The Songs, Books, and Tiny Desk Concerts We’ve Been Listening to This Week

An impervious cloud of humidity has settled upon the Northeastern U.S., where most of our Jezebel staffers are based (though not from!). It is, to put it succinctly, fucking disgusting outside. We’ve officially reached the multiple-showers-a-day point of summer. If you aren’t able to be beachside or poolside this weekend, my wish for you is a functioning air conditioner and an ice-cold beverage (or five) of your choosing. To help make your relaxing as enjoyable as possible, we’re bringing you our weekly round-up of what we’ve been enjoying and consuming this week—from movies to music to coffee hacks.

If there’s something you’re loving these days and want to share it with us, you can comment below or email it to [email protected]. Happy weekend!

HBO’s embattled series The Idol is over, and thank Christ for that. Fortunately, the good folks on TikTok are still learning the “World Class Sinner’’ choreography, reacting to that truly befuddling season finale, reenacting certain scenes or—best of all—just creating their own. Guess what? All of these takes on the show are infinitely funnier and more entertaining than anything that came from Sam Levinson and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye.

Chloe Fineman’s impression of Lily-Rose Depp is fine, but TikToks like this and this will keep me giggling until the second season is announced and inspires a second Rolling Stone investigation. —Audra Heinrichs

Alright, it’s a little misleading for me to tell you to “read” Williams’ memoir because I, instead, listened to it on audiotape as I drove halfway across the country last week. While both mediums are certainly great, hearing Lucinda in her warbled Southern accent recite her memoir is an especially warm delight.

The book covers her tumultuous childhood and wayward young adulthood that she anchored through playing guitar and songwriting. Straightforward and honest like her lyrics, the writing circles people and places from her past in a way that feels like listening in on a good friend’s conversation with someone else. Plus, I was especially charmed by her unyielding list of crushes throughout her life. —Kady Ruth Ashcraft

The coffee bean situation at our house was dire this week. Our regularly scheduled whole bean delivery was late, and the only halfway decent espresso option at the grocery store was ground. Instead of making my girlfriend recalibrate the espresso machine for grounds we’d only use for one week, we pulled out our phin, a Vietnamese coffee filter. It’s the easiest way to brew coffee and unlike pour over I don’t have to deal with a paper filter. Ours is from Nguyen Coffee Supply, which sells amazing bundles of excellent coffee grounds, adorable mug, and a phin. The phin saved my caffeine addiction this week. For that, I’m eternally grateful. —Caitlin Cruz

It’s good to watch trash; it’s better to watch gleaming trash. For the anniversary that no one was looking forward to (Jaws 2’s 45th), Universal has released a 4K Blu-ray disc of the sequel that looks magnificent. The ocean gleams, the sheriff broods with more intensity, and you can really see how fake the shark looks in more detail than ever. Jaws 2 is not a great movie, but it’s an OK sequel–it’s basically a slasher on the water–and I do feel divided about it. I grew up loving these movies and being terrified by them, while now it’s abundantly clear that they did active harm to shark populations. But refraining from watching this isn’t going to bring the slaughtered sharks back and it’s summer quintessential viewing anyway, so I’m enjoying this fun and goofy movie with more picture clarity than ever. —Rich Juzwiak

We’ve reached the point in summer where excitement about the fact that it’s bright out until 9 p.m. has transformed into an existential dread induced by the endlessly hot, sticky daytime conditions. That said, if you’re still planning to brave the outside, increasingly sun-baked world, I’ve recently fallen down the rabbit hole of SPF-infused makeup products to render sunscreen unnecessary. Off the bat there’s Ilia’s SPF 40 skin tint, but also Bare Minerals SPF-infused setting powder, Supergoop! Illuminating SPF 30 eyeshadow, and even ColoreScience’s SPF infused color balm for blush, eye shadow, and even a lip tint. Even if none of these brands speak to you, SPF-infused makeup is certainly a convenient little hack to both protect your skin, put on your face, and not feel like you’re piling on too many layers. —Kylie Cheung

As a lover of all things dainty and beautiful, the TikTok algo knew exactly what it was doing when it drop-kicked me into the world of vintage beauty. The obsession began with Hillary Clark’s account (@hillaryclarkmina), run by the eponymous makeup artist, beauty editor, and vintage collector. In this ASMR-adjacent corner of the internet, Clark sources vintage makeup products, mostly from the ’20s to the ’50s and often in their original packaging, and meticulously unwraps and tests them. Each product is like unpacking a miniature treasure trove: They’re often encased in golden metal and reveal the historical beauty needs of bygone makeup-wearers. From tiny, pop-out lipsticks to opalescent compacts, the visual pleasure of watching Clark delicately handle these perfectly preserved gems is a dopamine hit about as powerful as one can experience while rotting their brain online. —Emily Leibert

A few weeks ago, in the thick of feeling like there was nothing good to watch, I clicked on this trailer…then quickly paid 20 stupid bucks to rent the movie. And it was worth EVERY penny.