Shakira’s first album of this decade, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, is something of a yin to the yang of El Dorado (the record she released seven years ago, and her last one of the 2010s). Where the latter commences with the upbeat, jubilant “Me Enamoré,” Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, begins with “Puntería”—which, yes, is also upbeat and jubilant, but not in the “I’m so in love” way. More like in the “I’m more resistant to love than ever” way (when the video is also factored in, it becomes the “I’m going to shoot any [half-]man who trifles with me via an arrow” way). Indeed, when comparing the opening ..read more

When it comes to slow burns (no Hades pun intended), few films of recent memory have been as deft at it as Late Night With the Devil. Directed by Colin and Cameron Cairnes, an Australian brother duo that just might end up replacing the recently disbanded Safdie brothers, the film’s premise is unlike anything viewers have seen before. While, sure, a few narratives of the past have been structured in such a way as to make people believe they’re “real” (e.g., the first radio broadcast of Orson Welles’ acting out H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds or Stephen Volk’s Ghostwatch), the Cairnes brother ..read more

Despite Taylor Swift’s pervasiveness, it’s probably more likely that Gen Zers would associate the word “fortnight” with the misspelled (as “Fortnite”) video game of the same name. As opposed to, you know, Swift’s first single from the song-packed album that is The Tortured Poets Department. And they certainly wouldn’t associate it with its actual definition: “a unit of time equal to fourteen days (two weeks).” For those previously unschooled in this highly British/highly Austenian term, Swift has decided to bring it back into the mainstream. Along with the idea that being in love—unrequited or ..read more

Pulling close to the same rate of album releases—one a year—that Rihanna once did starting in 2005 (with some rare breaks in 2008 and between the years 2012 and 2016) before she effectively retired to become a beauty mogul, Taylor Swift has always had a seemingly strategic release rate of every two years for studio albums (and no, the re-recordings aren’t being factored in). The Tortured Poets Department, her eleventh record, proves no exception to the every two year pattern (though Reputation did, with Swift waiting three years after 1989 to release it—but then, she had been “bullied” into se ..read more

Sadly, it’s not really a stretch to imagine the United States finding itself in a second Civil War. Perhaps this is why writer-director Alex Garland doesn’t get too specific on the details of “why” (racial tensions, political divisions, an unhinged president—take your pick from a gamut of ever-brewing causes). In fact, Garland in general is not a “details guy,” preferring instead to focus on the “big ideas” of what he’s saying. And what he’s saying here isn’t necessarily related to being a “cautionary tale” (in truth, he appears to view another civil war in the U.S. as a mere inevitability), s ..read more

While the term “yeehaw culture” (an oxymoron if ever there was one) has only recently become a “trend” (along with the phrase “yeehaw agenda”), Madonna was embodying it decades ago, with her 2000 album, Music (the vibe of which was presaged by her early 2000 cover of Don McLean’s “American Pie”). In fact, it seemed Madonna intuited George W. Bush’s presidential “win” in November months before (with Music being released on September 18th of that election year). For she had already decided on cowboy hats and other assorted “western regalia” for her first reinvention of the twenty-first century ..read more

For a long time, there was nothing “too political” in Beyoncé’s oeuvre. She went about the business of singing her songs that usually pertained to being cheated on and/or being hopelessly devoted and in love. Then 2016 rolled around and something within fully activated. Something that began in 2013, with a track like “Flawless.” Even if most of the political elements were delivered by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. But then, that’s Beyoncé’s gift: pulling from other people. It is many great artists’ gift, as a matter of fact, from Picasso to Madonna. Thus, with 2016’s Lemonade, Beyoncé achieved a n ..read more

As Dua Lipa continues to build the anticipation for her long-awaited third album, Radical Optimism, she’s already brought us a third single in the wake of “Houdini” and “Training Season.” The theme of “Illusion,” as it’s called (and in keeping with a title like “Houdini”), is more closely aligned to the one in “Training Season,” with Lipa telling off any man trying to spin some false yarn. In order to help convey that message in visual form is the always impressive Tanu Muino, who has increasingly branched out into collaborating with American musicians in lieu of the Ukrainian ones she started ..read more

Although the Electric Fountain near Wilshire and Santa Monica rarely gets called by its actual name, one long-running way to refer to it is: “the fountain from Clueless” or “the Clueless fountain,” if you prefer. In the aftermath of social media, many a savvy girl has taken a pilgrimage to that fountain to attempt to recreate the “light bulb” moment (or, in this case, the “fountain triumphantly spraying” moment) Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) has about being in love with Josh Lucas (Paul Rudd). Which, yes, has incestuous overtones thanks to him being her ex-brother-in-law. But hey, more in ..read more

Lana Del Rey is no stranger to name-checking white male musicians from the 60s and 70s in her music. It’s become something of a barometer for whether or not the song in question is truly “Del Rey-crafted.” From Bob Dylan to Dennis Wilson to Crosby, Stills and Nash, Del Rey has exhibited her reverence for these white male “gods” time and time again. With no signs of slowing up, either. For two of her recent singles, “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” (also the name of her ninth record) and “The Grants,” each refers to Harry Nilsson and John Denver, respectively. While the lat ..read more