Celine the Satanist

What do Robert Johnson, Black Sabbath and Celine Dion all have in common? They have all been accused of devil-worship. This week, Dion has joined this category thanks to comments made by priest and exorcist Msgr. John Esseff. Dion hasn't visited the crossroads or beheaded any doves. She's launched a gender neutral children's clothing line with Nununu, called CELINUNUNU. Essef is “convinced that the way this gender thing has spread is demonic” and believes “the devil is going after children by confusing gender.”

I always thought that pants were a basic gender neutral clothing item, but Essef doesn't seem to have a vendetta against women wearing pants so much as he wants his followers to buy into the myth that both gender and sex are binary, rather than a spectrum. With a color palette that eschews typical blue and pink, Dion hopes to "inspire your children to be free and find their individuality through clothing." Do uselessly small women's pant pockets enforce gender norms? Personally, I'm just hoping the kids from her target audience will grow up to design a pair of adult gender-neutral pants with pockets that can actually hold stuff; til then, I'll feel a little more rock n' roll when "My Heart Will Go On" gets stuck in my head.

The New New

Grimes released a track called "We Appreciate Power," inspired by North Korea and AI. Phoebe Bridgers released a cover of McCarthy Trenching's "Christmas Song" featuring Jackson Browne. Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne released a music video for "Good Form." Neil Young released "Songs For Judy," a collection of live acoustic recordings from 1976.

End Notes

Idles are raising money for Samaritans by auctioning off 18 pieces of artwork from their album Joy As An Act of Resistance that's been featured in galleries in New York, London and Paris.
Cardi B will be the first female ever to perform at the AVN Awards in Las Vegas this January.

NEWS ROUNDUPCeline Dion Accused of Satanism, New Music from Grimes, Neil Young + More