Friday Five: September 6, 2024

Green Day was right...

Sep 06, 2024

If August feels like the ‘Monday’ of Summer, September is the Monday after a long holiday weekend. While I watch others delight in the transitional weather, I’ve been thinking ‘Green Day was right, wake me up when September ends.’ Anyway, let’s try to make the most of it while we’re here. Back to your Friday Five, five bits of joyful catharsis from across the universe:

Song + Music Video: Taking you back with a classic this week. My GOD, this song is timeless. The vocals, the instrumentation, the visuals in the video — every bit is flawless. The breakdown at 2:18? Divine. Two fun facts: 1) the band is British which feels surprising 2) Consumers will remember my story about party songs that are secretly devastating in lyrical content and this song isn’t an exception. The song’s writer and singer faced a near death experience and felt a sense of anger to be back on earth after experiencing an ‘in between that was so wonderful.’ She was left with question for her creator, e.g. ‘However do you want me? However do you need me?’ Meanwhile, most of us are cutting a rug to this tune whenever it comes on…

Bonus Song: This remix of the above is HEAVEN! Oop, maybe a stretch too far given the song’s backstory. Anyway, this is on Spotify, it’s on my workout playlist, and it needs to be everywhere. You have to be comfortable with vocal loops which aren’t everyone’s cup of chai but this song makes me want to drive a low-rider with custom-fitted speakers and the bass blaring so hard it disturbs everyone in the immediate vicinity. I should probably just get a good pair of headphones and settle for listening to it that way instead.

Short Story: Produce Parties are a very cool gathering of people who love seasonal produce and cooking! They’ve just issued their first zine, which truthfully feels more like a book, focused on summer’s glory: the tomato. My first published work of fiction is in this zine, which you can purchase here! I wrote a short story inspired by the first time I ate tomato seeds, and an Auntie at a party told me a tomato plant would grow inside me. I sobbed hysterically and ruined the entire party as a result — and now I’ve mined that tiny trauma for a bit of magical realism. Get your copy and tell me what you think! I have so many stories blooming inside of me and I hope to share all of them with you.

Recipe: You know how I was emo about September at the start of this newsletter? Well to be more positive, at least it’s still fig season. So you should either make the delectable and easy figgy toast from my cookbook, or the Ottolenghi chocolate fig cake that I look forward to every single year. Also, if you’ve bought my cookbook and enjoyed it — please give it a review on Amazon! Those reviews matter SO much and I’m embarrassed to ask for them as much as I should!

Joyful Internet Content: