Monday Memos // 88

Listening:

"Lonesome Love" by Mitski. Finally the whole album is out and it is superb.

"I See A Darkness" by Bonnie "Prince" Billy.

"Middle School Dance" by fthrsn.

Reading:

Beyoncé in Her Own Words: Her Life, Her Body, Her Heritage

The "It's Complicated" series from The Cut is one of my favorites

Graham Walzer's "Tools For Science," which entails images of his dad conducting "experiments"

These Vogue images are supreme. (Photographed by Tyler Mitchell, Vogue, September 2018

Craving:

Last week I got to eat some of my favorite things surrounded by some of my favorite people — comfort and grief wrapped up into a complex ball.

Carrot cranberry cake, vegan chocolate cake, Pop A Top brownies and blondies, plantain chips, blackened salmon salad... I didn't realize how much I missed it all and needed it all. 

Baby vegan chocolate cakes too. It looks like a flower. 

Wearing:

With all the heat and rain, it's dresses and sandals galore. I'm really dreaming about sweaters and socks.

Watching:

TV: Insecure is back: as good as ever. Binged several episodes of Claws: excellent Florida trash entertainment. Embarrassingly, but with the need of lighthearted junk television, I can't stop watching Insatiable on Netflix. 

Movies: I want to see We The Animals: looks emotional and beautiful). I saw To All the Boys I've Loved Before on Netflix: it was just the right amount of cheesy teen rom com that I needed. Read the IMDb page for The Goldfinch: I'm nervous to have my favorite book ruined by a movie, but the list of actors is so good (Nicole Kidman, Sarah Paulson, Luke Wilson, Ansel Elgort) fingers crossed it'll be amazing. 

Issa and Molly. (image via HBO)

Treasuring:

Gainesville: I was reminded of how comforting and beautiful and nurturing and supportive this little city is. I wish I could've visited under happier circumstances, but it still managed to bring so much brightness to a dark spot. Thankful for my home and my swampy Florida family. So many wonderful hugs.

I mean come on!

Monday Memos // 51

Listening:

"Forgiven/Forgotten" by Angel Olsen. "If there's one thing I fear / It's knowing you're around / So close but not here / So close / Oh, but not with me here / So close / But not with me here"

"New York" by St. Vincent. This video is good.

"Milestones" by Buddy Rich. I love this song in all forms and iterations. Birdland in it's entirety is really groovy too.

Reading:

This week brought to you by The New Yorker's humor section—

The Dark Truth Behind the Making of Pumpkin-Spice Lattes

Lesser-Known Roomba Error Codes

Your Content Will Resume Shortly

 By Farley Katz.

As a bonus: For the Rock Star, Love Has Finally Landed. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for reading the Weddings section of the New York Times. It's like my inner romantic is constantly trying to melt the nonchalant/fear of rejection/un-celebratory parts of me. Anyways, in a long and winding path, I found my way to this wedding from a year ago (I went to get lunch at Eleven36 and was looking though their Instagram page and saw this photo and went to the source and it had to do with this sweet and magical love story with a record store and a musician and long distance and triumph).

“Matthew floats just above the earth,” said their officiant, Ms. de Wilde. “I think that he needs someone like Emily to help bring him down to earth and make the ground less punishing.”

The couple recited personalized vows before approximately 130 friends and family. “You already think the world’s in color, and then it’s really in color,” the groom said of his bride. “You already think you’re a loving person, and then you feel like your heart doubles in size.”  (image by Lauren Lancaster for The New York Times

Craving:

There are rare times in life when I do not want chocolate cake. So as a celebratory treat for my successful move to New York on Saturday, I got myself a slice of Brooklyn blackout cake from Cinnamon Girl. It was light and rich, cakey and puddingy, I could hardly savor it—I completely devoured it. 

"Blackout cake, sometimes called Brooklyn Blackout cake, is an American chocolate cake filled with chocolate pudding and chocolate cake crumbs, and frosted with chocolate icing. It was invented during World War II by a Brooklyn-based bakery chain named Ebinger's, in recognition of the mandatory blackouts to protect the Brooklyn Navy Yard."

I think I could make it my quest to find all the best blackout cakes in the city.

On my list is Ovenly's version—a favorite for the Village Voice (image via Adam Robb for the villiagevoice)

Wearing:

It's like I have a uniform. Stripes. Denim. Slip-on, solid-colored shoes. 

I'm ready for fall gear, though the heat seems to have followed me up north thus far. Lusting for layers. Scarves. Jackets. Boots. 

Ready for primping. (image by leah goren)

Watching:

Keeping up with: "This Is Us" (crying and bonding); "Project Runway" (so much drama and twists this season!); "The Deuce" (entertained but not entirely sold).

Recently viewed: "The Meyerowitz Stories" (typical Baumbach—lots of laughing and cringing)

Want to see: "Blade Runner 2049" (positive recommendations and Gosling); "Mindhunter" (I like Jonathan Groff and David Fincher).

Treasuring:

My cat. Considering the variety of sensitivities he has (loud noises terrify him, knocks on the door terrify him, plastic bags terrify him, the presence of most large men terrify him), I was hoping for an okay experience driving 12-13 hours straight with his company. Turns out he's a phenomenal travel partner. He was patient and quiet and easy—he never made a single terrible noise! We chatted, I sang to him, I cried to him, I felt so grateful for his companionship. 

