#and fatal is their best song and it’s so underrated it makes me so sad

[lookingupatthesamemoon]

✨When you get this, list 5 songs you like to listen to, publish. Then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite accounts (Positivity is cool)!!🎶✨ /nf

AHHHH CAITIE ☹️❤️ thank u for thinking of me ☹️❤️ u are the awesomest ever 🫶 choosing just five songs was very tough !!! i ended up just choosing 5 of my all-timers :)

[choisanshine]

ATEEZ as... RPG Classes

This is, again, based on D&D RPG classes, because that is the RPG I play.

a/n: if you disagree, drop me a comment!! I am open for discourse, if you have any groups (of those that I have listed in my pinned post) and headcanon ideas you would like me to do, I will do my best!!

Hongjoong: Wizard (but I can also see him as an Artificer) So this is because Hongjoong is a creator and is really smart, but also DOESN'T EAT HEALTHY AT ALL. Wizards and Artificers are kind of similar in that they both use other matter to create. Wizards work with energy, and artificers use materials to make new things. Both require high intelligence levels, and I feel like out of all the classes, these two fit Hongjoong the best

The rest are below the cut

Seonghwa: Druid Druids fuck shit up with nature. They tend to be a more underrated class and not as well understood as some of the more common ones, so I think people underestimate the druids. Which could be a fatal mistake, as they will wreck your life with the help of the flora and fauna. Seonghwa also tends to be underrated and does not get enough credit until he shows up looking like a literal wet DREAM and everyone is suddenly destroyed by this gorgeous menace.

Yunho: Paladin Paladins are probably the most noble and loyal class and there is no one more noble and loyal than Yunho. They also tend to be more imposing figures. Like, Yunho is exactly how I always picture Paladins to look, with his height and stature. Plus, he'd be really sexy wielding a two-handed broad sword

Yeosang: Rogue This little shit....like I can easily picture him sneaking around messing with other people's shit. He does not seem to have a problem starting shit, then just disappearing into thin air. This one is harder to explain, just trust my feelings, okay??

San: Bard Uhhh have you LISTENED to his voice?? No but like, Bards are great at creating songs and stories and love performing, but that part that really inspires me to give San to the Bards is because they are NOTORIOUS for being the whores of the group. And while Wooyoung doesn't need any help to get with someone, San just looks at you with those smouldering eyes and suddenly you can't find your underwear. He would take full advantage of schmoozing people

Mingi: Cleric Mingi was by far the most difficult to place. Because he's not any type of fighter, but he's also not a creator (in the RPG sense). But like his presence has always been a bit calming and healing to me, and I think that would be something he would most enjoy doing with an adventuring team. I don't personally like that there is really only one good "healer" class, though and that they are tied to religion, though. I feel like Mingi would probably be someone more attuned to the healing spirits of the world? Like to the point that he probably didn't even notice it when he was younger and like a friend was sad and he just would give them a hug and gradually they felt their worries dissipate?

Wooyoung: Barbarian Little man with a big sword. He is an absolute lunatic and would be the first into a battlefield and the last off. Then he'd go to the tavern, down a few pints, eat some good food, and find a bed with the well-endowed barmaid

Jongho: Monk The Monk class is so underutilized by casual players. But, they are well trained in both the body and mind. They have control over the emotions, and when they unleash their power, their force is immense. Jongho just seems like the type who really has to control himself for just fucking up all of the members at any given point.

[spookwarfare]

the best stuff I heard, saw, and read in 2019

albums

Colter Wall - s/t (2017)

Endlessly relistenable outlaw country album. Colter Wall’s cavernously deep voice, air of masculine weariness, and classy songwriting will put you in the mind of Johnny Cash, Nick Cave, and even of Michael Gira.

Kevin Ayers - Joy of a Toy (1969)

Strange, bouncy, whimsical prog-rock album with glam and folk embellishments.  Ayers was a profoundly unique songwriter with an eclectic imagination, and this album’s baroque orchestrations sometimes approach a strand of diverse neoclassicism. And it’s catchy too!

Gordon Lightfoot - Lightfoot! (1966)

With “Sundown” featured this year in The Beach Bum and Knives Out, Gordon Lightfoot had something of a bump in 2019, and yet I like him best on this album, from long before he discovered yacht rock. His vocal performance is heartbreaking, and his lyrics are sophisticated.

“The way I feel is like a robin Whose babes have flown to come no more Like a tall oak tree, alone and cryin' When the birds have flown and the nest is bare.”

Ariel Pink - pom pom (2014)

I was looking through some of the biggies of the 2010s and somehow missed this one when it first came out. Pink’s shuffling, Zappa-esque songcraft and genre-hopping are in fine form, and this album is overstuffed with his unmistakable humor and virtuosity.

Jethro Tull - Songs from the Wood (1977)

Some things never change-- I can never get enough of rustic Britishisms, and even though it’s been a long time since Jethro Tull was a “cool” band, Ian Anderson’s unique voice and Praetorius-via-McCartney songwriting shines, espeically in deliberately medieval songs like “Jack in the Green” and “The Whistler.”

movies

Kiki’s Delivery Service (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 1989)

Miyazaki’s underrated masterpiece, and his cleanest and most concise film. His fabulist tendencies sometimes create bloat in his lesser movies, but Kiki is crystal-clear in its beautiful allegory of leaving home, making a livelihood, and finding yourself.

Peterloo (dir. Mike Leigh, 2018)

An ocean of plummy English voices and creased old faces washes over the newest film by socialist-humanist director Mike Leigh, and his dramatization of the 1819 “Peterloo” massacre of protesters by the police is bursting with aspirational rage.

Climax (dir. Gaspar Noé, 2018)

Kinetic movement and percussive sound thrum inside this toe-tapping psychological horror film, and while Noé’s attraction to sensational violence is unabated, his newest movie achieves a grace and elegance of composition that’s seldom seen in film.

