Jam of the Week: "Baltimore" by Nina Simone

I wanted to kick off Jam of the Week with something fun and vibrant, something that felt like getting into the full brightness of spring and the excitement of summer coming, but that's not where I am mentally this week, to be honest. Where I am mentally has a lot to do with where I am physically, which is where I was born and raised, which is Baltimore.

You know a little bit about Baltimore by now. You know the darkest parts of it, or at least how that darkness appears on the surface, because it's been everywhere this week, it's been unavoidable. God fucking help me, you might have seen The Wire and think that qualifies you to talk about my city like you know it. In a way we all know this story now, because it's been daily, for months and months. Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Rekia Boyd, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray. It's getting hard to keep all the names in our heads because, as well as we know this story, we apparently haven't learned yet.

I've been so angry this week, so sad, so proud, so lost. I'm angry that national media cares about Freddie Gray now that this incident can include a goddamn CVS on its casualty list. I'm angry that the city officials would rather spend untold money bringing in and arming and feeding hundreds of cops and National Guardsmen and fucking terrorist consulting units from the NYPD than spend that money helping a community they were elected to serve. I'm angry that this curfew (which by the way, is not being enforced in Mt Washington, Roland Park, etc) seems like an easier thing for the police department to pull off than taking responsibility, than explaining how a man died in police custody for doing nothing more than looking at a cop in a way he didn't like.

I'm so sad to see my city on fire. I watched Ferguson on my phone, on my television, and I was furious and sad then too, but this is my home. It's something fucking else to see your home on fire. Knowing your city is broken and seeing it manifest like that, feeling the heat of it, smelling the smoke of it, that's something else. That's so much. I'm having trouble processing it. I'm so sad that the first time people are treating West Baltimore like someone's home is to say condescending bullshit like "why are you destroying your own community," as if the city hasn't abandoned and neglected West Baltimore for years, for decades.

But I'm also proud. I'm proud of how my city has turned out to protest and demand justice. I'm proud of how many religious leaders, gang leaders, elected officials, athletes, teachers, parents, kids, business owners have come out to keep the peace, to repair the damage, to be here, to be part of this, to tell the world how much we love our city, how much we want to fight to make it better. It's weirdly emotional to see solidarity marches in other cities, even though it's about so much more than Baltimore, than Monday night.

I feel lost because I struggle with how to respond to this. As a white person, I am a recovering racist. White people spend our whole lives benefiting from this system. We are benefiting in ways we don't even see, in ways we don't realize. It's been explained to me that the best thing I can do, as a white ally, is to sit back and shut up when people of color are talking. To hear and then to speak up when my fellow white people won't listen.

This song is one of the things I've been shutting up and listening to this week.

and they hide their faces

and they hide their eyes

'cause the city's dying

and they don't know why

oh, Baltimore, ain't it hard just to live

Celebrity Sorting: Pop Diva Edition

Welcome to the first Wednesday Grab-bag! Our inaugural segment is CELEBRITY SORTING HAT, because while my self-esteem may not be great, I am 100% sure I am correct about anyone I sort, fictional or otherwise and I will physically fight you about it. This first edition is POP DIVA PREFECTS. These are the artists whose public personas most represent the prized qualities of each house. Obviously, I can’t speak to their private lives because Rihanna and I are not best friends (yet).

GRYFFINDOR: AZEALIA BANKS

Gryffindors are brave, but with that bravery comes a certain amount of self-righteousness. Azealia is not afraid to speak her mind, for better or worse. Like most Gryffindors, she has a rigid sense of justice and when someone disagrees, her instinct is fight first, ask questions later. A Gryffindor is ready to throw down, 24/7. Gryffindors are also fiercely independent, and Azealia is no exception. When she felt her label was being too controlling, she took action. She got out of her contract, found a boutique operation that would give her creative control, and released an album that was entirely her own. If The Quibbler was right about Sirius Black being a rockstar, I’m entirely sure that’s how his debut album would have come out, and you can’t convince me otherwise.

HUFFLEPUFF: NICKI MINAJ

Hufflepuffs are caring, loyal, hard-workers, and who more embodies the badger spirit than Nicki “stay in school and believe in yourself” Minaj? She’s protective and supportive of her fanbase, and, if you’ve seen footage of her hanging out, you know she is an Olympic gold medalist level friend. Like any Hufflepuff, she’s “unafraid of toil.” Nicki has never once phoned it in on her features or her albums, and she knows it. Nicki is basically the Cedric Diggory of music and I would absolutely vote her Hogwarts Champion.

RAVENCLAW: KE$HA

First of all, duh, Ke$ha famously has an IQ of 140, near-genius levels. But her intelligence isn’t just a number; she very clearly knows what she’s doing as a musician. Ke$ha has written dozens of perfect pop songs. She’s mastered the formula of a hit and she’s been incredibly smart about her image. She celebrates pop and she never tries to be something she’s not. She’s willing to be flawed and human in a way that someone like, say, Beyonce or Lady Gaga is unwilling or unable to be. Like classic Ravenclaw badass Luna Lovegood, Ke$ha seems unbothered by what people think of her. She’s just having fun exploring the mathematics of pop. She’d also probably be bangin’ at answering the riddles to get into the common room, but I'll be honest, I have no hard evidence to back that up.

