pop culture
Modern, popular, and iconic pop culture moments in music. From current events, to trending topics and more.
From One Direction Star to Struggling Soloist: The Timeline of Liam Payne's Life. Content Warning.
One of the five members of the British boy band, One Direction, has sadly passed away far too soon. Liam Payne died this week at the age of 31 after falling from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The singer's death has come as a shockwave to the world and to his millions of adoring fans, along with his family and his former bandmates. Payne leaves behind a 7-year old son, his parents, and his two siblings.
By Jenika Enochabout a year ago in Beat
The Tragic Back Story of Emily
If you have watched Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005), a nervous wreck Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp) who is engaged to his fiance Victoria (voiced by Emily Watson) has failed the wedding rehearsal so strolls into the dark wooden forest area. He was trying to pull himself together until he finally got his vows right and put the ring meant for Victoria on the tree branch that looked like a hand which Victor thought it was until the tree branch moved, grabbing his arm until Victor freed himself. A woman comes out from the ground dressed in a wrecked wedding dress with a veil covering her face, she unveils her face saying, "I do." Victor runs from her and the corpse follows him until he made it out of the forest until he kissed the bride at the bridge when she confronts him while a bunch of ravens hover them. Victor was transported to the death world filled with people who are already dead even though he isn't dead. In the death world, the corpse bride is revealed to be Emily (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter) and she has been dead for years. We learned that her story was very dark and tragic. Her story was told by the song, "Remains of the Day" written by Danny Elfman and sung by himself as Bonejangles singing the story of the "beloved Corpse bride".
By Gladys W. Muturiabout a year ago in Beat
Who Eased Minds Best?
There are many things about being a kid that one never forgets. For example, I will never forget being 11 years old in the spring of 2001 and sitting in the passenger seat of my aunt’s black Nissan, eating my medium-sized cup of French Vanilla ice cream mixed with gummy bears. We were parked in front of a now long-gone Baskin-Robbins shop almost hidden inside a shopping center near Desert Inn and Sandhill, not far from the Boulder Station Hotel & Casino in the southeast corner of Las Vegas. The CD playing on the car radio was 1972’s Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits. Even 15 years later, I remember the powerful and dramatic crash that hit the la-la-lie chorus of “The Boxer.” I also recall setting my teenage romantic angst to the psychedelic sound and melody of “The Sound of Silence.” Finally, I still remember a wonderful kind of fear flowing down my spine while hearing the dramatic “Wall of Sound” force of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. It was a kind of power only matched by Art Garfunkel belting those infamous high notes in the song’s crescendo.
By Michael Kantuabout a year ago in Beat
"One More Round, Delia's Gone"
One of the strangest things I’ve ever heard someone say came from Johnny Cash. In a 1996 interview to promote Unchained, his second album for producer Rick Rubin, Johnny talked about the renewed interest he was receiving from audiences following the first Cash/Rubin collaboration, 1994’s American Recordings, which featured just Johnny and his guitar. Cash discussed the long process leading to the solo format of that first album. The months of trial and error mostly consisted of Johnny and Rick sitting at Rubin’s Los Angeles home, with the recording equipment set up and running down a list of 200 songs that Johnny had in his head and which he had always wanted to record. According to Cash, after that process and the decision to keep the album bare, came the matter of working on Cash's guitar playing and making it sound good for recording since, as he put it, “I can’t play guitar.”
By Michael Kantuabout a year ago in Beat
"Don't Take Your Guns To Town"
Despite the songs, the close friendships, and the very shared genre of country music that binds them together, I’ve always seen Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson as two men who coexist in an unusual harmony yet maintain a distinct separation.
By Michael Kantuabout a year ago in Beat
"Come On The Amazing Journey"
“I saw the film Tommy on cable television, and despite Jack Nicholson’s heinous rendition of “Go to The Mirror”, I was deeply moved by the music and the story.” — Jack Black honoring Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors.
By Michael Kantuabout a year ago in Beat
I Won't Be Ashamed of Love on The Streets of Philadelphia
With absolutely no disrespect to any fans of “The Day I Fell in Love” (Beethoven’s 2nd), Janet Jackson’s “Again” (Poetic Justice), and “A Wink and A Smile” from the romantic blockbuster Sleepless in Seattle, we will need to start by placing each tune off to the side for the sake of this piece.
By Michael Kantuabout a year ago in Beat
