#faller!kris

[felidaeng]

crystal

[wholesome-cryptid]

okay so ive had this idea bouncing around in the back of my brain for a couple months now, but i haven't been able to think of how to make a post about it. so yall are just getting a big text post of my thoughts.

so i've always been a "Lyra and Kris coexist and are friends" truther, but ive had the idea of the reason they coexist and are in the same universe is because Kris is a Faller (or something akin to that) as GSC and HGSS are two separate timelines.

essentially Kris manages to accidentally no clip through reality due to the bugginess of the OG gen 2 games and finds herself in an alternate version of reality. everything seems petty close to the world she remembers but things are... different. new locations she has never seen before like the pokeathalon and the GTS in goldenrod, people like Morty and Pryce having changes in appearance and hardest for her of all the fact that no one seems to recognize her.

Gold, or rather Ethan he tells her his name is, says that he's never met her in his life but that he's always pumped to make friends with another strong trainer. Eusine can't seem to remember her either but is very excited to meet someone else who's passionate about Suicune. Her parents, well they have a daughter who's very much not her. Lyra doesn't look like her, she doesn't act like her, they don't even really have a ton of hobbies in common. Not even her parents remember her.

this is obviously a lot for her to take in at first but the people around her are kind even if they don't remember her and they help her get the hang of the weird situation she's found herself in. she even ends up becoming pretty good friends with Lyra after a while even if it's kinda weird at first. at current she's working as Professor Elm's assistant with hopes of eventually being able to figure out what exactly got her into this situation.

[kittytale-i-do-what-i-want]

Fallers !

okay so with announcement of pokemon legends Z-A people are talking about what characters could become fallers so let's go with the characters i could see becoming fallers for each gen!

the pattern i've seen is that they are miner characters not just battle facility leaders, because it's implied in ORAS that looker is a faller, so yeah.

gen 1) now gen 1 doesn't have many miner characters so if there is going to be one from these games i think it would be Green, Bill, or Daisy. Green because of all the weirdness with her and leaf. Bill because he's the least impotent character in the kanto story. Now daisy is blue's older sister who in gen 2 can give your pokemon hair cuts to increase friendship.

gen 2) now like gen 1, gen 2 doesn't have alot of characters that could be fallers. The characters i could see being fallers is only really kris the forgotten protag

gen 3) we already have Anabel but if we are to get another one, I could see it happing to the other battle facility leaders, But I see Lisia being one because outside of her introducing us to contests, we don't have to see her after that.

gen 4) now gen 4! we still have the facility leaders from these games and I think the most likely of them is Palmer. Outside of them I can see it being bebe she run's the pc system and gives you an egg.

gen 5) now if we are going to get another faller from gen 5 we still have emmet but there a few more candidates. first we have Benga, Alder's grandson. Bengan is also a facility leader, of the black town/white tree hollow. the last ones I can think of is N's two sisters, i think they could interesting.

gen 6) for gen 6 we have the battle mesa girls, but I could also see emma also becoming a faller.

gen 7) one of the ultra recon squad members or ryuki i guess?

gen 8) now the only gen 8 character i could see is peonia and with it being basically confirmed that peony is penny's dad that means peonia and penny are sister's, so penny's sister going missing could be interesting.

gen 9) i have no clue, one of the teachers i guess??

[13rie]

The world of Pokémon is vast: in the vast regions you journey through, amongst the creatures you grow close to, in various people you meet. Many tales can be told as one makes their way through the generations, no matter what game you begin with or at what age you start. Even if the story ends all the same, it’s the in-between that has entertained many for years.

With every game I play, I like to create little backstories for the MCs I play as. I also like to have one game as a girl and one as a guy. I’ve ever only beaten Gold though since that was the only game I had when I was young. While I’m away from work (due to mental health issues), I’ve been playing a lot of Pokémon lately and I thought I’d share them in this post. Even if no one ends up reading any of this, it’ll be something for me to look back at and maybe add to along the way.

NOTE: I always name my character “Burrows” but it’s treated more like a last name than their given name. Also not every game has a backstory yet because I’ve yet to play them.

Crystal is linked to Legends Arceus because at the end of the battle with Red on Mt. Silver, Kris ends up being teleported to Hisui (if I’m playing a female) by Arceus. She’s also Lyra’s older sister.

Platinum is linked to Legends Arceus because couple of years after Dawn becomes Champion, Lucas ends up being teleported to Hisui (if I’m playing a male) by Arceus.

In HeartGold, Lyra sets off on a journey with the motivation to find what happened to her sister, Kris.

In Sword, Victor is originally from somewhere that’s the equivalent to Germany and has had a crush on Hop since they were kids. In Shield, Gloria is Hop’s cousin.

Brilliant Diamond also has Dawn being related to Barry (since I play as a blonde in that game and I immediately thought of her being related to Barry when I saw them together).

Legends Arceus has been briefly explained already but I also like to imagine an alternate timeline where both Lucas and Kris have been sent to Hisui, with Kris being sent a few years earlier than Lucas.

Both Kris and Lucas came from timelines where they were the assistant to their region’s professor so they’re good with researching for Professor Laventon.

Kris is better at battling than Lucas but Lucas is better with problem solving and is more book-smart to Kris’s street-smart.

Neither lost their memories. They aren’t Fallers since they didn’t arrive to Hisui through a wormhole, Arceus was the one who brought them over (I know you can technically play as if you have amnesia in the game but I like the idea of the MCs retaining their memories better).

Kris doesn’t know who Ingo actually is but Lucas does and it’s pain-! He tells Kris and they both make it their mission to help Ingo recover his memories.

