And If Only I Could
These past few days were New York Fashion Week, that lovely bi-annual time of year when every TikTok girlie rushes to dine at Jack’s Wife Freda, take photoshoots on downtown streets, and new to this year, conspire over ways to get into runways and after-parties. Users on the app tore down the gates keeping them from seeing Charli XCX perform Vroom Vroom (a song she does at every show) at the Marc Jacob Elsewhere party and caused mayhem in the process. The accounts from that party in particular are chaotic to say the least, hundreds of kids waiting on line for hours to no avail, trying to beg, barter and clout their way in. The vast majority of those waiting where people who found the party through TikTok, overwhelming the function and flooding the inboxes of every PR person in the city.
Much has been written about how social media has demolished the notion of “Cool,” how platforms like Instagram, and especially TikTok have democratized the internet so that the people who are affected by culture have as much say as the people who traditionally were the ones making it. On Instagram everyone can be an influencer, on TikTok we can make songs from 1985 hits, on Pinterest everyone can curate the perfect pre-commoditized identity. But have we stopped and asked whether or not this is a good thing? The term gatekeeping (verb) or gatekeeper (noun) is a pejorative that is tossed around frequently nowadays online, used to refer to someone who isn’t forthcoming with information regarding clothes, events, or music. I used to be on the side of the crowd calling foul-play with gatekeeping, finding a moral high ground in exclusivity isn’t the nicest thing a person can do, but lately I’ve been thinking that gatekeeping is actually a public service, and that there are in fact things that the general, TikToking public should not be privy to.
There is no way you’ve escaped Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), Kate Bush’s seminal song from her masterpiece The Hounds of Love that is experiencing unprecedented viral success from featuring in the fourth season of Stranger Things and ensuing TikTok usage. While on one hand I’m happy to see a new audience be introduced to Bush’s work (stream Cloudbusting for clear skin) it does ruffle my feathers to see the song used in banal TikTok videos. Running Up That Hill is one of the best songs ever made, an ode to try and understand partners of the opposite sex and make sense of the differences that define us. Using it to soundtrack your OOTD videos cheapens it, it makes me wish that the song wasn’t as visible as it currently is. There’s also the matter of artists performing god awful covers: Rita Ora unleashed a Fergie-inspired version this past week and the problamatiqué Kim Petras has treated us with one as well. It’s all incredibly gauche and speaks to how the need to constantly create content and mine from whatever is trending or interesting dilutes the power of what is truly exceptional.
Fiona Apple, the primordial “sad girl” was the first to take a bold move in favor of gatekeeping, and removed her entire catalogue from TikTok . The move came after several trends of women on the platform using her songs as audio when discussing eating disorders or posting thinspo content, a bastardization of an artist who has devoted her career to chronicling her experience of womanhood and feminine rage. Rather than see her songs fall into the Phoebe Bridgers route and breed a group of young audiences who define themselves by their depression and practice horrific concert-going etiquette, she chose to remove herself from the equation, and built the gate herself.
Perhaps there should be some separation between those making great art and those who consume it; a degree of distance from the trend-setters and the ones following behind. The state of social media today is that everything that can be used for Content will be; it doesn’t matter how special the original piece is, it will be used to churn out videos so that people on TikTok can try and make a go at becoming an influencer. It doesn’t matter that some events were not meant for certain people to attend; we have a right to do our best imitation of the British queuing to see Lizzie in order to get into The Standard Hotel. We should always push for a greater diversity in those who are making culture but I’m not sure if the answer is for the general public to have access to everything, I think it’s for us to use the power of social media for one of the truly positive things it can do, spotlighting new and exciting voices that will be the tastemakers of the future.
Bits and Bobs:
The Emmy’s! They happened! I’m thrilled for Matthew Macfadyen, he gave my favorite dramatic performance of the last year, and for Abbott Elementary, the show that makes me believe in network sitcoms again. I can’t speak to Ted Lasso (haven’t watched season 2) but how is a show about a mustached man coaching soccer better than Barry. Yes, Barry isn’t even a comedy at this point but that’s a different discussion, the show was snubbed several times over.
