39. La La Land
I.
Sef performed the final show of VLAG. The stage adaptation of I Could Die for Many Things But Not for a Flag explores the themes of that album, whose title really says it all. Over the years, we have devised societal and social constructs to bring people together, set boundaries, wage wars and exclude people. It’s all in our heads, argues Sef.
His performance is an essay designed to drive home his point. It features plenty of video footage and music. We see Dutch people staking out sun loungers by a swimming pool, whilst we hear a voice-over from the IND explaining what you need to do if you want to become Dutch. Sef plays a lot with these kinds of contrasts. Because is this really where you’re supposed to feel at home? Among greedy people with sunburnt necks, whilst you’ve just come out of a war? “What a cool country!”, we can still hear Rutte say. Meanwhile, the music in the background gradually morphs into a nightmare.
Sef really challenges people to stay alert and think for themselves. He’s more passionate in the theatre than on his album. On the screen, we see an endless procession of people with Orange fans. “Olé olééé,” shouts Sef. He egged the audience on as much as possible to clap along. There are people in the hall who actually do it. Peer pressure. If you clap along, you belong. Invisible boundaries are everywhere.
A sharp cut. The football fans disappear from the screen; we see a coffin draped with an American flag. The last clap has not yet died away from the audience. Dying for a flag – what on earth are we doing? There is one flag that Sef pulls out of his trouser pocket at the end. A white one. That truly unites everyone.
---II.
The film La La Land was released in 2016 and I’ve watched it every year around this time ever since. This was the eighth time. Not that I’m a huge fan of musicals, but the way La La Land explores lost dreams and ‘what if’ scenarios moves me every time.
The main characters, Mia and Sebastian, dream big. Sebastian wants to run a jazz club and Mia wants to act. The very way they fall in love with each other is reminiscent of romance in a classic film.There is a Technicolor sunset, there’s tap dancing, there’s even floating.
They’re drawn to each other’s passion and don’t hold each other back. It is only when Sebastian strays from his passion that the first cracks begin to appear. Of course, things go wrong, and when they finally find each other again, they face a choice: will they pursue their dreams or choose each other? To love is to dare to let go of each other. “This can never work,” they had sung before. But if they hadn’t found each other, perhaps they would both have failed.
The film’s ending is beautifully bittersweet. It could have been so lovely, and depending on how you interpret it, it turned out lovely too. When they see each other again, they don’t speak but feel the same thing. You can see in their eyes that it’s all right.
(Oh, and the film is also just really funny, dazzling, nostalgic and shot with perfect use of colour. And the songs are great! See you again next year.)
---III.
I wrote it last week: it’s list-making time. Even in the House of Representatives. Politicians submitted their favourite songs, and these have been compiled into a long list.
What stands out? Six mentions of André Hazes, for example, but also two mentions of Het Urker Mannenkoor (by CDA and SGP members) with the songs Psalm 23: the Lord is my shepherd and City of Light with your pearly gates. It might just be your favourite song. Others like to emphasise that their city is the best. D66 member Anne Marijke Podt with the song Utrecht by BENR, or the PVV member from Breda who chooses Ik spring voor NAC by Evert van Huygevoort.
Generally speaking, it’s a sleep-inducingly dull list. Danny Vera’s Rollercoaster, Typhoon’s Bumayé, Chef’Special’s In Your Arms, U2’s Where The Street Have No Name. It goes on and on. If I had to pick my musical spirit animal from this list, it would be Marieke Koekkoek from Volt. She goes for Bob Dylan. The song choice is a bit less exciting, but you’ll never hear me complain about Like A Rolling Stone.
→ Want to torture yourself? The list is on Spotify.
PS.
My week was largely dominated by the European AI Act. The final discussions to finalise the legislation took place in Brussels. That meant working into the evening, working through the night, and then almost working through the night again. After 36 hours of negotiations, an agreement was reached to regulate artificial intelligence within Europe. It must be safe and transparent, with the strictest rules applying to the AI models posing the highest risks. I commented on this on NU.nl: Despite ‘bizarre lobbying’, strict European AI law largely remained intact.
I don’t need to say much about it; chances are you’ve already seen the trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI. It won’t be released until 2025, but I’m already looking forward to it.
---The Pogues singer Shane MacGowan was laid to rest. Every funeral is a sad occasion, but the music helped make the best of it. Nick Cave played A Rainy Night in Soho. Glen Hansard and Lisa O’Neill played Fairytale of New York. There was dancing. It was incredibly moving.
---Fortnite has new game modes. The popular Battle Royale is still there, but there’s now also a full online racing mode, created by Rocket League developer Psyonic. It’s great for drifting around tracks and overtaking others.
And there’s now LEGO Fortnite too. Familiar characters from the Fortnite world have been turned into LEGO minifigures. There’s a new game world where you go on adventures, collect items and build your own village. It’s Minecraft, but in Fortnite and with LEGO. It works brilliantly, but if you found Minecraft a bit of a faff, all that collecting and building will quickly get in your way here too.
---Some great threads on X; you have to look hard for them, but they’re still there. This one’s about a song in The X-Fileswhich people have been searching for online in vain for years. Now the mystery has been solved.
Tom Waits joined Iggy Pop on the BBC radio programme The Confidential Show. Two hours of listening to the rasping voices of old rockers playing music for each other. It’s a real treat. They play some ancient tracks, but they also spin Frank Ocean and the Beastie Boys. The most surprising choice is the track Lip Gloss by Lil Mama. According to Tom Waits himself, it’s a new favourite. After the track, they even let loose themselves with the chorus: “Whatcha know ’bout me, whatcha, watcha know ’bout me!” Available to listen to for the rest of the year via the BBC website.
Matt Berninger (The National) and David Letterman sit down in a garden shed to talk about depression, songs by The National and performing live.
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