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Despite being sworn in as a United Nations Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls in October, Wonder Woman will soon step down from her post. The appointment, which would have […]
The post Wonder Woman is No Longer a UN Ambassador appeared first on Geek.com.
Despite being sworn in as a United Nations Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls in October, Wonder Woman will soon step down from her post. The appointment, which would have […]
The post Wonder Woman is No Longer a UN Ambassador appeared first on Geek.com.
Spotify listeners—ever wonder who’s behind creating the R&B/Soul playlists? Mjeema Pickett, Spotify’s Global Programming Head for R&B, serves as the curator for the most soulful playlists on Spotify including Are & Be, Gold Edition, and Soul Coffee, which generate over 2 million streams per month.
Prior to joining Spotify, Pickett programmed music videos on VH1Soul for 10 years and became the director of music for both VH1 and VH1Soul in 2012. During her tenure, she oversaw the development and creation of music video playlists that aired on the channel. Before that, she had a long stint in radio, where she really dug in and began to develop her expertise. Her ongoing passion and knowledge for R&B and Soul music helped to propel the careers of many artists.
I sat down with Pickett at the music streaming service’s NYC office to get the details on artist discovery and how she curates some of the most popular playlists on Spotify.
What is your process in discovering new artists? Do artists pitch you directly?
I use different kinds of ways. I look at my social media to see what people are talking about, and I’ll also go to blogs just to stay up with everything.
I’ve been in the business so long. There may be some kind of middle person to make the introduction, like a radio promotions person I knew from my radio days or a publicist that I knew from working at VH1.
You stumble across a song that peaks your interest. What’s next?
I’ll listen and think about what playlist the artist could fit in. I manage around 25 playlists. Some songs that may fit the ‘Soul Coffee’ playlist may not fit into ‘Gold Edition’. A new artist could go into ‘The Newness’ but the song won’t fit into ‘Chilled R&B’ I go into evaluating the song or artist by looking at the playlist hypothesis.
Full stop. Let me explain what the hypothesis is according to the Spotify curator. The hypothesis sets the stage for the mood and experience for the end user/listener.
How do you determine the hypothesis?
With R&B, it’s pretty much a feeling. R&B and Soul is a mood. It gets you going.
For instance, if you’re going to curate R&B playlists, you have to have the good throwback playlists. That’s a given. People love their throwbacks; people love the memories. We curate playlists like I love my 90s and the 80s. I also know that you have to have your slow jams. (Folks do love the slow jams.)
But then there’s ‘Soul Coffee’. I love that playlist because you can sit down at home, have coffee, work or chill to it. It’s just good quality music. It’s the new good stuff, but I sprinkle some old hits in there too.
Sidenote: Pickett refers to ‘Soul Coffee’ as the urban coffeehouse playlist and it’s the perfect description. That’s what she envisions for all of the playlists—to match perfectly the mood with the music.
Even with ‘Soul Lounge,’ it’s great for chilling; you know, you may not listen to it while getting ready in the morning but maybe during happy hour, or when you get home from work and you’re winding down or just hanging with your friends.
Can you tell us about the testing process after you decide to add an artist to the playlist?
We get research instantly—that’s the cool thing about Spotify that is different from my years in TV and radio. In radio and TV, you have to wait a week for call out research or different types of reports. But with the data analytics we use here, we can find out within a day if a song is working; we know how many people skip it, we know how many people listen, and how long they listen. We can see all the activity—on the playlist as a whole or individual songs.
So how long will you leave a song like on a play to test it out?
It depends if I see potential. It’s really case-by-case. A song might be a little new, so you want to give it a chance to breathe or people to get familiar with it. Or 80 percent of listeners skip it, so you know it’s not working.
Case in point—Check out the Spotify #2016Wrapped listing. The data shows the most popular songs and artists on the platform.
Image: Spotify
Pickett is excited about what’s to come next year for Spotify. A few developments are in the works, but as I listen to Pickett, the focus is all about the end user, as curator access to instant feedback continues to evolve the listening experience. Check out some of the R&B playlists on Spotify and see for yourself.
