As physical media continues its comeback, The National rounds up the best releases this month across film, music, art and more.
Little Girl Blue by Nina Simone
Nina Simone’s debut album Little Girl Blue was released in February 1959, about three years after it was recorded.
By then, Simone had already become disillusioned by Bethlehem Records, the label with which she was releasing the work. Even after Little Girl Blue came out, the label had yet to put out a promotional single to help with the album’s circulation. As a result, Simone signed with Colpix Records in April, immediately starting to record tracks for The Amazing Nina Simone.
Bethlehem Records realised their blunder, and despite being in the throes of financial uncertainty, they finally released a single from Little Girl Blue in May.
I Loves You, Porgy marked Simone’s first hit, and was featured on both the R&B and pop charts in the US. Sure enough, its success would bring Little Girl Blue to public attention, and contributed greatly to the album’s chart success.
Bethlehem Records went on to capitalise on Little Girl Blue’s success for years, without Simone’s permission. The label released a series of singles, including her tracks in the 1960 compilation album Nina Simone and her Friends.
Nevertheless, the album has since become an immutable classic, featuring several memorable tracks including My Baby Just Cares For Me and Mood Indigo. A remastered version of the album is releasing on vinyl on August 16, on a pale pink-coloured disc.
Razmig Bedirian, arts and culture writer
Graphic Classics by Phaidon Press
Graphic design is an integral part of our daily lives both offline and online. It’s impossible to imagine a world with out it. And with the diverse number of graphic design styles and influences, it’s always interesting to see how the visual language surrounding us has been directly influenced by great artists and designers. Phaidon’s Graphic Classics is a deep dive into 500 of the world’s greatest graphic designs. This edition is big and bold, illustrating the rich history of the medium, dating back to the 14th century, through the work of more than 400 designers across 33 countries and five continents.
With works by anonymous creators and famous artists including Aleksandr Rodchenko, Paul Rand, Paula Scher, Carol Twombly, Reza Abedini and Andy Warhol, the book’s large format and two-part design structure allows reader to see designs in detail with large images accompanied with text about the work and designer. Releasing on August 29 with pre-orders available now on the Phaidon website, Graphic Classics is a comprehensive guide for design and art lovers, enthusiasts and professionals. The works are organised chronologically with an addition of 50 new examples that highlights contemporary designers reshaping graphic culture of today.
Maan Jalal, arts and culture writer
Succession: The Complete Series
Television fans in the streaming age often assume that their favourite show will always be there for them to enjoy. The reality is even television shows are not safe from being removed from streaming services, making it harder to watch and enjoy. While a show like Succession remains very popular even after its conclusion, it will serve its fans well to avoid any potential catastrophe by owning the series on Blu-ray.
The show, which made its debut in 2018, became a sensational hit for its network HBO. It follows an ultra-wealthy family that owns a media empire and several entertainment businesses, supposedly mirroring the life of real-life media mogul Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox news.
Brian Cox plays the patriarch and aging media mogul who must pick a successor from his children played by Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin. The show concluded last year after four seasons and 39 episodes of gripping drama and familial conflict.
Another strong reason to opting for ownership of a television show normally experienced on streaming services is that the quality of the picture is completely beholden to the strength of the user’s internet. Many will be familiar with the pitfalls of buffering of course, but even if the service tells you it’s showing in 4K, it’s not quite as good a picture as experienced on bluray.
Faisal Salah, gaming and social media writer
This Pleasant Land: New Photography of the British Landscape
It's a tumultuous week in Britain, to say the least. As far-right riots take over cities across the country, there is a malaise resurfacing about the contours of multicultural Britain – especially for a British-Arab like myself. In This Pleasant Land: New Photography of the British Landscape, writer Rosalind Jana and some of the world's most exciting contemporary photographers look at the nature of a Britain in flux – geographically, politically and emotionally. It's a lovely tome from Hoxton Mini Press, the independent East London publisher.
"We have grown out of a part of Hackney that was – and still is – bursting with diversity, creativity, struggles and solidarity," says the website. Essential reading right now, then.
Nasri Atallah, luxury editor
Real Life - An American Comedy
Decades before reality television became a mainstay of modern culture, filmmaker Albert Brooks (best known for voicing the father in Finding Nemo) created perhaps the greatest and most searing indictment of it. In Real Life - An American Comedy (1979), his directorial debut, Brooks plays a brash young filmmaker who is attempting to document life as it's really lived, moving his film crew in with a family of four while trying to stay as unobtrusive as possible, and disrupting their life irreparably in the process.
Funny, insightful and ahead of its time in more ways than one, Real Life - An American Comedy stands on its own as an underrated masterwork, and also began one of the most interesting comedic careers in the history of Hollywood storytelling. It is now available on Blu-ray.
William Mullally, arts and culture editor