Kris was dropped in Hisui feeling accomplished and is determined to find a way back home. Lucas was dropped in Hisui feeling like he might be better off in the past because at least he’s being appreciated and remembered (things weren’t exactly going great for him back in the Platinum timeline).

Kris and Lucas still meet Rei and Akari in this timeline but they’re kids, not teenagers (makes for some cute bonding moments since they remind Kris of Lyra and Lucas was an only child).

[darknerprince-pkmn]

Ralsei

I've been observing the situation with the anons and it's led me to develop a hypothesis (coupled with my own observations living between universes)

My hypothesis is that seemingly unrelated universes can in fact affect each other, usually in ways that would be seen as inconsequential, say for example, a video game. While a game may not affect the player's reality, it is plausible that, by some as-yet unknown phenomenon, the player's actions in the game are in fact having great effects on a different universe, one untouchable to the game player but real all the same. Under this hypothesis, if some being was to play a game that affected a version of your universe, and forced this "Noelle" person to commit violent actions, then in that version of your world I fear there really was a scenario like the anons are describing (the multiple timelines theorem I'm working on is also relevant to this discussion but this ask is getting long)

If it would help you I would be honored to research this further for you

-Quasar

//OOC: all this is kinda inspiring me to make a Sans faller tumblr should I?

@rogue-nebula

Oh. Um.

… I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say. I. Don’t know if I would want to know. I don’t want to know if Noelle, or Kris, or Susie, or anyone could be controlled. Like that.

[missbolt]

Yes, of course it hurts when buds burst

– Wilhelm in the light of Karin Boye

In the second season, Wille and Simon work together on a group project about the book Kris "Crisis" by Karin Boye. The book's plot has obvious parallels to Simon and Wille's story, allowing them to reflect on their own relationship through their discussion of the book. I wonder whether including a work by Karin Boye may serve another purpose in the series as well.

In Norway where I'm from, and I think in Sweden as well, Karin Boye's name is inextricably linked to her most well-known poem Ja visst gör det ont när knoppar brister "Yes, of course it hurts when buds burst". The title/first line of this poem is particularly famous and is frequently referenced. In fact, whenever I hear or think of Karin Boye, this line automatically pops into my head, and I don't think I'm alone in that. As it happens, this poem may also serve as a beautiful metaphor for Wille's journey in the series.

Here is the full poem, first in the original Swedish version, then in an English translation slightly adapted from Jenny Nunn's translation:

Ja visst gör det ont när knoppar brister.

Varför skulle annars våren tveka?

Varför skulle all vår heta längtan

bindas i det frusna bitterbleka?

Höljet var ju knoppen hela vintern.

Vad är det för nytt, som tär och spränger?

Ja visst gör det ont när knoppar brister,

ont för det som växer

och det som stänger.

Ja nog är det svårt när droppar faller.

Skälvande av ängslan tungt de hänger,

klamrar sig vid kvisten, sväller, glider –

tyngden drar dem neråt, hur de klänger.

Svårt att vara oviss, rädd och delad,

svårt att känna djupet dra och kalla,

ändå sitta kvar och bara darra -

svårt att vilja stanna

och vilja falla.

Då, när det är värst och inget hjälper,

brister som i jubel trädets knoppar.

Då, när ingen rädsla längre håller,

faller i ett glitter kvistens droppar .

glömmer att de skrämdes av det nya,

glömmer att de ängslades för färden –

känner en sekund sin största trygghet,

vilar i den tillit som skapar världen.

Yes, of course it hurts when buds burst.

Otherwise why would spring hesitate?

Why would all our fervent longing

be bound in the frozen bitter haze?

The bud was the casing all winter.

What is this new thing, which consumes and bursts?

Yes, of course it hurts when buds burst,

pain for that which grows

and for that which envelops.

Yes, it is surely hard when drops fall.

Trembling with fear they hang heavy,

clammer on the branch, swell and slide -

the weight pulls them down, how they cling.

Hard to be uncertain, afraid and divided,

hard to feel the deep pulling and calling,

yet sit there and just quiver –

hard to want to stay

and to want to fall.

Then, at the point of agony when all is beyond help,

the tree's buds burst as if in jubilation,

then, when no fear holds them back any longer,

the branch's drops tumble in a shimmer,

forgetting that they were afraid of the new,

forgetting that they were fearful of the journey –

feeling for a second their greatest security,

resting in the trust

that creates the world.

In the series, we see how Wille goes from letting his family dictate his life, to realising what agency he does have, and finding his own voice and path. We see him going from trying to conform to what is expected of someone in his role, to prioritising himself and Simon and their love. We see him going from struggling with whether he as a crown prince can be openly queer, to coming out very publicly.

Karin Boye's poem reminds us of why Wille couldn't free himself from the expectations of him as crown prince and come out earlier: because the growth he goes through hurts so damn much. Even spring hesitates. How can we fault Wille for doing the same?

However, Boye's poem also provides us with hope. They start the group project on her book in episode three of season two, a very painful episode where Wille sinks into the depths of hopelessness and despair. It is as though the reference to Boye's poem which for me at least is implied here, tries to reassure us and Wille that everything will be alright. No matter how long spring hesitates, it will always arrive at last. The painful events of this episode is a catalyst for Wille and Simon's journey back to each other again, for Wille finding his voice and forging his own path. And we know that when no fear holds them back any longer, the drops will fall and spring will arrive at last. This moment comes during Wille's speech at the very end of the season, where he says: Jag är också rädd. Men jag tänker sluta med det nu. "I'm also scared. But that ends now." Immediately afterwards, he owns up to being in the video with Simon, thereby publicly coming out as queer and freeing himself from what has been expected of him as crown prince. The he turns and smiles at Simon, who smiles back. The buds have burst as in jubilation.

