Britney, Deuxmoi, and Phoebe Bridgers' Guitar
This week's edition of Simon Says.
This is Simon Says, Rachel Simon’s weekly newsletter that’s part life updates, part pop culture recs, and part whatever else is going on in her brain at the moment. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram for more, and subscribe here to get this in your inbox every Sunday night.
Hi, friends—it’s Super Bowl Sunday, and you literally couldn’t pay me to tell you which teams are playing tonight, but I am eating wings and jalapeno-bacon things, so things are not too shabby.
Here’s what’s been going on this week:
What I’m writing
No new articles to talk about this week, but I’ve made some solid progress on the book front! I’m up to over 16k words, and I recently figured out a few big character development holes that’ve given me a deeper understanding of my protagonist and her pals.
What’s scary, now, is that I’m veering from my outline a good amount, and while I’m happy with the changes, I don’t know if that’s going to make it harder down the line to keep pushing forward and not get derailed. But as the old E.L. Doctorow quote goes, “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” I don’t need to know everything that’s coming, just what’s right ahead. And on that front, I feel pretty solid.
What I’m reading
I finished Torrey Peters’ Detransition, Baby, which was excellent. Run, don’t walk, to this book—it’s hugely compelling and vividly real from start to finish. And once you’re done, check out this profile of Peters from Vulture last month. It’s great!
Next up on my list is Joan Didion’s new essay collection, Let Me Tell You What I Mean, which I’m super excited to start. She’s the GOAT for a reason.
What I’m watching
I went into serious Dad Mode this weekend and watched both The Midnight Sky and Ford v Ferrari, both of which are about Very Nice Hollywood Men just trying to do their best. I wasn’t really a fan of either movie, but I was absolutely *riveted* by the new Britney Spears doc, Framing Britney, which fully succeeded in making me worry about Brit and want to shout angry things at Justin Timberlake.
Speaking of documentaries, I also watched Amy Schumer’s Expecting Amy (weirdly similar title format!), which I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did. Even if you’re not a big fan of hers, the three-part docuseries is worth the watch—it’s funny, interesting, and surprisingly moving.
Aaaaaand after moping about The Sopranos being over, Kurt and I decided to start Six Feet Under, which neither of us had ever seen. So far, so good (and weird!).
What I’m listening to
Phoebe Bridgers on SNL last night was perfection (that guitar smash! So wonderfully extra), and now I’m listening to Punisher for the 394054th time this year.
Closing thoughts
This Vanity Fair deep dive into DeuxMoi, the Instagram celeb gossip account everyone (including me) is following, is a smarter, more complex take than anything else I’ve read on the subject.
I’m obsessed with this TikTok ranking Stanley Tuccis. Easy A Tucci forever.
The Golden Globe noms mostly sucked, and if you haven’t seen Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You, you’re *seriously* missing out.
This feature on what really went down with Ample Hills, the best ice cream in Brooklyn, is deliciously good (pun intended).
And finally, please think about this tweet like I have for days now:
As always, let me know your thoughts/questions/etc. I’m happy to hear from you!
-Rachel