#Actually there's this one song on this one album I can describe the cover art but I haven't been able to find it. It was so good in Japanes

[hermitw]

I'm going to invest in building this itafushi playlist so hard

[laiqualaurelote]

Press Release: Spooky Action at a Distance Album Reveal

The London Music Register - Local Interest

Spooky Action At A Distance unveils cover art for their much awaited debut album

The Ambassadors meets The Breakfast Club

Perhaps even more difficult than snagging a ticket to one of SAAAD’s sold-out club shows is trying to describe the experience to your less-lucky friends afterwards.

Their sound defies basic mortal conventions such as genre, instead better described by critic buzzwords, namely, transcendent and explosive.

Four band mates of wildly different backgrounds and styles meet to produce something that’s both the ultimate sum of their ancestral influences and entirely, uniquely theirs. Their music unabashedly melds high and low art- what begins as a pop punk song flows seamlessly into an operatic verse, while another number features elements of a baroque dance suite in what can best be defined as a modern club anthem. Their lyrics are equally packed with esoteric references and universal emotions.

It shouldn’t work- but it does. And it’s delicious. In order to tide you over until the album release, we’ve got the first look at its cover art, and as a gift to fans, it’s visually indicative of the band’s layered sound.

Many of you may be familiar with The Ambassadors from school trips to the National Gallery. The painting’s a popular subject of debate for art historians due to its detailed subjects and metaphysical symbolism. It’s reproduced faithfully here, albeit with a few cheeky adjustments.

SAAAD frontwoman Crystal Palace (yes, that Crystal Palace!) takes the place of the leftmost figure, complete with lavish outfit and undeniable rockstar swagger.

Across from her, drummer Charles Rowland stands in a dark coat, sticks clutched in a gloved hand.

Bassist Niko Sasaki lays across the top shelf à la Molly Ringwald, dandelion-crowned head at Palace’s shoulder.

Center frame- the band’s ‘brain’: virtuoso Edwin Payne sits with a lute across his lap and the painting’s infamous distorted skull slashing across his legs. (Memento mori seems to be a prevalent theme in many of SAAAD’s songs, though they often turn it into a lively celebration)

Eagle eyed fans will notice a couple additions to Holbein’s instruments- a bear figurine, a lantern, and a cherry blossom branch among them. Are they references to the band’s lyrics? Hints at future projects?

One thing’s for sure, we cannot wait to see more of this group. *

Spooky Action At A Distance’s album is available for preorder at record stores all across London.

Next live show: Saturday night at the Catabasis (tickets required in advance)

Booking inquires should be sent to Jenny Green.

HELLO I LOVE THIS?! for those unfamiliar with The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein, it's a 16th-century painting most famous for the weird distorted shape in the foreground, which looks like an alien object but is an anamorphic skull that comes into view if you approach it from certain angles. It's absolutely perfect for this band AU, I am shrieking. my eternal thanks to you anon

I actually drafted, but did not put in the fic itself, the track listing for the band's debut album AFTERLIVES, complete with writing credits:

SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET (Payne)

ACES DACES (Rowland)

LEFT OVER RITE (Payne)

TANPOPO NO KAMISAMA (Sasaki)

STICKY CRICKET WICKET (Rowland)

GIRLS’ KNIVES OUT (Sasaki, Surname von Hoverkraft)

RESTLESS PIANO SYNDROME (Payne)

PICK UP WHAT YOU’RE PUTTING DOWN (Rowland)

BRACELET ABOUT THE BONE (Payne)

BURY THE EX (Surname von Hoverkraft)

LANTERN IN THE DARK (Payne)

STAIRWAY TO HELL (Payne, Rowland) 

(bonus track)

13. GOT THE HELL OUT OF HELL (WE AIN’T GOING BACK) (Payne, Rowland, Sasaki, Surname von Hoverkraft)

gig officially gigged

[bambieyedoll]

hii could i request a bella x singer reader. maybe something by taylor swift? <3

hi, love ! thank you for your request. that’s such a cute idea, i enjoyed writing this and i hope you like it too. ♡

⊹ 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 ໒꒱ ⋆ﾟ

music was everything to you.

you started your own youtube channel at the age of sixteen, uploading covers with nothing more than your guitar, which was gifted to you when you were a kid.

who would’ve thought that a couple of years later you were going to be working on your debut album? the popularity you gained with the support of your fans was turning your life into a dream come true.

you’ve been working hard on your songs and lyrics. some nights when the inspiration hit, you stayed up with your computer on your lap until sunrise. some other nights, you fell asleep on uncomfortable positions while writing sitting on your desk. you just wanted to show your gratitude.

thankfully for you, there was someone who had been by your side through the whole album-making process and sleepless nights taking care of you.

“babe?” bella called before entering your room only to find you sitting on the bed with the guitar in your hands. a small laugh left their lips at the sight, these days you were always found using your notebook, computer or guitar. without fail.

“today’s supposed to be your free day, young lady” they playfully scolded you with their hands on their hips before making that cute characteristic pout of theirs with their lips.

you two were inseparable from the moment you met. quickly became best friends but always wished you were more. everyone could tell except for the two of you who were painfully oblivious. it wasn’t a surprise for any of your family members when bella finally confessed and you became a couple. the laughter (and teasing) never ended that day.

“i wasn’t working, i swear!” you innocently smiled at them and looked down to the guitar. “i actually wanted to play something for you” your fingers gently traced the strings with a familiar feeling coming to you.

you remembered the night you met. two shy teenagers stealing glances at each other through the room full of people. your families were attending a neighborhood party and there they were. you noticed them but wouldn’t dare to start a conversation, too introverted for that. it wasn’t until your sibling introduced you that you learned their name was bella and from that moment on, your story started.

you came home that night and wouldn’t stop thinking about them. you were a mess of new feelings, everything in your life just turned upside down. as usual, you recurred to music to try and understand what you were feeling and that’s when “enchanted” by taylor was officially coronated as your most played song.

“it’s a special song to me” you let them know beforehand and saw how bella kneeled to sit in front of you to pay all their attention to only you.

bella made sure you knew how much they admired you and your art. your voice was their favorite sound in the whole world and if you asked them, they would describe it as an angelic, soothing lullaby to their ears. there was no doubt bella was your number one supporter. just as you were theirs.

you instantly smiled at their sweet gesture and when you looked into their eyes you could see it right there. the indescribable love you felt for each other and your source of inspiration.

with a small sigh and an open heart, you started playing your treasured song chords and your voice quickly joined.

(…)

“your eyes whispered “have we met”

across the room, your silhouette

starts to make its way to me”

bella’s shoulders relaxed as your voice filled the silent room. the delicate way you played and sang moved them deeply and they listened to every word you intoned.

(…)

“and it was enchanting to meet you

all i can say is i was enchanted to meet you”

you looked up at them as the melody went on creating a dreamy background for an intimate moment. bella could only blink as if they were in slow motion, their mind taking them back to the night they saw you for the first time.

(…)

“this is me praying that

this was the very first page

not where the story line ends

my thoughts will echo your name

until i see you again

these are the words i held back

as i was leaving too soon

i was enchanted to meet you”

(…)

the moment you finished, you slowly opened your eyes. you didn’t even remember when exactly you closed them. bella’s heart was beating like a drum, their fingers touching their lower lip as a “fool in love” type of smile appeared on their face.

“please, let me kiss you” was all they could say with a breathy tone before they stood up and tackled you to the bed. carefully laying the guitar on the side making sure you didn’t get hurt in any way.

your giggles filled the room as bella’s kisses went from your cheeks to tip of your nose to you chin and then your forehead. they pecked you a thousand times and you just stayed there giggling with your face squished in their soft palms.

