#but i don't feel it really reflects my listening since i often listen to albums within larger playlists so i didn't include that

[jakeperalta]

I check this religiously every sunday (my top 100 playlist is literally my #2 playlist of the year) so none of this is a surprise to me but I guess now we're sharing these things so here we have it. now we can all see how I spent my year deeply obsessed with the good witch and rolling up the welcome mat 🥲

[glitterandviolence111]

PERVERTS: A FULL REVIEW🤍 -A

@mothercain

I've been sitting with this album for a few hours, and I'm so impressed with every track. the surprising diversity in styles, sounds, and themes while still having a cohesive vibe is something I don't hear that often. even in albums that I love to death. slightly erotic horror, drone, trauma in its most raw form. that's how I hear it. this album is not glamorous, it's terrifying. it's serious while still being a fun experience. the silent hill vibes are strong, with the only real break from that being Vacillator. that one is my favorite at the moment, since it really stuck out to me as being much more gentle. "If you love me, keep it to yourself", that's the main repeating lyric, but the jazzy vibes make it seem like more of a seduction. the suggestion is so soft. like a "Do it, you won't!", and triple dog dare to love, and not keep it to yourself. that's what I take from it. this track is the most comfortable. it's a middle ground.

getting into the rest of the project, Perverts is an insane opener. it's immediately so haunting and to me it was quite terrifying, I'm aware that wasn't fully intentional in the way Ethel describes the album, but that's what a lot of people including myself have felt. it's creepy and unnerving in a horror soundtrack kind of way. and it sounds like that authentically, like it's not an opener that's trying to prove a point. punish is also a great track, it brought out a lot of emotions for me. the idea of being tortured by love is such a relatable feeling when you are struggling, for me it's a feeling of shame that comes in short spurts of time. I can wash away the feeling by sleeping it off, but when you are in the mental trenches, you feel like loving hurts. that it hurts to love, and it hurts to be loved, but it's also not black and white like that. you have to accept that pain with the good, especially when you have trauma. Houseofpsychoticwomn took it up a notch in every regard. the horror, the themes of love, and the drone sounds were also so expansive. like they went on forever, and the 13 minute length reflects that. also, the pitched almost talk box vocals kinda reminds me of the movie X (the one with Mia Goth). maybe it's because I randomly rewatched that movie recently, and it's the only slasher I've watched in a while, but I wanna see if other people agree. next is Onanist. I love the vocals in the section where Hayden is singing, and those crunchy synths coming in around the three minute mark make it, again, feel like a movie soundtrack. the way it fades is also so cool, because the track fades for so long, not unlike most of these songs, but for some reason this fade out was particularly sick.

I mark that as the halfway point in the album, so it's time to discuss Pulldrone. this for me might be the only definitive skip, but I do have a good explanation for that. it's a beautiful song, the little poem section at the beginning really hooked me. I looked up the lyrics on genius just to read it all strung together in my head. the thing is for me, the rest is so long that it's upsetting to me personally in a way that's just too dark for my current head space. the distorted strings that go on for so long sound like that one part in the movie Midsommar, at the beginning, when Dani is crying after her sister and parents die, and her crying slowly fade into strings while they show the bodies (and Dani crying in Christians arms). that association and the sound in general already sounding like very distressed crying is just a little too much, but I appreciate it so much for what it is, and this isn't a criticism. it's just something to be aware of when listening to the album, take this as a little TW for especially disturbing content. your mental health matters❤️

picking things back up with Etinne. I love this track. the way more sounds slowly get introduced. starting with the background noise, then the piano, then the satellite pinging sound (that's what it sounds like to me), and then the soft guitar strumming, and then of course the fade out at the end. the little story about the man running was such a haunting touch. the second to last song, Thatorchia has some if the heaviest drone and noise in the whole album. the way it swells and then soft vocals are introduced, and it just gets louder until the very distorted guitar comes it and it takes a slight rock edge. maybe my second to least favorite, but again I appreciate it for what it is. Amber Waves is such a good closer, the singing is very pretty. I'm aware that this track is one that's pretty clearly about love, maybe I'm wrong but it feels like it covers the end of a romantic relationship. the way I see it is more relatable to me, it's just how I naturally spun it in my head. I see it more subjectivity as the feeling of cutting off toxic or abuse family ties, running away peacefully and confidently. moving on. taking your love and value somewhere else. letting the waves take you.

overall, this album has so much to offer. even if you're like me and don't listen to these kinds of genres. please make an exception for Ethel Cain. this album discusses themes of shame, of love, of eroticism, and unfiltered trauma that can make you act just as scary as this album. it's dark, gritty, emotional, chilling, and really fun at times. (super super side note but the album cover is bone chilling to me, and I can't fully pinpoint why). I'm feeling a light to decent 7/10 on Perverts. thank you for reading🎀💕

[daynascullys]

the tortured poets department

i have thoughts!! surprising, right?? this is for anyone who cares to read them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Before you read, note that this is going to be critical of things, so let me just start by saying I have loved and listened to Taylor since I was 8, so none of it is said lightly or without careful thought (in fact, this took me absurdly long to write). Most of the issues I have are very near to my heart, actually, so I've spent a lot of time thinking about it. If you don't want to read criticism, then just don't read more. DISCLAIMER that I did my best, but not even this fully captures the nuance I feel able my own opinions lol I recognize the other sides and points, I really do. I hold many conflicting opinions.

The short version is I will always love her music and her voice and she is capable of writing absolutely gorgeous lyrics (dare I say poetry?). I don't tend to think too much about the sound of it because if I like the sound, it's all I really care about—maybe it sounds the same as other stuff, but if I like that other stuff, I don't really care about whether she branches out or not. I think it's great and interesting when she (or anyone) does, but I also don't like change so it doesn't matter to me the way I know it matters to some people. That's just me!

What gets more complicated for me is the narrative, themes, and general trends that have been more prominent the last year or so, and that's what the rest of my thoughts are. It's me enjoying the music while also being acutely aware of all the grief tangled up in it because of how much less connected I feel in many ways.

Side note: this got soooo much longer than even I expected and it still just scratches the surface! so if you decide to read, 1. thank you, and 2. I'd love to keep talking to you. 🤍

———————————————————— 💭

I am an overthinker (shocking!) and will for sure be annoyed that I can't think of each and every thing I think about this album, but this is what comes to mind right now. Some things that have stood out to me more and more with each release:

a tendency to write self-aware lyrics that, in trying to be self-aware, betray somewhat of a lack of self-awareness

a frustration with never growing up that she expresses while also not realizing the way she is complicit in that and her own refusal to grow up

considering herself the victim, particularly after "overcoming" the accusations that she always plays the victim

venturing more boldly into the territory of serious mental illness/suicidal ideation/mental health treatment despite demonstrating a fair amount of ignorance regarding those things in the past

fame going to her head (in the sense of her becoming further and further out of touch) and the entitlement in a lot of the more immature attitudes that come across in these songs

self-awareness: for me, the first example that comes to mind is Anti-Hero: "it's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me." It's a claim at self-awareness because she's poking fun at the fact that she knows people always say "maybe she's the problem." The reason why it feels to me like it exposes a lack of self-awareness is because she explores it mostly as a criticism to overcome and not a valid point of self-reflection. @jakeperalta's tags on her post explain it better than I do. Yes, there's an issue when you reduce every feeling to "well maybe she's the problem," but part of growth is admitting that maybe you are part of the problem and coming to terms with the fact that there is often some inevitable truth to that statement—and being willing to work on it. This example is from Midnights, but I think it ties into the next point.

immaturity/never growing up: I actually think these first two sections are just two parts of one section, but it's easier to read this way anyway. There are lots of references to not growing up on this album, the first that come to mind being "So High School" and "teenage petulance." Maybe it's just me, but as a 34-year-old woman, I wouldn't want to be feeling "so high school." I mean, as a 25-year-old, when I talk about feeling like my high school self, it's usually because I'm recognizing how limited my judgment and self-awareness was in high school (despite all the therapy and my efforts to be self-aware in high school). And I am aware of my own bias here—I absolutely hate the football game days because I didn't even like watching people act like that in high school, but at least they were high schoolers—but I do think part of what we've seen is Travis allowing her to be more immature and take less responsibility because that's also where he is at. Obviously I don’t speak to it with any authority since I don't know what happened in the relationship, but based on her behaviors and what I know about Joe (which is VERY little), I kind of get the feeling that part of what she didn't like about being with Joe is that he pushed her to grow. "Your integrity makes me seem small," etc. etc., but not in an “I want to grow” way, but not liking that feeling because she shouldn't have to feel small just because she wants to be able to only do what makes her happy. Just looking at the difference in her behavior and the fact that it seems like she's stopped trying to learn (Miss Americana-ish), it seems like she very much resents the responsibility that comes with being such a famous person and mainly considers herself a victim of her fame.

victimhood: to an extent, yes, she is a victim of her fame. No one should have that much fame and power, and of course she didn't sign up for it in this way. But wanting to have the kind of influence and reach that most artists desire is intertwined with fame. There isn't a way to separate it (in an ideal world, maybe, but that isn't what we're dealing with) and it's something that, to some degree, artists do sign up for. And I think she resents that she's expected to take any sort of responsibility for anything that she doesn't want to do, in a very, "but that's not fair!," teenage petulance kind of way. She even says in Sweet Nothing that "I'm just too soft for all of it." We're all too soft for all of it, but that doesn't mean we get to ignore it. It bothers me that she doesn't seem to feel any sort of responsibility to use this giant platform to do better. Everyone is aware of her influence, including her. I think that's part of the grief. No, it is not her job to use her platform for good, but I thought that it was something she valued and something she wanted. The other line that really stuck out to me was from Cassandra: "They say what doesn't kill you makes you aware, what happens if it becomes who you are?" You may be a victim of what doesn't kill you, but if it becomes who you are, that's not their fault. It reminds me a bit of the exhaustion of living with mental illness. For me in particular, it affects my relationships in a very fundamental way, and there are days that I sob because I am exhausted of things that are so normal being so, so difficult for me... but even though I didn't ask for it and it's not fair that this happened to me, it's still my responsibility to understand how my issues affect how I show up in relationships. It's still my problem, even though it isn't my fault that it's my problem. And if you're lucky, you find really beautiful people who are willing to help you and see that it's not their responsibility, but they want to make it easier for you—I recognize how lucky I am to have some people like that, but it never makes it anyone else's problem. If they decide one day it's not their problem, the truth is that it isn't (and then there's a more complex conversation about what you want to do to preserve a relationship). This is also very connected to something about Kate Beckett/why I identify with that character, and I can touch on that if anyone wants to know, but I don't really have cohesive thoughts about that prepared (it makes more sense if you already know the character). This also goes to other things, like her being upset that people always focus on who songs are about while ignoring the part she played in feeding that culture (like with secret messages).

