Pop Culture Mondays/2.5.24
The GRAMMYS Edition
Happy Monday, my darling pop culture junkies. Honestly, I feel like today is a fake day, and I want to stay in bed all day, watch Grey’s Anatomy, and have a grilled cheese on a tray. I am not sick, but I am in LA, and while I do find it funny how insane everyone gets with rain here….THIS rain is no joke. NO joke at all. It hasn’t stopped, and my street has turned into a river, and I had to carry my dog for a bit so he wouldn't drown. NOT an exaggeration. NOT to mention, the Grammys went forever, and we will talk all about them, but it just feels like today should be canceled, and everything should start back up on Tuesday. Can we just make that a thing?
And while we try to stay away from politics here at PCM, SOMETIMES things just make it into the cultural zeitgeist, which we CANNOT ignore. Except Trump. We will ignore Trump. BUT…did you see he posted a picture of Elvis and his face, saying people always say they look alike? I kid you not. Google it.
But before we get into the FUN stuff this week, let’s take a moment to recognize the most bonkers congressional hearing TO DATE, and that was last week when CEOs of companies like Meta, Snap, X (LOLs), Discord, and TikTok went before congress to discuss CHILD SAFETY. A serious and somber topic, made even more so by the families of kids who had taken their lives sitting behind said CEOs. But the main topic became secondary as a result of the bananas questioning.
Tom Cotton, the Senator from Arkansas, got his COS PLAY rocks off being Joe McCarthy for a day. Xenophobic. Racist. Ignorant. For all of us to see.
And TikTok did its THING.
The TikTok CEO was incredibly patient. HAD it been me…HAD it been me, I would have lost my collective shit, called him every name that you can call a racist, stood up and stormed out (I might have, on my way out, told Linda Yaccarino that her dress was one I wore when I was 17 to prom and maybe not suitable to wear in front of congress…BUT I digress, sorry.)
But Putz Cotton was NOT the only embarrassment. No sir. We also have Senator John Kennedy (no relation to THAT one) from Louisiana really put up a fight for the biggest moron ever.
ONE assumes he was referencing this, but, like…I have NO idea…do you?
GOD, these guys are the worst.
BUT we have LOTS to discuss. From the Grammys (Miley, Taylor, Tracy, Jay, Joni, Meryl, Celine…OH MY…) to the day that music died on TikTok, to Lewis Hamilton, to Apple’s LATEST gadget…we have a lot to get through. Grab some headphones and Catalina Crunch and enjoy…
Xx,
Brooke
GRAMMYS 2024:
I know not all of you watched the Grammys but I am sure many of you saw some of the highlights on socials and in the media. And for those of my friends who braved the horrible weather to go to the event itself and to the parties…I salute you. I was in sweatpants and eating takeout, and very grateful I was not outside in any way, shape, or form.
BUT, let’s discuss some of the big moments. There were actually more than I expected, and tbh, I thought it was a great show. If you were going to be IN the room for an awards show, this might have been the one to be at. I have broken it down into the moments I thought were the most impactful and discussed:
Miley
I have never wanted to be friends with a woman more than Miley Cyrus. Her confidence and talent and poise and transparency and ability to work a crowd? AMAZING. The first MOMENT was her BARBARELLA look on the red carpet. And what was she wearing? CUSTOM MAISON MARGIELLA, aka John Galliano. And I WAS HERE FOR IT. Let’s look at some of the reactions:
AND HER PERFORMANCE?? I mean, my lord. Is there anyone having MORE fun than her? I could not take my eyes off her. She is the sheer definition of a star:
Did you see OPRAH? Oprah was having a blast.
And you can watch the whole performance here when she pays tribute to Tina Turner. Incredible.
We love Miley. MORE MILEY PLEASE.
Tracy:
The moment you knew this would be a special kind of night was when Tracy Chapman joined country star Luke Combs on stage to sing “Fast Car,”…the song blowing up the charts all these years later due to Luke’s remake of it. And if you weren’t crying, well….you might have a heart of stone. In case you missed it:
LET ME TELL YOU….I was sobbing. I was transported back to my childhood bedroom. Picture this: Spring 1988. I am in 8th grade. I am awkward and unsure of myself. Failing math and having massive fights with my parents over it. I lock myself in my lavender Laura Ashley bedroom and take this CD out of this cover:
And pop it into my stereo, put it on full blast, and just sit on my floor, crying into my pillow but letting her voice soothe me until I stopped crying. CORE memory. I remember when I met her years later, in like 1999 or 2000, at Neil Young’s house for a party for the artists performing at his Bridge School Benefit; I was so nervous I started playing with Neil’s dogs, who then proceeded to hump me in front of Tracy. And the dog was like 150 lbs. It was a situation. But I digress…
It just gives you the chills.
