#even though it's a timeless banger

[anths-girl]

Hello, yes, HELP ME I can't fucking SLEEEEEEP!!!!

*Pics not mine, found on Pinterest... *hangs head in shame*

Seriously, though, if any of these belong to you, lemme know to give credit!

Also...PLEASE SHARE YOUR INSOMNIA MEMES! Make something good and funny out of this WALKING FUCKING NIGHTMARE that is currently my life...

[bunkahi]

[MAJOR SPOILERS] up to the end of 6.0: Elidibus knew the future, and how translation harmed it's impact.

I posted this on twitter, but almost no one saw. As such I'm uploading it here, not only because I can go into more detail, but because I think this is one of the most important aspects to Elidibus' character that I never see anyone talk about.

Elidibus knew the future. This has been DIRECTLY stated since 2.55... but what you may not know is that this has been indirectly hinted at (more explicitly in Japanese) since Elidibus' first appearance in 2.1. In this sickly written 'essay,' I will be sharing with you all an incoherent babble of Elidibus' story, along with major changes in the English translation that diminish the legitimacy that he knew the future before becoming Zodiark.

Please note: Tl;dr version is at the bottom, for this post IS long. Tl;dr implores you to at least look at the images provided below.

Let us begin not at 2.1, but rather 5.3. The most important translation difference in my personal opinion. It is your climb up the crystal tower, and Elidibus stands before it's throne. As he awaits your arrival, he ponders the crystal in his hand. The crystal of the Exarch's memories... memories of a possible future.

For those who may not be able to see the images above, I will summarize the difference. While most of the translation is the same between Japanese and English, there is one major difference.

In both versions, Elidibus looks at the Crystal and calls it worthless. A possible future is the same as the past. It is fated to fray, fade, and disappear. In English he follows this with "Leaving naught but a gaping void..." Meanwhile, in Japanese he says "Within me as well... could such a thing have once dwelled, I wonder?" (keep in mind I'm trying to keep the translation here as exact as I can, including the awkward structure, as I want it to be easy for people to compare my translation to the original text.)

I think this is very... very interesting. While I, at times, adore Square Enix's liberties in translation (otherwise we would not have the absolute banger “The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day. But you are not here to see it.”), I think this was an interesting moment to take liberties.

What's done is done however, my main focus on this essay is not to criticize the translations though. It is just to inform what I believe is true about Elidibus' character. As such, I will no longer be addressing translation differences beyond providing them for context.

So let us move on to discuss the very interesting implications this has, using the short story "Ere Our Curtain Falls"

English version: "Will you not look at your crystal?" I asked.

When Elidibus was still Elidibus and Lahabrea still Lahabrea, we had collected all of our memories of the Fourteen and committed them to crystal, that those who would take our seats one day might learn. Elidibus would, I was sure, find much within to help him remember─yet he shook his head.

"I am Elidibus. So long as I remember my duty, that is enough. Aught else I would only lose again in the course of this timeless struggle...and if these memories are truly so precious, pray do not ask that I forget them twice."

The last part in Japanese: "I am Elidibus, and I remember what I need to do, and how to accomplish it. That is enough. Even if I remember this or that, I will lose it again in this continuing battle. If it is an important memory, don't make me forget over and over again."

(Link to Japanese story, which you can switch into English, at least on desktop, at the top right of the page)

Elidibus thinks a crystal that holds memories of a possible future is worthless... and he refuses to look at his own memory crystal... how interesting... very very interesting.

As a quick refresher of the important things that occur next: You fight Elidibus and put him in the crystal tower. The final days begins again. Left with no one else to turn to, we go to speak to Elidibus at the crystal tower. He remembers us in the past, and knows where he must send us... which is something that can only be done THANKS to him being sealed in the crystal tower.

And now I feel we can move on to OUR beginning of Elidibus, aka 2.1. Though there is a LOT of text that I feel should not have been altered, I only translated what I feel matters most to me. A specific piece of information that had it's implications completely altered, and the implications that Elidibus goes out of his way to TEACH Minfilia about the ascians.

(I will only transcribe the translation.)

"Was I not passed down in folklore? Well, it has been thousands of years since I last appeared in this world. Can't be helped. You all are the ones who defeated the priest of the abyss. I thought you understood a few things about us but...

We are immortal beings. When we posses a person, even should you destroy the dark crystal, our existence won't be destroyed.

I am the mediator. I have no desire to fight you all. Today, I came only to tell you that. Let us meet again."

Kiiiiind of strange that he would just casually tell us that they can't be defeated like that. What is there to gain in giving away such a secret? Perhaps he's cocky... or perhaps there's more.

to recap what matters in the next patch, 2.2: The sahagins are preparing to summon Leviathan. Y'shtola spies on them, and hears them speak of how they're going to ascend in power (a parallel to things Elidibus said to Minfilia.) We decide to investigate, and witness the Sahagin priest ascend into "immortality," before watching his essence be absorbed within Leviathan, with him questioning why the emissary/white robed one seemed to have tricked him.

Now keep in mind, before this patch, it's already established that Lahabrea is the one to promote primal summonings, AND that Lahabrea is back. What reason would Elidibus have to no only promote the summoning of Leviathan, but to risk teaching immortality to the Sahagin priest, especially when he KNOWS the scions are in direct opposition to not only to the ascians but to primals? And for this to be one of the first things he does, after thousands of years of not appearing in our world, and AFTER he approaches Minfilia to speak of seemingly only non-sense. What, oh what could be the purpose?

"My power... it's being taken... I'm being absorbed by the great water god? Did I... not become... immortal? White robed one... what... is this?!"

It is thanks to this "slip" in Elidibus' decision making that we learn that the ascians are in fact NOT immortal. They are simply beings of aether that have not dispersed. They can be ABSORBED within something, and when that something is destroyed, they don't return. It is directly thanks to Elidibus doing this that we learn not only how to defeat him and his brothers... but also that we can seal him away in the crystal tower.

Surely this is just coincidence, right? There's just no way. Clearly this is all set up to be a piece of sad, tragic irony right?

I take us now to the very final cutscene of 2.55. Though there are differences in translation, I find them mostly negligible. As such I will speak referencing the English translation.

The final cutscene features Lahabrea and Elidibus. Elidibus appears within Lahabrea's shadow to speak of Nabiales' death before the camera changes, placed in a cage and peering into the other side where Lahabrea and Elidibus stand. The bars of the cage separate them, though the darkness makes it hard to see.

Elidibus says that the warrior of light is becoming too strong. That they must make haste to stop them. He suggests Lahabrea head to the northern lands, and Lahabrea agrees and departs.

Urianger appears from the dark behind Elidibus, wishing to know why he has been summoned. To which, Elidibus says the he wishes to speak of fate.

Now why does he do this? As a reminder of what comes next: We defeat Lahabrea, Igeyorhm, and Thordan. This leads to there being no calamity on the source ready to absorb the 1st after it succumbs to light, and the Garleans having access to Azys Lla, meaning they have direct access to the warring triad.

