ARIEL H. - INTERVIEW #1
HOW TO ENAGE: WATCH by clicking the video up top, LISTEN by clicking the audio link above, or READ the interview by clicking here.
THE BREAKDOWN
0:00 - I unpack Ariel’s public professor persona and it is revealed that yes, we are two white people who had dreadlocks.
6:00 - Ariel voices his concern that if I truly understood him I would want to condemn him to death.
15:00 - Self worth - how does that work?
27:00 - The Holocaust.
45:00 - This is not therapy.
54:00 - We come full circle.
1hr - Ariel Raps. (Final rap lyrics available in transcript.)
DEBRIEF
I kinda don’t know what to say. There are certainly things I could say, themes that could be discussed, or I don’t know, I guess points that could be made - but I feel hesitant to state any of them. So I will just say this.
I have been friends with Ariel H. for approximately 25 years. In that time we have had a very VERY many good times together and also been through some shit. We are both beyond lucky to have each other in our lives even if at times neither of us realized that. It strikes me as both uncomfortable and truly fucking beautiful that we are sharing this conversation publicly, but that is the point of this right?!
At the end of our interview Ariel asked me explicitly what the point was of this project. I told him that I have a secret desire, which is that I wish that everyone would rip their skin off and walk around displaying the grotesque creatures that they truly are. I have always wished for this, I think because I feel gross, and I have always figured that if everyone else could just admit that they were gross too it would make things a lot easier for me.
Over the years though, I have learned that ripping your skin off is dangerous and ripping other people’s skin off is rude (unless it’s explicitly consensual) - so yeah, my desires have had to be tempered. However, as I explained to Ariel, I think the point of this project is to find a balance with people and create a space with them, where we can both take a little bit of our skin off, out in the open, with the goal of inching a wee bit closer to my desire without either of us needing to bleed to death or like getting some kind of infection from over exposure.
Finally, I would like to share the deeply passionate press release that Ariel sent my bandmate and I upon the passing of Boutros Boutros-Ghali. He did this because the deceased’s name sounded like ours (Sucrose Sucrose Brown). Ariel was convinced that we had named our band after Boutros. This of course was not true, there was no affiliation. We came up with the name while we were drunk and making fettuccini Alfredo, but the press release was beautiful.
I hope you enjoy and/or get something from this conversation between friends.
LIST OF THINGS
What’s in my mouth? An electric toothbrush! A fucking GAME CHANGER friends. I’m pissed at people I know who’ve been on this shit for years and never told me about it and if you haven’t been on it then honestly I don’t know what you’re waiting for. Never have I enjoyed tooth-brushing-time (is that a thing?!) but now I have fun when I brush my teeth! And yeah, I’m 39 years old.
HOT TAKE. I am loving the MONSTERS Menendez Brothers Ryan Murphy show which has been getting slammed for inaccuracies in its representation of the case, among other things (like making grotesque shockdrama). Here’s what I’ll say. If you are watching a Ryan Murphy TV show for the unfettered truth, you need to check yourself and think more critically about your media consumption. Mr. Murphy is not here to educate you, he’s here to tell you a story and get your attention (and make money). Personally, I have never seen such an unflinching (and entertaining!) portrayal of incest and childhood sexual abuse on television. For that, I say congrats.
This week I learned that Eagle-Eye Cherry is the brother of Neneh Cherry which surprised me for some reason. Neneh being the radically cooler sibling.
TO CONCLUDE
I’d like to say thank you for your time and thank you to Ariel for taking a bit of his skin off with me! I’d also like to let you know that the plan will be to publish about 5 or so more of these before the end of the year, so yeah, keep coming back if I don’t offend you too strongly. I leave you with this fun passage about OUR FREEDOM.
Thank you for reading A LIFE BASED LOOSELY ON REALITY! Share your feedback in the comments below and please feel free to forward this to a friend who you think would be interested. Right now all of my posts are free, so any paid subscriptions will go towards helping to support my work and develop this project. More about me here.
Share this post