Weeknotes #5: Good luck, final girl
I feel like I am struggling to get back into my groove after the disrupted week. I think I am just a creature of habit, and when those habits get thrown off in any way, then some part of me panics a bit and struggles to settle down for a while after. I've also got a lot on in the evenings for the rest of the month and this has left me with a distinct feeling of being overwhelmed.
Maybe ideally I would just be living the same day over and over again. (Girl maybe it's time to look into that diagnosis lol)
ANYWAY here's what's on my mind this fine Sunday.
Holy shit, you have got to listen to Wallsocket
Last week I mentioned that I really liked the new single "Do It" by underscores. I finally checked out her 2023 album Wallsocket and it blew my mind in a way that no album has for a while and now I want to listen to it whenever I have a free moment.
Trying to describe this album makes me want to use words that I would normally find a bit wanky coming from a reviewer, like "audacious". But it is audacious! Throwing hyperpop, pop-punk, midwest emo and EDM all together in one album (and it actually sounding great) is audacious. Writing a song that is simultaneously as dark and as hook-laden as "Johnny johnny johnny" is audacious. "Geez louise" combines shoegaze, punk and alt-country with an examination of the ongoing impact of colonialism on trans identity and it fucking slaps. Audacious!!! I'm in fucking awe over here!!!
I also found out today that apparently underscores used to run a kpop YouTube account called 2ndgenbias and I am so sad it was wiped because 2nd gen was the period when I was actually into kpop and I can totally hear the f(x) influence in "Do It" and she's so right for that.
In summary: incredible album, I think underscores might actually be a genius. Difficult to pick a favourite track but I also want to shout out "Shoot to kill, kill your darlings" because it makes me think about some people I went to school with and "Old money bitch" because it's just absurdly catchy ("I don't think you get it / She gets it from her father's! father's! father!"). I'm gonna chew over this album for a while longer but then I look forward to listening to Fishmonger next.
The CD thing
Yeah, this is getting a bit out of hand. I have been using my CD player this week and enjoying it but hoo boy I gotta cut down on the shopping.
The problem is that accruing CDs really activates my urge to forage. So far, I think the most effective way to find CDs I want is to go on eBay and buy them in bulk from one of the big sellers – they often show up with cracked jewel cases, but the prices are solid. However that isn't the most fun way to do it, and the issue is the fun.
I really, really love spending hours raiding charity shops. I've been buying all my clothes secondhand for almost 10 years (with a few exceptions) and the suspense of not knowing what you'll find and the thrill of chancing on something you really like is just so much more enjoyable for me than, idk, walking into H&M. I actually had to cut back a lot because I realised I was just shopping for sport and that's kind of wasteful in its own way (and also I really don't have that much space at home for dozens of 1980s jumpers, even if I love them).
But now I'm just doing that again with CDs, and even if they're only like £2 a pop, it does add up. Unfortunately that's just where my dopamine is coming from at the moment. I think I can still have fun hunting but I need to try to set the purchase threshold a little higher.
And how's that writing going?
Oh god I'm totally off my game with this. I always knew there was no way I could keep up the ridiculous hot streak I was riding through October but now I'm totally flailing.
I always feel a bit like I've wasted the day when I don't fit any writing in, so you better believe I'm beating myself up about this. Urgh.
Hermitcraft is back!
This is big comfort viewing for me so I'm happy. I follow quite a few hermits so I haven't had time to catch up on the deluge of first episodes yet, but I'll probably watch Bdubs's right after I finish this post.
Or maybe I'll do some of that writing. Maybe both.
⬅️ Back