Pop Culture Pregaming
A little something for everyone—and probably way too many video clips. But what is Super Bowl weekend in America if not a bit excessive and gluttonous?
Hi hi.
Happy Saturday of Super Bowl weekend 🏈
I can’t believe I’m out here saying, “Go Birds!" but a Chiefs three-peat is so insufferable. As I have said many times, I only love a dynasty when it’s my team. And we know how I feel about the breathless coverage of *waves hand around* all of it.
Poor February 2023 Abby had no idea what was ahead of her1.
We live in the middle of so much dark, hateful chaos right now.
My simmering “sports hate” and frustration that another football has been wildly successful while mine has stalled out during the same timespan is not a new emotion for me, but it’s a handy dissociative technique for sure.
I will say that the couple hours I spent packing meals for people in our Indy community experiencing food insecurity really helped regulate my insides. The dopamine hit from doing good for others is real. There are some many battles to be found on every level, but getting involved in something specific and local felt awesome.
My friend Maria and I made our way over to Gainbridge Fieldhouse where the Pacers and the Fever welcomed volunteers in partnership with the Million Meal Movement, also based here in Indy.
The vibes were immaculate. Our little assembly line section included an older couple and a sweet teen. Just my demo mix! The husband was an alum of my high school AND his mom was from the same town as mine. I also soon learned they were Deadheads and are off to the Sphere soon to see Dead & Co. When I tell you I can find my people anywhere…
Connections! Community! These are vital in surviving the American hellscape right now.
In another worlds collide moment, how wild was the internet late night last Saturday when the Cowboy Carter Tour became internet official at almost exactly the same time the world learned Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers for Anthony Davis. A deal so bonkers that pretty much everyone on the planet thought Shams had been hacked. It was a four-quadrant internet meltdown! For a while my FYP was half Cowboy Carter reactions and half straight bros calling their friends in disbelief.
Is everyone ready for the Bey pre-sales next week?
I sure am. I’ve also got my first big show of 2025 tonight: Billy Joel + Sting. LFGGGGGGGGGG.
And the Grammy Goes to…
There have been many a recap online this week, but here’s what I’m still thinking about.
Beyoncé. Duh.
The long overdue win for AOTY was both deserved and a relief. Cowboy Carter is an incredible piece of art and art history—along with being a musically brilliant album, in my personal opinion. It was amazing to watch that room explode for her.
Obviously, I loved that Taylor got to give her the Best Country Album Grammy—and how angry both of them make SO many losers2.
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We haven’t seen Bey be openly surprised like this in public for quite some time. Instant classic.
I love when the lore comes full circle.
Blue Ivy Carter, Manager
I love this child so much. She has always been a vibe. Kris Jenner, who?
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Fake Tree Paine gets it.
How great that so many people got to see how wonderful Dawes is between the Grammys opener + FireAid.
All the girlies showing up and showing out in their performances and speeches.
It was so fab to see everyone doing their own thing, their own way.
Doechii is one of the coolest and most talented people alive. Full stop. This performance was sickkkkkkk.
Her speech was also perfection.
I could not stop downloading Doechii content to share. Sorry. If you haven’t listened to the new song she dropped after the Grammy win, please do so immediately. It’s a current hyperfixation of mine.
Musical Easter eggs, nods, and interpolations? Yes please.
I feel like there’s absolutely a chance she pops up on Sunday during Kendrick’s halftime show. We already know SZA’s making an appearance—and Doechii is one of her friends, label mates, and collaborators.
Shakira Shakira Shakira-ed like nobody’s business and absolutely cast some spells.
Sabrina showed off her comedy chops and continues to prove she really knows what she’s doing with all aspects of her music and image. Delightful.
The Goldie inspo is exactly right.
Chappell let us into the Pink Pony Club atop a giant horse. The performance was colorful, joyful, and memorable. I’m sure she confused some super olds and that is also exactly right.
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When she whipped out the notebook for her speech, I knew it was on. (More on this in a bit.) She has also been given a trial spot on the short list of people I’ll allow to chew gum on stage.
“Labels, we got you…but do you got us?”
Charli closed the show with her beautiful chaotic energy—and her crew of hot misfits. Exactly as it should be for this year in music. No notes other than to say she looked hot AF and I wish I could have gone to the dinner she threw after.