Whether the writers intend to evoke this poem or not, it perfectly encapsulates the enormous growth Wille goes through during these first two seasons. The growing process is incredibly painful, but it is what ultimately allows Wille to blossom and turn into a truer, better version of himself, letting everyone see the colours he has previously kept hidden inside himself. I can't wait to see Wille blossom in season three!

[epicspheal]

I'm thinking for cactusverse I'm going actually do a professor!Red. Well more of a "Red with a PhD" than him being a professor (like Oak or Sycamore) because much like Blue, Red enjoys battling and traveling to really want to be tied down to a lab looking at papers and writing grants all day. He just wants the PhD because he's a huge nerd and wanted to get to know Pokemon on a more academic level. He pretty much dips out of the academia scene once he defends his thesis and becomes Dr. Red. Considering Red in my universe has aura powers and aura powers aren't super well-documented in mainstream academia outside of a historical context, that ends up being Red's topic. Studying the mechanics of aura powers...using himself as the main test subject. But he employs other aura users he knows such as Yellow, Blue, Daisy, Leaf, Lance, Chuck, and the Johto Quad (Kris, Lyra, Silver and Ethan) to get a better sense of how aura works and manifest in people. Which in turn causes a lot of hilarious (and not-so hilarious) hi-jinks of everyone trying out their aura powers in various ways. Blue, Lyra and Lance trying to use their aura tracking blindfolded but somehow running into a wall (or each other). Ethan, Chuck and Silver accidentally making things explode. Leaf, Red and Kris accidentally activating a cursed object. Daisy and Yellow accidentally managing to summon Arceus who then sent Leaf, Red and Blue back to Hisui for payback. Red loses his memories of his whole thesis as a consequence of being a faller, but thankfully he took good notes so as he regained his memories he was able to fast-track his thesis by looking at his documents.

[cassioppenny]

okay milesverse lore post but for the siblings uh yay

red green and silver

okay they're kinda weird. red and silver are half brothers (same dad) and green is red from an au that got eebied into the main timeline as a little kid (fun fact her name in the timeline she came from was leaf but she renamed herself green because 1) she forgor and 2) she wanted to match red and blue). green was adopted by red's mom after she fell anyway so uh yeah.

green learns that she's a faller a little bit after rgby after red went missing but doesn't learn she is literally red from a different timeline until rainbow rocket. yes she is the red of rr giovanni's timeline.

silver learned that red took down team rocket and immediately went "woag this guy is so strong and took down my shitty dad so i need him to mentor me so i can also get strong." but then red disappeared and silver immediately assumed that team rocket kidnapped him or something. red is actually peeping the horrors on mount silver instead but no one knows that

so during gsc he impersonates red (keep in mind they don't know they're related at this point) and steals totodile. he goes around beating the shit out of random team rocket members and getting annoyed by ethan, lyra, and kris (mostly ethan) who keep accidentally running into him. ethan immediately learns that silver isn't red because 1) silver dropped his trainer id and 2) ethan is huge gigantic red super fan who's dream is to become so strong that he surpasses him in strength so of course he recognizes silver looks nothing like red

post gsc ethan, silver, and blue (who has been helping against team rocket under the alias "gary" and wearing his pokespe cape during gsc along with lance i guess he was there too) go to kanto to look for red together. they also go through the celebi event and silver beats up his dad but that's besides the point.

when they're pallet town they meet green. silver and green become besties. do they know reaction image. also blue and green hate eachother because of the whole red missing thing but that's off topic.

anyway they eventually find red. awkward family reunion. yippee. im talking way too much about them moving on

hilda and nate

ceos of ignoring the plot. hilda and nate used to live near hilbert cheren and bianca but moved away to nimbasa before the events of b1w1. hilda is a pretty minor character in b1w1 honestly she's just grinding the battle subway.

her little brother nate though actually travels with rosa and hugh. admittedly it's just so he can train up a team so he can also grind on the battle subway but he's having fun. while rosa and hugh have team plasma related angst he's just kinda chilling the background eating popcorn with his oshawott. he's just a silly guy. he looks up to his big sister a lot

selene and elio

both of them act as the protagonists in sm and are twins. selene does most of the story stuff while elio focuses on the island challenge. basically selene gets to be gay with girlfriend lillie while elio fights for his life against the beasts. elio is the serious one while selene is the silly one.

there's a gag where selene's pikachu (off topic but every protag except lucas and elio has a pikachu on their team) keeps stealing elio's hat which always annoys him. elio eventually gets a mimikyu which pops out to fight pikachu whenever that happens

gloria and victor

they fucking hate eachother. victor (the older one) thinks gloria is annoying and egotistical while gloria thinks victor is a loser and failure. victor went on the gym challenge before gloria and gave up before kabu. gloria started to resent him for giving up and started to call leon her real older brother because of how much of a loser she thinks victor is.

victor just wants to go to culinary school but once gloria gets her sobble and gets ready to go on her journey their mom forces victor to go with them. he basically becomes the brock of the group but if brock was the biggest hater ever.

[flightlessribbons]

Well now that I've finished all the short character blurbs (with the exception of Paldea's crew) I just wanted to make a rambling little post about some of my reasons for certain headcanons in this AU. There's a lot of nonsense that I imagined and reached for as I played through the games!

