The Definitive 'Southland Tales' Vibe Playlist
"The hierarchy of power in the Apple Music movie vibe playlist library is about to change."
- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
"The songs work together well. You should be a wedding DJ!"
- Co-worker I showed Southland Tales to that didn't like it as much as I did
"Cool playlist, man. Did you want fries with that?"
- Richard Kelly
I stumbled upon Richard Kelly's enigmatic masterpiece Southland Tales back in April, and I was unprepared for the spiral of passion it would throw me into. It became the film I put on while making breakfast, while washing the dishes after work, and while falling asleep. I scoured the internet for essays and hot takes, devoured both the graphic novels and the prequel saga screenplay, sought out the out of print Arrow Blu-ray. Most importantly, I made a playlist that would always remind me of how I felt while watching it, so the memory can be accessed, alongside all accompanying emotion, whenever I wanted.
Making vibe playlists is a comfort hobby of mine, one that manifests whenever a piece of art begins to occupy an ever-growing percentage of my brain. It's a sign of complete artistic symbiosis, where the conversation had between the piece and me transcends intellectual distance and becomes a playground of feeling and a sense of presence within the aesthetic and ideas explored.
Due to the chaotic whirlwind that is my current life, I've been unable to stick to my schedule of film diary posts, so in lieu I'm going to share the tracklist for FLUID KARMA, a project that has brought me an intense amount of joy, hoping it brings someone else the same.
