#and they’re adding a Lady Gaga song the same season

[surr3al1sm]

Just Dance really said: ‘Happy Pride month, here’s a gay couple.’

[isobel-thorm]

evens for a v of your choice? 👀

let’s go with Evvie uwu

The Basics

2. Gender Identity Cis female

4. Race and Ethnicity Human, white, Irish origins

6. Headcanon VA - & fc Lauren Cohan

8. Weapon of Choice(?)  Nowaki Assault rifle, or any shotgun she can get her hands on

10. Do they have any markings, piercings or scars? Small scar on the right side of her upper lip

12. Own any pets? She’s very dedicated to her fish

14. Can they cook? Can they bake? She’s passable with both, but she enjoys baking more.

16. Can they drive? She can. Doesn’t mean she should. If it’s a four wheel vehicle anyway. She can’t drive those for shit but she’s amazing on a motorcycle.

18. Have any special keepsakes? The implant that she and Velkan use for Twin Switches. It’s useful and sentimental all in one go. She still thinks getting Johnny via the same tech is karma for it, though. 

Interests

19. Hobbies: Clothes shopping, cardio

20. Clothing/Aesthetic: Expensive, cute, lives in leather pants or slacks with bright colored midriff-bearing shirts and jackets.

21. Fave food(s) and drink(s) Seafood and whiskey

22. Fave Color: Light blue

23. Fave Genre: Romantic Comedy

24. Fave Season: Summer

25. City or Country? Anywhere But Night City

26. Guilty Pleasure Sweatpants

Storytime

27. What’s their family like? Who’s in it? What’s their relationship with them? Her and her siblings’ relationship is just about non existent with their parents because they basically abandoned them all, and the desire to find them has dwindled to none over the years. Her twin brother Velkan is the most important person in her life, and her other siblings aren’t that far behind, as much as Valencia would say otherwise. 

28. Are they literate? Did they go to school? How long? What level? She’s intelligent, probably somewhere just beyond college level, but she’s also more a street smarts kind of gal- or business smarts, considering she’s Corpo. Trust No Bitch and all that. 

29. What was childhood like? A lot of waiting around for parents who didn’t come home much.

30. What was adolescence like? Same as childhood with the added obligation to help Velkan take care of Vance and Valencia. 

31. What’s their current main conflict? This is currently up in the air. Right now it’s either ‘keep Velkan out of trouble’, ‘keep Vance alive from doing all this shit’ and/or ‘get the terrorist out of my head.’ 

32. What steps have they taken to overcome this conflict? Shoot first ask questions later, be there for her siblings at all costs.

33. How have they changed over time? Lightened up a lot. Like, a lot. She’s still the Full Fledged Adult of the group, though. 

For Fun

34. What’s their room look like right now? Sheer chaos in the main rooms, perfectly organized and color coded closet. 

35. What are they like as a friend? Loyal, encouraging, #2 Wingman

36. What are they like as a partner? Same as friend, add very very subtly-but-effective-flirty

37. Do they have any phobias? Fear of abandonment

38. Did/do they go anywhere special for vacations? Beaches, as far from Night City as she could afford.

39. Your character walks into a cafe. What do they order? Super sweet iced coffee. Probably some fancy limited time flavor like that Dunkin Brownie one. 

40. What time do they go to bed, usually? No set time, where she drops, she drops. 

41. What’s their morning routine like? 80% of it is spent trying to decide what to wear, then its just eat and go. 

42. What’s the dumbest thing your character’s done? Joined the corporate world to try to get a better life for her and her siblings, which ended up doing the opposite.

43. What pokemon would your character be (if they’re already a pokemon/gijinka tell us what they are, and how that’s affected them)? A Vulpix or Ninetails,

44. What’s their pokemon team? Try to pick all 6. Vulpix, Rapidash, Cubone, Lapras, Dragonair, Houndoom. She said “consistency whomst?”

45. Theme song (and a playlist if you’ve got it!)  Here’s one for “the Greys” as in all four of them but its really just her at the same time. All the songs are the right vibe for her.  The main ones for vibe/energy on that list are Blow (Deconstructed) Kesha,  Beauiful Dirty Rich - Lady Gaga, Hello - Karmin

46. If this character was in a musical, what would their motif be (what kind of instruments do you hear, what’s the tempo, etc). Legally Blonde’s energy with the sound of Heathers. Light, mostly hopeful, but intense songs. 

The Deep Lore™

47. What was this character’s biggest turning point in their life, something that changed them almost completely? Joining Corporate. It set her on a path where she turned into someone she started to not like and got out just in time, but she’s also well aware it almost ended her family because of the domino effect it had on her family. 

48. What was their lowest point? What was their highest point? Lowest was the same answer, and high point, well, haven’t gotten that far yet.

49. What are some themes tied to your character’s story? / 50. What are some motifs associated with your character?  “Stick to your guns” / “ffight for your family.”

51. What were some inspirations for your character (people, movies, games)?  I didn’t really have character inspo as far as personality, but her fashion sense was definitely “SR 2/3 Shaundi, but willing to put on a suit jacket and heels” - literal ‘Corporate Ho.’ 

52. How are you and your character the same? How are you different? Oh she’s absolutely a chaotic confident mess and I’m... as far opposite as possible. 

53. Expectations vs Reality: what did you expect and what did you get with this character?  No expectations had or met just yet. 

54. What does your character want, and what do they need? Wants to never have anyone abandon her, wants a solid life with her family all getting along peacefully. She also needs that but general stability would be nice, because she’s been all over the place in life for most of it. 

55. What’s your character’s core trait? What’s their best trait? What’s their worst trait? When happens when these all interact with each other? Determination and blind optimism, respectively. They end up giving her lots of high, happy expectations, where the results are usually anything but. 

56. What’s your overall goal with this character? Will they get a happy ending or will they succumb to their faults?  We’ll see how canon goes, but if it’s too sad, God is Dead, My Canon Now. She can go be happy with Vik/Dino/Whoever The Hell I Settle On. 

[tabloidtoc]

OK, November 23

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Jeff Bridges opens up about the fight of his life 

Page 2: Contents 

Page 3: Contents 

Page 4: Lori Loughlin’s life behind bars -- Lori’s been having a hard time adjusting to her new reality

Page 6: The holiday season will look a little different for Prince Harry this year -- originally the plan was for Harry to travel to England around Christmastime and Meghan Markle reluctantly agreed though she was far from happy with the idea but now with new travel restrictions in place due to Covid-19 she’s told him there’s no way they’re leaving California which is crushing for Harry who was looking forward to spending the holidays with the royals especially since he missed out last year and he’s been horribly homesick these last few months and he misses the holiday traditions he grew up with even though he loves his life in America with Meghan and son Archie 

Page 7: Newly single Kelly Clarkson has been swooning over country crooner Brett Eldredge her collaborator on the flirty new Christmas tune Under the Mistletoe -- they spent lots of time together in the studio and on the phone and really bonded while they were cutting this sexy song, Brad Pitt’s most recent ex-girlfriend Nicole Poturalski has started talking to friends about what happened between them in detail and it’s an embarrassing mess for Brad who prides himself on privacy, after 16 seasons as colleagues and sparring BFFs on The Voice Adam Levine and Blake Shelton are besties no more because there was a lot of talk between them about keeping in touch and hanging out after Adam left the show but amid lingering tensions neither has made an effort and Adam may not even be invited when Blake marries Gwen Stefani

Page 8: Ever since Sofia Richie split for good from Scott Disick she’s been out every night with some really shady types to the dismay of her dad Lionel Richie who is not liking what he’s hearing about her partying and dating habits -- Sofia has already jumped into a new relationship with Cha Cha Matcha founder Matthew Morton and is hanging nonstop with his crew -- Lionel thought breaking free from Scott would mean a calmer life but it just sees like she’s gone off the rails, Betty White is already gearing up to celebrate her 99th birthday in January with a low-key yet reverent bash, she’s been linked to several Hollywood hunks of late but Lily James just wants her old beau back and she’s regretting breaking off her five-year relationship with Matt Smith -- since the split she’s been linked to Dominic West and Armie Hammer and Chris Evans and the onslaught has only made her miss Matt more -- Matt’s always had her back and Lily knows she made a mistake letting him go but Matt feels duped regarding all the rumors about her and other guys but she swears nothing happened and that she misses him

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars wow in romantic ruffled gowns -- Keke Palmer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kirsten Dunst 

Page 11: Lupita Nyong’o, Halsey 

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Renee Bargh vs. Alessandra Ambrosio

Page 14: News In Photos -- Paris Jackson posed for a portrait in Beverly Hills days before releasing her debut solo album 

Page 15: Adam Brody with his newborn son in Malibu, pregnant Jinger Duggar stepped out in Venice with husband Jeremy Vuolo and their daughter Felicity for lunch, Lady Gaga on stage at a drive-in concert in Pittsburgh 

Page 16: Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell headed out for brunch with one of their twin daughters in Encino, Camila Cabello held on tight to one of her three pups while chasing another one who escaped from his leash in Miami, Pierce Brosnan playing golf in Hawaii 

Page 18: DJ Diplo took a dip in the ocean in Miami, John Legend took his Ford Mustang out for a spin with wife Chrissy Teigen and one of their dogs in Beverly Hills 

Page 19: Bella Thorne and boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo in Rome, Scott Disick was Ace Ventura for Halloween in L.A. 

Page 20: Ruff Life -- stars show love for their canine companions -- Ariel Winter and her latest rescue Cobey, Jamie Chung and her dog, soccer star Alex Morgan with her dogs Kona and Blue 

Page 21: Nev Schulman cuddled up with Dancing With the Stars partner Jenna Johnson’s dog Ziggy, PLEASE ADOPT, DON’T SHOP  

Page 22: Shawn Mendes on a walk in Miami, Kate Mara stopped by Target with her daughter, Ellen DeGeneres dressed up as a nurse who is her favorite superhero 

Page 24: Skai Jackson headed to rehearsals for Dancing With the Stars, Elizabeth Lyn Vargas of Real Housewives of Orange County gave a tour of her home, Joe Jonas strolling daughter Willa around the neighborhood 

Page 25: Thomas Brodie-Sangster attended the premiere of Stardust a biopic about David Bowie in London, Donnie Wahlberg and Steve Schirripa filmed a scene for Blue Bloods in Brooklyn 

Page 26: Taking over duties from Prince Harry his stepmother Duchess Camilla arrived at the Field of Remembrance to commemorate those who lost their lives in the armed forces in London, Amber Heard enjoyed a hike with her dog in L.A., Renee Elisa Goldsberry and Sara Bareilles and Paula Pell and Busy Philipps filmed a scene for Tina Fey’s upcoming series Girls5Eva in NYC 

Page 27: Offset delivered free food to voters waiting in line on Election Day, Ciara in Seattle 

Page 28: Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes have finally become husband and wife in a low-key ceremony in the backyard of their L.A. home with just a handful of family and close friends like Steve Carell and Emma Stone were in attendance -- Ryan wore jeans with a button-down shirt while Eva wore a red dress from her own collection -- now that the party’s over Eva and Ryan have been talking about having a third child

Page 29: Reality hit Love Is Blind hooked viewers with its OMG premise but the show’s married cohosts Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey were decidedly less riveting and their presenting style was laughably wooden and stiff and while the duo is slated to return for the show’s second season Nick and Vanessa have been put on notice to spice it up, Tori Spelling is freaking out at the prospect of her husband Dean McDermott spending six months alone in Toronto which is the same town where he cheated on her seven years ago -- Dean has signed on to star in Canadian TV show Lady Dicks and while Tori should be thrilled that that he’ll be bringing in some income for their often-struggling family of seven she is preparing for the worst 

