What book, novel, poem, film, piece of music etc has ever made you feel "thank GOD we have this art & that I have experienced this"? It doesn't have to be "literary"or "high brow," don't worry about that, just tell me yours
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For me it was Cosmos by Carl Sagan. About a quarter way in I started reading it as a human passionately explaining the universe we live in with deep feelings of “look how lucky we are to experience this” and that’s when it went from hardcore informational text to a piece of artwork for me.
Anything written by Ursula K Le Guin and Margaret Killjoy.
I am also extremely grateful to exist at the same time as the Kpop group SHINee. Their ballads especially have done so much for my blood pressure at life's most stressful moments. 😅
Mine is a bit highbrow: The Brahms Piano Concerto #2 in Bb. It was love at first hearing (unlike # 1, which I took a long time to learn to love). Its first movement is almost a complete symphonic work on its own. And there is a part of it that sounds to me like the music of Star Wars. Good idea!
Any book written by Emily Henry. She just has a way of storytelling that captures your attention and sucks you right in. She writes FMC’s who are so relatable in ways that I find myself learning more about who I am. Emily hasn’t written a single uninteresting story. She’s magic.
It's not obvious at all, I had to sit on my hands to not post Vivaldi's 4 seasons or Mozart's Requiem/Dies Irae. Like "yeah duh" on one hand but on the other - some pieces of work are classic masterpieces through the ages for REASONS
Recently saw Kinky Boots at Gallery Players in Brooklyn. The show has always been a favorite of mine - but this cast was so inspired. Cried, laughed, and left with that exact thought in my mind. (https://www.galleryplayers.com/)
T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, the green light session of The Greatest Showman where Hugh Jackman unexpectedly sings despite recovering from cancer surgery, and the Tom Holland Umbrella video.
The Birdcage is one of my favorite movies and I am so glad it exists.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry is one I return to so often, it's such a comfort read.
Come Monday by Jimmy Buffett will always give me peace.
Years ago I went to a Cincinnati Ballet Spring fling. In 1 short piece set to Vivaldi, dancers were draped in white cloth that flowed & changed color as they moved thru lights & behind a shadow screen. It was so stunning we sat mesmerized, then leapt to our feet in wild applause. It was perfection!
First book that came to mind was Abhorsen by Garth Nix. Read it as a teenager and it always stuck with me. Seems silly that it had such an impact on me.
I hope so. He did so much great stuff. 39 studio albums I think, and I've owned 27 of them. I especially liked his early stuff and his late stuff before he died.
1999 always lifted my mood.
Parts of it are really explicit but it's my favorite.
The debut novel, Like Water For Chocolate by Mexican novelist and screenwriter Laura Esquivel, first published in 1989. In 1992 Mexican romantic drama film in the style of magical realism based on the novel. Fast forward to 2022, ballet adaptation with choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.
In music there is Twenty One Pilots. They have helped me a lot in navigating through some of my most hard times. Even though they have gone more mainstream now, their music is still very thought provoking!
Maybe not what you're expecting, but we experienced the most amazing multimedia banquet at the Montreal Science Center this weekend - everything from scents to visuals and the air moving in your hair - amazing work. Watch the video
honestly same I'm a huge huge fan of Christopher Jackson as Washington especially! I be ugly crying when he's like "I want to sit under my own vine and fig tree" just the awfullest sobs
“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” (1997) and Barbara Neely’s “Blanche on the Lam”. Both helped me fall in love with stories again when I was beginning to be disillusioned.
ohhhhh that's a great question, every indie webcomic i've ever read??? Gunnerkrigg Court by @gunnerkrigg.bsky.social , Bybloemen by @bybloemen.bsky.social , The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya by @reimenayee.com and Griz Grobus by @simonroy.bsky.social / Jess Pollard / @thenazavr.bsky.social !!
yes!! honestly i think a lot about how many great webcomics that are just hiding out there waiting to be discovered by accident online and how lucky we are to find the ones we have!
Disney channel. any show or Disney channel original movie. It ignited and awakened this burning passion in me to be and to create. And the little mermaid. Even now I can access my inner child through 2000s disney
EVERY. TIME. I was so excited to see it live but he didn't end up playing it at my show. 😭 He was sick so I get it, but also, how dare he. I just wanted to publicly cry to the pretty roadkill song. lol
I adore Francesca! Like, so much so that I bought a print of Gustave Dore's Paolo and Francesca to hang in my house. Idk how that man made an actually perfect album, but he did.
Starry night; infinity on high (album by fall out boy); folie a deux (another fob album); the circus (album by my beloveds in The Venetia Fair); Charlotte's webb; The Secret Garden; so so many things.