My favorite part of New York Fashion Week is genuinely seeing the niche personalities that walk in random shows. Of course one expects to see a Hari Nef or if you’re feeling adventurous a Caroline Polachek, but seeing Ethel Cain in Givenchy, Dylan Mulvaney tear the runway for Jessica Jade, and Alex Consani (captincroook) in Dion Lee, it brings a breath of fresh air to the proceedings and it’s great to see these creators have a moment in the spotlight.
Speaking of creators I’m captivated by TikToker tonysgoomar, and have been for quite awhile. She used to make femcel adjacent videos about hunting men for sport and giving into your darkest impulses but after clearing her account and taking a several month break she’s back with visual poems and story-telling that’s more Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence in spirit. I very much recommend checking her stuff out.
It’s Kate Berlant’s world and we’re all just living in it babeyy. Her “one woman show” Kate was the funniest 80 minutes I have maybe ever spent at the theater; the way she played with the form and trope of a one woman show and a standup special was constantly surprising and honestly invigorating, I left feeling so inspired. She also just released an earlier standup show from 2019 on Hulu, and is currently in the new League of Her Own show and Don’t Worry Darling. There isn’t much more I can say about her but check out her great piece in the Times where she mentions that her greatest fear is “a documentary in which more famous people talk about how influential she is.” Wow.
I was lucky enough to see Lea Michelle in Funny Girl and jesus wept. I’ve only ever seen the first season of Glee (and that I didn’t watch until Winter 2021) so I have no allegiance to Mrs. Michelle aside from a love of Spring Awakening and the fact that her playing Fanny on Broadway is deeply, supremely funny. All that is to say, she gave a holistic star performance, she had the humor, she had the chemistry, she virtually erased every problem the show had by being that damn compelling. I wasn’t bored during the second act of Funny Girl which is the biggest compliment I can give to her. Brava.
What I’m
Listenting to:
It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody - Weyes Blood: Oh jesus, oh god.
Heartbreaker - Mariah Carey ft. Jay-Z: One of the best pop songs with a rap verse ever, such an iconic hook and I love Jay-Z’s verse so much, it’s so fun and flirty.
Foreign Things - Amber Mark: Amber Mark makes classy, polished, R&B/pop, this is an ode to loving yourself, your friends, and nice things.
Masterpiece - Big Thief: It takes a lot of gumption to call a song and an album “Masterpiece” but damn do Big Thief pull it off.
Reading:
Since I haven’t done one of these in a bit I thought I’d update on the book’s I’m reading and whether or not I enjoyed them!
I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy: As good as everyone says it is, maybe better even. Such a visceral journey through an incredibly difficult adolescence and early adulthood, and the humor and insight that McCurdy brings to it is remarkable, it’s shocking that she has this much clarity over an incredibly messy upbringing.
Human Blues - Elisa Albert: Ughhhh. This one started with so much promise but it quickly devolved into one of the most frustrating books I’ve read in a long while. 300 pages of running around in circles with little to show for it, I wouldn’t recommend.
A Touch of Jen - Beth Morgan: Now THIS was fucking fun. A mean, bitter book that kept getting better as it went along. One of the few books I’ve read recently with something actually interesting to say about the subjective experience of being addicted to social media, well worth your time.
Obsessed with:
As fall and Halloween approach I am getting my daily reminder that Victoria Pedretti absolutely owns my ass. The Haunting of Hill House is one of my favorite shows ever (probably second after Hannibal) and her work in Bly Manor and You is also exceptional, she’s such a talent. Spoilers for Hill House but this scene will always break my heart and is a showcase of her exceptional work.
It’s the actress corner this week because I keep rewatching this scene from Paper Moon where Madeline Kahn gives perhaps the performance of her career. It’s an almost 3 minute monologue and the way she navigates its dramatic arc is just incredible. This is a serious inquiry if anyone wants to go to the 2PM of it this Sunday at The Metrograph please hit me up.
