Best and Worst Songs of 2021

 2021 is almost over! This means I get to go back and relive all the big pop songs of the year and decide the best and worst ones for no real reason at all! I actually do enjoy writing these, it's probably my favorite thing to do at the end of the year on here because it helps me make a nice list of songs I want to remember and songs I need to avoid. It also serves as almost a time machine of sorts to myself, just being able to read my thoughts on things and see if I still feel the same about it months later is pretty useful. Which is why I might recommend writing about your lives every now and then just to compare and look back years later to see what was up and then and how your outlook has changed. Not just with music, but with anything you might find important or useful. Over the years I've changed my opinion a lot on music and tried to be more open-minded about what I listen to and give a chance. 10 years ago I wasn't super into things like country, folk, foreign music, and now I enjoy quite a bit of those genres and more. 

The music industry took big steps forward in returning to what it was before 2020. Concerts are a thing again. Still not exactly what they were, but getting closer. Lots of artists are able to tour and promote their music now, this is especially good for smaller bands/artists out there trying to gain an audience outside of just "discover" playlists on Spotify and Apple. I still feel kind of iffy about going to a show at the moment, but I eagerly await a good show to swing by here soon so maybe I can finally catch one again. 

Lots of pop artists returned to the scene this year with big projects dropping. Most recently Adele just dropped her long-awaited album that's probably going to destroy the charts. Taylor Swift dropped her recorded version of "Red" which broke records yet again, almost the entire album ended up on the music billboard charts, which is just insane considering it is about 30 tracks. Can't forget artists like Drake, Sheeran, Eilish, Bruno Mars, Bieber, Lil Nas X, and Kanye all dropped albums this year as well. Needless to say, a big improvement on last year just in terms of star power, but also the quality of music too. That alongside the big new star Olivia Rodrigo, made 2021 interesting, to say the least. 

With that out of the way, here's the list proper. First, some special mentions that didn't make the 10 best/worst:

Taylor Swift - "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)(Taylor's Version)"  

I thought about putting this on the list but I guess since it's a recording of an older song I decided not to. All you need to tell me is that there's a 10 minute version of "All Too Well" and I'm pretty much sold. Making a compelling pop song that's longer than around 5 minutes isn't something you see too often, but this song does just that. Taylor is often at her best when diving into past relationships and giving us a peek into her life and emotions through whatever relationship she is focusing on at the time. All I can say is if you've not heard this extended version yet, probably should go listen to it. 

BTS - "Butter" 

Last year I put "Dynamite" by BTS as my favorite song of the year. It was mostly as a joke, but it was a song I really liked and I still think it's really fun and catchy despite its cheesiness. "Butter" on the other hand... well it doesn't quite have the charm going for it like their last hit. It's still annoyingly catchy, yes, but it lacks maybe some self-awareness? Or maybe it's too self-aware? One of those must be right. Either way, it's not as fun as "Dynamite" and it has an awkward rap verse so that's enough for me to keep it off the list. 

Adele - "30"

Probably worth a mention just for its very existence. No songs from this album will be on the list because it came out too recently and I haven't had enough time with it. I have a strong feeling they'll be at least one track from this one on next year's list. 

10th WORST: Måneskin "Beggin'"

Honestly, I'm not sure if this song should be on the best list or worst list because it's kind of a mess, but like a pretty entertaining mess? This band came out of nowhere here in the US, I'm not exactly sure how they managed to crossover but I'd probably go ahead and say TikTok had some part in it. Should probably mention this band is actually from Italy, which most of you probably knew but figured I should say it. They also won the Eurovision song contest this year, which is a pretty big deal over there and increasingly a deal over here. This wasn't their first hit over here in the USA, but so far it seems to be their biggest one to date. Turns out this song (Beggin') is actually from back in 2017 and it's from a covers album, which explains so much. It's clear this band has grown over the last 4 years and this song (Beggin') shows that pretty clearly. Their songs now just sound so much cleaner and more polished than this track "Beggin". It does leave me wondering how this old cover song ended up doing so well in the USA...and it's just like I thought... Tiktok. 

10th BEST: Måneskin "Zitti E Buoni"

No, I don't have any idea what this song is about, but it's awesome so who cares? This song was the one that ended up getting Italy the victory at Eurovision, and I mean... it's pretty easy to see why. It's got a cool 70s hard rock feel to it with some of that 80s hair metal energy behind it too. Everything just sounds so much cleaner and smoother compared to their other hit "Beggin". It's just one of those songs that can get you pumped up pretty fast regardless of what mood you're in. Like riding into battle or attending an Italian riot? 

9th WORST: Glass Animals "Heat Waves"

This one kind of hurts. I was a big fan of this group when they first started to get popular around the time they released their first album in 2014. It was a really interesting album that had some really cool vibes, it felt unique and fresh. Their follow-up album brought a little more energy, which felt like a nice change-up after the first album's more chilled-out vibes. In 2020 they released the album "Dreamland", which is where this single came from. It felt like a step down in quality, like taking the few bad parts of the first albums and mixing it into a brand new mediocre album. While it has some decent moments, it suffers from some pretty boring tracks and some annoying time wasting interludes that I wish artists would stop sticking in the middle of their albums. (Please stop putting tiny interludes that are a minute or less with nothing interesting in them). "Heat Waves" isn't one of the better tracks on the album, it's one of the boring ones for sure. The lyrics aren't interesting enough to make up for the fact that the music just feels drab and lifeless. It just lacks that sort of mysterious atmosphere that the first album and some of the fun the second album had, and it leaves me wanting more. Did I mention it's boring?

9th BEST: Olivia Rodrigo "good 4 u"

Olivia Rodrigo, the next Lorde... or Billie Eilish... or Miley Cyrus... Avril Lavigne? No, Olivia is definitely her own thing and not at all a continuing trend of young teenage girls who are not just your "average" pop star. To be fair, I really like all those artists I just mentioned and they all happen to have released pretty good albums in the past year (well, Avril's is coming later). Olivia is still young though and this is her first big album and hit single(s), so she still has a long way to go. Time will tell if she will stick to the traditional pop career or maybe try something different (that would be cool). While her first album's songs were up and down in quality, "good 4 u" is easily the standout here. It's got the energy, the personality, and the lyrics that I think will help Olivia maintain her newly-found star status. While it's not the kind of music you can realistically make forever, right now it works great for her current style of music and youth. 

