#euphoria episode review

[sweetashoneyhoney]

Watching Saltburn now because I keep seeing people talk about it.

2 min in and my thoughts are "wow, this is really stylised and could be an interesting movie" and "so Jacob Elordi really got another role of "hot, problematic boy that everyone wants"

[everythingstillromantic]

Ok, so, I watched the pilot for The Idol against my better judgment after reading the Rolling Stone article about it and reading the poor critic reviews.

It's just as gross and exploitative as people say. I felt physically grossed out by the leering, objectifying gaze of the camera. The Weeknd's alleged behind-the-scenes contributions to the "male perspective" of the show make the scenes between him and Lily Rose-Depp that much more nauseating.

The dialogue between Jocelyn's team the whole first thirty minutes felt like the thinly veiled airing out of Sam Levinson's grievances we got in Malcolm and Marie but put through a "cancel culture/anti-woke" meat grinder. "Mental illness is sexy" and locking an intimacy coordinator in a bathroom came off like Euphoria meta-commentary from Levinson.

I don’t care about nudity in movies/TV if it's done in a way that feels respectful of the actors. But the descriptions of the nudity in this show as "fetishistic" are spot-on. The sex scene at the end of the episode where Jocelyn is being suffocated and he sticks a knife through the silk made me feel weird and uncomfortable. The constant shots up Lily's skirt and in increasingly skimpy outfits for no reason in random scenes felt so on-the-nose for the reaction they're trying to get.

It's not revelatory or exciting. It's just repulsive and relying on shock and outrage for clicks.

Don't waste your time. Don't hate watch. I'm not interested in encouraging a deluded edgelord on a power trip with HBO dollars behind him.

[witch-craft-works]

My complicated feelings towards Glitter Force

(Remember this is all my opinion please don't attack me)

So I wanted to talk about Glitter force a bit because I have a bit of a love hate relationship with it. So now that Glitter Force has been removed from Netflix and with absolutely no plans of renewing it at least at the time of this post I thought it was a good time to talk about it.

So lets go back in time to 2016. It was a dark and stormy night I was fresh into middle school I had transferred out of my shitty Catholic Elementary School and started public middle school.

I was bullied relentlessly in elementary school so I wasn't in a good headspace at the time.

Anyways I was mindlessly scrolling through Netflix when I came across Glitter Force, during this time I had gotten into Sailor moon and it looked similar so I clicked on it and watched the first few episodes.

I thought it was pretty good at the time and binged the whole season. Anyways because of that I would watch glitter force related videos on YouTube and then I came across an AMV (yes I was that kid😂) of New Stage I recognized Happy and Peace on the thumbnail next to two other girls (Melody and I think Muse) and wondered who they were as the title of the video was in Japanese, so I clicked on it and oh my God my little 11 year old mind was blown. It was awesome! and I wanted more of that content and I wanted to know more about the other girls. The I came across Azen Zone's reviews and fell in love with the franchise.

Anyways I didn't actually get to watch a pretty cure season in subs until I think Huggto on one of those free streaming sites and came across the Smile sub and Dear God was it leagues above Glitter Force because the dub was dog water compared to the original. And I was surprised that they had left a good amount of episodes out of the dub as well.

So I'm going to get into the gripes I have with GF/Doki Doki. In no way am I blaming the dub cast as I'm sure they had to work with what they were given but looking at the cast. GF and Doki Doki was stacked with really good actors.

The Cast:

Glitter Force:

Laura Bailey who played Cure Happy/Glitter Lucky

Colleen O'Shaughnessey played Cure Sunny/Glitter Sunny

Alex Cazares played Cure Peace/Glitter Peace

Danielle Judovits played Cure March/Glitter Spring

Kate Higgens played Cure Beauty/Glitter Breeze

Debi Derryberry played Candy

Todd Haberkorn played Pop

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn played Royal Queen/Queen Euphoria and Majorina/Brooha

Keith Silverstein played Wolfurun/Ulric Akaoni/Brute and Joker/Rascal

Glitter Force Doki Doki

Debi Derryberry played Cure Heart/Glitter Heart

Cassandra Lee Morris played Cure Diamond/Glitter Diamond

Melissa Fahn played Cure Rosetta/Glitter Clover

Stephanie Sheh played Cure Sword/Glitter Sword and Raquel

Erica Lindbeck played Cure Ace/Glitter Ace and Dabyi/Davi

Tara Sands played Sharuru/Kippy

Bryce Papenbrook played Lance

Ray Chase played Bel

Benjamin Disqen Ira

Carrie Keranen played Marmo

Cherami Leigh played Regina

Grant George played Joe Okada

Kirk Thornton played Sebastian

So the acting I don't mind at times, the name changes, don't mind that either, Pokemon was known for doing this back then all the way up until Ash's exit from the anime. There were also times where the scene would darken the mostly happened when the girls used their attacks I can see them doing this because they didn't want to cause any health risks and cause seizures so it didn't bother me too much. So what's the issue then?

One of the biggest issues I had when it came to Glitter force after watching the original was how much they changed. They removed a lot of episodes. For example Smile had 48 episodes and Glitter force removed 8 while Doki Doki had 49 episodes and Glitter force removed 19 episodes and even combined some of the episodes which kind of made them clunky. The episodes removed were the ones focused on culture and I guess you can use the excuse it by saying that they removed it so that they wouldn't confused kids but thats still a pretty bad excuse they also changed it so that Glitter force took place in the United States and that just seems a bit silly to me.

They also removed the episode about Yayoi's dad and understanding why she was named Yayoi which is concidered one of the best episodes in the season and I've seen some people say that it's one of the best in the francise. Another thing that annoyed me was that they removed the episode where Brian a student exchange student from America transfered into their class, this episode was about a language barrier between him and Akane so I can see why they didn't want to dub it but they end up still mentioning him in a later episode so if they didn't want to confuse the audiance they failed. I mean what they could have done is have him speak in a diffrent language and say he came from i don't know Spain instead of America. They did this in the Tokyo Mew mew dub but I digress.

They also removed the episode where the girls go and visit Miyuki's grandma which I don't really understand why. Another thing I did not like was the fact they seemed to try and remove any scene where the Cures are sad or tone it down unless there was no way to cut it out they even tried to make those scenes comedic as well which is just, Why? (Minor spoilers for Smile Precure) For example in the final episode of the season the girls they have to say goodbye to Candy and Pop as they have to go back to Marchland. In the original once they saw that Candy had already disapeared thats when they broke down crying.

Another thing that kind of bothered me as well as alot of other people is that the acting felt, flat at times. One of the most brought up scenes is when Majorina almost killed Nao's siblings when you compare both scenes it's just really jarring to watch. They even added voice lines that weren't in the original. I think the people handling the dub just didn't want to upset/scare kids or make their parents upset so they tried to tone down/cut the darker moments out of the show. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing but kids can still enjoy a show even if theres darker moments.

I was also told that Glitter Force was homophobic but I never really understood where that came from. Maybe I just missed it? Idk

While Pretty Cure is about friendship and teamwork Smile was trying to show kids that you shouldn't give up and that sad things happen in life. This was because the year before japan suffered a really bad earthquake/tsunami which resulted in the deaths of Thousands of people. Smile Pretty Cure was made in order to comfort people who lost their homes or their loved ones. Glitter force while theres nothing wrong with this the producers seemed to be trying to push the message of friendship, teamwork while kind of neglecting the message of not giving up hope and I've seen alot of people think it's disrespectful concidering the circumstances and what led to Smile's creation

Anyways for as much as I criticize Glitter force and Glitter Force Doki Doki I have to admit that theres a chance without it I never would have discovered Pretty Cure as early as I did. And if you look at my blog you can tell I really love this franchise. And while it's kind of sad to see it go I think it's best that the trademark can finally rest after being in limbo for so long.

Would have been interesting to see what they did with the all stars movies tho

[threebooksoneplot]

Three Books One Plot FAQ

Who are you?

Hosts Shannon and G are both relapsed 2000s twihards from the DC-Maryland-Virginia area of the US who found their way back to Twilight fandom just in time for the Renaissance™. They met through fandom in 2019 and have been friends ever since!

