VogueMusic
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Posts posted by VogueMusic
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12 hours ago, runa said:
be prepared because he won't
Which is devastating for obvious reasons, particularly right now considering his numbers are horrible in every context, even from conservative polling from places like Fox News.
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4 hours ago, dcbyebyebaby said:
Viewers hate long videos with cutscenes.
How sad. I remember when more narrative/conceptual/long-form music videos were an event. How sadly it's all fallen...
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On 10/10/2019 at 6:32 PM, Kelmadfan said:
Look at Jim Jones. And these religious cults out there. It’s easier to fool someone than to convince someone they’ve been fooled. This is their willfully uneducated and stubborn selves. This guy wouldn’t lift a finger to help any of his base. He said he loves “the uneducated”.
On 10/10/2019 at 8:27 PM, Jazzy Jan said:Yes true. But Trump's following truly amazes me. Jim Jones ( despite being a sick maniac ) actually was a good speaker and come across as intelligent initially. I can actually see why misguided people were fooled by him and then become in a cult. Have watched several docos on Jim Jones. Usually cult leaders and evil leaders are also good speakers and know how to fool people. Their insanity etc shows later. But Trump ? He is not a good speaker, is not good looking, does not speak sense and is continually caught out lying compulsively. Surely even fools can see through this revolting man. Hitler was evil to the core but knew how to speak - his skill as an orator was commented on everywhere. Why he managed to fool people for so long before they realized how insane and evil he was. Why I always thought Trump would not be as dangerous as Hitler as he did not have his speaking skills. Trump though - there is nothing in what he says and does that commands any respect, speaks nonsense and contradicts himself all the time. It really beggers belief that poor people think this multi millionaire who does nothing for them and has underpaid his staff in his hotels for decades - is on their side.
Speaking of cults -
Take It From a Former Moonie: Trump Is a Cult Leader
Steven HassanOn the afternoon of Nov. 18, 1978, Jim Jones called his followers to the central pavilion of Jonestown, a sprawling outpost in the jungles of Guyana, and ordered them to drink a lethal mixture of cyanide and fruit punch. Over 900 people perished that day, more than a third of them children. As he lay dying of a bullet wound to the head—a less painful way to go than cyanide and one that he probably orchestrated—Jones told his followers that it was “all the media’s fault. Don’t believe them.”
Those words, uttered so long ago, sound disturbingly familiar as we approach the 41st anniversary of Jonestown. We have a president who regularly disparages and blames the media, calling it “fake,” “false,” and “phony,” and who calls journalists “enemies of the people”—epithets that seem especially frenzied in the wake of the whistleblower complaint and the launching of the House impeachment inquiry. It might seem an outrageous proposition to compare Donald Trump to a murderous cult leader. And yet there are alarming parallels. Like Jones and other cult leaders, Trump exhibits features of what psychologist Erich Fromm called “malignant narcissism”—bombastic grandiosity, a bottomless need for praise, lack of empathy, pathological lying, apparent sadism, and paranoia. In short, he fits the stereotypical psychological profile of a cult leader.
I have seen that profile up close. Over 40 years ago, while a junior in college, I was recruited into a destructive mind control cult, the Unification Church, popularly known as the Moonies after its leader, Sun Myung Moon. I rose rapidly through the ranks and was invited to attend meetings with Moon and his top aides, where we knelt and bowed to our leader Moon. Two years later, after three days straight of leading a fundraising team—selling flowers on street corners—I fell asleep at the wheel and woke up as I plowed into the back of an 18 wheeler. Fortunately, I survived. My family hired deprogrammers and, after five days, I realized I had been brainwashed.
Since then, I have devoted myself to studying mind control cults and helping families rescue loved ones from their clutches. I have learned that mind control is not a vague, mystical process but, instead, is the result of a concrete and specific and systematic set of methods and techniques. Cult leaders may seem crazy, but they are cunning masters of manipulation, employing an arsenal of these techniques to render their followers dependent and obedient. It’s what I call the cult leader’s playbook.
