#but my top 100 is almost exclusively made up out of pop and musicals

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lcnelyinthesky · 4 years ago

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IF HAIKYUU!! WAS A TRACK ANIME

karasuno edition

a/n: this is my first time posting any of my headcanons, and i think about xctf!haikyuu constantly,,, it lives in my head rent free. i felt it needed to be shown to the world, but no one is really as into running as i am. enjoy!

notes: xc is cross country, a pr is a personal record, and steeplechase is the track event where the runner steps on a platfrom every 400ish meters into water.

other schools will be up next if the people like this one (steeplechase akaashi and pole vaulter kuroo run my life,,, also high jump iwa is *chefs kiss*)

sawamura daichi

- thrower on the track team (shot put), does xc

- 5k pr: 17:23

- all around type of guy. runs to be with his friends, but prefers throwing far more

- very passionate about everyone doing their lsd (long slow distance) runs. he calls people to make sure they did them every week. the anger this man feels when they tell him no,,, pure anguish

- once tripped on a root in his first year and is now incredibly cautious of his feet

- sort of a dark horse on the karasuno team, he’s good but no one knows

sugawara koushi

- sprinter in the spring (55, 100), does xc

- 5k pr: 18:17

- does arm workouts with daichi and asahi during xc season, has no reason to

- always complains about hills. i don’t know why but i KNOW this man hates hill days. he puts on a fake smile but whispers “i’m gonna [redacted]” in daichi’s ear right before they start. looks so tired.

- has been seen slapping people’s asses during practice, especially the second years.

- is the gay with the homies stereotype

azumane asahi

- thrower in the spring (y’all already know mans is BEEFY), does xc to be with his friends

- 5k pr: 18:34

- is frequently seen singing along to blondie during practice

- hates lsd runs so so much. noya made him do one once and when they hit mile ten he was about to fight anyone

- arm workouts with the third years are daichi and asahi minding their own business getting things done and suga on the floor on his phone giving them pop culture updates. tell me im wrong do it

nishinoya yuu

- runs the 400 almost exclusively in the spring, does xc to get out his energy

- 5k pr: 16:02

- frequently goes lost on the trails with tanaka, but they always manage to get back before 5pm,,, also he trips a lot

- once he rolled down a hill and has come to a point of saying “rolling thunder” whenever he trips in practice and during a race

tanaka ryunosuke

- also runs the 400 (and does the 400 hurdles,, he got hops) and does xc, i can just imagine those balls of energy being able to sprint for a really long time

- 5k pr: 16:03

- is very annoyed that at the end of the season he couldn’t beat noya

- refuses to wear anything extra under his uniform because he doesn’t want to deprive kiyoko of the view of his thighs

- shaved his legs once on a dare from noya. is still convinced it hasn’t regrown all the way (it has)

- tananoya don’t listen to music when they run they just talk about anything and it helps their stamina

ennoshita chikara, kinoshita hisashi, narita kazuhito

- 1600 in track, run of the mill distance runner ig,,, nothing spectacular. they do it all together. sometimes dabble in the 400 or the 3200, but they prefer the mile

- 5k pr: 19:54, 20:01, 19:57

- frequently seen jamming to mumble rap,,, they like when they can match their pace with the beat of a song

kageyama tobio

- STEEPLECHASE!!! he’s one of my steeple boys <3, does the 800 occasionally too to beat oikawa, also runs xc of c

- 5k pr: 15:59

- chasing hinata at practice to little landmarks for no reason and waiting for ukai to tell them to slow down

- listens to podcasts when he runs because he likes the noise,, but he gets really lost really fast and just uses it as background to his dumbass thoughts like “my shoes are looser than usual” and “what size spikes are in mine right now” and “did my mom wash my leggings”

- mans runs in leggings thats canon and he sURE DOES at meets (only when its cold,, when its fine he lets those thighs breathe) like it looks so bad but he’s comfy so ok ig

hinata shoyo

- allllll the long distance events, 1600, 3200, 5k during track season too

- 5k pr: 15:51

- seen running his cool down at the same speed he did the whole race because he can’t quite stop for some reason

- runs to like heavy metal and like screamo because hes convinced it makes him faster when actually he just gets scared and it makes his heart race,, seems to be working though

- he wears a shirt under his uniform tank top and its always some gross clashing color,, says his mom makes him wear it to keep warm

- actually does his lsd runs,, every day. but its super long and barely slow he just cannot stop going

tsukishima kei

- xc mostly, says track is too much work but ends up running hurdles every year, despite all of his protest

- 5k pr: 16:20

- listens to yamaguchi’s music when they run together, and they typically run together. seen slowing down to match yamaguchi’s pace

- shaves his legs for track/xc because he’s a firm believer in how it aids in his aerodynamics. kuroo and bokuto do it too,,, its a group thing.

- wears shorts under the uniform shorts because he doesn’t want anyone seeing his massiv- wears a shirt too he likes being covered

yamaguchi tadashi

- runs the 400, 800, 1600, and did a 3200 once because he’s not spectacular at anything and wants to find his niche,, solid with xc doe

- 5k pr: 17:52

- seen running around his general home area to get better because he wants tsukki to push himself <33

- he doesn’t wear anything extra under the tiny uniform because he’s more insecure about other peoples opinions than his body :(( poor baby

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popmusicu · 4 years ago

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My favorite soundtracks from video games

Monkey Island: Main theme

What a suspenseful beginning. The slow buildup, the soft bongo, light percussion, and then.....BAM!!! All these beautiful instruments come together to create one of my favorite video game intros. It perfectly encapsulates the Monkey Island games and their aesthetic. In a humorous game inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride, what better soundtrack could there be than this, a so-called “pirate reggae” style of music?

Secret of Mana: The Color of the Summer Sky

Fun and sweet town tunes are a staple of RPGs, Dragon Quest, Illusion of Gaia, Super Mario RPG, etc, they all have them. But what makes Secret of Mana’s special to me is nostalgia. This was one of the first games I played and actually got really far in it without my siblings' help. All of its music and locations are so special, but the first time i heard the town theme stands out. Going from the wild fighting monsters to this warm and colorful village feels great, it immediately puts you in a cheery mood and even the shopkeepers can’t help but dance to it.

And it becomes even more special when contrasted to Phantom and a Rose, the sad theme that plays when you’re forced to leave the village.

Katamari Damacy: Katamari Mambo

I recommend this soundtrack for when you feel tired, I'm almost 100% sure it will give you energy.

The whole Katamari OST is something truly unique, and that’s because that was the intention of the music director Yuu Miyake. He and his team had complete control of the sound design in the game, so they focused on making whatever sounded good and fitted best. This resulted in a shibuya-key style album with jazz and samba influences that features vocals by many j-pop artists and anime voice actors.

I love this album so much, every song is so different from the last one, but they still all feel cohesive. My favorite has to be Katamari Mambo, something about it is so addicting to listen to. Ka-tama-ri Mambo de~

Doom: All of it

You are the Doom Slayer, woken from your slumber and in a mission to brutally destroy every demon that crosses your path. The soundtrack that accompanies you in your journey? Industrial Metal.

It’s just perfect.

Breath of the Wild: Stables and Kass‘ Theme

Breath of the Wild is probably my favorite game of all time, and the sound design is one of the many reasons why I love it.

The stables theme is so soothing and comforting, when you hear it you immediately know that you’re safe and there are people around. Every time I traveled to a new location and suddenly heard the guitar and bongo I got so excited because I didn't expect a stable to be there. Like when i was in the snowy mountains, low on health and thinking that i was all alone and about to die, but then i heard the stable theme and rushed to get there. It really helps cement the idea that while it seems like Hyrule is desolate, there are still small communities here and there, doing their own thing.

Super Mario Galaxy: Rosalina in the Observatory 2

This game makes me emotional, even though it’s not very plot heavy (because it’s a Mario game), Rosalina’s backstory impacted me a lot when i first played this game years ago. Going into the observatory and hearing this song before knowing the whole story is nice, but listening to it knowing what happened adds something more emotional to it for me. The fact that the ship and the Lumas became Rosalina’s home make this song bittersweet. The observatory is where she tells her story of being left alone in the galaxy which is very sad, but it’s also where the Lumas gather around and remind her that she’s not all alone after all. And i think this tune encapsulates that feeling, a little melancholic but hopeful and uplifting, and i really like it.

Life is Strange: Mountains - Message to Bears

Every time I play this part of the game and this song starts playing I tear up. I love this song not because it makes me happy or feel good, but because of the pressure it puts on my chest. The rapid beat and overwhelming instrumental simulate the anxiousness you feel when desperately hoping that Rachel is alive. And the lyrics only add to that feeling; they repeat, over and over, a promise to run away to something better or at least different, but in the end it stays as only an unfulfilled promise.

Ib: Game Over

The song’s name is actually El Sueño de la Muñeca by Agustín Barrios. I just think it’s so random that the creator of the game decided to use this as the game over theme. It’s such a nice guitar composition and i’m glad i found out about it through Ib.

Silent Hill 4: The Room: Drops of shame and The Suicidal Clock Chime

Paranoia in song form. Two great compositions by Akira Yamaoka for a pretty good game (in my opinion). The atmosphere in these songs is so suffocating, it emanates despair and the feeling of someone being near. The soundtrack of Silent Hill is a pretty big reason for me not finishing the games, I get too scared. But I love listening to the OST whenever because it makes for good background music.

Animal Crossing: K.K. Metal.

Of course, animal crossing is known for it’s amazing songs, especially the ones by the humble superstar K.K. Slider. He’s given us bops such as Bubblegum K.K, Stale Cupcakes, Rockin’ K.K, among others. All of them performed on guitar and accompanied only by his beautiful vocals.

So what does he do when performing a metal song and he needs to shred like on an electric guitar but he doesn’t have one? He sings the arpeggios. And it would be the cutest thing ever, except him howling right after wins the prize.

Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja 5: Opening Theme

In the beginning I said the opening of Monkey Island might be my favorite game intro, but actually, the Ultimate Ninja 5 OP is a strong contender for the top spot. That piano and ominous deep vocals in the very beginning used to be my favorite thing about this game, and i would actually close and open the game just to see the intro cutscene with naruto emanating red light and transforming into his four tailed fox. And then there’s of course the explosion of classic naruto action music, but mixed with something darker and some beautiful piano melodies.

Pokemon Sun and Moon: Abandoned Thrifty Megamart

This was a really cool part in Pokemon Moon. The song by itself would sound good, but very normal and typical, so the effects make it so much better. The background supermarket static effect is great, and also the fact that from time to time the sound will stop working in one of your earbuds is a fun touch. It all makes for the perfect song to a spooky part in the game where at the end of the section you find the best pokemon of all creeping on you, Mimikyu.

Touhou Project 8: Imperishable Night: Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke and Immaterial and Missing Power: Doll Judgement

Touhou has too many good songs, but for the sake of not making this 4k words long i decided to only include two.

Fujiwara no Mokou is my favorite Touhou character and her theme song is equally as cool as her. A little soft and forgiving in certain parts, but fast and exciting in others. Like all Touhou enemy songs it perfectly fits her attack patterns and is incredibly rhythmic and catchy. I also really like the arrangements fans make of this song, they’re so talented and transform these themes into something so different.

And speaking of arrangements, IaMP’s Doll Judgement is a jazz version of Alice’s original theme exclusive to the fighting game. When i first played IaMP and heard this version i had to search for it on youtube because i liked it so much. It’s so smooth and a little theatrical, and it keeps the sound that made the original such a classic for fans, so much so that i might even like it better than the original.

There are many other songs from video games that i love, but i don’t think i can mention them all without making this post 10 pages long, so i’m going to leave it to here.

-Violeta Silva

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pandemicthestory · 5 years ago

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10: confused

Fake it til you make it.

In the middle of the City, fairly close to the Academy, there is a chrome-colored building that is taller than almost all of the rest. Night and Sugar stand in front of its doors, wondering how they’re going to get in.

The building is called “Mecca.” It’s filled with headquarters for top companies--mostly builders, but also fashion and interior designers, medical technicians, and game developers. Thousands of civilians report here for work 5 days a week. But since it’s Friday, as soon as it’s 5 o’clock, these workers will leave their desks and head to the top floor.

At the top floor of Mecca is LOUNGE, an exclusive night and day club where windows are always blacked out and the passing of time can’t be measured. A night club meets speakeasy meets casino, this is where the elites go to unwind. After a long week’s work of building, the business men and women of Mecca can swipe their membership card at the top floor and indulge themselves in the darker parts of life.

And this is exactly where Sugar intends on taking them.

“There’s no way we’re getting in.” Night mutters, hitting his forehead with his palm. This situation feels seriously illegal and seriously stupid. As he and Night stood at the front of this massive building, Night begins to wonder if he’s made a big mistake.

“Hold on now, don’t give up just yet, man. Listen, the separation medical facility is in this building.” Sugar explains.

“So..?”

“People think we’re Vacaters. So, we’ll tell security that we have appointments today, they’ll let us in, we’ll head to the facility and…”

“And what?”

“And figure it out from there? Let’s go dude!”

*buzz*

*buzz buzz buzz*

Suddenly, Night’s phone starts blowing up in his pocket. He can’t ignore it, because it just keeps going.

“Hold on a second, Sugar…”

Night reaches into his pocket and sees that he has several missed texts and calls. From Julian.

Oh god, what does he want from her so desperately? What could be so important that it can’t wait?

This is why he’d tapped Emma’s phone. It wasn’t because he’s creepy or trying to infringe on her privacy, though, he’ll admit, that’s exactly what it looks like. No, it’s because she’s unpredictable, and surrounded by people who don’t know what’s best for her. And because he really needs her to make it here.

JULIAN: where are u

JULIAN: stopped by your house and u weren’t there

JULIAN: ur mom said u were out for a walk, but i don’t think that’s true. Tell me what’s happening

(3 MISSED CALLS)

JULIAN: your friend zoe says that you’re out somewhere with her boyfriend. Care to explain? Wtf is going on...we’re leaving in a few days Emma

(2 MISSED CALLS)

JULIAN: we’re leaving tomorrow

Leaving?

Leaving where?

Night had known that Emma was planning something, just not what. Apparently Julian does.

Sugar taps his foot impatiently while Night composes a response to Julian. With the software he installed on his phone, it will be rerouted through Emma’s number. He’ll have no idea.

“EMMA”: Going where?

A pause, and then Julian is typing.

JULIAN: there you are. Fuck. don’t do that to me

“EMMA”: where are we going, julian?

JULIAN: what are you talking about? Are you trying to distract me from the fact that ur out chilling w Gabriel? The fuck?

Now Night is actually confused. Is this why she didn’t answer him? Because she was busy with Gabriel? And for that matter, who the hell is Gabriel?

What’s going on Emma? Everything you need was sent straight to your doorstep. Couldn’t have been easier. All you had to do was get the mail. So what went wrong?

Sugar yells to him, “DUDE, NOW.”

“Ok ok, I’m ready!” Night says, while composing and sending one last text.

“EMMA”: i’m not going anywhere with you julian. I’ve changed my mind. Don’t contact me again

Night runs after Sugar. He wonders to himself...what does such a smart girl see in such a profoundly stupid guy? Is she that starved of attention that she’ll settle for anyone who gives it to her? Note to self: that question will probably be offensive to her if he were to ask it. So he will not.

But hopefully he’ll at least have the chance. Soon.

Sugar storms ahead, and Night basically has no choice but to follow.

Sure enough, they head through metal detectors on their way in, and are then greeted by a squad of security guards. A guard steps in front of them. How many times is this going to happen today?

“Please swipe ID cards on the way in.”

This guard is nicer than the last one, he said please. He’s still in the way though. Sugar steps up.

“Hello sir, we don’t have ID cards because we don’t actually work here. We’re merely here for our appointments at the separation facility. We’re wearing our uniforms to indicate our status.” Sugar says, oozing with professionalism and aggressively overdoing it. Night fights a laugh under his breath (“merely..?”) and Sugar elbows him discreetly. The guard frowns.

“Is that so? We weren’t told of any separation appointments scheduled today...in fact, it’s rare that they’re ever scheduled on Fridays. What’s the reason you’re here for the service today instead of Monday?”

At this moment, both Sugar and Night are hoping that the other one has more knowledge of who the hell Vacaters actually are and what the hell the separation facility actually does. Unfortunately, neither of them do. Night realizes that he’ll have to throw another hail mary pass and hope for the best.

“Well it’s because, the...service...is going to be followed by a session with some other associates at LOUNGE.”

Now it was Sugar’s turn to try not to laugh. That was officially the dumbest ass response ever, which is why he is the resident debauchery mastermind and Night spends every night in front of a computer and a dead plant.

Night tries to remain confident. He couldn’t bank on these guys not understanding Vacaters, like the last pair of idiots, but he gambled that he could bank on them not knowing much about LOUNGE. From the look of it, these guys don’t seem like the type to be invited to an exclusive, glamorous party. They’re wearing jumpsuits.

“What? Really? That’s so...unusual.” One guard says. The other nods in agreement. They actually seem a bit...jealous? As in, why have these two bratty teenagers been invited to the top floor when we who have worked here for five years never will?

“Well yes, my father is a builder and it’s, uh, a sort of rite of passage for me to be vacated, er, separated, alongside him. In a celebratory way. After work.”

If Night got away with this, he’d owe the forces of the universe one.

The guards just nod in admiration while Sugar looks incredulous.

“Well then, good luck young man. We hope your last night will be a special one.”

The guards exchange nods with Night and Sugar, who head forward to the glass elevator.

“Separation facility is on 43!” Calls one of the security guards from behind, almost wistfully. Maybe one day he’ll get the chance to see what’s up there. But not likely.

Once inside the glass elevator, Sugar hugs Night around the shoulder.

“Ok honestly, I’m a bit shook that you’re a bad ass. Was pretty sure that you were just a virgin computer nerd.”

Night laughs to himself. That’s all that anyone has ever expected of him. But right now, seeing himself through Sugar’s eyes as a genius lawbreaker feels good. Intoxicating, even.

“What floor’d he say? 45, was it? Sugar asks.

“Why not go straight to the top?” Night asks, with a mischievous grin.

He hits the number “100” without waiting for an answer.

* * *

Emma crashes through the front door of her house, ready to have to explain herself to her parents and hoping to get through it painlessly.

But they don’t seem to be home. “Mom? Dad?”

They must be out looking for her. Now it all makes sense...her neurotic mother was blowing up her phone because she couldn’t even trust her daughter to take a walk around the damn block. Then her phone got destroyed in the parking lot. And now, since she hasn’t answered, they’re out looking for her. And when they eventually get back, she’ll probably be sent to prison. Cool.

Emma decides to take this time as a gift. Tune everything else out. This is her shot to save Isabel.

Emma runs upstairs to her room and tears the cardboard off the headset. She tosses the instructions aside because she has enough knowledge to put one of these together without them.

Does it need to be charged? It does not. It’s ready to go.

Now, to check on the download…

7 HOURS REMAINING

She groans. It’s speeding up, but not enough. She needs to plug in now, not in 7 god damn hours. She sees on her computer that there are a shit ton of unread G-chat messages from Zoe. Ugh, she’s probably dealing with some sort of jealousy moment right now and Emma just doesn’t have time to deal with it. So she doesn’t open them. Sorry Zo. You’ll forgive me.

Emma wracks her frazzled brain--there’s gotta be a way for her to get online and contact Emma.

Wait.

Emma runs across the hallway to Isabel’s room, carrying the headset and headphones. Isabel is still slumped over in her chair, alive, looking the same as before. Well at least she’s alive, which is cool. Emma examines the game on the computer--scanning the twisted map view of a city for any sign of her sister. None. Hm, guess it doesn’t work like that.

Emma looks at the game settings.

Ah, input/output. Yes. This is it.

If she can’t join from her own game, maybe she can join Isabel’s.

Emma sits down on a pile of clothes in the back of Isabel’s closet. She might as well get comfy, she could be here for a while. She puts on thick noise-canceling headphones and the headset, and everything goes dark and quiet.

Power on.

Emma wirelessly connects to Isabel’s computer, then sees the icon for the Universe game pop up in front of her eyes. With a nod, she selects it.

Black becomes blue.

Silence becomes ambient drone music.

Isabel’s done VR before, so she expects this. She still feels excitement. This technology never ceases to amaze her.

It’s when the feeling of the laundry beneath her fades away into a rush of cold air...

This, she does not expect.

#write #writer #writers on tumblr #writers #yanovel #yanovels #scifi story #my writing #hackergirl #gamergirl #virtualreality #scifi writing

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taylorswifthongkong · 6 years ago

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Sources estimate Swift's big comeback visual cost seven figures to make.

The hissing snake exploding into butterflies, the dozens of dancers in pastel-colored suits, Brendon Urie floating through the sky with an umbrella -- none of these effects in Taylor Swift's "ME!" video were cheap. Music-industry sources estimated its budget in the seven figures. "I don't think they were penny-pinching on that one," says Bob McLynn, manager of Urie's band Panic! At the Disco, adding that he has no knowledge of Swift's video costs.

