F Boy Insurrection

but like it just was a long year. I in, you know, looking back at the year because spoiler alert virgins today we're doing the best of two episode and looking back at this year, I just realized some things that I thought happened in or even were truly like six months ago. I had that experience when I saw my Spotify rapped this year, which did unfortunately have Catwalk by RuPaul, And I remember, like I at that and I was like Catwalk came out this year, Like that

made me feel ancient. Um, anyways, yeah, this year did really like crawl by musically, whether were there any like I mean we've talked about like a lot of our favorite albums, our favorite artists like from the year, um standing out to you, like who was the artist or album that like defined your year, Like who were the who was the first person that stuck out of your mind. Two was about her, because of course it was at her. Yeah,

of course it was that. I mean there, if we're if we're you know, using Spotify wrapped data and also my own internal data, there are were no men present anywhere. Um yeah, I mean for me obviously we have talked about at length on the podcast. Ethel Can really ruled especially the second half of my year because I didn't listen to Preacher's Daughter until pretty late in the summer and then was immediately evangelized by it. I mean, funnily enough,

considering you know, like the evangelical overtones of the whole album. UM. And yeah, I mean we we've talked a lot about, you know, kind of the big albums for us this year, which were you know, Preacher's Daughter, Renaissance UM, thena album Willows Coping Mechanism which I was obsessed with, UM, Dance Fever from Florence the Machine was a big one for me this year, and also the live version of it that she released from her concert at Madison Square Garden.

I've listened to a lot um some albums that I didn't really talk about on the podcast this year where I really liked Laurel Hell by Mitski Um. It actually was the album that made me like Mitski who for a very long time, I just didn't really funk with Um. And then more recently I I have always kind of liked to Below, but never like listened to her music

like fanatically or anything. But after Spotify Wrapped came out, my friend Ryan told me that her song No One Dies from Love was his number one UM song on his Spotify Wrapped. So I started listening to her album Dirt Fem, which came out this summer, and I am totally obsessed with it. It's so good. I'm still especially I'm still in shocking that that's how you pronounce it. It's it does um. Yeah, this song No One Dies

from Love amazing, has a great music video. Grapefruit is like a banger about eating disorders, which no really, Oh yeah you told me about this. That's a deep cut that's like really raw material to to like kind of dissect and then crank through. I guess a pop music machine like that's yonderful arts. It's a very fun dance album. Was like some really good songwriting on it. Um. Also, I did did Charlie x C x's album come out

this year or was that last year? That was this year? Yeah, with Charlie xc X and Motemmmy came out around the same time. That was definitely a big moment, which one obviously obviously Scissa, which we talked about last week. Great year for music. Anything else on your radar this year

that we haven't really talked about. Um No, you've named four of my top five, which were Muna Preacher's Daughter, Renaissance, the Willow album, and then Sissa, which wasn't on your tops the newsas album I think is just immediately I'm like, that's going to be a standout from the year for me and we'll go deep into next year, the same way Adele's album, released at the end of last year went deep into the next year for me. Yeah. I for me, like Willow was like the underappreciated thing of

the year. Like I did not see any blogs talking about coping mechanism. I have not heard people talking about it. I'm like making people listening to this listen to this album. I dropped someone off at the airport and we listened to the album all the way through and they loved it, And like I yeah, I'm just like always I want more people to listen to what I feel like is willows best work. So if you liked the Willow TikTok song,

go listen to Coping mechanism Um. And then I think Ethel Caine, who I discovered this year through you, really also just defined the year. Like I knew immediately that she was going to emerge as like this like favorite

Internet celebrity. Like she has the makeup of so many things that we want in a public figure, which is that she doesn't care about being a public figure and isn't interested in like the varnish of like what celebrity comes with in America, and like, but she's still you know, looks she's still really fucking funny, really down to earth, and she looks great into things she's being styled in in these photo shoots were seeing so and she's so

good at the Internet. I just love. Yeah. What I also really appreciate about her is, like I've noticed, especially recently as she has been ending up on a lot of these end of Your lists, is she cares really deeply about the way that her art is perceived and has been spending a lot of time online calling people out or calling them in or whatever, like trying to educate them about her music and what they might have

missed in it. And like the fact that you know, American Teenager is like not supposed to be this like glorification of Americana and if like and if you see it that way, then you're really missing the point of her album listening. And and even though American Teenager was my top played song on Spotify this year, I have to say that my actual favorite song of two is definitely Thoroughfare. I think it's like my two top songs of two on very different sides of the spectrum our

Thoroughfare and Alien Superstar. Like that is that is the pairing. I honestly, god, I didn't even think about best song in preparation for this for this episode. Um, Thoroughfare definitely is is like up there. It was something that I just returned to and played over and over and over again and couldn't stop. I think that, like I I

actually don't. I wonder if like ethel is actually on like you know, year end like best of list, because wow, I'm seeing like on a lot of like people's timelines, But like I feel like she a lot of critics did not like the album because like the songs were too long, and ship she was on Pitchfork, she was on Rolling Stone. I think American Teenager was on either either Pitchwork or Rolling Stone. It was like the number

eleven song of two Wow. I honestly never I never would have guessed, but I'm like really happy for it, and like, yeah, I um I. The one that comes to mind is um Jody. It was like one of those controlled deluxe songs that I just played over and over and over and over again UM on SoundCloud and on Spotify, and UM, I don't know, like there's something about the kind of like whimsical and like blowing through the winds like quality of that song that like I

really felt like. UM. I wouldn't say an anthem for the year because it's not anthemic at all, but a thematically, I was like, this is what the year feels like. I think that like runners High was also one of those songs where I was like, the year feels like runners High, which to me is like a standout from

the whole Moon album. UM. And also I Guess He Did, which is like the meme song an amazing, amazing UM One of one more recent edition for me is um Spitting Off the Edge of the World from Yea Yea's album that they released in September, which is the song they did with Perfume Genius, an album that even though I'm like lifelong yeah yeah, yeahs UM fanatic, I didn't really listen to until a while after it had come out.

But it's an amazing album. Um. I have to say that Midnights did not make it into my top albums of the year, even though obviously I have been listening to it pretty NonStop since it came out, and like somehow, like in the in the two weeks between it coming out and when Spotify stopped collecting data for Wrapped it, like it would be found its way into my you know, top songs. It you know, like we've we've already had

the discussion about it. But it as much as I like it, these other albums we've been talking about and songs we've been talking about were just better. I feel like, you know, would have could have should have like maybe would be on like my top I was gonna say top twenty five, but maybe like top fifty for the here.

But yeah, I just the album did not did not do it for me at all, and I honestly ended up muting a lot of the songs on Spotify because the algorithm was feeding me too much midnights and I was like, I actually don't I don't want to listen to this again. Um, Karma, I think it's just like it. It feels like a song of the year to me, even though I didn't love it that much, just because it did really fit the vibe. It's a song that

we all emotionally, if not comically, like attached to. And UM, I think pulled a lot of like the things that it's just like a very millennial song that I think that we latch onto that I can at least commend for being a really perfect pop song. UM. Okay, Well what about what about like movies? Do you have favored movies of the year. Yes, Um, A lot of which we've already talked about. Um, I think Tars one of

the best movies of the year. Um, Downtown Abbey and New Era is still reign supreme as my favorite movie of two alongside Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. I'm not trolling. I'm not saying it's the best. I'm saying it's my favorite and that is your favorite difference Difference Yes, and Orphan First Kill. I really enjoyed. It was one of the one of the most fun movie experiences I had

this year. X and Pearl were both great. Top Gun Maverick and then a more recent edition obviously Everything Everywhere, All at Once, Um, and then a more recent edition Avatar The Way of Water fucking slapped it was. It was incredible, takes the cake and UM, I think I can say this by the time this episode has come out, because it will be out. But Matilda the Musical, which is I believe out now on Netflix, is really good. I cried multiple times while watching it. I'm excited to

see it. Um. I feel like I saw the original Broadway version of Matilda, but I don't remember why or how. Um. The only movie that I really, you know, thought to write down for the best of the year is Everything Everywhere, All at Once, Like that is a movie that you know, we There's nothing I have to add to the conversation outside of the fact that it's just like a movie that is invested in like pleasure and invested in storytelling and in marginalized storytelling, but like at the end of

the day, it's about like pleasure and fun and adventure and like action. And I thought that that was like a kind of stark difference between people that love. When people talk about this movie in relation to Tar and how Michelle ye Out and Capelin Chedd are up against each other for best Actress, it's like Tar. I also adored, adored, adored, but it was not necessarily an overall pleasurable experience. Like I didn't enjoy it. And this is just me personally.

