#maroon 2020 tour

[midnightsslut]

A Guide to Red - The Quintessential Taylor Swift Album

After the release of The Manuscript, the role of Red and Red (Taylor’s Version) in Taylor’s life and discography has been highly discussed. A lot of people have referred to it as her magnum opus and most formative album. I have decided to compile a condensed list of about a dozen key interviews, performances, speeches, posts, and videos from 2011 all the way until 2024 that illustrate the importance of this record for Taylor’s personal life and career. I’m putting the list under a cut because it got pretty long. You don’t have to go through all of these, obviously, but I would suggest at least one per era. The bolded ones are essential in my opinion.

Pre-Red - These interviews hint at Taylor’s emotional state at the time and thus the content that will be explored on the Red album

2011 The New Yorker profile

Taylor Swift reveals new album is all about heartbreak - Extra TV

Bonus: an article going through Taylor’s arm lyrics on the Speak Now World Tour, which she described as mood rings for any particular show

Lover diary entries from the making of Red (credit to @cabincreaking for the scans)

- All Too Well lyrics first draft (February 2011)

- Random bursts of happiness and anxiety during the Speak Now Tour (June 17, 2011)

- Red (September 8, 2011)

- Holy Ground (February 2012)

- Nothing New (March 2, 2012)

- Working with Max Martin (June 10, 2012)

Red era - Listen to the original sixteen songs on the Red album at this point.

Red announcement livestream + Q&A

Red prologue

2012 Rolling Stone interview

2012 The Guardian interview

2012 Billboard interview

2012 Esquire interview

Sirius XM Town Hall - an hourlong interview from the day Red came out

Good Morning America - this is the first mention of the ten-minute version of All Too Well

Red track-by-track descriptions

Random interview where she discusses the connection between writing Speak Now and Red

I Knew You Were Trouble music video

Diary entry about how love is fiction and she might move to New York after all (January 6, 2014)

Diary entry from Grammy night (January 25, 2014)

Red Tour London performance of All Too Well - any performance of this song from 2013-14 will work here, but this one has a pretty comprehensive speech

Final performance of All Too Well on the Red Tour - just listen to the speech here

Post-Red era - Over the course of these interviews, you’ll see her relationship to the album evolve.

Taylor’s description of Clean (skip to 11:18)

2014 BBC Live Lounge interview

1989 World Tour interview where she mentions thinking she’d never sell as many albums as she did with Red before 1989 came out

Clean speech - a lot of these will work, but these two best describe her relationship with the Red era and heartbreak in general

All Too Well (The 1989 World Tour live)

2015 GrammyPro interview

All Too Well Super Saturday Night performance

Reputation Tour All Too Well speech

Red into Daylight performance - 2019 City of Lover concert in Paris

Re-recordings era - at this point, listen to the red vault

2020 Rolling Stone podcast

Red (Taylor’s Version) prologue

2021 Saturday Night Live performance

All Too Well: The Short Film + Behind the Scenes

Seth Meyers interview

2022 Tribeca film talk OR TIFF (both are equally good. I have a slight preference for the former, but there are some interesting new details in the latter). You could also watch directors on directors from the same year as a bonus, but it’s less comprehensive.

2022 Graham Norton - How All Too Well (10 Minute Version) came about + how the re-recordings inspired Midnights

Also listen to Midnights

The Eras Tour

All Too Well speech (Glendale Night 2 & Atlanta Night 1) - any of the speeches from March and April 2023 will work, but these two really illustrate how she feels about this time in her life now and how the fans changed the Red album for her. Obviously credit to @cages-boxes-hunters-foxes for the transcripts!

Maroon first ever live performance (‘This is a song about something that happened a long time ago, but it took place in New York’)

Aaaand finally listen to The Tortured Poets Department, especially The Manuscript

This is a lot, but it’s worth it. Enjoy!

[sophietv]

All Of The Kaylor Lore Table Of Content:

Here's a list of all my Kaylor content in a way that is easy to find! (I'll update it everytime I post something new)

The goal here is to explain most of the important Kaylor Lore to help you better understand.

I also do a LOT of Threads on Twitter explaining Kaylor theories. You can find them all here: (X)

Kaylor Lore:

The Love Blackout (It's all part of the f*cking story)

Kaylor Timeline BEFORE the 2013 VSFS

Their "Breakup", Folkmore and William Bowery

Why I Think They Are Still Hiding

My Thoughts About Them Having Kids

The Ultimate LSK Thread Of Koincidences (Fall of 2019)

The Ultimate LSK Thread Of Koincidences (2020) Part 1

The Ultimate LSK Thread Of Koincidences (2020) Part 2

The Ultimate LSK Thread Of Koincidences (2021) Part 1

The Ultimate LSK Thread Of Koincidences (2021) Part 2

The Ultimate LSK Thread Of Koincidences (2021) Part 3

Midnights IS about Karlie Kloss:

Those are threads I did on Twitter. I'll transfer them here when I have a minute (I'm not done, I still have a lot of songs to do but got distracted by other threads 😅):

Snow On The Beach

Anti-Hero Music Video

Maroon

Bejeweled Music Video

Lavender Haze Music Video

Glitch

Songs Analysis:

The Great War

You're Losing Me

Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Don't Blame Me

Delicate

End Game

...Ready For It?

Reputation Prologue

Other Kaylor Theory/Threads:

Kaylor: The Eras Tour

Other Gaylors Theory:

Karma On The Wall Update

Everything About The Failed Coming Out 2019

[hit-song-showdown]

Year-End Poll #71: 2020

[Image description: a collage of photos of the 10 musicians and musical groups featured in this poll. In order from left to right, top to bottom: The Weeknd, Post Malone, Roddy Ricch, Dua Lipa, DaBaby and Roddy Ricch, Harry Styles, Future and Drake, Maroon 5, Maren Morris, Lewis Capaldi. End description]

More information about this blog here

This is when the polls start to put me in a weird position. Because since we're currently in the current decade, it's hard for me to make assumptions about what this decade is going to sound like. But I'll try my best.

To address the elephant in the room first, this was the start of the Covid 19 pandemic (if you forgot). Are we able to see the impact of the pandemic on the charts? Maybe not in lyrical content (sadly, PlagePop didn't become a thing 😔), but we can see its influence when it comes to chart performance. With the lockdown making it impossible to (safely) tour and promote their music, many musicians had to find other methods. With social media now being the main way people listen to and discover new music and the rise of bedroom pop, this wasn't impossible. But still, many artists either postponed or shelved their releases this year. Which is odd, because the charts were moving incredibly fast in 2020. A song could make it onto the charts one week, and disappear shortly after. So not everything got to stick around, but the stuff that stuck really stuck. The Weeknd's Blinding Lights, for example, was the most-streamed song on Spotify in 2020, and to this day it still holds the record of the most-streamed song of all time. But that might seem odd to some people, since Blinding Lights was not released in 2020.