His first days versus these days. 

A majority of my life was spent wishing I lived elsewhere. I made it out of my hometown for a few years, then found myself back—a stay that was longer than anticipated. Yet, this last stint was one of the best. I made some of the most amazing relationships. I felt joy and excitement and satisfaction. I discovered so many things about the place and myself. What a relief (and some serious heartache) to leave on such terms. 

My feet in Florida.

Bicycle Film Festival After Party

Gleeful football fans finished their drinks and dispersed from the muggy backyard setting, tortilla chips crunching beneath their shoes. A hodgepodge of punks, music-loving millennials and those just out for late night entertainment filled in the sports-centric shadows.

The familiar scene of amplifiers and wild, blazing stage lights took over the Backyard at Boca Fiesta. In the late September heat, electric guitars, kick drums and mike stands multiplied. The after party was underway. 

Show poster (via the event's Facebook page)

The Bicycle Film Festival ended its tour stop in Gainesville, Florida on Saturday, Sept. 19, with a show put on by three local bands. The show followed a private screening of the Florida Gators vs. Kentucky State college football game.

Brendt Barbur, founding festival director, was compelled to start the Bicycle Film Festival when he was hit by a bus while riding his bike in New York City, according to the festival’s website.  He wanted to turn his negative experience into a positive one, according to Todd Weissfeld, drummer for Ann Pragg, one of the bands playing the after party.

In 2001 Barbur started the Bicycle Film Festival as a platform to celebrate the bicycle through music, art and, of course, film. Barbur is “credited with making bicycle culture cool again,” said Weissfeld.

Bicycle Film Festival poster (via the event's Facebook page)

Already close to midnight, the strums of guitar strings and the simple beats on the drum set alerted the crowd. People moved slightly closer to the stage. Moonbeard checked their gear with the sound guy and the show officially began.

“I’m glad they brought the film festival here,” said Ted Lincoln, talking over the heart-thumbing sounds from the stage. He was one of the people in the crowd that went to see the films as well as attend the after party. The night brought together many of his interests, as Lincoln, a visual artist, does some serious biking in his free time.

Carla Scarlatta, who organized the film festival and helped plan the show, wanted to bring the festival to Gainesville because of people like Lincoln. She thought that the “bike culture would be a big hit here.” Scarlatta recognized that art, music and biking are popular pastimes in the city.

“It’s hard to compete with Gator football, though,” said Scarlatta. The previous game may have had a fuller house, but the crowd at the party stayed out long and stayed out late, continuously dancing and sweating.

With its own mob of super fans, the Moonbeard set had a crowd full of people singing along and throwing their fists in the air. Two of the band members had their girlfriends in the front rows, smiling gleefully, absorbed in the songs they had seen performed countless times.

Cory Underhill, Chico Brown, Brad Purvis and Josh Harding, of Moonbeard

The band included Brad Purvis, drums; Cory Underhill, guitar and vocals; Josh Harding, guitar and vocals; and Chico Brown, bass.

Each of the local bands, it seemed, had their own following. If the scene had its own set of big, “go team” foam fingers, there would have been a sea of them.

Ann Pragg's set list

Ann Pragg’s members included Matt Raddick, guitar and vocals; Matt Brink, bass and vocals; David Quarles, guitar; and Todd Weissfeld, drums.

Nitin Jayaswal, nodded toward Matt Raddick, singer and guitarist for Ann Pragg, when asked why he came out for the show.

“He’s a legend,” said Jayaswal. “He’s the cat’s meow. And people, they ask ‘Why doesn’t he leave? I say, ‘He likes Gainesville.’”

Red, green, blue and white lights beamed and strobed onstage throughout Ann Pragg’s set. Like the previous band, the crowd grew closer to the stage as they played.

Matt Raddick, of Ann Pragg

In some ways the event appeared more like a party of friends and acquaintances, as bands shared equipment when technical difficulties arose and thanked each other between songs. Cory Underhill, singer and guitarist for Moonbeard, said he was most excited to see UV-TV play, the headlining band of the night.

Together not yet a year, UV-TV has amassed a following.

Jayaswal said he also has a kind of "man crush" on UV-TV. He notices them not only when they are performing, but out in the world, “wearing all black, eating burgers together, and they remind me of a young Yo La Tengo.”

Scarlatta said that she picked the various bands for the event because she likes to support the locals, but also because the bands are filled people she likes and her friends.

With less than an hour until the bars would all close, UV-TV finally played, the three-piece group rocking out, lights beaming and the crowd still there. It still wasn’t much cooler in the air, but the swaying of the crowd maintained.

Rose Vastola, Matt Brotton and Ian Bernacett, of UV-TV

UV-TV’s members include Rose Vastola, bass and vocals; Matt Brotton, drummer; and Ian Bernacett, guitars and vocals.

As last-call neared, the door guys circled the picnic tables and perimeter, picking up empty cans and plastic cups. UV-TV strummed its last chords and the stage lights flashed wildly. The crowd thinned.