Connie said that is her favorite song on the new album and that she loves that acoustic version of it best. What am I talking about? Last time:
Connie e-mailed to ask if I could note Miranda Lambert released a new
album. I can. It's called POSTCARDS FROM TEXAS and it came out last
Friday. Connie, I e-mailed you back and if you can reply in time, I'll
note your favorite song from in in my next post -- note the title and
include the video.
Last time, I also mentioned Elle King's "High Road" would come out Friday.
Last time, we also talked about how Katy Perry and how the new album crashed and burned. Nick Levine (BBC) writes:
She was one of the world's biggest pop stars – but her new album has been plagued by controversy and failed singles. Here's why she's stumbled – and what it says about music today.
The comeback has a special place in pop culture. From Judy Garland's career-reviving 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall to Cher's reinvention as a chart-topping dance diva with 1998's Believe, it's a story that never loses its emotional piquancy. There's something moving and even comforting about seeing a great star return to the top, particularly because it doesn't happen every time. For this reason, the narrative's sad flipside – the failed comeback – is every bit as fascinating. It reminds us that to miss the target is fundamentally human and that nothing in life is guaranteed.
This is the prevailing wind that Katy Perry faces today as she releases her seventh album, 143. Its controversial lead single Woman's World stalled at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 65 in the UK when it arrived in July, while its more anodyne follow-up, Lifetimes, had to settle for a number 15 placing on the less prestigious Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100. These are crushing results for an artist who has more diamond singles denoting US sales of 10 million units – six – than any female artist bar Rihanna. "Katy Perry is one of the biggest names in pop music, so when these songs didn't cut through, it created an interesting story for the media," says Hugh McIntyre, a music journalist with Forbes. And that story is: Why is her new music not connecting with the public?
The problems all began with the Woman's World rollout in July. Two months after its release, it's difficult to regard the song as anything other than dead on arrival. In an Apple Music 1 interview, Perry said she wanted it to reflect her "feminine divine" and feel "empowering" in a similar way to her signature hits Firework (2010) and Roar (2013). When she sings "it's a woman's world and you're lucky to be living in it," it's a characteristically plainspoken expression of that message. Perry shrewdly acknowledged in the interview that people associate her with "songs that are captions on T-shirts and stuff like that".
However, many fans and critics felt that Perry's feminist message was fatally undermined by her choice of collaborator – producer Lukasz Gottwald, better known as Dr Luke. Perry worked extensively with Dr Luke on her three most successful albums – 2008's One of the Boys, 2010's Teenage Dream and 2013's Prism – but he was absent from her subsequent albums, 2017's Witness and 2020's Smile. Both of these were written and released within the timeframe of his lengthy legal battle with pop singer Kesha. Though Perry has never commented in a press interview on her decision to sever ties with Dr Luke, she said during a 2017 deposition that she chose not to work with him on Witness because she didn't want to appear to be "taking a side".
At the time, their legal battle was still sending shockwaves through the music industry. In October 2014, Kesha had filed a lawsuit against Dr Luke claiming he had drugged and raped her on two occasions in addition to "sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally" abusing her. Dr Luke countersued Kesha for defamation and said she had fabricated claims to extricate herself from a recording contract. In February 2020, a judge ruled that Kesha had defamed Dr Luke when she claimed in a text to Lady Gaga that the producer had raped Perry; the producer denied this allegation and Perry said it was "absolutely not" true during her deposition. Kesha and Dr Luke's extended dispute was eventually settled in June 2023 when both parties posted a statement saying they had "agreed to a resolution".