The new SwifTok genre that gave me so much joy.
I didn’t even go on TikTok on Monday because I was afraid the worst segments of one of my beloved fandoms was going to be acting the fool3 and I’d hear about it from people who were righteously annoyed with them. I didn’t need that toxic bullshit, born of The Bad Place, to ruin all the good vibes I had coming out of Sunday night. Turns out, the bad “Swifties” weren’t even being the most unhinged4!
Mayte speaks the truth in this vid.
And a whole new slew of people discovered the gift that is Awards Show/Fangirl Taylor. Praise be.
Swifties, of course, know that this is one of our girl’s purest forms. It’s always been one of my favorite things about her. We typically bring a few new people into the fold after a show, but there was a true sea change this year. I love this for all of us.
Here’s Taylor explaining her POV back during the original 1989 era. I saw no lies then and don’t see any now.
“Yeah, I do dance awkwardly and I’m having more fun than you.”
Same, girl. Same.
One thing Taylor Alison Swift is going to do is support you on that stage.
And off it, too.
A Time™ was had5. I do think that she makes other people feel more comfortable to get after it, too. I always hope my general nonsense (though dancing very much included) does the same.
I saw this clip and was like, “That’s giving me alone in my apartment grooving to Doechii.” I have never claimed to do anything other than awk white girl dancing.
BECAUSE WHO CARES IF YOU’RE HAVING FUN AND NOT HURTING ANYONE???????? And if someone doesn’t like it they can just move along. I mean, the assholes won’t. But fuck ‘em.
Anyway, this TikTok nook became my happy place for most of the week. This first one absolutely sent me. This woman is EVERYTHING.
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The cackle I cackled.
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Taylor and Kendrick go way back. She’s been a fan forever. Please see one of my fav old social vids below. The limit does not exist on how many times I have and will watch this. Vroom, vroom.
He raps on the “Bad Blood” remix from OG 1989 in 2014-15 and came back to record it again for the Taylor’s Version.
At her shows (and this tradition long pre-dates Eras), we shout one of Kendrick’s lines back to Blondie even thought she’s obviously not performing the remix version.
When she sings, “Band Aids don’t fix bullet holes. You say sorry just for show, when you live like that you live with ghosts…” we come in with, “You forgive, you forget, but you never let it…go.”
We love it. She loves it. I will say, in this Eras clip she included in her IG post about Kendrick on 1989 (TV) the crowd did not land the lyrical pause as well as they could have. But that’s a minor note 😉.
Kendrick and Taylor wield two of the most lethal pens in the game and have no qualms using them to get theirs. Relatable. They can play the long game or whip something absolutely genius up right quick. The entendres will be doubling, tripling, quadrupling.
Of course they have mad respect and love for each other. As I do for them. I will once more make my plea to the universe to know how many Scorpio placements are in those charts.
This is why they will forever remain my tall petty queen and short petty king, as well as my role models in destroying those who need destroying for grievances big or small with words and art. I am, after all, someone who regularly offers to “No Body, No Crime” people on behalf of my friends with just enough, “Wait, she is joking right?” energy.
I am also all onboard for micropettiness.
PREVIOUSLY ON WHN (KENDRICK’S VERSION)
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All of that backstory paired with Tay’s standard awards show operating procedure, sprinkled with some nice pours of Jay Z’s bubbly meant I was unsurprised by her moves every time “Not Like Us” came on as Kendrick picked up another Grammy. I understand why many others were, as I am not a normie in this situation…or any situation? But I digress.
I’m so glad our adorably dorky Blondie was able to bring joy to even more people, who in turn paid it forward. It was a glorious cycle of content about the content .
These imitations were created with love and laughs, which gave me life.
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Sidebar: For the record, I was not a big fan of Taylor’s dress. It could have been so much worse given some of the ways we’ve been trending of late. The color was gorge—and I’ll remind everyone that red has been her signature color forever. And I love her in short stuff, but it was way too figure skating-y for me. The thigh chain gagged me. Not in a cool way. She seemed to love it all and feel great, so my opinion matters not. But I will continue to provide it all the same.
The makeup is a W, as are the nails and the ring. Plus, the woman is stunning even when wearing things that make me want to jump off of very tall somethings—a level this look did not reach. Phew.
