#also that bass guitar in the intro slaps

[oncamelliastreet]

how would u recommend getting into 5sos?? i have friends who think i'll like them but it feels like a daunting task

OOO OO OOOOO

okay A) do it, they’re the best band ever and literally so funny you’ll die and luke hemmings is the loml so like you need to

B) the way i did it was i just listened to their first album and worked from there, but if we’re being extremely honest here their first album is hardly anyone’s favorite and that’s for a reason, so if you’re gonna listen to an album first i’d say either work from the beginning because you’ll here their growth more, or their 4th album CALM is really good and it’s only like 12 songs plus a bonus track and it’s a really good intro to them, or youngblood is my fav album by them so i’d definitely throw that your way

C) if you don’t want to listen to an album first and just want to get a feel, here are my fav songs by them

- take my hand (joshua tree version) ((ashton, the drummer, has said that this is the song he would want to define their band))

- lie to me (NOT the version featuring julia michaels) (this one comes with an extremely sad music video which i would be glad to describe to you in depth

- bad omens (literally one of their best songs)

- teeth

- no shame

- jet black heart (this one is really personal to their guitarist michael and they’ve said that they’re never removing it from their set list because it’s just too good which is amazing news because this song live is CATHARTIC)

- outer space/carry on (don’t be confused by the random silence in the middle it’s the rain in outer space if you listen closely, also i listen to this one every new year’s eve because it’s very hopeful and comforting)

- older (luke hemmings ft. his wife basically but it’s literally the most beautiful depressing love song and they randomly released it one day so i was crying at the bank after school when it first came out)

- not in the same way (THEIR BEST BRIDGE)

- out of my limit

- gotta get out (the first song they wrote and it fucking slaps dude)

also for some background info: they started out as a pop rock-ish band and luke hemmings is their lead singer, but they all sing and play instruments.

luke hemmings - lead singer, rhythm guitar (but he can also fucking shred because he’s made of angel dust)

calum hood - bass, background vocals mostly (he sings the entirety of wildflower & babylon and has mixed verses here and there throughout all their albums)

michael clifford - lead guitar, background vocals (he also has mixed verses here and there and sings the entirety of emotions)

ashton irwin - drums (and a beast at them) and background vocals (he had verses here and there too but not as common)

if you listen to a song, for example, Teeth, and you pause and think wait, there’s no way that’s the same guy singing because the vocals go so high and they were so deep before, that’s not possible, ITS LUKE!!! HE HAS THE MOST AMAZING RANGE OF ANY MALE ARTIST ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET AND CAN AND WILL SING AS HIGH OR AS LOW AS HE WANTS BECAUSE HE IS AN ICON

and if you wanna get to know their personalities first, carpool karabloke was the first video i watched of them (their australian hence karabloke) and it’s literally just them fucking around in the car listening to their album CALM (side note, that albums is there names —calum, ashton, luke, michael—because if there’s one thing they love, it’s naming an album after themselves. see: 5 seconds of summer, livesos, CALM, 5sos5)

and one more thing, if you listen to them and don’t really fuck with them (you would be wrong, by the way, listen again) then two of their members have solo works!! ashton had two albums: blood on the drums and superbloom, and luke has an album: when facing the things we turn away from (this one i could really talk about for hours because it’s my favorite album of all time) and a long ep called “boy” which is also amazing, so i would check those out

okay sorry i totally just infodumped on you because i have so much 5sos info in my brain and nobody to share it with YAYAYAY so if you ever want like a super in depth breakdown of like one of their music videos or their history feel free to ask me about it because i would loooove to talk about this for hours

also you’ll have to wait a sec for your flower because my sister literally told me she got engaged in the middle of me writing this so i got distracted 😭

[bargainoriley]

Ummagumma (1969)

Here are my thoughts on ummagumma! I also wrote my thoughts on atom heart mother but will be posting it a bit later today (I listened to both albums in the same day while on a flight)

1. Astronomy Domine - Live

The intro is very different but still sounds very awesome! I love the sound of the keyboard and guitar here as well! The wah-wah really adds a lot to this version. I also really like the improvisations here, but I still like the original more honestly.

2. Careful With That Axe Eugene - Live

I’ve never heard this song in full before! The keyboards and spooky groove at the beginning is really cool! Also the background vocals as well. Every instrument in this song is very very great (I especially love the use of cymbals here, and the keyboard, and the guitar, and the bass)! And once the scary/heavy beat drop hits this song becomes even better! I was legitimately head banging! The screams are really scary and make the song all that better (they made a shiver run up my spine)! How is this song spooky and really groovy and cool at the same time??? The improvisations are also really good. This song perfectly encapsulates a horror movie in my opinion.

3. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun - Live

This version is pretty good as well, but the studio version is a little bit better in my opinion since the sound/music effects in the original version are very good and really contribute to the feelings/vibes of this song, and this version is really missing them. I really like the addition of the guitar and the keyboard improvising though.

4. A Saucerful Of Secrets - Live

Oooo I love how the bass plays part of the original synth intro here, it sounds very good and cool! The intro here sounds way cooler than the original. This version overall has a very different vibe from the original; and in this case I like this live version a lot more than the original! The church organ/choir part here is even better than in the original, and the song just sounds better generally on this album. I don’t know why I like this version more, probably maybe because it’s a lot more melodic than the original! I think the original is good, but sometimes the chaotic part in there gets tiring to listen to

5. Sisyphus part 1

Very ominous! I like the drums and cello here!

6. Sisyphus part 2

The piano here is great and beautiful! God Rick can play so well… this is making me realize even more how talented he was!! And then it suddenly gets very chaotic…

7. Sisyphus part 3

The chaos from the last part continues here! This part is honestly kind of really bad, but I think it has major meme potential! I can just imagine this playing in a shitpost, or it just kind of sounds like a shitpost itself.

8. Sisyphus part 4

Pretty ominous, but relaxing! OMG then suddenly the organ comes! So much for relaxing! After that it kind of gets pretty creepy and weird… I do not like it :( honestly sounds worse than the most dissonant/chaotic parts from a saucerful of secrets. The orchestra though at the end is really cool and badass!

9. Grantchester Meadows:

The bird sounds and guitar intro is very lovely. The vocal harmonies are also very lovely and relaxing! This song honestly reminds me a lot of Simon and Garfunkel. This feels like a major breather from the chaos that was Sisyphus… I really like this song! Feels especially relaxing as I’m in an airplane right now listening to this album.. Also what was up with the ending where someone just straight up slaps/kills a fly?? That was so random

10. Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave Grooving with a Pict

Well that was…. a song. Very very bizarre! What were they even on to think of this??? The song kind of makes me laugh and uncomfortable at the same time… the second song that has major meme/shitpost potential/vibes.

11. The Narrow Way part 1

Very folky! I like this composition so far… the guitar here is lovely!

12. The Narrow Way part 2

Oooh, pretty heavy and ominous! I like it I like it, the melody here is especially cool.. so far this song with multiple parts is so much better than Sisyphus. This part honestly feels like you’re in a sci fi haunted house.

13. The Narrow Way part 3

I love the reverb guitar effect here!! This is the best part of them all! The reverb guitar and the entirety of the song honestly reminds me of later albums. The singing here is also very lovely. This part sounds very much like While my Guitar Gently Weeps.. probably because it is in the same key and used a similar melody to George Harrison’s song. The whole narrow way song with all its parts is really good and an underrated gem imo. So far one of my favorite songs on this album along with Careful with that Axe Eugene live and Grantchester Meadows. An absolute banger of a song!

14. The Grand Vizier’s Garden part 1

Feels like lord of the rings, very whimsical!

15. The Grand Vizier’s Garden part 2

Pretty ominous and weird sounding so far. Honestly feels like somebody is performing magic tricks. The melody after that intro is pretty relaxing though. When the windy melody started skipping I thought my phone was glitching. The drums being cut off and skipping feels like a sound collage almost… the drum groove/solo by Nick at the end though goes really hard!

16. The Grand Vizier’s Garden part 3

The beautiful orchestra ending the album is very fitting, but kind of underwhelming.

In general, I think the live sides of the album are very very different from the 2 other experimental sides, and I honestly liked the live sides better… because the experimental sides just weren’t my cup of tea most of the time. Except for Grantchester Meadows and The Narrow Way I didn’t really like the experimental tracks. I am also mixed on this album… I have to say this is my second least favorite album so far. More is only worse in my opinion because it is very forgettable except the underrated gems I like from that album (The Nile Song, Cymbaline, Green is The Colour). At least I’ll forever remember this bizarre album, and the fact that it is so bizarre and memorable makes it much better than More. It is also better than More because of the live sides alone (they are very very good). What I take away from this is that Ummagumma just has major shitpost vibes (including the album name itself) and that it was pretty tedious to listen to at times, but I felt it was definitely worth it for some underrated gems!

[exploding-boxes]

God forbid i have free time and free will

So basically, i was bored and i listened to a lot of Depeche Mode album because i have a creepling addiction to this band. I decided to put my favourite song of each album and a justification.

Speak and Spell (1981) - Boys Say Go ! Like my dad said “That’s a song from a fucking gay bar”. And to this I can only awnser yes, that’s why I like it lmao. I mean, just look at those guys in the 80’s and tell me they’re straight.

A Broken Frame (1982) and Construction Time Again (1983) I did not listen to those but will one day

Some Great Reward (1984) - Lie To Me, I love every song from this album but I fucking love the chorus with the “Come on and lay with me, come on and lie to me” it just sounds really nice. I also really like Martin Gore repeating the last words during the chorus, it’s nice and adds something that I like. I love everything about this song and album though

Black Celebration (1986) - Here Is The House, the way the chorus sounds with the double voice is really nice. I like the sounds of clocks and we have a lot of them around my house so the intro is almost familiar to me lol. The lyrics “Here is the house, where it all happens, those tender moments under this roof” are just so cute though I know they’re talking about sex because it’s a Depeche Mode song, what do you expect ?? I love this whole album and it’s the first one I listened to :)

Music For The Masses (1987) - Behind The Wheel. Not my favourite album but a song I really like. I really thought it was a song about not driving when you drank because I’m really fucking dumb but, well, no, of course, it’s Depeche Mode, it’s about sex. I really like the kinda mysterious vibe the song has and the layering of instruments that slowly arrive are really nice

Violator (1990) - Enjoy The Silence, most of the time, a song has a good reason to be popular, well it’s totally understandable in this situation. This song slaps, is honestly really relatable (“Words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm”), the clip where he climbs a mountain dressed as a king always makes me laugh for some reason and well it just slaps, an amazing song

Songs Of Faith And Devotion (1993) - Rush, it sounds so aggressive for no reason but I love it. The bass is *chef’s kiss*, that break with the (kinda) echo part is amazing and is a good buildup, that whole song makes me feel powerful though I’m a little 170cm shit. I overall like this album though it’s not my fav

Ultra (1997) - Useless, I didn’t listen to the whole album and it’s the only song I’ve listened to yet but it hits hard, IT’S THE MOTHERFUCKING BASS AND GUITAR SOLO, IT’S TOO GOOD !!

Exciter (2001) - Dream On, well, another album I didn’t listen to lol. But I clearly remember my dad doing the laundry at 3 am with this blasting of the speaker. The guitar is really nice though I can clearly tell it won’t stay my fav when I’ll listen to the full album lol

Playing The Angel (2005) - John The Revelator, definitely one of my fav though that’s one of my no skips albums. I just like the vibe, the little beep boops at the beginning (you can tell I have no musical knowledge by that single sentence). I can’t stop trying to make a transition between the part where he says “He’s a smooth operator” and Smooth Operator by Sade because I’m an absolute idiot. Overall I really like this song. I’m always gonna say this but the parts where Martin Gore sings with Dave Gahan are really nice and their voices match well together

Sounds Of The Universe (2009) - Wrong. AGAIN i did not listen to that album but my dad made me listen to this song once and I fell in love. Again, lyrics are relatable as fuck sometimes, especially the “There’s something wrong with me chemically, something wrong with me inherently […] I reached the wrong ends by the wrong means”. Anyways, another song I love

Delta Machine (2013) and Spirit (2017) I did not listen to those lol

Memento Mori (2023) - Don’t Say You Love Me, that’s a James Bond soundtrack, you can’t convince me otherwise. It sounds so classy, I’m a sucker for good violins and the depressing as fuck lyrics. With this album we’re likely to never get any new album from DM because, well they’re getting a bit old we say goodbye to Andrew Fletcher, the amazing keyboardist. But I honestly think this album is a good conclusion (if I can say it like that) to this amazing career

[kpodcast]

It's Seventeen's comeback time and we are so excited to talk about "God of Music" today! We definitely had some deep takes with this (do you like jazz?), but that's what makes doing these song breakdowns so fun.

So let's get started!

First, the song construction

The song starts with the first part of the chorus as the intro (including those shouts!) before dropping into the verse, comprised of a melodic section and a rap section.

Then the prechorus, which comes along rapidly at 0:50, leading right into the chorus (which we already heard at the beginning) before coming to that iconic hook "Koong chi pak chi ey!"

The second verse is shorter than the first, and finishes up with Woozi's incredible high note. Then the prechorus and chorus return.

At 2:42 is an awesome little synth solo breakdown followed by the hook, which is emphasized by snare hits and claps. And the end is a little instrumental outro.

Second, musical elements

We highly recommend listening to the instrumental version to get the full experience here. There's so much going on musically in this track and it's amazing.

Let's talk instruments first.

Right off the bat, there is an incredible slap bass, and synth chords backing up the vocals, with some funky guitar riffs filling up the space, followed by amazing tight horn lines. There are some thick harmonies happening (just a really fat chord in the synths). The horn licks are incredible to hear. They are clean, fast and precise; they just really pop off and punctuation the melody lines.

Throughout the song, there's a constant drum beat which emphasizes the hook. The use of silence between the syllables is done incredibly well and really doubles down on the hook being the audience chant where everyone chimes in.

All of these elements can also be found in funk music. Examples would be "Birdland" by Weather Report (bass line), "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars (guitar riffs), "Some Skunk Funk" by the Brecker Brothers (horn lines & synths) and "Chameleon" by Herbie Hancock (bass line, horn lines).

It's hype music, it's party music, it's a groovy little bop.

Finally, the lyrics/meaning

The core message of the song is being grateful for music. Music, at its core, is universal. It doesn't matter what language you speak, everyone speaks music, and it brings people together. The song utilizes the funk elements to get listeners involved and participate in the magic that is music.

[aslonoth]

At the End of the Earth by Dear Hunter is such a fantastic song (so is the rest of the album Act IV but anyway), it just develops so smoothly while ripping out your emotional innards, its great.

