From Arnold Schwarzenegger to Billie Eilish, a lot of international celebrities have thought out TikTok as a way to connect with their young fans or just to have some fun and enjoy the musical app. Some celebrities are very easily found, with clear user names and top-notch editing teams. But some, are more down to earth, sometimes hidden in plain sight between the millions of users but as active as any. One such person would be the internationally famous French singer and actress Louane, known under the username @watchoutforthetornado.
She first posted a video on the 19th of December 2020, in which she sings a cover of the song “Stuck with you” by Ariana Grande in duets format, leaving room for other people to interact with her.
she then continued to post a multitude of other videos related to various topics such as other covers of songs belonging to French and English singers such as Pomme, and Justin Beiber without forgetting the fun challenges with her loved ones.
All these videos had one thing in common and that is a large number of comments mentioning the singer’s identity and pointing out “that she looks a lot like Louane”. The loss of some people did add a bit of ironic humor to the mix but the French artist finally cleared out the mild confusion by stating in her latest and first video of the year, that she is, indeed Louane, through a song in true TikTok fashion.
The 24 yeas old French singer is a great addition to the platform and seems to be enjoying her time on TikTok as much as her fans welcome her presence there.
Today, Elias Rahbani, the last of the living Rahbani brothers, lost his life, the 4th of January 2021 at the age of 83, the cause of death yet unknown. This is a sad day for the Lebanese music industry as he was one of the biggest composers, arrangers, lyric writers, conductor & producers, in the Lebanese/Arabic music scene.
He was the mind behind a multitude of famous songs written in both English, French, and Arabic which were sang by a multitude of notable Lebanese singers such as Fairuz, Sabah and Wadih El Safi . One of such songs is “Kan El Zaman” by Fairuz.
He is also the composer of important music pieces such as “moonlight melody” made for the tv Serie ” Azef al layl”.
He was also behind some popular nursery rhymes that accompanied a lot of Lebanese people during their childhood such as “Kellon Indoun Sayarat”, “Toll’ Eddaou al Wawi”, “Ammy Bou Massoud”.
The one to who the Elias Rahbani academy is dedicated, he forever left his mark in the hearts of Lebanese people as well as in the country’s folklore and culture.
Throughout the Greek mythology inspired song, “Achilles, come down”, can be heard a man saying some French phrases during the musical interludes that connects the multiple verses of the 7 minute song. Some people would attribute its presence solely for aesthetic purposes, some think there is more to it, but regardless, most fan are curious about the meanings of these words. Like many other songs such As Swan Upon Leda by Hozier, It uses many artistic and literary symbolism to get it message across and so, to find answers to our questions, some research into the world of French literature was necessary.
To start with, here is what the first series of French phrases means:
“Je vois que beaucoup de gens meurent parcequ’ils estiment que la vie ne vaut pas la peine d’être vécue et j’en vois d’autres qui se font paradoxalement tuer, pour les idées, les illusions qui leurs donnent une raison de vivre. Ce qui peut être une raison de vivre est en même temps une excellente raison de mourir. »
“I see that many people die because they deem that life is not worth living and I see others that, paradoxically, get themselves killed for the ideas, the illusions that gives them a reason to live. What can be a reason to live is at the same time an excellent reason to die.”
These words are a direct exert from the philosophical essay The myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus who was a French author and philosopher belonging to the movement of absurdism.
Photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum
The same can be said of the second paragraph present in the song:
“D’un gérant d’immeuble qui s’était tué on disait qu’il avait perdu sa fille depuis Cinq ans, qu’il avait beaucoup changé et que cette histoire l’avait « miné ».”
“About a building manager that killed himself, people said that he had lost his daughter five years ago, that he had changed a lot and that this event “undermined” him.”
By now, it is clear that this essay by Albert Camus tackles the topic of suicide and the meaning of life as is common in the philosophy of absurdism. In fact, the book starts with the author stating that the only philosophical problem is suicide. With that in mind, we can clearly see a link between the song and all these quotes taken from The myth of Sisyphus.
