No new U2 album till 2015 (Update: Rep denies these claims)

According to Billboard, U2 are delaying the releases of their next album, so they can book in new recording sessions with producers Ryan Tedder and Paul Epworth, meaning the follow up to No Line On The Horizon, won’t be seen till 2015. This also pushed back the accompanying tour to Summer of 2015.

It was expected for the Irish rock group to release new music late last year, when dates got moved to Summer this year. Now the new arrival date could be in the early months of 2015.

Update: A representative for U2 has told that the bands 13th album is still planned to be released this year. Billboard last week broke the news that the band would have to delay any new material, due to extra recording sessions with Ryan Tedder and Paul Epworth, till next year. While the sessions with Tedder and Epworth will still happen, it looks as though we will hear the currently untitled album in Summer which, according to Bono who spoke to USA Today, was the original date.

A year later: Was Justin Timberlake’s music comeback worth the wait?

Even though The 20/20 Experience and its follow up 2 of 2, were met with mixed reviews, they were commercially successful. Both albums went to the top of the Billboard 200, and both went platinum. The first album, featuring the hits Suit & Tie and Mirrors, went double platinum, and was the highest selling album of 2013.

Now a year on from Timberlake’s comeback to music, looking back, did his music match the hype that surrounded his return to the art form, which he found fame with. The answer is yes and no at the same time. While he sold records, and made chart topping singles, the two LP’S he released over the year could of been cut down into something smaller, to make something bigger. In this post I’ll look at which songs I would of selected for the ultimate track list of The 20/20 Experience.

Pusher Love Girl – Opens the first album perfectly. After a thirty second orchestral intro, we float into a five minute funk jam, with Timberlake’s vocal’s, which we had missed for the last seven years, and are then treated to a slow rap for the outro. Whether the album created would include twenty, ten or even seven songs, this one should always be included.

Suit & Tie – For anyone who complains that that song’s on The 20/20 Experiance were to long, this is one that shouldn’t ever be cut short. The radio edit didn’t do it enough justice. Timberlake’s comeback single, featuring Jay-Z and production by Timberland and J-Roc, ticked all the boxes.

Take Back The Night – The lead single from 2 of 2 struggled to get off the ground, due to controversy and bad timing, but this MJ inspired jam, would of complimented Suit & Tie well sitting next to each other on the album. The horns played by Benjamin Wright give the song an extra punch.

Tunnel Vision – One of the tracks that could of been cut down, we are treated to a electronic R&B song with synths and sounds of a full orchestra, and Timberlake singing about zooming in on the girl of his choice. Never got a real chance on the radio, with Take Back The Night being released hot on its heels, and getting attention for all the wrong reasons due to a NSFW music video.

Murder – The third collaboration with Shawn Carter (after Suit & Tie and Holy Grail) in recent years. The rap featured here is more engaging that Suit and Tie. Where Suit & Tie would have been just as good without the added verse, on Murder, Jay Z’s lyrics which reference Yoko Ono, The Beatles, filing the void left by The Notorious B.I.G.and Tupac in the rap world, and his relationship with Beyonce, take it to the next level.

Mirrors – Not much I could add on the longest track of The 20/20 Experience that hasn’t already been said. A love song inspired by Jessica Biel, is perfect from start to finish.

Let The Grove Get In – Sampling the recording Alhamdulillahi from the album Explorer Series: Africa-Burkina Faso – Rhythms of the Grasslands, lead to once again being compared to Michael Jackson. This time his performance on Wanna Be Starting Something lead critics to draw parallels.

Not A Bad Thing (without hidden track Pair of Wings) – The newly released third single from 2 of 2, should see similar success as Mirrors commercially. Finishes off 2 of 2 beautifully and would of done the same for my JT mix.

The Fault In Our Stars

A few days ago, I finally finished reading The Fault In Our Stars, which I kept a slow pace to reach the finish line over six weeks. I thought this would be the kind of book, that would suck you right in and have it finished in one go in the matter of a couple of hours on a lonely afternoon. Maybe the reason half way through I felt uninterested, was due to the way I had built this up in my head. The first half wasn’t terrible, but due to the amount of publicity it gets on tumblr, my mind didn’t know how the second half was going to set itself apart from every other young adult fiction. Eventfully, things picked up, and by the books end, I can see what everyone was going on about.

Upon finishing the book, I did a google search about the upcoming film. Although I knew that Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort would be portraying our leads, Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters, but the leads are so well complemented in the supporting cast. Nat Wolff will play Isaac, Laura Dern and Sam Trammell will play Hazel’s parents, and Willem Dafoe will portray Peter Van Houten. It’s been a while since I have been this excited about a book adoptions cast.