This isn't unusual. Due to how trends work and the way Billboard releases their charts in December, songs released later in the year often don't chart high until the following year. But I'm bringing this up because the chart of 2020 doesn't look like 2020. Like I said, Blinding Lights was released in November 2019, which isn't that unheard of. But then we have songs like Post Malone's Circles (2019) and Lewis Capaldi's Someone You Loved (2018). Rockstar and Life Is Good are the only songs featured on this poll that were released in 2020.

And as far as the sound of the 2020's goes, it's too early to say but from what I can see so far, the pop sound of the year 2020 centers more around homages to previous decades. We can see this with the synth wave influences in Blinding Lights, the nu-disco in Don't Start Now, the light funk of Adore You, and the interpolation of Pachelbel's Canon in Memories.

[cyberpunk-20xx]

On Johnny’s trans journey

cw for internalized and externalized transphobia, lesbophobia, alcohilism mentions, canon-compliant violence

Yeah so one day (this is my hc in my CP15 AU where Johnny doesn’t get to stay with the Aldecaldos the whole time between summer 2013 and the 2020s and instead goes back to Kerry NC, thus leading to a Reunion Tour that gets Victor hired by Samurai’s label), there's yet another quidproquo between Victor and him.

In a panic, he suckerpunches Victor rasping "I'm not a fucking tranny [unsaid: like you]"

And something clicks inside Victor's head (probably their chrome thinly-veiled skull rebuffing against the impact) and everything falls to place. As comprehension sets in, their response is instantaneous:

"Well fuck, damn you stupid bitch, I didn't say you were, but now I know you are!!"

And they look at him in disbelief like he's pulled the biggest bit they've ever witnessed, there's a blank where Johnny is pale as a fucking sheet, looking like a ghost that got killed twice more, starting to hyperventilate as he stares at them, and they righten themselves, rubbing and cracking their jaw back into place (that's also when Johnny understand how borged out they secretly are), and they look at him, eyebrows rising, and whistles out,

"Fuck, that explains so much."

—

Johnny once fell upon an entire fortune. Literally. While raiding an abandoned house the enemy forces had been hiding out at, the poor kid had collapsed right onto some corpse of a guy still clinging to a wad of cash. Johnny did what any shellshocked underage impulsive teen soldier would have.

He pocketed the money and hid it, the stress and fear of being caught with it making him sick. He had to get rid of it and quick. And he couldn’t waste it.

He’d gotten the whole premium package: he’d already had a medium shit quality T implant, so he got a mammectomy he paid a fortune for, a scrotum and penis transplant, and a few months later, he got back to the clinic using the rest of the cash plus the little military credit and health care he had for cosmetic surgery that erased his chest scars, rendering him unidentifiable as trans to the naked, cis gaze.

Robert Linder died for good with Johnathan Nauman, and he was a pre-op trans man hopeful for a future that had more colours to it than just reds and blacks and maroons.

—

Only Kerry and Denny knew. Kerry only did because he was himself a semi-closeted trans man. And Johnny acted with such disgust toward the subject anytime he’d brought it up, unless it was about himself and then suddenly it was fucking magically fine (it made Kerry feel special, so he did not question it- if only he’d know just how special he actually was, so special to Johnny that Johnny had to resort to violence to deny himself another chance at loving a man the way he wished he could-) and Kerry’d always just assumed it was just yet another Raised in The Bible Belt thing.

He’d not been entirely wrong.

Denny on the other hand, knew about it because one day, she’d been the only one semi-sober– to this day she does not understand how nor why it had to be her of all people to learn this about their cryptical, aggressive frontman.

He’d been curled up in a corner and mumbling to himself, which wasn’t unusual but rare, but he was also sobbing and clutching his head. 

That, was not normal. It was fucking bizarre actually, and she felt even more mortified see this much from him than she’d been the first time she’d gifted a bouquet to a girl she liked (her name was Natasha, she had long auburn hair and a face like a gentle doll, lips pink like fruit) who’d then looked at her up and down and spat,

“I’m not a fucking lesbo.” 

As if just the thought had soiled her.

Well somehow that was worse.

And yet she’d approached him, and kneeled beside him.

Now, everyone in Samurai knew about Johnny’s horrid war-induced C-PTSD, and the first rule of thumb about Johnny’s horrid war-induced C-PTSD: You don’t talk about Johnny’s horrid war-induced C-PTSD.

If it needs to be brought up, Johnny is more than capable enough doing it himself and then by gods he’ll only stop when he’s done talking about it.

Many-a-one jaws and noses and ribs and walls and chairs and tables and car windows had beared the testimony of what happened if you broke that rule.

So they didn’t talk about it.

Then the 2013 raid happened. And it somehow got worse.

But let’s not get sidetracked.

Denny had sat next to Johnny, and a decade later she wonders if she wasn’t on some acid trip after all, when he’d not only not slapped her hand off of him, but collapsed against her chest, in the most uninterested way, and wailed just a tad louder, a tad clearer, about some guy he’d stolen everything from, the man who’d taken a bullet from him, and how he was a fraud and one day they would all find out, how he could only keep lying to himself for so long, he’d always just be the delusional bitch his older brothers said he was.

She had not even thought it was possible for Johnny Silverhand to have brothers, much less plural, much less ones that would have abused him and won.

More things were said. Garbled and disjointed, but Denny knew how to speak tongues with men who’d been swallowed by the bottle.

Oh, everyone assumed she was so patient with Henry because she was naive and stupid, but what they didn’t want to understand is that she just knew better. She knew that beneath the violence and the smell of chemicals lied terrified boys who’d grown into broken men, begging for anyone to just understand.

Her father had been such a kind man before the incident.

And so, she’d learned a secret Johnny hadn’t told anybody else, not even Kerry, and that was when she knew.

It was bad. She could never fucking mention it to anyone.

But Denny was used to taboos, and one more didn’t shake her. She just kept on drumming, taking out her rage at the world for burdening her with the pain of everyone around her by beating the shit out of her drumset and making bank off it.

She just knew some things were better left unsaid. Sleeping dogs lying and all that, y’know?

—

And then Victor had to go and fucking ruin it, making Johnny have to come out and say it.

And Johnny’s fists could barely scuff their face, it only broke the skin and bled but nothing underneath got any real damage, so, seemed they were all fucked.

They were gonna have to talk about it. Or at least put words on it, thinking about it, now.

Johnny hated them even more for that.

(That must be why he slept at their place, in their bed, for the next few weeks following.

Sometimes, Kerry would stay over so they could work on their songs, Victor keeping themselves busy with what the fuck ever it was that their imp ass did during their free time, and he’d sleep into bed behind him, or as the little spoon when Johnny felt small like humouring him.

Victor would stay on the same side of the bed and latch onto him one way or another, kissing his scalp softly, and he’d fall asleep, and if he were lucky, he dreamed of cocoa butter scented hair tickling his face, strong lanky dark skinned arms around his frames, two sets of dogtags clinking together softly under the rustles of the sheet.

