#best thing kanye created

[midmidwesterner]

whoop (and I cannot stress this enough) de scoop

[music-orthemisery]

Pre-Folie Release Madness of (p)2- A Timeline

After spending a few days in cuckoo bananas world thanks to the video re: Patrick's best man speech, @grandtreeangel and I have some things to slide across the table.

Between October 19, 2008 and November 7th, 2008, FOB played a series of shows leading up to the release of Folie a Deux. Each show featured a Pete/Patrick banter moment that, when put together, creates a very...interesting narrative.

October 19th - Birmingham, England show

Pete making a Top Gun reference to the $20 bar bet scene while Patrick plays the Top Gun theme song.

The scene in question: "Total carnal knowledge...of a woman this time, on the premises"

October 22nd - London, England show

First live performance of Patrick's "Love Lockdown" cover

Please see @grandtreeangel’s post HERE for more context on this totally normal thing Patrick did.

October 25th - Lille, France show

OG "my little cabbage" moment Pete, in French, says to Patrick, "You are beautiful, my little cabbage."

October 27th OR 28th - Blog post

Pete posts this on his Tumblr . It says 10/27, but there's some disagreement on time zones so it may be 10/28. EITHER WAY...

Originally, this linked to a clip from the movie Love, Actually. In this scene, a man confesses his love to a woman who is married to his best friend.

There's plenty of debate about this movie, scene, and storyline in general, but we aren't here for that right now!!!

Let's just focus on the facts:

Woman. Married. To BEST FRIEND.

The man was the best man AND the videographer at the wedding.

This whole moment is done secretly. He confesses, they kiss, she goes back inside and tells her husband it was just some carolers.

In general, this whole story arc is ripe with longing and unattainable love due to a marriage keeping the man from being with the woman.

I...wonder what this sounds like...

October 28th - Toronto, Canada show

Love Lockdown cover where Patrick says, "That's for you, Pete."

Again, Patrick being very normal!!!

October 29th - Blog Post

Pete contributes an entry to Bill's "Mondayeyes" poetry club on friendsorenemies.com:

Credit to @alphadog's post for this HERE

The entire poem is quite impactful, but a few lines of interest:

"Where do you get off?" or more like "how"

and...

"You chose this"

When Pete uses quotes, it's noted that this indicates things that have been said to him.

There are scents and spells that keep us coming together, there are sparks that keep us forever

The art of keeping up disappearances

Also, big hello to some Rat-A-Tat lyrics

Whenever I could make the sweat roll backwards and your pulse stream in reverse

(Big thank you to @dykeandyhurley for sending this to me)

November 6th - Boston, MA show

Pete shares the story about Patrick's best man speech.

Huge props to @predoom for finding this moment!

If you haven't seen Top Gun (?!), the context here is very important:

The line "Ice, fire, or clear," is said in the scene where Goose dies.

Scene: "Ice, Fire or Clear!"

Also, it should be noted that, to Pete, he is Goose and Patrick is Maverick.

The fact that Patrick picks this quote to say to Pete...in his best man speech...at PETE'S WEDDING. A quote said when Maverick LOSES Goose.

AND...apparently no one else in the reception quite...get's it. Pete is the only one who does. That line was just for Pete. From Patrick.

Of all the lines in that movie, he picks that one, from that moment.

Then, of course...

We have "The Kids Aren't Alright."

Featuring the lyrics:

Stuck in the jet wash Bad trip I couldn't get off And maybe I bit off more than I could chew And overhead of the aqua blue

Along with Pete's annotation:

November 7th - Philadelphia, PA show

Patrick sings Lullabye.

Take a peek at this post for all of that mess.

"Well, Bronx was about to be born!"

Sure, sure. I'm not DENYING the relevance there. Just. Go look at the post, damn it. Trust me.

And then...?

Nothing. They take a break, Bronx is born, and then they play a show in Columbus, OH on December 1, 2008. This whole little back and forth ends. Folie a Deux is released on December 10th and...well...we all know what happens after that.

[henghost]

Twig Liveblog for Arc 6

[captain haddock voice] what a web serial huh! all i'm saying is that if i had written amy dallon i wouldn't also write this part with jamie. i appreciate the themes here about how the academy is creating its own contradictions, its authoritarian measures only make the resistance strong which in turn makes their measures more authoritarian, etc., and i can't help but wonder if a similar process is occurring with wildbow and i. i.e. the more he tortures me like this the more i want to [redacted]. why!!!!!!!!! why did sy transform into a raging homophobe the first time he interacted with a gay person lmao 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 he's basically bart simpson and jamie is millhouse.

here i was, a casual and respectful mary/sy enjoyer, titillated (in a respectful way) by the "undressing confession," daddy-issues cry for help though it may be, thinking that was the best i was gonna get as far as my sy dating sim side-project was concerned. then there was a brief moment where i was jubilant that there was some lillian/sy progress. then there was a brief moment where i was in religious fucking ecstasy where i thought jamie/sy really was gonna happen. then--and i remember it with crystalline clarity--walking home late at night, that one line hit, and i started cackling in the middle of a deserted parking lot. i'm only slightly exaggerating when i say this rivals the amy interlude in terms of being a true Epiphanic Wildbow Moment. then of course there's the final chapter. doubling down. you almost have to respect it.

i suppose other things happened too. i think the duke, after sy, is the twig character i'm most like. i am also large and powerful. i also command the respect of everyone around me. i am also flamboyant and attractive. i also condemn torture.

on that subject, i listened to avis' interlude on 1.5x speed cuz i thought it would be funny. kind of a nonentity for me personally, though i'm excited to see more fray so soon. i could only think of the quote from that great poet, kanye west:

[blatantlackofdecorum]

head-canons for ron because he’s been running around my brain for a little bit.

maybe this is just me rambling abt how fine he is, we’ll just have to see. 

- for one, he does have quite a few tattoos on his back, and arms, even a couple on his legs, most of these are from his 20’s, since he had never really left the rebellious teenager phase by the time he left his parents house. he has to cover all of these for work, but they’re the first thing people notice when he’s just out in public off the clock, other than his.. slightly looming presence. - he also has both of his ears pierced, and a closed industrial in his left, (which conventionally are also all from his college days)  - he grew up riddled in city, between the religion barrier (which never failed to create separation within his family) and busy schedules, appleton was his idea of what a more quiet lifestyle would be like, because he never had the chance to live it growing up.  - builds a chicken coop outside of the house, and adopts 3. he has them all named, and they’re practically his babies. tending to the coop actually ends up becoming a coping mechanism 

- that being said, pet wise? a cat guy. Indefinitely. he needs someone to chill with him while he watches lifetime movies, (solely to make fun of the acting) it’s a rather frequent past-time.  - speaking of movies, he’ll watch about anything, he’s a pretty open slate when it comes to taste, can’t promise he won’t make fun of it, a bit, though while he does. 

- the absolute best person to wake up next to, between the peach fuzz, his stupidly long arms, his voice getting scruffy in the morning, and the most abnormally warm body to be pressed against. his warm eyes always get caught up in the early sunlight.

- he has awful sleep habits, but most importantly the worst nightmares known to man, he’s tried a bit of everything, but nothing seems to work. 

- he’s never really had a lot of friends before, he has a hard time meshing with others before coming off as an asshole. in reality it’s because he has a hard time distinguishing certain social cues himself. (yes, everyone we also have autistic ron on this blog, look at that) 

- brett and ron ending up friend’s made me so happy, that is all

- he’s honestly pretty up to date on most conspiracy theories (it’s hard not to be, in the business) he is the one who told kanye about politics after all. he’s seen a lot of shit but, some of the things people have came up with theory wise, never fail to surprise him. you mean flat-earthers actually exist?? it throws him off so hard. 

- ITS CANON HE SCRAPBOOKS. he got it from his mom originally, because she used to keep a scrapbook for the family, no matter how awkward or miserable her children looked. his family definitely ‘looked like the perfect family’ from the outside, but was just full on dysfunctional on the inside. 