Joni
Speaking of chills. I mean…AGAIN, if you were not sobbing during this moment, I don't know who you are. This was Joni’s first time ever performing at the Grammys, and I mean, she could be healthy as an ox, and I would still be amazed an 80-year-old woman could perform like this and look so freaking cool doing it. But hearing her sing this song NOW…it felt, I know this is morbid, but it just felt different from someone looking at life in her rearview mirror, so to speak. When she wrote it, she was looking ahead…and now it must be so different. It hit me differently, too. I remember listening to this song on repeat on my Sony Discman when I was studying in Florence, Italy, and it became my soundtrack. That and Rusted Root, for some reason…it was 1995, so it is what it is. But when I hear Both Sides Now,” I am always brought back to Florence and walking at night in the rain under the Duomo, and it’s a vibe. I was a kid then and most def not a kid now.
Meryl Streep and her daughter sitting together crying really did me in, tbh.
And the reactions:
Jay
I am not going to lie. I am hard-pressed to find something sexier than a man standing up for his woman. I am not saying I wasn’t uncomfortable or annoyed that he didn't have a more prepared speech but it was human and protective and from the heart and he had his daughter up there with him where you could feel the “OH DAD”” vibes. But he called the Grammys out for Queen B not having an ALBUM of the Year Grammy despite having more Grammys than anyone.
When I saw it live, I was real nervous. But as I watch it again and again, I love him for it. Though I did wonder if B was like, “BABE stop fighting my battles, I got this.” Lols.
Taylor
Soooooo….I am saying this entirely as my own opinion, and by no means is this a fact or other people’s opinions. BUT our girl had, IN MY OPINION< a rare misstep last night. A couple tbh. Right before the Grammys kicked off, the Swifties and, hence, the world were in MELTDOWN mode because Taylor’s Instagram had changed. Her profile pic changed to a black-and-white pic, as did many of her friends in the Swiftie circle. Everyone everyone assumed she was going to be announcing a new album…most assumed at the Grammys. And everyone assumed it was going to be her remake of “Reputation” aka “Reputation TV” (Taylor’s Version).
And then, we all held our breath when she won her first Grammy of the night for Pop Vocal Album; she took to the stage, and instead of giving a typical speech…well…she announced an album. Just not the album everyone was expecting:
There are so many layers to this, and I am most certainly not getting to them all today. BUT…it just felt wrong, tbh. It felt like she was taking away from other people’s wins that night, as she knew more than anyone what this would do. The news would be around this album. The socials. The Swifties would overwhelm everything else. So it felt icky to me and self-promotional on a night that should have been about all the artists.
The reactions from the crowd of her peers could be construed a number of ways, but to me, it was a bit of shock, like, “Wait, we can use the stage as a free ad. I didn't think of that!?” to annoyance.
And, of course, the new album has everyone in her fan base losing their minds trying to decode it all. I have spoken to a few TRUE Swifties, and I found it shocking that ALL were sort of disappointed with the announcement. The name of the album. AND the artwork.
One mega-fan told me she thought it was giving Urban Outfitters meets American Apparel. OUCH. I guess many were anticipating Reputation, but others thought she was going to put out a rock album, and this was not it. Many feel it is a coded TAKE DOWN OF HER EX, Joe Alywn, who some say called her a tortured poet. Many think he did SOMETHING to her, and their break-up was much messier than we knew, and this will show us. All I can say is thoughts and prayers, Joe. Thoughts. And. Prayers.
But there was another misstep from Tay Tay…
Catch that?
OK, first of all, CELINE FUCKING DION. This was a shock. Celine has been suffering from the debilitating disease known as STIFF MAN SYNDROME, which is terrifying. So the fact she was there and able to walk out on that stage was incredible. And Taylor wins. And Taylor gets up on stage and takes the Grammy FROM CELINE without acknowledging the QUEEN…the LIVING legend herself. Took it from her as if she was the stagehand handing it to her. Then, she doesn't mention Celine in her acceptance. AS my mother would have said, it was VERY NOKD…Not Our Kind Dear.
I mean, think about how Miley would have handled it. Miley DID handle it when she was presented her award by Mariah. It shows two very different characters, I have to be honest. AND the Internet went WILD.
But remember, Taylor’s publicist is Tree Paine and she is NO fool. She realized very quickly what was unfolding, and she made sure THIS happened immediately backstage.
