Category: Friday

Rihanna Pairs Up With Dior

8/19/2016

Rihanna is continuing to dip her toes into the world of fashion. The CFDA awarded her fashion icon and Rihanna is doing her best to live up to her award.

You might remember her Fenty Puma collection that was launched this February during fashion week. Not to mention her role as a creative director for Stance socks. That and her own brand of weed and we wonder why it took four years to get Anti.

Rihanna's brand ambassadorship with Dior has lead to her putting input into a new sunglasses collection titled “Rihanna”. Their futuristic and reportedly inspired by Star Trek, specifically the character La Forge. She also lent her voice to the movie with the single “Sledgehammer”.

La Forge

The sunglasses are one good paycheck away from being in your wardrobe. One frame comes in six different colors and retails for $840, while the other 24 Karat plated shade will be locked up for $1,950.

Dior may still not have a creative director, but who needs a creative director when you have Rihanna.

I'm Feeling BOMBASTIC

7/22/2016

Recently, your favorite neighborhood blogger had a celebrity run in with everyone's favorite chart topper singer songwriter Bonnie McKee. If you've been reading this blog long enough, you know of my unconditional love for her.

She's written for all of music's biggest stars. Katy Perry, Kesha, Britney Spears, Taio Cruz, Christina Aguilera, Adam Lambert, just to name a few.

Now I did not just stumble upon Bonnie McKee in everyone's favorite corner convenience store as I told my parents. I saw her live and in concert when she performed at a Pride. The woman is fantastic live. The vocals are raw. The bass is loud. She can do an upside down booty clap live and in person.

Bonnie McKee is inspired by all things eighties. The leg warmers, the neon colors, the workout themed music videos reminiscent of Olivia Newton-John's “Physical”. She's the pop star the world has been waiting for and there has still yet to be justice for her underrated single “American Girl”. The song that convinced me to find love at a 7/11 parking lot.

Buy "American Girl"

I heard her say to a fan that her upcoming album should be released sometime “next year”. I'm glad someone asked the real questions. I just told her how pretty she was and how “obsessed” I am with her. It might not have been the best choice of words.

She's still promoting 2015's fantastic EP Bombastic. It features four songs that show off her range and deftness as a songwriter. She's also noted her intention to make it a “visual EP”, although a music video for final song “Easy” has yet to be released. After seeing her live it reignited how in love I was with it and proves why she's one of pop's most desirable hitmakers.

Buy "I Want It All"

“I Want It All”
Key Lyric: I Want Your Fear/ I Want Your Life/ I Want It All
The latest music video to be released from the singer. It features an eighties dance battle and a killer chorus. It's no wonder it was chosen to open the tracklist. The most straight forward pop of the album, it's arguably my favorite. It sparkles with new shine on the Vicetone Remix

Buy "Bombastic"

“Bombastic”
Key Lyric: I Know You've Heard About My Reputation/ You're Gonna Need A Vacation
In the hands of a major record label this could have been Bonnie McKee's breakout hit. It has an overly sexualized visual aid, a sea of instantly quotable lyrics, hooks that come in from each side with the“I came to win, win, win” or the reverberated “woah oh oh oh” at the end of every chorus. It's quirky and a radio standout.

Buy "Wasted Youth"

“Wasted Youth”
Key Lyric: We're Bored And Jaded/ Sharing Bubble Gum
The midtempo ballad centers the EP the idea that youth is wasted on the young. The visual finds people taking baths in fruit loops, girls adjusting booty shorts, fights in bubble wrap suits, and most scandalously people jumping in the pool with their clothes on. More importantly the track finds her flexing her vocal ability.

“Easy”
Key Lyric: I Didn't Mean To Tumble Into Your Arms/ They're Not My Baby's But They're Keeping Me Warm
McKee revealed before she started this song that it was inspired by the break up of an eight year relationship. She fell into the arms of a tatted man, dark and handsome, who wanted more then she was able to give. It's a touching ballad that finds her addressing the inability to give oneself completely to another after heartbreak and just wanting something “easy”. It's yet to receive the visual treatment, but that's sure to come.

You can buy the Bombastic EP at all digital retailers or a physical copy on her website.

