#apparently it was a fan vote!? and she won it with her verse as she should

[jay-wasreblogging]

T-R-A-N-N-Y

Daddy chill I'm one of the guys!

- Aliyah's Interlude - IT GIRL (remix) Ft. Ve'Ondre

[cotyledonal]

alright. I'm going to go through each track. you have been warned.

(I have not listened to the full anthology version yet; just the original 16 tracks

Fortnight

it's fine? I don't really like this line

feels very... way too online. extremely instagram. the rest of the song is fine. I'll probably develop a stronger opinion once I've heard 20 billion times (it's clearly the chosen radio hit)

it's really funny that beyoncé, the other Biggest Deal of the current music zeitgeist, made MUCH better use of her post malone on her OWN recently-released, critically-acclaimed album

2. The Tortured Poets Department

this is the one that's sticking in my head as the most wasted potential. I love the "oh my chosen Bad Boy is actually pretty pathetic, but so am I, and I like him (and us together) anyway" concept, but.

"tattooed golden retriever"?? "the one people put wedding rings on"???? girl???? there HAS to be better ways of phrasing these things 😭

it kills me specifically bc I can HEAR the joni mitchell influence in how taylor swift is approaching this relationship, in this song and the rest of the album, but she just never grasps the timelessness that joni mitchell had when she sang about deadbeat guys!! also this comparison is making me think about comparing leonard cohen to matty healy and that's not helping !!

3. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys

I like this one! good momentum in the production, good lyrics, no cringe moments. this is the kind of song I'll probably connect to an OC in a few months and get absolutely obsessed with. nice!!

4. Down Bad

I was not expecting alien abduction metaphors, but I'm not opposed. I AM opposed to taylor swift saying "down bad". she never sounds natural enough as a singer to make something like that work. or the constant cursing. she's the kind of artist who needs tracks that play to her strengths; not the kind who can make anything work 🤷‍♀️

5. So Long, London

another good song!! probably my no. 2 favorite on the album, which I did not think would come out of a sequel to london boy .

this is kinda corny, but she gets it over with in the first verse, which I appreciate. otherwise, the writing is PRETTY GOOD

NICE 👍 GOOD SHIT

I want to highlight how the last line of the last verse hooks vv smoothly into the beginning of the last chorus

changing "So long, London" to "(I loved this place for) So long, London"... now that's songwriting!!

6. But Daddy I Love Him

okay. first of all. from the context of the verse. it sounds like How The West Was Won represents ~freedom~ in contrast to the evil small town and Society™, which, uh. Uh. Uhhhh.

anyway, the sentiment of the entire song is basically: "screw fame (understandable), screw my fans (HILARIOUS), screw Society™, I'm gonna follow the feeling and be stupid !!" which I appreciate <3 but dear god... her writing

get off twitter

"wine moms"?? c'mon. be serious

BEING OVERWROUGHT ONLY WORKS IF IT'S INCORPORATED IN THE THEME OF THE SONG (LIKE ANTI-HERO). OTHERWISE IT'S JUST ANNOYING

7. Fresh Out The Slammer

this one was doomed by the title. the fact it's repeated often in the chorus only hurts it. there was no salvaging this. I hope you die, I hope we both die, hand in unlovable hand, etc etc

8. Florida!!!

apparently she's trying to use florida as a setting that people go to to get away from their crimes? like it's an exciting, dangerous, fresh-start-of-a-place? girl idk what your social circles think of florida, but it's national reputation is as (1) the current GOP base-of-operations (2) where rich white old people go to retire. yes I know there's plenty of crazy criminals in florida. I've been there. they are, in fact, wildin'. there's also a 1:1 ratio of golf players who own a small business back in ohio and vote republican every election for every one of those cool outlaws

this is a controversial line. personally, I think it's awkward as hell, hits the ear wrong, shouldn't have made it past the first draft, throw in the fucking fireplace, I wish I never heard/read this

less egregious, but. your home is a town? your home is a town. okay

I do love how florence is really taking any opportunity to hype up Her Girls and put down their men. I'm glad she's decided this is her vibe. god dance fever was amazing

hearing florence's easy-breezy, "I don't even have to try to sing I just was blessed by god like this" voice alongside taylor's made me realize just how PRECISE she always sounds. she hits every note like she's picking out a move on a chessboard. sometimes, this works v well for her, but other times, it just highlights her weird, stilted writing (and makes her cursing sound soooo childish and forced)

9. Guilty as Sin?

good song!!!! next favorite after So Long, London. the puritanical guilt is HITTING

if the production supported it a bit better (it's a little hokey), this would be the sexiest song she's made since Style. once again, GOOD SHIT

10. Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?

not much to say about this one. it fails in all the ways that Anti-Hero succeeded. there's a lot of moments on this album that make me feel this way, but this is the song that made me certain that Anti-Hero was a goddamn miracle

11. I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)

this is going to sound mean, but I like how short it is 😭 the whole in-and-out, here's-a-snapshot approach really works for this one; if it was a couple minutes longer, it probably would've fallen into the same pitfalls a lot of other songs on this album ended up in. instead, it keeps some groove going, and doesn't have to take itself too seriously. I like it 👍 it feels like the other perspective to I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen, which is a compliment on a level I hope y'all can appreciate

12. loml

rehashing of So Long, London in a worse way! I am bored! next!

13. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

good concept, good base, probably could have stuck the landing better. the switch into the pre-chorus sounds REALLY awkward to me; but maybe that'll work for me eventually (it definitely would tie into the theme in this one, lmao). it's not hitting for me, but I wouldn't judge anyone who really loves it, yk what I mean?

14. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

more wasted potential... aughhhh. the verses are really good at constructing this wasted, pathetic dude, and then she honestly kind of ruins it in the bridge!!

this could've worked if the productions + her vocals went flat after the "good riddance" line; it would have implied that the previous lines were also some effort of building this deadbeat up, and even in hating him, she has to confront that he really just isn't worth it. which is what I thought it was going to do when I first read the lyrics. instead, it keeps building, implying that he is some kind of threat? the surrounding energy just gives the impression he ISN'T the smallest man who ever lived?? please 🙏 stick to the concept, it was so good :')

15. The Alchemy

cute! I like the throughline in this album about following the feeling, and this is a good resolution to it. another one where it doesn't hit too hard for me, but I def respect it

16. Clara Bow

THE BEST ONE 🎉 WE MADE IT

it's perfect in every way, no complaints, this is one of the best songs of her career happening at the exact right point in her career. I'm just going to put the full lyrics here bc They're All Good

no notes! everything here works! she stuck the landing, she captured complicated emotions with grace, she wrote her heart out but didn't make it sound forced, THE OUTRO!! she's written songs about becoming/being famous but never this well. I feel actual emotions rn listening to it! 10/10, 5 ⭐, I knew she had it in her!!

I think I'm developing my own opinion on the new tswift album: it's more frustrating than boring

[aion-rsa]

Why Wonder Woman’s Real Origin Story Lies in First Wave Feminism

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This holiday season, one of the few bright spots for families unable to go to theaters—and even those who did—was Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984. An ambitious and vibrantly colored celebration of heroism in all its forms, including those that don’t end in fistfights, it’s a superhero movie that’s won as many fans as detractors. But while basking in the new spectacle is well and good, it’s also worth considering how it came to be. For even in this HBO Max tentpole, one can still see how the feminist movement of the early 20th century is grafted into the very DNA of the Wonder Woman character, her origin, and even her most contentious iconography… something that rarely gets acknowledged in the broader comic fan community.

The character of Wonder Woman was created by Dr. William Moulton Marston in 1941. A psychologist with an eclectic career, Marston went from inventing the lie detector test while still an undergraduate at Harvard in 1914 to being essentially blacklisted from academia by the age of 33. But of course his most enduring legacy came afterward; it came when he engineered a superheroine intentionally designed to be a great role model for girls and boys.

As Marston famously said, “Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who, I believe, should rule the world.” However, the actual political and sociological influences on Marston and the women who helped him create Diana are often overlooked, even as the character has come to dominate pop culture.

