FEATURES
Squid Game Season 2: Everything We Know About the Netflix Show’s Return
The award-winning Netflix original series, Squid Game, is making its highly anticipated return to the screen. Since its release, the show has gained massive success, making it Netflix’s most-viewed series ever and becoming the first non-English show to win multiple Screen Actors Guild Awards, including the SAG Ensemble Award. Prior to the show’s premiere, Netflix executives had little idea that a series entirely filmed in Korean would become more than a regional success, but its endearing characters paired with spine-tingling scenes made Squid Game a beloved favorite of millions. The fascinatingly horrific show follows players desperate for money partaking in deadly games with the hope of winning a large cash prize. Following its release, Squid Game’s commentary on Korea’s economic system ...
Twitter Reacts to Golden State Warriors 2021-22 NBA Championship Win Against Boston Celtics
In Game 6 of the NBA 2021-22 Championships, the Golden State Warriors have defeated the Boston Celtics to win yet another season. With a final score of 103-90, Steph Curry came away from the game with his first Finals MVP award, scoring a total of 34 points in the final game. This is the Warriors’ fourth NBA championship in eight years. Their last championship was in 2018 when they defeated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 4-0 run in the finals. The Warriors are cementing themselves as one of the greatest NBA dynasties. Together, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Andre Igoudala have won all four of the championships in the past eight years together. Following the win, Curry was seen evidently emotional from the victory, breaking down in tears. His win this year ce...
Blxst Champions His City as a West Coast Pioneer
“I ain’t heard one bad Blxst song” is more than just a lyric. For the South Central LA rapper’s devoted fans, it’s a proclamation of his unmatched craft. Known for his melodic take on hip-hop and R&B, Blxst initially became a household name with his debut project No Love Lost in 2020. Since then, a few more accolades under his belt include landing a spot on XXL’s Freshman 2021 list, climbing the top of global viral charts, and bringing home gold-certified hits such as “Chosen” featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Tyga. Wearing a certain West Coast pride on his sleeve, the rapper-crooner carried the torch by working closely with other LA vanguards like Snoop Dogg, YG, Mozzy, Dom Kennedy, Bino Rideaux, Zacari and many more. Just like staying true to his city, the multi-hyphenate has also remained...
The Reissue Section: The Clash’s Videographer Don Letts Looks Back at Combat Rock
The time has come to cut the crap and get your head right about Combat Rock. Why this album — the amalgamation of pretty much everything that made The Clash cool — does not get its proper due in the same way the first album and London Calling do is beyond comprehension. Originally mapped out as a double LP called Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg, the band’s label brought in producer Glyn Johns to whittle it down to a tight, taut 45-minute record that set the scene for their greatest commercial success. Combat was the biggest hit of their run, powered by two all-timers in “Rock The Casbah” and “Should I Stay Or Should I Go.” The 40th anniversary expanded edition adds a second disc and is likely the closest hardcore Clash fans will ever get to an official version of Rat Patrol. This People’s Hall ...
Foals’ Yannis Philippakis Breaks Down Every Song on Life Is Yours
For the first time in nearly three years, British rockers Foals are back with new music. Titled Life Is Yours, even with the world in the tumultuous state its in, the group tries to be optimistic about their outlook. This is reflected by the strength of its lyrics and the experimental nature of the band’s sound. With the album out now, we asked Foals singer Yannis Philippakis to give us the stories behind the songs on Life Is Yours. Here’s what he had to say. “Life Is Yours” “Life Is Yours” contains the sentiment of the album at large, which is about an optimistic spirit, and being in rapture at the possibilities of life. With the shadow of the pandemic and climate change, and the feeling of jeopardy that’s out there, I think that was an important sentiment to tap into. The song is set in ...
Foals’ Yannis Philippakis Breaks Down Every Song on Life Is Yours
For the first time in nearly three years, British rockers Foals are back with new music. Titled Life Is Yours, even with the world in the tumultuous state its in, the group tries to be optimistic about their outlook. This is reflected by the strength of its lyrics and the experimental nature of the band’s sound. With the album out now, we asked Foals singer Yannis Philippakis to give us the stories behind the songs on Life Is Yours. Here’s what he had to say. “Life Is Yours” “Life Is Yours” contains the sentiment of the album at large, which is about an optimistic spirit, and being in rapture at the possibilities of life. With the shadow of the pandemic and climate change, and the feeling of jeopardy that’s out there, I think that was an important sentiment to tap into. The song is set in ...
