The Right is Wrong about Russell Brand, That Senator in a Hoodie Ignores The Working Class, Washington Post Caught Lying, Major Punk Rock Milestones for Both Xer's & Millennials (09/24/23)
Plus, John Wick spinoff The Continental releases, and The Hunger Games Prequel looks epic.
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Welcome to The Five. A publication about the things that matter.
Lets dive into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
The big story this week focused on Comedian and podcaster Russell Brand being accused of sexual assault and has been demonetized on YouTube, despite the accusations essentially being prompted by three British news interviewing women from Brand’s past.
Brand, a former alcoholic and drug addict, once admitted to sex with nine different women in a single night, sought treatment for sex addiction as well. Brand vehemently denies the allegations, but to be fair, if he was drunk and high for years on end, it’s entirely possible he can’t recall his own behavior, including rape.
It’s also possible this is a coordinated hit from the media over brand’s anti-lockdown stance as well as his own decision not to get the COVID vaccine.
And, it’s entirely possible that both are true at the same time. The leftists in Hollywood were happy to cover for Brand, until he started saying things they didn’t like.
Now to say the unpopular thing. If Brand had tempered his behavior and public comments even slightly during his early days of fame, he likely wouldn’t be in a position to be accused, and presumably would not have scored a perfect 100% on the STD test, multiple times. It’s not my job to police the behavior of another adult, but moving “straight to sex” with hundreds of strangers (Brand’s words) while under the influence of epic drug and alcohol use is bound to carry consequences.
But Brand will remain both very rich and very famous, regardless of what happens here…and if he remains demonetized on YouTube, a Yale student, falsely accused of rape, has no such luxury.
Saifullah Khan, an Afghan refugee who attended high school in UAE, was able to get a full scholarship to Yale. He was falsely accused of rape (findings later revealed) by a woman he had a consensual encounter with, and was kicked out of Yale, just on the accusation.
Saifullah was thrown off campus and unable to find a meal or charge his phone, was told by Yale he was being reported to ICE to be deported. The expelled student went to a bridge to kill himself, but turned away at the last minute, thinking of his mother.
Now, Saifullah is suing his former college for $110 million.
From the New York Post:
His education was completely derailed after the rape allegations in which the 21-year-old acquaintance claimed that he took advantage of her when she was extremely drunk following an off-campus Halloween costume party.
At trial, Khan’s lawyers argued the encounter was consensual.
Khan was suspended from classes amid the allegations and then returned to school after his 2018 acquittal — despite widespread opposition to his return, including a petition with 78,000 signatures.
He was ultimately kicked out of the school in 2019.
Russell Brand lost his YouTube money, temporarily. In this case, the Political Right’s talking heads (mainly, the Daily Wire) has over-extended their reach to defend him, choosing to ignore the fact that one alleged victim used a rape kit.
Members of the Political Left are hitting Brand hard (but, that’s the play in politics) with only Megyn Kelly giving a balanced take I find credible here.
Brand may be innocent…it’s not my case to investigate, but if he wasn’t banging dozens of women a week, including a 16-year-old when he was in his 30’s (the age of consent in Britain is 16), he wouldn’t be in this position.
Brand has found an odd conglomeration of support, including people who should know better. For example, Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, who did an entire documentary on gender identity in the name of “protecting kids” is now standing up for a dude who fully admitted to banging a 16 year old when he was in his thirties.
Meanwhile, a college student who did not commit rape was literally thrown onto the street to starve by an Ivy League institution and came within inches of killing himself…and is being mostly ignored by all sides.
It aint right.
[two]
A United States Senator from Pennsylvania…now wears shorts to work.
During the 2022 election, I was (somewhat) defensive of John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke on the campaign trail, and continued to run. For the record, I didn’t think he should stay in the race, but the personal attacks and insults went way too far. It’s never OK to mock a person for something they can’t control (like having a stroke).
Here’s what Fetterman sounded like during the campaign, when he was clearly not well enough to be on stage.
It is acceptable, however, to point out when someone is just being a slob and a loser for no reason. Fetterman, who grew up rich, has adopted a hoodie/shorts uniform in order to appeal to a working class base…that he was never part of.
Either that, or he’s just too lazy to put on pants without a drawstring.
In any event, this is the left’s stupid over-reaction to match the right’s stupid defense of Russel Brand.
The pearl clutching is going to new levels here, like in Vox:
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, writing for the people who represented by a guy who looks like he owes back child support and spends half the day smoking outside a McDonalds, have kindly requested the Fetterman at least play dress up for being an adult, if he can’t be one in real life.
Fetterman’s behavior degrades the office of the U.S. Congress, but so do…most Senators. And his weird attire is less damaging than the members of Congress getting away with insider trading, or bending regulations for their personal financial situation.
So, it’s not THAT bad to have a guy dress like this…except for one thing.
Staff and visitors must still wear business attire.
Which means we’re back to the “rules for thee, not for me” of COVID, when celebs were allowed to prance about bare faced, while the rest of the world struggled to breathe through masks.