It's not just 'Dr' Luke. She was married to Russell Brand from 2009 to 2012. From WIKIPEDIA:
Pre–2023 allegations
In a 2006 interview, Dannii Minogue said Brand had sexually harassed her after she appeared on his TV show. She described him as "a bit of a vile predator", adding: "I certainly don't think he has cured his sex addiction." She said that Brand "wouldn't take no for an answer" and "throughout the whole interview he kept making shocking remarks that I can't even repeat".[23][120]
In 2007, on Brand's BBC Radio 2 comedy show, he called former Jim'll Fix It host Jimmy Savile and asked to meet him. Savile answered that that would only happen if Brand brought along his sister if he had one. In response, Brand joked, "I've got a personal assistant [...] and part of her job description is that anyone I demand she greet, meet, massages, she has to do it. She's very attractive, Jimmy."[121] When he asked Savile what she should wear, Savile replied he would "prefer her to wear nothing".[121][122] The exchange between Brand and Savile was featured in the 2023 Channel 4 Dispatches documentary Russell Brand: In Plain Sight.[123]
From 2006 to 2008 Brand received five complaints while he was a BBC radio host and presenter of both sexual misconduct and unprofessional workplace behaviour.[124]
In 2014, former girlfriend Jordan Martin said Brand had committed sexual assault and physical and emotional abuse during their six-month relationship in 2007.[125][126] She accused Brand of assaulting her at the Lowry Hotel in Salford when he became angry after discovering she had spoken to an ex-boyfriend.[126]
While filming a programme with Brand in 2018, Katherine Ryan reportedly made remarks to Brand, indicating he was a "sexual predator"; these remarks were not broadcast.[127]
Sunday Times/Channel 4 investigation (2023)
Release
Early in 2019, The Sunday Times began inquiries after being made aware of allegations of sexual misconduct made against Russell Brand.[128] In 2022, Channel 4's Dispatches began working with The Sunday Times and The Times to investigate the allegations.[129] On 16 September 2023, allegations were published from four women anonymously, accusing Brand of sexual assaults, and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013, following the joint investigation.[130][131][132] At the time concerned, the youngest of the women alleging abuse was aged 16 (the age of consent throughout the UK), while Brand was 31 and she accused him of sexual assault and of grooming her at the time.[130] Most of the women, who The Times said do not know each other, have chosen to remain anonymous in fear of public harassment.[133] Additionally, a fifth woman accused him of flashing his genitals at her.[130] The Sunday Times noted that several of the accusers "felt compelled" to speak out "given Brand's newfound prominence as an online wellness influencer".[12][134][135]
The reports noted that complaints about Brand's behaviour had been made to Lesley Douglas, then controller of BBC Radio 2, in 2007, after Brand allegedly urinated into a bottle "in full view of everyone" in the BBC Radio 2 studio and hurled objects "in fits of rage".[136] Brand allegedly pursued female audience members for sex and exposed himself to a crew member on the shows EFourum and Big Brother's Big Mouth.[136] Production company Endemol and Channel 4 released statements of regret, saying in part: "We are sorry these women did not feel supported and protected while working on these productions and in light of these serious allegations encourage them to contact us in confidence."[136]
Reactions and aftermath
Brand responded by denying any criminal wrongdoing, saying his relationships "were absolutely always consensual" while stemming from a period of time when he was "very, very promiscuous".[130] He said he had been contacted by both The Sunday Times and Channel 4 prior to the publication of the story, and said their reporting contained "a litany" of "astonishing, rather baroque attacks", saying at the report's core were "some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute".[12]
On 16 September 2023, Brand performed at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre in London. Brand told the audience, "I really appreciate your support. I love you. There are obviously some things I absolutely cannot talk about – and I appreciate that you will understand."[137] On 18 September 2023, all remaining dates on the tour were postponed.[138] Brand was also dropped by his agent Tavistock Wood amid the accusations.[139] Wood released a statement, writing in part: "Russell Brand categorically and vehemently denied the allegation made in 2020, but we now believe we were horribly misled by him."[140]
YouTube said on 19 September that it had suspended Brand's ability to make money from his account; a spokesperson said, "This decision applies to all channels that may be owned or operated by Russell Brand."[141] The director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, announced an internal review of complaints against Brand during his time working for the organisation.[142] The BBC had already removed some material featuring Brand from its archive.[142] The CEO of the media platform Rumble, Chris Pavlovski, on 21 September, instead said the company would not "join a cancel culture mob". Pavlovski rejected a House of Commons Media Committee request to join YouTube in removing the monetisation from Brand's channels "based solely on these media accusations"; he also stated that the parliament's request was "extremely disturbing".[143][144][145]
Television presenter Vanessa Feltz released a clip of her appearance on Brand's TV show in 2006, where he asked if he could "have it off" with her or her daughters, which left her "deeply offended".[146] Lorraine Kelly said she felt "uncomfortable" during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show after Brand touched her thigh and called her a "slut" in 2007.[147][148]
Police and legal actions
After having encouraged anyone "who believes themself to have been a victim of sexual assault" to come forward, the Metropolitan Police received on 17 September an allegation of sexual assault against Brand said to have taken place in Soho, London, in 2003.[149] The allegation arose after the Met "[approached] The Sunday Times and Channel 4 to ensure that anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual offence is aware of how to report this to the police."[150] The alleged incident predates the period of alleged incidents covered in The Sunday Times and Channel 4 investigations.[151][152][153] On 19 November 2023, Brand was questioned by police in connection with alleged sexual assaults.[154] [155]
On 21 September 2023, a woman accused Brand of exposing himself to her at the BBC's Los Angeles office in 2008, and then laughing about it minutes later on his BBC Radio 2 show.[156]
In November 2023, a woman accused Brand of exposing himself and later trapping and assaulting her in a bathroom during the film production in 2010 of comedy Arthur (2011). She was an extra on the film and brought forth a lawsuit against him and Warner Bros.[157] On 3 November 2023, the lawsuit was filed against Brand under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which allowed victims of sexual offences for which the statute of limitations had lapsed a period of one year to file a suit. Warner Bros. Pictures and others involved in Arthur's production were also named as defendants for neglecting, aiding and abetting misconduct of Brand on the film set.[158][159]
The combo hurt her -- working with "Dr" Luke and the reality of Russell Brand.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
A discussion of reproductive rights included Hadley Duvall, an abortion rights advocate who was raped and impregnated by her stepfather when she was 12 – as well as members of the family of Amber Nicole Thurman, a Georgia mother who ProPublica reported died in 2022 from a treatable infection due to delays to her medical care stemming from the state’s restrictive abortion law.