Thank goodness Lydia is back to normal! But what’s going to happen to Dirk and the others? Karma knocked on Todd’s door didn’t it? Let’s get to it.
Recap
We pick up where we left off in last week’s episode. Rimmer (Aaron Douglas) escapes from Estevez (Neil Brown Jr) taking Ed (Christian Barko) and Zed (Michael Adamthwaite) with him. Estevez, in his eagerness to kill Rimmer, shoots at the soul swapper device, damaging the time machine. Farah (Jade Eshete) comes in after him gun drawn. Estevez thinks Farah is with Rimmer’s group. She gives him her gun to help calm him down. Farah sees Dirk (Samuel Barnett) injured and tries to get him to put pressure on his wound. Todd (Eljiah Wood) wakes up from that jolt he got from the electric crossbow. Estevez is holding both guns at them now.
Bart (Fiona Dourif) wants to just stay at the hotel watching TV. Ken (Mpho Koaho) stole some bellhop uniforms in the hopes that they can go where the universe wants to take them. Bart wants to use the fact that she only has two bullets left as an excuse but Ken convinces her to take that chance. Jumping up and down on the bed, she agrees, excited!
Back at the “temple” Dirk and Todd are locked up in one cage while Farah is locked up in another. She uses the underwire in her bra to break out (That was awesome by the way!). Todd confesses that it was his door that she knocked on when she was captured. She figured it out and understands why he didn’t open the door. No worries. Dirk tries to get Todd to forgive him but Todd’s still mad at him.
Estevez comes in with Lydia Spring (Alison Thornton)/Rapunzel the corgi and Rapunzel/Lydia wanting to try to switch them back. However, the machine’s smoking a bit. The corgi (with Dirk as interpreter) is barking/communicating that they can’t use the machine anymore. Estevez just wants a “normal” explanation starting with accusing Dirk and Todd for being involved with what happened with Lydia. Farah however gets out to disarm Estevez. Defeated, Estevez just wants answers. Estevez gets riled up when Dirk tried explaining, so Todd takes a crack at it. Todd sums up what we learned in last week’s episode about Zachariah Webb (Julian McMahon), the time machine, and Rimmer’s group “The Men of the Machine.” Farah seems surprised and Estevez just wants to fix Lydia. Dirk tells him that they know where there’s another soul swapper they can use and they need to take the time machine.
Rimmer goes to the police station demanding that the Captain (Eric Keenleyside) help him make a final stand at Spring’s mansion since the other machine is there. They still have a chance to be in control. The Captain is reluctant because the other members that are higher up in power are non-responsive. Rimmer at this point has put him at risk as well.
Back at the Spring mansion, Farah gets some guns hidden in wine barrels. Estevez wonders if those guns are legal, but lets it slide. Estevez, knowing that they have a time machine, wants to go back to fix everything but Todd warns that’s not how it works. In the hidden room, they go through the process of swapping Lydia back. Todd has only seen it done once with the other machine at the animal transfer unit but takes an educated guess. With Farah and Estevez’s help, they do the body switch. Lydia wakes up as herself again! Relieved, Lydia knew that Farah would come through as soon as she saw her. After looking at Todd and Dirk, Lydia realizes that they threw her off the bridge. Awkward. Gunshots are heard upstairs. Estevez and Farah go into battle mode. Farah orders Lydia to stay there. Meanwhile upstairs the Rowdy 3 with Amanda (Hannah Marks) come to the rescue again and takes care of most of the SWAT team that Rimmer brought with him. Rimmer makes it into the house and shoots at Farah and Estevez.
