Lately

Guys life lately what can I say!

I am trying really hard to stay offline at the moment, it just makes my life better, makes my brain able to read books, stresses me less etc, makes me waste time less. So I feel way overdue in communicating properly with you about the record release but instead of doing that, let me delve into something else entirely cause it’s on my MIND!

Been having feelings about all these reviews about Katy Perry new song…I get it, it’s cheesy and not groundbreaking…feels like feminism 10 years ago…plus dr Luke collab… people hate it… but I can’t help but feel a lot of women writing these extremely harsh reviews are being influenced by their own internalized misogyny in some way towards an ageing popsar. Katy Perry is 39/40? Has kids, a shoe biz and is on tv mostly these days. Does she have to be cutting edge? Does all pop music have to be ‘cool’ and youthful? I saw a review where Laura Snapes from the guardian said the song made her dumber every time she heard it but that it was also catchy and she couldn’t stop singing it. Does pop music have to be deep and make us smarter? Does it for real? What do you think? Great that pop music is evolving and we’re stepping away from loving up commercialized versions of feminism…but if we’re then gonna say Chappell roan and charli xcx are doing it better than her in the same breath aren’t we just comparing women in different stages of their life and expecting the same thing? I think we are demanding a little much of a pop bop? I feel like saying a female popstar HAS to be relevant and young and connected to what young people think is cool is actually about, maybe, having a problem with a 40 year old woman making cheesy pop songs. I feel like people have had commentary like this about Madonna over the years but now she’s legend status so everyone loves everything she does again. Listen I’m not in love with the song either but I wasn’t in love with Harley’s in Hawaii and I just sort of think this is quite similar…she’s a Hollywood mum making the songs she wants to… we also have no idea what the truth is behind her relationship with Dr Luke and what that all means…why are we judging her so harshly. I do think that needs commenting on, I’m just saying do we know the exact truth behind what her experience is/was like. She may be having or have had a hard time with that relationship, who knows, not I, I wouldn’t feel comfortable making a public review about it. I just think can we let her live laugh love her cyborg butt with the gas pumped in it and dance to a cheesy pop song about feeling herself as a woman. She was married to Russel brand ffs. Let her just sing? She’s undeniably talented and fully committed to fun shameless comedy bits…I don’t know that I need her social political commentary to be bullseye. I duno throw your thoughts at me cause I know there’s issues with it, I’m just rooting for her really and def want more from the songs coming but I’m not willing to just throw axes at her immediately. Lord knows what this woman has truly experienced in this industry and personal life, there’s so much we don’t know and if this makes her feel empowered who am I to judge so harshly. She’s a Hollywood mum and this is her Hollywood mum pop bop she wants to tell her kid women can be everything and I mean women’s sexual health rights are literally being rolled back in America so are we as far ahead as we think?

I duno I have so many thoughts about how the commercialized version of feminism has damaged things but at the same time I have contributed to that, I am a Millennial after all, popish star and the spice girls were my entry drug to feminism. It’s complicated and we’re all in our own bubbles until we’re not. I’m not sure I expect Katy Perry to be bursting bubbles I just expect her to belt and make pop songs that are fun to dance to…I mean a teenage dream mark 2.0 would be fun but like people probably say that about made of bricks. I just don’t think people need to be so fucking harsh. There’s a whiff of nastiness back in music journalism and i think writing critically is a skill and crossing over into cruelty is something to be really careful of especially when talking about how your feminism is better than another woman’s. Aren’t we all learning at a different pace? Or is she privileged and extremely influential and should know better? But I mean, this is what she worked on and wanted to release so this is where she’s at. And living in a big western world city and being a music journalist puts you in your own bubble where you think everyone should be as politically evolved as you, but they aren’t! I mean christ have you been to a wedding lately? Literally every tradition connected to a woman being sold from her dad to her husband is still alive today and no one wants to change the status quo cause they want their ‘special day’. And at hen do’s we’re expected to be incredibly and mind numbingly gendered. And they’re called hen do’s. CLUCK CLUCK MUTHAFUCKER. Sometimes when I’m being referred to as a bridesmaid in a dress I hate that cost too much I do need to be reminded that I’m so intelligent.

Anyway! I digress fuck me who cares really. I can’t wait to read your think pieces. Disagree with me, go nuts! Please do. I’m feeling really protective of Katy P, no idea why, we’re not mates I just think people love giving woman such a hard time. Don’t get me started on how mean people are being to J.Lo! Another woman in her 40s. I think we’re back in a highly misogynistic era

Anyway me…oh yeah, my own record is out. I’m playing festivals, I’m in therapy…I’m finally seeing a regular therapist since the pandemic. The therapist I was seeing then turned out to be a witch on TikTok and kept telling me she had a super famous cousin that she didn’t want to talk about and I was like…I didn’t ask…lol. But yeah, everything comes back to haunt you doesn’t it so it’s about time to get stuck into it and doing press, releasing a record and living in London has definitely highlighted some vulnerabilities!

I’m also readin Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino which I cannot put down and highly recommend!

Something I feel really drawn to right now is the idea of changing our lenses. So if we are the camera, it’s important to switch out the lens every now and then to get a fresh perspective. I don’t just want the media & social media to tell me what to think about stuff, even if I agree with it. I’m tired of being told little one liners about how things are and what I should be angry about. I want data and research and time to learn and also to change my ways of thinking sometimes so my world view isn’t just reflected back at me.

What else? England just lost the football. Bloody love football and how it evokes memory and can bring about community and emotion.

Oh! I listened to a really good interview with Robert Putnam about how socialising is good for democracy, specifically joining clubs! Because there is democracy in it naturally, he says we can’t democracy by just focusing on fixing democracy, we have to become less isolated and connect with people outside of our natural bond, people we are naturally drawn to, we need ‘bridge connections’ too. Interesting concept. I’ll post the link. Will try to explain more in another post! I am gonna go to sleep now

I love my dogs, I have a sweet tooth and tomorrow we go to Nottingham for another instore and record signing!

thank you for supporting me on this record. I love you guys so much and miss you loads.

More soon

Xxx