#but ep 3 ending hit me like a freight train

[behindthesefangirleyes]

“I want to get better.”

— Charlie Spring, ‘Heartstopper’ (s03e03)

[that-one-flute12]

I don't really listen to the Beatles but I really like this format (also thanks for tagging me homie! you're very sweet) and y'all know how much i love boygenius so here are my top ten boygenius songs in order!

voyager: this song. absolutely killed me when it came out. the 1st time i heard it i was walking to marching band practice at like 6:45 in the morning, and i was kind of in crisis mode because i had just realized that i had developed a crush on someone i felt i could never be with, and every single line of this song hit me like a freight train the whole walk there. i swear i listened to it like 15 times the first day it was out. it's my go-to song when i'm having a little sad moment.

not strong enough: this song is SUCH a banger (and also it won 2 grammys so that was cool). it has such a good beat and melody but the lyrics are also absolutely devastating? "always an angel, never a god" is one of my favorite lyrics of all time and i have a bracelet set that says that. i wear them every day.

we're in love: this song hits so hard. lucy dacus's voice on this song is absolutely gorgeous, and it's such a beautiful song about the beauty of friendship and infinite familial love. it's so well-written, maybe my favorite lyrically off "the record", and every single time i hear it i am stunned by the pure love it conveys.

letter to an old poet: i am a sucker for a phoebe bridgers song (or one led by her), and this is one that hits the target in that category. it's also one of my favorites lyrically, and the references to "me and my dog" from the boygenius ep make me tear up every time. "you made me feel like an equal, but i'm better than you and you should know that by now" is such a good line in my humble opinion.

revolution 0: again, sucker for a phoebe-led song, and this song is genuinely one of the prettiest songs i've ever heard. the harmonies are so beautiful and again the lyrics are devastating.

emily i'm sorry: it's sad, it's gay, what more could one want? i wasn't a huge fan of this song when "the record" was released, thankfully i have seen the error of my ways and this is one of my favorites now. also it's lowkey relatable? like the "i'm 27 and i don't know who i am but i know what i want" is me except for i'm not 27.

salt in the wound: absolute BANGER. this is such a good song and showcases the talents of each of the 3 members so well. lucy's gorgeous voice? julien's insane shredding at the end? phoebe's part at the end? so good.

true blue: this is me and my best friend's song so it has a lot of meaning for me. like "we're in love" it is about friendship and love, but i just feel like it's in a more fun and playful way. don't get me wrong though, it still has great lyrics, and i also love the music video for this one (i have a hoodie inspired by it.)

cool about it: again, i think this one showcases each individual voice so well. all three of them have their own verse and it just really highlights the beauty and how different their voices are from each other. none of them sound similar, phoebe, julien, and lucy all have very distinct voices. and i also really like the line "i can walk you home and practice method acting".

me and my dog: this was one of the 1st boygenius songs i heard and i really love it. i also really like its connections to "letter to an old poet". i don't have a ton to say about it, just that it's a really good song.

anyways, that's my little music rant for you all today. i hope you enjoyed my yapping.

idk who to tag here

@summersinyourblood and whoever else wants to ofc!

As an average 17 year old white girl who loves The Beatles, I think it's very important people know my top 19 Beatles song in order and why.

1. I Am The Walrus

I love this one because it's literally John Lennon letting his intrusive thought absolutely dominate and furrow into a song. I mean what "pornographic preistess"? Like cmon.

2. Elanor Rigby

If you've listened to this song I don't even think I need to explain. "Ah, look at all the lonely people." I mean it's awesome, it's relatable, it's a story. It's just great overall.

3. Help

It was the first Beatles song I heard that I knew was a Beatles song. It used to be #1, then I heard the two listed above. It will never fall to number 4 or lower because of the sentiment.

4. Hey Jude

It reminds me of my deceased uncle, his name was Jude. He would make my bad days better with his jokes when I was near him, so the lyrics just make me cry. Also this song played right as we left the funeral home so yeah.

5. Magical Mystery Tour

Also just intrusive thoughts. What is the Magical Myster Tour? Idk but I wanna be taken away-

6. Hello, Goodbye

Idk why I like it so much, I just do. Idk, maybe it's because it's literally the Yin Yang of songs.

7. Yellow Submarine

Also just a silly little song. I like it because it's so silly hehe

8. Here Comes The Sun

I very vividly remember my mom singing this to me when I was a baby. Like VIVIDLY because I remember her singing "little darling". She would sing it to soothe me to sleep or some shit idk but it stuck w me.

9. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

ITS LITERALLY A SONG ABOUT BEING HIGH AS FUCK ON LSD OF COURSE I LOVE IT. Also Elton John did a cover of it so that's a plus :)

10. Strawberry Fields Forever

I wanna just walk through the strawberry fields when I listen to this song, it's so relaxing, and yk what yes please take me down to strawberry fields because I wanna forget everything real.

I decided to edit this to tag people to do the same

@loxolotle

@a-homiesexual-book-boi

@that-one-flute12

Anyways that's my top 10, but I know more than that and I Wanna Hold Your Hand is close 10 bc it's so sweet.

[scoundrels-in-love]

5 and 13! x

@clockworkswans Super late, so a tag in case you miss the response! Thank you so much for asking!

5. : K-Drama OTP(s)?

This is kind of funny because if I think about it, I love kdramas, but I don’t think I am person who typically gets all crazy about couple themselves, isolated from the story, or just... IDK, it’s hard to explain. But that aside, I do have an OTP!

Gang Doo and Moon Soo from Just Between Lovers. Will never not love them. My sweet, sweet traumatized babies that grew so much, together and individually. They nailed that sweet, sweet spot of ‘sort of enemies to friends to lovers’, starting from the kind of wrong foot and then discovering each other - and themselves - layer by layer. Brb I am getting emotional and need to clutch my chest for 5 minutes.

Some other couples I enjoyed.

Both couples in Goblin. While my feelings about some aspects of it all have gotten a lot more ambivalent over the years, I do have to be honest to the part of myself that loves them still rather unconditionally. There was something tragic and beautiful and trying to do right by each other, in the end, that really stuck with me.

Both couples of Run On. Seun Gyeom and Mi Joo make me feel all warm and happy and honestly, I don’t know if I want to date either of them or be either of them, so that’s that.

Although I am prepared to be let down by resolution of Dan Ah’s sexuality storyline resolution, I am still absolutely invested in everything that she and Yeong Hwa got going on. The tension, the redefining of dynamics and power balance, the way he makes her smile and she sees to the heart of his paintings, the way he just wants to get pegged so bad but won’t let her walk all over him as a person and an artist... Sexy.

Dan Oh and Haru from Extraordinary You. It’s not any sort of life-consuming love for them as a romantic couple, but it’s hard to not to root for them as they face so much together and come through kinder, stronger and more in love. I only want what’s best for them and, really, who wouldn’t?

Bok Joo and Joon Hyung from Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo. Although I don’t think Joon Hyung is precious bean that can’t do any wrong (there were moments he was kind of a dick, even if it worked in comedic way), their relationship overall developed sweetly and endearingly and I definitely genuinely rooted for them and found them adorable. Also, it was my first kdrama, so they get shoutout for that. If they didn’t sell me on kdramas and kdrama romance, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.

+ Bonus

Not a kdrama, but Kurodachi from Cherry Magic is definitely got me more emotionally invested than most kdrama couples than I’ve seen. They had their messups, but overall, they were earnest and sweet, and so absolutely adorable and there wasn’t one moment where I would feel like I couldn’t absolutely root for them as individuals and as a couple.

++ Bonus 2: electric boogaloo Se Ra and Gong Myung from Into the Ring could very well end up here when I have watched more than 3 eps and skipped ahead a bit, because one single post credit scene made me feel more mushy feelings about their budding romance than many epic couples or famous dramas. Also, I adore their ‘I hate your guts’ to ‘I can respect that’ to ‘I would literally do the impossible for you’ journey for I am a simple bitch.

13: Top five K-Dramas?

*groans* It’s such a hard question. I hate ranking things. So I will only rank my favorite and the rest will be a random ass mess and I don’t know if I will stop at 5. This is my blog, I alter the rules as I please. *distressed noises*

1. Just Between Lovers. I’ve not been shy about loving this drama. I could ramble and ramble about it, but to preserve everyone involved, I will just say it’s, to me, the perfect ensemble story of gradual healing and overcoming trauma as found family. It hits like a freight train, but somehow you are put back together better than before. It’s sweet, it’s tragic, it’s funny in places and it’s comforting in this one big package. It’s embedded itself in part of my heart, a promise and understanding all at once. ‘Maybe it’s not the time, yet, but you will heal. I believe in you.’ And it makes me want to believe it, too.

It’s Okay, That’s Love. I don’t know how this would hold up, if I watched it now, and I am not saying it was perfect every step along the way, but in the end, it made me cry and it made me hopeful all at once, it comforted me in times when I really needed those exact words spoken to me and there was something so lovely about this found family.

