Goblin Mode
Dear, devoted reader,
Hello. Yes I know, it’s been a long time. My friend Sam accused me of letting my Substack “go.” He claims the inevitable inconsistency is why he would never start his own newsletter. But what’s more important of a Substack—existence or consistency? Moving right along.
On December 4th (my freaking birthday), “goblin mode” was named Oxford’s word of the year. The following morning at 4AM, this headline was read aloud to me as I sat still in a makeup chair, getting goblin prosthetics applied to multiple areas of my face. Like many contemporary trends and phrases, I had never heard of it. Felt like some real serendipity learning about it for the first time in this strange, sleep-deprived moment. Maybe all it really means is I was late to the game.
At first, being a goblin felt good and natural and right. My nose had a subtle wiggle, my strong chin made me feel powerful, my luscious curls kept me warm in the unforgiving NYC cold. I felt so at ease, I kept forgetting I had undergone a transformation at all. And then a girl walked past me in the park, where, as a goblin, I now resided. With her eyes on my nose, she asked, “is it real?” What a funny question. If you have to ask if someone’s nose is real, you simply should not ask.
By the end of our second day as goblins, my goblin husband and I were growing tired of our goblin life together. We kept accidentally dipping the tips of our noses into our hot coffees. I’d been fortunate to have a silicone nose glued to my face, but EJ’s nose was made of foam latex, which smelled something like rotten eggs. We missed being warm and human. After some window shopping at the World Trade Center mall, we returned to the great indoors and ripped our expensive faces off.
If, dear and devoted reader, you’re smelling a music video…your senses are sharp! It’s for a song you haven’t heard, co-directed by homies Lena and Arjun. The video tells a tragic tale of love and deceit, unfillable desires…obsession. There is choreographed dancing, a real cave, and also (I’ve been assured) really good acting.
New music videos mean new music, right? Happy to say I have some treats coming at ya in 2023. Maybe I’ll start writing to you more than every five months?? Maybe not—I’ll do whatever I feel like.
Lastly, if you’re still reading, do you have a suggestion on what to call my newsletter? Not sure this is working for me.
In other news ~*~*~*
Big Dumb Baby put out this song recently. Can’t get over the way Ashley uses her voice.
Hanukkah show / market tonight (12/16) at Rubulad. My sweet friend Blums is playing, stoked to see her try out some new stuff. I really love Kelsea.
Montez Press Radio is hosting a fundraiser, also tonight (12/16). It’s literally happening on ***ice.*** Hope to see some of y’all before I skip town.
Much lov ♥ ♥