Pop Culture Mondays/7.31.23
The “SWIFT QUAKE” Edition
HAPPY MONDAY, my darling pop culture junkies! I hope wherever you are whilst reading this that you are cool as it is hot seemingly everywhere. We are all on fire, NBD. Hottest month ever recorded on the globe. Aliens are here amongst us, it seems. But we seem unbothered by it all and, in fact, ignoring it all together. Cool cool. Glad we are in this together. More on aliens later…I mean, up until the other day, the theme of this week’s PCM was MOST def going to be aliens, but we had something bigger than aliens happen. WHAT IS BIGGER THAN ALIENS ON EARTH, you might ask? Fair question.
The answer is…Taylor Swift. (PS: the answer is ALSO Barbie.)
But let’s dive into it all. We are in the deep of summer, and we are all moving a bit slower, so there is no reason for me to drag this on.
I did not have a PCM pod last week, BUT I was on a podcast I would love for you to check out. I joined Franklin Leonard and Matt Belloni on “On with Kara Swisher” to talk about BARBENHEIMER and other pop culture/Hollywoody things:
SWIFT QUAKE:
I feel like there are two states of being right now. Those who have seen Taylor Swift in concert, specifically her Eras Tour. And those who have not. Up until this weekend, I had not. I will call that my BEFORE TS era. I am now very firmly in my AFTER TS era, and I may never be the same.
Let me start by saying I have seen a lot of live music in my life. A lot. I have toured with bands. I have dated musicians. A lot of musicians. 🤷🏼♀️ I have gone to festivals and club shows and big arena shows. I have traveled the world to see music. U2 in Colombia. Pearl Jam in Stockholm. BTS in Vegas. I mean I can go on and on. I love live music so much that during lockdown, all I kept imagining when I closed my eyes, was being with a crowd again rocking out to music. ANY music. Well, ok, not country; sorry it’s just not my thing. But almost any music. I work with Live Nation, which is one of the most incredible companies in terms of ALL that they do on a global basis daily. And the people who work there. Bringing LIVE to the world is a massively important thing and a gift to us all.
And then there is Taylor. I need to explain my experience before I get to the quake. And if you have been to the Eras tour, you will know what I mean.
When I was a kid, we had Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, and ultimately the biggest, Madonna. My parents would not let me go see Madonna. My parents were not supportive of her message. I mean I loved it, but it allowed us to feel rebellious and against our parents and a little naughty. Taylor is different. She is bringing mothers and daughters together. Grandparents. People of all ages from all over the world.
It started miles before we got to the parking lot of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The Swifties were walking along the road to the venue, each more sparkly than the next. Everyone gets all dressed up in amazing outfits to pay homage to Taylor Swift. Some were in costumes, some were representing their ERA of Taylor, but everyone was bringing it. Here are examples:
We were having a blast looking at everyone’s outfits before we even parked. Also, at least in my experience….everyone was SO happy. So joyful. I mean, in my day of going to shows, people got drunk. Obnoxious. Pushy. NONE of that goes on here from what I saw. Everyone was just joyful.
Did I say sparkly?
And the bracelets. OMG, I was 49 going on 14. I had known all about the friendship bracelets that everyone wears and trades with people. Friendship bracelets of MY years were the ones we made with string that we safety pinned to our jeans and made by knotting each strand into fun designs and then wore them til they were smelly and falling off. You remember.
But the friendship bracelets of this gen are beaded and on elastic bands and have fun sayings from Taylor lyrics or names of songs or albums.
And then everyone trades them with one another at the concert.