8th WORST: Maroon 5 "Beautiful Mistakes" Ft. Megan Thee Stallion

I know most people didn't notice, but Maroon 5 did drop a new album this year. It was pretty easy to miss because it's... Maroon 5. Honestly, this might be their best album in a while and that's only because of how mediocre and forgettable it was. Not one song from this album is worth remembering for good or bad reasons, it just exists for the sake of existing. While I can relate to that in some weird way, it doesn't make me like the album any more or any less. This album even has a song where Stevie Nicks sounds bored out of her mind... Stevie. Nicks.  They even managed to get Megan Thee Stallion to sound like she doesn't care. This song is supposed to be a sex jam of sorts and I just can't imagine how anyone could. While maybe they were never amazing at that particular type of music, at least they could make a song like this with some spicy-ness and flavor versus this bland showing. Well, see you next year Maroon 5 (probably). 

8th BEST: Justin Bieber "Peaches"

Last year was a BAD year for the old Bieber. He dropped an album pretty early in 2020 and it bombed pretty hard, at least critically. I don't remember it getting any number one hits which is crazy considering how popular Bieber is. "Yummy" was probably one of the worst songs of the last 10 years honestly (now that's a list I could make). So Bieber went back to the studio pretty fast to drop this new album in 2021, probably to try to get back some of his credibility after that last bomb. Well... it worked. "Peaches" is one the best songs Bieber has released in quite some time and it quickly hit number one, though it wasn't for long. This song is an improvement in every possible way from all the songs in the last album. The lyrics are okay, not as face-palm-worthy as a song like "Yummy" or even worse, "Intentions". The music and beat are a lot easier to take in along with a much more chilled out vibe and vocals from Bieber. Good job Bieber, now don't mess this up. NO MORE YUMMY. Please just stop trying to be funny in your music. 

7th WORST: Ed Sheeran "Shivers"

I honestly completely forgot about this new Sheeran album until I started going through the list of songs before writing this. I don't know if I'm alone here when I say I think Sheeran is becoming one of those artists that sounds like background noise now. None of his new songs really scream out for my attention or even sound very innovative from an artist that's been at the top of the charts for over a decade now. I will say "Bad Habits" was actually a pretty interesting surprise from this album, but that was about it for that. After that, you get the typical acoustic ballad, Sheeran Hip-Hop, and pop singles. "Shivers" falls into one of those pop singles and it's not a great one. It just feels so vanilla as a pop song, very much a typical Sheeran song except a lot less fun than usual. I feel like maybe I might be being too harsh on this song, but it just does absolutely nothing for me. It also doesn't help that I literally forgot how the song went a few minutes after I listened to it. Time to change it up Sheeran, maybe surprise your audience? Or just keep making millions doing this same schtick, what do I know?

7th BEST: Lil Nas X "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)"

After the big hit that was "Old Town Road" I was honestly starting to get worried that Lil Nas X was going to be a one and done type of artist. He released a small EP that was pretty underwhelming but left enough intrigue to still be optimistic about his first full-length album. I'm sure there was a lot of pressure to get the next big hit in order to truly cement himself into the top of the music charts as a big star with staying power. I think all doubt washed away as soon as "MONTERO" dropped as his big single from the new album. The song is about Lil Nas wanting more from his current relationship, to be more serious and more honest. It's also meant to be a sort of look back at his youth and how he used to hide his true self from others and how he's no longer going to live that way. I assume it's also a reference to the movie/book of the same name about a young man's first romance with another man. It feels personal altogether, and I really like that about the song. That along with some great music and a great hook make this a very good song. It's easy to say now that Lil Nas X is here to stay for a long time and he's going to keep getting bigger and bigger as a star. 

6th WORST: Justin Bieber "Lonely"

Maybe I spoke too soon with all my Bieber praise on "Peaches". This song "Lonely" is just depressing and not in the way I think it's trying to be. Bieber tries really hard here to try to get people to feel sorry for him for all the dumb things he did when he was a little younger. Then he blames all those things on the fact that he was super rich and famous growing up, and it just feels a little disingenuous to me. I get that being in the limelight is hard, especially when you are younger, but that doesn't automatically make all the bad things you did okay. So now that you're older you see things differently and want to be more mature and not repeat past mistakes, that's a good thing. Just don't try to do this weird song and try to make everyone feel sorry for you by singing all sad. Trying to blame everyone else for not understanding what it's like to be rich and famous. Maybe you could just... apologize for all that stuff you did? Instead of doing the "woe is me, I'm rich/famous and nobody understands me" thing. And look, there probably was a way to make a song like this work, but Bieber went about it in the worst possible way. I understand that having money doesn't equal happiness and I think Bieber probably does have a story to tell about that subject, it's just not present in this particular song. 

This is also the last song on the album, so it all just ends on a very bad note. Also, the weird yodeling chorus is very annoying. "LooooOoooooOooooOooonely"

6th BEST: Bad Bunny "Yonaguni"

The past few years have been huge for Bad Bunny man, becoming not just the biggest reggaeton artist but one of the biggest artists in the world. While I'm not the biggest fan of this genre, I still can see its appeal and there are a few tracks I still like to listen to from time to time. It's the music of my home, so it has some nostalgic type feelings for me. I'm into this song because it has some good energy behind it, along with some interesting synth that makes it feel pretty chill at the same time. While not converting me into a Bad Bunny fan necessarily, it does raise my interest in his future work. 

5th WORST: Machine Gun Kelly "my ex's best friend" Ft. Blackbear

Here we have MGK with a pretty boring "pop-punk" song. This song also features the always mediocre Blackbear, but honestly, I couldn't tell the difference between either of these two cause they both sound pretty similar in an uninterested tonal way. This song also features Travis Barker on drums, who's the only pop-punk drummer left after the pop-punk drummer rapture of 2018. The lyrics are pretty typical for the genre, a song about hooking up with a girl, more specifically his ex's best friend. It's supposed to be funny I guess because they know each other? 

