#album writeup

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 3: Kimono My House (Falling In Love With Myself Again)

Kimono my house, mon amour! Everyone knows how great and one of a kind this album is... So what can I even say about it that hasn't been said already? Well, I'll just plunge right into my own experience with it and go from there.

This was my first Sparks album and it definitely made a huge impression right away. While it wasn't really the album that got me hooked on Sparks, it still managed to pique my interest in this specific era especially, so my choice for the next album to go with was obvious (more on that tomorrow). And it was surely like nothing I heard before at that point... or since, really. Altough I must also admit that it was probably the furthest I went back in time listening to music at the moment, as in, I haven't even ventured much into listening to much music from the 70s on my own until that point, so I didn't even really have anything to compare it with. Still though, that doesn't change as I get into more 70s music - there's still nothing quite like Kimono.

I love how cohesive this album is, without becoming same-ish, it still has so much different stuff to offer. I really don't know how to best put it, but it's really like a huge, wonderful and whimsical journey. Just thinking about the opening and closing tracks and how well they work for their roles... It was mindblowing to hear a year and a half ago, and it still is to this day. I'm honestly suprised by how, even though I really loved KMH from the very start, I can still love it more and more.

And the most (seemingly) unforeseen of things will cause this. Like my "Kimono My House Summer", by which I mean last summer when I went on a trip and all the different songs from this album accompanied me through it and are now an integral part of my memories of that time. And how getting KMH on vinyl just last month caused my love for it to suddenly skyrocket still - it was actually just last month that I rejected one particular opinion I still held with full conviction until now regarding this album, but more on that tomorrow...

Favourite songs (and other highlights):

Okay, this is when this section actually gets kind of hard to deal with properly. Because almost every single song from this album is something I could have considered a favourite at some previous point in time. So this time I'll go about it by listing my longest-standing faves.

This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us: obviously. I remember the first time I heard this song so well because it really made such a huge impression. The day I get to hear this song live might change me forever. I'm sure there's nothing quite like experiencing it live. I also really want to learn to play this one on piano. I hope that's doable with my current skill level!

Amateur Hour: this song stands out in the sense that right away i got the impression that there's just this... sort of classic quality to it... that makes me think, wow this is one of the originals. This is one of the songs that set the standard for pop music of the following decades. Keep in mind that this was when I was only getting into Sparks and all this information I've aquired about them was very fresh in my mind, like how they were such an important influence for so many artists to come. Like, one of the biggest influences and most important figures in history of modern pop PERIOD. So indeed, with this song it truly felt like wow, I hear this, totally. Very satisfying moment (and I'm actually really curious if anyone else got this impression from THIS tracks specifically as well)

Here In Heaven: feels strange to not say anything about this one when I said so much about the previous two, so. I'll just say that I really love the guitar parts during the chorus (like when the title is said?). Also, enjoyable story in the lyrics (but that's no rare thing on this album)

Hasta Manana, Monsieur: when I think about it I start to realize I could consider this my very first Sparks fav OVERALL, I'm pretty sure that hearing this song is what convinced me to give this whole album a go! Or my memory is lying to me about this specific fact and it was actually some other song, but either way, the point still stands I think

Talent Is An Asset: going with the early impression for this one again, and I think it's one of the most important entries on the list of songs that felt like they should be newer than they are. This song did not sound 50 years old to me by any means. Very ahead of its time? That's sort of Sparks' whole thing though, isn't it?

Equator: again, not even a personal fav necessarily, or at least until very recently, but I still want to mention it because I truly think it's one of the songs of all time. It's just, so very good. And these days I can't listen to it without being reminded of the several incredible live performances of it. They're all impressive, to say the least!

[foursaints]

what did you think of ttpd!! we gotta know

[songofsaraneth]

people clearly enjoying themselves at metal shows has to be much rarer than you'd think for not one but TWO band's members at two diff concerts this week to comment about the fact that i smiled a lot in the crowd

[theywontletmebeprincipal]

I couldnt ever be a music reviewer bc I would always be saying I sat my white ass down and listened

[desertsquiet]

Album of the year

1971

Runners up:

Winner: Who’s Next - The Who

[unapologeticallyzayn]

Loving all the interpretations of Zayn's new tattoos! I don't think I've read that many dissertations on Greek mythology/tragedy as I have since school.

[imsobadatnicknames2]

Music commission prices!

Update: Editing my prices again bc I still think I was undercharging a little bit from my work and also the payment processor I use to transfer money from P*ypal to my bank account recently increased their fees.

Hey everyone! My name's Carlos, I'm a composer and producer. I'm one half of the technical death metal band Beyond Flesh, and I've been doing commissioned music work since 2021. I did all the battle themes for the RPGmaker game Those Infernal Girls! and several battle themes for the "Chillen in Chult" arc of the the D&D twitch show Dice Dynamics. I also did one bonus track for the album We Will All Sing One Song by the James Connolly Upstate New York IWW.

