#The Clancy album is fucking incredible

[ennieasys]

I'd like to formally apologize for all the twentyonepilots posts y'all are about to see *spams repost button*

[pardonmydelays]

clancy tour (watching a livestream) essay 🙏

anon, this question made me so unbelievably happy omg. i just can't get around to the eras tour essay, however, i do feel the need to write, so we're doing this instead.

for the context: i woke up at 5:30 today to watch the livestream of clancy LA show. no, i wasn't there in person. but mentally i was.

please, listen to this incredible playlist while you read my essay (no one's gonna read, it mark my words):

i have decided we will just go through the entire setlist. i don't want to make this too long but i wanna talk about EVERY. SINGLE. SONG. let's fucking go.

OVERCOMPENSATE

so this is when i started crying. who the fuck cries on overcompensate, you would ask... well, me, apparently. i honestly think this is the best opener for both, an album and a show. this song gives me so much serotonin i can't even explain it. i'm always worried about tyler tho because his entrance looks dangerous (the jump, the jump, I AM TALKING ABOUT THE JUMP!). nothing bad happened tho, thankfully. i also noticed he was wearing the other version of clancy jacket today, the one with the hood. not that it's important, but it kinda is. for me at least.

HOLDING ON TO YOU

ok, so if you know me you probably know this is my ultimate favourite twenty one pilots song. and the live performance is even better with the crowd stand at the beginning (i swear to god, it's so incredible to me how much trust tyler has for the clique), clancy mask and lightbulb mic (you can tell tyler has a lot of fun with it), and my favourite part - josh's piano backflip during the bridge of the song. fucking iconic. what's not to love.

VIGNETTE

first thing i want to talk about is the insane transition from holding on to you to vignette. honestly, all transitions are so fucking amazing on clancy tour, it's impressive. now, tyler's little dance during this song is one of the most adorable things i've ever seen (he is such a cat omg) and and and! NEIL BANGING OUT THE TUNES!!! i'll be honest with you, because of this part vignette became one of my favourite songs from clancy and definitely one of my faves from this tour.

CAR RADIO

another one of my favourites. car radio will always hold a very special place in my heart, it's so relatable to me. it makes me so happy that we have a chance to see it being performed in clancy costume (and clancy mask!!!). and when tyler teleports at the end! (also i think he's wearing a totally different jacket in this clip which probably means he has three different clancy jackets, i have no proof tho so i'm just gonna shut up. the video is from LA night one tho. not my show). here's another clip, you can see how he teleported here.

THE JUDGE

ok, so for those who don't know, right before every show the fans in their incredible outfits are being filmed while singing the judge together and every night they show a different video of them singing first verse + chorus and then after that tyler comes out with his ukulele to finish the song. it makes me cry for no reason at all. yes, i cried today too (it just makes me so happy to see all the clikkies singing together and they all look so beautiful always). so what happened today? content warning glitch happened during fan video, you can watch it here, then blurryface tweeted this:

i am losing my goddamn mind over this, people on the livestream were losing their shit when this happened, I STARTED CRYING LIKE A GODDAMN FOOL BECAUSE I'M SO FUCKING EMOTIONAL ABOUT EVERYTHING THIS BAND IS DOING. ugh. i was so right to watch today's livestream. something's gonna happen soon guys. they are warning us.

(i added CUT MY LIP to the playlist but technically it's the judge/cut my lip mashup so there's really not much to say about it)

THE CRAVING + TEAR IN MY HEART

the transition. the goddamn transition!!! it's honestly so fucking cool and probably one of my favourite parts of the tour. i absolutely love all jenna's songs and everyone who says they should not be on the setlist, fuck you forever. in this house we stan all jenna's songs. i usually cry on the craving and tyler is being so silly during tear in my heart - this is my favourite thing in the world. plus, do you really hate the sound of ukulele???

BACKSLIDE

ok, i actually started crying as soon as i realized we're singing backslide now. i love this song so goddamn much, it means the world to me. at one point it was my favourite song from clancy. the chorus breaks my poor little heart every single time and live performance of this song is so emotional... especially at the end when tyler is on his knees (the video is not from tonight's show but it's my favourite one from backslide, please watch it, his vocals here are INSANE). it's like crying for help. i wanna kill myself now. i relate to this song so much. also, backslide is the reason i decided to buy clancy tour tickets, so there's that.

SHY AWAY

oh, thank god this one is on the setlist. you know how much i love scaled and icy and i think out of all the songs from this album shy away is the best one to put on the setlist because the live performance is always so fun!!! don't you shy aWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! the scream is absolutely fucking everything oh my god. actually, i just love when tyler screams. but don't we all.

HEATHENS + NEXT SEMESTER

ok, now don't hate me, please, but i was never the biggest fan of heathens (i don't hate the song, i like it, just not as much as the others. i probably wouldn't cry if it wasn't on the setlist). however, the transition (again!!!) from heathens to next semester is the best goddamn thing in the entire world and i am losing my mind every single time i come across any clip of this moment. please, watch it, this is everything!!! one question tho: i know tyler was playing bass on the platform for next semester and he didn't do that today, did he just stop doing this recently or is it because of what happened yesterday during the show? (not during this song tho, or at least i know nothing about it, but it seems like LA fans absolutely cannot behave and he was definitely being more careful today, more about it later tho).

ROUTINES IN THE NIGHT

oh boy, this is my vigilante shit for real. remember vigilante shit performance from the eras tour and how everyone was losing their shit when they saw taylor doing the choreography with this motherfucking chair? yes. it's basically that except tyler is fully dressed. which is even worse maybe (y'all know how i feel about his clothes for some reason). one of my favourite songs from the album, but after seeing the live performance for the first time i became absolutely obsessed with the song. i was genuinely scared today because this is basically what happened last night in LA (i swear to god people are acting like fucking animals) and i noticed that tyler was being much more careful this time: he wasn't coming so close to people, and honestly good for him. he didn't even let them touch him during this part. i can't blame him. i feel so bad for what happened. hope he's ok.

ADDICT WITH A PEN + MIGRAINE + FOREST + FALL AWAY

my favourite mashup in the entire fucking world. but before we get into it, please this is so fucking funny and adorable. so basically, before playing the mashup, tyler sat by the piano and he said "currently i'm temperature hot. so i would want to take my jacket off, i promise not to turn on all the dads tonight" and then this happened. poor guy didn't know what to do LMAO. he's such a cutie, please watch the video, he's so adorable i can't. he's also the funniest person on earth. back to the topic, the mashup... i am such a slut for their old songs and this mashup is absolutely fucking insane. the song i love the most out of those is, of course, forest. according to tyler, this song is so old it basically doesn't exist. fuck you, tyler joseph. i can't believe i'm going to hear it live tho, holy shit. i will be fucking SOBBING during this part, i just know that.