Jim Watson/Getty As I argue in my upcoming book, The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How The President Uses Mind Control (Simon & Schuster), Trump has gotten where he is today in large part because he has exploited tactics straight out of that playbook. These include his grandiose claims, his practice of sowing confusion, his demand for absolute loyalty, his tendency to lie and create alternative “facts” and realities, his shunning and belittling of critics and ex-believers, and his cultivating of an “us versus them” mindset. These are the same methods used by Moon, Jones, and other cult leaders such as L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology), David Koresh (Branch Davidians), Lyndon LaRouche (LaRouche PAC), and, most recently, convicted trafficking felon Keith Raniere (NXVIM).
Of all these tactics, the “us versus them” mindset is probably one of the most effective. From the moment you are recruited into a cult, you are made to feel special, part of an “inside” group in opposition to unenlightened, unbelieving, dangerous “outsiders.” Playing on ancient human tribal tendencies, cult leaders extend this “us versus them” mindset outwards to an almost cosmic struggle.
Many campaigns—political, military, athletic—pivot around the idea of conflict between parties. Even in literature there is a hero and a villain. But cults take this human habit of viewing the world in binary terms and infuse it with a kind of all consuming passion, which they reinforce in the minds of followers using cliches, platitudes, lies, and endless repetitions. You come to believe that you are superior to the rest of the world. In fact, everyone who is not in the group is, at some level, in the words of the eminent psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, dispensable.
The most effective tactics of all are those that play upon followers’ emotions. For this reason, cult leaders often begin by making new recruits feel special, part of an “inside” group in opposition to unenlightened, unbelieving, dangerous “outsiders.” Playing on ancient human tribal tendencies, cult leaders encourage a kind of dualistic “us versus them” mindset, which they then extend outwards to an almost cosmic struggle.
In the Moonies, we were told that we were heavenly soldiers engaged in a great struggle to take the world back from the forces of Satan, which included godless Communism and human-centered Western democracy. Our ultimate goal was to replace these godless human-centered forms of government with a god-centered theocracy, under Moon’s leadership.
Jones, a self-professed Marxist, told his followers—who were often poor, black, and disenfranchised—that the enemy was racism, capitalism, and the American government. He took his followers to the wilds of Guyana to escape the clutches of the U.S. government, which was evil and out to get him.
For Hubbard, the enemy was psychiatrists and governments, and also non-Scientologists. He used a racist term to describe the latter—wogs—and essentially argued that they were inferior to true believers.
For LaRouche, it was a global conspiracy consisting of the Queen of England, Wall Street, Jews, and various intelligence agencies, such as the CIA. He and his followers wanted to defeat this evil cabal that was destroying the world, which only LaRouche could save.
Trump paints his enemies with a much broader brush. At rallies, he bounds on stage and tell his audiences how special they are—“I love you Indiana”—but it soon becomes clear that he has no “love” for anyone but Trump supporters. During his 2016 campaign, he would single out members of the audience—and even journalists—who he perceived as hostile and eject them, often to deafening cheers from his supporters. Shunning, humiliation, and ostracism are common methods for demonstrating who counts as “us,” and what needs to be done about “them.”
As did LaRouche, Moon, and Jones, Trump sees a world teeming with enemies: the “deep state,” globalists, radical left-wing Democrats, socialists, Hollywood actors, the liberal media. And, of course, Muslims, Mexicans, and migrant caravans. He depicts all of them as wanting to destroy America—and him. Inspiring or creating fear of real or imagined threats overrides people's sense of agency. It makes them susceptible to the confident father figure, Trump, who promises to keep them safe—“Only I can fix it”—and makes them more compliant and potentially obedient. Some followers of Trump have gone so far as to believe that liberal Democrats, George Soros, and the CIA are involved in an international sex trafficking ring run out of the basement of a Washington, D.C., pizza parlor. One such follower actually brought an AR-15-style rifle into the pizza parlor and fired three shots. Fortunately, no one was injured.
