Top Shelf 2014
12/5/14 - We discuss the books, music, TV and movies we loved this year!
Transcript below.
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CREDITS
Producer: Gina Delvac
Hosts: Aminatou Sow & Ann Friedman
Theme song: Call Your Girlfriend by Robyn
Tinashe - Pretend ft. A$AP Rocky
Jenny Lewis - Just One of the Guys
Kelis - Jerk Ribs
Phantogram - Fall in Love
Drake - 0 to 100 / The Catch Up
Bobby Shmurda - Hot N*gga
Remy Ma - I’m Around
Sinkane - How We Be
Perfume Genius - Queen
Run the Jewels - Blockbuster Night Pt. 1
The Handsome Family - Far From Any Road (True Detective theme song)
Florence + the Machine - You’ve Got the Love (Antis & Le Croquant remix)
Hannah Rad edit of Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
TV RECS
Broad City (Comedy Central)
High Maintenance (Vimeo)
Transparent (Amazon)
The Affair (Showtime)
The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo)
The Good Wife (CBS)
True Detective (HBO)
2K15 WISH LIST
Sia to record a period anthem
Full streaming archive of Oprah’s show
Full streaming archive of Murphy Brown
A good celebrity memoir
Remy Ma to release an album
MUSIC RECS
Tinashe
Hurray for the Riff Raff
Kelis
Phantogram
Drake
Assorted rappers: Bobby Shmurda, Rich Homie Quan, Rich Gang, Young Thug
LOL REMY MA CAME HOME
Perfume Genius
Sinkane
Jenny Lewis shame
Shoutout to NPR Music!
MOVIE RECS
Gravity while stoned/alone
Boyhood
Lego movie
LEGO Movie- best stoner movie of the year
Kevin Hart movies: Ride Along, Think Like a Man Too, About Last Night
Life Itself - Roger Ebert <3
Citizenfour - Laura Poitras documentary about Edward Snowden
MUSIC LIST
Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
Tinashe - Pretend ft. A$AP Rocky
Jenny Lewis - Just One of the Guys
Kelis - Jerk Ribs
Phantogram - Fall in Love
Drake - 0 to 100 / The Catch Up
Bobby Shmurda - Hot N*gga
Remy Ma - I’m Around
Sinkane - How We Be
Perfume Genius - Queen
Run the Jewels - Blockbuster Night Pt. 1
The Handsome Family - Far From Any Road (True Detective theme song)
Florence + the Machine - You’ve Got the Love (Antis & Le Croquant remix)
Hannah Rad edit of Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
BOOK RECS
Roxane Gay errythang: Bad Feminist & An Untamed State
Amy Poehler - Yes Please
Walter Isaacson - The Innovators
Thomas Page McBee - Man Alive
Thomas Piketty - Capital
Lena Dunham - Not That Kind of Girl
TRANSCRIPT: TOP SHELF 2014
Ann: Welcome to Call Your Girlfriend.
Aminatou: A podcast for long-distance besties everywhere.
Ann: I'm Ann Friedman.
Aminatou: I'm Aminatou Sow.
Ann: This is an episode where we just talk about things that happened in culture all year long as a sort of things to watch or listen to or read while you're ignoring your relatives/relaxing during the holidays.
Aminatou: [Laughs] Sold. Yeah, no, that sounds awesome.
[Theme Song]
(0:48)
Aminatou: So I guess we're already reviewing 2014 even though it's not the end. Yeah.
Ann: Do important things happen in the last month of the year though? Important culture things?
Aminatou: You know, last year Pusha T released an album after I'd decided what my favorite albums of 2013 were and I was very upset. So, you know, sometimes things drop.
Ann: I mean late-breaking Beyonce too. That was pretty late in the year.
Aminatou: Yeah, but it was like . . . it was still early enough that it made it, right? Ugh, Pusha T don't hurt my feelings this year.
Ann: Does that mean we're talking about music first?
Aminatou: I guess so. [Laughs] I don't know, Ann. I guess you've known me for a long time. There was a time when I cared a lot about music, hashtag, and then I don't know what happened. Either I'm getting older or I'm more . . . I just have more stuff to do. I just do not care about music in the way I used to and it mildly amuses me.
Ann: There was a very annoying article about this recently that tried to make lots of social arguments about why older people care less about music but really it didn't take into account we're just super busy.