Marston, rather infamously nowadays, lived a polyamorous lifestyle with his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston, and a second partner named Olive Byrne. Byrne is often credited in the 21st century as the inspiration for Wonder Woman (instead of a wedding ring, Marston gave her two bracelets that are identical to those worn by Diana Prince). Yet it is very likely that Holloway Marston had just as much influence. After all, she was a lover of Greek antiquity and until her death kept a book of Sappho’s poetry from the island of Lesbos within reach.

Still, it is Byrne’s influence that historian and esteemed Harvard professor, Jill Lepore, most untangles in her riveting portrait of the Marston family, The Secret History of Wonder Woman. Lepore, who holds the title of David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of History at Cambridge, zeroed in on Byrne’s relation to the early feminist movement at the turn of the century and its impact on Marston, recasting Wonder Woman as a bridge between the suffragist movement and the generation who grew up reading Wonder Woman comics before fighting for the “women’s liberation movement.”

Olive Byrne was born in 1904, the daughter of Ethel Byrne and the niece of Margaret Sanger, the latter of whom founded what became known as Planned Parenthood (Margaret also coined the term “birth control”). In 1916, Ethel and Margaret opened in Brooklyn the first United States birth control clinic, and received jail time at a workhouse for their trouble. There Ethel nearly starved to death while going on a hunger strike. During this time, a 12-year-old Olive Byrne was being raised in a Catholic orphanage because her father and grandparents had died, and Ethel Byrne was not interested in raising her daughter.

Despite their absence, Olive held her mother and aunt’s politics in high regard. And those ideals would reverberate in Wonder Woman comics too. They were thoughts informed by the circle of New York intellectuals and early 20th century socialists Margaret and Ethel interacted with in Greenwich Village. Among their contemporaries were Upton Sinclair, Emma Goldman, and a very notable Lou Rogers.

Lou was actually named Annie Lucasta Rogers, but because she was told she couldn’t get work as a woman cartoonist, she initially submitted her work as “Lou” via the mail. Her historic drawings of women being able to finally break off the shackles of patriarchy by using the right to vote are echoed throughout Marston’s Wonder Woman comics, just as much as the author’s own fascination with male and female domination and submission.

In the 1910s, feminists and suffragist literature was rife with Amazonian imagery that would live again in the pages of DC. For example, Max Eastman published in 1913 a book of verse called Child of the Amazons and Other Poems. In it, an Amazonian girl must confess to her queen that she has fallen in love with a man. Yet Amazonian law forbids any warrior to marry or bear children until she has produced significant change in the world. Thus the young Amazon abandons her romance, stating she won’t seek love again until “the far age when men shall cease / their tyranny.” This is echoed in Wonder Woman comics as Diana repeatedly, and flatly, refuses to marry Steve Trevor.

In one classic Marston story, a dopey Steve whines, “Angel, when are we going to be married?” Diana coolly fires back, “When evil and injustice vanish from the Earth!”

More appropriate still is Inez Haynes Gillmore’s Angel Island. Published in 1914, after Gillmore co-founded the National College Equal Suffrage League, Angel Island envisions five American sailors who are shipwrecked on an island that’s crawling with “super-humanly beautiful” women with wings. Driven mad by lust, the men capture the women and cut off their wings, leaving them helpless as none has ever walked with their feet. But eventually one of the angels leads a violent revolution “with the splendid, swinging gait of the Amazon.”

This too echoes early Wonder Woman stories of the heroine being chained or rendered powerless by men who would wish to dominate her in every sense of the word. It is, after all, the fate her mother Hippolyta had to free the Amazons from in bloody battle.

Men trying to chain Diana or rob her of her powers by either bounding her bracelets together or removing them was also a common occurrence in ‘40s Wonder Woman comics, particularly those authored by  Marston. In one memorable Marston story, a man unaware that Diana Prince is Wonder Woman even chains her to a stove so she cannot leave the kitchen. Diana retorts with a smirk, “How thrilling! I see you’re chaining me to the cookstove. What a perfect caveman idea!”

The year of 1915, meanwhile, saw the publication of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland, another feminist tale of an uncharted utopia of only women. For thousands of years, this lost paradise’s women have reproduced asexually, not unlike how Diana is born to Hippolyta in the comics after the Amazonian Queen sculpts her out of clay. These women of “herland” know nothing of fear, war, or even basic concepts of property. Unfortunately, three male American students find them and fall in love, each marrying one woman. But then each is thunderstruck that they cannot consummate their relationship whenever they want. In this thinly veiled allegory about the need for birth control, two of the men are banished when one tries to rape his wife, and another expresses confusion as to how rape can be a crime in marriage.

“The women [of Herland] are Amazons because, in the nineteen-teens, reporters routinely used the name to describe suffragists,” Lepore said in a recent article in The New Yorker. “So did suffragists themselves in both the U.K. and the U.S., including Elizabeth Holloway.”

The writers of these stories were also contemporaries and even sometimes neighbors of Olive’s mother, Ethel. And just as Olive helped introduce a worshipful admiration for her aunt Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood to the Marstons, with whom she built an unorthodox home, so too did she seemingly inform (along with Holloway Marston’s love for antiquity) what became the Wonder Woman origin story, which was recently given new life by Jenkins and Gal Gadot in 2017’s Wonder Woman.

There is of course the question of whether the new movies fully embrace these legacies. Lepore, for one, is skeptical, writing in 2020 that “Patty Jenkins seems to be interested in history… But she’s apparently not at all interested in the history of women: it’s got no place in either of her two ‘Wonder Woman’ films, even though they both take place during major inflection points in that history.”

However, the hard-won victories of that history, and how Marston seeded the ideals of its first wave into his comics, is still inextricably linked to Gadot’s Wonder Woman. We see it when she stands with a near divinity over Chris Pine on a beach in the 2017 movie, unaware and undisturbed by the preconceived limits a patriarchal society would place on her; and we see it when Wonder Woman can defeat villainy and greed in Wonder Woman 1984 without having to throw a single punch.

So for whatever bondage iconography that also clearly seeped its way into Marston’s creation, there is a definite through-line of a century’s worth of feminist ideals that connect the fantasies of the suffrage movement to the icon of female empowerment that the women’s liberation movement claimed Wonder Woman to be when she was placed on the cover of Gloria Steinem’s Ms. magazine in 1972. And a hundred years later, it lives on like Amazons and angels on the big screen.

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The post Why Wonder Woman’s Real Origin Story Lies in First Wave Feminism appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3npUrcO

[dragracereviews]

My Ultimate Top 10 Favorite Drag Race Queens

#10 - Kameron Michaels: NGL, Kameron is partially on this list because I would fuck her in a heartbeat. I actually plan on making a list later of queens I would sleep with in and/or out of drag and you will definitely find Miss Michaels high on there. I’ve seen her live on the Werq the World tour and I 100% regret not getting Meet and Greet though I probably would’ve just drooled on her and made a fool of myself so maybe it’s better that I didn’t. It’s a known fact that Kameron is an incredible lip syncer (if you haven’t watched season 10, please do so just to see her in action because honestly, she’s one of the few good things about that season) and she did NOT disappoint. Her dancing was only beat out by Vanjie who you may or may not see later on this list. Kameron if you’re out there reading this (LOL, we all know she isn’t) and you ever feel like experimenting with an actual biological woman, hit me up!

#9 - Sharon Needles: And here we have another attractive man out of drag! Sharon was the OG underdog and while I’m not going to sit here and bash Phi Phi O’Hara because she’s actually talented AF (checkout her Harry Potter cosplay, it’s soooo good), Sharon definitely didn’t deserve all the shade thrown at her on season 4. Her drag aesthetic has always been equals parts spooky and equal parts fabulous, but she’s actually improved over the years and it’s made me love her even more. My favorite Sharon moment ever is during a “Queens Reading Mean Comments” video on WOWPresents’ Youtube channel where someone said they liked her old teeth better and she just goes, “Well my old teeth just looked ridiculous with my new lips!” Get ‘em, girl.

