TODAY’S FILM

High Heels, dir. Pedro Almodóvar (1991)

As the first Almodóvar film I ever saw, this one will always have a spot in my heart. A mother-daughter drama dressed up as murder mystery, this melodrama is one of the director’s finest offerings, yet not so widely seen as some of his later work. In it, a newsreader longs for the affection of her mother, a torch singer who’s back in Spain after a 15-year stay in Mexico. The newsreader’s husband, who used to be an old flame of her mother, sees the singer’s return as a chance to rekindle their previous relationship. When he shows up dead, the mother and daughter relationship is put to the ultimate test. Like most of Almodóvar’s work, this seems to be entirely off the streaming platforms, but if you’re into soapy drama, you just must see it! Get it on physical media and thank me later.

TODAY’S RECORD

Falsework by Young Galaxy (2015)

Young Galaxy are a criminally underrated Canadian duo who made some of the best synthpop of the last two decades. After a couple of spotty albums, they really hit their stride when they hooked up with Swedish producer Dan Lissvik for a trilogy of records that opened up their music to new and incredible vistas. The last one of these, Falsework, is the best of the bunch and stands as their biggest musical achievement. Opener “Wear Out the Ground” glows with joie de vivre, after which embraces a sparkling bass-heavy sound that is just delicious. “The Night Wants Us to Be Free”, “Body”, “Must Be Love” and “Little Wave” bounce around freely and are highlights in an album full of them. Listen to it on Spotify.