Run On is tentatively on the list, because they might still absolutely tank it in the last 6 episodes, but I really want to believe they won’t, despite my previously mentioned lack of faith in quality wrap-up of a storyline. But even so, what it has already given to me, won’t lose its meaning if that happens. (Hah, do you get that convoluted reference?) And what it has given me is comforting, soft, character-driven story with cast full with compelling characters, many different friendships and a world that feels alive with many tiny details, yet not bloated. It’s story of healing and communication, a glimpse into profession I used to dream about, it makes me want to think about who I want to be as a person and believe just a little I could become them.

Goblin. Again, more ambivalent about it these days, but I can’t deny the power it had on me back when I watched it, from cinematography to use of OSTs which still remain some of my all time favorites, to the relationships between the four leads and the found family of it all. (Are we sensing a pattern here?)

To. Jenny It revealed the meaning of comfort show to me. It’s short and sweet and, in some ways, absolute musical nonsense. It injects seratonin directly into my brain and I have rewatched it like 4 or 5 times which is genuinely a record for me.

+ Bonus Cherry Magic. Sort of same as with To. Jenny, this is probably be going to be my comfort show if I ever get over the cringe of my failed fanfic attempt that haunts me three weeks later like some kind of disfigured ghoul. The show itself just makes me feel things which isn’t that easy to do.

Send me a kdrama ask?<3

[eddiestattoos]

Holy crap I'm almost done

"How was your day?" "that depends. What day is it?"

"If you mean old as hell yes it is"

Oh boy both versions of Clark on the same earth

Or.... not

How dare they do earth 2 Ollie like that

"You're kinda cute when you squirm"

"What have you been watching a little bit too much BBC lately?"

What the hell happened to the E2 farm?

Just putting this out there. Emil is underrated (even when I don't really know his general reception)

E2 Clark really went and bought Tess a whole outfit

Wait so E2 Ollie took over Smallville? Huh. Rude

It's a nice outfit anyway

"Your country crush"

"This is nothing but a cold music box without the music don't kid yourself"

"I don't know what your definition of romance is but mine is not staring face to face with the threat of having my neck snapped in half"

"We need to make sure there is nothing handsome pr heroic about Clark Kent"

*looks to guy fumbling a map around* "you need to be like that

So this is how future Clark ended up so dorky lol

"The real you can burn holes through buildings with one look and lift a freight train with one finger. Get over it" Lois Lane the queen of the pep talk

Booster has such a strange vibe. Not good or bad, just odd

I miss Oliver

Imagine if oliver were to meet booster I would lose it

"Either one I don't really have a bad side guys"

"I'm not interested in you goldilocks"

"Cat Grant. Like nails on a chalkboard"

"They all know all different Clark wouldn't be sending me roses, he's allergic to them remember?"

Clark: "booster" Lois: "ew" (tosses flowers)

Can I just say Clark looks very dapper in this suit

"I had a milkshake on the way in" oof dorky Clark this is awkward lol

"Will you be thanking anyone sir?" "Me. And maybe my mom. People love that sentimental stuff. And it's always a hit with the ladies"

Oh good lord Cat please stop

Holy crap he has a legion ring

"They're really good friends of mine. Actually they're more like acquaintances" look this guy has a hefty ego but he's kinda funny

"You're talking to the single greatest hero of the 25th century"

"I will zap you to honeybee heaven"

"The blur sounds like a roller coaster"

"You gotta brand it baby"

*busts all the buttons on his shirt*

"Let me move this thing a lot faster, I can unpack this thing in like 2 seconds"

"I come back willing to risk life and limb with you in the phantom zone and I get not so much as a welcome back?"

I love the Ollie getting involved with Kryptonian affairs eps so I'm ready for this

"Clark you'll be powerless there. Oliver has more experience with that"

Oliver jumping in last second

"If I had known about the long drop in I would have brought some repelling equipment"

"Where I'm from people just hang a wreath"

"When you said jor el built a prison, I kinda pictured something a little more confined than a national park"

"Seems like a real sweetheart"

"I thought this was just a clever name for jail"

Directed by Justin Hartley!

"My entire world just traveled headfirst into a world that makes hell look like the Taj Mahal"

Oh my boys are beautiful

Even Zod still looks decent

Healing Zod with his blood really has come back to triple bite Clark in the ass

Lol Zod is really comparing himself and Clark to Cain and Abel

Oliver guiding Clark though the fight!

