27bored

That's true. Oh, so much WORD to this. And let's be clear, Madonna reinvented herself, for one, because she had to. Madonna isn't a great singer, she's not a raving beauty, and at least on her own she wasn't a particularly innovative artist. But she had ambition, she was smart, and she had pop savvy. Plus, you know, The Machine pushed her out there. With Christina, she can sing and can be very pretty when she wants to be...and that's kind of enough. But she got it in her head at an early age that she had to switch up with every era. And on top of that, she wants to take an entire high school term to come out with new albums. I just feel like she gets wrapped up in trying to make a statement and not just fucking sing. That's one of the great things about Celine and Whitney and OG Mariah...they knew not to cock up their legacy by trying to do too much. I can understand that. I love the vocal excesses, but I'm smart enough to know that not everyone does. Her first album probably holds together the best of all her projects. It's also the one that she had the least amount of creative control over, took the shortest amount of time to create (six months), and surprise, sold the best. What I'd prescribe for Christina is an album-by-committee. Give me a ten track album, under 40 minutes, and no more than three writing credits from Christina. Call Max Martin and Shellback, Danja and Kara DioGuardi, Sia, and maybe even erstwhile songwriters like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, to see if they can give her a song. Something in the vein of Demi Lovato and Kelly Clarkson's last albums. I also want to see a single with an EDM producer. Kygo, Marshmello, The Chainsmokers (...ugh), somebody. We need HITS. You can go back to being Statement Girl in a decade after you've shown you can still play the game.

I agree with all of this, but I will say one reason Britney didn’t milk the Justin breakup is because she’s the one who cheated (allegedly). Justin was extra petty about it but I think that was because he’s a mama’s boy who is used to women throwing themselves at him. So being cheated on and rejected like that probably messed him up. LOL. The thing that trips me out about Taylor is her speaking voice, same with Drake. They both sound serious and coldly calculating (I.e. slightly phony) when speaking. They definitely know to turn on their performance voices when it’s time.

Exactly. A lot of live shows are trash these days, especially hip-hop shows. A lot of people try to justify recorded music these days being more simplistic and dumbed down by saying it's just a trend. No. A lot of these people can't even give you a live show. People place an emphasis on the importance of touring for artists to survive in today's music business. But how many current, trendy acts deliver live? Not many. Might be why certain artists can't sell records or get shows. I'll add a UO to piggyback off this point: it annoys me that Ed Sheeran can sell out shows with just his guitar and loop machine. The dude sounds good live, so I'm not hating on him, but it's annoying. Ed just gets up there in Vans and whatever's clean and doesn't comb his hair and just busks...in front of thousands of people. It's the same reason American Idol became a letdown. The Search for a Superstar always wound up turning out a white guy who would rather strum his guitar in a coffeeshop with a tips jar than someone who understands the need for spectacle. And while I'll admit that many times I don't buy the random accusations of sexism in our music and culture, I have to say this is one time I have to say there is some sexism at work. Because I can't see us letting a chick with a guitar with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and whatever is comfortable blow up....I don't care how cute the songs are. I agree with all the above regarding Taylor Swift. I don't think it's sexism that Taylor gets dinged for writing about personal shit in her songs. Like a few people said, it's that she paints herself as the victim very often. I'd say it's annoying when guys do it too, like JT and especially Drake. In hindsight, I don't even like "Dear John", the song she did about John Mayer. The line "don't you think I was too young to be messed with" is...nasty. Like he was cradle robbing. If I was John I would've written a song called "Empty Box" and used the line "all you're left with is an empty box" as a tagline. Because fuck Taylor. And, I'm sorry to bring this up again, but this is why I still don't buy the whole "this radio DJ randomly grabbed her ass and then sued her because he got in trouble for it" narrative. I think it works for the socio-political moment we're in, so a lot of people don't want to ask too many questions, but I feel like people usually telegraph who they are. Taylor has shown herself to be, at times, petty and vindictive. So I don't think she's above taking something that was a mistake or an accident or a misunderstanding personally, and get someone fired. I don't think it's above her to play the victim to vindicate bullying behavior, because that's what bullies do. Two non-Taylor examples: 1. Her current nemesis Kanye West. Back in 2005 when Kanye said "George Bush doesn't like black people" on that Hurricane Katrina telethon, a lot of people gave Kanye props for being outspoken and unafraid to speak to his mind and speak truth to power. He wasn't a pariah after that, in part because a lot of people felt the same way about Bush. But 13 years and 47 (give or take) awkward, celebrity moments, public outbursts, and embarrassing quotables later, now people are starting to think Kanye is either batshit crazy or trolling, but either way they want him to go away. He's always been tacky and extra about it, but people only started to see that once he started doing things they disagreed with. 2. Kanye's current nemesis and Taylor's Canadian male spirit animal, Drake. According to him, Kanye invited him to Wyoming to help work on his album, he confided in him about his son (whom he hadn't told the world about yet), and then Kanye told Pusha T about his son and decided to diss him. Basically Drake was just so darn gullible that Kanye was able to trick him into giving him dirt to pass to Pusha T, whom he was already beefing with. This led him to releasing a diss record to Kanye and Pusha T, dissing Kanye on stage during his summer tour and on several songs on Scorpion, and dissing him on features with French Montana and Travis Scott (Sicko Mode). Kanye denies ever giving Pusha any information on Drake and Pusha T said he got it from the girlfriend of Drake's longtime producer "40". Recently Kanye went on a Twitter rant because Drake apparently was trying to clear a Kanye sample. Why are you trying to clear a sample from a guy you've been beefing with all Summer whom you said betrayed you and set you up to get dissed in epic fashion? Again, it's that convenient victim narrative. When you get caught being petty, spiteful, and vindictive, you play it off like you were just the innocent victim.