mental health: this goes to a bigger discussion of how we turn to celebrities who are HIGHLY unqualified to have opinions on things for guidance (the nuance of the above discussion about using your platform), but the more she ventures into the discussion of mental illness, the more upset I get by some remarks she has made in the past. And yes, people grow, she may not feel this way anymore, but nothing in her behavior gives me any reason to believe that she doesn't still have this attitude. This is one that I know I have to be careful of because of how personal it is for me (I've been placed on a 5150 "danger to self" hold and I am a therapist), but one interview that has always made me so upset is that one where she talks about how she's never been to therapy, then ends it by saying "I feel like we just had a therapy session." She has said multiple times how she has never wanted to go to therapy when she has her mom, who already knows everything about her. And that is highly irritating to me because 1. that's why she's your MOM, not your THERAPIST, and 2. there's already so much stigma and apprehension around therapy and many people feel this way, so to have someone like Taylor Swift validate all the people who say "I'd rather talk to someone who already knows me" or "so and so is my therapist" is unbelievably frustrating. There's a reason it's unethical to treat people you know—that isn't therapy. And I think I wouldn't be so bothered by it if she didn't speak about it with such authority, like she knows what she's talking about when what she's saying shows that she doesn't (edit: this is specifically in regard to therapy, not mental illness. I am highly aware that anyone can be mentally ill). The other thing about this album is that it does seem to be an album about loving people with mental illness, and I've already seen a lot of interpretations that simply feed the narrative that people with mental illness are unlovable and mental illness is the reason people mistreat you (particularly the discussion about her lovers being blue all the time). And the issue with that is it's already a common misconception among people with mental illness, that their mental illness is an excuse or reason why they don't treat people right. It's disrespectful to the people who recognize that they have a mental illness that affects how they interact with others and choose to try to overcome it. I'm all for honest discussions about mental illness, but it's so disheartening when it happens on such a large scale and some of the loudest voices are people who don't know enough to know how to (at least try to) do no harm.

fame: I'm not really going to go into it because this has already turned out way longer than I meant for it to, but also because I feel like it's already been touched on. For me, it's the conversation about her feeling she should be able to just do what she wants. I think we all feel that way, but because of her fame and the fact that she's just about untouchable (as shown in how she came back from being cancelled), she can just tune everyone out. But one example was how uneasy I felt about this album being announced at the grammys. For one thing, it's not a fan-voted award, so even if it should, it doesn't feel the same. And regardless of your take on award shows, I do think it showed a level of insensitivity to the other artists who haven't won a bunch of grammys to decide that she would announce a new album at the grammys. Because even if she had a backup plan and said she didn't plan on it, the truth is that, to decide to have a backup plan, you did have to count on it happening, at least to an extent. You had to feel it was likely enough that you wanted to have a back up plan just in case, but it probably would go the way you wanted. To me, it just felt so... disrespectful. Because for many other artists, it doesn't happen more than once. (not to mention the many other things happening that got completely overshadowed, like Annie Lennox calling for a ceasefire)

So if you read all that... I don't even know what the point is at this point. These are just thoughts that, to me, don't feel right to simply ignore. I know there's an argument that you can enjoy music without enjoying where it came from, and it's true to an extent, but I also think part of the music is where it comes from. So... I don't know. Do with that what you will. And if you are reading this, I love you (I can't believe you're reading this).

[seaofreverie]

Today I want to share the joy that Reading A Newspaper has brought me recently (yesterday).

Because you see, it's not very often that I can read a several pages long good quality feature on a band that I'm something of a fan of, considering that until last year at best, all and any musical favourites I had were next to unheard of in the, let's call it, professional music business. And said feature also gave a few mentions to the one and only fav band of all time which I'm also still not used to being able to read about in my language (because it only happened like 5 times in total so far anyway, but still). And I can buy the newspaper in my local store in this minuscule town and find Sparks inside, like wow, it really is My Sparks, in this real life physical newspaper that I just got. This was like a belated but very epic christmas gift for me and I'm not kidding.

But well yeah getting to the point now, Franz Ferdinand are starting their tour soon promoting their upcoming new album and they're stopping in Poland too, so there was this whole 14-pages long overview of their whole career, and while I was obviously interested in the whole thing I was most hyped about the fact that there would have to be something about FFS and Sparks there and this brings me to my delighful observation that wow, all of this is so, connected in a way. Like how there are these connections in inspiration and collaborations between many of my favourites that I didn't even think about probably being a thing before, but when I think about it it just makes so much sense. Like how in this interview with Alex Kapranos, the interviewer brings up Talking Heads and specifically Fear of Music, because the new Franz Ferdinand album also has this sort of overarching theme of fear. And it's funny because that's the first Talking Heads album I've ever listened to and still my favourite from them to this day and overall one of my all-time favourite albums. And I guess it shouldn't be that shocking that it'd come up here because Talking Heads were super influential and inspired thousands, but also until now I didn't think about how both these bands share the general direction of creating dance-able type of rock with lyrics that are often on the more reflective and "intellectual" side. And also that album has been recommended to me as the most TMBG-like of theirs so. Wow I wonder why I like it.

Ok there were also all these other things that I want to mention too, so, other miscellaneous points of interest:

In the debut album review, the reviewer said that during Tell Her Tonight Alex sings a lot like Russell Mael, who likes to sing in falsetto. And well I know there's also the Sparks connection in the form of FFS to come later but still, this was such a great SPARKS MENTION!!!! moment for me anyway. But also they got one thing wrong, because it's not that Russell likes singing in falsetto, Ron forced him to sing in falsetto by writing all of his songs in this crazy uper range of notes, and that's a very important detail !!!!!!

And ok I had no idea that Piss Off already existed in some form as far back as 2004!! Or I knew about this and then I forgor. Either way, fascinating piece of information

I need to know more about how these star-based ranking systems work because why would you call FFS an "excellent album" and then rate it 4 stars. Instead of, I don't know, 4 and a half or 5 maybe?? Especially since it apparently has only 2 "weak songs". And I have some major objections when it comes to this too, because we're calling Things I Won't Get a weak track now?? It's just underrated as heck, and that's a hill that I will die on

Also I could never be a music reviewer because these people can fit their whole commentary on one song within one sentence and I feel like I would have to write at least 3 paragraphs on even the least exceptional of songs on a given album before I can feel like I did it justice. I mean, this whole post itself shows how much of a problem this is for me, lol

Also guys were we all aware that FFS turns 10 next yeah. Oh god. Well I need to remember to keep my tradition and preapre a cool piece of fanart for that occasion then. Maybe they should give us FFS 2 to celebrate, I'm pretty sure there'd be lots of interest among the fandom in something like that. Anyway

Well also this wasn't the only article in this whole thing of course and CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, there was a little bit on the Harrison & Belew Remain In Light Tour, which I will also be attending!!! Lots of great stuff is cooking for the first half of 2025 for me musically I can't lie

And also CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, that a year and a half since it was supposed to be released "worldwide" and long after I already lost hope that I'd ever see it in a cinema, they're releasing Stop Making Sense in cinemas over here too. Fucking finally!!! By gods and heavens, that rare moment when you learn about something crucial through a goddamn instagram ad of all places. And then they also reminded me about this in an actual article so well wow. Can you believe this. I can't. So stocked for next saturday when i'm seeing this movie the way it was always supposed to be seen hehehe

Ok I think that's it. Thank you for reading and maybe I should really make that personal website for my rambles in the new year. I'd definitely put that thing to use.

[aois-amaterasu-painting]

Natalie Music interview excerpt (March 2017)

[...]

Interviewer: Regarding the arrangements, it seems that very few songs on TRACES VOL.2 were significantly changed. Was there a particular reason for this?

RUKI: I was conscious of avoiding unnecessary rearrangements that might feel off to fans. Deliberately changing something wouldn’t sit right with me personally. On the other hand, songs like Taion or Ito, which felt quite outdated, were tweaked slightly. It’s more about re-recording to improve the quality—both in terms of skill and sound. For example, Cassis is one of our more popular songs (laughs), but I didn’t want it to continue spreading with the quality it had back then.

Uruha: It's become easier to listen to overall. While there aren’t major changes, there are quite a few minor tweaks, like adjustments to chord progressions or scales.

Aoi: It's a bit self-praising, but I think we’ve done a great job with the arrangements. It made me realize once again how good these songs are.

REITA: I hadn’t listened to some of the older tracks in ages, so revisiting them felt fresh. The tuning is also different from what we use now, so it was difficult to re-record them. Our live setlists still feature mostly intense songs, but for this album, I think each track has been properly crafted and has a strong sense of conviction.

Interviewer: Regarding the lyrics, some of these songs were written over a decade ago. How does it feel to sing words you wrote in your twenties?

RUKI: That's right… Love songs, in particular, change as your feelings evolve with age. The way you perceive time is completely different. Back then, being in a relationship for about a year felt like a really long time (laughs).

Interviewer: In Ito, there’s a line that says, “It’s almost a year and a half since we started dating.” That kind of expression feels very youthful, doesn’t it?

RUKI: With how I feel now, a year and a half goes by in a blink (laughs).

Interviewer: Do you recall how you felt back then?

RUKI: I don't mind singing those songs, but during recording, the engineer was laughing. He was like, “So cheesy” (laughs). These days, I don’t write lyrics like that anymore. It's a bit Nishino Kana.

[...]

Interviewer: Could you each tell us your favorite track from TRACES VOL.2?

Uruha: Probably UNTITLED. It’s a track with a balance of band sounds and electronic elements, about half and half. The mixing approach this time really matched the song, making it very pleasant to listen to.

Kai: For me, it’s WITHOUT A TRACE. I feel like the acoustic guitar sound came out much richer in this re-recording—even though it’s someone else’s part (laughs).

REITA: Compared to the original, D.L.N feels a bit more refined now. Back then, everything was coming forward, but now we’ve been able to organize it better.

