5 things i love right now
rediscovering this song by boy kill boy, “suzie”
if you were in the boston (or southern new hampshire) region in the early to mid-2000s, you were likely familiar with alternative rock radio station WFNX. it was a true gem in the pre-streaming days, and introduced me to so many great songs during the glorious garage rock and britpop revival. one of them was “suzie” by boy kill boy, an absolutely anthemic banger that has me jumping around every time i hear it. sadly, their second album didn’t do as well as their first, and i think there might have been some standard inner-band conflict, and they broke up in 2008. apparently, they reunited in 2016 for some one-off reunion shows in the U.K., and while surfing around youtube, i discovered this performance from one of them. maybe it was because i was PMSing, but when i tell you that i actually started crying when i saw the joy on the lead singer’s face toward the end as the crowd went wild upon the realization that people still love this song and it matters to them!!! that’s what music is all about. that moment right there.
still, it’s a shame “suzie” never got the attention it deserved — in another universe, IMO, this song could have been just as big as “mr. brightside” by the killers, who the band was often compared to (according to some reviews from the time). i never heard — and still don’t hear — that at all. they’re much more in line with their british brethren like the futureheads, razorlight, the ordinary boys, etc. but on that note, this NME review, which calls it a “life-affirming, mars-sized rocker” is one of the best things i’ve ever read!
+ relatedly, another thing i love to do is revisit albums i didn’t listen to a ton back in the day and see if there are any nuggets of gold to be found. in addition to discovering this brilliant deep cut from boy kill boy’s debut civilian, i recently spun 2005’s ahead of the lions by the band living things. i’ve written about them on my blog in the past, but didn’t explore them a ton beyond two songs i’ve been hyperfixated on for the past, uhhh, 18 years. and i’m happy to report that “new year” is currently one of my favorite tunes as a result! what a viiibe.
fangirl hysteria videos
i wrote a blog post last week about the joys of being a lifelong fangirl and the culture in general. in the process, i discovered a ton of absolutely delightful videos documenting the total pandemonium that has ensued, over and over again, as young women lose their shit over their favorite bands. as time marches on and trends come and go, one wonderful comfort remains: fangirls. i just love them and their earnest, unbridled enthusiasm so very much. mainly because…it me. i’m one of them, even as an adult woman. once a fangirl, always a fangirl.
this game show, the chase
i went home to NH for labor day weekend to visit my folks, and they got me absolutely HOOKED on this game show called the chase, an adaptation of a british show. the premise is that three contestants answer rapid-fire questions, one at a time, before facing down with a “chaser” aka a former jeopardy contestant, like james holzhauer, on multiple choice questions, followed by another lightning round with the team against the chaser. it’s fast paced, tricky, and fun! binging it like crazy and, uhh, looking into how i can apply to be on it.
heluva good! buttermilk ranch dip
i’m decidedly in my ~ranch era~, and few snacks are as satisfying as plain ol’ ruffle potato chips and dip. i impulse bought this ranch dip recently, and i’m completely obsessed. like yes, it’s basically just ranch, but…there’s a little something extra. a little SPICE. a little TANG. maybe it’s the buttermilk? whatever it is, i’m addicted.
this movie, missing
one of the few netflix original movies that was notttt complete trash (sorry not sorry). i love me a suspenseful thriller, and missing had that in spades. the plot, in short, is that a teen girl’s mom and her new-ish boyfriend go on a trip to colombia, she’s supposed to pick them up from the airport when they come home, and…well, they don’t come home. after that, the twists and turns are INSANE and i was on the edge of my seat the entire time as she tries to get to the bottom of what happened via social media and internet stalking, aka my favorite activity. loved it.