CAMILLEacally Acclaimed
If you told me I had to literally eat poop to get longer seasons of HBO MAX originals ..I might, but I certainly wouldn't talk about it in the New York Times.
Currently Listening
Faye Webster - Car Therapy Sessions - EP
At the start of May I was going all the way through it. I was getting over Covid, and extremely bummed to not be able to go out and play, which is essential to a girl like me (cute, fun, etc.) I was deep in my sad girl bag which meant listening to lots of white women with bangs who wear sweater vests. Of all these Phoe-males (the appropriate spelling when referring to this specific brand of white woman musician), none provided me with as much comfort, melodrama, and general feelings of WOW THIS IS GOOD more than Faye Webster and her EP Car Therapy Sessions! Prior to hearing this EP, I was a very casual fan; hearing songs here and there (almost never intentionally), making sure to “favorite” or “like them in hopes that they may shuffle on again when I’m in the right mood. Car Therapy, the first single from the EP hit different! It was too grand for a casual listen. The way her voice is so crisp and clear, and the way the strings swell into these glorious crescendos that envelop your heart by way of your ear drums, it is clear that Faye Webster is saying things she’s been NEEDING someone to hear (so why not listen?!) The EP has a total of 5 songs, and a run time of about 24mins. I must have listened to it over and over for at least 2hours, a classic sign that 1. I am very very sad, and 2. IT’S A HIT!!!
Hypnos - Ravyn Lenae - Album
R&B songbird Ravyn Lenae is not only BACK, she’s here to save R&B! Girls with taste have been awaiting the return of the classically trained-cool as fuck-lyrically gifted Ravyn Lenae for a while now. Known for her distinctive soprano voice that glides seemingly effortlessly over smooth R&B tracks, she sounds like the past and the future all rolled into one. Imagine Minnie Ripperton and Chante Moore and FKA Twigs, and an alien goddess had a child together, that’s Ravyn Lenae. I’ve never been disappointed by a Ravyn Lenae project, but as singles started dropping and I was loving every single one of them, I began to fear that perhaps she was releasing all of the best songs too soon! Out of the 16 tracks on Hypnos, 7 were released as singles and after being so disappointed by Syd’s latest album for the same reason (I felt like I had heard SO much of that album by the time it dropped) I was nervous. Hypnos did not disappoint though, and it’s quickly become my favorite album of this year so far.
Harry Styles released an album and all I have to say is;
But actually, I have heard the Sushi restaurant song because it’s featured in the new old-school apple ad starring Harry himself (it appears the titular house was not invited to participate and declined to comment when we here at Currently Camille reached out. sad.) Whether or not I think he is worthy of being the one to bring back these iconic ads (this time around for airpods, and not ipods which were recently discontinued) is neither here nor there. All I have to say is if we’re all gonna agree to like this song then we need to be kinder and more open to the masterful work of Jacob Collier!
Playlists - Currently Camille, Big Gunz; Instant Serotonin
Once my Covid passed, and I could get back to my life, I was in full cheer-up mode! I created a playlist of songs that do it for me every. single. time, and it has truly made living this wretched life better and more bearable. Gone are the days of having to try and curate the perfect shower queue, or perfect walking music! This constantly growing playlist currently has 149 songs and clocks in at a smooth 9 hours and 38min. This playlist was brought to you by me needing a reason, Thunderpuss remixes, pop girlies, and of course viewers like you.
Added some tracks to Currently Camille, so tune in if you want to know what else I’m loving right now. New Additions include: Florence and the Machine, IDK, Kehlani, a rogue Black Eyed Peas throwback, and some N.E.R.D.