Shannon (@flowerslut) lives and works in LA. When she’s not obsessively writing 250k-word fanfictions, you can find her at Emo Nite LA or making her own music under the name Maybe. Her personal blog is @uncancellable. You can also follow her on Goodreads/Storygraph!

G (@volturialice) lives in Colorado and works remotely, which leaves plenty of time for her to take long walks in the mountains and look for loose bears in the neighborhood. She is a graduate of the Fanauthor Workshop and spends a shocking amount of time at the library. You can follow her on Goodreads/Storygraph here!

What is Three Books One Plot?

3B1P (2022 - present) is a podcast created to compare and contrast Twilight and its two published rewrites: Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined (genderflipped Twilight) and Midnight Sun (Twilight from Edward’s point of view.) One part literary analysis, several parts jokes, and the rest utter shenanigans, it’s a bimonthly read-along in which hosts G and Shannon take turns reading and recounting chapters of Life and Death/Midnight Sun, and a rotating guest of the week reads and recounts Twilight. For more information on the podcast's genesis and the history of the three books, give Episode 0 a listen!

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You can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.

Are you planning to do episodes on Eclipse/Breaking Dawn?

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How have you kept your “three books” gimmick going into Season 2 and beyond?

In Seasons 2 and 3, we've kept Midnight Sun and Life and Death traditions alive by writing our own fake sequels (New Moon: Euphoria and Agony and Dark Noon, Eclipse: Warfare and Peace and Corona Light) from Beau's and Edward's POVs! G and Shannon take turns writing a chapter of each book and read them aloud on the air after each episode's normal chapter discussion.

For Season 3 (Eclipse,) we are also simultaneously be reading The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner! Look for Bree-inclusive episodes starting in March 2025, when the timelines converge.

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Why do you have an episode 0/8.5/11.5? And why is your season 1 finale/season 3 premiere episode longer than Return of the King (2003, dir. Peter Jackson)?

Listen, we never claimed to be perfect.

What are the "show notes" and where can I find them?

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We post (and reblog) the most stuff here on our tumblr, but we also have an Instagram, TikTok, and previously had a (now-defunct) Twitter. You can also contact us with inquiries or long-form comments and letters at threebooksoneplot@gmail.com 🤩

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We love responding to tumblr asks, emails, and other comments! Sometimes we even read out comments during episodes. We also post weekly polls and short-answer questions both here and on Spotify (only accessible from the mobile app.) We even occasionally host contests and challenges! You can also join our spinoff project Bella’s Book Club, a virtual book club open to anyone, which meets on discord once a month in order to discuss “Bella Swan’s” (Stephenie Meyer’s) favorite books as listed in Midnight Sun chapter 11 (and sometimes watch movies!) More info on Bella's Book Club can be found on its dedicated tumblr (here) Goodreads (here) and Storygraph (here!)

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 11/05/2024 (The Drake & Kendrick Beef Analysed in Detail. And Dua Lipa, I guess)

Yeah, yeah, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, whatever, we have more pressing issues. Sorry to break the format again so soon, but I don’t really know in what other context I can talk about all of these outside of just dumping it all together so… consider this a prologue, perhaps. I’m cactus, and before we get to the rest of the chart, I guess it’s time to discuss the you-know-whos and whatever impact this has. If you don’t care, skip to the rundown.

Part I: Okay, but what does J. Cole think of all of this?

content warning: language, abuse

The songs did not debut in exact chronological order, so that’s why I’m separating this into a different section - it allows for a cleaner timeline of what’s actually going on and allows me to develop some more cohesive thoughts. I assume everyone reading this already knows what’s going on and has probably heard the tracks or most likely even consumed some opinion pieces on it before, and that’s why I’m not doing a stricter, review-format lyrical analysis like I would for any other lyrical rap songs that appears on the chart. There’s already so much out there, and so many double-triple-quadruple-quintuple entendres on both sides, some vile accusations plastered onto both mens’ legacies and crews, and a concerning amount of discourse surrounding all of it. Am I here to contribute to that discourse? Yes, but even this soon, it just feels a bit tired, right? Pitchfork had Alphonse Pierre writing incessantly about how much he hated it before any woman-beating or child-endangering allegations were in the fold. Rap beef existing in the 2020s, the “thinkpiece era”, I don’t know, it’s exhausting. That doesn’t change the quality of the tracks though, and even that has been discussed to death, including by me - in the past few months, I’ve already reviewed “Like That”, “Push Ups” and “euphoria”, as well as touching upon “6:16 in LA” - so I won’t be retreading my steps, I’ll be attempting to give my unique perspective outside of a timeline or rundown of events, gathering thoughts on ideas I don’t really see brought up as often.

So, where were we? When I last released an episode, it was Friday and the latest diss was Kendrick’s cryptic Instagram posts where he claims he has a mule in OVO feeding him information about Drake and his crew. He’d just dropped “euphoria”, one of the best diss tracks of all time, and whilst “Push Ups” was good, I don’t think Drake really had it in him to respond to such an evisceration. I half-expected him not to acknowledge “euphoria” at all, but sadly, he did, and famously, “meet the grahams” was released just half an hour later to squash the potential legacy of Drake’s new track, which was titled “Family Matters”. The popular consensus seems to be that if Kendrick hadn’t swooped in with something “Story of Adidon” level, Drake’s “Family Matters” would be considered an excellent diss track… and I completely disagree, that shit is trash. Here’s why.

“Family Matters” is a clear emulation of “euphoria” - if Kendrick can release his seven-minute multiple-part diss track, why can’t Drake? He spent as many days as he needed to curate a very similar song - no, I’m not saying Kendrick created the idea of beat switches or long songs, but when the two are dropped directly in relation to each other, it’s difficult to summise from that, that Drake isn’t coming to battle in a very similar way to Kendrick purposefully, using his formula and structure. The problem here is focus. Kendrick, since he’s only focusing on Drake, can outline his issues in such a streamlined and digestible way that offhand remarks are catchy and memorable but hit hard within the context of the full song. All three beats are given room to breathe and transition very smoothly into each other, and the first beat even predicts Drake’s moves over a jazz beat to make the track appear condescending, defining the song’s mood from the start. “euphoria” is a tightly-constructed evisceration of Drake, that Drake simply cannot come back from, because he isn’t fighting one side. He could shut up about everyone else and leave the bars to Kendrick, but he simply doesn’t have enough about Kendrick to do that for a substantially long amount of time, and if he comes back to “euphoria” with just a three minute diss track, he looks like a clown, not that he doesn’t already if he doesn’t acknowledge Rick Ross, Future, Metro, Rocky… or at least he thinks he would look silly not dismissing them, even though realistically, that’s what we all want him to be: focused, not spraying shots at people who no one legitimately wants to see win or fail. Like who cares if The Weeknd wins or fails a rap beef? He’s not even a rapper.

The beats don’t have any thematic purpose, the first beat is one we’ve already heard before, and whilst there are plenty of disses to chew on, a lot of it is actually just completely substanceless garbage. When he’s not repeating himself, he’s whining about how YG or whoever is ACTUALLY gang-banging as if YG wouldn’t hop on “Not Like Us” today. Sure, there’s menace in… the intro, because the only time Drake sounds energetic and venomous is when interrupting his mother - classy - but it’s weak apart from a few lines poking fun at his conscious personality which are somewhat funny if not just… strange considering Kendrick  being private leads to Drake spreading rumours regarding women and children on the idea that well, if Drake says it, everyone will believe it’s true! Also, it’s telling that Drake, after failing in “Push Ups” to prove he was a better rapper or a harder, more authentic image, all he has on Kendrick revolves around women, children and gay jokes towards The Weeknd. He spends damn near a whole beat out of the three on the side characters, which I know must have been, in Drake’s eyes, a demonstration of how he just doesn’t care about those guys… but you still rapped about them for a whole song’s length and the tightest bars come from that section, primarily because they’re easier targets. It also is pretty telling that Drake, who sounds increasingly bored over cheap beats the whole time, attempts to switch the “white boy” insult into a “white flag” wordplay but he still ends up saying “Ross callin’ me the white boy and that shit kind of got a ring to it”, without ever negating it in the punchline. He still ends up calling himself white. What is this?

