on the jungle floor and the phases of love

Things you may have missed:

• Interview with Jordan Hernandez of Completely Booked

• Q1 in Books, Music and Everything Else

• Continued listens and reads inspired by FX’s Love Story

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Hi friends —

Happy Tuesday. Over the weekend, I was writing about one of my favorite albums of all time celebrating it’s 20th year anniversary, and also, started writing about Brandy’s memoir, Phases, and Jessica George’s new book, Love by The Book, so instead of writing three separate newsletters, I put them all in one place with a few other things I’m recommending this week so let’s jump into it.

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Anniversary: Van Hunt’s On The Jungle Floor

Earlier this month, one of my favorite albums of all time, Van Hunt’s On the Jungle Floor, celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The album came out during my senior year, and I remember my stepmom taking my friend and me to Virgin Records in Union Square in San Francisco just so I could get it. I then made her play the album all the way back to Foster City. By the time we hit the bridge, I had already established that I loved this album — that for me, it would be an instant classic, in my heart.

That's the beauty of this record. It's the opposite of a slow burn — so I guess a fast burn? From the first few songs, you could tell that something different was happening here. It's a funky album with a beautiful blend of rock and soul, and the writing, the singing, the instrumentation — all of it. One of the saddest things about it, to me, is that not as many people know it as should. When I say I played the hell out of this album, that would be an understatement. It was the backdrop to so many of my favorite memories, including one in particular: driving my Ford Escort Sports Coupe up Webster trying to get to the Fillmore, not understanding the light-braking-on-hills thing, and watching my car start rolling backwards. Van Hunt was playing. I survived.

The songs I revisit often are: “If I Take You Home” “Hot Stage Lights”“Being a Girl” “Suspicion (She Knows Me Too Well)” “Character” “The Thrill of This Love” and “The Night is Young.” I could describe each of these songs to you, but what I really want you to understand is that, this album is full of songs that give you something new every single time. Van Hunt writes songs and relationships the way authors do, with interiority and contradiction without judgement.

Twenty years later, I still have the same reaction to these songs that I did when I was a teenager, and I think that’s beautiful.

Also, if you want to be entertained: I interviewed him in college for my blog, and you can tell from literally the very first second how excited I was to be talking to him.

Book: Brandy’s memoir Phases

I had been excited to read Brandy’s memoir since last year, when I first heard it was coming out. To know me is to know I love Brandy. She has been one of my favorite singers since childhood, and as a fan I was confident the book was going to be good — and truthfully, it delivered.