Category Archives: Hedonism

Are you ready to play a game? Brace yourself for the tenth installment of the Saw franchise, aptly titled Saw X, where the notorious serial killer Jigsaw reemerges with a vengeance. Acting as a direct sequel to the original Saw and a prelude to Saw II, this latest installment delves into the life of John Kramer (played by Tobin Bell), a.k.a. Jigsaw, as he discovers a newfound, dangerous purpose nearing what seems to be the end of his life.

Kramer embarks on a journey to Mexico, desperately seeking a miraculous cure for his affliction. However, as he uncovers a medical operation that preys on the vulnerable, he reconnects with his dark inclinations, devising a series of deadly "games" to punish the con artists behind the scam. In addition to Bell, Saw X stars Shawnee Smith, Synnve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, Michael Beach, and Renata Vaca.

As one of the most anticipated horror movies to catch this September, get ready for a nail-biting, blood-curdling cinematic experience. Saw X is bound to take audiences on a chilling ride through the twisted mind of Jigsaw. Here's where you can catch Saw X.

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'Saw X': Release Date, Cast, Trailer, and Everything We Know So Far

Saw X is set to make its theatrical debut on September 29, 2023, just in time for spooky season. The film will be opening against the animated sequel PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie and Gareth Edwards' sci-fi epic The Creator.

Absolutely! Catch Saw X directly on the silver screen exclusively in theaters.

Click the links below to check the showtimes for Saw X at a theater near you:

While there have been rumors suggesting that Saw X might be accessible for streaming in March 2024, Lionsgate has not officially confirmed this. However, Lionsgate has entered into a multiyear partnership with Peacock, which will see all of its full-length film releases being made available for streaming on the NBCUniversal platform from 2024 onwards. Based on this deal alone, audiences can expect to stream Saw X on Peacock (until further updates). Additionally, this lineup will feature other notable titles like Borderlands and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

In the meantime, audiences can catch the original Saw movie on streaming platforms like Prime Video, Peacock, and Starz. Since the first Saw movie acts as the prequel to Saw X, audiences can take a trip down memory lane to revisit the sadistic brutality of Jigsaw's tormenting contraptions.

Although official confirmation is pending, there's buzz suggesting that the DVD and Blu-ray release for Saw X is anticipated around December 2023 - approximately 3 months after the films theatrical release date.

The trailer for Saw X was released by Lionsgate on July 30, 2023. Check out the official Lionsgate synopsis for Saw X:

John Kramer (Tobin Bell) is back. The most disturbing installment of the SAW franchise yet explores the untold chapter of Jigsaws most personal game. Set between the events of SAW I and II, a sick and desperate John travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through devious, deranged, and ingenious traps.

The Saw movie franchise revolves around Jigsaw, a terminally ill mastermind who tests the moral and physical limits of individuals he considers morally corrupt or wasteful of their lives. He places them in life-or-death situations, forcing them to face gruesome challenges and make excruciating choices to survive.

In addition to the franchise's mind-bending storyline and complex characters, what sets the Saw movies apart from other horror flicks are its elaborate torture devices, sadistically portrayed as "games". One of the franchise's more notable "games" is the Reverse Bear Trap, a large, mechanical device placed on the victim's head, designed to rip their jaws apart if they don't fulfill a task. Another one is the Razor Wire Maze, in which victims are placed in a maze of razor wire and must find their way out within a time limit, often resulting in bloody injuries.

RELATED:

Saw X Gets Jigsaw-Themed Limited Edition Popcorn Buckets From Cinemark

Hostel (2005): directed by Eli Roth, the Hostel franchise became a significant part of the "torture porn" subgenre, known for its extreme violence and sadistic themes. The movie follows the story of two debaucherous American backpackers traveling through Europe who fall victim to a horrifying underground organization. The film explores themes of human depravity, the dark side of tourism, and the consequences of unchecked hedonism. Hostel gained notoriety for its graphic and explicit content, sparking debates about the limits of on-screen violence and its impact on audiences.

Rent on Prime Video

Escape Room (2019): a popcorn, YA borderline family-friendly Saw directed by Adam Robitel, the film follows a group of strangers who are invited to an immersive and mysterious escape room experience, promising a substantial cash prize to the winner. As the participants delve into the puzzles and challenges, they soon realize that the stakes are much higher than anticipated, and the escape room is a deadly game where they must use their wits and teamwork to survive.

Watch on Hulu

Hard Candy (2005): directed by David Slade and written by Brian Nelson, the story revolves around a 14-year-old girl named Hayley Stark, played by Elliot Page, who meets a 32-year-old photographer named Jeff Kohlver, played by Patrick Wilson, on the internet. The two agree to meet in person, and Hayley soon finds herself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse, revealing disturbing secrets about Jeff and seeking her own form of justice. The true horror in Hard Candy comes from the psychological warfare and the unsettling power play between the characters, rather than traditional physical torture scenes.

Watch on Paramount+

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Where to Watch and Stream 'Saw X': Showtimes - Collider

I discussed in my post two weeks ago that the question, God, what is your will for my life? is the wrong question. I suggested a number of reasons why I believe the question is problematic. In this post, I wish to add to the discussion and to contend that the question may actually undermine the Gospel itself.

I drove by a church one time and outside they had a sign that read, Discover who God created you to be.

Now this may seem like great advertising for a church. And I am sure that they meant well and that the staff and leadership team were simply trying to reach people and get them in the door.

But if you have been reading this blog for any time, you might suspect that I find the banner troubling.

NB: I have written some posts related to this previously. For example, my two recent posts (here and here) on Easter week in 2023.

I would contend that the question, God, what is your will for my life? radically undermines the Gospel. How?

Simple: the question places the focus on the individualwhat is your will for me? The Gospel, however, is centered on Christ! The Gospel, in fact, calls us to deny ourselves: If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me (Mark 8:34).

This may not seem like much to manywhich I believe is part of the problembut the difference is significant.

In my estimation, the question betrays a deep-seated self-centeredness that belies the Hedonism of our Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment world and not the Gospel of Christ.

NB: I wrote a series of posts on What is the Gospel? Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4; Post 5.

We also did a Podcast Series in Oct 2021 on, What is the Gospel? (search determinetruth podcast wherever you get your podcasts).

In order to keep this post brief, I will only remark that we often fail to understand fully what the Missio Dei (the mission of God) is. In short, what is often, if not almost always, omitted from the discussion of the Missio Dei, is the fact throughout the biblical text the mission of God centers on making God known!

Note that the goal of making God known occurs 70x in Ezekiel alone![1]

When it comes to discerning Gods will in other words we must recognize that Gods will begins with making Him known! And, I should note, this begins with making Him known where we are at, not where He wants us to be.

Another problem with the question God, what is your will for my life? is that one of the keys to achieving ones goals is education. That is, if one discerns that God wants them to be a _____________ (fill in the blank), in most cases one of the primary keys to attaining this dream is through education.

But the educational system in the USlet alone the question of education globally where many girls/women are denied access to education simply because they are girls/women (and this doesnt even begin to address the racial disparity in our own system)is not just.

Sure everyone has access to education in the US, which is great. But not everyone has access to the same education. As I noted in my post on Dec 5, 2022, if we want to overcome poverty and racial injustice, then we need to change the educational system. In that post, I also referenced this article from the Atlantic.

Note: I also wrote on the inequities of our educational system in a post on Sept 14, 2022.

The question God, what is your will for my life? too often assumes that there is some God-ordained purpose for you and it often presumes that you will only be happy when you find it.

But what happens when a person does not attain this purpose?

What happens when things or circumstances which are beyond a persons control dont turn out the way they hoped/wanted/dreamed?

What happens when calamity strikes a home, a family, or an individual?; when they get cancer; or a spouse dies; or a child dies; or they get afflicted with an illness or a disability? And what happens to those whose lives have been radically altered by an earthquake, a flood, or an invasion? (again note that I pointed out in my post from two weeks ago that the question assumes a privileged and Western-centric context).

