A few days ago, I saw Kevin Smith speak at two different Sundance panels for his movie Yoga Hosers. He gave background on the story and what made him want to make this movie, told stories with the actors... everything you would expect from a director’s commentary. However, the biggest takeaway for me, besides making odd, prolonged eye contact with Justin Long from the stage, was learning how inspiring Kevin Smith actually is.
He is all about curating your voice and expressing your art and encouraging yourself and others to be better at what they do, because “fuck what other people say, your story will matter to somebody and that is worth trying.” Not a direct quote, but that was a major gist of his messages. As someone who has created some and aspires to create much, much more, it was pretty special to hear in such an already creative atmosphere from someone who actually made it happen for himself.
As for my own ideas, a lot of them are half-- if not only barely-- formed, but they are THERE. I just need to figure out what to do with them.
I think I might get back into blogging. Not, like on my old, now defunct Blogger blog but not necessarily here on Tumblr either, because I don’t know who am I to Tumblr these days and I don’t know who Tumblr is to me either. Where do people blog now? Medium? Is that the website of choice for the blogging set? Or do I attempt to convince a website with several bloggers to let me post when I feel like it/they allow me to? I used to blog for The Huffington Post. Do people still read the Huffington Post? I used to know everything about the internet and living a life on the internet and now I’m not so sure what’s new what’s now what’s next what’s not what’s never again. Do people even blog anymore at all or have we all reduced ourselves and our content to gif sets and listicles and memes? I guess I am blogging right now, aren’t I? Maybe I answered my own question.
I am also in this same boat. It could be very fun to get a group together and just post content to one shared space when we have ideas and see what forms from that.
That Time I Wrote About "The Interview" and Why America Can Do Better
I'm going to get a few things out of the way first:
Yes, it's just a movie. Yes, it's fiction. Yes, the First Amendment.
However, what was expected to happen when you create a large budget movie, with 2 of the biggest(?) stars of the moment, about assassinating a current and known-to-be-evil dictator? A dictator who has strict control over just about everything in North Korea, who has committed several human rights violations, made threats of nuclear war, and suspected to have had everyone from the previous regime killed and replaced with his own team. That he would just let it go because America?
I'm not defending Kim Jong-un or the actions of North Korea, or saying we need to be afraid or that we "let the terrorists win", I just want people to consider the effects their choices, outside of their own bubble. In this case, it just happens to be about (in my opinion) a poorly thought-out movie.
Judging from the trailer and Seth Rogen movie history, The Interview will be full of dick jokes, butt stuff, and a lot of general buffoonery in trying to carry out an assassination plot. It will either end with A) they somehow complete the mission and are rewarded, or B) they all become friends and the countries become allies by smoking weed together and probably having an orgy. A+ blockbuster filmmaking, if you ask me.
"But Emily, it's not real and he's bad and the movie will probably be hilarious. First Amendment, go freedom!"
Sure, but just because we can, should we?
Should we taunt the death of a known egoist and violent dictator for 2 hours of big-screen entertainment, just because we have the constitutional protection to do so? That line of reasoning is the equivalent of America being the asshole kid who uses the "my dad is a lawyer" defense to right his own shitty behavior. And as a country, we are better than that.
There’s something to be said for bravery. Personal bravery. Thinking about doing something, anything, and even though it makes you nervous or scared, you do it anyway. It’s an amazing thing because as humans, weird stuff scares us, and overcoming those weird fears often makes us better people.
The weirdest of those weird things, to me, is the fear of looking stupid in front of other people, or worrying about what someone else might think of you. That fear often prevents us from doing something we want to do, and that's silly. That is where bravery comes in. You have to at least try. Because speaking from experience, not trying at all is a whole lot worse than trying and having it not work out.
Social situations can be hard. I get that. It’s okay to be afraid sometimes, but whether it’s moving across the country, taking a new job, or telling somebody how you feel, you have to try. Just do it, especially if you’re afraid. You will be okay.
And if you’re worried about trying and it “being weird” or taking an awkward turn, so what? Life is built on awkward situations. I firmly believe that if you can handle yourself in a severely uncomfortable social situation, you can handle almost anything.
So even when you finally ask out that guy who works at that place you always go, and he tells you he’s gay, you can just Denzel your way out of that crashing plane and know that at least you tried and you made it through. You can proudly hold your head up long enough to get to your car and text your friends about it, because the best part of any awkward situation is the story that comes after.
