#Tomás Mier

[ladyxgaga]

Rolling Stone: When I saw the tracklist, it moved me that Zombie Boy [the model and artist Rick Genest who appears in the ‘Born This Way’ video] inspired a song title. Rest in peace. Tell me about that song.

Lady Gaga: I think that Rick just was an inspiring person. And when I was working on this song, which is ultimately a big celebration song, that word just popped into my head. And that song is all about the moment in the night when you and your friends all realize that you’re going to wake up not feeling well the next day because you’re having too much fun, so it’s about being a zombie in the morning. But I think that, of course, he was such an inspiration.

- Lady Gaga on the song "Zombieboy" from her new album MAYHEM

Read the full interview with Rolling Stone here

[biglisbonnews]

Portugal. The Man’s John Gourley Reflects on Making Music With His Daughter Frances "We had written some of these songs around that," he says of his daughter's neurodegenerative disease diagnosis. "You don't know if people will feel that feel [you had] while writing it" https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/portugal-the-man-john-gourley-making-music-daughter-frances-1234800989/

[justinsentertainmentcorner]

Tomás Mier at Rolling Stone:

Lady Gaga used the Grammy stage to stand up for trans rights. While accepting the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award for “Die With a Smile,” the pop star made a bold statement about transgender rights, drawing a standing ovation. “It’s such an honor to sing for all of you. I just want to say tonight that trans people are not invisible. Trans people deserve love,” Gaga said onstage with Bruno Mars. “The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love.” Gaga’s comments come as President Donald Trump targeted the transgender community as soon as he took office last month. He signed an executive order rolling back trans and LGBTQ protections,  claiming that “‘female’ means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell,” and “‘male’ means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell.” In addition to only recognizing two sexes, the executive order also directs the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to “require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex.”  Gaga — who covered The Mamas & the Papas’ “California Dreamin” with Mars earlier in the night — has long been a voice for the LGBTQ community and has dedicated her philanthropy efforts with the Born This Way Foundation to LGBTQ youth. (The namesake song of the foundation shouts out “transgender lives.”)

Glad to see Lady Gaga take a bold stand for trans rights and trans people on the Grammys stage Sunday. 🏳️‍⚧️

See Also:

LGBTQ Nation: Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan, Alicia Keys shout out trans rights & equality at the Grammys

[nearmidnightannex]

Just because ... Orville and Willie

Featuring, apparently for the first time, the bottom two thirds of Orville's face.

Willie Nelson Thinks Queer Message in Orville Peck Video Is ‘More Important Than Ever’ (rollingstone.com)

BY TOMÁS MIER APRIL 5, 2024

WHO SAID THE gays couldn’t say yee haw?

On Friday, Orville Peck premiered the video for his duet of “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other” alongside country legend Willie Nelson with Rolling Stone.

“Willie kept talking about how the subject matter in this song was more important than ever,” Peck tells Rolling Stone. “He wanted it to have a new life with the two of us.” (Nelson previously covered the Ned Sublette classic in 2006.)

“With all the rhetoric surrounding the LGBTQIA+ community these days, it is so encouraging to have real allies like Willie that aren’t afraid to stand proudly next to us,” Peck adds....

[...] Doing the queer-coded track was actually Nelson’s idea. “As an artist who has sometimes felt excluded from the Country music industry, once Willie Nelson wants to work with you, there’s really nothing the country world can say after that,” Peck said....

[5hrenaissance]

"The speculation also coincided with a sudden increase in plays of Fifth Harmony’s music over the last month. Spotify streams in the U.S. for “All in My Head (Flex)” featuring Fetty Wap saw a whopping 590% increase in the last month, according to data provided to Rolling Stone. When Normani announced her album Dopamine on Feb. 21, U.S. streams for Fifth Harmony reached a peak jump of nearly 90%, compared to the previous month, according to Spotify data" - Tomás Mier

[lmjupdates]

Lauren Jauregui’s ‘Trust Issues’ Is a Poignant ‘Ode to Potential Lovers’

"This next era is really about growth and honesty," Jauregui tells Rolling Stone

BY TOMÁS MIER

LAUREN JAUREGUI IS thinking of what could’ve been. On Friday, the Prelude singer released her single “Trust Issues,” about opting to say goodbye before hurting someone she loves. Jauregui premiered the music video with Rolling Stone.

“‘Trust Issues’ is an ode to potential lovers,” she says. “I wrote it at a point in my life where I wasn’t healed enough to be getting into a new relationship seriously, so ‘Trust Issue’ is a warning.”

The video picks up as she concludes her live performance of “Always Love,” her previous single. It shows the singer writing and recording “Trust Issues” in the studio as the camera offers close-ups of her as she sings about avoiding the heartbreak.

“I’ve got trust issues and I know we all do/But I think I’m too wounded, darlin’, and that ain’t fair to you,” she sings in the powerful chorus. “I’m tired of being used and maybe that ain’t you/But I can’t take the chance when I’m damaged.”

Jauregui says the video is about breaking the fourth wall, and allowing herself to be vulnerable.

“I love the simplicity of it and we decided to shoot it the same day as a real shoot,” she says of the visuals. “I am a big fan of mixing digital and film so we had the super 8 floating around that day to capture some intense, intimate moments.”

“Trust Issues” is the first stage of a new chapter for Jauregui. It’s her first song release of the year and follows her single “Always Love” and sapphic collaboration with Snow Tha Product, “Piña.” She dropped her EP Prelude in 2021.

“This next era is really about growth and honesty. I can’t wait for everyone to hear these next records, I have been holding on to them and now I finally want to release them,” she says. “‘Trust Issues’ is one of my favorites of all of them.”

[lespetiteschouettes]

 Joyride - Kesha

Introduction

Le 4 juillet 2024, Kesha a célébré son indépendance artistique en lançant "Joyride", son premier single sous son propre label, Kesha Records. Après une décennie marquée par des batailles juridiques avec son ancien producteur, Dr. Luke, cette sortie symbolise une nouvelle ère de liberté créative pour l'artiste. "Joyride" est également le premier extrait de son sixième album studio à venir, prévu pour 2025.