Book cover of the first edition
Another interesting thing to note, is that the further the song progress, the more the quotes rises in intensity , and the closer it gets to the heart of the problem as shown by the extract present right before the fifth verse that present the conflict between the singer and Achilles intrusive thoughts:
“Des souvenirs d’une patrie perdue, de l’espoir d’une terre promise, ce divorce entre l’homme de sa vie… ”
“Memories of a lost homeland, hope of a promised land, this divorce between a man and his life…”
Finally, what makes these extract so fitting for this specific song is the fact that the band , Gang of youth, like Camus, opted to use an episode of Greek mythology to exhibit their answer to the philosophical problem of whether life, is in fact worth living or not. In Albert campus’s case, it was the story of Sisyphus, stuck in an absurd existence where he is doomed to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll back. As for the gang of youth case, they opted to take an episode from the lliad after the death of Achilles lover Patroclus.
In conclusion, we can clearly see that the French extract present in the song “Achilles, come down”, were specifically thought out to fit the songs and possibly the authors’ philosophical and artistic agenda.
In the streets of downtown, Limassol can be found a multitude of varied forms of street arts, some are murals, some, are sculptures but between the restaurants and shops of Saripolou square, Limassol, can be found an unusual piece of work. In fact, on a wall hangs a metal grid in which is embroidered the picture of a woman holding a thread on a blue background by the artist Iphigenia Papageorgiou. A work to behold by tourists and locals alike, this artwork is marked by the unique craft through which it came to be, as most people don’t usually think of embroidery as a form of street art. The mystery behind this form of art and Its creator can be somehow dissipated by seeking out answers from the artist hidden behind the art pieces found all over Cyprus.
When asked about the reasons behind her choice to work with embroidery, the artist answered by stating the following: “I have been using threads since 2016 on tulle and other forms of installation doing a line drawing portraits.”
But this raises the question of how she decided to bring this form of art to the streets, despite how uncommon embroidery is in this specific field of the art world. According to the creator herself, here is how it started: “I was influenced by my city’s street art scene as I knew a few people involved.” she said. “They have given me the chance to participate at Street Life Festival and then I turned the thread into yarn and then onto metallic fences producing that result.”
Finally, a lot can be learned about the future Iphigenia Papageorgiou has planned for herself and her artworks through the following: “I aim to achieve a sequence of my own style that would be my final signature and be known worldwide as an Urban embroidery street artist.”
On that note, it is clear that this artist’s craft and works are an innovative way of transforming embroidery into accessible urban art with the potential to make her a worldwide known artist.
The Belgium singer Angèle and the British singer Dua lipa shocked the world on the 6 of November by releasing the single “Fever”. The song released on dua lipa’s album, along with its music video, certainly turned out to be one of the most interesting singles of 2020.
For one, the duality between Angèle’s soft melodious voice and Dua Lipa’s deep timber made for a beautiful contrast. Each of them bought out the telling characteristics of the other and made for a very well textured sound.
The mix between french and English also added to the songs’ charm. It was very interesting to see Angèle and dua lipa sing in languages other than the one we are used to hearing from them. It added another layer of novelty to this collaboration.
Finally, the music video was a refreshing derivation from the extravagant and complex music videos fans are used to seeing on screen. The casual and intimate atmosphere found in the singers’ supposed night stroll in London touches on people’s daily lives. It feels human in its imperfections as well as in the conversations and night sounds let in to make it feel genuine. It doesn’t paint the artists as two international stars but as two friends just having some fun. With the pandemic around, people miss this kind of casual fun they used to take for granted.
All of these characteristics made “fever” a great addition to pop music.
If you, like a big part of today’s youth, have passed some considerable amount of time on the social media app tik tok, you might have stumbled upon some interesting videos. In fact, for today’s youth, tik tok is quickly becoming an outlet for their creativity. While browsing the famous for your page you might have stumbled upon an interesting video of someone, writing on a typewriter some poetry, stories, or quotes. Curiosity led a lot of people wonder, who is behind the typewriter? I got in contact with Alex Caralyen the 16 years old aspiring writer behind the tik tok account @suchalostsoul and she was willing to answer some of our questions:
Q:when did you discover you had a passion for literature?
A:I think I have always used books and literature as a way to escape reality. It helped me find comfort that I was not given in my life. It might sound strange but it felt as if the characters were drying my tears when no one else would. Eventually I started writing my own comfort fiction, giving myself traits and characteristics that I deeply wished I had.while I was doing that, I realized that I was not that horrible at it. That I do have a certain way with words. And I started writing more and more because the positive reaction from my fellow peers gave me a sense of validation and certainly helped my rather broken ego. Then, around four years ago, I realized that this is what brings me joy. This is what I want to do with my life. I want to write, I want to tell stories and from there on, it became my passion and it has been ever since.
Q:what inspires the themes found in your writing?
