Let There Be Songs to Fill the Air
Maggie Rogers. 3/5 of One Direction. The Brandy Melville doc. Reboots nobody asked for. Zendaya. Rihanna. #1 Olivia + Noah Kahan + Jewel. Tortured Poets prep 🤍 + lots more.
Hi hi.
We did it. Once again. May we all be blessed with some proper springtime sunshine this weekend. Please.
Though I have to say, when the sunshine went away for almost four minutes on Monday afternoon, it was wildly more dope than I expected it to be. Conveniently, I only had to walk down the hallway to the roof deck of my building to find myself with a perfect view of the sky, smack dab in the path of totality. So that was helpful.
It low-key did give that scene in Independence Day that I mentioned last week and many of the youths who live in the building had turned it into a party day. Good for them. All the schools (public and private/parochial) were out here, too1. It was a whole event all over town, but I was not looking for any such hangs.
NBC News was reporting from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway all day, complete with Lester Holt again on the evening news. You know I love when my city gets a chance to shine in the national spotlight.
The weather showed up and showed out, so that was nice.
I had a new tarot deck that I let take in some energy on the windowsill. Let me just say, from the first pull it has been ON IT…so I think the eclipse did its job well. And it’s the deck I’m meant to have right now.
It’s gorge and available on Cat Pierce’s website.
Here’s my lil pasted together time lapse. The temperature drop was palpable and so was the energy shift. It was crazy to see it get that dark and re-emerge into bright sunlight again minutes later.
10/10. Would recommend paths of totality.
I also fully got a spring cold this week…after the eclipse. Then I saw a TikTok (below) where this girl was saying the “crystal girlies” posited that if that happened it was because your ancestors were clearing evil out and I will fucking take the sneezing fits and sniffles and gross voice for that.
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I also obviously have to re-up this “eclipse” joke from my HSLOT show in Milwaukee in 2021. I am nothing if not myself at all times.
Okay, enough eclipse talk.
We’ll have lots of eyes on Indy on Monday as well, when the WNBA Draft goes down. It’s in NY, but I’ll be at the Fever party when we announce Caitlin Clark as our pick.
Aliyah Boston, one of our other superstars and the #1 pick last year, crushed it as expected, when she joined the stellar broadcasting team for the Final Four.
I cannot wait for all the fun from the tourney to carry over into the WNBA season. Those viewership numbers were awesome.
LFG, Girls! Bring on the rivalries and the shit talk and the excellent hooping.
Reboots Nobody Asked For
Why why why why why does Hollywood have to keep rebooting things that nobody wants rebooted when there are so many great ideas out there just waiting for a chance to be made and seen? I mean, it’s a rhetorical question. I know what’s happening. It’s just so dumbbbbb to only focus on existing IP because you’re afraid.
A lot of these IP-centric ideas are patently stupid. And I’m not talking like adapt a big book into a show or a movie. It’s the retread shows and films that nobody was asking for. Do they think all of these are Top Gun: Maverick or Twin Peaks: The Return2?
Because they are very much not.
This all feels like some level of that gaslighting that Big Sports Media has done about women’s sports forever. “There’s no audience.” they said when they either didn’t air anything or buried it in places nobody could see and didn’t market at all so even those who wanted to watch had no idea something was on. Then, turns out they were WRONG, and lost a fuckton of money in the process. That makes me LOL, but it’s still maddening.
People want good, new content and fresh ideas. If you build it, we will come. In droves. But no, that’s not what’s happening, as you’ll see below.
I am fully in the audience of all three of these in their original forms and would like to say NOPE to each and every one as a reboot.
Melrose Place
First of all, we tried this once already in 2009 and it was a big old flop. The OG Melrose people were not the main focus of that show, but some of them were involved.
Now, there’s a new version being shopped around with Laura Leighton (Sydney), Daphne Zuniga (Jo), and Heather Locklear (Amanda Woodward, duh!) attached. It does not have a home or a pickup order yet and I’m not convinced it’s even going to sell. I’m also not convinced Heather is in the right place to be on a TV show, but I hope that she is well.
I swear the sound of Amanda’s shoes stomping through the office triggers a Pavlovian response in me.
Per Deadline:
In the new installment, when one of their dearest friends dies suddenly, the OG residents of Melrose Place gather to honor the deceased. But the pressure cooker of a reunion soon uncovers old traumas, rekindles old romances, reignites old resentments, and reveals new secrets… throwing our characters into chaotic drama that’s reminiscent of the past, but with a much more modern perspective.
Nobody loves OG Melrose more than I do. I use this immaculate Reality Bites quote ALL the time, still.
It is a beloved Gen X text and if my DM replies to posting this news on my Stories are any indication, the people of a certain age are of my same mind. I think my friend Dori nailed it in saying, “I will watch THE FUCK out of the pilot and then not another episode ever. I’m really peaceful with this.”
If we don’t want it, who is this even for???? This isn’t a show the kids rediscovered and care about. Let it live in its perfectly insane place in pop culture history.
Finally, my Gen X soul compels me to post this scene anytime I can in reference to Melrose. You’re welcome.
Bridget Jones
I was equally invested in Bridget Jones for quite some time in my younger years—from the moment the first Helen Fielding book came out in 1996. It fucked with all of our body images AND gave us joy. Multitudes, they were contained.
I did see all the movies, but we’d really fallen off by the last one and I well and truly don’t think we need to go back here again.
Renée Zellweger is set to return as the lovable but flailing-at-life Jones, as is Hugh Grant as rapscallion Daniel Cleaver. Emma Thompson, who appeared in the 2016 entry, Bridget Jones’s Baby, is back as well, while newcomers include Chiwetel Ejiofor and up-and-comer Leo Woodall, best known for his work in season two of The White Lotus.
Jones is now navigating life, work, family and love as a 51-year-old single mother and widow, to boot (I know, right?!). And of course, there’s the hot sex with a 30-year old man.
Universal will release the rom-com on Peacock on Valentine’s Day 2025, while internationally it will be released in theaters.
I hate it. I’ll watch it on Peacock. But I hate it.
Heroes
Listen, “Save the cheerleader, save the world” had me in as strong of a chokehold as everyone else for a minute circa 2006.
But I didn’t even see the original through to completion, which is off brand…but true. And I certainly didn’t watch (and barely remembered) that there was a limited series in 2015.
So, what are we doing here? Wasn’t that set a mess of Human Resources disasters too? Again, this one is being shopped so it’s not a done deal yet.
Per Deadline:
Written by [Tim] Kring, Heroes: Eclipsed is set years after the events of the original series as new evos are being awakened and discovering powers that will change their lives. Featuring familiar villains and new enemies who once again will be attempting to suppress this next step in human evolution, it will be up to this new group of heroes to save the world.
The premise evokes the 2015 limited series Heroes Reborn, also created by Kring, which also was set years after the events in the original series and introduced a new group of evos as more ordinary people discovered that they possess unique abilities. The new characters were joined by Heroes‘ Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman), who led the followup, with a number of original cast members making guest appearances, including Sendhil Ramamurthy (Dr Mohinder Suresh), Masi Oka (Hiro Nakamura) and Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman).
Heroes ran for four seasons after a red-hot start with a pop culture-defining “Save the cheerleader, save the world” first chapter that earned the show an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy nomination. Both the original series and limited series Heroes Reborn, which drew softer ratings, aired on NBC. According to sources, the new Heroes incarnation, which is envisioned as an ongoing series, has been pitched to NBC along with streamers.
Speaking of a character who has been rebooted and re-interpreted too many times, the Joker: Folie á Deux trailer has arrived and my eyes are still finding their way back to their rightful place in my head. That one shot with Joaquin’s face and the lipstick on the glass is cool. I’ll give it that.
