Wow!! 200 posts….time really does fly. Sorry we didn’t do anything special for this issue, we’ve been busy, but we’re definitely scheming some cool stuff. I guess you can read the recommendation recommendations issue we did for our 100th post if you’re bored.

If you’re new here after any of our July guests…welcome! Perfectly Imperfect is a twice-weekly newsletter featuring a taste of someone’s taste and once a month we the editors, Tyler and Alex, like to share what we’ve been into.

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Without further ado

Tyler Bainbridge (instagram, twitter, website)

🎵 Harrison Patrick Smith - “Girls”

I’ve heard a ton of great music since I started hanging around in the New York music scene and Harrison Patrick Smith’s unreleased song “Girls” might just be the best of the best. I didn’t know what to expect when I first played the mp3 but I was instantly blown away by the energy, horniness, fat bass line, cocky delivery, and anthemic chorus. It’s somewhere between LCD Soundsystem, The Streets, and Beastie Boys, and made by a dude that’s spent the last few years perfecting his rock sound and learning what gets the crowd going during his DJ sets at Home Sweet Home. This will be your new favorite song when it drops on Friday. If you DM me maybe I can send you the mp3. Idk I gotta ask Harrison first. Is that OK Harrison? UPDATE 8/5/22: THE SONG IS RELEASED, HERE IS THE VIDEO.

📺 Hi-Octane

Sofia Coppola, Zoe Cassavetes, Monster Trucks, Thurston Moore, Beck, Gus Van Sant, Naomi Campbell, Stunt Driving Muscle Cars, Beastie Boys, Martin Scorsese, Nicolas Cage, and Anna Wintour, all wrapped up in a wonderfully chaotic pop culture capsule that proves nepotism can be…sick? This show is truly a work of art way ahead of its time which caused Comedy Central to pull the plug after 3 episodes. FYI I’m not the first person to recommend this show on PI, that was Lauren Servideo way back in 2020, but more people need to watch this!!

👖 Our Legacy Straight Brown Pants

If this was the Strategist I’d probably be forced to say these are The Perfect Brown Pants for SEO purposes, but you know what, f*ck it, these ARE The Perfect Brown Pants. They’re straight-fit but not in an overly baggy way and have some nice white highlights mixed that I was initially torn on but now I love. Epic pants.

🎵 Sugar Ray and Co.

How come it took me this long to realize Sugar Ray was insanely sick???? Fun ass pop rock with a bright sound that scratches an itch I forgot I had. Windows down cruising-mode radio hits. I really think it’s about time we respect Sugar Ray and bands like Chumbawamba, LEN, Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms, and hell, even Smash Mouth, but y’all aint ready for that conversation.

🛌 Sleeping With A Quilt

After a weirdly good night sleep at an AirBnb I realized the only difference was that the bed was equipped with just a light quilt and a flat sheet instead of a heavy duvet situation. Let me tell you, this is one of the biggest life improvements I’ve made in recent memory. My girlfriend and I can finally sleep through the night without waking up hot or turning the A/C down to frigid temps. I recognize this is probably common sense to a lot of you that went quilt mode years ago, but this one goes out to all our sweaty disgusting readers searching for a good night sleep.

📏 🔪 Fiskars Rotary Cutter and Ruler Combo

Why can’t t-shirts just break at the waist like God intended? Why do they need to run halfway down my thighs?? I mean, maybe this is just a preference thing, or I just have a weirdly proportioned body, but I struggled with ill-fitting tees for years until Ryan put me on to this rotary cutter contraption. This thing lets you perfectly chop your shirts to whatever length you want and it’s breathed new life into my collection. I’ll probably regret cutting my shirts someday but right now I’m happy with the raw hem look if it means my shirts will actually fit. Hell I’ve even chopped Uniqlo polos with it.

🤙 Kendama-ing

Close your eyes and imagine the lamest thing you can be good at, it was probably Kendama-ing right?? Or better yet, maybe you’re lucky enough to have no idea what a Kendama is! Unfortunately I found myself fidgeting with one of these while crashing at a friend’s place so of course I ended up buying one with a cool red-python pattern on eBay. It’s the dorkiest thing ever but it’s undeniably fun to goof around with.

👞 Black Boccaccio II Clogs

I love the chunky sole on these and think they look really nice with a straight fit pant (see fit pic). They probably look cool with shorts too. Idk how I feel about the Faux-Leather but the detailing and shape make up for it. Fun shoe to throw in the mix.