Omg!!!!!!! Folie a Duex is my most played album of all time and I’ve literally never met anyone that’s cared about it like me!!!! I used to play the CD in my car before auditions and belt with Patrick so I could get all the nerves out! 🖤🖤🖤
I love this question! I was recently introduced to the movie Birdcage. So much of fanfic I have consumed has made me feel this. Chappell Roan lately. Dragon Age/Mass Effect as a whole.
Hearing Satie’s Gymnopedies 3 for the first time. The film Hannah and Her Sisters. Standing in front of Van Gogh’s Potato Eaters. Reading The Bone People.
The movies Paprika, Millennium Actress, and Perfect Blue, and the animated series Paranoia Agent by Satoshi Kon. It saddens me that he's no longer with us, but I'm beyond grateful his work exists. Also, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki. Quirky, fashionable, fun, and memorable.
Yeah, it really still hurts that he's not with us, but my god does the art he left behind SPEAK. JJBA has such a wonderful sensibility and authenticity about it, bizarre as that might seem - i really enjoyed what I saw of it
Was decades late to first hear the Jeff Buckley Grace album but found Lover, You Should’ve Come Over the most moving ‘arty thing’ experienced in eons. Closely followed by Lilac Wine. Amazing when something just rouses you in the moment
Insomniac City by Bill Hayes. A realistic and fascinating look into the life of an amazing guy in his field. If you’re interested in Oliver Sacks at all I highly recommend it.
Music? #TheRollingStones live in May 2024. I wasn’t the only one who had an out of body experience. The beat got inside me and then I WAS the beat. The whole band was so full of joy. Top 5 lifetime experiences.
John Williams in general, but to be more specific, the Jurassic Park theme with the come up high fills my soul in a way few things can. The Schindler‘s list theme is haunting and uniquely beautiful as well.
The album Kaleidoscope Heart by Sara Bareilles helped me dig myself out of a deep depression years ago following a tough breakup. She reminded me that it was okay to feel bad now but know it will get better. Also, how to love myself more than anyone who didn't care about me.
In fourth grade I was given a copy of To Build a Fire, by my teacher. I read it over and over till it was in rough condition. It still brings me immense joy.
Choral music does this for me: whether sung, conducted, or just listened, there are transcendent pieces that are awesome in the true sense.
King’s College Choir
Rene Clausen
Arvo Pärt
Moses Hogan
Eric Whitacre
to name a few
The film “El Norte”; the 7 minute clip of Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dancing “Begin the Beguine”; Frankie Manning, King of the Lindy Hop and ambassador of all things good. Books: Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead”.
My husband’s writing 🥰🙇♀️ the link is on my profile if anyone is interested!! They are beautiful books about existence and nature 🩷 hoping to spread the word here 🦋
For me it’s “The Batman” because that character has always been my personal hero. Whenever I’m feeling down I rewatch it because the whole plot revolves around Batman becoming hope and I just need that every once in a while.
The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George. Historical fiction written in first person. She writes beautifully. Felt like I was listening to a close friend.
Ballad of Black Tom
Clipping in general
Tyler the creator’s Igor
Idw transformers phase ii
Titanfall 2
Ateez’s Answer and a couple other songs
Agustd’s Burn it down
Jhopes Arson
Janelle’s dirty computer
Shadowshaper
That ecstatic well of poignancy and gratitude, when you feel blessed to be human and sentient and alive and comprehending!! I love how it's not just classically hopeful stuff that provokes this feeling either. It's a combination of being seen and being pushed, almost
Yeah, it’s about how deeply the art burrows into me, how much space it takes up (but without feeling negative— like I’m grateful for the space it takes up)
Ray Bradburys The October Country. Hands down my favorite short story collection. The Emissary just oozes autumn vibes. Also I recently discovered Cold Comfort Farm and it was such a delight of a book.
The stained glass of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. It's overwhelming in its beauty. I'm so thankful it's survived nearly 800 years for us to be able to experience being surrounded by such awestriking artwork and the results of extraordinary levels of talent.
I truly miss the ambition and aesthetic eye and artisan skill that came together to create these beautiful places of worship that we are so lucky to still have
Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time. No exaggeration to say that by the end of the movie I was openly sobbing for about sixteen separate reasons.
Chronicles of Narnia instill such a sense of peace, comfort, and nostalgia in me 🥰 loved them as a kid, and I still love to return to them every now and then
Casey Lee Williams and Jeff Williams musical work on RWBY. Really just RWBY in general. The show looked bad at the start, written strange at some points, but the music was always good and I appreciate the fact you can hear Casey’s voice and style maturing and actively see the animation improve
Usually the most recent recital at the Wigmore Hall. This week, the Schubert piano trios. A week or two back, his last string quartet and the string quintet.
