Pop Shots – That’s a New Look

Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from Katy Perry hopping on a Harley, to Rihanna’s “visual autobiography,” to Foo Fighters putting their own spin on two classics, and since this is Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

* That new Katy Perry song you just started hearing on the radio is “Harleys in Hawaii.” Scrapped potential titles for the song included “Mopeds in Minneapolis,” and “Scooters in Sheboygan.”

* K-pop supergroup SuperM debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with SuperM: The 1st Mini Album. This comes a little over two months after the group was formed. I think only Jordy had a faster rise to fame.


* Rihanna celebrated the release of her new “visual autobiography,” Rihanna, at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Do you know what we used to call a “visual autobiography?” A picture book. Of course, it’s tough to charge $150 for a picture book, so “visual autobiography” it is. Those kids at the dentist’s office have no idea how lucky they are with their posh “visual article collections” … also known as Highlights.

* DMX canceled a series of scheduled performances, and checked himself into a rehab clinic for substance abuse. It’s gotta be tough for a guy to go through a 12 step program when he’s used to just four steps – stop, drop, shut ‘em down, open up shop.


* Miley Cyrus and Cody Simpson are pop music’s newest couple. I gotta admit, I find this a bit confusing, because I could’ve sworn I knew of every character on The Simpsons.

* Filter was forced postponed their tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their sophomore album, Title of Record, due to scheduling conflicts involving frontman Richard Patrick’s work in film scoring. So instead of going on tour, he’ll … take a (motion) picture.


* Foo Fighters surprised fans with another unannounced EP, this one titled, 01020225 (which totally just rolls off the tongue). The four track effort has covers of The B-52’s song “Planet Claire,” and the Psychedelic Furs’ “Sister Europe,” as well as Foo Fighters’ originals ”The One," which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2002 movie Orange County, and “Win Or Lose,” which was on the soundtrack to the 2001 movie Out Cold. Quick question – if a Foo Fighters cover band does a cover of Foo Fighters doing a cover, does the universe implode?

* Julien’s Auctions has one of Kurt Cobain’s custom guitars available, as well as the cardigan he wore during Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance, as part of a two day auction that will be held this Friday and Saturday. The people who bid, but don’t win these items, will be offered all apologies.


* Echosmith have released the title track off their upcoming album, Lonely Generation (due out January of 2020), and it’s another pop gem. In a statement, the band said of the song, and video, “No matter what situation we’re in, we’re constantly being consumed by our phones, and having the hardest time being present. This video really captures that, while also serving as a sneak peek into every single video we made for this album. We made a total of 12 music videos. So stay tuned.”


And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.