Twitter's Contradictory Culture of Outrage

By: James Southworth

As a lot of my frequent readers know (and just know I'm very appreciative of the average of about 100 or so people that read everything I post even though I'm not nearly the best critic in the world), every once in a while on this review site I will write about a commentary piece. Often I try to keep these pieces within the realm of music or movies or media in general. This post is slightly breaking the rules since it's about social media, something that I rarely talk about. But I just can't go any longer without talking about what is probably the most toxic piece of social media out there: Twitter. Yes, Facebook can be bad, but I find it more comical the outrage that appears on Facebook. People are also quick to call out "animal abuse experts", people who make insane political statements, or people just being entirely clueless or moronic. Instagram has some annoying Instagram "comedians", but they're easily avoidable and ultimately harmless. Snapchat doesn't have any major toxicity problems with it either. I can even forgive Tumblr, although it definitely has its share of problems. But Twitter... oh man, I have been tempted to leave this social media site over and over and over again. Let's talk about why, specifically in the context of the outrage culture that constantly pervades this website and the "fake woke" mentality.

Before I provide some specific examples of what I'm talking about, let me give you a general idea of what my Twitter news feed often looks like. Sure, there are some funny posts that appear on my timeline, some outdated overdone memes, and every once in a while a quality post from one of my friends. But what appears more than anything is the stuff that people retweet. Once again, there are some really good things that people retweet. But more often than not, my feed is consumed of the most extremist liberal or conservative garbage. On Twitter, due to it having a 280 (or something like that) character limit, there's no room for nuance when you give your viewpoints. I've even seen this in context of my own university. This will not apply to everyone that's reading this, but if you don't know, at Asbury there are chapel tweets. Students tweet about their feelings about the 10:00 chapel service. First of all, I don't quite understand why people can't just put their phones away for the course of 50 minutes and actually listen to what is being said in chapel. It's not that long of a time. What gets me more annoyed, though, is the fact that almost solely the only thing that people do on Twitter is complain about chapel. They don't like what the person is saying; the speaker is too boring. Just whine, whine, whine. Now, I will admit that there are some chapels that have been really bad this semester. But is Twitter really the best place to take your complaints? Why not have a conversation about it that goes beyond petty insults and arguing? People like to complain about chapel because it's just something to pass the time. It accomplishes absolutely nothing, and only ends up in the never ending vicious cycle of outrage continuing to become more and more toxic.

In comparison to some of these other examples, the one pertaining to my university is fairly minor (and I still love Asbury and the many people that go there, plus I'm not the only one at Asbury who has problems with chapel tweets). Let's talk about one of the most recent examples: Kanye West. Out of all the examples here, this is the hardest one for me to be entirely objective about, because it requires me to support Kanye West's tweets. I personally can't stand Kanye's Twitter and public personality. His brand is making controversy, no matter what the cost. I don't know whether he actually believed that someone else deserved that Grammy that Taylor Swift won in that infamous moment where he took the mic from Swift at the Grammys, but it didn't matter. West got the attention, and that was the whole point. He tries to weirdly balance his controversial as a business model with being "inspirational", and it doesn't work. But that's besides the point. Lately, Kanye's been getting a lot of heat because he's been tweeting about how he supports Trump, posting pictures of him wearing his MAGA hat which was signed by Trump. I'll admit, these tweets made me a little surprised. But not as much as some people on Twitter. Many people were basically saying how anything West has to say is now irrelevant because of his support of the President. No one should listen to him or his music. He's basically not representative of the black community anymore because of his political affiliation. This sort of made me cynically laugh because of so many people who say that we need to shut up and listen to what persons of color have to say, because they are the oppressed minority. But it looks like now we should only listen to what they have to say when it aligns with our political viewpoints. This type of hypocrisy is on Twitter repeatedly, no matter whether you align conservative or liberal. It is so stupid, and the outright blatant contradiction is sickening. How about we try to listen to where people are coming from rather than make assumptions on them based on who they support politically?

An even more ridiculous example of outrage comes right from one of the most pretentious and "fake woke" artists out there, Halsey. Her music and her personality go hand and hand, as she tries to make out like she's making these big important statements, but ultimately they are meaningless, or even worse, she doesn't believe in them herself. Recently she posted on Twitter about her anger that people of color don't have their own hotel shampoos that they can use, and that hotel shampoo is just for white people. In the society of liberal extremists, this type of "racism" would be known as a microagresssion. So basically something that would only evoke a little bit of anger. So, why be angry about it at all? It's like a first world problem rather than actual racism. Thankfully a lot of people in Halsey's own fanbase were calling her out on the stupidity of being angry about hotel shampoo. Because wouldn't one think that hotel shampoo in general is just cheap? People of all races were commenting on how idiotic this was, and that there are clearly more pressing things to be worried about. Of course Halsey had to go on the offensive and was replying back to people for hours. She was even making separate tweets trying desperately to justify her anger as well as change the conversation. Most funny of all was her final tweet about the issue, where in her final sentence she said that she actually agreed that hotel shampoo in general is just cheap. So wait- are you actually agreeing that cheap hotel shampoo is just cheap hotel shampoo? Then what exactly was the point of the tweet? The answer is there was no point, rather than for Halsey to just contribute to Twitter's never-ending cycle of trying to be the most woke person on the website, the most outraged. I mean, why be on Twitter other than to be outraged about something incredibly minor? That seems to be the website's most primary purpose these days.

My final example probably makes me the most angry, as tweets like these are probably the most frequent I see. Sure, there's outrage that surrounds celebrity figures. But often, pointless outrage comes from people who are ultimately just fishing for likes and looking to become viral on Twitter just so they can post their Soundcloud link, or something like that. To give this tweet some context, there was this girl who posted about her prom, and the dress she was wearing was something you would see in Chinese culture. It was a very nice dress, and she was clearly meaning nothing disrespectful by it. But, of course, someone had to go out of their way to get on their high horse, as this person quote tweeted her, saying "My culture is not your g*****n prom dress". He then went on to explain about the background behind the dress, which was admittedly interesting. But the point still stands that this guy went out of his way to express anger about a girl who was wearing a dress for just one night to a fun prom event. The girl made several tweets pointing out how she wore the dress because she wanted to appreciate, not appropriate, Chinese culture. I was very happy to see this girl not bow down to Twitter's outrage mentality. This mentality is so hurtful, because it leads to so many people on Twitter trying to break down one person just because they did something that made them a little bit angry. The outrage culture is the very contradiction of what American society tries to promote, which is tolerance. If you don't like a viewpoint someone expresses on Twitter, the best thing you can do, I guess, is to call out the person in a vicious manner and wait for other people to follow suit. This way you can go into the toxic black hole of validation where only you and the people that agree with you are right. Because your opinion is a fact.

See how awful, and ultimately scary, this mentality is? This is what Twitter has turned into and by the day it only seems to get worse. People will search for the smallest thing to get offended at, and they will try to make it into something that seems like a big deal. And the worst part is, hundreds of thousands of people BUY it. They accept that this is the only way to view the world. There are no nuances, only extremes. People aren't complex human beings, but rather you can create strawmen out of them and tear them down without a shred of remorse because you only see one side of them. Last year, a porn star ended up killing herself because of the outrage culture on Twitter coming after her. The reason people were coming after her is just because she said that she preferred not to date men of a particular skin color. That's what caused such vicious bullying of her, and that is what continues to make Twitter a site that I would not encourage very young people to venture on to. It's sad that a social media site like Twitter ultimately tears down positive social constructs, and rather makes us build walls against each other. If you're part of the contradictory culture of outrage on Twitter, please stop... before it's too late.

Short Reviews #7

Even though I am very busy preparing for finals and whatnot, I have found time to catch up on some music and movies I have missed. I know I've been doing a lot of music reviews lately, and unfortunately there's only one movie on here. Be prepared to see a lot more movie reviews over the summer (including "Infinity War" very soon). But, for now, here's a couple reviews, including a music review for what is currently my favorite album of the year so far!

