08/27/21
TRENDS THIS WEEK
☞ Youtube I bought every weird ad I saw for a month
☞ Letterboxd THE GREEN KNIGHT
☞ TikTok #ScienceTok
☞ Spotify STAY - The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber
☞ Netflix SWEET GIRL
☞ Twitter #NationalDogDay
Life & Culture
In today’s news of trends that lasted for a day… if your IG feed’s comment sections are flooded with “nah he tweaking” and you have no idea what to do with this, you’re not alone. The comment was initially left by Lil Nas X on an IG post reporting that Tony Hawk put out a limited edition of skateboards with his own blood infused (they sold out immediately). As you might remember, earlier this year, when Lil Nas X collaborated with MSCHF and Nike and dropped "Satan Shoes" with a tiny drop of blood infused, he was met with backlash. Upon the popularity of Tony Hawk’s blood skateboard, Lil Nas X took to Twitter to ask: Maybe the issue wasn’t with the blood at all? Well, I guess no one, probably not even Lil Nas X, really expected his “nah he tweaking” comment to pop off like it did, and now the 22-year-old rapper is using this surge of (additional) popularity to promote his upcoming album MONTERO…as he should.
—Mimi Li, Development Assistant
Americans apparently listened and took note when Bong Joon Ho told us at the Golden Globes, “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films,” back in early 2020. According to Netflix, 97 percent of its American subscribers “have watched a non-English title in the last year.” And, overall, the company reported that “non-English-language viewing in the U.S. has increased by 71 percent since 2019.” If you’re looking for some quality foreign-language titles, start with QUO VADIS, AÏDA? and LUPIN. And then move on to THE GRANDMASTER, MY HAPPY FAMILY, and A SILENT VOICE.
Get your serotonin here! My two favorite Toks of the week include this one that introduces us to the sweetest baby making a valiant effort to bring home her favorite snack from the grocery store, and, this one that breaks down how perhaps the coolest clouds I've ever seen came to be.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
Film
CANDYMAN (trailer here) hits theatres this weekend and I could not be more excited. This supernatural horror film comes 30 years after Candyman '92 (which you should totally watch if you haven't already). It stars the immensely talented Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris. Yahya plays an artist who becomes obsessed with the story of Candyman. Directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele, Candyman is sure to have a delicious blend of slasher horror and lore intertwined with commentary on race, gentrification, and class. I know I can’t be the only one who did a deep dive into horror films during the pandemic—and I’m just so excited to see one in a movie theater again! This release has been delayed for over a year, so I encourage you to take a look at the trailer to build up some excitement for it after all the stops and starts. (The rendition of Destiny's Child "Say My name" is iconic). Happy watching and remember, do not say his name in the mirror 5 times.
—Erin Harris, Development Assistant
Amazon Prime's CINDERELLA, starring Camilla Cabello, comes out just around the corner on September 3rd. If you've seen the trailers but don't recognize Nicholas Galitzine—the actor playing Ella's love interest, Prince Robert—then I highly recommend checking out a little film from 2016 called HANDSOME DEVIL (trailer here). In it, Galitzine plays Conor Masters, a popular star athlete at an Irish boarding school where rugby is practically religion. When artsy loner Ned Roche (Fionn O'Shea) is forced to share a room with Conor, the two form an unlikely friendship. It's a sweet, hidden gem of a movie about toxic masculinity, self-expression, sexuality, and great music. The killer soundtrack—chock-full of ‘80s and ‘90s punk, indie rock, and Britpop—is reason enough to watch; but if you need further enticement, Andrew Scott's role as an unorthodox English teacher who takes Ned and Connor under his wing should do the trick (FLEABAG fans are guaranteed to swoon).
—Alicia Devereaux, Executive Assistant
TV
After Netflix debuted THE CHAIR (trailer here), a new series starring Sandra Oh as the freshly appointed chair of a college English department, I checked in with my older brother, a professor himself, to see if he had checked it out. His response: “Yah already binged it / It’s good.” With that enthusiastic stamp of approval, I dove in and can confidently confirm that it is good. Oh’s character, Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim, must course-correct her spiraling department at the fictional Pembroke University while caring for her daughter and navigating a maybe-romance with a fellow professor. The show, co-created by Amanda Peet and Harvard Ph.D-turned-screenwriter Annie Julia Wyman, touches on topical themes around campus politics, generational conflict, and bias inside purportedly progressive spaces, but it primarily operates as a workplace-slash-romantic comedy. Charming as ever, Oh anchors the show both comedically and emotionally, convincingly portraying a person trying her hardest to push the people around her forward for the better.
—Nolan Russell, Executive Assistant
Theater
While Whitney White’s SEMBLANCE completes its in-person run this weekend, you can still stream the self-described “filmed theatrical experience” through October 24th. The piece is a series of monologues about the Black feminine experience. The perspectives of each monologue—which are all performed by Nikiya Mathis—range from that of a politician to a Sweetgreen employee to a woman getting her nails done. White challenges the audience to consider what they see—and what they assume—when they encounter each of these types of women. Check it out in person this weekend in New York, or online here!
—Julia Hammer, Director of Production
Music
Can you imagine a snippet of your vocals going viral on someone else's song and then having to fight fans on the internet to prove that it’s actually you? Well, this is exactly what happened to singer songwriter Fousheé. The artist recorded a track with popular drill artist Sleepy Hallow and the song went viral on…you guessed it, TikTok. Fousheé revealed herself as the singer and eventually put out a full-length version titled DEEP END. The song currently has almost 200 million streams on Spotify, and while the rest of her discography is lesser known, Fousheé is undoubtedly on her way to superfame. Her first album, TIME MACHINE, is a unique blend of genres that she calls “sometimes alt-soul, but always the truth.” Additionally, she just announced she’ll be going on tour with James Blake, yes you read that right THE James Blake, this fall, and I can’t wait to see what opportunities this brings her. My personal favorites on TIME MACHINE are CLAP FOR HIM, MY SLIME and ENJOY THE SILENCE. Add all three to your weekend playlist!
—Eden Bekele, Digital Associate
I don’t know who tuned in to Kanye West’s ‘Donda' listening party in Chicago last night, or woke up to the various reactions to it… but I’m here to share instead the upcoming ‘Donda’ Stem Player. In addition to dropping his 10th studio album, Kanye is releasing a new music gadget that will reportedly let you “customize any song.” The device is developed through Yeezy’s tech brand together with electronics company Kano, and it looks exactly like what you’d expect out of a Yeezy device (I can’t explain it…but here’s a pic of it on their website). According to the product description, you can “control vocals, drums, bass, and samples; isolate parts, add effects, and split any songs into stems” with the device. What fascinates me the most is the idea of allowing fans to directly manipulate music—maybe even for those who otherwise wouldn’t use a Digital Audio Workstation. It’s certainly a cool concept, so I am excited to see how it actually plays out!
—Mimi Li, Development Assistant