I can make music for your:

OC

Climactic TTRPG moment

Videogame

Short Film

Whatever else idk

The main genres I do are metal, synthwave, and dungeon synth, but I've done a bunch of commissioned work in different genres, from 8bit to jazz to EDM to hiphop backing tracks. If in doubt, ask me and I'll tell you if I can do a particular genre or not.

Prices:

Base commission price (Includes 1 minute of music, 2 instrument tracks plus percussion track) - $12 USD

Extra instrument track - $6 USD

Extra minute of music - $6 USD

Examples:

Some examples of my previous work so you can get an idea of my range:

You don't need to know anything about music theory or related language to commission me, but do have in mind that the more ifnormation you're able to provide the better the end result will be. Vibe descriptions, reference tracks that you want it to sound similar to, writeups of the character and/or scene it's for, and anything else you can think of are massively helpful. I'll be continually sending you WIPs through the entire process so you can judge the direction I'm going in and provide notes if necessary.

You get to keep all rights to the song to use it for any purpose. I, however, keep the right to post it on my tumblr blog, my youtube channel, or any of my socials for promotional purposes.

You may contact me through DMs here, or through the following media:

e-mail: juan.hernandez9903@gmail.com

Discord: carlos7318

I only accept payment via p*ypal invoices, as c*shapp and v*nmo don't work in my country.

[hustlerose]

man. sometime i should do a full writeup on USA by anamanaguchi. it's one of the best electronic albums of all time imo. experimental and playful and colorful, and insanely well paced. it has yet to rise above its status as an obscure footnote from a band best known for cartoonishly sugary chiptune future bass tracks

USA is the album that taught me over-compression is a legitimate artistic tool, that it's possible to be grindingly abrasive and gently sincere at the same time, that music production can tell a story all on its own. it predicted a lot of trends in modern indie edm that would later get popularized by porter robinson, but it still sounds fresh today

it's 4am. i'll put in a pin in that

[chazza-studies-mphys]

Monday, 4th November 2024

Not too busy today – just lecture writeups & some group project work on the agenda for this afternoon, before things get busier with a couple of quizzes later in the week.

🎵Sorceress Album – Opeth

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 16: Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins (When Do I Get To Sing "My Way")

So, well, what an era this was, right. Comeback of the century! Gratsax just has that certain *something*. It's brilliant! One of the best albums ever made if you ask me. The fully electronic style is so perfect for Sparks and they just do it here like it's nothing and like they've been at it for many years. Of course there's the hiatus that took place in the years before it to keep in mind but even then, this album is a HUGE accomplishment and an incredible standout in a catalog of releases that's already full of standouts of all sorts. And it's definitely a personal standout for me too, thinking about how it's been almost a year since I first heard it really freaks me out! It was such a different time for me I feel like, but many things are also exactly the same as back then. It's weird to feel nostalgic about it now but there's really no better word to describe what this feeling is like exactly.

I think this album is meant for vinyl listening in a way. It just fits it so well!! And it's not just the quality to the sound that it has this way (and I don't mean that it sounds necessarily "better", more like just, different and that somehow complements the music even more), but also the ability to have an actual good view of this wonderful album cover that's among my top favourite Sparks things ever. So cool looking! So funny and memorable! One of the finest instances of the music sounding exactly like what the cover looks like. (and learning that the cover is a homage to a SPECIFIC magazine rather than just tabloids in general, that only made it more amazing because it really does look so alike, stuff like this is really cool to me for whatever reason lol)

Also I like the fact that I bought this silly little "disco" lamp around this time last year, so plugging it in for extra vibes during listening makes it all just kind of perfect. And another thing on the visual aspect of it all: this is such a good era for music videos, they're all SO GOOD! Some of my very big favourites for sure and the My Way video might really be one of the best music videos EVER MADE.

But ok, let's get to the point now. Something that stood out to me right away is that every song here is so unique but they fit together so well anyway (not first instance of such thing happening either). There's really lots of variety! I also remember this album fondly because of how it was the first one I listened to with my parents and when my Sparks obsession truly started to become one of the most noticeable things about me to other people, lol. But finally feeling more free and confident with sharing my favourite things that mean so much to me with others is such a wonderful thing anyway, I'd even argue that it helped me live my life more fully than before! And yeah, it's mostly a remark they (my parents) made, that this album nails the balance between keeping to a certain style and offering something new with each song. It's such a wonderful journey!

Alright, once again getting carried away a bit here even though I had no ideas earlier for what to say today. Highlights time then, which is also a bit of a problem because besides one special favourite this album has no spectacularly outstanding highs or any lows, it's all just equally amazing. But I'll try anyway, as I always do.

Favourite songs (and other highlights):

When Do I Get To Sing "My Way": my parents absolutely love this song and well, I do too. No suprise that it's among their most beloved and well-known songs, it really has it all, and it's one of Ron's very best when it comes to lyrics, without a doubt

Frankly, Scarlett, I Don't Give A Damn: so so atmospheric and special, I really like the vocal filter of sorts that's used here, it's just, so cool sounding all around!!

