something new!
Hey everyone. Thanks for signing up for something. It can be scary to sign up for something new. Honestly, from this side of things, it’s really scary to start something new. There’s a fear that comes with the unknown, and the question of what comes next is endless and can follow any path you take.
Every Wednesday, you’ll get something in your inbox. Each issue will include some recommendations and some writing, curated by our team. Recommendations is a vague word, and we chose it for that reason. These can be literally anything. As for the writing, some of it will be original, other times, we may link out to writing from elsewhere.
Each issue will revolve around a theme. For our first issue, we are celebrating newness. It’s true that going somewhere new can be terrifying, but there is no greater joy than discovery—the sense of urgency and excitement over finding something new. Not everything below is new in the immediate sense, but this issue honors the spirit of doing something unprecedented, of taking risks, of shining light on the unknown and finding something incredible there.
Here’s something new.
over it by summer walker
Sex meets soul. That is the best way to describe Summer Walker, the trending R&B singer from Atlanta. At just 23 years old, she has already begun to bloom in her craft on the global stage, earning her first Platinum certification earlier this year for her sultry bop “Girls Need Love.” On Friday, October 4, she released her debut album Over It, featuring R&B megastars Bryson Tiller, Usher, 6LACK and more, with even a remix of “Girls Need Love” featuring the 6-God himself, Drake. Her style and artistry draw distinct influence from Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix and Erykah Badu, with a voice of silk with a hint of southern trap to go with sleepy acoustics and dampened 808s. Throughout her songs, she discusses topics like love, trust, health and womanhood. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and currently stands at #1 of Billboard’s R&B/Hip Hop and R&B albums charts. In fact, last week Over It broke the streaming record for an R&B album by a woman, previously held by Beyonce’s Lemonade.
“don't bunt. aim out of the ballpark. aim for the company of immortals” - david ogilvy
true american
Beer Pong and Slap Cup are boring and canceled. Also, the floor is LAVA! The only drinking game that matches the madness of our world was created in 2012 by our five favorite loft-mates. New Girl’s True American is the only drinking game that combines Olympic-level gymnastics (drunk balancing is a struggle my friends) and screaming Vine quotes at your friends (it’s the language of our generation). Standing on chairs and ottomans, the intensity of True American often builds into physical fights, verbal obscenity, and losers falling off of their chairs. Punch your best friend, tell them they’re adopted—just like American politics, nothing goes too far. Be prepared to put your body and dignity on the line for little more than pride and a handle of vodka. Find the rules here, and feel free to add your own.
“brand new whip got no keys” - lil baby
“a new chance” by the tough alliance
You know how there are some songs that you can’t help from pretending you’re in a montage from an indie film when you listen to it? The Tough Alliance is a Swedish indie pop duo, and this is the title track of their final album, released in 2007. “A New Chance” sounds like a morning yawn, or when that first sip of coffee is just starting to hit you. The piano melody stumbles upwards, while the dreamy vocals infuse the song with that just-woke-up quality. The animal samples and pitched up crooning create an immersive feeling of natural sound. “Any day is a new chance,” promises the chorus, “A new romance.” Listen, or watch the cute bromance in the music video.
“do something every day that scares you” - eleanor roosevelt
“the mystery of moon water” by marina koren
If the words “natural science distro” are enough to make you run for a barf bag (dw, same here), it’s easy to disconnect yourself from the world of modern science. The Atlantic staff writer Marina Koren’s article “The Mystery of Moon Water” might make you reconsider. She tells the story of NASA’s initial discovery of water on the moon, and takes us through the decade-long journey to continuing the discovery. Her detailing of NASA’s efforts to discover water on the moon combines multiple perspectives — from the scientific to the political — to show how complex these advances have been. And her narrative-style storytelling helps even those of us who don’t know our microscopes from our mitosis find something as scientific as moon water to be fascinating.
We hope you found something new! If you enjoyed this, please share it with your friends and tell them to sign up! We’ll be back next week. Peace.