@poeverse

[thesinglesjukebox]

THE KILLERS - "BRIGHT LIGHTS"

It's up to us now to turn on the bright lights...

[5.50]

Jonathan Bradley: Las Vegas, a mish-mash of anachronism and garish mythology. Wandering the Mojave Desert, Oedipus strikes upon the Luxor Casino, outside which stands a 106-foot high Sphinx. The monster threatens to devour our hero unless he answers a riddle. What goes as Simon Le Bon in the morning, Bruce Springsteen at noon, and Meat Loaf at night? Why it's Brandon Flowers, says Oedipus, and the beast is defeated. [6]

Alfred Soto: The Killers released an album in 2021. I didn't know -- until I remembered my review. When Brandon Flowers's got his dick stuck in his pants and he yells about highways of rebel diamonds and imploding mirages he sounds ridiculous and totally himself; when he insists on the midtempo plod and his doggerel is crisply sung he's another Las Vegas entertainer cracking his voice through "Born to Run." [5]

Jeffrey Brister: Yes, I am also familiar with the works of one Bruce Springsteen, and his compatriots, The E Street Band. One of the things that makes his music so good is not just the explosive wall of sound he and his band can generate (“Bright Lights” demonstrates this aspect to a serviceable degree), but also in his lyrics, which convey vivid emotions and a sense of place, history, context. They are specific. They don’t feel like placeholders or shortcuts to emotional resonance or easy references that confuse knowledge with pathos. They blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night! The screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways like a vision! Adam raised a Cain! This particular point is even more important if you are attempting to mimic his vocal mannerisms and tone. All that does is make people who are familiar with and have a deep love of The Boss want to hear the real thing, which is actually pretty easy, given that Springsteen is experiencing a late-career runner of two good albums in 2019 and 2020. This aping felt cute in 2006, but now it just feels like cover-band-calibre stuff. [4]

Harlan Talib Ockey: It feels almost unfair to fault the Killers for sounding too much like Springsteen, since they've released countless Springsteen pastiches over the years, but this one is unusually shallow. While it's a competent Springsteen impression, it's unclear what the Killers have added to make this song worth listening to rather than, say, actual Springsteen. The lyrics are a half-formed scenario that seems to be missing a narrative, a plot twist, or a point. Incidentally, though, they describe a rock star retreating to familiar territory. [4]

Nortey Dowuona: Sheree Brown got one hit around 1981 that apparently Brandon Flowers heard on his way back from the hospital, thus her turning up to turn out this very good Meat Loaf hit in the bridge. Worth it.  [8]

Ian Mathers: You just know Brandon Flowers did one of these when he realized just how many manly men would get faraway looks in their eyes at "there are things I would change but it ain't worth going through," and I say that with tremendous affection for him and this song. America's greatest Vegas band has only become more endearing as Flowers continues to animorph into a Springsteen/Elvis hybrid; ramping up the sonic bombast to match (those backing singers!) is a smart move. This is not at all what I thought the Killers would one day sound like when I was blasting the synth hook of "Smile Like You Mean It" at max volume back in the day. But damn it, for a minute there when Flowers insists that he thinks it's gonna be awright tonight, he makes me believe that he's right. [10]

Taylor Alatorre: A [6] if I close my eyes and imagine I'm hearing the Gaslight Anthem at their most fame-hungry and least Catholic-coded; [4] once I glance at the cover art and implode the mirage. [4]

Mark Sinker: The specifics, basically, of space opera: it didn’t have to real to be evocative and to connect, and outside a narrow span of New Jersey streets you likely had no idea what Springsteen meant, or if it even meant anything. “Fuelie heads and a hurst on the floor,” or whatever the hell it was: this fine and silly Tolkien street-gibberish that could lock you deep into what was very often — for you if not for Bruce — the purest pretend. Wrapped in goofy palatial grandeur, it was just fun and funny to say, and that was such a beginning. I don’t want to begrudge The Killers looking to centre their version of the same trick around Las Vegas — there’s entertainment in the idea and the trying, and even in making it more trashy and plastic and see-thru — but I honestly have no idea what it is I’m meant to be locking into here. It feels quarter-finished.  [4]

Katherine St. Asaph: The Killers, despite what the nostalgia-account-industrial complex reposts at you, are not universally seen as iconic (as my boyfriend pointed out, bemused, after hearing "Mr. Brightside" at a wedding and being moved to nothing). I will summon Killers icon-nostalgia in apropos situations (e.g., post-tweenage headbanging breaking out at a wedding), but it's borrowed and not strong. So maybe I'm not the most sympathetic listener when I put this on and hear a band that sounds completely washed. The sequins have fallen to the floor, smudged by shoes, glam only in past. [3]

Scott Mildenhall: You can't have your soul sucked by AI if you're already your own malfunctioning LLM. This is actually what now happens when you prompt Brandon Flowers to "play the Brightside song". And if you're asking the question, you may well still be happy with the answer, and the next answer, and the one after that. No wiring has ever been harder or more existentially attached. The Killers know that everything is the same, and everything is different -- and that that's where the joy is. [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[dreamsister81]

Hi! Found this answer on a Redit thread. Your take?

he was probably bi. My friend who i worked with at a record store went out to dinner with him and some band mates and Jeff had some drinks and came on to him. I also knew of a couple of his girlfriends in NYC. He was probably like many people open to many things. That's all I will say.

Then there's this long spiel:

I’m late to the party but I went down a hole with this last year after I too listened to ‘Dream of you and I’ and was like that felt very personal and astute for someone everyone seems to assume is het. I went looking here then too and couldn’t find anything so hopefully the next person like me will find this.

I’m a queer person and have always strongly identified and loved his music but besides just my personal opinion that many of his songs have that ~queer energy~ and coding in them I did find a couple of less subjective things. Unfortunately none which lead to solid answers but might make other queer people like me feel happy and satisfied with what we are seeing in him (people who are die hard 'he could never be gay blah blah he’s had all these gfs' are never going to come around but for the rest of us it might be enough).

First big one is this 1997 article published a month after his death. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-06-20-9706200305-story,amp.html it quotes him twice describing himself as a homosexual and gay. Unfortunately I can’t find the original articles from which the quotes are pulled for more context but for the most part... idk if we really need it. Feels to me like the author saw how he was being memorialised (perhaps knew him personally idk) and didn’t want this part of him to get lost. Here are the quotes in the event that article disappears one day too...

It's all about getting to a place where I can let my deepest eccentricities out," Buckley once said in an interview shortly after the Uncommon Ground show. "I just see things a little differently and express myself a little differently and I think it's because I haven't been in one place for very long (in four years, Buckley attended three high schools). So I was seen from my childhood as hyperactive, homosexual, weird, insane, obnoxious, offensive, funny. . . . It's a tremendous point of pain, my inability to relate to the status quo."

"I am a storyteller, lounge singer, I am the entertainer, I am the rock star, I am gay, I am wrong, I am there for the story to go down, the cocktail host-shaman, the little romantic chanteuse wanna-be," Buckley once said, trying to explain the image. He says he wanted it as the cover art for the album, but was talked out of it by friends and the record company. "All the men hated my Judy Garland jacket."

The article also mentions Judy Garland's jacket which he wears on the cover of Grace. Which would be my second obvious clue that he’s not a straight man. Idk how much you know about Judy but she was very much an icon in gay male circles at the time and prior - you can look that up if you’re unfamiliar and find plenty of info. He’s spoken about the jacket and other people have spoken about elsewhere too, you could look for more of that if you’re curious.

