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MUSIC

The Top 20 Saddest Christmas Songs

Gather round the Christmas tree and get ready to cry!

Phoebe Bridgers - Christmas Song (Official Audio)
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Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, but sometimes you're not feeling the cheer.

Or maybe you just love sad music and want to get in the holiday spirit. Whatever your reason for listening to melancholy music, there are plenty of devastating Christmas songs to help you cozy up with a cup of spiked cider and the blues. From indie gems to old classics, are our favorites.

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FILM & TV

WEEKLY RUCAP | All Stars is back, henny!

Halleloo, ladies! Rupaul is back, and ready add a third queen to the Drag Race Hall of Fame.

RuPaul’s Drag Race | All Stars 4 Official Trailer
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WARNING: THIS RUCAP CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS!

Hey kitty girls!

Rupaul is back with her new, legendary All Stars in a bombastic season premier that brought more than a few twists and turns. And despite my many fears, it seems that this season aims to not only match the legendary All Stars 2, but chisel it's own place as one of the best seasons of Drag Race we've ever seen. The queens have come to play and honestly, it's relief. This season has definitely been one of the most talked about seasons of the show's herstory - and I was afraid that it wouldn't live up to the hype.

But this premier did that.

We start the episode with the usual work-room walk-in starting with Trixie Mattel rollerblading through the work room door.

She delivers her, now iconic, "Oh hoooney," before almost falling on her face - but she recovers and even gives us an appropriately corny "And that's how I roll." She's perfectly pink, and sporting some 80s neon bodysuit realness. It was so perfectly Trixie and I lived for it. And she wouldn't be Trixie without throwing a little shade, "There's nobody in here. It's like a Morgan McMichaels meet and greet."

Then we had Season 6 club kid favorite, Milk! Serving some "denim pennochio."

It wasn't my favorite look out of the rest of the queens, but it definitely showed of Milk's ability to own any look she puts on. Plus, her opening line, "I just farted," gave me a good chuckle. And honestly, I picked up some definite diva vibes. It makes sense, Milk has seen a lot of success in her post-Drag Race career - but this is Drag Race, and it wouldn't be Drag Race without a little shade.

Then we have bayou queen, Chi Chi DeVayne!

She wears a beautifully made twist on her original entrance look - it's still trash bags, but they're yellow and they don't actually look like trash bags. She looks stunning, even if she can't keep that hat on her head. Not to mention, she brings a certain level of Southern charm that makes you just like her.

Then we have the permanently peppy Brooklyn queen, Thorgy Thor!

She is serving circus clown realness in probably one of the worst entrance looks I've ever seen. But, she makes up for it with her energy, even though she almost broke her foot on the way in.

Then of course, we have the dead bitch, Morgan McMichaels.

And she is slaying in this look! I've seen Morgan on WOWpresents, and I've seen clips of her stellar drag performances, and I am not surprised that the other queens are intimidated by her. She didn't come to play games, and she wants to make sure that every single contestant knows that.

Next is Aja, scooter-ing through in a delightfully skimpy outfit.

And I have to say it, I love her hair, and her make up shows a lot of improvement over the trainwreck that was season nine. She says she has some unfinished business, and I have to say, I was surprised to see her on the cast list. After all, she just finished Season 9 - but hey, I ain't complaining, 'cause this bitch clearly came to play.

Then there's BenDeLaCreme, wearing an atrocious repurposed dress.

Listen, I love BenDeLa, but come on - that dress looks terrible. And why did she have to do the same exact thing she did for her Season 6 entrance. I think Morgan said it well, she feels a little recycled. But, I can't really hate her, because she's too damned sweet!

Next we have one of my favorite entrances, Kennedy Davenport!

She's back, and she's here to show you that she didn't die, SHE CRYSTALLIZED! Sure, it was in a horrible dress, but I don't even care. She's perfect, she beautiful, and even if she looks like she just threw on a bunch of random stuff on a gross yellow dress.

Then we have Miss Shangela Halleloo herself, back in the world for the third time!

