Seven album reviews, six “B” grades and one “C.”

1. I’m glad she pushed for what she felt she was worth. Good for her. She sounds like someone who doesn’t take any shit.

It’s gotten to the point where it actively takes you out of the movie. Instead of thinking, “how’s Ethan Hunt gonna get out of this,” everyone’s thinking, “I wonder how much danger Cruise was actually in here…it’s probably not as dangerous as they make it out. Where exactly were the wires? And what kind of insurance…

“...stories about him using “colorful language” in front of her, talking “raunchily” with his friends in private conversations, masturbating in front of her, and then blackballing her in the industry after he had fired her.”

Now there’s an idea. Not only a great producer, El’s also probably the current holder of Em’s old “best white rapper” crown, which could spark some real competitiveness in the old man.

I think he needs to do two things: The first you just mentioned. But in addition, I think he just needs someone to be a real collaborator and tell him when he’s coasting or risking embarrassing himself. Eminem is still an excellent technical rapper, but without guidance, good beats, or quality control, how much good…

Man, who’d have thought that by dramatically changing the melody and chord structure of a song, you can make it sound completely different?

It’s truly wonderful that being a rapist/harasser/general sexual creep is becoming no longer acceptable in Hollywood. It would be a great second step if also just being a complete asshole to people who work for you – even in non-sexual ways – became unacceptable as well. Because both are pretty goddamn rampant.

Strangely hard to feel happy about this. Both because he will surely squeeze every bit of “banned by Twitter’s snowflake libtards who couldn’t handle my truth!!!” out of this that he can. And also because if he were some egg-avatar nobody inciting violence against journalists, instead of a notorious murder-sheriff…

It wasn’t three years ago, but the pendulum has swung most dramatically.

I knew a guy in college who somehow always seemed to be a part of my friend group, even though none of my friends actually seemed to like him (I certainly didn’t). He was always very current with music, fashion, culture, etc., even though he seemed to get no enjoyment out of it, and in fact seemed to have no…

Unpopular opinion: I really still quite like most of Timberlake’s solo output. “Justified” was an album whose surprising quality really messed with my then-purist musical sensibilities. “Future Sex” was a legitimately fantastic pop album. The “20/20 Experience(s)” have a really good 40-minute album buried within…

I hope the Democrat who replaces Trump is a man or woman who has considerable personal integrity, a platform of far-reaching progressive policies, a sober, thoughtful disposition, and exactly as much disdain for the traditions of the office as this asshole. I hope they replace the Presidential Seal with a…

As near as I can understand the appeal of these network mornings shows – and to be fair, I don’t really understand the appeal of these network morning shows – the central attraction is that you’re starting every morning with a bunch of cheerful friends who make nonthreatening conversation and periodically tell you…

“Gifted rapper/bad artist” kind of sums it up. Someone above already made a similar comparison, but talking about Eminem with his fans really is like trying to argue with a Guitar Center employee about Joe Satriani.

It’s always a difficult shift, to go from the “I came from nothing and no one believed in me” narrative, however accurate, to “I have a net worth of $200 million, an Oscar and 15 Grammys, but I still feel nebulously unfulfilled because people on the Internet are clowning on me and I found a grey hair yesterday.”…

Dr. Dre is the most committed ghostwriter of all time. Almost a Method ghostwriter. When he was writing all of Ice Cube’s lyrics for him, he started rapping like Cube just to throw people off the scent. And then when the D.O.C. had that accident, it was cool how Dre started rapping all the D.O.C.-style lyrics he’d…

Scrolling chronologically through her filmography, Mira Sorvino was lovely in a small role in “Quiz Show,” wonderful in “Barcelona,” won an Oscar for “Mighty Aphrodite,” and then gave one of the best and most underrated comic performances of the decade in “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.” And then,…

I guess it’s just like, for male actors, the goal is to become renowned and famous enough that you can keep doing this for your whole life if you want to. For ingenue-type actresses, it’s starting to seem more like, “generate enough fame/wealth/goodwill and build up a personal brand so you can get the hell out of…

It’s honestly something I’ve thought about a lot with this whole mess. I used to always kind of raise my eyebrow at famous actresses marrying these shipping heirs and financiers – what, like they need to marry into money? Or Gwyneth Paltrow selling these new age miracle elixirs and Jessica Alba making organic…