Buy Bombastic

#NeverTrump

Something Strange in the Neighborhood

7/8/2016

Who are you going to call when the supernatural is unleashed in your neighborhood? Hopefully some professional parapsychologists or the ghostbuster team.

The ghostbuster team is getting a reboot on July 15th and hopefully the ghosts have been getting themselves prepared to do some haunting and get caputred. Their about to get sucked up and spit out all in the magical realm of 3-D.

Ghostbusters is one of the most high profile action films of summer 2016. It's also going to be the funniest. Civil War broke our heart and who knows what the fuck Batman v Superman was about. The new Ghostbusters films follows in the footsteps of the original films and TV shows. Quirky and beloved it was one of the highlights of the eighties, right behind Madonna grinding with her rosary beads.

The cast is phenomenal. All of Hollywood's funniest ladies are here. Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones are all here to reinterpret the originally male driven comedy.

Melissa McCarthy

Kate McKinnon

Leslie Jones

Kristen Wiig

The meninists of the world have cried foul on this reinterpretation, but what is the point of a reboot if not to change and make the old new again? What would Batman be if not the depressingly dark creation that Christian Bale made out of it? Not the blockbuster trilogy that came from it.

It's the most disliked movie trailer on YouTube and much like the Orlando shooting was a hate crime against the LGBT and Latino community, so is the male gaze hatred of the new Ghostbusters driven by sexism. Boys don't like to see women run the show.

The new Ghostbusters is sure to pass the Bechdel test and isn't that amazing?

The movie also features Chris Hemsworth as Kevin, a secretary. Chris gets all geeked out with a pair of glasses. He's the most beautiful nerd to ever step foot on the silver screen and he's the necessary man candy we get to objectify this summer.

Ghostbusters is also set to release a soundtrack to accompany the move the day it comes out in theatres. It features a string of A-Listers and three different versions of the “Ghostbusters” theme song covered by Walk The Moon (“Shut Up and Dance”), Pentatnoix, and the original by Ray Parker Jr.

Buy "Ghostbusters"

The official lead single is by alt-rocker Elle King (“Ex's & Oh's). It's a firey song called “Good Girls” that may or may not be the song of the summer.

Buy"Good Girls"

Other heavy hitters on the album include a new song by Zayn stylized as “wHo”. Punk acting boy band 5 Seconds of Summers has it's hands in “Girls Talk Boys”, Fall Out Boy and Missy Elliott get together on “Ghostbusters (I'm Not Afraid), where as producer Mark Ronson (“Uptown Funk”) pairs Passion Pit and A$AP Ferg on a new song called “Get Ghost”.

The soundtrack is bound to be an eclectic masterpiece just as central to the film as the one to Guardian of the Galaxy's was.

Ghostbusters opens on Friday July 15th in theaters near you and it will be sure not to let you down.

Those Days Are Here

6/24/2016

The Haim sisters consist of Este, Alana, and Danielle. Their all talented Californians and I recently saw them live. It was all quite messy. I was supposed to go with one of my coworkers who's named after a department store and she canceled on me day of. I ended up buying a ticket for Rosencrantz. The true love of my life. We got white girl turnt and it was amazing.

I've loved Haim ever since the summer of 2014 when I bought their first record Days Are Gone. It's critically lauded and mainstream eighties inspired, guitar based girl band. NPR described them as “an infectious sound that is poised to dominate”. And you know there's nothing more hip and cool then NPR.

The Haim sisters all part their hair down the middle and their best friends with Taylor Swift. She took them with her to Hawaii and they went on tour with her. And, with the money I spent buying those tickets I could have bought nosebleeds to go see them open for her on The 1989 Tour. .

There was a time when Haim was a hipster cool band, although by now their far too mainstream for that title. You could see Haim at Coachella at this point.

They have been achingly procrastinating on their new record. It's been three years, since they released their first LP in 2013. We're hoping 2016 is the year for a comeback. They performed two brilliant new slices of pop when I saw them. The Consequence of Sound reported those songs to be called, “Give Me Just A Little of Your Love” and “Nothing's Wrong”. My personal favorite.

Their poised for a comeback. They even made an appearance on Scottish DJ Calvin Harris's album Motion two years ago with “Pray To God”.

