Now Playing: October 2023

Our October edition of Now Playing features an eclectic mix of listening and watching treats, all from our contributors!

Carly Alaimo

Listening to on repeat: This is Cocomelon: The essential tracks, all in one playlist ("Polly Put the Kettle On” is a bop), “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie The Album, and Melissa McCarthy’s rendition of "Poor Unfortunate Souls"(my kids can't get enough, and who can blame them?)

Just watched: Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, Turning Red, the latest season of Black Mirror, “Bongos” music video (Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion), Titanic

Always watching: curly hair tutorials and gentle parenting reels on Instagram, Jurassic Park, every single season of Real Housewives ever recorded including all spin-offs, Vanderpump Rules, The Kardashians and videos of Yuri Lamasbella impersonating the Kardashians.

Podcasts: I'm a very old fan of Otherppl Pod with Brad Listi and a very new fan of The Shit No One Tells You About Writing. Pop culture pods: Casey and Danielle’s Garbage World (previously Bitch Sesh), Watch What Crappens, Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino, and Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald. 

Pepper Cunningham

Recently, I’ve been diving deep into Melanie Safka’s discography. I’ve been listening to Melanie since I was a teenager, but now that I’m writing a chapbook about her, I’m going all in. I’ve also been obsessed with Nina Simone’s version of Here Comes The Sun, which I feel is superior to the original. Her version is hopeful and haunting and unsettles me in the best way. I recently read a review of the song in an issue of Rolling Stone from 1971 where an old white dude is a total jerk about it, which makes me love it even more. 

When I’m not in a YouTube rabbit hole of Mel and Nina, I’ve been spelunking into nostalgic movie podcasts, songs by Lido Pimienta and Joanna Newsom, lectures by Mary Ruefle, the audiobook of “Raw Dog” by Jamie Loftus, and the recordings of a workshop I’m taking with poet Buddy Wakefield. The actual last thing I listened to was a WhatsApp audio from my ex.