In short:
Don’t be afraid, but it’s okay if you are.
Other people’s opinions only matter if you let them.
If any of you are interested in the part of my brain that likes puppies, tv gifs, pictures of food, Harry Styles and other nonsense, feel free to hop over to my other Tumblr: http://eocnnr.tumblr.com/
If not, I should have some sort of writing up here sometime soon.
"Stop being mean, guys," probably isn't the most effective thing to say to your television screen, especially when it is to the Sons of Anarchy. The same Sons of Anarchy who, in addition to not being able to hear you, are currently roughing someone up in a very violent manner. But at this point, at the start of the seventh and final season, it's all I've got.
Sure, there are shows that I am very involved in and have several feelings about, and Matt Saracen will probably break my heart until the end of time, but he was an angel person who eventually found the love and happiness he deserved.
*~7 Forever~*
Except Sons is different. There are no good people (anymore), there is nothing to root for, and there is no foreseeable positive outcome for anything. The characters I once cared about are either dead, very emotionally broken/unstable, or just terrible people now.
I, like season 7 Jax, have nothing in Charming to believe in anymore, and spend Tuesday nights clutching a blanket and expecting the worst possible outcome for every situation. It's all just a downward spiral of gunfire and poor decision making.
And to make things even worse, it has been reported/expected that most of the cast will die. It’s just a matter of who and when and how and I hate having that looming in my brain.
Because if past episodes have taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen to anyone at any moment, and it more than likely will be something gruesome and/or life ending.
I’m not a depressing-TV type of person. I need likeable people and jokes and friendship and love triangles and seasons-long will-they-wont-they relationship builds, not fatal head injuries and people being set on fire.
But I have to see how this show ends. I know it won't be pretty, and it absolutely won't be happy, but at least it will be over.
Sons of Anarchy airs Tuesdays on FX, while past seasons are currently on Netflix. It will make you very sad, viewer discretion is advised.
He danced his way into our hearts in 2006 with Step Up, and has since been showcasing his other talents, like saving POTUS, somehow passing as a high school student, and GI Joe-ing while he's in there.
I can understand wanting to distance yourself from the teen-movie genre and not be typecast as the new, bad-boy version of Chad Michael Murray. I get it. And that was a great career choice, but it's not 2007 anymore and the world needs a dancing Channing Tatum.
Just look at him. He moves with the ease of a lavender field in the breeze, he brings joy to the faces of those who are down, he provides a welcoming environment for T-Pain songs... Things you didn't know you needed until they left you.
Sure, he reprised his role of Tyler Gage for a BRIEF Step Up 2: The Streets cameo in 2008, and then brought us Magic Mike in 2012, but that didn’t have nearly enough actual dancing.
There’s a ray of hope in the upcoming Magic Mike sequel (apparently titled Magic Mike XXL), but if it’s anything like the first one, it will just appease us with novelty and a few body rolls for a while and think they are off the hook. But maybe they will surprise us with more dance numbers, like High School Musical, but with Channing encouraging everyone to follow their dreams via dance.
Or maybe Step Up 6: Return to the Streets (working title-- email me, Hollywood) will feature Channing returning to his old neighborhood to mentor a rag-tag group of teens and turn them into a champion-level dance squad, where they have to put aside their differences and come together as a team in order to be real winners.
These are things we can only hope for while Channing is busy being an Olympic wrestler, saving the universe, and replacing Taylor Kitsch as Gambit in the X-Men franchise.
AT LEAST TEXAS IS STILL FOREVER, TAYLOR. :(
So please, come back to us soon, Dancing Channing. There is a vacancy in our hearts that only some giant sweatpants can fill.
I will openly admit that I don't know a lot of current popular bands or artists, and I'm not one to be "up on" new music or what the people are listening to. I'm pretty set in my musical ways, and not because I don't like new sounds, but mostly because there's SO MUCH music all over the place and it is too overwhelming to cover it all.
It is rare for me to come across an artist or group that makes me write down their name and look them up later. But on a recent car ride, a friend put on "Take Me To Church" by Hozier, and I did just that.
The song reminded me that there's actually an entire world of music out there, and while I would be perfectly happy listening to Bruce Springsteen for the rest of my life, it's nice to throw in something new.
So I have decided to showcase a few songs from people you may or may not have heard of, because while I may not know a lot of "new music", the ones I do know about are pretty great.