Movies
Annihilation
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year for sure. Alex Garland absolutely blew me away with "Ex Machina", easily one of the most compelling and thought provoking sci-fi movies I've ever seen. It focused intensely on three different characters, and was more of an interesting character study than a sci-fi movie. That is what made the film work, plus the science fiction elements were legitimately interesting. "Annihilation" is about biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) signing up for a risky expedition into a world known as "The Shimmer" which has mysteriously appeared near a military base. She and a team of people go there to see why it may be present and find much more than what they were bargaining for. This film is pretty freaking awesome for the most part. Whenever the film is focusing on Lena and studying her character, I was always interested. That is certainly in part due to Portman's absolutely dynamic performance. This is easily her best work to date; I really thought that she gave Lena a strong and compelling character arc to watch and latch on to. I felt for her, and I liked how the flashbacks in the film were always done to strengthen her character development further. I also thought Oscar Isaac was excellent as her husband Kane; I wish he was in the film more. Another big highlight of this film is the visuals. This movie is absolutely stunning. The visuals are all very intriguing, especially in the ending where there are some very creative visual moments that I haven't really seen in a film before. I am also totally fine with this movie's slightly ambiguous ending. It adds to the suspenseful atmosphere this movie has, and somewhat similarly to science, the theories that could be postulated are left up to the audience. My biggest problem with this film is actually all the rest of the characters. There are great, dynamic female actors in this cast (Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez), but all of their characters are just not written that well. I ultimately didn't care for the rest of the main characters that much, and whenever the movie was focusing on them, I found myself losing interest. Also, this film's flimsy scientific explanations can be confusing at times, and the movie can be dull at times as well, especially in the beginning half where it's taking far too long to move the plot along. Still, this film is unique, and Alex Garland's style is all over it. Even if it won't be one of my favorite movies of the year, I'd still recommend you see it for its impressive visuals and Natalie Portman's excellent work!

Music
"Firepower" by Judas Priest
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

This album has been out for a couple of months now, and it still hasn't left my rotation of music that I've been consistently listening to. Judas Priest came back with a vengeance with this album. I haven't been too into them in the past, though I acknowledge they have an impressive legacy. This may be my favorite album by them, and so far, "Firepower" is my favorite album of the year by a long shot. This album is almost pitch perfect from the beginning to end, boasting some of the most fun and intense hard rock/metal songs I've heard in quite some time. The title track opens the floodgates with some incredibly fun guitar riffs and pounding drums. When you hear Rob Halford's unbelievable vocals, you know that you're in a fun ride for this whole album. "Lightning Strike" is a track I can see working so well in a live setting. The lead guitar riff in this track still hasn't gotten out of my head. "Evil Never Dies" is probably the closest this album gets to an almost thrash metal sound, with all band members showing off just how great they are and how tight they are as a band. You can't help but headbang to this song, and scream out the chorus whenever it comes along. Now I will admit, lyrically, this album is not that deep. Most of these tracks are pump up songs about fighting wars against demons and Hell. But the lyrics aren't cringe worthy or anything; in fact they're so freaking fun. And when you have such excellent musicianship in every track, are the lyrics really worth complaining about. My favorite track comes in "Flamethrower", a five-minute metal onslaught with an incredible guitar solo. Halford really shows off his vocal range in this track, especially in its breathless ending. I also have to give huge props to the beautiful vocal harmonies in "Spectre", and the interesting commentary on what constitutes heroism in "Never the Heroes". If there were any negatives on this release, I'd have to say "Children of the Sun" is a little weaker in comparison to everything else on here. But otherwise, this album is a worthwhile listen, sounding like it came right out of the classic rock age. It's albums like this that prove rock will never die.

Favorite Songs: "Flamethrower", "Evil Never Dies", "Firepower", "Spectre", "Lightning Strike", "Never The Heroes"
Least Favorite Songs: "Children of the Sun"

"Eat The Elephant" by A Perfect Circle
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

I've never been familiar with A Perfect Circle, so do keep in mind that I'm not gonna be reflecting too much on the band's history or comparing this release to the band's previous discography. I am, however, familiar with how loved this band is by many people, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan seems like a very interesting individual. You should know before delving into this album that it's very political in nature, so if that's something that you don't like, then you probably don't want to listen to this release, and I myself have some problems with how politicized it is. But let's start with the positives. It took me quite a few listens to appreciate this release, but once I started really accepting its weirdness, the results were rewarding. My favorite track, one that I loved from my very first listen, is "Disillusioned". This song has so many interesting musical shifts in its nearly six-minute run-time. It is the embodiment of what great progressive rock should be. The idea of technology disconnecting us from the world is a subject that's been done before, but I think Maynard writes so well, that he makes the subject have a fresh viewpoint: "Time to put the silicon obsession down/Take a look around, find a way in the silence/Lie supine away with your back to the ground". The usage of piano and intermittent silence in this track is incredibly haunting and effective, making this simple subject feel very weighty in the track's context. Even though I don't see this album as a whole making my top 10 of the year, I think this track will make my top 10 songs of the year; it's that good. Other highlights include the menacing lead single "The Doomed", which is one of the only more intense tracks on the album. This song's blackly satirical commentary is interesting and relevant, and the drumming here is awesome. I also love "TalkTalk", where Maynard implores Christians to start walking like Jesus rather than just talking. This track is the most intense, and stands out because of that. I also found the more pop-flaired "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" to be a lot of fun, and I couldn't help but find Maynard's darkly comedic look on impending nuclear war as funny. As far as negatives of the album go, I do not much care for the title track, as it is just way to slow and dull for me. I also find "The Contrarian" to be obnoxiously obvious in its talking about Trump. The song never says his name, but it might as well with lyrics that lack any subtelty. "Get the Lead Out" is probably the worst song, and it unfortunately comes at the end of the album. This track is an unnecessary six-minutes long, and the content within the song doesn't justify that length. It feels more like a very extended outro. Still, there is quite a bit of interesting stuff to digest in this album, and I do appreciate how boldly weird it is. Check it out!

Favorite Songs: "Disillusioned", "TalkTalk", "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish", "The Doomed", "Hourglass"
Least Favorite Songs: "Get the Lead Out", "The Contrarian", "DLB"

"Golden Hour" by Kacey Musgraves
Rating: 4/5 Stars

In my journey to become more open-minded to different music genres that I haven't been as receptive to in the past, the genre that I find the hardest to enjoy anything of is country. I don't know why, because with rock being my favorite genre, country is probably the genre that comes the second closest to it. I guess there's just something about it that makes me picky about what type of country I listen to, but I've still found artists that I like. One that's more recent is Kacey Musgraves, an artist who is definitely innovating within this genre. In fact, if you had played me this album and asked me what genre it was, I probably would've guessed pop/rock over country. There are definitely some country tinges within this release, but it's very different from your typical country release. Instead of talking about typical country subjects, a lot of the time this release has Kacey talking about how she appreciates the beauty of the world she's living in, as well as the relationships she has. She's clearly in a happy state of mind, as for the most part, this album feels positively euphoric. There's something addicting about the opening track "Slow Burn", which is a fitting title for the song. I love the acoustic guitar that plays throughout this track, and Kacey's vocals give off this very natural talent. I like how she's saying that she's okay with life going slow rather than taking in too much at once. "Lonely Weekend" has an absolutely irresistible chorus, and once again is interesting in its lyrics as Kacey tries to reconcile the idea of feeling lonely all the time with that time being where she can get to know herself more. "Butterflies" is a sweet ode to Musgraves's husband. This song just oozes natural charm and beauty. The same goes for "Oh What A World", my favorite track on the album. This song is just gorgeous, as it somehow puts synthesizers and a banjo together in just the right way. I also love the use of vocoder in the track, as it does give off this ethereal wonder for the world surrounding us. Other highlights include the short but heart wrenching piano-driven ballad "Mother", the beautiful break up song "Space Cowboy", and the lyrically beautiful song "Love is a Wild Thing". As far as negatives go, I didn't really care a lot for "High Horse", as those two words being said in the song come across as awkward. I also think that "Velvet Elvis" doesn't really fit the vibe this album is going for. Even if you're not the biggest country fan, I'd recommend you listen to this album. It might be a good gateway for you to listen to other country artists!

Favorite Songs: "Oh What a World", "Slow Burn", "Love is a Wild Thing", "Lonely Weekend", "Mother"
Least Favorite Songs: "Velvet Elvis", "High Horse"

Top 10 Breaking Benjamin Songs

By: James Southworth
 
Breaking Benjamin has been a significant part of my music listening experience for quite some time now. They were one of my main gateways into starting to listen to more secular rock music, rather than Christian, and I am thankful that they introduced me to so many great bands I'd been missing out on. It was pretty hard to come up with a top 10 for BB, as they have quite a few excellent songs, but I did manage to do it. So here they are!