Once common in the MTV era, big-budget music videos come out just 10 to 30 times per year, estimates JP Evangelista, svp of content, programming and marketing for Vevo, on which "ME!" streamed more than 100 million times in its first week. In the '80s and '90s, record labels routinely budgeted hundreds of thousands for video production, because an MTV hit meant automatic, lucrative CD sales. Dave Meyers, who co-directed "ME!," once said his typical video budget in the late '90s was $1 million. (Neither he nor Swift's reps was available for comment.)

The math is different in the YouTube era, when online videos generate revenue via advertising. Swift made roughly $90,000 from her 127 million views to date, and Ariana Grande has made $250,000 off 365 million views of "thank u, next," according to estimates based on industry sources. For most artists, music videos are costly promotional tools. "The money you earn on visual content doesn't match up with the money you put into it, by and large," says John Fleckenstein, RCA Records' co-president. "There's a monetization aspect to it, but it isn't like, 'We should make five videos because we're going to make a boatload of money.'"

Music-video costs range from $2,500 (for an indie-label project) to $700,000 or more (for a pop superstar like Swift, Grande or Drake). Vince Staples' 2018 video for "FUN!" cost roughly $200,000, says his manager, Corey Smyth, although it has just 3.7 million YouTube views. "It's worth it," he says. "They're all calling cards. You don't know what's going to hit and what's going to go viral." Country stars spend $30,000 to $250,000 per video, according to Erica Rosa, royalties director for Nashville business-management firm Floyd, Bumstead, McCready and McCarthy. "I saw one in the pop world that was around $850,000," she says. "I almost fell out of my chair."

Labels generally front the money for videos, although artists are frequently charged for the expense until they make enough in royalties to recoup the costs. If artists believe in high-cost projects, they occasionally add their own funds beyond their labels' expense ceiling. "Videos are as important as they've ever been," says McLynn, who manages Sia and Fall Out Boy and has made videos from $10,000 to $200,000. "When you're rolling out a bigger artist, you want to double down -- you want to make sure you have everything you need, so you up the budget."

Music and video execs say the idea is the most important factor in determining whether to green-light a big-budget video. Beggars Group put up funding for FKA twigs' new "Cellophane," depicting the singer floating through the air with a winged dragon and has 3.3 million YouTube views. "That video has to exist in order to fully kick off the project," says Gabe Spierer, the indie label's vp of content and strategy. "It's an example that justifies big spending on a video."

"The artist's vision is usually paramount," Fleckenstein says. "Some artists have extremely specific views they want to get across that can be elaborate and difficult to produce and therefore can become expensive." Adds Lyor Cohen, a top label exec in the MTV era who is now YouTube's global head of music: "When you're void of great ideas, you try to blow up Rolls-Royces for production value. But when an artist and the label work hard to come up with a great concept and execute it, that's the real ingredient of video success."

Labels often calculate potential YouTube revenue when creating video budgets, then work backwards to figure out how much they can spend. "It does allow them to feel more comfortable commissioning higher-cost videos, knowing there'll be some return on their investment," says Vevo's Evangelista. But few videos are hits: "The cost-benefit analysis is about controlling for the likely reality that [the video] is a relative footnote -- unfortunately," Spierer says.

In the old days of MTV and CDs, just about every major artist had to make an expensive video to launch a new single. After Napster and file-sharing forced labels to slash their promotional budgets, according to Smyth, spending dropped to $15,000-20,000 per video; now that streaming has returned growth to the business, he says, "We're in a middle ground."

While MTV-era directors such as Hype Williams and Spike Jonze could focus exclusively on music videos, at least until they broke into feature films, today's directors have to supplement their income with non-music projects. New York duo BRTHR has directed videos for Travis Scott, the Weeknd, Charli XCX and Lil Pump, but, says the team's Kyle Wightman, "To even survive, we have to be doing commercials." Adds Alex Lee, his partner: "The money we make from music videos is honestly nothing. It's about 15 percent of what we make [from commercials]."

Although Specter Berlin recently directed Rammstein's over-the-top "Deutschland" video, which is packed with lasers, period costumes and elaborate, controversial scenes depicting the holocaust, he's frustrated labels won't spend more money in a time of big-budget Netflix and HBO projects. "It's a great time for music videos and there's no reason why the budgets are not going up," he says. "It's convenient for the music industry to say, 'Hey, this is a young artist shooting a music video and we only have $20,000.' If everybody does proper work, nobody's going to make anything." Adds Tony Yacenda, who directs videos for comedian-rapper Lil Dicky, including recent charity single "Earth" and 2017's "Pillow Talking," which reportedly cost $700,000: "Nobody views it as the endgame. [Videos] allow you to create something fun to watch that shows you have style and a voice -- but it's not going to be your payday."

Swift's "ME!" is one of the big-budget exceptions. "I don't think you should spend $500 grand on something you think is going to come and go -- that's for a certain type of artist," says Smyth, Staples' manager. "Taylor Swift was almost in 'Tron.' Her glam is probably my budget."

#ME!#article #Dave Meyers

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taytay4ever · 6 years ago

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The success of 'Delicate' shows how pop listeners haven't moved on from 'Reputation' as quickly as some initially thought.

As resounding as Taylor Swift's first-week numbers for her sixth album Reputation were -- 1.2 million, her fourth straight seven-digit first week, according to Nielsen Music -- it's been hard for her to shake the perception that the album has marked a step back for her, commercially.

In large part, that's because the album's singles haven't been embraced the way her 1989 hits were. That 2014 album spawned three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and essentially ruled radio for a year and a half -- with its first five singles all reaching the top three on Billboard's Radio Songs chart -- achieving a kind of cultural omnipresence that's rare for a 2010s album, to say the least.

Reputation? Well, lead single "Look What You Made Me Do" topped the Hot 100 in its first full tracking week, of course -- even ending the record-tying 16-week reign of "Despacito" -- and stuck there for three weeks. But its shelf life proved relatively short: Within 10 weeks it was out of the chart's top 10, and on Radio Songs, it only peaked at No. 5. Meanwhile, follow-up "...Ready for It?" debuted at No. 4 on the Hot 100, but plummeted from there, only reaching No. 17 on Radio Songs. And despite guest appearances from fellow superstars Future and Ed Sheeran, and a big-budget, globetrotting music video, "End Game" could only crawl to No. 18 on the Hot 100, peaking at No. 15 on Radio Songs.

Upon its establishment as the set's fourth official single, it could be assumed that "Delicate" was only to continue this downward trend for Swift. The Reputation fan favorite debuted at No. 84 on the Hot 100, and climbed slowly from there, but stalled outside the top 40 -- despite the release of both an official Joseph Kahn-directed music video, premiered at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards, and a Spotify-exclusive vertical video, eventually also made available on YouTube. A half-year after the album's release, it seemed like the Reputation era would end without Taylor Swift having the kind of hit she was accustomed to -- the sort of long-simmering smash that proves unavoidable for months on end, particularly on radio, well after the initial headlines surrounding the single's release recede from memory -- and that maybe the imperial phase of her pop stardom had already come to an end.

But a funny thing happened with "Delicate": It kept growing. Though the sensual, intimate, mid-tempo ballad may have seemed less immediately top 40-ready than the more bombastic "Look" and "Ready," it gradually sunk its tentacles into pop radio. It climbed to No. 1 on Adult Pop Songs this week, Swift's first single to top the chart since "Wildest Dreams" almost three years earlier. It's scaling the top five of the Pop Songs chart, and has reached a new peak of No. 4 on Radio Songs -- making it the highest-charting entry from Reputation thus far. This week, it also climbs to No. 20 on the Hot 100, jumping seven spots in its 16th week.

Of course, "Delicate" still has a long way to go to match the overall chart peak of "Look What You Made Me Do" on the Hot 100 -- 19 spots, to be exact -- and may very well not get there, particularly given the song's lack of presence on the Streaming Songs chart, where it's yet to even make an appearance. But what "Delicate" has already given Taylor is something none of her other Reputation singles can claim: a hit that's only gotten bigger the longer audiences have spent with it. Where the first three releases off the album peaked almost immediately upon release, "Delicate" has gradually swelled to arguably her most popular single off the set to date.

The success of "Delicate" is part of an overall turnaround in momentum Swift has undergone for the Reputation era. Swift has attracted uniformly strong reviews and earned some historic grosses for her Reputation Tour, a triumphant victory lap for an album not necessarily considered by all to be an unequivocal win. And it's also hard not to note that the recent PR hits taken by old Swift foe Kanye West related to his controversial opinions and behavior on and off social media have made the narrative surrounding the loss Swift supposedly took in her feud with West in 2016 seem like a distant memory, and sort of small potatoes in comparison.

And it's also noteworthy that "Delicate" is the song that's marking the turnaround. While "Look What You Made Me Do" was outwardly vindictive -- apparently in direct response to the Kim and Kanye controversy of the prior year -- and "...Ready for It?" and "End Game" further pushed the idea of Taylor the Avenger with their talk of vendettas and maps of buried hatchets, "Delicate" puts the drama to bed. "My reputation's never been worse, so you must like for me," Swift concludes in the opening lines, the only reference to her feuding days in what otherwise unfolds to be the kind of tender, irresistible pop song that few artists do better. For "Delicate" -- the single that feels the most disconnected from the oft-overwrought Reputation rollout and Swift's accompanying new personality -- to be the song most connecting with fans, would seem to demonstrate that they too still like Taylor for Taylor.

Of course, none of this is to say that Reputation is now on its way to matching the blockbuster status of 1989: Indeed, Swift may not have another album of that size again. (Of course, it might be a while before anyone else does, either -- since its release, Justin Bieber's Purpose is the only other LP to spawn three Hot 100 No. 1 singles, and no other set has managed five top five singles.) But even if Reputation shows the superstar to be moving into a less commercially bulletproof stage of her career, the late-arriving success of "Delicate" also proves that she's still a major pop force -- particularly at radio -- and shouldn't be counted out so easily again.

#taylor swift #billboard

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makistar2018 · 6 years ago

Link

The Economics of Taylor Swift's 'ME!' and Music Videos In the Digital Age

5/13/2019 by Steve Knopper

Sources estimate Swift's big comeback visual cost seven figures to make.

The hissing snake exploding into butterflies, the dozens of dancers in pastel-colored suits, Brendon Urie floating through the sky with an umbrella -- none of these effects in Taylor Swift's "ME!" video were cheap. Music-industry sources estimated its budget in the seven figures. figures. But thanks to the new music-video economy, Swift’s label, Republic, could make up that money over the next few months; the video has been streamed 162 million times so far on YouTube, which, according to one source, means $150,000 to $250,000 in label revenue.

"I don't think they were penny-pinching on that one," says Bob McLynn, manager of Urie's band Panic! At the Disco, adding that he has no knowledge of Swift's video costs.

Labels are shelling out as much as ever on certain videos, in part because they now generate advertising revenue on their own -- compared to MTV, which famously paid nothing. But whether the videos generate more money for artists and labels overall is a tricky calculation, since fans who view a certain video for free on YouTube may then be less likely to stream the song on a more lucrative paid service such as Spotify or Apple Music.

In the MTV era, big-budget videos were almost always worth the financial risk for major stars, since heavy rotation meant a smash hit and lucrative CD sales. Today, these kinds of videos come out 10 to 30 times per year, estimates JP Evangelista, senior vp of content, programming and marketing for Vevo. "ME!" has been streamed on Vevo more than 100 million times in its first week, generating roughly $90,000 to $150,000 in revenue for Universal-owned Republic, sources say.

YouTube pays out roughly $1.50 for every 1,000 views, according to data released by the RIAA in 2017 -- significantly less in royalties than either Apple Music or Spotify, which emphasize audio tracks, not videos. By those calculations, $190,000 would have gone to Swift for the 127 million views of "ME!" as of early May, and nearly $550,000 to Ariana Grande for her 365 million views of "thank u, next." (Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music and a former longtime label executive, estimated revenue at roughly twice that, but the revenue depends on many variables, like overseas income and whether an artist agrees to certain kinds of ads.)

For non-superstars, though, music videos are simply costly promotional tools. "The money you earn on visual content doesn't match up with the money you put into it, by and large," says John Fleckenstein, RCA Records' co-president. "There's a monetization aspect to it, but it isn't like, 'We should make five videos because we're going to make a boatload of money.'"

Music-video costs range from $2,500 (for an indie-label project) to $700,000 or more (for a pop superstar like Swift, Grande or Drake). Vince Staples' 2018 video for "FUN!" cost roughly $200,000, says his manager, Corey Smyth, although it has just 3.7 million YouTube views. "It's worth it," he says. "They're all calling cards. You don't know what's going to hit and what's going to go viral." Country stars spend $30,000 to $250,000 per video, according to Erica Rosa, royalties director for Nashville business-management firm Flood, Bumstead, McCready and McCarthy. "I saw one in the pop world that was around $850,000," she says. "I almost fell out of my chair."

Dave Meyers, who co-directed "ME!," once said his typical video budget in the late '90s, the end of the MTV era, was $1 million. (Neither he nor Swit's reps was available for comment.)

Billboard

#taylor swift #me!#music video #billboard #2019.05.13

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batsysims · 6 years ago

Photo

didnt wanna do an actual Simself Edit™ so have an arrested development reference

anyways

i was tagged by @0cherub & i tag any1 who hasnt done this yet bc who doesnt like answering 125 questions abt themselves oh also @flavortowne im forcing you to do this sry

get to know me tag

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME? its batsy dont worry abt it

2. WHAT IS YOUR NICKNAME? its batsy dont worry abt it

3. BIRTHDAY? september 15

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? what?? are books

5. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ALIENS OR GHOSTS? ye both

6. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? ummmm idk lmfao i havent “read” a “book”” in like 5 years

7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION? 35 & 36 on sirius are like basically the exact same station but that doesnt mean i dont constantly alternate between the two whenever im near a radio

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ANYTHING? pink is a v trustworthy flavor

9. WHAT WORD WOULD YOU USE OFTEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR WONDERFUL? *owen wilson voice* wrow

10. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONG? what kinda question is this wt f ive currently reobsessed myself w marina and the diamonds so honestly any of her discography

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WORD? idk any words :^/ sry

12. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO? wheels on the bus im exhausted

13. WHAT TV SHOW WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR EVERYBODY TO WATCH? man in the high castle. man in the high castle. man in the high ca

14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE TO WATCH WHEN YOU’RE FEELING DOWN? clerks al;dksfjf

15. DO YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES? almost exclusively sims and fallout but every once in a while some indie game i find on steam so. yea

16. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? never doing anything in my life and having nothing 2 look forward to!! yay

17. WHAT IS YOUR BEST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? probably my resiliency, maybe?? idk

18. WHAT IS YOUR WORST QUALITY, IN YOUR OPINION? my habit of allowing bad things to happen to me lol

19. DO YOU LIKE CATS OR DOGS BETTER? cats but im sorta kinda indifferent 2 both i think i might 1 of the 5 ppl on earth who dont like having pets

20. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON? summer and fall

21. ARE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP? yea

22. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU MISS FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD? not being lazy lmfao

23. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? @flavortowne eye emoji

24. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR? blue

25. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR? its natural brown but im thinkn abt going either red or blonde again

26. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOVE? like 3 ppl irl and everyone on discord u guys legit

27. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU TRUST? my person and @flavortowne eye emoji

28. WHO IS SOMEONE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? tom hardy. what is his end goal

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY EXCITED ABOUT/FOR SOMETHING? tbh going 2 basic lmfao im!! lame

30. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST OBSESSION? as of right now,, spiderverse lol

31. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW AS A CHILD? teletubbies was fckn legit and so was old school spongebob

32. WHO OF THE OPPOSITE GENDER CAN YOU TELL ANYTHING TO, IF ANYONE? my person

33. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS? im not superstitious,,, but i am a little stitious

34. DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL PHOBIAS? i cant deal w fishing poles idk

35. DO YOU PREFER TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA OR BEHIND IT? in front babey

36. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOBBY? sims or stitching play foods 4 the kid to use on her play kitchen

37. WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? stop asking book questions

38. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? spiderverse yeye

39. WHAT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? piano & i try 2 pretend i know what im doing w a ukulele

40. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL? stingrays :^)

41. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TUMBLR BLOGS THAT YOU FOLLOW? legit all my mutuals

42. WHAT SUPERPOWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD? i had an oc that could read ppls memories like a scrapbook if he touched them and i always honestly thought that was. cool

43. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL MOST AT PEACE? in my house!! the door b locked bitch!!!!

44. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? toddler being an idiot toddler

45. WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY, IF ANY? its not really,, a sport,, but i bike

46. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DRINK? cream soda in those glass bottles is top tier non-alcoholic beverage

47. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A HAND-WRITTEN LETTER OR NOTE TO SOMEBODY? i wrote a letter 2 my person telling him he was an idiot and by the time it was mailed 2 his house i was already living there lol

48. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS? nah

49. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? either ppl blowing vape in my face or holding something so close to my face i cant see i just go ballistic

50. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A CONCERT? nope unless u count a sesame street liveshow like 10 years ago

51. ARE YOU VEGAN/VEGETARIAN? nope!

52. WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE, WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? a cop lmfao

53. WHAT FICTIONAL WORLD WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE IN? this is horrible but the setting of new vegas i just feel like id be at home there, w the radiation and constant danger and dehydration

54. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WORRY ABOUT? the kid

55. ARE YOU SCARED OF THE DARK? only when im looking in the mirror adlkfj start thinkn abt a different face showing up instead of mine idk

56. DO YOU LIKE TO SING? yea

57. HAVE YOU EVER SKIPPED SCHOOL? skipped a whole year adlfkj

58. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE ON THE PLANET? this is basic but i miss the tri-state area

59. WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE? this is basic but i miss nj

60. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? yea :^/ a dog, a cat, and uhhhh 14 fish

61. ARE YOU MORE OF AN EARLY BIRD OR A NIGHT OWL? night owl but honestly im just always tired

62. DO YOU LIKE SUNRISES OR SUNSETS BETTER? sunsettttt

63. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? i do

64. DO YOU PREFER EARBUDS OR HEADPHONES? headphones. they just work

65. HAVE YOU EVER HAD BRACES? nah but i need em

66. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC? i listen to everything tbh

67. WHO IS YOUR HERO? michael cera

68. DO YOU READ COMIC BOOKS? i used to read them religiously but not so much any more. i am reading the TAZ graphic novel tho

69. WHAT MAKES YOU THE MOST ANGRY? having to repeat myself 20 times. or being an idiot when i wanna start a new hobby

70. DO YOU PREFER TO READ ON AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE OR WITH A REAL BOOK? idk how to read

71. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? honestly i had a blast in econ and my law enforcement class

72. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS? a bro, another sibling, and a half-bro

73. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? food lmfao

74. HOW TALL ARE YOU? every time i measure myself im 5′2″ but the government insists that i am 5′3″ so w/e

75. CAN YOU COOK? yeap

76. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE? alcohol, bike riding, wearing stupid makeup

77. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT YOU HATE? ppl holding me back, bird box, when my nail breaks before i can file it so its all oglee

78. DO YOU HAVE MORE FEMALE FRIENDS OR MORE MALE FRIENDS? uh idk?? i dont have,, many,,,, friends

79. WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? bi

80. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE? sc :’^(

81. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TEXTED? my brother

82. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? 2 nights ago the kid pistol whipped me in the chin w her phone and it just hurt so bad it legit made me lose it

83. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBER? ok this is dumb as shit the kid is obsessed w Blippi and i have a mom crush on him afdslfkjs

84. DO YOU LIKE TO TAKE SELFIES? ye

85. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE APP? i am currently obsessed w L.O.L. Surprise! Pop but all in all probs Pocket Camp

86. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENT(S) LIKE? bad as parents but theyre fine now that im an adult and they have a grandkid they can like

87. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOREIGN ACCENT? i dont like a majority of them lmfao but idk maybe uh?? irish

88. WHAT IS A PLACE THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO, BUT YOU WANT TO VISIT? rly wanna go to nevada but im moving to the mojave soon anyways so

89. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER? 15

90. CAN YOU JUGGLE? nope

91. ARE YOU RELIGIOUS? i was raised christian but i dont rly give a shit abt any of that

92. DO YOU FIND OUTER SPACE OR THE DEEP OCEAN TO BE MORE INTERESTING? outer space my dood the ocean is dumb and scary

93. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A DAREDEVIL? im jus livin my life

94. ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING? i mean. im lactose intolerant but thats abt it

95. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE? nope

96. CAN YOU WIGGLE YOUR EARS? no

97. HOW OFTEN DO YOU ADMIT THAT YOU WERE WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING? when im wrong abt something

98. DO YOU PREFER THE FOREST OR THE BEACH? forest ig bad choices

99. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT ANYONE HAS EVER GIVEN YOU? i dont think i was ever given advice, ever. maybe thats why im like this

100. ARE YOU A GOOD LIAR? idk i try not 2 lie unless its like. an obvious exaggeration for the lols

101. WHAT IS YOUR HOGWARTS HOUSE? wtf idk ok i just did one of those quizzes & im a slytherin?? what does that mean

102. DO YOU TALK TO YOURSELF? yeah

103. ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT? more of an introvert but im ok w going out there if i gotta

104. DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL/DIARY? i keep one for the kid but thats abt it

105. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES? nah. unless it was something stupid like burning food like im not gonna ban u from the kitchen

106. IF YOU FOUND A WALLET FULL OF MONEY ON THE GROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? if theres an id i guess mail it 2 the address on there?? idk ive never just. found a wallet. i think this happens a lot less than all the hypotheticals make it out to be

107. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE? if theyre dedicated to it. i dont think ppl can just do it over night and i dont think its ever a 100% change

108. ARE YOU TICKLISH? dont touch me

109. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A PLANE? Yep

110. DO YOU HAVE ANY PIERCINGS? 2 in both ears but thats it

111. WHAT FICTIONAL CHARACTER DO YOU WISH WAS REAL? spidr...mna

112. DO YOU HAVE ANY TATTOOS? no :^( once im cleared for them tho deffo

113. WHAT IS THE BEST DECISION THAT YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE SO FAR? i hate that this is the answer but enlisting adlfkjs

114. DO YOU BELIEVE IN KARMA? yeah ig??

115. DO YOU WEAR GLASSES OR CONTACTS? glasses

116. DO YOU WANT CHILDREN? 2 late

117. WHO IS THE SMARTEST PERSON YOU KNOW? we all b stupit

118. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY? idk?? i get embarrassed but also get over it quick so like. idk

119. HAVE YOU EVER PULLED AN ALL-NIGHTER? yea

120. WHAT COLOR ARE MOST OF YOU CLOTHES? black & red

121. DO YOU LIKE ADVENTURES? mhm

122. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON TV? i was on nickelodeon back when they had those cuts to the Live Studio Audience™

123. HOW OLD ARE YOU? 21

124. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE? “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”

125. DO YOU PREFER SWEET OR SAVORY FOODS? savory i almost never eat anything sweet

#get to know me tag #now that ive posed this i wanna get back in2 making pose packs sigh

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legendofgrump · 7 years ago

Note

For the ask meme- Snail: 12, 17, 50; Andy: 15, 20, 44; Rory: 1, 14, 26, 56; Cookie: 2, 29, 40; Lyar: 3, 7, 30, 45; Wolf: 14, 19, 24, 31; Ant: 43, 51; Gigi: 5, 23. Hope that's not too much, hahaha

never too many! I’m excited to go all in for this~ (I’ll put it under a cut because its soooo loooong haha)

Ask questions for my OCs!!