Sometimes there would be blonde hair falling in a halo around a pale figure, but most of those dreams ended up as nightmares, so that’s not what we’re talking about if we’re talking about the times Johnny got lucky dreaming.

And when he’d wake up, there would be no blood. No screams. 

Just Victor’s stupid little hanging charms chiming softly as the AC droned on.

Just Kerry’s snoring against his neck.

Just peace.)

[garudabluffs]

When only affluent fans can afford concert tickets, there’s a price to be paid

March 18, 2023

READ MORE https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/18/arts/when-only-affluent-fans-can-afford-concert-tickets-theres-price-be-paid/?p1=Article_Feed_ContentQuery&p1=Article_Feed_ContentQuery

352 Comments

"Believe it or not, “Dead & Company” is actually incorporated….and the majority shareholder (more than 50% or so) is John Mayer…Jerry is definitely rolling over in his grave…"

& "That is so interesting to me. That does make sense to me. The melding together of John's fans with Deadheads is fascinating. I first saw them in 2016. I went very skeptical. I am in my 50's. Saw a lot of shows in the 80's (I was done when Brent died). I did not know much about John except that he is a very good pop song writer. I had tried all the other people that GD tried to plug in for Jerry. None of them worked for me. Then I went to Dead & Co with 3 old DeadHead friends. We went skeptical, left blown away. John is a monster on the guitar. I recommend checking out Sugaree from TD Garden 11-17-17. John blows the roof off the place after starting with a slow burn. Anyways fast forward and I am at Playing in the Sand 2020. It was a coup of DeadHeads who are now John Mayer Heads and Joh. Mayer Heads who are now Deadheads. I watched them grooving and singing along, they got it. My favorite overheard conversation on the beach from John Mayer Heads, I finally found that song from last night it is called "Quinn The Eskimo", wow it is a Dylan tune"! Beauteous!!

Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London in 1962. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two different lead vocalists during their period of success, Paul Jones from 1962 to 1966, and Mike d'Abo from 1966 to 1969. The group were regularly in the UK charts in the 1960s. Three of the band's most successful singles, "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Pretty Flamingo" and "Mighty Quinn", topped the UK Singles Chart. They were the first southern-England-based group to top the US Billboard Hot 100 during the British invasion.

"The people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands. And the rest of you, if you'd just rattle your jewelry." J. Lennon

-->"Actually aimed directly at the members of the royal family sitting in the box seats. Early days. Lennon being Lennon."

"Jonathan Wynn, a sociologist at UMass Amherst, notes that there’s plenty of live music happening on a smaller scale that won’t clean out your savings account. After all, even Springsteen started out playing in bars."

&& "I am so grateful to Eric Danton and the Globe for publishing this article prior to Springsteen’s Monday concert at the Garden. I was afraid all the coverage regarding the show would be positive, but someone really needed to say something about the ugly truth of this show.

I would add a few things :

Regarding the Springsteen tour, too much has been made of dynamic ticket pricing, which has actually represented a small portion of ticket sales (though Bruce did sign on to dynamic ticket pricing). The real issues are the face value costs and the use of Verified Resale. Re : face value –costs of the last E Street Band tour in 2016 were $80-$170 (inflation-adjusted). This time Bruce jacked the prices up to $59-$400, with an average price of $250. That has nothing to do with dynamic ticket pricing – those are the outrageous prices Bruce has chosen for the face value tickets (he doesn’t control the Ticketmaster fees ; he does control face value prices). Second, go to Ticketmaster and zoom up on the seating availability for any upcoming Bruce show. The vast majority of available seats appear as maroon-colored dots, which are Verified Resale ; the very few (if any) blue dots are the dynamically priced tickets. Verified Resale allows “fans” to resale tickets at any price they want for just a 15% fee to Ticketmaster. So very little of those high-priced tickets are going to Bruce/the artist – they are going to scalpers and being sold on Ticketmaster’s web site.

I got my tickets for Monday’s show five minutes into the July sale, was shocked by the prices, but only learned later that day why the costs were so high. After 37 years, 35 shows, 300 bootlegs in my collection, and four Springsteen academic conferences, I am through with Bruce. I haven’t listened to him since July, have only occasionally played some of his songs on guitar, and will not attend any more shows after Monday (I won’t be dancing, just sadly observing).

By all accounts the shows on this tour have been amazing, and Bruce is still near the top of his game. But the whole Springsteen-shtick is a lie, and most sadly a bunch of worshippers will keep gobbling it up when he shakes his bum, all the while perpetuating societal structural income inequality that harms so many human beings.

Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce could do something about this, but they choose not to. There are artists who keep their ticket prices way down – Ed Sheeran ($49-$139, no dynamic ticket pricing, no Verified Resale), The Cure (Robert Smith said he wants all fans to be able to afford the show), Arctic Monkeys, as well as others who have signed on to the U.K.-based FanFair Alliance. We know about the great work that Pearl Jam has tried to do to keep tickets out of the hands of scalpers. There is promise in blockchain technology (or any technology that makes your digital credit card your ticket so that it can’t be resold to scalpers). The refusal of many of the big names to take action just represents laziness and avarice.

I have to laugh at the shameless soulless sheep who bleat “supply and demand” over everything, clearly unable to recognize that the free market is supposed to live in service of democracy and dignity, not the other way around. Would they charge for their mothers’ funerals too? Tom Petty said it best : “I make millions on the road. I see no reason to bring the price up, even though I have heard many an anxious promoter say ‘we could charge much more for this.’ I would like to do this again and not leave a bad taste in people’s mouths… you’ve got to care about the person you’re dealing with.” Bruce Springsteen does not care."

[dan6085]

Here is a list of all Taylor Swift's songs by album:

## Taylor Swift (2006)

1. Tim McGraw

2. Picture to Burn

3. Teardrops on My Guitar

4. A Place in This World

5. Cold As You

6. The Outside

7. Tied Together with a Smile

8. Stay Beautiful

9. Should've Said No

10. Mary's Song (Oh My My My)

11. Our Song[1][2]

## Fearless (2008)

1. Fearless

2. Fifteen

3. Love Story

4. Hey Stephen

5. White Horse

6. You Belong with Me

7. Breathe (feat. Colbie Caillat)

8. Tell Me Why

9. You're Not Sorry

10. The Way I Loved You

11. Forever & Always

12. The Best Day

13. Change[1][2]

## Speak Now (2010)

1. Mine

2. Sparks Fly

3. Back to December

4. Speak Now

5. Dear John

6. Mean

7. The Story of Us

8. Never Grow Up

9. Enchanted

10. Better Than Revenge

11. Innocent

12. Haunted

13. Last Kiss

14. Long Live[1][2]

## Red (2012)

1. State of Grace

2. Red

3. Treacherous

4. I Knew You Were Trouble

5. All Too Well

6. 22

7. I Almost Do

8. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

9. Stay Stay Stay

10. The Last Time (feat. Gary Lightbody)

11. Holy Ground

12. Sad Beautiful Tragic

13. The Lucky One

14. Everything Has Changed (feat. Ed Sheeran)

15. Starlight[1][2]

## 1989 (2014)

1. Welcome to New York

2. Blank Space

3. Style

4. Out of the Woods

5. All You Had to Do Was Stay

6. Shake It Off

7. I Wish You Would

8. Bad Blood

9. Wildest Dreams

10. How You Get the Girl

11. This Love

12. I Know Places

13. Clean

14. Wonderland

15. You Are in Love

16. New Romantics[1][3]

## Reputation (2017)

1. I Did Something Bad

2. ...Ready for It?

