September Writing and Recommendations
People say no to me a lot, directly and, more often, by saying nothing. Of course this is the plight of the freelancer but what I’ve learned in the last six months is that I’ve lost my knack for the hustle and that I get embarrassed easily when I actually give the hustle a whirl, even when it works out.
I keep a lot of my ideas to myself. Some of those ideas I see executed by other people six months or a year later. I receive most of what I guess could be external validation for things I like and things I’ve thought by way of other people’s work. It’s weird! It also kinda means the person saying no to me the most is me.
Before I started this newsletter, I took a mentoring call offered by Substack from Luke O’Neil. One of the most resonant things he told me was to treat my newsletter as the publication I would want to write for most. I thought this was going to be a newsletter about writing but… that’s not what I want to write about. I still plan on interviewing writers and, I hope, a lot of other interesting people, too.
Last week I wrote about reproductive justice. On my list of things I want to get into here? Not a lot about reading or writing. I’m still figuring out what I’m doing with this and I’m grateful that you’re here while I grow this thing into something that I believe I will make consistently worth your time, whether I’m writing about politics or music or reality TV or how writing has been treating me/how I’ve been treating writing.
Here is some of the work I published in the wild this past month:
I wrote a feature about Zora Jones for Bandcamp
Producer/designer/DJ Zora Jones and Fractal Fantasy, the digital platform she co-runs with her partner Sinjin Hawke, has kept me on my toes the past years. Not only does Zora make some of the most exciting futuristic footwork, I find her interest in building community-oriented spaces for creating super inspiring. Here, we talk about how technology and the internet enable the Fractal Fantasy vision, the innovative club space she and Sinjin dreamed up that they unveiled via 3D video earlier this year, and her debut album, Ten Billion Angels.
And did a little profile of Deb Never for The Face
Deb Never is one of a few people I’ve been in the physical (socially distant) presence of in the last six months who doesn’t work at Ralph’s. Deb and her publicist both allege she is very shy but I found her to be super funny and super engaging. She sang Avril Lavigne to me!
This piece is in print, so you can’t really read it, but, uh, there’s a GIF that quickly flashes the article on the page where you can buy the mag ¯_(ツ)_/¯
And reviewed PC Music co-founder A. G. Cook’s album Apple for Pitchfork
PC Music is a pop and electronic collective that have been confounding people since they first gained critical attention in 2013. Co-founder A. G. Cook has worked with Charli XCX and straddles the fence between pop futurist and experimental softie. I found this album surprising and a little annoying in a way that makes me love Cook but maybe not so much his music.
And some recommendations:
Teenage Bounty Hunters
Do you want to see Method Man play a tender YouTube-famous bounty hunter? You do. You also want to watch this show so it gets a second season because if it doesn’t, I will be very, very sad.
The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula
Where RuPaul’s Drag Race is a padge for the Next Drag Superstar, Dragula crowns the Next Drag Supermonster. If you’re into vibrant horror costuming, the possibility of people eating bugs (I’m not but the extermination challenges which determine whether or not a bottom queen stays beats the hell out of another shablammy lip sync for your life), and spaces where people of all gender expressions are welcome to compete, this could be for you. It can be really gross but I love watching passionate people make things.
Clipping f. Cam & China, “96 Neve Campbell”
I’ve been No Hamilton since its closing days at The Public but I’m here for all things referencing Scream and featuring the ferocious L.A. twin sister duo Cam & China.
Tomorrow my novel-writing guardian angel Ingrid Rojas Contreras and a handful of other incredible writers will be text banking over Zoom to register Democrats in North Carolina to vote. I’ll be there with some workshop pals and if you want to join, you can sign-up here! (h/t workshop pal Cameron)
And!!! I finally got some actually “signage” for this thing designed by the wonderful Olivea Kelly. I loved working with Olivea in the Before Times and I’m so happy to have her work here! Olivea is an independent artist and designer who specializes super cool tactile pieces. As a graphic designer, Olivea helps people bring their vision to life. I sent her a bunch of collagey images in a drive and a YouTube video of someone demoing transfer letters and HERE WE ARE. I love these graphics so much!
Olivea is also active in fundraising for the Abundant Beginnings Collective, a Black-led liberation ecosystem that believes “children and families deserve to be free, connected to nature, and honored as their full selves.” Read more about the fundraiser here and head to opk.studios to see more of Olivea’s work.
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Otherwise, find me at clairelobenfeld.com ♡