#and just the other dates we've had he's just so ducking sweet and cute and i feel so like giddy around them

[cactusdodes]

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[lazzarella]

Every episode is over too quickly, even though they're mostly getting longer ;__; anyway, back again with my rambling nonsensical notes!!!

- Aww! Baby!Dee!

- Gah, they're so sweet (visiting the little boy)

- "At least it reminded me I hadn't been forgotten" Ouch!! Guessing Dee's parents were quite absent when he was a kid? (Though I guess we don't know yet when they died)

- holy crap, these two gazing at each other when they're taking a photo with the little boy lmao at least Yak was paying attention

- How can Yak still be Dee's patient when everyone knows they're dating?

- "One month, five days, etc." DUDE!!!! Are you— I just can't...

- lol @ Dee not remembering Yak's birthday! But I did! XD (really should have posted that screenshot of his file that I've had saved in my drafts since ep 1... Sigh)

- "Find joy in becoming someone else in your own way"

- I love Kao <333

- Yak sulking and taking Dee's drink was so cute :3

- bloody hell, Yei just pulling Cher onto his lap like that O_O

- "You wear size 56?" I LOVE YOU, GRANDMA!

- Ahhhhh! Yak's face when grandma says he must be the reason Dee's watching boxing now!!! He's so pleased!!!

- lmaoooooo the giant dick plushie!!! (That bloody thing haunts me on aliexpress btw!!!! I can't search for anything without it popping up, as it were)

- look, I know I always gush over how soft Yak is but seeing him cuddling Ice Bear was almost too much for me

- "I've gotten used to having you in my arms" WHO SAYS THAT, YAK?? WHO???? Not fake boyfriends that's who!

- And now he's pouting because he wants to cuddle!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh

- And then he brings up Taem. Well done! lol

- (Okay, it's clear—or, well, likely—he's just clinging to his crush on Taem any time his feelings for Wandee rear their pretty head(s), but... Jeez, dude!)

- And Dee's face? His response??? He's not talking about Taem

- "Let's find something fun to do!" I love you, Grandma!

- Yak taking a video of her ;__;

- Okay, her all black outfit is super cool! And she's wearing creepers!! I think...

- Yak referring to himself as Dee's boyfriend at the cemetery... *pinches bridge of nose* I can't handle much more of this. And Dee's deflection! Ahhh. The way they're both dealing with their developing feelings is so interesting and delicious to watch

- oh that outfit does not suit Yak…

- I wonder if Yei is doing underground fights for $$$ to help the gym??? And that’s why he didn’t get physical with Cher. Idk

- Yak offering to help Dee again <33333

- There really is purple and yellow everywhere! (The cardboard Taem was carrying)

- I need a comparison between Taem's reaction when Yak grabbed her hand (not really comfortable) vs when he grabs Dee's hand!!!

- And Yak could be spending more time with Taem but he already had plans with Dee! Gosh, he's just... Oh, that boy!

- Ahhh! They're baking! They're having a flour fight! They're flirting over food again!!

- (Is this the first time we've seen Dee in the elephant pants too?)

- Holy shit, the audacity of Ter taking Kwan to the same restaurant and are they sitting at the same table???????

- so many short shorts and cut off tees and I'm not complaining

- awww! The tiny drink buddy dude has a name!

- The TENSION when they're listening to Fluke's song though??? JFC. You need a ginsu to cut through that

- YOU HAVE SWEET EYES??!!! No comment. I just can't lol

- smooch blocked by the oven timer! lol they really were going to kiss that time, though

- Ahhhhh, Dee looks so happy!!!!

- Yak taking and posting a photo of Gooddy on his glass was adorable :3

- (ngl, with them standing so close to the edge of the balcony, I was envisioning Gooddy going over the side lol)

- love them plugging the new line stickers in the toothbrush bit

- YoryakWandee vs WandeeYoryak is giving me duck season vs rabbit season lol

- Ahhhh! Next week's preview!!! How am I meant to wait???

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 29th May

Summer is round the corner, and with it a return to form - or a return to musical theatre, at least, which has been one of the mainstays of the UK charts up until now. It's nice to see that it's still such a strong presence, honestly - kind of reassuring.