3. End Game (feat. Ed Sheeran & Future)

4. Don't Blame Me

5. Delicate

6. Look What You Made Me Do

7. So It Goes...

8. Gorgeous

9. Getaway Car

10. King of My Heart

11. Don't Blame Me (Acoustic)

12. New Year's Day

13. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things[1]

## Lover (2019)

1. I Forgot That You Existed

2. Cruel Summer

3. The Man

4. The Archer

5. I Think He Knows

6. Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince

7. Paper Rings

8. Soon You'll Get Better (feat. Dixie Chicks)

9. False God

10. You Need to Calm Down

11. Lover

12. The City of Lover (Live)

13. Daylight[1][3]

## Folklore (2020)

1. the 1

2. cardigan

3. the last great american dynasty

4. exile (feat. Bon Iver)

5. my tears ricochet

6. mirrorball

7. seven

8. august

9. this is me trying

10. illicit affairs

11. invisible string

12. mad woman

13. epiphany

14. betty

15. peace

16. hoax

17. the lakes[1][3]

## Evermore (2020)

1. willow

2. champagne problems

3. gold rush

4. 'tis the damn season

5. tolerate it

6. no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)

7. happiness

8. dorothea

9. coney island (feat. The National)

10. ivy

11. cowboy like me

12. long story short

13. marjorie

14. closure

15. evermore (feat. HAIM)[1][3]

## Midnights (2022)

1. Lavender Haze

2. Maroon

3. Anti-Hero

4. Snow on the Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey)

5. You're on Your Own, Kid

6. Midnight Rain

7. Question...?

8. Vigilante Shit

9. Bejeweled

10. Labyrinth

11. Karma

12. Sweet Nothing

13. Mastermind[1][3]

## Taylor's Versions

- Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021)

- Red (Taylor's Version) (2021)

- Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (2023)

- 1989 (Taylor's Version) (2023)

## Live Albums

- Speak Now World Tour – Live (2011)

- Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008 (2020)

- Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (From the Disney+ Special) (2020)

- Lover (Live from Paris) (2023)[1][3]

Sources

[1] A Guide to All of the Taylor Swift Albums in Order - ONE37pm https://www.one37pm.com/music/taylor-swift-albums-in-order

[2] Taylor Swift albums in order: The complete guide to every song by ... https://www.hypable.com/taylor-swift-album-guide/

[3] Complete List Of Taylor Swift Studio Albums And Songs https://www.classicrockhistory.com/complete-list-of-taylor-swift-studio-albums-and-songs/

[4] Taylor Swift Lyrics, Songs, and Albums - Genius https://genius.com/artists/Taylor-swift

[5] All Taylor Swift Albums And Remasters In Chronological Order https://www.augustman.com/my/entertainment/music/taylor-swift-albums-and-remasters-in-chronological-order/

[tsdrinks]

Exploring Taylor Swift’s alcohol lyrics

Tyler Browne Connector Editor

Throughout her long and storied career, Taylor Swift has established several lyrical motifs in her songs. However, it can be argued that none is more prevalent than references to alcoholic beverages.

Swift’s lyrical fascination with alcohol began on 2017’s “Reputation”, which has led many fans to believe that the alcohol motif serves as a sort of metaphor for Joe Alwyn, who Swift dated between 2016 and 2023.

On “…Ready for It”, Swift references the island breeze cocktail multiple times, and on “End Game”, she describes Alwyn as having “eyes like liquor.”

The chorus of “Delicate” revolves around the premise of Alwyn making a drink for Swift during their first meeting, and “Gorgeous” includes a reference to whiskey on ice. “King of My Heart” references beer, while “So It Goes…” alludes to meeting with a lover in a bar.

Swift’s next album, 2019’s “Lover”, continues with the alcohol motif. The bridge of “Cruel Summer” includes the line, “I’m drunk in the back of the car,” while “Cornelia Street” references being “drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar.”

In the summer of 2020, Swift released “Folklore”. In the lead single, “Cardigan”, Swift references kissing in cars and downtown bars, while “The Last Great American Dynasty” includes a reference to a pool filled with champagne.

On “August”, Swift laments that “August slipped away, like a bottle of wine,” while “Invisible String” references a dive bar.

“Mirrorball” features a reference to drunkenness, while “The 1” references rosé.

2020’s “Evermore” has an entire song titled “Champagne Problems”. In the song, Swift tells a fictional story of a relationship that falls apart after a rejected proposal, using champagne as a metaphor for the narrator’s struggles with mental health issues. The song has become a fan-favorite, often leading to extended standing ovations after performances on Swift’s 2023 tour.

Another “Evermore” track, “No Body, No Crime”, tells a murder mystery story, featuring a reference to meeting a friend for “dinner and a glass of wine,” while “Willow” includes a reference to being “lost in your current like a priceless wine.”

On “Closure”, there is a reference to beer.

While “Tolerate It” doesn’t feature any mentions of alcoholic beverages, Eras Tour performances saw Swift perform the song with a bottle of wine used as a prop.

In 2022, Swift released “Midnights”. Unlike her previous two releases, “Midnights” returned Swift to writing songs about herself, rather than about fictional situations. During the recording process, the relationship between Swift and Alwyn began to fracture, leading to an incredibly personal album.

The chorus of “Maroon” revolves around the color of a stain of wine on Swift’s shirt, while the first verse mentions getting drunk on cheap rosé. “Question…?” includes a line about having “one drink after another.”

The standard album closer, “Mastermind”, sees Swift describing herself as “the wind in our free-flowing sails, the liquor in our cocktails,” in reference to the way that she plotted her relationship with Alwyn.

“Paris”, from the album’s deluxe edition, features references to meeting someone at a club and pretending that cheap wine is champagne.

“High Infidelity”, which is about the first time Swift and Alwyn met, refers to slurred speech, while “Dear Reader” sees Swift with “my fourth drink in my hand.”

“Hits Different” is about a low point in the breakup of Swift and Alwyn. On a night out with friends in Ireland, Swift gets drunk and imagines her lover with another girl before throwing up on the street, an event that was infamously confirmed by a graffiti artist in Dublin.

These lyrics cover a six-year span and five separate albums. During this time, Swift uses alcohol as a metaphor for her relationship with Alwyn, while also concocting fictional scenarios at times. With the relationship between Swift and Alwyn firmly in the past, it is anyone’s guess if the references to alcoholic beverages will continue on her next album.

