#her music was good at a particular point but Katy Perry as an artist is NOT GOOD which is why she consistently fails to grow with the times | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

formerlyanon · 1 year ago

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man like. ok. I'm really really frustrated at the ongoing fallout about the gaylor stuff (because i hate hearing about it, i was fed up with this years ago) but the last few days has also shifted things into perspective for me about representation and why it matters. More and more lately I've been trying to get a read on what I find offputting or unsettling about summaries or explanations of media that get boiled down to what representation they have, right? Because that still doesn't tell me anything about the actual media. And that has been met with varying levels of emotion when I talk about it, but mostly ranging from apathy to frustration.

Celebrities are fandom and that's been the case for decades. The public eye and coverage of events or interviews generates material for fandom to feed off of. Fanart, fic, and other media follows, because it is media-space to play in. I chalk it up to kayfabe and move on. Right now these particular fan bases are falling apart because of this built up over arching rampant speculation about her personal life had turned into personal stakes for those fans, who needed her to be gay and queer and closeted and struggling, basically. They needed it to be a reality. But why did it need to be a reality to the point it had personal stakes?

Taylor's one of the wealthiest pop stars in history, has been active for over 15 years making commercial music, and consistently been successful in the mainstream. She's not an underdog. She's put in work, sure. She's still not an underdog, is not queer, is not secretly crying out to her fans for help, does not need saving from a cruel uncaring world.

Now combine all that with the need to have representation, the conflation of an identity being a hallmark of quality. All I can think right now is that quite a few people needed their pop superhero to be gay because that's what representation is, right? Because someone that they find so wonderful and relatable and charming or whatever, needs to be like them, and needs to have the hallmark stamp of Representation. Because something that seems so perfectly crafted about you the listener's life, clearly needs to be also directly, in real life, not a production not a crafted storyline way, Actually Gay.

I think her music's fine. It's inoffensive at best. I know very little about her except for her record of commercial success and various publicity stunts she maintains for her kayfabe and image. I do know she's been frustrated at the blurring of reality and public storyline, and addressed how not every song has to be rooted in reality and sometimes she can just be a storyteller writing fiction. She's also been very public throughout her career about publicity stunts sparking this or that song/fashion choice/era/album, so hey, it's not entirely on the fans here, aside from the fact that in this case there's basically nothing to it except projection.

Representation matters for the sake of understanding different points of view to get nuanced stories and experiences told. The lion's share of my frustration comes from the idea that:

1) a checkbox being hit automatically means a media is good

2) it's led more than a few times to someone telling me to check out media and giving me literally no information about it

3) people are really out here inventing oppression conspiracy theories for literal billionaires so they can do mental gymnastics to explain liking the work produced instead of just liking it

4) All this is used to prop up white straight artists to make them out to be intrepid underdogs bravely pretending to be straight so they can have careers

like holy shit! what the fuck!

Billy Porter has called out the racism and privilege of Harry Styles being given opportunities long denied to GNC men, especially men of color. Meanwhile a lot of Harry's outfits pull from different queer non white communities and he's hailed as an icon the likes which has never been seen before. Katy Perry's been routinely awarded for lgbt activism over literal out queer artists.

Taylor herself been noted as an icon of feminism and a queer ally, and it comes across as the same level of shallow - carefully crafted kayfabe to push a business narrative. Nothing especially noteworthy to indicate that previous gaffes were one-offs. It comes off as incredibly callous to me as a whole, but hey, I don't have to steer the ship of a literal billion dollar brand that revolves around my likeness.

Representation matters because it gives opportunity, voice, and paying work to those with less privilege than straight white cis artists. It's not that you as the consumer have a moral imperative to only consume media by underprivileged artists or else It Sucks And Is Bad, and you consumed the media wrong. Enjoy Taylor's stuff if you want but if it is this mentally distressing to come to terms with your commercially successfully pop star fave not being gay, I really recommend using this as a chance to look up other artists - queer artists, artists of color. It very clearly matters to you on a personal level, and you can find fulfillment elsewhere while still listening to and enjoying your favorite white blonde cis straight billionaire popstar.

#like. i kept it to just musicians here i could have gone the fuck on with books and movies and actors #in terms of how at the end of the day way more 'credit' gets given to white media creators for shit they cannot 'represent'#enjoy what you like but stop giving them credit and if you want representation you need to actually go to those who have talked about it #and claimed whatever labels and experiences that you are seeking media about #swings bat at hornets nest. hello public diary. it has been a minute.

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stylesnews · 4 years ago

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“Feeling good in my skin/ I just keep on dancing,” Harry Styles sings in his latest single, “Treat People With Kindness.” And in the song’s exuberant music video -- which has garnered 17 million YouTube views and counting since its debut on New Year’s Day -- he does just that: Wearing a sequined jacket and bow tie, he chassés, spins and flutters jazz hands like an MGM musical star (with a little help from his equally debonair partner, Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge).

Styles shot the video in early 2019 after several weeks of training with choreographer Paul Roberts, a collaborator since his One Direction days. “I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this could be something special,” says Roberts, a veteran stage director and choreographer who’s worked on videos and tours for the likes of Sam Smith, Katy Perry, Diana Ross, and the Spice Girls (their Spiceworld stadium tour).

Watching the explosive fan reaction to Styles’s little known dance talents -- including from the Spice Girls, who've “sent lovely messages" about the video -- Roberts says it seems like "Treat People With Kindness" arrived at the precise right moment. “Most people’s comments are, ‘I’ve not felt that happy for three and a half minutes in a long time,’ or ‘I smiled from ear to ear the whole way through.’ It’s a positive light.”

He spoke to Billboard about Styles’ intensive training process -- and why he wouldn’t be surprised to see him dancing onstage again.

There’s been one pretty overwhelming reaction to this video: “This is the guy who was in the group that insisted they couldn’t dance?!” Did you expect this kind of reaction to Harry dancing? I’ve been with Harry for 10 years: I was with the One Direction boys from the beginning the whole way through their career before they took the hiatus, and they always made a very conscious decision that they didn’t want choreography as part of their brand -- but they did want a kind of disheveled organization in order to allow the cameras and the lighting to stand a chance in terms of presenting them in the best manner possible.

What was very evident to me was that all five of them, and then it obviously became four, they’ve all got their own magic. The only time I’ve experienced that was when I worked with the Spice Girls. I always knew that they had special skills aside from what they were in One Direction, whether it was movement, songwriting, being able to handle the business side of things. For such young lads they were very astute and very decisive. So, getting together with Harry -- he’s a bit of an alchemist, is Harry. Everything he turns his hand to turns to gold. Where did the initial dance-centric concept come from? Harry and the directors, Ben and Gabe [Turner], sent me a video link to the Nicholas Brothers scene from Stormy Weather and Harry asked me, "How long do you think it would take to dance like this?" I was like, "OK, are you being serious?" "Yeah, I’m being serious."

That is probably one of the most standout dance sequences ever captured on film -- so I knew we were aiming high. I said, "Why don’t we go into a studio and let’s workshop some choreography, some moves, some short sequences, and see what your ability is, see how we can tailor this to make you look the best you can possibly look." Obviously it would take some investment in terms of rehearsal and commitment, I told him it would be mentally and physically exhausting, but I thought, "My God yeah, let’s do it; this will be an adventure."

How long did the whole process take? We started in mid-January 2019, and we rehearsed and workshopped for about four to five weeks before the shoot, every day. Both Harry and Phoebe had other things going on, so, for instance, Phoebe was working on the new Bond movie in Canada, so I sent my assistant to Canada to work with her. I stayed in the U.K. with Harry, and then we went to L.A. where Harry shot two more videos, for “Watermelon Sugar” and “Falling.”

At the end of the “Watermelon Sugar” shoot, he wrapped, got in his car, came to the dance studio and we rehearsed into the night. Knowing how short a time you sometimes get with artists even for really big performances, I thought the rehearsals would dilute and we’d lose momentum, but both Phoebe and Harry were so committed.

What was the process in the studio like with Harry? We didn’t even use his [vocal] track to begin with -- we used different big band songs, some contemporary alternative music. It was just about finding his [movement] language first and foremost. Then we developed the choreography and sent it to the directors, who gave us feedback. We enhanced the work a bit more, and then once we had some really solid sequences, Ben and Gabe storyboarded the scenes against the timeline of the music.

At this point Harry and Phoebe were still working separately, and then we joined forces in London, where we really started to refine these sequences of choreography we’d developed, trying to find the finesse and the style, almost making sense of the movement for them so they felt they had a dancer’s way of working the movement through the body. You’ve worked with a wide variety of artists, many of whom aren’t dancers first. How do you find, as you put it, the “language” of movement that makes sense for each of them as individuals?

I think the general answer is really communicating -- listening and understanding what the artist’s desire is. And also collaborating, so you don’t get too lost in yourself as a choreographer. What looks good on you might not transcend to the artist, or even necessarily the dancers.

With Harry, what was important within the language of the choreography was that it felt joyful and had personality. Him and Phoebe, with the work she’s done with Fleabag, you associate them and what they do with a sense of style, a real confidence, but at the heart of it it’s entertainment. And with the amount of time and budget we had, which was such a luxury in this day and age, we wanted to do something that pushed both of them out of their comfort zones. We tried to make it as athletic as possible but without compromising them as artists and becoming too comedic. We wanted it to be a bit quaint and cute in places, but we definitely didn’t want it to be thought of as nonsensical or silly.

Harry’s movement in the video is so crisp and precise, even his hands and arm extension look very dancerly. Did that come through a lot of specific work with you? As a songwriter and artist, for Harry it’s about detail, about pushing yourself to be the best. He’s always got questions: "Why are we doing that? Should we be doing this?" We got to a point during the rehearsal period where I brought in a ballet teacher, really to just get Harry and Phoebe to open themselves up from behind their shoulder blades, have an idea of extension, the lines that extend from your center all the way to the tip of your finger. I’d be saying, “Your arms Harry, your arm line!” Asking him to push his shoulders down, lift his carriage up, extend through his breast. And when he hit those lines, he’d be like, “Oh yeah, that feels different.” It’s funny: We spent a couple days apart -- he had to go off and do a gig somewhere -- and I was like, “I hope you’re rehearsing when you’ve got some downtime, dude!” And he sent me a picture in the gym with his arms in the most beautiful balletic arm line! I was like, "Yes, by George, you’ve got it!" Besides the Nicholas Brothers, did you have any particular dance references in mind for the feel of the choreography? I just delved into the MGM archives. Obviously [Fred] Astaire and [Gene] Kelly, the two greats -- especially with Astaire, we loved how sometimes it seems so effortless yet a bit throwaway, not totally totally perfect always. We enjoyed the moments from him of “I’ll just do a bit of this,” “I’ll just walk off camera left,” the dropping in and out of movement. We loved the duet “Moses Supposes” from Singin’ in the Rain, for Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor -- we loved the camaraderie between them, which felt a bit goofball at times, and just that wry smile, the look to the left, knowing your partner is there and has got your back. It feels fizzy, it feels joyful.

And yes, there was a massive core of MGM-ism, but at the same time an absolute huge dollop of Harry-and-Phoebe-ism. It was important to us to feel a bit more contemporary, so again we stay true to Harry and Phoebe as artists. Has Harry indicated any interest in dancing more going forward?

We had a conversation back at the end of the summer about how much we enjoyed the process, and I know he was doing another project where choreography was involved, so we were just talking about it and how he felt. Coming from where he came from to what he was about to do, he felt he could be pushed even further. I don’t know if he got the bug, or if it’s just the way he is as a person, very inquisitive and wanting to keep elevating himself. There’s now been some talk on social media that it can’t be long before Harry does Broadway. What do you think?

I mean, I think with Harry Styles, anything is possible, is it not? I mean, I’m sure because he’s tasted the dance, he’ll inject that along the line in his career. It won’t necessarily be out-and-out dancing, but I guess it’s a bit like Bowie used to do, isn’t it? It’s the showmanship and presentation of the performance. Who knows? He’s just so open-minded and open-hearted — and because he’s so open it allows the universe to come back at him and he’s able to do anything he sets his mind to.

