Now Playing: April 2021

In our April edition of Now Playing we have everything from sharks to make believe. Check out these recommendations from our contributors!

Leah Francesca Christianson

Currently, I'm reading Jana Larsen's cinematic essay Reel Bay and grooving to Lake Street Dive's new album, Obviously. I also recently watched Sound of Metal and loved it. In some ways, it feels like a perfect quarantine movie. Riz Ahmed's portrayal of a drummer losing his hearing—and, by extension, everything he cares about—is incredible. After a year in which we all had to redefine how we engaged with the things we care about, this movie's quiet journey towards acceptance really hit home for me. I've also been watching every shark movie I can find with less than 20% on Rotten Tomatoes. I'm having an excellent time and I do not recommend it.

Richard Mirabella

I’ve been listening to SOMEONE NEW by Helena Deland constantly since it came out. I don’t know why, but she just agrees with me, with this weird time of solitude. She’s good for walks and pretending you’re in a movie. I like pretty things with dark billowing around them. Also, she’s just a great writer. “I’m used to being the actress, surprised in mid-practice. Rehearsing love til it’s real.” The idea of this. Being human and rehearsing experience before it happens.

Samina Najmi

The last thing I have watched is the Canadian show Kim's Convenience on Netflix. I was late discovering it and was a little suspicious at first about the representation of this Korean-Canadian family. Mostly I was wondering if we'd be laughing at, rather than with, the immigrant parents who own the Toronto convenience store. But to my surprise, it became the show I looked forward to at the end of a long day—a guaranteed pick-me-upper, entertaining, illuminating, and often profound. I love that the focus is on various Korean-Canadian characters and their interactions not just with white characters but also Black characters and those of other Asian ethnicities. And I'm so invested in young Janet's career as a photographer!