The Art Desk’s weekly picks for movies, music and more
By SONORA SLATER — arts@theaggie.org
Book: “The Scorpio Races” by Maggie Stiefvater (2011)
It’s November. Do you know what that means? It’s time for my fourth yearly reread of “The Scorpio Races.” Maggie Stiefvater’s 2011 novel was made for this month, both because it matches the atmosphere of damp mornings and shorter days and because the story is set during the annual November horse races on the coast of the fictional Scorpio Sea. Returning champion Sean Kendrick goes up against Puck Connolly, the first girl to ever enter the competition, and both of them have something to lose if they don’t come out on top. The stakes are high and the suspense and vibrant characters in this cozy read will keep you turning the pages as the fall leaves blow away outside your window (and yes, they fall in love).
Album: “Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever)” by Noah Kahan (2022)
This album is going to absolutely demolish my 2023 Spotify Wrapped — as it should, because Noah put some sort of magic into these songs to make them continue to hit so hard even after 12,000 listens. The title track, “Stick Season,” perfectly captures the heartbreak of wishing you could turn back time to take back the version of a friend or a lover that you had before time and complications tore you apart, and turned them into someone you can only miss. And the melancholy but oh-so-hopeful “You’re Gonna Go Far,” was written for people from small towns full of people they love, but who have dreams that take them further than the country roads that once marked the journey home.
I could go on, as I’m sure you can tell. But to me, the most beautiful thing about this album is the way that the lyrics mean so many different things to different people. These songs have resonated with me so deeply in one way, but I hope that when you listen to it (yes, when, not if) they take on a unique meaning for you, and you can carry the words with you the way I’ve carried them with me.
Song: “Evermore” by Mom Cars (2022)
I know, I know, you thought I was going to talk about “folklore’s” oft-neglected sister album. That “evermore” is also a masterpiece, but I’m here today to talk about the song by Mom Cars, a four-person indie/alternative rock group from our very own Sacramento area. Disclaimer, the band started at my high school for our February 2020 talent show, so I’m a little biased. They currently have an EP and an album, “Colder,” out on Spotify and Apple Music. “Evermore” is a single that was released separately in 2022, and while I love “Colder,” I keep coming back to this song, both because of the way it was tailor-made to be played at full volume in the car and because of this line that I’ll never get over: “The truth is, you’re no longer stuck in my head.”
TV Show: “Firefly Lane” (2021)
Looking for your next show to binge at 2 a.m. with your roommate while a single tear leaks out of your eye and you contemplate the significance of female friendships and the fleeting but meaningful nature of childhood connections? Look no further.
“Firefly Lane” is a two-season show based on the novel of the same name that follows the friendship between two women, Kate Mularkey and Tallulah “Tully” Hart, from their childhood as neighbors in the Seattle area, to their mid-twenties as reporters in a local broadcast news station together, to their 40s, when they’re well-established in their lives and careers. It weaves together stories of first love and marriages, celebrations and arguments, missed connections and second chances to tell a beautiful story about how friendships can change our lives, again and again.
Written by: Sonora Slater — arts@theaggie.org