(2:00)
Aminatou: I know, right? Like we're busy but also I guess what I'm saying is I don't care about the in music. I listen to a lot of top 40 pop music and that makes me happy. It's like all I want to hear about.
Ann: That's fine. [Laughs] In fact I feel like a lot of older people have insecurities about not knowing the pop music the kids are into these days. It's the opposite.
Aminatou: Got to listen to that car music. [Laughs] That's how you stay on top of the kids.
Ann: It's true, kiss.fm is the only thing that keeps me pop music relevant.
Aminatou: [Laughs] I don't know what the equivalent for that in the Bay area is but there is one station. I obviously don't drive or am never in a car but I have this radio app, LOL, and there is two things I love about the Bay area. One is there is a station that definitely only plays Ludacris. [Laughter] Any time I'm on the dial I'm like how? Ludacris again? He has like 17 songs. I don't understand. And it's like all time day or night. But whatever, the top 40 station is pretty good. I don't remember what it's called but it's pretty good. Like solid Taylor Swift rotation this week.
Ann: So 2014 picks from you, Taylor Swift obviously.
Aminatou: I mean obviously. Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift everything. I really like Tinashe. I think she's reminded me a lot of Janet Jackson and how sensual she is. It's just like good getting through a party music, like the end of the party sexy time music. I really enjoy that. I've been listening to a lot of Hurray for the Riff Raff. I really like that young lady. I think she is really rad and it's kind of my work time music.
Ann: Listen to you trying to pretend you don't listen to cool music.
(4:00)
Aminatou: I do. What are you talking about? Hurray for the Riff Raff is cool.
Ann: That's what I'm saying. You were like "Oh, I don't keep up with music anymore" and you're just naming all kinds of cool stuff.
Aminatou: Not really. Like, you know, I'm not like here's my 17 obscure humans. This is all NPR certified. [Laughter]
Ann: Oh my god, I was just going to say I am so ashamed by the NPR First Listen tilt of all of the stuff I've listened to this year.
Aminatou: You've got to get content somewhere. Also NPR, those First Listens are good. I think they had the one for Jenny Lewis and I spent so much time on the NPR website because of it.
Ann: Oh man, can we discuss Jenny Lewis for one moment?
Aminatou: Talk to me about Jenny Lewis. White ladies have a lot of Jenny Lewis feels. Talk to me.
Ann: So I have never . . . as you know I have been known to mock Rilo Kiley while also knowing all of the lyrics, or many of the lyrics.
Aminatou: What?
Ann: Not mock, but I don't know, there's something about it that I'm just sort of like yeah, this is a nice pop song but I don't really feel obsessed with it or super into it.
Aminatou: That's crazy.
Ann: Well, and I was going to say that changed with this new Jenny Lewis album and I kind of realized a few weeks in that it was all I was listening to.
[Music]
Ann: You know, 30-something kava drinking lady vibes is how I feel about that.
(5:50)
Aminatou: You didn't feel this way about the Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins album? Because I feel that for me that was the Jenny Lewis turning point. I went to that show by myself. I lived in Austin. Pretty sure I was going through a friend breakup. [Laughs] And there were supposed to be two of us as the show and there was only one. That album was very core to me. I was like oh, maybe I can fall in love one day.
Ann: What's the cover on that album? Don't they do a cover? There were a couple songs in that album that I liked but I was not into it in the repeated oh, shit, I've been listening to nothing else kind of way.
Aminatou: You weren't like rabbit fur coat forever? [Laughs]
Ann: I was not rabbit fur coat forever. I also think -- I'm just going to say it -- I have an ex-Disney star prejudice against her that I don't hold against more mainstream ex-Disney pop stars because for some reason it fits with her narrative. But because she went alt post-Disney, I'm not saying this is . . . I think this is kind of a shameful personal assessment. [Laughs]
Aminatou: It's not. I 100% agree with that.
Ann: But I judge a little bit. I judge, I won't lie.
Aminatou: It was so long ago. Also was it Disney or Nickelodeon?
Ann: I don't know, but you know, the child star vibe.
Aminatou: I don't know. There's a difference. Disney stars, Nickelodeon stars, somebody fact-check this.
Ann: Where are they now?
Aminatou: Where are they now?
Ann: How alt are they now?