While they are having a showdown, Todd and Dirk want to send the time machine back to start the time loop. Lydia is at the center of it. She wants to destroy it but both Todd and Dirk explain that they must send it back otherwise she will not exist. Todd is out of it at this point, my guess is because of the shock he received earlier. Lydia is about to crank the machine when Dirk realizes that the machine is damaged. Dirk and Todd are about to fix it when Ed and Zed interrupt. Todd hits Ed, and Zed shoots from his crossbow hitting Dirk again trying to protect Lydia. Lydia uses the machine as leverage before Ed and Zed kill anyone. Farah and Estevez are closing in on Rimmer but he uses a light bomb to try to bypass them. Zed calls Lydia’s bluff but before he can shoot her Bart and Ken walk in!
Bart shoots Ed and uses Zed’s crossbow against him, electrocuting him. Ken interrupts Bart, who is about to shoot Dirk, by realizing he was hired to create the energy device! He’s meeting his destiny by fixing the time machine. Meanwhile Rimmer finds Farah, who managed get Rapunzel. He demands his dog back. She refuses. He threatens to shoot her in between the eyes. She throws the dog at Rimmer, who drops his gun to catch his dog. Estevez throws her a handgun and she shoots Rimmer right between the eyes! Rapunzel barks and runs away.
Dirk writes his note. With the machine fixed, it starts whirring. Dirk puts the note into the time machine and cranks it but Bart puts a gun to his face. They stare at each other for several seconds when she shoots Zed instead of Dirk. With no bullets left, she realizes that maybe she wasn’t supposed to kill him. She says bye and wants to leave since she believes Dirk and co are “nutjobs.” Ken shrugs his shoulders at Todd like, “the people the universe gives us to watch over.” Finally, Todd, Dirk, and Lydia turn the crank, sending the machine back, starting the time loop. The case is over!
Todd wakes up at his apartment with Amanda standing above him. She tells him that Estevez brought Dirk to the hospital while Farah took Lydia somewhere. Amanda gloats that she was there with the Rowdy 3 and sent most the bad guys away. She says that it will be the last time the guys will help him. Amanda even knows that Todd is mad at Dirk because he tricked him. She wants him to get over it because at the end of the day, his lying still saved Lydia. That counts for something. Todd has also changed for the better by being honest. Amanda decided to still go with the Rowdy 3, they gave her a jacket so it’s official. She leaves giving Todd the middle finger salute.
Now that Ken has met his destiny, Bart is worried that he wants to go off on his own now. She understands if that’s his decision considering she kidnapped him and all. Ken surprises her by wishing to stay, making Bart very happy! Rapunzel is hanging out in the car so they have a dog now too.
Lydia will be going out of the country in hiding since they don’t know if Rimmer’s group will still go after her. She thanks Farah for her help. They have a heart to heart where Farah blames herself but Lydia doesn’t think so. Lydia thinks Farah is a badass. Farah is perfect just how she is. Lydia wants her to be happy and hang out with her new friends. As she’s leaving she transfers to Farah 4 million dollars.
Colonel Scott Riggins (Miguel Sandoval) visits Dirk while he’s unconscious. He’s proud of him and appreciates that Dirk showed him what was possible. Dirk wakes up alone. He leaves the hospital surprised to see Todd has picked him up. He doesn’t understand why Todd is there considering how the case is over. Todd is still his friend and wants in on the next case. Besides Farah wants to meet with them.
At the restaurant, Farah wants to make sure that they get their stories straight when the police start asking questions. As long as they don’t get arrested, Farah would like to be a silent partner in the detective agency. Todd has been promoted to ward, which pisses Todd off. As all three hammer out details, Amanda and Vogle (Osric Chau) are dancing while the other Rowdys are just hanging out in their chairs. Bart and Ken are driving off to their next adventure more relaxed with each other.
Alas, happiness comes to an end. Estevez is at the police station, wondering why it’s empty and there are strange men clearing stuff out. He goes to the Captain’s office about to confront him about covering his tracks when he sees the dead body. Sgt Hugo Friedkin (Dustin Milligan) comes out of the office instead. He’s been tasked with cleaning up the mess with Spring and the “Men of the Machine.” He’s already burned down the Spring mansion and the transfer unit at the zoo. Everyone that knows about what happened has to be killed. The psychics will get picked up. As Friedkin is talking, Estevez is already bleeding from getting shot. He tries to make a last stand with a gun behind his back but Friedkin knows his ploy and proceeds to shoot him several more times. Estevez collapses from his wounds! Friedkin is getting paid 80 freaking million dollars for this!