Snail

12. How would/does your character feel about roller coasters?

Haha Snail looooves roller coasters! They don’t get spooked by them at all really and they love to get onto them and scream super loud just for the fun of it. They almost always throw their arms up too. The only ones they don’t like are the ones that just go around in a bunch of circles (because it makes them feel super sick) and the boats that like go upside down and way too high up and shit because those are wild and SHOULDN’T EXIST.

17. Does your character have any irrational fears?

Those boat rides at amusement parks haha. Also they don’t particularly like elevators, especially glass ones. The way they move makes them feel a little...almost...lightheaded? And if they can see all the shit below them as it goes up it just makes it all worse. So it also kinda translates into a fear of heights, but it really only manifests in elevators. (Can you tell I’m talking from experience haha)

50. What is your favorite thing about your character?

Aww uh so much because they’re basically a self-insert haha. I mean, I really like their general laid-back aesthetic. And I really love how buff they are while still be soft and chubby. And I respect their confidence, even though it’s mostly outward and they have a lot of internal shit they need to work on haha.

Andy

15. What music genre would your character listen to?

Both on totally different ends of the spectrum: EDM and love songs! Andy really likes the heart and soul that goes into making love songs and of course they’re a hopeless romantic. But they also really just like the energy from EDM and its good to listen to when they’re trying to get things done and be productive!

20. What is the most surprising thing about your character?

Apparently they like EDM ;). But seriously I mean I’d have to say their origin I guess? I mean, it’s so hard to tell from how they act after they got socialized by their friends and (especially) Daniyal that they were made in a heavily capitalized industry that wanted them to be a living sex doll. And also all the abuse they faced in that time of their life, because they don’t see that it was abuse and so they don’t really seem “conventionally” affected by it. But if they told anyone what happened the other person would most likely be like “yo what the fuck” because stuff that happened then is Pretty Fucked Up.

44. What is your character proud of?

Andy is constantly proud of Daniyal!! The two of them are growing together all the time and they really love and respect how far he comes with conquering his fears and being better to himself and all. And after Zelda is born, they’re super proud of her too! Andy is very family-oriented so if there’s one thing they constantly talk about its their loved ones!

Rory

1. What is your character's biggest fear?

Some of these questions get real dark whoops. His biggest fear is honestly himself. Since he has the ability to see people’s death, but never really had the ability to come to terms with it, he struggles a lot with it. He doesn’t have any explanation for the ability, so he doesn’t know if he’s the one that triggers those events or if he has some ability to change it. And he’s also afraid of wasting that time he has with someone and trying to make every moment perfect, so when something goes wrong he feels like he failed.

14. What is the cutest thing your character has ever done?

When he was really little and lived with his Nana he used to hide under their kitchen table and considered that like his Fort. And he would hang out under there and play or make things and when his Nana walked by sometimes he’d pop out and surprise her with a big hug because he’s a big lovable boy. I think it’s really cute~ But he also calls Daniyal Daffodil which is a REALLY close second because G O D.

26. What is your favorite headcanon for your character?

Personally, it’s that he pierced his own ear with a cattle tag to make the other cows feel better about the fact that he had to put them on them too. When he first started farming cattle, he wanted them to know that they could trust him and that there was a sense of respect between him and all of them, so he felt like that if they were going to have to get tagged, then he might as well tag himself in an act of solidarity sorta. Haha he’s a big dweeb that loves his moo babies.

56. What's one of your character's quirks?

Well I mean he can see the moment people die that’s a pretty big quirk. But on a lighter note, since Rory can’t see he relies on his other senses obviously, but his favorite one is smell! He loves becoming familiar with smells! And he can 100% identify tons of things by their smell, like Daniyal or Andy (or most any of his friends honestly) and he even really likes the smell of cow, which probably isn’t that pleasant to most people.

2. What is your character's favorite memory?

I think it’d be pretty hard for him to pick just one in particular, but anytime he worked in the kitchen with his mom would be something he looked back on fondly. No matter what, Cookie and his mom always bond and have a great time in the kitchen together and he finds cooking to be a very relaxing hobby anyway, so its always a fun, light, chill experience. Plus it’s just a really good time for them to talk and share stories and laugh with each other and it’s super good for both of them~

29. What would be your character's favorite food?

He’s definitely a baked goods boy~ I would think it’d probably be something like banana bread (his mom’s recipe because Of Course) because it seems like something he and his mom make together a lot. It’s probably a comfort food that he makes whenever he’s feeling down or when he wants to bring someone else’s mood up. And it always reminds him of home~

40. What would be your character's favorite school subject?

Cookie has a really good memory (unless he’s in Panic Mode) and he’s got a great knack for pneumonic devices so he’s actually really really good at history. But his FAVORITE subject was probably science, especially Biology/Zoology because he loves learning about animals. He’s not super science-minded, but he always loved learning things that would just make him go :O

Lyar

3. What is your character's least favorite memory?

Any kind of grooming his parents did to get him into the political realm. He hate hate hates formal dinner parties where he has to be nice and prim and proper with everyone. He doesn’t like Events or dances or anything where he has to wear attire for someone else. Not to say he doesn’t like to dress up, but he doesn’t like to wear it because someone expects him to or because if he doesn’t it’ll offend someone. He likes to do it because he wants to, y’know?

7. How does your character feel about their name?

Interesting...I feel like he likes it well enough. He’s kind of become numb to it, where he answers out of habit more than actually identifying with the name. But he doesn’t have any desire to change it, necessarily. Sometimes he’ll tell people different names when he introduces himself just because he’s a compulsive liar, but he never sticks to the same one and he just picks names off the top of his head not for any particular reason.

30. Would your character have any hobbies?

He really likes fashion!!! He loves seeing different ways of dress and style! He’s fascinated with makeup and jewelry too, just because they’re kind of like additional pieces to outfits. He likes to dress himself up, but he also really likes dressing other people and trying to make them look The Best. He’s extremely creative in this regard, too.

45. What would your character change about themselves?

He’d completely remove himself from the public eye, that’s for sure. He hates that everyone knows him as The Diplomat’s Son. He doesn’t want to be known and he sure as hell doesn’t want to be known for political affiliation. He prefers to be kind of faceless, just like an average someone that no one really bats an eye at.

Wolf

14. What is the cutest thing your character has ever done?

He wags his tail when he’s happy! And he’s actually very paternal, too. He’s very soft and loving around little kids (especially his little siblings) whereas he’s usually kind of cold and aloof in an attempt to not get anyone too close to him emotionally. But he will 100% go out of his way to protect, care for, and make sure little kids are happy. Which isn’t really like a Specific Thing he��s done, but it’s still really really cute.

19. What is your character's deepest, darkest secret?

Probably Fang. Not that he doesn’t necessarily want people to know about them, but the wound that losing them made is still so fresh and makes him so vulnerable that he doesn’t like to talk about it. He doesn’t like the very real possibility that people can use his loss and his feelings toward Fang to manipulate him and he’d much rather deal with the heartbreak and trauma on his own than risk opening up to someone and having it bite him in the ass, if that makes sense.

24. What prejudices does your character have

He actually has an extreme disposition of falling in love with vampires. He is pretty much almost exclusively attracted to vampires and he honestly couldn’t tell you why, probably wouldn’t even make the connection if no one pointed it out to him, it’s just his personal preference.

31. What social media would your character use?

Wolf would probably feel most at home on tumblr. It’s like a place where outcasts don’t have to be outcasts so.

Ant

43. What is your character insecure about?

Their level of usefulness. Ant very much measures their worth in how useful other people perceive them to be. If they feel like they don’t provide anything to a situation their brain starts to bombard them with insecurities about why they’re even there or what their purpose even is, so they feel much better when they have a sense of belonging.

51. What is your character's favorite animal?

Ant is more of an insect person soooo unsurprisingly ants. If they had to pick an “actual animal” probably rabbits. They like wild rabbits because they just eat grass and shit and are kinda skittish and fluffy. But ants are definitely the preferred haha.

Gigi

5. Describe your character's dream date.

Gigi’s dream date is Definitely Not With a Girl (totally with a girl) where she gets taken out for dinner and dancing. Gigi LOVES dancing so much, especially swing dance. (I’m probably mixing eras at this point but who caaares.) And she also loves comfy diners and that cliched sharing a milkshake trope because it’s Super Romantic. And then she’d love to finish it out with a movie at the drive in where they could hold hands and maybe (gasp) cuddle in the comfort of their car while they watch some romantic drama movie.

23. Is your character morally gray or black or white?

Well she’d like to believe she’s always morally on the Right Side. But she’s also fairly bigoted because of her background. I mean, she’s from a time period of active segregation and heavy, heavy racism and homophobia/transphobia (even more so than today yikes) and she’s a very socialized young white girl, so she’s conditioned to believe a lot of things that aren’t actually good to believe. It takes a lot of learning for her to even get on the right track (and a lot of self-discovery) but she does work toward correcting herself as she becomes more educated. But yeah, she’s definitely morally gray in that respect.

#ask meme #my ocs #cantolopejeevas #ask

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deadcactuswalking · 6 years ago

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WHERE THE LOVE GO? - THE TOP FIFTEEN BEST HIT SONGS OF 2018

The popular music in America of 2018 was somehow both chaotic and dreary and monotonous as hell at the same time. Constant album bombs and additional rule changes to the charts made the Hot 100 increasingly irrelevant – as if it wasn’t already, and to be honest, I didn’t hate as much of it as I thought I would – in fact, I have since learned to appreciate what little upbeat pop gems we had this year instead of observing it as just a dark, moody year full of mindless egotistical trap-rap... which it definitely was, for the record, I mean, there’s a reason I talk about the UK Top 40 more because the US’ charts seemed a tad painful to keep up with, just going off of exhausted recounts I’ve seen on YouTube and Twitter this whole year. Am I going to preface this with anything more interesting? No, because frankly I don’t think 2018 really deserves it. Let’s just talk about some ground rules.

-I am using the predicted year-end top 125 posted in the Pulse Music forum by MikesMusicReviews to determine what a “hit song of 2018” is. Songs that made it into the top 10 during the charting year (December 2017 to November 2018) count as well.

-This is the best list, and it’s what was posted second. The worst list is out right now if you want to read that, and the list that will count down my picks for the top 5 best and top 5 worst United Kingdom-exclusive hit songs will be out somewhere in the first quarter of the year, I imagine, but don’t expect it too soon.

-If this comes out on the day an episode was supposed to be released, REVIEWING THE CHARTS will be postponed, obviously.

-Finally, this is simply my opinion and I don’t consider myself highly as a music critic. This is just a silly little hobby of mine, and this list’ll probably actually be shorter and more reasonable than the worst list. Nevertheless, we’re counting down...

THE TOP 15 BEST HIT SONGS OF 2018

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

In a rough order of popularity, but no other particular order...

“Psycho” – Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign and “Better Now” – Post Malone

Actual Year-End Hot 100 Placements: #6 and #13 – Peaks: #1 and #3

Yeah, what can I say? As much as I don’t really think Post can handle an album by himself at all, and I still stand by how beerbongs & bentleys sucked, these songs are pretty fantastic, if only for how catchy those hooks are. Seriously, him and Louis Bell can write a damn good chorus.

“Nice for What” – Drake – Year-End: #11 – Peak: #1

This soured on me quite a lot since I first talked about it, but I’m still impressed by how he got a song with a Fabo reference to hit #1 five separate times.

“MotorSport” – Migos, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj – Year-End: #34 – Peak: #6

Migos are too boring for this to really stand out as anything more than wasted potential.

“Back to You” – Selena Gomez – Year-End: #41 – Peak: #18

Nothing about this song remotely works and I love it.

“One Kiss” – Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa – Year-End: #68 – Peak: #26

This was the biggest song of the year in the UK, and while it really grew on me, it didn’t really survive too well to overplay, as I got into more house, I realised that this really wasn’t as unique as I thought it was. “Promises” with Sam Smith sucked though, so I’m glad “One Kiss” was the Calvin Harris single that actually succeeded.

“Happier” – Marshmello and Bastille – Year-End: #80 – Peak: #3

This song is awesome. Do I know why? Absolutely no clue.

“X” – Nicky Jam and J Balvin – Year-End: #90 – Peak: #41

Depending on how I feel, this song is either fantastic, or unlistenable, and sometimes both.

“Call Out My Name” – The Weeknd – Year-End: #78 – Peak: #4

Honestly, I think I just got sick of the Weeknd’s existence in the middle of this year, but this stop still holds up for the most part.

“JAPAN” – Famous Dex – Year-End: N/A – Peak: #28

Famous Dex’s ad-libs are heavenly, but they do make this track feel a tad too cluttered... and yeah, those are all the Honourable Mentions. There aren’t many but that’s because I’ve increased the number of songs on the best list to fifteen, and that’s how it’ll be for years to come, so, let’s just get straight into the list, starting with something that has definitely grown on me.

#15

In Summer of 2018, I said this on my “Best and Worst of 1994” list.

That’s why I hate “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran so much – it lacks what I want from any good pop song, a real hook that reels you in, not because it’s catchy and not because it’s unique, hell, I’m not talking about the musical hook here, just a moment in a song that forces you to pay attention and even if you don’t like it, you will understand why it’s so popular because it demands you to be attracted to it. – me, a few months ago

Yeah, well, um...

#15 – “Perfect” – Ed Sheeran

Produced by Ed Sheeran and Will Hicks – from the album Divide – Year-End: #2 – Peak: #1

It’s grown on me immensely, to say the least, and honestly I think that’s not only because of how there was so much less overplay and I heard it a couple fewer times per day in the latter half of the year, but how I realised this song doesn’t need that moment, and never needed that hook to begin with.

Well, I found a girl, so beautiful and sweet / I never knew you were the someone waiting for me

See, the fact that this song is generic and simplistic is the point, I guess, because it’s much like the artist himself – gingerly. It’s shy and cute in a way that only Ed Sheeran could pull off believably because he’s built his career off of being the everyman (who has since burst into fame, but in his album canon, that never really happened), and this is the climax of it. This is the everyman settling down and planning his life, and almost abandoning the events that are reminisced on in “Castle on the Hill” (which, yes, it’s still a better song than “Perfect”). The production isn’t anything special really either but it is clean and almost like a sweet sweep of cloudy nothingness with a slick acoustic guitar as all of Ed’s songs have, coated in some pretty elegant strings, it’s like the normal, somewhat rough-around-the-edges British dude has just been overwhelmed by the “orchestra” of this love he found with this woman. It’s cute and simple, and in that way it’s as effective as a song with an immense amount of hooks and catchy, interesting blips that can be pointed out and analysed.

#15 – “Wait” – Maroon 5

Produced by John Ryan – from the album Red Pill Blues – Year-End: #58 – Peak: #24

Yeah, this isn’t really a tie either, I just want to talk about as many songs in such little time – because this is a rushed list? Perhaps, but also because best lists are boring as hell, and I want some urgency... speaking of, “Wait!”. This song isn’t a chaotic emergency from the get-go, it’s just a polished and filtered guitar with some transcendent multi-tracked “Oh!” ad-libs, that later become part of the beat. Some may say Adam Levine sounds plastic and manufactured here, but I think he just sounds sick of it all and bored in the best way. He makes dirty looks from his wife’s mother seem like Vietnam flashbacks because he’s so unimpressed or unfazed by everything, it’s kind of hilarious. Oh, yeah, and then the beat drop, which happens way too quickly – and that’s the art of it. The beat drop happening 20 seconds into the song and never really having another effective drop throughout, especially with Levine’s rapid, nasal and sometimes almost triplet-flow falsetto over it, is just a demonstration of how panicked Levine is, and with the alerted trap skitter and the sheer lack of length or development to the track, you feel pain in overly polished material, and yeah, that’s why I still defend Maroon 5, because they still know how to express emotion, despite how their music is no longer close to the quality of stuff like “Sunday Morning”. That bridge where it all builds up into an insane synth that immediately disappears is like an anxious thought creeping up on Levine then just popping out of existence, and the abrupt end to the song is just a book end to this story we’ve been following, where Levine is like a desperate dog using puppy eyes.

Wait, can you turn around? Can you turn around? / Just wait, can we work this out? Can we work this out?

It shows Adam Levine at his purest core – a pathetic shell of a man... with a bunch of tattoos and a Twitter account that mutes the word “SpongeBob”.

#14

Oh, hey, speaking of the Super Bowl fiasco...

#14 – “STARGAZING” – Travis Scott

Produced by Sonny Digital, B Wheezy, Bkorn and 30 Roc – from the album ASTROWORLD – Year-End: N/A – Peak: #8

You know how good this song is? When you go on the Wikipedia page for ASTROWORLD, you can play a small snippet from this song. That means nothing but don’t let distract you because this song is fantastic. It starts with a really eerie synth and creepy guitar before the reverb-drowned snares hit in the intense bass drop. Travis Scott croons about how the psychedelics have “got [him] going crazy”, and I believe it, I mean, this song is trippy, with the spliced vocal samples and the drum fill (as well as the cut) in the beat that sounds kind of like a mistake, just furthering that off-kilter vibe. I love the post-hook as well where he goes into that brilliantly awful falsetto. I don’t think this is mumble-rap at all, but the fact that most of the post-hook is unintelligible makes this song perfect because he isn’t paying attention to you, he isn’t paying attention to the mic, he’s paying attention to the “stars”... and then he realises.

The beat cuts, losing its drums to a reverb echo and then the vocals, with only the eerie guitar and synth it started with, until an elephant-like siren pops up and one brief female vocal snippet, with a ghostly laughter popping up right before the rollercoaster sound effects and it crashes. This is the musical equivalent to Travis Scott getting his priorities straight and realising what his fans want after the bland trap of his last two records, and that beat switch is the best on the album, “SICKO MODE” included.

Oh, yeah, and this new beat? It’s so good, it just has this sweeping feel with Travis’ faster flow (including the echoes) making it feel so fun despite how it sounds like the beat has a splinter in it, if that makes sense. Travis’ bars are funny and almost anthemic, especially this one:

This right here is astronomical / I see you picked up all my ways, I feel responsible / They trying to say that all my problems is improbable / They keep itching at my spit, it’s diabolical, you feel me?

There is no better way to triumphantly start your album, which is already a greatly misleading, scattered and fun, all-over-the-place record, with a fitting ride through Travis’ mindset while producing it. Yeah, it’s astronomical. Next.

#13

I haven’t watched or read any best lists but I think everyone’s gone deep into this song so I’ll keep this brief (like I will for all best list entries if I go by my current formula of a bunch more songs with more urgency and more jokes, hyperbole and a generally fast-paced flow to the list, to make it not feel like a slog). This is “Finesse” by Bruno Mars, which is a great song in its own right, being improved by a pretty obscure female rap artist, I don’t know, you might have heard of her?

