FROM THE EDITOR
Whenever I fall for a film or a TV show, in the background, pulling me and not letting go, is the music. The soundtrack. I still remember a closing shot in season 1 of The Sopranos, with Tony Soprano driving over the New Jersey turnpike, camera right in his tough, troubled face, and Bruce Springsteen mournfully singing
State Trooper. “Licence, registration, I ain’t got none. But I got a clear conscience ’bout the things that I done. Mister State Trooper, please don’t stop me.”
There are so many smart, exquisitely curated soundtracks sometimes I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or get up and dance. Sometimes it feels like the music will eclipse the show itself.
Big Little Lies had Michael Kiwanuka, Charles Bradley, Elvis, Otis Redding, Frank Ocean. This Is Us had Nina Simone and the Rolling Stones. Sex Education had The Velvet Underground and Salt-npepa’s Push It.
I really wasn’t sure I wanted to get into Better Call Saul, because I’d just come fresh from Breaking Bad and it required so much emotional attention and investment I was exhausted, mildly traumatised and utterly blown away. I felt like I needed a decompression stop — a nice quiet room with some peppermint tea, where I could get myself together, and work out what the hell had just happened and where had my life gone.
The New York Times said Better Call Saul revealed Bob Odenkirk as “a peerless portrayer of broken souls”.
This week, as I watched the unbearable unravelling of Saul, aka Jimmy Mcgill, my soul found solace in the 2006 remastered version of I Got The ... by Labi Siffre. I hadn’t heard that in years, and, later, I played it very loud. Previously on Better Call Saul ... piles of money are bundled up to the lush Latin sounds of El Pholy Combo — El Porro Es Hermano de la Cumbia. There’s a tender and poignant view of a relationship, played out to Somethin’ Stupid, by Nancy Sinatra.
This week, Canvas talks with Bob Odenkirk about the final season. He discusses the breathtaking writing, the attention to detail — just like a proper lawyer. And he talks about why it was a role like no other.
This Easter Canvas will be in all the NZME regional newspapers as well as the Weekend Herald. I hope you enjoy the great features, food, style and books inside. Where ever you are, have a lovely long weekend.
Ma te wa