Fatal Attraction (dir. Adrian Lyne, 1987)

This notoriously misogynist film surprised me by not being very sexist at all-- instead, it dramatizes through giallo-flecked terror and slight metaphor the dreadful repercussions of lies, concealment, and broken promises in the context of love, with special empathy for Glenn Close’s ever-suffering Alex Forrest.

Quest for Fire (dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1981)

Annaud is a visionary director who works on an epic scale, cut from the same cloth as Kubrick or David Lean, and this quest travelogue of the prehistoric era summons a rare sort of wonder in the viewer.

books

Unclay by T.F. Powys (1931)

A forgotten gem of British literature, Unclay predicts C.S. Lewis and Terry Pratchett in its gentle irony and dark humor, and exhibits a rarefied wisdom and warmth.

The Elephant Man by Frederick Treves (1923)

It’s impossible to read Treves’s memoirs of his disfigured friend Joseph Merrick without shedding a tear. It was this beautifully empathetic remembrance that inspired Bernard Pomerance and David Lynch so many years later.

The Dark is Light Enough and The Lady’s Not for Burning by Christopher Fry (1954 and 1948)

These fancifully nostalgic verse dramas from the postwar era revive a dead genre to imbue the 20th-century screwball comedy with the dignity and poetic grace of the renaissance.

Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke (1953)

I was a little hesitant to read a Golden Age sci-fi novel, since they’re known in some circles for their lack of aesthetic value, but Childhood’s End breaks through that limitation to tell to a mentally stimulating story of mysticism, international political intrigue, and, ultimately, a deeply sad and strange End of Days.

Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman by Stefan Zweig (1927)

Zweig reminds one of Gide, Proust, and Chekhov in his obsession with the amorous pull of memory, and this 100-page novel is a straight shot of longing-- and of dreams of love dashed on the rocks of reality.

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Bismuth

Steven Universe is a show about solving problems with healthy communication instead of violence. It’s also a show so centered around fighting that our main characters have signature weapons that act as literal extensions of themselves. 

Not every episode has an action sequence, and not every action sequence is a fight, but this series is no stranger to glamorizing combat. For all its talk about how true strength means more than physical might, the use of physical might to hurt others isn’t always frowned upon, even by our peaceful hero. To compensate for this dissonance, fights that would normally leave fatal wounds instead end in a process so harmless that they called it “poofing.” 

Our ninety-eighth episode begins not with a title card, but a dramatic-looking scene that’s soon revealed to have no stakes, capped with Steven bemoaning that “dying a bunch in video games is emotionally exhausting.” The temporary nature of death is ingrained in his life—his very existence involved his mother not quite dying, but becoming half of him—and while the show at this point has acknowledged that violence can scar the body and soul, the only permanent consequences we’ve seen precede Steven’s existence. Shattering, the Cluster, and Corruption are ancient history, and were actions taken by the villains our heroes rebelled against. We’ve never had to deal with the moral implications of ending a life, and because this is a kid’s show there’s a chance we never would have, because the game isn’t quite as fun once permanent consequences are in play.

After a comedic foray into Lion’s mane, Steven pops a mysterious bubble we saw all the way back in Lion 3, flies back into his room, and shouts that he’s made a horrible mistake. And after the initial reaction from the other Crystal Gems, we linger in the room to get one last message from his television screen before he jumps back in:

Game Over.

“We are the Crystal Gems!”

I love everything about the title reveal of this episode. I love that we have to wait for it, so we’re forced to pay extra attention when it arrives. I love the not-quite-still shot of our two leads sizing each other up as the name of our episode and new character slowly fades in. And I love the chill but chilling music that sets the stage for the life-changing story ahead of our hero. 

Aivi and Surasshu give characters distinct instrumentation, Peter and the Wolf style, but folks like Rose, Greg, Connie, Lapis, Peridot, and even Lion also have distinct motifs (sometimes a few, in the case of Rose and Lapis) using these instruments. The four main Crystal Gems are unique in that they’re defined mainly by their sound: Garnet is the bass holding everything together, Amethyst is the drumkit keeping up the tempo, Pearl is the piano accompanying others, and Steven subs out a traditional main instrument for chiptunes (many people have pointed this out, but I think this video does the best job of exploring it). Garnet as a concept eventually gets a motif that largely appears when fusion is involved, but the principle of associating these four main characters primarily through instruments holds true throughout the series.

Bismuth is a Crystal Gem, too. And whether it’s intentional or not, I love that this is shown by her lack of a distinct theme song, leaving her represented by her instrument in the same way as our big four. And the instrument we get for a heavy metal stuck in the past is a reverse electric guitar.

On the subject of sound, we just started and I've already waited too long to talk about Uzo Aduba. Bismuth is beautifully animated and has a stunning design, and the extra large crew for this two-parter did wonders on her facial expressions and body language to breathe life into the character, but all of it would've fallen short without a magnificent voice actor tying it together. This is a complicated and ambiguous figure, who laughs hard and burns hot but knows how to keep quiet, and Aduba hits every emotional beat with ease. 

Aduba is especially talented in humanizing Bismuth’s rage, balancing loud shouts with twinges of sadness and jolly war stories with drops of venom. Her monologue in the Forge is one of many examples of Aduba’s greatness: after building up fervent momentum as she works with burning lava, she lowers her voice to a triumphant but menacing whisper when revealing that she chose to create weaponry. Aduba made a splash by finding a real person in a character reduced to the nickname “Crazy Eyes” on Orange is the New Black, and while Bismuth might not be as extreme of a role, she’s made great by an actress who refuses to dumb down angry women.

