Open tabs: March edition
Rattling cages for Lorde’s fourth album; plus, some recs across interior design, fashion, and culture
The Lorde giveth?
I follow a lot of random subreddits related to my interests — and I’ve noticed that r/lorde has become a little antsy, to say the least, waiting in anticipation for a potential fourth album from Lorde (aka Ella Yelich-O’Connor). If you follow the chronology of Lorde’s previous album releases (2013’s Pure Heroine, 2017’s Melodrama, 2021’s Solar Power), 2025 would be the next year (or so the many theories go). And while Lorde has been cryptic in recent months, she hasn’t mentioned a release date (though there is speculation she’ll be in her red era). That hasn’t stopped hungry fans:
Not sure what I find funnier – the call to ‘Ellaphants,’ the appeal to Lorde’s good nature, the sad grannies or absurdist mimicry of Facebook AI slop. To be clear, on a scale of 1 to Swarm, I don’t think this is cause for concern and in good humor (I hope). But it does make me think about how some artists (willingly or ambivalently) cultivate fandoms that bask in theories and easter eggs. If you are enigmatic, and occasionally proffer up hieroglyphics, or an onion ring review on your finsta, of course fans are going to speculate and wonder what ‘THE MYSTERIES OF THE BLOOD’ means.
But it also makes me wonder about the timeline of the artist and what they truly owe their fandoms. Just because Lorde established a four-year timeline on previous albums, doesn’t mean she has to do it again. And also — isn’t the fun of being a Lorde fan is that she will always be a bit unknowable, possibly tapped into another realm? (Florence Welch is also there.) While you could argue that fandoms might feel exploited by the demands of their loyalty (everything from rising concert prices to ‘limited edition’ vinyl re-releases), that doesn’t entitle them to the artist’s release timeline or creative pursuits. I loved this piece by Pass the Aux regarding artists like Frank Ocean and Lauryn Hill:
“But, Hill doesn’t believe she owes her fans anything. ‘If I make music now, it will only be to provide information for my own children. If other people benefit from it, so be it,’ she has said. [Rapper Talib] Kweli agrees, writing: “D’Angelo and Sade have made us wait decades for music. Dr. Dre’s Detox may never be released. I don’t know the exact reasons why, nor do I care. Dr. Dre gave me N.W.A, The Chronic, and 2001. He owes me more? Nah…I am not obligated to make the same album over and over again just because fans demand it. I am allowed to try new things, succeed at them or fail at them. I am allowed to not make music anymore ever, if that’s what I choose to do. I am allowed to give a shitty show or not even show up if I feel like it.”
Let Lorde cook (if she wants to)! Related - I have a magnum opus brewing on the symbolism of her discography, but will save that for a later date … I too need time to cook!
Other things on my radar…
INTERIOR DESIGN
The Severance season finale was last night. Dwell had a great look at the hidden meanings of the different design styles on the show, and Cult Classic owns Gemma’s mod makeup vanity. (And in case you missed it: I wrote about the symbolism of the Severance office’s green carpet)
House & Garden looks to the 1600s for interior inspiration (image above). Love a good bed canopy (as I have previously shared my love of curtains)
The new Bode store in Paris looks stunning. As an owner of a few Bode pieces, I’m ambivalent about the brand’s recent clothes offerings BUT I think their recent partnerships with Nike, GQ, and now the Paris move have been excellent brand moves. I also love the color palette of the NYC women’s store.
I loved this Business of Home podcast interview with designer/decorator Nick Olsen: his career pivot from architecture, and his partnership with mentor Miles Redd.
The White Lotus’ Walton Goggins’ 1920s New York house tour — his art collection is amazing!
I’ve mentioned my love for Caroline Winkler’s interior design videos — she recently dropped a home organization video for ADHD and once again, empathetic and funny.
Culture Study on making homes affordable.
Loved this World of Interiors’ home tour of an eclectic London apartment.
FASHION
Cult Classic on Aimee Lou Wood’s costumes in The White Lotus. So much fun vacation dressing!
Sprezza on stop trying to find your personal style and just go do things.
Blackbird Spyplane on consumerism and the ethics of buying things. Love their philosophical slappers.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Bernadette Banner burn fabrics to test quality. Also loved this informative rant on quality decline in clothing.
Trash Panic on some plus-size vintage fashion finds.
CULTURE
I was a fan of actress Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl, Buffy) since her Harriet the Spy days. The book and the movie encouraged me – a young girl who frequently got in trouble for ‘talking back’ – to write, ask questions, and stay curious about the world around me. I was devastated when she died unexpectedly last month at age 39. Her fellow child star, Mara Wilson (of Matilda fame), wrote a beautiful tribute in New York Mag.
Related: Dawn was the beating heart of Buffy.
Also if you had the Harriet the Spy movie on VHS (which was Nickelodeon orange), you’d know that this banger still slaps. Also Blackstreet’s theme song for the Rugrats movie is a 90s-era gem.
Some NYC museum updates I’m looking forward to in the coming weeks: Amy Sherald at the Whitney, Sargent and Paris at The Met, and The Frick’s reopening. I went to the amazing “Sargent & Fashion” exhibit at Tate Britain last year, and can’t wait to see The Met’s re-interpretation of Sargent’s work.
I recently wrote about Y2K sci-fi fashion, and just want to remind everyone that the Roswell opening credits were a fucking vibe.
How is everyone staying sane? I am terrified of the situation in the U.S., and have limited my non-stop news intake for my mental health. I still follow mainstream outlets but at a slower drip, and I’ve started following journalists and other experts on different mediums. What I’ve been thinking about: Rebecca Traister on what is wrong with these people, Jennifer Barnett on the vibes in the Netherlands right now, and the 15th Century Feminist on the minimization of the mother. Also Timothy Snyder (whose On Tyranny is the go-to manual for how authoritarianism operates) is on Substack.
Things I’m looking forward to:
Bowen Yang in The Wedding Banquet remake. I saw the original in my Asian-Am lit class years ago and was blown away by Ang Lee’s direction and perspective on a mixed-race gay couple in the 90s.
Finishing a book! I’m still in the middle of ones I mentioned weeks ago (Rachel Cusk’s Transit, Miranda July’s All Fours on audio; and Wilfrid Sheed’s Office Politics — I am a total chapterpillar for a good McNally Editions cover). I had to pause Han Kang’s The Vegetarian due to some uncomfortable themes (cw: sexual trauma, DV). But I am looking forward to Un-Su Kim’s The Cabinet and Patrick Bringley’s All the Beauty in the World. I want to drink the universe through my eyes — maybe I should embrace tsundoku and come to things when I feel ready.
The Union Square farmers market. One of the stands, Wood Homestead Maple, has a mint iced tea that’s a seasonal serotonin staple for me.
the tea in question