Hozier - "Take Me To Church"
Aforementioned in this post, I was immediately drawn to the sound of his voice and the sort of haunted feel to this song. It's kind of sad, but also romantic and bluesy and passionate and all of the other things that make you feel feelings. He also has a few EPs and sessions on Spotify that I have played a lot of times over the last few weeks.
JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound - "Howl"
The first song I heard from them was a cover of Wilco's "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" and it was another one of those "look them up later" moments and I have tried to tell everyone about them as much as I can ever since. The music has a sort of motown-rock-pop-soul feel and it is fun, easy to listen to, and very, very danceable.
MNEK - "Every Little Word"
This song was referred to me by a friend who understands my love of New Jack Swing and it was stuck in my head from the first listen. The smooth vocals paired with the catchy chorus and extremely danceable beat is right in my wheelhouse*. And from my understanding, MNEK is relatively new to the solo scene, so I am greatly anticipating his next release, whenever it may be.
*This paragraph actually took me a long time to write due to unintentional dance breaks.
Bruce Springsteen - "Because The Night"
Not new by any means, but you should listen to it anyway because Bruce is great at music and lyrics and has a song for every feeling you have, might have or didn't know you had. The end.
I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts on these songs, and please feel free to suggest music to me so I don't have to find it myself.
Nick Cannon presents: Wild 'N Out (featuring Nelly)
Nelly recently appeared on the new season of Wild ‘N Out and as one of the only people still following Nelly’s career, I’m here to tell you it was a great 20 minutes.
It was great because it reinforced my belief that Nelly just doesn’t care anymore. He could not give two purrs about what you or anyone says about his life or his career choices. He does what he wants-- which is apparently anything-- has fun, gets paid, and then decides what he should do next. It’s a beautiful way to live life.
The only mention of now-Nelly activity was during one of the games they asked him:
“Nelly, when did you lose your street cred? Was it when you did a song with *NSYNC or with the Honey Nut Cheerios bee?”
First of all, Cargo Shorts Guy, “Girlfriend (Remix)” is a solid jam and still holds up and you should be ashamed of yourself.
Second, Nelly’s response says it all: “You don’t know what General Mills’ checks look like, dude.”
He does what he wants, has fun, and gets paid.
And even General Mills capitalized on then-Nelly. Now-Nelly only has to reach into his back catalog of hits because that’s what he, and the people, know and love.
That fact was evidenced again when Nelly closed out the show with a live version of “E.I.”, 14 whole years after the song was released, and people loved it because people love Nelly, and Nelly loves the people.
And I get it. It’s easy to make jokes about his band-aid or how it’s not “hot in herre” anymore, but what most people don’t realize is that that is where Nelly lives. In Nellyville, it is always 2002 because no matter what he’s doing, he’s going to be having a great time.
That Time I Listened to Drake on Purpose for the First Time
Sometime during the 2013 music award season, Drake was performing all over the place and I came to the realization that:
A) Drake was a lot taller than I thought he was, and
B) I had never actually heard a Drake song.
And if I had, I am not familiar enough with Drake’s musical voice to recognize it. Since that day, it has been sort of a personal challenge to see how long I can go without listening to Drake on purpose.
It’s not like I go out of my way to avoid him, either, I like Drake (the person). I think he has a great presence and I appreciate his antics that show up on the internet. Musically it just never happens.
“You must not like R&B then,” my brother says to me one day after discussing Drake.
Due to my great appreciation of R&B, I was taken aback and slightly offended. Is that what Drake sounds like? Is he smooth? I think I heard the chorus to “Started from the Bottom” on a podcast or something and it sounded like a robot was speaking. But the R&B route does make more sense of all of the Twitter jokes about Drake’s feelings.
Taking all of these things into consideration, I have decided to stop wondering, “Is this Drake?” and officially end my streak.
Not knowing where to start, I was given two albums that, according to my source, give a pretty accurate “overall experience” of what Drake is all about: “So Far Gone” and “Nothing Was The Same”, his first and most recent release.
And now with my iTunes queued up and some laundry to put away, I’m ready to get started.
Will nothing be the same?? I guess I’m about to find out.
“So Far Gone” (2009) [Mixtape version]
First impressions:
- Overall kind of slow, few parts stand out, but easy to listen to.
- Impressive singing voice, he should sing more.