I Thought I Told You To Wait In The Car: this was my LEAST favourite at first but I grew to really like its unhingedness and the part with all "the CAR!!"s on top of each other is just peak of it all and funny as heck

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil: one of my favourite of Russell's vocal performances! This one and Scarlett are a bit of a duo to me, both simply beautiful songs

Tsui Hark: I LOVE the sound of this one, the piano plus the synth and the spoken word lyrics make this kind of combo that makes it feel like I've already known this one for years and it's just... always existed (which is a term that will apply to a lot of 21st Sparks material anyway, so, that's something to look forward to)

The Ghost Of Liberace: such a big comfort listen to me, I just love this one, makes me feel so at home!!

Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins: shoutout to these too because I feel like they might be easy to overlook as these very brief pieces, but they're that extra element that just, really cements this album as a wonderful whole with something to unify all of it into this package of wonder of all sorts

...And then there's the many bonus tracks also, which I'll just mention briefly since I almost forgot about them and because, yeah. I love them all, but the closest to my heart are Love Can Conquer All, She's An Anchorman, She's Beautiful (So What), Mid-Atlantic & This Angry Young Man (Ain't Angry No More) ((and the RON VOCAL VERSIONS OF THEM)) and Katherine Hepburn (love the whole Christi Haydon EP (and Christi is so cool and awesome I need to say that too today) and I should listen to it more, the Boris The Spider cover is fun as heck also)

And now bonus video for no reason from (almost) a year ago, because again, the nostalgiaaaa. (Back when I didn't have a shelf for my record player yet so it took up half of the space on my desk lol)

[ohblackdiamond]

the story of mandate

I have wrestled with sharing this in detail for many months, both because it is a goofy story and because, well, it is a goofy story.

I went on a protracted hunt for a number of months for the issue of Mandate (a gay pornographic magazine) in which KISS have an article, because Peter's book explicitly states it was the first magazine they ever got an article in (this is actually incorrect, but I wasn't aware of that at the time) and because I could find absolutely nothing online about the writeup itself, and I was very curious. (The text is here, and some rather lazy scans are here, if you are interested.) KISS fandom has a bit more focus on stuff like the guitars and albums (imagine that), and if there is a repository of old KISS articles, I've never found it. I've never even found where anyone posted the full text of Paul's Playgirl article, although that issue used to be easy enough to find.

That, I thought, was the end of it. It's a puff piece, even if the picture of Paul in particular is pretty nice and even if they refer to them as "boys" and their look as "spicy." An offbeat piece of KISStory (incidentally this was not KISS' first or only foray into gay magazines-- Paul, as mentioned, was in Playgirl, which while ostensibly marketed to women, had a majority gay male audience, and KISS was featured in After Dark in July 1974), that I could never unload on ebay with anywhere near the ease or success of, say, the KISS Hello Kitty Beanie Babies.

That was it, until over two years later, when--

I went to a Gene event with my dear friend @elrohare in May 2023. On a whim, I had brought the magazine along with a couple other more traditional things (the RARO and Love Gun albums), trying to decide which of these I should get him to sign for me. @elrohare as anticipated/hoped, encouraged me to get him to sign Mandate.

I was extremely torn. Mostly, though, I was worried he'd take it in a way I didn't mean it, like it was an attempt to embarrass him. I didn't, and don't, think there's anything shameful about them being in the magazine. It is not an indication of their sexuality.

But wouldn't it be neat to have a signature on Mandate, instead of a signature on, say, Rock and Roll Over? At the very least, it probably wasn't something he'd had thrust in his face often, if ever. Probably ever. While Gene is known for being exceptionally friendly regardless (at a price), I thought it might, if he was receptive, start an interesting conversation.

And if not, I had those stupid KISS baseballesque (bubblegum) cards he could sign instead.

The day came and we both were starting to regret what we had decided to do. Cynthia suggested I just turn the magazine straight to the page he was on so that Gene would hopefully ask no questions and simply, blindly, sign. I did exactly that. My nerves were so bad in general that I was shaking and Gene's handler was having to wave his little Gene-hand-puppet (he'd drawn Gene's makeup on his fingers and thumb) to distract me and Cynthia into calming down.

Not only did Gene know exactly what magazine it was, even with it turned to the correct page, he exclaimed "Mandate!" got a big smile on his face, said, "I'm texting Paul right now," stopped the entire meet and greet to text Paul, had me hold up the magazine for him to take a picture, which he then sent to Paul, and simultaneously made and ruined my life right then and there.

"Paul's in this. They thought he was--" and he kind of waved his hand.

"You're in it, too!"

"No, Paul is in it."

"But you're... okay, okay, Paul is in it..." One does not simply argue with Gene Simmons. I tried. "I...if you don't want to sign it I have baseball cards!"