I sat down next to a few 12-year-old girls who had traveled from Tenessee with their parents and friends to see the show, and we IMMEDIATELY traded bracelets (I obviously came prepared and had outfitted my friends Britt, Kara and Amanda with arm fulls of bracelets). Also, guys…the lines for MERCH? I have no words…never seen anything like it ever. Again, a few examples:
OK, so no merch for me. But let’s be clear, there was already a lot to take in, and the music had not even started. The opening acts for my show were Gracie Abrams, who is phenomenal. She was wearing this gorgeous ethereal dress with Chanel slingback shoes, and the girls next to me were immediately looking for them online. But Gracie set the tone for how the night was going to go as not only is she an incredible singer, but also a storyteller, just like Taylor. Gracie connects with her audience not only through her music but also with how she talks to them and brings them into her world and makes them feel they are all in this together and all fangirls of Taylor, and it was just remarkable to witness. And then more girl power — Haim came on and rocked it and again, talked of their friendship with Taylor. Everyone felt like they were part of this incredible friend group, and everything is about INCLUSIVITY, not exclusivity.
When the out-of-control insane screaming began, initially, we thought Taylor was coming out…but it was not. It was her mom, walking to the tent on the floor where she would watch the show. She stops and meets fans and hugs them, and takes pics. It’s astonishing, tbh, how beautiful that was.
Like, she is OUR MOM. Loved it. LOVED it.
So, I am not going to give a play-by-play of the show, but I am not exaggerating when I say it was the most incredible concert I have ever seen ever.
3.5 hours (in Santa Clara she went 30 mins past the venue curfew, which I imagine is a hefty fine. Not only to pay the venue, then all the venue workers paid for overtime.)
She performed for 3.5 hours.
45 songs.
She talks to the audience. Not screams. But talks to them like we are sitting on her floor with our legs crossed eating pizza and talking about life.
As my friend Katie said, Taylor is a straight-up Olympian.
The sets, the costumes. More insane than the next.
AND HER DANCERS. Like you could not help and think what it must be like to be them at this moment. They are SO talented and joyful and diverse. I just have no more words on it.
But ok, ok, let’s talk about the noise.
I mean, I am still getting my hearing back. The screams and clapping from the audience made us feel like we were levitating. SIDENOTE: We saw a mother with a baby on the floor with no headphones, which was upsetting. Little kids need to wear headphones at ANY concert. Just a PSA.
But back to the audience. Last week, records were broken, and that is because the shows in Seattle caused so much noise, it registered as a 2.3 earthquake. I mean….I couldn't imagine it until I experienced it myself.
And just to give you an example (not from the Seattle show) of the energy…every single person knows every single word of every single song. And they BRING IT.
The mania is real. I mean, obviously, the police didn't really change their name for the shows, but they certainly got in on the action:
Imagine you get pulled over by a cop blasting “Shake it off”? Funny.
ANYWAY…here is the entire point of this post.
This is a phenomenon we have not seen. This is not girls screaming at a heartthrob. This is a crowd of people of EVERY GENERATION who know EVERY song and have a relationship with this woman who is incredibly talented, dorky and intelligent and empathetic, and wildly relatable despite her being who she is.
I am not joking when I say Taylor Swift could start her own political movement. She could sway elections. She could WIN elections. I am sure this is not the territory she wants to be stepping into, but my lord, all the good she could do to heal our divided world. I am convinced of it.
And before I go on, I just want to check on the men. You ok? I don’t mean the men reading this newsletter tbh; I know you are MORE than ok. I mean, the men who are so terrified of women and the power we have that they are in meltdown mode. Piers Morgan. Ben Shapiro. Ron DeSantis. Those guys.
This TikTok was sent to me this weekend, and it sums it up perfectly:
Despite what Ben Shapiro thought, Barbie did not fall off after the hype but instead grew and grew and is on track to surpass $1BILLION. I saw it for the second time this weekend…..and not the last time. So let’s segue into BARBIE MANIA for a moment….
BARBIE….AND KEN:
This movie is just connecting on so many levels. And, of course, has launched a million trends. And while many of those revolve around Ken, aka Ryan Gosling, to me, it doesn’t induce rage like for some. The idea being this amazing strong female movie has been turned into a fangirl obsession with the male lead. The honest truth is Ryan Gosling is just incredible in the movie, and his character was the most transformed besides Barbie. Also, the song….rocks.
