When Bad Pop Culture Happens to Hopeful People

This is what happens when you mix hope and awfulness

Piggybacking on our podcast from Saturday and RD's piece about sports heartbreak, I'm going to talk about a different type of heartbreak.

Today, I'm going to talk about two movies and two albums that left me heartbroken. There's things in your life that you look forward to and, even though movies and music are very low on the list, things as small as that can leave you heartbroken. You look forward to something coming out, you're already a fan and the first, or everything prior in the catalog, is great, and then a movie or an album comes out, and it's just a dud, and that makes me upset. All the build up and it's just a pile of garbage. That's what I'm going to talk about today.

First, let's talk about two albums that left me heartbroken. I was a huge fan of the band Rocco Deluca and the Burden. Their first album, "I Trust You To Kill Me" was phenomenal. Rocco Deluca is a fantastic slide guitar player, playing my favorite type of guitar, a dobro. He had a way with the slide and how he used chord progressions and effects that was pretty astounding. "I Trust You To Kill Me" had everything on it. There was blues, rock, love songs and everything I liked. I tried to teach myself songs off the album. I only do that with records that I really like. It was a great album. I saw the band perform at the Duck Room in Saint Louis, and the concert was excellent. He played all the songs off the record, played old blues standards, and blew me away. I was fully on board with whatever was coming next from Rocco Deluca and the Burden. In 2009, the band released their second album, "Mercy". Of course I bought it on the day it was released. I listened to it immediately, and this is where the heartbreak seeps in. This album wasn't the same. It was more emo and sad. I didn't know that the band was going through stuff, and they did break up after this album, but what they put on record was, quite frankly, garbage. There was no distorted slide guitar. There was no fire and passion coming from Deluca's vocals. The band seemed disinterested and the album was a complete downer. Being OCD, I gave this album many, many chances. I swear, I've listened to it from start to finish at least ten times. I still have the album downloaded on my iPod, but I don't listen to it. It is a bad record. This really bummed me out. I also heard that in interviews, Deluca kind of said that if you don't like this album, you're not a real fan of his. He's portrayed himself as kind of an asshole before this album was released, and this interview further proved the point. That also made me upset, because, I was a fan. I really liked what they did on their first record, but to act like this after you put out a dud of an album is really upsetting. I recommend listeningto "I Trust You To Kill Me", but give "Mercy" a hard pass. It's not good.

Another musician and band that I adore, not so much anymore, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, put out six great, different albums and then their seventh record ruined all the good vibes I had. I was a huge fan of Ben Harper's in high school. The second show I ever saw, the first under my own accord, was Ben Harper at the American Theater in Saint Louis. I was a junior in high school and me and a friend of mine showed up about six hours early so we could be front row. I spoke about this show on one of our early podcasts. It was great. I was hooked and loved everything Ben Harper was doing. He was my introduction to slide guitar. His music introduced me to a lot of the blues that I still listen to. He has a really good voice. The band can do everything from rock to reggae. They're very versatile. And, like I said earlier, their first six albums are very good. But, in 2006 a double disc was released called, "Both Sides of the Gun". I was a bit older by this time, and my love was wavering just a bit. I really enjoyed his previous album, "There Will Be a Light", but that was more a Blind Boys of Alabama record than a Ben Harper record. "Both Sides of the Gun" was supposed to be Ben Harper getting back to what made me like him so much. He was supposed to put the acoustic guitar down, which he apparently fell in love with, and get back to the slide guitar. He does on "Both Sides of the Gun", but barely. That's what left me heart broken. He was supposed to have a return to form, but he only did on about four songs on a 18 song double record. It wasn't a return to form at all, it was all a lie, at least in my mind. I listened to this record a bunch too, trying to like it, but I just couldn't. It was too poppy. Ben Harper, inexplicably, started to yell sing on songs. The band didn't sound very good. It was a huge disappointment. I even went to see the band tour this album, and it was a pretty dreadful show. They didn't sound good live anymore, and that made me even more heartbroken. They kind of redeemed themselves with the album "Lifeline", but "Both Sides of the Gun" left a bad enough taste in my mouth, that I haven't purchased a Ben Harper record since.

Now, to the movies that bummed me out. In 2012, I saw previews for a movie entitled "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter". This preview had my favorite president, Lincoln, and mashed it up with him being a badass vampire hunter. I was on board. I couldn't wait to see this movie. Opening day couldn't come fast enough. I dragged my wife and her friend along with me because they had to enjoy how awesome this movie was going to be with me. I thought it would be selfish of me to go see it alone. I wanted to share it with the people closest to me. So, not only did the three of us see it on opening day, but we saw it in 3D. I don't like 3D movies, but this movie was going to be so awesome, why not see it in 3D. The first hint I should've taken that this was going to be terrible, the theater was basically empty for a rush hour show on an opening Friday. But, I thought, people were going to miss out on the greatness that is "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter". Then, the movie started. I was excited, but, that excitement was drained almost immediately. This movie was so awful. The acting was bad, the action was terrible, the fights were poorly performed and the 3D gave me a headache. This was not the movie I expected. This was supposed to be the movie of the summer in 2012. What the hell happened? I should've realized that a lot of movies released in early summer are released then because they're so bad. This was heartbreaking. I so wanted to love this movie, but I couldn't even like it in a way that people like bad movies. It wasn't fun bad, it was just bad bad. How could a movie that looked so cool be so terrible? Previews, that's how. The only good thing that came out of this awful, awful movie was, I don't take previews that serious anymore, going so far as to not watch trailers for movies that I'm excited to see. Don't watch "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter". It's very, very bad and will only disappoint you.