[radiomaxmusic]

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 7pm ET: Feature LP: Maroon 5 - Red Pill Blues (2017)

Red Pill Blues is the sixth studio album by American band Maroon 5. It was released on November 3, 2017, through 222 and Interscope Records. This is the band’s first release to feature multi-instrumentalist Sam Farrar, as an official member after he became a touring member in 2012, and also the last album to feature bassist Mickey Madden as a member, before his departure from the band in 2020,…

[viviendopraga]

Esta es la lista de conciertos en Praga 2023 para no perderte y continuar la marcha tras una año de increíbles conciertos tras la pandemia. Si bien estos son a priori todos los grandes conciertos que nos esperan en Praga, salvo sorpresa de última hora, también puede fallar alguno. Esta es la lista de Conciertos en Praga 2023 que no te puedes perder FechaDíaActuaciónLugar5 de EneroJuevesČechomorDivadlo Hybernia28 de EneroSábadoDara RolinsO2 Arena9 de FebreroJuevesThe Black AngelsRoxy17 de FebreroViernesLewis CapaldiO2 Arena6 de MarzoLunesEros RamazzottiO2 Arena14 de MayoDomingoUB40Forum Karlín14 de MayoDomingoMåneskinO2 Arena19 de MayoViernesOzzy Osbourne + Judas PriestO2 Arena23 de MayoMartesPentatonixO2 Arena24 de MayoMiércolesRoger WatersO2 Arena25 de MayoJuevesRoger WatersO2 Arena30 de MayoMartesIron MaidenO2 Arena31 de MayoMiércolesIron MaidenO2 Arena2 de JunioViernesHans ZimmerO2 Arena3 de JunioSábadoAndré RieuO2 Arena4 de JunioDomingoTenacious DForum Karlín10 de JunioSábadoKissO2 Arena12 de Junio LunesPanteraO2 Arena21 de JunioMiércolesPrague Rocks: Maroon 5Letiště Letňany22-25 de JunioJueves-DomingoMetronome Festival: JamiroquaiVýstaviště Holešovice30 de JulioDomingoDepeche ModeLetiště Letňany6 de AgostoDomingoThe WeekndLetiště Letňany19 de SeptiembreMartesBlink-182O2 Arena23 de SeptiembreSábadoKontrafaktO2 Arena14 de OctubreSábadoEwa FarnaO2 Arena4 de NoviembreSábadoDaniel LandaO2 Arena22 de NoviembreMiércolesTill LindemannSportovní hala Fortuna24 de NoviembreViernesDymytryO2 Arena2 de DiciembreSábadoJelenO2 ArenaConciertos en Praga 2023 Estos son los últimos grandes conciertos del año 2020, aunque se tuvieron que suspender los tours desde marzo. Y estos son los últimos conciertos del año 2022, tras un 2021 sin ellos. Estos son los conciertos en Praga 2023 para no perderte, pero recuerda que tienes muchos más. Si quieres estar al día síguenos en Viviendo Praga y nuestras redes sociales.

[midnightsslut]

i know we talk about red a lot but i really would highly recommend going through taylor’s press from the red era (yes, there’s a Lot, and a lot of really interesting stuff isn’t on this playlist, but it’s a good place to start), watching her grammypro session in 2015, listening to her rolling stone podcast episode about red from fall 2020, watching the short film / red tv promo / the BTS from the set, then watching her tribeca & TIFF talks, listening to maroon, reading through transcripts of all too well speeches from the first two months of tour (y’all know where to look), and then listening to the manuscript. yes that is a LOOOT of content (and I haven’t done it in this order either - I’ve just listened to all of these over the years), but it gives you such a good understanding of like all aspects of taylor as a person and how this album shaped her. the manuscript still gives me the chills after dozens of listens. the red tv to midnights (particularly yoyok and maroon) to eras & ttpd timeline is a huge story on its own. idk idk it’s so fascinating to watch this story unfold in real time. and the years passed like scenes of a show etc etc. Actually I’m going to make a condensed playlist lol

[siteymnk]

2022年の文化活動（一覧）

昨年もあちこち行きました！全部で104か所。正直、あまり覚えていないモノもありますが、深層心理には刻まれていると信じて。 最も印象的だったのは、やはりフェルメールかしら。頑張って高層バスや新幹線で遠出したのも記憶に新しい（ベルナール・ビュッフェ美術館、DIC川村記念美術館）。仙崖のヘタウマ日本画は新たな発見であった。メディア芸術祭が終了してしまったのは残念。

