Editor's Log 024
Low energy, strong opinions, and still showing up.
Hi all,
Welcome back to the Editor’s Log - on time again, that’s right! I wasn’t super outside this week; I’ve got exams coming up, but I got a few things done…
Monday
Jamie Demetriou visited the Criterion Closet and walked out with Being John Malkovich and Punch-Drunk Love, two personal favourites of mine, among some others. A fellow Cypriot and one of the most exciting people working in film and TV right now, I’m fully here for everything he does. If you haven’t seen Stath Lets Flats, that’s on you.
I picked up the latest Crack Magazine; I contributed to the Filter section of this issue, writing about Milo’s Susurrus, Teebo’s COD 45, Tkay Maidza’s Pressed, and Carré’s Hibiscus EP. They got my pronouns wrong though…
Tuesday
Anna Wintour and Meryl Streep on the cover of Vogue. So boring, so predictable. I’m not an Anna Wintour person (Sarah Mower clears, easily) and nothing from the Devil Wears Prada 2 promo has landed for me yet, even as someone who loves the original.
Ye has been banned from the UK ahead of Wireless. No complaints here. Tyler, The Creator was banned a decade ago for perceived homophobia, what Ye has done since is incomparably worse. Wireless really should have had a contingency in place. But the ban does expose an obvious double standard: spewing antisemitism gets you barred, but gushing transphobia or Islamophobia (see: Donald Trump) apparently doesn’t.
I also went to Lahore Kebab House for the first time. So leng. 100% recommend.
Wednesday
Kelela’s back. The new tune doesn’t get anywhere near Rewind or Contact for me, but it’s decent.
Despite being the nerd I am, I’d somehow never heard of the record label Road, even though it sat under Ammunition Promotions. As someone obsessed with both Margaret Calvert and grime/dubstep, this is quite embarrassing. Serious bangers in that catalogue. Hold tight Blue Dollar Billz for putting me on.
Sadiq Khan has pledged £30 million to youth centres across London - great news. My only caveat: so much youth funding goes towards responding to harm after it’s already happened, rather than preventing it in the first place. I hope this goes somewhere meaningful.
Took my mum to see Kibo at the Nike x Palace party at Club Cheek. She had more fun than me. (Honestly, fair.) I can’t wait for his headline show!
Thursday
Nick Land is, surely, one of the worst people alive. Right-accelerationist, technocapitalist, wants humanity to render itself obsolete… truly evil stuff. One tweet of his has been everywhere on my timeline, but I think he’s wrong (as usual). Mark Fisher once wrote that living and growing up in late capitalist Britain had come close to being reclassified as a sickness, does his death not prove it?
Friday
Jesse Bernard’s new book, Escaping Babylon, drops on 7th May, perfectly timed alongside V&A East’s upcoming exhibition on Black British Music. Cannot wait.
That evening I was on a panel at the BFI, hosted by Tag Agency and Five Fold. I was nervous going in, but it ended up being a lot of fun. I think I held my own. Hoping to do a longer one soon.
Saturday
Started reading Mrs Dalloway. She’s just like me fr: wandering around central London, thinking too much, bumping into people… A day in my life.
Finally watched One Battle After Another. I enjoyed it, but I’m still coming to a conclusion, wondering whether it actually says something.
Sunday
Justin Bieber played Coachella with just a laptop and a microphone, taking requests from the crowd. I thought it was cool, it makes complete sense for someone with his catalogue and internet-native rise. More of this, please.
Read the New Yorker’s Sam Altman piece. He’s not Nick Land-level evil, but he’s not to be trusted either. Worth your time if you can get to it.
Until next week,
Sik
P.S. Exam stress is at an all-time high. Send help.