#It’s such a good album go listen pk

[neon-draws-sometimes]

WERWWOLF FRESH HE HAS ZERO SWAG!!!

[st4rdom-if]

i've got a question for both kpop group, but idk if it's answerable (sorry i feel like that's not a word) ; what was your impression of each other ? like band-wise or maybe some knew each other while still being a trainee ? thanks youu ! <33

Q: What were your impressions of each other?

Seungho: I knew Alex, Jaehyun, and [name], but I did not meet the others until after we all joined the group. Alex was nice but he seemed like a nerd.

Alex: Excuse me, what??

Seungho: Jaehyun was quiet, but once I got him talking about his favorite animal he would never shut up.

Jaehyun: But I love dogs...

Alex: Are you ignoring me??

Seungho: As for [name]...

Seungho looks directly at the camera, a small smile growing on his face.

Seungho: When I first saw her, I thought she was pretty...nice. Pretty and nice.

The interviewer is about to ask a question, mouth open, but Alex interrupts.

Alex: SEUNGHO, you do NOT get away with calling me nerd! I'm not a nerd!

Seungho: Says yourself!

Alex: BUT for the record, I did think you were really cocky and a jerk as a trainee.

Now it is Seungho's turn to scoff.

Seungho: I was one of your only friends.

Alex: That is true, but it was still rude anyway.

Seungho: Alright, alright, I'm sorry.

As if realizing that they are off-topic, Seungho and Alex both cough awkwardly and look at the camera.

Seungho: But—well, as for ST4RDOM...I thought they were pretty cool. Music was solid, maybe their inflection could be better—

Vi: What.

It appears Seungho had spoken his thoughts aloud, and as soon as he realizes his fatal mistake he quickly backtracks.

Seungho: I MEAN, their music is good. That's it. Not like I have any other comments about them. Nope. None.

Vi's eyes narrow, and Nari lets out an indignant scoff.

Alex: ...okay then...I didn't start listening to them until I found out we were going to have an interview with them.

PK, Luc: Same.

The two look at each other. Even Alex goes quiet for a moment, but he bounds back with his own explanation.

Alex: I've never really taken the time to listen to other k-pop groups' songs since I am usually focused on perfecting ours.

Interviewer: Did you not have enough time or were you unaware of them?

Alex: Well, I definitely knew who they were since ST4RDOM is known internationally, but I never had the time to listen to their music. Sorry.

Sofie: You don't need to apologize.

Vi: I never listened to your songs anyway, so...

Alex: ...

Gavin: Did we ever talk to each other, Sofie?

Sofie: I don't remember. Maybe I saw you once or twice, but we never talked to each other or else I would remember if we did.

Gavin: I thought we did?

Sofie shrugs.

Gavin: Okay, well, I thought ST4RDOM was a good group. I thought I spoke to Sofie before, so that was why I liked the group, but I guess we didn't. Either way, they're good.

Interviewer: Jaehyun, Mingyu, what about you?

Jaehyun: Isn't this a personal question?

Interviewer: What do you mean?

Jaehyun: I mean, obviously I think they're a perfectly fine group who balance each other out well, but this question is just...too...what's the word?

Mingyu: Exposing?

Jaehyun: Exactly.

Mingyu: Think whatever you think, but honestly I've never really bothered to listen to their music. So I don't really have an opinion on that, but as people I think they are all polite and nice. Vi aside.

Vi: Hey, I'm right here, you know.

Mingyu only smiles, reaching forward to grab a bottle of water.

Interviewer: ST4RDOM, what about you? What were your opinions about KMonarchs?

Sofie: Okay, first, before I make my opinion on how I feel about them, I just want to say that I agree with Jaehyun. However, that does not mean that I'm going to avoid the question. Band-wise, you all make pretty good albums. I have only listened to a couple of them once, but the songs are not bad, per say. Individually, I have a LOT of opinions, but that would be a personal attack and this is getting recorded as I speak.

Sofie glances at the camera and her glare is effective on shutting the interviewer up.

Sofie: So I won't say anything. But in my opinion, KMonarchs make music that I feel is quite similar to ours, though we like to mix it up every now and then.

Vi: I'll take the burden and say it right now: every single one of them is handsome.

Nari: And cute.

Alex: What the—

Jaehyun: WHAT.

Mingyu: Oh???

Seungho: Really?

Unsurprisingly, Seungho smirks. People are laughing, shouting and speaking over one another trying to get clarification from the two girls. Even Sofie is laughing and Gracie watches, amused. Some of ST4RDOM's staff look horrified at the girls' words, Chang-ho in the middle of facepalming. Vi leans back, folding her arms as she smiles.

Vi: I said what I said.

This adds more fuel to the fire.

Interviewer: Alright, everyone PLEASE calm down!

The interviewer stands up, and soon people go quiet. Gavin coughs, holding up a fist to his mouth to muffle his dwindling laughing as Mingyu snorts at the attempt. Seungho still has the same arrogant smirk regardless.

Interviewer: I think it would be best if we just move on.

[z-exo-l]

My Top Kpop songs of 2022

So, 2022 was a rough year for me and mine. We survived it, and truly things could have been much worse, but it didn’t make for many happy repeat listens, Kpop wise. It’s a shame, because there were SEVERAL well-deserved solo debuts this year, and I feel like I didn’t give a lot of the songs the appreciation they deserve. To be clear, I did enjoy this music, and the year wasn’t wholly without happiness, I just couldn’t muster up as much enthusiasm as normal. But that’s okay, I’m going to desperately hope that 2023 is a better year, for all of us. 🤞🏻

There’s plenty of artist repetition, like always, BUT, this year has the most female entries so far! (Even those are a little repetitious, but I digress!) Let’s begin.

Honorable Mentions

Veil by Lay: Yixing nailing it every time! I didn’t love this song, (an unfortunate trend for Lay songs lately) but I have to mention it, if only for his sheer talent. ♥️ Bite by D.O: I’ve still got to watch this drama, but I’ll take any opportunity to hear Kyungsoo sing! Especially in a spooky, punk r&b style!

Dice by Onew: Even if I didn’t exactly care for how Jinki sang this, the MV is quintessential SHINee, the black and white look was A+, and his dancing was delightful!

Zoom by Jessi: I know who Jessi is, of course, her music just doesn’t really suit me. But this song had me giggling from the lyrics and dancing from the beat. A fun little earworm. 

⚠️Good Night by Rolling Quartz: PLEASE check these girls out if you haven’t yet! They’re a kickass girl K-Rock band (their vocalist Jayoung has an outstanding rock voice!) that are hustling their hearts out and not nearly enough people know about them! The only reason this is in honorable mentions is because this is a Dreamcatcher cover.

TOP 20

20. Vision by Dreamcatcher: I appreciate the environmentalism concepts the girls did this year, and to me this track is far superior to Maison.

19. Diamonds Only by WayV: Phantom had some excellent aesthetics, but this groovy B-Side had the best sound on the album.

18. Cursor by Purple Kiss: I’ve grown to appreciate an angsty pop-rock song, and the stripped down instrumental paired very well with PK’s voices. (I’ll miss you Jieun 😢)

17. Don’t Wait by Super Junior: A goofy, happy SuJu track is always welcome. It’s kind of fabulous that one of the silliest groups around is also one of the oldest; and the drag in the mv is just the cherry on top.

16. Bear Hug by Suho: I loved Suho’s powerful vocals here. And like I’ve mentioned, I think his time on stage really helped his stability. Beautiful singing!

15. Summer Rain by Purple Kiss: The vocals of this song are just right for a rainy day, and the melody is very folksy.

14. Traveler by Chen: A gentle, toe-tapping song that was a great addition to Last Scene! His ballads are obviously excellent, but more mid-tempo Jongdae numbers, please. (Bye Babe w/ 10cm was a BOP, mkay?)

13. Fire Flower by Purple Kiss: The rhythm and Eastern influence on this track are very compelling! Unfortunately this song gives me a terrible case of musical amnesia, so even though I like it a lot I always forget how it sounds. 😅

12. Love is Dead by Purple Kiss: A very catchy and almost haunting song; the kind of track I love from PK. And I’ve tried to figure out what era of music this makes me think of, and outside of a sample (I think) all I can come up with is 90′s or 00′s girl group. Works for me!

11. INVU by Taeyeon: The AESTHETICS of this MV!!! It hooked me like you wouldn’t believe, it is GORGEOUS! And musically this is my first Taeyeon song to top Spark! Goddess indeed! 😍

10. Devil by Changmin:

This song is AMAZING! Give this man all the praise and appreciation for putting Gospel and Blues into a KPOP song!! And that’s not even talking about his voice! His voice is so high, but forceful that he’s able to match it pitch for pitch! Criminally underrated!

9. Feedback by Xiumin:

This is a song, like many dance tracks, that absolutely SLAPS when the mood is right! If this came out during the dubstep era, (the very tiny window where I went clubbing) this would’ve been on constant repeat. As it is it’s still a really fun song to bop around to. ☺️

8. Pretty Psycho by Purple Kiss:

Outside of a really niggling, almost distracting Britney Spears sample, this is an awesome song. It’s very dance-able, but still has that signature wickedness that I love about PK. And the vocals menacingly glide over the instrumentals in almost a Eurythmics style. Easily the best track off MemeM!

7. Decanting by Suho:

Mature idols being allowed to sing sbout mature subjects will always get me, and while I compared it Baekhyun’s Drown, Decanting feels like a much slower, more lavish type of seductive sound. You could play this during a rainstorm, or on a commute, or at a café, and by the end you’d feel contented and satisfied. Beautiful guitar, and stupendous vocals. Well done Junmyeon!

6. Hot by Seventeen:

Even though I think the autotune almost teeters into too much, this song is immensely delightful and catchy. You can always count on Seventeen for something fun and happy, and that was something I needed a lot this year. And it was probably the best song released in 2022 that I could just shut my brain off and boogie to.

5. Voyager by Kihyun:

I obviously love rock and kpop, so it was especially exciting to learn that not only was Kihyun having his solo debut, but it was a rock song! This was such a great track; very easy to sing along with, as well as just rock out to around the house. Kihyun has the perfect voice for the genre, and I’m already very excited for his next comeback. 

4. Brand New by Xiumin:

I’ll be the first to admit the sample took some getting used to, but once I did, this song was stuck in my head constantly. Even without the sample though, I love Brand New’s retro sound; most people brought up the 90′s, but what came to mind to me were the effects from the late 60′s/early 70′s, which I love, and it’s a great match for Minseok’s voice. Not to mention it has crazy athletic choreo that showcases what a talented dancer he is! It was the perfect debut song for Minseok, and I’m SO proud of him!

3. Mango by Super Junior:

I LOVE this song and I LOVE that it’s from SuJu! This came at a point in the year when I wasn’t enjoying a lot of the releases coming out. But omg, this song! The pre-chorus, the colorful mv, the KRY bridge, the display of experienced talent all around (vocalist Eunhyuk, center Shindong!) Ahh! The song is a gotdang BOP!

