Monthly Muses: December, 2024
Influential Instrumentals, Brutal Breakdowns, and Antagonistic Artists
It’s time for my Monthly Muses, the first post of 2025!
In the first week of every month, I share a compilation of my favourite creative works from the previous month for you to check out – if you’re so inclined. It covers music, film, literature, and even other Substacks that I think are worth your time. This is what I enjoyed in December.
Album of the Month
Koresma – Compass
My good friend Cary recently introduced me to the calming nature of lo-fi beats – he also makes his own, check them out! – and their powerful influence on overall vibe. This 2023 instrumental album from the California producer was one of his recommendations. It’s a dreamy conceptual soundscape with coastal samples to really put you there. I love the gentle guitar and solid keys over punchy percussion. This could probably be labelled as electronica, but it shouldn’t need a name. Compass goes well with a morning coffee or afternoon read.
Song of the Month
Counterparts – “A Martyr Left Alive”
These guys are a comfort band for me when I want to either feel like shit or get shit done. “A Martyr Left Alive” is the opener from their recent EP Heaven Let Them Die, which kinda came out of nowhere just as everybody was winding down for the year to soundtrack your holiday havoc. It’s got melodic riffs and djenty grooves, beginning with blast beats and frenetic guitars like a slap to the face. Brendan’s voice is muddier than usual, perhaps from fronting the deathcore supergroup END. If you like it heavy, this is both brutal and beautiful.
Movie of the Month
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Written and directed by Oliver Stone? Check. Based on a story by Quentin Tarantino? Check. Starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, and Robert Downey Jr. with a Kiwi accent? Check! This film had all the ingredients for a cult classic, and it’s a travesty that it took me this long to see it. At the core of it, Natural Born Killers is a satire of mass media at the turn of the century with philosophical undertones and a penchant for uncomfortable close-ups. At face value, it’s a fun shoot-em-up with lots of badarse lines and artistic shots.
Podcast of the Month
Culture Study Podcast: We know sitting is bad for us. But what are we supposed to do instead?
I’ve been following Culture Study on Substack for a while now, but only did a deep dive on the podcast last month. This episode from April last year sees Anne interview Manoush Zomorodi about the effects of sitting for extended periods of time. They debunk the 10,000 steps rule and explain how five-minute walks every half hour during sedentary tasks is the optimal compromise. You might think that it would negatively impact workflow, but studies show that it actually results in a 25% increase in productivity, quality, and overall wellbeing.
Book of the Month
Claire Dederer – Monsters: What Do We Do with Great Art by Bad People? (aka Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma)
Part critical analysis, part personal essay, Monsters unpacks the complicated question that many devoted fans have had to ask themselves: Can you like the art but not the artist? Claire not only provides personal examples of this moral dilemma, she also considers its implication on a broader scale, which can be applied to almost anybody. It gave me a lot to think about, and the abstract vocabulary actually held my attention rather than turned me off it. I’ll be exploring this concept further in the near future, so keep this in the back of your mind!
Get your copy here.
Substack of the Month
Ted Gioia (The Honest Broker) – “The Ugly Truth About Spotify is Finally Revealed”
I’ve experienced the same scepticism that Ted describes here when listening to some of the Spotify-curated lo-fi playlists I mentioned above. It’s scary to think that the biggest company in the music streaming business is blatantly robbing artists of their royalties, but it’s even scarier knowing that most people don’t care. This is why we need to consume our art with intention and ensure that the work is responsibly sourced. In a recent post, Ted stated that this was one of his most viewed articles of 2024, which is a good start in spreading the concern.