#8 - Jinkx Monsoon: I want Jinkx to be my mom. There, I said it. Also, if you don’t get that reference, get your shit together and subscribe to WOW Presents on Youtube you fucking bumpkin. Jinkx was the loveable weirdo on her season and received a lot of hate from her fellow queens but I loved her from the start. I have since forgiven Roxxxy Andrews for her cattiness because of her rudemption on All Stars 2 (insert her Read U Wrote U verse here) but nothing was more satisfying than watching Jinkx go from the underdog to America’s Next Drag Superstar. I don’t know what’s more iconic; her tendency to fall asleep at inopportune times, her laugh, or all the jokes about her being a full blown swamp witch. Either way, it will always be Monsoon season in my eyes.

#7 - Nina West: Hands down, the DEFINITION of Miss Congeniality! This choice was so obvious, I don’t even know why they took a vote. I think that even if they left it up to the fans, it would’ve been her. I fucking LOVE Nina. I’ve actually met her IRL and my first thoughts were 1: she’s HUGE (hello, she’s a six foot tall man in like 6 inch heels and I’m barely over five feet) and 2. she just radiates happiness! She is the only queen I’ve met that asked me my name (though shout out to Plastique Tiara for calling me gorgeous as if she’s not the most beautiful creature on the planet) and she didn’t make me feel like an idiot when I just stared at her adoringly and just word vomited “you’remyfavoriteiloveyousomuch”. Class act people!

#6 - Bianca del Rio: Do I even need an explanation for this one? Hands down, the undisputed winner of season 6, and that’s coming from a die-hard ***** fan (see entry #2). Did she wear the same silhouette 10+ times? Yes. Can she kind of be a bitch sometimes? Definitely. But is she the funniest fucking person alive? Probably! My love for Bianca is infinite but I still wouldn’t want her to read me, at least not in person. Actually, scratch that, I’ve seen her Twitter feed and getting read online is almost worse. I fucking love Hurricane Bianca and the sequel even though it’s one of those so-bad-it’s-good type of film series. I sadly missed her last tour because it was the same night as Sasha Velour’s Smoke & Mirrors show and as amazing as Sasha was, my heart was broken that I couldn’t go to both. But you better believe the next time she’s in town, I’m forking out lots of $$ for VIP and I may or may not faint at Bianca’s feet #noregrets

#5 - Vanessa Vanjie Matteo: Mother. Fucking. Vanjie. OKAY, I’ve met this bitch IRL and let me tell you, she is the cutest fucking thing. Like Nina, it shocked me how apparent it is that she’s a man (square jaw, hello?) but she can still paint for filth and look fishy AF even with her boyish features. Also, AMAZING performer! I waited 3 hours after the M&G for her to actually come on stage and perform only two songs (that’s a story for another day) but let me tell you, it was worth the fucking wait. I showered that bitch with Canadian monopoly money and I would’ve given her more if I wasn’t such a broke millennial. And to top the whole night off, I got woken up at 5 am to my friend screaming because Vanjie had reposted my photo in her story so I was essentially Instagram famous for all of like, a day. Thanks girl xo

#4 - Bendelacreme: I love me some Dela. This queen proved in both her regular season and All Stars that she is a force to be reckoned with. Season 6 wouldn’t have been the same without her and did I want to yell at Darienne Lake for being a bitch to her? Absolutely! (Gia Gunn pun intended) And I honestly think that if she hadn’t eliminated herself, she would’ve won AS3 (though if you read my #1 entry, I am 100% satisfied with who did win). She completely deserved her Miss Congeniality title, and while I see where the others AS3 queens were coming from when they suspected she was trying a little too hard to keep up that image, I did appreciate her trying to play the game with some class, because we don’t see that often on Drag Race. I also love her friendship with Jinkx and it’s definitely on my bucket list to see one of their shows one day. You know what they say, the Creme always rises to the top!

#3 - Brooke Lynn Hytes: Full disclosure, I’m Canadian but that’s not the only reason why I love Brooke (she is the Queen in the North though, and I’ll fight you if you say otherwise). This queen is fucking TALENTED! Season 11 would have failed without her, IMHO. She can design and sow a complete outfit, read people to filth, sort of sing (I still listen to Queens Everywhere daily, especially her verse), dance circles around ANYBODY, and lip sync like her mother fucking life depends on it. Did she, by the end of the season, forget that’s there’s more to a lip sync than being on pointe? Yes, absolutely. But that doesn’t change the fact that she is literal perfection and I think that’s why Ru gave Yvie the crown instead of her (though I love Yvie so don’t come for me). Brooke’s biggest downfall was the fact that she wasn’t relatable and I am 100% okay with that. Sometimes you just have to worship the unattainable. The only issue I have with Brooke is her and Vanjie not being officially together anymore because yes, I am one of those fans that ship queens together, especially queens that have actually dated. I will never get over #Branjie, just saying.

#2 - Adore Delano: "I'm a fucking Libra!" As soon as these words left her mouth, I knew I was in love with Adore Delano. Season 6 is by far my favorite season (spoiler alert if I decide to make a Top 10 Best Seasons list) and if it weren't for my #1 pick, she would 100% have the top spot. Hell, before I discovered WOW Presents, she WAS my #1 pick (read my next entry to understand what I mean). Adore is simultaneously adorable (pun intended) and fierce AF. She's beautiful, hilarious, and did I mention beautiful?! She is the reason I say "party" at inappropriate times. She is the reason I wish I was a Libra instead of a fucking Scorpio. She is the reason I insist everybody start their first Drag Race binge with season 6 because I know they’ll fall in love with her as much as I have. Adore, if you’re reading this, I fucking adore you.

#1 - Trixie Mattel & Katya Zamolodchikova: Of course these two are tied as my number one spot. Individually, these queens are fucking fierce and extremely talented (go download Trixie's country albums if you don't believe me), but together they are pure gold. If you've only ever watched their run on season 7, you probably don't understand why I love them so much, so do yourself a favor and go watch All Stars 2 & 3, as well as their web shows "UnHhhh", "The Trixie & Katya Show", and “Queens Who Like To Watch”. I can even give you a list of other stand alone videos of them to watch (ex. "Besties for Cash", "Fashion Photo Review", compilation videos of the pair in Palm Springs... I think you get the gist). Truth be told, I'm absolutely obsessed with these two, so much so that I may or may not have indulged in some online fan fiction about them from time to time...don’t judge me, okay?! I love a friends-turned-lovers love story, and I know I’m not the only one wishing #Trixya would happen IRL. I've also shelled out so much money to Trixie alone on her merch and makeup, and I'm waiting very impatiently for them to go on tour together so I can go full Futurama and just scream "take my money" as I buy the most VIP package they have. Trixie and Katya are the ultimate definition of All Stars and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.

[jan-uinely]

hot takes [pt. ii]

good[e] morning campers! we have more thoughts on \_ |_ | _/  RuPaul’s Drag Race episode 9... because i have nothing better to think about... lol. This is a novel, btw. 

SO... I have said it before and i will say it again... the in memorium segment gave me life. Robot Barbie Cheerleader. also RIP to jan’s clear drink in untucked. 

Let’s get into the gig, because why not. Unsure if readers are aware, but I am very politically minded. [do I use tumblr as a way to put politics aside for a little while? sure. but I have also worked on campaigns, did not take Elizabeth warren dropping out of the presidential race well... I mean she dropped at the beginning of march and now look at where we are.... anyWAYs.]

I did not like this episode. I did not like the challenge. From what I understand, the only other time this challenge was done was in season 4, but I stopped watching season 4 when sharon wore a conf*derate flag bodysuit for a mini challenge, prior to which she wore a mccain/palin shirt. I still don’t know if it was a joke, but #yeet. 

