Ponytail Picks #55 - Letters
Dear readers,
It’s only been two weeks since we last wrote to you but it feels like longer. Here are some more Ponytail Picks.
LISTEN
Musicians of letters
In pop music, words aren’t always the thing that makes or breaks a great song, but you best not skip the lyrics sheet with these artists. They may not have the same clout as the Joni Mitchells and Kendrick Lamars of this world, but their tale-spinning skills are hard to ignore—as these examples display.
Tim Baker
Soon it will be Sunday morning
And you know your uncle will be out here golfing
Saying, "What have we here?"
Yeah, cracking his jokes
Maybe he'll give you a beer
And drive you home
…And you turn on your phone
Bill Callahan
Well, I don't believe in fate
I believe in destiny
My destiny is swerving in the road in front me, drunkenly
When you take responsibility for your own divinity
True love is not magic
It's certainty
And what comes after certainty?
Henry Jamison
Me and my cousin were at the arcade
In a fathom of blood, we were constantly slain
And we watched the progress of our three-letter names
Till we stumbled outside to the night airAnd there was a man, with a coat and a cane
He was mumbling things about the world gone insane
He said, "boys, if you're looking for your innocence
Well it's already there."
Mitsuki Laycock (Mitski)
You're the sun, you've never seen the night
But you hear its song from the morning birds
Well, I'm not the moon, I'm not even a star
But awake at night I'll be singing to the birdsDon't wait for me, I can't come
Your mother wouldn't approve of how my mother raised me
But I do, I think I do
And you're an all-American boy
I guess I couldn't help trying to be your best American girl
Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief)
Warm
So warm
Screaming in the field
As I was bornWorm
Will you return me
To the robin's beak?
I'll be a birdTerminal
We both know
Let the rest of me go
See my death become a trail
And the trail leads to a flower
I will blossom in your sail
Every dreamed and waking hour
Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel)
And here's where your mother sleeps
And here is the room where your brothers were born
Indentions in the sheets
Where their bodies once moved but don't move anymore
And it's so sad to see the world agree
That they'd rather see their faces filled with flies
All when I'd want to keep white roses in their eyes
Andy Shauf
Begin again
This time you should take a bow at the very end
It's quite an act you put on
Wait 'til the cameras rollYou're the leading man
In a film where the end of the world
Is decided by you, whenever you chooseOh from the sky a brilliant light will dissolve us all
Judee Sill
Crayon Angel songs are slightly out of tune
But I'm sure I'm not to blame
Nothing's happened, but I think it will soon
So I sit here waiting for God and a train
To the Astral plane
Fatimah Nyeema Warner (Noname)
Everybody got their role, don't be an opp
Everybody got their roles, I'm a play mine
Like Scooby-Doo in a haunted house
I see the ghost that they talking 'bout, I see the signs
Read in between the line at the crime scene
I ain't fucking with the NFL or Jay-Z
Propaganda for the military complex
The same gun that shot Lil Terry
Out west the same gun that shot some Samir in the West Bank
-AK
Got a favorite lyricist?
Leave the name in the comments below.
WATCH
Joel’s favourite films from A-Z
Anomalisa (2015)
The awe in the awkward and mundane, in beautifully detailed stop-motion animation.
Belfast (2021)
A beautiful batch of memories in black and white.
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
A supremely fun cat-and-mouse crime caper, with layered character work to boot.
Drive My Car (2021)
A devastatingly deep dive into the power of the drive and the power of stories.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
The excruciating pain of love, its memories, and their erasure, wonderfully edited.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2008)
Fucking over farmers and having so much fun doing it.
Good Time (2017)
A glut of grit and grime sandwiched between two bookending scenes of grace.
Her (2013)
A heart-wrenching hypothesis of what could happen when a HAL-like being falls in love with a human.
Inception (2010)
An intense look at the battles raging in our inner worlds.
Juno (2007)
Plenty of jokes and chill jams in this classic indie.
Knives Out (2019)
A killer whodunnit script featuring a kooky and con-kniving family.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Life is laughing one moment and losing a loved one the next.
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
The marvelous power of mirth and making connections in the face of misinformation and fear-mongering.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
I’ll never not tear up at the nuanced yet bold message of non-violence in this fantasy war epic.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Many of my artistic offerings and inspirations owe a lot to this original old-timey take on Homer’s Odyssey.
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
A phenomenal picture in three parts, about two different patriarchs and their sons.
Quiz Lady (2023)
I’d like to quickly point out that the quantity of Q-titled films I’ve watched thus far is quite small, but I did still mostly enjoy this quirky comedy.
Roma (2018)
A remarkable yet reserved story of resilience.
Shutter Island (2010)
A suspenseful, satisfying, and rain-slicked Scorcese flick.
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Top-tier Pixar and tear-jerking in two ways.
Unsane (2018)
A unique and unnerving thriller.
Vertigo (1958)
Vicarious living (and dying) in this very good film.
Whiplash (2014)
A whirlwind of white knuckles and whacking drums.
?
This marks the spot where I admit I haven’t seen any films starting with X yet. What are your recommendations?
Your Sister’s Sister (2012)
Yeah, you’ll love this yearning indie.
Zodiac (2007)
A zig-zagging mystery that zooms through its three-hour runtime.
-JB
READ
Two very different epistolary novels
Yes, I was originally just going to say “novels written in letter-format” until I found “epistolary” on The Gum Thief Wikpedia page. It’s nice to learn new words!
The Gum Thief, by Douglas Coupland
One of my long time favourite authors (who lives nearby me in Vancouver, BC!) brings more of his signature sparkly wit and detailed cultural engagement to this series of letters exchanged by two very different but equally wistful employees of a Staples store, Roger and Bethany. Other characters related to our main two end up getting their own letters as well. It’s interesting to see how characters develop through the writing of a letter, with no boundaries to restrict their self-expression but also no bodies to bounce it off of. My favourite parts of the book though might be the snippets of the novella Roger is writing that are interspersed throughout. It’s called Glove Pond, and it’s ridiculous.
Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson
Where The Gum Thief is a series of cheeky post-modern exchanges between two middle class Vancouverites, Gilead is a series of letters with no replies from an ailing reverend to his young son in 1950s Iowa. It’s a beautiful mixture of reflections on God and life and family history with personal journal-like entries and storytelling. It occasionally pushes the boundaries of what could reasonably be recounted in a letter when it describes word-for-word and with lots of detail some lengthy dialogues the reverend has with people near the end of the book, but it’s compelling nonetheless.
-JB
Sincerely,
Andrew & Joel
PS. Beware the danger! Our next theme is
Some great lyrics and artists here! Surely it has to be Xanadu doesn’t it?!?
Love the alphabet alliterations!