MULBERRY STREET

this is such a fun song to play live and one of my favourite moments. you can tell how much fun tyler has each time they play it, also this! this is everything!!! he's always so happy when this happens, he trained us well hahaha. it's so fun omg. can't wait to be a part of it. this has always been one of my favourite songs from scaled and icy so i'm glad they decided to keep it on the setlist.

NAVIGATING

get in, losers. we are entering the lore now. ok, honestly, this part of the tour is absolutely everything to me. torchbearer with his torch? and clancy jacket?? coming to pick him up so they can perform while dema is burning??? AAAAAAAAAAAAAA. oh my GODD. also, navigating is so special to me (i picked this url for a reason) and live performance of this song is fucking fire. watch it. watch the clip. just watch the goddamn clip, will you? we all know this song is on the setlist because of josh, so everybody say thank you josh. also you can tell tyler is very emotional about this song and i just wanna give him a hug. oh my god. i can't wait to hear it live. this will fix me (it will probably make me worse).

NICO AND THE NINERS + HEAVYDIRTYSOUL

the MOTHERFUCKING transition!!! i know i say this a lot but i am such a slut for all the transitions on this tour, oh my god. they are so good. also i absolutely fucking love how we're still in the lore and also, the visuals are absolutely incredible, and also, nico and the niners is one of my favourite songs (the one that got me into their music actually) and also heavydirtysoul live is INSANE and also-

MY BLOOD

ok, i'm sorry, i keep forgetting that this song is on the setlist. it's not one of my favourites (don't fucking hate me, i like it, it's just not my fave). i will be very much singing it at the concert tho cause it's so good live. not much to say about it tho.

OLDIES STATION

boy, here we go. so i started crying at the very beginning of the song and honestly i have no idea how i'm going to handle this live. i am so very normal about this song. it means everything to me. the worst part of it tho was when during the song tyler said "thank you so much for using our music. you've saved us in ways you'll never know". OH MY GOD. i started weeping even more. it's like... their music saved US but we also saved THEM and i need 3-5 business days to recover after that. good lord. listen, i love slowtown and i'm sad that it's not part of the setlist anymore, but i love oldies station a hundred times more and that was a good change me thinks.

FAKE YOU OUT + GUNS FOR HANDS

putting those two together just because i can and i will. vessel is such a great album and it makes me so happy that those two are on the setlist. screaming "our brains are sick but that's okay" with the entire arena is going to fix me, for sure. also, here's the clip of tyler messing up the lyrics (he basically went kjbufbfkkjejkebfkjk after that lmao). can't blame him. the rap part is so fast. i died tho. he's so funny, please.

LAVISH

i can't even begin to explain how happy i am to have this one on the setlist. it's the funniest moment on tour and i love watching them being stupid on stage. also, jOsH iS sHiRtLeSs. the walk, THE WALK LMAO. the best choreography you've ever seen. i just love seeing them so silly and happy and this is everything. i paid a lot of money to see this live. i'm definitely not gonna regret this.

RIDE

so the thing i love about this tour is that every single night while performing this song tyler brings a different kid to sing the chorus with him (it's the equivalent of giving the hat during 22 on the eras tour i would say). tonight we had an adorable girl named callie (if i'm correct). she did so well! also i was giggling so much when tyler said she's cute (he was giggling too hdshfbhekj). i just love watching him with kids, it's so sweet!!! also she had a great beanie with band's logo, i want one too. please watch the clip of them singing together!

PALADIN STRAIT

i was crying. i was crying so much, i love this song and the live performance is so emotional. i put the song bandito on the playlist, because there's this moment in the song where tyler is singing the bridge of paladin strait and josh is singing bandito at the same time and OH MY GOD. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE LORE??? THIS IS SO CLEVER AND I AM LOSING MY GODDAMN MIND EVERY SINGLE TIME I THINK ABOUT IT. please, watch. this is sick as fuck. you don't understand. do you even understand? OR AM I THE ONLY ONE I KNOW???? i'm sorry i just can't i can't i am defeated i am absolutely insane about this part. also, the ending when they are showing the clip of paladin strait music video combined with other clips which looks like a flashback from clancy's life and his never ending battle with nico? the fuck??? and then we go straight to...

JUMPSUIT

the motherfucking coat. not gonna say anything else. just. the coat. oh dear lord. now i am temperature hot.

MIDWEST INDIGO

now my favourite part of midwest indigo is tyler taking off his coat very slowly. because he fucking knows what he's doing. but also, this song is so special to me. i know he wrote it as a love letter to ohio and i'm not even american but somehow this song always makes me think about my hometown. the live performance is so great. the beginning with the bass! he's adorable!

STRESSED OUT

"i don't want stressed out on the setlist it's so overplayed" kill yourself. i love stressed out because i have good taste. it's fun. it's a great song with great lyrics and you fuckers hate it only because it's popular. just shut up. shut the fuck up. in this house we actually enjoy listening to good songs. i personally want it to be on every setlist. if stressed out has no fans it means i killed myself. i'm dead. i'm gone. stressed out defender forever and always. also clancy tour version is incredible. just watch it and shut the fuck up.

TREES

again, i was so scared about my boys because of what happened yesterday in LA. people are fucking animals. i'm so glad, because tyler actually decided to call them out for this and seems like it was much better today. but still. guys please, behave, cause if you're not gonna start acting responsible they are going to stop performing like this. it's still insane compared to the opening night of clancy tour where people didn't even come closer until tyler told them to. i also just noticed now that tyler's t-shirt had black font today (the previous one had red font) for the first time. i think i was just too tired to notice this before. there's not much i can tell you about trees, because you just simply have to be there to understand. it's a perfect song to end the show (for those who don't know: they always close their shows with this one), it's something i experienced live once before and i can't even compare it to anything. i wasn't even crying. my soul literally just left my body. trust me, there's absolutely nothing like trees live. i can show you thousands of clips and it will never be enough. nobody does it like them. seriously. this is the moment. the moment of all moments. i am in fact crying now...

TO SUM IT UP:

great show. 10/10. would recommend. i'm going to see them live in 223 days. this is the thing that makes me want to stay alive. yes. i need to stay alive for this. whoever sent me this ask, thank you. it means the world to me. i need to talk about them because it's the only joy in my life now. they are the reason i want to push on through. also, if you made it this far, thank you. i love you. and i'm sorry.

[scaledbackandisolated14]

WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!

I’m screaming, crying, shaking, throwing up, and losing my absolute shit over Clancy (and especially Paladin Strait)

What?!?!?!?

WHAT?!?!?!?

Honest review: this is a no skip album!! All the songs are incredible!!!! The music videos were amazing! I can’t wait for the Paladin Strait one!! I’m losing my mind!!!

I’ll give an official ranking of all the songs tomorrow because it’s quite late here and I need to go to bed 😂😂 I also need to listen to them again

Good night and Happy Clancy Day everyone ❤️❤️

[mx-melancholic]

CLANCY RANKING GO!!!

When I tell you my heart stopped

I don't usually rank stuff I like so this is kind of loosely positioned, I'll provide explanations. Once the album has settled, these opinions may change. The whole album is a 15/10 so like, the lower ratings don't mean anything bad, either.