So this episode took the place of a “roast”/ stand up episode. Those are usually fine. They separate folks a little bit more. But, as someone who followed the recent primary with a VERY close eye, but was could also be humorous about it... Debates are hard to do. What makes a debate work is that everyone is well versed on everyone else’s platform, and knows how to attack them, because they have been the same person the whole time. For some reason, everyone “invented” a different character to play.... no one had a real platform... and it’s really hard to ~volley~ when people don’t really understand everyone’s characters. I also think, similar to the democratic primary- that there were too many people on stage. I also think snatch game happened too early... but that’s another story never mind anyway [did you catch that into the woods/bernadette peters joke???? @ JAN ]. 

So everyone has these “characters” which for the most part are not super consistent with who they’ve been portraying on the show... which makes it challenging. Then, it was moderated very poorly, and then edited together very poorly. There was no flow... it was very choppy. Again... not a fan. 

Season 8 also had a political challenge, but if i remember correctly, that was just a branding challenge kind of. It was better than this. Now, do I appreciate the fact that Drag Race is taking this election very seriously?? YES. But this challenge was just Not It. 

I thought Jaida was very consistent, I liked Jackie’s a lot [It seems like a running gag that she is too prepared in the same way that Jan was too energetic... which has its own election flashbacks....] I am really enjoying crystal... I thought she also had what was close to a fully formed character.. it just needed to bake a little more. 

So... next up... ms. goode. #cringe. tbh I don’t care about the performance. Were they just trying to redo snatch game? basically. were they the only person to try and do that? No. 

This mirror chat was the bomb dot com tho. best part of the episode.

We’re talking about the “oh i’m not political” We knew from episode one that Gigi grew up in a lot of privilege- and wasn’t the only one [@ jan] but jesus has it shown in gigi the most... I mean bob the drag queen said it best.. Gigi goode’s mom vs Jaida Essence Hall. 

But the nerve to openly say “i’m not political, and I don’t like it” when you KNOW at this point in time what the contestants have gone through... it’s just really insensitive. Also to be the open front runner knowing that the RPDR fans can be young and impressionable.. is really irresponsible TBH. 

Guess what? I don’t like to follow the news sometimes. I don’t watch tr*mp’s press conferences. Sometimes I log off twitter and go to tumblr. But I still stay INFORMED on the issues and am able to back up my positions. I VOTE. [cannot believe i’m saying this but i would not be surprised if gigi did not vote in 2016.]

[sidebar]

Maybe it’s bc I stan jan in a way that I have stanned no one else before [the only ru girl who even comes close to it while I was actively watching the show without prior knowledge is naomi] Maybe it’s combined with the quarantine that I have nothing else to do. And with that comes a [virtual] introduction to basically everybody who’s anybody in the NYC drag scene. [I will say the Bob-Monet-Cracker-Jan quad is just A+] So maybe I just have a better idea of what it is [have I gone down a Youtube rabbit hole on this subject? yes] 

Is new york also my personal favorite city? yes. Have I been to LA? no. Do I like the concept of LA? no. Have I been west of the mississippi river? no. So maybe it’s a combination of all of these things [including Jan saying on repeat that New York is the greatest city to do drag] but. The NYC girls are just so much more political. Brita, Bob, MOnet, tbh Jan is also on the record saying some A+ shiz. Marti Cummings is a non binary drag artist running for city council in manhattan. “Everybody black and aquaria.” 

Is NYC politics like any city, full of machines and garbage too? Sure. But NYC is just so much more powerful and political. LA is just the embodiment of privilege.

 I also think it’s interesting that some of the smaller town/city gals will move to LA [Trixie/Katya/Alaska? I’m looking @ you] after they get the drag race coin. Not that it’s a bad thing or anything, it’s just an interesting dynamic. [another aside: the non NY/LA girls deserve it all and i think it’s really powerful when the show directly addresses issues of wealth/privilege/access to drag on the show.] 

[end sidebar]

And Gigi came into the competition saying “I want to be on vogue” which is great. Their fashion sense is great. Most of their outfits are great. It’s great that they can do comedy [sometimes- like when they are not playing the role of Gigi] But something else I take issue with- and don’t get me wrong humility is great- is the whole “I’m not a dancer” that’s BS. they whole back handspring etc, madonna challenge. Maybe you weren’t a trained dancer, but ffs cut the crap. [if you haven’t look up gigi goode showgirls] 

And yet the judges continue to give Gigi [and SP] free passes. It’s like Ru is so afraid that if either of them end up in the bottom, they won’t turn it out and then there will be no frontrunner. Well guess what? In season 7, Max had 2 wins before anyone else and came in 9th. valentina going home was a total gag. Brooke and Yvie lip synced on the snatch game ep. But Apparently when the skinny white fashion queen from the big city [gigi, aquaria] does less than well, they don’t get put up for elimination??? [did aquaria deserve to lip sync for the makeover? idk.]

Gigi is getting a “winner” edit and it’s not really fair to anyone. People who should have won certain challenges were IGNORED, and instead the producers give all the credit to gigi, giving them almost a worse edit. Like we want to see humans, not robots. If we learned ANYTHING from last week is that the judges don’t like when you just “start on 100 and stay there THE WHOLE TIME”. Bc the truth is that [aside from the loads and loads and loads of privilege,] Gigi is really nice and very talented. But I, as a viewer of reality TV, live to see the perfect fail. I want everyone to shine [this is why I loved when Naomi sent manila home, oops] 

Also.. I would like to address the fact that Gigi basically used the same outfit twice... this runway and entrance look have almost the same pattern, with just a slightly different skirt type. I would like for this behavior to be called out bc it is such a memorable silhouette. 

Also- Shout out to Crystal for the most bomb ass runway... I want that whole outfit pls. 

but aside from that... TBH I just want a show with the real top 7 [ the heidi and widow have been cracking me up saying “we’re at top 5″ or “we’re at top 6″ before the ep aired on instagram and I’m loling.. and that VERY AWK moment when Jan is on the x change rate saying that they couldn’t justify putting anyone other that her and widow in the bottom bc gigi and 3 wins and trying to work around not saying SP’s name had 2. [also shout out to jan the real mvp for unfollowing SP on twitter]] doing competitions and having fun. And I’ve said this before. This is a really good season that did not need production’s handprints all over everything. But they chose to cast RuPaul’s Best Friend Race, so they shouldn’t be complaining or trying to manufacture drama.

I was cracking up when Jaida was [clearly prodded by producers] asking is there anything we need to talk about? and then Jackie goes to talk to widow right before they leave and they are just nice to each other. lol no drama here. It’s the season of the inner saboteur. 

So Jackie and widow are in the bottom and tbh I don’t know. I would have liked to see Gigi lip sync. I would have liked this challenge to not happen. but it did. The lip sync song.. I just didn’t love the cut... Katy perry’s voice is so over produced [trend alert] that the illusion of the lip sync didn’t work in the first chorus. Jackie’s plastic bag was just A+. These lip syncs, tbh starting w jan v widow have been very good. not good enough to make up for the garbage that was everything since ep. 3, but close. [and some of that was song choice, some of it was not. I will say brita killed her first one but rip to rock]

Jeff gold bloom. I just don’t know. Maybe it’s bc I never saw jurassic park. Maybe he was just a bad judge. maybe he too was being prodded by production. ugh. You can read the takes on his interactions with jackie somewhere else. 

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#170-161)

#170: Dino Merlin and Beatrice -- Putnici (Bosnia and Herzegovina 1999)

“Šta smo ti i ja, do putnici bez mjesta?”

“What are we, if not travellers without a place?”

In the relatively dull set of 1999, Putnici was a highlight at first listen. From the ethnic instrumental to the almost-philosophical lyrics, I am taken onto the journey Dino and Beatrice go on, with a mix of Bosnian and French lyrics (with the latter a bit less developed than the former, as it sounds like a basic conjugation table). It’s a bit funky, a bit hipsterish, but all kinds of enjoyable. Too bad there isn’t a clear performance video on the internet; every time a video featuring them appears, it gets muted.

It's a shame because it deserves a lot more attention, even though I don't think about it occasionally.