Look, I haven't been into MGK's new pop-punk makeover at all and I wasn't into him back when he was a mediocre rapper. Switching genres seems to have given him some sort of career revival, but I'm not exactly sure why. You go from making bad music in one genre to another and everyone suddenly loves you? I will say there's a lot more potential with his new style than with his old rap career, and anything that helps bring pop-punk into the limelight is probably not a bad thing. Still, I just wish someone who was actually good at it was the one behind the revival. Instead, you got MGK, who's making fun of punk artists for wearing comfortable shoes on tour while he wears his uncomfortable shoes that are super expensive and make him look like a "real" artist. Bleh. 

5th BEST: Taylor Swift "willow"

"Willow" is Taylor's big single from last year's album "evermore", which was a continuation of "folklore" earlier that year. Both albums stick to a softer side of Taylor, without the big loud production of her last few albums (especially Reputation). It's a nice side of Taylor to see, though I hope her next project isn't more of this, it's time for a change. 

"Willow" is the album opener of "evermore" as well as the most popular song of the album. Far from one of Taylor's best songs, but still a very solid entry in her catalog. From this point, I'm very curious to see what Taylor's next project will sound like after she's done recording all her old albums into Taylor's Versions. I'm hoping for a metal album myself, but I'd be happy with something a little more rock and a little more energy. 

4th WORST: Chase Rice "Drinking Beer. Talkin' God. Amen." (Ft FL-GA Line)

Never has the phrase "Talkin' God" been uttered in the history of ever. That alone gets it on the worst list for me. This is just one of those extremely lazy country-pop songs where they repeat the same thing over and over for three minutes alongside the most generic non-offensive country music you've probably ever heard. Beer, American God, trucks, blonde wife, other generic country stuff. The end. 

Does anyone actually like Florida Georgia Line? They seem to be great at making this watered-down country pop that dominates country radio every year. I know there's a lot of great country music out there, but I feel like this mainstream stuff keeps a lot of people away from the genre. If you think this is what all modern country music sounds like, please go check out some other artists not in the mainstream charts, I assure you there is some good stuff out there. 

If you have time check out these artists from the country genre:

Emily Scott Robinson

Waxahatchee

Eric Church

Brandi Carlile

4th BEST: Miley Cyrus "Prisoner" Ft. Dua Lipa

This song came out last year, hit the charts very early this year. Dua Lipa and Miley work well together and this song fits the album it's from so perfectly (Plastic Hearts), which was one of my favorites last year. Both Dua Lipa and Miley released new albums last year that were heavily inspired by past decades. Miley's had a more 80s vibe to it and like I said, this song fits that vibe. I love the heavy bass line that dominates the song and the dark moody vibes that a good chunk of "Plastic Hearts" features. Both singers play well off of each other taking turns belting out, but not in a way that felt like too much. I really want to see these two team up again in the near future, but if not it was a great one-off. 

3rd WORST: Drake "Way 2 Sexy" Ft. Future / Young Thug

So Drake dropped another turd of an album this year and I don't know what to say anymore. I don't know how many chances Drake will have to keep dropping bad album after bad album and still somehow keep his spot at the top of the pop charts. I'll admit the idea for this song "Way 2 Sexy" is actually not a terrible idea, and I think it could have worked if done the right way. Of course, Drake and friends just take the idea and turn it into another boring lifeless chore of a song and throw away any potential the idea had. Drake just comes across as a giant asshole in this song (and many other songs he's done) and not in a fun self-aware way like he probably thinks he is. Future brings in his famous boring-ass energy for the underwhelming hook and Young Thug is doing... something. I don't even think Young Thug knows what he's doing most of the time to be fair. This song has a runtime of over 4 minutes because they somehow found a way to stretch a 1-minute idea for a song into four times the length it deserved to be. You could say that about the entirety of "Certified Lover Boy" as it stretches out for almost an hour and a half runtime. Do we really need that long of an album from Drake? No. And he clearly didn't have enough ideas to make an album this long. 

Special mention to the song "Girls Want Girls" where Drake unironically uses the line "Yeah, say that you a lesbian, girl, me too". Drake man, what the hell was that? 

3rd BEST: Billie Eilish "Happier Than Ever"

I'm not really sure how successful Billie Eilish's new album was this year, I feel like I haven't been hearing much about it outside of the big single "Happier Than Ever". I haven't really had the urge or time to listen to the entire album yet, as it's an hour long. Not sure why all these big artists are dropping hour-long albums, but I don't think it's always necessary for them to be this long. Especially when there seems to be a handful of songs that could have probably been cut or just been released as bonus songs. Complaining about album length aside, I do really like this song. There were parts of it I found questionable at first, mainly the loud distorted drums felt very distracting. With time and multiple listens I started to turn around and actually find the distortion pretty clever and it fits well with the style of the song. The rest of the album from what I've heard doesn't seem to get anywhere near this loud and bombastic, actually being a lot more subtle and quiet from Billie. I'm still not sure if I like that or not, maybe some full album listens will help me decide. For now I'll give lots of love to this track and hope to find some gems in the rest of the album. 

2nd WORST: 24kGoldn "Mood"

Songs like these just make me feel so out of touch with music... which I am so I guess that's to be expected. This song just feels like a terrible idea from the start though. Like making an entire song complaining about how your girl's "mood" is annoying you doesn't come across as whiny and immature in any way. I can picture young guys on TikTok singing these words unironically to their girls. I'm sure girls also love being told by their boyfriends "I am not your dad", it seems like an easy way to become single. I'm surprised he doesn't ask his girl if "it's that time of the month", seems like a missed opportunity if you ask me. Terrible ideas aside, this song is just incredibly annoying and misguided. 

Seriously though, don't ever tell your girl "I am not your dad". 