Bismuth is a zealot, but why wouldn’t she be? She faced the same oppression that drove the other Crystal Gems to rebel, and is mentally right in the thick of it while Garnet and Pearl have had thousands of years to move on. The leader that inspired and encouraged her to build weapons not only refused to use the Breaking Point, but fought her, bubbled her, and lied about it. We see it in Bismuth’s face the moment Rose is first mentioned around her, and even though this could be read as concern over her leader’s whereabouts, our knowledge that Rose’s version of events clashes with Bismuth’s hiding place sets off early warning bells. 

Bismuth’s wordplay here is perfect for a character who often means multiple things at once: “Rose really is something else” works as a commentary on how strange Rose was, as a reference to her physically becoming something else, and as another hint of Bismuth’s true feelings about her leader’s betrayal. Her clever use of language soon becomes ingrained as a character trait: we obviously get the triple pun on her name (not three puns, but the same pun three times), but I’m a bigger sucker for the phrase “upper crust” playing off her disdain of Gem elites with geological terminology. It’s great to see such cleverness when characters with massive frames and aggressive attitudes are so rarely graced with wit.

Bismuth is angry, but she’s more than her anger. It’s balanced by (and caused by) her huge heart. She gets along famously with Garnet and Pearl, and cares deeply for her fallen friends, but she’s just as warm with Amethyst and Steven. An underrated element of Bismuth is that it doesn’t forget that Amethyst is in the middle of a major arc: even though she’s not the focus of the episode, she’s still reeling from her fight with Jasper and is uncomfortable around another huge interloper in her life, this time someone whose existence furthers the notion that Amethyst isn’t a “proper” Crystal Gem. So Amethyst is awkward at first, then sows seeds of suspicion when Steven is entranced. It speaks well of Bismuth that she treats Amethyst as an equal worthy of respect without question, and Amethyst soon comes around when Bismuth praises and upgrades her whip. This giant-sized episode is the clear product of long-term planning and collaboration, but it still remembers to tell a quick Amethyst story to keep us invested in her ongoing development.

But it’s Bismuth’s relationship with Steven that makes up the bulk of the plot, and as dumb as it might sound, the character she reminds me of most is Tim Curry’s version of Long John Silver from legitimate classic film Muppet Treasure Island; yes, Long John Silver in general works for this analogy, but Tim Curry is the definitive version, fight me. Bismuth isn’t as treacherous as old Long John, but they share the tightrope act of being at odds with young protagonists that they earnestly like. There’s nothing fake about their moments of bonding and pseudo-parental advice, and while both are angling to convert a child hero to a questionable cause, it’s done in part to maintain a friendly relationship. Again, Silver is more of an outright villain—his lust for gold lacks the nuance of Bismuth’s well-intentioned justification of extreme violence—but these are gregarious antagonists that our heroes build meaningful connections with, and ultimately learn lasting lessons from. 

Steven is all in on Bismuth’s ardor at first, grinning with shared passion after she rallies the team to keep fighting Homeworld. He’s a little less on board upon seeing Amethyst’s weapon upgrade, and his unease grows during the sparring session, but for all her intensity, Bismuth is fine with him not wanting to fight. She welcomes his own “rituals” with glee, and even though our first look at this sees her spiking a birdie into the sand so hard that the beach explodes, the montage otherwise shows her fitting right in. Even the foreshadowing of Bismuth’s views on weapon lethality during Lonely Blade is lighthearted, with the bonus of showing us how far Pearl has come in regards to fiction since Steven the Sword Fighter.

It all comes together in a poignant discussion about Rose. This is the last time she’s ever spoken of in a purely positive light before the story of her shattering Pink Diamond comes out; not every conversation about her is negative after this reveal, it’s never quite the same. We focus on Rose as a champion of differences: this is the Rose who said a servile pearl could be a warrior, who accepted a new fusion when nobody else would, who told a runty amethyst she was perfect the way she was. Bismuth is telling us what we already know, but personalizes it, showing how inspired she was by it, and Steven reacts to this umpteenth version of the Rose Was Great speech by admitting his fears of not measuring up for the second episode in a row.

Bismuth’s response sums up the entire lesson of Steven’s original series arc, and it’s such a moving affirmation when paired with Change Your Mind:

“You are different. That’s what’s so exciting. You don’t have to be like Rose Quartz, you can be someone even better. You can be you.”

The tragedy is that this hopeful message is undercut by Bismuth’s idea that a “better” Steven is one who uses deadly force. And the speech as a whole is further marred by a subtle hint of Rose’s mendacity: Bismuth mentions that she was “just another quartz soldier, made right here in the dirt,” but even before the Pink Diamond reveal, we already know Rose is from Homeworld from earlier episodes like Rose’s Scabbard. Retrospect enhances the sensation, tinging the uplifting speech with the kind of gray that we’re going to see a lot more of in the future.

There’s an awful inevitability to the ensuing fight as our heroes descend into the Forge, coming right of the heels of Bismuth telling Steven they need an alternative to fighting fair. Steven repeats his progression of reactions towards Bismuth all at once: first confused, then super excited, then gradually realizing something isn’t sitting right. But this time we can’t end with a day at the beach.

(The mood is ruined a little by the adorable commercial transition, and the summarization of the scene upon cutting back from commercials in a way this eleven minute show has never dealt with, but fortunately the bulk of the scene goes uninterrupted.)

Steven obviously isn’t going to use the Breaking Point, and we get a prolonged shot of them standing at odds in mirrored positions from their title card encounter before Bismuth’s hand tightens into a fist. To her, this isn’t a fight with Steven, but a continuation of her fight with Rose, and her anger at her deception is fueled further by the not unreasonable assumption that Rose is still lying as Steven. In Bismuth’s mind she isn’t attacking a child, but a veteran warrior who for some reason took the form of a small human, so she goes all-out.