Aminatou: I don't know, that's funny. I guess I didn't live in America at that time/maybe I'm a little too young. But yeah, I've never associated her with whatever the show was, Salute Your Shorts, whatever my troops or whatever it's called. Unclear. That thing.
Ann: Applaud My Troops.
Aminatou: Yes, Applaud My Troops. I'm like vaguely aware of it but kind of don't care enough. Hmm, what else have we been listening to? Oh, I like the new Kelis album a lot. It was really good. Well done Kelis. Another NPR First Listen. [Music] Phantogram was great. [Music] But for me really this was the year of Drake. I fell in love with Drake all over again. You know I love Drake and I didn't think he could surpass himself and he did. He just -- like what a delightful human.
(8:42)
Ann: Tell me you read Jia Tolentino's incredible interview with Drake's vocal coach.
Aminatou: No, it's on my to read list. Next we'll talk about how I haven't read anything this year.
Ann: It's fine. I just want to let you know you're in for a treat and it made me love Drake so much.
Aminatou: I mean obviously it's a woman, right? That is teaching him all those modulations.
Ann: Yeah. It's like a middle-aged southern white lady who seems awesome.
Aminatou: Ann, everything Drake does is for the moms. He's on the record about this. He has done everything perfectly this year from just his investment in the Raptors, his Instagram is on fire to . . .
Ann: Emoji tattoo.
Aminatou: The music. The emoji tattoo. Yeah, no, this was the year of Drake. I mean maybe every year is the year of Drake.
Ann: And I also love the definitive Drake answer about is it praying hands or high five? Like incredible. Obviously praying hands.
Aminatou: Ugh. I mean obviously. Yeah, no, Drake can do no wrong. [Music] Another thing that's been interesting for me this year, and I don't know if it's because I moved from the east coast or because I work around tech people, I've been listening to so much more rap music. It makes me very happy. It's like in the morning I only get ready to rap music. I walk to my bus listening to very angry rap music and it's been a very good experience.
(10:15)
Ann: Get your game face on.
Aminatou: I know, right? So my recommendations on this front are Bobby Shmurda, love you Bobby Shmurda. Probably he is not a good person but he has great lyrics. [Music]
Ann: I don't think much music we endorse is because they're good people though, let's be honest.
Aminatou: I don't know, some people are good people. Jenny Lewis is good people.
Ann: I don't know, probably.
Aminatou: Drake is good people. I know, but you know, some of these people are problematic. So love Bobby Shmurda, love Rich Homie Quan, love Rich Gang, love Young Thug. But my favorite music news of the entire year is that Remy Ma finally came home from jail and I love her and I think that she's going to do so great next year. She's already dropping featuring beats on other people's music and it's great.
Ann: 2K15 preview.
[Music]
Aminatou: Love you Remy Ma. Her Instagram game is also perfect. She hashtags everything I'm around. [Laughter] I'm like yes! You are around! I love you. Thank you for coming home.
Ann: I love it. My sort of kind of adult easy listening but still upbeat that I can work to music of this year was that Sinkane album.
Aminatou: Wow.
(12:08)
Ann: Which I feel like it's . . . I really struggle to find things that are chill but not very down-beat and depressing that I can kind of have on in the background. Which is not to say I think it's background music; I think it's a great album. But I did a lot of solid work to that this year.
[Music]
Aminatou: Another good NPR First Listen. Thank you DFA Records. [Laughter]
Ann: Ugh, I feel . . .
Aminatou: Also that's like my favorite lyric of the year is from that record where he's like "You know I love you but you're mean." And I was like thank you. I was like please say that 10,000 more times.
Ann: God, I also just feel bad about all the hating on NPR First Listen we're doing because clearly we rely on them.
Aminatou: I'm not hating on NPR First Listens. NPR First Listens are an integral part of my music diet so thank you NPR.
Ann: You know the saddest thing for me is when I go to look up something that I see mentioned somewhere and I'm like "I should actually listen to that album" and I missed the NPR First Listen like six months ago and I'm like what am I doing with my life?
Aminatou: That's right, Ann. Got to be paying attention.
Ann: I know. And the new Perfume Genius album which I think is incredible.
Aminatou: Yes, so good.
Ann: Yeah.
[Music]
(14:20)
Ann: Can we talk about movies now?
Aminatou: [Laughs] Like we've covered music, let's talk about movies.
