from the macabre, but an actual ghost shows up in this one.

I cried myself to sleep last night
And the ghost of Carl, he approached my window.
I was hypnotized, I was asked to improvise
on the attitude, the regret of a thousand centuries of death.

Neutral Milk Hotel, “Holland, 1945”

Mangum’s crossing planes like nobody’s business.

The only girl I ever loved 
was born with roses in her eyes, 
but then they buried her alive 
one evening, 1945, 
with just her sister at her side.

Flying Lotus, Captain Murphy, Snoop Dogg, “Dead Man’s Tetris”

These guys sure know how to break bad news.

No jokes, no pulse, 
felt his palm—he had no pulse.

Nina Simone, “Go to Hell”

Ms. Simone has a warning for all you evil-doers.

Just don't dispose of your natural soul 
’cause you know darn well 
that you'll go to hell.

Radiohead, “Pyramid Song”

You wouldn’t guess by the song’s tone, but Mr. Yorke’s journey ends the way we all hope it will.

All my lovers were there with me,
all my past and futures,
and we all went to heaven in a little row boat.
There was nothing to fear, nothing to doubt

Big Thief, “Terminal Paradise”

Lenker seems to hover over herself in this tune. She’s losing me a little, but I love it.

See my death become a trail, 
and that trail becomes a flower.
I will blossom in your sail 
every dream and waking hour.

Talking Heads, “Heaven”

I wonder what the cocktail menu looks like in Heaven.

Everyone is trying 
to get to the bar. 
The name of the bar, 
the bar is called Heaven.

Wilco, “Hell is Chrome”

Are we supposed to be wary of a hearty welcome or is Hades not so bad after all?

Jeff Tweedy

seems to leave that up to you.

When the devil came, he was not red. 
He was chrome, and he said, 
“Come with me. 

You must go.” So I went.

T. Rex, “Dandy in the Underworld”

Poor Prince of Players, we hardly knew ye.

Distraction he wanted, to distruction he fell. 
Now he forever stocks the ancient mansions of hell.

Andy Shauf, “My Dear Helen”

Poor Helen. Poor Helen’s husband. Poor dead girl.

I hope God can forgive me. 
I hope you forgive me too. 
I’m just a tired old man 
just waiting to join you.

Perfume Genius, “Otherside”

A wonderful sentiment from Perfume Genius to bring this playlist to an end: that our ancestors could be watching over us from the Great Beyond.

Even your going, let it find you. 
Even your hiding, find it knows you,
rocking you to sleep from the Otherside.

-AK

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WATCH

Film as a medium between worlds

Film is one of the best “medium mediums”—a form of communication that connects us to other worlds. And with the turn to October, it’s officially scary movie season, so here are some of my favourite movies that transport the viewer to worlds macabre and bizarre.

The Shining (1980)

Set in a hotel world so detached and elevated from everything else that it gets hard to stay grounded. You can feel the impending sense of doom on the long drive up up and away in the excellent opening sequence.

The Lighthouse (2019)

Now officially a three-time Ponytail Pick (see #19 - Water and #27 - Bodies), The Lighthouse is a masterclass in cinematic world-building with its fantastic cinematography and set design, and suffocating greyscale and 4:3 aspect ratio capturing a lonely, wet island and its lonely, wet men.

Eraserhead (1977)

Well geez I just keep mentioning former Ponytail Picks here, but I can’t not leave out Eraserhead in this list with the just absolutely bizarre world it transports you to. And not bizarre in a super fantastical, in-your-face way, either. It’s more like a world that embodies all of the awkward and uncomfortable feelings you’ve ever felt. Very weird. Give it a watch.

Army of Darkness (1992)

Here we are transported with the amazing Ash back to the year 1300 which spikes its cheesy generic medieval setting with stop-motion skeletons, aggressive witches, and murderous mini-mes.

Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 (2021)

Make sure to watch the first two parts of this interesting time-travelling horror tale to get the gist of the story, but know that this one’s probably the best. A progressive perspective on a colonial town witch hunt with some baddass lines:

I don’t fear the devil… I fear the mother who would let her daughter hang… They want a witch? I will give them a witch.

-JB

Follow the link for a list of other great film openings…

READ

Medium books

Anyone else have a soft spot for the books they read around middle school age (grades 6-8, for those who don’t have that sort of school system where they live)? The books I read around that age are the “just right” comfort books for me, akin to a perfectly warm and yummy bowl of porridge for Goldilocks: not too dense and intense like the parent bears’ grown-up books on Important Issues, but not too light and small like baby bear’s short stories either. Medium books, intended for medium-aged youth, and often featuring them as characters as well. Here are a few of my nostalgic favourites:

Who is Bugs Potter? by Gordan Korman

One of my favourite authors. I discovered Korman’s wide selection of hilarious books in middle school and my great appreciation morphed into inspiration when I learned how he wrote his first book at only 14! Which of course led me to write my own novel, which of course was much worse than his. But I digress. This one’s a wonderfully joyous romp where a drummer in a high school band, in Toronto for a special concert, becomes a sensation in the city’s underground rock music scene when he sneaks away from his hotel each night to go see his favourite bands in various clubs and bars and ends up wowing them with his skills.

Hidden Talents by David Lubar

Just the coolest book. A high schooler with a knack for mouthing off teachers gets kicked out of yet another school and so gets sent to a school set aside for other trouble-makers like him. He makes a few friends and ends up discovering that the things causing all the problems for his friends at their previous schools were actually MIND POWERS that they didn’t know they had, and thus didn’t know how to control. A very satisfying and fun coming-of-age novel with a bit of an edge.

The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian

You know this one came out when I was in middle school because it takes place in the early blogging boom of the 2000s, and the edition I had (picture above, big grey computer monitor and all) featured the Courier New typewriter font, no less. It follows an idealistic high schooler who starts an anonymous anti-consumerism blog (with one of his recurring features being a picture of each one of his only 75 possessions) that all of sudden blows up the internet, with people not only being engaged by his content and passion but also his anonymity, trying to figure out who he is all while he tries so hard to hide it in order to put focus onto his message. It’s a fascinating look at the effects of fame, particularly on a teenager, and how that can affect one’s activism and aspirations. Funny and thought-provoking, with an almost thriller-type plot with lots of twists and turns.

What are some of your favourite “medium” middle-school reads?

-JB

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We’re leaving the middle of the road behind for now. Keep your fig leaves close for next time, when we try on our culture’s

clothes.