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snkpolls · 4 years ago

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SnK Episode 67 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 254 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

RATE THE EPISODE 246 Responses

The response to this week’s episode remains overwhelmingly positive, with 97.6% of responses giving it a score of 3 or higher.

This is the first episode where I have absolutely no criticisms, so im quite happy with how it turned out.

Voice acting was top tier

perfect

Emotional

Great Job! I'm glad my favorite character's death was so emotionally misered.

Forget Attack on Titans, this episode was Attack on my Feelings ! 😭

I want to rate it a 1 because of Sasha but a 5 because of how well it was done... so 1.5

Absolutely loved it

Perfect

ASIDE FROM SASHA’S DEATH, WHICH MOMENT WAS THE MOST EMOTIONAL FOR YOU? 247 Responses

Connie’s heartfelt admission to Jean seems to have stolen the hearts of the plurality of responders (36%). That is followed by a tie of 18.2% responses noting Eren’s breakdown or EMA’S tense reunion as the most emotional moment for them. In third place is Gabi’s tragic declaration about her struggles with 11.3%. Other responses were, in order, Jean lamenting all of the deaths occurring, Gabi and Falco realizing that Zeke betrayed them, Hange scolding Eren for forcing the SC to intervene in Marley and Levi and Eren’s confrontation.

Connie telling Sasha and Jean that they're special to him made my heart hurt knowing what was going to happen mere minutes after. I honestly saw me and my two best friends through them, and it was gut wrenching seeing Connie and Jean's reactions. Even Mikasa's reaction broke me, to be honest. They all lost a huge light in their lives.

WHICH MOMENT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST? 222 Responses

So this question was meant to only go on the anime watchers poll and ended up here somehow. Thanks to the 222 who were good sports and responded anyway! :P The most shocking moments that took place in this chapter/episode was the revelation that Eren went rogue from the Survey Corps, that Zeke was collaborating with the Survey Corps, how the Survey Corps treated Eren, and that some Paradisians seemed to be turning to nationalism, in that order.

Not sure why we're being asked as manga readers which moment shocked us the most since we already knew everything that was going to happen this week

HOW MUCH DID SASHA’S DEATH HURT YOU? 249 Responses

When it came to Sasha’s death, it would appear that it broke the hearts of the overwhelming majority of responders, with 81.1% giving it a rating of either 4 or 5 on the tragic scale.

Broke my heart and I'm still crying over it three days later. Honestly though, it was greatly done.

3 years later it hit me, Sasha is dead ;_;

Cried my whole soul and body. Rip sweet Sasha

I thought Sasha's death would've been more emotional.

WHOSE REACTION TO SASHA’S DEATH AFFECTED YOU THE MOST? 250 Responses

Sasha’s death elicited various reactions from the main cast. Two different responses tied at 36.4% noting Connie and Mikasa’s reactions to Sasha's death as the one affecting them the most. This was followed by Eren’s at 13.2%. The rest were, in order, Armin, Jean, Levi and Hange.

I don’t cry at fiction much, but Sasha’s death got me more than I thought it would. I feel like seeing Armin and Mikasa’s reactions in particular is what got me.

The way they animated Armin and Mikasa bawling over Sasha's body and the inclusion of Call Your Name made it all the more emotional. I think by "Assassin's Bullet" they also meant a bullet through my heart because man did that hurt to watch. 😭🤧

WOULD YOU PISS YOUR PANTS IF LEVI WAS GLARING AT YOU WITH MURDEROUS INTENT? 248 Responses

A bit of a joke question, but we wanted to know if Levi appeared as threatening as he seemed. 80.2% seems to think so, admitting their incentive to piss their pants. In contrast, 19.8% don’t think the Captain’s such a scary guy!

THE FULL VERSION OF “ASHES ON THE FIRE” BY KOHTA YAMAMOTO (THE PREVIEW SONG) IS NOW OUT. IF YOU’VE LISTENED TO IT, WHAT DO YOU THINK? 236 Responses

“Ashes on the Fire” has been released to rave reviews, with 88.1% of responses giving it a 4 or a 5. Nobody gave it a 1, either. Yamamoto-san, thank you!

OVERALL, HOW WELL DO YOU THINK MAPPA ADAPTED THE MARLEY ARC? 251 Responses

In spite of the relatively vocal complaints about the adaptation of certain elements of the Marley Arc, it would appear that the overwhelming majority of responders seemed pleased with it, with 51.4% giving it 5 and 37.1% giving it a 4. 1s not present.

I've been a bit bothered how Mappa follows the Manga like a slave, using the panels as scenes and not adding anything in between. Sure it works for Manga, but it feels weird to me to watch in Anime how Eren grabs Armins hand and they don't give a transition where Armin pulls him in, but just show him inside the airship next. Just little things, but bothers me a bit. Overall I'm really enjoying their choices.

The show looks BETTER

I was fine with the episode. The quality of animation dropped but I understand that every scene cannot be animated on highest level. MAPPA has done a great job with the Marley arc. They shown the character development and bonds between the warriors perfectly. We had some cuts here and there but overally was okay: 8/10 for me.

I’m so pleased that MAPPA has taken the anime. I’m still more of a fan of this particular series’ manga than anime though.

DID SASHA’S DEATH AFFECT YOU MORE WHEN YOU READ THE MANGA, OR SEEING IT ANIMATED WITH VOICES AND MUSIC? 249 Responses

As noted above, Sasha’s death seemed to be a hard hitter for most. Comparison of the adaptation vs the original allows to discern which hit the readers/watchers the hardest. Just one percent shy of a majority (49%) thought that the anime made it much more tragic. 30.9% noted that the impact was roughly similar across both mediums. On the flip side, 10.4% thought that the initial depiction of it in the manga was the hardest hitter. There were also a couple of write-ins.

I dont remember I sped run reading the manga, kinda regretting it

I knew it for the first time in the manga, so it had a more powerful impact (I cried for a whole week. Not kidding) and the anime managed to make me cry as hard as in the manga. Though, I already was aware and grieved so it wasn't as bad

Got Spoiled :( so kinda meh, saw it coming

When the music kicked in after Connie announced she was gone, my heart broke into a million pieces.

Let's be honest, Sasha's role was over after she killed the titan in the village and saved Kaya. After that she was just there. She got zero development, zero important moments, zero depth. Her death effected many characters and helped them to develop. Sasha's death was sad but at least brought some important changes in others.

Not a Sasha fan so I was not really that affected but having a death in the series always feels sour

I think for me, they're both even.....mostly. There's just something about having been waiting for the chapter leaks on reddit with a bunch of other people and most of us collectively grieving at the same time. Once bigger pages of the chapter started coming out, it made me cry. I didn't even cry during serumbowl when I first read it and that had plenty for me to be even more upset about.

Honestly while reading manga I hated that Sasha’s last word was „meat”, it seemed so ridiculous. I’m happy MAPPA made it look more serious with music. Actually everyone’s reaction for Sasha’s death had more impact on me than the death itself

HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SAW GABI KILL SASHA IN THE MANGA? AND HOW DO YOU FEEL SEEING IT AGAIN NOW, KNOWING HOW GABI’S ARC DEVELOPS? 247 Responses

Gabi is perhaps the most controversial character introduced post-time skip. Whether you’re a proud member of the Gabi Gang, proud hater of the 12 year old or just a neural party, everyone can admit that. With Sasha’s death at her hands, many seemed to offer up their opinion on the kid, back then and now. A slight plurality, 31.2%, stated that they did not hate her back when 105 first released and they don’t hate her now. 23.1% note that although they were rather upset with her back down, they are not (upset/angry) any longer. On the flipside, 25.5% state that they still hate the kid, as they did back then. Finally, some were simply neutral. Classic.

Quite a few write-ins, as well.

I hated her in the manga but after watching the anime, I’m not happy about it but I understand why she did what she did and don’t hate her as much anymore.

I was extremely upset about it before and am still extremely upset about it now, but for different reasons. I hate her less but am not any less annoyed by her brainwashed hatred of the Paradisians, although I understand her much better and realize and empathize that she's just a kid who's been used by her country in the worst way.

Gabi Braun Must Die

Broke my heart and was upset, but understood where she was coming from (thought about her perspective only)

Sasha shoulda killed this cunt while she had the chance

It’s war, she did as she needed to. Her arc is fantastic

love hate relationship

I didn't like her but not because of Sasha death (that's war consequence) and it's the same now

I really hated her with my whole heart and soul, but now that it has been all explained, that she had character development, I even like her now

I used to be angry about it but I understand why now, Gabi is just a victim of Marley’s control just like anyone else is, it’s a shame this is the results of it. She’s still at fault but I can’t hate her so much for it

I feel tired of Gabi hate. I disliked her in the manga back then but now I feel neutral towards her, because she has changed. Yet, I wish she took less screentime.

SORRY for ranting! I don't understand the hate on Gabe. Yes, I know she killed a Paradise character which was present in series since its beginning and I understand Sasha's fans are upset Sasha is not here anymore because of her. but those people do not analyse Gabe as they should be. Every character belongs to a different side and each side is blinded by what heir belives in. It is okay to not like Gabe but I don't tolerate hate on her. I THINK THIS QUESTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN INCLUDED AT ALL.

Initial hate, understanding after some thought

Understanding her situation I know I shouldn’t hate her, but I’m choosing to be petty and hate her anyway

I liked her much more than I like her now. She was a much better character back then, her killing Sasha (a one-note comedic relief) was cool and brought some spice to the story. Now she just exists to spout themes and convenient exposition and to be an aimbot

i dislike her, even if i understand her

I dont like Gabi. Never did. It isnt because she killed Sasha tho. I just dont care for Gabi tbh BUT i can totally understand her actions and do not blame her for it after seeing the destruction and killings

I was and still am upset about Sasha's death, but from the start I blamed it more on the circumstances than Gabi.

I loved her then, I love her now and it probably wouldn’t change even if she killed my favourite characters. She’s my cinnamon roll

Gabi did nothing wrong, killing a soldier in the battlefield is not a crime.

See, I WANT to like Gabi since she's obviously changed, but knowing she killed Sasha nonetheless will ALWAYS prevent me from having any love or respect for her. She will always be my most hated character

MAPPA ADDED AN EXTENDED SCENE OF FLOCH AND OTHER SURVEY CORPS RECRUITS BEATING GABI AND FALCO. HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? 240 Responses

MAPPA added an extra scene of Floch and Friends raining down copious amounts of gratuitous violence upon two 12 year olds (MAPPA is pro-child violence???????? Find out when 111 is adapted). 48.8% seemed to think that it was a decent addition, even if just for the SC’s characterization (or perhaps you enjoyed seeing that?). 22.5% thought it was a bit over the top to feature. Finally, 16.7% did not care.

I didn't like it. But, it was def a believable reaction from them.

I just wish it was enough to kill her

I liked the additional characterization of Floch & co.

Great addition, it was implied in the manga so the scene fitted well. Still, it was horrifying to see how vile the scouts were to two kids

How about an option where we're glad Gabi got beaten to a pulp but not when Falco was?

ORA ORA thing, but we viewers get hurt too.

Didn't feel bad about Gabi getting beat up, but I did feel bad seeing Falco get beat up. Poor boy didn't deserve that

A nice addition

I thought it was a great choice to highlight the continuing violence and feelings of vengeance from both sides even more. and I thought it contrasted really well with Jean's decision not to throw the kids out of the airship.

The people glorifying this scene annoy the shit out of me

It's a good way to hint the "Yaegerist" perspective to anime onlies

MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA

The Gold Experience memes are funny

It was an IC scene for people like Floch + I feel bad for the kids

The way they shot that scene made the recruits seem like mindless, gross-faced animals storming towards the kids to beat them up. I liked how they were dehumanised like that, considering that most faces amongst them belonged to the ones who support the rumbling.

It hurt to see that but good scene though

Feel empathy for Gaby. Violence don't solve problems

Now THAT'S what I call fan service! Who needs big-boobed, big-ass females or shirtless guys with and when you can just have the most hated character get the tar beaten out of them xD

I can see why they did it. MAPPA's not dumb and I'm sure they anticipated a massive onslaught on hate towards Gabi specifically, so it was their way of trying to satisfy the haters. Falco didn't deserve it tho.

It was a good addition

GREAT JOB MAPPA

I hate Gabi too but that was too much beating up a child, yet it also showed how shit Floch and the others are.

Apparently some people never noticed that Gabi and Falco got beat up, probably because it happened in the background. So it was good for MAPPA to call attention to it.

I love Gabi but she had that coming. No need to hurt Falco though. :(

OVERALL, HOW WELL DO YOU FEEL MAPPA EXECUTED THE REVEAL THAT ZEKE IS A TRAITOR TO MARLEY? 240 Responses

The reveal that ZOOK has been working against Marley for years on end is one of the most important ones in the series, really. So it was important to have it be executed in a rather decent manner. The vast majority of the fandom thought that MAPPA did a fine job. 52.1% gave it a rating of 4, 27.5% gave it a 5 and 17.1% gave it a 3. The couple of the other respnders gave it a 2, with no 1s.

IN THE END, DO YOU THINK EREN’S ACTIONS IN MARLEY WERE ULTIMATELY JUSTIFIED? 242 Responses

A question to remember… Were Eren’s actions in Marley ultimately “justified”? A plurality, 44.6% seems to think so. In contrast, 24% disagree. And 31.4% still aren’t sure to this day.

SIMILARLY, DO YOU THINK THE SURVEY CORPS WAS ULTIMATELY JUSTIFIED IN TREATING EREN AS THEY DID? 244 Responses

When it comes to the SC treating Eren as they did, the division is much less pronounced however. The majority, 60.7%, think that the SC had quite the justification for treating Eren as they did. On the flip side, 19.7% think that there was such justification for behaving in such a manner towards Eren. Finally, the same amount of responses stated that still can’t be sure to this day.

NOW THAT WE’VE GOTTEN A CLEAR SHOT OF YELENA, DID MAPPA DO HER JUSTICE? 243 Responses

YELENA is here. Queen 👑. Or well, maybe not. Who am I to say? In any case, her appearance was received well. 52.7% thought MAPPA did very well and 33.7% went on to declare their love for her. Just shy of 10% noted that MAPPA could have done a little better though.

Kinda wish her hair was like neon or something idk

Need more eps of her to decide, she didn't get much screentime and lines here.

I don't like Yelena, but yeah I guess they did good.

In the manga she was a creepy-looking person. MAPPA made her unique, interesting and mysterious. I love her voice and her stoic, relaxed self. MAPPA did a good job.

QUEEN!!!!!

Great adaptation but I still don't like her as a character

Don’t care about her

don't really care

I hate her and I don't care about her.

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 247 Responses

Such a colorful chart for this one. It would appear that slightly over a quarter look most forward to seeing Crykasa at Sasha’s grace. Slightly less (21.9%) want to see Sasha enjoying Niccolo’s cuisine. In third place is the scene with Connie, Jean, Mikasa and Niccolo at Sasha’s grace. The rest are, in order from most to least, Onyankopon and Yelena teaching the Survey Corps about the Port, EMA talking at the shooting range and Hange and Armin learning about Marley’s technology.

HOW HYPED ARE YOU FOR THE UPCOMING TIMESKIP FLASHBACKS? 239 Responses

The time skip flashbacks seem to be a hit. A little over 51% are super stoked about seeing them animated. Slightly under 24% state that they’ll enjoy them, but are looking forward to other things more. In contrast, 22.6% are ready to go crazy (from a positive standpoint)! Wooo!

Enjoying AND dreading it at the same time

I just want the centipede

Boring. The only thing what interests me is Historia teasing Mikasa about her crush on Eren. The rest is too jolly.

I'm looking forward to see Yelena's insane self be animated. That, and more Zeke.

THE MOST RECENT LIST OF FUTURE EPISODE TITLES SHOWS THAT EPISODE 12 WILL LIKELY END AROUND CHAPTERS 109-111, LEAVING CHAPTER 112 (EMA’S ARGUMENT) FOR EPISODE 13. EPISODE 67 WAS ALMOST ENTIRELY ADAPTED FROM CHAPTER 105, PROVING THAT ADAPTING DIALOGUE-HEAVY CHAPTERS FAITHFULLY CAN EASILY REQUIRE THE FULL 20 MINUTES. WITH ONLY 16 EPISODES - AND SO MANY WHICH ARE DIALOGUE-HEAVY - DO YOU THINK THINGS WILL END OFF WITH THE INITIATION OF THE RUMBLING (CH. 122), AS HAS BEEN SPECULATED BY MUCH OF THE FANDOM? 238 Responses

The manner in which the Season will end is a mystery to even the manga readers. Where will it end? Will it have many cuts? These are the questions. 36.6% seem to think that MAPPA will somehow manage to both end it at Chapter 122 and cut as little as possible. 26.5% don't believe ending on 122 is possible. 12.2% do believe MAPPA will end the Season on 122, but only with many notable cuts. Finally, just a little under 20% are simply not sure. There were a few write-ins as well.

I hope not, too many cuts would be required

The is no way they're making it up to 122, at first I thought they were going to finish it off with Eren's head getting blown off in 119, but now that seems like a reach too. Now I think MAPPA is probably going to end this first half of the season with Eren and Pieck's "where is the enemy?" and the warriors arriving to Shiganshina

I’m not sure right now so I’ll have to see for later episodes for the cut-off point, if it isn’t the Rumbling then it’ll be when Gabi shoots Eren

MOVIE

I'm conflicted. I'm sure they'll end at rumbling because it's the only reasonable point to cut it, but I feel like they're running out of episodes. Then again I'm feeling the same about the state of Manga, there's just too little chapters left to end things up well.

I don't really want to think too much about it, I just want to enjoy the anime lol

I fully expect 119 to be the end

What was the point of rushing Reiner's chapters if you are going to slow down later. Goddamn it MAPPA.

It'll really depend on the pacing for the next couple episodes, but I'm with a bulk of the fandom that see Chapter 119 Two Brothers being the end point for The Final Season. IF they were to skip the opening and maybe the ending, I can see them transitioning from Eren's head getting blown off immediately into his transformation and the beginning of the Rumbling. But even that is quite farfetched.

I have no idea, I'm a little worried now. Wouldn't be the first time a lot of content gets cut but if they insist on reaching ch. 122, I just don't see how you do that without butchering a lot. If that happens, it would probably lessen my enjoyment of the season.

Yeah, I think it will have a lot of cuts, but I believe that it will get there because Ymir falling in the tree was in the trailer

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

It's amazing seeing how each week, something with SnK trends! ^^

It still baffles me just how much people insist on hating Gabi, especially when her arc has shown tremendous growth in the manga. Reiner was no better than her when he was a child and continued to insist that Paradisians are devils and chose to further destroy their lives even after sleeping under the same roof as the 104th for 3 whole years and forming personal bonds with them. Yet, his actions are forgivable but Gabi's are not? Both characters have shown remorse for their former beliefs and misdeeds against Paradisians. Both realized that they were in the wrong. The characters have forgiven Gabi. Why can't y'all do the same? People who want Gabi to suffer are no better than they accuse her of being.

Well done episode which managed to capture the emotions of sasha's death perfectly

monke

I really appreciate Gabi as a character. She has spunk and a strong character arc in which she changes and grows more than anyone in the last 30 chapters of the manga, save maybe Mikasa (ignoring how Eren, Reiner, Armin and maybe a few others changed during the timeskip). It makes me sad seeing people wishing for her to die and praising Floch and the others for kicking her.

Gabi absolutely deserves the hate she gets

I absolutely love to see the anime-onlies mass hate of GabBitch, does my heart good xD

Boring ,too much Gabi she is annoying

Time to strap in: wild ride ahead!

Gabi Braun is the WORST character, her arc was poorly written and the moment she kills Sasha solidifies her rightful place as most hated character

No development has made me stop hating Gabi. The wound of Sasha's death will ALWAYS overshadow any crocodile tears Gabi may cry.

Kudos to Jean's and Connie's voice actors. Emotions were so raw and natural.

so good! they're really nailing down the emotional beats so far!

Dialogue-heavy but still amazing! Also the music was great

I didn't felt anything when Sasha died. Even the first time, in the manga. She hasn't enough personnality for me to care. Erwin and Bertolt's death were more saddening for me. Stop hating Gabi. She was in grief and she did what Marley brainwashed her to. And Sasha killed people right in front of her, so…

1 chapter was too little to be adapted for an episode, you could tell some scenes were stretched to fit the runtime

The music they chose for the scene of Sasha passing was also the same music they used when the Survey Corps first donned their capes and Eren found out Marco was dead... man, that song is gonna hit harder than ever now

It didn’t help with the overwhelming amount of hate Gabi is getting. I hope Mappa does her justice because she’s a great character but the Anime only seem to hate her because its a “funny” “popular” thing but it really isn’t... shows who really is paying attention to the story and the people who are watching it because it’s popular and trendy

People who are hating on Gabi do not understand the themes portrayed in AoT

Pretty solid overall. Wonderful bits of animation such as the ODM bits and the solid character acting from Sasha going down, Mikasa and Armin is distress, personal highlight being Gabi's reload animation. Good ost choices, nice addition of Samuel and Daz to foreshadow their conflict later on in the story, and great work from Connie, Gabi and Eren's VAs.

Friendly reminder that just because we hate Gabi does NOT mean we don't "understand" the story or themes. We just don't care because Gabi is a bad character.

U mad at Gabi for what she did ? Did she kill Potato girl for no reason? Imgine a kid, at least 3 years younger than the 104th, made fighting on WARS and praised for it, brainwashed by Marley that Paradisians are devils, and these devils came in her home, killing her friends and this WOMAN killed in front of her eyes two people who tried to protect her. Don't be mad at Gabi. Grieve for Sasha, okay, but stop hating Gabi. You're the worst when you do it

Hey Gabiatans: as long as you're not threatening the VA or other RL p olle, it's PERFECTLY fine to hate Gabi. Period. We don't have to like her, and it's not like we don't "understand" her just because we hate her. I "understand" a lot of Germans were forcibly coerced into joining the Nazi regime, but I don't have to pity then for any consequences that came for them.

