#like obviously ariana grande is great for the role not denying that

[spirkbitch]

“you’re telling me Amanda Seyfried was going to try this?” -a real sentiment i have seen multiple times regarding her audition for Wicked

just say you’ve never heard her sing a heart full of love and leave it at that

[moontrinemars]

Dhruva as Dhanishtha: The First Fortune is a Red Herring

To me, it seems Dhanishtha is simultaneously over-hyped and under-valued... It's generally diluted to the fame, wealth, fortune, etc. it's associated with, as if it has no depth and no meaning beyond that. It's associated with the Ashta Vasus for a reason! The life of Dhruva is a good example. It is not necessarily work or labor that brings bounty to Dhruva, but his reclaiming renunciation after experiencing scorn and neglect, at a very young age. His humility as a boy, in sacrificing his birthright for the sake of determining his purpose, and his prostration to the divine after his being denied love and status, these qualities are what leads to his being crowned king as a child, yes, but that's not the actual point of the story. His true reward is being gifted with intrinsic knowledge of/the voice to sing the hymns of Vishnu, and to reach Druvapada, becoming one with the cosmos, out of reach of true destruction even at its most powerful.

Obviously, this is a story about an unusually holy figure, the brightest and healthiest form of Dhanishtha, so we don't expect all natives to reach these spiritual heights, but putting aside the ending for a moment, to look at the beginning and middle, we see depth rarely mentioned when looking into Dhanishtha.

Dhruva is born into privilege, but explicitly made to understand that he is unworthy of this privilege. Thus, he has to retreat from the source of his privilege, he has to fast, he has to devote himself to something higher than his desire for love, comfort, security. Only after giving up, disowning the fortune of a prince, does Vishnu offer him the true, great fortune of the holy figure elevated and eventually deified, a boy-king and a god.

This speaks to a theme I've seen repeatedly in Dhanishtha natives. Princess Diana was born into a nobility which afforded her the role of wife and mother to future kings, but she had to forgo that role, the security of it, to become the woman sanctified in popular culture to this day. The problem with those lost famous Dhanishtha figures like Diana and Marilyn Monroe and Yoko Ono — and this is particularly true for women — is when their fame or hunger for fame becomes so intense that they no longer have the option of withdrawing, of renunciation. Who with Dhanishtha placements had this result? Well, Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe, Yoko Ono... and Bob Marley, Sharon Tate, James Dean, Paris Hilton, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Bieber, Kristen Stewart, Mary Queen of Scots, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, Ariana Grande, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jimi Hendrix, Aaliyah, Shia LaBeouf... all of these figures had Dhanishtha placements, and have had their lives, reputations, and properties over-publicized. (This is not a comment on whether any of the listed figures are good or bad people, btw.)

This isn't to say that Dhanishtha is more tragic than another nakshatra, but that an underexplored aspect of Dhanishtha is the need for absense, rest periods, and periodic fasting, whether literal or metaphorical. The sense of rhythm that Dhanishtha is famous for, it isn't just about knowing when to hit, it's about knowing when and how long to wait before you do. That's what rhythm is — not just the beats themselves, but the spaces in between. That's why the happiest and most consistently successful Dhanishtha natives are the ones who don't allow the pressure of the public, those around them, or duties that are attached to supposed fortunes they've received, to overload their plate until they're hitting out of sync, or simply have to stop all together. Whether fast or slow, these natives need discipline in setting and keeping pace.

The depth to Dhanishtha is that, as with all Dharma-motivated nakshatras, its natives yearn for purpose and meaning — but on a distinctly cosmic scale. They're told and feel that they've been blessed, but to what end? They spend their whole lives trying to figure it out, because it simply isn't enough to have potential, they also have to use it to whatever end makes them matter. It depends on their other placements how this internal struggle manifests, but throughout their lives, yearning for significance permeates everything they feel and do.

And this yearning can propell them to ignore their greatest asset: their sense of timing.

Underdeveloped Dhanishtha natives will use their blessing however they are told to, in the form that's convenient to those around them. They never leave the palace; they stay prince forever, and thus never grow enough to even be a particularly good prince. Natives who do develop somewhat will leave the palace, but they may return after an insufficient amount of time, expecting that their experience of fasting, of loss or struggle, in and of itself, will be enough to enlighten them. Dhanishtha at its truest and most enlightened form will not only fast until they understand hunger, not only fast until they can SEE 'god' — they will fast until they MEET 'god', until Vishnu returns their voice to them, and reserves a place for them in the heavens.

