The unstoppable cacophony of Manhattan’s ambient soundtrack – police sirens, a building’s gurgling water pipes, the banging and crashing of who-knows-what fail to stymie Steve Brodner’s gentle, yet acerbic comments. We are recording via Zoom, it’s around 8.30 pm, the famed political cartoonist appears to have the windows open, with no intention of allowing the outside racket to interfere with our conversation on his new book, Living & Dying In America. This is the type of scenario that Brodner is so apt to illustrate. Getting a point across while creating the ambiance of a “situation”. Living & Dying In America is a daily graphic diary of the covid-19 years, conceived, written, and drawn by the award-winning caricaturist. It is a testament to those who died, a chronicle of the hardships and the pain suffered by those who lived through it, a grim indictment of political and civic leaders who failed us, it’s a profound moral document of our times. The passing of Queen Elizabeth 11 has enabled all and sundry who have the tiniest connection to the royals to pontificate for hours on end over every facet of media, and true to form the networks have flown legions of commentators over to Blighty for seemingly non-stop 24/7 coverage of people standing in line for a month of Sundays, hoping to get a peek at the dead monarch. The whole parade of pomp and circumstance, and common folk weeping prompted a reflection on the monarchy, but that may be better left to another time when the current episode is over. So, we selected a different look at the royals, film and media critic Bob Ross will join the show to discuss Royalty in Movies. As always, Mr. Ross has somewhat of a twinkle in his eye as he unveils a list of Royals in Movies. How about you join in by telling us your choice for Royalty in Movies. Send your selection to [email protected].
To close the show, new experimental music from the Absorb label out of Melbourne, Australia. The World I Want Would Be Celestial, Wet is an exceptional double album featuring acclaimed and lesser-known artists. The label says, “This is their first full-length release, that serves as a timestamp of a very special chapter of contemporary experimental music being made in Naarm (Melbourne) and its surrounds. Absorb acknowledges the Custodians of the lands on which this publication was produced. So-called Australia is stolen land, where sovereignty was never ceded. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.” The cut we selected is I Don’t Hate You by Emily Fishpool. And, full marks for the excellent artwork. Enjoy!
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