2. Love by Monsta X:

I pretty much always give high spots to the songs I can dance to, and on the rare occasions the urge struck me this year, Love was the was the song I was most often shuffling to in my kitchen. It didn’t start out this high on the list, but more and more often I caught myself wanting to play it just to brighten my mood. The chorus is super catchy, but at the same time it’s still laidback and easy to listen to thanks to the instrumental, and Joohoney’s parts make me giggle. A great track if you need a pick-me-up!

1. Hurdle by Suho:

The biggest surprise of 2022! I was so stunned that Suho released a song like this, but the funky pre-chorus had me hooked immediately! Plus for as high register as Suho sings, it works shockingly well against the 80′s pop rock sound. It almost gives Joan Jett with Pink Floyd vibes??? …If those comparisons make any sense! Anyway! Then you throw in an almost wacky, utterly surreal mv, and this track all but demands a revisit. It was one of the only songs this year that had me on first listen, and I’m still not sick of it. I hope the other members follow in your tracks Junmyeon, and dare to be just as experimental, because damn does it pay off!!

So ends the countdown for 2022. Kyungsoo has said that he was recording for his album, Jongin said that he’s deciding on a title track right now, and Chanyeol wants to release a solo album as well. Then Suho declares more than once that there will be an EXO 2023 comeback as soon as Baekhyun is back from the military. …I’ve been an exo-l long enough that I’m handling this with a healthy bit of skepticism, but I’ll hope for at least the exo comeback, and go from there. Who knows, with any luck at all my next top 20 will be chock full of exo songs. :-)

I hope you all had a great, or at least survivable 2022. Happy New Year, and have a great 2023!

[baekhvuns]

The most common avo types are Lula and Hass, the latter is better also depends on how ripe it is. It definitely taste grassy, but if you spice it up then ut can be good. Why am I giving you avo 101 lol

I'm kinda a hag, but I don't understand "fans" like this, they're embarrassing. Everyone can be a fan regardless of age and they should always be respectful. But if you're 25+ you should definitely know better. Also the younger ones, no school? Can just fly everywhere and show up at ass crack of dawn to take some photos???

Alright alright spoilers incoming. I don't know everything, but the first kid (a daughter) is with... Ranamun lol. But Latil didn't bond with her. Now she's pregnant again and people are like, is it Sonnaught's, is it Tasir's? Soooo essentially Mr Knight continued to be emotionally constipated then got broody and something happened to him once he killed some Angel that changed his demeanour? But then Latil told him she'd have sex with him if he promised to join the Harem, he agreed, they did the deed, but during the consort ceremony he was like "sorry, no" so he pretty much betrayed her, I hope the kid isn't his. 🔪 Tasir on the other hand, bestie if you wanna read something about him and Latil then I reccomend this excerpt 👀 and they're so cuuuute. I hate that they changed Flounder to Halibut in the eng webtoon. Also some new guys have joined the gang, but idc

RM x Mbappe saga felt never-ending, but oh well... I wonder who's winning 3rd place, I'll be busy though cause it's an early match

Omfg that's so cool, the mini disc?! You're right, Orbits are boycotting by not buying many albums, but I bet most will turn up to listen to the songs. Yikes? The girls look great in suits though 😭

Girl I work from home and basically have no neighbours at least not that I know of ahsgajsgajsgsb also don't want any bitches. The only neighbour I care about is a black cat who lives on the ground floor, I love him 💖 But I can be in an ETL with fictional Seonghwa, no problem. So the cousin is both ETL and workplace romance 🙉

Hongjoong revisited his red hair, so blue Hong next plsssss.

Unfortunately people need to realise that the line distribution can't really be equal most of the time, it should be fair though. Or members should at least shine in other areas. Kpop stans lack common sense, what's new 🔫

When people say Seonghwa is the normal one, they clearly didn't see THAT edit lmao. There are so many song parallels between ATZ and DC, Deja Vu, Wonderland... both have interesting lore 😭 and shared producers too. So sad Leez left Edenary though, he's good

The autotune in Paradigm killed me, once I heard Hwa I was like??? I saw a tweet that said "omfg, Hwa's range I never heard him sing like that!!!" bestie... that's Robo-Hwa lmao. The chorus is very messy, the instrumental is too loud. Yunho and San got good parts, it's a shame the whole song is weird as hell, but most people love it so 🤐 hopefully the new one isn't such a mess...

Good question 👁👁 Personally bandaged Seonghwa awakened something in me, oiling sounds good even though I don't like the feeling of oil very much. I think I'll go with the bandage wrapper. I can oil his arms afterwards though

Lmao the red carpet looks are always boring black. But Ateez covering Shinhwa??? That wasn't on my bingo card :o DEMON KING HWA OPENING

SM is freeing EXO, finally! So happy for you and my Exo-l flatmate!

Vampire prince Seonghwa back at ittttttt. Baeks it's a sign, boxer Hwa actually needs to happen...... hear me out, their make up! And if we see it on Seonghwa then whatttt. Come on blue + gemstones would match so well with his icy hair. And the vooooooiceeeeeee. Also his fit reminds me of this white outfits PK performance - DV 💖

hello!!

The most common avo types are Lula and Hass, the latter is better also depends on how ripe it is. It definitely taste grassy, but if you spice it up then ut can be good. Why am I giving you avo 101 lol

AVO 101 GRKWHDKW LMFAOOO 😭😭 I would actually sign for this class <3 im assuming the midterm is on the nutritional benefits of avocados?? 25% of the grade? u bet 🫡

I'm kinda a hag, but I don't understand "fans" like this, they're embarrassing. Everyone can be a fan regardless of age and they should always be respectful. But if you're 25+ you should definitely know better. Also the younger ones, no school? Can just fly everywhere and show up at ass crack of dawn to take some photos???

no yeah, like bro u don’t got anything else to do? id be working and getting money not going on twt to go constantly shit on someone come on 😭😭😭 exactly! be a respectful person regardless of ur age bc how hard is that, tbh why’s everyone so bitter after the rona 😭😭🤚🏼 NO SERIOUSLY GIRLIES UR 17YO FOLLOWING WHOLE ASS ADULT MEN LIKE UR GRADES??? EXAMS??? HELLO???

Alright alright spoilers incoming. I don't know everything, but the first kid (a daughter) is with... Ranamun lol. But Latil didn't bond with her. Now she's pregnant again and people are like, is it Sonnaught's, is it Tasir's? Soooo essentially Mr Knight continued to be emotionally constipated then got broody and something happened to him once he killed some Angel that changed his demeanour? But then Latil told him she'd have sex with him if he promised to join the Harem, he agreed, they did the deed, but during the consort ceremony he was like "sorry, no" so he pretty much betrayed her, I hope the kid isn't his. 🔪 Tasir on the other hand, bestie if you wanna read something about him and Latil then I reccomend this excerpt 👀 and they're so cuuuute. I hate that they changed Flounder to Halibut in the eng webtoon. Also some new guys have joined the gang, but idc

look…ranamun was a underrated etl, idc he was just constantly jealous to the point their ‘small’ banter was >> im sorry a daughter w him.

when is sonnaught’s turn to be a dad. i need him to go at it NOT FUCK EVERYTHING UP WHAT IS HE DOING 😭😭😭😭 why did he betray her, does he give a reasonable reason. bc then I will forgive him.

TASIR AND LATIL GETTING IT ONNNNN FUCK IT UP THQKDBQLDHQL new guys?? come on we couldn’t get enough of these ones 😭😭 does klein get a chance 😭🤚🏼

RM x Mbappe saga felt never-ending, but oh well... I wonder who's winning 3rd place, I'll be busy though cause it's an early match //// Omfg that's so cool, the mini disc?! You're right, Orbits are boycotting by not buying many albums, but I bet most will turn up to listen to the songs. Yikes? The girls look great in suits though 😭

i do wonder too! morocco’s defense sent french to the hospital, what are they gonna do to croatia 😭😭 modrić vs hakimi phewww also brkwhd I think i cried laughing at this but richarlison got pele and neymar and his face tattooed on his back and 😭😭 neymar sent him like 26k to get his face removed bc he didn’t like it 😭😭😭🤚🏼

THE MINI DISK IS GENIUS??? SM’S ON ANOTHER LEVEL ??? no yeah ppl will def turn up for the videos bc they wanna see what their company did for sure, WOMEN IN SUITS >>>>

Girl I work from home and basically have no neighbours at least not that I know of ahsgajsgajsgsb also don't want any bitches. The only neighbour I care about is a black cat who lives on the ground floor, I love him 💖 But I can be in an ETL with fictional Seonghwa, no problem. So the cousin is both ETL and workplace romance 🙉

see u work from home, and u don’t go out often right how would u know if u don’t have a very hot neighbour on ur floor 🧍🏻‍♀️<3 bitchless for life anon 😭😭 OMG NO WAY STOP IT CHECK WHO’S PET THAT IS U NEVER KNOW FJWKVD. how we will live life atp with no one to experience this with

now, etl workplace with a mix of rivalry are u saying, ur cousin is really living the yn life, i bet they both attractive as hell too 😭 STOP IT THIS IS MAKING ME SCREAM !!!!! EMQHDKQJCHAK

Hongjoong revisited his red hair, so blue Hong next plsssss. //// Unfortunately people need to realise that the line distribution can't really be equal most of the time, it should be fair though. Or members should at least shine in other areas. Kpop stans lack common sense, what's new 🔫

IF HONGJOONG A MOOT HE NEEDS TO SEE THIS, the cerulean blue on him wowzie. yeah! a person’s not only contributing just to the lyrics, there’s sets to the adlibs, harmonies and yeosang’s deeper voice is def mixed and used for underlying harmonies! the contribution is equally done 😭😭 like come on we don’t know what’s happening back there + he’s getting more lines now! AND I NEED IT TO STOP BC THAT DEEP VOICE OF HIS RHAKHEQKDJKWH I WILL PERISH

When people say Seonghwa is the normal one, they clearly didn't see THAT edit lmao. There are so many song parallels between ATZ and DC, Deja Vu, Wonderland... both have interesting lore 😭 and shared producers too. So sad Leez left Edenary though, he's good

THEY REALLY DIDNT SBDKWHD HES NOWHERE NEAR THE NORMAL U THINK HE IS ,,, no bc drop the lore book kq 😭 pls,, YEAH LEEZ LEFT JUST LIKE THAT???? 🔫🔫

The autotune in Paradigm killed me, once I heard Hwa I was like??? I saw a tweet that said "omfg, Hwa's range I never heard him sing like that!!!" bestie... that's Robo-Hwa lmao. The chorus is very messy, the instrumental is too loud. Yunho and San got good parts, it's a shame the whole song is weird as hell, but most people love it so 🤐 hopefully the new one isn't such a mess...