- The word "Drizzy" is slightly off-putting.
- Oh THAT song… okay. [Best I Ever Had]
- I hope he improves on his annunciation.
It is very clear that Drake thinks of himself as a “sensitive bad ass” type who is all about the ladies. He boasts about being better than you at life, buying expensive bottles, and exclusive parties one minute, and the struggles of fame the next, while simultaneously singing to/about a girl the whole time. He also doesn’t care much for your relationship and will have your girl in his bed, because again, Ladies Love Cool Drake and he is better than you.
“So Far Gone” makes sense for an early-career mixtape. Knowing where his career has gone since then, I think it’s a good introduction to what Drake can do.
Song most likely to be added to my playlist: “Let’s Call It Off” (feat. Peter Bjorn & John)
As the most upbeat song the mixtape, I’m not surprised I was drawn to this one. I’m a sucker for danceability.
Conclusion: Not bad, hoping he improves.
“Nothing Was The Same” (2013)
First impressions:
- WAAAY better than “So Far Gone”. Much improvement all around.
- Hooray more Singing Drake.
- Drake likes to repeat words a lot.
- I would probably like “Started From The Bottom” more if it had a 2003 G-Unit beat.
From the first track I was already impressed and had hope for the rest of the album. And I was not let down, per se, but there were highs and lows. Drake is easily more confident this time around, and it shows. His verses are better, his voice is stronger, and he has a few years of success behind him to back up his claims. And while I think he has moved forward, he’s still ordering bottles and fancy cars, and he is still trying to balance fame and “normal” life, and he will still steal your girl and love her better than you ever could.
ALSO: I was happy to see he did improve on his annunciation, though not completely. He can be so clear and so sharp, but I feel like sometimes he tries to make his voice lower and louder than it naturally is, possibly to sound more booming like Ludacris, and it just gets mumbly and sounds like he’s barely moving his face.
Song most likely to be added to my playlist: “Hold On, We’re Going Home” (feat. Majid Jordan)
Danceability, man. This one’s full of it. I don’t know exactly what Drake is trying to say with this song, but musically it’s smooth and just a little bit funky and I’m super into it.
Conclusion: Good, with some really standout moments. Maybe requires more than one listen to fully appreciate.
--
I'm not sure what I expected to gain from this experience, but if nothing else, I can officially say I have heard a Drake album.
Will I listen to the rest of his music? Maybe. Would I go to a Drake concert? Probably not, but that’s less about Drake and more about my own dislike of GA crowds.
In the end, Drake’s music sounded pretty much how I expected Drake’s music to sound, and I don’t feel much differently toward Drake (the person), so it looks like things have stayed the same after all.
Not a whole lot happened in Week 3, but most notable was the friendship we got to see between Cara Maria and CT.
CAN YOU SAY LAST NAME “EVER”, FIRST NAME “BEST”?
Also Frank came down with a highly contagious viral infection of the lungs and TJ had to send him home.
Tough season for Frank.
Other than that, here is what happened:
- There was a faux wedding between Nany and Cohutta complete with faux bachelor and bachelorette parties and it was weird.
- Because Frank is out, Jasmine's team was short one guy but they still chose to compete. And then Jordan dropped the beam during the ‘pass a beam through a wall and walk across it’ challenge and lost it for his team and then got super mad at himself/the wall.
- The guys still had to participate in The Draw even though Frank went home, but nobody drew the Kill Card, so all guys were safe for Week 3.
- Cara Maria got stuck with the Kill Card and had to face voted-in Nia in a crawling tug of war challenge.
After 80 minutes of crawling, screaming, and planting themselves in the sand, Nia decided she was just done and Cara crawled toward the bell.
HE'S SO HAPPY FOR HIS FRIEND!
Later we found out that Nia tightened her harness wrong and damaged her shoulder a bit. Valiant effort either way.
Cara returned to mountains of praise from everyone in the house, except Johnny Bananas who hates her.
WEEK 3 ELIMINATION RECAP WITHIN THE RECAP:
Eliminated: Frank (sent home due to illness), Nia
WEEK 4 COMING SOON, IN A MORE TIMELY MANNER THAN WEEK 3.
All screencaps courtesy of MTV.com, full episode available here.
A Look Back: Jordan Knight - "Give it to You" (1999)
The year is 1999. Cable knit sweaters and pleather are the height of fashion. And one (then) former New Kid on the Block was making a name for himself on the solo music scene.
