The Weekend Snack 4.14.24
I'm Just A Girl.
Welcome to the Weekend Snack - a quick roundup of my favorite bites from the past weekend.
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Happy Sunday! As you probably know from being a human on the internet, Coachella began this weekend. The last time I went was April 2012, and it was the coldest Coachella on record (it got down to 43 degrees Fahrenheit at one point!). We’d spent weeks meticulously planning our festival schedule, crafting the perfect pregame playlist, and acquiring fringed crop tops and flower crowns. But in all that planning, we failed to check the weather report. Needless to say, the flower crown did not keep me warm. I don’t have much interest in Coachella these days, but I enjoy watching the highlights from afar, including Lana Del Rey arriving for her headlining set in style on a motorcycle. So, let’s get into it!
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📚 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. The other day, I stumbled upon a brownstone in my neighborhood with a tree outside of it that looked just like the cover of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and I was instantly reminded of reading the novel for the first time. It was my grandmother’s favorite book, so my mom and I decided to read it together - a sort of cross-country pandemic book club. The novel tells the story of Francie Nolan, a bright and imaginative young girl growing up in a Brooklyn tenement in the early twentieth century. In many ways, it’s a love letter to generations of mothers and women trying to improve the lives of their families. Though written in 1943, Betty Smith’s words still feel poignant in the modern world. It’s so beautifully written and heartfelt that I have no doubt it will be a story I continually revisit. A must-read!
📺 I Was Wrong by Chris Stapleton. Last night, Chris Stapleton performed on Saturday Night Live for the second time as the musical guest. I thought I’d take that as an opportunity to share my Chris Stapleton fan club membership card in the hopes that you join, too (if you haven’t already!). I first learned of Chris Stapleton when I heard him singing with the bluegrass band The Steeldrivers on “If It Hadn’t Been For Love.” Originally from Kentucky, he dropped out of his honors Engineering program at Vanderbilt to pursue music in Nashville. For many years, he lived in obscurity while writing hit songs for popular country artists and playing in various bands (including The Steeldrivers). Then, in 2015, he released his first solo album, Traveller, and drew widespread attention when he performed “Tenessee Whiskey” with Justin Timberlake at the CMA Awards. Since then, he has released several albums, won countless awards, sang the “National Anthem” at the Super Bowl, and collaborated with many artists, including Taylor Swift and Adele. You’d be hard-pressed to classify him as an exclusively country artist, as his genre-bending brand of country spans many sounds, including 1970s Outlaw Country, Bluegrass, R&B, and Southern Rock. He and his wife Morgane Stapleton’s beautiful harmonies and heartfelt shared glances are enough to make you swoon. You’ll be drawn in by his room-shaking vocals but will stay for his continual ability to elevate even the most straightforward songs into something otherworldly. I’m excited to see him in concert for the third time this summer!
And I’ll leave you with Gwen Stefani recreating a moment from No Doubt’s 1995 Coachella performance. I plan to bring all that “I’m Just a Girl” energy into the week.
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn will always pull at my heartstrings. I read it when I was 12 and have reread it many times since. It's my absolute #1. I think I will always feel like Francie when I read it, but as I've gotten older, I've understood Katie's coldness, and Johnny's softness too.
You had me at A Tree Grows in Brooklyn ♥️ and Chris Stapletons guitar riff was😘👌🏼but Gwen Stefani climbing that ladder platform thing was crazy 🤪 she is how old? Just nuts! She’s still got it though.