But this didn’t make up for the snub for many…
But she did do one thing right and that is put to rest all the BAD BLOOD rumors between her and Olivia Rodrigo:
There are so many layers, but I am done for now.
EXCEPT for Lana Del Rey. I am a huge Lana stan and think she is one of the geniuses of our time. She was on Taylor’s album, hence why Taylor brought her on stage, but there are rumors she will play a big part in her new album. Whatever the case, she is the genius behind this anthem of mine:
THE. BEST.
And props to the people behind getting the GRAMMYs to honor the innocent music lovers who were slaughtered and kidnapped at the NOVA Festival on October 7th. They know who they are. They are subscribers to PCM. And what they did was INCREDIBLE, which is heartbreaking to say that it was a difficult thing to get the MUSIC ACADEMY to honor innocents who were slaughtered at a music festival, but ok…let’s take the WIN here.
AND LASTLY…not totally Grammy related but MUSIC related.
While many are saying Universal Music Group (UMG) PULLED all their music off of TikTok, it is actually TikTok that did as they would not meet their demands. Their demands are to actually pay the fucking artists for their music. And it was the day music died on TikTok. As SO much music is UMG. Like Taylor Swift. While some younger, emerging artists are upset with UMG because they see TikTok as a way to get exposure and care more about that than the money, most see it as a good thing. SHOW ME THE MONEY is the right line here.
But because the music is gone…this is what TikTok feels like right now:
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT:
I have been sitting here for hours, so I need to wrap this thing up! So, a VERY quick look at some of the other things that happened…not everything but a FEW.
Lewis Hamilton Drops a BOMB:
I am not going to pretend to know the ins and outs of F1 but I do know Lewis Hamilton is the biggest star and I do know that the world stopped when it was announced he was leaving his team Mercedes for team Ferrari. I cannot explain the whys or the hows or the whos…but the reactions were funny.
Emily Mariko Speaks:
Emily Mariko is a very popular creator who is best known for her pristine kitchen/cooking videos where she makes yummy meals in her perfect kitchen with perfect tools and organization.
She launched a tote bag last week. She spoke as well in terms of introducing her $120 new tote bag line and it was a bit too much for everyone. A new GENRE for her and the bag…it’s a tote. IS A LOT OF MONEY.
The best explainer:
And I liked this take too:
Apple Vision Pro:
I will admit I am totally into these things. I mean, I am not into people using them in public and looking silly and being unsafe, BUT I am intrigued by this product and cannot wait to check it out. I am not spending thousands of dollars on it, but I will not hate on it. YET.
But…
THIS VIDEO makes me want to throw it all in move to an island and throw my phone into the ocean:
AND this…
And this…and countdown til this kid gets beat up and robbed but ok…
There are SO many.
But read our friend Nick Bilton’s great cover story in Vanity Fair on it here:
This is Cat Janice:
Cat is a singer who is dying from cancer. She has documented her journey on TikTok and she has made her last song go viral as a result of her putting her son as the rights holder to the song in hopes of leaving him with some money after she passes. It is truly sad but the song is a banger and TikTok has made it go viral. With so much music gone from the platform, it was nice to see this rise to the top.
Super Bowl Ad preview:
Arguably my favorite part of the game. They now release ads early which is a weird thing to me but whatever. I will reserve them for next week…except THIS bananas one that needs to be discussed. For Paramount +, and either everyone is like I DO NOT GIVE A FUCK what we do because we are clearly for sale or else they knew exactly what they were doing and took a SHIT ton of mushrooms and went with it; we may never know. But here she is. She is UNHINGED. It has CREED, which btw is making a comeback on TikTok. But this ad has me….
I mean….I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I cannot explain it. I have watched it 100 times.
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
I know I am skipping over a lot, but it’s a monster this week, and the Internet connection in my house is about to go ANY minute. Breaking news as i was writing this was about King Charles who was diagnosed with cancer and that’s sad and we hope for the best for him. Imagine waiting that whole time only…ok, well, sending positive vibes. And I am skipping over ELMO because it bores me. He did a mental health campaign, and it was good and then went in all sorts of directions, and well, you saw it so blah blah blah. And the post a pic when you were 21 trend…mainly on Instagram, but you get it. I mean, I wish I had pics of me from then but I cannot find one. IF any of you have one of me, SEND MY WAY. And I skipped SNL because we had too much.
AND…If you aren’t already a subscriber and you want this in your inbox, please send an email to:
subscribe@popculturemondays.com
Have an amazing week.
Xx,
Brooke