SLYTHERIN: TAYLOR SWIFT

Slytherins are ambitious and savvy. They understand the industry and they understand the power and importance of public image. Taylor is a PR master. Consider her latest album 1989, which is full of tracks where she takes the media’s perception of her and weaponizes it (Blank Space) or celebrates it (Shake It Off). This is a powerful flex, and one only a true Slytherin would attempt. Taylor has embraced her Brand. She’s so in control of her image that she always looks like a Modcloth photo shoot coming FROM the GYM. That is awareness and planning, two key Slytherin strengths. She’s already conquered country and pop. Within a few months of moving in, she became the “Global Welcome Ambassador of New York,” which is basically a made up position that just means they’ve already accepted her as their overlord. I have no doubt that Taylor would be Slughorn’s number one Slug Club recruit halfway through her first year. She’s trying to trademark “nice to meet you, where you been” for fuck’s sake, the girl knows how to capitalize. Get it, Tay Sway.

(In Pop Diva Hogwarts, Beyonce is Head Girl, obviously, and a Slytherin. Rihanna is a Huffepuff. Britney is a Gryffindor. Lorde is a Ravenclaw. Ariana Grande is a Slytherin. Lady Gaga is a Slytherin. Lana del Rey is a Slytherin. Unsurprisingly, pop music is pretty heavy on Slytherins.)

Want me to sort somebody?

Just leave a comment, send a note

I’ve never yet been wrong.

I’ll have a look inside their minds

and tell you where they belong.

Come On, Baby, It's the End of the World: on Stan, Peggy, and Romance on Mad Men

Mad Men is not a show that attracts many shippers, perhaps partially because it’s the kind of show that fans and creators want to believe is “above” that kind of thing, but more likely because connections on the show are so fleeting and isolated. Romantic relationships tend to run their course, on-screen or off-, with little will-they-won’t-they tension, which might explain why many fans have become attached to the relationship between Peggy and Stan.

For years, Elisabeth Moss and Jay R. Ferguson have been bringing out the best in each other on screen. As Peggy and Stan, their scenes have been fascinating and exciting to watch, full of shifting dynamics and emotional vulnerability. They’ve stripped down in front of each other, literally and figuratively, and emerged at the end of the series with a more stable relationship than perhaps any other pair on the show.

Peggy and Stan’s relationship has been an enormous source of growth for both characters. Over the seasons, Stan has become less misogynistic, more open-minded. In turn, he brings out Peggy’s strengths and vulnerabilities, particularly in last week’s emotional confession. Peggy is able to admit to Stan something she’s never admitted to Pete: she made a mistake, she gave up her baby, she aches, she goes on. Stan recognizes Peggy’s pain without having it spelled out for him, gives her a chance to speak and a place to be vulnerable, gives her an apology that doesn’t pity or condescend. They end the episode on the phone in comfortable silence, strengthening and supporting each other in a way no other male-female pair on the show does.

Compared to the rest of Mad Men’s romantic relationships, this kind of health and growth is basically unheard of. Romantic pairings on Mad Men tend to be isolating and reflective. Don’s wives, girlfriends, and mistresses largely operate as symbols of things Don thinks he wants. Betty is respectability and old money, Bobbi is thrill and adventure, Faye is a challenge he considers but ultimately runs from, choosing instead to follow Roger’s disastrous model of marrying his young, beautiful secretary. In every case, we see the fantasy Don projects for himself, the life he imagines these romantic partners will mean for him, and we see the moment he becomes disillusioned with that fantasy. His relationships are not about the women he has them with, they’re about him and the image of himself he wants to present.

Joan’s relationships, on the other hand, are largely about the things she is denied. Roger won’t give her stability, Greg won’t give her autonomy, Bob won’t give her love, and her latest partner, Richard, expressed unwillingness to share her time and affection with her son. Every relationship represents a compromise, a way that Joan can’t have it all. She can be beautiful or she can be taken seriously; she can’t have both. It’s a continuation of every other story line Joan has had on the show, just as all of Don’s story lines have been about the man he thinks people think he is.

If we were to plot Mad Men’s characters on a graph, Peggy sits somewhere between these two. Like Don, she wants to create something that lasts, an image of herself that others will admire. Like Joan, she struggles between being respected as a professional and loved as a woman. Her relationships have fallen somewhere in between the two as well.

Her brief affair with Pete is a disappointment on every level. Her first year at Sterling Cooper is a jumble of advice coming from Don, Joan, Pete, and her family about how to be taken seriously, how to be found attractive, how to have a career, how to find a husband. Pete seems like promising help in many of these arenas. He’s willing to let Peggy sit in on creative meetings, he finds her attractive, and he comes from a good family, but this dream quickly falls apart as he becomes embarrassed of their relationship and jealous of her talent. Abe is the kind of rebellious idealist Peggy wants to be, but he doesn’t respect her work and doesn’t share her desires for a family. In the end, she finds he is not the type of person she wants to be or to be with. Ted seems like her perfect match on paper, appreciative and affectionate, someone who works in her field and understands her ambition, but he’s already married and is unwilling to destroy the life he’s already built to start over again with Peggy. Moreover, he doesn’t share her passion for their work.

