Pop Culture Mondays/3.20.23
The “ERAS” Edition
Happy Monday, my darling pop culture junkies. I hope you had a magical weekend, whether you ran the LA Marathon or Half marathon, which is like still a marathon, just half of it…or you’re on spring break somewhere or working in your living room or back in the office. HAPPY Monday. This week’s WINNER seems to be Rupert Murdoch, who announced to Cindy Adams of the NY POST (natch) that he is getting married AGAIN — this time to an alleged flat earther anti-vaxxer widow of a former businessman so she speaks “Rupert’s language” as she says in the article. GOD speed. Rupert has been married and divorced and engaged again all in the time I have not dated anyone really…and he’s 92. Godspeed.
AND…the loser of the week seems to be TikTok as there seems to be increasing talks about the US Government forcing its US product to be split from Chinese ownership or else banned in the US. I suppose I should be more concerned about the potential spying China is doing on all of us and the knowledge it is taking and brains it is washing, BUT I wish we would be more concerned about Twitter and Instagram. Never have I seen a TikTok that was sexual or vulgar, or hateful. If someone tries, the videos are taken down in SECONDS. Hateful comments are pushed to the bottom, and people are taken off TikTok for bad behavior, which is done SWIFTLY. Whereas we have Twitter, which spreads hate, lies, bullshit, and hardcore porn. AND NOTHING IS DONE. You can report all you want and NOTHING is done — no one is there to deal with it, basically. And Instagram allows people to steal identities and photos and misrepresent who they are and nothing is done. And there are PLENTY of people there, but they do nothing about it.
So I just wish PERHAPS the fucking government cared more about that.
Because the richest man in the world has shown us what he values:
OK, can you tell I am over it? I AM, but let’s get to some more fun stuff. This week we look at the kick-off of the Taylor Swift tour and all that goes with it, including a little Selena Gomez. We have someone so outspoken on wokeness and how terrible it is yet is UNABLE with all her might to define it. We have someone who really hated studying abroad and the reactions to that. We have some jackass son of a former athlete who thinks throwing wheelchairs down the stairs is funny, and the amazing reaction to that. And we have a few TikTok trends and an explanation around Shawn Mendes and LA LA LA and a few vocab words for you to make sure you know. WOO BOY, let’s get to it. Grab your headphones and enjoy….
AND in case you missed last week’s pod, where I talked all about the collapse of SVB and the reactions, check it out here:
BREAKING RECORDS:
I know there are a FEW of you who went above and beyond the parenting role and took your kid to Glendale for the kick-off of Tay Tay’s tour. I mean, it is one thing if you were local, but HATS off to the parents who traveled far and wide there. That is love. But I also know people who did this who don’t have kids, and hats off to you too! Now, I honestly was not thinking about the upcoming tour kick-off this weekend. I mean, I knew it was happening as friends were going, but it was not on top of my brain.
Until TikTok showed me the way. And man, oh man, not only is this some tour, but it is now consuming my brain, and I am looking above at the dates and locations and wondering which ones I can go to. It seems to be amazing.
First, let’s talk about a few facts.
- She sings 44 songs. FORTY-FOUR SONGS. Putting that into perspective, Bruce sings 21 and then usually has 7 in an encore. Harry Styles performed 15, with about 4 for the encore. I don't think Harry HAS 44 songs, so let’s just call that what it is. Beyoncé sings about 21 with 3 to 4 in an encore. And to be fair, both B and Tay Tay dance and have costume changes, and it’s a spectacle spectacular. 44 songs.
- It runs over 3 hours. About 3 hours and 15 mins to be precise. And over 5 hours with opening acts. THAT’S A SHOW.
- There are 16 costume changes.
- She broke Madonna’s record for the biggest audience for a female performer. Madonna’s was 36 years old?? With 63,000 people in the audience. The opening for Tay Tay saw 69,000 people. RECORDS people.
So let’s start with a few videos from the shows:
THIS is crazy…she actually dives under the stage, I am guessing onto a whole sophisticated situation, so it's a gentle landing, and then the AV team is REALLY amazing making it seem like she is swimming under the stage. Look, the set is insane.
IT IS A LOT. I just hope this doesn’t break her because this would break many people. I mean, it’s A LOT.
Now let’s talk SELENA for a second. Selena and Taylor are besties, and so it was a perfect opportunity to showcase their bestie-ness at one of the early shows. The crowd went wild.
Yes, Taylor is breaking records left and right. But so is Selena, who became the first woman to get 400 MILLION followers on Instagram. FOUR HUNDRED MILLION. Think about that. I mean…really, get your head wrapped around that one. (It’s now 401, but who’s counting??)
OK, so back to the kick-off of the ERAS TOUR. Glendale, Arizona was renamed for the weekend as SWIFT CITY:
AND Taylor acknowledged the TikTok crowd by showing them SHE SEES THEM. When her song “Bejeweled” first came out, obviously a TikTok dance came out too:
And from the tour….she showed them she sees them…
And my fave review of the show goes to THIS guy:
And let us end with this joy from a venue staffer:
A LITTLE THIS, A LITTLE THAT:
Let’s look at some highlights (and lowlights) of some OTHER pop culture-y things that have gone down this week. I cannot cover everything because there is a LOT — there is ALWAYS a lot, but here are some of my chosen ones. I know there is stuff I don't get to, like popular content and other trends…IF ANY REQUESTS, PLEASE LMK!
