Saturday, December 30, 2023

2023 in review and 24 things to do in 2024!


well, here we are again. it was another good year for me, personally — several highs and only a couple of less wonderful moments, so i can't complain. however, i do wish i'd done more with respect to my writing output and productivity in general, so that's a focus for 2024. here's to the cheesy promise of the new year!

2023 in review

cool stuff i did:
  • got a cool new vintage dining room table AND coffee table from facebook marketplace:


  • took a bourbon class
  • went to lake placid for my cousin's wedding:
  • made updates for the third(!) reprint of my book
  • spent a lovely summer day in rockport, massachusetts and a lovely fall day in woodstock, vermont
  • randomly got free tickets to the levitate music festival from dunkin'
  • scored my dream music writing gig (when, at age 37, i thought that ship had sailed), which allows me to write pieces about AND interview artists i love — including kurt vile(!!!!!!), elliott smith, superchunk, braid, the new pornographers, and the long winters
  • attended my first red sox game in over a decade
  • stayed in a gorgeous instagram influencer-y cabin in new hampshire for a couple days:




  • got to see alison roman speak
  • saw 42 artists/bands, including 6 i'd seen before, 2 twice in a year, and 2 festivals 
    (best shows/sets in bold): bass drum of death, billy strings, the cadillac three, dead tooth, deeper,  dominic fike (twice), donovan frankenreiter, geese, goose, goth babe, grace gravitz, greta van fleet, hether, indigo de souza, japanese breakfast, jean dawson, the juliana theory, late night drive home, lime cordiale, mamalarkey, mannequin pussy, misty blues band, momma, the moss, myron elkins, noso, PACKS, peach pit, pixies, quarters of change, red rum club, remi wolf, the rocket summer, run the jewels, the strokes, surf curse (twice), the walkmen, wallice, wednesday, white reaper, the wombats, yeah yeah yeahs
  • for those following along on my annual to-do list, i checked off 12.5 of the 23 items i set out to accomplish for 2023 (did a sound bath meditation, visited a state i've never been to — utah, dined at the olde pink house in savannah, finished taking and developing the roll of film on the disposable camera i bought last summer — 98% came out horrible, took a pole dancing class, got published on one of my bucket list publications — i'm counting my interview with kurt vile because that's a bucket list interview! — made a bourbon cheddar apple pie, found the acler raven midi cutout dress for less than $100, went to a GVF show but not with danielle hence the half-item, tried a tasting menu, went to the encore casino, got a cute vintage table and chair set for my dining room, and got another eerily accurate reading from raymond at the tremont tea room!

2023 favorites:

albums:
(favorite songs here)

i originally started writing 20 billion words about each album but then just deleted all of them halfway through because sadly, nobody cares as much as i do — and i don't mean that in a woe-is-me way, but like, it's just the truth. everybody's busy and no one has time to read my very passionate musical essays. but i'd love to chat in depth about any of these records with anyone who feels so inclined because i have lots of THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS! :) 
fave tracks: different pages, one trick pony, something i am not
sounds: lush, evocative, captivating, reflective, like you're journaling by yourself in a coffee shop in the west village
recommended if you like: soulful female singer-songwriters like norah jones and corinne bailey rae, mazzy star, portishead
fave tracks: body, detonator, spring
sounds: earnest, heartfelt, mellow, like you're taking a long hike in the pacific northwest
recommended if you like: indie singer-songwriters, folk, indie pop/rock like peach pit, mt. joy, and the backseat lovers
fave tracks: days move slow, change your mind, a love profound, lose you
sounds: '90s! impassioned, angry, raw, like you're lamenting unrequited love in your bedroom
recommended if you like: grunge, college rock, punk, pop-punk

fave tracks: shy of a nurse, river, walk on down, moon, circle of birds
sounds: warm, folky, melodic, cozy, relaxing, like you're hanging out, making dinner, and laughing with friends in a quaint new england farmhouse
recommended if you like: lo-fi indie, elliott smith, bedroom pop, college rock

fave tracks: how much is weed?, ant pile, dancing in the courthouse, 7 hours, dark
sounds: fresh, chill, vibey?? like you're cruising in a convertible with your favorite person, singing loudly and totally living in the moment
recommended if you like: pop, hip-hop/r&b, the strokes, weezer, the neighbourhood
fave tracks: love from the other side, hold me like a grudge, i am my own muse, what a time to be alive
sounds: like old fall out boy!
fave tracks: fate of the faithful, the indigo streak, frozen light, the archer, meeting the master
sounds: dreamy, spacey, heavy, dirty, nuanced, like you're stoned and waxing philosophical and cosmic in a wood-paneled, shag-carpeted den with a lava lamp
recommended if you like: '60s & '70s folk, prog, blues, or psychedelic rock, arena rock, southern rock, grunge, and perhaps even heavy metal

fave tracks: tasteless water, sooner or later, don't want you in the car, aaahh!!!
sounds: mellow, atmospheric, like you're taking one last, bittersweet look at a person or place that meant a lot to you but that it's time to move on from
recommended if you like: bedroom pop, 2000s indie rock like nada surf, rogue wave, or pinback