I hated the first Todd Phillips/Joaquin Joker so incredibly much. Like on a cellular level.
Lots of Little Monsters were gagged by the trailer. I, quite obviously, was not. I get it, though. I hope they all enjoy themselves. One thing Stefani Germanotta’s gonna do is commit fully to a project. I did enjoy the Gucci movie and that was an absolute mess, but way less self-serious as far as I can tell from this trailer—and based on the first one of these. That made it a fun shitshow.
Maybe The Joker is your Joker and if this trailer made you happy, even if you’re not a Gaga stan. If that is so, then I am glad for you. Genuinely. Unless you’re a douchey film bro who somehow find your way here.
If I end up being wrong and it’s great or, like, so bad it’s great, I’ll admit it wholeheartedly. We’ll find out in early October.
On the flip side, here are two books that I will be ordering and am glad to seeing being put out into the world.
Even though this is one of my imaginary memoir titles, I love this for Gemma. Yes, she’s Harry’s big sister, but she is really wonderful all on her own and not just because we, too, share a lot of sartorial favorites. I enjoyed her pod a lot and own many pairs of her sunglasses. She’s already proven herself to be a lovely writer and also got diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, so color me intrigued.
I’m also v. intrigued by All the Cool Girls Get Fired from Kristina O’Neill (former EIC of WSJ. Magazine) and Laura Brown (former EIC of InStyle). As someone who has been through multiple media layoffs and has tried to help many friends through their own, the topic obvs speaks to me. They’re just starting the project, so it won’t be out until 2026.
Drop It Like It’s Hot
If you’ve loved magazines for pretty much the entirety of you life, like I have. So much so that you built large parts of your personality and career on them (oops!), cover drop days never stop being exciting.
We got a couple of good ones this week.
Rihanna on Interview
Who doesn’t enjoy IDGAF Rihanna?!? I will always + forever miss the old days when there was less gloss on the glossy celeb profile.
Plus, she remains a hardcore Bravo stan.
Sidebar: RHOSLC Monica is pregnant…
My favorite gynecologist was also the one I had during my LA stints. Shout-out, Dr. Gilberg-Lenz!
Zendaya on American Vogue + British Vogue
This is not the first time these Vogues have shared a cover star3—and certainly won’t be the last. There is a singular profile, but two separate photo shoots.
Of course, Anna brought in Annie Leibowitz and I will once again say, “PLEASE STOP, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.”
Now, this shoot is not the worst thing Annie’s done lately and that’s because Zendaya is otherworldly and she and Law Roach create interesting moments together all their own. I will also once again state that this whole crop of current top models should thank the universe every day that Z didn’t decide to model full time.
Annie is still NOT IT and the lighting situation with any skin that is not white remains a real problem. (This thread gives a number of examples.)
The hair (by Kim Kimble) is divine, though.
Chioma Nnadi, who took over British Vogue from Edward Enninful, brought in Carlijn Jacobs for their sporty shoot. The lighting differences are…stark.
A few highlights from the very good profile by Marley Marius. I just love this girl so much.
As Zendaya herself points out, she’s been playing teenagers for about as long as she’s been working. “I’m always in a high school somewhere,” she says. “And, mind you, I never went to high school.” So, to break away from that “was refreshing. And it was also kind of scary, because I was like, I hope people buy me as my own age, or maybe a little bit older, because I have friends that have kids, or are having kids.”
Like many, I am very invested in both her and her and Tom together. They delight me to no end, on screen and off. (I am extremely bummed that his run in Romeo & Juliet ends right before I go to London for Taylor in August.)
Zendaya will later describe the same thing happening to Holland – who had started out in the West End, starring in Billy Elliot the Musical as a child – after the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017. “We were both very, very young, but my career was already kind of going, and his changed overnight. One day you’re a kid and you’re at the pub with your friends, and then the next day you’re Spider-Man,” she says. “I definitely watched his life kind of change in front of him. But he handled it really beautifully.” (This May, Holland returns to his theatre roots in a new London production of Romeo & Juliet. Zendaya “could not be more proud” of him. “I’m going to try to see as many shows as I possibly can.”)