All of this happens at the very end 3.0. However, this conversation between Urianger and Elidibus happens in 2.55. Even should you try to argue that it doesn't take place exactly when it's shown to us, it does HAVE to happen before the mid point of 3.0 at a minimum considering Lahabrea is obviously alive in this cutscene, and more than likely happens before you cross the bridge into Ishgard.

The only thing left to truly note when it comes to this topic is that all of this is reinforced in 3.1 with cutscenes in the Great Gubal Library (2nd to last cutscene of the patch)

"This is thy proof? The Gerun Oracles? Apocrypha."

"Our fates were ordained long ago, Archon. The Garleans are no exception. Nor the Triad. You know what must be done.

In conclusion, Elidibus knew Lahabrea would fail, and that he would need Urianger for not only the warring triad, but to get Minfillia to stop the flood of the first. It was a fate ordained long ago, for we are in a soft timeloop.

Now you may ask, how can you explain him knowing to do this despite his memory loss? If this is all the case, why does he fight us at the crystal tower so genuinely? To be blunt, I cannot give you a direct answer, outside of what is stated above. Elidibus seems to know on SOME level 'some' kind of goal. Specifically saying "I know what I need to do, and how to accomplish it."

Does he directly state what this goal is? No. Ultimately everything above can only be counted as speculation, but personally, I am of the mentality of "why show us this if it's not meant to mean something? Why does Elidibus do something that has already been established as another character's role? Why would THIS be the first thing he does in our world for thousands of years? Why have a character do this if it's not meant to mean something? Especially when THIS something (teaching immortality) leads to the DIRECT consequence of being sealed in the crystal tower, which is our ONLY way to go THAT far into the past to know about Meteion?"

When did he learn the future? That also would be speculation, but as Emet-Selch states, the memory crystals were made before the Zodiark's summoning. If they are truly eluding to his crystal holding memories of a possible future, and the Japanese version of Ere Our Curtain Falls specifically states that he's been losing himself and his memories since the moment he fell from Zodiark to help the convocation, then chances are high it's before the summoning. Who told him would be pure speculation, but the most likely answer is either Venat, Azem, or the Warrior of Light. And before anyone brings this up, no, I do not believe the writers are going to drop every character related to Zodiark and Hydaelyn just because we're moving on to a new chapter. The consequences of the past will continue into the future. While the ancients may no longer be the FOCUS of the story, I doubt we're never going to see them or interact with the past ever again. They will more than likely be explored further in side content ([SPOILERS FROM DAWN TRAIL TRAILER] given Solution 9 has text in Proto-Alphabet, aka the alphabet of the ancients... yeah... um... don't think our explorations related to the ascians and the past are over.) [SPOILERS OVER]

Now, I still haven't worked on translating 4.X, so I will make no comments towards it and any information it might hold in terms of Japanese Elidibus' views on not only the world, but of the future. Perhaps when I have time to translate it I will make a follow up post. I will also be posting some of my smaller translations from twitter to tumblr in time.

Tl;Dr: Elidibus thinks a crystal of a possible future is worthless. He refuses to look at his own crystal. Because his crystal was made before the sundering, he knew the future at least before that point.

Elidibus taught us indirectly how to seal away ascians, and summons Urianger to help him before there is even a CHANCE of knowing he'd need him unless he knew the future.

With this in mind, it's clear to me that Elidibus guided our path into sealing him into the crystal tower so that he could make the time portal and secure the soft timeloop we're in. Though chances are HIGH this is all subconscious the entire time because of memory loss.

Thank you for coming to my Elidibus Talk.

[natureismynature]

if you had to assign at least 10 qsmp characters songs that fits them. what qsmp characters would you choose and which songs would it be.

(and feel free to explain your reasoning behind the choices, but you don't have to)

OOHHH FUN ASK! Thank you Anon! Now, sorry if this takes me really fuckin long to answer because I am gonna be thinking about my answers very deeply-

Foolish - Parachute by Liel Bar-Z ("I did it, I did, I jumped, I walked right off that cliff without a parachute" is SUCH a banger way to describe how qFoolish lives his life. He would just jump into situations and make brash decisions without a fallout plan JUST because he's curious about what would happen.)

Badboyhalo - Momento Mori by Fish in a Birdcage ("Momento Mori, leaves a debt. You haven't paid it yet. I never wanted to sleep" HELLO?? "My suit stayed the same, can't remember my own name, inside a timeless cage" need I explain myself???)

Jaiden - Who Am I by Besomorph ("You've given us everything and nothing at all, so why do you build us up to crumble and fall?" "I'm falling apart at the seams, I can't deny, I'm losing grip of what I knew" Just thinking about how terrible it must have felt for her when she realized she used to be part of the organization that is causing so much pain to her and her friends, yet she's still powerless... GHHH)

Baghera - Rät by Penelope Scott ("I came from scientists and atheists and white men who kill god, they make technology high quality complex physiological, experiments and sacrilege in the name of public good, they taught me everything, just like a daddy should" Thinking about Baghera thinking the Federation's her only family now... AUGHHH"

Forever - Give a Little by LeGrand ("Everyone projecting all their dreams on me, a million life plans of what they want me to be" Dude, listening to this song while thinking about Forever's story ever since he became the president? It hurts. "Just give a little, give a little, give a little, until you disintegrate")

Pac - Ship in a Bottle by fin ("You set sail alone, there is no crew. No one on deck who can help you, this is all your own battle to win, this is your ship and you are the captain" His whole story during the Happy Pills arc!! He was alone at that moment, driving his own boat, trying to save his friend and himself and everyone who could potentially be affected.)

Cellbit - Stronger by The Score ("I write truths and never fiction, my disease is what you fed, I can't stop with my ambition, like a missle on a mission, I'm a force that you will dread" Cellbit's way of dealing with the Federation, so unrelenting, never ending. They keep pushing him down and he always comes back)

Tubbo - Middle Finger by Bohnes ("So I put my middle finger up, I'm done being your slave. My generation's had enough and you should be afraid" His beef with the Federation will always be famous <3)

Roier - Pretender by AJR ("I'm a good pretender, won't you come see my show? I've got lots of problems, well, good thing nobody knows" IT'S LITERALLY HIM "Don't you think I'm clever? We laugh at all the same jokes")

Etoiles - Do What I Gotta by Naethan Apollo ("Imma do what I gotta. This city got issues, lucky for us, though, I'm a one-man armada" I don't even know enough words to express how ETOILES this song is. Just- just listen to it idgsjs)

[lovejustforaday]

Shoegaze Classics - Ferment

Ferment - Catherine Wheel (1992)

Main Genres - Alternative Rock, Shoegaze

A decent sampling of: Noise Pop, Dream Pop

Oops, I got lazy and procrastinated the last regular "classics" review. Well, better late than never.

For my final entry on this retrospective, before I move on to my select few magnum opuses of first wave shoegaze, I wanted to cover another band that I feel I could recommend to most casual listeners of alternative rock. So today I'll be taking a closer look at the moonlit melodies of early shoegaze's gruffest band, Catherine Wheel.

