Paula’s Popwoche: Can we still be saved?

While a few rich honks have just gotten lost in a submarine en route to the Titanic (the wreck on the sea floor) and no expense or effort is being spared to rescue them, I’m back at the coffee shop around the corner from me , in which I had to write my column last summer, because I ran out of my top floor apartment there, because the oxygen will run out in a few hours, just like in this submarine, and I’m wondering whether that’s the year now , in which we all lose our minds. Last year and the year before last we all thought or even sweared by it… But you have to realize that all this madness is more survivable than you thought, it goes on and on while your skins literally swim away.

Pop goes on, on and on

“CARDI B SLAMS TITAN PASSENGER’S STEPSON WHO ATTENDED A BLINK-182 CONCERT THE DAY AFTER IT WENT MISSING – His son has no regrets” will now go down in the history of my favorite pop headlines, probably right after “Liam Gallagher thought A$AP Rocky‘s name was ‘WhatsApp Ricky'”. Well, the stepson of one of those rich submarine dudes went to a Blink-182 concert the day after the disappearance and I don’t see anything wrong with that either. What else is he supposed to do, listen to Tom DeLonge’s heartbreaking verse from “I Miss You” on a ten-hour loop at home?

Speaking of taking a bath…

On to the next shit show: “The Idol”

Here, too, the Internet has a lot to smile about at the moment. The pretty bad series from Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye and Sam Levinson, starring Lily-Rose Depp, is currently delivering one cringe moment after another and has only had three episodes out.

After director Amy Seimetz left the project, men completely took over the thing and turned it into very young woman suffering porn, which has been particularly popular lately anyway (we remember “Blonde”, the film about Marilyn Monroe or the second season “Euphoria”, in which Sam Levinson already went too far in this regard). So this is about a pop singer (Depp) who is manipulated by an older Creep (Tesfaye) and has weird 80’s TV porn sex with him. This creates the most non-erotic scenes that you have seen in a long time and the weirdest sentences are said, so I really can’t recommend all of this to you.

The YouTuber Nikki Carreon has been dedicated to this madness since the first episode, you better have a look:

In the end, of course, it should again be critical, satirical, feminist. But along the way, we see all that old shit over and over again. Reproducing something only to then totally deconstruct it… wait a minute, that’s suspiciously reminiscent of… oh yeah, the Barbie movie that’s also coming up. During the month-long promotional phase, beauty interventions as well as the consumption of clothing and make-up related to Barbie aesthetics have already risen sharply. This fate will probably not befall the viewers of “The Idol” because they will probably switch off in time.

Money Money Money: My Last Beyoncé Concert

I fainted and got myself a Beyoncé ticket at the recent fan sale. After all, I’ve been a fan since 1998, I’ve been in the nursery … Oh, let’s leave that. After their performance in Dubai and because of this ticket madness, the oven was actually off for me, unfortunately the Renaissance album is too good and that’s how it happened, as it had to come, I’m gone. Except for the Heinis, who were allowed to stay for free, I probably had the cheapest ticket in the whole stadium, but it was still a so-called rip-off, a usury, a moon price. Of course it was the best concert I’ve ever seen, it was unbelievable, but there was one thing I missed: the normal fans. Because at some point between hit 10 and hit 12 I noticed that I was the only one dancing in my block for long stretches, who was standing the whole time. The others mostly sat, filmed (nothing against filming, I understand that, it helps to process the bewilderment), said wow, took selfies and such, but they seldom sang and danced. And that with this disco party album that we were mainly served here?

So it finally became clear to me (very naive) (yeah, many of you knew it all along…) that big concerts have become a status symbol. On Instagram, the stories and postings of people with the two most important statements: 1. I was with Beyoncé. 2. I was particularly far ahead. And today with 2. you are considered a particularly big fan. Above all, it means that you are rich. The further ahead, the more expensive, up to 3000 euros could be lapped there. The “BeyHive,” as Beyoncé’s most loyal fans are known, is a group of wealthier people and nothing else. And that in 2023 also under the label of queer culture – for everyone who can afford it. A girl from my block later collected cups and laughed, “cool, 12 euros … since I’m in the red right now”. It reminded me of all the memes when Beyoncé announced her tour, they were all like, “Haha, I can’t pay my rent anymore, but to Beyoncé”…great!

After the concert, friends and I went to a Beyoncé drag party after the show, admission was 15 euros. It was definitely the better party than at the concert, we danced like crazy and hugged each other bawling. So now I think I’m going back to my room and crouching as queerly as I can on my carpet and listening to the great albums for free until they’re finally spoiled for me. See you at Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen!

Now to the important things: The fight against the Lindemann system

Some men have talked a lot of nonsense about Rammstein and Till Lindemann in the past few weeks, profiled themselves on the necks of those affected, distanced themselves unbelievably and so on. While the most well-known victims Kayla Shyx and Shelby Lynn continue to fight impressively bravely and a few people, who not only talk but want to act, have started a call for donations to support other victims in their legal battles. It was brought to life by the author Jasmina Kuhnke with the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. Almost 800,000 euros have been collected so far. You can send this link to your wealthy friendsso that they do something useful and don’t head for the Titanic wreck in a submarine.

Finally, a few summer hits

This song is for cooling off, in a loop of course:

This one for the crude feelings of horniness that accompany you through the summer:

And this one for the melancholy and nostalgic (“The Boy Is Mine” sends regards) nights:

What happened until now? Here is an overview of all pop column texts.