One thing is that Overcompensate, Next Semester and Backslide can't be the same in my mind as the others, since I'm so familiarized with them by now. I'll give a ballpark of where on the list they'd be, though.

First cutoff:

Routines in the Night - my absolute favorite. I can't get enough of it. My winner. My everything. Take me. There's also sth about the MV that just.... AH! So different and beautiful.

Navigating - second favorite. I also love the forest fic. The MV is beautiful. Tyler is a hater.

Vignette - gives me the shivers. I'm terrified. Mesmerized. Possessed. Obsessed. It eerily reminds me of one (or two?) of my OCs so I literally feel like I might be violently ill every time it comes on. Insane.

-Overcompensate and Backslide would be somewhere in this first category. Overcompensate is a great opener with straight up crack in it, it's shaped like a cult battle cry and it's fun to listen to. Very cryptic and weird. Backslide is very real to me, but also reminds me of some of my OCs. My OCs do, in fact, rule over me more than the other way around.

Second cutoff:

At The Risk of Feeling Dumb - ngl the sound itself is a lot of this impression. Typically I'm not as fond of direct positive message type songs (in general), but it's so fun. And I felt called out.

Midwest Indigo - the sound is perfect. So fun. The type of song you can show to your friends and they can see it's weird af but not weird enough that they want you exorcized. Not too relatable for me, but just enough to be close to my heart.

Snap Back - more relatable, but I kind of have to make myself listen to it. I love it when I do, but it's not as catchy to me, I guess. Very cool. Very mean! They're in my fucking walls, calling me out. The MV isn't as interesting to watch as some others, rightfully so. But my ipad brain requires constant stimuli.

- Next Semester would be somewhere in this category. It's beautiful, but requires a more specific mood than some of the others, so I'm not always up for it. Hauntingly relatable. Makes me cry.

Third cutoff:

Oldies Station - beautiful, amazing opener, uplifting and peaceful, but: very directly positive. Not a bad thing, just not my personal favorite. Been on repeat for days.

Lavish - silly, goofy, reminds me in spirit of like p!atd. Great fun! I don't think about it much.

Unpopular opinion: The Craving - I'm just not one for love songs and I typically don't like the Jenna songs as much as the others. Not a skip at all! Beautiful. But I'd rather listen to something else. It's incredible how much they love each other, though, very sweet. My OCs again plague my brain so I can't see it in a different light, at all.

-Paladin Strait would probably be somewhere on par with The Craving. I am, however, treating it differently, because we didn't get an MV yet. This could change my mind a little bit, but this song is a bit too slow and too long for my pace. Can't wait for the video, and that hook was insane. Not my favorite format.

I'd love to see your own ranking (+ anyone who wants to) <3

[murdrdocs]

hii, so... i wanna start listening to twenty one pilots n seeing u are a fan, with which album should i start with? i've listened to the most known ones but idk 😵‍💫

oh anon imagine me cracking my knuckles. there's so many routes you could take so i'm gonna divide this up into a few categories: based on mainstream success, based on digestibility, and based on my personal favorite.

based on mainstream success, you should start with blurryface. keep it simple and start from beginning to end. this album is a staple in their career not only bc it put them on the map and introduced a lot of ppl to them (myself included), but also bc it lowkey introduced a new sound to their discography, and started the lore (a wholeee separate thing dont worry abt that). this album is very diverse w dubstep elements in some songs, usual hints of rap. i cant explain it but this is a good place to start.

based on digestibility, you should start with scaled and icy. this album is slightly controversial among heavy listeners because it's more "mainstream" and "watered down". but this album produced one of my favorite top songs ever (redecorate). this is very poppy almost, very "happy" w sad undertones (top classic). doing this one start to finish as well is highly suggested. if you like pop sounding music, start w this one. choker might put you off, but just keep listening bc no chances and redecorate make it all worth it. this might be a rockier start, just know this was the first time they made music like this, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good as fuck.

based on my personal favorite, you should start with trench and then go to clancy. trench my baby, clancy her older, slightly cooler sister. trench hooks you from the start and it doesn't let you go once. i consider trench their magnum opus (so far). the mixing is incredible, the lyrics are phenomenal, the bass ... THE BASS !!! THE DRUMS !!! anyway, i love trench. my personal favorites from trench are cut my lip, morph, bandito (all time favorite), and levitate. and then clancy is the newest and she continues the blurryface-trench storyline. she kinda leans into that older twenty one pilots sound while also introducing something a little newer (like w navigating, midwest indigo, and snap back).

long post, sorry anon, but all around if you don't feel like reading that, or you just want a simple and easy answer, i think you should start with blurryface, go to trench, then clancy, scaled and icy, and then go back to vessel and self titled (twenty one pilots).

[brokenhe4ds]

hello tobs. just popping in again. just asking what you think of the new twenty one pilots song or perhaps your thoughts on parklife being like 25 years old or however old it is this year. ta'ra tobs

hi georgie!!

i LOVE backslide, it’s such a banger! i think it’s my favourite of the clancy singles so far. it’s got a certain vibe to it which i fuck with so hard.

parklife turning 30 (!!) makes me feel old, despite the fact i’m only 18. that album, and blur actually, made up such a huge part of my childhood, it’s incredible. i actually bought the 30th anniversary zoetrope pressing of the album last weekend on record store day - it’s such a cool pressing!!

[loghainmactir]

On Mages, Anders and Trench: A Comparison/Breakdown (1/5)

Lemme preface this by saying I honestly don’t know what I’m saying at any point ever, so this might be a huge waste of both of our times. But hi! Welcome to part one of Alister’s Incredibly Unnecessary and Lengthy Breakdown of twenty one pilots’ Album Trench in Relation to Anders and the Mage Rebellion.

I’ve been thinking about this at least a month now, but I finally kicked myself into gear when I saw drellvhen’s solavellan/Africa breakdown (link), so thank you so much for the inspiration lmao.

Parts of this, of course, won’t match up timeline/context wise (Trench seems to be more of a “modern” story and explicitly mentions the band/relationships/their fans, after all lmao), so some of it’ll need a little bit of flexibility when imagining what I’m trying to say; just bear with me. Often, it’ll also be very, very literal. I’m not good with metaphors, lmao.

This’ll also be long, because I love Dragon Age and twenty one pilots a LOT, so grab some water, a snack maybe, and let’s get started with a brief explanation of Trench!

Trench is twenty one pilots’ fifth studio album; it’s a concept album exploring mental health, suicide and doubt (themes featured heavily in their other albums, too), and it’s set partially in the fictional city of Dema and partially in the valley that surrounds it—“Trench”, which the album’s named after.

Now, some background on Dema; it was inspired/based on a concept within Zoroastrianism. The “Tower of Silence” (which is what Dema literally means) is a place to dispose of dead bodies by having vultures eat at the corpses; they were inspired by the “sad and intriguing concept of a dying religion”. Vultures and religion are two big themes within Dema, and they actually play similar roles within the “story”.

