This week Daysia talks celebrity couples (again—they’re just giving us so much!). Meanwhile Hannah reviews The Chair and is screaming about two trailers for highly anticipated movies coming out later this year. And we’ve got mini-reviews for “The Path” and “Oceanic Feeling.”

<3

Daysia and Hannah

This Week's Fixations

What's taking up our brain space this week?

Daysia: Channing Tatum and Zoë Kravitz are upstate on a romantic getaway and have blessed us with these:

I am thrilled to see all of the paparazzi pictures of these two. I’m still not convinced they’re seriously dating. I think they’re just having a fun little fling. She did just finalize her divorce after all, and who wants to get in a serious relationship after a major breakup? Especially someone as cool and free as Zoë Kravitz? Then again, these domestic chic grocery store pics might change my mind. And is there anything more romantic than your man mass-following a bunch of stan accounts dedicated to you? I’m not sure there is.

To be fair, we have seen this—an uber-famous female director and male lead falling in love on-set after a serious breakup—before. *Cough* Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde *Cough* So I wouldn’t be surprised if this was another relationship of the like!

And when one random yet unsurprising celebrity couple rises, another must fall. Irina Shayk and Kanye West have reportedly split despite never confirming their relationship. RIP.

Hannah: As I mentioned last week, I would be attempting to dig into some TV shows—recently, it’s been hard for a show to capture my attention enough that I feel inspired to watch all the way through. I was semi-successful because I finished Netflix’s The Chair on Sunday morning. The show is incredibly easy to binge as one episode flows into the next, the storyline is one continuous thread. Often I didn’t realize that an episode was finishing and the next one beginning. It’s probably one of the shows I have seen make the best use of its medium and understanding how people watch on a streaming platform, specifically Netflix.

It’s also just a wonderfully gripping show. There is such a wide range of emotions portrayed by a masterful cast (Sandra Oh is incredible but a real standout for me was Everly Carganilla who plays Oh’s adopted daughter, Ju Ju). If I had to classify the show I would call it a “workplace drama” as it mostly revolves around the English department at a small, prestigious university and the relationships and workplace politics that play out there. It’s much more than that as it also dives into familial and romantic relationships and friendships in a thought-provoking and lovely way. I think it also manages to be satirical and critical in a way that isn’t heavy-handed. I laughed, I cried and I highly recommend The Chair.

Also, this week two newly released trailers had me screaming for different reasons: Spider-Man: No Way Home (multiverses! Zendaya!) and Spencer (the fashion! Kristen Stewart’s face acting!). This fall is going to be such a great year for movies, y’all.

Has Lorde Dropped a New Album?

She famously did last week! And is still doing press, including a week at The Late Late Show with James Corden.

“The Path”: What a great album opener. This song feels like a trick to me, in the best way. Not only in terms of the melody but also the lyrics. It starts in a big way, setting the scene and making Lorde’s feelings on fame and her experiences with it clear. It’s different from “Royals” which seems like an outsider or observer’s view of fame and the famous, but on “The Path” we know that she has lived this. She tells us that she can’t be our savior but not in a way that feels patronizing, it’s real and raw. Overall, this song has a level of optimism that carries throughout the album (“Let’s hope the sun will show us the path”), setting the scene for the rest of the album and dovetailing nicely into “Solar Power,” the following track.

“Oceanic Feeling”: I think this song is perfect. It’s an immaculate closer. It is wistful and nostalgic, yet forward thinking, with its references to her childhood, her adolescent self (“Now the cherry black lipstick's gatherin' dust in a drawer” 😭), and her future daughter. It’s full of New Zealand’s natural sounds—the cicadas are loud in this one—and it’s a loving homage to her home. It’s lush and steady and just so beautiful! Definitely a favorite.

ICYMI, Kasey Musgraves released the eponymous lead single to her upcoming album "star-crossed." (Amanda Hess did an excellent profile of Musgraves for The New York Times ahead of this new album.)

Too Many Tabs

Beanie Feldstein discusses her acting journey, female friendship, and protecting Monica Lewinsky’s story with W’s Lynn Hirschberg.

The New Yorker’s Rebecca Mead talks to Jesse Armstrong about how he is able to capture the trappings of extreme wealthy on Succession.

Rolling Stone’s Mankaprr Conteh spoke to Noname about avoiding celebrity status, becoming radical, expanding her book club, how public disagreements with other artists have overshadowed her community work, and her upcoming album Factory Baby.

Plus… a history of album cover lawsuits, daddy issues in Shang-Chi, Afghanistan in film, reflecting on an abysmal season of Love Island, don’t call Alana Thompson “Honey Boo Boo,” Lil Nas X’s playlist for Harper’s Bazaar, Jonah Hill and Adam Mckay in conversation, double standards between Tony Hawk and Lil Nas X, joy and complexities in Aaliyah’s legacy, Netflix’s The Old Guard is getting a sequel, and JoJo Siwa is making Dancing with the Stars history.