He opened the magazine and then declares it to be sticky.

"It's not sticky..."

He licked his thumb and proceeded to smear it on the pages as he turned them. Slowly. He just kept on going and going and going. Page after page of black and white vintage pornography.

"Okay, where is it?" he said after awhile (apparently, even Gene can eventually tire of seeing naked people).

"Page eight!" I said, very, very, very quickly. Everyone laughed. "And Gene's on page 9!"

Gene did turn to page eight and nine. But instead, he proceeded to deface my copy of Mandate with his artwork. The mostly-naked blonde on the front cover suddenly and incredibly was graced with Paul's 1970's hair and star on his eye. I wailed "Geeeene" in a pretty pathetic squeak.

"Where do you want me to sign?"

"On your picture...." (inside the magazine) (which he did). I think, had I stopped with his signature, I would've preferred he sign it on the cover, by his artwork, but already I had an idea. An awful idea.

Let's call this the Mandate Reunion and leave it at that.

Several months later, immediately after an Ace concert, I found myself in front of Cynthia in line (we had to do this one individually). Ace's entourage gazed at Mandate magazine with great interest and murmuring. They were accustomed to records, posters, comic books. They had not seen it before. I have rarely heard great things about meeting Ace and was anticipating total silence, and Ace to just blindly sign as I'd thought that Gene would.

Ace did not.

Ace took one look at that magazine, recognized it immediately, and looked me dead in the eye, even with the sunglasses.

"That's gay." (His tone was as a statement of fact, not as a judgment/anything derisive.) "Paul is in it."

"You're in it, too. Page nine."

Ace did not acknowledge that he was, in fact, in it.

"Do you really want me to sign this?"

No, Ace, I just brought this to you so you could look at it. You never have seen a picture of yourself before.

"Yes!"

Ace acquiesced, signing by his picture (making sure his signature was larger than Gene's), and was so distracted he forgot to switch pens or ask my name (he will personalize one autograph for you and typically swaps pen colors throughout autographs), though he wished me a safe trip home.

Two out of four. Now I was obligated to try for Peter, who, happily, had deigned to do Mad Monster Atlanta, which would not require me to fly out or book a hotel. Unlike the other adventures, I couldn't do this one with Cynthia and had to fly solo. I had met Peter prior at Creaturesfest and he was incredibly kind to me-- even teased me, gently, for my high, somewhat squeaky voice. I did not think he would object too hard, but was curious. Would he, like Gene and Ace, immediately go to, "That's gay, Paul is in it," and never really admit he was in it, too? Would he have some odd inside information about how Bill had gotten them the magazine space?

None of the above.

Peter looked at that magazine, immediately said, with great interest, "Is that guy on the cover naked?"

"No, no, he's got a rug-thing... he's not naked."

"Who is that, is that David Lee Roth?"

"No, I actually don't know who it is." (Apologies for my less than stellar responses-- I should have, obviously, told him that Gene had been the one to doodle on the front cover-- but I could not believe he was responding like he was responding!)

"He's got a nice ass, though. I've seen all kinds of asses." He continued to talk about asses for a solid bit of time there, looking quite pleased with himself (I think I told him there were lots more in the magazine), though I don't remember what he said exactly.

Peter was so far removed from the gentleman-of-KISS image that, for some reason, Kissfaq enjoys espousing. It's almost like they think not trashing the rest of the band equates to sainthood and erases all memory of hotel romps, threesomes, orgies, and asses. It was incredible. Gigi looked completely and absolutely appalled, but she did manage to ask if I wanted it signed in black (to match the others), and I said yes, ma'am, and she handed him the pen. Then she said that I was "too nice a girl for this [I think she meant to hear this/have the magazine]" and I said, "Oh, I dunno about that, it is my magazine" as I departed.

I guess the real KISStory was the porno the OGs signed along the way.

In summary, I'd like to thank the wonderful @elrohare for aiding and abetting and being a thorough part of both this very ridiculous quest and throughout so many of my KISS misadventures. Something weird always happens with KISS, guaranteed.

[yvesdot]

Well, this is new! I watched the entire VMAs (just about) for the first time ever, and here is my official writeup—less so for Dots (certainly not a public-facing project), more for all my friends I want to gossip with. Here’s everything I’m going to be talking about for the next few days that happened at the VMAs, with helpful links to all the available clips.

Before anything happened, Kendrick released a new song on Instagram. This immediately trended alongside the VMAs for the rest of the night.

*

Chappell Roan snapped at a photographer on the red carpet. It’s still frankly unclear to me what happened—in the video I’ve seen passed around, you hear a voice in the background say “shut the fuck up,” to which Chappell turns and retorts, “you shut the fuck up!” When they apparently protest, she shuts them down, saying, “not me, bitch!” It’s unclear whether the photographer in question was originally talking to her, or to another photographer, and also whether she was accusing him of saying anything to her. I’m not personally invested in finding out more.