My other big note is on the hair. It should have been looser and more fun, whether it was up or down. The bang was way too heavy and straight. We don’t miss on the glam that often. but this styling felt like a real mismatch and too prissy for the rest of the look.
Kendrick’s penultimate kill shot.
I don’t think I will ever be over how loud that crowd got singing “Not Like Us” as Kendrick went up to accept Song of the Year. Yes, the same crowd that is often too cool to even dance. The way they hit “a minorrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” just as he got to the stage was giving TayVoodoo6.
Never forget this song has already brought literal Bloods and Crips together on stage during Kendrick’s Pop Out at the Forum back in June.
AND HE WON ALL THOSE LIL GOLD GRAMOPHONES WHILE WEARING A CANADIAN TUXEDO7.
B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
Like, Drake can’t ever go back to the Grammys right? LOL, he so will because nothing would be more Drake.
I would pay a pretty penny to attend a performance art exhibition wherein people rotate through standing in some sort of box, doing dramatic readings of Drake’s inner and outer monologues with whatever improvisational acting choices or vibes they are feeling in the moment.
In the meantime, I’ll watch Josh Johnson go deep on this mess (or really anything) all day long. He’s such a wonderfully astute and hilarious storyteller.
The Big Game (aka Drake’s Worst Day Among Many Bad Days)
We’ll flow right from Kendrick at the Grammys to Kendrick at the Super Bowl.
I cannot fucking wait. I hope it makes so many shitty white people mad uncomfy while the rest of us go hard in living rooms and bars across America and the globe. To have a young, Black, Pulitizer Prize winner headlining the halftime show—a week after winning five Grammys—in front of the wildly racist, unintelligent, sentence-garbling, borderline illiterate asshat who currently resides in the White House is quite something.
I bet Brittany Mahomes will also be quietly seething while trying to make people think she’s not a MAGA. (My kind of) People will know this is a facade.
Here’s some pre-game K Dot content from my algorithms to whet the palate:
Kendrick + Timothée drive around and chat for Apple Music.
Kendrick’s dad energy as he’s making sure Timmy’s got his seatbelt on.
Fun fact: They share a stylist, Taylor McNeil.
There’s also this interview from down in New Orleans earlier this week.
TLDW: Here’s a clip about what to expect.
TLDW: On the power of showing up as your true self.
“You’re an amazing individual, unique. You’re a miracle.”
I love local LA news story with Kendrick’s former teacher.
“Kendrick Duckworth is a rapper? Quiet Kendrick?”
A throwback to Kendrick and Prince on stage together.
Remember this sick performance with 👑🐝?
Discussing the origins of rap with the late Quincy Jones
Finally, I’d like say (and you should feel empowered to tell your friends this, too):
If you’re not a football person, that’s totally cool. But you are not bound to make a statement like, “I can’t believe they’re having a football game in the middle of the [insert headliner here] concert.” In real life or online.
It’s not new. It’s not clever. You’re not a cooler person because you don’t like sports. Just as those of us who like sports are not cooler for doing so. Making a wildly overused joke that was barely funny the first time it made the rounds on social media at least a decade ago? Well you get to choose how cool you think that is. Thank you.
Conversation Starters…or Enders?
Below you’ll find topics of both the football-adjacent and way far afield varieties.
Use at your own discretion during a Super Bowl party.
All things Joe Burrow, but in particular how he’s wearing the fuck out of this Alo suit.
Here he is at the NFL Honors.
Of course, I wish my Colts were the ones representing the AFC in tomorrow’s game—but we haven’t been in that conversation for a minute. In our current timeline, I would have been so much happier to see Joey B do his thing over Patrick Mahomes.
Or you could bust out this video of babygirl at the Pro Bowl. I didn’t have “death by QB sitting criss-cross applesauce on the field,” but here we are all the same.
If you would rather not objectify this man8, you could open up a discussion about how he won Comeback Player of the Year.
The prescience of my ‘80s TV faves.
Make sure you’re in a political safe space—or in the mood to take on challengers and idiots.
I miss Julia Sugarbaker all the time. We really do her now more than ever.
How adorable Josh Allen is.
