Now Playing: August 2020

We’re so glad to be back from summer break with a brand new issue AND a brand new edition of Now Playing! Here our August contributors Gina Chung and Aliceanna Stopher share what music and TV shows have been inspiring them these days.

Gina Chung

“One of the things I miss most about pre-pandemic life is karaoke, specifically in Manhattan’s K-Town. Some of my fondest New York City memories are of going out with friends to sing our hearts out in a private karaoke room, with wine and soju and at least two tambourines. Song selection wise, I’m particularly partial to the weepy power ballad. I have a ‘sad karaoke’ Spotify playlist that I’ve been listening to on repeat lately, and one song I keep coming back to is Whitney Houston’s ‘I Have Nothing.’ There’s truly nothing like shrieking ‘I have nothing’ over and over to yourself at home to feel some much-needed catharsis during these strange and troubling times (also ‘I can’t run from myself / There’s nowhere to hide’ is a quarantine mood). Another reason this song really speaks to me is because it’s also, at its heart, a demand for emotional honesty, a plea for connection. ‘Don’t make me close one more door / I don’t wanna hurt anymore,’ Whitney sings. And isn’t that what we all want right now, just to fling open that door and stop hurting, even if it’s only for four minutes and forty-nine seconds?”

Aliceanna Stopher

“A new collection of Jeopardy! dropped recently on Netflix and it's all I want to watch. After spending my days working from home while also caring for the world's climbiest, rowdiest, book-lovingist, singiest toddler, a handful of rounds of answering Jeopardy! questions on my couch is the best way to end the day.”