Leviiiiiii

I was surprised that Mikasa and Armin crying over Sasha had no voice over. I thought it was still effective but I'm not sure if I prefer it. Other than that, the character animation was amazing this episode. Gabi's hands as she reloaded the rifle and Armin crying were my favorites. Overall, everything was pretty perfect and I love it when a chapter gets adapted in full with basically no cuts. One of the best episodes in the series and a proper send off for Sasha.

Wonderfully done episode! They truly did Gabi and Falco's perspectives justice. Also, seeing Eren's expressions and reactions in animated format was clarifying and super well done, too!

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 227 Responses

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

#snk poll #snk polls #snk s4 #snk spoilers #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #snk #aot

17 notes · View notes

d-criss-news · 5 years ago

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Royalties Soundtrack Listening Event | Darren Criss Chat (July 7th, 2020)

Darren Criss 18:02:04

wait ha

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Darren Criss 18:02:08

sorry yall

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Darren Criss 18:02:12

this is confusing me of course

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Darren Criss 18:02:29

this is new for me too friends

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Darren Criss 18:02:45

well i'm here but I can't hear shit so gimme a sec

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Darren Criss 18:04:00

well I'll just keep typing here guys

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Darren Criss 18:04:04

bro

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Darren Criss 18:04:07

wilma

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Darren Criss 18:04:15

i'm tryin

Darren Criss 18:04:57

21kxuv372ubcprrbpiefadt6i

What was your favorite song to write for the show?

They each were really fun so that's hard to say but Hate That I Need You surprised the hell outta me

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Darren Criss 18:05:30

bettic72

darren non capisco un cazzo

anchio pero sti cazzi siamo qui

Darren Criss 18:05:49

genevievephillips

point and laugh at darren

yes let's laugh at him

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Darren Criss 18:06:18

2162bkuccm7xje6yfgmuzrnyq

You inspired me to write my own songs 🥺👉🏼👈🏼

thanks for writing the first positive thing I've seen on this. That's wonderful! I hope to hear them!

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Darren Criss 18:06:43

clo :)

i love that we are all grandparents when it comes to this

thank you for using the appropriate WE pronouns ha yeah this shit is confusing

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Darren Criss 18:08:44

zcvmtsgee5mom80oxeesa4v11

Darren how do you deal with stage fright .... i’ve been preforming in front of people for a while and i i still get scared . Does it ever go away ?

i guess it depends on how big the crowd is. everybody's different but I will say any kind of fright means you care, which is a good thing! Also the thing people forget about performing, for the most part, is you can't SEE the audience, most of the time they're in the dark. That's why performing for friends or in a small space where you can see everyone is much more nerve-racking

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Darren Criss 18:08:57

Dana

Darren can we have a royalties tour once rona is over???

wouldn't that be fun!

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Darren Criss 18:09:15

emilybutcher30

darren can you start streaming on twitch please haha i love you

ha can't compete with King Urie man

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Darren Criss 18:10:06

jake2000w

Darren, I know it’s all weird right now, but do you have any idea when we might see Nerdy Prudes Must Die?

what a good question. I have no idea but I've been wanting to see that show for almost as long as I've wanted to make Royalties. The boys have been talking about that one for a while now.

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Darren Criss 18:10:16

jesiqseigle56

Can you like respond .

like yeah

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Darren Criss 18:10:27

abbyforsmark

has Darren even said anything on this?

nope nothing

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Darren Criss 18:12:39

u6iczx4gua0att2g4kd2vdzwe

Did you write each of the songs with the performers in mind or did you cast them afterwards?

great question. Except for "Also You," which was written with Jackie Tohn for Jackie Tohn, we had no idea who would sing each song. I did the demos for almost all of them and then we had to pitch actors/artists to see if they'd be interested... which wasn't as hard (luckily) as seeing if they were AVAILABLE... which many weren't given the short time we had to make the show. Hopefully we can get some of those folks on for the next season IF THEY'LL LET US HAVE ONE!

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Darren Criss 18:13:52

delfi

darren royalties is so good i'm fucking proud of you

thanks for watching it, truly. I know the Quibi thing is strange for people so I appreciate you giving it all a chance : )

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Darren Criss 18:14:04

Caitlyn A :)

if you see this kick your shoes off

I would but no shoes

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Darren Criss 18:14:27

t59glm18dkw84n64l72jcuvpc

come to the uk challenge

god i wish.

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Darren Criss 18:15:39

damn someone said "travel to UK challenge" and I meant to respond "find a vaccine challenge"

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Darren Criss 18:17:08

i can't hear any of these songs but I"m just gonna start saying random shit about them

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Darren Criss 18:17:16

first off, i really wanted a theme song

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Darren Criss 18:17:23

that was a whole thing

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Darren Criss 18:19:18

Had to cut through a lot of red tape to make sure we had that silly song in there. We were already in the middle of post production when I finally got it approved, but it had to be under 15 seconds. I wrote 3 diff versions. So glad it ended up working. Theme songs accomplish so much in such a short period of time. Establishes tone. Gives the audience an almost Pavlovian response to the familiarity of the characters... I'm happy with it

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Darren Criss 18:20:12

also the "doo doo doo" lyrics are meant to sound like "scratch vocals" when songwriters record vocals with temporary gibberish lyrics with the intent of filling them in with real ones later

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Darren Criss 18:22:29

Just That Good was a concept that started the entire 1st season, and it was one of those instant-songs where Nick and Matt told me the title and I immediately had the hook just from those words. That only happens every once in a while and I was so happy it did for that song. The tricky part was writing the rest of it, but the back half of the song with the chorus repeating that one refrain over and over- that was the melody from the get go

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Darren Criss 18:23:08

I'll get back to Break it In, kick your shoes/let your hair, and kong later... i'll just go off on this one

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Darren Criss 18:23:48

so I wanted to nod to the grandeur of everyone's favorite vampire elf, Jared Leto

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Darren Criss 18:24:05

not HIM specifically, but 30 seconds to mars' very BIG music videos

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Darren Criss 18:24:29

i dont jared is a buncha self centered nutcases like our guys in SWITCHBACK JACKET

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Darren Criss 18:24:37

* i don't think Jared...

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Darren Criss 18:25:38

anyway yeah "so much better..." comes from a lot of the 90s alt rock that I grew up on, and the mix of that sound with a bit of electronic production was an effort to contemportize it as much as possible

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Darren Criss 18:26:26

but the rhythm guitar, lots of power chords and high octaves were all harkening to my fave bands like Lit and Eve 6... but put through a strange bizzaro nickleback/creed performance filter

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Darren Criss 18:26:55

"make you come true" is obviously a very salacious play on words

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Darren Criss 18:28:27

so the only way to make it feel earnest is if we made the track itself sexy as possible. A lot of the songs, even without being written, leant themselves to a certain genre just by the title, and this one was kind of a no-brainer. Sexy mid tempo r&b. And I didn't even know we'd get Jordan Fisher to do it- who SMASHED the vocal.

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Darren Criss 18:29:42

lauraacampbell-12

DARREN CHORDS OR LYRICS FIRST WHEN WRITING A SONG?

it's different every time but for this show specifically it's always title/idea first, and then the song comes from there. But that's because we're writing a show, so we have the luxury of getting to write from a specific place. It's much harder to do that in your own life when you just want to pull a title/idea from your own experience of life. I commend people that do that all the time.

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Darren Criss 18:30:06

what's NUTS about prizefighter is...

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Darren Criss 18:30:24

it was originally a song called LONG RANGER that BONNIE MCKEE sang, who I wrote the song with

—

Darren Criss 18:30:38

and in the video we had CHRISSY TIEGEN lipsynching

—

Darren Criss 18:30:44

it was bananas

—

Darren Criss 18:31:26

we ultimately couldn't use the song because of some complicated writers shit- not too dissimilar from the things we explore in our own show, which is just totally ironic.

—

Darren Criss 18:32:56

we were so bummed that we couldn't use the song but I'm actually really really happy with PRIZEFIGHTER. I love the song, and I love how it turned out production wise. I love how much of a massive influence latin x rhythms have had across the entire spectrum of mainstream music, so I wanted try my own hand at nodding to it!

—

Darren Criss 18:33:08

Lara :)!

Ahhhhh so was that the pilot song you were talking about last week?

that's the one

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Darren Criss 18:33:45

hbz3jctrg5rwwma640hahffvt

You have inspired me to learn piano I already know how to play teanage dream now

you can thank Bonnie Mckee aka Kimmy Kelly for writing that song!

—

Darren Criss 18:34:01

ok then there's the k pop song

—

Darren Criss 18:34:08

honestly i had no idea where I was gonna start on this one

—

Darren Criss 18:34:22

full props to the brilliant CJ Baran who I wrote this song with

—

Darren Criss 18:34:39

we were just toying around with very industrial-sounding samples

—

Darren Criss 18:35:21

and I started singing Edvard Grieg's "in the hall of the mountain king"

—

Darren Criss 18:35:33

and he was the guy that was like YEAH JUST PUT IT IN THERE

—

Darren Criss 18:35:46

and i realized, oh yeah, that song is public domain

—

Darren Criss 18:35:59

and kinda ties perfectly to the nature of Elia Peck and his songwriting... huh.

—

Darren Criss 18:36:05

So we went for it from there.

—

Darren Criss 18:36:17

based the lyrics off of what the Neals say in the room.

—

Darren Criss 18:36:34

and then just wrote a bunch of ALMOST nonense lyrics about things that you could HATE that you NEED

—

Darren Criss 18:36:40

things like available wifi...

—

Darren Criss 18:37:01

artistinal mai-tais.... yeah I guess if you really really liked those you could HATE that you NEED them...

—

Darren Criss 18:37:04

etc etc

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Darren Criss18:38:16

but the idea was to have Mariam Hale's character hardly do ANYTHING on the track, since she, as the audience sees, doesn't really have much to offer... so we just built it around this huge track with crazy lyrics that just tees up a tag for her to say without even having to sing: I HATE THAT I NEED YOU

—

Darren Criss18:38:43

2235n5s2qk5hjsujbhk5ilpva

I have classes in 10 minutes, and I'm not leaving until you dedicate a Royalties song to me.

looks like you're gonna miss calss

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Darren Criss 18:39:09

"calss" ha. which is like "class" but like... different.

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Darren Criss 18:39:32

alrighty PERFECT SONG

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Darren Criss 18:39:38

i really love this song as well

—

Darren Criss 18:40:02

the reveal of this song is that they keep talking about this "perfect song" they've written

—

Darren Criss 18:40:26

in other words we're teeing up a pretty big expectation of what a perfect song could possibly sound like

—

Darren Criss 18:40:36

the reveal of course is that the song itself is in fact just called "perfect song"

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Darren Criss 18:40:43

which is ABOUT a perfect song

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Darren Criss 18:41:07

and about TRYING TO WRITE a perfect song, and how that's not necessary when you have someone that IS the perfect song

—

Darren Criss 18:41:20

when we wrapped our heads around that idea, I really loved it

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Darren Criss 18:42:10

you'll notice we reference a lot of incredible songs, almost citing them as perfect songs themselves

—

Darren Criss 18:42:14

ain't no mountain high enough

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Darren Criss 18:42:55

of course leonard cohen's seminal Hallelujah

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Darren Criss 18:44:05

and of course Britney's Oops I Did It Again ha ;)

—

Darren Criss 18:45:00

the Oops being a layered joke of being annoyed with oneself that they AGAIN unwittingly wrote a lyric for already massive song, but in doing so citing yet ANOTHER already massive song... if that makes any sense

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Darren Criss 18:45:27

sorry for the typos yall i'm moving fast, i'd never let this shit slide if it wasn't a casual chatroom vibe

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Darren Criss 18:46:37

emzlolly1234

Did you know you wanted there to be a romantic thing between pierce and Sara?? :))))

yes that was actually our original "pilot presentation" episode. the one with the song LONE RANGER and Chrissy Tiegen. It was a longer version of what would become episode 7. We THINK it's a romantic thing but you realize that Sara is just playing Pierce to get the song she needs. That was always the premise yes.

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Darren Criss 18:46:51

luzmargotramos

if you reply with a single dot I'd probably die

then I better steer clear of any dots

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Darren Criss 18:47:04

ALSO YOU was an amazing lightning in a bottle moment

—

Darren Criss 18:47:09

FULL CREDIT TO JACKIE TOHN

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Darren Criss 18:47:22

i always enjoy giving credit where credit is due

—

Darren Criss 18:48:24

and I came in pretty hot for most of the songs- concepts, chords, style... but this one literally was a simple as Jackie Sitting down and just playing "It's you I love but also you and also you and also you."

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Darren Criss 18:48:37

we all just looked at each other going, welp, yup, that's it, jackie you fuckin rule

—

Darren Criss 18:49:28

the song would have ended up very differently if she hadn't brought that to the table. the original episode and song was "one true loves" which isn't nearly as good of a gag/title as "also you"

—

Darren Criss 18:49:50

i ended up squeezing "one true loves" into the bridge, but of course, kept ALSO YOU as the main event

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Darren Criss 18:50:02

i will say I was also trying to spoof my brother's old band, FREELANCE WHALES a little bit

—

Darren Criss 18:50:26

if you guys know the song "generator first floor" where they sing ay ay ay ay ay a lot...

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Darren Criss 18:50:35

... as a lot of bands and songs had featured at the time...

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Darren Criss 18:51:00

i wanted to put them all in one joke. where a band sang not only hey hey hey but ay and EE and AYE and OH and basically all the vowels

—

Darren Criss 18:51:10

which was where the joke of,

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Darren Criss 18:51:20

a, e, i, o, and also u

—

Darren Criss 18:51:21

came from

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Darren Criss 18:51:32

which i'm particularly proud of

—

Darren Criss 18:51:56

ok let's talk about BREAK IT IN

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Darren Criss 18:54:16

lxucxthxrxnx_

I’m a musician myself (not that great lol) what was it like coming up with the melodic side did you play any instruments for the songs?

i played instruments on all the songs except Break It In and I Hate That I Need You, since those were all electronic. That's not to say i played EVERY instrument but I definitely played AN instrument of some kind for the others.

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Darren Criss 18:55:34

as for break it in... anyway... yeah that was a blast. Nick Lang and I collaborated with my buddy Kendo who goes by the artist name KingJet.

—

Darren Criss 18:56:54

Kendo has worked on a lot of legit songs in the hip hop space. For each song I wanted to make sure there was a level of authenticity to what we were doing. I didn't wanna SPOOF the songs. I wanted the songs to sound rock solid and that it would be the LYRICAL CONCEPTS that would be the source of satire. So Kendo was a great guiding light to keep the track as authentic as possible.

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Darren Criss 18:59:47

We explained to Kendo the whole joke concept of the song, which is basically just turning the idea of toxic masculinity on its head, and he was on top of it immediately- when we told him that there's this guy that's really concerned that people think he "fucks too soft" he immediately started spitting out lyrics like the hilariously defiant "I'm the KING OF THE HARD FUCK"

—

Darren Criss 19:00:35

which just killed me and Nick. It was just so juvenile that it was adorable to me

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Darren Criss 19:00:57

emzlolly1234

Darren you’ve been here for an hour? That’s the length of royalties man xxx

yeah aint it great

Darren Criss 19:02:21

sophie :)

i personally think you should try your hand at writing a drill song, a british genre of rap that centres around rapping unrelated lyrics in front of chicken shops, personally think it has the right tone for the show for a season two

drill would be siq. I mean, opening the incredible pandora's box of UK based hip hop in general is its own magical wormhole of nuance and history and regional culture. it's amazing. i'd really have to do some homework if I wanted to pull that off!

—

Darren Criss 19:02:49

cd2gu4ceqx4am9otf9hzwzivs

he’s talking again guys be worried he might write another essay

ok sorry i'll stop

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Darren Criss 19:02:51

—

Darren Criss 19:03:03

cd2gu4ceqx4am9otf9hzwzivs

he’s talking again guys be worried he might write another essay

kidding!

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Darren Criss 19:03:39

fsheldens

when darren actually cares about us 🥺

awww i always do! I just wasn't built for internet stuff.

—

Darren Criss 19:04:20

alpermehdi

speaking of nick how was it to work with nick??

the best. Nick is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

—

Darren Criss 19:04:51

chloe :)!

what would be ur karaoke song choice from the show?

mighty as kong

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Darren Criss 19:07:32

isa.kowo

How much music theory goes into your songwriting? And did you learn all of it from playing the violin? In what way does it go into your songs?

all GREAT questions. I mean, music theory isn't something you CONSCIOUSLY employ when writing something, it's just that it really helps to know the rules or music when shaping it and trying to maximize its production. And as a matter of fact, yeah, I DID learn most of it playing violin. But when I was playing violin I was ingesting music from the perspective of a student ingesting information, not as a proactive creator putting anything of my own out into the world.

—

Darren Criss 19:08:07

Honestly I really didn't start UNDERSTANDING music theory until I started writing music for other people, and noticing certain things and chords and shapes had names and that they could be manipulated to accomplish certain things

—

Darren Criss 19:08:35

so most of my academic musical knowledge came in my 20s when I tried to start doing it professionally

—

Darren Criss 19:08:52

Nick

first instrument you ever learnt?

violin

—

Darren Criss 19:09:07

andyruiz080

I'm castin' my love net wide And fillin' every hole in my schedule

ha love that line

—

Darren Criss 19:09:29

missweggy

Darren are you a big queen fan ( the band lol ) 😂

is the pope catholic

—

Darren Criss 19:12:00

ChloeOmelia

Now its available, would you change anything?

jesus so much. but such is the nature of creating stuff. there's a great Hayao Miyazaki quote about always having to make new stuff to escape the woe of all the mistakes you made in your last thing... I mean, that's a bit extreme, I feel like we did the best we could given the circumstance but I totally get where Miyazaki is coming from. And in many ways that's everything we do in life. Do your best, know what you coulda done better and carry on

—

Darren Criss 19:12:36

dj._.quackers

who or what was your biggest inspiration growing up

the beatles. the uk. the 60s.

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Darren Criss 19:13:02

Astriddd

Your first original song was "Not Alone". I'm right?

no it was actually a song i wrote in the third grade when I got a guitar for Christmas called "Save The Whales"

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Darren Criss 19:14:29

hiiqsbo9358wvfkcjcsgsu4lb

Darren I need an answer it’s been annoying me for days. So was everyone fucking everyone in Pierces old band or was she just fucking everyone seperately??

ha that's a really great question. I figured she was just fucking everyone individually, which is why the band was so contentious but then again I'd rather let your imagination run wild...

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Darren Criss 19:15:29

jphxxk5wjnaqnhuv806wmohdt

Darren, I love your taste in music. You should share your personal playlists ... bc everybody needs to know phantom planet 😉

if i actually shared my tastes in music, or actually shared the amount of stuff in my brain at the rate that I want to share, I would never work on or create anything because i would constantly be on the internet and you'd all be over me if you weren't already

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Darren Criss 19:16:01

But yes, thank you for saying that, I love me my phantom planet oh so very much :)

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Darren Criss 19:16:18

juli.nuttini

could you please answer me I don't speak English and I'm putting ALL my effort into asking you questions I'm going to cry

wow your english is actually pretty great

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Darren Criss 19:17:08

I'd like to write a song with Howard Ashman

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Darren Criss 19:17:23

dancebaby218

Was kick your shoes off inspired by your Hedwig shoes?

nah cuz that shit was actually comfy

—

Darren Criss 19:17:55

12169199549

i skipped my clarinet class because of you for the third time :) what can i say to my teacher?

that Darren says you should have gone to clarinet class!!!

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Darren Criss 19:18:34

qalektvmexab6gfwibfihwu6b

Could you please answer me. We’ve supported you for years from the uk and we’re staying up for this but it’s totally worth it because you’re amazing!! Molly x

I wish so bad I could go to the UK!

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Darren Criss 19:20:01

FUCK someone asked about Sam Farrar and I wanted to answer it but it disappeared... Sam is a homie. one of my very first songwriting sessions was with him and a very famous member of the pop universe... who if I get a season two, I'm putting in the show.

—

Darren Criss 19:22:00

9nc1yow3iwnp9p3fs4gcvdnsf

what other instruments would you like to learn in the future?

i just need to spend time trying to get better at the ones I've plateaued with. I feel like I got as good as I'd ever get on the guitar when i was like 19. So I've been trying to get better during the Quarantine. Picked up my violin and dusted off that Vivaldi, started doing drum rudiments on my drum pad, and started learning new licks and scales for guitar. Stuff I never got round to doing.

—

Darren Criss 19:22:27

harefraz

mr. criss sir, what is your top quarantine activity?

playing music

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Darren Criss 19:23:26

actually lies. top quarantine activity is learning Japanese. 30 minutes a day. And it's been several months. Almost got Hiragana down, still got a few characters I'm questionable with but with any luck I'll start up on Katakana in the next few weeks.

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Darren Criss 19:23:40

224abi6avvottcsacto7vx46a

What about working with Mark hamill ? Insane right

you said it

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Darren Criss 19:23:54

t7sxis7855cd329gaa6iyty8v

Any updates on American Buffalo? 🥺👉🏼👈🏼

it's opening next year!

—

Darren Criss 19:24:09

for the record this is really fun I'm enjoying this guys

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Darren Criss 19:26:26

Rachael

How different is it doing a show like Royalties where you're heavily involved in the creative process compared to other projects you've done in the past?

i'd say night and day but that's an understatement. When I did Glee all I had to do was act in scenes, record songs, and go to dance rehearsal. With Royalties, it's that AND casting, doing pre production, post production, notes, meetings, notes, writing and producing songs, location scouting, blah blah blah lots of the stuff that you don't have to worry about if you're not a creator. But make no mistake I absolutely love it.

—

Darren Criss 19:27:41

Aisha

learn spanish

I'll get there. I already speak a bit of Italian so I wanted the challenge of learning something that didn't use a writing system I already understood.

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Darren Criss 19:28:23

rosieellenxx_

I take Music Technology as a subject at school and we have to make a whole song with the sole sample of glass breaking...

sounds fun. loads of things you can do with that.

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Darren Criss 19:28:48

21ynx6niidf2amx5nzilihsga

What are your goals for once quarantine is lifted?

hopefully to feel like I used this very strange time well.

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Darren Criss 19:29:14

Ok I should probabl get outta here right?

