Tag: Tanu Muino

Harley Quinn Behavior Takes Hold in Suburbia: Lady Gaga’s “Disease” Video

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While Lady Gaga’s current focus might be to shake the disease of Lee Quinzel after her foray into the DC Universe with Joker: Folie à Deux, she’s actually embodying her version (and even a dash of Margot Robbie’s) of the character more than ever in the video for “Disease.” Directed by Tanu Muino (always expanding her “directing stars” repertoire, from Cardi B to Lil Nas X to Doja Cat), the setting for the video takes place in an “Anywhere, USA” type of suburbia (Gaga is clearly cosplaying in and with this backdrop, what with being a “big city girl” her entire life)—granted, is there any other type? In fact, the first frame almost recalls the look of the neighborhood in Edward Scissorhands, except without the pastel color palette.

Indeed, this particular neighborhood is decidedly drab, complete with the beige cars that pass Lady Gaga by while she’s bowled over on the hood of a car, blood coming out of her nostrils. The driver responsible for hitting her? Why, herself, of course. Or at least the version of herself that looks like she’s wearing an updated edition of the plague doctor costume (you know, the one with the beaked mask) with some Freddy Krueger-esque gloves. Part of that update is showing only one extremely bloodshot eye through her leather gimp mask. In fact, this entire “aesthetic” and scene seems straight out of a Ryan Murphy series (and, yes, Gaga has been “under his tutelage” before, so it doesn’t surprise).

Unfortunately, just as the two appear to get somewhat comfortable with one each other’s presence, yet another hostile version of Gaga in a sandy blonde wig shows up behind the black-haired Gaga to attack. This all speaks to Gaga’s statement about the music video, which she distilled via her Instagram account by saying, “I think a lot about the relationship I have with my own inner demons. It’s never been easy for me to face how I get seduced by chaos and turmoil. It makes me feel claustrophobic. ‘Disease’ is about facing that fear, facing myself and my inner darkness, and realizing that sometimes I can’t win or escape the parts of myself that scare me. That I can try and run from them but they are still part of me and I can run and run but eventually I’ll meet that part of myself again, even if only for a moment.” To be sure, there is a lot of running in “Disease,” mainly by the black-haired “matrix” Gaga (to use a term from The Substance).

It is this “real,” “core” self that is perpetually attacked by other, more hostile iterations of her personality. In this sense, too, Gaga doesn’t seem to have fully shed her “Lee Quinzel skin.” Which is perhaps why the next “milieu shift” out of the suburban exterior is in a dark indoor setting that looks like an “office-ified” version of Arkham (and also kind of like that office Billie Eilish is in for the “Birds of a Feather” video). Chained to a metal bar that runs across the room at almost ceiling length, the only thing that keeps Gaga from total wrist and arm torture is being able to step on another Gaga below her while Plague Gaga looks on from behind a glass window. As for the pair of Gagas she’s observing, the two are in the same “skivvies” getup and wig (one with blonde roots and black hair) as they get into a tussle with one another. Nothing Madonna didn’t already do in the 2002 video for “Die Another Day.”

In the next scene, Plague Gaga is in the car again in hot pursuit of Matrix Gaga, who realizes this bitch is trying to run her over (talking of Madonna, the A Functioning Gay Instagram account made a series of memes with various pop stars in cars during one of their music videos, cut in such a way so that it looked like they were the ones about to mow her down—obviously, Madonna in the “What It Feels Like For A Girl” video was the first slide among the many). Determined to “hit her mark,” Matrix Gaga is equally as determined to outrun this hostile version of herself. Alas, as Gaga also added to the above statement, “Dancing, morphing, running, purging. Again and again, back with myself. This integration is ultimately beautiful to me because it’s mine and I’ve learned to handle it.” In short, to “embrace her inner darkness.”

That much is effectively done with a scene of Plague Gaga in the middle of the suburban street dancing erratically (which has been her way in the past—namely, the circa The Fame and Born This Way eras that her “Little Monsters” idealize so much) as many fall leaves blow violently around her. Which, of course, is in keeping with the suburban aesthetic, what with gardeners and their leaf blowers being a staple of that environment. Her “willingness to look ugly” (even if in a still-manicured way) is also in keeping with the Harley Quinn school. Because the motto remains: “Cute but psycho, psycho but cute” (even if the cuteness isn’t always “coiffed”). And that Plague Gaga sort of is as she vomits black bile onto Matrix Gaga while the latter lies prostrate on the pavement in front of her.

Apparently, this grotesque gesture is all it takes for Matrix Gaga to fathom that Plague Gaga is not the enemy—she’s just the “slightly kooky” side of herself that she can’t suppress. Therefore, it’s better to treat that aspect of herself with kindness if they’re to inhabit the same headspace (even though that trick wouldn’t work at all if this were set in the Smile universe—and, speaking of, Gaga was the model for the Skye Riley [Naomi Scott] character in Smile 2).