She enters in her iconic box, and then reveals into a very Alyssa Edwards-ian dress. I guess the drag daughter doesn't fall far from the tree. I mean, come on, you cannot tell me that you looked at that bow and didn't hear Alyssa's faint tongue-pop in the distance.

And just as the queens speculate about who the tenth queen is going to be, the sirens go off, signifying Rupaul is about to make his entrance. Everyone is confused, and then Ru enters, looking kind of funky in an all red suit, only to reveal that something seems to be wrong - there's someone missing. And after an agonizingly long wait - the mysterious tenth queen is revealed to be...

NONE OTHER THAN SEASON ONE WINNER, BEBE ZAHARA BENET!

Speculations about the mysterious tenth queen have been going on around the internet for ages. But in the end, it seems all signs pointed to Miss Benet's return. And man, what a return it was. I don't know what it is about her, but she exudes this ethereal energy that makes you feel both at ease and incredibly excited. Even though I already kind of knew it was her - I still felt my breath catch when she entered. I mean, look at her.

And the other queens were absolutely gagging - after all, she did win, how are they supposed to compete with someone who already won? We'll just have to see.

Anyway, after the dust settled, we were treated to a rather lackluster reading challenge. I don't know if everyone was just off or what, but they just didn't read very well. Especially poor Thorgy, who just couldn't seem to get a read out without spending twenty or thirty minutes taking me on some weird journey. BenDeLa ended up winning after delivering a surprisingly nasty set. But honestly, I think Kennedy's, "I hate you," towards someone (I think it was Aja) definitely deserved some sort of recognition.

After the reading challenge, Ru revealed that their first Maxi-Challenge would be another Talent Show ala All Stars 2 - and I'm not even mad. I don't know why I love the talent show idea so much - I think it's because we get to see what these queens think they can bring to the table. Ru also informed them that they would be doing the same form of elimination as last season: The winning queen gets to send one of the bottom two home.

Unfortunately, my excitement was short lived. Half of the queens decided they were all going to be doing the same thing, which was a major let down after the surprisingly diverse set the previous season's queens brought. I expected the show to wind up being just boring.

Boy was I wrong. There was a lot of dancing, sure. We had Shangela provide a perfect Alyssa Edwardian dance routine, but with her own twist. Bebe did an amazing Lion King-esque dance/lip-synch that literally transported me out of my body. Kennedy slayed it, as always, but is it really all that impressive if you expect it? Yes. It is. That was a dumb question. And Aja, Jesus Christ, AJA - she did a FLAWLESS performance that ended with a death drop from the top of a huge box to the ground!

BenDeLa slayed with a parody burlesque performance that involved her ripping off bra, after bra, after bra, revealing increasingly ridiculous pasties. It was hilarious, and honestly, I expected nothing less from her. She and Aja were definitely the highlights of the evening.

Thorgy and Trixie both stood out from the crowd, with Trixie doing a beautiful song with an instrument that I cannot identify. And Thorgy blending drag and violin in a fun little performance. They were different, but unfortunately, they both fell a little flat in terms of energy - especially after Aja.

Then we have the lower end of the spectrum. Morgan tried to perform one of her own mixes, but fell flat - it wasn't that it was bad - it was just boring. Chi Chi decided she wanted to look completely busted, and decided to go out with no heels, no pads, and a wig she got from Party City. And then there was Milk, who delivered a weird and dull performance to one his own mixes that basically included him strapping cardboard dresses to himself.

I wasn't surprised to see Aja and Ben take the top, and Morgan and Chi Chi end up on the bottom. The deliberations were definitely different from the last season, with most of the cast (excluding BenDeLa) agreeing that a "group consensus" wasn't going to work.

They each come out and deliver a fun lip synch to Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda," with Aja doing a more poppy-sexy kind of move, and BenDeLa doing a perfectly shtick-y, fun routine. BenDeLa ends up taking the win and (falsely) stating that the group has come to a consensus and that means that she's going to send... Morgan home!