*

Eminem opened by performing “Houdini” and “Someone Save Me;” I showed up halfway through with the volume on mute and had no idea why that man was wearing the world’s worst blonde wig. I do think the obvious visual reference to his original VMAs “Slim Shady” performance is genuinely cute. It is unbelievable he still rapped the “If I was to ask for Megan Thee Stallion if she would collab with me / Would I really have a shot at a feat [shot at her feet]?” lines with Megan Thee Stallion hosting.

*

Megan was adorable and an excellent host. She is so funny, so genuine, so easy to watch and so good at balancing being personable and competent. Honestly, she and Chappell gave some very similar energy tonight and it made me wonder if they know each other (I am not very aware of Chappell things—yet!) She was also, naturally, exceptionally well-dressed. The crowd absolutely loved her.

*

Taylor immediately won the “Best Collaboration” award for Fornite with Post Malone, which began a streak of 7 awards won that night, mostly for that one song, despite the fact that her latest album has been one of her worst-received by fans and critics alike. (This is not a comment on whether the songs on the album are good or not, just on the relative success in comparison with her past work and the reception of other projects nominated. It’s surprising.) Her seven awards were the aforementioned Best Collaboration, Song of Summer, Best Pop, Artist of the Year, Best Direction, Best Editing, and Video of the Year at the end of the night. This ties her with Beyonce for most VMAs ever won. She also claims a number of other records, but I am not going to list all that. 

I will tell you that she opened this acceptance speech with “Waking up this morning in New York on September 11th, I’ve just been thinking about what happened 23 years ago; everyone who lost a loved one and everyone that we lost. That is the most important thing about today and everything that happens tonight falls behind that,” and then continued as if this had been a normal thing to say and/or she had not said it.

I’m still frustrated at the timing of her endorsement of Harris coincidentally last night. It feels too obviously set up to quell rising fan anger and ensure every award she won would be “untainted” by people’s criticisms of her.

*

Megan recreated the iconic Britney-with-a-snake look.

*

Sabrina Carpenter performed a lovely medley. She opened singing “Please Please Please” (with the “motherfucker!”) on a swing, descended to a couple of audio clips including the iconic Britney line about Titanic from her “Oops! I Did it Again” music video, performed “Taste” with an astronaut and an alien (she did kiss the femalien, though Britney Spears (!) commented she ought to have kissed a girl), and transitioned into “Espresso” with a few dozen astronaut backup dancers. I loved her outfit and especially the lipstick mark on her thigh (!!?!!), and I have to give her credit for doing this insane performance setup in front of both Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, about whom “Taste” was allegedly written.

*

Katy Perry accepted the previously-announced Video Vanguard Award and performed a medley of tracks—in order, “Dark Horse,” “E.T.,” new track “I’m His, He’s Mine” featuring Doechii, “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “I Kissed a Girl” (rock version), “Firework,” and “Lifetimes.” You may notice that “Woman’s World” was nowhere on this list. Also, during their performance of “I’m His, He’s Mine,” Katy and Doechii scissored in a possible reference to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s 2021 Grammys performance of W.A.P., and MTV cut directly to Orlando Bloom in a likely reference to the Britney/Madonna/Christina VMAs kiss where they cut to Justin Timberlake.

In my opinion, it was a great performance from the choice of tracks to the aesthetic(s) to her voice. She clearly still has it! However, people audibly booed when her name was announced and several times as she gave her speech, which, side note, opened with ““I did that all too on the first day of my period, if you can believe it!” It didn’t help that she chose to—well, look, here’s the whole thing, bold by me.

Can you believe it? Thank you so much to MTV for believing in my weirdness from day one and for helping artists extend their worlds beyond a song. There are so many things that have to align to have a long and successful career as an artist. There are no decade-long accidents. (a long, meaningful pause, during which people booed) So I would like to acknowledge a few people: my team who have been with me for over 20 years, direct management, and my label Capitol Records.

Trust me, it takes a village of strong people, a lot of healthy discourse, and a lot of group chats. My parents and my family, the deepest roots I know. We don’t always agree, but what a lesson that those disagreements can still be full of love. Thank you to MySpace, Warped Tour, and all the bygone places where I found a voice, identity, and a community so early on. Thank you to the friends that were there when my Jetta was repossessed. My Katy Cats: You stood by me for a lifetime, and the LGBTQ community who I recognize I would not be here without and who show me that you can be both kind and [bleeped out—”cunt”?]. Thank you to Orlando for keeping me grounded, celebrated, and doing the dishes. And lastly for my Daisy [her daughter], the only flowers I’ll ever need.