Honorable Mentions: "You", "Defeated", "Believe", "Medicate", "Forget It", "What Lies Beneath", "Diary of Jane", "Feed the Wolf", "Polyamorous", "Evil Angel", "Breaking the Silence", "Fade Away", "Torn In Two"

10. "Blood" (Ember)

Even though I do stand by opinion of "Ember" being a pretty middle of the road album, especially by Breaking Benjamin standards, I've quickly grown to love "Blood" a lot. I think that this has to be the most intense feeling BB song to date, and because of that, I absolutely love it. The song memorably begins with some pounding guitar riffs and intense drumming, and neither of those elements ever let up. You can really feel the anger in Ben Burnley's voice. I think this song is well-written, too, as Ben discusses honestly about how it seems to be a part of him to be constantly angry or bitter. The lyric "It's in my blood" is instantly iconic, in my opinion. Like I mentioned in my review of this song, I can totally see those lines being chanted along to in a live setting. What makes this song work even better is the incredible ending it has, where the guitars get all in your face. I can't help but smiling every time I hear this song, because it is such a delight to hear the band actually getting a bit more intense than they usually do. You definitely need to listen to this song if you haven't yet. It's the only song off "Ember" that has a place in my top 10, and it's for good reason.

9. "Close to Heaven" (Dark Before Dawn)

It really hurt me to put this song down so low on my top 10 list. This song never fails to get me emotional every time I listen to it. The track is just so poignant and hopeful, and there aren't many other BB tracks that have the big stakes this track has. This song could've so easily been a standard relationship song, but I think it's so much more than that. It honestly feels more like a love letter to God, as Burnley makes a powerful vow with these lyrics: "So I'll stay unforgiven/And I'll keep love together/And I'll be yours forever/I'll sleep close to Heaven". The line "I'll stay unforgiven" has always stuck out to me. I think that Ben is saying that he can't forgive himself for the sins he's committed; the only way he can is by being as close to God as he possibly can. I think that's such a beautiful testimony, and even if you aren't a Christian, there's something incredibly humbling in Burnley's statement that he can't forgive himself on his own. Musically, this song is absolutely epic, especially in the bridge where Ben passionately sings out "I'm coming home", and an incredible guitar solo is played. This song is one of the many examples of all the quality content that "Dark Before Dawn" as a whole has to offer.

8. "Without You" (Dear Agony)

Speaking of powerful tracks, I think this song certainly fits the bill. This is easily the best BB album closer to date; nothing else has had a fighting chance against it. I think this song works so well because, once again, you can feel the emotional stakes at hand. There is clearly a war going on in Ben's head (as is the case with this whole album detailing his struggles with alcoholism and trying to get sober). He begs this other person to go along with him into the darkness because he can't possibly do it without them. I think this song has such an great payoff when the response of the person Ben talks to says "I'm with you/Forever/The end". I've heard that some people seem to interpret this song as the two different parts of Ben's mind (addiction and post-addiction) being at war with each other. I don't think I agree with that assessment, as it doesn't give this song quite as powerful of a redemptive arc. Nevertheless, no matter how you interpret the lyrics, I think the music speaks for itself as a gorgeous orchestral arrangement ends the song out. Those strings seem to symbolically represent the light at the end of the tunnel that Ben is finally able to reach now that he is out of the darkness. The fact that the music helps lend to the song's theme makes for very smart song-writing, and that alone makes this song deserving of a spot on this list.

7. "Simple Design" (We Are Not Alone)

I would argue to this day that this track is BB's most musically dynamic. In it's about four and a half minute run-time, it goes through all sorts of interesting musical shifts. It starts off with a fun, head-banging hard-rock styled guitar riff that also has a slight metal tinged. Its verses are a bit more grunge styled, while the chorus has a slow burn rock style. The bridge transitions to an acoustic styling, before going into grunge like guitar blasts again, and then there is an absolutely killer guitar solo that I think everyone should enjoy. This isn't necessarily what I would call the deepest BB song; in fact, it's a whole lot of fun and more of a pump up track than anything. But, that aspect of it actually makes this track stand out all the more in BB's discography as a whole. Plus, you can't help but sing along to lyrics like "I'm living it up/While I'm falling from grace". There's a sense of deep sarcasm throughout this track; it has some real black humor to it that works well. I wish the band made more songs like this, but I am glad that I have this one to come back to.

6. "Dance With The Devil" (Phobia)

This song is a fan favorite, and it is easy to see why. This is one of those songs that has the BB sound that everyone knows and loves. But in my opinion, the sound is amped up by the ferocious guitar riffs and the symbolically powerful lyricism. The atmosphere of this track is very haunting, as Burnley describes a dangerous drug trip. There are so many songs out there that glorify the usage of drugs, that they can make us ignorant to the world. Ben prefers to see the usage of drugs as a negative, as he compares them to the Devil. He claims there's only one way you can truly "dance" with the Devil: "Don't you dare look at him in the eye". Basically, if we ignore the very real implications of doing drugs, then we can easily give into having an addiction with them. This song probably relates very closely to Ben's own struggles with alcohol, as he certainly relied on it like a drug. Songs like this one are him being honest with himself and knowing he needs to give up his addiction. Like I mentioned before, musically this song is seeping with atmosphere, and the guitar work in this track is just stellar. I think the bridge is where this song really reaches its emotional heights as Ben sings out "Hold on". Something I notice about this band is that they really do make sure their song's bridges always have emotional impact, and I think this one does as well. I'm sure many of my readers are already aware of this track, but if you aren't, you're doing yourself a disservice by not listening to it.

5. "Anthem of the Angels" (Dear Agony)

It's interesting but fitting that I put this song right next to "Dance With The Devil", as in my opinion these tracks are two different sides of the same coin. Whereas DWTD talks about struggling with addiction, "Anthem of the Angels" is about struggling with the passing of a loved one. This song is heartbreaking in a very raw way, and is a song I don't listen to that often because of how depressing it is. But I think the song is an important listen, especially for those who have lost a loved one or who are going to lose a loved one soon. This song has Ben having to come to terms with his grandfather's Alzheimers, which has basically already made his grandfather seem dead because he can't remember much of anything. This song is basically an acceptance that Burnley has to say goodbye to his grandfather one last time. He does seem to at least have some hope that he will see him in another life, as he talks about his grandfather singing with the angels. That small ray of light is what keeps this song from falling into total darkness. The saddening atmosphere of the song comes into a more powerful light with the subtle incorporation of strings and a beautifully played acoustic guitar. This track is a masterpiece, plain and simple.

4. "Home" (Saturate)

Even though I don't really connect that much with too many songs off "Saturate", I've always found this to be one of the most interesting songs on the album. In my opinion, it's also one of the band's most underrated tracks. I don't hear people talking too much about this song, and it is a shame. I think this song is intriguing in its writing, as it offers a very twisted version on "The Wizard of Oz": "Because I'm gonna get you/And your little dog too/There's a yellow brick road/ That we follow back home..." The usage of constant allusion in this song is clever, and helps lend to the song's theme that Ben doesn't truly feel at home anywhere, but yet still wants to find a place to call home. That contradiction is highlighted in making all the Oz allusions twisted and dark rather than light and pleasant. Also, the very heavy grunge-influenced guitars lean to making the atmosphere that much more dark and creepy. Ben makes his voice sound purposefully menacing and dissonant. You really do get cold chills when you listen to this song, and I think that was definitely Burnley's intent in writing the song. There's something about this track that feels timeless to me; something that I'll be able to come back to ten years from now, and it will still feel fresh. Maybe that's because there aren't that many songs that are like this one.

3. "Ashes of Eden" (Dark Before Dawn)

My top three tracks are so neck and neck with each other, it's insane. That just indicates the undeniable talent that Breaking Benjamin can have in their songs when they are on their a game. "Ashes of Eden" is definitely a testament to that, as it stands tall as the band's best ballad to date (in my opinion). I've always thought that this band is a little on and off with their slower tracks, with ones like "Forget It" and even more recently "The Dark of You" being awesome, but they have others such as "Rain" and "Here We Are" being a bit more forgettable. This track hooks you in pretty quickly with its unique soundscape. I've always appreciated how this track utilizes strings very heavily, especially in the song's beautifully climactic ending. I think Ben opts for a softer vocal performance on this track. His performance is so naturally talented here, and understated in a way. He's not trying to show off in the vocal department, but this is still one of his best voice-wise to date. And I can't help but emotionally connect to the spiritually deep lyrics as Ben sings of letting the sins of his past wash away, and instead look towards Heaven or redemption to help him as he goes on with his life. This band can so often be very dark in their lyrics, and I like their honesty about the darkness in our lives. But I really think this track shines because of how redemptive it is, and the redemption feels earned because of the emotion packed into the sound and the lyrics.

