Listening to: Amber Mark’s album Three Dimensions Deep. This is funky, inventive pop-R&B that you can envision booming at an arena show just as easily as trickling through the speakers of your local cafe. Mark sets the tone on the intro track “One” with the lyrics, “All my love workin’ overtime / And for what? Just to feel like I done missed my prime.” Who can’t relate? Recommended tracks: “What It Is,” “Softly,” “Darkside,” “Bliss”
Not to make a snarky pivot, but since getting spoiled some years back with R&B albums that truly moved the needle, I’ve been fiending for a high that never comes. Twenty-sixteen saw Frank Ocean’s Blonde… Solange’s A Seat at the Table… Rihanna’s Anti (we will get Fenty car insurance before new music, huh, Navy?). Twenty-seventeen had SZA’s CTRL and Daniel Caesar’s Freudian. These projects were potent. Replay value on a hundred thousand trillion. They defined a musical moment that I hope to see (an iteration of) return soon.
Eating: A cheesesteak from Angelo’s in South Philly. When I say “IYKYK” I mean if you know, you fuckin KNOW. Cooper sharp. Grilled onions. It is the most sacred jawn in all the land and one of my favorite PMS indulgences. I actually came to Philly 5+ years ago a cheesesteak hater. Angelo’s was the sandwich to change it all.
Currently Reading: Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica. I’m only 30 pages in but I’m getting Handmaid’s Tale meets that scene in Pink Floyd’s The Wall when the kids go through a meat grinder, all with deadpan narration and Argentinian flair.
Feeling: Hopeful! About what? I’m not entirely sure. But there’s a marked “everything’s going to be ok” wafting about my orbit, and for once, I’m not waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Apologies for the radio silence last week; I was writing a non-Substack piece and gave the newsletter a break until I could return to some semblance of a schedule. I realize that because I have a full-time job and a generally busy life, sometimes I have to cut myself slack on here. With that said, we’re back in swing with lots of fun stuff on the way.
Excited for: 1.) Speaking of that non-Substack piece, last week my interview with viral Revolve model Ludi Delfino was published to Betches. You can read it here. It’s a full-circle, lighthearted “milestone” in my writing career; I was a Betches reader back in college when it was still satire, inspired to write with humor and universality about the trappings of basic bitchhood that I’ve only slightly outgrown. So, seeing my article first thing on their homepage is fun and cements me a human meme.
2.) Andrew and I are seeing LCD Soundsystem tonight. I don’t really know their music but I’ll be getting a fit off and doing sexy makeup, respectfully.
Working on: The second edition of my advice column, hitting your inbox this week! Formerly called “Ask BBM,” we’ve rebranded as “Bootleg Therapy” and there’s *merch* on the way. Hint: it has a cowboy boot on it (release your inner technoitaliancowgirl™) and I’m fully stoked.
Loving: Eyeshadow. It’s not like I never wore eyeshadow before, but I recently found the courage to dive into color and metallics and glitter like a 10-year-old Alabama pageant queen. I just bought this from MAC and I’m obsessed. Please resist asking me if that’s “makeup or a bruise” as I navigate this journey.
Thinking: About getting into video content. Maybe “get ready with me” TikToks or Reels that aren’t me awkwardly talking into a screen, but rather are more like, quick clips assembling outfits/doing makeup? I don’t know. I love consuming this kind of content, but I’m bad creating it. I’d just love to be better at sharing my love for self-expression through crafting lewks. I think it’s important to have some over 30 representation on there to show one can be stylish in something beyond low-rise jeans and Miu Miu micro miniskirts.
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