Ann: I mean got to keep it moving.
Aminatou: No, it's true. So, you know, when we first had this conversation I was like oh, I haven't seen any movies in the theater this year. But then I realized I just -- I moved and I forgot about the whole first half of my year. I was like oh, that was in 2014? Yeah, I was going around telling everybody I haven't been to the movie theater all year and apparently that's not true. So I'm just going to put this out there: The Lego Movie is the best movie I saw all year.
Ann: I loved The Lego Movie.
Aminatou: I don't care what anybody says, it was like the stoner comedy of the year and it was delightful.
Ann: The Lego Movie was one of two movies I saw alone and stoned this year. The other one was Gravity.
Aminatou: Oh my god, that's intense.
Ann: So I accidentally, because of the aforementioned stoner situation, I accidentally bought like a fucking 20 dollar 3D ArcLight ticket in L.A. [Laughs] And ended up, you know, in the kind of L.A. movie nerd like we're throwing all of our high tech cinema experience at you for Gravity. And while I wouldn't have planned it that way I feel like it was awesome and now I can never watch Gravity again because that was the lone experience for me. I definitely -- I had a moment.
Aminatou: Yeah. I'm pretty sure I saw Gravity last year but it was like the same. It's like I saw Gravity and, yeah, this was 2013 for me.
Ann: Shit, was Gravity last year? [Laughs]
(15:55)
Aminatou: It was, it was 2013 stoner Ann. But who knows? You could've seen it this year. There's no shame in your movie game. But it was one of those like I saw that then the next year I saw 12 Years a Slave. Yeah, definitely 2013. And I was like I'm never watching another movie about space and I'm never watching another movie about slavery because all of my emotions are just like gone. What else did we see this year? Didn't you like Boyhood? Yes?
Ann: I did. I liked it but it left me really bummed out about moms. Just like the plight of mom-hood. And I know that lots of people wrote about this and that's not necessarily an original female takeaway from this movie, so that was one thing. I thought it was probably a little too real about having to be the parent who does the day-in and day-out, not the cool parent work. But it also really left me wanting a girlhood movie that wasn't trying to make some statement about girlhood and how it's tough or how girls are under siege or, you know, not something like 13, like troubled teen girls. Not like Welcome to the Dollhouse. Just an equivalent movie about a female experience.
Aminatou: I want to make a movie called Girls Are Under Siege. It'll be epic. [Laughter] Protect your girlhood.
Ann: I mean it would be like Under Siege but instead of '80s Steven Seagal it's all just like girls being total badasses. [Laughs]
Aminatou: I mean so just like regular girls all the time.
Ann: Exactly. Exactly.
Aminatou: That's funny. What else? What else did we see? Oh, I remember . . . I think I saw like Grand Budapest Hotel in too many planes this year.
Ann: Was that this year? I think it was last year.
Aminatou: I mean I definitely watched it on a plane this year.
(17:50)
Ann: I definitely also watched it on a plane.
Aminatou: Yes, that's this year. March 7th, 2014. Yeah, that movie was so weird. I think I watched it like four or five times and I think it's our friend Amanda Matos who said this. She was like it's like a Faberge egg, beautiful but it holds no function and I was like yes. That is the best way to describe that movie. Thank you.
Ann: That's true.
Aminatou: I haven't been super taken by anything movies. It's also because I don't give a shit about the Oscars anymore.
Ann: Right.
Aminatou: I'm not a good student of pop culture this year.
Ann: I think it's totally justifiable to be more into TV than movies these days. That is -- yes.
Aminatou: I mean that's what's going on. Oh, one plug that I will make and I have no shame about, I saw every Kevin Hart movie this year.
Ann: Rank them, please.
Aminatou: And those were delightful. Ride Along was great. Think Like a Man 2, like who knew there could be a movie better than Think Like a Man? And About Last Night. Yeah, I love watching these like romcoms with just people of color in them. They're great. Also Kevin Hart is one of those guys where it's finally his wave has come and it's a delight to watch him just ride the fame wave. He's like "I've been here all along. Fuck all of you."
Ann: I mean three movies . . . I did not realize that Kevin Hart was carrying three movies in 2014.
Aminatou: I know, he has like five movies next year. It's crazy. That man is everywhere.