#13 – “Finesse” (Remix) – Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B

Produced by Shampoo Press & Curl and the Stereotypes – from the album 24K Magic – Year-End: #14 – Peak: #3

From those first few drum hits and vocal samples that start it off, you know what’s coming.

Drop-top Porsche, Rollie on my wrist / Diamonds up and down my chain (Haha!)

The ad-libs and backing vocals add so much to her verse because they add so much excitement and energy that feels like a crowd following on with Cardi and Bruno, who takes a smoother approach to the sugary slice of 90s throwback new jack swing, especially in the chorus where Bruno isn’t really audible, you just hear the guys behind him reciting his vocals, almost as if they’re hypnotised into this groove, which, honestly, I don’t blame them for. Every melody in this song is gorgeous, mostly because it’s a complete rip-off of 90s R&B but it’s such a good one, that still feels modern, even with the talkbox-like synths, there’s still that polished, clean percussion you hear from modern R&B and Cardi B to mix things up, including a Lil Jon reference. Yeah, even in 90s throwbacks, they want to flash straight to the next decade. Cardi makes me believe Lil Jon was as big in the early-to-mid 90s though, because her boisterous personality is just all over this song, especially the bridge, where she’s drowned out by the instrumental but her charisma drips through anyway, she’s that powerful of a presence. Yeah, Cardi saves this from being forgettable, but it’d still be here if it didn’t have her at all, Bruno brings a lot of that vocal ability we know him for, and it’s very reminiscent of “Treasure”, another of his songs I absolutely loved. Man, I hope this guy sticks to the 90s throwbacks for a while. He’s done several 70s and 80s songs, hell, a whole album of them, so I hope he doesn’t entirely skip this decade when working through the R&B of each era to add to his discography.

I drink ‘till I’m drunk, smoke ‘till I’m high / Castle in the hills, wake up in the sky / You can’t tell me I ain’t fly – Bruno Mars on Gucci Mane’s “Wake Up in the Sky” featuring Kodak Black

Oh, he’s just gone straight to 2010s trap featuring... Kodak Black? Alright, yeah, nevermind, just restart your career entirely, we’ve gone too far.

#12

“Woo”. It’s such a simple, primal exclamation of excitement. It’s so commonplace, especially in rap, because anyone can pull off a “woo”, and it can be in so many varieties. Just going to pull off one little “woo” that you can barely hear? Cool. You’re going to croon “Woo” in the background autotuned to hell and back while Drake’s talking about taking half a Xan? Sure, Travis. You’re going to repeat it ad nauseum to build up hype for a verse like in “Bad and Boujee”? Sure, Offset, you do that. Offset, how about you say “woo” all the time? Like Pusha T, he does that, he says “woo”, although nowadays he prefers “YEUGH”. God, I hope rap ad-libs continue to be a thing, they’re awesome.

#12 – “Ric Flair Drip” – Offset and Metro Boomin

Produced by Metro Boomin and Bijan Amir – from the album Without Warning - #38 – Peak: #13

I have no idea why I love this song so much. Do I like Offset? Yeah, he’s the best Migo. Do I like Metro Boomin? Yeah, I liked this album he released this year, he has iconic producer tags and is the most creative trap producer out there right now. It only makes sense, right, but this is both Offset and Boomin at their most clean, simple and “okay”... except the whole song’s about paying respect to wrestler Ric Flair for popularising the use of the word “woo”. Offset describes his lifestyle as he always does, but he then says, “Ric Flair drip”, so casually, because it should be something that rolls off the tongue, not anything that should be made a big deal.

Soon as we came in the game, all of these n****s, they imitate

Yes, you see, this is an apology from Offset to Ric Flair about jacking the “woo” ad-lib. Sure... I mean, all of that is headcanon, but that hook is insanely catchy, that beat has a classy piano melody that is way better than it has any right to be. Offset’s verses have enough flow switches and fast yet chilled, relaxed delivery to feel like a traditional Migos song... but there’s something about this one specifically. I think it’s how the focus of the song, despite relying on the typical subject matter otherwise, being “woo”, like, the use of the word “woo”, it’s so funny to me, and justifies Offset’s second verse, which is intense, dramatic and slides into the chorus like Offset’s jetski, perfectly, especially when it’s just him, the strings and the 808s. It’s melodramatic, for no reason, with Offset’s rapid flow emphasising the lyrics... which still roll around to being about how when Offset is dripping in jewellery, he thinks about Ric Flair and, paraphrasing, “goes woo on a bih”... I’m glad you and Cardi are back together, I guess, you delightful... homophobe... okay, maybe I don’t like Offset but this is a cool song.

#11

This next song is the most fun, enthusiastic and party-ready scream for help I’ve ever heard.

#11 – “Uproar” – Lil Wayne featuring Swizz Beatz

Produced by Swizz Beatz and Avenue – from the album Tha Carter V – Year-End: N/A – Peak: #7

Keep in mind that this is a beat Lil Wayne has said on record, he does not like, at all... and he kills it. You see, this is a reworking of the G. Dep song “Special Delivery” with Diddy, and Wayne has freestyled over it before on one of his mixtapes, before cutting his verse to say that he doesn’t like it, and passed J. Cole the beat, I believe... you wouldn’t believe me, though, because there’s crowd cheering implemented the beat and pretty much the first half a minute is dedicated to Swizz Beatz hyping everyone up, including another reference to an ad-lib (specifically, Lil Wayne’s lighter flick and bong hit).

If you ain’t got a lighter, what the f*** you smoking for? / We hot, ha!

Seriously, rap ad-libs got meta this year. Anyways, about this being a cry for help, despite how upbeat and fun the party-perfect beat is, the guitar line is actually somewhat menacing and the dark bass largely nullifies all presence of human emotion and excitement, and what do you think Lil Wayne raps about? Well, I’m not entirely sure.

What the f*** though? (DAMN!) Where the love go? (OH) / Five, four, three, two, I let one go (LET’S GO)

He talks about killing someone, but goes into really oddly specific detail (like his other song on the list), but here he specifies the “love going”. So it’s like, he knows he’s betraying this person he clearly cares for but his gangsta rap mentality inspired by 2Pac has hardened him to the point where he doesn’t care. The flow is catchy here, and Wayne sounds hungry, which is fitting for the subject matter.

Money over b****es, and above hoes (THAT’S WAYNE) / That is still my favourite love quote (C5) / Put the gun inside, what the f*** for? (OH) / I sleep with the gun, and she don’t snore (AHHHHHHHHHH)

This is Lil Wayne’s middle-age existential crisis narrated by hilarious yelling from Swizz Beatz adding punch to everything he says, and it’s fitting for a retrospective album such as Tha Carter V.

This the jungle, so have the utmost, for the nutzos and we nuts, so—(IGH!)

I really love this line, because it portrays how much of a chaotic growing up Wayne has had as a jungle, which he went into detail about during his Billboard interview, but he’s just come to accept himself as “nuts”, and he knows that’s unhealthy, but he’s at a point in his life where he just has to come to that as the only solution.

Listenin’ to Bono, you listenin’ to Donald (GODDAMN HE SAY WHAT?!)

Yeah, hit those far-right weirdos with this diss about you being superior to them because you listen to... U2, I guess? Nah, I prefer when I thought he said this:

Listenin’ to Bono, you listen to Don O.

Like Donny Osbourne? Now that’s a diss track line true music nerds would come up with.

I see the shovel, but where did bruh go? (TALK TO ‘EM WEEZY) Hmm, to the unknown (OH!) / Only way he coming back is through his unborns

He calls him “bruh” because he’s so familiar and close to the person he’s murdering, to the point that he knows that he has unborn children? This is either me thinking way too much into these lyrics or genius and grim storytelling from Wayne, and I’d like to think it’s both, and it’s also a hilarious experience if this is an existential crisis, simply because of Swizz Beatz’ existence on the beat.

TALK TO ‘EM WEEZY

#10

So as I’m writing this, Harverd Dropout by Lil Pump, his debut album, has yet to come out, but I’m thinking it’s probably going to suck (Edit: It did) because Lil Pump has made himself bland and uninteresting, or at least the labels have sucked all the ignorant raw energy out of him, because they don’t know why he was so cool in the first place. He was pure energy in the most sarcastic, SoundCloud way possible, without making awful folk albums like X, being boring like his friend Smokepurpp or the Migos, or being a pedophile like 6ix9ine. He was the least problematic of the wave, but he had more charisma and personality than those guys combined, mostly because his one-line hooks were insanely catchy, his beats banged (especially the ones with distorted, crazy basslines), and he had the wit he needed to stand out, with particularly funny lines and running gags always included in his two minutes or less tracks. Now why do I say this? Because I feel bad for Pump, he’s been ripped of its unique characteristics and is now just nothing but a faceless (albeit face-tatted) body for Quavo and executives to paint lyrics onto so they can be regurgitated onto “catchy” trap beats... and this is why I miss songs like this so much.

#10 – “Gucci Gang” – Lil Pump

Produced by Bighead and Gnealz – from the album Lil Pump – Year-End: #44 – Peak: #3

This song isn’t really anything special on the surface, because it’s just Lil Pump spitting a hook and singular verse over a great beat from Bighead and Gnealz, with eerie piano countermelodies being immediately blasted with a hilariously heavy bassline, but that beat, regardless of how strong it is on its own, would be nothing without Pump, and he has no filter in this song, especially since he just calls out a popular brand of airlines by name, even though it was clearly his own fault when he was recklessly misbehaving on a plane because of drug influence... yeah, it doesn’t seem like I actually enjoy the song because of this ramble but that’s the best part of the song, his lyrics, especially when the beat cuts out for Pump to just spout his... “lyrical genius” onto pure silence, with an amount of dopey confidence that makes his family drug operations with his grandmother seem profound.

They kicked me out the plane off a Percocet / Now Lil Pump flyin’ private jet (yuh) / Everybody scream, “F*** WestJet!” (F*** ‘em!) / Lil Pump still sell that meth (yuh)

And he ends off the song with the words that started it all.

Gucci gang, Gucci gang, Gucci gang

...As the audience realise, Lil Pump has learned nothing and none of the last two minutes and four seconds were of any substance, and wasted your time. That is the genius of “Gucci Gang” – it catches your attention for only two minutes but it feels like more and it feels like something better, something special and most importantly, something mesmerising, for those 124 seconds, then crushes all of your expectations by ending with a cheap fade out. Esketit, indeed.

Other than #2, I feel like this is the hardest one to explain, but I’ll try and get through it. See, Taylor Swift is a very talented songwriter, but her best ever decision was to link up with Jack Antonoff, as the music she’s produced with him has been her most intriguing yet, and I think she could potentially make an amazing album if they really perfected their pop song formula. Swift did take a turn though, a darker one, that involved both a #1 hit and her worst year on the charts yet, as it’s hard to even think that Taylor Swift had a sleeper hit this year. She seems to be doing okay with the tour and all, but I do feel bad for how a lot of people turned on her when she really should be excluded from this narrative... and she would be if she stopped talking about it and making an entire album about her “tainted reputation” that wouldn’t really exist if she didn’t pipe up about it—

#9 – “Delicate” – Taylor Swift

Produced by Max Martin and Shellback – from the album reputation – Year-End: #24 – Peak: #12

This song wasn’t even written by Jack Antonoff, but a lot of reputation was, and even in the non-Antonoff songs you can tell that his influence rubbed off on Taylor, with the beautiful vocoder effect put onto Taylor’s vocals in the intro and the spacey 80s-influenced production, especially with the vibrant synths in the pre-chorus that work as an excellent build-up to a drop that never happens, because Taylor’s still curious about it being soon. I don’t know what the lyrics are about, and I don’t care, because they’re catchy and even kind of odd and janky, so you can tell Taylor wrote some of them. Yeah, the songwriting and storytelling is subtle but all over the place at the same time, I think it’s mostly nonsensical, none of the Genius explanations really make much sense to me – but that’s fine, because it doesn’t attempt to really be all that serious. When it sounds like it, it’s immediately contrasted with the fun, melodramatic 80s synths, the absolutely beautiful bridge and the pitch-shifted vocals. From what I can gather, it’s written like it’s her talking to a guy, but it’s actually her reputation? Eh, who cares? This song is a fun slice of traditional pop in a year that had literally none, and like I said, it’s hard to explain what works about this song, but I think it’s the imperfect songwriting, because that’s Taylor’s main appeal to me. Even in her poppier, more “sell-out” efforts, you can tell that it’s home grown and not entirely polished. The production and songwriting does feel “delicate” in that regard... Huh.

Oh, yeah, speaking of people being delicate... and Taylor Swift...

#8 – “Yikes” – Kanye West

Produced by Kanye West – from the album ye – Year-End: N/A – Peak: #8

Now this song is a joke. I thought it was a legitimate expression of his struggles with bipolar disorder, but he said that he doesn’t have it, and then he said he needs meds for it? I’m not entirely sure about his status but as a fan, as long as the music’s good and he’s mentally okay, that’s all I’m worried about. Now about this song being a joke, well, yeah, it’s a joke at Kanye’s expense.

S*** could get menacing, frightening, find help / Sometimes I scare myself, myself

When he’s off the medication, when he’s crazy, when he doesn’t know what he’s going to do next, he panics, understandably, but instead of making a dramatic fuss about it, he makes a fun trap-influenced banger with several jokes pulling fun at potentially “problematic” or sensitive topics, but it’s his best material in a while, running off with Juvenile’s “Ha” flow, in the first verse, talking about how he’s scared of getting #MeToo’d (surprisingly he’s avoided that), how he made TMZ watchable by turning it into “Smack DVD, hanh” and how he got resurrected by drugs after he thinks he’s run creatively dry, which is something he’s mentioned on Twitter afterwards.

Yeezy, Yeezy trollin’ OD, hanh

I like this line as it demonstrates how there’s a thin line between Kanye “trolling” and joking around, and legitimately being dependent on hard drugs or medication to the point where he could inevitably overdose, and covering that up with humour, which is what he’s been doing his whole career: playing the underdog whilst covering all his insecurities in bragging about, as he said himself, “money, hoes and rims again”.

The second verse is hilarious too, as he rambles about how he hates hospitals and would rather be in North Korea smoking with Wiz Khalifa (presumably in his cool pants), whilst cheating on his wife, Kim Kardashian.

Ask your homegirl right now, you had a shot at Ye? You drop everything!

I love these spoken word interludes as it’s just primal Kanye releasing pure thoughts, especially in the outro, where he brilliantly says that his bipolar disorder is just a “superpower” instead of just a mental illness, and whether this is unhealthy or a legitimate attempt at normalising mental health issues we don’t really know, you never do with Kanye, but one thing’s for sure: this song is a great example of honesty on record, and it really shines in those stand-up comedy moments throughout. Oh, and that melody is just like three seconds of a string sample from another piece of music pitched down, cut and time-stretched to sound like a vocal saying “hey”, DJ Mustard style. Now that’s genius.

I’m so. Freaking. Glad this. Song exists.

#7 – “Mine” – Bazzi

Produced by Bazzi and Rice ‘n’ Peas – from the album COSMIC – Year-End: #21 – Peak: #11

Don’t get me wrong, this song is pure aesthetic-pop, music that only exists for the “vibe” and has no substance or artistic merit, in the lyrics or the composition. This is Snapchat filter level R&B... hence why it was used as a Snapchat filter and became a meme because of it. Although that stodgy flute melody can’t be denied, and I like how the filter starts off filtered before becoming entirely honest and blunt, because this is just Bazzi expressing pure love for this girl, although his motives are disputed throughout.

Hit it from the back and drive you wild

Throughout the whole song, you know for a fact that this man just wants sex, despite how genuine he attempts to be, and that’s the appeal, it’s Instagram filter pop because he puts a filter on something that is really ugly, natural and primal: lust. That’s not only pretty funny to me but it makes all the bluntly delivered lines feel not only like lies but manipulation – like when he chuckles right after crooning “eyes”, like, yeah, you care about her eyes, sure, Bazzi, sure. And then there’s the twinkly drop, with quite literally a twinkle prior to the chorus, and a cute synth that plays throughout, as well as multi-tracked vocal harmonisations that immediately come to a stop for an 8-bit escalation sound... Yeah, I don’t know what the deal with that is either but it all adds to the song’s statement of sorts: This isn’t what I really think, and the synths in the background are emphasising the lie. It’s cutesy, but in the most scummy way.

Waste this night away with me, you’re mine

“Yeah, waste it, because that’s all it’ll be, a complete waste, because I don’t care, I just want to pamper you until you’re in bed with me.” The mini-rap verse in the second verse with those cheesy Rhodes pianos is hilarious, especially the last line about turning her into a bride. Now, that’s an innuendo I don’t want to explain.

I can’t look away, I just gotta say

Yeah, he can’t look away, but he can’t even bring himself to say that the girl is his, because she isn’t. He doesn’t want her to be either, he doesn’t care, he just wants sex and it’s evident throughout the whole experience, with all these cloudy synthesizer melodies covering a storm of lust and sex-fuelled deceit.

Eminem is a great technical rapper, and sometimes he is funny, sometimes he has a couple good flows and subject matter that makes a decent song. If this was the early 2000s, I wouldn’t need to specify technicality. I could have just said, “Eminem is a great rapper”, and I would need no other introduction to this entry on the list, but Eminem has fallen off, especially in recent years, with a couple awful records, including his biggest misstep, Revival, which, frankly, everyone hated. There’s no beating around the bush here, there is no critic who really enjoyed this album too much, so as a response, Em dropped a remix to his song “Chloraseptic” where he mocked them (and missed the point)... but that wasn’t enough.

#6 – “Lucky You” – Eminem featuring Joyner Lucas

Produced by Boi-1da, Illa da Producer, Eminem and Jahaan Sweet – Year-End: N/A – Peak: #6

See, it’s that one intense bell melody that makes this song so good, not the orchestral or piano riffs added onto it, not the brass, not the rapping, not the lyrics, but that bell loop, because that’s what makes this song so urgent and intense, and so furious. If the bell loop was any slower or pitched lower, this song wouldn’t bang nearly as much, but it’s not like Joyner and Em wouldn’t try. Like I said there’s a heavy bass and trap percussion here, and it’s great, but Joyner Lucas goes off, essentially yelling in his first chorus before the smooth transition to Joyner’s verse, where he essentially just lets everyone know he’s back on his BS, while proving all of the rappers that are charting from one hit that he’s been there for a decade and still isn’t quitting, and despite people wanting him tied down, he is the “underdog who never lost hope”, as he says himself, and is finally finding success. Not only do I love his verse’s content, other than the part where he says some homophobic slurs in Spanish for some reason, but his flow is awe-inspiring. It’s simple but charismatic, constantly switching and it’s still clear what he’s saying, even in the fast-rap section. It’s pretty cool, to say the least, especially the last line, which is just kind of hilarious:

Snakes in the grass trying to slither fast, I just bought a f***ing lawnmower (VROOM)

Then he passes the mic to Eminem, who repeats the chorus with a couple differences, notably how he doesn’t believe his Grammys were well-deserved or earned, until the bass drops and he somehow trumps Joyner so much that it’s not even funny. While I don’t necessarily agree with what he says about the new wave rap, Em doesn’t seem to, either? He says that he feels bad for all the lean these guys are doing (to the point where they have brain damage) and that he doesn’t hate trap, but no one in the game is like his old fueds with Ja Rule, Benzino and, uh, Mariah Carey, or even technically great enough to make him have the fire to snap and make great music again like his friends used to force him back in the day. He needs the desire to snap back at the criticism, but he doesn’t have it, and—wow, this is the most self-deprecating brag-rap song I’ve ever heard. Then they both finish off the song by repeating the first part of Joyner’s verse, and it’s all come full circle, but not a single moment was wasted. Oh, Eminem went quicker than “Rap God” on this one as well, that’s pretty impressive to say the least. Next.

Wow, we’re already in the top five – now, these are the five (or in this case, six) songs I have the most trouble explaining, because to be this high on the list, you have to have some form of connection with me, because it has to last the whole year and I have to still care about it enough to write about it passionately. I first heard this song in late 2017 and honestly, it’s still growing on me and could easily be my #1 by the end of this year, but that’s beside the point. How do I write about this song? How do I gather my thoughts on “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes without yelling profanities at the top of my lungs?

OH! F***! S***! B****! / YOUNG SHECK WES AND I’M GETTING REALLY RICH (CHING CHING)

Honestly, I have no idea, so just read me try and make sense of this song.

#5 – “Mo Bamba” – Sheck Wes

Produced by 16yrold and Take a Daytrip – from the album MUDBOY – Year-End: N/A – Peak: #6

“Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes is raw, and makes you think Sheck Wes is an absolute beast with no remnants of human characteristics, because he can’t really be a human if you take only his music into account. He’s either a droning robot man or a confused, furious animal that’s been caged for too long and is trying to get out, but can only yell the word “bitch” at the cage so many times. That iconic piano line is given like two seconds to play out before being interrupted by producer tags and the bass-heavy beat, with Sheck Wes just moaning about people calling his phone in the most dreary way possible (no autotune either to add artificial vibrato), with only ad-libs to hype up the droning slog of a performance, and those ad-libs absolutely help, especially those ring-rings and the iconic ad-lib you know him for, but also the panting and the maniacal laughter. I couldn’t care less about what Sheck is saying, I’m pretty sure it’s violent, but I don’t care. Then he takes a long, odd pause, just to continue like nothing happened, as the chorus continues with a slight increase in energy. Then he mentions Drake.