Directed by Josh Boone, The Fault In Our Stars will be released June 6, 2014. Check out the trailer above.

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast: My obsession with Survivor (Part ll)

On the arrival of the twenty-eight season of reality tv juggernaut Survivor, I’ve decided to look back on my relationship with a show I love dearly. The show became a cultural and critical success in the summer of 2000 and was originally seen as a fad. Fourteen years latter, Survivor is still going strong, and takes viewers to incredible locations like The Amazon, Guatemala, Vanuatu, China, Palau, Kenya, Samoa, and Australian.

Today on the eve of the premiere of Survivors 28th season, I will continue my look back on the show by listing my favourite contestant, season, tribe.

Contestant -> Parvati Shallow – Cook Islands, Micronesia, Heroes Vs Villains.
While she was seen as just a flirt in her first season, Parvati took a second chance and ran with in it Micronesia. Wile the odds were against her in the Cooks’, she made sure she had strong alliances with the right people, and this time knew when to cut them off. Her return to the game for a third time saw her as a early threat, but she managed to adopt the the conditions and made it to the final three, and was crowned runner up. Many note that she was more deserving than Sandra, who won Heroes Vs Villains. As one of few who is able to recognise how important having a strong social game is, and also being able to compete well in challenges, along with creating one of the strongest alliances of all time, she is easily one of the best players the game has seen.

Other choices were: Rob Mariano (Marquesas, All Stars, Heroes Vs Villains, Redemption Island), Vecpeia Towery (Marquesas), Richard Hatch (Borneo, All Stars), and Rob Cesternino (The Amazon, All Stars).

Season -> The Amazon
This season has so many reasons for being my pick. We had the first battle of the sexes, which went perfectly, giving the game so many cross tribe alliances, after the tribe swift. We also had one of the most memorable moment, that had nothing to do with the game. Heidi and Jenna taking their clothes of in a challenge for peanut butter. A lot of people look highly upon tis season for its unpredictability thanks to Rob C, but really the characters make this season. I don’t think anyone could of predicted that Butch, Rob, Matt and Jenna would end up being the final four, and I would of be fine with any of them winning the whole thing. And top of that, we have one of the most under rated castaways of all time in Deena Bennett. She was just as smart as Rob, until she started talking to the wrong people.

Other choices were: China, Pearl Islands, Palau, and Micronesia

Tribe -> Casaya (Panama)
Never has there been a tribe as dysfunctional, while still being successful, as Casaya. Featuring some legends of the game in the likes of Aras Baskauskas, Cirie Fields, and Shane Powers, the tribe managed to eliminate the completion, until they had to turn on themselves. The result was chaos.

Other choices were Fei Long (China), Mogo Mogo (All Stars), and Tandang (Philippines)

Don’t forget to check out my Survivor: Cagayan recaps at popwrapped.com and look out for my retrospective recaps of the first season of Survivor on this blog.

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast: My obsession with Survivor

On the arrival of the twenty-eight season of reality tv juggernaut Survivor, I’ve decided to look back on my relationship with a show I love dearly. The show became a cultural and critical success in the summer of 2000 and was originally seen as a fad. Fourteen years latter, Survivor is still going strong, and takes viewers to incredible locations like The Amazon, Guatemala, Vanuatu, China, Palau, Kenya, Samoa, and Australian.

I remember watching Survivor as a child. A memory of seeing Colby Donaldson and Jerri Manthey in the “Australian Outback” late at night (which was really more like prime time, but it felt like sure felt late at night for a seven year old me back in 2001) has always stayed with me years later. Moving forward to 2003 and I have memories of bad ass Sandra Diaz Twine running her mouth into overdrive telling everyone who’s boss, and a crazy ‘pirate’ , Rupert Boneham, stealing the Morgan tribes shoes. Rupert must have been the ratings help needed at Channel Nine, as the much hated All Stars season was moved back into a decent prime time. I enjoyed the season, but maybe it was because at ten years old, I was there for the characters rather than the non existent strategy. Despite the lack of major strategy from 14 people in Panama for those 39 days, I still enjoy the season to this day. At my young age I loved seeing familiar faces such as Richard Hatch and “Big Tom”, and enjoyed meeting new ones like “Boston Rob” and Shii Ann Hung. The finale and Rob’s Proposal was the most talked about topic at school the next morning. Everyone had watched the show the night before. At the time I wished Rob had taken just one extra vote to become the sole survivor on that last night in Panama. Not to take away from Amber Brkich’s win, it was well deserved as I the last person standing is always deserving in one way or another, but I was a big fan of the “Rob-father” back in the day. Now days I can see how Amber played just as good of a game.