What's a bigger shame was how Bosnia needed ~150 points to make it through to the 2000 contest. They had a bunch of lower-midtable finishes throughout the 1990s, including a second to last in 1996, thus putting them in this position. Despite getting their best result at the time, they still got relegated because of their five-year average.

(On another note, did anybody actually contact Amina to get her to perform the French parts? Asking for a friend.

Personal ranking: 1st/23 Actual ranking: 7th/23 in Jerusalem

Final Impressions of 1999: Compared to the years that preceded it, 1999 was a bit of a letdown. The loosening of both the language and live-music rules didn't immediately lead to better quality songs, as I find most of the field pretty dull. While I accept the top two, I'm not sure how good they were in the end, and the best song of the year used backing vocals on the track. Ugh.

The stage was nice, though one blogger mentioned the "half-finished" catwalk on the left-side, and I can't really unsee that now.

#169: Dana -- All Kinds of Everything (Ireland 1970)

“Seagulls and aeroplanes, things of the sky Winds that go howling, breezes that sigh City sights, neon lights, grey skies or blue All kinds of everything remind me of you...”

The four-way tie of 1969 resulted in four countries withdrawing for the following contest, stripping it down to twelve countries. That year, while short, had its fair share of gems, of which All Kinds of Everything rose to the top of the crop.

While a bit overlooked today, All Kinds of Everything stands out with its tenderness and innocence, as Dana lists the things which remind her of her loved one. It's a list-song, sure, but one that works effectively with Dana's sweet voice.

And Ireland's first win has done wonders--not only was it a hit across the continent, but it represented some semblance of calm. Dana was originally from Northern Ireland, so representing Ireland during the Troubles initially wasn't the best solution. Once she won, she was greeted back in song (and Dana herself was a politician at some point).

If Amsterdam 1970 had a worse winner, we wouldn't have a contest to speak of.

Personal and actual ranking: 1st/12 in Amsterdam

#168: NOX -- Forogj, Világ! (Hungary 2005)

“Ne bánts, világ, Ne ölelj, ne érezz, Szerelmed jobban fáj, Ne játssz, világ, Eressz, ha boldog táj hív.”

“Don't hurt me, world, Don't hug, don't feel Your love hurts more Don't play, world Let me go if a happy land calls”

What happens when you combine Riverdance and influences from the previous winner? You get a vibrant, spirited song with really thoughtful lyrics in between. The mix of percussion, ethnic-influences, and dancing create a throbbing beat to this overlooked bop.

As mentioned, the lyrics are part of this intriguing package. Here, the narrator wants to discover more of herself. The ones mentioned here are a bit paradoxical, in that she wants to to be embraced, but also wants to discover more. Szilvia has a delicate voice, but it works in this context.

For a year which is known for its ethno-bops, 2005's grand final started with a good dose of energy. (And Hungary had to leave the way they came...suddenly)

Personal ranking: 3rd/39 Actual ranking: 12th/24 GF in Kyiv

#167: Aminata -- Love Injected (Latvia 2015)

"I’m safe into your hands Let’s move away, the edges expand"

While I knew for a while Love Injected was a fan-favorite, I initally didn't get it. Most of the time, I listened to the refrain in clips, which put me off from listening to the entire thing.

It wasn't until I stumbled on a mashup of this, with Truth and Skeletons, which it all makes sense. As I liked the latter two songs more, I was initially hooked, but it was the bridge to Love Injected that really stood out to me.

When I watched the final performance in Vienna, the dark sensuality of the verses that attracted me. Very minlmal synthesizers, but well-executed. The chorus then made sense in context, as Aminata shifts from the soft, delicate vocals to a more powerful explosion. Combined with the minimalistic staging, it turns out as a contemporary and sophisticated package.

Personal ranking: 6th/40 Actual ranking: 6th/27 GF in Vienna

#166: 1X Band -- Tih dezeven dan (Slovenia 1993)

“Kako dobro se zlivam v ta svet, ki me omamlja, Kako vase potegne me čas, ki ne obstaja?”

“How well I merge with this world that dazes me, How I'm absorbed in time that doesn't exist?”

Slovenia managed to break off of Yugoslavia with relatively less bloodshed than their fellow successor states, thanks to only needing ten days to fight the Yugoslav army in summer 1991. As a result, they managed to avoid the worst of the conflict, and hosted Kvalificacija za Millstreet, the pre-qualifying round for seven new countries in 1993.

1X Band managed to win that, only to place poorly and getting relegated for the following year.

It wasn’t fair, because Tih dezeven dan is a solid debut entry with some incredibly thoughtful lyrics. Compared to its fellow ex-Yugoslav debutants, it focuses more on existance and how life would be nothing without dreams. Combined with an easy melody, it conveys its own mood--a bouncy, fun soundscape (and good orchestration) with a questioning theme.

(or was it fair because of those costumes? They were better at Kvalificacija za Millstreet...)

Personal ranking: 5th/25 Actual ranking: =22nd/25 (with Denmark) in Millstreet

#165: Urban Trad -- Sanomi (Belgium 2003)

“Léala, léala, sorimana, sorimana.. “

Who would’ve thought a song sung in a fake language would almost win the competition? And in a very tight voting sequence; there was a three-point gap between first and third (for the latter, it's #241).

One thing which helps is the folksy sound of “Sanomi”, which makes it sound more like a folk chant than something gimmickier, like the country's 2008 entry. Personally, it sounds like it could be a song about the joys of fishing, hehe.

The duo’s voices work together to create a mythical atmosphere, and it really challenged my favorite that year with its surrealism. Combined with the drum-machine and the record-scratches, it's still grounded into 2003, without making it sound too over-produced.

In the end, would it have made a better winner? The 2000s featured a bunch of first-time winners, and having Belgium win could bring some help for Western Europe, who progressively became more cynical towards the 100% televote era. On the other hand, it would've reflected the 1990s more than the 2000s, so where would the contest go then?

Personal and actual ranking: 2nd/26 in Riga

#164: Chanée & N'evergreen - In A Moment Like This (Denmark 2010)

“I'm lost and I don't know Where am I supposed to go? I still miss you so...”

You know that last song in a movie which sums up the whole thing while it plays in the credits? And then you ask yourself what that song is called because it got stuck in your head for a while, and then you get relieved because you finally found it on Youtube/Spotify/Shazam?

That’s what I get from In a Moment Like This; its placement as the last song in 2010 grand final adds to that feel (thank you random running order). There was a bit of controversy about the melody itself, because it resembled that from "Every Breath You Take", but it’s still really relaxing and the staging tells a story.

Notoriously, Chanee and N'evergreen didn't really get along that much, and apparently it showed in their chemistry. But in the end, they played their parts in this performance, and got rewarded for it justly.

Personal ranking: 5th/39 Actual ranking: 4th/25 GF in Oslo

#163: Vlado Janevski -- Ne Zori, Zoro (North Macedonia 1998)

“Стој, не зори, зоро, душманке В пушти ноќта да ги сокрие, Очиве што раѓаат бисери, Срцево што друга не љуби,”

“Stop, dawn, don't rise, you fiend, Let the night hide these eyes which bear pearls This heart which can't love another.”

The first song from North Macedonia, and the last song with an orchestral arrangement. Historical significance aside, it’s a powerful song, with an interesting story to tell.

The narrator has his mother go out (in traditional Macedonian way, apparently) and ask for his girlfriend's hand for marriage with the rest of the family. During the night, he waits with tears in his eyes, waiting for an answer. And so he calls on the dawn to not come until then.

Curiously, the original version featured more ethnic instruments, but the orchestration in Birmingham, along with Vlado's deep vocals , was worthy of a finale. Even though the song was a bit too low-key to end the contest (and I kept thinking that the Turkish entry preceding it would make a more dramatic one, along with a better showcase of the strings), there's still some melancholy at the end of an era.