When I was in the Moonies, I was so indoctrinated that I was prepared to take up arms and die for the cause. I wasn’t alone. My fear is that Trump might order his followers to take their weapons to the streets if he is not re-elected. In a recent tweet, he quoted his Christian Right ally, Robert Jeffress, that his removal from office “will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal.” Worse still is the possibility that, if feeling sufficiently threatened, Trump might, like Jones, try to take others everyone with him, using his access to the nuclear codes. It’s a dark scenario, but not entirely outlandish.
The good news is, I woke up and got out of a cult, as have millions of people. What I have learned in working with cult members, as I describe in my book, is that attacking their beliefs is doomed to fail. To help them recover their critical faculties, it is essential to develop a warm and positive relationship before teaching them about how mind control works. I often do that by showing how it operates in other groups, like the Jonestown cult or Scientology. We might use the same approach to heal the “us versus them” mindset of Trump’s followers—and also of some of their more rabid opponents. Ultimately, the goal is to educate and inspire people to regain their capacity for critical thinking, and to free their own minds.
I have seen people throw off the mental and emotional shackles of many years—even a lifetime—of destructive conditioning. I believe that love is stronger than fear and that truth is stronger than mind control. But I also believe that the dangers of mind control are greater now than ever due to the digital world we are so plugged into. We ignore the lessons of history—of Jonestown and other destructive groups—at our own peril.
https://news.yahoo.com/former-moonie-trump-cult-leader-091128723.html
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5 hours ago, Flip The Switch said:
It shouldn’t be remixed (just like Music, Impressive Instant, NKM, etc)
Not exactly. There are some fan mixes that are actually quite good, and way better than what some of these "pros" are doing lately.
@dubtronic says hello.
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4 hours ago, Kelmadfan said:
This kind of crap has been going on in one incarnation or another for a long time.
Yep. "Payola" just evolved with the times...
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On 9/27/2019 at 10:15 PM, lasky said:
M's not eligible in the dance categories anymore since its now meant for DJ acts or strictly dance acts.... the academy has changed the rules since... it would be great to see if M could get nominated in future by being a featuring act - just like justin beiber, dua lipa, diplo... (recent wins)
Of course.....
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On 9/25/2019 at 2:51 PM, CzarnaWisnia said:
I feel sadness and compassion for these people, actually. I wish them well.
But what about Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau coming out as a blackfacing North-African lookalike woman-strangler:
Oh well... Poor Justeen!!
What does that have to do with gay conversion therapy?
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16 minutes ago, Lolasmommy said:
I absolutely LOVE her work!
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LOVE these.
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9 hours ago, HolidayGuy said:
Just a note, @VogueMusic- regular U.S. MTV did not play her videos for 24 hours and such leading up to the Medellin video. It was MTV Classic,as you mentioned, and another MTV channel- but not regular MTV.
Yeah, it might have been MTV Live, not the regular MTV. It was on 2 channels, as each had a slightly different video rotation (or so it seemed), and I was often going back and forth between the two channels.
It was bittersweet though, as seeing those videos on the big screen just reminded me of how much the original MTV is sorely missed and still needed (and that era of seeing all those big artists on constant rotation on television, having that kind of effect on pop culture). Felt the same way when Prince passed and they did 24 hour rotations of his videos and performances.
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And you did it again!!! Thank you so much @dubtronic!!!
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8 hours ago, Ray Finkle said:
I totally agree.
Today I noticed how thoughtful the tracklist is.
In Medellín, M is candid and wants to discover the world.
From Dark Ballet to Killers, she observes the state of the world and sends a message of awareness.
In the C section, she analyzes her personal life / love life and empowers herself. The mood starts to change. It's confirmed in Extreme Occident : she looks into herself and starts to think positive again.
