My Favorite Things: May
My Favorite Things is a monthly segment where I share my personal and current favorites in seasonal products, health & beauty, food, decor, movies, TV, and more. I hope you enjoy these personal picks!
Movies
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Set in a post-nuclear futuristic world, it tells the story of Nausicaä, the teenage princess of the Valley of the Wind who becomes embroiled in a struggle with Tolmekia, a kingdom that tries to use an ancient weapon to eradicate a jungle full of giant mutant insects.
I was never interested in watching Nausicaä when I was younger and this year for Ghibli Fest 2024 I decided to watch it in theatres (for the very first time). I’m glad I waited to watch the movie and I think it’s a film that I can really appreciate now rather than watching it in my youth. I loved the hardcore/dystopian concept of the film and admired Nausicaä as a heroine. She absolutely kicks ass in this film! I appreciated the conversation of humanity along with environmentalism in the film, reminding us how its so important to take care of our planet.
YouTube
A Black History of Swimming
If you haven’t already subscribed to Intelextual Media, I highly recommend it. Her videos are so informative and engaging. This video discusses how American racism impacts the black swim rate and I learned some new things that gave me food for thought about American history.
The K-pop Dream Factory
Unreported World goes inside the K-pop dance schools of South Korea, investigating the hidden cost of becoming the next big idol. It’s actually refreshing to finally get more inside looks into training of ftutrw idols in this video especially as everything is very hush-hush in the K-Pop music market. I like how this video also brings awareness to how harsh this industry and how it affects young trainees hoping to become the next star.
Is Music Discovery Dead in the Age of Streaming?
This video talks about Music streaming sites like Spotify and Apple Music have people listening to more types of music than ever before. It discussed the algorithm-based recommendations that sometimes make it harder to make strong connections with that music and how it plays into the oversaturation of the music market/Tik-Tokification of music.
Music
Dash by NMIXX
I’ll admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of NMIXX when they first debuted, but their music has slowly grown on me. This song has catchy lyrics that mesh well with the track’s smooth choreography. The Hip-Hop/R&B sound of this track meshes well with the groups vocal stylings!
Hip To Be Square by Huey Lewis & The News
I’ve loved this funky 80s song since I heard it as a kid. Lewis wrote the song and it unintentionally led to the interpretation of the song as an “anthem for square people”. It’s catchy and the bouncy melody of the song gets you to dance to the music in no time.
Welcome To The Disco feat. Macross 82-99 by Yung Bae
Yung Bae, is a future funk producer from Portland, Oregon, who samples a lot of City Pop (from Japan) in his work. His tracks have a retro groovy sound that I absolutely love. I find myself blasting this song whenever I’m cruising in my car.
What are some of your favorite things from May? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Those all sound good to me. I’ve subscribed to Intelextual: thanks for the rec (tho my Watch Later list is even more insane than my TBR). May feels like a blur, now: I had to check my log! heheh That’s when I watched “God Save Texas” and read Chigozie Obioma’s backlist to prep his newest novel about the Biafran revolution in Nigeria. June has been a busier month for both reading and watching for me.
I feel you on the Watch Later list. It’s as long as my TBR too, lol.