Composition

D'une durée de deux minutes et trente secondes, "Joyride" est un mélange dynamique d'électropop, de dance-pop et de synth-pop, avec des touches de polka et de hyperpop. La chanson se distingue par l'utilisation d'accordéons, de synthétiseurs puissants et de voix modulées, rappelant le style "talk-singing" caractéristique des débuts de Kesha. Les paroles, pleines d'esprit, utilisent la métaphore de la conduite pour aborder des thèmes tels que l'amour-propre et l'autonomisation.

Réception Critique

À sa sortie, "Joyride" a été largement saluée par la critique. Zoe Guy de Vulture a qualifié la chanson de "banger" parfaitement adapté �� l'été, tandis que Tomás Mier de Rolling Stone l'a décrite comme "délicieusement kitsch", offrant un avant-goût d'un "été insouciant de Kesha". Variety a également loué le titre, le décrivant comme un "électro-banger" rappelant les premiers succès de l'artiste, tels que "Tik Tok" et "We R Who We R".

Audio

[wherewhereare]

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton Pick ‘Purple Irises’ on Sweet New Single Stefani is set to premiere the song during a TikTok Super Bowl concert this weekend

BY TOMÁS MIER

FEBRUARY 9, 2024 Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani ELLEN VON UNWERTH* THERE SEEMS TO be nothing like Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton‘s love.

On Friday, the pair released their newest musical collaboration, “Purple Irises,” which hears the two duetting about choosing each other after being heartbroken.

“Wonder why you took a risk/On a broken heart you cannot fix,” the couple duets, referencing how the couple met on the set of The Voice in 2014, shortly following both of their divorces — Shelton from Miranda Lambert and Stefani from Gavin Rossdale. “It’s not 2014 but you still look good in those jeans/Looking in the mirror do you see what I see,” sings Shelton on the track.

The song, produced by Scott Hendricks, was co-written by Stefani with Svante Halldin, Jakob Hazell, and Latina singer-songwriter Niko Rubio.

The song arrived several days before Stefani is set to perform the track for the first time at TikTok’s official tailgate concert. Last week, she shared a photo of the flowers with a note that read: “To: Pretty Girl. Love, Blake.”

The couple — which got married in July 2021 — has collaborated on duets several times over the years. Stefani joined Shelton for several country singles: She sang with him on “Go Ahead and Break My Heart” in 2016, “Nobody But You” in 2019, and “Happy Anywhere” in 2020.

Shelton also joined Stefani for the Christmas song “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” in 2017. The duo also released a duet of The Judds’ “Love Is Alive” last year in tribute to Wynonna Judd.

“The Judds are one of the greatest country acts of our lifetime. Eighties country music is my favorite decade, and I’ve been singing Judd songs for as long as I can remember,” Shelton shared in a statement. “We wanted to stick pretty close to the original version and Gwen just nails the vocal.”

Later this year, Stefani is set to reunite with her No Doubt bandmates for a special performance at Coachella. “It just happened so fast, and that’s my favorite kind of thing to happen,” Stefani told People. “And I think really just watching the internet blow up [with] how excited that the fans are? It’s inspiring us.”

[louisupdates]

Tomás Mier, writer for Rollingstone, via twitter - 12.03

[mychampagne-mybubbles]

Staff writer Tomás Mier at Rolling Stone is praising Louis’ show in Los Angeles 12.03.2022

I recommend to go into his twitter account and check on al the comments, are very worthy 🏳️‍🌈

👉🏼LTWTindex

[ladyxgaga]

WELCOME TO MAYHEM

The #MAYHEMERA is here and Lady Gaga is actively promoting her 7th studio album across several magazines and publications

Do not get lost in the MAYHEM, I got you covered!

Dive into this collection of several interviews where Gaga shares details on the album's creation process, Coachella, her personal life, LGBTQIA+ rights and much more

Las Culturistas

NRJ France

HugoDécrypte

W Magazine

Entertainment Tonight

Extratv

Access Hollywood

Good Morning America

Black Girl Nerds

Vogue Magazine

Stereogum

Rolling Stone

Billboard

Consequence

Spotify (join the waiting room)

Them

Entertainment Weekly

Love you all xx

[shefanispeculator]

"I never expected to be writing, but it was in there. And it's been really, really incredible," Stefani told Apple Music's Zane Lowe

By Tomás Mier

December 07, 2020 12:25 PM

No Doubt, she's the same girl!

On Monday, Gwen Stefani dropped her Latin and reggae-tinged song "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" — and it has quite a few references to the singer's iconic past work!

"In the first place (Place), 'cause you know I'm like organic / And it tastes great (Great), I already gave you bananas (Woo)," she sings, referring to her B-A-N-A-N-A-S line in "Hollaback Girl." "Go ahead and help yourself, me again in your ear / Binge on my music for days 'cause I've been here for years."

"Not a comeback (Oh), I'm recycling me," she continues. "It's not a comeback (Oh), you feel that new enеrgy."

Stefani, 51, worked with Ross Golan and Luke Niccoli on the new track.

The song — which is her first since getting engaged with longtime boyfriend Blake Shelton — comes the same week her duet with him, "Happy Anywhere," is No. 1 on the Billboard country airplay chart.

Talking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music on Monday, the singer revealed that she "never really was planning to do new music."

"I fantasized about it but I was also like... I don't know," she said. "I always think about artists that I loved growing up, and I think I just want to listen to the songs that I like that they did. And that's nostalgic for me."

The singer also explained how the new song returns to her musical origins, adding that she has recorded "probably 20 songs."

"I never expected to be writing, but it was in there. And it's been really, really incredible," she said. "I mean, there's just nothing else that I do in my life, and I have done so many things, that makes me feel ignited the way a new song makes me feel."

The singer has been teasing "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" for several days.

"i’ve got a new song. i want to play it for u. when are u guys gonna be around?" she tweeted on Thursday before Shelton jokingly responded, "I’ll be around the next week or 2 if that works for you?"

"It was just a full circle, back to my roots, I know what kind of music I want to make," she later added about the reggae-tinged sounds of No Doubt and her new song. "And I want to make music that makes people feel happy."

The singer followed the cryptic post by sharing several photos of her different music eras with the caption "memory lane."

The cover for the single shows Stefani in the iconic outfit she wore during No Doubt's "Just a Girl" music video 25 years ago, but she leaves the bindi behind, and instead, she adds two necklaces with her last name and that of her fiancé, Shelton.