Personal ranking: 5th/25 Actual ranking: 19th/25 in Birmingham

Final Impressions on North Macedonia: They can't catch a break sometimes, can't they? From being the only constituent state of Yugoslavia to not participate while they were all together, to having good songs with bad stagings, it seems like they don't always have the best luck. That said, they still have a bunch of good songs on their repetoire: hopefully their 7th place in 2019 will show that they can do well. (And they have more entries here in this countdown than both sides of Czechoslovakia, hehe)

#162: Brainstorm -- My Star (Latvia 2000)

“I will follow my star till the end of my days And my heart's gonna lead me through so many ways And if you're gonna join me, I'll be your guide Baby, never say never, be my runaway-bride“

I find it weird that Estonia and Lithuania managed to debut in 1994 (and the former participated in Kvalificacija za Millstreet in 1993), but it took six more years for Latvia to do the same. They had the opportunity to do so in 1999, but waited one more year.

When they did so, it turned out it was worth it.

My Star a whimsical song, and reminds me of bicycling on a sunny day. The performance is more of an acquired taste with Renars' eccentric vocals and dancing, but after a few watches it just brings instant joy.

Unfortunately for Latvia, it's also a case of "peaking too early". Despite winning two years later, I still think it's their best song--it's some solid pop-rock with a bit of magic, which one can't say of "I Wanna".

(interestingly this also has some closing-credits energy to it, haha)

Personal ranking: 2nd/24 Actual ranking: 3rd/24 in Stockholm

#161: Roger Pontare -- When Spirits are Calling My Name (Sweden 2000)

“So bring me the power, I'll be the king of the land and the seas Show me the way to go, let me fight with my body and soul”

Originally from the Volga River region of modern-day Russia, the Sami people have inhabited parts of Northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland for millennia. For centuries, they hardly had any contact with their Germanic-speaking Scandinavian neighbors until the 18th and 19th centuries, when the Norwegian and Swedish governments wanted to have more control of the north. This also interplayed with the environment today.

When Spirits are Calling My Name hints at fighting for the protection of theirs lands and beliefs. The native peoples from other groups come and perform with Roger, and that solidifies their solidarity.

This is so epic, and I love the combination of pop/schlager and ethnic elements here. It's rousing and proud and determined--honestly, I would've preferred this to win rather than the entry they actually won with in 1999.

I've also heard about people preferring the original Swedish version--I get it, especially as Roger flubs some of the lyrics in the second verse, but I think the English one holds up just the same!

Also, the performance had the first use of pyrotechnics at Melodifestvalen, so yeah yeah fi

Personal ranking: 1st/24 Actual ranking: 7th/24 in Stockholm

[emmadeforests]

Tmblrvision 2016 Rankings + Reviews

With season 2 of @tmblrvision underway, I think it’s time I make my thoughts on last year’s songs public. This year’s entries will be up by the time school starts for me (so, soon). I’m still learning how to add cuts to posts so forgive me if there isn’t one for a minute.

#56 Vatican City Ok, so I forced myself to listen to this all the way through…honestly I applaud the HoD for finding SOMETHING for the Vatican, even if it’s this. I am however utterly confused by why exactly someone made a CD of the Pope. The bit at the end with an actual person actually singing was nice, and almost something I’d listen to if it were JUST that, but the instrumental and spoken bit were baffling enough to me that I have to rank this dead last. I mean, HAVE to.

#55 San Marino This is only marginally better than Senhit’s Eurovision entry. I absolutely detest her voice, as well as that of Marracash. Additionally, this song is awfully repetitive and something about the beat is annoying me - I usually don’t mind them, so that’s odd…

#54 Tunisia See, this one is funny, because you’re fooled into thinking it’ll actually be good until she starts singing. The instrumental on the verses is so nice to listen to, but the vocal melody is boring, and I hate Amina’s voice. And everything goes to shit on the chorus.

#53 Azerbaijan A lot of people like this one. I’m not sure I understand why. The instrumental is just plain boring; it doesn’t even try to be interesting. And her vocals are atrocious, especially on the chorus. It’s not that she’s a bad singer necessarily, I’m just thoroughly turned off by her voice. I guess she’s hit-or-miss.

#52 Georgia Everyone had high hopes for Nina, I think…sadly, when compared to Warrior this just doesn’t deliver. The instrumental is beautiful, and I love it, but it needs a voice to match, and that’s what this song is lacking here. Nina’s distinctive vocals don’t fit well with the song, and when paired with the odd effect they sound even more out of place.

#51 Egypt I’m just not a huge fan of Arabic music, so this is just a personal taste thing for me. There are some songs I like, but those are the exception, generally (I guess I just have a hard-on for everything Moroccan, lol). I’m sure it’s a great song but it’s just not for me.

#50 Montenegro I’ve never understood the hype around this guy at Eurovision, I really don’t like his voice. It’s a pretty and emotional song but not great.

#49 Luxembourg The singer and instrumental simply don’t sell themselves to me. Next.

#48 Andorra This is just so…weird. I hate 80s music. And the song structure is all over the place. I want to like it but I can’t.

#47 Lebanon Again, not a fan of the Arabic music. The verses are nice but I just can’t get behind the chorus.

#46 Austria She’s trying too hard to be edgy and meaningful, and it’s coming across all wrong. Not to mention her voice. Also, the lyrics fit oddly with the rhythm, it’s almost like they’re stressed weird, and it gives the song this unsettling quality to a native english speaker.

#45 Serbia It’s ok, but I’m not one for the vibrato, and it’s too jazzy for me. Sounds like jazz and musical theatre had a baby and it was raised in the Balkans. Not my thing.

#44 Jordan This is exactly the kind of trashy shit I’d expect to see at 2000s era Eurovision. The chorus is catchy but the verses are boring.

#43 Bulgaria This reminds me a lot of that aforementioned, traditionally Middle-Eastern style of singing, and as you know it’s really not for me. Preslava has a great voice though.

#42 Albania This isn’t something that I necessarily mind listening to. I mean, it’s nice. But I feel like it doesn’t really go anywhere, build, what have you, so it’s hard to rank higher.

#41 Monaco This is actually pretty catchy, has a nice flow. But her voice is so light and airy and it doesn’t really fit with the rest of the song. It brings the song down a lot for me.

#40 United Kingdom The first verse is pretty good, but for the rest of the song there’s too much going on in the instrumental for me to enjoy Emma’s voice. I also never understood the appeal of any 2000s-era music, really, and this screams Avril Lavigne wannabe.

#39 Norway The instrumental is nice but something about his voice isn’t really locking with me, I don’t know. It’s really just the song. He doesn’t fit it.

#38 Turkey The chorus to this is good, but the verses are structured weird rhythmically and the constant switching between Turkish and French annoys me. It doesn’t work for me.

#37 Sweden I enjoy Zara’s music generally, and this is a good song up until she finishes the first chorus and the beat drops. But something about this isn’t clicking. Maybe it’s the way the song fits her voice, or maybe it’s MNEK, or maybe the instrumental.

#36 Italy I never understood the Il Volo hype. This song seems almost overdone to me - as a classically trainer singer I LOVE the harmonies, but the song is really meh and unoriginal.

#35 Slovenia This is funny, and I can tell that Klemen is a good singer despite the effect he’s put on his voice. But the fact remains that it’s hard for me to like joke entries. I still don’t think it should have won.

#34 Denmark This isn’t a bad song but there’s something about the arrangement that doesn’t quite feel right. Her voice also sounds a bit strained. I don’t know. It was a nice pleasing video to watch, at least.

#33 Algeria I have to admit I did kind of sleep on this one…it’s a bopful song but Leïla’s voice doesn’t quite do it for me.

#32 Bosnia and Herzegovina This is a mixture of styles that I hate that have somehow combined into something I like, and it confuses me. Enough said.

#31 Libya There is an indescribable charm about this song. I’m not sure why but I really enjoy most of it. However it does go on for a bit long and there were other songs that were simply better.

#30 Armenia This is a pretty and good song, but I prefer the solo version better. Oh, there was a solo version, you ask? Yeah, and it was apparently released in 2009. But yeah contrary to popular opinion I don’t think their voices fit together very well. Tamar and Elina sound nice together but not really the other three.

