a secret club hosted by local celebrity madison may.
AUDIO! VIDEO! DISCO! is a weekly-ish deep dive into all the weirdest & wildest parts of media. It’s one part criticism for the super-indie or super-forgotten, one part recs and rambling about whatever is top of mind and relatable to the climate of the day.
It is not (always) reviews for the newest and latest and greatest, but it is (always) a close inspection of less talked about film, literature, art, and culture that doesn’t fit the clickbait status quo but still has something to say about the world we live in.
I’m your host – Madison May – and I write part time for Retroware and work full time as a small biz owner in the indie fashion space.
A!V!D! is a vague experiment in unsocial media. It’s a fan club for nothing in particular, and a weekly hang out for people who probably went to art school. Comments are turned off but conversations are encouraged. (Wait what?) Basically: I don’t owe you a platform – this one is mine – but I love good conversation and good people so my inbox is always open. Want to chat with me directly? Respond to any newsletter with your thoughts, hot tips, and/or good vibes.
A disclaimer I shouldn’t have to add except I do: Do I know every single thing about the stuff I want to talk about? No. I’m not a journalist, or an expert witness, or a doctoral candidate. I’m a singular person doing my best, so all opinions shared are exactly that. Some people have paid me to talk critically about stuff in the past so I am humbly asking for that again. (More on that in a sec…)
Topics may include:
HEAR
Duran Duran did performative “goth” before Sisters of Mercy and that’s a goddamned fact. Why I wanted to be a DJ but decided to become an adult instead. Looking for City Pop in Japan and how it felt like a dream within a dream. The saga of My Chemical Romance tickets in 2020 (insert weeping emoji).
SEE
Horror movies are the most culturally relevant pieces of media in any given decade and we should be paying more attention to the things that we are/were afraid of. Thoughts on the Final Girl, the “madwoman” trope, and the dreaded/adored “slow art film”. Also me, talking endlessly about my Criterion subscription.
LEARN
…About new podcasts, new articles, new ideas, and new stuff from all four corners of the internet, brought together by the headwinds of a self employed person who reads The Atlantic instead of going to therapy.
SUPPORT
So this is a lot of work, yeah? It’s a free passion project at the moment, but I am 100% self employed and I keep myself afloat by working close to 80 hours a week on a slew of hustles. Adding one more thing to my to do list is a risk, but it’s one that I want to gamble on. I’ve added an optional subscription for those who have disposable income and want to support what I do, who I am, and what I write.
Subscriptions are $7/month – or $69.69 a year, nice ;) – and will get you bonus articles on reader-suggested topics + the ability to comment and chat with other subscribers. I’ll also be setting up subscriber-only Zoom calls down the line, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet.
If you’re really loaded, you can become a A!V!D! Splenda Zaddy and donate $169 (very nice) a year, which will get you my endless gratitude at the moment, but eventually it’ll get you something super special that is to be determined. ;)