2. "Breakdown" (We Are Not Alone)

This isn't really one of the band's deeper songs or anything; in fact, I'd describe it as an almost purely fun song, although it's seething with anger. I like how the beginning has a piano playing a melody which almost sounds like it could come from the classical age of music. I don't know, something about it just feels timeless to me. The dissonance in the melody is brooding with a menacing atmosphere, and I can't help but smile with the payoff being that Ben screams out the title of the song. There is then this huge guitar riff that almost has a more metal feel to it. I love the faster pace of this song throughout. Typically the band opts for either slow-burn verses or a slow-burn chorus, but that is not the case with this track. It's pure adrenaline fuel from beginning to end, and that only makes this song all the better. I feel like this track in particular is very underrated in BB's discography, and it was a song that I was captivated to from the first time I heard it. It may not be the most typical type of song the band would do, but I think that makes it stand out all the more. Please, listen to this song if you haven't!

1. "Breath" (Phobia)

There's really no other track that could make my top spot, as this has been my favorite song by Breaking Benjamin ever since I first discovered them. Like many people, the first song I heard by the band was "Diary of Jane", and that song already made me think that I would like them. But it wasn't until I heard "Breath" that I knew that I would be much bigger fan of BB. This song embodies all of the things that fans love about the band: a dark atmosphere, beginning with some expertly executed guitar riffs/drum work, and of course Ben Burnley's reliably strong vocals. Ben's performance in this song is just unmatched, as in every moment of the song he seethes with emotion. The chorus of this song is seeped into my memory, as he displays just how versatile his vocal range is, hitting some incredible high notes, as well as impressive lows. The lyrics to the chorus are some of the most memorable lyrics to any song: "So sacrifice yourself/And let me have whats left/I know that I can find/The fire in your eyes/I'm going all the way/Get away, please/You take the breath right out of me". Those lyrics still bring a good kind of cold chill to me every time I hear them. The ending of this song is huge and amps up the track to the next level, concluding the song on the best note possible. Songs like this and the rest of the top 10 will always be primary reasons why I will be a fan of Breaking Benjamin!

"A Quiet Place" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Every year, there's always that one horror movie that everyone talks about. It's something that has somewhat underground appeal, but is also being hyped enough to get talked about in the mainstream. Last year, that film was "It Comes At Night", the year before "Lights Out", and the year before that "The Witch". This year the big hyped horror film comes in "A Quiet Place". Probably the biggest reason this film has been getting so much attention is because John Krasinski, a comedian and most well-known for playing Jim Halpert in "The Office", is directing it. This is actually not his directorial debut like many have claimed; it's his third. But still, this is his most hyped directorial movie to date. The film takes place in an unknown time, and focuses on a family in a world that is very barren of people. The reason for that: there are creatures that can kill people with the skill of hearing the tiniest sound. Throughout this film, we watch the Abbott family fighting for survival while trying to figure out the best way to kill these creatures. This movie, thank goodness, lives up to the hype, and even exceeded my expectations. It has an excellent cast, beautifully assured direction from John, and a feeling of tension that just never lets up in the film's tight hour and a half run time.

Something that immediately satisfied me about this film in its horror aspect is sort of back to the basics. While I have enjoyed a lot of these horror movies which incorporate symbolism and a lot of different plot-twists, I appreciate this film for being a straight forward, but still innovative, survival horror movie. You will definitely see that John was influenced by other creature films such as "Alien" or "Tremors". Something that this movie does which I've not really seen a whole lot of horror films do is make the silence the main component of the scares. Right from the beginning of the movie there is a feeling of unsettling quiet that just won't let up. The first shot of the Abbott family shopping in a grocery store could've been so standard, but instead there are clever shots incorporated in of them walking on their tiptoes or ever so softly putting items down. The cold open of this movie in general is incredible. I don't want to entirely spoil it to you, but the sound of a toy rocket ship will fill you with more dread than you could've ever possibly imagined. I think this movie's silence practically demands your attention. I've never been in a movie theater more quiet, and you could hear the slightest sound. It's like the theater knew it was taboo to even try to make a sound, as a lot of people weren't even trying to touch their food. This film's horror aspect plays you so easily, and that is thanks to Krasinski's consistently well-done direction. There's so many moments throughout that I think will be ingrained in my memory. There's a bathtub scene with Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt) just trying to avoid one of the creatures. That one singular goal makes this scene incredibly tense and frightening, and it goes on for quite a few minutes. This film does right by making dialogue at an absolute minimum. When the dialogue is there, it's impactful and important. This film is scary and suspenseful, pure and simple. The silence is not a gimmick, but rather important to making the horror work. The tension is white-knuckled, and there's no denying that you can really feel it as the film keeps going. We do not see much of the creatures at all, which works very well as it keeps the mystery alive. When we do see the creatures, they are certainly a frightening sight to behold. The horror aspect alone of this film makes it worth watching.

The performances in this film are all also incredible. It's a small cast of four people, and because of that, a lot is demanded out of every performer. As I expected, Emily Blunt is excellent as Evelyn Abbott. Evelyn is a compelling character for sure, as you can see her fighting for her family's life as well as her yet-to-be-born baby. I feel like Blunt makes Emily a very multi-faceted character. We see a lot of vulnerability to her, especially in her touchingly realistic relationship with Lee (of course, part of the reason it feels so real is that John and Emily are married in real life). Her love for her children is shown over and over. But, there's also an undeniable strength about her, as she has to face against the creature in that significant bathtub moment. I loved her character arc, and there wasn't one moment that I didn't believe Blunt's performance. The real highlight of the movie for me, though, was John Krasinski as Lee. I've only been used to John in more comedic types of roles, so this movie already had me excited to see what he could do in a more dramatic performance. And man, did he blow me away. Krasinski has so much range throughout this movie, able to give off a variety of emotions. The love he has for Evelyn is powerful. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a more authentic relationship on-screen than the one between these two characters. There's something about this couple that is refreshing to me, and that might be the fact that so often in films we see relationships that are fraught with many problems, and constant conflict and hate. Not so with this couple, as their love for one another stays consistent throughout the film. I think Lee's character arc is one of the most sympathetic. And yet, Krasinski doesn't try to make this movie about him; it's very clear this whole movie is about how much he cares for his family. The heart of this movie comes in Millicent Simmonds as Regan Abbott. This movie's emphasis on silence often comes through this character, who is deaf. I think it was a smart idea to have her in the film, as it lends towards a lot of interesting moments throughout the movie. I also think that John made a good move in hiring an actor who is actually deaf. Because Simmonds is deaf in real life, her performance is obviously going to be more real feeling to the audience. It's also inspiring to see a minority group who isn't represented that often being in this film. She relies entirely on facial emotions throughout the film, and she absolutely nails it. You can feel every emotion from her, and I think she brought so much weight to her character. Regan goes through the most change in this film, and the payoff of where she ends up at made me very happy. I also have to give significant honorable mention to the Abbott son Marcus, played excellently by Noah Jupe. This very young actor has been in a lot of great films lately that have been getting recognition, and I haven't seen a weak performance by him yet. In fact, his performance here is probably his best yet. This actor and Simmonds both have very promising futures.

There are very few issues that I have with this film. In fact, the only one that I can identify is that there are a few cheap jump scares. They only appear a couple times in the film. I'll admit they were a little irritating, especially one particularly cliched one where the payoff was that it was just a racoon. Thankfully, though, these types of jump scares are in low quantity. They ultimately don't contribute significantly to the quality of the movie at all. "A Quiet Place" is a horror movie that is getting deserved praise from critics and audiences alike. It has enough influence from older films for it to appeal to a wide demographic, and there is enough innovation in it for it to be appreciated as a completely original film. There have been other films like this, where silence is the key to fighting against mysterious creatures. But, I think this film puts such a cool twist on it that it works immensely well. Congratulations to John Krasinski for making what is an undeniably masterful horror movie, as well as a film that is sure to make it into my top 10 movies of the year!

