romanticization and its consequences

corecore, matcha lattes, and the salt circle around reality

by Eleanor Dushin

I sat in my dorm’s communal kitchen painting my friend’s nails. It was mid-first semester and the heat hadn’t turned on yet, so it was uncomfortable to wear anything less than a sweatshirt. Every time I finished a nail, my friend would lift his hand close to his eyes to examine the quality of my application, then, once satisfied, continue scrolling on TikTok with his fingers fanned out in fear of smearing nail polish across the screen. Between his fingers I caught glimpses of random clips and the words “#fyp #corecore #nichetok.” Piano music and the ambient sounds of Beach House and Aphex Twin reverberated through the tiled walls.

Over the last five years, adding -core to words has gained popularity to denote a certain style or aesthetic. Cottagecore, fairycore, glitchcore, and a bottomless pit of other -cores provide niche descriptions of clothing, music, and Pinterest photos. Out of the fire of -cores rose a phoenix: corecore. ...

1. Lorde released Pure Heroine

2. Birth of Vine

3. Alice met Taylor Swift

4. The Red Wedding

5. Teen dystopias & Twilight

6. Sam Nevins’ Bar Mitzvah (Mazel Tov!)

7. “I got my ticket for the long way round”

8. Dumb Ways to Die

9. Grand Theft Auto V

10. Mustaches Everything

LIFESTYLE

Spring Swing

post- mini crossword 10

by AJ WU