RUKI: Ito for me. The original was made when I was too young (laughs), and I had this lingering feeling of, “What’s going to happen with this song?” …but the arrangement naturally took on a more mature direction, which I really liked.

Aoi: I’d say reila. For the interlude, we ended up using a rough take I played at home. It was something I played casually in my room, but I couldn’t surpass it later in the studio—it was just one of those happy accidents. Recording can often feel very mechanical, but this time, I felt like I was able to cherish those moments.

Interviewer: The 15th Anniversary performance, Dainippon Itan Geisha ‘Boudouku Gudon no Sakura’, at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on March 10 is fast approaching.

RUKI: The setlist is already finalized. Now it’s just a matter of refining the details.

Interviewer: I heard there was a song request voting campaign. How much were the results reflected in the setlist?

REITA: Of course we took it into consideration!

RUKI: Consideration is all we’ve been doing.

Interviewer: It’s interesting that the GazettE is performing under the concept of Dainippon Itan Geisha, which was the band’s initial theme.

RUKI: Whether it’ll be interesting or not is something we won’t know until we actually do it (laughs).

Interviewer: Is performing Dainippon Itan Geisha at this time a continuation of the the HERESY LIMITED -Redefinition- tour held in 2014?

RUKI: Yes, but it’s more about wanting to do something that would delight the fans—something with impact. So it’s not about wanting to go back to the past. A lot of our current fans don’t even know the old us.

Interviewer: But wouldn't there be many fans who want to see it precisely because they don’t know that side of you?

RUKI: Well, it’s not just the fans from back then, but also people who’ve kind of romanticized the past.

Uruha: Back then, we were doing everything with this wild, carefree attitude. But now we can’t really do that, so it's a bit nerve-wracking. There’s pressure on us, even from ourselves.

Kai: When we first came up with this, we were like, “This is going to be so much fun!” But we're the ones setting the bar too high because of the expectations we have for ourselves (laughs).

Interviewer: Recently, additional five performances were announced as part of the nationwide HERESY LIMITED TOUR17 15th Anniversary Dainippon Itan Geisha ‘Boudouku Gudon no Sakura’.

Kai: Thanks to everyone, the Yoyogi performance sold out. We also wanted to do more because there are people who couldn’t make it to Tokyo. So we decided to add these shows.

Interviewer: The GazettE is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and you seem like a lone, steadfast presence unaffected by the ups and downs of the music scene.

Kai: Do we really come across that way? (laughs)

RUKI: I’ve always thought of us like that. We’ve never wanted to follow trends. For example, during a period when many other bands were actively performing overseas, we deliberately didn’t go. Back in the days when people talked about the "Neo Visual Kei Boom," I was like, “Don’t lump us into that.” and, "What the hell is neo?" Depending on trends for survival can lead to undesirable outcomes.

Interviewer: Like what?

RUKI: Simply put, when a trend dies out, so does everything attached to it. Besides, our stance has never been about mingling actively with other bands. Even back in the day, we didn’t get along much with the bands we shared the stage with. The five of us just stuck together (laughs).

Interviewer: Is that still the case now?

RUKI: Yeah, pretty much. I'm not a very sociable person to begin with (laughs). Even when we share the stage with other bands, we don’t do things like taking selfies together (mimics taking a picture).

Kai: We can’t even bring ourselves to exchange CDs.

Aoi: When we’re invited somewhere, it’s their space, and since everyone’s enjoying themselves, I want to avoid any blunders (laughs).

REITA: But when people talk to me, it makes me happy (laughs).

Interviewer: I see, so you’ve maintained this stance (laughs). Finally, as you approach your 15th anniversary, could you reflect on the band’s journey and share a closing thought?

Uruha: Revisiting Dainippon Itan Geisha itself is a pretty elaborate reflection. Looking back at our past songs, there are parts where I’m impressed with my past self, and parts where I think I was doing some silly things. There are parts I’d like to go back to but can’t, and there are all sorts of emotions, right? That’s life. I have to somehow channel that into my present self and express it as something cool in front of over 10,000 people. It can be tough, but I’m enjoying the process of looking back right now.

Kai: If I had been asked to "look back on my past" previously, I probably would have only focused on the things I regret. But maybe because I’m getting older, lately I’ve started to see parts where I think, "I did a good job." I’ve come to realize that even though I didn’t fully understand what I was doing back then, it all connects to the present. I think that’s one way of growing up.

REITA: Looking back on the past… You can’t measure a band’s goals in terms of distance, right? Of course, we have specific goals like "Let’s make an album." But we don’t have a clear goal for our activities as a whole. Whether we’re running, walking, or resting, I think it’s okay as long as we’re moving in a way that keeps us mentally healthy. So, it’s all about time—the time until it ends. I still don’t know if it’s the time I’ll die, or what the "end" will be, but… I guess I’ll understand the goal at the end. I hope we can cherish the time until then.

RUKI: For me, I’ve always been reflecting a little on the past and trying to use it for the next step. That’s how 15 years have passed. There are moments when I think, “What if I had been a bit more serious back then?” But I also feel like everything turned out as it was meant to, so I don’t dwell too much. Overthinking doesn’t lead to anything good (laughs). Our stance has always been to keep stacking up the things we want to do.

Aoi: I’m the same as everyone else. Since we’ve been seeing the same scenery as we move forward in our activities, it’s no surprise that we think the same way (laughs). There’s been so much that’s happened, but I’m just grateful that we’ve been able to continue working together for 15 years.

[subtle-as-an-earthquake]

phew, ok gonna just ramble for a minute! for the last couple of days i've been getting so caught up in my milex feelings and the letdown after the anticipation that i almost forgot to be properly excited for this trip 🙈 but now that i'm actually in dublin, after listening to arctic monkeys and miles tunes on the flight and getting hyped about seeing my one of my best irl friends from london again for the first time since june, it's much easier for me to put things in perspective, thank goodness!! i'd have kicked myself later if i spent my time here moping (which i've kind of been doing these past two days) instead of being excited about getting to see my all time favourite band play again (twice!!) AND with miles as well, and just have a fun trip with my friends in dublin (even though it'll be raining cats and dogs, but we'll be in the pub most of the time anyway 🍻)

after the london gig in june i really thought that was it for a couple of years, so to have been given this extra opportunity to see them again so soon is insane and an absolute blessing. i'm SO fucking excited, i can't even tell you 😭 these will be my 8th and 9th arctic monkeys gigs to date, and i'm still just as hyped as i was 10 years ago, and i think that's worth reflecting on for a minute ❤️

i'm putting some more musings about the milex situation under the cut for anyone who might be interested in a different perspective, but mostly it's just for me, to be able to untangle the mess that my mind has been in these past few days. also, please know that i'm definitely not trying to invalidate anyone's concerns or diminish anyone's feelings, because lord knows i've been feeling all the things the past few days and all those feelings are very (very) real!

i guess what i just keep coming back to is the fact that arctic monkeys (or alex, really, lbr) asked miles to be the support for these four dates when they absolutely didn't have to do that, and that if there was any bad blood between them then they totally could've asked anyone else. but they didn't, they asked miles! and miles agreed! it's much more likely that the fact that they're not playing together is due to logistics (with the orchestra and limited rehearsal time) and wanting to highlight miles's new album than any personal reasons tbh. they're professionals doing their jobs first and foremost, and while obviously we'd love a display of sentimentality, if that doesn't fit the show for whatever reason then it makes sense they don't give us that. i'm sure it's all been discussed and agreed on between them, and that they're doing perfectly fine behind the scenes. it's true that miles shows us a lot of himself, but alex and the other boys do not, so it also makes sense to me that what miles shares about them/their interactions with him is limited too, much as i'd love to see him gush about them and post bts footage. i always find that i get easily swept up in emotions and conjecture when i'm watching things unfold from a distance, through the tumblr/fandom lens, but i forget sometimes that that is a heavily coloured lens, and that real life is often very different, despite what social media etc. may seem to show. and for me personally, i've noticed that sometimes it's really good to break out of the bubble for a bit and see things from a different perspective, so i'm glad i was able to do that before my shows!

also, on a side note, i've seen some people being disappointed that alex didn't dedicate bodypaint to miles but just gave him a shoutout, but to me the distinction doesn't matter too much. he mentioned miles when he didn't have to, and miles stayed to watch the boys do their thing after his own set, and he didn't have to do that either if he wasn't feeling it. the fact is that recently there have been more and more signs that our boys are actually growing closer again than they seemingly have been for a few years, and while obviously i just want them to give us everything and announce a tlsp reunion and also profess their undying love for each other while they're at it, maybe their doing what they can right now, and they just need a bit more time to get to where they once were. we all need time to heal, or something like that, anyway. i obviously don't know anything, but this possiblity seems just as if not more likely to me than the other option (which would be that any of this is a sign they're growing further apart, instead), so i'm good with that for the moment.

anyway, this is just me talking to myself on the plane and creating some perspective for myself, but maybe someone else might find it helpful too, who knows. in any case, i'm going to do my best to enjoy it all to the fullest!! and while obviously getting to see them do something together would be brilliant, it would just be the cherry on an otherwise already really fucking delicious cake ❤️

[kyouka-supremacy]

ahh kyotag musical asks open :D what were your top 5 favorite songs this year and which was your most replayed one? what about artists? i want to know it all 👀

HI JAY thank youuuuuuuuuuuu omg thank you for the chance to ramble. Only mentioning songs that I listened to for the first time this year for the sake of it:

Top 5 favorite songs:

1. カルチャ / Culture by tsumiki ft. Hatsune Miku Cultural reset for real 😭😭😭 I can't get enough of this song. It's so hectic and unique and genuinely outstanding, I feel like it embodies so much of what vocaloid culture is and it makes me very emotional. The lyrics are so witty and, you know, the kind you have to sit down and reflect over for a while? I think it's terribly too. Most of anything, it's fun and lively and even an optimistic song to dance to, and it's very nice!!! The live performance too is spectacular. It's really a dong that embraces all the weirdness and oddity of vocaloid music and celebrates it, and it's so nice to see. OH and the tuning too is SO unique and really adds to this “vocaloid is a fun instrument anyone can use to have their unique voice” vibes the song has!