Survivor continued on and the game evolved. My memories post All-Stars include the awesome final four vertical maze challenge in Vanuatu, fan favourite and back-to-back player Stephanie LaGrossa and the Aras/Terry rivalry. Once the show had reached its 15th season, some poeple felt it was on its last legs. The past two seasons were poorly received by fans and cause controversy in the media. But the show hit a mini resurgence around the same time I got back into the show, with the 2007 season putting castaways into the jungles of China. Next I was able to see Micronesia before the how was moved to a digital channel for Gabon. Thanks to the infamous Russell Hantz, the show returned to a place where I was able to watch Samoa, and since then I obsession has continued and grown stronger.

This year I will be recapping Survivor: Cagayan over on popwrapped.com. But I will be doing a look back at the show on this blog. Over this year I will post recaps of old Survivor episodes starting with their first season Survivor: Borneo, and in the lead up to this season I will be making posts on my favourite contestant, season, tribe, alliance, and to fit in with the up-and-coming seasons theme, I will look at previous contestants to find the best brain, beauty and brawn.

Survivor: Cagayan airs 8 p.m. Feb, 28 on CBS

My Survivor: Cagayan recaps can be seen at popwrapped.com/?s=survivor

Sounds so soulful, don’t you agree?: Kanye West’s The Collage Dropout turns ten!

2004 was a big year for popular culture. We saw the launch of Facebook (then known as the Facebook), endured a nipplegate at the Superbowl, was introduced to some Desperate Housewives, and said goodbye to out Friends. But nothing can complete with Kanye West’s arrival onto the music scene, not just as a talented producer, but as a rapper of the kind we hadn’t seen before. Nobody knew back then, I don’t think even Kanye truly knew, how much of a iconic figure, on stage and off, the 27 year old “Through The Wire” singer would become.

Recorded over four years beginning in 1999, his debut was a struggle to get to the shelves. Kanye began to find success when he produced a track on Jay Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia as a up-and-coming artist, and received even more recognition for his work on The Blueprint, released in 2001, when he crafted hits like “Izzo (H.O.V.A)” and “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)”. Even with his mainstream success, “Izzo” making it to number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, Capitol Records decided against taking him on after a series of meetings, and Roc-A-Fella Records reluctantly took him onboard in fear of him taking his work elsewhere. On October 23, 2002, Kanye fell asleep at the wheel while driving home from a California recording studio, which left him with a shattered jaw. The crash was near-fatal, so Kanye was lucky for only his jaw to be wired shut in reconstructive surgery. All of this lead to “Through the Wire”, the first song to be heard out of his work, where he expressed his experiance in the accident, and took Kanye in the right direction for his debut saying, “all the better artists have expressed what they are going through”, and that is exactly what he intended to do. When “Through the Wire” became available on the Get Well Soon… mixtape, Kanye also announced he was working on a album called The Collage Dropout, and told that its overall theme was “make your own decisions. Don’t let society tell you, ‘This is what you have to do.’” This instantly drew me in towards the album and all it represented.

You could say I was a latecomer to the genre of hip-hop. Before I first downloaded Yeezus, I had listened to Watch The Throne (West’s full album collaboration with mentor and friend Jay Z), and of course had heard of Kanye’s commercial hits like “Stronger” and “Gold Digger”, but never dug deeper. I remember the first time I listened to Kanye’s experimental 2013 album. I was at school. It was a cold morning. I had a free period, when I was meant to be studying, but wasn’t. I, within an hour, was hooked on this work of art. Getting home I had to have more. Over and over again I listen to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, till I became sick of it. The next Kanye West LP that received heavy rotation from me was his first.

The Collage Dropout is a great achievement in its own right. His music was about family, religion, consumerism, and his other personal struggles. He was able to shake of the gangster tag that came along with being a rapper at the time, all while crafting his debut album. People forget that his first album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 (only being held off by Norah Jones’ Feels Like Home) and was nominated for both Album of the Year and Best Rap Album at the 2005 Grammy Awards (he would go on to win Best Rap Album, while losing Album of the Year to Ray Charles for Genius Love Company). All this was from a guy that nobody wanted to take a chance on. These days Kanye West receives most of the medias attention for punching photographers every second day and being part of the force that is Kimye, which can be considers the 2010’s version of Brangelina. But on the 10th of Febuary, 2014, Kanye West needs to be seen as the incredible artist that he truly is.