Breaking Benjamin "Ember" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 3/5 Stars

The post-grunge and alternative metal band Breaking Benjamin has been one of the most loved mainstream rock groups ever since their immensely successful debut, "Saturate". Like a lot of people, I didn't discover the band until "Phobia". That album instantly won me over. I still listen to it to this day, and if anything, I like it more now than I did in the past. I've been a fan of a lot of BB's albums, although "Dear Agony" was personally a bit underwhelming to me. I also believe that no BB album is entirely flawless, because the band has never really expanded on their sound much. They felt like they were on the threshold of evolving with "Dark Before Dawn", an excellent album in my opinion, with some of Ben Burnley's best vocals to date. So I was interested to see what BB would do with "Ember". I'll admit, I was a little worried about the album because the band/record label felt it was necessary to release FIVE singles in advance (which is half the album as the beginning and end track are just intro and outro cuts). That amount of singles is ridiculously excessive in my opinion. Overall, "Ember" is a fine album. I appreciate that it goes in a more intense direction, but for every good song on here there is one that is underwhelming or boring.

There are several high points to talk about that appear on the album. I think that there's probably only one song on this release that has potential to make it into my top 10 BB songs. Still, there are several tracks to commend. I think the album starts off excellently with the combination of the intro track "Lyra" and the second lead single "Feed The Wolf". The former is a pretty cool piano led track. It gives the album a sense of excitement and anticipation, which I definitely appreciated. Its ominous atmosphere is perfect for "Feed The Wolf"'s dark lyrical content. I think this song, out of all the tracks on the album, is the most different sounding for the band. Something about it just feels new and refreshing for them. It does have BB's signature introspective lyrics, and I think they are beautifully written: "Carry me through this world alive/I feel no more this suffering/Bury me in this cold light/I feed the wolf and shed my skin". The chorus in this song absolutely soars, with Ben hitting a chillingly beautiful high note. I wish he would use his higher register more throughout this release, honestly. The usage of screams in this song is also well done, as they are thrown into the mix subtly rather than becoming over the top (unfortunately, the overuse of screams in "Ember" do become a detractor, more on that later). "Tourniquet" is also a solid track, even if it does repeat its chorus a little too much. I think the musicality of this cut is what really makes me enjoy it, as it is fairly intense, and has some very talented drumming going on. The guitar riff is a lot of undeniable fun. Another more unique song on the album comes in "The Dark of You", which might be the softest track the band has done. This also is the first feature the band has done. Derek Hough, a former contestant on "Dancing With The Stars", provides guest vocals significantly on this song. I think the chemistry between him and Ben is spot on. I could really feel the emotion in this track, and I think the electronic flares the song has actually helps lift the emotion up even more. This track doesn't quite compare to other emotive BB ballads like "Forget It" or especially "Ashes of Eden", but I still like it quite a bit.

The second half of this album also boasts some good tracks. "Torn In Two" was one of the more anticipated tracks on the album, as it was cut from "Dark Before Dawn" and Ben wasn't even sure it was going to see the light of the day. Maybe part of the reason I love the song so much is because I am such a big fan of that album. This song sound like it could be right at home on it. The cut is so musically dynamic, constantly shifting pace in unpredictable and interesting ways. I especially like the compellingly cinematic sounding chorus, something that BB hasn't really done before. This track does a good job of keeping the listener on their toes, right up until the memorable ending. My favorite song on the album comes in "Blood", which is easily one of BB's most intense songs to date, if not their most intense. I couldn't help smiling while listening to this track, as this is the type of song I've always wanted the band to do. Even though I think they could've pushed the envelope even further on the song, I still can't deny that I love it. The line "It's in my blood" feels very iconic; I can see fans screaming that line out in concerts. The intensity of this song is delightful to me, with the guitar riffs cutting into the song hard. The riffs get to show off especially at the ending of the song, and I think you'd have to be crazy to not headbang. The album ends off on a pretty good note with "Close Your Eyes" and the outro "Lyra". "Close Your Eyes" is not the most impactful ending track the band has done, but it is still a solid song that I enjoy.

For all the good in this album, there are unfortunately a lot of issues I have with it as well. There are some tracks in specific that stand out to me as weak. My opinion on lead single "Red Cold River" has been shifting ever since I first heard it. As of right now, I'm feeling more negatively towards it overall. Ultimately, the song is standard Breaking Benjamin fare, trying to have the same appeal as other tracks like "I Will Not Bow" and "Diary of Jane". The song's theme of a very generalized internal struggle ("I can't feel anything at all/This life has left me cold and damned") provides no real connection or sense of emotion, in my opinion. Also, the pre-chorus is pretty weak, with Ben's screams sounding muffled and lifeless. That's a trend in even some of the better songs on the album. The screaming in this release as a whole is not executed that well, and I think that's because Ben just doesn't have the most impressive screaming technique. "Pyscho" starts out promisingly enough, but it soon delves into the same type of BB material we've heard in the past. This song's musical structure is also very bizarre to me, with these more pop/rock styled verses, and then a chorus that attempts to have a slow burn effect. I also don't think Ben's vocals are that great on this track, which is something that I don't typically say about him. "Down" is definitely the weakest track for me, because it is infuriatingly generic. It's lyrics are about as standard of a pump up song as you can get: "Fight/We'll fight/And bury our lies/We'll break these chains/And wash it away". Lyrics like that can't possibly say anything new or interesting. I'm just so tired of these pump up, radio-ready songs that are constantly hammered out by mainstream rock bands. It's particularly disappointing coming from Ben Burnley, who has made some of the most interesting pump-up tracks I've heard in the past. "Save Yourself" isn't a particularly offensive track, but it is probably the most forgettable on the album. It's once again just something you'd hear on any other BB album. The weak songs do bring this album down. In general, the strong tracks are not innovative enough to completely compensate for the weak moments.

As a whole, I think "Ember" is fine. That's probably the best word that could describe it. There's only three songs on this release that I see myself truly coming back to, with a few others being only potentials to come back to. I don't see myself coming back to this album as a whole that often, if ever, after this review. I know it sounds like I'm being harsh, but this release did disappoint me after all the excellent stuff that the band was doing on "Dark Before Dawn". I do think the band had some good results whenever they actually did go heavy on here. However, the heavier tone doesn't help disguise the more generic parts of this release. I have no doubt that Breaking Benjamin diehards will enjoy this. I can't blame them, as the band is putting out exactly what the fans want. I think I would've been happy with it years back. As of now, though, I just have to say this release isn't doing much for me. It's fun to listen through a couple times, and there are some great standalone moments, but "Ember" won't be leaving any type of mark for my top albums list in 2018. I also don't think it will stand the test of time in Breaking Benjamin's discography as a whole.

Favorite Songs: "Blood", "Feed The Wolf", "Torn in Two", "The Dark of You"
Least Favorite Songs: "Down", "Psycho", "Red Cold River"

Underoath "Erase Me" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars

A trend in today's Christian music scene that is present more than any other is bands actively pushing away from identifying as a Christian band. This has been the case for many artists that I have come to love over the years. It looks as though Underoath is pushing away from the Christian label, too, and it has been the subject of some controversy. People were excited when hearing Underoath was releasing a new album after an eight year hiatus. The lead single, "On My Teeth", definitely destroyed any thought that the band was identifying as Christian when they dropped an f-bomb within the first couple of seconds of the track. It did surprise me a little, as the band has never done this in the past. Other people were surprised too, many angry. I still claim, though, that Underoath wants to address their relationships with God on the new album "Erase Me". This album more focuses around Spencer Chamberlain's struggles with faith, as he talks about his compelling story. Because of that, he takes over the majority vocal duties, emphasizing a lot more on his cleans than I would expect. This album is still plenty intense, though, and Underoath proves on this release why they deserve to be called one of the pioneers of quality modern-day metalcore/hard rock.

