My 2019 Lollapalooza Schedule

May 20, 2019 — Leave a comment

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2019 will be my fourth Lolla in a row, and I have to say, I’m not too excited about this lineup. Usually there is a few acts I’m super excited about, but right now none really are sticking out. However, an upside to this is that I’ll be able to check out different acts I usually wouldn’t see and be introduced to new music. And also to collect all the free stuff and do all the free activities, which is always fun. Below is my tentative schedule. Who are you most excited to see?

Thursday

Normani 4-4:45 Lake Shore

H.E.R. 4:45-5:45 Grant Park

Saba 6:30-7:15 American Eagle

Hayley Kiyoko 5:45-6:45 Lake Shore

Lil Baby 9:00-10:00 American Eagle

Friday

21 Savage 5:00-6:00 Grant Park

Janelle Monae 6:45-7:45 Grant Park

Childish Gambino 8:45-10 Grant Park

Saturday

Smino 4:00-5:00 Tito’s Homemade Vodka

6lack 5:00-6:00 Bud Light

Lil Wayne 6:45-7:45 Grant Park

Sunday

Tayla Parx 4:30-5:10 BMI

Shaq 5:15-6:15 Perry’s

Kasey Musgraves 6:30-7:30 Grand Park

Meek Mill 7:00-8:00 Bud Light

Ariana Grande 8:30-10 Grant Park

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2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards Nominees and Who Should Win

May 19, 2019 — Leave a comment

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MTV released the nominees for their Movie & TV Awards. Below are my picks about who should win and why.

The show airs June 17.

BEST MOVIE
Avengers: Endgame
BlacKkKlansman
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Us

While I loved Spider-Man, I’m always a fan of Jordan Peele’s intricate work. I will admit that I liked Get Out more.

BEST SHOW
Big Mouth
Game of Thrones
Riverdale
Schitt’s Creek
The Haunting of Hill House

I’m so sad that next season is the last. I always laugh so hard every episode, and Schitt’s Creek should definitely get its due.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A MOVIE
Amandla Stenberg (Starr Carter), The Hate U Give
Lady Gaga (Ally), A Star is Born
Lupita Nyong’o (Red), Us
Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury), Bohemian Rhapsody
Sandra Bullock (Malorie), Bird Box

Lady Gaga really surprised me with this role. She really committed and transformed into Ally and made sure this movie wasn’t just another remake and could stand as a film on its own.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SHOW
Elisabeth Moss (June Osborne/Offred), The Handmaid’s Tale
Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Game of Thrones
Gina Rodriguez (Jane Villanueva), Jane the Virgin
Jason Mitchell (Brandon), The Chi
Kiernan Shipka (Sabrina Spellman), Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

I go from hating June to feeling bad for her, then screaming at the screen when she makes a dumb decision. To make me go through all those emotions is a good performance.

BEST HERO
Brie Larson (Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel), Captain Marvel
John David Washington (Ron Stallworth), BlacKkKlansman
Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Game of Thrones
Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Avengers: Endgame
Zachary Levi (Billy Batson/Shazam), Shazam!

The best part of Shazam is that he’s super relateable. He’s flawed in the way that he just a kid. But he also sweet because he (spoiler alert) shares his powers with his family.

BEST VILLAIN
Jodie Comer (Villanelle), Killing Eve
Joseph Fiennes (Commander Fred Waterford), The Handmaid’s Tale
Josh Brolin (Thanos), Avengers: Endgame
Lupita Nyong’o (Red), Us
Penn Badgley (Joe Goldberg), You

Joe reminds me of what I imagine Dan from Gossip Girl would have grown up to be — a psychopath obsessed with the perfect girl he created in his mind. What makes him so captivating is that his commentary is hilarious and spot on.

BEST KISS
Camila Mendes & Charles Melton (Veronica Lodge & Reggie Mantle), Riverdale
Jason Momoa & Amber Heard (Aquaman & Mera), Aquaman
Ncuti Gatwa & Connor Swindells (Eric Effiong & Adam Groff), Sex Education
Noah Centineo & Lana Condor (Peter Kavinsky & Lara Jean), To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Tom Hardy & Michelle Williams (Eddie Brock/Venom & Anne Weying), Venom

I have to admit, I’ve only seen one of these kisses. But this kiss really did propel Noah into popularity so I wouldn’t be surprised if it wins.