[letscuttothefeeling]

season three episode three

Let me start off by congratulating the producers – not you Ish – on this great episode. I finally feel like we’re back to THE SHOW. Not a weird Bachelor spin-off with minimal drama and blatantly horrible editing (see: Juliette’s grad party scene, where Chloe’s nails change color DURING THE PARTY.) Nope, we’re done with that and back to the good stuff, so on that note, let’s cut to the feeling.

Come ON MTV it’s like you weren’t even trying. And yes, I created this, and no, I don’t have a life.

I know I’m going to like an episode when it starts off with the angelic sounds of my lord and savior, Ariana Grande. As break up with ur girlfriend, i’m bored plays, we zoom into Cara’s house. Personally, I’m hoping to see Victoria. Alas – it’s just Cara…and Garrett. God, Garrett STOP. Your ex-girlfriend has already outlined exactly how Cara is using you – since she did the exact same thing - and you’re still asking Cara on dates? This is so cringe. Where’s Victoria?!

Even though Garrett can’t score a date, Brandon can! Maybe instead of asking Cara to go look at babies, you should ask her to rollerblade, G Baby. As Amanda and Brandon glide around the Key, we learn that Brandon is celebrating his 24th birthday on Friday! And it’s “24, Like, Karat Gold Slash, Like, Pirate, Sort Of” themed, of course! He debates whether or not to invite Juliette while giving us viewers amazing helmet safety tips. Meanwhile, after Cara has removed G Baby from her property, she makes her way to Chloe’s to checkuppé on her. This is where we learn that Chloe has officially called the cops and filed a police report. I have a lot of opinions, but more on this later.

Okay, something I haven’t touched on because I wish it wasn’t happening I haven’t had time is that Kelsey and Jared have sparked a little romance. If you don’t remember, while Kelsey was dating her random LA boyfriend, Jared was the 86th person she cheated on him with. I see this going well! I mean, it always works out when you leave someone you cheated on for the person you cheated with. Right? Plus, there’s Twisted Tea and mudding involved, so Kelsey can rest assured she’ll be going on sophisticated and expensive dates instead of the shitty and poor dates that Garrett used to take her on.

FINALLY, the C + V scene I need and deserve. Donning a black one-piece that contrasts perfectly with her frozen fruity pink drink, Victoria is effortlessly exuding two polar opposite, chaotic energies. I’m getting “sassy”, but I’m also getting “I’ll fuck you up if you insult my 90’s Quiksilver skater shoes.” AKA, I’m getting Avril during the Girlfriend era. And I love it. As she floats next to Cara in the pool and shockingly proclaims that she’s not into guys, (what?!) I’m on my knees praying to God himself that she become a main cast member vis-à-vis a relationship with Cara. It’s Victoria’s show, and we’re all just living in it, baby. After Cara’s bizarre comment about how her parents punish her by locking her in their wine cellar (weird flex, but okay) Victoria giggles about how dumb Garrett is and we move on.

We leave C and V for a Madisson and Kelsey reunion, but it’s not a happy one. Madisson delivers the unfortunate news that Chloe may be pressing charges. Oh no! I would be really upset by this, but I can’t focus on the content of Madisson’s words because of how she’s delivering them. Madisson, we fully understand that you’ve been to an acting class in LA because you won’t shuttupé about it, so you can stop over-enunciating everything that comes out of your mouth. Thanks!

After Kelsey tells Juliette about her impending stint in Florida prison, she gets understandably upset. Luckily, Boring Robby is there to teach Juliette how to apologize. Don’t say he never did anything for her! I want to point out that Kelsey truly has been redeeming herself this season. She’s been pretty level headed and a very good friend. If only Boring Robby could do the same… Later in the day, Kelsey confronts Robby about another thing Madisson spilled during their meetup. Apparently, while Juliette was fighting everyone last week, Boring Robby had the audacity to applaud her! How gauche. Boring Robby vehemently denies these claims, saying, “Always take the high road, because the low road is way too crowded,” and, “Silence is the best way to react to a fool, and happiness is the best revenge.” First of all, stop lying about things that were FILMED on national television. You’re now Boring Robby: The Liar. Second of all, why are you the human embodiment of my ninth grade Pinterest quotes board?