2. HERO by Ayase ft. Hatsune Miku Yeah I listened to a lot of Hatsune Miku "Magical Mirai 2023" OFFICIAL ALBUM this year lol. Definitely my top album this year. This song is... So emotional and deep and familiar, and it speaks a lot about what Miku's music can mean to people. The pv made me cry the first time I watched it and I still makes me tear up after six months. Magical Mirai 2023 is definitely my favourite MM. Another super fun and emotional live performance btw. Very motivational song too!! Listening to it to give me courage before exams lol

3. テロル / Terror by Neru ft. Kagamine Rin Neru's my favourite vocaloid producer but they haven't released new music since forever, so this year I went through their discography and download every single and album they did. This is probably my favourite song among the ones I hadn't heard before! Not much to add except it had everything I love about Neru- the rock and deeply melancholic vibes, the dark lyrics that result deeply cathartic for some reason. Great song, it's still one of the ones I have set as alarm in the morning!

4. Pathological Facade by GHOST ft. Kasane Teto I didn't listen to this song as much as the others (I just realized I don't change the music I listen to a lot lol), but it still really stuck with me. I like when producers make atypical and original choices in composition! It's always so interesting to listen to. And Teto is such a solid voicebank 100000/10

5. ギターと孤独と蒼い惑星 / Guitar to Kodoku to Aoihoshi by otoha ft. Ikumi Hasegawa Rare non-Vocaloid song mentioned! Really like the powerful vibes of this song! I watched the Bocchi the Rock! anime earlier this year, it was a lot of fun!

Most replayed song:

モニタリング / Monitoring by DECO*27 ft. Hatsune Miku This is INSANE because had you asked me this one week ago the answer would be different but then I'm like mmmhhh let's go and check my most played songs list and it's like

To which you shall add some 30-50 listens before I downloaded it which is a little crazy to me ajhfsbfcjhybsfhba. I don't even like-like Deco's music that much it's just. SO energizing and catchy and this song is perfect to go through my routine. Have been listening to TRANSFORM in the last days and I have to regretfully confirm Rabbit Hole and Salamander are bops 😔

Top artists:

Mmmmhhh Neru is probably always going to be on top for me (listen to the Sekai Seifuku album please). The playlist with all of their songs is still the one I listen most often. Among the artists I discovered this year, I really like abdul 《aisiyoup》's Meiko covers! Highlights are their Usseewa and Otome Dissection covers.

Ask me about music?

[xandermorrisonmusic]

Song of the day: Porter Robinson - Russian Roulette

Genre: Hyperpop, Happy Hardcore

This one is going to be hard to talk about. TW: Self harm, suicide

This song is the only example I can think of where it is too powerful to be added to my regular listening catalogue. I'm serious, if this thing comes up at any point, I'm tearing up at a minimum. It's the best song off of this excellent album, which as a whole is about Porter's awkwardness and missteps as an adult so far in his life. And I respect that, because there's plenty of stories of how awkward teenage years are, but as a 24 year old living an awkward life, I'm glad to see my era represented so closely to what I experienced myself, for better or worse.

Let's rip the bandaid off right now, I've come very close to killing myself. As in, the only thing stopping me from attempting an overdose was my own lack of energy stopping me from getting out of bed. Obviously this isn't one to one with russian roulette, but since it wasn't certainly going to kill me, it felt like the same kind of gamble: the one I wanted to lose.

The pressures Porter describes that lead him to this point are something on a scale I couldn't imagine. He's a superstar producer, one of the biggest names in electronic music, and one that has a track record of consistently putting out very high quality work. He talks about how he feels this pressure throughout this album, including the opener where he basically voices his fear over releasing something his fans don't like and tarnishing a pretty spotless discography, but in this track, he specifically mentions things like Pitchfork calling him "the next big thing" and wanting to make money off of his identity and prestige, which clearly doesn't sit well with him. But feeling that he has no other way out of that situation once he's been entrenched in it, he contemplates playing russian roulette as a means of escape. He also mentions a friend losing his head and not doing anything about it, which may specifically be a nod to the late Avicii. Porter has cited Avicii's death as a wake up call for him (and many others in the scene) to get sober, and while I don't know if they were close friends or not, Porter feels that they were close enough that he should've done something.

So there he is, two verses and two choruses saying how much he wants to die, plus an extra quiet repeat chorus which forces listeners to get uncomfortably intimate with him in what could be his final moments. But then out of that quietness comes instead a list of reasons why he wants to stay alive, at least for a bit longer. The first one is the most impactful to me: "I wanna see my mom one more time." My mom died after a looong battle with cancer a little over a year ago, and I have to say, you often take for granted what you have until it's gone. If I had known how much I miss her now, she would've been at the top of my list too in my darkest hours.

He lists off several things like that. "I wanna kiss my cat one more time" also hits hard since I have two cats, one of which is newer to the house and is sleeping on me as I type this. "I wanna thank my dad one more time." "I wanna play in the snow one more time." "I wanna marry her one more time." And after listing off enough of these, he comes to the realization that he doesn't really want to go through with this, repeating the simple yet VERY powerful "I wanna live, I don't wanna die" over and over into one of the biggest drops on the album, an all out happy hardcore rave of positive energy at the revelation that he does have things to live for.

Cheesy? Maybe. But in the aftermath of the drop, a goofy text to speech voice comes in to address that, saying "Clichés like this are beautiful, because they reflect us, and we are beautiful" (which is punctuated with a pretty funny YAY sound effect that gets cut off abruptly). And the text to speech voice delivers, very clearly and plainly for those who need it, the moral of the story:

Don't kill yourself, you idiot

And some people need to hear that as unambiguously as possible. If I was 17 or 18, I would be one of those people. This song is literally going to save people's lives, I guarantee it. That's the kind of power I can only wish to reflect on the world if I ever get that big as an artist. Go listen to SMILE! :D and let me know what you think! Such a good album.

[is-she-suffering]

2002 - queenadreena.com OFFICIAL MAILING LIST BAND Q&A

This Q&A session with the band went out to all those who subscribed to the official mailing list. The questions answered by the band were asked by various fans.

What or who has been the most powerful influence on your creative life? Crispin: Distortion. Orson:  Rhythm-the point at which an ebb becomes a flow, the point at which my ego gives way to my true self. Katie: Sharks. Pete: Liza Minelli.

Have you ever read a book that you would like to live in? Crispin: No, but perhaps I could write one. Orson: My life is melodramatic enough as it is, i need no assistance with that. my life often feels like any book by Dostoyevsky or 'Narcissus and Goldmund' by Herman Hesse...I told you I was self indulgent. Katie: Blood, bones, tooth and nail, words and paper all burned away. Pete: 'A Christmas Carol'.

Do you think that your songs are out there waiting to be discovered by you or do they only exist when you create them? Crispin: A boringly technical answer, but its probably a bit of both. All the notes and chords etc. obviously exist, although it seems highly unlikely that anyone will arrange them identically like us ever again. Orson: There is an archetypal rhythm that exists outside and inside us all, it is not owned yet requires a vessel to be manifest. music is that point where the exterior and the interior meet. Katie: They hide in the blind spot-sometimes you catch them watching you. Pete: Both and neither

Who do you most admire, and why do you admire them? Crispin: There really is no one person that i particularly admire. i admire a lot of different people at certain moments, and certain aspects of their personality might impress me more consistently. Orson: Herman Hesse, for creating works of art so simple and balanced in form and containing all that can't be put into words within. i.e. 'the glass bead game'. Katie: An unholy fuck Pete: Ditto

Do you believe in a god or gods? Crispin: I suppose I would probably go along with one of those theories about the universe all being one big never ending energy blah blah blah and god flows through everything etc. etc. and so on. Orson: I believe in love, in pleasure and pain in what is and what is not-in any word you might attach to it. Yes. Katie: sometimes I am stretched so thin to bursting I can see them peering back at me through my translucent skin. Pete: No.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given? Crispin: Don't take life too seriously-its not permanent. Orson: Kill your ego. Katie: Eat your own face. Pete: I haven't had any I liked.

Are you happy? Crispin: No. Orson: I measure the quality of life by how close or far I am from my true self/feelings. Since sorrow and joy spring from the same well this question means nothing to me. Katie: Fighting brings on a warm glow. Pete: Yeah, I'm fine.

Is there a piece of music that can make you cry? Crispin: most of it, until I turn it off. no seriously, lots of songs have at one time brought me to a sort of nostalgic moment. most recently 'Teenager' by the Deftones - although it probably wont make me feel that way ever again. also the second song on that Sigur Ros album-'Agalis Byrjan' or something or other. Orson: Many things can reflect my pain and sadness from the most profound to the most banal of circumstance. All music I listen to can act as that mirror. There are too many pieces to list but I am certainly no stranger to weeping. Katie: The one that got away. Pete: I'm already too upset.

Would queenadreena ever consider making a new, better version of 'Alice in Wonderland'? Crispin and Pete: Better than what? The book? That would be a daunting task. Orson: It's already been made by the Czechoslovakians. Katie: I have cut the faces off all my dolls-we have forgotten who we are.

Do you use drugs to help you create your music? Crispin: No, I use them to get away from it. Orson: I use all I have been scarred with to create-drugs, love, sorrow, joy. I need no specific help. Katie: ---- Pete: No.

[solitaryandwandering]

Get to Know Me Tag :)

Tagged by @telomeke, thank you!! :)) My answers are not going to be as wonderfully detailed but I will try not to be boring, at least!!

Do you make your bed?

Every morning! It's the second thing I do (after cleaning my glasses, haha). I've found it to be a pretty big part of managing my depression so it's something I have to do, regardless of how tempting it is to leave blankets ready for me to crawl into

What's your favorite number?

I don't have one (numbers are my sworn enemy, after all) but it has been a bit of a thing since I was a kid that 6 is "my number" lol (for reasons I can't get into since that's way too personally identifying). 4 has been a thing, too. Maybe my OCD just likes even numbers? Don't ask.

What is your job?

Frustratingly, I've been unemployed going on four years. I'm in the midst of yet another round of job searching (which has become pretty desperate, to be honest). Discrimination against deafblind people is no joke. I do a lot of volunteer work in the meantime, running a support group and social media for a nonprofit organization.

If you could go back to school, would you?

I would like to go to graduate school for my career. Otherwise, I totally would go to school for media analysis or to take sociology classes again. But without crushing deadlines! I can imagine it now... doing projects and taking tests on my own time... the literal dream

Can you parallel park?

