the characters on HBO's GIRLS, ranked from best to worst

i just watched the season finale of GIRLS, and got to thinking about how strange it is that i pretty much dislike all of the characters, yet love the show all the same. so, i decided to compile a list of the main characters (according to wikipedia..i wanted to include charlie because i miss him, but he's long gone) and where they fall for me. who do you like? who do you hate?

1. ray

the only one i actually REALLY like. he's so delightfully curmudgeonly and bitter, but also sarcastically funny and the only level-headed person on the entire show. love u, ray bb! FAVE MOMENT:




2. adam

i'm going to get some grief for this one, but you have to admit that adam is the most complex and interesting character on the show, even though he's sort of an asshole like 75% of the time. but above all, he's always honest and tells it like it is. he's a big weirdo, but at least he makes no bones about it.

3. shoshanna

yes, she can be annoyingly chatty and quirky and strange. yet, like ray and adam, she's totally true to herself and honest to a fault. she's also the most innocent of the crew, which is kind of endearing.

4. jessa

she's flaky as hell and makes terrible life choices at times. however, i totally admire her free spirit, "unsmoteable" ways and often wish i could just go with the wind and be as bohemian cool as she is. plus, her accent!

5. elijah

i always love the gay BFF character on any show, but elijah's snarkiness crosses over into pure meanness a bit too often for my taste. i can deal with him in small doses.

6. hannah

ugh. is there anyone who's more self-involved? i know that lena dunham purposely writes the character this way, but she still makes me want to shake her in every episode. prime example: when her e-book editor dies, she asks his wife about the status of her book at his funeral. that's a big. fat. nope!

7. desi

i hate how he calls marnie "babe" all the time and is like a broke-ass version of the dude from "once" and cheated on his girlfriend with marnie, who's even worse than hannah (sorry, spoiler alert?).

8. marnie

can we all agree that she's the most terrible of the terrible people? between her pretentious posturing, obsession with her singing career that's never ever going ANYWHERE, and her homewreckin' behavior, i don't think there's anything she could do to change my mind about her. however, she did give us this scene where she awkwardly covers kanye west's "stronger" at her ex-boyfriend's startup party, which might be my favorite of the entire series. so thanks, marnie!

5 things i love right now

1. female-fronted garage bands

i'm usually iffy on "chick rock," but there are a couple of groups out there that have recently sparked my interest in the genre. both of these tunes seem perfect for chillin' on a stoop with an ice cream cone and pining over cute boys with your BFFs. the twin river track also has one of the most strangely clever videos i've seen in a while.

bully - "brainfreeze"



twin river - "bend to break"



2. this tank top

whenever i find myself in macy's, i instinctively gravitate towards anything that's part of madonna's clothing line, material girl, without even realizing it (because i'm actually 16 years old). so naturally, upon seeing this incredible spray paint-patterned top, i fell in love and had visions of all of the amazing spring and summer adventures i could have in it. aw yeah.

3. the trailer for montage of heck, the kurt cobain documentary



y'all know i love anything grunge/nirvana/kurt, so clearly this documentary will be a must-see.

4.  ben & jerry's cherry garcia ice cream

can we like, make this a thing again? i've always been partial to phish food and half-baked, but i was in a fruity mood the other night and decided to branch out to another classic. cherries, chocolate, and a nod to a rock legend? all about it.

5.  brandy melville

i made my first visit to this store in rome a few years ago. while i was immediately confused by its one-size-fits-all approach, i was also infatuated with its california cool apparel. now that there's one in boston, i get to spend way too much money on impractical crop tops, tees that say "RADICAL," and big plaid flannel shirts. yes!

around town: new highway hymnal and hallelujah the hills at the paramount center

i decided to make it a point to see more live music this year (like i used to back in my high school and college days), and i've gotta say, it's greatly improved my life so far. there's just something about the experience of seeing a band -- whether they're local garage rockers or an up-and-coming indie group -- that is so life-affirming and exciting and fun. last night was one such experience that was particularly unique, and i haven't blogged in like, foreva-eva, so i figured i'd write about it.

the show was apparently the first of its kind at this small theatre space in the paramount near downtown crossing in boston. this theatre typically hosts, y'know, plays and artsy performances rather than raucous rock shows, so my buddy brendan and i weren't quite sure what to expect when we passed through the doors and were greeted by a fancy-looking bro that directed us to the show upstairs. the best way i can (and did) describe the venue: "this is like, out of a movie. one of those teen rom-coms where the main characters go to the local hot spot to see some really cool band play." between the exposed brick, the cute makeshift bar in the corner, and little tables with black tablecloths scattered throughout the room, it oozed classiness. i dug it. but onto the show!

new highway hymnal, a local psych-shoegaze-garage trio, opened. i'd seen them open for bass drum of death a couple of years ago and was super-impressed by their musical prowess since they all look soooo young. their songs have all of the things i love: fuzz, distortion, male/female vocals, and great melodies. also, the female bassist was rocking these awesome ripped black tights that i really wish i could pull off in my daily life.

let's talk about the crowd for a second too, because it was kind of weird. it was a mixed bag of emerson students, cutesy couples, and older dudes with beards that rivaled brendan's. we were fascinated with one of these dudes in particular, who was engrossed in his smartphone for much of the night, and made up wild stories about how he was obviously sexting a honey he met on a dating website for grateful dead fans. obviously.

oh, yeah, hallelujah the hills! i'd also seen them once before, and actually discovered them in kind of a strange way. i used to intern for lead singer ryan walsh's brother right before i moved to boston, and he mentioned them after i told him about my plans. i immediately fell in love with their triumphant group vocals, odd lyrics, and songs that you can't help but sing along to, like "wave backwards to massachusetts." they have a super upbeat energy and funny onstage banter; you can just tell they're having a great time. 

at one point, ryan regaled us with a story about how he was on the train during one of the snowpocalypse storms. while trying to point at something, he inadvertently stuck his finger into a stranger's mouth ("full insertion.") he assured us that, even though we were breaking in this new concert space and it might feel a bit strange, nothing could be more awkward than that moment. 

as you can see, they also had this running montage of video clips playing on a screen throughout the show. according to ryan, it was supposed to be a "pink floyd-type thing." trippy, mayne. sometimes it was amusingly distracting, but it certainly added to the whole quirky vibe of the night. 

OH, and i wanted to steal this amazing white light-up arrow that they had onstage (in the bottom right of the picture above). i was eyeing it the whole night and i don't think i can rest until i find it or a reasonable replica. holler at yo' girl if you can assist with this mission.