fave tracks: little magic, me and george, check the mirror, swanee
sounds: groovy, laid back, hypnotic, sometimes like you're drinking on a fishing boat in the florida keys and others like you're driving along a desert highway
recommended if you like: southern rock, blues, old-school country

fave tracks: get close, whole wide world, bite my head off
sounds: like the stones, man
fave tracks: slick rick, talkin' on the internet, herberts on holiday
sounds: neurotic (in a good way), riffy, snappy, badass, like you're drinking $5 cocktails in a bowling alley bar with townies (i don't know, it's just the vibe i get!)
recommended if you like: new wave, '77 punk, melodic hardcore/punk/indie stuff like turnstile and angel du$t

fave tracks: too good at raising hell, pretty vicious, i won't run, remember the name
sounds: slick, catchy, glitzy, like you're strutting down the sunset strip in a leather catsuit with a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other in the '80s 
recommended if you like: queen, the darkness, t. rex, bowie, cheap trick, '70s and '80s glam

fave tracks: fog machine, getting into trouble w/ the boss, pink slip, bozo
sounds: energetic, retro, nostalgic, lighthearted, punchy, like you're in a mall arcade with your crush and earning tokens to get a prize from one of those claw machines
recommended if you like: '70s & '80s glam rock (KISS, thin lizzy), hair metal, early-mid-2000s pop-punk/emo, power pop


NEW CATEGORY!! albums that i wanted to love, but did not:

now these, i will elaborate on.
aka critic bait: the album! this is the perfect example of what i mean when i say that "innovative" and "original" are not synonymous with "good." it's giving "i'm not like other girls," except instead of letting that message unfold on its own through the music, they're loudly announcing it at every turn by constantly shoehorning ~*qUiRkY*~ vocal wankery and needless, noisy nonsense into every possible crevice of the album. for all of the critical value placed on so-called musical authenticity and forming a distinct personality, i'm left flummoxed by this ween-meets-grateful-dead-meets-rolling-stones-meets-drunk-uncle-at-a-keno-lounge project, because when considering it alongside their strokes-and-television-esque post-punk debut, projector (which i loved) i now have absolutely no clue who geese is or what kind of music they want to make. i'm not sure they know, either. i'm all for experimentation and evolution, but what i'm getting here is a band that's just trying on different sound "outfits" for fun at the expense of actually establishing an artistic identity. jack of like two or three trades, master of none. i LOVE "cowboy nudes" — it was my third favorite song of the year! — and really, really like the title track as well, but overall, a pretty big miss for me. and as i mentioned in my favorite songs post, it was somehow worse live (my friend sent me a random clip from the show last week being like "seriously, WTF is thissss??" hahah). so naturally, f*ntano stans are calling it the album of the year. i did derive some sick pleasure from playing the opening track for my friend in his car when i was visiting him in north carolina, and this was pretty much his exact reaction. cackling.

"did not love" is probably the most gentle way of putting it; the optimistic outlook i had for this band in 2021 was immediately squashed upon one listen to this album. aside from a few of the 17(!!!) tracks, including the undeniably catchy oral sex ode "baby said," it's the worst record i've heard this year by a wide margin. i would say two years, but it's maybe slightly better than panic! at the disco's viva las vengeance (more on them later). a completely transparent, "LOUD NOISES + GUITARS = ROCK MUSIC!"-made-for-pop-radio-imagine-dragons-esque attempt at an american breakthrough in which they cuddled up with max martin and abandoned everything that made them so promising. the whole thing is about as melodic as a garbage truck or, say, being bludgeoned to death with a frying pan, and the english-language lyrics are a cringeworthy buffet of try-hard, vapid drug and sex references. think what you want about greta, but they'd neeeever in a million years make *anything* like this and i thank god for that.

NEW CATEGORY!! favorite artist discoveries (who didn't release full albums in 2023 or are now defunct):


movies (28 watched):

(...THE HOLDOVERS THE HOLDOVERS THE HOLDOVERS!!! guys, i'm like the biggest holdovers stan, i cannot even tell you. it's hands down the best movie i've seen all year, and probably in the past few years — since promising young woman. and i've been thinking about it every day since i saw an early access screening in november. see iiiit.)
watcher (2022)
barbie (2023)

TV shows (6 new series/seasons watched):

BEEF  (possibly the best original netflix show EVER, aside from russian doll season 1?)

books (13 read, i was slackin'):