The Band

Catherine Wheel formed in Great Yarmouth, U.K. in 1990.

They were probably the biggest band of the first wave not signed to Creation Records or 4AD, though Creation Records' Alan McGee certainly tried. Instead, they got signed to American label Fontana Records.

The band's lineup for the vast majority of its duration was Rob Dickinson on vocals and guitar, Dave Hawes on bass, Brian Futter on guitar, and Neil Sims on drums.

When referring to this band as "early shoegaze's gruffest band", I was especially referring to Rob Dickinson's vocals; less of the typical semi-androgynous, zoned out 20 something year old stoner dude, and more like your cool heavy metal uncle singing lullabies to you.

Rob's gentle but husky voice was often placed rather high in the mix when compared to most other shoegaze acts of the time, giving his lyrics more of a central focus. His general musings involve cerebral, abstract mystical-isms, while sometimes being the brooding, angsty kind of poet that was very much dominating the grunge music and alternative rock airwaves in the United States in the early 90s.

In fact, again I have to say that I would've expected these guys to be a lot more successful in the United States given what was happening overseas at the time. Much like Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel were a bit more hard-rocking than their other peers in the scene that celebrated itself, though not really in the same way as the former.

If Swervedriver's thing was shoegaze mixed with noise rock distortion and post-hardcore levels of intensity, then Catherine Wheel's sound was more of a kind of shoegaze rock and roll, more indebted to the hard rock of the previous few decades than other bands. A lot of their melodies have kind of a timeless feel to them.

Their sound is also distinctly nocturnal, even more so than most other shoegaze bands. Ferment and Chrome are LPs meant to be listened to on night walks and bus rides, especially the latter.

EPs happened. Then came the debut record.

The Record

Ferment is Catherine Wheel's journey into the foggiest recesses of the half-waking, half-asleep mind, with loud, opaque walls of sound and glistening electric guitars.

The production of this record has a very washed-out quality, like the entire record was given the acid wash treatment. If that's your kind of thing, you'll love this record. It certainly lends itself well to the "heavy rocking slumber" quality of Catherine Wheel's general musical aesthetic. That being said, one or two tracks here may sound a bit flat by modern production standards.

The record opens with "Texture", a menacing 6/8 splattering of radioactive glowing guitar chords creating a radiant, moonlit shoegazing mosaic. A very bold opener with possibly the most aptly titled song for a shoegazing band ever.

"I Want To Touch You" is, also true to its name, a nervously erotic track that is both enticing and surreal. There's about a hundred ways that a track with this title could go wrong and turn into failed-seriousness or something off-putting, but somehow this ends up working really well with its breezy melody and flashy guitar leads over tingling shoegaze drones. It's a certified banger.

If ever there was a song worthy of the moniker "shoegaze" in its most literal interpretation, then that song would be "Black Metallic". The drowsy-eyed, cerebral introspection of this behemoth of a song is communicated through sonic timbres of pleasantly tender abrasion, perfectly capturing what it would sound like to be quite literally lost in a labyrinth of your own thoughts while staring absently into the apparent abyss of one's own shoes. "Black Metallic" is a masterclass in evoking a state of mind for the listener through well-crafted, gorgeous guitar soundscapes. This is probably among the first two or three tracks that I'd recommend to any of the uninitiated.

Sadly, my one major gripe with this record is that it starts with the excellent three track run that I just mentioned, and then never comes close to picking up that momentum again. And at 38 minutes onward of mostly by-the-numbers shoegaze-alt. rock, the record becomes a bit of a slog to get through.

Mind you, by-the-numbers shoegaze is still something I could very comfortably put on and just vibe to, enjoying it for what it is, but the promise of the first three tracks leaves something to be desired from the rest of the record. Ferment is honestly one of the most front-loaded rock LPs that I can think of.

The title track "Ferment" is fairly transcendent for me until it gets to that effing jumpscare at two minutes and forty eight seconds in (maybe I'm exaggerating for most listeners, but that shit certainly made me jump).

Unfortunately, much like Drop Nineteens' Delaware which I reviewed much earlier on in this series, Ferment is more of a record that I recognize as a classic because of its importance to the scene and the reputation it holds versus my own personal enjoyment of the project as a whole.

I can see why this record really does it for some folks who like their shoegaze loud and heavy, and I do really love those first three tracks and "Black Metallic" in particular is probably one of my most played shoegaze tracks period, having graced me with its blissful textures on many a zero-sleep bus rides into uni after pulling an essay all-nighter (cuz I'm trash like that sometimes). But the rest of it just never lives up to what it could have been for me.

But like I said in the Drop Nineteens review, a lot of shoegazers love this record. So again, I implore you to listen and form your own opinion. All in all, this is still a solid record by my tastes, but then I'm also very biased in favour of shoegaze as a genre of music.

What Came After That?

Catherine Wheel is yet another shoegaze band that did not survive of the turn of the century, though they did release four more records in the 90s.

Truthfully, I'd definitely recommend their sophomore LP Chrome over the debut album, because I feel that it's a more fully-realized project, with a track listing that flows better and contains overall better songwriting ("Black Metallic" notwithstanding).

The only real reason why I didn't opt for covering the follow-up record instead is because I wouldn't exactly call Chrome a shoegaze record in the primary sense; more of a heavy, dreamy alternative rock record with its roots in the scene, with roughly three or four actual shoegaze tracks here and there.

After dropping three more records, Catherine Wheel disbanded in 2000. I haven't really checked the rest of the records out, but going off of the RYM genre tags at least, it would seem the band never really put out another full-on shoegaze record.

Rob Dickinson released one solo record in 2005 after the group disbanded. Nowadays, the dude seems...very much into cars? Not exactly what I would expect from the usual shoegazing crowd, but then there was that one Lush song on their last LP.

Brian and Neil went on to form their own indie band called "50ft. Monster", which funnily enough immediately calls to mind the similarly titled PJ Harvey single. Again, haven't bothered to check this out yet.

I know it may sound like I'm not a big fan of this band based on the score I end up giving this record, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't more than a few great gems in this bands discography. Both of their first two records have a small but pretty loyal following, so I'm gonna strongly recommend you check both of them out and see if either of those records tickles your fancy. Regardless, "Black Metallic" at least is basically god tier shoegaze.

7/10

Highlights: "Black Metallic", "Texture", "I Want To Touch You"

[insufferableburnout]

Some Thoughts About My Doctor Who (2005) Rewatch:

-LOVE Nine (always have)

-Rose Tyler the woman you are

-I still think 10 is my favorite and 10 and Rose together are *chefs kiss*

-Can’t lie though they did Martha so dirty

-10 and Donna are everything to me. Tennant and Tate are probably one of the best comedic duos. I still laugh every time I watch their Red Nose Day sketch

-I like the 11th doctor better this time around. I think I was too hung up on 10 to fully appreciate 11 before.