- Starting off strong with a few about one of my favorite families with the BYG cousins first: why I made Elio, Gloria, Hilda, and Nate all related. It's all because of the player characters mom designs for each of them- especially the Alolan mom having such similar hair to Hilda and the Unovan mom- so I thought it would be fun to have them interconnect!

- Touya and Leaf being related to Bill- Bill canonically has a lot of siblings, so fitting Leaf into his family as his youngest sister was easy. And he has a sister in Fuchsia city with her son in game, so I liked to think that the little boy was Touya who eventually moved to Unova. Bonus points for being able to draw them all with the same bangs as Bill.

- Kris and Solana from pokemon rangers being related- purely aesthetic reasons and very self indulgent. The Ranger games are very dear to my heart and I wanna get around to them sometime!

- Hilda and Nate being forgettable: Hilda bc she's absent in the sequel so I felt like she would be more like an important presence with no real face to the name, and for Nate I feel like he's not as remembered for BW2 in comparison to Rosa (while that just may be my perception of it) so I gave him that same energy as well.

- Kris is in a similar, but different, predicament as them. Kris as a character only appeared in one game before Masters, so by the initial time of the Invitation Comics, she's sort of used to being overshadowed or forgotten in both her research and champ title. She's also been my FAVORITE PROTAG since I was a REALLY young kid, and her and Hilda are still tied for first in my favs!! So I really wanted to give her a personal arc about making her own name for herself.

- Jana's entire existence: I played pokemon Moon first, and when I played Ultra Moon after, the Selene from Moon, and the Selene from UM acted out like different characters in my head, so I made Jana to embody some of those points I imagined for that Moon protag.

- Making Calem a contest coordinator is the randomest HC that may not fit at first with his character, but I imagine there being different types of contests. Ones that are flashier or musical ones that Shauna might participate in (EDIT: changing Calem's side hobbies to fencing in lieu of the contest participation)

- Another reason why I refer to Shauna as an idol as she does different kinds of shows professionally, and Calem as just a coordinator, is because he does limited shows for fun.

- Selene is based on the little girl in the house of Professor Rowan's assistant in game, who talks about pokemon trivia when talked to. I wanted to tie the faller story components to her personally, and an encounter with the distortion world was the perfect opportunity! SM and USUM was the first time I wrote my headcanons down when playing, so technically it's the first organized piece of the POKEVERSE I made back in 2016-17 👍

- It's been a default to ship the player characters together, and will most likely continue being the case- save for one brain rot exception to that rule: postwickshipping. Hop and Gloria were the first and only ship I've deviated from that just because of their interactions through the game. Florian x Juliana brings me back to the protag ships though, and I have some plans for how the Paldea timeline plays out differently in this world!

- The whole Interpol relation to Hilda's family comes solely from Looker's appearance in the BW postgame. I'll probably make a whole post about how Hilda's mom and dad are relevant in other things in Unova, so I won't talk about it too much here.

- Making Johanna be Akari: I wanted to take a present day character to be Akari that wasn't Dawn. No one else fit the bill other than Johanna, and I really enjoyed making it work in this AU!

That's all the ones I could think of today. If you did go through these, thanks for reading! This POKEVERSE is just a culmination of self indulgence of how I pictured the games as I played, and I do plan on replaying through the games to reconstruct what I keep and change through the stories! Until next post 👍

[mountmortar]

Here before the Pokémon Direct: Legends Celebi, but it’s Kris going back in time to the Kanto Arc in a new spin-off timeline, before canon, maybe the 3 years in-between where we can see the Cinnabar Island Volcano, maybe the first establishment of the Indigo League some 70 years back, KanJoh migration and Faller!Leaf, confirm? War theory?? Battle Tower Kris armed with Johto “we love Pkmn” energy VS Kanto which is opposite that creating the first League hmmm. First champ, inspire Red, full circle

sorry i am so sleep deprived and you threw so many words at me at once but these ideas are very cool! i had to go look up what pokémon direct was though lmao

[unmeiverse-nextadventures]

my multiverse explained (text version) ahoy. for the sake of simplicity the numbers and letters assigned arent about their actual order in a vast multiverse but more of how important/related they are to each other

Universe 1 

Chosen protags: Red, Ethan, May, Dawn, Hilbert, Rosa, Calem, Selene, and Victor. Some of them may go by different Trainer Names in different universes. All of these also share the same iteration of Ultra Space and it’s Ultra Megalopolis.

Universe 1A 

unmeiverse main

Episode RR occurs here

a faller!Anabel ends up here but this universe’s Anabel gets to stay

faller!Ingo from U2B ends up in this world’s past

timeloop plot happens here

Universe 1B

essentially omegaverse au of U1A. some changes of events and narrative due to omegaverse elements

no Episode RR

gets a Faller!Anabel and loses own Anabel

major changes to events occuring in the fankid era

one of the Enid universes so no Tristan. Hannah and Athel also exist.

Universe 1C

where a Faller!Selene comes from.

only finalized thing is that for the Alola story it mainly follows the events of USUM, specifically that of Ultra Moon, over SuMo

Universe 2

Essentially protag swap so Leaf, Kris or Lyra, Brendan, Lucas, Hilda, Nate, Serena, Elio, and Gloria are the ones that essentially follow the games’ plots. Because I am who I am though the focus is still mainly on the protags of unmeiverse (very especially Calem because I have a bias). These also share the same iteration of Ultra Space etc etc. 

