Could There Be Anything Worse Than Realizing That You're The Ex Chappell Roan Is Talking About In "Good

I was today years old when I learned that not only do African Queen and European Queen exist, not only are they not joke edits, but also the original was European Queen.

I never understood why the Hindi word for brother-in-law, "saalaa", doubles as a casual, not quite swearing insult. I thought maybe it was because there's codified hatred for in-laws in many cultures.

I just figured out a much more plausible theory. The Hindi swear word equivalent for "mother****er" is "bhenchod". Sister-****er.

ಠ_ಠ

(If you know better, please correct me!)

Here is a list of 10 Black artists/bands you might enjoy if you're millennial indie trash like me, roughly in order from better to lesser known and accompanied by a single song rec. There are, of course, more than 10 Black indie artists I listen to and even more that exist (and lots more songs just by these artists/bands!), so please do drop your recs in the comments.

(and yes "indie" means very little but whatever you know what I means it's vibes OK?!?)

Artist: Solange Jumping-off point song: Losing You Yeah, she's Beyonce's younger sister and fairly famous, but hear me out: I feel like she is perceived as overexposed as a result and therefore is sometimes dismissed as an artist. She really is fantastic and has her own thing going. I honestly don't think her singing voice sounds anything like the other Knowles's. Her style is definitely unique, too.

Band: Bloc Party Jumping-off point song: Flux You may know at least one song by them, even if you don't realize it. They've been featured on video games like Need for Speed Pro Street, FIFA 06, Burnout Revenge, and Guitar Hero 3, as well as TV shows like Skins, Waterloo Road, and How I Met Your Mother. The frontman, Kele Okereke, has also released his own solo stuff.

Artist: Santigold Jumping-off point song: Disparate Youth Formerly known as Santogold, she's opened for acts ranging from The Beastie Boys to MIA and Bjork, plus she was name-dropped by Beyonce in Break My Soul (The Queens Remix).

Band: TV on the Radio Jumping-off point song: Young Liars They've been one my faves since the first day I heard them ~20 years ago and have stayed in the rotation ever since.

Band: Alabama Shakes Jumping-off point song: Don't Wanna Fight The band is on indefinite hiatus for a lot of reasons ranging from messy to objectively awful. That said, what a fantastic and highly influential band, especially considering how relatively short-lived and recent its existence was.

Artist: Ekkstacy Jumping-off point song: i walk this earth all by myself For the record, Ekkstacy himself has expressed annoyance at the comparison. But! The first time I heard him, I immediately was reminded of Bloc Party in a good way, and I'm not the only one.

Band: Black Kids Jumping-off point song: I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You The first time I came across this band, I was convinced the band name was indie irony, like the band Girls. I was wrong. Also, the lyrics to their aforementioned biggest song is accidentally a transmasc mood.

Artist: Toro Y Moi Jumping-off point song: Talamak I've seen a lot of artists live, and his slot at Desert Daze is one of the best performances I've ever seen. The music is danceable and the lyrics poetic and thoughtful, yet unpretentious.

Artist: Yuno Jumping-off point song: No Going Back A man after my own heart, he mentions HIM’s Razorblade Romance and AFI’s Sing The Sorrow among the albums that have influenced him.

Artist: Blood Orange Jumping-off point song, more normal song edition: You're Not Good Enough Jumping-off point song, trippy glam edition: Uncle ACE This is the artist and song that inspired me to write this list, because I absolutely cannot get enough of both of these songs right now, so he gets two song recs. Fun fact: Dev Hynes has collaborated with Minimalist icon and ye olde meme Phillip Glass.

this was what a friend-of-a-friend sent some guy after a single date with him.

top 3 spam emails I've ever gotten

the one that promised me all the riches of Creosote oh my, Mx. Spammer *flutters fan coquettishly*

the one whose sender was named Mr. Sahih Al-Bukhari

the one claiming that Beyoncé is secretly Italian and lying about her age

It is WILD to me how different people my age and older who didn't grow up with paranoid parents feel about cell phones.

They think of them as symbolizing a lack of freedom, where kids have to check in with and are instantly reachable by their parents, if not outright GPS tracked.

I think of my first phone fondly. It was the only reason I was allowed to go anywhere or do anything at all. Sure, I was expected to answer my parents' calls immediately and call them the minute I knew it if I was going to be even a millisecond late, but I was ALLOWED to do at least a few things thanks to them knowing that I always kept my phone charged with the ringer on.

I guess when you're not caged, a leash looks like restriction, but if you are kept under lock and key, a leash means a little taste of freedom.

other people love to go on about how WOW I am so organized with my spreadsheets and taping-off of dead outlets and labeling light switches and you wish you were so on top of things and and AND--

it's all very nice, thank you. but! what exactly is the alternative? are y'all really just remembering things??? off-the-cuff???!!!?! *ALL* THE TIME!?!?!?!?!

The first nightmare I've had in a while was about being forced to use fabric softener.

If you assume that I

✅ am a millennial,

✅ am autistic,

✅ am fat, trans, broke, but also vain, and

✅ hear "hello, my name is Renae, and I'm an appliance repair tech" often enough to know it by heart,

you'd be right.

EVERYONE looks extra hot in off-shoulder looks and eyeliner

regardless of gender, body size/type, etc.

This also means you. Yes, you. You can't change my mind 🥰

fun little Stray musical Easter egg

so I was poking around for more info on the composer for Stray. IMDB?

ok, cool. but I want to know more. to the personal site!

so charmingly minimal, but I want to know even more. Twitter?

wait a minute. where do I know that screen name from?

*gasp*