-Capaldi is still the goat. 10 is still my favorite but I love Punk Rock Grandpa. I always thought he was a good doctor with bad writing but actually the writing isn’t that bad. Sure there are some bad episodes but that’s true of any era.

-I actually like Clara a lot more now. I’m still not sold on her in season 11b but her whole time with 12 is genuinely really good. Face The Raven is still one of the best DW episodes of all time. The way that it’s followed up by Heaven Sent is also incredible. That whole season had so many bangers.

-Now 13 is the doctor who is a good doctor with bad writing. I love Whittaker and thought she did an excellent job. I think my biggest issue with Chibnall’s writing is that it doesn’t feel like Doctor Who and feels very disconnected from the rest of the show. Specifically, it feels like a lot of character development from season 10 was forgotten. Especially for The Master.

-Let’s talk about The Master. I LOVED Missy. I found her so complex and interesting and added new layers to Doctor/Master dynamic.

Now I love Sacha Dhawan (He was incredible in The Great) and I think his performance is fantastic and I love his interpretation of The Master but it doesn’t make sense looking at Missy character arc. I know new Regeneration means new personality but each Regeneration is still supposed to have the memories of all the Regenerations before and some feelings carry over. This is true for both the Master and the Doctor and with Chibnall I don’t really see the through line. I understand how much of a challenge this is for the writers, directors, and actors but it was really disappointing to watch Missy’s arc and then then go to DhawanMaster because it felt like that whole thing was totally ignored. There wasn’t even a reference to Bill or the Cyberman ship. It just didn’t feel connected to the previous seasons.

I feel like I could see more of how 11 could regenerate insto 13 than 12 into 13.

And the whole Timeless Child thing. I still hate it. It makes no sense within the context of the show and contradicts so much established lore (from both new and classic who). It makes everything 11 did on Trenzalore pointless. It puts so many plotholes into Clara’s Impossible Girl arc. It doesn’t make sense for motivation for the Master imo. It’s so inconsistent and confusing.

That whole Timeless Child arc really felt like “lets confuse the audience as much as we can” “even if it doesn’t make sense?” “Especially if it doesn’t make sense!”

Now before anyone says “oh well in this issue of the comic” or “In this episode of Big Finish” I haven’t consumed either of those. And personally I think that the continuity and lore of the show should stay consistent within the show and audiences shouldn’t *have* to go to other places for it to make sense.

-About to start season 13. This is the last season I watched before doing this rewatch (i’m showing dw to my partner for the first time) so everything after this season will be new to me which is really exciting!

[myfavouritelunatic]

Rules: Shuffle a playlist and write down the first ten songs without skipping.

I was tagged by the wonderful humans @vellichormybeloved @somebirdortheother and @coraleethroughthelookingglass thank you so much!! I love music tag games! ❤️😘

This shuffle is courtesy of my main Spotify playlist, aptly titled Bangers. It’s basically a playlist of my favourite songs right now, even though some of them have been in it for years haha.

Through Me (The Flood) - Hozier

Timeless - Desired

Heavy In Your Arms - Florence + the Machine

Piece of You - Shawn Mendes

Lost - Desired

If I Never See Your Face Again (Paul Oakenfold Remix) - Maroon 5 & Rihanna

Compliance - Muse

Cassandra - Florence + the Machine

Lucy - Windwaker

Something Loud - Jimmy Eat World

Tagging, no pressure: @heronamedhawks @pursuitseternal @gil-galadhwen @myrsinemezzo @klynnvakarian 🖤

[celestial1980slady]

top ten favorite bands/musicians tag game

I wasn’t tagged, I’m just an absolute sucker for these tag games these days (again) and I enjoy feeling like part of a community and including people in stuff!! But, my idea for my list was like “stuff I currently listen to” then “stuff I haven’t touched in years but still holds a place in my heart”  Cause as we do, music tastes can change over the years LOL but do whatever you wanna do! 

1. The Hunna (Very new to me, though I’m not sure why it took Spotify until mid 2023 to recommend them to me?? But they’re lowkey on repeat daily)

2. Bearings (Very pop-punk, I really dig them okay. Straight bangers, as they say)

3. Broadside (Again, pop-punk. Though, their newer stuff is kinda falling off for me :( )

4. With Confidence (Though they are a band no more, their first two albums were pivotal for me, thank u very much)

5. Michael Jackson (I am and forever will be a stan for this man and his music, goodbye)

6. Ed Sheeran (I have loved this man and his music a long time, and that is not about to change. Ed feels timeless to me (esp his earlier stuff))

7. Hamilton Soundtrack (I’m counting this because it was my SHIT for a while there and if got me through some hard times...and I even got a tattoo LOL)

8. Prince (I did have a Prince phase yes, I even got his lyrics tattooed, but I don’t really listen to him much anymore like a pleb) 

9. One Direction (and all of their solo stuff) - (I don’t really listen to them that frequently anymore naturally but I do listen to their solo stuff from time to time (EXCEPT LIAM LOL) but always got a place in my teenhood heart!!) 

10. Demi Lovato (I think they/she got a lot of stuff yet to work out and I didn’t really like the newest album but their/her vocals on their/her ballads? FUCK ME UP!!!)

Tagging: @aeide, @findusinaweek, @cataliinaa, @cringy-username-dream-wanderlust, @fikali, @blue-mono and whoever else wants to do it! Absolutely no pressure as always and I’m sorry if you guys did a tag like this already LOL (and I know we talk a lot about music in the server too but I digress)

[sinceileftyoublog]

Pet Shop Boys Box Set Review: Smash: The Singles 1985-2020

(Parlophone)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

“It’s in the music / It’s in the song,” sings Neil Tennant on Pet Shop Boys’ “Vocal”, a 2010s club banger about the power of a communal groove. It’s a simple, but appropriate summation of their new box set Smash: The Singles 1985-2020. A collection of 55 remastered tracks, from the band’s “Imperial Phase” to their surprising late-career critical success, Smash makes the case for the London synth pop duo as some of the most concisely affecting pop songwriters of all time. Though each track sounds crisp and timeless, the set’s improved audio quality is secondary to the strength of the collection as a whole, one that puts the the band’s idiosyncratic, lesser-known songs on the same pedestal as their massive hits. 

The casual music fan and non-PSB-diehard is likely familiar with, at the very least, the ever-relevant “West End Girls”. A perfect slice of deadpanned, Thatcher-era pop, it’s a predecessor to Pulp’s “Common People”, a satire of our penchant to fetishize those of a different socioeconomic status. That the band’s tone isn’t obvious is perhaps their greatest trick--from the get-go, they fully embraced commercialism while singing about the suburban hellscapes brought upon by capitalism (“Suburbia”) and society’s swindlers (“Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)”. To Tennant and Chris Lowe, though, this wasn’t hypocrisy: It was the perfect melding of the minds, the former’s pop songwriting chops with the latter’s artistic, experimental edge. Take “Love Comes Quickly”, which wouldn’t hit as hard without its Reichian choral background, panning synths, and Tennant’s croon-to-falsetto from which you can trace a direct line to the likes of Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor. Ditto the band’s inspired disco-ifed covers of songs from other genres: Brenda Lee’s “Always On My Mind”, the whistling synths emulating pedal steel guitar, or U2 and Boys Town Gang mashup “Where The Streets Have No Name/I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”.