More directly from Jeff and related to his music is the Last Goodbye video which includes a clip of two men kissing. Pretty self explanatory. Whole video is pretty homo romantic tbh. Can’t imagine the record label was stoked about that if they didn’t even like the jacket. I imagine he would have had to fight to put that in which... why would you do that if you were straight?

Next I found some random forum thread (https://www.datalounge.com/thread/16719162-jeff-buckley) plenty of trolls and people being like no he’s straight and offering no real commentary but also some people who agreed. One gay guy who met him had assumed he was gay and didn’t find out he had a gf till after his death.

“Who actually knows? I met Jeff a bunch of times in NYC in 92/93. He was a nice guy. My BF went to NYU for grad school and I moved back there after leaving in 1988 when I graduated from there. Being back in the city, I threw myself back in the music scene. I would see him play and see him at other venues. I was 2 years older and liked Jazz. We mainly talked about music and guitars. I never asked, but always assumed he was gay. I was shocked when I found out that Joan Wasser was his girlfriend at the time of his death.”

Someone else there also mentions Judy Garland again and his cover of ‘The Man That Got Away’, you can listen to Jeff sing it on the Mystery White Boy live album. You could take his little intro to that song in a queer way too if you wanted.

Someone else in the thread also links to this 1995 MTV interview + outtakes video and just says “he seems gay in this video” which made me laugh but I mean.. they’re not really wrong. You should watch it either way because it’s a cute interview. https://youtu.be/vcxGwQKW6Ac

From the ‘In His Own Words’ book which fortunately and unfortunately is very obviously curated there are a couple things that are specifically queer. You’ll have to excuse any small errors in this, some of it is hard to read.

“Thanks for the beat, for the sumptuous rhythm you give that I continue at the silent handoff, watch me run baby. My baby’s got a strong right arm. The drag queen... such a queen, queen 4 my lust and juicy hope of happiness somewhere in this world... her back, her shoulders, her ecstatic downcast eyes that lead to her legs... just like my baby oh you should see her, you are both oh such the real thing, such the real thing... I smiled when you weren’t ready (word I can’t make out) the show and I brought you some (cut off page) kissed my cheek and it kept me (cut off page)”

“It’s something you don’t realize You’re funny that way Hatred and fascination Hatred and fascination

For the cultures closest to the earth For the lovers throughout history of the same sex For the feminine in all things For the body itself For the surrender and courage of the heart

DECODE THAT FUCKING EVANGELIST DEVIL DOCTRINE”

I feel like there was one more but I didn’t write it down and I can’t see it just flicking through the book again sorry - if I remember I’ll come back and add it next time I read it. There are other things in the book that also made me think he was queer but they were more subtle. Those are the two things that explicitly mention queerness. There’s also plenty in the book where he writes about sexual attraction to women or alludes to relationships with women so before someone comes at me about not acknowledging that - here I am. I will say though people who are gay have relationships with people of the opposite sex when they’re working themselves out, doesn’t make them any less gay. Also he could be any other variation of queer and be having relationships with people of any and all genders and identities.

You can read into all his lyrics or things he’s said in interviews or his general demeanour or whatever it is you want to. I could keep linking to what I recognise as queer coded but some of it’s more subjective and the rest of it is just too nuanced to try to articulate or argue on the internet.

Sentiment is basically that it’s very likely that he was gay or queer but that it was the 90s and that he grew up in the 70/80s - a time when being gay and out was not something one could comfortably or safely do much of the time. Especially not as a public figure. He was also very young, which unfortunately means maybe he never got to fully realise or authentically live out his queerness. Which really adds another layer of tragedy to his death if I’m honest.

If he was alive today with the evolution of queer language and general understanding we have now who’s to say how someone like Jeff - who was so obviously and openly in touch with his feminine side - would describe his gender identity let alone his sexuality.

Each to their own but if you’re queer and see yourself and your community reflected in him I don’t think anyone can accurately or definitively tell you otherwise.

It's all subjective opinion and an unsubstantiated claim imo...I don't think he was, but, as also claimed, "people that want to insist' won't be convinced otherwise...The Last Goodbye video...they seem to forget, or don't know, the part that involved Merri was inspired by Jean Cocteu who was, if the blurb I read is correct, gay... perhaps that was included to reflect that? Or maybe something similar was in something related to him that inspired? Who knows? They were also friends of her's, maybe she wanted them to be in it for whatever reason. They also miss a crucial thing: Jeff, to me anyway, did not think along lines, and may have acted in ways perceived as gay (hence being called so as a kid), but didn't think of it as being "gay" or "not gay", he just did whatever came, it doesn't necessarily mean he's gay...also, what they take as "codes" may not actually be (and people, please don't @ me, this is only my opinion and impression... I was asked, I'm replying, thanks)...

[light-lanterne]

Does sleep token have lore associated with the band?

hello !! there is a lot of lore, yes :O i'll try to summarise a little, but i really recommend doing some personal digging around ~

so, first, there's the basic notion of Sleep. according to the first and only interview the band's ever given (i believe a second is set to be released soon-ish), Sleep is an omnipotent eldritch god who once manifested himself through a dream to the lead singer, Vessel, who ever since writes music in worship of this ancient god based on the messages the deity conveys. the idea is that through their music, their tokens, the band is trying to touch upon the most primal human emotions and reach our hearts and subconscious with Sleep's message to prepare us for following him.

(this god is not really called Sleep, but his name is described as far too complicated for the human brain to translate and understand.)

then we have Vessel himself ! the band doesn't have many music videos, but from the ones we do have we are able to somewhat piece together some of Vessel's story (the character, not the actual man). so this way we have:

Vessel's first connection with Sleep ["thread the needle"],

the origin of his original mask ["fields of elation"],

he (and ii's) succumbing to Sleep ["calcutta"],

him (or Sleep) being corrupted and causing harm to someone [story is told in the "jaws" and "the way that you were" videos, but the lyrics for "nazareth" give context] and then lamenting what happened ["blood sport (from the room below)"],

Vessel exploring different parts of his subconscious and defeating his nightmares ["alkaline"], but being unable to rid himself of the memories in relation to someone ["the love you want", which then ties up to the video for "fall for me"]

(and that's it; those are all their actual music videos and a vague, somewhat-generally-accepted interpretation of them but !! you can interpret them however you wish !!! there are no right or wrong answers in any of this)

and then we have all the esoteric symbols and codes they use. from their logo, which supposedly translates to "sleep token" (but is actually a combination of a central gate-like symbol and the elder futhark runes dagaz (ᛞ), tiwaz (ᛏ), uruz (ᚢ) and eihwaz (ᛇ),,, or mannaz (ᛗ), tiwaz (ᛏ) and wunjō (ᚹ),,, or many other possible combinations x.x),,,

(here are two different interpretations of what it could mean)

,,,to each of the codes that accompanied their three full albums:

"sundowning" with some alchemic sigils that serve as art for each track in the album and have a bazillion interpretations,,,

"this place will become your tomb" with nautical coordinates hidden in merch and posters (which lead to "point nemo"), a cypher residing in the visualizer videos for the album (which hinted at the cover art for the third album), and bizarre oceanic creatures with interesting connotations (again, art for each track),,,

and "take me back to eden" with the eden code and the odd beings connected to each song ~

,,,so yeah. lots of lore and easter eggs and symbolism ~ :D

obviously, i could go on for longer but this is already quite long so i'll leave it here. thanks for the ask !!! once again, i encourage you to do your own digging if any of this caught your attention or if you're interested in the band altogether :] it's quite fun to look into their lyrics and cryptic messages and figure all this out ^-^

okie, i'll leave now. have a great day / night !!

