Issue #407: Paradox Newsletter Gift Guide 2025
Music League: back with a vengeance.
We began the season again with covers. It’s a good playlist. I sped things up, so voting is already over. Despite winning the last League (of course), I was not rewarded for my excellent taste this round. I submitted this:
A Janelle Monáe cover of DeBarge was not my first choice, but someone got to Charles Bradley before me — “Stay Away” is on the playlist, I was going to submit “Changes.” If nothing else, the lackluster performance of this tune in the league shows just how underrated DeBarge is.
Yeah, I’m taking DeBarge over the Jackson 5. I actually wrote about this exact song at the beginning of last year:
It is simply the peak of human musical production. There’s also a Boyz II Men cover version I considered:
Really good, especially that smooth “ooooh” intro. But I like the way Monáe reworks the track into a different genre. I was also considering submitting this but it didn’t make the cut:
I’ve written about this before too.
How did Boyz II Men get inspired to cover Utada Hikaru? It signals that someone in their camp really knows ball.
But enough about my submissions. This playlist was an absolute barnburner. Erin submitted “Miña terra galega” by Siniestro Total, which is a Skynyrd cover. I’m not a fan of the original at all, so it is a really accomplishment to make a version that is undeniably great. AJ’s “Violents of Dawn” cover by Tony Molina started to sell me on the guy. Tallahassee legend Ion contributed “Dancing in the Moonlight” which I didn’t realize was a cover. His description for the song was light, so I think it underperformed. We had an excellent cover by Hüsker Dü, The Rolling Stones doing Robert Johnson which floored me.
The whole playlist was just great except for a horrendous satirical cover by Botch. But I’m glad we still have some jokesters this season. If you have not been following along with the Music League playlists, this would be one I recommend tuning into.
Next week’s category is for TV theme songs, whether opening or ending credits. Looking forward to it.
This past week was also the Crystal Ballroom’s monthly movie trivia. It was my team’s worst showing, but still respectable. I also won two important moral victories: I got a question right about The Mighty Quinn (1989) that nobody on my team had a clue about.
Issue #262: (One of) Roger Ebert's favorite Movie(s) of 1989
This week, I deliver the promised writing on The Mighty Quinn (1989).
With an assist from my teammate, Tyler, we also got all the questions right about Tatsuya Nakadai. That’s important.
Finally, I want to share this bit of a Tarkovsky interview from his volume of translated interviews, published back in 2006:
Tarkovsky’s point is critical here, reminiscent of Lacan’s imperative, also from an interview a decade earlier:
First off, let’s get rid of this average Joe, who does not exist. He is a statistical fiction. There are individuals, and that is all. When I hear people talking about the guy in the street, studies of public opinion, mass phenomena, and so on, I think of all the patients that I’ve seen on the couch in forty years of listening. None of them in any measure resembled the others, none of them had the same phobias and anxieties, the same way of talking, the same fear of not understanding. Who is the average Joe: me, you, my concierge, the president of the Republic?
Anticipating the collective’s point of view is a fool’s errand. In fact, there is no legitimately coherent collective whose view one could anticipate. This is true for any artist, writer, creator. And that is why I feel no negative feelings whatsoever about the fact that the Music League didn’t vote for my DeBarge cover. Taste is not a democracy.
Paradox Newsletter Gift Guide 2025
Last year began the annual tradition of holiday gift guide from Paradox Newsletter. Something like this is a surefire seasonal topic. It can fill editorial space at the right time. But honestly, what I’m recommending here comes from my genuine enthusiasm for these products that I either use myself or find really enticing. No affiliate links, just stuff I like.
Radiance Films Blu-Rays
https://www.radiancefilms.co.uk/
https://diabolikdvd.com/product-category/browse-by-label/radiance/
Radiance Films is a home video distributor of cult films. If you are not familiar with their catalog, think of them as somewhere between the Criterion Collection and Arrow Video. They are based in the UK but sell their US region releases through a website called DiabolikDVD. Their curation is such that you could choose your purchase based on a dartboard or dowsing and be certain you’re ending up with something great.