The album gets off to an excellent start with its first three tracks. The lead-off track, fittingly titled "It Has to Start Somewhere", does a good job at establishing some of the elements this album will contain. The intense guitar shredding is an incredible thing to behold, as is the effective subtle infusion of electronics. I feel like electronic elements are a fairly commonplace thing in metalcore, but UO know how to use them in a way that is unique and not overpowering. Spencer Chamberlain comes out swinging vocally, letting his experienced unclean vocals dominate the song. His clean vocals soar in the chorus, making the chorus a shining moment. I also couldn't help but smile at hearing Aaron Gillespie contributing a few times in the pre-choruses. He actually appears on quite a few songs here, and the chemistry between him and Chamberlain is still as present as it was on the band's older releases. The breakdown in this track also deserves mention, as it's killer. The next song is one of the singles "Rapture". This is one of the more accessible songs on the album with its hard rock tendencies. I was originally not sure what to think of it, but in context of the whole album, this song works very well. It has grown on me significantly, and the chorus is undeniably resistable. Even the usage of "whoa"s, which is something I typically object to, work effectively. After that, we get the thematically and musically intense lead single "On My Teeth". Despite any controversy surrounding this track, I absolutely love it. The booming electronics that start it out give you a sense of anticipation, and when the song explodes with Spencer's screams as well as some superb drumming from Gillespie, it's irresistible. I think the lyrics on this song are very well written, as Chamberlain vents his frustrations with his faith as well as the hypocrisy of the Christian community. I totally get where he's coming from, and as a Christian I relate to some of what he's saying. The passion here is absolutely genuine.

After these first few tracks, the album actually just keeps on getting better for the most part. "Bloodlust" is a bit of a risk taking track as a more pop/rock like track in the verses, but it switches to a powerful hard rock hook in the chorus. I love everything about this track, especially the lighter textures of Spencer's voice in the verses, which has not really happened that much, if at all, in Underoath's previous discography. That makes this track very unique, and once again, the emotion the track evokes comes out so naturally. The lyrics are some of the most intriguing on the whole album: "I wrote a letter that you'll never read/I shed a tear that you'll never see/I'm buried with these words that I never speak/I have a darkness that you'll never see". Because of all these factors, this song is definitely one of my top favorites. Yet another great cut comes in the nearly 5-minute song "Sink With You". This song is very impressive in the musical department, with some of the best guitar work I've heard all year. Spencer unleashes in the refrain of this song as well, really letting his screams reach some incredible highs. I love how progressive this song is, with it shifting pace in interesting ways, especially in the ending where there is just a pure instrumental breakdown. This song is special, and I would find it hard to believe anyone could dislike this one. "Ihateit" is a tragically personal song where Spencer opens up about how much his drug addiction distorted his image of himself. There's a particularly emotional moment where Spencer says, "God, erase me/I don't deserve the life you give". Lines like this make me think that Chamberlain is not entirely disconnected from God, but he is in a lot of pain in his relationship with Him. I like the ballad-like structure of the song, as well as the ending that becomes more upbeat. "Hold Your Breath" is a solidly intense followup, and just screams classic Underoath. I couldn't help but headbang along to this one. "In Motion" does a good job at balancing the vocal chemistry between Spencer and Aaron, and although not a personal highlight, I still enjoy it. The album ends off with my favorite track off the album, the haunting song "I Gave Up". This track is filled with atmosphere, and both Spencer and Aaron let the musical emotion of the song take control. The lyrics are simplistic in structure, but there's still something so compelling about them: "Just drive me far, far away/From this hospital bed/Where my soul is sick/And I'm scared of it". The song gives me cold chills, and only improves in its second half. This will most likely be one of my favorite songs of the year. It's a powerful testimony from Spencer, and it's brutally honest.

There are only a couple of tracks on this release that don't work quite as well for me. "Wake Me" just doesn't work on this release. It's a very simplistically structured rock song. It feels like it was made just to be played on the radio. It's not very offensive in any way, but as I've gone back to it more, I've noticed that it's noticeably lower in quality than any other song on this album. It's sort of boring to me at this point, and I doubt I'll be coming back to it for any subsequent listens of the album. "No Frame" musically does not fit on the album, and is probably the weakest song for that reason. Spencer's vocals are processed in a very bizarre way. Electronics are also used way too much, and they don't balance out as well as in almost every other track on this release. Even from my first time listening through the album, this song stuck out as an outlier.

As you can tell, there's not a whole lot of negative things I can say about this release. I have a feeling that some Christians could be turned off by this release because there's some cursing on it, but I just don't understand why that bothers people so much. Underoath are very tasteful in using it. When they do curse, I feel as though it's impactful and is more meant for a genuine release of emotion. This band still has a spiritual content to deliver, in my opinion. This album as a whole is thematically focused on struggles of faith. Even though Chamberlain is not at the best place in his faith, the lyrics give me the impression that he's trying to reconnect with God. That is something that I think almost anyone can relate to. "Erase Me" has a powerful thematic arc, and is filled with hard hitting musicality as well as a standout performance from Spencer. Definitely check this release out. It's good to have Underoath back; I can't wait to see what they do next!

Favorite Songs: "I Gave Up", "Bloodlust", "Ihateit", "Sink With You", "On My Teeth", "It Has to Start Somewhere"
Least Favorite Songs: "No Frame", "Wake Me"

30 Seconds to Mars "AMERICA" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 0.5/5 Stars

If you haven't heard 30 Seconds to Mars's hit song "The Kill (Bury Me)", chances are you are not that acquainted with the rock scene. Still, this song even had crossover pop success, and is one of the biggest and most well known rock anthems to date. I really like the song, and I enjoy most of this band's first album. Besides that, I haven't really been too into this band. It's not like I've actively disliked them or anything. In fact, on their last album I really liked the single "In the Air". But there is one specific part of this band that has turned me off from them for a while: Jared Leto. He's not a bad vocalist or actor (although he's bad in "Suicide Squad" as the Joker), but he's not nearly as good as he thinks he is. From what I've read about the guy, he seems uncomfortably disillusioned with himself, even having a bit of a Jesus complex based on how he is at concerts (from what I've heard he literally has the audience bow down to him at one point in the show). Leto's statement on the band's new album "AMERICA" had me worried, as his statement is absolutely pretentious. In discussing the album's atrocious album cover, which is a list of the top most searched sex positions according to Google, Leto said this: "For me the lists are almost like a time capsule. Independently they may surprise, entertain or provoke, but as a group they give us a sense of the culture we are a part of and the times we are living in." I don't recall a time when I laughed harder at a more idiotic statement. Really, all these random Google searches are the best embodiment of American culture you can surmise? I call BS on that. This album is as bad as the cover makes it look. It is absolutely awful, full of some of the most painful trend-hopping and usage of filler I've ever heard. If you like this album (and I pray to God that no one in their right mind does), then I'd advise you to click off this review, because it's gonna come off more like a rant.

At least with other bad albums like XXXTENTACION's "?" or Suicide Silence's self titled you could be almost fascinated at the trainwreck that was happening right in front of you. At least both artists made earnest failures, and both releases had at least one redemptive track. Something about "AMERICA" feels cynically calculated in practically every moment. There's no real effort put into these songs in any sense, from the writing to the vocals to the instrumentation. The only song that I could point out as somewhat salvageable is "Great Wide Open". This song tries to put some effort in by having an epic soundscape, and Leto's vocals don't sound absolutely processed. I like when he gets a little gritty. But still, even this song suffers from being overproduced, and the lyrics sound weirdly like a cliched Christian worship anthem. I'm wondering if the band may have purposefully been going for that, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't their intent. As far as the rest of the songs go, I detest every single one of them. I have gotten more and more tired of "Walk on Water" as I've heard it repeatedly on the radio. I guess I thought it was an okay song when I first heard it, but I've had more and more irritations with it as I've heard it more. This is one of the many songs on the album that uses "oh" as filler when the band doesn't have anything more creative to say. In fact, there is a total of ELEVEN out of the twelve tracks on this album (including the one sort of positive "Great Wide Open") that use "oh"s. I will get to how infuriated that made me very soon. Back to "Walk on Water". This song emphasizes heavily on electronics/synths, and it just makes the song sound obnoxiously over the top, when there aren't really any big stakes at hand in context of the track. The song could've been better if Leto had actually gone in depth on the political divide we are suffering in America right now. The track doesn't do this, though. It's very surface level, only mentioning Republicans and Democrats in one line. The usage of spiritual symbolism is pointless, and only seems to be there to further Leto's Christ complex.