some commentary on this one, bc it's very personal to me! to my surprise and delight, i enjoyed this emo version of meet me in the bathroom MORE than the indie sleaze oral history? maybe because i felt more connected to it through attending shows and being somewhat embedded with the bands of the era, since nearly all of them passed through poughkeepsie (where i was attending college) constantly and i saw them all like a billion times. but it was also a pretty strange and amusing read, because some accounts are completely at odds with my experiences and recollection; the best example being panic! at the disco. my entire friend group and i absolutely adored them and their first album (still do) and they were one of the coolest bands around at the time for us. meanwhile, apparently pitchfork gave their debut a 1.5 and they were shunned by other bands due to their sudden, immense popularity and seen as uncool? huh??? sounds vaguely familiar...anyway, god damn, it just goes to show you how much less internetty the internet was back then. i truly had no idea about any of this until reading this book (i kept saying "REALLY?" aloud) and i've been enjoying a fever you can't sweat out, blissfully unaware of any dissenting opinions of it, for 18 years. and like, i'll continue to because i could not give less of a fuck what a random middle-aged asshole with a laptop and liberal arts degree thinks or thought of anything that brings me joy (nor should you), but wow. i was shook! same thing with my beloved something corporate. have they HEARD "i woke up in a car" or "space"? hello??! anyway, the book was also fantastic because it inspired me to check out artifacts from the era that i somehow missed or hadn't revisited in a long time, including: 
  • panic!'s second, critically-lauded-but-fan-maligned album, pretty. odd. (as per usual and as history showed, the critics were wrong, it was the death knell for their original incarnation, and as my memory correctly served, it's...extremely boring and not very good! barring "that green gentleman," which is the second-best panic! song (after "the ballad of mona lisa.") it's perfectly written, constructed, and performed in every possible way.)
  • cartel being on some reality show called band in a bubble; i'd never heard of the show, despite seeing cartel live a couple times back in the day and still considering their debut album, chroma, easily one of the ten best albums of the emo era. i pulled up the first episode of the show on youtube and barely made it through half because it was aaaawful! i linked it, but like...do not recommend.
  • my chemical romance's the black parade — shhh, don't you dare tell anyone that i never listened to it in full until the year of our lord, 2023, or they'll take away my former emo kid card (i was a total three cheers for sweet revenge girly and was moving out of my emo phase by the time of its release). it's pretty great, but i'm still partial to the former!
this time tomorrow by emma straub
easy beauty by chloé cooper jones
the seven year slip by ashley poston
the it girl by ruth ware


other miscellaneous favorite things:


looking ahead...24 things to do in 2024:

1. take a class at boston dance studios
2. request and receive a celebrity autograph via mail (i used to do this as a kid and it was actually so fun...my most prized one is brad renfro's, RIP)
3. ride in a convertible
4. order room service in a hotel
5. make a fancy latte recipe with my new nespresso machine
6. hike up to the hollywood sign
7. have breakfast at the beachwood cafe, made famous by harry styles
8. eat a fish taco in san diego
9. get another tattoo
10. turn my guest room into an actual guest room and not just my junk/getting ready room
11. make a collage
12. listen to 2017 new-to-me albums released before i was born (pre-1986)
13. eat a croissant at a sidewalk cafe in paris (i tried this years ago but they were out of croissants, so i'm trying again)
14. (attempt to) grow a fruit tree in my apartment
15. watch an entire season of a TV show i haven't seen that "everybody else" has: succession, game of thrones, or the sopranos, maybe?
16. have a drink in a tiki bar
17. learn to play *one* of my favorite guitar solos 
18. visit an island
19. send christmas cards
20. start learning french
21. make one of the pies in the 50 pies, 50 states cookbook i bought last year
22. see 105 artists/bands live that i've never seen before
23. go to a stand-up comedy show
24. color my hair, because i haven't in like 6 years, which is insane

what's on your list for 2024?

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Wednesday, December 6, 2023

my 23 favorite songs of 2023!



the theme of this year is: GEE-TARS!!!! i mean, that's usually the theme anyway, but i really leaned into the riffs and licks and solos in 2023. and secondarily, songs that sound like they're from the '80s, a somewhat out-of-character preference for me since i'm usually about the decades on either side. but that's where i landed, so i'm going with it. overall, not the most oh-my-god-amazing music year, but a great one nonetheless! playlist for easy listening here.

honorable mention:

the beatles - "now and then"

lime garden - "love song"

foo fighters - "under you"

briston maroney - "detonator"

caroline rose - "everywhere i go i bring the rain"

girl scout - "all the time and everywhere"

the rocket summer - "do you see dreamscapes in your dreams before the dreams escape when the sun beams" (yes, i had a stroke typing that title, but the song is so good, i swear)


23. victoria monét f/ earth, wind, and fire and hazel monét - "hollywood"

so simple, but so soulful and so beautiful! i can't help but be moved to tears for a reason i can't quite describe every time i listen to this song. as the lyrics portray, it taps into some sort of innocence, nostalgia, and bittersweet longing that just tugs at my heartstrings and is warm and soothing. i love the inclusion of earth, wind, and fire on one of the verses, too.

22. spiritual cramp - "herberts on holiday"

this song was my first exposure to spiritual cramp, and i actually thought it was an '80s tune the first time i heard it! lyrically, it's adorable and romantic but in a sarcastic, deadpan way — aka my love language. :)

21. boygenius - "not strong enough"

i enjoyed boygenius' album, the record. it's solid! that being said, i certainly think it's been a bit overhyped as something groundbreaking when it's...not? i mean, these verses are lifted almost note for note from those in built to spill's "liar" — which no one seems to care about, when less egregious levels of inspiration are grounds for shunning others? love that totally arbitrary double standard! my point is that there's nothing new under the sun these days, so i think it behooves all of us to just appreciate good music in all of its forms and incarnations, without picking it apart until we're blue in the face OR playing selective favorites in the name of being cool. thanks for coming to my TED talk.

anyway, this is my favorite track from the album and a really well-done song. it's very pleasant, catchy, singer-songwriter fare from three extremely talented musicians (phoebe bridgers, lucy dacus, and julien baker) that just makes ya want to croon along; especially that "always an angel, never a god" mantra. mood. i think.