Good question 👁👁 Personally bandaged Seonghwa awakened something in me, oiling sounds good even though I don't like the feeling of oil very much. I think I'll go with the bandage wrapper. I can oil his arms afterwards though

this entire passage i agree with, unfortunately this one didn’t hit, the autotune excuse get’s overshadowed by “they sing it live and they sound better like this!” idc 😭😭 if i don’t like the song i don’t think it’ll make a different if it’s live or not bc the background instrumental is still the same! just didn’t hit as much for me for the points u mentioned above, the beat drop is messy- bc their vocals harmonize so prettily but the drop is just going 📉📉📈📉📈📉📈📉📈📉 i think ateez need to bring back some dazzling light type of songs, it was pretty and the beat HIT along with the vocals,, BANDAGING SOUNDS BETTER NGL THE OIL WOULD JUST FEEL WEIRD TO PUT ON BC ITS STICKY 😭😭 and then the smell stays on the entire day fhwkdh

Lmao the red carpet looks are always boring black. But Ateez covering Shinhwa??? That wasn't on my bingo card :o DEMON KING HWA OPENING ////// SM is freeing EXO, finally! So happy for you and my Exo-l flatmate!

THEIR LOOKS. SEONGHWAS HAIR. SEONGHWA CULLEN. this is the king hwa anon, im about to start writing

sm letting exo breathe 😭😭😭 THE WAY WE BEEN THRU SO MUCH AND THEY SAY THAT FUCKASS WE ARE ONE SLOGAN 😭😭COMEBACK COMING 😭😭🤚🏼 BAEKHYUN RETURNING IN 49 DAYS IM GEQKHDWK READY TO FIGHT FOR THE TICKETS a very slutty santa for the good return of baekhyun bc that means taemin’s coming too

Vampire prince Seonghwa back at ittttttt. Baeks it's a sign, boxer Hwa actually needs to happen...... hear me out, their make up! And if we see it on Seonghwa then whatttt. Come on blue + gemstones would match so well with his icy hair. And the vooooooiceeeeeee. Also his fit reminds me of this white outfits PK performance - DV 💖

hear me out. if i writer boxer hwa next instead of the series what do u prefer fbwndb bc a ballerina reader x a boxer 👀👀 pretty promising if u ask me <33 STOP THEY LOOK SO GOOD, THE WHOLE ICE PRINCE THING WOULD FIT HWA WITH THE HAIRSTYLE HE HAD AT THE SBS WITH BLUR RHINESTONES ON HIS FACE STOP IT, WE NEED A PHOTOSHOOT RIGHT NOW

I WILL GIVE U 3 OPTIONS TO CHOSE FROM FOR THE NEXT AU BUT I NEED TO FINISH THIS SHITTY FIC FIRST 😭😭

omg he was actually so fire here i can’t believe i never looked at him twice 😭😭

AAANDDDD

hello

[euclydya]

U WANNA SEE HOW FAR DOWN I CAN SINK???

THEN LET ME GO™!

F U C C™!

[anambermusicbox]

September 29 Day Countdown (26/29): 2016-2018 Radio Interviews on 动感101《小畅翻牌》

2016/12/20

(2:00) Interviewer, knowing Ukraine has renowned music schools, thought Zhou Shen went to Ukraine specifically to study music before she found out he actually was in dentistry and then switched to music; she asks why he went to Ukraine to study.

Zhou Shen: Simple! Because it’s cheap. (T/N: it’s extremely extremely cheap compared to studying abroad in other countries, and Zhou Shen’s family was quite poor)

(3:00) How did you win your parents over?

ZS: I didn’t. I told them, “Hey, I don’t think I can do this” and they were like “What?” I said, “I really can’t do this.” At first, they didn’t really understand what I was going through at the time. They said, even if I had to retake a year or two, they wanted me to keep going. They said, then take some time to improve in the language. I said, “I really can’t do this anymore,” they said no, and later I went against their wishes and applied to the music conservatory anyways.

(7:30) ZS talks about how he didn’t talk to his parents for months after switching schools, until finally his parents told him, “Then in the future, whatever you do is no longer our concern” and then hung up on him. 

ZS: (8:10) They said, okay we’re not giving you money for school, you figure it out yourself. But parents are like this: they say things but don’t go through with it. So they gave me money for tuition but nothing to cover living expenses. (*laughs*) (Interviewer: They said, whether you eat or not is no longer our concern) Yup. (*laughs*) They said they’d give me money for living expenses only if I studied medicine or language. So I had to borrow money from a classmate for food. I held out for 2 months, starved for 2 months before they said, okay since you’re this persistent, even though we’re still against this- (Interviewer: They still don’t want their son to starve to death) Right, they didn’t want to lose a kid. (*laughs*)

Interviewer: (9:00) When did their attitude finally soften towards your decision? 

ZS: After the Voice. (T/N: ZS didn’t tell his parents before he competed on the show; they found out along with the rest of the public when it aired) [...] They thought, ah okay he’ll be able to take care of himself now, he knows what he’s doing.

Interviewer: (9:50) Are they proud of you?

ZS: Oh yeah, they’re absolutely embarrassing. (*laughs*) After the episode aired, my parents- they run a small business, and customers who came by, my parents would be like, “Look :) who this is :)” and the customer would be like “…??…uuhh who is-“ “ITS HUAN YAN, OUR SON SANG IT!!!” (*laughs*) and then the customer is like “uuhhh ehhrmm….” I wanted to die from the embarrassment oh my gOD, it was so awkward. So awkward. Afterwards, I started avoiding being with them when they were with people. (*laughs*) They- they’re parents; they were happy, and then they started to worry. (*laughs*) This career... how long would I be able to do it for...

(11:50) ZS talks about how surprised he was by how popular Big Fish was; after only a few days, a lot of covers started appearing online. The singers for Big Fish and Begonia’s other OSTs were very big names, Eason Chan and Lala Hsu.

ZS: At first, they planned to have another very big name singer to sing Big Fish (T/N: it was supposed to be Faye Wong!), but because of reasons, their plan never came to fruition. The song’s lyricist, Yin Yue, she’s really too good to me. She kept insisting to the director, “Zhou Shen can sing this song, you should let him try,” but the director honestly didn’t care. The production company and the director, they wanted someone had enough influence to promote the film. (Interviewer: But congratulations to them, they ended up choosing the right person for the song! :D)

(19:30) ZS: “[After Masked Singer], my parents, they posted a WeChat moment they was quite touching—they said “Our son sang so well and seeing him work so hard—we want him to continue singing.” (Interviewer: Oh so they go online often?”) Yeah, only because I spent years teaching them.” (*laughs*) 

(19:45) ZS: “Every time I come home, my parents play my songs non-stop. I asked them, aren’t you sick of listening to it? Later I asked my sister, and she told me they play my songs all the time everyday. I felt like, wah (Interviewer: “All these years of being a host, and my own parents are the most avid viewers of my program.”) Wow… auntie uncle, I’m very sorry… (T/N: LKJNASFDFA THIS MADE ME SPIT OUT MY FOOD I WAS EATING HAHAHA) they’re gonna hate me. [...] I think, being a parent is really such hard work.”

2016/12/17

(5:30) ZS talks about how he didn’t sing at all during in his middle school years. Interviewer asks whether he ever tried to conceal his being different from everyone else.

ZS: Actually, when you listen to me talk, I- all these years I’ve already gotten accustomed to making my voice lower, it’s a force of habit. I’ve forgotten what my regular voice is supposed to be like. If I relaxed my throat while speaking it would sound like this—thinner, higher. But now I can’t go back.

(7:50) Interviewer asks whether he’ll try out different styles of music:

ZS: I think right now, people don’t know me well yet. I want people to first know who Zhou Shen is, what kind of songs he sings, and then try other genres, and only then will people want to listen. If release a song, people will be like, who’s Zhou Shen and won’t try listening to it—and if they listen and it’s a genre I’m not good at? Wow, no one’s going to listen.

2018/02/03

(1:50) ZS: “Well for one thing, I really hate my voice. (Interviewer: Why?) A male with this kind of voice is really weird. (Interviewer: It’s unique! It’s memorable. Can you find other people with this kind of voice?) Yup. My dad. (*laughs*) One time, my manager called my dad and he- “Hello?” “Oh hello auntie-” I was like “wAIT WAIT WAIT that’s my dad” (*laughs*) (Interviewer: Can he sing too?) No way, he scares people to death when he sings, he can’t sing. (*laughs*)

(7:45) After Big Fish was released:

ZS: Everyone seemed to like it, it felt- Eh? This is great. After about two weeks though, comments started to appear like: “just found out a man sang this and I feel like vomiting, I deleted this song immediately.” And it wasn’t just this one, there were many comments like it. It was extremely upsetting. I felt like, one of those characters in a sad drama, the kind that gets abandoned and they’re crying like “what did I do to you to make you treat me like this? TT^TT”

Interviewer: It’s like, even if there’s a whole pile of positive comments, if there’s one negative, that’s the one you pay attention to. Even if there are 100 nice comments—

ZS: —if there’s one hurtful comment, that’s the one that sticks with you, exactly! Everyone has this tendency.

(7:20) ZS talks about his duet with Guo Qin again (see translation from another interview talking about it here), how he was just as nervous as he was in his own blind audition and how he would’ve blamed himself if she had lost: “She’s 17—super young, makes me so mad—and she was sitting so calmly; meanwhile, I was standing there, all my limbs trembling—like, who’s supposed to be helping who here?” (*laughs*)

(14:45) About how he’s grateful that he didn’t get popular overnight: 

ZS: If I got popular overnight, I think it would’ve been over for me. Because my singing really did need improvement. Also, I think my album is really important in that in helped me get through a bottleneck period. At that time, I felt like, no matter how I sang it didn’t sound good. I felt like, can I even sing? But the process of recording this album helped me to see where I needed to improve. 

So if I got popular overnight, it really would’ve been over for me, because my singing wouldn’t have improved. It would’ve stopped there. (Interviewer: And you would still believe that you’re really good.) Everyone around you is praising you like (*rapid clapping*) “You sing so well!! You sing so well!! Look at how everyone wants to hire you to sing, you sing super well!!” It’s over- it would really be over. […] I quite like progressing one step at a time.

(18:10) Zhou Shen talks about how, when he got eliminated on the Voice, he wasn’t crying because he lost, but because suddenly going from spending so much time together as a team and having such camaraderie to all but four eliminated was too heartbreaking.

ZS: (20:20) When I got eliminated, I was actually really happy. I don’t like competing, and I felt I didn’t have any pressure on me anymore. I felt bad for Li Wei because I knew there would definitely be a lot more pressure on him now, because now he has to represent our entire team in the future competition. 

After our PK, he—because we both cried so hard—he said (*shrill crying voice*) “Zhou Shen I’ll carry your name and compete to the end!! TT^TT” (*Interviewer laughs*) and I replied, (*shrill crying voice*) “You shouldn’t give yourself so much pressure, don’t carry my name just sing TT^TT” (*laughs*) 

You don’t understand how hard we were crying. After the PK, there had to be a 25-minute intermission because Na-jie had to cry too. So she’s there crying in the mentor area and I’m crying in the eliminated area and Li Wei’s crying in the advancement area. [...] During the blind auditions, every single person earned their place in the team one by one, and now all of them are being taken out one by one—it was quite brutal.