[Ads]
(20:48)
Aminatou: This was a good year for documentaries though. I will say I watched a ton of documentaries. The Roger Ebert doc Life Itself is so, so, so great.
Ann: Did you cry? I will cry when I watch it.
Aminatou: I mean I cried. I love -- I love Roger Ebert. RIP, still miss you. I still read all of my reviews of my favorite movies on his website and it's . . . yeah, no, but the documentary's really well made. The Elaine Stritch documentary was really funny and delightful also. The Edward Snowden documentary was beautifully made even though, ugh, Snowden. [Laughs] I have many problems but I really like Laura Poitras's work. And this documentary is good because you see her struggle with how much she wants to put herself in the documentary when she's clearly an integral part of the story.
Ann: There was also a Vivian Maier documentary that I did not see that I would love to see.
Aminatou: Yes.
(21:44)
Ann: So I feel like this whole conversation for me is just yes, stuff I would love to see that I never got around to.
Aminatou: I mean the other thing that's true is I do a huge bulk of my movie watching between Thanksgiving and New Years.
Ann: So good thing we're talking about it now.
Aminatou: I know, because I don't have any other -- I don't have time in my life to watch things that are not television or read articles. [Laughs]
[Music]
Aminatou: Tell me all your favorite TV this year Ann.
Ann: Well I had a very intense Transparent binge which I don't think I would've made the effort to see. You know how bad I am about watching things when they first come out.
Aminatou: I know, this is shocking.
Ann: But I had some good friends who worked on it so I felt kind of personally invested. It was one of those things where I hate almost every character deeply, or at the very least annoyed, but was super held and compelled by it. So that. And there's also it's really good at doing -- and I'm trying to think of another show that is as good at this -- but at those kinds of moments that don't really add up to anything that don't feel totally tangential to the plot because you know you're obviously still getting to know the character through them but also aren't explicitly like "And here is how this moves this one-hour drama forward."
Aminatou: [Laughs]
Ann: And I really love that, like this idea that you're just kind of peering in on someone's life and getting a slice of that in TV. I think that's something that obviously has become associated with lots of high-brow hour-long dramas, but anyway, so that. And because of Maura's caftans. Like just a woman in a caftan forever and ever.
Aminatou: I mean right? So good.
(23:58)
Ann: All of that. Yeah, I don't know. So I hated it but I loved it.
Aminatou: I really like the -- because I guess it's something I'm not super aware of, just the very L.A. Jewish experience. I really enjoyed easing into that in the show. I thought that was really well-done.
Ann: Yeah, you know, and it is pretty delightful to get. I mean I am not Jewish and that is not the world I grew up in. I'm still sort of . . . you know, it definitely is an L.A. lifer kind of perspective on the city too and I really love that. I think the lifelong New Yorker or the several generations in New York is kind of a thing that's been explored before but I haven't really seen the treatment of L.A. as a real city. And granted this is sort of a specific slice of upper-class L.A., but yeah, that is a bonus treat for me, them making references to certain restaurants or whatever. It's like a cheap throw.
Aminatou: So just like Entourage?
Ann: I mean there's like a sexual come-on that involves the pupusa lady and that's just everything.
Aminatou: That is pretty funny. I think this has been a big TV year, right? I obviously really enjoyed Broad City. Who doesn't like Broad City?
Ann: Ugh, forever and ever.
Aminatou: Just like great ladies. I've really been also enjoying the second season of High Maintenance.
Ann: Yes.
Aminatou: I didn't think the first season could be topped. And also just like my go-to classics, like I'm obsessed with The Good Wife and it only gets better and better and better and I was like thank you Julianna Marguiles for all of your contributions to television genius.
Ann: I am committed to not -- so years, basically decades, I have been saying that sometime when I have a major injury or illness I'm finally going to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and figure out what the fuss is about.
Aminatou: Oh my god, please tell me everything. I've never seen it.
(25:55)
Ann: But now I'm kind of thinking that The Good Wife has jumped the queue and I'm never actually going to watch Buffy.
Aminatou: I mean I'm not going to lie to you you're missing out on a lot by not watching The Good Wife. I think that it's the smartest of the cable TV shows that deals with technology and pop culture and politics and it's very timely weirdly. Like those fools had a Bitcoin entire arc before Bitcoin was even a thing.
Ann: It's like Law & Order but for politics and policy.