Then in Faz Gostoso, Bitch I'm Loca and I Don't Search I Find, she can be happy again and enjoy life.
She goes back to introspection in Looking for Mercy, to find a balance between her state of mind and the state of the world.
And finally, with I Rise, she sends and empowering message to the world and to herself.
Now I get why EO and LFM, while absent of the Standard Edition, aren't put at the end of the record. And we can also think that the dynamic of Madame X still works without these tracks. (Don't get me wrong, I love those songs, I wouldn't want them out of the album).
Brilliantly stated and very well thought out!!!
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Does a bear shit in the woods?
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Who would have thought...
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11 hours ago, the-queen said:
MX has one of her best tracklistings. When you’ve listened to the album endlessly for weeks like me the work of art becomes engrained into your soul. As if it’s always been apart of her catalogue, and it came out around the time of Erotica or one of her other earlier albums. The consistency of the MX songs and indeed that of RH is incredible. I’ve said this a lot but it can never not be repeated enough.
Keep saying it!!!
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Might seem harsh, but I feel like it's their own fault for thinking their participation was going to really be anything more than a glorified extra. I'm sure the job description and video narrative was laid out for them, and considering where the cameras were focused while shooting, you'd think they would pick up on who was to be the focus. It was clear that the queens were there to fill out the atmosphere of the gay club setting, with Madonna and the dancers taking center stage (as would be obvious). I think there was probably an assumption by a lot of them that 'Madonna+drag queens+club' meant they were going to be the center of attention. Don't get me wrong, it would have been nice to see a few more quick shots of them, but considering the final product, it's clear why it probably wasn't all that necessary.
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I wonder how many showed up...?
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14 hours ago, the-queen said:
I’m really happy where Madonna is in her career. Rebel Heart and Madame X are her last two albums. WOW. Any artist would die to have just those two in their catalogue. These albums just enrich an already amazing career for Madonna.
THIS!
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On 6/6/2019 at 9:22 PM, svperstar said:
The song itself was interesting enough, but the video takes it INTO FUCKING ORBIT.
Jesus, THIS is the Madonna we dont deserve. The artist and conceptualist before the pop performer. And she does it better than anyone.
On 6/6/2019 at 9:36 PM, toujours said:mon Dieu!
"dark ballet" a masterwork in short horror film. malevolence pervade its visual and aural orchestration. for the less perceptive, the video might even contain "demonic" elements.
but the messaging is very clear...
omnipresent to this day are the religious, political, cultural, and social inquisition of people in the fringes and margins. the dark ages never came to past but was tempered only by science and modernization. prejudice lurks in the minds and hearts of those who refuse to step beyond their bubbles, towers and zones.
the divide remains. the battlefields are still there. people might have discovered cures for epidemics. but none yet for today's pandemic disease of rage and ignorance that are magnified by mass media and digital technology.
and yet like cascading water, the vulnerable will continue forging a path for their redemption. orders and systems be damned.
triumphantly, emmanuel and madonna have realized their artistic vision. they found a brilliant conduit in mykko. surrounded by a lovely cast of actors, he personifies the persecuted lot of this world that soldier on. and the third person narration of madonna, more heard and little seen, give more focus on the film's message.
"dark ballet" is a fine addition to Madonna's exceptional videography.
On 6/6/2019 at 9:49 PM, alexis said:This video is absolutely stunning and it's breathtaking from start to finish. I must say that I admire the fact that she decided to back away from being the leading character in this video. She chose a queer POC to represent the opressão made by religion in our society and the pain that reflects upon minorities due to the prevalence of patriarcal values. She truly came to make a BIG statement with this video and song. It really made me think of how important and necessary her activism has been through all these years and how she refuses to shut up while defending human rights. Once more, I'm so proud to call her my queen and to be part of her fandom. There's only one Queen and it's Madonna, bitch.
