Archives August 2023

After numerous weeks of whispers and conjecture about when, or even if, Taylor Swift might lend her endorsement to vice president and 2024 Democratic contender Kamala Harris for presidency, the renowned artist finally made her stance known emphatically on Tuesday night. She broadcasted her backing for the Democratic candidate on social media shortly subsequent to Harris’s debate with ex-president and 2024 Republican contender Donald Trump.

In an Instagram post featuring herself and her feline companion (a subtle nod to J.D. Vance’s viral comment about the stereotype of the “childless cat lady”), Swift expressed: “I will be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m choosing @kamalaharris because she advocates for the rights and issues that, in my opinion, necessitate a champion.”

She elaborated: “I consider her a steady, talented leader, and I’m convinced that we can achieve much more in this nation under leadership that favors calmness over disarray. I was inspired by her choice of running mate @timwalz, who has been advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s autonomy over her body for years.” Besides denouncing Trump’s deceptive use of AI to create the illusion that Swift had supported him, Swift also encouraged her supporters to verify their voter registration for the 2024 election, providing a link to the Vote.gov website in her Instagram stories.

I’m not claiming that Taylor Swift is solely responsible for saving democracy, but…have you noticed the influence of the Swifties for Kamala? With her dedicated fanbase rallying, it seems quite possible that Swift might indeed have an impact on this election. Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, for instance, certainly seems to think so, acknowledging Swift’s statement shortly after she shared it.

“I’m thankful to Taylor Swift, and I speak as a fellow cat enthusiast,” he relayed to Rachel Maddow late on Tuesday. “Her words were articulate and direct, and that’s the bravery America is in need of.”

Certain young women wish to gain recognition, whereas others opt to maintain an aura of mystery. The Scottish-origin artist and producer Sophie resonated with those who chose to stay behind the controls despite weaving their own enchanting creations—and Sophie, her posthumous album, endeavors to balance these contrasting philosophies.

Renowned for her gritty, glitch-infused production style in her forceful music, Sophie nurtured a markedly private public persona, staying largely enigmatic outside her artistic moniker until her announcement as a transgender woman in 2017. She was both composer and curator of her own visual and musical identity; however, she exuded more than anything an ethereal alien uniqueness. During her time, Sophie produced one studio album—the highly regarded, Grammy-nominated Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides (2018)—and a mixtape, and both were heavily instrumental, with several tracks anchored by a singular phrase reiterated endlessly, stretched near linguistic breaking point until robotic chaos and distortion took the helm. Her initial releases, such as 2015’s “BIPP” and “Lemonade,” lingered in the air without clarity on their context or creator. (In 2021, Vince Staples recollected that numerous people conjectured Sophie was simply another venture by A.G. Cook.) The 2017 video for “It’s Okay to Cry”—introducing Sophie’s visage to most admirers for the first time—situated her against a dynamically changing environment of clouds, rainbows, and a star-speckled night sky, embracing a state of in-betweenness, while the exuberantly avant-garde video for “Faceshopping” from 2018 delighted in vivid transformations of her image. Harron Walker has earlier commented on the “dissociative” nature in Sophie’s compositions, illustrating how it encapsulates the experience of being concurrently present and absent, within the same physical form. Sophie tapped into a more celestial dimension, where forms weave in and out of perception amid the pulsating lights of the club.

Liam Payne, the vocalist and composer who gained global acclaim as part of the British pop ensemble One Direction, passed away on Wednesday aged 31 following a fall from the third storey of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although specifics surrounding Payne’s descent remain unconfirmed, a wave of sorrow from both celebrities and admirers has swiftly emerged across social media in response to the announcement of his demise.

At times, when Remi Wolf discusses her brand-new album, Big Ideas, she seems to enter autopilot mode, her form functioning without any commands from her mind. During a recent chat, while she elaborates on studio arrangements in her smooth alto (“We recorded at Electric Lady in New York, also at Conway in LA…”), she casually reaches over and swipes a french fry from my plate.

“Would you like some ketchup?” I offer her.

Instantly, the trance is shattered, leaving Wolf in a state of sheer surprise. She bursts into laughter. “Oh my gosh, I’m just, like, chit-chatting and eating your fries!” she exclaims. “I was just…zoned out.”