The Walking Dead, Season 4: Looking back and ahead

Okay, I’ve got something to confess. It wasn’t until recently that I sat down to watch the fourth season (well what has aired so far) of The Walking Dead. I know, I know, I’m a terrible person. From last March I waited for months to see what would become of The Governor, after he slaughtered his own armed forces and drove off with his two henchmen. I did have a valid excuse for not watching the show week-to-week at first, as my end of year exams were happening at the same time, as when the show returned for its fourth season, once again bringing a new show runner. But why has it taken me till the month of January, a full month after the latest episode had aired, to watch a show, which I consider one of my all time favourite. It’s that darn prison! When I found out the the first episode back, titled “30 Days Without An Accident”, would be set three to four months after the Governor last left, and Rick’s group of zombie killing survivors were still at the prison, I didn’t know if the show was heading in the right direction.

Nevertheless I moved forward, to examine what change Scott M. Gimple, the previously mentioned new show runner, had brought to the show. My verdict is a lot and a little both at the same time. Going into the season I felt comfortable with Gimple taking the lead. This is the guy that wrote the critically acclaimed mid season finale of the second season, “Pretty Much Dead Already”, which saved the season, up until that point, from being a total mess. It was also promised going into the season that the zombies would pose as more of a threat, unlike season three, where everyone was walking between Woodbury and the Prison, surrounded by zombies like it was no problem at all.

What was meant by zombies being a new threat, was the virus that went around the prison, not the deadly bites one could receive. This was the major plot during the season, but due to the return of the Governor, we only saw its development for the first five episodes, and at times it felt extremely crammed. Although I liked the extended flashback for the Governor during episode six, it took away from the story we had been following for the last five hours, and then to do another whole episode on Phillip/Blake/Governor/or what ever the hell we are going to call him, took a massive chance on what viewers want to see. This season we were promised more character development, and I have a feeling this will be delivered in the back eight, but in the first half of season four, there wasn’t much of it. The character that saw the biggest arc and development, Carol, was exiled in at the end of the fourth episode, “Indifference”, and hasn’t been seen since. She went from a weak woman, who was beat by her husband and didn’t have the courage to do anything of it, do a lady who will do whatever it took for her to survive, admitting that she had become strong. We also saw minor development from Rick and Michonne, and a glimpse into Bob’s alcoholic back story, but with five episodes focusing on the prison (two were spent with Phillip, while the season finale was action packed) there wasn’t much breathing space. I became to appraise Hershel, a lot more this season, and of course the moment I begin to like a character, their head will, quite literally in this situation, be chopped off. But I understand why it had to happen. On The Walking Dead, deaths shouldn’t happen for shock value in the face of viewers, but to further the plot, and this is exactly why Hershel, and his old pony tail, had to go. Hershel, after the death of Dale in season two’s penultimate episode, became the moral compass for the group, and with the group being on the road in season four part two, which is hard enough in itself, will be even worse without Hershel guiding the way.

The major part of why I loved the mid-season finale, was not due to the incredible amounts of action and violence (although the fist fight between Rick and the Governor was pretty awesome), nor the audience finally seeing the end to Governor, or the fact that they left the prison. It was due to the fact they left the prison, with nowhere to go. The group has faced this before, having to flee the farm, but they had the prison gates waiting for them. This time everyone is on the road, in small groups made up of people that aren’t always seen together. Rick managed to get out alive with the help of Carl, although both were mentally and physically broken after the war and seeing the baby crib without Judith. By the end of this season, I think, Carl, out of all the characters still alive, will have seen the most development. He went from a young child in seasons one and two, then became a child solider, after being responsible for Dale’s death, only for Rick to stop his exposure with guns before he became “too far gone”. Now in the back eight we are told he is in for another major change. Michael Ausiello, founder and editor in chief of TV Line, revealed last month that the mid season premier is Carl’s coming-of-age episode, and that after we will never think of Chandler Riggs “as just a good kid actor – his work here is exceptional”. Daryl ran off with Beth (side note: has Gimple been reading fan fiction?). This pairing excites me. The scene they shared at the start of this season, after Beth’s boyfriend had just died, was incredibly well acted. Regarding the pairing, Norman Reedus teased readers of Entertainment Weekly, saying “Well, you definitely saw them leave the prison together. Whether they stay together is yet to be seen”. Tyreese left with the child warriors. The introduction of Lizzie and Mika was nice, and maybe in this next block of episodes we can gather more information of who was dropping rats on the prison fences. Tyreese on the other hand, I don’t care as much for. As someone who is half way through Volume three of the comics, Tyreese is one of my favourite characters. But on the show, something isn’t the same, maybe it’s due to there been limited screen time for his character. Glenn and Maggie got separated, leaving Glenn on the bus with people who we don’t see or care about, while Maggie is with Bob and Sasha.