On the subject of Holland, she also recalls a trip to Paris in autumn 2022, when the couple planned to visit the Louvre. Well, the powers that be didn’t really want them there: the feedback was, “It’s already busy. You might make it worse.” But they decided to go anyway – shots of the pair holding hands while they listened to a guide, or posing in front of the Mona Lisa, circulated far and wide. “It was actually fine,” Zendaya says now. “You just kind of get used to the fact that, ‘Oh, I’m also one of these art pieces you’re going to take a picture of.’ I just gotta be totally cool with it and just live my life.” And, anyway, the fame thing sort of redeemed itself in the end: the museum let them linger in the empty galleries after closing time. “It was one of the coolest experiences ever,” she says, her eyes flashing like a child’s. “It was like Night at the Museum.”
“I think growing up, I always felt like when someone asks for a picture, I have to do it, all the time. You have to say yes, because you just need to be grateful that you’re here,” she says. “And while I still feel that way, I also have learnt that I can say no, and I can say kindly that I’m having a day off, or I’m just trying to be myself today, and I don’t actually have to perform all the time.”
It’s a matter of sustainability, how she can continue to make this demanding business that she loves so dearly work for her. “Because I don’t necessarily want my kids to have to deal with this,” she says, long arms now wrapped around her knees. “And what does my future look like? Am I going to be a public-facing person forever?”
The dream scenario, to her mind, is being able to “make things and pop out when I need to pop out, and then have a safe and protected life with my family, and not be worried that if I’m not delivering something all the time, or not giving all the time, that everything’s going to go away. I think that’s always been a massive anxiety of mine: this idea that people will just be like, ‘Actually, I know I’ve been with you since you were 14, but I’m over you now because you’re boring.’”
I ask if she feels she has a peer group in Hollywood, people she can connect with about how strange their lives are. “A little bit,” she says. “I think there could be more. I don’t know. I keep to myself a lot, which is my own fault. But also, I love and I’m grateful for my peers. I would love to see more that look a little bit more like me around me. I think that that is something that is crucial and necessary.” (Significantly, she counts Colman Domingo – who plays Rue’s grizzled Narcotics Anonymous sponsor, Ali, in Euphoria – among her closest friends.) She has said in the past that when she starts directing, she’d like her stars to “always be Black women”.
They truly don’t miss, these two.
Where’s My Fucking Teenage Dream?
I watched Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion the other night and found it generally fascinating, though imperfect and leaving me wanting in a few areas. Thankfully, it is an actual HBO Original so it’s not a low-key bait and switch like that docuseries The Garden: Cult or Commune or even Quiet On Set.
Those both air on Max, but aren’t from HBO. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have watched them anyway (I absolutely would!), but you come in with different expectations with HBO. It’s truly mystifying how much they’ve muddled and fucked up their branding over there.
But anyway, there was so much around the Brandy Melville brand that I didn’t know.
I don’t remember it being a conscious decision to simply skim things about the brand over the past few years, but I really didn’t understand the full scope of the phenomenon. In terms of the insane cultural impact, but also like all the Libertarian and Atlas Shrugged shit or the insane gross racist sexist antisemitic group texts?
I had no idea this was going on. I didn’t ever dive deep and I’m not sure why. It’s like when I wasn’t aware of the entire backstory of all that Murdaugh stuff in South Carolina until I watched those two series. I just opted out of this one, even though I knew there was a bunch of bad stuff involved.
What I do know is that I likely would have fallen so deep into that aesthetic had I been a young teen in that moment and oy all that body stuff would been deeply internalized. Jesus. Just thinking about how the word “bigger” would have spun me out so badly, no matter how “tiny” I was…and honestly still low-key could. It really is fucking impossible out here.