2018/02/10

(1:30) Zhou Shen talks about how he has a longer process to be accepted compared to other singers, because they first have to get over the fact that a man has this type of voice before they truly listen to him sing. Some people react like, WOW amazing!! while others are on the other end of the spectrum:

ZS: Once, I was at a restaurant and at that time, they were broadcasting the blind auditions of the Voice. The restaurant owner just happened to be watching it, and when I appeared, he was like “Eh? Who’s this- WAH-“ and immediately changed the channel. I was like ??? D’: ????? “…can I have some water?” (*laughs*) He changed the channel right in front of me, you know? He didn’t recognize me. It was- (*makes disgruntled noises*) It was really upsetting.

(2:20) ZS, about being on Masked Singer: “That was the first time I felt acknowledged by the sentence ‘wow this girl sings so well!’”

(20:30) In the three years since your debut, have you ever seen a fan who, because of your songs or your voice, their life changed?

ZS: Have I seen that personally? That would be impossible, but I have read about it in letters and comments. There was one comment, this person—they had depression, the kind that they were being prescribed medication for—but they started listening to my music and slowly started to become happier, their mental health improved. I was so astonished—music is really so powerful.

Another one was- to be honest, men with this type of voice are actually not uncommon. It’s really not just me. Once, I was at karaoke with an old schoolmate—middle school or high school, I forget—and he said, “because of you, Zhou Shen, because you sang in that competition [the Voice], I’m now brave enough to sing at karaoke. It feels like, even with this kind of voice, I can sing too.” That moment—I was so moved.

2018/05/19

(3:45) ZS talks about how Gao Xiaosong was really satisfied with how the album turned out, and how Gao Xiaosong is actually really thin.

Interviewer: Why do you always have to mention that? No one is asking about whether he’s fat or thin.

ZS, joking: How else do you think I got this album—I kept complimenting him as thin (T/N: HAHAHAHAHA)

[sunshinelatte]

I wanna talk about IPYTM's original score, especially the one titled CITY. It's not my favourite but it has a special place in my heart because even though it's not the main score, the feelings it got?? omg??

I think CITY is still related to the two first scores in the album (PK - BKK - I Promised You The Moon, and SAFE ZONE) because three of them just feels warm and melancholic in some way. If I were going to use one word to describe each of them, I would say PK - BKK - I Promised You The Moon represents the word "Passionate", SAFE ZONE represents "Honesty", while CITY represents "Hope".

CITY is focused to portray the feelings of Teh and Oh-Aew's transition from Phuket to Bangkok while becoming college students to pursue their dreams. All the hope and worries for their love and dream. CITY itself sounds like hope and worries mixed together. It starts slow then it builds up with more colors and beat. The start 'til the buildup sound so good it's like telling you; you'll be worried at first but once you start a journey, you'll find a lot of interesting things and the worries will fade away. Then, the beat drops. Oh, I love how the beat drops on this one. Tbh, it was harsh on my first listen but then I realized it brings some kind of euphoria to the score. I would say it completes the score as a whole because without it the score wouldn't portray hope just as much.

Then, near the end, the buildup fades away and leaves you with the main melody. Once again, it portrays the worries in a calmer and more comforting way. It brings you back to the present and make you realize that even with things you're worrying now, there will always be hope. It's just really fascinating how the same melody can be portrayed differently at the start and the end of the score.

[patricksmusicblog]

DMX Discography Overview

It's Dark and Hell is Hot(1998): DMX's distinctive growl, aggression, and arresting flow is fully formed and at its highest potency here on It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. It's Dark and Hell is Hot is, for the most part, a dark menacing and street-orientated album. Some tracks even lean toward a horror-core vibe, "X is Coming" being the bleakest and most unsettling of the bunch. Still, there are deeply emotive tracks like Let Me Fly, Look Through My Eyes, and Convo, where DMX gets introspective and lets us in on his struggles internally and morally/spiritually. There are also hits here, like the hard but catchy "Ruff Ryders Anthem" and the chill summer jam "How's It Going Down." The album's production is handled by PK and Dame Grease, with the album's calling card produced by Swizz Beatz. On a broader level, DMX was a presence in the rap game filled some of the space that had been vacant since Tupac Shakur was murdered, passionate, aggressive, and visceral only specifically representative of the east coast. He also was the answer to the shiny suit luxury rap era Puffy was dominating with in 1997. The album is pure classic and certainly a top-tier album of 1998. Rating: 9.0/10

Favorite Tracks: Rough Rydahs Anthem, How's It Going Down, Intro, Crime Story, Look Thru My Eyes, Let Me Fly

Flesh of my Flesh Blood of my Blood(1998): Flesh of My Flesh Blood of my Blood was released in late December of 1998 cemented DMX as the biggest rapper of that year and late 90s in general(Jay-Z notwithstanding). Aside from the Beastie Boys, the album had the highest first-week sales in a highly competitive year. As for the quality of this one, It's more of DMX's burst of rough and jagged rhymes. When he's not menacing(which is most of the time), he's as introspective and pain-stricken as he was on It's Dark, and Hell Is Hot. The apex of that would be "Slippin," an iconic song that is amongst the saddest tracks in hip-hop history as DMX open shares the trauma of his upbringing, being an addict and struggling to get out of it only to find its way back in it and everything that surrounds that in his past. It's really the fight in the song that makes the song his willingness not to quit and keep trying that makes the song "I got to get up, get back on my feet so I can tear sh*t up." What keeps the album from being the classic his debut was is that Swizz Beats takes the helm on most of the production here, which is hit or miss. DJ Shok, PK, and Dame Grease have a lot of the best beats here. They bring out that dark energy and tone that makes for X's best work. All in all, it's still a great project and amongst his best work. Rating: 8.0/10

Favorite Tracks: Slippin', Dogs For Life, Coming From, Black Out,

...And Then There Was X(1999): ...And Then There Was X picks up were DMX previously left out brutal, pummeling bone-crushing violence come is to be expected. "One More Road to Cross" and "The Professional"(one of the albums hardest tracks) are early highlights. Then there's the heartfelt but mature writing of "Here We Go Again," one X's best tracks, and "More 2 a Song," the ladder of which speaks to DMX's avoidance when it comes to rapping about the flashy materialistic side of things. While this is DMX's third full length album, it sounds more like a full-fledged sophomore effort to It's Dark and Hell is Hot while Flesh of my Flesh' plays more as an extension, too, or a very good b-side to its predecessor. This album contains some of DMX most well-known hits it including his biggest "Party Up"(Up in Here), a high energy track produced by Swizz Beatz that finds DMX being peak DMX, the chorus is both funny and little corny, there's a good touch of humor in DMX's bars on the track that give it charm. Another well-known X track is "What these B*tches Want" ft Sisqo, a silly and misogynistic track that has its charm and humor but is a bit lacking as far as the chorus in my opinion. "What's My Name?" however, is a banger that's one of DMX's better singles and meant to be played at a high volume out of your car. ...And Then There Was X is another strong album from DMX, and its more consistent than Flesh of my Flesh' less visceral and hungry than It's Dark. 8.5/10 

Favorite tracks: Party Up(Up in Here) Here We Go Again, What's My Name, The Professional, Angel, More 2 a Song

The Great Depression(2001): DMX's fourth straight #1 album finds him trying new things. There are the rap-rock efforts like Bloodline Efforts, and I'ma Bang which will always be hit or miss depending on the kind of music listener you are. To me, they're listenable but amongst the corniest of DMX records in his catalog. The worst is the silly/sad "She Was Da Bomb" where X writes a track about basically impregnating a woman and threatening to be a deadbeat. Yeah, the lows here are amongst the lowest of his career. Transversely, "Who We Be," a socially conscious record, is one of DMX's best tracks ever, and "We Right Here" has a great beat and is amongst the best on the album. Aside from the hits, you get the heartfelt "I'm Missing You" and the thoughtful "When I'm Nothing". There are also more R&B sounds here which I think is a nice change of pace. The Great Depression is solid; it's less aggressive and consistent than any of the three albums before it; some songs really work, and a few don't. I think it's worth listening to; there are essential DMX tracks here, but I wouldn't consider the LP quintessential as a whole. 7.5/10

Favorite Tracks: Who We Be, We Right Here, When I”m Nothing, I”m Missing You,

Grand Champ(2003): DMX's fifth straight #1 album is even more boom or bust than The Great Depression is. Where The Great Depression had weird moments and tracks that didn't quite work. Here X doesn't sound quite as passionate as he does early in his career. In an interview he did on 106 n Park around the time of the album's release, he'd spoken about not making what he should off his music, and I wonder how much that put a damper on writing and recording for this album. When it comes to what's here, the menacing brutality and growl is here, but it isn't as consistently visceral as it was early on. At 24 tracks, it's also a long, over-bloated album but even shorting it; I don't think the bulk of the music here holds up through time. "Get it On the Floor," has a terrible chorus, and most tracks between 13-23 are forgettable. As for the best of what's here "Where the Hood At" Produced by Swizz is a classic DMX track it's hard and has a great beat and hook. "Dogs Out" Which features Kanye on production. Then you have "We're Back" ft Eve and Jadakiss, another highlight and features pretty good verses from all three, but I believe Jada had the best performance. The international version of the album features the track "X Gon Give It To Ya" another very good single from X. This is an interesting listen, and depending how die-hard an X fan you are you may still enjoy this. I think there are tracks worth salvaging, but it isn't an essential listen. 6.5/10

Favorite Tracks: Dogs Out, Where The Hood At, X Gon Give it to Ya

The Year of the Dog(2006):This is the point where the bottom really fell out on DMX's music. The highs here aren't amongst the highest of X's career, and the lows are certainly amongst the lowest—tons of generic and lackluster production, mediocre choruses. A weird rap/rock crossover. DMX's tenacity isn't as urgent or visceral, and a lot of what's here (tracks 2-10) sounds, sadly, like a caricature of himself(with "It's personal" as the exception). The best tracks on the album are sneak in at the end where you find songs like "Blown Away" and "Goodbye"; those are the most soul-bearing tracks on the album. As a whole, it's a below-average album that, aside from a few moments, The down turn reflected itself culturally and sells wise it was his first album not to go #1 and only to go gold, and by the mid 00s DMX wasn’t in most conversations when comes to being amongst the best . 4.0/10

Favorite Tracks: It’s Personal, Blown Away, Goodbye, Life Be My Song

Undisputed(2012): Undisputed was a well-intentioned, admirable comeback album for DMX.  There are some solid moments here "Cold World" Speaks on what he perceives as the rap game getting weak.  "I'm back" is one of the better tracks on the album. You can hear the pain coming through on "Have You Eva."  I like "Y'all Don't Really Know" because it comes close to some of his early work. Still, it just isn't enough; there are quite a few missteps on this album, whether it'd be the awful "Sucker for Love" or "I Get Scared" X sounds weaker vocally, and the production is lacking. There's some charm to "I Don't Dance" with MGK but it's somewhat awkward and not among his strongest singles.  It's better than Year Of The Dog but still far from the level of X's heyday.  5.5/10

Favorite Tracks: I‘m Back, Have You Eva, Ya’ll Don’t Really Know

DMX is an undeniable legend and quintessential to late 90s-early 00s hip-hop. His music and voice, and passion transcends its era and is easily felt now. His apex from 98-00' is highly recommended. Past that, it's a lot more hit and miss, but both the Great Depression and Grand Champ have some gems worth grabbing. Past that, it's even spottier but given X's internal struggles it was great we were even able to get those LPs. Fortunately, DMX seemed to be doing well and had finished an album before passing away, so I'm eager to hear what he'd been working on.