I’ve been listening to LM5, the latest album from Little Mix. There’s some enduring pop genius, likely from the heavy-chested Simon Cowell, at work with them. Little Mix can’t come up with a bad album, and they’re hard pressed to come up with a bad song.

The Plaintiffs in the roommate case turned out to be catty bitches, didn’t they? It almost seemed like they were doing impressions of girls they knew in high school. “For him, this is gonna be the most important thing he ever does in his life, soooo”. I was sitting here like, “you better read, sis.”

True but the character of Mark wasn’t written as one. Sometimes reconceptualizing a character works and sometimes it’s just unnecessary. Plus, in this case, I kinda get the feeling they didn’t want some “All-American” white dude out front on the press material, not unless it was a bankable actor.

You know I never thought about it but it would be mildly jarring to hear Christina on the radio these days. Not because it’s been awhile but think of how she sings. The runs and the high notes and whatnot. Most singers don’t serve vocals first like Christina, just on a stylistic level. Speaking of someone who could: Ariana Grande. I heard Imagine the other day and...I’m sorry, it’s another goose-egg for me. It’s more cute song in a cute voice by a cute girl. Moreover the song has a weird Holiday Musical soundtrack vibe to it that amps up the already baked in pageantry with Ariana.

So kind of a mixed bag? I kinda feel like Halsey is better at being a pop star than she is at being a musician. Her song Strangers could’ve been Song of the Summer last year when her last album came out, but instead Halsey was pushing the Bad at Love car jingle and showing up on magazines with her leg propped up. They just released a video for that song a few months ago. I kinda feel like the social activism and relationship drama are propelling her career more than the music. I, too, like Without Me, but going back to Amy Lee...I’d kinda like to hear her tackle some of Halsey’s material. I feel like she has better vocal presence, even if her voice is an acquired taste.

How dare either one of you disrespect Queen Voodoo Goddess Amy Lee?! Yeah, her voice is an acquired taste. How do you guys feel about Halsey, then? Her voice is like a weaker, less technically proficient version of Amy Lee’s.

On one hand, I'm glad they got an actual Hispanic drag queen to play Angel. I don't know anything about Valentina, but I hope he can sing. Even though Angel doesn't have the most difficult vocal parts, he does have to deliver. On the other, Mark...should've been white. The cast was already fairly diverse for a Broadway play anyway, and Mark is supposed to be the square, wide-eyed Jewish filmmaker. The musical itself is already a point-maker; we don't need the network to overdo it.