What you perhaps come to appreciate most about Pet Shop Boys from Smash is how many of their club-conquering songs take place in intimate settings. For every horn-inflected, Latin pop jam like “Domino Dancing”, there’s the unspoken infidelity of “So Hard” or the paranoid obsession of “Jealousy”, lovers waiting for the other to come home from being out. On the surface, “Se a Vida É (That’s the Way Life Is)” sounds basic, but it’s a thoughtful reflection on the complications of life and how they change as you age, all atop a brass section, strummed guitars, and percussive drums from SheBoom. And even on a certain dance song like “I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing”, the narrator spends most of the time in their own head, thinking about their journey from getting out of their comfort zone to letting loose on the floor.

Of course, at the heart of the band’s introspection is an unavoidable societal context. Pet Shop Boys came to fruition in an age of state-sanctioned homophobia, governmental response to AIDS met with, at best, a shrug, and at worst, demonization. Tennant came out as gay in a 1994 interview in Attitude magazine, and before that, his references to his sexual orientation in song were somewhat veiled. On early religious satire “It’s a Sin”, Tennant laments being blamed “for everything I long to do / No matter when or where or who”. The stunning, whispered eulogy “Being Boring” is about a friend of his who died from AIDS; sullen, he sings, “All the people I was kissing / Some are here and some are missing.” You can hear the difference in songs with similar themes after Tennant came out; on “I Don’t Know What You Want But I Can’t Give It Anymore”, he theatrically leans into the jealousy, chanting over wailing backing vocals, “Is he better than me? Was it your place or his? Who was there?” And while the famously understated Lowe has never publicly come out, it’s long been speculated that his added verse on “Paninaro ‘95″ refers to an ex lover who passed from AIDS. The band’s inclusion of this version over the original on Smash speaks volumes, given the disgusting rise of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation today.

Ultimately, what allowed Pet Shop Boys to continue succeeding, as society’s attitudes and tastes changed, is their adaptation. A diss track like “Yesterday, When I Was Mad” represents Tennant at his most bitter, chiding critics. “You have a certain quality, which really is unique / Expressionless, such irony, although your voice is weak,” he sings, putting himself in the mindset of a stuffy journalist unamused by a track like, say, “Left to My Own Devices”. Over two decades later, on “The Pop Kids”, Tennant adopts a different mindset rife with humility thinking about the band’s early days: “We were young but imagined we were so sophisticated / Telling everyone we know that rock was overrated.” It’s those very rock-oriented elements that, ironically, comprised their best later-career tunes. Ali McLeod’s guitar and BJ Cole’s pedal steel stand out on “You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk”, a moment inspiring to polymaths like Death Cab For Cutie guitarist Dave Depper. The Smiths’ Johnny Marr provides guitar on “Home And Dry”, whose additional snares and seaside synths fit alongside Tennant’s autotuned vocals on the band’s most wistful track. And acoustic guitar from Tennant himself buoys “I Get Along” and the Xenomania-produced “Did You See Me Coming?” They’re the type of songs that make you think were age truly nothing but a number, you’d be looking at a second collection of eternal songs in another 35 years.

[mallahanmoxie]

some assorted music opinions under the cut given im not using twitter anymore yes you will have to contend with this regularly from now on (or as regularly as I listen to new music which isn't all that much)

alright let's get the big one out of the way

speak now taylor's version

i generally support the rerecordings as the statement that they are and I don't expect her or the records to sound the same (i think that's a foolish thing) but the production on this one sounds a little off to me particularly in the most punchy songs like haunted and enchanted (I like that she sounds audibly older though) the only song I'm disappointed by is back to december which somehow lost some of the magic I cannot however even begin to pinpoint why

vault tracks rank (better than fearless, much worse than red's btw)

When emma falls in love (lyrics are a bit cringe but it's a banger)

I can see you (originally my favourite rapidly becoming overplayed tho)

Electric touch (it's fine but it fades out of my memory the minute it stops playing)

castles crumbling (fine lyrics, okay melody, what a way to misuse Hayley Williams)

timeless/foolish one (they're okay but they're definitely not my style the refrain from timeless chafes at me and the whole concept of foolish one is too silly for me to battle against my dislike of its repetitiveness. They're passive listens)Su

surrender by maggie rogers

the story with this album is that I put one song in my anthony/penelope fic playlist (it is what it is) and became so obsessed with it I had to look into more and the album it is off of was actually great! it was very nostalgic sounding to me I sank into it and I was like this could've played in the princess' diaries and I wouldn't know a thing. really liked it. her vocals are very nice to listen to and I have done so repeatedly which is the highest praise an album can get from me. anyway some semblance of a ranking after a half assed listen but you gotta know it's not very trustworthy

begging for rain (THEE ballad sorry)

that's where I am (2000s ANTHEM????? the vibes are immaculate when every teen girl I looked up to on TV was a little grunge)

Want want (SO close to number 2 it's also a fucking banger)

overdrive (a good opener! it nails down the vibe early and contains some sonic (?) themes/devices that reoccur during the album and does them best (I'm thinking of the ahhs))

anywhere with you (this one is also very vibey it went into one of my character playlists right away)

horses (my second favourite ballad I enjoy the simplicity)

shatter (one of my favourite choruses this one's even more retro)

symphony (I rlly like the rickety synth (???) in the back. idk what it is it only strikes me as metallic in nature)

honey (I love the chorus verses are meh I like the instrumental)

be cool (this one is very retro but it sort of stagnates until the end which I like lots. I think it may be the interrupted synth throughout it all which bothers me some)

different kind of world (I enjoy the switch up it is simply not my fave)

I've got a friend (the only one I don't entirely like the verses are okay the chorus and the ending is so... did you write this on a ukulele)

assorted random releases

grl gvng by xg (ate up aespa. sorry.)

bite me by enhypen (good for a bg song the spoken bit is always jarring and a little cringe though)

seven by jungkook (I did not like it the mv SLAPS though)

super shy by new jeans (I liked this better than the other release but not more than ditto)

vampire by olivia rodrigo (very nice and singable loved the twilight vibes in the mv)

paradise calling by birdy (I KNEW she was gonna go retro with the album at some point it was the hair loved it obviously I've loved every release from portraits this one is very fun)

francesca by hozier (it's like he made this for 2016 me)

unknown/nth by hozier (in contrast this one's too flat to keep my attention long I know I'll like it when I get invested in the lyrics but I can't spare the focus now)

I haven't listened to the exo album or any NCT song lately nor anything from the Barbie soundtrack....... hopefully later?

