#TRY TO GET THROUGH BUT NOT 'BE' THROUGH

[meadow-dusk]

Albums I Loved in 2023

March: Greendale (2002)

Greendale has been with me for a while. I tend to listen to it on road trips, long stretches of uninterrupted time which are perfect for this album that really exists in story format. A concept album, perhaps in name, but it feels less like a cohesive narrative and more like leafing through a family photo book that survived in the rubble of a disaster along with someone who peripherally knew the people in the memories captured in these songs.

Neil, of course, is our guide and narrator. I like the way his voice changes form now and then to give a unique sound or personality to the characters on the album (especially the sometimes ornery yet righteous Grandpa), but I never felt removed from him and his own viewpoint. After three or four times of experiencing it this way, something really interesting happened: I realized developed a kind of sympathy towards all of the characters in this story. Even if they only "speak" for a measure or two, they feel rounded out and real. A little more of that humanity is revealed with every listen, and I feel that volumes of possible interpretations could actually be written about this record, mostly constructed around simple yet driving blues riffs. But I will not write them. I am content to allow the mysteries of Greendale to continue to exist. They don't have to be immediately understood for one to appreciate the high points of the record. "Sun Green" alone is reason enough not to leave this one out of the conversation of Neil's great works throughout his career.

Scattered throughout what strikes me as a story of justice and privacy and peace are beautiful sentiments for which appreciation is almost earned but also somehow felt instantly. Among my favorites are "a little love and affection in everything you do will make the world a better place with or without you" and the simple but poignant "share your lovin', and you'll live so long," which gets more tragic on each listen. Otherwise, I don't mind how there's a handful of parts that still leave me scratching my head...like the bit in "Leave the Driving" about an explosion going off on a computer across the world...or why Carmichael's wife Lenore can't know about the contents of his locker...or who's singing or receiving "Bandit" (does it matter? It's almost the crown jewel of the record. Listen to the live take above, and try not to let the hope for good things in your own future overwhelm and terrify you with its own immensity).

Anyway, I intended to be brief but as usual that didn't happen. This kind of feels like it could be one for the ages. I remember so many encounters with it that it's gotta have something truly magical to it. Next time you're out on the road and have ample time and thought to devote, I highly recommend driving to Greendale.

HI so I know it looks like I skipped February. What happened was the thing I was clinging to was not an album but a bootleg recording, and the whole thing disappeared from the internet again. So there was nothing to really post. If it ever surfaces again, expect me to be vocal about it. Also I was writing my own stuff for a while and that's a very different kind of language...anyway, as a result it's been a while since I've done one of these, and I feel rusty.

[daisyofwaterdeep]

had a dream I went to a hozier concert and mr. hozier stopped singing and pointed to me in the crowd and asked me to go get him some extra crispy tofu and a blueberry shake for after the show and then the crowd passed his debit card to me and when I got it I could see his real legal name was Horace Bob-omb

[chiptrillino-art]

(ID in ALT text)

Zuko is just playing hard to get

[soothedcerberus]

Does anybody remember Dragon Tales? 🥺

[lil-lemon-snails]

sometimes you just need to hear it v some stills below the cut v

[missusruin]

witchsona commission for @/battleteacake

dawn / orange blossoms / dappled light witch

[hinamie]

spiraling

[bunnieswithknives]

As much as I love angst I think it would be funny if he just didnt give af

[akascow]

me thinks jayce tried to give viktor cpr bc theres like no other reason that i can think of for viktor to suddenly not have his shirt on when jayce is carrying him HAHA

that or he ripped it off to check for fatal injuries but either way hes def the one who took it off lmao

[why-the-heck-not]

understanding academic concepts got me blushing swinging my legs giggling

[toss-a-coin-to-your-stan-account]

i know that when people say "hey we made it through the last four years! we can do it again!" it's usually because they're just trying to tell themselves it'll be fine because they're scared too so I don't want to be a dick about it but like. they didn't have a guy make a fucking nazi salute to a fucking cheering crowd in his inauguration on day fucking one eight fucking years ago. i mean not to damper down the optimism or nothing but. i feel like it's important to point out that it's not just going to be a Repeat of 2016-2020 All Over Again. it's probably going to be more like the Fucking Worst of it that we got in 2020 (or the 2021 Fucking Insurrection) will be the Starting Point for whatever the fuck happens next and we should. idk. plan for that

[nuclearanomaly]

IDK Emmrich... maybe that one should have been left alone

[reagan-the-saunders]

The Dread Wolf's Eyes

[stevenrogered]

9-1-1 7x04 | "Buck, Bothered and Bewildered"

[anemonet]

Technoblade....

[somewhereincairparavel]

To the people saying "Jason wouldn't have jumped into tartarus for Piper, like Percy did for Annabeth" as a way to demean him. Jason, plunged into the sky from the grand canyon to catch Piper in the first few pages of the lost hero without even knowing who she was, and without the knowledge that he could fly. so he basically jumped to his death attempting to catch her. In the first few pages of his journey, he didn't mind dying to save Piper, and ironically, that's also what he did in the last few pages of his journey. Y'all just be making the most out of pocket claims abt jason fr