#harry styles #jan21 #paul roberts #billboard #article #tpwkmv

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afrival · 4 years ago

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Hetalia Characters and Their Music Tastes

I’ve been in the hetalia fandom for like a year now and I stg thinking abt what these bitches listen to NEVER gets old

no warnings

will feature mostly modern day music, like 1950s-2010s

I don’t know a lot of artists that don’t sing in English so there’s probably A LOT that I’m missing on here, not even including shit from like the 1800s

The Allies

Alfred:

Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood, The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, Crazy In Love by Beyoncé

- Listens to basically everything, but particular fond of like 80s rock and early 2000s shit

- Likes country music bc ofc he does, a huge fan of Carrie Underwood, Sam Hunt, and The Band Perry

- Got his love of rock from England 💀 Especially during the like the 60s-80s when Queen, The Beatles, and Elton John really popular

- They really only bond over their love for this period of music lmao like they would absolutely go ape during karaoke

- He loves more mainstream artists like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, all those iconic mfs

- Probably enjoys old wartime music just for nostalgias sake. Shit from the 40s and he listens to Civil War tunes (Union Dixie lmao)

- Definitely listens to musicals and forces Ivan to as well. His favorites are Hamilton, Hairspray, and Chess

- LOVES LOVES LOVES The Backstreet Bogs holy shit. This man had a whole phase where he dressed like they did. Don’t even dare play I Want It That Way because he WILL sing along

- Speaking of which he’s actually a really good singer, like he probably used to sing at clubs and shit back in the day

- It’s very specific but I imagine his voice to sound like Taron Egerton’s cover of “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John

Arthur:

Killer Queen by Queen, Set Fire to the Rain by Adele, Tiny Dancer by Elton John

- Old man who had a weird punk phase in the 90s. Definitely listens to The Beatles and Gorillaz

- Like I said, he and Alfred bond over Queen and Elton and Bon Jovi and FUCKING Michael Jackson

- Refuses to admit he really likes Elvis

- Oh boy. He had so much fun in like late 2000s and early 2010s— Panic at the Disco, MCR, Green Day, he absolutely got his ears pierced during this time

- Doesn’t listen to like current mainstream music that much he will sob to Adele and probably really likes the Cry Baby album by Melanie Martinez.

- Francis plays so much Lady Gaga in the car that at this point he really likes her music

- He likes Ed Sheeran I am so sorry </3 and he absolutely gets bullied for it

- He can sing too honestly? I know I just said he listens to Ed Sheeran but I honestly think he kinda sounds like him too just maybe a little deeper

- Listen to Galway Girl and you’ll get a basic idea of what I imagine he sounds like

Ivan:

Dance and Cry by Mother Mother, Baby One More Time by Britney Spears, смерти Больше нет by IC3PEAK

- THIS MANS MUSIC TASTE MAKES NO SENSE. It ranges from fucking Aerosmith to Ic3peak to Lady Gaga

- Literally has every Mother Mother album downloaded and probably on Vinyl bc he’s a fucking dweeb

- Also a huge musical stannie, loves Wicked and Hairspray

- He and Al will split the parts to sing along to in the car

- Alfred made him listen to Britney Spears ONCE in like the 90s and now he’s obsessed

- Speaking of the 90s he went absolutely fucking ape during this time. The USSR wasn’t very big on western music but when it fell there was a HUGE influx of it and suddenly like it was just his favorite thing ever

- Alfred also got him into Carrie Underwood, literally lost of his music taste comes from Alfred forcing him to listen to shit

- During the 70s/80s he got really into Fleetwood Mac and Aerosmith, maybe even a little bit of disco but not a lot

- Went to a club with Al a few times and he won’t ever forget dancing to Footloose by Kenny Loggins at like one in the morning and having the absolute time of his life, easily one of his favorite memories

- Like I get so soft thinking about him just letting loose and actually having fun, even though he was very stiff and shit during the 1900s

- He can’t sing LMAO but my friend and I said once that he could lowkey rap really well and now it’s all I think about

Francis:

From Eden by Hozier, La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf, Primadona by Marina

- If you look up the gay agenda his playlist would just show up

- I mean seriously he has it all: Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Lorde

- HOWEVER she does really enjoy softer sounding music. Edith Piaf, Louis Armstrong, and Vera Lynn are favorites of his

- Listens to the Les Mis soundtrack like once a month

- REALLY REALLY loves Hozier, like a whole lot. He’s probably one of his favorite artists along with Sufjan Stevens

- Even more of his homo playlist includes Marina, Madonna and Troye Sivan

- Bullies Arthur for liking Ed Sheeran but he also really likes Ed Sheeran, just refuses to admit it

- Stromae ofc 🙄🤚 can’t just not include like the most popular French musician or whatever

- He can also sing but he sounds kinda raspy, it’s nice tho

Yao:

- I don’t think he listens to music LMAO, if he does it’s probably instrumental

The Axis

Ludwig:

Elastic Heart by Sia, From Now On from The Greatest Showman, Natural by Imagine Dragons

- Also doesn’t really listen to music but my friend said that when he does it ranges from classical to heavy metal

- For some reason I think he really likes Sia, he seems like a Sia kind of guy

- Doesn’t listen to Hozier but really loves Take Me to Church

- Most of his music listening comes from giving Feli the aux in the car

- The whore listens to Imagine Dragons like he fucking loves them

- When The Greatest Showman came out he had the soundtrack on repeat for a solid month, From Now Onis one of his favorite songs ever

- Cannot sing Jesus Christ do not let him near a mic

Feliciano:

Thank u, next by Ariana Grande, Break My Stride by Matthew Wilder, Bella Ciao by Manu Pillas

- Pop music! So much pop!

- Loves Ariana Grande and Conan Gray

- Probably listens to A LOT of classical because of his time with Austria

- His music taste is kinda all over the fucking place and it’s mostly happy and peppy shit

- Weirdly tho he listens to GRLwood? Like it’ll just shhow up on shuffle and suddenly he’s an entire different person

- Will listen to absolutely everything just to find something that Ludwig likes, was so proud of himself when Ludwig really ended up loving The Greatest Showman

- Doesn’t sing but plays like 5 instruments. Violin and piano are his faves

Kiku:

It’s Been So Long by The Living Tombstone, Faded by Alan Walker, Ophelia by The Lumineers

- LISTEN. LISTEN. HE LOVES VIDEO GAME MUSIC AND FUCKING THE LIVING TOMBSTONE

- The fnaf songs are his guilty fucking pleasures, he fucking loves them

- Loves loves loves the Undertake Soundtrack

- Listens to a lot of anime openings 💀 Me too tbh they’re so good at for what

- Big fan of TheFatRat

- In general he enjoys techno shit? Idk what the word is but it’s a lot of instrumental

- Listens to regular music as well (The Lumineers especially)

- Likes listening to Elvis because it makes him happy to see Alfred having fun

- Feli also introduces him to a lot of music but he can never fucking remember the names of the songs or artists

- He hums a lot rather than sings, and it’s really soft and gentle

If anybody wants any more characters lmk bc I love coming up with these, also I do have playlists for these bitches 😎✌️ Spotify is in my linktree (bio)

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hlupdate · 4 years ago

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He spoke to Billboard about Styles’ intensive training process -- and why he wouldn’t be surprised to see him dancing onstage again.

There’s been one pretty overwhelming reaction to this video: “This is the guy who was in the group that insisted they couldn’t dance?!” Did you expect this kind of reaction to Harry dancing?

I’ve been with Harry for 10 years: I was with the One Direction boys from the beginning the whole way through their career before they took the hiatus, and they always made a very conscious decision that they didn’t want choreography as part of their brand -- but they did want a kind of disheveled organization in order to allow the cameras and the lighting to stand a chance in terms of presenting them in the best manner possible.

Where did the initial dance-centric concept come from?

Harry and the directors, Ben and Gabe [Turner], sent me a video link to the Nicholas Brothers scene from Stormy Weather and Harry asked me, "How long do you think it would take to dance like this?" I was like, "OK, are you being serious?" "Yeah, I’m being serious."

How long did the whole process take?

We started in mid-January 2019, and we rehearsed and workshopped for about four to five weeks before the shoot, every day. Both Harry and Phoebe had other things going on, so, for instance, Phoebe was working on the new Bond movie in Canada, so I sent my assistant to Canada to work with her. I stayed in the U.K. with Harry, and then we went to L.A. where Harry shot two more videos, for “Watermelon Sugar” and “Falling.”

#harry styles #articles #tpwk #120121

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yvesdot · 4 years ago

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oooooo 1 to 3 for the end of year ask game?

Song of the year?

Answered this for Max, and I’m happy to answer again!

At the beginning of this year, I was having a lot of problems. At some point I rediscovered the Russian film musical Mama, later re-released dubbed in English, and specifically the opening song, Мечта (mechta, “dream”). The original film opens purposefully with this fourth-wall-breaking sequence of all the actors getting dressed up and made up for their roles. You even get the wolf’s actor playing with the little lamb children he spends the film trying to eat!

The sense of the song is that, even though things sometimes look bad in the story, everyone is really friends and it’s all positive behind the scenes. This is something I live for (hence my frequent cast interviews with my characters), and I spent... maybe a combined full hour* this year lying on my bed with my eyes shut crying listening to this. I’m fine now I no longer spend long periods of time crying to nostalgic Russian animal musicals. But this song got me through a lot before... all of this, and it elicits particular feelings in me. And I love it very very much.

*I only had a couple of minutes at a time. You realize I have to work; I don’t have time to sob.

Album of the year?

See above link!

Surprisingly, my choice for album of the year after Good News would be Katy Perry’s latest album, Smile. Katy Perry is a very particular artist, and I say this the way one discusses a particular classic writer. She came to prominence in a specific way, and she drove a massive change in her generation. She then fell like nearly no other star with Witness--her first album without songwriter, hit-maker, and alleged rapist Dr. Luke. She literally occupies specific historical moments, elucidating what it means to be a female pop artist in this time--or, at least, very recently.

Smile was always going to be an uphill battle after Witness (reasonably) flopped, and Perry has been open about a lot of her struggles. Frankly, at 36, she is ‘aging out’ of pop. People at large aren’t going to suddenly get into a 36-year-old female pop artist, as wrong as that may be, and her entire career has been built around a literal teenage dream. Watching Perry navigate that in Smile was genuinely fascinating-- and not just because I liked some of its songs. It felt like I was analyzing a book, given its place in larger cultural and movements. I also had recently gotten back into Perry’s older work around the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020, listening to all of her other songs for the first time. This was a great time to listen to a new album of hers.

Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

Dorian Electra. It has to be Dorian Electra. A wonderful friend recommended them, and every time I hear them I think about the miracle of it all-- that as a child I couldn’t name an out gay singer, and now here was a nonbinary one in a genre I liked. And with an aesthetic I adore! I can’t believe it’s true. I hope Dorian knows how much of a dream come true they are to so, so many people. If you’re looking for where to start, I simply must recommend the iconic music video for Flamboyant.

end of the year asks

#I just want you all to know that I am absolutely this insufferable in real life. But my friends like it!#People often say to me that they can tell... you know... (coughs politely) someone studied Literature.#This is also a direct example of what I'm talking about in the Milkpost-- you can analyze albums like this!#And it is nice to talk with friends and be able to articulate WHY I like things this way.#Well thanks as always Ari for the asks!!#txt #ask game #elaichichais

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thesinglesjukebox · 5 years ago

Video

youtube

KATY PERRY - HARLEYS IN HAWAII

[4.00]

Just because it's hula, doesn't mean it's really hula...

Josh Buck: What if the only female artist to have five #1s on the same album dropped four solid bops in a year and no one noticed? Can't-buy-a-hit Katy Perry sounds like indie pop given a giant budget. She's the weird, bad and wonderful pop elder statesman we need right now. [6]

Katherine St Asaph: Katy Perry was, for years, the leading primary-colors-and-pasties representative of peppy all-American pop, which perhaps explains why she's had a particularly hard time adjusting to doomer 2019. There's a wistful late-summer pop waft in "Harleys in Hawaii," maybe, but selling it requires nonchalant chill, a quality Katy Perry has never possessed as a vocalist or a performer. Also, the thing has words. I originally misheard the chorus as "you and Daddy riding Harleys in Hawaii," which still wouldn't even be the fifth-worst line. [4]

Will Rivitz: Latter-career Katy Perry is, if not particularly good, per se, usually at least interesting; her songs tend to either trainwreck in bizarrely compelling ways or quietly go toe-to-toe with the best in her discography. This is neither; it's budget Ariana Grande on just enough Xanax to make everything torpid but not enough to make it worthwhile. [3]

Natasha Genet Avery: In another life, the lush and sexy "Harleys in Hawaii" could have been my favorite thank u, next album track. Instead, Katy Perry's clumsy lyrics ("go ahead, explore the island ~vibes~!") make it feel more like a travel ad than a bedroom jam. [6]

Hazel Southwell: A geographically confused Cafe Del Mar compilation track that forgot to put the hook in, with the lyrical copy from a tourist information SEO exercise. [3]

Alfred Soto: The title should come with its own illustrative video: "Jenny on the Block," say, with jump cuts of Katy Perry and her boyfriend sipping fizzy cocktails out of coconuts on a black sand beach. To honor this vibe, she adopts an approach to the beat that Mariah Carey might've recognized. It's one of her better performances. But she offers nothing but Instagram shots. [4]

Stephen Eisermann: I mean, I finally get it. Charlie Puth's songs aren't well-written, he just sells the hell out of them. In his hands, this song might've been sexier and more playful, but in Katy's? It reeks of desperation, like a cougar fighting the mid-life crisis off by any means necessary. Or, I guess, like a singer trying with all her might, to remain relevant. In both cases, the inevitable wins. [3]

Alex Clifton: Well, it's definitely a Katy Perry song because it sounds good if you hear it in the background but its lyrics are a bit lacking. "When I hula-hula, hula, so good you'll take me to the jeweler-jeweler, jeweler" in particular mystifies me. You dance so well specifically in Hawaii that this dude's going to marry you? Are you angling for a diamond-encrusted hula-hoop? Is "hula" a sex euphemism that I'm just not getting? If you ignore the nonsense coming out of Perry's mouth, it comes across as a decent slow jam. But Perry's not made much music for toned-down vocals; any time she's singing, her voice is centre-stage and distracting. At this point I would love to see her turn into a behind-the-scenes songwriter, as I think she can make real pop magic happen. Sadly some of that sparkle fades when she's fully at the helm. [4]

Isabel Cole: I've personally found it like really psychologically destabilizing to watch Katy Perry inexplicably decide more than a decade into her recording year to finally use her passable voice to make normal human singing noises, so I guess it's kind of nice that these lyrics testify so strongly to her unchallenged ten-year reign as the absolute dumbest person in pop. [3]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#Katy Perry #pop #music #music review #writing

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lulabo · 7 years ago

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Taylor Swift's approach to creating albums as a thematic body of work is part of what makes her such a fascinating artist. She loves her themes and metaphors. That album cover alone! And we haven't even heard her lyrics yet. Is there anything in particular you hope she does on this next album?