Shit like the raindrop-like percussion at the start with the vocals very slightly muffled introducing the main lyrics and chorus "...brokenhearted till we meet again... at the end of the world" (with a very beautiful melody), and then the instrumentals all fully come in at the 1-min mark and BAM its just like surfacing from underwater it just slaps, and then the vocals are suddenly panned forward and clear and you get these thick harmonies in the verse ughhh. and this whole time now while in 6/8 the drumming accents the 3rd and 6th beat to give this constant forward momentum, and its just constantly going

and it just so smoothly pushes into the chorus with the same lyrics and melody from the start with more intensity and this same forward momentum and it just re-contextualizes the intro from this muted almost lamentation to this amazing 'we're pushing through the grief sorta deal', and this is just accentuated by the second section of the chorus added now with the lyrics "I'll keep moving on out of harmony until I see you again... at the end of the world". And this second section has enough space between it to very clearly be distinct as a new idea

And yeah, the middle section hits so fucking hard after the chorus with the background vocals repeatedly singing "someday she'll be gone" over such a thick guitar solo followed by some amazingly emotional and strong vocals and then we get to my favorite part of the whole song and the reason I started thinking so much about this in particular.

the end of the vocals in the section "so give me death or set me free, just return my soul to me..." everything winds down so smoothly, the guitar and bass hold a chord, the drums get more sparse, and the vocal line goes down. And for such a brief moment it feels like the songs just about to end, like with just a tiny bit of tweaking the song could just end right there and still be a banger,

but NO we get a thick low chord and we're BACK in the chorus with the vocal lines higher and more intense than before. its like we just had one step to catch our breath, be sad and defeated, and then we're marching again through the chorus with the same lyrics "I'll keep moving on..." and it all just comes together so well

and the main part of the song ends almost with a solemn promise, no harmony, back at the low register, and then we have some instrumentals that carry it on with some wind-down before vocal harmonies come back in to transition us to the next song.

It's all just so strong and well put together while also sounding amazing coupled with the fact the rest of the album just goes so hard. Thinking more about this song, I can see why I've been obsessed with the album so much recently.

(this is also without me really engaging with the lyrics on any deeper level than how each line sounds and a little about how they interact, I've got no idea what the main thesis is, or if there's any super strong amazing symbolism or theming, I've never been good at that kinda stuff)

[dancing-to-architecture]

20 - ZZ Top - Eliminator (1983)

Ah, ZZ Top. The Houston blues-rock band known for spinning fuzzy guitars and big ass beards, except for the one guy who's last name was actually "Beard".

Having existed in America during the 80s and 90s (and having lived in Houston itself for a year and half) of course i know their hits (and i can see a few here) but I'm kinda excited to hear the deeper cuts.

Speaking of ZZ Top's deeper cuts: i got to see these guys live at Bonnaroo, but i don't think they quite got the point of Bonnaroo. Typically, if you're there, you're playing the hits. The Big Numbers. The ones you know everybody there is gonna be able to sing along to.

Over the course of 45 minutes, they didn't play a single song i could recognize.

I don't have an ounce of shame in saying that yeah, I left that set early and went to a different stage to watch The XX right as they started playing Intro.

Easily one of the better calls i made at that festival.

•Gimme All Your Lovin'-

Such a simple but effective drum beat. No frills but it doesn't need 'em.

Aggressively horny lyrics, but it feels almost campy with how straight they're delivered.

"If i blow my top, will you let it go to your head?" At the risk of sounding like John Waters for a moment, i think the world needs more barely-disguised lyrics about getting a blowjob, especially these days where it really seems like everybody's horny but nobody fucks.

"You got to pack it up, work it like a new boy should." Happy pride month, y'all.

•Got Me Under Pressure-

This girl sounds FUN AS HELL. I'm reminded of Sheryl Crow here: "are you strong enough to be my man?" (Yeah i know that's not what that song is about but play with me in the space here.)

•Sharp Dressed Man-

1000% the first song that comes to my mind when i hear "ZZ Top".

Also 1000 is likely the number of times I've heard this song in my 38ish years on this rock.

That riff still kicks all kinds of ass though.

Audience participation section: which movie's "main guy wearing a bunch of different suits for 5 seconds each" changing-room montage do YOU think of when you hear this?

(Correct answer: it's literally the background song for every. single. one. since this album came out.)

Also white gloves and looking for love...that's... certainly a look.

•I Need You Tonight-

I fucking love this song!

Oh wait, shit, no I'm thinking of INXS.

Jokes aside, i really like the echoing guitar tone.

Pretty solid bluesy "i miss my woman" song. If this album wasn't already stacked, I'd say this could have been a single.

And that solo, though!

•I Got The Six-

Before this one started, i was wondering what the six was referencing. A six pack of beer? I got your back? HAHAHAHA NOPE.

"I got the six, gimme your nine!"

Again, more songs about blowjobs! Sixty-nining, even!

And also, if you're attracted to women and you don't/won't eat pussy, know that i have lost some respect for you.

Horny as hell song, but it gets a nod of overall approval especially since the end is kinda hilarious.

•Legs-

ATTENTION META: 40 years ago, the bearded ones taught us all about the importance of having Legs and knowing how to use them. Y'all had no fuckin excuse for your floating torso mananangal-wannabe bullshit.

This song goes so fucking hard. At least 35% harder than a song about legs should go. I hate that it fades out during the solo, though. Let that man cook!

•Thug-

I know, I KNOW this album came out at least a decade before the show did, but that slap bass just feels Seinfeld-y. Funky, but Seinfeld-y.

Also, calendar check: June 21 is Thug Day, i guess. Remember to keep your machine guns and money secure, and bust your friends out of jail!

•TV Dinners-

Know what? I can appreciate that Billy and/or Dusty sings about processed microwaved slop with the same exact amount of gusto and dedication that he does about the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.

Otherwise it's basically a novelty song, imo. I can't believe it was a single.

•Dirty Dog-

Ah, the flip side of aggressively horny: the creepy/gross/misogynist angle. God forbid a woman does anything.

Also this really sounds like a ZZ Top b-side. It literally sounds like 4 of their other songs put in a blender for a while.

•If I Could Only Flag Her Down-

The misogyny continues and deepens.

In lieu of a review for this song, here's a lyric:

"I just want to crash her/

I just want to trash her."

And here's the vomiting emoji 20 times:

🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

•Bad Girl-

"Praise kinks DNI": the song. I feel like i need a shower after hearing this.

Well, the second half of the album sucks some real shit, but Legs is still a banger. It's pretty easy to see why the deep cuts stay deep, though.

And, like many, many albums I've heard before: after the first 5 or so songs, it's just time to put on a new album.

Favorite Track: Gimme All Your Lovin'. 100%.

Least Favorite Track: If I Could Only Flag Her Down. I'll spare you another 20 vomit emojis.

[the-world-is-treating-me-bad]

Thoughts and First Impressions on The Beatles Discography: A Hard Day's Night

Alright, it has been absolutely too long, but I'm back with my music reviews! Unfortunately I was led away from the path of light and only listening to new albums after reviewing what came before them after @no-need-to-be-alone put on Beatles for Sale in the car and I was captivated.

Living in sin means that I've actually listened all the way through to Pepper, so I'm gonna be posting a bunch of reviews in the next couple days in order to atone and catch my reviews up to my listening reality. I'm sorry it's been so long! I don't know if anyone reads these or was wondering where they went, but now you know!

As a reminder, the versions that I'm listening to are the 2009 stereo remasters, either on Spotify or downloaded from iTunes. Now, my opinions!

