Provocateurs dominate my segment of Press Play, where Shawn Edwards and I reviewed the button-pushing The Drama, Yes and Kontinental '25. As for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, it mostly provoked me to despair for society at large. You can hear our conversation down below.
Then, a funny thing happened, Small's sister Beverly reached out after seeing my post. Would I want to write an article about Shira? I was very intrigued. She was only a teenager when she made her album, and then never recorded another. But I didn't have a good hook for the piece. Still, I never stopped thinking about The Line of Time and the Plane of Now, which I listen to constantly.
Cut to March 2026. I'm at a screening of The Drama. Early on in the film, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson's characters are practicing their first dance for their wedding. Suddenly, a song comes on that knocks me sideways. It's "I Want to Lay With You," from The Line of Time and the Plane of Now. I thought I was one of the few people who had heard the record. How did this A24 movie find it? At last, I had the hook I'd been looking for.
With much thanks to my Los Angeles Times editor Josh Rothkopf, who loved the idea instantly, I reached out to Small, who turns 70 in June, to interview her about her short-lived music career and learn what she's been up to since. It was a pleasure to finally meet her and talk about an album that means a lot to me. (I also spoke to, among others, The Drama's music supervisor, who was also a fan of Small.)
Sometimes, you have ideas that just sit inside you for years. You think they'll be something you never get to write. I am so very glad this dream piece finally happened.
You can read my profile of Shira Small here. I hope you enjoy.