Grab your pillows and sleeping bags because we are heading to a SLUMBER PARTY! But before anyone can start braiding each other’s hair, Chloe begins to stir the pot, yet again. She delights in bringing up Brandon and Amanda’s new relationship right in front of Madisson. But to distract from the awkwardness, Amanda changes the subject to her missing phone. After the fight, she lost her phone and no one has been able to find it. She starts to give us a play-by-play analysis of why and how she thinks Boring Robby: The Liar stole it. I’m sorry, am I watching Joe Goldberg on You, or am I watching Amanda on Siesta Key? 

It’s the day of the BG’s bday, and I’m so excited to see everyone’s 24 Karat Gold Slash Like Pirate themed outfits! They don’t disappoint - G Baby and Victoria are even matching!! I’ve never screamed so loudly in my life. Garrett obviously refuses to drink, and we’re off to the party. But first, there’s one guest who needs to arrive.

As Alex descends from his family’s PJ strapped with Louis luggage, a BEER, and fresh digs straight from the Siesta Key mall, I can feel the blood coming back into my body. I can feel individual atoms multiplying. I can feel my soul re-entering my empty, hollow frame. I feel exactly like Bella in the fourth Twilight novel, Breaking Dawn. After her half-human, half-vampire baby has eaten its way out of her uterine lining, Edward is forced to do the unthinkable: steal Bella’s mortal soul by turning her into a vampire so she has a shot to survive. (It’s the second time in the series that vampire Edward is forced to resist sucking all of Bella’s enticing blood to save her – that’s true love.) As she starts to respond to his venom, each and every one of her cells begins to freeze over and restore life to her body. Suddenly, she is awake. Her vision is sharp, her mind is clear, and she’s never looked better. And that’s EXACTLY how I felt as Alex exited his plane.

I expect nothing less than for Alex to arrive at BG’s party with three underage Ukrainian mail-order brides. And he doesn’t disappoint. Unfortunately for the brides, he immediately begins discussing relationships with Cara. It’s fun to see Cara pride herself in not cheating on people for the past year. I kind of feel like that should be a given, but okay. As they’re undressing each other with their eyes talking, Garrett is having an interesting convo of his own. Classic Chloe starts stirring the pot AGAIN by telling Garrett that Cara is using him. Really Chloe? Cara is supposed to be your best friend. What’s more shocking is that VICTORIA starts to betray Cara as well. This causes an immediate fight between Carrett. They leave the party and start screaming at each other in the jungle. I’m so enraptured by the fight that I momentarily forget they’re at a themed party and fixate on Garrett’s outfit. Why am I watching Garrett Miller scream in a jungle dressed as a pirate? Oh, right. Anyways.

Even though Cara and G Baby are scream fighting, the party continues to rage on. And everyone is makingoutté. Kelsey and Jared, Amanda and Brandon... something is in the air! It must be the pirate theme. #LetsGetScurvy. But one person isn’t feeling the love – Madisson. With Dad gone, she has no one to kish. Clearly bothered by watching her friend and ex-boyfriend eat each other’s faces, Madisson decides to give Brandon the sad news that Amanda is using him. Whether or not she is, Madisson has no right to give her opinion on the matter. And BG says exactly that. Good for him! Another person surprisingly not making out with someone is Alex. He’s too busy being an asshole to Kelsey and telling anyone who will listen that Boring Robby is bad news. Probably true, but literally no one can be worse than he is, except maybe Pauly Paul. In other news, WHERE IS PAUL.

Unfortunately, the next scene doesn’t involve Pauly or Victoria – just Chloe and Juliette. Juliette shows up after Chloe gets out of work to hopefully avoid jailtime hash things out. Now strap in because I’m about to explain exactly where I stand with the Chloe/Juliette drama, and if you aren’t completely focused, please take a 10mg Adderall, wait ten minutes, and check back in.

Okay, hopefully, you’ve taken amphetamines and can really dial in. Here goes: I realize that Chloe is a necessary evil - it’s an indisputable fact that there would be no show without her antics. No one is as shameless when it comes to talking shit and completely ruining their friendships for the sake of television. And for that, I deeply respect Chloe. (I realize that sounds sarcastic but I am dead serious. Thank you for taking one for the team, Chloe.) But I simply cannot stand when she gets what’s coming to her then plays the innocent victim. Obviously, violence is not cool, and Juliette should be embarrassed by her behavior. But Chloe knew exactly what the outcome of that conversation would be. She was banking on a wasted Juliette reacting horribly. With Chloe, you simply cannot win. Earlier in this episode, Chloe verbatim says to Madisson and Cara, “If the roles were reversed, I would have shown up at her house, apologizing.”

