This Oompa Loompa is my Muse
February '24, Vol. 1, Iss. 3. We're talking about Glasgow and Manet, Banksy and Kate Middleton, Cowgirl Beyonce, and Gutsy Olivia Rodrigo in a news roundup.
Welcome to our third issue of Muse New Monthly! (Wow, that month went super fast!!?)
In this issue you’ll find:
Top Art News from February 🖼️
Top Music News from February 🎵
Stauney & Sadie’s Monthly Favorites 💕
Wow, things are topsy-turvy in the art world. Climate activists are throwing things again (a lot of things), a guy sent a bunch of sculptures to space and someone forgot to turn the safety on, and in a weird twist, many museums are actually being forced to return stolen art to their original countries (isn’t that a nice change?). But let’s look at some of the most interesting moments for women this month, shall we?
The Sad Glasgow Oompa Loompa 🍭
If you haven’t seen the photos from the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience, you are missing out. The experience was put on by the House of Illuminati (not sketchy at all), and had been falsely advertised with ai generated photos, that quickly didn’t match up to reality when parents & kids walked through dirty warehouse doors with their $45-a-head tickets and instead of the “fountains of chocolate” promised, their children got 3 jellybeans a piece, a dixie cup of lemonade, and a fright from some weird ai scripted monster called “the unknown.”
But the true masterpiece of it all was a photo of the actress hired to play an oompa loompa. Many online are comparing her to the Mona Lisa, but one art comparison landed flawlessly when someone placed this photo of her next to Manet’s famous painting A Bar at the Folies Bergère (1882).
Perhaps not so surprisingly, some saw parallels in Manet’s barmaid, who stares blankly at the viewer, her hands on a table lined with champagne and oranges. The barmaid in the painting, based on a real person named Suzon, is so striking because she seems totally unaffected by her chaotic surroundings, this is labor for her, not play.
The Oompa Loompa, (played by a lovely woman named Kristy) in the same way, is just a woman on the job, and her blank expression with her hands resting on the table of lab equipment (it’s giving breaking bad) in what was supposed to be a colorful and magical experience for children, so perfectly mirrors that famous painting from history. ah modern art.
Is Kate Middleton Banksy? 🖍️
A beloved Banksy mural “Ghetto 4 Life” was recently removed from its home in Brooklyn and shipped (yep, they shipped an entire wall) to Connecticut. The piece, which was on a wall, had to be moved due to some demolition making place for a charter school. However many locals feel a major loss about the piece that was considered a source of pride for the community. The city tried very hard to keep the piece in New York, even aiming to offer it to the Met or other local museums, but couldn’t stop the move when a buyer claimed the piece.
Of course, the question that always arises when Banksy makes their way into the news is their identity. Although it remains a mystery, the recent disappearance of Kate Middleton from the public eye due to a reported abdominal surgery led to some interesting conspiracies. Maybe Kate is Banksy?
The Duchess of Cambridge probably isn’t the famed and mysterious artist, but we still hope (crossing our fingers) that Banksy is a woman.
The music world is always buzzing, and this month was no excuse with the Grammy’s and the Superbowl Halftime show taking up headlines for the first half of the month. Also, almost everyone (Taylor, Beyoncé, Ariana, Kacey, Selena, Normani… and Ben Affleck?) has announced or released new music, so a lot is going on and a lot more to look forward to! But here are a few notable bits of news.
Beyoncé is Country… and people are mad? 🤠
On the evening of the Super Bowl, Beyoncé dropped two new songs, and they were totally country bops. The two new songs are expected to appear on Act II, the second installment of the three-act project Beyoncé kicked off with Renaissance. Since their surprise release, both songs debuted in the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Texas Hold ‘Em” even managed to secure her the first notable placement for a black woman on the country charts. (wow it took that long…?)