クリスチャン・マーク トランズレーティング [翻訳する]＠東京都現代美術館

Viva Video! 久保田成子展＠東京都現代美術館

ユージーン・スタジオ 新しい海＠東京都現代美術館

Journals 日々、記す vol.2＠東京都現代美術館

MONDO 映画ポスターアートの最前線＠国立映画アーカイブ

多層世界歩き方＠NTTインターコミュニケーションセンター

オープンスペース2021 ニュー・フラットランド＠NTTインターコミュニケーションセンター

奥村土牛 - 山崎種二が愛した日本画の巨匠 第2弾＠山種美術館

ウェアラブルEXPO

視覚トリップ展＠ワタリウム美術館

絵画のゆくえ2022＠SOMPO美術館

2022 都民芸術フェスティバル＠東京文化会館

アジアの聖地 - 井津健郎 プラチナ・プリント写真展 - ＠半蔵門ミュージアム

第14回 恵比寿映像祭＠東京都写真美術館

ドレスデン国立古典絵画館所蔵　フェルメールと17世紀オランダ絵画展＠東京都美術館

岡本太郎現代芸術賞展＠川崎市岡本太郎美術館

木村伊兵衛と画家たちの見たパリ色とりどり展＠目黒区美術館

FACE展2022＠SOMPO美術館

接近、動き出すイメージ＠トーキョー・アーツアンドスペース本郷

オルタナティブ！ 小池一子展　アートとデザインのやわらかな運動展＠アーツ千代田3331

メトロポリタン美術館展＠国立新美術館

VOCA展 2022＠上野の森美術館

tagboat Art Fair 2022＠東京ポートシティ竹芝

ミロ展＠Bunkamura ザ・ミュージアム

どうぶつかいぎ展＠PLAY! MUSEUM

きみとロボット＠日本科学未来館

浜口陽三、ブルーノ・マトン展＠ミュゼ浜口陽三・ヤマサコレクション

生誕100年 特撮美術監督 井上泰幸展＠東京都現代美術館

吉阪隆正展 ひげから地球へ、パノラみる＠東京都現代美術館

Tokyo Contemporary Art Award 2020-2022 受賞記念展@東京都現代美術館

Chim↑Pom展：ハッピースプリング＠森美術館

2121年 Futures In-Sight展＠21_21 DESIGN SIGHT

ＳＦ・冒険・レトロフューチャー×リメイク～挿絵画家　椛島勝一と小松崎茂の世界～＠昭和館

鉄道と駅展＠ガスミュージアム

日本の映画館＠国立映画アーカイブ

シダネルとマルタン展＠SOMPO美術館

カリブラテンアメリカストリート2022＠錦糸公園

デザインフェスタ vol.55＠東京ビッグサイト

スコットランド国立美術館 美の巨匠たち＠東京都美術館

技研公開2022@NHK放送技術研究所

特別展 宝石 地球が生みだすキセキ＠国立科学博物館

ボテロ展＠Bunkamura ザ・ミュージアム

ポーランドフェスティバル2202＠渋谷ストリームホール

明治神宮御苑の花菖蒲

ゲルハルト・リヒター展＠国立近代美術館

音楽の日 2023＠アンスティチュ・フランセ 東京

2022 イタリア ボローニャ・国際絵本原画展＠板橋区立美術館

自然と人のダイアローグ　フリードリヒ、モネ、ゴッホからリヒターまで＠国立西洋美術館

キース・ヴァン・ドンゲン展＠パナソニック汐留美術館

アヴァンガルド勃興　近代日本の前衛写真＠東京都写真美術館

TOPコレクション メメント・モリと写真@東京都写真美術館

瞬間の記憶～創刊150周年～スポーツ報知 報道写真展＠東京都写真美術館

ライアン・ガーダー われらの時代のサイン＠東京オペラシティアートギャラリー

森鴎外記念館

ベルナール・ビュッフェ美術館

ヴァンジ彫刻庭園美術館

フカシル「旅する美術史」

浮世絵動物園＠太田記念美術館

Indeoendent Tokyo 2022＠東京ポールシティ竹芝

国立科学博物館附属 自然教育園

ルードヴィヒ美術館展＠国立新美術館

日本美術をひも解く―皇室、美の玉手箱＠東京藝術大学大学美術館

野口哲哉展 -armored space-＠座 蔦屋書店 GINZA ATRIUM

スイス プチ・パレ美術館展＠SOMPO美術館

Perfume 9th Tour 2022＠有明アリーナ

PROGRESSIVE LIVE 2022～エイジア イン エイジア イン 吉祥寺

仙崖のすべて＠出光美術館

大倉山記念館オープンデイ

第52回 文化庁メディア芸術祭 受賞作品展＠日本科学未来館

見るは触れる＠東京都写真美術館

イメージ・メイキングを分解する＠東京都写真美術館

ジャン・プルーヴェ展＠東京都現代美術館

MOTアニュアル2022 私の正しさは誰かの悲しみあるいは憎しみ＠東京都現代美術館

地球がまわる音を聴く：パンデミック以降のウェルビーイング＠森美術館

学年誌100年と玉井力三＠日比谷図書文化館

東京ビエンナーレ2023はじまり展＠寛永寺

東京ビエンナーレ2023はじまり展＠東京ドームシティ

鈴木大拙展　Life=Zen=Art＠ワタリウム美術館

江東区まつり中央まつり＠木場公園

DIC川村記念美術館

コミテコルベールアワード 2022 -The beauty of imperfection- 展＠東京藝術大学大学美術館

WOW 25th Anniversary Exhibition「Unlearning the Visuals」 ＠寺田倉庫

アートウィーク東京2022

・HIROSHI SUGIMOTO OPERA HOUSE＠ギャラリー小柳

・クリスチャン・ヒダカ＆タケル・ムラタ展＠銀座メゾンエルメス フォーラム

・第八次椿会　スバキカイ８　この新しい世界＠資生堂ギャラリー

・吉増剛造展＠タケニナガワ

・ストーリーテラー - 映像表現の現在 -＠日動コンテンポラリーアート

・日に潜み、夜に現る＠ペタロン東京

・Neue Fruchtige Tanzmusik＠ユタカキクチギャラリー

・見附正康＠オオタファインアーツ

・N＠コタロウヌカガ

新木場＆夢の島　わくわくおさんぽアートフェス

夢の島熱帯植物館

フジタが目黒にやって来た＠目黒区美術館

つながる琳派スピリット 神坂雪佳展＠パナソニック汐留美術館

大竹伸朗展＠国立近代美術館

Maroon 5 World Tour 2022＠東京ドーム

闇と光 - 清親・安治・柳村＠太田記念美術館

初代国立演芸場さよなら公演12月定席公演（上席）＠国立演芸場

生誕90年「事物の本質を見抜く眼」 バーニー・フュークスの世界＠代官山ヒルサイドフォーラム

本屋の文化祭　チェコアニメ上映会＠武蔵野公会堂

ピカソとその時代＠国立西洋美術館

鉄道と美術の150年＠東京ステーションギャラリー

今年も新たなアートとの出会いに期待。

[marijpeg]

march 5th, 2020

maroon 5 in recife ✨

[cocochannel00]

The Azoff Family: A Case Study on one of the Music Industry’s Most Connected Families

(ft. a breakdown of the Grammy voting process and problems)

This is very long so I will try and split it up into categories for everyone (sorry I got carried away- I spent like 2 hours writing this) but enjoy!

*Disclaimer: I want to preface while the majority of this is based in research, some parts may be speculation. I don’t know the family personally so I can’t tell you what goes on behind closed doors but I can tell you how parts of the entertainment/music industry work. I’ve had 5 internships in the industry (one in marketing at one of the big record labels) and the rest of my work is publicity (what I enjoy) and events and a former advisor used to run in the same circles as Irving Azoff (and he spilled some tea last year) I’m not out here to diminish the hard work of any artists or their teams, I’m simply here to showcase parts of the industry that aren’t always shown.*

Please also see: Story Time: How Fan Pages Directly Impact Columbia Records Decisions and Harry Styles Image

IRVING AZOFF: NEVER STOP THE GRIND

Let’s begin with the great business man himself Mr. Irving Azoff Irving Azoff is the literal posture child for connections and power in the music industry (he was also inducted into the 2020 rock and roll hall of fame class which is like a huge fucking deal for a manager to be inducted so you know he's the real deal)

In conclusion, I love Irving Azoff and his drive.

Irving Azoff: Early Years Run Down:

He came up middle class (dad was a pharmacist, mom a bookkeeper) in Danville, Illinois

He dropped out of college to run a small Midwestern concert-booking empire and managed local acts in the era

Opportunity came knocking and he got the chance to manage the Eagles and the rest is history

He's one of the best negotiators and has negotiated business on behalf of stars like Stevie Nicks, the Eagles, and Jimmy Buffet

Azoff has been an incredible manager and his drive to always advocate for his clients while basically not giving two sh*ts about what people think of him has gotten him the incredible reputation he has today.

All of Irving Azoff’s Major Job Positions:

Former President MCA (major label)

Former CEO of Ticketmaster and executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment, the behemoth formed from Ticketmaster’s merger with Live Nation.