Even more troubling is the question of what happens when an individual makes poor choices and finds themselves incarcerated, disabled, homeless, or in rehab. Are they supposed to feel even more guilty because now they must also come to terms with the fact that they failed to follow Gods will for their lives?

What is a person supposed to do then?

Some blame God because He failed them. After all, others had their dreams fulfilled. So it must not be fair that I dont have mine!

Still others blame themselves, which only adds to the conviction that they are a failure.

This is one of the problems with many contemporary churches. We come across to many as though we in the church have it all together and everyone else has failed.

This is one of the reasons why many of those outside the church want nothing to do with us or Christianity. After all, they already feel bad enough (I put this in quotes because I have heard others say this when explaining why they dont want to go to a church).

In light of this, I urge you to consider what others might think when they see the sign in front of a church: Discover who God created you to be.

I would respond by noting that one of the greatest joys comes in serving others.

I would also note that one of the plagues which American families face is the fact that we have become so individualistic and so focused on pursuing Gods will for my life that we often neglected our responsibilities to our family.

Now I am not denying that some are not called by God to leave their family and go to the mission field. But what about the rest of us?

The question betrays our privilege.

as I noted in my last post, the question What is Gods will for my life? is a question of privilege. Not everyone will be able to do what they most want. As I noted, For many people in the world, survival demands they do what they can.

Does this mean that they are missing Gods will for them?

What if instead we encouraged others to join us as we strive together to follow Christ and to pursue the peace and joy that comes from being faithful to Him regardless of where life has us at the moment?

Then when calamity strikes our ambitions do not need to change. And we do not need to question Gods love or His fairness (why do others get to pursue their dreams but I have to fight for survival or struggle in my grief?)

Victor Frankl (a doctor whom the Nazis imprisoned in a concentration camp) said, Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms to choose ones attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose ones own way.[2]

I often conclude my course at the University with a reminder to the students that we were made to bear Gods image and because of this true fulfillment in life comes in living in accordance with Gods design. And Gods design is that we bear His image and make Him known to the world; that we rule over His creation as He wouldby laying down our lives in love for one another and for His creation.

Thus, I hope and pray that you find the peace and joy in Christ that comes from following Him and serving others. I hope you find the pleasure that comes from using the gifts that God has given you to glorify God and serve others.

I am not sure, however, that I will pray that you find Gods will for you. This prayer seems too ego-centric.

NB: last weeks post was on Daoud Nassar. I noted that I respect and admire no human being more than him. Today (if you are reading this on May 15, 2023 when it goes live, is the day of his hearing before the Israelis regarding his land. Please be in prayer. And if you are reading this after May 15, 2023, pray anyways. God is outside of time and I am sure he can count your prayers retroactively!!)

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[1] See Ezekiel 6:7, 10, 13, 14; 7:4, 9, 27; 11:10, 12; 12:16, 20; 13:21, 23; 14:8; 15:7; 16:62; 17:24; 20:12, 20, 26, 38, 42, 44; 21:5; 22:16, 22; 23:49; 24:24; 25:5, 7, 11, 14, 17; 26:6; 28:22, 23, 26; 29:6, 9; 16, 21; 30:8, 19, 25, 26; 32:15; 34:27, 30; 35:4, 15; 36:11,23, 38; 37:6, 13, 27; 38:16, 23; 39:6, 7, 22, 28.

[2] Ortberg, John. All the Places to Go . . . How Will You Know?: God Has Placed before You an Open Door. What Will You Do? (Kindle Locations 127-129). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

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Why I believe the question God, what is your will for my life? belies ... - Patheos

The 2023 Met Gala was another display of glamour and excess. The worlds A-listers raided Karl Lagerfelds closest and modelled the spoils of the fashion world. However, in my post-Met morning trawl through Instagram I found something more striking than Dua Lipas stunningly simple Chanelgown or Doja Cats furry take on her own title.

I was mesmerised by a video of the actress and singer Janelle Monae declaring that this is the age of pleasure at the Met Gala After Party. Recorded on fashion blogger @evanrosskatzs Instagram, the Afrofuturist artist proclaimed she had been in the age of struggle. Ive been in the age of uncertainty. But tonight, this year, we are in the age of motherfucking pleasure. Were actively doing the things that make us feel good, unapologetically.

So, what does pleasure mean in 2023? Im sure that for Janelle Monae, a Black, queer woman it means something very different to those who have never experienced oppression. It is perhaps an act of self-care reacting to centuries of historic and institutionalised injustice. Acknowledging this, I consider what a hedonist philosophy is on a more universal level, against the backdrop of the Met Gala, a cost of living crisis, and raging climate injustice.

Pleasure is closely linked to hedonism, derived from the Greek hedone [pleasure]. Hedonists in the Ancient Greek Cyrenaic school advocate that life should be based around sentient pleasure squeezing as much enjoyment out of life as possible. Epicurians have a different take on hedonism. They argue that pleasure is the absence of pain. Sounds familiar? Thats because it is incorporated into utilitarian philosophy developed in the industrial revolution. Utilitarianism forms the basis of our capitalist society. Through utilitarianism, pleasure becomes inextricably linked to capitalism.

It seems easy to say that the Met Gala signals a night of capitalist excess and hedonistic pleasure; after paying $50,000 for a ticket you would surely hope so. It marks the culmination of the icons and gods of Western society. They pose, clad in designer dresses and posited on the top of the Metropolitan Museums gilded steps, a veritable Mount Olympus for the modern age. It seems obvious that this is the age of pleasure: it has always been the age of pleasure in celebrity circles. Considering the exorbitant amounts of wealth bandied about on one evening, was this declaration from the dizzying heights of fame tone deaf to the cries of mortals below? Or is Monelles assertion a deeply considered insight into global futurity?

For those forced to choose between eating a hot meal or living in a warm home this winter the answer is clear. There is little pleasure when you are warm yet still hungry, or full but cold. Similarly, for those concerned with the worlds future which seems increasingly jeopardised by war and rising temperatures, this year has more closely resembled Audens The Age of Anxiety than Monaes Age of Pleasure. For most, pleasure involves the sacrifice of something else. Opting for pleasure tends to stand for taking the easy way out through the avoidance of discomfort. However, personal sacrifices and lifestyle changes are needed to avoid ecological and climate crises. We have entered an age where the most useful thing we can be doing is buying less and flying less. Pleasure ought to be sacrificed for long term planetary goals: as Lord Byron puts in Don Juan O Pleasure! youre indeed a pleasant thing, / Although one must be damnd for you, no doubt.

The idea that we must be damned for our enjoyment marks pleasure, and its opponent, sacrifice, as part of utilitarian philosophy. Utilitarianism constructs the idea that to gain pleasure we must lose. Within capitalism, this loss is usually our money. Achievement of pleasure has become a capitalist construct. Pleasure has become marked by an instant dopamine hit of a card against a reader, a confirmation email, or the exchange of notes and coins. The search for pleasure is marked by fast fashion, where stuff becomes disposable, rather than built for longevity. Stuff is thrown away so more can be bought.

The creation of unenduring items which suit rapid and regular doses of dopamine marks an ecological nightmare. Pleasure-seeking, whether it be materialistic or travel, tends to conflict with climate planning. We need our goods to be fewer, and last longer, rather than have more which last less. In sum, we need to make decisions which decrease our pleasure for the sake of the planet. The afforded 1.5C of warming agreed in the Paris Agreement is forecast to be exceeded and achieving Net 0 by 2050 cannot roll around fast enough. For many, this is an age of panic.

So is there room for pleasure in the age of panic? What must we sacrifice to feel ephemeral joy in a time of crisis? Can we feel joy without sacrifice?

In order to answer these questions we have to ask ourselves, what is pleasure? Adrienne Maree Brown posits that our notion of pleasure has been constructed by white capitalist networks to suit its own ends in her book Pleasure Activism. Pleasure has come to be defined on material terms it is the opening of a parcel or the buzz of likes on a picture. Yet, if we remove constructed notions created by oppressive institutions and strip our notion of pleasure down to its roots it centres around primitive senses: love, good sex, art, natural beauty, good food, standing up for what is right. These primitive feelings, when carried out ethically and sustainably constitute a kind of ecological hedonism which need not revolve around sacrifice. They are both essential and adjunctive to our lives.

Adrienne Maree Brown argues that pleasure can be used to the advantage of activism in Pleasure Activism, but this only works if we re-evaluate what pleasure is. She posits that activism itself can be a form of pleasure rather than self-flagellating sacrifice. After all, how can we keep going if we live in a constant state of self-denial? Both pleasure and panic are ephemeral feelings. They are not sustainable feelings. Activism, commonly associated with uphill struggle and tireless effort, often leads to burnout. Maree Brown contends that activism can incorporate pleasure into it, as well as act alongside it. We can feel joy from being activists and encourage others to act rather than cultivate cultures of climate anxiety, depression and shame.

Pleasure should no longer be defined by backward-looking oppressive institutions. Pleasure can be gained from, and alongside, activism. Pleasure can be seeing the colour of the sky, fighting for futurity, Black liberation. Pleasure need not sacrifice the safety of the planet or oppress others. By utilising pleasure and incorporating it into activism, perhaps we can combat nihilistic climate depression brought about by activist burnout. For Maree Brown and perhaps Monae herself, pleasure is derived by liberation from the capitalist establishment. Pleasure is freedom and justice.

Image Credit: oatsy40/ CC BY 2.0 via Flickr

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Pleasure in the age of panic - Cherwell Online

Prima ballerinas: the living embodiment of poise, grace and an almost superhuman ability to perform feats of incredible athleticism night after night with ease. Not quite, says Dominique Larose, first soloist at Northern Ballet. Before a show, she explains, I always practice the exact same steps every time there are a few steps I have more difficulty with so I want to see whether or not I can do them on that day. Human after all, then.

A member of the Northern Ballet since 2014, after graduating from its in-house professional programme, Larose is currently starring as Daisy Buchanan in the companys most recent revival of The Great Gatsby at Sadlers Wells. Its a modern, joyful show that combines elements of classical ballet with more modern dance traditions and, of course, plenty of 1920s hedonism.

A lot of people think, Ballet isnt my thing, I dont understand whats going on, explains Larose of the shows unique appeal. What is great about Gatsby is that, every time theres a party on stage, you feel like youre really at a party.

Born in San Francisco and trained at the Akayo School of Ballet in Zrich before moving to the UK, where she is now based in Northern Ballets hometown of Leeds, Laroses previous roles include the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and the titular role in Cinderella, as well as in contemporary ballets by choreographers including Amaury Lebrun and Kenneth Tindall.

Which all looks good on paper (and Instagram) but, as Larose tells me, the road to lead artist status was far from smooth. Between the pandemic lockdowns and a devastating ACL injury, Larose spent more than 500 days without performing in 2020 and 2021: a lifetime for a ballerina in her prime.

Covid was tough but, for me personally, the years that followed were tougher because I had two big injuries, she explains. So where the company had maybe three months of not dancing, I ended up with almost two years off.

I really dont want that to happen again but it wasnt all bad. It gave people a break and a chance to think about why they want to dance. To remember why you came into this profession. Why you work all day every day when youre often in pain. When youre in it, day in, day out, you can get very negative about your work. After Covid, I felt people came back in such a positive light because they remembered why they danced.

Here Larose talks the realities of a touring ballet production, coping with pre-show nerves, and why cheese and wine in Covent Garden is her perfect night out in the capital.

On days where we dont have two shows, we start at 12pm and can do up to three hours of rehearsals for other ballets or bits of the show that need work. We change venue every week so you need to respace, especially with the group numbers. On Tuesdays, we do a full run of the show without costumes, hair or makeup, again, to adjust to the space. One venue might have four sets of wings and the next venue will only have three so we have to change and adapt so there are no accidents in the show.

Thursdays and Saturdays are double show days and well do one show with one cast and the other show with another cast: the difference between ballets and musicals is that we dont use the same cast for every single show. For example, in London on Saturday matinee I do Daisy but on Saturday evening, I do Maid Five which is a completely different mindset. It keeps it interesting.

I think Gatsby is a great show because, as much classical technique as there is, we also do the dances that you are maybe more familiar with. When we have the Charleston party, weve ballet-ified it but we do physically do the Charleston like you would see on Strictly. The same with the Tango scene; its in pointe shoes, but the fundamental Tango steps are still the same. Something which has also surprised a lot of people is that the dancers sing. You never see that in a classical ballet.

When I first played Daisy it was a super exciting experience for me. It was my first time being [in the] first cast and shes really the lead role. I was so excited but the process to prepare for it was really rushed. What was great about that was that I was doing Daisy exactly how I felt she would be. I didnt overthink anything. I was just doing it.

This time, we had a lot more time to prepare and I have a new partner as well. Having a different partner often changes your take on it because you react differently to each other and you have a different interpretation. As well as reading the book, I watched the old Robert Redford and Mia Farrow movie and that really changed how I portrayed Daisy. There were these key moments and specific lines where what Daisy says jumped out at me. When I do those bits of the ballet, I really think about that.

I like to stay more relaxed. If you put too much stress on yourself you cant actually do what you want to do because your bodys too tense. I like to put my wig on an hour before the show and then go on stage and decide which shoes Im going to wear. Five minutes before call I put my costume on and then, once the show starts, I stand backstage and watch the scenes Im not in so I stay in the story.

I get nervous but I dont get as nervous as I used to 10 years ago. Its a different type of nervous. Because I had this really big injury last year I appreciate the chance to be on stage more. If Im too nervous, I cannot enjoy what Im doing. I really have to say to myself: you have to just be in the moment. You can only do your best in this moment. Thats all you can do.

I love Swan Lake, its my favourite show to watch and to perform. During Covid, we watched three different versions in a row on YouTube. My partner kept saying, Can we watch something else? But I just said no. I love all the really classic shows, like Don Quixote and The Nutcracker.

So many. I was supposed to do Swan Lake but then Covid happened so thats still a massive dream for me. Sleeping Beauty is also a dream. Gisele wasnt when I was younger, but now that Im a little bit older, I would quite like to do it because it has all the things which Im actually not very good at. I never wanted to do it because I thought it wasnt me but now I think thats exactly why I should do it. Id also really like to do Kathy from Wuthering Heights. Its quite an extensive list!

In a way it was good because it made me appreciate my home but dancing in my living room definitely made me appreciate the floor and space in the studio. And the music! Having the live pianist on Zoom was great but I was always slightly out of sync.

I like to talk about the show. My partner works backstage and Ill be like, Did I do a good job? I could have done this better. Did you see me fall here? Then I like to go on my phone and forget about it. After a show youre on such a high but talking about it makes you think about more than just the energy of the show. Then you go to bed, you wake up and you do it all again.

I dont think Ive stayed in the same place twice. This year were staying in Covent Garden, which Im really excited about because I love Covent Garden. When we went to Sadlers Wells for the first time after Covid they put us they put us in hotels because the digs were a little risky still. That was really nice: its a five minute walk from the theatre and you passed all these coffee shops and Waitrose on the way. I could get used to that.

Last time we stayed in Camden, which is another one of my favourite areas of London. I love the energy of London. If I have to ride the Tube to go to the theatre, Im going to be okay with that. Its fun.

By default, I always end up in Covent Garden at some point. I like Pick & Cheese in Seven Dials its like Yo! Sushi but with cheese and wine. That place makes me really happy. Just behind the theatre in Covent Garden, theres a typical Belgian or Dutch bar. We discovered that recently and Im half-Belgian so we go to have a traditional beer. I also just like to walk around. I dont care where we are, I just really like to be here

I think if you want to do it you should but you need to remember that your strongest asset is yourself. The more drive you have, the more successful you will be. If you push really hard and set an example to others about how to push, then as a team, you all push harder.

Sometimes young dancers get scared to ask, Oh, can you help me practice more? But the worst that can happen is people say no. That changed my life. I started asking, Can you watch me do my solo? If they said no, then fine, Ill do my solo by myself but it was learning to have the courage to ask and the drive to do it by myself anyway. I wish I had realised that sooner.

The Great Gatsby is at Sadler's Wells from 17-20 May 2023. Book tickets here.

Read more: Hugh Bonneville on Paddington and putting his head above the parapet

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Dominique Larose: Northern Ballet's first soloist on bringing The ... - Luxury London

Drew Barrymore and Kate Bosworth opened up about why it's important to "celebrate our exes" on The Drew Barrymore Show this week.

Ahead of Thursday's episode, the daytime talk show shared a clip revealing that Bosworth was instrumental in getting her fianc, Justin Long, to appear on its season 3 opener last year. Barrymore and Long, who dated on and off between 2007 and 2010, reunited for the episode and discussed their "hedonistic" romance as well as his current relationship with Bosworth.

"Because of your answer, I asked him if we could also be open about your relationship and talk about how we celebrate our exes and because of your upbringing, because of who you are we were able to celebrate your relationship," Barrymore said. "We, as women, have an opportunity. We have a choice of how we can navigate our partners that we're currently with with confidence and blessing and a sharing goodness that makes all women look good and rise."

Barrymore described Bosworth's encouragement as taking "the high road," adding that it made her adore the Blue Crush star even more: "I'm like, 'Justin, move over, it's all about Kate now.'"

Drew Barrymore and Kate Bosworth

The Drew Barrymore Show/Ash Bean Drew Barrymore and Kate Bosworth

When it comes to love, Bosworth argued that the heart has the ability to grow just as much as it can shrink. "I feel like if you really lean into the expansiveness of love, and that includes friendships, it's only for the better," she said. "Any time I've closed my heart down, because of ego or whatever, it hasn't made me feel good and I want to move to the warmth. I want to stay in the warmth."

As if Bosworth's stamp of approval weren't heartwarming enough, Barrymore then explained that she also sent her a beautiful bouquet of flowers after Barrymore taped the show.

"I got home to flowers with a card by her and then immediately took a video of myself receiving the flowers because I wanted to keep the narrative going of how we can champion each other and how this would be the idyllic utopia in which we could live," Barrymore explained to the audience before telling Bosworth, "And that is why you're one of my behavioral heroes."

Story continues

"And you're mine," Bosworth replied before the pair hugged.

Barrymore previously shared a glimpse of the floral arrangement Bosworth sent her in a video posted to Instagram last September.

"I just got the most beautiful flowers," Barrymore said in the clip. "I opened the card and it said, 'Dear Drew, congratulations on season 3. May we never outgrow the importance of hedonism. All my love, Kate Bosworth.'"

"Her boyfriend, Justin Long, came on our show The Drew Barrymore Show he and I got to talk all about our life and our pasts," she continued. "Sometimes you wanna know, what is the lesson in all of this? Yes, we should champion our ex. Yes, how great that he would come on and do this with me. How great is she for being so cool and supportive?"

At the time, Barrymore noted that the gift was a testament to the strength of Long and Bosworth's relationship and how cool Bosworth continues to be. "I thank her for that. I just think the world of this woman. She is totally my new hero," she wrote. "I can only wish this: that everybody involved is such an absolute inspiration. This is how we model behavior. Thank you, Kate Bosworth, thank you."

In the post's comments section, Long wrote, "I must've done something right in a past life to keep the company of such kind and loving hedonists. For the record, I had no knowledge of this gesture until I saw this Instagram! But it doesn't surprise me."

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Among the many memorable (and in some cases, unintentionally hilarious) depictions of rock n roll hedonism featured in Penelope Spheeris 1988 documentary, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, one scene in particular became something of an instant classic.

Its a night time sequence in which an extremely inebriated Chris Holmes, then the wild and wooly lead guitarist for the notorious shock metal band W.A.S.P., lazes about in a chair float in a swimming pool and chugs freely from a bottle of vodka.

Im a full-blown alcoholic, he says matter-of-factly to the off-screen Spheeris. He seems sadly self-aware of his own absurdity, yet oddly defiant as he unconvincingly claims, Im a happy camper.

Throughout the interview, Holmes words become more unintelligible, and his mood grows darker (he states that hes already had something like five pints of booze that day). Finally, he produces a fresh bottle of vodka, unscrews it and power-chugs roughly half of it before pouring whats left over his head. Its as if hes out to prove some sort of point. But what?

Making the scene all the more surreal and tragic is the presence of the guitarists mother, who sits silently by the pool, her face frozen in a mysterious, inscrutable expression.

Its a moment in rock movie infamy that has dogged Holmes over the years. Reflecting on the scene now, the guitarist heaves a sigh and says, People started looking at me like I was a drunk. You go on the internet and thats all you see Im the drunk guy in the pool.

The funny thing is, some people think that scene was faked, which is crazy. I never faked anything in my life. Yeah, I was hammered in the pool, but so what? Thats the way I lived my life at the time. Im a lot different now.

That he is. Sober for the past 26 years, Holmes now leads a quieter and quainter life in Cannes, France, with his French-born wife and manager, Catherine, whom he married in 2012. He quit W.A.S.P. not once, but twice (his final departure was in 2001, and it seems permanent) and has been through several bands before deciding to front his own group, Mean Man, in 2015.

With his deep, gravelly voice, gray mustache and goatee, and a general world-weary countenance, the 64-year-old guitarist could easily be mistaken for a grizzled biker. He insists he feels right at home in France. Things are better for me here, he says. Weve got a dog and a couple of chickens. I never thought I would wind up in this place, but its good.

Musically, Holmes has found a more receptive audience for his brand of high-velocity metal in France. The younger kids here still listen to rock there isnt so much hip-hop, he says. In the South of France, theyre into that, but in most of the country and in Europe, they listen to rock.

He stresses that the idea of returning to the US, and specifically Los Angeles, is unthinkable. L.A. was great when it was great, but now it sucks, he says. The metal scene isnt there anymore. The clubs are mostly gone. Theres no more House of Blues. The Key Club was sold to Beyonc, and I doubt shell have Deep Purple playing there.

I guess big bands like Metallica can still do their thing, but it would be impossible for me to get a band up and running anymore. I know theres still thousands of musicians in L.A., but from where I stand, things just went downhill.

Leading up to the Covid pandemic, things appeared to be on the upswing for Holmes. His band was gigging regularly throughout Europe, and he attempted to reset his public image via a documentary film, Mean Man, which detailed his post-W.A.S.P. life.

In early 2022, however, he was diagnosed with throat cancer and was forced to put his career on hold. I dont know if it was surprising, he said. I smoked all my life not just cigarettes, but everything under the sun. I drank for a long time. There was no cancer in my family, so I guess it was self-induced. People might say, Yeah, sure, he partied and drank all the time. He laughs. Put it this way: I had a good time.

After undergoing rigorous treatment, Holmes was recently given the news that his throat was free of cancer and that there was no metastasis. Even so, he doesnt yet feel 100 percent. Im still suffering from the radiation that went through my neck, he says. My saliva is like Super Glue. But Im hoping I can get back to playing shows in a little while. I tried singing the other day, but I didnt have the stamina I need to do a gig. Ill just have to keep at it. I have to sit down and keep singing. Itll come back.

W.A.S.P. were a pretty big band during the '80s, but people dont seem to mention you when they rank notable guitarists from the metal scene. Do you feel unappreciated or overlooked?

Im overlooked, sure. I dont play with W.A.S.P. anymore, so a lot of people forgot about me. That movie, Decline of Western Civilization, didnt help. The other thing is, when I was in W.A.S.P., I was never allowed to do any interviews with guitar magazines. [Rhythm guitarist/frontman] Blackie [Lawless] wouldnt let me. Writers would ask management to talk to me, and they were told I had other obligations shitty things like that. I dont know if that was done to keep me down so Blackie could stay up. Who knows? Shit like that was always going on.

I couldnt read music. Actually, Ill tell you, I have dyslexia. Ive never read an entire book during my whole life

What got you into playing guitar? Who were your big influences?

When I was about 12 or 13, I saw the Jimi Hendrix movie, and that got me into playing the guitar. I thought, 'What a job I wanna do that!' My older brother took me to concerts. I saw Johnny Winter and was blown away. At the time, he played rock. He played good, good, hard rock. Hes mostly known for blues, but what turned me on was when he played rock. Brownsville Station I saw them open for Johnny Winter, and they kicked ass. I saw things like that.

I couldnt read music. Actually, Ill tell you, I have dyslexia. Ive never read an entire book during my whole life. Reading music was impossible. Anything Ive done was by ear. If you do it enough, youll get it.

Before W.A.S.P., you were in a few bands Buster Savage, LAX and Slave. What were they like?

This was back in 74, 75. We played some covers Ziggy Stardust, Black Sabbath, Zeppelin. I enjoyed writing our own music. We played hard stuff. They were good groups. I dont have any tapes of them, but I thought they were good.

What was the guitar scene like in L.A. during the early '80s? Were guys trying to be the hottest and fastest? How did you fit in or didnt you?

I tried to play fast, but I can only play what I play. I just tried to be myself. The scene was flooded with guitarists, and the competition was unbelievable. It was nuts. I was into playing lead, but I was more into tone. I had the opportunity of growing up around Van Halen, and from that I learned a lot about Marshalls and how to dial in the sounds. In those days, we didnt even have preamps.

You were pretty friendly with Eddie Van Halen. The story goes that he used your Ibanez Destroyer on Women and Children First.

He used it on the record, yeah. He gave me the guitar thats on the album cover we switched guitars. He was one of the coolest musicians, an unbelievable player. He had a knack for taking the best from anybody he ever listened to and combined them Billy Gibbons, Eric Clapton, you name them and he made it look so easy. He blew my mind.

When did you start playing Jackson guitars?

Probably about 83. [Rhythm guitarist] Randy [Piper] and Blackie wanted to play B.C. Rich guitars, and I wanted Jacksons. They have a longer scale. Blackie was like, Ill get you a deal. We went out to the Jackson shop in San Dimas, and Grover Jackson told Blackie to get screwed. I was kind of bummed about that.

About four months later, we were about to do this movie called The Dungeonmaster. I called Grover and said, Hey, this is Chris, the guy from W.A.S.P. If I were to use one of your guitars in this movie, could I get one made? And he said, Now youre talking. Youre promoting my product.

He brought a guitar down and watched us do the movie. Then he said to come down to the shop, and he made me a guitar. I never signed a contract, but they treated me well. They made me whatever I wanted, but I never asked for more than I needed.

Musically, what was appealing to you about W.A.S.P.?

I had played in a band with Blackie called Sister, probably around 78 or 79. I left them, but I dont know why probably because of the way I was treated. Then in 82 he called me. He said, Chris, Ive got this band, but its not going to work unless youre in it. I said, If its like Sister, count me out. Im not into that glam shit. But he said, This is right up your alley. You can dress in leather, whatever you want.

I liked W.A.S.P. I didnt look at it like We are Satans people. I looked at it like We are stupid people

I had just gotten out of jail for a DUI and was supposed to go back to work. I had collected unemployment while I was in the clink. I went back to live with my mom, but I knew I couldnt work and do the band at the same time. So I told Blackie, 'Ill do the band as long as I can play the way I play, and nothings going to stop me.' Musically, I put my influence on it.

W.A.S.P. were known for their outrageous stage show. Did you sometimes think the theatrics got in the way of the music?

No. No, no, no. All bands are about theatrics. Look at the record covers they all say something. I liked W.A.S.P. I didnt look at it like We are Satans people. I looked at it like We are stupid people. [Laughs] No, I just looked at it as a group. We had a lot of energy coming off that stage.

Part of Blackies shtick was throwing raw meat out at the crowd. Did any of that meat ever get in your electric guitars?

No, but one time some of it ended up in the back of one of my amps. We went to rehearse about three weeks later. We pulled the amp out of a garage where we stored it, and when we looked in the back of it we saw all of these maggots in the meat. [Laughs]

Whoa, that sounds rugged!

Yeah, it was pretty gross. The meat had gotten all rotten and stuff, so it smelled. One time during a gig, Blackie took the big meat box and threw it to the side of the stage; it bounced off a wall and hit me in the temple knocked me out cold.

Did people in the audience mind getting meat thrown at them?

There was nothing they could do. The places were packed, so you basically took your chances. It was intense. I used to tell Blackie, People can tell which way youre gonna throw it. You have to point one way and then throw the meat the other way. Youll be able to nail people. He tried it and said, 'This is way better. People arent expecting it. [Laughs]

You quit W.A.S.P. for a time, then rejoined. Then you quit again andnever went back. Any regrets?

No. The only regret I have is that I wish I would have known how the business works in terms of publishing. I was never told about any of that. When records were done, nobody said, Chris, we have a meeting to split up the publishing.

Randy didnt write, [drummer] Tony [Richards] didnt write, and so the only person they had to keep out of that was me. It wasnt until I got a little older that I found out the stuff that was going on behind my back. Thats the way it is. I cant change the past; I can only worry about the future.

Actually, the other regret I have is that I should have bitched about the second album. When Blackie said, Its gonna be me on the cover, I should have said, Well, if its gonna be you, then I should leave. Because its not a band at that point which it wasnt. But I still stayed like an idiot and did whatever. I didnt even want to play on the third album. I just went in and did my thing, and I was gone. We werent even friends at that point.

Did seeing yourself in that scene in Decline of Western Civilization serve as a wakeup call for you to stop drinking?

I didnt quit because of that. Hell no! [Laughs] I didnt quit drinking till 96. I got a DUI, like, my fifth one. I went to a program, and I listened to what they said. A counselor told me I had to quit drinking, and I said, Youre nuts. Then he said, One year. If you can quit for one year, youll never drink again.

I told him he was crazy, but he said, Think of it this way: You can always go back to it. So I thought, Okay, one year I can do that. After I quit drinking for one year, I saw the incredibly stupid things people do when theyre drunk. It blew my mind.

Theres a lot of stuff I wrote from my heart on those albums, but I didnt get written in for it. Id be screwing myself if I went and played with him

Some years ago, you started fronting your own band. Were you nervousat first being the lead singer?

I dont claim to have the best voice. I dont have the highest range. The first time I ever went out and sang on my own, it was hard. I wasnt very sure about my voice. The second time, I did a show here in France and it was totally different. I felt really confident. I got to the point where I was like, I dont care if people dont like my voice. They can walk out and do whatever they want."

Do you think you play better sober than during your party days?

No. When I was in W.A.S.P., I never drank before I played. I was always sober on stage. Actually, I only drank one time it was at the Troubadour. The show took twice the amount of work, and when I got off the stage I was almost dead. I hit the ground and said, I will never, ever do that again! I would drink at night and get on stage with a hangover oh yeah. But from the time I woke up and during the day of the show, I never drank. Ive heard people say, Man, he had four beers with me before he played. Theyre full of shit.

Lets say you got a phone call from Blackie today, and he says he wantsto do a full reunion of the band from back in the day. Would you do it?

Id say, You have to pay me the publishing for what I wrote. Then Id be more than happy to do it. Other than that, I wont do it. Theres a lot of stuff I wrote from my heart on those albums, but I didnt get written in for it. Id be screwing myself if I went and played with him. Why do it? If somebody beats you up, why would you want to go see them again? Its not worth it.

