High Fidelity: Season 1

February 22, 2020 11:30 AM - Season 1 (Full Season)

High Fidelity follows "the ultimate music fan, a record store owner who's obsessed with pop culture and Top Five lists" in neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

It's streaming on Hulu.

posted by KTamas (4 comments total)

I always defined myself as a music fan. Like more than anything else. Music is what I loved more than anything.

I loved the movie of High Fidelity. (I also read the book but I know the movie better.) I saw myself in Rob way more than I should've, but at the time (I was around 20), I was wondering why most of the characters and voices I related to were men. I think I saw that more as a flaw in myself rather than in reality. There's something about being self-reflective that just makes you self-involved that I feel High Fidelity captures. Too often I think this idea of being the hero of your own story, despite all evidence to the contrary, is something young men subscribe to, but that doesn't mean young women don't fall for it. I did.

More than 20 years on, I'm a much better music fan than I was and my record collection is out of control in the best possible way. I am so jealous of all the young women that get Zoe Kravitz's Rob to be the Rob that they know and relate to -- this gorgeous bisexual woman of color who is messy and an asshole and loves music. This is who I wanted to see myself in.

I think Nick Hornby's piece for Rolling Stone was a bit weird (especially that it seemed like he didn't grasp that a smart woman who has a father as a musician and was also in a band herself had good taste in music) but I like his last line: "Because, guess what: High Fidelity isn’t just about you. It’s about people who aren’t like you, too."

I loved the Rob of the book. I love the Rob of the movie. But the Rob of the TV show finally made me feel it was OK to see myself in this character. I found it to be a great and honest update. I like all the changes. I will still love the book and the movie but I think this is my High Fidelity going forward.
posted by darksong at 7:02 PM on February 23, 2020 [10 favorites]

This was mostly fun! I didn't think they could somehow pull this off, but they did. Admittedly, it's been ??? years since I saw the movie so I don't remember much. I enjoyed the characters and their stories, great Simon episode as well.

I feel like it didn't quite land the ending and the reveal was a bit of a letdown, even though it makes sense.

This interview in the indiewire makes me worried about the future seasons, though since it seems like they just want to explore Rob being single and keeping the guys around and that's gonna get tired eventually.
posted by KTamas at 2:02 AM on February 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

I was really nervous/curious in how they would stay loyal to the source material while updating it for this generation and Rob being a woman of color. But they did it.

It was great that the show's main concentration was still Rob's selfishness in relationships and how music is huge part of how she copes with it all. But they didn't avoid how people of color are generally treated in mostly white occupied music scenes. The scene when Cherise reacts to that white musician dismissing her just after a glance was super relatable and painful to watch.
posted by Become A Silhouette at 7:48 PM on February 25, 2020 [2 favorites]

I didn't want to binge this over a long weekend, but that's exactly what I did. I haven't seen Zoe Kravitz in a leading role yet, and she's so engaging. And, despite her obviously being a beautiful woman, she makes Rob's insecurity over Kat Monroe's rejection completely believable.

Simon's story is such a highlight of this new version. Great character, so well cast.
posted by gladly at 6:32 PM on February 26, 2020 [3 favorites]