A:Most of my poems, especially my most popular ones often center around two topics. One of them being wlw(a women loving women), which is inspired by my love for women and many of the topics featured in said poems are based, although loosely, on my relationships. I think back to moments I have experience with my current and past lovers and try to find a way to capture those emotions in a few words. Examples of such emotions are denial, rejection, heartbreak but also happiness, euphoria, a sense of belonging. The other topic is often catholic guilt. I bring this into my poetry because people seem to enjoy it very much and although it might sound shallow, I do quite enjoy seeing my poetry be liked and adored, I think most poets receive some sort of gratification from it. But the topic is also personal as I was raised Christian and grew up in a generally Christian country while being in two groups of people who were very oppressed by the church and still are in some parts of the world. So I carry this so-called catholic guilt or religious trauma. Generally , I just write about topics I experience myself. Anger at the world, uncontrolled rage, painful sorrow, a deep depression, intoxicating epiphany. The poems often are inspired by the emotional state I am in when I pick up the pen.
Q:what would you say is your favorite literary or artistic movement and why?
A:Romanticism. Both in literature and art. I adore it. The painting, and the art in general, just cause a feeling in me that is hard to describe. I find it very aesthetically pleasing and extremely beautiful. It also has many pretty women portrayed which is certainly positive. I enjoy the literature as well because I often find other literary movements dry in a way or rather tiring. I find myself and my style of writing more in romanticism than in anything else. My style is more inspired by texts and novels from those movements. I simply find it beautiful to read and it helps me improve my style further.
Q:What is one ambition you seek to achieve through your words?
A:I seek validation, in a way, a reminder that I do have a talent when it comes to literature because I cannot give myself enough validation, I do not think good enough of myself for that. I also want to just please people. I don’t need them to deeply analyze it or think of some deep and hidden meaning of it. I like Oscar Wilde’s concept on this topic, to just enjoy the art for the sake of enjoying it. Liking a poem because it sounds pretty and makes you feel warm inside. Hanging up a painting on your wall because you think it looks nice. Not everything has to have meaning, you can just enjoy it. I want my readers to like my poems and get some sense of joy out of them. At the same time, I hope that my reader resonates with my poetry, that the ones about heartbreak and denial and sadness make them feel heard and understood. Let the pain be a pain. Feel it. Of course, I don’t want anyone to feel negative emotions but it can help if you read something and no longer feel alone in the darkness that surrounds you.
Q:And finally, why the typewriter?
A:I have found that the typewriter is a good way to present my poems to people in video format. It interests them and the aesthetic effect of it makes them stay longer or, forgive me for the poor word choice, vibe with it more. It is boring for most people to just read it in a picture when you are expecting a video but the unusually beautiful presentation through the typewriter is what they enjoy, so I decided to stick with it. Also, I do love writing on my typewriter. I think it helps me to motivate myself to write, simply because it makes me feel more like an actual author than just a girl juggling around with words.
If you’re curious about Alex’s writing, it can be found on tik tok and Wattpad. All the necessary information can be found in her tik tok account.
Situated at 110 Rue Amelot, 75011 Paris, this circus can easily be found. The moment after stepping out of the metro, the buildings interact and elaborate architecture calls well-deserved attention to itself. This circus’s interest doesn’t limit itself to the outside however. Here are some important things to note:
This circus holds a very old history. This circus,build in 1852, has been initially made famous by the Bouglione family who has owned the venue since 1934.they have since then offered people countless shows every year ranging from specific themed event to 2 casual entertaining shows a day. Many important french icon have since gone and watched one of such shows like edith piaf and charle aznavour.
Another of the circus important qualities is that unlike a lot of circuses it’s fully indoor and in an immovable structure strong enough to protect from the harshness of the elements. Hence the name “cirque d’hiver” translates to winter circus.
Finally, the prices of their show costs from as low as 10 euros. This makes it very accessible for a student, families or anyone on a specifically tight budget.
The louvre museum, similar to every Touristic and artistic center in Paris, is a place highly visited and sought after. As a direct consequence of that, it tends to be crowded during the holidays. Especially the days that are followed by the end of the holiday in question or by a day of the museum closure. For this reason, it is recommended for a person seeking to visit the museum to plan. It is important to choose the dates in which the museum is less likely to be crowded to make the experience more enjoyable.
Research the art pieces beforehand.