I didn't enjoy all three hour res of it. I you know, felt like it was art that I was consuming and digesting and muscling through, where something like everything everywhere, all at once had the art while championing entertainment um and and me being entertained in the seat. And I think that's something that just on on a personal taste level, you know, me, I'm always going to be uh, I want I want style and I want substance. But I like, at the end of the day, I want to make

sure I'm having fun. Um interesting to that effect or what do you want to say to that? Well, I just I guess that the further away I get from the experience of seeing Everything Everywhere, All at Once in a theater. I'm not as kind of gob smacked by it as I was initially, Like, Yes, I think Michell Yo is incredible in it. I think Stephanie Shoe is amazing. Um, the guy who plays the dad also incredible. I think, like, if I revisited again, maybe I'll have better language to

put this in. But I like, I don't know, let's just say this. I think Tar is a better movie than Everything Everywhere, All at Once. And it's and it's certainly like for my taste, just a movie I enjoyed more, you know. And they're two, and they're totally different films.

If I'm going to exactly they're totally different films. If I'm going to be extremely truthful, I'm going to kind of agree with you a little bit and say that Tar put the pieces of the plot together in a way that was like had a mastery that was that that everything everywhere was not that interested in, right the the Daniels, I think we're really invested in like experimentation, and so components of plot and character development were kind of put on the side to prioritize action, right And

I And so I do actually agree with that, and I also, if I'm going to be really hairy, I will say, just on an awards level, that what Kate does in Tar is something that the Oscars will adore and love and prioritize more than what Michelle Yo did, which was, to me, on the performance level, extremely different.

But if I'm evaluating it all my own, kind of like metric, I feel what Michelle did was triumphant and a retrospective of her work that was long deserved, and I think that added thematic meaning to her performance that was at the end of the day, more powerful than what Kate did. But again I'm just like being kind of no. I I agree, and I think you're right, And I think when I think it is extremely likely that Michelle Yo will win Best Actress at the Oscars,

I think it's deserved. I don't think it's necessarily deserved just on the merits of her performance in the film. I do think, as you said, it's about her career. It's about her getting this recognition that she's long deserved, especially when cape Lynchett literally already has two Oscars, like she doesn't need it. But for my taste level, like I enjoyed her performance more and and I think Tar just does more with its premise than Everything Everywhere All

It Once does. Like I actually kind of the again, Like the further I get away from it, the more I wish that Everything Everywhere All at Once had like doubled down on its own world building and Tar, like, obviously it's not like a sci fi movie, but it is so deeply entrenched in it in the world that it builds, And I just it's just more my taste as a movie. But they're both fantastic films, both fantastic performances, quite amazing actresses, and like, who cares about awards anyway,

But it was a great ear for the movies. Yeah, who cares about a war? It's funny, Like you say, Michelle Yo, It's like, is she She's it's extremely likely that she'll win, but like, I feel like it's more likely that Kate's gonna win because she I think in Tar, she has there's more to observe on the level of like her as an actor, maybe even but like, but we see this happen with with awards and that it really is especially the voter when you think about the

voting body of the Academy especially like it is Michelle's time. Yeah, it is she's I think she's I think she's going to win, unless like they split the vote and Michelle Williams wins for the Fableman's which I don't think it's going to happen. Because I hear that I haven't seen it. I'm not going to. But I hear that it's a very insufferable movie. I believe it. I okay, I have

to say, you know it just with other movies. I you know, when I was trying to pull together, like what my list of from the year, it's evident that, like I'm really a girl that's like my favorite movie is just like the last movie that I saw. And I can't stop thinking about Triangle of Sadness. I really can't, and I I I cannot wait for you to watch it. Actually, it's like streamable now, maybe you should rent it. I totally when you have three hours to three hours to

sit through it. It's the kind of movie that I'll probably watch over since it's dreamable. I'll watch it in two sittings maybe, yeah, yeah, wildly entertaining. You could watch it in three. It's it's a three part movie and each part really feels like a new movie. It's like kind of how I feel about it. But I don't think on the craft level that it was like the