In 2013 he and Cablevision Systems Corp. CEO and New York Knicks owner James Dolan formed a partnership, Azoff MSG Entertainment (Currently still CEO)

----> Azoff also ran the Forum in Inglewood under Azoff MSG Entertainment after MSG purchased it in 2012 (it was sold in 2020 to the owner of the Clippers) — why do you think Harry played the forum for the Fine Line show? Azoff connection

Azoff MSG Entertainment encompasses all of the other companies including Full Stop Management, Global Music Rights (performance-rights org), and the Oak View Group (arena developing company)

He also is the co-founder and manager of the lobbying group Music Artists Coalition, a group that helps lobby for artists-rights issues such as royalty rates, copyright issue and healthcare insurance (see he's not all bad)

Essentially what I'm getting at is this man knows anybody who's anybody. He's the man you want on your team to help promote your music, plan your tour, and get you on that Grammy nom list.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

JEFFREY AZOFF: THE CHILD OF NEPOTISM

So for those of you that don't know, Jeffery Azoff is Harry's current manager and the son of Irving Azoff (the third of four kids). He's currently a partner at Full Stop Management, the company owned by Irving and the one artists such as Harry, Haim, the Eagles, Kings of Leon, and Meghan Trainer are signed to.

Jeffrey graduated from the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business and started working fresh out of college at his father's old Management company (Frontline Management) working under Maroon 5's manager Jordan Feldstein (the only way you get that kind of internship/job as a 21 year old fresh out of college is if your family or family friends gives it to you). He worked here for 5 years.

Direct Quote from Irving Azoff to Jeffrey (really tells you a lot): "Listen carefully, because I’m going to say this one time. You have a phone and you have my last name. If you can’t figure it out, you’re not my son."

After working for his father, Jeffrey moved on to the talent agency CAA (Creative Artist Agency) where he worked for roughly 3 and half years before joining his dad in forming Full Stop Management in 2016.

While he was at CAA, Irving moved over clients like Christina Aguilera and the Eagles to the talent agency to help with tour booking instead of doing it internally through LiveNation (he was CEO).

Even though I'm sure Jeff has had to work somewhat hard to get to where he is (or at least to mess up his dad's work as he doesn't seem like the type to take laziness well), the door into the industry and every job was basically handed to him on a silver platter.

Not to mention if you watch episodes of keeping up with the  kardashians (like myself) you can actually see Jeff hanging out with kendall and the rest of the fam at their Palm Springs house (you know you're a nepotism kid if you have an in with the Kardashian crew). Invite me next time Jeffrey!!!

Think of the Azoff's as the mafia family of the music industry, you don't mess with the mafia

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE GRAMMY AWARDS: STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS ON STEROIDS

Ok so here's where we’re going to get into a bit more of the speculation/grey area. I don't need to tell you that award shows are corrupt (See the Golden Globes Emily in Paris scandal) and the Grammys are not an exception. Think of the Grammys as one big student council/government elections where despite the fact the teachers tell you six times to vote for the best candidate, you're still going to vote for your friends even if they aren't the best.

A simplified break-down of Grammy voting:

1) Recording Academy voting members (artists, producers, musicians- anyone involved first hand with the creation of music; All voting members must have been producers, performers or engineers on six or more tracks of a commercially released album (or 12 or more digital tracks) and record labels will submit nominations in various categories to the grammys (songs need to be released commercially between October 1 of the previous year and September 30th of this year). You can also become a voting member by either winning a grammy or being endorsed by a current voting member (hint hint)

2) Once received, the recording academy with have the academy of trustees and its reviewers organize them and approve any changes to the 30 categories/fields (aka they can add new categories or remove old ones; so no best ukulele album of the year -- this is where things get funky)

There's speculation that during this stage when these special groups of 8-10 people are organizing genres, there's an "unwritten rule" that you need to be careful what album you green light (especially for famous artists) if you don't want them to win) (Rob Kenner said this- he used to be on one of these committees). Famous people tend to get more votes from clueless or lay Academy members that don't know the specialized categories or don't care enough to listen to songs that aren't radio trending.

3) After the nominations occur, Voting members begin their first voting. Members can vote for the four general categories of record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist and a maximum of 15 categories, all within their areas of expertise. Now the interesting thing is that while these are the guidelines there is literally nothing stopping them from voting in whatever categories they want (i.g. a rapper voting in the opera category despite not listening to opera). Theses ballots are all tallied and the top 20 entries are determined in each category (funky moment #2)

In 12 of the 84 categories those top 20 go to the ballot and it's done; for the rest it’s not like that. 59 categories including the big four go to a "nomination review committees" (identities are protected so they can't get lobbied... sure) who take a look at the top 20 and narrow it down to 7 or 8. (these are the special committees the Weekend talked about when he was snubbed). They're supposed to choose the nominees "based solely on the artistic and technical merits of the eligible recordings" which lets be real if that was the case Watermelon Sugar (along with most of the others in the category) I don't think would have been nomimated as they are very generic pop (none of them are special... sorry to the WM lovers out there).

This committee is basically held to THE HONOR CODE SYSTEM... I mean tell me when the last time the honor code system worked in literally any scenario (literally wtf). Don't take my word for it though the former CEO of the Academy Deborah Dugan (a queen) filed a complaint against the Recording Academy basically claiming that the nomination review process was rigged (she was fired after 5 months on the job).

Quote from Deborah Dugan "Members of the board [of trustees] and the secret committees chose artists with whom they have personal or business relationships... It is not unusual for artists who have relationships with Board members and who ranked at the bottom of the initial 20-artist list to end up receiving nominations."

These review committees can also exploit there power by adding up to two nominees that don't appear on the top 20 list to the final voting ballot (except in the 4 big categories - which watermelon sugar that one wasn't nominated for)

They also have craft committees for like non performance stuff (like album notes, engineering and arranging) that don't even get voted on by the academy voting members

4) After all of that fucked up mess, the grammy's decided is ok, the ballots go back to the voting members for the final vote. Deloitte (an accounting firm) then counts all of them, seals them in envelopes, and delivers them to the Grammy award show.

** The Grammy's just announced this year they're removing the "secret committees" so let's see how things shift in the next couple of years**

So obviously I'm not saying this to discredit Harry's nomination or his win as Fine Line was in the US top 20 albums for the majority of 2020, however, we must acknowledge privilege. Harry has a big name to him and a huge following, and while all of that shouldn't be taken into account, it does. He also has the Azoffs, a very well connected family with friends in lots of places that would be able to put in a good word here and there to get support behind Harry. Harry won best pop solo performance for Watermelon Sugar in a category with Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and Dua Lipa. Look at the names there, the songs (ya'll can try and remember them cause I'm too lazy to write it out) and tell me that those top names with all of the music produced didn't get there through some connections.

Do with all this information what you will and if you are interested in learning more about the entertainment industry on your own Endeavor (owners of WME, a big talent agency like CAA) is hosting a free online program called the Excellence Program to help guide the future generation of industry executives. The program is a-synchronous and starts on July 12th. Highly recommend giving it a go if you're interested!!!

