Welcome to the first ever Rachel Recommends, a weekly (I hope!) round up of my favourite entertainment that I have been loving! I use the word entertainment as a catch all term for content - books, movies, music, tv shows, podcasts, audiobooks, articles, great youtube episodes - anything. Not to be big headed but I have fantastic taste and I also love sharing things I love with absolutely everyone so I really, really hope you like this mini-magazine. I will be recommending anything fantastic and worthy of attention, whether it is new out that day or is 50 years old.
Before we start, don't worry - I will never drop any spoilers. I have literally blocked people who have spoiled my favourite TV shows before I had a chance to watch them - #petty&proud. I will try and instead explain why they are so great without telling you my favourite moments (which is actually way harder than I thought it would be!)
I also hope you enjoy the art - as anyone who follows me on my instagram (@coco_milone) or knows in real life, I have started posting my drawings, but I need lots of practice so I thought this would be a cool way to tie most of my hobbies together and get better at writing and drawing at the same time.
I really hope you enjoy it and come to look forward to this newsletter in the same way that I look forward to weekly episodes. I hope you come to trust my opinion and if you love anything I recommend and think we have similar tastes PLEASE recommend stuff to me, I love it! And of course if you love "Rachel Recommends" please share it or...recommend it ;) to your friends, because every single like, share and kind word means so much.
TV SHOW - FLEABAG
Fleabag is simply genius. As you may all of seen from my incessant instagram stories about it, I was a woman obsessed - mostly with the kissing scenes which were literally breathtaking - bravo to them (I shall not be saying who so as not to spoil). It is written and stars Phoebe Waller Bridge, who also adapted Killing Eve! She mixes comedy with deep issues and while I have never had to relate to something to enjoy it, there is something so enjoyable about the "oh my god, this is me!" scenarios. She has an amazing ability to captures an indescribable feeling. Fleabag is so relatable because she breaks the forth wall and we can hear her inner monologue.
I have never seen the breaking of the forth wall being done in such a way before - the only thing I can compare it to is Jim looking to the camera in The Office, or the Talking Heads in Parks and Rec, The Office and The Kardashians. (A talking head is where you are being guided through the show by clips of them sitting and talking to camera). But in Fleabag, she (Fleabag) will turn to the camera and say what she's thinking. It's one of those things that could either be awful or brilliant and luckily it's the latter.
It has now ended (which is one of the great tragedies of the modern era but lets not focus on the negative). However Fleabag is STILL being talked about despite the series finale coming out two weeks ago which in this day and age is a huge feat.
Anyway, simply put, Fleabag is absolutely fantastic and everyone who has watched it LOVES it and raves about it. I have come to realise when it comes to entertainment, believe the hype and if people are so desperate to discuss a show that literally groan when you say you haven't watched it, then you're probably really missing out and should watch it instantly.
Stand out stars:
Phoebe Waller Bridge as Fleabag (although I hate the name / word Fleabag).
Sian Clifford as her sister Claire - fantastic.
The Sexy Priest - Andrew Scott
Stand out moment that doesn't spoil anything -
Fleabag's Monologue on hair:
(When a hairdresser ruins someones hair and says "don't worry, hair isn't everything":
"Hair is everything. We wish it wasn't so we could actually think about something else occasionally, but it is. It's the difference between a good day and a bad day. We're meant to think its a symbol of power, that it's a symbol of fertility. Some people are exploited for it and it pays your fucking bills. Hair is everything!"
Where to Watch:
Both seasons are available on Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer.
PODCAST - THE HIGH LOW
When I find a kindred spirit who also listens to the High Low, my opinion of them instantly shoots up, because they clearly have great taste. Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes are the two women I rely on every Wednesday for hilarious pop culture updates and for serious issues to be explained to me in detail, with their incredible, insightful commentary. They are two journalists who are doing exactly what two successful middle class white women should be doing with their platform - using it for the greater good and raising awareness on everything from period poverty, abortion, gender equality and racial issues. I have learnt more about these issues from them than I have on the news!! To me that should solidify them as National Treasures!