The album’s Dema is ruled by nine “bishops”, headed by an entity called Nicolas Bourbaki (which, in real life, is a group of [largely] French mathematicians– no, I don’t know why Tyler decided to name him after the Bourbaki group, and I’d hesitate to say we might never know properly). 

Nicolas (who we’ll call Nico for short) is known by another name in this world: Blurryface. He is, in fact, the very same Blurryface from their 2015 album (of the same name)– for context, Blurryface is a character who personifies Tyler’s insecurities, anxieties and depression. There’s nine other bishops, as well, but they’re not as relevant– at least here, where we’ll largely be focusing on Nico/Blurry.

The bishops use the vultures as “protection” within Dema; they (as far as I can tell) act as watchdogs (birds?) for the bishops, telling them who’s trying to escape. The bishops then retrieve them, and they “smear” them– kinda irrelevant to our comparison, here. Those who HAVE successfully escaped are known as Banditos; they wear yellow, and they try to liberate others within Dema.

Dema and Trench is all a metaphor, of course, for a place where you’re knees-deep in mental illness (Dema), and the in-between where you have control (Trench), but there’s always that risk of being dragged (in Tyler’s character’s case, literally!) back to shit creek. Banditos are a metaphor for people who’ve been there, done that (so to speak, anyway), or people close to Josh and Tyler.

Now, just reading this, there’s immediately a few REALLY apparent comparisons you can draw:

Dema can be compared to the Circles in the sense that they’re both incredibly oppressive places framed as a safety net (we learnt this about Dema through the introductory character, Clancy, pre-album release; he “wrote” letters with these details in them). People want to, try to, and fail and succeed at escaping them. They’re also huge depressing towers:

 (That’s Dema. Gives off some sad, grey Kirkwall vibes, right?)

The bishops and the vultures can be compared to the Templars and the Chantry: watching for escapees, rebels, trying to catch them and taking them back. That’s pretty self explanatory.

Banditos, then, are the mages, the mage rebellion and Anders (and blood mages too). They’re trapped in the Circle, and while a good many of them are fine with (or are too scared/worried to do otherwise?) remaining in the Circle, the mage rebellion are the ones trying to liberate the rest of their people from oppression.

Trench is Kirkwall in relation to the mage rebellion; the no man’s land where the mages are free and in control once out of the Circle, but ever in danger of being caught by the Templars.

Really, it’s super interesting when you dig deep into it; I wonder if Tyler’s ever played Dragon Age 2. I doubt it (though it’s always possible), but it’s bizarre how you can compare the main locations and factions even at a base explanation level.

Either way, we’ve finished the introductions and the who’s who in this comparison; now for breaking down the lyrics and putting my thoughts to them. For reference, I probably won’t be doing all songs/every lyric ever– there are some, obviously, I can’t draw comparisons to (partially because we don’t get enough info on Anders’ mage rebellion, and partially because… there’s no link, lmao), so I’ll be leaving some out. 

This’ll be organized by track: each song has a title to point out where each begins. I’ll also put links for each song in case you want to listen along!

So, without further ado, we begin with:

Renegade Coat, Cover Me!

Jumpsuit is our very first song (link here) on the album; it was the first single for Trench, and the music video was the first time we ever saw Nico, the Banditos, and how Nico’s influence works (and subsequently how the Banditos can save people). 

It’s also the first song that made me think of Anders: Tyler’s yellow and green jumpsuit vs Anders’ renegade coat is a really neat comparison! This’ll be a short one, because the lyrics are pretty straightforward and can be taken really literally.

I can’t believe how much I hate Pressures of a new place roll my way Jumpsuit, jumpsuit, cover me

We begin Jumpsuit with an Anders who has just arrived in Kirkwall; he’s looking for Karl, Justice has become Vengeance, and he is so, so full of this brand new anger. “Pressures of a new place roll my way” is easily seen as the fact that Kirkwall is full of Templars and blood mages, even so early on in the game; it’s swarming with them. It’s a brand new place, he’s surrounded by Templars and doesn’t want to be found by the Wardens. The pressure is on him to hide and stay low.

I crumble underneath the weight, Pressures of a new place roll my way

Really simple: Anders finds himself crumbling underneath the “weight” of the Templars’ oppression in Kirkwall, under the injustices done to the people there.

Spirits in my room, friend or foe? Felt it in my youth, feel it when I’m old, Jumpsuit, jumpsuit, cover me, Dustin’ off my-- jumpsuit (cover me, oh!)

Here, the ‘room’ is Anders’ head/body. Anders has only just merged with Justice, and now suddenly he’s Vengeance: is Vengeance a friend? Or is Vengeance a foe? ‘Felt it in my youth, feel it when I’m old’ can be taken as lyric that’s almost looking to the future: Anders is young, in his late twenties/early thirties, but Vengeance is going to be there presumably forever. He’ll feel it, then, when he’s young.

As for “dustin’ off my jumpsuit”, I’m imagining an Anders who comes to Kirkwall in clothes that aren’t his own: his Renegade Coat is kind of, erm... well, it’s got fucking feathers on the shoulders, c’mon. “Dustin’ off my jumpsuit” can be seen as Anders and Vengeance deciding that Kirkwall’s injustices cannot be ignored: he’s putting on his Renegade’s Coat, he’s going to help.

I’ll be right there But you’ll have to grab my throat and lift me in the air If you need anyone I’ll stop my plans (I’ll stop my plans) But you’ll have to tie me down and then break both my hands If you need anyone

Now, this (to me) is the most interesting thing to compare to Anders: it would be referencing both Awakenings Anders and Dragon Age 2 Anders and his reactions to the mages’ treatments. “But you’ll have to grab my throat and lift me in the air/If you need anyone”: this reminds me of Anders and Justice’s conversation in Awakenings:

J: Why do you not strike a blow against your oppressors? Ensure they can do this to no one else? A: Because it sounds difficult? J: Apathy is a weakness. A: So is death. I'm just saying.

It also counts for the dialogue after it, when Justice says Anders has ‘an obligation’: Anders, in a way, is forced into acting through Vengeance. He needed someone to force him into action in Awakenings, so to speak. Anders in DA2, however, is the EXACT opposite: to stop Anders from acting out against the Circles/Chantry/Templars, you’d NEED to tie him down and break both his hands. He’ll fight against them until he can no longer.

You could even go so far as to compare the song’s slow rise from soft and sung to loud and screamed to Anders’ fury, too. The rest of the song repeats from here on out, so now we have....

Danger In The Fabric Of This Thing I’ve Made

Levitate! Levitate (link) is a short track, and there’s no singing in this; just rapping. I don’t actually know if they’ve got another song like this-- they tend to have a mix of both. It’s also the song that I LOVE in relation to Anders and the mage underground: it is SO, so fitting it’s almost scary. The video is actually the third and final story in the music video’s orders, and shows the Banditos escaping with Tyler, and finally jammin’ out at the Bandito camp (and then the end, lmao, which Happens).

