1. this song by shane t, "night drive"
as the kids say, ISSA VIBE. i've had this one on repeat for probably the past two weeks with no signs of slowing down. much like its name suggests, this tune is perfect for cruising with the windows down in the evening, but it has also featured heavily in my solo apartment dance parties that occur about once every other day. almost guaranteed to be in my top 10 favorite songs of this year!
2. this instagram account, 90sartschool
i obviously love anything that highlights the '90s or '70s (see below) as well as speculating about the lives of complete strangers, so this fairly recent instagram page that collects people's mostly grunge-era art school pictures is my dream.
3. this show, the real world new orleans: homecoming
no fewer than four friends texted me about the RW NOLA reunion series in the past couple weeks, which made me feel honored and flattered that they apparently associate me so closely with it. but i guess that's no surprise because i have not shut up about the cultural reset that was "come on be my baby tonight" — in which one of the cast members, david, scats and croons through a bizarre hip-hop rehash of "luck be a lady tonight" on the cast's cable access show for no discernible reason — since it first aired in 2000. like, seriously, i am so obsessed with the weirdness of this moment that when gleni and i went to new orleans eight years ago, i made her take a picture of me in front of the RW house holding a handwritten sign that said "come on be my baby tonight" which you can't see. but the thought was there, people! i have watched this clip no less than 50 times and i still have tears in my eyes from laughing every. goddamn. time.
anyway, as all of these reunion shows have been, it's kind of boring because everyone is old and so the producers manufacture drama...but honestly, it's been worth watching just to find out in the first episode that david has changed his name to "tokyo." obvs. squee-da-boo-dwee-da-boo-dweeeee indeed.
4. this tiktok
@the_happihippi I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. #hippietok #hippiechickk #CatOnALeash #fypage ♬ original sound - Feliz Green
when tiktok really says "FOR YOU" page. help meeee.
5. this book, mary jane
and now for the '70s portion of our program. as i've mentioned before, up until a couple years ago, i think i had gone like a decade without reading a fiction book. i just gravitate toward humorous essays and "boring" pop culture commentary/music fare, but i've been discovering a lot of great novels lately! this one centers around a 14-year-old (named mary jane, duh) in baltimore who nannies for a psychiatrist and his wife. that summer, a famous rock star and his movie star wife move in with the family while he completes treatment for a drug addiction and give her a front row seat to a whole different world. it's a really cute, sweet, and offbeat story so far!