best movie of two or whatever. But I think the reason I say it's one of my favorites is because it tried so many things that I had never seen before that were subtle but still commentary successful while still being like um rambunctious, like you know, not afraid to make mistakes on like the storytelling, our character level, and um just like image it like there's there's a set piece in the middle of the film that I already talked about you will love. Um. I can't stop thinking

about that movie. So definitely definitely a stand out for me because I didn't actually think I was gonna like it that much. Yeah, I was actually very surprised that you loved it as much as you did. It just felt like a movie I wanted to write, you know what I mean. I think when you can see how much fun the writers are having, which I think describes a lot of things on our like movie and show list this year. Um, that's like when I'm when I like,

remember remember stuff. Let's let's make a little a short, little pit stop in Rose's book Corner A little pit Stop. Um. I you know, I read a lot this year, not as much as I as I wish I had. I will say, if I'm looking at the year thematically, this was the year for me that I really discovered and became obsessed with queer historical romance. I've read a lot of it this year. Um. Some of it I've already talked about. A Lady for Ad was incredible. Um. Uh,

pretty much any book by K. J. Charles UM. And then some other books I've talked about already are Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson. I think is probably my favorite book that I read this year. I've talked about it before. Um. Also the Captive Prince trilogy, which we did talk about on the podcast before, but I believe it was cut in an edit. Um. It is a sort of like alternate history. Um. Slavery romance. Wait, this isn't the one you were reading on Fire Island?

Was it? No? No? No, that was that was a different another another course, another course that another cod beast Ripper, God beast Ripper. Yes. Um. And um, something that I'm reading recently that I'm really enjoying is a book of

short stories called Salt Slow by Julia Armfield. UM. I have always been a short story girly, and I it's it's a really good way for me to break out of a reading lump which I have been in recently because I just finished a book that it took me basically a month to read because I really wasn't enjoying it. And I've been trying to empower myself more to stop reading books when I realized I don't like them. I

have a really hard time doing that because I'm a finisher. UM. And unfortunately, this book that I actually was really excited about reading just wasn't good and it took me a long time to read it. And so I wanted to read something that I could like consume pretty quickly and

would get me back into a reading mode. UM. And so that book of short stories, which I actually found because it was on UM the reading list that Florence Welch put out when she was releasing Dance Fever of books that had sort of like inspired the album or books that she read while she was writing and recording

the album. And it's a lot of like really great like dark, little short stories, so I definitely recommend it's it's very readable and like like just kind of fast paced readable is my vibe slash that was me when I read The Heart the Heart Stopper books that you left. Um, I can't even remember why you gave them to me. I think because I wanted you to read them, because I think I had you had covid. Yes, I brought that. Yeah, I had covid. Um, so I think honestly, so I don't.

I don't. I don't read as much as Rose. The Virgins probably know this already. I used to be an avid reader. I made a resolution to read more this year, and I did not. Um, I really did not. And I don't even know if like I was like, oh, it's okay, it'll be next year's goal. And it's like I just need actually to to regiment. You have to make time for the things you want to make time for,

and that's like where I'm at. But the book that I read the most this year, crazy enough, is this book called The Greeks and Greek Love by James Davidson, which is a kind of like Queer not year. It's like gay mail love in um Greek history and examples of it throughout mythology and time. And I read a lot, a lot a lot of that book in preparation for

our Greek Mythology episode. But then after we recorded our Greek Mythology episode, I kept reading it and you know, for as research for another writing project thing, And like, I just forgot how much I fucking love reading about Greek myths and Greek history, queer Greek history. UM. So if you have, if you or if the visions have any like Rex in that regard, like I would love

to read more. Um. The only other book that I like, really like defined the book that defined my year, because it's the book that I remember the most reading and underlining is this book called Do Nothing by Celest Headley that I've talked about on the pod before. That's about the invention of the workforce and why we need to take more vacations and learn how to enjoy idle time

and enjoy when we're not working. Um. Yeah, and it's definitely definitely changed my outlook on life and personality, and I think a good book should do that. Um. Obviously I'm more of a nonfiction reader than than Rose, but like fiction, I want to I need to get back

