Gilmore Girls’ Purity Problem

Gilmore Girls is one of the most beloved and evergreen shows that came out of the early 2000's - it's also long been considered to be one of the most progressive and even feminist shows of its time period....but there is one MAJOR issue that the writers did not always handle well : the issue of virginity. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe

RED is famously one of Taylor Swift's greatest fall records - to some, it is one of the greatest fall records OF ALL TIME. In the spirit of season, here's a lyric analysis of the bookends of that album, State of Grace and Begin Again. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe

In 2010, there was perhaps no one more famous on planet earth than Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, the stars of the Twilight series. After trying to keep their relationship a secret in spite of the magnifying glass on their lives for nearly a year, the truth finally came out...and ruined everything. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe

One of my absolute favorite kinds of videos to watch on YouTube are ASMR videos - they're how I relax, unwind, calm down, and fall asleep. In celebration of the announcement that the Lizard Review will begin posting on YouTube this next week, I decided to pay tribute to my favorite YouTube videos by doing a little bit of pop girl ASMR for you all. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe

Since the launch of Nielsen Soundscan in 1991, A LOT has changed about the way we consume music, which means that a lot has changed about the way music consumption is reflected on the Billboard chart which has purported itself to be a fair aggregate of the music that MOST people are generally listening to and the music that MOST people like since its inception. With the influx of digital music downloads, streaming, TikTok virality, and the massive sociopolitical divides that seep into every corner of culture....do the Billboard charts REALLY represent the "most popular" or "most liked" songs or artists in music anymore? Does it matter? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe

With the influx of reality television, the media's obsession with female celebrities reaching a fever pitch, and the digital era all converging at once....there were some pretty interesting public weddings that took place in the y2k era. Before we had celebrities like Tom Holland and Zendaya wisely choosing to keep their nuptials private, we had people like Kim Kardashian and Jessica Simpson turning their weddings into reality television and tabloid spectacles. Here are FOUR of my favorite messiest celebrity marriages from the archives, each more bizarre and shocking than the last. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe

In November 2003, on the precipice of a brand new chapter of her life and career, Britney Spears sat down with Diane Sawyer for a Primetime interview to discuss everything from her so-called "new edgier image", to her new album, her family, life in the public eye, and her highly publicized breakup with NSYNC member Justin Timberlake. Even 23 years later, this interview is compelling, shocking, and most importantly, very indicative of the way we thought about and treated our female celebrities in the 2000's. In this episode, I go through it moment by moment, and word for word - reflecting on purity culture, mid-riffs, and y2k fashion, while also comparing the interview and its contents to the way we talk about female celebrities today. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe

Every season has its own set of albums that make it special - here's summer's very own list of the most free, hot, angry, fun, and sunny albums that I spin every single year without fail.Playlist on Spotify / Apple Music This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe

Love and relationships are something Taylor Swift has loved to explore in her lyrics from day one - and part and parcel with that exploration, she has spent a fair amount of time in her catalog even from her youngest years ruminating on marriage. Through her lyrics she’s expressed a lot about what she thinks a marriage should be, when marriage should come, the kinds of men she thought she would marry, and on this potential day of her real wedding, I thought it would be a sort of homage both to her writing AND her journey to finding “THE ONE” to go through and revisit these songs and track her shifting attitudes - if they ever did shift - towards marriage. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe

This episode dares to ask some of the boldest questions ever asked....questions like...what if Beyonce' were a Taylor Swift album? What if Dua Lipa were a Taylor Swift album? What if Avril Lavigne were a Taylor Swift album? If we could sort some of the most famous women in music into Taylor Swift albums as if they were personality types, where would we place them? Come along with me for a very long kiki as I decide which pop stars are most like which albums from the beginning of Taylor's catalog to her most recent entries. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe