Brazil ;; 25.05.24

Terry Gilliam is responsible for two of the movies that I can just keep watching over and over again, and Brazil is one of them.

An anachronistically modern horror movie, where bureaucracy is the monster, and it cannot be defeated. Do you have the right form? Is it stamped? Every nail we take from your fingers is costing the Government money. You will be invoiced. Think of your credit.

Don't worry. It's just a movie. This is not real.

Serial Experiments Lain ;; 26.04.24

A recurring topic in Cyberpunk literature deals with questioning our perception and definition of reality, with technology playing the role of an enabler that can tear down the barriers between the realm of reality and humans, and that of virtuality and artificial intelligence.

Does it make Gods out of hackers? Or does it make software out of humans? Will our bodies enable us, or constrain us?

Present day... present time...

Peep Show ;; 19.04.24

We had good cable in Argentina. My theory is that this was mostly economy-driven: We got anime because it was cheaper to license these strange cartoons from Japan that nobody knew about, than the hits from the US. And it was the same with comedy, we got a lot of British shows that nobody had heard about.

Peep Show was one of them. I won't try to describe the show, you need to go and watch it, and I've linked the first season which someone uploaded to The Internet Archive. Ok, ok, I'll try to describe it, but I'll keep it very short and simple: Cringe. You're not supposed to know what goes on inside the minds of this kind of people, but you do, and you're forced to on the ride with them. This was also my first contact with David Mitchell. He's, unsurprisingly, my kind of person.

Patrice O'Neal on The Opie & Anthony Show ;; 12.04.24

There's this playlist that I keep open in my browser. It's been open for at least 10 years. Every time it gets to the end, I go back to the beginning and start listening again.

What's in the playlist? 440+ hours of audio, consisting of every time Patrice O'Neal was a guest on The Opie & Anthony radio show. It's one thing to listen to a stand-up comedian while they are doing a special, or an interview at a late-night show. But it's something completely different when you get to listen to them just talk shit with their friends. Sure, now that everybody and their mother has a podcast this is not as unique, but you need to put yourself 20 years back in time, when this stuff was going on (the first episodes with Patrice are from 2002). And this was not just Patrice, but rather the entire Comedy Cellar crowd: Jimmy Norton (3rd mic on O&A), Bob Kelly, Rich Vos, Bill Burr, Nick Di Paolo, Colin Quinn, Louis CK.

π — Music For The Motion Picture ;; 05.04.24

This was the first CD that I ever bought.

As an awkward geeky teenager, I'd say it's impossible not to relate to Max. The fact that I've had migraines since I was a kid definitely did not help.

But this rec is not about the movie, it's about its soundtrack. Just take a look at the track list. This is how I found out about Aphex Twin and Autechre. This how I discovered Roni Size and Drum and bass in general. Yes, the rest of the album is great, don't feel sad I did not call your specific artist out, geez.

Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist ;; 01.04.24

I first saw this show as a teenager. It was airing in the local anime channel, as part of their western adult-focused content. And it was a Spanish dub. The humor was peculiar, the animation style was unique. I liked it, but did not think much of it.

It was when rediscovering it a few years later than I realized the genius of this show: It's just all a great excuse to have comedians come in and do a few minutes of material, as-is. The therapy setting makes it just work. And these were not just random comedians. You had Ron Lynch, Sarah Silverman, Jake Johannsen, Judy Tenuta, Louis CK, David Cross, and the list just keeps going.

I'm linking to Jonathan's website, you can find the show on DVD and online as well. Please do not watch the "HD" version, it's an AI upscale that completely destroys the original animation style.