Panel of Walter K. Scott's book Wendy (Koyama Press, 2014).
Canadian artist Walter K. Scott is the subject of the “First Look” column in our January issue. As Brian Droitcour writes, “Scott further opens his work to a multifaceted relatability by creating a context for it with the storytelling of popular media.” Wendy’s Revenge, his second volume of collected comic-strips, was published by Koyama Press last November. Here, Scott introduces a compilation of videos that collectively point to his (preferred) outsider status. Like Wendy, the protagonists of these videos are finding their way through the world in spite of their inability to conform to its norms. —Eds.
Q Lazzarus, “Goodbye Horses.” Not too much is known about Q Lazzarus. She was discovered in New York while driving a cab. Then this song was featured in a few films, including Silence of the Lambs. Q dropped out of the public eye after that. I want to write fan fiction about what she’s doing now. I wonder what Q thinks about fame. Maybe she never needed to be in the public eye. She’s fine without us.
Jamiroquai, “Virtual Insanity.” Another artist wearing a big hat. I like hats! The furniture appears to be sliding around as the singer dances, but it’s actually the entire room moving. I like his attitude. He’s smoothly navigating an unpredictable shifting environment. I wish things were that easy in real life! The blood, roaches, and crows that sporadically appear in the room are a nice touch. They’re like little Jungian emojis.
Roberto De Simone, “Secondo Coro Delle Lavandie.” This is from the 1976 opera, La gatta Cenerentola (The Cat Cinderella), which draws on Cinderella as well as local folk tales to create an earthy, visceral story of rage and sexuality. It’s sung in a Neapolitan dialect of Italian. The washerwoman recounts a sex dream that was getting hotter and hotter until it was interrupted when her mother woke her up, so she damns her mother to hell. The washerwoman “sits on her diamond pin,” with a “bee in her bonnet” and a “string of pearls” around her neck. When it’s performed on stage, the washerwoman collapses at the end. The track also works well in the club.
Got 2B Real is a web series that dubs footage of divas so it looks like they are throwing shade at each other. I actually forget that this isn’t how they talk in real life. In the episode, “Rights, Wrongs, and Receipts,” Patty LaBelle and Aretha Franklin are total enemies. Aretha calls Dionne Warwick a walking cigarette. Dionne calls Aretha “Hate-retha,” because she’s a hater. Mariah Carey can read you through transition lenses all day and all night. Just watch it, it’s fine.
The video for Perfume’s song “Nee” looks like an Old Navy ad. It’s like a massage for my brain. I don’t know what else to say about it.
“Outport Lesbian” is a musical number from a 1980s Canadian sketch-comedy show. A woman working at a rural greasy spoon is led away to the big city by a group of lesbians who help her discover her true desires. I am currently pursuing an MFA in a small town in Ontario and I can assuredly say that this video captures exactly what it’s like.