into fiction. I miss good pro well. I also think I think you can be a little kinder to yourself about not having the time to read, because you know, I definitely have found that I'm reading a lot more than now that I live in New York again, because I'm reading on the subway and the subway, and you know, like living in a city where you don't take public transportation as you do in Los Angeles, you really have to be very intentional about reading because like I love

reading on the subway because it just makes the commute go by faster. And so I think once you're back here eventually you will put that into practice again. Also read in the bath, and as someone who has a lifelong battle with insomnia, reading before bed is really helpful, but kind of only if you're doing it with an actual physical book, not an e reader, because something that that is really bad for me is looking at my phone a lot before bed because it just kind of

keeps my brain going. Although I do love to read fan fiction before bad so I don't know, I don't know what to do about that. I love some nighttime fan fiction. Um okay, i I'm like I had a hard time thinking about like oldies but goodies, but like

I also realized that two of mine were Glenn Close influenced. Um. I watched the first season of Damages, starring Glenn Close and Rose Byrne, which is like a lot of people you know, always talk about in the context of like best TV shows ever, but out our most popular TV shows are like whatever, Um, this this show like predated like the prestige TV movement where like movie stars were like migrating to TV or whatever, like Glenn Close did it before, you know, Nicole Kidman and all of them

did big little lies. And I think that like I had never I'd always heard about Damages as like something of a punchline in conversation, but it never actually considered it or even knew what it was about. And the first season sucked me in. I watched it in like maybe over the weekend. Um, and yeah, it was. It was you would love it's her and Rose Byrne Rose, and I actually think it love Roseberd. Yeah. And it's literally just like a procedural well barely procedural. Actually it's

it's not procedural. Actually, it's it's a a true, a true like linear narrative about like this law firm that's obviously you know at corrupt and murderous, and um, I loved it. It It reminded me of how I felt when I watched Scandal, but it's like maybe better written than Scandal, um, at least the first season. I also loved Fatal Attraction. Our Fatal Attraction episode was so fun to talk about when we when we did it with Obsessed, and like, that was a movie that, like, I could not stop

thinking about after I finished. Tell you, I'm the same for me with Obsessed. That is one of my oldies but goodies. And I was reminded of it recently because Obsessed is a Christmas movie. It is there's a Christmas party. Maybe I'll watch it this week. Yeah, twice in one year. Yeah tis the season. Um, did you did you buy anything that you really liked this year? Like? Did I buy anything? Girl? And anyone who listens to this podcast knows this is a podcast about consumerism and capitalism. This

is a podcast about consumption. This is this is a story about control, right, Yeah, but it's some critique. Obviously, we're doing it knowingly, you know, we're we're we're we're very in on the joke about how we're corrupt capitalist. I should I go now and see how many essence orders I made this year or sick No, because a lot of the things, the things that we buy on essence aren't even best buys. They're not And that, honestly

is a lesson I should learn. Is because nothing I bought on essence this year ended up in my best buies of the year. Um, but some things that did are so recently I have been you know, radicalized as a as a second hand buyer, as like a thrifty vintagy girl. And so I bought a bag recently because of TikTok, because I saw someone on TikTok wearing it and it has become kind of my go to everyday bag. It's um, the Coach ergo bag, I think. I mean, just like any vintage Coach is really good because Coach

leather is amazing. There. The way that their bags are made just like really you know, withstand the test of time and it's a great shape. It's sort of like a hobo bag. Mine is brown, and like, even though I wear a lot of black, I also like to throw brown into the mix. And it's just like a great staple. Um. I will say a not another non beauty thing that I bought this year, very recently that I really love is my air fryer. I was so

opposed to it. I was like, I'm not going to be one of those bitches like cooking everything in an air fire. Girl. It is the best fucking thing because it means I never have to use my oven like I can just anything I need to cook. I just pop in that little bitch that you can see right there on top of my fridge. It's the best I've been making, you know. I bought a package of those pre made tall House cookies. Every night when I'm like watching TV, I pop four of them in the air fire.

