What the Dare Can’t Live Without

These are classic. I go through a pair a month maybe, but even still, these are harder to lose than AirPods. There’s sort of debate in the audiophile world about Bluetooth and audio quality, but I feel very secure knowing that the audio is coming right through the cable. They’ve already perfected it without trying to outdo themselves. It’s also more chic to have the wired ones.

These are like the base cell unit of the DJ world, and they disappear constantly. They’re like the socks of DJ-ing. You put them in your pocket, and they’re just gone forever. A lot of CDJs have multiple inputs now, but if you show up without one of these, you’re just screwed. They’re essential. I buy a lot of them, and then they inevitably disappear, just like the wired headphones.

I discovered this album last winter. A fellow music-producer friend posted the song “Cult Status” as the background music in a video of him just hanging out. The song’s funny, kind of tongue-in-cheek, but also has so much swaggering attitude. I was like,Where have you been all my life?It spoke to my soul and some deep truths in my being. I immediately did a deep dive on everything the band’s ever done. They’re from Glasgow, which is probably my favorite city of music in the world. I’ve listened to this album hundreds and hundreds of times at this point. I bought it on CD just to look at it.

I’ve been tea maxing for the last few months. I’ll drink at least three cups of tea a day. I’ll have Earl Grey or English breakfast in the morning and sometimes peppermint tea. It’s good for singing and relaxing. I feel like it’s also a good way to get me to drink water. I like Harney & Sons, honestly, because of the packaging. I’m a big design person, and I like the way it looks. I do feel like the tea bags themselves are better constructed, too. And I like that they’re not individually packaged. It feels more high-end, even if it isn’t. I’m sure there are realtea snobsout there who will say that it’s shit.

My roommate actually had a variation of thistea kettle, but it was coated and had a built-in thermometer. I left the house with the stove on and the whole thing melted and caught on fire. I needed redemption, so I got another one for myself. I love this kettle. I use it every single day for my multiple mugs of tea or coffee. I’m a hot-beverage enjoyer year-round, so all summer long I’m drinking hot tea and hot coffee. This feels classic and elegant. It feels good to hold. It doesn’t whistle, but I think I would find a whistling tea kettle annoying. I just have a sixth sense about when it’s time to check the kettle. I’ve used it a million times, and there’s no discoloration or weird burning on the bottom.

I didn’t know how much I needed twine until I needed it. I use it all the time. I tie up my trash and recycling with twine. I just moved and am in the process of decorating, so I use this and my tape measure every day for random projects. I don’t know, sometimes you just have to tie a bunch of stuff together.

I got this as a Christmas gift a year or two ago. A good friend was like, “I think you’re going to find a real kinship in this guy’s poetry and what you do and like.” And I immediately did. Frederick Seidel lives on the Upper West Side, I believe, and he’s sort of this villainous straight shooter. He’ll say things on paper that shock and offend in the classic Freudian way that shatters taboos. He’s not afraid to do it. But he’ll also talk about how much he loves Ducati motorcycles and handmade Italian leather footwear. I’ve turned to this a lot for inspiration or even just thought to myself,What would Seidel do?It was a really big discovery for me as a writer and helped shape my whole attitude and voice. And I think he’s just super underrated too.

I have two Comme des Garçons fragrances right now, but I want more. I’m greedy. I have the 2 Man and the Ouarzazate, which is named after a city in Morocco. It’s part of their Incense line, and each fragrance is named after a different city tied to a major religion. Morrissey famously wears theAvignon one, which was an influential Catholic city. Again, I just really love their design. And their scents are super fascinating. They do wacky stuff, like they have a weed-scented one, but the traditional ones are really beautiful.

When I walk through the airport and see those abandoned shoe-polish stations, it makes me a little sad. There needs to be a blow to the sneakerhead community. They need to be knocked down a peg or two. I think a leather shoe is a mature shoe. It’s an adult shoe, and if you have an adult shoe, you should take care of it. I don’t use this every day, but I love shining my shoes. It’s really a treat. It’s like cleaning your room or just one of those underrated, satisfying feelings.

I have asafety razor, so I just put a new razor blade in every day when I shave. I think I did some research and the consensus was that these were the best bang for your buck, quality razors. They’re also super useful for cleaning guitar frets, because you scrape the buildup, the dust, and finger gunk that gets into a guitar fret. It maintains the health of your instrument. I think there are also people that say this is probably bad for the guitar, but that’s not my job.