Quick post from me this month, sorry! I hope everyone is surviving allergy season!!
Music
“Welcome to MY World (feat. nævis)” by aespa
aespa’s third mini album dropped recently, and though I enjoy it as a whole, this is the song I’ve been listening to on repeat.
It’s the first track off their album, and like the title suggests, it pulls you in. It’s angelic and mesmerizing. It feels cinematic, like a slow walk into the unknown. Rather than relying on heavy production, it builds primarily off their vocals, which makes the live performance just absolutely stunning.
“You First” by Paramore
I just really like the lyric: “Turns out I'm living in a horror film / Where I'm both the killer and the final girl.” It simply encapsulates the dissonance of societal living—who is right, who is wrong, where does living through only extreme spectrums get us? In a world where reactions and opinions can be so toxic and polarizing with no middle ground, there is no winning and there is rarely any peace.
Paramore’s newest album, This is Why, grapples with this at length. I love it a lot.
Japanese Math Rock
I will not pretend I know much about this genre, but it was recommended to me and I enjoy it a lot! It leans towards the indie rock side, and it’s all based on unconventional time signatures, which makes it very fun and interesting to listen to. I put it on when I’m reading.
Books
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Speaking of reading!! This was my favorite book I’ve finished this month. Some books are worth the hype, and this is one of them. I whispered, “oh my god,” to myself when I turned the last page and realized it was over.
I think this is a beautiful story about platonic love and friendships. How when we fight, we still care, or how when they’re gone or leave us, a part of them remains. How, sometimes, we can make our way back to those we thought we lost.
Games
Pokémon Go
I do think it’s a bit silly for me, a non-gamer, to have a gaming section just so I can talk about Pokémon Go, which most people left in the summer of 2016. And I was one of them—until a mere four weeks ago, when my friend revealed herself as a frequent Pokémon Go player and I was pulled back in.
Now, I really do gotta catch them all! It also forces me to leave my house every day to get fresh air, so take that depression!!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Related, most people left ACNH back in 2020. Not me though. I’m back on!
Experiences
Sitting at a Restaurant/Café For an Extended Period of Time Exchanging Formative Life Stories With Friends
Sometimes, you accidentally sit at a café for six hours, exchanging silly anecdotes from the past with friends (while making sure you are always ordering more and tipping well!!).
Sometimes, a bartender at a Japanese BBQ restaurant accidentally makes a soju tower for the table when you did not order one and the waitress gives it to you anyway on the house because it would go to waste regardless. But it is a group of three people who simply cannot finish a soju tower without sitting there for four hours. And with the waitress’s blessing, you indeed sit there for four hours, sharing stories from the past that have deeply affected your worldview and being. (A friend asked me if I was going to write about this in my newsletter. Guess what, it made it in!!!)
Whenever people visit, they ask me what I like to do in the city. Most of my time is spent sitting at places for a long time, talking with people I love and admire.
Some recs:
“Welcome to MY World (feat. nævis)” by aespa
“Welcome to MY World” Live Performance
“You First” by Paramore
“from long ago” by JYOCHO
Thank you for reading! You can read my previous post here: April Wrapped.
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