They're done in like six minutes. It's amazing, so nice. I I love. I love a life hack like that, A little life hack on me. Got um. The thing, the beauty product that I love that I now wear like most days is UM. There's this brand called Dear Do d d I e U x Um. They have this moisture so called moisture eis are called instant Angel Cream. I had found like almost every component of my skincare routine,

you know, for a time except for moisturizer. Moisturizer was the thing where I was like, I'm still figuring out what I like, and I love this instant angel cream and scare. Okay, so I have used it as well. I bought a tube of it a couple of months ago. I like it, but okay, what is it? What is it that it's doing for you? Because I kind of because I couldn't kind of find it, like right, it's fine, it's kind of fine. It's for me. It's like not too thick, not too thin. It gives me a dewy

glow that I like, but it's not overt. It just like helps it like makes me feel refreshed. And yeah, it just kind of checks all the boxes because what I was finding is when I was like doing like you know, tad to Harper moisturizer, like all these other things, it's like it either had too much shine, or it was too thick, or it was too thin, or it's like very goldilocks and very civic to like what I want autam moisturizer, And I think the same can be

said for like others. Yeah, no, I actually I actually think you're right. I think that's like when I used it. I think that when I was done with the tube, what I was waiting for was this moment where I was like, oh, this really improved my skin or like whatever. And in fact, actually what I should have been thinking was like this. For a month, I did not have to think about the kind of moisturizer I was using. I just used a pretty good moisturizer morning and night.

And like you might you actually might have turned me back around. I might, I might buy another tube. The key is just to combine it with like a vitamin C treatment, right, Like, I think that's like what That's the thing that I think helped me like just incorporated into my daily routine. The only other moisturizer that's even come close is the doctor chart one that comes and like a yellow tube that like is like you know, I think, not not as good as interesting. I'm I'm

currently off vitamin C. I've stopped using it. I love that. Oh I'm off vitamin C these yet that's so l A. You can take the girl out of l A. But um on the subject of skincare, I did. I did discover a facewash that I loved this year. Um, So if you if you are anyone who's in the market for one. It's the karez Um Greek yogurt facewash. It's a really good, Yes, it's a really good foaming facial cleanser. And foaming cleansers are great, um if you have clogged pores.

And I use it. My routine is I I double cleans, I do an oil cleanser and and like a cream cleanser. And that is just like the kind of the same with the do It's just like, no nonsense. It does what it's supposed to do. Don't really have to think about it. Yogurt is an underappreciated sentence ever as well. One one time it doesn't taste or smell like yogurt. It just kind of like is the consistency of yogurt. It's yogurt consistent. And I think maybe they use yogurt

yogurt in no formula. I don't know. I can't really that sounds crazy, isn't it, Like wouldn't it clogg My course, I don't know. I don't no, girl, but I don't know. So Rose and I were trying to think of like fun categors for like our best of and I wrote down best substance, primarily because I tried you know, microdicing psilocybin this year, which is like you know, mushrooms essentially, and it really worked as a holdover before I got

onto Lexi pro, which obviously works better. But but like I, I do recommend it, said at work, Sila psilocybin, Alexa pro No no, no, psilocybin, psilocybin. Yeah, I I saw an actual noticeable difference. It's just like extremely subtle, extremely subtle, and it's something that you only notice over the course of taking it for like about a week or so, where you're like, oh, like my brain is like a

little different. And and I don't know, I think i'd be curious at anybody that has like tried it or read about or watch a documentary about like mushrooms and stuff. I think that, like, I don't know, I'm it's a very new science and so I'm always interested in it. But I also rose I had never done sialist before this year. Sialists, Yell, how do you pronounce it? Viagra generic via Va, generic Viagra. I had never needed it, but now I'm on like so many kind of bonus

stomping pills. But do you have a hard time maintaining interaction. I've never in my life how a hard time getting an erection ever, And now as of this year, because I'm on I'm like they all deter my libido. And I had multiple sexual encounters this summer where I was like, oh my god, I can't get it up and I've never had this problem before, and um, this last week, I I didn't have a problem because because of this magic drug that everybody talks about you that is kind

of garbage. Um, did you have a substance of the year, Rose, I guess I would say melotonin because I am like, as I said already this episode didn't have talked about before. I have a lifelong struggle with insomnia, and I definitely over the past couple of years have had like a bit of um a dependence on um ambien and other like prescripture sleep aids and have really been trying over the past like six months maybe to wean myself off

of them. In Melitonin has been helpful in that it's not fool proof, and like, of course I would love to get to a point where I don't need anything to get to sleep, but I just don't unfortunately, think that's in the cards for me. I think this is something that I will be dealing with for the rest of my life, and so I would at least prefer to do something to use something that my body naturally produces um rather than you know, like a chemical that

