Staff Reccs #2
Tima has been thrusted back into her high school obsession with musical solo project POiSON GiRL FRiEND. The 1992 album Melting Moment is a masterpiece and Noriko Sekiguchi has set the standard for perfect synthy sleep-walking music. If you’re not already into it…get into it. There are few greater pleasures than caressing the air and getting dizzy to heady Japanese trip-pop.
Poppy concurs with Tima about POiSON GiRL FRiEND and raises: Pam Grier fancams, cucumber salad, cool websites, and sending The Onion headlines to your boss. They’re also compiling a list of books about catastrophe, if that’s your cup of tea.
Lucy is all about taking advantage of free time this summer to check off the months-old boxes on that to-do list—finally finishing that audiobook you’ve been nursing for four months (in her case, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay), finally giving in to your mother’s demands to play pickleball with her (and getting hooked), finally learning how to use a grill. Other things to make crossing off these chores easier: Live albums. Sparklers. Fancy flavors of ice cream.
Naimah saw a wild sea otter eating fish on the Pacific shore, so, like, beat that. What’s more, she went fishing, beach backpacking, and slept under a blanket of stars for the first time in her life! If you're not yet acquainted, Mother Nature is compassionate and generous and always seeking new friends. She is consumed by Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, La Haine (1995), Grand Theft Auto 5, De La Soul, and the third season of The Bear when she is indoors.
Mya’s life as of late has, as per usual, been characterized by a delightful and comforting sense of mundanity. This has been especially augmented by long days spent swimming in the ocean under a blanket of fog, listening to Clairo’s new album Charm, including watermelon in some form in every meal, and spontaneously napping outside when it’s just too hot for anything else. Reading short, sweet, and challenging books has punctuated an otherwise steady rhythm of life, especially Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid, Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti, and The Employees by Olga Ravn.
Olive is in the home stretch of Chicago’s longest heat wave this summer, but she has sliding-scale yoga classes, double features at the Gene Siskel Film Center, and ginger ale in a glass to keep her cool. Her recent eye contact with Norah Jones while photographing for Ravinia Festival has placed a pleasantly surprising new battery pack in her system—a job position that has also provided a newfound appreciation for classical music (check out the composer Gabriel Fauré). The sunflowers in her backyard have finally bloomed and, yes, they are well accompanied by Charli XCX’s brat.
Zenobia has recently discovered the wonders of the mid-work-day wander. On a mission to get lost, Zenobia regularly finds herself drenched in sweat summiting San Francisco hills, picking Himalayan blackberries in overgrown gardens above the fogline, and losing track of time admiring political street art in quiet alleys burrowed in the Mission district. Rid of shame, she indulges in sidewalk eavesdropping and peering into colorful storefronts’ windows, using both hands to block the sun’s glare. The evenings bring comfortable silence, stars, and dreams of climbing satellite towers and far away mountains.
Chloe is falling in love with Vermont in a crazy way. Her always-sweaty dome is filled with visions of dreams lived: a solo Guinness with buffalo wings on trivia night (she didn’t know it was trivia night! But she played solo against teams!); a daily scampering 20 minute walk downhill to downtown Burlington (now, remember, this must necessarily become 20 minutes uphill on the way home…); a newfound love for IPA (so sorry); a $20 minimum spent at cafes daily; a swim in Lake Champlain; a lust for mundane errands, planned wandering, and talking to strangers; a resurgence in personal journaling—thus, a rekindled internal dialogue she’s been aching for—and a learned ability to make the most of a hard situation. Also, a new album devoured: The Moon Is In The Wrong Place by Shannon and the Clams. She recommends all this to anyone who’s willing to try, but most of all: Come to the Green Mountain State. She begs.
