(also, yeah, a pet peeve of mine is articles that say things like "set some parts of the internet aflame" and then offer three random tweets. I would hope they're representative of many more, for there to be an actual controversy)
― morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Wednesday, 12 April 2023 16:38 (one year ago) link
I feel like people are disingenuous and refuse to consider the position of the musician as an individual, setting weird expectations that the current superstar has a passionate inspirational tirade ready. The music press echoing with exaggerated collective expressions like "setting the internet aflame", or using ambiguity like "accused of being silent", and trying to hint at a narrative hours after interviewing. Really ? When humbly acknowledging the limits of your position and offering a rather strong positive message that anti-Black racism is real but isn't enough stop the development of Black artists is really no bad response at all if you leave it at that. At least, that's certainly one thing that helps slowly shift the lines of discrimination. Any positive example to be found in a complex social reality should not be opposed to the (generally shared) view that racism is setting back society.
― Nabozo, Wednesday, April 12, 2023 6:35 AM (five hours ago)
i think what you're saying here about the media & ppl's expectations for artists in interviews is largely true, as the vast majority of interviews these days are not set up for, like, genuinely interesting and thought provoking conversation between the interviewer and subject. the idea of a confrontational question feels almost like kayfabe these days? that being said, "passionate inspirational tirade" could also just be... a not unreasonable expectation that certain artists have thought critically about their positions, why & how they got them, structural aspects of industry/society that may have greased the skids etc. i think a lot of famous people would do great to have ppl close to them prompt them to think critically about their statuses as celebrities! in a sense this is "media training" (which does happen, i'm sure bad bunny has been thru it) but i'm talking about something deeper. he may actually have interesting or profound things to say about colorism somewhere in there, but the 5,000th interview he's done is prob not the place where those thoughts are going to come out if he's not already been having those conversations & debates privately w/ ppl he can trust to bounce his opinions off of. which is really just normal friend shit most of us have access to, but i don't think lots of famous ppl have friendships like that. so these conversations are mediated entirely thru social media, the media, the star, the star's team etc. not conducive to introspection & such
― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 12 April 2023 16:45 (one year ago) link
not qualified to weigh in on anything else here but I will say that "US centric problems" invariably affect the whole world and the George Floyd protests in particular were a huge international event, I went to blm protests around that time here in the UK and my friends in Portugal and Brazil did likewise
― Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 12 April 2023 16:52 (one year ago) link
Black Puerto Rican reggaeton pioneer Tego Calderon not getting his due attention and not acknowledging the reasons for it, or the struggles Tego endured, is more than an "US centric problem"
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 13 April 2023 04:48 (one year ago) link
I also feel like the practice of not rendering interviews fully, but picking and choosing extracts in the frame the journalist chooses is super disrespectful. If you're taking apart a conversation, you're also killing it. And the reader is forced to accept a narrative, can't check the context, only invited to have ephemeral emotional reactions, and the artist goes from subject to object. And yes, tweets reacting to past declarations being quoted together with fresh declarations by the artist, wtf ?
To Jordan S: Yes, but that's also the job of the journalist to have thought about it, instead of trying to trip the artist into a sensitive debate and see if he doesn't say something clumsy. "What role has colorism played in the reggaeton industry" sounds more like a question for a university thesis. I'm doubting the honesty and genuine interest of the journalist.
― Nabozo, Thursday, 13 April 2023 07:33 (one year ago) link
I will also say that he gave me the exact same answer three years ago. He’s had time to educate himself since then—as he’s already done wrt other issues. As journalists, we should not uncritically accept lines celebrities have used before to deflect difficult conversations. https://t.co/l9oCdaZgEV— Carina del Valle Schorske (@FluentMundo) April 2, 2023
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 13 April 2023 13:24 (one year ago) link
What do you mean by the post? (Not being snarky)
― retrofuturist cop slayer! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 13 April 2023 13:44 (one year ago) link
Just that another journalist (Carina has written for NY Times and has a book coming out) who had interviewed Bad Bunny, also thought Bad Bunny's comments to her re racism 3 years ago weren't that well-informed , and that as he has educated himself and spoken out re other issues, she thought he should on this one as well
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 13 April 2023 14:13 (one year ago) link
If he had said, in the Time interview, "I do agree that race and colorism play a role in the success of a reggaeton artist," how would it change the story or reporting on the subject (colorism and racism in reggaeton)?
― morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Thursday, 13 April 2023 14:26 (one year ago) link
Obviously it’s complicated, but when an artist as massively popular as Bad Bunny says something it’s going to get a little more attention than if just some obscure writers say it on twitter. Bunny financed and showed a film doc on the political situation in Puerto Rico that he showed before his gig on the stadium tour I saw . The writers and critics here are hoping he will speak out more on these issues as well
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 13 April 2023 20:09 (one year ago) link
He kinds of addresses his discomfort with that point a little later in the interview (“You’re not going to ask Daddy Yankee something like that”).
I can understand fans & critics being upset by his answers. I don't think (just my pov) that "journalism" involves not being satisfied with a celebrity's attempt to deflect difficult conversations. I think those attempts can def. can be part of the story – "The genre's biggest (white-identifying) star isn't able to acknowledge..." etc. And noting that if a figure like BB were able to acknowledge these issues, then he may be able to take certain steps to effect change. But I don't think that pushing back on his statements is a "journalistic" role.
― morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Thursday, 13 April 2023 20:41 (one year ago) link
To put it another way, reporting on the issue is asking him the question. Pushing for a different answer is something different.
― morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Thursday, 13 April 2023 20:42 (one year ago) link
otm
― retrofuturist cop slayer! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 13 April 2023 22:15 (one year ago) link
I know it’s important for celebrities to use their star power to inform people and seek support for NPOs, but another part of me wishes celebrities would stay on their lanes of expertise. The pandemic and the aftermath has shown me that most of the time when a celebrity has a big, loud opinion on something is usually embarrasing and downright dangerous.
So many celebrities I kind of liked have revealed themselves as uninformed morons and I would’ve preferred not knowing what they have to say about anything other than what they are working on or what inspires them.
Sure, there are also celebrities whose whole thing is being deeply involved in politics but I consider those as speaking from an area of expertise. And in that case it’s better they show you their cards before listening to where they’re coming from.
Bad Bunny has pretty much only one political song in his repertoire (El Apagon) that was written by someone else (mag + young paci). It’s probably for the best he’s not very vocal about politics.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, 14 April 2023 03:25 (one year ago) link
What about Compositor del Año? I had a student write about that song and she mentioned it was not an album track but it does address some of these issues (BLM specifically)
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Friday, 14 April 2023 12:31 (one year ago) link
Also features a line about Little Richard & samples Tutti Frutti! https://genius.com/Bad-bunny-compositor-del-ano-lyrics
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Friday, 14 April 2023 13:16 (one year ago) link
Bad Bunny also was involved with Residente in the protests against ex-Governor Ricardo Rosselló
― curmudgeon, Friday, 14 April 2023 15:25 (one year ago) link
yep, def weird to paint BB as some kind of apolitical figure. there’s also this for example - notably for an American audience:https://www.insider.com/jimmy-fallon-bad-bunny-paid-tribute-to-murdered-transgender-woman-2020-2
― at bottom, wrapping my arms around some tripe called "Quest" (breastcrawl), Friday, 14 April 2023 16:10 (one year ago) link
bad bunny has been marketed as political so I think its fair to ask him to weigh in on things, to challenge him as an interviewer, and to also recognize the limits of a pop star's ability to meaningfully speak to political issues ... something like colorism though isn't just a 'political issue,' its existential. anyway
― xheugy eddy (D-40), Friday, 14 April 2023 20:24 (one year ago) link
Bad Bunny was just 1st Latino headliner at Coachella. Here’s Rolling Stone re part of his set:
Toward the middle of his set, a video explaining the history of salsa began playing, honoring legends like Celia Cruz, La Lupe, Johnny Pacheco and more. Several dancers came out and performed to salsa classics before Bad Bunny transitioned into the Grammy-nominated Cardi B track “I Like It.” He also paid tribute to old-school reggaeton with another video about the roots of the music that called out the Black influences and biggest names in the genre. Quickly, the beloved reggaeton duo Jowell Y Randy came out with Nengo Flow for the hit “Safaera.
