I remember this as well, "Yes" once upon a time...
Posting this in support and solidarity for the SAG/AFTRA Strike. Here's hoping to a resolution in the near future.
For more info on the SAG/AFTRA strike hit the link below!
Sunday, September 3, 2023
Saturday, September 2, 2023
"Somebody's Daughter"
.jpg) |
| John Duff |
In “Somebody’s Daughter,” his crooning ballad about unattainable and momentarily-rewarding sexual relationships, out artist John Duff turns the tables on gay baiting music artists like Harry Styles, Charlie Puth, and Nick Jonas. “Honestly, every artist today is gay baiting and LGBTQ+ media eats it up,” he says. “Maluma took off his shirt; give it a grid post! As though every freaking gay isn’t posting shirtless pictures every day. It’s exhausting. That’s why I’m going against the grain in my new song and video - I’m straight baiting. Maybe, now, I can be fetishized too.” John Duff’s “Somebody’s Daughter” is being distributed independently and will be available Friday, September 1 on Apple Music, Spotify, and all digital platforms. Its video will available on YouTube.
“You see, when you start out gay in the industry, you’re reduced to being a niche artist or comedy act,” John Duff asserts from his Los Angeles home. “I have been told over and over that the themes of my music aren’t ‘for everyone,’ so I wrote a super misogynistic song that now ‘everyone’ can enjoy.”
Produced by John Duff, Alex Delicata, Eren Canatta, and Luke Moellman, “Somebody’s Daughter” is about a phenomenon many young people, gay and straight, face today. They want love but then devote all of their energy on heated one night hook ups, rather than on relationships with substance.
The visual, directed by Shawn Adeli (who also directed John Duff’s “High Heels” video), reflects on the song’s theme. It spotlights a couple that are clearly not right for one another, but takes the story a step deeper by exploring the underground world of adult porn and social media platforms like OnlyFans where users pay influencers for access to exclusive, often salacious, content.
Duff was inspired to take this direction for the video when the respectability of his work was questioned by another gay music artist. “I felt judged for my overt sexuality. He said, ‘audiences want a spiritual connection, not sex.’ I told him that’s code for: no one wants to see you naked.”
“My spirit is wild, fun, and free and as a performer, I am shameless,” John Duff continues. “As far as I’m concerned, shamelessness in your body and sexuality is a step toward enlightenment. Not away.”
He views porn as an art form - “Sex is theatre and bodies are sculptures” - and champions freedom of sexuality. It’s why he has decided to bust out of the closet as not-not straight. “Like how Diplo is not-not gay,” he explains. “I can’t confirm or deny, I’m just saying I’m not-not and seeing how that goes over when I spin it the other way.”
As far as the kissing scene with actress Nellie Salisbury, his co-star in the video, John Duff insists it wasn’t his first experience with a female. “To paraphrase Diplo, I’m pretty sure I hookup with women all the time.”
Friday, September 1, 2023
Favorite Ex
In his latest single release, “Favorite Ex,” out artist Stewart Taylor sings about an old flame he regretfully had to extinguish. “We ended things when I left New York to pursue my career in Los Angeles,” he explains. “We both knew life would eventually take me out West and that our time together was limited, but I often wonder what would’ve been had I stayed.” The song merges eighties vibes with today’s pop and R&B and is the second ballad Stewart Taylor has written about his former lover. His debut single, “Mess Your Hair Up”, released in 2019, is about him too. Stewart says that years later, on a phone call, he thanked his ex for being so wonderful and told him that he was in fact, his favorite ex. “I look back and smile about what we had.” Produced by Romanian hitmaker MADS (David Guetta, Imagine Dragons), Stewart Taylor’s “Favorite Ex” is being distributed independently and is available on Apple Music, Spotify, and all digital platforms. Its video is available on Youtube.
The video for “Favorite Ex” is a captivating reflection of the song. Its’ gorgeous ocean vistas (filmed in Malibu) and sweeping desert scenes (filmed in the Mojave Desert) whisk viewers through the tumultuousness of an unwelcome breakup. “Walking through the desert for hours on end had me in awe and also brought up some very heavy feelings.” Stewart recalls. “It really captured the sadness I felt when leaving the relationship.”
The video draws inspiration from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and its theme that every party eventually has to end. As they do in the novel, beautiful things fall apart. The chandelier on the desert floor represents the end of opulence in the relationship, while the white roses represent the end of the romance.
Benjamin Farren directed the video. Julie Vegliante, ho has worked with Lady Gaga, choreographed, and German designer Joseph Auren designed and styled Stewart’s looks in the video. “The beautiful outfits are among my favorite parts of the ‘Favorite Ex’ video,” Stewart says. “While filming, I imagined myself as a lonely prince, dressed to the nines and surrounded by all of this beauty with no one to share it with.”
He admits that, in real life, learning his former lover had found someone new was especially difficult for Stewart to come to terms with. “In the song, I fantasize about getting back with my ex and stealing him from his new man, but I would never actually do something like that,” he laughs. “I definitely took some poetic license for that one!”
