Reels, Notes and Takes: Transitioning to fall

There’s no better place to keep a finger on the pulse of arts and entertainment happenings than Los Angeles. The arts and entertainment world is alive – it’s always buzzing, sometimes ready to implode with a hint of a surprise album or a celebrity’s controversial statement. Each week, the Daily Bruin Arts & Entertainment editors will discuss their views on recent topics and trends in pop culture.

Lady Gaga gets serious about campus assault

I was first introduced to Lady Gaga when she wore meat dresses, platform heels and bright wigs. In my mind, she was always the artist with crazy fashion that produced catchy songs.

Lady Gaga’s recently released music video for “Til It Happens to You” placed the pop star in a more serious light. The black and white video tells the stories of multiple college women who are sexually assaulted and begin to feel accepted and valuable again.

Alone, the lyrics of “Til it Happens to You” could refer to anything from a heartbreak to losing a job. By adding the silent video over the music, a new story is created to support the “It’s On Us” organization.

The singer is known for her social activism, such as celebrating the LGBT movement in “Born This Way.” However, her newest touching yet graphic video took me aback as it sensitively captures the pain and darkness of rape culture in a way that didn’t seem commercialized.

A man 20 years older than Lady Gaga assaulted her at age 19, likely inspiring the story, though Lady Gaga is never shown in her video. The video isn’t about her, but about the cause. Unlike other pop artists that sing about partying, Lady Gaga impressed me with her mature song and simple visual effects – without an outfit that looks like a cupcake.

-Lindsay Weinberg

Julia Louis-Dreyfus wins again: How many Emmys can she take?

This year, there were once again no prizes for guessing who was going to win the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category at the Emmys, or should I call it, the Julia Louis-Dreyfus Foregone Conclusion category.

Louis-Dreyfus has now taken home six Emmys in her career, four in a row in the same category for the same show, “Veep.” Her yearly triumph is seemingly so inevitable that recently she has begun to experiment with her speeches.

So far it’s been out with the teary-eyed, soppy Gwyneth Paltrow approach, and in with political satire and visual gags which include fellow cast members on the show. In 2013, Louis-Dreyfus made arguably one of the funniest acceptance speeches ever to grace an awards stage.

It began with an uncertain pause as she waited for her “Veep” co-star Tony Hale to appear on stage behind her. Clutching her purse, he proceeded to lean in awkwardly and whisper parts of the speech she’d forgotten into the mic. Meanwhile the camera turned to another co-star Anna Chlumsky, who was chewing gum and texting on her phone with a bored expression on her face. In this year’s speech, although not as entertaining as the 2013 edition, Louis-Dreyfus managed to slip in a Donald Trump gag in amidst the thank you’s to the cast and crew of “Veep,” and to her family.

-William Thorne

“Happy Birthday to You”: a gift for all

“Happy Birthday to You” belongs to everyone again, as it should.

Since 1988, Warner Music licensed rights to use the song, claiming ownership of the song and its copyright. The ownership was questioned, as independent filmmakers challenged Warner Music’s ownership in court in 2013. On Tuesday, Judge George H. King announced the song cannot be owned or copyrighted.

The prosecuting team traced the lyrics to its origins, and it did not lead to Warner Music.

Warner Music’s actions are not as unethical as the CEO who once decided to raise the price of Daraprim, a drug that prevents illnesses in AIDS patients. But both cases expose the greed in corporate America. It is ridiculous for Warner Music to profit off of a song that is universal and a tradition to modern day culture.

I enjoy embarrassing my friends by singing the song at restaurants with their servers. It’s a joyous time – one that should not be limited by copyright issues. Thank you, King, for letting America own one of its most popular and deeply-rooted cultural songs.

-Gail Acosta

Frank Ocean – where’s the album?

It’s been two months since Frank Ocean promised us, his loyal fan base, the release of a new album and then failed to deliver.

The possibility of the still-tentative album, whose name is still yet to be announced, was first hinted at through Ocean’s Tumblr page along with an accompanying magazine supposedly titled “Boys Don’t Cry.” The post was tagged #July2015, implying the month of release for both items.

July 2015 has come and gone, leaving nothing behind.

At this point, I’m just afraid Ocean is canceling his plans again, like how he dropped out from headlining FYF Fest in August last-minute. Fans should not feel entitled to new music – after all, the artist should be able to control everything about his work – but a promise, however vague, is a promise.

I wonder if his fan base will develop trust issues, especially after Ocean’s old mixtapes were downloaded onto Spotify mid-August under different titles, sending newly-inducted listeners into a frenzy over the “new material.”

After all this drama, only time will tell about whether his fans really will cry if there’s no album after all.

-Shreya Aiyar