Nitanti Alur

This year I made a vow that I’d get out of the house and do far more than meet pals for drinks or drinks-n-dinner. I crave live music and art and culture and the lasting memories that come from attending actual events, concerts, and musicals. With mask regulations no longer mandatory in Ireland, there were no more excuses. At the end of the day, watching a play smothered in a mask just plain ruins the experience.

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New Releases

Tamika From "School of Rock" Is a Full-Fledged R&B Artist Now

With clips of the 2003 comedy going viral, it warms our hearts to see its child stars succeeding IRL.

Whether you consider yourself hardcore or not, it's an indisputable fact that School of Rock holds up.

Richard Linklater's 2003 musicomedy, starring Jack Black as the lovable, yet irresponsible Dewey Finn, is still just as hilarious and heartwarming as it was nearly two decades ago. To this day, Twitter will every once in a while go down a rabbit hole of School of Rock nostalgia, cementing our undying love for the film — an occasionally making us wonder what its child actors are up to now.

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FILM & TV

MUSIC MONDAY | School Rules!

09.10.18 | School-Themed Tunes to Hum to in Homeroom

School is back in session making us remember all the songs that make school-themed flicks fun.

Sure, movies are nothing like what we remember school to be like, but why relive our own super-awkward academic days when Hollywood made school glamorous and full of good times?

These ten tunes with school at center stage are full of nostalgia. Grab your backpack and brown bag lunch. Rock and roll down the halls and sing through study hall. Check out these videos and revisit those school days when life was simpler and sentimental. Even if you were a "C-" student, these jams get an A+!

“You’re the One That I Want” – Grease

"I've got chills…" If you never seem to get enough of Danny and Sandy's romance back in the days of cool cars and too-cool-for-school students, "You're the One that I Want" will get you in the mood to watch Grease yet again. Teenage love is always confusing, but when the tunes are as good as the ones from this movie's soundtrack, the awkwardness is somehow amazing.

“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” – Breakfast Club

Forget? How could we?! This tune is all about the '80s and its countless teenage trials and tribulations. "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is not only an awesome song, but makes us think of our high school days and the relationships that helped us through 'till graduation. Molly Ringwald, you are our spirit animal!

“Good Morning Baltimore” – Hairspray

Whether on screen or on stage, Hairspray is full of school-themed theatrics that put music to math and scales to science. "Good Morning Baltimore" is a belt-out beauty, full of the high-energy Hairspray is all about. Big hair, don't care!

“If You Leave” – Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Pink is a classic, from the concept to the characters. We can all relate to the teenage misery and milestones, and "If You Leave" is part of the soundtrack of our lives. High school may not have always been pretty, but "If You Leave" is a beautiful song.

“In Your Eyes” Say Anything

Our hearts are aching. Young love put out there to reveal a raw heart and first-love feelings come to the forefront in that unforgettable Say Anything scene. With a "boom box" blaring and a school boy laying his love on the line, "In Your Eyes" is as clear as a love letter put to lyrics can be.

“Milkshake” – Mean Girls

Mean as the "cool girls" may have been, there's nothing sweeter than a "Milkshake." Lindsay Lohan may be today's "hot mess" but when she starred in the high school flick Mean Girls, she was the cherry on top of a classic high school flick.

“Fame – Remember My Name” – Fame

Most of us went to an average high school where the most activity we saw was playing dodgeball or running around the track. But for the highly-gifted, tremendously talented kids in the flick Fame, singing and dancing made the days at school more like getting ready for the red carpet. "Baby look at me…" We sure are!

“Danke Schoen” – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Oh what fun it must have been to be a fella like Ferris. With no cares in the world and a flair for fun, this cocky character made us all wish we had the chutzpah to cut school and sing "Danke Schoen" on the top of our lungs. You only live once, and Ferris Bueller made every second count.

“Touch Me” – School of Rock

If your school was more "rule book" than "rock," School of Rock was surely a much-loved fantasy of what you wish your school days were like. Jack Black played an unlikely teacher, but he made the students embrace music with more passion than any social studies class could conjure up. So, "Touch Me" (by the Doors) may not seem appropriate for grade school kids, but somehow, School of Rock made it work.

“One Foot in Front of the Other” – Revenge of the Nerds

Nerds! They may have been dorky, but the jocks were taken for a ride by the pocket-protector-clad crew in Revenge of the Nerds. When it comes down to it, "brains" beats "brawn" any day of the week. College is more than parties and playing football. Smarts, sensitivity, and a little savvy got the nerds to the top of the class. Revenge sure is sweet!

Melissa A. Kay is a New York-based writer, editor, and content strategist. Follow her work on Popdust as well as sites including TopDust, Chase Bank, P&G, Understood.org, The Richest, GearBrain, The Journiest, Bella, TrueSelf, Better Homes & Gardens, AMC Daycare, and more.


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Popdust Presents

Popdust Presents | Craig Wedren

Talking to Craig Wedren's new album Adult Desire & VR music video with host Dan Victor

His desire is a mature unification of music, family, and VR music videos.

DECEMBER 8, 2017 -- When I found out that Craig Wedren was releasing a new album and coming to New York City to do a show, I jumped at the chance to ask him to come onto Popdust Presents. I was lucky enough to have him accept my invitation. He has been a musician, songwriter and vocalist that I have greatly admired. His songs have given me years of joy, even giving me chills as I would have Shudder To Think on stereo. Their songs made me wonder... not about anything specifically. Perhaps whatever was on my mind. I listened closely to the strange descriptions that Craig uses to explain something simple like: (excerpt from Kissesmack of Past) "Tears make paper dolls of our coast" It's like a code for us to figure out. Or something private, meant only for him.

Tears make paper dolls of our coast
they carve continents
(get up and moan)
got right wing documents
the lights change
and cars go
the lines change but girls don't

won't you stay up boy
and chew your head
you'll wake up better
in the arms of a sex killer

"I Was A Soldier" is one of the tracks off of the new album, Adult Desire. It gives me chills, receiving a cinematic cue that the film has resolved and the two survivors are walking into the fading light. A song about strength that has an inspirational flavor, not a somber one. True craft of songwriting within this one has a strong sense of maturity. Survival of a time, that now we can empathize, yet how it held us and always will. There were those of us that didn't make it back from the war.

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