Adam Ruins Guns. This episode had several intellectually dishonest moments: 1. I'm not a card-carrying member of the NRA, but it's a little pat to act like they just love guns so much and they're so big that no one can stop them...least of all the people in favor of "common sense gun control". The reason the NRA tends to balk at gun control, notionally, is because they believe regulators won't stop at any one measure. It's similar to smoking, They know what happens when you start compromising and they're not willing to do that. 2. And to be honest, that's the reason some voters don't support gun control. They think those who want it are BSing to make the most politically expedient point they can, when really they just don't want people to have guns. 3. To sort of reduce the debate down to it being all about black people and scared white people, I thought, was kind of silly. Gun control is about curbing gun violence, period. If black people are over-represented in the group who perpetuates gun violence, it is what it is, unless someone has competing data suggesting it's untrue or that laws are passed only to affect black people. But to me, that's just about identity politics and pandering. Whenever there's a mass shooting, it takes all of five minutes for people to start muttering about the NRA. The NRA got dragged into the conversation after the Parkland shooting for no reason, and companies started cutting ties with them. But that's because we associate the NRA with middle aged white men, and nobody cares about offending them. On the other hand, more mundane gun violence (i.e. in inner cities, among gangs, etc) usually don't get the conversation going for gun control, because a lot of liberals don't want to look like they're attacking black/brown people. 4. Bringing up Phillando Castile was kind of cheap, to be honest. As awful as his killing was, most people aren't suggesting that the cop was in the right. The city prosecuted the cop and even though he was acquitted, he was fired. Maybe the cop was a racist -- who knows -- but neither side of the gun control debate, to any great extent, was trying to defend the cop who killed Philando Castile.

Yeah, get well soon, Demi. Speaking of which, I wonder: is Demi this generation's Christina, or this generation's Jessica Simpson? Showbiz kid, model-y good looks, problematic dad, not really sales titans but enough to qualify as pop stars, both their voices have muted gospel/Contemporary Christian qualities to them but as pop stars they switch between the breathy baby-voice Britney thing and the diva-esque high notes, both play The Game but are kind of awkward fits as pop stars, talented enough to do different genres but aren't really auteurs. For fun, listen to A Little Bit by Jessica Simpson, especially if you're cleaning. Jessica gets off some decent high notes towards the end.

Maybe it's because I'm older, but I can kind of see why they didn't want to play that video. I think artists have an idea in their head about how something is going to be received, and sometimes they get tired of playing the label game that they start semi-trolling The Suits and their fans. I don't find the video offensive -- but it's 2018, so who does? -- but I think the point was probably more so, "yeah, we've got ratings/jobs to think about..." rather than them Not Getting It. Reflecting back on the film, and maybe it's just me, but it seems like the interaction between the rest of the band and Freddie was always a little...standoffish. They always seemed a little bewildered by him. That might be where some of the presumption that they were just regular dudes making music while Freddie was the crazy one. And if I recall, we never really saw the rest of the band partying, using drugs, or hooking up with groupies. The one party we saw them at was Freddie's house party where they all were sitting around looking like Mormons at a drag show. I agree.

Aww, what's wrong with Evanescence? I agree, though. It would be great to have an over the top goth emo rock group do the Halftime Show. But it would rock. They haven't had many eras even though they've been around for almost twenty years. But remember: the Halftime Show is only about nine minutes. And to be fair: their first and second albums sold very well even for the pre-streaming, post-Napster era. They don't have many hits, but if you're around my age, you probably could name plenty of their songs, hit or not. But that aside, they could just do their hits: My Immortal, Bring Me To Life, Going Under, Call Me When You're Sober, and My Heart Is Broken. The latter song is great IMHO. Everyone should go listen. I totally agree with you about that Ariana Grande song. I might have posted something similar, or at least I meant to. I heard it and I was cool after that. I'm a little tired of them trying to make Ariana as inconsequential as possible. She's already not the most exciting singer or performer, so to keep forcing these Cute Songs sung in a Cute Voice by a Cute Girl is too much tapering. Ariana's plenty effervescent. If anything, she needs more weighty material. Yeah, I like that silly little song too. For Carrie to be such a sweetheart, she sure does love those sassy little songs like that. Another UO: While Liberation wasn't much to write home about, I gotta show some love for Telepathy by Christina Aguilera. One of the most underrated songs in the last five years, IMHO. I can't say I would've wanted an entire album of this sophisticated disco from her, but it was nice to hear. She sounds eerily like Whitney in parts.

Yeah, I think there are a few plausible theories, but we’ll never know for sure. I think I read somewhere that Seattle PD still gets a few calls a year requesting Kurt’s case be reopened. Here’s another UO: I told some of my friends that Evanescence should do the Super Nowl Halftime Show at some point and they laughed at me and said no way. But I think they would make a good Halftime show. They have enough hits to fill up the time, and they’re anthemic enough to fit the venue. Am I wrong?