Oh, I know how to levitate up off my feet And ever since the seventh grade I learned to fire-breathe And though I feed on things that fell You can learn to levitate with just a little help Learn to levitate with just a little help

Like we were with Jumpsuit, we’ll take this literally and metaphorically: Anders learnt magic at a young age, but he also began to his escape attempts almost immediately; he was brought back to the Circle at twelve years old, and he had his first escape attempt six months later. How old are seventh graders? 12-13 years old (this actually wasn’t something I realized until literally just now and it’s weird how well this song aligns with Anders, honestly).

If learning to ‘levitate’ and ‘fire breathe’ is learning to resist and defy the Circle, Templars and the Chantry, ‘Though I feed on things that fell’ refers to Anders and Vengeance growing angrier and angrier with every mage that can’t escape (through death, tranquility, or other general fuckery, honestly). This is also a partial cry to mages who are maybe unsure of whether or not a rebellion is the right choice, or if they can: Anders and the rest of the apostates are “just a little help”.

Come down, come down, Cowards only come through when the hour’s late And everyone’s asleep, mind you Now show up, show up I know I shouldn’t say this But a curse from you is all that I would need right now, man

Just as the chorus is a callout to other mages, this verse in particular would be directed at Templars. It’s well documented that Templars abuse mages, both outwardly and in secret; “Cowards only come through when the hour’s late and everyone’s asleep, mind you” can refer to this abuse happening behind closed doors (and therefore takes on an incredibly sinister undertone), but it can also refer to the Harrowing. 

While the Harrowing can come at any time, the one time we do specifically see the Harrowing, it’s in the middle of the night: you wake up the next morning with Jowan worrying about you. The Harrowing is also when mages can be made Tranquil; therefore, it could be saying that they only come through when the mage is defenseless and alone. 

But it could also be referring to the other mages/mage sympathisers: Anders feels as if they aren’t doing enough to progress their liberation from the Circles, and he’s calling them cowards for only working to free people through the night when Templars might be otherwise busy or whenever they’re not working.

Hooking back to the Templar callout, ‘a curse from you is all that I would need right now, man’ is another fairly self explanatory line: Anders doesn’t need much to be pushed into his big, final plan. At this point, with the repetition, it’s almost like he’s asking for them to ‘curse’ him-- for the templars to do something that’ll tip him over the edge, if you will.

Danger in the fabric of this thing I made I probably shouldn’t show you, but it’s way too late My heart is with you hiding, but my mind’s not made Now they know it like we both knew for some time I’d say

This is my absolute favourite line in this song with reference to Anders. I think it sums up his and Hawke’s relationship (whether romantic, friendly or otherwise) REALLY well. While Anders didn’t start the mage rebellion, not by a long shot, he IS one of the catalysts for the Mage/Templar war; Anders knows this. The whole ending of DA2 relies on the fact that Anders is scared and doesn’t want to tell Hawke about his plans. But “it’s way too late”-- he’s already set these plans into motion at the start of Act 3. 

“My heart is with you hiding, but my mind’s not made” refers to this idea, again, the idea that Anders is completely behind Hawke, completely willing to along with their own personal goals, but he’s not sure of how they’d react, what they’d think. His mind’s not made on whether or not to include them in his plans. HOWEVER, “now they know it like we both knew for some time I’d say” refers to the fact that Anders’ anger/willingness to skirt around direct action has clearly begun to rapidly disintegrate by the time Act 3 comes around. 

There is no way Hawke doesn’t suspect something’s up, and anyone who knows Anders knows he’s going to do something. Here, “they” could refer to anyone, but it makes the most sense when referring to Hawke’s companions. Almost everyone in the group makes a comment on Anders’ state. They all knew it was going where it winds up.

They’re smirkin’ at fresh blood, they’re circling above But this is not enough, yeah, this is not what you thought No, no, we are not just graffiti on a passin’ train

This is in reference to Dema’s vultures and bishops: they’re waiting for the Banditos (and Tyler) to slip up. Here, it’s about the Chantry, Templars and the mage rebellion: it’s about how Templars are everywhere in Kirkwall, how they’re under the belief that the mage rebellion can be crushed and the mages can continue to be controlled. But the rebellion is not a passing phase, not just something minor that can be brushed over.

Now, I know what you’re saying: “Alister, there are no trains in Dragon Age. Duh. Shut up.” To which I say: you’re absolutely correct, and I’d love to shut up, but I’m physically incapable of doing so! However, imagine with me for a second: mages leaving signs and graffiti around Kirkwall to tell others of their presence, and as soon as one is erased, more is put up in it’s place. Little signs and messages of the mage rebellion. Rad, right?

This culture is a poacher of overexposure, not today Don’t feed me to the vultures, I am a vulture who feeds on pain

These lines play on the idea that things come and go within our culture really, really quickly; when comparing it to Templars and Mages, you can absolutely say that this is referencing the culture within the Circle (made by Templars, mind you) that encourages very little exposure to the outside world. Templars crush and reject any idea or desire to leave the Circle or to have their own autonomy; they’re the poachers of overexposure to the outside world.

“Don’t feed me to the vultures, I am a vulture who feeds on pain” is a REALLY interesting line re: Dema and the character in this song, but it’s pretty straightforward to Anders and actually loops back to “And though I feed on things that fell”-- Anders, here, is asking those he knows to keep him hidden in darktown/Hawke’s estate, and he’s, again, someone who’s anger and sense of “I need to do something” is fuelled by the pain of other mages.

Sleep in a well-lit room, don’t let the shadow through And sever all I knew, yeah, sever all I thought I could depend on my weekends On the freezing ground that I’m sleeping on Please, keep me from, please keep me down from the ledges Better test it, wooden wedges under doorways, Keep your wooden wedges under doors

This bit is a little harder to relate to Anders. It could absolutely be thought of as him referencing pre-Kirkwall, but post-Awakenings days; it could be a reference to sleeping, literally, on freezing ground (and sleeping on the streets before he gets his clinic) while he struggles to understand what Vengeance has become and dealing with dark thoughts as a part of that. 

‘Sleep in a well-lit room, don’t let the shadow through’ could be along a similar line to “cowards only come through(...)”; Anders is saying that to keep the Templars out, to keep them safe, mages use “wooden wedges” as unreliable, low-effort ways to keep free mages safe. 

The implication of it then, especially with the repetition of the chorus at the end of the song, is that the mages need to take a different approach to keep themselves safe-- not just use ‘wooden wedges’. Especially when you take the video’s end into account, you could totally draw that comparison; Tyler gets taken by Nico, and similarly, many escaped mages get caught and found as Dragon Age 2 progresses. The rest of Levitate is fairly straightforward and it’s more difficult to include Anders in it; it deals with Tyler’s insecurities re: creating something new and original.

