i don’t have a list of writing from 2016 that i’m particularly proud of. much of 2016 was occupied with moving on from the fire and writing anything at all felt like a huge accomplishment. i remember last november, sitting in greta’s parents’ first-floor office apartment with allyssa and feeling such an immense sensation of loss: loss of self, loss of communication, loss of objects, etc. Writing felt like a world away. Then, in the bathtub of that same apartment, i got the call. I had a job. It’s insane for me that I spent 2016 working, writing, at Pitchfork. I truly do not think I thought this was possible.
that being said, I am very proud of this review of the Shaggs’ Philosophy of the World for a number of reasons. 1) The Shaggs represent friendship to me, friendship with Al, friendship with Colin, talking on the phone with them both about lyrics and fan theories. I listen to the Shaggs and feel close to them, even when we are so far apart. 2) I really fought for this review in terms of the chance to write it, the form it took, the rejection of fetishizing them as simply “weird.” I want to continue holding myself to that standard. 3) it’s the shaggs!!!
i remind myself every day that I am 23. we are all so young.