But, much like last season, I doubt this is the last we'll see of Morgan. After all, Rupaul has her back.

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Top Videos

WEEKLY RUCAP | Episode 3: B*itchelor

Oh gurl. This is one of the best episodes of the season so far!

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Making up for last week, this episode managed to be one of the most fun and drama-filled episodes of the season. With a fun acting and challenging acting challenge and a surprisingly stellar performance from one Kennedy Davenport - I am so glad to see we're finally getting some of the fun Drag Race is known for. Not to mention, we've got an all-out feud that seemed to be cut short pretty quick and a surprisingly somber lip-synch.
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Gaming

PlayStation to Release Mini Version of Original Model

This tiny console will only be $100 and come with 20 games

Once again, nostalgia wins out — this time with the PlayStation Classic.

This new bite-sized console is only half as big as the original PlayStation and comes with the standard gray color scheme and classic PlayStation logo. The console — which is only $100 — will come with 20 classic games that'll be released on December 3. Early Christmas gift, anyone?

Sony announced that the first five games will come preloaded on the device and will include titles such as "Final Fantasy VII," "Wild Arms," "Tekken 3," "Ridge Racer Type 4," and "Jumping Flash." However, these are only teasers as they're keeping the other 15 secret — but allow us to speculate and predict which other games will be released with the Classic.

"Spyro the Dragon"

Spyro was released on Sep. 10, 1998 for the original PlayStation console — the user played as a small purple dragon that went around the world to free his friends from crystal prisons. Spyro would be transported to these worlds via portals in hopes of finally defeating the final boss, Gnasty Gnorc.

"Tony Hawk's Pro Skater"

There's got to be at least one game from the famous skateboarder, Tony Hawk — the first Pro Skater was released on Aug. 31, 1999 and instantly became a favorite. The player performs different skate tricks in the game, often obtaining more points for more complex tricks. Characters included Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, and Kareem Campbell among others.

"Resident Evil"

The first "Resident Evil" game came out in 1996 and was Capcom's best-selling debut game. The user either chose to play as Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine as they scoured Racoon City in hopes of finding their disappeared S.T.A.R.S. team members — instead, they come across the undead!

"Tomb Raider"

Released in 1996, the first "Tomb Raider" follows the adventures of Lara Croft, an English archaeologist with comical proportions. The player follows her as she picks apart the earth, uncovering secrets and discovering treasures — like the Scion in the Tomb of Qualopec.

"Crash Bandicoot"

First released in 1996, "Crash Bandicoot" is a fox-like character whose goal is to stop Doctor Neo Cortex and henchman Doctor Nitrus Brio from world domination. He also has a girlfriend — Tawna, a female bandicoot. The user can attack enemies from humps and spinning attacks and can also lose lives in the process.

These are only speculations of course, but who knows? Maybe PlayStation will put all of them in the console — old video games like Atari are making comebacks now with hipsters and nostalgic millennials so this is a pretty good business move.

Amber Wang is a freelancer for Popdust and various other sites. She is also a student at NYU, a photographer and intern at the Stonewall National Monument.

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ROLE PLAYGROUND | What is wrong with Secret of Mana?

In a world where remakes are getting made left and right, you really need to stand out - Secret of Mana didn’t

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The Secret of Mana remake should have been an amazing video game.

After all, it's one of the most beloved JRPGs of its time - it's battle system still holds up as unique and different after all these decades - and it's a fun game that takes you through a fantastical story! It's the quintessential RPG experience, and a remake had such potential.

So what happened? Secret of Mana just tanked. When I played through over this past weekend - i was treated to a broken, garishly designed game that lacked the same kind of fantastic feel that the original captured. While the story still kept me enthralled enough to keep moving forward, the game itself became ever more frustrating and confused.

Still, I can't deny that I played it for hours and at times had at least a little bit of fun. That's something, right? Is it? No, seriously, I'm asking.

THE GAME

Secret of Mana is a remake of the SNES action RPG of the same name, released in 1993. It takes place in a fantasy world that contains a magical essence called Mana - and you control three unnamed heroes as they fight against an evil empire, trying to harness Mana and take over the world.

