Free books! Dreamy spiders!
'What to Read in the Rain' and the inner lives of Mariah Carey and arthopods
ROCK PAPER RADIO is a dispatch for misfits & unlikely optimists by your favorite hapa haole, beet-pickling, public radio nerd. It’s a weekly email newsletter and podcast that shares three curiosities every Thursday - something to hold on to (that’s the ‘rock’), something to read (that’s the ‘paper‘), and something to listen to (you guessed it, that’s the ‘radio’). Themes include but are not limited to: rebel violinists, immortal jellyfish, revolution. Thanks for subscribing and spreading the word. Learn more at RockPaperRadio.com.
I have exciting news, newsletter nerds! At our upcoming Odd One In podcast launch party at Nectar on August 24th, we will be giving away copies of the Bureau of Fearless Ideas’ Seattle-famous What to Read in the Rain books! Yes! FOR FREE.
These little gems are collections of essays and art from famous and not-yet-famous adult and youth authors. Think early 2000’s McSweeney’s, if you’re an elder nerd like me. Arrive early to get your copy. When they’re gone, they’re gone. $5 tickets are still available here, with any donation over $5 supporting the youth of BFI.
SOMETHING TO READ
Nearly six years ago, Allison P. Davis published a seminal work of literature for The Ringer and it has lived rent free in my brain ever since. It is entitled Mariah Carey is Not Like Us.
First, you should know that I love Mariah Carey. And while Keri is the official mascot of RPR, Mariah “I don’t know her” Carey also provides crucial inspiration for this misfit dispatch. Mariah is the original outsider living her best life. She will not be boxed in by categories. She will not shrink to make others more comfortable. She will not be lit by florescent lighting. Ever. Behold:
“Mariah, bless her, does not pretend to be anything other than a goddamn diva goddess. She has a long, storied history of being the ultimate diva. On the most basic level, she’s not like us: she has a five-octave range. With the knowledge that she is that special, that different, she bravely owns the fact that she lives a fantastic, gaudy, expensive lifestyle that none of us can ever live. Mariah Carey, who is not like us, isn’t taking trips to Costco. When Mariah Carey, who is not like us, doesn’t want to get creases in her dress, she has a team of people prop her up on a couch. She only has sex on Mondays, allegedly, because those are the kinds of rules she can make. When she broke her arm, she had an entire wardrobe of lavish arm slings. When she enters a restaurant in Capri, Italy, at 11 p.m. (the diva hour), she plays her own music as a walk-on soundtrack. She often has people wheel her around, rather than walk.”
Why am I sharing this piece with you now? Earlier this week, as a tribute to the lovely Olivia Newton John who recently passed away after years of fighting cancer, Mariah posted a video to Instagram of the two of them singing Hopelessly Devoted to You. It’s beautiful! And sweet. Mariah is harmonizing along with Newton John, sharing the mic and shining her (iconic) light onto the Grease star.
I was moved by the mutual admiration between the two of them—let’s go #ladiessupportingladies—but moreso I was struck by seeing a version of Mariah that is exactly the opposite of the glamazon boss persona that warms the hearts of gay men everywhere (and also mine). I’m always here for reminders that people are fascinatingly complicated and that celebrities are, in fact, not like us at all. Enjoy.
SOME THINGS TO LISTEN TO
If you missed any of our 2—3 min Odd One In teasers over the last few months, DON’T WORRY. You can find them all right here, just in case you want to do some listening to get you psyched for our upcoming big night.
There’s Old Chingu re-caping the transformative night in jail he spent high out of his mind talking to God. There’s hip hop professor extraordinaire Dr. Daudi Abe reminding us that hip hop itself is a misfit. There’s me trying to make sense of how single parenthood shaped the way I hear the world as a producer and storyteller.
I love this podcast episode with all of my heart and guts and I am so excited to debut it live with all of you IRL on the 24th. Over the last one million months that I’ve been working on this show, I have had Old Chingu and Daudi’s voices echoing through my radio-maker brain, so now I love them too.
It’s been such a disorienting pandemic stretch over the past few years, and for me, it feels like it’s all been leading up to right now. I can’t wait to share this moment with all of you. (And Daudi! Who I will be sharing the stage with at the event!) The last part of the program will include audience Q&A with me and Daudi. I know speaking up at public programs isn’t everyone’s jam, so you have questions about how this all came together, feel free to respond to this email or comment below with your curiosities and we’ll work your inquiries into the show. Hope to see you on the 24th!
SOMETHING TO HOLD ON TO
My dog runs and swims and smiles and growls in her sleep because she’s a human baby in a fur suit. This makes perfect sense to me. But spiders???
I do not run away screaming and weeping at the sight of our eight-legged friends like Keri does, but I wouldn’t say I’ve ever respected them enough to wonder about their interior lives. Until now. Because apparently, according to the Scientific American a few days ago, Spiders Seem to Have REM-like Sleep and May Even Dream.
Here’s to scientists discovering that even the creepiest creatures need time to rest and imagine too.
SEE YOU AT NECTAR, MISFIT FAM
That’s a wrap on issue 90(!), friends. Thanks for listening, reading, holding on.
And thank you for spreading the word about our Odd One In launch party on the 24th! Here’s the link for more info and to RSVP. As I shared last week, tics are $5, but if you can’t swing it right now, no worries. Just reply to this email and tell me if our SHOT today convinced you to gently take your spiders outside from now on and I’ll make sure you and your +1 get a ticket.
See you next Thursday.
K.