However, the songs also quickly garnered controversy. A country radio station in Oklahoma refused to play her new music stating: "We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station." After hundreds of emails and phone calls, KYKC eventually added Beyoncé's "Texas Hold' Em" to the rotation. But the damage had been done, and many others made complaints. (One notable comment was an idiot who claimed ‘country can’t be glam’, to which someone responded: “Don’t tell Dolly Parton that.”)
Country music has long been considered a genre made by and for white people. However, this conception is false with the roots of the genre being heavily influenced by Black music and shaped by Black traditions. The popular country instrument the banjo, was even made by enslaved Black Americans. It’s simply another instance of people appropriating black culture as their own.
Beyoncé's mom even came forward to speak out about how her daughter (born and raised in Texas), has always been country saying “ We have always celebrated Cowboy Culture growing up in Texas. We also always understood that it was not just about it belonging to White culture only. In Texas, there is a huge black cowboy culture. When people ask “Why is Beyonce wearing cowboy hats?” I actually laugh because it's been there since she was a kid. We went to rodeos every year and my whole family dressed in Western fashion.”
Olivia Rodrigo has Guts 😈
Olivia Rodrigo is on her Guts Tour and it’s extremely exciting, but what made it even more exciting was that shortly before taking the stage in Palm Springs for the opening night of her Guts World Tour, she launched her Fund 4 Good supporting reproductive rights. The fund will directly support girls’ education, support reproductive rights, and prevent gender-based violence. Fund 4 Good tables with resources for fans will be set up at all of her Guts tour stops and a portion of the proceeds from her ticket sales will go toward the Fund 4 Good, as well as the National Network of Abortion Funds in North America.
Despite the fears that cause many stars not to speak vocally about political issues, (after what happened to the Chicks) this isn’t the first time she’s spoken out in favor of reproductive freedom and Women’s Health. In June 2022, she blasted the Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade during her Glastonbury set before performing “F–k You” with Lily Allen and saying: “I’m devastated and terrified that so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this, I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have shown us that at the end of the day, they truly don’t give a s—t about freedom.”
We can’t help but applaud and admire her (as always). We have lots of hope for the new stars of music rising on the scene and the difference they are aiming to make with their voices, both through music and words. Plus she’s just so cool and we adore her.
Stauney
💿 Tunes & Tracks: little miss misogyny by audalei. A song calling out the part of me that used to want to be ‘one of the guys.’
📖 Page-Turner: Shouting out “Secret Voices: A Year of Women's Diaries” by Sarah Gristwood from our interview this month because the concept and idea are incredible and I have loved seeing the connections between women throughout time.
🎨 Masterpiece: Anita Tango Art on Tiktok makes these stunning paintings that have secret messages in them, and her latest called “field notes” is so perfect. I love hearing the meanings behind each of them. Another of my favs is “go away green.”
Sadie
💿 Tunes & Tracks: Deep Well by Kacey Musgraves! It made me emotional in a way that a song hasn’t in a long time and I can’t WAIT for her new album.
📺 Must-See Series: I can’t stop watching reality TV, my favorites from this month are Southern Hospitality and the newest season of Love is Blind
🎙️ Podcast Rec: Songwriter Soup! An amazing resource for not just songwriters, but anybody pursuing a creative career. (Also Easter egg for an episode next month 😏
What’s next? March Madness🔥
It’s Women’s History Month!!!! We are thrilled to be kicking off our month-long celebration of feminine rage with a merch drop and themed (and extra) episodes all month long! The Merch will only be available this month so be sure to scoop it up before it’s gone!!! It’s at morethanamusepodcast.com/store
The “Mad Woman” hoodie and crewneck are embroidered and say ‘there’s nothin’ like a mad woman’ on the front, and then feature 31 quotes (one for each day of march) on the back about the power of female anger and feminine rage.
The “Myths of Madness” crewneck and t-shirt feature illustrations of all the different animals and creatures that have frequently been used as insults against women when they get angry, like witch, shrew, she-devil, and more.
We also have a cute “March Madness” t-shirt, and multiple color options for all so don’t miss it!
