10/14/22
This week: Cinderella’s dystopian future, an anime series that very much lives up to the hype, and your soundtrack to fall.
TRENDS THIS WEEK:
Youtube Old vs. New Lunchables Taste Test
Letterboxd SMILE
Spotify UNHOLY - Sam Smith & Kim Petras
Netflix LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE
Twitter #HALLOWEENENDS
Trailer WEDNESDAY ADDAMS
Shopify It’s Been A Week
Life & Culture
Last week, Nicole Mann became the first Native American woman to go to space. She told the BBC "[I hope it] will inspire young Native American children to follow their dreams and realize that some of those barriers that are there or used to be there are being broken down.” She’s now at the International Space Station, where she’ll be for five months, working on about 250 (!!) scientific investigations with her team.
It looks like TikTok’s parent company is hoping to take advantage the platform’s outsized influence on the music industry. According to the Wall Street Journal, ByteDance is coming for Spotify, and has begun talks with music labels about expanding Resso, its music-streaming service to more than a dozen markets (not including the U.S.). The company wants the service to eventually be integrated with TikTok. And as we’ve talked about in PS Weekly many times in the past…TikTok has drastically transformed the music industry, changing everything from the way users discover and share new music to the way artists debut new songs (including Sam Smith and Kim Petras with their song UNHOLY, which has been sitting pretty on that trends list at the top of this email for two weeks now). And of course, the platform is also breathing new life into dusty music catalogs, as evidenced by the resurgence of songs like Kate Bush’s RUNNING UP THAT HILL after millions of TikToks used the sound. But still, with Apple Music’s and Spotify’s head starts in the space (and their willingness to pay more, albeit still very little, per stream) it remains to be seen if ByteDance can carve a foothold into the space.
And finally, we’re remembering Robbie Coltrane, who passed away today. He’s the incredible actor you know best for bringing the loveable Hagrid to life in the HARRY POTTER film series. Daniel Radcliffe wrote a statement, saying “Robbie was one of the funniest people I’ve met and used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on the set. I’ve especially fond memories of him keeping our spirits up on PRISONER OF AZKABAN, when we were all hiding from the torrential rain for hours in Hagrid’s hut and he was telling stories and cracking jokes to keep morale up.”
—Darlene Kenney, Director of Brand Marketing
TikTok
The past few weeks, my FYP has genuinely been flooded with imagery of a man, always wearing a polo shirt, singing along to some type of popular song, edited into undeniably relatable scenarios. Rodger Cleye was already consistently viral on his own page, where he simply sings along to popular songs that one of his 2.6 million followers suggest. But, users have taken his virality to another level through these video memes. They put Cleye’s head into various scenes, depicting some situation that matches with one of his songs. It’s weird, but I love it. If any of this intrigues you, start with this video which accurately describes the power of the common cold, and this one, which you just need to see to understand.
I also loved this perfectly-framed video of a rocket launch that might have been carrying the astronaut I mentioned earlier, this short video documenting a beautiful Frank Ocean story, and this one that will transport you into fall, even if it’s still blistering hot where you live. Have a good weekend!
—Darlene Kenney, Director of Brand Marketing
FROM THE VAULT
Film
One of my favorite movies of all time is Lone Scherfig's AN EDUCATION (2009) (trailer here). Adapted by Nick Hornby from a memoir by Lynn Barber, this film about a teen francophile on the precipice between girlhood and womanhood in the 1960s gave Carey Mulligan her big break, accompanied by other great performances from the likes of Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, and Emma Thompson. Upon meeting a handsome stranger named David (Sarsgaard), Mulligan's Jenny is swept out of her humdrum London schoolgirl life and into a world of glamor, sophistication, and most importantly, freedom—or so she thinks. The genius of this film is in how it seduces the viewer with such charm and style (just as David woos Jenny) but disrupts the facade just as easily. It's both a coming-of-age story and a staying-of-age story of sorts—a refreshingly nuanced look at youth and perceptions of maturity. Year after year I find myself coming back to this one, simultaneously as a wish-fulfilling comfort watch and as a reminder to slow down in life.
—Alicia Devereaux, Executive Assistant
TV
The first episode of CHAINSAW MAN (trailer here) finally dropped this week. The hype for this anime series has been unreal, following the massive success of the hit manga by the same name and the first trailer hitting almost 6M views. And episode one went hard, starting with the original opening song KICKBACK by Kenshi Yonezu. The opening is a huge tribute to the artist (and film lover) who created the original manga the show is based on, Tatsuki Fujimoto. It pieces together a ton of movie references from the likes of PULP FICTION, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, and many more. And behind all of those scenes is a mountain of foreshadowing that fans of the original manga have to be thoroughly enjoying.
Studio MAPPA has done a tremendous job of adapting the series, and many of the shots are exact copies of panels from the manga. With such strong source material, it’s beyond gratifying to fans like me to know that they are staying true to the original form. MAPPA did a great job with the animation, which is no surprise to fans of JUJUTSU KAISEN and ATTACK ON TITAN, and the series features killer performances from Kikunosuke Toya as Denji and Fairouz Ai Kadota as Makima. The pacing felt like it covered the material quickly, but without feeling too rushed, and saved plenty of room for some great action moments. I cannot wait to see what else is in store for this season. I have a feeling this will become one of the biggest anime perhaps of all time, so if you are into a slightly edgy show with plenty of action, horror elements, and heart-ripping story moments that will leave you mildly depressed, jump on in!
—Jackson Ingraham, Executive Assistant
Book
I absolutely adore fairy tale retellings, so I was excited to dive into CINDERELLA IS DEAD by Kalynn Bayron. Several generations after the events of Cinderella, teenage girls are now required by law to attend grand balls at the palace where wealthy older men claim them as brides. The novel’s main character Sophia, a 16-year-old in love with her best friend Erin, suspects there’s more to the Cinderella myth than the propaganda King and his government have been pushing—and of course she’s right. I loved the magical elements, the mystery, and the romance. CINDERELLA IS DEAD is a quick, super engaging read, and also, its cover art is stunning.
—Rosemary Brennan, Marketing Consultant
Music
I just want to take a quick moment to shout out an album that I've had on repeat lately. FIVE SECONDS FLAT by Lizzy McAlpine came out earlier this year, but I'm bringing it up now because I finally got to see Lizzy live at the Troubadour last week. If your FYP looks anything like mine, you’ve likely seen many TikToks of folks scream-crying to Lizzy lyrics which perfectly define the journey of heartbreak and betrayal—but don't worry, I promise there's some levity in the album too! Back to my main point, though: It was amazing to see Lizzy and the rest of her band play live. Her album includes the extreme emotions of heartbreak but also the soft sounds of falling in love, trusting, and starting anew. To me, so many of her songs sound like the embodiment of a fall morning. Put the album on on a Sunday morning and enjoy the ride of some of my faves: "orange show speedway," "doomsday," "all my ghosts," and "ceilings."
—Erin Harris, Development Coordinator
Have a great weekend! And as always, be kind, stay healthy, and stay creative. ツ
