HIGHLY RECOMMENDED W/ DANTE ALLINGTON
* This Q&A is being re-broadcast from July 2016, but don't worry: top notch recommendations have a long shelf life.
#1 - WHAT IS THE ONE ALBUM (OR EP OR SONG) THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE VERY NEXT MUSICAL THING THAT EVERYONE PRESSES PLAY ON THE NEXT TIME THEY FIND THEMSELVES THINKING “WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NOW”?
As someone who obsesses about music this is the sort of question sleep is lost over. One album I've found myself going back to over and over again these days is Replicant by Brooklyn based composer Christopher Tignor.
It's probably the further Tignor's let himself get from his violin as he employs a bunch of homemade software instruments and samples and loops along with percussionist Theo Metz. It's unfathomably complicated but never really comes off that way and might very well be one of the most universally accessible of Tignor's albums though I am a huge fan of everything he has done and continues to do so far.
#2 - WHAT IS THE ONE MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE NEXT IN EVERYBODY’S NETFLIX QUEUE (OK, DOESN’T HAVE TO BE NETFLIX, WE’RE ALL INTERNET ADULTS HERE AND KNOW HOW TO FIND ANYTHING ONLINE, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER)?
I'm sure it's happened earlier in my life but I remember the first time I saw a movie in a theater as an adult and left feeling just that strange and wonderful combination of "What the hell just happened?!" and SO incredibly satisfied with what you just experienced and that was when I saw Rian Johnson's The Brother's Bloom in this discount theater for like $2 on a lark.
It's about two brothers that are also con men played by Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo and it's really just an incredible work. Fun, emotional, action-packed, witty, well-acted. I don't want to give it away because I just enjoy it so much but it's one of those movies where you think you know what's going on and what's going to happen and you just have no idea. It's great. One of those movies that makes you want to do stuff after you see it.
3. I (AND BY “I” I MEAN “THE PERSON THAT IS READING THIS”) AM GOING TO THE BOOK STORE (OK, PROBABLY AMAZON) TO FIND THE VERY NEXT BOOK THAT I WILL BE PUTTING SOME EXTREMELY VALUABLE ‘ME-TIME' ASIDE FOR. WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU GET, IF YOU WERE ME (AND, I SUPPOSE, YOU HADN’T ALREADY READ WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO SUGGEST)?
So I might be cheating a bit here because it's technically three books but when I read Robertson Davies' The Cornish Trilogy, I had bought it in a tome-like collection after an incredibly casual recommendation from Laura Marling at a show in a bookstore. Actually the book she had recommended was the first one in the series The Rebel Angels and I, only able to find the whole trilogy available, just went ahead and bought it.
The books The Rebel Angels, What's Bred In The Bone, and The Lyre of Orpheus are all marked different in style and structure but feature this incredibly charming and intriguing assortment of characters and their lives get delightfully more complex as they return sometimes briefly, sometimes not so much in each subsequent novel.
If I absolutely had to choose one of the books over the others - I'd go with What's Bred In The Bone which takes a somewhat minor character from the first novel and essentially answers all the questions the reader and the characters have about this man and elevates him from mere plot point to one of the most fascinating characters.
#4 - WHAT IS THE ONE WEBSITE (OR JUST ANY OLD INTERNET THING: APP, GIF, SERVICE, WHATEVER) THAT YOU WOULD GET REALLY DOWN IN THE DUMPS ABOUT IF IT WERE TO SUDDENLY GO AWAY?
I was never the kind of person who really got funny Internet videos. I never thought they were all that funny or worth re-watching and showing to people so I largely ignored them. And then I came across a series written/starring Los Angeles comedian Drew Droege where he plays an incredible farcical version of Chloe Sevigny pontificating on an established subject each video and it is gold.
It's probably the only thing on the Internet I've watched obsessively and the wait time between new videos - usually months is always worth it. A bunch of my favorite videos did come down for awhile and I'm pretty sure my mood was off for the whole time they were offline.
#5 - AND FINALLY… PLEASE GIVE ONE COMPLETELY UNAIDED RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD START DOING / USING / WATCHING / EATING / THINKING / QUITING / ETC-ING TO MAKE THEIR LIVES A LITTLE BIT MORE BETTER AND/OR BEARABLE.
As a denizen of the Internet/member of the modern era I think it's easy to forget that there are other things to do. The Internet is cool as hell but so is outside. Go outside. Go sit in a park, or hike a mountain, or even chill at a bar. Just remember to unplug every once in awhile. Also a huge fan of snacks. They are pretty awesome. Eat tons of those.
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OK folks, there you have it. Things that Dante from All Around Soundthinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you go google a good place to go outside… go follow Dante on Twitter and like All Around Sound on Facebook.
