Enjoy!

Steve

This month for me has mainly been two things: music and reading. I’ve found myself with a bit of time off, and of course, rather than just read one book, I’ve got my head stuck in two. So hopefully, by the next on rotation, I’ll be able to update you on one of those. With that time off, I’ve also been putting on a lot of music, and I wanted to share just three albums today that are really standing out for me.

Salutations by Realizer - 4/5

On my time away, I found myself searching for more relaxing music, some jazz, and some guitar-based stuff. Classical guitar was one of my first instruments that I learned, and that’s why this album by Realizer has really jumped out at me. I’ve had this on rotation because it’s some incredibly beautiful classical guitar playing with really modern and melodic tools. If you want to sit back and enjoy some great guitar playing in the background, this is an awesome album to throw on.

Stream on Spotify:

Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise by The Dear Hunter 5/5

So, being in the process of working on an album with one of my main bands has got me back into listening for a defining album that can help articulate the tone, style, and influence in terms of what we’re playing.

I’ve actually chosen a song off this and suggested it as a reference track for our mixing. It’s got me back into listening after this. It’s one of my favourite The Dear Hunter albums.

Act IV and Act V are both incredible albums. They take you on an absolute journey, combining different styles very much in the alt-rock world, but a very progressive, almost experience going through this album. This would have to be one of my favorite albums of all time. I’ve been listening to it for years, and every time I go back to it, I feel like it’s something new again. So, yeah, this one’s got a lot of musicality in it. Hope you enjoy it.

Stream on Spotify:

Kid A by Radiohead 5/5

Is it possible to have 6/5?

Pretty impossible to not have Radiohead on this month. Of course, they’ve just announced their Australian tour, and I cannot tell you how excited I am to have some tickets to see them in Melbourne on one of the dates. I saw them last time in Australia, and it was hard to think of a show quite like it. Naturally, they’re back on my listening list. Hard to pick an album, but I’ve always been so obsessed with the keyboard line that kicks off the Kid A album. I think it’s such an amazing opening track, and it always makes me want to immediately put this on. If I haven’t listened to Radiohead in a while, I immediately want to start with “Everything in Its Right Place” and go from there. There’s part of me secretly that’s like, whoa, that’ll be great, if they start with that in their live set.

But look, there’s quite a chance that I’ll be sharing a Radiohead album here every month, leading up to their show in May next year. So we’ll see what happens. But yeah, not much extra explanation needed!

Stream on Spotify:

Kaye

A mix of new material and old this time around. Branching out a lot this time this month and found myself at the movies once again.

Six of Crows: a Darker Shore, Leigh Bardugo 5/5

The long awaited, yet surprising third instalment of the Six of Crows duology, A Darker Shore is the perfect, controlled glimpse into the events post duology. As a lover of these books in my teenage years, I’ve been looking forward to buying this book since news came out of its release.

If you haven’t read the duology, do yourself a favour and read through it. Bardugo’s two stories are New Adult, but is a gripping, mature and emotionally poignant story that has stayed with me for years. It’s something special to have characters you grew up with suddenly be the same age as you again. First with the new ATLA movie and now with the resurgence of the Crows, it’s been a good year for my younger self.

The humor, the worldbuilding, the designs, the score, the puzzles - all of it is amazing and fully transports you into the world of Ketterdam once more. One of the highlights of my year and a very very easy 5/5

Serena joy, oliva rodrigo 5/5

A single, post third studio album from Rodrigo and just before her Daisy Chain festival, Rodrigo offers a quiet, rageful commentary on the current landscape of women’s rights in America. As someone watching on from Australia, Rodrigo’s refusal to back down from what she believes in and her constant, brave and admirable stance against discriminatory politics elevates her from a regular pop star into a role model.

Named after an antagonist/ victim from The Handmaid’s Tale the song balances a rage that is so deeply ingrained in the female experience with the youthful hope of togetherness. 5/5.

The Mentalist 3.5/5

A procedural, enclosed story each episode, The Mentalist seems to be a mix of Law and Order and Sherlock, yet with its own optimistic spin.