Another movie that broke my heart was Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". I adore "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", and I figured that Tim Burton would do a good job with a remake. Casting Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka seemed like a home run in my mind. That was not the case. First of all, Depp as Wonka was god awful. Instead of playing it with the whimsy and humor that Gene Wilder does in the original, Depp plays the role like a creep. He seems like a guy that shouldn't hang around children, and definitely shouldn't own a chocolate factory. He was dreadful in this role. But, he wasn't the only problem. This movie was an absolute train wreck from start to finish. The kids cast in the iconic roles played them way too over the top. They're supposed to be snotty kids, but these actors took that way too literally. Freddie Highmore, who I think is a pretty good actor, doesn't do such a good job as Charlie. He was too boring. I wanted this movie to be as good as the original, but it was so bad. Tim Burton tried to put his weird vibes on this movie, but this movie doesn't need his touch. This is supposed to be a whimsical movie, but Tim Burton tried to make it dark. That doesn't work here, and it broke my heart. Tim Burton needs to stick to his darker stuff and not ruin another classic movie. I looked forward to this movie, but it was so bad, it just made me upset.

So, there you have it. There's a lot of other stuff besides sports that have left me heartbroken, but these four particular things left me the most heartbroken as far as pop culture goes. Tell me some things that have left you heartbroken in pop culture in the comment section, or tell me why I'm wrong about the stuff I mentioned today. And avoid the things I mentioned today at all costs.

You'll thank me later.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants to give all these things in big kiss while at a party in Cuba and tell them how they broke his heart. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik

"The Walk" provides stimulation for all ages, especially in IMAX 3D

Once a symbol of inspiration

Ever since I saw the documentary Man On Wire in 2008, I have wondered why I had never heard of Philippe Petit prior. Once I found out that there was a children's book featuring Petit’s story titled The Man Who Walked Between The Towers, I had to get it for my kids. Scholastic even made one of their Storybook Treasure cartoons from the children’s book. There is something incredibly romantic about Petit, his dream, and his determination to realize his vision. When I saw a theatrical trailer for The Walk a few months ago which is a biographical drama based on Petit’s high wire stunt in New York, I was pretty excited.

It is, of course, no secret why this story had more recently come to light. The towers went down. A tragedy to be certain. But for me the story does not bring up the memory of the tragedy except in the context of acknowledging the role it had in bringing the high wire story back to consciousness. I see what a Petit did as a celebration of the elegance of human potential. The 9/11 attacks represent the level of animosity that can be born of indifference. The only thing that relates these two events is this landmark. Perhaps that is why the children’s story, the documentary, and this film have come about in the aftermath. People want to remember the inspiration that occurred in the landmark’s beginning rather than the desperation of its end.

Both my four and six year olds are familiar with the story. They had even seen the documentary and remained engaged throughout. An accomplishment especially for a four year old (who was three when he saw it). My partner and I were looking for movies that we could take them to. As far as animated features there was only a sequel to a movie that we had not seen, so we showed the kids the trailer to The Walk. They wanted to see it. So a few days ago my family and I went to see it.

My impressions of the story as told by The Walk are mostly good. It is a biographical drama. The “drama” part means that facts are changed to make it interesting. I do not know how many inaccuracies are included in the other versions of the story that I have heard, but I would definitely say there are inconsistencies. That being understood, I thought the story as it was told was moving and captivating the entire time.

As far as the casting, I was initially unsure if Joseph Gordon-Levitt could pull this one off. I have no complaints about any other role I have seen him in, but it seemed a strange fit to me prior to my viewing of the film. I soon realized that my concerns were unfounded. He did a remarkable job of depicting the character of Philippe Petit.

At the theatre which we went to, the only available way to watch it was IMAX 3D. I am not usually a fan of 3D films. It tends to come across as gimmicky most of the time. In this case however, I was very impressed with the use of the medium. The last film I saw in 3D was Avatar, a film which was supposedly made to highlight the possibilities of 3D. In my opinion The Walk much more aptly fits that proposition. After seeing this in IMAX 3D, I think it would be regrettable to see it in 2D.

My four and six year old said they liked the film too. At a point in the film when Petit was walking between the towers they did get a bit scared and ended up taking off the 3D glasses. They told me that they were afraid that he may fall. Even after reminding them that they already know this story and how it ends, they remained tense. In the end, they said it was good. I even saw my four year old playing a “man who walked the towers” imaginary game using our living room furniture the next day.

As I suggested to my partner as we left the theatre, this was one of the most stimulating films that I had seen in the theatre in a while. I recommend checking it out, and if you can, in IMAX 3D.

Kirk Aug

Kirk is SeedSing's go to source for what has inspired and what will bring new inspiration. He believes in hummanity's capicity for greatness, most of the time. Follow Kirk on twitter @KirkAug.