REALITY ROYALTY
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation
Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta
The Bachelor
The Challenge
Vanderpump Rules

WRITE IN VOTE FOR 90 DAY FIANCE OR LOVE AFTER LOCKUP!

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE
Awkwafina (Peik Lin Goh), Crazy Rich Asians
Dan Levy (David Rose), Schitt’s Creek
John Mulaney (Andrew Glouberman), Big Mouth
Marsai Martin (Little Jordan Sanders), Little
Zachary Levi (Billy Batson/Shazam), Shazam!

These are all good nominees and from all things I’ve seen. Only hangup I kind of have is that Big Mouth is animated and I really can’t judge his performance like the other live action roles. But regardless, David is hilarious and in a category all his own.

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Awkwafina (Peik Lin Goh), Crazy Rich Asians
Haley Lu Richardson (Stella), Five Feet Apart
Mj Rodriguez (Blanca Rodriguez), Pose
Ncuti Gatwa (Eric Effiong), Sex Education
Noah Centineo (Peter Kavinsky), To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

I’m not crying, you’re crying!

BEST FIGHT
Avengers: Endgame – Captain America vs. Thanos
Captain Marvel – Captain Marvel vs. Minn-Erva
Game of Thrones – Arya Stark vs. the White Walkers
RBG – Ruth Bader Ginsburg vs. Inequality
WWE Wrestlemania – Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair

BEST REAL-LIFE HERO
Alex Honnold, Free Solo
Hannah Gadsby, Nanette
Roman Reigns, WWE SmackDown
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, RBG
Serena Williams, Being Serena

Saw none…again. I’m pretty terrible at this, right?

MOST FRIGHTENED PERFORMANCE
Alex Wolff (Peter), Hereditary
Linda Cardellini (Anna Tate-Garcia), The Curse of La Llorona
Rhian Rees (Dana Haines), Halloween
Sandra Bullock (Malorie), Bird Box
Victoria Pedretti (Nell Crain), The Haunting of Hill House

I saw Halloween, but wasn’t too impressed by her frightened performance.  Weird she’s nominated in this because I felt that her role was so small.

BEST DOCUMENTARY
At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal
McQueen
Minding the Gap
RBG
Surviving R. Kelly

This was so groundbreaking that naysayers finally heard the women who have been talking for years about this abuse and they could be silenced no more.

BEST HOST
Gayle King, CBS This Morning
Nick Cannon, Wild ‘n Out
Nick Cannon, The Masked Singer
RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race
Trevor Noah, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

For host of an entire show, I would say Nick Cannon. But Gayle King’s single R Kelly interview really made her the best host.

MOST MEME-ABLE MOMENT
Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club – The Lilo Dance
Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood – Ray J’s Hat
RBG – The Notorious RBG
RuPaul’s Drag Race – Asia O’Hara’s butterfly finale fail
The Bachelor – Colton Underwood jumps the fence

This was hilarious because why does he keep moving his hat and why is the editing so terrible!

House of Vans Chicago Offers Free Shows All Summer

May 11, 2019 — Leave a comment

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House of Vans Chicago is hosting a summer concert series. The shows are free, and actually feature pretty big names, like Vince Staples, who just finished his tour (you can see my pictures here) and Anderson .Paak who is going up on tour this summer. Each of the headliners pick out the rest of the line up for the night, which would be a great way to discover new music. In order to get free tickets you must  RSVP, with the list opening about 2 weeks before the performance. You can RSVP here.

House of Vans are skate parks and community spaces with locations in Chicago, Brooklyn and London.

I was first introduced to House of Vans at the 2016 Pitchfork Festival where they had a pop up event where you built your own record player, which was a lot of fun to do. I’m very excited about this concert series. Not only would I love to see Anderson .Paak, Banks and Vince Staples again, but in general I just love pop up events because I feel like they are a bit more interactive than the average concert.

Catch Up On Taylor Swift’s Pop Culture Addiction: All The Pins and References From Her EW Interview

May 9, 2019 — Leave a comment

Taylor Swift did her first magazine interview in three years, and according to her and EW, it is full of Easter Eggs, including the pins she is wearing on the cover and references in the interview. To catch up on Taylor Swift’s pop culture interests, and perhaps get clues on her upcoming projects, check out the links below.

