September '24
Monthly design roundup for September 2024.
Hello! September flewww by and it’s already time for another one of these emails to hit your inbox. Here’s what I’ve been working on this month!
DESIGN
Was given the opportunity to design for one of my favorite bands again, this time making remix artwork for Slowdive. The end piece was supposed to be a remixed interpretation of the maze cover art for their newest album ‘everything is alive’. My experimentation resulted in this kaleidoscopic circular pattern that feels like you’re running through a black hole, transcending time and space. At least that’s what the Daniel Avery remix feels like.
My sweet pals in Thank You, I’m Sorry are currently on their fall tour, and they asked me to make posters for them. I once again got to use my iPad for this one and test my drawing skills. They also asked me to make two extra posters for two individual headlining shows, which I provided in different colorways.
One more set of posters for this month, these diptych posters are for Father John Misty through Folk Yeah! If you’ve ever wondered where all my shapes are born, they’re born right here in the shapes factory.
MOVIES
I have a ridiculous amount of movies to share this month so bare with me.
The Substance ☆☆☆☆☆
OKAY let’s talk about The Substance and how much I loved it. I had SOOO much fun watching this in the theaters, perfect mix of body horror Cronenberg meets Requiem For A Dream meets The Shining meets Black Swan, loved every second of it. I’ve heard rumblings about this movie since it premiered at film festivals and people had visceral reactions to it, so I knew it was going to be great. Coralie Fargeat also directed another French horror movie I watched a few years ago called Revenge, I remember really enjoying it and it having this really raw violence and filmmaking style that stuck with me. The Substance also has this clinical, fluorescent lights sci-fi feeling in all the bathroom scenes when the main character is engaging with the substance, that makes everything feel even more icky and vulnerable. Anyway I loved it, haven’t seen that much blood since watching the Evil Dead (2013) remake…
eXistenZ ☆☆☆☆☆
I watched this on August 31st last month so it never made it into my August newsletter, but wow this is my favorite Cronenberg. I just remembered to include it here because I walked out of The Substance and my boyfriend said “that was so similar to eXistenZ, which we JUST watched”, and he’s right. Another body horror of course, dealing with doppelgangers, body ports, merging simulations and realities. It’s a perfect shot and chaser with The Substance, if you just saw it in theaters I highlyyyy recommend watching this one as a double feature.
Evil Dead (2013) ☆☆☆☆☆
It’s officially October as I write this, so this month I’ll have a ton of scary movies to share with you all to try to persuade you to watch. But starting out strong with one of my (controversial) favorites, the Evil Dead remake by Fede Álvarez. This is a rewatch, I revisit nearly every year around this time, and it holds up to be a long time favorite. It’s SO disgusting, creepy, and funny when it needs to be, Fede’s style of filmmaking is perfect for this remake. If you haven’t seen it yet but love all things supernatural and g0ry, definitely give it a watch. Fun to watch with a group.
Evil Dead II ☆☆☆☆
Speaking of Evil Dead (2013), I finally got around to watching everyone’s favorite Evil Dead and was unaware how much the remake took from this scene for scene. So much of the special effects and prosthetics in this one were really impressive, and of course I love Ash’s chainsaw hand. Also just endlessly funny? I love campy 80s horror. Ending left off in a totally unexpected place, and now I’m super excited to watch Army of Darkness.
Nowhere ☆☆☆☆
I’ve spoken about Gregg Araki before in these newsletters and I still don’t know how I feel about him, but Nowhere was definitely a step in the right direction compared to how I was feeling after watching Doom Generation. All the things I loved about DG were echoed in this movie, since thematically they’re connected (they’re all part of the Teenage Apocalypse trilogy). One of the best soundtracks maybe ever? Every needle drop was insane. Slowdive, Hole, Nine Inch Nails, Lush, Sonic Youth. I read an interview Gregg did recently with Synth History about him just growing up during the prime time for new wave/punk music, and how it shaped a lot of his life and his scripts. The dialogue in his movies really make me roll my eyes sometimes and I find it hard to digest since everything is maybe a little too angsty, but the general atmosphere in these movies I really love. See some stills from the otherworldly set designs below!
Lisa Frankenstein ☆☆☆☆
I’m not done yet! Another movie I enjoyed this past month was Lisa Frankenstein, which ended up being a little bit like an unpolished Heathers but still really offbeat and drenched in a nice 80s neon glow. Super fun if you lean into it’s ridiculousness at times. Also Cole Sprouse has little to no lines so it made it bearable. Cried at the Chameleons needle drop. As you can tell I love a good soundtrack.
Midnight Cowboy ☆☆☆☆☆
A classic that took me too long to watch, I really enjoyed this one and had nooo idea it would end up where it did by the end. Loved seeing NYC/Times Square specifically in the late 60s, and the Warhol party they end up attending. Funny to see Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate and now this movie, definitely a switch up.
Vamp ☆☆☆☆
Forever ago I bought Vamp on DVD at a record store on the West Coast and hadn’t sat down to watch it until last night. Grace Jones is a seductive killer vampire in a cheesy 80s comedy/horror, nothing more you could ever want honestly.
MUSIC
I’ve been struggling so much with music, I feel like I keep revisiting the same albums and have yet to tap into any new stuff…
Albums I’ve had on repeat:
Manning Fireworks — MJ Lenderman
This Could Be Texas — English Teacher
Monster — R.E.M.
Front By Front — Front 242
INSPO
No real inspiration this month but check out these cool novelty phones I saved
ALSO I completely and totally forgot to include in my August newsletter that I went on tour playing bass with my besties in Thank You, I’m Sorry and it was amazing?? Life changing experience, learned that I loved to play music with other people for a live audience. The first show we played in Minneapolis was packed and possibly had the most people out of all the stops on the tour, so having that be my first show was stressful but it went so well. We played Wicker Park Festival in Chicago, a free show that brought out a big crowd. I got to play two hometown shows, Comet Ping Pong in DC and Trans Pecos in NYC, and it really just felt surreal and so so special. I had friends and family come out to the shows which made it nerve wracking but the support felt very loving. I’m not playing this fall tour for the posters I mentioned above, but please go catch the rest of the band if they’re coming to your city! :)
Ok bye!
september was a HUGE R.E.M month for me too!