On The Street Where You Live - Vic Damone (peaked at Number 1)

This song is from the at this point two-year-old musical My Fair Lady, and to be honest, even if I didn't already know this, you immediately know, from note one, that we've looking at a big old show tune. Something in the way Vic starts - he makes it sound big and epic, from the get-go, aided by a truly lush orchestral backing.

That's something I honestly am appreciating more and more as the rock and roll era gets going - times were, every other song had this lush, cinematic orchestral backing, all violin and brass and flutes, and now that we've gone the other direction, just drums and guitar, it's quite nice to occasionally hear a harp glissando or a sweeping set of strings.

I think it helps that this track is well written, with a sweet, romantic concept - Vic's walking around the city, and finding the whole place pretty enchanting, but it's only because he's on the street where his love lives: Are there lilac trees in the heart of town? / Can you hear a lark in any other part of town? / Does enchantment pour out of every door? / No, it's just on the street where you live. People are stopping and staring at him as he wanders, and he doesn't even care. It's cute.

It also doesn't hurt that Vic has a good voice for it. An Italian-American bandleader initially spotted by Perry Como, he's got a warm, slightly whimsical tone throughout, and goes big where he needs to, but also hangs back at points. He sings clearly and smoothly, and it's all very pretty. I think you can get off with that a bit more in musical theatre than pop music, nowadays - while popular music is getting a bit simpler, lyrically, and a bit more driving and hard-edged, musically, musical theatre remains a lot closer to the flowerier, lusher tracks that were charting back in 1952, and can get off with a bit more softness and earnest sentimentality, as a consequence. I don't mind it at all, as a palate cleanser.

Kewpie Doll - Perry Como (9)

And then, as if to prove that the two worlds - smooth covers of show tune standards and harder-edged rock and roll numbers - aren't as different as all that, along comes Perry, crooner extraordinaire, and discoverer of one Vic Damone, with a solidly rocky song, one that you could honestly imagine the Everlys or Buddy putting out.

Or perhaps you can't, because there's definitely something a bit fake about this. I think it's something about the guitar in the intro and first lines, which is just an off-brand, softer version of the start of Jailhouse Rock. That, or the fact that it's a song about winning a Kewpie doll on a fairground stall - it's trying so hard to be a song about teenage dating and romance, in the mould of Wake Up Little Suzie, and it just doesn't quite work, seeing as how Perry's literally in his mid-40s at this point. You should not be singing about dolls, dude! The whole thing smacks of Perry trying to stay relevant, and it's notable that this is basically his last US hit for a decade. It's not bad, but there's definitely soemthing a little bit inauthentic about it all.

I do appreciate the attempt to tell a story, though, as Perry is lured into a "test your strength" thing, and wins a Kewpie doll - which he doesn't want, since I got me a real live Kewpie doll / And she's the cutest one of them all. He then hooks a duck and the same thing happens again, and again, he doesn't want the doll, his date's the only doll he needs. It's sweet but a bit creepy - reducing your date to a doll is kind of gross, right? And then, to my delight, the story flips the script, as the date has a go on a stall. The date turns out to be a dead-eye dick (!) and wins a doll of her own, only to protest, since I got me a real live Kewpie doll / And he's the cutest one of them all. D'awwwwww. I can just imagine Perry blushing and stammering and the stall owner having a laugh at his expense. It's a fun image.

I should mention here that I didn't have a mental image for a Kewpie doll, so I looked it up, at this point, and it turns out Kewpie dolls are kind of horrifying? Imagine a weird, tiny, naked baby, with a bulging belly, a huge head, a shifty-eyed smile and a weird stiff-necked, hunched-shoulder posture, with a single little tuft of hair right on top of his head. They were apparently originally conceived as cartoon characters by one Rose O'Neill in 1909, and celluloid Kewpie dolls had become popular carnival prizes in the UK. Except... I dunno, they just scare me a bit. I would also prefer a doggie, a teddy bear or a banner for my wall, please!

Both of these songs were... fine, but I think in terms of quality, authenticity and listenability the show tune has to take it. The story in Perry's song this week was kind of funny, but it's not enough to overwhelm my inherent annoyance at songs attempting to be cutesy and childlike. And at 40 year old men singing about winning dolls - creepy much?

Favourite song of the bunch: On the Street Where You Live