I think about this clip from Miss Americana all the time. I relate to it deeply and I’m sure many of you do, too. I will even say to myself, “We don’t do that anymore…we’re changing the channel in our brain and we’re not doing that anymore. That didn’t end us up in a good place.”
For all the progress in the ways we talk about food and diets, especially to young girls, or the ways that different bodies are showcased now—so much hasn’t really changed at all. And this doc showcases some of that. Same goes for inclusion about non-white beauty ideals. It’s pretty enraging, but not all that surprising.
So I think the doc did a good job of digging into that and hearing from girls who fell into that “cult” (again, which very likely would have been me) was so interesting and I wish we could have gone even deeper. I wanted more of some of the insidious techniques used by the brand and how that played out in the lives of teenage girls across the country. I don’t want to give it all away, but you will likely say “Oh fuck that!” and “GROSS!” in your head multiple times.
Now, the filmmakers also get into the gross excess of fast fashion and what it’s doing to the earth and the climate, etc. This is also a fascinating topic and one that deserves so much more exploration. I just felt that it bifurcated this particular documentary in ways that didn’t totally work for me, personally. I definitely see the lines being drawn between all these different evils but it felt like maybe all were underserved by trying to do too much in one film.
To end on a lighter note, this isn’t about Brandy but it did make me laugh.
Our Musical Cup Runneth Over
This spring is INSANE with music. How lucky are we? I did see a TikTok that I now cannot find that said something along the lines of, “What do they all know that we don’t because everyone is releasing music this spring?”
I’ll take it, no matter what.
Billie Eilish entered the chat this week, announcing her third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, will be out on May 17 with no singles dropping ahead of time.
And we’ll get to a bit of TTPD prep in a second, but here’s what I’m listening to right now.
Don’t Forget Me by Maggie Rogers
The full album is out today and it’s fantastic. Like throw it on this weekend and just simmer in its vibes. The title track is still my favorite right now, but I’ve only done a couple listens and need to focus further.
I love the ease of the melodies and the storytelling.
Maggie is so natural and I think with this album sounds even more comfortable in her voice and sound. It mixes elements of folk and rock and soft rock and country and rustic Laurel Canyon and pop so seamlessly. The instrumentation is gorge and there’s always a warmth and sort of sultriness to her voice that I find so appealing. On this album and her past ones.
This is obviously a sonic sweet spot for me, but I so related to many of the themes that came through to me on this album. The questioning of your view of love and relationships vs your friends’ POVs. Of being messy and holding onto exes and feelings that you probably shouldn’t. Of nostalgia in all its beauty and regret, even for the not-so-distant past. Of being in your late 20s when so much of that stuff starts to become clear, even if you don’t know what to do with it yet.
It’s a tight album at 36 minutes and I am liiiiiving for that. Long isn’t always better. Sometimes, but not always.
My #1 new fixation from the album is “The Kill”. If you’ve been hanging out here for a bit, this will not be surprising at all once you listen.
These lyrics! I die for “You kept my secrets and stole my weaknesses / In your white T-shirt, but I couldn't fill / The shoes you laid down for me / From the girls that came before / I was all the way in / You were halfway out the door.”
But they’re all great.