Now cut to this scene, where Chloe verbatim says to Juliette (after Juliette shows up at her workplace) “I really don’t know why you’re here, so if you can please leave and leave me alone.”

Juliette said it best herself – “Chloe is my best friend when I’m miserable. When I’m actually thriving…this type of stuff happens.” Let’s take a moment to analyze the similarities and differences of how Chloe and the rest of the cast handled Chloe’s altercation with Amanda during season one, in which Amanda broke Chloe’s nose and sent her to surgery. After sending Chloe to the hospital, Amanda justifies her actions by saying that Chloe started it first. So everyone is okay with Amanda decking Chloe. The fact is, Chloe started it first here, too. Chloe swatted at Juliette’s hand first. So why did everyone grab coffee with Amanda, but ostracize Juliette? Amanda even had a sit-down conversation with Chloe after her surgery expecting Chloe to apologize. The inconsistencies and hypocrisy present…I CANNOT.

Chloe acts like everyone’s best friend to stay relevant and betrays them the second it benefits her. While I do agree that Juliette is only apologizing because she’s scared Chloe will press charges, I think people who talk shit, unfortunately, get hit, on occasion. Until next week!

[thisismrbrendanjay]

'Someday, you won't be able to order coffee without hearing me': how Stefani became Lady Gaga

She was once dancing in her underwear in 'crunchy' clubs; now she's a superstar. Brendan Jay Sullivan recalls his year with an unknown Gaga

ByNick Levine

29 May 2020 • 4:11pm

A 19-year-old Gaga with Brendan Jay Sullivan in New York, 2006 CREDIT: Brendan Jay Sullivan

When Brendan Jay Sullivan first met Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on New York’s Lower East Side in 2006, he was struck by her unabashed ambition: this “shy, quiet girl with dark hair” told him that she wanted to be “the biggest pop star in the world”. On tiny stages across New York City, she went by the name of Lady Gaga.

Sullivan, who became Gaga’s DJ back when she was a 20-year-old wannabe working as a go-go dancer in Manhattan, recalls spotting the singer’s “great vision” when he met her at a bar where her then-boyfriend was working. In his book Rivington Was Ours: Lady Gaga, the Lower East Side, and the Prime of Our Lives, Sullivan describes the boyfriend, whom he refers to using the pseudonym “Guy”, as “inattentive and possessive” – and says Gaga even gave her "thick, dark, raven-haired Italian mane" a botched blonde dye job to impress him.

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Though Gaga didn’t mention “Guy” by name, she said in 2010 – two years after bombastic hits such as Just Dance and Poker Face made her a superstar – that she once had a boyfriend who told her she’d never succeed. Her riposte? "I said to him, 'Someday, when we're not together, you won't be able to order a cup of coffee at the f---ing deli without hearing or seeing me." 

It's safe to say Gaga, who has sold 27 million albums to date and today claims her sixth UK number one single with Rain on Me from her just-released album Chromatica, has found her words more than vindicated.

“People loved watching her because she was so fearless,” continues Sullivan, who says he bonded with the star straight away when Sullivan recognised that her stage name was a reference to the Queen song Radio Gaga. They soon became a musical “team” – he’d play records at Lower East Side night spots, and she’d dance to them. “And then afterwards, we’d talk about music and everything for hours.”

At this point, Sullivan says Gaga had already made a deal with her father Joseph Germanotta, an Italian-American internet entrepreneur who worked hard to send his daughter to Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City’s oldest private school for girls, and then to the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

A little known Lady Gaga performs at a bar in 2006

 “Gaga and her dad were both Springsteen fans, so they had the language of music to understand each other,” Sullivan says. “She said to him: ‘I love you, but I’ve gotta leave home to do this. I want to become a pop star and I’m willing to do anything to make it happen.’” According to Sullivan, Gaga’s father gave her a year to prove a career in music could be viable – then found her a cheap apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Gaga’s family home was only a few miles away on the refined Upper West Side, but the move to one of New York’s most creative neighbourhoods was clearly symbolic as well as practical.