Regardless, “Family Matters” debuts at #17 on the UK Singles Chart this week. It was produced by Boi-1da, Tay Keith, Fierce, Kevin Mitchell, Dramakid, Preme, Jordan Fox and… Mark Ronson of all people, who I assume had something to do with the third beat, since it’s the only one that actually sounds good. Minutes after Drake dropped, we get “meet the grahams”, produced by The Alchemist and well, it left a lot of people speechless. Once again, Kendrick goes for being condescending and systematic instead of the unfocused slop we get from Drake, directing his disses not for Drake initially, but directly addressing each member of his family. It’s not the most replayable in terms of its beat bouncing or having much in the way of a hook, of course, but it is villainous and deceptively straightforward in ways. The beat is basically one loop from Alc with basic but eerie piano and one of my favourite details in this entire beef: that yelping scream in the distance. For drumless jazz beats like this, those atmospheric intricacies are so necessary, and the instrumental break refrain that separates verses, something Kendrick would do again on the second track, is too cold. I’m not a lyrical analyst, I’m not a sociopolitical analyst, so here’s why “meet the grahams” makes J. Cole look like a fucking idiot, actually.

Cole stepped out of the beef before it got personal, probably because ScHoolboy called him up and said it wasn’t about rap, and since then, if anything, Kendrick has been slightly defending Cole in his raps whilst Drake has been dismissive and insulting. Again, telling! This should make Cole look smart, slick and the bigger man for apologising and not getting himself involved in the personal, frankly gross allegations made by both men against each other, and whilst we’d all like to hear Cole and Kendrick go back and forth on bars alone, what we got was much more impactful and cinematic, something that just wouldn’t fit Cole’s homegrown image. Whilst this is true on the surface, I beg you to go back to Might Delete Later after all of that. After all the talk about how he doesn’t take Ls, about how he’s taking everyone’s girl, about how his bars are like clips or whatever, all of his boast talk - and then he slides out of this beef before shit gets venomous. Then consider all his talk about how he can’t get cancelled like Dave Chappelle and how it’s all politically correct these days, and that trans… “fellas” are still pussies… given what’s been addressed here, with a back-and-forth by the two ACTUAL members of the big three involved essentially TRYING to cancel each other, the mixtape becomes dated and purposeless so quickly that it gives credit to its name. Cole has always seen himself as the “middle child” of rap, but really, his dichotomy isn’t between mumble rap and oldheads, it’s between being pretentious and anti-intellectual, simultaneously. At least Drake embraces that he is an asshole, which is the one reason to root for his character - I don’t like “Family Matters”, but it pretty effectively places himself as the villain of the story, at least if we’re willing to accept this as a narrative, and “meet the grahams” does an even better job at that than Drake could! Cole decided to align himself with the anti-intellectual crowd whilst being all intellectual about that approach, and let’s just say that when Kendrick is winning a beef, it looks really idiotic to be blissfully ignorant. I’m sure Cole has written a few songs about all of this, but what’s telling is that Kendrick and Drake will never delete these records, because they’re a cemented part of history in their careers and really, hip hop culture. I don’t like “Family Matters” or really, “Like That”, but there are moments in those tracks now iconic and quotable that Cole has completely lost out on. Drake got his ass handed to him, but it would be even more of a loss for him economically and in the media to delete those diss tracks. Kendrick, I would assume, somewhat regrets some of the statements made because his last album presented him as slightly above it all, and he does face an increasing number of abuse allegations now that whilst I’m sure he doesn’t sweat too hard, really aren’t great for you to have around. And sure, whilst Drake might be bringing up the size of his penis in “Family Matters” for no reason, the most homoerotic moment in this dick-swinging context might be the fact that Kendrick’s biggest song in years is focused entirely on another man’s sex crimes. Neither come out clean, but they come out with more dignity than the guy who thought he was hot shit and ended the beef with less streams, less name-drops and less tracks on his album because I bet you forgot, but he’s actually started to back track and delete the records. The only person to see this as a genuine stain on the legacy, a genuine piercing of the armour, is Cole, which is why he can’t be in that big three. Because he cares too much to prove he’s there in the first place.

On the UK charts, “meet the grahams” debuts at #28, but it doesn’t matter because the night after, he drops “Not Like Us”, a DJ Mustard banger, beats Drake at his own game and has people all across the world in clubs singing “OV-HOE”. It debuts at #10 and is co-produced with Sounwave and Sean Momberger, but the idea that Mustard is on the beat, giving Kendrick a classic West Coast banger to end out the beef whilst Drake is stuck with a myriad of identity-less tracks (ironically, one wherein he shouts out YG), is a diss in itself. Nobody cares about how much of this is true, if any of it is, because people believe that reckoning with that fact takes us out of enjoying music, which I think it’s silly but also a story for another day. I don’t idolise either of these guys - Hell, I preferred Drake’s last record to Kendrick’s - but through sheer lyrical dexterity and chess moves, Kendrick won the beef and shattered Drake’s PR statement of a comeback, “The Heart Part 6”, into pieces before it could even be rebuilt from the fragments of Drake’s pride. You can’t release a diss track that has you defending yourself against false allegations, if 1.) you yourself made false accusations and 2.) no one cares if the accusations are true, just who says them louder and harder, which is exactly why Kendrick knew “meet the grahams” wasn’t enough and that’s why he needed to drop the Mustard joint. Drake may be calculated, and a master manipulator, but he cannot out-guess the biggest hypocrite of 2015. And 2024. And maybe forever, I don’t know, he could drop something tomorrow. Now let’s shut my hoe ass up and review some charts.

----

Part II: REVIEWING THE CHARTS

content warning: The Chainsmokers

So, Kendrick has four songs in the UK Singles Chart right now as a primary artist, which shouldn’t be allowed according to OCC rules normally, but I guess even the Official Charts Company just wants to see blood. As for the songs that actually dropped out of the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, after spending five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40, we say farewell to “II MOST WANTED” by Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus, as well as Bey’s cover of “JOLENE”, “if u think i’m pretty” by Artemas, “Wasted Youth” by goddard. and Cat Burns (shame that one didn’t reach a higher peak, I really like it), “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and, perhaps most vindictively for this week, “H.Y.B.” by J. Cole featuring Bas and Central Cee. Ha.

We see two kind of inexplicable but also irrelevant returns with “Whatever” by Kygo and Ava Max at #74 and “As it Was” by Harold Styles at #41, but otherwise we do have a handful of notable gains, including “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers once again at #65, now the biggest song ever to never hit #1. It just never dies. Aside from that, there are boosts for Dua Lipa’s “Training Season” at #61 thanks to the album, more on that later, “Love Me JeJe” by Tems at #52 - a little detail I missed with the debut last week is that the phrase in the title was adopted from a well-revered track in Nigeria of the same name by Seyi Sodimu, which I thought was notable enough to consider sn error of research. Whoops. Put that in the corrections column. We also see “Slow it Down” by Bento Box at #23, some boosts for Kendrick as “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin and, Ye I guess now, is at #20 whilst “euphoria” stalls at #11, and finally, Tommy Richman gets his first top 10 with the smash hit “MILLION DOLLAR BABY”. Really can’t complain.

As for our top five, it consists of “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone at #5, “Beautiful Things” by Benny the Butcher at #4, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey at #3, “Too Sweet” by Hozier and #2, and finally, for a second week, Sabrina Carpenter is at #1 with “Espresso”. We still have five new songs debuting this week that aren’t disses, so let’s have some fun with songs that hopefully won’t be as heavy, and we start where every good night of fun starts. With the Chainsmokers.

New Entries

#75 - “Addicted” - Zerb, The Chainsmokers and Ink

Produced by Zerb and The Chainsmokers

Zerb is a Brazilian DJ who’s found his way into a collaboration with everyone’s favourite duo The Chainsmokers and smooth R&B singer Ink, with a Joel Corry remix probably helping this one end up at the bottom of the chart here. Now I do like The Chainsmokers, but not necessarily their work with other vocalists, as they’re not nearly as willing to experiment when it’s not just the two boys embarrassing themselves. Ink, who really just sounds like a BTEC The-Dream on here, doesn’t command much of the track due to that wispy tone, but Zerb being on board probably helps the squibbling synths spiral into more of an intense, detailed drop that traces bassy future house amidst some genuinely weird and oddly full percussive elements and sound effects, especially that incessant shaker in the pre-drop. You can tell these guys are professionals, as the sound design is very intricate and makes so much use of its available space whilst not being too fluid or syrupy, it goes decently hard, and whilst Zerb may not be The-Dream, he gets close. And I like The-Dream. I like this too. It’s a jam. Give it a chance, it kept growing on me like a brain parasite as I was listening.