Which is the terrible irony here…Fetterman isn’t standing up for the low level staffers making $30K in an expensive city, in a time of rampant inflation, to be able to come to work in more affordable attire.
Instead, he’s pretending to be working class, while putting a burden ON low level employees that he refuses to conform to himself.
And in that…his attire does match his attitude.
[three]
For certain Gen Xer’s and Millennials…two events happened involving legendary punk bands.
The first is that beloved cult favorite 80’s indie/pop/punk outfit The Replacements, who never quite “made it” to the mainstream in the 1980’s, but allegedly sold more records in the 2000’s and 2010’s as a series of tastemakers on blogs and popular musicians (notably The Gaslight Anthem and The Hold Steady) began referencing the ‘Mats in interviews and on social media. Somehow, the band keeps getting press in the modern era (like this LA Times article from 2018: “Why Do People Keep Writing About The Replacements, A Band That Never Quite Happened”) despite calling it quits during the George Herbert Walker Bush era.
But it can be hard to become a Replacements fan because…well, the albums are just so poorly recorded. But an expert engineer was able to re-construct one of the band’s classics from the master tapes for a dramatically better sounding version of Tim: Let it Bleed, which first released in 1985.
I can’t guarantee you’ll like the band in general, or this alternate cut of one of the “hits,” but I hope you’ll give “Can’t Hardly Wait” a spin. (Side note: I first fell in love with the band a nearly decade after they broke up, thanks to the soundtrack for the 1998 teen film Can’t Hardly Wait, which is seriously underrated).
(Not on Apple Music Yet, For Some Reason) | YouTube Music
The other major event that helped my generation (or, my mini generation that falls halfway in and out of both Xer’s and Millennials, born between 1997 and 1985 aka the “Xennilals”—hat tip, Matt for that link) is that a lot of us shed real tears to see Blink 182’s surprise return yesterday.
Tom Delong cuts to the bone from the first line, looking back at the band’s end and reformation:
Strangers, from strangers into brothers
From brothers into strangers once again
We saw the whole world, but I couldn't see the meanin'
I couldn't even recognize my friends
The first verse refers to the band’s bitter breakup, conducted via lawyers in which the members didn’t even see one another to say goodbye.
It might have stayed that way forever, except for the fact that drummer Travis Barker barely survived a plane crash and bassist Mark Hoppus got cancer…during COVID, which all wrapped up in just a couple lines.
And I know that next time, ain't always gonna happen
I gotta say, "I love you" while we're here
For me, it hit me that I am indeed 40 years old…and this is the first song I can think of that’s not about losing a parent or a lover, but your best friends dying.
When my paternal grandmother’s first sibling died when I was in late elementary school, her brother Dick said at the dinner after the services “one of us is going to do this 8 more times” (bury the other 8 siblings).
And so it will be for each of us…we either leave this life too soon, or we put our best buddies from elementary school in the ground. I hope that’s not for a long time (on either part), but Blink 182 reminded me this week…it’s not guaranteed.
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music
[four]
The Washington Post once again proved just how far the once great publication has fallen when they released a hit piece on Barstool Sports founder Dave Portenoy.
WaPo was quickly fact checked on X (formerly Twitter) as users pointed out the rampant inconsistencies between the article and Portenoy’s conversation with the journalist…who fully admitted she was writing a hit piece and ignoring the facts.
In this case, WaPo knew Portenoy had released the incriminating call BEFORE they published the article, and decided to push a view not backed by the facts.
Not all mainstream media is bad. Not all corporate media get it wrong, always. But, corporate outlets have zero room to complain about the public’s distrust…when they behave like this.
[five]
As always, let’s check out a pop culture roundup:
Daaaaaang. I really enjoyed both the book and film versions of The Hunger Games sagas (and the excellent soundtracks to boot), but wasn’t sure if a prequel about President Snow’s younger days would be worth it.
This looks like they’ve recaptured the magic and tension of the original series, thanks to an excellent cast that includes Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, Elf), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story, Shazam: Fury of the Gods) and Viola Davis (The Help, Fences), Catch this one in theaters 11/17.
Brie Larson (Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame) plays a fired lab tech in the 1950’s who comes a cooking show senstation…doesn’t look half bad, and based on a best-selling novel. On Apple TV+ 10/13.
Well, nothing good lasts forever. After four nearly perfect films, the John Wick franchise is spinning into TV, albiet without any of the original creative team. And the results are…bad. Reviews are universally rotten for The Continental.
Dang it, I wanted this to be good.
NEW MUSIC:
Charles Wesley Godwin may be best known as the opener for Zach Bryan, but he may soon be filling stadiums on his own accord, once this album takes hold. At first listen, this is a frontrunner for album of the year, in my book.
And finally, if Zach Bryan blinks, it gets covered in this publication. Just a month after releasing the #1 album in the world, the Oklahoma native returns with an EP, featuring collaborations with Bon Iver and Noah Kahan.
Until the next one,
-sth