#29 Iceland An overall nice song but not very dynamic. The rap part is okay and the sung part is okay but there’s nothing that makes it good or bad. A quintessential host country entry.

#28 Netherlands Their Eurovision entry was much better, much more calming. This is alright too, but I don’t like it nearly as much - although I enjoy the harmonies as always.

#27 Cyprus This walks a tough line bordering urban trashy, but I think I like it, for the most part. Not something I could see doing well in the real contest, though.

#26 Moldova I have to say, this song was a LOT more beautiful than I remembered it being - so much so that I actually jumped it up in my ranking after listening to it again just now. His voice and presence are kind of creepy and displeasing but I think it’s a very nice ballad now.

#25 Macedonia This song is so happy and summery! The chorus never fails to make me smile…but sadly it’s not enough of a push to place higher.

#24 Ukraine It’s a beautiful song, but it seems to go on forever. The chord progression is also not one of my favorites. Overall it’s pretty good though.

#23 Slovakia This is a very cute song but the verse and the chorus don’t fit very well together - they sound very different and the transition is just awkward.

#22 Spain It’s happy and radio-friendly and probably one of my favorite songs in Spanish. I actually like this better than Sofia. I can see why this did well and I doubt Pastora Soler will be able to come nearly as close.

#21 Latvia It’s a good song but nowhere nearly as good as Love Injected. I also worry for Aminata’s voice…it can’t be healthy to belt so high.

#20 Romania Another song that was much better than I remembered. It’s not the most creative of entries but I remember liking it when it was first revealed on Tumblr and somehow everything works, it’s charmed me. I love Inna’s voice. And, funnily enough, the titular phrase “diggy down” doesn’t even bother me that much. It’s awkward, but not awful.

#19 Ireland Bry seems like someone I want to wrap up and hug…his voice, his look, those lyrics. But the song has too much drums and guitar for my taste. I’d kill for an acoustic version, to be honest.

#18 Germany I know I’m not supposed to rank my own entry… but nonetheless I am still very proud of seventh place! To me the song does get a bit boring after a while but I love Namika’s voice and so I’m generally satisfied with this song and result. I guess I’d like it more if someone else had sent it.

#17 Portugal This is a well-meaning song that I’d bop to if I heard it on the radio. It doesn’t stand out from the pack enough to have gotten any points from me but I do like it.

#16 Belarus I love Belarus!!! This song is so good to dance to and bop to in the car, and it’s not really what I’ve come to expect out of Belarus given their Eurovision results. But this is super good.

#15 Greece This was one of the most slept on songs of the contest imo…I never fail to get hype to this one. I seriously regret not giving it any points last year. Her voice works so well with the song and the song is so hype-inducing. I love it.

#14 Israel I love this song! I didn’t pay much attention to it last year but it’s the song that has the most staying power for me - it’s the Tmblrvision song I listen to most as of a year after the contest.

#13 Russia Not usually a big fan of techno music but Nyusha just works it. This is something I would hate if it were in English.

#12 France I still haven’t watched the full music video for this…but I maintain that this should have won. Not a song I really liked during voting but I would much rather have had this than Fighter or Putin Putout. Not to mention that this song is really good live (yes, I saw Jain live. It was awesome).

#11 Morocco Morocco is one of those countries where I just adore their entire music industry. I love this song, I love Yallah, I love Ghaltana - and I feel like I’ll love whatever I see from them next. Morocco is my exception to the rule of “i don’t usually like Arabic music”.

#10 Croatia Not generally a rock music girl, but there’s something I like about this song that I can’t quite identify. That chorus has me bangin’.

#09 Belgium This is a song I’d expect to find either in a club or in Eurovision…and it’s pretty good. Belgium, send her to ESC.

#08 Poland I wasn’t a huge fan of this last year but I’ve come to really love it - I listen to it a lot now too. Something about his gritty voice, or the song itself…I really love it and regret not giving it points.

#07 Malta This is such a beautiful emotional ballad. I never fail to connect with this and I think Kevin’s voice communicates the feeling very well. This won’t be easily topped for me.

#06 Lithuania I remember we all thought this was going to win and so I gave it no points…I take it back. Lithuania sweetie I’m so sorry… but anyways this is a good song and one I’d show to my friends if they asked for music recs.

#05 Czechia This song makes me want to learn Czech. I liked it from the beginning and I like it now - this is great.

#04 Estonia I love all of this. I love the bass and the drums and his voice. This is a very typical song you’d expect to hear from an Estonian guy but I like it a lot despite that.

#03 Switzerland I have loved this song from the start. It’s so slept on, I think - I love duets and I love the retro instruments in the background. I think i’m going to acquire a reputation of giving my douze to underappreciated bops…just wait til you see who I gave it to this year.

#02 Finland This is just beautiful. She has one of my favorite voices in this contest and the instrumental is just so lush. It’s awfully similar to Malta’s entry but I really don’t mind that so much because they both do it so well.

#01 Hungary Uh…of course. You should have seen this coming…I am the ultimate Boggie fan. And this is one of my favorite of her songs. It’s so pretty and Milán’s voice fits with hers so well. It’s very atmospheric too. This should have done way better and I’m STILL upset.

[stevecoleridge-posts]

SPANISH LOCKDOWN …DAY14

Saturday night s all right for fighting.. on Facebook of course,

i was just casting my mind back to a Ninurta  Night , as there called their Saturdays Night in Uruk, capital of Sunny Sumeria, and  imagining what a great time they were probably having 5000 years ago , getting pissed on the local beer, because they invented that ,as well as the seven day week. Of course they did nt have Netflix, but they got to go out more..i don’t have Netflix either , yet , but have axs to lots of stuff including Music documentaries , which we are watching in order , chronological order that is..starting with The Birth of Country music .. and Mr Ralph Peers,from new York, who looked a little like Brian Epstein by the way , who set up a temporary recording studio above  furniture shop, there you go agin , NEMs , well no, it was nt , but anyway I digress, and into this temporary Studio  walked The Carter Family..3 of them .. and Jimmie Rogers.. yes.. that Jimmie Rogers , the Singing brakeman..i mean ,Okay , i can hear you mumbling about Sam Phillips, and the Chess brothers etc.. but this was Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia..a place no-one who doesn’t live round there has heard of..its like discovering the Beatles and the Rolling Stones..or rather signing them..   After that we watched a newish doc about the King , E.V. Presley..and it was mad by some guys driving round America in his Rolls royce..great stuff   That led to the Fab Four , Eight days a Week.. which was about their touring years and the whole world has seen it except me… its absolutely.. the F word , second letter A..anyway this time 55 years ago they were filming Help. inSt Margarets..Twickenham..and taking photos for the infamous Butcher cover , in the Vale , Chelsea, where my first nursery school was located..ah well.. don’t want to get too carried away on Beatles Lore..or i ll bore you to death , because i don’t mind admitting i am well versed in that subject…   The Beatles represented the 60s in the same way Elvis represented the 50 s…and someone told a story about how the disgusting Colonel Parker, in inverted commas,used to put a cover over Elvis Cadillac so the girls could nt see him when he drove on to the Movie lot in hollywood… well once the Beatles arrived the Colonel still put the cover on , so Elvis could nt see there were no longer any girls..A sad figure..but  his mantle of  loneliness was later to be worn by Michael jackson and especially Prince..Do these Royal titles always end with a solitary death on the loo or in a Lift

From there we moved too the Seventies… and surely the quintessential Seventies hero is Bowie..well now it so alluringly sunny outside ill have to go and play guitar on the terrace .. and leave David for another time..

No i don’t want to see the News..

