Scene & Heard - #1
Visiting The Golden God, The Great Exhaustion & More
‘Scene & Heard’ is a monthly exhibition (in your inbox) of curious listens, cinema flicks, reads, and other writings that capture the essence of the moment, and more importantly…are worth sharing—enjoy!
Music
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss — ‘Can’t Let Go’ 2024 Tour
At the beginning of the month, I had the chance to hear the ‘Golden God’ himself in concert alongside his partner-in-crime, Alison Krauss. The two (along with the band fronted by JD McPherson) performed songs from their sophomore collaboration Raise The Roof released in what feel as if not that long ago in 2021. Despite his age of 75, Robert’s vocal performance is fine tuned and thoughtfully arranged—far out-performing his contemporaries by a wide margin. As far as I’m concerned—he’s still the undisputed kingpin of Rock n’ Roll to my ears.
The highlight of the performance (setlist spoiler alert!) was the ominous transition from the previous Raise the Roof tracks into two of Zeppelin’s most beloved ‘The Battle of Evermore’ and a reworking of ‘When The Levee Breaks’, both titles from Zeppelin’s 24x Platinum fourth album in 1971. What separates their performance from the rest is the ‘cosmic energy’ that emerges out of the lungs and hands into the masses before them—a persistent element of suspense, mystery, and adventure carrying through every verse and song.
The good news is that they are still in the midst of their US leg of the tour, so if they’re near your city—I’d recommend you make your way out to the show. If you’re not able to attend, there’s always YouTube…right?
Here’s the link for the full concert that I attended, although this is not my recording.
Literature
The Count Of Monte Cristo (1844) — Alexandre Dumas
Earlier this month I decided to begin reading ‘the count,’ my reading project for the summer that I expected to take up the whole expanse of summertime—just to have it finished in its entirety within only 11 days.
This Victorian age classic, epic in size and in tale crosses themes of revenge, hope, mercy, romance, and the pursuit of divine justice—what not to love? The radical plots devised by its author, Dumas, and carried out by the beings of his creation transfix and subtlety enchant the reader concerning the multitude of social and psychological qualms presented in the text.
What propelled me to conquer this feat of a read in such a short time is the protagonist (Edmond Dantès), which has caused me to contemplate/reconsider my ideas aligned to perspective and virtue in literature.
Above all—this tale is a fun, often comical read full of rousing moments that make it quite impossible to put down—yet also bearing a foreboding, staggering vengeance to life.
Film
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) — Jacques Demy
From observing the cult-like following La La Land has acquired in recent years, I decided to check out the musical which directer Damian Chazelle said to have been the single greatest influence for his 2016 success of La La Land—and after watching… and rewatching again and again, I now understand where this fascination of his came from, along with the critical acclaim its received ever since the theatrical release in 1964 (note: its quite possibly the most chic film out there to date!).
From the first frame, you’re immediately taken aback by the exuberant sounds, vibrant colors, and surreal night-lit streets of Cherbourg, France set in the late 1950s—a setting thought to have only been accessible by a dream. The two characters of passion of which we follow, Guy Foucher and Geneviève Emery, are effortlessly charming and self-evidently inseparable from us, the viewer.
Although this film is filled to the brim with dynamic hues and glamour, our ‘Romeo and Juliet’ are woefully vulnerable to fate as the French military’s involvement in the Algerian War brings the two to inconsolable dire straits.
There are few films that I’ve encountered in which I can truthfully say I can rewatch time, and time again without fatigue—and Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of those titles.
See the trailer for the film here.
‘Stack Of The Month
“Brand’s Prepare for ‘The Great Exhaustion’ of 2026” —
I’ve often wondered and speculated on what companies will do when we finally grow weary of their product-pushing digital clutter invading every crevice of our lives. Even as a ‘Gen-Zer,’ I can recall multiple times speaking with my contemporaries about how we unapologetically plan to ditch our iPhones and live tech free—and believe me, this is takes place more often than you’d think concerning people my age. We all look forward to a time where the ‘consumerist-microchip’ will be removed from our heads and thrown into the weeds. Although this sounds like a dream to be free of it all, I suspect there’ll be a way for corporations to capitalized off of our vulnerability when we’ve become exhausted and susceptible.
This post is an excellent forecast for the future and hints at what methods companies will employ to regain the upper hand.
Read the full post here.