The U.S. House of Representatives canceled their session today, fearing further violence because of yet another QAnon conspiracy. This one claimed that disgraced former president Donald Trump would somehow be inaugurated on March 4, 2021. The intrepid research staff at Salt in Wound HQ have uncovered additional dates that these far-right nutjobbers are eagerly anticipating.
March 5 — Wait, We Meant This Is the Inauguration Day
April 12 — Some Sort of Cross-Promotion With Qdoba? Brainstorm Sesh
May 3 — Jewish Space Laser Tag meetup
June 22 — But Her E-Mails Day
July 11 — Earth Is Flat and Triangles Have Four Sides Day (*and Free Slurpee Day, yay!)
August 9 — Pizza Party Except Not From One Those Places With the Underground Pedophile Clubs
September 16 — Costume Contest Hosted by Horn-Helmet Guy
October 32 — Lamestream Media’s Date Cover-Up Day
November 2 — No, Really This Time, This Will Be the Inauguration Because, Come On, the Dominion Machines and the Hard Drive and Also Dead People Voting Plus Matt Gaetz Said So, Wah Wah Waaaah!!
December 21 — Mayan Calendar End of World… What, They Were Mexicans? Aw Forget It!
Other Important Dates on the QAnon Calendar
Aquarium Playlist, 3/2/21
EPISODE #424: WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH 2021
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Tacocat — “Crimson Wave”
Phoebe Bridgers — “Kyoto”
Dolly Parton — “Dumb Blonde”
The Cyclones — “I’m in Heaven”
Shiny Times — “Easy”
Julee Cruise — “Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart”
Cocteau Twins — “Cherry-Coloured Funk”
Earwig — “You Don’t Even Come Close”
The Exbats — “You Don’t Get It (You Don’t Got It)”
Taylor Swift — “Seven”
Lala Lala — “I Get Cut”
Girl Friday — “Favorite Friend”
Lilly Hiatt — “P-Town”
Julien Baker — “Hurt Less”
Lesley Gore — “You Don’t Own Me”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Aquarium Playlist, 2/23/21
EPISODE #423: ONE MORE
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Sleater-Kinney — “One More Hour”
Matt Berninger — “One More Second”
Eric Ambel & Roscoe’s Gang — “One More Moment Gone”
My Robot Friend feat. Antony — “One More Try”
Sean Kiely — “One More”
Roy Orbison — “One More Time”
Them — “One More Time”
Higgins — “One More Time”
<faster stereo> — “One More Time”
Joe Jackson — “One More Time” [live]
Hurry — “One More Night”
Michael Jackson — “One More Chance”
Justin Townes Earle — “One More Night in Brooklyn”
Mecca Normal — “One More Safe”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: Minari
4 stars out of 5
I didn’t even know that determining the sex of baby chicks was a job. But for Jacob and wife Monica, who emigrated from Korea, this is their profession. By the early 80s, they’ve left the more high-stakes chicken sexing hatchery scenes in Seattle and California, and with their young children, relocated to Arkansas. Here, Monica’s slower sorting ability will be acceptable, and Jacob will get to pursue his dream: what he’s initially dubbed a “garden” but he knows in his heart will be a glorious farm of Korean vegetables.
That’s the background of this small, quiet film (well, as small as a film can be with Brad Pitt as an executive producer), the story of a family. They face many of the same travails that any financially insecure immigrant family with bright hopes — in any era — might face. Assimilation vs. tradition, health concerns (7-yr-old David has a heart murmur), adjusting to a new environment (tornado watch!), etc. And we witness the strain that these challenges can place on a marriage.
Hoping to ease the stress and make peace at home, Jacob invites Monica’s mother to live with them. And thus the film gains a second storyline: the sweet relationship between David and the grandma from Korea he’s never met. Yuh-jung Youn is excellent as the granny who has brought ingredients from home (and the wild minari seeds which give the movie its name) but in fact is not very traditional at all. David, after overcoming his shyness, is annoyed that she’s not a “real grandma,” baking cookies and the like. She plays cards, watches pro wrestling, takes a shine to David’s beloved Mountain Dew, and is quick to laugh. I don’t know what the future holds for young Alan Kim — as David, this is his debut film — but in this role he is perfection and cute as a button. It’s delightful to watch the growing trust and love between these two.