A Hard Day's Night: Iconic for a reason! That opening chord is awesome. I love the drum keeping it going fast, and the cowbell. The harmonies are gorgeous and so is the middle eight. Just a kickass start to an album. Also the bass and guitar solo!!!! And that new riff for the fadeout.

I Should Have Known Better: HARMONICA! Just so groovy and happy. And that change into a minor key for the middle eight is beautiful. Very low key, but that makes it nice! Good good guitar solo as well. And the bits where you just have John's voice over the rhythm section with the sparse guitar strums... oh baby.

If I Fell: Oh I love this song so much. The harmonies the harmonies the harmonies!!!!!!!!!!! I find it to be in line with This Boy in a lot of ways but also different! The drum part is gorgeous and light, I love the hi-hat and rim knocks just carrying it all through. The bass (what I can hear of it) is very nice. Also the bit in the second chorus where John loses his breath and falters is cute.

I'm Happy Just to Dance with You: Another groove, and we have George singing! The toms on the drums are awesome. Love the harmonies on the middle eight. Good vibes, man.

And I Love Her: OAGH. The bongos, the claves, the nylon string guitars! PAUL! It's so good it's so good. Reminds me of their version of Til There Was You. Also the one bit where there's no double tracking on Paul's voice so it stands out!!! The slide on the guitar solo. I love it. and I love the change to a whole different chord at the end.

Tell Me Why: A rowdy one! Just a good time to listen to, and I love the bit where they all try to sing high. This one is very voice-forward, and kind of feels like all the music is pushing right at you.

Can't Buy Me Love: The spiritual opposite of Money (That's What I Want) lol. Another well known one, and a fun song to listen to. The instrumental bits are great, and the energy is grooving.

Any Time at All: I love this one! The energy is amazing, and I love the way it opens with the drums. And the vibes in John's voice, especially in the chorus. The piano is such a good presence in this song.

I'll Cry Instead: More of a folksy/country vibe to this one! Having cheated and listened ahead, I can see this as a precursor to what they did in Beatles For Sale and Help! Also I can actually hear the bass???? And it's grooving along. I really like the bits where it's just John and the bass and tambourine.

Things We Said Today: This one is also awesome! Love a minor key, and I love the harmonies that shift the key to major before it comes back. The chorus comes in with a different vibe entirely too, and I love how the different sections of this song make it move through the different time periods and moods in the narrative of the lyrics.

When I Get Home: Another energetic one, where John is just going for it vocally. The whoa-a-o-hiiii's are awesome. Also I love the middle eight here. Love a song that doesn't fade out.

You Can't Do That: The title of this song was my reaction upon learning that Ringo does not sing a song on this album, which i consider to be an utter betrayal. However, this song fucking SLAPS. The guitar intro is fabulous, I love the cowbell, I love how there are bits where everyone is on the same rhythm together. The fucking harmonies on this song!!! And the sort of call-and-response of it all. Just amazing. I also love how prominent George's voice is.

I'll Be Back: This song is amazing. This song is AMAZING!!!!! The harmonies again are gorgeous. The chorus is beautiful, the middle eight is amazing. The guitars are so so so so nice. I love the going back and forth from major and minor, and just. I love this song. I love this song!!!!! Also after I listened to this I listened to the Anthology take where it's in 3/4 and my brain exploded.

And once again, that is the album! As previously mentioned Ringo does not lend his voice to a single song, which I think should be illegal, but I am somewhat soothed by the knowledge he'll get to sing his cowboy songs for the next little while.

Just a very solid album overall, and really strong, showing the good idea that was doing an album of only Lennon-McCartney songs. A Good Fun Time was had listening to this, and there's really no songs that stick out negatively in my mind.

Anyways, on we go to a couple of singles and then Beatles For Sale! As usual, if you like my opinions, or want to chat, or see the other stuff I post, feel free to give me a follow! (and you can even reblog this ;) )

[coldlycalculatinghal9000computer]

[SA]-1-Franz Ferdinand S/T Album Review

Franz Fernidand- Franz Fernidand (Album Review)

Hello, and welcolme to Spectral Analysis, like the Voidz song but we'll get to that in due time.

Jacqueline- Starts off nice and slow, with a great transition to the actual song. The beginning is also sort of sad. The actual song starts with an excellent bassline, and comes roaring in with guitars, and the chorus is easy to understand; a longing for a good time, and knowing you have to work for it. The verse is odd; this dude's drunk. The ending of this verse is spectacular. The chorus is also very addictive. 8/10

Tell Her Tonight- The vocals are weird. The verses have stranged, high pitched, but restrained vocals, but the chorus is echo-y and very relaxing. The bassline carries the song, as it's very prominent. The bridge sounds like the guy is talking to himself- which he is. 6.5/10

Take Me Out- A classic song, with a bass and drum driven intro with guitar chords and lines that are iconic. But the transition into the main part is even more iconic. My nly gripes are that the same lyrics are used over and over; a song obviously about dating, which is something you wouldn't know! (me neither.) The lead guitar is a little less prominent than the rythym guitar, which makes for a very funky effect. The bassline still carries the whole song.8/10.

The Dark Of The Matinee- A opening riff of the legends. The lyrics are now getting odd, and hard to undersand. This song carries a slower tempo that makes it very nice, and the ending of the chorus sounds hopeful. The singer has a lot of things he hates, and promises to never be those things. The chorus is talking about escaping to somewhere; in this case, a matinee, or a midday movie. The third verse is talking about being on BBC 2, about succsess, but confused about how you got there. The final chorus has very good background vocals. 9/10

Auf Asche- A piano intro sets the tune for a melancholic, sad song of regret. The piano continues as the bass, guitar and drums come into play. The verses talk about an unobtainable girl. In the chorus, it talks about how "you've mess up, now look at what you've done." Now, the man doesn't want to see her, seeing his failiure. The effects near the end and the scathing lyrics play more on how much he knows that he messed up. The continuing verses say how he still sees and hears her, and can't escape her. He is also stuck in a situation where he wants the girl and doesn't.Only complaint; I didn't cry. 8/10.

Cheating On You- A higher energy song coming hot off the trail of Auf Asche, a song about a man leaving a girl because he doesn't feel the same love anymore, as he was also previously cheating on her. This song also sounds like a slap in the face to his ex, and the bridge is even more of an insult. Post-bridge is an odd higher pitched guitar part that works way to well. I love it. 9/10.

This Fire- A calm intro that threatens to roar up like a fire, which it does into the chorus. The chorus already sounds like an epic scene in a movie where the evil enemy's base has been lit on fire. And like a fire, it calms back down when it is unable to consume as much fuel. Adding more fuel is the chorus, seemingly talking about getting out of control, and the bridge is a confession of love. Gee, love's a prevalent theme here. After this, the fire dies down, gets to a stable level, and gets higher again. It never gets too out of control, until the end where the guitars are getting fast, and so are the drums, until it all ends. 8.5/10

Darts Of Pleasure- Gives a "cool guy" feeling, then a part that pulls you back in like "Hey. Don't get too cocky." The song continues like this, getting really cool-guy-like, then getting put back in it's place. The part near the end is a good cresendo, but gets a little too high,until it calms back down. 8.5/10

Michael- A song that talks about a girl really wanting to be with some dude called Michael. Michael also seems to be a real sly dog, attracting anybody. This song is really, how should I put it, almost sexy and quick-paced. We can tell this girl really likes Michael, and Michael seems like the only one of his kind. 7.5/10.