"When I wrote the song, I was just so naïve. I hadn't written many songs, nobody knew — I didn't even know who I was," she said about the song last year on The View. "I wrote this song because I was just getting in touch with that feeling, when you're born, if you're a female, you just don't think about it, you're just a human and through life, you get this power through your sexuality, but then you're vulnerable at the same time because all of a sudden you're a victim."

Aside from debuting the holiday track "Here This Christmas" and reissuing her You Make It Feel Like Christmas album in late October, her last single was with Shelton for "Nobody but You."

Stefani and Shelton got engaged in October and made the news public then. They've been dating since 2015 when they met on The Voice.

Stefani's last non-holiday album came in 2016 when she released This Is What the Truth Feels Like featuring singles such as "Used to Love You," "Make Me Like You" and "Misery."

[makistar2018]

Inside Taylor Swift's Personal Diary Entries: Read All of the Biggest Revelations

By Tomás Mier August 24, 2019

Photo: DIA DIPASUPIL/GETTY

Lover of Diaries

Fans got an inside look at some of Taylor Swift’s most personal thoughts when they bought the deluxe version of her new album, Lover.

Along with some behind-the-scenes recordings, each album featured a 30-page booklet with excerpts from her personal diaries — some even from she was just 13!

“I’ve written about pretty much everything that’s happened to me. I’ve written my original lyrics in those diaries, just feelings,” she said on an Instagram Live announcing the booklets. “It’s everything from pictures drawn, photos of that time in my life, I used to like tape stuff in my diaries.”

Here are the top 10 takeaways from her personal diary entries.

Photo: CHRISTOPHER POLK/GETTY 

Swift the Lyricist

If the diary entries are filled with anything, it’s a deep dive into her song lyrics.

“Red” was born on a long flight — and everyone she played it for loved it.

“Its [sic] so different than anything we’ve done,” she wrote in 2011. “I can’t even tell you how alive and worthwhile I feel when I’m writing a new song and I finish it and people like it. It’s the most fulfilling feeling, like getting an A+ on your report card.”

The diaries also share early versions of “All Too Well” and songs like “Long Live,” “White Horse,” “Holy Ground” and “This Love.”

In a 2014 entry, she writes about the creation of her ultra-hit “Shake It Off.”

“The best way I know how to describe it is that the chorus just fell out of the sky,” she wrote in 2014.

“We all went home and I wrote the first and second verses and brought them in the next day. We wrote this chanty cheer leader bridge that I absolutely LOVE,” she continued.

As for the album cover that would accompany “Shake It Off,” she wrote that she “saw it within 10 seconds.”

“The craziest moment came when something caught my eye. The cover photo is photo 13. I kid you not,” she wrote about the polaroid cover to 1989, which she accompanied with a sketch.

Photo:  HENRY LAMB/BEI/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

A Glamorous Gala

In a diary entry, Swift writes about being invited to “this event called ‘The Met Gala.’”

To an 18-year-old Swift, that day was “THE party of the year.”

“The paps started SCREAMING for me. It was crazy,” she wrote in May 2008. “We made our way up the red carpet, posing for everyone. All of the women looked so glamorous in their gowns.”

Along with meeting Anna Wintour, George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Giorgio Armani at the event, she wrote that “models stood as decorations, standing still and wearing gorgeous gowns.”

Once inside, she lists “every celebrity ever created” at the event, including Scarlett Johansson, Tom Brady, Beyoncé, Victoria Beckham, Tom Cruise and Jon Bon Jovi “who called me over to talk to him.”

Photo: LARRY BUSACCA/GETTY 

Borchetta's Beginnings

Weeks before the release of Lover, a public feud involving Swift and her old label Big Machine made headlines when the label’s founder Scott Borchetta sold the label (and ownership of her masters) to Scooter Braun.

But years before, Swift had nothing but kind things to say about the label founder who signed her.

After meeting with Capitol Records and not being offered “the deal I would want,” she met with Borchetta — and left with feelings of excitement.

“I really loved all the stuff he said in the meeting, and he stayed for the whole Bluebird show,” she wrote in November 2014. “And he’s SO passionate about this project. I think that’s the way we’re gonna go, I want to surround myself with passionate people.”

A meeting with Borchetta also made “Sparks Fly” as she came up with the name of her second album.

“We were talking about the record and I had this epiphany,” she wrote in April 2010. “I didn’t talk in interviews about how I felt about much of what has happened in the last two years. I’ve been silent about so much that I’m saying on this album. It’s time to Speak Now.”

“Scott freaked out. He loved it,” she wrote in April 2010. “We have a title, ladies and gentlemen!”

Photo: SPLASH 

"The Hunters Will Always Outnumber Me"

Swift also opens up about the lack of privacy that comes with being a celebrity — and how she’ll never get used to seeing “a group of people staring, amassed outside my house, pointing, camera phones up…”

“They could never imagine how much that feels like being hunted,” she wrote.

Swift compares her “mostly perfect life” to “being a tiger in a wildlife enclosure.”

“It’s pretty in there, but you can’t get out,” she described in the August 2013 note.

“No matter how big my house is or how many albums I sell, I’m still going to be the rabbit,” she added. “Because the hunters will always outnumber me. The spectators will stand by, shaking their heads, going ‘that poor girl.’ But the point is, they’re still watching. Everyone loves a good hunt.”

But her feelings about being “hunted” also translated into worrying about her generation’s obsession with taking photos “so that they can spend all day checking the comments underneath.”

“They will never truly experience a moment without attempting to capture it and own it,” she wrote, comparing pulling a flower from the ground to take photos. “Nevermind that picking a flower kills it, the same way taking a picture of a moment can ruin it altogether.”

Swift has notably kept comments off of her post to improve her mental health.

“I’m training my brain to not need the validation of someone telling me that I look 🔥🔥🔥,” she wrote in Elle. “I’m also blocking out anyone who might feel the need to tell me to ‘go die in a hole ho’ while I’m having my coffee at nine in the morning.”

Photo: AL MESSERSCHMIDT/GETTY

From Fearful to "Fearless"

Though Swift is now known for her jaw-dropping stage presence, as a young singer she wrote that she would “get stage fright every time I walk onto a stage.”

“I wish it wasn’t so, but I can’t blame my mind for freaking out about performances,” she wrote in 2010, days before releasing Speak Now. “Criticism of my performances has been the biggest source of pain in my life.”