The back eight episodes excite me. We already know of the introduction of comic characters Sgt. Abraham Ford, Dr. Eugene Porter, and Rosita Espinosa. The first hour back, titled “After”, is most likely to focus of just Rick and Carl, and Michonne, while the episode after, titled “Inmates”, might see where the rest of the gang is at. So many questions are left to be answered. Like where Carol been and when will see catch up with her prison pals (my bet is on her running into Tyreese)? Which major character from the comic books will be dying, as previously revealed? And will we ever see Morgan again? Another point of interest is which way the show will follow from the comic books. Maybe The Hunters will pop up, but how long will they wait to arrive at the Alexandria Safe-Zone? The season final, titled “A”, is said to be a very ambitious and leads well in season five. So many questions to be answered. It looks to be an exciting end to a strange (structurally) first half. I look forward to see what Scott Gimple has in store, cause looking back on TWD’s production history, he won’t have much more time to show what else he has.

The Walking Dead returns Sunday, Febuary 9th at 9 p.m. ET on AMC

Mockingjay Pt. 1 Poster revealed!

Natalie Dormer turns heads at S(W)AG Awards

Is Margaery Tyrell moving into a new hipster phase, during her stay at King’s Landing? Not Likely. The disappearance of Natalie Dormer’s beautiful hair is due to her part in The Hunger Game: Mockingjay where she will appear in both parts of the adaption.

While stepping out for the SAG Awards last Saturday night, she captured everyone’s attention with a new half shaved hairstyle.

Dormer told Entertainment Weekly, “It’s been hidden for 3 months. It happened back in October. I was, you know, waiting for the right moment.” She will play the role of Cressida, when Mockingjay Part 1 hits cinemas November 21, 2014.

In the mean time, you can see Dormer on screen before hand when Game of Thrones returns for its fourth season April 6, 2014.

Image Credit: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Tyler Oakley & Liam Payne

Fandom – The community that surrounds a tv show/movie/book etc. Fanfiction writers, artists, poets, and cosplayers are all members of that fandom. Fandoms often consist of message boards, livejournal communities, and people.

If there is one thing I don’t understand, it’s the One Direction fandom(known as Directioners, collectively). If I had to picture them in my head I would imagine the crazy hyena’s featured in Walt Disney’s The Lion King. The are made up of crazy and, at more times than not, cruel teenage girls, that make their voice heard on social media sites Twitter and Tumblr.

I myself have been a fan of the band. I discovered the band shortly after their debut single, “What Makes You Beautiful”, was released, which was before they rose to fame and superstardom in my home country, Australia. But from very early on I’ve felt unwilling to call myself a fan, because of the way their fandom works.

Their are numours instances I could pinpoint from the past but I’d rather focus on the events of the past twenty four hours. The comotion started when Liam Payne, memeber of the band, tweeted this:

Which gained attention with many wondering WHY? after Willie Robertson’s past anti-gay comments he made in December. Many tweeted the pop star questioning the tweet. Among them was Youtube vlogger and LGTB youth advocate Tyler Oakley asking:

In the last hour Payne went on a little tweeting rampage and tried to explain his words:

He them returned Tyler’s questioning by calling him out as “not being a fan”, which is something that young directioners tweet about Tyler constantly. By this stage I was thinking I was looking at troubled teen Justin Bieber’s twitter not good-boy Liam Payne’s.

Liam finished his rant with these comments:

By the end of it, Tyler Oakley was the fandom’s target(once again) and he began receiving tweets saying he was kicked out of the fandom, never being a true fan, and even receiving deaths threats(isn’t the first time this has happened between the fandom and Oakley). What I gather out of this is Liam Payne is not made out for a career as a musician, if he can’t deal with the media. It’s the nature of the beast. Fame and the money go hand in hand with the paparazzi and bloggers. Earlier this week he said he wished he could leave the house without people asking for photo’s. Now he gets mad when sites such as Perez Hilton, and Buzzfeed are posting about his antics. In this day and age when you tweet about something like Duck Dynasty, which is still a somewhat controversial topic, and how you respect their family values, then you will have people talking about your actions. You’re famous. I don’t know what you expect. Next time maybe keep your opinions, which only person with some knowledge about social media would know would spark debate, to yourself.

umm, Jayden

"my life is a giant mess, and I love it"