March Grab Bag
Includes recommendations for some new music from surprising places, a movie I think is not as bad as everyone is saying, and reflections on what it means to live In A Society
An awfully chatty list of stuff I’ve watched, read, or experienced this month. Guess I have a lot to say! What are things you can’t stop talking about right now? Share them below!
I’ve been getting into reading a lot more music criticism and a big part of that has been the independent music outlet Hearing Things – I really liked Ryan Dombal’s review of HAIM’s new single Relationships.
I’ve been really trying to pursue more volunteering/local community groups (with some, but slow success) and I really liked this sort of how to get started guide as a nice way of breaking it down into smaller steps.
I loved these two articles from Defector that are in some ways in conflict: we must accept annoyances as a part of living in society vs. why are people so annoying sometimes, and yet I found myself nodding along to both sides. I think it speaks to a true thing: we must learn to be in community with one another, and that both means accepting being irritated sometimes and taking into consideration how we might be irritating others.
I’m going to plant my stake in the sand as the #1 Opus defender – a movie I think has been unfairly panned for simply not being as good as genre defining cult horror films like Midsommar. I may end up writing about it next month if I’m still thinking about this.
I love the concept of a romantic comedy slasher, so was really looking forward to Heart Eyes, but did feel like it was a little lacking in the romcom side of things.
This is just a general plug for the newsletter Maybe Baby, which I’ve recommended before. Writer Haley Nahman had two bangers this month, one about the concept of “the purity vortex” to explain divides between people who make different decisions in their lives and one about how you don’t always have to understand your emotions to feel them. I think together they exemplify Haley’s ability to put words to both larger societal experiences and personal ones.
I adore YouTube essayist Kendra Gaylord, who always speaks to my most niche of interests: stamps, why kitchens are designed Like That and the walkability of Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow. I really liked her recent analysis of southern plantation houses in The Notebook.
I felt so many Emotions(™) reading Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino, a story about a girl who believes herself to be an alien sent to Earth to report on human society. I love Bertino’s ability to give such precise words to the mundane things we think, see and feel. It’s definitely not for the plot girlies, but you’ll enjoy it if you like a little peek into another person’s mind.
Your mileage my vary on this, probably based on how much you fuck with hyperpop (I would consider myself as falling in the middle of the spectrum) but I’m a little obsessed with Rebecca Black’s (yes, the Friday girl) return to the public eye with her new album SALVATION. It is…not at all like Friday lol. I love the single TRUST! In particular
Concept: going to community yoga and then getting beer and fries with a friend at a local watering hole. What a world that lets that happen.
And that brings us to the end! Now that I’ve talked through what’s been on my mind this month, I would love to hear what’s been sticking with you these past few weeks – a book? A concept? An overheard conversation?
Each month I will try to highlight an organization that’s important to me, in a small attempt to help out In These Trying Times. While financial donations are great, there’s also other ways to get involved in community building work — volunteering, building relationships with neighbors, offering up skills and services you might have.
This month I’m shouting out Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.