#38: Alex: Independent Music, Film, Art
Discover culture, discover oneself.
Mia’s Queue is a free newsletter for “humans in the loop” who care about conscious culture in a tech-driven world. Welcome! I love exploring how taste and curation facilitate self-discovery and create deeper connections with others. When I’m not exploring what that means in my own life, I chat with an undercover tastemaker infusing creativity and wonder into the world. Learn what lights them up as they tell their inspiration story, reveal discovery tips, and share quality things to read, watch, hear, and do.
Today, meet Agent 038: Alex Witkowski, Global Program Manager, Community at Notion, and the creator of Spin This, a weekly newsletter containing five tracks resonating with him and the personal stories and insights they evoke.
Alex is my first reader-recommended interview. I’m so thankful to
for putting us in touch. Anete could tell that Alex and I are two picky peas in a pod, motivated by the same thing: connecting with others (and ourselves) through culture. We both love to hunt for and share the good stuff — whatever “good” means to each of us.I got to learn about Alex, his taste, and curation processes for the first time here. When he said: “I love art as a catalyst for connection and meeting people where they are,” my mind was blown because I’ve had the same thought. How fun to find a kindred spirit in the wild! Which is precisely why this newsletter exists. 💥
How did you get into the things you’re into?!
My parents had this long row of records, and there was always something playing in the house. Plus, I'm very close with my sister, and it was wonderful to connect with her over music. We're four years apart, and even still, we have been listening to the same things for most of our lives, a lot of it a riff off of what our parents listened to. Some of it was rebellion against what our parents liked; we were both very emo pop punk. It was a way to connect with my family.
It was also a way to connect with friends. Early on, some of my closest friends were people who were as passionate about music and film as I am. It was something that we could share and explore together. It ended up forging some of my most powerful and long-lasting friendships.
How did your love of music and film help you blossom as a person?
I treat the discovery process of art the way I treat self-discovery. For me, it's the same thing. Whenever I'm listening to new music or watching a new movie, I'm in dialogue in my head: how am I reacting to this? I'm learning about who I am.
I remember my first independent film, which, to this day, is one of my favorite films ever: “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.” I knew nothing about Wes Anderson; I just noticed the aesthetic of the movie.
It was a surreal experience because I was watching it and laughing, but I couldn't tell you why I was laughing. That was a gateway into understanding myself: why is this funny to me? Are there other things out there like this? I started pulling the thread and finding other Wes Anderson films or directors who inspired him.
I’m not just looking for new things to try. I’m into the process of exploration and searching for things that help me understand what makes me me.
In the same way that some people love trying new food, I'm obsessed with trying new art.
Do you have any rituals around discovery?
I am a huge fan of physical media. I miss the days when you would buy a record before you listened to it.
There are a couple of film distributors that put out interesting, bizarre things that would never make it to theaters. Those are the pieces I am most excited by. It always takes extra effort to find them.
Online, there are a couple of record stores that I adore; I’ll go see what they’ve added on a weekly basis and sample songs from each record. If it stirs anything, I’ll give myself some time later to sit down and listen a couple of times.
What are some of your must-visit online shops?
I have an annual membership to Vinegar Syndrome, which puts out kitschy, weird 80s and 90s horror films. They also have partner labels that put out cool films coming out of Europe; they have a sub-label for SOV (shot-on-video), low-budget films, too.
There's a wonderful distributor called Diabolique, which does great curation of re-released and underground films, especially stuff from outside the U.S.
On the music side, I'm a huge fan of Further Records. They do a lot of old soul releases, city pop international releases, and a lot of stuff out of Africa and Europe.
Light in the Attic Records is another label I love for similar reasons.
There's a label called Numero Group that does interesting re-releases: their philosophy is to put out stuff that wasn't appreciated or elevated at the time and try to breathe some new life into it.
How do you define what's cool for yourself?
It’s when an artist unapologetically expresses an authentic, vulnerable piece, not trying to filter it through anything. It’s entirely their own, and you feel that when you're experiencing it.
How do you use Notion to track your tastes and keep your pop culture self organized?
I use it to catalog my record collection, which is maybe 3-4,000 albums. Every time I listen to an album, I add it to the database and pick three mood words that I associate with each album. I have an iPad next to my record collection, so you could type in: “I want to feel awesome or sad…” and up come 10 albums.
I also connect a season to each album. Does it feel more summer, spring, winter, or fall? I try to curate within my curation. How do I pick out something for a particular friend or situation?
Notion’s been a fun way to interact with my collection.
Alright, Alex, what are your recommendations for us?
📺 “On Cinema at the Cinema,” Adult Swim
This is the best-fit media for my sense of humor. Ostensibly, it’s about two guys lampooning a movie review show, but it's very much about their toxic interpersonal relationship. All of their problems get exposed through their conversations about these movies. It’s been going on for 15-16 seasons, and the joke is: how far can they take it before it goes off the rails? It's wild.
🍿 “The People’s Joker”
This movie was caught in a bit of dispute, because it's a Batman parody, which led to some IP conversations…Ultimately, it got out of this IP jail and was released on the festival circuit. It’s one of the most subversive pieces of art that I've consumed in years. It did such a good job, not just mocking the superhero genre, but asking what it would look like to reform the genre into something that's bolder and more experimental, funny and sad. I've never seen anything like it.
🎵 You Won’t
They don't play very often live and they only have two albums out. They use very non-traditional instruments and are goofy in their lyrics but also very introspective. I've never heard anyone who sounds like them. I absolutely adore every single song. I want everyone to hear them because I feel like they might not ever get the exposure they deserve otherwise.
🎥📙 “Night Is Short. Walk on Girl”
I saw it first as a movie, then I read the book. I was on a horrible date once, and I was looking for an out. I was like, “Let's see this movie.” It turned the date around. It was this unbelievably funny, weird movie about a girl who’s on a mission to get as drunk as possible when she's out one night. She has this wild adventure while this boy who has a crush on her is trying to get her attention. (It's not working.) The movie is phenomenal, and the book is hysterical. I was laughing out loud the entire time. You can read the book first or watch the movie first…It’s one of the pieces of art that makes me feel extremely grateful to be alive.
You can keep up with Alex’s music picks at Spin This and via Instagram.
What are you reading, watching, and listening to these days? Let’s connect over conscious culture. ❤️
I thoroughly enjoyed this interview. Thanks for sharing!