Alli's Articles
INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS, CULTURE PIECES, MUSICAL RAMBLINGS.
I really did not know how to title this appropriately, but I feel like this title does this week justice. In the music world, there have been some difficult losses over the past few days, both real and metaphorical.
First and worst of all, the news about Lil Peep's death broke out this morning and basically messed me up. He was only 21 and died of a suspected OD. What makes it so terrible is that he was so open about his depression and drug use in his lyrics and his social media. I know it's somehow normal to talk about wanting to die in a joking way nowadays, but the proof that he needed help and support was right there. Just look at his Instagram bio. "ugly, cute, and dying," his page with over 1 million followers states. Every time a tragic event like this takes place, it opens up a huge conversation about asking your loved ones how they are and checking up on them once in a while. Another conversation his death has opened up is one about casual drug use. Like I said earlier, Lil Peep's songs were mainly about taking large amounts of drugs. I know a lot of people in the music industry (not just rap!) sing about this, and I've been letting it slide for a while, but now it's getting out of hand. He was 21. Staten Island, my home, where I was born and raised, has a serious drug issue. In the past three days, over 7 different people died of an overdose. One lady died in a house just four blocks away from my school. This island is 58 miles wide. I really don't know how to put this any other way, but Drugs. Are. Bad. They might make you feel good for a night, but they're bad. Period. End of discussion. I've seen too many people in the music industry and even in my neighborhood lose their way of life due to drugs. It's time we talk about it. It's not cute or trendy to do drugs, it ruins your life. 21 years old. When I was born, he was 5. We need to step up our mental health awareness. Tweeting support every time this happens doesn't help. Care for your friends. If you notice someone is acting different, talk to them. It costs nothing to send a "hey how r u" text. You may think it's just a small act of kindness, but it can save someone. Depression comes in all shapes and sizes, and you never know who it could prey on next. Don't be mean to anyone. Please. We need to start realizing these issues before they get out of hand so people who are sad don't turn to drugs. There are so many better ways to handle issues like this. I wish I could say this next issue was a little on the bright side, but it's really not. It's been a rough week for any fans of the band Nothing But Thieves as well. Yesterday on Twitter, multiple girls shared their creepy experiences with members of NBT, saying that they asked for inappropriate pictures when they were underage, picked out "attractive" girls at their shows and tried to get with them, and even forcefully kissed a fan one gig. I'm not a huge NBT fan, but I like some of their songs. I am all about this movement of coming out about sexual assault and I couldn't be happier these girls were comfortable enough to share their stories. I've just been feeling awful because this is one of the first times it's happened to a band I genuinely enjoy and thought were cool. The same thing happened when the news broke about Matt Mondanile, ex-Real Estate member, being a total creep-o. This is alarming to me because it really taught us fans that you really don't know what happens behind closed doors. Your favorite band might seem loving and caring to the public, but after a show, you can't be sure what's going on. I've been seeing a lot of fans of NBT announce on Twitter that if all of these allegations are true, they will no longer associate with them. We live in a society where we are quick to cancel our favorite artist/band/actor if they do something absolutely unforgivable. There's having a "problematic fave," and then there's being unable to like a famous person anymore just because what they did was so terrible that you can't forgive them. I'm happy our world is like this. I feel like our generation can point out wrong and inappropriate actions that a celebrity does and is not afraid to stop liking them for it. I know it can be hard. It's so so SO hard to move on to something else once something has disappointed you. If everything is true, what do I do with all the Nothing But Thieves songs I downloaded? If they make me feel bad when I listen, I'll just ignore them. I bought them in a time where I didn't know about this. It's not our fault. This week has been hard for us here at TwiColl. We have had many deep discussions about sexual assault in the music industry, death, saying goodbye to our favorites if they do something wrong, drugs, and more. but we're not gonna let that stop us. We just gotta move on and continue to inspire people with our words. I hope my words today inspired you. I hope you took some very important lessons from this dark post. I promise, next post will be a funny one. I'll probably write about my latest obsessions, because you know those are always interesting. Until then, let's communicate. Let's open up our discussions. If you want to talk about anything in this article please tweet. us. I love you all. Alli
