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Jon Stewart Defends Democrats Holding The Line In Government Shutdown
TV & Streaming

Jon Stewart Defends Democrats Holding The Line In Government Shutdown

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Day six of the government shutdown and The Daily Show host Jon Stewart is defending Democrats‘ decision to not capitulate to Senate demands.

“Those bastards! It’s like they don’t even want people to die of generally preventable diseases,” he quipped. “I wonder what this seemingly reasonable and narrow request will sound like when put through the Fox-o-meter.”

The mandates, which include extending Obamacare subsidies and reversing Medicaid cuts, were described by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) on Fox Business as “healthcare for illegals, transgender surgery,” with Stewart admonishing that the trans community isn’t a “garnish you add on every talking point like you’re some transgender salt bae.”

Referencing president Donald Trump’s threats to cut Democratic priority programs and make additional federal firings, Stewart said, “So the trap is, if the Democrats shut down the government, Donald Trump takes advantage of the situation and begins to — I don’t know — trim programs Democrats care about, or maybe Donald Trump might let go of some federal workers, or Donald Trump might eliminate funding, only for blue states, or Donald Trump might fucking send in the National Guard but only into blue areas. In other words, to continue doing all this shit Trump has not needed any provocation or pretense or reason to already have been doing. Lo these past, God, it feels like fucking 80 years.”

Stewart then addressed a clip of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who told reporters the POTUS “takes no pleasure” in the government shutdown.

“The president takes no pleasure in this? The president takes only pleasure,” Stewart maintained. “Given the president’s vascular condition, this might be the only thing keeping him hard, I swear to you. His catchphrase was literally, ‘You’re fired.’ His only reason for getting up in the morning is vengeance.”

The political comic continued, lobbing a punch at ICE: “Suddenly, a small ask for people’s preservation of healthcare is a Molotov cocktail. Because, apparently, Republicans won’t be satisfied with 99.8% domination, they must have it all. ICE went from deporting the worst-of-the-worst to throwing grandmothers onto linoleum and zip-tying American children, and everyone’s just supposed to be cool with the new masked, incredibly well-funded paramilitary group.”

He added, referencing Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem being blocked from entering a building in Illinois to use the bathroom: “And Democrats are just reduced to petty gestures of restroom resistance.”

Stewart concluded, “Look, I’ve given Democrats an enormous amount of shit for their poor leadership: lack of specific and actionable plans, terrible messaging, abysmal wordplay. Did I mention poor leadership? But standing up for 75 million Americans in this moment to defend the rights of people to go into a little less medical debt seems like the least they can fucking do.”

Watch the episode below:

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Miraki Jewels: A Jewelry Line With Fully Customizable Designs
Fashion

Miraki Jewels: A Jewelry Line With Fully Customizable Designs

by jummy84
written by jummy84


Brand Bio is Fashionista’s guide to the best independent fashion and beauty brands — a resource for retailers, job seekers, B2B companies and consumers alike. If you’d like your brand to be featured, fill out this form. Miraki JewelsHeadquarters: New York, NYE-commerce: mirakijewels.comSocial …

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bitchy | Prince William’s ‘red line’: ‘No royal should grant Harry the legitimacy of a meeting’
Celebrity News

bitchy | Prince William’s ‘red line’: ‘No royal should grant Harry the legitimacy of a meeting’

by jummy84
written by jummy84

This week, the Prince and Princess of Wales visited Southport for only the second time following the deadly stabbing attack on a children’s dance class in July 2024. That was William and Kate’s only public event this week – right after the Southport visit, William flew to Scotland to spend a few days with his father at Balmoral. The Telegraph said that Kate stayed behind in Windsor with the kids and the beloved school run. What’s interesting about William’s trip to Balmoral is apparently this is the second or third time he and his father have done this in the early autumn – sources now claim that it’s an annual thing for William and Charles to have private time at the tailend of Charles’s Scottish summer holiday. I’m not sure I believe that, but it’s fascinating to see that story pushed to the Sun, Telegraph and Daily Mail. Someone else not buying any of this? Tom Sykes, writing in his Royalist Substack. Some highlights:

The palace narrative: Palace spinners are in overdrive. Smarting at suggestions by The Royalist that King Charles and Prince William are at loggerheads—first reported here but now gaining traction in the broader media—the court has moved to project an image of father–son harmony, briefing the Telegraph that the two men are enjoying a “mini-break” in Scotland, set aside for “informal” chats as sovereign and heir.

The Royalist isn’t buying it: I can’t be alone in thinking that such a transparent attempt to show unity is arguably worse than none at all, as it only serves to highlight the fractures it seeks to conceal. I mean, it is hardly a secret, thanks to their actions, that far from being aligned, Charles and William are bitterly divided on the two poorly handled issues that have come to define this reign: Andrew and Harry.

William & Charles can’t agree on the Yorks: Allies justify Charles’ hopeless vacillation on the grounds of Christian teaching, filial loyalty to the late Queen’s indulgence, and even the bizarre notion that Andrew “can’t be stopped going to church.” William, by contrast, sees only weakness and naïveté on the part of his father. His line is hard and clear: Andrew should be cut off entirely, never again should he be in the monarch’s presence.

William thinks Charles is making the same mistake with Harry! He fears the same mistake is now being made with Harry. Two weeks ago, Charles invited Harry to tea and chocolate cake. Harry’s team immediately began briefing that he intended to spend more time in the U.K. William’s nightmare is that his father’s innocent, private gestures will morph into public endorsements—culminating, perhaps, in Charles appearing alongside Harry at the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham.

Whether Charles & William are actually spending time together: The questions I’ll be looking to my sources to answer in the days ahead about this Balmoral retreat are simple: did William stay with his father at Birkhall, or apart at the castle, eight miles away? How much real time did they spend together? And was anything said, or resolved, about Harry? (We must assume William and the other adults will now prevail on the Andrew issue). What emerges about Invictus will be crucial. If Charles’ team begins suggesting he will attend while William pointedly says he will stay away, the break will become undeniable. William does not seek to stop his father reconciling with Harry privately, but he is determined to block any public rapprochement that might be the thin end of the wedge. Many courtiers agree; as one sniffed to the Mail, Harry’s team are “mistaking tea and cake for the Treaty of Versailles.”