2nd BEST: Dua Lipa "Levitating" (Ft DaBaby)

I actually had two songs from this album on my best list last year, so unsurprisingly another song made the list this year too. "Levitating" was the last big single from Dua Lipa's last album (so far) and it ended up being the biggest song of 2021. That usually tends to happen with big singles that come out very early in the year, that way they have the entire 12 month period to gain lots of listens. I think this song deserves it though, while not my favorite from the album "Future Nostalgia", it's still really damn good. The album has some awesome bass lines throughout and this one is another fun disco style jam. Dua Lipa can do no wrong. I hope that doesn't jinx her...

THE WORST SONG: Walker Hayes "Fancy Like"

Okay, so maybe this song is a little too obvious of a choice for the worst song of the year. It's so bad and everyone knows it right? And yet it was featured on Applebee's commercials for months, peaked at number 3 on the USA charts, and was the 27th most played song of the year 2021. Also can't forget how massively popular it was on TikTok because that's important (all those plays on TikTok count for something). While yes, it's an easy target for the worst song of the year, it totally deserves it. The annoying as hell Applebee's commercial that made everyone cringe at the stupid TikTok dancing is enough to earn this spot. Throw in cheesy dad joke lyrics and the generic trap-country beat and you got yourself something really special. I'm not sure if this song was specifically written for the commercial or it just happened to mention the mediocre franchise to get the sponsorship, but it's bad either way. Here are some of the lyrics to cringe at:

"She want to dip me in them fries like a Frosty" (Wendy's commercial?)

"Bougie like Natty" (This one is easily the worst)

"Squeak-squeakin' in the truck bed" (of course...)

The only good thing I can say here is that no Florida Georgia Line presence is here. Although, there's sure to be some collab between them soon after this song. Well, can't wait for this song to be completely forgotten by everyone in a few months. And I thought Kanye making a song about Chick-Fil-A was bad BUT no, it could always be worse. Not too long in the future, this could be what all pop music is. Just commercial jingles disguised as radio hits. Can't wait for the Bad Bunny Church's Fried Chicken song. 

THE BEST SONG: Silk Sonic "Leave The Door Open"

I really thought Bruno Mars had peaked with his last album "24K Magic". It was pretty much the perfect Bruno Mars album, taking all his strengths and magnifying them into sonic perfection. It's honestly amazing how much he's improved as an artist and performer. I wasn't a big fan of Bruno when he first arrived on the scene, with his fedora hat and cheesy love songs it just didn't feel right. In his second album "Unorthodox Jukebox" he experimented with different styles and I think he really found himself in the song "Treasure". A funky song with lots of soul just fit him so well and brought a new charisma that made him incredibly likable. Taking this newfound charisma into the huge hit "Uptown Funk" shot Bruno into superstardom. 

Teaming up with "Anderson .Paak" was a match that I never knew I wanted, but this new partnership led to magic. This without a doubt one of if not the best album of the year. "Leave the Door Open" was the first single to drop from this album and right away I knew this project was going to be big. It did not let me down. "Leave the Door Open" does everything right from the music, lyrics to the vocals it doesn't miss once. If you haven't heard the album yet I really recommend it, it's 31 minutes of *chef's kiss*. 

Well, that's the list for this year and honestly, I'm pretty happy with this year's music. Lots of good pop music and the bad on the list songs weren't the worst I've ever heard. I always like to also put some recommendations outside of this list so below I'll leave some albums I really liked. I also recommend most of the albums the best songs on the list came from besides Bieber's album. I'll put a little asterisk next to my personal favorites.

• Kasey Musgraves - "Star Cross" (Pop/Country)
• Summer Walker - "Still Over It" (R&B)
• Pale Waves - "Who Am I?" (Indie Pop)
• *Japanese Breakfast - "Jubilee" (Indie Pop)
• *Faye Webster - "I Know I'm Funny haha" (Indie Pop/Rock)
• Little Simz - "Sometime I Might Be Introvert" (Hip-Hop)
• *Turnstile - "GLOW ON" (Punk)
• *Five Iron Frenzy - "Until This Shakes Apart" (Ska/Rock)
• The Big Takeover - "Spilling Water" (Ska Reggea)
• *Emily Scott Robinson - "American Siren" (Country/Folk)
• JPEGMAFIA - "LP!" (Hip-Hop)
• Architects - "For Those That Wish to Exist" (Metal)
• Snail Mail - "Valentine" (Indie Rock)
• Deaf Heaven - "Infinite Granite" (Shoegaze?/Metal)
• Geese - "Projector" (Indie Rock)
• The World Is a Beautiful Place... - "Illusory Walls" (Post-Hardcore)
• Twenty One Pilots - "Scaled and Icy" (Pop Rock)
  
• Manchester Orchestra - "The Million Masks of God" (Indie Rock)
• Ladyhawke - "Time Flies" (Indie Pop)
• King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - "Butterfly 3000" (Psychadelic brah)

Here's a playlist with 69 songs (nice?) from the year 2021, nice mix of different genres. 

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Army of the Dead

 

If there's one thing that won't ever die, it's the zombie movie genre (no pun intended?). Still to this day, we get multiple a year and it's always interesting to see what ways they could possibly make this genre any different than the dozens of other ones released in the last few years. Army of the Dead does present an interesting twist in the genre, at least enough to make me interested in it, and that is a heist movie in a zombie-infested Las Vegas. The cast features some familiar famous faces, none that I'd consider A-listers outside of maybe Dave Bautista. Add Zack Snyder as director and you got yourself a zombie movie with some potential to be pretty dang good. Can it add something new to the zombie genre, or at least make for a fun time?

