Weekly Quarantine Pop Culture Round-Up

During the time of the quarantine, creators have taken over social media platforms trying to cure your boredom. With so many things happening, you may have missed some things that could really pique your interests. Here are some posts that you may have missed from this week, and be on the lookout for virtual live performances this weekend.

Sunday, April 5
For fans of the iconic mid-2000’s show “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” there was a post trending with pictures of three heroines, Katara, Toph and Tai Lee, and one of the villains of the series, Azula. The post asked Twitter users to choose who they thought would win in a fight between the four girls.

Fans of “The Office” who love the bromance between fellow actors John Krasinski and Steve Carrell can enjoy a reunion video through the YouTube channel SomeGoodNews. The interview, streamed via Zoom, had both actors celebrate and reminisce about the 15th anniversary of the iconic show that they were a part of. Krasinski and Carrell talked about their favorite moments from “The Office,” their thoughts on when they had shot the pilot and how they both enjoyed how collaborative and supportive the cast was. All in all, they were celebrating 15 years of their Office family.

Monday, April 6
Music group Clean Bandit, famous for their song “Rather Be,” was among the many artists who have been having social distancing-themed DJ sets. These DJs still want to bring music to their fans, especially those who were planning to see them on tour in March and April. Clean Bandit’s livestream was titled “House Party #1 Stay Home with Me.” The DJ set featured psychedelic visuals as the backdrop and their song with frequent collaborator Jess Glynn, “Real Love.”

Tuesday, April 7
Pitchfork Article: “How Slowed + Reverb Remixes Became the Melancholy Heart of Music YouTube.”
In a world where there are various widely-loved mixes of an hour to two hour lofi rhythm and blues featuring clips from old anime shows, with reverb and slowed down versions of popular songs, it begs the question: How did this become so popular and why? On Tuesday, Pitchfork tried to answer that question with their new article. A phenomenon that on the surface level seems like young people are just messing with the sound and tune of favorite songs, but in actuality means a lot more to the people that listen to them. According to the article, slowed + reverb remixer Iyad Djellali agreed with this, writing in an email to Pitchfork that songs “get more personal, more introspective, almost acquiring a sensation of privacy.” Djellali also wrote that “Lowering the tempo of a track gives the listener a sense of calmness and a chance to get a hold of the details that the song hides.”

Thursday, April 9
Alternative/Hyperpop singer Charli XCX, known for songs like “Boom Clap” and “1999,” released a song titled “Forever.” Charli stays in her experimental genre with her futuristic and unusual sounds, soundbytes and frequent and experimental use of autotune. The song has a melancholic melody while the lyrics reference a longing to tell a lover that she’ll love them forever, even if they’re not together or if they break up.

Friday, April 10
Sensual enigmatic musician Rhye, who’s known for his songs “Open” and “Song For You,” will be having a livestream on Friday, April 10 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, April 11
Pop artist Tori Kelly, who’s famous for her songs “Nobody Love” and “Hallelujah” and her collaboration with Pentatonix, will be performing at the Facebook Live event, “Human to Human” Saturday, April 11 at 9 a.m. PDT. Many other artists, like country singer Hunter Hayes and synth-pop band Grouplove, will also be participating. Find out more about the event at their site.