William is still panicked about Harry: William’s red line is clear: no royal should grant Harry the legitimacy of a meeting or photograph after Spare and Netflix. Charles, by contrast, is tempted by affection for his “darling boy” and fear of appearing heartless in the shadow of his illness. William is guided not just by personal grievance but by public opinion, which is firmly against a reunion. He was right about Andrew, his friends say, and he is right about Harry. I actually think he is right as well. You can’t let people say things like that about you or your wife. William’s friends are blunt. He sees the danger in a way his father does not. Charles, ever the conciliator, believes he is embodying forgiveness. In fact, he is gambling the monarchy’s reputation on a distinction—the private family versus the public institution—that the public, by and large, refuses to make.

The background: Harry was Charles’s favorite. William thinks Charles’ monarchy is pompous and out of touch—too much ermine, too many uniforms. Charles believes his son shirks duty by putting family ahead of the job. When William hesitated to attend the Pope’s funeral because it clashed with an Aston Villa match, Charles was aghast. When William declined to mark VJ Day, courtiers were dismayed. Charles sees tradition; William sees absurd Edwardian relics. All this unfolds against the backdrop of Charles’ illness. Since he disclosed his cancer, insiders have quietly accepted that William’s reign has already begun in all but name. That makes every fracture more dangerous. William’s authority grows daily, while Charles’ ebbs away. Aligning against the heir would be folly.

[From The Royalist Substack]

Someone in the comments of an earlier post suggested that William’s trip to Scotland was less about crisis management and more about William getting in one last hunting trip. After all, Charles has apparently ceded control of organizing royal shooting parties to Peg. It would be very funny if that’s all this was, and William and Charles barely spoke. It’s always seemed to me like Charles and William are actually fine with not speaking to each other directly, and merely communicating through courtiers and the media. If you look at it that way, the past week’s stories make more sense. William didn’t rush up to Balmoral to have urgent one-on-one meetings with his father. Why would he, when he can just order his courtiers to brief the Mail and other outlets, all to try to control and contain the narrative. I 100% believe the “back-and-forth” between unnamed sources about Harry’s desire to “come back” was entirely Kensington Palace trying to make it look like Harry was briefing about the meeting with his dad. Also: I guarantee that the Invictus Games are too far off for all of this hand-wringing.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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The Starting Line. (Credit: Lupe Bustos)
Music

The Eternal Youth of the Starting Line

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Ken Vasoli connects with Taijuan Walker.

A lot of Phillies fans, including plenty in the crowd around us at Citizens Bank Park, don’t have much faith in him as one of the starting pitchers in a team with World Series aspirations in the business end of the season. Walker’s having a tough night so far. It’s the first inning and he’s already given up three runs, and he doesn’t seem to be in control.

Vasoli, though, isn’t worried. Taijuan Walker is a man after his own heart, he feels.

“He’s an underdog,” he says over the crowd noise. We love an underdog.

Walker escapes the inning to smatterings of equal parts relieved (or sarcastic) applause and dissatisfied grumbles. Sitting just a few rows off the field at Citizens Bank Park, though, Vasoli eagerly applauds Walker with each pitch, hoping his enthusiasm cuts through the tens of thousands of other fans who aren’t so impressed with the start to Walker’s evening. We’re sitting close enough that Walker might actually hear us, and Vasoli is genuine in his pursuit to gas him up before he comes back out for the second. Maybe it’s the frontman gene. He sees Walker is losing the crowd and comes to the rescue.

He’s all in on baseball these days. He’s been shown the light by his Starting Line bandmate of more than two decades, keyboardist Brian Schmutz. Schmutz, stoically analyzing the early innings, is a long-time dedicated baseball fan—the kind who dives into stats and says things like, “He dominates lefties” seconds before a big hit off a lefty. Dude knows the game. 

They’ve even been going to some games on off days during the tour, but they agree that the crack of the bat and pop of the catcher’s mitt hit different when you’re sitting this close. We joke about ways they can incorporate baseball into their live show. As Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott comes up to the plate, we discuss the merits of his walk-up song, “AOK” by Tai Verdes, which is now a cherished group sing-along moment for the crowd. We decide it’s a song we’d never choose to listen to on its own, but in this context, surrounded by this much excitement, it rocks. The topic of walk-up music comes up, and we consider what we’d use for ourselves. I remind them that they already do get walk-up music every night when they take the stage. I’m the only one who has to pretend here.

Ken Vasoli of the Starting Line. (Credit:Lupe Bustos)Ken Vasoli of the Starting Line. (Credit:Lupe Bustos)
Ken Vasoli of the Starting Line. (Credit: Lupe Bustos)

I ask them both, as guys in their 40s, whether sports fandom makes them feel old—-like when announcers say things about how a guy in his early-to-mid 30s is on the other side of his career. Maybe he has one more big contract in him, or maybe his speed or strength has left him and he’ll soon be put out to pasture.

Vasoli says no. Instead, he looks at guys like Phillies 40-year-old relief pitcher David Robertson for inspiration, once again finding parallels to his own life in this team’s bullpen.

There’s no age limit to chasing your dreams and achieving greatness, Vasoli believes.

Vasoli and the Starting Line believe in Eternal Youth.

Pop punk is not a genre that lends itself to growing up. It’s a world of arrested development. And, even as the fans and bands do age with time, the genre’s money-making apparatus is hellbent on selling the ideal past, the beautiful halcyon years, through things like nostalgia festivals and anniversary tours, freezing us all in a place in time, begging us to forget our wrinkles and graying hair and aching backs. 

With Eternal Youth, the Starting Line’s first album in almost two decades, the band is firmly looking toward the future rather than its past.

This is something of a novelty in their genre. The relatively few bands that have decades-long careers in pop punk or emo often return to the same wells of inspiration that they did as teenagers, to severely diminishing returns. It’s just not the same to hear a guy sing about getting out of this town for that long, to say nothing about grown men singing about puppy love into their 40s.

There are a few reasons why the album escapes the pitfalls that so many of the Starting Line’s contemporaries fell into. Perhaps at the top of the list is the fact that the Starting Line weren’t itching for any attention. Nor were they insecure about their profile in the scene or whatever disappearing if they weren’t constantly putting out albums on a steady clip. In fact, they were pretty sure they were done putting out albums altogether.