Come On Home- A song with slight anxiety, it's a slick song that really lives up to it's name, with the verses seemingly being about a dude on the streets, and someone telling him to "come on home". The keys also work very well in this song. The guitar bridge is also very good, with a droning sound that works very well. The ending is hopeful, as if someone is wating for him dearly. 8.5/10.

40'- A song that sounds like it would work in a bar, with an irregular lead guitar. The meaning of the song is about as clear as a brick, but the vocals are very nice. Works well as a closer, but something else could have been the closer, instead of this. Nevertheless, it's still good enough, with an ending of greats, which sends off the album properly. 8/10.

Final Thoughts- A pretty solid album with really good songs, except for two, which one I would call mediocre. The Scottish lads really did well on this, but NME's statement aged really poorly. Thanks, Arctic Monkeys. 8.75/10

[hoshuha]

ENTRY 11: SUMMATIVE PROCESS

Creation Process

Structure, Tempo and Time signature:

The tempo and Time signature for both tracks are 80bpm, 4:4, which is suitable for the genre- many songs from Neo soul artists I follow such as Nao Yoshioka and Toshiki Soejima write songs with similar tempos: Toshiki Soejima- Life: 79bpm (Soejima, 2021), Nao Yoshioka Got me: 81bpm ((Yoshioka, 2020). A slower tempo makes the song feel smooth and allows chords/embellishments to breathe within the mix. It also helps to ease the ear into the many modulations that occur.

The track has 48 bars and is structured as displayed in the picture above.

Key Signature, Rhythmic and melodic ideas:

Throughout the track, I switch between D major/minor, G minor and E altered scales. Additionally, as evidenced by the outro, there are sections where I incorporate multiple passing chords which create an ambiguous ascending/descending motion. The outro starts with a Gm9 chord (rooted on the A string), then descends gradually after using various dominant 9 and minor 9 chords, resolving with E major 7/B - this created a walking bass movement which is common in Neo Soul and Jazz and ultimately assisted in resolving the tension. The altered dominant chords allow me to play notes from the altered scale which add more tension than those from mixolydian (if using a regular dominant chord).

Personally, I enjoy the constant modulations within the track as they help to alter the course of the melody- adding unpredictability and interest to the song. Switching between parallel keys (D major to D minor) puts an emphasis on the intervallic movement of the 3rd, 6th and 7th- changing from a natural to a flat in this context is very effective and pleasing to the ear.

Harmonic ideas:

I have used a variety of extended major/minor and dominant chords (7ths,9ths)- most of which utilize Drop 2 and Drop 3 voicings- again, a very common voicing used by Neo soul artists such as Melanie Faye and Kazuki Isogai. The large span of intervals and octaves contained within these chords allow for the absence of a bass guitar, due to the thumb playing the bass notes. This is certainly a technique I have acquired from listening to the aforementioned artists. Moreover, adding percussive elements via slapping the strings with my thumb and palm is another example of their influence in my playing. Pull offs, Hammer ons, vibrato, legato and finger/hybrid picking are more examples of techniques I use in this track. Legato and vibrato help to make my melody lines emulate a vocal line, giving it some personality.

Technical/production techniques:

Firstly, I have double tracked the keyboard for the intro, panning left 100% and right 100%, adding a fader as they enter the mix. This technique creates a large, stereo-like effect- combined with a stretched chord voicing, this creates warmth and the sense of fullness. I set the volume of the keys to -4.5db so that they would allow the guitar to cut through them. In the EQ, I have increased the bass and air frequencies (this is where the warmth derives from) and slightly decreased the mids as this is where the guitar will enter. Compression has been applied, using a slow attack time and fast release, thus creating a natural sound.

I used the clean amp tone from Neural DSP- ‘Archetype: Plini’ for all sections of the track asides from the chorus, using reverb (space knob turned to almost maximum), compression and EQ- settings are seen below. After playing the track without EQ, I felt as if the bass, due to the nature of the chord voicings, was slightly overbearing, therefore I decided to lower the 65-125k frequencies. Furthermore, I wanted to make the tone sound distant so I also lowered the 4k-8k frequencies- making the track sound darker. However, after adding reverb, this created a very classic Neo soul tone.

The rhythm section for the chorus adds an extra compressor and EQ VST to help increase the volume of the fingerpicking; without extra compression, the bass tones were too overwhelming, drowning out the higher notes. The compressor settings consist of a low ratio, slow attack, but fast release time, medium Knee and a subtle boost to the makeup gain- these settings made the compression feel natural, whilst still controlling any spiky transients. A separate EQ was introduced to eliminate a fuzzing sound around the 3-5k frequencies (4.1k) (High shelf).

For the lead section of the chorus, I have used a clean amp from Neural DSP- ‘Archetype: Tim Henson’ with a boost, compressor, chorus and reverb pedal, alongside some EQ. These effects help to separate the lead from the rhythm as the sound is boosted and has more sustain. A separate EQ is used again to eliminate fuzzing sounds around the 4-5k frequencies (4.4k) (High shelf).

Alternative Edit:

For the alternative edit (aka Live) I am playing the same track, however omitting a chord from the chorus and embellishments from verse 1 of the original song. Furthermore, no keyboard or lead section is present and some chords are not arpeggiated in the same way. In verse 1, I have added a walking bass line of chromatic notes before playing the Gm7/Bb. Additionally, the pre chorus and outro have been extended to 12 and 16 bars respectively making this version 52 bars in total. The outro differs slightly by incorporating an ascending run after the descending run- I do this by adding extra dominant and minor 9 chords, before resolving to a Bb Major 7/F. The tremolo arm is also used in this version to give extra vibrato to chords. Overall, the alternative edit has less lead playing and embellishments, but more space between chords, thus conveying an even calmer vibe than the original track.

In terms of production techniques, the live version is more limited as I’m only playing one track of the guitar, no extra fills or instruments. I am using the ‘acoustic clean’ preset on the ‘STL Tonality: Andy James’ plugin, alongside a compressor, EQ and a new reverb pedal (‘lopass’ filter set to maximum). Personally, I feel as if this reverb pedal is even more spacious than the one used in the original track; it has more sustain. The compressor has a slightly faster attack time (7.2ms), but a much longer release time (100ms) resulting in a very natural sound, allowing considerably more dynamic range than the original track- I feel that this is more appropriate for a live environment. The EQ cuts out all frequencies over 2.6k (high shelf), removing all upper mids and preventing the guitars from having too much bite.

[vitaminwaterreviews]

Shinvi - 15 to 30

I mean, Shinvi are definitely gonna get the short end of the stick here because I am just not a fan of r&b/ballads/slow jam/whatever the genre of this album is. My understanding is that early kpop especially is influenced by the Korean ballads of the time, so that’s probably what’s going on here. A lot of weird mixing decisions – again, it could be my headphones, but I didn’t notice those issues with the other groups. There was like, one single song with rap, maybe two? And that’s fair enough because their music didn’t really lend itself to rap much anyway. This is probably the least popular of the groups I’ve seen so far (although the view counts on the playlist I was using probably aren’t the most-viewed videos of the songs). Either way, this album was “meh” at best, nothing at all stuck out to me except the title “Cat Step” which is cute. Average score of 5.8 which… yeah, not great.