Currently Watching
Single Drunk Female - Freeform/Hulu
I had been wanting to start this show for a while now based solely on the ads from Hulu (you win this round Mr. ad 1 of 3!) I would always chuckle at this scene from the ad between a mom and her sober daughter where mom offers daughter a drink and when she refuses (because she’s on the path to sobriety) her mother says something to the effect of “you can’t have just one?!” Which obviously she cannot! I found this funny because this is such a mom thing to do/say! I finally had the time to start this show and while I do not consider myself a binge watcher, I watched the entire first season in one day. I spent my day laughing, crying, and cringing as I watched Sam hit bottom, move back home with her mother, and attempt to get sober in the perpetually drunk city of Boston. This cast feels FRESH and has a chemistry that I don’t think is common in a lot of modern tv comedies that simply throw together your favorite twitter comedians, and tik tok stars and call it a cast. Single Drunk Female was funny and endearing and I give it 5 whole 30-day chips!
Reasons to watch; funny, GREAT USIC, very gay; not as gay as Hacks season 2 but still quite queer, recently renewed for season 2 because it is that good, I have taste and I’m telling you it’s good!
Speaking of Hacks Season 2…. and HBO MAX in General.
I will not spend too much time talking about how great this season of Hacks is, because lots of people are already talking about it and if you haven’t been compelled to watch yet, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do for you. I will spend a little time on episode 5 of season 2 as I am convinced that it was made especially for me. This is not an uncommon thing for a self-centered person such as me to think. A show plays a song I like and I’m convinced they’re trying to communicate with me directly. This felt deeper than that, because not only did they play a song I love; 4 American Dollars by the U.S. Girls (featured on Big Gunz; Instant Serotonin!), there was also a video of live animal birth shown to an audience. As an enthusiast of live animal births myself, sitting down groups of people and making them watch animals be born is something that I have done many times. Coincidence…It could be, but it is not.
Legendary, another HBO Max offering is VERY good this year. This show gets more and more entertaining every season, and KeKe Palmer is a great addition to the show (she replaced former judge Meg Thee Stallion.) The drama is high, the talent is immense, and the show which I’ve enjoyed since season 1 has only gotten better.
I hate that both of these fabulous shows are already coming to an end because they are the perfect summer time watches IMO. My biggest gripe about Max originals is how quickly the seasons go by. I would do anything for longer seasons or more staggered episode releases of these shows…dare I say it… IF YOU TOLD ME THAT I LITERALLY HAD TO EAT POOP EVERYDAY TO GET LONGER SEASONS OF MAX ORIGINALS…I MIGHT!!!
This Is us - Series Finale
A lot of y’all watch This is Us and don’t say anything! I don’t know if it’s because it doesn’t feel cool and edgy enough or what, but the fact of the matter is that This Is Us was damn good for the entire time that it was on and I’m going to miss it. I hate to hear anyone write it off as a “corny” show or a “crying” show because over these last 6 years I have laughed as much as I’ve cried (maybe not AS much but close!) From the pilot episode you know that this is something special. The masterful way that the show’s writers (some of them playwrights) have structured these stories is impressive to say the least.
For those who don’t know This Is Us follows the Pearson family through the years, jumping between the past, present, and future. Throughout the series and sometimes in the span of one episode we see these beloved characters at every stage of their lives navigating life and all of its very real and unexpected challenges. This show has been SO REAL in its depiction of grief, eating disorders, war, family, death and dying, and the general messiness that comes with being apart of a family. If you see people screaming Mandy Moore’s name during award season, watch This Is Us and find out exactly why, and if you don’t plan to watch, then just blindly join the Emmy campaign because Ms. Moore absolutely deserves. I will certainly miss this show, and cannot wait to embark on an epic re-watch one day.
I’ve also been watching…
I Love That For You (Showtime) - I’m enjoying so far but it definitely hasn’t felt like must-watch tv and Vanessa Bayer is sometimes even too cringe for me to watch, especially in regard to this Black man whom she has an unrequited-ish (I haven’t finished yet) crush on.
The Challenge Allstars and Rupaul’s Drag Race All Winners (Paramount+) - Now y’all know that The Challenge is my shit! It’s the only show that brings out the cyberbully in me (I’ve been known to give the contestants a piece of my mind in the comments section from time to time)Well much like Drag Race, it’s Viacom step-sister, the all stars seasons are better than the regular seasons at this point! There’s just something about people who were on reality tv back when it was a lawless place where the only requirement to participate was to be hot and insane that make great tv.