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Darren Criss 19:29:41

I've talked a lot about mighty as kong in other places

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Darren Criss 19:30:00

so I'll just leave you with a story about "Let Your Hair Down"

—

Darren Criss 19:30:14

which was the very FIRST song we wrote for the show

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Darren Criss 19:30:37

I had a meeting with an artist at a dive bar in the middle of the afternoon

—

Darren Criss 19:31:10

let's just say I showed up to that very first writer's session very late

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Darren Criss 19:31:17

and sober ENOUGH

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Darren Criss 19:31:41

wktusw4mcjn910r3eq91zg4k5

darren did you watch hamilton??????

duh last night. so fun.

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Darren Criss 19:32:17

anyway I was so relieved that we left with that song at the end of the day. The intent was always to write two songs with the exact same concepts just with different titles

—

Darren Criss 19:32:50

the chords are the same, just slightly different voicings played on slightly different instruments

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Darren Criss 19:33:29

and the idea was that whichever song was funnier, or at least whichever song would be more fun to see in a music video... would be the one that Pierce & Sara write

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Darren Criss 19:34:08

"Kick Your Shoes Off" ended up feeling more like a full music video than "Let Your Hair Down" but I LOVE that first song, and hopefully people get to hear the whole thing on Spotify since you don't get to hear the whole song in the episode

—

Darren Criss 19:34:51

with lines I love like "see my cheekbones, show off my clavicle, I bet you've never seen a ponytail to magical..."

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Darren Criss 19:35:39

emilybutcher30

i love that u spelled it sara not sarah

thank you. if you don't already know it, check out Ben Folds' "Zak and Sara"

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Darren Criss 19:36:01

OK i gotta get going

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Darren Criss 19:36:12

but thanks to everyone from all over the world for joining

—

Darren Criss 19:36:17

i see you and i say hi to you!

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Darren Criss 19:36:23

happy birthday to all the bday kids!

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Darren Criss 19:36:33

thank you for spending a little bit of your bday with me

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Darren Criss 19:36:39

thanks for checking out Royalties

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Darren Criss 19:36:46

hope you enjoy the music

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Darren Criss 19:36:53

and hope there gets to be a season 2!!!

—

Darren Criss 19:37:08

xo to all of you. stay safe, stay inspired. - Darren

#darren criss #royalties ost listening event #spotify #royalties #july 2020 #posting as text since it's soooo much easier than posting screencaps #royalties bts

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thewickedmerman · 4 years ago

Text

My Fan-Cast for the Movie Adaptation of Wicked

As many of you are aware, I absolutely ADORE Wicked and I'm so excited about the movie adaptation that is just taking FOREVER to be made, even before the pandemic came along. So, like many people, I just keep wanting them to make some casting announcements for the movie already and have been making my own fan-cast for the movie, even making a video of my fan-cast. However, I felt like taking the time to explain my casting choices so everyone knows why I made my choices. I will provide my fan-cast video at the end, so you can hear the vocal capabilities. Please keep in mind that this is just my personal opinion, so there's no need to be rude. Let me know what you think of my casting choices because I LOVE reading comments/retweets, especially long and detailed ones. Enjoy!

Emma Thompson as The Midwife

This is a minor role and I know that it is a waste of Emma Thompson's talents to put in a minor role but I just keep imagining her in the role. I mean, her voice just suits the character. She has a beautiful voice, even if it's not really among the great singers. Plus, the character would require a good actress because of how there isn't much required of the singing. Besides, there are major stars who have been in minor roles, despite that they were already major stars at the time of the release. I don't have much to say with this as I do with the others.

Rebecca Mader as Melena Thropp

Everyone probably knowns her for her role on Once Upon a Time as the Wicked Witch of the West, Zelena, which would make her playing the role of Elphaba and Nessa's mother all the more perfect. It may be a minor role, but she has proven she can make an impact even in a minor role like she did in the third Iron Man movie. She clearly has the acting chops for the role and the musical episode of Once Upon a Time has shown that she has the singing chops because she had the best voice out of the entire cast. I mean, Melena Thropp only sings one line, but the original Melena and Rebecca sound a lot alike. She's proven in Once Upon a Time that she can be very convincing as a woman in labor, which is a major thing for Melena because the biggest thing she does in her screentime is that she gave birth to Elphaba. She also looks like she could be the mother of my choices for Elphaba and even like she could be related to my choices for Nessarose.

Alan Cumming as Frexspar Thropp

This is the last of the minor roles, but this character does have more going on than the other two. This character would require a strong actor who can be emotionally distant and cold without coming off as robotic or stale. He needs to be able to show how doting he is with Nessa, though still reserved and composed, while also being able to show his disdain for Elphaba. Alan Cumming is a brilliant actor that can play a variety of roles, so he would be able to capture the character. He even has experience with musicals, most notably being his role in the 1999 film version of Annie where he played one of the main antagonists, Rooster. He has a great voice so he would be great for the role both in terms of acting and musicality.

Chris Colfer as Boq (Act 1)

Yeah, for the characters I'm doing double-casting because of how Act 1 takes place when they are in school and Act 2 takes place many years later. Starting off with this double-casting is my choice for Boq in Act 1, Chris Colfer. Boq in Act 1 is a very awkward character that is in love with Glinda but she doesn't give him the time of day, which is a character that Chris Colfer plays very well. He'd be able to capture the awkwardness, the sweetness, the hidden frustration, and the overall dorkiness of the character in Act 1. His face practically screams all of that. He not only can act but is has an incredible singing voice that can handle the moments when Boq belts out. Plus, his very feminine sounding voice would just add to the character being seen as a dork that Glinda just doesn't have any interest in but he keeps pining for. Plus, he has such a youthful look to him that he can pass as someone who is still in school.

Daniel Radcliffe as Boq (Act 2)

I feel like Daniel Radcliffe has the right look for Boq in Act 2 because he can be more serious and intense, which is required for the character when he becomes heartless and the Tinman, but can still look awkward and dorky. His performance as Harry Potter shows he can look emotionless while also not coming off as a bad actor, which is important for when he's Nessa's butler, as an attempt to force him to remain by her side along with taking away the rights of the munchkins. He needs to be able to show how he resents Nessa while appearing emotionlessly professional, despite her pining for him. Not only can he act, but he even has musical experience by playing the protagonist of the show How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. I had no idea that he could sing so well. His voice is powerful enough to handle Boq's singing during the song "March of the Witch Hunters."

Kevin Kline as Doctor Dillamond

Kevin Kline was just the first and only actor that came to mind when I was thinking of who to cast for Doctor Dillamond, especially after watching his performance in the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. First of all, I know that Kevin Kline's true vocal abilities weren't displayed in that movie because he actually has a great voice and a lot of Broadway experience. However, Doctor Dillamond is not a character that really shows a lot of impressive vocal ability. His voice is a lot more limited and I felt like Kevin Kline captured the qualities of Doctor Dillamond's singing perfectly when he sang "How Does a Moment Last Forever" in Beauty and the Beast. That role also showed he could pull off the tender, loving, and quirkiness of Doctor Dillamond. He's just perfect for the role.

Sofia Carson as Nessarose (Act 1)

She has the perfect look for Nessarose, at least the type of Nessarose that I imagine. I always imagined her as someone with light skin (With Sofia it depends on the lighting), long and silky black hair, and of course so damn gorgeous. Nessa is described as being a radiant beauty, which Sofia Carson clearly is. Not only that, but she has played characters that are a little spoiled and selfish like Nessa, who never appreciates all that Elphaba does for her. She also has a beautiful voice. I mean, her voice is very breathy and nasally, as well as kind of frail and fragile, but I feel like that would suit Nessa. First of all, in Act 1, there isn't really much required of Nessa in terms of vocal ability, though she still has to be able to sound good. Secondly, her voice being kind of frail and fragile, though her voice isn't weak by any means, would really suit Nessa because of how she is treated as frail and fragile, due to not being able to walk or take care of herself. It suits her and the sheltered life she's lived that matches her falling instantly in love with the first guy who asks her out on a date.

Lucy Hale as Nessarose (Act 2)

First of all, don't Sofia and Lucy look like they could be related? Secondly, Lucy Hale really suits Nessarose in Act 2 where she is now the Governor of Munchkin Land (A position that is apparently isn't done through election but rather through a family bloodline) and known as The Wicked Witch of the East, despite her not having any magical powers like her sister. Lucy Hale is absolutely GORGEOUS! Just like Sofia Carson, she is what I imagine when I picture what Nessarose should look like. Light skin, dark hair, and red lips. Not to mention her sharp eyes would be able to show the cruel nature of Nessarose in Act 2. Do I even need to mention her acting chops? She is a brilliant actress who is best known for her hit show Pretty Little Liars. She also has an amazing voice that is very different from Sofia Carson's but would still suit Nessa in Act 2. Unlike in Act 1, Nessa isn't really treated as frail and fragile but rather seen as a cold-hearted dictator. Lucy's voice is much deeper and more powerful, which shows Nessa's maturity from a delicate girl. Plus, during the song "Wicked Witch of the East" (Which was never included in the soundtrack for some dumb reason), she has a moment where she actually does belt, which shows her desperation of wanting Boq to be alright. She's more demanding than she was in Act 1, which I think Lucy Hale can display with her incredible acting and singing abilities. She's proven time and time again what a strong actress she is.

Glenn Close as Madame Morrible

I don't even think I need to list Glenn Close's acting credits! She is right up there with Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore, only that Glenn is LONG overdue for an Oscar win. She is a brilliant actress! One of THE best actresses that ever existed! My favorite role she's been in is as Cruella De Vil in the live-action remake of 101 Dalmatians and its sequel, 102 Dalmatians. So she has experience playing villainesses. That is important because of how Madame Morrible doesn't really sing much and requires more of a strong actress than a singer. However, Glenn Close has a great voice and has a lot of Broadway experience, particularly the lead role of Sunset Boulevard. She has the right look for Madame Morrible. Like, she has a face you'd expect her to have when you think of Madame Morrible.

Kelsey Grammer as The Wizard

First of all, I know Kelsey's voice is a lot deeper than people are used to for The Wizard, but I feel like that doesn't make much of a difference. An important aspect to capture for The Wizard is that he is a total ham that loves to get a bunch of attention. If you have seen Kelsey Grammer's performance as Frasier in Cheers and more specifically Frasier (The FAR superior show), you'd know that Kelsey can definitely ham it up while still not having it come off as bad acting. When it comes to hammy acting for a hammy character, you need to be able to find the right balance, which is hard to do. Kelsey is an expert at this and would just love eating up the role. He can also capture the sentimental and tender side that tries to convince Elphaba to join him, twice. His deep and dulcet sounding voice would be able to capture that better than the typical high pitched and nasally voice The Wizard usually has. Not to mention he has a great voice that can handle the energetic nature of The Wizard while still maintaining the vocal quality. He has a lot of Broadway experience and a lot of you who aren't familiar with his work have actually already heard him sing if you've seen the animated movie, Anastasia, where he provided both the speaking and singing voice for Vlad. He's absolutely PERFECT for The Wizard.

Jordan Fisher as Fiyero (Act 1)

First of all, I have to point out something and that is that in the book that the musical is based on, Fiyero was brown. They were never specific on what race he is and it's kept ambiguous but he and the people of his kingdom are described as having brown skin. This is something rarely ever seen in the stage show, though you could argue that it was among a long list of things that were changed from that terrible book. Anyway, I feel like this is something that should be taken into account when casting for the movie because representation is important. Now, with that out of the way, Jordan Fisher would be absolutely amazing as the cocky and fun-loving Prince Fiyero in Act 1. He has the right look, can seriously dance, is a great actor, and has a PHENOMENAL voice. He has proven he can play cocky characters in Rent: Live and Grease: Live. Those helped display his Broadway experience and that's not even the tip of the iceberg of his Broadway experience. His voice is so incredible that he is basically the male equivalent of Mariah Carey with those impressive high notes. He can play a cocky character and still show tenderness and charm, which is important for Fiyero.

Corbin Bleu as Fiyero (Act 2)

First of all, don't Corbin and Jordan look a lot alike? But that's not the only reason why I cast him as Fiyero in Act 2. I discovered that he has done a lot of Broadway work and really showed what an amazing voice he has. I mean, when he was on Disney, I thought his voice was great but in a kind of pop singer way that felt like he was holding back. Broadway-style music really showed what he was capable of with his powerful and strong voice that is full of energy and tenderness. Not to mention he's an incredible dancer. He's a great actor that would be able to capture Fiyero's more mature nature he has in Act 2 and how protective he is over Elphaba. He'd capture the charm of the character perfectly!

Dove Cameron as Glinda (Act 1)

First of all, the original actress for Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth, is campaigning for Dove Cameron to play Glinda in the movie. That shows that Dove is an amazing choice! I trust Kristin Chenoweth's judgment, apart from when she thought it was a good idea to play Maleficent in that AWFUL Descendants movie. Anyway, Dove has proven in her performance as Amber in Hairspray: Live that she can play the part of an egocentric, girly, primadonna VERY well. Glinda definitely needs a strong actress to capture the negative and basically white privilege that is Glinda while still being charming and engaging, which Dove is more than capable of doing. She definitely has the vocal chops to pull it off with her powerful voice that can even do operatic singing and hit really high notes, which is required for the role of Glinda. She may be a Disney Channel star, but she is also classically trained. She'd be perfect for Glinda in Act 1!

Megan Hilty as Glinda (Act 2)

As you can see, I've included an actress who has actually played one of the characters on the stage. I didn't do that with other characters because screen acting and stage acting are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT skillsets. What works for one doesn't work for the other. Stage acting is a lot more exaggerated and broad because they have to make sure their performance can be seen by everyone in the audience. Screen acting can be a lot more subtle and intimate. That's not to say that there aren't actors that can do both stage and screen acting, almost all of the actors here have. Megan Hilty has played Glinda many times before and is the second-best Glinda after Kristin Chenoweth. She has the bubbly personality, the comedic timing, and the maturity (That comes later in the show) that is required for the role of Glinda in Act 2. She has a brilliant voice that has sung these songs MANY times, so it's obvious that she can hit the high notes and sing in an operatic voice. She's proven she can play Glinda on stage and I think she has the acting talent to be able to play her on-screen.

Ariana Grande as Elphaba (Act 1)

I know that this is the most controversial choice on this list because people either love or hate the idea of Ariana Grande as Elphaba. First of all, guess what two people want her to be Elphaba. Kristin Chenoweth and the original Elphaba, Idina Menzel! Those two are among the QUEENS of Broadway and know these characters VERY well since they played them MANY times. I trust their judgment. Now with that out of the way, she may be known as a pop singer but she got her start being on Broadway LONG before her pop music career took off. When she sings Broadway music, that is when her voice manages to really shine through because of her background with Broadway. You can actually understand what she is saying because she has proper enunciation when she sings that style of music. She even sang "The Wizard and I" at Wicked's anniversary special. Her vocal ability is undeniable with her powerful and strong voice that can seriously belt and has such a beauty to it. Now, I know what people are gonna say, that she isn't a good actress. First of all, it's not fair to only judge her based off the roles she's been given where she's being typecast as the dumb chick thanks to her iconic role as Cat Valentine. However, she still plays that role well, but there is so much more to her than just that. In her performance on Saturday Night Live, where she got to show more of her acting range, she caught the attention of the legendary director, Steven Spielberg, who personally contacted her because he wanted her to be in one of his movies. However, she turned him down because she wanted to focus on her music career. The point is that if she managed to get the attention of one of the most successful and critically acclaimed directors of all time, you know that she truly does have acting chops that have just never been given a chance. Playing Elphaba would give her that chance!

Anneliese van der Pol as Elphaba (Act 2)

Finally, we have my choice for Elphaba in Act 2, the brilliant and wickedly talented, Anneliese van der Pol. You all know her as Chelsea from That's So Raven and Raven's Home but there is SO MUCH MORE to her than just that. She has mainly thrived off of being on Broadway, with her most iconic role being the last actress to play Belle from Beauty and the Beast on Broadway and was the BEST out of all of the women who have played her. She has such a powerful and incredible voice! Her voice can actually give Idina Menzel a run for her money! It's a shame that she's not more famous because she has the phenomenal talent to be an A-list celebrity. Not only that, but she's a great actress too and can do so much more than just comedy, which she's proven with her performance as Belle. She also just has a face that is perfect for Elphaba, especially her nose. Another fun fact is that she is actually Jewish, just like Idina Menzel, which would make it even better if she was cast as Elphaba. She is the PERFECT choice for Elphaba and is not likely to get the role because she's not considered famous enough and that's considered more important than actual talent. But this is my fan-cast and I can cast whoever I want and she is just pure perfection for the part of Elphaba.

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sugamoonv · 6 years ago

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Birthday Bash

Hiya! Can I please request a Soulmate!BTS OT7 x Soulmate!American YouTuber!female reader imagine where it’s the reader’s birthday (she’s a year younger than Jungkook so she’s turning 21) and the boys decide to surprise her when she comes home (she lives with the boys in their fancy apartment/dorm) from filming a YouTube video with her friends (She makes funny Kpop videos like ByronVids and JRE) + Y/n and the boys have a huge cuddle fest and movie night + lots of kisses between all of them!

Word Count: 3,753

Warnings: Jimin’s lowkey an alcoholic, talks of smut

A.N: I had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope you enjoy!!!!!

You walked past the dance studio that was blasting music to your own studio, a cup of coffee in one hand and the bag Hoseok had gifted you containing your laptop, chargers, phone, and other small necessities slung across your body. BigHit had allowed you to turn one of the spare rooms in the building where a lot of BTS’s choreographers worked and where their music studios were, into your filming studio for your Youtube channel. The only price was that they got a portion of your revenue.

You had come to Korea for a collaboration with another Youtube Creator and the universe had smiled on you because BTS just so happened to be back home at the same time. At first, you were surprised when the ink from the soulmate mark began spreading outwards from your shoulder, but after a few days, decided to pay no mind to it. When you met the other Youtuber and saw another soulmate mark on their hand, one not matching your own, you made the impulse decision to stay in Korea until you found your soulmate. You had simply told your follower base that you wanted to stay in the country for vacation and they had been wholly supportive, most of them screaming at you through the comments that you should make fancam videos since you were so close to many of the large k-pop groups you followed. Especially BTS.

Then as the days went by, your soulmate mark kept growing larger and larger to the point where you knew that it wasn’t meant for one single person. People’s marks were usually hideable since monogamy was the standard. But yours’ had stretched out so that you were having to wear long sleeve shirts in your videos and in public in case anyone saw you because finding your soulmate, or soulmates was a very intimate thing in your eyes and not something you wanted to be broadcasted to your audience, no matter how amazing they were.

Then it seemed the universe especially favored you one day when you had been scouting Youtube for fancam videos on BTS for your own content and saw that Jimin had slipped in hiding their soulmate mark. All of their marks were usually hidden, but dedicated fans knew that they were all soulmates. But what made you pause the video and stare at the screen for hours in disbelief was seeing that there was a new portion of Jimin’s soulmate mark on his ribs that matched exactly to a section of yours.

Long story short, after calling in a countless amount of favors, upping your visibility in the BTS fandom, and then searching out for the boys themselves, you had eventually met and realized that your mark was made for all of them. The first few months had been a whirlwind, between adjusting to a relationship with seven people, working hard to keep said relationship on the down-low from your follower base, ARMY, and the media, and then making the move from America all the way to Korea to be with your soulmates.

Eventually, you had dedicated a whole video to where you revealed your soulmate mark and told the story of you all finding each other, something that was common amongst Youtubers that had found their other half/halves. Then Jungkook and Jimin kept purposefully doing less and less to hide their soulmate marks whenever they lifted their shirts, Namjoon would always awkwardly avoid questions from the media so it was obvious to ARMY that one of the boys at least found another soulmate, and then when there were two songs dedicated to you on their new album (one for the rap line and another for the vocal line), ARMYs had deduced that their OT7 was now to become an OT8. A few months of everyone guessing, the Run producers had filmed you and Taehyung napping together during an episode and your relationship was cast into the public light.

You had gone to Korea when you were 19, single and only a few thousand followers to your channel, and now you were about to celebrate your 21st birthday with millions subscribed to you and seven extremely loving, and thoughtful boyfriends.

You set your bag on your desk, smiling to yourself. This morning, Jimin had snuck into bed with you and Hoseok and so you woke up to some very pleasant sensations. Hoseok, the grouch he is in the morning, of course, grumbled in annoyance when you woke him up, unable to stay quiet, and had left the room to let you and Jimin finish.

You were pleasantly surprised to find that everyone was up when you and Jimin left your room, some more awake and in a pleasant mood than others. You usually avoided Hoseok and Jimin in the morning since they were always grumpy when waking up. You never woke Yoongi up yourself but he always woke up fairly quickly, and Jungkook and Taehyung would sleepily stumble around, usually into someone’s arm, until they were awake. And that was the case as Jungkook was swaying in his seat, eyes closed as he drifted in and out of sleep, and once he heard you come in, slowly stood and dragged his feet over to you then wrapped his arms around your waist and buried his head into your chest. Taehyung was already clinging onto Yoongi since Namjoon disliked cuddling when tired and Yoongi had a high tolerance for you all.

Jin was manning the stove while Hoseok cut fruit, eyebrows scrunched and hair fluffed in every direction. Before you lay an arrangement of all your favorite breakfast foods from America that Jin had learned to make, with more on the way. Namjoon was already snacking on some bacon when you had come into the kitchen.

You all had to reluctantly leave the breakfast feast to go to work, no matter how much Taehyung whined that you should have the day off. Your boys had gone to the filming location for their music video and you had gone to your studio.

You turn on your computers and switch on the studio lights before unpacking your bag and hooking your laptop to one of the desktop computers. They had been a gift from Yoongi a few months into your relationship along with the editing software installed on it. Hoseok had paid for the expensive lighting much to your disapproval and Namjoon and Taehyung had teamed up in decorating your studio.

You had decided that for your birthday, you would do something easy and make a reaction video for the BTS Run episodes. You really had no use watching them since they all acted like crackheads enough around you without any cameras running. But your audience loved to see you make fun of your boyfriends and the antics they got themselves in to.