[mywifeleftme]

296: Jay-Z // The Blueprint

The Blueprint Jay-Z 2001, Roc-A-Fella

At the time of his “retirement” in 2004, it was basically settled law that Jay-Z was the greatest rapper alive, if not of all time. Even in the moment, the case should’ve felt sketchier. In sales terms, he was very consistent, but he’d never moved the kind of units Eminem or even Nelly did. In terms of acclaim, he’d had perhaps four albums that could be considered classics, none of which had quite reached the level of namedrop ubiquity of an Illmatic, a Ready to Die, a 36 Chambers. He’d dropped a number of albums where the clunkers threatened to overwhelm the bangers, and his 2002 stab at a magisterial double-album landmark (The Blueprint²) had barely moved the needle. Most people didn’t even think he’d won the war of diss-tracks he’d started with Nas. (He did though.) And yet, if you were there at the time, something made it hard not to take him at his word when he said (with ever-increasing frequency) that he was the greatest to ever do it.

Despite his “Takeover” claim of having only been in the game five years, Jay’d been on the fringes of the rap biz since the late ‘80s, a time when every rapper worth his salt wanted to crown himself king. By the late ‘90s, most major label emcees were more concerned with shoring up their street bona fides and stacking up cash than claiming lyrical supremacy, and Hov was happy to play that tune too. He got the hits, money, and connections, but despite his hyper-capitalist hood mogul outlook, he still wanted the prize he’d grown up watching Kane, Rakim, and Kool Moe Dee fight over. Once Biggie died, a lane to that throne opened up, and Jigga bent all of his will toward snatching it.

The Blueprint isn’t Jay’s audition for the title of Best Rapper Alive. It’s his assumption of it. He posits that greatness and success are synonymous, and Success is Jay-Z’s whole brand. The album is his demonstration of what Success means in rap: having the hottest, most timeless beats; your own label, your own clothing line; spitting the slickest braggadocio; being the smartest, most ruthless guy in the room. When he takes down his rivals, he knocks their heights, bank accounts, and degree of apparent washedness, but most of all it’s their lack of savvy he zeroes in on, how he’s made himself an emperor while they’re still wannabe thugs squabbling over pop corners. Even when those shots prompt a contender as fearsome as Nas to fire back with his hottest record in years, the simple truths Jigga lays out remain uncontested: Who has more money? Who has more hits? Who sounds more like a boss?

Jay understood as no other rapper of his time did that being considered the G.O.A.T. is a matter of perception, not statistics. Arguing against his claim to greatness while The Blueprint’s rolling feels like arguing water isn’t wet or Warren Buffett isn’t wealthy. Track by track he makes his case, drawing together threads from golden age rap and the vintage soul that inspired it until the story of hip-hop itself starts to seem like it was always bound to culminate with Jay-Z. (A fiction he’d continue to promulgate over the years.) The portions of the record helmed by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink! are as pure a distillation of what makes rap great as you’ll find, but even the less critically acclaimed tracks (“Jigga That Nigga”; “Hola Hovito”) find him flexing his command over a pop realm where neither Nas nor Mobb Deep ever seemed truly comfortable.

The only time Jay ever seems remotely out of his element, “Renegade,” comes down to battlefield exigencies: scoring an Eminem feature amounted to a huge coup, but by 2001 Marshall was already becoming a creature of habit. He wasn’t going to be coaxed onto Jay’s turf, where he might’ve had to adapt his whiz kid white boy flow to the soulful lushness of The Blueprint’s other productions. In order to get his man, Jay has to make do with one of Eminem’s own thin, battle rap-friendly beats. Hov acquits himself well, but it’s unquestionable that Shady steals the show. Though Eminem’s career-best verses add to the album’s embarrassment of riches, it's revealing of Jay’s mentality that even on an album intended to position himself as the Best, he was still willing to kiss the ring of rap’s real kingpin for the extra 200 or 300,000 in sales Shady’s name guaranteed.

I didn’t expect to write so much about business when it came to covering one of my three or four favourite rap albums of all-time, but both on record and as a public person Hov frequently compels you to: it’s the frame of reference he’s most confident with. You can’t really put the dollars and cents aside with him. Despite that, The Blueprint is a one-of-a-kind document of the man’s genius for rhyme, his ear for great music, and his ambition to make everyone in the world give a damn about Shawn Carter. Its very success is what makes it his masterpiece.

296/365

[nyamhk]

Seriously though, the Undertale OST is one banger after the other.

Like, each song does exactly what it's supposed to be doing. You listen to Heartache and it just feels like the first boss fight but at the same time you feel the GLORY of the battle of a character who you would later find out used to be the freakin' queen of the place. You listen to Spear Of Justice and you're like "wow this does feel like I have a chaotic heroic maniac (with a heart) in front of me!" and then Death By Glamour like "Wow I DO feel like I'm under the spotlights with a super flashy robot trying to kill me!" and the best part is that this would normally be a super specific description but, with Undertale, no, like, that's literally just how accurate it feels each and every time.

But out with the battle themes, are you telling me that "sans." doesn't feel exactly like the town goof who is just making puns and selling hotdogs for your entire playthrough? And how the game somehow makes transitioning from the dark quiet glowy Waterfall to the fast paced, technological McDonald's playplace that is Hotland seem completely seamless? And just how much of the feeling of these places is not only nailed but also created by the OST itself? Making all the different types of art in your game flow with each other is super hard and with Undertale somehow it never clashes, everything just plays into everything else in a way that augments itself, making everything feel even greater and truly unique. I could go into detail about every single song and how it achieves this.

And how he lands just everything in his sound design. He knows how to make things jarring and threatening but also lighthearted in a way that's not cheesy when he doesn't want it to be. I think we are overlooking how much Toby's style in sound design has contributed to modern gaming, dude just somehow perfectly captured the vibe of things using unconventional methods. Looking at just about everything about Undertale, it's clear how perceptive he is as a person and how he is able to incorporate this in a way that is so lighthearted without getting rid of the nuance that makes works personal and timeless. When looking back at all of the little details, I'm genuinely pretty sure that for every little thing in his game he went "how can I make this more interesting?". Either that or, even more impressively, they were just spontaneous, which would also say a lot about the passion put into this game.

So, what did I learn from this?

I think his work has personally shown me that, as an artist myself, I should not try to chase anyone else's style but instead follow my own vision no matter how different or out place it might feel, no matter what everyone else is doing. Things will naturally flow together with consistency because, if they all genuinely come from my own perspective and view of the world, and if I get to know myself enough to be able to clearly define them and put them all together, well...there is no way left for them to clash, the art direction of my projects would literally be myself and my core beliefs. Anything slipping through the cracks of the narrative I'm trying to build would still come from the same place the narrative itself originated from.

It is hard not being scared of people making fun of you in that really nasty personal way that is often seen here on the internet. So this kind of positivity really helps...

Summary

I don't know how Toby did it but it's honestly some of the most impressive communication in art that I have ever seen. Rant over, I just needed to talk about this to literally anyone who would listen

[crowdvscritic]

round up // JULY 23

Spies! Josh Hartnett! Perfect 10s! They all made multiple appearances in July. This summer has churned out one of the best crop of blockbusters in years, and even though this Round Up is a bit shorter than usual, it’s a stacked lineup. Whether you’re looking for big thrills, big emotion, or big art, July had it all. 