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Chris Holmes: I'm overlooked, sure. When I was in W.A.S.P., I was ... - Guitar World

Sophie Ellis-Bextor has spoken to NME about the chances of her representing the UK at Eurovision, and what to expect from her psychedelic, proggy new album Hana.

The British pop icon was speaking to NME backstage after her performance at Liverpools Eurovision Village on EuroEve, the night before the Song Contests Grand Final in the city (Friday May 12).

Stepping off stage, she told NME:I really enjoyed myself, the crowd were gorgeous. I was up in Liverpool yesterday so I already had a sense of the atmosphere here and I was really looking forward to tonight.

Ive loved Eurovision since I can remember. I love everything that its about I love the warmth of it. You get the impression that theres a lot of support for one another among the artists, and the whole production of the actual show has been amazing.

And has she ever been tempted or asked to represent the UK at Eurovision herself?

Not really, Ellis-Bextor replied. I think doing it is an amazing opportunity, and that [2023 UK entry] Mae Muller will smash it, but it was never the right thing at the right time and Im a big believer in serendipity like that.

Muller is currently heading towards a UK Top 10 with I Wrote A Song, despite finishing second to last in the competition, and the final was the most-watched in the Song Contests history according to the BBC. Off the back of the success of recent winners Mneskin and last years UK entry Sam Ryder, Ellis-Bextor said that the increased popularity and credibility of Eurovision should come as no surprise.

Eurovision has been running since the mid 50s so there have been a lot of shifts since then, she said. Im sure that back when Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton John did it, it was seen as a really great thing to do.

In the UK, we pride ourselves a lot on our music. Weve created a lot of globally-dominating bands and artists so when things dont go so well for us at Eurovision, I think its quite easy to get snooty about what it represents. We werent able to unlock how to get on the right side of the leaderboard.

She continued: Recent times have seen Eurovision artists release amazing songs outside of it and these amazing careers being launched. Sam Ryders approach to it last year where we always just so positive and upbeat just saw him really seize the opportunity a bit. This is Ukraines Eurovision but held here, so it has other themes going on. Its not just literally about whos got a funny outfit on. Its about linking people together and supporting each other.

For her own performance in the village, Ellis-Bextor performed a run of her own singles alongside a greatest hits of greatest hits from the likes of Madonna, Moloko and Modjo telling NME that her recent live sets have been inspired by the pop hedonism of her popular Kitchen Disco livestreamed performances from lockdown.

Speaking about choosing her setlist, Ellis-Bextor said: What makes a good song? Golly. Im not very good at answering that. All I know is that all my favourite songs work the same magic on me every time I hear them.

No matter what mood Im at the beginning, Im always in a the same certain mood at the end. Thats what makes a good song if it casts the same magic.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor live at Liverpools Eurovision Village on EuroEve. Credit: Mark McNulty

Asked if that hedonistic pop vibe would be inspiring her upcoming seventh album Hana, she replied: Actually, no its quite a different mood now! Its optimistic and its pop-y, but its also quite psychedelic, proggy and synthy. It was a nice place to put other feelings. Its also my third album with Ed Harcourt. Weve plotted a little course, and I feel like Ive got a lot more bold with making my records and making them a little bit out there.

Im really lucky to be able to go into a studio and say, I had this really weird idea on the way here and then get to flesh it out into a song.

On the over-arching themes of the record, Ellis-Bextor said: I started writing it in 2020 just before the world tilted. I was going on a trip with my mum and my eldest boy to Tokyo, and Id never been. It started off with the idea of somewhere I was visiting and what I thought it would be like. That became a really nice landscape to go to in my mind during the times we couldnt travel anywhere.

I also lost my step-dad not long after that, so there is grief in there but its also about how grief is the other half of love. Its about the legacy of wanting to carry on and live your best life in their name. Its all woven in there. Oh, and theres also a song about aliens.

Does she believe in aliens?

Oh golly, either answer to that question is extraordinary were either alone or were not alone, she replied. The song is this fantasy of aliens who have been watching us for ages and have seen what a state weve gotten ourselves into. They look around and say, We can save some of you, we feel sorry for you so lets start again.

Ellis-Bextor and Mercury-nominated solo star, producer and Libertines collaborator Harcourt have previously worked together on 2014s Wanderlust and 2016s Familia. The singer told NME that she was drawn to working with Harcourt because he was the real deal.

Were quite different on the surface but when were in the studio we think very similarly, she said. Were quite impulsive and excitable, were quite quick workers, but hes also one of the most musically gifted people I know. Hes very generous with his talent and will just interpret things in a very different way.

I love the albums weve made together, and we also laugh a lot. He really is criminally underrated, but he has facilitated and supported a lot of artists.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor releases Hana on June 2, before embarking on a run of festival dates before a headline tour in the winter. Visit here for tickets and more information.

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Sophie Ellis-Bextor on if she'd ever do Eurovision and her ... - NME

We discuss ten movies like The Social Network you must watch. Add these well-recommended films to your watch list.

The Social Network stars Jesse Eisenberg as a young Mark Zuckerberg, as it shows the audience the story of how Facebook was founded and takes them through the following lawsuits, filed by the Winklevoss twins and another by his friend Eduardo Saverin. Director David Fincher managed to make the concept that sounded boring to some into a critical and audience success.

Of course, many films look at the early days of well-known corporations and companies, and many are similar movies to The Social Network. Here are ten of them that you must watch.

Michael Fassbender stars as the well-known Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in a dramatization of the early years at one of the most well-known companies in the world. Just as The Social Network explores the origins of Facebook, Steve Jobs shows the first years of another tech company.

Moving from Apple to McDonalds, this next film follows Michael Keaton as Ray Croc and shows the story of him founding the iconic fast food chain McDonalds and realizing that hes in the real estate business, not the burger business.

Turning to the rich world of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the corrupt stockbroker Jordan Belfort as he defrauds investors out of millions at his firm Stratton Oakmont. Full of hedonism, swearing, and excess, Martin Scorsese directs this look into the high life.

Moving back online, Startup.comexplores the troubled Internet revolution, where the ideas, dreams, and hopes of instant get-rich-quick schemes gave way to the harsh truth of reality. Starring Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, this film looks at the failure of the new media company govWorks.com.

If there ever were to be a sequel to The Social Network, it would be The Great Hack. It looks at the Cambridge Analytica scandal through the eyes of several affected people and how their data harvesting became the symbol of the dark side of social media in the wake of the 2016 US presidential election.

Of course, the Cambridge Analytica scandal didnt just affect US politics; it also dramatically affected UK politics. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Dominic Cummings, the mastermind behind the Leave campaign in the EU referendum, as he turns to Cambridge Analytica to access peoples data and influence the vote.

Sticking with the theme of data, the next film on the list is Snowden. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as the titular Edward Snowden as he decides to leave his job at the National Security Agency in the USA. He knows that the data of ordinary American citizens are being tracked by the government, and leaks this classified information, making him a fugitive from the law.

A comedy by director Adam McKay, The Big Short stars Christian Bale as Michael Burry, Ryan Gosling as Jared Vennett, and Steve Carell as Mark Baum as they bet against the housing market just before the financial crash in America. Their greedy scheme works, as they make a fortune during a time of economic instability.

Al Pacino stars as Lowell Bergman as he realizes that the expertise of former Big Tobacco executive Jeffrey Wigand, played by Russell Crowe, is a lie. Bergam persuades Wigand to share his treasure trove of industry secrets as the two contend with both the courts and corporations that stand in their way of telling the truth.

Another story set at the time of the 2008 financial crisis, Margin Call stars Kevin Spacey and Paul Bettany as Sam Rogers and Will Emerson. It takes place over the course of 24 hours and focuses on the actions that a group of Wall Street investors takes during the initial stages of the crash.

