heartbeats

my investment in pop music

i think it was probably tumblr where i read something about arguing artist integrity in terms of lana del rey was nothing but sexism. too true, too true.

her male contemporaries don’t have their backgrounds dragged out in the same way, their stage names called in to question or their lips examined. she’s just another example in the constant wave of attacks towards female artists in pop music. i think it’s feeling particularly noticeable because there’s quite a few female releases headed our way and it’s still only february. i don’t think this has happened in a while. usually there’s one or two women allowed in at the same time. it really does involve permission, sadly. how else can we explain the backlash when there are too many coming through to filter? when they don’t behave as they should in order to receive that boy’s club stamp of approval?

take this pitchfork article from today:

“Instead, in the few bars Madonna was kind enough to grant her during the biggest television event of the year, M.I.A.’s message to America was simply, “Fuck you.” Well, in M.I.A.’s own words, the little people will never win, but they can fuck shit up. Success might be the best revenge, but apparently, being an asshole is forever.”

KIND ENOUGH TO GRANT HER?!
and then they called her an asshole.

this, paired a long with the public perception that madonna is somehow exploiting nicki and m.i.a. by having them chant her name in a song, makes me feel like we’ve gotten nowhere, that women are still such painfully easy targets.

whether you agree or not, i think madonna identifies as an artist. one who benefits and may even enjoy collaborating with people. m.i.a. has co-writing credit on that single btw. i think both nicki and maya both gain a lot from that association.

it all just makes me sad because at the end of the day, it’s indicative of bigger issues. and the commentary has to be hard on a person regardless of how rich and successful you may be. it can still crush.

and don’t even get me started on everyone making fun of madonna’s age. i guess there must be a memo on how to age as the queen of pop. my friend just said “what we would have lost if Madonna shut up everytime the world told her to?”

it’s all triggering me. i don’t want any of these women to go away. i don’t want to lose them like we lost amy. but i wouldn’t blame them if they did.