You were halfway through voicing a thought when the door to your studio opened and in walks your friend from the studio down the hall, holding a small cake and they begin to sing to you, steadily growing louder.

You look at the camera, deadpan, “It seems we have a visitor for today’s video.

Your friend places the cake in front of you then puts their face directly in front of the camera lens before pulling a chair next to yours and sitting. You continue staring at the camera the same way for another minute before the both of you break composure and laugh.

Your friend slaps their thighs, “What is happening here on this very day? Are we watching the boyfs?”

You hum. “The more...I watch them, the more….I’m tempted to lock them in their rooms. Because they are idiots. My soulmates are a bunch of idiots and they need to be STOPPED.”

A couple hours, a full cake, and a surprise catered lunch thanks to your boyfriend later, you finish the video. Your friend had to leave a quarter of the way through to go back to work and once you're wrapped up filming, you spent the rest of the day editing and now that the video was uploaded, you were glad to get to go back home. Your back aches from sitting all day and your wrist were tired from all the minute movements needed to work on the computer. You swore you were going to have carpal tunnel by the time you turned 30.

Excitement bubbled in your chest when you opened the door to your shared apartment and heard the voices of the boys within. Most days, their job required for them to work sporadic, long hours so they must have begged at least a dozen people to let them off early.

Jungkook was walking past you from the laundry room with a basket of folded clothes. That was the shared chore he designated to himself. He paused in front of you with wide eyes, “Y/N! You’re home early.”

“Y/N’s home?!” you heard Namjoon shout from another room. How excited he got over mundane things never failed to make your heart double its original size.

Namjoon suddenly appeared in the living room where you and Jungkook were standing, bouncing on his feet and his eyes scrunched with a barely contained smile that showcased his dimples.

“Hey, baby,” you walk to him, throwing your bag onto the couch on the way, “you look really happy,” you giggle.

Namjoon fully smiles and steps closer to you. Each of your hands are on the other’s hips. He dips his head down so his nose bumps into yours. “We had a really good day shooting and now you’re here with me.” Namjoon gently presses his lips to yours. “I missed you.” He nudges his head into the crook of your neck and rubs his hands up to the middle of your back and pulls you into a hug. “Did you get our present?”

“Mmm, you mean the lunch you sent me?” Namjoon nods. “I did. Who’s idea was that exactly?” you questioned with a slight tilt of your voice.

“All of ours.” You feel his lips move as he mumbles into your neck.

You pull away from the hug and begin to walk into the kitchen where you can hear Jimin, Taehyung, and Yoongi are. “Okay,” you teasingly smirk, “I’ll be sure to say thank you to Hobi for lunch.”

Namjoon gasps and watches you walk away with his mouth wide open.

Your eyes widen once you walk into the kitchen. Covering a majority of the counter surface are bottles of various alcohols. Jimin has a fairly large bottle in his hand and looks to be struggling to open it. Taehyung is somewhat hunched over as he closely watches Jimin’s hands work the corkscrew. Yoongi is sitting at the island, looking at his phone, completely unbothered to what the two younger men standing next to him are doing.

“Are we opening up a bar or something,” you draw the attention of the three men to you and Yoongi chortles.

Jimin sets the bottle back on the counter where Taehyung picks it up and resumes trying to take out the corkscrew, and he walks over to you with a smile so big his eyes are nearly closed. “No,” he giggles. He quickly pecks your cheek then leans back onto the counter. He’s situated between you and Yoongi. “It’s your twenty-first birthday. You can finally drink with us.”

You belly-laugh at his teasing. You both know full well that no one cared about the legal drinking age set by your home country. You’ve had many nights where you’ve gotten tipsy or drunk with them. And sometimes those nights ended with messy sex, other times, they’ve ended with you or one of the boys hunched over the toilet or a trash can and someone else rubbing circles into their back.

One of your fondest memories was from one night when you all had a little bit too much to drink and Jin had come up with the brilliant idea to play hide and seek tag. Yoongi had forgotten to hide in his drunken state and spent the whole night running from Jimin. Hoseok had passed out on the couch after looking for everyone twenty minutes into the game but fortunately, Namjoon had gotten confused and thought that he was “it” so you weren’t hiding for no reason. Jin and Taehyung had combined their brilliant minds together and tagged teamed. Namjoon found them first because they were unable to contain their laughter. You were forced to call off the game when Jungkook, in an attempt to get away from Namjoon, had crawled over the railing of the balcony in the apartment and hung there, remaining stubborn that so long as Namjoon was going to be waiting for him, he wasn’t budging. It took Jimin eleven minutes to talk Jungkook back over the railing.

“Jimin! You weren’t supposed to get this much!” Jungkook exclaimed as he walked into the kitchen, looking as surprised as you were to see all the alcohol.

“Relax. You know he’ll eventually drink it all,” Yoongi mutters. In the background, you hear Taehyung cheer as the corkscrew finally comes free from the bottle with a pop.

You suddenly stumble back as a pair of arms pull you into a chest. Hoseok makes smooching noises and coos into your neck. You squirm in his arms with a smile on your face, “Hello to you too.”

You arch your neck to look behind Hoseok to see Jin placing a few bags down in the living room. You know for sure that the bags are meant for you with a Victoria’s Secret bag peeking out behind some of the other brand names. There was most likely a piece chosen by each member within the bag.

“Oooh, what did you get?” Taehyung cutely runs over to Jin.

Jin slaps Taehyung’s arm when he starts ruffling through the bags. “Aish! You already know! Go away!”

Jungkook, who was busy wrestling the open bottle of wine away from Jimin, turns around at Jin yelling. “Jin! You weren’t supposed to let her see!” Jungkook stomps over the bags, ripping the one Taehyung is holding from his hands and loads them onto his arms before marching to his bedroom. Jimin and Yoongi laugh after him with full glasses of wine.

Namjoon comes behind Jin and wraps his arms around him and rests his chin on Jin’s shoulder as the older man angrily huffs. You wiggle out of Hoseok’s grasp and walk over to them to sandwich Jin in between you and Namjoon. You peer up at him, eyes squinted in happiness.

“Jungkook’s lucky it’s your birthday because any other day, I would have slapped him for talking to me like that,” Jin grumbles.

You and Namjoon laugh. Everyone knows that most of Jin’s threats were harmless.

Jungkook walks back towards you which causes Jin to leave for the kitchen, where he begins to prepare food for dinner with a pout on his face. Jungkook runs a hand through his hair, exposing his forehead and you feel a fluttering inside your chest at the sight.

“Alright, Namjoon, I need you to take Y/N somewhere other than here for at least two hours. Hoseok, you’re in charge of the banners, Taehyung, you’re in charge of the…” Jungkook skeptically glances at you, “special decorations. Jimin! Enough with the alcohol!”

Jimin, not being able to find the wine that has already been opened, has opted into opening a bottle of champagne and was in the midst of pouring himself a glass as Yoongi polishes the rest of his wine off.

You gently guide Jungkook around so he’s facing you. “Jungkook, calm down. There’s no reason to get this stressed over me,” you comfort him.

Jungkook runs his fingers through his hair again and you notice the slight movement of his jaw as he grinds his teeth together. “No,” he whines, “This day is important and I had this whole party planned but then you came home early, so we didn’t have time to prepare everything.” He looks at you with Bambi eyes, “Give me an hour to set up your party.”

Your eyes flicker around his face before you rise on your tiptoes to mold your lips to his. Jungkook sighs into the kiss and you feel the tension leave his shoulders underneath your palms.

You lower yourself flat on your feet and peer up at Jungkook with admiration. “I don’t doubt for a second that you probably had this elaborate celebration planned for me- but to be honest, I think I would rather just spend my birthday with all of you. No expectations, no one bothering us, none of us worrying about stupid stuff. Just us, a couple of movies, lots and lots of food, and” you glance over Jungkook’s shoulder to Jimin, who’s watching with a loving smile and behind him, close to Jin, Taehyung, who slightly gags after taking a sip of whatever drink is in his cup, “a copious amount of alcohol.”

The corners of Jungkook’s lips tilt up. “I’m sorry.”

You kiss along his jaw until you get to his lips, where you lay a few kisses. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” you kiss him again, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Alright,” you smile up at Jungkook before lifting his arm over your head and walking over to Jin, “Let’s bake this cake!” You slap Jin’s ass and he jumps, facing you, an angry blush overtaking his face as you smirk at him and the other’s laugh.

“Yoongi,” you whine.

Yoongi has been trailing his lips up and down your neck for the last forty minutes. His face red due to the alcohol in his system.

“You’re so beautiful. I love you so much-”

You hug Yoongi to you to cut him off. Twice already has he gone off on a drunken ramble where he continuously praises you. And no matter how much the words that leave his lips fill your heart with so much love, you know if you were to let him go off again it would only get the man cuddled into your other side started. Jimin was notorious for his need for praise and when he was drunk, he refused to quiet down until someone complimented him and when in private situations, a praised Jimin became a horny Jimin. And with how squished you all were on the couch if any two people began anything, then everybody else would be dragged into it. Well except for maybe Taehyung, who began dozing off halfway through the third movie.

Yoongi finally found his way to your lips and ignored your weak protests and pressed his lips onto yours. His hand came up to cup your cheek to hold you steady and his teeth lightly nibbled on your lower lip before he ran his tongue in their wake. You pulled away from him with a small pop when you felt a sudden weight on your lap.

Jungkook had taken it upon himself to move from his spot on the floor in front of you to your’s, Jimin’s, Yoongi’s, Namjoon’s, and Hoseok’s laps collectively. Namjoon reflexively grabbed onto Jungkook’s feet and the second Jungkook laid his head on Hoseok’s thighs, Hoseok leaned down and gave the younger a quick kiss.

Leaning on Namjoon, Jin rubbed his eyes tiredly before releasing a yawn. “I’m tired so I’m going to bed.” Getting bored of the movie yourself, you spoke up saying you were going to join him.

“Jagiya, nooo,” Jimin pouted at you and reached out with his hands once you maneuvered yourself from the pile of bodies and were standing in front of the couch waiting for Jin. You breathed out a laugh and leaned over Jungkook to kiss the pink-haired man.

“Are we going to bed?” Taehyung’s sleep riddled voice is probably two-three octaves lower than his normal pitch. His hair has been messed up and his face is now puffy. Something you find incredibly endearing as he slowly sits up and looks at you in question with barely opened eyes.

You quietly giggle and to your side, you hear Namjoon mumble, “How cute.” Taehyung takes your outstretched hands and allows you to guide him. Jin is already walking to his room with one of the many blankets wrapped around him.

“Are we sleeping in Jin’s bed tonight?” Taehyung stumbles into your side.

“Mhmm.”

Your eyes rake over the five boys left on the couch. “Are you guys going to be okay out here?”

“No,” Yoongi wriggles from underneath Jungkook until he’s off the couch and he greedily grabs your hand, “I’m going to bed too.”

“We’ll be fine,” Hoseok reassures you as Jimin shifts so he’s laying next to Jungkook, arms wrapped around his torso and legs wrapped around his hips. You intertwine your fingers with Hoseok’s using your free hand and bend over to quickly meet his lips.

Namjoon stands to meet you. “Happy birthday, baby.” You smile into the kiss and Namjoon gently squeezes your sides. He gives you another kiss, this one shorter but just as sweet.

Namjoon sits back down next to Hoseok and rests his arm on the back of Hoseok’s shoulders as you lead Taehyung and Yoongi to Jin’s room you. By the time you all enter, Jin has brushed his teeth and is changed into his pajamas. At seeing you with company, he breathes out a laugh and walks to his closet to pull out a couple more pillows and throws them on the bed. After you all complete your bedtime routine, you squeeze yourself under the covers and curl into Jin’s side. Yoongi slides into bed after you and shuffles so his chest is completely pressed to your back and you’re sandwiched between the two of them. Taehyung grabs one of the extra pillows and hugs it to his chest before falling onto the bed, his back against Yoongi’s.

You breathe into Jin’s neck, content and warm. “I’m gonna’ have to make a post or video to upload for my birthday, tomorrow,” you drowsily murmur.

“It’s a good thing you’re going to be filming then because the actual surprise Jungkook planned was for tomorrow. He knew you would be expecting him to do something today,” Jin responds back.

You do little to contain your smile in the dark room. “I know. We’re soulmates and he’s an idiot, there’s not a lot him or any of you can hide from me.”

Tags: @kpopgirlbtssvt @detectivebourbon @omgsuperstarg

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martianarctic · 5 years ago

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Devin’s Playlist -2010s Part 1

This is an unfinished retrospective look at what I listened to during the 2010s. This decade was exceptional for me, as it was the first decade where, for almost all of it, I was not a musician myself.

Being a musician forces you to listen to music like a musician, and being free of that, and able to listen as a listener alone, really made this a spectacular decade for me. I found dozens of incredible albums that were released during the decade, many of which received no significant recognition.

This was a very large project, and I did not finish it. I made it through Retrowave, Shoegaze, and Post punk. If anybody cares, I will finish the entire project, which will add Dreampop (the largest category), Vaporwave, and Dark Ambient.

Retrowave: Retrowave is electronic music that, at first listen, sounds like it may be from the 80s or 90s, mostly because the synths it uses to generate the music are either retro-inspired or literally retro equipment in some of the more extreme cases. It generally features original compositions, often, but not always, is instrumental. Rough vocals would impede the tightness and angularity of the music, so when vocals are used they are often pop produced and highly melodic. This genre gained significant exposure from Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 masterpiece, “Drive”.

Galactic Melt (2011) Com Truise

Electronic artist Com Truise rose to prominence off of this fantastic record, which rallies around the undeniable electro anthem of 2012, “Brokendate”. Starting with some found audio (chopped and screwed found audio becomes a big deal later on in Vaporwave) and then dropping in an absolutely thick beat we’re met with a song that eventually, as layers are dropped on, ends up being meditative, romantic, and melancholy. Emotions to that point, not well associated with dance music, but definitely would come to color the entire decade.

Era Extraña (2011) Neon Indian

Electronic solo bedroom pop was pretty cool at the end of the 00s being pushed hard by guys like Twin Shadow. I am not sure how I got ahold of Neon Indian but this album was, in a lot of ways, the true start of my musical decade. I had not been so excited and enthusiastic about a record since I had retired from making music. It really gives you a new perspective to not feel like you’re in competition with everything and trying to learn from everything- just as a listener, I was enthralled with this entire record.

Visitors (2012) Lazerhawk

I did not get into dark retrowave until after 2013 and thus discovered Lazerhawk and this record after the fact. Visitors is, in my opinion, the best dark retrowave album ever made, more consistent and listenable than competitors such as mega drive or carpenter brut. Also. This album absolutely sticks the landing with the street-strutting powerhouse “Arrival”.

I am the Night (2012) Perturbator

Made famous by soundtracking the indie game hit Hotline Miami (one of the best games of the decade), Perturbator carved a niche for himself with fast, brutal, high energy dark electronic music and absolutely bonkers live shows. Perturbator has a large catalog of content- I am the Night is definitely the starter kit. Starting off with a thick minor chord, a church bell, and a sample of Peter Finch’s speech from “Network” you immediately know what’s in store- dark, dystopian and undeniably French electronic dance music, complete with breathtaking beat breaks, big bass synths, and complex compositions.

Innerworld (2014) Electric Youth

I had mentioned that Drive was a major popularizer of retrowave- and one song in particular, a collaboration between another retrowave artist named College, who created the low fi, catchy bassline for the song “A Real Hero”, and the vocals and lyrics, created by an artist called Electric Youth. Their record, 2014’s “Innerworld”, is one of the best retrowave efforts, with the second track, “Runaway”, even better than the song that made them famous. The pop chorus “Maybe we could just run away for good/cuz we’re both mis understood” soaring over thick, atmospheric synth pads will have you slapping the roof of your car, as you race through the freeways of LA at 3AM.

Atlas (2016) FM-84

Speaking of roof-slapping bangers, “Running in the Night” is probably retrowave’s most popular anthem, boasting one of my absolute favorite vocal performances of the decade. A group claiming rock and roll city San Francisco as their home base (despite being both British), FM-84’s Atlas is absolutely packed with a mixture of the atmospheric instrumental Miami Vice type music suggested by the red and purple setting sun cover as well as vocal driven pop songs such as the single mentioned above.

Hardwired (2018) Mitch Murder

Mitch Murder is a retrowave institution, having made the soundtrack to the viral youtube movie Kung Fury, and also, I suspect, the original music used by twitch personality Dr. Disrespect. However, he almost entirely releases 3-5 song Eps, making it tough to pick out a standout. However that all changed in 2018 with the release of Hardwired, the most accomplished mitch murder release to date. Starting off with the Jan Hammer style “Altered State”, it stays on brand throughout but tells a very unified instrumental story of cyberpunk dystopian adventure. Vangelis-style synths bring in the closer track, “Revision Control”, one of Mitch Murder’s greatest tracks. Evolving through different moods, different scenes, we can imagine the “human” protagonist confronting his cyborg nemesis he has been tasked to execute.

Retrowave Album of the Decade:

Dark All Day (2018) Gunship

As the decade wore on, retro wave slowed down for me. I thought it might be over but- without warning, Gunship, an artist I had listened to but not been completely impressed by, released what is probably the most accomplished album in the genre. Spanning various tempos and musical themes, utilizing several guest vocalists, the scope of “Dark All Day” keeps you listening to the record again and again. This record represents an evolution in a format that was at risk of being just a fad. “Come on lost boys, lets stay alive” over a ripping saxophone lead suggests mere 80s fetishism, but there is more substance than just that. The following track, “When you Grow Up, Your Heart Dies”, takes an upbeat electro jam, and really goes for emotional impact with a series of samples of characters from pop culture saying inspirational things, my favorite being “Everything worth doing is hard” which I think is just Teddy Roosevelt. My favorite track of the record, the slow ballad “Artemis & Parzival”, begins with swooning, Vangelis-style pads and then into guest vocalist Stella Le Page’s gorgeous vocals. This track definitely belongs on anybody’s make out playlist. “Were all gonna die that’s just how it is, there’s no escaping the future, nobody gets what they want in this world, even for you and me” is one of the greatest lyrics of the decade.

Nugaze/Shoegaze-Adjacent: Shoegaze is a genre of music that features highly layered guitar effects (often run through 10 or more effects, creating a signature “vacuum cleaner” sound with a ton of distortion and white noise) and breathy vocals. Relying heavily on the depth of character of the sound, shoegaze guitar tone and production is a major creative point and almost all of these records are self-produced. Vocal themes are usually depression-inspired and lovelorn meditations, the music sounds, to most, dull and dreary, but to some, it speaks deeply to their feelings about the past and future. Shoegaze is often mixed with other guitar genres on this list, from Post Hardcore(Nothing, Title Fight), Black Metal(Deafheaven), and Thrash Metal (Astronoid).

Road Eyes (2010) Amusement Parks on Fire

Around 2010, I was promoted at my job to a new role that would require a bunch of travel. I was not a big fan of riding on airplanes. Also around that time, my brother had moved into my apartment, then out of it, and I only had a few months left on the lease. My favorite shoegaze band of the 2000s, Amusement Parks on Fire, played a gig at 330 Ritch, a club in san Francisco. I had a fantastic time at the show, and particularly loved their new material, which made it onto a record they called Road Eyes. 2 months later I moved out of my apartment in San Francisco and never would go back to living as a single dude.

Anyways, the travelling. The opening and title track to the record came to symbolize change for me. And it also was the song I would listen to every time my plane would take off. It helped me deal with the fear that something might happen- no matter how insignificant the chance – and if it did, while that song was on, it would be okay. Indeed, this was, and I will warn you I am not qualified to treat mental illness, but this actually really made flying much easier for me and it is a ritual I continue to do to this day, whenever possible.

Pipe Dreams(2013), Sway(2014), Feels like You (2019) Whirr

San Francisco nugaze/dronegaze band Whirr, large and complex, problematic, aggressive, are behind some of my favorite music of the decade. Their three album career reflects to me upon the primary feelings of youth: euphoria, anger, and sadness.

Pipe Dreams is a blissful set of jams, meditative, energetic uptempo and with almost totally co-ed vocals. Noisy production casts a hydrocarbon haze over the songs, raw vocal melodies reach out of the fuzz and suck you in. “Junebouvier” and “Toss” capture the euphoric and youthful energy of a summer in San Francisco: starting off with breakups May thru July, and hot hookups until September or October when people settle into relationships. Two hungry eyes emerging from straight-bangs to make eye contact with you, and hold it- the exhilaration of touching somebody new.

Sway, the band’s masterwork, starts off with a heavily muff-distorted major 7th chord suspending us until the massive drums, now a hallmark of the band’s sound, kick off the beat into the opening rocker Press. The band switches up rhythms between drums, guitars, and bass to bring rock and roll-type turnarounds and breaks that really keep you on your toes and engaged. The lead guitar is classic legato shoegaze, using delay to achieve a long, sustained scream. Compositions are key on this record- not following just simple A/B patterns there’s some thought to the structure of the songs and record. “Dry”, in particular, demonstrates some of these ideas. A/B sections, underscored with “Drown me everytime… Dry”, give way to breaks, ethereal echo guitar solos, giving a hint of the powerful ending. A 4 chord progression accented by breathtaking drum fills finaly flourishes into a screaming cymbal-laden guitar finish.

Feels like You, the bands purported final album, starts off with some quiet echo piano. The melancholy major 7 chords the band has leaned on throughout their music are laid bare as we press play on the record. Add guitar. At a little after 90 seconds the band jumps in after with a thick blanket of lonesome self-reflection and chemical depression. The bands penchant for composition remains to the end, with changes keeping you engaged as the noise soothes your heart. “Younger than You” is one of the band’s greatest tracks, starting with an almost Smashing Pumpkins/Silversun Pickups esque clean unison guitar/bass into distorted and layered noise, ending with a drum-guided, rock and roll style outro.

Guilty of Everything (2014) Nothing

One of the things I mention in my preface to this is, for me, the 2010s were the first decade of my life that ended with me not being a musician. And it opened some doors for me, creatively, to be able to hear music and think about it purely as a listener and a person. Something others have frequently described to me, that I had never really done, was just spend an entire weekend listening to an album.