The most known painting in the louvre is undoubtedly Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Because of this painting’s fame, the first-time visitor tends to ignore the other pieces placed in the louver on they’re way to the Mona Lisa. Although, it is not the only notable artwork found in the louver. In fact, many important paintings such as Delacroix’s liberty leading the people, ancient Egyptian artifacts, and many more pieces get overlooked or ignored simply by ignorance of their importance. Henceforth, doing some research on the pieces worth seeing in louver will not only expand the visitors’ knowledge but also win the time lost typically in confusion to what to see next during a visit.
Take advantage of the map and audio guide.
When going to a museum, some visitors tend to overlook maps and audio guides as unnecessary. This assumption can be very harmful to a person’s experience in a museum, especially the louver. In a museum as imposing as this one, someone without the specialized knowledge might get lost and confused and end his visit without learning anything. With the help of the map and previous research, a visitor will know where to look and what to see. Once the art piece is reached, the visitor will be truly able to expand their knowledge and appreciation of the piece with the information provided by the audio guide, making their visit more fruitful.
If planning to see an exhibition, check the museum sites for information.
For certain exhibits in the louvre, it is necessary to reserve a place and buy a ticket separately from the initial ticket that gives access to the louvre museum. These reservations can be done on the official louvre museum site. It is very important to check the available dates and align the available one with the date of your visit. Some visitors visit the museum with the promise of seeing an exhibition only to leave disappointed that they couldn’t enter with no reservation. This tip is currently even more important to note considering the current Le Corps et l’Âme exhibition and the museum itself can only be accessed if a time slot is booked as a consequence of the spread of the coronavirus.
As most of you know, today is international women’s day. As such, I have compiled a list of movies that I think would be befitting of the occasion. These movies really inspired me and probably a lot of other people as young girls. Still do. With that in mind, I hope these movies inspire you or reawaken some of what you felt the first time you watch them.
1-“Harry Potter”:
What put this series of movies on the list is, to put it simply, it’s amazing female characters. From Luna to Hermione, all of them were strong, brave, unique and not afraid to say what they think or fight for what they believe in. As a young girl, I really looked up to Hermione. She showed me that girls can be whoever they want to be.
2-“Legally blond“:
Okay to put it shortly, this one taughout methat being feminine isn’t always equal to being dumb. It showed me that a woman can be smart, astute and competitive all while rocking heels and a pink mini dress.
3-“The hunger game”:
This movie showed me that woman can be warriors and leaders. It showed me that we have the power to braise the obstacles ahead of us and change the world no matter how hard it seems or how many sacrifices it takes.
4-“brave”:
Come on, I couldn’t abstain from including an animation in this list. “Brave” is one of my personal favorite Disney movies. It inspired me to be who I want to be and not be limited by what society thinks I should be.
Demi Lovato just recently released her newest song “I love me”.Considering the hype surrounding the teaser of the song released a day prior, it’s no surprise that people were eager to hear demi’s newest creation and that it ended up being currently #21 on trending. I, like any person with a healthy dose of curiosity and love for music, went and checked it out. At the end of the song, I found myself looking at the screen smiling like an idiot. This is due to many reasons.
Demi Lovato address in her newest song her insecurities,and how she’s always too harsh on herself. “’Cause I’m a black belt when I’m beating up on myself” as she put it. Despite this somehow dark theme, we don’t see the sadness in the song or the music video. Quite the contrary actually, it has a very lighthearted undertone. whether it’s the upbeat music or the delightful fight between the different sides of Demi, it’s not a dramatic song as much as it’s just someone wondering about “ when I love me is enough”.Plus, after the inner fighting, we see Demi out in the city, smiling and enjoying things around her, which only adds to that idea.
Furthermore, despite the lighthearted tone, we still don’t forget that the topic at hand is not one to be ignored as shown by the ambulance at the end of the video. Despite all of these experiences the singer goes through in the video, she is always smiling. Finally, the song’s bridge both acknowledge these insecurities and the fact that they are the product of her own imagination. “I’m my own worst critic, talk a whole lot of shit But I’m a ten out of ten, even when I forget” pretty much sums it up. Even Ariana Grande seems to think so as she tweeted “imam ten outta ten even when I forget”.
All of these aspects give us a song relatable and yet somehow light-hearted and fun. We’ve all struggled at one point in our life with our self-esteem and some of us are still struggling with loving our selves, which makes this song so relatable. Yet, Demi leaves us in a feel-good kind of mood. For us who see ourselves in her, she reminds us that we’re a ten out of ten even when we forget. That is why this new musical piece is relatable as well as strongly inspiring.
golden cult 