My Weekend Crush

This. Right here. This. *taps the screen aggressively* THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT. As this year has progressed I’ve become more and more uncomfortable – and quite frankly angry – with the silence coming from some of those with the most. No, I’m not talking about the billionaires – those assholes are a lost cause. But celebrities, actors, musicians, influencers. Uh, hello, can we get a little righteous indignation going from the creative class? This is especially true at award shows. When given a microphone and a podium at these well-watched public events, I need them to use their voices for more than just witty thank yous and self aggrandizing. I need less vague “love is love” and “be kind to one another” soft-sell messaging. I need more flat-out acknowledgement of the fundamental fuckedupness of our current political climate. I need more celebrities to directly call out Trump, his authoritarian administration and the weaponized infrastructure that is supporting his destructive, chaotic and cruel policies.

So, super stars of the world, take a lesson from Doechii at the BET Awards this week. I’ve listened to her short speech several times now, and each time I am struck by the clarity and the decisiveness. “I want y’all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest the military is deployed against us. What type of government is that?” The worst type. The fascist type. Yet here we are here, America. As an artist, as a public figure, as anyone with any kind of platform, this is the moment. Either you are with the oppressed and marginalized communities of this world, or you truly are just some well-paid bread and circus to distract and disengage the masses. I fear for my beautiful state right now. I fear for all immigrants in this country no matter how they got here. I fear for all Black and Brown and other POCs whose communities are being ruthlessly targeted. I fear for women and all pregant people seeking life-saving healthcare. I fear for trans and other queer people just trying to live their lives. I fear for the families and children being bombed into oblivion in Gaza. I fear, but I am also ready to fight. At the very least, we should all be using our voices to scream as loudly as we can. This, this is not right. This, this is not normal. This, this will not stand. Fuck Donald Trump. No Kings. Happy weekend, all.

Music Monday: Anxiously Proud

Starting off Pride Month with some queer anxiety from a queer artist? Yep, sounds about right. Also, yes, in case you were wondering, I am still on my Doechii kick. Like how can you not when she takes a bedroom recording made to the melody of Gotye and Kimbra and their “Somebody I Used to Know” and turned it into a bona fide hit about, of all damn things, anxiety. And the music video is cool and creative as hell too (with a nice painted people nod to the song’s O.G.s). Like, come on! I don’t care how many umbrellas this woman needs. She deserves them, and everything else. Happy first Monday of Pride, kittens.

Gender Fuck Thursday: Met with Suits

First things first, the Met Gala is ridiculous. It is the most bready of circuses, feeding us with literally nothing but sparkly celebrity sparkling. But, I can also not resist attractive women in suits. And this year’s theme of dandyism and Black tailoring which brought out SO MANY SUITS. Granted, some outfits were suit adjacent. And there were so many jackets over gowns. Or, um, hotpants. But, still, I love a strong shoulder in a smart lapel. I can’t help it! If we’re gonna eat the rich, they might as well look delicious beforehand. Just saying. Anyway, here are some of the tastiest looks of the gala. Like, Zendaya in that white three-piece? Hot damn. And I do not mean that respectfully. (Sorry, Tom Holland.) Oh and also – yeah, tax the rich.

Janelle Monae

This. Is. Art. Periodt.

Tessa Thompson

This is also art, but possibly by Dr. Seuss.

Doechii

I’ve never been into the little pageboy look, until now.

Whoopi Goldberg

This is perhaps my favorite of her red carpet looks. Maybe even more than her Oscar-winning dress in 1991.

Lupita Nyong'o

Seafoam Mary Poppins is working for me.

Lauryn Hill

This is what people mean when they say “like butter.”

Jonquel Jones

The WNBA finals MVP defied gravity indeed.

Breanna Stewart

Now that’s a good teammate, dressing exactly to theme.

Madonna

Channeling Dietrich is never wrong.

Chappell Roan

Neither is channelling Bowie.

Anna Sawai

I mean, if you’re going to wear the same thing as someone, might as well be Zendaya. Amirite?

Angela Bassett

Just give the Queen her Oscar already.

XL Entertainment

Yes, I know, I have posted a lot about Doechii recently. But I’ve really enjoyed her whole vibe, and while rap may not be my most listened to genre, I love to expand my horizons. So her collaboration with K-pop star Jennie, of Blackpink, on the latter’s debut solo album is a fun excursion. Please note their white suits throughout the video. I mean it’s Thursday, so let’s gender fuck it up while making sure the ladies continue to run this. Also, they look good together. What? Please, like you didn’t notice too. I don’t know why they’re dancing on some bald guy’s head, but again, that is 100% not my focus. If you even noticed the head with all the other, uh, scenery.

