Right now, you're probably sagging with the weight of the year. October will do that to you. Here's how the RUSSH editors are managing. Between studies on love and volcanoes, Halloween horrors, and – yes, a reread of some of pop culture's most renown smut, find the books, TV, movies and music holding us afloat this month.
Megan Nolan
Marketing Manager
Watch… Fire of Love. When my housemate told me she wanted to watch a documentary on volcanologists (yep, people who study volcanoes) I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this was one of the most beautiful documentaries I’ve ever seen. It follows the lives and love story of Katia and Maurice Krafft, a French couple who documented their love for volcanoes and each other throughout the 70s and 80s. Think Wes Anderson but in the form of a nature doco.
Read… Yellowface. But not if you have any sort of emotional turmoil happening in your life. For me it was the book equivalent of watching The Bear – anxiety inducing but too good to stop. A satire of racial diversity in the publishing industry, it’s equal parts entertainment and moral reckoning.
Listen… to the new Angie McMahon album, Light, Dark, Light Again. It’s not officially out until tomorrow but she’s been drip feeding us tracks for the past couple of months and I already know it’s going to become one of my favourites. If you’re yet to discover the power of Angie here’s a little snippet that had me weeping.
Cassandra Dimitroff
Production Editor
Watch… After a couple of homemade margaritas to a Temper Trap soundtrack one Friday night, my housemate and I decided there would be no better time than to revisit the Aussie modern classic film Tomorrow When The War Began (of course, prompted by listening to the song Fader). Rewatching it again after all these years was like a trip down memory lane – and what the film might lack it certainly makes up for in heart and nostalgia.
Read… I recently came across the poem If by Rudyard Kipling, by way of RUSSH’s interview with Rachel Perkins, a First Nations filmmaker and activist. It really struck a chord with me – both when I first read it and now again, after the disappointing referendum results.
Listen… In preparation for a NYE spent in her sonic company, Peggy Gou has been on high rotation this month. I also want to live in her Berlin apartment. She just seems really cool in every regard.
Olivia Repaci
Creative Studio and Campaigns Manager
Watch… Saltburn. The movie premiered at SXSW earlier this month and I was lucky enough to attend. This film was insane from start to finish – I won’t share any spoilers but let’s just say you need to watch it. The acting by Barry Keoghan was phenomenal, and I can’t wait to rewatch again and again and again.
Read… Dog training blogs… I’ve decided to throw myself into the world of behavioural therapy for my dog and am educating myself on dog body language. My dog and I now have full conversations with just a few gestures.
Listen… The Climb by Miley Cyrus. A daily ritual at this point; it’s just so motivating.
Samantha Corry
Assistant to Editor-In-Chief
Watch… I’ve been getting into Halloween season by watching some spooky classics such as E.T., Halloween and Scream. I also watched the new horror Talk to Me which was insane! Definitely a must-watch no matter how scary it is. And I love Sophie Wilde, so of course I had to start watching her new TV show Everything Now.
Read… I finally worked up the emotional stamina to start reading A Little Life. I’m a few chapters in and I’m definitely preparing for a heart-wrenching journey ahead… Sadly, the first day I started reading it I went to a cafe where someone was very loudly discussing a huge spoiler in the book… I was not impressed.
Listen… I’ve been listening to some throwback playlists at the moment, so a little bit of Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Queen and Fleetwood Mac are always on rotation at the moment.
Stacey Gaskin
Consumer Revenue Manager
Watch… Book Club. There’s something special about this one. It’s a movie that pops up every so often and you just have to leave it on while eating your takeaway on the couch. I love how strong these women are together, as well as individuals. We feel the importance of friendship and the love these women have for each other as they meet for their monthly book club. Funnily enough, watching this made me dust off a certain book I had from over a decade ago…
Read… Fifty Shades of Grey. Yup… This book made such an influence on the four characters of Book Club and I wanted to be the fifth member of the book club! Rereading Fifty Shades of Grey took me back to my late teens and all the feelings that came from the all consuming (toxic) relationship between Ana and Mr Grey.
Listen… Reneé Rapp’s Snow Angel album. For me, it’s not often that I find a new artist that I’m obsessed with, but Renee is at the top of my Liked playlist and I think she will stay there for a minute. There are no skips on this album! I also adore her hilarious personality and how she heroes her ADHD.
Elyssa Kostopoulos
Content Director
Watch… Shock horror here, but like just about everyone on the internet, I lapped up the BECKHAM documentary in one sitting. A loud and proud Posh fan from the beginning, I mainly tuned in to see the one and only VB take to the screen, but was quickly reminded and confronted once again by how terribly the Spice Girl, now designer, was vilified in the media. Nonetheless, it was so nice to see her humour shine through the documentary, which was a much-needed reprieve from the ‘seriousness’ of football.
Read… Property and market analysis documents (and trying to figure out what any of it means to no avail). Zero out of ten, would not recommend.
Listen… Early 2000s nostalgia. Earlier this month, I fell in love with Brussel-based singer/songwriter Tessa Dixson on TikTok. Not only is her voice angelic, but boy, can she put together a killer playlist. Plucked straight from the early-2000s musical archives, I have had this playlist on repeat all week. Inner Smile really took me right back to Bend it like Beckham and I’ve never been more grateful.
Jasmine Pirovic
Arts & Culture Editor
Watch... It's been a heavy month, between the recent referendum and news coming out of Gaza. If not about education, the bits I've been engaging with have been about escapism. I've managed to see some great films this October: Killers of the Flower Moon, Saltburn, and ONEFOUR: Against All Odds, which lands on Netflix today. I rewatched Bar Bahar by Maysaloun Hamoud too. Martin Scorsese's film resurfaces the dark history between the Osage people and the US, and not to be didactic, but it should be required viewing for Australians who, it seems, still struggle to reckon with their own history.
Read... More escapism. I've been lucky enough to receive a review copy of Dolly Alderton's latest novel, Good Material. It's written from the perspective of a man after a breakup – Alderton is compassionate toward her protagonist Andy, but doesn't let him off the hook, either. Kind of reminds me of High Fidelity. I also devoured Octavia Bright's memoir, This Ragged Grace, which I found both poetic and robust. Next up: Sara Saleh's Songs for the Dead and the Living.
Listen... Dang by Caroline Polachek when you want to flip into smooth brain mode. Sam Fragoso's exceptional interview podcast, Talk Easy for rigorous conversations with minds I admire. The Zadie Smith episode captures the author at her wisest, most candid. Another favourite was the episode with Hilton Als.
Image: @90sanxiety