One of these days
I'm gonna wake up smiling
One of these days
I'm gonna cry
When all of the years start to blend in together
I watch 'em disappear in your eyes
Remember the days we used to drive upstate
Singing indie-rock songs in the car
You wore your fresh leather
And blamed it on the weather
For being the reason you were
So difficult, but so invincible
Irresistible, but I loved you still
You kept my secrets and stole my weaknesses
In your white T-shirt, but I couldn't fill
The shoes you laid down for me
From the girls that came before
I was all the way in
You were halfway out the door
Oh I was an animal making my way up the hill
And you were going in for the kill
And you were going in for the kill
One of these days I'm gonna
Wake up fresh and
Wipe all the past from my eyes
Curl up next to you in tall grass, sunshine
And wrap my body's shape 'round your side
Remember the days we used to ideate
About what we would do all our lives
I'd be a singer and an old bourbon drinker
Oh, and we'd have a band on the side
I know I was
So difficult, but so invincible
Irresistible, but you loved me still
I kept your secrets and stole your weaknesses
In your white T-shirt, but you couldn't fill
The shoes I laid down for you
From the guys that came before
You were all the way in
I was halfway out the door
Oh, you were an animal making your way up the hill
And I was going in for the kill
Oh, all of our lives
Was it worth it?
Ooh, or were we just wasting time?
'Cause we were hurting
But I know that you know
That I know you best and
I know that we both
Could forget all the rest
If we just can
Admit that
We both were
Also topping the list currently4, but no skips necessary at all.
“If Now Was Then”
“Drunk”
“I Still Do”
“On and On and On”
And…some bonus Maggie content.
She announced the second part of her tour, which will be in arenas. (I have tickets to see her here in June at one of our great outdoor spots.) She’s trying to get around the devil that is Ticketmaster, which I applaud her for.
My fav Recess Therapy kiddo, Miles, is back with some new gems.
There’s also a great piece in The New Yorker: “Maggie Rogers’s Journey from Viral Fame to Religious Studies” by Amanda Petrusich. Yes, she’s been in grad school at Harvard.
A teaser:
In the fall of 2021, the singer and songwriter Maggie Rogers entered the graduate program at Harvard Divinity School. For anyone unacquainted with the particulars of the degree Rogers was pursuing—a master’s in religion and public life—it might have sounded as though she were abandoning burgeoning pop stardom to reinvent herself as a priest. “It’s a peace-and-justice program, it’s not a seminary,” Rogers told me over dinner in Cambridge, in early February. “I’m not from any particular religious tradition. I was not trained in any particular religious tradition.” Rogers, who is twenty-nine, was trying to make her life feel more useful and less surreal. “I woke up one day and I was famous,” she said. “I was really burnt out. I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue. I thought I wanted to quit music. A lot of what I came here to do was to think about how to create a more sustainable structure around a creative practice.” This spring, Rogers will release her third album, “Don’t Forget Me,” a breezy collection of pop-rock songs that she wrote in consecutive order, during five kinetic, bountiful days last winter. It is, in many ways, the loosest and most elemental music she’s made.
She also chatted with my guy Zane Lowe.
Finally, if you’re new to Maggie, you’ll want to watch this iconic moment with Pharrell from when she was at NYU. He did NOT have notes.
“Alienated” by Zayn
The second single from Room Under the Stairs (also out May 17) dropped today. Zayn teased it earlier in the week with a video where he said it was the first song he wrote for the album and it helped him define the sound.
As you can hear in the first single and this one, there are certainly country influences But he says he doesn’t really want to call it country, it’s more his “version of blues” and not really one genre at all…instead a confluence of influences with his spin on it.
I truly can never get enough of that Bradford accent. Phew.
“Alienated” also feels very personal and hits some of those magical Zayn notes many of us have known and loved for years. His vocals don’t miss and if you’re newer to him, listen to some old 1D and you’ll see.
I love this space and sound for him. It seems like he has shed a lot of stuff, emotionally, that needed to go.
No two people are the same
Stand beside you, but just far enough away
Last night we were drinking
Tried to think away the pain
Made that age-old mistake
Tried to disconnect my body
From my soul, from my soul
See, I feel alright already on my own
Can you let me be
Intoxicated on my own?
Do I need to answer
Or right my wrongs?
Am I home if I don't know this place?
And I've been feeling alienated
On my spaceship alone
Say goodbye to the past
Leave it all with a laugh
'Cause you always was right all along
Know my reasons for the pain
But if you brought it in front of me
I know I'd do it all again
Call them beer can gains
I know from all the years
That my feelings never change
Can you let me be
Intoxicated on my own?