The remake features new, 3D graphics, a slightly modernized battle system, and a design that almost feels too saccharine for its own good.

THE GOOD

The good in this game lies with what wasn't changed - the story. The story is simple, and features many typical tropes that have become iconic in JRPGS. You quest as three unnamed (or player-named) heroes across this unnamed world to retrieve and seal the powers of the Mana Seeds - because if the evil Empire gets them, they will recreate the evil Mana Fortress. Thus, mana will come back to the world and the evil Empire - lead by an evil, undead wizard named Thanatos - will control it all.

It's not groundbreaking. Even for the time, this plot was definitely one gamers had seen before, but that didn't matter! The story is engaging, because it's a typical hero's journey. You are able to gain fun magic powers and fight crazy large beasts and win! It's both an escape and even a form of wish fulfillment for some - and that's why we still continue to love these games.

Sure, a complicated, powerful story is great, but there is something to be said about the power of simplicity.

There are some other fun additions - the small conversations that party members have at the Inns are nice. It adds a level of character to these typical trope-y characters that we're given. Sure, it doesn't add a lot, but it adds enough.

Was this enough to make the game good, though?

THE BAD

No. It wasn't. At all. The game is broken, guys. Like bad. I'll start with the awkward AI and sprite movements. I was on my way to the Dwarf Village, and my party members were constantly getting stuck at turns. Often, I'd find myself asking, "Where the hell did the Sprite go?" It's not the worst thing, but when you're a relatively low level and traveling somewhere new, things get really hairy when your party is about three of four movements away fighting a wall for dominance.

You guys remember how in old games, whenever your sprites were preparing to talk to someone, they would come together and disappear within the protagonists body and then line up. Now, I want you to picture that, but a couple of seconds slower and instead of disappearing, everyone becomes this weird amalgamation of all three characters before making a line. It looked atrocious and made me regret actually getting information from anyone in the game. It's almost as annoying as the battle system.

Listen, the original game was definitely not the perfect system by any stretch of the imagination. But the point of a remake is to fix the game's problems and make them better. That's now what Secret of Mana did - instead, it made the game look pretty(?) and didn't bother to change anything else. This makes battles an absolute slog to get through.

The action bar mechanic is fine, and it definitely works in this action-RPG setting, but it also suffers from feeling a little too dated. Combine that with the delayed reaction from enemies in the game (by about two seconds) when they got hit, and the awkward move from 2D battles to 3D and you've got a mess. Not unplayable, but definitely annoying.

And finally, we have the awkward design elements. I don't know why they decided to go for this sweet and cute chibi-esque design - but it definitely made the game feel less fun and vibrant and more grating and childish. I know that this game is meant for a younger audience, but young kids don't need cheaply designed chibi characters.

I could go on and on, but unfortunately, I don't have a whole month write this article.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Don't waste your time on the remake. It's not worth the $40 that they charge, and that's an incredible disappointment. The game is mired by all of the choices it didn't make. Instead of giving us a remake the changes with the times, we are stick with a 3D-ed, almost carbon copy of the original game with all of the problems and issues that came with plus even more.

A remake is not a carbon copy and needs to change with the times. This game didn't do that - and that's incredibly disappointing.

Here's hoping they'll let someone else try it again further down the road.

Shann Smith is a lover of video games and has played games since he could hold a controller. He is a freelance writer, playwright, screenwriter, and also writes the Video Gay-Mer column on Popdust! If you have any games you'd like him to unpack, hit him up!

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FILM & TV

WEEKLY RUCAP | Episode 4: All Stars Snatch Game!

I really thought this was going to be a great Snatch Game - and I was sorely disappointed.

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Let me tell you something - everybody looks forward to a good snatch game. And with a team like this - a group that has proven to be both funny, and astounding impersonators - it should have been an AMAZING one. Unfortunately, we were given a game that went on too long, and a bunch of drama that grated on my nerves. I don't know what it is about this season, but something isn't right. Is it the weird fabricated mind games? Or is the clear divide between the talented girls and the girls who don't really deserve to be there?