Page 30: While it appears Nina Dobrev and Shaun White have spent 2020 in hardcore flirt mode Nina’s friends have cautioned that this is a dead-end romance because Shaun shows up and posts pictures of them on social media but the fact is they’ve barely spent any time together and they hook up and then he goes back to his own place -- Shaun rarely invites Nina to either of his two Hollywood Hills pads and is proving his flaky reputation is legit, things are looking up for parents-to-be Kit Harington and Rose Leslie after a rocky start to their marriage the two are finally in a happy place -- Kit has stopped boozing and this baby has put a fire under him to be more accommodating and besides helping update and baby-proof the couple’s 15th century countryside manor Kit’s been more attentive to Rose in every way, Love Bites -- Erika Jayne and Tom Girardi split, Maya Erskine and Michael Angarano are engaged and expecting, Ashlee Simpson welcomed her second child with husband Evan Ross 

Page 32: Cover Story -- Jeff Bridges: I’m not giving up -- how the beloved star is coping during his brave health battle 

Page 36: Katherine Heigl why she disappeared -- the reason Katherine walked away from the spotlight ad how she found her way back 

Page 38: Home Alone turns 30 -- in honor of the holiday classic’s milestone anniversary secrets and trivia about the movie and its stars 

Page 40: Feel the Burn -- fitness fanatic Morgan Coleman is here to take your home workout up a notch 

Page 42: Healthy Holidays -- how stars stay fit and feeling their best during the festive season 

Page 46: Style Week -- Olivia Culpo has teamed up with her siblings on an exclusive collection for Macy’s 

Page 48: What’s Hot Right Now -- Madewell wants you to Make Weekends Longer with its new sustainable MWL collection 

Page 49: Steal Her Style -- Drew Barrymore 

Page 50: Dress the Halls -- festive pieces to rock through the holidays even if you’re celebrating at home -- AnnaSophia Robb 

Page 54: Entertainment 

Page 55: Q&A -- Jake Tyson

Page 58: Buzz -- Just weeks after Kim Kardashian West was slammed over her 40th birthday bash Kendall Jenner received similar criticism for throwing a jam-packed soiree for her 25th birthday 

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Cameron Diaz on having a baby at 47, Conan O’Brien on the props that were stolen from his late-night set, Sacha Baron Cohen joking that he and his wife Isla Fisher are not A-listers, Anne Hathaway on the embarrassing ways she handled the lockdown 

Page 61: Florence Pugh on her close relationship with her Black Widow costar Scarlett Johansson, Christine Quinn on not being bothered by negative comments, Chelsea Handler on crushing on New York governor Andrew Cuomo 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Lisa Bonet turned 53 on November 16 

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Colin Jost

[hip-young-beamslinger]

Stupid Ask List, feel free to answer these questions yourself

1. What’s one animal you wish you could have as a pet but can’t? Probably one of those huge Frisian horses? I can’t have them because I have no money and horses intimidate me.

2. Favorite thing to wear to sleep? When I’m cold I wear a long nightgown. I love long nightgowns

3. What song really gets you going? That is actually a song I came across on tumblr once: Mahishasura Mardini (Droplex Remix) - Shanti People https://open.spotify.com/track/3NWXBvMdXaoEvW8Tvw8qk3?si=XlTRbI01TPu1K11kiPRZbg

4. Where do you usually eat your meals? On the couch, in front of the tv

5. Favorite meal: breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Dinner!

6. Most embarrassing habit? I pick at scabs a lot. And I sniff my fingers.

7. Chocolate or fruity candy? Chocolate 1000%

8. Soft or hard tacos? Soft ones!

9. Worst way to break up a fight? Getting punched?

10. Best thing to say in an elevator of strangers? NOTHING.

11. What color/design are your bedsheets? Something IKEA. I believe it’s the purple one with a Baroque pattern.

12. Any hidden talents? Can sleep everywhere.

13. Favorite thing to drink out of (mug, glass, etc.)? Mugs for everything and I like to drink my tea out of small cups (like the Japanese type of cups)

14. Socks or bare feet around the house? Feetsies!

15. Favorite board game? Rummikub (I hate board games)

16. Do you sleep with the fan on or off? On, I am super bad at regulating my body temperature.

17. Heat on or keep it cold with lots of layers? Keep it cold, I get warm very easily.

18. Do you sing in the shower? Nope.

19. Favorite song to belt out at the top of your lungs when you’re alone? Love me Wrong by Allie X & Bad Romance by Lady Gaga

20. Last thing you cried about? I wrote a sad RP tag 

21. At what age did you first have alcohol? Sixteen, Fifteen? It was Baileys.

22. Relationship status? Single with cats

23. What’s the most amount of money you’ve spent on a single item of clothing? Nike Air Max shoes for 250 Dutch guilders. 

24. What do you typically wear to formal events? Fancy dress

25. Favorite memory? My trip to China and Tibet in 2013.

26. Gum or breath mints? None.

27. Favorite shoes? I love my Dr. Martens boots. They’re high boots with embroidery on the side.

28. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? My nose.

29. What is the natural state of your hair? Straight and uninteresting.

30. Have you ever had braces? I think in total for at least 10 years, yeah

31. Most dangerous thing you’ve ever done? Jumped from a boat into the sea

32. Most embarrassing thing your parents have caught you doing? Probably finding my collection of sex ads. I collected sex ads from the newspaper which were mostly texts like ‘my ____ are so big and your ___ is huge’

33. Last time you had an orgasm? A week ago? I don’t know, don’t keep up.

34. Celebrity crush(es)? Richard Madden

35. Windows or Mac? Mac!

36. How old were you when you learned to ride a bike? Six or seven.

37. Makeup or natural? Both.

38. What color do you wear the most? Yellow and black, but also blue.

39. Favorite season? Spring

40. Umbrella or rain coat? Umbrella

41. Have you ever fallen out of a tree? Nope

42. First car you ever owned? None.

43. What time do you usually go to bed? Midnight

44. Are you a competitive person? A little. 

45. Least favorite color? Bright fluorescent things

46. First pet you’ve ever owned? A bunch of fish

47. Sweet or salty? Salty

48. Favorite pasta dish? Chicken with pesto

49. Favorite kind of chips? Ringlings!

50. Talk about something you’re passionate about. I am deep into Fate hell recently, won’t recommend it. 0/10, won’t do ever again.

51. What are some of your hobbies? Drawing, embroidery, online roleplay, being a goddamn boring hermit

52. Caffeine? If so, what kind? Tea and sweet iced coffee (frappuchinos)

53. Favorite kind of pizza? The truffle pizza from New York Pizza. Also 4 cheeses.

54. Fast food or sit-down restaurant? Sit down 100%

55. Lots of acquaintances or a handful of close friends? Handful of friends

56. Something that ruins your appetite? Bugs.

57. Favorite labels about you? I don’t get this question. Define labels?

58. Are you a religious person? Oh no. Noooo.

59. Night out with a bunch of friends in public or night in with one friend having deep conversations? I’m too old to go out so deep conversations it is

60. What size shoe do you wear? European size 40

61. Favorite thing about yourself? I’m creative??

62. Have you ever told someone you loved them first? Nope. 

63. Have you ever had sex on the first date? I have had 2 dates in my entire life, come on. 

64. Heroes or villains? Villains

65. Favorite fruit? Banana and apple

66. Least favorite fruit? Not too wild about melon

67. Favorite vegetable? Spinach

68. Least favorite vegetable? Celery and cauliflower 

69. How many plates can you eat at a buffet? One well filled one

70. Favorite dessert? Ice

71. Do you play any sports? Not currently, no

72. Age you learned how to swim? The moment we got swimminglessons at school. I was 5 or 6

73. Tell a funny story. I was once in New York together with my friend. We were attending NYCC and who do we encounter? An old friend I haven’t seen in ages. Like this Dutch dude just being there after 8 years. That was funny.

74. What’s one interesting thing about your culture? Idek, really. 

75. What’s one annoying thing about your culture? Probably Black Pete

76. What job would you be terrible at? Anything with children. I don’t like kids. 

77. Would you rather watch a TV show or a movie? TV show

78. What’s your favorite compliment to give? Any compliment.

79. What’s your favorite compliment to receive? That my art is good.

80. Has your opinion changed on something recently? Yep.

81. Do you always order the same thing at a restaurant or order something different each time? I’m an adventurer

82. What’s something you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet? Going to the gym. I really need to do something about my stamina.

83. If you could learn to do anything right now, what would it be? Probably proper digital coloring

84. Favorite physical feature about yourself? I have an hourglass figure?

85. Least favorite physical feature about yourself? I have a big butt and there’s this extra lump on it that makes me an L on the top and an XL on the bottom. My nose.

86. What’s one amazing thing you did that nobody was around to see? I scuba dived

87. If you could change your height, would you? Nope

88. What’s something you would rate 10/10? My ability to eat large amounts of food in a short time.

89. Heels or flats? Flats!

90. What’s something you wish you had more knowledge about? Programming

91. Would you want to be famous? Never! :D

92. What’s something you would get arrested for? I jaywalked.

93. What’s your spirit animal? A sloth

94. What’s the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to you? That the previous owner of my apartment accepted my offer instead of the other two.

95. Are you the type to have an organized mess, or no mess at all? Organized mess.

96. Do you tend to make decisions based on the past, present, or future? Future

97. Are you a planner or a more spontaneous person? Planner

98. Thoughts on the oxford comma? It’s a comma and it has to do with English grammar and I’m Dutch.

99. What do you hope never changes? I hope my family will be alive for a long time.

100. How would you celebrate your 100th birthday? Alone in a nursing home

[merry-go-round-jailhouse]

Hello sillies this is a monumental post for me. Remember before how I was like “Oh I don’t know any music. I can’t name anything I listen to.” You know... like an idiot. Well that’s not me anymore! Because of the internet and apps! Thank you internet and apps! So here is a list of albums and bands and songs that I listened to a lot last year.

*Disclaimer* yes you will notice this list is 95% Japanese musicians... and before any of you girlies try to roast me for that just KNOW I am prepared to whip out my Counterattack Card and let you know it’s actually an act of bravery against your Amerikkkan Western-centric capitalist hetero... homopho... homophone... homo sapi... um something musical hegemony so just TRY to rib me. While you were going on dates I was studying Maoist Third Worldism... also it’s the algorithms’ fault anyway for always recommending Japanese musicians to me so take it up with them!

This is all off the top of my head and in no definitive rankings and there’s no sense to the organization of this post. Links to albums or those “official” auto-generated playlists on Youtube when possible otherwise they’re usually on Spotify. And yes I will have to resort to checking wikipedia to describe genres :)

As I was making this list I realized I have to break it up so here’s “Part One”

Swinging Popiscle - I love this band! Indie pop/rock according to Wikipedia lol. One of my favorite songs of the entire year is on one of these albums but I won’t say what it is because if you read the lyrics it will give you too much insight into my stupid melodramatic inner life. Did I belt it out every time I got severely drunk??? You guess...

Fennec!

Transit (Youtube playlist)

Flow

Swinging Popsicle

Go On (Youtube playlist)

[Song] Perfect Loop - from their album Loud Cut which I haven’t found easily anywhere! Shoot.

Serani Poji - Has a special place in my heart because I really like what they produced and their whole style of music, but also because I discovered them in the spring at the same time the S******** r**** season started, so I would listen to Serani on my shitty little Beats Pill knockoff Bluetooth speaker from Ross while driving back through West Seattle and over the viaduct after the games, and it was sooooo perfect. Days when the S******** would be winning easily and the tree pollen would drift down onto the field like snow in the late afternoon sun and I would lean against the temporary fence because I got the last overflow tickets right on the field, and then I would put on DEAR HEROES or Laughing Frog while I drove to the water to watch the sunset... oh shit let’s not get too deep into my gay feelings. Genre: ... pop? See I really am too dumb to say anything ever.

One-Room Survival

Manamoon

fan mix from NicoNico - includes songs from her last album... Merry-Go-Round Jailhouse! Hahaha behind the scenes of this here blog.

Coaltar of the Deepers - Did I start listening to them just because they did a song for an anime I watched???? ... yes >:) This is actually the wildest new band for me that I started listening to cause they’re like alternative rock/heavy metal/shoegaze. What an evolution in taste from that little q*eer in 7th grade who would come home from school and BLAST Lady Gaga bad Romance every day. Well, that’s just the kind of adventurous, open, curious, cool, worldly, daring, fun, sexy, perfect guy I am!

