MEDIA DIET
By:
June 29, 2026
A weekly series exploring the media “input” of a group of people — HILOBROW’s friends and contributors — whose “output” we admire.
Heather has been a valued HILOBROW contributor since 2021. Her first post was on the topic of THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS. Her most recent contributions to this publication include: MA AND PA | HAROLD SHAND | THE GRATEFUL DEAD.
Mount Tabor, NJ…
HILOBROW: What work of literature (old or new) would you recommend to someone trying to make sense of today’s world?
HEATHER QUINLAN: In 2004, W. was president and I was not happy, because my Maine vacation was ruined by nonstop thunderstorms. I was so bored at the Bangor Museum that I begged the docent, “Just tell me where Stephen King’s house is.” After paying my respects I sloshed my way to a used-book store. I knew little of American politics (years of watching Schoolhouse Rock had not taught me how a bill became a law), and cared less about 1920s Moscow, yet like someone following a talking cat into a dark alley, I picked up what is now possibly my favorite novel.
The Master and Margarita is about a system that demands conformity and endless small lies — but it tells that story through surrealism: the devil strolling through Moscow; Pontius Pilate paralyzed over what to do about Jesus; and a giant, gun-toting, walking, talking cat.
Bulgakov understood that realism couldn’t capture life under authoritarianism. When truth becomes unspeakable, it still has to come out somehow — in this case, sideways. Behemoth, the talking cat, is a truth-teller in disguise, exposing greed, cowardice, and hypocrisy by pushing them just past the point of plausibility. This chaos shows how much rot people have already learned to live with.
I love work that mixes humor and exaggeration to poke at reality until it confesses. It’s why I love cemeteries, heavy metal, and jesters. The Master — destroyed for writing an honest novel — and Margarita, who risks everything for love, embody the cost of that choice. Bulgakov doesn’t pretend integrity is rewarded. He shows that it simply allows you to remain yourself.
When I’m tempted to smooth edges or look away, The Master and Margarita reminds me that surrealism can be a moral tool. Sometimes the only way to tell the truth is to let the cat talk — and then watch what everyone does next.
HILOBROW: What music did you love as a teenager? Do you still listen to it today?
HEATHER QUINLAN: I love metal. I listened to WSOU, read RIP magazine, spent my Saturday nights watching Headbangers Ball, and bought Hard ’N Heavy on VHS every other month at Sam Goody. That’s how I could watch interviews with Voivod in their hometown of Jonquière, Quebec, or Nuclear Assault backstage at Club Bene in Sayreville, NJ.
But I don’t listen to it as much for the same reason I rarely visit my old neighborhoods. Nostalgia can be painful. Metallica made The Black Album and even worse, turned their therapy sessions into a documentary. I don’t want to see that. I mean, I never want to hear from Lars, so I definitely do not want to know what he’s feeling.
John Connelly from Nuclear Assault is stupidly MAGA. I think he always was. Faith No More, my favorite band, broke up years ago and I think their lead singer, the adored Mike Patton, has really traveled to another dimension — joining The Avett Brothers (whom I like, don’t get me wrong …).
Alex Skolnick is on X a lot and although he defended me against a troll, seeing my guitar gods on socials is… I don’t know. It was different when I saw him once at the Union Square B&N — that was fucking awesome! On socials, not so much. Also, he and I differ ideologically in ways I am not gonna get into here.
When I do listen it’s when YouTube realizes I need to hear Disposable Heroes. Frankly, we all do. That goes for you too, John Connelly.
Also: I once ended up working on a documentary called Breast Milk that was produced by the same guy who made Hard ’N Heavy. Not exactly the day the music died (it’s a very good film!), but… kind of.
These days, I channel my musical love into Heavy Metal Genealogy — articles I write tracing James Hetfield’s (and others’) family trees. Turns out that’s totally metal.
HILOBROW: Share a media “input” of yours that wasn’t listed above.
HEATHER QUINLAN: During events like the World Series, there are many who want to make sure that you know they don’t care about sports. Because they are intelligent people with good jobs and we are morons with man caves. (As a Met fan in a Yankee world, I’m used to getting the short end of the stick, but still….) My husband says this may be because these people were beat up by jocks in high school. Point taken, but I was bullied by private school kids — so I have my antennae up for elitism. I include sports when it comes to arts and culture.
You should too. Start by reading Joyce Carol Oates’ On Boxing. It’s about the sweet science. At Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, they have a quote from The Aeneid: “Now, whoever has courage and a strong and collected spirit in his breast, let him come forward, lace on the gloves and put up his hands.” Now, put up your dukes and try being a Met fan.
MEDIA DIET series: MATTHEW BATTLES | ADRIENNE CREW | HOLLY INTERLANDI | CAROLYN KELLOGG | MARK KINGWELL | FLOURISH KLINK | ADAM McGOVERN | CHARLIE MITCHELL | TOM NEALON | ANNIE NOCENTI | GARY PANTER | LYNN PERIL | JONATHAN PINCHERA | NICHOLAS ROMBES | CARLO ROTELLA | LUCY SANTE | SETH | MIKE WATT | JUDITH ZISSMAN | & more to come! Visit the SERIES INDEX.