Shanette, Thurman’s mother, spoke publicly about the case for the first time during Thursday’s livestream, saying, “Initially, I did not want the public to know my pain.”
“I wanted to go through in silence, but I realized that it was selfish. I want you to know, Amber was not a statistic, she was loved by a family, a strong family,” she added.
Harris, who is set to travel to Georgia on Friday to deliver remarks on women’s reproductive rights, apologized to Thurman’s family.
“I’m just so sorry,” the vice president said. “And the courage that you all have shown is extraordinary, because also you just learned about how it is that she died. … And Amber’s mom shared with me that the word over and over again in her mind, is preventable. Preventable. That word keeps coming to her.”
Abené Clayton and Lois Beckett (GUARDIAN) also note that section of the conversation:
Also in attendance were the mother and sisters of Amber Nicole Thurman, a woman who died after failing to receive prompt medical care in 2022 when she experienced complications from taking abortion pills, just weeks after Georgia’s abortion ban went into effect. A recent report deemed her the first “preventable” death to be confirmed as a result of Georgia’s ban.
Her family blamed Donald Trump and his supreme court picks for her death. “They just let her die because of some stupid abortion ban. They treated her like she was just another number,” Thurman’s older sister said of the medical professionals she had turned to for help.
“You’re looking at a mother who is broken,” Thurman’s mother said, through tears. “It’s the worst pain that a parent could ever feel. I want you all to know that Amber was not a statistic. She was loved by a strong family and we would have done whatever to get our baby the help that she needed. Women around the world need to know that this was preventable.”
Another powerful moment took place when the issue of school shootings took place. Kamala spoke about how she'd been addressing college students and tech school students this year and would ask, at the start, for a show of hands to determine how many had participated in an active shooting drill? She noted that this wasn't normal and shouldn't be treated as though it was. She spoke of growing up with fire drills and, because she grew up in California, earthquake drills. But shooting drills?
Ebony Davis and Fredreka Schouten (CNN) report:
Harris and the livestream audience also heard from 15-year-old Natalie Griffith, a student from Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, who was shot twice during a campus attack earlier this month.
Natalie, who had a cast on her left arm, was joined by her parents, Marilda and Doug, who demanded more action. “We have a job, that job is to protect our children,” an impassioned Marilda Griffith said. “We have to stop it.”
Harris, who discussed owning a gun during her recent debate with Trump, reiterated Thursday that she believes it is a “false choice” to suggest someone is either in favor of the Second Amendment or wants to take everyone’s guns away.
The parents of Natalie Griffith, a 15-year-old injured in the deadly Apalachee High School shooting earlier this month in Winder, Georgia, spoke. Griffith's mother, Marilda, made an emotional plea for a "change to be made" to address gun violence. Her father, Doug — who noted that he was not a registered Democrat — called for metal detectors to be placed inside schools.
Harris did not explicitly say if she agreed with the call for metal detectors, but said "we just need to apply common sense." She repeated her calls for an assault weapons ban and universal background checks. When Winfrey made note of Harris being a gun owner, as she revealed in prior campaigns and repeated in her debate with Trump, Harris said that "if somebody breaks into my house, they're getting shot."
Doug? Doug's response -- messed up by Aaron Navarro -- was that this was a common sense issue. Kamala, when she spoke of that, noted her agreement with Doug that this was basic and common sense. I don't know whether she thinks metal detectors are part of that approach or not but it does Doug a disservice for CBS to report it that way. And Doug's argument there was that metal detectors weren't always in courthouses but we have them there now, they weren't always in airports but we have them now.
