Suzzane Collins: The Architect of Dystopian Dreams

 

We all know and love Suzanne Collin’s work. From the original Hunger Games trilogy published in 2008 to her most recent prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, she has stood the test of time as one of the most well-known authors in young adult fiction. She is a critically acclaimed author and the executive producer and co-writer in the screen adaptions of the Hunger Games trilogy and her newest movie, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. 

Suzanne Collins first began writing in 1991 when she worked on a Nickelodeon series called “Clarissa Explains It All.” From there, she was encouraged to start writing books by a fellow author, James Priomos. The inspiration for The Hunger Games sparked when Collins switched her television between reality TV and news about the Iraq War. After that, she ran with that idea until she developed what we now know as The Hunger Games.

Collins attributes her creative process to a simple routine focusing on writing with minimal distractions. She believes in writing about the things you know and love and leaning on the things familiar to you. Along with her simplistic writing process, she also likes to draw inspiration from real-world events and often visits local museums and historical sites. When adapting her work into a movie, she takes meticulous care in focusing on the book and translating the words into images on the screen. A big reason why her films were so successful is because she works firsthand with the production company to ensure that her work is the most authentic it can be. 

Overall, she continues to be a timeless writer who also comes up with new and innovative ideas. She has been able to build this vast and complex dystopian world that still resonates with children and young adults. She has built a loyal fanbase that has followed her journey from the first Hunger Games book to her prequels, which she is still releasing. I cannot wait to watch where she takes us in the future of Panem.

San Fermin: Crisis in Music

 San Fermin, described as a baroque-pop band, is a Brooklyn-based group known primarily for their first two albums, the eponymous San Fermin, and Belong. The band is a great example of the inspiration that creatives can find in times of struggle. Their bandleader, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, spearheaded the original album with the plan to record a one-off, large-scale collaborative collection of pieces. Recorded with 22 different artists and collaborators, the album features sweeping horn sections, impressive vocals, and a style that I couldn't even try to classify. 

After the takeoff of their first album, and the song Sonsick, they continued the project, dropping collaborators with each album and changing lead vocalists consistently. Currently, San Fermin has eight members, less than half of their original recordings. Though this might seem like a crushing difference, they have molded their style into something new with the change in personnel. I thought this group was a great example of how the collaborators on a piece or activity can drive their style. Their style has greatly changed, becoming a smaller-scale, quieter version of their original tunes.

This switch has not been well-received by listeners who enjoyed the likes of Crueler Kind and Bride, two of their popular songs, but I think it is an important lesson in how your music matures as you grow. While their first albums may have been exciting and intense, their move to slower, more acoustic pieces represents a maturation in their style and actually feels fitting for the band, considering the lyrics of their hit Sonsick. In it, Ellis confronts the struggles of getting older, settling down, and finding happiness in that change. 

In recent interviews, it seems like they have done just that, finding a method to better express themselves. Ellis mentions often that his pieces are inspired by the changes in his life, and anxieties he has about everyday life. I think this is a great example of how struggle can inspire creatives. 

Doudna's relationship with science feels this way - once she found a true passion and something which she could flourish in, it developed her skills and style differently than another dedication would. Similar to Doudna's inspiration from Darwin's natural science work, San Fermin is highly inspired by nature, and the natural sciences, with references in all of their albums to natural phenomena or the natural world. 

https://www.metradio.ca/interviews/interview-with-san-fermin/

https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/san-fermin-ellis-ludwigleone-interview-i-was-in-a-destructive-place-when-i-wrote-jackrabbit-a78526.html

https://bigtakeover.com/interviews/interview-ellis-ludwig-leone-san-fermin

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnelsonvillefest.org%2Fartist%2Fsan-fermin%2F&psig=AOvVaw2FrqYSbpmHonwSXt-TTqC9&ust=1743726009398000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCNDDzrbMuowDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapeconcerts.com%2Fevents%2Fsan-fermin-240504%2F&psig=AOvVaw2FrqYSbpmHonwSXt-TTqC9&ust=1743726009398000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCNDDzrbMuowDFQAAAAAdAAAAABA4

Introspection and Longing: Tokyo Tea Room’s Specialty in Music

     Tokyo Tea Room is a UK-based band formed in 2014 by a group of college students who quickly grew into the success they are today. The band consists of five members: Beth on vocals, Dan on guitar and background vocals, Ben on bass, Sam on drums, and Ryan. Each member plays an integral role in their dreamy, soothing sound. They identify with the genre of dream pop, which is categorized as a subgenre of alternative rock, characterized by key features such as breathy vocals, slow tempos, and introspective lyrics. Tokyo Team Room is often placed in similar categories with other popular bands such as Men I Trust or Rosemary Fairweather. They describe their own sound as “quite dreamy, glassy sounding with hints of pop” (https://whenthehornblows.com/content/2020/5/2/in-conversation-with-tokyo-tea-room).     

 

    Dan does much of the songwriting for the group, and in terms of the creative process, he does not take writing too seriously. He mentions in an article about how writing is often a product of having fun. This does have a slightly ironic tone since most of the lyrics found in Tokyo Tea Room’s songs are ones of longing and transience. With their newest album, No Rush, Dan mentions how it feels that every time they start a new album, it is like going back to the drawing board and constantly wanting to learn and cycle to be better. I personally loved this album because of the hazy guitar and how it almost sounds out of this world.   

The debut song, “No Rush”, is very serene with more emphasis on the vocals while the sound in the background flushes in and out. It reflects themes of patience and waiting for someone, along with the gratification of finally being able to reconnect. This parallels their next song on the album, “If You Love Her.” This song is much faster-paced and speaks about the anxieties of falling in love. The guitar cuts through the song and gives the song a spacey vibe, which makes it feel like you are daydreaming while listening to the song. The first time I listened, I got chills because of the instrumentation and their artful articulation of such a common feeling.   

My personal favorite work of theirs is “Forever Out of Time.” Throughout the song, you can feel the vocalist's passion through the introspective lyrics along with the astral guitar sounds. The lyrics reflect those of trying to move on and getting stuck in nostalgia. As I am getting older, I begin to understand why a lot of my older family members and friends are so nostalgic and ruminate on memories. They want to keep those feelings close and relive good times in their life. This song perfectly captures those feelings while also displaying the harm in it as well; you will never grow if you are unable to move forward.   

 

On the surface, it may not seem like The Code Breakers by Walter Isaacson and Tokyo Tea Room have a lot in common. However, one of the main messages behind many of Tokyo Tea Room’s songs is that of being patient and taking it slow, no matter how hectic the environment surrounding you is. Being in college, we often forget to take things a day at a time while trying to secure jobs or internships, studying for exams, etc. We are constantly looking ahead. The same can be said for science; there is such a high drive for innovation and excellence. However, major breakthroughs took time, and even though it was a race of CRISPR and gene editing, it did not happen immediately. It was years of trial and error before significant breakthroughs were made.   

  

 

 

 

https://www.famemagazine.co.uk/interview-with-tokyo-tea-room/ 

https://whenthehornblows.com/content/2020/5/2/in-conversation-with-tokyo-tea-room 

https://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/new-music/tokyo-tea-room-interview 

https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/whats-on/tokyo-tea-room-and-special-guests/