The peace between the two is ephemeral, however, with Matrix Gaga suddenly running away from Plague Gaga again, only to end up trapped in the space between two houses that start closing in on her (relating to the claustrophobic feeling Gaga mentioned above). And as Matrix Gaga appears to accept being “stuck,” the final scene cuts to Plague Gaga strutting down the suburban street, her back to the camera—off to the next destination where she might torment someone from the inside. Harley Quinn, a former psychologist (before becoming more “patient material”), also knows the power of such mental warfare.

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Genna Rivieccio

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October 30, 2024
“Bongos”: The Bombastic Reunion of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion

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After just over three years of letting the dust settle on their wet ass pussies, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion have decided that the world is ready again to see them join (oh so powerful) forces. Enter the still sexual innuendo-laden (and just plain sexual) “Bongos.” Which picks up the tempo from “WAP” thanks to production from We Good, Breyan Isaac and DJ SwanQo, all of whom assist Cardi B in putting trap-rap, tropical influences (of both the Afro and Latin variety) and electro-hop into a blender and coming up with something that can best be described as “Thug Carmen Miranda” (which lives up to its implications far more than one of Lana Del Rey’s early nicknames: “Gangster Nancy Sinatra”).

To help cultivate that sound and image, Megan Thee Stallion, who Cardi B has officially described as her “work wife,” layers her own verses into the mix. Something Cardi B realized needed to happen after deeming the single “like a long ass song” (at a mere two minutes and fifty-five seconds; in other words: this is your perception of time on TikTok). Too long for “just” her verses alone. So it was that Cardi invited Megan to team up with her once more. And the result isn’t just a track that gets in your head perhaps even more than “WAP,” but also a video that greatly upstages it. That’s likely because the duo opted to replace Colin Tilley with Tanu Muino (who has also worked with Cardi on the video for Normani’s “Wild Side”) for the sumptuous, “resort-chic” visuals that pop out as much for their colors as the rampant booty-shaking. To match the chaotic rhythm of whoever’s chanting “bong-bong-bong-bong” (this being a parallel to the sample from Frank Ski’s “Whores in This House” in “WAP”), the video seems determined to be equally as frenetic.

In order to create that effect, Muino plays with sharp cuts and plenty of alternating angles to capture different vantage points of the over-the-top choreography set against a “tropical” (a.k.a. Malibu) backdrop. Considering Muino just directed the far more muted and staid “Attention” video for Doja Cat, “Bongos” must have felt like a feast for the eyes in comparison as Muino amplifies the color palettes (as she also did in the video for Elton John and Britney Spears’ “Hold Me Closer”) with her unique directorial prowess. This also materializes when one of the scenes cuts to Cardi in a new Magic Eye-inspired room wearing an ensemble that matches the background. In truth, it seems to be a slight homage to the scenes in the “WAP” video when Cardi and Megan appear in their own separate animal-print rooms to writhe around and deliver their verses with a leopard and white tiger respectively overseeing them.

Meanwhile, Cardi has found plenty of (non sequitur) opportunities for product placement by this time, already plugging Minute Maid Aguas Frescas and Smart Sweets Peach Rings to prove that, “Bitch, I look like money/You could print my face on a dollar.” After all, it’s as the internet says, “You’re not ugly, you’re just poor.” And lining up plenty of endorsement deals to stack more piles of cash is certain to help Cardi continue to cultivate “real hot girl shit” (to borrow Megan Thee Stallion’s catchphrase, which needless to say, is tossed around in the song). Surrounding herself with the same peacocking ilk in the video that Vibe has rightly called a “risqué Fanta commercial” (not to mention how it gives Miley Cyrus some competition on offering “endless summer vacation” motifs), the women in vibrant, multi-toned bathing suits parade themselves against an oceanic setting. Though, sadly, at no point does any image of a plum or nun appear to complement the lyrical gold that is, “Eat this ass like a plum/This pussy tight like a nun.”

Repeating “beat it up” (another nod to Cardi inisiting, “Beat it up, nigga/Catch a charge” in “WAP”) during the refrain as the words “bong-bong-bong-bong” keep swelling in the background, Cardi’s sassy bravado is matched by Megan coming in on her verse to rap, “This ass sit like the stallion/All these wannabes my lil’ ponies/These hoes camped out in the comments/Always talkin’ like they know me/Thick bitches in the black truck, packed in/Eat whoever in my way, Ms. Pacman/Hermès, made a real big purchase/Purse so big, had to treat it like a person.”

