Rocket Barbie, Algorithm Music & the Distraction of 2025

You ever find yourself at a dinner party, rooftop thing, or some kind of “cool” gathering—and suddenly, a song comes on that everyone else is belting out like it’s their national anthem?

But You’re standing there with the confidence of a girl who thought she was cool and just stood there  mouthing along like a malfunctioning animatronic, praying nobody notices.

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I used to be the one people asked about new music. The plugged-in playlist queen. Now? Now I’m that auntie squinting at the speaker like, “Who dis?”

The truth is, TikTok ruined music discovery for me.What used to be organic joy—stumbling across a banger in a film or randomly on SoundCloud—has become an endless scroll of 7-second hooks, sped-up heartbreaks, and songs that sound like AI made them during a sugar crash.

Yesterday, I was humming along to a tune that made me feel things. Gave me vibes. I was like, Yes, whoever this is, they GET me.Turns out, it was Steps Beach by Childish Gambino.Also turns out—it dropped in 2023.

GAT. DAMN. IT.

I love Donald Glover. Man’s a genius. How did this one pass me by?? But this happens all the time now.Blame it on platform fatigue: Spotify kept logging me out depending on what country I was in. Apple’s discovery playlist has gone from “You’ll love this!” to “Here’s what the youth are into,” which translates to: I skip it. Regularly.

As for  live music? Don’t even get me started. I’ve officially entered the nostalgia era. I only leave the house for acts that remind me of carefree nights, questionable dancing, and overpriced cocktails. Like the sugababes last week or USHER whom i sadly didn't get to see.

Unless it’s Kendrick. Or SZA. Or Doechii. Or Teddy Swims, Or anyone still carrying the torch for real R&B, Soul and hip hop.

Also... I am always one of the oldest people in the room when i go to these. Sometimes by a decade.

My knees don’t love it, but my soul is screaming “whooohooooo”so we push on.

Dare I say it—at least 70% of new music is straight-up algorithm bait. Not made for feeling, just made for virality.I know I’m not the target market and that’s ok.But can we stop pretending a trap beat and a whispery hook equals depth?

Bring back bridges. Bring back lyrics that sting.Bring back the music in music.

Until then, I’ll be in my house, rediscovering old gems a year late and fake-humming with pride.

Rocket Barbie Goes to Space – and Feminism Just Filed a Restraining Order

So, a billionaire sends his girlfriend and her glam squad to space and somehow it’s being paraded as a feminist milestone?

I swear we are living in a Black Mirror episode directed by the ghost of late-stage capitalism.

Let’s set the scene:Jeff “I’d like to return empathy for a full refund” Bezos decides to play NASA and surprise! His girlfriend gets a golden ticket to orbit.And not just her. Oh no. She brought the crew.Like it’s a galactic hen do sponsored by Lululemon.

Meanwhile, the media’s losing its mind like we’ve just sent Marie Curie to Mars.

Babe. Be serious.

This wasn’t about gender equality. This was about distraction

A billionaire midlife crisis dressed up as empowerment, complete with curated playlists, airbrushed jumpsuits, and Katy Perry who dare i say it, is now giving washed-up pop star clinging to relevance like her Spotify streams depend on it.

As for  Gayle King ,Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist who studied planets, I guess no one turns down a free trip to space right?  How can they?

This was an opportunity to highlight women in aerospace so I understand Aisha and Amanda being there however, the cost of this space tourist trip could have funded STEM programs, be an opportunity to elevated voices that never make it to the front row—let alone the front seat of a rocket.

But instead, it gave us Space Glam. Selfies in orbit with a Spotify link to some s**t record -….This is what we’re calling progress?

While they were floating in the void feeling like a warrior queen, the rest of us were doom scrolling through Project 2025  and navigating Tariffs with our jaws on the floor.

PROJECT 2025 - You know—that actual dystopian policy agenda aiming to erase bodily autonomy, gut LGBTQIA+ rights, dismantle public services, and basically drag us back to 1952 (but with worse music). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025

The timing? Almost poetic.

As the headlines scream “HISTORIC MOMENT FOR WOMEN!” I am here yelling “HAVE YOU READ THE NEW