Back at the restaurant, Dirk wants Todd to get a feel as to what their next case will be. All Todd is feeling is the need to go to the bathroom. Dirk however does get a sense something is wrong, tells Farah he will be right back and leaves. Farah signs the check. Meanwhile Martin (Michael Eklund) smells something in the air again, asks Vogle to take Amanda with him. The others are getting ready for battle as pink and blue smoke is in the air. Bart and Ken get stopped by an army tank and several soldiers with guns. Bart gets out of the car and picks up a rock. Ken has his hands up. Dirk walks some, then stops when he steps on a Lux DuJour card, which says, “we’ll never let you go.” When he looks up it’s Friedkin, waving. Farah wonders where Dirk went off to. Amanda calls Todd freaking out about they are coming. As Todd is leaving he gets a vision of his hands burning. He curls up on the floor screaming. Amanda on the phone wondering what the hell is going on!
That’s how the season one finale ends folks! OMG!
Thoughts and Theories
Guys, I don’t even know where to begin because I’m all in my feelings with this last 10 minutes! Great direction and flow from this episode again from both Max Landis and director Paco Cabezas! I want to hurt Friedkin so bad right now. I want him to die a slow and torturous death. What makes it even worse is the amount of money he’s getting paid to do this! It’s just foul that the CIA set up Riggins just because he wanted to treat the Black Wing subjects with decency. Does this mean that Lydia is going to die because of what she knows? As if it’s bad enough that the girl was turned into a dog for a week before switching back to herself!
The straw that broke the camel’s back? Killing Estevez! After seeing the teamwork between himself and Farah I was so hoping to see more of that next season! He either could’ve been part of the detective agency or could’ve been their liaison at the police station. Friedkin could’ve offered an agreement not to talk for fear of getting sued by the government! Estevez could’ve even been recruited. Was killing necessary?
Talk about karma’s timing! Todd has Pararibulitis now! Can you imagine the conversation between Todd and Amanda about that?
Todd: Hey Amanda, I have to tell you something.
Amanda (irritated): What do you want Todd?
Todd: It’s important. You know that lie I told you about having Pararibulitis?
Amanda: Yeah….
Todd: So yeah, I have the disease now. I guess you can say karma really is a bitch huh?
Amanda: You’re joking right? You expect me to believe you after all of that?
Todd: You have to believe me I started showing symptoms when you called me about the Rowdy 3 being in danger!
Amanda: Well good then! Now you know how I feel every day! At least I got a way of relieving my symptoms. Good luck with that, bye!
By the way, what is up with Amanda’s house? Was she renting it or something? Is she still going to have it now she’s trying to hang with the Rowdy 3? She may need it soon if the guys get caught by the CIA. Or not if she’s still on the run.
I did like the touching moment between Lydia and Farah. Both when she first woke up and right before she left town. It was long overdue and Farah needs to embrace her quirkiness. I’m glad that she’s investing in Dirk’s business because I was wondering how Todd was going to support himself. Farah, I hope you invested some of that money so you don’t spend all of it on Dirk and Todd! Now that the Spring mansion has burned down, courtesy of Friedkin, I hope Farah has another stash of weapons somewhere.
After Rapunzel was back to her old self, I felt like her running away barking and whimpering was her way of saying, “Screw this! All y’all are crazy! I need to get away from you!” Just when she may have had some stability with Bart and Ken they get caught by those soldiers!
Ken and Bart were adorable as well in this episode. I loved how Koaho was so excited about seeing the machine! I knew he was meant to help them with the machine in some capacity! It was also good that Ken acknowledged Todd like he knew that they are Dirk and Bart’s companions through their adventures.
One thing I am happy about is that Rimmer is FINALLY dead! The way it was done was glorious. I felt it was fitting that Farah would be the one to end him. See where greed gets you?
