Menu One: March 2024
Menu One: March 2024
A crash course in conscious creative (over)consumption
This spring I found myself in the unique position of solely relying on photography for work for the first time, which resulted in spending the majority of my time either sitting at my desk editing recent shoots, or commuting to and from my photo lab 45 minutes away. In other words, I suddenly had a lot of hours to myself and a desire to fill them with some kind of ambiance to keep me company.
I’d long been feeling uninspired by the same old songs and albums I’d played on repeat and was hungry for a new way of relating to the media I consumed in my day to day. That craving paired with the unusual spaciousness in my work flow led me to come up with what I began calling a “creative inspiration experiment” – now aptly named My Monthly Menu (aka the publication you’re reading).
As with the discovery of a new favorite restaurant, I got excited and my eyes grew far bigger than my appetite, but I was determined to make room for all of it. And unlike the case with sweet treats and decadent foods, this form of over-consumption didn’t leave me with any bloating.
Eager to taste a little bit of everything, I ordered an enormous mix of sounds and styles with various flavors of folk, bluegrass, country, R&B and soul, shoegaze, post-punk, 70’s power pop, 80’s synthpop, 90’s girly-pop, and a whole lot in between.
Prior to sitting down at this musical buffet, my typical taste had been described as “dark and hypnotic.” So unsurprisingly, I immediately clicked with the fuzzy, distorted riffs and reverb of Bowery Electric and Ringo Deathstarr. On a smoother but equally somber note, I felt right at home in the hazy, subdued vocals of Mazzy Star (whose iconic first record was released in the US the day I was born), as well as Mitski’s introspective, angst-riddled melodies, and the heart-wrenching anthems by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. And the early albums I’d neglected by the instantly recognizable, 1980’s synthpop icons Depeche Mode were an obvious favorite.
In contrast, I felt equally drawn to JJ Cale’s jazzy, bluesy, rockabilly, “swamp pop” sound, the perfection that is 1970’s singer-songwriter Kathy Heideman’s one and only record, and a few of the lyrical genius Rufus Wainwright’s early albums. But perhaps even more unexpectedly, with little to no prior knowledge or interest in country music, I was completely taken by Marty Robbins’ cowboy tunes and the poetic ballads of Blaze Foley.
Regardless of the sound or genre specifics, across the board I can see a general theme and attitude in the artists who most resonate with me that all ties back to the flavor profile of my original taste — I’m still me after all. But even for the artists that didn’t make my personal favorites list, I was able to find something (or many somethings) that I genuinely liked and will keep in the mix.
Somehow even after fully pushing the limits of my appetite, I still had room for some sides and squeezed in a few bonus albums. Most notably the first release of a new heavy, electronic project by a couple friends — EP 1 by Sonnet One.
Aside from music, I decided to make the most of my time glued to my desk and devoted several hours to better educating myself on the factual history of the decades-long occupation of Palestine and currently unfolding genocide. Not even remotely qualified to comment on geo-political matters, I’ll refrain from making any sort of grand statement about it. But the information is readily available in a variety of formats, and on this particular matter, I really believe showing up late is better than not bothering at all.
And afterwards (for the sake of maintaining some balance in my psyche), I threw in a handful of slightly tamer videos and interviews to keep my inner artist and spiritual wellness girly alive.
I had set the goal to watch at least one movie a week and succeeded, starting with Dune Parts One and Two, which are just pretty hard to beat. But I was also seriously impressed by my talented writer/director friend Riley Stearns’ latest satirical sci-fi thriller, Dual, starring a couple familiar faces as the leads and his signature dry sense of humor.
And though I didn’t fulfill my goal of reading at least one book a month, I did get a little over halfway through The Will to Change by the inimitable bell hooks. It’s the third book of hers I’ve read this year and one I strongly believe every person living in a Western, patriarchal culture should prioritize — especially those who identify as or are romantically involved with men.
I stuffed a LOT into my first round of this personal challenge, but I ended the month feeling incredibly full in the best way possible and eager to go back for more.
Check out my March Menu Playlist, and follow along for next month’s menu and review!