Also has much more major changes in different characters’ backstory

Universe 2B

protagswap + omegaverse au

main focus though is my crackship of Calem/Dulse (because i grew too attached to them i needed an au where they did end up together)

very few other endgame ship changes at the time of this writing (bc i tunnel vision on my crackship)

the faller!Ingo of U1A comes from here

also an Enid universe; Ingo and Emmet don’t have an older brother in this one and thus no nephew

Universe 2D

basically villain/anti-villain/anti-hero route for the unmeiverse protags

they all work with Team Rocket in some capacity

also a lot more focus on supernatural powers in this setting

the Giovanni that kickstarts Episode RR in U1A is from here

[felidaeng]

faller kris theory

[viktorfredriksson]

Oscarstippning 2021

Sent omsider är det dags för årets Oscarsgala. Efter det kanske tuffaste året någonsin för filmbranschen råder det såklart andra förutsättningar än vanligt. Många filmer med planerad premiär under fjolåret har blivit framflyttade, och möjligheten att uppleva de filmer som faktiskt har släppts har varit mycket begränsad. Att uppmärksamma bra filmer känns därför viktigare än någonsin. 

Oscarsgalan är den 93:e i ordningen. Den kommer, precis som föregående två år, inte ha någon enskild värd. På grund av omständigheterna kommer galan att hållas på både Dolby Theatre och Union Station i Los Angeles samtidigt. Exakt på vilket sätt återstår att se, men galans producenter har sagt att »the plan is to stage an intimate, in-person event at Union Station in Los Angeles, with additional show elements live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.«

I vanlig ordning har jag tippat samtliga kategorier – vinnare i fetstil. 

Best Picture

“The Father” (David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne, producers)

“Judas and the Black Messiah” (Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler, producers)

“Mank” (Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth and Douglas Urbanski, producers)

“Minari” (Christina Oh, producer)

“Nomadland” (Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao, producers)

“Promising Young Woman” (Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara, producers)

“Sound of Metal” (Bert Hamelinck and Sacha Ben Harroche, producers)

“The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Marc Platt and Stuart Besser, producers)

David Finchers »Mank« är galans mest nominerade film (tio stycken) men favoritskapet i den största kategorin ligger hos Chloé Zhaos lågmälda neo-Western »Nomadland«, med vinster på Producers Guild Award (PGA), Directors Guild Award (DGA), BAFTA och Golden Globe. 

Det enda som talar emot »Nomadland« är vinsten för »The Trial of the Chicago 7« på Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG). Det är ett pris som historiskt sett har korrelerat starkt med vinnaren för Bästa Film på Oscarsgalan – främst på grund av att skådespelare är den största röstande grenen inom Akademin. Faktum kvarstår dock att »Nomadland« inte ens nominerades för Best Ensembe (som är motsvarande Best Picture på SAG) eftersom filmen inte har någon ensemble, utan drivs av Frances McDormands ensamma huvudkaraktär. 

De som utmanar närmast efter »The Trial of the Chicago 7« är »Minari« och »Promising Young Woman«. De senaste åren har som bekant bjudit på flera skrällar (»Moonlight« och »Parasite«), och därmed är kampen långt ifrån avgjord, men i år känns inte utmanaren lika tydlig. Aaron Sorkin misslyckades med att landa en nominering för bästa regi för »The Trial of the Chicago 7«, och momentum för »Minari« och »Promising Young Woman« känns inte tillräckligt starkt för att lyckas hela vägen. Själv har jag endast haft möjlighet att se fem av de åtta nominerade (ej sett »The Father«, »Minari« eller »Sound of Metal«). De jag har sett har hållit hyfsad jämnhög kvalitet, utan att riktigt nå hela vägen. 

Best Director

Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”)

David Fincher (“Mank”)

Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”)

Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”)

Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”)

Oavsett om »Nomadland« går hela vägen eller ej så tror jag att Chloé Zhao står mer eller mindre ohotad för sin regi. Vid vinst blir hon blott den andra kvinnan i filmhistorien (efter Kathryn Bigelow för »The Hurt Locker«) att lyckas med det. 

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”)

Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”)

Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”)

Gary Oldman (“Mank”)

Steven Yeun (“Minari”)

Om Hopkins skulle ta hem det vore han som 83-åring den äldsta vinnaren i kategorin någonsin. Riz Ahmed skulle vara den första muslimska mannen. Allting talar dock för Chadwick Boseman, som endast 43 år gammal gick bort i cancer i augusti i fjol. 

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”)

Andra Day (“The United States v. Billie Holiday”)

Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”)

Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”)

Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”)

Förmodligen galans mest öppna kategori på förhand, då samtliga fem har vunnit priser under galasäsongen. Vanessa Kirby kan sannolikt räknas bort men övriga fyra har alla reella chanser. Andra Day tror jag dock faller bort på grund av att filmen inte är lika populär (och därmed sedd) som de övriga. Vidare har Frances McDormand redan belönats med två Oscars tidigare, den senaste för bara tre år sedan. Även Viola Davis har varit en återkommande favorit hos Akademin. I »Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom« spelar hon en fysisk och utagerande roll, vilket brukar premieras i sammanhanget. Min röst faller dock på Carey Mulligan. Hon har inte nominerats sedan genombrottet i »An Education« för elva år sedan, men är en personlig favorit med starka roller i bland annat »Drive«, »Inside Llewyn Davis« och »Shame«. Hennes roll i »Promising Young Woman« är en av årets mest debatterade – förmodligen på både gott och ont. 