Music Monday: Doechii Does It Again

Look, I told you I was obsessed, OBSESSED, with Doechii and I really, really am. And how could you not be, after both that Tiny Desk concert and her stunning Colbert show performance last month. She did this whole number while tied to her two other dancers. Like, come on. COME ON. Just a reminder that when we allow humans the space and support to be all of themselves sometimes they can produce wondrous things. Thank the universe for art and women. Happy Monday, kittens.

My Weekend Crush

So perhaps the biggest revelation of the Grammys – at least for me, I know all the cool kids already knew, but I claim to be neither – was Doechii. The Tampa native and self-described Swamp Princess became only the third woman ever to win the best rap album Grammy last weekend. But, damn, if a star wasn’t born instantly. And that’s hard to do when Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Cynthia Erivo and Janelle Monae – not to mention so many others – are also there.

So after seeing both her powerful speech and her mesmerizing performance, I looked Doechii up and stumbled across her recent NPR Tiny Desk Concert and now, well, I am obsessed. OBSESSED.

Why so obsessed? Well her story is perfectly tailored for the American Dream factory. Fired from her retail job five years ago. A year later one of her songs went viral on TikTok. A year later she was signed by Capitol Records. And, you know, the rest is Grammy history. Her music is fierce, funny, and fierce some more.

Oh, and did I mention Doechii is queer and has a girlfriend? The rapper came out as bisexual in a GQ interview from 2022 (I mean, her lyrics gave it all away before, but it’s nice to be official). And, hot damn, her all-female backing band at Tiny Desk was so fucking fire. Also, to be shallow and all, her face et al is, you know, very very good. The world is a lot. Find joy in where you can. This week, that joy is all Doechii. Woo-sah, indeed. Happy weekend, all. And Valentine's, if you're into that sort of thing.

p.s. How do I make her growl my new breaking news notification tone? Because, “G-rrrrrrrr.”

The Gay Grammys, Again

Well, in case you missed last Sunday’s Grammy awards show, I can summarize it for you simply. The gals and the gays, particularly the gay gals, stole the show – again. I don’t know what it means to have two good Grammy shows in consecutive years (I mean, who would be surprised by an apocalypse at this point, honestly?) Last year we had Tracy Chapman and Brandi Carlile and boygenius (and Joni Mitchell, for the straights). This year we have Chappell Roan and Billie Eilish and Cynthia Erivo and Janelle Monae and Lady Gaga and Doechii and St. Vincent and Brittany Howard and Queen Latifah – am I missing any queer ladies, ladies? (Don’t worry, the straights had Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX and Raye and Shakira, if you’re into that sort of thing.)

And it was the women – gay and straight – who not only stole the show with their performances, but also with their show of solidarity against all the horrors of our current political/societal hellscape. Like Chappell speaking out to shame record companies into paying its developing artists a liveable wage and health insurance. Or Doechii speaking out to support Black women and dark-skinned Black women in particular. Or Shakira speaking out to send her solidarity to all the immigrants. Or Lady Gaga speaking out to say trans and queer people deserve love and support. Or Alicia Keyes speaking out to praise the power and beauty of diversity and inclusion.

Also special props to Janelle for speaking out to drag Nelly for performing at that Orange Turd’s inauguration at the Grammys afterparties. Ladies and gentlemen and every other gender identity which absolutely exists, this is exactly the energy we expect from our most celebrated artists right now.

Janelle Monae calls out Nelly during the GRAMMYs after-party for performing at Trump’s inauguration:

“F**k you Nelly, you sold out. I used to think you were cool, but now you look like a motherf**king fool.” pic.twitter.com/GQxnGVy7n9

— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 3, 2025

It’s a refreshing change from the Golden Globes, which was relatively free of high-profile political statements. Granted, that was 15 days before the horrors of Orange Turd’s 2.0 administration began. But, shit, if we didn’t all know this was coming – at least if we were paying attention.

Anyway, I wish I could share some of these performances but in one of those truly genius corporate titan moves, you can only find the concert videos on the Grammys websites and not even all of them either. Now if the Grammys would just stop having Trevor Noah host, because I find the way he roams through the audience making celebrity smalltalk extremely cringe – as the young folks say. Also treating the return of The Weeknd to the Grammys like the second-coming of Martin Luther King Jr? Even more cringe. See, this is why you leave hosting, and everything else, to the gays gals from now on, Grammys.