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"Where have you been for about a month???" You are ALL probably asking me. I'm sorry, I know I keep on disappearing, but it's not because I want to. I've been workin' hard at school, and when I come home I am so exhausted that I turn to Netflix to soothe my tired eyes from Physics formulas. One of the select shows I've been watching clips from non-stop and laughing my butt off at is The Inbetweeners. For those who are uneducated in the amazing ways of this show, it's about four British teen guys who are kinda losers. By "kinda", I mean they go out, they party, and they date some girls, but every fun thing they try to do fails hilariously 99% of the time. I could relate to this SO MUCH. A kinda-loser. It's who I am. My friends and I aren't exactly the hot-shots of our school, but we aren't complete outcasts of society either. Relating to something this much makes it a LOT funnier. I knew that watching The Inbetweeners has become a complete lifestyle for me when I began to hear some of the songs that were featured in the show play in my head anytime an embarrassing thing happened to me. For example, one day before practice, my jersey, which I gave to the JV coach moments before to borrow, was found out in the rain, dropped. It just so happened that when my coach pulled up holding it while my team chuckled at me, I was watching the episode where Simon couldn't get into the club since he was wearing sneakers, and had to ask a random man for his gross shoes while everyone laughed. That's when I knew I came full circle. My life is a way less inappropriate, way less dramatic Inbetweeners series. Like I said earlier, it's gotten to the point where I hear songs from the soundtrack. That's what has made this show as popular and as iconic as it is; THE MUSIC! The songs featured are full of indie-pop heroes such as The Wombats, Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club, Arctic Monkeys, The Maccabees, and so many other classic 2000s bands we all love. There are some "oldies" thrown in there, like The Cure. These songs fit so well because they portray the stereotype that The Inbetweeners themselves uphold: stupid teens struggling with love and other teen problems in addition. Here are a few examples that back up my claim: The Wombats - Kill The DirectorFor those of you who watched this show already, pay attention to the lyrics. There are multiple Wombats songs in the soundtrack, but I feel like this one captures the energy of the show the most. The song is about the speaker's love life gone wrong, and Inbetweeners is filled with failed relationships. It's the total opposite of a rom-com, like the song says. Basically, Kill The Director talks about a teen guy's dysfunctional life filled with teen issues, which sounds like the plot of a certain show. Now wonder they play it in almost every episode! The Maccabees - LatchmereAfter a couple minutes of looking at the lyrics of this song, I can safely say that I have no idea what they mean. I think it's about swimming. But, I could consider the energy and the circumstances the song was played in. It played at the end of the end of the episode where they all got stuck on a boat, which is most likely why the swimming part comes up. Maybe they chose it because they were basically "swimming" in problems with girls in that episode?? Carlie, Lauren...Ok, maybe it's a little weird, but does anyone understand what I'm tryna do? It's just a good end credits song to me. Air Traffic - CharlotteI HAD to choose this one, just because it solidified my point. At first I thought me analyzing the songs in the soundtrack was useless because half of them are instrumental in the show and they probably were only chosen because they sound nice in the background. BUT...they chose a song with a name of an important character in it, and THAT made my theory stronger. It's no coincidence that there's a song on here about endlessly loving a girl presumably named Charlotte when Will is the same way with Charlotte in the show.
My final conclusion is that the soundtrack people on this show shaped the soundtrack around songs about teen angst, songs that sound angsty, classic staples of British indie, and even some happy songs for the happy moments. In doing this, they made the show even more relatable and lovable for people who were already fans of this music. The spots they used some of the songs in were so memorable that all the YouTube comments on that song's video are "The Inbetweeners sent me here!" Need more evidence on how they make the scenes relatable? Look no further. I have never been in a boat with three of my friends after one of them punched a fish, but hey, knowing us, it could happen. Just imagining that with the music playing makes it funnier. So kudos, Inbetweeners crew. You sure know how to pick songs out like perfect boogers. |