They do their research, they are ALWAYS coming from the side I consider to be right and when they don't know something they have a guest star on to talk on a matter they can't. For example, their guest stars often include women of colour discussing race, because they have found the perfect balance between being an ally who sees racism and calls it out, and realising that while fighting racism is everyone's fight, it is not their story to tell. Thus they invite the people who should be telling their story on to their show, giving them a platform of millions.
The reason it is called the High Low is because they talk about High Brow topics (such as all the ones mentioned above) as well as Low Brow topics such as Love Island and the Kardashians. That was actually exactly what I wanted my podcast to be (and will be, I have realised there is more than enough room for women to talk about these things so I am definitely going to be starting my podcast in the near future).
I think everyone should at least give one episode of this podcast a try - trust me EVERYONE I have forced to listen to it is now as obsessed and reliant on it as I am. Myself and my best friend Charlotte have hours-long conversations after every episode as the topics are so fascinating that you are desperate to discuss them with someone. I genuinely couldn't recommend it more.
Where to Listen: Download on the iTunes podcast app or wherever you get your podcasts.
DOCUMENTARY - HOMECOMING
I think it is well known that I deeply love Beyoncé. One of the first things I EVER said to my daughter when Beyoncé came on the TV in the hospital was "look darling, there is our Leader!" I was joking - but I wasn't really joking. She is who I and the billion-strong Beehive look up to and she literally gives us strength. To me, that is a Leader (better than the current leader of America, that's for damn sure!)
She is the absolute embodiment of female empowerment. She is pure strength, pure sex, pure femininity and pure motherhood. She shows that you can show off your stunning big bottom in stunning leotards WHILE being the complete boss of everything. That running the world can be done be a women who knows she doesn't have to tone down her femininity. That being a sexual being and being a mother are not mutually exclusive. Beyoncé shows us why women are so God damn powerful, because as soon as we stop letting people tell us we can only be one thing, we discover that we can be EVERYTHING. ALL. AT. ONCE.
With Lemonade, she led an army of women (myself included) to break up with our men who had all those Becky's on the side, and then gave us the rest of the album to process and rebuild, her words encouraging sass, attitude and strength. That album took me and many others through a heartbreak but for many others, the songs that were most powerful were Formation and Freedom - anthems of black power and a rally cry for true racial equality. She used her incredible platform to make this HUGE racial problem in America a world-wide topic. She took her global platform - well I say global, it wouldn't surprised me if aliens listened to her.... She took her intergalatical platform and made sure that black people's lives mattering was something that could no longer be ignored. Her Super Bowl cameo showed her and her dancers dressed as Black Panthers showing that she would be using any occasion to make her stand.
Homecoming was the next step on this mission, but rather than a rally cry, I saw it as more of a love letter to black excellence. It is beautiful. Beyonce is brilliant at making her point in a way that it goes deep in to the psyche. She's wise enough to know that it is pointless trying to educate those who have made themselves deaf to you. Instead you have to show them. So that's what she did. She put on this INCREDIBLE show, the most streamed show of all time, and even the most ignorant could not escape the genius of it. Then a year later she drops a documentary that shows that every detail was intentionally chosen to highlight black talent and beauty. She treated bigoted people like an insolent toddler who upon insisting they hate apples, showed them that the pie they have been loving so much all this time, has always been Apple pie. It was absolutely brilliant.
The Coachella show has a special place in my heart as well, as last year I was awoken my by baby girl kicking me inside my belly right as Bey-Chella was about to start streaming at 6am. I felt like we watched it together because she was dancing about in there like crazy (it's in a vlog or insta story highlight somewhere!). I would say if you are not a Beyoncé fanatic, just put it on in the background when you are doing dishes one day because at the absolute minimum those songs and dance moves will make your chores a whole lot more enjoyable.
