June 24, 2019 —– Canadian author of political satire The Road Ahead and forthcoming science fiction Loved Mars, Hated The Food (Kyanite Publishing, August 13, 2019) Willie Handler did an interview with Linda Thompson of The Author Show Podcast.
The interview primarily covers Handler’s first novel The Road Ahead and will only be up on the site and various other media platforms for 24 hours today only.
To listen to the inteview, please click the image below.
The Jonas Brothers have saved 2019. Before you roll your eyes and exit out of this window, please hear me out here. See, The Jonas Brothers actually tried returning as a band in 2013 but people forget about it. They released a single entitled “Pom Poms” in anticipation of their fifth studio album and even performed it on an awards show but it just sounded like a song you release when you want to give up on yourself. Gone are the purity rings now traded in for wedding rings and they are back and better than ever.
Sure this review may be entirely biased as I became a Jonas Brothers fan in 2006 and have never wavered in my support of them. I even supported each brother’s individual ventures: Kevin’s reality show (Married To Jonas, E!), Joe’s solo career then as the lead singer of DNCE, and Nick’s solo venture (Nick and The Administration) and Nick’s successful solo career (Jealous, Chains off Last Year Was Complicated).
Now that Kevin is happily married with two kids, Nick is newly married to actress Priyanka Chopra, and Joe has found lasting love and newly married to Sophie Turner (GOT), they are now fully men putting out music that speaks to the wisdom they have obtained in the ten years they were apart as a group Happiness Begins has themes of exploration and maturity and it follows the release of their Amazon Prime Video documentary Chasing Happiness, which preludes their brotherly memoir coming in November entitled Blood. Even with ten years apart, this album Happiness Begins debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Song by Song Review
SUCKER: Their first single in ten years and an upbeat pop song about being infatuated with someone and someone you would go for great lengths for. The light rock instrumental is minimal, leaving the central focus being on the brother’s vocals on their comeback single. “Sucker” debuted at #1 on the week of it’s release (March 16, 2019) on the Billboard Hot 100. They are the first group to debut at #1 in this century.
COOL: The second single off this album contains various references to the brothers’ personal and professional achievements from their time apart. The song and subsequent music video have a strong 80’s aesthetic. It is supposed to be reminiscent of 1984’s Miami and timeless eighties MTV in all it’s decadent glory, according to the band. The single debuted at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 upon it’s release.
ONLY HUMAN: My favorite song on this comeback album because it’s reggae musicality that makes you want to dance. This track is an ode to the band’s love for 80’s music.
I BELIEVE: A synth-slow jam detailing Nick’s whirlwind romance with wife, Priyanka Chopra.
USED TO BE: A pop song about seeing a past lover living their life without you and how it brings back old emotions and memories.
EVERY SINGLE TIME: Electronic pop musicality about an on and off again lover who doesn’t have real feelings but you catch yourself always thinking about, as if the fact that they can’t love you or .don’t want you makes you want them more for a challenge.
DON’T THROW IT AWAY: An upbeat pop country song about a relationship that could end but instead is being urged to not give up so quickly.
LOVE HER: A soft romantic pop ballad showcasing the growth and maturity have regarding love and relationships. It discusses the sacrifices of being in loving relationship and what you do when you love someone.
HAPPY WHEN I’M SAD: For some particular reason, I think of Rooney whenever this song comes on (When Did Your Heart Go Missing?) It’s a track about how people judge based on face value, and don’t really connect anymore.
TRUST: A bluesy track that discusses being unable to control your senses and your emotions around someone.
STRANGERS: A song about realizing your instantly closer than you thought you were with someone as your relationship progresses over time.
HESITATE: Joe’s love letter to his wife, Sophie Turner about wanting to carry the burdens of the person you love without hesitation.
ROLLERCOASTER: A nostalgic pop track reminiscing the band’s success. Seeing the more positive, shining moments of fame versus to the scary, negative ones. Following signing first in 2006 with Columbia Records and then tranferring to Hollywood Records in 2007 after gaining an immense amount of traction from their single, “Year 3000,” but the boys officially broke up as a band in 2010.
Because I don’t like to fangirl except on video if you want all the extras I don’t include in the review, please make sure to watch my newest episode of #MusicalNotes.
Naturally, I was floored when Thought Catalog reached out to me directly as someone they thought of to review Nikita Gill’s newest poetry collection. They sent me the book and from the second I opened it I had trouble putting it down. It was like slow waves that wash over you as you stand upon the ocean’s edge. Your toes sink into the sand as you step deeper and deeper into the water, wading into it until the bravest parts of you are under water and only your head is above.
The water gets rougher and you must fight against the current beneath you.
That is what this poetry book explores. The struggles we suffer within ourselves so the poetry book reads like you are taking a deep sea dive into the depths of your heart and soul.
It is complete and utter inked beauty and leaves you feeling at peace upon closing the back cover, much like a day spent upon the water does or sitting listening to the ocean waves crashing on a sandy beach. The salt air does wonders for the human heart, and this book is no exception to that notion. I recommend everyone read this much like I would recommend taking a cruise vacation or booking a weekend getaway to stay near the beach.
WHY ARE WE ALL AFRAID TO BE? A poem about how the world makes you feel less than you are or small as person.
I NAMED US GRIEF: a poem about wanting to be with someone or not being right for someone but you still wear black and mourn them as if a part of you has died.
For additional poems from Nikita Gill’s poetry book Your Heart is the Sea, please follow the Smart Cookie on Instagram and Twitter.
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