Three Times Three with Ilan
PHOTOS. Please share with us...
1. One photo of you.
2. One photo including something you love.
3. One photo including something you don't want to forget.
MUSIC. Please share with us...
1. One song representing your past: Leeway – Make Me An Offer
My early-to-mid teens were largely spent listening to metal and hardcore. Discovering Leeway and seeing them live in 2005 blew my mind, literally and metaphorically. Their second LP in particular, ‘Desperate Measures’, continues to bring me immense joy. The music sits somewhere between NYHC, thrash and metal – with ice cold production, inimitable vocals and playful lyrics that paint a vivid picture of NYC. I genuinely think humanity is in need of a collective mosh after this pandemic is through…
2. One song representing your present: Rick Eyk – Simple Pleasures
The present is a confusing one – and so we mustn’t forget to appreciate the simple pleasures in life (like this song).
3. One song representing a dream or a fantasy: Camel – Unevensong
I often find myself boring others (and myself) by rambling incessantly about Camel – so I’ll keep it brief. To my ears, ‘Unevensong’ presents some kind of dream within a dream; a cloud of fantasy where the lines of love and reality fizzle and blur.
“She said you are the air I breathe / The life I love, the dream I weave / Without a word, with just a touch / Now I realise you meant so much.”
“Somewhere in between / The waking and the dream / Feel you close to me.”
BOOKS, FILMS or PODCASTS. Please share with us...
1. One book or film that had a big impact in your life.
The TV series Shtisel moved me deeply. It’s a family drama set in a small Orthodox community in Israel and yet the universe that’s been created somehow feels expansive. It’s quiet, unassuming, delicate and rich beyond words. It’s reminded me to appreciate the little detail in life.
2. One book or film that you are "reading" right now.
I’m currently reading ‘Billion Dollar Whale’ by Bradley Hope and Tom Wright which sheds light on the 1MDB scandal in Malaysia. It’s an absurd and poignant account of one of the biggest financial heists in modern times. Stranger than fiction.
3. One book or film that helped you make sense in the pandemic.
I think I’ve somehow managed to lose all sense of sense. That being said, I recently ‘enjoyed’ Relic by Natalie Erika James; a nod to humanity’s collective pandemic-induced dread. It tells the story of a grandmother whose mind starts to deteriorate and delivers a masterclass in creating and maintaining tension.
The subject of memory, brain fog and the impact of the pandemic continues to fascinate me – and a friend of mine has written about this more eloquently than I ever could.
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