Do I need to answer
Or right my wrongs?
Am I home if I don't know this place?
And I've been feeling alienated
On my spaceship alone
Say goodbye to the past
Leave it all with a laugh
'Cause you always was right all along
Did the winds make the noise of change?
Can the wings on your skin help you fly away?
'Cause it's always raining
And the clouds are always grey when you're away
Yeah, I've been feeling alienated
On my spaceship alone
Say goodbye to the past
Leave it all with a laugh
'Cause you always was right all along
All along
Say goodbye to the past
Say goodbye
1D Hiatus: Masters Edition
Too soon? For some Directioners, it will always be too soon for a hiatus joke. Anyway, we interrupt this musical section for some sightings from Augusta.
Narry Hive, rise up…both Niall and Harry are taking in the golf this weekend at The Masters. Those lads have always loved the links.
I figured that British Fruit Witch was going to get up to something in the lead-up to me losing my mind over The Tortured Poets Department because that’s what Haylor 1.0 always does to me. No peace. Ever.
And I love it. Torture me, poets.
I should have known it’d be a Golfrry moment. But, Jesus Harold5.
This one popped up today and the pants alone nearly did me in. Are we back on a flare, sir? Help.
Shout-out to Nicole who wrote me, “Fast forward to you wearing this exact outfit” and she is not wrong. I already own multiple pairs of black flares in various materials and that man and I do enjoy many similar aesthetics.
Gabby Herzig who covers golf for The Athletic recounted meeting H. This is the kind of respectful fan behavior we love to see out in the world.
LOL, Harries. I love us.
Nialler is also there, as mentioned.
We don’t have any photos of them together but I will be working under the assumption that they have hung out, listened to Zayn’s song, and sent him a voice memo. I love that there are no phones allowed, so only credentialed photographers can get shots, allowing them some peace and freedom.
Narry 4EVA.
Hiatus over.
Well, not THAT one…but back to our regularly scheduled programming.
“One Less Question” by Madi Diaz + Lennon Stella
Yes, that Lennon Stella who you loved on Nashville and in performances with her sister, Maisy, when you first discovered them. I was so happy to see that she co-wrote and recorded this song with Madi, which does feel like it could be a bonus track on Weird Faith.
Shocker, I love it. The duo debuted it on Jimmy Kimmel earlier this week and sounded amazing. I hope Lennon releases some of her own new music soon. She def seems to be hanging with all my Nashville faves.
In other musical bits + bobbles…
I am obsessed with this Vampire Weekend cover of “Peggy-O”, an all-timer song for me. I would very much like to hear this at The Sphere next month, universe.
ICYMI, the full version of #1 Olivia and Noah Kahan doing “Stick Season” is now on her YouTube.
She also brought out Jewel to do one of my favorites. This song instantly transports me to a very specific time in my life. I’m incredibly jealous of those who got to see this live at MSG, along with The Breeders opening. What a dream.
File Name: Poets, Tortured
We are one week out from Taylor Alison Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, and I am so anxious and excited. I don’t know how next Friday’s going to play out, so we may do a part one of the newsletter without TTPD and then I’ll get that post to you as quickly as I can comport myself and find words later on Friday or over the weekend.
EEEEEEEEEEK.
Meanwhile, Blondie might have invaded my Co-Star app.
Of course, this has me back on my TikTok bullshit.
AND THEN LOOK AT TODAY’S.
And yes, I’m taking the don’t on Heights to mean I’ve been correct in never listening to the New Heights podcast.
I think she’s been correct in not doing a ton of overt promo for this album. It’s not necessary and she has also probably been listening to Cowboy Carter on repeat. Who knows if she’ll dabble something more in front of us in the coming days? Anything is possible with this one.