Yukari Telepath

Come Over to The Deepend

THE BREASTROKE II

[Song] SUMMER GAZER ‘92 - my perfect timing as always because they just released a new EP a few months ago! Rabbit EP I think it’s called.

[Song] Dear Future - the song that started it all, baby............ and yes this is an AMV what the fuck do you have to say about it KEEP SCROLLIN

The Pillows - Ok you know what... Okay. I... We all know which anime I learned about them from. Alright. Get off my fucking back about it.

Runners High

Living Field

Happy Bivouac

Across the metropolis

Little Busters

Please Mr. Lostman

Unchain - Actually I came across them by way of a fan mashup with Serani Poji. Genre: Rock... but they (extremely strained voice as I try to hide I’m reading this off my phone under the desk) later developed into a pop rock... neo soul... style... including funk and... dance elements.

[Song] Let Me Be The One

[Song] You Over You

[Song] Show Me Your Height

[Song] The World Is Yours

Toki Asako - STRIPE is THE song of the summer I’ve been telling you all. And that applies to both hemispheres so we can keep it going all year long.

[Song] STRIPE (Soundcloud)

[Song] Black Savanna

[Song] Kamakura

[Song] Usubeni no City

[Song] Human Nature

HIGHLIGHT - The Very Best of Toki Asako (Spotify)

SAFARI (Spotify)

Goldfrapp - Silver Eye (Youtube playlist). I like everything from them but I gave Silver Eye another listen in 2018 because I wasn’t the biggest fan when they first released it but it has definitely grown on me.

Chain Wallet - Chain Wallet. Have I reached the point in my list where I’m including non-Japanese bands to prove that I don’t literally only listen to Japanese music... well...

Shrift - Lost in a Moment (Youtube playlist). ... yes. Yes I have. I mean I am pulling out the proof that I’m not 100% a freak. I actually discovered this band back on Pandora! Throwbaaaaaaack jeez. To like a decade ago--back when I had a physical CD of this album! But I listened to it recently again, it’s good, it’s samba-y and bossa-y and you know how bossa is healing for my soul.

Bibio - A Mineral Love and my favorite song from it Light Up The Sky. I still remember hearing it for the first time on a night drive through Bothell :)

Sonic Coaster Pop - Super Miracle Circuit. Back to Japanese artists after I fully convinced you of what a normal human I am. Very good memories of listening to this every time I would bike across the 520 bridge :)

Sunny Day Service - Wooooooo BEACH VIBES beachy vibes baby. Posi beachy wave sun vibrations, beachy surf beach rock guitar sand vibes dude. You know brah you feeling my BEACHY SUMMER ROCK VIBES? Anyway albums on Spotify I’m just too lazy to link them here

[Song] I’m a boy

[Song] Punch-drunk love song

OVERROCKET - Albums on Spotify again yadda yadda, also on Youtube playlists, here are some songs:

Voice

Mirai

Sunset Bicycle

Sunset Bicycle Beroshima Mix

Ok that’s it for this part because I’m tired. Can you tell how I mentally deteriorated over the course of this post. Alright ciao babes.

Oh I’ll put this here: Special shout out to Distortional Addict on Youtube who uploaded a lot of the albums above. Really great channel that uploads a lot full albums without ad breaks (what a saint) and plenty of info on them and other songs. Check him out!!!

[notarelationship]

Clinging to This Hating Game 4/?

(Yes I got the title wrong on the last chapter, that’s what happens when you try to post form work)

For the @prompt-a-klainefic blog’s 2017 Reverse Bang

Link to the art by @datshitrandom

the prompt:

Kurt and Blaine couldn’t stand each other in high school, maybe one was a jock/cheerleader and the other a nerd/glee clubber. Or they were bitter rivals for competition solos if they were both in glee club. Now they both live in NY and their friends set them up on a blind date, not knowing they went to the same high school.

High School AU, Cheerio!Kurt, Jock!Blaine Rating: Explicit Warnings:  some bullying and homophobic language, teenage sex Word Count: ~3800 (this chapter)

Thanks as always to my superbeta @mshoneysucklepink.

Everything wonky is my fault.

AO3 link Chapter 4

On tumblr: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3

Just a quick disclaimer: It just so happens that the only production of Bye Bye Birdie I have ever seen was a middle school production; I have never seen any film version or a staged version done by adults. I did review some high school productions on youtube while I was writing this chapter.

I only mention it because the school version and the movie version have some different staging, and I definitely had the school version in my head. It's not a huge part of the action, but it is in there so I thought I should clear that up.

--

Chapter 4

Kurt did his best to avoid talking to Blaine after their confrontation in the locker room.

Football season was over two weeks later anyway, so there were fewer run-ins in said locker room to try and avoid.

Of course dodging him altogether was impossible, with rehearsals for sectionals and the musical starting up in earnest. But those were both group events, and Kurt could be a professional. In fact it would be excellent practice for when he was a working actor. After all, there was no guarantee you would always get along with everyone in the cast of a show. Kurt convinced himself that he was even looking forward to the challenge.

But he couldn't let it go altogether, so he wrote out a card for Beckham.

“I hope this isn’t too weird,” he said to Tina, approaching her in the cafeteria one afternoon. “I know we were never really friends, but if he wants to talk, or anything, I’m available.”

Tina took the card, but looked at Kurt warily. Kurt smiled a thank you and went off to join the other Cheerios at their regular table.

Kurt was more shocked than he thought he’d be, and definitely pleased, when he got a text from Beckham two days later asking Kurt to meet him at the local coffee shop. Claiming he had to be home early for a family dinner that day, Kurt ditched the girls after rehearsal and went to the Lima Bean to meet Beckham.

When he arrived, Beckham was sitting at a corner table far from the door. Kurt was suddenly less confident about this. DId he really have anything helpful to say? Would Beckham even care? Kurt steeled himself and joined Beckham at his table. They exchanged somewhat awkward hellos, and Kurt went to the counter to get coffee for both of them.

Once they were settled with coffee and a cheesecake brownie between them, Kurt broke the delicate silence.

“I’m really sorry, Beck, about what happened to you. It shouldn’t happen to anyone. Not like that.”

Beckham’s cheek twitched. “Thanks.”

He didn’t say anything after that, so Kurt continued. “How are you doing?” It was the most open ended question he could think of. He didn’t want to push too hard.

“I’m good.” Beckham fiddled with his cup. “I really just wanted to tell you that I appreciated your note, and that I’m fine. Um, my parents are being very cool, so that makes it easier, I guess.”

“That’s great. I know the fact that my dad was so amazing when I came out made a huge difference for me. It really helps having the support at home, because you can’t count on it anywhere else.”

Beckham laughed, a little painfully, Kurt thought.

They chatted for a while, discussing college applications, hopes for landing somewhere more accepting, and how Beckham felt about finishing school at home. They’d been talking almost an hour, and they both needed to get home for dinner, when Beckham cleared his throat uncomfortably. Kurt sat back in his seat.

“Kurt, can I, um, tell you one last thing?” Beckham scratched his head. “I just - I don’t want you to blame Blaine for what happened to me. I mean, how it happened. He told me you kind of, well - yelled at him.”

Kurt froze, but tried to keep his face neutral. “He told you that?”

Beckham shrugged. “We are friends, me and him. I just feel like you should know, it wasn’t his fault. He told me he didn’t think it was a good idea, that he’d had some bad experiences and he wasn’t looking to find a boyfriend, even after I told him I was interested.”

Kurt wasn’t sure how much of this he wanted to know, but he sat quietly while Beckham went on.

“At the party I just had too much to drink, and I just wanted to kiss him, you know?” Kurt bit his tongue, hard. “If he hadn’t been drinking too I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have let me.”

Beckham sat expectantly, but Kurt didn’t say anything for a minute. He was trying very hard not to get caught up in wondering what the ‘bad experiences’ Blaine had been referring to might be. Had he been a bad experience?

Kurt tried to avoid thinking of that night pretty much all the time (because who was he kidding, he was a still-horny teenager and wanted to think about it pretty much all the time). Had it been bad? Kurt knew it had been a mistake, for himself, to lose his virginity (whatever that even meant) to a total stranger, but he hadn't thought, at the time, there had been anything inherently bad about it.

Beckham broke the silence as it dragged. “It could have been a lot worse. I saw what you went through freshman year - I still see it sometimes, you know.”

Kurt startled a little. He always assumed no one saw anything. But he supposed he could be honest enough to acknowledge that if another gay kid saw what Kurt had gone through he wouldn't feel terribly safe coming out.

After a little more small talk they finally went their separate ways, and Beckham even asked Kurt if he could call him again if he needed to talk. Kurt of course said yes.

Kurt couldn’t help but wonder, though about what Beckham had said - he didn't want to be one of anyone's bad experiences. And how many was ‘some?’ Blaine seemed to be experienced - at least compared to Kurt's inexperience. Blaine even went to an all boys school - which to Kurt seemed like both a teenage fantasy and nightmare all at once - but he couldn't imagine how there would not be opportunity there that simply didn't exist in his small minded public high school.

-

Before the glee club could get started on rehearsing songs for the musical, they had to finalize their songs for sectionals. Kurt felt it went about as smoothly as usual.

“Mr. Schue I don’t understand why you think I can’t handle a lead solo at sectionals as well as my lead role in the musical,” Rachel trilled. “Any professional singer-slash-actor can certainly handle more than one performance at a time, and I just -”

“Enough Rachel,” Mr. Schuester interrupted. “You’re not getting a solo at sectionals. Mercedes is more than capable of anchoring this performance.” Kurt could tell Rachel wanted to go on by the strained wriggle in her shoulders, but she kept quiet when Mr. Schuester held a hand up to stop her from talking. “Mercedes, have you thought about what you want to sing? A couple of options, maybe?”

“Well Mr. Schue, I would love to sing “Beautiful.” I know we did it before for an assembly, but I’d love to really let loose for a competition.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Mr. Schuester agreed. “Anyone else have any ideas?”

Everyone shouted stuff at the same time, but eventually they all agreed that it was a good idea to use songs they had in their pocket from past rehearsals. They would open with “Bad Romance,” with Kurt and all the girls but Mercedes on vocals and using the costumes they already had. A costume change would give Mercedes time to come out solo for the start of her song, and the whole glee club could join her for the finish.

For the remaining boys they decided to go with “Whatever Happened to Saturday Night” from Rocky Horror as a final group number. They would need to work out choreography for that one, but it was a lot less pressure than coming up with three brand new performance arrangements from scratch.

“Mr. Schue, if we’re going to use the old Lady Gaga costumes we should probably take a look at what kind of shape they’re in,” Quinn suggested, once everyone was in agreement.

“Great idea. I think they’re still in the storage room behind my office. Kurt? Do you think you can help get them into shape?”

“What? Oh, sure Mr. Schue. Do you think they’ll let me use the sewing machines in the Home Ec room?”

“You sew?” It was Blaine. He’d twisted around to look at Kurt, his eyebrows drawn together in a question.

“You don’t?” Kurt shot back, and Santana cackled next to him. Blaine’s mouth fell open for a second, then he rolled his eyes and turned his back to Kurt.

Mr. Schuester looked confused for a second, then had Blaine, Artie, Puck, Finn and Mike join him in the auditorium to start working on some choreography. Kurt and the girls pulled the costumes out and got to work on them.

-

They breezed through sectionals with a first place win two weeks later, and Kurt had to grudgingly admit to himself that adding Blaine had helped Mike anchor the other boys in the group, and they had performed better at sectionals than they had at any other competition Kurt had been in.

That left just the musical to work on before the end of the semester.

They had broken off into groups after school to work out blocking and choreography, even while they were rehearsing for sectionals, but now they were beginning to layer everyone's vocal performance over that. Kurt only had one song with complicated choreography, so he worked on learning his lines and helping with costuming.

