NEW MUSIC: ADELE

NEW MUSIC: ADELE

Two new Adele songs hit the internet this week, and both have blown me away. The first, "Rolling In the Deep", has me incessantly tapping my feet, clapping my hands, and generally dancing around my apartment like a fool because of its infectious rhythm. "Rolling In the Deep" is soulful and textured as it tells a story of heartbreak, from the perspective of,  "Oh shit, you screwed up, and now I'm gonna make you pay--probably in ways you couldn't have even imagined. You have no idea what you lost, you fool!" That's really the best perspective, if you ask me.

The other track, "Someone Like You" is absolutely stunning and heartbreaking. When I listen to it, I can literally feel a jagged little line forming down the middle of my heart. I can't even find the words to do it justice. This, too, tells a story of heartbreak, but in a different manner. It's understated but substantial, and Adele's voice and her lyrics are equally and frighteningly powerful.

Listen to both below:


Rolling In the Deep
Someone Like You (Live on Jools Holland)

CRUSHTASTIC: MATTHEW MORRISON

CRUSHTASTIC: MATTHEW MORRISON

This Crushtastic post is brought to you by two very important points:

1. Matthew Morrison is a special kind of attractive, in the sense that he can frolic around on the beach fully-clothed, without looking weird. I've never personally witnessed a real human male act like this without attracting some interesting reactions from a crowd of onlookers.

2. Details (and GQ, for that matter) is like the women's version of Playboy. I don't buy the magazine for the articles. I peruse it because I know that when I'm interested in looking at fantastic photographs of good-looking male celebrities, it will never fail me. 

Bonus point: These photos almost make me forget to complain about all those damn theme episodes on Glee...

Images via Details

THE WALKING DEAD vs. SLEEP

THE WALKING DEAD vs. SLEEP

I swear, I must be a glutton for punishment. My plans this evening were simple--come home from work, finish up some grad school work that's due tomorrow, and enjoy a boring night of relaxation and possibly the Family Guy marathon on TBS. In reality, I followed through on the first step, and veered off course somewhere around the time I started googling The Walking Dead. I keep hearing how amazing the show is, but am usually able to balance out positive comments about the show with the realization that I do not, in fact, enjoy zombies. 

You might think that would've stopped me from not only reading the show's Wikipedia page, but streaming all available episodes online. You'd be wrong. What I did was spend the last three hours very afraid and borderline traumatized. Within the first five minutes of this escapade, I witnessed a little girl get shot in the head. It's okay, (is it?) she was a zombie. That was quickly followed by countless dead bodies, horrible stories of loss, adultery, a horse being fed on by "walkers", a hand amputation, more gunshots than I can count, and that horrible "arrrgghhh" noise that zombies make. For a while, The Walking Dead played out like one of those horrible dreams where you think you might be the only sane/alive person left in the world...and then you realize that's exactly what's going on. Whoa. It was also one of those instances where watching the show means making the video player as small as possible, as if to minimize the impact it has on you.

Now that I'm caught up on all three episodes that have aired, it's time for bed. And boy, I can tell you that I am enthusiastic about shutting all the lights off and reminding myself that I'm alone in this apartment. The good news is, zombies don't appear to be very efficient with stairs/ladders/climbing in general, so perhaps on the 5th floor, I might stand a chance against them. If not, I'll make sure to aim for the head. 

T.I. IS A FREE MAN

T.I. IS A FREE MAN

Today, T.I. is heading back to prison for another 11 months, after just getting out earlier this year. I feel so disappointed. Don’t get it twisted, I love T.I., but I am at a loss over this second jail sentence.

When he got busted way back for trying to buy machine guns and silencers, I oddly felt okay about it, and thought that it was just his way of handling his situation. I know that if I saw my best friend murdered right in front of me, I would be angry and upset and confused about how to handle it all. In T.I.’s case, he felt most comfortable trying to get revenge on the people who killed Big Phil, so he went out and tried to buy the guns that would help him achieve that.

I believed him when he during his Road to Redemption time, wandering around the country telling kids how it really is, and who they don’t want to grow up to be. I like motivational T.I., I like to believe that he came out the other end of a horrible situation a better and stronger person, and one who could admit what he did and be willing to pay the consequences for it. I cringed as he went to prison, leaving Tiny and all his children behind for a whole year, but obviously it was what had to be done.

To then hear that he had been caught with ecstasy after his sentence was over and could be facing more jail time left me dumbfounded. Why the hell was he driving around with drugs in his possession? I’m not condoning drug dealing, but I also don’t condone stupidity—all the money you have, and all the people you have working for you, and none of them could get that shit to where it was going?

I sympathized with T.I.’s decision to buy machine guns and get revenge on Phil’s killers, because I felt like it came from an understandable place of grief. But what does ecstasy possession stem from? Greed? Stupidity? I’m undecided. Let’s just hope that with another 11 months to himself in jail, he can find some time to reevaluate his musical direction, because his post-Paper Trail music definitely leaves plenty to be desired. Oh yeah, and some common sense would be nice, too. 

Sidenote: I appreciate that T.I.'s upcoming album will be getting a new title. I guess you can't call your album "King Uncaged" when you're back in jail...