Gaga’s new apartment may have been cheap for Manhattan – around $1,100 a month, Sullivan recalls – but she wasn’t living in squalor. "It was a very slim, efficient space but it wasn't tiny,” Sullivan says. “And the kitchen was bigger than you would expect in a one-person Manhattan apartment – that's the Italian girl in her, I think.

"Our other friends would just have a couple of take-out containers in the fridge, but Gaga's place wasn't like that. After a full night out, she'd roll out hamburger meat into meatballs and bake them, then cook spaghetti on the stove in carefully seasoned water. This wasn't like some college kid's version of spaghetti and meatballs – she’d make it all properly."

Gaga’s apartment also had “a little production space” where she could record songs she was writing on her two guitars. Though their nightclub act originally had Gaga dancing to records Sullivan would play from the DJ booth, she really found her groove when she started to sing as well. “My biggest contribution was saying to her: ‘You’re a great go-go dancer, you’re a great singer, so why don’t you sing when you dance? So she started coming on around midnight and singing three songs there and then – and it just clicked straight away,” he recalls.

Unstoppable: Lady Gaga on her Born This Way tour CREDIT: Alamy 

At this point, Sullivan concedes that Gaga didn’t yet look like a pop star. "She'd already been an extra on The Sopranos – and [Jamie-Lynn Sigler's character] Meadow Soprano was kind of the icon of what a cool Italian girl should look like. So Gaga looked a lot like Meadow Soprano. And you know, she'd just dropped out of New York University and looked a lot like a college kid, too – kind of sweet and innocent."

Still, there was no denying the singer’s stage presence and chutzpah. "Someone from the club would introduce her and really try to hype her up,” Sullivan recalls. “'Like: ‘You're gonna be hearing a lot more from this lady, but remember you saw her here first.' Then Gaga would blow them all away – every single time."

Though Gaga was clearly a natural performer, Sullivan says her early stage act wasn’t loved by everyone. “Someone like Lana Del Rey, she used to, like, innocently hate Gaga,” he recalls. “Lana came out of the Williamsburg scene in Brooklyn; Gaga came out of the Lower East Side scene [in Manhattan]. Obviously Gaga was getting more attention and playing bigger clubs and Lana just didn’t like her.”

CLICK TO WATCH GAGA ON THE SOPRANOS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrainCFg9BU

Others criticised Gaga for her choice of stage attire. “When you come out in your underwear and tell everyone: ‘I’m gonna be this huge pop star but tonight I’m playing this crunchy club’, some people are going to say: ‘Who does she think she is?’ But that criticism is the price of glory, you know?”

Gaga’s star was rising fast, but Sullivan says she hit a major stumbling block when she was dropped by her first record label, Island Def Jam. "She had a record deal – she was making it, and she already had some of the songs that went onto her first album [2008's The Fame]," Sullivan recalls. "But at the time, those label guys were so frazzled from the music industry collapsing due to illegal downloads that they weren't looking for a totally new artist like Gaga who had the vision to save them."

At this point, Sullivan says Gaga's business-savvy father came to her rescue by "taking over her affairs" and helping to extricate her from the deal relatively painlessly. When her demo tape found its way to Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Interscope Records, who duly signed her, she became "unstoppable". 

Lady Gaga and her Rain On Me collaborator Ariana Grande 

In his book, Sullivan writes that Gaga “had an innate social intelligence that made her approachable to everyone”. This intelligence helped her to communicate with a powerful figure like Iovine, who’d made his name working with legends including John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen.“Though he's one of the most successful producers in the world, he’s still just a Brooklyn Italian Boy at heart who likes the simple things in life like good food and good chat,” Sullivan says. “So he and Gaga just really hit it off.” 

Sullivan’s last hurrah with Gaga was appearing in the music video for her debut single Just Dance. Since then, he’s continued to watch her career closely and says he’s touched by the charity work she does for “young people who feel like outsiders” with her Born This Way Foundation. He also loves Gaga’s new duet with Ariana Grande, Rain on Me, because it represents the positive impact she’s had on other female artists.

Lady Gaga performing in 2008 CREDIT: AP

At 26, Grande is eight years younger than Gaga and grew up watching her navigate the industry on her own terms. “I remember playing one of Gaga’s songs for another DJ and him saying to me: ‘What is this bullshit 16-year-old girl’s music?’ And I remember saying back: ‘If 16-year-old girls had someone like Gaga to look up to do, you’d never get a date.”