If you’ve reached this part of the post, first thing’s first: thank you so much! You’re an absolute champion. This really is just the most self-indulgent piece of ‘meta’ ever, honestly, lmao. 

Part 2 will hopefully come soon, and it’ll deal with the next two tracks on Trench, Morph and My Blood!

[smithc3k]

What Scum Fuck Flower Boy means to me.

What Scum Fuck Flower Boy means to me.

The first time I ever heard of Tyler the creator I was in class id always while in computer class read articles or interviews for different artist or reviews when I stumbled on Tyler the creators 2nd album goblin. It was brash dark and energetic all the beats were made by him the artwork was designed by him even the music videos directed by him. His music while at times dark and offensive in subject matter had tone but had felt like a breath of fresh air the album itself in which Tyler bookends moments and songs throughout the album as a conversation with his therapist on the stress of living up to expectations coping with an absent father self hate and anxiety of trying to provide for his mother as an up and coming artist ultimately culminating him having a character breakdown and screaming I’M NOT CRAZY I’M A FUCKING TABLE.

Thats the first time i ever saw him live it was like someone took the punk spirit of jay reatard and channeled it into a hip hop album.

One of the criticisms levied against Tyler's persona and music was that it was immature or that at first glance there is no depth to it. Well one trip to summer camp and a cherry bomb later we arrive at Scum Fuck Flower Boy what I consider to easily be his best work yet and my second favorite album to come out of the odd future collective (right behind channel orange of course but that's another story for another time). The mixing is smoother the production seems exciting and visceral with a mix of smooth jazz down tempo electronica and soft piano among other things. Lyrically its his most somber and mature album to date tackling themes of self perception anxiety sexual curiosity and most prominently mentioned and explored on this album is materialism used as a coping mechanism or to fill a void which becomes very apparent from the albums opener ‘Foreword” where the first lines rapped on the album is this.

How many cars can I buy 'til I run out of drive? How much drive can I have 'til I run out of road? How much road can they pave 'til I run out of land? How much land can there be until I run in the ocean?

We then come the song “Who Dat Boy” where him and ASAP ROCKY brag about money from there many business ventures outside of hip hop.

Get out of my way, way, boy that's McLaren That's 0 to 60 in 2 point nueve, I'm gone

He also explores all the mental road blocks and potholes which on the song “Potholes” he says this.

"My mother warned me that some niggas ain't my right hand To trust her, only my heart and that elder white man His name is Clancy, I fancy him, gotta give him props He half the reason why dealerships even let me cop”

After that we get to “Garden Shed” tack seven off of Flower Boy which i think its the 3rd most vulnerable Tyler is as on this part of the car ride he’s expressing how difficult it is to express his sexuality. 

All my friends lost They couldn't read the signs I didn't wanna talk and tell 'em my location And they ain't wanna walk Truth is, since a youth kid, thought it was a phase Thought it'd be like the phrase; "poof," gone But, it's still goin' on

(Tyler on garden Shed)

After that were followed up with boredom a song about finding some time to do somethings. After which we hop back in the car for “I Aint Got Time” which is more braggadocios rhymes similar to “Who Dat Boy” in themes while bragging about the car which drives him to these emotional states.

We then get to the most vulnerable Tyler has ever made himself on an album with 911/ MR Lonely

Five car garage Full tank of the gas But that don't mean nothing, nothing Nothin', nothin', without you shotgun in the passenger

On part one (911) Tyler says that all the Material things hes collected don’t matter as he has no one to share them with.That statement is then doubled down on in part 2 off the song Mr Lonely

Crashed the McLaren, bought me a Tesla I know you sick of me talkin' 'bout cars (skrrt) But what the fuck else do you want from me? That is the only thing keepin' me company Purchase some things until I'm annoyed These items is fillin' the void Been fillin' it for so long I don't even know if it's shit I enjoy (ohh) Current battle as an adult My partner is a shadow 

Following that we get a minute interlude of lil Wayne rapping in incredible form (come home weezy i miss you) our next stop on our ride is “November’ which is my favorite song on the album. On this song all of the anxiety and stress just pours out while hes wishing to go back to to simpler time IE his “November” while asking all his Friends what their November was. (mine was when I flew down to arizona for 2 weeks that was the most happiest and at peace I’ve ever felt in my life.)

What if my music too weird for the masses? And I'm only known for tweets more than beats or All my day ones turn to three, fours 'cause of track seven

The 2nd half of the song is Tyler calling up a distant friend to play them a song he made the voice mail picks up the call and the song “Glitter” which is the final track is fitting love song to end the album on.

We didn't get your message, either because you were not speaking or because of a bad connection Fuck

and thats how the album ends the alot more subtle than goblin and just a “fuck” and we go to the last track which is an instrumental called Enjoy Today Right Now. The album ends with Tyler turning off the car and that’s it car ride is over.And thus concludes Scum Fuck Flower Boy an amazing hip hop album that uses the medium to fully explore why an artist has a 12 car garage but they only got six cars in a relatable and human way over dope ass instrumentation.

Editors note

Furi will not be looked at for a while as right now I’ve lost all interest in playing it. The next game I’m gonna be playing is Transformers Devastation if that takes to long to get done in a week ill do another one of these depending on the response to this as always have a great day.

[mobbtown-blog1]

errica Benton awoke to the sound of short waves breaking against smooth rocks on the Pier 6 Pavilion. She yawned and flounced her hair, balancing out the streams of Starburst and Carnation extensions tangled together after last night’s impromptu pillow fight with her bandmates; Kimber, Aja, and Rayna collectively known as, The Holograms. The day before, Jerrica as her alter ego, Jem, performed at the pavilion with her band and was now spending the weekend held up in the Ritz-Carlton Estates, occupying the penthouse condos previously inhabited by bestselling book writer, Tom Clancy. Jerrica slinked out of the Queen sized bed careful not to disturb the other inhabitants; she stood in bay window overlooking the harbor replaying sections of last night’s show in her head. She was pleased with the laser and smoke filled spectacle and decided to reward herself with a bump of “Bolivian Marching Powder”. A small yet non-committal indulgence she picked up in Central America while fighting for the rights of migrant farmers and plantation worker in the Coca Fields of Ecuador. Jerrica looked over at the bed intent on waking her posse to start the day and use her bump to its fullest advantage. However, the bed was empty. She checked the bedside alarm clock, it was noon, far later than she hoped but still enough time to get her life in the Charm City. She ruffled the sheets and thought to herself; “They must have gotten up early and hit up Blue Moon for brunch. I hope they bring me back an order of Captain Crunch French Toast. I wonder if the French know about French Toast; Do the French get royalties every time someone says French Toast? Oh my God, Do I owe the French Money for saying French Toast a million times? O.k. if I stop saying French Toast now maybe my debt won’t be so high. Where are these bitches?” Jerrica reached under the bed and pulled out a designer high heel shoe; from it, she retrieved a small Silver Star shaped earring. She pressed the amulet into her lobe and gave it a tug; a familiar cybernetic voice filled the palatial waterfront estate. “Hello, Jerrica.” “Hey, Synergy; incredible show last night, you almost surged the power grid, though. Be careful with your use of light balance next time, we almost left the city in complete darkness.” “As if Baltimore isn’t already dark enough,” Bantered Synergy. “Excuse me?” Jem perplexed. “The temped climate change due to excessive humidity in the area causes an extended amount of overcast in the mid-Atlantic region thereby blocking out the sun throughout large portions of the day. What did you think I meant.” “That, I thought you meant that, and I was right, because I’m good at Meteorology.”

