conspicuous consumption

volume 8/15

I consumed a lot since last week, but I always do. Let’s get right to it.

LISTENING

Oso Oso - Life Till Bones
Jade Lilitri is a Long Beach, Long Island musician who performs under the name Oso Oso. I first got into him a few years ago when I saw him open for Foxing and Manchester Orchestra. I knew none of the songs, but was entranced by the set and immediately became a fan. 2021’s Basking in the Glow is one of my all time favorite albums. Well, Jade put out a new album last Friday and it’s basically all I have been listening to. Life Till Bones is a soaring, beautiful masterpiece of indie/power pop music. It was love at first listen and I got through it maybe twice before declaring it my album of the year so far (it will have competition from Foxing in September). Favorite song is “The Country Club” but they are all so good. Jade is an incredible songwriter and musician and I hope this blows up for him. Long Island pride!

MJ Lenderman - She’s Leaving You
Speaking of new music, there’s a new MJ Lenderman song in anticipation of a new album on September 6th. “She’s Leaving You” is an absolute triumph. Lenderman (also of the band Wednesday) has the ability to carry you away with his songs, taking you for a ride you never want to end. This one is kind of devastating in a real Lenderman sort of way, where he seems to be winking at you as he tells you to go rent a Ferrari and sing the blues. Really looking forward to this record.

WATCHING

The Olympics are over and I have to say, I definitely watched a lot more than I did last summer Olympics. France did a great job of putting on a show, and the timing worked for me because I am an insomniac and was up at 3:30 am when the games would start every morning. I enjoyed the usual stuff; gymnastics, swimming, diving. But I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the rock climbing. I ended up watching hours of that, in addition to all the usual stuff. The athleticism on display was awe inspiring. The Olympics are basically two weeks of looking at the muscley arms and thighs of attractive athletes (did you see those rugby players??) and I’m here for it. It’s also

PLAYING

Hues and Cues
We had our annual Family Day last weekend, and while family is gathered, we play games. We play a card game called May I (very cutthroat, played for money), Boggle (incredibly competitive), and this game, where you have to give clues as to the color of the card in your hand (if I say “kermit” for the green color I’m holding, the players have to put their pegs on the shade of green they think I mean). It’s an easy, uncomplicated game that sounds on the surface like it would be boring, but it absolutely is not. It’s amazing to see what other people see as far as colors go, and trying to get it just right is challenging. Lots of fun.

We also had our annual Trivia Challenge at Family Day. My team did not win this year but we beat our rivals (The Butt Sweats) and that’s all that matters.

There are a few word games I play every day that I would like to share with you. They are all online and take only a few minutes of your time, but are free and challenging and fun.

Betweenle
Squareword
Clickword
Wordle
Strands

I have a family group chat where all of us play these games every day and show our scores, so it’s become a little competitive for me. Also helps keep my mind sharp!

READING

Picked up two books at the library yesterday. I am reading “Long Island Compromise” for obvious reasons, and “Lo Fi” sounds like it was written just for me (it deals with a girl who works in an indie venue and name drops a lot of indie bands). When I talked about the book previously on twitter, the lovely author contacted me (we follow each other on twitter) and said she would send me my own copy, which I will immediately send to my daughter to read. Feels good to be reading fiction again. Will report back when done.

EATING

I ate a piece of almond cake from The French Workshop and I will never think about anything else again. My mind is consumed with reminiscing about the eating of this cake, its texture, its taste, its perfection. Nothing else I ate this week matters.

And that’s the week in consumption. If you consumed anything you really enjoyed this week, let us know! And listen to this song!