If you feel like risking your life and the lives of every creature and plant in the vicinity and witnessing considerable property damage, yeah I'll do it! Just put a sighted person in the passenger seat so I don't kill myself in the process.

A job you had that would surprise people?

I don't think my jobs would really surprise people? I've had a lot. My first job was as an assistant soccer referee when I was around 14. I was not very good at it but reffed a lot of games. I also was center ref for a couple tournaments (for kids, no older than ten). I looked good in the uniform but that's about it hahaha

Do you think aliens are real?

Absolutely. I'm not sure if I believe they're sentient (at least not in the way we would conceive of it) but the universe is VAST. There's no way we're the only ones. We definitely have not been visited by any, that's for sure.

Can you drive a manual car?

I understand the general theory of it, so again if you want me risk life and limb, I will. The one time I drove I think it was a semi-automatic if not fully automatic transmission.

What's your guilty pleasure?

I have OCD, I feel guilty about everything I like. But I guess right now it would be Kit Kats and Reese's, both of which I have been munching on all week. I am morally against Nestle and know Hershey's is by far inferior to properly-sourced, better-tasting chocolate but... it's not as expensive as the good stuff and... I like when things are pumpkin-shaped :(

Tattoos?

Love them!! Just not on me. I think if I didn't have the skin concerns I do (primarily, keloids run in our family) I may be way more tempted to get one or two smaller ones (and my brother has tats and is totally fine) but as I've said... I have OCD. I think in reality I would be really really freaked out by having something permanent inked into me. So I just live vicariously though everyone else, especially my best friend. They have great taste so their tattoos are very very cool and well done.

Favorite color?

I love oranges and greens, especially tangerine or a deep green.

Favorite type of music?

I have extremely eclectic taste, so it's basically whatever I'm in the mood for. My Spotify Wrapped never reflects the music I really gravitate to when I want to legitimately sit down and listen. Usually it's just on in the background as I do something else but I really enjoy intentionally focusing on a good album. Overall I'm definitely more into rock (very general, I know) than anything else, though that's not necessarily what I listen to most often. I'll listen to indie, punk, hard metal, folk, pop, electronic, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, soul, show tunes, alternative, classical, you name it. Lately I've been listening to a lot of film scores, ballads, and lighter more instrument-heavy stuff. This month's playlist had Dome Jaruwat, Howard Shore, Martin Nievera, Florist, Jewelry, T-ARA, Kim Jung Mi, TRACE & Ariel Loh, and Sade Adu, among others.

Do you like puzzles?

Yes and no. I find that dyscalculia makes certain puzzles more tedious and difficult than they should be, and that combined with ADHD makes things I should ostensibly be good at (Scrabble, for example) more frustrating than not. I don't mind jigsaws or logic puzzles though. I did Deaf Academic Bowl in high school, so I'm super into things like that (trivia, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, escape room kinds of things).

Any phobias?

Not too many. When it comes to specific phobias, I'm pretty phobic of stink bugs though that's lessened over the years, replaced by a phobia of cockroaches. I'm neutral about bugs in general but as my eyesight has declined I've become less fond of the flying ones. Same thing goes for other small creatures difficult to track. I've noticed some agoraphobia developing in the last year or so as my vision has declined so I am working on managing that along with my social anxiety.

Favorite childhood sport?

Definitely soccer. Did nineteen seasons, despite bullying!

Do you talk to yourself?

Literally all the time. Always having a conversation with myself. Caught myself on the bus earlier today having a bit too animated of an internal conversation hahaha

What movies do you adore?

This is literally the worst thing to ask me. So many movies, so little time. I do love It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! which I watch every Halloween. I say it every year, but it very well may be my favorite film score. And it's technically a TV special so... I also adore The Florida Project, Eighth Grade, Anatomy of a Fall, Bound, Minding the Gap, Rocketman, It Happened One Night, Shoplifters, Blindspotting, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse... I could go on and on and on.

Coffee or tea?

I LOVE coffee but I've been gravitating more and more to tea, probably because of the hell coffee sometimes wreaks on my digestive system.

First thing you wanted to be growing up?

I was very specific: an Olympic gold-medalist figure skater. Only because I loved watching this event so much. To be honest I don't know what the first real ambition I had was? I did wonder what it may be like to be a journalist, professional soccer player, lawyer, that kind of thing.

I am tooooo tired to tag anyone but if you want to play, here's your chance (and tag me so I can read it!!)

[nojean42]

BTS - You Never Walk Alone

happy new year and welcome to the first of all firsts! my middle school best friend introduced me to bts and that spiraled into getting hooked on kpop overall. but before branching out to explore other groups, i was invested in following bts, and this album is where it all began.

in future posts when discussing repackage albums, i will only cover new songs, but since this is my first one, i'll make it special and discuss every song on it.

I didn't make a spotify account until after I got a smartphone for christmas in 2018, so honestly i have no idea how i listened to these albums back then,, i remember making a playlist of those color coded lyric videos that i would listen to on my ipad mini, so maybe i was just being hopeful there was one of those for every song on the album and that i was listening to them in order.

anyway lets get on with my thoughts on each song from the album! there will probably be a lot of anecdotes about times i listened to them well after the release, which is a nice thing im able to do by posting this way :)

Intro: Boy Meets Evil i don't remember what solidified hobi as my bias, but i wouldn't be surprised if this song was part of the reason. great intro to the album and he slays the dance so much!!

Blood Sweat & Tears ough such a good song omg!! theres something so special and intriguing to me about mvs themed around art, just feels so elite and fancy,, i hope they do something like this again when they're back from hiatus <3 i remember yoonmin stans going crazy over that one scene in the video lmao, glad the insane shipping phenomenon has kinda died down tho (or i just became oblivious to it lol). ngl the ending where jins face started cracking freaked me out a little back in the day. but fr that bridge is transcendant omg

Begin tbh i dont have much to say about this one, jungkook is great at singing :)

Lie everyone and their mothers were obsessed with this song,, that one dance performance with the blindfold was so iconic!! love jimin <3

Stigma i just remembered there was insane lore going on that i really couldn't follow at all lmao. this one was about an abusive parent iirc? really vibey emotional song tho

First Love i remember my undiagnosed autistic ass reading a post about how emotional this song was and hiding in a dark closet to listen to this song and force myself to feel something. i get it fr now but back then i didnt understand my brain and was taking it too literally lol. yoongi put so much heart into this song and its beautiful

Reflection dang why are so many of the solos so deep and emotional :,) i wonder if "I wish I could love myself" is part of what nudged them towards making the love yourself albums

MAMA more hobi time lets goooo! vibey :)

Awake every time i hear this song i remember the time yoongi did a cover of it and that makes it very hard to take it seriously 😭 jin is such a lovely singer

Lost love this song so much!! its so underrated, i never hear anyone talking about it :(

BTS Cypher 4 iirc they promised taehyung he could be in cypher 5 and then just never did another cypher lmao 😭 anyway might be my favorite cypher but that also could be bias from listening to this album more often than the previous ones. wait i just realized they're singing "i love myself" right after namjoon was saying "i wish i could love myself,," accelerated character development ig

Am I Wrong this and 21st century girl were the first 2 bts songs i listened to (i forget the order i heard them in) my friend recommended them because theres a lot of english in them so it'd be a good entry point, so i have a special attachment to them :3

21st Century Girl ditto to the previous song comment lol

2! 3! fan song <3 also i should note i have been sining along to pretty much song on the album as i've been relistening to write this :)

Spring Day THE QUEEN!!!!!!! i am so mad the stage line distribution isn't the official one cuz hobi sounds amazing singing the intro in it 😭 at least he gets the pretty background harmonies in the choruses <3 i remember still getting jungkook and taehyung mixed up in the mv smh my head. very recent anecdote about this song: (TW: BUGS!!) it came on as i was getting out of the shower and i was passionately singing along and suddenly saw a centipede and FREAKED OUT. i literally went like: “눈꽃이 떨어져요 또 조금씩 멀어져요~ WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!?!?” quickly googled and found it was harmless but it still startled me lmao 😭

Not Today HYPE!!! man idk what else to say really, its such a good fun song

Outro: Wings WAHOOOOOOOO this was like my favorite hype song of all time!! I used to have a silly video of me dancing to it but unfortunately i think it's lost to the void 😔 i never really listen to the interlude version cuz i miss the extended parts too much. i would listen to this on loop so much and could pretty much sing the whole thing. nowadays i don't go crazy bonkers obsessed over it anymore but i still really enjoy it and never got tired of it :)

A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone nice vibes to close off the album :3

Hope you enjoyed my first post and expect more to come! the next few will be more bts but i will branch out to other groups soon :)

once again happy new year and hope your 2025 is off to a good start!

[manic-maniac-man]

Grind April 2016

TAKAHIRO MIYASHITA

Takahiro Miyashita

TAKAHIROMIYASHITATheSoloist, Designer

THE RECENTLY MY STYLE

“The collection is linked to my own style.

TAKAHIROMIYASHITATheSoloist. 2016 SPRING/SUMMER COLLECTION "miXture,"

This season's collection has a British feel with a crossed design of the belt around the neck, Velcro at the waist, zippers, stripes and check patterns, etc.

"I wear and make coveralls quite often. The timing of making them differs from the time I actually wear them, so I don't style them exactly like the look, and they reflect my current mood, but these four pieces are close to my current style."

Not making rules has become my rule

It has been 20 years since Takahiro Miyashita took on the title of designer. His single-minded, stoic approach to fashion and his solitary existence have not changed since he first started making clothes. This season's theme for Takahiro Miyashita the Soloist is a mixture of British, motorcycle, sports, outdoor and military elements, created with Miyashita's own interpretation. This collection, which exudes the sound of Britpop, is different from any of the themes he has released so far, and shows a new side of Soloist. There is no consistency in the seasonal theme. This is in line with Miyashita's way of thinking and style.

--Please tell us what kind of styling you are in the mood for this season.

"Basically, I create my collections with what I would wear in mind, so my clothes are linked to the theme of the season. This season I'm incorporating British elements, so even with a jacket like this I zip it all the way up. British clothing makes me feel like I'm standing up straight, and I think I'm in the mood for sharp clothing and a way of wearing it."

--Is there a style or item that you would call your standard?

"I think the core of my collection is vintage clothing and American items, which I've always loved, but the things I wear change with each season, so I don't have any particular favorites. If I had to say, I'd say that I've released overalls this season, and that I've been wearing them for a while.

