Let's talk pop culture

First, have you seen The Martian?  Travis surprised me by rounding up five of his NHS students, getting them to come over to babysit in exchange for volunteer hours, and taking me to see the movie. I think it's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time and is definitely one of the best sci-fi type movies I've ever seen. The acting - across the board - was outstanding, the pace of the movie was perfect, the characters were wonderful.

I loved the disco jokes, and Watney's humor, and the Council of Elrond reference. I cried a little, I had to brace myself and grab Travis because I was so invested during the tense parts, and I laughed. It was brilliant. Matt Damon + Ridley Scott 4ever.



Second, I want to talk The Walking Dead. A friend with some kind of subscription to something brings his laptop to our home on Sunday nights, attaches it to the tv, logs in, and so Travis and I are finally able to watch the current season during the current season.

SO, let's talk about what happened last week. So SPOILER ALERT! Jump down to the songs if you don't want to know what I'm going to say!

First, I loved the conversation Michonne had with that married Alexandria guy who had gotten bit. Loved it. And all I could think was, "Rick! Rick is your Betsy!" Does anyone else think they are maybe in love? I mean, I know there's that dumbness with the hairdresser... but Rick, seriously, Michonne!

Then, if you haven't read what Cari Donaldson said about Nicholas and Glenn go read it. Her thoughts on Glenn are so wonderful. I'm going to put my favorite lines here, but there are some more great considerations so please go over and read everything she had to say.

You can read it clearly in Glen’s face- it’s not Nicholas he doesn’t want along, it’s the giant PTSD monkey riding on Nick’s back that’s not welcome. ... This was the real nature of Glen’s sacrifice- he knew that the chances were good of he, alone, getting to the feed store, setting it on fire, and meeting back up with the group; he used to be a pizza delivery guy, after all! ... Nicholas was a time bomb, and Glen deftly, so deftly Michonne didn’t even realize what he was doing, took that time bomb away from the group, and shackled himself to it.

And what happened next: All I could do for the rest of the episode, after stupid Nicholas stupidly killed himself was say "nuh-uh." I am holding out hope that Maggie is not a widow because I loved Glenn so much and I will be so mad at the show if they killed him. Seriously, there has to be a way that while the zombies were eating Nicholas Glenn scootched under the dumpster and then someone comes along and saves the day. Right?

Right?





Let's move on to music. 
Have you heard Downtown by Macklemore? I love the way they sing that word, "Downtown!" and the music in the chorus is so great. Too bad the lyrics are stupid and the verses and so poorly done. Ugh. Don't listen to it if you haven't heard it - there's some pretty dirty lyrics there and that catchy, so-much-potential-it's-even-more-disappointing chorus is pretty infectious.

But Ryan Adams' cover of Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" is just about perfect. My 7 year old daughter said she prefers T Swift's version better, and I do like the original a lot, but this one is so beautiful. And I never would have called Swift's version "beautiful."



Then if you like something a little more pop-punk, listen to Tear in My Heart by twenty one pilots. I am a fan of this song (and their song House of Gold) and just wanted to throw it out there, see if anyone else was jamming in the mini van to this one.



Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - I love this song. There is language, and not just a little bit, and I know there's a chance I will scandalizing some with this choice. But that humming and clapping, and those powerful vocals, and that fabulous, old-time rock n' roll chorus is just too good. So darn good.



Then this song, which our local indie station has been playing a lot, totally fits the grey, rainy weather with the golden maple leaves blowing down, which is what Autumn is currently looking like in my neck of the woods. And that cello! Don't you just love the beauty of a deep, rich cello?




And what about you? What music are you loving right now? And is there anything I should be checking out on tv or movie trailers? Give me the scoop!