Stories + songs for your weekend. Love, Tenderly
Tenderly followers, friends, and fans — happy today! Thanks for reading, and for supporting Tenderly. We’ve got some amazing stories to share with you in a new way today. Be sure to let me know what you think, and what you’re hoping for more of, and please do share the stories you love.
I thought I would try something new with our email today and share with you some of my favorite songs that I think fit thematically with the stories we’ve published this past week. I’ve included some brief explanations below, and you can also follow + listen to my Spotify playlist with all of these jams included — a perfect soundtrack to catching up on Tenderly this weekend!
Read: Seven Sunscreens That Deserve a Spot in Your Regular Rotation
Listen to: “Summer Love” by Justin Timberlake (2006).
Listen, Tenderly’s beauty expert Jodie Layne says that we should be wearing sunscreen every single day, and whatever Jodie says I believe. That said, Tenderly’s HQ is in Austin, Texas, a city where the highs have been well over the 100s for a week straight — when I think of sunblock, I think of sun, and when I think of sun, I think of summer, and when I think of summer, I think of Justin Timberlake’s underrated 2006 jam “Summer Love.” My friend Esme loved this song and whenever I hear it I feel like LIVING: wearing small clothes in public, swimming in cold pools, upper lip sweat, cold margaritas. Oh and sunscreen — duh!
Read: The Perfect Vegan Weekend in Istanbul
Listen to: “Istanbul” by They Might Be Giants (1990)
Ruth Terry’s guide to Istanbul made me hungry and gave me intense wanderlust as I imagined myself attending local markets, befriending street cats, and devouring some of the delicious Turkish food made at local vegetarian restaurants. Also, this song played in my head the entire time, a history lesson of sorts from the first favorite band I ever had (at age 8).
Read: Is Your Weed Vegan?
Listen to: “Broccoli” by DRAM + Lil Yachty (2016)
Jessica Misener explores the complexities of how growing weed, a plant, can help benefit the factory farm industry — and how veganic farmers are offering an alternative. While I don’t exclusively consume veganic produce or veganic cannabis, it’s really nice to know that people in every industry are thinking about how to make a future that includes less harm to animals. And I think we can all agree that “Broccoli” by DRAM + Lil Yachty is one of the best songs about mary jane that has ever been released — or, if you’re not a cannabis user, the best song about broccoli, a delicious vegetable, ever released.
Read: These Delicate Animal Illustrations From Over 200 Years Ago Are Incredibly Beautiful
Listen to: “Silver Owl” by Kikagaku Moyo (2016)
I’ve been deep into public domain archives lately, and these brushstrokes by Kitao Masayoshi immediately transfixed me. They’re deceptively simple, capturing so much character, movement, and life in just a few brushstrokes. One of the best current bands from Japan, Kikagaku Moyo, is the same way. Songs like “Silver Owl” are beautiful, evocative, and soulful masterpieces but still manage to feel natural, loose, and unrehearsed — like watching a great artist capture a monkey in a flick of the wrist.
Read: Delicious Bradley 9 + 10
Listen to: “Magic Hour” by Fruit Bats (2003)
I am so in love with the Delicious Bradley comic series, I can’t believe that Tenderly gets the joy of sharing it with the world!!! These comics make me giggle often, but more than anything else they make me feel refreshed and warmed up from the inside — they smell like grass and sound like birds in the trees. The Fruit Bats give me the same kind of feeling. Enjoy!
Read: 21 Dead Giveaways That You’re an Old-School Vegan
Listen to: “Animal Kingdom” by Prince (1998)
Marla Rose crafted a relatable piece for anyone who’s been vegan long enough to remember when Prince released this animal rights anthem:
No member of the animal kingdom nurses past maturity
No member of the animal kingdom ever did a thing 2 me
It’s why I don’t eat red meat or white fish
Don’t give me no blue cheese
We’re all members of the animal kingdom
Leave your brothers and sisters in the sea
Gimme your nutritional yeeeaaast
Okay, I admit it, I added the last line. Miss you, Prince.
Read: The Best Vegan Beauty Launches of July 2019
Listen to: “What I Deserve” by Kelly Willis (1999)
“My skin let’s it in, it’s always been too thin,” one of my favorite country singers, Kelly Willis, sings about the desperation of loneliness, but I’ve always been struck by how the singer declares that she does deserve better: comfort, care. We all do! Our monthly new beauty product roundups by Jodie Layne make it easy for you to give yourself a little of that love you deserve with personally-tested product recommendations that are always vegan and cruelty-free.