Marilda Griffith spoke about getting a call at work asking if she'd heard about the shooting at her daughter's school. She hadn't. She spoke of how her heart dropped, how she had to rush out of work, how she was praying the whole time and then she can't get near the school and has to walk a few miles to get there because it's blocked off. And the whole time she's living in fear that her daughter's dead.
Natalie, still wearing bandages, was accompanied on either side by her parents, Doug and Marilda. She was visibly fighting back emotions as she described being injured in the school shooting.
"Oprah, before that thing, that video, I was very happy, I still am very happy to be here and to tell my story to tell what happened because it was a terrible thing," she said. "And it should have not... um..." The teen trailed off in emotion and reflection.
Natalie was in an algebra class when the shooting started. She was shot twice.
She pointed to the spots on her arm and wrist where she was shot. She was also grazed across the chest.
"I've had intruder drills and fire drills and stuff," the teen said, but added that they had not yet had one at Apalachee that year. She said she wasn't even sure where to go when it happened.
Marilda noted that her daughter was wounded but she was alive; however, some students and teachers were killed in the shooting. In terms of national outlets, Erica L. Green (NEW YORK TIMES) does a strong job covering this exchange:
Also in the crowd at the forum, held outside Detroit, was Natalie Griffith, a 15-year-old student who was shot twice in algebra class by a classmate during a campus attack on Sept. 4 at Apalachee High School, also in Georgia. Her mother, Marilda Griffith, sobbed telling the story of how that day unfolded.
“The whole world needs to hear that we women, that have our children — we have a job,” Ms. Griffith said. “That job is to protect our children. That job is to protect our nation.”
Ms. Harris agreed, citing the “bone-chilling” sight of a sea of students raising their hands when, on tours across the country, she asks if they have participated in active-shooter drills.
There were many other strong moments. Stream it if you haven't already. This morning, WIRED has posted a Kamala video.
Let's move across the aisle now to find out what's going on in the world of MAGA. Here's Ronny Chieng on THE DAILY SHOW last night.
Yes, Moms for Bigotry and Donald Trump suffered a big loss yesterday when their dream boat Mark Robinson got exposed for the liar he is. Alex Bollinger (LGBTQ NATION) explained yesterday:
Robinson's past antisemitic comments have drawn scrutiny and condemnation.[16][47] Prior to running for lieutenant governor, he frequently made Facebook posts that invoked antisemitic stereotypes and downplayed the harms of Nazism.[48][49] He claimed that the Marvel movie Black Panther was "created by an agnostic Jew and put to film by satanic Marxists" that was "only created to pull the shekels out of your Schvartze pockets" (using a Yiddish word for "black people").[14][13] Robinson also appeared at an interview with fringe pastor Sean Moon, who claimed that he planned to become "king of the United States"; in the interview, Moon claimed that the Rothschild family was one of the "four horsemen of the apocalypse" and promoted the antisemitic conspiracy theory of a cabal of Jewish "international bankers" that rule every country's central bank. Robinson endorsed Moon's claim as "exactly right".[47] Robinson's statements, as well as his refusal to apologize for or retract them, drew much concern from the leaders of North Carolina's Jewish community,[16] as well as criticism from the Jewish Democratic Council of America and the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC).[48] Robinson declined to publicly apologize for any of his remarks, although he said he privately apologized to local Jewish leaders in a meeting in 2021.[48] In 2022, Robinson said that his Facebook post about Black Panther was "the only time I've ever apologized for anything I put on Facebook" and said "I knew the truth of what I was trying to say, but I should have chosen different words."[35]
In October 2023, after Hamas attacked Israel, Robinson said he supported Israel and, when asked about his past antisemitic comments, said "I've never been antisemitic...There have been some Facebook posts that were poorly worded on my part, did not convey my real sentiments, and I have addressed those issues and moved on from those issues."[50] When asked if he apologized, Robinson said, "I apologize for the word — not necessarily for the content, but we apologize for the wording."[50] Robinson's opponents in the gubernatorial election questioned the sincerity of the apology and called his prior statements hate speech and antisemitism.[8][50]
In September 2024, CNN reported that Robinson had allegedly used antisemitic slurs on various porn forums from 2008-2012.[17]
Holocaust denial
In March 2023, more of Robinson's past social-media statements emerged, including Facebook posts appearing to call the figure of 6 million Jews perishing in the Holocaust into question;[49] for example, Robinson wrote: "this foolishness about Hitler disarming MILLIONS of Jews and then marching them off to concentration camps is a bunch of hogwash,"[7] and "There is a REASON the liberal media fills the airwaves with programs about the NAZI and the '6 million Jews' they murdered."[49] Both Democrats and Republicans criticized Robinson's statements.[48][7]
Less than 24 hours after CNN published a bombshell report on comments that it said Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina, made on a pornographic website, the Democratic National Committee unveiled new advertisements linking him to former President Donald Trump.