He also suggests that collaborating with Grande hints at a nurturing role Gaga’s always wanted. “I remember her saying to me: ‘When I’m the biggest pop star in the world, everyone’s gonna trust me and I’m going to start my own label and be the grandmother of pop,'” he recalls. “But think of an Italian grandmother, you know, making meatballs like Gaga did in her apartment on the Lower East Side. ‘Do you need food in your belly? What do you need to succeed?’ I think that’s what she meant by being the grandmother of pop.”

[gemmadunsmoreportfolio-blog]

Misogyny In The Music Industry

           Music has always played a huge part in all cultures, it is rare that you’ll find a person who doesn’t enjoy music and with music being so popular it’s no surprise that many people pursue the music industry as a lifelong career, a huge chunk of those people being female. So, it’s disturbing to realise that the industry has a dark and insidious side that involves the undermining, criticising, bullying and even sexual assault of the female gender. This dark side has been there since the beginning but has only been brought to light in recent years through the use of social media and communities of people who have been through the same experiences being brought together.

           For some reason the media always seems to undermine females, especially in the music industry, they find it hard to believe that a female in the industry can be more than “just a singer”, even for artists such as Bjork, who has been in the music industry for around thirty years. Bjork has co-produced the majority of her albums, but the media always credits the other male producer as the sole producer, even with her most recent album in which she produced 80% of. She admits in an interview with Pitchfork that she has thought about making a map of all of her albums and making it clear who did what but fears it would come across as defensive and pathetic. She finds this frustrating, as she also said in the interview, that no one questions someone like Kanye West on any of his authorship, which is true..

After this interview came out, other female artists who have produced their own work came out with similar stories. Madonna sympathised in an interview with Out Magazine by explaining that when she says that she co-produced a song with a male producer, they will always respond with something along the lines of ‘so he produced it?’ and completely ignore the fact that she also produced it. The synth-pop artist Grimes has also said to The Fader that the media would rather focus on the fact that she is a female other than all the hard work she has done as a musician and producer. Grimes produces all of her own work and also does her live performances on her own, with a laptop running Ableton Live, launch pads and so on, and says that the media and industry professionals are always insisting that she needs a band or she needs to work with outside producers, ignoring how far she has got on her own.

This problem of undermining also runs further than with just female producers, Vicky Hamilton who booked, promoted, and managed bands such as Guns N’ Roses, Faster Pussycat, and Stryper in the 1980’s, said to LA Weekly that ‘till this day she is asked which member of Guns N’ Roses she slept with, all because she managed and lived with the band for a time. Author and journalist Jessica Hopper brought the issue of undermining in the industry to the public’s attention when she tweeted: “Gals/other marginalised folks: what was your 1st brush (in the music industry, journalism, scene) w/ idea that you didn’t ‘count’”. This tweet spawned an avalanche of jaw-dropping responses containing stories of misogyny and more. Some examples of these tweets are; “Stage managing Webster Hall and the DJ’s wouldn’t take any instructions from me without hearing it from my male intern” and “former GM (he’s since retired, new GM is great) at First Ave told me majoring in music in college qualified me to ‘be a housewife’”.

The problem with misogyny is clearly coming from influential people in the industry spreading their sexist beliefs to others. The first example of one of these people is Jimmy Iovine, the head of Apple Music. During an appearance on CBS This Morning, Iovine claimed that women find it difficult to find new music on their own and that they need a soundtrack for when they are “sitting around, you know, talking about boys”. Another example is the popular rapper Eminem, who has basically made a whole career out of detailing how many ways he could cause physical harm to women, with lyrics such as “I’ll punch Lana Del Rey in the face twice like Ray Rice in broad daylight in plain sight of elevator surveillance, ‘til the head is banging on the railing, then celebrate with the ravens” and “sl** you think I won’t choke no wh***? ‘Til the vocal chords don’t work in her throat no more?”. Another is Future and Kanye West, when they made a computer game for their song ‘I Won’, in the game the player plays as both MC’s and the goal is to snag your very own “trophy wife” by throwing gold chains at women on a beach, transforming them into literal trophies. Furthermore, is the UK alternative radio station Radio X, previously called XFM. When the station was in the middle of rebranding themselves, they announced that they were going to be the “first truly male-focused” station, the public responded with outrage to this and instead of trying to save themselves, the station dug in their heels and released a PSA video which stereotyped and patronised women, teenagers, and the gay community.

