Friday Five: Questions Created Very Quickly Late Friday Morning

This week's Friday Five:

1. What are you reading? Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. I might like The Dark Artifices series more than The Mortal Instruments. The main character/protagonist is far less annoying. In general, this series is more mature and way sexier.
   
   
2. What are you listening to? I've been rotating two albums this week. The first one is Rise Against's Wolves. I've been getting into them again since going to the Deftones and Rise Against concert on Sunday. I haven't really listened to their music in over a decade (I lost interest in them after The Sufferer & the Witness), but I've been enjoying Wolves for when I want a fast, head-banging, aggressive record (like when I'm driving). It's sonically predictable and those who liked Rise Against circa 2006 will find that they don't sound that different over a decade later, but it's ultimately a satisfyingly catchy punk rock record.
   
   The second album is Lorde's Melodrama, a gorgeously moody pop record. There are fun, dancey songs with experimental hooks and unexpected lyrics that flow beautifully together, and intimate, haunting tracks that paint the most vivid scenes of heartbreak and loneliness. It's a brilliant, dynamic, well-rounded follow-up to Pure Heroine that proves Lorde is playing in the big leagues now.
   
   
3. Anything amusing or strange happen to you recently? Not particularly. At least, nothing worth noting.
   
   
4. What's cookin'? Pasta with pesto, spinach, Italian meatballs, and three different kinds of cheeses.
   
   
5. What was your contribution to your most recent potluck? The last potluck I went to was a Christmas dinner at my aunt's house a couple years ago. We don't really contribute individually, but as family units. I think we brought a massive platter of sushi. (This is how non-religious Asians do Christmas, apparently.)