- i’m just gonna say it... his hands.. 

- despite his initial reluctance, he would definitely let a partner of his paint his nails in the end. he definitely takes good care of them regardless though. 

[screaminlonglive]

Karma is an Album

In defense of evidence of Taylor Swift’s lost album 

Alright, Swifties. It is time for a master post. There is too much evidence to support the theory of the lost album Karma, and it is time to put it all together in one place. I have done everything in my power to include any small indication of the existence of Karma, but please feel free to dm / comment with evidence not included in this post, and I will update as needed. I am going to create this document in as close to a chronological timeline as humanly possible. Strap in. 

If you can watch the Miss Americana documentary, I highly recommend that you do so and listen very carefully to Taylor Swift when she addresses the timeline surrounding this possible experience. I also will reference and recommend that you watch the long pond studio sessions. Understanding the timeline from Taylor’s perspective and hearing the way she addresses the timeline really helps put you into her shoes and understand what she could have been experiencing and what she may have gone through that may have caused her to scratch an entire album. What is Karma? For many years, Taylor Swift fans have speculated that Karma is the name (or even code name of - consider that she revealed she uses code names like with the woodvale chaos) the album that Taylor Swift was set to release in 2016. Fans theorize that Karma was shelved following the Kanye drama and Taylor Swift disappeared from the public eye for nearly a year  in November of 2016 instead of releasing her sixth studio album. Taylor “rose up from the dead” in August of 2017 to release the lead single from her album, “Look What You Made Me Do.” As much as it pains me to detail this drama, let’s recap 2016, as this is truly where the foundation of where our story begins. First, let’s talk about the Kimye drama. Unfortunately this is critical to how the Karma story plays out, so let’s take a quick review. During the VMA awards in 2009, a 19 year old Taylor Swift was accepting her moon man for Best Video of the Year. 32-year old Kanye West infamously got up on stage, took the microphone from Taylor, and said “I am really happy for you and I’m gonna let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.” They are seen together in 2015 at the Grammys, but we won’t go too deep into the Kanye/Taylor timeline. Let’s flash-forward to February of 2016, where Taylor Swift and Kanye have seemingly mended fences to a certain extent. Kanye debuts his song “Famous,” which has the lyric “I still feel like me and Taylor might have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous (goddamn).” Facing backlash from twitter,Kanye reveals that he got permission from Taylor.  (we later learn in a statement that Taylor’s publicist Tree Paine put out that they spoke in January of 2016.) Although Taylor herself does not explicitly address the lyric, her friends come to her defense. Her younger brother Auston posts his “spring cleaning” video, trashing Kanye merch. Taylor makes history as the first woman to win AOTY twice at the grammys for 1989, and seemingly addresses how she feels about the Kanye drama in her speech. She says “"[A]s the first woman to win album of the year at the Grammys twice," Swift said, "I want to say to all the young women out there, there are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame." She continued, "If you just focus on the work, and you don't let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you're going, you'll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there, and that will be the greatest feeling in the world. Thank you for this moment." Although we do not see much public drama, we can assume there was some going on behind closed doors over the next few months. Things get messy again publicly in June/July 2016. Kim Kardashin interviews with GQ and support’s Kanye's claim that he called and got Taylor’s approval for the song. Tree Paine releases a statement denying the claims, and Kanye drops the music video in late June and Kanye also appears on SNL and is recorded backstage calling Taylor “fake.”  Controversy was re-ignited by the audio clips from the 2009 VMA incident included on the video as well as most memorably, the nude wax figure of Taylor Swift Kanye is seen in bed with. Kim discusses the making of the video and the ongoing controversy in the July 17 episode of KUWTK, which is the date we reach the absolute peak of this drama. Kim also releases footage of the Taylor/Kanye phone call to her snapchat account in what’s known as “snapchatgate.” This footage is clipped, and paints Taylor out to be a liar. Kim throws more fuel on the fire with her famous “national snake day” tweet the following day, and followers flood Taylor swift with snake emojis. Taylor finally publicly explicitly address the Kanye drama with her instagram post that concludes “"I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I have never asked to be a part of, since 2009” #KimExposedTaylorParty begins to trend on twitter, followed by #TaylorSwiftisoverparty. Kanye denies that he was trying to “take down taylor” in his 2016 VMAs speech. 

So what is Taylor up to during this time? 

It is important to note that up until the 2016 drama with Kimye, Taylor Swift released new albums every 2 years like clockwork: Debut- Oct 24, 2006 (last thursday in october) 

Fearless- Nov 11, 2008 (second tuesday in november) 

Speak Now -Oct 25, 2010  (last monday in october) 

Red - Oct 22, 2012(last monday in october) 

1989 -  Oct 27, 2014 (last monday in october) It is kind of interesting that with the exception of Fearless, they are all even released during the last week of October - numerically within 5 days of one another.  Her last three albums were released EXACTLY two years apart if you consider that all three albums were released on the last monday of october. I also want to point out that although Friday releases are standard, Taylor Swift has released many singles on this date, she did not adhere to this “standard” when releasing her albums. 

Taylor likes to debut a change in hair / look and this had come to signify the start of a new era in Taylor’s career. For example, she let vogue cut her bangs for the first time going into the red era and she had her hair cut at the end of red tour to signify going into 1989. 

The 1989 tour ended 12 December 2015, the day before Taylor’s 26th birthday. The Grammy’s was a couple of months later, and spring of 2016 became known as the “Bleachella” era - Taylor  went to coachella for the first time with her extremely bleach blonde hair - Vogue wanted to debut her as a “Rock ‘n Roll Chick” for the May issue (6 months pre-expected karma drop date). This is also the same cover that she does the 73 questions interview where she says “Karma is real.” 

During this time, Taylor also wrote ‘This Is What You Came For’ under pseudonym for then-bf Calvin Harris (we will discuss this later in rep era). 

Taylor performs only once this year and it is known as “The” 2016 concert for this reason. She performs a “greatest hits” concert for Formula 1. 

Taylor also was a co-chair for the 2016 Met Gala where she met Joe Alwyn this year. We can discuss Tom Hiddleston as well, but let’s just thank him for inspiring Getaway Car and move on with the timeline. Thanks, Tom. And of course after meeting earlier in the year, Taylor and Joe began to date while Taylor was in hiding. Following her timeline from the Lover Diaries, she writes that they had been dating for three months as of Jan 3, 2017. It is interesting to note that other than this entry and the entry that she made in 2016 stating that “this summer is the apocalypse,” the lover diaries are devoid of any entries after 2015. She makes no mention on the process or lyrics of reputation or lover in the way she gave us insight into other eras of her life. It could have been “too close.” at the time, but since we are going to be thorough, I felt that it was worth noting when I searched for clues in the diaries I found nothing notable other than the lack of any content from this time period. Consider the dichotomy of the experiences that Taylor was undergoing in 2016. She was simultaneously on top the world for this incredible achievement for not only a second AOTY grammy win, but in another genre. But if you listen to her describe this time in the Miss Americana Doc, you realize how incredibly alone she feels at the time. We also know  that Taylor basically spent the entire year constantly biting her tongue while kimye continued to take public shots over and over again throughout the year. 

Taylor has always written songs - she may have taken a short break but this could have been more of an issue with her record label not letting her release the kind of music that she wanted to. This was going to be the last album that she recorded with this record label and she had to be extremely **”calculated”** in her decisions surrounding TS6.Taylor was much older and wiser than when she first signed the BMR, and you cannot convince me she didn’t know what could happen to her masters. Taylor took surprise songs and RAN with them on the rep tour, and no one can ever convince me otherwise: Taylor knew that could be a sort of “bye for now,” because she had no idea what was at the end of her contract with BMR. Taylor left easter eggs about stolen masters in LWYMMD because that did not happen overnight. It may have been a wildest nightmare for Taylor, but she is smarter than to have been completely utterly shocked at how that situation played out. But let’s go back to 2016. 

