How experimental is it? — Music fans, we have musicians we hear from time to time. We may not play their music every time, but we give them a listen whenever they release anything new. I have many of those musicians, and Avenged Sevenfold is without exception. Starting as a metalcore and punk band in…

I almost renounced the procedure — For a few years, I wanted a hair transplant. Hair loss is hereditary in my family. My grandfather is bald. My dad is bald. It would’ve been great if male pattern baldness skipped a generation, but the gene lingered. I knew losing my hair wasn’t an option. Besides, I don’t…

A Preview of Elvis’ Life — “Hey, sorry to bother you, but where did you get that?” said the young woman on the bus. She was pointing to the blue guitar keychain on my backpack. It’s a keychain my mother bought me on her second trip to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. I told her…

or my mental health check-up — My first semester of college is over—four more to go. Fortunately, I‘m not worried— the years will go by fast if the first semester proves anything. I learned a lot in my first year. I majored in digital journalism to better understand journalism and improve my Medium blog. I learned…

This is Jerry Springer’s, Jerry Springer Moment — I’ll be straight with you. I’m not one for musicals. Hamilton is the only play I can tolerate. It’s scrappy, and it doesn’t miss its shot. However, there is another musical I can tolerate, Jerry Springer: The Opera. Another thing I have to be straight with you. You would think…

A final outing of a prolific musician — You’re restless in the middle of the night. So, you head to your massive library, where you have every iconic fictional and nonfictional text. You glide your hands through the books in the library until you land on one. You flip to a page about the fifth-century entertainer, Zercon. His…

More joy to a Happy Meal — My short bio isn’t a lie — I am an obscure media enthusiast. I’ve watched and listened to countless weird and non-pop-culture media to earn the title throughout the years. So, let’s prove it. My favorite obscure music? Easy. “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” by Napolean XIV. No…

Musically proficient and widely entertaining — While Europe enjoyed euro pop in the ’80s, composers made avant-garde jazz and rock. This German group improvised and unrehearsed their material. They were like the 1920s through 1940s freeform jazz bands in the United States. They garnered some popularity for their live shows, touring across Europe and North America…

Go, Speed Racer! Go, Speed Racer, go! — You, in 2008, had a few options for summer blockbusters. There was the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, Iron Man. The other option is Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight on the DC side. Or, if superhero flicks aren’t for you, give Speed Racer a try. The Wachowskis-directed Speed Racer…