Kurt was in the choir room with Brittany inventorying the men’s pants they had and that they thought they could use convincingly (wool tweed trousers - yes; striped polyester clown pants - no), when Santana and Blaine came through the door, pushing each other playfully and laughing. They’d been spending a lot of time rehearsing together, and Kurt could see Santana was growing fond of him, in her own inappropriate way.

“Can we help you?” Kurt held back an icy glare. He loved Santana but she could be unpredictable.

“Cool your jets, Lady Hummel,” Santana said. “Schue sent us down to see if you'd found any costumes that might fit us yet.” She tugged Brittany up with one hand and pulled her towards the empty office. “So bang on the wall when you’ve got something,” she said, as the door clicked shut behind her.

Blaine looked up from where he was poking at a pile of shirts Kurt had laid out over the piano.

“Mr. Schue said we might need to bring stuff from home if there wasn’t anything that would work.” Blaine paused, looking at the various piles of clothes around the room. “I didn't realize you were into this stuff Kurt. I’ve rarely seen you out of your uniform.” Then Blaine turned, and caught his eye, and winked.

Kurt’s eyes went wide and he had to forcibly keep his jaw from dropping. He looked down at his uniform. Sue required them to wear it any time the Cheerios were in season, and even though he did not participate on the basketball cheer squad, he was a team leader so he was required to wear his uniform anyway.

“I am required to wear my uniform, but I can assure you I have a closet full of highly fashionable habiliments at home.”

Blaine turned to face Kurt, leaning his ass that Kurt had definitely not been staring at against the piano.

“You know Kurt, don’t you think it’s about time we bury whatever hatchet there is -”

Blaine’s mouth snapped shut when Santana and Brittany tumbled back out through the door to Mr. Schuester’s office, giggling.

“I hope we didn’t interrupt you explaining the birds and bees to young Master Hobbit here, Hummel-fairy.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. They were friends but sometimes she just couldn’t help herself, and he knew it. The only way to manage her was to give it back, just as crudely.

“Maybe the two of you could just give us a demonstration,” Kurt proposed, his hands snapping to his hips. Kurt watched Blaine’s expression move from embarrassed to annoyed to horrified.

Santana smirked, looking between the two of them as if she’d just cornered dinner.

“I’d be happy to, but I don’t think we’ve got the right parts.” She took a few steps closer to Blaine, then grabbed his ass. “But if you want I can show you where everything’s supposed to go.”

“I, no, no thanks. I don’t need anyone to demonstrate anything, thanks Santana,” Blaine protested, squirming away from her. He shook his head, as if removing the last 10 minutes from his brain. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” he said, scuttling out of the choir room.

Santana snapped her fingers, squinting at Kurt. “I like him.”

Kurt exhaled loudly and went back to sorting the costumes. “I think you just scarred him for life.”

“You did have your claws out Santana. You might have drawn blood,” Brittany said.

“Nah,” Santana said, smiling at Brittany before looking out the door Blaine had escaped through. “We’re actually getting along great. He works hard, he’s an actually nice guy, as nauseated as it makes me to say it.”

She wandered off to look at her reflection in the office window, fixing her ponytail and adjusting her bra straps as she went on.

“Honestly, I don’t know how you two got off on the wrong foot so fast. In another universe you’d be sharing awkward gay firsts in the back seat of that ugly hybrid he drives.”

Kurt’s spine locked and he shot a glance at Brittany - who was looking at her phone and not paying any attention to him or to Santana. “Why on earth would you say something like that?”

Santana eyed him suspiciously through the reflection.

“What aren’t you telling me Hummel?” She turned around. “Please don’t tell me all this hate you’ve got going on for the short-stack is just masking a secret passion you’re both too frightened to admit to, because that would be entirely too perfect. And utterly cliched.” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him.

If Kurt was capable of anything, it was hiding how he really felt about anything, and anyone. Even if they were stupidly attractive. And he didn’t even like Blaine. He set his jaw and stared right back. “He stole my lead solo and my lead role,” he bit out. And everyone who hated me loves him.“The hate is real enough Santana.”

-

By the time the date of the final dress rehearsal arrived, everyone was exhausted and ready to perform. They had cobbled together costumes that worked, Rachel had enough spotlight on her to be happy, and no one had tripped or fallen over anyone else in several days.

The year before, Mr. Schuester had set up a video camera to record the final dress, so that they all could watch together and make further tweaks before the curtain went up two nights later, and he did the same this year. As disappointed as he was to not have a bigger role, he was proud of what he’d managed to do with what he had, and he felt he’d honed his comedy chops in the role well enough. After all, it could never hurt to have another weapon in your acting arsenal.

They all gathered in the choir room, where a big screen had been set up for them to watch the video. Kurt was surprised when Blaine took a seat behind him, instead of the front row with Rachel where he usually sat, but he shrugged it off. When Quinn and the girls came in Quinn took her spot to one side of Kurt, but Santana and Brittany climbed one extra row and sat with Blaine. Quinn looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

“What? I thought I’d mix it up a little,” Santana hedged.

Blaine leaned over closer to Quinn, and his hand gripped the back of Kurt’s chair. “We’ve got a lot of scenes together so we wanted to be able to comment if necessary.”

“We have a lot of scenes too,” Quinn said to Blaine. She hadn’t cared whether or not she had a song for the musical, so had happily taken the role of Albert’s mother.

“Do you want to sit over here?” Blaine asked, patting the chair on the other side of him. Kurt leveled his iciest bitch-glare at Quinn.

Not at all,” she said sweetly. “Just let me know if you have any notes for me too. We can compare after.” Kurt squeezed her knee in thanks.

Kurt was surprised at how good they all looked. Of course it was poorly recorded, and looked like a high school production, but they could really sing, and some of them could even act.

They all commented throughout, some loudly, some to the person sitting next to them, and some just to themselves. Kurt hadn’t been sure, but he’d thought he’d heard laughing during his scenes, which he supposed was a good thing, since he had dialed up the camp to eleven.

When Kurt’s big number came up, he tried to watch critically. They had to change the key, because there was no way his countertenor was going to be able to sing the baritone called for in the role, but it was working. He and Mercedes danced around each other without missing too many steps, and Artie as Kim’s younger brother did a serviceable job.

And he definitely heard laughing behind him

He was about to turn around and glare when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He could feel Blaine’s breath across his ear before he spoke. His nose bumped against Kurt’s temple.

“Kurt you are hilarious,” he whispered. “Your timing is amazing!”

Kurt leaned back too fast, his nose bumping Blaine’s, and he felt Blaine suck in a sharp breath as he pulled back.

“I’m sorry, sorry” Blaine whispered. Even in the dark Kurt could see a shadow cross Blaine’s face, his eyes wide and nervous.

Kurt shook his head. “No, it’s okay,” Kurt whispered. “And thanks.”

Kurt turned to face the screen again. He did not need to be having any kind of thoughts about Blaine Anderson.

-

All four performances went off without a hitch, surprising everyone. Well, Kurt did find Quinn making out rather intensely with Puck in a deserted supply room, celebrating together after their last performance. Puck just punched Kurt on the shoulder with an unconcerned ‘s’up’ as he walked out, leaving Quinn and Kurt alone in the closet. Kurt shut the door, cornering her.

“Oh my god Quinn, what are you thinking?” He kept his voice to a whisper; the last thing he wanted was for anyone to hear.

Quinn gave him a soft smile. “Oh don’t worry Kurt.”

Kurt stared at her, blinking repeatedly and throwing his arms up in surrender. “Do you not remember what happened to you last time you got involved with him? I mean, yeah, he can be charming when he’s not being an utterly, utterly selfish sleazeball.” Kurt shook his head sharply.

“I’m sure I remember being pregnant, Kurt,” Quinn snapped.

Kurt was about to open his mouth but shut it when he saw the angry hurt in her eyes, and his own shock at seeing her with Puck waned slightly. He considered his next words carefully.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that” he apologized, edging away from his shocked reaction. “But Quinn, are you really sure this is a good idea?” It was hard for him to fathom. They were so close to getting out of Ohio, out of Lima. The thought that she would get involved with Puck again at this point confused him.

Quinn shrugged. “I’m not that same girl anymore Kurt. And I think I just decided that it was okay to have something for me.” She sighed. “Not every relationship has to be forever, and I’m okay with letting this be what it is, just for now.” Quinn smiled and squeezed his arm. “Now come on, we need to get to the party before everyone thinks there’s something going on between us.”

By the time they made it back to the choir room, half the cast had stripped out of their costumes, there were pizza boxes everywhere, and Puck was spraying Mike and Blaine with non-alcoholic champagne.

Kurt watched Blaine as he pulled a slice of pizza out of a random box. He was wearing sweats and a tank top with his hair still styled like the character he'd been playing for the past few days, and Kurt could feel his skin heat up. He thought about what Quinn had said, and wondered if maybe, just for a little while, he could stop worrying so much and just enjoy the moment.

“Hey,” Blaine appeared at his elbow, a paper plate with a slice of pizza in each hand. “Pizza?”

Blaine’s shirt was soaked, and he smelled a lot like apple cider. He had a hopeful expression on his face, like he was worried Kurt would say no to pizza.

“Sure,” Kurt said, trying to return the sentiment and look pleased as he took the offered slice. He was happy to have the offer. He just wasn’t entirely sure he knew how to convey that to someone. “Who doesn’t like pizza?”

Blaine bit his bottom lip, but his smile dialed up a notch. “Great.”

They chewed in silence for a while, watching their friends enjoy themselves.

“So, uh, Kurt,” Blaine started. “What are your plans for the rest of the semester?”

Kurt shrugged. “Study for finals, any extra credit I can get.”

“Ah yes. Have to maintain that GPA.”

Kurt shot him a glance, wondering if Blaine was mocking him. The grimace on Blaine’s face suggested that maybe he was mocking himself a little bit. Kurt flashed back to what Blaine had said about his parents being able but not entirely willing to pay for him to study performing.

“Well, not all of us get to be so sure our talent will be recognized.” Kurt knew it sounded bitter, and he almost regretted saying it when he saw Blaine’s startled expression.

“Kurt, I -”

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that.” He wondered if every conversation they had would be awkward. “You are, um, very talented. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of options.”

Blaine flushed pink, but Kurt couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or something else. “You will too. I don’t know how you couldn’t.”

Kurt laughed, but it wasn’t funny. “Crossing my fingers.”

“Yeah.” Blaine smiled, but looked somewhat crestfallen as he folded his plate in half. “I guess I’ll see you in class. Good luck on your finals.”

Kurt watched as Blaine gathered his book bag and random items of clothing from around the room, saying goodbye to everyone along the way. Kurt knew why he was so prickly around people, and it had served him well, had made it possible to get through high school. For the first time, though, Kurt wondered if it might be okay if he started to smooth out some edges.

[shallowvibing-blog]

The Birth of a Star

The meat dress. A jazz singer. Oscar nominated alongside Bradley Cooper. Lady Gaga has reinvented herself countless times since her pop debut in 2008 with the song, ”Poker Face.” Before this debut, pop music wasn’t introduced to Lady Gaga or Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta – on purpose. According to popMatters writer Sarah Watson, Stefani was first described as unmarketable because, ”Appearance-wise, she's described variably as ’chunky’, ’overweight’, ’pedestrian’, ’a girl with no taste’, ’out of place’, ’derivative’, ’not pretty enough to be a pop star’, and endless other descriptions all adding up to the same conclusion: in the looks department, she's nothing special, and if she seems ’hot’ to the average American consumer today, that's just the result of effort, smoke, disco mirrors, and massive heaps of money.” In Watson’s review of the 2011 book, Poker Face: The Rise and Rise of Lady Gaga, she discusses the various lengths Gaga went in order to create her well-known persona that may be described as raunchy, provocative, or just downright weird. Her look is a calculated distraction created by both Gaga and her production team, supposedly to distract from her characteristically un-Hollywood looks. The Gaga look speaks directly to her role as a woman in music: she’s not considered to be pretty enough to own her talent so she disguises it with outward flash. This is almost ironic, as her 2018 Oscar nominated movie - ”A Star is Born” - focuses on bringing out her character Ally’s true personality, rather than the show or gimmick that she originally attempts. 