What I’m hoping happens next season? As much as I want everyone to be able to escape from the soldiers trying to capture them, I also wouldn’t mind the Rowdy 3, Dirk, and Bart to interact with each other. Maybe they will work together to escape from whatever facility they get captured in while Todd, Ken, Farah, and Amanda try to find them. It would be a great way for the different characters to interact with each other. I was a little disappointed that Bart and Ken didn’t run into the Rowdy 3 and Amanda in this episode even though everyone was at the Spring mansion.
Now that the season is over I noticed that most of Amanda’s visions have come true, but there are still a few that are on the fence. One of them being where she is covered in blue shiny glitter. Still don’t know what that means. The clowns in the field could reference the soldiers coming after the Rowdy 3 but not sure yet. We’ll see once the show comes back.
I will miss this quirky show! Stay tuned for my interview with Fiona Dourif aka Bart and check out the latest episode of the Sci Fantasy Podcast where we interview Mpho Koaho aka Ken!
What are your thoughts regarding the season as a whole? Sound off below in the comments!
Tracy Reese. Olivier Rousteing. Aisha Ayensu—what do they have in common? Besides being successful black designers, they will soon share in the shine at the Museum at FIT at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. The museum is spotlighting several generations of African and African American fashion designers from the 1950s to the present in a new exhibit called “Black Fashion Designers,” which opens on Dec. 6.
The exhibit will feature 75 designs from more than 60 designers. They represent the transition from 19th-century dressmaking traditions that encompassed countless, unnamed black dressmakers, to the modern conception of a fashion designer. It is organized according to categories and themes, including eveningwear, menswear, street style, experimental fashion, and African influences.
The black experience is prominent in the work of many designers featured in the exhibition. For instance, Paris-based Patrick Kelly drew inspiration from his American Southern roots. The colorful buttons on his knit dress reference the mismatched buttons his grandmother used to mend his family’s clothing, noted a description on the museum’s website. Aisha Ayensu spins traditional Ghanaian wax-print textiles into ready-to-wear pieces. Duro Olowu, a Nigerian-Jamaican, London-based designer draws on multiple cultural perspectives and emphasizes Africa’s historic role in cultural production and international trade.
A section of the exhibition devoted to black designers breaking into the industry features work by New York-based Zelda Wynn Valdes, whose sultry designs were worn by Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, and Gladys Knight; and Ann Lowe, an unknown designer at the time who owned her own dress shop on Lexington Avenue and created custom-made gowns for society clients, including Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding gown. She became one of the first leading black fashion designers.
Duro Olowu, ensemble, Fall 2012. Image: The Museum at FIT
The exhibit also features Laura Smalls’ floral-print dress that Michelle Obama wore for her appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden‘s Carpool Karaoke.
Though it is a celebration of designers whose heritage influences their inspiration and creations, and who have made a cultural impact on the fashion world, the museum also noted that the exhibit aims to highlight the fact that many black designers have too often been unrecognized and underrepresented. It aims to bring awareness to the challenges faced by black designers and showcase how their experiences have changed over time.
“Although there have been exhibitions on individual black designers, this is the first major exhibition in many years that highlights the global history of black fashion designers from the 1950s to the present,” stated the curators on the museum’s website.
Black fashion designers began to gain recognition during the late 1940s, even while still segregated within the fashion industry, notes the museum’s website, adding that even today, they make up only about 1% of the designers covered by VogueRunway.com, the go-to online site for viewing collections from fashion weeks around the world.
Another section of the exhibition devoted to activism showcases fashions that send political and social messages. There’s also a tribute to black models and Ebony Fashion Fair, which gave them a national platform, as well as a short film in which former Vogue editor André Leon Talley interviews designers Tracy Reese and Mimi Plange.
The exhibit runs through May 16, 2017. For those interested in learning more, The Museum at FIT will host a one-day symposium on Feb. 6, 2017, featuring talks by designers, models, journalists, and scholars on African diaspora culture and fashion.