I have to echo the sentiments of someone above: I don't know if this is a "good movie" or not. I can't say it was bad, but there were several glaring things wrong with it that make me wish there was another attempt made in a few years at the same story. I have to say, Rami did great as Freddie Mercury. That was a career-defining job and I hope he cleans up during awards season (including the Best Actor Oscar nod he's sure to get). I have to admit I've been haunted by Rami's acting since I saw him play a terrorist on the short-lived FX war drama Over There 13 years ago. He has these big, expressive eyes that kind of haunt you. There were several moments, especially during a particularly dramatic scene towards the end, where I almost teared up with right along with him. And props to him for bringing Freddie Mercury back to life. There were several moments where I forgot I was watching a movie about Queen, and though I was just watching archival footage. All that said, it wasn't a perfect performance. One, I probably spent 2/3 Rami's screen time staring at the prosthetic teeth than paying attention to his performance. I kind of wish they would've him more time to adjust to those things because he kept working his mouth and jaw in reaction to them and it kind of took me out of the film a little bit. I mean, it was part of the Freddie Mercury aesthetic, so I can't complain too much, but it was still a little too distracting. The other thing is, and someone mentioned Rami's ass compared to Freddie's, I do have to agree on a more general note. Freddie was a fairly large man -- he was around 6'2 and pretty solid -- while Rami is 5'9 and slight. He probably could've used a few more weeks in the gym to enhance the overall look. But that's a minor point. The rest of the cast and the movie wasn't as affecting...to an extent because it seems like they didn't quite know which story they wanted to tell: the story of Queen, or the Freddie Mercury's life story. I know there have been criticisms of them "straightwashing" Freddie's story and I think that's probably true and kind of bullshit at the same time. I'm pretty sure I've read that, IRL, Freddie was a fairly reserved man, and his stage persona was just that. But the movie made it seem like he was this prancing, flamboyant Liberace-esque figure the whole time. Not sure I buy that. The movie glossed over him getting into drugs -- it was just something one of his bandmates mentioned before a session one day when the flaky, mercurial Mercury (pun intended and not intended) was being bitchy and flaky for no reason. I was like, "oh, this is him on drugs? Uh, okay." Like someone said above, the movie acted like Freddie wanting to go solo was this giant betrayal to the band when they all had solo projects. I'd also mention them acting like burnout from recording albums then extensive touring was evidence of his diva mentality and/or being influenced by outside sources when that's a real thing many bands experience. It was kind of weird that the rest of the band didn't really have any flaws, especially Brian May. I was sitting there like, "so while Freddie was having these lavish parties, when you three turned 27 you just married your high school sweetheart and bought a small house in your old neighborhood? Yeah, sure." The music was good, but I have to concur that We Are The Champions, We Will Rock You, and Another One Bites the Dust all blow ass. The latter is a shitty song built on a sick bass line, but that's it.

Re: Courtney Love. Well, there are several theories floating around that either she or someone else killed him, not that he committed suicide. They're fleshed out on the Wikipedia page. Sometimes people "tell" things in their own way. Of course she was before he died, but think of her career and her own issues with drugs over the years. Just saying. Maybe she was numbing more than pain... True enough. Ariana's been weird. I remember when her first song came out, The Way. I didn't watch her on Cat Valentine -- because I'm an adult -- but I'd found an interview of her on a radio show and she seemed...weird. She had the same checked-out, doe-eyed look Beyonce started to get around the time she went solo, if anybody remembers back that far. Beyonce used to be kinda funny and a little quirky, but I guess Matthew told her she had to start carrying herself as A Star and they zapped all the personality out of her.

I think that comes from this idea that rock stars get with women who are only with them for their money and fame. It's not entirely wrong because with money and fame come women, but on the other hand, how many stories have we heard of money and fame bringing with it access to a lot of drugs and hard partying? I think the lingering notion that some have that Courtney Love had something to do with Kurt Cobain's death sort of started the trend of blaming the girl. I think that's kind of our go-to at this point. Speaking of Mac Miller, Ariana Grande came out with a song called "Thank U, Next" where she mentions the guys she's dated, including the recently departed Mac Miller. The song isn't as cute as she or her fans might think it is. She was about to get married to Pete over the Summer, and now they're totally broken up? And they didn't even date a year? I don't know. I know Ariana is young, but she's maybe a little too old to be in and out of relationships like an episode of SATC.

Any 90s R&B fans? I don’t know why but I decided to go look for a live performance of Freak Like Me by Adina Howard and boy did I find it. I’m usually not creepy, but I gotta say, Adina had ass, ladies and gentlemen. Forget J. Lo and Beyoncé, and especially the clown butts of Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. Nice old-school performance:

Can I just say I’ve always found very little of what Britney did way back when shocking or scandalous. I always found Britney’s “moments” to be sort of watered down moments we’d already seen from Madonna and Janet. Also, I think You Drive Me Crazy (Stop Remix) is way better than Baby One More Time in terms of song and video. Britney actually sounds like a good-at-singing person on Crazy. That said, Sometimes might be the closest thing to pure pop perfection for Britney. Also, go listen to Lonely, Don’t Go Knockin on My Door, and Touch of My Hand.

And the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2018 goes to...Avril Lavigne? Wow:

LOL, I liked that song, too. Actually Paris Hilton’s album wasn’t bad. In fact it sounds like a masterpiece up against a lot of the pop music of today. That reminds me of something else I’ve always thought. Artists knowing how to pick the right producers and knowing how to let them do their thing is kind of an underrated talent. I’d say it’s probably as important as just having singing talent when it comes to pop music. Madonna, Janet, Britney, Rihanna, and even non-singers like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, are proof that if you have a good producer, can take direction, and can just hit your marks, you can go very far in pop music on little actual talent. I’d say Beyoncé is a 2.0 version of that. She can take direction and hit her marks, but she can actually sing when she wants to. On the other hand, Christina can sing but has a compulsive need to be in charge and, well...

In honor of Lindsay Lohan's latest hit, I feel like we need to revisit her first hit, "Rumors". I don't care what anybody says, this was kind of the jam that people didn't want to admit they liked at the time, but I think it's okay to admit you liked "Rumors":

I don't watch the View enough to say that's totally not true w/r/t MM and Abby defending the administration, but I will say simplistic arguments usually get simplistic responses. It's better to factor in the other side into your argument than wait for them to do it, that way neither side sounds like they're just spouting talking points. Also, I wouldn't call Ana or Tara "more intellectual". They're Republican women who dislike Trump and can be counted on to faithfully criticize him and indulge in many negative ideas about him. I've never found Meghan to be any more pugilistic than Whoopi or Joy. I don't find Meghan particularly insightful, but...neither are Whoopi or Joy. If anything, I've thought she spends too much time trying to pretend as though she's trying to be impartial instead of just leaning into her role as the Blonde Republican Female du jour. She's never going to win over their audience, so she might as well embrace it. Yeah, I don't want to get too off-topic either. I understand where you're coming from, but I guess my concern is that we're going to get to a point where we're more concerned about having a "polite" conversation and not an "honest" one where everybody has to confront some uncomfortable truths. I think it's better to bake some perspective into the cake, so to speak, as opposed to waiting for a story that strains common sense, like the Aziz Ansari story, or exposes blatant hypocrisy, like Asia Argento. That doesn't do any favors to the movement writ-large, which I think has done some good and is probably, for most people, taken up in good faith. I will say re: Sunny, I think she's being a bit disingenuous about the Kavanaugh situation. It's not really fair to hold someone who claims to be a victim of trauma to any one particular way of behaving. It's absolutely true what she and you said about victims forgetting certain details. Trauma affects people in different ways. But that's kind of missing the point, too. First of all, it's blatant question-begging. If a person claims to be a victim of assault but can't remember many details and in fact that details that they can remember have either been roundly refuted or cannot be corroborated, well, that doesn't make for a credible witness. Second, if Dr. Blasey Ford is aware that there are gaps in her memory, I don't think it's unfair to second-guess why she's coming forward with such an allegation. It's not meant to be a judgment on whether her experience qualifies as trauma, but at the same time this woman should understand how it might look to make an accusation she can't defend in earnest (and I say that not just because she's an adult but because she's an academic with a background in this kind of stuff). And lastly, Sunny had no problem mentioning that Brett Kavanaugh didn't seem credible in his testimony, which I would agree with as a matter of political theater, but is it fair to ask him to defend himself against an allegation where we can't even verify peripheral details? I think she understands this more than she lets on.

Not to get too meta, but I don’t think Whoopi gets bashed, and to whatever extent she is criticized, it’s much much less than Abby or Meghan. Abby does come off kind of vapid and even a little boring because she’s there to provide the counterpoint to rote talking points. If the other hosts were more open-minded, the “conservative” host wouldn’t sound so one note and contrarian all the time.