HIGHLY RECOMMENDED W/ SCIENCE IS FICTION
* Providing the A's to the 5 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Q's today is Science Is Fiction — a group of music-makers out of Calgary, Alberta who recently dropped the music video for ‘Awkward Girl’ from last years ‘Don't Everybody Thank Me At Once’ EP (and you can also catch ‘Awkward Girl’ in the HI54 Mix CD ‘ HOUSE PARTY VIBES’) // Band photo by Karyssa Leigh.
#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”?
Pavan: Check out the single off Julia Jacklin's new album, its called Pressure To Party. She's Australian. The video is pretty awesome too.
I happen to be travelling to Sydney Australia in March and I got some tickets to her show at the Elmore. Never seen her before live but super excited. The line up includes Kevin Morby who is also pretty cool, check him out too.
Matt: or...the SiF EP perhaps? some catchy tunes on that. They work for locals and jet setters.
Kirk: I got home around 2AM after a gig one night with that weird feeling of being exhausted and totally amped up after playing live show and saw we had a new follower on Instagram called Red Yeller. I watched their only youtube video which only had a few views at the time.
The feel of the song paired with clips from Born to Win was just perfect for the kind of dazed, but knowing I couldn't fall asleep headspace I was in. I don't know much about them, but the melody and lyrics keep coming back to my head all the time, so I'm gonna go with that.
#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)?
Pavan: Hard to say if it should be in everybody's queue since not everyone likes violence, but the Irishman is pretty darn great. Some people are saying its slow-moving. I don't think so at all. Some people think the CGI is weird. I don't think its meant to look like a young Robert Deniro. I think they were going for a young Frank Sheeran. Anyhow, if you like Scorcese movies, you'll like this one.
Fallback movie/series is The Mandolorian, even if yer not into Star Wars it's pretty watchable.
Matt: A handful of bullets and a geriatric sidewalk stomp isn’t very violent, unless you’re comparing it to paw patrol. The Irishman is great if you have trouble sleeping. Like Powan. Otherwise watch something you enjoy that triggers your emotions. The movie you’ve watched 100 times and could watch 100 more.
Kirk: Irishman was big for me too, but since that's already taken, I will say Melancholia even though it's not on Netflix.
Probably my favourite movie of the 2010s and although I haven't seen it for a while, I have been thinking about it fairly often lately for, uh, reasons. Von Trier usually can't help going over the top and pushing buttons, but seems to be pretty sincere with this film. Kirsten Dunst's performance is on another level.
#3. I (AND BY “I” I MEAN “THE PERSON THAT IS READING THIS”) AM GOING TO THE LOCAL BOOK STORE (OK, MAYBE THE LOCAL LIBRARY FIRST) 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)?
Pavan: I still have yet to read Moby Dick. So let's go with that. Been wanting to read for years, and I am excited to read it, yet, I still haven't gone about the process of getting it for some reason.
Matt: Call me, predictable. Did you want to borrow my copy? At least then you could pretend to be getting to it. Or watch In the Heart of the Sea - more pictures, and you’ll you’ll get the gist. If you work in a hierarchy like the majority of us, give the old Peter Principle a read. It’s silly work satire that explains why things end up the way they do.
Kirk: In regards to Pavan's pick, I finished Moby Dick last year after reading it for a very long time and had never heard mention that it's hilarious, which it very much is. My recommend is "The Spare Room" by Helen Garner which is about the author trying to be a caregiver for her friend dying of cancer and it is really perfect and stunning.
#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?
Pavan: Tiny Desk Concerts for NPR. It's my go-to to find some of the best emerging artists. Great recordings. Super intimate. Pretty inspiring.
Matt: none of em. I’m more into social, less media.
Kirk: There's a podcast called 'Travis Bickle on the Riviera' that's hosted by some guys with very similar taste in movies to me that I like to keep up with.
#5 - AND FINALLY… PLEASE GIVE ONE COMPLETELY UNAIDED RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD START DOING / USING / WATCHING / EATING / THINKING / QUITTING / ETC-ING TO MAKE THEIR LIVES A LITTLE BIT MORE BETTER AND/OR BEARABLE.
Pavan: Try to eliminate some plastic out of your lives. Like, I stopped using plastic bags at grocery stores. If I forgot my basket, I just hand bomb it straight out of the cart into the car.
Also as a general rule, go out to see live music of struggling/start-up bands play locally every once in a while.
Matt: Wagon wheel clean up, isle 4! Find something you enjoy doing, whether you’re good at it or not, and make time for that. It’s a self-prescription for your mental health. I’d recommend making music!
Kirk: The thing I'm probably worst at - try to get enough sleep.
OK folks, there you have it. Things that Science Fiction thinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you log off and go catch-up on some plastic-free sleep, make sure to follow Science Is Fiction on the Facebook / Instagram / Twitter and then also give ‘Awkward Girl’ a listen below…