Fans theorize that Karma is more of a punk / rock album and possibly was a little more aggressive and possibly angry than her previous work. She was in the business of reinvention. (Also if you haven’t seen the live “rock” version of Bad Blood,” please go do yourself a favor and watch that and then come back. We will wait.)  But with her reputation plummeting, it seemed increasingly obvious as the year progressed that it would have been a bad idea to put out an album with that kind of negative vibe at that time. This could have been her label’s decision, her decision, or a little of both.

We do know that she was very likely writing songs while she was on tour, as we know touring and being with her fans inspires her. Whether she made an entire album yet, we couldn’t say of course. But we know that Taylor never stops writing songs. It is one of her greatest outlets. To those who argue that Taylor told us “I don’t know what’s next” - are you really telling me that she was going through some of the most difficult parts of her life and not writing songs? Please. She was writing songs. You’ll note that Reputation did not have any deluxe tracks, and it is a very carefully selected, sonically cohesive 15 songs. No further explanation. Taylor created other music in this time, and no one would ever be able to convince me otherwise. 

Following the peak of the kimye drama, Taylor Swift disappears from the public eye entirely for nearly a year. She is also said to have begun recording reputation at this time as well (September 2016). Although we have considered that her Earth, Wind, and Fire cover may have referred to an anniversary with Joe, the “28th night of September,” could really represent any one of many “transition moments” happening in her life simultaneously. - possibly the moment she decided to shelve karma and create a concept album for reputation.  

Fast forward through the dark Taylor-less ages because as we know, the world moves on another day, another drama, drama. 

Taylor Swift’s social media accounts are all famously wiped clean and she starts the reputation era with a literal blank slate. She teases and releases the lead single, Look What You Made Me Do. Let's take this point to go over the (known) easter eggs for Karma in this video, followed by …Ready For It? And Delicate. There are so many easter eggs in reputation - she didn’t give public interviews during this era.  In her first interview for the lover era, she stated that she wanted to communicate with fans and she left SO MANY easter eggs in the reputation era. Particularly she notes that she likes to leave easter eggs on clothes. 

LWYMMD released 24 August 2017 (monday) 

-Digging up different iterations of herself - “digging up the grave another time.” 

-dead taylor dug herself out of her grave and then buried her other self. 

-Nils Sjöberg is pictured in the cemetery as well (anagram of ringless job?) -last video we saw was herein OOTW video - same dress 

-”the world moves on another day, another drama, drama. But not for me, not for me, all I think about is Karma.” -bird cage Taylor dress all in orange -> and sings “they once belonged to me” 

-Taylor is physically in the vault and then seen stepping out of it - a representation of her vault tracks being set loose with her re-recorded albums. 

-5 cats in the vault including taylor - blue, pink, red, yellow. We do not see them take their masks off, but they follow Taylor out of the vault unmasked. - the person in the Orange shirt last in line 

-vault within the vault in the background

-unchained handcuffs in scene where taylor hits pile of money with a baseball bat -no speak now Taylor in the tower 

-TS6 with a new Taylor - grounds the plane and it becomes “reputation” instead. 

-different Taylors at the end  

Delicate - Taylor isn't being seen

Orange columns in subway station graffiti with “Track 5”

Ready for it 

Spider boy - “I see how this is gon’ go”  - Scooter is the spider boy 

“Naked” taylor in glass closet resists change - chaining her at first but then empowers her 

-same imagery we see on the eras tour during the LWYMMD set -  with different Taylor’s in glass closets. When they break free to come after her, she is already rising above them all 

The Orange Vault Taylor becomes sort of the first “symbol” of orange as the color representing Karma. She releases two magazines, one of which is orange. Taylor also released an orange limited pressing of reputation on vinyl. Some fans theorize this is an easter egg and some think that it could have been “leftover” from the karma plans and something taylor “used up.” Since we spent all of that time talking about Kanye, I want to point out something I did not realize until I started the research for this post. I am not myself a Kanye fan, so when I saw the album cover for “Life of Pablo,” I audibly gasped. Not only does the print remind me of half of the reputation cover, the color is strikingly “karma”orange. 

Now that Taylor is back and in full force, let’s enter the lover era. Taylor makes her directorial debut with “The Man,” and we are first introduced to “The Man Wall.” in 13th street station. 

In the Lover music video, we were shown different rooms in different colors meant to represent different eras in Taylor’s career. The yellow Fearless room is upside down, much like Fearless is written backwards here. Although fans did not know what it meant at the time, many people concluded that this is how Taylor would signify where she would begin her re-recordings. She emphasized that “it’s a clock,” and at the time of this writing, the rerecords have been announced in this order: Fearless, Red, Speak Now.  If the announcements continue to follow the clock, Taylor would announce reputation, Taylor Swift (possibly?) and end with 1989. You’ll notice the other word written on the wall is the word “Karma,” once in blue and once in orange. Fans speculate that the blue Karma represents the single and the Orange at the midnight position represents the Album. Following the clock, the release schedule would go 199 -> Karma, as Taylor always intended. Note that the word “MISSING” appears atop the poster on the karma wall. Here’s where it gets even more interesting. karmaonthewall.com redirects to Taylor Swift’s website. You are greeted with a page that says “OOPS... LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING'S MISSING!” and the www. Becomes “https://www.taylorswift.com/aftermidnightsitstarts”   …. after midnights, it starts. Of course we know that she has an album called midnights. Track 11 of midnights is Karma - a sleepless night, or many sleepless nights. Some fans speculate that each thing she “lists” in the song” could correlate to a song on her lost album of the same name. There’s yet another theory that says these lists refer to other artists under scooter’s control.  It is interesting to point out that Karma is Track 11 and if she released Karma after Midnights, it would be the 11th album. When Taylor announced the track for Karma in MMWM, she broke her “usual release cycle” of videos - much like she broke her usual release cycle of the album in the first place. The “Larger Than Life” Taylor that appears in the antihero music video and in the eras tour is wearing the same outfit she wore in the MMWM announcement video for karma. This could represent many things, but I think it could nod to something “bigger” than just a song called karma. This is also a truly vintage 70’s  shirt that she is wearing, not a modern iteration of an older fashion. The spotify canvas for the song Karma is arguably orange. Blake Lively made an instagram post that mirrors “The Man Wall” with an orange background. Let’s talk about the Eras tour a little. I don’t know exactly how to describe how it felt to watch the moments leading up to the opening, but I felt a wave of immeasurable emotion at her song choices in the leading moments. When I first heard Lady Gaga’s Applause I was immediately a little sad. I thought about how Taylor was pop culture so much that pop culture became her and of course “I live for the applause,” brought up echoes of Taylor in Miss Americana talking about how all she lived for was approval. I am not gonna lie, I almost cried, and not because Taylor was coming soon. And then the countdown clock started and You Don’t Own Me came on and I felt yet another crashing wave of emotion at this choice as well. I should stop here and note that people have had many different reports on when the countdown clock starts. I have caught very few live streams in time, but I have seen 02:23 a few times and this could mean a lot of things - even representing the year she is doing this tour. I saw a fan online theorize that 02:29 could represent the leap year upcoming in 2024, but I haven’t seen a 02:29 countdown. I don’t know what it means, but I did think it was worth mentioning. Taylor would do something as completely unhinged as plan to release a skipped album on a leap day, so do not put it past her. Although, I don’t think that’s a clown car I ride in, don’t forget the “it still feels like March '' written on an orange sticky note from her spotify advertisement during the pandemic - could that be a clue? The extra day in February could refer to something that “feels like March.” Back to eras tour. It’s important to note that Taylor concludes the tour with the song Karma and walks through an orange door at the very end of the show. Much in the way that Taylor dives into her midnights era on the tour, she also walks into her karma area just after the midnights era ends. 

