Recommendations for lockdown.
If I were on a quiz show, the late 90s and early 2000s Australian alternate music might be my topic. It’s the music I grew up, listened to while I was studying at the end of high school, through uni and beyond. TripleJ hottest 100 playlists are still my go-to now when I’m doing endless hours of online assignment research or I’m in the car driving further than my 10km radius.
So how have I been filling the time during lockdown? With uni on break and it being the depths of dreary winter, I’ve been binge-watching tv shows, many many tv shows, Mare of Easttown? One night. Alone Season 6? One night. Long Way Up? One Night. Reading books, listening to podcasts, plus a lot of extra time grocery shopping, looking through every aisle even though I only need bread, milk and as always Diet Coke.
Without further adieu, here are a few things that are in my humble opinion well worth checking out.
Watching
The Secret Life of Us premiered in 2001, a tv show about a group of mid 20s friends living in the same apartment block in St Kilda, Melbourne. I loved this show when I was 22-ish. I desperately wanted to live in St Kilda right there with them. They were young, single, cool and were played by great actors (Claudia Karvan, Samuel Johnson, Deborah Mailman, Abi Tucker). Well written storylines addressed real issues (unwanted pregnancies, coming out, heartbreak, unexpected grief, dealing with the aftermath of making poor decisions). With at least 22 episodes per season of old fashioned long-form tv (where you had to wait a week to see what happened next), there is plenty here to keep you going. Honestly, I would only watch Seasons 1, 2 and 3. Season 4 was almost completely re-cast and lost the chemistry of the previous seasons. Oh and did I mention, that the show has an absolutely kick-ass late 90’s early 2000s alternative Australian music soundtrack
Reading
I sometimes choose books by the cover which is not a very intellectual way to choose books, but I also choose wine the same way. Even though that has resulted in having had to drink what tastes like cooking vinegar in this case, I got it totally right. This novel…… I read it in two sittings, all within 24 hours and almost did not stop. Well written by Liam Pieper, it is easy to read a punchy story of light, shade, love, scams, drugs and exotic locations. It’s not the easiest to find in bookshops, but I did find it in the local library, it is also available online. Get a copy, share it around. I really loved it. It also had a great cliffhanger ending which I won’t spoil except to say that it is a cracker.
I haven’t read many books (apart from textbooks and journal articles) this year, but one book I really enjoyed was Things I Learned from Falling by Claire Nelson. I also heard a brilliant podcast on ABC Conversations about her story. On a holiday in Joshua Tree she went for a hike out to the Lost Palms Oasis, only she didn’t quite make it, accidentally missing a trail marker, she wandered off the trail and fell 20ft down a rock face, smashing her pelvis. Nobody knew she was on the hike. It is the story of how she managed to keep her composure long enough to be rescued. She also gives us little insights into her life before the accident and the long recovery process following. As a hiker and a single gal I really loved this book.
Listening to
It’s ironic that I’m about to recommend a podcast about recommendations. Bang On is a weekly 30 minute-ish ABC podcast from Myf Warhurst (Spicks and Specs, ex Triple J) and Zan Rowe (Double J). Bang-On reviews pop culture of the last week, and gives recommendations on film, tv, music, books all with an alternative flavour.
New episodes drop each Friday and can be found here.
