Editorials
good kid, m.A.A.d city at 10: How Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools” Helped Me Get Over My Own Toxic Relationship
Great albums are about more than the music. When they really hit, just mentioning their names evokes memories and elicits “Remember when…” conversations. good kid, m.A.A.d city — released on October 22nd, 2012 — is one of those albums, which is why its 10-year anniversary is a very big deal. Kendrick Lamar became a household name on the strength of everything he did on this album, while possibly becoming the voice of a generation at the same time. He got into our bloodstreams through touching topics that meant a lot to him, while hoping we related. I related in a way I never predicted and 10 years later, I understand how important just one song was because it truly changed my world in a way no piece of music ever has nor probably ever will. Addiction sucks. I’m pretty sure I’m not blowing ...
Clerks III Is an Invitation Inside Kevin Smith’s Heart
Kevin Smith’s best films have always been his smallest and most personal works; as a filmmaker, his legacy is a fascinating one, as his attempts at more mainstream Hollywood flicks have never been as creatively successful as the films he increasingly makes specifically for his loyal fanbase. This comes out specifically in the Clerks series, which Smith seems to use as a way of processing big turning points in his life: The original Clerks, of course, was all about the malaise of being in your 20s and not being sure about what to do with your life (its success solving that latter problem for Smith, at least initially). Clerks II, arriving during the middle portion of Smith’s career, focuses a lot on what it means to settle down, get married, start a family, and embrace what you love doing, ...
Fan Chant: A Stray Kids MAXIDENT Breakdown and Beyond
Welcome to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Each week, I’ll be rolling out interviews, lists, and all kinds of content to keep you in the loop on the latest and greatest from our friends in Seoul and beyond. Also, make sure to subscribe to my companion newsletter! It’s been a busy past week for STAY, as Stray Kids dropped their latest mini-album, MAXIDENT, and plenty of content has been rolling out around the eight-piece act. This, of course, includes our own interview with the group — in case you missed it, I sat down with Stray Kids recently to chat about the album, their ongoing world tour, and how they’ve been filling their time lately. You can find the full interview here! This is the second time I’ve had the joy of speaking with Stray Kids (wa...
A Love Letter to Derry Girls, the Show That Reminds Us Why Life’s Worth Living
Deep in the endless scroll of Netflix’s catalog, there exists a tiny little show called Derry Girls. It felt like something of an outlier when I discovered it in the fall of 2019 — just two seasons of six, twenty-minute episodes each — but I pressed play out of sheer curiosity. You know, the kind of curiosity that hits you when you’ve run out of anything to watch and decide on a whim to start something entirely new and entirely original. Set in the town of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Derry Girls debuted in 2018 and tells the story of a group of teenagers coming of age in the 1990s. And yet it almost feels disrespectful to parse this lovely, little show down to a simple logline. Because at its heart, it’s so much more than that. I fell in love with the world of Derry Girls almost instant...
Fan Chant: The Perfect Fall Playlist, A Teaser for Minho of SHINee’s New K-Drama, and More
Welcome to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Each week, I’ll be rolling out interviews, lists, and all kinds of content to keep you in the loop on the latest and greatest from our friends in Seoul and beyond. Also, make sure to subscribe to my companion newsletter! Friends, autumn is officially upon us. I know it’s been appropriately gloomy in NYC and dreamy as ever in Los Angeles, but here in Nashville (America’s former “It” city, if you will), I’m happy to say that we do get a truly lovely fall season. I have so many K-pop songs I tend to associate with summer — TWICE’s “Alcohol-Free” and ATEEZ’s “Wave,” for example — but it’s time for a shakeup on the local Spotify. Taylor Swift’s folklore and evermore are honestly the heaviest in my personal rotation ...
2022’s Biggest Fantasy Shows Are Struggling With Sex and Romance
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon, Season 1 Episode 7, “Driftmark,” and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Season 1 Episode 6, “Udûn.”] This week, the newest episode of House of the Dragon picked up some backlash this week, after viewers of the Game of Thrones prequel series complained that a few key scenes were so darkly lit, with so little contrast, that they were nearly impossible to watch on many screens. Speaking for myself, I initially did struggle to watch that scene, but the low lighting was perhaps a blessing. Because otherwise, my throat might have gone hoarse yelling “That’s your uncle!” at the television. Advertisement Right now, we technically have an embarrassment of riches to enjoy when it comes to fantasy television, with Dragon...
