After a week full of 60+ degree weather in New York, I'm officially ready to slam the laptop shut and enter the weekend. I'm bathing suit shopping online, I'm spending time basking in the short-lived early spring weather, and I'm gearing up to make another playlist to get through the weekend.

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Popdust

Remember 2012?

It was a simpler time (at least in the sense that we had yet to reckon with our culture's collective failings). Even better, in 2012 no one had heard of murder hornets, having a slight cough didn't make anyone reckon with their mortality, and we were all bumping 1D's break out hit "What Makes You Beautiful." Life was good.

In March of that year, One Direction's hit single was shooting up the charts all over the world, Their album Up All Night was set to hit No. 1 in the United States, and the now iconic boy band stopped by Popdust for an interview.

Zayn had a bizarrely-buttoned shirt on; Louis seemed to be concerned that his hoodie would fall off his shoulders; and Harry, Liam, and Niall all still had their trademark haircuts.

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Culture News

Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik Are Expecting Their First Child, And It's Already Hotter Than You'll Ever Be

At just 20 weeks old, the fetus is reportedly much, much richer and more attractive than you'll ever be.

Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik - Entertainment Tonight

via YouTube.com

If you've been considering having a beautiful, Instagram-famous baby during self-isolation, don't even bother. Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid beat you to the punch.

Vulture reports that the 25-year-old model and former hottest member of One Direction are expecting their first child together. Apparently, "family sources" have confirmed that Hadid is about 20 weeks along and the baby is a girl, according to TMZ. Boy or girl, this baby has the genes of two of the world's most beautiful people, and is sure to stunt on us all in due time. Imagine those cheek bones, those cupid-bow lips, that ethnic ambiguity! In a culture that robs beautiful, famous children of their childhoods through paparazzi harassment, sexualization, and criticism in the media, this baby is sure to be one of the MOST harassed and MOST sexualized of all! Look out Kardashian-West children, the Malik-Hadid infant is coming for your crown!

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Photo by SADAKA EDMOND/SIPA/Shutterstock
It's easy to forget that most social media accounts we interact with have actual faces behind the screen names.
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ZAYN - Better (Official Video)

Apparently, Zayn Malik is the latest artist to fall prey to his label's efforts to control and possibly sabotage his career.

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MUSIC

Let's Not Overcomplicate Harry Styles' New Album, "Fine Line"

Fine Line isn't a creative reinvention of the wheel, but it's still a lot of fun

LOS ANGELES, CA. November 01, 2022: Harry Styles at the premiere for "My Policeman" at the Regency Bruin Theatre.

Photo by: Paul Smith-FeatureflashBy Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock

Harry Styles has been on everyone's mind all 2019.

Harry Styles - Adore You (Official Video)www.youtube.com

The years have not been kind to a few of the One Directioners, but Styles has all but reinvented himself. He is now cool and collected, like a 2013 Alex Turner or Matty Healy, and as stylish as a millennial Elton John, all combined with the neighborhood quirkiness of the boy next door. "It all just comes down to I'm having more fun, I guess," he recently told Rolling Stone. His personal growth in the last two years has culminated in Fine Line, a joyful and colorful psychedelic pop record that respectfully dips its toes into the pop-sensibilities of its elders, without jeopardizing the youthful swagger of its young host.

As a handsome LGBTQ+ icon, Styles embodies what everyone hopes will happen when you embrace your identity. You'll get all tatted up, develop a colorful fashion sense, and become magnanimous towards your former self. "Step into the light," he begs his listeners as he flails among gorgeous naked bodies in the "Lights Up," music video. "Know who you are."

Fine Line is not the genre-redefining outing critics anticipated, but it is, as Styles said, incredibly fun. Its inspirations are portrayed quite literally, which certain critics take issue with. "She" is an obvious ode to Prince and Pink Floyd, with its soulful crooning and crisp rock edges; and the gentle folk pining of "Canyon Moon" is reminiscent of a young Joni Mitchell. It's all palpable and easily digestible. Fine Line isn't a creative reinvention of the wheel; songs like "To Be Lonely" and "Treat People With Kindness" feel stagnant and falter when compared to the shapeshifting tracks of "Golden" or "Sunflower, Vol. 6"; but it's all part of the process. Styles is 25 and spent his childhood as a teenage heartthrob whose identity was staked in album sales and how cute he was. As many 25-year-olds before him, Styles has learned to gravitate towards authenticity and is seen on Fine Line openly examining a wide range of styles and sounds, waiting to see which shoe fits.

On "Lights Up" and "Adore You," the shoe fits perfectly, but critics were quick to point out the fumbles. "Styles is here, buried underneath the fame and the fear," wrote Pitchfork. "I hear his sweetness, his charm...but mostly I hear a guy who's still afraid he'll never make a David Bowie record." Styles is still a 25-year-old, an amateur at living life. Is he not allowed to experiment with different directions amidst his new-found independence? Or have the short attention spans of the general public–and excessive demand for quality content–perforated the very real and grueling artistic process that is required to generate said content? Styles' sophomore album is not his magnum opus, but why are we saying it has to be? Is that his problem, or ours?