It’s hard to say that Gaga’s look is totally fake, because it matches her persona in the pop community. Gaga sings about accepting your true self; this doesn’t necessarily mean accepting your natural self. Rather, it reflects celebrating how you feel and what you like. When looking at her 2011 Grammy performance of ”Born This Way,” Gaga is shown stripped down to nude colors – reflecting what may be seen as nakedness. Her makeup, hair and shoe choice still represent the traditional Gaga look, as well her scantily clad outfit. Gaga writes all her own music, reflecting what she wants to perform, even if it’s not popular. She is also a beacon in the LGBT+ community because of her work as an activist for sexuality and mental health. She appeared as a cross dresser for her alter ego character, Jo Calderone, at the 2010 MTV Music Video awards. She takes power in expressing the versions of herself through her persona; while she accepts that Hollywood may not expect to see natural Gaga, she takes that criticism and turns it into power through her songs and performances. 

Getting a full of view of Gaga’s repertoire involves looking at her 2014 collaboration album with Tony Bennett. This sudden shift from her closest released album, ArtPop, to Cheek to Cheek, a mellow, jazzy, and easy-listening album, shows off the singer’s talents rather than focusing on the spectacle of her performances. Gaga’s look is demure and sophisticated, matching her new sound and genre of music. She is taking her status as a pop singer and channeling that into new music. As she rose to fame, Hollywood began to accept her natural state and outward appearance as part of Gaga, celebrating her choices rather than criticizing her.  

Her latest work, Joanne, is her worst selling album, but also the most stripped down of showy performances and costuming. Produced in 2016, Joanne transcends all that we thought we knew of Gaga’s outward performance, relying solely on the music she is producing. Both party anthems and ballads can be found on Joanne, resembling past hits such as ”Speechless” and ”Bad Romance.” The elements missing are her dynamic costuming. Gaga is reborn into a new and refined version of the pop princess on the outside, but remains the same soulful, powerful, and dynamic artist on the inside. Like Cheek to Cheek, Gaga is again accepted for her natural state. According to Brandon Michael Lowden, “Because the real trick to Lady Gaga is that there is no trick. Her eccentricities aren’t a facade; they’re the idiosyncrasies of a kid who dreamed of being a rockstar, then lived her dream. The woman Gaga is the girl Stefani Joanne”. She is celebrated in the music community, having received two Grammy’s for her work on Cheek to Cheek and one Grammy for her album, Joanne.

If we take a step back from her dynamic music career, we can look at Gaga’s appearances on two seasons of American Horror Story and her critically-acclaimed movie, A Star is Born. Gaga is more than a wild and talented performer; her ability to cross genre’s speaks to her talent level. The once showy and over the top performer has been taken back to her roots; she no longer hides her looks. The EDM music has been decreased and entered a more sophisticated tone. While her persona as a wild and unexpected performer is still well known and accepted, we also have to acknowledge her talent as a songwriter, performer, activist, ability to cross genre’s, and actress.  

Works Cited: 

“Joanne (Album).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Feb. 2019,  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanne_(album).

“Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett Second Album on Hold.” EW.com, EW.com,  

ew.com/music/2017/11/16/lady-gaga-tony-bennett-second-album-plans/.

LLC, Cyprezz. “Lady Gaga-Poker Face.” Disney Castle Hybrid Minecraft Project, www.planetminecraft.com/skin/lady-gaga-poker-face-3841832/.

Lowden, Brandon Michael. “Lady Gaga: The Personal Is Bombastical.” The Bee's Reads, The Bee's Reads, 21 Oct. 2016, beesreads.com/lady-gaga-the-personal-is-bombastical-b687b2cb155e.

Watson, Sarah. “'Poker Face': The Intelligent Design of Lady Gaga.” PopMatters, PopMatters,  

23 Oct. 2011, www.popmatters.com/150002-poker-face-the-rise-and-rise-of-lady-gaga-by-maureen-callahan-2495933782.html.

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/world/oscars-2019-how-will-the-ceremony-change-this-year/

Oscars 2019: How will the ceremony change this year?

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Queen and Adam Lambert will perform at this year’s Oscars ceremony

Every year, the public seem to be interested in everything to do with the Oscars. Except, that is, for the ceremony itself.

This year’s event takes place on Sunday night, but while most of us enjoy finding out who’s won best actress or best picture, fewer people than ever have been actually tuning in to watch the telecast.

Last year, the ceremony’s live audience was the lowest in in Oscars history, averaging 26.5 million viewers, down from 32.9 million in 2017.

The increased competition from streaming services will certainly have played a part – but it’s also likely to be audience fatigue at how bloated the three-and-a-half hour ceremony has become.

Oscars 2019: The nominees in full

The Favourite and Roma lead Oscars race

“The first Oscars took less than 10 minutes,” points out Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter, “which was obviously pre-television.

“Television came along, and networks paid a fortune for the Oscars, and as a result they expected a more complete kind of show.

“That meant no longer just handing out the awards but adding performance elements, so it became more telegenic, to include singing, dancing and comedy.”

Comedians like Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres and Jimmy Kimmel have recently hosted the show to keep the audience entertained between awards and with an opening stand-up routine.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres and Chris Rock have hosted the Oscars in recent years

There are also traditionally five musical performances from the best original song nominees.

But adding all these elements to the 24 categories means the telecast is just too long for some viewers to bear.

Consequently, the Academy had this year attempted to bring some changes to try and keep audiences tuning in – most significantly by shortening the length of the telecast to three hours.

But they’ve since had to row back on nearly all their time-saving decisions due to pressure from the film industry.

What were the proposals?

The Academy initially said that the winners of four of the categories would be announced during commercial breaks, with edited highlights being shown in the latter part of the telecast.

The prizes for cinematography, film editing, live-action short and makeup and hairstyling would have been given out while the audience at home is grabbing extra TV snacks.

But, suggests Feinberg: “That would’ve been really risky.

“During commercials, when people at the ceremony know they’re not live on the air, they run around and talk to people, go to the bathroom, be a little loud, and that could’ve come across as disrespectful to the winners who are getting their awards during that time.”

Several high-profile figures in the film industry, including Spike Lee, Seth Rogen and Martin Scorsese, also objected to the change.

So the Academy reinstated the categories, and told its members last week: “All awards will be presented without edits, in our traditional format.”

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Crazy Rich Asians may not have any nominations, but one of its stars Awkwafina has been enlisted as one of the category presenters

With the same number of categories to get through, the biggest time-saver may end up being the lack of a host.

After Kevin Hart’s departure, the Academy confirmed this year would instead just have a mixture of celebrities introducing individual categories.

Jennifer Lopez, Whoopi Goldberg, Daniel Craig, Awkwafina and Tina Fey are among those who the Academy will be hoping keep viewers at home engaged.

It means the opening monologue from the host will be skipped, also saving time, but it’s unlikely the ceremony will launch straight into handing out awards.

Karey Burke, the president of TV network ABC, which broadcasts the Oscars, says there is something special in the works to launch the ceremony.

“We have a very exciting opener planned. We are not going to go straight into people thanking their agents,” she said.

There will also be a tightening up of the rules around acceptance speeches.

At the Academy’s annual luncheon last month, nominees were told they’d have 90 seconds from the time their name is called until when their speech will need to be a concluded.

“It means you can hit the parties by 8:15,” Oscars producer Glenn Weiss pointed out.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar are both nominated for best song this year

Such changes might make the ceremony tighter, but those may not be the only things preventing viewers from tuning in.

In his 10-point plan to save the Oscars last year, Piers Morgan suggested the Academy should “slash the musical performances in half and get rid of the best song category”.

But the Academy has already confirmed it won’t be cutting any of the songs – so all of this year’s nominees, including Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga, will perform.

(They had initially flirted with the idea of only having a couple of the nominees perform, but this was another idea they quickly decided against after industry backlash.)

Artistic v popular

Not only will all five best song nominees perform – but there will be a bonus musical performance Queen and Adam Lambert, the Academy announced last week.

They’re being included because one of the nominated films this year is the band’s biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Another of Morgan’s suggestions was: “Stop giving the best picture award to obscure films very few non-movie people actually see, like or understand.”

Image copyright Altitude Films

Image caption Moonlight won best picture in 2017 despite its more muted box office success

His last point referred to the number of small, arthouse films that have won in recent years at the expense of box office smashes.

In 2017, for example, the hugely popular La La Land, which grossed $440m (£334m), lost out to Moonlight, which took less than a fifth of that – $65m (£49m).

“If you look at the numbers over the years, the ratings closely correlate to the popularity of the best picture nominees, because then people feel they have a rooting interest in the outcome,” says Feinberg.

“Last year, it’s not surprising the ratings took a hit because Three Billboards and The Shape of Water were not the films the audiences were going to in big numbers.

Jamie Lee Curtis defends Oscars amid ‘chaos’

“If they’d nominated something like Wonder Woman, I think the numbers probably would’ve been a little better. This year, they have a lot riding on Black Panther.

“It’s important for ABC, the Academy, Disney, that Black Panther not be snubbed.”

Black Panther’s popularity is perhaps one of the reasons the Academy attempted to introduce a new category this year to recognise more box office hits.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Black Panther won the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild awards last month

Last August, it announced the introduction of the popular film category, which Black Panther would not only have definitely been nominated for, but would most likely have also won.

But this turned out to be another decision they would backtrack on – blaming the complications of introducing a new category so late in the year, when studios hadn’t had time to prepare or target their promotional campaigns towards awards season.

It also would’ve meant yet another category to get through on the night – and most agree the Academy certainly doesn’t need any more of those.

“Over the years the number of categories at the Oscars has grown,” says Feinberg, “and it’s much easier to add categories than it is to take them off the air.

“And that’s because once a category is on the air, the people who would be affected by it don’t want to lose that potential air time for their area of work.”

Keeping the Oscars both short and entertaining is a surprisingly tall order in this day and age of short attention spans.

All eyes will be on Hollywood on Sunday night to find out whether they can pull it off.

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at Toldnewsnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@Toldnews.co.uk.

[junker-town]

9 burning questions about the Super Bowl halftime show, answered

Why Maroon 5? Why is there controversy? And most importantly: Will Travis Scott propose to Kylie Jenner?

The Super Bowl halftime show is always a big deal. Welllllll, maybe not always. The first Super Bowl’s halftime show had a marching band and a bunch of pigeons.

This millennium, anyway, the halftime show is often the most-talked about part of Super Bowl Sunday. Sometimes that’s a good thing (Prince!) and other times it really isn’t (Nipplegate). Maroon 5 — a safe, if boring choice — is already getting a lot of ink before the game between the Rams and Patriots.

If you don’t quite understand why, let us help. We’re answering all your burning questions, from the controversy surrounding the halftime show to whether we’ll see a proposal from Travis Scott to Kylie Jenner, aka Generation Z’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

1. Why Maroon 5?

There are only two types of artists who get the call to play the Super Bowl halftime show these days. Aging legends (The Who, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen) and mega-popular, completely inoffensive acts* (Beyonce, Coldplay, Katy Perry). Maroon 5 falls firmly in the latter category, as they’ll bring their unique brand of waiting room rock to America’s longest bathroom break in Atlanta.

Maroon 5’s soulless songwriting and Top 40 sound mean they’re objectionable only to those who believe people who whistle in songs should be exiled to the Yukon. They’ve sold more than 100 million singles and 27 million albums, so a few people will be excited to see them, at the very least. “Harder to Breathe” was OK, I guess.

Anyway, Maroon 5 didn’t take the honor lightly.

“I spoke to many people,” lead singer Adam Levine said, “most importantly though, I silenced all the noise and listened to myself, and made my decision about how I felt.”

Seconds later, Levine disappeared up his own butthole.

*Lady Gaga is the exception, but only kind of.

2. What’s the controversy about?

Maroon 5 wasn’t the NFL’s first choice. Rihanna was reportedly approached to play the halftime show, but turned the offer down because of the league’s blackballing of former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick has been a free agent for each of the last two NFL seasons after kneeling during the national anthem throughout the 2016 season to protest police brutality and racial inequality.

