When the two-part documentary Phoenix Rising aired on HBO on March 15th and 16th 2022, I saw it and immediately wrote my review of part two, having already written my review of part one when I saw its premiere at Sundance over a month earlier. I didn't have much time to process it at the time, because it has a lot of information, and with limited space to write about it in a limited time, there was only so much you could address. After watching the documentary about 3 or 4 times, I realized I could easily write a book with all I had to say. Now that some time had passed since I last saw it, I just rewatched the documentary this past week on the anniversary of its premiere, and there were things that stood out to me that I didn't either capture a year ago or didn't have enough knowledge at the time to better comprehend. I will try to summarize my thoughts and observations into a list of ten things I wanted to address, though it could easily be more than ten, choosing five t
Kanye West brought out Marilyn Manson at his Donda album listening party that just took place at Chicago’s Soldier Field, which was live-streamed globally via Apple Music. Manson appeared on the stoop of a church-like structure built in the center of the stadium. When photos of the construction of the structure circulated online before the event, many noted its resemblance to West’s childhood home. A notable difference however was the crucifix on top, transforming it into a church building. Manson, along with a masked figure many online thought to be DaBaby, who has been facing his own controversies these days with what many say was a homophobic rant, walked out onto the porch alongside West as the first song of the event, rumored to be titled "Jail", began to play, which usually has featured a guest verse from Jay-Z, but at tonight's event a verse from DaBaby replaced it, seemingly calling out the controversy surrounding him: “I said one thing they ain’t like and they t