[nbbkatherine]

Connecting the Dots

Homeland by Cory Doctorow; Charlie’s Angels, 2019 Elizabeth Banks film; Numb3rs tv show; You Look Like a Thing and I Love You by Janelle Shane; Parasite, 2019 Bong Joon-ho film; the chilliad by Molly Of Geography webserial; Westworld tv show; Future Friends album by Superfruit; Dickinson tv show; after-words bookstore in Chicago, IL; webcomic name by Alex Norris; American Gods by Neil Gaiman; GINGER by BROCKHAMPTON; Russian Doll tv show.

Woohoo it’s been two years of Never Be Bored! This blog is all about relating different types of media together, and in the twenty-five posts so far, I’ve written about over one hundred books, movies, tv shows, and more. We could plot out each of these posts on a graph—nodes for individual recommendations and edges connecting recs in the same post. So buckle up folks, today we’re going to connect those dots so that we get one, big, beautiful connected graph.

Already some of the work is done. Too Like the Lightning is featured in Really Big Worms and The R Smith Edition. Worm is featured in The R Smith Edition, All Superheroes Need Therapy, and It’s the End of the World as We Know It and I Feel Fine. The first twelve posts all got a bonus recommendation from A Year In Review. Kurt Vonnegut wrote both Slaughterhouse Five from Nonlinearity and Galápagos in And So On. Elsewhere University from Strange and Yet Familiar got a shoutout in A+ in Applied Magics.

Let’s start off easy, making connections with what we’ve already got.

Do you hear that? Arrival, from Nonlinearity, and The Vast of Night, featured in Something in the sky, are two sci-fi movies about listening to aliens. For a modern take, with lots of scenes about trying to figure out xenolinguistics, go for Arrival, but if you’d rather something creepy and retro with dramatic monologues, give The Vast of Night a try.

Takeshi Kovacs is one bad ass mother fucker who is just over this shit, but still somehow gets roped into flashy fight scenes. If you liked that character in Altered Carbon, from To Whom Am I Speaking?, you’ll like the story of Duncan Vizla, aka the Black Kaiser, an almost-retired hitman in Polar, a Year in Review bonus rec to Floor It.

Bright Star (featured in The Northwestern Edition) and Hadestown (featured in It’s an old song) are both blues/jazz/folk musicals about a double love story. Bright Star is loosely based on a Missouri folk tale, Hadetown is inspired by Greek mythology. Both are excellent.

Cosmo Sheldrake (The How How Much Much and I from Strange and Yet Familiar) and Hozier (Hozier and Wasteland, Baby! from Daisies & Death) both create music that makes you imagine old fairy magic in the forest. Cosmo Sheldrake’s “Hocking” is like what I’d envision playing at a fae celebration of summer solstice, while Hozier’s “Wasteland, Baby!” is the sad love song from after the party’s over.

And now, let’s add entirely new nodes to our graph with new recommendations to connect posts.

Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer (Really Big Worms, The R Smith Edition) is a very idea-forward book, and (one of) the catalysts that kicks off the story is a stolen newspaper article draft. Ada Palmer is a professor who researches intellectual history, and it absolutely shows in her writing as her books explore the implications of a society based on certain ideas. Cory Doctorow is another favorite author of mine who also writes idea-forward fiction—if you liked Too Like the Lightning, try his Homeland, in which Marcus Yallow is entrusted with an archive documenting government and corporate crime, and has to figure out how to publish it without getting arrested. I would also highly recommend this book, available to download for free from Doctorow’s website, if you liked The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood by James Gleick (Something in the sky). Although Homeland is fictional, as you read you’ll learn things too—about information security, the darkweb, evading surveillance, and protesting tips.

I want more action movies starring women, because I love a good fight sequence and watching things go boom, but I’m tired of watching men with big guns in movies with, like, one named woman character. Kingsman: The Secret Service (A Year in Review bonus rec to Non je ne regrette rien) just barely passes the Bechdel test, but I will give it a bonus point for having two badass women main characters who aren’t love interests (ugh, the bar is so low). And if you liked the aesthetic of Kingmen’s gentlemen spies, then you might like Elizabeth Bank’s 2019 reboot movie Charlie’s Angels. Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska and Kristen Stweart all kicking ass on screen? Yes, please! Continuing in that vein, see also Ocean’s 8 (Floor It) for an all-women heist crew, set on stealing diamonds from the Met Gala.

My favorite episodes of Hannibal (Daisies & Death) are the one-off monster-of-the-week type episodes, where the FBI is investigating a murder and Will Graham, profiler extraordinaire, is called in for help. If you’re into crime shows like that, try Numb3rs, streaming on Hulu, a tv show about two brothers—one, Alan, an FBI agent and the other, Charlie, a mathematician. Together they solve crimes, using fluid dynamics, disease spread modeling, wavelet analysis, and many more areas of applied math. (I learned a little about sabermetrics, the statistical analysis of baseball, from one episode, so I dropped that term in conversation with a sports-obsessed acquaintance freshman year in college. We became good friends, and I’m pretty sure that conversation was part of why.) For more on applications of mathematics to real world problems, read The Code Book by Simon Singh, featured in On Computability, which details the math theory behind creating and cracking encryption over the centuries.

The Imitation Game, a Year in Review bonus rec to On Computability, is named for an artificial intelligence thought experiment proposed by Alan Turing in 1950, before anything resembling modern computers even existed. In Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson, robots across the globe gain sentience and begin to turn against their human makers—hilariously in retrospect, I recommended this book in It’s the End of the World as We Know It and I Feel Fine back in March. Anyway, between those two extremes, where is the field of artificial intelligence today? To learn more, try You Look Like a Thing and I Love You by Janelle Shane, a truly delightful book that will both show you how far research has come and will reassure you that the robot uprising won’t be happening anytime soon.

Bad Times at the El Royale (Just you, and me, and this gun) unsurprisingly takes place at the El Royale hotel. For reasons that would be spoilers to name, the setting is essential to the plot of the film—the story could not have unfolded in the way that it did anywhere else. This is also true of Parasite, 2019 Bong Joon-ho film currently streaming on Hulu, where many scenes take place in a rich family’s house—which was actually designed and built in pieces for the movie. An absolutely incredible dark comedy/thriller, Parasite explores the things a person might just do to get ahead. For another thriller with characters willing to go to extreme lengths for their own personal reasons, try Thoroughbreds, from Non je ne regrette rien.

Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe, featured in It’s an old song, retells the story of Persephone and Hades but in a vaguely modern setting—where the two first meet in a crowded bar. For more modernized Greek myths, check out the chilliad by Molly Of Geography, a wildly funny adaptation of the Illiad. Follow along with Homer Bard, undeclared freshman Alpha Sigma Phi pledge, as he recounts the story of the epic prank war against the Trojan House. If your favorite characters from this ongoing webserial are Achilles “AC” Myrmidon and Pedro Klaus “PK” Liebling but were looking for something a little more traditional, then you might like Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles, a retelling of Illiad from the point of view of Patroclus, recommended in Is it better to speak or die?.

Firefly (The Family We Made Along the Way) is a tv show with an interesting blend of aesthetics—some people wear dusty cowboy hats and some people live in floating mansions and there’s a scene where the crew get a job to transport cattle from between planets. If you’re into that, try the tv show Westworld, streaming on HBO, about a Western-themed amusement park, populated by android hosts—who talk and dress and live as if it’s the 1800s, looking exactly like humans, with no idea that their entire world is a vacation destination for the wealthy. As the series continues and secrets are revealed, plot twists will keep you glued to the screen. See also Sense8 (To Whom Am I Speaking?), which likewise features lots of action and a cast of characters who keep secrets and deals with the question—what makes us different from each other?

In The Northwestern Edition I wrote about the different a cappella groups on campus; if you like that style of music then you might have heard of the group Pentatonix, the first a cappella group to win the Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement. Two members of the group, Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying, also make up the duo Superfruit, and I adore their (synth-pop, not a cappella) album Future Friends. “Imaginary Parties” (which has an excellent music video) and “Bad 4 Us” are my song recs for Freckle and Caleb respectively, characters from The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo, the five-episode series from Baby if you love me, won’t you please just give me a smile?.

If you’re interested in queer art history, consider following Dan Vo on Instagram, one of the tour guides of the V&A’s LGBTQ tours, recommended in The Eye of the Beholder. You might also like Dickinson, an Apple TV show about Emily Dickinson growing up, writing poetry, getting into trouble with her parents, and falling in love with her friend Susan. Although it’s set in 19th century Massachusetts, the dialogue and music are thoroughly modern, which makes for a fun juxtaposition—in the first episode, Emily imagines going on a carriage ride with Death while “bury a friend” by Billie Eilish plays in the background. For more stories about the life of a queer poet, try Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde, featured in Looking Forward, Looking Back, about her experiences growing up, writing poetry, getting into trouble with her parents, and falling in love with lots of people, in 1940s and 50s New York City. 

Here’s how you spend one perfect day in Chicago: you wake up late one November Saturday. Down in the Loop, you visit the beautiful Chicago Athletic Association, which despite the name is actually a hotel, for Chicago Art Book Fair (A Year in Review bonus rec to The Northwestern Edition). You browse brightly colored lithographs and maybe pick up a zine or two. Then you take a walk north, across the river, to E Illinois and Wabash, to after-words bookstore. Down in the basement, you look through the new and used books in search of something interesting. Take your time in River North, find something good to eat, because you have plenty of time before taking the Red Line up to Argyle, to catch a performance of the The Infinite Wrench by the Neo-Futurists, featured in Next!. 

In My Favorite Shapes (This Might As Well Happen), we get to hear Julio Torres talk about, for example, an oval looking at his reflection in a pond and wishing he were a circle. Some of my favorite shapes are the pink blobs from Alex Norris’s webcomic name, three-panel comics with a repeated punchline—an excellent of example of how sometimes you don’t need a lot of fancy detail to convey emotion. For another webcomic about the absurdities of life, check out Poorly Drawn Lines by Reza Farazmand (And So On).

