This shit - this shit right here - is why I despise this woman.

I may have told this story before on this site, but back when I worked at a large bookstore chain (in Canada), he came into our store while he was in town for a film festival. He asked my manager for a particular book and she asked me to go get it for him (Hart's War, if I remember).

Ehh…the more, the merrier!

I definitely agree that we must be careful in our criticism to not buy into sexist ideas of what women 'should' be (though it bothers me to no end the way that Swift herself trades/has traded on the very ideas you talk about: the 'good princess' versus the 'promiscuous tart').
Her whole schtick just feels so obviously…

Ugh - typed another response and disqus ate it!! Bullet points, then:
- it is 4am where I am and I'm half asleep so apologies if my parsing out of gender politics is less than nuanced!
- you are right: women often experience much more pressure to be 'role models' than male musicians. Also super problematic!
- in that…

Hmm, honestly, for me, Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu were pretty defining artists. Partially, I think, because they were women of colour, trying to sort out how to interact with the world, and that resonated deeply with me (even if I didn't have the exact words at the time to express why).

Yes! Exactly! She's 'That Girl' - and good for her, but let's not pretend it's more than what it is.

A few days ago, I was trying to pinpoint the reason for my seemingly unreasonable dislike of Swift. This article touches on the realization I came to: Taylor Swift if not "radically inclusive for a disparaged population." Taylor Swift unquestioningly represents the ideal of everything mainstream (male-dominated)…

Love Freegal!

Bork Bork: Bork Bork Boo

"OF ALL TIME!"

More than passing the burden to taxpayers: Walmart employees spend a decent amount of their food stamps *at Walmart*, thus essentially funnelling tax-payers dollars (which fund the food stamps) back into Walmart's pocket. It's mind-bogglingly terrible and greedy.

Geez, Rick. Them's some impressive chompers you got there. The dam should be done by winter for sure. O_o

Pharrell is a genius: instead of directly railing against the decades of cultural
appropriation of African American music, he's engaged in an act of
Colbertian satire, in the process demonstrating the blatant and
outrageous nature of Thicke's plagiarism.

Me also! My friend and her date and I (yes, I was dateless; highschool was an awkward time) went beforehand. It was…uncomfortable.

Not serious. (Smiling, even!*)
*I am black. I am not a rapper.

Hah! I was just humming that song to myself at work! Because there, I am so, so sick of words. /sob

As opposed to white rappers, who are physically incapable of not smiling!

Full disclosure: I pretty much hate everything she represents (the cutesy, fragile, blond princess who, for all her songs lament the difficulty of being 'unpopular', seems to pretty much get what she wants. Except maybe a Kennedy). But personal bias notwithstanding - her music seems so bland. I suppose no more or less…

"Go home, Internet. You're drunk."