With all the factors I mentioned before, this did have some potential to be a good time. As I watched the movie I did realize something pretty quickly, this movie is pretty boring for an action-packed zombie movie. Most of the characters aren't very interesting and the few that are weren't enough to keep me invested in the story of the movie. Most of the characters aren't given much outside of maybe Bautista's character Scott and his daughter Kate played by Ella Purnell. The story focuses on their relationship and how they had a falling out after the zombie invasion started. After they escape Vegas, Scott becomes a cook and Kate joins a shelter to help people struggling after the zombie attacks. A businessman comes to Scott for a special mission: to assemble a team and re-enter Vegas to crack open a safe and steal millions of dollars. Scott agrees as this money is enough to get him out of his terrible job and help his daughter. Finding a crew isn't too hard with the amount of money up for grabs. So with the crew and the (pretty flimsy) plan, the mission is set to start as the clock ticks before the city of Vegas is nuked in a few days to wipe out the zombies contained. 

As I said before, I found the movie overall surprisingly boring despite all the big action moments and zombies. I'll admit I'm not crazy about the zombie genre at the moment, as I feel like it needs some time to rest. That's not to say I don't welcome a good idea if it comes, and while this one did seem promising, it ultimately came up short. The main problem for me was the characters and the fact that I didn't really care about most of them. While the action can be pretty fun at times, it feels less impactful when it's a bunch of characters I feel nothing for in danger. The motivations for most of the characters seem vague at times, most just seem like they want the money, which I guess is fair enough but maybe it would have been a little more interesting to go a bit further than that. There are a few moments where you get a glimpse at some backstory or motivations for characters, but it never feels like it's enough to really change how I felt about them. On top of that, you get the big baddie, who's the leader of the zombies and can create alpha zombies that are smarter and faster than the regular rotting corpses. Again, you never really get any kinda story to him outside of a few glimpses here and there. 

There are a few things I did like about the movie. The opening sequence was very well done to introduce you to the world and to the characters at first. There's this nice little musical number that sets up the chaos of the zombies in Vegas and how dangerous it is to enter the city. It does a good job at establishing the world and how dark and violent it is. The world and setting, in general, are really good and excited me for the possible set-pieces and story. The action is another good part when it does pick up about 45-50 minutes after all the setup, the movie does take a while to build up to it. The special effects and visuals were overall pretty good, but I guess that's usually Snyder's stronger attributes in movie making. All that doesn't make up for the weak story and characters presented here, and the movie also just feels a bit too long, which is another thing Snyder is known for. 

Everything put together leads to a pretty watchable movie, but one that didn't leave a lasting impression on me. While the performances, visuals, and action were all good, I think the writing really brought this movie down from what it could have been. To me, action matters more when the characters and motivations are good, or it at least is funny enough to ignore that. This movie didn't really have either of those things, and the humor didn't really hit all that much to me. But if you're just looking for some zombie-killing action with some good visuals, then this movie should be a good time for you. 

Overall Grade: C. Average zombie movie, doesn't add anything to the genre you haven't seen before. The over-the-top action and Vegas setting are enough to keep it from being anything less than a C. Also, my admiration for Dave Bautista probably helps too. 

I'm starting to think maybe Zack Snyder isn't a great director. I don't think I've really loved any of his movies up to this point. While his movies usually have pretty interesting visuals, the dialog and story usually hold the movies back from being better than they could be (Batman V Superman is a perfect example). I did enjoy his take on the Watchmen story though, so there's that. Also please stop making your movies so long. 

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Short Story 1

  No one knows when the storm started because it's been here as long as anyone can remember. The island of Unmei was a beautiful little location with one giant glaring problem, there was no way out. The winds that surround the entire island are so strong, no ship or boat can make it through. Not that anyone has ever tried at this point, besides how difficult it would be just to get close to it, it's basically guaranteed doom if you do get close. 

Mia stared out her window looking past her slight reflection onto the coast of the island where she could see part of the storm. She did this a lot. Her imagination would take her to places beyond the storm, outside of this island that felt like a prison to her. It's probably something a lot of young adults her age do, given the circumstances. With a lust for exploration and adventure and no way to actually do them, imagination is pretty much your only choice. She turns her eyes to her own reflection and sees her tan freckled face and her curly dark hair almost covering her eyes. She looks around the room to look at all her drawings pinned to the walls, all the things she thought could be beyond her island. Lots of maps of what the rest of the world could look like and the exotic locations she dreamed of seeing. "It's almost time," she says to herself looking back one last time at the setting sun about to disappear over the storm around the island. 

A few hours later and the sun was replaced by the moon and colored the sky dark blue. Mia grabbed a bag she had been preparing all week full of supplies that she thought would be enough to survive off of for a few days. On her wooden desk was a letter she had been working on even longer, signed to her parents. Next to the letter was a drawing of the three of them together that a local artist made for them years ago, she folded it and put it in her pocket as her eyes started to get red and fill with tears. She did her best to hold them in, but it wasn't enough to stop them from running down her cheek. Mia wiped her face with a cloth before putting on a dark gray waterproof jacket and throwing her bag over her shoulder. She put her hand on her cold metal doorknob and slowly twisted her wrist, careful to make as little noise as possible. She stuck her face out as she slowly opened the door, making sure no one else was awake. Once this was confirmed she opened the door as much as she needed to fit her small body through. Mia walked slowly as she lifted each foot off the wooden floor with her heavy boots, careful to not make it creak. Perhaps it would have been a better idea to go barefoot, but she decided to keep going. Next came the stairs, as she held the rail and tried to put as little weight as she could into each step downward. With every step, she took a deep breath and looked back up to her parents' door, making sure no one was moving around in there. This caused her to miss one of the steps and bang her foot loudly onto the next one. "Dammit!" she whispered as she stared back at her parents' bedroom. After what felt like an hour of staring and waiting, there was no reaction, and Mia finished her journey downstairs. Before she opened the door to head outside she looked back and whispered, "I'm sorry, this is something I need to do". 

It was a quiet night, as quiet as a night could be on an island surrounded by a neverending storm. The storm was miles off the coast of the island, so it didn't always affect the weather inland, but it could be heard outdoors. The weather could still be sunny and clear or stormy and dark, one positive thing about this whole situation. Well, when your homeland is surrounded by a giant fence of 24/7 hurricane-level winds, you have to take what you can get. "It's the little things that help us get by", words Mia's mother would tell her as a way to try to be positive. Mia's home wasn't too far away from the docks, just a short walk down the road. Her house was pretty isolated from the rest of the town, with no other buildings around for at least a mile. She looked back one last time at her window, the one she would stare out of for way too long. One last goodbye. She remembered all the good times she had in the house, all the great memories with her parents. Then the bad memories slipped in too, which made it a little easier to start walking away again. "It wasn't always great, but I loved the time we spent together," she said to herself not looking back to the house again. She walked through the dirt path leading into the docks.

