#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.

[stevenrogered]

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

[hinamie]

spiraling

[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

[why-the-heck-not]

understanding academic concepts got me blushing swinging my legs giggling

[opportunity-strikes]

Gamers this has been on my mind for a while, and I've been Going Through It so I can't thoughtfully articulate it yet but: the little things can, and absolutely will, save you.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Trapped in a vicious cycle of pining? Try gay sex! (More things to learn over at Tiger Tiger!)

[eti-mun]

Please read thanks

[nidbaesenpai]

Dare you say this love could just save you

[galactic-dragoness]

[bunnieswithknives]

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

[spacetrashpile]

y'know what would be super fun to do for halloween/october... watch one movie adaptation of dracula for each day in october and then rank them all at the end of the month

[daegu-based-terrorist]

Something about North Korea being naturally more mountainous then South Korea making only 17% of North Korea useable for agriculture. Something about America bombing North Korean farmland.

Something about the partition of Palestine resulting in most of the useable agricultural land being given to Israel. Something about the targeting of Gaza’s farmland in air strikes and the bulldozing of crop fields by Israel.

Something about the Palestine flag hanging in the hallway of my North Korean primary school.

I don’t want for Palestine what North Korea has, sanctioned into the ground and demonised by the entire “international community” but I see parallels in our presents and pasts, and it gives me hope.

[shitpostingkats]

I wanna live in the yugioh world solely so I can watch the defucntland episode about Maximillion Pegasus.

[kennahjune]

ALRIGHT BUT

I’ve been having flustered Steve thoughts.

The Party has NEVER seen Steve flustered. Steve’s always the one flirting and no one ever flirts back anymore so Steve’s never actually flustered.

But then Eddie Munson comes slithering along and he flirts with everyone just cause he can but nobody’s flustered by his attempts because he’s not trying to actually fluster them.

But for some reason he really flusters Steve.

Eddie uses this to his advantage and actually puts forth effort when he flirts with Steve.

Steve is flustered, bashful, embarrassed. He’s twirling his hair and giggling and he does this thing where he taps his fingernails on his front teeth when he gets distracted.

The Party was NEVER seen Steve like this.

Not even Nancy when they were dating.

Steve has described what he was like when he was flustered to them, calling himself stupid and saying he acted like an idiot to try and get them to just lay off.

All anyone sees is an absolute sweetheart.

Steve blushes really bright, starting with his ears and it just travels down from there. And also he’s really bad at hiding his smiles and he smiles so BIG when Eddie flirts with him. Like you can see every tooth and his eyes crinkle so much they basically close and his nose scrunches up.

And Eddie fucking THRIVES in it.

Because NO ONE else gets Steve like that.

Eddie’s witnessed Steve flirting with the girls of Hawkins. Has seen them all flirt back with varying degrees of bluntness.

None of them have gotten Steve nearly half as flustered as Eddie has.

UNTIL.

Eddie has Steve come over to the trailer to hang out. Steve by some turn of events ends up cooking and making grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Wayne comes home right as Steve is playing everything and Steve is DISTRAUGHT. Like “no Wayne it’s alright, really. I can make you some to it’s ok I like cooking you’re really doing me a favor.”

So Steve makes Wayne a grilled cheese to and refuses to let Eddie eat until they can eat together.

So they’re all sitting and then they start eating. And obviously it was a damn good grilled cheese— Eddie knew Steve could cook but good GOD.

And then Wayne puts his grilled cheese down, looks between Steve and Eddie, and tells Eddie “If you don’t marry ‘im I’m adoptin ‘im.”

And Steve BEAMS.

It’s that same smile he gets when Eddie flirts with him and Eddie is only somewhat livid.

Cause he totally gets the rush of having Wayne compliment you for the first time. He’s just such an honest man.

And it goes from there that the only people who can fluster Steve are Eddie and Wayne (Eddie romantically and Wayne platonic-fatherly).

They both go out of their way to compliment him constantly just to see him smile like that :)))

Aaahhhhh this makes me so happy!!!!

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Spider: 7890

Ultra powerful monkey boy: 0