Summer Reading: Associate Art Editor Janelle DolRayne

I wasn’t intending on making a list for this blog post, but once I started I realized how much I like the practice of taking inventory of my entertainment consumption. I have a terrible memory, and I usually rely on music or poems to remind me of different phases of life. A good song or poem is so useful in that way. If they do their job properly the first time around, when you return to them forgotten events and feelings appear like magic. It’s like we are storing little parts of ourselves in the music and literature we consume so we can return someday to be surprised and reminded. Within this list: I’m reading poolside in Los Angeles as my dear friend gets ready for her wedding. I am driving to Indiana to try to make a long distance relationship work. I am sitting on a porch in Alabama remembering my mentor in his hometown.

Summer listening…

Kurt Vile – Shame Chamber

Beach House – The Hours

Nina Simone – Suzanne

Phosphorescent – Ride On / Right On

Rhye – Open

Robert Glasper – Afro Blue – feat. Erykah Badu

Damien Jurado – Museum Of Flight

The Strokes – One Way Trigger

Spiritualized – Hey Jane

Blake Mills – It’ll All Work Out

Songs: Ohia – Farewell Transmission