CW&T Products
I have been a fan of CW&T products for a while, especially their Type-C pen which I have in a cyan color from a couple years ago.
The pen uses the ubiquitous Hi-Tec-C Coleto ink cartridges. They come in a ton of colors and write extremely well. It makes the pen a lot of fun to swap out ink colors when you’re bored.
Serendipitously, I ended up seated next to Che-Wei and Taylor, the owners of the practice, at my friends’ wedding. As artists and artisans, they are the real deal. Che-Wei was using the iPhone Paddle Case, pictured under the heading. The images on the product listing do not do it justice. Wielding your iPhone with the polycarbonate handle looks awesome. If I wasn’t so attached to keeping my iPhone in my front pocket, this would be my daily driver case.
I also have the Solid State Watch on my personal wishlist. It is out of stock right now, but I’m holding out for permanent daylight savings time. It’s an insanely cool and distinctive timepiece and a loving tribute to the Casio F-91W.
There’s plenty more they sell worth buying. It’s nice when a utilitarian tool is also an objet d’art.
Knestknit Socks
Dane Nestor’s one-man sock knitting operation is going back to back on the gift guide this year, the only repeater. There is simply no reason to wear any other sock.
Right now, everything is in discounted “Danes Choice” grab bags. But like everything on the list up to this point, you couldn’t go wrong just picking at random.
Follow Your Legend Alpaca Cloud Hoodie
https://followyourlegend.com/products/mens-alpacacloud-hoodie
Finally, something I can recommend with an appropriate amount of irreverence for the commodity. The branding on this thing is truly terrible. “Follow Your Legend”? “AlpacaCloud”? Come on. Someone call the marketing department.
Erin and I bought the heavyweight version of the hoodie linked above from an alpaca farm in Western Mass. I have rarely taken it off since. It is soft. It is warm. If you live in a colder climate or run cold, this is the platonic ideal of hoodie material.
Fit wise, it’s not my favorite — which maybe is a testament to just how good the material is. I have a size small and the sleeves and body are both wide and short. I feel like I’d be swimming in it if I went to a medium but I could use another inch or sleeve and body length. Nobody else notices. It’s a good hoodie.
Q-Up
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3730790/QUP/
Already went super deep on Q-Up (2025) last week.
The gamer in your life will appreciate receiving the digital gift of Q-Up.
Ball x Pit
Ball x Pit (2025) is another in the grand tradition of “roguelites.” Think Vampire Survivors (2022) but it’s Breakout (1976). This is available on console and PC if someone needs something to go with their new Switch 2.
Baki the Grappler Perfect Edition
https://kodama-tales.com/products/baki-the-grappler-vol-1/
Baki the Grappler (1991) is finally available for purchase in the US. These oversized perfect edition volumes have foil-stamped covers and spines if you are still getting a copy from the first print run. This manga is not to be missed and will look great on any gift recipient’s shelf.
Weekly Reading List
This Thanksgiving, you could be watching Clearcut (1991). Indeed, you should be.
Issue #196: Conscience vs. Unconscious in Clearcut (1991)
I never thought I would watch a movie in a theater with the pulse-pounding sounds of a night club below my feet. I had that experience this weekend at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge. Luckily for me, I was just seeing The Spine of Night (2021) which wasn’t very good in the first place. You could call it medieval
It is available on a wide variety of streaming services, including Youtube.
Event Calendar: VOD, Online Events, and a special West Newton Cinema screening
Bugonia (2025) is available on VOD tomorrow. AGDW has posted its schedule and will get underway in early January. West Newton Cinema is showing Smoke Signals (1998) on Thanksgiving. And, if you are local to Massachusetts, you might also consider attending the National Day of Mourning. If you are not local, you can watch the livestream.
Until next time.