Aminatou: Okay, that's not going to work but I'm going to let it slide this one time.
Ann: Ripped from the headlines. [Laughs]
Aminatou: I have been obsessed with this show on Showtime called The Affair. It's so good.
Ann: Tell me what is -- I've never even heard of this show.
Aminatou: Oh my god. It's obviously about marriage. Like 70% of good TV shows are about marriage, like always. And so this one is about Dominic Cooper from The Wife, LOL, and this woman Ruth Wilson from Luther who are having an affair during a New York summer, upstate New York. Each episode is split with the two main character's perspectives on the affair and what's going on and it's just fascinating to see how your own perceptions color your actions, right? And so in the character split like their clothes will even look different.
Ann: Oh.
Aminatou: Because they remember things differently. And in Dominic Cooper's eyes he's much handsomer and much richer and always better-dressed. You know, all of these things. It's like ah . . .
Ann: Men thinking they're better-dressed than they really are is real.
Aminatou: Yeah, men are crazy. I've been watching a lot of Justified. Justified is my everything. We obviously all watched -- maybe not you -- but we all watched True Detective this year and that was a delightful communal television experience I will say.
(27:55)
Ann: I mean I'm still trying to get around to Breaking Bad. True Detective is . . .
Aminatou: Yeah, you're going to need -- like I don't need the amount of medical issues it's going to take for you to catch up on this. I think you should just let it go. It's okay.
Ann: I mean the sheer hours' investment, this is the problem I have with watching serialized TV in real-time. I have a hard time sticking to a weekly schedule for anything.
Aminatou: It's 30 to 45 minutes a week of your time. [Laughs]
Ann: God, it's like how my parents used to try to get me to go to church, like an hour a week for the Lord is not that much.
Aminatou: Okay, except that it is. It's like you have to drive there, then you have to make the small talk, then the small talk after then everybody has to go to lunch.
Ann: Thank you. Where were you when I was a preteen?
Aminatou: That's 30 minutes that easily turns into three hours so I'm not . . . you can tell your parents talk to me about this. I am not buying it. I don't know, there are some good HBO comedies. Veep was extra this year. It was just perfect. Silicon Valley was LOL, watched that together.
Ann: Yeah, I did watch most of Silicon Valley and was greatly amused.
Aminatou: Yeah, I really like this season of Girls. Basically what I'm saying is I watch all of the TV. Like I watch prestige TV; I watch crap TV. Atlanta Housewives is maybe my favorite TV show. Like it's perfect. I think that's where all of my free time goes. Like everybody has a thing that's their time suck and for me it's catching up on television.
Ann: I'm going to write an I don't know how she does it article about your media consumption. [Laughs]
Aminatou: I mean I know how I do it: all I do is TV.
Ann: I mean you also have friends. You also consume other Internet. I don't know, I think that . . .
Aminatou: Yeah, I dropped a lot of friends this year. It's . . .
Ann: I think it's remarkable.
Aminatou: [Laughs] I just -- yeah, it's like if it's a reality TV show on bravo or VH1 or MTV I'm there.
[Music]
(30:22)
Aminatou: Maybe this is why I don't read enough.
Ann: I mean, okay, transition to books. You clearly have also read lots of books this year. I know it.
Aminatou: No, I have not read lots of books this year actually.
Ann: I mean all of the Roxane Gay books.
Aminatou: I mean yes. Let's . . .
Ann: Required reading.
Aminatou: There were two of those. Let's be real, there were two of those. I think Roxane won writing this year. It's not a competition but if it were just like give her the crown and walk away.
Ann: It is true, books, magazines, Twitter, all the things.
Aminatou: Yeah, no, she was like the Kevin Hart of books this year. She was everywhere.
Ann: [Laughs] All of it. And also, you know, basically a one woman high, low, serious, funny, she has it all.
Aminatou: No, totally. She has it all. She's really smart. She's just like diversified her portfolio of offerings. She was everywhere. It's like every week you turn around, new Roxane Gay book. I was like what? [Laughs] But it was really good. So obviously I read Bad Feminist and I loved it and that was a book of essays. I just -- I think that Roxane is the first time that I've read somebody say that they used to not call themselves a feminist or whatever and I didn't immediately roll my eyes or was annoyed because I got where they were coming from, but also very few people are as delightful as Roxane so there's that.
Ann: A lot of leeway.
