There is a quote in one of my favorite movies High Fidelity, based on the wonderful Nick Hornby novel of the same name, that goes something like this: “What really matters is not what you are like, but what you like…books, records, films—these things matter.” While I disagree that it doesn’t matter what people are like, I do agree that it matters very much, and is very interesting and often revealing, what people like in terms of pop culture and media.
I had the idea that it would be fascinating (hopefully!) to hear from the important and interesting people in Utah government and politics about their tastes in culture and media and how they consume news and entertainment. I believe that shared appreciation for culture and media can be a unifying force in a world that seems to find new ways to separate and divide us.
We sincerely appreciate Mayor Erin Mendenhall for being our first participant for this new feature. Our desire is for this new regular feature to provide an educational, entertaining, and even enriching glimpse into the lives and minds of key decision-makers and influential players in the state, and perhaps provide a good recommendation or two in the process.
Justin Y. Allen, UTPOL Underground Contributor (JYA): Thank you so much for taking time to do this. So, as I mentioned to you, it was a conversation that we had a couple of years ago that got me thinking that this type of interview might be a fun thing to do. I thought it was fascinating to hear about your musical background and then you sent me some interesting music recommendations. And so I thought “Who better to start this feature series with than you?”
Mayor Erin Mendenhall (MEM): So I’m your guinea pig?
JYA: We’ve been waiting to do this with you! We wanted you to be the first to be featured on the Utah Politico Pop Culture Rundown.
MEM: Well, I’m flattered to be the guinea pig. But it’s only going to get better from here. I am not a very strong barometer of pop culture in any regard.
JYA: Well, I think everybody who happens upon this interview will assume that you’ve got more important things to be worrying about than staying abreast of all things pop culture.
MEM: Maybe years ago, for a brief moment, I was cool. And it will be really clear from our conversation that that moment was a long time ago.
JYA: Well, we’ll be the judge of that. So let’s dive into this. I wanted to start with movies and TV. What are some of your favorite movies of all time? Do you have a top five or something that comes to mind?
MEM: I have to start by admitting that things changed when I became a mother 15 plus years ago. I have three kids and they’re all about five years apart. So, I’ve basically had small kids for 15 years. I’ve had a car seat or a booster seat in my car for 15 years. And my movie watching really dropped off with parenting; I think my appetite for the kind of movies that I was interested in changed dramatically. And then that relates in a way to what I want to watch on TV. I think my household is probably in a small percentile of American households that doesn’t have the TV on very often. And we don’t have cable– we’ve never paid for cable. We do have Amazon Prime so there is some access to the real world there. But pretty much bunny ears otherwise. So my appetite at the end of a workday of working for the Capital City is really not for TV in the high drama realm. And film is very much the same way. I love old movies. And I don’t mean 80s– I mean like really old movies. And it’s kind of hard, isn’t it? I don’t know if you feel this way, Justin. But when I view movies now that I watched as a younger person or as a child, they feel like they are fraught with bullying and trash talking and sexism and racism. And I think “Oh my gosh, how were we raised? This is awful.” I would never show my kids.
JYA: It’s true. I watched a couple of 80s movies recently and had similar thoughts for sure.
MEM: Toxic stuff. It’s crazy. But I love the movie Amelie because that’s like my girl heart. I just love Amelie. And I love French culture. I’m not quite a Francophile, but I do wish I spoke French and I would love to live there someday. That’s a great, great film. I enjoy documentaries and there’s a lot of PBS viewing in my household. But like I said, even some episodes of Frontline–I can read the script; I could consume it in article format or listen to it on NPR. Watching it has a strong effect on my heart. And I think that’s because I see a lot of stuff on a day-to-day basis. And it just isn’t relaxing for me to consume that stuff. I don’t know if that’s a very direct answer.
JYA: No, I think that makes a lot of sense. And, by the way, Amelie is a very good movie.
MEM: And Cars is the best Disney movie in the last 15 years.
JYA: You probably are an expert on the kids films, right?
MEM: I’m okay with that. Okay, I’ve got a good one for the parents out there. Have you heard of The Gruffalo? It’s a great children’s book; a picture book. And then there’s The Gruffalo’s Child. PBS Britain or someone made a short film of The Gruffalo and the Gruffalo’s Child and those are both really good.
JYA: Thanks for the recommendation. So I’m going to pry a little bit more about your film tastes. Any favorite romantic comedies? There’s got to be a romcom that’s struck a nerve with you.
