Labor day has come and gone, remember to wear white whenever you damn well feel like it! As the seasons change we mourn the end of Brat Summer and embrace the possibility of a haunted fall. (Halloween starts whenever the PSL returns, right?)
This week, Kelsey talks Chappell Roan and contemporary fandom, Alex introduces us to the finest beverage she consumed in Tuscany, and our colleague Ray Ratto shares his take on the start of the NFL season. And we top it all off with a secret.
- Jae
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I went to Tuscany, the birthplace of the Renaissance! It is the home of Chianti, land of the cobblestones and no air conditioning and extremely rare T-bone steaks—and I tasted the most cursed drink to ever exist: Gatorwine (blue Gatorade mixed with red wine). I invite you to join me in depravity!
- Alex |
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Things we are liking right now |
Alex:
- I watched all of Netflix's Pop Star Academy: Katseye over the weekend and I'm so invested in this group now!
- This week I've been reading Nancy Macdonell's new book Empresses of Seventh Avenue about the origins of the American fashion industry. I was shocked to learn that the philosophies underpinning contemporary fast fashion have been part of the economic proposition of American ready-to-wear since it literally began.
- I can't stop singing this song.
Kelsey:
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Chappell Roan and modern fandom |
Fans have always existed, but lately it feels like being a part of a fandom requires a certain terrifying air of entitlement. Chappell Roan recently told her fans that she would prefer not to be approached in public and asked for photos, and not to invade her privacy. People did not love this, but I thought her point was well-reasoned and thoughtful. I wrote about how we interact with famous people, and how fans handle corrections.
- Kelsey |
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Can I say something bitchy? |
The world is full of annoyances because the world is full of people, and people are . . . yep, exactly that. Today, the annoyance is everyone you know who pretends to get all slackjawed and rapturous over the start of the National Football League as though there are no other forms of entertainment in the world and every game is Christmas you can bet on. More than ever before, every channel and streaming service is hooking into Mother Heroin on the assumption that everyone is desperate for football in the way that lepidopterists are addicted to this. |
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It's also a strategy to save most of them from the crippling bankruptcy they all so richly deserve, but mostly it's everyone in the modern American media landscape and their sofa-encased audiences being told that football is the only thing saving us from the bleakness of the post-American experience, but that's where we are. Football is the economy because people who need football to be the economy said that football is the economy, and they have mastered the echo chamber of getting their audiences to demand more of what they are already up to their eyelids in—more football.
You know these people, and let's face it, you hate them with the white hot intensity of a quasar on meth. And if you don't want, we are willing to hate them for you. There may be an economy in being part of the vanguard of people willing to dynamite the football business from below, but it's going to take awhile. In the meantime, the season starts Thursday in Taylor Swift's summer home (Kansas City) and Friday in Sao-For-Christ's-Sake-Paolo, Brazil. We as a culture are so utterly screwed.
- Ray |
Sometimes I read spoilers for TV shows but let my husband think I just figured out the twist |
Have some amazing gossip you'd love to share with us? You can email us at normalgossip@defector.com or leave a voice message at 26-79-GOSSIP. You can also follow us on Instagram. And remember we anonymize all stories we use on the show! |
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