20. queens of the stone age - "paper machete"

QOTSA can do no wrong for me, and though i'm lukewarm on in times new roman overall, "paper machete" gives me old-school vibes a la "if only" and "little sister" and that means it's sexy af. *quick disclaimer that i do not condone josh homme probably being a terrible person, but i've gotten to the point where if i refused to listen to anyone who sucked for one reason or another, i wouldn't be able to listen to much music at all, so we're just gonna separate the art from the artist here, k? k.

19. the never ending fall - "bad taste"

on the surface, "bad taste" sounds like a somewhat generic, alt-radio-ready bop. but something about the vocals, the melody, and the bridge take it an extra step further for me and when it came time to make this list, it snuck up on me and i was like, "dang, this is such an earworm. put it in!" upon further research, the song apparently reflects a turn in sound for this maryland band, whose previous stuff was almost solely funk and jazz. 

18. fall out boy - "love from the other side" 

by jove, they've (still) got it! speaking of old-school vibes, i certainly never expected there to be a post-2008 fall out boy song that i'd consider one of my favorite tracks of the year, but life comes at ya fast. "love from the other side" is fantastic because it's new fall out boy that sounds just like old fall out boy and it slaaaaps. high energy, pop-punk catchiness from beginning to end, and more than one reminder of just how objectively talented and underrated patrick stump is as a vocalist. the pre-chorus tickles my brain sooo good.

17. heffner - "truck"

this is a strange one, because i absolutely LOVED this song from the first listen, and then i listened to the rest of heffner's discography, and nothing else sounds much like this song at all and i didn't like any of it. but "truck"? "truck" is a certified jam. that riff (which someone in the youtube comments very accurately described as sounding "like landing a skateboard trick for the first time")! that energy! that multi-pronged guitar attack that recalls the best of diarrhea planet! this live version might sound even better than the recorded one.

16. natural child - "me and george" 

i was so overjoyed that natural child, one of my favorite bands of all time, emerged from their indefinite hibernation this year to drop a fantastic album, be m'guest. and it's full of the country- and folk-tinged rock flavor i have come to love from them after being very disappointed by their last self-titled release in 2020. while the first single, "little magic," was classic natty child, it was some of the slightly darker deep cuts that stood out for me. "me and george" is understated, but has a great singalong chorus and a winding, groovy solo to close things out. much like the rest of the record, it just feels like the perfect soundtrack for a long desert drive.

15. ty segall - "my room" 

ty, my guy! i had almost given up hope for this forthcoming record based on the two previous singles that didn't do anything for me, personally, but one listen of this track and it immediately went on my best of the year list, i dug it that much. it's kind of a slow burn, but the guitar tone is nastyyy and the layered freakout at the end is delicious, calling to mind the slight paranoia and agoraphobia that sets in when you've been in your house (or...room?) too long.

14. flycatcher - "always selfish"

maaaaybe the catchiest song on the list? you tell me. all i know is that it deserves to be much more popular than it is! it gets me groovin' and belongs in an early-2000s teen movie, even though it's 2023.

13. island of love - "blues 2000"

just under two minutes of pure, straight-ahead instrumental rock 'n roll goodness from english quartet island of love, with killer tone, multiple riffs you can really sink your teeth into, and a few gratuitous headbanging moments. it's kind of like spinal tap meets skate park and i'm here for all of it. they sadly disbanded in october, but i dug their self-titled album and highly recommend it!

12. MJ lenderman - "rudolph"

MJ lenderman remains one of the most underrated artists out there, and "rudolph" is his best song yet, IMO. from its southern-fried cowboy chug and a reference to a deleted scene from lightning mcqueen to that unrestrained and unexpected solo that comes wildly galloping in towards the end and just makes ya wanna go "yeehaw" (just me?), it checks all of my boxes. also, fun fact that i literally just learned: he's also the guitarist of indie rock band wednesday (and i even saw wednesday live this year at a festival, but was apparently too far away to recognize him. whoops).

11. cashier - "fear of the past"

i don't know much about this band except that they're from louisiana, and can't seem to find a ton more on them anywhere. what i do know: this song absolutely rips! i love the college rock fuzziness and crunchiness and impassioned vocals. also, i'm browsing through random best-of lists as i'm proofing my post rn and a local rock radio DJ had this on his list as his *favorite* song of the year and i'm like, "um, hello, bestie! i didn't think anyone on earth knew this song but me!" for some reason, it made my taste feel weirdly validated. heh. 

10. chokecherry - "glass jaw"

'90s shoegaze with a little *spice*. newcomers chokecherry, a trio from san francisco, completely nailed it with their first single. the soft, spoken-word interlude at the end is the icing on the cake.

9. hozier - "eat your young"

and the award for "vocal melody that lived the longest in my head rent free this year" goes to! everybody's favorite sexy irish troubadour did it again, y'all. not much else to say about this one except that it's an ideal mix of his darker, folkier fare and the bluesy "jackie and wilson"-esque bops.