Alana Haim

Este Haim

They were absolutely amazing live. They turned the stage purple and sang their hearts out to “I Would Die For You” just one of the gems off of Prince's Purple Rain. I sang all the words and I lost my voice screaming when Este Haim said “she was single.”

I was three people back from the band and I saw it all. Este Haim became my favorite. After finishing “Forever” she yelled out to the crowd, “I really fucking love him” and I screamed. How more releatable could she be? Este had on this red flared jump suit. Their was a hole in the pants and it came with a matching crop top. She's diabetic and the love of my life.

All of the sisters were amazing, but Este endeared herself to me. All those ugly faces she made on her guitar solos. So young, so wild, so free. I love her.

I lost my voice and my hearing seeing those girls live and I would say I spent too much money, but there's nothing that compares to seeing your idols live. The youngest Haim is five years older then me, but in my heart we're all the same age. We're practically best friends.

Danielle Haim

If your new to Haim, I don't know where to start you. They really don't lose. “Forever” and “Falling” are probably your safest bets. Although, their most eccentric track “My Song 5” got remixed with an A$AP Rocky verse.

If you don't have the time. I heard their new songs. These girls are coming for our souls and our radio's this year. You won't have to go too far.

The Queen of Country Music?????

5/27/2016

I have a bad problem with calling everyone queen. I call my bestfriends kween, although I should probably stop that. I wouldn't want to be accused of appropriating gay culture. But, needless to say I think it's true. Everyone's a queen. Me, the girl next door, that bitch who's on the pound that killed Princess Diana. We're all queens.

I felt guilty that I didn't do enough promo for Cyndi Lauper on this blog for her recently released album Detour. It's a little known secret that she's one of my favorite people.

Cyndi Lauper is an LGBT icon for the ages and she decided to delve into country music. I know how people feel about country music. I mean if your not from Iowa, there truly is no innate desire to listen to it, but I grew up on the sentimental country twang of the nineties and it does have a soft spot in my heart.

You might not know who Cyndi Lauper is, but you know her music. She was originally predicted to be in it for the long haul. Madonna was the throwaway eighties girl and Cyndi was the crazy girl with the personality and talent. She sang “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”, “True Colors”, “I Drove All Night” and my favorite ode to female masturbation, “She Bop” just to name a few.

She's very pop in her stance in pop culture, but Cyndi Lauper is a talented musician. She's done everything and that's why the follow up to her Jazz album Memphis Blues shouldn't be anything less than a detour into country music.

The woman has done it all successfully well. Alt rock in the nineties, modern electronica, mainstream top 40. It was time for country to take her on. Detours is Cyndi Lauper's foray back into music after a six year hiatus.

Detours is full of covers. She's very classic country on here. None of this is polished Carrie Underwood or a true stab at returning to the charts, but it bears the mark of a Cyndi Lauper classic.

We've got some classic sixties country in Patsy Cline hits “Walking After Midnight” and “I Fall To Pieces”. They lack Patsy's signature husk, but Cyndi makes up for it with her usual charm and vigor. She even brings out Willie Nelson to truly harken back to those country roots on “Night Life”.

Cyndi shines on the albums second single “Funnel of Love” originally made famous by Wanda Jackson, a woman Adele absolutely adores. The album closes with the Dolly Parton classic, “Hard Candy Christmas”. Allison Kraus sings a few lines. This is the second time she's included a Christmas song on one of her studio albums. The first was “Feels Like Christmas” on the deeply political Hat Full of Stars.

Buy "Funnel of Love"

Buy "Hard Candy Christmas"

Detour is full of flaws, charms and guest stars, but Cyndi bears all of this with a cowboy's sweethearts smile. This is eleventh studio album by the woman best known for her eighties escapades. It marks the most guest appearances she's ever had on an album with five stars lending their vocal prowess. Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, and Jewel are just some of the few to lend their support. Detour may not be perfect, but it does make us hope she doesn't wait another six years for a musical return.

Buy Detour

May Music Pulling Through

5/13/2016

This is the first month this year that I'm excited about the music coming out. Every month has had it's winner's. March and Gwen Stefani, February with The 1975, and January started off strong with Rihanna. However, it's March that decided to pull out the release dates.