“I sometimes feel like my college degree is in acting like I’m ok when I’m not,” wrote a 20-year-old Swift.

But even as a burgeoning singer at just 13, she would get hate while on stage. During one performance, her guitar pick broke in half and fell while she was playing.

“There was this huge silence! It was awful! I had to bend over and pick it up in front of everyone!” she wrote next to the broken pick. “And while I was singing, this guy was shouting stuff like, ‘Go on, b*#@! Sing that country bulls#*%! Go on motherf—!.’ It was awful.”

Photo: SCOTT GRIES/GETTY IMAGES

Done with Dieting

In her diaries, she also candidly writes about sticking to a diet as a teen.

Soon after Thanksgiving 2006, she returned to Nashville to her “own comfy bed” and planned to go out to eat with her best friend Abigail Anderson during a day off.  

“Oh and I’m dieting again,” she wrote right after.

“Over the holidays I didn’t watch what I ate and man its [sic] so weird how fast I can gain or lose weight… It’s crazy,” she ended the note. “So I’m going to lose some now.”

Earlier this year, she wrote about finally being okay with gaining weight.

“I learned to stop hating every ounce of fat on my body,” she wrote in Elle. “I worked hard to retrain my brain that a little extra weight means curves, shinier hair, and more energy.”

The “Daylight” singer also said that she’s constantly working on her body image.

“I think a lot of us push the boundaries of dieting, but taking it too far can be really dangerous. There is no quick fix,” she said. “I work on accepting my body every day.”

Photo: CHRISTOPHER POLK/GETTY IMAGES

"I'ma Let You Finish, But..."

“Ahh… the things that can change in a week…” wrote Swift in a Sept. 18, 2009 journal entry.

Five days had passed since Kanye West crashed Swift’s Video of the Year acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, but the whole ordeal was all she — and everyone else — could think about.

“If you had told me that one of the biggest stars in music was going to jump up onstage and announce that he thought I shouldn’t have won on live television, I would’ve said ‘That stuff doesn’t really happen in real life,’” she wrote.

“Well… apparently…. It does,” she ended the note.

Little did 19-year-old Swift know that West would cause more tumult in her life seven years later. In an August 2016 note, she simply wrote, “This summer is the apocalypse.”

The “apocalyptic” summer came when West referred to the singer as “that bitch”in his track “Famous” and featured a nude version of the “Shake It Off” singer in its accompanying video.

Then, Swift said she never approved of the lyric after his wife Kim Kardashianleaked a phone call conversation between the two singers.

“Being falsely painted as a liar when I was never given the full story or played any part of the song is character assassination,” she wrote then. That “Cruel Summer” ordeal would go on to inspire her sixth album, reputation.

Photo:  SPLASH NEWS

A Joe Alwyn “Love Story”

Like in Lover’s lyrics, Swift doesn’t hold back about her deep feelings for boyfriend Joe Alwyn in her personal diary.

Clearly writing about Alwyn, the singer confessed about wanting to keep their relationship under wraps as much as possible.

“I’m essentially based in London, hiding out trying to protect us from the nasty world that just wants to ruin things,” she wrote in a January 2017 note. “We have been together and no one has found out for 3 months now. I want it to stay that way because I don’t want anything about this to change or become too complicated or intruded upon.”

“But it’s senseless to worry about someday not being happy when I am happy now,” she concluded. “OK. Breathe.”

But Swift wasn’t always so sure about love being real — especially when it came to Valentine’s Day.

“I somehow feel like it’s my destiny to roll my eyes at happy couples and resent Valentine’s Day. I also feel like I’m the girl before ‘the one.’ I’m not ‘the one,’” she wrote at 19. “I’m the girl you think is the one for you, and when it doesn’t work out with me, you meet the next girl and realize she IS the one.”

And as a mere 13 year old, she imagined the first time she’d have her first kiss — and about being “such a romantic.”

“I just dream about looking into someone’s eyes and feeling something I’ve never felt before, you know?” she wrote. “I just never was able to put a face to my fantacy [sic]. But something tells me that my first kiss is really far away from happening!”

Photo:  LARRY BUSACCA/WIREIMAGE

The Night Before...

Before the 2014 Grammy Awards, Swift was confident her album Red would take home the biggest award of the night.

“It’s the middle of the night and I was at the Clive Davis party tonight which means… the Grammys are tomorrow,” she wrote. “Never have I felt so good about our chances. Never have I wanted something so badly as I want to hear them say ‘Red’ is the Album of the Year.”

Though she was up for four awards that year, Swift would head home empty handed.

Though she had won that award two years prior with Fearless, it wouldn’t be until her 2014 album 1989 that she’d take home the coveted prize again. In her 13-year career, Swift has won 10 Grammys from 32 nominations.

Photo:  MICHAEL LOCCISANO/FILMMAGIC

“This Might Be Worth Money Someday”

Though her diary entries are filled with some insight into the more complicated times in her life, the entries also feature some cute memories of her youth — including her middle school class schedule, some song lyrics and memories about listening to Sugarland for the first time.

Accompanied by drawings and the number 13, in her first journal entry, she signs her name and writes “(That could be worth money someday!! Just kidding hehe).”

Under “Journal #1,” a 13-year-old Swift writes a poem: “The world is as big as you make it / Never be shameful to fly / When a chance comes you should take it / May you never be scared of goodbye…”

After performing at a school talent show, Swift wrote: “I ❤ SCHOOL!”

Reminiscing on the grand day, Swift wrote, “I got a standing ovation and everything.”

People

[suchananewsblog]

Was Rihanna's Halftime Performance Classic or Low-Energy?

With no superstar guests or costume changes, Rihanna’s long-awaited, hit-packed comeback at last week’s Super Bowl Halftime Show relied entirely on her own music — and her singular stage presence and swagger. And as always, the performance, complete with an understated pregnancy reveal, prompted endless online discourse. In the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, Tomás Mier — who liked the…

[lmjupdates]

Lauren Jauregui Talks Self-Love, Imposter Syndrome, and Making Music as a ‘New Bitch’

The “Colors” singer announces her partnership with Patreon for a new podcast, titled Attunement. “If you love what you do, that’s all that matters,” she says

By TOMÁS MIER

At the start of the pandemic and its self-reflection-causing lockdown, Lauren Jauregui took to Instagram Live for weekly conversations, a series titled Attunement. She’d speak to experts about voting, recite poems, and ultimately share space with other individuals.

