November 17, 2024

About the author  ⁄ John Walker

Weird Al Sounds Just Like Your Boss In ‘Mission Statement’

by 10 mins ago

The Mandatory Fun is officially over. Today marks the eighth and final day of consecutive “Weird Al” Yankovic music video releases, and it looks like the master parodist might have saved his best clip for last.

“Mission Statement” — which is currently only viewable on The Wall Street Journal‘s Speakeasy blog — is a non-stop onslaught of corporate jargon done in the style of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.”

“I wanted to do a song about all the ridiculous double-speak and meaningless buzzwords that I’ve been hearing in office environments my entire life,” Al told the WSJ. “I just thought it would be ironic to juxtapose that with the song stylings of [Crosby, Stills & Nash], whose music pretty much symbolizes the antithesis of corporate America.”

Consider yourself lucky if you’ve never had to endure an hourlong stream of buzzword vomit, likely including such hits as scalable, synergy, cross-platform, vis-à-vis, caveat, and more words that actual human beings would never utter outside of a conference room. Like, BRB — leveraging my hand over your mouth.

...

Read More →

The Hamptons Aren’t So Taken With Kourtney & Khloe Kardashian

by 22 mins ago

From landing on your private backyard helipad in 25 mph winds to not giggling every time someone over-emphasizes the first syllable in “ascot,” life in the Hamptons sure is rough. I guess the added pressure of keeping up with the Kardashians was just a little too much for certain seasonal residents.

TMZ reports that stickers have popped up all over New York’s summer getaway protesting Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian’s presence in the Hamptons — the sisters are currently filming “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” spin-off “Kourtney & Khloe Take The Hamptons” in the area.

Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe KardashianInstagram (@nikehightops)

The decals bear the likenesses of the two women, which have been crossed out with a red line, along with the social media-savvy hashtag, “#NODASH.”

The perpetrator remains at large, but cops assured TMZ that, if caught in the act, he or she will be cited with defacing public property.

I think I speak for everyone when I say: Hamptons, don’t be f–king rude.

...

Read More →

No Latte Art? Weird Al Has It Rough In His ‘First World Problems’ Video

by 43 mins ago

Have you ever forgotten where you parked your new hybrid car? Have you ever bought more groceries than you can fit in your refrigerator? Have you ever been forced to delay your hour-long shower because your maid hasn’t finished cleaning the bathroom yet? “Weird Al” Yankovic understands your pain in his new video for Pixies-esque “First World Problems.”

The Liam Lynch-directed clip, which is currently only viewable on PopCrush, sees the king of pop-music parodies enduring all of these completely traumatizing experiences and more. Don’t worry, his character gets what’s coming to him in the end.

In a video interview for PopCrush, Weird Al explains how he and Lynch created his self-described “douchey character.” Step one? Buy a “douchey blond wig.”

“First World Problems” is the latest track off of Yankovic’s fourteenth studio album, Mandatory Fun, to get a release, following “Tacky,” “Word Crimes,” “Foil,” “Handy,” and “Sports Song.”

...

Read More →

Suspected Angel Taylor Swift Finds Her Wings In New York City

by 1 hour ago

New photographic evidence has emerged that Taylor Swift might, in fact, be an angel heaven-sent to bless us with her presence and sick pop-country bass drops. Oh my god, called it! I so called it.

Erm, actually it’s just a Instagram photo of the “I Knew You Were Trouble” singer standing in front of some gorgeously intricate, hand-drawn angel wings on Saturday, July 19. To be fair, Taylor did caption the picture, “Finding wings in New York City.” Besides, I definitely heard a bell ring right around the time that this photo was taken. Explain that, science!

Taylor SwiftInstagram

In case you’re in New York any time soon and wanna follow in Taylor’s footsteps angel wing-flaps, head over to the corner Kenmare and Mott Streets in Manhattan’s NoLita neighborhood.

The artist behind the work, Kelsey Montague, saw the 24-year-old singer’s Insta, rendering her: “Speechless right now and so incredibly thankful… I have no words. Taylor I respected you before as an artist, a woman, a female entrepreneur, a musician and an actress but now I also see your heart. Thank you to everyone for interacting with the wings and thus giving me wings as well.”

OK, now I’m definitely hearing bells ring.

...

Read More →

Remove A Letter, Ruin A Band: The 13 Most Lol-Worthy Tweets

by 22 mins ago

Clashing egos? Romantic entanglements? A crippling addiction to exotic-animal-fur eyelash extensions? Nope, it turns out that the easiest way to ruin a band is to simply remove a letter.

Trending right now on Twitter, #RemoveALetterRuinABand is a pretty self-explanatory meme. From Drake Rake to Pearl Jam Pear Jam, here is a roundup of the 13 funniest tweets.

1.) Guns N’ Rose

2.) Rake

3.) Börk

4.) Grateful Dad

5.) Ace Of Bae

6.) Cosby, Stills & Nash

7.) Cypress Ill

8.) Pear Jam

9.) Mob

10.) B.o.

11.) Guns N’ Ross

12.) Panic! At The Disc

13.) Simple Pan

...

Read More →

Kiesza: The VMA Nominee You Need To Be Into, Like, Now

by 27 mins ago

I have to make a confession: Kiesza is giving me so much life right now. So much life, that I’ve been slain and reborn multiple times over. Like, I’m talking more life than a cat with a GameShark. That metaphor doesn’t even make sense if you think about it too much, but you know what? I literally do not care because the only thing worth caring about right now is Kiesza.