Ok I'm not saying I want Clark to be a murderer... but, I kinda am

"I think we have a better chance of surviving your dad's desert than Zod's thunderdome"

OH (Lois just grabbed the gun)

"If you release your pet monkeys here I'd be more than willing to give the wicked witch a personal demonstration"

"You'll be cast aside, out of his good graces" Zod honey you were in Clark's good graces for all of 15 seconds. And he was on red k

Yes because Oliver Queen is your brother Zod. Absolutely

Ollie's not wearing a wedding ring and I'm offended

Ok it was obvious from the start Ollie and Clark would have to face off

Getting kind of tired of these slow mo blood pouring out of the mouth shot smallville seems to be obsessed with

"In terms of crippling wounds I've had worse"

"At least we took care of Zod. Can't say I'll be missing that guy"

3? Weeks? Damn phantom zone

Me: *sees Oliver in a dark dungeon esque vibe of a place* Oliver what the hell are you doing? Oliver? Oliver?!

"I knew you were coming, sneaking up on me is just showing off"

I refuse to believe Oliver will be overcome by this bitch

Darkseid infected a statue? Seems very not legit

[calamity-bean]

wasteland, baby! first impressions

Having listened through Wasteland, Baby! a couple times now, I present my very personal and unsophisticated first impressions of all the new songs on the album  — i.e. the ones that were not, as far as I noticed, previously released as parts of EPs or alone as previews (Nina Cried Power, Shrike, Movement, Almost (Sweet Music), and Dinner & Diatribes). It kinda feels weird to omit them, but those ones wouldn’t really be “first impressions” given I’ve already listened to them so much, y’know? Anyway:

No Plan — Delightful nihilism, in the gentlest and most optimistic sense of the word: a great big lovely shrug inviting us to just take break, for a moment, from all the screaming heaving fuckery. There’s no grand design! There’s no master plan! There’s just us, just this, so make the best of it, make something good of it, lie down in the soft darkness, love someone, chill. Can I cure my anxiety by mainlining this song into my soul?

Nobody — Honestly, this one hasn’t really grabbed me yet; it’s a fun bop to groove to, I like some of the sounds a lot, but I’m not really connecting to the sound or lyrics in any way deeper yet. However, I have been known to completely gloss over songs for months only for them to suddenly hit me like a freight train, so this might just be one I have to revisit with time.

To Noise Making (Sing) — Delighted to announce that Hozier himself has given me, specifically, his personal permission to sing at the top of my lungs always even though I’m super bad at it. In all seriousness, “Put your emptiness to melody, your awful heart to song” is a heck of a line and a mood to live by.

As It Was — There are some Hozier songs that make you feel like you’re lying in a meadow with the sun on your face and your eldritch (but kindhearted) lover is lying beside you and possibly you’re dead or eldritch also but nonetheless, all is well in the world. Then there are Hozier songs that make you feel like you took an ill-advised turn on a back country road and it’s dusk now and the coyotes are howling and you know that your eldritch (probably not kindhearted) lover is out there in the darkness somewhere and you’re trying to hunt them down but you can’t shake the feeling that you’re being hunted too. This is one of the latter. I approve VERY much. Current front-runner for favorite new song of the album.

Talk — Oh, so we’re just startin’ this one right off with an Orpheus/Eurydice conceit, are we? GOOD. Excellent choice. Hozier’s lyrics so often place him in a position of awe/submission before divinity/nature/his lover that I think any comparison to Orpheus or to Eurydice is an apt one — these mortals entwined with beautiful but overwhelmingly powerful and potentially hazardous forces that convey at desire and danger all at once. See the lines here about marveling at God, marrying the sea, being the devotee… In short, this track? Very on brand.

Be — “When the man who gives the order / Is born next time round on the boat sent back” oh shit!! Really not mincin’ words here, huh bud! Man, in terms of pure sound I really like this one, but there’s so much lyrical complexity that I’m still unpacking. It’s definitely very… wasteland, though, very apocalyptic, in a way that’s more explicitly contemporary and also more defiant than other apocalyptic songs such as, say, “NFWMB.”

Would That I —Have you ever seen a field after a fire? Have you ever driven by the same field month after month or year after year and observed the flowers, the grasses, the young things tender and green slowly push up through the brittle brown and gray? This song feels like pushing up through ashes. It feels like the courage to start again.

Sunlight — This is so… STIRRING? So MYTHIC? That strong, driving beat on every repetition of the title!! This song makes me feel like I’m being pushed, an insistent ebb and flow toward something, some object of desire that does not, for me, have a name. Nonetheless, it makes me yearn. Big fan of the Icarus conceit. Giving “As It Was” a run for its money as my new fave. 

Wasteland, Baby! — This is one of those “lying in a meadow with the sun on your face songs,” though set during an apocalypse, because of course it is, this is Hozier, we are ALL about using dark, sublime nature imagery to gently talk about how much we love our baby. Makes me feel a little dreamy and a little sleepy and ready to curl up under the covers while the world, too, falls asleep for the last time.

