How we get ourselves through never-ending rain
The 14th week of queer things we’ve been up to and into
Swarm created by Janine Nabers and Donald Glover. Our favorite “seppo” in Australia, Pamela, recommended that we watch Swarm, so we binged it in two sittings—and we’ve been thinking and talking about this new dark comedy-horror series ever since. Swarm took us on a fragmented journey riddled with the toxicity of both fandom and social media (which are inextricably linked), with each episode being anchored by a real ripped-from-the-headlines story or internet rumor. The story follows Dre—played to unsettling and uncomfortable perfection by Dominique Fishback—who is the ultimate fan of a Beyoncé-esque pop star. Dre obsesses, grieves, lies, doxxes, and bludgeons their way through multiple states. (Guest stars Paris Jackson and Billie Eilish add clever extratextual layers of meaning to their episodes.) We don’t want to give too much away, but we will emphasize that we’ve never seen a show quite like this. Swarm, beautifully shot on 16mm film, elicits affective responses (from laughter to disgust), but doesn’t present a tidy narrative in which the placement of all the pieces makes sense. While we are left with questions and thoughts and theories, there’s a welcome unease knowing that this is a limited series, so no more of Dre’s story will be coming to help us put together the lingering narrative cracks. The ambiguity perfectly suits Swarm.
LOVE BYTES podcast with Sydni Hampton and Gilda Wabbit. Thanks go to Diane for this recc; she wrote in to tell us about this new podcast that their kid, May Willcox, expertly edits and produces. In Love Bytes, the rapport between Kentucky Queens Sydni Hampton and Gilda Wabbit is charming, but the show is made by them speaking their unflinching truths about topics ranging from ethical non-monogamy to sexual side effects of antidepressants, from STI disclosure to cum viscosity. Since we both grew up before social media or podcasts, we talk about what it would have been like to come of age, as a lil’ gayby or queerdo, with the ability to have queer “elders” answer all sorts of questions about all things queer. Life certainly would have been so different if we could have listened to Sydni and Gilda answer questions about queer sex, love, and relationships—and all the queer things in-between. As the fascists here are attempting to legislate away our drag and trans communities, a podcast like Love Bytes is a beautiful example of queer community solidarity, reminding us to come together to support, appreciate, and educate one another.
Hitmen starring Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins. We’re going to be real: we are now at our breaking point with the rainy, cold, and grey PNW weather. We are cold and shivering—and definitely complaining a great deal. When we get in this sort of slump, we need something to lift our spirits. This week it’s the genuine friendship and dry-yet-easy banter between Mel and Sue, who have been a comedy duo for over 30 years. We had hooked into The Great British Bake Off, which Mel & Sue co-hosted, in the early years—and we still complain that we don’t have Mel, Sue, and Mary all these episodes later. (While we do love Sandi Toksvig, the show was never the same after it left the BBC.) The Great British Bake Off is usually gentle soothing therapy that makes us feel just a wee bit better after an hour or two of Victoria sponge victories and meringue mishaps. But one can only rewatch episodes from a baking competition so many times (or so Heather tells Amie), so we got our uplifting time this week with Mel and Sue in the dark comedy Hitmen, in which they are droll, middle-aged professional assassins. Is this the best show you’ll ever see? No, it’s not—but is it light and charming murderous fun. Plus, the chemistry between these long-time chums is sweet and infectious.
Heather
I went to the first few Coachella Festivals, back when a ticket was around $60 and it was a “big” music festival of about 30k people. Yeah, you’re going to hear about it because getting older feels rough with each new ache and pain in places that I didn’t even know could ache and pain, so I’ve got to whinge about something. Anyways, I am grateful that I got to see so many amazing musicians when concerts still felt somewhat affordable and smaller than the current pomp and circumstance. Since I can’t imagine being in that Coachella heat with over 120,000 (maskless) people, I did catch a few of last weekend’s streaming performances of queer artists, so I thought I would share them with you:
Ethel Cain - A House in Nebraska
MUNA featuring boygenius - Silk Chiffon
Yves Tumor - Heaven Surrounds Us Like A Hood
Christine and the Queens - To be honest
Remi Wolf - Photo ID
Amie
Artist Michaela Yearwood-Dan. I wish I could live inside Michaela’s expansive and expressive abstract art. For one, the paint is just sumptuous looking—I really would love to get to experience Michaela’s work in person. As well, the colors are so perfectly balanced, which requires an expertise to do so well when you engage a wide range of color hues in a single piece and across a series. Also, Michaela’s mark making is really engaging, whether it’s the broad sweeps that draw you in from afar, or the tiny details that hold your eyes in a micro landscape you could swear is there. I tell you, I could spend days here…