3/26
3/26
Hello there,
It’s been a busy few weeks! I’ve been listening to this song non-stop:
I crawled out of my little hovel and saw some shows including This Is Lorelei/Strange Ranger, Water From Your Eyes, and the Eras Tour aka An Evening with Yo La Tengo. The latter was particularly inspiring—what an admirable example of leading a lasting, deep-rooted creative life.
I’ve been very preoccupied with that question lately. It’s no secret that I’m overly hard on myself and tend to back away from potential ideas for a variety of reasons, usually due to the belief that I’m not smart/creative/thoughtful/eloquent/talented enough. When I tried to express this anxiety at my old job I was essentially told to get over it. I don’t think that’s great management, but at a certain point I finally understood that I was never going to get the words of encouragement I wanted from certain parties. And anyways, at the end of the day, would I even believe what someone else told me if I don’t actually believe it myself? Probably not!
So that’s where I’m at.
I also saw Show Me the Body at Brooklyn Steel which was truly a sight to behold. After running into some old friends outside we walked into the venue right as the general manager came onstage to tell the audience that he would shut down the show if any more flames erupted. Flames!!
So that was the vibe. I foolishly wore clogs—why?!?! A friend who bartends there said that it was the most chaotic and packed show since the venue opened, which I totally believe…it certainly raised the stakes for the next YLT show there! By the end of SMTB’s set, the crowd had thinned out because so many people had made their way onstage—If anyone was trying to kick them off, they did not succeed. But while it was an extremely reckless show, it also managed to be incredibly wholesome. I’ve been seeing SMTB play since like 2014, in LIC basements and such, so catching their biggest show ever—a hometown one nonetheless—was moving. People from the opening bands jumped onstage to scream out verses and Julian punched a guy who took the mic from him and didn’t know the words. I loved it. I deeply respect how SMTB has carried a community with them after all these years. After the show, a bunch of us were hanging around outside and there was a kid waiting to get his stack of SMTB vinyl signed. His dad was patiently waiting with him and it made my sentimental heart burst.
What I’ve been reading:
“The Tacky Weed Bodega Aesthetic Is Actually ‘Old-School’ NYC Vernacular” by Katie Way // Hell Gate
“The Tacky Weed Bodega Is Everywhere (for Now)” by Bridget Read // New York Magazine
As both of these pieces attest, the weed bodega aesthetic is inescapable in the city these days. I often walk past a shop delightfully named Blazin’ Slopes but there’s also High Societe which has a large assortment of “wake and bake” mugs designed to look like avocados or stoned aliens. I felt very embarrassed to be in there.
“A Coup at the WestView News” by Zach Helfand // The New Yorker
Niche West Village drama, incredible
“The Grocery Store Where Produce Meets Politics” by Alexandra Schwartz // The New Yorker
Sam and I are finally joining the Park Slope Food Coop so I reread this piece from a few years ago. I’m ready for the culty vibes.
Talk soon,
Quinn