It's an item I can wear all year round. I used to like wearing it when I was at Nepenthes, so people often say that I look like I'm wearing overalls. But honestly, I don't have a style or item that I can say is my staple. That's because my way of thinking changes between yesterday and today."

--Does that mindset also apply to your creations and clothing?

"It's the same. I don't really have any rules that say things have to be a certain way. Because I think that continuing to change is what growth is all about. My rule is not to make rules. So the theme of the collection changes completely from time to time. I think it's important to keep making and wearing the same clothes over and over, but that doesn't fit into my way of doing things. I've never thought about clothes that you can wear for 10 years or that you can wear for a lifetime. I can't imagine anything like that. To be honest, I haven't found my own style yet. I'm still studying fashion, and I think the reason I can continue doing this job is because I haven't found the answer at all. For example, Primal Scream makes albums with a different musical style every time. They are constantly changing and evolving, but I think it's amazing that no matter what period you listen to their songs from, you can tell they're Primal, and I can really sympathize with that feeling. So I don't want to say, "This is my style, so I'll just keep doing it the way I am." Right. I feel like I'm just stuck there.

Because it makes me feel sick."

--What do you think about the collections you have released so far? "I have never been satisfied with anything. I can't find the next answer unless I keep denying myself, and after making clothes, I first deny them once and kill myself. For example, in an interview, when I'm asked, "What do you like about this season?" I can't answer at all. So maybe it would be better to be asked, "What don't you like about it?" Then there are many things I can say, like, "I should have fixed this here like this." I'm glad I've never been able to make a finished product until now.

OASIS

[oasis]

Dig Out Your Soul

[Dig Out Your Soul/2008]

"This is an album I listened to over and over when I was creating this season's collection. The song "I'm Outta Time" is particularly great, and I listened to it about 40 times in one day. I had no idea such a great song existed. It shows Liam's overwhelming talent."

ROOTS

"I don't have any specific roots that I can say are specific. There are too many things I like."

That's why I don't look back and think, "This was good at the time." The new thing has to be the best, and the next thing I release has to surpass it, that's the idea I have when I make clothes."

--What do you think is important when creating a collection?

"I think in my mind, I always want to have musical instruments with me. I always have nothing else, so it's like I'm completely naked. Everyone says that making clothes isn't about winning or losing, but I definitely think it is. You have to make them in order to win. I'm jealous of people with great talent, not just designers but artists and musicians as well, and I don't want to lose to them. And ultimately, I want to make clothes using all the materials that exist in the world."

--Is there someone or something that you would call your roots that shaped who you are today?

"I don't have any specific roots that I can say are specific. There are so many things I like that it's difficult to pick just one example. The things I like have always remained the same. People that are always on my mind are John Lennon, George Harrison, Brian Jones, Ian Curtis, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain... If you ask me who I admire the most, I can't say for sure. I guess I would say that I wanted to be a Westerner with blue or green eyes. I've had that kind of admiration since I was young, and it's very clear. Even now, if I could, I would like to be that person. I often listen to the songs of those people that I mentioned earlier.

Rather than listening to music from that era, if I realize that I haven't listened to that music recently, I feel like listening to it. I take those drawers in and out depending on my mood at the time."

---When you created this spring/summer collection

What were you listening to?

"I listened to Oasis a lot, especially the songs written by Liam. I have the first half of Oasis' albums, but I stopped listening halfway through and had never listened to their later releases. But when I listened to them again, I found them to be really good, and personally I think their last album, Dig Out Your Soul, is the best. It's a really good album."

--What kind of songs have you been listening to lately?

"If I were to talk about it now, it would be David Bowe.

It's a good idea. I'm releasing a David Bowie T-shirt next fall/winter season, which I think clearly expresses my current mood. When I was in Nepenthes, I imitated David Bowie's jacket, dyed my hair two-tone and had the exact same hairstyle. I am influenced by him in that way, but I don't want to continue with it forever, I want to forget about it. I don't want my thoughts to be fixed. But I haven't completely forgotten about it, and I don't hate it. I'm always ready to make up, and I can open that drawer at any time.

--So would you say that your base is music?

"I'm influenced not only by music but also by movies.

Once you do that, no amount of time will be enough.

I love it so much and I think it's really wonderful. But if you ask me which comes first to me, it's not music or movies. It's fashion. Movies and music are the tools I need to think about fashion. I don't make clothes with music in mind, but surprisingly, deep down I'm already thinking about making clothes. I listen to music, watch movies, and watch people because I want to make clothes. That's what it is. Those things are clearly reflected in the details of the clothes.

TAKAHIRO MIYASHITA MY ROOTS

In order to further pursue his own creativity, Miyashita has listened to a huge amount of music and watched a huge amount of movies. We spoke to him about some of the roots that shaped him.

"I love everything Sean Penn does. It's really hard to narrow it down to just one, but I think Lonely Blood is great, including all the background to it. For example, Madonna sang the ending theme. I think all of that behind-the-scenes stuff is great. And also The Indian Runner, his first film as a director, is great. From the subject matter to the title, everything is perfect. I thought it was a perfect movie.

The Indian Runner [1991

Sean Penn's first directorial work, starring Viggo Mortensen, tells the story of a Vietnam War veteran who turns to violence due to the darkness in his heart that has nowhere to go, and the conflict faced by his brother, a patrol officer, who tries to save him.

At Close Range [Lonely Blood/1987]

The film is based on an incident that occurred in rural Pennsylvania and depicts the protagonist's feelings through his complicated relationships with his father and friends, starring Sean Penn. The theme song is Live to Tell by Madonna, who was married to Sean (later in a relationship).

DAVID BOWIE

[David Bowie]

Low [Low/1977

Hunky Dory [Hunky Dory/1971

"Of course the music influenced me, but the visuals were also a big influence. All of their albums are important to me, but I especially like Hunky Dory. In terms of visuals, I'd say Low. The fashion and hairstyles at the time were just so cool."

THE BEATLES

[The Beatles]

Rubber Soul [Rubber Soul/1865]

"After Revolver, the Beatles' sound evolved dramatically. My favorite is Rubber Soul."

GEORGE HARRISON

All Things Must Pass [All Things Must Pass/1970]

"This solo album is George Harrison's masterpiece, and I think it's a masterpiece that fully demonstrates his talent."

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

what was your view of coney island when it was released and what is it now?

because with all the new information we have about that relationship I honestly think this song is kind of the mother of midnights. the reference to old relationships in the bridge and knowing that he wrote or contributed in some way today makes me think that that reflection on the song was about them

idk, for me there is a bridge between coney island -> most of the tracks of midnights -> dear reader -> hits different -> ttpd

makes sense to you? I thought about asking about this song when you were talking about cold in some other song that I don't remember which one it was, but it reminded me of “and it gets colder and colder when the sun goes down” 😂

OK so one thing to know about me is that despite the fact that I've been listening to Taylor casually since Debut, was a huge fan of 1989, and consider myself a pretty serious fan since at least Lover (as in that's when I started following her more online and not just for the music), I really didn't know much about the personal lore until after folklore 😂 I loved her music, but I wasn't the type to be like, "omg this song is about this person!! Or this event!!" when I'd listen to it. Obviously, some of them were obvious to me (e.g. LWYMMD, Paper Rings, Bad Blood, etc.) but what I'm saying is that I didn't dissect the muses or inspiration as much as I connected with the lyrics.

And the next thing to know about me is that even though evermore is my favourite album... Coney Island is not a song I think about a lot 😂 I know, that's going to send me to Swiftie jail. I don't dislike it! It's just not one of the ones I gravitate towards generally unless I'm listening to the album in full. So when evermore came out, I honestly just thought it was a complex story about a relationship breakdown that she wrote with the dudes from The National. 😂 Obviously I knew a lot of Taylor's music was personal, but I was also of the belief (and still am tbh) that while she may have taken emotions and situations she's experienced and put them into her songs, the actual details/circumstances aren't always factual. (Hence, folkmore. I clocked that before it was cool haha.)

So back to Coney Island. I would say that when it came out, I didn't think of it at all in terms of her personal relationship. I could certainly believe some personal feelings infused in it, because like I said that's what writers do. But it wasn't a song that, like, gave me pause. (As opposed to, say, False God, which immediately sent red flags up to me when Lover came out.) And tbh, I still don't know, precisely because it was written collaboratively. I think I see it sort of like The Alcott -- you can certainly see where her influence is, and can infer what inspired it, but I'm not sure how much of the story is hers and how much is Aaron/Bryce/Matt?/or Joe's writing. Looking at the credits, I don't know if Taylor wrote it all and the National dudes just got credit because of the music as is often the case when they get credit, or if they all wrote it collaboratively or what.

Reading the lyrics now, like really reading them, it's kind of a lot tbh lol. "And if this is the long haul, how'd we get here so soon?" is a lyric that has always stuck with me, like suddenly coming to an impasse you didn't even know was on the horizon. I'm actually like, processing this song for the first time I think, which is a little scary four years down the line lol. So thanks for that I guess? 🥴 j/k.

I guess it's hard for me to really deconstruct in this context just because I'm not entirely sure where it falls on the inspiration line. But I do think that it may be quite telling and I can see the pipeline to Midnights you mention. And, um, the quiet resentment. "The question pounds my head, 'What's a lifetime of achievement?' if I pushed you to the edge, but you were too polite to leave me," is ooooooooof. Like. Yeah. Because that's kind of the crux of a lot of Midnights, which culminates in TTPD. The golden age coming to a whimpering end before you know it, the distance, the miscommunication, the misunderstanding, the lack of consideration, but still the kernel of love underneath it all that makes it so hard to let go.

Thanks for this! It definitely gave me something to think about! What was your line of thinking on it?

[scibot9000]

top discovered albums this year. as in, top albums from not-2023 but that I found in 2023. i dont have spotify so i gotta do this manually.

rankings approximate. links and thoughts under the cut

hizmi - Soak (2021)

sometimes it's the technicalities that blow my mind. this is…… unmodified X68000 music????

Yeah listening to this has expanded my mind on what's possible with old FM chips. None of this sounds like the artist found any restriction with any aspect of the system.

"Rivulet" blows my mind every time. It's just an ilkae song. Like cmon.

---

SDEM - ZNS (2020)

After AE_LIVE 2022, I went on a little bender, looking for anything else ae-esque.