Read: The Irresistible Joy of Doubles
Listen to: “Someday” by Lord Creator (1963)
I was so excited to assign a deep dive on the history and continued glory of DOUBLES, one of the world’s best street foods, to Trini chef and writer Leigh-Ann Martin. While editing it, I got deep into calypso and rocksteady music. Lord Creator, born in 1940 in San Fernando, is one of my very favorites. Now go eat doubles!!!
Read: The Ethics of Eating Bugs
Listen to: “The Ugly Bug Ball” by Burl Ives (1963)
Kat Jercich’s smart, thoughtful look at what people who care about animal suffering and ecological peril should know about the ethics of bug eating. There are no simple answers in this piece, just facts and perspectives to help you form your own opinion. For me, plants are good enough — plus, as a kid I listened to this Burl Ives song, from the live-action Disney movie Summer Magic, probably over 1000 times, so my warm feelings towards bugs are pretty much set for life. Still, the piece gives one a lot to think about when it comes to what kinds of eating and living hurt bugs (and the planet) the most.
Read: Changing Perspectives in Tanzania, One Dog at a Time
Listen to: “The Puppy Song” by Harry Nilsson (1969)
“If only I could have a puppy, I’d call myself so very lucky.” All dogs should be so lucky as to have a friend like Harry Nilsson. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, pups aren’t treated as much like companions. Jessica Scott-Reid covers the story of Noodles, a rescued dog at a sanctuary trying to change the culture around dogs + humans in Tanzania. Keep the tissues close at hand. “Once a Tanzanian comes to visit us, they always come back with their friends. They’re like, ‘You have to come see this place, they have 190 dogs and all the dogs are nice; you can pet the dogs.’ They can’t believe that you can pet dogs.”
Read: When Compassion Kills (Caterpillars)
Listen to: “Butterfly” by Weezer (1996)
I got this song in my head immediately the very first time I read this story, which is a connection probably best left up to just reading this short, charming, slightly sad slice of life and then listening to Rivers Cuomo sing about shame.
Read: Fine Dining at a Croatian Farmers’ Market
Listen to: “Vegetables” by Beach Boys (1967)
John Garry’s account of taking in local flavors at a farmers market in Croatia reminded me that while we’re all scrambling for the latest plant-based burger, local farms are growing delicious, juicy produce — sweet fruit and luscious, filling vegetables. Fun fact: famous friend to animals Paul McCartney is chomping on celery in the background of this song!
Read: Delicious, Nutritious, and… British?
Listen to: “Julie Julie” by Hotknives (1990)
I learned so much from this little history of bananas told with plenty of charm by Nicol Valentin! For one thing, the banana variety that we eat today isn’t as tropical as you might think: they were first grown in a British garden and rose to top banana status when a disease wiped out the more popular Big Mike variety grown in the caribbean. In tribute to this particular global story, I have selected a British ska band — a genre that began in Jamaica before being widely copped by the colonizers themselves.
Read: The Perfect Grace of Beans
Listen to: “My Favorite Picture of You” by Guy Clark (2013)
Although this story is ostensibly about beans, and how they’re good on pizza and everything else, I found myself most charmed by the love story contained therein. There’s an especially sweet anecdote about a photo, which I’ll let you read yourself, but it reminds me of one of my favorite songs from Texas songwriter Guy Clark (RIP), about his wife and frequent collaborator, Susanna (RIP). May you all be loved by someone who knows exactly which picture of you they love the most.
Read: A Vegan Drag Queen’s Guide To Cruelty-Free Glamour
Listen to: “Just Me (The Gender Binary Blues)” by Jinkx Monsoon (2018)
Fay Ludes, a brilliant drag queen and longtime vegan, offers up her favorite beauty product recommendations for absolutely fabulous looks day and night. Makeup isn’t just for women, just for drag queens, or just for queer folks — makeup can be for absolutely anyone who wants to play dress up. Jinkx gets at the frustration of people who see things in black and white in “Just Me.” It would make a great soundtrack to applying some beautiful mink-free lashes.
Read: I Made Stupidly Fancy Vegan Dishes From Fast Food
Listen to: “Hey Jealousy” by Gin Blossoms (1992)
My friend Jack is a very funny and very vegan writer who’s been helping out behind the scene at Tenderly as well as writing the important series Nice Cats of History. His most recent endeavor is perhaps the dumbest thing he’s ever attempted, which is saying something if you know Jack, and it’s a delightful, inspiring, hilarious read (as someone who would never dare order in this way for fear of activating my worst nightmare and annoying anyone at all ever). Anyway, “Hey Jealousy” is one of Jack’s favorite songs of all time and that’s something we have in common, so in tribute to the sacrifice he has made for us all, here it is.
And with that, have an amazing weekend!
❤ Summer Anne Burton + all of Tenderly mag!
P.S. Here’s that link to the full playlist one more time.