- This is Law Roach, an incredible stylist to the stars who dramatically announced his retirement on Instagram last week.
People went nuts and tried to figure out the reason. Many point to him being told to sit in the 2nd row of the Louis Vuitton show by Zendaya as the reason.
He has since come to Zendaya’s defense but he has also launched his modeling career walking in the Hugo Boss show:
Let’s move on.
This TikTok made its rounds last week that shows a college athlete named Carson Briere who happens to be the son of Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere, throwing someone’s wheelchair down the stairs of a club.
And the young woman whose chair it was, has spoken out. The boys are douchebags.
- Let’s talk about the term WOKE. My friends and I were wondering when “woke” first became a term, and with a bit of research, the answer was surprising. According to Wikipedia:
Among the earliest uses of the idea of wokeness as a concept for Black political consciousness came from Jamaican philosopher and social activist Marcus Garvey, who wrote in 1923, “Wake up Ethiopia! Wake up Africa!”
AND further…
In the 21st century’s first decade, the use of woke encompassed the earlier meaning with an added sense of being “alert to social and/or racial discrimination and injustice”.[8]
This usage was popularized by soul singer Erykah Badu’s 2008 song “Master Teacher”,[9][13] via the song’s refrain, “I stay woke”.[14] Merriam-Webster defines the expression stay woke in Badu’s song as meaning, “self-aware, questioning the dominant paradigm and striving for something better”; and, although within the context of the song, it did not yet have a specific connection to justice issues, Merriam-Webster credits the phrase’s use in the song with its later connection to these issues.
The fact that this term has been weaponized by the right is bananas. Because by definition then, if you are not “woke” then you are hateful, a racist, and sexist and a bigot. Sounds about right. ANWAY, this lady who is out there criticizing the “woke” world got caught in a real conundrum when SHE COULD NOT DEFINE WHAT WOKE MEANS:
She is of course now using this as a moment to get more press attention for her book. And blames being a mom of 6 kids on her being unable to focus. OK.
- And TIKTOK trends. Have you heard of Dimitri? A while back, a voicemail went viral that some creepy dude left for a woman. NOW, TikTokers are filming their parents as they tell them this was a VM left for THEM. And here are some of the reactions:
These poor parents!!!
- And this poor girl. She wrote an essay for INSIDER explaining WHY she hated her time as a student living abroad. IN FLORENCE. Look, normally, I ignore this shit even if it went viral. But as someone who lived in Florence for a semester in college, all I can say is THIS POOR SAD UNHAPPY LITTLE GIRL. Like, come on. I am not saying everyone should enjoy living abroad, but her reasons were wild to me. She was left alone in Florence while her friends traveled every weekend. Italians were HOSTILE towards her. AND on and on. I just cannot express how magical each and every minute of my time living in Florence was. From wandering the streets and museums endlessly to the food…THE FOOD…to the Italian people themselves. Drinking and dancing the night away under the shadow of the Duomo? PURE magic.
But then Amanda Knox entered the conversation and you have to admit, her response was genius:
And for those of you who do not know who Amanda Knox is, she is the young woman who was studying in Italy when her roommate was brutally murdered and she was convicted and jailed in prison for years.
- If your kids are talking about Shawn Mendes and alligators let me explain. He voiced the crocodile Lyle, in the movie “Lyle Lyle Crocodile” and this is the scene for which LA LA LA came out of:
And I cannot make sense of what goes viral but it did.
And now kids are using that sound and saying they SPOTTED Shawn — whether at a department store or wherever when they see anything with a crocodile (or alligator they don’t really care at this point)…
OK, you get the idea.
- I have also found my way onto fancy dressage TikTok…that’s fancy horse riding TikTok and well, I now have GLAMOURDALE the most beautiful and talented horse in the world all over my FYP. And let’s be clear, I am obsessed:
I mean, this is the most amazing couple I have yet to see. I love them so much. As does TikTok who made this little montage:
OBSESSED.
- I am not able to fully comprehend I don’t have Pedro and “Last of Us” on Sundays anymore until Season 2 comes. It has been devastating. But if you watched the season finale, you saw giraffes…in what everyone thought were CGI giraffes; the Internet has gone wild for the fact the set was CGI, but the giraffe? REAL. HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT IS REAL ANYMORE???
- It has come to my attention that some of my friends are not familiar with some terms that the kids are using today. So I am introducing a TERM OF THE WEEK to PCM. It might not be a trending term, just one that is part of the kid’s vernacular you are not familiar with. This week, I credit the HELLINGER family with the inspo…the TERM OF THE WEEK IS:
DRIP
According to THIS article, Drip is:
“Drip” basically means someone’s style or outfit. “I like his drip” or, “He’s got a nice drip” is a way of saying he’s got great style or I like his look. The term came from the hip-hop world and can refer to jewelry, clothing, a whole look, or simply how someone carries themselves.
OK and LASTLY. NEW YORK CITY needs new designers. Like for reals, this new NYC logo was unveiled today and it is a…..FIASCO.
I AM SO OFFENDED. Forget the WE part for a second. The font??? The bubble-shaped HEART? IT IS SO BAD it makes my brain hurt. And my heart breaks.
Why change perfection?
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
I will continue watching Taylor Swift concerts for the rest of the day on my couch. I am ignoring the Gwenyth Paltrow viral video of her talking about intermittent fasting and bone broth and coffee and the subsequent criticism because it bores me. Eat a sandwich.
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Xx,
Brooke
