I have to admit that I have zero background with Miley Cyrus before the last few years because I was too old to watch Hannah Montana and didn't yet have kids to have her fit into that sweet spot of cultural recognition. That being said, I have been following her fairly closely in the last few years as she seems to be breaking free of the "Disney Child Star" persona and into her own woman (for better or for worse). Most recently, she's had some sultry singles, really done a bit of "try too hard" on her first single, We Can't Stop from her new album, and as of early September, she's released her next video single for her song Wreckingball.
Here's the NSFW video in all its glory:
I know that lots of people are going to be up in arms about this one, but try looking at it from a different perspective — this isn't any less risque than something that P!nk would do, or Beyonce or any other pop starlet today. Miley Cyrus is now a (young) adult and a lot of the online flames are being fanned by people who remember her as Hannah Montana.
While I don't particularly like the song, and I find director Terry Richardson to mostly be a letch, I think that getting all "how skanky" or "trashy" or whatever other shaming words are going around in response to this video are just silly/over the top.
I'm not about to get all, "Leave Miley Alone" here, but I remember what I was like in my early 20s, and if I had the money and musical backers that Miley has, I would have probably done a lot worse.
A lot.
And I bet dollars to doughnuts that those of you with kids who grew up with Hannah Montana have kids that are growing up, too. Maybe it's the fear of our own kids becoming adults and doing cringeworthy things that have some people shouting out against Miley? The song itself sounds like she's gone through/going through a bit of a rough patch/break up with Liam Hemsworth, and I'm actually surprised at how articulate she sounds (I know its writers).
I think that maybe we all need to just let pop singers be pop singers and appreciate the fact that Miley Cyrus is officially a grownup now, and if she's left Disney behind, maybe we need to, too.
And if you want something interesting and fantastic to talk about, Arcade Fire also released a new video on the same day, and it's something pretty remarkable (and might have David Bowie singing backing vocals — you be the judge — https://www.justareflektor.com/)
So, spill it! What do you think of Miley's new video?
In Style is reporting this week that Gwen Stefani is pregnant with her 3rd child. A few years ago, she alluded to a possible miscarriage and how she wanted a third child, but was happy to have what she did and if it wasn't going to happen, then so be it. But, news today is that she's about to give Kingston and Zuma a baby brother or sister early next year. Stefani and her husband, rocker Gavin Rossdale are both in their 40s (she's 43, he's 47). If she is pregnant, she will be the second celebrity this year to announce a pregnancy in her 40s (Halle Berry is due before the close of 2013). But these two aren't the only Hollywood women who opted to have children over 40, so I wonder, is this a growing trend?
Tina Fey had her second daughter, Penelope at 41, and Mariah Carey had twins with her husband Nick Cannon at 42. Mira Sorvino had a baby at 44 and Uma Thurman recently gave birth at 41. So, what gives? I'm 34 and would like another baby in the next few years, but the idea of a third baby over 40 sort of terrifies me. I'm tired and achy now, so what would my body do at 44?
Madonna didn't have her first child until she was 38, and her second at 42! Is this a career thing? I wonder if it's the Hollywood machine being so interested in youth and beauty that's pushing celeb moms to have kids in their late thirties and up to their mid forties. So I'm curious, Yummy Mummies: When did you have your kids? Those of you who had kids over 40 — could you tell me the circumstances?
I find the whole thing fascinating and am interested to see if this"trend" will continue.
So, spill it! What do you think of the 40 is the new 30 trend for babies in Hollywood?
So, this has been a big year of firsts for us. I took Henry to his first live theatre, his first movie, and we, as a family, went to Riot Fest a few weeks ago in Toronto. This was a two-day, outdoor festival. Matt's favourite (and one of my faves) band, (Iggy and) The Stooges played, and we thought it would be a really fun event for our whole family. And as my friends know, I'm a serious planner, so I didn't take this outing lightly. I needed to talk to someone with experience, so I had a chat with Lauren Moses-Brettler, partner of Toronto's Polaris Prize winning Fucked Up's lead singer Damian and mum to two gorgeous boys. Lauren, upon having the couple's first son, found that there wasn't really anything on the market in Toronto in the way of ear protection for babies/toddlers, and she now sells noise-cancelling headphones for that reason. We purchased two pairs from her, and prepared for the kids first show.
One of my biggest concerns, I have to admit, was what other patrons at the shows might think. I remember seeing a 9-10 year old kid in 2010 at a punk show (Cro-Mags for anyone who cares) and thinking, 'that dad is the best dad that ever dad-ed." Lots of other people were whispering and pointing and saying stuff like, "Why would anyone bring their kid to a show like this?" And, "UGH! I DON'T NEED TO SEE A KID HERE, I'M TRYING TO DRINK THIS BEER!" Lauren agreed with this challenge, but made a great point of telling me that while many places aren't exactly kid-friendly, she thinks (and I agree) that it's important to expose our kids to all sorts of culture at all sorts of ages.
When I asked how to prepare, one of the things that really stuck out for me is that Lauren and Daiman DO bring a stroller often to shows. I thought it would be a real pain in the butt, but as she said, "... in general I think bringing a stroller is handy even only for a holding place for all the many baby/kid things you need to bring along!" With two kids, one who gets tired awfully quickly these days, we decided there would be no harm in bringing the stroller to our first outing, so that was my first check mark. She also noted to, "bring the usual things" that one would bring out and about with kids. But of course, the biggest thing was ear protection. Since Lauren had already helped me out on that front, she gave me the best advice, "RELAX...I didn't have kids to leave them at home all the time!"
Such sage advice, I have to admit. We ended up having an AMAZING time at the show, and Henry ended up stripping next to naked, running around with a foam hand and sitting with some older "kids" (twentysomethings). He also got to have French fries and ice cream for dinner and danced until the sun went down. Lauchie mostly slept, nursed, and pooped, so, you know, he didn't hate it. Best lesson learned from this outing, besides all the amazing stuff Lauren told me, has to be this one:
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TAKE YOUR CHILDREN TO CONCERTS/ART GALLERIES/THEATRE/CULTURAL EVENTS.
If you are afraid, you may miss out on amazing memories, and things you actually want to do.
So, spill it! Would you or have you ever taken your kids to live shows for "adults?"
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