3-30-25 FAVES OF THE WEEK: getting political

 music of the week

when sib and i are driving, lately i've been asking for "something funky" - i'm thinking records spinning, afros and habibi funky beats. something that would be played in laziza - a restaurant in nyc we got to go to celebrate bestie nicole's birthday.

between this musical craving and watching a documentary on the chelsea hotel (mentioned below) - i found the sweet spot that has just enough nyc grunge and funk for my taste - anthony bourdain's favorite songs. 

i need to spin my own records more. my collection is pretty small - some excellent thrift finds (joni mitchell and harry nilsson being a few) - a plethora of slovenian polka - and much of petula clark's discography. i'm one good record find from developing a new collection addiction.

toward the end of the week ariana grande released new songs for her deluxe album of eternal sunshine. 2018/19 ariana will forever be my favorite, but past life and dandelion ate up.

books of the week

i read zayn by zayn - which describes his process of developing his album mind of mine and his start as a solo singer. i've always respected and loved him, and as much as i was sad for him leaving, would it be realistic that any of the boys still continue in the boyband? 

i am so happy we got some of r'n'b zayn now because his songs are so good. 

i'm starting to read zdravo oko - sjećanja, it tackles politics, prison and philosophy. growing up, our household's dinner topics were feisty political debates and discussion. we literally talked about the current political and economic state of the world (this is not just a meme to me - it has been my life - thanks dad). my dad was really interested in politics (sometimes overboard), and i am a yapper and annoying woke yapper so i'm always down for discussion. even now sib and i get into political topics on our walks. side thought - what would anthony bourdain have thought about actual yugoslavia? we know he visited croatia (the only ex yu country he visited), but i want to do more research on his thoughts... homework for me!

i also got my april issue of vogue. both zdravo oko and this vogue had something to say about the topic of community - some thoughts i wrote about, some i spoke to during evenings with friends. here's some excerpts from both materials. one is roughly translated from croatian so forgive me - being bilingual is hard sometimes. the other one is really a promotion for $400-$10,000 health clubs. i hope you'll get the point:

nations are part of nature formed through many centuries, growing like trees. nations are the plan and will of god, so they need to be defended and tended to, each with its peculiarities. a nation is a big extended family that is blood and spiritually related, and that's why each nation has a specific character, moral, and tradition. all normal and healthy members of this community, this extended family, take care of each other and feel each others' mutual pain. a nation is a social organization that is the most natural phenomenon in the world and history. each nation belongs to a civilization, that's organically connected and in which it was formed. 

(zdravo oko - sjećanja; written by zvonko bušić)

 

for as long as humanity has liked to sweat, we have liked to do it together. see: the greek palaestra, turkish baths, the ymca, the contemporary preponderance of workout-minded meetups. and really, all with good reason: studies have shown that community and social connection are as important for a long, happy, healthy life as diet and exercise. in an era where digital connection remains the assumed norm for everything from professional meetings to dating, the yearning for a third place (a location for social interaction outside of home or work) has never been more present. (alessandra codinha) 

movies of the week

sib's latest obsession is the chelsea hotel  in nyc. her expertise is groupies and rock and roll so she found an interesting documentary  dreaming walls: inside the chelsea hotel. it's very modern but also warholian. one would expect this to be a deep dive of all historical figures that once stayed in this hotel, especially with footage of patti smith to start off the movie. instead, it focuses on lesser known, current residents of the hotel. many of these people are artists themselves: susan kleinsinger aka susan k, merle lister, and bettina grossman among others. 

what a shame that this was once a haven for artists, creatives. is it now just a haven for content creators and insufferable basquiat wannabes?

friday night boyfriend and i went conspiracy mode and watched fahrenheit 9/11, directed by michael moore. i've watched some of his work before and i like his cynical approach. this obviously got me in a pissed off mood and riled up (like the father's daughter i am), so i spent the evening doomscrolling and reading the recently leaked signal messages of the top trump officials. forgive me if i'm anthony bourdainifiyng fashion thoughts with some political ones. "the darkest place in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis".  

art on this shirt is by jenny holzer. her work is something i revisit often during trying political times. they're very relevant.