“undefined.” | eli. 

This album got me through a really hard time and will have a soft spot in my heart forever. Eli Lucas, also known as eli., is one of the smaller artists I have written about, but he deserves so much more attention. He has a wide variety of music, but most of his songs are about love. “undefined” is eli.’s fourth album, and in my opinion, is his best. 

It came out in 2020 and features 18 songs oozing with vulnerability and raw emotion. The album is not afraid to show all facets of love through multiple perspectives and heartbreaking moments throughout a relationship. 

The album starts easy, with the songs “everything will be okay” and “easy” — no pun intended — two songs with a more upbeat tempo and a positive outlook on the world. “easy” is one of my favorite songs on the album due to its use of contraction. It starts with optimistic lyrics like “Don't try to run, don't try to run / 'Cause love will always find you” and quickly moves into “Pain will always find its way into your life” and “Don’t tell me your love is exclusive for me / Don’t feed me your lies just to make my heart beat.” 

The start of the song gives off a feeling of hope and optimism until you quickly realize maybe this isn’t as upbeat and hopeful as you first thought. 

While I think this album is perfect as well, there are two tracks I would skip, “IHATEYOU” and “catharsis.” These songs are beautiful displays of emotion but are screamo tracks that don’t have as much replay value as the rest of the album does. Regardless, I have probably listened to this album over 100 times. 
By far, my favorite song without a doubt is “someday, maybe.” Some of the most depressing lyrics to the most fun and wonderful beat creating the most enjoyable listen. This song sits you down and tells you, “It’s gonna be okay, you’re gonna be okay.” In all seriousness, I think the song captures the feeling of "not now, but maybe later" perfectly. 

The core of the song plays on the heartstrings of the age-old dilemma that love is easy, but timing is everything. As every piece of art is up to interpretation, I think the song is so beautiful in its use of expressing insecurities and eli.’s wishes to someday find each other again in the future. 

“Again” | Mac Ayres

Stop what you’re doing and listen to Mac Ayres’ music. His entire discography is some of the most soothing and relaxing songs I have ever heard. “Again” was just released on March 3 and is already one of my favorite songs of the year. Just 26 years old, Ayres began releasing music in 2017 and has quickly surpassed one million monthly listeners on Spotify. He has released two albums since then and is going on tour later this year. 

This song absolutely floored me. It is very ethereal in nature and is absolutely precious. A very smooth tone delivered with depressing, but gorgeous lyrics. The lyrics are really what set this song apart from so many others for me.  

“It's getting harder to pretend / The days they start so quick and somehow never end / Finally made it outside / The sun was dressed in red / I just wanna feel something again” leads into “There is a garden I must tend / Spend my time just finding tying up my loose ends / Flower growing toward the sun must learn to bend.”

Much of what Ayres says in this song is a universal feeling. I take it as a comment on seasonal depression and the struggles he faces with that. It is a quick two-minute listen but will leave you feeling empty and whole all at the same time. The song is delicate and intricate and deserves a lot of love. 

“The Way Way Back”

This movie is a perfect summer time, feel-good piece that deals with a young boy’s struggle of fitting in and dealing with family drama. “The Way Way Back” came out in 2013 after struggling to find funding for many years. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash not only star in the film, but they wrote and directed it as well as their directorial debuts. The film grossed over $26 million on roughly a $5 million budget, becoming a box office success for an independent film. 

The movie is about a 14-year-old boy, Duncan (played by Liam James), who has a hard time fitting in and has social anxiety. His mother Pam (played by Toni Collette) and her boyfriend Trent (played by Steve Carell) take Duncan and Trent’s daughter to their summer home for a couple of months away from the city. 

They are reunited with old friends and quickly the audience can tell the kids are miserable. The movie even notes that  “it’s like spring break for adults.” Duncan then spends the summer coming out of his shell, meeting new people and standing up for himself. It is a truly wonderful coming-of-age story that many kids can relate to. 

Part of the reason I love this movie so much is that there are no holes in the writing and the story. As a screenwriting major at Chapman, I always find myself thinking of the story of a film. This film has one of the best stories I have seen in a long time. It is a feel-good story with intricate characters and complex situations. Every one of the setups in this movie pays off and we are constantly rewarded for paying attention. It is now streaming on Hulu. 

“Fleabag”

This is one of the most unique, dynamic and creative shows I have ever seen. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a genius and everything she touches turns to gold. “Fleabag” has received an incredibly positive critical reception, being awarded multiple Emmys and Golden Globes, among other awards, for its performances and writing. The humor is a fresh breath of air as more content is released in this over saturated copycat humor era we live in. 

What is the show going for, you ask? Well, the show follows a quirky woman named Fleabag living in London in her 30s who is having a hard time in life. She has a tumultuous relationship with her family, she struggles to keep her cafe open and overall, she runs away from all of her problems. She is one of the most human characters I have ever seen. 

The situations are sophisticated and real and it highlights the trials and tribulations that people go through, including financial hardships, romantic struggles and simply life in general. The show’s handling of grief is unique in a realistic, but kind way. 

The comedy of the show is so fresh that it continues to age wonderfully. Fleabag constantly breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience about her deeper thoughts and uses it a lot for comedic purposes. This not only allows us to laugh at the thoughts we are all thinking, but it lets us get to know the character so much better. We learn exactly who Fleabag is right away. 

The show has no filter either. The humor is dark and runs wild. My favorite part of the fourth wall breaks is that the audience suffers the fate of everyone who gets close to Fleabag. The more the audience learns about her, the more closed off she becomes and the more she pushes us away. Later in the show, after not feeling understood by anyone, she is finally able to find someone who calls her out on what she is doing, making her understand the fault in her way. 

The show ran just two seasons but ended on its own terms as Fleabag’s arc had been completed. She transitions from a person who struggles with life into a mature adult who is not defined by her mistakes or grief. Fleabag is a once-in-a-lifetime show that ended at a perfect time. It is one of the few instances where a show ended because the story was complete, and money was not a factor. It is streaming on Amazon Prime.