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Spotify Wrapped 2022 includes data past October 31st

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The long anticipated 2022 Spotify Wrapped is almost here, and with a rumored twist that will make it more accurate than ever. Spotify Wrapped is a compilation of the minutes, artists, genres, podcasts, and more, that you listened to during that year (2021 example below). Historically, Spotify Wrapped data collection ends on October 31st - but customer service responses and tweets from Spotify seem to suggest otherwise for this year’s Wrapped.  2021 Wrapped example If accurate, this conversation with Spotify customer support (posted on Reddit) would mean that data collection will end right before 2022 Spotify Wrapped is released. This would make 2022 Wrapped the most accurate Spotify Wrapped to date. Conversation with Spotify customer support Another clue came from Spotify’s Twitter page , although it was later deleted. Spotify told listeners to stream “all through the year” after PopCrave hinted that Spotify Wrapped data collection would end on Halloween.  Tweet from Spotify about W

Nostalgia in Music

I love how nostalgic music is, and how easy it is to connect songs to certain moments or people. Hearing a song I listened to when I rode the bus to high school brings the same feelings as smelling the perfume I used to wear, using the laundry detergent I used sophomore year of college, and using the same brand of hairspray as my grandma. Here are the songs that immediately change my mood and remind me of a specific moment.  Fergalicious - Fergie A month after I got my license, I was driving to school going 77 mph in a 55. I live in the country, so most roads don't have a single hill, dip, blind spot, or house nearby for a few miles straight, and this was true for the road I was on.  I was for some reason listening to a 2000s playlist and Fergalicious was on. Unfortunately, at the first hill after a few miles, a cop was sitting on the other side. I got a ticket. It’s so funny to me because now I’ll be at a frat party or hanging out with friends and Fergalicious will come on, remin

Moneyball: The Sports Movie Everyone Will Love

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Moneyball is a 2011 film starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, centered around baseball, statistics, truthful events, comedy, and beating unbeatable odds. Pitt’s character Billy Beane is the general manager of the Oakland A’s (a major league baseball team). After a devastating loss, Beane is faced with the departure of three talented players and the pressure to replace them with players who are just as good. Beane then meets Peter Brand (Hill), an economist from Yale who’s passionate about using the statistics of professional athletes to predict successes. The two pair together to build an incredibly successful baseball team with an unconventional mix of players, based on statistics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a critic rating of 94%.  I’m not usually into sports movies but Moneyball felt completely different. Instead of watching the fall and subsequent rise of a specific player or of a coach guiding his team, Moneyball had an interesting perspective of watching the general manager.

From Dying Young to Jail Sentences - Rap is Changing

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Today I got a notification from my concert app that Rio Da Yung Og would be performing soon, to which my first thought was: but isn’t he still in jail ? Turns out he is and the notification was an odd error, but it got me thinking about how many rappers we’ve lost in the past five years alone. The entire rap scene is changing - and not for the better. In the early hours of Tuesday, November 1st, Takeoff (Kirshnik Khari Ball) was shot and killed in an altercation at a bowling alley. This situation only further pushes the outrage surrounding the increasing normalcy of rappers being murdered, dying young, or being used by law enforcement to send a message. In Takeoff’s situation, he was merely a bystander who was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, but other rappers are essentially being used as high targets for recognition, whether that be by the judicial system or by murderers.  Takeoff In November 2021, Young Dolph, a notorious Memphis rapper, was gunned down while he boug

Movie Review: The Lighthouse (Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson)

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    My friends have been recommending that I watch The Lighthouse since it came out, and I finally did this past weekend! It’s available on Amazon Prime and only costs $4 to rent, and I’d say it’s very much worth the price.       The movie stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe (both wonderful, obviously) and takes place on a lighthouse outpost in New England. Pattinson and Dafoe are lighthouse keepers who slowly and sadly learn that, due to a storm, their replacements aren’t coming - and they’re trapped on the island in the middle of intense waters. It is also exclusively in black and white and written based on an unfinished short story by Edgar Allen Poe. I would say that it is a psychological thriller but at the same time, because of the themes and how the movie is set up, it doesn’t feel like a typical psychological thriller.      I loved the number of themes that were included in the movie. The cinematography added to this and definitely drew me in, it seems like there’s alwa

Ranking Songs from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix

I first heard this album when I was a junior in high school, around 8 years after it came out (2009). Phoenix focuses on indie rock and synth pop, and this album has 10 songs and lasts 37 minutes. When it was released, it brought the band to mainstream popularity.  These rankings are based on personal taste, not the music quality itself.  Liztomania It’s one of the most popular songs on the album for a reason. First, I’m biased and have a lot of end-of-summer memories associated with this song, so it feels nostalgic and happy. It’s light, catchy, and uses synth elements to make a song that you can “feel”.  1901 Most of the song’s lyrics don't make sense and/or go together, but that’s what makes it sound so good. Phoenix is also French, and their accent shows up in a couple different words in this song, adding a more unique sound.   Love Like a Sunset, Pt. 1 This song doesn’t even have lyrics, the beginning is just so good it beat out all of the other songs on the album. It sounds l

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Review

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Critically acclaimed film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the romance movie to watch if you’re ready to see a depiction of romance so far from dreamy and picture-perfect you’ll rethink if you ever even want to be in a relationship again. If you’re wondering why the hell would anyone want to watch that?, I get it - but hear me out. There’s a reason why it’s my favorite movie and has 92% on Rotten Tomatoes - it’s good (I promise) . Eternal Sunshine features Clementine (Kate Winslet) and Joel (Jim Carrey) as lovers who suffer a painful breakup and erase each other from their memories. The movie follows what happens in Joel’s mind during the memory erasure procedure, as he realizes far too late that he doesn’t want to forget Clementine.  A memory of Joel's - they get weirder as more are erased (Source) Another memory that's falling apart (Source) Joel fights to save their memories, but viewers watch the good and the bad parts of their relationship play out, and ultimat