Pins

Music

Selena Gomez

Drake

Dixie Chicks

Faith Hill

Troye Sivan

TV

Friends

Game of Thrones:
Maisie Williams
Sophie Turner
Emilia Clarke

Law and Order: SVU

Mr. Rogers Neighborhood

Grey’s Anatomy:
Ellen Pompeo
Sandra Oh

Her upcoming movie:

Cats

Other pins include:

Nods to “ME!” (“calm” and “awesome” button)

Meredith and Olivia pins that she used to sale online

A palette which is a nod to her love of painting (the paint is in the shape of hearts),

Rainbow Heart

Heart with “You Are My Person” written on it

Track 5

“I Tried” tombstone

Article

Fleabag

King Princess

Lana Del Rey

Tayla Parx

Sally Rooney

Killing Eve

Drake

Ciara

Britney Spears’ Laughter

According to Taylor Swift Style, her jacket is Gucci and you can get her buttons here.

Where to buy Taylor Swift Entertainment Weekly buttons

[Interview] Parker Bossley Talks About His Love for 90s Lenny Kravitz, Living In A Camper, and How To Survive On Tour

April 28, 2019 — Leave a comment

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New artist Parker Bossley isn’t as green as other emerging artists; he’s been touring since he was 15 and worked as a session bassist. Finally breaking out on his own, Parker talks about tour life, working on new music and living in a camper in LA.

Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where are you from, and how did you first get into music?

I’m from Vancouver. I was born in a town called Abbotsford, which is kind of like a rough town. It’s like the murder capital of the province of where I’m from. So it’s pretty sketchy. And music was one of the things that you could do to stay out of trouble. I always had this natural affinity to it. My mother taught me piano, and I was just always obsessed with music.  Then I moved to Vancouver, signed a deal and I’ve just been touring around ever since then. And I’ve found myself between Los Angeles and Vancouver now.

You channeled a lot of glam icons in your music video for your single “Lifted.” Who are some of your fashion and music inspirations?

With that music video I was really trying to do like a 90s Lenny Kravitz vibe. I love Lenny Kravitz and his style. I love Bowie obviously and T. Rex. And Nina Hagen I love as well. Grace Jones is a big style influence.

Do you think your music and fashion style go hand in hand with the message you are trying to send out?

I think so, yeah. I try not to over think too much, or over say too much, but like to me fashion is just another way to express yourself, its a form of arts, it is a layer to the whole story. So it’s a big part to the way I choose to live my life.

What did you learn from your experiences with touring with other people?

You learn a lot about what not to do. You learn how to not be a terrible person in the van. You learn that hygiene on the road is key. Stinky feet can ruin a drive. And you also learn how to keep the vibe up, because touring is hard. Its tough having a bunch of people together in a combined space, you just kind of figure each other out a little bit you know.

What do you miss most about home?

I miss my girlfriend, I miss her dog, Bear. You miss your family. Touring now with smartphone and video calls makes it easier to stay connected with everyone at home. I remember the first time I toured in Europe we didn’t have cell phones, so we were just using these pre-paid phone cards that were super expensive so you could only chat for like five minutes, and it was awful. You get lonely pretty quick. But these days its pretty chill.

What are some touring rituals that are important to you?

I drink wine by myself (laughs). I really savor the moments where I can be by myself. I think it is really important to find those moments when you are on the road and kind of give yourself [that]. Even if it just means going to the hotel for 20 minutes so you can have a shower by yourself or whatever. Alone time is probably one of my touring rituals. We listen to music and podcasts. Drea just got me into the podcast “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. ” Its basically him interviewing comedians and stuff and they just chat for two hours. It is pretty good, its pretty funny. They kind of delve into these societal conversations. Its less about their careers and more about what they think about certain things. Its good, its cool.

Do you try to have a chill vibe on road since you give a lot of energy when you are performing?

Absolutely. That’s so true because when I go on stage, I always end up giving more energy than I have planned for. You have to keep a reserve of energy at all times, or else you run the risk of depleting yourself, and then you enter a state of depression on the road, which I’ve been in before. And being healthy, like not drinking too much, and trying to eat healthy. We’ve been doing a pretty good job on this tour.

Do you consider yourself an introvert at all?

