07/29/22
This week: Two truly perfect summer shows, new music from Beyoncé, and some book news that’s personal to us!
TRENDS THIS WEEK:
Youtube Stray (catview)
Letterboxd NOPE
Spotify Quevedo: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52
Netflix VIRGIN RIVER
Twitter Beyoncé
Trailer BLACK PANTHER 2: WAKANDA FOREVER
Shopify It’s Been A Week
Life & Culture
Apparently, bullying, err, collective action works. At least with a massive corporation like Instagram. The social media platform has recently been introducing new changes to select users, basically making the feed exactly like TikTok, with every post full-screen, and popular posts being pushed just as much as accounts the users follow. And Instagram users pushed back, with top-followed accounts like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian posting memes encouraging the app to reconsider the changes and stick to the purpose many users took to the app for–sharing photos. And IG chief Adam Mosseri listened, saying he’s “glad we took a risk—if we’re not failing every once in a while, we’re not thinking big enough or bold enough” but “we definitely need to take a big step back and regroup.”
Streaming is at an all-time high this summer. Nielsen reported that 33.7 percent of Americans' TV time is spent on streaming services. No surprises here, but Netflix, despite its growth challenges, is the most-used streaming service, making up 7.7 percent of total TV viewing in June.
After the internet came together to shame Kylie Jenner on her private plane usage (twelve-minute flights across LA!), it turns out that an unexpected singer/songwriter has her beat out on absurd CO2 emissions…Taylor Swift. Her two private jets have taken 170 flights in just 200 days this year, equating to more emissions than 1,184 average people would put out in a year. Oof.
And of course, my favorite pieces of the internet from this week. I randomly remembered this vine from forever ago and felt like getting the sound stuck in your heads again, too (sorry). I also enjoyed this adorable video of kitten and bunny siblings chasing each other around and this video of a frog riding a slithering snake through a grassy field. May we all channel that frog’s relaxed energy this weekend.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
The long-awaited sneak peek at Nicki Minaj's docuseries NICKI is finally here! The trailer offers a promising glimpse of what I love to see in music documentary projects: iconic songs, tons of footage over several years, and unexpected vulnerability from the subject. The Barbz are surely in for a treat with six episodes of content from their Queen, and I hope we will get an all-encompassing look at the controversial rapper's ups and downs. Nicki claims the series will be released “sooner than you think”—trust that I will be the first to watch and report back!
—Dustin Sloane, Development Assistant
TV
If there's one thing I know about Issa Rae, it’s that she doesn’t miss. I was feeling starved for content after INSECURE had its finale in December, but thankfully Issa is back with something for the girls this summer. Her newest series, RAP SH!T (trailer here), follows two estranged high school friends who form a rap duo. Loosely based on the rise of the show's co-executive producers, city girls Shawna and Mia are stuck in a daily limbo that isn’t taking them very far in life. Shawna’s dreams of making it big were shattered after her record deal fell through, and she now works as a hotel concierge sharing videos of socially conscious raps with her very small Instagram following. Meanwhile, Mia struggles to make ends meet in order to support her daughter, and works as a make-up artist with an OnlyFans on the side. Despite (or maybe because of) their differences, they turn out to be the complements for one another, and come together as a dynamic duo destined to make it big in the Miami music scene. The series has a heavy focus on the characters’ social media presence, allowing for an introspective view on how these women want to be perceived versus how they’re actually living. And similar to INSECURE, the city becomes its own character, and it’s very refreshing to see the working class side of Miami just as we did with Los Angeles in INSECURE. All I know is I’m so ready to see Shawna and Mia seduce and scheme their way across Miami this summer.
—Ellen Amare, Office Coordinator
Okay everyone, listen up! The icon, the legend, and the nosiest villain you've ever met, A, is back. Yes, you heard that right. PRETTY LITTLE LIARS has gotten (another) spin off, and I think we're all hoping this one will be the one that works. PRETTY LITTLE LIARS: ORIGINAL SIN (trailer here) has just landed on HBO Max and I'm dying for it to give all the thrills, twists, snarky one-liners, outrageous moments, and of course, murder that the OG series did a decade ago (can you believe it's been 12 years since the original premiered?!). And who doesn't love a good horror romp? So many iconic teenage shows—like DEGRASSI and PLL—made young me think high school was about to be so scandalous and dramatic. My cute little suburban high school never lived up to any of that drama, but boy did I eat it up watching it on the screen week to week. In ORIGINAL SIN, five teenage girls band together after receiving incriminating and threatening texts from an anonymous number. As they grow closer, they start to dig up the secrets of each of their mothers' pasts—and of course, it turns out all of them were connected to a single fateful night 20 years prior. Honestly, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS is just very nostalgic to me. I think of every Tuesday night, plopping down on the couch with my dad, (yes, my dad was tuned in week to week with me), devouring the liars' messy, messy lives. It's bloody, it's funny, and yes, it's cringey; but overall, it's a good time. Oh how I've missed that silly little opening song. Stay safe liArs.
—Erin Harris, Development Assistant
Book
FROM THE VAULT
Editor’s note: Re-running this recommendation as it’s the perfect time to check out this book because we’re making it into a series!
If you’re looking for a voice-y, raw and bold story filled with fascinating and sharp observations, which at the same time makes you crave a bowl of gourmet Shin Black Ramyun, you must not miss YOLK by New York Times bestselling author Mary H.K. Choi. YOLK follows two estranged Korean-American sisters who are kind of totally opposite—Jayne, the messy and always anxious fashion student barely getting by, and June, the put-together older sister with a dazzling, high-paying job in finance. But cancer and sisterly obligation throw them back together, under the same roof, and the novel unwinds from there. Mary gives us two flawed yet real sisters with strong and vibrant personalities, each dealing with their own issues in a way that feels so true to our generation. They are chaotic and painfully aware of themselves, and I love them for it. Among other things, this is a book about the Asian-American experience and growing up as immigrant kids in a catholic household. But at the same time, it is a universal story about sibling connection, about the young adult angst of figuring life out in a big city, and about facing your mental health issues. And also, this is a book that will make your stomach rumble with all its incredible descriptions of food.
—Mimi Li, Development Assistant
Music
Beyoncé is back with some bops today. Obviously, I’ve spent a decent amount of time these past few weeks listening to BREAK MY SOUL (honestly a top-notch workout song), and I’m happy to report that the rest of Bey’s new album RENAISSANCE has similar dance tunes that you can’t help but move your body to. The album is dedicated to her Uncle Johnny, who she describes as her “godmother and first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album.” It also sees Beyoncé returning to rap on songs COZY and CHURCH GIRL. I think my favorites (as of now) are the vibey CUFF IT and ALIEN SUPERSTAR. So on the off chance that you haven’t listened yet, go into the weekend knowing that you have my wholehearted recommendation to do so.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
Have a great weekend! And as always, be kind, stay healthy, and stay creative. ツ