Tamagotchi by Omar Apollo    

This song came out literally a day ago, and it’s been on repeat for hours. Omar Apollo opens up a new sound for himself, blending his usual smooth and beautiful voice with more of a rap sound. The way he switches from English to Spanish is gorgeous, even if it is just a few lines, and the bridge is one of the best things I’ve heard in a while. It’s a fitting shift for Omar, but I’m glad he’s still sticking to the sweet singing that he does best. 

WHO CARES? Rex Orange County’s new album!

This whole sound feels like a guy sitting in his window-filled room during summer who’s reflecting on his life and relationships. An album made to daydream. Here are my favorites of the album:

OPEN A WINDOW (ft. Tyler, the Creator)

KEEP IT UP

ONE IN A MILLION: makes you think of waking up late in the morning because of the sunlight falling through your window, summertime, and making breakfast with the windows open.

IF YOU WANT IT: He’s got this slight Fitz and the Tantrums echo

7AM: He continues the early morning energy, and makes the type of song you’d listen to inspire yourself into having a good day.

Leah by Seeing Double ur

I first discovered this song from some guy on my TikTok For You page, but this song has been on repeat for days in my head. To my surprise, this song only has 713,000 plays, which is so low compared to what I thought.  

Here Comes Your Man by the Pixies

Honorable mention: Debaser

There’s not too much to be said about these songs, since it’s the Pixies and I’d say everyone’s at the very least a casual Pixies fan. “Here Comes Your Man” grasps a slightly different sound to what the Pixies normally seemed to cover, and it’s also the karaoke song that Tom the menace from 100 Days of Summer sings, which undoubtedly is a great scene if you don’t hate Tom too much. 

Downton Abbey

This is an old show, but with another movie of the saga coming up in May, I’ve been rewatching this show for a few weeks now. I’d definitely call this one of my comfort shows, since I’ve seen it with my mom around three times already, and the feel of the show and its drama is just so involved and makes you feel like you’re entering its own little world. It’s also somewhat self aware when covering class disparities of the time, since the story surrounds a family of the wealthy English class of the early 20th century and their servants, and shows the changes that both classes experience as society progresses. Major love for this show, especially for Lady Sybil and Tom, one of my all time favorite couples in the world.

Jujutsu Kaisen

This past weekend I saw Jujutsu Kaisen 0 despite not having finished the show but I’ve been binging the show and the movie only fueled my love for this show. It’s been a refreshing anime to watch, as it covers all the proper anime bases and doesn’t just box it all in as a regular fighting anime. The movie, I have to say, bordered more on slice of life romance-esque vibes and lots of fanservice, but was overall a good time. 

Little Miss Sunshine

This is probably one of my favorite movies ever made. It’s a heartwarming movie but not in the typical sense, which makes it so perfect. It’s the story of a dysfunctional family, as most good stories are, and their little girl that dreams of being a pageant star but doesn’t really fit into the “expected body type”. It shows just how ridiculous pageantry and body expectations for little girls are, and what can unite a family, in a funky way. And for the Paul Dano fans, this is one of his best roles. 

Turning Red

This could definitely be turned into a longer article, but I saw Turning Red for the first time this week, and it was a movie I’ll never forget. High praise for a Pixar movie might seem ridiculous, but this movie deserved it; not just for its cute red panda but for the way it conquered a realistic narrative of growing up and working through generational trauma. I sobbed through almost all of the second half of the movie, for reasons I won’t spoil for any future viewers, but it was so deserved. I have heard a lot of discourse surrounding whether or not this movie portrayed a realistic view of growing up, but I have to say that I thought it did a really great job, especially for taking on a specific 2000s lens of growing up. The relationship between the main character, Mei Lee, and her family is also something that rings very true for many ethnic families, and I honestly thought it was a beautiful portrayal of the importance of family, but also the sense of family and home that friends can bring, especially at a young age. Definitely go watch, if not for the take on growing up and generational trauma, but for the red panda because who doesn’t love red pandas?

The Power of the Dog

Being an Oscar nominee (for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, etc. etc/ almost every possible nomination) and garnering a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, this movie was looking like a must watch, so I took the time to take a gander this past week and was not disappointed. It was a refreshing film to watch, with a narrative that edged on Western, psychological thriller, and drama. With Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and Jesse Plemons, the cast lineup was already extremely promising, but the true star of the show was Kodi Smit-McPhee. His performance was so striking and left you questioning what could be going through the character’s mind in every scene. The silence and lack of dialogue at times in this film truly added to the sheer emotion and curiosity of the viewer, making it an all in all powerful film.

Emergency Intercom Podcast by Enya Umanzor and Drew Phillips

Last but not least, we have the Emergency Intercom podcast by your fav semi influencers/icons of our generation, Enya and Drew. If you’ve been following Drew and Enya and their whole friend group since like 2010, then you already know hearing their banter and hot takes for an hour straight easily takes the spot as the highlight of your week. Not to mention their media of the week segments are what I modeled this article after, so much love to Enya and Drew for the inspo.