DAY 15..Sunday…

The clocks have gone on to sensible time..even in lockdown this is cheerful news.. I was wondering how long it will take for people with imaginary ailments to return to their plastic chairs in Hospital waiting rooms throughout the Western world.. these people presumably will be the ones most frightened of Covid 19..there s nothing imaginary about that..but if you have ME and you re lying on the sofa all day, and you feel depressed , and your bones are aching etc.. well how do feel different from everyone else..and as for food intolerance .. that should be interesting when the statistics come in about consumption in Supermarkets..i know there are allergies and allergies.. but the possibility of imminently drowning in ones own mucus does concentrate the mind wonderfully, and a lot of people will find themselves in the second category once shortages begin of certain previously essential items..suddenly one has to be tolerant of a whole raft of things one had previously considered unacceptable ..two weeks ago i could not have imagined four days without bread.. but its no big deal.. onions likewise..thats what happens when you shop with no list.. bit like going on stage without a playlist.. its a gamble … it can produce unexpected benefits in that you try stuff you had nt tried before.. but you often forget the best songs..

We watched the film about the Kursk, the Submarine which was on the seabed and owing to bureaucracy and politics the Crew were allowed to die..even though t5here was a foreign Ship with equipment nearby that could have saved them.. reminds me of something..are we the mariners or are we the mariners wives?

Does the Chinese government have a cure? are they just waiting for the US economy to completely collapse?..Will we ever know?

Day 16

Each day just goes so fast , i turn around , it s past..

One of my fave tracks from Revolver..anyway playing in E7 , as usual , in fact I’ve been stuck in E 7 since Lockdown started..Catfish , Smokestack lighting ,Good Morning Blues , Take Out Some Insurance..however now the time has come to expand ..and try Freight train..the classic finger picking song..so ,if i observe radio silence for a while you ll know why..

Saw the news…The government had adopted some economic measures which seemed very well thought out , in the sense they were are determined not to let the mistakes of the last crisis , where the poorest people got the rawest deal. I won’t go into details , its all online if you re interested..it was more a sensation than anything  logical , but it made me feel a bit less pessimistic for the first time in a few weeks,i found i was nt thinking about Death quite as much , even in the abstract. that may sound overdramatic , but i think everybody is thinking about it subconsciously a great deal more than they were, say, last Christmas..well actually in our particular situation , where we had been frequenting cancer wards and the like , maybe i should go back to 2018…but  the awarerness of death affects every facet of how you think about everything else..i don’t just mean concentrating the mind wonderfully..anyway its half past two, and tomorrow ill probably delete all this..The gist was that for some reason things don’t feel quite so bleak..

Day 17

Yesterday was a 3 own a scale of  ten as far as ding anything worthwhile was concerned. After watching a film i unreservedly recommend..The vanishing.. about  3 men who disappeared from a Scottish island where they were repairing th elighthouse , i watched Tolkien , the movie about one of my heroes , but not one of Auroras heroes apparently as she fell asleep during the first reel, so to speak, anyway she s not huge Tolkien fan , having been made to sit through the fellowship of the ring seven times..be that as it may , the sofa is not designed for sleeping comfortably so she had a severely cricked neck the next morning and stayed in bed, leaving Tina and i to our own devices..this meant i ate a packet of chocolate biscuits for brunch and did nt eat again till midnight , which goes to show how lucky I am not to be on my own.

  to entertain myself between bouts of fingerpicking i decided to9 look up on google what English people disliked the most.. while i did nt find the answer to this question i did get seriously sidetracked and found out the answers to several more pressing questions about Europe,and i m proud to say the british isles scored very highly

The Dirtriest City..Yay .. London The Ugliest people..The British and the irish  and the Germans ..okay , so we cant beat the Germans but at least we drew The Rudest people..That was easy..The French win every time, when i lived in  Paris  i prided myself on becoming Parisian, and adopting local customs , but one day , in a moment of absent mindedness , and for a subconscious second imagining myself in Spain , i said Good Morning to my next door neighbour, a short fellow with a mop of dark hair and glasses, who i passed on my way to the metro in Boulevard St . Germain… i am not a Physiognomist.. he replied…i made a not e of that , hoping i could use the phrase Je ne suit pas Phisionome, myself on some future occasion..but sadly , said opportunity has not arisen. Most boring City..Brussels .. for the third year running…Hasve nt these people been to Oslo? Most Friendly Country..wait for it… Scotland..most friendly capital .. Dublin Worst Cuisine..Malta , tied with Kosovo Best ..Italy Most Beautiful Women ..Norway ..and Bulgaria..i would have voted for Madrid..but you cant argue with Norway Most ignorant Country in Europe ..italy. Most Rapes..Sweden..well that was no surprise..however i won’t analyse those statistics or Ill be done for Isamolophobia Most ignorant country in the World ..Indonesia Most depressed ..World..China , India, Brazil,..what??..USA.. and Bangladesh Most mental Illness..Estonia,Belarus , Russia Most Obese Europe..Yes We won agin .. Britain

And so on .. there was more , i could nt stop , but i did check the criteria..and obviously ruled out anything from the Daily Mail or the Independent.. which are not really newspapers at , but sheets of opinions conforming to the prejudices of their readers.

When i got tired of this i got the Scythe out of the tree and  cut the grass for half an hour .. feeling like a peasant woman in Quiet Flows The Don..its quite restful when you get in rhythm. Aurora was still ill so i made her some chicken soup.. well , packet chicken soup with some noodles and chicken added.. anyway , she did nt eat it .. so i had it saved for my supper.. I did nt watch TV..i could nt be bothered to work out how turn it on to be honest , thats how lazy i felt, and i just sat by the fire and went through all the fingerpicking songs again.

Spanish lockdown..Day 18

Aurora s feeling a wee bit better, but cant eat anything , so cannot take Iboprufen, or whatever it is in English ..but says she could probably handle bread.. so..that means a trip to the heart of Fukushima, err..well ...on with the masks , gloves etc  and to the shop in El Llano.. small village near here , a lot more isolated than Carboneras..I was feeling fairly confident as i trundled along the track  , that the town hall had tarmacked before some election or other..anyway , rounding a corner there was a woman of un certain age in the road waving me down,.,.

What to do?…You re are not allowed passengers , plus she was not wearing gloves or a mask..

Should i observe the Law, or basic good manners? i d vaguely recognised her.. and had she she been a total stranger i would have passed on by , but , hell , she was Local, so i had to pick her up..

She did nt recognise me.. obviously , as i was wearing a cap , two masks with a scarf on top, and polo neck unrolled over the bottom half of my face , like a character in the Bash Street Kids..an way i had the window down , and was almost sticking my head out as i drove..

@ Chilly out @.. she observed…

i pretended not to understand this hint that i should close the window..

@ Do you think it s going to rain ? @

@ I  think probably not @

@All these people with masks @  she observed ,as a car squeezes by us, going in the opposite direction . I began to wonder if she knew there was  such a thing as Covid 19,and  saw the driver  studying us..I was hoping he  would nt recognise me either.. and was weighing up whether what i was doing would meet with his approval. i.e. helping a distressed local, or would be considered a breach of community sprit. On coming into the village we received more enigmatic looks..and i  felt uneasy as i got out in front of the shop and followed her to the door … pausing  to read the safety notices outside.and thus give her a head start . i won’t reproduce them ..wherever you are you ve probably seen the equivalent..anyway ,no sooner did i enter the shop than she was next to me selecting suit and veg..and ignoring safe distancing, which i agree was academic , as we d just been in much too close proximity,..thus forcing me to leave the fruit and go and study the options in frozen fish..while she was having a conversation wi the owner

  @ Do you think it will rain?@   @ Its chilly out @ etc..

As we went about our purchasing i saw more and more foodstuffs i would nt normally consider..and soon had over a weeks supply..which , considering how much we already had at home made me hope this lockdown was going to go on for  a while ..or otherwise id feel a fool .. no , i did nt really think that.. Much as i wanted to prolong my shopping experience there was queue forming outside , so felt obliged to go more quickly that i would have liked..especially as i hoped to delay long enough not to have to take the woman back to her house..vainly as it turned out as she was a quarter of a mile along the track when i was obliged to pick her up again..

We passed the garbage truck.in a lay-by. @ My nephew..@ she explained..I began to feel id made the right decision..as i doubted she d been more than a mile from her house in the past few months… nonetheless i observed full protocol on arriving home..even disinfecting the car having a shower and putting all my clothes in the machine.