8. laveda - "a place you grew up in"

i can rarely resist a song that creates an all-encompassing atmosphere, and "a place you grew up in" does just that; it's lush and nostalgic, and to me it sounds like you're lying on the floor of your bedroom as a lovesick 20-something during a summer thunderstorm and the windows are wide open so you can hear the pouring rain. right? riiight? relatedly, i recently realized that i might have some form of synesthesia when it comes to music, except it's vivid scenarios instead of colors, and this phenomenon is turned to 11 when i smoke weed. it's actually kind of amazing because i've come up with some extremely dope music video concepts in my brain this year, y'all. anyway...

7. dominic fike - "dancing in the courthouse"

i discovered dominic fike at the kilby block party music festival in may, and after his set landed in my top three of the weekend, i promptly bought tickets to see his headline show here in july. "dancing in the courthouse" is the perfect, breezy, chill summer tune. it makes you feel hopeful, wholesome, and just puts a big ol' smile on your face. or at least that's the effect it has on me. i particularly appreciate how dom tastefully incorporates elements of rap and hip-hop into his pop songs (and even alt-rock) on other tracks on his most recent record, sunburn. the part at the bridge where he rhymes "do stand-up/rude-and/a superhero like bruce banner" is so satisfying to me.

6. dari bay - "walk on down"

"walk on down" is one of those songs that — even though i've now heard it probably 100 times — i get to the end and think "what a fucking perfect song. imagine writing a song this good." and from a mostly unknown vermont indie artist? give this man his flowers. it's familiarly folky, but unique, it's catchy, it's twinkly, and it just puts me in a happy-yet-reflective mood. i hope you enjoy it as much as i do.

5. sluice - "centurion"

and speaking of perfect songs from relatively obscure artists...i'm not exaggerating when i say that i've never heard a song quite like this one by durham, north carolina-based sluice, and i'd go as far to describe it as brilliant. at times, it has the quirky spoken cadence of cheekface or moldy peaches/old adam green, but without being humorous — instead, it's almost unsettlingly dark, suspenseful, and mysterious as it builds and builds, with well-placed ominous guitar swells and finally, a cathartic explosion at the end. this one sticks with ya.

4. THUS LOVE - "put on dog"

THUS LOVE, who i wrote about a bit on my substack early this year, was undoubtedly my favorite musical discovery of 2023, and they're currently at the top of my "must see live" list. their new-wave-meets-post-punk sensibilities just scratch me where i itch, and i dig that they've expanded their sonic palette a bit this year (their sweeping alt-rock ballad "centerfield" was on repeat, too). and, in another slight change from the echo and the bunnymen-esque fare that characterized their 2022 album, memorial, "put on dog" is a fast-paced, glammy romp that hits like a tornado swirling through — leaving your hair disheveled and face rocked in its wake — and it quite frankly just kicks a ton of ass. 

i also learned about the origin of song's title through a quote from the band, which makes me love it even more: "in the 1920s, ‘put on the dog’ was a term coined to express putting on your finery and dressing to the nines. from the old twenties to new twenties, we’re bringing it back, but for the gays this time." okayyy! also, 1,000,000 bonus points for working the word "accoutrement" into a song AND making it rhyme with "dog." and completely unrelated, but the lead singer is probably one of the 10 most attractive humans i've ever seen in my entire life?? golly gee.

3. geese - "cowboy nudes"

trigger warning: this music video is weird and disturbing and i have no clue what's happening in it! now that we've gotten that out of the way, geese, uh, landed at #1 on my favorite songs of 2021 list with "fantasies/survival." and while i preferred their debut album, projector, to this year's 3D country, there were still a few true gems — including this one, which spotify informed me i listened to a whopping 96 times. probably because it was the soundtrack to my solo february trip to savannah, georgia, and i was hitting that replay button harrrrrd.

it's got a freewheeling, jangly, rolling-stones-meets-grateful-dead feel, with well-placed moments of weirdness from lead vocalist cameron winter ("new york citay, undahwatah!") and an exuberant conclusion that just makes you wanna strip naked and run around. or something. that "ya gotta saaaay goodbyyyye" part really captures the spirit of the whole tune for me and hits every damn time.

much like greta below, the vocals are the most polarizing part of this band. and while i mostly love them on record, after attending geese's show at the sinclair in october with a fellow extremely well-seasoned recorded and live music fan friend (we've probably seen close to 1000 artists between the two of us), we walked away pretty disappointed. as we put it, "all the pieces are there, but they haven't quite figured out how to make them work yet." winter experimented and meandered vocally to the point of songs being almost unrecognizable and the whole gig had a very lazy, unmotivated vibe — as if they didn't take performing that seriously and didn't care about earning their audience. hmph. and for a band with two full albums under their belt, a 45-minute set is unacceptable, IMO, when the opener played just as long! rant over, it was just a letdown after digging so much of their recorded music. i still adore this song and hope to see geese develop further in the future. :) 