There's three releases I'm excited for this month and they're all stellar.

Cyndi Lauper
Detour
This album already came out. Eighties icon, Cyndi Lauper is back with her first... country album. Ever since her hey day, Cyndi has experimented with all different styles of music. The alt-rock of the nineties, jazz, and modern electronica. She's back with an eclectic set of hits that would light up country radio if they weren't set on being sexist and ageist bigots.

The eleventh studio album features a slew of iconic covers including hits by legend Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton. See her reworking of Best Little Whorehouse classic “Hard Candy Christmas”. Guest musicians range from Jewel, Alison Kraus, Vince Gil, and Willie Nelson.

It's an eclectic mix of country perfection, including lyrical stand out “You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly”. Cyndi Lauper also recently donated all the profits from her concert in North Carolina to a cause dedicated to overturning the recent hate laws against the LGBT community.

Goo Goo Dolls
Boxes
Surprise of all surprise. I've never been a Goo Goo Dolls fan. I knew the name. I appreciate them from a distance as the epitome of the 90s. Of course I knew the hits. All the one word wonders, “Slide”, “Name”, and “Iris”. Then, by chance I heard their lead single “So Alive”. It's anthemetic. It's wonderful and it's unlikely to overtake the charts, but it should be given the chance.

The Goo Goo Dolls in the 10s are the modern forebears to a style of music that Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy have done so well commercially with. I don't know if their doing it better, but it sure sounds damn good.

Buy "So Alive"

Ariana Grande
Dangerous Woman
This album hasn't come out... yet. But, I have high hopes and expectations. This is the third album from the Nickeldon star. It's safe to say she's safely made her way out of the grips of “child star”. The second lead single “Dangerous Woman” is a jazzy return to top 40. There's a slew of guest stars, much like 2014's My Everything.

We've got Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne and Macy Gray. A line up of A-listers. It's sure to be a solid hour of well performed manufactured pop. Personally, I'm excited. The little girl with the biggest voice on radio is here to murder us.

It's unlikely that this album will win a Grammy for “album of the year”. It's appeal to mainstream is too strong for that, but will it create her first number one? Now that's something it could.

Gaycation

4/15/2016

Gaycation is a type of niche tourism that is specifically targeted at the LGBT community. It’s also the name of Ellen Page’s new documentary series.

In short I’m obsessed with it. Ellen Page is the cute an spunky girl from Juno and Whip It and everyone’s favorite lesbian next to Ellen Degeneres. I binged watched all the available episodes once I found out they were being aired.

Gaycation centers around Ellen Page and her friend Ian Daniel exploring the LGBT culture of whatever country they are in. The show opened with Japan. And, the type of discrimination that goes on there despite the fact that there is no religious governing body that is opposed to homosexuality. It was such an in depth and great look at the different way that gays are perceived in the world, when I and so many others really only have their native perspective on the issue.

Cohosts Ellen Page and Ian Daniel

The show is very open and honest. It has this sense of community to it. This were all in it together and how diverse the LGBT community is and how we persevere and survive under oppression.

One of the things that makes me feel really comfortable with it, is despite the heavy thematic elements that the show deals with, knowing that the hosts both identify as members of the LGBT community it makes it comfortable. You know that they really care and that they not only empathize, but understand where these people are coming from.

The episode they did in Brazil was particularly wrenching. It portrayed the vast dichotomy of a nation that is accepting and at the same time completely replied by what the LGBT community stands for.

I find Gaycation to be eye opening and a good way to keep the dialogue open about what it’s like to be gay in the 21st century. Ellen Page is right. There are gay people. There are trans people. Why can’t we just get over this and move on? And, yet it remains that our society has a problem letting it’s prejudices go.

I can’t express enough how much I love this show and what it stands for and how amazing it is. It airs on Wednesday nights on Viceland. But, you can stream it online through YouTube or their website. It’s very easy to find and it’s incredibly informative.

The episodes are so good, but I would recommend not binge watching them all at once like I did. Every time Ellen Page was crying, I was crying. There were tears coming from my face. It was not pretty.