Intro

Oooh, we haven’t had any intros yet. This is super pretty too

I mean… I’m hyped for the album now, so it did its job haha

7/10

To My Friend

Starting in a similar timbre space to the intro

Vocals are mixed really quietly, hard to hear her

Okay, they do raise the vocals, that’s good

I like all of the tones going on, not convinced by the song yet

I appreciate the bass

The harmonies are really pretty, I think they’re used tastefully

6/10

Cat Step

Well I like the title if nothing else

This beat is groovy, much preferred to the first song

Oh, we start out with some rapping! That’s different to our previous groups

Again with the audio mixing! Maybe it’s my headphones, but I’m using the exact same headphones and settings as the previous two groups so I dunno

This song has 231 views which is the lowest I’ve seen so far

Woahh this rap around 1:45 is interesting, background vocals? Samples? Not sure what’s going on here

The only lyrics online are from some French site using romanized korean, so I’m gonna chuck the romanization into ChatGPT and see what it can tell me

According to the ChatGPT translation… this song has nothing to do with cats, aside from one mention of cats in the first verse. This is disappointing.

6/10

Regret

More slow jam

I like the background ambience during the first verse

I don’t care at all for the chorus

Okay, the ending harmonies and melody were nice

6/10

Violet … That’s Meaning

This is gonna be a long album isn’t it

New low of 177 views

5/10

Happy Dream

112 views

I like the cute intro at least

Some nice synth and bass and horns in the background, good instrumentation

I like all of the sounds being used, but the song just ain’t it

Also again with the mixing, this bass feels absurdly loud compared to the rest of it

6/10

Heavenly Vacation

I am a sucker for this style of guitar playing

The harmonies are alright

Omg a fade out

6/10

Just in Time

Very bright vocals

Electric piano and 808

I feel like I would’ve liked a Sugar version of this song lmao

I know I keep using this phrase, but I am just not convinced by Shinvi so far

6/10

Princess in the Castle

A male vocalist, that’s the first for this album so far

5/10

Starry Night

This is a Mamamoo song

I actually really like this intro. What genre is this?

I’m getting chiptune vibes from the hits on the & beats

This is … alright, I guess? I like the instrumentals more than the vocals

I also feel like the exact same song would Slap if it was mixed differently

I don’t buy the pre-chorus at all

6/10

Gift of Sadness

Two songs left, I can do this

5/10

Darling

The beat is interesting

Why does the beat always get less interesting when they start singing?

Probably so I can focus on the lyrics or whatever

I guess trying pretty harmonies at this tempo is vaguely interesting

The bridge(?) is kinda neat

Kind of a weird song to end the album on though. Like … this song had nothing to do with the rest of the album, it felt very thrown in there

6/10

[the-loaf-of-all]

Entry #3 (it's the magic number)

"Yes it is, it's the magic number."

Ah, maybe. But! it sure is gonna be fun to add some more to this playlist we've been putting together!

Without further ado (ADIEU?):

Coolidge (Descendents): Ah, this one. One of my favorite ones to play along with, as it has that incredible Stewart-Copeland-Influenced-driving-8th-note-bass-drum beat over open hats with just the right amount of dorky misplaced snare. Thank you, Bill! You're one of my biggest influences. And the riff....absolutely powerful, driving, and perfectly caffeinated. It's got those beautiful Descendents touchess: Karl's roaming bass lines over the chorus, a perfect Stephan solo, the aforementioned genius percussion from Bill, and that hilarious "sorry" Milo moment after the solo. All in All (NO! ALL!), one of my faves - and I loved that the video we saw this week was just more reason to add it here. :) Aside: I've always wanted to play the intro in 6/8, and then launch into the song from there. Someday. :) .

Wonder (All): Another brilliant track from Percolator! My buddy Joel once said that this is the perfect song to describe existentialism. I don't know what that means, but its double-entendre name (and the rest of it) makes me love it. And, of course: Scott Reynolds (swoon).

Hey Bug (All): Worth it just because of the laugh at the end. :D

Pervert (Descendents): One of the most caffeinated, odd-time, disGUSting songs they every wrote. And I adore it. :)

I Like Food (Descendents): I'm sure you've heard me sing this to you. :)

Check One (All): This one just burns. Some of the greatest, most stream-of-consciousness lyrics ever. And I just adore "zip, zilch, zero, jack, squat, none, nil, nada, nope!" This might be the perfect All song. <3

Breathe (All): Or, maybe this one. :)

Shreen (All): As you can see, I lean Scott Reynolds. I can't stand Dave Smalley's voice most of the time, but I do like me some Chad Price - and gat DAYUM this song slaps. One of the simpler Karl bass lines, but Stephen's insanely chunky guitar just drives this monster. I still don't know how these guys didn't get more popular - that turnaround before it goes back to just bass and Chad is just heavenly.

Hurtin' Crue (Descendents): I love that they spelled it "Crue". I love that the main riff of the song is just neanderthal palm muted 16th notes with accents on beat 1. I love that one of the lyrics is "1420...I am better than you..you are a piece of poo." (allegedly what their friend from high school told them after scoring a 1420 on the SAT). I love it because it's so fucking ridiculous....just like them. :)

Cheer (Descendents): And, then, they write this. Definitely some conflicted lyrics in there, but "don't wanna spend the rest of my days dreaming yesterday's daydreams" is gorgeous.

Jean Is Dead (Descendents): A beautiful, aching song about losing a friend. One time, when asked to play this at an All show, Bill (who wrote it) allegedly said, "Some songs, we just don't teach the new guys." When I was younger, I thought the chorus was "Now you're running out of love", which is also powerful, but "Now you're gone and I'm alone" is just heartbreaking.

She Broke My Dick (All): #snort This has all the makings of an Anthrax joke song, except it's fucking technically perfect. :D :D :D

ENJOY MY GOOD FRIEND - ENJOY!!!!!

[lordmayokcorner]

Dreamcatcher [Apocalypse: From Us] - Album Review

-- image: Asian Junkie --

I learned about Dreamcatcher through my kpop-lover friend who stans them, Andrew. It only makes sense that his thoughts be included here as well, so we decided to co-review this album for that reason. His thoughts will be included with mine, directly below them.

I’ll listen to each song 3 times and rate them afterward. Each song will be rated on a scale of 1-10 with 5 being completely neutral, 1 being my least favorite song, and 10 being the best songs ever. My rating is the first number, Andrew’s is the second. Please take our ratings with a grain of salt, my goal is to be honest, no hate :)

Intro: From Us - 6.5, 7

The soft parts are very well done. The pianos and synths are layered very nicely. I’m rarely a fan of electric guitar in pop music so that part isn’t as much to my liking, though the vibe is really intense nonetheless. The ending with the mysterious sounding synths and chords is very well done.

Andrew: It’s very creatively done, sounding both natural/earthy and futuristic. It has a very fluid feel, with clean transitions between hope, peace and war. The delicate piano at the end, which matches the electronics of the beginning, brings it full circle.

BONVOYAGE - 5.5, 8

This track starts off quite soft but very quickly launches into a high energy guitar and slap bass beat, just to fall back into the quiet again with verse 1. The vocals here could be better admittedly. This pattern gives the song a bit of a messy and incomplete feeling unfortunately. The chorus however has a significant amount of vocal power. Very impressive. I’m certainly not in love with the song’s composition itself but the vocals and other specific elements in places are very nice.

Andrew: This one is a bit of a grower honestly. At first I wasn’t a fan of the interspersed electronics in the beginning riff, nor satisfied with the backing track during the chorus. But now I feel that the elements add a very adventurous feel to the song. The vocals are superb, out of this world superb, and I love the acoustic guitar coupled with the delicate vocals of the first pre-chorus.

