Hey Young World,
This is the April 2023 edition of 1520’s Record Report, our series of monthly articles in which we recommend things we’re currently into.
We’ve picked the name Record Report in honor of Hip Hop magazine The Source, which’s album review section went under that name and, when we were growing up, told us what was worth copping and what wasn’t. In our own small way, we hope to do the same.
Stay on board: The Leo Baker StorY (Documentary)
‘Stay On Board: The Leo Baker Story’ is a Netflix documentary about the now legendary competitive skater, former Olympic hopeful and trans man Leo Baker and his often painful journey through the binary world of professional sports. Although often sad and infuriating, the documentary ends on a hopeful note and provides valuables lessons about gender dysphoria specifically and the importance of authenticity in general. It also demonstrates how counter cultures such as skateboarding - the virtues of which we frequently highlight at 1520 - can be both an escape as well as part of the problem. Do not miss this one.
Lucy Tan - What We Were Promised (book)
Set in Shanghai in the early 2010s, Lucy Tan’s ‘What We Were Promised’ tells the story of the Zhen family, who, after having pursued the American dream for years, has moved back to China to live in a lavish apartment building surrounded by an elite community of Chinese-born, Western-educated professionals and their local service staff. It is a compelling novel about family, authenticity, culture and return migration, all of which are topics that couldn’t be more relevant to us and many of our readers.
What We Were Promised by Lucy Tam
Ruston Kelly - The Weakness (Album)
We were huge fans of Ruston Kelly’s album ‘Dying Star’. We enjoyed the follow up album ‘Seek & Destroy’ too, but it was a little on the sparse side for us. Although not quite as opulent and warm as ‘Dying Star’ (where are the harmonicas?!?), Ruston Kelly’s newest album ‘The Weakness’ , on which he works through his divorce and problems with addiction, is definitely more our speed. It took a couple of listens for it to sink in, but we’re now pretty comfortable in calling it one of the best albums of the year.
One Love,
Marius | 1520