The character of Patrick Jane, a mentalist - someone who is a master manipulator, stands on his own. It’s a breath of fresh air to have a smart and slightly arrogant character be written as a genuine kind person. Compared to other leading men that share the same mental acuity - Sherlock, Dr. House, Tony Stark, to name a few, Patrick Jane is able to hold his own. Halfway through the first season it’s a good background show or a show to just relax after a long day. 3.5/5

The Box Man, Kobe Abe 3/5

A man decides to live the rest of his life in a box. That’s the premise of the book.

Intriguing but weird. I’ve read one other story by Kobe and that’s The Woman in the Dunes, a twilight zone episodic storyline too. I did enjoy the book, but couldn’t cast the idea that this idea for a story would have such widely different connotations if the author, or even just the unnamed protagonist, was a woman.

Spider- Man: Brand New Day 4/5

The best of the Holland Spiderman movies, in my opinion.

I quite enjoyed the movie. The stunts and choreography were very good and the actual Spiderman suit itself was synthetic which really helped with the realism of the movie. There were quite a lot of mature decisions of the characters that seemed quite out of place for a Marvel movie - in a good way.

It seemed to be quite a feat to produce a very good movie after the introduction of Toby Macguire and Andrew Garfield’s respective spidermen in the third instalment of the franchise, (spoilers, whoops) but Brand New Day delivers on plot, character development, pacing and humor.

Personally, whenever there’s a fight scene, regardless of genre, it’s always more interesting to me when characters of different strengths, sizes and powers fight each other - waterbenders vs earthbenders, (ATLA) or humans vs titans (Attack on Titan) , or even a wrestler vs a bjj fighter (Physical 100).

With the lack of female-led superhero movies, the dynamics of a fight scene with Spiderman, a hero that relies heavily on gymanstics is really fun to view and shows what we could have had with more Black Widow movies.

The only note in the film is the normalisation of surveillance equipment by Peter Parker, which seemed to be very out of character - that and his rewritten financial situation, it seems like they’ve slowly moved away from the broke student since Mcguire’s interpretation.

Melodrama, Lorde 4/5

Inspired to listen to the album for the first time because of a recent painting and very happy I did.

The second studio album by the Royals singer, Melodrama is the perfect blend alternative/indie/ pop album. My favourites are Green Light, Liability and Supercut - I have listened to those songs before, but they did stand out again against the others. As a theatre lover, I do very appreciate the use of Liability and Liability Reprise.

Prima, ADELA 4/5

The first full album of the Slovakian singer and a very strong sound.

Despite being a relatively new artist Adela has her branding locked down, her particular taste of music is so succinctly fine-tuned throughout her album. She knows exactly who she is and what she’s selling. Her unique fashion of punk-ballet,her soft, sultry vocals and evocative lyrics blend seamlessly together. Her songs range from club bangers (Boys, I’m the Man, Nicole Kidman) to soft sentimentalities (Hitachi, Therapy), to her pride of being an immigrant runs through the whole album from the opening track KGB to the closing track Ain’t in LA.

What have you been reading, listening to or watching? Let us know in the comments below. See you next week for a brand new article. And next month for another rendition of On Rotation.

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Futureative Favourites = On Rotation.

Welcome to episode 2, the August edition of what we at Futureative have consumed over the past month. This month: Some new media and some throwbacks.

Enjoy!

Steve

Talking With Strangers by MAXON - 5/5

Maxon is a local, Victorian-based artist and an incredibly talented songwriter. I was lucky enough to go to uni with them, actually. They have an absolutely incredible band, and this year, they released their debut album, Talking With Strangers. It is an absolute start-to-finish classic album with incredible songwriting and production.

This is the sort of album you can tell is hard-won, the kind of album where you can hear pure craft and care in every song. It’s definitely on my list to get out to a live show soon. For now, if you find yourself on a Sunday afternoon in need of a little pick-me-up, it’s the perfect album to turn up the volume on, sit back, and just appreciate something written so beautifully by some absolutely incredible musicians.

You can stream it on Spotify using the link below, or, if you’d like to support this independent artist, consider buying the album on Bandcamp.

Stream on Spotify:

Support them by buying in Bandcamp:

Behind the scenes for a day with Bears coach Ben Johnson - 4/5

Reading has always been an obstacle for me. I absolutely love it when I get into something, but if I’m busy or preoccupied, I find it incredibly hard to focus. So, I don’t have a new book that I can talk about this month; but I have been reading articles, it’s just a little left of field...