DEMIAN - 5.5, 5,5

Woah, what a start! More slap bass, I certainly don’t mind as a bassist myself. Whether or not I think this guitar and bass is really suitable to this style, that’s more debatable. The anime-opening energy is quite strong with this one. That said, I think it’s a powerful and energetic track, and the vocals are relatively smooth as well.

Andrew: Honestly I feel the song has potential, but it doesn’t do it for me. I feel the backing track is too loud and frenetic, which unfortunately overpowers the already strong vocals. The muffle on the rap was a bit much as well. I loved the chorus as a whole though, and the overall composition hit hard and hit well.

Propose - 7.5, 8

Wow. The production at the beginning is so incredibly dark and smooth. The synth percussion in the verse is also very unique and sets a precedent for the rest of the song. The chorus is slightly disappointing compared to the verse and intro. Only slightly though, it still carries a certain amount of march-like power, almost like Blue Blood by IVE. The rap section is really cool and reminds me a lot of the one in Addicted by PIXY. I love her deep voice! Again, the rock vibe doesn’t really suit my taste so for that reason I’ll have to give it a 7.5, though that still means I really like this song! 

Andrew:  

My favorite song on the EP. It has a total anthem sound, with the switch between the first chorus and the rap hitting just right. The vocals are effortless and powerful, the rap is strong, and I love the instrumentals in the background. The message is clear: fight for true love.

To. You - 4, 4

Love the muffled vocals in the beginning. I’ve been hearing that a lot lately in these new releases. Not a fan of the semi-rock ballad aspect of this though. It’s unsurprising that the last song will be a ballad, but this one doesn’t really do it for me. Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate it or anything, it just feels somewhat cheesy and out of place.

Andrew: It is a little monotonous for me. While calming, and with very steady vocals and a lovely message, it sounds a bit held back from what it could be. Overall not too much to say, except that it’s nice to calm down from the previous songs, but a bit underwhelming.

Final Thoughts

This was a very interesting experience. I’ve never been that into Dreamcatcher because their rock sound just isn’t exactly for me, though I actually really enjoyed Propose. I certainly find it to be the most interesting song on the album. I would give this album an overall score of 5.5, and Andrew gave it a 6.5. The two of us had generally very similar thoughts about many of the songs, which surprised me but I also appreciate the external confirmation of my thoughts. I’m fairly neutral on basically every song besides Propose, but I didn't hate anything. Above all, I’m glad to get to know Dreamcatcher a bit better! Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!

- Maya and Andrew

[eastoncowan]

list below:

a little who’s who in this band:

Geddy Lee - lead and backing vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, guitar Alex Lifeson - guitars, backing vocals, synthesizers, additional keyboards Neil Peart (rest in peace, professor) - drums, percussion, lyrics

and finally, the songs, in order of release:

1. Anthem (Fly By Night, 1975) a quintessential rush song, imo. maybe not one of their most popular songs, but a banger nonetheless. energetic, vibrant, makes you wanna nod along. would bring joy to all the old toronto dads, and isn’t that what we need? ‘know your place in life is where you want to be, don’t let them tell you that you owe it all to me.’ 7/10

2. Circumstances (Hemispheres, 1978) doesn’t have the same hopeful vibe as some of the other songs on this list, but you know what, you’re so right, neil. the more that things change, the more they do stay the same. very fitting for our leafs, i think. ‘plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.’ 6/10

3. The Spirit of Radio (Permanent Waves, 1980) the guitar intro to this song is etched into my soul and will remain so until the day i die. bright, upbeat, joyous vibes. just what our little cringefail loser boys need.  ‘emotional feedback on a timeless wavelength, bearing a gift beyond price, almost free.’ 9/10

4. Tom Sawyer (Moving Pictures, 1981) this song has almost 300 million plays on spotify and for good fucking reason. if you’ve heard a rush song, chances are it’s probably this one. they ate and left no crumbs. none whatsoever. listen to it and tell me it wouldn’t absolutely FUCK as a goal song. go. do it. ‘he knows changes aren’t permanent, but change is.’ 8/10

5. Limelight (Moving Pictures, 1981) the fucking guitar intro. holy shit. this one’s got nearly 130 million plays on spotify, and is one of the other few rush songs you might’ve heard. would absolutely get me fired up, whether i was at home, or at the game. love this song. ‘those who wish to be must put aside the alienation, get on with the fascination, the real relation, the underlying theme.’ 9/10

6. The Big Money (Power Windows, 1985) this song has the potential to obliterate the eardrums of every corporate shitheel that wastes a seat at scotiabank arena, which is all we could hope for. this isn’t gonna be my manifesto about how much i hate the state of our ticket prices, but know that the rage runs deep and endless. ‘it's the power and the glory, it's a war in paradise, a Cinderella story on a tumble of the dice.’ 6/10

7. Time Stand Still (Hold Your Fire, 1987) let me start by saying i’m not one of those rush fans who hates hold your fire. in all honestly, i really enjoy it. that said, this is by far the best song on the album, and maybe the only one that could possibly be a goal song.  ‘freeze this moment a little bit longer, make each sensation a little bit stronger.’ 6/10

8. Superconductor (Presto, 1989) this is nowhere close to being a popular rush song, but it slaps and i adore it so you’d best believe it’s going on the list. orchestrate illusions, indeed, neil. wish this song got the recognition it deserves. makes me wanna DANCE. ‘packaged like a rebel or a hero, target mass appeal, to make an audience feel he really means it.’ 7/10

9. Face UP (Roll The Bones, 1991) banger alert!! this one’s got some fun keyboards in it (as do many rush songs, but i digress) which i think adds some Vibes to our lack thereof. this song makes me wanna get the W. ‘face up… hit the target or you better hit the ground. face up… there's still time to turn this game around.’ 6/10

10. Dog Years (Test For Echo, 1996) yes this song is actually about dogs!! we know our leafies love their pups, and i think this would pay a good homage to them (them: zeus, banksy, pablo, felix, etc.). also talks about geological time which is very much my vibe, and this is my list so i’m including it. could be like a reference to how long ago 1967 was, no? ‘it seems to me, while it's true that every dog will have his day, when all the bones are buried, there is barely time to go outside and play.’ 7/10

11. One Little Victory (Vapor Trails, 2002) the drums at the beginning of this song could wake me from the fucking dead. neil put his whole peartussy into this one. it’s fast, it’s intense, the guitar is sexy—and it’s about victory, which is something i would like to see more of from our leafs.  ‘celebrate the moment as it turns into one more, another chance at victory, another chance to score.’ 8/10

12. Caravan (Clockwork Angels, 2012) the intro to this song is kinda quiet, but i think it gets loud quick enough to still be a good choice. impeccable vibes though. think this could be a good morale booster, somehow. also has the fun misheard lyric of ‘in a world with only papaya’ which gives me a little chuckle. ‘the caravan thunders onward to the distant dream of the city, the caravan carries me onward.’ 5/10

13. The Wreckers (Clockwork Angels, 2012) i love the guitar in this. i mean, i love the guitar in all rush songs, but this one especially. the whole clockwork angels album is a masterpiece and should be listened to in order, but this one holds up great as its own entity.  ‘all i know is that sometimes you have to be wary of a miracle too good to be true.’ 7/10

honourable mention:

14. Take Off (The Great White North, 1981) not technically a rush song, but bob & doug mckenzie are national treasures and this features geddy lee so i had to include it. the actual song doesn’t start until like 75 seconds in, but it’s so good that i don’t even care. best possible goal song, and it's not even close. ‘take off to the great white north. take off, it’s a beauty way to go.’ 10/10

idk if any of y’all listen to rush but i’m annoying and i think they have so many songs that could be iconic goal songs for our leafies…..

