Frequently Asked Questions

Since my last name is so common, there is a long family history of my relatives having unique names. I have a great-great uncle named Quay Vega Johnson, for example. My mom was a knitter and was familiar with the Aran Islands of Ireland so chose that as an alternative spelling for the name Aaron.

• Kate Bush – My favorite album of all time is The Dreaming
• Talking Heads – I love the concert film Stop Making Sense
• Pink Floyd – When I was in 2nd grade my bff and I listened to Dark Side of the Moon while playing Lego
• The Beatles – I especially like the album Help!
• ABBA – I LOVE the musical Mamma Mia!

In no particular order, here are my five favorite movies as of July 2026.

• Le Rayon Vert by Eric Rohmer – Marie Rivière creates one of my favorite characters of all time as a woman who is struggling to enjoy her summer vacation.
• Kiki’s Delivery Service by Hayao Miyazaki – This is one that I have grown to love as I have become a parent watching my kids grow up and find independence.
• Tampopo by Juzo Itami – I love how this is a retelling of Shane but about a woman learning to make really good ramen.
• My Life As A Dog by Lasse Hallström – Honestly, it is almost impossible for me to watch this as a parent of two sons. It is just an incredible story of a child struggling to find his place in the world.
• Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola – I am a sucker for great costumes and vampires. I will forever be grateful to Coppola for basically letting Eiko Ishioka just have free reign to design the most unhinged costumes ever for this movie.
  
  

I don’t get embarrassed easily. However, in 1992, I contributed to a piece in Rolling Stone magazine asking readers about their favorite albums of all time.

I wrote about how I loved to dance and sing along to Guns & Roses in my college dorm room.

In hindsight, I feel like that was A LOT to share in a print publication that was distributed nationwide to more than 1 million subscribers. I’ll never forget my dad calling me to say he was at my uncle’s house and they were a bit surprised to see this writing attached to my name. He assumed it was a different Aran Johnson. I had to tell him that, no, I truly did write about dancing around my dorm room singing along with Axl Rose.

• What is Wrong With Men by Jessa Crispin – It was suprisingly fun to read a woman tell me what was wrong with me.
• Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert – An incredible description of the toxic media landscape of the early 2000s.
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – I love the scientific fiction elements, but I also think it could have been 100 pages shorter.
• What Maisie Knew by Henry James – As a child of divorced parents this is worth the struggle of deciphering James’ labyrinthian sentences.

I usually wait a few years before adding it to a favorites list.

Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara by Yumi Arai – This is the end credits song for Kiki’s Delivery Service. I love the chord progression on this song.

Fade to Black by Metallica – I particularly love their live performance in the famous Moscow Airfield concert

Simple Twist of Fate by Bob Dylan

Night of the Swallow by Kate Bush – I just can’t get over how beautiful her voice is and I love the storytelling

Winter by Tori Amos – Both as a parent and as a teacher this is an incredible song about the frustration of seeing the good in a young person that they don’t see for themselves yet.

These are some shows I have seen in the past 5 years that have really stuck with me:

• One Day (Netflix) – I don’t know why, but this romance just leaves me emotionally devastated like almost nothing else.
• Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart (Netflix) – Watching Smart and her sister as adults talk about this ordeal was incredibly powerful.
• I Think You Should Leave (Netflix) – Specifically Ep. 2 from Season 2 is one of my favorite 15 minutes of comedy ever. I don’t find other episodes as good, but I like how much this show experiments with ideas. The language can get shockingly crude, however.
• Maid (Netflix) – Incredible unflinching portrait of a mother trying to find a way out of an abusive relationship.
• Big Mistakes (Netflix) – Dan Levy and Taylor Ortega are an incredibly funny combo as they portray a brother and sister falling deeper and deeper into a life of crime.

These are some that come to mind

• Visiting the Aran Islands in (1995)
• Snorkeling and eating amazing food at Tanote Bay on Koh Tao in Thailand (2007)
• Watching the Yomiuri Giants play the Yakult Swallows in the Tokyo Dome (2026)
• Snorkeling with sea turtles in Kauai with my two kids (2023)
• Spending a week in Essaouira with my future wife even though we slept in the worst hotel ever! For almost a whole week.(1996)