The Broad’s Creative Team is back with their favourite song, film, and book choices from the past month!
LISTEN
Srishti’s Recommendation: Hozier and Karen Cowley, ‘In A Week’
Hozier, ‘Hozier’, Spotify
This song is track number seven on Hozier’s self-titled debut album, released in 2014. Although other songs on the album catch your attention more at first, after a couple of listens I found this one really sticking with me. It is the only duet on the album, and Hozier and Karen Cowley’s voices blend seamlessly with Hozier’s characteristic folksy guitar and percussion. The lyrics are, as is to be expected from Hozier, hauntingly poetic, speaking of a love lasting far beyond the grave, as two corpses rot together for ‘so long, we’d become the flowers’. The combination of darkness and romance struck a chord with me this month, and I think this song is a hidden gem within Hozier’s stunning discography.
Sorcha’s Recommendation: Grian Chatten & Hinds, ‘Stranger’
VIVA HINDS, Spotify, 2024
This relatively new release by Madrid-based duo, Hinds, in collaboration with Fontaines DC’s lead man, Grian Chatten. From their new album, VIVA HINDS, it is also only one of two other duets. Quite different from the usual sound of Fontaines DC, Chatten’s voice blends perfectly with the dynamic girl group. It’s also a perfect balance between the upbeat instrumentalism and the lyrics which denote a struggle with identity and belonging.
Kristy’s Recommendation: Florence + The Machine, ‘High As Hope’
Florence + The Machine, High As Hope, Spotify
Although I consider this to be perhaps the most underrated body of work within Florence + The Machine’s discography, I always find myself returning to this particular album during the colder months; almost ironic, given the opening track, ‘June’. Perhaps it is the less percussive, more melancholy tone adopted in the production; perhaps it is Florence Welch’s demanding belt in the second verse of ‘Patricia’ (a long time favourite of mine). Perhaps it is simply within ‘South London Forever’ that we must all ponder ‘And what if one day there is no such thing as snow?’
WATCH
Srishti’s Recommendation: The Children Act
‘The Children Act’, 2017
I didn’t realise until after I watched it, but this movie is an adaptation of the Ian McEwan book of the same name, which explains why I liked it so much. Emma Thompson plays an acclaimed judge, whose marriage to Stanley Tucci’s character is struggling, and she must decide whether to allow a hospital to give a young man a blood transfusion against the wishes of his religious parents. Thompson and Tucci’s performances are predictably outstanding, but it was Fionn Whitehead’s performance as the teenage Adam Henry which really stood out to me. It is a thought-provoking movie, beautifully shot, which raises questions about religion, morality, and how far the law should interfere in someone’s personal choice.
Sorcha’s Recommendation: Say Nothing
Say Nothing, Vanity Fair, Rob Youngson/FX, 2024
Based on the novel by Patrick Radden Keefe, this new release focuses on two sisters who were deeply involved in the IRA operations during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The first two women to join the military faction of the group, as opposed to the Cumman (the designated female faction), sisters Dolours and Marian become entrenched in the conflict. Gripping, educational and containing deeply complex characters, Mike Lennox’s show is a powerful depiction of both sisterhood and womanhood, as well as a conflict which changed countless lives forever.
Kristy’s Recommendation: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’, 2005
I’ve been posing a question recently to many of my friends: what feels like a Christmas movie to you, although it is not centred around Christmastime? Without fail, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is mentioned every time. The narrative follows the four Pevensie siblings as they enter through a now-famous wardrobe into the fantastical world of Narnia. C.S. Lewis’ vision finds life in Andrew Adamson’s direction, featuring talking animals, battles against evil forces, and a lesson on the importance of faith and family. Perhaps the most essential comfort watch during essays and exams season!
READ
Srishti’s Recommendation: Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Gardener’
Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Gardener’, Goodreads
This is a very short story, and will take you hardly any time to read, but it is a very evocative and important read. Kipling was inspired to write it in 1925, after a visit to the war cemetery at Bois Guillaume near Rouen, and he completed it in only two weeks. It tells the story of a woman and her nephew, Michael, whom she cares for until he goes to war and is killed. Michael’s death in the story closely resembles that of Kipling’s own son in 1915, and as with many of Kipling’s works, ‘The Gardener’ deals with loss and grief, and tries to understand the aftermath of the First World War on those left behind. With Remembrance Day in November, it felt fitting to recommend this story.
Sorcha’s Recommendation: Thomas Hardy, Far From The Madding Crowd
Thomas Hardy, Far From The Madding Crowd, Alma Books
Admittedly I did have to read this for a course, but I genuinely really enjoyed it. Set in rural 1870’s Dorset, the novel follows Bathsheba Everdene as she inherits her uncle’s farm. Determined to manage it herself, it depicts her relationships with three men, and the consequences of unbridled female desire. Also a tribute to the beauty of the rural south-west, Hardy’s own home territory, this read is perfect for those who love a good period-drama, and can appreciate a complex female character whose own personal development is just as rewarding as the plot’s romantic fulfilment.
Kristy’s Recommendation: Helen Hunt Jackson, ‘A Calendar of Sonnets: November’
Helen Hunt Jackson, poets.org
Helen Hunt Jackson offers a warning of the ‘treacherous’ days of November, as the last of summer slips through our fingers. Her eerie tone finds new life in the sprawling streets and hidden closes of Edinburgh, as the November dark chills us to the bone. The life of activist, poet, and novelist Helen Hunt Jackson was so inspiring that perhaps this poem can push us all through the last weeks until Christmastime.
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