Alright ya'll that's it. Feel free to message me with your thoughts!

Extra Sources if you'd like to read:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkdndn/how-grammys-voting-actually-works-and-where-the-alleged-corruption-lies

https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/voting-process

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-11-05/irving-azoff-eagles-manager

https://celebrityaccess.com/caarchive/jeffrey-azoff-exits-caa-to-launch-new-management-company/

https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/grammy-awards-secret-committees-945532/

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grammy-awards-eliminate-secret-committees-voting-changes-1163887/

[dykevirgo]

i was tagged by @alexhirsch to make the rainbow out of some of my favorite albums. naturally i love to talk about music so here are some notes about these:

i only like early maroon 5 (like anything before their fourth album) and songs about jane is a masterpiece. they never topped it and never will

i love anything by hozier but his self-titled just hits like nothing else

i do enjoy beyoncé; lemonade isn't my favorite but it's still great. i still don't like how she took jay-z back after everything but whatever

i only enjoy ed sheeran's first two albums. anything after that is literal shit and you cannot convince me otherwise sorry. he is an industry plant now and i hate it because it's such a waste of talent

melodrama is lorde's best album but her first album is close behind. i didn't enjoy solar power (it's giving entitled rich woman vibes) but i am seeing her on tour in april so that'll be nice i guess

the front bottoms are fantastic but have sold out in my opinion. they stopped being good after going grey in 2017

i love love love halsey (except her second album). i'm also seeing her on tour in july and i'm super excited

i love anything by taylor swift. reputation is my second favorite album of hers (if you guess the first i'll give you a cookie)

and lastly, i love the lumineers as well. every album by them is fantastic but they really said something with their first album. i saw them on tour in 2020 and i loved it.

i tag @zukkorrasami, @jaanii, @sheger-peger, @meloneta, and @persephonaae and anyone else who wants to do it.

[womanistgrrrl]

Happy 2nd B Day to my first daughter, a Baddee Baddee herself, my baby boo and baby book—D1 B1BL 🎊📚🎁🙌🏿🎁📚🎊 

On Feb 2nd 2020 I birthed this baby out my womb and have never looked back ever since! Proud of her and excited to see how she grows 💕💕 

Thank you to Dee Many Beautiful Homies who helped me throughout the pregnancy! Thank you to the Badee writers who edited with me every weekend, who reminded me to keep moving forward, who were rooting for me, and who celebrated with me at baby's book release party. Y'all are my village fr fr and I am grateful and truly blessed to be in community with yall 🙏🏿💕💕 

D1 B1BL is available for borrows at The House of Maroon Library and The Kofi House Library in The D (Detroit, AnishinaBe). B sure to read at least a couple of pages before the digital book tour that's TBD (Maybe sometime in December tbh). 

Sending all my Badee Bs major good juju + mojo! 

💜🙏🏿✌🏿🙌🏿✌🏿🙏🏿💜

[96thdayofrage]

The People for Mumia, a virtual event April 23, kicked off the weekend. Activists, musicians, writers and youth shared why Mumia is important to their movement for social and racial justice. Speakers and performers included Mike Africa Jr., Susan Abulhawa, Angela Davis, Marc Lamont Hill, Robin D.G. Kelley, Colin Kaepernick, Tom Morello, Albert Woodfox, Erica Caines, Santiago Alvarez, Monica Moorehead and more.

On April 24, over 1,000 people gathered in Philadelphia for a rally and march. “Taking It to the Streets for Mumia” began at City Hall across from where the statue of racist Frank Rizzo was removed in 2020 due to public outcry against his brutal legacy.

Dr. Johanna Fernandez spoke against the corrupt legal system and explained how the Philadelphia police worked “hand in glove” with the prosecution and racist judge in Mumia’s 1982 trial. Evidence has surfaced indicating the prosecution bribed a key witness.

Pam Africa gave news of Mumia’s health, after having spoken briefly with Mumia earlier in the day. He is still hospitalized, but said he is beginning his recovery by taking some short walks. He confirmed he is shackled while in his bed. Mumia’s medical advisor Dr. Ricardo Alvarez traveled from California to speak at the event.

Mumia’s brother, Keith Cook, traveling from North Carolina, told the gathering that they must continue to fight until his brother is free. YahNé Ndgo, Immortal Technique and Ellect performed, and the crowd sang along to Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday.” Speakers included Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. and Immortal Technique.

Susan Abulhawa connected the struggle for Black liberation with the free Palestine movement. Her thoughts about Mumia’s character and spirit inspired: “Mumia teaches us what it is to be free in our minds. He was a Black man who was too free, and that is why they locked up his body.”

Dr. Suzanne Ross spoke about the U.N. Human Rights Commission’s support for Mumia. Events calling for Mumia’s release were held in France, Germany, Mexico, French Guiana, Britain and the Netherlands, and in several U.S. cities April 24.

A powerful moment came when Janine Africa, Janet Africa, Sekou Odinga, Jihad Abdul-Mumit and Kazi Toure, five liberated political prisoners, stood together on the stage. The group has spent a combined over 150 years behind bars.

The rally moved into the streets for a spirited march from City Hall to the Art Museum, carrying banners and signs and shutting down traffic along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The march stopped at the site of last year’s houseless encampment, calling attention to the city’s inability to provide basic services to the most vulnerable. Fired by Amazon for speaking up for workers rights, Chris Smalls, with the Congress of Essential Workers, called for support of Amazon workers organizing. The rally continued on the Art Museum steps.

Larry Holmes spoke about how Frank Rizzo, “the most racist police chief,” waged war on the Black Panthers, MOVE and the entire Black community in Philadelphia. Janine Africa warned that we must not let the police kill Mumia like they killed the incarcerated MOVE family members Phil Africa and Merle Africa. Delbert Africa was freed, but succumbed only six months after his release to illness caused by inadequate health care during his incarceration.

Performers included Dominque London and the Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble. Basiymah Muhammad Bey from the United Negro Improvement Association also spoke.

Travelling from Boston mYia X raised the memory of Winnie Mandela and Shaka Sankofa and borrowed from the words of Ella Baker, saying “We who believe in freedom, cannot rest until we bring Mumia home.”

Jamal Hart, Mumia’s grandson, called on the younger members in the crowd to take up the fight to free Mumia. Calling for his grandfather to spend his next birthday surrounded by his family and friends, he chanted: “No more birthdays in prison.”

The coalition sponsored events in West Philadelphia April 25 honoring Walter Wallace Jr., murdered by Philadelphia police six months ago in 2020, and Russell Maroon Shoatz, imprisoned since 1972 and suffering from stage 4 cancer. Members of Shoatz’s and Wallace’s families participated in the event that kicked off a community cleanup at the Maroon Garden, followed by a march to Malcolm X Park for a speakout.

Food Not Bombs Solidarity provided snacks and water for the events on both days.

Visit LetMumiaOut.com or Mobilization4Mumia.com for more information on Mumia’s health, endorsers or upcoming events.