She did give us what appear to be some lyrics on Monday. Because, of course, she had something that lined up with the eclipse.
For my reading glasses crew6:
“Crowd goes wild at her fingertips,
Half moonshine,
Full eclipse”
I love that I don’t currently have any idea what is going to hit my ears when midnight strikes on 4/19. But I know big feelings are a-coming.
In other Taylor news:
Her music is back on TikTok, but that isn’t true for all the other UMG artists, so it will be interesting to see how that shakes out.
This week’s SNL host and one of the Kings of MY Heart continues to be the best and a man of impeccable taste.
These girls are icons and legends. This is the kind of unhinged fan behavior that is most welcome. I think Blondie would agree.
Please keep me in your thoughts as I descend once more into madness over the coming days. I can’t wait.
Ick Me Once
What gave me this ick this week? Bob Costas talking about OJ this morning on the Today show. It was interesting at times and also wildly uncomfy at others, in my opinion. Am I wrong???
EdiTORIalize It
All week, I’ve been seeing the most loony headlines coming from the Tori Spelling/Dean McDermott split. It made me think of one of my favorite long-running podcasts, Who? Weekly, and how they sometimes track trending topics such as this with segments like Most Markleous Headline of the Week and Beckham Watch. Or the forever pod staple honoring the patron saint of Whos, What’s Rita Ora Up To?7
In homage, I thought we’d do something similar for whatever press burst we’re on and then occasional updates if the cycle plays out as expected.
So…welcome to EdiTORIalize It, for however long it lasts.
Aaron and Candy’s daughter is out here doing the most, as is her usual when she needs money/press/attention/all of the above. The girl is not afraid to air it all out and hustle for whatever headlines she can get. As someone who has watched most of her reality shows, I respect and honor the hustle.
These were my faves:
What a time to be alive. Submissions are most welcome.
Gen X Moment of Zen
Since it’s almost graduation season and we have Tori back in the news, this is the only thing that seems appropriate this week.
Oh, and…
Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, and Chris Sullivan are launching a This Is Us re-watch pod and I will most certainly be listening … BravoCon won’t be back until November 2025 which makes sense due to the Olympics and the election and whatnot, but I do really think I need to be there next time around … I miss Da Silvano so much. I was such a Da Silvano/Bar Pitti girlie … In anon-shocking twist, Nike continue to be very good at marketing and branding. The latest example? The apparent teaser for Victor Wembanyama’s logo… This Coveteur piece breaking down what the fashion Substack you read says about you was pretty spot-on … I was so incredibly sad to hear that my old freshman dormmate Aaron Lazar (Hanes House 4EVA) has been diagnosed with ALS. But I love that he is being so vulnerable in sharing his story and perspective about it … The Law Roach/Julia Fox fashion competition show is almost upon us. It feels like E! is leaning back into more sartorial-adjacent content once again and I’m interested to see how it all plays out … Why podcast lovers should be anti-Spotify.
Until next week, a random TikTok that made me laugh so hard.
xA
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Pick-up time was right when lots of schools would have been getting out or had kids on buses, etc. So that was surely one factor.
I rewatched the original (of which I was an insane fangirl) before the 2017 continuation of the series and can attest that BOB is still one of the scariest big bads to ever grace a screen. I might actually need to watch it all again soon.
Think Adele in 2021.
Not counting the previously-released singles from this album: “Don’t Forget Me” and “So Sick of Dreaming”. Those have stayed in heavy rotation since they dropped.
A breakdown of Harry’s eras and fandom nicknames can be found here.
I don’t need them yet, but I know it’s coming. Apparently what is actually wrong with my eyeballs (requiring either glasses or contacts at all times) is saving me a few years of readers. But, hey, at least there are chic ones now. I love glasses, so this isn’t even a big deal to me. Just an excuse for more frames. I do love watching friends who have never been glasses people navigate this strange new world (to them).
Tori Spelling DREAMS of being as booked and busy as Rita.