[junostimz]

Intro!!!

Hi!! My name is Juno and I’m 16 years old from the uk!!

This account is just going to be stim boards!!

I don’t actually have a black list atm (THIS MAY CHANGE!!) the only thing I defo won’t do is YouTubers, Actors, Singers because I just feel odd doing them sorry:(( if I do deny a request I’ll explain why and add it here!! 🫶

I will 100% do!!

Movie/Tv show characters!!

Cartoons/Animes (children shows 100% yes!! Adult ones are hit and miss)

Album/songs!! (I will do the album/ song based on the cover and vibe🫶)

Toys

Art

Comics

Book characters (just describe them to me)

Litterally a vibe!! I can figure it out

Games (yes I will do horror but they will have warnings on them ofc)

If you have any other topic you want to know about dm me or comment and I can add it 🫶🥰

I have basic DNI if I find any hateful behaviour on my page I will block you immediately.

Likes!

My Little Pony

Super Mario Bros

Fnaf

Sonic

Pokémon

Marvel

Comics

Ninja Turtles

Jjk

Mha

Scooby doo

+ more

If there is anything else you would like to know please let me know and I will answer🫶

Dividers

Pinkie pie - kodaswrld

Eevee evolution - elfbar-baby

Wings - princessantisocial

[munchboxart]

Hi I'm making another long post talking whatever bullshit that comes to my mind because I'm insane I guess, this time it's music because I love music. I wanna say before hand, I have 0 knowledge in music so a lot of what I'm gonna describe is just my feelings

You also don't have to read through all of this, you can just listen to the music I've linked and that's enough for me :+]

Anyways I'm gonna be talking about JP songs from the early 2000s or late 1990s (Y2K?) that have this poppy, girly type energy. I'm mostly gonna talk about Serani Poji but I'll talk about other's that I've found too.

Ok so I learned that Serani Poji was originally created for SEGA's (I don't know how they keep finding banger musicians) video game called ROOMMANIA #203, which is crazy because I thought they were kind of an indie group like CAPSULE (I don't even know if that's true) or something. Anyways, a lot, if not all, of Serani Poji's songs were put in their later albums (I believe they're all in Manamoon? But there could be other albums too)

Manamoon by Serani Poji

What a banger debut album. To be honest, I think the only songs I really dislike is Manamoon, but the other songs really make up for it. Like "Octopus Daughter" and "Which one of the twins ?" are so fucking GOOD. And I think "Spiral Da-Hi!" is a perfect representation of what I imagine the idealization of the future would be like? If that makes sense??? Basically like The Jetsons. Also I really like this album cover art, speaks a lot of it's era. It's other album cover is nice too I think, I know it's very simple but it takes a surprisingly a lot of thought to think about the composition/placement of text and what colors to pick and the sizes (curse you Graphic Design class)

I'll talk about One-Room Survival for a bit, I think it's their most popular album? Though, I think that's mainly because of "Pipo Pipo".

One-Room Survival by Serani Poji

I think I like this album more than Manamoon? Or at least I think a lot of the songs here are more memorable/addicting to me (but that also may be because I spent more time listening to this album, I only listened to Serani Poji's other albums recently). "One-Room Survival" and "Where is Smiley?" are probably one of my most favorite songs in this album, especially the latter because I love humming the chorus (where is my friend Smiley????? !!!!!). Lovelabor is also really good, I love Bossa Nova type of music. Also I think this is my favorite album art out of all of Serani Poji's Discography? Maybe it's on par with Manamoons because I like it too, but something like this album in it's simplicity is really nice, and a lot of the songs kind of fit it too to be honest. Merry Go Round Jailhouse's album cover is cute too! I think they're all nice in their own way.

Uhmmm I'll talk about Ochamekan briefly since I haven't spent that much time with it

Ochamekan by Serani Poji

Ok admittedly I haven't heard all of the songs, but I do know that one of my favorite songs #2 Earthling Body(?)/Earth Human Body(??)/地球人のカラダ is in this album. #5 Coffee Shop at Night/夜の喫茶店 is also a really good song by virtue of it being kinda Bossa Nova (or maybe I'm just guessing that genre wrong,,,). Also I think this cover art is very cute!!! Actual blorbo

Ok that ends the Serani Poji section, I'll talk about the other albums I found and maybe mention at least 1 CAPSULE album since I've already talked about them before.

FAKEVOX by Plus-Tech Squeeze Box

I love this album art JHNGFDJKNGDFB ANYWAYS this entire album is a lot more... Hyper? Energetic! Upbeat!! compared to the other albums I mentioned. It leans more to like, Cutie Cinema Replay/Nexus-2060 by CAPSULE. Anyways I think #2 Early Riser is such a fun song, I'd love to make an animatic or animation with it. #7 ☆ is also one of my favorites, it's very cute! The ending song "Clover" Is another favorite, I've listened to it probably the most or just as much as "Early Riser", it's very sweet and nice to listen to while doing chores.

SUPER MIRACLE CIRCUIT by Sonic Coaster Pop

THIS IS THE ALBUM I'VE BEEN MOST EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT. I think out of the album cover art in this post, this has to be my very top (even though you can count every pixel on here). I don't know if this counts because I only started recently liking it, but I really like this type of Y2K visuals and music? IT'S FUN IT'S CUTE IT'S EVERYTHING!! Anyways, I LOVE how all the songs transition to the next one so smoothly. My absolute favorite song here is #3 Super Speed POP☆STAR. Definitely the most listened song on this post, I'd love to make a character design based on this song!!

The songs are pretty long but that's ok, It really helps with the transitions! Also surprisingly, Plus-Tech Squeeze Box has made a remix for them! I think I prefer the original but I love the title "go go EGG mix", that's so fucking silly behavior, let's be whimsical!!

OK so a break, I'll be talking about 2 more albums which are personal favorites. The ones above are a lot more recent albums I've listened to (excluding One-Room Survival) but these last 2 are ones I've had a lot more time with.

Second last album I'll talk about is from CAPSULE, which is the only band here that still makes music to this day I believe? Which makes me really sad, but it makes a lot of the albums here valuable/important, as they're a really good product of their time.

Capsule – L.D.K. Lounge Designers Killer

A Flying City Plan(?)/空飛ぶ都市計画 is such a great starting song. I really wanted to use it for my Frye Splatfest art for Team Aliens, but I went with the Nexus-2060 song "Space Station No. 9" since I think it and the album itself fit more with the "aliens" theme. Anyways, I believe this album is the most latest one on this post? That's ok, I'll give a pass to CAPSULE any time of my life. A lot of the songs here are more chill, very loungy LOL

Also same as always, I love all of the songs in here, I mean it's CAPSULE. It'd be easier to say which songs are the weaker ones for me, which is #3 Lounge Designers Killer (how come the title tracks are the ones to kinda fall off...), and #4 Twinkle Twinkle Poppp! But not because it's a bad song, I just think it's kind of out of place in this album?? Whatever I still like it, anyways #5 TIC TAC and #1 A Flying City Plan are my most favorite songs in this album. Also the little ending song is very sweet :+] <3

LAST THING TO SAY ABOUT THIS ALBUM, #9 do do pi do reminds me. A lot of Tunak Tunak Tun. and it's driving me kind of crazy because I don't know if anyone else also hears it.

Last album is an album I've listened to the most and one I've heard since I was 12. Maybe my most favorite album ever??