Let’s talk about the green folklore outfit. It’s a custom Alprerta Ferelti - the original is orange. She debuted this as well as her orange 1989 outfit at her first show on the 13th. She also performed Speak Now this night, which would soon be announced as her next re-record. I think it's safe to say Taylor is signaling with the color changes of her costume changes, and equally safe to say that no one has yet deciphered the pattern yet. I still think this is worth nothing, as Orange has become a symbol for Karma. We also need to discuss Rebekah Harkness. Yes, that one. Her third husband nicknamed her Karma. Taylor said she wanted to write the Rebekah Harkness story for a long time on long pond, and this could be a call back to many things - mostly a nod to the fact that she’d been researching and thinking about Rebekah for a long time - likely since she bought the house, aka  just before Karma would have been thought of. Taylor wore a white jacket with her albums emblazoned on it at her AMAs performance to accept her artist of the decade award. She was joined on stage by 8 kids, seemingly representing each of her albums, but only 7 albums that we knew of existed. We now have the Karma music video since the time of initial writing, and so many other easter eggs to unpack here. I love the countdown clock in the final moments of the video, but this entire post was inspired by the first few seconds of the song Karma, and that’s what I will conclude with. I have been completely baffled that in all of my research on Karma, I haven't seen a single person point out that the beginning of the track sounds like an old album or like a dusty record. My partner picked up on this clue immediately because it was so obvious to us as older millennials. However, I didn’t see anyone point it out online. Taylor visually emphasizes this at the beginning of the music video for those who didn’t hear it automatically when listening to the track. Whether or not you believe in Taylor’s lost album, I hope you enjoyed reading the evidence I have compiled here today - and will continue tacking onto this post as time goes on. I can’t possibly have found all of the easter eggs, but I have been as thorough as I could in the making of this post. Please feel free to comment or message me with things I may have missed, because I want this to be a true master post. Much like the ten minute version of All Too Well was once a myth but is now a reality, there is a chance you, like me, believe that Karma is real…

[tourturedfolkloredepartment]

Taylor songs that aren’t about her ex’s or brakes up because not every Taylor song is about brake ups.

"A Place in this World" (about finding herself in the world)

"The Outside" (about feeling lonely)

"Tied Together with a Smile" (for her bulimic friend)

"Mary's Song (Oh My My My)" (for her neighbors' love story)

"I'm Only Me When I'm With You" (about her friends)

"Fifteen" (about her best friend Abigail Anderson and their experience in high school)

"Breathe" (about losing a friend)

"The Best Day" (for her mom, Andrea Swift)

"Change" (about having hope for the future)

"Mean" (in response to an overly critical review of her performance at the Grammy awards)

"Never Grow Up" (about her feelings about growing up after she moved out of her parents' house in 2010)

"Innocent" (for Kanye West)

"Long Live" (for her fans and bandmates)

"When Emma Falls in Love" (speculated to be about her friend Emma Stone's love life)

"Castles Crumbling" (about the fear of not being liked)

"Eyes Open" (for The Hunger Games Soundtrack)

"Safe & Sound" (for The Hunger Games Soundtrack)

"Ronan" (for Maya Thompson, whose son, Ronan, died of cancer)

"22" (about her 22nd birthday and having fun with her friends)

"The Lucky One" (about fame)

"Starlight" (for Ethel Kennedy, her ex-boyfriend Conor Kennedy's grandmother)

"Nothing New" (about being frightened by change and losing what you have, specifically as a woman in the music industry)

"Forever Winter" (for a friend who was struggling with mental health and addiction)

"Sweeter Than Fiction" (for the One Chance soundtrack)

"Welcome To New York" (about her newfound freedom when relocating to New York)

"Blank Space" (about the media's false perceptions of her)

"Shake It Off" (about her indifference towards her critics and their negative view of her)

"Bad Blood" (about her feud with Katy Perry)

"I Know Places" (about the media's scrutiny of her. Though it is told from the point of view of Swift's relationship, it is really about the media.)

"You Are In Love" (about Jack Antonoff's relationship with his then-girlfriend, Lena Dunham)

"New Romantics" (about Swift and her friends' experience with dating)

"I Did Something Bad" (about the public's and media's hate toward her in 2016)

"Look What You Made Me Do" (about her feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian who leaked a heavily-edited private phone conversation between them leading to public backlash through snake emojis against her in 2016 and her following disappearance from the public for an entire year)

"This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" (about her feud with Kanye West)

"The Man" (about the sexist double standards in society)

"The Archer" (about her insecurities, anxiety, and existential crisis)

"Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince" (about disillusionment and disappointment towards U.S politics)

"Soon You'll Get Better" (about her mother's, Andrea Swift, battle against cancer)

"You Need To Calm Down" (about pride and trolls needing to calm down)

"ME!" (about embracing individuality)

"Beautiful Ghosts" (for the Cats Soundtrack)

"Only The Young" (telling young people to vote in order for things to change)

"cardigan" (part of a trio of fictional songs about a teenage love triangle; also about Swift's relationship with her fans)

"the last great american dynasty" (about the parallel between the sexist gossips Rebekah Harkness and herself had to endure)

"my tears ricochet" (about her feelings of resentment toward Scott Borchetta)

"mirrorball" (about feeling the need to always please people and create new art)

"seven" (about the innocence of childhood)

"august" (part of a trio of fictional songs about a teenage love triangle)

"this is me trying" (about regret, accountability, low self esteem, alcoholism and existential crisis)

"mad woman" (about gaslighting and the sexist taboo of female anger)

"epiphany" (for and about the parallel between doctors and nurses' service during the COVID-19 pandemic and soldiers' service during World War II, especially her grandfather)

"betty" (told from the perspective of a teenage boy trying to win back the love of his life)

"the lakes" (about escapism)

"no body, no crime" (fictional scenario in which the narrator kills her friend's husband after her friend's death whom she suspect him of being responsible)

"happiness" (about realizing that her pain over the loss of her first six albums will not last forever)

"dorothea" (a story of someone reminiscing about memories of a now-famous old friend)

"long story short" (about surviving a darker part of her life and healing emotionally)

"marjorie" (for her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay)

"closure" (about Scott Borchetta and how forgiving is not necessary to move on)

"evermore" (about battling and resolving hardships, illustrated by enduring a harsh winter)

"it's time to go" (a song about leaving bad relationships, not necessarily romantic ones)

"Carolina" (for the Where the Crawdads Sing Soundtrack)

"Anti-Hero" (about her insecurities and anxieties)

"You're On Your Own, Kid" (about her growing up and how she has changed herself to be accepted in a relationship)

"Vigilante Shit" (about taking revenge on a man)

"Bigger Than The Whole Sky" (about the loss of a loved one)

"Dear Reader" (a song where Swift attempts to give the listener [or reader] life advice)

"Florida!!!" (about escapism and having a fresh start)

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" (about how the media perceives her)

"Clara Bow" (about the struggles of fame in the industry)

"I Hate It Here" (feeling like she doesn't belong and escapism)

"thanK you aIMee" (about Kim Kardashian and the drama between them)

"Cassandra" (about not being believed during the summer of 2016)

"Robin" (for a small child)

[naibfr]

－𝒜𝒷ℴ𝓊𝓉 𝓂ℯ

♡︎

Hii! My name is nailea pronounced (nai-lay-uh) I’m a girl and and on this account I mostly just want to post relatable thing and just in general funny post! Most of the photos I get are from Pinterest so there’s creds. Some things I like to do are listen to music. My favorite artist are people like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye west, Travis Scott,xxxtentacion,Tyler the creator, the weekend, and Ariana grande! Some of my favorite song are “ hold on we’re going home” -Drake “pride”-Kendrick Lamar “I THINK” -Tyler the creator. My friends don’t have tumblr but their names are yegor,kendra,mathew,Carter,Ezra,Mikah,Kimberly,fatima,Reagan, and James! You might see me post things about them and I’ll probably just put their names in my bio. If I’m being honest I only really created this account because TIKTOK KEPT ON BANNING ME UGHH. Anyways I just needed another app to be on 24/7 other than TikTok and Pinterest. I just realized I forgot some pretty basic info about me 😭 I’m Mexican and I’m 4’11 (yes I know I’m pretty short🤦‍♀️) and my favorite game is call of duty my favorite color is pink and I LOVE hello kitty (just in case you can’t tell from my post) I play three sports volleyball,soccer, and fast pitch ( it’s like girls bace ball) you can’t probably expect me to post pretty often when I’m bored due to me always be bored. So yeaaa if you have some questions for me make sure to put them in my question box and I’ll try my best to respond to them as quick as I can! And one last thing I’m looking for friends (because I just joined DUH?!) so if anyone’s wanting to be friends with me just lmk so that’s really all I have to say so byeee!

★

-𝓃𝒶𝒾𝓁ℯ𝒶 𝓍ℴ𝓍ℴ❤︎︎

[problematicfactive]

this is honestly genuine curiosity cause i'm wondering kinda what your thought process is- why is it that you don't directly say your name/source, but also don't seem to care if people know it?

in a couple posts i've seen you censor your name out and such, but i have also seen you in some say that you don't really care if people know/figure it out, why is that?

(i hope i'm wording this right, i feel like it may be coming off passive aggressive and it honestly isn't meant to be, i'm just real bad at tone)

This is a totally valid question, and a good one, it's interesting to see that people pay attention to things like

Dont worry about the tone, it seems completely well making and genuine to me!

I created this blog as a way to educate people who are strongly against the more problematic (infamous abusers, assaulters, murderers) to see that we truly are just people.

The people who banned me from revenge are exactly the kind of people I'm trying to educate. The problem is that people have prejudice. If I say I'm a problematic factive, they may be okay with that. Theyll assume im some musician, but God forbid I be John Wayne Gacy.

Even within the music industry, I guess, you can be a factive of some culturally appropriating kpop star and that's fine, but you can't be Kanye West.

What I'm trying to get at, is because of people's prejudices, they're okay with you saying you're a problematic factive. They assume the best, the second they hear my name, they won't be willing to listen anymore. I'll lose the people I'm trying to educate.

Yeah, they can peice two and two together. I feel like who i am is pretty clear just by reading a few posts. But if they're reading a few posts to find out who I am, they're getting some of that information on what life is like. On how I'm still a person and I'm not my source. And if, after finding out who I am, they make the decision to leave, to be hateful, to push everything they learned out the window, they couldn't really be taught in the first place.

Along with that, I really can't control which of my posts see people who have never seen my blog before. If one of my posts was like "hi guys, I'm finally going to admit it..... I'm Gacy!" Thst would be the first of my posts a LOT of people saw. It would instantly turn them away from me and away from the opportunity to learn.

That being said, the support blog is coming out very very soon and I will not be hiding myself there, so I'm very, very excited

Thanks for the ask!

[likeadevils]

2009 Lover Diaries Transcripts

Mar 17, 2009

Hi. It’s me, the girl who always forgets to write in her journal. Oh yea. Her. I just got back from Australia. It was there for 2 weeks and it was amazing. Gorgeous there. So… what else has happened since I wrote… I was on the cover of Rolling Stone. My tour has sold out every venue including Madison Square Garden (in 1 minute) and Staples Center (in 2). I somehow feel like it’s my destiny to roll my eyes at happy couples and resent Valentine’s Day. I also feel like I’m the girl before “the one.” I’m not he “the one.” I’m the girl you think is the one for you, and when it doesn’t work out with me, you meet the next girl and realize she IS the one. The one you’re gonna stay with. I might get married. But I think it’s ultimately my fate to light candles and pine away and roll my eyes at happy couples and resent Valentine’s Day. Taylor

Jul 11, 2009

I just got back from a trip to Canada that was absolutely refreshing and good for the soul. I never really knew what a good thing having no cell or internet could be. But it was a great thing. I did things a little differently up there, and I actually liked it. I started reading self-help books. It’s really uplifting knowing that you can change your life today, tomorrow … just by doing a few things you never thought of. Or doing things differently than you’ve done them before. New things I adopted from a self help book: Get up early. Keep your cool. Don’t tee off on people you love. Laugh more. You can control your moods. Create a love account and make deposits, in other words, show people that you love them. Another new hobby of mine is ….. antique stores. And not just neat, organized antique stores. I really like the ones where there’s so much crap to dig through, you can find absolute treasures for nothing. I went to 2 antique stores in Saskatchewan, and one today in Winnipeg. I bought all these old glass mason jars. I’m gonna use them for candle holders. I bought old scales and watch faces and chairs and old trunks and a bird cage and 2 lamps. This weekend, I gave everyone in the band raises. That was before the first show we played. Calgary. Then, before the show we played tonight, I called the whole crew in for a meeting, and bonused everybody. 72 people. Taylor [name tag "Taylor Swift - Fearless 2009 Tour. Taylor. Singer"} My tour name tag.

Jul 12, 2009

Today was a wonderful day. And not because of some massive career accomplishment or award show. It wasn’t about world domination or another number 1 song. Today was just … wonderful. Today was simple. And perfect. Because today was just me and my mom, driving around, looking at antiques in little antique shops, talking about what chandelier should go in the foyer and if this cabinet would look right in the guest room. We stopped for ice cream cones. It started raining hard while we were shopping, so we had to run back to the car, getting soaking and screaming. We met up with Dad and Austin for dinner at Kabuto. But the best part of the day was just driving around with my mom. Correction: riding around with my mom with a bunch on antiques clanking together in the trunk. I just keep thinking, when I’m 90 years old, reliving the good old days, I doubt I’ll look back on the number one parties as fondly and as frequently as I’ll look back on today. Wearing red lipstick for no reason, mom in her black t-shirt and wet hair, driving around talking about which chandelier should go in the foyer. Taylor

Sep 18, 2009

Ahh… the things that can change in a week… Let’s just say, if you had told me that Kanye West would have been the number one focus of my week, the media, and my part in the VMA’s, I would’ve looked at you cross-eyed. If you had told me that I would win the ward I was nominated for, I wouldn’t have believed you. And if you had told me that one of the biggest stars in music was going to jump up onstage and announce that he thought I shouldn’t have won on live television, I would’ve said “That stuff doesn’t really happen in real life.” Well… apparently… it does.

(2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 & 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 & 2017)

[sickenoughsteve]

Beef, Bars, and Banter: Navigating the Drake vs. Kendrick Feud and the Hilarity Ensuing

When I first came across Pop Base’s prompt to write something for their newsletter based on modern-day pop culture, like Drake, I wanted to hire a ghostwriter. 

Allegedly! Anyway…

I went to ChatGPT to see if I could streamline the process and create something funny, witty, and on-trend without spending too much time. It didn’t work at all. What came out (with specific prompts, even) was incredibly corny and very clearly written by AI. This is why we need REAL writers to be compensated fairly and given the correct resources to entertain and inform us properly.

Anyway, that’s my little rant on writing. But let’s go back to Drake. Right now, this man is getting cooked by the entire industry, yet it seems he’s holding his own? Whether our favorite cornball, who everyone admits is actually somewhat appealing in a way none of us can explain, is your favorite, or if you like the Pulitzer Prize winner, Kendrick, you must tip your hat to the revival of beef in the rap game.

This is fun!

I mean, The Weeknd is out here singing sultry diss bars, Future is butt-hurt for what seems to be the first time ever, Metro Boomin is catching strays simply because he’s good at making beats but doesn’t rap, Rick Ross is on IG calling Drake “whiteboy”, J Cole avoided a massacre but might have lost some respect in the process, Pusha T is somewhere saying “I told you so,” Kanye is continuing to be his same insane self… even Quavo and Chris Brown are getting intensely and perhaps almost violently disrespectful on the undercard for this headliner beef.

That said, rather than diving into this beef from all angles, I want to acknowledge that this is a lot of information to digest, and many battles are going on in this war. That’s why I will do my very best to give a bird’s-eye view of this whole situation and see if this perspective can help all of us enjoy it for what it is. Not necessarily to tell you who to “support” but rather to recognize that negativity might save us in 2024.

We’re missing pop culture events that unite and get us all thinking about the same things. That’s where I believe Kendrick and Drake are doing a massive service to hip-hop. Putting it all on the line gives us something great to sink our teeth into. I, for one, love it.

So, as far as comparing this beef to past beefs, I remember in middle school, hearing Nas on ‘Ether.’ It rocked my world. I was raised on Nas and thought of him as the ultimate rapper. A rapper’s rapper. Instantaneously upon hearing “Fuck Jay Z” several times in succession on the song, I became a bonafide 100% Jay Z hater.

Did I have a problem with Jay? Not really. He was a star. I liked his music and had absolutely no issues with him. But not anymore! Nas had set the stage for me to learn as much as possible about Jay Z and become skeptical of everything about him.

This time around, the same feeling is back. However, it’s even weirder because the internet is out here internetting. Drake has a team of social media people who ensure he has the best and most impactful content strategy any rapper in a beef could ask for.

The internet is all about timing and trolling. Drake and his team are certainly better equipped there. And it’s showing to be necessary. However, one could argue if the bars are all that matters, Kendrick might have him beat there. Hence, the need for Drake to win these small battles on social media.

I think the best thing about beef between world-class musicians is that we are instantaneously reminded that everybody is insecure and we all make mistakes. The goal of beef is to expose those missteps and air out those insecurities. Before, I never would have guessed Drake had a BBL, fake abs, and other body modifications. Does that make me hate him? Not really. Does it even bother me? No. Does it make me think he’s very weird? Hell yeah.

In this politically correct world, toxic masculinity makes a resounding comeback whenever rap beef is declared. That’s probably the most upsetting thing about this all, but at the same time, let me reiterate that it’s fun. In a world of Israel and Palestine headlines, one of the most significant elections of our history, climate issues, and other general sad, sad truths, this is something we quite certainly NEED.

Silly bullying.

Drake making fun of Kendrick’s shoe size is, frankly, hilarious. I don’t care at all that Kendrick is short. Why would I? It doesn’t matter one bit. But if you put it on a song, it’s GOING to be funny. But of course, he refers to him as “midget” a few too many times for our PC culture to be happy with him. I found this most interesting when stepping back and thinking about it all. To come across as “real” also means NOT being politically correct.

Drake came for Kendrick for making music with Taylor Swift. Meanwhile, he’s in a commercial singing and dancing to Taylor. Is working with one of the biggest stars of all time something you should be ashamed of? Clearly not. But it’s not manly. So we have to be embarrassed by it. Beef is confusing in 2024; that’s all I’m saying.

And Kendrick isn’t guilt-free, either. He told Drake he doesn’t like it when he says the N-word. Of course, Drake has a black father but was primarily raised by his white mother. Now, he must feel bad about using our culture’s most controversial word. Of course, there’s a lot a sociology professor could unpack about why this is wrong, but in rap beef, it’s fair game. And it works as a way to poke holes in Drizzy's entire being! So it plays.

Another thing. Before we had Rap Genius and could look up what these guys were saying, some more subtle jabs would go under the radar. But now, the whole thing—from Kendrick naming the song ‘Euphoria’ because of the HBO show Drake is a producer on—and the connection there to pedophilia to Drake calling his diss ‘Push Ups’—there’s simply lore everywhere you look.

I used to write for a company that covered Marvel/DC, comics in general, and action franchises, and the main thing I took away from it was that people love Easter Eggs. We love digging into the material and finding references to the past or things meant to not just be on the surface. That’s what we love most about rap beef - especially nowadays.

We want to make discoveries about these greats that make them less untouchable, to bring them down a peg. Interestingly, human nature is to humiliate those on top whenever possible. 

But alas.

So, whether you “don’t trust” Drake or love and agree that he’s winning this 20v1, you must admit this is “for the culture” and far from over. So buckle up; this will be a hilarious and fun ride.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I’d love to hear your analysis behind MM schmoozing with the Kardashians. I know you’ve touched base on it before, but I’d love to know more. It seemed like, back in 2020 when Meghan first “returned” to California, she felt she was above that scene. Now, she’s doing what she can to attach herself to them…but I feel the timing is way, way off. She deigned to lower her standards enough to latch on to the K-train as it’s going off the rails. The eldest is basically cutting her ties from the fam. Kim lost a ton of credibility throughout her marriage to Kanye and she’s on the losing side of a feud against one of the biggest stars on the planet (and she was booed last night at the roast of Tom Brady!). The entire family doesn’t mind coming across as messy, or dumb, or promiscuous which seems to be the opposite of the look Meghan tries to achieve (they do, however, work very hard, and for the most part are very family oriented). Is this another backfire on Meghan’s behalf or do you think she has sound networking reasons behind this connection?

Old ask from May 6th

I think Meghan likes the Kardashians because who they are today is what she wants for herself; they're accepted by society, they have huge businesses and companies, they're cultural icons. But what Meghan doesn't understand is that the Kardashians have authenticity and American culture places a really high value on authenticity. You could be the worst person in the world, but as long as you're authentic in who you are, what you believe, and the things you do, we'd generally accept it and support you.

(Authenticity, by the way, is Kim's issue. Something happened and people don't see her as authentic anymore, and that's why she's getting booed and may not be as well-liked as her sisters are. Maybe it was the feud with Taylor. Maybe it was Kanye. Maybe it was something else altogether.)

After all, Meghan has been trying to network her way into being momagered by Kris. Love her or hate her, Kris is one of the more effective talent managers right now. Look at everything her family has now - brand deals, marketing deals, multimillion dollar companies, a general respectability, acceptance - and remember, all of this came from a sex tape. Somehow, Kris lassoed the wind from that storm and brought her family into Emerald City.

That's what Meghan wanted; she wanted to leverage the controversy of marrying into the BRF to roar into Hollywood with multimillion-dollar brands, sponsorships, celebrity friends, acceptance, and relevance.

Except her marrying into the BRF wasn't controversial. Yes, there were a couple of racist articles (which were handled immediately) but by and large, the press accepted her, the public accepted her, and the BRF accepted her. So Meghan had to create the controversy she wanted, and that's where everything fell apart. It fell apart for her the same way it's falling apart for Kim - the lack of authenticity and death by a thousand cuts exposing how she manipulated everything to be seen as the victim.

Anyway. I'm not sure it matters anymore. The Kardashians seem to have successfully pushed Meghan away because Meghan is back to hanging out with Oprah and Oprah's '90s crowd.

Also, I think trying to get in with the Kardashians and their crowd was Meghan's way of trying to upgrade her fame strategy. Hear me out:

1980s - 1997: Fame was best represented by Diana and the paparazzi stalking

1995 - 1999: JFK Jr brought the Kennedy name back into global fame

1998 - 2011: Mid-1990s, Oprah changed her talk show from tabloid trash to what it's now best known as; motivational, inspirational, celebrity interviews. From that time through her last show in 2011, Oprah and The Oprah Winfrey Show were considered the top "get" for celebrity PR. If you made it onto the Oprah Show, you were famous. Oprah's successor was Ellen DeGeneres and The Ellen Show (which began in 2003) and like Oprah, if you were on Ellen, you were famous, you were popular, and you were cool.

2003ish - 2007ish: Paris, Britney, Nicole, Lindsay/Perez Hilton/TMZ era. Fame was cute young twenty-something girls partying in LA.

2007 - 2016: Kardashians on the rise. The Kardashians peaked in 2016/2017 in terms of their press coverage, and they've been steadily (albeit gently) declining since.

2010 - 2016: William and Kate get engaged and the BRF enters a new "golden phase", becoming globally popular again.

2016 - 2022: (I have no idea. It was such a weird time. See the * note below.)

2022 - today: peak Taylor Swift

So if we look at Meghan and her fame "trajectory," she's emulated the lives and PR of the most famous pop culture icons of the last 40 years, trying to catch some of their stardust.

She married Diana's son, tried to get the paparazzi to chase after her the same way, and copied Diana's outfits.

She cozied up to the Kennedy family and connected their surname with hers.

She got the Oprah celebrity interview and inserted herself into Oprah's circle. Then she got the Ellen celebrity interview and inserted herself into Ellen's circle.

She cozied up to the Kardashians, copied their outfits, makeup, and hairstyles.

She cozied up to William and Kate, tried to be their besties, and tried to out-duchess Kate at game Kate herself created and owned the copyrights/trademarks to.

So was Meghan buddying up to the Kardashians so Kris could be her momager and get her the riches of the world as she desires? Or was Meghan buddying up to the Kardashians to collect them for her gauntlet of infinity stones so she could one day snap her fingers and be the most famous person in literally all of history and culture combined?

*I feel like politics dominated much of the conversation 2016 - 2020 with Trump, Brexit, and the rise of the far right and so much so that it consumed much of pop culture in a way we hadn't seen before and I'm not sure if there was anyone famous-famous or tabloid-famous that rose above it to dominate the way Diana, JFK Jr, Young Millennial Hollywood, the Kardashians, and Golden Era of Cambridges did. Then obviously 2020-2022 was COVID, with The Queen's death in 2022 being, in my opinion, the door that slammed the door shut on the 2016-2022 era of chaos, which - in a weird way - let pop culture as a whole kind of shift and regroup. I could probably write a much longer essay on this but I'll spare y'all since my stomach's rumbling and it's lunch time.

[schraubd]

Woke Up This Morning

Over the past few days, there was an interesting series of developments in the Jewish communal world involving a video that lambasted so-called "woke antisemitism". 

The video was put out by a group called the "Combat Antisemitism Movement", a somewhat opaque but sprawling organization that counts a wide number of Jewish communal organizations as "partners" (though what level of connection constitutes a "partner" is obscure). It is different from typical fare attacking left antisemitism in that it doesn't primarily focus on anti-Zionist activity, but rather claims -- in a manner reminiscent of David Bernstein and his JILV* -- that various "woke" concepts, like the idea of systematic oppression, are major sources of contemporary antisemitism. It even strikingly takes some prominent far-right incidents of antisemitism (e.g., claims by the Goyim Defense League that "Kanye is Right", a White supremacist-created flyer arguing that "Ending white privilege starts with ending Jewish privilege") and tries to shift blame for them onto left-wing actors.

The video generated backlash. That's not surprising. What is surprising is the scope of it. Several major centrist Jewish players, including the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, announced they were withdrawing from CAM in response to the video. CAM, for its part, has taken the video offline "temporarily" due to "concerns raised by some of our partners, and with the aim of fostering a broad consensus."

That, to me, is noteworthy. It was not that long ago when hippie-punching was essentially a free activity in mainline Jewish institutions. You'd never see them backing off based on concerns that they were being too hostile to their left flank. Groups like CAM would positively revel in liberal tears. Backlash would be ignored, if not taken as proof of some sort of bizarre "evenhandedness", where Jewish groups accounted for the fact that most Jews were liberal by bending over backwards to show they could mock liberals with the best of them.

The response here suggests that things may be changing. As I wrote in Haaretz last week, we're in the unfamiliar situation of the Jewish conversation on antisemitism largely being directed by an alliance of the Jewish center and Jewish left, as opposed to the Jewish center and Jewish right. Certain old presumptions of what was and wasn't permissible, that relied on outdated notions of who the key constituencies were, are no longer present. Groups like CAM, who no doubt assumed that this sort of video would have met with the usual reception -- fulsome praise from the right, tacit acceptance from the center, and easily-ignored criticism from the left -- are now forced to reckon with a new reality. That is a very welcome thing to see.

* Bernstein, who authored a book titled "Woke Antisemitism", said that he had seen an initial script for the video but characterized the final product as something that "could have been stronger and more nuanced." Much of the video has more than coincidental echoes of Bernstein's argument -- including the choice to pin the "Jewish privilege" flyer on the left instead of the right.

via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/cfRXl2v

[addictedgallery]

Get Your Art Fix!

Beyoncé has become the first Black woman to top the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

The Grammy-winning artist, 42, claimed her latest record-breaking feat with her new single, “Texas Hold ‘Em”, after it debuted at No 1. Go back to where it all began.

"Destiny’s Child, New York” by Markus Klinko, 2000

Series: Queen Bey’

Arty-Fact: “I shot Beyoncé for the first time in 2000 for Vibe magazine, when she was part of Destiny’s Child. I knew she was a superstar right away. She walked in and I said to her mother, Tina, who was styling the shoot: 'This one in the middle here, she’s going to be a huge star.' Tina looked at me like: 'Yeah, we know.' After that, things really started taking off with music shoots.” ~ Markus Klinko

Source: “Beyoncé is wearing my jeans!’ Markus Klinko’s best shot”, The Guardian, 2023

A little bit about Markus Klinko...

Markus is an award-winning international fashion/celebrity photographer and director who has worked with many of today's most iconic film, music, and fashion stars.

Markus has photographed the likes of Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, David Bowie, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet, Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kim Kardashian, Naomi Campbell and Iman. Just to name a few!

"When photographing an artist, I always desire to create a work that truly defines them and can serve as a milestone in pop culture history. Those are ambitious and lofty goals, but it is what I am thinking about when I pick up my camera.

"I consider myself a pop culture documentarian." ~ Markus Klinko

[loveisalwaystheanswer]

Music Tag Game 🎶

Rules Music taste is a very telling thing. Create a new post and name 1-5 your favourite songs in each category. Don't be afraid to be too obvious! Tag users you want to get to know better. Don't forget to have fun :)

Last songs you listened to: Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad - Def Leppard, The Funny Feeling - Phoebe Bridgers, Cathy Come Home - Flyte, Friday I'm In Love - The Cure

Best songs from your favourite TV show/movie: oh gosh, I put Peaky Blinders Soundtrack on a pedestal, so I'll have to narrow my choice to 3 songs: All My Tears - Ane Brun, Strange Weather - Anna Calvi, David Byrne, Abattoir Blues - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and all the other songs that remain unnamed xD

Favourite songs about love (happy or not): Lover - Taylor Swift ft. Shawn Mendes, I Can't Help Falling In Love With You - Elvis Presley, Heart Like Yours - Willamette Stone, This - Ed Sheeran and much much more

Songs that could be the soundtrack to your life: Alibi - 30 Seconds to Mars

Songs that always make you want to dance: Let's Dance - David Bowie, Real Love Baby - Father John Misty, Hips Don't Lie - Shakira (yes, guilty)

Songs that always make you want to cry: I'm Ok - Christina Aguilera, Run - Snow Patrol, Dark Paradise - Lana Del Rey

Songs with the best lyrics: The Animals Were Gone / Accidental Babies - Damien Rice (he's very eloquent about love and pain, no wonder cos' he's Irish), My Tears Ricochet / The Lakes - Taylor Swift, I guess I can just write these two names. Amazing songwriters.

Songs you want to listen to when you're alone in the car: Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Mix) - Avril Lavigne ft. Lil Mama, I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor. And it doesn't even matter I don't have a car!

Songs that bring you back to yourself when your life is a mess: Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell and almost any Taylor Swift's song

Favourite instrumental songs: Spiegel im Spiegel (Version for Violin and Piano) - Vladimir Spivakov & Sergej Bezrodny, Rise - Hans Zimmer, New Moon - Alexandre Desplat, Una Mattina - Ludovico Einaudi, Arrival Of The Birds - The Cinematic Orchestra

Songs that make you feel like you're invincible and very cool: Lose Yourself - Eminem (yes!), Woman - Harry Styles, but I think I just need to be happy to feel myself invincible

Guilty pleasure songs you're embarrassed to admit that you like: I'm too old to care about stuff like that, but let's say Famous - Kanye West

Songs that can describe your current mood: Vienna - Billy Joel or People Help The People - Birdy

If you wanted to be serenaded, what songs would you prefer: Love of My Life - Queen, Fly Me To The Moon - Frank Sinatra. God help that guy if he doesn't have an ear for music.

Songs you'd recommend everybody to listen to (you can explain why if you want):

No Light, No Light - Florence + The Machine (because Florence's voice is so ethereal, magical and she can make you feel like you're flying)

Hey Jude - The Beatles (no further explanation)

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (this is a very interesting and unusual song to listen to, something out of any genre. A pure masterpiece)

Butterflies and Hurricanes - Muse (I can literally name any of their songs and I won't miss, just like with Radiohead)

Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish (for those who love beautiful vocal. Billie's soft vibrato and the second part is a powerful crescendo)

tagging: @runnning-outof-time @zablife @aranoburns @i-just-look-at-pictures @jonathancraneswife444 @filmonaut @notyourriddler @tommyxgrace-always @carlfranzen @sassyrebelrockerprincess @l1-l4 @shelundeadxxxx @doraviolet @peakysgrace @grace-werethesame @peakyv @rousie @achurni @twvstedsouls @moral-terpitude and @springsteens @violaobanion (hello, my tumblr superstars, i just live in hope :)) and anyone else who wants to do it. No obligation, go to it if you’re keen! 

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Reddit Users Take Over Kanye West’s Page To Share Taylor Swift & Holocaust Awareness Posts Amid Antisemitism

Kanye West has burned even more bridges, this time with many of his Reddit stans.

As you’ve likely seen, the 45-year-old rapper’s fanbase has remained loyal to him, even as his rants became increasingly problematic and offensive over the past year. No matter what Ye did – whether it be harassing Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian or spewing antisemitic conspiracy theorieson social media – his followers continued to express their love for the artist and give him a pass because he created his 2007 album Graduation. So messed up…

But following the Yeezy brand head’s disgusting interview with Alex Jones, in which he praisedAdolf Hitler and Nazis and later posted a horrific picture of a swastika on Twitter, it appears people on the producer’s Redditpage have finally decided to dump Kanye once and for all. More than that, they’ve even rebranded the subreddit to focus on his longtime rival: Taylor Swift.

Related: Kim Kardashian Did Not Cheat On Ye With Chris Paul!

As you know, Kanye and Taylor have feuded ever since the 2009 MTV Video Music Awardswhen he stormed the stage to interrupt her Best Video by a Female Artist Award acceptance speech. Things escalated in 2016 when he released the track Famous, which included the lyrics:

“I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous.”

The Karma artist slammed the line, but he and Kim leaked a phone conversation where she seemingly approved the lyrics. Now, it looks like fans have ditched Kanye to side with Tay amid his continued hate speech! On the page, which has over 700,000 subscribers, one user first shared a picture of the 32-year-old singer, declaring:

“This is now a Taylor Swift Subreddit. We had a good run fellas.”

Others seemed to approve, as their post quickly went viral, amassing more than 38,000 upvotes and nearly 1,000 comments. See some of the reactions (below):

“Change the subreddit name to Kanye (Taylor’s Version)”

“I absolutely loathed [Swift] back in 2016/17 just because I took Ye’s side in their beef. Kinda regret it now that I like some of her music and it’s awfully clear that Kanye is a horrible person.”

“Someone start a petition to have her make Graduation: Taylor’s Version”

“Swifties stay winning”

“Taylor made Kanye famous”

“It’s Ye. Hi. I’m the problem. It’s Ye.”

“I mean, Folklore is way better than anything Ye has done in several years.”

“We all swifties now. I said what I said”

While there were plenty of posts about Taylor, fans also flooded the page with more serious content to counter the misinformation and rhetoric spread by Kanye. Many users shared graphic images and information about Hitler’s horrific actions against the Jewish community, such as footage of machinery removing bodies in concentration camps. Posts were also dedicated to victims of the Holocaust, including Anne Frank.

To see it all for yourself, CLICK HERE.

Reactions, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments below.

[Image via MEGA/WENN]

Sent from my iPhone

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FieldWork:#1 making Yeezys Unfamiliar

Founded in 2009 Kanye started to change up the sneaker designs. we all know what yeezys are and who created them. “Yeezys” are classified as adorned sneakers, but "Kanye has grown the Yeezy brand to include a clothing and accessory line, while also expanding his footwear line to include shoes like boots and heels. Beyond this, Kanye has grown the Yeezy brand through key partnerships with some of the best designers in the industry like Louis Vuitton, Nike, Adidas, and APC. His partnerships have spanned different lengths of time, with his Nike partnership lasting for five years, and his partnership with Adidas being ongoing. After a five-year collaboration, and after the release of the Yeezy I and Yeezy II sneaker designs, "Kanye ended his partnership with Nike". This came right after the release of the Air Yeezy 2s. Instead of paying royalties for Kanye’s designs, Nike decided to donate his earnings to a charity of his choice. After leaving Nike, Kanye was approached by Adidas, who, unlike Nike, offered to pay royalties for his designs (a 15% wholesale royalty). For Kanye, this felt like more of a true partnership between two brands. I’m current day after Kanye launched his Yeezy Season I clothing line, Adidas chose to end its partnership with Yeezy clothing. Adidas cited that this was because they wanted to focus entirely on their Yeezy footwear line, rather than splitting their focus. "

Where were Yeezys manufactured?

Yeezys are manufactured under Adidas in China, but Kanye West has been aiming toward moving Yeezy production to the US, Adidas makes most Yeezys in China. You will find a “Made in China” tag in most pairs of Yeezys. Nonetheless, Adidas began Yeezy production in Germany through the Yeezy 450. By 2021, Kanye West has aimed toward moving Yeezy production to the US.In 2020, Adidas earned an annual sales revenue of $1.7 billion from Yeezy. Real Yeezy are mostly made in China. After the Adidas acquisition, Yeezy are now manufactured in Germany as well.On the other hand, Kanye West proposed to make Yeezy in the United States. Consequently, Adidas makes Yeezy in the United States as well.

The impact Yeezys have one me

I’d say that Yeezys have a big impact on my life because I’ve been collecting them for a while now. I’ve become fascinated with the brand and how it’s different. Also, the vision behind them and how Kanye had an idea and turned it into reality not caring about what others had to say about it. Normally when people buy shoes they just go based off of look but when I buy Yeezys I really think about Kanye and the messages that he’s trying to put out and also they remind me to also be yourself, You never should worry about what the next person has to say about what your wearing it’s either you like it or not it doesn’t get much more simpler than that. Also, they have an impact on me in a fashion sense because I have a lot of them to put with different outfits and I can just try new combos out.

Who are the people directly involved with making or manufacturing this item? What is life like for them?

Reports of Chinese factory workers going underpaid have increased over the past few years. A consistent income is promised to many employees when they are hired as temporary or seasonal workers, especially in rural areas. However, they frequently put in long hours with little to no pay, which causes the impacted workers to live in abject poverty. In many places, there are no labor regulations or labor protections, which makes it easier for dishonest companies to take advantage of their employees. Unpaid labor in Chinese factories has its roots in a larger issue of systemic exploitation in the labor market of the nation. Many international firms have established operations in China due to the country's enormous pool of workers and affordable labor expenses.

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