"Walk on Water" is relatively tolerable compared to the rest of the awful garbage this release has to offer. "Dangerous Night" was an immediate turnoff for me, as it's a very standard acoustic pop love song. The subject matter about two unlike people having a risky relationship is overdone at this point, and 30STM do nothing to make the subject matter unique. Leto stuttering his vocals in the pre-chorus gets tiresome really fast, and the drop (the first of many on the rest of the album) on this song is unnecessary. At the end of the day, I don't really see anyone wanting to return to this song. The same goes to "Rescue Me" which has some awful mixing. The production on this track is embarrassing, as the electronics are blown way out of proportion. The lyrics are some of the most repetitive I've heard in a song this year, having hardly any repetition. Once again, the band are trying to make the song sound bigger than it is by using heavy synths in the background, but it comes across as melodramatic and disingenuous. Hardly any track can compare to how bad "One Track Mind" is, though. Man, did this song make me angry. For some reason, 30STM attempts to do trap in this song. The only obvious reason to me is so that they can be looked at as a trendy band, because otherwise they do nothing innovative to make their attempt at trap stand out. The band also chooses to feature A$AP Rocky on this track, and man did that make the song even worse. Both him and Leto are drowned in autotune. Rocky also delivers the most painful line on this whole album, no competition: "Heard it's only Thirty Seconds To Mars/Then it takes you even less just to get to my heart". I physically cringed and shouted in anger when I heard that line, something I rarely do in reaction to any song. Even Suicide Silence's song "Hold Me Up, Hold Me Down"- my least favorite song of last year- as a whole didn't make me as angry as that one line in this song did. Because of that, not only will this song almost definitely be my worst song of the year, it's also one of the worst songs I've ever heard.

After the forgettable instrumental "Monolith", we get yet another horrifically bad track in "Love is Madness". This one and "One Track Mind" coming one after the other is painful beyond description. I was dreading listening to this song from the get-go when I saw that Halsey was featured, who is just as pretentious as Leto is in my opinion. I guess they're passable enough as vocalists in this track, but neither one of them do a single thing to impress. They stay very one note throughout the track, with not much vocal variation from either of them. This track sounds like a B-Side to Halsey's already underwhelming album "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom". This is due to its subject matter of a wild relationship. The lyrics are one cliche after another: "I knew the moment/I looked into your eyes/Love is madness". I was cynically laughing at this point in the album as I was really getting an idea for what this album was trying to be versus what it actually is. I'll get into that at the end of my review. The second half of this album is about as angering as the first half, but in an entirely different way. The first half brought me anger more instantly because of how many painful lyrics and musical moments it had. The second half's bringing on of rage was more subtle but still effective. This second half uses "oh"s in every single track except for "Remedy". While we're on the subject of that track, it's a very forgettable ballad that goes no where, and still repeats a lot of the same lines over and over, so it's essentially filler, just in a different way from the rest of the songs here. There's not a one track that truly stands out in the second half. "Hail to the Victor" and "Dawn Will Rise" both try to be these soaring epic tracks, but both lose out with no interesting lyrics, over processed vocals from Leto, and obnoxious usage of synths. Where exactly is the band for this whole album? It sounds like not a one of them is contributing anything. "Live Like a Dream" tries to be pseudo-inspirational, but falls incredibly short, especially with it using "oh" and "ooh" more than any other song on the album. "Rider" is a fitting end to this album, as it's just as much pop garbage as anything else on here, and uses the filler "oh"s along with generic lyrics that don't bring anything meaningful to the table.

I thought last year I had a pretty raw reaction to Suicide Silence's (still) awful self-titled album. But, believe it or not, I'd take that release any day of the week over "AMERICA". I'm honestly curious how much say the rest of the band members had on the content of the album versus Leto's ideas. This whole album just reeks of Leto's disillusioned sense of greatness. He tries, again and again, to make songs meaningful. But every time, the album fails with all sorts of lyrical cliches and a reliance on filler "oh"s rather than actual content. Electronics overtake genuine instrumentation, and the sense of trying to be inspirational overtakes the ability to actually be inspirational. This album was trying to be an encompassing of American culture. Instead, it is a painful microcosm of awful music that seems stuck in its own little world. I hate this album, more than I've hated any album in recent memory. It would be a feat for another release to beat this one for my worst album of the year. Also, this may be my least favorite album of the decade. Congrats to you, 30 Seconds to Mars!

Favorite Songs: "Great Wide Open" (I guess?)
Least Favorite Songs: "One Track Mind", "Love is Madness", "Live Like a Dream", "Dangerous Night", "Walk on Water", "Hail to the Victor", "Rescue Me", "Rider", "Dawn Will Rise", "Remedy", "Monolith" (Yes I listed the rest of the album. Fight me.)

"Ready Player One" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

When you think of childhood nostalgia, one of the names that is sure to come to mind instantly is Steven Spielberg. Movies like "Jaws", "Jurassic Park", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and "E.T." are household names all across America. It makes sense why they are, as there is just something about them that is easy to attach on to (even though, and I know this is gonna be controversial, I'm not a big fan of "Jaws"). Spielberg is still going strong today, with his liberal championing of news media film, "The Post", garnering many Oscar nods. "Ready Player One" is incredibly different to that movie though, as this one is all about having a fun time reliving your childhood memories. This movie is filled with pop culture references in its virtual reality world known as Oasis, while also telling the story of main character Parzival being disenfranchised with the real world and wanting to change it. When the creator of Oasis dies, he tasks its players to hunt for three different keys throughout his reality, and if they do they will get an ultimate prize. Parzival along with a few other friends accept this quest. They soon realize this mission is more important than they realized. I've had a tough time really thinking about my culminating thoughts on this movie. There were several moments I enjoyed, especially the fun action scenes and a lot of the cool pop culture references thrown in. But, I also can't help but point out that the action moments and references bog down any semblance of character development, and there is a real lack of any emotional stakes.

Now don't get too mad by my slightly low rating just yet. A 2.5/5 does imply a mostly negative outlook. I wouldn't say that's entirely representative of my viewpoints on this film, as there was a lot I enjoyed. Still, I couldn't give this movie a higher rating than that based on how I felt about it overall. Let's talk about what works in this film, because there are a good amount of positives. I think the visuals are most certainly the best part of this film. It uses a lot of CGI, but Spielberg is so good at making the CGI real that it never becomes irritating. You can tell a lot of care went into every frame of the film. There are not really any shots in the virtual world that look lazy. I like that the creators took a lot of care in making the virtual world feel as tangible as it could possibly be, so that we as the audience would have an understanding as to why so many people would want to go into that world opposed to the literal trash heap of the real world in 2045. You get a sense that there's a childlike wonderment that the special effects team wanted to give off, and I think that it translates well. I also think that Spielberg still has an assured hand in the directing department. Even though the story of this film is very weak (more on that later), Spielberg still takes all he can out of it to make something that is typically enjoyable to watch if you don't think about it too much. There's some plot points that don't quite make sense to me, and there's some conveniences that occur, but it's not that big of an issue in the long run. I also thought that, based on the trailer, this film would be way too much of overbearing nostalgia. This isn't always the case, as there is some great utilization of recognizable characters. The highlight moments are with The Iron Giant and Gundam. There's another moment here where characters literally travel into a classic movie scene that is my favorite part of the film. I was grinning the whole time; it was so good and I don't want to spoil it for you. The times when the pop culture references worked best was when they were directly effecting the plot.

As far as the performances in the movie go, it is unfortunately a bit of a mixed bag. There wasn't any particular performance I despised, but there weren't that many that stood out either. That isn't entirely the cast's fault, as most of these characters were weakly written with minimal, if any, development. The standout performance of this film was easily Olivia Cooke as Artem3s/Samantha, the love interest to Parzival/Wade. Cooke is an actress that I am glad is finally getting some recognition. While her character isn't very well-developed (we as the viewers know basically nothing about her apart from she likes Wade and that she's a part of a resistance against the evil corporation of the film), Cooke brings enough of her own captivating persona to the table to make her character work. I also thought Ben Medelsohn did a fine job as the villain Sorrento. His character as it was written was a pretty bland corporate type, but Mendelsohn makes this character far more interesting than they deserved to be. The best developed character of the film was undoubtedly Halliday (the creator of Oasis), and Mark Rylance does a good job of disappearing into the role. I found this character to be very charming and interesting. It would've made more sense for him to be the main character, as his backstory is far more compelling than Parzival's. Honorable mention performances go to Simon Pegg giving an understated turn as Ogden Morrow, and T.J. Miller providing an endearing and funny performance as I-R0k. Unfortunately, the weakest performance of the movie is Tye Sheridan as Parzival. This protagonist is so incredibly boring. We've had so many characters like him in dystopian movies, characters that are tired of the reality they're in and want to rise up against it. I think there are interesting ways to develop characters like this, but Parzival is not a good example. I did not care for him; he's really the type of character that you could replace yourself with and it wouldn't be any different. The actors of Parzival's friend group, including Lena Waithe, Philip Zhao, and Win Morisaki, are all just not that great either. They don't give cringy performances by any means, but I forgot their characters as soon as I left the theater. It's not really a good sign when there's only one lead performance in a film that is truly interesting. Mendelsohn, Rylance, and the rest of the supporting cast can only do so much.

