The most captivating part of Saturday was the speeches that were given to the crowd from people who were directly involved in the shootings. These people have been directly tied to the shootings due to unfortunate events in their schools and have seen the negative side of no gun control laws with their own eyes. One never knows that it can happen to you until it actually happens to you. It is getting way too common to turn a blind eye to it anymore.
She walked away from the podium with almost everyone in the crowd in tears and disbelief. The speech was truly moving and I hope it certainly makes the government think about all the pain it is causing innocent victims. This was the speech to actually make a change, and since it is going around on almost every social media platform- people are going to get behind this movement. I am so proud of this generation for speaking up against the government and I can’t wait to see it take off. What Emma González did was powerful and it is sure to make an impact.
When someone’s favorite band breaks up, fans typically spend weeks crying and begging for them to get back together. If you aren’t that dramatic, well you probably just feel sad. Then after the band gives a statement about the breakup, fans react with anger and confusion- even though the band has clearly stated they are no longer making music. It doesn’t just stop there, some fans won’t give up and continue to tweet the members years later. Some singers even have to release countless statements that they are still broken up, despite rumors.
Fans collectively have to stop blaming these bands for breaking up and annoying the members and everyone involved. They are so shocked when they break up, but they have to learn to channel their anger in a better way and not act out FOR YEARS.
First, they broke up for a reason, they probably were having some inner turmoil and couldn’t produce an album they were proud of. Would you rather have a band break up or put out a shitty album? These bands want to break up when they are still good so they leave that impression in people’s hearts.
I’ll give you an example to prove my point. For years, My Chemical Romance has been broken up. They broke up March 22nd, 2013 and people still harass the lead singer Gerard Way til this day, even though he is working on his solo projects and has put out a full-length album, Hesitant Alien. They broke up because the members were at completely different points in their life and there was no space to create an album that had “flare.” They were just recycling old ideas at that point. They couldn’t top their last work, which was Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. This album was more primarily pop sounding which was a lot different from the true punk rock album that was The Black Parade. They only saw themselves growing more away from their original image, so they decided to end the band.
People still are pissed five years later.
Listen to Gerard Way rationally explain why My Chemical Romance broke up:
Overall people need to understand that the members that make up these bands are people too. When bands feel like they cannot produce an album that they are proud of, they want to keep up their image and leave it on a good note. Fans need to appreciate the music without feeling like it is a personal attack. Sometimes things don’t work out but it doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate the time it was there.
This song has about 600 million views and Lil Pump is starting to become unsure if he wants everything that fame comes with. He is currently only 17 years old, with more money as the average adult who has been working for their entire lives. He started freestyling in high school, and it didn’t take much time to take off. Although it is amazing to experience this level of fame at this age, it certainly comes with a price.
Fame is described as ultimate happiness with cameras in your face everywhere you go documenting your lavish lifestyle composed of fans and fortune. But what they don’t tell you is the inner turmoil that these people go through. Friends start to become enemies to try to profit off of your fame. It starts to get hard to depict if people want you around just because of your name, and not the person who you are. People usually see the downsides before it is all too late.
Lil Pump just released a statement on his Instagram story that read:
Lil Pump is someone who constantly flaunts their jewelry on Instagram but he was not aware that it would attract the wrong people. A lot of people who are new to fame experience this as well. Cardi B has also stated that she didn’t sign up for the all fakeness in the industry but you can’t turn back time. Hopefully, Lil Pump gets more comfortable with his fame and starts to become a better judge of character. Don’t let anyone take credit for you 8 million dollar record deal Lil Pump!
This song has over 600 million views, let that sink in.
So the question is, “how did this guy get famous?” There are thousands of other talented artists in the industry right now that could beat Lil Pump in a rap battle any day. It really doesn’t make that much sense as to why this pink haired teenager is as big as he is. But the secret to this puzzle is marketing.
Ah yes, marketing. A lot of record companies have to give a certain persona to an artist to give them an edge. Lil Pump has dressed like a maniac ever since he got on the scene which led a lot of people to look at him and his bizarre choices. Not only does he dress in almost all pink, he has tailored his personality to be really drugged out and stupid. I am sure that a 16/17-year-old has not fried their brain that much. How do we know he even does drugs? By creating this ridiculous character it makes people inclined to make fun of him and during the age of social media, almost everyone is willing to jump on the bandwagon for a good laugh.
Also, his songs don’t really go in depth. He raps about how much he likes Gucci but it is actually very catchy. Although there wasn’t a lot of intelligent lyrics he still made a song that got stuck in everyone’s heads to the point where they had to look it up and listen to him. It is a radio cliche, but hey it worked. He really flaunts his thoughtfulness which keeps everyone talking about him.
Check out this Youtube video here:
I respect Lil Pump for tricking us all but we have to start realizing when artists are doing this. We can’t just keep making people like this incredibly famous because it doesn’t leave room for the other people who deserve it. Hopefully one day a video comes out of Lil Pump actually acting like himself because that might be even funnier than what he tries to be.
The Front Bottoms have always been a huge name in the pop-punk subculture. Pop punk was really big around 2014-2016 with the constant releases of albums from these artists. The topics of these songs centered around heartbreak, growing up and hating the stupid town you lived in. The main reason why this genre died because the artists didn’t get as much support because their fans grew up, and outgrew the music. I really thought punk-pop was truly dead when The Front Bottoms, one of the leading names in pop-punk released their album, Back on Top in 2015. It was a dramatic shift between their old stuff and their new stuff. The reason Back on Top was different was that it had a more pop sound which showed the fans that they had to change the sound to stay relevant but it wasn’t well received.
Check out their old stuff:
Now listen to Back on Top:
The 2015 release was not well received and got a lot of backlash. The Front Bottoms actually took that criticism to heart and went back to their more punk sound. They wanted to produce music that the fans would like without straying away too much from their brand. Do you know how rare that is?So instead of releasing a pop album, in 2017 they released Going Grey that sounded more like their 2013 release, Talon of The Hawk. I had really low hopes for this album but I was surprised with how truly good it was. It really seemed like The Front Bottoms are taking back their name in a genre that is kind of dead right now. Someone has to do it right?
I can’t believe The Front Bottoms are releasing an album and an EP in little less than a few months apart. They are truly dedicated to their craft. The part that shocks me the most is just how good “Tie Dye Dragon” is. It really reminds me of what it was like to be a huge fan of them back in high school.
Overall, The Front Bottoms took their criticism from their album Back on Top and actually gave the fans what they wanted. Could you imagine if Blink 182 thought like this?They have been nothing but persistent this year to revive pop punk and I think they are onto something. Keep pushing yourselves guys, you’re definitely making a statement.