Call me Drake how a n**** control—

Then the beat cuts out because Take a Daytrip’s ancient computer lags, what do you do? Well, scream like a madman, of course. What else to do? You’ve freestyled the whole song, you’re on a roll, don’t let that stop you, Sheck Wes... and he really doesn’t, because he goes insane and we just have to listen with our jaws dropped for that one verse, and I can barely describe in words how that feels, that one verse is just transcendent in a weird way. It’s a release of anger and frustration that you have with the song droning on, that Sheck Wes has with the hoeeeeeeeeees caaaaaallllling, and it feels so raw and energetic, like one man against the world and he tells them to stick it in the purest way possible, by yelling profanities, threatening violence and making ching-ching sounds in the background, and it’s reasonable, because you’ve gotten through one and a half minutes of just one constant routine and this is your one big break... until it just continues like normal, until it stops abruptly so Sheck Wes can have his own mini-verse about the DOOOOOOOPE and gettin’ rich with his BROOOOOOOOOS and taking YOUR girl and she don’t even let you KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

Now this one is an actual tie, not like #15, because this one has a genuine connection that isn’t subjective or only a loose relation, but I decided to tie these because they’re both excellent and brilliant songs produced by the one and only Pharrell Williams. Let’s just forget about Sweetener, and get mad ethnic right now.

#4 – “Lemon” – N.E.R.D. and Rihanna

Produced by Pharrell Williams and Kuk Harrell – from the album NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES – Year-End: #83 – Peak: #36

The truth will set you free, but first it’ll piss you off.

N.E.R.D. made an amazing comeback in December of 2017 with the crazy good album NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES, although it kind of got overshadowed by releases from BROCKHAMPTON and Eminem with more longevity, which is unfortunate because it’s one of the best albums I’ve heard from this decade. I own it on CD and at any chance I get to talk about it, I will. There are three versions of this song that all technically charted, but the one with Rihanna is the prime version. There’s a solo version and a Drake remix, but honestly why would you bother when this exists?

It starts with a manic bounce-influenced hyphy beat, reminding me of the Triggerman beat that bounce producers used to use back in the day and still do in Miami scenes, but unlike “Nice for What” by Drake, which just kind of lifted the sound and didn’t develop it or do anything interesting with it, Pharrell raps on the plucky synths and 808s like he was in an intense police car chase, fitting as the song is about authority and race politics which I’m not going to get into, because I don’t care, I just want to be bouncing around, bouncin’ to the sounds of hate supplements found right in their couches... what?

Yeah, that’s an actual lyric, but he doesn’t just spout nonsense over a bounce beat, no, he switches it with a stretched 808 section, using an Instagram video from a social media comedian and a blood-curdling shriek as a transition, then turns into a trap beat for Rihanna to brag on, and by God, I think I’m in love. This is the best performance, hands down, on the Year-End list, no question. Her flow, which switches throughout, is constantly slick and her delivery is powerful, carefree and fantastic.

Woo! This beat tastes like lunch

After a freaking Star Trek reference, it goes back to Pharrell talking about bath salt as his vocals are twisted in every possible way imaginable, as he raps about pulling up in a broken car not because he doesn’t have money, but because “your eyes get acidic”. Oh, N.E.R.D., please don’t leave us for this long next time. Wait, wait a minute--

Also #4 – “Stir Fry” – Migos

Produced by Pharrell Williams – from the album Culture II – Year-End: #48 – Peak: #8

Oh, he also produced this, just to show his versatility and Goddamn, is this one a great flip of the classic Mohawks “The Champ” sample, making an almost difficult beat. Pharrell, the genius producer he is, just lifts pretty much everything possible from this song, from the off-kilter snares, bongos and cricket sound effects from the whistles in the original, for the Migos to flow over, and I love the coating of keys every few bars that harmonises with the refrain, now that is godly production, especially for a top 10 trap-rap song, which I can only barely describe it as, really. I love Quavo’s eerily droning melodies in the refrain, before the hook that leads perfectly into Offset’s amazing verse, which is really short but also has a rapid flow to it, like it’s so fun and energetic, really proving how despite competition from Quavo’s brilliant ear for melody and hooks, Takeoff’s chilled rap skills, he is the best Migo.

Oh, there’s this distortion coming in on like the third chorus which is just an ugly synth that disappears immediately when Takeoff comes in, for one of his shortest yet best verse, until he copies Quavo’s refrain in the funniest way, where Takeoff knows he can’t sing, so makes his shoddiest effort possible and it’s majestically awful, like it’s seriously such an interesting experience to have Takeoff essentially croon off-key moaning about how everyone’s watching him in your ear, it’s oddly soothing and by God, I think I’m in love again. Everything I said about “Lemon” applies here, it’s manic, insane, somehow not a cluster of random sounds despite being just that, and finishes way too quickly when it deserves and can easily take another minute or two doing its thing. Pharrell brings out the best in everyone, even two homophobic weirdos and Takeoff.

So this is the hottest take of the bunch, and I think I like this because it’s a catchy, fun pop song in a year that didn’t have many, but it’s also probably because I’m lame and like sincere songs about love as well as awfully misleading “I just want to get into her pants” songs that pretend they’re sincere songs about love, and this is just a song like that... except it’s both? And it’s not really about love at all?

#3 – “I Like Me Better” – LAUV

Produced by LAUV – from the album I met you when I was 18. (the playlist) – Year-End: #35 – Peak: #27

This song is way too robotic to be about love, it’s way too stiff and way too sad. There’s not even a real flower on the single cover art, that is a plastic replica, I tell you. I think it’s about LAUV’s caffeine addiction. See, that’s why the guitar is scratchy and you can hear every single slap and string being hit with a twang, every single mistake, it’s organic, unlike the rest of the song. The guitar and his passion for music and songwriting is the only remnant of his personality before the first time when he got morning coffee, which caused him to stay for a long time and get addicted, eventually causing himself to believe that he has to rely on caffeine to live and he’s only productive when he’s—

Falling in love for the first time and being in a four-year relationship that taught me everything about myself, the world and how to love. – LAUV about the album this song originates from

Well, nevermind. Then why is it so stodgy? Is it because this love doesn’t exist, because if anything from the interview, it seems it does. The main drop melody is actually a vocal sample manipulated which I think represents the sheer emotion he’s feeling when he’s in love, how he can’t even find the words to describe this relationship that’s almost trapped himself into a cycle of fake finger-snaps and falsettos. Is its cutesy disguise and ugly drop supposed to be his facade disappearing and him finally realising love doesn’t mean anything and he’s been manipulating himself this whole time? Honestly, I don’t know, and I’m not going to over-think it anymore. This is a dude that’s just genuinely in love, or at least was, and is longing for her to stay with them, because LAUV thinks that when he’s around his true love, his soulmate, or at least who he thinks is his soulmate at the time, he’s a better person because of them, and he also said in that interview that the album is about him finding the ability to trust himself, so I think this is his first step, finding someone he can confide into. I like that, and I think this song’s head-in-the-clouds nature and atmosphere expresses that perfectly because he’s found himself in something he can’t safely get himself out of, but he doesn’t mind. It’s cool with him.

I like me better when I’m with you

It’s a pretty nice acoustic tune with some nice, dramatic synth work and a confusing yet perfect drop, and despite me having no clue what to think about it, really, I definitely know that I love how it sounds and I’m excited to hear more of LAUV in the future...

...Man, what did I just do? I put freaking LAUV on my best list, how humiliating is that? How am I ever going to be taken seriously when I put LAUV on my list of the best songs of 2018? Hopefully I can redeem myself with my choice for #2, Rae Sremm—What?

#2 – “Powerglide” – Rae Sremmurd (Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi) featuring Juicy J

Produced by Mally Mall, Jean-Marie Hovart and Mike WiLL Made-It – from the album SR3MM (specifically disc 1, which is also titled SR3MM) – Year-End: #97 – Peak: #28

Yeah, the credits for this one are really THAT convoluted. Anyway, this one barely made the Year-End list and barely counted for this list, but even if it didn’t, this would be on the list, maybe lower for the sake of sticking to the rules though. Anyway, this is a Memphis rap song that just straight-up takes the beat from an old Three 6 Mafia song, bass-boosts it and has Rae Sremmurd rap on it about cars and strippers. So, what’s so special about it? Everything. It immediately puts you in that pump-up mood with Swae’s fun “yeah” ad-libs over intense strings and then the producer tags lead into the bass that knocks way too hard. The hook is way catchier than it has any right to be, and it’s just a simple flow but it’s so fun and swift, especially over this classic beat, with Swae dripping charisma from both his standard high-pitched singing vocals and his autotuned falsetto mumbling. In fact, the song as a whole is so positive. The lyrics may seem just like the standard rap fare because, really, they are, but they’re all so happy, upbeat and delightful, because this song is about respecting strippers for their work... in a car which is apparently just as good as an original generation Transformer. Cool, I guess?

R.I.P. Lil Peep, I gotta slow down on them Xans (HEY!)

Yeah, rest in peace to Lil Peep, and this line from Juicy J should be a message to rappers who are more careless about their hard drug use, it will mess you up and can kill you if you get an untrustworthy dose of fentanyl, be careful, guys. Wait, wasn’t this song about cars? Anyway, back to the song being positive, here’s a quote from Swae Lee that describes how cheery this song actually is, regarding the lyric, “she finer than a motherlover”.

I had to say it in the softest way. I want to say she’s beautiful, basically. She finer than a motherf***er—that’s kind of harsh. – Swae Lee on Genius’ Verified

That’s so pure. Just listen to the hook, which is already catchy and fun, and you can see how passive yet joyful this song is.

Kush all in my lap because these hoes don’t want to roll it

He’s not going to force them to smoke if they do not want to, he’s just going to put it in his lap. How nice of you. This whole song is about doing the usual rapper schtick, getting strippers to dance for you and smoke with you in a fast luxury car whilst wearing designer clothing, but they’re so respectful about it. Slim Jxmmi brings so much charisma to the track in his verse, and even shouts out the strippers directly, and says that sex workers and strippers shouldn’t be degraded just because of their line of work.

Might just leave with me tonight, but that don’t mean she a freak hoe / F*** with dancers and models, shout out them girls who get dollars

Jxmmi even specifies that if she wants, she can dance with her friends.

Shake that a** with your bestie

How nice of you, how respectful. Honestly I’m talking about the lyrics because there’s not much to say about the performers or the beat, it doesn’t change for the most part and each performer brings a unique delivery that keeps the turnt up vibe of the song. It’s an absolute banger and one of the best of 2018.

Much cooler than the cool kids, whoa

That’s cute, Swae. That’s cute. The song ends with Swae just chanting “hey” over and over and that’s a perfect way of finishing this banger, albeit abruptly. Uh, what else do I have to say about this? Uh, Slim Jxmmi is the best out of Rae Sremmurd and while I expected Swae Lee to have the bigger solo career, I am disappointed that it wasn’t Jxmmi, because he is such a legitimately fun and hype personality that I wish got more recognition. There’s a MuchDank video that replaces words in this song with “peanut butter” and it’s hilarious. Juicy J’s a legend. R.I.P. Lil Peep. Now it’s time for the big one.

After struggles with the label pulling him down and not letting him release music, and Birdman’s constant abuse and mismanagement, Lil Wayne managed to free himself in a court case and have a resurgence in the mainstream, mostly due to the release of his best album yet, Tha Carter V. Now I’ve already talked about “Uproar”, but now for the truly genius storytelling track on the record, and probably my favourite song that either artist has ever made, lasting longer than five minutes, that somehow nearly debuted at #1 on Billboard. Screw you, Maroon 5.

#1 – “Mona Lisa” – Lil Wayne featuring Kendrick Lamar

Produced by Infamous – from the album Tha Carter V – Year-End: N/A – Peak: #2

How in the mother of God does this song not have a Wikipedia page? This track is cinematic and presents itself beautifully, especially its story, which is about Wayne observing a deceptive woman who Wayne hires in order to rob a dude after the woman succeeds in seducing him for weeks and gaining his trust, before being betrayed. Kendrick then shifts the perspective to the “boyfriend” and talks about his feelings as he’s being deceived. That is the story in a nutshell, but the track makes it feel like a blockbuster movie.

We start with a light piano melody with Kendrick riffing a little refrain briefly before that lighter flick, which feels more tense than ever, as he sums up Wayne’s role as the mafia boss who essentially just sends women to hunt these men so Wayne can have the loot while not caring about himself or the dude they’re robbing. It’s awful and dreadful, and that’s why Kendrick’s verse is so good, because it gives a bigger picture to both perspectives and doesn’t just become a pointless, one-sided track from Wayne’s autotuned, braggadocios side of the story.

I see n****s in this b****, stuntin’, poppin’ bottles / Gettin’ drunk with these b****es, and when they leave they get followed / Fall asleep with that b**** and really don’t know much about her / Then she let us in, we take all of your s*** and when you wake up, she help you try to find it / I love it

Yeah, essentially, thanks, Wayne, for making my commentary and synopsis entirely unnecessary by explaining the whole thing in the first few bars. Wayne does later go into grim detail about the situation, with some really clever lines here and there.

Watch your mouth, Milli Vanilli (Ooh)

That b**** ain’t no angel, I treat her halo like a Frisbee

Lil Wayne’s intense second verse develops the story by detailing his experience with the girl named Liz who is one of the women he hired, as he hides in the bushes outside, turns music on to distract him and follows her into the house, then turning the music down and putting a gun to his frown, as he says in the song, just to get the pure satisfaction of seeing his terrified face as he is being robbed and killed by Wayne and his gang, as he finds out that Liz has been deceiving him. It’s fantastically evil, with the spacey beat only furthering this atmosphere. I love the comparison to Mona Lisa’s ambiguous smile as well. The song seems like it would end at about three and a half minutes in, but then...

Kendrick Lamar comes in with an ad-lib, he’s that good, and impresses over an orchestral instrumentation, beeping noises, distorted multi-tracked vocals of his own lyrics and police sirens... what? He then shifts his perspective to Liz’s “boyfriend” after he’s being robbed, panicking and sniffing around Liz, completely flabbergasted by this fake story that he’s been believing for weeks, maybe months, years, on end, and it all wasn’t worth it – and it’s all executed excellently, sometimes it’s really funny too, especially in that blip where Lil Wayne’s hit “Lollipop” comes up on Liz’s ringtone, it’s great. Both brought their A-game here, and when it comes to the end of Kendrick’s verse, well...

You scandalous as f*** and I hope you blow up / You know what? I give up, let me go get my gun / I got one in the chamber, I’m plannin’ on aimin’, Goddamn it, you know that the damage is done / B****, I’m in emotional ‘cause I’m in stress / I’m not supposed to go through this, I guess / So in conclusion, since you like rappers that’s killin’ that p****, I’m killing myself

Well? Do you expect me to say anything about that? It’s pretty self-explanatory, and with Kendrick Lamar’s rapid flow, it sounds insane. This song is one of the most perplexing hits of the year, but it’s one that actually requires you to think. It tells a story. Sure, it’s dreary like the worst of the year instead of joyful like its runner-up but it’s genius songwriting, all in a pop context, for five straight minutes, all elegantly orchestrated in a cinematic tone that makes it feel worth of a film adaptation. That’s what I like in pop music, when everyone has everything sorted out and it’s perfect, or imperfect, because every single little trait about the song has been ironed out and perfected to extend the song’s quality, personality, length, story and overall massive feeling. This is the peak of 2018 pop music, and I think that’s pretty safe to say, nobody expected this from Wayne in 2018, and with the amount of trouble Wayne had to go through to even get this released, with Birdman pulling its release for years to Martin Shkreli leaking a snippet and potentially meaning it never got out to the public ever, this feels triumphant, and an essential piece of music when examining the late 2010s, a time when the American public was that insanely depressed and downbeat that they let a song about hiring women to trick men into being robbed, leading to the man killing himself because he’s been living a lie, that lasts five minutes and doesn’t even have a hook, fight with a plastic, inoffensive Maroon 5 song for the #1 spot on the most prestigious music chart worldwide, and nearly bloody make it as well. And to think I nearly gave this to freaking Rae Sremmurd. Thank you, Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar and Infamous, thank you for “Mona Lisa”, the best hit song of 2018, by far – and thank you for reading, see you next time.

She say, “Ooh”, no emotion, Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa / Now he gets the picture, Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, yeah...

deadcactuswalking

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nightcoremoon · 4 years ago

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I know that comparing tv shows and stuff to current events is tasteless and bad regardless of how well-intentioned it might mean to be

and I'm not gonna do that.

but I just think it's funny that works of fiction; books, movies, video games, comics, music- a significant majority of art that has been made in the past getting close to hundred years has been very adamantly pro rebellion and against oppressive power structures.

like, let's just look at the most popular shit.

books: 1984, to kill a mockingbird, the great gatsby, the lord of the rings, huckleberry finn, alice in wonderland, charlotte's web, a tale of two cities, the grapes of wrath, anna karenina, war and peace, price and prejudice, great expectations, gone with the wind...

hmm let's see: fascism, racism, post-war, evil that threatens all free men, racism, growing up in a scary world, giving your life for a worthy cause, political revolution, the struggles of the impoverished, democracy versus facism, war, misogyny, the importance of morality over financial achievement, and the fucking civil war. I'm not even MENTIONING the oversaturation of the YA market with maximum ride and percy jackson and artemis fowl and harry potter and divergent and the hunger games and that's just off the top of my head. classic popular books have been written with themes of opposing the evils of oppression/tyranny almost exclusively.

movies: casablanca, godfather, a new hope, ET, raiders of the lost ark, jurassic park, forrest gump, shawshank redemption, the sound of music, schindler's list, the lion king, gladiator, alien, the matrix, chinatown, 12 angry men, blade runner, mad max fury road, 12 years a slave, parasite, moonlight, and of course all of the film adaptations of the aforementioned movies.

literally every single one of these has criticized corrupt governments or other related systems. looking over this there's a whole lot of movies with nazi antagonists (or space nazis, looking at star wars), almost universally loved by large audiences. film as medium is usually comedy or romance or horror, but the very best of the best are about how evil humans with power are bad.

video games: skyrim, red dead redemption, ocarina, half life 2, bioshock, grand theft auto, metal gear, uncharted, resident evil, mass effect, the witcher, warcraft, god of war, dark souls, xenoblade, halo, perfect dark, metroid, baldur's gate 2, the last of us, splinter cell, diablo, and a little thing called final fantasy 7

literally every single highly rated well loved story based video game has heavily involved corrupt governments and corporations being evil. well also sometimes zombies and dragons and massively omnicidal aliens and demons... but final fantasy 7, which is most gamers 100% greatest most favorite game ever created, is LITERALLY ABOUT A RACIST CORPORATE FUNDED GOVERNMENT DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT FOR MONEY AND KILLING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE JUST TO MAKE A QUICK BUCK. and some other stuff here and there but the main story is that shinra is committing genocide to steal access to heaven (also sephiroth wants to destroy the world but I mean it's a JRPG come on) and you are trying to stop them by blowing up their shit. gee where have I seen that before?

oh and don't even fucking get me STARTED on punk, rap, thrash, soul, classic country, blues, and other music genres expressly built from the ground up as rejections to common society and the subsequent problems involved. I'm not including post-9/11 country, pop, swing, most white boy metal, modern sad boy r&b, or other genres of, well, major privilege whether white or financial. but music, real music, true music made with passion and not a product made for $elling out, is, always has been, and forever will be, deeply rooted in seeing past what society wants you to see and hear and think and act like. and black people, black ARTISTS are pretty much at the root of all of those things. we wouldn't have anything I mentioned if not for bb king, muddy waters, blind jefferson, buddy guy, john lee hooker, and bessie smith.

we as americans have been conditioned since world war 1 ended (and even before that) and especially since the cold war was coming to a close, to recognize, acknowledge, and destroy fascism, racism, misogyny, the environmental parasites, corrupt governments, overbearing corporations, and evil in general. but only the ones who appreciate art.

if you don't read books, don't watch movies, don't play video games, don't listen to music, don't attach value to art in general... you're an idiot. you're a waste of space. you're just sitting in your cushy homes eating kale and watching livePD and talking out your ass about how you want revolution to come peacefully and only in a way you seem convenient. you're spending all of your time contributing to the corrupt system.

which is a real goddamn shame because if you benefit from that kind of privilege, so you don't have to work two or even three jobs just to give your kids breakfast you should have time to kill in enjoying art. but no. you spend all your time and money making sure that nobody else can have what you have. you waste your life so that nobody else can have one of their own. it's just disgusting.

so yeah, if you're not explicitly with the protestors, not only are you the dumbest fucking moron on the planet, but you're also against them. so at least step to the side and shut the fuck up.

cop bootlickers dni

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blackkudos · 5 years ago

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Craig David

Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ and record producer who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single "Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, Born to Do It, was released in 2000, after which he has released a further five studio albums and worked with a variety of artists such as Sting, Tinchy Stryder, Big Narstie, Kano and Jay Sean. David has 20 UK Top 40 singles, and seven UK Top 40 albums, selling over 15,000,000 records worldwide as a solo artist.