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Sacha Baron Cohen (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”)

Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)

Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”)

Paul Raci (“Sound of Metal”)

Lakeith Stanfield (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)

Allt pekar på att Kaluuya kraftfulla gestaltning av Fred Hampton räcker för vinst. Hans största risk är förmodligen att Stanfield är nominerad i samma kategori för samma film, vilket skulle kunna »stjäla« röster från Kaluuya, men det ska mycket till. 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Maria Bakalova (‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”)

Glenn Close (“Hillbilly Elegy”)

Olivia Colman (“The Father”)

Amanda Seyfried (“Mank”)

Yuh-jung Youn (“Minari”)

Glenn Close har tidigare aldrig vunnit en Oscar, trots sju nomineringar. Så sent som 2019 var hon favorittippad för sin roll i »The Wife« men föll på målsnöret mot Olivia Colman. En slags hedersoscar vore därför inte otänkbart, men givet den relativit anonyma filmen hon är nominerad för tror jag inte det kommer hända. Bisarrt nog är Maria Bakalova en av favoriterna, men efter att SAG och BAFTA gått till Yuh-jjung Youn är det hennes statyett att förlora. 

Best Animated Feature Film

“Onward” (Pixar)

“Over the Moon” (Netflix)

“A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” (Netflix)

“Soul” (Pixar)

“Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS)

Ett annat år vore hyllade »Wolfwalkers« ett säkert bet, men »Soul« är en av Pixars bästa och mest kreativa skapelser på många år. Dessutom nominerad för ljud och musik. 

Best Adapted Screenplay

“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Nina Pedrad

“The Father,” Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller

“Nomadland,” Chloé Zhao

“One Night in Miami,” Kemp Powers

“The White Tiger,” Ramin Bahrani

Best Original Screenplay

“Judas and the Black Messiah.” Screenplay by Will Berson, Shaka King; Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenny Lucas, Keith Lucas

“Minari,” Lee Isaac Chung

“Promising Young Woman,” Emerald Fennell

“Sound of Metal.” Screenplay by Darius Marder, Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder, Derek Cianfrance

“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Aaron Sorkin

En duell mellan »Promising Young Woman« och »The Trail of the Chicago 7«. Personligen tycker jag att Sorkin har gjort mycket som är av betydligt högre kvalitet än »The Trial...«. 

Best Original Song

“Fight for You,” (“Judas and the Black Messiah”). Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas

“Hear My Voice,” (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”). Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite

“Húsavík,” (“Eurovision Song Contest”). Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson

“Io Si (Seen),” (“The Life Ahead”). Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini

“Speak Now,” (“One Night in Miami”). Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth

Om en låt från den filmen kan nomineras så kan den väl lika gärna vinna?

Best Original Score

“Da 5 Bloods,” Terence Blanchard

“Mank,” Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross

“Minari,” Emile Mosseri

“News of the World,” James Newton Howard

“Soul,” Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste

Trent Reznor och Atticus Ross är dubbelt nominerade och vinnare är förmodligen någon av dessa två filmer.  

Best Sound

“Greyhound,” Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders and David Wyman

“Mank,” Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin

“News of the World,” Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller and John Pritchett

“Soul,” Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker

“Sound of Metal,” Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh

Titeln skvallrar om var krutet har lagts. Allt annat än vinst vore ett misslyckande.

Best Costume Design

“Emma,” Alexandra Byrne

“Mank,” Trish Summerville

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Ann Roth

“Mulan,” Bina Daigeler

“Pinocchio,” Massimo Cantini Parrini

Best Animated Short Film

“Burrow” (Disney Plus/Pixar)

“Genius Loci” (Kazak Productions)

“If Anything Happens I Love You” (Netflix)

“Opera” (Beasts and Natives Alike)

“Yes-People” (CAOZ hf. Hólamói)

Best Live-Action Short Film

“Feeling Through”

“The Letter Room”

“The Present”

“Two Distant Strangers”

“White Eye”

Best Cinematography

“Judas and the Black Messiah,” Sean Bobbitt

“Mank,” Erik Messerschmidt

“News of the World,” Dariusz Wolski

“Nomadland,” Joshua James Richards

“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Phedon Papamichael

Best Documentary Feature

“Collective,” Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana

“Crip Camp,” Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder

“The Mole Agent,” Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez

“My Octopus Teacher,” Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster

“Time,” Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn

Best Documentary Short Subject

“Colette,” Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard

“A Concerto Is a Conversation,” Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers

“Do Not Split,” Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook

“Hunger Ward,” Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman

“A Love Song for Latasha,” Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan

Best Film Editing

“The Father,” Yorgos Lamprinos

“Nomadland,” Chloé Zhao

“Promising Young Woman,” Frédéric Thoraval

“Sound of Metal,” Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Alan Baumgarten

En stenhård duell mellan »Sound of Metal« och »The Trial of the Chicago 7«. Personligen har jag tyvärr inte hunnit se den förra än. Däremot kan jag konstatera att korsklippningen i den senare är helt central för filmens energi. Redan i filmens första minuter utnyttjas detta på ett effektivt sätt. 

Best International Feature Film

“Another Round” (Denmark)

“Better Days” (Hong Kong)

“Collective” (Romania)

“The Man Who Sold His Skin” (Tunisia)

“Quo Vadis, Aida?”(Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

“Emma,” Marese Langan, Laura Allen, Claudia Stolze

“Hillbilly Elegy,” Eryn Krueger Mekash, Patricia Dehaney, Matthew Mungle

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, Jamika Wilson

“Mank,” Kimberley Spiteri, Gigi Williams, Colleen LaBaff

“Pinocchio,” Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli, Francesco Pegoretti

Best Production Design

“The Father.” Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara and Diana Stoughton

“Mank.” Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale

“News of the World.” Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan

“Tenet.” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

Best Visual Effects

“Love and Monsters,” Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt and Brian Cox

“The Midnight Sky,” Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon and David Watkins

“Mulan,” Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury and Steve Ingram

“The One and Only Ivan,” Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones and Santiago Colomo Martinez

“Tenet,” Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher

Oscarsgalan sänds på TV4 från kl. 00:20 i natt.

