So sorry for our absence last week, things got crazy with South by Southwest and other work craziness all around. But this week, we’re back on our regular schedule!

Daysia recounts some on-the-ground scene reporting on celebs at SXSW while Hannah talks about Boston and Massachusetts and apologizes in advance for the inside jokes.

Happy reading,

<3

Daysia and Hannah

This Week's Fixations

Daysia: I was at SXSW last week destroying my brain with crypto and Web3 talk, but the celeb appearances kind of made the suffering worth it! Now, I've been sick all week (not COVID, although other attendees aren't so lucky) and have been reminiscing on the highlights.

From saying “Oh shit” at the sight of Brittany Snow to watching Phoebe Bridgers sing karaoke to “Welcome to the Black Parade,” I was embarrassingly starstruck all week (I don’t think I’ve ever just seen a celebrity on the street, which is crazy since I live in New York).

Perhaps the peak of it all was Paris Hilton’s DJ set at an NFT gaming company’s party (I know). It was just as ridiculous as it sounds and felt like a fever dream. After looking at some free (?) NFTs, drinking spiked Capri Suns (!!), and having partygoers poorly explain what NFTs are (???), Paris arrived in a fabulous sparkly get-up and the most 2010 sunglasses you’d ever seen. In her typical iconic behavior, she DJ’d while a gif of her virtual avatar looped on her table and a huge reel of videos of herself played behind her. And she was a fabulous DJ, playing everything from Dua Lipa to Biggie to Britney. Everything was a bop, girl! Not even the VIP crypto bros branded in head-to-toe NFT merch could ruin the vibe (although, it was pretty weird). She literally flew in for the set and went right back to L.A. to prepare for a music video for her new single. As she left to catch her flight, she told us all that, “We can rage in the metaverse.” My co-workers saw her in the parking lot as we left the venue, and she told my colleague that she was hot. Can you ask for more from a Paris Hilton appearance?

Hannah: This week I have been thinking about Boston, which in my opinion really is not like any other city in the US. Of course, I haven’t been to every single city in the US but having spent three and a half years in Boston for college plus every story on the internet about the city, I feel decently confident in my assessment.

I guess technically I need to broaden it to Massachusetts as a state because I present to you this fine piece of artwork (h/t to my friend Emma) in a Dunkin’ Donuts in Concord:

I’m not even joking when I say 1) this piece should go in the Museum of Fine Arts and 2) I would buy a large print of this and display it in my home.

The other reason I’m thinking about Boston is that Zendaya and Tom Holland have been bopping around the city. They have even graced the Tatte that is on the campus of my alma mater, Emerson College. (Real ones know this would have been more iconic if it was the Dunkin’ that used to be there and the most iconic if they were at the Einstein Bros. Bagels—RIP. Perhaps in another multiverse!)

Similar to Daysia, I think it’s crazy that I never saw a celeb roaming around Boston while I was in college because they are there all the time—filming or performing or going to watch sports. I did like this piece by Spencer Buell in Boston magazine (shout out to BoMag where Daysia and I interned together one summer) about the Boston Celeb Moment.

Has Lorde Dropped a New Album?

Lorde is a headliner for the Life is Beautiful festival in September. She also released the music video for "Secrets from a Girl (Who's Seen it All)."

ICYMI: It’s CRASH deluxe week, angels! Stream Charli XCX’s latest album here and check out the track "Lightning."

Plus an ICYMI from Lorde herself: she has been loving Rosalía’s new album, MOTOMAMI.

Too Many Tabs

The internet’s forever boyfriend, Dylan O’Brien, is back on the screen with two movies coming out this year and three more in post-production. Bustle’s Samantha Leach profiles O’Brien and makes you love him more than you probably already did.

Jezebel’s Caitlin Cruz catalogued the endurance of Gaylor (queer Taylor Swift fan theories).

You can’t help but respect the hustle of Keke Palmer. The multi-hyphenate, showbiz veteran speaks to writer Sylvia Obell about her career and the power of being herself, also for Bustle.

Kyle Buchanan got together with the stars of The Lost City, Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, and Daniel Radcliffe, for a group chat in The New York Times.

Plus… Vulture’s Oscar predictions, Margot Robbie pulls a Gwyneth Paltrow, congrats to Tom Hiddleston and Zawe Ashton, anonymous Oscar voters uncensored (!!), the creator of The Baby-Sitters Club on Netflix on its cancellation, you’ll never believe which White Boy of the Month is a presenter at the Oscars along with Rachel Zegler, of course, “the hot guy from Gossip Girl and those Marvel movies,” how pop royalty—Charli, Caroline, Chris—make pop music, and a new book deal (anon, pls!).