My Playlist

1. Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart
I sort of forgot about Gary Shteyngart in the time since his last novel Super Sad True Love Story was published. But his silly book trailer featuring James Franco, Rashida Jones, and more caught my interest enough to attend his hilarious reading at Town Hall a few weeks ago and start on his new memoir, Little Failure. Now I just can’t put down my copy (signed “To Kali, with best wishes” with all i’s dotted by hearts next to a rudimentary drawing of presumably my heart with his arrow shooting straight through it), even as I dread its end.

2. Her
I’ve seen this movie twice already, with totally different viewing experiences and post-movie conversations each time. It’s incredibly nuanced and thought-provoking, and I keep wanting my thoughts to be provoked. I plan to see this again and again, though I think my wallet will thank me if I wait until its release on DVD/Bluray/however I'm supposed to be watching movies these days.

3. St. Vincent
I’ve had mega-admiration for St. Vincent’s Annie Clark ever since I discovered her first album at the public library when I was 17. Her show at the Neptune back in 2011 blew me away, and I’m still crushing years later. Now, in anticipation of her new, self-titled album being released this month and her slated appearance at the Moore in March, I’m rocking St. Vincent all over again. I still can’t get enough.

4. New York Times' Modern Love
I pretend to read the New York Times every day, in order to get my subscription payment’s worth, but I’m usually just skimming headlines on my phone — except for on Thursdays, that is. Each week, I look forward to the latest addition to the Modern Love column. It’s long been my favorite NYT feature, but I’ve been especially intent on following it lately in anticipation of editor Daniel Jones’ arrival in Seattle on Feb. 10. He’s speaking at Richard Hugo House with local authors whose essays have appeared in the column, and I can’t wait!

5. Girls, Season 3
My interest dwindled a bit midway through the last season of the much-too-talked-about show on HBO, but thanks to the accessibility of HBO GO and my continuing 20-something struggles mirroring those of the show’s characters (I promise I’m not as awful as any of them!), I’m hooked all over again. So far this season, my laughs have far outnumbered my cringes, so I plan to keep on watching every Sunday night.

About the DJ: I work (if you can call it that) as the Editor-in-Chief of this blog, sending TeenTixers out to write about all the great opportunities made accessible by their passes and getting posts into tip-top shape. As a UW English and art history grad, I'm a bit partial to literary and visual arts, but I enjoy many other forms that fall into the "arts and culture" realm as well. When I'm not consumed by Seattle's art scene, I can be found cooking delicious vegan food, trying to become fluent in French, and pondering how to go about making the world a better place (in a totally non-cheesy way).

Interested in submitting your own playlist? Email editor@teentix.org.