There exists a humorous disconnect between 28-year-old Wolf’s angelic visage, framed by a halo of dark curls, and her inclination to sprinkle her dialogue with “fucking” and “dude.” (She also possesses a wonderfully unique fashion sense: for our meal, she sports a long-sleeve tie-dye shirt, a pearl choker with a sizable silver pendant, and mini platform Uggs.) It’s thoroughly endearing: Entering the Hollywood diner where we’re seated, she’s met with a broad smile and a heartfelt “Welcome back!” from the waitress. Wolf has transformed this modest eatery into her workspace as of late, holding discussions with different label representatives leading up to her album’s debut on July 12. “I wish she was present for this conversation,” she states regarding one waitress who, without prompting, shared with Wolf—and a table of execs—details about her handmade “Lorena Bobbitt Rules!” T-shirt. “She said, ‘Do you folks need more coffee? Also, I crafted this shirt. She severed her boyfriend’s penis.’ And we just responded with, ‘Neat.’”

Big Ideas amplifies Wolf’s impressive repertoire of crystal-clear vocals, funky sounds, and colorful wordplay. While her initial LP, Juno, was crafted entirely in a bedroom amidst the COVID pandemic’s peak, Wolf eagerly seized the chance to record Big Ideas in revered studios like Electric Lady, whose esteemed legacy she hoped would infuse the tracks. In this new album, she portrays vibrant narratives of spewing frogs and sharing a love-struck Halloween in Chicago amidst quirky guitar riffs and synths. The album also features strong jazz and disco influences, enhanced to complement its lively essence.

A recurring motif in Wolf’s music is her fluid approach to sexuality. Since her debut EP, You’re a Dog! (2019), she has articulated interest in both men and women as subjects of her yearning (and often, exasperation). “Upon entering the music sector, it was a battle to be acknowledged,” she remarks. In the nascent stage of her profession, she confesses a hesitancy to be labeled as an LGBTQ+ artist. “I’m striving to remain authentic. Much of my writing reflects my real-life experiences,” she explains. She feared that a label would constrain her identity and compel her to represent more than just herself. “I possess no expertise on anything, genuinely—neither on gender politics nor on queer politics. My only message is you do you, and I’ll do me.” In the five years following You’re a Dog!, she observes that the perception of sexuality—and queerness in general—has evolved “to a point where it’s like, who cares?” she shares. “There’s no need to make it a significant issue—which I thoroughly enjoy.”

Charli XCX, having transformed the cultural mood in her slime-green, that-bitch persona, and revealing she’ll be inaugurating London Fashion Week with an H&M-backed rave, is now taking her Parliaments and heading to Hollywood. She will be part of the ensemble in Gregg Araki’s addition to the growing May-December repertoire, I Want Your Sex.

Scripted by Vogue columnist Karley Sciortino and named after George Michael’s 1987 chart-topping hit, the narrative revolves around Olivia Wilde’s character, Erika Tracy, an imagined artist possessing the cultural weight of Marina Abramović. She begins a relationship with her significantly younger employee, Elliot (Cooper Hoffman). (If you ponder why Cooper’s name seems familiar, he portrayed Gary Valentine alongside Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza—and, indeed, he is Philip Seymour Hoffman’s offspring.) Initially, Elliot is ecstatic to be Erika’s “gentle lover with a heart of gold,” but their liaison soon drifts into Adrian Lyne territory as “Erika leads him on a journey more profound than he could ever envision, delving into a realm of sex, obsession, power, betrayal, and murder.” Baby, you’ve been so unkind, indeed. There’s still no word regarding Charli’s character role, but I hope she gets to don a bodysuit as chic as Kathy Jeung’s in George’s softcore ’80s music video.

But it’s Faces of Death that will serve as Charli’s official film debut with co-stars Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, and Josie Totah. Directed by How to Blow Up a Pipeline’s Daniel Goldhaber, the work is inspired by the highly contentious 1978 shockumentary sharing the same name, which begins with an alleged pathologist, Dr. Francis B. Gross (Michael Carr), presenting a sequence of clips showcasing gruesome fatalities—some fabricated, some genuine. “For the first time in movie history, the utmost fear of all humanity will be vividly exposed,” declared the trailer. “Now, a cinematic piece dares to take you beyond the boundary of the living.” Naturally, it became a viral sensation, with millions of VHS copies distributed nationwide, cementing its status as the landmark film of the decade’s “video nasty” trend. Thankfully, Goldhaber has no intention of recreating the mondo movie (whose horridly graphic visuals resulted in it being banned in numerous countries, including the UK). Instead, he adopts a meta perspective, with his story trailing a content moderator for a YouTube-like platform who unearths a group recreating scenes from the ’70s classic for their audience.

Curiously, Charli personally contacted Goldhaber about a part in the film, and he isn’t the sole writer-director she has approached for a partnership in recent months. Just earlier this (Brat) summer, she ventured to Poland to film another project she is reportedly co-writing with Slave Play‘s Jeremy O Harris. Luckily, she’s already equipped with enough movie-star sunglasses to navigate at least a dozen paparazzi-laden press junkets.