The docks had this certain smell, like a mixture of fish, wood, and what she imagined a rotting corpse would smell like. Even after countless hours spent here, it was something that still made her sick. She walked near the ocean on a wooden walkway that leads to an abandoned shack that was blocked off. Mia grabbed the fence that was blocking off the entryway and pushed it back. She had made a little hole there where she could fit through, not without a few scrapes along the way. She looked at her arm and saw all the scratches and cuts from doing this fence crawl over and over again. "Looks like one last cut for the collection I guess," she said as she wiped the blood off with her index finger and cleaned it with her mouth. She went around the back of the building where no one could see her, not that anyone would be here at this hour. There she uses a window to get inside the building, inside the building she finds a giant tarp covering a large object floating on the water. She grabs the tarp with both hands and pulls it off, uncovering a decent-sized boat she's been working on for months now. "It's finally time to do this. I really hope this actually works". The boat floated in the building with a large gate separating it from the rest of the ocean. Mia untied the boat's ropes and climbed aboard, grabbing a gas canister along with the rest of her supplies. She made sure the boat's blower was on for a few minutes before starting the boat and turning the ignition on. She then pulled the level by the wheel to set it to forward gear so she could start her journey. The gate was opened and she took off into the vast dark ocean. She took one last look back at the docks before keeping her eyes forward as it went out of view.

A few hours had passed and the sun was just slightly peaking its way out of the horizon, not that Mia could see it past the storm yet. She was getting uncomfortably close to the actual storm now and her heart had been beating like crazy for longer than anyone's heart ever should. The waves had been slowly getting more violent crashing onto the boat and rocking it. She was holding on tighter and tighter to the wheel and the railing as the boat kept rocking violently. The waves were crashing into the boat as the storm grew too close, hitting her face and drenching her clothes. The storm winds were dark and Mia couldn't see past them because of it, as she looked towards it the sky began to get smaller and smaller. Her eyes were burning at this point with all the saltwater that had splashed onto her face. The boat was barely hanging on as it approached the storm just about 100 yards away. The waves were tipping the boat back and forth so violently that Mia was being thrown around the boat as she tried to grab onto anything she could to find balance. The wind was too strong now and the boat was lifted off the ground and flipped upside down, with Mia being flung off the side. Her body crashed into the water painfully and she began to sink into the powerful ocean, even with all her force she couldn't control her movements. The panic in her mind was strong enough to ignore all the pain her body was currently going through with all the thrashing and being thrown against the boat several times left several injuries. Everything around her became black as she held her breath for as long as she could. She closed her burning eyes as the water carried her toward the storm, knowing this was probably the end. It felt like memories were flashing through her mind in fast forward as she held in the last few seconds of air she still had. Then there was just silence and peace. 

Mia slowly opened her eyes as her body floated. It was still dark, but something was different now. Millions of stars surrounded her and she was no longer underwater. As far as she could see just beautiful stars around her with bright colorful planets also sprinkled throughout. She looked back at where she came from and there was a giant planet, she could see the storm that surrounded her home island still. From here though, it looks like the only land on the planet was her home island. Mia felt a rush of many different emotions rising in her. Sadness, joy, and fear all at once, but despite this one thing she felt more than any of those things was something she hadn't felt in a very long time: hope. 

 As tears fell from her eyes she smiled and thought to herself "I made it".

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My Favorite Songs of the 80s

 I didn't live through the 80s, so the only way I can kind of do that is through the entertainment from that time. Music has this special connection to time, it can take you back to a time you never even lived in. Like listening to Billy Idol and just being transported to a time where MTV was the most important part of the music industry. Record sales actually mattered a lot more back then, like if you wanted to listen to A-ha's "Take On Me" you had to buy their entire album with a bunch of other mediocre songs you don't care about. We got it good these days. It was such a great time that tons of artists are still trying to use that 80s sound in modern music to get popular. The 80s aesthetic is just too powerful, it's never going away, especially now that all the people in charge and the big artists grew up in that time period. So I thought it would be fun to pick out my favorite songs from this time period known as the 80s. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS

(1987) R.E.M.'s "The One I Love": A band that would go on to the 90s to find even bigger success got a great start in the later 80s. This song and style really carried on over to the new decade after the 80s ended, and the band that made it were hugely influential to the music scene of the late 80s and 90s. The more alternative sound isn't something I usually think about when music from the 80s comes up, but it's so important to the decade and to music as a whole it has to be mentioned. This song is perfection when it comes to alt-rock, it does everything right and then some. The moody vocals and well-written lyrics go so well with the style of music. The guitar work is fantastic too (I might be saying that a lot in this list) and even the bass stands out beautifully. Just an amazing song that deserves a mention. 

(1983) Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell": This song just screams the 80s to me. An artist that sadly didn't transition out of the decade smoothly still made his name and music a quintessential part of the 1980s. Billy Idol and his bleach blonde spikes belong on any list of great songs of this decade 100%. This song kinda has it all, Idol's strong vocals as he shouts the chorus with power. The crunchy guitars and awesome 80s solo and even some of that sweet sweet synth. 

(1983) Tears for Fear's "Mad World": Another huge group from this era, of course, deserves a mention here. This song feels so unique even for the time, I love all the little details in its music. The lyrics are also some of the most memorable. I was honestly surprised by how great this song is considering I've only heard the covers up until recently. Seems like everyone that covers this song always strips it down to a very basic piano and singer combination to make it seem sadder. The song is already sad, but stripping away the music just makes it worst, this version is so fantastic and the music is really my favorite part about it. It's incredibly unique and I LOVE it. Just not enough to make my top ten... oops. 