Since Speak Now, there’s been this real hard lean-in on both confessional writing and persona writing--not just the “Dear John”/“Better Than Revenge”/“All Too Well” stuff that’s explicitly tied to narratives either we/media think we know what they’re about or that she’s happy to let us assume we know they’re about, but also the “Speak Now”/“Starlight”/“Blank Space” songs that are characters/characterizations she puts on, and I’ve really liked that play between the personal and the Personal, if that makes sense. The assumption that these are diary-like songs right alongside songs that are constructed around story-ideas is really interesting, because while we might think we know Taylor Swift and What Her Life Is Like, everything we know about Taylor Swift is what Taylor Swift wants us to know about her, as much as is possible for her to control. This is why I joke sometimes about her being a robot--she has constructed a very careful narrative about her life and her career and the ties between the two, as well as how her life informs her art and vice versa. And it’s not that I don’t believe there’s authenticity, but she’s an incredibly savvy and smart businesswoman in addition to being someone who uses her art cathartically and therapeutically, and knowing that those are two things that are, for Taylor Swift, intrinsically linked means that therapeutic catharsis art and the way its put into the world are inseparable.

Taylor Swift rose to success on this narrative of being an awkward and bullied kid who used her songwriting to deal with processing emotional stuff, which led to a narrative of Taylor Swift using her personal life to feed her commercial success, which led to Taylor Swift countering that narrative as sexist, to Taylor Swift using that entire arc as a commentary on her own image/persona while also continuing to write personal songs that drew on her own emotional experiences. She has used the last three albums she’s produced both to continue writing Taylor Swift Songs and also to reclaim The Idea of Taylor Swift, which I have always found to be remarkably, almost overwhelmingly, clever. And there are a lot of ways I think she’d have been even more successful at all of that if she let it speak for itself and didn’t promote her work the way she has in the past, but the Speak Now-1989 Taylor Swift wasn’t going to Beyoncé those albums to the world without a lot of talk and appearances and such--she was still having to justify why this album why this way, and that was something she was really good at doing. But there’s just been so much in the last long while for her--the Nicki Minaj thing, Hiddleswift storm, the Kim/Kanye stuff, the question of whether or not she was overexposed, the constant dialog of whether or not she was fulfilling her responsibilities as a feminist role model, the “where’s Tay where’s Tay” stuff, then the trial, the talk around the trial, the outcome of the trial, etc. (which run the fucking gamut of how things were handled)--that came to this kind of question of “but who is Taylor Swift REALLY and do we KNOW HER and is it THE TRUTH,” and this reveal is the culmination of that. She knows that whatever she does is under a super-powered microscope, and she’s either going to be vilified for being fake or she’s going to be lauded for being authentic. But that’s never the question of Taylor Swift’s albums, that’s the question of Taylor Swift’s persona as created by Taylor Swift and every single cultural commentator, critic, consumer et al, around the narrative in which those albums are produced.

Presenting this single-word title Reputation, alongside an image of her with a chain around her neck while literally split in half between blank space and headlines consisting of only her name, is another reckoning of Taylor Swift as a songwriter and recording artist being brought to bear by Taylor Swift, Cultural Phenomenon (Love Her or Hate Her). And it has to be threaded so finely, because receipts have been given and there’s been backlash and there’s been SO much commentary about What Is Good for Culture in re: how Taylor Swift has used her perceived personal life (squad, relationships) as a machine to propel the message of her music. That’s the narrative that’s driven SO much of the conversation around Taylor Swift since 1989, coupled with whether or not she’s complicit in a lot of shit that she benefits from without contributing positively to. And she’s been largely silent on a lot of that since the 1989 tour ended and the “narrative I never asked to be a part of” message while people continued to talk about her and talk about her, something I think she absolutely had to do for any of this to have any impact. If your record is going to be about your Reputation--how people define you, how you define yourself, how you let a narrative that seems separate from who you are affect how you live your life--you have to separate yourself from it enough to comment on it. I anticipate some call-out songs that are going to be compared to recent Katy Perry stuff, songs that are going to be mined for “pin the tail on Taylor’s ex” stuff. And we’ve never really seen angry Tay? Like we’ve seen hurt and betrayed Taylor Swift, and regretful and sad, vengeful and petty, but not really angry Taylor Swift. And I think at this point, when you’ve been manhandled and taken to court and publicly exposed, anger is a logical thing to expect. There’s a lot of opportunity for her to continue playing that confessional/emotional facet of her writing against her persona/character work, and I could see that being a way for her to deconstruct The Taylor Swift Persona and Narrative and Discourse As Created By External Sources directly alongside I Am Taylor Alison Swift And I Get To Say Who I Am Not You.

She’s made a lot of missteps outside of her music since 1989, but one thing I’ve always really genuinely liked about her albums as a piece is that they do speak for themselves. There’s not a lot of need to build shit up around it and get into the intricacies of why this song now and what it all means and where it came from--that’s in the songs themselves. If she let her work speak for her more than everything else, she could have something really bonkers on her hands, in a good way, to tell people where she’s at. Especially--especially--if that music focuses inward and on her own perceptions of all this external stuff being acted on her or as commentary on the machinery creating these narratives (which is to say, the opposite of “Innocent” and “Bad Blood, the Video Saga”).

So I’m looking forward not to “omg this song will EVISCERATE so and so.” I’m looking forward to Taylor Swift breaking her own mold and refashioning it for herself.

#taylor swift #tswift #reputation #I HAD WAY MORE TO SAY THAN I THOUGHT #I do not want to Defend Taylor Swift Against Bad Press #because she's done some super not great stuff #but I will always be here for how Taylor Swift Reclaims the Taylor Swift Narrative #because that shit is so meta and fascinating to me #how to be yourself and be A Self #mind boggling #Anonymous

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dirkthedork-blog · 7 years ago

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Writing Tag!!

I got tagged in this thing twice!!

Rules: answer the 10/11 questions given to you by the person who tagged you, and then write your own 10/11 questions and tag 10/11 people to answer them.

For my first set of questions, I was tagged by @isaac-lacey

1: Do you listen to music while writing?

Yup, I generally put a playlist on or put all my music on shuffle, I’ll generally listen to some classics, or some real feel-good music and songs I really enjoy or haven’t heard for a while.

2: your favorite character from any of your work?

Probably Delian//Nolan (I’m rewriting and the names have all been changed). He’s very….. interesting. Either that or Tysh//Delilah she’s just sort of awesome to write about, plus I relate to her with dysphoria and trans issues and etc.

3: Eat anything while writing?

Eh. I don’t really eat much any time? So no.

4: Drink anything while writing?

LOTS AND LOTS OF COFEE (generally made by the cute bakery boy next door)

5: do you multi-task while writing?

Not really. I mean sometimes I’ll use it as like a break from assignments when I’m really busy, and sort of write a bit every time I finish a part of whatever I’m doing.

6: outlining or no?

Oh man, I used to do like a really basic outline. Like, really basic. I had a piece of paper with dot points on it that vaguely outlined the plot and I’d just go from there. But with my last two WIP I started doing chapter outlines and detailed character profiles and etc, and for the one I’m working on now, my outlining is so thorough and detailed that I didn’t actually start writing for a month or two since I started planning it. I actually did proper research and got betas and stuff this time, and although it was frustrating because I just wanted to start writing, it’s made my writing better.

7: your current MC’s favorite song?

Grace (//Zalla in the original) really like Africa by Toto, but she also loves Sweet Child O’ Mine, Don’t Stop Believing, and a lot of Bon Jovi. But she also really loves stuff like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry and stuff, her music taste is kind of all over the place, but her favorite song would probably definitely be Africa.

8: Do you write in 3rd or 1st person?

I vary, but I like both of them. First person is good when you’re focusing specifically on one character, and you want the audience to see the story through that characters eyes, but third person is really great when you want to focus on more than one character and give an overall perspective.

9: how old is your current MC?

Grace is 17.

10: would your current MC brutally torture and murder someone if it would save their best friend?

Sadly, no (that’d be fun to write). Grace just wouldn’t be able to handle it, I mean the poor girl was abused for a year and a half by her boyfriend. Her confidence was stripped away but Ash, and even when she started to get better she still can’t handle violence very well.

11: if you met your MC what would you say first?

I’d probably hug her and tell her it’s okay, Ash will soon be brutally murdered by an unknown attacker and you will get pretty magic powers :)))

OKAY!! Thank you Isaac for those questions!!

Now for the questions from @toboldlywrite

1: Do any of your OC’s enjoy nature documentaries?

Ooooh I feel like Nolan would probably enjoy those a fair bit, and possibly Smith too.

2: when you come up with something, what comes first; the world, a character, or the plot?

The plot, or at least a vague idea of it. Then I figure out which sort of characters I’d need (as in, their basic responsibility in the plot), and then give them names and start filling out the plot and the characters, and generally I’ll figure out the setting/worldbuilding after that.

3: Are your OC’s any good at any arts and crafts?

Delilah is a makeup artist and can paint, Farah sketches, Grace can sort of sing but not very well but she’s a really good hair stylist, Smith plays guitar, Ash is a writer, Nolan plays bass guitar, and Aalia isn’t really artsy but is amazing at sports.

4: Which OC is the best at math?

Grace and Aalia I’d say.

5: Which OC would rather die than take a math class again?

Probably Delilah or Ash.

6: If you did the text post meme for your favorite characters, do you have a particular one you’d apply to your MC?

Either “I just want to say from the bottom of my heart I didn’t sign up for this shit” or “everyone on the internet is like ‘I don’t give a fuck’ and like that’s so not me I give such a fuck like the fuck I give is colossal it’s like a galaxy sized fuck’

7: Is your MC a cat person, a dog person, a bird person or a reptile person?

Grace and her sister Delilah have a cat called ‘Ginger Bastard’, and Grace really likes cats.

8: Was your MC a dinosaur kid or a space kid?

I wanna say space because /aesthetic/ but tbh she was probably a dinosaur kid

9: What did your MC want to be when they grew up? Did they end up choosing that path?

Grace wanted to be a teacher, a zookeeper, a dancer or a hairdresser, and she has a part-time job helping out at a hair salon, doing stuff like cleaning and etc and occasionally helping out with dyeing hair + stuff and learning from the hairdressers.

10: You find a magic cupboard that transports you away into one of your wips. Which would you rather>

Well the original was set in some weird country I can’t remember the name of and everyone had magic powers and it was weird, but the rewrite is just set in like a fairly big rural town/micro city in Australia in the modern day so I mean it wouldn’t be much different from my life now except that some of the people have magic powers and there’s a few murderers on the loose (nothing out of the ordinary lmao).

Thanks for the questions!

Here are my questions:

1: Did you write a lot when you were a kid?

2: Who/what do you think is the biggest inspiration for your wip, or writing in general?

3: favorite children’s book?

4: favorite book now?

5: favorite fictional character?

6: Do you think your MC is a good person in the grand scheme of things? What are their flaws?

7: How many WIPs have you got at the moment?

8: How do you come up with titles? Is it relatively easy or really hard?

9: What are some of your favorite names? Have you used them in your work?

10: Do you enjoy killing off lots of characters or do you prefer to give them all happy endings?

11(for the version I got tagged in that had eleven questions): How diverse do you usually make your characters? Heaps of lgbt/poc/disabled/neurodivergent characters, just a few, or none at all?