I’m excited when I look around music today, and I see all the amazing young artists who are operating with confidence, agency, vulnerability and authenticity. I’ve heard a lot of “Do this, don’t say that, wear less, wear more now. Hey, don’t cut your hair.” One of the biggest reasons I’m standing here right now is I learned how to block out all the noise that every single artist in this industry has to constantly fight against, especially women. I just wanna say with my whole heart, do whatever it takes to stay true to yourself and true to your art. Turn off social media, safeguard your mental health, pause, touch grass. And do what you were born to do just like I was born to do this. 143 comes out September 20. I love you!

I probably don’t need to say it, but I find it incredibly upsetting and disappointing that she would frame the criticism of her, which has centered almost entirely on her working with Dr. Luke, someone whom numerous women have accused of being misogynist and generally abusive, as “noise that women artists have to deal with.”

Also, I don’t have video proof of this, but they played a truly bizarre intro to the award where they called her “the queen of camp” and said “she’s a mother and she IS mother” and I don’t know what to do about that. They did play the world’s briefest audio snippet of “Woman’s World” during that.

*

Chappell Roan performed “Good Luck Babe” and nothing else, which nonetheless seemed to quiet upset fans whose shows were canceled with little notice last week due to the “scheduling conflict” of Chappell deciding to do the VMAs. I wish the mixing had been better; I could barely hear her voice! But the aesthetic was lovely (very Dorian Electra “Man to Man”) and the set was extremely well-used. She definitely seems unused to performing in this more regimented style, but there’s an infinite amount of time for her to either get comfortable with it or adapt it more to her usual performance method of running all over the stage.

*

Tyla won Best Afrobeats for “Water,” obviously. Lil Nas X (presenting the award with Halle) could be heard saying “But we already knew, though, right?” as she approached the stage. She gave the world’s most diplomatic speech which acknowledged that African music is (obviously) more diverse than the label “Afrobeats.”

*

Megan delivered an incredible medley performance: “BOA,” a sample of “Wanna Be,” “B.A.S,” a sample of “RATTLE,” “HISS,” and “MAMUSHI”—with a surprise appearance by featured artist Yuki Chiba, in a cool hat! And may I just say, for all-around stage presence, choreography, vocals, delivery, everything, Megan stole the show 100%. And that’s with all the ridiculous censoring she had to do! If you are not into Megan, you need to be, now. She is the moment.

*

Benson Boone did a flip (1:29) while performing “Beautiful Things,” a song I found myself hearing for the second time ever. It is apparently the song of the summer to many people. That’s cool! I genuinely had never heard it in my life before this week. He’s clearly an exceptionally talented performer, so let’s see where he goes.

*

Sabrina Carpenter won “Song of the Year” for “Espresso” and seemed genuinely shocked, somehow.

*

Halsey did an absolutely gorgeous performance of “Ego,” a song I hadn’t heard before but found myself liking. I should get into Halsey!

*

Camila, the other half (?) of the Camila-Shawn-Sabrina love triangle, with an album which underperformed (especially in comparison to Sabrina’s), faked out the audience (including her ex and his sometime-other-girl!) by pretending to play “June Gloom,” the closer from the standard edition of the album about why he runs back to her if he really likes Sabrina so much, and then cutting the recording off to actually sing “GODSPEED,” the closer off the deluxe version—and the latest single, dropped only last week. Apparently it’s the first track she wrote for this era, after a breakup with an entirely different ex. Point being, I give her a lot of props for just how much that moment rocked.

I suppose as a professional I ought to say all this is only allegedly what the songs are about. But, you know, we know.

*

You know Glorilla rocked the house down. Having seen her in SF, I could tell just how much she’d improved since then, not just in her performing skills generally but in her confidence. You go, Glo.

*

Chappell Roan won “Best New Artist” in a moment everyone saw coming a mile away and read her acceptance speech from her diary. She’s so cute!

*

Video of the Year went to Taylor and she shouted out “my boyfriend, Travis Kelce,” in her speech. This is not news, but people screamed like it was? She also told people to vote. None of this is really important to me but you need to know that I went to r/GaylorSwift again after several months’ abstention as a result of the way people were talking about it. People chanted Taylor’s name. Also, Megan initially opened the little card upside down, which was adorable.

*

Best performances of the night: Katy Perry, Megan Thee Stallion, and Halsey.

Most deserved wins of the night: 

Chappell Roan (Best New Artist)

“Espresso” (Song of the Year)

“Water” (Best Afrobeats)

“Mamushi” (Best Trending Video, though any pick might have been good)

“BOA” (Best Art Direction)

Biggest snubs of the night: 

“Not Like Us” (Song of Summer, “Fortnight”)

“Paparazzi” (VMAs Most Iconic Performance, “Roar” — a case where any other pick would have been better)

Sabrina Carpenter (Artist of the Year, Taylor Swift)

Glorilla & Megan Thee Stallion’s “Wanna Be” (Best Collaboration, “Fortnight”)

Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter (Best Pop, Taylor Swift)

“Too Sweet” (Best Alternative, “Beautiful Things”)

“Von dutch” (Best Cinematography, “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”)

“Rush” by Troye Sivan and “greedy” by Tate Mcrae (Best Choreography, “Houdini”)

Additionally, “Espresso” was not nominated for Song of Summer (“Please Please Please” was), and Britney’s “Slave 4 U” was not nominated for VMAs Most Iconic Performance.