On 6/7/2019 at 4:12 AM, paradise said:Whilst other gay 'icons' are releasing cheesey christmas albums, generic jazz standards and abba covers my queen is putting out quality work like this..the general public might not care but as a fan i feel spoilt
On 6/7/2019 at 9:16 AM, Wunderkind said:Remember that RS review of LAP, where it said “this is as close to art as pop music gets”? I think she’s gotten even closer with this track, especially combined with the amazing video. Using the story and fate of Joan of Arc to describe the fucked up state of today’s world, the discrimination, hatred, bigotry and closed mindedness is just brilliant. Releasing something so bold, weird, dark and unusual is a big fuck you to the world of those that claim she’s not relevant or creative be anymore. Who else but Madonna would dare this, so far into her career? Nobody. The haters need to take several seats and re-evaluate their contempt for her. She’s the Queen. Period.
On 6/7/2019 at 9:34 AM, headonfire said:I'm completely in awe of this song and video. The song is so different, weird, and sonically experimental, nothing like anything ever produced. If someone ever says that Madonna is chasing trends, just play them Dark Ballet, because this song is IT, and shows the genius and creative force of this woman almost 40 years into her career.
As I listen to the song, I got all these different emotions running through me, like an emotional journey of sorts.
As for the video, it is absolutely stunning. The story, cinematography, light, colours, everything produces this unique feel that just complements the song. For me, one of the most significant things in the video is also the placing of Joan of Arc's quote and the start and Mikki's at the end, which produces this poetic parallel between the pain and suffering experienced by Joan of Arc in the 15th century because she was seen as 'Other', the same way that a black queer HIV+ man is seen as 'Other' in the 21st century. To make this happen, Madonna takes a step back in her own video, to place at the centre someone who represents those who are most ostracised in our society -- a person of colour, a queer person, an HIV+ person!
THIS IS ART. ART WITH MEANING. ART WHICH PUSHES BOUNDARIES. ART THAT PUSHES FOR CHANGE. AND MADONNA IS ALL OF IT! MADONNA IS ART.
On 6/7/2019 at 8:17 PM, Shane said:To me, Dark Ballet is a supreme work of art. Madonna begins this song as a pop ballad, singing thoughtful lyrics about the superficial nature of the world over beautiful piano. Her voice is clear, but somewhat raspy with the weight of the world. The melody sounds like classic Madonna. In the second verse, an electronic beat joins the piano, giving us a juxtaposition of classical and modern. Madonna continues to sing this melodic song, and suddenly she is abruptly cut off by the piano solo and the interpolation from The Nutcracker. This is jarring as the best art pop can be. As we enter the second movement, we hear frantic demonic vocals by Madonna that put us into Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush territory. There is a slight feeling of foreboding. After this segment, we return to Madonna’s normal voice for the poetic spoken word passage that is haunting but in a less creepy manner than the middle passage. These lyrics I find to be the most moving of the song although they would be an utter disaster delivered by many other singers. Her voice in this section is her classic voice, but smoother than in the sung vocals from part one. She blows like the howling wind, and then we are treated to more piano, this time somewhat sorrowful in tone. Dark Ballet has taken us from defiance to sinister to poetic to sorrowful. As Madonna comes in for one final sung line “it’s a beautiful life,” we have come full circle back to the beginning of the song. Her delivery here, over the now quite somber piano, breaks my heart and stands as one of the saddest moments in her history of song. What brilliance to deliver such an optimistic lyric in a melancholy fashion. The journey of Dark Ballet is now complete although that of Madame X is just beginning.
This is high art.
On 6/13/2019 at 10:29 PM, IsaacHarris said:This is ART.
PERIOD
All the above deserved a quote. I know I'm late on the subject, but after letting the song and the video sit with me, I'm just astounded at the level of artistry she's pulling off with this project...at this point in her career.