July Crowd-Pleasers

1. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

A redux of the 1996 original Mission: Impossible in all the best ways. Whatever you think of Tom Cruise, you can’t deny his commitment to the audience experience. Crowd: 10/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023)

This is the kind of movie that you can tell within in three minutes isn’t totally working but it’s hard to tell why. It looks pretty good! There’s loads of style! Jason Statham is one of the best action leads in the biz! Every actor is doing something fun! (Especially Josh Hartnett, validating my major crush in his Pearl Harbor days.) But not a single character has an arc, and we should’ve opened on an action sequence introducing our heroes and villains so we don’t need so much dialogue to explain our characters or the inciting incident. But you know what? Call the butcher because I love a good ham! I had a great time with this cast doing the Guy Ritchie thing, which means I am gonna watch this so hard again on cable.

3. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift (2023)

My attempt to swing last-minute tickets to the Eras Tour in Denver for less than $1000 was a no-go, but the treats that are “When Emma Falls in Love,” “Timeless,” and a Taylor Lautner music video cameo softened that blow. The article “The Unprecedented Weirdness of Taylor Swift” in The Washington Post captures some of the unique joys of her re-recordings.

4. Barbie (2023)

Is Barbie an instant classic? Perhaps it’s too of-this-moment for that kind of longevity, but it’s a comedy that made me laugh so hard I cried and also just that made me cry, which I don’t remember ever happening to me within a single movie before. Read my full review for ZekeFilm, and then be sure to listen to the soundtrack after seeing the movie. Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, Tame Impala, Haim, Billie Eilish, and Ryan Gosling(!!) made some bangers! Crowd: 10/10 // Critic: 9/10

5. Do You Like Apples Podcast

I’ve recommended the Do You Like Apples newsletter, and now I’m recommending Billy Rock and Drew Wendt’s new accompanying podcast. I may be biased since they invited me to join their Barbie discussion, but because I like filling my earbuds with thoughts on Wes Anderson’s oeuvre and the best of Harrison Ford’s career, I’m a regular listener beyond our collab. Listen to our discussion of Barbie and then browse through their rapidly growing feed about the world of movies.

More July Crowd-Pleasers: Airport (1970), Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023), Zoey 102 (2023)

July Critic Picks

1. The China Syndrome (1979)

Another ‘70s conspiracy thriller FTW! Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, and Jack Lemmon are getting suspicious at a nuclear power plant, and their investigation lands on my lists of favorite journalism films and movies that have made me cry. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

2. BlackBerry (2023)

Product-inspired films are still rocking and rolling in 2023, and BlackBerry is one of the best. It owes a lot to The Social Network, but it learned all the right lessons. I would love to see this cast in conversation for Oscars this winter, but until then, the rage-at-the-corporate-machine soundtrack is keeping me going. Crowd: 8/9 // Critic: 9/10

3. Oppenheimer (2023)

On average, me every 7 minutes in this movie: "Oh hey, I love that guy!” This cameo-packed historical epic/biopic is a clearer-eyed version of A Beautiful Mind, and perhaps most impressively doesn’t feel three hours long. The review in The Federalist and Vox’s analysis of the history of nuclear cinema are excellent companion pieces. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9.5/10

4. Suddenly by BØRNS (2023)

Like the rest of us, it sounds like BØRNS has been going through some stuff in the last few years. After a five year hiatus, he’s back with his lachrymose synth-pop in a six-track EP. My only complaint? I’m ready for a full album!

5. The French Dispatch by Wes Anderson (2021)

Haven’t I already recommended The French Dispatch as the best film of 2021? Yes, but because I’m a woman of limited interests, I’m now recommending the published screenplay. If you’ve ever wondered just how Anderson and his collaborators create their idiosyncratic stories, reading the complex script gives a new insight into their overlapping minutiae, much of which I missed just by watching.

More July Critic Picks: The Merry Widow (1934), Christmas in July (1940), Some Came Running (1958)

Also in July…

At the start of July, nine writers for ZekeFilm picked our top five movies of the year so far. You can read our individual lists as well as our aggregate top five in our “Best of 2023 (So Far)” piece. 

I checked out Haunted Mansion, which was…at least better than the Eddie Murphy version? Read my review for ZekeFilm, which turned into a long list of theme park-inspired films for Disney, and watch more on KMOV to see me correctly predict that Barbie would dominate the box office yet again.

Thanks to a holiday break, I had a little time to finally add a few Best Picture Project pieces. Keep scrolling on the home page to read reviews of The Apartment (1960), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), Rain Man (1988), Dances With Wolves (1990), Million Dollar Baby (2004), and 12 Years a Slave (2013)

Until August wraps, you can follow what I’m watching on Letterboxd and the site formerly known as Twitter

Photo credits: BØRNS, DYLA, The French Dispatch. All others IMDb.com.

[yukiakaren]

Kpop title track ranking: BEAST & Highlight

In this series I’ll be ranking kpop groups/soloists title tracks based on my taste.

BEAST has been one of those groups that I’ve listened to a substantial number of b-sides from. And their title tracks are equally good. I decided to add Highlight songs as separate list as I can’t quite talk about them as separate things but I do tend to think of them as separately musically. 

BEAST:

Fiction - Oh Fiction. It’s gorgeous. It’s timeless. It’s a masterpiece. Even though I’ve known this song for years I feel like it just gets better as years go by. It just pulls the right heartstrings without being too emotional unless it happens to fit the situation and then all the floodgates are opened.

Good Luck - Oh my Good Luck. I actually answered some school mandatory music class questionnaire that Good Luck is my favorite song xD Question that I do not have a definite answer even today and I just had discovered this and was looping it all day long, so the answer makes sense. And honestly, it’s amazing, so I’m quite happy with that answer. But even though I still really love it I have to give the crown to Fiction.

Shadow - Shadow is so dark, moody and even a little haunting. And those things do tend pull me to them, so it’s not too surprising that I absolutely love it!

Breath - Breath is just so good. Again, quite dark and extremely catchy, two things I cannot resist. xD

Beautiful Night - I remember hearing Beautiful Night even before I was truly a kpop fan and I don’t think I had much of a reaction to it then. But after becoming a kpop fan I absolutely loved it! It just gives me so much nostalgia every time I hear it. And it’s still a banger! 

12:30 - It’s so pretty! And I actually have this album, so it gets a little extra boost from that as well, despite still ending up in the middle of the pack. That just tells how good these songs are.

Shock - Shock is just so much fun! xD 

Bad Girl - I have to admit that I did ignore the greatness that is Bad Girl for quite a long time. But as it quite often seems to go, I have realized my mistake and really like this now. It’s a fun throwback sound! And again what a way to debut!

YeY - The BEAST wildin’ era. Can’t say I don’t like it though xD

Ribbon - It’s pretty. There just are quite a few slower songs that I would choose to listen to instead of Ribbon.

Beautiful - Beautiful has never just reached the same heights with me as the rest of their songs. It’s fine but everything else is clearly better.