NAGISA COSMETIC by NAGISA COSMETIC

I am so... Distraught that they only released one album, because I think they've captured cuteness so perfectly?? NAGISA COSMETIC is a duo consisting of a model and designer, Ichikawa Nagisa and the other half of CAPSULE, producer Nakata Yasutaka. I can't express how much this album means so much to me, like I made my first animation to one of the songs here (#6 retort). I LOVE THIS ALBUMMMMMMMMM, and how I found it was through... OSU 😭 whoever mapped Cosmetic Happy, I love you, you changed my life.

And that's all! Thank you if you read all of this, but thank you too if you just went through the music, I appreciate your time :+] I also made a Google Slide of all the little aesthetics and music I like if you'd like to go through that. I need to update it though but maybe I'll do that next year and leave this one as a 2023 diary

Again, thank you for your time 🫶

[shinygoku]

Revolver (1966)

So, you know from my previous write-up that I think Rubber Soul is a little bit underrated. I think there may be a similar thing occurring here, as while it's more likely to be picked as The Greatest Beatles Album, it's still in the shadow of what comes right after and a couple of the later ones. Still, this is home to a couple of absolutely iconic staples as well as a few hidden gems. Deciding to scrap live concerts entirely, they could now dabble with The Studio itself to bring out new and exciting sounds. Load up yer bullets and ready the needle arm, we're on something Revolutionary.

The famous line art and collage made by Friend of the Band since Hamburg days, Klaus Voormann! Ya can't deny he gets their likeness, though George's direct look at the viewer with those lips is a bit unsettling for me personally. Still, it's what they call Art and the first cover that isn't a single photograph, we have iconic illustration and an eclectic montage here! Very cool ...if not something I'd want on my wall lol

SIDE ONE

Taxman: Remember how in the previous write-up for Run For Your Life, I complained about how dope instrumentals were bogged down by lyrics that sucked? Well it's a similar situation here! I'm Pro-Public Sector being funded by the Ultra Rich being shaken down for change!! I know the Marginal Rate was huge, but it was for those who could, like, actually afford it. Unfortunately that may include Daft Rock Stars, innit? .....Anyway yeah, the guitar shredding is really good but the cleverness of the lyrics is wasted by picking the wrong stance, so this ain't one I listen to that often. The music video on the official youtube is pretty visually interesting though.

Eleanor Rigby: A sad tale of an older lady dying alone, ya wouldn't expect it to be one of the most iconic songs by a band that's already made countless bangers about love and sex and rocking out, wouldja? And maybe it's because of that stark difference, and the song itself being so beautiful, that it stands out and even wins over Beatle Haters! The sound is best in the 2022 remix, obviously, but I like to watch the music video that was in Yellow Submarine for this song, where a multitude of different Lonely People are shown. But the fairly detailed story described without visuals really does tug at the heartstrings (apt that this tune has such a prominent String Octet, haha).

I think part of what makes this work so well is, not just the Tragic Narrative, but also the mundane nature. The allusion to wearing a mask of a false self in public, the bluntness of the apathy shown to strangers. Dreams that go unfulfilled, words that go unheard, your entire life being known only as you have a headstone, if that. It applies to countless people we walk by every day. And the irony of how Eleanor and the Father McKenzie might have been able to connect, but only actually have contact when he's performing her lonely funeral. Owch.... a great song but Not a fun one!

I'm Only Sleeping: First of all, I MUST endorse the painting music video that's also on the Official Youtube. Even if ya've heard this song countless times, you have gotta See it too!!

Anyway, gorgeous strumming and a steady drum balance the slower pace of this number. John's vocals are serene and drowsy, matching the feeling of having a lazy morning in a comfy, comfy bed. The way the music pauses and starts back up with increased tempo, the backward guitar (!!) and how the song starts to repeat itself from the beginning again all give it such a beautiful, distinct vibe, and again it's pretty faithful to that feeling when you doze off and lose track of time.

Love You To: After George's previous song being blazing electrical guitar set to complaining, this one is quite different! Very sitar heavy and introspective, with a very slow start for a while before kicking off with the vocals. It's not really my bag, but I can appreciate the artistry in it, at least. After such a long intro the outro feels pretty abrupt, too.

Here, There and Everywhere: This also has an animated video on the Youtube! It's nice but oddly rotoscopes Help! (Movie) footage among other things, it doesn't feel as Bespoke so it's optional as far as I'm concerned lol. Anyway! Paul does a Beach Boys! It's a pleasant, serene ode to a nebulous woman but, while I like it, it doesn't have quite the memorable staying power other than that it sounds like another band did it. Sorry for being so mild, Paul! I just like others ya did more!

Yellow Submarine: YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

A real Marmite of a song, innit? I adore it, myself~ It's deceptively complex, hidden behind what could be seen as a monotonous, repetitive lyrics sheet, but for those who listen not only with yer ears but your heart and soul as well, you'll enjoy it :3

Even without reading Pro-Community or Escapism subtext within, the base level of a children's song with pretty described visuals and creative, clever sound effects over a catchy base tune with Ringo's vocals really make a song that's more than the sum of its parts. No wonder it did so well as the Title Track and Main Vehicle of the animated movie! XD (Also, as a Supermarionation Fan, I sure suspect Thunderbird 4 was inspired by this number as well as the practical truth that yellow is the most visible colour under water~)

She Said She Said: The LSD in this one is very apparent lol. A bit of mystery lurks in no one knowing if Paul actually played on the final version due to some undisclosed drama. The ......metre? changes partway in and (as always) the instruments are groovy, but again I'm not wild about it and wouldn't notice if it were cut lmao

SIDE TWO

Good Day Sunshine: This hits a little different when hot days are very annoying... but I can't fault this song for the massive shift in climate! I do like how upbeat and jolly this is, the piano offers an interesting flourish and some good harmonies and cymbal crashing.

And Your Bird Can Sing: This is the song I always think of when mulling over Hidden Gems by the Beatles. It's 2 minutes of Rock Perfection and yet it's chronically overshadowed by so many others! While there's much debate over who or what "your Bird" may be, the actual thesis of the song is about deflating materialism and pride, which is cool. The guitar shredding, rhythmic percussion and that triple harmony with "you tell me that you've heard every sound there is" make this such a delight! I think that particular vocal sync may even be the best I've ever heard, it's sooooo great~

For No One: Paul's at it again with 'Maaaan dating Jane Asher isn't doing it for me' songs! However I think this is the best of them lol. Very engaging piano and clever lyrics about two former lovers who now feel mere indifference for the other. Somehow they've drifted apart and it's only a matter of time until they admit defeat and make it formal, but we're not there just yet.

Doctor Robert: This is weird cause it's based on the real dentist the lads used, who spiked John and George with acid and in general seems like the most cartoonishly suspicious kind of nightmare who you really don't want to be left in charge of your numbed body, what the fuck?! I mean the song itself is pretty rockin' but dear GOD do I hope they cut that dude out once the drugging came to light. I'd be hiring some fucking Goons to scare him rather than writing a ditty about the situation, but I guess their ways of coping differ to modern times... oh right, the music? It's good, duh! I'll highlight Paul's Bass as being a very Groovy fixture~

I Want To Tell You: This one I tend to forget about entirely lmao. George at it again, good piano and drum work... I think the Bridge is good but the main song doesn't do much for me. Another "well it's not Bad, but..." number. Huh, sorry George, I know songs ya made that I adore but they ain't here...!

Got To Get You Into My Life: Ska?! In The Beatles? It's more likely than you think! But I actually prefer the "Second Version" that one may find on the YT or Super Deluxe edition. This main one sounds a little overpowering with really loud brass and Paul's voice seems to be filtered. I loooooove that it's a declaration of devotion to Weed instead of a person this time though, while cunningly woven to fly under the Morality Police radar.

