punk photographer theresa kereakes’ 2021 list

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.