I saw Nothing on KEXP 5 years ago when Guilty of Everything was out and they were on tour. I’ve seen them twice in person since them and bought every one of their records. The weekend that I got Guilty, I was attending a close friend’s sisters wedding, and pretty much was in a hotel room drunk in overcast-as-fuck santa cruz all weekend. And you know what was being played through headphones at practically all times.

Nothing is mostly the musical project of a guy named Dominic Palermo, a punk from the Philly scene that had spent more than a year in prison for a stabbing. He isn’t much of a vocalist or guitarist, but he is a fantastic artist, writer, photographer, and visionary, and the creative force behind what is now a rotating cast of other musicians.

Guilty of Everything is definitely their best record, opening with the massive meditation Hymn to the Pillory, into the definitive single Bent Nail, a perfect marriage of hardcore punk and shoegaze elements, falling apart into the 90mph crash, into a wall, final outro chorus “If you feel like/letting go…” repeated over and over over pure drone guitars, seamlessly flowing into the romantic slow jam “Endlessly” The closing title track is one of the best closers of the decade, perfectly sticking the landing on this brilliant lyric: “My hands are up, I’m on my knees I don’t have a gun, you can search me please. I’ve given up, but you shoot me anyway, I’m guilty of everything. I’m guilty of everything”.

Hyperview (2015) Title Fight

Nothing wasn’t the only Pennsylvanian post-hardcore band to bend their sound a bit shoegaze. Title Fight also sneaks onto this list with their outstanding record Hyperview from 2015. Appealing compositions and melodies combine with harmonized vocals, even some 16 beats on the hats- things we expect from post hardcore, but slowed down and smeared out a bit into the shoegaze aesthetic. My favorite track from the record, “Hypernight”, combines some screamo hype man chorus, math rock inspired guitar and bass lines, and is just all in all one of the most unique tracks to come out of the decade. “I don’t want to see things differently, its what I am taught myself to believe”.

Grandfeathered (2016) Pinkshinyultrablast

I admit that I bounced off of Russian electro-shoegazers Pinkshinyultrablast the first time I listened to them a few years ago. There was just too much going on and I didn’t really have the inclination to jump in and grab on. Operatic female vocals, noisy djenty guitar, shimmery, clean guitar, all swirl together in what is undoubtably a great record for having a tinder date IF, and I say IF, you’re willing to run a musicological acid test on them.

Whether it was listening to a bunch more music, particularly ambient music, or just changing taste now I can’t get enough of this band. They do slam from idea to idea in a song, but it’s a controlled speed- it’s not pleasant to a lot of people, but once you get yourself situated, you’ll wonder how you ever missed this band to begin with, if you’re not one of the people reading this and thinking, naw dude, I got this shit RIGHT AWAY.

The compositions on the record are, in fact, carefully considered and composed, combining noise rock with clean ambience deftly and changing up styles repeatedly throughout each song and the record. Everybody knows we can no longer control dynamics via volume in today’s world of headphone/device listening, ultramaximizing mastering, laptop speakers, etc. So Pinkshinyultrablast controls it with style. This record is definitely the more guitar-driven of the albums from this decade, with their release 2 years later being more electronic and vocal focused.

Slowdive (2017) Slowdive/My Bloody Valentine (2013) mbv

There are two bands that are credited with creating and or popularizing the Shoegaze movement during the late 80s and early 90s. Those bands are My Bloody Valentine, and Slowdive. Both of whom released albums during the 2010s. And frankly, both records are damn good for two bands that have been basically on hiatus for 20 years. Neither has really stood the test of time for me, although I listened to both exhaustively upon release.

The opening tracks of both records are absolutely mesmerizing, this slow, sexy intro is clearly the part of them that became stronger with age. The manic rock energy of their more upbeat tracks however is absent or at least forced, and I think is what keeps these from being really what I’d call strong records. Nevertheless, both albums belong on any shoegazer’s playlists both for the quality of the music as well as the nod to the progenators of the genre we love so much.

Time n Place (2018) Kero Kero Bonito

KKB was already one of the biggest indie rock groups in the world when they released this their second full-length album. Making a big move sound-wise from super squeaky clean hip hop style production to sloppy shoegaze guitars and drums, they alienated a lot of fans with Time n Place, but I don’t see how. For me, coming in for Time n Place and then going back in the catalogue to Bonito Generation, I see it as a very natural progression. As the artists become more confident and mature, it’s natural they should explore some other emotions and moods.

That said I am not the usual KKB fan. Actually at their show in San Francisco in 2018 I was probably in the top 95 percentile of being an old fart. Around me, mostly twentysomethings on the first half decade, casually doing key bumps right on the show floor, something scared old gen Xers like me, still remembering their friend’s divorced dads in cigarette boats they sold for coke in the 80s, are still too paranoid to do. The crowd definitely starting pogo jumping at the chorus to “Only Acting” a grungy, poppy metaphor between acting on stage, and being young and in love.

Right after that, “Flyaway“ is the upbeat shoegazey manic anthem that really got me sucked into the band to begin with. Combining fuzzy guitars that are more reminiscent of Japanese rock bands of the 00s than shoegaze with a crystalline clear melodic vocal line from Sarah, this is the track where I grab a handful of dirt from my dying hill, and say if you don’t like this song, you don’t like the band, the record, or my musical taste.

Miserable Miracles (2018) Pinkshinyultrablast

Reinventing themselves record by record, Pinkshinyultrablast keeps on the cutting edge and doesn’t make a habit of anything. Miserable Miracles is more electronics driven, lead and pad synthesizers bringing in the music with their trademark soaring, operatic vocals. Guitars are present as well, but heavily stretched with cathedral reverb and long delay. A smoother sound than Grandfeathered, but well-poised to issue a majestic, meditative prayer such as “Find your Saint”, my favorite track. Like walking into a Germanic church on Sunday, the vocals rise to the ceiling forcing you to look up at the light breaking in through stained glass synthesizers. At about 100 seconds, all of the pieces drop in together to lift you into wherever it is you are going. “I used to talk- about it” brings the heavenly outro to bear, one of the most powerful musical moments of the decade.

Astronoid (2019) Astronoid

I am part of a few music groups on Facebook, and one of them mentioned this band, calling them “Dream Thrash”- a combination of dreampop and thrash metal. I’d say its more thrashgaze, with heavy effects/djenty guitar and the more whispery vocals than are a hallmark of the shoegaze genre, not the clear pop produced vocals that are the hallmark of dreampop.

That out of the way, this is possibly my favorite record of 2019. The opening track, “A New Color”, brims with energy and hopeful optimism and replaced Road Eyes as my airplane take off song. Right around 3 minutes in, when the plane is airborne and gaining climbing u to cruise, when we’re often breaking through the clouds, comes in possibly my favorite guitar solo of all time. On this record, Astronoid are unquestionably uptempo metal yet somehow at the same time being slow-changing enough to carry the emotional weight of shoegaze. The second track, “Dream in Lines”, is an aggressive, more metal-informed rocker, and the third is a power ballad that absolutely sealed the deal for me in terms of loving this album.

Other high points include the uptempo thrash jam “Breathe” and “Water”. Again infusing the metal, djenty mute strum guitar with soaring vocals and heavy backing harmonics, this record continues again and again to deliver head-banging jams that touch and heal a deep sadness in the soul. “Water” is a darker exploration, starting with a heavy chunky two-guitar & bass instrumental, virtuous breaks, and expansive echo and reverb. The band sounds like they are playing in the middle of an interstellar arena, fists human and alien in the sky.

The album sticks the landing with the penultimate track “Beyond the Scope”. This incredible song starts slowly, but upon reaching a turn, goes double-time as the melody and music climbs in pitch at 100 seconds in. This transition takes us into a greater urgency, with sustained, over-flying guitar notes keeping the harmony rich and complex.

Then, the beat drops out and a single guitar chord rings- “My hands are on my ears/They won’t stop ringing” smashes into your brain and your heart. Then again, the building section- “Feeble-minded/I can not decide/in my world, now I know/there’s no such thing as dying/so leave with a goodbye” and into another build and back to the chorus-

“My hands are on my ears/they won’t stop ringing”. I don’t think any lyric can better express the decade than that. If it were somehow possible for this album to end on this song, it would be at the head of this category.

Everything Starts to Be a Reminder (2019) Echodrone

As a former musician, I have a lot of friends who are musicians. I am very brutally honest about my feelings in music and that can make it awkward to have to comment on a friend’s hard work. Echodrone’s latest record made this very easy- the record is simply amazing. Echodrone’s earlier records bounced off of me a bit, but this one has just the right mixture of drone-drenched empty space, ethereal vocals, emotional anguish and euphoria, and a strong connection to the last 10 years in my mind. The tracks are named after the four seasons, starting with Winter and ending with Autumn. Interestingly, the tracks do not really stand out as being separate in my mind, much like how you cannot easily separate a season from another season in the same year.

“Winter” explodes with an epic, cymbal-laden meditation, that continues to grow and grow and expand, then finally becomes quieter, more melodic, and less drony in the second half of the 18 ½ minute song.

“Spring” features a finger-pick echo guitar interspersed with a beautiful co-ed vocal line guiding us down a pathway of different melodic and harmonic ideas. It then enters into a several-minutes long jammy contemplation that is utterly ecstatic to me- synths layered with effects-laden bass and more echo guitar into a full stop.

The best song on the record, “Summer”, begins with a vocal sample into a more or less straight-ahead rock and roll jam. This gives way to a downtempo effects section, then at right after 4 ½ minutes, gives way to a sound I can only call Olympian in hugeness. Fuzz bass, echoing guitars, and multilayered female vocals create this trance-like atmosphere that is rarefied and deeply marked with potent and everchanging imagery at the same time, like cream on top of coffee.

The sound continues to change and becomes quiet again once again with echo guitars carrying the music through. Back to a rhythmic return at 12 ¾ minutes. A synth flute melody flies over the whispered vocals, complex drum patterns- an opine to the end of life’s summer, the bitter sweetness of being old enough to not be hurt anymore by unlikely things failing to fly.

Shoegaze Album of the Decade:

Sunbather (2013) Deafheaven

A single distorted guitar chord progression holding several notes through the chords for changing harmonics, exploding into double kick and even more guitars, into black metal screaming- this is the unmistakable beginning of Sunbather by San Francisco black metal band Deafheaven.

Due to its downtempo sections, overall distorted and layered production, and emotional scope, this album is loved not just by black metal fans but also by shoegaze fans such as myself. It is a perfect example of a successful crossover- not anticipated or forced in any way by the creators- but it just happens to work on so many different levels.

There are really only four songs on this record, the tracks in between them are much needed interludes. Something all Deafheaven songs do very well is compositioning. These tracks play out, in a way, like classical pieces, with many different sections, transitions, themes, changes, openings, closings, callbacks- it’s so incredibly dense and accomplished that you can listen to this album for weeks on end and still be surprised.

“Dream House” is the blazing opener of the record and puts on display everything we love about every song on here. To make this song the first track is insane, simply because of how over-the-top insanely powerful it is. After a brief interlude of just picked echo guitar, a single chord strum, the entire band comes back in a beat later, and this isn’t even the most emotional part of the song. That’s going to be at 7 minutes, 20 seconds in “I watched/It die!!!” screeches the vocalist as a guitar ostinado plays over the key notes that have been presented throughout the song in brutal crystal clarity. Then at 8 minutes- the vocalist and guitar break down, screaming and double picking guitar notes. It is difficult not to cry at this ending- and this is only the first song on the record.

“Sunbather” is both the title track and the album’s dark heart. Thrumming with a complex beat from the start, the other instruments are layered over this like a tangle of vines across an iron fence. Skillful use of double kick and drum fills keeps the band on target as we get to the breaks and turnarounds. The cymbals and guitars swirl creating complex patterns. Listening to this song from far away with extremely poor speakers would sound like static- similar to how Jupiter looks like a pale gold smear- turn up the volume a little, get a little closer, and you see the rich, threatening complexity of the swirling clouds of music and emotion. The song ends with a slow section about ¾ of the way through the 10 minute piece. An unforgettable echo guitar line plays sparsely over drums- invoking a Cure-like gothic sensibility. Then the band comes back in, playing the same melody and expanding upon it, a lighting bolt magnified to a thousand forks and twists going in all directions. It is the melodies at the end of Sunbather that were stuck in my head, unforgettable, after listening to this record. Unlike Dream House, this song ends on a down note, a question- the rest of the album is to give an answer, and incredibly, you will not be disappointed.

“Vertigo” is the longest song on the record at 14 ½ minutes, a blazing, minor key rocker that is meant to emotionally drag us down as far as we can go after Sunbather. The ending of the song invokes the Beatles “She’s So Heavy” before heading into “Windows” an ambient and spoken word piece featuring a drug deal gone bad- unquestionably a node to The Tenderloin, one of the more drug-laden districts in San Francisco and likely location of the band’s rehearsal studios.

Into “The Pecan Tree”, a song that has an seemingly impossible task: To somehow stick the landing of an extremely powerful and emotional record. We are looking for something coming into this track, but we are not totally sure what it is. We need something, but we can only follow the lights. The song opens up with insane double-kick guitar madness, 2 step rhythm, and then at 1:20 we see a glimpse through the storm, a hole of blue, that we can make it to, if we keep on going. Keep on going. Keep on walking. Smashing, swirling guitars and screams return, our view obstructed. Everything seems to be going at maximum at the end of this first section of the song.

At just after 3 minutes, the sonic assault finally begins to slow down, a march tempo into double kick continuous cymbals, back to march tempo, then, at 4 minutes 19 seconds, only picked echo guitar heralds us into the second section. The star of this section is a piano ostinato combined with the echo guitar, with a second guitar playing playful melodies over it. This is the starry night we can now see that the storm has cleared- this is the most optimistic and life affirming music on the record. A found audio recording of a detuned radio signals the ending of this section.

Eventually, this music fades just before four metal beats brings us to the conclusion- an octave-fingering guitar line and screeching vocal that is in my view one of the most awesome emotional turnarounds that I have ever experienced musically. The remaining outro sums up the entire record- life is big, difficult, unknowable, chaotic. Great albums stick the landing- and this ending does so, with incredible energy, on a record that did not even need it. Sunbather. One of the greatest rock records of all time and one of the very few of those albums to come out now, just about half a century after the 60s.

Post Punk Revivalists: The king of indie rock genres in the 00s, post punk was largely set down at the end of the decade with the major acts of the decade releasing milquetoast or downright laughable fare (are we human, or are we dancer?). However, post punk exploded back onto the scene in 2012 with The Money Store by Death Grips. Some returning groups from the 00s did end up releasing fantastic records, Roma 79 and Daughters being my favorites.

Cardinal Star (2014) Roma 79

I discovered north San Francisco bay area band Roma 79 through their single from the 00s, “Gold”, a sort of heavy, post-punk rocker with a few-thousand views on Youtube. I was very surprised when they reunited and recorded this followup album, which was one of my favorite records of 2014. Featuring a good amount of synth and dreampoppy guitar lines, the main standouts are the vocals and the brilliant drumming, which is a hallmark of great post-punk records of the 00s such as Fever to Tell or Turn On the Bright Lights. The strongest single on the record, “Seventeen”, features a complex drum lines, interlaced with vocals and synths. The song slowly builds up in emotional intensity and drops in layers of vaguely Phil Collins-esque drums and backing vocals, blossoming into a powerful meditative love song. “I’ll wait for it with you.” The final song on the record, is almost an answer to this track, closing the record on a strong point.

You Won’t Get What You Want (2018) Daughters

Daughters is another post-punk band that returned to release a followup nearly 10 years later with 2018’s “You Won’t Get What You Want”. Like all great post punk records, there are a number of characters in this room, and they all can be heard, each having their moments in the spotlight and their moments in the shadows.

One such character is the drums. A crushing combination of live and multitracking effects create a rhythm that provides both the constant heartbeat required by driving rock and roll based music, but also the texture, the complexity, that we seek out in the genre. Lots of tom toms used to keep the beat as opposed to cymbals, practically no hat. Invoking Killing Joke, except when they don’t want to right away, but bring it in later.

Another character is the vocals. Spoken word/sing song type delivery, where the mood and the words and more important than the melody. Lyrics invoke isolation, depression, contraction, abandonment, decline. It would almost be enough with just that, these drums and vocals- but this will also be added by another character, the music. The music seems to be generated mostly by guitar and bass, but there are clearly some synthesizer elements as well, used sparingly and to great effect. I can’t really describe the guitar tone, I would say, it shimmers, but not in an enlightening way. It’s like flashes in the dark, disorienting more than illuminating. The sound is like wood coming off a circular saw. It’s definitely this guitar sound that draws people into this record. All elements are moody, dark, aggressive, but it’s the guitar that really lays down flashes over the blackness.

“Satan in the Wait”, one of the best single tracks on the record, features an off-balance drum beat, carried by toms, and an air-raid siren like guitar sound. A throbbing, distorted bassline in time with the kick drum. At 1:30 in we are given a guitar riff that is beautiful and invoking of a banjo, lending a sensation of urban, southern gothic emotions. Horror film soundtracks come to mind, a combination of unsettling ambience and clear, unforgettable melodies. “Their Bodies are open” the chorus goes, making me think of world-ending events, a transformational death as seen in Arthur C. Clarkes Childhood’s End.

Another of my favorite tracks, “Daughter”, begins with a “bela legosi is dead” kick and snare rim drum beat, possibly electronic, along with a shimmery, surf-rock toned guitar riff. As the song proceeds, more elements are dropped in, and the drums are of particular note here, at 1:23 or so, they drop into a complex beat involving toms, cymbals, and snare. At 2:05 they drop in a clear guitar riff on top of raw noise, building to a climax with the vocal “There’s a war!” At this point, the noise drops out, just a clear guitar riff reminiscent of “Satan in the Wait”, drums coming in at 3:15 or so are particularly impactful.

The final track, “Guest House”, opens on a nearly unbearable sonic assault, the lyrics invoking somebody trapped outside of a bomb shelter during an apocalypse. Once again the gap between unbearable noise and beautiful melody is bridged, as the final dissonant chords give way to deep, harmonic, peaceful orchestra swells.

Post Punk Album of the Decade:

The Money Store (2012) Death Grips

The first time somebody played “Get Got” for me, it was during a really chillwave phase in my music taste and I was completely lost, and didn’t really understand what people saw in Death Grips. I was intrigued enough though, and circled back on some tracks from Exmilitary, their prior record. The more laid back tone and empty space present in tracks such as “Culture Shock” kept me interested enough to give The Money Store another shot a year or so later.

As my interest in chillwave started to fade, and I sought more emotional substance to my music, I returned to the Money Store, and was hooked. Each track is a relentless blast of aggressive drum beats, synthesizer driven melodies, and of course the unmistakable rap vocals of MC Ride.

A strong comparison for me, is between this record, and Joy Division’s second and final record, “Closer”. Relentless beats, but never getting boring, always inventing new rhythms to cast a texture over the musical landscape. Short, fast songs, transitioning from one beat and tempo to the other, never giving you a chance to catch your breath.

The music is highly influenced by hip hop, appearing to be a chopped and cut style, with synthesizers combined with production on the vocals, adding vocals, filter sweeps, reverses, etc- so much energy and craft went into creating what is on its surface very simple music- drums, vocals, and production. Standout track “Hustle Bones” does a fantastic job of expressing what is so great about every song on this record. Everything barely makes sense, but then it all comes together in a singular moment that anybody can nod their head to.

MC Ride’s best is on display in the classic hit, “I’ve Seen Footage”. In his relentless, attacking rap style, he tells us the story of watching gore or wtf videos from reddit or 4chan (or Stile Project if you’re really old like me)- describing what he’s seen, and then underscoring that with the chorus, “I stay noided”- the character Ride creates is deeply anxious and paranoid, while at the same time being insatiable in the quest for knowing more, something I believe is nearly universal to the experience of the internet-informed human, a phenomenon that would later in the decade lead to diseases thought dead brought back by anti-vax movements, and the election of conspiracy theorist and popularizer Donald Trump as president of the united states.

And that’s the formula to each track on Money Store- working around something more or less literal, Ride’s poetry brings us into the dark state the world was only beginning to enter at the start of the decade.

Closing track “Hacker” opens with a recording of Ride, yelling, presumably at a concert “No ins and outs!!! You come out, your shit is GONE”, then into a 4-on the floor dance beat to end the record on an absolute banger. The music, carried by the beat and Ride’s systematic delivery, is left to its own devices, with glitchy, cut-off synth arpeggios, everything getting out of the way of the beat. “Having conversations with your car alarm”, “you speak with us in certain circles, you will be dethroned or detained”, and “Gaga can’t handle this shit” are some of the lyrical gems that Ride has saved for last here, closing out a post punk record that stands alongside Closer or Turn on the Bright Lights as one of the best of all time.

#music postpunk shoegaze retrowave vaporwave ambient darkambient dreampop nothingmusic whirr deafheaven astronoid deathgrips

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erikahenningsen · 5 years ago

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My 15 favorite theater experiences of 2019

In no particular order:

1. Choir Boy (Samuel Friedman Theatre, New York, NY): I say in no particular order, but if you know anything about me, you know that Choir Boy is my number-one show of the year. I saw it four times on Broadway and twice in Boston. Tarell Alvin McCraney’s writing is so beautiful, human, and fearless. He puts works of art on stages, television, and film that nobody else does. Jeremy Pope’s performance as Pharus is easily in the top three greatest performances I’ve seen on a Broadway stage. If your local regional theater is doing this show, I cannot encourage you enough to go and see it.

2. What the Constitution Means to Me (Helen Hayes Theater, New York, NY): This show was unlike any other play I’ve seen before. Heidi Schreck, who wrote and starred in WTCMTM, wrote a deeply human, poignant, and timely play about a document written by a bunch of rich, white men a few centuries ago and made it gripping, engaging, and relevant. It’s a show I believe every American should see. As an added bonus, Heidi is genuinely one of the kindest people I’ve met.