Okay so I’m going to tag my 11 people here: Jimmy @toomanyskeletons Harvey @bailheart // @wordsatbailspeed Max @koalamuffins Gloria @glorious74 Charlotte @keyboardofrejection Justin @xcorruptedapostlex Vlad @vladthedino Kirk @baguettes-save-lives Holly @theduckie-quackquack (I know you’re not a writeblr but I know you write stuff so) And also @brynwrites // @brynprocrastinates and @catandwrite (I can’t think of any other writeblrs that aren’t either on here or the people i was tagged by I’m sorry I have a terrible memory).

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ts1989fanatic · 7 years ago

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The Guide to Getting into Taylor Swift

With the country-turned-pop star's music on Spotify, it's time to cut all your shirts into crop tops and become a Swiftie.

Wow! You're finally open to becoming a Swiftie! Perhaps you're a casual listener and you found your bum wiggling to "Shake It Off" at the grocery store. Perhaps you're that nostalgic person who always sings "Our Song" at karaoke because it reminds you of more innocent times. Perhaps you're a even hardcore hater. Who cares! You're here now.

So what did it take? Her endless charm? Her enviable songwriting talents? Her clever business sense? Or is it because Taylor Swift's entire catalogue just went up on Spotify for free.99? What a cheapskate!

Besides the fact that you can now listen to Taylor Swift without having to navigate her battles with the streaming industry, this is the perfect time to start listening to her music, even if you skipped out on the past five albums. We're currently in the calm before Swift's storm – the time when she's conjuring up a new album that may defy any expectations we have about the country-turned-pop star. Before she inevitably returns to the tabloids, there's a chance to get to know the artist whose work earned that fame, the singer who, at 14, prompted label boss Scott Borchetta of Big Machine to take her on, writing in his notes, "This could be your Mick Jagger." Taylor's fans have long known her as someone who can weave fairytales into everyday life and pastoral romanticism into a regular school day, who can detail relationships with piercing honesty. That kind of music inspires devotion, and this is your chance to feel it.

So, before you dig in, you'll need a Taylor Swift starter pack. Cut all your shirts into crop tops. Write Joni Mitchell lyrics on your arm. Adopt a Scottish fold and name it after a Grey's Anatomy character. Start calling the paparazzi before leaving the apartment. Show up at your friends' houses unexpectedly, offering them Christmas gifts and wondering why they don't cry tears of joy at the mere sight of you. At the very least, join an online forum to talk about her fandom when it hits. Start yearning for Taylor's old country days even though you hate country music! Send a Swift song to your ex instead of messy blocks of texts. Quote her lyrics in therapy. Invest in some quality scarlet-hued lipstick (Nars' Dragon Girl is a decent choice.)

And if you need some help with different entry points into her music, I've got you. Below, there are five options for getting into Taylor Swift. Pick the section that best suits your soul.

So, as Taylor's best friend Selena Gomez (you should know that too) says, if you're ready, come and get it.

So You Want to Get Into: Kiss-Off Bop Taylor Swift?

OK, so you want to get into the feisty side of Taylor Swift. Great choice. Alongside her songs about love, heartbreak, her first day of high school, her mom and Lena Dunham (it's true – "You Are In Love" is about her), there are angsty ditties that take her foes and pie them in the face like the true dunces that they are. This might be the side of Swift you're most familiar with lately, as her feud with Katy Perry has made the 12,000th headline and we're meant to believe that Taylor is on a warpath to punish all her enemies. However, Swift is just like any of us: If she's wronged, she feels a little jaded. And despite serving as a role model to her listeners, she experiences anger like anyone else. But most of us don't have the talent to write songs about them.

Taylor's kiss-off anthems started with "Picture to Burn" (perhaps her best song to this day?), off her debut, self-titled album in 2006, released when she was just 16. "Picture to Burn" has Swift expressing pent-up G-rated aggression with a twang (this is back when she still had a Southern accent, and it's endearing as fuck). She goes one shot under pulling a Carrie Underwood and disses her ex-boyfriend's truck; she threatens to sic her dad on him; she calls him a "redneck." There are all sorts of killer lines in the track ("There's nothing stopping me from going out with alllll of yer best frans!"), but this one's the most poetic and charged: "So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time / As far as I'm concerned you're just another picture to burn." Don't be thrown off by the flutter of banjo and down-home guitars that sound like they're out of a muddy Ford commercial – let the country sound sink in and guide you to revenge.

Since then, Taylor's had dozens of songs that ward off sour critics and ex-boyfriends. Her third album in particular, 2010's Speak Now, is chock full of them. On "Mean" she sheds off her haters who are "Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things / Drunk and rambling' on about how I can't sing / But all you are is mean." Then she piles it on, calling them "And a liar / And pathetic / And alone in life." Meanwhile, she maintains sweet, kill-em-with-kindness disposition: You'll be glad you never cared about that loser anyway! This side of Taylor is best enjoyed if you like looking cute while rolling your eyes.

Of course, there's "Bad Blood," which, if you pay just a speck of attention to pop culture, you know is about a petty pop star argument. And there's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," which is supposed to send a message to a guy trying to slide back into a relationship – although it comes off more as a mantra for Taylor to chant when she's about to let him back in again. And there's the slightly problematic "Better Than Revenge," where she blasts a girl who's known for her "talents on a mattress."

So if you've been wronged, don't pick up a baseball bat; yank out yer fake country accent and a Zippo, and start lighting stuff on fire!

So You Want to Get Into: Take My Heart And Run It Over With A Rusty Pickup Truck Taylor Swift?

If you've chosen to get into Heartbreak Taylor, you're probably the type who needs time to fully soak into your sadness when you're going through something. You absorb other people's heartbreak too. As a Sagittarius, Taylor is one of these people. (I know nothing about astrology, but I figured you might?)

The beauty about Taylor Swift is that she makes her songs vague enough to where you can imagine yourself in the song – yet she drops in just enough little details so you know the story in the song is hers. It's so easy to apply any of her songs to your life without forgetting her own drama.

Swift's romantic life has been easily mocked for a good ten years now, a topic she satirized in 2014 with "Blank Space" (but more on that later). From age 16 to now, age 27, we've known all of her boyfriends… and by the details she adds in her songs, you can tell which boyfriends inspired which songs: Joe Jonas ("Forever & Always"), Taylor Lautner ("Back to December"), John Mayer ("Dear John"), Harry Styles ("Out of the Woods), etc. By knowing the very real dudes behind the tracks and their very real relationships, Swift songs play out more like movies, where you can envision these celebrities going through the same breakup you might have with your partner. Perhaps the most heartbreaking of these songs is "All Too Well," a song clearly about Jake Gyllenhaal, with references to Swift's scarf, which he was photographed wearing after their breakup.

Red's "All Too Well," like most of Swift's songs about breakups, is crushing. Raise your hand if you've ever met your partner's parents and they start reminiscing about when they were a little kid: "You tell me 'bout your past, thinking your future was me." Or if you've gotten stuck wallowing and it felt like you'd never be happy again: "Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralysed by it / I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still trying to find it." Or if your ex called you just for old times' sake, just as you were starting to move on: "Hey, you call me up again just to break me like a promise / So casually cruel in the name of being honest." You remember it all too well.

There's something about Swift's sad songs that are like a film you can revisit over and over again, pulling tears from your eyes as if you're experiencing heartbreak for the first time. And it's not just heartbreak – it's grief in general. When you're exploring your way around these gut wrenching songs, don't forget "Ronan," a charity single written for the mom of a child who died of cancer just days before his fourth birthday (that one, unfortunately, is not part of her return to streaming). And "Never Grow Up," which will have you wanting to crawl back into your mom's arms.

Either way, it's best to listen to these when you're alone.

So You Want to Get Into: Fairytale Wedding Day Taylor Swift?

Ready to fall in love, you hopeless romantic? Read up on your Romeo and Juliet. Brush up on Rapunzel. Fall madly in love with the guy who's waiting tables at your favourite cafe. Go all in. Take risks. Ask that guy on a date. Ignore what anyone else says. Go head over heels. Get married (the guy has to propose on one knee and ask your dad for permission, of course). Have babies. Grow old together. Love is a fairytale!!!!!!

Taylor's very aware of her idealistic view on love ("Stupid girl, I should've known / I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairytale," she sings on "White Horse"), especially earlier on in her catalogue. You won't find her singing about dancing in the rain with her angelic-faced crush in her latest album, 1989, or anything in the future, but teenaged Taylor wrote the best love songs back in the day. She's either chasing highs or sinking into lows, and with mythical metaphors abound, she explains that sparkling feeling of falling in love.

You've come to the right place if you're looking for a song to dance to at your wedding. Imagine twinkly lights and barefeet as you twirl around the floor to 2006's "Mary's Song," which follows a seven-year-old girl and her nine-year-old beau as they grow up and get married. Or maybe you want dozens of photos of your family floating from clothesline at your barn wedding, soundtracking the moment with the voracity of 2010's "Mine." Or maybe you're under the moonlight, letting your vintage dress sweep over dewy grass as you dance with your hearts pressed together to "Enchanted."

Swift's love songs give you faith that love can last a lifetime, that you can pull off a medieval princess dress and that kissing in the rain is more magical and euphoric than wet and cold. Even if Prince Charming will never come galloping around on his awkwardly endowed stallion, it's nice – if but for three and a half minutes – to dream.

So You Want to Get Into: Banjo and Fiddle Taylor Swift?

Taylor Swift made the same journey as Shania Twain when it's come to the crossing the country-to-pop bridge – except with Swift, it seems like she's left that bridge far, far behind. With the declaration that she was taking 2014's 1989 fully into pop territory, Swift hasn't looked back, reworking her old country hits when she plays them live and nearly ignoring her especially hoedown-oriented tunes. If you appreciate a good fiddle solo and snarky banjo, I urge you to start at the beginning of her discography.

The self-titled album is a mine of gold country nuggets with excellent lyricism from Swift and sharp production from Nathan Chapman (who had never produced an album until he met Taylor Swift when she was 14). Chapman adorned Swift's green soprano with a bevy of fiddle, which could cry during a song like "Tied Together With A Smile" or frolick with joy during "Our Song." Fiddle is the second singer on Taylor Swift. There's dobro too, etching its earthiness into songs, along with some sparse scatterings of mandolin.

And then there's pedal steel – completely absent after 2014's Red – which swoops in like mood swing, unexpected, yet totally called for. It yearns on "Teardrops on My Guitar," gives sassy support on "Picture to Burn," and calms a bubbling banjo on "The Outside."

Like Swift, who grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, before convincing her family to move to Nashville, you might have a small-town upbringing. And just the mere twang of a steel guitar may transcend you to fireflies and summer nights. If you're more familiar with Swift's more recent work, listening to her first album may seem like a novelty, but the progression across the five albums is organic, so don't feel jolted when you hear the rush of country instruments and the mention of country's prince, Tim McGraw, when you take her first bite of Taylor Swift.

Listen to country-era Swift – if not to conjure your own childhood memories, but to get a better understanding of where the pop star started from.

So You Want to Get Into: Storyteller Taylor Swift?

Sit down, music lover, and let Auntie Swift tell you a story. This one's a gripping tale about a girl who shows up at a fancy wedding, ready to interrupt everything and declare her love for the groom. The guy is obviously marrying the wrong woman, who's "wearing a gown shaped like a pastry." And although Taylor is not the kind of person to show up at a "white veil occasion," she, like the title of the 2010 song suggests, is compelled to "Speak Now."

I won't spoil the rest of the story for you, but as you enter the world of Swift for the first time, these storytelling songs might be your best entry point if you like a good narrative. These selections are perfect for long drives, when your mind wanders off the road. Ditch your Audible subscription (does anyone have Audible anyway?) and lean toward the Book of Swift instead. The first chapter dives into Taylor at three years old on "The Best Day," a song she wrote about her mom: "I run and run / Past the pumpkin patch / And the tractor rides / Look now, the sky is gold / I hug your legs / And fall asleep on the way home." The colours are vivid, the memories idyllic, and you can't help but miss your own mom a bit. Of course, some stories make you cry more than others, but with Taylor Swift, it's best to expect tears at all times.

Fast forward eight years to "Blank Space," where she's taken a wholly less innocent form – as a jet-setting maniser who steals her victims' hearts and tortures them with love games. "Saw you there and I thought / 'Oh my God, look at that face / You look like my next mistake'," she sings, as coy as a Black Widow looking for a mate. I won't spoil this one either, but let's just say that this story involves a pretty toxic web.

So, if you're in need of music that will hold you by your hand and take you through a journey, dive into "Love Story," a ditty about a young couple with disapproving parents, or "How You Get The Girl," a step-by-step tutorial on how to win your girlfriend back, or "Fifteen," a story about her friend Abigail's first year of high school, or "Mine," a song about a rando dude who turns into her husband. Whatever chapter you open the book of Taylor to, there's going to be a plot to keep you hooked.

Emilee Lindner was born on a metaphorical Christmas tree farm, and you can find her preaching the good word of Taylor on Twitter.

ts1989fanatic sorry that this so long a post but DAMN it’s worth the read, and I have to think the writer is a SWIFTIE she certainly understands the subject of her piece very well.

