Eugene weekly., June 13, 2024, Page 8, Image 8

What we are
STRE A MING
ith the Summer Solstice on the horizon and graduation season wrapping up, it’s time
to think about relaxing with a good audiobook, album or streaming TV show.
Let’s get real: For most of us Oregonians, summer just means warm weather and
less rain, not less work.
But that said, we really like the idea of relaxing — even if relaxing means driving to
work listening to an audiobook about white nationalism. You know what they say, relax-
ation is in the eye of the beholder. From dancing to Billie Eilish and Charli XCX’s new
albums to rotting in bed with adult animated shows, here’s what the folks of Eugene Weekly are streaming.
Streaming something good? Write us a letter about it to Letters@EugeneWeekly.com. — Camilla Mortensen
W
Spirited Album
Raised a Racist
Billie Eilish’s new melodies hit just right
A narrative of racism, and of redemption
After three years of silence, Billie Eilish
has been feeding her fans well with her new
album Hit Me Hard and Soft, released May
17. The album’s track list quite literally hits
you hard and soft with its somber melodies
like “Skinny,” “The Greatest” and “Blue”
and upbeat songs like “Lunch,” “L'amour
De Ma Vie,” and “Birds Of A Feather.”
The album shows how far Eilish has
come as an artist and a singer, as this is
the first album that she has had a large
hand in producing, and the first time she
has ever fully belted (seriously, check out
minute 2:44 of “Birds Of A Feather”).
For the Studio Ghibli lovers, Eilish pays
homage to the movie Spirited Away with her song “Chihiro.” Spirited Away follows a
young girl named Chihiro who has to move with her parents, and while making their way
to their new house they inadvertently enter a world of spirits. Throughout her journey
in this spirit world Chihiro matures from a fearful child to a strong heroine. Speaking to
Rolling Stone in an exclusive interview, Eilish said: “The song is loosely based off of that
movie, which is one of my favorites. It’s kind of from her point of view, mixed with mine.”
Chihiro’s storyline falls in line with Eilish coming of age. Eilish has been in the music
industry since she was 13, and at 22 she is aiming to reintroduce the matured version
of herself to the world. This especially can be seen in her song “Lunch,” which is an
upbeat lesbian anthem that has aided in her coming out to the world. Just in time for
the month of June, “Lunch” can be your new Pride month jam. This album is also the
perfect soundtrack for those who are in their early 20s and graduating because it’s a
bittersweet moment that hits you both hard and soft. — Emily Rogers
Some years ago, I read a Washington
Post story about R. Derek Black’s jour-
ney from white nationalist wunderkind
to antiracist. I was intrigued because
first, Black graduated from the same
small liberal arts college I had gone to,
and that school was key to their trans-
formation and second, because Black
and their father had founded and run
the racist website, Stormfront, that I
used to use as a teaching tool about the
insidiousness of racism before it went
under sometime in 2018. Black ran the
kids page.
Derek Black — who came out as trans-
gender after the book’s publication — narrates the audiobook, which I am listening to
on Audible, and the simple, almost stoic, narration doesn’t over-dramatize the nature
of what Black is saying about racism and how hate makes its way through society.
The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism is as
much a book about Black’s life growing up groomed to be the heir to white national-
ism as it is about how white supremacy takes root and grows and how the media has
played into that — something as a journalist I care deeply about.
And that small liberal arts college Black and I went to, New College of Florida, which
led Black to renounce and apologize for white nationalism in 2013? It is under attack
— and being decimated — by the governor of Florida for being “woke” on issues of
over race, gender and education. That, and Donald Trump’s race for the presidency,
makes Black’s wisdom on how we as a society play into racism timely and their tale
of redemption gives hope. — Camilla Mortensen
To Stream Or Not To Stream —
Make Up Your Mind
For the streaming curious, there’s a maze of options
It’s the Wild West when it comes to streaming, and I
confess that I’m a greenhorn at best in this endless tech
wilderness.
True, I’ve always been slow on the uptake when it comes
to grasping anything about technology. I’m not quite a
technophobe, but I try to keep technology at arm’s length.
It was a banner day when I got my first used laptop
— a dozen or so years ago. Only three years ago I finally
gave up my 3G flip phone, and that was because 3G was
set to become obsolete, and I didn't want to be obsolete
8
J U N E
1 3 ,
2 0 2 4
quite yet, so I upgraded my phone.
Then there’s Comcast, which I have subscribed to
forever, yet it hasn’t had much that interests me in years.
Still, it was there, with all of its channels until early this
year when I downgraded to basic cable.
Streaming sounds interesting, but where to begin?
Forbes magazine reports that there are more than
200 streaming services worldwide in 2024, many of them
focused on special interests, be it culture or sports. There’s
Hulu, Apple TV, Max, Crackle and Fubo, to name just a few.
While the Tech Report notes that cable TV subscriptions
were at 72 million at the end of 2023, Forbes says close to three
dozen streaming services have at least 50 million subscrib-
ers, with Netflix leading the way at 247 million subscribers.
A recent study by Deloitte Media and Entertainment
reveals that streamers today pay upward of $61 per
month for four services, up 27 percent from $48 in 2023.
So be patient with me. I’m snail-slow on the uptake
when it comes to even touching technology, and this is
a jungle. — Dan Buckwalter
E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M