By accepting a gig that Rihanna passed on in solidarity with Kaepernick, Maroon 5 has faced criticism for slighting the quarterback. The band has — for the most part — avoided questions about Kaepernick, even skipping the press conference that halftime performers usually hold before the Super Bowl. But at least one member of Maroon 5 says it’s just about the band doing its job.

“I think there are plenty of people — a lot of the players, to be honest — who support Kap and also do their job for the NFL,” Maroon 5 keyboardist PJ Morton told People. “I think we’re doing the same thing. We can support being against police brutality against black and brown people and be in support of being able to peacefully protest and still do our jobs. We just want to have a good time and entertain people while understanding the important issues that are at hand.”

3. So that’s why we won’t see Cardi B?

Yup.

The rapper is featured on Maroon 5’s song “Girls Like You,” which you’ve probably heard if you’ve turned on a pop radio station for 15 minutes at all in the last few weeks. So she was a logical choice to join Maroon 5 on stage, but she also turned down the offer because of the NFL’s treatment of Kaepernick.

“You have to sacrifice that,” Cardi B told the Associated Press. “I got to sacrifice a lot of money to perform. But there’s a man who sacrificed his job for us, so we got to stand behind him.”

Maroon 5 still managed to find a couple artists to join them, though.

4. Why are Big Boi and Travis Scott performing?

There’s a long list of influential musical artists from the city of Atlanta, but the NFL chose a band from Los Angeles for the halftime show. By adding Big Boi — one half of Atlanta-based rap duo, Outkast — the NFL got its musical nod to the host city.

It added more star power by getting Travis Scott too. The Grammy nominated rapper had one of the most successful albums of 2018 with Astroworld. While he and Maroon 5 don’t have a song together, they do have the same management.

But like Maroon 5, both artists face criticism for accepting a gig that Rihanna and Cardi B turned down. Rapper Jay-Z even reportedly tried to talk Scott out of the performance.

Scott said he wouldn’t perform during the halftime show until the NFL agreed to make a donation to support a cause for social justice.

“I back anyone who takes a stand for what they believe in,” Scott said in a statement, via Billboard. ”I know being an artist that it’s in my power to inspire. So before confirming the Super Bowl Halftime performance, I made sure to partner with the NFL on this important donation. I am proud to support Dream Corps and the work they do that will hopefully inspire and promote change.”

That donation hasn’t slowed the critique, though.

5. What songs should we expect?

Bad ones. Or OK ones. Or good ones. Whatever your opinion is of Maroon 5 will probably determine whether you enjoy the setlist.

Some of our guesses: “Sugar,” “This Love,” “Moves Like Jagger,” “Harder to Breathe,” and “Payphone.” Maybe a SpongeBob song.

Adam Levine was featured on Big Boi’s “Mic Jack” from his 2017 album Boomiverse, so it seems like a good bet that’ll be on the agenda.

Travis Scott will likely perform at least one of his own hits from his Astroworld. Let’s say ”Stargazing” and “Sicko Mode,” but don’t hold us to that because we’re not Tony Romo.

6. Any other surprise appearances?

The game is in Atlanta, and Ludacris has been tweeting about hosting the big game in his home town incessantly. The NFL may be reticent about letting him anywhere near the 50-yard line, however.

Big Boi’s appearance suggests we might get a full-blown Outkast performance if Andre 300 shows up. There may be no better palate cleanser to follow the mom jeans of rock and roll than “Bombs Over Baghdad.”

The Zac Brown Band will not be there.

7. What about SpongeBob?

SpongeBob SquarePants fans rose up after the cartoon’s creator, Stephen Hillenburg, passed away in November. A petition imploring the NFL to play “Sweet Victory” — the smash hit by the Bikini Bottom Super Band received more than 1.2 million signatures in the run-up to the Super Bowl.

This is “Sweet Victory,” by the way:

Both Maroon 5 and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium have dropped hints about this happening, enough so that the odds of America’s least-interesting band playing it are better than any one of their original songs.

8. Will Big Boi bring one of his owls?

Big Boi loves owls and has at least two as pets (Hootie and Hoodini, amazing names).

It’s not clear which owl this one is, but his ability to troll a cat (usually the trolliest pet) means he’s obviously the best one:

pic.twitter.com/RJmIsuZntO

— Big Boi (@BigBoi) January 14, 2019

Do we want Big Boi to bring that owl so that he’ll trick Adam Levine to falling off the stage? Yeah, a little bit.

Do we think it’ll happen? Probably not. It’d be a Superb Owl Super Bowl if it did, though.

9. Will Travis Scott propose to Kylie Jenner?

In January, the NFL confirmed that Travis Scott would be one of Maroon 5’s guests at the halftime show. That was a month after Scott told Rolling Stone that he and girlfriend Kylie Jenner would get married soon.

“I gotta propose in a fire way,” he said.

Plus, the Super Bowl is exactly one year and two days after their daughter, Stormi, was born.

CONNECT THE DOTS, PEOPLE.

So will the rapper ask the youngest of the Kardashian sisters (but not actually a Kardashian) for her hand in marriage Sunday night in front of the biggest TV audience of the year?

Well, it’s possible they already are engaged. Or they just like the attention of the rumors. Either way ... maybe?

It’d definitely be a first in Super Bowl halftime show history. So hopefully. Because we believe in love.

[kentremendousblog]

There are many reasons to root against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. There are also many reasons to root for them. Which team you root for really depends on which team you prefer. I am describing sports fandom! This is fun.

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times has written an article about the Super Bowl teams, in which he has listed twenty (!) reasons to root against the Patriots. 

Old habits die hard:

It’s a coach wearing a hoodie against one who dresses in Navy SEAL mottos. The Super Bowl pitting the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons features competing auras as clear as the rumple in Bill Belichick’s sweatshirt or the curl of Tom Brady’s upper lip.

1. You made two references to Belichick’s hoodie (which, FWIW, he doesn’t really wear anymore) in the first two sentences.

2. “Competing auras?”

3. “The curl of Tom Brady’s upper lip” is not a thing that I think of as “clear,” in terms of like “famous” or “legendary” or “anything.”

4. “One who dresses in Navy SEAL mottos?” Like...sewn into his clothes, or something?

5. What?

According to Public Policy Polling, the Patriots are the most disliked team in pro football for a second consecutive season. By comparison, the relatively blah Falcons are beloved. 

The “relatively blah” Falcons are “beloved.” You wrote that sentence, saw nothing wrong with it, agreed with its internal logic, and never looked back.

Even with this week’s revelations about the Falcons’ past concerns over their players’ use of pain medication, 

First, you made the sentence wonderfully passive (”...their players’ use of...”) instead of what it should’ve been, which is active, because they were concerned that their team doctors were actively giving the players too much pain medication. Second: you can’t just drop that in and hope we don’t notice that it utterly undermines the premise of your article. Or can you?!?! (No, you can’t.)

this truly feels like a Super Bowl of not just David vs. Goliath, but that old favorite, Good vs. Evil, and here are 20 reasons why:

Gonna go out on a limb and say “20″ is an overreach. But let’s see what you got.

1) The Patriots are convicted scoundrels, from Spygate to Deflategate, the most untrustworthy sports franchise in America since the 1919 Black Sox. Remember, Brady was suspended for the first four games this season for his alleged involvement in the deflation of footballs. The Falcons are too trusting. They panicked during Monday’s media night when offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan briefly lost a backpack that contained the team’s game plan. Seriously, who still carries their game plan in a backpack?

I’m not going to re-litigate SpyGate or DeflateGate here. But I do take issue with the idea that the Falcons are “better” than the Patriots because their coach lost his backpack during Super Bowl week. That doesn’t seem like the opposite of a scandal. It seems utterly irrelevant.

You also conveniently ignored that recent time the Falcons pumped noise into their stadium, illegally, and were fined $350,000 and a draft pick. As well as the aforementioned (by you) revelation that they were doping their players like racehorses. But a coach lost a backpack, so they’re...nice?

2) The Patriots are led by the Trump Trinity: owner Bob Kraft, Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Brady are all confirmed devotees of President Trump.

No argument here. Sucks. Hate it.

The Falcons use an official hashtag of #RiseUp, which coincidentally was also the hashtag for the worldwide protests to Trump’s recent controversial executive order on immigration. This is why thousands of tweets filled with scathing Trump criticisms contained a Falcons logo.

Not sure they chose “Rise Up” to fight Trump, but I’m giving you this one. This should be the entire article. Stop here. Don’t go for twenty...I beg you...

3) Upon arriving at the glitzy media night, Brady said, “For us, now, it’s just trying to ignore all this.” Upon his arrival at the same event, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said, “To get here and see this deal tonight, it’s pretty cool.” 

4) Asked about Trump’s immigration edict, Brady said, “What’s going on in the world? I haven’t paid much attention.” Asked a similar question, the Falcons’ Mohamed Sanu said, “I hope we can pray as a country for the world to be united.”

...Kind of feels like (3) is neutral and (4) is a subset of (2), but I’m feeling generous, so I’ll let you have these as well.

5) Asked to sign a soccer ball, Belichick refused “because it’s not a football.” Asked to speak into a giant turkey leg, Falcons center Alex Mack agreed but only if he could later have a bite.

Yeah, see, you’re reaching, a bit. “Bill Belichick doesn’t like soccer balls” and “Alex Mack likes meat” doesn’t seem like “evil” vs. “good,” to me.

6) During a joint interview with the teams’ owners, the Patriots’ Kraft was asked to name the most famous person in his cellphone. The Falcons’ Arthur Blank interrupted and said, “Trump.”

Again, we’re kind of back at (2), here, man. 

7) The Patriots’ success began with “The Tuck Rule.” The Falcons’ success began with “The Dirty Bird.”

A team of scientists from the Institute for the Discovery of Something has examined this statement, and determined that it is exactly nothing. 

8) Brady announced that his 9-year-old son Jack has a certain cool NFL running back on his fantasy team. That running back is the Falcons’ Devonta Freeman.

The team of scientists from the Institute for the Discovery of Something just read this and committed suicide, because it is so thoroughly nothing that they realized their entire careers have been meaningless.

9) Off the field, the Patriots often wear ski caps with fuzzy balls on top that make them look like 12-year-olds. The Falcons wear dark caps with “The Hood” imprinted in red, which is short for the “Brotherhood” theme preached by Coach Dan Quinn. 

You’re only at the ninth reason (out of 20) that the Patriots are evil and the Falcons are good and you are Mr. Incredible-style reaching for “preferred head wear.” Sure you don’t want to rethink the premise?

10) LeGarrette Blount, New England’s star running back, has quit his way to the Super Bowl. When he was unhappy in Pittsburgh in 2014, he walked off the field before the end of a game and was kicked off the team, only to be signed by the Patriots three days later. The Falcons’ two running backs, Freeman and Tevin Coleman, selflessly share carries and catches and even touchdown celebrations, with Quinn using video of one of their end-zone hugs for inspiration.

Blount has had his ups and downs, temperament-wise. But why do Freeman and Coleman get points here for sharing carries? They don’t call the plays. And Blount shares carries with Lewis and White. What are we even doing here? (Answer, for me: procrastinating from real work.)

11) Asked if he knew any Lady Gaga songs, Belichick responded “Next.”Asked the same question, Freeman said excitedly, “Lady Gaga? Of course, that’s Lady Gaga!”

Not caring about Lady Gaga = evil. Knowing about Lady Gaga = good.

12) Less than 24 hours before kickoff in the 2012 Super Bowl against the New York Giants, the Patriots infamously cut Tiquan Underwood, a wide receiver so devoted he had the team logo cut into his hair. The Falcons aren’t cutting people, they’re adding them, with owner Blank flying about 150 employees to the Super Bowl game with rooms and tickets at a cost of more than $1 million.