Another AFC QB1, I’d rather watch on Sunday. My TikTok algo gave me a few “Josh visits the children’s hospital” videos during the season. It’s quite clear he’s been spending time there consistently during his years in Buffalo—and that’s always going to be a huge W in my book. This congratulations video (he won league MVP!) from the kids made me go full waterworks.
He and fiancée Hailee Steinfeld seem well-matched.
This me-coded anecdote from Chelsea Handler on Alex Cooper’s pod.
I’d be more likely to offer a mushroom microdose, but whatever is available in the name of romance, I say!
Or maybe it is for you. But I personally cannot abide the eyebrows and the mustache looking like identical triplets. Not that this lessens my love for the elder Fisher brother. As if.
God, I miss The Summer I Turned Pretty. At least we have S3 to look forward too, if America still has a digital infrastructure in place by the time it starts streaming. We don’t have a premiere date yet9…just 2025. It cannot come soon enough.
Clips from pressers in New Orleans.
Enter these conversations at your own risk. Read the room.
Or turn the convo back to this sweetie pie clip of Jalen Hurts taking a question from a Special Olympian.
Or Fake Tree Paine’s reaction to a certain someone’s less than ideal response to a question about POTUS, a lowlife scum who has literally come for his girlfriend, as well as allowing his minions to be even more gross about her.
Should the convo turn toward Blake Lively…
…and you don’t want to get into the Justin Baldoni of it all because that whole scenario is toxic AF and rife with media illiteracy on all sides, flip it to the newly released poster for Another Simple Favor and see where that takes you.
Grease 2 is superior to Grease. Discuss.
You know I love to start this conversation. Whenever, wherever. Why not at a Super Bowl party? It can get heated, but in a fun way.
These folks get it.
TPWK (Lawn Care Remix)
This story stole my whole heart.
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Speaking of grass…
The Final Destination: Bloodlines trailer
I’m not being even a little bit sarcastic. I love these terrible/awesome movies. I am powerless to change the channel if one appears before me.
Sartorial Snacks
NYFW has officially begun and designers are still moving around all over the place.
Calvin Klein Collection is back…and so were Christy and Kate and Calvin.
Christy’s daughter, Gracie Burns, was also there. Unsurprisingly, I’ve been obsessed with her for a while. Like mother, like daughter. I also feel like Ed Burns’ impact on the back half of Gen X gets forgotten sometimes, but that’s a discussion for another day.
Sadly, I think we’re probably all just better off looking back (at least for now) because this is doing a whole lot of nothing special for me. I totally see what they’re going for and it’s certainly not BAD. There are some pieces that stood out, but it feels less than fresh in the current design landscape and not as luxe as the ‘90s Calvin it nods to. I truly hope Veronica Leoni sorts it out and makes Collection relevant to the culture again.
I do fully agree with this astute observation.
You can see all the looks on Vogue Runway.
Marc Jacobs did it again.
Now this, THIS had me all aflutter.
This is art. This is whimsy. Marc’s been playing in this doll space for a couple seasons and I’ve loved watching the evolution.
From the show notes:
COURAGE.
GUIDED BY HEART, HUMILITY AND GRATITUDE, I HAVE COME TO UNDERSTAND THAT FEAR IS NOT MY ENEMY- IT IS A NECESSARY COMPANION TO CREATIVITY, AUTHENTICITY, INTEGRITY AND LIFE.
WITH PRECIOUS FREEDOM WE DREAM AND IMAGINE WITHOUT LIMITATION, DARING TO BE VULNERABLE IN THE FACE OF CRITICISM AND FAILURE, NOT TO ESCAPE FROM REALITY BUT TO NAVIGATE, UNDERSTAND AND CONFRONT IT- EXPLORING THROUGH CURIOSITY, CONVICTION, COMPASSION AND LOVE.
Pat McGrath and Duffy absolutely crushed the hair and makeup. What a dream.
Dame Pat told Vogue, “The collection is a play on dimension, shape, and form. We are playing with two-dimensional shapes on each of the models' faces. This is an abstraction of beauty…Anywhere you see a spot, it's representative of beauty. Maybe it's blushing cheeks or a kiss on the lip.”
As for the hair, Duffy said, “The texture is quite historical and romantic. It's meant to look like a disrupted curl, not a ringlet. It's not meant to look perfect or uniform in any way. The perfection comes from the imperfection.”
Obsessed.
