In this episode, Dara responds to a music podcast he found surprisingly moving by exploring the idea of connection. Why do certain things or people connect with us more powerfully than others? What is it that speaks to us about a particular individual, or their work? And what is it about music and musicians and movies and actors that can so enrapture us?
Dara argues that it is all about relationships and a lot depends on when you meet and what’s going on for you at that time. He turns his focus to three music icons that struck deep chords with him as a young person, and lays out how each one spoke to a different part of him. This connects to how he saw himself and also how he thought about the opposite sex.
The power of the moving image in the world of cinema is another area of connection, but Dara realises he has always liked to consume life and the world visually, not just in movies. Movement, and the body in motion is a central part of this aesthetic dynamic, which may be part of Dara’s attraction to martial arts.
Also in this episode is a coda to last week’s mental health-themed edition, as well as a review of Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers.
George Michael episode from ’60 Songs That Explain The 90’s’: https://www.theringer.com/2024/1/24/24048661/60-songs-george-michael-freedom-90-podcast