2. greta van fleet - "meeting the master"

it's the drums, it's definitely the drums

a proper '80s power ballad in 2023 with dark lyrics about jonestowny cults and the perils of religious fanaticism that masquerades as a worship anthem? aw yeah. music taste is subjective, but if you can listen to "meeting the master" and hear anything less than a complete master class (pardon the pun) in vocal performance and control, song structure, melody, and the chill-inducing, tear-jerking, raw EMOTION that we (or at least i) fucking liiiive to feel from music...well, you're wrong, your soul is dead, and i pity you. in this tune, i hear shades of uriah heep, blind faith, marshall tucker band, jethro tull, zeppelin, YES, and aphrodite's child, to name more than a handful. the slow build is masterful and, to echo that text, almost orgasmic, with everything breaking loose into a gorgeous, life-affirming exaltation. listen with headphones, because the guitar pans from side to side in the solo and it's cool as fuuuuck. man, jake knows how to make that thing talk, and— even if it's not a particularly virtuosic or lengthy solo — he understands the assignment every time: to serve the song. and what is there to say about josh's voice? absolutely incredible. while the battle at garden's gate was a tough act to follow and it will likely remain my favorite GVF record, starcatcher is a close second and their most musically mature and consistent yet.


the same friend who i saw geese with and i are in wholehearted agreement, after seeing both multiple times each, that greta and the recently-reformed catfish and the bottlemen are the two best live bands we've ever seen. the super-personal connection GVF creates with their audiences (comprised of folks of all ages/races/walks of life), even though they're now in huge arenas, remains intact and incredible. it might sound silly, but seeing this song in september at TD garden was a spiritual experience. as tears formed in my eyes from both the beauty of the performance and the realization of how lucky i've been to witness this once-in-a-generation band from aaalmost the beginning, a text popped up from my pal, two rows away, that just read "i'm crying." phew. so it wasn't just me!


i've never shared a reaction video for a song before, but when i saw this guy's, above, i said "YES!!!" aloud. he *gets it* and better yet, eloquently and intelligently explains why he also thinks "meeting the master" is amazing in terms of both emotional impact and the musical nuances/arrangement — astutely referencing YES, alice in chains/mad season, and blind melon — all artists i have noted as influences myself. there's so much '90s alt-rock in their sound if you actually listen! it's refreshing to see someone who knows what they're talking about, in contrast to the brain dead and willfully ignorant HuR-DuR LeD ZePpELiN bullshit takes. but ya wanna talk comparisons? let's talk, babes. it's been six-plus years, so i'm just going to say it: robert plant *wishes* he had josh's vocal range! yep, i went there. while zep is undoubtedly legendary, i ain't wrong. gatekeepers and grumpy old men still aren't ready to have that conversation (nor are they ready to get real regarding the level of outright theft their beloved LZ committed against black blues artists, OPE. "BuT tHeY MaDe It ThEiR oWn" okay, bud! you mean just like greta is doing, without literally stealing shit?). oh, and if you're overly bothered by the clothing that ::checks notes:: musicians wear, i suggest you reexamine your own values and hangups. half my wardrobe is '60s and '70s vintage shit, and i'm not even a rock star! does that mean i'm "cosplaying" or inauthentic? get the fuck out of here with that completely irrelevant, superficial nonsense and go stream starcatcher. 

1. white reaper - "fog machine"


ah, yes, my other favorite-song-by-a-rock-band-featuring-twin-brothers! while i've loved white reaper for many years, asking for a ride was the record i think i'd been waiting for from them. it perfectly marries their early, raw garage rock vibe with the more polished approach they took with the last album without going too far in either direction, and the result is a super fun and thoroughly enjoyable listen. they're also an insanely good live band, as i finally had the pleasure of seeing them this year! the crowd, unfortunately, did not give them even close to the energy they deserved, but i'm chalking that up to it being the end of st. patrick's day weekend.

i'm almost as obsessed with "getting into trouble w/ the boss," a super-melodically-unique deep cut that i immediately identified as the second star of the album months before taco bell used it in a commercial and everyone else jumped onboard (can someone hire me as a music supervisor already? not to toot my own horn too much, but i just have *the ear*, baby). 

however, i think "fog machine" is the most representative of the jubilant, retro, '80s-arcade vibe that characterizes this album. it's like thin lizzy meets kiss meets maybe some early def leppard in there for good measure? aside from the the shredtastic dueling guitar solo, the phone-like vocal effect in the bridge is perhaps my favorite part. the whole song just makes me want to chew bubblegum and drive in a convertible to the mall and jump up and down on my bed, home alone-style, and twirl a landline phone cord around my fingers while talking to my crush. wheeeee!

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Monday, October 30, 2023

5 days in north carolina



wilmington (of dawson's creek fame) was the only place i'd previously been to in north carolina, like nine years ago. and while i enjoyed it, i'd been scheming and planning for YEARS to figure out how to make this trip happen, since i have friends in both the raleigh and greensboro areas. my challenge was that i also wanted to visit asheville, which i don't have friends in, but had never been to and have been dying to check out. but it's also pretty far from both of the aforementioned places, so my brain kept hurting and i kept postponing my planning. until one day i decided that it's just going to have to be a separate trip, and put my plan into motion for raleigh and greensboro! i had so much fun and ate so much good food and i really needed this little reset. and weirdly, NC had better foliage than we did in new england this year? huh.

