On WAP, Porn & The Marketing Of Women's Sexuality

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's song, WAP, was released last week to predictable furore. The song, a loopy paean to female sexual arousal, divided listeners into the usual factions of the religious right outraged at the song's explicit lyrics and trashy aesthetic, and the left celebrating the song's sexuality as 'empowering' while being outraged at the outrage from the right. In short, another Groundhog Day of self-fulfilling internet shouting.

For all the fuss, 'WAP' doesn't offer much lyrically or aesthetically distinct from the long history of songs overtly about female sexuality. Christina Aguilera's 'Dirrty' released eighteen years ago and was more explicit and less comedic as a song and video. 'WAP' is firmly within the Nicki Minaj wheelhouse of playing its sexuality with pantomime humour. For my money, Minaj's 'Anaconda' is funnier and lyrically sharper: 'He toss my salad like his name Romaine' is a flat-out masterpiece of a line. For all the performed outrage on the left and right, 'WAP' is distinctly Widow Twankey in tone. That anyone could take such a deliberately silly song seriously enough to either get annoyed or celebrate its 'message' says more about the emptiness of the commenter's supposed values than the song itself.

Music - Lana Del Rey 'Born To Die' review

MUSIC REVIEW

Review Scoring Chart - 10: Masterpiece; 9: Outstanding; 8: Very Good; 7: Good; 6: Above Average; 5: Average; 4: Below Average; 3: Bad; 2: Awful; 1: Reprehensible; 0: Non- Functional.

BORN TO DIE

Performer: Lana Del Rey

Label: Interscope, Polydor, Stranger

If Lana Del Rey deserves to be credited for anything, it is becoming a talking point. Having struggled to attract attention as Lizzy Grant, her new persona has certainly hit the ground running on that count. For mostly the wrong reasons, Del Rey has become 2012's first musical water cooler landmark. Sensing the ferocity of the backlash - SNL performance, surgery, blah blah - many of the sites who once pushed her as the next big thing after catching wind of her break-through track 'Video Games' were quick to tear into her album.

More than most, Del Rey is suffering from the internet's over-reactive tendencies, as quick to push onto the big stage as boo off moments later. Tempting though it is to sneer at a singer for an adopted persona, Grant/Del Rey is hardly the first - does no-one remember the Britney virgin girl act anymore? - and perceived 'authenticity' no metric by which to judge musical worth. But once the dust has settled, which version of Del Rey will be left standing? The mesmerising new voice in indie music, or the cynical marketing campaign?

 

Most Anticipated Of 2012

If 2011 was a mixed bag in entertainment terms, 2012 has the potential to either be one of the strongest years in living memory or bomb like no other. Hollywood seems to have lined up its every major blockbuster for release, the next generation of gaming could be announced at E3 in June and in this golden age of television, it might be the last year when all those glorious but low-rated programmes get to share our airspace while the networks decide on their fate (or already have, in the case of the departing Chuck). Plus there's that whole impending apocalypse thing the History Channel keeps going on about, which should be a hoot.

Before the world is consumed by a wall of flame or crushed by an errant asteroid and what have you, here are my selections for the five most promising entertainment highlights of 2012.

 

The Eleven Best Of 2011: 11 - 6

No year in entertainment has ever been all good or all bad, but 2011 pushed to some extremes by anyone's standards. Cinema had it pretty rough for the first eight months, with only a few highlights amidst the gloom of disappointing blockbusters and underwhelming indies, but September onwards were among the best four months for movies of all varieties in recent years. There were plenty of big-name videogames released, many to critical acclaim (some significantly more deserved than others), but virtually all of the best ones were sequels, leaving innovative and compelling original software thin on the ground. Much the same was true for television and even music, where the heavy hitters continued to hit their usual high standards and beyond, but with few newcomers making a major impact.

Instead of doing separate Best Of lists for Movies, Gaming and Television (which would take too long when there are so many other things to be writing about), this week will see me run through my top eleven entertainment highlights of last year - six today and the top five tomorrow - and make predictions for what will represent the best of 2012.