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 15 April 2023 18:18 (one year ago) link
I stand corrected. 'Compositor del Año' is definitely political. And hey looking at those lyrics that most definitely prove he wasn't silent about BLM, George Floyd and Police Brutality - I went back to look at the accusations of him being silent on the whole thing and what would you know: their source for 'outrage' is a pair of isolated tweets by users with like 1,000 followers.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, 15 April 2023 19:08 (one year ago) link
and he also gave a statement on TIME
https://time.com/5852446/bad-bunny-black-lives-matter/
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, 15 April 2023 19:14 (one year ago) link
I was misguided by the internet fake outrage machine. Anyways it's easily disprovable that he was in fact supportive of the movement and that reports on his 'silence' were heavily exaggerated. That said, I still think celebrities lack of opinion on politics shouldn't be a reason to rally against them.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Saturday, 15 April 2023 19:26 (one year ago) link
New Bad Bunny single out . Performs with Mexican act Grupo Frontera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3inw26U-os4
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 19 April 2023 15:17 (one year ago) link
Grupo Frontera is actually from the US
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Wednesday, 19 April 2023 15:26 (one year ago) link
Oh yeah, Texas rooted "Regional Mexican" music.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 19 April 2023 15:58 (one year ago) link
https://remezcla.com/music/watch-bad-bunny-jams-to-peso-pluma-at-coachella/
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 20 April 2023 15:58 (one year ago) link
https://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/event/the-bad-bunny-symposium-thinking-with-bad-bunny-beibi-2/
May 12 & 13 symposium in person and virtual
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 2 May 2023 17:53 (one year ago) link
symposium coming.
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 9 May 2023 12:23 (eleven months ago) link
symposium on Bad Bunny in NYC (and on zoom friday and Saturday daytime et)
― curmudgeon, Friday, 12 May 2023 13:08 (eleven months ago) link
Symposium is gonna be put on youtube . I heard a bit and found it interesting
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 14 May 2023 15:23 (eleven months ago) link
New song “Where She Goes”
Eh , it’s ok
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 24 May 2023 22:26 (eleven months ago) link
Long Rolling stone mag cover story interview by Julyssa Lopez:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bad-bunny-coachella-el-apagon-controversy-future-interview-1234770225/
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 21 June 2023 23:54 (ten months ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll2rA7IpeNI
New song Preview
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 26 September 2023 19:47 (seven months ago) link
Sexy in a handful of scenes in Cassandro.
― hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 26 September 2023 19:58 (seven months ago) link
New album out
― curmudgeon, Friday, 13 October 2023 18:32 (six months ago) link
A review from a Brit’s perspective that popped up in a search
https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/bad-bunny-nadie-sabe-lo-que-va-a-pasar-manana-album-review-b1113274.html
I haven’t heard it yet
― curmudgeon, Friday, 13 October 2023 18:38 (six months ago) link
the new one feels like a real step down, doesn't have enough ideas to sustain its 80 minute runtime (unlike the last album) and working in this trap mode for most of the album doesn't really play to his strengths much at all
― ufo, Saturday, 14 October 2023 14:12 (six months ago) link
made it about halfway through and yeah, it’s not nearly as good as un verano. seems like a conscious effort to return to the latin trap style that it felt like he’d grown pass. in some cases it works (love the song with young miko), and i appreciate the variety, it’s just not as joyful or chock full of ideas as the last one.
― is he disgruntled adrian? (voodoo chili), Saturday, 14 October 2023 17:47 (six months ago) link
un verano was also over 80 mins long, but there was never a lack of inspiration. he was operating at peak power for like 20 of those 24 tracks. it never felt like a slog, like this one does at several moments
― is he disgruntled adrian? (voodoo chili), Saturday, 14 October 2023 17:48 (six months ago) link
i've only listened to "monaco" (bc of the video) and while i don't dislike it exactly it doesn't rly get me interested in engaging w/ a long album
― dyl, Saturday, 14 October 2023 18:14 (six months ago) link
same as dyl, I need to hear a strong single to get me in the mood
― Nabozo, Monday, 16 October 2023 07:59 (six months ago) link
voodoo chili completely otm
― ufo, Monday, 16 October 2023 08:04 (six months ago) link
So far it’s not as good as the previous one (I’m not sure it was better to better it!) but I like the new one. It’s darker, rougher, more minimalist. Going the more pop/mainstream way may have been easier sure but maybe that wasn’t the best way to go after the fireworks of Un Verano.
― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, 20 October 2023 10:48 (six months ago) link
Oups : not sure it was possible to better it !
― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, 20 October 2023 13:44 (six months ago) link
He’s hosting and performing on Saturday Night Live October 21
― curmudgeon, Friday, 20 October 2023 15:02 (six months ago) link
Saw him live on one tour and it was fun. Missed his Washington DC arena gig last night . Video clips online look exciting
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 10 April 2024 17:29 (three weeks ago) link