Stewart Taylor is an LA-based singer, songwriter, dancer, and MMG actor/model. He grew up in a small town outside of New York City, where he began writing songs and performing in local talent shows and Lower East Side clubs. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston, he's collaborated with Grammy-nominated songwriters and producers including Charlie Puth and Kara DioGuardi and has penned songs for Romanian pop star Antonia, American Idol's David Hernandez, and RuPaul’s Drag Race’s JuJu Bee, Mo Heart, and Manila Luzon.
He has also released several singles including his funk and R&B inspired debut single “Mess Your Hair Up” and 2022’s “Maybe We Shouldn’t Talk”.
Stewart Taylor is an active voice in the LGBTQ+ community and his coming out story was featured in the New York Times bestselling book, It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living.
The Hector Fonseca and Thiago Dukky remix of “Favorite Ex” will drop on Friday, September 8th, followed by the DJ Mentol and Scott Storch remix later in the month.
Stewart Taylor’s “Favorite Ex” is being distributed independentlyand is available on Apple Music, Spotify, and all digital platforms. Its video is available on YouTube. Follow on IG @imstewarttaylor and stewarttaylorofficial.com
Thursday, August 31, 2023
Michael's Musings
 |
| Grrrowl!!! Michael Shinafelt |
This past Tuesday we got disoriented in yoga. That was the point and the goal of doing so was to put our collective selves in touch with our souls. We were supposed to experience unique feelings throughout the day, and "Yes" I did.
My personal favorite exercise during the course of the journey was getting on my knees and sitting on the ground a growling. It really got me connected to something primal inside me which inhabited my being the whole rest of the day, the more you know...
FYI When disco ended the tambourine economy never recovered
If I said I spoke to a snake today would you believe me???
Why open your legs when you can open the Bible? I can think of several reasons times infinity actually
Had a good time seeing Poltergeist for the first time since it came out, at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. That's correct Minions I saw a movie about a cemetery in a cemetery!!!
Speaking of Poltergeist while I did have a good time, the movie itself is uneven and more akin to an amusement park ride than an actual film. To me it was like The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland
Finally some representation for Lesbians who were horny losers in High School, discuss
I bet if Taylor Swift farted into a microphone it would become a #1 Billboard Hit
Change the narrative: Go laugh in places you have cried
Women Crush of the Week - That's correct Minions we have two icons in one awesome photo, that I didn't know I needed and now is giving me life! Jamie Lee Curtis of Halloween and Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order SVU! Yes!!!
Notice how Scott Stapp of Creed and the Sleep Paralysis Demon are never in the room at the same time?
Game, set, match...that's all
You are running out of "it is what it is" are you sure you want to continue?
Fog is so underrated, you don't need to see everything
Been re-watching Pretty Little Liars on MAX, it's even better the second go
Join me and binge PLL here -
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Hump Day & Chill
 |
| Elizabeth Montgomery & Barbara Eden |
It's Hump Day & Chill yet again, the last one of August 2023 and today you have to make a choice...Bewitched or I Dream Of Jeannie. If you are unfamiliar you know how to Google. But those who know, well, know.
Bewitched came first here's a summary of the TV classic: A witch married to an ordinary man cannot resist using her magic powers to solve the problems her family faces.
I Dream Of Jeannie followed trying to cash in on the success of Bewitched here's it's plot: A United States astronaut finds his life vastly complicated when he stumbles on to a bottle containing a female genie.
Bewitched starred the charming and talented Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens. I Dream Of Jeannie starred the equally charming and talented Barbara Eden as Jeannie, naturally.
Now it's time to Hump Day & Chill and choose your fighter!
My personal choice is Bewitched because it's about a witch and Elizabeth Montgomery is bewitching in it. Sorry Jeannie, but the OG is my Hump Day & Chill choice. What's yours???
Bewitched on Wikipedia -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bewitched
I Dream Of Jeannie on Wikipedia -
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Cancelled: The Idol
HBO has officially cancelled The Idol. With all the backlash I can't say I am surprised. This being stated I didn't get the backlash. For a show trying so hard to be shocking it lacked substance and, well the power to shock.
I turned it off after two episodes and forgot to un-record the series. Thus I watched the last two episodes out of curiosity. Guess what Minions?!?! The same thing was happening that happened in the first two episodes, it's like shampoo, rinse and repeat.
The series was honestly boring AF to me with a capital "B"
Perhaps I'm simply jaded or I'm more intelligent than the average media consumer. It's like how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop: The World May Never Know.
Mourn The Idol here if you must on Wikipedia -
Monday, August 28, 2023
Monday Motivation
Love her or hate her Taylor Swift is a talented young woman. She also gave my favorite Monday Motivation this week.
This is something I learned a long time ago and it is quite a powerful place to be. Once I understood Ms. Swift's comment I found easy to dismiss anything negative stated about me by a casual observer.
Recently I encountered some harassment along these lines of a certain someone who kept telling me a basic bold faced lie about who I was. I finally said to them: "What you say to me doesn't bother me because I know it isn't true. It's the fact that you keep saying it that's annoying me."
Succinct to the point and really what was being said wasn't the problem because I am confident and secure in myself, it was the repetitive factor, I was bored hearing it over and over every chance this individual got.
Thus this Monday and times infinity I be on Team Taylor & Michael - trust me, it's a winning one!
Taylor on IG -
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)