In the beginning, Stan was no better. He did not take Peggy seriously, sexually or professionally. Earlier in the show, Stan is misogynistic and childish, flirting with secretaries, mocking Joan, trivializing Peggy’s emotions by constantly referring to her as sexually repressed or frustrated. He’s come on to Peggy several times over the course of the series, but never successfully and never particularly smoothly. His offers have been about  “doing [Peggy] a favor” or needing comfort. Their office power dynamic feeds into this behavior, somewhat. Even a few weeks ago, Stan’s interaction with Pima Ryan proved that he’s still intimidated by powerful, self-possessed women who know their worth, and that he can still be gross in that moment of perceived emasculation.

His particular relationship with Peggy, however, has become incredibly respectful, both professionally and personally, without being sycophantic or false. She’s earned his admiration and he’s embarrassed himself in front of her so many times by now that he doesn’t have to posture anymore. Likewise, she’s become less rigid and less defensive. It’s easy to imagine the people they’ve become and the past they’ve shared evolving into a successful romantic relationship, where both continue to grow and challenge each other. They’ve both seen each other’s worst and it’s made them human for each other in a way no other romantic relationship on Mad Men has survived. Arguably, the reason their relationship has been allowed to grow and deepen in this way is because it has remained platonic, despite moments of sexual tension.

The show’s romances are tied up in presentation and status and respect in a way that its friendships are not, and friendship between men and women is rare. Romantic relationships, like everything else on Mad Men, become about aspirations in the end.  Perhaps the show’s best chance for a couple with staying power is the duo who have already spent years becoming disillusioned with each other.  Imagine if Betty and Don, so similar in so many ways, had been allowed to know each other intimately and completely, to see each other humans rather than symbols, before they married and had kids. From a modern perspective, it’s easy to see why audiences gravitate to Stan and Peggy.

Mixtape Monday: Power Level Over 9000

POWER LEVEL OVER 9000

Have you ever noticed how often rappers namecheck Dragonball Z? Because I have, and it's my favorite thing.

1. Goku Back by G.a.Lien

all eyes on me, this is dbz, yeah i’m on another level, ssj3

2. Free Chilly Freestyle by Lupe Fiasco

i push ki like dragonball z

3. The Lyricist by J-Live

i get up in the zone like a super saiyan

4. Dame Fuego by Father

kamehameaha then i run up on your yacht

5. Wild Boy (feat. Waka Flocka Flame) by MGK

suck my dragonballs, bitch, call me goku

6. Shootin Moves by Danny Brown

smoking on some goku, buds like dragonballs

7. Hood Gone Love It (feat. Kendrick Lamar) by Jay Rock

whip like a fire ball, call it goku

8. Christ Conscious by Joey Bada$$

got dragonballs like my name was vegeta

9. Cross Roads (feat. Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa) by Mick Jenkins

kamehameha, chi may have made a spirit bomb

10. Must Be Bobby by RZA

sit in the sun six hours then I charge up like goku, dragonball z

11. Kill by Earl Sweatshirt

super saiyan with ruthless slayings

12. Speed by Cory Gunz

pretty nita, you kilometer rita, i’m an animal vegeta

13. Super Sayin Based Freestyle by Lil B
yes i’m based lord, yes i’m super saiyan

14. Awesome (feat. Pusha-T) by XV

who you playin, i done went super saiyan

15. My Shine by Childish Gambino

everything i’m sayin, I’m super sayin, like goku

16. Pink Matter (feat. Andre 3000) by Frank Ocean

that soft pink matter, cotton candy, majin buu

BONUS: Dragonball Rap by Porta

dragonball, dragonball z, es arte, dragonball gt

Welcome to The Filter Feed!

Hi there, and welcome to The Filter Feed! This is a blog where I open my gigantic maw, consume as much pop culture as possible, ingest the tasty bits and expel these useless thoughts. Within, you’ll find a lot of different stuff, probably, but for now, the plan is a week-daily posting schedule:

Mondays are for mixes, usually with a relevant theme, but not always
Tuesdays are for think pieces
Wednesdays are for miscellaneous weirdness, lists, etc
Thursdays are for jams of the week
Fridays are for weekly recaps

and on maybe a bi-weekly or as-needed basis, Saturdays will be for rewinds, aka stuff I missed when it came out that I’m coming to late, or stuff I’m rewatching. If you’ve got stuff you want me to talk about, or if you have something to pitch, let me know! Send me an ask, leave a comment, or email me at thefilterfeed@gmail.com. Wanna watch me livetweet? Follow me @thefilterfeed. I’m also on the-filter-feed.tumblr.com, because why not.