Oh So Geeky

I've only been a Swiftie for a good six or seven years. I always kinda question my stance in the fandom, given that I'm not afraid to speak out against things that I disagree with and haven't been following her career since the beginning (which I guess earns some the 'real stan' badge or something on social media). But the depth of my admiration for her springing out is not something that I'm genuinely aware of until I pretty much become the resident Swiftie in close circles. With the 1989 re-recording on the way, and much of the publicity this year for the Eras Tour, Speak Now re-release, and the hubbub with the NFL, has been giving me overexposure vibes via 2015 right before she got cancelled. Going into this, and being a big lover of concert films in general, I was very much giving neutral energy just to keep my expectations at bay and mostly expecting to have a nice day out from my hellfire workplace. And, what in turn ended up happening was feeling like not...

During the summer of the 2020 apocalypse, nothing surprised Swifties more than when Taylor Swift dropped a surprise album.  folklore  received some of the best reviews of the year and her career so far – inspiring fans and critics about the type of art that can spring out of such a crushing pandemic. And then fast forward half a year later, and Swift with Aaron Dressner dropped an early holiday bombshell with a sister album called  evermore. If  folklore  showed Taylor Swift in all of her folksy might,  evermore t akes a twist for a mix of old-fashioned whimsy and witchiness-inspired country.  Evermore  doesn’t quite pick up where folklore left off – it’s not copying or continuing stories from her previous album but parallels can be drawn between tracks if you want to dig deeper - and us Swifties have been trained to dig deep. This time around her music takes more of an upswing than a haunting melancholy with tales about Hollywood stars coming hom...

When it comes to Taylor Swift, her most devoted Swifties always expect something to pop up around the corner. Known as the queen of meticulously dropping hints of what’s to come, she always manages to keep fans on the edge of their seat. With her seventh album Lover  dropping less than a year ago, and a massive pandemic sweeping the world, very few could’ve expected to hear new music after a cancelled summer tour. The next era of her music felt like an eternity away, but only Swift could drop her eighth studio record out of nowhere and blast more of our expectations out of the water. 

Everyone has an opinion on Taylor Swift. Millions of fans around the world have grown up with her music and followed her through the highs and lows. Outside of her loyal Swiftie community, the world over either loathes, ignores or maintains a bitter impression about Swift. Netflix's latest documentary  Miss Americana (2020) strives to challenge what both fans and haters alike believe about the beloved yet divisive celebrity. In 2016, after the massive success of her fifth studio album 1989 , Swift reached a new height of media overexposure and a public feud with Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian. When #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty trended worldwide for 24 hours, Swift was effectively canceled. The musician thought the world wanted her to disappear, and so she did – for a year. The question on so many fans’ minds will center on where Swift went during that time she disappeared, and this is where the documentary steps in.

Very few artists in the music industry are known for their literal reputation. From a rising country star to a pop sensation, Taylor Swift became recognized for the drama – the men she was dating (or even seen with), feuds, the lack of using her voice in politics, and everything in between. Considering the number of records she’s broken and set, the awards she’s won, the genuine giving personality she’s known to have with her fans, her life in the public became more known than the music she was making. Nothing could stop the apocalyptic summer of 2016, where her personal and professional life came to a head. Squeezed into a damn-if-she-did-damned-if-she-doesn’t corner, Swift reverbed the drama into her sixth album Reputation . A boisterous declaration against the black and white headlines, which spun opinions into facts and made no room for redemption, Swift simultaneously played into the persona of the witch getting burned as well as the torchbearer. Trying to regain some semblanc...

When I saw tickets for Hugh Jackman's world tour go on sale last December, I didn't know anything except that I had to be there. I didn't know how I was going to go to the arena where the show was  held, what the arena's layout was, if I bought tickets that had a decent view, or if I'd have money to get a hotel for the night. #mydreamsarebiggerthanmybankaccount I definitely didn't know that six months later, I'd save up enough to attend, but also be as sick as one can possibly get without going to the hospital the day of. As sure as I was the day I bought the tickets, I knew I had to be there. With a relentless fever, drippy nose, burning lungs, and not being able to move without sweating through my clothes , I WAS LIVING at this concert. Both literally and figuratively. I'm still not 100% well as I'm writing this, but at least I'm not Patient Zero right now. From Broadway and movies to his own triumphs and personal interests, Jackman'...

If you had told me a year ago, let alone five years ago, that I'd be doing a whole post on Taylor Swift I wouldn't believe you. It's not that I was a certified hater. Her music was the inadvertent soundtrack of my adolescence, but bopping along in the car to her latest hits wasn't nearly enough to make me a bonafide Swiftie. Other than being aware of her music growing up, one of the first memories I have was attending a sold-out showing to Valentine's Day . The theater was filled with lots of couples on dates, but it was also filled with teenagers my age. While I was convinced at the time it was the star-studded cast that might've attracted young adults to the movie, or the fact that it was a holiday, I look back and think now that it was all about Taylor. For a few reasons: that theater has never been that packed since (excluding superhero movies), and every time Taylor showed up on-screen, those different groups of girls were in full-fangirl mode - not jus...

Summer has officially arrived! 'Tis the season to go to music festivals! With the sun shining and blue skies above, it's an awesome time to jam to our favorite bands or new performers. Perhaps one of the most famous music festivals is Coachella. It's notorious for it's appearances by celebrities as regular music fans like us. Though this year's concert has already passed, there's always next year to think about not only what the concert will have in store, but also my dream concert.  Gina at  TickPick  teamed up with me on a collaboration of my dream music Faux-chella festival. Tickpick's designers customized this awesome poster with my imagined headliners. My music tastes vary all over the place from swing and the 1940s to classic rock. Having attended an amazing concert by  Florence and the Machine  last month, she was certainly at the top of my list. A solid rock vibe are taking over my playlists these days. These are the bands I picked: Al...

Music isn't my go-to topic to geek about here. Mostly because it's a little bit more personal than movies or books. I can't express how a song can make an impact on me physically and emotionally. A little less than the mental commitment it takes to engage my imagination towards books but more as a song can wash away stress, make me blissfully on top of the world, and transport me to another place. After attending a concert by Florence and the Machine recently, there was just no stopping me from gabbing about it everywhere. 'Cause it was AMAZING.

One of the things I love most about The Walking Dead is the music. Originally composed scores by Bear McCreary, and songs by musicians like Sharon Von Etten, compliment some of the most gruesome scenes.  With intensity and pure suspense, his scores let us know when dangerous enemies are ready to attack, anti-heroes are holding onto their sanity, and the group is facing adversities ahead. Sometimes it's difficult to listen to the songs on their own and not think of some of the more painful instances we lost a beloved character or an obstacle changed the course for the group's survival. The music itself is a character of the show, and I thought it was time to highlight ten of my favorite songs from The Walking Dead. (Spoilers ahead)