Steven has been called “Rose” plenty of times by Jasper, and this will continue in our very next episodes, but it’s gotta sting harder when the person doing it just told him that Steven was enough. And the fight itself is no joke, which is a relief after the brawl in Steven vs. Amethyst was all joke. The hits land just as hard, and we get the same awesome choreography showcasing Steven’s floaty powers and spiky bubble in action, but Bismuth isn’t kidding and Steven is on the ropes. His sandal melting away is as graphic as we’re gonna get, but it’s still a great sign of what will happen to him if he falls. His shoelessness also allows for a neat reversal of Bismuth closing her fist to begin the fight: after limping on the other foot to avoid the heat, the first we see of him after the second bubble of the episode pops is a close-up of his bare foot steaming on the ground. He’s forced to hurt both himself and Bismuth to end the fight.

We’re on the cusp of learning the “truth” about Pink Diamond, but the beginning of Rose’s souring portrayal is right here. If you squint hard enough, Rose’s actions in the past could have been justified by her not wanting to shatter anybody, and by Bismuth being an extremist who left her with no choice. But as she stands impaled by the sword she once forged, Bismuth’s rage can no longer hide her grief. Even if Rose was right, and that’s hardly a sure thing, it’s twisted and terrible that she never told the other Crystal Gems the truth. It doesn’t matter that we eventually learn that this was a lot more complicated than it seemed because Rose was Pink Diamond, because in the moment, the person who just tried to kill Steven is saying that Steven’s mother did an awful thing, and despite everything the show has told us until this moment, she’s making a good point. Steven has no time to dwell on it before the other shoe drops (hopefully not into more lava), but it’s telling that Bismuth only acknowledges Steven as himself again when he says he’ll be honest.

When Bismuth gave Steven his pep talk in the living room, the audience didn’t know her full story, but she did, so she still loved Rose despite everything. She was hurt by her, and was willing to fight her, but she looked up to her leader despite it all. So it’s a real turn when she uses same language that encouraged Steven moments ago to make a new point: he could be better than her because of his potential to be spectacular, but also because she set the bar low by doing horrible things. Bismuth is all about that wordplay.

I’ve got a lot to say about my problems with Bismuth’s story after Bismuth (or rather the lack of one) that I’m including in my giant-sized features section below, because a giant-sized episode merits giant-sized features. But within the episode itself, I think silence after the fight is the right choice. Steven has been in danger before, but this is the hardest a person has ever tried to kill him, and it was one of his friends. A new friend, but a friend.

Bismuth marks the beginning of the end of this era of the show, an era when Steven’s series-long arc to fulfill his mother’s legacy was relatively straightforward. In yet another example of Bismuth’s wordplay, his life story swivels around a Breaking Point. The core of Steven Universe may not change in the way it does in Bubble Buddies and Mirror Gem and Catch and Release, but the core of Steven Universe is forever affected. His imminent guilt complex begins with stabbing Bismuth, and despite the hardships to come, he becomes a better person for surviving it.

But at least he doesn’t shatter her. That would really do a number on the guy. Can’t imagine how guilty he’d be if he one day did shatter an imposing zealot from the Gem War days with a history of confusing him for Rose Quartz...

Future Vision!

This is normally a section that lists small bits Fragments of foreshadowing, but because Bismuth is a double episode with tremendous impact on the shape of things to come in ways I already talked about in the review proper, I want to use this space to talk about the elegance of Steven Universe’s structure. I’ve referred to the fifty-odd episode chunks that make up the story on numerous occasions, but I think it’s about time I buck up and call them Acts. 

Act I of Steven Universe is the first season, Act II is the second and third season, and Act III is the fourth and fifth season (with the movie and Steven Universe Future as epilogues), and I think viewing the series through this lens really makes the structure shine. There are many examples of repeating themes and moments that this interpretation makes clear, and as an example, I want to talk about how a recurring phrase signifies a turning point towards the endgame of each act. 

In Act I, the slow-burning mystery of where the Gems came from begins at the midpoint, Mirror Gem, and escalates in Warp Tour with the introduction of Peridot. But we’re still doing regular episodes throughout, because Steven’s life is bigger than his past and there’s no pressing need to address his alien heritage when it isn’t directly affecting his life. It’s not until Marble Madness when this story ramps up, with Peridot's discovery of our heroes hurtling us towards a finale that sees Steven come into his own to defend his friends against old foes from beyond the stars who thought them long dead. The turning point is marked by Pearl taking a stand to proudly declare:

“We are the Crystal Gems! We're still alive, and we're still the guardians of this planet and all its living creatures!”

Jumping to Act III, the slow-burning mystery of what Rose did to Pink Diamond is actually solved with some time to spare. Things seem to be wrapping up at Garnet’s wedding in Reunited, especially because we’ve reached the same episode count of the other two acts. But then Blue and Yellow Diamond crash the party, bringing together the entire main cast in opposition. As in Act I, this shifts us onto the path towards the finale, this time one that sees Steven bringing the Diamonds together to heal the damage they did on Earth. This turning point was a bit less subtle:

“This is our home! Our planet! Our friends and family! We are the Crystal Gems!”

Act II is more stable than I or III, chronicling the period after Steven becomes a competent Crystal Gem but before everything is turned upside-down. He has adventures befitting his role and helps his friends and family as he grows more comfortable with his mother’s legacy, but unbeknownst to him, it’s the calm before the storm. Through it all, that legacy and that group are the bedrock of Steven’s life, and Bismuth begins to unravel his sense of security, leading to a finale that destroys our hero’s comfort zone. The turning point comes as Bismuth shatters not an elite Gem, but the fake image of one, and roars a battle cry that shows that there are some missing pages in the story of Steven’s happy family:

“Listen up, you Homeworld upper crusts...”

“We are the Crystal Gems!”

If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have inconsistencies…

Likewise, this is normally a section that lists plot elements that don’t add up, and I can’t imagine reviewing Bismuth with addressing Bismuth’s treatment as the show continues. There aren’t many other places to write about it until Made of Honor, as the most notable element of this discussion is her absence, but it’s a flaw beyond this episode itself, so it’s going here.