DAY 1

after i dropped my stuff off at jacob's apartment in carrboro, we took a short drive to its downtown area, which i immediately fell in love with. fun, funky, and artsy, with lots of little shops and restaurants and cafes. even after visiting so many cities on my trip, i'd definitely pick carrboro to live out of all of 'em.



we had a delicious late lunch at grata, a diner in the mill building. the chicken club was a revelation!

and, of course, because coffee rules everything around me, i had to refuel to get a second wind. the autumn spice latte, which had "everything except pumpkin spice," at gray squirrel did the trick.



we popped into a few spots — a record store, a gift shop, a thrift store, and this fantastic little boutique/art gallery called peel, which was automatically my favorite when i saw that their current exhibit was photos from malls in the late '80s. jacob was so amused at my immediate, gleeful, and animated reaction ("no joke, one of my top 10 favorite things to do is get stoned by myself and watch dead mall walkthroughs!" i excitedly declared, because it the goddamn truth). funny enough, the owner apparently ran aviary gallery here in JP before moving down to north carolina! small world.





dinner was at 411 west in chapel hill, where we were seated in an upscale version of one of those '90s wendy's sunrooms, and it was giving me life. the food was fabulous, too.




we grabbed a drink right down the street at the crunkleton, a gorgeous bar despite its silly name, that featured old library ambience, a ladder behind the bar, and stellar cocktails; i ordered the bourbon bramble with *high-proof* bourbon, orange blossom, marasca cherry paste, and lemon.




DAY 2:

we checked out durham on the second day, starting with a little converted mill building complex called brightleaf square that has shops and restaurants, and then strolled 9th street, a cute shopping district popular among duke students.





speaking of duke, our next stop was the beautiful sarah p. duke gardens, which featured lots of purdy flowers and trees and walking paths. 




aaaand all of that walking clearly meant that we earned the right to eat heaping plates of barbecue at picnic (where, anecdotally, i heard a non-"highway tune" greta song in the wild for the THIRD TIME in two months and i feel like i need to gatekeeeeep). anyway, i had deviled eggs to start, and this cheeky young employee dude came over with them and was like "i'm about to bring you a whole lot more food!" haha. i followed that up with a sliced brisket sandwich with potato salad, and banana pudding for dessert. yum.



we were unsurprisingly in the mood for something lighter for dinner, so iza whiskey & eats was the perfect place to grab a quick bite. i ordered the blackberry bourbon smash cocktail (obvi) and the "007" maki roll, with spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, seared tuna, special sauce, eel sauce, masago, and scallions. both so yummy!




i continued my blackberry theme with a blackberry cider at this artsy dive bar down the street in chapel hill, the northside district, which had funny fake taxidermy and a flickering flame lightbulb that i just remembered i need to purchase for my home. obsessed.



DAY 3:

jacob had to work on monday, so i had the day to borrow his car and figure out a day's worth of fun stuff to do by myself. no sweat! 

my early-morning google search for "cute small towns near raleigh" led me to hillsborough, a town about 20 minutes north of carrboro that was, indeed, a very cute small town. i hung out at the go-to coffee shop, cup a joe, got a candy apple latte, wandered around a bit, and then attempted to walk to a historic estate that was only 15 minutes by foot. but then the sidewalk ended and i was like "i feel like i am going to end up walking into a sinkhole or onto a highway" and i turned around and went back to the car. i will never, ever, be able to compute or process the lack of walkability outside of the northeast (and pacific northwest). it just does not work for me and i hate it!!







i had also really wanted to check out the "cool old house" neighborhood in raleigh, historic oakwood, so i drove 40 minutes expressly to do so and it was SO worth it.





there were craftsman bungalows (my fave), queen anne victorians, cutesy cottages, etc...AND this jaw-dropping halloween display that was drawing a crowd even during a weekday afternoon. this was only like an eighth of it.



since i was in the neighborhood and ready for a lateish lunch, i stopped into beasley’s chicken and honey, where i had my first chicken and waffles experience. it was sooo good, y'all.



sir walter coffee (as in sir walter RALEIGH...get it?) satisfied my post-lunch caffeine cravings, and then i walked to check out the mural of my spirit animal:



and saw this amazing sign along the way:



then i headed back to carrboro, where jacob and i enjoyed some al fresco drinks on the patio of steel string brewery. but since i'm not much of a beer bitch, i ordered the frosé slushie, making sure to chuckle after saying it so the bartender knew that iiii knew that i was being basic. hehehe. it hit the spot.



we had a cute little casual pizza parlor moment at the pizza factory in the mill building and then called it a night kinda early — i made jacob watch selections from my other favorite genre of youtube videos aside from dead mall walkthroughs, '80s and '90s VHS slices of life.