The whole experience since last year of Chappell Roan / The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, and also everything I’ve ever read by Nghi Vo (I love this question, I can’t wait to read the replies!)
from Gundam Hathaways Flash, makes me think a better world is possible. That we can do it, that we can make that world with our own hands. That we get to be apart of this work is the highest calling we can have.
I walked down the isle to this song at my wedding.
literally the first thing that came to mind is 17776 (what football will look like in the future). It's just so unique and touching and hopeful hopeful hopeful without pretending away the bitter in a bittersweet existence. I'm due for a reread, actually, I think
Cyberpunk 2077. The story telling and emotions conveyed is insanely powerful for a game I wasn't expecting much from at launch. The "Times have changed" ending in Phantom Liberty was a parallel of my actual real life and it was done so well I actually cried my eyes out. It was like I was V.
Life As We Knew It series (Susan Pfeffer), Devil’s Night series (Penelope Douglas), Labour (Paris Paloma), Strange Fruit (Billie Holiday) Hound Dog (Big Mamma Thorton and FUCK elvis for stealing her song and the original meaning), Gilmore Girls, The 100, and every single Madea movie/play/ etc.
Bells for Stokowski by Michael Daugherty - the composition is hauntingly beautiful and has some neat performance effects that make me wish to hear it in person one day
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I am also extremely grateful to exist at the same time as the Kpop group SHINee. Their ballads especially have done so much for my blood pressure at life's most stressful moments. 😅
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1071804/
Oh, and The Golden Girls
- any toni morrison or zora neale hurston book.
- steven's universe LMAO
Book Lovers by Emily Henry is one I return to so often, it's such a comfort read.
Come Monday by Jimmy Buffett will always give me peace.
1999 always lifted my mood.
Parts of it are really explicit but it's my favorite.
https://open.spotify.com/album/4baVGjGtGhgpb0oEqjSkLi?si=9a9af84d0e6248bb
https://www.centredessciencesdemontreal.com/exposition-temporaire/l-exposition-interactive-banquet
Oh, and Les Miserables. It has EVERYTHING.
I can't think of another piece of media that has made me appreciate the awe and terror of space, or that has tackled existentialism so beautifully.
Definitely recommended to anyone with even a passing interest in videogames.
https://bsky.app/profile/heroespeak.bsky.social/post/3lauuwu6adc2g
Love Simon & Garfunkel, but David Draiman hits it out of the park.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4
And timely, “and the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made.”
And Egon Schiele's artwork.
One of the most extraordinary experiences I’ve ever had.
Riviera Paradise -- Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
A Change is Gonna Come -- Tina Turner or Sam Cooke's version
Uncle Remus -- Frank Zappa
Brother to Brother -- Van Zant Brothers
Who Wants to Live Forever -- Queen
King’s College Choir
Rene Clausen
Arvo Pärt
Moses Hogan
Eric Whitacre
to name a few
The most recent musical find that gives me chills is this rendition of the Bulgarian folk song Kaval Sviri:
https://youtu.be/hVqrW-fPOQ0?si=HlerYkxlSwB18Ydw
https://youtu.be/m34eD21QzUw?si=jZ_JLtUFUGy3au7A
https://youtu.be/hln5pmiuqDE?si=9IQxDpTZmJgINhVfas
Books - “The Priory of the Orange Tree,” long but super intriguing)
Film - “The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928),” it’s a silent film but so much is told to us from expression alone.
https://youtu.be/pGt37zt_2oY?si=mn_qR8JTN9bdY9g0
1991
Artist:
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
I've just never been the same
Hugh Prather
Life mile marker 1970's
Clipping in general
Tyler the creator’s Igor
Idw transformers phase ii
Titanfall 2
Ateez’s Answer and a couple other songs
Agustd’s Burn it down
Jhopes Arson
Janelle’s dirty computer
Shadowshaper
Dermott kennedys tiny desk
Promare soundtrack
Neverending story
The Hill We Climb
Listening to her read it that first time was amazing. 💙
So we lift our gazes not to what stands between us,
but what stands before us…
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another,
we seek harm to none and harmony for all.
So so good I can't help but sing/whistle along to all the songs whenever I listen to them
Why oh why did he have to die at only 31?
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
from Gundam Hathaways Flash, makes me think a better world is possible. That we can do it, that we can make that world with our own hands. That we get to be apart of this work is the highest calling we can have.
I walked down the isle to this song at my wedding.
Fleabag. Especially season 2.