The thing that has my attention right now is this article about the head coach of the Chicago Bears. Yeah, okay, super niche, Steve. A couple of years ago I found myself getting fascinated by the NFL and here I am now interested in everything that goes on behind the scenes in building a championship caliber team. A reporter from The Athletic was able to spend one day with Ben Johnson and has written an article exploring what it’s like to see the Chicago Bears through his eyes.

Ben Johnson is trying to create a culture that can win a Super Bowl and go beyond that. A functioning organisation versus a non-functioning organisation in the NFL is a fascinating topic to me (for reference the Bears have been dysfunctional for a long time but are being turned around by Ben), and there are aspects here which flow through into any industry, including creative industries. I’ve read it twice, learned a lot about culture, discipline & goal setting and I will read it again for sure.

You should be able to access the article via this link.

Spit - 3.5.5

It is so hard to remember to consume creative work that is actually Australian. It’s just the sheer reach of American culture and distribution. So I’m definitely trying to keep a lookout at the moment for Australian works.

This movie popped up on Netflix and it’s a star-studded Australian cast of absolutely incredible actors. David Wenham is, look, no surprises, fantastic. This is just a fun movie. Is it the best movie ever made? Is it going to win awards? It’s not that type of film; this is just fun and well worthy of your time. Because David Wenham plays such a strong character, and it’s the sort of performance that you can just be entertained by. There are some really heartwarming moments. It’s funny, it keeps your interest and it’s just fun seeing a lot of classic Australian actors appear throughout. You can see that the cast had a lot of fun producing it.

So let’s keep getting behind Australian cinema whenever it’s there. In my mind, it’s worth the watch.

Kaye

The Fall - 3.5/5

On the anniversary of her husband’s rock climbing accident, Becky and her best friend climb a 2,000ft broadcasting tower and become stranded at the top.

Released in 2022, Fall is a survival thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat (pun intended). 127 hours adjacent, the film interjects the personal growth of the characters in between the dizzying drop. Excellent pacing and great moments of hope and determination.

Perfect if you’re looking for a movie to get your anxiety up a little.

I found that I’m quite fond of horror movies where the goal is just: survive. Whalefall, Alien, any shark movie - I’m completely intrigued regardless of how out there it might be. Fall 2: Deadpoint is coming out in a couple of weeks (tagline: Are you down?) as well as Whalefall in a couple months time.

The Odyssey - 4.5/5

The story of Odysseus trying to get home after the Trojan War.

With a powerhouse cast, The Odyssey delivers on cinematography, score, set design and animatronics. Although 3 hours, the pacing and sporadic plot movements keep you seated for the whole run time. As someone whose read around the Odyssey (Ransom by (xxxx), The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood and of course, Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan) it is my favourite Christopher Nolan film.

Half a star shaved off because I would have liked to explore Penelope and the maid’s storyline a lot more. A really good movie!

petal- 4/5

The eight studio albums by the popstar, the pop / R&B album, the album is deep, moving and sonically interesting. It’s very intriguing to see Grande move from pop towards darker, smoother vocals. My favourite album from the songwriter to date.

What have you been reading, listening to or watching? Let us know in the comments below. See you next week for a brand new article.

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Read the newest issue of The DeepDive: Fast Lane, Slow Lane

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7/12 months into the year and the official end of the financial year. Hopefully, you’ve gotten your tax returns in!

We’re introducing yet another new series to our little corner of Substack - Futureative’s Favourites, that we’re calling “On Rotation”. In short, it’s a list of the media that both Steve and I have consumed over the past month that we have some thoughts on. A book recommendation can tell you a lot about a person, so hopefully you get to know us a little better!

Kaye’s Favourites

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus - 4/5

The Martian meets 127 hours.

While diving to retrieve his father’s bones, a scuba diver is swallowed by a sperm whale. He has one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out. Poignant, gripping and with exceptional prose, Whalefall is a dual timeline novella that will leave you emotionally invested, incredibly claustrophobic and rooting against the impossible.

I would recommend listening to the audiobook, like I did, while being under a weighted blanket. Makes for quite a unique experience. The movie comes out in October and if you’re not too claustrophobic, I recommend watching the trailer!

The Poppy War by R.F.Kuang - 4/5

Game of Thrones meets the Priory of the Orange Tree.

