things that altered my brain chemistry in 2023
Mind Game (2004)
short love letters to my favorite discoveries of 2023:
Mind Game (2004) dir. by Masaaki Yuasa: Mind Game was recommended to me by a girl I met by chance at a dinner party and never saw again. I watched it on a whim, but it’s a film that really struck my soul. It’s absurd, disturbing, chaotic, but also incredibly lighthearted. I really don’t know how to properly describe this movie other than by saying I think everyone should watch it before they die (though it’s definitely not for everyone).
Rap Capital: An Atlanta Story by Joe Coscarelli: Culture owes so much to the city of Atlanta, GA and its homegrown artists. Ambitiously covers 20ish years of history and does a pretty damn good job. If I retroactively could have only read one book this year, I think it would have to be this one.
“The Question Concerning Technology,” Martin Heidegger (1954): Read this in a book club of friends who are much smarter than I am, which crucially helped my comprehension lol. A work more resonant today than ever before, evaluating man’s relationship to technology in a way that is somehow simultaneously critical, realist, existential, and hopeful. Highly recommend reading in tandem with this analysis by Hubert Dreyfus.
Memoria (2021) dir. by Apichatpong Weerasethakul: Memoria, famously intended only to be watch in theater, completely upended how I think about watching movies. Immediately became one of my favorite films of all-time.
Noriem: Stumbled upon this brand at one of their store locations in Paris and they have the best pants I’ve ever worn in my life. I could live my entire life in Noriem pants. I both love and hate that you can’t shop from them online.
The Flowers of Buffoonery by Osamu Dazai: A prequel to Dazai’s infinitely more popular No Longer Human, and it reads as such. A relatively quick, but deeply stirring read about finding moments of levity in a world filled with grief and misery.
Max Richter, The New Four Seasons - Vivaldi Recomposed (2022): We love a masterful rework (for the second time). “Autumn 3 - 2022.” That’s it.
Marie Antoinette (2006) dir. by Sofia Coppola: The girlest movie to have ever girled? What more could you ask for? Also the anachronistic music choices? So fun.
DJ Heartstring: I have a tweet draft that goes something like this: “artists like dj heartstring at their best sound like they should be playing over the training arc montage of an A24 high school coming of age dramedy movie.” DJ Heartstring is a perfect example of an artist (duo) who has such a distinct, consistent signature, but still always manage to surprise and delight with their music. Rec #1, Rec #2
Videodrome (1983) dir. by David Cronenberg: I think about Videodrome probably at least once a week, and not for any particular reason other than I guess I’m constantly thinking about technology and its consequences on the human psyche.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro: I read Klara and the Sun in 2021 and wasn’t a huge fan, but I’m really glad I came back to Ishiguro this year, entirely thanks to The Remains of the Day being so artful at playing with pacing and tone.
Running socks: Believe it or not, I was not aware of the concept of “socks specifically for the purpose of running” until this year. I used to regularly get blisters, and I just dealt with it, until finally I went to Brooklyn Running Co. and they told me I desperately needed new socks… oops…
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017): Watching behind-the-scenes footage of someone doing something they have dedicated their entire life to is deeply moving, especially when its someone as masterful and reverent as Ryuichi Sakamoto. Namely, I watched this after spending a day in nature which really drove the whole film home.
“Here for the Wrong Reasons,” Charles Broskoski: As someone whose job it is to read information-dense decks all day, Charles’ visual-forward approach to presentation and lecture was simultaneously refreshing and grounding. Immensely helped me think through my own philosophy on “axis thinking,” contextual reasoning, and life vision.
Mima: I adopted my cat Mima this year! Pets are so fascinating in that they often reflect back things you see in yourself. She has changed my life for the better :)
such a treasure cove!