3. The Wrong Man (MCC Theater, New York, NY): I saw The Wrong Man for the first time three weeks before it closed, and I immediately fell in love with it and went back several more times in those three weeks. The Wrong Man is only ninety minutes long and has only three main characters, but it presents an engaging story about forgiveness, mercy, justice, guilt, and innocence. Ross Golan, the composer/lyricist, began performing The Wrong Man as a concept album thirteen years ago and turned it into a full musical. The score is beautiful and has some really great bops, and the choreography is probably the best I’ve ever seen.

4. Waitress with Sara Bareilles and Gavin Creel (Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York, NY): I’m personally not the biggest fan of Waitress, but this was one of the most fun nights I had in a theater this year. Sara and Gavin had amazing chemistry, and I have never laughed so much at Waitress before.

5. A Strange Loop (Playwrights Horizons, New York, NY): A Strange Loop is unlike any show I’ve ever seen before. It’s unlike anything anyone has seen before. How many shows center around a fat, black, queer character? I can’t think of any. Michael R. Jackson, the book writer/composer/lyricist, has an incredible ability to write satire that has you laughing at the same time you’re being punched in the face emotionally. A Strange Loop grapples with the intersections of racism, homophobia, and fatphobia. It’s meta at the same time it’s grounded, and gets more and more intense as the show progresses. I walked out of the theater in a daze after I saw it. My fingers are crossed it comes to Broadway.

5. Mean Girls, Taylor Louderman’s last show (August Wilson Theatre, New York, NY): Going to Mean Girls is a routine thing for me, and I’ve seen the show dozens of times, but every once in awhile something special happens that reignites my love for this show. Taylor’s last show was obviously incredibly sad for me, the cast, and everyone who loves this show, but I also laughed more and harder on this evening than I have in a very long time at Mean Girls. Everyone, especially Taylor, was giving this performance their all, and I’ll never forget it.

6. The Secret Life of Bees (Atlantic Theater Company, New York, NY): I had suspicions I was really going to love this show before I saw it, but I absolutely fell in love with it. The music is gorgeous (thank you, Duncan Sheik), the performances are stellar, and the story, though set decades ago, is as timely and relevant as ever. I do cry at shows pretty often, but rarely do I tear up because of how overwhelmingly beautiful a show is—but I did that at Secret Life of Bees. I’m still impatiently waiting on that Broadway transfer announcement.

7. Beetlejuice (Winter Garden Theatre, New York, NY): Despite all its flaws, I love this crazy, loud, obnoxious, wild show so much. I had seen it in DC and counted down the days until first preview on Broadway. I rushed first preview and ended up with front-row tickets, and I had one of the most fun nights in a theater I’ve ever had. The performances really make the show, and I’ve been very vocal about how I strongly believe Leslie Kritzer was snubbed by the Tonys. Beetlejuice also has my favorite scenic design for any show. I also have a uniquely personal connection to this showL Beetlejuice used to have a joke in the show I felt was offensive, so I reached out to Eddie Perfect and Alex Timbers and explained to them why I was hurt by it, and they actually listened to my feedback and removed the joke. I’m hoping Beetlejuice can find another home after June, because I’m not ready to say goodbye yet.

8. Next to Normal (Ground Floor Theatre/Deaf Austin Theatre, Austin, TX): For years I had been wanting an ASL production of Next to Normal with Sandra Mae Frank as Natalie, so when it actually happened I knew I had to fly to Texas to see it. I don’t think I’ve ever cried more at a show. Sandy made me look at Natalie in a whole new way, and the ASL interpretations of the lyrics added so many new layers to the show. Megg Rose, the Deaf actor who played Diana, gave one of the best performances I’ve seen, and I want her to be on Broadway immediately. This production really was a dream come true for me.

9. Six (Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago, IL): We drove to Chicago from NYC to see Six, and it was definitely worth it. I was in the front row for the first time I saw it, which was a terrifying but incredibly fun experience. This cast is so incredibly talented, and the show is so much fun, and being there with almost all of my closest friends was such a memorable experience. I’m so excited to see it again when it comes to Broadway.

10. Little Shop of Horrors (Westside Theatre, New York, NY): This was my first experience seeing LSOH, and I had an absolute blast. The performances were incredible, with Christian Borle being just off-the-wall crazy. I haven’t laughed that much at a show in awhile. The Audrey II puppets are fantastic, and what they’ve done with the scenic design in such a small space is amazing. I’m excited to see it again with Gideon Glick.

11. Indecent (Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, MA): Indecent is and always will be my favorite play, and I’m so incredibly grateful I got to see it again in Boston. Huntington recreated the Broadway production with many of the original cast members, and it was such a special show. I never thought I’d see that production again live, and Huntington gave me such an incredible gift with this play.

12. Freestyle Love Supreme (Booth Theatre, New York, NY): FLS is just fun from start to finish. It’s completely improvised with special unannounced guests every night, so it’s different every time you see it. I loved seeing how they made the show more inclusive between Off-Broadway and Broadway (by asking people their pronouns, for example), and I have a blast every time.

13. Ain’t Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations (Imperial Theatre, New York, NY): I saw Ain’t Too Proud mostly for Jeremy Pope, and I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I genuinely loved the show. Derrick Baskin is one of the most hardworking performers on Broadway—he literally does not leave the stage. The choreography is so much fun, and each person in the cast is so incredibly talented. It’s also one of the most pleasant stage doors I’ve ever experienced; everyone at the stage door just really genuinely wants to congratulate and thank the performers, and the actors are so kind.

14. Teeth (National Alliance for Musical Theatre Festival, New York, NY): It’s wild even to me that I’m putting a staged partial reading on this list, but that’s how good Teeth was. I spent the entire time laughing, and the songs are constantly stuck in my head. Everyone at the festival was talking about how much they loved the show, so I’m hopeful there will be a full production of it sometime soon.

15. Slave Play (John Golden Theatre, New York, NY): It’s hard to talk about Slave Play because it transcends descriptors like “good” or “bad.” Slave Play is important. It’s complex. It’s necessarily provocative. And it’s shaken up Broadway like no show has in recent memory. It’s a show I think every American adult should see. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I saw it. It only runs for a couple more weeks, and if you haven’t seen it, you need to.

#this was hard because i have no concept of time and can't remember anything that happened before may #long post #i'm gwen and i approve this message

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thebeautyoffandoms · 5 years ago

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10 of The Best Vocaloid/Utaite/J-Pop/Anime Themes/etc Songs That I’ve Stumbled Across! (AKA 10 Best Weeb Songs That I’ve Stumbled Across):

Sorry for my repetitive vocabulary...

1) (trigger warning) Ruru’s Suicide Livestream (Shinsei Kamattechan)-

One thing I always find amazing about songs is when they have a story behind them. Ruru’s Suicide Livestream (also translated into other similar titles. I.e. Ruru’s Suicide Show on a Livestream, Ruru’s Livestream Suicide Show. You can search and find it by any title such as those.) tells the story of a 14 year old Japanese girl. According to what I’ve read, she would livestream things ranging from singing and playing the piano (rather impressively), to running across busy streets. Up until the day she livestreamed herself jumping, with some people encouraging it. The singer/songwriter for this song, who has BPD and has attempted suicide in the past, felt deeply enough for the poor girl to write a song about it. As sad as the story is, I have to compliment how well the song’s put together. Along with the fact that I have a huge soft spot for songs that have sad lyrics/meanings but a happy tune, the singing in this song sounds so… strained? Sad, almost in pain. Which is how Roro-chan must have felt. The art and animation in the video are also incredibly impressive. I really respect how they tried, and succeeded I believe, to tell the story in Roro-chan’s perspective. With everything put together how impressively it was, the song is enough to bring me to tears, even if it does have such a positive-sounding tune. (NOTEWORTHY COVER: MDATripleStar’s Cover! I really, really, like this cover! The singer manages to keep the sadness that the original singer had, and does a really great job at keeping the same overall sound in her voice. I also think that the lyrics used here fit really nicely!)

2) (trigger warning, adult themes) Wozwald (Niru Kajitsu)-

I have to start this by saying, I’m honestly not a big fan of how they tuned vflower. But, even with that, this is still my favorite song. Wozwald has such an eerie tune, that’s also pretty sad-sounding, with (in my opinion) equally as eerie/sad lyrics. I enjoy the fact that they leave most of the theorizing up to the viewers. Though, at my first glances, Wozwald seemed to be about a man questioning religion, the more I listened to it and watched the video closer, the more I began to see it a bit differently. Is is about religion? Morals? Happiness? Lost family members? Oswald the Lucky Rabbit? All of the above? Or maybe none of that. (I really like this theory!) I also really like that they throw in another character from another song (Kalmia.) The visuals also stole my heart from the beginning. It being mainly black-and-white suits the song, and I adore the art style. Especially the lighting. It’s really nice to look at! (NOTEWORTHY COVER: any fan of this song probably saw this coming- miy_yuu’s cover! He always does such an awesome job on his covers, and this one is no different! From the whispery parts, to the high notes, I think just about everything here is beautiful. The subtitles on the video are also super neat!)

3) Yellow (Yoh Kamiyama)-

This song, right from the beginning, is awesome to listen to. The way it starts off with a simple beat, and Kamiyama’s amazing voice, and then quickly switches to more instruments. Though the switch isn’t anything crazy, it’s still there, and it’s a rather beautiful change. I think the meaning of this song is clearer than Wozwald, but I still like that it’s left for people to decide. The most “obvious” (in my opinion) theory being that Yellow is about a past relationship, most likely a toxic one, and the boy trying to get over it. While some may say the art isn’t “anything impressive”, I think it’s still a key factor in what makes this song one of my favorites. It’s done sort of like a sketch, and has simple colors. Which reflects how the song itself sounds… pretty simple. Yet, it’s still incredible, just like the art. The animation is also very neat! While it looks almost like normal animation, it manages to be… a bit off putting? Most everything about this song and video is almost… hypnotizing? (NOTEWORTHY COVER: JubyPhonic’s Cover! I really like her vocal range in this cover! It suits her voice amazingly. And, once again, I love her translyrics. I also admire the fact that she got this cover out, and beautifully done, when she wasn’t feeling her best.)

4) Nandemo Nadari (KANA-BOON)-

Such a cute song! It may not seem very impressive to some, but I absolutely adore this! It’s such a genuinely happy sounding song, and the lyrics, though maybe not what was expected, are just as precious! Or… pretty much just as precious. The dances in this song are simple, but the way everyone seems to be goofing off slightly makes me smile! I also love how much fun everyone looks to be having! It’s also really cute how some of the people’s timings are a little off in the dances. It makes it seem… more fun! Cuter! Happier! Less… pressured! The people, not just the band members, are also so, so precious.

5) (adult themes) Liar Dance (DECO*27 and NAOKI ITAI)-

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure why I love this song so much, but I’m going to try and describe it. While I admire the tuning, and I really like the video (the one used in Rachie’s cover anyway-), I think it’s simply the tune and lyrics that got my attention. It’s quite upbeat, and I love the way it begins. Slowly fading in, then changing the beat a bit. Though some of the lyrics, and the overall theme of this song, is… not the most appropriate, I just… really love the way it sounds. (NOTEWORTHY COVER: Rachie’s Cover! This cover is actually what made me fall in love with Liar Dance, and is the primary way I listen to it. Though she said she wasn’t a big fan of the song, she still did incredibly for not loving it! I also agree with her other comment, she does sound really, really awesome here! But… I can’t think of a time Rachie doesn’t sound beautiful- this is still one of my favorites of her covers~.)

6) Zettai Zetsumei (Cö shu Nie ((The Promised Never ED 1)))-

Aah… The Promised Neverland… an, honestly, amazing anime. And Zettai Zetsumei, a song that truly fits this show! Of course, the fact that this song fits this show that I love so well is a big reason I love the song, but the other big reason is: the vocals. More importantly, the way she hits the high notes. I’m not sure how to describe how it sounds, other than absolutely incredible! The singer’s voice through it all is insanely beautiful, of course, I was just really impressed with the higher notes. She overall has a… somewhat soft voice, and to have such a gentle-seeming voice sing lyrics like those, it also reflects the anime. Just a bunch of kids going through an awful situation.

7) Outer Science (Jin ((Kagerou Project))-

Kagerou Project. A series that captured my attention from the moment I heard Kagerou Daze. While Outer Science sounds really awesome not knowing the story, it just seems all that more powerful when you know the context. Kuroha strikes again. Wreaking havoc just as he’s done previously! And plans to do it again and again! Well- enough about that evil boy- I don’t tend to enjoy a lot of songs with IA, Jin does an amazing job using her for this series. Especially Outer Science. Bragging on the visuals a bit, I adore the animations! And basically all of it! The drawings, the way the lyrics are placed, and the animations! The way it’s all colored also stole my heart. Especially the lighting. Shadows being cast to give it the right amount of spook, and Kuroha and Mary being in the center of some of the light. As for the music part… summed up, it’s incredible. Like I said, IA sounds really good, but the instruments are also wonderful! The guitar being one of the best parts of the song, in my opinion. The song manages to sound chaotic while still sounding like a somewhat normal rock song. From the “softer”, “calmer” parts, to the loud, evil parts! I love this song so much! (NOTEWORTHY COVER(s! And Remix!): Kuraiinu’s Cover! While Kura usually impresses me, I really fell in love with this cover! I think his voice suits it nicely, and he pulls of the insane-sounding parts beautifully. His laugh too… amazing… RafScrap and Others (A-L1)! I truly think everyone did crazy great in this cover… from the independent screams, to the parts where they all sing together. Adding all that with the art, and video in general, this really is one of the best group covers I think I’ve ever heard! Teddyloid Remix! I think the dialogue at the beginning sounds pretty realistic, especially for a Vocaloid! The remix itself is also amazing. The video is a huge plus~.)

8) (adult themes?) Goodbye Ms. Floral Thief (Mel)-

I’d like to start this off with saying: Miku sounds so soft! It’s adorable, and very beautiful! Along with a lot of songs I fall in love with, I found Goodbye Ms. Floral Thief through a cover, which I’ll be putting in the noteworthy covers section. This song has a sort of… nostalgic feeling to it. I really adore songs with a nostalgic feeling such as this. Though this song may talk a little bit about “adult themes”, it’s still a beautiful song. It’s sad, and, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure on what the meaning of the song is. Though I think it’s about a lover dying, I’m not entirely sure. That seems like the most likely to me and, if that’s the case, it makes this song just that much sadder. (NOTEWORTHY COVER: Rachie’s Cover! Aaah, Rachie’s voice… it really is so lovely, especially in this cover! I believe she does an amazing job at sounding soft, and somewhat emotional. And Anthong did an amazing job with the lyrics!)

9) (trigger warning?) Tokyo Teddy Bear (Neru)-

I think the main thing that made me fall in love with this song was the guitar. It’s my favorite instrument, and it was played amazingly in this song! I think it’s incredible when it’s being plucked at to mimic Rin texting, though that may be a strange thing to be so impressed with. Though the texting isn’t the only impressive part with the guitar, don’t get me wrong! I think every part, especially with the guitar, in this song is super impressive. The song sounds so… loud, and gives off “I’ve given up” sorts of vibes. Plus, Rin sounds… amazingly realistic. Heck, she even breathes! Onto the art! Though it’s just a picture, in this video anyway, it’s still really neat! A kid, covered in cuts, dirt, and bandaids, in a box with a stuffed bear. As the lyrics show, the kid is almost… lost-seeming. They just want to be replaced with anything that will even be somewhat fitting. They want to be loved, and they want to feel like they belong, but they don’t think they’re fit to have any of that. So, they make themselves, basically, a living doll. A fraud, and nothing like the self they really are. Or that’s what I’ve gotten from it at least~. (NOTEWORTHY COVER: Princessemagic’s Cover! I think her voice suits this song rather nicely! It has the perfect amount of emotion put into it, and manages to be soft, yet powerful! I especially love around 1:30 when she says the lines with such… hatred.)

10) Hurricane (i’m not sure who i would credit... ((Death Note the Musical English))) -

Gosh, where do I start…? I know the Death Note musical gets a lot of hate, but I enjoyed it! Especially this song. I think the man singing for Light is the perfect english voice, and his voice is beautiful! He sounds soft at the beginning, but, throughout the song, his voice grows stronger, which suits what happens perfectly! It’s showing Light realizing how much power he has, and it’s ever so slowly beginning to get to his head. Yet, he still has somewhat innocent intentions. But, by the end, Light is starting to see himself as the “god of a brand new world.” That’s when his voice really starts to get powerful. And his growls! They’re perfect!! Amazing, beautiful, absolutely breathtaking! The lyrics progress nicely, slowly shifting from innocent Light wanting to rid the world of evil, up until the end where he wants to become a god. As for the instrumental itself, I also think that it’s rather perfect! I really enjoy the somewhat-gloomy piano at the beginning. It almost reminds me of a sort of “calm before the storm.” The instruments slowly pick up pace, adding more in, the further into his power Light finds himself.

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shaineybainey · 5 years ago

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Lab Rats: Elite Force – What Exactly Went Wrong?

An Opinion Piece from a Viewer’s (and a Writer’s) Perspective

[written and posted on another site september 2018]

