Pop Culture Corner

Greetings, Exonians! I write this from as the embers’ glow flickers as the cold winds whip through the windows. Majestic, no? Yes, it’s true, I am writing this across the pond, in Stratford, England, quill in one hand, cup of English Breakfast in the other. Although we are far apart, my pop culture radar still shall serve you nobly. Now at this point, you may ask: What is pop? Pop lives in you, pop lives in me, pop lives in your parents, your grandkids, your dog, and most importantly, your money. Like a polymorphous lover, we leave one pop to discover another facet. So it is both music, film, television, phenomena, outrageous Twitter posts, Miley Cyrus’s twerking, etc. Catch my drift?This week, I’d like to think large-scale, and discuss what awaits us this autumn. On the film front, we first have Rush. Think less the band and more Chris Hemsworth. In a sentence, the movie is low-to-the-ground cars, said cars moving fast, said cars blowing up (no, Chris Hemsworth, no!!), and other plot that sometimes doesn’t involve said cars. With Ron Howard, wizard of film (A Beautiful Mind) and television (Arrested Development), Rush should give a good...er, well, rush. Then there’s Captain Phillips. Tom Hanks is a gentile, friendly guy steering a cargo steamer through uncharted waters when scary pirates come on board. Essentially Air Force One on a boat. I’m interested to see Hanks in the role, despite the yawn of a plot, stolen from the real-life 2009 Somali Pirate crisis. The one I’m waiting for is the new Scorsese/DiCaprio collab Wolf of Wall Street. Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, and Jean DuJardin (The Artist) support another neurotic, narcissistic DiCaprio, who plays said Wolf. Half a character study, half a look into the naughty-doings of Wall Street pre-Bailout, there’s money thrown around, champagne bubbling, then eventually big guns and FBI agents. Scorsese never makes a bad movie withiCaprio, so hopefully, after this, we can forgive Leo for Gatsby (shutter, cringe, shutter). In other news, there’s more Hunger Games and Thor.The music scene will be busy as well. Avril Lavigne, complete with Gaga-esque makeup and all, makes a triumphant return with her new self-titled record, which features hit tracks like “Here’s to Never Growing Up,” “17,” “Bitchin’ Summer,” and (hold your breath) a duet with her husband, Chad Kroeger of NICKELBACK. That’s right. Avril Lavigne and Nickelback are making a song together. Expect coming rapture. Miley Cyrus (the aforementioned twerk-mobile) is back with some new record which involves her saying and doing things in an attempt to differentiate herself from her alter ego, Hannah Montana, and to “grow up.” We laugh and giggle at the “Wrecking Ball” video, daddy Billy Ray Cyrus sobs. Expect new ones from Drake and 2 Chainz (could any top Yeezus?), in addition to Cher and Paul McCartney (?!?). I’m on the lookout for Brooklyn indie poppers Lucius (check out “Hey Doreen”), new Avett Brothers, and Justin Timberlake’s companion to 20/20 Experience. And of course, showing true Exeter pride, there’s the monumental new Arcade Fire record, Reflektor, which is due in the coming weeks. Produced by LCD Soundsystem, a.k.a. James Murphey, there shall be infectious disco jams, 8-minute sagas of lost youth, and other cool French phrases interspersed throughout. After winning Album of the Year for The Suburbs, there’s hype from all sides on this new one. I can’t wait.Now to television. Fox has Sleepy Hollow, an attempt at making the Headless Horseman into a modern-day edgy thriller (LOL), CBS tries out an original idea in Hostages (not), while NBC dishes out a series of new sitcoms that try to bandage the tragic losses of The Office and Thirty Rock. Hey, at least Parks and Rec is still there, right? In other news, Boardwalk Empire is back, Downton Abbey returns soon, and everybody is foaming at the mouth as Breaking Bad makes its absolutely crazy, hair-tearing, catastrophic, poetic ending. Like a Shakespearian tragedy, this fifth and final “act” has been the most devastating so far. All the lies and secrets our favorite chem-teacher-gone-meth-cooker has built up all come crashing down. I cannot give anything away (or else to risk my life), but as we approach the last two episodes, don’t be surprised if you friends and dormmates losing it. I know I will be.We are in for a good autumn! Now...to college apps…(ha ha ha)... All my love,K