#82: Take It or Leave It
A monthly drop of things I love
Welcome to Take It or Leave It. Every month, sometimes a few times a month, Paid subscribers will receive a quick hit of things I’m loving.
Most of my writing is long-form and requires time for research between essays. Hopefully, this helps fill in the gaps for you with new finds (or things you want to revisit).
If not, all good. Take it or leave it ✌️
Man, the past month has been special. So so special. I won’t be able to do it full justice here in the intro, but I’m incredibly grateful for what I’ve gotten to witness and be a part of throughout November.
This month began with the launch of The Album Club — monthly album discussions that I get to host here in Columbus with my friends at The Scatter Joy Project. Our first meeting covered my favorite album of the year, Bon Iver’s SABLE, fABLE. It was so cool to see the room filled with beautiful people having thoughtful conversations about their observations of the project.
I’m looking forward to continuing these gatherings with our next meeting less than a week away. We’ll be discussing Saba’s CARE FOR ME, and if you haven’t listened in a while, go do that. The Chicago rapper’s second studio album has aged like fine wine.
In newsletter news, Feels Like Home surpassed 4,000 subscribers.
Since 2022, even before I started this publication, I established a rhythm of publishing at least one essay a month. Starting Feels Like Home was me trying to make my work more accessible for the people who wanted to read it.
Thankfully, so many of you—more than I ever could’ve imagined—have made time for my writing and gone as far as to subscribe. I’m so grateful, and I’m excited to keep going. I hope you do, too.
Last little bit, and this is one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me. Paramore’s Hayley Williams shared my latest essay highlighting songs by her and singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun and their shared themes of home and belonging.
Williams also commented on the essay, and I’m cherishing these words from one of the greatest songwriters of our generation:
It’s important that I express my gratitude to each and every one of you who reads my writing, shows love when we see each other, shares my work with other people, and simply loves me for me. I recognize the hard work I’ve put in over the past few years, and I acknowledge how you all carry me. I keep saying it, but I’m so grateful. Thank you for seeing me and helping me feel less alone.
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Something I watched
I take great pride in my annual favorite albums list, and I always make the caveat that “favorite” is very different than “best.” There are people much smarter than me who I’m sure can break down the intricacies of why a song is a technical feat, but those aren’t always the songs that move me; they’re not always the songs I come back to throughout the year, the ones I carry with me from life stage to life stage.