Despite the heavy topic material that this show features, it still manages to find that silver lining, that no matter what happens, we will survive in the words of Gloria Gaynor just like we have for all these centuries. No matter what happens. The LGBT community will find a way to carry on and fight through oppression.

Gaycation is the best thing to happen to television in 2016

A Texas Dandelion

4/1/2016

Kacey Musgraves is a critically acclaimed country singer from Mineola, Texas. No, I don't know where Mineola is, but I do know where Texas is. She's the yellow rose of Texas. The most perfect girl to ever come out of a trailer park.

I've been feeling rather sentimental recently and whenever I feel sentimental I listen to sentimental country music. Faith Hill. Reba. Miranda. Taylor. Shania. The list goes on. I've been dedicating a lot of blog space to country music recently.
Not only have I been sentimental, but I've been reading up on the consistent discrimination towards women in country music. They have less opportunities, their less likely to be signed to a record label, their less likely to garner radio play. A cornerstone in becoming any industry heavyweight. Despite Kacey Musgraves massive critical success, she's received limited radio play. On March 12th of the 30 most played songs on country radio only four were by women.

And only two were in the top ten. Women are being systematically shunned by country music and that's why I'm attempting to use my platform of eight readers to demand more women on the radio.

Kacey Musgraves has achieved enough critical acclaim that her debut and fantastic Same Trailer Different Park winning best country album at the Grammy's. It's sold close to half a million copies in the United States. Huge for country music and the current record sales climate.

I live for Kacey Musgraves she's a very down to earth country singer and she attacks country music from a different perspective. She plays with hometown Americana with the skepticism of someone who actually lived in a small town of 4,515 people.

That's something I think country radio holds against her. She recognizes the flaws of small town rural life. It's not the perfect utopian escape that Luke Bryan sings about.

She's also not one to shirk from controversial topics. She talks about pot. Her biggest radio play hit “Merry Go Round” featured it in the chorus. Nor is she one to condemn gays to hell. She wants people to do them. “Follow Your Arrow” was robbed at the Grammy's. As Kacey says these aren't really controversial topics and that's she's not addressing them to stir up controversy.

Country icon, Loretta Lynn has praised her. Loretta Lynn has also said that all the boys on the radio “sound the same” asserting that they were ruining country music. I live.

Kacey released her second major label album, Pageant Material last year. I'm poor and didn't buy it and I'm convinced that's why it lost the Grammy for best country album to Chris Stapleton's Traveller. An album I'm convinced didn't deserve it.

If you've been looking for a country girl to invest in, Kacey Musgraves is it. She's authentic and her music is wonderful. She's an artist with a vision and an ability to create a satisfying cohesive album. Even, my mother likes Kacey Musgraves and she's harder to satisfy the Gordon Ramsay.

Not to mentions she has my seal of approval.

Plus Size High FAshion

3/18/2016

Fashion for all its claim of social forwardness has areas it tends to gloss over. It may be gay friendly, but it has a tendency to exclude the trans community. And, it still perpetuates the racist foundation of our society with the lack of diversity in the print and runway models. A token black model is not “diversity” in a group of twenty.

Body positivity is not a strong suit. The leaning towards emaciated, underweight, toned figures, is only further highlighted with photo shop. Clothes that are made are either not made for women whose size is outside the norm if they exist at all.

Beth Ditto is hoping to increase that diversity. She’s not only working on a solo follow up to 2012’s A Joyful Noise to her alt-rock band Gossip, but she’s also finding time to be an integral part of a new clothing line.

The self-proclaimed “fat lesbian feminist” from Arkansas is one of the most positive forces in music. She wants to remove the negative connotation surrounding the word “fat”. Fat is just an adjective that is used to describe a person’s weight and should not be grounds for discrimination.

Beth Ditto is gorgeous. An entire Snapshot Saturday was dedicated to her on this blog. You can read that article here. Inside and out. Weight is not a character flaw. She is the perfect person to make a stab at this endeavor. She knows better than anyone what kind of clothes it takes to make a woman confident, especially in a society that looks down on women who are bigger than a size 8.