David has been nominated for fourteen Brit Awards: five times for Best British Male, and twice receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Early life

David was born in Southampton, Hampshire, the son of Tina (née Loftus), a retail assistant at Superdrug, and George David, a carpenter, and grew up in the Holyrood estate. David's father is Afro-Grenadian and David's mother is Anglo-Jewish and related to the founders of the Accurist watch-making company; David's maternal grandfather was an Orthodox Jew and his maternal grandmother a convert to Judaism. David's parents separated when he was eight and he was brought up by his mother. He attended Bellemoor School and Southampton City College.

David was bullied by other students at school. He wrote and released the song "Johnny" in 2005 about his sad memories of being bullied.

David's father played bass in a reggae band called Ebony Rockers. As a teen, David began accompanying his father to local dance clubs, where DJs let him take the microphone.

Career

Early career

David's earliest exposure came when he worked on a B-side to British group Damage's cover of "Wonderful Tonight", on the track "I'm Ready". He then started doing vocals for the English garage duo Artful Dodger, on tracks such as "Something" and "What Ya Gonna Do".

Wildstar Records first became aware of David when the artist's then manager Paul Widger met the label's co-owner Colin Lester and played some of his music. Lester later told HitQuarters that he was particularly impressed by the first song he heard, "Walking Away", saying "That was an absolute stand out ... It struck me that any seventeen year-old that could write a song like this had huge potential." The Wildstar boss was further won over when, on later visiting the artist's home in Southampton, he found David's tiny bedroom stacked from floor to ceiling with 12" vinyl records, commenting: "That convinced me he was the real deal and not just some kid acting out the part." At that point Lester offered him a development deal with his label. When Lester later heard the song "7 Days", he said he immediately heard a number-one record and promoted the contract to an album deal the same day.

2000–03:

Born to Do It

and

Slicker Than Your Average

The song "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)", from the Artful Dodger album It's All About the Stragglers, hit number two on the UK charts in 1999; thus, paving the way for a solo career. David's first single, "Fill Me In", released on Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildstar Records, topped the UK chart and was the first of a string of four top 10 singles from his debut album Born to Do It, which eventually sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, earning multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries. The song "Key to My Heart", taken from the US version of the album, was also featured on the award-winning Warner Bros. animated film Osmosis Jones.

The success of David's debut, which was written almost entirely by David and Mark Hill of Artful Dodger, led to the United States release of "Fill Me In" in May 2001. It reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Born to Do It was released in the United States on 17 July 2001, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold over 1 million copies. The single "7 Days" hit the top 10 in the U.S.; although "Walking Away", which had reached number 3 in the UK and number 5 in Australia, missed the top 40 in the U.S. and was the last of his singles to chart there.

In April 2009, MTV viewers voted Born to Do It as number 2 on their "Greatest Album of All-Time" poll, behind Michael Jackson's Thriller.

The follow-up album, Slicker Than Your Average, was released in 2002. The album's first four singles continued David's streak of top 10 hits in the UK, bringing a total of nine consecutive top 10 hits until "World Filled with Love" peaked at number 15 in 2003. None of the six singles released from the album charted in the U.S.. Although "What's Your Flava?" and "Rise & Fall" (duet with Sting) received airplay on the urban contemporary and soft adult contemporary formats, they did not make the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart or the Adult Contemporary chart. However, "What's Your Flava?" made the Rhythmic Top 40 chart (number 32), Mainstream Top 40 chart (number 24) and the Top 40 Tracks chart (number 37). According to the RIAA, Slicker Than Your Average was certified Gold in the U.S..

David also commented that the album title could be looked at in two different ways: "On the one hand, it's coming across like I'm arrogant. On the other hand, it's saying I have a lot more composure on the album.""

The album was leaked onto the internet prior to its official release but David was not too bothered as he feels it "spreads the word".

2005–08: The Story Goes... and Trust Me

David later signed on with Warner Music and put together his third album, The Story Goes..., which was released worldwide in August 2005 (excluding the U.S. where it was never released). The first single, "All the Way", returned him to the top 3. The second single, "Don't Love You No More (I'm Sorry)", tied with "7 Days" as his longest-running single in the charts since "Re-Rewind", spending 15 weeks inside the UK top 75. The album's third single, "Unbelievable", debuted at number 18 in March 2006.

In 2007, David collaborated with British rapper Kano on his album London Town, for the single "This Is the Girl". The track was released on 27 August 2007 and debuted at number 18 on the UK charts.

The first single from his album Trust Me, "Hot Stuff (Let's Dance)", was released on 5 November 2007. David successfully sought permission from David Bowie to sample his 1983 number-one single "Let's Dance". The single was a top ten hit, whilst the album charted at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart. "6 of 1 Thing", the second single to be taken from Trust Me, charted at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his third-lowest-charting single to date.

"Officially Yours" was released on 23 June 2008 and peaked at number 158 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his lowest-charting single to date and was the final single from Trust Me. In July, a new track titled "Are You Up for This" started receiving airplay on various radio stations as part of a promo with Ice Cream Records, which also featured a remix with Wittyboy called "Nutter Butter". On 17 August 2008, David performed at a birthday tribute concert for songwriter Don Black at the London Palladium. He performed the song "Ben", originally a hit for Michael Jackson.

David took part in Soccer Aid 2008 at Wembley Stadium on 7 September 2008. He picked up the "Man of The Match" award on the night and played in the same England side as ex-internationals such as Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham and David Seaman, and played against the likes of Romário, Paolo Di Canio, Jaap Stam, and Luís Figo. David received two 2008 UK Urban Music Award nominations for Best Album with Trust Me and Best R&B Act. On 7 November 2008, David was recognised for his contribution to the music industry by receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Music, from Southampton Solent University at a graduation ceremony held at Southampton Guildhall.

2008–09: Greatest Hits

David released his first Greatest Hits album on 24 November 2008. In support of the release, David released two singles to promote the album. "Where's Your Love" featuring Tinchy Stryder and Rita Ora, a homage to his UK garage days, was digitally released on 10 November 2008. The second single, "Insomnia", produced by Jim Beanz from Timbaland productions, a dance track with hard bassline beats, was released the following week on 17 November 2008. Toby Gad and Eimear Crombie provided back-up vocals and instrumental stylings. David also started working with guitarist and recording engineer Kwame Yeboah, both live and in the studio.

On 29 December 2008, a new mix of "Insomnia", titled "Up All Night Mix", was made available for digital download. As part of the Greatest Hits compilation, David re-recorded "Walking Away" with four different artists across Europe, Monrose from Germany, Nek from Italy, Lynnsha from France and Álex Ubago from Spain. The album debuted at number 48 on the UK Albums Chart. From February to April 2009, David toured Russia, the Far East and performed one show in Los Angeles as part of a Greatest Hits tour. He met fans at a meet and greet session at Singapore Changi Airport before his show.

In April 2009, Born to Do It came second in a poll by MTV UK for the Greatest Album Ever, which received over 40,000 votes, beaten by Michael Jackson's album Thriller. On 14 May 2009, David participated in the Hillsborough Memorial football match at Anfield. On 26 July 2009, David participated in the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match at St James' Park, playing alongside boyhood hero Alan Shearer.

2009–10: New label and Signed Sealed Delivered

On 18 September 2009, fans got the first taste of the new album with an exclusive demo posted on his official website, a thirty-second snippet covering Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours". On 2 October 2009, David revealed to his fans via Twitter and his website that he had signed a new record deal with Universal Motown. The UK edition of Jay Sean's new album All or Nothing which was released on 30 November 2009, features David on a track entitled "Stuck in the Middle". David performed a bold new cover of "I Wan'na Be like You" from Walt Disney's 1967 film The Jungle Book on the ITV programme Ultimate Movie Toons, broadcast 28 March 2010.The first single from David's fifth studio album Signed Sealed Delivered was "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)" and it was released in the UK on 22 March 2010 where it made number 76 with the album following one week later on 29 March 2010, which entered the UK chart at number 13.

On 17 March 2010, David released a UK garage compilation album titled Rewind Old Skool Classics mixed with DJ Spoony featuring some of their favourite UK garage hits from the last ten years.

Two weeks later on 31 May 2010, the second single to be taken from Signed Sealed Delivered, titled "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)" was released. The chorus of the single samples The Stylistics' hit "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)" but features completely new verses. In the weeks leading up to the release BBC Radio Two backed the single by naming it their 'Record of the Week' and adding it to their 'A-List'. On 20 May 2010, David appeared as a co-host on The Morning Show in Australia alongside Kylie Gillies, whilst regular male presenter Larry Emdur was on holiday. On 27 August 2010, Swiss DJ Remady released an album titled No Superstar on which David features on the track "Do It on My Own". David was nominated for 'Best Video' at the 2010 Urban Music Awards for the song "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)". The 2010 Sunday Times Rich List indicated that Craig David is worth £8 million.

2011–13: Collaborations, new material and TS5 launch

David revealed on Twitter that he has worked with record producer Jim Beanz on material for his new album. He also tweeted about working with August Rigo and more recently Fraser T Smith. Whilst doing a show in Russia, David confirmed he had left Universal Music Group and hopes to release his new album in America as well as the UK. In February 2011, David agreed to do a desert trek for Comic Relief as part of Red Nose Day 2011. A host of celebrities including Dermot O'Leary, Olly Murs and Lorraine Kelly treked 100 kilometres across a Kenyan desert to raise money for preventable blindness across Africa.

In May 2011, David made a guest appearance on NRJ12's French reality TV show Les Anges 2 where he offered advice to contestants trying to make a life in Miami. Released on 1 August 2011, David features on Erick Morillo's new mix CD Subliminal Invasion on a track titled "Fly Away". David performed at the Michael Jackson tribute concert, held in Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium on 8 October 2011.

Further to their earlier collaboration, David and Erick Morillo also canvassed a promotional track to DJs and radio stations titled "Get Drunk Up" and also featured it on YouTube. Morillo revealed David would appear on a project with Harry Romero and José Nunez, featuring a remix of the track. In December, he featured on the Blackout Mode dance track "Freak on the Dancefloor" that appeared on the compilation album R&B Collection 2012.

In 2012, David featured on a number of tracks whilst recording his own album, including releases with Stereo Palma titled "Our Love" and a collaboration with Mohombi and DJ Asaad titled "Addicted".

In July 2012, it was revealed David was writing with Backstreet Boys on their 20th-anniversary album, the follow-up to their 2009 album "This Is Us" and the first they released since the return of Kevin Richardson who departed from the band in 2005.

In January 2013, David announced on Twitter that he had signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). The deal saw David's publishing company, formally known as Bootyman Music Publishing merge to become JEM Music.

Starting in March 2013, David embarked on a world tour starting with three shows across Australia, followed by four in Europe (France, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands) and finally finishing in May with four shows in England (Birmingham, Manchester, Southampton and London). In September 2013, Capital FM announced that David's DJ show 'TS5' would moveto Capital Xtra every Friday evening from 10:00 pm.

2014–17: Following My Intuition and return to fame

On 2 July 2014, David previewed a teaser track titled "Cold" on his official SoundCloud page. Premiering it on his TS5 radio show the week before, he wanted to preview some of the new music he has been working on in anticipation of his long-awaited sixth studio album. A further teaser track titled "Seduction" was uploaded to the same SoundCloud page in September 2014.

On 5 September 2015, David featured on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge with Sigala where they covered Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's "See You Again" mixed with the Little Mix track "Black Magic". The following week, on 10 September 2015, David appeared on Kurupt FM's 'Sixty Minute Takeover' on BBC Radio 1Xtra with MistaJam. He performed "Fill Me In" over the track "Where Are Ü Now" and it became a viral internet hit. Two snippets of potential new album tracks were also played on the night and this 1Xtra appearance led to David making surprise performances of the "Fill Me In" / "Where Are Ü Now" remix at Fabric with Kurupt FM and Alexandra Palace with Major Lazer and Diplo.

It was later revealed that the Radio 1Xtra appearance led to a collaboration between David and Big Narstie who also featured on the show and the track they recorded titled "When the Bassline Drops" was played on MistaJam's BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra show on 7 November 2015, it was later revealed the track is to be released under SpeakerBox/JEM on 27 November 2015. David made a surprise appearance on The X Factor on 13 December 2015, where he performed his breakthrough single "Re-Rewind" during a medley with Reggie 'n' Bollie and Fuse ODG. "When the Bassline Drops" debuted at number 50 in the UK and peaked at number 10 on 5 February 2016, becoming David's highest-charting single since 2007.

On 25 January 2016, it was announced that Craig David had signed a recording contract with Insanity Records (a joint venture between Sony Music UK and Insanity Management) and independent company Speakerbox Media.

On 19 March 2016, at the second day of the Ultra Music Festival 2016, during the set of the Dutch DJ and record producer Hardwell, he appeared for present their new track "No Holding Back", which was released on 19 August 2016.

In 2016, David appeared on Kaytranada's album 99.9%, on the track "Got It Good", which he also co-wrote. This song also appeared on his sixth studio album. On 19 August 2016, Craig announced on social networks that his sixth studio album, Following My Intuition, would finally be released on 30 September 2016. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, giving David his first number-one album since his debut, Born to Do It, reached the top spot in 2000.

2017–present: The Time Is Now

On 15 September 2017, David announced the release of the seventh studio album, The Time Is Now, which was released in January 2018, along with the single "Heartline".

On 23 November, David released his second single from The Time Is Now, "I Know You" featuring Bastille. David and Dan Smith from Bastille performed the song live a day later on Sounds Like Friday Night. The single peaked at number 5 in 2018, making it David's highest charting single since "Don't Love You No More (I'm Sorry)" in 2005.

The Time Is Now debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, kept off the top spot by The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

On 31 May 2019, David released a new single "When You Know What Love Is" from his upcoming eighth album. In July, David made a cameo appearance in Love Island, performing the single as a DJ at a Ministry of Sound pool party.

His next UK garage single "Do You Miss Me Much" was released on 23 August 2019.

On 31 December 2019 and 1 January 2020, David performed on BBC One's New Year Live concert at Westminster Central Hall with his full band and TS5 DJ Set.

Personal life and activism

David is Jewish.

David is also an avid supporter of Southampton FC, his hometown football team.

On 24 March 2010 (World Tuberculosis Day), the World Health Organization appointed Craig David as a Goodwill Ambassador against tuberculosis. His first activity in this role was to travel to South Africa to learn more about tuberculosis, where he met people suffering from the disease or having recovered from it, and scientists who have dedicated their lives to fighting tuberculosis. David stated that his mission is to help overcome the social stigma of TB in order to beat the disease.

Caricaturisation on Bo' Selecta!

David was frequently caricatured by comedian Leigh Francis on the British TV comedy show Bo' Selecta!; the show's title itself being a reference to his song "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)". Although many other celebrities lampooned in the series appreciated the jokes and even appeared in the series themselves, David—the series' most prominently mocked target—did not enjoy the attention, remarking that the public were no longer taking him seriously. Speaking to The Sunday Times in 2007, David confessed that "The whole Bo' Selecta! thing was killing me for a while because this idiot had a cult following and I was the main caricature. ... Inside it was absolutely pissing me off and hurtful beyond belief. There were times when I thought I just want to knock this guy out".

Although he made an appearance himself on the programme (as the pseudo-fictional tribute act "Craig Davis"), he regretted it. However, he has also denied that his career had been ruined as a result of the show, and has said that he was satisfied with his musical output over the years.

In a 2015 interview with the Daily Mirror, David stated that he had no hard feelings towards Francis, explaining how he had seen him at a wedding and given him a hug, assuring him they were "cool". He further explained in the interview that it was his PR team who suggested that he "play hurt" by the caricature. He reiterated this stance on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2016 and explained that, contrary to popular belief, he had not fled the UK to escape negative attention brought about from the show.

Discography

Born to Do It (2000)

Slicker Than Your Average (2002)

The Story Goes... (2005)

Trust Me (2007)

Signed Sealed Delivered (2010)

Following My Intuition (2016)

The Time Is Now (2018)

#05/05

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angelinatoms · 5 years ago

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Buying one of Scout’s top-of-the-line boats gets you VIP treatment and a peek into the boating industry’s top-shelf customer service. (Richard Steinberger/)

“Welcome to the Belmond Charleston Place,” said the young valet cheerily as he opened my passenger door. “Are y’all staying with us tonight?”

We stepped into an unseasonably warm January day. The tang of sea air was unmistakable; it was almost a shame to go inside, leaving the bustle of downtown Charleston behind.

Almost.

The hotel lobby shone, from its sweeping grand staircase to the golden, glittering lights. Jazz music and a low murmur of conversation flowed from the direction of the Thoroughbred Room, and shiny brand names beckoned from what was clearly a high-end shopping area.

The Belmond Charleston Place proved to be a wonderful starting part for the journey into Scout’s VIP treatment. (Richard Steinberger/)

We approached the registration counter.

“I’m Heather Steinberger,” I began, “and we have a reservation…”

“Oh yes, Mr. and Mrs. Steinberger, with Scout Boats,” the young man responded with a warm smile. “We’ve been expecting you. Your room is ready, and please enjoy our complimentary gourmet hors d’oeuvres and cocktails on the Club Level this evening.”

We collected our luggage and turned toward the elevators.

“Oh, Mrs. Steinberger,” he called out. “Congratulations on your new boat!”

Take the VIP Tour

In the interest of full disclosure, we did not buy a boat. Rather, we were on assignment: Travel to coastal South Carolina and slip into the shoes of new Scout 380 LXF owners. We wanted to find out how this particular boatbuilder has taken its customer experience to the next level, one that has more in common with luxury automobiles and even luxury homes than with fishing boats.

We quickly realized this wasn’t going to be any old customer-service experience. It began as soon as we pulled into the parking lot at Scout’s boatbuilding facility in Summerville, 25 miles northwest of Charleston. We found our own designated parking space adjacent to the front doors, and when we entered the lobby, a sign welcomed us by name.

High-density foam-core composites and heavy-duty methacrylate bonding material make for added strength and durability. (Richard Steinberger/)

I’d barely had an opportunity to admire the branded merchandise available for purchase—including the fancy Yeti mugs I coveted—before Alan Lang, director of sales and marketing, introduced himself with a broad grin and ushered us onto the production floor.

This isn’t unusual for Lang. It’s part of his job, and he handles it with genuine enthusiasm. If you purchase a Scout and wish to make the trip to Summerville to see your boat, Lang will take care of all the arrangements: airport transfers, a factory tour, quality time in the new design studio, hotel accommodations, even dinner reservations at a Charleston hotspot. He’ll also get you out on the water.

“Some customers will visit five or six times, from around the country and overseas,” he said. “They’re all excited to visit. Not only is it a beautiful destination, the Lowcountry is home to their boat and the people who built it.”

Lang says Scout’s customers are split 50-50 between those who use the boats as their primary vessels and those who are adding to an existing fleet. In the latter case, many Scouts will serve as yacht tenders. That includes the 38- to 53-footers coming to life in Building D.

“The 53 is a roughly $2.5 million boat, but the final price tag depends on the customer,” Lang explained. “We had a Middle Eastern royal family who threw six 450 hp Mercs on it and customized everything they could.”

Read Next: An exclusive interview with Scout Boats President, Steve Potts, describing the 53 LXF, Scout’s largest boat to date!

Other recent Scout 53s went to a Vegas casino owner and a Latin pop star. Naturally, we were curious, but Lang wasn’t about to kiss and tell.

“You probably could guess who they are,” he said with a wink. I made a mental note to confer with the internet later.

Watching the Build

When we went to the production floor, it was humming with activity. Immediately, I noticed a crew hand-laying fiberglass.

Scout Boats uses 6-to-12 member crews to hand-lay fiberglass on an exact laminate schedule. (Richard Steinberger/)

“We produce the only 100 percent hand-laid fishing boat on the market,” Lang explained. “Instead of one person with a chopper gun, we’ll have six to 12 people hand-laying fiberglass in a multidirectional pattern to an exact laminate schedule. That means tolerances are tightly controlled by our engineers. We can eliminate 60 percent of extra resin for a strong hull, with no extra weight.”

As we continued our walk, Lang called attention to the high-density foam-core composites, which won’t ingest water and start rotting, and the heavy-duty methacrylate bonding material for two-engine boats 25 feet and up.

“Putty would work just fine,” Lang observed. “This is total overkill.”

In addition, each boat’s deck fits neatly inside the hull; the lip is on top rather than underneath, and a rub rail covers the seam. I hadn’t given this much thought, but the hydrodynamics make perfect sense. It’s kind of a reverse-shoebox design. When the boat is underway, the water pushes the sides of the hull inward, and the deck provides support.

On our way to see the testing, inspection and detailing areas, we caught a glimpse of Building C, home to research and development. This is the daily workspace for Steve Potts, Scout Boats’ founder and president, and his son Stevie, vice president of research and development.