“We kind of had a master plan to ride off into the sunset doing more 7-inchess, maybe three, four songs at a time, ’cause it seemed like an attainable goal,” Vasoli says. “If people were going to be holding down jobs in the in-between, it seemed like a realistic way to approach it.”

(Credit: Lupe Bustos)

The Starting Line hasn’t put out a full-length album since 2007’s Direction. 2007 was a very different time for the genre and for the members of the band. They were younger, the industry hadn’t been fully nuked by the streaming era (and the Napster days seem quaint to think about now), Warped Tour was still going strong, the entire marketing of an album was miles away from what it is now, and cellphones looked different. But the band hadn’t gone fully dormant in the interim. They still played live regularly, including their annual holiday show, usually in Philly.

They still played together, they still wrote songs, and they still felt the urge to release them in some way. The plan just didn’t include an album at the time.

“We were talking to people, and in a conversation with a guy who turned out to be our current manager, I kind of told him the plan about the 7-inches,” Vasoli remembers. “He said simply, ‘You can do that, and I think you should do that if you want to, but you’re going to have a better chance of people hearing your music if you make a full length,’ which was really sound advice to me.”

Vasoli, still, was a little hesitant, given the fact that he’s been in this world for so long and has seen both his contemporaries and his heroes fall flat on late-career albums, especially ones that came after a lengthy hiatus.

“When I expressed to our now-manager, Tim, that I was hesitant to make a full length because I was scared it was going to be an effort of diminishing returns, because a lot of the bands that came from our era that are putting out some records in this day and age and are coming back to it, I’ve been a little let down personally as a fan,” Vasoli says. “I didn’t want to fall into that. I didn’t want to tarnish our reputation by doing something like that. I also was ultimately scared people didn’t care. People wouldn’t have interest in it.”

I offer that their year-after-year performances to large crowds at their holiday show is a good enough indicator. He tells me that their manager chose his words differently when it came time to light a fire under the band.

“He just said one sentence: ‘I think that’s your insecurity talking,’” Vasoli says. “And that was a big thing for me to have a mirror to. Yeah, it probably is just insecurity.”

(Credit: Lupe Bustos)

Vasoli pauses as Walker gives up a home run. The vibes at Citizens Bank Park on this absolutely beautiful early September evening are turning putrid. It’s not even just boos, it’s the quiet that gets you more than anything. A stadium known for being a deafening fortress shouldn’t be this quiet. The city known for its appreciation for the underdog isn’t doing a lot of appreciating at the moment. 

“It’s not too dissimilar to how yesterday’s started,” Vasoli says, referencing the night prior when the Phils came back from an early 4-0 deficit to the dreaded, evil, pathetic New York Mets. “It’s gonna be OK.” 

That last line sounds like he’s talking about the mental hurdles he and the band had to overcome to decide on releasing their new music as an album rather than EP drops here and there. It made for a perfect segue that I’m not sure he made consciously.

“It was reverse psychology when he said that,” Vasoli says. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m as secure as they come. I know that I can write the best songs that I can now more than ever. I feel like I have experience on my side.’ […] That one sentence really blew my mind. A big thing is knowing bedside manner and how to talk to me, and how to talk me into things. And that’s a good way to do it, just call me insecure. That’ll be a good way to get an album out of me.”

Schmutz chimes in that they felt like they could stand up to the challenge of creating something larger than they originally planned on. The process went from scary to exciting, now buoyed by their own experience and trust in each other. Also, there was a wealth of new influences to draw from in the greater punk rock ecosystem since their last record came out. 

Songs like “Blame” show the influence of albums like Hyperview by Title Fight, whom Vasoli cites directly as a band that really blew up during TSL’s hiatus that he now has the fortune of using for his own inspiration. “Blame” is a rush of driving eighth note downstrokes and screams, with Vasoli pushing his vocal chords to their brutal, exasperated limits in the moment, but with pretty twinkles of Schmutz’s keys weaving in with the distortion. To use a word I’d sworn I’d never use in music writing, it’s pretty lush.

That one gives way to the danceable second single “Circulate,” name-dropping bands like Murphy’s Law, and after a few stutter steps of a pre-chorus and subtle layering, “Circulate” opens up to one of the album’s most gratifying moments. With each lap around the verse and chorus, the song learns and improves upon itself until the free-for-all bridge and final chorus, which by now we’re all screaming and drumming along, even if we’re just on the bus. 

And with its shimmering bass groove, the title track feels like it could be an adaptation of something Vasoli came up with while working on his Vacationer indie-poppier project, which he did during the Starting Line’s quieter years, giving his ears and brain a break from punk in favor of often headier genres like jazz.

Then, just when you think you’re in for a slow dance for “Curveball,” the track makes good on its name and ends with a very mosh-pit ready double-time crescendo. 

Eternal Youth, as an album from a band that has been around for a long time, has a lot of dignity to it. It’s loud when it needs to be loud, it’s reflective when it needs to be reflective. It doesn’t simply rehash or re-establish the band’s presence. It pushes the genre into where it seems like it should go in 2025. Eternal Youth shows what a punk band of any age or pedigree can do with a clear vision and the confidence to swing away.

Most importantly, it’s not cringe.

“I think the easiest way to answer that is that we have a philosophy, whether it’s spoken or not, where we just try to avoid anything cringe and anything embarrassing within the band,” Vasoli says. “I think that’s an overall mission statement for the band: Try not to embarrass ourselves, try not to embarrass the band. And I think a large part of acting your age when making music is to not revert back to movements that you made when you made the first record.”

It’s an album made by men of a certain age for men of a certain age, to some extent. And it was an album made without the imposing presence of any major label pushing the songwriting in any particular direction, having been through the Geffen and Virgin Records ringers.

Now with a smaller operation from the business perspective but with the ironclad trust of it being the same gang it’s always been from the music perspective, the band relied on their own tastes and instincts. If it was good enough for them, it was good enough.

“I think just trusting in ourselves to make a record that we’ll like ourselves—that’s really what it is—-if the five of us like it,” Schmutz says. “We can be our own gatekeepers on ideas and stuff. If it gets through the five of us, it must be pretty fucking good.”

