I know I cannot start this newsletter for the third time in a row talking about the fact that Italy’s still alive in the Euros and the Habs are still alive (just barely, but technically) in the Stanley Cup final, so instead let me tell you that you should watch Starstruck, which is basically a re-telling of Notting Hill except Nikesh Patel is the actor and Rose Matafeo is the non-celeb. It’s perfect winter lockdown viewing on ABC iView if you’re in Australia. If you’re in Europe enjoying the fact you can visit different countries then I guess you have other stuff on, but it’s still good to watch.
Meanwhile, if you need a song rec and haven’t heard Lucy Dacus’s new album Home Video yet then you should go listen to that, but here’s one of my favourites:
Onto the links:
This is a long read, but very thought-provoking if you have, or previously had, even a passing interest in young adult fiction. It looks at how adult readers rather than teens are the ones who hold power in the world of YA publishing, exploring how that situation came to be and what it means for YA.
Yes, it’s another Euro 2020+1 column, this time about what it’s like to have fans back in stadiums (tl;dr: I can verify that it is very nice as a spectator watching on tv to have fans back in stadiums).
There is the silence of a stadium with no fans inside it, and then there is the silence of a stadium where thousands of people fear they have just watched a man lose his life. Even watching on television an ocean away, I felt my heart drop. For a few minutes there were no songs, no chants, only the soft murmur of fear. And then some fans, feeling helpless, used what they knew of this space—of this sanctuary they had finally been welcomed back into—to send encouragement to Eriksen. One group of fans chanted “Christian” while another group responded with “Eriksen.” It almost seemed as if they hoped their spiritual call-and-response would help revive him.
Yes, I’m going to do a shameless plug for my new substack, because @Kayla was kind enough to be my first guest!! She talked about why she loves Japanese music and highlighted a lot of great recs.
Japanese artists are also a bit more comfortable with really abstract concepts and lyrics. I always say the reason I don't like TSwift that much is because all of her songs are about the same thing - herself. But with a Japanese artist, they could have a whole song that's about a colour, or the way the sky looks at a certain hour in the day, or some sort of specific emotion that occurs at a specific occasion. I like listening to those songs when I don't want to hear about how boys are dumb.
Some tweets:
That’s it! As always, @ me or email me with any thoughts, good links, etc!