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mrswearword · 7 years ago

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In “honor” of this video’s premiere at the VMAs, let me go open season on this petty bitchfest.

The lead single from sssssssssinger/ssssssssssssssongwriter/SSSSSSSSNEK joke Taylor Swift’s upcoming album Reputation. Let’s get this out of the way right now. All of this “beef” with Katy Perry over backup dancers is some misguided PR stunt to combat the media attention in pitting female artists against one another. Or at least it better be because if “Swish Swish” was indeed a diss track against Swift and “Look What You Made Me Do” is indeed the response song, they’re both petty, childish, inept excuses for women in the music industry.

Especially ol’ SNEK Wrangler herself, Swift if the best she can do in this petty pissing contest is an immature chorus of “Look what you made me do”. Yeah, apparently at some point she was considered a sharp lyricist. Time flies when you’re so full of shit, the toilet is suing you for copyright infringement.

“Petulant utterance no one above the age of 13 should use” at least in production terms is legitimate pop ground Swift is experimenting with; having her music sound as juvenile and as near psychotic for no reason as apparently, she is over a bunch of fucking backup dancers that you can replace is weirdly fitting or “on brand”. The first few lines read as “I don’t like your little games/Don’t like your tilted stage/The role you made me play; as the fool/no I don’t like you”. She actually sings “No, I don’t like you.” Being blunt is one thing but what the hell made her think this was acceptable as a lyric? Again, she has apparently been considered as a great lyricist among her peers cough, BULLSHIT, cough cough. One line in particular which had two major fandoms in Kanye stans and Little Monsters think this song [or this line] was about Kanye or Gaga was “I don’t like your tilted stage”. Leave it to human Twitter stan, Zachary Campbell to point out that Katy [who this song is about, release date of Reputation be damned] had tilted stagework for her Superbowl Halftime performance. Reexamine the lyric video for “I don’t like your little games” and “don’t” is a knight or a black horse or in context…a “Dark Horse”. What could potentially give away the fact that this was a PR stunt gone awry or at least should give it away is the lyric “The role you had me play; of the fool” with emphasis on “The role you had me play”. It’s more than likely that Taylor is trying and failing miserably at making a larger point as a woman in the music industry, specifically with women being pitted against each other in the music industry. Perhaps, she and Katy are in on the whole thing and this manufactured beef was supposed to teach us all that pitting artist against artist over backup dancers is pointless and that blah blah look at the lyrics for these two and see if they actually had the ability to make this a larger picture about women in the industry.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Swift continues to petulantly write out “I don’t like your perfect crime/How you laugh when you lie/you said the gun was mine; isn’t cool”. To Swift, all I ask is what perfect crime did Katy commit, if all this feuding boils down to is you looking petty over expendable tour personnel? If the worst she ever did was refer to you as “the Regina George in sheep’s clothing” on Twitter, why the hell have you actively come out taking verbal swipes at her years later in a song for your upcoming release which will more than likely be a mediocre at best album? The remaining lyrics here are probably vanilla, trite and vague jabs at the court of public opinion or something of the sort.

Then, the lyrical pyrite from Swift’s amygdala controlled pen gets worse. The pre-chorus reads “But I got smarter/I got harder/in the nick of time/Honey, I rose up from the dead/I do it all the time/I got a list of names/and yours is in red, underlined/I check it once/then I check it twice…ooh” cracks knuckles oh boy, is there a lot wrong with how these lyrics present themselves from someone more pissed at some other singer for using backup dancers instead of say; Kim Kartrashian or Kanye West for the Snapchat incident no matter how much of a two-faced bitch she ended up coming across. First, let’s take a look at “I got smarter/I got harder/in the nick of time” which only makes sense when you consider her putting her catalog of 6-9 actual good songs and dozens of other middling shit back on Spotify the day Katy Perry’s album Witness was released. Yeah, Swift was smarter in releasing “Look What You Made Me Do” the same day Katy’s video for Swish Swish was released. All these moves made “in the nick of time” were apparently to spite Katy again, for using backup dancers. Hey Taylor, want to spite Katy Perry of all people with minimal effort? Show her pictures of your Grammy awards and MOVE ON.

Second, there’s the line of “Honey, I rose up from the dead/I do it all the time”. The only death she went through was well after 1989 had wrapped up and Kim Kartrashian’s Snapchat videos of Kanye calling her about the “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex” line in “Famous” and her trying to weasel her way out of saying it’s OK to use but then be all pretentious Grammy speech that means nothing given the circumstances. Coming back from that, months later after relatively keeping her mouth shut about a lot of things isn’t that frequent for her. Alas, here she is acting like a fucking phoenix from the ashes of losing out on acclaim for her album and era all because of Snapchat videos. Keep in mind, she still won the Album of the Year Grammy for 1989 in spite of SNEKgate. Third, “I got a list of names/and yours is in red, underlined”; bitch, who the fuck are you fooling acting like you’re The Bride from Kill Bill about to kill Vernita Green or O’Ren Ishii? Have several seats. The other line not dissected still sucks but what’s next is the petulant as fuck chorus.

“Look What You Made Me Do/Look What You Made Me Do/Look What You Just Made Me Do, Look What You Just Made Me…ooh” is already a poorly written chorus but probably just sanitized enough for Swift because she couldn’t sell “you got me so fucked up” or anything that could be considered well written in this mood of hers. Then, there’s the second set of lyrics which are less directed at Perry and more sounding like vague-posting on Facebook [or “vague-booking”] about someone who did her wrong. Well, at least after the contradictory lyric “I don’t like your kingdom keys/they once belonged to me”. So, if they were your keys to your kingdom, how did she get them but you still hate them…oh wait, it’s a shit lyric so who cares. Then, the vague-booking lyrics kick in; “You asked me for a place to sleep/locked me out/and threw a feast”. Two words to solve this problem; SPARE KEYS. What proceeds to be sung next is all this “My karma’s gonna run over your dogma” bumper sticker bullshit which begs the question…you’re really choosing to be this petty to someone and it’s apparently not a publicity stunt? Over backup dancers? REALLY?!

The bridge for this song further drives this manufactured tiff over the edge when she histrionically sings “I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me/I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams” four times in a row [someone please tell me where the hell the alleged lyrical genius of Taylor Swift is if she can’t deliver lyrics better than a double negative and a high fallutin’ way of saying nightmare] before delivering a spoken word declaration so wannabe teenage angst ridden, Lorde should sue her for plagiarism. “I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead.”

What else is that spoken word portion supposed to prove other than that aggression delivered by Taylor Swift reads as girl drama over nothing. Hell, the “oh, ‘cause she’s dead” bit sounds like her pulling that from her ass in the middle of recording it. “I need to explain why old Taylor isn’t coming to the phone…” “Taylor, we’re recording this” “…OH ‘CAUSE SHE’S DEAD.” “Fuck it, we’ll keep that in anyway.”

Overall, Taylor Swift’s latest stunt is a disgraceful, vindictive, bitchy effort which smears the reputation of every female songwriter past and present and upcoming if they’re dumb enough to listen to this and get songwriting inspiration. Then again, this is the same manic lunatic dumb enough to pull her catalog from Spotify when streaming was starting to count in music sales all in the name of “artist representation”. This is the same publicity craving stunt queen who once used her fans to improve upon her “can do no wrong” image in the name of Christmas present reaction videos on YouTube. This is the same person who takes after Lena Dunham’s interpretation of feminism which apparently means “anyone who doesn’t like what I do must clearly not be a feminist.”

The video itself? Empty gloss, self-deprecating humor that only worked on “Shake it Off” and Taylor acting like her videos have that many memorable looks. A 1/10 just like the song itself.

#Taylor Swift #Look What You Made Me Do #LWYMMD #Katy Perry #Petty Drama #Pop Singer Drama #VMAs #2017 #2017 VMAs #MTV #MTV VMAs

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writsgrimmyblog · 8 years ago

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I’ve been thinking a lot about Harry related discourse lately, including some suggestions that the way his statements get scrutinised is unbalanced in comparison to the way the other 1D boys are treated when it comes to song lyrics, statements they make in interviews and the general bar we set for them.

I get that it’s annoying that Harry appears to meet more political challenges in relation to the stuff he puts out there, but I’m going to put a positive flip side to that observation. I think Harry attracts particular scrutiny because he’s been more vocal and nuanced about issues which have a social justice lean, such as women’s rights and LGBT activism and that he’s even thinking about this stuff is a very good thing. I know that’s one of the reasons why, as a solo artist, he’s held particular appeal for me and I’ve been so excited to hear more from him as an individual. I think the reason he attracts more extensive critique is because he has consciously positioned himself as someone who gives thought to these issues, as someone who cares about, as he puts it himself, fundamental equality. He comes across in his marketing as someone who thinks about things like gender, women’s rights and LGBT identity and that’s a very, very inspiring thing to see in a 20-something popstar who could frankly choose to be a ‘rich kid of instagram’ and enjoy wealth and privilege without giving a fuck about anything or anyone.

If I’m right in my read of Harry, then surely there’s no harm in engaging with thoughtful critique about why this idea of ‘good girls’ allowed to meet mum and women wearing short skirts play into a narrative which isn’t particularly empowering? I come at this from the perspective of someone who LOVES the album and has had SOTT on repeat pretty much from the get go. This isn’t bashing, or character assassination. I actually think nuanced discussion about portrayal of women in pop culture (and entirely removing ship related motivations and emotions from the debate) very much get to the heart of the things Harry himself has gone on record to advocate for. The powerful voice of the young, female consumer. The resistance against buying into narratives we’re fed blindly, the empowering way we can interrogate and engage with things we see going on in the world around us.

I get the sense Harry WANTS to empower his fanbase and he wants to be a vocal supporter of women’s equality. However, Harry is a dude. A lot of micro-aggressions we experience are so insidious and systemic we don’t even notice them ourselves until we start piecing together all of those moments that begin to paint a pretty unhappy picture of binary constructions of gender and the deep, insidious inequality in supposedly ‘equal’ post-feminist societies. This gender imbalance is something he will never have experienced first-hand. That's why I’m behind elements of thoughtful analysis from articles like the Pitchfork piece and why I feel uncomfortable with critique of certain lyrics being read simply as buzz kill or, worse, condemnation of someone I actually have an enormous amount of time for.

Societal problems do not rest on the shoulders of Harry Styles and perhaps some will say it’s unfair to scrutinise what he’s doing in the manner I’m suggesting, but part of me can’t help but think he’d welcome it. There’s a difference between piling on and labelling someone a misogynist and using aggressive language to make a point and just making an observation about things not sitting quite right. I’m going to say the ‘good girl’ thing bugs me because it’s a puritanical kind of narrative which advocates for women being something respectable in the public sphere and a little bit freaky in the bedroom. To not question any of this at all particularly jars with me in a culture which is so ready dogpile female stars for bullshit co-opting of neoliberal feminist ideology, for being ‘too political’ (Queen B, Little Mix daring to comment on Syria) or the endless scrutiny and recrimination of stars like Miley Cyrus who had to grow up and find herself in the public eye or Katy Perry for her not sure quite where she’s coming from stance on LGBT related issues.

The thing is, I like the fact people question Harry’s lyric choices, because they should. It happens to female stars all the time. Interrogating every single word of the songs or the ship driven discussions of lyrics, although diversionary, are not what I’m talking about here. I do think that thoughtful critique can work alongside absolutely loving and supporting someone. I want it to be okay to acknowledge not everything a person I stan does is unequivocally cool. It doesn’t mean we have to start throwing slurs around and hating on someone.

One of the reasons I’m so here for Harry is because of the way he’s engaged with various issues which mean a great deal to me. Without bashing the other boys, he’s distinguished himself on social justice related issues through his own actions. The gender neutral pronouns. The unflinching support of the fangirl. The eagerness to challenge the idea that he somehow has to distance himself from a boyband past or the notion that there’s anything remotely shameful about that musical legacy. Precisely because Harry himself appears to be someone who wants to be an advocate, an ally, a person who positions himself as a supporter on these matters is the very reason why I think engaging with the content he produces in a critical way shouldn’t be such a problem. The fantastic stuff his sister does must be influential to his own approach, and Gemma does not hold back any punches with the issues she writes and blogs about with such eloquence.

My thoughts on this have been prompted predominantly by a handful of lyrics in a couple of songs on Harry’s album which jar with me. I think Harry’s focused a lot more on the way he deals with his frankly fairly crazy life than he has on the perspective of the women in his songs and for me, that comes across. I don’t think we have to beat him over the head with a big stick and call him a terrible person because of that, but I also don’t think we have to feel forced to celebrate the way women are written in all of the songs. Harry is going to grow and change musically and I hope he’ll pick up one of the more persistently negative points about his solo material, which tend to hone in on somewhat trite depictions of the sexually charged woman versus the ‘good girl.’

