Paris. They don’t even speak English there.

Nu Music Monday #25 / 31-05-2021

May 31, 2021

Hey there,

I’m Red, and welcome to Nu Music Monday. Glad to have you here.

Every week I write quick bites about some of my favorite tracks released in the past seven days (-ish). I also go into the latest music news when I feel like it and share stuff I think is worth your time.

We dive into uncharted territory this week with a brief excursion in film with some thoughts on the brilliant ‘The Father’. The usual crop of stellar new music follows.

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The Father: a fragmented and heavy account of memory loss and strained relationships

An award-winning film usually scores points for its script, its acting, its directing, its editing or its soundtrack. More often than not, the movie’s success relies on a combination of two, three, maybe four of those building blocks. More rare are the cases when all five pillars of the feature experience are equally strong and necessary to its effectiveness.

Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller wrote a magnificent and sensitive narrative anchored in Anthony’s (Anthony Hopkins) journey through dementia. Father-daughter ties are central to the story too, revealing long-standing strains and the necessity for self-preservation. Wounds fester, love remains. The narrative could have been wasted if it wasn’t for Yorgos Lamprinos’ editing: it allows a gradual and comprehensive tour of Anthony’s worm-eye view as the lids flicker with varying degrees of intensity.

Olivia Colman (Anne) raises the bar as per usual with her own performance. Full of heart and nuance, she appears driven by empathy and conflicted about her own well-being. The woman disappears behind the character: Colman no more, Anne would steal the show if it wasn’t for one of the best dramatic performances in recent memory from her co-star.

Witty, sly, confused, troubled, snarky, lost; Hopkins’ performance is all-encompassing from the moment he enters the room. He handles the subject matter with care and conviction: the mind flickers behind agitated eyes and each silence is used to advance the narrative. Less is less and more is more but the humanity remains palpable: in Hopkins’ case, it’s all there, frighteningly precise and blurry at the same time.

A must-see.

The Nutshell ~ news of the week

The Weeknd UK @updatesweeknduk

You can now watch the full performance of The Weeknd and Ariana Grande at the #iHeartAwards︎2021

The Weeknd and Ariana Grande sang together at the iHeartRadio Music Awards and the rendition of ‘Save Your Tears’ is arguably the best vocal performance of award season. Ariana’s voice sounds fuller than ever before and the confidence and joy exuded throughout is simply delightful. Near impossible to find online now (copyright is a bitch) but the tweet above does the job just fine.