Andrew Haig's latest film, All of Us Strangers, features Adam, played by Irish actor Andrew Scott, who wrote the script for the Fine Young Cannibals' 1985 ska song “Johnny Come Home.” There is a scene where he is working on it. He types the scene headings as follows: Suburban House 1987. ” An established shot. Go back to the past.
Adam gets up from his desk and goes to the next room, pulling out a box of memories from under his bed. Cassette tapes, tattered toys, faded photo albums. “Johnny Come Home” is one of his songs that very strongly evokes the 80s for me, and even before Adam started unearthing his songs, I was already hearing it from my own adolescence. I was experiencing flashbacks. Hearing that takes me back to my childhood bedroom. A boombox with dual tape players, wall-to-wall pink carpet, and a journal with a lock.
I haven't listened to Fine Young Cannibals in years, but I've now returned to their self-titled album and was curious to see if it evoked the same feelings (anticipation mixed with melancholy). Ta. That wasn't exactly the case. I still loved this album and was moved by playing the bop and humming the lyrics, but the album made me feel as if a glass pane had been erected between me and my younger self. I felt far away.
Each of us has these signaling cultural artifacts. Those are those albums. Records, CDs, and playlists that we listened to so deeply and constantly that they merged with our skin, our guts, and our hearts. What happens when we meet them again later, when we have indeed changed and perhaps they have changed too?
When I went to see “Illinois,” Justin Peck and Jackie Sibley's Drury's stage interpretation of Sufjan Stevens' 2005 concept album “Illinois,” recently at the Park Avenue Armory, I was struck by Plunged into the deepest waters of such scenarios. (It opens on Broadway April 24.) When “Illinois” was released, I was a perfect target for its indie-she-rock Americana and epic storytelling. I played for what felt like a year or so. Even if I couldn't quite sing along to the elaborate orchestration, the album's refrain stayed with me. Fragments of the lyrics would flash by, unauthorized, like hallucinations, for decades to come. (“Are you writing from the heart?”, “I’m in love again / Everything will be fine.”)
So when I saw “Illinois” again after all these years, I was a little nervous. The production was more than just a lavish stage production with sets, actors, and choreography; it was a transformation from an intimate album she listened to on her iPod with corded earphones. The stakes felt strangely high. Will someone else's reinterpretation of the album reach me? Will being seen in public diminish my private affection for it? When I told his friend Tom that I was going to see the show, he said nervously: “That album is extremely important in my life,” he said, adding, “If it wasn't perfect, I would be destroyed.”
Thankfully, my performance experience didn't ruin me or the album's sanctity. I was pleased with the sensitive interpretation that the show's creators had crafted into a coherent narrative from the collection of songs, and agreed with Times theater critic Jesse Greene. The coordination of information is almost perfect, from dream-like to sharp. ”
One of the risks of reacquainting yourself with an album you love is confronting the person you were when you identified so closely with it: your younger self and your (sometimes embarrassing) tastes. I was acutely aware in the early '80s of the criticism that Sufjan Stevens's work was too precious and vulgar, and when I remember how susceptible I was to that trick, I realized that I was… It's as embarrassing as if you were watching someone make fun of them in a “Portlandia” sketch. .
It's a complex mix of nostalgia and newness when you're reunited with old favorites when they've changed and we've changed too. Sometimes we are surprised. I was moved by my reunion with “Illinois” and was excited to go home and listen to the album again, adding this new encounter to my archival experience.
Last fall, I was hoping for a similar renewal when I went to see Liz Phair's 30th anniversary performance of her other album, Exile in Guyville. I expected the audience to be as excited as I was to dance and sing along to every lyric. But what I was instead met with was a performance that didn't resonate with me, perhaps due to the cool, quiet audience and my giddy expectations. I left feeling a bit disappointed, but still looking forward to a cathartic return home. In the end, I figured it out from the original source. That trusted theater of connection and rebirth where you turn up the volume and sing your heart out in a long, searing shower at home.
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a week of culture
movies and tv
Other big stories
Duchess Kate announced that she has cancer. She did not reveal her species, but she said her doctors discovered it after her abdominal surgery in January.
cultural calendar
🎵 “Cowboy Carter” (Friday): Perhaps you've heard that Beyoncé's new album is coming out? “Cowboy Carter,” the megastar's foray into country music, was released Friday and features Beyoncé's Like almost every activity, it becomes an event. While you wait, play his two early releases, “Texas Hold 'Em” and “16 Carriages,” and you'll never get bored.
This week's recipe
mushroom and spinach soup
In New York, the march toward milder spring weather is temporarily halted by freezing winter winds. That means now is a good time to simmer a cozy pot of soup, preferably one that's still light and bright and loaded with vegetables. Mushroom and spinach soup with cinnamon, coriander and cumin is perfect for a cold weekend. It's a warming dish made with dashi stock, loaded with leafy spinach, and accented with fragrant roasted mushrooms and shallots. The spices add a heady, earthy flavor that makes this a little different from many other vegetable soups. Make it early before the warm weather takes hold. Salad season will be here in no time.
'Anti-wedding': For those who want to get married but don't want to plan a classic wedding, one planner has a solution. It's a “love party”.
Stereotype: Male fitness instructors have a reputation for stealing girlfriends. How true is that? The trainer weighs in.
Advice from a wire cutter
A staple item for spring style
Spring is approaching. That means it's time to shed the dazzling winter layers and lighten up your wardrobe. There's no better way to welcome the season than with the ultimate blank outfit: a white T-shirt. Wirecutter's style experts spent six months testing dozens of T-shirts and found his four T-shirts that stood out in a variety of styles and price points. My personal favorite is the ultra-soft, slightly cropped crewneck, which anchors delicate cardigans, baggy jeans, and bold accessories with equal coolness. Lately, I've been wearing it peeking out from behind men's sweatshirts. As the temperature rises, I want to pair it with a fluffy skirt and white sneakers. — Zoe Vanderweide
this week's game
March Madness: The best weekend of the year for college basketball fans, with continuous games over the next two days. Below are some highlights from today's lineup (all Eastern).