autumn recommendations

indie drag, low cinema, lipstick that looks like dried blood, and more

Nov 18, 2025

Autumn is ending, giving way to the first sharp breath of winter. I enjoyed this fall, which included both time away from home and burrowed in my apartment. Here are a couple things I recommend from this time period.

A Coat That Makes You Feel Like Bob Dylan On The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Cover
I recently started wearing Jo’s coat she wore in high school and early college: a knee-length brown corduroy coat with rips in the pockets. It’s slouchy and makes me feel connected to all the degenerate activities Jo was getting up to as an 18-21 year old in Madison and New York. It’s on my to-do list to sew up the pockets so everything doesn’t fall into the lining. I like to pair the coat with a plaid scarf and whatever fun outfit I’m in the mood for.
Low Cinema in Ridgewood
John Wilson’s single screen movie theater is incredible: $15 tickets, movies I’ve never heard of that play for a week at at time, close by, esoteric candy at the register. I’m not a CinephileTM but I’m engaged to one!
what do y’all know about a Zagnut
Ride the Pod
Mary Beth Barone and Benito Skinner have singlehandedly changed my brain chemistry and my entire vocabulary. Why am I saying “Taika button” or “c’mon kerplunk” or “my name is Bendiae” or “fucker jones” or “this chick woke up in my HOUSE” or “love you kiiiddddd”? Because I’ve been listening to Ride nonstop since about March of this year and have flooded my brain with hours upon hours of perfect word pairings and sticky vernacular. They’ve both been going through it this year and I do think they would both like Spring Grove. If anyone knows a way to get it to them, let me know. I bought tickets to Mary Beth’s standup show as soon as they were available so I’m sure I’ll see all of you there, since I’m learning every indie musician is also a Baronie.
Reading for an hour before bed
I read so much on tour, near-constantly in the van, and since being home I’ve slowed down a bit. To keep myself in the swing of it I’ve started setting my alarm for an hour before I actually want to go to sleep, getting cozy, and reading. I just finished Martyr and it was staggeringly good. Next up is The Rabbit Hutch.
full review for Martyr!
Stratia Interface peptide moisturizer
Very good moisturizer from Senti Senti. It has peptides, hyaluronic acid, licorice root extract, pro-vitamin B5, and rosehip seed oil. Having a good moisturizer is crucial when the air starts getting dry and cold, and this one is great.
Adding crunchy scallions and garlic to everything
Soup! A sandwich! Ramen! Tofu!
No makeup but dark lipstick
I like M166 from Mob Beauty, an indie Canadian company. It’s formulated to look like dried blood and is a collaboration between Mob and one of my favorite beauty influencers Hanna. I don’t follow a lot of beauty influencers but I like her - she’s always looking for something cool-toned and gothy. (Note: I don’t know what the deal is with the tariffs right now… maybe check that before ordering from Canada?)
on tour wearing the Mob lipstick in the Portland, OR green room
“Critical Damage” by Sydney Sprague
I often get sucked into one song at a time, listening to it over and over to satisfy the insatiable part of my brain that wants it again and again and again. Recently it’s been “Critical Damage.” Before that it was “Rome, New York” (as noted in my last tour diary). This song is built to listen to cyclically: the swishy drums, the build, the locked-in second verse. Obelisk of force give me strength, indeed. Most of the time I think we need a moratorium on the line “I’m just a girl” in song lyrics after it became an annoyingly large tiktok phenomenon (with all its offshoots: girl dinner, girl math, girl whatever), but something about the way Sydney says “I’m just a girl……… in distress” hits on the moment where things feel out of control, where you really do start looking to some obelisk of force for guidance.
A budget spreadsheet
As a Virgo, it’s my responsibility to say that having a budget spreadsheet is both cool and sexy. I do mine at the end of every month. It’s just an excel spreadsheet, nothing fancy. There are plenty of apps and websites and shit designed to help with budgets if you want something like that, but I like my excel sheet.
Craigslist jobs
This past weekend I played improvisational music for a three nights of a 3-hour performance art clown show.
Saying yes to things
I was walking home on Thursday night after the first clown show and our manager texted me asking if I like FKA Twigs. I said yes of course, why? He said “Do you want to come to her album release party? It’s right now.” I said absolutely yes, obviously. I went home, changed into my thrifted Nike Air Rifts (and Jo’s degenerate coat!) and went over to the warehouse. The music at raves can feel strangely meditative to me, even as it feels overwhelming. I looked around at the knots of people dancing and smoking and swaying, reflected and abstracted into the silvery planes of plastic sheeting on the walls. The bass vibrated my whole body from the ground up like electric shocks. FKA Twigs was supposed to play at midnight but went on around 2 am, glamorous and beautiful in a big coat and updo. The warehouse was full of smoke, both from atmosphere for the stage and from skinny European cigarettes. I couldn’t hear everything she said, but I caught “community… partying… loving… thank you.” I got home around 3, took tipsy outfit photos with my cloven hoof shoes in the foreground, and fell asleep.
The universe must be rewarding me for something - what did I do to deserve it? On Sunday Bao texted me that she had an extra ticket for the (extremely sold out) Carissa’s Wierd reunion show at Public Records and asked if I wanted to go. I said oh my god yes, what, absolutely. As soon as Jenn and Mat started playing the first song, “Low Budget Slow Motion Soundtrack Song for the Leaving Scene,” my eyes pricked with tears, and it didn’t let up for the rest of the show. The audience was rapt, all in awe. They closed with “Ignorant Piece of Shit,” which is one of my favorite songs maybe ever, and a song I never thought I would get to hear live. I feel so lucky to have seen them. Thank you Bao <3
Indie drag shows
We went out on Halloween to a drag show in Ridgewood, and I forgot how much fun indie drag is. My favorite performance was from a queen who dressed as “Other Mother” from Coraline (with the buttons on her eyes) and lip-synced to “Buttons” by the Pussycat Dolls.
Being calm about wedding planning
Yes, we’re planning a wedding! Yes, it’s more complicated than I thought it would be! Thank god we’ve worked together on big projects like movies and music for so long, lmao.
Working on a project that kinda scares you
This is the first time all year that I’ve had more than three weeks to a month at home, and I’m trying to take advantage of that. I’ve been working on a script for the past four years, which has gone through roughly 10 revisions and is currently being taken apart and rebuilt yet again. I feel nervous to approach it after a full calendar year away from the project, but there’s something exciting about throwing yourself back in wholeheartedly. I’m going to re-read a bunch of the books and poetry and articles I compiled as research, and focus first on my outline spreadsheet so I can track what I need to take out and replace for the updated storyline. I don’t want to say too much since it’s still so in process, but there’s a specific group of women at a specific period of time that I can’t stop thinking about. It’s kind of about them. I’m hoping it’ll be scary and desolate and glamorous and shiny.