Just realized I might have unintentionally downplayed Donald Trump’s sexual assaults in my comments. He’s a rapist too. It makes his naked form’s inclusion in that music video even more disturbing. Sorry about that. ❤️ Bless
I’ll never forget how excited I was when I first heard “Runaway” performed at the 2010 VMAs. I’ll never forget hearing “All of the Lights” and “In Paris” on the radio for the first time and just listening in awe. I’ll never forget the SNL performances of “New Slaves” and “Black Skinhead,” and waiting with bated breath for Yeezus, which is still one of my favorite albums of this decade, and kickstarted the success of one of my favorite new artists of this decade, Arca. I’ll never forget the Madison Square Gardens release of TLOP and hearing “Ultralight Beam” and just letting its gorgeousness wash over me. TLOP is still brilliant in my opinion.
There’s shit he’s done that I look back on and I feel differently than I did at the time. The “Famous” music video scandal being forefront in my mind. It’s just fucked up. At the time I listened to the video Kim K made and I thought it was more of a gray area. It’s not. He produced a hyper realistic wax figure of Taylor’s nude form without her consent in the same bed as a wax figure of a naked rapist. He placed a naked figure of Rihanna next to a naked figure of the man who beat her within an inch of her life. He placed a naked figure of his ex girlfriend in the video out of spite. And that’s not to even mention, albeit far less unforgivable than the previous stuff, exposing us all to what I think no one wanted— a naked figure of our evil incarnate POTUS. At the time I thought it was provocative art. But I’m grown enough now to know it’s exploitative, invasive, and kind of approaches revenge porn.
I shamefully overlooked the things like that because of the good will he built up doing actually brave shit like calling out George Bush after hurricane katrina on that live telethon and challenging the Grammys and VMAs racism in really public ways. And also because the music was exciting. I regret that.
But I’ve changed. And he’s changed. He wants to be a hip hop Jim Bob Duggar. The music isn’t exciting anymore. Ye was bad. Kids See Ghost was decent... Jesus is King was doo doo. But even when it was exciting, it shouldn’t have blinded me the way that it did. I feel like this has made me a better consumer of pop culture though. I don’t really have the feeling that an artist can do no wrong any more, except for maybe CupcakKe. I still stan her unconditionally, although I’m trying to overcome that and recognize her humanity over all the things I project onto her. But I’m working on it and I’m going to do better.
And I’m going to ignore this opera because 2019 me doesn’t care anymore.
❤️ Bless
This is such a huge fear. Its sort of a dream of mine for Wren Dove Lark to take off enough that a label would be interested in me and pay me an advance for albums. Like that would help my life tremendously as I look at transitioning in the coming future as I return home and still have student loan payments facing me as try to balance all these medical and psychological changes and the things I need to do to improve my mental health so I’m not a depressed and emotionally volatile mess all the time while also finding work after my job here in Japan ends. Like if music could take off for me in that kind of way, my life would really materially benefit bc I could pay off these student loans and at least take one pressure on me (that also combines with my hard ass dad who sometimes lacks empathy constantly reminding me and staying on my back about them making me feel even more like an impending doom is closing in on me).
But what adult mom and apparently many other artists on indie labels seem to be dealing with is monstrous. And especially when you are from a marginalized intersection of some kind, they can tend to use that as an excuse to prey on you and take advantage of you.
I was also seeing a lot of tweets about how “you don’t need a label these days.” I wish there was a blueprint for how to actualize that. Haha. I guess another upside to moving back to America is that I’ll be better equipped to make meatspace connections re: music and figure out a path forward with that stuff (while juggling the rest of my irl battles hahaha). It’s like now that I’ve started making music and I’ve felt the effect it’s had on me to be able to create, I can’t stop. Its always going to be a part of my life from here on out. And that I’ve gotten the response I’ve gotten (small but still immensely meaningful to me) that makes me feel even better. I just wish I could find a way to leverage it to alleviate some of these major stressors in my life, without simultaneously exposing myself to the ever present possibility of being exploited by ppl.
Blehhhhhhh 😵
Anyways love to adult mom and the other artists who have spoken out
Fuck tiny engines
Support independent artists from marginalized backgrounds bc the gatekeepers refuse to show them love the vast majority of the time, and when they do it often comes with so many strings attached.