(31:48)
Aminatou: And she's like our nation's foremost expert on Sweet Valley High so I just -- she can do no wrong.
Ann: I thought you were going to say our nation's foremost expert on Ina Garten.
Aminatou: I mean that too. [Laughs] I saw Ina Garten tweeted her recently and I lost my shit.
Ann: Finally. I was sort of like finally, oh wow. Welcome to the club Ina.
Aminatou: I know. How do we get her on the show? How do we get Ina to kick Jeffery out and make Roxane like a permanent cast member?
Ann: I mean goals. Maybe that's on the 2K15 wish list as well.
Aminatou: No, totally. And I also read her other novel Untamed State. That was really hard to read. You know, I was like this is going to be a great beach read then I'm in tears on the beach having a lot of emotion. [Laughs] But yeah, it was just very beautiful so . . .
Ann: I read it in two days in part because it was incredibly written but also in part because I was like I don't know if I can drag this out into more of my life because it is so intense and all-consuming. And I mean that in the best possible way but you're totally right when you say it was hard.
Aminatou: Yeah, it was really, really hard. What else did I read this year? Oh, I read that Thomas Piketty book but I will say this: I read it in French because whatever. That's my first language, so all you economists holler at your girl.
Ann: Humble brag GIF. [Laughs]
Aminatou: I mean this is brag brag. It was very boring but it was also good. It was like, you know, it's like here's how I'm going to keep up with all my European family and here's the one boring thing we can talk about.
Ann: Pause button, like good good? Like you were like can't wait to get home and get back into capital right now?
Aminatou: No, like good like oh, remember when I had a crush on that economics professor in college? If he had assigned this book I would be reading it right now. [Laughs] Like that kind of good.
Ann: So it was a special relationship you had with the book.
(33:52)
Aminatou: I mean yeah, and also I read it way early in the year. I read it in French. I just, you know, I think that I talk a lot about my low-brow loves so every once in a while I've got to toot my own horn about . . . okay. I've got this.
Ann: Fair enough.
Aminatou: I just read the Amy Poehler book Yes Please.
Ann: And?
Aminatou: So I have not read many of the celebrity self-helpy books. I never read the Mindy Kaling one. You know my feelings about Tina Fey. Ugh. So I can't compare it to any of them but I generally enjoyed this. I enjoyed that Amy Poehler is not -- you know, she's like the opposite of Lean In. She's just like girl, Lean Out. Some of this stuff is not your problem.
Ann: Is it really a memoir? I read, you know, Amanda Hess kind of did a joint review of a lot of famous ladies' memoir comedy books.
Aminatou: Yes.
Ann: And pointed out that it can be really difficult for especially women like Amy Poehler who have just been through a divorce or gone through other stuff in their personal lives that they clearly don't want to talk about but also want to write a book that feels personal, like that tension was any way to her on display. And I haven't read the book. Did you notice that?
Aminatou: No, totally. It's like, you know, I think she's just like yeah, this part of my life sucked and I don't really want to talk about it which I think is fair. I don't think you owe anybody those parts of your life but I did appreciate her chronicling how she got to where she is in comedy. And a lot of it, like she gives a lot of really solid advice. I think she gives some very good Call Your Girlfriend type advice, tough love, and she also talks about just calling out people who offend you professionally in these very profound ways. I was like yes, yeah. So like I said the opposite of Lean In.
(35:50)
Ann: Great. I read a fantastic memoir this year which I think is just now coming out that Thomas Page McBee wrote sort of about his gender transition but not really. It really is like the best way to describe it is like a memoir. And I just thought it was really, really well done and kind of like similar to An Untamed State. It also deals with abuse so I think subject matter wise that's why it's making me recall it, but tough to read in places for sure. But it's also kind of short and it's broken up really nicely and kind of jumps around in time in a way that, I don't know, that I really appreciated and that I think that most memoirs are chronological and don't really play with the fact that your memory doesn't work that way. You know, you don't sit down and think about your life from day one moving forward. It's like experiences trigger certain memories. I don't know. So I was kind of on a writing level nerding about the structure but I also was into the story.
Aminatou: Oh, awesome. I will put that on the list for Christmas to Thanksgiving.
Ann: It is called Man Alive. Yeah. Do it.
Aminatou: Good. What else did you read? Did you read anything else?