Here’s the full list of nominations and wins. 

Here’s my compilation of favorite outfits. Katy Perry wore a QR code tramp stamp which led to preorders for her album.

*

Other thoughts:

LISA and Anitta and Rauw Alejandro’s performances were also great! I don’t know that this was the best intro to their songs (my stream was not excellent quality) but I’m glad I stuck around!

Ads for HIV medication and Kamala Harris played throughout the night. There was one ad of Camila’s “I LUV IT” playing while she did insane things and drank Bacardi that almost made me dislike the song.

Charli not being anywhere near this event was criminal. I know she has the Sweat tour to rehearse for (I’m going to see her! AHHHH!!!!) but I really felt her absence. People also expected Taylor and Ariana to perform, and neither of them did—Ariana wasn’t even present! Lady Gaga wasn’t, either, which is a possible reason “Paparazzi” didn’t win Most Iconic VMAs Performance; apparently the VMAs prefer to give awards to artists who are present so they can give a live speech. Meanwhile, they gave Artist of the Year to Taylor Swift for the second year in a row and didn’t air it because she was walking in and out. Make of that what you will.

I successfully predicted the results of 5 awards (Best New Artist: Chappell Roan, Best Afrobeats: Tyla, Best Direction: Fortnight, Best Editing: Fortnight, and Video of the Year: Fortnight). Next year I might just start gambling and put it all on TSwift; it seems an easy victory.

Let me know if you want more of this sort of thing! I've done it for presidential debates in the past, too, though that was Patreon-exclusive. Heck, if I wasn't on hiatus, this might have been, too ^__^

[afrotumble]

When Naughty by Nature dropped its self-titled debut in 1991, members Treach, Vin Rock and DJ Kay Gee blazed a trail on which Biggie and ‘Pac would soon run marathons. Balancing an album of hard, menacing raps (“Uptown Anthem,” “Yoke the Joker”) with an irresistibly hooky single (the mischievous Jackson 5-sampling, cheating celebration, “O.P.P.”), the East Coast MCs scored a No. 6 Hot 100 crossover hit without sacrificing street cred. Follow-up album NineteenNaughtyIII found the trio as tough as ever — Treach wields a frickin’ chainsaw on the cover art — while also producing one of hip-hop’s all-time sing-along classics, the funky and summery “Hip Hop Hooray.” Becoming another top 10 hit on the Hot 100, the track demonstrated that respected rappers could soar on the radio and still flaunt serpentine flows and clever wordplay.

Writeup by Lamar (Facebook)

[rivetgoth]

I have definitely talked about it before (though I can’t find any specific posts right now) but god I love this fucking album sooooo much. Far and away my favorite PIG output which is saying a lot. It’s also one of thee only commentaries on Christianity using the aesthetics that I can stand as I feel like very very few attempts at doing so are successful. But Raymond did so good with this. Through the whole album he takes in this persona of this like, culty televangelist preacher type who uses Christianity as both a tool to manipulate and control the people and ironically a way to justify his own succumbing to temptation. All of the sleaze and glam and glitter and lechery and hypocrisy. Also pretty much every song is just such a banger. Opening the album with “We are the pure and chosen few and all the rest are damned / There’s room enough in Hell for you, we don’t want Heaven crammed,” the line “the miracle of no regret” (UGGHH), the part in “Cult of Chaos” when he says “I’m a servant for the shilling … of my God that’s ever willing” it’s so good. Could do a very very lengthy writeup on this whole LP someday.

[bettyshoweduptotheparty]

Speaking of Look What You Made Me Do: A MV Analysis (NOT mine)

Write up of original analysis by fists_on_up on TikTok

I need a writeup of this amazing analysis of the LWYMMD song and music video on my blog, but please note it's not mine.

Author mentions that the two verses are about two different things. Verse 1: Kanye and the Snakegate situation ('tilted stage/ the role you made me play of the fool/ no I don't like you')

There is a chandelier on the floor in the bathtub scene. The author interprets this as a reference to Phantom of the Opera, where a falling chandelier is a warning of revenge

During the first chorus, Taylor sits on the throne in front of snakes. Look what you made me do -> become the queen of snakes

Verse 2: 'Kingdom keys, locked me out and through a feast' -> This is not about snakegate. It's about a different vendetta. She's mad about being locked away from something/someone. In the video she is in a golden cage during this scene. She's wearing Karma orange and eating lobster, but there is also a rat on the table, so it's only fake luxury. The cage is surrounded by 7 men dressed in black guarding her.

