In Madonna’s seminal 1990 hit, “Vogue,” she talks about how Rita Hayworth “gave good face.” That’s at least eighty percent of the “job” description of being an it girl (or “internet girl,” the apparent updated version of that term). The other twenty percent seems to be a mixture of wearing over-the-top couture and being photographed at all the right parties. As a self-appointed party girl/internet obsession, Charli XCX knows all about combining the analog and digital elements of what it means to be “it.” And she pays homage to that at the beginning of her latest video, “360” (yet another singl ..read more

In 2008, Katy Perry caught her big break with “I Kissed A Girl” (made all the more retroactively cringe because Dr. Luke co-produced it). After years of failed attempts at trying to “crack the industry,” complete with an early iteration as a Christian singer (her first release was a gospel album called Katy Hudson), Perry found that going “in total defiance of God” was the better route when it came to attracting an audience. Hence, the lead single from her first “real” album (it’s sort of like how no one counts Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant as a “real” LDR album) being “I Kissed A Girl.” Oth ..read more

For those who didn’t think (or believe it possible) that there was such a thing as a “Coachella rom-com,” The Idea of You is here to fill this apparent void. And, although the book of the same name it’s adapted from, written by Robinne Lee and released in 2017, doesn’t involve Coachella, but rather, a concert at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the same general premise of the “meet-cute” in question is still there. Though, for whatever reason, co-writers Michael Showalter (who also directed) and Jennifer Westfeldt (known for Kissing Jessica Stein and being Jon Hamm’s ex) thought it would be better t ..read more

Being that viewers will likely continue to reel from the season two finale of The White Lotus for years to come, it bears noting that Tanya McQuoid’s (Jennifer Coolidge) fate is deeply rooted in the oft-underlooked or brushed aside phenomenon of gay male misogyny (frequently hidden behind “loving” certain gay icons lately referred to as “Mother”). Although, at first, things follow a seemingly usual pattern of older queens gravitating toward a “fabulous” woman’s bombastic style, it becomes gradually more evident that there’s something vaguely nefarious afoot. But Tanya, being the hopelessly sel ..read more

While Sabrina Carpenter might not have written a song about cappuccino, “Espresso” has plenty of (sonic) froth to offer. And it’s of the variety that very much mimics Selena Gomez’s stylings for her own summer anthem, “Love On.” Although the latter was released in February, months before summer was a thought on anyone’s mind, Gomez seemed to be aware of the fact that seasons, at this juncture, are merely a state of mind (what with so much environmental/meteorological inconsistency at present). Carpenter, too, got a bit of a jump on the season by releasing “Espresso” in mid-April, just before h ..read more

In 2006, when another U.S.-backed war was raging, Nellie McKay released her sophomore album, Pretty Little Head. Among the many gems on the record (including “The Big One,” “Swept Away” and “Lali Est Paresseux”) was “Columbia Is Bleeding.” No stranger to making political statements with her first album, Get Away From Me, McKay had already established her knack for acerbic lyrics on politically-tinged songs like “I Wanna Get Married,” “Inner Peace,” “Work Song” and “Respectable.” With such tongue-in-cheek ditties giving listeners an introduction to McKay’s biting wit, they were technically “pri ..read more

Commencing with an immediate callback to the sound of Crystal Waters’ “Gypsy Woman,” Dua Lipa kicks off what is sure to be the album of the summer with a song called, appropriately, “End Of An Era.” For a long time, it has been. Especially as 2024 marks a major political shift yet again in terms of upcoming elections and shifting allegiances amid two fraught wars (Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine). By the same token, every other month feels like the dawning of a new era in an age where everything is accelerated: media, news cycles, political melees. Thus, for Lipa to title her third record ..read more

As far as movies that acknowledge the importance of stuntmen (because no one thinks of this as a profession for stuntwomen, clearly), the only one of mainstream note—up until now—has been Death Proof (unfortunately for Drew Barrymore, The Stand In doesn’t qualify). The Quentin Tarantino-directed film that was part of 2007’s Grindhouse double feature (which commenced with Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror), wherein Kurt Russell plays the part of Stuntman Mike (and there is actually some play for a stuntwoman in the form of Zoë Bell). Like David Leitch’s The Fall Guy, Death Proof delights in its ..read more

Almost as though American Horror Story is actively trying to get worse with each new season, AHS: Delicate proves to be no exception to the rule. Which is really saying something considering how atrocious AHS: NYC (which should have been called AHS: AIDS) was. And the season before that, AHS: Double Feature. In fact, the last time American Horror Story showed much promise was with AHS: 1984, before it fizzled out by the finale. Indeed, that’s been AHS’ biggest issue for a while now: losing the plot about halfway in. Not, as some would think, casting Kim Kardashian in a lead role. Because, almo ..read more

For the girl who once said, “I am bi, always have been, it’s nothing new,” perhaps an homage to Diablo Cody’s beloved 2009 “camp classic,” Jennifer’s Body was inevitable. And now, here it is in the form of the video for her latest single, “Make You Mine.” Co-directed with Aerin Moreno (who has previously worked with Beer on the Silence Between Songs hits, “Spinnin” and “Home to Another One”), the visual opens on a familiar scene from JB, one made all the more recognizable by the fact that, these days, Madison Beer looks more like Megan Fox than Megan Fox does.  The scene, of course, is Be ..read more