#71 - “Right Here” - Becky Hill

Produced by Chase & Status

Whilst rap rivalries are brewing, EDM DJ duos seem to be having a good week by sticking together - with Chase & Status on board, this is pretty much confirmed to be at least decent before taking a listen and, well, obviously it’s good. At this point, I might just like Becky Hill’s output overall, at least from this upcoming album, and the decision from the boys to position an 80s pop rock melodrama with the soaring synths and plastic guitar below an absolute rolick of drum and bass feels very much like a throwback to the dancefloor DnB era from the early to mid 2010s, and I may like more atmospheric drum and bass tracks a lot of the time but I’m not above some unabashed pop, and this really has the momentum and kick to justify itself. Sure, the mix is a bit awkward, but the same can be said for a lot of drum and bass, and it’s not like that genre has ever suffered from being loud or overwhelming, especially not in festival mood, and the layering of Becky’s belting over those classic 90s hardcore pianos is an interesting touch compared to what I probably would have done, drowned her in reverb and echo like they sometimes did back in the day. The explosive approach taken here backs up an already infectious hook and results in yet another damn good track by Becky Hill, which would be a foreign idea to me throughout the rest of my time doing this show.

#68 - “The Door” - Teddy Swims

Produced by Julian Bunetta and Ammo

I didn’t even think we’d get a second song from Teddy Swims, but I was wrong about that when it came to David Kushner, Noah Kahan and  that Boonetown Rat over at #4 so maybe this is just the year of the edged-up white boy. I still think “Lose Control” is okay, and in terms of pure singing process, Teddy’s got a lot more soul and presence than them. That’s really carrying this one though, and whilst the groove’s a solid throwback, the reverb dampens its impact and it sounds like he’s recording the whole thing from a cave, but not a vintage chasm like Spector’s best stuff, just… a small cave near a river or some swampland. The songwriting also feels a bit basic, it isn’t all too compelling and goes for some very typical tropes, predictable rhymes, even if the “oh no!” is a bit of a fun inflection. Bunetta and Ammo also don’t let the song progress much, even just from verse to chorus, it feels stuck. I figured that when that soaring disco string section came in, we’d get a proper bridge that made it all feel satisfying, but it does tampers off into a post-chorus and we get a basic repetition of the chorus again. If you’re going to try and replicate a vintage sound, at least show respect to how they composed their tracks too, not just cosplay within their soundfont.

#67 - “Risk” - Gracie Abrams

Produced by Aaron Dessner and Gracie Abrams

Producing for Taylor Swift is the best idea the Dessners had ever. Now these indie folksters are going to have labels calling for them to prop up their attempts at making pop stars - I don’t like The National, like… at all, but get the bag, guys, I prefer them over The Monsters & Strangerz, or God forbid Julia Michaels. The largely-failed Gracie Abrams experiment has been an industry push for five years now, but the daughter of film director J. J. Abrams finally has a hit of her own and… okay, maybe calling her “own” hit was a misnomer, because this has O-Rod and T-Swift written all over it. You could genuinely run the whole thing through a Taylor Swift AI filter and I’d believe you, I imagine this is like hearing the track the “Heart on My Sleeve” guy recorded before he put the Drake effect on. It has Olivia’s wordy teenage anxiety and acoustic tones, but to be fair, Abrams is a lot more optimistic than her inspirations, with her breathy pleading that this relationship is going to work out over acoustic guitars that don’t feel relentless,  but do feel like they never end, just keep going, and the song keeps on adding elements that don’t stop them or alleviate the anxious playing at all. The same thing can be said about Gracie’s vocal take, or the wonky synth subtly placed into the chorus - classic Dessner - and the little lyrical details that make this feel as real as it does - if she’s invested, then damn, so am I, it feels like my friend is rambling or venting to me about the “tea” as the kids say and I’m on the edge of my seat. Surprisingly enough, of all things that sold me on this ballad, it’s the intensity, and the drums ramping up by the end into a rolick makes me forgive how derivative this feels… mostly because it’s doing a better job at this sound and concept than Swift is, statistically, half of the time, and emulates O-Rod’s youthful authenticity a bit less obnoxiously than she typically pulls. I know that’s a feature, not a bug, but I still prefer when it’s patched out. Excellent song.

#40 - “These Walls” - Dua Lipa

Produced by Danny L Harle and Andrew Wyatt

I wasn’t over the Moon with Radical Optimism the way I was with Future Nostalgia, mostly because outside of a nice vibe, the songs felt artifically short, awkwardly constructed and not nearly as adventurous or even cohesive as the people involved, or “Houdini” as a lead single, would have suggested. I wrote about her latest #1 album more at length on my RateYourMusic listening log - account name’s exclusivelytopostown, check it out if you care - but this was an obvious choice for the next single, because it’s one of the album’s tightest, with that psychedelic guitar lick blossoming amidst a mixture of trinkling keys before we slap right into an actually fittingly stiff pop rock groove, with a nice, subtle crunchy drum fill in the mix that I find a really interesting, distorted inclusion. It really helps the song feel claustrophobic and fed up, as the content is about the pre-empting of a breakup wherein both Dua and her partner are stuck in a frustratingly disappointing relationship where the love just… isn’t really there anymore, but they don’t want to face the reality of separation because that might be harder to grapple with than just keeping silent. For once on this album, the bridge doesn’t feel smashed in post-haste, Hell, it might not even need a bridge, and Harle’s attention to detail is on full display here, as the post-chorus keeps the dissonance going by making Dua just slightly off-key, it’s brilliant. A very tightly written and composed pop song, as well as possibly the record’s most vulnerable and honest moment, in an album that otherwise coasts off vibes. I definitely think this one could help a great deal with the record’s success later down the line.

Conclusion

Whoo, that was a lot, huh? Well, Best of the Week goes to Kendrick Lamar, obviously, for both “meet the grahams” and “Not Like Us”, but it was closer than you’d expect for Gracie Abrams who takes the Honourable Mention with “Risk”. This was actually a pretty great week overall for song quality, at least within the new tracks, so despite Teddy trying to hold his ship together, it still sinks and grants him the Dishonourable Mention for “The Door”. As for the Worst of the Week, I’d say I feel bad for Drake considering he got destroyed this week already but if what Kendrick is saying is true, I think I’d rather not say I feel bad for him at all. And if what Drake is saying is true… well, let’s just say “Family Matters”. Thank you for reading, rest in peace to rock engineering legend Steve Albini, Eurovision next week, and I’ll see you then.

[for-thosewhocare]

The A List

I’ve been rewatching the A list and Oh My God.

I remember why I loved it so much. The dynamics and plot is what made me so invested. From the title and cover, you would have no idea what this show would be about. It’s a mystery from the start.

I do believe this is one of Netflix is a last shows targeted at the age group between 10 to about 15 where they’re too young to watch things like Euphoria and 13 Reasons Why but they don’t wanna watch Dora. And let’s be real, shows towards that age group get canceled quick, look at Julie and the phantoms for instance. Be honest, kids shows that aren’t like blow up bubble guppies and Sesame Street don’t really get as much attention. It’s like there’s no market for them at all.

Keep in mind I could be wrong. I don’t know every show that it’s on Netflix catalog but I do know what gets pushed and it’s not the family friendly shows.

But getting back to the A-list, the show itself has an amazing plot filled with mystery turns and a little bit of drama. But paired with that it’s also immensely diverse. I don’t believe the show is part of the representation matters collection that Netflix has, but it should be it even found a way to portray a healthy LGBTQ plus relationship without that being those characters main personality traits and still allowing for them to be a part of the plot outside of their sexuality. That is exactly how it should be because being gay is not a personality trait rather than a part of your identity but that’s neither here nor there. Not only that, but it does have characters of many races and ethnicities and I don’t think that that should be ignored.

The show also even made me finally have a main character that I dislike. I typically find a little bit to like an every main character but I don’t know something about Mia. She’s not exactly my favorite person in the world but she’s workable. I like the fact that you can see clear difference in her character development from the first season to the second season and unfortunately, there are only two seasons, 10 episodes each in the series. But in similarity to Mia, Amber is also equally unlikable. I don’t like the villain or the hero and that is very different for me. Usually I can find at least a little bit to like in a character and for those two characters I can find some moments where they are likable at least in the first season but overall they both suck. And make it even better. They both going out to the same boy, who is completely clueless, and it gets on my nerves BAD. But as for the background characters, I like them; They make the show very much worthwhile. I am not even talking about the gay ones.

I’m not gonna fully get into the characters in this review because I would like to do character reviews at some point in my busy schedule but let’s mostly talk about how I think shows like the A-list should get more attention from Netflix and Netflix’s viewers. I’m very disappointed they decided to cancel the showing a cliffhanger, and I do think that the show had a lot of potential artistically. Similar to The Greenhouse Academy, it does have painfully basic dialogue and I feel like they could have put a little bit more work into that and not continuously try to appeal to teenagers.

Besides that fact, it does have a good plot overall, I do believe that if the show was done by a company like HBO, they probably would’ve upped the antics a little bit and maybe it would’ve been less of a kid show but the dialogue would be way less painful to watch and I wouldn’t feel like I have to endure the bad parts.

With that said the show is what Disney wish they can put out. No hate to any of Disney shows. I just think that they think their viewers are idiots and you can see it in the dialogue that they put clearly little to no work into. Other than the dialogue, there is also things like the visuals and the outfit choices that I do like

They don’t dress their characters like adults they dress like teenagers. I can see any one of my friends wearing any of these outfit. They’re not something I would make fun of like in shake it up or some thing that would make me audibly gasped like in euphoria, but rather they seem like outfits that people from the ages of 13 to even 18 would wear.

Also, they are set in a seemingly realistic situation that a teenager could find themselves in. It’s just summer camp. The show was like Bunk’d on steroids. I feel like a lot of kids, especially in the US have had the experience of being sent camping at a summer camp. I mean not me, but a lot of kids have. The most I’ve been sent to our regular camps that are inside of schools but not camping but anyway, I digress.

The shots in the show are taken as if there’s someone watching them. It’s kind of like office style but less obvious. Within the shot, you can see leaves next to the camera or in the frame or they will take quick notice to food around and stuff like that I just appreciate the detailing of the camera work.

With that said…can we pay attention to the set?? The set itself has amazing earthy tones, as if it was an actual summer camp. I also like the fallen trees and the stumps that you can see around it and inside of the cabins they really put in detail, as if there were a group of teenage girls living in it. With that I also think that the make up that they put on the cast is realistic for teenage girls, because as someone who has gone out and been in nature environment, it didn’t stop me from putting on a little bit of eyeliner.

Overall, I would give the show a solid eight out of 10 because dialogue as you know is worth a lot for me and that’s the only thing that I see it missing mostly the only plot hole is that an occurrence because the show we are unfinished so I can’t even add that into the contrast of the entire show.

[remembertheplunge]

A day in the life

September 24, 2022 Saturday 9:40pm

Although I should have stayed home, cleaned and worked cases, the Ocean Goddess called and I had to answer.

I swam one half mile in Aquatic Park, at the behest of Ken, who rescued me the 2nd hypothermic shock incident that I had. For that, he said that I owe him a beer.

He said to eat oatmeal and to dink warm tea pre swim for fuel.

He also said to swim to the flag once, and then to get out of the water and see how you feel.

Hypothermia is insidious. Euphoria proceeds the crash.

Another man said to touch finger to thumb while swimming. If you can do that, you don’t have hypothermia. Hypothermia is called the claw.

Another Dolphin Club member said that my ‘Ken” episode (Second session of hypothermic shock) was posted on line as a warning on the Dolphin Club Website. My name was not mentioned.

Spent the day in part in 1988.  (Journal review)

I came out in the Modesto Gay Bars in June. A boyfriend from Mendecino was with me.

I had forgotten all that.

And, the circle Sparkler dance we did around John Hickman on his 31st and last birthday.

Naked bicyclists were just past Jefferson turnout near the Dolphine club as I returned to my car to get my swim suit today.

Aquatic Park. I Loved it!

Later, some of them were near the Twin Peaks Bar on the Castro with nothing on!

Four guys walking up Market Street to the Twin Peaks called it “the crystal coffin” which they said that the Peaks deserved.

End of entry

Note:

This entry is a “day in the life’ entry.

I’m a member of the Dolphin Club in San Fransisco. The Dolphin Club is located on Jefferson Street. It is an ocean swimming and rowing club.

Hypothermic shock occurs when , due to over exposure to cold water, your core body temperature drops below 95 degrees. Your hands can freeze in a claw position. Your heart slows and can stop. You can die. 

Aquatic Park is a small bay Across the street from Ghirardelli’s in San Francisco, Ca. There are a series of buoys across the bay. The last one has a flag. The Dolphin Club sits at the western end of the bay. A swim from the club beach to the flag and back is about one half mile.

John Hickman was a gay man that I met through Aids support Hand to Hand in Sacramento. John had Aids and eventually died of it. Most likely a group of we Hand to Hand volunteers did a circle dance around him with sparklers on his last birthday.

Before Aids, John had been an extremely good looking man. He was from Michigan.

The Twin Peaks is a bar at Market and Castro Streets in San Fransisco. It’s where I met my partner Jim in 1997. Older gay men tend to be the main clientele, thus the nick name “crystal coffin."

My Mendocino boyfriend was a little older than me and lived in Mendocino. I drove up there and stayed with him one time. He apparently came to see me in Modesto and we went out to the bars in 1988. I haven’t heard from him in decades.

[superhell]

Do you have a list of rec house episodes to go feral over for a humble follower to rewatch?

ok peer reviewed list in order under the cut (not sure what exactly you were looking for so we just went with the insanity cut):

Season 1: Pilot, Paternity, DNR, Histories, Detox, Three Stories, and Honeymoon

Season 2: Daddy's Boy, Hunting, The Mistake, Failure to Communicate, Need to Know, Distractions, Clueless, All In, House vs. God, Euphoria, and No Reason

Season 3: Informed Consent, Lines in the Sand, Son of a Coma Guy, One Day One Room, Airborne, and Resignation

Season 4: The Right Stuff, 97 Seconds, Mirror Mirror, Ugly, Frozen, Living the Dream, and of course House's Head/Wilson's Heart

Season 5: Dying Changes Everything, Not Cancer, Birthmarks, Lucky Thirteen, Joy, The Itch, Last Resort, Joy to the World, Painless, The Greater Good, The Social Contract, Locked In, Simple Explanation, House Divided, and Both Sides Now

Season 6: Broken, Epic Fail, The Tyrant, Known Unknowns, Teamwork, Ignorance is Bliss, Wilson, The Down Low, 5 to 9, Private Lives, Lockdown, The Choice, Baggage, and Help Me

Season 7: Now What, Unplanned Parenthood, A Pox on Our House, Small Sacrifices, Bombshells, Out of the Chute, The Dig, Last Temptation, After Hours, and Moving On.

Season 8: Twenty Vicodin, Transplant, Risky Business, The Confession, Dead and Buried, Runaways, Nobody's Fault, Chase, Man of the House, Love is Blind, Gut Check, and the last 5 episodes.

[hashtagloveloses]

I have to ask: As someone who used to work in social media and who knows a lot about current pop culture happenings, why was Succession so popular/successful? My parents are OBSESSED with it now, not a day passes where they don’t watch at least two episodes after dinner and I cannot stand it (it’s just not my thing). What makes people love it so much?

so there’s a few things to keep in mind here:

1. there’s a difference between POPULAR and TALKED ABOUT or BUZZY. what you see people discuss online a lot or not isn’t always a reflection of what the majority of people are actually watching, which is harder to measure these days bc streaming platforms hide their numbers, but if you look at places like FlixPatrol, Parrot Analytics, etc, you’ll see certain things that always did well on broadcast, like procedurals and the Simpsons and shit, are still popular across both network and streaming, despite what’s talked about online. sometimes the buzz does intersect, but the venn diagram isn’t always a circle. this is why when people say “why arent people talking about x” or “people talk too much about y” im like well. that’s just what generates engagement online, not necessarily the majority’s opinions or tastes.

