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The Blogger Beat: Pop Candy
Ready for a sugar rush? This week’s Blogger Beat devours music, television, movies, and more with Pop Candy blogger Whitney Matheson.
By
Emily Leaman
Published Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Whitney Matheson in her natural habitat—in her office at USAToday.com in McLean. And, yes, that's a lightsaber on her desk. Photograph by Chris Leaman
Whitney Matheson, the pop-culture guru behind the Pop Candy blog, started in the news section at USA Today in 1999. Within a few months, she moved over to entertainment to write a weekly pop-culture column called Pop Candy. It quickly gained a following, so she started a blog, Hip Clicks, to write daily digests and commentary on music, movies, and more. In 2005, she merged the two, and the Pop Candy blog as we know it today was born.
Whitney posts on a wide range of topics, from comic books to indie films to mustaches. But the common thread is this: If it’s something she’s passionate about, Whitney will blog about it. Luckily, her interests seem to translate to the masses—she’s found a big audience and built a cult following among pop-culture addicts.
We caught up with the 31-year-old to gorge on TV, music, books, and more. Read on to find out her favorite local celebrity, where she gets her own pop-culture fix, and where she goes in Washington to get away from it all.
Reality show you’d most like to be a contestant on:
“Though I’m way too old for it, MTV’s Made. I might like to be made into a chef or a cab driver, mainly so I could acquire a new skill. (I’m a terrible driver who never cooks dinner.) I also wouldn’t mind being on Deadliest Catch, but I don’t know how to swim.” Favorite podcast:
“Aside from my own? Probably This American Life." Five most-played songs in your iTunes:
“That Handsome Devil’s ‘Wintergreen,’ Tilly and the Wall’s ‘Pot Kettle Black,’ Quitzow’s ‘Sponsor (It Didn’t Mean a Thing),’ the Duchess and the Duke’s ‘Reservoir Park,’ and Vivian Girls’ ‘Where Do You Run To.’ ” Last TV show you watched:
“I watch way too much TV, but my current obsession is Gavin & Stacey on BBC America and Mad Men, of course—this season is too delicious to ignore.” Last movie you saw:
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I see all of the Woody Allen movies, even the ones I’m told to avoid.” The Hills or Gossip Girl?
"Gossip Girl, even though I think all of the characters are evil and soulless, and Chuck Bass is totally channeling James Spader." Project Runway or America’s Next Top Model?
"Eh, neither. I’m not really a fashiony person." Twitter or Facebook?
"I Twitter at least twice a day (twitter.com/popcandy). I like Facebook, but sometimes I get freaked out by all the poking and exchanging of imaginary plants." Law and Order or Law and Order: SVU?
"Neither one, though I still mourn Jerry Orbach." The new 90210 or the original?
"I'm not digging 2.0, so I guess I’ll pick the Kelly Taylor classic." American Idol or Dancing With the Stars?
"I consider both shows utter torture and try to avoid them at all costs." TV show you’d watch straight through in a 24-hour marathon:
"24 is fun for that, but I’ve held several Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathons in my apartment." Favorite spot for a pop-culture fix:
"I dig Melody Records for music and DVDs and Big Planet for my comic-book needs." Favorite spot to get away from it all:
"Wherever the DC Rollergirls are brawling. In winter, I love watching the ice skaters at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden rink." Place we would most likely find you on a Sunday afternoon:
"Either the folk-art wing of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the E Street Cinema, or Hank’s Oyster Bar. On a good Sunday, I hit all three!" Local celebrity you’d most like to meet:
"Maybe Willard Scott or Bob Ryan. Is it weird that I can only think of weathermen?" Show that made you cry—or almost cry—when it went off the air:
"Veronica Mars, because it ended before its time. So did Arrested Development, though at least that show didn’t end on a cliffhanger!" Best book you’ve read in the last year:
"The Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw. It’s an epic graphic novel—700 pages—but is so touching and funny, and I wish it had been twice as long.” Favorite Web site or blog for a pop-culture fix, other than your own:
"Daytrotter, when I need a musical escape." Next week in the Blogger Beat, we get our game face on with sports guru Dan Steinberg, who writes the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog. We talk Nats, Caps, United, and more, and we find out which hometown team Dan thinks has the best fans. Check back Wednesday for the interview! Earlier interviews:
14th & You
Beer Activist
All Blogger Beat interviews Have a favorite local blogger you’d like to hear from? Send an e-mail to eleaman@washingtonian.com. More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Society Photos
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Whitney, Your desk is cool..don’t change a thing! Pop Candy is a great part of every day :)
Posted by: LoriS, Sep 23, 2008 03:55:10 PM
Pop Candy is a must read... Whitney finds the best bits of cool/hip info!
Posted by: Liz, Sep 23, 2008 02:15:12 PM
Pop Candy rules!
resistance is futile.
All your base are belongs to us!
Posted by: JasonC, Sep 23, 2008 11:25:05 AM
Whitney is the best, her site is a MDR (minimum daily requirement) for anything and everything. It is a must read and it is so up to date that if you read every day you will have the jump on all conversations. Ms. Whitney is one of the smartest people I have ever come in contact with, her ability to transfer information in her blog so that people can understand it boggles the mind...READ IT EVERY CHANCE YOU GET !
Posted by: TheProfessor69, Sep 18, 2008 01:24:54 PM
Pop candy rules! Glad to see Whitney Matheson and her site getting the attention she deserves.
Posted by: Jamiehp31, Sep 18, 2008 08:29:22 AM
I love pop candy! Yay for Whitney.
Also - I agree about the facebook anxiety, though I always feel pressure to send out those imaginary plants. I do it against my better judgement, but then, I’m also responsible for saving about 60 sq. feet of rain forest. Right? No? (le sigh)
Posted by: Crazy4Lep, Sep 17, 2008 02:04:08 PM
two of my favorites together-- Washingtonian and PopCandy! Whitney I read it everyday, and the Lost re-caps are seriously one of my favorite things in the world!
Posted by: Jayne, Sep 17, 2008 01:58:02 PM
The only blog I read faithfully everyday!
Posted by: Nancy, Sep 17, 2008 01:13:18 PM
Whitney rocks. Thanks to Pop Candy, I’ve found out about so many great musicians, movies and TV shows I otherwise would never have tried. On the rare occasion that Whitney takes a day off, I go through serious withdrawal.
Posted by: Jeremy, Sep 17, 2008 11:36:05 AM
nevermind.
Posted by: squinty no more, Sep 17, 2008 11:30:14 AM
this is hard to read.
everything is centered, and the questions and answers run together, making it difficult.
but i stuck it out, because whitney is awesome.
Posted by: squinty, Sep 17, 2008 11:29:01 AM
Mz Whit, and Pop Candy, ROCK!
W00t!
Posted by: -AJ-, Sep 17, 2008 11:09:56 AM
Love Pop Candy!
Posted by: Jesseka, Sep 17, 2008 07:23:20 AM
Whitney’s great. We saw her at an event at Bourbon and she was funny and dead on about tons of pop culture stuff. And couldn’t agree with her more about crying at the end of Veronica Mars...
Posted by: Catherine, Sep 17, 2008 07:08:50 AM
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