is like tranquilizing me. Right, Yeah, always not ideal. Um. I wait, while we're on the top of the topic of substance, actually, um Phoebe. Phoebe gave us some some category ideas, and one of the ones she came up with was best moment when you made a deal with God. And I feel like I saw God when I was in that cahole on Fire Island. But did you make a deal with God when you were in that because I don't sound because if you did, I don't know if you made a good deal, because you you you

were in that moment, I was your God. You you mistake me. I made the deal in the like I was holding on for dear life. I had a moment of clarity where I was like, I am going to die. I thought I was going to die, and I actually have never had a near death experience quite like that, and I did. I was just like God, please find me and I and there she was. I also had a moment where I made a deal with God similarly, when I thought I was going to die, and it

was when I finally got COVID in October. I woke up one morning and couldn't breathe because my nose was so congested that I couldn't breathe through it, and my throat was so swollen, and that I couldn't breathe through my mouth. And I really I woke up choking and thought I was going to die. And in that moment I made a deal with God. Um and and actually the deal was um getting on Pakslovid. And the deal that was my favorite substance of the year was pak

slovin Banks Alvin. The deal was, Dear God, please let me live, and I promise I will not change anything about my life, our behavior, as I will stay the same exactly. UM. Did you have uh favorite favorite TV from this year? Obviously, as anyone who listens to this podcast knows, we talked about Interview, Interview the Vampire. We talked about Yes, I I think Interview with the Vampire was my my favorite show of the year. Um, We've

we've talked about. We loved House of the Dragon, we loved Severance, I loved the guilded Aid, we loved the dropout, and we also loved and we didn't talk about it last week after the news came. Yeah, we didn't. F Boy Island Rest in peace. I will never forgive you HBO Max for taking it away from us. I truly want to go to the like Warner Building and protest it is not right, it's not okay, it's not fair. I truly like would start an insurrection over it. To that.

I I completely agree. It's like one of the greatest reality TV shows that you and I have ever watched, A competition reality series that is like should be a standard. Honestly, I don't, I have no I mean, obviously we know that there's like a lot of fund up things going on at Order Media right now, and that's why this is getting canceled. Legendary was definitely It's, as I've already said in the show, one of my favorite TV shows of all time, was one of my favorite shows that

I watched this year. It was canceled at the same time. Fuck that, Um, fuck HBO Max. Sorry, I mean you are micro. I love you HBO Max, but like why did you need to bring these You need to bring these girls backs, like come on, like legendary, like they're just needs to be more shows like that. Um and whatever. Anyways, I will, okay, I want to give out a special

a special honor um this. I've created an award, um and it's it's the Azalea Banks Icon Award for the for longest Voice Notes, the inaugural Azalia Banks Icon just because you know, Azalie Banks is a is a big fan of talking for a vailent time over multiple Instagram stories and so I feel like she would um no, she would hate us. Well she I mean she actually

has like come for me on Twitter before. Um. But um, in her honor, I'm awarding this award, this icon award to you, frand because you frequently sent me voice notes that are um like a minute forty seconds or like two minutes and seven seconds, or you'll send You'll send like like three two minute long voice notes in a row. I will. I will do that, So maybe not three, but probably at least three three to see I would

I see. The thing is if I asked you to to to describe anything that happened in any of the voice memos. I'm not sure we would be able to decipher which one, but I but I know I have received them. One thing is for sure is I have received them. Um. The only one I can think of right now is the one where that I send you after listening to the Thiebe Bridges song that's on the news. Is the album where I was like a little stone and like describing a spiritual experience I had for Rose

at like what was her time three o'clock in the morning. Um. I love sending voice memos and honestly, the virgins at home are going to be hearing this and they're gonna be like three minutes. That's nothing, because when you're queer, the girls send eight minute voice memos. I'm glad I not that girl, but like queers be doing that. I think what the cadence should be is like lots of short little voice notes back and forth. I like lots of short little ones as well. But I but I

you know, it's hard to get in. It's hard to establish a back and forth with someone because you never know if they're available or like you know, you just like send it in. See because when it's two minutes, you're basically leaving a voicemail. Yeah, I mean that's that is what it is. Like, we don't do voicemails anymore. We do voice memos, which yes, okay. So Phoebe also asked our guiltiest pleasure of the year. I mean we've already established we're not. We don't feel guilty about the