2. shows or other pieces of media that encourage sustained conversation in some way will always be buzzy, bc platforms are pushed by engagement, positive or negative. SUCCESSION, much like many other HBO shows like GAME OF THRONES, aired at a time weekly most people in many popular western markets could watch it around the same time and post about it in the same language, Sunday nights, and didn’t drop at all at once so it allowed conversation to snowball and to be sustained. Game of Thrones didn’t have to be good to be popular. It was just on at the same time every week at a good time for most people around the world to watch within a 24 hour period and talk about at once. so it trends or floats to the top and other people see it and check it out. HBO kind of perfected this but doesn’t realize this is one of their strengths, bc David Zaslav is an idiot.

3. A show being well written and made does help! People notice the quality, even subconsciously, and it makes people talk about it more, and ironically word of mouth matters more now than ever bc we have infinite entertainment choices against TV. When something is good, it stands out, especially bc late stage capitalism has ground people with any talent or creativity into dust. BUT the content of the show (or any piece of media) itself also has elements that will ALWAYS make people talk about it online or otherwise, which pushes engagement (and things like GOT and Euphoria did too)

- terrible people we can all hate together

- controversial shit we can fight about

- moments that are shareable (either good dialogue as memes or crazy visuals from action scenes)

- in the case of Succession and GOT, a finite end point to argue over and speculate about. Who will inherit? Who will sit on the Iron Throne?

4. specific to Succession, this is a show about the media, and nobody loves that more than people who work in the media (i would know), who also happen to be the majority of people pushing conversation online and also writing reviews, so that’s what trickles down to regular viewers. as somebody who has been fucked over by millionaires in media many times, watching those bitches fight amongst each other can be satisfying. (Succession isn’t my thing either but I can see why). even if you don’t work in the media, in a time of a widening income inequality gap, watching rich people suffer and be assholes to each other is very fun. it’s why Knives Out is fun. or Real Housewives. or even Game of Thrones (bc half of them were landed gentry).

all that being said, the reason your parents like it may simply be that they knew a lot of people with similar tastes talking about it, checked it out, and it’s a well made show so they got hooked. combination of timing, word of mouth, and quality filmmaking barely ever happens but when it does you get a good show that’s also popular (Abbott Elementary is also a great example. these are exceptions to the rule, where most pieces of media struggle in one or more of these fronts.)

my parents are also HBO drama people since Six Feet Under and the Sopranos and you know what all of that has in common? well written TV about terrible families we can shoot the shit about around the water cooler on Mondays, or on Twitter. because at the end of the day, NOTHING brings people together, even my parents who don’t like each other, or opinionated fuckers online, like hating shitty people together.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Saturday, June 8th - Sunday, June 9th

KENNEDY: OK. One drink. I can work with that. Let's start with the easy stuff. How long have you known? That you're gay. WILLOW: Wait. That's easy? And you just assume that I'm—I'm gay. I mean, presume much? KENNEDY: (grins) OK. How long have you enjoyed having sex with women? WILLOW: Hey! What, you think you have some special lesbidar or something?

~~The Killer in Me~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Relationship Status by veronyxk84 (Buffy, Dawn, PG-13)

I Don't Play Well With Others by Val_Creative (Buffy/Angel, not rated)

The Two of You by frogfarm (crossover with Supernatural, Willow/Lenore, T)

A Different World by TannaraMoonvale (crossover with Supernatural, Scoobies, T)

take note by CallMeVampy (Giles/Anya, T)

Seas the Day by honeygirl51885 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Relationship Status by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy, Dawn, anthology rated PG-13)

Ready For More by MaggieLaFey (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Recommencer - Chapter 16 (COMPLETE!) by FridayQueen (Buffy/Faith, M, in French)

Hero - Chapter 3 (COMPLETE!) by Xyex (Buffy/Willow, Buffy & Kendra, Buffy & Joyce, M)

origin of species - Chapter 1-2 by eagle_eyes (Cordelia, AtS ensemble, T)

stay awake with me (worm your way back in) - Chapter 1 by pumpkin_berry (Buffy/Faith, M)

In Any Life, Ch. 14 by Spikelover4ever (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

I Shall Dress In Aeternum, part 1 by BlueZeroZeroOne (Highlander crossover, Buffy, FR15)

The Watcher-Who-Lived, Ch. 1 by TheDullahan (Harry Potter crossover, Amy, FR18)

A New Game, Ch. 1 by Balder (Buffy, Joyce, Xander x Dawn, FR18)

Out For A Walk... Bitch, Ch. 19-20 (COMPLETE!) by MaggieLaFey (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Truth Hurts, Ch. 1-5 (COMPLETE!) by Geliot99 (Buffy/Spike, R)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Drawing: angel they could never make me hate you by egonkula (Angel, Acathla, worksafe)

Vid: Buzzer by ladyofthelakes (Faith)

Buffy by lialivingart (worksafe)

Buffy by lystacre (worksafe)

Xander and Anya in OMWF by mistyintherivers (some nudity)

A Faith/Dawn manip by bratsallwomansized (everyone is clothed)

Spike screenshots captioned by text posts by jamie-the-scene-kid (worksafe, some NSFW text if you zoom in)

Comic: Not A Date, part 5 by Grief Counseling, Dusty (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Date Night by all choseny (Buffy/Spike, collection rated PG-13)

Buffy's Christmas List by Dynamite (Buffy/Spike, collection rated NC-17)

Angel game just designed by girlpire (Angel, worksafe)

🔪 BTVS 519. Tough Love 🔪 by tmcarlee (Willow/Tara, worksafe)

Vid: Let Her Go by Wackamack-98 (Angel/Cordelia)

[Reviews & Recaps]

dead man’s party is so good by initiumseries

first time watch [season 1 up to episode 6] by Specialist-Orchid-80

What's an underrated badass moment (preferably from someone besides Buffy)? by Ok_Area9367

Season 5: The Gift by Tall_Secretary4133

[Recs & In Search Of]

Buffy omnibus 1,2,3 for sale by nonnatwo

[Fandom Discussions]

[the song] ‘i look in peoples windows’ is SOOO angel by bangelism

Re: thoughts on Kennedy by laufire

The most special Tillow moment for me... by maybebitterxox

The scoobies are always questioning Buffy's logic and instincts... by kookygobbledygook, unmarkedcards

This episode has Angel get drugged, inducing euphoria which in turn makes him evil, but... by nicnacsnonsense, ymfingsteadilyon

Spike being able to attack the scientists by zorilleerrant

[Thematic parallels between Angel and Willow] by 5bi5, lightdancer1

Did Riley make the right choice? by November and others

How would you change/recreate the show? by NoShip

Something I noticed about Angel and Faith's friendship by Other_Thing_2551

Why did they write Connor out of Angel? hosted by OptionNo1672

[AtS] Season 3 episodes 2 and 3 switched? by HazelCheese

This is what Xander sees when he looks at Angel by drawandpaintbyfire

What series would each character binge? hosted by ErrForceOnes

Spike's behaviour in Seeing Red is perfectly in character by figinmyteeth

Did anyone else think Kennedy was kinda hot? by UnicornScientist803

The vast majority of [Spike's] close relationships were with women. by beeemkcl

I’ve always wondered exactly what the relationship was like between Dawn and Faith prior to Bad Girls by AndrewHeard

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[zontiky]

ok i watched tua4 episode 1 here are my thoughts

man what the hell

i did like how this episode paralleled a lot of s1e1. very nice. id have to check but just going off memory im pretty sure not only did the beats parallel a lot, but specific shots too. eating it up

another cult plot? ok. whatever

10/10 for everyone being joyless and washed up

klaus and claire being close was cute! my dad thought klaus being paranoid about death now that he's lost his powers was cool

seeing viktor/elliot page's transition was. really fucking awesome. his voice especially was really great to hear. happy for him + secondhand euphoria i guess

luther putting on the helmet -> strip club was hysterical unfortunately i was watching the episode with my parents. but it was so good

idk i think the new villains could be interesting but my dad's already watched the whole season and based on his reviews my hopes aren't high

swag. happy that this show is finally wrapping up and i'll be free of it forever

[nysocboy]

Euphoria: Two high school boys in love, gay/bi affairs, toxic masculinity, and Brock O'Hurn

I went in Euphoria Episode 2.3 cold, with no prior research.  All I knew was that Brock O'Hurn had a nude frontal (fully aroused, not a prosthetic).  And I had a vague impression that the show was about paranormal events in a quirky small town.