“I was talking about my own healing process and sharing tools that have helped me throughout my journey,” Jauregui tells Rolling Stone. Now, Attunement is back. But this time it’s in the form of a Patreon podcast, where she’ll be able to connect more directly with fans while having needed conversations about spirituality, white supremacy, and imposter syndrome.

“With the podcast, I want to hone in a bit more on that intimacy and have a more streamlined version of these conversations,” Jauregui says. The podcast’s first episode, out Tuesday, is a conversation with author Sonya Renee Taylor, as the two discuss the topic of radical self-love.

Ahead of Attunement‘s release, Rolling Stone caught up with Jauregui — who dropped her debut EP Prelude last year — about the podcast and what’s next for her musically.

Intentionality seems to be really important for you. What’s your intention with the podcast version of Attunement? Who is it for? It’s for all of us. It’s for anyone on their healing journey, or trying to figure out what that even means, or trying to connect to the bigger picture of humanity right now. We’re all in this state of confusion and disconnection. We’re all looking for a path to follow or something to rally behind that actually takes care of all of us. There are just a lot of beautiful people who have brilliant ideas, who are dreamers, and whose imaginations are so wonderful and possible. I think that anything that’s ever existed is first in our imagination, and then we bring it to life. I really want to have those conversations real candidly and openly with people whose art I admire.

One of the things that you talk about in the first episode is redefining success. What does success look like for you today? Success is being able to do what I love, being able to take care of myself and the people I love. Honestly, getting to wake up and do what I love every day. Everything that comes with it and moves with it is a blessing. Expressing and connecting is the point.

This first episode was so much about radical self-love, which is a new term for me. What does radical self-love look like for you? Sonia Renee Taylor, who’s the first guest of the episode, is an author, a brilliant poet, who wrote The Body Is Not an Apology. And in it, she speaks about radical self-love, and just the concept of accepting yourself outside of the context of patriarchal white supremacy, and its dominance over our lives and actions. That is what’s propelling this absurd movement we’re seeing. Our conversations on the podcast connect the bridges between us as a global community and us as a collective consciousness. We’re not as separate from each other as we’re made to believe.

Radical self-love is the concept of loving yourself unapologetically and forgiving yourself no matter if anyone else does. It’s moving in your life living your truth and understanding, that you can grow and that you can actualize who you truly are. And that doesn’t always just have to do with the way you’re perceived, but more so how you perceive yourself and how you accept and love yourself. When I read Sonya’s book, it just blew my mind.

What can listeners expect from the upcoming episodes? Who are some of the guests that will be coming on to the show? There are quite a few people I’m excited about. I’m not sticking to one lane of humans. I have a lot of friends in different fields, and I’m really willing to explore people’s different realms. I think that that’s also the magic of it: Everybody has a role in this new, higher consciousness reality where we take care of each other and we actually create realities where we sustain one another and create sustainable communities with the earth. There’s just a lot of different people coming on, but Sonya’s the only person I want to talk about. I want the rest to be a surprise!

You talk about imposter syndrome on the episode. This year marks the 10th anniversary of you being in the industry. (Fifth Harmony was formed in July 2012.) How do you confront it today? You just have to move through it. You may feel like this, but at the end of the day, each one of us is given a light. We have something to offer, even if it’s just for one person. You have to get over the imposter syndrome because you’re doing what you love. And if you love what you do, that’s all that matters.

Would you say that you’ve reached a point where you’ve gotten there? Are you doing what you love? Absolutely yes. I make music for a living. [Music] makes people vibe and dance, and create movement. That’s a fucking blessing. At this point, I have the creative freedom to do what I want.

Manifestation has been an important part for you it seems. Is there something that you’re manifesting for yourself this year? Today, I decided to surrender. I’m manifesting on a core level because I’ve always been manifesting a reality where I get to make a living and sustain myself and my family with what I do. I want to continue to grow as an artist, I want to work with other beautiful artists. I want to be present in life so that I can experience it and I can write about it, so I can make it into art. That’s what I want! I’m into planning, don’t get me wrong, you have to have a plan of where you’re going to head, but you can’t be attached to the outcome. No expectations, if you will.

This is Rolling Stone so I have to ask about your music. I’m finishing up my album. I’m making new music because I’m a new bitch.

Can you tease it? No. [Laughs] I don’t know what I’m going to make yet. I have so many new ideas. I have a couple of songs from before that are really beautiful that will probably end up on the album, but there’s more in me that I have to get out. I have to keep writing.

Anything to add? I want people to be really honest and be invested in this as a whole, as a community. I want to connect with fans and have this be a safe space for us. And I want that to be a trial run the situation. I want to see how people feel about it. I want to get feedback from the audience. The basic tier, which is still access to the podcast, it’s $3.33, because I had to get an angel number in there! I’m just so grateful for Patreon for having an awesome space where I can curate a creative flow and connect with my fans.

Source: (x)

[movimientoestudiantil68]

#El68 La ofensiva contra la UNAM (tercera de tres partes).

A partir del 26 de julio, la movilización estudiantil comenzó a extenderse. En las calles, brigadas de estudiantes y porros cercaron las preparatorias tres y dos, en un  perímetro que comprendió las calles de Venezuela, Guatemala, Brasil y El Carmen. En cada bocacalle tendieron un cuerda y dejaron guardias de 20 estudiantes. Luego colocaron camiones con las llantas ponchadas. Algunos formaron brigadas para recolectar fondos y tomaron camiones en distintos puntos de la ciudad.

Muy cerca de ellos, en la esquina de Seminario y Guatemala, permanecieron apostados aproximadamente 200 agentes, bajo el mando del coronel Ramón Ruiz Torres, que no hicieron nada por impedir la acción de los jóvenes.

También los estudiantes de las vocacionales 2 y 5 levantaron barricadas en torno de la Ciudadela, recordaba El Johnny. “Desde el mismo viernes, los jóvenes de las porras apoyaron a sus compañeros frente a las agresiones de los granaderos y policías y muchos se hicieron cargo de las barricadas y de proveer de camiones”.