Looking at the album altogether, including the songs not discussed here? I think it has a really particular vibe that feels distinct from the previous album but still very on brand. It maintains the classic Hozier habit of using 1) primal nature imagery and 2) ominous religious metaphors to be 3) horny and wraps it all up in a vision of impending apocalypse that does not preclude love, beauty, and gentleness even in such a dark context.... but that also calls for justice and defiance in the face of doom. Sure, there’s no grand plan controlling the universe. Sure, everything will eventually end, and there’s nothing we can do about that. So in some respects all we can do is live in the moment, love, find joy, find pleasure, make noise for the sake of it, marvel at the coming of the end... And yet there are other things we can control, or at least stand up for or in opposition to. A thread of the sociopolitical amidst all the romance.

Idk, these thoughts are all very personal and preliminary, and I’ll restrain myself from trying to come up with some sort of thesis here. End of the day, it’s a great bunch of nice romantic bangers that I look forward to mulling over more.

[stainyourhands]

Top 10 Podcasts of 2017

Although I’ve been listening to podcasts in some shape or form since 2005, in 2017 the genre really matured.  I can honestly say that some of the most innovative work in many genres - politics, certainly, but also cultural commentary, investigative reporting, and SF fiction - is being done in podcast form.  I spend more time each week listening to podcasts than consuming any other kind of media, and I had a very, very hard time picking a Top 10.  But, here it goes:

1. Pod Save America

Yeah, no shit, right?  I don’t know how I would have gotten through 2017 without these boys putting things in perspective, making me laugh, and giving actionable advice on how to affect change.  I’m not sure how to recommend an episode, as they’re all wonderful and topical.  The newest one, I suppose!

Note: I didn’t include the other Crooked Media podcasts, because that wouldn’t be fair to all the other wonderful podcasts I loved this year, but LOLI, Crooked Convos, Majority 54, and Pod Save the World should all be on here, too

2. Reply All

I’ve been a huge fan of Reply All since the beginning (it was my #1 in 2016), and I will admit that this season wasn’t as good as the 2016 season.  However, Alex and PJ never cease to make me laugh and, more importantly, amaze me.  I never finish an episode without a completely new way of looking at the technological world.  Favorite episodes: The Secret Life of Alex Goldman, Long Distance

3. The Bright Sessions

The Bright Session is, by far, my favorite fictional podcast our there.  In an infamous weekend in June, I caught up on the entire thing, and now I wait for each new episode with bated breath.  I originally started listening for the real, thoughtful, respectful gay relationship - and that’s still my favorite part - but have stayed for the plot and how reflective all the characters are. Favorite episodes: start at the beginning

4. S-Town

I know S-Town will be on everybody’s lists, but it was, honestly, one of the best miniseries I’ve ever listened to/watched.  The in-depth, ultra-personal biographical series had such an effect on me and everyone else around me - it was like having watercooler TV again, and I really loved that.  Favorite episodes: watch them all, but Chapter 3 is the ep when everything changes

5. Heavyweight

Heavyweight hit me like a freight train towards the end of 2017.  I caught up on the whole thing in just a couple days, because I was so enthralled with each of these characters.  It’s amazing what Jonathan Goldstein can do in 40 minutes. Favorite episodes: Jesse

6. The Truth

Although I find The Truth to be hit or mess, when it’s on, it’s one of the best podcasts out there.  An audio version of Black Mirror, it twists technology on its head and very rarely ends where I think it’s going to. Favorite episodes: The Dark End of the Mall, The Decider, Possible Side Effects

7. Revisionist History

Malcolm Gladwell is still one of the best audio storytellers.  He uncovers truths that I talk about months and months later.  I’m still talking about my favorite episode: A Good Walk Spoiled

8. Flashforward

I’ve loved Flashforward for awhile now - it’s the podcast I download and listen to the moment it’s available.  I love the explorations of futures dystopian and utopian.  I always find myself thinking about them days later.  Favorite episodes: Mons Voyage, California Dreaming

9. 36 Questions

This 3-part musical podcast was spot-on.  The songs were professional and the cast was magnificent.  Although I didn’t love the ending, I still recommend it highly.  Start at the beginning

10. The Heart

The ‘No’ season was incredible.  I listened to it while biking home, and ended up stopping in a field so that I could lie still and listen as carefully as I could.  I felt a heavy, impossible thing in my chest with each episode.  I think all women can relate to at least part of it.  Again, start at the beginning