TV Features

This Haunts Me: Mariah Carey Taking a Bath on MTV's "Cribs"

It was 2002, and Mariah Carey wanted a bath. Now we'll never be clean.

Mariah Carey

Photo by Evan Agostini-Invision-AP-Shutterstock

Before TikTok, before Snapchat, and before YouTube, there was MTV in the early aughts: a lawless land of velour tracksuits and diamond grillz, tiny dogs and spray tans.

And then there was Mariah Carey, who had barely survived 2001 after channeling her lifeforce into the beloved film disaster Glitter, along with the critically panned soundtrack of the same name. And yet, Carey persisted–and took a bath in front of millions of viewers on MTV's Cribs.

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MUSIC

Lizzo Is Bonnaroo's First Solo Female Headliner

She's also one of the first women of color to ever headline a major festival in the U.S.

Lizzo at the 63rd Grammys

Photo by Jordan Strauss-AP-Shutterstock

The lineup for the 2020 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has been unveiled.

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MUSIC

Opāru Premieres Video for "Ghost To Follow"

Future-electro with dark ethereal undertones.

Opāru

Morningstar Sargenti

Los Angeles-based dark dream-pop artist Opāru introduces the music video for "Ghost To Follow."

Opāru, aka Dianna St. Hilaire, who borrowed her name from the Japanese term for the opal birthstone, explains the song, "You are so strong and wise and powerful but you live in the shadow of who you really are so that people around you will accept you. You're so afraid that if you break through to your true beauty that you will lose those around you."


Opāru- Ghost To Follow (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)youtu.be


Directed by Morningstar Sargenti, the video depicts a kind of watery dance against the stark vastness of the desert, as Opāru's haunting tones narrate her longing for liberation.

"I watch the world go by / For you / I'll be your ghost / And I still wake up alone."

Follow Opāru Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Spotify

MUSIC

ANIIML Premieres Edgy, Primal "OH AWE"

Battle cries of a big hearted lover-of-all-life.

ANIIML

Sequoia Emmanuelle

Los Angeles songwriter, producer, and activist ANIIML, aka Lila Rose, unveils her third album, entitled OH AWE, on Popdust.

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MUSIC

Cloe Wilder Embraces Her Imperfections In "Overthinking" Music Video

13-year-old pop artist releases dark-pop single in honor of Mental Health Awareness month.

Dark-pop's newest powerhouse, Cloe Wilder, demands your attention in her debut music video for her single "Overthinking."

The 13-year-old writes and sings with a maturity beyond her years, crafting melancholic yet fiercely relatable songs that touch the deepest parts of the human psyche. Championing the concept of accepting one's mental illness and embracing imperfection, the young musician is on her way to stardom, starting with her introspective visual.

The video begins with Wilder walking alone in a neon-lit house, wearing a black dress and a pensive look. The mystique synths chime in with alternating scenes of her sitting in a graveyard singing about being lost and asking for someone to help her get out of her head.

"I've been pretty open about my mental health and I'll continue to do that because it's important," says Wilder. "That's why this song will always stay with me because I know that mindset will always stay with me."

The visual then shifts to scenes of Wilder walking on a pier in the early grey light of morning. After one final chorus the track ends abruptly and we see Wilder gaze out into the oceanic distance before cutting to black. "I made this song almost a year ago, and I'm in a completely different place now - lyrically, and just as a person, I'm different. People evolve, but some things don't change."

According to Wilder, the video doesn't have a clear storyline and its up to the audience to interpret what happens. She goes on to express that the visual developed a meaning as they filmed it. "We didn't go into it thinking, 'This is the video, and this is the meaning/logic behind it' because there's none of that. We shot it in Grand Cayman, which is a really special place for me. I wanted the video to be special. For me, it's just how I felt at the time. I'm excited to hear how it makes people feel."

Check out Cloe Wilder's dark-synth pop video for "Overthinking."




MUSIC

Nora Rothman, Founder of Queer/Femme Music Community Earhart, Premiers New Single

"Strange" is the bittersweet first single off activist and feminist Nora Rothman's forthcoming EP, 'Nothing New.'

Nora Rothman is setting what should be a precedent for every musician.

The singer-songwriter has long been blending her musical output with activist work, and she practices the feminist ethos that she preaches. Today, she released a new single called "strange"—an ethereal, buoyant new track that meshes her honeyed vocals and bittersweet lyrics with expert production from Kate Ellwanger (aka Dot).

The track is the first taste of her upcoming EP, Nothing New, out on July 12 on female-led label Unspeakable Records. It explores common themes of the human experience such as longing, nostalgia, and the gap between the past and the future.

It's the product of a musician who's spent much of her life blending the arts with social justice work. Rothman was born in Los Angeles, and after migrating to the East Coast to study creative writing at Brown, she returned to LA to pursue music and acting. She took a hiatus from the arts to serve as a field organizer for the Clinton campaign in 2016, and upon Donald Trump's election, she vowed to dedicate herself to uplifting "womxn's" voices through her work ("womxn" being an umbrella term for femmes, gender-nonconforming, and trans people that Rothman uses to describe the demographic her work is intended for).

She released her first EP in 2017. It was followed by a Remix EP that was created with a lineup of all-female-identifying producers such as Birch and Libra Rising, and 50% of the proceeds went to Planned Parenthood. During its release, Rothman vowed to work with exclusively female and gender-nonconforming artists, and since then, she has teamed up with artists such as Pakistani illustrator Areeba Siddique, who created the visuals for Rothman's song "Truth or Dare," and many more. Rothman has also used her artistic platform to support other feminist organizations like EMILY's List, selling out a direct-to-vinyl fundraiser for the foundation, which supports female politicians.

In 2018, Rothman launched Earhart, a platform dedicated to "celebrating femme, trans and gnc artists." Named after the legendary pilot, it's intended to foster support and community among that demographic, and features resources such as running lists of womxn in electronic music and in composition. It also curates regular playlists and features profiles of up-and-coming artists.

Rothman's music itself has drawn comparisons to the work of Joni Mitchell, Nora Jones, and other great songwriters who blend soft guitar-driven melodies with introspective lyrics. It's hard to say whether the best part of her work is that it was created by exclusively womxn or that, with its blend of dream-pop gauziness and 70's folk motifs, it's a pure delight to listen to—or maybe each these things uplifts the other, ultimately creating something truly great and profoundly relevant for our times.

Listen to "strange" here, and stay tuned for Nothing New, out on July 12.


Eden Arielle Gordon is a writer and musician from New York. Follow her on Twitter @edenarielmusic.


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