[d-stabilize]

Faller Kris I am thinking about it

[muvahkangapptie]

Brita Mortensson, i en sydsamisk muadta, vinterpäls.

Medeltiden

Under medeltiden är pälsbräm en viktig modedetalj i klädedräkten ute i Europa. Efterfrågan på päls är stor och pälsdjuren lever framförallt i norra Skandinavien och Ryssland. Samerna slår mynt av denna lukrativa möjlighet. Framförallt blir handeln med gråverk, dvs ekorrskinn mycket omfattande. De säljs i tiopack så kallad ”dacre årrew”(dacre är ett latinskt räkneord för tio. Årrew, vilket idag skrivs som åeruve, är sydsamiska för ekorre. Ett gammalt, sydsamiskt räkneord ”årrew arto” förekommer även i dessa texter). Begreppet blir en sorts myntenhet att förhålla sig till, alla vet bruksvärdet för dacre årrew.

Samerna exporterar päls, och importerar istället tyger. England är den ledande textilnationen och engelskt kläde och vadmal av högsta kvalitet når nu samerna. Sveriges befolkning i stort klädde sig i hemvävda ylletyger. Det var främst adeln och kungahuset som hade råd med det fina engelska klädet, och så samerna förstås.

Under medeltiden adderas ytterligare en modedetalj till den samiska klädedräkten; nämligen silvret. Återigen är det ett europeiskt mode som når samerna och som faller dem väl i smaken. Det europeiska silvret har den katolska kyrkans symbolik. Exempelvis är bokstaven ”M” (ofta i gotisk stil), en symbol för jungfru Maria. I vardagen vände sig katolikerna till jungfru Maria i bön, hon stod nära människan i livets alla frågor. 

Det är naturligt att samerna låter bokstaven ”M” symbolisera gudinnan Sarakka, den gudinna vars roll närmast liknade jungfru Marias roll, men i den samiska religionen. På samma sätt kommer samerna att omvandla fler katolska symboler som förekommer i dräktsilvret, så att de passar in i den samiska världsbilden och religionen. Silvret ansågs i övrigt ha samma beskyddande förmåga som andra metaller, det beskyddade bäraren från allt som var ont.

Silvret får en betydelsefull funktion, särskilt i de familjer som bedriver renskötsel i större omfattning. Under goda renår investerade man i dräktsilver och silverföremål, väl medvetna om att en dålig vinter med starkt rovdjurstryck kunde decimera renhjorden. Att äga silverföremål som kunde omsättas i pengar var en trygghet. På detta sätt kom dräktsilver och silverföremål att fungera som försäkringssystem. Silvret var rovdjursförsäkring, social försäkring och pensionsförsäkring. Vid dödsfall kunde silverföremålen även delas lika mellan barnen. Döttrar och söner hade lika arvsrätt på sydsamiskt område. Arvsskiften är skälet till att det i gammalt familjesilver kan finnas endast ”halva spännen” kvar. Ett halvt spänne är oanvändbart som dräktspänne, men fullt dugligt som rättvist arv.

Ännu idag finns många medeltida drag bevarade i de sydsamiska koltarna. Kolten sys med kilad ärm, kilar i sidorna och kil mitt bak. Oväderskragen har även den kilar för att lösa rörelsevidden. Bruket av mössor sydda av kilar har även bevarats. Att just medeltida drag bevarats i koltarna har två tänkbara förklaringar. Den ena förklaringen är att klädtypen har tjänat samerna väl, plaggen har betraktats som ”bra kläder”. Den andra förklaringen ligger i det som etnologerna kallar för ”kulturkonservatism”. När en högkultur går mot sitt slut och det blir sämre tider, tenderar folket att hålla kvar särdrag från högkulturen. Samerna som upplever en välmående guldålder under medeltiden, får stora problem med staten under 1600- och 1700-talen. Bland annat kommer skattetrycket att förändras när kungen inte längre accepterar att samerna betalar skatt i päls. 

Vid det här laget hade modet i Europa återigen förändrats och någon efterfrågan på päls fanns inte. Istället ville kungen att samerna skulle betala skatt i torkad fisk och torkat kött. Detta medför att många samer blir utfattiga, och svältande driver de längs norrlandskusten och tigger. Nu myntas ordet ”fattiglapp”, som en beskrivning av en person som ingenting äger och har. Samernas medeltida guldålder och senare ekonomiska kris, är således intimt sammanlänkad med något så trivialt som pälsbrämat mode ute i Europa!

- Maria Axelsson

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 28th April 2019 (Jonas Blue, Lil Dicky, Rita Ora)

Top 10

We have a couple new arrivals this week, but the biggest story is still how this song clings on to the top spot, as “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus still at number-one for a second week, and both the meme and constant discussion surrounding the song continue to spread to the point where it’s a cultural phenomenon.

The rest of the top 10 is incredibly less interesting. “Piece of Your Heart” by MEDUZA and Goodboys is up two spaces to number-two. It could make a play for the top.

Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” is also down a spot to number-three.

Down one position from last week is Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” at number-four.

Tom Walker’s “Just You and I” isn’t moving at number-five.

Avicii’s posthumous hit “SOS” featuring vocals from Aloe Blacc has boosted up six spaces to number-six, becoming Avicii’s first ever posthumous Top 10, as well as his tenth Top 10 in general, and Aloe Blacc’s third.