They certainly feel that it is, in fact, pretty fucking good. It fits in snugly with the other more commercial and trendy punk rock of today, without some of the highly curated visual elements or merch collaborations.

“It was very easy to focus on, ‘What’s going to make us happy? What’s going to sound good to us?’” Schmutz says. “We don’t have to get through any goalies to get it out to people.”

Maybe he meant to say “infielders” rather than “goalies,” but I don’t correct him.

By this point in the night, the Phillies bats have started working and the score now looks very different. With every player reaching second base, the three of us send back the team’s inside-joke hand gesture they’ve been doing all season, (the meaning of which we have no idea) as if they’re doing it to us, rather than the dugout. Nick Castellanos, the lone Phillies player who is thanked by name on the liner notes of the album by Vasoli (again for his gritty underdog spirit) is now in the game, to Vasoli’s delight. The sold-out crowd has gotten excited again. We’re now basically yelling to do an interview and we’re sitting right next to each other. I will at least be hoarse by the end of the game. Vasoli, who had practiced singing with his “whole chest” for Eternal Youth, fares a little better. At one point I catch Vasoli say to me, or Schmutz, or just to himself, “I love this town.” It is, after all, the town that shows up for them year after year, even before the promise of new music.

I ask them, on the record, “Is it the year?” I’m referring, of course, to the Phillies and their World Series chances, and they both emphatically tell me that, yes, it is the year. But their answers could very much be about the band. 

It’s certainly gearing up to be a huge year for Vasoli, who found out he was going to be a father after he and his wife returned from Mexico City, where the album artwork photoshoot took place.

“We had no idea that our baby girl was there with us as we were shooting this album cover and doing these videos and stuff,” he says. “It’s crazy looking at the album cover now and knowing that Eternal Youth has this whole new meaning.”

By now it’s the eighth inning and the Phillies are leading comfortably. After a few pitching changes, we’re now watching Robertson like Vasoli had hoped we would. Robertson is only a year younger than Vasoli, so it gives Vasoli hope that he can achieve some great height that he hasn’t met yet. At 41, Vasoli’s far from finished. Why can’t he and the band keep going? Who’s to say they’ve peaked? That’s silly. They’re already working on the next one.

New life is at the heart of Eternal Youth. It’s the product of a band that had every intention of putting their foot to the brake and steering toward the exit ramp, but at the last minute decided to floor it back onto the highway and drive somewhere new. There’s plenty of gas in the tank, so why stop now? Ride the momentum.

“The future feels very bright,” Schmutz says, as we start to file out from our seats, slightly hoarse and exhilarated, the ballpark speakers blasting Harry Kalas’s version of Frank Sinatra’s “High Hopes” all around us. The grounds crew is out raking the infield, the staff is making their way through the aisles to shepherd people out of the ballpark as they clean up empty hot dog cartons and peanut shells underfoot. All’s right with the world, or at least in this corner of South Philly.

Of course the future feels bright. It’s the year. Maybe next year will be, too.

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BINI on Coachella 2026, Cosmetic Line Launch After First U.S. Tour
Music

BINI on Coachella 2026, Cosmetic Line Launch After First U.S. Tour

by jummy84
written by jummy84

While BINI‘s first U.S. tour dates this summer already felt like a milestone for the Philippines’ biggest girl group, that proved to be only the start of a year filled with crucial crossover moments in music and beyond.

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After the Biniverse World Tour hit major stops from Los Angeles and New York to Toronto, London and Dubai, the eight-piece act once again extended its global footprint by carving out a historic space for themselves on the American festival circuit, launching a complete beauty line and bringing a part of Filipino childhoods to the global-pop market.

Earlier this week, BINI made history as the first Filipino group booked to perform at Coachella — a festival that still functions as a key industry tastemaker and signal of who to watch each year. The announcement follows their newest single “Shagidi” and the launch of BINI Cosmetics, a beauty line the group says was built from the inside out for their fans — affectionately known as Blooms — and arrives at a moment when Filipino culture is gaining new visibility on the global stage. Together, the moves read like proof of intent: BINI now reaches more than 16 million followers across social platforms and they’re using that reach to put Filipino music and aesthetics in new rooms.

“When we were on the Zach Sang Show earlier this year, we said out loud that we dreamed of performing at Coachella and now it’s really happening,” the group says in an exclusive statement to Billboard following the news. “To see that manifestation come true is beyond surreal. Being part of the 2026 lineup isn’t just a milestone for BINI, it’s a moment for Filipino music and for everyone who has believed in us since the beginning. We can’t wait to bring our music and our culture to the desert stage.”

BINI’s latest single, “Shagidi,” is another modern-musical translation of Filipino tradition. Playful and upbeat, the track takes its cue from a children’s game in the Philippines called “Shagidi Shapopo” and reframes it as a pop hit — not so dissimilar from ROSÉ and Bruno Mars‘ massive “APT.,” which turned a Korean drinking game into a hook-heavy Billboard Hot 100 hit. Both songs are accessible cultural touchstones meant to connect new audiences with the singers themselves, but also their backgrounds.

A similarly personal ethos drove BINI Cosmetics. “Our beauty line is more than just colors; it’s our heart showing up,” the group adds. “We were involved in every step, choosing shades, designing packaging, even the naming of each product, because we wanted something that speaks to us and to every Bloom out there. We want people to feel seen, to feel confident doing their own thing, whether you wear makeup every day or just sometimes. It’s for everyone, no filters, no limitations.”

Below, members Jhoanna, Aiah, Gwen, Colet, Stacey, Maloi, Mikha, and Sheena walk us through late-night palette debates, as well as the pressure, joys and creative process behind their first U.S. concerts, and how these milestones fit into a larger plan to bring the Philippines’ pop sound — and Filipino creatives — to new stages around the world.

How did you feel about your first-ever U.S. show being in New York City?

 Sheena: Of course, we felt so blessed, so grateful, and so proud with our first stop in the U.S. in New York because,  honestly, this whole world tour and especially here in North America, was really us taking a risk. We know ourselves that we don’t have that many Blooms here compared to our families in the Philippines. But we have a saying that even if we’re performing in front of a thousand Blooms, hundreds or even just one Bloom, we will always give our best and show and excellence because that’s the show that our Blooms deserve.

It’s interesting that you call it a risk, given the big crowd you had at the Theater at MSG. What were your concerns?

Aiah:  When we learned about the venues, the capacity of each arena, we told our management, “Can we really feel this? Are you sure?” Or even just half of them, we were very doubtful. But like we said, we thought, “Let’s just take the risk,” you know? And perform for our Blooms.

Jhoanna:  And having a sold-out concert, that’s just a bonus for us.

Getting to see your concert showed me how crucial live vocals are to your show. Many times, you’re all singing the choruses, you get to show off some Christina Aguilera ad-libs moments. Why is the vocal aspect important to a BINI show?

Maloi:  I think that is what we trained for. Like we trained for almost — how many years? — two years. And we are still training now. So, I think it’s very important for us to show what we can really do.  Seeing people appreciate what we can do or what we have is so nice to see: to see their comments and even their constructive criticisms for us to be better performers. For me, I enjoy it more if I sing live and if I do make a mistake live, I think that’s the beauty of it — the rawness of our voices. You can hear the beats, the voice cracks and everything. It makes you feel more like, “I’m here and this is life.”

Stacey: Most of the time and most of the performances, we’ll have issues with the technical [aspects], with the sound, our in-ears, our microphones; but we are grateful for the sound engineers because they can fix everything fast.

Aiah: Every show is unpredictable and you won’t always get to have a perfect one. So, sometimes it really is a trial and error because we go to different stages, we have to rehearse it in ways to make sure it’s all good and we’re ready just in case things aren’t working. But when you perform, sometimes, even if you have rehearsed for it, anything can really happen.

Mikha: Especially with the clothes. We don’t wear the same clothes every concert and we don’t really have time to do dress rehearsals [with every outfit], so it’s kind of hectic backstage. We’ll get our sound engineers to help us out, also, even though it’s not their job to do it. People who aren’t supposed to help us or be assistant stylists become assistant stylists because of everything. But that’s good, you know? We’re all all-rounders now. [Laughs] I think people think that we’re a big team, but in reality, it’s so few. We just make it look like a whole crowd is working for us, but it’s really quite intimate and small.

Speaking of clothes, the fashion on tour was really stunning and something I hadn’t seen before. Do you get a say in what you wear?

Maloi: Of course, every time we go out on stage, we always make sure that we show our branding, our true selves like this. The [regular] clothes that we are wearing right now, this is who we are and another representation of who we are, how we style ourselves, and how we want to be perceived by other people. I think it’s love also because our stylist, our visual director at the Ica [Villanueva], is always there for us to make sure that we look good on stage and, as much as she can, wants to make every stage unique. So, we are just so grateful that we have these unique looks that are, at the same time, cohesive. Every girl is different, but cohesive at the same time.

 Colet: When it comes to outfits, our visual director, Ms. Ica, always aims for the top Filipino designers. So, we always have our go-tos like Marian Zara, Iñigo [Villegas], RAFA Worldwide, everyone is Filipino. The New York show included a Filipino designer from here.

Gwen: And  we even do upcycling now, actually. So we’ll use bottles of soda and soft drinks and we put that into our outfits.

There were videos in between concert sections where we saw some elaborate headdresses, gowns and other looks. Was that another way to show your culture?

 Mikha: That was Ms. Ica’s idea, of course. She wanted to add the headdresses because I think it was designed locally.

Maloi:  And it’s very eccentric which is very good. Because we really want to be unique in this industry, not just being the traditional Filipino look, but we want to be something more extra. I think it was  inspired from our Filipino farmer caps. But make it extra, make it fashion.

Mikha: They’re actually heavy, we were struggling. [Laughing] Our gowns were heavy too.

Jhoanna: The gowns were shipped from a province and each of the dresses came in a big, individual box. I think they weighed around, probably, more than two or three kilos [approximately 4.4-6.6 pounds] or something…

Group: More!

These all bring out so many cool messages, but I wonder from all these separate elements, what do you say is BINI’s larger message?

Gwen:  Just like the messages of our songs, we always want to inspire people to embrace their flaws, to be authentic, to love yourself and to celebrate each other’s uniqueness. We strongly believe that everybody is capable of inspiring, so we say let’s be a reason for someone’s confidence.

 How do you arrive at that message? Did you need to find that confidence within yourselves to share it with others?

Mikha:  I think it’s an everyday struggle. Yeah. You know, to be the best version of yourself and also accept your flaws. But I think I wouldn’t want to speak for everyone here, but for me personally, there are times that I don’t feel that great and that’s okay as long as you don’t really affect the people around you in a negative way.

Having a clear message is important when you’re actively crossing over like I see you doing. Do you have a mindset or strategy to approaching your global expansion?

Stacey:  Right now, I would say we are still in our testing of waters, but we really want to tap into people from all over the world and reach a wider audience. That’s also the reason why we collaborated with artists from different parts of the world like Belinda and Agnez Mo.  So, hopefully, in the future we get to tap more artists and that hopefully allows us to reach audiences and get them to like Philippine-pop and know more artists in our country. It’s really hard and pressuring but, well, I think pressure is good and just like our songs, “Zero Pressure” you won’t get  the diamond if you don’t have your pressure. So pressure is good.

Sheena:  Even with these changes, we always make sure to stay true to who we are.

Maloi:  We’re just so grateful that we cross borders through our music. We always try to make music that can capture through generations, from young to old, we’re just so happy that people resonate with our music because we really just want to share our experiences in life, be relatable and someone that you can be with or feel with.

Stacey: And music is a universal language.

Belinda on the “Blink Twice” remix was very cool and really speaks to how you’re reaching out to audiences. Is there any connection you see between Filipino pop and Latin music?

Mikha:  Actually, our management, they’re the ones who set it up with Belinda, but we were so excited because she’s an icon in her country and we listened to her music. It’s really amazing her voice and she can switch her voice depending on what type of song she’s singing. She’s also a good dancer! I guess we were also interested to tap into Latin [music] because there are a lot of similarities with Tagalog and Latin American country languages and Spanish. She was amazing in that song too.  We actually heard a version of just her singing the song and I was like, “You know what? She should just take the song!” [Laughs] Hopefully we can perform it and share the stage together.

Are there other artists you think would fit well on a BINI song?

Colet: “Out of My Head” with Dua Lipa!

Mikha: I was thinking “Zero Pressure” with Dua Lipa.

Sheena: A whole album with Dua Lipa. [Laughs]

Mikha: We actually have a song that hasn’t been released that I think Sabrina Carpenter would actually fit really well on, but that’s just a sneak peak!

How do you describe BINI’s sound?

Colet: On the technical side, I think BINI’s sound right now is diverse and experimental. Yes, we already found the bubblegum pop genre, but I think it’d be nice  if we have a lot of genres for people to listen to and choose whatever they feel at the moment.  But on. On an emotional level, we’re always aiming for uplifting, light and inspirational songs. So, whenever we put out music out there, it should feel like a hug — we hug everyone — it should feel comforting.

I felt that sense of comfort, particularly at the NY concert, when you shouted out Pride Month several times. Why was that important to emphasize?

Jhoanna:  Pride month is something we hold close to our hearts because BINI is all about inclusivity, empowerment and love, and that includes our LGBTQIA+ Blooms. We believe in celebrating everyone for who they are.  We just wanna be welcoming and very accepting of them. So that’s why we are all about that. We support them.

Mikha:  I think women and feminism has come a long way in the past, and I think women and all the LGBTQ community have become united and I think it’s very nice.  I think we’re almost there. You know, there’s still so much to do but I think that we’ve come a long way from how it was before in the past.

Jhoanna:  We want to remind them that they’re valid, that they are feeling our love and using our platform — it’s a really big help for them.

Sheena:  And personally I feel like we have a lot of gay friends or look up to a lot of gay icons and we try our best to protect them.  Because we also feel hurt when people say some things about them that are not true.  Actually, I feel like the RuPaul’s Drag Race really help in the Philippines to love gay people. Even me honestly, I started learning about RuPaul’s Drag Race because of the Philippine branch. And because of that I started watching different branches here in U.S., Australia, everywhere. Right now, it’s very active — we’ll even go to gay bars, we watch the shows, we perform.

Jhoanna:  She’s the Drag Race ambassador. We were supposed to celebrate her 21st birthday and she invited a lot of drag queens to perform for her.

I feel like your cosmetics line aligns with that mindset: you want to accept everyone and share what you love.

Mikha: We were very hands on when involved, it was very draining actually. There are so many ideas, products and colors to choose from — not just the formulas. There was so much going on in that meeting. Thank God though we have a team who are also helping and guiding us on what’s best and everything like that so we could come to an agreement.

Gwen: We made sure the products are easy to use and affordable. Cherry Blush can go on your eyes, cheeks, and lips. It’s not just for girls; it’s for everyone who wants to feel fresh and confident in their own style.

 Stacey: We love products that will stay because it’s very humid in the Philippines. So when we were creating the formulas, we not only thought of what we like, but also for everyone. Like, “Is it going to work with morena?” Morena is like the brown skin of our beautiful Filipinos.

Jhoanna: BINI Cosmetics is us, in color, choices we actually made together from the shade names to the packaging, down to how it should feel when you wear it. We wanted a kit that travels with you: Eye Candy for quick looks, touches like Lip Jelly that make confidence feel easy. If it empowers our Blooms to show up as themselves, that’s the win.

Mikha: We built this line to move the way we move, from rehearsals to show time to rest days. The goal was pigments and textures that play well together, so you can turn it up with Pout Pop and Cloud Lash. It’s not just about looking pretty; it’s about owning your mood and telling your story.

Now that Coachella has happened, are there other goals you want to put out there?

Stacey:  Well, our goal in being is always to improve And in terms of music. We want to hopefully be like a song book wherein whenever they open it, we have various songs that will really hit all their emotions. So hopefully with the future songs that we’ll be producing, we’re not only gonna capture their hearts, but also their ears in a way that it’ll also make them feel seen.  We really aren’t stopping. For whatever opportunities that are there for us, we’re always explorative and on the hunt for whatever it is that will add to our growth.

Jhoanna: Also, more international awards and collaborations.

Sheena: We want to perform on the main KCON stage as a complete eight. And shoutout to ENHYPEN, I miss you.

You’ve filmed TikTok challenges together with the ENHYPEN members at KCON. How was that?

Sheena: So, with ENHYPEN, I feel music-wise that me and Me and Colet really like their sound — when they release “FEVER” back in 2021 is when we started being a fan. Our collaboration was arranged by our managements in LA and  we also did a TikTok together when they had a concert in the Philippines. So, we already have two interactions. One more to go and we’re friends. [Group Laughs] I just need to manifest. I appreciate them.

Any other shoutouts?

Mikha: Hi Dua Lipa. And hi Sabrina. Hi BLACKPINK!

Jhoanna: Everyone, really, all the talented artists.

Sheena: Hi Clairo!

Anything else we can look forward to for what’s next?

Jhoanna: We have a lot tracks to be released soon and it’s all new flavors, new vibes, different feelings. We’re very excited for these songs to be out with both English and Tagalog songs.

Aiah: Thank you so much to our Blooms for always supporting BINI. Expect more songs, more performances, more meet and greets and…what else?

Jhoanna: I hope you don’t get overwhelmed with all the activations and changes for this year with BINI! We are so excited. See you soon!

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Ken Vasoli of the Starting Line. (Credit:Lupe Bustos)
Music

5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Ken Vasoli of the Starting Line

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Name  Ken Vasoli of the Starting Line

Best known for  Lifer song and dance man. Simultaneous professional bass player/semi-professional singer. Bleached hair 1999-2003.

Current city  Philadelphia, PA.

Really want to be in  I wouldn’t mind retiring in El Pescadero, Mexico. I would enjoy beach life with the family. Great eating and surfing, perhaps improving my skills at the latter.  

Excited about  First baby due in November! First TSL album in 18 years coming out in September, Eternal Youth on our own label Lineage Recordings. Our first headline tour in 17 years is pounding the pavement in a few weeks as I write this. Big year!