I pretty much immediately struck gold. I had been digging through SDEM stuff anyway but man this is another level.

"dysp 0m" in particular is one of the tracks of all time. I keep coming back to it. it's HEAVY on headphones.

---

Ssaladd - Ssaladd (2020)

This is a funny selection to land on a TOP8 because it's so understated. It even kinda feels distant.

But damnit that's why it stuck with me.

The use of wow and flutter is crazy good here!

It feels like carefully applied vibrato, an application of the expression MIDI CC. But completely unlike any other vibrato I've heard.

It feels like a pioneering mix of techniques. And I can't stop thinking about it.

---

Cryptovolans - Passenger (2022)

Is it possible to have a wall of sound in MIDI?

No, not Black MIDI. Something prog.

I keep coming back to "Board Room" in particular because it's so... weird? Slightly beyond just SC, but not by much. Heavyweight album.

---

Kid606 - GQ on the EQ++ (2000)

The textures on this absolutely blew me away.

"My Kitten Went To London" sounds insanely fresh. I can't believe it's pushing 23 years old!

That and "Dandy" really stuck wth me. The latter sounds a bit more era-appropriate somehow (maybe because of oval?), but still vibes really good.

This was actually me revisiting the album. I initially listened to it about a decade ago and didn't like it. Crazy to think I turned away from such gold back then.

---

nagz - Good (2020)

nagz has been a longtime favorite and inspiration of mine. He's been making music from the future for years and years. Blowing my mind since 2006 or so.

One of his earlier releases, hringur, stuck with me for years. It had an atmosphere that I had never heard before or since.

…until now.

It's not actually a sequel, but it's got a flavor that I just. Don't know where else you can find.

If I were to highlight a single track: "I Like You But Not Too Much" hits astoundingly hard. It's what I imagine Earthbound music might be like if it were made today.

---

DJ Technorch & 九十九音夢 – Strong Anthropic Principle (2016)

An absolutely mind melting early (found in January) favorite. Hard, hardcore, and psychedelic. And a bit silly.

"猫の気持ち 〜Cat's Mind〜 (Masayoshi Iimori Remix)" and "解熱鎮痛一撃必殺 〜Critical Arts〜" in particular stuck with me as great experiences.

I really really like the preview video, too. (nsfw warning?) (flashing lights warning?). It truly captures the vibe.

---

AE_LIVE / elseq 6-10 / onesix

I had already listened to some of these, but around march, I found fanmade CUE sheets, and that brought a whole new level of love for this release.

And then I found fan edits with another set of fan titles. Two names for all of my favorite bits? Sure!

"ceramic / clipcon" i love that percussion! the ringmod in "(drunk) / probat emp2" is some of my fav ae work ever. having splits made me fall in love with the density of "sentinel / sinistrail casual"

and then I discovered the onesix sets and fan-cuts, giving a more ambient dive which I'll only mention briefly here. But man, "reflected / seven of twelve" is one I revisit OFTEN.

[thesinglesjukebox]

MANDY, INDIANA - "PINKING SHEARS"

Ian brings us some British-French post-punk with no Indiana involvement...

[7.40]

Ian Mathers: I don't remember what the song was, but I still remember the feeling the first time I encountered music that didn't immediately make sense to me. This isn't quite the same thing as music I find disappointing or lacklustre at first but grow to love -- a category that contains an awful lot of my favourite music, and is an endlessly renewable resource. But up until that point everything I had run into was something I immediately either liked or disliked (yr boy was a big fan of "Never Gonna Give You Up" when it was originally a hit, if that helps date me), and to hear something that was somehow neither was profoundly disturbing. As I got older and more into music, finding something that truly doesn't make sense at first has become rarer and rarer. More things get adopted into your repertoire, you have more context, and often you realize that stuff that bent your brain in your own history had plenty of antecedents that make them less singular. And that feeling... that little shock of non-recognition when you're used to recognizing so much, that little moment of "why or how did someone come up with this?" that sparks across your brain... it's like hearing about a new country when you thought you knew all of them. It's a reminder that life never settles into a comfortable box. None of the elements that Mandy, Indiana use to make their music are particularly confusing to me (hell, I even took French all through high school). But the first time I played i've seen a way, I had that feeling. These didn't feel like songs. They had elements of songs. Some like "Pinking Shears" even had choruses, relatable sentiments (who isn't tired?). They had sounds and structures I was broadly familiar with. But something about the way each track, and the album as a whole, was put together made me feel like my brain was degaussed. I spent maybe my first four listens in a rapturous quasi-panic, for the first time in years not being able to respond to a piece of music in the ways I was used to responding. I'm sure when that happens to anyone, it's not 100% inherent to the music itself. There may have been other bands who could have done this to me if the phase of the moon or my choice of lunch that day had been just right. But it felt rare and precious when I got that experience from Mandy, Indiana. And then, a second miracle: as I kept listening, "Pinking Shears" and the rest of i've seen a way resolved in my ears into just songs, the way these things always do (since it's hard to repeatedly experience the shock of the new from the same thing). And it turned out those songs were really really great. [10]

Vikram Joseph: This is so strange and addictive - a righteous French diatribe about racist border policies over a rhythmic racket and stomach-churning synths that sound like a cow in distress. From Brooklyn Vegan's English translation: "Those we bombard are told to fuck off / and then we elect bankers / and posh assholes and rentiers / and we are surprised to get fucked." I mean, yeah. Imagine how fatigué we are. Imagine how fatigué we are of it. [8]

Tim de Reuse: What's it take to go industrial in an age of digital purity? Chase the feeling of a grimy, misanthropic without actually getting any dirt under your fingernails. Meticulously ugly, to distract you from how it's actually neat and tidy. Check out the perfect knife's edge of that snare drum; check out the huge, reflective metallic object that passes for a bassline; check out the clean, papery reverb. I'd criticize it for being inauthentic if it wasn't so much more fun than the things it's ripping off. [8]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Nestling its way into a sound between Filth-era Swans and the EBM of the same decade (Severed Heads, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb), "Pinking Shears" aims for a raw, cavernous sound that's more hollow than all-consuming. The playful French vocals provide an amusing contrast to all the whirring, but that's sort of it. Big synth bass, big crunch, big yawn. [5]

Micha Cavaseno: Vaguely answering a question nobody asked, which is "What if Liars were signed to Amphetamine Reptile or Skin Graft?". It's got one point, and it delivers it in perhaps the most cast-off gag and splutter of a way, before hurrying along with its day and avoiding trying to remember what color and texture of its release it was, but never quite getting rid of the taste for the next couple days. Love the clutter of the percussion sounding like a rude joke at a dance's expense, pushed aside by a belch of bullying rock. How rude. [7]

Taylor Alatorre: I always sorta felt that the world needed a Kidz Bop version of Einstürzende Neubauten. [7]

Hannah Jocelyn: I'm sorry, that percussion riff sounds like "Crack a Bottle," the vocals sound like The Google Translate Song, I can't take this seriously. That said, [6]

Oliver Maier: This is my "just say you hate fun". [8]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Genuinely a bad and unpleasant time in the way that most latter-generation "post punk" can only feint at. Feels much longer than 2.5 minutes, but not tediously so -- each moment of this drags you down into itself, each metallic hi-hat snap and guitar scratch a barb into exposed skin. [8]

Nortey Dowuona: Simon Catling's humming bassline shows up halfway through the song over Isaac Jones' drums, with jagged shards of guitar by Scott Fair slunk in at each interval at the end of Valentina Caulfield's chorus, punctuating them with a phlegmy shriek. Caulfield's vocals at first feel like a representation of politesse but gain an edge of menace over the crashing of the percussion. The bass presses the guitar into the margins allowing Caulfield to fill up the middle of the mix, repeating the refrain. [6]

Michael Hong: I like when that beefy fart of a bassline arrives, a really nice rejoinder for the rattling voices in your head. [6]

Brad Shoup: I love when post-punkers stomp, when they strip it down to a megalithic groove. All kinds of stuff on the ground can stick to it. The first half feels like a (bear with me) minimal, metallic go-go take on Cop Shoot Cop's "$10 Bill". To reach the more trad second half, they catapult in some streaks of noise. (This transitional part, and I take far more pleasure in hearing than saying this, sounds like "Come With Me" from the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack.) But that recedes, and Valentine Caulfield reveals the song's final form: protest rap. A [7] for the journey. [7]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: You don't need to be francophone in order to understand Mandy, Indiana's vitriol and rage. But the lyrics are worth dissecting: "Nothing makes me want to continue in the filth of our society/I don't have have any desire to wake up when we let humans die in the Mediterranean." This is a tirade about how we treat refugees, and the existential exhaustion that comes from living in a world where this feels normal. [7]

Katherine St Asaph: For months I assumed based on the name that Mandy, Indiana was an emo band. If I had known they would instead be spoken-word French over a harsh but oddly unchaotic post-punk dervish, I might have listened to the album earlier than Q4. Assumptions foil me again! [9]

Aaron Bergstrom: I did not expect the revolution to be this much fun. Embrace the chaos. Build a new world from the ashes of the old. Dance on the barricades. [9]

Claire Biddles: My face is just gasping_pikachu.jpeg the whole way through this -- yes!!! [9]

Michelle Myers: Mandy, Indiana's music makes me feel like I'm wearing a perfectly worn-in leather jacket and red lipstick that never smears, waiting in line to get into a club that I already know I'm not cool enough to get into. [6]

Kat Stevens: I'm glad there'll always be people making music that sitcom teenagers can slam their bedroom doors and stick on at high volume, to the despair of their parents. "Where did we go wrong, Adam?" "I don't know Helen, our sweet girl... it's like I don't even know her anymore. Were we too indulgent? Too strict?" "Well Adam, in retrospect maybe constantly playing The Downward Spiral to get her off to sleep while she was a baby wasn't the best idea." [7]

Alfred Soto: To play loudly and indiscriminately when holiday twaddle begins to choke you. [7]

Anna Katrina Lockwood: I am so tired, yet I cannot sleep. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[myloveforhergoeson]

🎶 MUSICAL NOTES — what type of music does your oc like? do they listen to music very often?

roxy's music tastes i feel is p clearly defined throughout the fic. i dont remember if you talked about her dad's and if maybe that influenced it? would also love to know ur thoughts on the rest of the cast's music tastes pre-btr

imo i feel like even tho the series is based on a musical group, theres not much music based storylines? so its rly fun to read more of the music side of things with roxy <3

RAHHHHH THANK YOU FOR ASKING... i spend a lot of time thinking about roxy's musical interest but i don't spend much about the rest of the cast aside from a few offhanded mentions here and there. this was a challenge to put together but it was so fun! <3

the main thing i want to mention before i dive into oc music taste is the presence of music surrounding my story! every chapter title, song mentioned, musical influence etc i'm trying to keep within the timeframe + past in which the story takes place. as someone who was not really aware of popular radio in 2009, this is a very fun challenge for me.

