Telephonebooth, The Letter Room, and A Strange Commonplace
Featuring an interview with Marlen Stahlhuth.
Welcome to the forty-seventh installation of The Q : your one-stop weekly newsletter of culture recommendations.
Album
Telephonebooth by Wiki
Wiki is becoming a legend in the New York underground scene. He is a bonafide veteran who continues to push the boundaries of his sound and consistently works to innovate. His newest project, a collaboration with the noise-rap producer NAH titled Telphonebooth, continues to push forward. Wiki and NAH deliver a series of noisy vignettes that don’t ever reach a conclusion. Telephonebooth is ugly and dirty, but keeps you thinking about its potential. It sounds like it’s on the cusp of something new, and the more you listen to it the more you get out of it.
Film
The Letter Room directed by Elvira Lind
Elvira Lind’s short comedy-drama The Letter Room is charming — but perhaps its most redeeming quality is not entirely attributed to its slowly winding and somewhat empathetic plot, but rather Oscar Isaac’s mustache-attached performance. From Ex Machina to Inside Llewyn Davis to Star Wars, Isaac is always such a pleasure to watch — time and time again the Guatemalan actor effortlessly transforms into roles it seems he was born to play.
Book
A Strange Commonplace by Gilbert Sorrentino
During quarantine and over the last pandemic year, I’ve found it easy to forget that there are other people living their lives in quite close proximity to my own. Obviously they haven’t been physically close to me, but my life can still find a way to affect theirs, and vice versa. If I buy the last package of toilet paper in the grocery store, that means that someone else may not be able to buy toilet paper that day or they might have to go to another store and be late for their next commitment. This would then go on to affect yet another person or group of people. It’s been easy to forget this, but Gilbert Sorrentino’s A Strange Commonplace managed to remind me what that can look like. I might think about my actions a little bit more going forward.
Playlist
Teresa’s “somer19” features Ivy Sole, Junglepussy, and Peach Pit
Teresa’s favorite track: “Millionària” by ROSALÍA
Description: Throwing it back to one of my favorite summers with this playlist!
Podcast
Episode #46: Coconut Milk and an Interview with Marlen Stahlhuth
On this episode, Sam and Teresa interview Marlen Stahlhuth over a glass of coconut milk. Marlen is a Berlin-based freelance photographer and co-founder of MADWOMEN. Marlen's work has been featured in Nylon Mag, BLONDE Mag, INDIE Mag, VICE, Adidas and more. Marlen talks to Teresa and Sam about her photographic eye, collaborating with different brands, and her favorite projects.