Being only a child at the time, I remember Jordan Knight sort of being around TRL and the Disney channel. He had his own "Disney In Concert" special and I remember seeing his carnival-dancing music video for "Give it to You" along side some BBMak and A*Teens during commercial breaks of my favorite shows. No big, whatever.
Fast forward through high school where I end up getting really into NKOTB and their 2008 reunion, and then to my twenties when I remember Jordan went solo and heard the song again.
Apparently I had never listened to the lyrics of "Give It To You" before because BOY are they dirty. Like, more than the "between the sheets" rap in 5ive's "When The Lights Go Out", and near "Do I need to call Detective Fin Tutuola" levels of uncomfortable.
Observe:
“Your body needs a man like me”
Uh.. presumptive, much?
"I don't care who leads/ as long as we move horizontally"
No thank you.
"It's creeping around in my head/ me holding you down in my bed"
EXCUSE ME?
"You don't have to say a word/ I'm convinced you want this"
PEPPER SPRAY IN THE EYES.
I distinctly remember the 5ive verse being edited out, so how was this allowed on the Disney channel? I have found no mention of controversy on the song’s Wikipedia page, but it does tell me “Give it to You” went Platinum and reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, so it’s not like JK just flew under the radar with this one.
And if you're feeling a little bit of “Blurred Lines”-esque déjà vu with these lyrics, SURPRISE it's because Robin Thicke was a writer on both songs, which is another issue in itself.
Was the turn of the millennium a different time? Were people just too worried about Y2K to be concerned with pop music? Or, like me in 1999, did not much else exist outside of the holy trinity that was Britney-NSYNC-BSB? I wish I knew.
What I do know is this:
- Late 90s pop music is mostly great but also has some weird parts that get overlooked.
- I plan on revisiting/highlighting those weird overlooked parts.
- Robin Thicke needs cool it.
And
- If you think you can be the Timberlake of your group and go solo, 9.5 times out of 10 you will not be, so just sit down.
After a costume party and body shots (obvs), our contestants meet TJ the following day for their challenge assignment.
According to TJ, they will be working in male-female pairs and completing an obstacle race of sorts.
Each team will start by racing their car to the end of the track, running a lap, and then teamwork-riding some kind of tandem Wild Wacky Action Bike around the course and across the finish line. Fastest team is safe from elimination, and the slowest 4 teams will be sent into The Draw.
The teams are ready to get started and then Teej Night Shyamalan casually throws in "Oh, one more thing, I hope everyone can drive stick.”
“And if you don’t drive stick, maybe you should start because that’s pretty ridiculous."
GET EM, TEEJ.
Up first we've got Swift and Theresa versus Nany and Dustin.
Dustin takes off and Swift stalls the vehicle while everybody on the sideline laughs.
How embarrassing.
Laurel and birthday boy Cohutta were the fastest team and get to choose two people to send into the elimination.
While the slowest teams:
Swift and Theresa
Cara Maria and Johnny
Frank and Nia
CT and Emilee
are sent into The Draw.
#SAVETHEBEARD
The cast then decides to forget about eliminations for a bit and celebrate Cohutta's birthday with drinks and dancing and a few secret makeouts.
Sup Zach.
The evening ended/the morning started with a spontaneous shouting match between Camila and CT, later to be joined by Nany.
Time lapse two hours later and Camila and Nany are still screaming and crying at each other, though true to drunk-girl-yelling-fight form, with the sunrise comes the embarrassment and the "still friends" apologies.
It's elimination day and Dustin and Jonna are voted into the Arena by Laurel and Cohutta, and the rest of the slow teams prepare to enter The Draw.
Emilee draws the Kill card for the ladies, and Frank is sent in for the second week in a row.
#THEBEARDISSAFE
Tonight's battle consists of punching holes through drywall and then climbing that drywall faster than your opponent. First to ring the bell wins.
Jonna defeats Emilee quite easily.
Dustin and Frank are a more evenly matched battle and in the final moments, Frank hits the bell first, even though I feel like Dustin could have jumped.
Sorry to see you go Dustin, I will miss being confused by your tiny yet large eyes.
WEEK 2 ELIMINATION RECAP WITHIN THE RECAP:
Eliminated: Emilee, Dustin
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.
All screencaps courtesy of MTV.com, full episode available here.