(1989) Public Enemy's "Fight the Power": It would be strange to not include some of the early great Hip-Hop in this list and you can't go wrong with Public Enemy. I guess this song came out in 1989, but that's still technically the decade I'm covering here. While the impact would stretch more into the 90s as Hip-Hop and Rap would continue to grow massively in popularity, its importance in the 80s is just as true. Chuck D and Flavor Flav are a great duo that works so well together to make this song what it is. That and the awesome music and beat that keeps everything flowing. All of that on top of a strong message makes for a truly important song of the decade. 

(1982) Michael Jackson's "Beat It": Not having MJ on this list would probably be pretty strange considering his impact on the entire decade. "Beat It" is one of the biggest songs of the decade, probably one of the biggest songs ever made really. The album it came from is still one of the most memorable albums of all time and best-selling. It's got arguably the most iconic guitar riff ever created along with one of the best guitar players of all time shredding the solo. Michael Jackson's vocals are okay I guess? 

(1987) Guns N's Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle": In the late 80s this band released one of the most iconic rock albums of all time, and it was their first full-length album. Right off the bat, the album kicks off with "Welcome to the Jungle" in what has to be one of the best album openers to exist. The song kicks off the album with incredibly high energy and a punch-you-in-the-face with a rock and roll attitude. Axl Rose screeching his iconic vocals along with the rest of the band killing it on each instrument just shows you right away what this band was capable of. I guess it was the perfect send-off to hard rock in the 80s with all the hair metal and glam bands, this was just something completely different. This coming from someone who isn't super into that genre of rock. 

(1987) Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody": It's a no-brainer that this song deserves a shout-out on this list. I mean it's Whitney Houston's biggest hit and it's such a big part of the 80s it's hard not to love this song. While Whitney is absolutely killing it on the mic, the music isn't too bad either. I mean comparing anything to her vocals feels pretty unfair really. There just aren't many singers out there who could pull off this song, because it takes more than just the voice, but you also need the charisma that Whitney had. That's what made her one of a kind. 

TOP TEN (No Order)

(1988) The Pixies' "Where is My Mind?": Hugely influential band The Pixies were so important to the late 80s and 90s rock scene. While their 1989 follow-up album would be a much bigger deal, 1988's "Where is My Mind" was a great introductory song to what this band was capable of. The really interesting guitar really carries the song along with the bass keeping everything going in the slower spots. The song just has this really interesting mood/aesthetic that still feels really unique even 30+ years later. 

(1981) Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl": It's strange that this song came out so early in the decade, if I had to guess I would have thought it would have been around 1985. I honestly think this is one of the best 80s hit songs, it's just about as perfect as a pop-rock song can be. The iconic guitar parts, the solid vocals, and some of the most memorable lyrics of any 80s song ever. While Springfield would never find another hit as big as this one, Jessie's Girl will forever be known as one of the biggest songs of the decade. Rightfully so. 

(1983) Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams": Speaking of some of the most memorable 80s songs, here's another classic. Right from the intro the song immediately grabs your attention with its unforgettable music. The team of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart work like magic together here with the vocals and the lyrics.  This is pretty much synth-pop at its finest here, especially at a time where there were plenty of other artists doing the same thing. 

(1983) Talking Head's "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)": A band that's consistently great through the 70s and beyond. While my favorite songs by them all were released in the late 70s, they still have a lot of great songs to pick from in the 1980s. "This Must Be the Place" has all the ingredients of a Talking Heads masterpiece. The strong bassline, guitar work, and other small details make it a treat to the ears. That and the great lyrics and David Byrne's unique vocals. I love the energy they bring to every song, even a song that's a bit slower like this one. Only the best bands can make a great song at any tempo. 

(1982) Dexys Midnight Runners "Come on Eileen": How can you not love this weird-ass song? You must love it, it's an order. Musically it feels totally different than any of the other songs on this list, probably most big 80s hit (that I can remember at least). Yeah, this was basically their only hit, but I think it's one of the best songs of the decade so it's got that going for it. The vocals stand out in a mix of interesting use of strings and traditional rock instruments. I'm pretty sure I hear an accordion in there at some point too. It all comes together in a joyful and danceable package and inserts itself into your brain forevermore. Lovely. 

(1989) Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus": Very late in the 80s came Depeche Mode's first single from their big 1990 album. Their work in the 80s was top-notch but for me, this song just hit differently than their previous works. There's this interesting darkness to this song from the music and lyrics that make it incredibly interesting. The idea was inspired by an Elvis documentary apparently, which makes sense? 

(1982) Queen & David Bowie's "Under Pressure": A collab of this magnitude has a lot of potential to be a letdown, but it was anything but that. In fact, it's pretty much a perfect song in every way. Freddie Mercury and Bowie's vocals work so well together, it's disappointing we didn't get an entire album of them together. Of course, maybe that's too much of a good thing. 
Here we get one of the most iconic bass lines of all time, later stolen by a white rapper with worse bars than Michael Scott. I actually had a hard time picking between this and "Another One Bites Dust" because Freddie's vocals in that song are so good and it has another iconic bass line. 

Also, check out the David Bowie and Annie Lennox version of this song on YouTube if you haven't. 

(1984) The Smith's "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now": The Post-Punk movement of the 80s brought some of the best music of the decade in my opinion, especially from the UK. The Smiths were one the bigger acts and also one of the most remembered, maybe in part thanks to 500 Days of Summer (probably not), but also because of their great music. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is my personal favorite, mainly because of well it all comes together and the mood it portrays. I guess it's pretty obvious that it's all about Morrisey's miserable life and how nothing seems to make him happy, even getting a new job. The Smiths just make this work, even with the whiny lyrics it all still feels somehow enjoyably. The guitar and bass in this song just carry it to a whole new level and really add to the atmosphere the lyrics are trying to convey. 

(1982) Duran Duran's "Save A Prayer": I like to think of this as the perfect Duran Duran song. Right from the start, you're hit one of my favorite synth sequences in any song ever, followed by another synth line and a strong bass line that carries the song. Immediately I get excited and pumped to listen to the song and the rest of the song doesn't disappoint. It just keeps building and building until the chorus where the intensity is raised the highest level (for a slower song anyway). It's one of the few songs that I feel like I appreciate with every new listen. 

