HIGHLY RECOMMENDED W/ LOU ROGAI
* Providing the A's to the 5 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Q's today is Lou Rogai, a wearer of many hats —songwriter, instrumentalist, composer, producer—who some may know best from Lewis & Clarke, but who also just released the gorgeous 'Implications in D Major; Adagio For Chamber Strings' under his own name on La Société Expéditionnaire (did I mention one of the hats was independent record label?).
#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”?
My go-to escape hatch record. It's enjoyable to get lost in the chutes & ladders, themes upon themes and back again. Smart, with little gems hidden throughout 38 minutes of orchestral pop variations.
#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)?
Northern Exposure! I love the characters, writing and production. Unfortunately not on Netflix, or anywhere I've found besides DVD sets. Possibly the only instance of a piano being catapulted on network television, ahead of the times for sure.
You'll fall in love with the entire cast, and they'll become like your actual friends, only better. You'll look for them in your neighborhood. You'll find yourself discussing them over dinner, wondering how each of them would react to any given situation.
#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)?
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I found this book in the basement of my junior high while ditching class.
A Mid-Century dystopian classic. A statement in the era of the Red Scare brought on by Bradbury's real-life threat, the social and political plague of McCarthyism. Relevant now as much as then, although our modern America seems to prefer guns over books. This book may add to the paranoia, or at least confirm the warning signs of what we are currently experiencing
#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?
Black People Love Us. This site has been around for over fifteen years. It has been around since before Erykah Badu sang the phrase "I stay woke".
It's kind of like if The Onion dedicated a Geocities site to the epidemic of casual racism. It either confused people, or angered them, but it certainly got them thinking and a conversation started. Relevant now, perhaps even more than then.
#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.
Think about where you put your feet. Bedroom floor, out the door, sidewalk, building, etc. When do your feet touch the dirt path or grass?
If your feet are in the right places your head will be, by default. Spend equal or more time with your feet on the actual earth. Balance the scales.
OK folks, there you have it. Things that Lou Rogai thinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you log off and go practice thinking from your feet's point of view, make sure to follow Lou on the Facebook / Instagram / Twitter and go put 'Implications in D Major; Adagio For Chamber Strings' in your headphones while you think around on your feet.