#5 “Letter to a Wildflower” by Ewan McPhee

When Andy asked me to contribute to this I had just finished watching Cold War by Pawel Pawlikowski, shot by the great Polish cinematographer Lukasz Zal, and the last shot of the movie had really stuck with me: two lovers sitting on a bench rise and cross the road, the camera staying with the swaying wheat field behind them. This imagery instantly reminded me of lyrics from an Arthur Russell song: “I close my eyes and listen to hear the corn come out”. This set me on the path of making an Americana playlist, and as incompatible as that may seem with a still from a Polish film, I feel that the film explores many of the same ideas that the music on this playlist does: itinerant lifestyles, leaving towns (or countries) in search of better lives, drunken masculinity, and, of course, love. Much of the music on here is quite dear to my heart, and I hope that some of it will become dear to you as well.

Ewan McPhee (@ewanmcphee) is a writer from Halifax, Nova Scotia, hoping to soon move out of his parent’s basement. Ewan is also working as a bartender and recommends trying a daquiri (a real one).

Ewan Recommends:

Master and Margarita by Bulkagov
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Through a Glass Darkly dir. Bergman
Mosaic plates from Value Village