MEM: That is not my bailiwick. I’m going to have to reach back to When Harry Met Sally or some old Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan film. We’ll probably talk about books later, but if you looked at my bookshelf, or what’s next to my bedside, there’s no fiction. There’s nothing that soft.
JYA: This is a completely judgment free zone.
MEM: I’m going to try to abandon my own personal judgement of my lack of current knowledge of pop culture.
JYA: Taste is very subjective. We all have different things that we’re into.
MEM: Wait, I’m going to go a little deeper. Because you brought out wisely that I’m a parent. And a lot of my viewing has to do with my family being around. And reacting to the disgust I have of some of the films that we grew up on. But my family loves to watch Sci Fi Friday on UEN, the Utah Education Network, on I think channel 9.1 on Friday nights at 9pm. And they screen old films–some of them are even talkies! We saw the very first Phantom of the Opera silent film. And they’ll make some desperate reach of a science-related theme in the film. A lot of these films go to the center of the earth, or they go to Mars or the moon before humans ever left this planet on spacecraft. And they are totally offensive–It’s fascinating. There’s something very American about looking at these really old films with your kids who are like, “Didn’t they know that there’s no space monsters on the moon?” No, we didn’t know. We weren’t there yet.
JYA: So if there was a genre that your family responds to most, would it be science fiction?
MEM: No, I think it would be more happy films like Rudy or movies about the Olympics and other sports. Feel good movies.
JYA: I can appreciate that. I imagine that might be the case with anybody who is in a day-to-day profession that deals with some heavy stuff. I can see how feelgood movies would be the kind of entertainment that might be appealing at the end of the day.
MEM: Or take me to Rick Steves in Slovenia. That’s what I want to do.
JYA: That’s a great pick for a favorite TV selection. We all need a little escapism. A little Rick Steves in Europe. He’s probably in Amsterdam as we speak, right?
MEM: He’s been there many times; I’ve seen all of those episodes. But I can have my glass of wine and pretend I’m in Tuscany with Rick Steves. That guy is always drinking on his show. If you watch the show, you know.
JYA: He’s got a good gig. Let’s switch gears to a subject that I know we both care a lot about and that is music. First, I am interested to ask people what their musical background is themselves. I recall you telling me that you had some experience with an instrument of some sort. Please tell us about that.
MEM: Well, I really love to sing and I’m absolutely terrible at it. So, I was encouraged to not join the choir in middle school, but to join the band instead. And as the band teacher Kim Dalby–If he’s out there in Utah…Thank you, Kim Dalby! You’re a great teacher–And he’d hold up each instrument and say, “This is a trombone. I need five of you to play it.” And then kids would raise their hand. “This is a French horn.” And I was sitting next to a friend, and he dared me to raise my hand to play the tuba. I dared him to do something, but I can’t remember what it was. And so, I learned how to play the tuba. And I actually quite liked it. But I was really not into being a band kid. I regret that I didn’t let my guard down and make more friendships there. But I love playing the music and making music together as a band. So, I played all through middle school and high school, and I ended up getting an offer to play for a bit of a scholarship up at the U. But I would have had to march in the marching band, and I was too cool for school. I wouldn’t do it. What a dummy.
JYA: I think it’s commendable that you made it all the way through junior high and high school doing it. That shows that you weren’t too cool for that in high school. Often high school can be the bigger “too cool” scenario.
MEM: It was a fun talent. I love the bass clef. Anybody who played band in high school in Utah might remember the Jazz at the Sheraton concerts. They brought the best people who were still touring around and that’s where you would see people play. And they had free tickets to every concert for band kids. And they were not popular acts. But I had a couple of friends and we would take the tickets pretty much every time.
JYA: So, what were some of the highlights from that series that you remember?
MEM: I remember that I really fell in to John Pizzarelli. And his dad, Bucky Pizzarelli, and his brother whose first name I can’t recall, we saw all three of them play together. Bucky was probably in his late 80s at the time. I remember sneaking backstage to meet them and trying to shake Bucky’s hand and get him to sign my program. But everybody from Diana Krall to jazz trios where none of them are alive anymore. It was so great. Yeah. And that balanced with the rest of what I did with my time, which was go to shows with my friends. What we called “shows.”
JYA: What kinds of shows and which venues?