Gilberto Guevara Niebla aseguró que la mayoría de los jóvenes que ocuparon las escuelas y levantaron barricadas en esos días eran porros, estudiantes fósiles y “vagos de procedencia incierta”, entre los que se mezclaron sólo algunos estudiantes regulares. (En la hipótesis de la provocación fraguada, llama a sospecha que los porros, siempre temidos por los estudiantes, hubieran desplegado una defensa tan feroz de los planteles escolares.)

Ese sábado 27, por la mañana, una comisión de estudiantes de la Vocacional 5, encabezada por Genaro Alanís, intentó entrevistarse con regente capitalino, Alfonso Corona del Rosal, pero en la antesala de sus oficinas fueron detenidos. A las 5 de la tarde, hubo una asamblea en el anfiteatro Justo Sierra del Colegio de San Ildefonso, a la que acudieron dirigentes estudiantiles de la UNAM, el Poli, Chapingo, la Normal y algunas escuelas de los estados. Era la primera reunión de coordinación estudiantil.

Por la noche, se reiniciaron los enfrentamientos entre granaderos y estudiantes, en los alrededores de San Ildefonso. La UNAM entonces, por iniciativa del rector Javier Barros Sierra, buscó un acercamiento con las autoridades para encontrar una salida pacífica al conflicto. 

Fernando Solana, entonces secretario universitario, se puso en contacto con el secretario del DDF, Rodofo González Guevara, en quien percibió una “extraña indiferencia”, como comentó Barros Sierra a Gastón García Cantú, años después. Fungieron como mediadores Alfonso Millán, Eduardo Martínez y Julio González Tejada, quienes pudieron entrevistarse con los jóvenes.

Pero apenas puesto un pie fuera del área de barricada, los funcionarios universitarios fueron aprehendidos por la policía. A Millán lo patearon y luego los llevaron a todos a la PGR para interrogarlos. Los mantuvieron incomunicados hasta la madrugada que los dejaron en libertad.

Las autoridades universitarias ocultaron “esa provocación” a los estudiantes para evitar cualquier incidente y revertir la negociación, que llegó a buen puerto, pues en la madrugada del domingo, un grupo de estudiantes fue liberado y trasladado a las preparatorias para que sus compañeros los vieran. A cambio, los estudiantes permitieron que la Dirección de Tránsito retirara los 17 camiones que ya habían tomado.

Antes, sin embargo, en medio de la tensa calman que habían logrado las negociaciones entre la UNAM y las autoridades, ocurrió una provocación más que registró El Universal en su edición del 29 de julio: estudiantes que custodiaban el acceso al barrio universitario fueron agredidos por cerca de 200 jóvenes que pretendieron destruir las barricadas, entraron a la Preparatoria uno, cortaron la energía eléctrica y robaron equipo de oficina y pinturas de la oficina del director. Ninguno de los asaltantes fue detenido por la policía que mantenía cercada la zona. Gilberto Guevara Niebla, en su libro La libertad nunca se olvida, presumió que ésta fue la primera actuación del grupo paramilitar de los Halcones, que comandó Manuel Díaz Escobar, y se hizo célebre en la represión del 10 de junio de 1971, el Jueves de Corpus. José Rosario Cebreros, líder de la FNET en 1968, me confirmó en entrevista esta suposición.

Ese fin de semana, además, nació la primera versión del pliego petitorio de los estudiantes (la versión definitiva se elaboró en los primeros días de agosto, ya formado el Consejo Nacional de Huelga), en una asamblea en la Escuela Superior de Economía del Poli, en la que participaron representantes estudiantiles de casi todas las escuelas del Valle de México y acordaron generalizar la huelga. Exigían en ese primer borrador:

1.- Desaparición de la FNET, de la porra universitaria y del MURO (Movimiento Universitario de Renovadora Orientación).

2.- Expulsión de los estudiantes miembros de las citadas agrupaciones y del PRI.

3.- Indemnización por parte del gobierno a los estudiantes heridos y a los familiares de los que resultaron muertos.

4.- Excarcelación de todos los estudiantes detenidos.

5.- Desaparición del cuerpo de granaderos y demás policías de represión

6.- Desaparición del artículo 145 del Código Penal (disolución social).

Estas demandas fueron base de la lucha del movimiento estudiantil y de su Consejo Nacional de Huelga. No obstante, la FNET afirma que en principio fueron suyas las peticiones. Las acordaron, aseguraban, en la reunión que sostuvieron la tarde del viernes 26 de julio, en el Casco de Santo Tomás, como respuesta a la entrada de los granaderos a la voca 5. Exigían la destitución de Luis Cueto, jefe de la Policía Preventiva del DF, y Alfonso Frías Ramírez, comandante de los granaderos; la desaparición de ese cuerpo; indemnización para los estudiantes heridos por la policía; garantías para los estudiantes y desaparición del artículo 145 del Código Penal. La FNET había presentado sus demandas ante la prensa el sábado 27, pero el lío en el centro los dejó de lado.

Para el lunes 29 de julio, la inconformidad y la protesta habían alcanzado a la UNAM, que progresivamente se unió a la huelga de los politécnicos. La movilización estudiantil se extendió como onda expansiva. No sólo en el DF, sino en algunos ciudades del país como Villahermosa, Tabasco, donde los universitarios se manifestaron en apoyo a los capitalino y fueron dispersados con gases lacrimógenos.

Ese lunes hubo reportes de incidentes en las vocacionales y preparatorias de distintos rumbos de la ciudad. En Observatorio, estudiantes de la Vocacional 5 secuestraron a dos policías con la intención de canjearlos por compañeros suyos detenidos. La situación se complicó cuando un autobús de la línea Estrella Roja atropelló a un alumno de la vecina Preparatoria 4. Los estudiantes secuestraron este y dos autobuses más para dirigirse hacia el centro de la ciudad, a las preparatorias uno y dos. Los de la prepa 7 bloquearon avenida de la Viga. Otros jóvenes atravesaron camiones en Fray Servando Teresa de Mier.

La toma de camiones se replicó en Nonoalco-Tlatelolco, donde los estudiantes de voca 7 bloquearon las principales avenidas, mientras las vocaciones 2 y 5 retomaron las barricadas en torno de la la Ciudadela, donde colocan diez autobuses.