things that we find pleasurable, right, which I love. I think it's like it's a kind of it's a pillar of this show, is that we do not feel guilt about our pleasures. But like if I were to, I mean like aside essence sales, aside I do. My car is like, uh a large expense that I cannot afford um, And yet it's the first car and only car I've ever owned, slash might be the only car I own for a very long time, and I'm not going to have it in a few more months when I moved

back to New York. And so I've been like really really enjoying what is a kind of costly, monthly um thing. I have a similarly vehicular, somewhat guilty pleasure. Or I guess if we're calling for saying an indulgence. Now that I'm back in New York City, I'm taking a lot of cabs. I am I the girl. After I puked my brains up yesterday morning before my hair appointment, you better believe I was not taking the train to get to the salon. Oh yeah, or um. I did take

a taxi one night. I was at my brother's on the Upper west Side and I took a cab to Brooklyn from the Upper west Side. I did take it with his friend who was also there, who also lived in Clinton Hill, so like we put together and split it. Oh. But I also on Thanksgiving I got to ride home from Connecticut with some extended family members who also live uptown, and I took a taxi from the Upper west Side to Brooklyn. But it also meant that on Thanksgiving night,

I was home by ten thirty watching Gilmore Girls. So I don't regret it at all. I honestly the money is worth it, Like it's worth it to me to not have to sit on the subway for an hour. Look time as money, time is money. I would say that is the thing that I most frequently spend money on, is like comfort and time. Yeah, those are the things too. And I, you know, I set time as money kind of like facetiously like I I it's actually like less time as money and more that like time is more

valuable than money. Time is the most precious resource we have. And I will do anything to have more of my life back. And if I have to pay for that time time, then I will. Um and there we go? Uh? Did there is there? Uh? Did you have like the best porn? I don't know if I have the best porn. Um. I guess my best porn would be that the one that I watched with Tarzan and Milo from Wait wait, wait, wait did you see that there's been a new drop

of Aladdin having sex with Wait? Who was it? Let me call it my I need to know because it's actually it really hit our spots and also like all the trans lesbian cent our porn that we sent each other, but like not not you know, as as something I actually pleasured myself too. Oh wait is this the print? Oh that's some that's the guy from Tangled. Tangled? Okay, it's the guy from Tangled having sex with Aladdin. Okay, will you text that to me please? I will not.

I will not on a professional level. I can't sorry, I'm girl. Um that actually is a is a great addition to the best porn of the year, what's your favorite porn of the year. Honestly, it's it's less favorite porn of the year and more like favorite porn actor is Sharrock. So it feels kind of basic because Sharrock

is like everybody's favorite porn actor. But like Sharrock has really like he checks all of my boxes and I do return to like a lot of his like videos, and he has the like dominant rough top thing while also being really kissy and really tender and really soft that I just don't really see with a lot of

other porn um. And on top of that, he in the middle of the crisis that's happening in Iran right now, Like Sharrock's Instagram is almost exclusively like sharing and re sharing and amplifying information about what's happening in Iran, and like you just don't see people in the industry doing that. Like he's literally killing his own algorithm and and shadow banning himself because he wants to like protect and amplify the things that are going on in his country, and

like that is like sick as fuck. And the porn actors that I do love are the ones whose personalities I I fall in love with online and the things that they stand for are always amazing. So well, it truly has been a year, and you know, big thank you to all of you who listened to us talk every week this year, who followed us on Instagram Like a Virgin for nine, who filled out our survey. We

love you. We hope to UM just keep making this show for you for as long as you want to listen to it, UM, and we hope that maybe Like a Virgin was one of your favorite parts of two and will be in as well. Thank you for listening to our show this week and this year, UM as always follow us at Like a Virgin nine. We'll see you in the new year with new episodes, new guests, new topics. UM, you can find me online anywhere at Rose Damn you and you can find me at France

Squish go anywhere you like. Like a Virgins iHeart radio podcast. Our producers Phoebe Unter, with support from Lindsay Hoffman, Julian Weller, Jess Crane Chitch and Nikki Etre Until next year. Bye, l