I’m definitely an introvert. I think there are a lot of artists who are introverts. They seem extroverted because they go on stage and do this scary thing, but that’s how I deal with my introversion, its like a weird thing that I do. And then I needing to be by myself for 12 hours.

You kind of have to cope with it. It is a strange existence being on the road, especially when you are really in it and you’re a month in, and you’re in transitory, you are in limbo. Most of your day you aren’t really doing anything. You are just driving to this place, and then you do the exact same thing. And if you are not careful, you can lose the joy of it.

You said you’ve gotten depressed on tour before, how did you get out of it?

At that time, I was quite a bit younger and I wasn’t living very well. So cutting back on drinking was definitely a thing for me on that tour. The truth is I didn’t get out of that depression . That was when I was in Germany. And I was just really young, I was 21. And I just entered a brutal depression, and I just rode it out. And when I got home I dealt with my issues.

Tell me about this camper that you lived in?

When I first moved to LA, it was like this super sketchy, shitty camper mobile in Lincoln Heights, which was kind of a sketchy neighborhood. I definitely grew quite fond of it, as you do when you are wandering around writing songs. You meet people and you make these relationships with people that you would have never met before. I definitely look back with fondness to that camper that I was living in. It did leak, but it doesn’t really rain that much in LA so that was fine.

How long were you there?

I was there for just over a month or something. Which is technically a long time to live in a camper.

Did you write and record your album in the camper?

No, I was living in LA and was basically trying to figure out how I was going to do it. The recording came a little later, but I wrote my last single, “Lifted” when I was in that camper. I’m actually going in with Chris Chu from the Morning Benders and POP ETC, we’re recoding my album in two days in Los Angeles.

Are you excited or nervous?

I’m only excited. I’m so comfortable in the studio, and I know all these songs are amazing. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m really stoked on the songs. So I have no real nerves about recording the album. And Chris has been amazing, and I absolutely trust him. So just excited, which is nice to say, because I’ve had it both ways for sure.

What do you want people to take away from this album?

Obviously I want everyone to find their own meaning. So really I just hope people listen to it and can relate to it. I often write from a personal place, I’m writing about my experiences so hopefully they can take something out of it and it is a joyful experience.  

Check out Parker Bossley’s video for “Lifted” below

My Coachella Live Stream Schedule

April 13, 2019 — Leave a comment

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Coachella is livestreaming on YouTube for free again this year, and it is the cheapest (and cleanest) way to catch all the hype from Coachella. Here is my “Couchella” schedule. It is a bit light, but it will actually give me time to rest for all of these late night sets.

You can watch Coachella here.

Friday, April 12

6:45 – Jaden Smith (1)

7:20 – DVSN (3)

8:55 – Ella Mai (3)

11:25 – Childish Gambino (1)

Saturday, April 13

7:30 – Sir (2)

11:15 – Smino (3)

11:55 – Kid Cudi (2)

Sunday, April 14

7:45 PM – Zedd (1)

8:35 PM – Khalid (1)

9:35 PM – H.E.R. (1)

10:35 – Ariana Grande (1)

Sweetener (and thank u, next) Tour Setlist and Playlist

March 19, 2019 — Leave a comment

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Ariana Grande kicked off her Sweetener (and thank u, next) World Tour in Albany, NY yesterday.  This tour setlist featured songs from all five of her albums, leaning heavily on Sweetener and thank u, next. Check out the setlist, and a playlist of the songs, below.

Act 1

Raindrops (An Angel Cried)
God Is a Woman
Bad Idea

Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored

Act 2

Homevideo Interlude
R.E.M.
Be Alright
Sweetener
Successful
Side to Side
(Shortened)
Bloodline
7 Rings

Act 3

Close to You
(Frank Ocean song) (Song played for interlude)
Love Me Harder
(Shortened)
Breathin
Needy
Fake Smile
Make Up
Right There
(Shortened)
You’ll Never Know
Break Your Heart Right Back
NASA
Goodnight n Go

Act 4

In My Head
(Musical interlude)
Everytime
One Last Time
The Light Is Coming
Into You

Act 5

My Heart Belongs to Daddy
(Marilyn Monroe song) (song played for interlude)
Dangerous Woman
Break Free
No Tears Left to Cry