Bob Dylan in 1965. (Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

My current music collection has a lot of  My record shelves hold quite a large selection of instrumental albums. Anywhere from instrumental hip-hop, electronic, jazz to experimental, Italian soundtracks, library records, and everywhere in between. I’m not sure exactly why I gravitate to these kinds of albums, but I do enjoy the aspect of no meanings being assigned to the songs through traditional lyric delivery. It allows the music to tell its own story and control the momentum solely with mood and texture. Plenty of unexpected gems to be found in this territory of record digging.

And a little bit of  I keep a healthy supply of soul records in house. I adore Curtis Mayfield and Barry White, both amazing songwriters and impressive producers. I collected quite a few of their records over the years, especially ‘70s Barry. They are easy LPs to find and consistently hit VERY hard. 

Preferred format  Vinyl is my preferred method of listening. I love the ritual of putting on a record and cooking or simply relaxing in the living room as it spins, it’s hard to beat that experience. If I’m driving, running, or walking, streaming has forced my hand, but I’m not proud of it. 

5 Albums I Can’t Live Without:

1

Clinging to a Scheme, The Radio Dept.

The Radio Dept. and this record in particular delivers a flawless and delightful example of understated melodic brilliance. There is nothing to skip here, it’s a shimmering gem front to back. The elevator pitch would be to call this a lo-fi pop record, but that description really undersells the delicate perfection in TRD’s songwriting. The music on Clinging to a Scheme is minimal but measured so perfectly. The drums are all programmed or looped on relatively rudimentary sounding equipment, while the clean guitars, warm keys, and calming vocals float and fold into the sequences with tact and humble nuance. The lyrics are flawlessly penned with lines that read both sensitive and profoundly bold.  As a bass player, I LOVE how much the lines play into the upper register of the neck and also get doused in a slick spring reverb from time to time. I play this album and am able to instantly conjure a memory of riding my bike on a hot day in 2010, bombing down an empty hill feeling the wind cool my skin and pure bliss while these songs filled my ears. A perfect moment.

Funny story! A few years after I fell in love with this album I played some festival shows in Australia alongside another favorite band of mine, Millencolin. One night at a fest after-party, I saw the singer of Millencolin standing next right outside the bar. I felt bold and introduced myself as a fellow musician and longtime fan. We engaged in small chit chat. I knew that Millencolin were from Sweden, so I had excitedly asked him if he listened to the Radio Dept. (also from Sweden and have been at it for quite some time). Do you know what he said??? “…No.” That conversation pretty much wrapped up then and there. 

2

Some Kind of Cadwallader, Algernon Cadwallader

I’m realizing through this exercise that I achieve different benefits from specific records that I favor in the collection, this one in particular delivers a sure shot, supercharged dose of happiness to my dopamine receptors. Algernon has always impressed me since the get-go. Full disclosure, they happen to be friends and from the neighborhood, but that plays zero part in securing this coveted No. 2 spot. Just a solid bonus! I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Algernon Cadwallader perform everywhere from Gazebos and VFWs to the finest Philadelphia stages over the years. They have always struck me as one of the most uniquely original modern punk bands of my generation, not just locally but globally! These guys are undisputed trendsetters. I hear their influence in countless bands who came to follow. They nail this signature combination of glass sharp dueling guitar tones and heady rhythms juxtaposing one of the most on-point raw, guttural vocalists in the game who also manages to display impressive pitch control. Perhaps the most naturally “cool” bands I’ve come to know and love. They’ve never taken themselves too seriously or compromised their style to serve mainstream audiences. Always retaining their magic and integrity every step the way. 

This debut album, Some Kind Of Cadwallader, felt like a classic punk piece to my ears upon first listen. Equal parts airtight performances with just enough scrappy rambunctious energy equating to a brilliant sonic roistering. The moment I heard the gang hook erupt “Oh man, it’s taken me over!” on Track 2, I knew this LP would be a mainstay of the music collection. Big fun-in-the-sun, skateboards-by-the-beach kind of music. I only recently started looking up the words I was previously unable to decipher by ear and I can now confirm the lyrical wit is by all accounts unmatched! 

A beautiful coincidence. Early into dating my now wife a decade ago I visited her apartment in her home state of Texas. I was thumbing through her record collection and was joyously surprised to discover that she also owns and loves this Algernon record. Now we have two copies in our home! Kismet!

3

You Fail Me, Converge 

This is the unequivocally heaviest record I’ve ever heard by my absolute favorite heavy band. Listening to Converge music is not typically a shared experience for me. This is the only album of my five picks that I’m ashamed to say I don’t own on vinyl, for the sole reason I fear I would likely disrupt my loved ones in the household if I amplified this pummeling masterpiece through the living room speakers. (My wife has affectionately referred to this as “dude music.”) Therefore this is a bigtime headphones and solo car ride album for this dude. I am a runner. Not a fast one, but I do run often. I’ve timed myself repeatedly and I can scientifically say with confidence NO ONE MAKES ME RUN FASTER than Converge (by a huge margin!). This album is the perfect example of brutal sonic violence with unmatched rhythmic intelligence and relentless intensity within the punk universe. 

The sonics on You Fail Me are downright blistering! I purposely chose the “Redux” version for the newer and improved Kurt Ballou mix. The sound has a deep low-end gut punch, the finest bass guitar growling tone I could ever dream up,  and drums that BITE like a goddamn grizzly bear. Some other great albums have a one-two punch with exciting first tracks, right? Well, this baby has six devastating haymakers lined up immediately after the “First Light” bending guitar intro. No other music energizes me quite like Converge does, especially on this album. For that alone, they deserve a clinched spot in this hypothetical eternal rotation.

4

Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note, Madlib

This monumental album is a perfectly executed culmination of several personal favorite aspects of the music world, namely the union of top shelf instrumental hip-hop production and the legendary Blue Note Records jazz archives. It is of my own passionate opinion that Otis Jackson Jr., a.k.a. Madlib, is the greatest living producer this world has to offer. There is something in the way his pocket always sits so flawlessly in a collage of supremely chosen instruments and textures weaving together with such charismatic style. I think this album best showcases the man’s extraordinary talents as an audio visionary with a knack for sample-based production far ahead of his time. I marvel at the achievement of how he blurs the line between sampled and recorded material so seamlessly. I house plenty of jazz as well as instrumental hip-hop records in the collection, since neither of these genres are represented on the rest of this list, Shades of Blue is an absolute no-brainer to keep on deck forevermore. 