Scene 1: A woman named Rue narrates.  "When Cal was a senior in high school...."  Holy cow, the screen fills with his butt as he puts on his underwear!   

Cal (Elias Kacavas) calls his friend Derek (Henry Eikenberry), insults him by implying that he's a woman ("put your bra and panties on"), and then drives over to pick him up.

Holy cow, cock shots of both of them,then a close-up of Derek's butt and cock in the locker room!   When they get girlfriends, they have a skinny-dipping party, with even more cock!

After graduation, they're going to separate colleges, so they have to part.  On their last night together, they go to a redneck honky-tonk gay bar, where they slow-dance and kiss a lot.  Then next morning, Cal gets a call from his girlfriend: she's pregnant! So the preacher in my old church was right: homa-sekshuls cause teen pregnancy.

Darn, yet another plotline about gayness as something for adolescents, to be abandoned for heterosexual destiny!  Well, at least we saw a lot of cocks, and Brock O'Hurn's aroused frontal is coming up.

After the 1990s flashback, we cut to modern day high school students, and I get completely lost.  This is not the sort of show where you can start in media res. As far as I can tell, there are plotlines about addiction and recovery, some sort of criminal activity, and four central relationship groups (some of the background comes from the Euphoria wiki)

1, Cal (Eric Dane, right) is now middle-aged, married, with two sons. Eldest son Nate (Jacob Elordi, left), a football player who oozes toxic masculinity, is dating/abusing evil antagonist Cassie (both straight).  

2. Rue, the narrator, is involved with Jules, a trans woman, who is involved with Ellie (Dominic Fike), who is straight (well, not into labels) and interested in Rue. 

3. Rue's friend Kat is involved with Ethan (Austin Abrams, left), but suffers from delusions and keeps breaking up with or gaslighting him.

4. Cal (remember him?) runs afoul of Rue's drug dealer, Fezco (Angus Cloud), who is angry about the Nate situation.   Cal also had sex with Jules, but begged her not to tell anyone, for fear that it would hurt his reputation (because she is a minor, or because she is trans?).  And. in the next episode, he returns to the redneck honky-tonk gay bar and dances with a man, who he pretends is his long-lost boyfriend Derek. 

Where the heck is Brock? I read the IMDB wrong. He appears as Super Hot Warrior Man in Episode 2.2, and shows his aroused dick to the delusional Kat. 

Quirky small towns:  That's Eureka, not Euphoria

My grade:  I didn't care much for the old-fashioned, stereotypic view of sexual identity, but these are teenagers, trying to figure things out in a world of abusive or clueless adults, so I'll give them a pass. B

The numerous frontal and rear nude photos are on the NSFW version of this review.

[archduke42]

Another thought on Barriss' story

I was watching a fair amount of reviews of TotE on youtube, just to get perhaps different perspectives and reviews of the arcs (Mostly the Barriss arc)

Some of the criticisms were valid (Too much story with short episodes, so much story missing to tell)

Some criticisms were subjective (some people wanted more Sith dynamic, a duel with Ahsoka, some people think redeeming Lyn was too much redemption)

Most of the critiques were positive of Barriss character arc, but felt the story needed more to it, or it was a repetitive theme that the Lyn/Barriss duel was parallel to Kenobi/Maul's duel in Rebels although there was maybe one or two critics disappointed that Barriss found redemption. Of course, Barriss getting impaled naturally has people feeling that Barriss will only be dead until Filoni wants to pull her back into a story in the future.

I guess my reason for bringing this up is that everyone is still fresh in the Euphoria (or disappointment) in TotE and the Barriss arc. Personally, I am very glad that all future tributes to Barriss don't have to focus on her speech at the trial in Season 5, but the more bittersweet scenes from her duel with Lyn, which I find to be more beautiful in that we can finally celebrate Barriss as a true Jedi. Given that the original Order 66 Death and the Original death planned for Wrong Jedi were both rather brutal, I am happy that her final fight with 4th Sister was a more soft and appropriate experience for fans. That, and I can see Barriss being quite a subject for conversations, art, cosplay, fanfiction, panels at future Star Wars celebrations, etc.

I think it makes me feel good that she is going to be even more popular as time goes by, despite critiques of TotE, even if she never returns to canon. She may very well become the legend I think a lot of us hoped she could be.

[deviiancetv]

Cinema Starview Presents: The Idol…? 👎🏽

So, I’ve watched 3 episodes and have officially decided to stop watching. The reviews and critics of the show are right, but over exaggerate the narrative they’re trying to paint by sounding like prudes.

The series follows Jocelyn, an aspiring pop star, trying to have a comeback after suffering from a nervous breakdown, and the death of her abusive mother. These episodes revolve around Joce trying to reclaim her title as the sexiest pop star in America. With the hectic celebrity life, she begins a complex relationship with Tedros, a self-help guru and the head of a contemporary cult.

I won’t disagree with the fact that it DOES showcases the overly sexual stuff, but it’s not extreme, it’s just annoying, not needed and doesn’t move the plot forward. It’s just there for the ratchet sake of our current hyper-sexualized culture and overexposure of the female body. If there’s gonna be nudity, it should be equal nudity or none at all.

This show has honestly just confirmed that Sam Levinson definitely needs to be investigated in the future for how much he over sexualizes his white female characters. I won’t be surprised if Euphoria gets cancelled because of his terrible erotic writing. I think this show HAS ruined the mystique of The Weeknd by showcasing how he doesn’t care about women stories. I never knew he was this pretentious as he is. Lily Rose Depp is the only grace I can give this show, but she doesn’t save the show at all.

Also, we need to trash the entire narrative of the pop star with trauma, cause it never works the way it should and it’s always tying back to the negative press Britney Spears has received over the years. She needs a break, and shouldn’t be used for plot conveniency to progress a storyline about the darkness of Hollyweird.

I only kept coming back for Moses Sumney and they barely show Jennie, so K-POP stans were used and pandered to. Overall, I’m not watching or finishing the rest of this show.

SCORE: 2/10 ⭐️

(Please tip if you liked this review, tipping is a great source of revenue for a small artist & blogger such as myself 🤍)

[waitmyturtles]

I’ll definitely have more thoughts tomorrow, but on the first episode of the second season of My Beautiful Man/Utsukushii Kare, really quickly:

1) Goddamn, my heart, THESE TWO. Hagiwara and Yagi, SWOON, YOU GUYS. (I HIGHLY recommend following the Utsukare IG account. These two are HILARIOUS together in their clips -- no weird skinship, just hilarious chemistry, they make each other crack up all the time.)

2) I’m wondering if I need to rewatch the first season entirely, because -- the elements of COMEDY in this second season are FABULOUS, and I actually wonder if I missed an underlying sense of ironic humor in the first season. This first S2 episode is making me wonder.

3) Hira and Kiyoi’s narcissistic walls are coming down. I wrote in my essential BLs review of the first season that they were BOTH hardcore narcissists, and I am just loving this second season starting out with them stumbling to connect, to understand their complicated feelings internally about each other -- this is great. (It is, of course, a little narcissistic of each of them to recognize that their feelings are complicated WITHOUT engaging each other about it, but I’m not going to hold that against them as they grow.)