Ann: I mean I read a lot of stuff that wasn't 2014 books.
Aminatou: [Laughs]
Ann: That's the thing. I was thinking about what did I read this year? And it's like, you know . . .
Aminatou: You're like I finally caught up on my Susan Sontag.
Ann: I did actually. I read On Photography this year for the first time, or you know, that Laurie Moore album -- album. Book.
Aminatou: [Laughs] My god, if only.
Ann: Novel I've been meaning to get to.
Aminatou: That Laurie Moore album forever.
Ann: Confusing Laurie Moore and Laurie Anderson again. [Laughter] But yeah, but like one of my favorite books I read this year actually was a collection of short stories that I think is from last year by Claire Vaye Watkins called Battleborn. They're all sort of set in the rural American west and it feels like if you could give Cormac McCarthy more female sensibility -- that sounds really like lit class douchey . . .
Aminatou: [Laughs]
(38:05)
Ann: But I really -- because it was kind of like that violent foreboding sort of short story set in a desolate western landscape but also very emotionally raw and daring. I don't know. I was super into it and it's called Battleborn. I endorse that highly.
Aminatou: That's good. Okay, I'm going to put that on my list too. I'm trying to think. Yeah, I didn't . . . oh, I read a book called The Innovators also about, duh, innovators in tech. It's like your standard male here's why all these boy wonders are really good but one thing that I really liked about the book is that put Ada Lovelace just in context of who she was in technology and why she's so important. And I think that it's the first time that I've read any significant text on technology and hackers and the history of that that anybody bothered to mention there were actually women who were a substantial part of the tech movement and that we should credit for a lot of the work that was done. So that was very surprising and delightful. I mean I enjoyed it.
Ann: Awesome.
Aminatou: And mostly I read a ton of management books but I'm not going to out myself and say which ones here. I don't think there were any good ones that came out this year, but yeah, in general.
Ann: You know we're going to get an email being like "Tell me your management books."
Aminatou: Maybe I'll just make a list for the website.
Ann: The people want to know.
Aminatou: The people want to know. Oh, and then I read the Lena Dunham book that I really liked. So yeah, that was my year in books. I read like seven books. Yes.
Ann: Mm-hmm. I mean busy. We're busy.
Aminatou: And we watch a lot of TV. Sorry.
[Music]
(39:58)
Ann: Okay, wish list for 2015. What else would you like to see?
Aminatou: I think we have one. It's like Sia, if you're listening to us please record a period anthem. That's highly important to us.
Ann: I feel like we have to . . . how did we get started talking about this? I think it was the last episode we were like what song did we play when we talk about our periods and we couldn't come up with the exact . . .
Aminatou: Yeah, there's like nothing.
Ann: Yeah.
Aminatou: So yeah, so we want that. I want really good celebrity memoirs.
Ann: Ooh.
Aminatou: I feel that the last good celeb memoir I read was the Barbara Walters one. It just covered a ton of stuff. And I'm like please, I need people to do work on this level again.
Ann: right.
Aminatou: I want . . . I want all of the Oprah Winfrey show to be available on Netflix, like that would make me very happy.
Ann: Wow, you're blowing my mind right now. Things I hadn't even thought to hope for.
Aminatou: I mean that's what I want. I want the entire catalogue of Oprah on Netflix.
Ann: On a related note can we just talk about how there are no seasons of Murphy Brown even available on TV?
Aminatou: What?
Ann: Let's put that somewhere. Yeah, so basically only -- and it's a random season, it's not even the first one. There's only like one season of Murphy Brown available on DVD and there were eight. So not only DVD but can we get that on Amazon or Netflix or something?
Aminatou: Yeah, somebody needs to get on this, all of these back catalogues. Yeah, so that's my wish list for 2015. Oh, and a Remy Ma album.
Ann: Obviously.
Aminatou: Obviously.
Ann: I mean that seems like a decent place to close out the year.
Aminatou: [Laughs]
Ann: Not the year. Not even the year. Like to head into the holidays?
Aminatou: Yeah, no, we'll definitely see all you fools before Christmas.
Ann: Definitely. Let's see, you can find us online at callyourgirlfriend.com and on iTunes. You can follow us on Twitter at @callyrgf or send us an email at callyrgf@gmail.com.
Aminatou: See you on the Internet.
Ann: See you on the Internet.