Tomorrow Never Knows: This is more Art than a song, and I mean that in a good way! The completely unique Sounds and the experimental Techniques, Ringo's beating on them drums..... it's just really fun to listen to~ Mere words don't work so well for this one XD;;;

CONCLUSION

Best 3: Eleanor Rigby, I'm Only Sleeping, Yellow Submarine

Blurst 3: Love You To, She Said She Said, I Want To Tell You

Hmm, picking the Blurst was really hard this time and now it looks like I have Anti-George sentiments, which I don't! But it's less the choices there are Bad and more Not For Me. That's part'a why I've been saying Blurst this whole time instead of Worst, the subjective aspect can't be ignored...! And maybe I'm showing a little Bias in the Best category, but again it's painful to hafta discard bangers like And Your Bird Can Sing for anything, but I love me some Yellow Submarine just that much more ^^;;

I already used the line, but fuck it; Revolver is indeed Revolutionary. (Read that in the Devious Diesel voice Ringo does, please~). The studio tweaks done to increasingly Sophisticated music really marks a change in the landscape, not just for these Bugs, but the medium as a whole. That kinda sentiment persists with a lot of Beatle Moments, of course, but I think Revolver represents a real point of no return.

🪲🪲🪲🪲

Next month, we'll be (checks notes) ah, instead of The Beatles, there'll be a new group 『サージェント・ペパーズ・ロンリー・ハーツ・クラブ・バンド』. I hope you tune in anyway, as they're very well regarded! A splendid time is guaranteed for all~

[velvetvexations]

OMG YOU'RE BACK! :D Also are those Icon For Hire lyrics I see? 👀

It and Make a Move are the only songs of theirs I know lol. There are bands I like a lot but a huge percentage of my saved music is like one percent of any given band's discography because for a very long time I didn't actively seek out music other bands did and with few exception mostly listened to whatever just waltzed into view and that's still kinna my default mode.

I remember really being into Michael Jackson and Tub Ring when I was in my preteens or thereabouts, and then Blue Oyster Cult awhile after that. Blue Oyster Cult and Tub Ring are still very important to me, Michael Jackson is more difficult for obvious reasons but coincidentally all his songs on my playlist are covers - I swear I didn't even do that on purpose, I just really like those specific versions.

I was a huge fan of Hollywood Undead but Day of the Dead was a disappointment that deflated a lot of my interest.

I fell in love with Falling in Reverse around the same time and their first three albums before Radke leaned more into rap will always be a core part of who I am despite him betraying me personally as a trans woman with the things he's said.

MSI is more difficult - I loved them for years (having found them because they had a minor connection to Tub Ring) and then Jimmy Urine getting sued for what he did was pretty bad, especially since just before it happened I was describing to someone how his unique and distinctive voice in particular was a major part of their appeal.

The Orion Experience I discovered was the center of grooming allegations literally like a day or two after discovering them and being like "holy fuck this could be my new favorite band ever". I had to just sit there, slowly process the information, then take a deep sigh and resolve to separate the art from the artist.

But most stuff I like doesn't come with those issues.

I think if I were to list my "favorite" bands/musical artists, it'd be something like, in no particular order, BOC, Eminem, Poppy, Lemon Demon, Britney Spears, Three Days Grace, Tub Ring, and Ronnie Radke (which I phrase that way because my favorite of his is actually Situations from when he was with Escape the Fate). But that only gets across a very small slice of the music I like, you know?

For some reason I'm especially picky about rap. There are rappers I like, certainly, not only am I a huge fan of Eminem but - as unfortunate as it is in retrospect, the rap equivalent of FIR/MSI/TOE - getting real into Kanye in, I think, 2014-16? Somewhere around there? Was a lovely experience. But generally, I can give you a lot of rap I like and almost none of it is by the same artist.

Anyway, I started listening to Get Well specifically because I wanted to branch out because Make a Move inspired a character (or at least the direction I've taken her in, she was kinna a minor NPC before this) in my writing. She's a singer in a band and I was like, oh, in this universe Melody Priest wrote Make a Move and it was a really big hit for her band, the Gods of Pegāna.

.

[anyways-wonderwall]

Eurovision Special!

I would just like to start this by saying woah. I have been keeping up with Eurovision for the past 7 years and have written about the last four, and this is easily the biggest shitshow I have ever seen. Never before has my Twitter been solely about Eurovision, and never have I seen Americans actually kinda care.

Just to make it clear from the beginning, Israel should not have been in this competition and should never be invited back after all they did this year, although we all know that since they own Moroccan Oil they will never face any consequences. Not only that but their song this year sucked! It got the lowest rating from me this year, even putting controversial stuff aside.

Anyways, it is time for the annual tradition of me telling you what my five favorite songs were and what I thought of the entries this year. If you've read any of my other Eurovision posts (I've reviewed 2021, 2022, and 2023), you'll know that I go through and grade all of these songs on a spreadsheet through a very objective rigorous process. I grade on five categories (which are eerily similar to what the jury does): Singer, Song, Catchiness, Performance, and the bonus points category Diversity. The max score is technically a 40, but that last category can and has put some songs over the edge. Oh and this ranking is based on how much I like the song, so the order may not fully match the scores.

All the drama aside, this was one of the best years song-wise for Eurovision (this was definitely the hardest its been to rank the songs ever). I think countries are starting to understand that being quirky pays off, so now we're getting real song diversity and really amazing performances. Also, Eastern Europe really gave it their all this year and I cannot thank them enough. (Oh and all of these songs, minus Croatia, are NOT IN ENGLISH!! Truly an incredible year)

5. Netherlands - Europapa by Joost Klein

Score: 35/40

Notes: good energy song itself is meh

Final Ranking: uhhhhhh, that's a long story

Look I get it, this song truly embodies Eurovision in every way. It's in Dutch, one of the silliest languages out there, he's out there wearing crazy outfits and has a silly haircut, its a euro-techno hit, he has the emotional angle since it was dedicated to his parents; this is one of the most perfect Eurovision songs to enter. All that aside though, its not that interesting or awesome as a song. The main riff is incredibly catchy and the production choices with the piano are pretty cool, but it just feels like a rip off of the silliness of last year's "Cha Cha Cha," down to ending in a boring techno breakdown. I think this song is a clear response to that (down to the shoulder pads) but it still is pretty good and did a great job making this year even crazier than anyone thought possible.

4. Greece - ZARI by Marina Satti

Score: 33/40

Notes: I've never been more flummoxed

Final Ranking: 11th

This song on the other hand, is one of the most interesting things I have ever heard. Marina Satti as an artist and this song has been occupying my thoughts nonstop, because what the hell is happening here. It's like Rosalina-style cumbia got lost in the East Mediterranean and the music video leaves me even more confused. The crazy jumps from Arab traditional flute sounds to strings to a cumbia baseline to a men's choir, to a melodramatic echoey bridge? I took a whole class on writing about music and I can't find the words to describe this one. And all of her media around it uses 2005 word art fonts and clip art? And she is serious about everything the entire time. Everything she does is hilarious and off the wall, yet she continues the persona of a pop diva. I seriously cannot get enough of her.

just want to point out that this is one of her real album covers. The word icon doesn't cover it.

3. Armenia - Jako by LADAVINA

Score: 41/40

Notes: Trumpet player hot or not

Final Ranking: 8th

Speaking of icons, look at these two! I really think this year was countries really embracing their native genres, whether that be Eurodance, Mediterranean Cumbia, Eastern European Emo, or Armenian folk music. This song just truly embodies fun. The lively beat, the screaming and yipping, a crowd cheering, the wailing trumpet, the random instruments whispering in the background. Listening to this makes you feel like you are a part of the coolest party ever, with flute and ukulele solos, and freedom to yell as loud as you want. I cannot get enough of this song and the energy these two bring to it, and I am so glad Armenia picked an absolute banger to represent them this year.