4) I LOVE THE CINEMATOGRAPHY. It’s a little reminiscent of the difference in cinematography between seasons 1 and 2 of Euphoria. (And actually, I couldn’t get through the second season of Euphoria, in part because the filming style was SO drastically different, and the actors had aged out of high school too much during the pandemic.) This difference is better than Euphoria, in my opinion. I think the style of filming, the lighting, the edits, indicate a maturity to their lives that the almost frosty-edged style of filming of the first season didn’t have, that kind of shiny-bright, sparkling style of filming for the first season gave light to a kind of high school-level of love that the guys are growing out and beyond from. 

More tomorrow. (Also, can’t help it, Diet Butcher actually looks like a super cute brand! Not sure about the phrasing of DIET BUTCHER -- I’d love to butcher my diets, good lord -- but the clothes look kee-yoot.)

[euphorial-docx]

the idol episode 1 review

ok so… i watched it. it’s definitely a show, at least.

i will briefly talk first about my opinions on everyone else’s opinions:

i do not believe in the censorship of media. i think people can make whatever they want, even if i don’t personally enjoy or agree with it. maybe that’s a chronically online ao3 mentality shifting over to other arts, but i don’t think it’s a bad thing.

i think enforcing what can and cannot be made, and who can and cannot make certain things, is bullshit. i don’t agree with with that. i think sam levinson can make this type of show if he wants to, no matter my feelings on it (and oh boy do i have a lot of them.)

and i do not think a “boycott” will work at all. maybe this show will be cancelled, or get a production overhaul for season 2, but y’all… i know 70% of the people trying to boycott the idol also watch euphoria. and jesus christ stop saying people are demons if they watch the idol— guilting people over what they consume is stupid and does nothing to change conditions.

additionally, i want to talk about the drama behind the scenes:

i know all the drama. i think it was shitty to fire amy seimetz after she finished 80% of it, and it was shitty to scrap everything, and shitty to turn it into what it is now. not arguing that. it was a huge waste of the money, time, and effort of hundreds of people to bring sam levinson in and boot amy out.

sam levinson is also known to be a dick when directing. his sets on euphoria were hectic, his sets on the idol were hectic— the man needs to let more people help him in every step of filmmaking instead of hoarding everything to himself and believing he’s above collaboration.

and now for the actual review:

i’ll start with the highlights.

i think lily-rose depp did well. she wasn’t outstanding, but i think people are too harsh to say she’s this horrible actress. is she giving an emmy worthy performance? no, not really. but she wasn’t bad by any means.

the best actor there, however, is rachel sennott. she’s great in everything she’s in, so i’m not surprised at all. she plays the anxious assistant and concerned best friend very well. she’s as much as stand-out as she can be with such a bland script to go off of.

i will get into what i didn’t like about the main relationship later, but the scenes of jocelyn and tedeos dancing at the club was (mostly) pretty good. like i thought it was cute to start out, and then them talking at the bar at jocelyn’s house was pretty good. their dynamic is best when they’re having understated moments that aren’t rushing head-first into the plot too soon, if that makes sense.

i think that’s it.

now it’s time for the negatives… and there are a lot.

jocelyn’s music is boring. i feel they could’ve vocally trained lily-rose a bit more to make her singing more believable for a so-called pop star. the sound and production itself was very bland like her singing, and i can’t quite tell if that’s intentional or not.

the dance choreography had its good moments, but was mostly odd. they also kept in random shots of lily’s dancing looking very much Not Great despite the plot praising her dancing. they could’ve had her practice more too (i’m sorry if i’m being harsh, but it’s the truth! she’s not a singer or a dancer, so they should’ve trained her better to sell the story.)

the costumes, hair, and makeup was fine, but some of the outfits were strange and needlessly… sexy? like jocelyn wearing a thong and tiny bra that covers nothing during dance rehearsals is a bit extreme. it was a pretty outfit i guess, but absolutely not practical and clearly there to just be like Hey! Look How Hot Lily-Rose Depp Is!

the cinematography was… meh. i was underwhelmed. it wasn’t ugly, but i know sam can at least make visually beautiful shows, and he just didn’t do that here. he missed an opportunity to be praised for something.

i think the first half of the episode was marginally better than the second half, but generally it had pacing issues. it was TOO SLOW and then would also throw you into new scenes with no padding to soften the landing. i had no sense of what the timeframe was throughout this entire episode.

the editing didn’t help with the confusion. multiple shots were repeated. they would cut back and forth between scenes in different times in some weird montage sort of thing, which confused me a little as to what was happening, where they were going, and which timeline we were supposed to be following. but maybe that’s just me. i don’t know. i’m still confused.

plot wise, TOO FAST. the scenes were slow, but the plot was somehow advancing too fast. i didn’t have time to really invest in jocelyn as a character, let alone jocelyn and tedros’s relationship before they were pushed together like a child forcing their barbie dolls to kiss. i didn’t buy their dynamic of “romance.” as i said, there were 2 decent scenes, but those scenes didn’t last long enough and both ended with them making out instead of actually setting up the groundwork for their relationship.

i don’t think the weeknd did bad, but he wasn’t necessarily good either. a handful of his line deliveries were… questionable at best. i don’t know if this is purposeful, but he gave me creep vibes. other characters said he also weirded them out, so maybe that’s the point? i’m hoping that’s the point. please be the point.

and now about sex.

a very hot topic for this show, apparently.

i am not a prude by any means. i watch euphoria, and i watch game of thrones, and etc etc. i can handle sex and nudity, and i do think it can be a useful tool in storytelling. as i said before, i also do not believe in censorship, so put sex in your show or whatever. i don’t care.

but.

big but.

i will critique this because i don’t believe in censorship :) freedom goes both ways

the sex scenes here felt out of place and unnecessary. they did not serve the story at all. they didn’t tell me anything about the characters. i honestly skimmed the sex scenes entirely because they were too long and not integrals

it’s not even that they were too graphic or anything, they were just confusing. like oh jocelyn and tedros are dancing— oh, now they’re making out? jocelyn got home for the club and oh! she’s suddenly masturbating. jocelyn and tedros are talking about music and wow! oh wow. now there’s temperature play and suffocation happening. point being: the sex scenes are too sudden with no real build up or purpose.

i feel with a story like this, explicit sex could work. but not like this. i feel the extreme nature of jocelyn and tedros’s intimacy should progress as the story goes on, and get more and more wild and dangerous as it becomes more obvious that jocelyn is being manipulated and preyed upon by the music industry. that would be a good use for sex scenes, but the way they’re used here— just sporadically thrown in for shock value and Edgy Points— is not only unsatisfying and uncomfortable, but also confusing and ultimately meaningless.

as for the nudity, i don’t think it was anywhere as bad as twitter made it seem. i’m chill with casual nudity, so her waking up without a shirt wasn’t really gratuitous to me, neither was her rarely wearing bras. i don’t care about that.

what i do care about when it comes to nudity is how the story portrays intimacy coordinators.

the characters get annoyed with the coordinator and lock him in a closet just because he wanted them to stop the photoshoot because there was undiscussed nudity that wasn’t in contracts. like the intimacy coordinator was right and the story treated him as if he was just annoying. i think that was strange for a story that’s supposedly about how women are taken advantage of and mistreated in the music industry.

also too much smoking!!! a pretentious amount of smoking!!! nearly every scenes, jocelyn was lighting up a cigarette. sometimes multiple within the span of one location and time. like girl put them down. i don’t need 12 shots of her lighting a cigarette.

final thoughts

the idol has undeniable potential, but all that potential was discarded and replaced with whatever this is. i can see the bones of what amy seimetz intended, but i can also see how sam levinson and the weeknd weakened the integrity of that.

it was quite frankly severely underwhelming and messy. it’s difficult to pinpoint what the story is and what we’re supposed to think about certain points of it, and it’s even harder to get a grip of who characters are and their motivations. it did a poor job of setting up the story, and instead chose to throw us in the deep end and hope we understand whatever the fuck is going on.

i’ll give the second episode a try just to see if i can comprehend what this show is trying to tell me, but i do not have high hopes at all. i believe it will be an unintelligible mess with a few rare gems thrown in (those gems courtesy of amy seimetz, of course), and will hopefully prove that sam levinson and the weeknd both need a fucking writers room and their egos checked.

i give it a 2.5/10. a 3/10 if i’m being nice.

it deserved the bare minimum 5 minute ovation at cannes.