The Patriots aren’t bringing anyone. The Patriots are luring orphans to the game with fake tickets just to laugh in their faces when they are turned away. The Patriots cut a guy five years ago. The Falcons have never cut anyone. The Falcons have a roster of 4,000 players on the payroll because they care. No one from the Falcons has ever made an illegal three-point turn. The Patriots yell at dogs for no reason. The Falcons founded Doctors Without Borders.

13) The Patriots’ most famous cheerleaders are the dudes who dress up in Revolutionary War attire and shoot muskets in the end zones. They once fired off a round during a kickoff that so startled the opposing team that a complaint was filed to the league office and the guns were silenced except for after scores. The offended team was the Falcons. The Falcons’ most famous cheerleader is Samuel L. Jackson, who performs in a pregame “Rise Up” video in which he sounds like he just discovered snakes on a plane.

Yes, you correctly remembered that Samuel L. Jackson was in “Snakes on a Plane.” Well done. Then you used it as a way to suggest that the Falcons are “good” instead of “evil” (represented here by having Revolutionary War cosplayers standing in the endzone). Not well done. Badly done.

14) The Patriots are known for the giant touchdown spike of Rob Gronkowski, who will miss this Super Bowl because of a back injury. The Falcons generally allow their offensive linemen to deliver the touchdown spikes in honor of their shared effort. The linemen actually brag about who can bounce the ball highest. Ryan Schraeder, a tackle, even posted photos of one of his spikes on the walls of the team practice facility.

The implication here is that the Patriots are evil because their tight end is injured. That is reason 14 that the Patriots are evil. Gronkowski, who spikes footballs after touchdowns, is hurt. Reason 14.

15) The Patriots brag about following “The Patriot Way.”The Falcons brag that their 74-year-old owner boogies with the team after games, with Blank admitting, “I love to dance, I look like a chicken.”

I think, now that we are at #15, here, that this might have been better if you had just listed “reasons to love the Falcons” or something. The point-counterpoint thing is where you got into trouble. Thank God we’re done, though, because oh wait we’re not close to being done.

16) One of Brady’s nicknames, “Tom Terrific,” was lifted from former New York Mets pitcher Tom Seaver. Ryan’s nickname, “Matty Ice,” is the completely original idea of some of his high school buddies from Penn Charter School in Philadelphia.

I want you to go back to the beginning of this piece, that you have written, and remind yourself of your own premise. The premise is: The Patriots are Evil and the Falcons are Good. Right? Okay. Now come back and look at reason #16 that you cite as evidence of that premise. Tom Brady’s nickname was also used for Tom Seaver. Matt Ryan’s nickname was given to him from some of his friends. Does that fit your premise?

And by the way, “Matty Ice” is pretty clearly a ripoff of “Natty Ice,” a slang name for Natural Light Beer, and a catch-all term for any awful, high-alcohol, poor-tasting beverage. I’ll just go ahead and show you what the Urban Dictionary has to say about it:

So, piece of good evidence #16 that you cite, to make your claim that the Patriots are evil and the Falcons are good, is that the Falcons’ QB’s nickname is a reference to something that is cheap, dangerous, of low quality, and vomit-inducing.

17) Two of the last big postseason defeats suffered by Brady came at the arms of quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning. Ryan said this week that two of his closest mentors, through texting and phone calls, are Peyton and Eli Manning.

“And therefore, your honor, and members of the jury, I have proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Patriots are evil and the Falcons are good. The prosecution rests.”

“Sir, it’s four in the morning and you are very drunk. Please leave this Cheesecake Factory.”

18) The Patriots’ locker room is a stark, somber testament to one of their mantras, “Do Your Job.” When the Falcons redesigned their locker room last summer, they brought in a ping-pong table. It became so popular, there are now three.

It’s been a while since I did one of these, and I forget: what’s dumber: the journalist for writing a piece like this or me for spending the time to comment on it? I honestly don’t remember. It’s me, right? I’m dumber?

19) The Patriots defeated the Rams by 16 points. The Falcons defeated the Rams by 28 points and, if this seems like a completely irrelevant comparison, it’s been 22 years since I could make fun of our football team in a Super Bowl story, so bear with me.

Literally don’t even know what this means. Completely lost. It’s definitely not a “reason” why the Pats are evil and the Falcons are good. I mean, if you are a Rams fan, wouldn’t you prefer the team that only beat them by 16? It’s almost like the “20 Reasons Why” gambit was a bad idea!

20) If the Patriots win Sunday, they made it clear they will not be comfortable accepting the Lombardi Trophy from Commissioner Roger Goodell, whom they blame for the Deflategate debacle. Tom Brady Sr., the quarterback’s father, recently reflected this sentiment when he called Goodell a liar and said, “Somebody that has Roger Goodell’s ethics doesn’t belong on any stage that Tom Brady is on.” The Falcons will gladly accept the trophy from anybody. It would, after all, be their first.

Reasons!

[mastcomm]

The Super Bowl Is Problematic. Why Can’t We Look Away?

AUSTIN CONSIDINE Friends: I know what I’m doing Sunday. I know what you’re doing Sunday. As full-time culture journalists, to ignore the Super Bowl would be a gross dereliction of duty. That’s because the Super Bowl isn’t just a game. It’s the halftime show; it’s the ads; it’s the chips and guac. It is sport but also music, dance, costumes, TV production and stage design — a pop culture event greater than the sum of its parts.

Perhaps most important, it was watched last year by roughly 100 million people: In a world of on-demand entertainment, the Super Bowl is one of the last true vestiges of an era when we all watched the same things at the same time.

But I, like a lot of sports fans, have struggled in recent years to reconcile what is beautiful about the game with what is ugly. First, there’s the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head hits — not only to concussions — which the N.F.L. actively worked to conceal. Then there are the league’s troubles with domestic abuse and race. We could unpack those for days, but let it suffice to note that Tyreek Hill still has a job and Colin Kaepernick does not.

Some fans have learned to tolerate the cognitive dissonance, or to square their free enjoyment with the ostensible free will of the players. Others, like me, have trouble shouldering our complicity with football’s worst elements and have mostly stopped watching. But regardless, fans or not, we mostly show up for the Super Bowl. Why is that?

WESLEY MORRIS Austin, I, too, have consumed less football in the last five years because the hits can be hard to watch, because the punitive, allegedly apolitical stances of the league are themselves paradoxically political. There are many amazing physical achievements in this sport. There’s endless ridiculousness. The choreographed end-zone celebration, for instance, has gleefully migrated to other sports. And the league, in spite of itself, has a muscular charitable wing.

This is to say that loving the N.F.L. means putting up with a lot. But its outsize popularity also seems a partial answer to the moral riddle that’s so openly vexed us these past two or three years. How do we enjoy the work of bad, unpleasant, corrupt people and institutions? Of criminals? Does opting into the Super Bowl experience then condone the problems of football? Can spectatorship be anything but an endorsement? It’s the conundrum of a capitalist society to the extent that it’s truly a conundrum at all.

CARYN GANZ Football is the quintessential problematic fave. And like Michael Jackson, it’s too challenging to cancel, too big to fail, too embedded in the fabric of American leisure to rip out. (For now, at least.) The Super Bowl is drama, emotion, identity, catharsis, spectacle, skill, power: It’s nearly impossible to find a viewer beyond its scope. It’s no longer possible to keep up with everything happening in television, movies, music and digital media, but the Super Bowl is one of the last gasps of the monoculture. It’s a given and a gimme: It has almost no barrier for entry — one network channel, one block of time when nobody is expected to be doing anything other than watching the Super Bowl.

And as for the ethical conundrum, ethics are under siege in every corner of our society: on social media, in Washington, in college admissions, on the music charts. In an era of “LOL nothing matters,” where does football rank on the scale of horrors? Even if your answer is “quite high,” there are 100 million other viewers willing to share the shame.

CONSIDINE Still, let’s be cleareyed: If you watch the Super Bowl, you are financially and ethically supporting the N.F.L. And yet, I rarely hear these issues surface when we talk about the Super Bowl as pop culture. I wonder why we’re so deferential? Has any Super Bowl happening or halftime show made a truly lasting cultural impact?

GANZ Oh yes, they have. Part of the power of the halftime show is its sheer reach. Music (like sports) is a powerful uniter, but so much of the way we experience it now is in isolation: via playlists shaped by our personal listening habits that are beamed directly into our headphones. A live stadium show allows 100,000 people to share an experience; the Grammys attracted 18.7 million viewers to its live broadcast. With the exception of the Eurovision song contest (which was watched by 182 million people last year), the Super Bowl is as big as it gets now for live music.

Few people (other than me) may recall which songs Madonna played during her set in 2012, but her halftime yielded a landmark pop culture moment: M.I.A. extending her middle finger on national TV. In the past decade, halftime’s meme-able mini-events have become almost as memorable as who won the game: Adam Levine’s bare torso (2019), Lady Gaga’s leap (2017), Beyoncé’s fierce “Formation” (2016), Left Shark (2015), even Bruce Springsteen’s crotch slide (2009). And we could talk about Prince’s Super Bowl all day long.

MORRIS Caryn, don’t play. You know I know Madonna’s set list from that night.

I also remember how the emotional properties of the Boston bar where I watched that game completely changed as her halftime show began. The Patriots were about to lose another Super Bowl to the Giants, and even though they were up (by a point) going into the second half, that woman and her friends seemed to lighten the mood. Men were mouthing along to “Open Your Heart.” But they were also happy to partake in the spectacle of a 53-year-old imposing her sexual-identity gender circus (a phalanx of beefcake transported her to the stage) upon a sport whose stated orientation points, non-negotiably, one way.

This is to say that the halftime show can be received multiple ways at once. It’s an event complicit in all that dismays us about American football as a whole and the N.F.L. especially: players’ physical and mental health; compensation and exploitation; the sanctioned conflation with the league and our military; the names. Kansas City’s excellent Super Bowl team is the Chiefs; and when fans are feeling confidently vicious, half the arms in the stadium begin to tomahawk chop. They’re not the so-called Redskins, and yet the team brings with it many centuries of terrible history anytime it plays — anytime its “merch” is sold.)

But the halftime show is also an event wholly outside the problems of the sport. Its stars have been imported and occasionally seem eager to practice subversion, as Madonna and Beyoncé have; to practice an exuberant nothing, as Katy Perry has. It is what its stars fight for it to be. I’m enormously excited to see what J. Lo and Shakira have fought for.

We are, though, at a really fascinating place now. An aspect of the culture is asking these entertainers to consider what it means to partake in an event that could feature any number of problematic figures. (Tyreek Hill is a star Chief.) And on Madonna’s night, in 2012, Aaron Hernandez scored one of the Patriots’ touchdowns. Six months later, he shot and killed two men.

GANZ Halftime may hover in a space outside the problems of the sport, but it has its own crises related to football’s troubled racial and gender dynamics. Consider how the Super Bowl completely reshaped Janet Jackson’s career. Jackson had five No. 1 albums and was known as one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, but less than three seconds in 2004 — so-called “Nipplegate,” when her bare breast was exposed by Justin Timberlake during the last moments of their performance — rewrote her entire history, plunging her into years of purgatory. It only briefly affected Timberlake’s, since he has the luxury of being white and male. (Remember, he returned to headline halftime in 2018.)

CONSIDINE Does making Jennifer Lopez and Shakira the halftime show headliners — a first for Latinas — feel like a transparent scramble by the N.F.L. to virtue-signal? To be more charitable, it makes sense that the league might simply want to pay tribute to the Hispanic heritage of this year’s host city, Miami. But wasn’t the N.F.L. probably compelled to do something a little extra after the outspoken way in which multiple artists last year turned down the opportunity in support of Colin Kaepernick? And after Rihanna did the same this season?

GANZ Sports and music are two arenas in which the stars are mostly young and black but work in a structure still largely controlled by older white men. The idea that some of the most powerful players in the music industry shunned halftime last year is a compelling one. (Maroon 5 agreed to perform and paid some sort of karmic tax.) This year is the first under the partnership between Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and the league, an attempt to smooth over tensions and bring a crumb of social-justice work to the game. And it’s interesting that this year’s headliners are both Latin pop stars, and neither black nor rappers. The halftime show hasn’t had a black headliner since Beyoncé in 2013; the closest it’s come to a hip-hop headliner is the Black Eyed Peas. If football fans are perceived to be so conservative they’d switch the channel rather than watch rappers, why hasn’t country music ever been very welcome at halftime? Its last appearance came 17 years ago with Shania Twain.