“Jerrica, I’m afraid there has been a bit of a kerfuffle.” “Yeah, I know, The Holograms rolled out and got brunch without me. Don’t these heifers know who they came here with? I mean I do two things when I’m out on tour; I shut down shows and I open up brunches, I mean I put the “B” in Bellini. “My life is so odd right now and I guess that’s why I just can’t even.” “Jerrica, I assure you, the holograms are not at brunch. They have been kidnapped by an unknown assailant and jettisoned off to Hunger Island as tribute to, Katniss Everdean.” “What the flip?” “She heard about the “Jem movie” and is intent on sabotaging the property. She plans on force feeding the girls and killing them with calories.” “It’s just a movie we can all premier at the Cineplex and fill seats. Nothing wrong with little friendly competition.” “That’s just it, Jerrica, Katniss mind has been so warped by the Hunger Games tributes that she now views any form of competition as a mortal threat. Anything she views as an impediment to her success, she must destroy.” “Katniss Everdean must be stopped. I have to save my friends, but how am I supposed to save my girls without the help of my girls?” “Not to worry, Jerrica, I’ve called in some backup to aid you on your mission.” “Well don’t be shy, tell me who it is, ooh is it the Battle Beasts? Is it Action Man? He’s so macho. He makes my queso ooze. “Actually, Jerrica, you’ll be receiving support from you old adversaries, The Misfits.” “The Misfits, why them, they don’t have a horse in this race?” “Actually, it was Roxy who proposed the team up; she’s still indebted to Ban-Nee for teaching her how to read. That and Stormer teamed up with your sister Kimber some time ago and released an album. Pitchfork gave it an 8 of 10.” “I don’t read Pitchfork; the writing is a bit too bloated for my taste. They tend to write as if their review is far more important that its subject matter and that turns me off.” “Jerrica, even the group’s leader, Pizzazz is committed to the cause. Although she doesn’t particularly care for you, she seems to harbor an even deeper animosity toward Katniss.”

“That’s all well and good, but I’m not sure I feel comfortable teaming up with the Misfits. They think their songs are better than mine.” “Oh, Darling, Jem, their songs are better, but you are far more glamorous, and your glamour makes you; truly, truly, truly …OUTRAEGOUS! “Now Jerrica you must morph into Jem, team up with the Misfits; fly to Hunger Island, and save your friends from Trans fatty fatality. Are you ready?” “Send all my calls direct to voice mail, I gotta go rescue my bitches.” Jerrica gives her amulet another brisk swipe, her body emits pulsing neon light as luminous as a quasar erupting in the Milky Way Pavilion. With her new formed alliance she is Jem and the Misfits, and on this day they will; Taste the Hunger. “I wonder if Eric has anything to do with this; he could be the unknown assailant. He’s always involved in some crazy scheme to sabotage me off the board and steal my half of the Starlight Music Company. I don’t know why he wants this company so bad he doesn’t know anything about music. I guess that doesn’t make him any different than any other music exec.” Jem snickers to herself and rubs her pointer finger across the glass dinner table, and inspects the tiny pearl flakes stuck to her finger tip. “No blow left behind.” She wipes the residue across her gums in anticipation of the Misfits arrival. The penthouse elevator chimes the doors open and out spill its contents; Roxy (Guitar), Jetta (Sax), Stormer (Keytar), and Pizzazz (lead vocals). “Hi girls,” “Don’t say hi to me, Say thank you,” Sneered Pizzazz, the group’s leader and Jem’s mortal adversary. “Thank you” “You got us a lift out to Hunger Island, or do you need us to hold your hand through that too?” Synergy interjects. “G.I. Joe Staff Sargent Roadblock is gonna give you an airlift in the Eagle Hawk Helicopter. He’s on the roof now.” “Wait, let me grab my sunglasses.” “You won’t need sun glasses when you travel with me, because Pizzazz brings plenty shade.” “O.k. well I definitely need to find my phone so I can live tweet what you just said.” “Status updated,” intoned Synergy. The girls ascend the elevator to the roof and are greeted by the decorated officer award winning chef and all around jovial guy: “Roadblock is here and it’s clear to see/ that you need a ride so come along with me/ Put on your seat belt and your parachute/ but you don’t need to wear a helmet cause your hair looks cute/ don’t be a litter bug, girls/ knowledge! “And knowing is half the battle,” Cheered Stormer. The girls all took a Xanax and pretty much slept through the 8 hour helicopter ride to Hunger Island. They conveniently awoke within a two minute eta, enough time to receive landing instructions from Roadblock; Use your parachutes to land after the ride/ when your boots hit the ground you’ll meet your guide/ Good luck on your journey, I’m sure you’ll win/ I hope to see you again/ before we get to Heaven/ I’m a Lutheran ya’ll/ Faith!