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Steely Dan is a paradox. As writer Alex Pappademas puts it, it's a "cult band whose catalog ... includes at least a dozen enduring radio hits" two guys who continually found a way to "embed blue-ribbon misanthropy in music designed to go down as smooth as creme de menthe." And like many great paradoxes, there's more to learn about the band the longer you spend considering it. This is true even if you only know a few of those enduring hits. You might recognize the chorus of "Dirty Work," for example but did you know that the man singing lead vocals on that track, David Palmer, once played a high school show alongside The Velvet Underground its first under that name? Did you know that "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" was written for the wife of a faculty member at Bard College, where Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen studied? Or that one of MF Doom's earliest solo tracks samples the opening song on Aja?

In the new book Quantum Criminals, Pappademas and artist Joan LeMay give a roadmap to the Steely Dan extended universe through the lens of the characters at the heart of the band's songs. Alongside Pappademas' explorations, LeMay's paintings render touching portraits of Steely Dan's influences and inheritors, and speculative illustrations of the personalities who populate its world. Their book uncovers the vast constellation of lyrical references, artistic influences and social and political contexts surrounding the band and its music. In this interview, Pappademas and LeMay answered a few questions about their personal histories with Steely Dan and how Quantum Criminals came to be.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Marissa Lorusso: In one of the book's opening chapters, Alex details his evolving relationship with Steely Dan's music, from mild distaste to somewhat ironic engagement to sincere appreciation a path he says has been followed by many Millennial and Gen Z fans. Joan, what's the story of your relationship with Steely Dan did your fandom follow a similar road?

Joan LeMay: Listening to Steely Dan is, honest to God, my first musical memory. Growing up, my parents had a very limited record collection a stack about five inches wide or so. In it was the entire Steely Dan discography (later to include [Donald Fagen's solo debut] The Nightfly; no other Fagen solo records nor any Becker records made the cut), plus lots of Linda Ronstadt, a couple of James Taylor records, The Best of the Doobie Brothers Vol. II, Carole King's Tapestry and Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick. At 2 years old, I was what one would call a tall baby. I would reach for things. And I'd get 'em, too. I clearly remember the day I was able to reach the turntable, my tiny arms at full stretch above my head, and heft an LP upon it until the peg snapped into the hole. That LP was Can't Buy A Thrill. I liked it the most out of all of my parents' records because of the colors on the cover. I plopped down on our diarrhea-brown shag carpet and was pleased. It seems unlikely that I would remember this so clearly, but I was reading the newspaper at that age I peaked early.

How did you decide to approach a book about Steely Dan this way? Why tell the story of the band through the lens of these characters and what inspired both of you to approach this project as an illustrated/written collaboration?

LeMay: In 2020, I got back into the practice of making fanzines. I made two issues of a zine called Mug Club I asked people in the arts to send me a photo of their favorite mug and tell me a story about it, and I'd paint the mug. The paintings and stories were a way to explode the banal/micro into the sublime/macro and serve as a connective creative project in the midst of lockdown. After those, I started making a fanzine called Danzine wherein I planned to paint all 240-something characters in the Steely Dan universe. I got as far as drawing the cover, making a character spreadsheet, doing a few sketches and posting about it on Instagram, partially as a way to keep myself accountable for making the thing.

Esteemed writer/director Jessica Hopper, one of the editors of the University of Texas Press American Music Series and this book's doula, texted me and said "Joanie? That's not a fanzine. That's a book." Before I posted my thing, she had been talking with Alex about what kind of book he might like to write for the press and he'd responded by pitching a book that was "Bluets, but Steely Dan" ... and she put us together.

Alex Pappademas: Bluets is a collection of short pieces by the incredible poet and nonfiction writer Maggie Nelson that walk the line between autobiography and criticism and prose poetry. I had been reading a lot of Nelson and other nonfiction writers who work in a really pared-down, aphoristic mode and when Jessica and I started talking about me doing a Steely Dan book for UT, I said I wanted to do something really piece-y and fragmentary like that. I don't know that there was any specific Steely Dan-related reason I wanted to do it that way; I just liked the idea of writing these micro-essays where each one would be its own thought about Steely Dan and their music and their place in pop culture/American culture, and themes would build and accumulate the way they do in Nelson's work, or Jenny Offill's or some of David Shields's stuff. By the time Jessica roped Joan into this project, I had an outline for what would have been a Bluets version of this book, but a lot of it was pretty sketchy like, "Chevy Chase" would be a line item on the outline, or "Dan and Race" or "Perfectionism." I mulched on this for just over a year, on and off, before Joan even engaged. And then we didn't get to the proposal until September 2020 deep COVID times. Book was done almost exactly one year from that date, but I'd say most of the writing took about seven months.

Once we merged the idea for Bluets-but-Steely Dan with Joan's idea to paint all the characters, it necessitated a change in my approach; instead of making a deck of cards and trying to assemble them into a narrative it was about seeing how much you could hang on the idea of an individual Steely Dan character and how to use those characters to frame stories that illuminated Steely Dan's legacy in some interesting way.

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The chapters in this book give such deep studies of the personalities who populate Steely Dan's songs (and, by extension, of the musicians who brought them to life). Did your relationship with any of these songs change while writing about them, illustrating them, or otherwise getting inside the heads of these characters? Did you learn anything about the songs that genuinely surprised you while working on this project?

LeMay: I learned so much. On our weekly calls, Alex always excitedly ushered me into the entrance of several wormholes he'd been traversing, and it was a constant delight. Thinking deeply about what these characters were wearing, what they might've been doing in the narrative beyond the narrative, thinking about their environment, how they held their faces, how they held their bodies it was an immersive way to listen. I'd had ideas in my head about so many of the characters because I tend to think visually, but there were lots of fantastic surprises, like when we dug into Cathy Berberian, for instance. I'd never looked up what she looked like before.

Pappademas: I think what surprised me the most as I dug deeper into these songs was how much empathy Donald and Walter seemed to have for their characters. It's not something they're usually given credit for the idea people have about them is that they're always snickering amongst themselves, making fun of the people they write about, but I think that's actually more true of somebody like Randy Newman than it is of Becker/Fagen. I think there's always a real sense of humanity's plight underneath whatever coldness or archness is more easily detectable in their work on first blush even when the people they're writing about are doomed or deluded or depraved, you don't get the sense that they're judging these characters, most of the time. There's an attention paid to the human longing that motivates people to these weird actions and they don't judge the longing, of, say, the guy who's hung up on a sex worker in "Pearl of the Quarter" whereas Frank Zappa, given the same storyline, would absolutely write about what a moron that guy is.

Steely Dan's lyrics are famously somewhat cryptic, and Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were quite averse to having their lyrics read as straightforward personal narratives. It's clear that so much research went into illuminating these songs, but there's also a healthy dose of creative speculation, too, both in how the subjects of the songs are described and how they're depicted.

LeMay: The only characters I painted that weren't 100% creative speculation (and really, less speculation and more my personal interpretation) were those having to do with actual, living people, like Cathy Berberian, Jill St. John and G. Gordon Liddy. I had a folder on my computer called "DAN CASTING GALLERY" full of images of people in my life, found photos, '60s and '70s fashion catalogs, advertisements and sewing pattern packaging. I painted from a melange of those images mixed with things that had been in my head forever, as well as from a ton of photos of my own body posing in different ways for reference. The most important thing to me was getting the humanity the profoundly flawed humanity of these characters right.

Pappademas: And it works I try to get across that humanity in the text, but having Joan populate this world with real human faces made the finished product into something greater than I could have gotten to on my own.