Let me begin this piece by stating one important fact that could or could not affect your acceptance of this piece: besides the finale, I’ve seen none of this show’s episodes. None. I only ever knew what was happening in it through the reports of others who had watched the show and had formed their own opinions about it, most of which were either negative or neutral. Could that have affected my own view of it? Of course. Could those have turned me off from the show more? Sure. But, the fact remains: the project that seemed to be the biggest and most promising in its time only had one season, ran only a few months, and was never renewed. When the show and its cast were first announced, I was admittedly upset. My favorite character was not included. I found it unfair since this spin-off seemed to be a new, exciting arena with a fresh concept. It bothered me a bit to see the five main characters in the promo image posted on Twitter, too. It was a little too...monotonous compared to how the audience had known Lab Rats and Mighty Med to be. But eventually, I’ve learned to accept that Tyrel Jackson Williams, the actor who played Leo, may have wanted to move on to new projects (and he did) and that maybe the creators just thought that the five actors they handpicked could carry the show a lot better. It was all okay. Soon, though, it became apparent that the negative feedback that had surprisingly come from some of the most loyal fans of Lab Rats, Mighty Med, or both were actually a reflection of how the viewers felt in general. When the finale aired on October 2016, the news that it was a series finale rather than just a season finale had already rocked the fandom. Twitter and Tumblr were flooded with complaints against Disney XD for canceling “another great show” in favor of a “trashy one”—which seemed to be an indirect snipe at the network’s then newest program, Mech X-4. Fans took to the actors’ Instagram accounts, asking them when the second season would come or why there wouldn’t be anymore episodes. They were understandably heartbroken over this loss. They tried to save it for months but – it didn’t work. The plea for #RenewLabRatsEliteForce didn’t carry the impact the petitioners wanted it to have, sadly because those left were too few in numbers. Many of the most vocal and most outspoken ones—the viewers whose voice when Lab Rats aired were the most powerful—have unfortunately already left the show long before and could not be counted on anymore for any help. Thus, Lab Rats: Elite Force never came back on air. It may be a wonder to some how that could have happened. Lab Rats, the main ‘universe’ this show played in, still remains as one of Disney XD’s powerhouse shows due to its iconic interracial family, bright and bold sets, and seamless, innovative plots. Meanwhile, the lore and mythology that came with Mighty Med was the most complex and held the most potential. These two combined should have generated a show worth the four-season run that Disney treats their most exciting and popular programs with. So, what exactly went wrong? Below is just a few of the things that I think may have caused the show its demise. The Reasons 1. When the shows combined, they were both stripped of their characters of color (save for one) – which resulted in lack of both visual diversity and diversity in storytelling. When Lab Rats aired in February 2012, there was already a considerable buzz about it. Besides its predecessor, Pair of Kings, Disney haven’t been playing much with the idea of featuring an interracial family. That was why it piqued the interest of many people when trailers of a Black teenage boy finding himself in a new family with his Black mom, White stepdad, and three White stepsiblings aired. It was icing on top of the cake, too, when at the time, it appeared that the main character might actually be of color this time. Mighty Med followed this diversity trend to a degree. The two main characters were both White, but the rest are of other races—two Hispanic and one Asian, to be exact (or Calderan, if we’re speaking of the character rather than the actress). These characters offered different voices, backgrounds, and personalities to their shows. They also served as beacons, lights of hope that maybe, just maybe, Disney is starting to understand that there were also other races and ethnicities they could pick to tell their stories and that they didn’t have to worry about it ‘not working.’ Everything was working, but fast forward a couple of years later, one of Lab Rats’ creators announced that the two shows would merge, and here, they are your new team! To be exact: William Brent, Kelli Berglund, Bradley Steven Perry, Jake Short, and Paris Berelc. Two of the stepsiblings from the Lab Rats fandom, and the three main characters from Mighty Med. Of course, this is not to knock them as actors. They’re all quite good, in my opinion! In fact, Paris Berelc is still unbelievably wonderful in her new Netflix show Alexa and Katie as Alexa Mendoza. Kelli Berglund and Jake Short have new projects they’re currently involved in as well. However, as a viewer, I thought the production could have put together a better combination. Past the shiny and admittedly impressive costumes and cool vibe of the cast, the promotional image and the trailers that subsequently followed lacked the oomph! the other two shows, as separates, had. The characters as a collective weren’t visually interesting anymore because they didn’t reflect the way the viewers saw the world. It was like Disney XD went back to how it was before Pair of Kings aired. It would have been better if they made a few switches. It could have even been somewhat forgivable if there was a recurring minor character of color. Sadly, there wasn’t. Everyone looked the same. 2. There were two Chases, two Brees, and one Adam in the team. Disney has long ago earned the reputation of having repeating archetypes in their programs—and the two shows, even as separates, weren’t safe from this. Still, they were all balanced out. Lab Rats' book smart, shy, sometimes egotistic, but truly kind character Chase Davenport was balanced out by his stepbrother Leo Dooley, who had impeccable street smarts, was rather mischievous, dangerously curious and clumsy, but was also ultimately good at heart. At the same time, Mighty Med’s resident teen doctor Oliver, who was resourceful, introspective, and the voice of reason, was balanced out by his best friend Kaz - his impulsive but loyal partner-in-crime who prevented him from being eaten up by his own seriousness through jokes and lax regard to the rules. When the shows merged, well, things went off-kilter. All of a sudden, the show had two young men (Chase and Oliver) with the leader personality. It was also evident from the sudden changes in the character’s clothing style that Skylar Storm had lost her individuality and her rather funny but genuinely heartwarming curiosity of the world around her. She had adopted Bree Davenport’s style and also, subtly, her treatment of the world and the people closest to her (which, if you haven’t seen the original show, wasn’t stellar at all). Kaz was the only one safe from the character cloning. Kind of. He remained to be the sense of humor in the show, but I can’t help but think when I saw the finale that he essentially served the same purpose Adam Davenport did in Lab Rats’ narrative. This lack of variation in personalities made for a bit of a static storytelling. One fanfiction writer who used to be really into Lab Rats told me a few months into the show that the characters brought out the worst in each other. Gone was the sweet Chase Davenport and was replaced instead by a character who had to constantly assert his dominance over his teammates. Oliver, whose affection towards Skylar had been cute and heartfelt to watch, had become obsessed with her and had turned stalker-ish, reportedly pressuring her into becoming his girlfriend. And the team as a whole had become a bratty bunch, too consumed now by their own importance and their own problems to show warmth and kindness towards one another. Again, this could have easily been prevented by making a couple of switches. The fanfiction writer part of me thought that it would have been better if the team was instead made up of Bree, Leo, Oliver, a new WOC character with a rather stoic personality, and Skylar, who would serve as the team’s leader. That could have offered an interesting dimension to the show: varying voices, potentially initial conflicts that can turn into warm, lasting friendships, and varying strengths and weaknesses that can play well with each other and can definitely move the story forward for a couple of years. Lab Rats: Elite Force was trying to achieve a Teen Titans feel, and those five could have done that. But, reality turned out differently, and there's no undoing what had been done. 3. The Villains in the Mask, Part 3. As much as I love the writers and creators of the Lab Rats universe, I do have a few complaints, one of which is: do the villains always have to be concealed or be wearing a mask? Victor Krane, and now Roman and Riker. All of them were introduced to the show wearing masks! Also, they all had the same reason for doing the villainy they did: revenge. Now, from the outside looking in, that may not be as bad. Revenge is a rather strong motivator, but in comparison to the best ones this show had seen, did it really have to be that again? I’ll give you the best villain Lab Rats had as an example: Marcus Davenport. He was an android bent on destroying Adam, Bree, and Chase—and most specially, Leo—for the sole reasons that (1) that was his order, (2) he hates them, and (3) he hated them because they had their father’s affection and attention, and he didn’t. What made him complex and gave him a nice layer as a character was that despite his manipulative and murderous nature, at the end of the day he just wanted affirmation and affection from his dad. From what had been revealed, the spin-off’s villains had a reason of their own to go after the protagonists. Roman and Riker’s father had been drained of his powers for his own good, but the boys and the rest of their family didn’t see it as such. They saw it as an insult to them, although if I’m not mistaken, the show didn’t really explain why they felt that way. It was just a reason that was just...was. In the finale, they introduced another villain: Roman and Riker’s sister, Reece. Oh, she was manipulative and cunning. She also seemed promising because there was a moment of doubt when she was caught red-handed by one of the good guys. She was torn on whether she should hurt him to make her escape or not (spoiler alert: she chose the former; she blinded him). But, that was as far as it went. As mentioned, the show didn’t come back for a season two—which still haunts the rest of the fandom even after two years of its sudden end. 4. Everything was rushed. Good stories take time. Like flowers, the characters and the plot need time to grow. The writers of Lab Rats understood that when the original show first began. We saw character development and storylines that were quite impressive, mature, and relatable despite the show being marketed for children. There were also plot twists that were actually incredible. It became a memorable show because the writing team took their time. In the spin-off, they didn’t. The best example is the Oliver/Skylar pairing. The two years of slow burn between the two characters quickly changed into a wildfire that was erratic and didn’t make sense. Oliver was strangely out of character, and Skylar only seemed to have agreed to the relationship because she got annoyed. The relationship was awkward because it was handled impatiently. Reece’s introduction was rushed, too. She was maybe shaping up to be the big bad of the next season, but unlike Marcus, whose presence and role were built slowly and surely, she was pushed in. So, maybe she wasn’t going to be the main villain? The ambiguity created by all of these off-paced writing turned off the viewers one by one. At the end of it, I heard more unhappy responses to the show than I did positive. Maybe, somehow, the show-runners knew about that, too. They just didn’t say anything about it. 5. ‘Who’s your audience?’ It’s important to know the answer to that question because if you don’t, it will show. Lab Rats was marketed to children, perhaps in the ages 8-11 demographic. However, it was crafted to also appeal to teenagers and adults who may have been curious about the new project of the That 70’s Show’s former creators. Mighty Med, basing on its writing, appeared to have been meant for ages 6-11. Fans of the show might disagree with me on this, but it’s good to remember that one of its creators also made ANT Farm, which had silly humor oftentimes. (Not a bad thing at all. It’s just revealing of its audience.) Lab Rats: Elite Force seemed to have had problems identifying who it should actually appeal to. Should it be written like Lab Rats had been written? With silly humor here and there but also with jokes that teenagers and adults would appreciate? Or should it be written like Mighty Med, directed to the younger viewers and used laugh tracks more often? Well, the winner remains unclear. The characters’ sudden immaturity suggests they wanted to appeal to the new audience, but their rushed treatment of the Skoliver pairing also showed that they wanted to please longtime viewers somehow. They also gave Bree a new ability, perhaps to keep the interest of the loyal fans, but it didn’t really serve its purpose. It was probably meant to have been a wow factor. Sadly, it was another thing that didn’t work because the people they were trying to direct it to have lost interest—probably because they felt that the writers had ignored them for far too long in favor of newer, younger viewers who didn’t even stick around to watch the show. Concluding Thoughts At one point, I kind of hoped, too, that the spin-off would be green lighted to have a second season. When it finished, the hard feelings I had against it was almost gone, and I was earnestly hoping they would come back. Whatever the real reason(s) may have been for it not being able to, the cast and crew still deserve credit for doing their absolute best to make the show as enjoyable as possible. The finale, in particular, had a few highlights, and the set where the battle scene took place was impressive. The cast also put their best foot forward. The writers, meanwhile, perhaps despite knowing about the impending end, really did craft something special for those who had stuck with them until the final second. Despite its problems and potentials that were not explored, Lab Rats: Elite Force still graduated as a nice show with moments of excitement, dashing costumes, and memorable sets.

#Lab Rats: Elite Force #Lab Rats #Mighty Med #opinion piece

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shakespearean-tc · 6 years ago

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Last day of school post?

Originally posted July 3rd, 2019 Ok so i guess it wasnt my official last dayof school but it was like a month ago and i decided to,,, talk about it??? since i never did and it was literally like ugh my heART this is basically more stuff about A so if you arent interested ignore this post

So,,, the last day that i really went to school was this thing that ,,,, idk if other schools do it but its lagoon day where the seniors go to Lagoon and like half the teachers go to chaperone, right??? So i got there early because I always get to school early and I saw a familiar mess of brown hair and i just got hype??? My heart practically did the happy emote and he turned around and smiled really big and he was like “M!!!! Hi!” and he waved and stuff then he went up the stairs because he was heading to the class he was subbing for (that was before class)

Later my friends came to school and i was just kinda sitting there being a dork and daydreaming and then i was like “OH YEAH A is here!!!” and my theatre friend was really happy yknow and we jsut talked for a while and i was like “man i wish he was subbing for my french teacher, but i know hes not because she didnt hire a substitue because she knew like no one would come” and so i got a little sad but yknow i knew id see him at lunch and stuff

well the bell rang and i headed up stairs to the french room and it was empty from what i saw so i popped my head in and GUESS WHO WAS SITTING AT THE DESK

YUP YOU GUESSED IT

So i played it cool because i can totally do that yknow and just kinda leaned against the doorframe and i was like “well, fancy seeing you here.” and he looked up and smiled again and laughed and he was like “are you following me?” and i laughed and sat down in my desk and i asked him how he was etc etc and we jsut talked for a while until the bell rang signaling that class was to start but??? no one walked in??? and so i was talking to him when two of my friends walked in and stuff and so we just?? sat and played cards all period long?? i say this but we actually (A and I) broke into song because I mentioned this musical I really love (Hadestown) and A kinda stared at me for a minute and his eyes went wide and the conversation went as such:

A: “Wait, you like Hadestown?” Me: “Yeah? I LOVE Hadestown.” A: “I… I love Hadestown too! I just didn’t know that anyone liked it.” Me: “Okay, wait- What’s your favorite song?” A: “Well, Way Down Hadestown is SUPER great, but the one I really love is Wait for Me or Hey, Little Songbird. I wish I had Patrick Page’s voice. What about you?” Me: “Hey, Little Songbird is literally one of my favorites. Also same?? I wish I could sing as good as anyone in the cast.” A: *he smiled and started singing it (his vocal range is tenor so he hiked up the key and we changed the tune a bit because yes)*

So we literally ran around the room singing Hey, Little Songbird and like, 17 other songs from miscellaneous musicals. My other friends joined in too and it was so much fun

Obviously, we were still in school, and so that class period had to end ;-; I had Physics next and I was whining to him how I really didn’t want to go. He turned to me and said “Listen. You’ve gotta go to class M. If you actually get permission from your teacher to come back, then fine. But I don’t want you to skip class because you missed me.” I agreed, begrudgingly and headed to Physics, which was literally across the hall.

I went in talked to my teacher and was back in the french room in like under 15 minutes

The classroom was empty and he was just sitting at the teachers desk playing pokemon on his frigging nintendo ds and i laughed and he looked up and was like “oh hey, i didnt think you’d be back” i told him my physics teacher told me i could leave since,,, she doesnt really like me and i had already done everything i needed to do like fr its the end of the school year why would she want me to hang out in her class for an hour???

anyway i hopped up onto the table and we just,,, talked??? about everything??

I told him I was super bummed about school ending and not being able to go to Drama class everyday. He told me he was worried because him and his girlfriend were having a lot of issues lately and he was struggling with knowing to stick it out or just break it off. I told him that I was not gonna influence his decision whatsoever, but that whatever he chose,,, he needed to keep in mind that HIS mental and physical health was the most important at this point. We eventually brushed that subject away because I told him I would be of no help at all bc,,, ive like never been in a healthy relationship so i didnt know what was right and what was wrong - i dont remember how but i think he asked me how class was going and what classes i was going to be happy to be done with and i was like “hOOOO BOI HISTORY CLASS fOR SURE” and he kinda laughed and was like,,, “what why”

and i just weNT OFF telling him how trashy of a class it was and that no one would pay attention and that my teacher would always rant about democrats and liberals and just say all this garbage about how trashy immigrants were and etc etc and he just sighed and he apologised that i had to deal with a teacher like that and we started to talk about some prick in that class that went off about how rape isnt rape if she doesnt outright say no

me and A just,,, bonded over mutual disgust for this kid haha

anyway after that i just kinda,,, decided to lay down on the table bc i was tired and i kinda sighed and stared at the ceiling. I think A could tell something was up with me because he asked me what was wrong and I kinda gave him a “nothing is wrong im fine” kinda mumbled response. of course this is A and he obviously knew i was lying so he asked me again and i jsut kinda started to choke up and I sat up with tears in my eyes. Immediately he was like, “Omg what’s the matter whats up” and I just,, broke down and told him I was super worried about my friend who he knows as well. I told him that I was stressed and that I felt like our friendship was mostly one sided. That I was just there because… I was the one that put everything into our friendship and instead of her giving AND taking as well, it was just her taking and taking and i was left in the dust. I basically poured my heart out to him and told him that I didn’t want to break things off because I didn’t want to hurt her but I told him that my mental health was suffering gREATLY. Of course, he took my advice and shoved it back into my face. It went something like this,,, A: “You need to take care of yourself. You. Come. First. You put everyone else before you, and that’s such an admirable trait, but you need to take care of yourself as well. Your mental health is in danger because you refuse to put yourself first. And you need to. At least, every once in a while. Anyone is lucky to have you care so deeply for them, but… you need to step back and be selfish for a while.” (I kind of flinched when he said selfish, because I have a big issue with that word, and I guess he noticed) “Why do you- You don’t like that word. Selfish. You don’t like it, do you?” Me: “I just… I’ve been called selfish a lot by my family and past friends and romantic… partners…? I don’t like it at all.” A: “You? Selfish?” *he laughs* “Bull. You’re one of, if not THE most selfless people I know. Listen to me. It is OKAY to be selfish sometimes. Not all the time, yeah. But you need to take care of yourself.” Me: “I just… I love my friends so much that I… I’d rather that I be miserable and they be happy, because… then they’re happy. Y’know?” A: *he smiles, but I think it was kinda a sad smile because his eyes looked a little tearful* “M. You have a heart of gold.That’s rare nowadays. In my opinion, it’s a blessing and a curse. You just need to learn to take care of yourself. You are the most important person in your life.” The conversation kind of… fizzled out after that emotional,,, discussion but we did talk about college and I asked him a lot about being a student teacher. The bell rang, we said goodbye and??? That was really it? I visited him at lunch and we ate and talked a lot more because I had a bunch of questions about college (i’ve been thinking about going to the same college that he is because they have a really good teaching program) but that was,,, pretty much it. School’s been over for a while and I just asjdfajf i miss him a lot this post was so long super super sorry haha have a good day i guess??? end of the post??? how do i finish this whatever goodbye yall haha

#I adore him #He's too good to me #I love him #teacher #student teacher #student #teacher crush #teacher x student #student teacher x student #tcc #tcc blog #tcc community

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hermionegranger56 · 6 years ago

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Y’ALL i saw Moulin Rouge in Boston with @eyesclosed-blinktwice, in its pre-broadway run and OH BABY! I’ve waited this long to write about it cause i tried to get tickets to see it again (it was THAT good) but i waited too long/lost the ticket lottery a bunch OH WELL. here’s a semi-coherent recap of this spectacular spectacular!

first things first, AARON FUCKING TVEIT. GOD. WHAT A GODDAMN MAN. *deep breath* so I’ve casually loved Aaron Tveit since…2012?? like its been a while?? this, combined with the fact that he’s Broadway royalty made watching him perform live SO SURREAL. like a "wow there’s Aaron Tveit, i can see his face and he’s singing is this real life” kinda vibe. and man did he SLAY this role. I REALLY loved his interpretation of Christian. In act 1 he so effortlessly captures the idealistic dreamer, moving through every number with boundless charm. In act 2 he really delves into Christian’s insecurities and jealousy and truly unravels, which was more interesting than the movie where he kinda just turns into a sad loverboy after Satine goes to the Duke? his chemistry with Karen Olivo is palpable, they played off each other so well, every interaction they had was downright swoon worthy. and speaking of swoon worthy…his VOCALS. I mean I think he’s my favorite male voice on broadway. you couldn’t help but be captivated when he started singing. i MELTED when he sang Your Song, it was so smooth and sweet. he slid through every song in the extended Elephant Love Medley with ease, rocked the Green Fairy/Chandelier number and ACTIVELY MURDERED ME with Roxanne (but more on this later)

and if it wasn’t enough to have one Broadway legend up on stage, we also were graced with queen of everything KAREN OLIVO BABY!! HOOOO BOY IS SHE AMAZING Y’ALL. i mean the SECOND she enters on that trapeze/swing, your eyes were glued to her for the rest of the show, and not just cause she’s always in a dazzling costume. I was 1000% starstruck, like she really is the sparkling diamond. she commands the stage, belting like nobody’s business, her voice is JAWDROPPING. she gave me goosebumps singing goddamn Firework by Katy Perry and if anyone can make me like that song…now THAT is talent hahaha. Karen also really shined in the Shut Up and Dance Medley, in the What’s Love Got to Do With It addition to Elephant Love, and….you know what no, she shined in every number. end of story. I also ADORED Karen’s adaptation of Satine. She is way more strong willed and autonomous, less like the movie-version-delicate-flower. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to get it. I think the fact that they made her know that she was dying really helped add to this. She’s fierce and powerful and tender and loving and DOWNRIGHT AMAZING.

the supporting cast was also INCREDIBLE. Sahr Ngaujah played Toulouse-Lautrec SO WELL, i loved that he was less comedic plot device and more nuanced bohemian artist. He was funny and charming but also heartbreaking, like when he told Christian he once loved Satine. His Nature Boy was haunting. He had one line standing up to the Duke along the lines of “I am an artist sir. You should tremble at that” and it was delivered with such unequivocal POWER that the whole theater cheered. Tam Mutu was great as the Duke, scary and honestly downright hot hahaha I’m glad they made him less of an insufferable fool, more of an actual threat. Danny Burr as Zidler kept the crowd’s energy up (as if we needed it, this show is so high energy its practically a concert!) and was super entertaining. Robyn Hurder is an ASTOUNDING dancer and kills it as Nini and Jeigh Madjus really stands out as the heartbreaking Baby Doll.

the musical was faithful to the original songs, with the omission of One Day I’ll Fly Away (which i missed tbh), Like a Virgin, The Show Must Go On (also missed). The standouts were: Lady Marmalade, which was had the audience singing and dancing right from the start, Elephant Love Medley, which had some amazing additions, was grandiose, and ended with that iconic eiffel tower/umbrella dance. the whole stage was transformed into a starry night, stars even projected onto the theatre ceiling! and of COURSE Come What May, which Aaron and Karen sang with such skill, tenderness and love. IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL. AND ROXANNE HOOOOO BABY. at first i was apprehensive about just Aaron singing it cause i LOVE the movie version and how everyone’s voices overlap at the end and its NUTS but i was DEAD WRONG. he starts out growling “Roxanne” and it is amazinggg. he really shows Christian lose it while absolutely killing the vocals. my jaw LITERALLY hit the floor when he sang “why does my heart cry, feelings I can’t fight” find audio of it y’all, its insane.

the new songs were also incredible! I was prepared to dislike some, since some were like…hits of 2013. BUT I WAS WRONG. they were so good!! most of them were in a mashup style and the audience cheered when they recognized each song which added to the energy of the show. BY FAR the best was the Act 2 opener, a medley of Bad Romance/Tainted Love/Seven Nation Army/Toxic/Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). it was high energy, intense, technically perfect and downright SEXY. the dancing was incredible, the lifts were cool (at one point they literally throw Aaron). At the end, the audience clapped for legit a full minute (poor Aaron had to hold a half backbend for it hahah). other faves? Chandelier/Green Fairy, Crazy/Rolling in the Deep and the Duke’s Rolling Stones mashup!

THE SET WAS INDESCRIBABLY BEAUTIFUL. SO SO INTRICATE. The red light up sign, the elephant and windmill in the balconies, the elaborate interiors of the elephant and Christian’s home, it was nearly too much to take in. AND THE COSTUMES specifically every single one of Satine’s glittering numbers. perfect, elegant, STUNNING. Ensemble costumes were also amazing, at one point the lights came up on a group of aristocrats in elaborate pastel outfits and the whole crowd gasped a little!

little things i loved: dancers posing in the balconies before the show even started, the sword eaters, Aaron walking on stage, lifting his hand and the Moulin Rouge sign flying out so that Lady Marmalade can begin, the fact that I’ve now been rick rolled by Aaron Tveit, Karen’s entrances on the swing, Satine telling Zidler “let mama go to work” then strutting offstage, Christian dancing in his seat when Satine is signing Diamonds, the fact that they changed the spectacular from the cultural appropriated mess that it was, Zidler: “let me see your ass!” Christian: *turns around and shows his butt in super tight pants to the crowd*, the confetti, the harmonies in Chandelier (specifically Ricky Rojas’ entrance), the fact that after Satine dies they end the show/do bows to a fun song so you’re not too sad.

safe to say I can’t WAIT till this hits Broadway!!

#moulin rouge #moulin rouge!#moulin rouge boston #moulin rouge broadway #broadway #aaron tveit #karen olivo #sahr ngaujah #danny burr #tam mutu #robyn hurder #jeigh madjus #theatre #musicals #ewan mcgregor #nicole kidman

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 6 years ago

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Michael After Midnight: Avatar

Hyperbole is a real bitch. No matter what direction it goes in, it can seriously hamper a movie’s reputation. It’s the reason why I always just give a broad recommendation at the end of my reviews rather than a score; I find saying “Hey if you like this genre/subject matter/actor/etc, you might like this film” is a lot better than saying “This is a 10/10 five star masterpiece that all humans who ever shall exist need to see.” All too often the latter is what you get from mainstream publications when they praise a film.

Look what happened to Frozen; it was called one of the better Disney movies in recent memories and was praised to the heavens and back, which led to a bunch of people on the internet vocally disagreeing with said opinion, which then led to an entire anti-fandom of obnoxious basement dwellers who felt the need to constantly remind everyone Frozen sucked on any animation post they could find. All of this for a movie that, in hindsight, is just a solid, standard Disney princess flick.

Tonight we’re talking about a similar case, a film that when it came out was hyped up as a groundbreaking masterpiece of visual effects and a box office smash that grossed insane amounts of money… and was then derided as forgettable and a ripoff of Pocahontas or FernGully or what have you in the years to come. Yes, tonight we are talking about James Cameron’s smash hit, Avatar, and honestly? It’s probably the second best thing named Avatar out there, after Nickelodeon’s series about the last Airbender. After spending years being an obnoxious hipster douchebag and not watching it because it was popular followed by several more years of being an obnoxious douchebag who bashed whatever it was that was popular to bash, I finally sat down and watched James Cameron’s silly blue alien environmental movie… and frankly, it’s a pretty damn good movie. And I don’t just mean “oh it’s better than I expected but not great,” I mean “I can genuinely see to an extent where people were coming from when they were praising this.”

The story goes like this: In the far future, Earth is a polluted pile of fuck, so humans have taken to looking for resources elsewhere. One elsewhere? The moon of the planet Polyphemus, known as Pandora, which is home to a rare mineral that humans ironically dubbed “Unobtanium,” as it is rather hard to obtain due to the richest source being located amongst the native population: the ten-foot-tall blue alien beings known as the Na’vi. Jake Sully, a paraplegic former marine, is selected to utilize a remote-controlled artificial Na’vi body called an “avatar” so he can gain the native’s trust and maybe convince them to move, though there are tons of problems he has to overcome, not the least being that he starts crushing hard on Neytiri, the daughter of the chief (and seeing how she’s a hot blue alien played by Zoe Saldana, can you really blame him?). Can Sully help the humans and Na’vi reach a peaceful conclusion, or is the warmongering Colonel Miles Quaritch gonna get his way and start routing the natives out by force?