Meanwhile we’re also viewing the disintegrating love and trust (ah ha, contrast!) between Jacob and Monica. Steven Yeun — who you may remember from that zombie show — does a very good job playing the devoted dad who desperately needs to prove to himself that he can succeed. And unfortunately that’s sometimes at odds with his fatherly duties. Yeri Han as mom conveys motherly love and worry, and her own sadness and slowly eroding love.
Will Patton is great in a supporting role as Jacob’s weird-old-guy farmhand. (Patton has been in a ton of movies over the decades but I recently rewatched his fun portrayal of Horst in After Hours.) Now, I feel like I’m forgetting somebody — oh yes, Noel Cho as the daughter Anne, but the script basically forgets her too. (Sick burn, Jack!) Still, she does solid work as the caring older sister.
As I click on writer/director Lee Isaac Chung’s IMDB page, it begins, “A son of Korean immigrants, Chung grew up on a small farm in rural Arkansas…” who was born in 1978. So basically he is David; I figured something like that was the case. Hey, write what you know. And if your story can connect and relate to a wider world and audience, all the better. That’s exactly what Chung has done here, really well.
Aquarium Playlist, 2/16/21
EPISODE #422: BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2021
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The O’Jays — “You Got Your Hooks in Me”
The “5” Royales — “Think”
The Shirelles — “Baby, It’s You”
Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie — “When the Levee Breaks”
Charley Pride — “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone”
Mary Wells — “Strange Love”
Joe Simon — “Drowning in the Sea of Love”
Heatwave — “Boogie Nights”
Little Walter — “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”
Chuck Willis — “Let’s Jump Tonight”
Sam & Dave — “You Don’t Know What You Mean to Me”
The Toys — “A Lover’s Concerto”
Sonny Boy Williamson (I) — “Black Gal Blues”
Jimmy Reed — “Ain’t That Loving You Baby”
Herbie Hancock — “Rockit”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: Nomadland
4.5 stars out of 5
IMAX on Sunday, or my laptop on Friday? God help me, I love that big screen. And thus warranted my first trip of the pandemic to Paramus. Not quite a nomad, but, it’s a start.
I’d heard positive buzz about this movie for months now, and was wondering when I’d get a chance to see it. I know nothing about director/screenwriter Chloé Zhao, but I do trust Frances McDormand’s choices. (Well, except for that Three Billboards garbage.) The film is based in a reality that perhaps you know more about than I do: There are many people, in RVs and smaller, traversing this occasionally great land, living in their vehicles.
For the most part, I’m not talking about your mom and dad selling the condo, buying a luxury RV, and heading off to “see the country.” The people highlighted here represent a population that usually can’t afford traditional housing. They seek seasonal labor and migrate away from the harshest weather. It ain’t the glamorous life, Sheila E. But there’s something beautiful and deeply, deeply satisfying about it too.
McDormand plays Fern. She’s widowed and her town—Empire, Nevada—has gone belly-up (just as it did in real life when the gypsum company folded). Holiday work at Amazon helps her get by. But when that dries up and it starts to get really cold, she decides to give the nomad life a try.
Pretty much everybody in this movie plays themselves. And as Fern hears their stories, the early going has a bit of a documentary feel. But Zhao has a superb visual sense, and hot damn is McDormand good. She perfectly straddles what feels like a unique American loneliness which, if pushed through, can become a splendid solitude. David Strathairn shows up and he also comes across as mighty real.
If you’re looking for action, just move along. But there is plenty to chew on here: our fragile economy, our social safety net (and the holes in it), makeshift communities, people looking out for one another, carrying on after loss, etc. And something that particularly struck me—how much of the classic American life are you able to digest? The house, the spouse, the kids, the dog, the 9-to-5? Some of us proudly swallow it whole. Some of us can partially handle it. And for some, it is just not meant to be. And I truly don’t think any of us are fit to judge someone else’s existence. But I do feel OK judging this movie, which I think is excellent.
EP Review: ‘Songs for Rivers’ by Rikki Will
4 stars out of 5
Click here to sample or purchase on Bandcamp
Or here for Spotify/AppleMusic/iTunes/Amazon
The story of Rikki Will: About 15 years ago, she hung up her guitar and solo act, for there was life to attend to. Raising two darling daughters, working, creating whimsical visual art, loving, losing, loving again. But that guitar kept beckoning to her, and at last, Rikki heeded its call. That she’s returned with such an accomplished recording, Will’s debut EP Songs for Rivers, is a testament to her talent and hard-won maturity. But it’s also an unexpected gift to us fans of excellent singer/songwriter fare with stellar musical backing.