The Homecoming movie will stir up the drive in you to achieve a goal, big or small - it certainly has for me. Homecoming also gave an insight in to how hardworking Beyoncé is and how long it takes to prepare for a show - it's really truly inspiring when you see how amazing the outcome is. She says "if my country ass can do this, you can too", which I take as we have the same hours in the day as her, we can achieve our goals too.
My baby is 10 months old, she performed Beychella when her twins were 10 months old and I find that so invigorating and inspiring. Everytime I watch something of her's I go in to overdrive, I get shit done in a way that I have called the "Beyoncéffect". For years my phone has been full of screen recordings of people dancing to Beyoncé and I always wanted to do one myself. However I was always too terrified to do so - because I havn't danced properly in years and my body isn't at the level I want it to be and I can only imagine people laughing at my attempt to dance like her and thinking what in God's name is she doing. However, the Beyoncéffect was strong in Homecoming - the morning I watched it, I finally learnt the dance to Formation and posted it - naysayers be damned!
We need more people in the world like her, who make you feel inspired and fearless - who encourage you to believe in yourself and who show everyone, but especially women and mothers, that we can do it all - we will be absolutely exhausted and you have to work your ass off - but it is possible.
Good God I love her.
Where to watch: NETFLIX
STAND UP SHOW - Michael McIntyre (all his stand up shows)
I had always liked Michael McIntyre. I had seen a few of his shows that he hosts – Live At The Apollo and Michael McIntyre’s Big Show on BBC One - but I never would’ve considered him one of my favourite comedians. Then one night while in an Air BnB, I found his stand up show amongst the DVD collection and within seconds of putting in on was doubled over laughing. He is BRILLIANT!
I quickly realised that I had only seen the toned down, family-friendly version of him. However the Michael doing stand up with no holds on his cursing and filthiness is a comedic GENIUS. He observes human behaviour in a way that would put any psychologist to shame and makes the everyday moments in life in to routines that – and I don’t mean to be dramatic here but I think I cracked a rib laughing. He mixes slapstick with such quick wit that you are laughing at multiple things all at once. Seriously, I would say watching good stand up shows is the secret to a happy life and whenever I need a little endorphin rush, Michael’s shows have become my go to. I have now purchased all his tours on DVD as well as his autobiography and I am waiting to get tickets for his next tour. I’m so desperate for everyone to watch him because he is INCREDIBLE.
STAND OUT MOMENTS
(too many to mention but off the top of my head)
Learning how to run properly
The bottles in the cupboards
Morning breath
THEATRE SHOW - TUMULUS
Being hailed as a "Queer Noir" - Tumulus is based on a real crime and serial killer, so if you love murder mysteries and LGBQT+ issues, then you have to go see this show.
Produced by Outside Edge Theatre Company – the UK’s only theatre company focused on substance use and addiction, this show is a must see and is only on for a limited time at the Soho Theatre.
To buy tickets and find out more follow @outsideedge on Instagram or click here to buy tickets.
BOOK - THIS IS GOING TO HURT BY ADAM KAY
I read this a while ago but I still am telling everyone I speak to to read it. It is like a love letter to the NHS and is such an easy quick read purely because you cannot put it down. Adam Kay is absolutely hilarious and it didn't surprise me at all to find out he is now a comedy writer. It just shows you not only how overworked our doctors are, which we all knew but I think you forget out these people personally.
Adam Kay explains why the same people who loved their jobs so much that they cancelled their weddings last minute and worked five Christmas's in a row, are now the same people who are completely walking away from their careers in the NHS. In other words, they gave everything to the NHS and there is only so much you can expect of a human before they have nothing left to give. Adam also talks about the mental health of doctors and how most doctors have untreated PTSD. We as a nation needed to know that, the government needs to do something about this, to prioritise and take care of the people who take care of us. That is the big huge take away from the book, but it was also just absolutely hilarious and touching and charming. A must-read.
So that's my first Rachel Recommends - I talk a lot and as you can see I write a lot too, but I hope you enjoyed it! If you did please share and let me know, it will make my day! And if you have anything to recommend me, send me a message at @coco_milone or @rachellrecommends xx