Music Monday: The Flight of the Conchords

Happy Monday to all! My cousin recently recommended that I watch the HBO show The Flight of the Conchords. Since his recommendation, I have been feverishly watching, and just finished the first season. I am legitimately obsessed.

The show is based around the real life band The Flight of the Conchords, but is a satirized version of their real lives. Since the show is about a band, every episode has at least one of the band's songs. The show stars the real-life members of the band, Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement, who play comedic versions of themselves on the show. The band, along with their band manager Murray, is from New Zealand, so there is an added bonus of hearing fun accents while you're watching.

This show is absolutely hilarious and showcases very dry, subtle humor, which I think is the best kind. Bret constantly quits the band and wears funny crew neck sweatshirts with animals on them, while Jermaine interacts awkwardly with most people he meets and wears collared shirts and blazers, reminiscent of a disco man.

Literally everything about this show is perfect. It is really quirky and weird, and the songs the guys sing are absolutely hilarious and tie into whatever is happening in their lives. Unfortunately, the show only lasted for two seasons. If you like humor similar to that in Napoleon Dynamite (my favorite movie,) you will love Flight of the Conchords as much as I do.

Have a great week and thanks for reading :)

The Great Gatsby

Happy Wednesday everyone! A few nights ago, I saw The Great Gatsby with my brother. I was very anxious to see the film because it is always tricky when movies are based on books. Despite my hesitation, I was pleasantly surprised.

For anyone who does not know, the movie is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. The book is wildly popular and is considered to be one of the greatest American novels of all time. Because the book is so well known, and I read it for a second time earlier this year, I was afraid the movie was going to ruin the book.

Yes, Leo. Yes.

The movie was pretty good overall, proving to be better than I anticipated, but not as good as I hoped. The costumes and set were spectacular, and the first party scene at Gatsby's house was an intense explosion of color and excitement. The film's soundtrack included modern songs and covers by Jay Z, Beyoncé, and Florence Welch. There were parts in the movie where the modern soundtrack went really well, but there were moments where the up-to-date music contrasted the 1920s feel a bit too much. The movie was also incredibly long, and sometimes focused too much on the set and atmosphere, rather than the story.

Leonardo DiCaprio was a perfect Gatsby, and Joel Edgerton was the Tom Buchanan I pictured when reading the book. Carey Mulligan did a good job as Daisy as well, and after seeing the film, I fully came to realize how much of a B Daisy Buchanan really is. Another plus of the film is that it followed the book very well and used many direct quotes, which I was really excited to recognize. But most importantly, Leonardo DiCaprio wears a pink suit and looks crazy good doing it.

 I would definitely recommend seeing The Great Gatsby, especially if you've read the book. It had a slight modern twist, but still maintained the 1920s feel, and followed the novel very well.

Have a great rest of the week, and thanks for reading :)

Music Monday: Alabama Shakes

Happy Music Monday to all! For any new readers, my name is Bekah. I blog for Butler University, but decided to start a different blog for the summer. You can check out my Butler blog here. Every Monday, I blog about music that I recommend to my readers, dubbing it Music Monday. This Music Monday is dedicated to the Alabama Shakes.

The Alabama Shakes are an American rock band from Alabama. They formed in 2009 and have released one album, Boys and Girls. The group was nominated for three Grammy's this year for Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance, and Best Recording Package. Their debut song was "Hold On," but some of their songs have gained notoriety as well. Their song "Always Alright" was featured in the film Silver Linings Playbook. Righteous.

The Alabama Shakes are incredibly soulful and just make me feel good when I hear them. I have not heard a huge amount of their music, but what I have heard is really good. A few of my favorites by them are down below. Check em out!

Thanks for reading and have a great week :)

Hold On

Always Alright

Boys and Girls