Encore

Twitter / Sing-A-Long / Thank U, Next Interlude
Thank U, Next
Album setlist
Yours Truly: 2
My Everything: 4
Dangerous Woman: 4
Sweetener: 10
thank u, next: 10

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4rmwaxMnu2tL6miwRFaxau

[Photos] Smile, You’re Literally On Camera At Vince Staples’ Tour

March 14, 2019 — 3 Comments

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All photos by Ariana LaBarrie/fresh pair of iis

Vince Staples is on a touring spree as of late. He was on tour last year with Tyler The Creator to support his Big Fish Theory album, and was on The Life Aquatic tour in 2017 for the Prima Donna EP.  This year, he is on the Smile, You’re On Camera tour, making a stop at Royal Oak Music Theatre.

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The title of the tour wasn’t just a tongue-in-cheek nod to the phrase on security cameras; the set design included live steams of the crowd “caught on camera.” Vince Staples always has amazing set designs for his shows. During The Life Aquatic tour, his screen was a big fish tank (you can see photos from that tour here), so it was not surprise his following album was named Big Fish Theory.  I wouldn’t be surprised if his next album title was a nod to surveillance.

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Vince Staples has this get up and go energy for each show.  He starts off strong and has the same momentum throughout the entire show. It is the type of spirit that makes his albums come alive.

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Check out the set list below for the show. Tour dates are here.

  1. Feels Like Summer
  2. Don’t Get Chipped
  3. Lift Me Up
  4. Street Punks
  5. Relay
  6. War Ready
  7. 745
  8. Rain Come Down
  9. Tweakin’
  10. Big Fish
  11. Outside!
  12. Run the Bands
  13. Get the Fuck Off My Dick
  14. Señorita
  15. No Bleedin
  16. FUN!
  17. BagBak
  18. Party People
  19. Blue Suede
  20. Norf Norf
  21. Yeah Right
  22. Mac Miller NPR Tiny Desk Concert Video

Drake’s So Far Gone Is On All Streaming Services For Its 10th Anniversary and I’m Having Major Nostalgia Vibes

February 18, 2019 — Leave a comment

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Image Drake posted when releasing So Far Gone

Drake uploaded So Far Gone on February 13, 2009 and I can’t say I was online waiting for it. Not that I was late on Drake; of course I had seen him on Degrassi, but I was also familiar with his song “Replacement Girl” with Trey Songz. I just didn’t know anything about his blog, octobersveryown.blogspot.com or that he was still releasing music. But once I did, I was HOOKED on So Far Gone. I would listen to it obsessively basically until Thank Me Later came out and then I mixed those two together.

So Far Gone had a major influence on me. Not only did I become obsessed with Drake, it introduced to a lot of other artists and mixtapes that came up in 2009, such as J. Cole, Kid Cudi, and Wiz Khalifa. It influenced me to start my first blog (the big sister of this website). It led me to getting my master’s degree in Music Business from NYU and writing my thesis on using mixtapes as a business model. It got me into going to concerts and which eventually led to concert photography and this website. It also got me into spending way too much on concert merchandise.

Some interesting tidbits about So Far Gone and Drake during this era:

This was the original artwork for the “Best I Ever Had” single

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It was deemed too obscure so it was replaced with this.

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OVO used to post all the time to their blog on blogspot. You can still see the old posts, and they still post on it.

The original So Far Gone EP that was released on CD only had seven songs, including the new track, “Fear,” which remains my favorite Drake song.

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This was the original artwork for “Fear”

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Whats your favorite songs from So Far Gone? My top five are “Little Bit,” ” Best I Ever Had,”  “Uptown,” “Sooner Than Later,” and “Brand New.

Ariana Grande Shares Her Top Three Songs On Sweetener

February 17, 2019 — Leave a comment

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Ariana Grande shared her top three songs on Sweetener on Twitter.

It shouldn’t be surprising that “R.E.M.” is one of her favorites because she has that tattooed behind her ear.

She previously shared her top five for her previous three albums, Yours Truly, My Everything, and Dangerous Woman which you can check out here. When Sweetener came out, she said several songs that she liked, but this seems like a more definite list.

She’s mentioned off thank u, next that her current two favorite are “fake smile” and “make up.”

What’s your favorites? I would say “God is a woman,” “everytime” and “no tears left to cry.”