MEM: Ska and some punk–they kind of wove together here. And my friends were in a couple of bands, so they were always trying to open for the headliners. And I lost probably 20% of my hearing. I really can’t hear! If I’m doing the dishes, or I’m standing by the washing machine, my kids know to just not even talk to mom until she’s done. I blame punk rock. Thank my mom for letting me listen to my music as loud as I wanted to.
JYA: So, besides jazz, and some Ska and punk, what were you listening to as a kid and then into teenage and college years?
MEM: It’s been eclectic. I’ve always been eclectic. And this is maybe TMI for this subject, but my father became sick with cancer when I was about 11. And he ended up passing away just before I was 14. And my mom grew up in Philadelphia and she saw everybody; she went to all of the concerts. She didn’t go to Woodstock because she thought it was going to be lame; she said that all of her friends went and she kind of regretted not going. But my mom grew up seeing all the greats and had a lot of their vinyl in our house in a big nice shelf. So, I grew up playing her records. And that was just a part of our family culture. Around the time when my father passed away, I realized that it was around that time coincidentally that I got my first subscription to Rolling Stone magazine, and I would read it cover to cover and I was trying to get into the Columbia House Records Club. Remember that thing when you get 20 free CDs if you bought one? I was legally too young, but I lied and did all those things. So I had a lot of music–I filled my life with music. And I think that’s how I kind of fell in with friends as I got older into my teen years who were also really into music. I was into music probably because of my mom’s background and the record collection around me, but I also developed a love of really early ska, and the Jamaican and jazz roots of that music. I listened to Chet Baker and I can sing you any Louis Prima song–I’m not going to do that! And Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, and I still love that music. So today, I would say probably my number one favorite album, which has been the case for probably 16 years is Don’t Give Up On Me by Solomon Burke, which is a really cool album that was written by Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan and a bunch of greats and then sung by Solomon.
JYA: Very cool. I’ve only had limited exposure to that. So that’s another good recommendation from you.
MEM: Do it. You probably need to listen to some Ani DiFranco too.
JYA: You have guessed correctly that I am someone who has likely undersold the value of Ani DiFranco.
MEM: Two days after I graduated from high school, I moved out to two blocks from where I live today into a basement apartment with two of my girlfriends and then I followed Ani DiFranco on tour with three of my friends in my Toyota Four Runner up into Canada.
JYA: I love it.
MEM: Yeah, it was great. We had a really fun time.
JYA: I can picture that. That’s very cool.
MEM: I’m not that different today.
JYA: What’s the best show that you’ve ever seen? Any amazing live experiences you’ve had at concerts?
MEM: You know, my musical taste has been so diverse. I’ll tell you a few that come to mind. I didn’t think about this in advance. But seeing Solomon Burke at Kingsbury Hall before he passed away just a couple years later. That show was phenomenal. I love seeing Mavis Staples perform. Yeah, she has knocked my socks off every time. When I was 12 years old. I went to my first real concert. I saw Sheryl Crow play up at what was Wolf Mountain then. It was in the wintertime in a big tent they’d put up and she blew my mind. There were around 200 people there so we were able to be right up close. And I remember she wore lace up at the crotch leather pants. And she was playing this gorgeous Hummingbird guitar and I thought “I want to be that. I could do that.”
JYA: What year would that have been?
MEM: 1991 or 92 or something like that. And then one of my other favorite bands was Catherine Wheel. That’s one that doesn’t line up with Ani Difranco or jazz, but they are a great band and they played at DV8. And that was a very loud concert that my ears are probably still ringing from. And that was probably around 2001.
JYA: I saw a lot of shows at DV8 around that time as well.
MEM: I also spent a lot of time at Kilby Court when it was new.
JYA: That’s awesome. So the last question on music before we’ll shift gears. Any Junior High slow dance song was the go-to slow dance song for you?
MEM: They are so bad. Isn’t there a Bon Jovi one?
JYA: I’m sure there were multiple Bon Jovi songs.
MEM: Bon Jovi, Bell Biv DeVoe, Boyz II Men—a lot of Boyz II Men. It’s really not worth us talking about all of that. We should leave that all behind.
JYA: We should, but I don’t know. I still have a comfort playlist that’s all junior high school era music.
MEM: You do?
JYA: Look, I’ve come to accept those years and the wide range of embarrassing emotions and insecurities that are associated with that time, and it’s just sort of funny to think about.