[ecl1pse]

clc !!

send me the name of a kpop group and i’ll list their title tracks from fave to least fave!

devil > black dress > no > hobgoblin > no oh oh > me > helicopter > pepe > high heels >  like > eighteen > chamisma

[beevean]

Mega Man Zero 3

Scrapped Beat

[asherlockstudy]

How to do perfect staging: a lesson from Italy

I mentioned at some point I might actually make a post drooling over Italy's Måneskin performance and staging. I was kinda bored to be honest and decided against it but then all those trashy rumours that try to bring the winners down seemed so disgraceful and embarrassing to me that I decided again to do it. Now, the truth is that their performance was a little better in the semi-final introduction act. Perhaps this was due to the anxiety of the Grand Final. This is why I am going to use photos and gifs from that act and perhaps this will show to some that the perfect package might need a little bit of everything, and not just slap your language on the audience's ears with the expectation that this alone is always enough. *Did I make this too personal?*

Anyway, I digress. And I don’t mean that the Grand Final performance wasn’t still the best of the night, I just mean it wasn’t at the same God Tier level as the semifinal one.

Here's why the Italians took advantage of the Dutch stage until its very last millimeter and way more cleverly than any other country.

This is the only act that starts from the back of the stage, where the singer Damiano David waits for us alone.

Even with the rest of the 25 competing countries, this intro makes you forget that you are watching a contest with 26 countries as guests. Unlike anyone else, Italy looks like the host, like this place belongs to them and the frontman waits for you to show you around and possibly drag you to the world of Måneskin. In fact, you almost forget it’s Eurovision - this now looks like a Måneskin concert or, even better, a more private space of theirs with an ominous industrial feel. One of the most impactful things now is the lighting. Take a look at it. Almost all contestants throw all the lights on themselves or on some important prop they have prepared. The Italians are the only ones who chose to just light the stage itself. The simple white lights on the black stage give the impression of depth and it is the only act which shows emphatically the size of the stage. Why this? Well, we already established that in the first seconds the viewers feel they are in a new space belonging exclusively to Måneskin - the lights make us feel that their area is vast and dark and we are about to be drawn to its depths.

Damiano indeed guides us to the front as he sings, where the rest of the band are on the top of a platform. The other members won’t come down and join Damiano until he sings the appropriate verse “Buona sera, signore e signori” (=Good evening, ladies and gentlemen) and accompany it with a theatrical flamboyant bow (that feels very Italian). That’s when, technically introduced to the audience after the official greeting, bassist Victoria de Angelis and guitarist Thomas Raggi come off the platform and join Damiano.

There’s nothing excessive about the visual effects. Only the use of white lights that give the perception of depth and in the background the big shadows of the group’s silhouettes. They are in the front and they cast their shadows in the back; they create to you a feeling of being trapped by them but do you really want to escape?

When the second verse starts, Victoria and Thomas take the paths left and right of the stage and leave Damiano alone. They take even more advantage of the stage and in a typical classic rock band way. These two play with the side cameras but the focus is more on Damiano, whose verse sounds more like a tongue-twister. Since the cameras are rightfully on Damiano, I must now address the elephant in the room. Damiano is particularly attractive. In fact, the whole band is almost mind-bogglingly attractive and they clearly take a lot of care about how exactly they are going to look but Damiano, as the frontman, does especially so. So let’s talk about the outfit. They all have essentially the same outfit, however it is cut differently for each based on the person’s looks and personality. Isn’t it fantastic?

Damiano, who oozes confidence and sex appeal, has accordingly the most “provocative” outfit of the four. His chest and arms are bare so that his many tattoos can be seen. I’ll talk about the other outfits later as they all have their place in the... uh... white lights.

During the second chorus Victoria and Thomas return at the center and after the chorus it is time for the first solo; Victoria’s. The cameras are now on her but the lighting remains modest to accentuate the dark beat of her bass.

Victoria is the only girl of the group and the most dressed of them all - how refreshing! Her outfit is more similar to Thomas but she is buttoned up in the front. How does she wish to underscore her uniqueness as the woman of the band? But of course, with long flamboyant girly sleeves that come to delicious contrast with her aggressive stomping and her wide strides. Both her hairstyle and her outfit is inspired or basically just outright 70′s classic rock look.

It’s time for the bridge of the song right after her solo and Damiano has his attention on her and also draws the viewer’s attention to her some more. This part of the song is lower and softer - in relative terms - that’s why Damiano “chooses” her to sing it to. The lights now turn red, the intensity rises but there’s light flirtatiousness between them, with many smiles to each other and the camera that turns around them as they launch at each other playfully.

Then the song gets darker, more intense, the guitar stronger than the bass and Damiano’s voice turns to a scream. For this part, he turns to his bro, guitarist Thomas and he now draws the attention to him.

He grabs Thomas by the neck in an intense, intimate way (that doesn’t mean sexual, just intimate. His interaction with Victoria wasn’t sexual either). It is clear that through different ways Måneskin want to stress how good and close their relations are and that their singer, who is apparently a show stealer by birth, wants to ensure that they all get equal amount of attention from their audience. I love this.

True enough, nobody is left behind! The last chorus starts with a drums solo and Damiano goes up to the platform to now meet and introduce to us Ethan Torchio. Ethan stands up and his giant shadow is on the now blue background: this is the moment for the - so I hear - somewhat shy drummer to shine in his own aesthetic. The Italians leave none of their assets to fall down and Ethan’s impressive hair rightfully steals the show.

Just like Victoria and Thomas look alike, so do Ethan and Damiano, that’s why their costumes are the most similar. Ethan has a vest that covers him more than Damiano but leaves his arms bare. Because whose else the arms do you need to see if not the drummer’s?

This song has something peculiar because it was not a song originally written for Eurovision; it slows down in the end and  does not end on some impressive note from the singer as usual but with the last solo we expect, that of the guitarist, because everything is fair in Måneskin! The focus has to leave Damiano, so now it’s the time for the visual effects to finally catch fire, literally,  because nobody is allowed to take their eyes off them! Måneskin use a huge amount of pyro that however feels appropriate for the intense chorus and the ending guitar solo.

Thomas steps up for his solo and I forget we are in 2021. This is the most 70s thing I would ever hope to see.

In a hell of pyro, Thomas looks like he was tranferred right from a 70s rock ‘n roll concert. His outfit would be gladly taken by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. The unbuttoned jacket with this boho tie, such a classic 70s fashion touch. His haircut and even his FACE are the epitome of the 70s - what an ending sequence!

But hey we reached the end and this is Eurovision, the song slows down dangerously. Like I said, the Italians forbid us to get distracted. The attention must return to Damiano ASAP. Damiano says one last line and takes the audience with him to the very end with a death drop.

There you have it. Måneskin had me holding my breath for the full three minutes and I did not want to take my eyes off my TV. There are countless shows that are awesome - in this very Eurovision as well - but I was impressed by how they seemed to have found the perfect balance for everything in every single moment. They found the perfect stage concept for the song, they relied on visual effects only when they needed them and they stressed every twist and turn of their sound with a perfectly fitting move or interaction. They also all effortlessly could hold your attention and they made sure that they all would, with members often helping bring out other members. This performance was beautiful and, above all, clever which is why it was undoubtedly the worthiest of the win.