📱 Instagram Text-Only Stories

Mathew and Patrick were the first people I noticed using IG stories this way and it wasn’t long before others followed suit. I love it though. It’s pretty freeing and one directional unlike Twitter where your thoughts and quips are scored by retweets and likes. I don’t think I’ll ever be as inventive with the format as the pioneers, but I gotta say, I do love shouting my dumb thoughts on the Picture App. It’s liberating and fun.

Alex Cushing (instagram, twitter, goodreads, moodboard)

📕 Bad Thoughts - Nada Alic

Bad Thoughts lets you into the parts of a mind that are often kept to onesself. You’ll bounce from the perspective of an outcast at a bachelorette party on the cusp of a new life, to a contestant on the set of ABC’s The Bachelor (though not named outright), and my favorite — an unnaturally laissez-faire woman in a very unhinged “support group” led by a guru named Martin. & thats just 3 of the 14. There’s something magnetic about these stories, I found myself finishing one and needing to know what the next would cover.

👖 Cos Women’s Denim Shorts

I was in the market for the perfect denim shorts - something less slim, the right color, and a good mid length. Eventually I found myself browsing the women’s options and was immediately drawn to these. They have a sick little flair out at the leg opening, and the color is perfect. The one thing I’d say is they seem to run kind of huge - my size 32 waist measure closer to 34s, so I’d recommend sizing accordingly.

🏎️💨 Go To Nascar!

Loud & fast cars, grand stands filled with shirtless dudes drinking Busch Lite, an energetic atmosphere that makes you want to cheer and jeer, what’s not to love?? It’s fun to compare the efficiency of the pit crews, and to pick a car to root for and watch it overtake competitors, or spin out in a cloud of smoke. We spent easily over $100 on a selection of candied nuts, chicken fingers, and drinks! Good times!

♾️🧠 Tao Lin & Jordan Castro “Infinite Novel Theory”

I happened upon this interview after reading “The Novelist” by Jordan Castro (very good by the way, I do recommend!), and was interested to see the relationship between these 2 authors and what their rapport was like. This interview (written in a slew of formats - email threads, long essays, etc by Lin and Castro themselves) begins by discussing the connection between their most recent books - a messaging conversation between characters (mega considering the format of this article), but it dives deeper and more meta as they talk about the layers of this connection and ultimately an infinite novel theory likened to the infinite universe theory. Other things they talk about include what they’re reading or are inspired by, details noticed in each others works, their pets, the clouds, and so much more.

🧑‍🎨 Laura Burke Art

I find her art style really cool - surreal and eclectic collections, often of flowers and fruit, with bold coloring that just draw the eye in!

📕 Lapvona - Ottessa Moshfegh

When I finished this book, I told myself I wouldn’t rec it — it’s too obvious. But Its stuck in my brain like a leach since then so I just have to im sorry! Lapvona tells the story of a fiefdom led by an absolutely demented and depraved lord named Villiam. You follow a deformed child of the town’s shephard named Marek and the surrounding cast of his story as he continues to do the weirdest messed up stuff (as does everyone else.) I can’t easily put into words why I love Lapvona, but it’s like nothing I’ve ever read before - haunting, diseased, insane. I just really want to keep reading it even though there’s none left for me.

🪡 Zip-Ups with a slight crop

I got this off white Paloma Wool hoodie with a cat on it from the ssense sale, which called my name because it had 2 things i’ve been seeking -

1. It’s a classic zip up

2. It appeared to be slightly cropped

And Im so happy to say it delivered. Im now obsessed with finding perfectly cropped zip ups because I can’t stop wearing it. I feel like this fall/winter is the time zip ups will start to finally make their big comeback, and this is the ideal silhouette in my opinion.

🎥 La Belle Noiseuse (1991)

A kinda washed up legendary painter has his spark reignited when he meets a young artist friend and his girlfriend. This movie had a beautiful feel to it - from its location in Provence France, to its focus on the act of painting and sketching and the relationship between the artist and his muse (and everyone related). There were minutes where the camera focused on the artist as he scratched away on his notepad sketching what he may soon paint, or quickly but masterfully slashing his brush across the giant canvas. I loved attention to detail on the small things — the focus on the process.

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