The girls floated safely to the ground nestled in a redolent tropical field of lush island frutex. They dumped their shoots, teased their hair, took a few selfies and updated their Instagram accounts. “Made it to the Island in one piece”: Hash Tag; • blessed • free rap concert • free the holograms • roadblock raps like them old heads from the70’s • can’t even believe this island has Wi-Fi • if there’s a Starbucks on this island im staying • My stage name is Pizzazz but My Street Name Is Rohypnol Cause I Stay Knocking Dumb Hoes Out and Fuckin they ass up. • No homo. • I wonder if this island breeds small dogs As the girls tuck their phones away and begin their trek, a soft glow of light beams through the tree tops, intercepting the girls’ slow procession. “Hello, Ladies, I’m actor, writer, director, and now temporal tropical tour guide, Phillip Seymour Hoffman.” “I’m here to guide you, because im featured in the Hunger Games trilogy, so I’m quite familiar with the terrain, and I’m also a blue chip actor usually employed to give mediocre storylines artistic credibility, like the Film, Almost Famous, and the story you’re in right now. “Phillip Seymour Hoffman, you dead right?” asked Jetta. “Yes. I am dead.” “Yeah, I read about you, because I recently learned how to read. They found you in an apartment in Tribeca, right?” quizzes Roxy. “No, it was Chelsea.” Hoffman stated ruefully “You were surrounded by what, like, 50 bags of dope, some shit like that?” “Well, yeah something like that,” he stumbles over his words foolishly. “’50 bags of heroine is a lot of fuckin dope, you buy your shit from Sam’s Club or something?” “Did you think they was gonna stop making dope after they sold you yours.” “Did your dope dealer not have change for a 1000 dollar bill so you just bought it all?” “Alright I get it, I bought too much dope, and obviously I did, because I’m dead now. O.k.? So can we just move on and get this over with please? I’m trying to help you save your friends life!” “I appreciate all the help and everything Phil, I really do, but I just don’t see myself following a fucking junkie through a jungle. Oliver Stone wrote three movie about that shit and none of them end well so I’m gonna respectfully request that you jump back in whatever shallow grave you hopped your pale ass out of cause Pizazz can’t fuck with you, I loved you in Capote, though. Keep your ass moving on through to that other side, baby boy. “ “Oh, my God Pizzazz, he was our only way around the Island, Why did you run him off like that?” “I mean we don’t have a map or anything, we gonna die on this Island like those kids in that book I was supposed to read in middle school, but I didn’t cause I was still illiterate back then” whined Roxy. “That fat jerk was gonna sell us into white slavery the first chance he got. Besides we don’t need no week man telling us where to go and what to do. Shit the island has Wi-Fi. Just pull out your phone go to the google home screen the nearest me browser is gonna pop up. In that search bar put in kidnapping. And boom three kilometers that way. Just then a camouflage Jeep crashes furiously through the bush. The driver adorned with long blond silky trestles’ flowing downs his back and across his German issue naval officer blouse hops rapaciously from the driver’s seat and advances on the girls. “Need a lift old friend?” “Riot?” Jem says pensively. “Jem is it?” Riot says casually. “It is,” she says with obviously inflection. “Or is it Jerrica?” He says haughtily; as he laughs with arrogant conviction. A collective gasp falls over the cluster of girls. Jem is caught off guard and before she has time to deny the claim her face tells a truth her words could no longer hide. “But how,” she asks still shell shocked. I’ve always known who you were Jerrica. Many years ago when you were just a little girl I knew your father. We were inventers and visionaries. We partnered up and created the Synergy technology together. It took many years to complete and during that time I became close to you and your father, you in particular, Jerrica. I took you to the park, I taught you how to ride a bike I helped you with your schoolwork. As you got older my feelings matured into something deeper, more complex, something I could not quite process. At the same time my feeling for you were maturing the Synergy project was also coming to fruition. I was proud of the project and I wanted to share it with the world. The advancements were unlimited, but you father had other plans. He wanted to keep the project secret and use it for more ethical practices whereas I wanted to mine it for its commercial value. We were at an impasse and instead of fighting I left with my half of the research. I kept the telecommunication half and he kept the light manipulation half. “Wendell Wasserman, my dad’s doting assistant, I remember you. You were a kind man, leery, but sweet. You just up and disappeared when I was 14. What happened to you?” I moved back to Austria, sold my half of the Synergy technology to a Japanese mobile communication firm. I got a facelift. I changed my name; started a glam rock band-Pink Lipstick. We had an international top ten hit. Maybe you’ve heard of it…”Walk you home from school” “Walk you home from School, I remember that song. She recites a few bars… I watched you grow up as a baby in your father’s arms Then you grew into a lady and fell under my charms I want to fall into you when I Walk you home from school “Oh my god was that song about me?” “Yes Jerrica, It was about you, it was always about you. I moved back; started a new band-The Stingers, I even grew this luxurious flaxen mane and still you rebuff me at every turn. Well the honeymoon is over baby! I want that Synergy technology and I want it now or you and you friends will die. Just then a righteous arrow pierces the sky. And lands square in the heart of Riot. “Oh shit, I got blood in my succulent hair, and I think I’m dying…nope…I’m dead, yeah, I’m definitely dead. “ “Katniss Everdean” I presume. Hissed Pizzazz. “Was it the bow and the arrow that gave me away?” “I only asked because I could not tell you in person from your movie posters, they make you appear much more, slender, than you really are. I was worried about your health. It’s such a relief to see, in abundance, that your thighs really, do touch.” “Yes, they do, just like my two, Golden Globes.” “Ah, Miss Everdean are you gonna force feed us a ton of carbs? I really don’t want to fuck my diet up.” Stormer asked. “Ah, no that was all that twisted pedophile, Riots plan, he kidnapped me too. He didn’t try anything too direct just a lot of foot baths, finger and toe nail polishing, and he brushed my hair three times a day. When he saw you all flying in he dashed out here and that’s when a nest of Mocking Jays came and loosened me from my bindings. I followed Riot here, and well you saw the rest. Hey you guys wanna watch My Little Pony Friendship is Magic?” “There’s cable and internet on this Island too?!?” squealed Jetta, because it’s been a while since she had a line. “No, well yeah, but, Riot also kidnapped The My Little Pony crew. They’re outback with the Holograms frolicking in a waterfall made of rainbow sprinkles. “ “Oh, my god he was gonna make the girls eat the My Little Ponies, gross.” Conjectured Stormer. “Guy’s I’m sorry I never told you all that I’m both Jem and Jerrica” Pizzazz, finger combed her hair, briskly turning a side eye glance to her arch rival and smirked. “Bitch, we knew.”

The End. Jem and the Misfits “Taste the Hunger” Written By Mike Smith michaeladrion@gmail.com

[inkaupendo-blog]

Follow your path.com

My greatest inspiration and role model for the music industry has been my father who has never sold his soul trying to succeed in anything else but in his own vision. From up close I have seen that it truly is possible to provide for yourself and family following your own path. Naturally this has influenced my vision of my real-self and shaped my musical taste. I’ve simply always wanted to stay true to myself. Authenticity is the key and one great example of if is Frank Ocean, the man who’s music tickles my intestines and makes my ears orgasm. Some how Ocean has been able to reach the stars, have success in the mainstream music business while holding his ground and trusting his own vision.

Jon Caramanica wrote in 2016 in Nytimes.com : “Over the past three years, his absence from the pop troposphere — a void interrupted only by the occasional collaboration, Tumblr post or paparazzi shot — has felt like a position statement against celebrity culture, while simultaneously guaranteeing that Mr. Ocean’s fame, turbo-boosted by fervent curiosity, would grow even wider.” This is as interesting of an approach to selling oneself as the Daft Punk’s was. The hiding results into growing interest in the artist. I believe this stems from these artists’ attempt to stay authentic and maintain some kind of privacy in a world where everything is accessible through the internet.

Authenticity combined with intuition is a powerful thing. When Ocean parted his management team and publicist for his sophomore album to take a different direction with his career, former manager Chris Clancy offered some insight into Ocean’s decision making. “This is a guy who has the ability to change things, and for him to change things, he has to follow his intuition,” Chris Clancy told MTV News last year. “If he doesn’t follow his intuition, then it’s not real. The goal is to trust the guy who wrote the music to present his art, his way — Frank has incredible intuition. Just fucking incredible. He very clearly sees things; my job is to say, no matter how far out it may be, I’m going to trust that.”

This guy gives me hope of doing things right and believing in my own path.