When I observed that it’s increasingly rare for boat companies to remain in the hands of family founders, Lang nodded.

“Steve started the company in his garage,” he said. “He’s been a boatbuilder since his teens, and he says he still thinks of himself that way. Stevie has been involved since his childhood.

“The two of them have done every single job here, and they still work hard—as hard or maybe harder than everyone else,” he continued. “The employees respect them, and they all take pride in seeing the boats on the water and the clothing around town. ‘Family owned’ means something.”

The wiring is installed in meticulous fashion. (Richard Steinberger/)

We were eager to see Building D, an 85-percent-efficient structure with motion-sensor lighting and 1,342 rooftop solar panels. This is the birthplace of the largest models in the Scout fleet, including our 380 LXF.

“In the 380, we use a hull epoxy infused with carbon fiber and e-glass,” Lang said. “It’s the entire hull, not just the keel, so you really get the strength and weight benefits. We’re the only production boatbuilder to use hand-laid, epoxy-infused carbon fiber. It’s aerospace-caliber.”

We spotted 380s in various stages of completion. Lang walked up to one and pulled down a thick document.

“This is the boat’s birth certificate,” he said. “Each boat has one. It documents who did what, and when. It’s usually 10 to 12 pages. It tells you everything about the boat’s life since day one.”

Design Dynamics

Walking through an unassuming glass door on a second-story landing, we immediately found ourselves in another world. We’d entered the design studio.

The design studio offers a chance to get hands-on with the plethora of options available at Scout Boats. (Richard Steinberger/)

“This is where our owners get a reprieve, where they can take a breath after touring the factory,” said Josh Slayton, a Scout Boats concierge captain who joined us in the studio. “We want to bring them back to the luxury side of this experience.”

With a smile, Lang handed us a bag. My husband pulled out his-and-hers Scout Boats caps, a Williams Edisto oyster knife, and a bottle of the Animo Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon from California’s Rob Mondavi Jr., a Scout boat owner himself.

New owners receive a bottle of the Animo Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon from California’s Rob Mondavi Jr., a Scout boat owner himself. (Richard Steinberger/)

There was something else: a Scout Boats Yeti mug.

Looking up, I spotted a large projection screen welcoming us to this elegant design space.

“We built the design studio just for people like you,” Lang said. “We looked at high-end car dealerships, and we wanted to give people something special.”

As I walked around the room, I ran my hands along the many available steering wheels, exterior vinyls and captain’s chairs, including custom teak seats. I studied the electronics displays and color books, and I examined the room’s centerpiece island, featuring every possible appliance you might want.

Buyers can customize a number of things, including electronics, on their new boat. (Richard Steinberger/)

“This is a touch-and-feel room, not a sales room,” Slayton observed. “The purchasing decision is made by the time people get here, so this is about getting involved in the process, and making the boat your own.”

It’s also about seeing how cold that built-in wine cooler will keep your Champagne.

Instead of toasting our new purchase at the design studio’s well-appointed little bar, we opted to join Lang and Slayton aboard a 380 LXF for a quick boat ride down the Wando River to Charleston. This was our opportunity to see the high-end fit and finish on a 38-foot fishing boat that retails for more than $900,000.

Some of my favorite features on the 380 LXF included a side beach platform with hull cutout, a walkable transom with no splashwells, the standard Seakeeper 3 gyrostabilizer, and a rear aft-facing lounge seat that converted to a nifty summer kitchen. The patented retractable rocket launchers, designed to protect both the rods and the SureShade, were a nice touch��as were the four color-matched Mercury 350 Verado V-8 outboards, and the transparent livewell lids.

“We want people to be able to showcase what the hull is made of,” Lang said. I got a kick out of the automotive-style key fob that could start the boat remotely, and the large Garmin touchscreen helm displays that provided all necessary functionality. When I asked about backups, Slayton pointed upward.

“The boat is set up like a Tesla,” he explained. “We have redundancies, but we keep the switches out of your line of sight.”

I took a peek down below. The 380 has a large cabin, with a convertible queen berth, well-appointed galley, enclosed head with shower, and plenty of headroom.

“This is a gentleman’s fishing boat,” Lang said. “You can go fishing, and you can take it for dinner in Charleston.”

A trip down the Wando River showed off the combo of luxury and power available on a Scout. (Richard Steinberger/)

We motored from Ralston Creek into the Wando River. Slayton pointed the bow south toward Charleston, and the 380 roared to life. As we charged beneath the bridges toward the city, he explained he does exactly this with each new boat owner.

“As a concierge captain, I work with the dealers to prep the boat and take care of all the details, and then I spend at least one or two days with the owners, making sure they’re comfortable with the boat,” he said. “I focus on performance, functionality and features.”

Lang also added: “Our customers have my cellphone number, and I answer calls and texts 24/7. When Josh gets involved, he’s on their speed dial. We’re happy to do it. It’s a relationship, and we all become friends.”

The Royal Treatment

Back at the hotel, it was hard to leave the margaritas and appetizers, including fresh ahi tuna and spicy gumbo, on the Club Level. But Lang was scheduled to pick us up for dinner, and we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to experience Hall’s Chophouse; rumor had it, one must either wait months for a reservation or know someone. Thankfully, we knew someone.

Owner Bill Hall stood in the doorway, greeting customers with a handshake as they entered his upscale restaurant. He knew Lang by first name, and Champagne arrived at our table as soon as we sat down.

Slayton joined us, and he and Lang insisted that we order any delicacies we desired. Together, we savored oysters Rockefeller, a rich concoction known as “bacon steak,” tender bison filets, caramelized Brussels sprouts, and lobster mac ’n’ cheese.

We topped it off with the best bread pudding I’ve ever tasted, hands down. It wasn’t on the menu that night, but again, it’s who you know.

Throughout the meal, locals approached our table to greet Lang and exchange pleasantries. We gathered that many were Scout owners, just like the gentleman who stopped us as we were leaving.

“I heard you just bought a Scout,” he said. “Oh man, you’re gonna love it.”

After dinner, Lang turned to the pedicabs lined up outside in the street, and he directed us to enter one of them.

Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cocktails were just part of what made the Belmond Charleston Place so inviting. (Richard Steinberger/)

“Take them to the Belmond Charleston Place,” he said to the driver, and he turned to give me a hug. “This is part of your experience. Go have a nightcap in the Thoroughbred Room and enjoy the hotel. And the next time you’re here, be sure to give me a call.”

We fell silent as the driver pedaled us swiftly away down the street. All too soon, the elegant fountain outside the Belmond splashed into view, and we pulled up in front of the valets. Pedaling into the Lowcountry night, our driver called over his shoulder, “Hey, I heard you bought a boat! Congratulations!”

* CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

#boating #boatingtips #boatingsupplies #boatingnews #boatingshop #wolfcreek

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theconservativebrief · 6 years ago

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When Ariana Grande tells you she’s going to be just fine, believe her.

The sentient cupcake with a four-octave range says as much in her bouncy new kiss-off song, “thank u, next” — a farewell letter to all the men she’s loved before. And the most recent addition to that list is her ex-fiancé, Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson.

The two were in love until they weren’t.

Grande and Davidson first announced their relationship in May, shocked everyone with an engagement announcement in June, and then, in the middle of October, called the whole thing off. That’s seemingly plenty of fodder for a break-up bop, but Davidson’s post-breakup behavior added some edge to the saga.

In a promotional clip for SNL’s November 3 show, Davidson used the breakup as a punchline, facetiously proposing to that week’s musical guest, Maggie Rogers:

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Grande didn’t see the humor in the situation, revealing as much in a series of subtweets. “For somebody who claims to hate relevancy u sure love clinging to it huh,” she wrote, without mentioning Davidson. She followed up with “thank u, next” and “k, that’s the last time we do that” before ultimately deleting them all.

The SNL promo and Grande’s tweets both made headlines, as many people wondered aloud whether Davidson would further address the breakup on the show. And then, ahead of the SNL episode, Grande tweeted hints about a new album and song that would reference Davidson and the breakup:

The displeasure in Grande’s deleted tweets, along with the tease of a new song and the potential for Davidson to make more awkward jokes, amped up anticipation for SNL.

Then, 30 minutes before the episode premiered, Grande released “thank u, next.”

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But the biggest surprise was the content of the song itself. Grande’s tweets might have set everyone up to expect a thrashing laced with pettiness, but “thank u, next” was actually a pump-fake. Far from the overt diss track many expected, the song was more about finding love with in herself:

I met someone else We havin’ better discussions I know they say I move on too fast But this one gon’ last ’Cause her name is Ari And I’m so good with that.

For his part, Davidson did comment on the breakup during SNL, gracefully acknowledging Grande during the show’s Weekend Update and saying, “She’s a wonderful, strong person, and I genuinely wish her all the happiness in the world.”

Though, after Grande’s power move, Davidson’s response was an afterthought (especially after he drew backlash for jokes on another topic entirely).

The 25-year-old Grande followed up the song release with a tweet on Sunday morning, echoing the idea that she is truly grateful:

thank u ♡ for hearing me and for making me feel so not alone i truly am grateful. no matter how painful! i’m thankful and i love u. breathin visual this week too! thank u, next pic.twitter.com/Qq62vjM0gI

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) November 5, 2018

Churning out hits is what we’ve come to expect from Grande, but what makes her a remarkable pop star isn’t just that “thank u, next” is a great song but also the latest example of Grande’s toughness and grace in the face of personal tragedy.

A year and a half ago, in May 2017, a suicide bomber attacked a concert that Grande was performing in Manchester. This September, just a few months into her now-ended engagement with Davidson, Grande’s ex-boyfriend Mac Miller died of a drug overdose — and a faction of his fans blamed her for his death.

Through all of this, Grande has handled herself with grace. After the Manchester attack, she hosted a benefit concert that raised $13 million for the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund. This summer, she released an album called Sweetener, which drew raves — some critics called it the pop album of the year. After Miller’s death, she paid tribute to him in a way that felt genuine and honest:

She also honors Miller in “thank u, next” — a key reason why the song, which is the sonic equivalent of strawberry champagne, heart emojis, and bubble bath, is so illustrative of her arc as a performer. Like Grande herself, beneath its sweetness is a story of empowerment, resilience, and maturity. That’s a rarity in this age of pop culture where taking the low, petty road has been praised. And it’s what makes Grande a breath of fresh air, and an unforgettable pop star.

“Petty” has become a default setting for pop culture.

It is now commonplace for many public figures to respond to any slight or a perceived wrong by shining a spotlight on it, forming a grudge, and then dragging whoever wronged them at the next appropriate opportunity. Bonus points are available to anyone who can pull this off exclusively through the use of oblique innuendo, without naming names.

Taylor Swift has spun pettiness into some pretty successful songs, and turned her 2017 album Reputation into a scavenger hunt for mentions of all her feuds. Drake has done the same, referencing beefs at his concerts and taking shots at his rivals in songs that are seemingly written and shipped overnight. Armie Hammer insulted a journalist who dared to write a negative thinkpiece about his acting career.

Usually, these moments of pettiness are escalated and egged on by thousands of fans, who delight in watching celebrities bicker with each other.

So after Grande had expressed her displeasure at Davidson’s jokes and then teased the release of “thank u, next,” there was an anticipation that the song would reveal some less-than-flattering things about Davidson. In the end, the true surprise was how sweet it was:

Thought I’d end up with Sean But he wasn’t a match Wrote some songs about Ricky Now I listen and laugh Even almost got married And for Pete I’m so thankful Wish I could say thank you to Malcolm Cause he was an angel

Grande’s lyrics refer to four of her ex-boyfriends: Big Sean, Ricky Alvarez, Davidson, and Mac Miller. She comments on each relationship, but without any insults or low blows. Sean, for example, simply “wasn’t a match.” And no matter how ill-advised her whirlwind love affair with Davidson might have seemed to many of her fans (not least because it involved moving into a Manhattan apartment but living without forks), Grande specifically says that she’s “thankful” for him.

But it’s what she says about Miller that helps drive home the spirit of “thank u, next.” The disarming way she refers to him as Malcolm, acknowledging his death and his soul, is arguably more scintillating, tender, and newsworthy than anything about Davidson in the song.

Grande also sings about what she’s learned from each of these past relationships, and how they’ve made her a better person:

One taught me love One taught me patience And one taught me pain Now, I’m so amazing.

She doesn’t credit the love, patience, or pain to any of her exes in particular. And by the end of the chorus, it’s clear she’s ready to move on. At its core, “thank u, next” isn’t about Grande dissing her ex-boyfriends, it’s about Grande embracing herself.

This theme continues through the bridge, where Grande sings sweetly about getting married someday — something she only wants to do once:

One day I’ll walk down the aisle Holding hands with my mama I’ll be thanking my dad ’Cause she grew from the drama Only wanna do it once, real bad Gon’ make that shit last God forbid something happens Least this song is a smash

The result is the “sweetest, the sanest, and also, gloriously, the most cutting diss track of an especially cutting year” according to the Ringer’s Rob Harvilla, who argues that Grande’s maturity and cogency are what gives the song power — that in “thank u, next,” she’s showing that she doesn’t need to trash Davidson to prove that she’s better off without him.

“It’s a generosity rarely spotted these days, when it is so much more tempting to clap back with vinegar instead of honey,” Quinn Moreland wrote at Pitchfork. “The high road might not be the easiest path, but Grande offers to lead us there by her own example.”

“While Grande could’ve released a scathing track, she dropped one that was, instead, respectful and mature,” Amanda Arnold explained at The Cut.

Her fans responded immediately, replaying the song over and over. It shot up to the top of the Spotify US and Global Charts, tallying 8 million global daily plays and breaking the company’s single-day streaming record for a female artist. It made waves on Twitter, where, according to a company representative, the phrase “thank u, next” was tweeted over 1.5 million times in just a few days. Justin Bieber called it his favorite song. It even inspired a meme:

And now it’s in contention to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Pop stars and the industry that creates them are salespeople. And more and more, a huge part of the sale isn’t just how a pop star looks (with some glaring exceptions, it’s difficult to find an unattractive pop star) but rather the image he or she has crafted.

Beyoncé sells a power fantasy in untouchable excellence and relentless dedication. Taylor Swift sells an underdog story, having gone a Girl Next Door type to girl squad leader to revenge monger. Lady Gaga is a creature of transformation.

And the question underneath all this imagecraft is whether we’re ever seeing the “real” version of who pop stars are versus the narrative of they’re selling.

When Beyoncé sings about Jay Z’s alleged cheating, how much of that is a measured move by a singer notorious for controlling her image, her albums, and even Anna Wintour? When Taylor Swift sings about Kanye’s crooked stage, or about a paper airplane necklace in reference to Harry Styles, is she conveying genuine feelings of revenge or longing, or have her lyrics been carefully calculated to send a specific message and appease an audience?

We could ask the same kinds of questions about Grande and her whirlwind love affair with Davidson.

Grande’s relationship with Davidson began in May, and their engagement was confirmed on June 15. The relationship seemingly materialized in the short period of time between Grande releasing two new singles — “no tears left to cry” on April 20 and “the light is coming” on June 20. Pre-orders of Sweetener began the same week that the latter song came out, five days after the couple confirmed their engagement.

Grande and Davidson’s relationship (which has since been portmanteau’d by some into “Grandson”) and the abruptness of their engagement drove interest in the album, which also contains a song named after him. And even with the dissolution of the relationship, public interest in the couple’s breakup is helping Grande sell music.

Grandson could be either the most convenient and album-friendly relationship ever, or a savvy publicity stunt.

With so much intrigue swirling, there was a question of whether Sweetener would be all about the Grandson relationship, offering more details about the inner lives of Grande and Davidson. Perhaps Sweetener was going to be fairy tale love song performed by a princess who had finally found “the one.”

But just like “thank u” turned out to be a love song from Grande to herself, what Sweetener turned out to be was an album of resilience.

Sweetener was not about Davidson but rather a glimpse into Grande’s response, at times a joyous one, to the tragedy that changed her life.

On May 22, 2017, after Grande finished performing at Manchester Arena, a suicide bomber attacked the concert, killing 22 people and injuring 59 more — a tragedy that completely eclipses her relationship with Davidson.

“It’s the absolute worst of humanity,” Grande told Time one year later, in May 2018 in an interview about Sweetener. That’s why I did my best to react the way I did. The last thing I would ever want is for my fans to see something like that happen and think it won.”

The critically lauded album was a triumph, but it’s easy to imagine how difficult it was for Grande to make and sing songs about her life in the wake of the attack.

Perhaps that’s where the undeniable, winsome appeal of Grande lies: beyond her catchy songs and in how she has consistently proved that she’s a lilliputian pop princess with the toughness of a tank.

As with any pop star, you don’t have to agree with what Grande is singing about, whether it be sex or God being a woman or both. But you can admire the guts it takes to keep singing after the rough year that she’s been through. And in “thank u, next,” when she sings about picking herself up and believing in herself after a breakup, that’s something we all want to believe in.

Original Source -> Ariana Grande’s greatest asset isn’t her amazing voice. It’s her resilience.

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

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wopcalmetacritic · 7 years ago

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Rolling Stone Review: The Bronx Project by Cardi B

56/100

Cardi B is one of the main girls changing the rap scene in the last few months, and now she released her first album, "The Bronx Project". Filled with - allegedly - personal tracks, the singer wanted to reach her fanbase by making them feel closer than they were beforem after hitting the top of the charts with the bouncing "Bodak Yellow". But did she?

The album opens up with a trap urban song, "Bronx Season", a short (less than 3 min) song, but with countless words and rhymes that gives it a really nice flow. The composition talks about her journey, her reputation, her independence and stardom - which is really nice, but kind of weird when it's about a newbie artist that just hit success with one song.

"Spent A Little Doe", the second song, brings up an incredible 90's vibe, reminding us some classic Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott and even Salt-N-Pepa. Completely dated, but in some kind of good way, the song has incredible and uncredited vocals to legendary Mary J. Blige - give her the goddamn credits, Cardi.

The same 90's feeling comes up with "That Thing", featuring Beyoncé (yes, she got her credits). A extremely catchy song with woops and turns and a jamming groovy feeling, that gets tiring after three times singing it in your head. Beyoncé did great but Cardi verses are the best on the song ("Money taking and heart breaking, now you wonder why women hate men / The sneaky, silent men / The punk, domestic violence men / Quick to shoot the semen, stop acting like boys and be men").

"Whatta Man" is another dated song, straight outta 90's, but not in a good way this time. Even though Ariana really tried to save this, it's a bubblegum flash rap song that loses its fun at after 1 min and a half - it gets boring and tacky.

And we thought we'd might get some freshing new song, Cardi serves us "Queen Bitch", another song to praise her independence, her journey, her independence and fame... At another 90's dated song. The verses are great, her flow is fantastic, but the lyrical content doesn't goes far much than caressing her own ego. We got it, Cardi, you like to talk about fame while being a new girl in the stardom - who are we to judge? We'll just have to wait for the future Cardi to feel embarrassed for speaking with no property.

"Bodak Yellow", her #1 single, is the sixth single. Gangster style, in a looping hyponitc instrumental that makes you feeling yourself; it's impossible not to enjoy this, even if you're not into rap: the beat is incredible, the chorus' melody gets stuck in your head and makes you want to be just a little bit swagger like Cardi. The best song off the album so far, although it's lyrics doesn't goes that far as the subjects she talked in the previous songs.

The seventh track, "Red Barz", finally brings up the modern fresh style we've been waiting. After the smashing hit, "Bodak Yellow", we wonder why Cardi haven't released this yet - an upbeat catchy song with mid-east influences at its instrumental, and a terrific flow as Cardi speaks and curses, but, again, in a too short song - 2 minutes and 7 seconds, really? This could be a highlight but when you're getting into the song, it's over.

"Pop Off", featuring Casanova, is the eighth track, bringing up a messy instrumental as Cardi raps along with it in a fast rhyming game, in a song a bit different from the others, but still talking about how fierce she is, how big she is and that she won't take no offense home, "b****". Casanova verses lights up the song, even though the song gets annoyingly unhearable after 50% of it, due to it's extremely messy and noisy instrumental. Sounds unfinished and amateur, with a great potential lost.

Time to get some Pharrell production with "Icy Girl", the ninth track off the album. Serving Snoop Dogg realness, the song could be a pair to his classic "Beautiful" or Missy Elliott's bastard daughter. It's a great jamming song that goes along with an easy listening (and mimicking) and a nice flow - "Cash money mama that be dining in Bahamas / Eating Fettucini pasta with the scallops and the lobsters" is what you're going to get from the 1 minute song. For real, not even 2 minutes. Oh, and a classic line: "Huh, I don’t got no time for these hoes". Absolutely non-Cardi. But in the opposite way.

"Pull Up" takes the number 10 track place, in a similar song to "Bodak Yellow", but in a mediocre production and a composition that should've stayed at the demo drawers. "So much people think they know my pussy / But no one can say they fucked" is one of the verses. Just to mention. One more? "You try to play me, that's confirmation / But it's all good 'cause when you see my face / Shit don't come out like it's constipation". Let's pretend this never happened.