The DNC plans to launch a new digital advertisement and nearly a dozen billboards highlighting how Trump has praised Robinson, who is North Carolina's lieutenant governor, according to a source familiar with the matter and a news release by DNC regional press secretary Kenny Palmer. NBC News was the first to report the new ad push.
By linking Trump to Robinson, Democrats hope to cut into Trump's support in the state, which a Democratic presidential candidate has not won since 2008.
I don't think anyone considers Marjorie Taylor Greene a good judge of anything. However, let me note this video. The man involved is, according to MTG, "a man of high character."
Here's MEDIA MATTERS on Mark Robinson:
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson is reportedly facing calls to drop out of his race due to an impending bombshell story that could torpedo his candidacy. Some of Robinson's biggest supporters have been prominent right-wing media figures, including people Donald Trump Jr., Dan Bongingo, and Charlie Kirk.
Robinson is a right-wing commentator who became lieutenant governor of North Carolina in January 2021. He has a history of toxic remarks, including about women and LGBTQ people.
Media Matters previously uncovered that Robinson claimed in 2018 that Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby were victims of a left-wing “plot” to destroy them for their “so-called sexual crimes.” Robinson also called on his followers to “stand up against” the supposed “plot to build up a climate of fear, to shut people's mouths.” Media Matters also reported that he said mass shootings are “karma” for allowing abortion.
Despite his well-known history of extremist remarks, Robinson has gotten support from numerous Republicans. That list includes former President Donald Trump, who endorsed him by claiming he’s “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
Since Robinson began running for governor last year, numerous right-wing media figures have endorsed him with strong praise. Here is a look at those remarks prior to today's reporting about Republicans urging him to leave the race.
Donald Trump Jr. said “we need more” people like Robinson who are “not afraid to say” what they’re thinking. During his Rumble show, Trump Jr. said that he likes Robinson and he’s a “good guy, funny guy, not afraid to say what he is thinking, which I think we need more of.”
Eric Trump: “Amazing, amazing, amazing guy. Amazing guy. … Mark is a wonderful person, a wonderful guy. A person I’ve gotten to know very, very well. And I think not only are we going to win the state, I think he’s going to win the state.”
MAGA is shorthand for? Liar.
The star political reporter at the center of the love triangle involving one-time presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and his Curb Your Enthusiasm star wife Cheryl Hines copped to an inappropriate relationship — but has insisted it was all an online fling.
In declaring the relationship was never physical, New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi, 31, admitted that "the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal" in a statement issued late Thursday night.
Nuzzi said in a statement to The New York Times on Thursday, without elaborating on the exact nature of their relationship, that "some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal" earlier this year.
She said that despite having covered the subject previously she did not report on him directly during this time.
"The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York," she said.
NBC News reached out to Nuzzi overnight for comment.
While neither Nuzzi or New York Magazine named the reporting subject, both CNN and the New York Times have reported that it was Kennedy.
A mutual friend of Junior's had told us earlier in the week about the call that was put in. Was he making a mistake if he endorsed Donald Trump? Yes, the friend told him.
"It was so different from the call a decade ago," he explained. "That time it was him asking if he should marry Cheryl [Hines] and my yes answer got a lot more push back."
Indeed.
Junior raised the issue of Cheryl's name value (not as high as he wanted) and her "horse face" and the dangling boob that was smaller than the other and -- Well, let's leave it there. We don't want to be unnecessarily cruel. Besides we had to jog his memory on the fourth complaint Junior had about Cheryl, he'd forgotten.
We hadn't because Junior
made four calls that time, to four trusted friends, who'd repeated the
story over the years. Three of them didn't think the marriage would
last five years and that Junior would leave her. Fortunately for
Cheryl, with her, he just cheats and, but "she gives him time, [he]
makes it back home." That was from another man he called about whether
or not he should marry Cheryl. When we found out he'd called at least
one about both (whether to marry Cheryl, whether to endorse Donald), we
decided to check and see if he'd called all four.
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Daniel, Me Estás Matando: Tiny Desk Concert4 hours ago
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Mark Robinson gets exposed13 hours ago
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Kamala on the rise13 hours ago
