I have a thing for freakish fast-food menu items. Always have. Back when Facebook wasn’t the platform for Boomer rage, I frequently amused myself by putting up the latest in chain publicity stunt psychosis for group consensus. Looking back, KFC’s Famous Bowl, a glop of every conceivable menu item, from chicken to mashed potatoes to … Continue reading
Category Archives: Trash
Stop Trying to Cock-Block America: “The Idol” Is a Trash Masterpiece
Blame it on the cum shot. That’s all it took for me to fall permanently and irrevocably in love with HBO’s widely loathed, universally mocked, critically maligned, and now-officially canceled and “canceled” show The Idol, created by Euphoria‘s Sam Levinson, Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd, and Reza Fahim, all of whom have been unfairly raked … Continue reading
The John Waters Collection Doesn’t Hate You, but Contemporary Art Still Might
Someone was taking a dump in The John Waters Restrooms at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Was it an art-inspired intestinal emergency or a dedicated tribute to the filmmaker whose major public stink involved Divine sampling some doggy-doo in the filthy finale of Pink Flamingos? Or perhaps, this intrepid museum-goer previously devoured John’s chapter “Act … Continue reading
Montreal’s “Barbie Expo” is Kitsch Heaven: A (Mostly) Photo Essay
“I just want to be perfect,” says Karen Carpenter in the recording studio, played by a Barbie doll fashioned by director Todd Haynes in, what I would argue, is still his best film, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. Thanks to Haynes’s deranged casting choice, Barbie is a flawless proxy for Karen Carpenter, the wholesome clear-voiced … Continue reading
From the Filthy Dreams Kitchen: Revoltingly Romantic Recipes to Give Your Beloved Heartburn This Valentine’s Day
L is for Love, baby. O is for Only you that I do. V is for loving Virtually all that you are and E is for loving almost Everything you do. R is for…*cough* Ahem…why hello there, my sugary Filthy Dreams sweethearts! What’s that? Oh, I’m just singing Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ maniacal … Continue reading
Trump’s New 45 Wine & Whiskey Is the Best Bar for Considering the End of America
“Watch the wire.” That’s what I was warned as I maneuvered my way around marble-topped tables and White House gewgaws at the new 45 Wine & Whiskey Bar, a Trump-themed Trump bar at Trump Tower on a recent Friday night, trying to reach two plush high-backed dusty magenta chairs that wouldn’t look out of place … Continue reading
It’s More Like Beanie Baby Bankruptcy: A Conversation on “Beanie Mania”
America is a series of scams. That’s the only conclusion to come to after watching HBO Max’s documentary Beanie Mania, directed by Yemisi Brookes, which explores the brand of capitalism unique to the United States as filtered through the Beanie Baby frenzy of the late 1990s: get rich quick schemes, exploitation of workers, tax evasion, … Continue reading
Filthy Dreams’ Fanatical Superlatives of 2021
*Blows horn* *shoots confetti cannon* Happy New Year, dearest Filthy Dreams readers! Has it been a year or five? We can’t figure it out either. Can you believe the one year anniversary of the Capitol insurrection is only a few days away? Screw New Year’s Eve, what are you planning for that day? Storming a … Continue reading
BRACE! BRACE! BRACE!: Filthy Dreams’ 10 Most-Read Essays of 2021
“I love cheese–Du dum! I love CHEEEEEEESE! DU-DUM!” Oh, why hello there, faithful Filthy Dreams readers! What’s that? Oh, I’m just singing the iconic song by YouTube mukbanger and the filthiest person alive, Nikocado Avocado, who has become a particular obsession of ours this year! You’re not familiar?! How DARE you? Watch any number of … Continue reading
Diana-rama!: Why Does Princess Di Inspire Such Schlock (And Why Do I Love It So)?
In the latter half of the year of our Lord—or really Lady—2021, I decided to become a Princess Diana obsessive. That’s right, send me all your purple Princess Diana Beanie Babies that you’ve been squirreling away under your beds since the late 1990s just in case they finally become worth more than NFTs. I’m now … Continue reading