Everyone else hope you’re doing well peace be with you 💖
❤️ Bless
I always thought this song deserved more love.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0FWRT9C9XMQ
I felt like they were onto something initially, sounding like EDM ABBA singing pre-Vroom Vroom Charli XCX rejects after she decided her true path forward was to become the goddess of future pop. It’s sad they watered down their energy and sacrificed their pop appeal to be attractive to more by-the-books EDM audiences. I feel like after “I Love It” there was a void for this specific kind of pop music left behind, and pop mostly has become moodier since then. And that’s fine. I still love most pop music of today. It’s just that Charli decided that “Superlove” wasn’t the direction she wanted to go down, which was fine bc honestly her music has gotten so much better than it was in 2014, but I only wish that Icona Pop had accepted that baton and became that kind of group. ❤️ Bless
This one is great as expected
I really don’t understand how people don’t like “holy terrain” still. It’s literally such a beautiful and exhilarating song that shows just how versatile twigs is as an artist.
❤️ Bless
That was a really crazy listen. There was a song or two that was probably a bit too dissonant and out there for my tastes, but still It was incredibly adventurous and interesting production combined with really thought provoking lyrics. He’s truly in his own lane. ❤️ Bless
The song GREAT
The new haircut AMAZING
She’s one of those artists who has already broken through, but it feels like this is going to be the album cycle where she ascends. ❤️ Bless
Ngl I’m weirded out by some of the language used in this song knowing the allegations against him from a couple years ago...
Musically I’m also just not really vibing with this one. I prefer his softer, sweeter, and gentler songs like “Coffee” and “Adorn” over this harder instrumental and lyrics that treat the woman he’s talking about more like a conquest. Just feels cold and uninviting to me. ❤️ Bless
That sounds like a really good blurb for the front cover of a homoerotic novel about a seasoned detective on the prowl for the notorious crime boss who has been on the run for years eluding him. In this game of cat and mouse, follow our detective protagonist as he seeks justice and so much more. ❤️ Bless
Hot water bc of things she said about nonbinary people And non passing trans ppl and she’ll like apologize for it but then she’ll keep doing the same things to the point it’s literally a pattern like featuring in her last video known truscum/transmedicalist Buck Angel who also outed Lana Wachowski as trans to Rolling Stone before she was ready to be out all bc she started dating his ex. ❤️ Bless
Rather she didn’t apologize. She walked it back.
Good time as any to note that you can hurt the marginalized communities you’re a member of. Just ask Milo Yiannopolis, Azealia Banks, Kevin Spacey, Caitlyn Jenner, and Contrapoints. You can’t use the marginalized intersections you have to deflect from when you do that.
❤️ Bless
Yeah she definitely needed to phrase that better.
That comment in addition to making it seem like you choose your sexuality, makes it seem like a same sex relationship is something you settle for if you can’t make a heteronormative relationship happen for yourself.
She apologized but yeah she should be careful with that shit.
❤️ Bless
Perfect time to say this: Both her self-titled and "Funstyle" are a really good albums, and they need to be re-evaluated by music listeners at large. She was done so dirty by critics back in the early 00s. ❤️Bless
Listened to the song finally! Everyone fits into it a lot more seamlessly than I was expecting! Some of these multi artist collabs can be really clunky but it maintains a cohesive vibe while letting each artist have their characteristic moment. All in all pretty good! But this is Charli’s week, so they’ll be taking the Backseat today. ❤️ Bless
I feel like she’d sooner work with Post Malone or Lil Uzi Vert. Honestly, I could even see Grimes working with Lil Yachty before Future.
But tbh if we’re really talking about rappers she’d work with it’d be Rico Nasty or Doja Cat or something.
On topic: this song is one of the best pop songs of the year!
❤️ Bless
Sending love your way jloo! Things are fine here. Work. Traveling. Trying to apply for grad school. And making music! Halfway done with a new album. 💖
Hope you’re well! 💖
❤️ Bless
Like I get you that this isn’t “Oblivion,” but it’s definitely in the same vein as “Genesis.” Really deceptively simple lyrics, a really simple vocal melody, making the vocals work more like another instrument in the mix.
To me this is definitely better than “We Appreciate Power.” And I see it as a kind of up in the air situation. It could go either way from here. If this is the best song on a mediocre album then that’s unfortunate. But if this is just a taster to some sort of weird bombastic apocalyptic edm rabbit hole she wants to jump down in even more detail on other tracks I could be into it.
❤️ Bless
Alright just finished!! I think it’s a pretty good album!! It’d have been great if he’d left off “Hot” and the tracks “Cartier Gucci Scarf” through “Pussy”
But throughout the rest of the album he hits some really nice highs!!! I liked “Mannequin Challenge” with Juice WRLD way more than I was expecting! One of the better commercial rap albums of the year!
❤️ Bless
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