Pharrell is back at "The Jump Off", along with Timbaland (yes, he's alive!), in a boucing song that makes us remember from classic Missy Elliott - "Work It" - which is great, and it lifts us up after a great stumble from the previous track. A trap hip-hop track that samples "Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz", uncredited as well, that doesn't gets tiring, doesn't lose it's groove and makes you entertained in a catchy chorus and a smooth verse flow. Along with "Bodak Yellow" and "That Thing", the song is one of the best off the album, no doubt about it.

Spending her pennies in a electro-influenced song, Cardi sounds unrecognizable at the chorus of "Rolling", the twelfth song from the tracklist. Unpretentious as in 90% of the songs so far, the track doesn't change much of what we've heard so far when it's about its melody and composition; it starts as a great jamming song, smooth, but it turns into flat quickly, and gets boring after the second chorus. T-Pain would be proud of this song, specially at it's vocoder-ed vocals, we must observe.

The standard version of the album closes with "Never Give Up", a duet with Josh X, a Bronx fellow to Cardi; it sounds like something Rihanna would release in 2009, probably featuring Ne-Yo or someone like it, but hey, this isn't a bad thing. Its lyrics are inspirational, almost cliché "Never give up / We're almost at the top of the hill now", and it might not the best song, not even fantastic, but it can be memorable. It's a great song to close the album, it gives you the feeling of wanting more - 'cause after all, we didn't get much highlights from this tracklist so far.

The first from the three tracks from deluxe version & Apple Music exclusive, "Hectic", is the perfect definition of a filler bonus track. Life could've go on without it, but it's not that bad; not a fan favorite, but it can be the track that a few like and enjoy when she sings it, by surprise, at a conert. The bass beat reminds us from a few previous songs of the album, keeping up the coesion of the songlist, and that's good. A point to Cardi for that!

"Leave That Bitch Alone", the second bonus track, is a apparent powerful song at first, but we get it why it wasn't picked for the standard selection of tracks when you keep listening to it: it starts like an extremely good song, but it loses its power before it reaches the chorus after the first verse. No surprises on it, it's enjoyable and probably will be a fan favorite due to its "i'm the right girl for you" vibe, which we've seen before on the album.

The last track off the record, the last bonus, "Focus", should be at the tracklist, being a hightlight on the tracklist. It plays with an insane bass beat that could easily be played out loud in cars and parties. The fierce composition makes it even better and it might serve as an empowerment song, specially to girls - "Any n**** play or disrespect me, he regret me, wish he kept me / People question how they lost me, make it hard, they can't forget me", and obviously: "Can't no n**** disrespect you, keep these h*** up in they place", to keep the Cardi style.

In an overview, Cardi B might have released a fierce strong album to show off how she won't take no trash and no negative talking, and even though she might be a new in the music game, she's not a newbie in life. And life's hard. Growing up as a black girl, in the Bronx, takes guts to fill the cup. Confidence at its best, in a ego that sounds bigger than her humility, it doesn't take much to notice that Cardi B is here to play the fame game: if you know how to spell the words fast, and make yourself as the best on it, you're gonna be praised - but what is she saying though? As the songs have a few parts about her lifestory, they lose its power by mixing up to superficial self-praising lines. Some have a really nice rhythm and you get the flow wishing you could be good at rap like her - we can't deny her amazing skills on rap and at a few writing - but the content of the songs, in its total, are most all the same: the "i'm the motherf***** fiercest b**** and you're all h***, haters" type of thing that we're tired and that should've kept with Nicki Minaj way back in 2013. She's been through "Love & Hip Hop", she got herself in a gang, she made her ways to escape poverty and violence, and we admire her for that, but if Cardi wants to show that you want to get close to the people and mostly your fans, you have to disarm yourself - i guess you wouldn't want to hurt the ones that love you, right? You don't have that much haters, Cardi, trust us when we say that. Maybe getting off the narcissism and the armed position ready for the attack would match the humble personality hardly noticed in the show-off Bronx girl songs that fought hard to be where she is now.

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arabesquecookie-blog · 7 years ago

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A great article featured in the New York Times. Very compelling read!

Inside the High-Drama World of Youth Competition Dance

False eyelashes and real tears on the competition dance circuit.

By LIZZIE FEIDELSON

DEC. 21, 2017

The second time I met Angelina Velardi she had just lost a baby tooth. It left a gaping hole in her smile, but she liked how it looked: “Now if I show the judges I’m mature, they’ll be more impressed,” she said, happily. Angelina is a 12-year-old competitive dancer, and canny to the ways in which technical acuity and preadolescent pliability can be combined to her advantage. She started competitive dancing less than three years ago.

On a Friday afternoon last spring, Angelina and her teammates from Prestige Academy of Dance arrived at a technical high school in Sparta, N.J., for the Imagine National Dance Challenge, a children’s dance competition. Each girl wore her black uniform and sported the team hairstyle, a low bun gleaming with hair spray. Dina Crupi, Prestige Academy’s 25-year-old studio owner and competition-team director, had chosen the hairstyle for its versatility: It allowed various headpieces and hats to be put on and removed with ease. Crupi still had nightmares about last year’s style, a too-complex choice involving a pouf encircled by braids. While she stood sipping coffee, the girls warmed up around her, brushing their fingers against the athletic-gray lobby walls for balance. With their small heads, shellacked scalps and long necks, the teammates looked elegant and creaturely, like a row of lizards.

This was Prestige’s fifth competition this season, and its core team of 52 dancers would enter over 20 dance pieces over the course of the three-day competition. Angelina was a member of the preteen team, but there were also older teenagers and girls as young as 4 who were there to compete. The competition accepted dancers as old as 19, but the enterprise skewed much younger. At the dancewear booths ringing the lobby, the dance tops for sale were the size of dinner napkins.

In Prestige’s dressing room, a classroom off a back hallway, Angelina donned her first costume of the day, a green one-piece with a choker neckline. She rubbed a deodorantlike stick (affectionately referred to as “butt glue”) on her upper thighs to make the one-piece stay in place. MaryAnn, Angelina’s mother, filled in her daughter’s eyebrows with dark pencil. An adult face emerged from Angelina’s little-girl one. She already had on fake eyelashes: She had fallen asleep in the car on the way to Sparta, so MaryAnn parked outside the competition and applied them without waking her, gluing individual lashes to her lids as she slept.

Angelina went into the hallway and did a few pirouettes. Crupi walked slowly past, appraising the girls’ makeup and watching them for mistakes. She was wearing heavy eyeliner, too, and an all-black outfit to match her students’. They grew tense under her gaze, glancing at her for approval after each trick. “You’re letting your rib cage open,” Crupi said finally to Angelina, miming a puffed-up chest. She gathered the team for a last once-over. “Is everyone ready?” she asked. “Everyone sprayed nicely?” Some of the girls had gotten together earlier in the week to get spray tans, and they were an identical tawny color, like Easter eggs dipped in the same dye. The girls nodded. Crupi wished them a curt good luck and departed for the front of the theater.

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Angelina loved her teammates, but before dancing she preferred to be alone. She practiced her turns again in the dim backstage light: eight pirouettes, then five. She moved so noiselessly that it was easy not to see her at all; when she dropped to the floor and assumed a plank position, I wondered for a second where she had gone. She popped up again and grinned at me, shaking her hands and feet vigorously to help rid herself of nerves. “I just need to zone out,” she told me. “People get in my head.”

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Angelina Velardi, 12, at a dance competition in Ottawa in April.

Credit Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times

“It was never like this when I was a kid,” Jared Grimes, 34, a prominent tap dancer and competition judge, told me. “These kids are like gladiators. The dominating, the mind games, the winning. It’s all strategic.” Grimes teaches at New York City Dance Alliance, a highly regarded competition company, and he routinely judges over 500 dance numbers in a single weekend. N.Y.C.D.A. travels to 24 cities per year. Each city has its own personality, he said. “Boston kids are a little bit more reserved, very careful, very guarded — details, details. Nashville is like, ‘We’re having a good time.’ ”

The competition-dance format is straightforward. On weekends, for-profit traveling companies host competitions for children in convention centers and hotels. Dance schools bring their students to compete. Judges, usually dance teachers or choreographers, score each piece on the spot, often out of 100 points. At the end of the day, winners receive titles and trophies. Sometimes there are small cash awards or gift cards.

The children who enter these competitions train up to 30 hours per week, primarily on weekends and after school. Because children must compete in many styles — hip-hop, ballet, jazz and others — versatility is essential, and training can be rigorous to the point of extremity. Each competition bestows its own regional titles, and bigger events also offer national ones. Studios choose which competitions to attend based on careful consideration of cost, quality and competitiveness. Some students compete nearly every weekend during the season, which runs approximately September to July, and train at intensives and classes during the rest of the year.

There are no official figures about how many children are involved in competition dance nationwide, but the number of national competitions has ballooned into the hundreds since the 1980s. In the late 1970s, one of the first of the organizing companies, Showstopper, held competitions out of the trunk of a station wagon. Last year, 52,000 dancers participated in Showstopper, and its touring fleet included a semi truck that transported trophies alone.

A turning point came in 2011, when Lifetime aired a reality show called “Dance Moms.” A number of dance-themed reality shows premiered in the previous decade — “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Dancing With the Stars” — but “Dance Moms” focused on relatable kids who aspired to be famous for their dancing, not adults. The show followed a Pittsburgh competition team at the Abby Lee Dance Company, reporting breathlessly on the wins and losses suffered by its team of preteens. “Dance Moms” emphasized drink-sloshing and hair-pulling by the team’s parents rather than the particulars of the students’ lives, but it made several young dancers, particularly Maddie Ziegler, now 15, into minor celebrities. The competition community almost unanimously considers the show in poor taste, but it normalized the idea of child stardom among competition-dance students, teachers and parents. When she was 11, Ziegler was cast by the musician Sia in a music video for her song “Chandelier.” The video featured Ziegler as the sole performer, doing pirouettes, splits and kicks with a series of fierce facial expressions.

When I started dancing professionally four years ago, dancers I worked with would sometimes make one another laugh in rehearsal by whipping out old competition moves: preposterously wide smiles, coquettish shoulder tilts. As adults looking for dance jobs in New York, they had hurried to leave these overblown faces behind, like a newscaster trying to scrub herself of a regional accent. They wanted to be modern dancers, and maximal facial expressions aren’t stylish in the world of concert dance, which is still the purview of college dance programs and conservatories. When competition dancers enter college or seek jobs in the modern dance world, they tend to tone down their “fire,” as one former competition dancer put it, to fit in. She was a national-competition titleholder while in high school, but now she treated her competition past like a secret. She wanted to join a modern dance company, and competition dance is often considered better suited to music videos, concert tours or cruise ships. She felt that some of the companies she wanted to join, which performed exclusively in theaters, looked askance at her background. As mainstream as it has become, competition dance is still a distinct dance subculture, revolving around pop music, hard-hitting choreography and young female adherents. “It’s a different world,” Melinda Wandel, a mother of an 11-year-old competition dancer, told me.

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Many competition dancers are drawn in by social media, where popular competition dancers and teachers have millions of followers. Others learn about it from adults. When teachers spot promising students in their studio’s drop-in classes, they encourage talented kids to join the studio’s team. Many children start competing as young as 5 or 6. Angelina first learned about competition dance on Instagram. She was a naturally gifted athlete who played softball, but when she saw pictures of competition dancers on a dancer friend’s feed, she felt the pull of competition glow more brightly in her than it ever had for sports. “I wanted to be like that,” she told me. “Because I knew it wasn’t easy.”

Angelina loved that competition dance was not only athletic but also beautiful. She liked dressing up. “There’s definitely a pageant component to it, ” Grimes says. Fake eyelashes, hair spray and crystals are de rigueur; Angelina’s first few dances required fishnets. Some parents find the pageantry bewildering — “It sucks you right in,” Wandel told me — but their daughters, and some sons, treat their jeweled headpieces and Vaselined teeth like armor. “We give her the choice,” Wandel said. “You can skip class and go to the birthday party. But she’d rather die. She’d live at the studio if she could.”

Dancers typically don’t win cash for competing, and they pay to enter competitions. Most participants are white; the few predominantly black studios, like DanceMakers of Atlanta, on the city’s South Side, know their students will be among the few dancers of color at most competitions they attend. Despite its cost — the families at Crupi’s studio spend up to $25,000 per year per child on costumes, lessons and travel to out-of-town meets — competition dance isn’t solely for wealthy families. One mother told me that she ate ramen to afford as many lessons as possible.

Continue reading the main story

Photo

Prestige dancers performing “To Build a Home” at the Showbiz competition in Hackensack, N.J. Credit Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times

“It’s like they’re training these girls for the Olympics,” Grimes told me. “It’s muscles on muscles on muscles.” In the 1990s, a triple pirouette was considered impressive on the competition circuit. Now 10-year-olds can do eight or nine. The official record, set in 2013, is held by a competitive dancer named Sophia Lucia, who did 55 turns in a row without stopping when she was 10.

Despite the emphasis on technical tricks, there’s something marvelously elusive about competition dance’s definition of success. Dance is an art form: It’s difficult to articulate how you know that one person is better than someone else. Judges grade dancers according to commonly held professional criteria — “I look at how precise they are, how their musicality is,” the choreographer, teacher and competition judge Suzi Taylor told me — but selecting winners involves assigning favorites beyond point value. “You look at how they affected you,” Taylor told me. “How that piece stood out beyond all the other pieces that were shown.”

The opacity of judges’ criteria is part of the form’s appeal. Children know that they are always being watched: Every cross word in the hallway or eyebrow quiver of effort onstage will contribute to a judge’s assessment of a favorite. “It’s like an audition,” Grimes told me. There’s a mystery to winning a dance competition, which makes winning all the more intense. Unlike in sports, when a competition dancer wins, she comes away with the intoxicating knowledge that she is not just good, but also liked.

At one competition I attended last summer at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Connecticut, multiple women came armed with tissues, which they held ready in their laps before the dances began. I sat beside them in the over-air-conditioned room, feeling a little smug — I would not be needing a tissue! But when the lights dimmed and the first dance started, I suddenly felt overwhelmed. Alone onstage was a single blond preteen girl surrounded by lights; farther out, it was completely dark. It was like seeing a rare animal in the wild; I wanted to grab someone’s arm. Her skill was both alarming — her limbs seemed to bend bonelessly, as if she were a doll — and, to my surprise, moving. She didn’t look cute. She looked vulnerable and strong, sweating hard, eyes blazing. Although she was a child striving for the performance of an adult, only unaffected determination shone through. Despite the makeup and stage lights, she looked like herself.

When the announcer for Imagine National Dance Challenge called Angelina’s entry number and the title of her solo, “Ideas for Strings,” she walked onstage and lowered herself into a split in the middle of the floor. At her music cue, Angelina opened her arms wide and slid up into a low crouch, then spun around into a lunge. Her teammates gathered in the wings to watch. During her turn section, they counted her pirouettes. “Was that six or five?” her 13-year-old friend Tiffany Benevenga wondered.

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Suddenly, the group recoiled and stiffened. I wondered if Angelina had made a mistake. “What happened?” I asked another teammate, Annalise Hofman, who was also 13 and often watched her friends dance with a stern look on her face. Annalise made a gesture of supplication, raising her hands into the air. “Oh,” Tiffany said. “Angelina is just really good.”

Angelina finished and scampered offstage. The dance was only three minutes long, but it drained her. She put her hands on her knees and panted. The other girls reached out to brush her back and shoulders with their hands as if touching her brought good luck. “Good job,” they murmured one by one.

Angelina wasn’t sold. “If I don’t do it perfect, I get really mad,” she told me. To her, every performance presented opportunities for mistakes — errors she couldn’t feel, unnameable dips in quality. She was like a veteran rock star, who, having produced many hits, worries that her current work isn’t measuring up and that the yes-men in her circle aren’t telling her. She smiled absently at her friends, then sidled over to where I stood. “Was it good?” she asked me. I told her that it was. “What was the worst part?” she asked.

The evening crawled by in two-minute increments, long stretches of boredom punctuated by strong emotion. The girls ate ravenously at dinnertime, lifting chicken tenders gently to their mouths to avoid getting spots on their costumes. Between numbers, the girls Snapchatted one another while on opposite sides of the theater, or stood together so closely when speaking that they barely moved their lips. Every once in a while they clustered to scrutinize a dancer from another team while she performed. If she was good, they’d nod at one another contemplatively or raise an eyebrow. But none of the other local schools inspired much fear in the Prestige team, who were confident competitors. They had heard rumors, however, that at their next competition, an event called Showbiz, in Hackensack, N.J., they’d be competing alongside a team called the Larkin Dancers. Larkin’s studio was intimidatingly large, with three different locations in the state. When Angelina watched videos of Larkin performances, she was “shocked,” she told me. “They are perfect.” The entire group could do triple pirouettes in perfect unison. Even some of the Prestige dancers’ mothers were taken aback.

The awards ceremony for Imagine didn’t start until nearly 11 p.m. It was a complicated affair: Like most dance competitions, Imagine had intricate prize levels ranging from four to five stars in quarter-increments, denoting different levels of difficulty and accomplishment. The competition also gave special awards for characteristics like being photogenic or having a great personality. Angelina and her friends looked on attentively as the announcer handed out prizes for “Heart and Soul” and “Best Character.”

Angelina won in her age group. A stagehand placed a small tiara on her head, which Angelina knelt to receive. Moments later, she won another prize for her overall score. This time she received a thick, unwieldy plaque, which she balanced in her lap after returning to her seat. In order to be sure she was perceived as humble, she remained essentially expressionless, but she was happy. “I don’t like to be too confident,” she said.

When I said goodbye to Angelina that night, it was almost 1 a.m. She was sitting on her costume suitcase with her chin on her hands. Her hair, unwound from its tight bun, still held a pulled-back shape. The next morning, she’d awaken at 5 a.m. to stretch, apply her makeup and drive back from her home in Fairfield, N.J., to the next day of competition in Sparta.

Photo

Prestige dancers rehearsing before a competition. From left: Annalise Hofman, 13; Velardi; and Tiffany Benevenga, 13.

Credit Dina Litovsky/Redux, for The New York Times

On weekends when there were no competitions, Angelina’s team rehearsed all day. When I arrived at the Prestige Dance Academy to watch one Saturday morning, the girls were lying bleary-eyed on the carpet, warming up. That morning they’d be working on “Seven Nation Army,” their favorite small-group dance and one of Prestige’s staple numbers — it often took first place at competitions. The dance featured the seven core members of the preteen group: Angelina, Annalise, Tiffany, Nicole Kelly, Alana Pomponio, Jenna Ebbinghousen and Marin Gold. The costumes were camouflage leotards, sparkly military hats and black fishnets with seams up the back. The music was a jazzy cover of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” from 2003.

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Compared with some powerhouse studios like the Dance Company in Salt Lake City or Club Dance in Mesa, Ariz., which have hundreds of students, Prestige is small. But Crupi had a strong vision for her fledgling studio. She was uncommonly disciplined and instituted rules that emphasized teamwork and uniformity: Every week, the children broke into groups and tidied the studio, gamely scrubbing mirrors and taking out the trash. In class and rehearsal, dancers were required to wear all black.

Before she opened Prestige, Crupi was a dancer for what was then the New Jersey Nets. The choreography she favored for her students was crisp and sleek; her favorite types of pieces were jazz dances, which she liked to costume with mesh and faux pearls. Her choreography wasn’t conservative, but she coached her dancers to do saucy movements sharply and athletically, so that they looked more age-appropriate. When she arrived at the studio soon after 9 a.m. bearing coffee, she congratulated the girls for arriving earlier than she had. They had already been there alone for nearly an hour, silently practicing their pirouettes. She began the day’s rehearsal by cuing up a previous week’s judge’s critique on her laptop. At every competition, judges record live feedback while the children perform, presenting studios with the commentary at the end. Studios rewatch the videos at home while rehearsing for the next competition.

The team huddled around; Crupi pressed play. Images of their bodies filled the screen. As difficult moments approached, the judges reacted in real time, emitting “Ohs” when the moves worked. A turn section approached; on the slightly fuzzy video, I could see that one or two spinning girls were slower than the others. “A little off there,” one judge said. “Watch those turns.”

“Look!” Crupi cut in. “Do we see that timing? That spacing? That arm?” The girls nodded.

They peeled themselves off the floor and spread out to run the piece. Crupi started the music. The girls began to snap their fingers slowly. One by one they whipped around and did a few solo moves. As the singer’s voice plunged into a smokier register, the girls moved with more intensity, their small shoes stamping on the floor. They ground their rib cages and hips. Tiffany did an aerial — a handless cartwheel, body hanging suspended for a moment upside down in the air. The other girls stalked around the stage, strutting on their tiptoes. They smacked the floor with their palms. They did a double à la seconde turn, one leg whipping out to the side in the middle of each swift revolution, followed by a triple pirouette dropping into a split.

Crupi cut the music. The turning section still wasn’t right. “When you’re at nationals, it won’t be good enough,” she reminded them. “At nationals, there will be 8-year-olds that do these turns together.” She had them try the turns without music. To keep time, the girls counted out loud in unison. Crupi watched, her chin lowered, eyes fixed at ankle level. “It’s Angelina’s that are off,” she concluded.

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