Forgotten gods and old magic tied to old places. In Digger (webcomic featured in The Family We Made Along the Way), a perfectly respectable wombat finds herself traveling strange lands and meeting a couple of gods (well, sort of). For another story of an ordinary person who gets caught up in the affairs of gods, try American Gods by Neil Gaiman, about an ex-convict who meets Mr. Wednesday, an American incarnation of the Norse deity Odin the All-Father. The things we are allowed to forget shape us—at one time, Odin had power because many people knew that he was real, but in this book, Mr. Wednesday is weakened because so many people have forgotten him. One of my favorite moments—in just about any written work I’ve ever read— is the line of dialogue in The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin (A+ in Applied Magics) that Revealed a Thing Forgotten. You’ll know it when you see it, and any further description would be a major spoiler.

On the scale of how much singing is involved in rap albums, on one side you have something like neo-soul Overgrown (Looking Forward, Looking Back), where Ivy Sole shows off her vocals, and on the other you have R.A.P. Ferreira’s purple moonlight pages (Something in the sky), which has more of a jazz-rap feel. Somewhere in between is GINGER by BROCKHAMPTON, which has both catchy sung hooks and rapid-fire bars; two of my favorite songs off this album are “SUGAR” and “IF YOU PRAY RIGHT.” I’ve seen them in concert twice and I look forward to being able to again, someday.

Lastly, if you liked Palm Springs, from This Might As Well Happen, a rom-com in which Nyles and Sarah fall asleep and wake up on the day of Sarah’s sister’s wedding over and over again, but were looking for something a bit darker, then you might like Russian Doll, a black comedy tv series that begins when two people keep dying and reliving the same night. For another duo of characters with great dialogue bumbling through life and death together, try Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, featured in It’s an old song. 

Here’s a visualization of this blog, with and without labels:

[aarontap]

19 Years Later... It’s Betty Goo!

In case you were unaware, I fronted a band in the 1990s called Betty Goo. We came about as my previous band started falling apart and I realized that I’d wanted to write quick and tuneful songs, in stark contrast growing prevalence of the jammy (or worse, nu-metal) side of “alternative rock” that had begaun to take hold in the wake of Kurt Cobain’s death. So I grabbed longtime drummer compatriot Chad MacDonald and friend-since-age-three Doug Fraim and formed Betty Goo. We released a dreadful eponymous debut cassette tape but then started to get our heads on straight and found some like-minded melody-and-rock-focused bands in Boston and we hit our stride. In 1997 we released the quasi-conceptual ‘gooicide’ and had planned to break up in its wake. Unfortunately, the record garnered us a modicum of attention that had hitherto been lacking, and so I vowed to soldier on. Chad preferred the original plan and went back to school to start the journey to his now very successful career. On the verge of destruction, in stepped Doug’s friend Jeff Norcross. And Betty Goo was re-born. We had a good run for a couple more years, playing some pretty fantastic shows, and making some good friends along the way. Hell, you could say that I’d never have met my awesome partner in life, music, and otherwise, Paula Kelley, were it not for Goo having continued on. 

But all Goo things must come to an end and for us, it was pretty anticlimactic. In 1999, after a great show supporting our friends Permafrost in their final show, we spent the rest of the weekend in a recording studio in Boston, tracking a dozen songs for what would have been the follow-up to gooicide. Upon reviewing the rough mixes on Monday, I called Doug and Jeff, saying, “this isn’t very good, should we break up?” They both agreed. And that was the end.

Or so we’d thought! Fast-forward a couple decades and I start fucking around with Garageband’s iPhone app. I do a bunch of #instamusic creations, the idea being ‘conceive and record a 30-second-ish soundtrack to a random video/image in less than an hour and post it.’ Most of them are ambient and rambling. But then later in 2016 there’s a presidential election. And this chorus hits me. “Don’t cast your eyes on the emperor’s new clothes…” I followed through and made it into a kinda good, kinda shitty 2000s fakepunk song snippet and posted it. People seemed to dig it. And here’s the thing: it was catchy as hell. I kept revisiting it and thinking, maybe I could make it into something. I tried for about ten minutes to see if it could fit on The Architect’s Daughter but quickly realized, nope. And so I forgot about it.

But when TAD was finally completed and out in the world I got an idea. Maybe a crazzzzzy idea. This was never a Frank Shirts song. It sounds way more like a Betty Goo song. And, know what? There are a couple other Goo songs that I wouldn’t mind revisiting. I emailed Doug (who basically hadn’t played since our last show) and Jeff (who now primarily plays guitar, in The Weisstronauts and The I Want You) and asked if they might be interested in reconvening. To my great joy, they each replied with an enthusiastic yes! So now I had to make it happen. After all, they are both still based in Massachusetts and I’m here in L.A. A few months passed and I played around with turning the chorus into an actual song, but honestly, I was otherwise preoccupied. But then a Nathanson gig in NY presents an opportunity. I check in with the boys and book a session at Zippah in Brighton, MA and we are well and truly on our way. Oh, shit. Now I have to actually write the song. Thankfully, I am not alone. Jeff kicks in a couple ideas over the internet. And then we convene in Somerville, not two blocks from where PK and I first started living in sin, and Doug throws his ideas in. By the end of the afternoon we have a song, and some fine reimagining of two very brief old tunes from Goo days gone by.

It was both very familiar and kinda strange to get in a room with these guys after such a long break. We ran through a couple old timey songs - Buzz and Handbag - to grease the wheels but it was startlingly easy and took no time at all to just get to work as if no time had passed at all. Those guys are great.

That night, after a very long three days, I crashed very early at a quaint B&B in Brookline and before I knew it, it was Sunday morning and the session loomed. We loaded in and it was like stepping in to a time machine (see video). Zippah has undergone numerous upgrades to its gear but the building and the live room remain much the same. What an inspiring place! gooicide, PK’s Nothing/Everything, the Monsters of Id, numerous Weisstronauts recordings, a harp session for The Trouble With Success in the midst of a fierce nor’easter, and so much more. But we had work to do. In the able hands of both Brian Charles (who recorded gooicide and MOI) and Pete Weiss (of the Weisstronauts, who recorded both PK solo albums and so much more) we were under way in no time.

Here’s where, to me, it gets interesting. I knew we would have a ball but I didn’t expect to learn (or re-learn) stuff that day. We recorded three songs (most everything aside from vocals) in an easy-going 8-hour session, just like we used to do “back in the day,” though truth be told we would get double or more that done in one day by necessity.

Being “in a band” is distinct from “playing music with other people.” And I’ve been doing the latter for so long now that I had maybe forgotten what a band was like. Even Frank Shirts hasn’t been a band in the traditional sense, as I do most of the song arranging alone in my studio before bashing the songs out with Eric and Paula - and later with Rick. With Betty Goo, the difference became apparent in the studio. We wanted to record the songs live, with no click track, and so, even though we had rehearsed for a whopping three hours, we knew we were going to have to play the songs a bunch. And play we did. We would run a song a few times, work out some kinks, then go listen in the control room, pick out a few moments that need further work and go back and do it again. And everyone fell into their role with ease. It was fantastic, really. No egos, all creativity, and a healthy work ethic without being businesslike.

The next morning I awoke feeling kinda high from the experience. It had been years since I worked like that and back then I a) think I took it for granted and b) was psychologically a bit of a mess and didn’t really feel connected to much in the way of my own agency. One of the great things about taking stock of one’s privilege is that rather than it limiting you or locking you in some kind of prison of guilt, it actually frees you to look realistically at yourself and in so doing you can assess your actual strengths along with weaknesses and areas where the leg-ups you’ve been handed has been more of a hinderance than an asset. Working with Jeff & Doug on those three songs reminded me of part of music-making that I’d maybe lost touch with over the years and also reminded me of how lucky I am to be doing what I’m doing. I’ve resolved to make sure I make the most of it and also to make sure that the music is always the thing, no matter how much business needs to be taken care of.

Anyway, the whole experience was pretty great and I finished up the mixes this week. I think the results speak for themselves. Judge for yourself on July 4th* when the NEW BETTY GOO LIMITED EDITION HAND-CUT 7” SINGLE goes up for sale on Bandcamp!

* Vinyl Singles (w/ fab Deluxe Edition merch) will ship in September. Instant downloads are de rigueur.

[redcarpetview]

LIVE IN GHANA - The New Album from Gospel Virtuoso Michael Stuckey -- AVAILABLE THIS FRIDAY!

                Atlanta, GA – July 1, 2020 – When Gospel recording artists travel to Africa to minister, they usually return to the United States invigorated and inspired - saying that the worship there “is just different.” Michael Stuckey, a former lead singer for Ricky Dillard & New G, is one of those artists. Stuckey has traveled to Africa 14 times in the past three years, and was there most recently to record the beautifully arranged songs on his new CD Live in Ghana.

             This is an album that transports listeners into a cultural experience where every person has poured their very soul into every moment. Live in Ghana is a snapshot of worship in Africa, which is vibrant, gorgeous and moving like no other.

           Live in Ghana was recorded in Accra at The National Theatre of Ghana. The set features stunning vocalists including Nigerian artists Prospa Ochimana and KI; South African artist Martin PK; along with Ghanian artists Cece Twum and Kingzkid. Stuckey and Destanie Wimbush were contributors from the United States.

            “It was an unforgettable night in Ghana,” says Stuckey. “There were more than 2,000 people in attendance. I had to keep my composure and make sure that I bring God into the place. Recording this album really made me understand ‘now faith is’, because I didn’t have any sponsors or record labels to help me get this done. I only had instructions from God.”

           Highlights on Live in Ghana include the rousing “Alpha & Omega” featuring the lead vocals of Wimbush, a globally flavored rendition of “King of Glory,” and the lucid, dexterous “Speak Lord.” 

             The eight songs in total were written and produced by Stuckey, who wanted to create an album that would extend beyond international borders to encourage the Body of Christ worldwide. “If, as an independent artist, I can travel 8,000 miles to produce a recording because that is what God laid on my heart to do, then there is no excuse as to why anyone cannot go further in their journey,” says Stuckey. “I want to particularly provide an example of what it means to truly activate faith. These songs will remind people of when they first encountered God in their life.”

          Michael Stuckey emerged in the mid-2010s with a fresh spin on traditional gospel music, livening up old-school church music with bright, soulful modern elements. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Stuckey first came to prominence as the lead singer for Ricky Dillard & New "G."  Stuckey released Good Times, his debut album as a solo artist, in 2017.

         Live in Ghana is released in partnership with United Alliance Music Group, with distribution through Sony/Orchard. It is available July 3rd everywhere digital music is sold.

            Learn more about Michael Stuckey at www.iammichaelstuckey.com.

     Follow Michael Stuckey on Social Media:

Facebook @MichaelStuckey

Twitter @realmikestuckey

Instagram @realmikestuckey

                                                                                                                    # # #

[rbeatz]

Lost Lands Music Festival: Excision Throws His Own Festival

Excision’s very own music festival, Lost Lands Music Festival, in Ohio at Legend Valley and rBeatzRadio has press passes! This means you can follow rBeatz on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and the App (App Store and Google Play) for live updates throughout this weekend starting Friday, September 29th and ending Sunday, October 1st.