Here is the fic playlist if anyone is interested!

It features the song where I got the title of the fic first, then the chapter titles! (and a sneak peak of the next few titles of unreleased chapters <3) These songs aren't meant to reflect anything onto the characters, it's basically just my own music taste fitting the chapters.

Now into the real question... Musical notes! Please find everything under the cut for Rox, her dad, the boys, Jo, and Camille :)

Roxy

what type of music does your oc like? Like you said, her music taste is pretty clearly defined! She's into just a bit of everything, though prefers pop and rock music above all else. Since she worked at a radio station, she was lucky enough to have access to all sorts of music, and when the station went digital, the owner let her keep all of the ancient cassette tapes they used to store everything on! Through combing through these albums from across many generations, she's been able to cultivate what she's into on her own, though her biggest musical influence is definitely her dad! If he wasn't into punk/rock she wouldn't be either. do they listen to music very often? Yes! I don't show this too often in my fic, but I think she listens to music a lot because she prefers it to silence - especially when she's alone in her apartment. What she listens to depends on her mood, and she has a bunch of different mix tapes she's made/she's found to match. So one of those could be on, one of her favorite albums could be on, or she could just pull her iPod out and put that little thing on shuffle to let the machine decide... Endless possibility! musical things this character has mentioned/is observed liking: - James - The Fray - The Pussycat Dolls - Boyquake (in universe boy band) - Taylor Swift - Green Day - Jonas Brothers - Jordin Sparks - Dak Zevon (look out girl!) - Oasis - NSYNC - Kelly Clarkson - Lady Gaga - Nirvana - Big Time Rush :) Special side note: No bearing on anything above here, but if 5 Seconds of Summer were around during the timeframe of this story they would 100000% be her favorite band. They're the perfect blend of everything she loves music-wise, wrapped up in a four hot boy package. I'm incapable of listening to their music without going 'omg this is so her'

2. Declan Somerset

what type of music does your oc like? Declan is a rock/punk/metal kinda guy but specifically the sub-genre of these types of music that culminate into local gigs at shit dive bars and basement shows. As a youngin he stumbled into a basement show with some of his friends (soon to be bandmates) and just loved the atmosphere so much he roped his friends into making their own band so they could be active participants in their community. He's the kinda guy to be like "oh, yeah, i like this band, they're super underground idk if you know them" but like... he's right. No one else in Minnesota is listening to Rainbow Sludge Baby Guts Explosion or Sexy Fishing Rod Brigade or whatever that band he saw last night was called. For him, it's not so much about the actual music, but the community surrounding it, but he would love to hit the stage and shred again if someone let him! do they listen to music very often? When Roxy was home, he would listen to whatever she had on! Her music listening habits didn't change from Minnesota to California, so whatever she put on was just background to him. Now that she's gone, he finds the house is a lot more quiet than it used to be. The only time he really finds himself listening to music is if he's at a show or if he's playing it himself. musical things this character has mentioned/is observed liking: - Nothing concrete yet! Perhaps will be expanded on in future chapters <3

3. Carlos

what type of music does your oc like? Very briefly mentioned in chapter 18 but Carlos is a big fan of Latin music, show tunes, and hip hop! I imagine growing up in a household with three generations of Hispanic individuals really helped cultivate his taste in this way. I personally do not know much about Latin music, show tunes, or hip hop music, but I imagined while they were on the plane he had Roxy listen to a lot of Selena because he though she specifically would like her music a lot. Homie was bumping El Chico Del Apartemento 512 so hard trying to get her to vibe with it while she was like half conscious and trying to not get sick lmaoo. As for hip hop, I think that was something he discovered for himself once he entered high school. Artists like Jay-Z, Eminem, 50 Cent amaze him with how they're able to get their point across and he likes to try and learn the words as a challenge (though he is not very good at it) and he also likes to make up his own dances. It's also good hockey hype music, he likes to listen to it before games. And show tunes... I truly know nothing about musicals so I cannot speak to specifics but he likes them because (in my unposted james POV chapter which will come out eventually) he used to try out for school musicals a lot. He likes the flare and the dramatics! do they listen to music very often? Back home, yes, before hockey games, before auditions, around his house, but now that music is literally his entire life he finds he's getting that fix at work and doesn't really need to listen to it on his own anymore. musical things this character has mentioned/is observed liking: - Green Day - Taylor Swift (because i said so!!!) - The Pussycat Dolls - Big Time Rush - Jordin Sparks (Honorarily bc they were mentioned in this post) - Selena - Jay-Z - Eminem - 50 Cent

4. Kendall

what type of music does your oc like? </3 His ass is so boring his only taste in music is what's on the radio. Though... his performance of Girl 2 My Heart in the first ep of the show makes me believe he actually liked some of the 90s boy band stuff! There is hope yet. Also, not in the story, but I think after his and Roxy's little scene in the fourth chapter he listened to some Oasis and was like "what the fuck. no." Too jock to rock... Tragic... But his issue before BTR was that he liked music but never found anything he liked enough. do they listen to music very often? Only at work, only when he's learning a song, only when he's trying to snoop on whatever Roxy's writing. BORING! musical things this character has mentioned/is observed liking: - Big Time Rush - Boyquake (i'm calling it ok) - The Pussycat Dolls - Jordin Sparks

5. Logan

what type of music does your oc like? Oh my GOD Logan is so into rap music it isn't even funny. Everything about it is just so exciting to him! The technical composition of the beat, the eloquence of the lyrics and how they're strung perfectly together, the performance of it all, the messages... It's like a big equation to him, and he loves it! He and Carlos often bond over this, because rap is a sub-genre of hip hop if I'm not mistaken. Artists like 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, DMX... We see the vision hopefully and I apologize for not being more knowledgeable in the rap/hip hop genre to provide more than common generalizations. He also really likes instrumental music! As we saw in chapter 16, he also enjoys being in a room in which Roxy is playing either the guitar or the piano! do they listen to music very often? Yes... This man is somehow able to study and listen to music at the same time, so he'll hit his playlist and hit the books. AKA he's listening to it a lot when he's alone. And as previously mentioned, he'll also seek out Roxy to play him some instrumental tracks too. It's good for him, no silence when he studies, and good for her, she gets to practice. How considerate of him! musical things this character has mentioned/is observed liking: - Big Time Rush - The Pussycat Dolls - Jordin Sparks (Honorarily bc they were mentioned in this post) - 2Pac - Snoop Dogg - DMX

6. James

what type of music does your oc like? Oh, James... In the same vein as Kendall, he likes whatever's on the radio, but simply because that is what's popular and he himself is popular. So pop music, for sure, is his favorite genre and it's easily accessible through the radio or his phone or whatever so he's always keeping up with the latest! In addition, however, I think he really likes R&B and soul-type music as well as a by-product of living with his mother. There's a reason he chose a Smokey Robinson song to sing at his audition and not something on popular radio, right? Part of it is because he has a really smooth voice that flows right along into the R&B/Soul type genre, but also I'd say it's mostly his mom's influence. Her son should know the "classics!" Also like previously mentioned, he's big into show tunes! It's mentioned a bit in chapter 19 hehe. He's very good at convincing Carlos to try out for school musicals with him, so they practiced a bunch together after school hockey practice <3 And of course... He likes whatever Roxy plays... And wishes she'd play for him the same way she does for Logan... do they listen to music very often? I'd say his music listening is moderate... Not as much as Roxy and Logan but far more than Kendall! In Minnesota, his mom would play her music bc she's so controlling lol... So whenever he was on the way to school/friends' houses/dates/whatever he'd pop on the radio to catch up with the latest and the greatest. His show tune listening aligned with whenever musical try outs were coming up :) musical things this character has mentioned/is observed liking: - Roxy - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - The Pussycat Dolls - Jordin Sparks - Dak Zevon (get out of there king!) - Big Time Rush

7. Jo

what type of music does your oc like? Two words: Boy bands. It's as simple as that! I'd also say this blends into mentions of popular music, but if she has a choice she's putting Backstreet on no QUESTION. That and movie soundtracks, I'd say, but only for the cheesy supernatural romances she likes. I know she's bumping the Twilight soundtrack near daily (as she damn well should be). Also, I know she's from North Carolina but she doesn't really feel like a country girl to me... idk Being friends with Roxy and dating Kendall is like her perfect musical dream. do they listen to music very often? Yes! Like Roxy, Jo doesn't really like silence. I imagine she listens to music most when she's running lines and trying to flesh out the characters she's trying out for. Once again: listening to the Twilight soundtrack while running lines for New Town High... God I love her. Beyond that, I think she's too busy being with her friends to care particularly about what's on, so she's happy to listen to the radio or pop one of her favorite CD's in! musical things this character has mentioned/is observed liking: - Big Time Rush!!! - The Beach Boys - Jonas Brothers - Dak Zevon (before chapter 1.11.5 lol) - Kelly Clarkson

8. Camille

what type of music does your oc like? I'm not going to lie to yall i've literally thought about this for hours and I just have no idea. in the show i know she was in their camp rock spoof, so maybe show tunes? but thinking about her sitting down and listening to like... Hello, Dolly! just doesn't feel like her. my best response is that she absorbs her music taste through her friends like osmosis. Jo and Roxy like boy bands? Great, now Camille does too! Logan is rocking out to Beastie Boys? Camille is excited to be a part of it. I also know that very briefly she mentions knowing how to figure skate, so maybe even like classical music? but that feels far too mellow for her... She likes Big Time Rush and that's enough for me to say she at the least enjoys pop music. What do we think gang?? do they listen to music very often? Right now I'm going to say only when she's rehearsing for a musical part! musical things this character has mentioned/is observed liking: - Big Time Rush - ???

Thanks for reading :) These are so enjoyable for me to write and I'll do my best to add these elements into my story!! <333