2. Estonia - (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi by 5MIINUST x Puuluup

Score: 44/40

Notes: EASTERN EUROPE IS BACK BABEY

Final Ranking: 20th

This song is just awesome, in every way. You have this weird Estonian string thing, voices so low that it sounds like throat singing, all mixed with that kind of techno that feels so intrinsically Eastern European. The music video has them driving around a Soviet-style building complex just messing around in abandoned warehouses and parking lots. This is what I'm talking about when I say that countries are going back to their roots and not just trying to send what they think is the most marketable. I see this as a sequel to Moldova's entry last year, which involved a Eurovision veteran with some new faces, mixing old and new to make a masterpiece that has so much personality.

Croatia - Rim Tim Tagi Dim by Baby Lasagna

Score: 43/40

Notes: Meow cat, please meow back

Final ranking: 2nd!

Look at this guy, he looks like someone who you would love to bring home to your parents and would like cats. He wasn't supposed to compete for Croatia this year and was put in last minute and I'm so glad because my life would have been so much darker without this banger in it. It's a classic emo anthem about leaving your farm-filled hometown to go to the big scary city, but he doesn't take himself too seriously with a name like "Baby Lasagna" and a chorus of nonsense words. The music videos as sped up farmers dancing and a cat that looks exactly like mine (both one-eyed and orange), and is a perfect mix of vulnerable and silly. This really seems like someone who was genuinely making something fun and expressing himself, and just happened to almost win Eurovision in the process.

Here's to hoping Eurovision actually happens next year after everything that went down, and if you're curious my least favorite songs were the offensively boring entries from Israel and Albania.

[eyrieofsynapses]

tagged by @falderaletcetera, tysm!!! <3 been a while since I've done one of these. I am So Fucking Tired rn and this is actually a good thing bc I won't overthink this (...as much as I usually do), y'all get off-the-cuff Synapse for once.

Favorite color: blue! Blue blue blue, doesn't really matter the shade, but particularly the color of the sky (ik it's tempting but don't go there I'm too tired rn) just after sunset, the deep rich blue.

Currently reading: Stars, Hide Your Fires by Jessica Mary Best (aka the fabulous creator and writer of the podcast The Strange Case of Starship Iris). I'm adoring it! Queer lesbian sci-fi murder mystery heist, hell yeah. Also the PRETTIEST cover art.

Last song: "Far East Suite" from the first album of the original soundtrack for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, because the show has a gorgeous soundtrack and several songs are on my instrumental wind-down playlist.

Last series: The X-Files. No I haven't finished it, probably won't because holy shit it's so long. I enjoyed the first season and am feeling meh midway through the second one; it's a bit dark for my tastes, but I love Scully and Mulder's dynamic. I've put it down for the moment because of a lack of time and some of the episodes were getting to me (which is just a generalized problem for me, not the fault of the show).

(...I just realized I actually last rewatched an FMAB episode for brain cooldown. whatever, X-Files is the new one)

Last movie: oh boy. Rocky Horror Picture Show, because it's the Halloween season and thus a queer club tradition; I've seen most of it before but this was my first full watch. Friends described it as a fever dream, which is frankly a wild understatement. Wouldn't dream of watching it on my own, definitely fun to watch it in a room full of other queer people who are whispering jokes, especially when some of them haven't seen it.

Currently working on: uhhh soooo many things. Minecraft house? (I play single player peaceful/easy to unwind.) I just finished oxidizing a bunch of copper for my ceiling (I am a perpetual hobbit hole/hobbit-hole-adjacent person bc fuck exteriors) and it looks lovely. Oh, actually, bubble elevator to get up the massive cliff side I'm stuck next to. Tis the season for experimenting whether or not I can get a mule up and down it.

ok I needed to be in bed ages ago and I got things to do. off to Be An Adult (The Horrors) but first:

taggin some peeps ik and some random peeps from my activity: @mahpotatoequeen @glassfullofsass @jadenebula @hepalien @eater-of-hopes-and-dreams @spill-that-anxietea @snowglyphss (and @magiclynx I see you have already been tagged but I am poking you anyway <3)

[rodeoromeo]

How did you first get into CSNY? If you want, you could talk about each of them individually.

ahhh thank you for asking this! It's kind of not an exact story, because in a way I've always been "into" CSNY because I've been familiar with them musically for a while, but I only recently became extremely obsessed with the band members.

I've been a fan of Neil Young's more popular music since I was a kid, because my parents are fans of his. (They've seen him in concert three times and they actually saw CSN one time. the jealousy). My earliest Neil Young memory is looking at the cover of their Mirrorball and Harvest Moon CDs.... I didn't know anything about him as a guy for a long time though. But who wouldn't be compelled by this image

who is he.....

In a roundabout way I've been a Buffalo Springfield fan for much longer than I've known anything about CSNY too, because my personal entryway into my obsession with 60s/70s music and culture was the Forrest Gump soundtrack (thank you to my parents' CD collection again). That happened nearly 10 years ago (that origin story is also kinda wild and very formative I think I've half talked about it before)

I sort of tripped into picking them up this intensely right now. A few months ago I bought Stephen Stills' self titled album at a record store at the same time I was getting the Monkees Greatest Hits because I though if he's good enough for Peter Tork he's good enough for me (hilarious), and strangely enough realized there were a lot of songs on the album I already knew that I just didn't realize were his. So I've been listening to that album a lot a lot for half a year almost.

I also became obsessed with finding Deja Vu on vinyl because I was deeply into Our House, and it wasn't that hard to pick up. I quickly had like... a religious experience listening to it one night so they really started to get their hooks into me. I think a lot of my obsessions actually start due to deep emotional experiences and shifts rather than some calculated coherent thought.

The easiest quickest answer is that I started reading CSNY by Peter Doggett. My Dad read it a few years ago and I remembered him enjoying it so I picked it up and its been really really interesting learning more about each of them, and thats where I kind of started to fall in love with them all and their stories (especially Neil and David who I also just . fell in love with deeply and developed huge crushes on . hi guys)

Also sneaking into two Neil concerts last month really cemented Him for me. He's got a world of respect from me and easily became one of the most significant artistic voices in my life right now and is getting me through a really tough time in ways I can't even describe. Art that saves you... its a gift you can never repay.

TLDR; I've always been into them, I'm newly into them, they've always been here, they're showing up in new ways for me every single day. They're a representation of a part of history and a movement of art that has been a part of my soul since I was a kid, they're a fresh thing breaking through the cycle of pain and apathy I'm living in. They mean a great great deal to me.

[oblivions-arts-culture]

ENVY'S TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2022 -part 1

No one asked and none of you know who I am but I made SO MANY spreadsheets and lists about this, so!!!!!

10

Wet Leg’s breakout single Chaise Longue could have been their whole legacy, a novelty-adjacent one hit wonder who never captured that magic again. Except they did; and I actually think they did it better on a lot of the tracks on their debut album. The excitement around the Isle of Wight’s premier indie rock act is well warranted, and their debut LP delivers on the promise of their viral hit. The humour never runs dry, the energy persists through to the last note, and the fun never stops. It’s been a long time since a debut album made me so excited for the next one.

