7-27-2025 MY FAVES: like a tween again

 books of the week

i'm a few chapters from completing midnight sun - and i got to see edward's perspective on some iconic quotes: 

"as if you could outrun me" and "you're like my personal brand of heroin". this week is a week to celebrate the tween indulgences, cute vampire vs werewolves and such. spoiler alert: if you're hoping for lots of jacob content, there's very minimal in this book. 

music of the week

it's one direction's 15-year anniversary of becoming the boyband of our times. here we are - most of us fans grown up and lost a member last fall. drama, fights, girlfriends, and new music - but no reunion in sight. 

indulge with me in this playlist with songs old and new, solos and hidden gems. my fave was louis - who was your's?

there were two genders on repeat this week in my orbit of discovery: irish punk bands  and balkan pop princesses.

irish bands kneecap and fontaines dc have been talked about for their vocal support for a ceasefire in gaza, waving palestinian flags at major music festivals like coachella, and are also part of a palestinian solidarity campaign with the band massive attack.

here are some of my favorite songs by these bands, so far:

h.o.o.d. - kneecap

fenian cunts - kneecap

boys in the better land - fontaines dc

big - fontaines dc

vogue adria's summer editions features numerous up and coming pop singers from the ex yu region. croatian mainstream pop is one i am familiar with the most, and for years it has been going through a crisis of weak attempts to modernize the scene, or just rebrands of old names that simply aren't fresh and new anymore. the music scene is almost monopolized for years by producer tonči huljić and songwriter wife vjekoslava huljić. while tonči is famous for keeping the band magazin popular for about 40 years, and vjekoslava's bizarre lyrics reach beyond magazin, it is time for the scepter of music to be handed elsewhere. 

here's some amazing songs and singers worthy of exploring. these girls will save our region's pop scene.

zoi - ne zoveš

ako smo isti - macha ravel

lutkica (croatian version) - macha ravel

samo ne ovde - tam

ne pričaj o nama - tam

mila - tam, jymenik

diy - drill, masayah

finally, i have to say my goodbye to romance for the prince of death. ozzy osborne's passing was so sudden and sad, considering i was just watching the osbornes reality tv show, and he just had his farewell concert.

i'll never forget the stories our mom would tell us, about him eating bats on stage. what a satanic panic icon.

movies of the week

fueling that dance vibe, and chasing that post-grease/dirty dancing/first salsa class high, sib and i watched step up (2006) starring channing tatum and jenna dewan. channing tatum's blaccent was cringe-worthy, but their dance moves were lots of fun, and the soundtrack was really good.