Felix’s Top 10 – Week of 4/18
While there were plenty of things happening in the last two weeks, one of the biggest annual events in pop culture has to be Coachella. A nexus of rising stars and household names, the yearly gathering sees cutting-edge fashion, celebrity attendees and superstar performers. So while half of this Top 10 will be your regularly scheduled programming, the other half is entirely dedicated to the first weekend of music’s biggest festival.
#10. Kylie Jenner’s been getting into more of a mess than usual lately. Not only did she claim she “invented” wearing wigs in modern fashion, many consumers of her lip kit found mangled and destroyed brushes after unboxing. Makeup guru Jeffree Star brought this to the public eye on Twitter, and despite her cosmetic line apologizing for the incident and deciding to send out new brushes, this is still undeniably cringeworthy. You’d think a girl who basically gets paid to breathe would have better quality control in the one endeavor that she really deserves to earn a paycheck for. And…she “started wigs”? Haven’t weaves been a staple for years? Also…what about Hannah Montana?
#9. James Cameron, director of 2009’s “Avatar,” announced four sequels to the film recently, after years of stating one of them would be out soon. I honestly find “Avatar” to be one of the most interesting cultural phenomenons of the decade. It was the highest grossing movie of all time (before “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” came out in 2015) and yet, seemingly no one can recall anything from that movie. I’ve never met anyone who called “Avatar” anything other than average, but it has undeniably achieved immeasurable success. That’s just wild to me.
#8. “Suicide Squad” finally released a trailer I like. And I know I’m not some big shot movie critic or anything, but Jared Leto as the Joker looks more like a Hot Topic knockoff than anything else, and Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn is so contrived it feels more like a parody. Despite this, Batman’s cameo and the expansion on the other characters in the film has given this movie hope for me, even if it’s just a sliver.
#7. Kobe Bryant played his last game of his NBA career, scoring 60 points in his final match. I’m not into sports at all, but credit where it’s due. The guy isn’t a legend for nothing.
#6. Beyoncé. Is. Coming. Her sixth album, titled “Lemonade,” is set to debut as a video on HBO on April 22. So far, the only track we’ve heard is “Formation,” released way back in February, but I’m so excited to hear what new music Queen Bey will be serving up.
And now: Coachella.
#5. The first weekend of Coachella saw more than a few artist collaborations this year, one of the most notable being the duet of “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” performed by emo king Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco and Halsey. And, despite the fact that neither of them are really A-list, the fact that Urie was one of Halsey’s inspirations growing up, with her having gone to Panic!’s first tour over 10 times, makes this really cool.
#4. Teen idols are fun and all, but there’s probably nothing better than when two big names in music take the stage together. Producer Calvin Harris, also known as Taylor Swift’s current flame, surprised the attendees of his show by bringing out Rihanna for the track, which isn’t usually performed live by Harris. While critics are saying this was one of the worst Coachella headliners ever, this is probably Harris’ saving grace.
#3. This probably shouldn’t rank higher than number 4, but it’s my series, so I’ll do what I want. Miranda Cosgrove and Jennette McCurdy, also known as Carly and Sam from Nickelodeon’s “iCarly,” met again at the festival, bringing nostalgia from all of our childhoods to the forefront. It’s not exactly a full-blown reunion, but it was very bittersweet. That show was much better than people give it credit for.
#2. This is where things stop being light and peppy and start getting political. Buckle your seatbelts. During EDM artist Zedd’s performance of “True Colors,” audiences saw a rainbow-haired Kesha take the stage for the first time since her case against producer and alleged rapist Dr. Luke began. With lyrics like “It’s time to light the flame/ right before it rains” and “I’m not afraid,” it’s not difficult to see her message here. Things got emotional quickly, unsurprisingly. To be honest, I’m just glad she’s not completely barred from performing and doing what she clearly has a passion for.
#1. Rapper YG was a more underground performer last weekend, but he still managed to draw a crowd of 20,000 to his show. And when he performed a song known as “FDT,” things got wild. “FDT,” for those unaware, stands for “**** Donald Trump.” So, I think you can see where this is going. Essentially, this entire crowd of people screamed this phrase into the skies of California in hatred for the presidential candidate. America truly is an interesting place.
Senior Felix Kalvesmaki likes mangoes, true crime and the band Bleachers. He plans on going to NYU to study journalism and music production.