After acing the Keju, orphaned nobody Rin gains admission to Sinegard Military Academy. There, she realises she has a gift for the forgotten art of shamanism.

With its lyrical language and thoroughly researched and blooming world, The Poppy War beautifully captures the toil and turmoil of war on a nation and a singular person.

As an avid fantasy reader I can’t believe I’m waiting this long to read The Poppy War, but it lives up to its hype. I’ve gotten the trilogy for my birthday so I’ll be going through the books in rapid succession.

you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, Olivia Rodrigo - 5/5

The third album from the pop singer doesn’t disappoint. Alongside Sour and Guts, this third installment beautifully encapsulates the tragic-comedy of being in your early twenties and is a microcosm for girlhood and change.

On par with her first two albums, this third one hits all the right notes. Though, the cure might be my favourite.

The Book of Mormon - 3.5/5

Two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attempt to preach their faith to the people of a Ugandan village oppressed by a local warlord.

Balancing the nervous discussion around religion, faith and real world problems, Book of Mormon toes the line of comedy and heart.

As someone who went into the show without knowing anything about the show, I was very surprised and entertained. The songs are catchy, the cast was fantastic and as someone who didn’t watch South Park, I’m now intrigued by their other works.

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Steve’s Favourites

The God We Made: The Treat and Promise of Artificial Intelligence by Anna Goldsworthy - 5/5

Gosh. So, I was really trying to think of something else that I could rapidly read, because this probably points to the weirdly nerdy, analytical part of my brain, more than my creativity, but here we are. I’m actually reading the latest quarterly essay, which I find fascinating because it is written by a creative person. They’re reflecting in a very thoughtful, theoretical, and research-backed, but also practical way on the current state of AI and how it’s impacting the world. In particular, there’s a lot of discussion about how it’s likely to change and reshape the creative industries.

I’m finding it a fascinating read, just as a way to pause and reflect on the world that we are moving into. It’s definitely getting me thinking more and more about the importance of how we find ways to protect human creativity.

Deadloch, created by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan - 4.5/5

When a local man turns up dead on the eve of the Winter Festival in Deadloch, Tasmania, two detectives and an eager junior constable are sent to investigate the crime.

This is one of the best pieces of Australian TV that I’ve seen in some time, and it is on so many accounts. If this was created by anyone else or in another country, I just don’t think I would be into it. But if you haven’t seen either of the blocks, they are brilliant because of the writers, the creators of the show, known colloquially as The Kates.

This is, start to finish, one of the best scripts I think I’ve heard recently. It has over-the-top, rapid-fire lines that place a lot of trust in the viewer to follow along and keep up with the gags, which are constant, clever, and crass.

The overall season two of Deadloch does not disappoint. It follows the story and narrative of another kind of detective series, which usually isn’t the sort of thing that I’m into. But with the way it’s been written and cast, it’s an exceptional show and well worth the time.

The WOW! Signal, Muse - 4/5

I’ve been a Muse fan since the beginning. Absolution was one of the albums of my adolescence that inspired me to keep wanting to get better at guitar. They were for many years one of my favourite bands. And here we are, with their latest album, The WOW! Signal.

It can be a rocky road, I think, following a band like this for such a long period of time. It can be your favourite band for a number of years, and then their genre and style changes and evolves, as do your tastes. I’ve even had moments where I’m unsure if Muse is for me still, but I put on this latest album, and it took me one full listen through to work out “Is this an album I’m going to like or not like?”

After the second listen, I was just absolutely hooked. It’s like some type of snapshot of all the different eras that Muse has been through. It has aspects of their newer, more pop side, but also aspects of their earlier rock side. There’s even some of their older-style guitar solos starting to shine through.

It’s an epic album, and I can’t turn it off right now. It’s definitely bringing the vibes; even if those vibes are somewhat dystopian. Funnily enough, it would also be an outstanding soundtrack whilst reading the latest issue of The Quarterly Essay. Maybe it’s the perfect album for the times.

What have you been reading, listening to or watching? Let us know in the comments below. See you next week for a brand new article.

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Read the newest issue of The RoundUp: How do you create consistently?

Read the newest issue of The Practise: The Artist's Way: Week One

Read the newest issue of The DeepDive: The World Needs What You Make

Front Row is your backstage pass to our essays, workshops, and online summits on navigating the future of creativity. Built by, for & with independent creatives.

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