10

(yeah I couldn't choose. This is a top 11 xoxox)

It’s hard to pin down exactly what’s so captivating about this album. It’s enchanting on a surface level, a gorgeously written and utterly unique post-rock project filled with alluring idiosyncrasies. But I don’t have words for the beautiful, ethereal something in the heart of the album that keeps me coming back. Maybe I’m entranced by the swirling mix of guitars and brass. Maybe it’s the vivid but abstract tapestry of Isaac Wood’s lyrics, enthralling in their oddness but relatable in a way I don’t know how to describe. Maybe I’m trying too hard to make sense of my love for this album, but we all know snow globes don’t shake on their own.

9

I have very little to add to the discussion of this album, save to add to the chorus of people singing its praises. Though I can understand why Kendrick Lamar’s latest record has been somewhat divisive; it’s certainly not an easy listen, but it’s a deeply rewarding one. The strength of Lamar’s conceptual vision runs like a rich vein throughout, adding a theatrical element to even the musical arrangements that elevates the work without taking away its sting. Lyrically, the album touches on every touchy topic under the sun. It’s challenging, at times deeply uncomfortable, but also truthful, and nuanced in a way that so many attempts to diagnose our age have lacked. He’s also getting bonus points for the best song about Being Trans a cis person has ever written. Same Love by Macklemore this is not.

8

Don’t let the minimalist album cover or the lofi, rough-around-the-edges production fool you: Adrienne Lenneker has fit the entire universe into this double LP. Big Thief step well beyond their comfort zone on this record, and out into the cosmos beyond with swirling, almost shoegazey guitars that blend seamlessly into more straightforward folk and country without missing a beat. This is an album about finding the small, mundane joys in life, and filling them with love until they expand into the celestial. But in spite of the grand scope, the album art still sells the vibe; it’s the whole universe, but it’s about the view of it all from beside a warm campfire, surrounded by friends. It’s sweet, it’s heart-wrenching, it’s at times bizarre, and it’s in a league all of its own.

7

If Big Thief takes the beauty of the mundane and makes it celestial, Friendship has chosen to preserve the mundanity in its retelling. That may sound like a criticism – and certainly more cynical listeners may write the album off as boring – but I promise you it isn’t. Appreciating the little things is not always about finding a life-affirming revelation in every cup of coffee. Sometimes it’s about taking things as they are, no matter how boring or unglamorous. There’s something deeply comforting about Friendship’s expression of this reality through stark, alt-country instrumentation and the blue-collar emotional truths in the blunt imagery of their lyricism. As the year went on I found myself returning more and more to this album’s down-to-earth roots.

6

From the year’s least-flashy album to perhaps the year’s boldest stylistic statement. The quality and creativity of the production alone on Death’s Dynamic Shroud’s latest LP would have been enough to land Darklife a spot on this list; there really is nothing like the sound of this sprawling tapestry of experimental electronica. But what keeps me coming back is the strength of the songwriting that production is draped around; each track is its own world, with multiple ideas bouncing off of each other in ways that at times sew mesmerising chaos and in others offer striking, impossible moments of cathartic clarity. This is an LP that is begging to be experienced as an LP, a project even grander than the sum of its parts. If you want just a taste though, Judgment Bolt is the year’s biggest banger.

[coldgoldlazarus]

Had another weird dream

First part was irrelevant and would slightly dox me, so leaving it out.

But then the second part was weird, because I was a morph ball, stuck in some sort of cramped like, computer rewiring/electrical breaker room with like, several layers of ice on the non-electronic walls. I bombed out a passage through some of the ice and wound up in a parallel room with a similar setup, and from there discovered a third one another couple meters past that. But then, on bombing out my third tunnel out of that room, I discovered that the far end was blocked by a different type of material, and there were a bunch of multicolored switches and lights sticking out of the ice in here.

I switched out of Morph Ball form (and for some reason was Me, not Samus) and crawled in for a closer look, only for like, a spotify interface to pop up in the corner of my vision? It pulled up a song called "Spin Cycle" which had a ton of weird breaks in the like, progress/time bar, and was done by Cryoshell of all people? It was on apparently an entire Metroid-themed album they had done, with the cover art being Samus in her Zero Suit, and the infant Metroid, having been blown out into the vaccuum of space (somehow looking perfectly fine though) from a big space station looming in the background, big spotlights from the hull backlighting them and the metal debris around them.

Anyway, it seemed most of the other songs on the album were more conventional lyrical songs, but Spin Cycle was special in that every couple of lines, for a moment two of the lights in the tunnel I was in would suddenly light up, and I'd have to choose one of the adjoining switches to flick before they went out again. If I missed the window, that part of the song would just loop again (thus the name, I presume) but if I managed to get it, the song would progress to a different set of lines with its own pair of lights and switches at the end. Like a choose-your-own-adventure book but for a song.

According to the comments, (because for some reason in my dream, Spotify now had a youtube-style comments section for songs) there was no way to actually get the song in one-to-one order to how the progress bar ordered each section, much like a choose-your-own-adventure book, no matter which permutation of switches was flicked, it would be skipping back and forth a bunch.

And then someone else pointed out that like, hidden in the background music with each cycling pair of lines, there was a distorted and slowed voice saying a single word each time, along with listing a bunch of permutations of the song they had gone through and thus different orders for those hidden words, which sometimes formed an almost coherent sentence, and sometimes was pure garbled nonsense.

There was another comment saying that this song singlehandedly fixed Other M and Nintendo should have gone with Cryoshell's vision for the game from the start, but I can't for the life of me remember any of the actual lyrics so just gonna take their word for it lol.

Also, after flicking all the switches on and completing the song, the wall at the end of the tunnel opened, and I emerged, for some reason, into what I can only describe as a neon-cyberpunk-aesthetic farmer's market.

And then I woke up.

[dancing-to-architecture]

31 - The Stooges - Fun House (1970)

Damn, do i love that cover art.

Among the godfathers of punk rock, depending on who you ask. One of my favorite albums when i was in the military, which may shed some light into why i wasn't exactly the best-suited for being a soldier.

•Down on the Street-

Do i know what Iggy's saying here? No. Does it kick all kinds of ass anyway? Yes.

•Loose-

Drug muling? Pegging? Just drunk?

Idk. Just stick it deep inside, he's loose.

•T.V. Eye-

The scream intro gets me pumped EVERY. TIME.

This song is subtly dirty as all hell if you know what "t.v. eye" is shorthand for, and i love it for obscuring itself just a bit instead of being too obvious and ultimately gross, like some other songs i listened to today.

•Dirt-

The trip is starting to turn. Introspection begins looming up out of the haze. Self-reflection, like a fire, is just as capable of illuminating as it can be destructive.

This is the song that made me realize that i love this band.

•1970-

"Out of my mind on Saturday night" describes most of my 20s, but i feel alright.

The saxophone once again proves itself as the unsung hero of rock in the truly chaotic outro.

•Fun House-

Horny as hell, and I'm not talking about the trumpets.

But, it also has lines like "every little baby knows just what i mean/ Livin' in division is a shifting scene" which is true and raw as hell, but at the end of it, Iggy came to play.

•L.A. Blues-

Utter chaos.

The trip has gone fully sour, and your best friend is actually the Devil.

Screw the Doors, *THIS* is The End, not just of the album, but of an era.

Lashing out at the entire world for 5 straight minutes, a sonic "fuck you" to the misguided and ultimately worthless hippies of the 60s, and the movement that they went nowhere with.

One of my all-time favorite albums. Possibly one of the best rock albums of all time. If you haven't listened to it, do so.

Favorite Track: Dirt. It's long and dark and it's starting to get scary, but that's what makes it so damn good.

Least Favorite Track: N/A.

Every single song on this album whips ass. Granted there are only 7, but they're ALL good.