In my Northwest indie-ness isolation, there were a lot of ‘90s bands I was aware of but didn’t listen to. I mean, you had to go out and buy records vs. streaming a few hits online. Helium fell into that category.

Last week, though, I spotted more than a few Mary Timony snapshots while scrolling through my middle-aged social media since she’s on tour playing Helium songs. She did not look young. She didn’t look old either. She did look awesome with a guitar, in her t-shirt and choker.

Coincidentally or maybe not, last week I also read about the gross food aesthetic in pop culture on The Hairpin and one example was a video by Ex Hex, helmed by Mary Timony,  I can’t remember the last time I saw a woman in her mid-40s in a music video just like it was a normal thing and not some ‘80s-era Tina Turner comeback or Cher continuing to chug along.