doing art for free
feat. HAIM, Francis of Delirium, The Front Bottoms, Audrey Hobert
I’ve been slightly under the weather this week and also very busy, which means I spent this whole Sunday lying in bed feeling queasy and catching up on edits. We have slipped into a new process for the second half of this manuscript wherein Mik powers ahead throwing out scene after scene and then I come after her chopping it all up and stitching it together again, something she is miraculously willing to let me do.
I still have no idea if this manuscript is any good, and that’s only the first hurdle, the second being whether anyone will buy it, an altogether more unsettling question. I do know that I am still enjoying writing it, enough so that it didn’t ruin my Sunday to work on it, and that has to count for something. I woke up at 7am to the sound of my cat crying like the pathetic piss baby he is, finished reading The Age of Innocence (Newland insufferable but pays for it so okay), watched an episode of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (Lisa Barlow spirit animal), wrote on a pile of pillows until 6pm, forced myself out of the house and to the outdoor pool where I swam laps for thirty minutes as the sun went down.
Of course all of this was facilitated by a playlist, but I can feel my brain draining itself of fluid as I write this and also there’s a couple of repeat artists here so I’m going to offer a few various snapshots of the day rather than try to write it up properly. Link at the end. Forgive me. I’m doing art for no money in the summertime and we call that living the dream.
Mik sent me First Touch by Francis of Delirium months ago, and I did what I normally do when Mik sends me a song which is send a thumbs up emoji and never get round to listening. I did throw it on a master playlist out of charity and that’s where I discovered it again last week, and realized she was on to something. What a dreamy, romantic song. Pure nostalgia. Kind of Cranberries and Cocteau Twins and Mazzy Star and also nothing like any of them, kind of a story but more like a memory.
That bridge –– “Life turns into… ‘remember?’”
List of things I googled today
Pole dancing basic moves
Langer See
rinnensee eng trans
chef name ratatouille
suspicion synonym
theory synonym
Smoking gun
herbal mosquito repellent
blue bathing shorts
focaccia sandwich berlin
the age of innocence trailer
new york city 1870s
audrey hobert chateau lyrics
hay baler
I didn’t realize the last time I wrote about her that Audrey Hobert is actually the Audrey who has been appearing sporadically in Gracie Abrams lyrics since 2020 and co-written several of her most voracious earworms. Also a nepo baby, but if I made that a dealbreaker I would have to give up pop music completely. Her debut album is out and quite charming, though I still think the singles are the strongest tracks. There is a fun song about being a loser who watches Friends (called Phoebe) which includes the line “I think I’ve got a fucked up face” and honestly, what can top that?
The song of hers I’ve been listening to all day today is Chateau, which is all about how hard it is to be an aspiring pop star who doesn’t get on with all of the other aspiring pop stars. I think the best genre comparison for this song is “would have fit right in on the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack and also arguably the Legally Blonde soundtrack.” It is girly but with an edge; it is quirky but designer. Chateau closes with a repeated refrain of don’t care, don’t care, DON’T CARE!!! which I enjoyed every time it rolled around on the playlist today.
Not much to say about HAIM except I also had All Over Me, lowkey slut anthem, on a road trip playlist yesterday when Mik drove us all out to the lake and it felt like a crowd pleaser.
Other highlights from yesterday were Lorde - Favourite Daughter, Champagne Coast which got stuck in everyone’s head, Louie by Arcy Drive which I enjoyed listening to but then had to admit I’d found on TikTok. Lowlight was when I put on Addison Rae’s Money is everything and Mik said “ugh I think I’ve had enough of K-pop actually.” Can you BELIEVE.
2018 was the last time The Front Bottoms toured Europe, a fact that becomes more tragic to me with every passing year. Say what you will about them (I mean don’t because I love them) but there is something special about a band who knows every single song in their back catalogue, accepts requests, and is perfectly capable of playing deep cuts. When we saw them at Lido in Berlin I did my best to beg them to play Bae, one of their most romantic songs in recent memory (I learned that love tastes good/you shoved it in my mouth). Sadly we were drowned out by a cabal of young men in the pit who stomped their feet and demanded Swimming Pool, a decidedly unromantic song and one that the band looked distinctly embarrassed to have to perform. It is a fan favourite, to be fair, but I am a fan and it’s not my favourite and I think they should have taken that into consideration.
There is this sweetcorn pasta that we have been making all summer and I ate two large bowls of it throughout the day (yes in bed). Also two peanut cookies, a bowl of cucumber with hummus, and a mug of ginger tea.
In case anyone was wondering yes I am thrilled about The Life of A Showgirl. She simply can’t be stopped! Even the low budget cover is growing on me. I love the Rowntrees Fruit Pastille font and the mint green/orange high gloss tic tac colour combo. Let me chew on that CD case. Still don’t care for football man but I actually find it quite easy to divorce her productive output from her supposed muses since we all know her true muse is herself.
