A new month and a name change!
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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