Interestingly, a lot of the movies that people claims this ripped off came out after this movie had been written; Cameron’s been working on this movie since 1994, when he wrote up an 80-page treatment for the film. He wanted to start working on this after Titanic, but the technology of the time just wasn’t right to fulfill his vision. Frankly, it’s a good thing he waited, because as I’m sure you know from all the praise it got, the visuals in this film are simply stunning. The Na’vi, the creatures of Pandora, the forests, all the glorious details of this alien planet and its inhabitants are just incredibly well done. If this had been done earlier, there is no way the Na’vi would have avoided the uncanny valley as well as they did; as it stands, they’re probably one of my favorite alien races in fiction, just from the visual standpoint alone. How good this movie looks compared to the story - which by comparison to the groundbreaking effects is rather basic - would almost make you think this film is just style over substance…

...But I’d argue that’s not exactly the case. While it’s glaringly obvious that the effects are the biggest draw, the story is still enjoyable and solid. It may seem rather derivative, but that’s mostly because in the span of time the film took to get made everyone and their mother cranked out environmental films or films about aboriginal people being joined by an outsider who learns from them and then fights back against people encroaching on their way of life, especially during the 90s. This movie quite frankly has an edge over all of those films; for one, this film looks way better than any of them, even Pocahontas (which is undeniably a beautiful film to look at). It also helps this film avoids the, uh… unfortunate implications that often come with these kinds of stories. I’m not here to get to into this aspect of those kinds of movies, but in the hands of less talented writers and directors there tends to be really nasty undertones. While Jake Sully does help lead this foreign culture to victory over their technologically advanced foes, it’s more due to him having knowledge of how humans work combined with the skills the Na’vi themselves have. Neither would have won without the other’s help. So yeah, the story is pretty simple, but pretty good. Not truly groundbreaking or original, but it really doesn’t have to be.

While I will say the story is the weak point, it IS carried by some truly great characters… just not Sully. While he’s a decent protagonist and all, he’s quite frankly overshadowed by just about everyone around him, with three enormous shadows being cast by Grace, Neytiri, and Quaritch. Grace is played by Sigourney Weaver. That is literally all you need to know to understand why she utterly steals every single scene she’s in, but for the sake of this review, let me explain in a bit more detail: her establishing character moment has her awakening from her avatar pod asking where her cigarette is, she openly is suspicious of Sully being added to the avatar program, she is the most honestly sympathetic and noble character in the entire movie, and her avatar is a stunning work of CGI. There’s really not a bad thing I can say about her; she’s basically Ellen Ripley with a more positive attitude towards aliens. She takes no shit and she does all she can to keep these people from being exploited by the greasy corporate shitweasels, no matter what she has to do. What a fucking hero. Can you see why Sully just seems kinda weak in comparison?

Then we have Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana. She’s gorgeous, she’s badass, and she has quite the likable personality. She almost singlehandedly gives Sully a basic rundown on how not to die and spends most of her early screentime saving his ass. This was one of Saldana’s big roles in 2009 alongside playing Uhura in the Star Trek reboot series, and it brought her tons of praise, fame, and helped get her typecast as “Badass space babe with colorful skin.” Without this, Gamora might have gone to a less impressive actor who wouldn’t have been able to showcase the emotional range required, so at the very least I’m thankful to this movie for that.

And now finally, and perhaps most importantly, we come to Colonel Miles Quaritch, played by Stephen “You wished he was Cable until they cast Josh Brolin” Lang. Quaritch is what seems like such a simple villain: a military man with some serious bloodlust, a guy who just seems to be itching to go to war. But really, there’s a lot more to him than that. One really gets the sense Quaritch really does believe what he’s doing is for the betterment of humanity, and he doesn’t go right to gunning down the Na’vi even when he’s given the word to remove them by force. There are a lot of ways to interpret him, but frankly, no matter what way you cut it he’s at the very least genuinely concerned with the safety of his subordinates (outlined in his establishing scene); this leads him to becoming probably one of the single most badass anti-villains ever conceived. The man frequently steps out into the hostile atmosphere of the moon, holding his breath, to take shots at foes before putting on a breathing apparatus. He jumps out of an exploding plane in a mini-mech, which he uses to get into a knife fight with Sully. And every heinous and violent action he takes is one he takes to protect men from dying, something he has seen far too much of. And while this makes him sympathetic to a degree, his utter disdain of the Na’vi and his bloodthirsty attitude also makes sure you want to see him gets what’s coming to him.

There’s some side characters here and there that are good, but it’s mainly these three carrying the story when it starts seeming a bit too basic for this lofty world Cameron has built. And really, this is a fantastic world he’s created. This is truly a stunning film visually, with some flavorful characters to ensure that the vision doesn’t wear on you throughout the running time. For the most part, it really does work; guess that’s just the magic of James Cameron.

This is a very good film. Not the greatest film of all time, but definitely an enjoyable, ambitious, and groundbreaking one. If I ever make a list of the best sci-fi films (and you know I will eventually), this will most certainly be on there… somewhere. It’s at least top 25 material. While Aliens and the first two Terminator films are definitely the best stuff Cameron has done, this is still quite an impressive piece of pop sci-fi he created; if you like environmental movies, science fiction, creative worldbuilding, awesome visuals, or James Cameron movies, this film is worth a watch. Hell, it’s worth a watch if you’re a fan of Weaver, Lang, or Saldana too, because their performances really drive this film. It’s a good movie, plain and simple.

...Though I don’t think it’s good enough to warrant four sequels. Fuck off, Cameron.

#Michael After Midnight #Review #Movie review #Avatar #James Cameron's Avatar #James Cameron #Sci-fi #Na'vi #Pandora #Neytiri #Zoe Saldana #Sigourney Weaver #Stephen Lang

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betweenironyandsilver · 7 years ago

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MUSICAL ASKS: ALL! OF! THEM! (or as many as you feel like doing)

only u would want to know my shitty Thots on musicals lmao (jk ily)

1. Favorite (Reprise)

for pure head-bobbing enjoyment, this honor goes to paris/look down (les mis), but for narrative purposes, i would pick the just you wait reprise (my fair lady) because i love how you can see how much has changed

2. Best Act 1 ending.

one day more (les mis) sure does get the blood pumpin'

3. If you could go back in time to see a certain production, which one would it be?

i would kill to see the original my fair lady with julie andrews and rex harrison

4. Who should write a musical?

i guess she already has her own musical tv show, but i would definitely go see an entire musical by rachel bloom

5. The routine you recreate when home alone:

nothing, really lol...i have the bad trait trifecta of being very self-conscious, a mediocre singer and also unable to dance

6. A duet you’d love to perform and with whom.

i want to perform confrontation (les mis) with someone, doesn’t even matter whomst

also i love bad idea (waitress) but i sadly do not have the vocal capacity for those higher notes so probably no one else should be subjected to that

7. A musical everyone can learn from.

sorry that like half these answers so far are les mis-related, but i do think that les mis has something for everyone, and it’s about LOVE and REDEMPTION and FORGIVENESS

8. Favorite set design EVER.

the great comet set design (or rather, theatre design) made me gasp out loud

9. Favorite person to play (insert role)

the main musical i follow extensively through multiple casts throughout the years is my fair lady lol and my favorite person to play eliza doolittle (excluding julie andrews obviously, who is god-tier and on a different plane of existence from us mortals) is lisa o’hare

10. Best digital #ham4ham

i didn’t watch these because by then i was getting a little fatigued about hamilton lol

11. Make up a name and the ingredients for a Waitress pie.

Too Scared to Graduate, Too Tired to Keep College-ing pie, which is filled with lemons and tears

12. Best tap number.

i love the little tap battle in bottom’s gonna be on top (something rotten!)

14. Express your love for the orchestras!

they’re all valid and lovely!!!!!! when i saw les mis at west end, we could look into the pit from our seats which was so cool

15. Favorite musical written by (insert composer, lyricist)

you didn’t give me a composer/lyricist lol so im gonna say that i love alan menken and howard ashman and my favorite musical by them is beauty and the beast

16. Which part (or parts) do you sing in One Day More?

you can sing all of them if you’re not a coward

17. A line that never fails to make you laugh.

My father newly dead and the funeral boiled eggs now coldly furnished for the marriage table/methinks another chef might have whisked our desperate eggs together as one (from something rotten!)

and i would be a lot more zen/and i would punch a lot of men/if i had my time again (from groundhog day)

18. An upcoming production you’re excited for.

THE MOULIN ROUGE MUSICAL IN BOSTON!!!!!!!!!!! i wanna see it so bad

19. Do you have any funny misheard lyrics from a showtune?

hmm, none that come to mind rn

20. A musical you would NEVER see with your parents.

well my parents don’t really like musicals so we’re already a little out of options, but they would probably hate musicals that are a little “out there”

21. Musicals can introduce you to new cultures, interests, fancy words and so on. Name 3 things you’ve learned from musicals.

i felt like i was missing a lot of the references in jesus christ superstar (and i was) when i initially listened to it, so i went and read up on the various biblical stories

after watching les mis in high school, i went and actually read les mis, which was fun, and that led me to read some other stuff by victor hugo as well

i didn’t know anything about leo frank before listening to parade, and it was interesting to read about

22. Favorite OBC.

my fair lady OBC forever, we stan a singing legend with a supposed four-octave range

23. Cast recording you know by heart.

>open my itunes

>only one album, the sound of music (film version)

>3000 plays

24. Cast recording for a long car ride.

i’m a little over hamilton but it is VERY fun to sing along to in the car

25. Favorite Miscast performance.

:( i don’t really watch these, sorry

26. I really like these ones so: make 2 musical related confessions.

i think wicked is overrated

i kind of wish we would stop making musicals about random movies

27. Showtune of the day:

‘s wonderful (funny face)

28. Who would play you in a musical about your life?

my life is not exciting enough for a musical

29. Who would play your best friend in a musical about your life?

see above

30. Who would play your romantic interest in a musical about your life?

romance?? in this economy??

31. 2 solos you’d love to perform.

if i had the vocal capacity, i would love to sing vanilla ice cream (she loves me) and stars (les mis)

32. Describe yourself with 3 musical theatre characters.

i’m very bad at describing my own qualities lol

33. A character that inspires you to be better.

jean valjean, hardened embittered convict turned loving father and CHRIST FIGURE

34. A showtune that always puts you in a good mood.

she loves me (from she loves me lol) is so fun and happy. the bit where he goes “i wonder why i didn’t want her/i want her/that’s the thing that matters/and matters are improving daily!” is so fun!

35. A showtune that makes you feel melancholic.

she used to be mine (waitress) makes me think about how i’m not really very happy with where i am in life, but also that i don’t know how to really address these issues

36. Best showstopper.

something rotten!/make an omelette; a bunch of dancing eggs on the stage that unfold their costumes to turn into omelettes? random musical and shakespeare references? could your faves ever

37. A place you consider to be your Santa Fe.

hmm...i guess greece?

38. The name of the prettiest theater you’ve been to.

lyric opera of chicago owns my entire ass

39. The most intense scene from a musical.

el tango de roxanne makes me go into cardiac arrest every damn time

40. A great cover of a showtune:

hmm i can’t think of anything off the top of my head

41. Put your phone on shuffle and write the first 2 showtunes that appear.

valjean’s soliloquy (les mis) and looking down the barrel of a gun (gentleman’s guide to love and murder)

(the worst part of this one was that the first two songs that came up on shuffle were showtunes)

42. Best design of a Playbill.

i don’t actually have particularly strong feelings about any playbill designs, they are mostly all nice!

#christina replies #witchfinder-major-saucepan

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psvrsales-com · 5 years ago

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PlayStation VR Reaches 3 Million Sales, is it a Failure?

it is Friday August 17th let's talk PlayStation all right so kind of a quiet news week for PlayStation not really a whole lot going on but we do have four news stories that I want to talk about the guys from this past week going into our first one a very cool advertisement that Sony did in Manhattan New York for spider-man because it's coming out September 7th very very soon but it is a fully decked out train in bright red with spider-man right on the front you can see the ps4 logo on the bottom there and then even the interior of this train was also decked at once again in complete red even on the walls the seats also again that pearlescent beautiful little red and you get that beautiful white spider-man logo on the seat I mean that just looks awesome definitely one of my favorite advertisements for sure another one that I can think of off the top of my head was if you remember a long time ago at least for a PlayStation advertisement this was for resistance 2 and if you remember it's that famous Los Angeles hotel always a spot for an advertisement there's usually something on there at all times and the resistance 2 had the the big Leviathan chimera and that was like a life-sized version of the Leviathan back then and that was always one of my favorite ones that I can at least think of from recent memory now moving on to the Uncharted movie we actually have an update and surprisingly it's a promising update the current director of the movie Sean lovey and I say currently because this movie has exchanged hands so many times but current director Shawn Levy had recently said that in regards to the star man remake and the Uncharted movie Uncharted is actually the one that seems to be closer to actually going into production given that more people get attached to the project but basically who was quoted as saying I mean as of right now the closest to the starting line is uncharted and that it's a massive title we now have a very good script and we have our star and Tom Holland that is now subject to schedule an additional casting but I would say as of right now that seems to be the most near the horizon and it's a movie I'm very excited about so that's kind of slightly uplifting news I know a lot of people are still a little upset because of that recent uncharted fan film with Nathan Fillion and he did play that really well to the point where you know oh man he's got to have it's got to be in the Uncharted movie but we know a long time ago that this movie was going to be an origin story of Drake which is why you'd have a young Tom Holland playing a young Drake and you'd have a young Sully and the story would be a little bit of a jumping-off point from and initially I didn't like that but the more I sat on it and then when I saw spider-man homecoming I thought all right this movie might have some ground to stand on and it might actually turn out well and that's like the most optimistic thing I can really say about it because let's face it most video game movies usually suck so I mean with the right people or Adam I've said this a few times with the right people the right money the right resources passion to make it work we can finally get a good video game movie I would hope that it's this but I'm still not really a I'm not gonna really gonna hold my breath for it now moving on to a cross-play news story we haven't talked about cross playing a few weeks mostly because there's really nothing going on and Sony still won't do anything but this past week Bethesda's Pete Hines was talking about how it's an absolute necessity to have cross play and nuts not fallout 76 but actually the Elder Scrolls legends the strategy card game so basically Bethesda P Hines has said he's quoted saying is our intention in order for the game to come out it has to be those things on any system we cannot have a game that works one way across everywhere else except for the fur on this one thing the way the game works right now on Apple Google steam and Bethesda net it doesn't matter where you buy your stuff if you play it on another platform that stuff is there it doesn't matter what platform you play on you play against everyone else who's playing at that moment there's no oh it's easier to control or it has a better frame rate on this system it's a strategy card game it doesn't matter I find this a little polarizing because he even went out of his way to say that you know if fallout 76 was cross play with everything that'd be great but if it's a no oh well but this one it's absolutely absolute necessity that this card game has to have cross play um and he made a point to say that he's talked to everybody about this he's not trying to single out Sony he said he has to talk to Apple and intend oh Microsoft everybody to make sure it works but we all know presumably they're playing just fine and we know that Sony's the odd man out because Sony always says no I guess he's sort of making his case of like that's what he's saying that quote like it's a card game like why why can this not be cross play that's basically oh he's trying to get at but I guess it's really important to the team at this game and every way is able to be like he's basically saying it's it's it's all or nothing like the game won't come out on ps4 if Sony won't allow this they're also saying that they're pretty much going along with development assuming that Sony will allow it he also said that they're talking to Sony every single day about this and he made a particular point which is that with this with this conversation with Sony there are certain situations where Sony will say yes to something and they'll say no to other things so that is kind of like a that's kind of like a gray area where they can kind of work their way into possibly trying to make this work it just sucks that Sony has to make this such like that Sony has to make this so difficult I'm seeing more and more people now sympathize with Sony which is a little odd to me because a lot of people are like yeah well whatever like oh you know Joey doesn't want to do it like let's be over with it like oh I don't need cross-play anyway you shouldn't really have that attitude we should we would want Sony to do this because it's a pro-consumer thing and we want Sony to be that way we don't want them to sort of slip into the same attitude of 2006 Sony with the PlayStation 3 we saw how that all worked out and we really don't want them to be in that scenario again I mean is that really what we want where they have this this tight consumer leverage over us where they're the market leader and they can do whatever they want because with this cross-play such a ways that's that's why this is a big issue because that's exactly what they're doing they're leveraging control over consumers to sell more PlayStation for us of course it's understandable from their perspective is there a business and they want to sell ps4s but I think people should be putting their foot down on this and demand that Sony starts to change their mind on this for our final news stories about PlayStation VR Sony recently announced that PlayStation VR has hit three million units sold worldwide and in relation to games they actually said games and experiences but games and experiences total has 21 million units sold and you know they say sold which makes me think Ari does that content that they paid for because if they're lumping experiences into that there's a lot of free stuff on the PlayStation Store for four PS VR and that's what I'm so like there's a lot of experiences on there like the call duty jackal mission or there's just like a lot of apps on there that are like really small five minute things but they're virtual reality like are they including that are they including paid content be more impressive to those paid content but if it's free stuff and that number is probably heavily diminished because let's face it a lot of people will download free stuff and that's what you do when you get PlayStation VR or VIPRE oculus you download all the free stuff because you just dropped a whole bunch of money on places we are but anyway let's kind of put this into perspective and that's where this conversation is gonna get tough because there's no way to put that into perspective because three million may seem loaded a lot of people and it actually is low if you look at some of these internal projections and what a lot of analysts were thinking it does seem low but at the same time PlayStation VR is still technically the market leader for premium VR and if we're talking about premium VR that does include oculus and vive those two headsets still have a higher barrier of entry if we are including the fact that you need a higher on PC for them I mean yeah oculus the actual headset itself is still is pretty much leveled out in terms of price of the via psvr but you still need a higher-end PC and you can't really be going out to a store and buying a ps4 for around $250 at most stores and it always comes with an extra game or controller it's like there's tons of retail or bundles going around usually ps4 I'm a smart piece for 300 but still you there's usually a sale three so that's and that's the thing three million seems you know low because a like a long time bag before psvr came out PSP came out October 2016 so a few months prior to that there was a lot of analysts saying that it was gonna sell anywhere from five to six million within the first year and it wasn't even close to that sony admitted not that long ago maybe a year ago now that their internal projections were missed and that VR adoption was at a much lower rate than they anticipated which I'm sure is troubling news to the company but at the same time sony has also vocally admitted on numerous occasions that this is a version one of the device and they are committing to this long term they know that this is version one of PlayStation VR and that there's possibly going to be a version 2 version 3 they've are we don't we we already have rumors suggesting that PlayStation 5 is going to have VR technology back right into the box which would imply that possibly the current PlayStation VR processing box which is used to help put the image back on the television that might be built right into the PlayStation 5 so that's the interesting point is that long term where is this going to where's this going to be because Sony does don't want to commit to VR I'm just I'm sure and they know that the adoptions slow is it as right now but that's why it's hard to put it in perspective because what you call PlayStation VR failure right now I think most people but I'm not sure if that's really a fair assessment given the fact that it's so early in the start of it right yes this is its own hardware and it's out it's at retailers with games but that's the constant conversation about VR is that it has so much potential and it really does when you start to consider all the extra input methods omnidirectional flooring I mean there's a lot of ways where it can go when you have more powerful hardware in the future five ten plus years from now it'll be a far cry from where we're at right now and it might be a more desirable piece of technology for people to go out and buy the same time it's still a high barrier of entry that's why it's hard to put that three million in perspective because we've never really had a prince not really a peripheral but for lack of a better word we've never really had a peripheral that was this astronomically high you know PlayStation VR came out at $400 that's a lot of money for a device that doesn't even work unless you have another device you know so three million units I mean at $400 retail I mean that's still pretty I mean granted that's it's cheaper now $200 PlayStation VR has been as low as 250 which you would hope that sold a lot more units but the last time we got a sales figure was you know what I can't even say it off the top my head because I don't remember it seems like it was maybe a year ago that they were at like 2 million something but I don't remember for sure what's so yeah I mean it's it's low sony sony has said that it's low it's way off the mark from analysts but it's when you know that they're gonna be doing this long term maybe you consider it a failure now but it might not be in the future given that Sony is putting so much R&D; and effort into it they probably are really hoping that this will be a very big thing in 10 years and presumably it will be if everything goes according to plan and that's where you're talking about if we if locomotion gets figured out better if that motion sickness gets figured out you know if we get big peripherals like that how many directional tracking for feet you know start getting those like you know there's been like Kickstarter's and and concept like gloves that make you feel weight in your and things like you know what I mean things like that that's super long long-term and that's far out but that kind of stuffs gonna be really engaging and you know Sony's been making a lot of decisions or decisions recently that show that they're thinking about the long term something like PlayStation now they know that's a long term thing the very x86 PC architecture of ps4 they knew that was a long term thing because ps4 Pro is proof of that ps5 will likely be more proof of that when it was when it will likely be announced with backwards compatibility because it's still using x86 they make decisions that are going to last them 10 plus years they really don't want to you know slip up any more with their breadwinner and their breadwinner is playstation so they want to make PlayStation VR something big in the future it's not right now but maybe it will be those are some of the new stories that I want to talk about you guys from this past week so I didn't have a new video for you earlier this week but this come Monday or Tuesday will be a new video for sure I say Monday Tuesday because I don't know specifically which day cuz just how my work schedule pans out but expect a new video coming up and I'm getting very close to wrapping up our next documentary if you didn't see it yet check out the first one it was the PlayStation Vita documentary hook your boy up share that around because you know it took me so long to make that video so I'm sorry I'm gonna keep pimping it out but otherwise the next one's coming up very soon so that's pretty much it that concludes this week's episode let's talk Playstation I'm ready thank you all so much for talking with me and I will see you guys next Friday

https://youtu.be/vLwOZxs5jCQ

#PSVR sales

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