Liz Shannon Miller’s Favorite TV Shows of the Last 15 Years
It’s Consequence’s 15th anniversary, and all September long we’ll be publishing a series of retrospective pieces encompassing our publication’s own history — and the entertainment landscape in general. Today, Senior Entertainment Editor Liz Shannon Miller runs down her favorite television shows of the last 15 years. I enjoy all forms of entertainment, but my first love was television, a medium I became obsessed with back in the days when there were no DVRs, no streaming services, no DVD box sets — just your butt in front of a TV tuned to the right channel at the right time. Stressful, but also magical in its own way. It’s a good thing watching television has gotten a lot easier in the 21st century, because there is now a lot more than there used to be. Thus, when faced with this assig...
Clint Worthington’s Favorite Films of the Last 15 Years
It’s Consequence’s 15th anniversary, and all September long we’ll be publishing a series of retrospective pieces encompassing our publication’s own history — and the entertainment landscape in general. Today, Senior Writer Clint Worthington runs down his favorite movies of the last 15 years. As I write this, it’s the day after my seven-year anniversary of writing for Consequence. That’s nearly half of its 15-year existence, spanning hundreds of reviews, interviews, features, news items, listicles, rankings, and scores of other pieces. Film critics age in dog years; every year feels like seven. There’s always more to watch — something new to evaluate, something old to celebrate. I have a great deal of affection for this place, even as editors, managers, and fellow writers come and go w...
Wren Graves’ Favorite Songs of the Last 15 Years
It’s Consequence’s 15th anniversary, and all September long we’ll be publishing retrospective pieces informed by our publication’s own history — and the entertainment landscape in general. Today, News Editor Wren Graves runs down his favorite tracks of the last 15 years. A good song is a good song, but a favorite song is a moment in time: The number one track on a cross-country road trip; the first dance at a wedding; the long hospital playlist that still didn’t cover 19 hours in labor. I’ve changed a lot over the last 15 years, and music has been there every step of the way, melody and memory hand in hand. Critics sometimes put on a mask of objectivity, but I can’t pretend that this collection of songs has anything to do with words like “greatest” or “best.” As someone who lives thei...
Awards Are Bullshit, But It Would Still Be Nice If Better Call Saul Could Win Some
After last night’s Emmy Awards ceremony, Better Call Saul can lay claim to a remarkable achievement: 46 Emmy nominations and zero wins over the course of its six-season run. Forty. Six. Forty-six chances to recognize one of the best shows on television for its remarkable achievements, and 46 failures to do so. It feels mean to keep harping on that number, but 46 is staggering. This TVLine list showcases 25 great shows that also never won an Emmy, but most of the shows on that list only received a few token nods during their run — they weren’t playing the game as hard as Saul has done over the past six years. And yet 46 losses. It’s a lot! Upon its initial premiere, the genre-defying crime drama may have been an immediate part of the Emmys race as a spinoff of Breaking Bad, which had a much...
How Do We Reckon with Great Music by Terrible People?
It’s Consequence’s 15th anniversary, and all September long we’ll be publishing a series of retrospective pieces encompassing our publication’s own history — and the entertainment landscape in general. Today, we’re opening up a discussion about how we decide to cover artists and their music — or not — when it all goes wrong. When it comes to language around acceptable behavior, there’s a tendency towards binary thinking, as if breaking a taboo were the same as flipping a switch — “yes” to “no,” “politically correct,” to “politically incorrect,” “uncanceled” to “canceled.” But that’s not exactly what happens. Let’s say, for example, that a great songwriter — a songwriter we all love — has been accused of something that a lot of people think is terrible. It could be violence or prejudic...
2022 Emmys Predictions: Our Best Guesses As to Who Will Win Big This Year
Like all awards ceremonies, every year the Emmys recognize a wide range of inspiring, hilarious, complex, and/or heartbreaking shows and performances in its nominations, and like all awards ceremonies, the actual winners sometimes feel a little disappointing, if only because the winner was the predictable choice. So, in that spirit, here is a humble effort to try to guess what and who the TV Academy will choose to recognize this Monday, when the 74th annual Emmy Awards are handed out. One word to describe the predictions below? Pragmatic is probably the most politically correct term to use. For, sometimes the Emmys can be truly exciting and innovative in their winners, but other times, the awards basically go to the same three shows. Advertisement These picks aren’t as single-minded as tha...