First, I understand from a storytelling perspective why Bismuth is bubbled again. She’s a major new element that couldn’t realistically be sent to the barn like Peridot and Lapis, and is so at odds with our heroes that it would mess with the direction of the series. In particular, the reveal that Rose shattered Pink Diamond would go from being a story about Steven coping to a story about Steven and Bismuth coping, because Rose shattering someone goes against the whole reason she fought Bismuth in the first place. The simplest solution to not having Bismuth dominate the upcoming story is putting her away until the plot demands. And we do eventually get some lip service to why she was bubbled again for so long: she did, after all, try to shatter Steven with the Breaking Point at the end of their fight. She seems cool with it, and it’s not as if she was suffering in there, popping back out as if no time had passed and integrating well with the team afterwards.

But it is baffling that there isn’t any conversation about trying to talk with her instead of keeping her locked away. We don’t need a proper trial, but the idea that this team wouldn’t allow Bismuth to make her case and wouldn’t try to help her work towards a mutual understanding is not only cruel, but cruel in a way that makes no sense for these characters. I’ve called the underuse of Malachite the show’s greatest blunder, and I stand by it because Bismuth’s treatment is much more than a “whoops.” Communication is everything to this series, and the idea that Bismuth was too dangerous to be reasoned with is, to me, Steven Universe’s greatest sin. 

Garnet and Pearl in particular never mention any alternatives, or even bring her up to a meaningful degree. This is supposed to be one of their best friends. And after we learn about Pink Diamond’s shattering, it’s bewildering that Steven doesn’t consider the Bismuth of it all outside of her factoring into his guilt complex in Mindful Education and a brief mention in Storm in the Room. On both an emotional and logical level there’s no reason to not include her more in Act III. Like, let’s say in the worst case scenario she’s freed and furiously attacks Steven: he already defended himself by himself against her, in a lava-filled arena where she had a huge advantage, so obviously with the other Gems he’d be safe. And let’s say Steven is traumatized by nearly getting killed. Understandable. Even if Pearl also nearly got him killed a few times, it was never with murderous intent. Except that if that’s the rationale, I feel like Bismuth deserves to have that explained by him at some point during her imprisonment. He could tell the Gems, he could confide in Connie, whatever, this is something that needs to be said out loud. If we’re going to have her locked away indefinitely, there needs to be more than stone cold silence about why the Crystal Gems came to such an extreme solution, seemingly without a second thought. There was more discussion about the ethics of bubbling Peridot than Bismuth, and Peridot was a full-blown opponent at the time. There was more discussion about the ethics of rehabilitating the Centipeetle, a being corrupted into what seemed to be an unthinking monster, than a fully sentient ally who did a bad thing.

I’m not gonna knock this episode down any pegs for this in my rankings, because it’s not really the fault of this episode. Yes, it could have included Steven’s conversation with the other Gems, but this story was already full to the gills and there was plenty of time in future episodes, particularly episodes after the shattering story comes to light, to address it. Bismuth works fine on its own, but demanded further stories that it never got. Made of Honor does a decent job of bringing Bismuth back, but that’s after over fifty episodes of a misguided but heroic and loyal friend being imprisoned without any attempt at mediation.

I get that it would’ve been a lot of work, and that the bubble method was more convenient. But making a character this great only to treat her this way is a disservice to both Bismuth and the Crystal Gems as a whole.

(Also, less importantly, this episode was marketed as 100 thanks to the inclusion of a few combined shorts as numbered episodes. But yeah this was totally episodes 98 and 99.)

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

I ended on a bummer note there, but like I said, Bismuth by itself shouldn’t be held culpable for not having a Too Short to Ride or Alone at Sea for Bismuth down the line. It still doesn’t make my top fifteen, but it does make my top twenty, which matters because the list is expanding next time to account for our actual hundredth episode.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

When It Rains

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Bismuth

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

No Thanks!

     5. Horror Club      4. Fusion Cuisine      3. House Guest      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[soyoureviewhiphoptoo]

Discography Power Ranking: 2Pac

Simply put, Tupac Amaru Shakur is an icon. In a career lasting just nine years, 2Pac was able to become one of the most influential and most loved men, not just in the world of hip-hop but in the world period. The man made such an impact that people jump whenever his name is mentioned, prompting conspiracy theories that he is still alive in a Cuban bunker, Performances at festivals that were not around during his lifetime or appearing on songs with people he had never met.  

From a backup dancer in the Hip-Hop group, Digital Underground, all the way to going selling millions of records as a part of Death Row Records, 2Pac was able to amass one of the strongest discographies in the industry. But how do they rank in my books?

The difference a few years can make...

I will rank his five solo studio albums, worst to best (That’s right, only the five albums released with his creative input and not with the collaborative efforts of the groups Thug Life or The Outlawz, not five posthumous studio albums or the fourteen posthumous compilation albums. Like bruh…of the projects I just mentioned, only Thug Life Volume 1 was released in his lifetime…why so many albums???). So without further ado, I am Ayo and in commemoration of 2Pac’s 46th Birthday and the release of his biopic film, this is the first Album Power Ranking.

5. Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... Released: February 16 1993 Label: Amaru Entertainment, Interscope Records, T.N.T Recordings Certifications: Platinum Peak Chart Position: 24 (US Billboard 200), 4 (US Top RnB/ Hip Hop Albums)

The album that has been regarded as 2Pac’s breakout album. On this album, he implements a more mainstream sound and has an all-star list of features. As well as hit songs “I Get Around” and “Keep Ya Head Up”, the album has spawned a few underrated songs in 2Pac’s discography such as “Papa’z Song”, “Last Wordz” (featuring Ice Cube and Ice T) and the titular track “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...”