Las autoridades, por su parte, cerraron los accesos principales de Zacatenco y la Ciudad Universitaria. En la glorieta de Miguel Ángel de Quevedo y avenida Universidad colocaron patrullas y carros de granaderos que impidieron el tránsito.

Por la tarde, los jóvenes de las preparatorias convocaron a una concentración en el Zócalo y hacia allá se dirigieron cerca de 300, que salieron de San Ildefonso. Otra vez los granaderos les cerraron el camino y se reavivó la violencia. Los estudiantes se refugiaron de nuevo en las preparatorias de la zona, tomaron autobuses y los colocaron en las esquinas de acceso a esas escuelas. Allí se atrincheraron con sillas, mesas, pupitres y trocos de árbol. Otros corrieron hacia la Vocacional 7 de Tlatelolco, la Escuela Superior de Economía del Casco de Santo Tomás y la Vocacional 5 de la Ciudadela. Alrededor de todos los planteles colocaron barricadas y comenzaron las pintas: “¡Basta ya de pisotear nuestros derechos con bestiales agresiones!”

“Durante más de dos horas, ambos grupos (estudiantes y granaderos) se limitaron a lanzarse mutuos ataques a distancia, sin que ninguno mostrara intención de avanzar más allá de cierta zona. Por el lado del Zócalo, agentes de la policía preventiva, con cascos y macanas, se limitaron a contener a los estudiantes que presionaban hacia la Plaza Mayor por las calles de Guatemala y Argentina. Las bombas molotov lanzadas por los primeros caían a la mitad del arroyo, muy lejos de los granaderos. Ocasionalmente, cuanto éstos cargaban, lograban capturar a alguno de los estudiantes rezagados, Las cruces (Cruz Roja y Cruz Verde) recogieron a una decena de jóvenes y otros tantos granaderos”, se lee en la nota del periódico El Día, del 30 de julio.

A las 9 de la noche arribaron a la zona cercada por los estudiantes, más elementos de la policía del DF y del Cuerpo de Granaderos. En algún momento, uno de los policías gritó frente a la prensa: “¡Están abriendo las armerías!” y enseguida comenzaron a lanzar gases lacrimógenos y se precipitaron contra los estudiantes. Los jóvenes respondieron con piedras y bombas molotov, y quemaron los autobuses para impedir el paso. La refriega se extendió pasada la medianoche.

“La prepa uno era nuestro fuerte. Allí cargábamos piedras y regresábamos al Zócalo, volvíamos por la Catedral, por la calle Argentina, y así hasta la madrugada”, recordaba El Johnny.

De pronto, los granaderos se retiraron. La zona quedó envuelta en gases y sobrevino el silencio.

A las doce de la noche en punto se puso en marcha la Misión Azteca, a cargo del general de Brigada Crisóforo Manzón Pineda. La operación concentró a tres agrupamientos. El primero integrado por el Batallón de Fusileros Paracaidistas y la Policía Militar. El segundo concentró al tercer Batallón de Infantería y el segundo Escuadrón Blindado de Reconocimiento. Y el tercero, al 40 Batallón de Infantería, el 44 Batallón de Infantería y el segundo Grupo Mixto de Armas de Fuego.

Del Campo Militar Número Uno partió con rumbo al centro de la ciudad un convoy de tanques ligeros y jeeps equipados con bazucas de 101 milímetros, así como siete transportes Power y camiones DINA con soldados de línea pertenecientes a la Primera Zona Militar. Se desplazaron por el anillo Periférico hasta la Glorieta de Petróleos, tomaron Paseo de la Reforma, avenida Juárez, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón y Santa María la Redonda. Y de allí marcharon en columnas hasta las calles adyacentes a la Plaza de la Constitución. Eran, aproximadamente ocho mil elementos que se distribuyeron por distintos puntos de la ciudad.

El primero en actuar fue el Batallón de Fusileros Paracaidistas, al mando del general José Hernández Toledo, quien años atrás había dirigido los asaltos a las universidades de Sonora y Michoacán. A las 12:55, sus elementos se colocaron en el perímetro de las calles El Carmen, Seminario, Moneda, Argentina y Guatemala. Eran 650 elementos militares que rodearon las instalaciones de San Ildefonso, sede de las preparatorias uno y tres, con la orden de desalojar a los estudiantes. Para la acción contó con el apoyo de la Policía Militar y más tarde se sumaron los elementos del 44 Batallón de Infantería.

Hubo un ultimátum: abandonen la escuela. Nadie respondió. Entonces vino el disparo de una bazuca M1, que derribó la puerta colonial de San Ildefonso. Gilberto Guevara Niebla asegura que en el edificio de San Ildefonso había sólo ocho jóvenes, de los cuales siete estaban heridos y fueron detenidos. “El único estudiante ileso parecía estar drogado, y al no obedecer puntualmente las órdenes que recibía, fue golpeado de manera brutal. Un fotógrafo de prensa estadunidense logró captar el momento en que uno de los militares dejaba caer la culata de su rifle sobre el rostro del adolescente; la fotografía se difundió por todo el mundo y apareció al día siguiente en la primera página de The New York Times”. Guevara Niebla dice que más tarde se supo que ese joven, de nombre Jessaí Díaz Rodríguez o José Gómez Pedroza, no era estudiante. Fue el único consignado en esa operación y pasó casi tres años en la cárcel. Al poco tiempo de salir, murió en circunstancias extrañas, junto a su amante, en un hotel de paso.

Sin embargo, en el parte militar elaborado por José Hernández Toledo, se aseguró que habían sido detenidos 127 estudiantes y que en el lugar hallaron 10 bombas molotov, dos botes de gasolina, una botella de ácido, una botella de amoniaco de cinco litros y una caja de propaganda comunista.

Algunos periódicos mintieron, apegándose a la versión del Ejército, que responsabilizó de la destrucción de la puerta de San Ildefonso a los estudiantes, atribuyéndoles la detonación de una bomba molotov. Sin embargo, hubo fotografías que mostraron la escena en la que aparece la muerta derribada y el militar con la bazuca al hombro.

En las horas siguientes de la madrugada del 30 de julio continuó la operación militar. Los soldados extendieron el cerco y catearon “cada casa” de la zona en busca de los “elementos subversivos”, que no habían podido atrapar en la Preparatoria uno. “Sin embargo, el Ejército no molestó a los moradores de esa zona, sino que sólo penetró en las casonas deshabitadas que estaban en poder de los alborotadores”, afirmó El Universal.

