It is December 30, 2021, but it feels like just yesterday, and also a decade ago that the Years of the Pandemic began dividing our time into manipulated managed segments with the end result being that I have no idea what day, month, year, or decade it is. I had to verify that the following entries on my list were all from 2021. I could have sworn I’ve seen many more movies, but that was 2020, when I was still a film fest juror and screened perhaps 200 films in 6 weeks, and then never “attended” the festival (online) because by October, after 7 months at home, in front of the computer, I longed to be watching films from anywhere but there.
In 2020, I strived to maintain some semblance of emotional normalcy during the lockdown and post-tornado recovery, and invited people over on Sundays during the summer for cookouts and listening to music in the backyard. But in 2021, I embraced the solitude and devoted my leisure time to headphone listening and viewing. The records and movies I took in were for comfort more than entertainment. Comfort AND familiarity (I’ve watched TWISTER a half dozen times this year, on cable; HARRY POTTER too) were the criteria. In some cases, confirmation bias just made me feel better regardless of the quality of the programming. I attended maybe 5 concerts in person but enjoyed countless live-streamed shows.
The theme for my 2021 in life and culture was “swaddle self in comfort; believe the women; support POC and science.”
ANALOG LISTENING
- Aimee Mann- Queens of the Summer Hotel
- Sleater-Kinney – Path of Wellness
- Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – Georgia Blue
- Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Carnage
- Reigning Sound – A Little More Time With Reigning Sound
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Barn
ANALOG ATTENDANCE
Movies
- Summer of Soul – documentary, director: Questlove
Concerts
Movie theatres can get away with selling fewer seats to maintain a safe distance between viewers, but concert promoters cannot. I took few chances with congregate settings this year. I chose iconoclasts and I believe I chose well.
- Elvis Costello & the Imposters – Atlanta, GA
- Bob Dylan – Rough & Rowdy Ways tour – Beacon Theatre, NYC
- Squirrel Nut Zippers Holiday Show – City Winery, Nashville, TN
INTERNET LISTENING/VIEWING
- Mondays – Instragram to Table – Alice Carbone Tench (Instagram Live)
- Wednesdays – Sweet Home Quarantine /Live From Tubby’s – Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift (Mandoline)
- Thursdays – Post-Apocalyptic Malone – Bryan Malone (FB and YouTube)
BOOKS
- Dracula – Bram Stoker with illustrations by Edward Gorey (Sterling)
- Crime & Punishment – new (2014) translation by Oliver Ready (Penguin Classics)
SMUG CONFIRMATION BIAS CONSUMPTION FOR PASSING THE TIME
- Don’t Look Up – director Adam McKay
- Being the Ricardos – director Aaron Sorkin (watched on Prime, not in theatre)
- State of Terror – novel by Hillary Clinton & Louise Penny
Learn more about Theresa Kereakes here in our 2020 interview with her.