If you’re still reading (sorry, omg it got so long) I agonized over whether or not to post this. I have been thinking really carefully about how to frame my thoughts, because when it comes down to it, Harry is, I believe, a very good egg. A positive ally. Someone who has a voice which resonates and one I hope he uses more and more, because he’s incredibly influential and has real potential to go far in the music industry.

I think the fact we interrogate Harry more than the other 1D boys is perhaps has more to do with the fact he consciously wants to support exactly this kind of thinking. He has said so himself. That’s not hammering him and calling him names, it’s just a debate, a discussion, a way of processing feelings in a fandom space which is largely female centric but driven by the music, lyrics, interviews and narratives put out there by men. Although I’ve been lurking in the fandom for years, I’m relatively new to speaking out here and I have a small number of followers who I would hate to lose by not putting forward an unequivocally positive perspective. However, I also hate the feeling of not being able to say anything at all and I wanted to set out my stall.

I firmly believe that we can be critical without being damning, supportive without wilfully ignoring anything that might feel problematic. I also think the fact we hold Harry to a particularly high standard is not a bad thing. It’s a very, very good thing. It’s a testament to the fact he’s been pretty much saying the right things to date, and long may that continue.

#harry styles #discourse #pop music #meta

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deadcactuswalking · 6 years ago

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 28th April 2019 (Jonas Blue, Lil Dicky, Rita Ora)

Top 10

We have a couple new arrivals this week, but the biggest story is still how this song clings on to the top spot, as “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus still at number-one for a second week, and both the meme and constant discussion surrounding the song continue to spread to the point where it’s a cultural phenomenon.

The rest of the top 10 is incredibly less interesting. “Piece of Your Heart” by MEDUZA and Goodboys is up two spaces to number-two. It could make a play for the top.

Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” is also down a spot to number-three.

Down one position from last week is Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” at number-four.

Tom Walker’s “Just You and I” isn’t moving at number-five.

Avicii’s posthumous hit “SOS” featuring vocals from Aloe Blacc has boosted up six spaces to number-six, becoming Avicii’s first ever posthumous Top 10, as well as his tenth Top 10 in general, and Aloe Blacc’s third.

Up a spot from last week is the Jonas Brothers with “Sucker” at number-seven.

Russ (Splash) and Tion Wayne’s “Keisha & Becky” stabilises its spot at number-eight, down a spot from last week.

Elevating a single space from recent controversy is “Here with Me” by Marshmello and CHVRCHES at number-nine.

At #10, to round off our top 10, is “Talk” by Khalid, up a space and returning to the top 10.

Climbers

Wiley’s “Boasty” featuring verses from Stefflon Don, Sean Paul and Idris freakin’ Elba is up five spaces to #12, whilst “All Day and Night” by EUROPA featuring Madison Beer enters the top 20 at #14, up eight spaces from last week, becoming the first top 20 hit for EUROPA as a group, as well as Jax Jones’ seventh, Martin Solveig’s third as well as Beer’s first ever (Congratulations). Other than that, “Pretty Shining People” by George Ezra is up nine spots to #25, and his other song “Shotgun” is up seven to #30, so there must have been some sort of boost to the album sales, but generally, that’s all we have.

Fallers

We have a few more of these, or at least it seems these songs are more notable. “Giant” by Calvin Harris and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man finally gets its streaming cuts due to dumb UK chart rules and is down 10 positions to #16, whilst “Boy with Luv” by BTS featuring Halsey collapses 16 spaces down to #29 as K-pop always does, “Disaster” by Dave featuring J Hus is down six spaces to #33, whilst “wish you were gay” by Billie Eilish as well as “MONOPOLY” by Ariana Grande and Victoria Monet seem prepared for a premature exit, down 11 and 10 spots respectively to #37 and #40.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

I’m going to assume YNW Melly has had his streaming cut as “Murder on My Mind” is completely out of the Top 75 after dropping out from #38. Speaking of, “Options” by NSG and Tion Wayne has very unfortunately dropped out from #23 due to this dumb chart rule, which directly affects certain genres, i.e. urban music like hip hop and R&B (as well as EDM, for that matter) that is boosted prominently from streaming, from never having any longevity and not becoming as big as hits on the year-end than they deserve. “Options” would have been locked if it weren’t for this rule, as I think it would have lasted many more weeks. The other drop-out is from Ariana Grande and it’s “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored” from #39.

NEW ARRIVALS

#39 – “Carry On” – Kygo and Rita Ora

Produced by Kygo and Afsheen – Peaked at #8 in Norway

Yes! I finally get to talk about Pokémon! I know what you’re thinking, what? Why? It’s just Rita Ora collaborating with some massive EDM producer like she always does, and while you’re right, it’s for the Detective Pikachu film, which isn’t currently out but I am going to see it at some point. I’m excited to hear this soundtrack as well, although I’m not exactly expecting Kygo and Rita Ora to deliver anything particularly good, or interesting, or Pokémon-related for that matter. Pokémon songs for the anime films have never directly related to the film plots, though, and usually were kind of boring, motivational songs with very vague lyrics, which is understandable as they had to be rushed out every single year. Anyway, this is Kygo’s seventh Top 40 hit and Rita Ora’s 21st, which is impressive, and is it any good? No. Of course it isn’t, and I’m mostly indifferent on this tasteless drivel that EDM producers put out in general with female pop singers where it sounds like the singers have been artificially sped-up, with mixing that’s overly-drowned in reverb and an instrumental as dry as clay years after it is first moulded. The piano melody here isn’t bad, but it isn’t unique and doesn’t carry Rita Ora’s incredibly weak hook, and in general her performance here sucks, like that random “Woo!” she adds in that pauses the song entirely just to halt his momentum, to add nothing at all! There’s barely a real drop here, so it just feels like a constant onslaught of nothingness and high-pitched vocal samples, which I somewhat like for its effort not to make a club banger but rather a tropical house ballad straight out of the dregs of 2016, and it’s not the last new arrival we have that does that here, but this is the only one I’ll talk about in this episode, more on that later. Anyways, this isn’t worth much analysis. It’s dreadfully boring but it’s not exactly long and doesn’t overstay its presence for THAT long, I suppose, it’s just disappointing for a soundtrack that is supposed to provide the music for what is looking out to be a film full of personality with actors oozing charisma. I’m looking out for the Sonic the Hedgehog film’s soundtrack a bit more now, albeit just for the novelty of a Dr. Robotnik cover of “Gangsta’s Paradise”. Next.

#27 – “No Diet” – Digga D

Produced by Ghosty

Digga D is a UK drill artist, as most of the rappers we see on the charts are in 2019. I’ve only vaguely heard of him before, so I think it’s safe to assume that the extreme marketing for the song involving a lot of different companies and individuals, including Mixtape Madness, is what landed this on the charts as Digga D’s first top 40 hit, as well as the video which is about trafficking crack cocaine in Coca-Cola cans... sure. Anyway, is the song itself any good? Well... the beat is incredibly minimalistic like most UK drill, with just an ominous piano line as the backing for a skittering hi-hat and bass-heavy trap beat – those 808s, by the way, are pretty insane. Digga D isn’t really saying anything of interest or anything different than the other guys, but the beat is good enough to carry him a lot of the time, and I love his weird sounds he uses for the ad-libs. It reminds me of a British Migos, where instead of repeating the line, he just makes unintelligible nonsense words and stutters. The singing on the second verse is pretty janky in relative to when it appears in the verse, and while Genius says this and the supposedly playful lyrics are what sets it apart, I don’t see the juxtaposition here, I just think it’s kind of surreal in how bipolar this song feels. There’s an ominous, eerie and menacing beat, violent and braggadocious lyrics from Digga, and then a bunch of silly, humorous ad-libs over it. This song has an identity crisis first and foremost, and while we’re at it...

#24 – “Earth” – Lil Dicky

Produced by benny blanco and Cas—

Nope. No, sorry, not touching this one. I appreciate what it’s doing for charity but I have a LOT to say about this song and trust me, it is not overwhelmingly positive, so, no, I’m not covering this one, at least not like this, and not right now. I might do a full-length review at some point but I think it’s much more likely that I talk about this at the end of the year, if you get the gist. For now, to replace an actual review, let me just list the guest stars, because technically, this is a song by Lil Dicky featuring Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Zac Brown of his eponymous band, Brendan Urie of Panic! at the Disco, common fungus Hailee Steinfeld, Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart as Kanye West, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth, Sia, Miley Cyrus, Lil Jon, Rita Ora, Miguel, Katy Perry, Lil Yachty as an STD, Ed Sheeran, Meghan Trainor, mother-father gentleman PSY, professional basketball player Joel Embiid, Tory Lanez, John Legend, Bad Bunny, Kris Wu, Leonardo DiCaprio and the entirety of the Backstreet Boys. Does that count as a review for Lil Dicky’s second UK Top 40 single? I don’t care, I’ll talk about in length when I want to. Trust me, I’m planning ahead.

#23 – “What I Like About You” – Jonas Blue and Theresa Rex

Produced by Jonas Blue – Peaked at #1 in Belgium

Oh, yeah, this, okay, well, Jonas Blue exists, I guess, and I’m supposed to review everything he puts out because everything this dude makes charts... and sucks. I don’t really have a problem with the dude, but nothing he makes is all that interesting, and he’s the epitome of carelessly generic EDM and dance-pop. This particular track features vocals from Theresa Rex, Danish pop singer who you won’t know by name and she doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page, but you will know the voice of from “Solo Dance” years back, which she had uncredited vocals on (I’m glad they stopped not crediting the vocalists on EDM tracks, especially since, you know, they do all the heavy lifting in terms of singing). The production here is pretty tropical, I guess, with some handclaps and a weak synth drop that has a few orchestral stabs to replace any unique instrumentation. None of the vocal melodies catch on yet and I’d much prefer “Solo Dance” to this. What else am I supposed to say? I know I’ve taken the easy way out with these two songs, but honestly we’re at a standstill in the charts right now where it should really be more interesting than it is.

Conclusion

Even if I didn’t review it, I don’t care, Lil Dicky and friends still get Worst of the Week for “Earth”, with Dishonourable Mention going to Jonas Blue and Theresa Rex for “That’s What I Like About You”, or something to that effect. In fact, there’s no Best of the Week or Honourable Mention, the Dishonourable Mention is tied as Kygo and Rita Ora’s “Carry On” exemplifies the exact same problem. God, what a crappy week. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more pop music ramblings and Top 20 rankings, and I’ll see you next week!

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vileart · 7 years ago

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Shit I'm in Love with Dramaturgy: Rachelle Elie @ Edfringe 2017

Bawdy Romp through Life, Love and Family with Cheeky Songs About Sex

Rachelle Elie can tell you more about love and relationships than Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Katy Perry could ever do – and she’s laying it all on the line.

The Outstanding Canadian Comedy Award winner is bringing her critically acclaimed one-woman show��Shit I’m in Love With You Again (SIILWYA) to the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time. Packed with witty observations, tales of embarrassment plus cheeky songs about sex it’s a joyfully bawdy romp through the ups and downs of her life that covers teenage lust, family, marriage, parenthood and therapy.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

For the last 15 years I have been creating and touring one-woman comedy character shows such as Joe: The Perfect Man and Big Girls Don’t Cry. After years of marital distress, my obstetrician/gynaecologist husband and I managed to rescue our love from the cliff’s edge, a recovery that inspired my own story.

I realised I knew more about love and relationships than Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Katy Perry could ever know. So six years ago I decided to strip away the characters, get on stage in stand up clubs and find my own voice, a decision that led to Shit I’m in Love With You Again. The show is my life, including my time spent in Kenya where my husband worked in a hospital and I taught art to HIV positive adults shunned by society.

Medical politics forced my husband to resign his post just as I, after making sacrifices and overcoming doubts to accompany him, found my niche and was making a real difference to people’s lives. The rest is history – a history laid bare for all to see on stage. Shit I’m in love With You Again is my first autobiographical show and this is me laying it all on the line.

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas?

I feel theatre is still one of the best ways to share ideas. What I love about theatre is it is an art form that requires an audience. As a performer I get immediate feedback about whether my idea is being understood and it affects my performance.

With so much social media and texting, face-to-face communication is harder to get but theatre is an old fashioned art form that offers modern present day idea sharing and expression.

How did you become interested in making performance?

From a very early age I would do silly characters to make my siblings laugh. My brother always pushed me to do the characters for others to make them laugh. We would be driving through Florida and he got me to walk up to strangers and do my characters. I got addicted to the laughs.

Those were early performances. By being weird I realised I could affect a stranger’s day. I failed Grade 8 and at that time a guidance counsellor encouraged me to audition for a high school of the arts. I didn’t know it but I was an artist. I got into the art and dance program and thrived. At 16 I was working as a professional model and at a Ralph Lauren show we were told to completely ignore the audience.

This was impossible to me and that realisation led me to persuing a degree in acting at Bishop’s University. Making performance was something I gravitated towards but as I got older the type of performance I was meant to do became clearer. I went to theatre school to be a serious actress but my true calling has always been to be a clown and to do comedy.