I don't know.

THE POST-CHALLENGE MEET-UP

This episode was absolutely filled with pettiness - and Milk kicked it off postmortem with her mirror message. It didn't phase any of the queens, because everybody knew how shady Milk was. Nothing jumped out at me with this opening - just Kennedy essentially saying that she sent Milk home for discrediting her drag (which she did). And BenDeLa chose Chi Chi because, well, she's been in the bottom four goddamned times.

Then there was Trixie's little, last second observation. She said that no one was safe, because eliminations weren't based on critiques - they were based on relationships. And that's the gospel truth, because that seems to be the only game most of these girls are playing now.

THE ASSIGNMENTS

There weren't any real assignments this go-around. But RuPaul did reveal that we were doing Snatch Game this week! And right away, everybody is excited. They all start talking about how this challenge shows who the best of the best - and who deserves to be there - which is true. I can't think of one Drag Race winner who didn't do a good job on their Snatch Game performance/

There wasn't a lot that happened during the initial set up - except that Shangela was trying to start some beef with Trixie for no reason - except to get into Trixie's head. It starts with Shangela noticing the note she received from Thorgy after Thorgy's elimination. The note says that Shangela is a shady bitch, and all that. And Trixie is confused - because she also kept Milk's note too.

And yeah, it does seem like a shady thing to do - but I don't think Trixie meant anything by it. Especially because it was hung up in her private area - and it's not like Trixie has ever shown any outward aggression towards Shangela in the past. It seemed very fabricated to me - and Kennedy didn't make it any better after she chimed in. It seems that she and Shangela are taking this alliance thing all the way.

Shangela forgives her, but has Trixie on her list.

Other than that, you have RuPaul going around with special guest, Marc Jacobs, and shading all of the queens' choices. The most shaded were Bebe (who chose the amazing Grace Jones) and Shangela, who actually did a last minute switch from Miss Cleo to Jennifer Lewis.

In the end, this was the line up:

Trixie: RuPaul

Chi Chi: Maya Angelou

Poor Chi Chi didn't get a GIF!

BenDeLa: Paul Lynde

BeBe: Grace Jones

Shangela: Jenifer Lewis

Kennedy: Phaedra Parks

Aja: Crystal Labeija

THE CHALLENGE

This Snatch Game went on forever. Like, far too long - and it wasn't even that good. I sat there watching a lot of the queens go through this train wreck - and the issue was that so many queens who should have done well... tanked. Like bad.

Aja and Bebe were okay. Aja gets some major points for being a huge drag icon and educating some of the masses. After all, who is as iconic as the original mother of the Haus of Labeija? And Bebe was uncharacteristically crass, yet elegant as ever, as Grace Jones. They were both fine, but not incredible.

OH YEAH - AND KRISTEN CHENOWETH WAS JUST THERE? For no reason, except to just hang out and play the game. It's was cute, and she was definitely funny.

BenDeLa and Shangela killed it. BenDeLa once again brought out an iconic portrayal of someone we've never heard of - Paul Lynde - who appeared on a lot of television and film stuff way back when. And Shangela's perfectly sassy portrayal of Jenifer Lewis was hilarious - and had Ru rolling. Of course, I knew these two were going to bring it - they bring it every episode.

Now, we get to the disappointing part of this whole mess. First, Kennedy fell flat as Phaedra Parks of The Real Housewives of Atlanta - she had jokes, they just weren't landing. I was mostly surprised, but also, she has been super up-and-down this season, so not really. And Chi Chi was just bad - she misspelled Maya Angelou's name, and then didn't even deliver on RuPaul's references. It was a train wreck.

The biggest shock of the night was how bad Trixie did as RuPaul. I have always been a fan of Trixie, and I expected her to turn it out this season. She's known for being hilarious, and having watched videos of her live performances - I know she's funny. But her RuPaul was embarrassingly flat - and it didn't read at all. And you could say how much that hurt her throughout the rest of the episode. I was shocked, and disappointed, but also worried.

