With finals on the horizon and about a zillion (accurate, true number) papers and projects flying at me as I finish up this semester, I’ve decided to put Reel vs. Record on an end-of-semester/summer hiatus. While I’ve loved writing for this blog for the last eight months, this last semester has really and truly exhausted me, so I’m more than ready for a little bit of a break.
We’re officially less than a month away from the long-awaited sequel to America’s most beloved a cappella film. Pitch Perfect 2 will hit theaters May 15, so I’ve decided to compile a list of songs we’ve heard so far from everyone’s favorite battle, the Riff Off.
Side note: On account of school currently stealing away any and all fun I have in my life, this will be a shorter post than normal. But hey, not everyone wants to read huge walls of text all the time, so it works out, right? LOOK HOW CONVENIENT THIS IS FOR YOU. Now appreciate it. And pray that I make it out of this semester alive, because I’m honestly surprised I have the brain power to even be writing this right now.
Anyway, in the exclusive clip released earlier this week, the Bellas take on their competitors with the help of a few more ’90s hip-hop jams, which everybody knows I (along with Parks and Rec‘s Ben Wyatt… remember Benji’s Cool Times Summer Jamz Mix?) have a strong love for.
I made it all the way to the end of Furious 7 with no tears in sight, and then the final scene wrecked me. I’ve only seen two of the Fast and Furious films (tragedy, I know), but the tribute to Paul Walker still wrenched my heart out of my chest. These movies are so anchored in the values of family and friends, it’s hard to not feel torn apart by the loss of one of the group even if you haven’t grown up watching them.
I don’t know much about the franchise, but the closeness of the actors seems to be unrivaled, especially the friendship between Vin Diesel and Walker. The recent news of Diesel naming his newborn daughter Pauline after his friend and his emotional speech at the Furious 7 premiere made the tribute that much more touching.
It’s hard for me to imagine Chris Pratt in any serious roles thanks to Parks and Rec‘s Andy Dwyer, so every time he talks in the Jurassic World trailer it registers in my brain as endearingly stupid remarks i.e. “Every time I eat more than 80 sushis I barf.” (Bless his heart.) That being said, I need to share this video mashup with you. Enjoy.
So, there’s a little movie coming out May 1 titled The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and if you aren’t jumping-up-and-down-screaming excited about it, don’t bother reading this post. You are dismissed.
Here’s a little important history regarding the Disney / Marvel buyout: Back in 2009, the Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment for a whopping $4 billion (for those who don’t realize how much money this is, $4 billion is roughly 444,444,444 Chipotle burritos with guac. Disney doesn’t play around. Also, I want Chipotle). So then everyone freaks out and thinks Marvel is going to be bad and awful because of the Disney influence.
The second installment of the best-selling Divergent trilogy hits theaters tomorrow, and here’s what you can hear on the soundtrack:
1) Holes in the Sky — M83 and HAIM: This is a pretty interesting track. It begins celestially with swooping instrumentals and haunting harmonies before dropping down into a more steady beat. At this point it’s your typical ballad. The beginning is what really makes this stand out — after the drums kick in, it becomes a bit too sleepy and predicable for my taste. 3/5
To quote Andy Dwyer, Parks and Rec was my Verizon Chipotle Exxon. The seventh and final season ended last Tuesday, and now I have an empty hole in my Tuesday nights. While I’m a little bitter about how this last season was handled (only 13 episodes over two months, NBC? Really?), there were some really great musical moments that truly captured the essence of Parks and Rec, which I’m going to highlight here.
1) The most touching use of music in the seventh season without a doubt goes to “Buddy” by Willie Nelson. There are currently no videos available of the actual song in the show, so here’s a fan video:
To make up for The Lego Movie being robbed at the Oscars this year, “Everything Is Awesome!!!” by Tegan And Sara featuring The Lonely Island is earning itself a spot on my blog. It really is a grand honor. Much better than an actual Oscar.
If you’ve seen this absolutely wonderful movie, you’ve probably been granted the opportunity to have “Everything Is Awesome!!!” on a loop in your head for an absurd amount of time. It’s horrifying and completely awesome ( 😉 ) at the same time.
If not, I’ll give you the opportunity! Don’t pass it up.
Fifty Shades of Grey was released this past weekend, and Entertainment Weekly just reported that the accompanying soundtrack had the biggest debut since Michael Jackson’s This Is It back in 2009. So, without further ado, here’s a track-by-track review of the album:
1) I Put a Spell On You – Annie Lennox: This cover of the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins original provides a really solid start to this soundtrack. If this is the sound the movie is aiming for, the rest of this album should be pretty good. Lennox’s version is more toned down as compared to Hawkins’s, but the raw vocal performance is still there and still engaging. 5/5
Bridesmaids is somewhat iconic for my best friend and I. Considering she’s engaged now and I’m still floating around not knowing what I’m doing with my life like a typical 20-year-old, the main characters Annie and Lillian are basically us. I am not ashamed to be Annie. Not in the slightest.
In the name of mushy friendships and drunken plane adventures, this week’s song is “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips.
Reel vs. Record 