In the darkest night, the sun still shines
Pop Cult is a series of music, news, videos and GIFs collected and gifted to you, from me, as your regular dose of the important and silly sides of pop culture.
Now, more than ever, we need some levity — some light in the darkness, some awareness that beauty, comedy and love are still around us. What I’m trying to say is: Hamilton is here. Hamilton will never leave us. And its mixtape is straight-up incredible. Immigrants: we get the job done.
Best moment: Lin-Manuel Miranda rapping. Breathtaking as per usual, and he includes a shout-out to Maurice freakin’ Sendak.
Hey, didn’t something happen this week involving Hamilton and current politics? Don’t worry, I know it was ridiculous — and so does The New Yorker’s Benjamin Schwartz, who is a 24-carat gem.
Best moment: The levels.
Speaking of clever political jabs, here’s a comic which shows the plus side of raging intolerance.
Best moment: The sub-text. Take responsibility for your actions, y’all.
If you, like every other decent person in the world, believe in equality but struggle to live up to your highfalutin ideals, this podcast is for you. Two awesome comedians — one Australian and one Danish — being honest and funny about relatable issues, all in front of a live audience. What’s not to love?
Best moment: The opening section, named “I’m a feminist, but…” Choice quote: “I’m a feminist, but sometimes even my life doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test.”
In this vein of talented women producing glorious things, Disney Channel alum Bridgit Mendler has followed up her 2013 debut album Hello My Name Is... with an EP called Nemesis, and it is pure ear-sugar. Click play, close your eyes, and let it flow through you.
Best moment: Mendler’s voice, over a killer beat. Get ready to be happily nostalgic from her point of view.
From wonderful creations to wonderful accidents. In his four-and-a-half years at current League One promotion contenders Peterborough United, midfielder Michael Bostwick has probably never played such a perfect imperfect pass. Laughter is all around us, people.
Best moment: His slow, tragicomic realisation that it’s all gone wrong.
On the flip-side, there’s this world-beater of a touchdown. The gorgeously arcing pass from Carolina Panthers’ quarterback Cam Newton, slowly falling into the perfectly timed run of Ted Ginn Jr., is a thing of beauty.
Best moment: The replay. That’s when you understand the lengths Ginn went to to land both feet in the end zone.
Other Pop Cult episodes
Episode I: Welcome to the madness: we have GIFs
Episode II: Let’s have some fun before the apocalypse!
Episode IV: A New Ho-Ho-Hope