Gaga’s Valentino
I love this look she wore to do “California Dreamin’” at the Grammys. Bruno Mars was also there10. She and Alessandro Michele make a ton of sense together. Not for all Gaga endeavors, but certainly for some. Few contain as many fashion multitudes as Stefani Germanotta.
Bring on the Mayhem era. “Abracadabra” is an absolute banger and the video made me feel things in much the same way the “Bad Romance” MV did back in 2009.
Facts.
Meanwhile over at Alessandro’s old place…
Sabato de Sarno is already out at Gucci. He joined the house in 2023. I think most fashion people would say they aren’t surprised Gucci cut ties. Neither the numbers nor the critical and cultural reception were trending in the right direction. But there’s definitely a genuine sense of whoa11 about the timing, given a number of factors, including the fact that Milan Fashion Week is less than three weeks away12.
The WWD caption on their announcement post:
@gucci revealed in a brief statement Thursday morning that it was ending its collaboration with creative director Sabato De Sarno ( @sabato.desarno) . The fall fashion show in Milan on February 25 will be presented by the Gucci design office.
The new artistic direction will be announced in due time.
“I would like to express my deep gratitude to Sabato for his passion and dedication to Gucci. I sincerely appreciate how he honored Gucci’s craftsmanship and heritage with such commitment,” said Stefano Cantino, Gucci’s CEO.
Names that are being thrown around online—wistfully or otherwise— include Hedi Slimane and Maria Grazia Chiuri. We shall see what happens. I’ll be following along with Lauren Sherman’s coverage over on Puck News.
Nicole Kidman’s YSL suit at the Critics Choice Awards
Oh, it’s divine. Her hair also looks incredible.
Brenda agrees.
Ick Me Once
So, The Hollywood Reporter published an op-ed by some bro named Jeff Rabhan. He’s a former music industry exec who is big mad because Chappell Roan got on stage and called out labels for practices that make living life as a burgeoning artist extremely difficult. She asked for such wild things as a living wage and healthcare. I thought it was ballsy and awesome.
Obviously, anyone is free to have another opinion and I would never claim to know enough about how first deals are set up, etc to offer a specific solution. I do know you can get really fucked while trying to make your dreams come true. But this isn’t the way to lay out your thought process. It’s simply gross.
The condescension and loser energy wafting off this whiny piece is so hideous and absolutely not a good faith critique of what she was saying. He misconstrues her words and projects ideas onto her that weren’t even mentioned. It’s giving alternative facts about Chappell’s own career arc, something I’d guess he did purposefully.
I would bet a whole lot of money this dude owns a Cyber Truck.
Chappell responded.
He totally crashed out and got even more gas-lighty on Elon Musk’s platform, natch.
Ick, ick, ick.
Burn him to the ground, sis.
Gen X Moment of Zen
“Why is Gen X like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like how they are?”
Maybe we should just whip out this round-up of absolutely bonkers images from Circus of the Stars (1977-1994) and say, “Well, for starters, our childhoods were shaped by ideas cooked up and greenlit by Boomers/Silent Generationers in Hollywood doing mountains of cocaine….”
I’ll let the images speak for themselves13.
Until next time, a little TV talk with Kristen Stewart.
xA
I really am very consistent. I’m not bullshitting with my loves and loathes.
Especially, a certain breed of lame ass straight white men
Every fandom has them, but man I wish I could excise some of these idiots who call themselves Swifties. Or at least introduce them to the concept of shutting the fuck up. They do so much damage.
Apparently, it was the Billie stans.
One upside of the annoying Chiefs making the SB again was that I didn’t have to see Travis at the Grammys. That would have been exhausting, I fear.
IYKYK and I fear it’s about to bring us a three-peat for the Chiefs. Sigh.
Please, please, please let me one day know the contents of the text Taylor surely sent to him upon seeing said look.
Fair. But it will never be me. I also love many other things about him!!!
S1 premiered in mid-June and S2 in mid-July.
I’ve moved into a phase where he irks me beyond measure, but for no real reason.
The show will be put on by the collective in-house design team.
@rkeyoharaiii is one of my favorite nostalgia follows.
Those Circus of the Stars photos have killed me. I am dead. Gen X forever.
Also, can we stop with the Superb Owl jokes? It was funny the first few times, but that time has passed.