The festival is set to feature some of Dubstep’s most heavy hitters, including bringing back Excision’s band, Destroid, that features Downlink & KJ Sawka of Pendulum. Other headliners of the festival include Zeds Dead, Snails, Rezz, 12th Planet, Illenium, Ghastly, Slander, Herobust, Kill The Noise, and many more hard hitting bass maestros. There will of course be a B2B set between Excision and Datsik that I had the chance to witness in Denver at Global Dance Festival.  Excited to hear the heavy bass improve of whatever these two bass superstars feel like playing.

Watch the promo video below to get amped up for this content that I’m about to bring to you.

Lost Lands will have two stages, and the theme of the weekend will be taking it back to the stone age, where dinosaurs roamed the planet. The Prehistoric Paradox is the main stage, and the Cave of Souls will be more for upcoming artists bringing the heat, looking to impress and make it to the main stage. Check out the full lineup below.

PK Sounds has provided the festival with 750,000 wats of sound…yum.

Below, I’ve featured a special mix from the rBeatz resident DJ, BRB, who will be joining me on my adventure back in time. The mix contains artists playing at Lost Lands this year. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see the tracklist of the mix. Below the mix is the lineup I plan on attending with a bit about each act. Download the Lost Lands App to follow the schedule.

  Day 1: Friday, September 29th

Ghost Gardens

Ghost Gardens are the flowers that bloom in abandoned spaces, so this three man band is an electronic and acoustic stage performance.

AFK

His influences include Whiskey, Vodka, Chicken, Skittles, and Xbox.

LAXX

The Oxford, London native takes elements from US hip-hop and UK underground music scenes to make dance floors shake and parents feel uncomfortable.

Figure B2B Midnight Tyrannosaurus

Figure gets an overwhelming amount of messages on Soundcloud, so he might not get back to you if you message him there.

Perfect name for the theme of the festival, Midnight Tyrannosaurus has been making screechy robot fun noises on FL Studios since July 2011.

Herobust

Three words…Atlanta, Electronic, and Trap.

Ghastly

He’s a ghost, who is also good with handling snakes and playing with your emotions through a variety of sounds.

Kill The Noise

Kill The Noise has been around – a bass music icon. He was born out of an era where Ridley Scott imagined utopian futures on the silver screen, and artists like NIN and Aphex Twin rocked MTV.

Seven Lions

The special guest for this evening. I wonder what instruments he’ll bring out?

Excision

The man of the 72 hours! A lot of these remixes were made by aliens performing at the festival this weekend.

Dieselboy

He takes no prisoners, so make sure you stretch before this set.

Crizzly

He’s a crazy grizzly bear. Really adding fire to the flames.

12th Planet

He was dubbed “Los Angeles dubstep god” by Rolling Stone.

Day 2: Saturday, September 30th

KJ Sawka Ableton Workshop

Part of Destroid. I think it will be cool to watch him produce, then play a set.

JPhelpz

He loves music and making music. He’s specified the genre leans towards a heavier bass than your average Neil Young song.

Krimer

He works 7 days a week. It’s called the grind. I assume he sleeps from time to time, but his sounds are out of this world, so he might not need sleep.

KJ Sawka

I ALREADY WENT OVER HIM!!!

Spag Heddy

He’s from Spain and plays tomato bass. I think he likes pasta a lot – really hoping tomato sauce comes out of his pyro.

Funtcase

A prestigious award winner winning the runner up dickhead award, worst music award 2001, 3rd biggest wasteman in dubstep 2056. With so many accolades, how will he handle the spotlight?

Slander

They’ve had releases on OWSLA, Mad Decent, and Interscope…YAWN!!

Snails

Vomitstep in the house. Watch out for slime.

Black Tiger Sex Machine

They have a church and it’s called Black Tiger Sex Machine. I’m open-minded, so I’ll give their religion a try.

Destroid

They’re back – Excision (production and midi-guitars), Downlink (production and midi-guitars), and Pendulum drummer KJ Sawka that is. Sometimes they also bring in Space Laces and Ajapai.

Zeds Dead

Whose motorcycle is this? It’s a chopper, baby. Whose chopper is this? It’s Zed’s. Whose Zed? Zed’s dead baby, Zed’s dead.

Trollphace

He’s a guy with a beard who has a bong. He also makes evil bass music.

Protohype

He’s the leader of the #puppycrew

Day 3: Sunday, October 1st

RSK

RSK was born in Houston Texas, and he was raised in Dubai and Lebanon.

ill.Gates Ableton Workshop

ill.GATES is a bass droppin’, educatin’, oscillator modulatin’ space genius from the future. Funny because this festival takes place in the past.

ill.Gates

AGAIN! Cool to see a guy teach production then go out and crush a set.

Excision

AGAIN!!

Dion Timmer

He discovered dubstep at the age of 10 and never looked back. Too early for dubstep if you ask me.

Phiso

Canadian producer who makes loud noises, and thankfully enough people have listened.

PhaseOne

Metal infused Dubstep. That hurts just typing that out.

Dubloadz

Savage Wonk.

Rezz

She’s definitely not human. She’s from Neptune.

Illenium

There are melodic bass producers, and then there is Nick Miller. He recently released his new album, Awake.

Excision B2B Datsik

Excision is performing like 6 times.

Boogie T

Boogie with Boogie T for the last set. I will be toast by this set.

Lost Lands Festival Mix Tracklist

Dino Crisis Opening

Rezz x knodis – Premonition

Rezz x Kotek – Ascension

Zeds Dead – Too Young (Ft. River Cuomo & Pusha T)

Rezz x 13 – DRUGS!

um.. – whos care

Rick & Morty – Pickle Rick

Yheti – Make Some Money

Dion Timmer Ft. Tima Dee – Till I Make It

Dubloadz – Drunken Record

Barely Alive & Virtual Riot – Basement Dwellers

Dion Timmer – Lost

Barely Alive – Elastic Nightmare

QuEST – Lost Niggas

Barely Alive – CA$H

12th Planet – Let Us Prey

Zomboy & 12th Planet Ft. Jay Fresh – Dead Presidents

Desiigner Ft. Skism & Trampa – Panda (Busted by Herobust)

Cookie Monsta – Beast Mode

Pegboard Nerds – Talk about it (Ft. Desirée Dawson) (Virtual Riot Remix)

Space Laces – Bugbass

HeRobust – Skurt Reynolds

Kendrick Lamar – Humble (BRB Remix)

Boogie T. – Whatstep

Moe Pope & Rain – What you need

STL GLD – Zombies (Sirokobeats Remix)

Illenium – Beautiful Creatures (feat. MAX)

Chance the Rapper – Lost Ft. Noname Gypsy

Halsey – Now Or Never (Slander Remix)

Zeds Dead – Neck and Neck Ft. Dragonette

Feed Me & K.T.N. – Far Away

Ghastly – Geisha

Ghastly – Get On This

Migos – Bad & Boujee (Herobust SKURT EDIT)

from rBeatz Radio http://ift.tt/2xFDBhX

[oselatra]

Riverfest turns 40

Party with Wiz Khalifa, Morris Day and The Time, Cold War Kids and more.

In July 1978, "Grease" was No. 1 at the box office, where it would stay until mid-October. Farrah Fawcett was on the cover of "Vogue." The world's first test-tube baby was born in Manchester, U.K. Here on the homefront, the Junior League of Little Rock founded the Summer Arts Festival, renamed the Riverfest Arts and Music Festival the following year. The festival has evolved over its 40 years, drawing artists like B.B. King, James Brown, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Al Green, The B-52's. Its identity has leaned at times toward the nostalgic, other times toward the new. In 2008, the festival introduced a local focus, dedicating a tent to Arkansas-only talent. In 2016, it split into two parts: April Springfest for family-focused activities and a newly music-minded Riverfest. This year, Riverfest Executive Director DeAnna Korte says, organizers will honor that history — and the cultural and economic benefits it's afforded to Central Arkansas — with a Sunday celebration. "Those who attended Riverfest in the early years will feel a sense of nostalgia with Sunday's events," Korte said.

The official 40th anniversary party for the festival, which kicks off Friday, June 2, starts at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 4, and it's for everyone; even those without tickets to the full weekend can gain admission to the celebration for $5 (children 10 and under are free). Festivities include the fireworks display at 9 p.m., stick pony races, a PK Grill Steak Cook-Off, a petting zoo from Heifer International, a celebrity dunking booth, a cake decorating contest with professional and amateur contenders and an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records' record for the most sparklers lit at one time. That Sunday-only ticket also gets you in for the last round of musical performances, including Morris Day and The Time, Amasa Hines, Andy Frasco & The U.N., Here Come the Mummies, The Hip Abduction, Big Piph & Tomorrow Maybe, DeFrance, Brother Moses, Vintage Pistol and more.

Riverfest's sponsors are responsible, of course, for otherwise-familiar spots being suddenly rebranded with names like "Frio Light" and "Sweetwater," but they're also offering some cool little extras for Riverfest patrons: Verizon will have a charging station for all sorts of mobile devices, regardless of what carrier they're made for; the Clinton Presidential Center is offering a $2 discount for admission to its temporary exhibition, "Xtreme Bugs"; Arvest Bank's booth will be home to an arcade-style basketball contest, with winners, who'll receive $50 in "Riverbucks," announced at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Sweet Baby Ray's is giving away full bottles of barbecue sauce; Patron Spirits will have a Mobile Cocktail Lab on a cart, equipped with a tablet questionnaire to help you determine what type of cocktail trips your trigger; festival sponsor Oaklawn Racing & Gaming holds its annual Baggo National Championship at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on the Clinton Presidential Center lawn; and Bobby's Bike Hike is offering free valet parking for any cyclists who bike to Riverfest. There will be amusement park rides from Louisiana's Lowery Carnival, a mobile video game station outfitted with seating for 20 people, performances from the Southern BMX Stunt Riders at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; and a return of the "Rock the Dock" Super Retriever Series — basically a track and field competition for dogs who like to swim.

If you're a wine or craft beer enthusiast, you can beat the crowds and attend "Flowing on the River," Riverfest's separately ticketed kickoff event in the River Market pavilions at 6 p.m. Thursday, $30-$40.

Check out riverfestarkansas.com for tickets and details, but first, here are some of our picks for acts to catch this weekend.

Dylan Scott

6 p.m. Friday. Frio Light Stage, Clinton Presidential Center.