Rikki may have been helped a bit by her friend — turned partner — turned collaborator and producer/engineer/mixer Oscar Albis Rodriguez, a top-notch performer in his own right. But from first listen to the Songs for Rivers EP, one thing is abundantly clear: This is Rikki’s show.
Lead track “Gone” preceded the EP as a single. It’s a lazy-day country shuffle driven by Rodriguez’s twanging guitar and Rikki’s vocals, which shift from world-weary to heavenly. For steady bass and lovely backing vocals, you simply won’t find better than Annie Nero (The Hold Steady, Kevin Morby, Bob Weir, Walter Martin). Drummer Jesse Kristin of Jukebox the Ghost holds it all in place.
The hypnotic “Beautiful Face” rides Will’s precise picking and delicate folk vocal, punctuated by Rodriguez’s reverb-soaked country guitar. “Blindsided” is brighter musically, while lyrically focusing on love’s restorative power. Opening with a gentle strum and soft vocals, “Same as Always” feels like a lullaby until the band kicks in at the minute mark; it then rises up triumphantly.
Songs for Rivers is a country record; it’s a folk record. But, perhaps you’re wondering: Can Rikki rock? Oh yes, most certainly. The one song not written by Will herself is the closer, Wreckless Eric’s classic “Whole Wide World.” It’s all chugging electric guitar, bass, and martial drumming, topped by Ms. Will’s very sultry delivery — with some twinkly, wobbly, electro effects woven in to keep things modern. Halfway through they break it down to just vocal and drums, then thrillingly build it back up again.
Looking for someone to snap you out of your winter doldrums?
Rikki can, and Rikki will.
Aquarium Playlist, 2/9/21
EPISODE #421: VALENTINE’S DAY 2021 (HOLDING)
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Dollyrots — “Valentine’s Day”
Fleetwood Mac — “Hold Me”
The Greenhornes — “Hold Me”
The Boys — “Hold Me”
The Orioles — “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”
The Beatles — “Hold Me Tight”
U2 — “Iris (Hold Me Close)”
Hefner — “Hold Me Closer”
Spiritualized — “Don’t Hold Me Close”
Elton John & Leon Russell — “Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody)”
Ween — “I’m Holding You”
XTC — “Hold Me My Daddy”
The Polyphonic Spree — “Hold Me Now”
Justin Townes Earle — “Faded Valentine”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Aquarium Playlist, 2/2/21
EPISODE #420: PERFECTION
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Jermaine Jackson — “(Closest Thing to) Perfect”
Terry McCarthy — “Perfectly”
Jennifer O’Connor — “Perfect Match”
Clint Michigan — “The Perfect of Days”
Dolly Mixture — “Welcome to the Perfect Day”
The Human Hearts — “Perfect Lovers (Summation Gallop)”
Chris Stamey — “Perfect Time”
R.E.M. — “Perfect Circle”
The Ladybug Transistor — “Perfect for Shattering”
Lloyd Cole & the Commotions — “Perfect Skin”
Rufus Wainwright — “Perfect Man”
All Ashore! — “Perfect Pop Song”
The Last — “Perfect World”
Spiritualized — “A Perfect Miracle”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Aquarium Playlist, 1/26/21
EPISODE #419: THE MUSIC OF PHIL SPECTOR
in memory of
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
The Ronettes — “Be My Baby”
Gene Pitney — “Every Breath I Take”
Terry Day — “I Love You, Betty”
Darlene Love — “A Fine, Fine Boy”
The Crystals — “Then He Kissed Me”
Ike & Tina Turner — “River Deep — Mountain High”
The Beatles — “The Long and Winding Road”
George Harrison — “Wah-Wah”
John Lennon — “You Can’t Catch Me”
Dion — “Baby Let’s Stick Together”
Leonard Cohen — “Memories”
The Ramones — “Danny Says”
Starsailor — “Silence Is Easy”
The Teddy Bears — “You Said Goodbye”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Jack Silbert, curator