Because of influences like these, it isn’t even shocking anymore when female musicians are asked ridiculously sexist questions in media interviews that men would never be asked. In 2014, alternative singer/songwriter Sky Ferreira appeared on Brazilian talk show The Noite to talk about her new album. The opening question of the interview, which host Danilo Gentili asked through a translator, was whether people liked her because of her music or “because of the tits?” gesturing to the partial nudity on her album cover. Also in 2014, pop singer Charli XCX was being interviewed by Giel Beeten on Dutch radio show The Giel Show, when he asked her to record a radio drop saying “good morning in the most sensual way”, before she even had the chance to oblige, he accused her of masturbating as he couldn’t see her hands, she obviously wasn’t doing anything of that nature and responded with “I wouldn’t do that for you”. In 2015 a video of a radio interview with pop icon Ariana Grande went viral on the internet, this interview was at LA’s Power 106 radio station and was with the DJ’s Justin Credible and Eric D-Lux. At the time of the interview, Grande had an upcoming album, a new single, her role on the show Scream Queens, and a duet with the legendary Andrea Bocelli to discuss, but instead was asked questions such as “if you could use makeup or your phone one last time, which would you pick?”. The reason the video of this went viral is that Grande stood her ground and called them out, saying “is that what you think girls have trouble choosing between?” and “you need a little brushing up on equality”.

           In 2014, the news came out to the public that pop singer Kesha had sued her producer, Dr Luke, seeking to void all of their contracts because of how, the suit claimed, Dr Luke sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally abused Kesha over the course of ten years, Dr Luke countersued shortly after, denying all allegations. The first big decision on this case came on February 19th 2016, when due to lack of evidence, a New York judge denied Kesha a court injunction that would have allowed her to record new music and continue her career away from Dr Luke and Sony, meaning she still owed them six more albums. With this news, the internet exploded with the hashtag #freekesha, as the public voiced their support of Kesha, this included statements from celebrities such as; Lady Gaga, Lena Dunham, Lorde, Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, Zedd, Halsey, Jack Antonoff, and Taylor Swift.

           With the subject being so popular during the case, the incident became the cause of more female musicians coming out about their own experiences in the industry, exposing an even darker side of the misogyny going on. In 2015, forty years after her abuse occurred, Jackie Fuchs (aka Jackie Fox) opened up to The Huffington Post about the endless abuse she endured at the hands of her manager Kim Fowley while she was the bass player for the all-female band The Runaways, including a time where he allegedly raped her in front of a room full of people during an after-show party in an Orange County motel room after she had been drugged.  Julie Farman who was a three-decade veteran of the music industry but is now a marketing consultant came forward to LA Weekly after twenty years about the time she was sexually harassed by two members of The Red Hot Chili Peppers in a storage cupboard while working as the West Coast associate director of media and artist relations at Epic Records. Former Secretary of Geffen Records, Penny Muck compared this to the time in 1991 when she filed a lawsuit against the company and its parent organisations for sexual harassment, battery, and assault. She claimed that the executives permitted sexually deviant behaviour, especially from executive Marko Babineau and she didn’t want to take it up with the company directly because there had previously been a long line of women who had filed complaints but the top tier declined to take action. The case was eventually settled out of court for a reported $500 000, while that was only a small payment for a company like Geffen, it still spurred a lot more women to come forward about their experiences.

           When these types of stories come out to the public, it becomes clear that a way the misogyny in the industry can be fought and destroyed is by not being afraid to speak up. An example of this occurring is when Amber Coffman, one of the members of Brooklyn-based band Dirty Projectors, began a series of tweets detailing her experience with music publicist Heathcliff Beru of Life or Death PR and Management, recalling a time in which he rubbed her buttock and bit her hair while at a bar. Immediately an LA-based music publicist named Beth Martinez responded saying that she had a similar experience with Beru, in which repeatedly put his hand down her shirt while driving her home, even after she repeatedly told him not to. This caused dozens of women to come forward with their own experiences with Beru, including; Bonnaroo co-ordinator Martika Finch, manager Theodora Karatzas, producer Shirley Braha, Empire Music’s Christy Merriner, Bethany Cosentino of the band Best Coast, Yasmine Kittles of the band Tearist, and singer/songwriter Chelsea Wolfe. With all these accusations against him, Beru ended up having no choice but to resign his position at Life or Death PR and Management.