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

Every show I have created has had a slightly different approach but most of the time it involves collaboration with clown experts. I have worked with Philippe Gaulier, Sue Morrison, Mike Kennard, James Keylon, Francine Cote, Adam Lazarus, David Shiner and others. T

hese people are masters of clown and physical comedy. When starting a new project I often get in a room with one of these people and start jamming. They help me get clearer with my ideas. I also get on stage as much as I can because the audience will immediately let me know if something is working. I am not a linear thinker so I often work with dramaturges or directors to shape the show.

Once I feel I have at least an hour of strong material I will schedule previews so the show can further develop in front of an audience. I will video those previews and make major cuts at that point. Friends and family feedback also influences my work.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

In the past my work has been theatre based and the shows have revolved around over the top characters. This show was developed in front of audiences in stand-up clubs, cabarets and bars. It became clear after hundreds of 5-30 min sets that a new show was in development but I was to be the central figure.

Many comedians will say it takes years to really find your VOICE, after six years of consistent performances and feeling like my comedic voice was surfacing it became clear that I needed to create a new piece. I knew I wanted to perform it in theatres so I returned to my usual approach; to shows which involved several collaborators and mentors.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

More and more people need to laugh. As a comedian my favourite part of my work is doing just that and I believe this show provides some comic relief. I am also a trained clown. Clowns go too far, push boundaries and talk about things people are usually hesitant to discuss.

I hope audiences jump on board with me when I go into the good the bad and the rauchy experiences of life. My specialty is “being too much” and “going too far” I hope audiences will enjoy my unique brand of comedy developed over the last twenty years that involves storytelling, stand up, clown, characters and acting.

Near the end of the show, when we get more into the crisis of my relationship audiences get to see the worst of me. It is very intimate. I try to always come back to the light of it which is fun because things get crazy and then we laugh about how ugly things got. I had a friend who went through a nasty divorce and at the end of the show he was teary and said he wished he saw the show before they broke up.

Another elderly overweight gentleman said he wished he had "fucked first" in his first marriage. Maybe it would of saved it! I tell the truth about love and relationships and the shows message is that even if a relationship appears to be shit it may be fixable. I hope audiences will laugh and when conflict part of the show comes up that people will relate to my struggle and to my universal message about love.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

A few years back I discovered Aristotle's “Fryetag's Pyramid". Exposition, Rising action, Climax, Falling action & Resolution. I am not by nature a linear thinker and this tried and true triangle for story development is a strategy that helped me shape my chaotic ideas. Also I perform as much as I can in front of a live audience so that I can ensure my writing and performance are consistently funny for all types of audiences.

Lastly and most importantly as a performer doing what I have to do before a show, to be in the moment with the audience that is in front of me, is crucial to shaping an audiences experience. There is a magical place, a five star place, between an audience and a performer on stage and when I access that place the audience and I have the ultimate experience. I am getting better and better at stepping into that place and it is the part of theatre that is like skydiving: life and death.

The show was a sing and shout-along success across Canada. Mums empathise with the “Ring of Fire” scene where Elie discusses that unforgettable sensation during childbirth, just before the baby arrives.

And we can all learn from the Fuck First ditty and its core message about going to bed together before, rather than after, a romantic restaurant curry.

SIILWYA rips through every key moment from Elie’s fall out with Jesus and enthusiastic embrace of sexual freedom, to true love and a marriage that came within an inch of divorce.

Described by legendary French master clown Philippe Gaulier as “fucking funny”, Elie has won bucket loads of praise. Critics delight at the energy and charm with which she delivers this autobiographical tale. Elie’s comedy can switch in an instant from naivety to raunch and then into the pathos of the realisation that she “loves everything about her husband – even the things that she hates”.

Elie treats universal themes in unexpected ways. She says: “It’s all there from splitting up with Jesus to the need for patience, tolerance and blow jobs in saving your marriage. I know more about long-term relationships than Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Katy Perry combined. I’ve been in the trenches of love for 20 years with my husband. We’re raising two boys together. I talk about the things most people are afraid to discuss.”

The songs are co-written with Luke Jackson, who provides live musical accompaniment.

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#Theatre #Blogger #visual art #Edinburgh Fringe #Experimental Critique

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thesinglesjukebox · 6 years ago

Video

youtube

AVA MAX - SWEET BUT PSYCHO

[3.00]

Yeah, what 2018 really needed was #bitchesbecrazy in song form. Thanks.

Edward Okulicz: Theoretically this is right in my wheelhouse. Despite the embarrassment of riches on the pop charts in the 2000s, I spent a good part of that decade nostalgic for the 1990s. So 2018 is exactly when the late-00s, early-10s kinda-EDM, mostly-pop of "Sweet but Psycho" should be just the tonic. But it's hard to enjoy something that's like Frankenstein's monster of melodic snatches from better songs and lyrical cliches that make me scan the credits to see who out of Jessie J and Katy Perry co-wrote it. Turns out it's neither, but Cirkut produced, which tells you everything you need to know -- he's the master of actual lowest common denominator pap and hasn't fluked a good single in five years. This is the fast food of nostalgia pandering, having the form but not the taste of its inspirations. Would get a 5 if it banged, but the beat does nothing and the song doesn't hint at any actual danger or sexual frisson. [2]

Lilly Gray: I hope everyone is ready for the sweet kikyo/inuyasha AMV I'm about to make with this. [3]

Alfred Soto: It takes a couple listens to shake the undulating charm of the electro pop production; it's confident. But the lyrics descend to a Katy Perry level of trolling. [3]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Ava Max's "Not Your Barbie Girl" was a Feminist Anthem whose message of independence and consent felt like it was written by a group of clueless middle-aged men. With "Sweet But Psycho," I'm not so sure that her songwriters are anything but a team of bots with a poorly implemented machine learning algorithm. There's a dead-eyed coldness to this that is wildly off-putting, far removed from projecting a sort of sinister emotionlessness than simply showcasing an incompetent performance. The vocal melodies bring to mind second-rate Lady Gaga and the "Numa Numa" song, but the lyrics prove impossibly worse. "Sweet but Psycho" uses its titular descriptors as a starting point for the most inane lines -- "She tastes so sweet, don't sugarcoat it"; "She's poison but tasty"; "So left but she's right though" -- indicating to listeners that the artists involved are content with spewing out grade school-level wit. The song's greatest fault, however, is how it's such a wasteful use of the medium: it would rather relay information about this particular person than demonstrate their qualities through any of the music. [1]

Ian Mathers: The title is kind enough to let us all know that is probably A Bad Idea before we even hit play -- unless you're into dumb, regressive cliches, I guess -- and nothing about the execution (I imagine most of us will mention early Lady Gaga, and justly so, with some Shakira-ish tinges to her voice) does anything to contradict that impression. [2]

Will Adams: "Don't sugarcoat it," she sings, except that's exactly what the chirpy backing does -- it's a few horns and handclaps away from a Meghan Trainor production! Also, the problem with basing your hook off of early Gaga is that it evokes the era when pop lyrics were skewing edgy and the music actually followed suit. [4]

Stephen Eisermann: As generic as no-name pop songs come, the most interesting part of this song is how hard Ava Max tries to sell "you'll be saying no, no, then saying, yes, yes, yes" as a good lyric. No amount of ad-libs can prevent me from laughing during that part. [4]

Taylor Alatorre: "Are you sweet? [or] (a little bit) psycho?" asks Ava Max's official website, rendering the dichotomy even more rigid than the song itself does. Without even getting into the effects of stigmatizing language, this mass marketing of benign mental illness has been one of the least interesting concepts in pop for some time. It's a good thing it's attached here to some almost entirely ill-fitting music, with peppy hand claps, bright tunnels of synths, and pitch-shifted vocals that thankfully outnumber the stock scream effects. [5]

Katherine St Asaph: Given the current Ice Age of chill-to-motionless pop I may question Cirkut's judgment in releasing a blatant The Fame ripoff, but it's also oddly refreshing. (It's the 10th anniversary, after all!) Even the lyrics, though bad, are about as deep as that ever got. But this is like ripping off the saccharine "Paparazzi" chorus (the worst early Gaga song), the "ma-ma-ma-ma" from "Poker Face" because you have to, and nothing else. [4]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: This sounds like the 5th best single off an electro-pop album from 2010 and has lyrics that are somehow even more tired than its production. Who is this for? [2]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#Ava Max #pop #music #music review #writing

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reactingtosomething · 8 years ago

Text

Weekend Reaction: Katy Perry’s “Bon Appetit”

Within the Twist There’s Still Sexy Murder!

The Setup: Miri encountered a new music video and had a deep and profound need to yell about it with someone. None of us anticipated the length or depth of this un-premeditated conversation, but what can you do in the face of sexy cannibalism revenge?

Next week: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 pt 2. You’ll meet Liz soon, we promise!

Miri: IS ANYONE AWAKE??? I have just seen something I need to react to

Kris: Yes

Miri: Will you do an impromptu mini Reaction with me?

https://twitter.com/teenvogue/status/863383339876700160

Miri: I genuinely thought it would be mini

Kris: Ok hang on So That happened

Miri: I have many questions And even more concerns

Kris: And also maybe someone's watched Bryan Fuller's Hannibal recently

Miri: I think they must have? But Hannibal would be appalled by the sloppiness of that presentation

Kris: I don't really know where to start, partly because I don't have a particular expertise in Katy Perry

Miri: So basic plot: Katy Perry is prepared and cooked (BUT SEXY), served, and then gets her revenge on the potential cannibals by having her chef friends kill and cook them, and then she eats person pie

Kris: Yep

Miri: I don’t have a ton of Katy Perry expertise either. Basically I think of the I Kissed a Girl controversies and that one video that was like candy/candyland themed but sexy and violent I guess sexy and violent is a theme of hers?

Kris: Not exactly #eattherude but I'm the general vicinity Firework I guess is an exception here

Miri: But also I don’t feel on Katy Perry or the chefs’ side here Do you?

Kris: I mean it's such a late turn I don't think they set you up to be on a side if that's their intention

Miri: Is Katy Perry supposed to be a crusader against highly wealthy cannibals? Also, do you find this sexy? We are both people who are into women, and I for one did not find this sexy. I’m also very concerned that I am presumably supposed to

Kris: I did not

Miri: Unsurprised and relieved to hear it

Marchae: Hi

Miri: Hey Marchae! Have you watched this video?

Kris: But I think there's some have their cake but eat it too thing to happen?

Miri: Say more--is Katy Perry the one having her cake and eating it too? Or do you mean that the people in the club were trying to do so?

Kris: Until the end the imagery minus the lyrics is like, Men Consuming Katy Perry and treating her like a literal piece of meat

Miri: And her getting off on it In some highly weird body horror ways

Kris: Yeah But I could see a version of this where sans lyrics even that is not necessarily Fun Times for All But the lyrics are Let's Have Sex

Miri: So the video is trying to make a little bit of social commentary but also trying to benefit from the sexiness of the lead?

Kris: (Not literally, Marchae) (But almost) I thiiink?

Miri: I would agree with that Things I am confused/unreasonably annoyed about: Talking oyster???

Kris: I wish we had a Katy Perry Expert here

Miri: Katy Perry is served with totally different foods than she is cooked with Do we know any Katy Perry experts?

Kris: I feel like between us we must know at least one or two

Miri: Huh. I supposed everyone must. Statistically speaking But I don’t know who they are Also, why is the one guy holding a stack of money to his head like a phone??

Kris: I assumed that was just some sort of signal

Marchae: Umm what the hell was that

Miri: I’ve watched it twice now and I am afraid both times that the stripper pole that rises up is going to impale her

Kris: (I don't want us to come off as Necessarily And By Default Anti-Katy Perry, is why I wish we had an expert. We are mostly confused, yes?)

Miri: Yes! We have some questions about her actions at awards shows lately and are not massive fans of her music, but we are not Anti Katy Perry At least that’s where I’m at

Marchae: You all text too fast

Miri: I think I’m anti this video though Kris: Wait what is she cooked in again? Besides like a mirepoix? I guess I didn't register particular Kitchen Inaccuracies Not that this is a sticking point

youtube

Miri: She is cooked in a basic veggie mix

Marchae: I like Katy perry and have followed her since her Christian music days actually

Miri: Onion, tomato, etc

Marchae: So I registered a couple things

Miri: Very turkey roasting

Marchae: 1. Food porn and how we have basically made food sexy

Kris: Oh, I do want to say that the Michelin star rankings only go up to 3 stars

Miri: Omg Marchae is our Katy Perry expert!

Kris: TWIST

Marchae: But also how we treat and objectify women in a similar way

Miri: FACT CHECKING FAIL

Kris: Oh food porn duh Man anyone who bought into us for our first few posts just revised their estimations of my IQ downward

Marchae: (Just my opinion) Doubtful I told you my friend was like hell yes!