All the videos of this era are literally some of the best of her career, and certainly God Control is Madonna at her best...but this is the one I keep coming back to. Even with only a couple shots of her in the video, the entire visual narrative is just drenched in quintessential "Madonna". And stepping back and putting an openly queer, black, HIV+ artist at the forefront is one hell of a move. Any one out there that comes for her 'making everything all about herself' or some sort of appropriation shit can truly STFU from now on. And talk about political...this just may be her most truly political statement of not only this record, but of all her work. It's deeply layered, and points the finger right at the corruption, hypocrisy, and oppression by the ruling institutions of society. Got more balls than anyone, esp. right now.
This video is proof she's on another level than any of her peers past or present.
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Little boys and their temper tantrums -
Heightened security in Boston for 'pro-straight parade'
Boston (AFP) - Police in Boston were gearing up for possible clashes Saturday between "Straight Pride Parade" demonstrators supportive of President Donald Trump and counter-protesters who accuse them of being homophobic and extremist.
A group calling itself Super Happy Fun America has organized the controversial parade in response to the hugely popular gay pride parades that take place in US cities every year.
Critics say organizers are white-supremacists whose intent is to bait members of the LGBT community in one of America's most liberal cities, and have arranged demonstrations to oppose it.
"There are no racists in our group. You have to come to one of our meetings: it's like the United Nations," president John Hugo told AFP, defending the parade.
The demonstrations come as tensions simmer between leftists and white nationalists in the United States.
Enrique Tarrio (L), a member of the all-male 'Proud Boys' organization, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is due to attend (AFP Photo/John Rudoff) Two weeks ago, a far-right rally and counter-demonstration by anti-fascist protestors in the city of Portland passed with no major incident amid a heavy police presence.
Super Happy Fun America's website says Saturday's march is to "spread awareness of issues impacting straights," describing heterosexuals as "an oppressed majority" in Massachusetts, the first US state to legalize same-sex marriage.
But the parade will have a clear political slant too, with participants due to walk alongside pro-Trump floats. The group's website displays a doctored photo of Trump holding a sign saying #GreatToBeStraight.
Prominent members of America's far-right movement, known as the "alt-right," are scheduled to speak, including former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, who has been banned from several social media sites.
Enrique Tarrio, a member of the all-male "Proud Boys" organization, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is also due to attend.
Some 1,200 people are planning to join the parade, which starts at noon (1600 GMT) in Copley Square and ends at Boston City Hall around a mile and a half (2.4 kilometers) away, according to a Facebook group.
Police will cordon off the area and have said they will deploy uniformed and undercover officers along the route.
Several anti-Trump organizations and gay rights supporters have said they will try to block the parade. At least two counter-protests are planned, the first starting at 9:00 am.
"We are certainly not going to start any violence but we will defend ourselves if we have to," said Hugo, 56.
A "Straight Pride" held last Saturday in Modesto, California attracted only a few dozen people and about 250 counter-protesters, according to local newspaper The Modesto Bee.
https://news.yahoo.com/heightened-security-boston-pro-straight-parade-062515220.html
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1 hour ago, nightcutter said:
Are the bottles meant to look like round droids?
Thermal detonators (Star Wars "grenades").
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45 minutes ago, Leebf said:
She's a racist biggot and i hate her. In the 90s she hated asians. Then it was Muslims, now its the left wing and loss of freedom of speech (i.e. not being allowed to say racist and bigotry things with out repercussion).
Bingo.
I'm no fan of the PC shit, but it's easy to see that a majority of these 'free speech' rants are really about a big portion of society that's having a tantrum that they can't get away with these sorts of old derogatory sentiments like they used to. Ironically, it's the actual exercise of free speech that gets them into the hot seat in the first place.
Madame X album general discussion
in ARCHIVE - The MADAME X Forum
Posted
I will never get the point of the 'standard' editions. And I believe she has said that she considers the 'deluxe' versions of the last two albums as essentially the true, full versions of those albums.
I feel completely the opposite. It feels like Madame X is the opposite of any sort of restraint. It feels like a certain sort of freedom she hasn't quite had in a good while.