2Pac- I Get Around Featuring Shock G and Money-B (of Digital Underground)

There is one very strong issue with this album…the production. In my opinion, I believe this album has the worst production of the five total studio albums. The booming, over-the-top instrumentation that is present on a majority of the songs is overbearing and often overshadows the artists when they rap (which is a big no-no). Aside from their superior lyrical content, the reason why the songs I mentioned earlier were able to shine was because the production was more understated and you could actually hear the artists clearly. Also, unlike other albums on this list, the production is a victim of the times; the album ultimately sounds old and dated. If you were to try and introduce someone to Pac for the first time and you were to play songs from this album, it might switch them off completely.

While the lyrical content remains consistent with a 2Pac project, the dated production ruins the overall aesthetic of the album.

Rating: 3/5

4. 2Pacalypse Now Released: November 12, 1991 Label: Amaru Entertainment, Interscope Records, T.N.T Recordings, Jive Records Certifications: Gold Peak Chart Position: 64 (US Billboard 200), 13 (US Top RnB/ Hip Hop Albums)

This is where it all began. 2Pac’s debut album (and one of his most impactful albums imo).  It is his earliest showing of his wide scope of social commentary regarding the plight of those in America’s lower social classes (more specifically, black people) while showing his poetic delivery and his impressive story-telling abilities. It is very hard to overlook any of the songs on this album yet there are a few standout tracks such as “Brenda’s Got a Baby”, the iconic yet tragic story of the teenage Brenda, “Violent”, the story of two black males fighting back against the police and “Words of Wisdom”, a song addressing his fellow black people while discussing the issues of America and criticising the American system. (coining his famous acronym for the word nigga, “Never Ignorant, Getting Goals Accomplished)

2Pac- Brenda’s Got a Baby Featuring Dave Hollister

As much as I love this album, it is not without its flaws. With the underground hip hop style of the rapping and production, it is hard for it to have a wider reach in mass appeal. If 2Pac’s name wasn’t attached to it, could we say that would have even reached Gold, selling just over 900,000 copies? While Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... went over the top with the production, 2Pacalypse Now was very simple, possibly too simple; it does not have instrumentation that grips you instantly. While it could be argued that is places more focus on 2Pac’s lyrics, it does take a while to grip you.

Despite its rather understated delivery, 2Pacalypse Now was a strong debut that displays the strengths of 2Pac immediately.

Rating 4/5

3. Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory Released: November 5, 1996 Label: Amaru Entertainment, Interscope Records, T.N.T Recordings, Jive Records Certifications: 4x Platinum Peak Chart Position: 1 (US Billboard 200), 1 (US Top RnB/ Hip Hop Albums)

The first album released after 2Pac’s sudden death in late 1996, KIlluminati: The 7 Day Theory is an interesting album. For starters, while it is a posthumous release, it still counts as one of his studio albums as the lyric writing, recording, and mixing of the entire album was all completed in the first week of August 1996 (one month before the fatal drive-by shooting). The naming of the album was completely screwed up. It was supposed to be “The Don Makaveli- Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” (according to Outlaw member E.D.I. Mean and cover artist Ronald "Riskie" Brent in an August 2014 interview) and frankly, it makes more sense than the eventual name of “The Don Killuminati”. It has the very best album cover in his discography and one of the more controversial covers in hip-hop history. It does not have a star-studded feature list or big-name producers yet Killuminati delivers one of the rawest sounds of any 2Pac record, predominantly featuring fellow members of the Outlawz and production by QD3, Hurt-M-Badd and Darryl “Big D” Harper (Fun fact, Demetrius Shipp, one of the producers on the single “Toss it up” is the father of Demetrius Shipp Jr, the actor portraying 2Pac in the biopic “All Eyez on Me”).

Contrary to previous albums, this album has a different kind of sound in his voice. With songs like “Hail Mary”, “Bomb First” and “Life of an Outlaw”, 2Pac raps with an angry passion, a true reflection of his increased paranoia of the people around him and the industry he was a part of. Songs like “Krazy” and “Hold Ya Head” switch up the style and offer the introspective and vulnerable style he had become known for however this time, he speaks in a way that shows he was ready to die and was not afraid about his fate. With songs like “Live or Die in LA” and “Toss it Up”, he tries to recapture the party feeling captured in his previous album, All Eyez On Me but it misses the mark and feels out of place for this album. 

2Pac- Hail Mary Featuring The Outlawz & Prince Ital Joe

Finally, this album has 2Pac dissing EVERYONE. Nas, Notorious B.I.G, Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Entertainment, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Henchman…just to name “a few”. He completely goes off on this album, wrapping it all up in the outro diss track “Against All Odds” (which is his very best diss track. It is superior to “Hit ‘em up” in every way…don’t @ me). While it is cool to hear Pac insult everyone and spill the tea, Killuminati does not leave Pac in a good light, especially since it was released after his death. How many of us want to think about him spending a majority of his final album dissing people?

Despite the possibility of leaving a sour taste in the mouths of listeners, 2Pac rides off into the sunset in a passionate and angry blaze of glory.

Rating: 4/5

2. Me Against the World Released: March 14, 1995 Label: Out Da Gutta Records, Interscope Records, Atlantic Records Certifications: 2x Platinum Peak Chart Position: 1 (US Billboard 200), 1 (US Top RnB/ Hip Hop Albums)

Two gold singles, one platinum album, assault charges in the summer of 1993, charges for shooting off-duty police officers and sexual assault in the autumn of the same year, a subsequent sentencing of 1.5 to 4.5 years in prison, robbed and shot five times the day before this verdict is even reached…needless to say that life was a rollercoaster for the young Tupac Shakur. Despite the pitfalls, things were about to raise for Mr. Shakur. While incarcerated, his third studio album, “Me Against the World” is released to critical acclaim and huge commercial success (this would become his first album to debut at the number 1 spot and the first album to debut at number 1 while the artist was imprisoned). The idea of him losing popularity while locked up was unheard of as more people flocked to him than ever before…this album was one of the reasons.

