Buffy:
The last time I ran into Angel Prost (@angel__emoji), literally, was during a 48-hour, no sleep road trip from Richmond to Nashville after her set in an abundantly sweaty crowd of Julie fans. Drunkenly stumbling in a pink velour hoodie and plaid miniskirt directly into me over the course of “My Anti-Aircraft Friend,” it felt sort of like the real-life equivalent of a unicorn approaching you and eating a magical carrot out of your palm. “SPIRAL” from her sibling-duo project, Frost Children, is the musical version — a glittery hyperpop album that makes you feel like that one Lisa Frank-esque image of dolphins splashing across a rainbow sunset. Cute samples abound; take the bubby “HARP + PONY” and “LAKE OF LOVE.” More intense tracks like “GET WHAT WE WANT” and “FOX BOP” are quintessential builders of Angel and Lulu’s psychic power over the album, breaking through the wall of colorful digital noise to deliver self-confident screamo *severely* needed in this winter doom and gloom!
Mira:
Something that has been lingering in my brain is the album “Fevers and Mirrors” by Bright Eyes, but specifically the penultimate track, “An Attempt to Tip the Scales.” The track transitions from song to interview on a censored radio station with the band’s frontman Conor Oberst. It’s a strange interview, centered around the themes of “Fevers and Mirrors;” noise from the song lingers while Oberst answers with contradictions until it becomes clear that it’s staged. The questions, the radio station, even Oberst talking here is all an illusion, a production where the interviewer and Conor are played by friends of the band. It’s an odd and surreal moment that made me fall in love with this album.
Aisha:
I’ve been really into female pop artists randomly releasing remixes of their hits but in a different language. Some examples are “Irreplaceable (Irreemplazable) [Nortena Remix]” by Beyoncé, “Me Against the Music (feat. Madonna) [Rishi Rich’s Desi Kulcha Remix]” by Britney Spears, and “The Way (feat. Mac Miller) [Spanglish Version]” by Ariana Grande. I am fully aware that these remixes were just a cash grab to boost international fame, but it was still really sickening and I listen to all of these songs (and more) even if I do not speak the language. “When Your Eyes Say It” by Britney Spears in Urdu when???
Lareina:
“Very Delta” is a daytime talk show/public access podcast for the modern woman hosted by Emmy-award winning drag queen and mother of all mothers, Delta Work. You may know Delta from her appearance on Season 3 of Rupaul’s Drag Race when she lipsynced (and lost …) against Manila Luzon to “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer — yes, the song that Alyssa Liu skated to at the Olympics — or from her subsequent work as Rupaul’s hairstylist. (If you’re wondering why Rupaul’s wigs look so incredibly chopped lately, it’s because Delta left the show due to contractual disputes in 2018.)
Every Wednesday, Delta brings on a guest star to talk about everything from douching to Bath and Body Works candles. Every Monday, audiences can also watch Delta “Go Off” about basically anything that inconveniences her, like the Dunkin Donuts rewards app or proper shopping cart etiquette. For first-timers, I recommend starting with “Delta Work is a Diet Coke Savant.” If you’re wondering, “Can someone actually tell the difference between canned and bottled Diet Coke and give a thorough monologue about the reasons why?” the answer is yes. I’m Veryyyy Delta!
Ava:
Something I’ve been loving recently is just doing it. After debating it for years, I got a major haircut in the fall. The other week, I bleached and dyed my hair pink, like I always said I would. It’s so fulfilling, addressing something that’s been floating in your mind. That thing you’ve been thinking about, just do it!
Dani:
Something I’ve been thinking about a lot is instrumental music. When I was younger I really only listened to the music I heard on the radio and in movies, so my first introduction to music without words was the “Avengers” and “Star Wars” scores. Fast forward to January, and I’m much more informed about instrumental and ambient music outside of Hollywood scores (shoutout Ethel Cain, Duster, and Aphex Twin), but everything really changed for me when I, on a whim, decided to listen to a playlist of instrumental Italian music while I studied. It felt like I’d opened Pandora’s Box; walking to my class, Italian orchestral music. Reading, Italian orchestral music. Sleeping, Italian orchestral music. One weekend my roommate left to go home, so I put Italian orchestral music on the speaker while I slept instead of my AirPods. I was on top of the world. I was walking around Richmond with the poise of an emotionally tortured Luca Guadagnino lead. It got to a point where I looked at my AirPods and saw that my top three artists of the week were A$AP Rocky, Piero Umilliani, and Caroline Polachek. Mind you, I was never focused on who the composers were, but I guess I really liked a lot of songs that just happened to be from Piero Umilliani? Anyways, my Italian orchestral phase started to fizz out when I revisited Lana Del Rey and remembered how great lyrics could be, but I’m eternally grateful to my January Italian arc.
Graphics by Lareina Allred