Miri: I think where this fails to be any sort of successful commentary for me is that the murders at the end are still sexy

Kris: So do the lyrics undermine her here?

Marchae: I think that's the point Miri

Miri: The ripping of the one woman’s top, another is posed very sexually with the apple in her mouth But Katy Perry is not triumphing over the sexy murder commodification, she’s just becoming the perpetrator

Marchae: But it's also a video and they often don't match at all with the lyrics So you have to juxtaposing messages 1. An audio representation and a visual one

Kris: Well we do know that TV likes to make murder (and violence against women in general) sexy, so maybe we're approaching the vicinity of The HBO Problem

Marchae: Just me spit balling while I walk I'm gonna sit so I can focus

Miri: Right, I’m going mostly on the visuals. It seems to be set up that KP is being commodified, and then she’s actually fighting back against it! But her fight back perpetuates the same issues, just on other people

Marchae: Which is the problem out culture has in general

Kris: But are the lyrics and video complicating and enriching each other? Or are they in an unproductive conflict with each other? I am also not a Music Video Expert

Miri: I would argue that they’re mostly in unproductive conflict Or this video actually doesn’t have something to say, and it just enjoyed going on a little ride as if it did Which is fine, I guess

Kris: Sure

Miri: But it’s a weird and extreme concept That is touching on so much but I don’t think really wanting to explore it Did we like this video? And did we like this song?

Kris: I also don't think people assume Katy Perry is always and entirely a fun-but-insubstantial artist, though, and once you've campaigned for HRC I think people will expect some level of wokeness from you, right?

Miri: I would think so

Kris: And then there's the layer of KP vs TSwift, which I am again not super equipped to explore

Miri: And I expect a certain level of wokeness from any adult human Yeah, I don’t think we have the space or knowledge for that beef I will admit to having a preference for TSwift. I am not without bias

Marchae: Our* Think of it in terms of otherness and not to make this about race at all but the easiest way for me to explain So most people are on a quest to not be seen as less of what they are like whitewashed so they are more socially acceptable by the majority K So once you become no longer an other you perpetrate the same atrocities against those than still aren't considered the in group Which is what she's done If we go by your examination

This is where Marchae came through a dead zone and found a doorway to loiter in.

Kris: I guess my point bringing it up is that there's a little bit of a de facto Feminist Street Cred arms race between them, right?

Miri: de facto Feminist Street Cred arms race is too long to be my new band name, but will perhaps be a Panic! at the Disco type song title Marchae, a bunch of your messages came in all at once and I am confused but I want to talk about your point

Kris: To Marchae's point -- is this Strong Female Character syndrome?

Miri: Are you saying that that is what is happening in the video or that is the situation KP is commenting on

Marchae: Yeah I came to the nearest place to sit

Miri: Sitting is good

Marchae: I'm going to listen to the song so the video

Miri: Also, just because someone has been persecuted, are they let off the hook if they then persecute others? Because KP has clearly been a part of a system that commodifies women/sexuality (we all have), but that doesn’t make her blameless if she commodifies other women In my eyes

Kris: Right I think at least on a first read that's what's happening here, but just from a distance I do find it hard to believe that Perry hasn't grown a little ("that" = commodifying other women)

Miri: Right What is happening here to suggest growth, though?

Kris: The Twist, I guess?

Miri: But within the twist there’s still sexy murder! This is a sticking point for me Perhaps that’s just a production design failure?

Kris: It seems like a gesture of "don't worry, I know what I'm doing here" Maybe

Miri: We’re so used to seeing sexy corpses on crime shows that’s how we expect murder to be shot

Kris: Also it's a failure that a lot of Prestige TV has and I guess I have a lower bar for music videos

Miri: And it is a pop music video, full gruesomeness in never going to be on the menu

Kris: Fairly or not But I guess what we keep coming back to is that the lyrics that are the starting point are pretty straightforwardly Sexy Funtimes

Miri: I do like the triumphant, semi sadistic smile when the turn happens, because I have a weakness for women showing negative emotions in media

Marchae: @miri nope not at all- just saying it happens and I think she *could be* attempting to illustrate that. More saying look at what we're doing - we are killing each other here

Miri: Hmmmm. I also wonder how the fact that this is clearly entrapment plays into it all KP and her chefs have organized a sexy cannibalism sting here

Kris: Which is a logline that I don't hate

Miri: Agreed!

Marchae: The video definitely compliments the lyrics

Miri: How so?

Marchae: "She's on the menu"

Miri: Right, but the song pretty much presents that as a good and sexy thing, right?

Kris: I heard that as an "eating her out" pun

Marchae: "Spread like a buffet"

Miri: Not a disturbing one

Marchae: I think though that these are all objects Menus and buffets are all thinks that we look at and say oh that looks good I want some

Kris: Hmmm

Miri: I guess the video could be an exploration of the fact that that kind of language is seen as sexy with no issues is actually pretty weird

Marchae: So on the surface it's sexy hot I wanna booty pop to it (not really) But when you think about it it is all about how as women we look at other women and say she's beautiful "I want to be her" or are jealous envious

Miri: I realize I’m probably asking a lot of this video and could probably just calm down. But they opened the door by touching on these themes and I have so many questions

Marchae: And men are objectifying her

Kris: Men also have voices in this song though

Marchae: I dont mind it as much when I consider it's about the pontification of people and the glutenous (SP) this culture has for women and food

Kris: That don't seem to be in conflict with KP's

Marchae: Behavior*

Miri: Both good points The Migos part seems appreciative and continuing in the vein of the lyrics, without escalating at all

Marchae: So in my opinion it's more of her winking saying I know what's really going on...

Miri: And in the video they’re clearly on KP’s side

Kris: I do see room for the lyrics to be given a second meaning by the video

Miri: You’re winning me over here I still think the video doesn’t quite have the grasp I’d like it to on its themes, but I am intrigued I also like that after such care has gone into the food presentation up to that point, the person pie KP is about to eat is very messy looking

Kris: Oh that is interesting

Marchae: *But we also have to consider this may not be saying anything at all*

Miri: Very true

Kris: Like, Let's Be Honest Here

Marchae: And to got messy person pie Miri That could also be examined in so far it's what we will eventually become

Kris: Okay we should take a quick vote on where we stand on authorial intent

Marchae: As women we aren't kind to one another and we rip each other apart as early as middle school

Miri: If culture doesn’t change? interesting

Marchae: Yup!

Miri: Earlier than that sometimes Ok, authorial intent! In general or the degree to which we think it’s present in this video?

Kris: Do we care what Perry's intentions are? In general

Marchae: And men don't treat us well either and in some cases when we engage in less than healthy relationships and when men are just plan douches we are emotionally and sometimes physically devoured as well and that's also messy

Miri: I do care about authorial intent I don’t think it’s the only thing that matters by a long shot

Marchae: I'm split

Kris: I think that's generally where I stand Especially in terms of lowbrow/highbrow

Marchae: As a consumer of music as generally independent of their visual presentation - no. As an intellect who thinks about these things yes.

Miri: But I think it matters. Because it’s another layer of the meaning--if someone is trying to be feminist and they fail utterly that says a lot about how deeply sexism is ingrained in our society (not saying that’s what’s happening here! just an easy example)

Marchae: But here is how I'm considering it This was not a visual album a la Beyonces lemonade which was meant to be viewed and listened independently or together and tell a cohesive story

Miri: Fair

Marchae: So I did KP say hey here's my point maybe. Maybe not

Miri: But it is still a piece of culture

Kris: I think what I'm asking is 1) do we think we're "overthinking" a specific Katy Perry video, 1a) is Perry in general an artist whose work goes deep enough to invite at least a little overthinking

Marchae: But we know Beyoncé definitely did

Kris: And 2) if we ARE overthinking it, is that fine and fair?

Marchae: I think we'd have to explore more than one video and chronicle her career

Kris: Because of where this slots into a larger context of objectification/commodification imagery?

Miri: 1) Definitely. 1a) I’m not sure. 2) I really think so!

Marchae: To come to a conclusion of 1a

Miri: agreed

Kris: Or do we fail Katy Perry by expecting more from her than she's ever said she was trying to do?

Miri: Again, she is an adult who is creating content seen by millions

Marchae: *hunches shoulders*

Miri: I think whether or not she has asked for it we have the right to be potentially critical of what she’s saying

Marchae: But I think as consumers of culture this is where we fail PERFORMERS Her primary job is to entertain We pay her for that we look to her for that

Miri: Performers shape culture! (In part) They are responsible for what they put into the world Game of Thrones is entertainment, and we still have a right to discuss rape culture in the show

Kris: I also don't want to condescend to Perry by suggesting she's doing LESS than she wants or claims to do (again I don't actually know what her claims are)

Marchae: I agree whole heartedly but they also provide a space to escape and enjoy art for art sake

Miri: Very true I guess what I’m saying is I don’t think there’s anything wrong with examining what the themes of a specific piece are, whether they were intended or not

Kris: We should make a distinction between performers and writers and writer-performers

Miri: Because regardless of the intent the piece now exists True, we don’t know how much of KP’s vision this is

Kris: Perry's responsibilities at this stage in her career are greater than those of someone who just got churned out of the Disney pop star factory

Miri: I would hope that she has a decent amount of control over her videos, but who knows Agreed!

Kris: I think we can ascribe her a fair amount of agency, is what I meant

Marchae: That's the thing though as a culture we place a lot of "responsibility" on performers

Kris: Like, I think it's clear that as a society we failed Megan Fox in 2008

Miri: I do, and I think it’s right to when they have control over what they’re creating

Kris: But Perry is the auteur here, not a Michael Bay

Miri: Because she didn’t have to perform a song about the commodification of women/sex. In doing so, I think she opens the door for discussion

Marchae: Let me take a step back

Miri:I’m in no way saying she shouldn’t have done this or we should bash her for it, but I think we can talk about it (We did fail Megan Fox and she is hilarious on New Girl, btw)

Marchae: Here's the thing - i think it depends on why you are "looking to" the artist. Katy perry is a fun artist to me Note***fun*** She's entertaining to me and even some of the songs uplifting I own all of her albums because she's fun

Miri: And that is fine and wonderful! And I in no way think that should change! I think entertainment and escape and fun are wonderful and necessary

Kris: And I've had some fondness for her occasional co-writer Bonnie McKee who has a POWERHOUSE voice and if anything plays the Sexy card even more In generally less complicated ways I think where we haven't totally found agreement And where I think we're avoiding making a strong claim Is whether Perry is trying to make a statement at all or not But if we assume she is

Marchae: She is for sure in my opinion

Miri: See, I don’t think that’s the most important question! I think regardless of intent she is saying something through this video and it’s worth discussing

Kris: I think we can make a distinction between expecting a Complicated and Subtle Discourse and expecting her to Not Fuck Up

Miri: Fair This has lead to so much more conversation than I expected 💕💕💕💕💕💕

Marchae: And me loitering in an entrance way

Kris: Yeah!

Miri: hahahahaha

Kris: Hope we haven't made you late for something

Miri: Ok, are we pretty much good or do we have more to say?

Marchae: Nope To kris

Kris: I can keep asking questions in circles but I think I should be done

Marchae: I think I may have a question for Miri

Kris: I would invite any Katy Perry fans reading us to chime in, though

Miri: Seconded! What’s up, Marchae?

Marchae: And I may have missed it walking and getting stuck in a dead zone pre loiter What specifically do you think she's trying to express

Miri: I’m not sure! That’s my whole question. I don’t know if she’s trying to playfully (or very seriously!) comment on the themes the video touches on, or if she has this song that is about sex talked about in food terms and someone was like “hey, you know what would be a less expected version of that for the music video?” Or anywhere in between

Marchae: I think we should have homework and maybe we react maybe not But check out her other videos and see if we identify themes

Miri: You want us to go watch a bunch more of her videos, don’t you? I’m not opposed

Marchae: (Thanks Miri!) Yup

Kris: Any in particular? Like is there a rough canon?

Miri: Although I do have some issues with Kissed a Girl

Marchae: I do *UNCONDITIONALLLYY*

Kris: I don't know how prolific she is video-wise

Marchae: How bout this tonight I'll check to see what's out there shoot over a list and we can maybe watch a couple each

Miri: Ok, you make us a Katy Perry syllabus Oh, one final thing and I will not be talked down on this one: the sound effects in the opening writing on Bon Appetite are gross and I don’t approve of them

Marchae: (Also the caps is a reference to a KP song that conjures her days of old) OH GOD

Kris: This has been kind of amazing. Well done, Miri.

Marchae: I also thought about that as well

Kris: Me too actually

Miri: I’m so glad we can end on a note of commonality

But wait, there’s more! Find some extra Katy Perry Reacting here.

#Katy Perry #bon appetit #katy perry bon appetit #music video #Kris #Marchae #Miri #Reacting to Something #Miri wants it known that she is not anti Katy Perry even if she kind of sounds like she is here #messy people pie #cannibalism #body horror #music #reaction

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