At the time, Me Against the World was regarded as the best album he had released. While 2Pacalypse Now displayed his social consciousness and Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z… showed his ability to generate mainstream appeal, Me Against the World was able to show one of the most important qualities a musician needs when making music; emotional vulnerability. Unlike the anger showed in Killuminati or the discontent in 2Pacalypse Now, this album is bleak. It is sad. It is sensitive. One thing to consider is that this was released at a time where rappers were portraying themselves as untouchable gangstas. This album switches that perspective, humanising these gangstas and making them more relatable to ourselves, the listeners. One song that everyone remembers from this album is “Dear Mama” and this is within good reason. One of the easiest, yet effective ways of humanising gangsta rappers, showing that despite every wrong-doing that they have done in life, they are eternally grateful for their mothers and always have their best interests at heart. Many have tried to capture the magic 2Pac created with this song but no other rap song dedicated to mothers have been able to overtake.

2Pac- Dear Mama

Mother love aside, this album shows so much more. His paranoia of the people around him is on full blast on this album, with songs such as “Death Around the Corner” and “If I Die 2nite”. With death being a constant fear in 2Pac’s mind, it is only a matter of time until depression grips him, which is evidently clear on songs like “So Many Tears” and “Lord Knows”. Even on more positive songs like “Can U Get Away” and “Old School”, he is able to show a type of vulnerability not commonly seen, with the former having him talking to a woman who he is in love with but she is already in an [abusive] relationship, trying to get her to leave while the latter shows him reminiscing over all the rappers that he looked up to growing up. With some of the very best songs 2Pac has ever created, this album is an absolute classic that deserves to be listened to.

Rating: 4.75/5

1. All Eyez On Me Released: February 13, 1996 Label: Deathrow Records, Interscope Records Certifications: Diamond (10x Platinum) Peak Chart Position: 1 (US Billboard 200), 1 (US Top RnB/ Hip Hop Albums)

After being bailed out by Suge Knight and Jimmy Iovine in October of 1995, 2Pac had become a changed man. Months spent wrongfully imprisoned and time spent studying philosophy of war and military strategy (amongst other things, no doubt) had transformed Tupac Shakur into a more dark and menacing individual. It was this new-found attitude that helped fuel something truly special.

Me Against the World is one of the greatest albums in hip hop’s history and it is one of the very best of 2Pac yet there is only one project in his discography (at least in my mind) that is better. It was released just under a year later, with a titular phrase that has become synonymous with 2Pac…” All Eyez on Me” Where Me Against the World plays highly upon the emotional vulnerability the lifestyle he lives has created, All Eyez on Me has the complete opposite effect. No longer does 2Pac live in fear or paranoia over the possible events that could happen to him but instead he lives for the present, embracing the thug culture and welcoming everything: the police, rival rappers, people who wish him ill, with open arms. Even if it was for a short time, 2Pac showed with this album that he had become fearless and frankly, it can be liberating for the listener.

All Eyez on Me is a double album consisting of fourteen tracks for Book 1 and thirteen tracks for Book 2, comprising a total of twenty-seven tracks. I am someone who is very particular about the length of a project, anything longer than an hour (so about 14-16 tracks total) begins to bug me. Yet, All Eyez on Me is one of the few projects over twenty tracks (and one of the few double disc albums to add) that is able to work through and through. Nearly everything on the album fits in so well, allowing it to play seamlessly, with very few skippable tracks (but they are there *Cough* “What’z Ya Phone #” *Cough*). But what is even better is that the two sides of the album are different enough for them to be considered as two different projects. Either way, the listening experience of the album is not compromised.

This album has that definitive 2Pac sound that is recognised the world over. If you ask someone to name a 2Pac song, there is a very strong chance that it would be on this album. Whether it is iconic songs such as “Ambitionz Az a Ridah”, “California Love”, “All Eyez on Me”, “How Do You Want It”, “I Ain’t Mad at Cha” or “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted” (featuring Snoop Dogg!) or even underrated tracks like “Only God Can Judge Me”, “No More Pain”, “Got My Mind Made Up” (This song has Tha Dogg Pound and Method Man and Redman featured, that’s 2 of the most iconic rap duos right there), “When We Ride” or “Picture Me Rollin’”, there is a chance you have heard it and there is a chance (at least I hope) that you enjoyed it.

2Pac- California Love (Remix) Featuring Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman

The production on this is timeless, it has some of the best sounding list of features I have ever heard on any rap album, 2Pac is able to lyrically bounce back and forth between serious topics and party lyrics and overall, he solidified himself as an icon with this project.

I believe All Eyez on Me is the very best project released by Tupac Shakur and if you’ve never heard it…go and listen…please?

Rating: 5/5

[nitrateglow]

Movies watched in 2017 (11-20)

Continuing my 2017 film journal. So far, I’ve continued to find some real gems!

Three Came Home (dir. Jean Negulesco, 1950)

Documenting the true story of the American Agnes Newton Smith, a writer interred with her son in a Japanese POW camp during WWII, Three Came Home is a decent film, with solid performances and a few standout scenes. It is a movie which the censorship codes held it back from being a more powerful work; you always get the sense that the filmmakers wanted to show more of the graphic and harrowing side of Smith’s ordeal, which included torture and almost being raped. nevertheless, the filmmakers go as far as they could at the time, even allowing star Claudette Colbert to get in front of the camera sans make-up. Everyone is coated in sweat and grime. Sessue Hayakawa is there too as the sympathetic Colonel Suga. He gets one strong scene toward the end of the movie, where he evokes immense grief and guilt without words, a reminder of his power as a performer and his heyday as one of the best starring actors in Hollywood during the 1910s. (7/10)

BBC Sunday-Night Theatre: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954)