Otros efectivos se trasladaron a las vocacionales 2, 5 y 7, en la Ciudadela y Tlatelolco, respectivamente. En las primeras le dieron cinco minutos a los estudiantes para salir. Éstos intentaron resistir, pero al final abandonaron su plantel con las manos en la nuca. Eran aproximadamente 300 jóvenes que fueron detenidos y trasladados al Campo Militar Número Uno.

En la Vocacional 7 se encontraba esa noche César Tirado, quien ya había huido de la voca 5 cuando vio llegar al Ejército. “Iba en busca de una reunión a la que nos habían convocado. Llegué a la Voca 5 y al cabo de un rato todos comenzaron a gritar: ¡ahí viene el Ejército! Nadie lo sospechaba ni lo podía creer. Los jóvenes decidieron quedarse, pero yo sabía que no había nada qué hacer, de modo que corrí”.

En el camino encontró a dos estudiantes y subieron a un taxi “para salir de allí a como diera lugar”. Iba ocupado por una jovencita que trabajaba en el teatro Blanquita y se fueron con ella. “Desde el Blanquita vimos pasar carros de ambulancia, del Ejército, jeeps, era un movimiento tremendo, iban a gran velocidad. No había medida de lo que estaba pasando”.

Tirado se trasladó a la Vocacional 7. Todavía le dio tiempo de ir a la casa de un compañero para pedirle un suéter y dejar su portafolio, “que no recogí hasta el final de movimiento”.

Al llegar a la voca 7, los muchachos le dijeron que tenían bombas molotov. “Es más desgraciado el nombre de lo que en realidad era aquello: botellas con una estopa, mecha y gasolina. Yo les dije: no tarda en venir el Ejército, van a tomar las escuelas y no hay manera de defenderlas, entiendan. Entonces llaron los militares, lentamente, por San Juan de Letrán, con las luces rojas encendidas. Eran tanques, jeeps, un desfile de tropas. La noche de los generales. Nosotros éramos alrededor de 200. No había mucho que hacer. Sólo dije: hay que esperar. Yo ya estaba asustado. Tenía 21 años y estaba rodeado de jovencitos de 15 y 16 años”.

Cuando por fin llegaron los militares, un alto mando subió a la barda y los conminó a salir. “Yo comencé a hablar hacia los militares, hablé de la Constitución, de nuestros derechos. De pronto, el coronel dijo: que se entregue el líder. Giré la cabeza y no había nadie más que yo. Bajé y me entregué. No había más que hacer. Entraron y fueron sacando a los muchachos. Algunos dicen que se escondieron en unas gavetas de los laboratorios de química. De los 200 que había, fuimos como 90 los detenidos. A todos nos golpearon. A uno grandote que le decían El Sope –porque era el encargado de la cocina– se lo llevaron aparte. Y todos los demás amanecimos en Lecumberri”.

En celdas de dos por tres metros metieron a 30 en cada una, recordaba. “Los muchachos lloraban y yo pensaba: ahora que se inició la revolución, yo estoy en la cárcel. No sabíamos lo que estaba pasando afuera. A los dos días nos sacaron. Muchos debieron sentir ganas de irse a su tierra. Pero la mayoría se quedó y regresamos a las escuelas”.

Otro de los detenidos esa noche fue El Johnny, a quien trasladaron a Tlaxcoaque. “Como éramos muchos, salimos a varias delegaciones, al Torito, El Carmen, Lecumberri. Y a los más vistos nos llevaron a Tlaxcoaque. Allí nos recibieron Cueto y Mendiolea. Ahí nos encontramos a varios de los detenidos del Partido Comunista. Nos juntaron a todos”.  

Los militares tomaron hasta la Preparatoria 5, de Coapa, que se encontraba muy lejos del centro de la ciudad y cuyos estudiantes no habían participado en los disturbios.

La operación del Ejército concluyó poco antes de las 3 de la mañana del martes 30 de julio. La prensa justificó la intervención militar dados “los desmanes” de los estudiantes y la inconformidad de los ciudadanos.

El Universal calculó que el saldo de la jornada fue de 400 heridos y al menos mil detenidos. Los estudiantes aseguraron que hubo al menos 48 muertos entre el viernes 26 de julio y la madrugada del 30. En las siguientes horas, muchos jóvenes fueron puestos en libertad, cuando “se comprobó que eran estudiantes”.

El entonces secretario de la Defensa Nacional, Marcelino García Barragán, declarado que el Ejército actuó inmediatamente después de que recibió la petición del regente, Alfonso Corona del Rosal, y del secretario de Gobernación, Luis Echeverría. “Estamos preparados para repeler cualquier agresión y lo haremos con toda la energía: no habrá contemplaciones para nadie”, dijo.

Muchos años después, García Barragán aseguró que Echeverría y Corona del Rosal habían exagerado la situación de esa noche para obligar la intervención del Ejército, de acuerdo con los documentos que Julio Scherer hace públicos en su libro Parte de guerra.

Las declaraciones de las autoridades militares y civiles fueron contradictorias desde el principio. Esa misma madrugada, poco antes de las cuatro de la mañana, Corona del Rosal y Echeverría se presentaron en conferencia. El primero negó que la policía hubiera violado algún recinto estudiantil, aseguró que no hubo decesos y que ninguna comisión estudiantil lo había buscado, a pesar de que así había sido. Nuevamente justificaron las acciones policiacas ante las evidencias de “un plan de agitación y subversión perfectamente planeado” y estaba claro que los responsables eran del Partido Comunista. “El Ejército se retirará cuando se restablezca la normalidad”, dijo.

El titular de la Segob declaró: “La autonomía de la Universidad estuvo en peligro. Debido a ello, en vista de la situación y para evitar derramamiento de sangre, los cuales se han evitado (sic), fue que se pidió la intervención del Ejército”.

García Barragán, a su vez, negó que hubiera estudiantes detenidos en el Campo Militar.

La hipótesis de la provocación se fortaleció y los estudiantes se convirtieron en el epicentro de un fenómeno político y social que, cincuenta años después, todavía llama a la reflexión, el análisis y la investigación.

El movimiento estudiantil de 1968 había comenzado.