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This week I reread the Karen O New Yorker interview. This piece, and Karen O herself, is so special to me because she touches on so many aspects of identity and experience that parallel my life. Representation isn’t something I think about very often because I don’t always feel very connected to my Korean identity, but seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is a really affirming thing. I feel the same way when I see Japanese Breakfast—it’s kind of wild how few Asian women there are in indie rock still. Karen O and Michelle Zauner interviewed each other once, and the resulting article is my Bible.
This week I wrote a little blurb on the new Greg Mendez album for The Line of Best Fit. I mentioned this similarity in the piece but it bears repeating: Greg Mendez is really filling the Elliott Smith-shaped hole in my heart. Of course no one could ever replace him, but these songs really get at not only the sound but the sensibility of Elliott Smith’s writing. I cannot sing the praises of this record highly enough!