There is one main issue I have with this film, and it's not one that can be easily avoided: the story. At the end of the day, it felt like I was watching a casual video game story line. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, as there are many video games which can have just as good stories as feature films. That's just not the case with this movie. The characters' only goals are to search and find these three keys in the game before the government does. It seems that the only reason they want to do this is so they can stop the government from taking the game over and installing ads. That just doesn't sound all that menacing to me. There's hardly any sense of real stakes in this film for almost its entire run time. There's not a feeling of legitimate desperation from any character, with both the government and the main characters taking their sweet time to find the keys. The movie didn't give me much reason to care for the main characters to succeed, besides the fact that it was just something I was supposed to do. Also, like I mentioned before, the characters in this movie are bland stereotypes. Even though I liked Cooke and Mendelsohn's performances, for example, their characters still had no unique qualities about them. The relationship between Parzival and Artem3s happens out of nowhere. I get that it happened in a video game setting, but even Artem3s in context of the movie questions why Wade so suddenly falls in love with her. So, why not have their relationship happen in the real world, and why not have more scenes take place in the real world, so we can care for these characters' real selves? I think a balance between the virtual and real world was needed to hone in the movie's main theme of how it's important to be really connected with people. I also have to admit there were times when the barrage of pop culture elements got a little tiresome to me, especially in times when it was there just to be there.

Overall there's one word to describe "Ready Player One": fine. I think that the problems of this movie can't be overlooked, as I was realizing them while I was watching the movie. But there were also plenty of moments where I could just turn my brain off for a while and watch some fun action sequences and cool pop culture characters/moments on screen. Those moments made the film worth watching despite its flaws. I didn't care for any of the characters, but I could at least enjoy what they were experiencing, as well as appreciate some of the solid performances from the cast. I wish this movie had been a little better. It was about as good as I was expecting it to be based on the trailer. "Ready Player One" isn't a bad movie, but it also isn't a great movie. It's an experience that's best done with friends and a bag full of popcorn.

"Game Night" Movie Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Out of all movie genres that I watch, the one that I have the hardest time getting into is comedies. There are honestly not that many, if any, comedy-based movies that I would even put into my top 20 films of all time. I hardly ever see any straight up comedies in a given year. So, "Game Night" had to prove a lot to me. The trailer peaked my interest, as it looked like an intriguing dark comedy. All the characters of this film love their weekly game nights, but no one is more obsessed than Max (Jason Bateman) and his wife Annie (Rachel McAdams). But when Max's brother, whom Max is envious of, Brooks (Kyle Chandler) comes into town, game night takes a very dark and realistic turn. What was supposed to be just a casual game night turns out to have dangerous real world implications. This film's interesting plot thankfully works very well. The movie is also incredibly funny, has a talented cast, clever moments, and even some legitimately emotional moments.

Making comedy work is something that can be very hard to achieve. You have to have precise timing, and good actors that can deliver the jokes. Thankfully this movie has great comedy, utilizing funny moments through visuals and dialogue. For the most part, there is no slapstick or lowbrow comedy here. Most of it is relatively subtle in its delivery. I loved how the movie established game night. Normally, board games are considered to be just casual and fun. But, main characters Max and Annie both view them as of the utmost importance. That means that the game scenes are filmed with intense camera work and crazy action music. I couldn't help but laugh because of how well it worked. It's really the dark comedy of this film that works the best, though. There's a hysterical beginning conversation that Max and Annie have with their creepy neighbor Gary. Every single moment of this only 3-5 minute conversation is executed perfectly, and had both me and my brother laughing so hard that we were crying. There's another great scene where Max gets shot, and Annie has to treat the wound. In order to keep himself from screaming in pain, Max puts a squeaky toy in his mouth. The payoff is spectacularly hilarious. There's also some great visual comedy in the movie. For example, there are several moments where the movie is filmed like a game board. It caught me off guard the first time I saw it, but as the film went on I saw what they were going for. I smiled every time I saw it being filmed like that. There's also a one-shot take that is cool looking visually but also quite funny. So, it's multi-faceted in how well it works. What helps the comedy of this film ultimately is that there is a mystery/crime element here as well. The mystery helps you get intrigued into what's going to happen while also laughing along the way. The merging and satirization of the mystery/crime genre is well-done while. There is a clear love and appreciation for both of these genres in the midst of all the punchlines. I also have to give props to the excellent soundtrack of this film, which makes this movie feel intense and fun at the same time.

What really helps spurn this film forward is many superb performances. Jason Bateman as Max is excellent as the leading man. His comedy routine here is what you'd expect from him, but he does a good job at putting a unique, dark twist on it. He delivers his punchlines with a sense of searing casualness. I like that Bateman: he doesn't try to show off when he delivers his jokes; instead he lets the jokes speak for themselves, and that makes them a lot more effective. He brings a sympathetic edge to Max in regards to his relationship with both Annie and Brooks. I loved following him. I also thought Rachel McAdams as Annie. McAdams provides a perfect counterpart to Bateman. She does a great job at balancing the comedic personality of her character with the human side of Annie. This makes the character work well. But the highlight performance of this film is, without a doubt, Jesse Plemons as Gary. Plemons, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated actors working right now. He has tremendous range, and this film proves it. In one shot, you get this feeling of barely restrained menace from him. But in the next moment, the menace becomes gut wrenchingly funny from him, as he really just plays it up to the highest degree. In another scene, you'll feel immense sympathy for him as he spills out a vulnerable story about his past. Plemons' character is all around the best developed of the movie, and I think that is thanks in part to his performance. He brings Gary to life and disappears into the role. I loved every minute with him on screen; I only wish he'd been on a little longer. Also deserving honorable mentions are Kyle Chandler as Brooks and Billy Magnussen as Ryan. Both of them bring a lot to the table and have great moments of their own. I like how Chandler makes Brooks more than just this arrogant rich boy, and Magnussen takes Ryan beyond the dumb frat boy stereotype. There are a few performances that didn't quite impress me as much, although they weren't awful. Lamorne Morris as Kevin, Kylie Bunbury as Michelle, and Sharon Horgan as Sarah all didn't impress that much. This may have been in part due to the fact that their characters weren't written as well as the main characters.

There are a few other miscellaneous problems I have with the movie, although none of them are too major. I think the film starts to drag ever so slightly towards the end, as it keeps on making these "plot twists" happen. Now, there's no denying I liked the first plot twist. I found it quite cleverly implemented. Sadly, the twist is dropped for a second twist, and there's even another false twist implemented on top of that. I think the film may have been making fun of the idea that often crime/mystery movies have a lot of over-the-top plot twists, and I appreciate the idea. But only the first twist in this movie is funny. The others don't work quite as well, and they prolong the movie for a little too long. I also think that there is too much incorporation of sub-plots. I think that there was an effort to make the cast here an ensemble, with the goal being that you'd care for every character's struggles. However, the only sub-plot I really cared for was Max and Annie's, because they were the two best written of the main cast. The sub plots with Ryan/Sarah and Kevin/Michelle were not that interesting, and I'm not sure why they were there. Neither one has a worthy pay-off.

Even with those slight issues, "Game Night" is still an undeniably excellent movie. It's one of the best comedies I've seen in years. I think it really helps that the movie is cleverly written, and that the punchlines are more subtly done rather than being hammered in. The cast is also mostly solid and does a great job at making their characters work in context of the situation surrounding them. I definitely recommend this film, as it is a great time, and has plenty going for it. I really would like to see more from directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, as it's clear they know how to make comedy work. Definitely go see this!