Feels weird to write a heavy post like the last one and than be all “well here’s my playlist lol” but what is life if not coping with music and art and TV and movies? Not my kind of life, I’ll tell you that.
I still doomscroll, but less, because honestly the final season of the USA is massively disappointing in its plot progression. Every day I check. Did he? Did someone? Someone should. Not me, though. Someone.
Anyway…here’s what’s newish and on my playlist lately…Spotify link if you want.
Alison Krauss & Union Station put out a new record and on the first spin it already felt like an old friend. This band is unmatched. Alison is unmatched. Just good sink into the couch and vibe vibes all the way.
Jason Isbell’s Weathervanes got me through a rough chunk of last year, and here we are in a rough chunk of this year and he puts out Foxes in the Snow. Also a winner and a repeat spinner.
“Satellite” by Mary Chapin Carpenter with trio assistance from Julie Fowlis and Karine Polwart. I love MCC for many reasons but today it’s because she can write a heart-wringer about a decommisioned satellite left to float in space and that’s the kind of nerd songwriting I exist for these days.
The new Lucy Dacus is just a lovely piece as a whole and “Modigliani” is one of my faves. She really writes the human condition so well. Fingers crossed I get to see her at Red Rocks next month with Katie Gavin.
“America Online” by The Midnight. Not a new song but I always return to it. If you’re even slightly into some synthwave, this band manages to evoke an elder Millenial nostalgia that absolutely has me aching for Choose Your Own Adventure books and Ninja Turtles and Disney Adventures magazines.
“TRUST!” - Rebecca Black. Whatever she put in this…I cannot put it down. It’s the perfect pre-summer pop song. We’ve come a long way since “Friday.”
"Can We Talk About Isaac?” - Rachel Chinouriri seems to be a new-to-me artist that never misses.
“Nazareth” by Joy Oladokun. Joy is a very very very excellent as a writer and performer and everything. Where are the modern protest songs? Joy’s catalog.
The list wraps with an old Tori Amos bootleg of “Bouncing Off Clouds” and “Grin” by BANYK because we all need to groove in our cells to make it through this sh*tshow.
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Visual dissociation? You bet.
Athena the Owl and her owlets. This is the magic time of year when we can livestream Athena’s brood 24/7 and boy do I keep tabs. They’re starting to keep their heads up and Athena is leaving the nest more. If you’re lucky you’ll catch her feeding them a rat.
I just re-watched The Curse and it causes even more existential cringe crises when you watch it all at once. I love the way it captures the culture of Northern New Mexico, the Pueblo cultures and the white people moving in, the clashes and cohabitations. Also the last episode is a big fat WTFFFFFFFF.
Apple Cider Vinegar also made me want to crawl inside a couch cushion out of the pure embarassament of watching these grifters grift. Could not look away.
Slow to get to it but Will & Harper was just as thoughtful and lovely as I anticipated.
White Lotus and Severance ended, but Hacks is back, so it’s gonna be ok for now!
That’s about it. Send recommendations. I’m trying to get my book groove back too…send names, send must reads.
Love,
JPo
If you're looking for book recommendations, these are some of my favorites I've read in the last couple of years:
"The Hundred Loves of Juliet" by Evelyn Skye
"A Short Walk Through a Wide World" by Douglas Westerbeke
"On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down" by James Fell
"Pachinko" by Min Jin Lee
"All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
...I could go on.
And I'm now adding the stuff from your playlist to mine (but NOT on Spotify!)
The last days of Ptolemy Grey on AppleTV.