Articles, Features, Video

MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS OF ALL TIME – WEEK 60: GOO GOO DOLLS

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This upcoming band that I’m about to discuss was a band that I initially didn’t think I’d touch with a ten-foot pole, nor did I even have a good preconception on how this band actually was. You know when you sit down to write about something (or in the case of my blogs over the last year or so, someones), you come to the table with assumptions of what you’re about to write about, things you’ve believed over time, things you’ve heard from other people, and once you go through the musical journey yourself and listen to the artist in its entirety through all their songs and start to see the music that they really make, that what they create and stand for is so much different than what you were even led to believe? Maybe these sentences just aforementioned mean nothing to you, and now you’re just thinking that I am some over-analysing person who likes to over-think things. And that’s ok if you think that. But I’ve been on a journey of late, a good one. My eyes have been open to the wonderful music of artists gone by, from Josh Groban, Bryan Adams, Sara Bareilles and Lady A, to Lecrae, Hanson, John Mayer and Colbie Caillat, to name a few, and in each of these cases, I came into it with a certain idea in my head of what I thought that particular artist was going to be, and that wasn’t what it was…in a very, very good way. As I enter into my 60th blog of this series, discussing rock band Goo Goo Dolls, I came into it in a similar way- assuming that the band was only influential and impactful for their chart-topping hit ‘Iris’ and nothing else. Boy was I mistaken, in a way that I can say now that I was glad that I was.

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Articles, Features, Video

Momentous Mondays: Influential artists of the next 5-10 years – Week 28: Lindsay Ell

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There once was a man who walked across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. After the tightrope had been fixed in place, he started gathering a crowd to watch his daring and dangerous feat. “Come one! Come all!” he shouted into his bullhorn. “Watch me walk above Niagara Falls, balancing on nothing more than this little rope!”

As people started gathering, he passed around a sample of the rope so people could see how small it was. “One little slip, and I will tumble to my death in the waters below!” he shouted. “You never know when I might fall. The rope is getting wet from the misting water. A wind is coming up the gorge. I don’t want to die, but today could be the day!”

As the crowd swelled even more, he shouted to those who had gathered, “Who believes I can walk across the falls and back without falling to my death below?”

Most of the crowd shouted that they believed he could do it. Many of them cheered him on to try it. So he climbed up onto the rope, and balanced his way across Niagara Falls. When he reached the far side, he turned around and came back. He didn’t slip. He didn’t fall. In fact, he barely wobbled or wavered. So when he returned to the safety of the shore, he motioned with his hands for the cheering crowd to quiet down.

“That was too easy!” he yelled. “That wasn’t a challenge for me at all! Let’s make it more difficult! Who believes I can do again, but this time, while pushing a wheelbarrow? If my hands are on the wheelbarrow, I will not be able to use them to balance on the rope. Shall I give it a try? Do you believe I can do it?” He motioned to a nearby wheelbarrow, which he had brought for this very purpose.

The crowd cheered their approval, which caused the number of gathering people to swell even further. So with the help of two nearby men, he lifted a wheelbarrow up onto the rope, and then started pushing it across the Falls. He went more slowly this time, and even had a few wobbles, which caused the crowd to gasp and cry out with fear, but he made it to the other side and back without any great problem. The crowd went wild.

“That was too easy!” he yelled. “Who believes I can do it again, but this time, with another person inside the wheelbarrow?” The crowd roared their approval. “I would not only be risking my own life, but also the life of the person in the wheelbarrow,” the man shouted to the crowd. “With a show of hands, let me see how many of you believe I can do this!” Almost every person in the large crowd raised their hand. It was nearly unanimous.

“Wonderful! I am so glad to see that you have such faith in me! I think I will give it a shot!” the man yelled. “Now … among all of you who raised your hand, do I have a volunteer to get into the wheelbarrow?” Every hand in the large crowd went down. “What?” said the man. “You’ve seen me walk across Niagara Falls twice without any problems, once while pushing this wheelbarrow! And most of you believe I can do it with someone else in the wheelbarrow with me! But when I ask which of you wants to get into the wheelbarrow, none of you volunteer? Do you believe I can do it or not?”

But there were no takers, so the crowd did not see him push someone across Niagara Falls in a wheelbarrow that day.

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TV Show Reviews

SUPERGIRL (SEASON 5)

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CW

Season Air Date:

  • Season 5: October 6th 2019 – May 17th 2020

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Supergirl (Season 5)

Starring: Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Mehcad Brooks, Katie McGrath, Jesse Rath, Nicole Maines, David Harewood, Jon Cryer, Andrea Brooks, Azie Tesfai, Julie Gonzalo, Staz Nair. LaMonica Garrett, Phil LaMarr, Mitch Pileggi, Cara Buono, Thomas Lennon

In what is probably one of the most memorable and unexpected years of recent memory, 2020 had it all. Bushfires, floods, COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter protests, movies being delayed, music concerts and touring cancelled, sports games cancelled or having no crowds- the world has seemingly ‘gone to bits’- some could say we are entering the end times- but one thing we all can agree on, is that this year is one of the worst economic periods of recent history. Yet as all of us are stuck in our homes and are wondering when life can return to ‘normal’, a funny thing has happened. We are all becoming probably a bit kinder to each other- more so than maybe any other point in history. I know, that’s a bold statement for me to say- perhaps it’d be better to say that we’re all leaning on each other and are relating to each other because of all of us virtually in the same situation- and I don’t know if our kindness and nice words right now have been the most in history… but it certainly feels that way. While we are all hanging out with each other on Zoom, and finding creative ways to stay in touch with people in general, some of us are finding new hobbies and past times and just generally new things to do to keep us all occupied and not bored out of our brains. For musicians who have home studios, well making an album is in fact possible. For business people in the office, working from home is possible and Zoom meetings and working towards deadlines is very possible too. Youtubers are having tons of success now more than ever- with the turnaround to make videos that are enjoyable and confronting… well the turnaround is quicker than ever. Netflix has also churned out the new TV series, and we all have more time on our hands to talk with our family and deepen our relationships there.

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