Juneteenth, Fatherhood, and Change: “These Conversations Are So Important To Our Evolution and Our Identity”
Some people ask why we should celebrate Juneteenth when we already have Martin Luther King Jr. Day. MLK Day is about the wonderful legacy of a man. Juneteenth matters because it’s the official holiday for descendants of slaves. For years, Black history in schools has jumped from slavery to Martin Luther King Jr.—much of our narrative has been erased. This woefully abbreviated timeline ignores the Wilmington insurrection of 1898, Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, and the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. If someone is Irish-American, they can go to Ireland and, most likely, trace their family lineage and get a chance to see pictures and memorabilia. They can get a sense of who their family and ancestors were before they came to America. For many descendants of ...
Juneteenth, Fatherhood, and Change: “These Conversations Are So Important To Our Evolution and Our Identity”
Some people ask why we should celebrate Juneteenth when we already have Martin Luther King Jr. Day. MLK Day is about the wonderful legacy of a man. Juneteenth matters because it’s the official holiday for descendants of slaves. For years, Black history in schools has jumped from slavery to Martin Luther King Jr.—much of our narrative has been erased. This woefully abbreviated timeline ignores the Wilmington insurrection of 1898, Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, and the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. If someone is Irish-American, they can go to Ireland and, most likely, trace their family lineage and get a chance to see pictures and memorabilia. They can get a sense of who their family and ancestors were before they came to America. For many descendants of ...
Elvis Review: Baz Luhrmann’s First Biopic Is Not As Absurd and Ahistorical As You Might Expect
The Pitch: Baz Luhrmann, the Australian maximalist behind such audaciously stylized films as Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby, has taken on his first biopic, and it’s a monster. Although a few attempts have been made at dramatizing the life story of Elvis Presley, most notably Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s 1979 film also titled Elvis, Luhrmann’s movie is by far the biggest and boldest yet, with an $85 million budget dwarfing every other Presley biopic combined. Austin Butler, a 30-year-old actor who made his name with several teen and tween-friendly TV roles on the Disney Channel and The CW, is the unlikely star of this massive biography of the King of Rock’n’Roll. An Anaheim native whose most prestigious previous project was a small role as a member of the Manson Family in Once Upon ...
Soulbound Tokens: Social credit system or spark for global adoption?
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s Soulbound Token proposal for a robust identity and reputation system has stirred up the crypto community. Soulbound Tokens or SBTs are non-transferable, non-financialized tokens tied to a unique profile proving verifiable achievements and commitments. Still at the concept stage, it’s suggested SBTs will be capable of tracking memberships, credentials and affiliations with educational establishments, decentralized lenders and other entities. Supporters say that SBTs could be the use case for the next bull market. But others have likened the concept to China’s social credit system and say it’s an “expensive solution to a problem that’s already been solved.” So, which is it? Let’s take a deeper dive. Soulbound Tokens: Not sure about the name but the...
Two Door Cinema Club Return With “Wonderful Life,” Tease Upcoming Album Keep On Smiling: Exclusive
When Two Door Cinema Club returned back in 2019 with False Alarm, there was a delightful tone of being “seriously unserious.” But now, that lighthearted message means something a bit different; after two years of a pandemic and a lengthy period of being stuck at home, playful and positive art helped lessen the weight of our global situation, and as most of us exit lockdown, there’s a definable sense of tension around re-entering the world and starting over. For Two Door Cinema Club, they just want you to keep calm and smile on. Today (June 16th), they’ve announced their forthcoming fifth studio album, set for release on September 2nd of this year. Keep On Smiling as a title implies a couple different things: for one, it’s a steadfast image of positivity and optimism, a plea to keep sp...
Lucky Dog: How No Dogs Left Behind Is Tearing Down the Dog Meat Trade
Every year around the June summer solstice, the south-west Chinese city of Yulin, located in the Guangxi province, holds the Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival — commonly known as the Yulin Festival. It’s believed the event, which started formally in 2009, was created to draw a revenue-stream of tourists to counter the economic drought of the region. As many as 10,000 dogs havebeen consumed at a single fete, though numbers are said to be dropping down towards the lower thousands, hopefully due to shrinking popularity. For now, right now in fact, the festival rages on. For 10 days, attendees can choose cleaved or skinned, roasted dogs in their entirety—from nose to tail—all in the name of festival fun. The story of what happens to these dogs is the stuff of slasher films, and with every sta...