MEM: I think that says a lot that you can find comfort in those times. I was not very cool. And thinking about those times still makes me kind of shiver.
JYA: Music was sort of a safe haven that I could find some safety through the insecurity through a Depeche Mode song in junior high school.
MEM: Yes, I remember asking my mom to give me money to go see Depeche Mode and she’s like, you don’t even like them. I said, You’re right. I just want to go to a concert. I loved going to concerts.
JYA: Oingo Boingo was my first concert. At the Delta Center or whatever the Jazz arena was called back then.
MEM: That was my husband’s first concert. He saw them at the Salt Palace.
JYA: You’re kidding me? Very cool.
MEM: He was like, “the music started and this big smoke cloud just came up. We didn’t know what it was.”
JYA: Yeah, that sounds right. So let’s talk about books. You mentioned that you spend a lot of time with nonfiction books. I imagine you have to do a ton of reading but what kind of reading do you enjoy? What are some favorite books? How do you consume information?
MEM: I didn’t mention my favorite music right now is Frazey Ford. My family’s totally sick of Frazey Ford. I have not an ounce of depletion of my love of listening to Frazey Ford. I’ll turn music on at the end of my workday, and I like to make dinner. So, I make a meal plan every week, because otherwise I couldn’t pull it off. And I put music on in the house; we’ve got speakers in the main part of the house, and I start cooking. And then by the end of my day, I usually pick up a book. And often it’s poetry if I’m really tired, and I just want to set my mind to a centered space and calm down and be ready for sleep. Sleep is really important to me. It’s pretty critical for stamina for me. I need sleep. So, I read David White–he’s my favorite poet. I love Mary Oliver too. All of these are kind of yoga-based poetry.
JYA: I think they’re all going to be new to me. So I’m going to learn something new.
MEM: I’m going to send you some poems after this. I also like to read current books. So I’m reading White Fragility. And there’s a Wallace Stegner book that I’m slowly picking my way through called Beyond The 100th Meridian that’s about John Wesley Powell. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see the development of the West and really who we are as Westerners through this beautiful prose about John Wesley Powell’s life and his explorations. And I’ll go one step further, even though you’re not inviting me to…
JYA: The floor is yours…
MEM: There is a common thread of experience and development in a lot of Westerners. And he uses him not as a focus but as a template for kind of who we are. That education is a self-made path that we are on–I don’t mean a formal educational, though he talks about their lack of access to that in many regards as frontiersmen and kids of frontiersman–but that you have got to sniff your way to what you want and what you need and what your passion is. And then there’s going to be lots of pitfalls. You know, he lost his arm in the beginning of his adult life as a soldier. And it ended up having no effect whatsoever on who he became and the work that he did. So coming through 2020 and hearing about that kind of tradition that we get to live out here. And the opportunity to look at what we’ve just been through as an education, an unplanned education. Yeah, it’s a great read. Did you want to know about news?
JYA: So, I think a lot of people are curious about how we are all getting our information these days. Are people still subscribing to newspapers? What magazine subscriptions do you have? Are magazines still showing up in your mailbox? Or are you getting them on an iPad on an app? How are you getting your news these days?
MEM: Yeah, I subscribe to both papers. I think it’s important to read both sides. And, actually, the Deseret News and the Tribune both have excellent reporters in different areas and different genres. Investigative reporting is especially strong at the Deseret News. And I get morning updates from CNN, New York Times, the Tribune, and Utah Policy. You know, the top five or 10 things you need to know this morning. I try to read a spectrum of input in that way. But I’ll say that I don’t watch Fox News. I don’t really consume television news much at all. I actually wish that I had more capacity in my day to watch some of the national news that happens because I think there is some value in that form of news storytelling. And then the New York Times and other news subscriptions will ping me with breaking news. NPR has been a big part of my foundation. I used to have to drive longer to get to and from work. And NPR was a part of my commute for a couple of decades. And part of my daily work when I was able to have the radio on while I was working. I don’t get that luxury anymore. But I do love and support NPR.
JYA: Is Rolling Stone still coming to your house? Any subscriptions to any other magazines?
MEM: You know what? Your grandma probably gets the magazine that I get. I’m only 41 years old, but I’ve been a subscriber since I was 18. And it’s Sunset Magazine, the magazine of the Mountain West.
JYA: That’s fitting. It fits with taking your Four Runner and following Ani DiFranco.
