OKnLA

Each day I live and breathe, I'm inching closer to a time when I will no longer understand and will therefore lose the capacity to truly love a teen drama. But I'm not there yet, and I'm (still) searching for something to fill the void Gossip Girl  left when it was revealed that Lonely Boy was the one putting the words in Kristin Bell's mouth. Gossip Girl first aired after an episode of America's Next Top Model.  I remember this because my mother and I used to watch ANTM together in the days before girls started auditioning just so they could meet Tyra. But neither of us could leave the room once Gossip Girl's  pilot began. We were both hooked immediately, and it would be a show we enjoyed together even after I left home for another city hours away, and then another state halfway across the country. GG was corny at times, and it had its pitfalls (how did Chuck Bass start Season 1 by trying to rape little Jenny and end it by kicking off what would become ...

I've seen the Cold War Kids twice now, and my favorite thing about seeing them is they love to let people see them for free in Los Angeles. A free show is always the right idea. This time I got to see them at the iHeart Radio stage in Burbank, California. It's a very cool space, and the staff is super nice. Part of this iHeart Radio streaming party was a line of questioning from iHeart Radio personality. It was cool to hear lead singer Nathan Willett talk about his love for Los Angeles and desire to use their new album, LA Divine,  to set the record straight about the city's perception. He told Billboard the album is "the best version of what [they've] always done," and I agree. There's nothing particularly outstanding about the new album. There's no new, adventurous sound. The freshest thing about LA Divine is the effect the tumultuous year that was 2016 had on the lyrics. For example, Nathan told an amazing story about an art piece in New ...

It's Thursday-night-into-Friday-morning and you know what that means: New music is being posted all over the internet! I am giddy. I have my glass of red wine beside me and I'm ready to pass judgment on everything I hear. The first three new things I listened to were: Kendrick's "HUMBLE," Mary J Blige's "Love Yourself," and whatever the hell Ludacris just did. Let's start with Kendrick.  We got "The Heart Part 4" earlier, so let me mention that I love that Kendrick forces his new listeners to search out preceding Parts by releasing new chapters around each project. It's important to understand how his art has changed. It's like an abridged version of his discography. OK, done with the praise. Because we know KDot is a genius. We know he completely flips it on each project, and it seems the album coming April 7 will continue that trend. But the big question is: Is he after Big Sean or Drake? My opinion: both or neither...

WARNING: ALL OF THE SPOILERS. LIKE, SO MANY SPOILERS. GO SEE THE MOVIE. THAT'S AN ORDER.  In Get Out , the brilliant new Jordan Peele film, black people are used by white people's brains.  That's the shortest explanation, as there are so many levels to the movie. I'm typically not one to see scary movies (I can't even get through Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video), but when I read about this movie's perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes and the raving reviews from critics, I had to go and support this film from a black director with black stars. I'm not a fan of scary movies. They always give me nightmares. Before I saw the film, a coworker assured me that I wouldn't have nightmares after watching  Get Out . He was right and wrong. I didn't have nightmares about monsters lurking in dark corners, but I stayed awake unpacking all of the themes and metaphors of the film. In doing so, a big part of why I wasn't afraid occurred to...