Culture Corner
The Arts Desk’s weekly picks for music, movies and more
By JENNA LEE — arts@theaggie.org
Song: “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads (1977)
“I can’t seem to face up to the facts / I’m tense and nervous, and I can’t relax,” sings David Byrne in the opening lines of “Psycho Killer,” immediately setting the tone for this unsettling yet danceable track. Off Talking Heads’ self-titled debut album, “Psycho Killer” is easily one of the band’s most defining songs. Driven by the jolting, repetitive bassline, the song explores the erratic thoughts of an unstable individual, blending the dark subject matter with an infectious groove. Byrne moves between English and French — “Psycho killer, qu'est-ce que c'est?” he sings in the chorus — with a sharp vocal style that adds to the escalating tension. The listening experience is almost theatrical, highlighting the band’s artistic brilliance. It’s no wonder that this song remains a new wave classic almost 50 years after its release.
Book: “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie (1939)
If you’re planning to read any murder mystery this fall, make sure it’s this one. This classic Agatha Christie novel follows 10 strangers — each hiding crimes from their past — who become trapped on a remote island. None of them know their mysterious host, and, soon after arriving, they start dying one by one in accordance with an old nursery rhyme that highlights their killer’s sadistic nature. Paranoia sets in as the characters realize the murderer is one of them — and each survivor becomes both a suspect and a target.
It’s the combination of total isolation, impending doom and hidden guilt that makes this book a murder mystery masterpiece. Christie expertly misdirects the reader, dropping subtle clues and providing glimpses into the characters’ thoughts without revealing too much. At various points, each surviving character seems equally suspect, yet the killer’s identity remains hidden until the very end, when Christie reveals a shocking twist. The story weaves psychological dread into each chapter, creating a haunting feeling guaranteed to stay with you long after the final page.
TV Show: “Only Murders in the Building” by Steve Martin and John Hoffman (2021)
Equal parts murder mystery and cozy comedy, “Only Murders in the Building” easily becomes a candidate for best fall comfort show. Poking fun at true-crime junkies, the show unites three unlikely friends — played by Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez — as they start their own true-crime podcast and solve murders in their luxury New York City apartment complex, The Arconia. The characters’ intergenerational friendship enriches their dynamic, further highlighted by Short and Martin’s comedic chops and Gomez’s sarcastic, deadpan delivery as her character, Mabel Mora. With The Arconia’s elegant architectural details and the rich, warm colors of each character’s wardrobe, the show evokes that quintessential autumn feeling. The music, too, adds a layer of storytelling. Suspenseful yet theatrical, whimsical yet sad, Siddhartha Khosla’s original score is a cornucopia of moods, adding emotional and cinematic depth to every detail of the show, even down to the voiceovers.
Song: “Jennifer’s Body” by Hole (1994)
Before it became the title of the 2009 cult classic horror film, “Jennifer’s Body” was a track on Hole’s acclaimed 1994 album, “Live Through This.” Written and sung by Courtney Love, the song captures the same female rage as the movie, centering on themes of violence against women and objectification of the female body. Lyrics like “He keeps you in a box by the bed / Alive, but just barely” offer a chilling look at the horrors women face. Musically, the song uses the loud-quiet-loud dynamic of the grunge era, adding emotional contrast and tension. It opens with a deceptively calm riff and Love’s subdued vocals, before exploding with distorted guitar and raw screaming. The catharsis is loud and overwhelming, forcing you to sit with the ugly truth of female victimization.
Written by: Jenna Lee — arts@theaggie.org