The interpretation is that these are her public 'boyfriends' protecting her straight girl image, and, as such, she is not in fact in control of her career, hence the golden cage. The Karma orange suit symbolizes the album/collective music she was never allowed to release because it would have destroyed her image. The author also concludes that because this situation and snakegate are both dealt with in this song, that one was potentially orchestrated to cause the other, much like the masters heist was conveniently timed to foil her coming out plans in 2019.

The next scene is the heist scene, where Taylor is shown with 4 women wearing cat masks. This is in direct contrast to the men around the cage, as the women are helping her in the mission, as opposed to keeping her trapped. The door in the vault is also orange, another reference to music that was locked away because she couldn't release it. She is shown with 4 women in both this scene, and the 'dykes on bikes' scene immediately afterwards. The author interprets this as representing the 4 women who actually inspired her music (rather than the men who get credited with it publicly).

The next scene is a real underappreciated gem, it happens really quickly, so you can easily miss it, but Taylor is picturing herself as the leader of this group of women, called the CAT 🐱 MAGNET 🧲 SQUAD. I'm afraid I'll get censored if I spell it out, but you get the idea. (damn, Taylor!!😉)

With how many lesbian references there are in these second verse scenes, I would have to agree that it seems likely that the second verse is about being kept closeted, and she's being incredibly blunt here out of spite.

Next, we move on to a scene that cuts between two things happening during the chorus: 1. Taylor performing with 8 men in I❤TS Hiddleswift shirts, and 2. Taylor cutting the wings of a plane off with a chainsaw. So, what the previous two situations described in the verses made her do, is add an 8th guy to the line up of 'boyfriends' and ground the plane that was meant to be TS6 (as written on the plane). In contrast to the men around the cage that were holding her captive though, Taylor is performing with these guys, they are working for her. So, instead of just being at the mercy of her captivity, she is taking whatever small amount of charge that she can have over this situation. I would also add, as the author has pointed out the fallen chandelier in a previous scene as a warning of revenge, the scene with the 8 men also has three massive chandeliers handing from the ceiling.

The author concludes that the video confirms the Karma album theory (though we didn't have the name at the time) that was scrapped in favour of reputation. And I have to say, it's pretty convincing. But I'd make one amendment, I think because the TS6 plane gets sprayed over to be reputation, it's not an entirely different plane, some of the songs are in fact on reputation, in some form or another. Maybe with some lyric changes, the plane is inoperable after all. And in order to release an album with such heartfelt love songs, it would make sense that she needed to present a 'long term boyfriend' to the public that those songs could be attributed to.

She also says that it very much seems like the story of vengeance that's told here isn't over yet, and Taylor did once say that it would be years, if not decades before this whole music video would make sense to all of her fans. And Karma orange has certainly made a few appearances lately, so could reputation (Taylor's version) finally make way for its big sister Karma? And will it fly this time?

[iantimony]

almost thursday tuesdaypost

listening: so i'm pretty sure i'd linked the paramore cover of burning down the house before but apparently there is a whole entire talking heads cover album and it all kinda whips. miley cyrus is there ?? i think the lorde one is also very good.

some other songs this week: state line (the dip), short skirt/long jacket (cake) (i'm back in my cake era), easy way out (roosevelt)

reading: ‘Dangerous and un-American’: new recording of JD Vance’s dark vision of women and immigration: ough politics.

trellis supports for houseplants: i got a monstera at the farmers market and she'll need a support. my pothos also needs some tlc.

Pop Culture: please please burst ai bubble

aaaand a paper for research. thank you peter bird.

watching: i watched rango a few weeks ago, i think i forgot to mention it/it was during my dark period - weird movie!! i did enjoy it, for some reason i thought it had come out way more recently than it actually had.

a bunch of videos from swell entertainment. good bg crafting noise. i liked her defcon video.

playing: dnd as normal

making: i added an outline to the swamp symbol on the knitted mtg card sleeve and sewed a small cotton rectangle in to cover the stitching on the inside; no pics.

trimmed these pots! big ol foot on one of em.

and my [redacted] STILL HAVEN'T GONE THRU THE GLAZE KILN. i'm biting my nails. angela please.

eating: peaches n cream overnight oats recipe: good! gonna be a standard driver for now i think, especially as stone fruit season comes to a close deb smittenkitchen corn bacon and parmesan pasta: this was just okay. i tossed in two zucchini as well. won't be repeating it. one pot chicken meatballs w greens: this FUCKED. WILL be repeating. i used beef instead of chicken because i had beef in the freezer so it was definitely a little richer than the recipe intended but it was still good.

list of veggies good to save for stock which lead me to read her frankly baffling "why I don't eat mushrooms" writeup. not technically wrong! still baffling!

and i also mad some 'tea' using the corn silk lol (i know it is technically a tisane, shh) (i told my midwestern friend that i was doing this and she was so confused in a 'well. why' way.)

misc: oopsie! i am so crazy busy with the day-to-day right now that im melting a little bit, despite technically having a freer schedule than i have had in years (no classes!). i am working on my preliminary exam stuff which is probably why. oughhh.