Peter Cushing as Winston Smith—who can resist that? Once again, this man proves he is one of the most underrated actors to have ever stood before a camera. Despite the obvious low budget, this is a great adaptation of Orwell’s novel, much superior to the American feature adaptation made a few years after. In fact, I would say the low budget and cramped sets add to the desolate, gloomy, claustrophobic atmosphere of Oceania’s dystopian world. Everything is dingy and depressing. The ending retains the bleak outlook of Orwell’s novel and Cushing’s great depiction of brokenness only makes it all the creepier. I also want to highlight the great work Yvonne Mitchell does as Julia; she’s pretty and sensual, but not at all a glamorous starlet like the American ‘50s adaptation. Overall, a great version. If you love the book and care about your adaptations being accurate, then you’ll probably enjoy this picture. (9/10)

Reaching for the Moon (dir. Edmund Goulding, 1930)

I wouldn’t really call this movie good and the only folks I can recommend it to are old movie buffs like me, but if you are into pre-code movies, art deco, Bebe Daniels, and/or Douglas Fairbanks Sr., then Reaching for the Moon is worth watching once. The plot is frivolous and forgettable, the pace is slow even for a 70 minute picture, and poor Fairbanks is kind of wasted. He spends some time doing his usual acrobatic thing, but it always feels slapped on and not organic to the scenes. Apparently the movie was originally supposed to be a musical, but the studio cut most of the songs at the last minute since audiences were getting tired of musicals in mid-1930. To be honest, I wish they had kept them in, because the musical numbers are the most energetic and engaging parts of the film. I especially enjoyed Bing Crosby and Bebe Daniels in the jazzy, very Depression-era number “When the Folks High Up Do the Mean Low Down.” Easily, that scene and the art direction are the best assets the movie has to offer; William Cameron Menzies does lovely work on the art deco sets, which are like a dream of 1920s glamor. (6/10)

The Eternal Mother (dir. DW Griffith, 1912)

Like the Griffith short I watched in the last batch, not an essential among his early work. Mabel Normand and Blanche Sweet are wasted as a wanton woman and a virtuous wife. The plot is incredibly thin and silly: a man leaves his good wife for a tart; the tart bears his child and dies on cue. The wife is so good that she takes in the child and the husband spends his years alone until he and the wife reunite as elderly folks. Not much of interest on the technical or story scale. (4/10)

Three Outlaw Samurai (dir. Hideo Gosha, 1964)

I got interested in this one after figuring out Rian Johnson used it as an influence on the next Star Wars movie. I’m guessing most of the influence came from the way Gosha shoots the swordplay, which is very kinetic and rough, but there may be some of the film’s cynical treatment of justice and honor in the new Star Wars too… maybe, since Star Wars is rarely cynical when it comes to good and evil, but we shall see. Regardless, it is a good film, an essential if you like chambara. (8/10)

The Dentist (dir. Leslie Pearce, 1932)

To say WC Fields is weird is an understatement. I would not say I am a fan, but I do adore his surreal and deadpan Yukon parody The Fatal Glass of Beer and generally like The Bank Dick. The Dentist isn’t as impressive as either of those, but it has plenty of good, misanthropic laughs as well as some very risqué humor for 1932 (but then again, this is from the pre-code era). (7/10)

The Fall of the House of Usher (dir. JS Watson Jr. and Melville Webber, 1928)

While not as good as the later Watson and Webber offering, Lot in Sodom, their surreal adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story is still dazzling. It actually feels quite modern. It is a modern dress adaptation and conjures more of the dreadful, claustrophobic spirit of the original story rather than sticking closely to the letter. It also has a lot more obvious Caligari influence than the later Lot in Sodom. (9/10)

Fire Over England (dir. William K. Howard, 1937)

I’ve been reading a lot about the Tudors lately and Elizabeth is my favorite of the bunch. After watching the pretty poor Cate Blanchett movie, I went sixty years back to this 1937 adventure film produced by Alexander Korda. While not focusing exclusively on Elizabeth, it does tell a rousing yarn about an English spy (playing by a young and totally adorable Laurence Olivier) out to do business in Philip II’s court before the legendary English victory over the Spanish Armada in the 1580s. It’s a fun swashbuckler complete with broad characters, a hiss-worthy villain, swordplay, and daring escapes, also of historical interest since the conflict between England and Spain is meant to reflect the then-contemporary conflict between most of Europe and the Nazi Germany. Flora Robson is a great screen Elizabeth, commanding and charismatic while also sporting a fierce temper. And though given little to do, Vivien Leigh is ravishing, and even in this early film, she and Olivier are wonderful together. (8/10)

Ruka [The Hand] (dir. Jiri Trnka, 1965)

I was turned onto the work of Czech animator Jiri Trnka by the Brows Held High episode on his 1959 feature adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. That film is a charming fantasy and heartfelt look at the power of art; however, Trnka’s most famous film, the short “Ruka,” is much darker and proved to be his swan song before he passed away in 1969. It is a political satire about the suppression of artistic expression in totalitarian regimes. It is both darkly hilarious and incredibly bleak. Considering Trnka’s work is usually characterized as nostalgic and whimsical, his final film is strikes a sad, but still powerful chord and remains incredibly relevant even today. (10/10)

Big Deal on Madonna Street (dir. Mario Monicelli, 1958)

So freaking funny! I watched this one because Martin Scorsese recommended it as one of his choices for essential foreign cinema. Though Big Deal is a parody of 1950s heist pictures such as The Asphalt Jungle and Rififi, it is nothing like the pathetic cinematic parodies we get now, like Meet the Spartans or Fifty Shades of Black. Like Airplane or Blazing Saddles, it still understands that it needs to work as an original story with characters we enjoy watching and good gags that don’t really on references to popular culture alone. Big Deal is also interesting in its presentation of everyday life and urban poverty, seeing as our heroes are a mix of sad sack, small time criminals and lower class working folk; in many ways, it feels like a comic romp set in the same universe as The Bicycle Thieves or Umberto D. (9/10)