Saturday already! I guess that means it’s time for another quick look at what’s been lighting me up this week.
It’s been a good, steady week for me. I had a lovely, lazy weekend with an out-of-town guest and a perfectly average work week. Steady on. Steady on.
It’s been an interesting reading week, ranging from the super fun (A Night to Surrender, by Tessa Dare (2011), to the soul-hurtingly depressing (The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong (2025), to the thoughtful in-between (Run for the Hills, by Kevin Wilson (2025)).
I’m starting to come to terms with 2025 likely just being a weird year for new music. I expected a shift from the ‘Pop Girl Spring’ and ‘Brat Summer’ of 2024 but it really seems like nothing is hitting the zeitgeist at all this year. Even the new Lady Gaga album from March, which was pretty well-received, didn’t seem to make much of an impact beyond the first couple weeks. At any rate, the highlights of the couple weeks of releases for me have been Sedona’s Getting into Heaven, and the new release by The National’s front-man Matt Berninger, Get Sunk.
These are a few of the things that have been keeping me going and brightening up my way this week. So what’s lighting you up?
Matthew Root 