           An example of an artist that speaks out against sexism and misogyny is Lauren Mayberry, front woman of the band Chvrches. As Chvrches is a band that emerged from the internet, it is important to the band that they communicate with their fans directly through all of their social networking sites. However, when dealing with the internet there will always be a fair share of hate comments and inappropriate messages, the majority of the ones sent to Chvrches are directed at Mayberry, which she then screen-grabs and posts on her own sites to spread awareness. Some examples of the inappropriate messages she has shared are “this isn’t rape culture, you’ll know rape culture when I’m raping you, b****” and “act like a sl**, get treated like a sl**”. Mayberry accepts that when you are in the public eye there will always be hate, but believes no female should feel violated by comments that range from slightly sexist but generally harmless to openly sexually aggressive.

           Another artist who speaks out is Katie Crutchfield of the band Waxahatchee. During a Waxahatchee gig, Crutchfield jumped into the audience to confront a teenage boy one-on-one after he had shouted derogatory comments at her. This boy didn’t get the message as he tried to kiss her, so Crutchfield had him kicked out of the venue. She has learnt over her many years in the industry that this is the best way to deal with these situations and the only way in which they will listen. Another is Meredith Graves, vocalist of the band Perfect Pussy. During a moment in Perfect Pussy’s set at Basilica Soundscape Festival, Graves read aloud an essay that she wrote on sexism. In the essay, she summed up the difficulties around female identity in pop; mentioning expectations on female artists’ appearance and the notion of authenticity. Lady Gaga has always been an icon for both feminists and female musicians, this became clear when she made her speech for the 2015 Woman of the Year at Billboard Women in Music. Gaga addressed how difficult it is for women in music entering the “boys club” that is the industry and became very emotional when she explained that receiving Woman of the Year meant to her that she was being recognised for her songwriting and legacy instead of her appearance.

           Another way females in the music industry can fight the misogyny is by openly supporting one another. In 2015, a bunch of female country musicians started trending the hashtag #tomatotuesday on Twitter, making a joke out of Keith Hill when he publicly made the comment: “Trust me, I play great female records and we’ve got some right now; they’re just not the lettuce in our salad”. Country-folk musician Brandi Carlile is the founder of Looking Out; an organisation that supports women through music. A dollar from every concert ticket Carlile ever sells goes to this organisation. Another organisation is Shesaid.so founded by Andreea Magdalina. Shesaid.so is a global community of women who work in the music industry with the aim to strengthen support networks, offer partnership opportunities, and provide a platform for female-made content. Not only do the female music artists need to support each other, but the female music listeners do as well. Girls Against is a movement made by five teenage feminists fighting against sexual assault at live music gigs. The movement was created after one of the five girls experienced sexual harassment at a Peace show in Glasgow and it aims to start a discussion between fans, artists, promoters, venues, and security companies, along with offering support to victims.

           In conclusion, there always has been (and still is) a huge problem with sexism and misogyny in the music industry. This problem stems from the media undermining female artists, influential male artists expressing their misogynistic views; whether it be through the media or through the lyrics in their music, and the dark past and present of sexual abuse in the industry. All of this can be fought if victims of it continue to speak up about what they have to face and all the females in the industry continue to support each other, then maybe and hopefully one day, all musicians no matter what gender will be considered equal and no different.

Not Linked References: Annie Zaleski 2015, Music Writers Twitter Feed Exposes Industry’s Harsh Sexism, Marginalization, A.V Club Candace Amos 2015, Eminem Still Hasn’t Changed His Misogynistic Ways – See 5 of his Most Brutal Lyrics Against Women, New York Daily Chris Coplan 2014, Future and Kanye West Turn “I Won” Into a Terrible, Sexist Video Game, Consequence of Sound Maura Johnstone 2016, Kesha and Dr. Luke: Everything You Need To Know To Understand the Case, Rolling Stone Sophie Schilacci 2016, Kesha vs. Dr. Luke: Everything You Need To Know About The Ongoing Legal Drama, ET Online  Caitlin White 2016, Music Publicist Accused of Sexual Harassment By Dirty Projectors Member Amber Coffman, Brooklyn Magazine Lauren Mayberry 2013, I Will Not Accept Online Misogyny, The Guardian Jillian Mapes 2015, Pull the Thread and Unravel Me: Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, Pitchfork Jeremy Gordon 2014, Perfect Pussy’s Meredith Graves Discusses Andrew W.K, Lana Del Rey, Authenticity, Sexism in Essay, Pitchfork