From just over the Arkansas state line, in tiny Beekman, La., comes country newcomer Dylan Scott. He grew up in a place where, like so many Arkansans, his career prospects ranged from farm to paper mill to construction. His father, however, broke that mold, playing guitar on the road for the likes of Freddy Fender and Freddie Hart and coming back with whopping tales of life on the road — especially of that most magical of places, Nashville. So, inspired by his dad and Taylor Swift (no joke!), Scott moved to Nashville after graduating from high school and began the steep climb to Music City success. His debut single, "Makin' This Boy Crazy," was released in June 2013, and charted for 10 weeks on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, peaking at an unimpressive No. 54. But in August last year, Scott released his first full-length album (the eponymous "Dylan Scott"), and with his smooth baritone and genre-mixing rap vocals, the album debuted at No. 5 on the Top Country Albums, selling 9,000 copies in its first week. His latest single, "My Girl," has become a viral sensation, amassing more than 29 million Spotify spins. Scott will play at Riverfest on June 2, just five days after he marries the subject of his hit. HS

Cage the Elephant

9:30 p.m. Friday. Arkansas Federal Credit Union/Sweetwater Amphitheater Stage.

I'm suggesting to the members of modern rock band Cage the Elephant that if they ever consider a name change for something more memorable, here's one courtesy of Trump flack Kellyanne Conway: Bowling Green Massacre. A helluva lot more catchy that what they've been using for a decade, don't you think? Timely. Appropriate, because Cage originated in Bowling Green, Ky., home of the (non) massacre. Anyway, Grammy Award-winning Cage the Elephant offers the rock headliner on Friday at the park amphitheater, opposite the country lineup scheduled for the stage at the Clinton Center. And a good alternative it is. Cage the Elephant is probably best known for radio (and internet) hits "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" from its eponymously named debut record, and "Trouble," from the latest release, "Tell Me I'm Pretty," a song co-written by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. There is also "Mess Around," the first from that same album (while the album was lauded, critics thought "Mess Around" sounded just like the Black Keys — and what a coincidence, with Auerbach producing the album). Apparently going all Black Keys in the Nashville, Tenn., studio was the right move for Cage the Elephant, as they took home the 2016 Grammy for Best Rock Album. Those three aforementioned songs nicely showcase lead singer Matt Shultz's lyrical and vocal playfulness. He apparently carries that style to the stage as well with an energetic punk-inspired approach that fans in the pit should enjoy. You can sense the Pixies influence and more on Shultz, who relocated the group to London before its first album release. However, brother Brad Shultz on lead guitar shows other impressive rock influences and gives Cage the Elephant some separation from many of today's current acts that all start sounding the same. Cage has a date at Bonnaroo next week; catching the band here might be a better deal all the way around. Indie rocking Grouplove makes for a nice complement leading up to Cage. JH

Dazz & Brie

1:15 p.m. Saturday. Arkansas Federal Credit Union/Sweetwater Amphitheater Stage.

If Dazzmin "Dazz" Murry and Kabrelyn "Brie" Boyce were backed by a DJ or a dude with a computer and a synthesizer, their harmonies would still soar with infectious intertwining lines, and their versatile capability to jump across genres and styles would stand out. Lucky for us, though, they are backed by The Emotionalz, a force of their own that can lay down danceable grooves, slow jams, filthy-nasty riffs and rock the **** out whenever they feel like it. Dazz & Brie stole the show and won the title at the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase this year, and so no doubt it will be a treat to see them on a big stage outside. They describe themselves as "rock and soul," and while that's accurate, it still seems too small a box for Dazz & Brie. The pair is too dynamic and too expansive in their musical ambitions to really be classified. Sometimes you feel like you're listening to smooth neo-soul, other times like riff-heavy progressive rock, and still others like you just heard something on Top 40 radio that was too good to be on Top 40 radio. This "girl gang" and the ladies and gentlemen in their backing band are some of the brightest and most creative talents in Arkansas right now, and you owe it to yourself to check them out at Riverfest if for no other reason than that they will bring you a pure kind of joy. JS

The Wildflower Revue

2:30 p.m. Saturday. Frio Light Stage, Clinton Presidential Center.

The problem with supergroups is that rarely does the whole exceed the sum of its parts. Remember Jimmy Page's mid-'80s group The Firm? Us neither. But the balance sheets of the Wildflower Revue — Amy Garland, Mandy McBryde and Cindy Woolf, who has stepped into Bonnie Montgomery's place — are well in the black. These individual stars of the Little Rock scene were inspired by Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt's Trio, an '80s-era supergroup that, unlike The Firm, improbably exceeded its parts. And the "peace-lovin' outlaw trio" of the Revue share a penchant for country music that goes back beyond the Reagan era — witnessed in part by their correct spelling of "revue" — as well as more modern sounds in country and Western music. Any complaint of crass commercialism in the Wildflower Revue's great-sounding eponymous debut album by the inclusion of covers of "Psycho Killer" and "Heart of Glass" are drowned out by the Revue's deftness and sheer joy. Would that we all had such well-balanced spreadsheets. SK

Seratones

3:30 p.m. Saturday. Arkansas Federal Credit Union/Sweetwater Amphitheater Stage.

Exhibit A in the quest toward a more musicky Riverfest: Seratones. This Shreveport quartet, fronted by high school teacher A.J. Haynes, packed the White Water Tavern a year ago on the strength of its debut album, "Get Gone," on Fat Possum Records and considerable buzz — neither of which were likely to earn the band a slot in your father's Riverfest. Happily, soon (Saturday at 3:30 p.m., to be exact) the world will learn what the WWT knows — that Seratones pack their energetic rock 'n' roll swagger with respect to its deepest roots in jazz and blues. SK

Split Lip Rayfield

3:30 p.m. Saturday. Frio Light Stage, Clinton Presidential Center.

Lord knows that two of the greatest musical concepts are "fusion" and "hard to categorize," which is why Split Lip Rayfield is a must-see for this year's Riverfest. This Kansas trio has spent the last two decades crafting its own brand of cowpunky thrashgrass — a rollicking mashup of banjo, mandolin, the occasional kazoo and a one-string stand-up bass fashioned from a Mercury Marquis gas tank — and they come to Riverfest as part of a tour supporting their sixth studio record, the excellent "On My Way." Their live shows are said to be damn near a religious experience. Expect to holler a bit. SLR are true pioneers in carving out new possibilities and territory for acoustic music and have spread their gospel across the country for years. Think acoustic shows can't be metal? Think punk needs electric power? Come on over beside me, Junior, and let's take a master class in DIY and genre-stretching. I'm talking about the classic bluegrass yearnings of heartbreak and lamenting that "she don't call at all" paired with an energy that somehow twists that pain into something strangely joyous and all too real. Seriously, you don't want to miss this. GH

Cody Canada and The Departed

5 p.m. Saturday. Frio Light Stage, Clinton Presidential Center.

Cody Canada's been at this music deal for a while now, first fronting Cross Canadian Ragweed (which, based in Stillwater, Okla., made regular stopovers at Stickyz in the 2000s) and now leading Cody Canada and the Departed. Bassist Jeremy Plato has been with Canada for 23 years as a member of both bands. They're so close and so un-controlling about band things, they put an album last year ironically titled "Jeremy Plato and the Departed," where Plato took the lead on vocals and Canada and the rest of the band (and some top-talent imports) supported him a bunch of old country covers. Real, tried-and-true Texas-style country and country rock is the sound you'll get from the Departed late Sunday afternoon, slap-dab in the middle of a country — and bluegrass-influenced full day of music in front of the Clinton Center and culminating with Arkansas favorite son Justin Moore from Poyen. They're typically linked on "sounds a lot like" sites with ZZ Top, Jason Boland and the Stragglers, and Texas red dirt-stylist Wade Bowen, who is Canada's brother-in-law. Canada's latest work has marked a return to his Cross Canadian songwriting roots, but let's hope such circa 2011 Departed favorites as "Ballad of Rosalie" are still on his set list. Either way, he's a proven performer worth showing up for, even more than for the later headliners or the fireworks. JH

Cold War Kids

8 p.m. Saturday. Arkansas Federal Credit Union/Sweetwater Amphitheater Stage.

Welcome to Riverfest, you two. Will you be having the indie? Excellent choice! The chef's special tonight is Cold War Kids. We take choice, Grade A indie rock, lovingly prepare it with pulsating beats, soaring melodies and sing-along choruses, and serve it sizzling. The special comes with sides of hand claps and soulful backup vocals. The restaurant shtick aside, California-based Cold War Kids have been hovering on the edge of breaking out of the alternative charts into mainstream success for far too long. Over the years, the CWK lineup has changed and absorbed two members of indie favorites Modest Mouse, but the band has retained its own signature sound that gets feet moving and hands waving in the air. The band is promoting its brand-new album, the anthemic and dance floor friendly "L.A. Divine" on Capitol Records. Last month, Cold War Kids joined with British singer Bishop Briggs and released a spare, stripped-down cover of Rihanna's hit track "Love On The Brain" that's enjoying a fair amount of buzz. Bottom line: If you're scanning the Riverfest menu in search of your indie dance party, order up a heapin' helpin' of Cold War Kids. They just might end up being your new favorite dish. GH

Wiz Khalifa

9:30 p.m. Saturday. Arkansas Federal Credit Union/Sweetwater Amphitheater Stage.

When you ask Little Rock seventh-graders what they know about Wiz Khalifa (as I felt compelled to do with the middle schoolers I teach), they tell you one of two things: He has a son with model Amber Rose and he smokes a lot of weed. They are right on both counts, and both facts have featured prominently in Khalifa's music. In his most recent studio album, "Khalifa," the rapper's son cameos on the track "Zoney." You can't really say pot cameos anywhere because, well, it's referred to constantly in his music. Even Khalifa's latest — which fans hope will drop this year — is tentatively called "Rolling Papers 2," a follow-up to the 2011 "Rolling Papers." But not all of his music is about pot: Khalifa's breakout "Black and Yellow," which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with its rolling beat and sparse mix, was about his Dodge Challenger (in which he smokes pot), painted the iconic colors of his Pittsburgh hometown's football team. Some may say he's gone too pop ("Say Yeah" grooves over an A-Ha-inspired beat based on its timeless "Take On Me"), but those in the Taylor Gang (his fan base, named after the Converse shoes he always wears), will be lining up to hear what Khalifa's been smoking — I mean cooking. HS

Morris Day and The Time

7:15 p.m. Sunday. Frio Light Stage, Clinton Presidential Center.

If you were old enough to remember the '80s, you probably know Morris Day and The Time and you don't need to read this because you'll already be there to see them. If not, let me make it clear: You cannot afford to miss Morris Day and The Time. You probably already love them and you don't know it, because their mark is present on so much pop and R&B today. It's impossible to talk about Morris Day and The Time without talking about Prince. The Purple One more or less engineered the band, picking and choosing some of the best R&B players in Minneapolis to assist him in his vision of going worldwide with his alchemical concoction of funk, R&B, rock, psychedelia, etc. Along with helping spread the Purple Gospel, The Time's Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis worked with Janet Jackson to lay the foundation for what would become the New Jack Swing sound that dominated the late '80s/early '90s, and produced countless other hits across pretty much all genres. All that said, watching them perform live, it's clear the bands stands on its own. Morris Day and The Time absolutely bring it, and you can guarantee that everyone out in front of that amphitheater is going to be on his or her feet or misguidedly attempting to breakdance on the grassy slopes. JS

Riverfest turns 40