1. this new album by the drums, brutalism
more than any other musical element, a great, infectious melody can completely make a song for me. and the latest record from jonathan pierce aka the only remaining member of the drums is chock-full of 'em. its dreamy, surf-y vibe is totally perfect for spring. apparently, many longtime fans don't like the new sound...which, of course, means i do. :) my favorite tune so far is the breezy "626 bedford avenue."
2. this movie, the boy band con
as a bona fide "old millennial," the boy band craze was an integral, amazing, wonderful part of my life from ages 11 through 32. i mean, uh, 16. i loved backstreet (nick!), 'n sync (ehh, JC i guess), o-town (dan!), LFO (brad?)—basically everyone except 98 degrees because they were too vanilla for my edgier pop palate and by that i mean they had zero songs with bizarre, heavy-handed sexual innuendo. lame!
i digress. i obviously had to watch the tell-all about the man behind it all: the late, disgraced, ponzi-scheming mogul lou pearlman, so i signed up for a youtube premium trial and canceled it immediately after viewing. honestly, i can pinpoint the moment back in high school when my friend molly and i knew he was creepy as fuck: during a scene early on in making the band when he said "papa's here to protect." shudder. we started saying it apropos of nothing because we thought it was as funny as it was gross, but...ugh.
there wasn't much it revealed that i didn't know before, but the nostalgia of the TRL clips, ashley parker angel's surprisingly insightful commentary, and aaron carter looking ROUGH while defending lou made it worth watching, especially if you're a woman of my certain age.
3. this clothing company, stoned immaculate
okay, so this brand showed up in my instagram feed as a #sponsored post and i felt personally blessed and attacked at the same time. blessed because every single item of clothing is extreeeeemely my shit. their tagline is "vintage inspired woman’s clothing for the dazed & confused," for god's sake! attacked because big brother is clearly watching and because every single item of clothing is at least $100. blaaaah.
4. this now-defunct podcast, mystery show
the great poet lil uzi vert once said, "all my friends are dead." well, all my podcasts are dead. it never fails that my favorites always get canned after a short while (FOUND, why oh why) or, by the time i discover them, they're long gone. such is the case with this one, which came recommended by my friend sarah last week. i dug into the first episode on monday and binged all six by wednesday.
the premise is simple: host starlee kine solves kinda quirky human interest mysteries (i.e. a writer whose obscure book only sold 1,000 copies total sees a paparazzi picture of britney spears holding the book and confusion/intrigue ensues).
my favorite episode, however, was about this badass belt buckle a child found in the street—pictured above. yes, that's a toaster, and a frying pan with eggs, and the name "HANS JORDI." but who's hans jordi, and what was the deal with this belt buckle? you gotta listen to find out, folks. probably the most entertaining podcast episode i've listened to since the reply all "long distance" one. and really, all of the episodes are incredible.
5. this new chocolate-cherry cold brew from dunkin' donuts
i've explained before that i'm one of those weirdos that always tries new food and beverages born out of desperation for product innovation at corporate headquarters. they're almost always short-lived, being discontinued mere weeks or months after they arrive. so i've learned to act fast.
my latest foray is the chocolate-cherry cold brew from dunkin' DONUTS (i will never stop adding the donuts and nobody will stop me). it's basically just cold brew with some sort of "natural" syrup in it, but it is delicious, and the fact that i can drink it black is absolutely huge. now, i wouldn't say it necessarily tastes a ton like chocolate or cherries...it's subtle. refined, even. jk, that's a stretch.