It can't be easy to know you're failing.

GETTING READY FOR THE RUNWAY

This was surprisingly short, because of the length of the Snatch Game - or maybe it wasn't and the Snatch Game just felt like it went on forever. Either way, this was a speedy transition. We saw Trixie feel horrible about her performance, and almost crumble because of it. BenDeLa admits that Trixie should have won the previous challenge - which Shangela thinks is ingenuous, because Shangela is playing a game that doesn't exist.

And that's all I could remember!

THE RUNWAY

FLOWER POWER

Before we go down the list. I have two points to make:

1. RuPaul's dress was straight up hideous - it was this awful bacon-esque flower monstrosity and I don't know who told her it was okay, but it wasn't.

2. This runway was so fast, I could barely get my ratings down before we moved onto the next queen!

With that, here is my list:

Aja: 10/10 - gorgeous, beautiful, stunning.

Shangela: 9/10 - I loved it so much. She was giving me pregnant flower fantasy and it was amazing.

Bebe: 10/10 - gorgeous, stunning, amazing, ethereal, transcendent, goddess.

Kennedy: 7/10 - a sunflower dress with some sunflowers blooming out of a black dress. Pretty, but not that amazing.

Chi Chi: 6/10 - The judges loved this, but I thought it was too much.

Trixie: 5/10 - This was not her night and this dress reminded me of her Ugliest Dress from a few episodes ago.

BenDeLa: 6/10 - I don't remember her dress.

All in all, this went too fast to really enjoy - but hey, what are you going to do?

CRITIQUES + DELIBERATION

SAFE: AJA + BEBE

WINNERS: SHANGELA + BENDELA

BOTTOM: CHI CHI + KENNEDY + TRIXIE

There wasn't a lot that went into this deliberation. Bebe and Aja were praised for their outfits and told that their Snatch Game performances were decent - and then were told that they were safe. Chi Chi and Kennedy were read for their Snatch Game performances - as was Trixie/

Trixie's critique upset me, because I'm not used to seeing her like that - so emotional. And you could hear the genuine fear and worry in her voice - and it hurt her to admit how scared of the competition she was. I was glad to heard Michelle sticking up for and saying what everyone is thinking: We want to see the real Trixie Mattel.

In the Work Room - we see Trixie confiding to everyone that she's not handling the pressure well. She's having a much worse time than she's been showing, and she can't help it. It's heartbreaking - but it makes sense, because she hasn't really been present. She's faded into the background, and that's not the Trixie I've come to know. It's unfortunate, and I hope she picks herself up next episode.

Chi Chi, when talking with BenDeLa, basically says that she's been in the bottom four times and she's okay to go. It's nice to see her being honest with herself, I just wish she would try a little harder and not sabotage herself.

Then there's Shangela and Kennedy. Shangela gives Trixie a hug, and talks more about her alliance strategy. Trixie explains the note - and they seem to walk away on good terms. But Shangela is playing this weird, manufactured game that none of the other girls are actually playing. And she admits that she still doesn't trust Trixie.

Kennedy thinks she doesn't belong in the bottom - and she totally does - but she doesn't deserve to go home.

THE LIP SYNCH

The lip synch to I Kissing A Girl by Katy Perry is dull. Shangela plays the sexy and BenDeLa plays up the campy comedy. HOWEVER, at the end, when Ru was deciding the winner, I was on the edge of my seat. I knew that if Shangela won then she was definitely sending Trixie home, and that BenDeLa was her only shot. AND THEN RUPAUL SAID THEY BOTH WON, AND I FLIPPED OUT.

BenDeLa revealed that she was sending Chi Chi home - thank god - and then Shangela took her sweet time talking about her choice, before ALSO REVEALING THAT SHE WAS SENDING CHI CHI HOME.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and shut my laptop. This episode wasn't great, but it kept me on the edge of my damned seat, I'll tell you that.

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