I have been having so much fun watching both All Winners and All Stars and the only thing that would make me love either even more is if the drag race girls started getting invited to challenges. I NEED that. Imagine a pole wrestle between Alyssa Edwards, and CoCo Montrese???? Imagine A hall brawl between Kandy Muse and Tamisha Iman??? imagine a world where you don’t have to imagine because it’s real! This is what John Lennon meant probably!
The Eyes of Tammy Faye - HBO MAX
I watched this movie and it was not good. I had to rewind several times because I could not, would not pay attention. While I do think that everyone did a lovely job in their roles. I just don’t think that this movie was constructed well. I would have much rather watched a documentary, because the events of Tammy Faye and Jim Baker’s lives are deliciously juicy, to the point where it would have sufficed to just TELL US about it. Biopics rarely do it for me. My greatest joy growing up was waking up early on Saturday or Sunday mornings before the rest of my family and folding clothes (top tier chore!) while I watched E true Hollywood Stories, Behind The Music, or any of Vh1’s “I Love The (insert decade here) series! This type of entertainment dramaturgy was my favorite way to learn about pop culture and pop culture history. My hot take is that if someone’s life is so interesting that you think it would make a good biopic, that means that it would probably make a great documentary; so just make the damn great documentary and spare me the prosthetics and having to pretend that Andrew didn’t kinda eat Jessica up here a little.
Currently Camille!
You’ve reached the section of the newsletter that’s all about ME! What was I up to in May? Seemingly everything. The month started with a Disclosure DJ set, and hope for a better month than the last! I mentioned earlier that I was in cheer-up mode, which meant lots of outside time, dinners with friends, and making summer plans so that there’s always SOMETHING to look forward to. I bought a lot of concert tickets and can’t wait to be writing about how good the Kaytrynada show was or the Hiatus Kaiyote show, or any of the other shows I’ve recently spent small fortunes on tickets for. Keep scrolling to see what my May looked like!
We got some photos developed (finally)
We had some polaroid cameras scattered around the apartment this past fall and took them to a CVS in a part of South Philly that always made me grumble “I hate it here” to get them developed! I just knew that I was in mummers country whenever we had to go there, and why were there so many times when we only were going there to pick up photos…well the system was down every time we tried to pick them up and so the pictures weren’t ready until recently. Here are two of my faves from the bunch;
We went to Boston
and it is very similar to Philadelphia, a fact that no one from Boston wanted to accept! Two majorly historical cities that were both backdrops for major moments of the American Revolution, they are bound to have similarities.
Boston is definitely a much cleaner city, but when it comes to food Philly beats Boston by a lot. I have to say the same for style as well. Sundress-with-keds-and-a-denim-jacket culture is alive and well in Boston. No one looked bad, but no one was trying to stand out at all. I don’t know shit about fuck when it comes to sports but it definitely looks like sports are more fun when your teams win all the time. Good for you Boston sports people!
Bought some cheer-up boots, and yes they did cheer me up!
Colorstrology!
We picked up this very fun book from the gift shop at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum! It is very cute and fun and gives you a color and something similar to an astrology reading based on your birthday. It also gives you a short list of birthdays that are compatible with yours! We’ve had some friends who found their lovers’ birthdays in their list of compatible dates and Dylan (my very own lover) got one of his favorite colors as his result! If you want to know what yours says just drop your birthday in the comments and I’ll respond to you with what your page says!
May was a mix of emotions, but most of them positive. Right now I’m looking forward to attending a Bachelorette weekend in a few weeks. I have never been to any bachelorette festivities as a large majority of my friends are hot sluts (love them for it.), so if anyone has any ideas for fun games or activities that you’ve done at Bach parties feel free to share them in the comments!
The day after I get back, I’m headed to Jamaica with my sister, and then bam after that is my birthday! June is always fabulous because Pride and my birthday and sunshine and summer, so I’m hoping for another great June, and a fab send off to 26 as I begin my 27th year, hopefully surrounded by many of you! Much love and Happy Pride, talk to you again next month! <33333
-Love Camille