MEM: It’s great. They always have cocktail recipes, some seasonal cooking, design, gardening. I love all of those things. And then they go explore cool small towns in the West. And just to lean further into the Ani DiFranco thing, I have a Volkswagen pop top camper van. It’s mine. It’s not my husband’s. Yeah, so I like to explore the world.
JYA: That’s awesome. Any theater interest for your family?
MEM: Yeah, my husband Kyle loves the theater and helped cultivate my appreciation for it. We’ve had Eccles tickets for a long time. So we’ve been able to consume a lot of that great stuff. My family loved Hamilton and Wicked. I am embarrassed to say that my young daughter knows the words to too much of Hamilton. I’m not sure about some of the language in there, but theater is wonderful. And it was great a couple of weeks ago to go to the celebration for Governor Herbert and Jeanette Herbert at the first big event since the pandemic at Abravanel Hall to see Alfie Boe and The Million Dollar Quartet perform.
JYA: My wife and daughter went to that and said it was awesome. I’ve gone to the symphony at Abravanel Hall three times this year. It was around 10% capacity or something. It was strange, but it was fun to go to the symphony nevertheless.
MEM: I haven’t gone to the symphony in too long. Thank you for that reminder.
Can I just put a really strange plug in here? I went to Lagoon and I watched one of their performances.
It was pretty good. Cool down and watch their smoke and mirrors performance. It was pretty fun.
JYA: Any podcasts that you consume?
MEM: If I have time, The Daily is probably the first one I go to; but no, not on a regular basis. My time is my most scarce element in my life. And I don’t really have meetings where I get to tune out and shop for clothes or something like some people get to do. So, I don’t have time, almost ever, where I get to just sit and answer emails and maybe turn a podcast on and chill out. That’s all done after hours, so I look forward to podcast land when I am done being the mayor sometime.
JYA: You will have a lot of years of podcasts to catch up on when you have time.
MEM: I do plan to live through this and there will be many years.
JYA: So when you’re reading books, are they physical books or audiobooks?
MEM: 100% paper! Yeah, I believe in our local booksellers. I kind of raised my kids at storytime at the King’s English. I just love keeping books around me; even under my computer, here’s one of my favorite books. As much as I’m all digital for my news consumption, I still love holding a book in my hands.
JYA: I’m the same way. Well, I know we’re running short on time. And I sincerely appreciate you taking as much time to do this as you have. I’m going to throw you just a couple last questions here. So the first one, any pop culture that you’re looking forward to in the future?
MEM: The Twilight Concert Series!
JYA: Yes, yes. I’ve got my tickets to St. Vincent.
MEM: Cool. I’ll see you there.
JYA: I think I went with the VIP. I’m too old to be out there with the kids.
MEM: Yeah, Twilight will be awesome. And I want to mention Busker Fest happening on Main Street. We’re closing Main Street in Salt Lake City is every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for the afternoon and evening all summer long. And there is programmed awesome music events happening. So come hang out.
JYA: Okay, Final question: What is your favorite place in Utah, your favorite place in the US, and your favorite place outside of the US?
MEM: Well, Salt Lake City’s my favorite place in Utah. My second favorite place in Utah is the Grand Staircase. I’ll be going there in a couple weeks. And we go there a couple times a year. It’s awesome. In the US outside of Utah, I love Washington, D.C. It’s as close as we get to Europe. You can feel the history there. There’s a lot of gentrifications happening, but there’s still diversity. I still have lots of neighborhoods that I’ve never seen before. And I love getting on the bikes and on the train and just getting lost a little bit. It’s small enough that you can get lost and be okay. And outside of the US, I would say the French Riviera.
JYA: Yeah. You can’t go wrong with that. We should’ve known it was going to be France, obviously. You tipped your hand on that earlier…
MEM: Come on people! Slow down, drink more wine, have longer conversations, prioritize food, and love passionately. At least you can go there and do those things while you’re there for a little while. Then come back and work too hard in America.
JYA: Well, I think that’s the perfect way to wrap up the conversation here. Thank you again for taking time to do this. It’s been awesome to have this conversation with you. I had a lot of fun. I hope to see you at St. Vincent. And please keep sending me some recommendations. I’ll shoot you a few as well.
MEM: Okay, I’m going to send you a playlist and if you want you can link it to this conversation. Thanks, Justin.