CONSIDINE The dearth of country music at halftime is interesting when you consider that the singer most associated with the N.F.L. in recent years has been Carrie Underwood — and before that, Hank Williams Jr. For that reason, I suspect that country music wouldn’t actually be unwelcome by most football fans at halftime. I’m also interested in a reverse question: Why has non-country music always been welcome?

My guess is that with the exception of one Trump-fueled moment in which some conservative fans skipped a game or two, the league knows it has that demographic locked down, no matter who performs at halftime. The billing, then, is a chance for the N.F.L. to snag some extra eyeballs, and pop is a surefire way to do it.

In racial or political terms, I’ll wager many of those fans who objected to Kaepernick’s knee-taking fancy themselves quite open-minded — or at least magnanimously indifferent — regarding the race or style of the performers, same as with the players. If I’m right, then the N.F.L. risks little in ignoring those fans’ musical preferences for 15 minutes. Intolerant people make low-stakes claims to tolerance all the time. But that tolerance reveals its limits when, say, a black man takes a knee.

MORRIS Colin Kaepernick and Michael Bennett and their fellow protesting players knelt for ideals that I, too, believe in. Pleas for justice and equality are controversial coming only from black athletes expected — hired — to run, throw, catch and dunk. But the culture has moved past the protests. Kaepernick still has a sports job of sorts. He works for Nike. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl remains this idyllic vestige of who we thought we were. It’s Americana that like lots of Americana is built on a cemetery of sorts. We flock to it as we do because it’s a spectatorship department store — sports, ads, music.

A lot of us remember the alleged simpler times when it was easier to pretend that entertainment was all it was. On one Sunday, we can pause Everything Else and just enjoy a miraculous helmet catch or a commercial for a job-finding company. It’s also a stable structure. We all know it. We know it will never change and therefore never challenge most people to confront more than their losing team. There’s no M.C. to be urbane or smug or real. Setting aside the violence at its center, it’s safe, a haven from so much. History in the making but also passionately ahistorical. Americana on the one hand, sure. But also just America.

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[mastcomm]

The Super Bowl Is Problematic. Why Can’t We Look Away?

AUSTIN CONSIDINE Friends: I know what I’m doing Sunday. I know what you’re doing Sunday. As full-time culture journalists, to ignore the Super Bowl would be a gross dereliction of duty. That’s because the Super Bowl isn’t just a game. It’s the halftime show; it’s the ads; it’s the chips and guac. It is sport but also music, dance, costumes, TV production and stage design — a pop culture event greater than the sum of its parts.

Perhaps most important, it was watched last year by roughly 100 million people: In a world of on-demand entertainment, the Super Bowl is one of the last true vestiges of an era when we all watched the same things at the same time.

But I, like a lot of sports fans, have struggled in recent years to reconcile what is beautiful about the game with what is ugly. First, there’s the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head hits — not only to concussions — which the N.F.L. actively worked to conceal. Then there are the league’s troubles with domestic abuse and race. We could unpack those for days, but let it suffice to note that Tyreek Hill still has a job and Colin Kaepernick does not.

Some fans have learned to tolerate the cognitive dissonance, or to square their free enjoyment with the ostensible free will of the players. Others, like me, have trouble shouldering our complicity with football’s worst elements and have mostly stopped watching. But regardless, fans or not, we mostly show up for the Super Bowl. Why is that?

WESLEY MORRIS Austin, I, too, have consumed less football in the last five years because the hits can be hard to watch, because the punitive, allegedly apolitical stances of the league are themselves paradoxically political. There are many amazing physical achievements in this sport. There’s endless ridiculousness. The choreographed end-zone celebration, for instance, has gleefully migrated to other sports. And the league, in spite of itself, has a muscular charitable wing.

This is to say that loving the N.F.L. means putting up with a lot. But its outsize popularity also seems a partial answer to the moral riddle that’s so openly vexed us these past two or three years. How do we enjoy the work of bad, unpleasant, corrupt people and institutions? Of criminals? Does opting into the Super Bowl experience then condone the problems of football? Can spectatorship be anything but an endorsement? It’s the conundrum of a capitalist society to the extent that it’s truly a conundrum at all.

CARYN GANZ Football is the quintessential problematic fave. And like Michael Jackson, it’s too challenging to cancel, too big to fail, too embedded in the fabric of American leisure to rip out. (For now, at least.) The Super Bowl is drama, emotion, identity, catharsis, spectacle, skill, power: It’s nearly impossible to find a viewer beyond its scope. It’s no longer possible to keep up with everything happening in television, movies, music and digital media, but the Super Bowl is one of the last gasps of the monoculture. It’s a given and a gimme: It has almost no barrier for entry — one network channel, one block of time when nobody is expected to be doing anything other than watching the Super Bowl.

And as for the ethical conundrum, ethics are under siege in every corner of our society: on social media, in Washington, in college admissions, on the music charts. In an era of “LOL nothing matters,” where does football rank on the scale of horrors? Even if your answer is “quite high,” there are 100 million other viewers willing to share the shame.

CONSIDINE Still, let’s be cleareyed: If you watch the Super Bowl, you are financially and ethically supporting the N.F.L. And yet, I rarely hear these issues surface when we talk about the Super Bowl as pop culture. I wonder why we’re so deferential? Has any Super Bowl happening or halftime show made a truly lasting cultural impact?

GANZ Oh yes, they have. Part of the power of the halftime show is its sheer reach. Music (like sports) is a powerful uniter, but so much of the way we experience it now is in isolation: via playlists shaped by our personal listening habits that are beamed directly into our headphones. A live stadium show allows 100,000 people to share an experience; the Grammys attracted 18.7 million viewers to its live broadcast. With the exception of the Eurovision song contest (which was watched by 182 million people last year), the Super Bowl is as big as it gets now for live music.

Few people (other than me) may recall which songs Madonna played during her set in 2012, but her halftime yielded a landmark pop culture moment: M.I.A. extending her middle finger on national TV. In the past decade, halftime’s meme-able mini-events have become almost as memorable as who won the game: Adam Levine’s bare torso (2019), Lady Gaga’s leap (2017), Beyoncé’s fierce “Formation” (2016), Left Shark (2015), even Bruce Springsteen’s crotch slide (2009). And we could talk about Prince’s Super Bowl all day long.

MORRIS Caryn, don’t play. You know I know Madonna’s set list from that night.

I also remember how the emotional properties of the Boston bar where I watched that game completely changed as her halftime show began. The Patriots were about to lose another Super Bowl to the Giants, and even though they were up (by a point) going into the second half, that woman and her friends seemed to lighten the mood. Men were mouthing along to “Open Your Heart.” But they were also happy to partake in the spectacle of a 53-year-old imposing her sexual-identity gender circus (a phalanx of beefcake transported her to the stage) upon a sport whose stated orientation points, non-negotiably, one way.

This is to say that the halftime show can be received multiple ways at once. It’s an event complicit in all that dismays us about American football as a whole and the N.F.L. especially: players’ physical and mental health; compensation and exploitation; the sanctioned conflation with the league and our military; the names. Kansas City’s excellent Super Bowl team is the Chiefs; and when fans are feeling confidently vicious, half the arms in the stadium begin to tomahawk chop. They’re not the so-called Redskins, and yet the team brings with it many centuries of terrible history anytime it plays — anytime its “merch” is sold.)

But the halftime show is also an event wholly outside the problems of the sport. Its stars have been imported and occasionally seem eager to practice subversion, as Madonna and Beyoncé have; to practice an exuberant nothing, as Katy Perry has. It is what its stars fight for it to be. I’m enormously excited to see what J. Lo and Shakira have fought for.

We are, though, at a really fascinating place now. An aspect of the culture is asking these entertainers to consider what it means to partake in an event that could feature any number of problematic figures. (Tyreek Hill is a star Chief.) And on Madonna’s night, in 2012, Aaron Hernandez scored one of the Patriots’ touchdowns. Six months later, he shot and killed two men.

GANZ Halftime may hover in a space outside the problems of the sport, but it has its own crises related to football’s troubled racial and gender dynamics. Consider how the Super Bowl completely reshaped Janet Jackson’s career. Jackson had five No. 1 albums and was known as one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, but less than three seconds in 2004 — so-called “Nipplegate,” when her bare breast was exposed by Justin Timberlake during the last moments of their performance — rewrote her entire history, plunging her into years of purgatory. It only briefly affected Timberlake’s, since he has the luxury of being white and male. (Remember, he returned to headline halftime in 2018.)

CONSIDINE Does making Jennifer Lopez and Shakira the halftime show headliners — a first for Latinas — feel like a transparent scramble by the N.F.L. to virtue-signal? To be more charitable, it makes sense that the league might simply want to pay tribute to the Hispanic heritage of this year’s host city, Miami. But wasn’t the N.F.L. probably compelled to do something a little extra after the outspoken way in which multiple artists last year turned down the opportunity in support of Colin Kaepernick? And after Rihanna did the same this season?

GANZ Sports and music are two arenas in which the stars are mostly young and black but work in a structure still largely controlled by older white men. The idea that some of the most powerful players in the music industry shunned halftime last year is a compelling one. (Maroon 5 agreed to perform and paid some sort of karmic tax.) This year is the first under the partnership between Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and the league, an attempt to smooth over tensions and bring a crumb of social-justice work to the game. And it’s interesting that this year’s headliners are both Latin pop stars, and neither black nor rappers. The halftime show hasn’t had a black headliner since Beyoncé in 2013; the closest it’s come to a hip-hop headliner is the Black Eyed Peas. If football fans are perceived to be so conservative they’d switch the channel rather than watch rappers, why hasn’t country music ever been very welcome at halftime? Its last appearance came 17 years ago with Shania Twain.

CONSIDINE The dearth of country music at halftime is interesting when you consider that the singer most associated with the N.F.L. in recent years has been Carrie Underwood — and before that, Hank Williams Jr. For that reason, I suspect that country music wouldn’t actually be unwelcome by most football fans at halftime. I’m also interested in a reverse question: Why has non-country music always been welcome?

My guess is that with the exception of one Trump-fueled moment in which some conservative fans skipped a game or two, the league knows it has that demographic locked down, no matter who performs at halftime. The billing, then, is a chance for the N.F.L. to snag some extra eyeballs, and pop is a surefire way to do it.

In racial or political terms, I’ll wager many of those fans who objected to Kaepernick’s knee-taking fancy themselves quite open-minded — or at least magnanimously indifferent — regarding the race or style of the performers, same as with the players. If I’m right, then the N.F.L. risks little in ignoring those fans’ musical preferences for 15 minutes. Intolerant people make low-stakes claims to tolerance all the time. But that tolerance reveals its limits when, say, a black man takes a knee.

MORRIS Colin Kaepernick and Michael Bennett and their fellow protesting players knelt for ideals that I, too, believe in. Pleas for justice and equality are controversial coming only from black athletes expected — hired — to run, throw, catch and dunk. But the culture has moved past the protests. Kaepernick still has a sports job of sorts. He works for Nike. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl remains this idyllic vestige of who we thought we were. It’s Americana that like lots of Americana is built on a cemetery of sorts. We flock to it as we do because it’s a spectatorship department store — sports, ads, music.

A lot of us remember the alleged simpler times when it was easier to pretend that entertainment was all it was. On one Sunday, we can pause Everything Else and just enjoy a miraculous helmet catch or a commercial for a job-finding company. It’s also a stable structure. We all know it. We know it will never change and therefore never challenge most people to confront more than their losing team. There’s no M.C. to be urbane or smug or real. Setting aside the violence at its center, it’s safe, a haven from so much. History in the making but also passionately ahistorical. Americana on the one hand, sure. But also just America.

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