And wow look at that artwork! So 80s. 

(1982) Billy Idol's "White Wedding - Part 1": I don't exactly know why, but I always considered this song to be the defining song of the 80s in my head. Whenever I think of 80s music this is what usually pops into my head. It's a perfect song, even though it feels pretty simple (at least musically). The guitar and bass don't do anything too crazy for most of the song, the only exception being the intro and solos. Billy Idol's vocals are what really carries the song, especially when he does his screeching that he loves to do. This song just does something that none of the other songs really do on this list, and I don't exactly know how to put it into words. It's a feeling like I'm being transported to a time that I wasn't even alive to see myself. That's probably why this song is important to me and why to me it's the most memorable song of the decade. But that's just one guy's opinion. In a decade with tons of amazing music, it's easy to see the defining song of the 80s being different for lots of people. 

 

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Pixar's Soul

 

Originally slated for wide release on June 19 of this year, Pixar's newest film Soul was one of my most anticipated of the year. Obviously, things didn't go exactly as planned this year, so it was possible the movie wasn't even going to be released this year. Now with Disney's struggle to stay afloat with its theme park closures and entertainment venues being mostly shut down or limited in their capacity it was important to bring more attention to their new streaming service. So Soul was released gratis on Disney+ on Christmas day as a nice little gift for its subscribers. So... was it worth the wait?

Soul follows its main characters (Joe Gardner voiced by Jaime Foxx) struggle to find his big break as a Jazz musician. Not satisfied with his current life and job, he doesn't want to settle for anything less than becoming a full-time musician playing jazz gigs with other great musicians. Just when all seems lost he gets one last shot to get a full-time position on a band by playing a Jazz Club show. Just as he receives the big news, he dies. Here the story takes a strange twist as he enters the afterlife, or more appropriately, The Great Before? He accidentally finds himself at a place where souls are prepared to enter Earth for the first time and enter as new-borns. He is paired with a soul named "22" (voiced by Tina Fay) who has been around for centuries and still hasn't been able to enter Earth. She lacks the motivation to start a life on earth but instead decides to help Joe get his body back in the hopes she can finally stop being pushed to live on earth and leave The Great Before. This sets up the unlikely partnership that carries the rest of the movie.

This movie definitely has more ups than downs, but it does suffer from a few things in my opinion. It has a lot of similarities to two previous Pixar films in "Coco" and "Inside Out" where the characters exist in or enter a fictional place in order to learn a lesson or grow as people. This movie was directed by Pete Docter, who made "Inside Out" so it kind of makes sense that could be the case. The difference here is that Soul feels more mature in the way it tackles its subject matter as well as feeling a bit more subtle in the message it's trying to get across. I don't really think there's just one lesson in the movie though, but what I took away from it is the idea of living every day like it's your last. The fact that most people take just the simple thing of living and breathing for granted, but also interacting with the world around you as well. Making connections with other people or just having more appreciation for the things we consider mundane that we see every day. The movie does this by having the main character Joe step outside his body and watch someone else live his life, someone who's never lived on Earth before. Seeing the way this being experiences Earth for the first time makes him realize just how good it is just to be alive (that and dying I suppose). And no you probably won't be crying in this one, which is pretty nice for a Pixar movie to not make you cry for once. Just kidding, you'll cry. 

So there is a moment around the start of the second act where Joe and 22 head back down to Earth, and the movie turns into this body-switch comedy style story. Honestly, when that first happened I got really worried because I really didn't want to see that kind of overused trope in this movie. While it wasn't always the best, it did end up working out in the long run. It made a lot of sense why the movie decided to go that route to tell its story, though maybe there could a been a more inventive way to go about it? Also, the movie, or at least the trailers, made it seem this movie was going to a lot more about Jazz and music, but that didn't really end up being the case too much. I guess that's not really a problem, but maybe I was just excited to see more Jazz music?

Joe Gardner is maybe a little too obsessed with Jazz, as he pretty much thinks about it non-stop and really has a one-track mind. His idea is that if he doesn't get a full-time jazz gig, he's failed at life and he didn't accomplish his only goal. While it's good to be as dedicated as Joe is to his dream, the movie shows you why that might be a problem. His obsession leads to him ignoring the people around him and all the things the rest of the world has to offer. Which are all revealed to him as he watches someone else live his life. It's an interesting lesson to see in a movie, about focusing so hard on one thing you leave out any other possibility in your life, which can lead to disappointment and even an empty feeling when you finally accomplish it. 

On top of all of this you get the top-notch Pixar animation, in this case, split into two styles. The first one is the real world, New York City to be exact. Pixar knocks it out of the park here with some of the most detailed and beautiful sights you'll see in any animated movie. The city looks so real, the only thing keeping it from actually tricking you into thinking it is are the very cartoon looking humans that walk around it. It's stunning from the buildings and all the signs and details of them to the lighting and sounds. I felt like I could be robbed at gun-point at any moment, it was fantastic. (I've never been to New York by the way.) The other side is not so breath-taking. That's the after-life/Great Before scenes with the soul version of Joe. It's a lot less pretty and detailed and a lot more simplistic and colorful. It's honestly fine, but I really just wanted to get back to New York to see all the detail again. So I think those soul sections kind of feel more boring in a way because of it, plus the story at that point tries to be a lot more humorous which is usually pretty hit or miss. Lots of historical references that aren't as funny as maybe the movie thinks they are? 

At the end of it all I was left with a bit of a mixed bag here, but one that I think I really enjoyed more than disliked. The good outweighs the bad and there are enough strong moments and emotional scenes that still get you invested in the characters and world. While "22" as a character starts off pretty disappointing, she really grows throughout the movie to be much more likable. By the end, you're rooting for these characters to make the right choices and I think that's important in a movie like this. So it's a very good Pixar movie, not near their best in my opinion, but probably just below that. 

Overall Grade I'd give it a solid B

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