DAY 4:

related to my annoyance about the car culture in the south...i have a couple of friends in greensboro — about an hour from carrboro — and prior to my trip, i was agonizing over whether to rent a car to drive there for a day/overnight or take the amtrak train. but, uhhh, comparing the prices ($150+ for the car, $20 roundtrip for the train) ultimately made that decision pretty easy despite not knowing what sketchiness awaited via train. it was totally fine! and since they have relatively low ridership on these routes, i had the whole seat to myself both ways. sweet.

my friend since age four, sarah, picked me up from the train station and whisked me away to lucky 32, an upscale southern bistro with a gorgeous outdoor seating area. i ordered the big apple cocktail (knob creek bourbon, captain applejack, honey liqueur, apple bitters, and a luxardo cherry) and a burger with pimento cheese on it, because apparently that's a north carolina thing? we also got fried green tomatoes to start and some grits on the side. all amazing.



sarah is the owner of a lovely greensboro tea shop, vida pour tea, which has been open now for about a decade. and i've been following along on her journey and rooting for her from afar for all of these years, so it was awesome to get to see it in real life! it's so peaceful and pretty, 




sarah sent me on my way from the shop with lots of goodies, including a t-shirt, scone, mini-pie, diffuser, and autumnal loose leaf tea (which was selected for additional screening by the TSA upon my return flight, ope!) and i lyfted to my airbnb nearby. it was a little studio/converted garage type deal that was full of color, quirks, and art. perfect for an overnight, and conveniently located in greensboro's "cool old house" neighborhood, fisher park, which i had to explore right away.











and when looking at the map as i was wandering to make sure i didn't get too far off track, i noticed a place called borough market and bar around the corner. it was perhaps the cutest place i've ever been in my life? one of them, at least. one side is a boutique with all your standard stuff: fun jumpsuits, journals, candles, etc. etc. 



and then the other side is, as the name of the place suggests, a bar that is just an instagram dream. i also loved the apparent women-centricity of the place; multiple women were just hanging out solo with a drink and their laptops, coffee shop-style, and it pleased me greatly.



since i was boozing at lunch and planned to continue at dinner, i slowed things down with a mocktail called "good clean fun" that had alcohol-free rosé, club soda, homemade pink lemonade, and GLITTER. it was very good and very refreshing, and i sat for a bit just taking in the adorable environment and sippin' my lil' drink.



so...can anyone explain to me why southern downtowns are so DEAD, dismal, and borderline sketch? it was kind of like this when i lived in orlando, too. again, maybe the lack of walkability? not sure, but one little stroll through downtown g'boro and i was all set. there were some fun moments —  like an independent bookstore, union coffee (where i got some excellent cold brew), and a random cheesecake place where a bunch of people were sitting at the tables outside eating cheesecake at 4pm on a tuesday? love that for them. but overall, ehhhhhh. downtown raleigh seemed very similar.

one of like 3 cute things in downtown greensboro

anyway, i met my freshman year roommate at marist, kari, for dinner. we went to this gorgeous restaurant called print works bistro, which is attached to the proximity hotel. for any reply all fans, evan scott olson from "the case of the missing hit" fame plays here every wednesday, and if i had planned better, i could have gone on a night he was performing! oh well. my drink, elder wand (bulleit bourbon, st. germain, blood orange, cherry, and angostura and chocolate bitters) was great, and the trout almondine was phenomenal as well. and y'all know i lose my mind over anything banana, so the banana creme brûlée was a no-brainer for dessert. 







DAY 5:

i had some time to kill before my noon train back to durham on the final day, so i took the risk and set out on a 25-minute walk to borough coffee, which is just about the most adorable coffee shop situation i've ever experienced. 

picture it, greensboro, 2023: you ascend the steps of a historic victorian bed and breakfast, stroll onto the wraparound porch, and find yourself in front of a charming walk-up window where you order your drink (i recommend an iced brown sugar cinnamon latte w/ oat milk). the barista hands it to you, and you either enjoy it on the porch, inside the dining room of the b&b, OR in the absolutely magical, whimsical, sun-dappled backyard (my pick). i was just so deeply taken with and enchanted with all of this that i dedicated an entire instagram feed post to it and i regret nothing. a beautiful way to end my time in greensboro.






jacob scooped me up from the amtrak station and we got some really, really good sandwiches from toast (mine was a version of the famous tommy dinic's roast pork sandwich with broccoli rabe and provolone in philly, except with sweet italian sausage instead). 




i was SO excited to see that just a few blocks down, there was 1) a vintage store and 2) it was open! i had struck out with all of them on my trip due to the day or the time i stopped by, so dolly’s vintage saved the day. i got this crazy cute peplum dress from the '80s, aaand the best compliment you can get at a vintage store (the owner said if it was a slightly bigger size, she would have kept it for herself). 




coffee was in order at this point, and umm....beyu caffè had one of the best coffee beverages i've ever had in my life? it was an iced mexican latte, i think? and had cinnamon, chocolate, oat milk, idk what else but i could have drank that all the live-long day.

and while i had amazing food the entire trip, the meal i had at venable bistro on my final night with jacob and his partner mark was the best. i ordered the bbq chipotle salmon per mark's recommendation, but was a little nervous that the barbecue flavor might be too much. it honestly tasted more like a sweet chili salmon to me and was incredible. the mashed potatoes it came with were so buttery, and i was just in food heaven. and i washed it all down with a cherry limeade (vodka, cherry, lime, and cardamom bitters).




napoli pizzeria and gelateria, just a few steps away, was perfect for dessert — i was in an affogato mood, and an affogato with vanilla bean gelato is what i got. 


overall, north carolina seemed like a highly livable, laid-back place with friendly folks, and fine fare. two thumbs up. asheville, you're up next!

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