5

Selected Ambient Works Volume II, Aphex Twin

I recently had dinner catching up with a longtime friend and electronic music collaborator, and he joked that the older and deeper one gets in this genre of music [it] always leads to collecting ambient albums and cassette tapes, and I am admittedly guilty of both right on schedule. Coincidentally he was also revisiting SAW VII regularly in his recent listening rotation. This brought up an intriguing question: asking each other what it is that makes this record so special?  My friend’s response was something astute along the lines of “it’s just so innocent.” That really stuck with me and I couldn’t agree more. 

To know Richard D. James and his body of work, is to understand that his style of sound is fearlessly ever-changing while existing in his own vast (yet cohesive) universe. He is perhaps best known for his work on more drum-and-bass-leaning records. This album is essentially and famously drum-less, practically wordless while revealing from its core a sprawling sonic bed of transcendently stretched and drenched loops blossoming with marvelous grace. The music itself feels like an effortless and purely guilt-free expression of art. There was speculation between my friend and I if some of these pieces were initially unfinished starts intended for more elaborate final compositions. Regardless of whether or not that theory holds water, Richard made a masterfully prophetic decision to exercise such an elevated level of restraint by keeping the field of sound so confidently minimal. The experience of listening to this record is unlike any others in my collection, it emits a potently hypnotic transmission. I find it can transform the room in a drastic way. As boneless and wordless as this album is, it somehow feels CATCHY in a way that my brain gravitates towards before any pop song melody I’ve heard in my life. I feel as though could listen to that same “#21” arrangement on loop for an eternity, and have caught myself humming that tune in my head with no accompaniment.

I nabbed the 4-LP Expanded Edition of this album earlier this year and the records have rarely left the turntable. That’s the other nice thing about this album, the music is sprawling, plentiful and never rushed. It’s an unforgettable floating trip across a divinely serene atmosphere. One of my favorite parts of the 2024 physical record is a message included in the “Rhubarb Notes” written by Richard. It reads: “My mum gave me so much love, dedicated her life to me, filled me to the brim with confidence, and somehow managed to be a nurse at the same time. That love she gave can now be felt by millions all over the world and beyond through this music. Thanks for everything Lorna James!” As a guy who lost his mom four years ago, these words hit me with a weighty significance and drew my relationship to this music even closer. What a magnificent triumph to honor the irreplaceable love of a mother. Bravo, Richard.

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Chance the Rapper: Star Line Album Review
Music

Chance the Rapper: Star Line Album Review

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Chance doesn’t seem at ease putting it all out there, which, in a twisted way, only makes me want it more. With his usual mix of sun-kissed melodies and squawking ad-libs, inoffensively sweeping soul beats with gospel touches by his usual production braintrust, he opens up just enough to get the internet off his back. “Some days I just ghost her, some days I’m supposed to/The crib feel like a gunfight, but them strollers, that’s the holster,” he raps on “The Highs & Lows,” the easygoing piano-led beat allows his words to breathe. He sounds a little lonely and sad, like he’s skipping rocks at the lake on “Back to the Go,” as he thinks about the effect his relationship falling apart will have on his kids and having to spend his days in a bachelor pad. It’s his most direct writing and, unfortunately, it’s done over a rock-rap instrumental that sounds like it was ripped from a 2DopeBoyz blog post.

There’s a suggestion that his self-esteem has taken a hit on “Pretty,” where, over a vocal sample pitched-up to Heatmakerz levels, he works through his insecurities in real time: “My mom told me I’m a nice person/I got left but maybe I ain’t find the right person/I got clean, maybe I ain’t get the right version.” There are a few striking moments like these where Chance allows himself to feel unconsciously exposed. But most of the time, it feels like you’re hearing Chance’s emotions once they’ve already been self-consciously processed, which is less personal and interesting. For example, “Space & Time,” a bland and distant ballad where he builds up the maturity to face the crib where he thought he’d raise a family, sounds straight off the Lion King soundtrack.

It’s human to be tentative when writing about intimate experiences, but Chance rarely lets those bits of pure feeling slip through the cracks. His writing feels heavily combed over, and though he calls himself an “emotional rollercoaster,” I only get that because he said so. Otherwise he doesn’t allow himself to be potentially picked apart or embarrassed, like on Acid Rap when he downplays his Blackness to girls in an attempt to get laid. Chance would rather cloak his feelings in his reliable wordplay (“You know it’s dirty when the sink dirty,” he raps on “Negro Problem”) or shift the focus away from his relationship entirely. “No More Old Men,” with longtime collaborator Jamila Woods, is his sweet spot, vividly describing childhood memories (the familial vibe of the barbershop; his uncles on the block drinking beers and betting on boxing matches) as a way of messaging the lack of male mentors in his hometown nowadays. As well as “Letters,” where he calls out the unholy actions of both his local parish and Joel Osteen-style megachurches. Both are solid and impassioned Chance the Rapper songs—he’s bending his voice, toggling between moods—that show the totality of what’s on his mind, but I feel his message more than I actually want to listen to him on the same frictionless, loungey beats that haven’t sounded fresh in a decade.

It’s frustrating that the main goal of Star Line seems to be for Chance to reset the board without getting shit on. That’s an uninspired mission that mostly relies on Chance reverting back to his corny writing exercises (the greek mythology bit on “Space & Time”), trusted lighthearted stoner anthems (“Tree”), and knack for bringing a cross-generational cast of likable characters into his world like he did on Coloring Book: Some work (DJ Pharris’ drop on the intro; BabyChiefDoit’s foul-mouthed drill punchlines; Do or Die’s welcomed nostalgia tour) and some don’t (Lil Wayne in 2025; stale BJ the Chicago Kid parts; a Jay Electronica verse that sounds like it was recorded in a Rothschild family dungeon). It’s rarely bad, just safe, doing more to remind us of the old days than to embrace the musical crossroads he’s at. That feels like a missed opportunity to fill in the blanks that are still there.

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