Ryan Gosling is why everyone who wants to get into acting and theatre when they are kids, should. And OF COURSE, he kicked off some trends:
Many people even thought that Obama and Biden got in on the action. Sadly this pic is not real, but thanks to AI. BUT, let me be clear…they look great in pink:
And the VIRAL HOODIE everyone is trying to get their hands on?
DON’T WORRY. You can pre-order it here:
And women are showing off their KENS, and it is so funny. If you watched the movie, you know Ryan Gosling is BEACH. So everyone is showing off what their Ken is.
DATE Ken:
OFFICE Ken:
FLY Ken:
ROAD Ken:
I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.
Between Barbie, Taylor Swift, and Women’s soccer, JUST to name a few….can we NOT do better than what we are doing right now? The movie business, the sports business, the music business, the tech business, the politics business (it’s a business never forget)….you have been doing it wrong all along. Since the beginning of time, men have feared the power of women.
The women?
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT:
I am not going to lie; I am wiping tears away as I write all of this. I am a woman who was raised to believe she could do anything….BUT…also realistically within reason. This moment in time feels different than all other moments. Just wait and see.
But a few other things are happening in the pop culture world. I am not here to talk about Ariana Grande and her Spongebob boyfriend, no matter how many people have sent me memes on this. If you’re curious...just Google. I have nothing nice to say, SO I shall say nothing!
But here are some other things happening. Let’s talk…ALIENS:
ALIENS NBD:
So, you would think if the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs held a TELEVISED hearing about UFOs and aliens on Earth and government coverups, we would be talking about nothing else, right? HAHAHA…you guys, you are so funny. Everyone is like collectively shrugging over the news. But the memes and the TikToks deliver:
(This is a Tweet no an X, no a post, not it’s a tweet…whatever the fuck is going on there…)
AGE LIMITS?
I am normally not one to spotlight someone’s medical emergency…but there are exceptions, and that exception IS Mitch McConnell. Look, if he wasn’t a terrible human who has worked on stripping the rights of women and people of the LQBTQ communities, JUST to name a few things he has done…I would not be posting this.
But he has. So fair is fair, my friend. I am not here to say that the young should be the only ones in government. We have Matt Gaetz and Boebert (I mean she IS a grandma) to prove that is a wrong argument. But my lord, the people are literally too old to be in office. I am sorry. It’s my belief that enough is enough. Age limits should be a thing. But here we are, and this man is back to his antics, but not before we get some content:
WHAT DO DJs EVEN DO?
That was the question one very emotional TikTokker posted.
AND the universe responded hilariously.
For example:
The Viral Bag of the Moment:
All the kids are going crazy over this crossbody bag from ZARA, which you can have personalized with your initials. Sadly, they are currently SOLD OUT.
Last, but most definitely not least…
I don’t always cover celebrity deaths here, but this one hit a nerve…well, a lot of nerves. Sinead O’Connor was someone I grew up listening to. I remember after my high school boyfriend and I broke up for the millionth time, I put “Nothing Compares 2U” as the background music on my answering machine the second we had been broken up for 7 hours and 15 days. And that is hard to do with a tape cassette and an answering MACHINE (the kids will never know). But I did it. I sure did. I was SLIGHTLY dramatic, as I am sure you can imagine!
I remember sitting in the common room of my Freshman dorm at Rollins College in October of 1992 with all of us watching her on SNL and then tearing up the picture of the Pope. We all gasped. And cheered. It was such a moment.
Sinead struggled a lot over the years, and many of us were aware. When her death was announced last week, everyone was shook. Lots of people posted pictures of her; her last TikTok went viral. But then, another thing happened. People said STOP. People had enough of the hypocrisy.
I am so proud of Lily for saying this.
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
I mean, I don’t really want to speak about Elon or the stupid rebrand to X at this moment, so I ignored it for the most part. But, just so we are clear…he continues to show how immature and ridiculous he is by installing a flashing X sign on the roof of his HQ, angering neighbors for obvious reasons:
I cannot. So let’s just end there…
Have a magical week, everyone!
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Xx,
Brooke
