Every time a paparazzi photograph of Lana Del Rey leaving the mega-church Churchome in Beverly Hills made its way across my Instagram scroll, I rolled my eyes. Not because I was clutching my pearls at Churchome pastor Judah Smith’s previous homophobic comments (unsurprising). Not because it’s also Justin Bieber’s post-Hillsong refuge (who cares). Not even … Continue reading
Tag Archives: trash religiosity
Worshipping at the Feet of Greer Lankton’s Sacred Stilettos, “JESUS’S CHA-CHA HEELS”
I fell into Greer Lankton’s exhibition DOLL PARTY at Company—or more precisely, I stumbled. I don’t mean I stumbled upon the show at random. I actually caught myself before I went tumbling off the bottom step of the steep staircase that led to the dim black-walled gallery space, stabilizing my unsteady legs before my joints … Continue reading
If I Stay All Night and Talk: Conversation as Corrective in Nick Cave and Seán O’Hagan’s “Faith, Hope and Carnage”
Does an artist need to believe—or at the very least consider—the existence of God (or the divine, a higher power, or whatever it is you want to call it) in order to create transcendent work? That’s the question I’ve been wrestling with ever since listening to an advanced copy of the audiobook for Nick Cave … Continue reading
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis Made Me Believe In the Kingdom in the Sky
It probably says something that Nick Cave mused about becoming a cult leader two nights in a row at New York’s Beacon Theatre. This tip of the hand happened at the start of “Balcony Man,” the final comedown song on the hallucinatory album Carnage, released last year with his musical partner-in-crime Warren Ellis, that also … Continue reading
Aren’t We Special?: Filthy Dreams’s 10 Most-Read Essays Of 2019
Why hello there, faithful Filthy Dreams denizens! The beautiful people who keep our humble tribute to trash alive! The fuel that keeps our fanatical fires burning! Yes, that’s right–where and what would we be without YOU?! You should really give yourself a round of applause, treat yourself to some terribly ill-advised shot of well liquor … Continue reading
Does “Midsommar” Satisfy Our Universal Urge To Join A Cult?
*Ho HA!* What’s that, dearest Filthy Dreams cult member…*ahem* I mean, reader? Oh, I’m just practicing my new method breathing for when I move to Sweden to join the Hårga, that darkly sunny commune, from director and writer Ari Aster’s deeply unsettling yet intoxicatingly beautiful cult horror classic Midsommar. I’m ready to drink mushroom tea … Continue reading
God Is In The House: Are We Living In A New Age Of Trash Religiosity?
Last week, Tila Tequila…I mean, Tornado Thien, the reality show star turned (neo)Nazi sympathizer, has apparently made yet another whiplash-inducing transition: religious zealot, announcing on a rambling high decibel live YouTube stream that she would be starting a GoFund Me campaign to fundraise for her upcoming gospel album. Continue reading