She keeps going after that, but it’s mostly about the usual flexes: having a fat ass and a lot of money. Indeed, what would any rap song be without some reinforcement of capitalism’s many glories? Thus, the reason why Cardi derides, “At least I’m gettin’ my money/Y’all hoes broke, pussy took more turns than a keyhole.” This after asserting, “I ain’t scared to admit I’m a freak ho” in honor of similar “WAP” language that goes, “Certified freak/Seven days a week.” With Thee Stallion also noting in their first collab together, “Your honor, I’m a freak bitch.” So yes, it’s comforting to know that, even after the passing of a few years, their freakdom appears to be going even stronger. Complete with their usual enjoyment of engaging in lascivious poses with one another to tease the notion of lesbianism that all cliche men (non-binary or otherwise) still get off on.

As the scenes start to escalate in their nonsensicality—presumably, for the sake of serving haute couture against decadent backdrops (as evident in a “Remember the Time”-esque moment Cardi and Megan have in an “Egyptian-themed” room together)—it starts to add up, cost-wise. Which is why viewers can take Cardi at her word when she says she spent two million dollars to produce it (still chump change compared to what Michael Jackson spent on “Remember the Time”). With many of those expenses spent on the security required to keep a lid on the collaboration (“‘…we hired about twenty guards, fifteen guards just guarding the whole area,’ she said. Cardi also explained they deployed geofencing which issues an alert when a mobile device enters a mapped, pre-established location. They also used special in-ears to avoid having to play the music out loud while Cardi, Megan and their crew of dancers filmed the scenes that incorporated choreography”).

Although the duo might have been able to keep the filming of their second single together a secret had they shot outside of the U.S., apparently hurricane season (now 24/7) made them “settle” for Malibu instead. But if it was good enough for Britney Spears’ “Sometimes” video, then surely it ought to be good enough for them. And, from the vibrant looks of it, it clearly is. Maybe even eye-catching enough to make people forget all about “WAP” (for a while anyway).

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Genna Rivieccio

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September 11, 2023
The Verve Wants Its Video Concept Back: Doja Cat’s “Attention”

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Never mind that Miley Cyrus not too long ago declared, “I need attention” on a song (and live album) titled, what else, “Attention”—Doja Cat has her own take on “the matter” that is attention craving (and despising). Treating the “monster” that is wanting—nay, needing—to be noticed like it’s a “thing” that has to be fed, Doja chants during her lulling chorus, “(Love me)/It needs, it seeks affection/(So sweet)/Hungry, it fiends attention/(Hungry)/It needs, it seeks affection/Hungry, it fiends.” In an age where everyone is compelled to engage in more absurd, potentially dangerous (to others and the self) behavior in order to gain attention on social media, that line hits especially hard. And, talking of “hard,” Doja’s entire aim with the rollout of her upcoming fourth record is to return to the so-called hardness that characterized the rap stylings of her first EP, Purrr!, and debut album, Amala.

Wanting to stray (no cat pun intended) away from what she’s deemed the “pink and soft things” and the “pop and glittery sounds” that punctuated the likes of Hot Pink and Planet Her, Doja establishes a tone of defiance with this Rogét Chahayed and Y2K-produced single. Claiming that she would “do no more pop” after securing the “cash grabs” furnished by her previous two records, the more “esoteric” nature of “Attention” is extremely deliberate. Nonetheless, her pivot toward something like an “anti-media” track is very much in the style of a pop star. Like, say, Britney Spears…who famously released the rumination on getting too much negative attention that is “Piece of Me” in 2007. In fact, the entire Blackout album was both a “fuck you” to the paparazzi that had made her life a waking nightmare and a total embracement of the “bad girl” image that the media wanted her to cater to, per their love of placing people on pedestals only to knock them down.

Prior to “Piece of Me,” Britney would also provide “My Prerogative” and “Do Somethin’” as singles tackling the topic of negative attention in 2004 (indeed, it’s a wonder that Spears never had a song called “Attention” herself). But one thing Brit didn’t address in these songs that Doja Cat does on “Attention” is that age-old question, “Ain’t the bad press good?” This erstwhile-adhered-to theory about how “there’s no such thing as bad press,” however, has very much fallen off in the wake of cancel culture. And Doja is no stranger to that “culture” for many reasons at this point—from being accused of condoning and promoting white supremacy to consistently collaborating with Dr. Luke (though she did announce she had no intention of working with him ever again back in 2021). In point of fact, all of her albums have been released through Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records imprint, thanks to Doja getting signed to the label after being connected to the Kesha-torturing producer through Yeti Beats. Which was, to be “fair,” the year before Kesha went public with her allegations. So how could Doja have known any better, right?

And yet, everyone who has continued to work with Dr. Luke post-Kesha revelation has only served to prove that women’s voices still aren’t heard. Worse still, no one wants to hear them. Especially if it means profit losses. And the partnership between Doja and Dr. Luke has been very profitable indeed—complete with several Grammy nominations for both. What’s more, even if she “doesn’t work with him” again, she’ll always technically be working with him so long as she releases music through Kemosabe. Which is exactly what she’s doing with her fourth record. Because why wouldn’t she? It’s not as though other artists are shy about continuing to share in song composing glory with him, including Kim Petras, who has been, worse still, ardently defensive in her choice to keep collaborating with him, stating, “I have nothing to say or be ashamed of at all” in a 2022 tweet. As if.

In any case, the point is that Doja has gotten all manner of negative attention not just in spite of but because of her success. That much is immediately addressed in the opening scenes of her “Attention” video, directed by Tanu Muino—who has been coming out with the most standout music videos in the game of late, including Lil Nas X’s “Montero,” Normani featuring Cardi B’s “Wild Side” and Elton and Britney’s “Hold Me Closer.” Yet, for as usually “unique” as Muino’s stylings are, there is a noticeable similarity to a certain signature 90s video in “Attention.” One that doesn’t come across right away as Doja starts off driving through Downtown LA as a slew of onlookers equipped with warped faces (much like the ones Madonna encounters in “Drowned World/Substitute For Love”) clamor around her. Staring out the window of her car as she drives slowly past them to lap up the old school paparazzi flashbulbs (acting as though it’s still TMZ’s peak era of 00s paparazzi stalking, despite flashbulbs having long ago gone the way of the dodo at that point, too), Doja croons the eerie chorus.

For a meta effect, the car she’s driving suddenly encounters another Doja Cat entering the crosswalk as she gives “Car Doja” a venomous “I’m walkin’ here” type of look. It’s then that we veer into the territory of a fairly direct ripoff of what The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft did in 1997’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” video (itself something of an offshoot of Massive Attack’s “Unfinished Sympathy” concept). Except that Doja, instead of using London’s Hoxton Street, wields the streets of DTLA (near the Los Angeles Theater) to fade into the “crowd” as she also bumps into it (granted, not as bombastically as Ashcroft). After Doja rails against her proverbial haters throughout this scene (hence, bumping into the various passersby who have disgusted looks on their faces as they take note of her presence), Muino pans over and up to the “stars” (as if L.A. has any of those) in the night sky and transitions into a scene of Doja looking as though she’s beneath water. Bedecked in plenty of neck jewelry, it’s the only thing to distract from her torso’s nudity, which speaks to the line, “Look at me, look at me, I’m naked/Vulnerability earned me a lot of bacon.”

Except that Doja isn’t entirely naked, wearing a thong to further highlight a lyric like, “I put a thong all in my ass and taught you how to shake it.” Not exactly true—for there have been so many women, Black and otherwise, before Doja who have shown us all how to shake our asses, albeit for much less cash. Alas, Doja is clearly not in the mood to be modest about what she’s “accomplished,” also rapping, “Man, I been humble, I’m tired of all the deprecation/Just let me flex, bruh, just let me pop shit.” An interesting choice, that word: “pop.” Considering how much she presently hates it due to the musical genre association. But, despite making pop music her bitch (again, thanks in part to Dr. Luke), Doja is determined to return to her “rap roots.” Even if they were never as strong as the ones her idol, Nicki Minaj, has. To that end, Minaj, too, is no stranger to expressing her frustrations with being deemed somehow “less relevant” in the rap realm just because she’s excelled in pop (an issue that came to roost with the Grammy nominations last year).

Regardless of that success, as Doja once forewarned on her first EP via “Beautiful,” “Even if you think you know me/A woman changes with the seasons.” And this is the season of the Attention Whore (also, incidentally, the name of a Tove Lo track), as Doja, during those “underwater-esque” scenes, proceeds to exude orgasm-like ecstasy while words such as “Love Me” and “Hungry” flash on the screen in red. Muino then takes us back onto the streets of L.A. with Doja “attired” in her version of a Scarlet Witch “ensemble” (that looks mostly like body paint…and yes, somewhat echoes her red body paint aesthetic for Schiaparelli’s haute couture show in Paris earlier this year). Things continue to get more surreal as she walks down the street again while the passersby this time around appear to be wearing what amount to “flesh masks.”

Eventually, she peers into the window of a car (almost like Vivian Ward might) as though looking for herself in the driver’s seat again. Instead, all she sees is her own reflection before Muino takes us out of Downtown LA and onto the 4th Street Bridge where Doja can see the skyline of Downtown from her new perch. Soon, she seems to transform into the very “it” she keeps referring to when it comes to feeding the “attention beast” as her nipples flash a neon alien green while she stands against a floodlight type of backdrop.

In the final frame, the circular flashbulb that keeps “subliminally” appearing in various scenes shows up again more prominently, looking like both a flashbulb and a human eye itself. With oh so many eyes watching Doja by now and giving her the attention she simultaneously loves and loathes. As is the case with most famous people after a certain point in their careers.

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Genna Rivieccio

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June 16, 2023