Highlight:

Alone - I didn’t love this immediately but then my head did the thing aka Alone just randomly started playing in my head and sounding like the best song ever. Listening to the song after that makes me always love or at least the song and it definitely happened Alone here (Oh yes, my head does this a lot xD)

Daydream - Exactly the same thing happened with this than with Alone xD Choosing between these two seems to also depend on my mood, as originally I was thinking Daydream would be number 1 but today I’m feeling Alone more. They are both great though!

Plz Don’t Be Sad - What a re-debut! It is so fun!

Can Be Better - Can Be Better is also so much fun and the lyrics are just very nice and uplifting.

Not The End - This was such a lovely way to come back after an actually long break. 

Loved - Loved has this nostalgic sound to it and the missing that the lyrics are about really comes across because of the sound. It’s just lovely.

Calling You - Calling You just doesn’t really resonate with me at all. Definitely the weakest title track even when taking BEAST songs to account. 

Lastly, shout outs to couple of their amazing b-sides: Black Paradise (Iris II OST) - Dark and haunting, the best kind. Sad Movie (Korean version) - Oh I love this so so much! In Rainy Days - Such a gorgeous song! Lightless - La-la-la-la-lightless! Back To You - So so catchy and great! Celebrate - The Highlight party anthem! I Don’t Miss You - Moody goodness.

[moonlightcookie]

still cant get over how good utsuP's newest song is...... even though his style has changed massively since he first started using vocaloid, he still makes absolute fucking bangers. truly a timeless legend

[aq2003]

i made this post watching wedding of river song but now that i've watched all of nuwho here's my assessment of all the finales lol

rtd1 era

bad wolf/parting of ways made me go into a temporary doctor who divorce where i went and watched a whole other show bc i knew if i jumped into ten's run immediately i would have hated him forever

doomsday gave me brain damage. literally no other way to describe it other than it gave me brain damage and i realized that the show could actually genuinely wreck me

utopia/sound of drums/last of the timelords is great! obviously raisin ten/jesus fairy ten in LOTTL is goofy but on the rewatch i can appreciate what's being done there. ten can be earth's savior but he still loses in the ways that matter to him in the end bc everybody leaves him and he can't even say he doesn't deserve that. martha is the real savior, the better doctor, and she's the one that walks away in the end in a better place. it's very good

i thought stolen earth/journey's end was slightly weak bc of the banger after banger of series 4 and how many self-serving cameos it had however upon returning i can appreciate the doctordonna brain damage above all else. i love u doctordonna forever

end of time made me cry so hard multiple times both of the times i watched it. worst episode ever i hate you rtd i hate you david tennant you will pay for your crimes

moffat era

i have an irrational anger towards pandorica opens/the big bang bc pandorica builds up so much to the doctor getting trapped in the Cube. and then he doesn't fucking get trapped. in the Cube. exclusively made for HIM. WHAT is AMY doing there. the last bit of the big bang re: amy bringing eleven back and eleven dancing at her wedding is v sweet though

i hated wedding of river song so much i made the original post

angels in manhattan is okay re: the tragedy, eleven's characterization however i don't like how amy has never really had a lot of agency throughout the story and her last decision is made exclusively to be w/ rory. the fact we're back to the "she has two choose between these two men in her life!!" of s5 is so. urgh

the 50th specials are so incredibly bad it's honestly impressive how much it feels specifically crafted for me to hate it

dark water/death in heaven... i love the setup and i love missy however when the show intentionally sets up clara/danny as "clara isn't actually super devoted to him she just loves the idea of having two lives she can control and getting what she wants" i don't really feel anything about them being together

hell bent can stay :)

i'm too angry at world enough and time/the doctor falls to judge them in any way that is close to fair

i hope twice upon a time explodes in a large fire

chibnall era

truly and honestly gun to my head i could not tell you anything about the plot of battle of ranskoor av kolos. it has completely left my mind. like a duck gliding on water

ascension of the cybermen/the timeless children is bad and i can see why ppl hated the timeless child retcon so much. the episodes are not amazing but dhawan!master slays so tremendously i love you babygirl

i could also not tell you anything about the plot of the vanquishers other than the fact flux started off mildly interesting to me and lost me completely as it went on

power of the doctor is mildly entertaining and i love u jodie i love u sacha but it is really sad—and i am speaking purely about my own emotional reaction to the episode—that the most exciting part to me was fourteen showing up. i'm so sorry guys

rtd2

the giggle gave me brain damage

rtd's finales are badly stacked conflicts that are suddenly solved by deus ex machina (but that doesn't matter bc it's filled with genuinely beautiful & heartwrenching character writing that will make you forget about everything) and moffat's finales are convoluted nonsense that make you confused as to what the fuck you're even watching. technically neither of these are good but between these two poisons i will pick the former every time

[thatguy-thisguy-yourguy]

Musicians You can Listen to Instead of ANYONE ELSE>>>FOREVER

Ok, situation has been done. Ummm just listen to these

-Rob Zombie. Is Rob Zombie like Will Wood at all? Hell fucking no. But the dude makes some goddamn bangers relating to horror, some relating to his own horror films. (I'm gonna say ww fans) WW fans seem to like that horror vibe, so there you go. Songs I recommend are

-What?

-House of 1000 corpses

-Well, Everybody's Fuckin' in a U.F.O

-Meet the Creeper

-Shake Your Ass Smoke Your Grass

-Living Dead Girl

-Pussy Liquor

-Andrew Bird. If I remember correctly, Will's a fan of this guy. I mean, one of his rats were partially named after him(said on a reddit ama). Andrew Bird was in the Muppets too so..yeah.

-Sisyphus

-The Entire Inside Problems Album

-Tin Foil

-Tin Foiled

-Elliotly. Elliotly is an indie artist that mostly writes songs about The Magnus Archives. Even though I don't listen to it, I still like the songs. Nothing like Will Wood but I listened to this guy around the same time

-Friends & Foes

-Nobleman's Horse

-Spot in the forest

-AJJ. Everyone should listen to AJJ because they're the best band there is. Listen to AJJ.

-all of them, every goddamn song. Even the alphabet song. even the middlemost post theme song

-Misfits. Halloween vibe, many horror references

-Saturday Night

-Helena

-Mad Monster Party

-Magic Moments

-Oingo Boingo. You probably listen to oingo boingo

-Controller

-Only a Lad

-Skin

-obligatory shayfer james and jhariah

Here's some songs I reccomend in general

Pepper-Butthole Surfers

The Room Is Filled With People That Love you-Foresight

Sick of You-Gwar

Ghost Party-Messer Chups

White Rabbit-Jefferson Airplane

This Magic Moment-The Drifters

Psycho Killer/psycho killer acoustic-Talking Heads

I thought about killing you-Ye(just trust me)

Gay Thoughts-The Growlers

Puppet Boy-DEVO

Hey Ya!-Outkast(timeless classic)

Loveshack-B-52's

Hip To Be Square-Huey Lewis and The News