Anyway, my answer to the question above is that when I'm writing criticism, for sure, but also when I'm writing reported pieces, I feel like there's always an element of creative speculation in what I do. It's just more or less constrained by facts depending on what kind of piece it is. Even if you've sat in a room with somebody for hours you're ultimately imagining their inner life based on what they've told you, and sometimes on what they haven't told you. In terms of Quantum Criminals, yeah, Steely Dan definitely tried to discourage any attempt to read these lyrics autobiographically and the fact that all their lyrics were composed by (or at least credited to) two writers was their first line of defense against that kind of reading, because even when they're writing in the first person you're conscious that the "I" in every Dan song is to whatever degree a fictional character and therefore a distancing device. But I think it's human nature or at least it's my human nature to intuit the opposite and look for places where the art seems to correspond to what we know to be the contours of an artist's life. Because the other thing about Steely Dan is they liked to obfuscate; the fact that they rarely owned up to their music having an autobiographical component (with certain exceptions, notably "Deacon Blues," which they admitted was pretty personal) doesn't mean it wasn't autobiographical. And at times as with "Gaucho," a song about a duo torn apart by a third party who might be the personification of drugs or other forms of hedonism, recorded for the album Donald made mostly without Walter because Walter's addiction issues had pulled him away from the band the correspondences became too tempting to not explore. Which is what happens when you write cryptically; it's human nature to decrypt.

I don't know; I guess I'm doing the same thing Taylor Swift's fans do when they decide that some opaque lyric is an Easter egg about this or that relationship of hers, or what A.J. Weberman was doing when he decided "The sun isn't yellow, it's chicken" was Bob Dylan confessing to faking his own death, or what the people who think The Shining was Stanley Kubrick exorcizing his guilt over faking the moon landing. The difference is that I think I'm right and I think those other people are all nuts, because I'm in my bubble and can't imagine the view from theirs.

Finally, what do you hope readers be they longtime devotees, newly converted fans or Steely Dan skeptics take away from Quantum Criminals?

LeMay: I think that in a lot of ways, this book can be read as something that's about the ridiculous cacophony of what it is to be a person in the world, striving to do something you're happy with. In a lot of other ways, it is a real invitation to truly dive into what you love with reckless abandon to dream about it hard, to see and hear and appreciate the small details and the big ways you feel as a result of giving yourself the gift of paying attention. I hope that readers come away from the book thinking about all the ways they have yet to enjoy not just Steely Dan, but anything that moves them.

Pappademas: I hope people come away from this book thinking about how, even though perfectionism can undo you as an artist and any book about how to make your art will tell you that over and over, there's still something noble and useful about aspiring to perfection that there's magic in the falling-short but also in the reaching-for. I also hope these stories inspire young people to say no to drugs.

See more here:

The eternal paradox, and 'Quantum Criminals,' of Steely Dan - Wisconsin Public Radio

Who among us has not sometimes mused about how convenient it would be to upgrade or alter our bodies? Unsurprisingly, SF authors have also thought along those lines. In particular, the mid-to-late 1970s saw what seemed like a flurry of SF books exploring the possibilities of advanced body modification.

I have no idea if this was actually a trend or simply accidental clustering. Thematically consistent with the other self-improvement efforts of the so-called Me Generation, it certainly seemed like a trend at the time. Take, for example, this cluster of books encountered in the mid-1970s

In the very distant future, the city of Cinnabar may be found between the desert and the ocean. Cinnabar may be the last city left on the world. Certainly, visitors from outside are not expected. This would be a sad, forlorn realityif the sybarites of Cinnabar were at all inclined to consider the state of their world.

Cinnabars people have access to sophisticated technology that is the stuff of science fiction to us. Therefore, many facets of self (body and mind) that we can currently change only with great effort (or cannot change at all) are a matter of fashion in Cinnabar. It would be wonderful if this meant a golden age of self-realization. What these people actually do with their potentially liberating technology: create stark class differences, abuse others, and embrace joyless decadence.

Miraculous technology is wasted on some people, as the people of Cinnabar amply demonstrate.

Cinnabar was inspired in part by Ballards Vermilion Sands. It seemed to me that Ballards characters seem to have more fun (in a repressed British way).

The domed cities of Four BEE, Four BAA, and Four BOO are oases in a world desert (just as Cinnabar is isolated in an arid world). No oceans. Each city is self-sufficient and, aside from sporadic contact with the other cities, inwardly focused.

Young peoplethe Jangare encouraged to embrace hedonism, enabled by the fact that physical form is a matter of personal taste. Even death is no major inconvenience, for life sparks are easily transferred from corpses to new incarnations. For people willing to settle for mindless pleasure, it is utopia. People who, like the narrator, seek a more meaningful existence will soon discover the limits of what is permitted.

Social convention is a powerful force in the domed cities; of the many pleasures one might enjoy, only a few are actually chosen. Assignations are always preceded by short and meaningless marriages. Couplings are expected to join one male body to one female body (to the extent that choices in bodily form can be described that way). This seems like an odd way to run a free love dys/utopia.

Terrestrial Armageddon appears inevitable. For humanity and its creations to survive, Martian colonies are required. This would be no problem if Mars were the habitable Mars of old-timey SF. Mars being the nearly airless, radiation-soaked deathtrap that it actually is, to dispatch conventional humans there would be to doom them.

Enter Roger Torraway, the lucky individual who has been voluntold to test exciting new advances in cyborg technology. Accepting his new, heavily modified form will be a challenge. Once on Mars, Roger and all those dependent on his success will come to appreciate the utility of his transformation.

There are many SF stories in which the world faces some anthropogenic doom that everyone agrees is undesirable and nobody seems to be able to do anything about. Where do SF authors get their wild ideas? In this case, there are other factors influencing human behavior, factors whose natures and extent is not made clear until the conclusion of the novel. The characters will never know that they are not entirely responsible for their choices.

Centuries after the alien Invaders conquered the Earth, human civilization is thrivingin space. With the notable exceptions of Jupiter and Earth (both controlled by the Invaders), the Solar System is a human domain.

This is possible because the technology exists to reshape bodies at will, whether on a merely cosmetic scale or with more dramatic alternations that turn even Venus surface into a shirt-sleeve environment for humans. Many of the tools needed to prevail in the post-Invader reality were retrieved from the so-called Ophiuchi Hotline, an alien communications network into which humans have been tapping. Unbeknownst to humans, there is a charge for the information and that bill has come due.

General Coordination struggles to keep overcrowded, resource-strapped Earth functioning. Their task is complicated by the ubiquity of Form Change, an advanced biofeedback technology that allows people to reshape their bodies as they see fit. Some forms place more demands on infrastructure than others, thus a need to steer the masses away from (for example) changes that would greatly increase lifespan and thus accelerate population growth.

Behrooz Wolf and his partner John Larsen investigate Form Change abuse. Their final three cases illustrate just how powerful Form Change can be in the hands of a sufficiently unscrupulous researcher, while illuminating certain aspects of Solar history heretofore underappreciated by humanity. Long ago, aliens called the Solar System home and while they are long dead, their relics are still quite puissant.

Biofeedback was a big deal back in the disco era. In fact, this Sheffield novel is rich in dubious obsessions briefly fashionable at the time, of Ovenden and Van Flandern. Sheffield was known as a hard SF author; his fans might be interested to discover this side of his work.

***

There are, no doubt, other disco-era works along these lines that I could have mentioned. Hansens War Games, for example, was only omitted because, being published in 1981, it seemed a bit too late for my purposes. Feel free to mention other example in comments, which are, as ever, below.

In the words of fanfiction author Musty181, four-time Hugo finalist, prolific book reviewer, and perennialDarwin Award nomineeJames Davis Nicoll looks like a default mii with glasses. His work has appeared in Interzone, Publishers Weekly and Romantic Times as well as on his own websites,JamesNicollReviews(where he is assisted by editor Karen Lofstrom and web person Adrienne L. Travis) and the2021, 2022, and 2023 Aurora AwardfinalistYoung People Read Old SFF(where he is assisted by web person Adrienne L. Travis). His Patreoncan be found here.

Original post:

Five Classic SF Novels Featuring Advanced Body Modifications - tor.com