Jul 17, 2020
Issue №17 | 8 July 2019 | ‘This Life’
Issue №17 | 8 July 2019 | ‘This Life’
It’s been a rock’n’roll fortnight for Team Noiseletter, who are coming to you live from a caravan in Belgium. Glamorous, right. We’ve been all over the shop, soaking up the global warming-induced rays — last week it was Glastonbury, trying to decide whether to watch a national treasure discuss single-use plastics or a Japanese kawaii metal band.
This week, we’ve been traipsing around west Belgium, negotiating entry to exclusive beer tasting spots and trying to stop Freya from spending her life savings on more chic white linen shirts. Enjoy the issue, folks. Alex and Freya
What Alex has been up to this week: Bought tickets to Durand Jones & the Indications at the Islington Assembly Hall. Add some soul to your life.
What Freya has been up to this week: Reading Lynn Enright’s Vagina: A Re-Education. It’s the perfect read to shock and appall fellow train passengers.
Do
A walk along Bermondsey Street…
Take a break from the hustle and bustle of London and visit one of the more serene spots in the capital. Alex & Freya
Read
A book…
At the Pond: Swimming at the Hampstead Ladies’ Pond by Margaret Drabble et al.
If you’re a Londoner, where should you be flocking now the days are longer and warmer? The Hampstead Ponds, of course. This is the first collection of essays to have been written about the Ladies’ Pond, and it is an unadulterated joy. To call them essays is to do them a disservice, because they are vivid, colourful and poetic.
They’ve been written by some of the baddest bitches in the worlds of journalism and publishing, who all come to the Ponds from differing perspectives: first-time swimmers, those who have worked as lifeguards and the resilient few who have swum throughout the winter seasons.
If you like this… watch Swimming Through the Seasons: The Hampstead Ponds on BBC iPlayer and read The Lido by Libby Page, Pondlife by Al Alvarez and To the River by Olivia Laing. Freya
An article…
A device dripping with nostalgia, the Sony Walkman turned 40 recently, and to celebrate its birthday Alex Sommerlad wrote a few words on how this game-changing device birthed the mixtape — the playlist’s long-lost cousin.
It’s a fascinating read, exploring the ingredients of the perfect tape and its influence on modern music habits to the iPod and beyond.
So next time you’re creating a playlist dedicated to your right nipple, just remember this article and, more importantly, the device that changed music listening forever. Alex
Hear
An album…
Stella Donnelly — Beware of the Dogs
Australian singer-songwriter Stella Donnelly captured the public attention last year with the release of her track ‘Boys will be Boys’, in which she addresses the man who sexually assaulted her friend, zooming out to explore the issue of gender-based violence at large.
Her voice is uniquely raspy, full of emotion, and her debut album is a total masterpiece — varied in style, but witty and politically motivated throughout. She really is — warning, cliché coming up — ‘one to watch’. Soz, but true. Freya
A podcast…
This has been a podcast I’ve been privately enjoying throughout the last two seasons of Love Island, and I’m finally ready to share it with you. It’s a weekly podcast by journalist Harriet Minter alongside fellow female writers and LI addicts, exploring the goings-on in the villa and the tropes that appear in the relationships formed and what this means about society at large.
If you’re battling with the paradox of being an informed feminist, aware of the injustices of the world, but equally content to give up six nights a week for the next two months to watch models, firefighters and Instagram influencers discuss their love lives, this is the pod for you. It’s a guilty feminist treat. Freya
A playlist…
Without inducing too much fomo, we’ve put together some of our favourite tracks we heard from this year’s Glastonbury festival. Freya and Alex
#Capitalism
Freya’s Summer Not-So-Essentials
Free-floating fabrics in picnic basket-style shades? Sign me up for these.
Let’s not forget we live in England, and summer is often wet. These will help.
We all know I’m a sucker for a hideous sandal, so here we go boys.
Think Philippa Perry crossed with Edna Mode, and you’ve got these.
Alex’s Summer Not-So-Essentials
Inspired by his recent Amsterdam visit, Alex can’t stop thinking about zipping around on this.
After 4 years (and some drunken errors) Alex’s white linen shirt has bitten the dust. He’s now eyeing up this number.
Aside from his musical wizardry, Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend has some serious style. Alex now wants his outfit from their recent Glastonbury performance — but he can’t find it anywhere… any help would be greatly appreciated.
Odds and Ends
As we see the last of poor old Theresa Bae, we salute her departure with this.
Love Grease? An artist has imagined what Danny Zuko’s yearbook would look like.