The only physical retailer, Beth Ditto’s line is available at is Selfridges in the UK. Although all of it can be bought online on her website. The clothing sizes range from a 14 to a 28. Most clothing stores stop at 14. Sometimes sooner. Beth Ditto wants attractive clothing to be available to women in all sizes.

She enlisted the help of Jean Paul Gaultier, the man behind Madonna’s infamous cone bra. The price tag on the clothes is more than just casual mad money. The cheapest item is a t-shirt priced at $65, although most of the clothing ranges somewhere in the $100 to $300 price range.

Modern Love Jumpsuit $395

Reviews I’ve read from other bloggers have been overwhelmingly positive, labelling the clothes as well worth the money. They’re luxurious and well made. All of it ethically produced in the United States. Sweat shops are not for Beth Ditto.

This is her second collection, the first having been for the high street retailer Evans. Beth Ditto’s goal with her new collection is to empower and make fat women feel beautiful in a culture that rarely caters to them.

Leigh Dress (Electric Eye) $198

Summerweight Legging $115

Lola Dress (Lipstick Traces) $245

Nina Dress (Creme) $298

All of these can be purchased on Beth Ditto's website (here)

Blogger, Perez Hilton was even seen rocking her corset tee, a shirt that tragically would dwarf my body in its smallest size. And, that’s a good thing! Where normally overweight women look at clothing and see that it doesn’t come in their size, it’s refreshing for me to see clothing that’s not made for me, that I can’t wear on my body. Beth Ditto is catering to a group that isn’t the majority and she’s doing a fantastic job at that.

My Blue Youth

3/4/2016

This might come as a surprise to you bitches who read my article that reviewed all the albums I purchased over the course of 2015, but I bought Troye Sivan's debut album Blue Neighbourhood.I

I still stand by my review of Troye's EP Wild. It was the worst rated album on that list, but my criticisms were accurate if somewhat harsh. I was not impressed. I said of Wild that it's “full of songs that serve as a canvas for experimental electronic influences that are supposed to count as his artistic vision.” This carries true onto his album Blue Neighbourhood, but I like this album.

So, how did this happen? I made no effort to listen to Troye Sivan's new single, “Youth”. It came to me on the waves of the radio. It did what every great Troye Sivan has done for me. It picked up where “Happy Little Pill” and “Wild” left him, wanting more. The song is cinematic in it's perfection.

Buy "Youth"

I was still hesitant on purchasing the album. I was intensely disappointed by Wild. And as nondescript as the suicide themed “Talk Me Down” was, I wasn't convinced. I knew the album had a duet with Betty Who. The Australian pop singer, best known for her bright single, “Somebody Loves You”.

I bought the album. All 19 tracks of it at Target after spending over $200 getting some new tires for my car. I bought it and my cold gay heart melted a little.

I expected to be disappointed, but I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the mistakes of his EP carry over onto the album, but their indecipherable over the course of an hour. The album is a mellow jam session to put on before you go to sleep. It's never overtly sexual and focuses on young wistful romanticism. Much to his credit.

His voice is like milk. It has a tendency to blend into the background of the music. That's his strength. You can lay on the floor and just let his voice wash over you. A lot of these songs melodies are more memorable then the words he's actually saying.

A criticism I had of his EP was his inability to “replicate more then one substantial moody electro pop ballad per musical outing”. His album proved that wrong. There are multiple highlights on the extended tracklist. Including the singles, “Heaven”, “Lost Boy”, and “Blue”. “Suburbia” is a highly listenable, unreletable fodder that deals with him coping with his rise to fame.

His choice of duet partners is interesting. Rapper, Allday betrays him on the faux hip hop vibe of “for him.” his verse coming off as just a little too sexually forward. There's a cast of heterosexual partnerships. Betty Who has a throwaway verse on “Heaven” that even her breathy vocals don't elevate. Both Broods and Tkay Maidza are forgettable on their respective songs. Alex Hope does the best standing out on the highlight that is “Blue”.

I appreciate Troye's artistry as a full length artist. There's a lack of uptempo material, but he likes to stay in this mid to low tempo groove. The backing music isn't ground breaking. What Troye Sivan is selling is his perspective and his youth. If that's something you can get behind. This landscape of dream pop he's created will be perfect for you.