“Godzilla,” Ian Benson
I’m going to break down my excitement for the new Godzilla movie by analyzing moments from the most recent trailer.
“God help us all.”
Bryan Cranston sounds absolutely terrified. If there’s one thing that Cranston can knock out of the park, it’s a man scared for his life. I’d watch him in a movie where he wakes up in the middle of the night because he hears a noise and then spends an hour panic stricken as he tries to figure out what it is. So of course I’ll watch him face down Godzilla.
“Can you kill it?”
“I believe something can.”
Who is this it? Godzilla? Another monster? Is humanity just going to be trapped in the middle of a conflict between Godzilla versus another monster, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ken Watanabe looking on in a mixture of horror and amazement?
“A monster.”
“No, a god.”
Godzilla immediately roars, in all his beautiful, awe-inspiring terror. Planes crash, bridges collapse and excitement mounts.
“Let them fight.”
Yep, the movie is a classic Godzilla affair where the great lizard faces another monstrosity. Here’s hoping that this movie grosses enough to spawn a sequel that’s a crossover with Pacific Rim.
I’m in for every moment of glorious destruction.
NIN and Soundgarden, Travis Marmon
I’m hoping to get my Gen X dad on this summer as Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden make their way to amphitheaters across the country for the 20th anniversary of their landmark albums. NIN are celebrating The Downward Spiral, arguably the most successful industrial album of all time. Trent Reznor and company broke into the mainstream on the strength of songs like “Closer” and “Hurt,” excellently balancing harsh mechanical noise with catchy electronic beats and heavy guitar riffs. By all accounts, their live show is spectacular, and I’m looking forward to it.
Soundgarden, one of the “Big Four” bands in the Seattle grunge scene, are marking the anniversary of their most famous album, Superunknown, one of my all time favorites. Although singer Chris Cornell cannot belt “The Day I Tried to Live” in quite the same way anymore and drummer Matt Cameron is too busy with Pearl Jam to join the tour, they were far too important to my musical development to miss out on.
The opening act is the abrasive hip-hop/electronic trio Death Grips, who will surely confuse middle-aged Soundgarden fans all over. I’m a fan who has seen them live myself, and I still don’t know what to think. Seeing them in a large outdoor setting will be interesting if nothing else.
Lollapalooza, Anna Duke
Two years ago, I promised myself that I would go to Lollapalooza, a huge music festival in Chicago, with all of my friends from Wooster. Unfortunately, plans change and I am going to be a summer camp counselor in Maine instead.
After seeing the lineup, I am honestly not too heartbroken. This year, Eminem, OutKast, Kings of Leon, Skrillex and Calvin Harris are some of the headliners. To me, day three of the music festival looks like the best day and the only day I would genuinely want to go to different concerts all day long. The main headliner for the day is Kings of Leon, and Skrillex and The Avett Brothers make an appearance as well. Of the bands that day, I would want to see Kings of Leon, Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino, Cage the Elephant and possibly Jhene Aiko. Aiko, an up and coming artist from LA strikes my attention because in 2013 she recorded a song ft. Childish Gambino. The song, “Bed Peace,” is catchy and I am curious to see this artist live. On years where the lineup for Lolla is not as outstanding as it has been in the past, it is fun and necessary to go to bands that you are not as familiar with and hope for the best.
“Orange is the New Black,” Anya Cohen
Never has my — who am I kidding, it’s my boyfriend’s — Netflix subscription been as imperative as it will be on June 6. Taystee, Pornstache and Crazy Eyes are back for a second season of Orange Is The New Black and, if the trailer is any indication, this round is going to be a whirlwind.
The Netflix original series, whose first season received an 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, follows the stories of several inmates in a women’s correctional facility, with a focus on Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) — a cute, put-together thirty-something who is serving time for a crime she committed in a rebellious stage over a decade ago. Season one left all of the cliffhangers and I need answers. Did Piper kick Pennsatucky’s skinny butt or did Pennsatucky pull through with another one of her “miracles?” Is Pornstache going to try and grossly parent Dynara and Officer Bennett’s baby? Are Dynara and Officer Bennett even still a thing? Will Larry move on or are him and Piper built to last? If you’re looking for me June 6 through 8ish, you can find me in my bed, eyes glued to my computer screen. I highly suggest you do the same.