In case that name isn’t ringing any bells, I HATE YOU SO MUCH won’t hold it against you. The 25-year-old singer-songwriter is really only just starting to make it big in the U.S., even though her breakthrough single, “Hideaway,” has been on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 for 11 weeks and even peaked at No. 6. Healthcare? Poutine? Kiesza? Canada knows what’s up.

And now, the title track off of her Hideaway EP, released July 7, has charted at #9 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, with second single “Giant In My Heart” picking up steam at #47. Its accompanying video has even been nominated for Best Choreography at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards — because sometimes we can have nice things.

Speaking of the “Hideaway” video, you have to watch it if you haven’t already. Directed by the artist herself, the clip is one continuous shot of Kiesza ~expressing herself~ as she dances down the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. So dramatic. So poetic. When will Read More →

Blue Ivy Follows In Beyonce’s Steps — Literally: See The Pic

by 30 mins ago

Stop what you’re doing, and look at Blue Ivy. Why? Because in this photo that her mom, Beyoncé, Instagrammed on July 17, the crown jewel of America’s crown is gleaming so damn brightly.

In the pic, lil’ girl Blue is walking — nay, skipping — side-by-side with the “Drunk In Love” singer backstage at the On The Run Tour. I mean, I’d be skipping too if my mother was straight-up dominating the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards with a pack-leading eight nominations, wouldn’t you?

beyonce, blue ivyInstagram

I can’t get over how mobile Blue is. What is she, walking at a first-grade level? This toddler is so accomplished. When will Prince George?

Truly the only #RoyalBaby that matters.

...

Read More →

These 7 Microaggressions Could Ruin Someone’s Day

by 20 mins ago

Imagine that it’s 8:30 a.m., and you’re already having the best day ever. The sun is shining, the humidity is near-nonexistent, and you’ve even found a forgotten $20 bill in your pants pocket. The stars are literally aligning in your favor, and then — BLAM! — someone runs past you and accidentally knocks you to the ground. You dust yourself off, and continue through your day as if it never happened. Only, it did happen, and even though you’ll probably forget about it, that one moment of inexplicable insensitivity has spoiled what was otherwise shaping up to be a pretty much perfect day.

Now imagine that happening over and over and over again.

That’s what a microaggression — a brief and commonplace statement or action motivated by conscious or subconscious bias — feels like.

And over time, they get harder to brush off. MTV’s Look Different campaign found that over time: “[microaggressions] have been found to affect the mental and physical health of recipients, create a hostile work or campus environment, lower work productivity and problem solving abilities, and be partially responsible for creating systemic inequities.”

Not to get all “Schoolhouse Rock,” but knowledge really is power, and educating yourself is an effective way to combat the underlying ignorance that often leads to such intentionally prejudiced actions and statements. Watch these seven “Broken Glass” spots below — each one acting out a different scenario involving an everyday ...

Read More →

5SOS’ Luke Hemmings Turns 18, And Twitter Literally Explodes

by 9 mins ago

It’s July 16, so do you know what that means? It’s Luke Hemmings’ 18th birthday. With all due respect to the Feast Day of Bishop Gondulphus of Tongeren, the 5 Seconds Of Summer frontman’s big day is the only thing that matters until the clock strikes midnight.

By the looks of how heavily #HappyBirthdayLukeHemmings has been trending on Twitter, you’ve all got this on lock. Let’s check out the best, most feelings-infused birthday tweets from the fandom, along with messages from the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards performer’s fellow 5SOS bandmates.

Mikey revealed he’d be getting Luke “a hug.”

I guess the face-squeeze was a surprise?

Calum also wished Luke a happy birthday.

A bunch of 5SOS fans made Luke fan art.

Some of them got super-nostalgic for bb Luke.

Others created highly accurate artistic renderings of Luke’s birthday party.

Still others just spoke the damn truth.

FYI, Luke really appreciates all your tweets.

...

Read More →

Zayn Malik’s Instagram Is No Longer Private, And OMG IS THAT A WEDDING RING?!

by 21 mins ago

Everyone shut up, because something huge has happened. On July 15, Zayn Malik of One Direction officially changed the privacy settings on his Instagram account (@niazkilam) from private to public, and the world will never be the same. I mean, have you not checked your social media handles today? The “#THANKSZAYNFORMAKINGYOURIGPUBLIC” hashtag is trending the f–k out of Twitter.

Related: Liam Payne Is One Direction’s Best Member

Why? Ummmm, how about because the “You & I” might be wearing a wedding ring in a selfie from July 15? YEP. And that’s just the beginning. Here are the nine most important, significant, and culturally relevant findings that I’ve uncovered via Zayn’s Instagram — which is rapidly edging its way closer and closer to one million followers.

1.) Is Zayn wearing a wedding ring in this first photo? He’s been engaged to Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards since August 2013.

zayn-malik-instagram-7Instagram

2.) Also, can you even handle this adorable photo of him holding his pet cat, Tiger?

Zayn Malik, One DirectionInstagram

3.) Or this #TBT of Zayn and his dad? No, you cannot.

Zayn Malik, One DirectionInstagram

4.) Other findings? Zayn’s super into his tattoos.

zayn-tattooInstagram

5.) Zayn loves saying “chill,” and he loves “chillin’.”

Zayn Malik, One DirectionInstagram

6.) Zayn also thinks lots of things are “sick.”

Zayn Malik, One DirectionInstagram

7.) ...

Read More →