Up a spot from last week is the Jonas Brothers with “Sucker” at number-seven.

Russ (Splash) and Tion Wayne’s “Keisha & Becky” stabilises its spot at number-eight, down a spot from last week.

Elevating a single space from recent controversy is “Here with Me” by Marshmello and CHVRCHES at number-nine.

At #10, to round off our top 10, is “Talk” by Khalid, up a space and returning to the top 10.

Climbers

Wiley’s “Boasty” featuring verses from Stefflon Don, Sean Paul and Idris freakin’ Elba is up five spaces to #12, whilst “All Day and Night” by EUROPA featuring Madison Beer enters the top 20 at #14, up eight spaces from last week, becoming the first top 20 hit for EUROPA as a group, as well as Jax Jones’ seventh, Martin Solveig’s third as well as Beer’s first ever (Congratulations). Other than that, “Pretty Shining People” by George Ezra is up nine spots to #25, and his other song “Shotgun” is up seven to #30, so there must have been some sort of boost to the album sales, but generally, that’s all we have.

Fallers

We have a few more of these, or at least it seems these songs are more notable. “Giant” by Calvin Harris and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man finally gets its streaming cuts due to dumb UK chart rules and is down 10 positions to #16, whilst “Boy with Luv” by BTS featuring Halsey collapses 16 spaces down to #29 as K-pop always does, “Disaster” by Dave featuring J Hus is down six spaces to #33, whilst “wish you were gay” by Billie Eilish as well as “MONOPOLY” by Ariana Grande and Victoria Monet seem prepared for a premature exit, down 11 and 10 spots respectively to #37 and #40.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

I’m going to assume YNW Melly has had his streaming cut as “Murder on My Mind” is completely out of the Top 75 after dropping out from #38. Speaking of, “Options” by NSG and Tion Wayne has very unfortunately dropped out from #23 due to this dumb chart rule, which directly affects certain genres, i.e. urban music like hip hop and R&B (as well as EDM, for that matter) that is boosted prominently from streaming, from never having any longevity and not becoming as big as hits on the year-end than they deserve. “Options” would have been locked if it weren’t for this rule, as I think it would have lasted many more weeks. The other drop-out is from Ariana Grande and it’s “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored” from #39.

NEW ARRIVALS

#39 – “Carry On” – Kygo and Rita Ora

Produced by Kygo and Afsheen – Peaked at #8 in Norway

Yes! I finally get to talk about Pokémon! I know what you’re thinking, what? Why? It’s just Rita Ora collaborating with some massive EDM producer like she always does, and while you’re right, it’s for the Detective Pikachu film, which isn’t currently out but I am going to see it at some point. I’m excited to hear this soundtrack as well, although I’m not exactly expecting Kygo and Rita Ora to deliver anything particularly good, or interesting, or Pokémon-related for that matter. Pokémon songs for the anime films have never directly related to the film plots, though, and usually were kind of boring, motivational songs with very vague lyrics, which is understandable as they had to be rushed out every single year. Anyway, this is Kygo’s seventh Top 40 hit and Rita Ora’s 21st, which is impressive, and is it any good? No. Of course it isn’t, and I’m mostly indifferent on this tasteless drivel that EDM producers put out in general with female pop singers where it sounds like the singers have been artificially sped-up, with mixing that’s overly-drowned in reverb and an instrumental as dry as clay years after it is first moulded. The piano melody here isn’t bad, but it isn’t unique and doesn’t carry Rita Ora’s incredibly weak hook, and in general her performance here sucks, like that random “Woo!” she adds in that pauses the song entirely just to halt his momentum, to add nothing at all! There’s barely a real drop here, so it just feels like a constant onslaught of nothingness and high-pitched vocal samples, which I somewhat like for its effort not to make a club banger but rather a tropical house ballad straight out of the dregs of 2016, and it’s not the last new arrival we have that does that here, but this is the only one I’ll talk about in this episode, more on that later. Anyways, this isn’t worth much analysis. It’s dreadfully boring but it’s not exactly long and doesn’t overstay its presence for THAT long, I suppose, it’s just disappointing for a soundtrack that is supposed to provide the music for what is looking out to be a film full of personality with actors oozing charisma. I’m looking out for the Sonic the Hedgehog film’s soundtrack a bit more now, albeit just for the novelty of a Dr. Robotnik cover of “Gangsta’s Paradise”. Next.

#27 – “No Diet” – Digga D

Produced by Ghosty

Digga D is a UK drill artist, as most of the rappers we see on the charts are in 2019. I’ve only vaguely heard of him before, so I think it’s safe to assume that the extreme marketing for the song involving a lot of different companies and individuals, including Mixtape Madness, is what landed this on the charts as Digga D’s first top 40 hit, as well as the video which is about trafficking crack cocaine in Coca-Cola cans... sure. Anyway, is the song itself any good? Well... the beat is incredibly minimalistic like most UK drill, with just an ominous piano line as the backing for a skittering hi-hat and bass-heavy trap beat – those 808s, by the way, are pretty insane. Digga D isn’t really saying anything of interest or anything different than the other guys, but the beat is good enough to carry him a lot of the time, and I love his weird sounds he uses for the ad-libs. It reminds me of a British Migos, where instead of repeating the line, he just makes unintelligible nonsense words and stutters. The singing on the second verse is pretty janky in relative to when it appears in the verse, and while Genius says this and the supposedly playful lyrics are what sets it apart, I don’t see the juxtaposition here, I just think it’s kind of surreal in how bipolar this song feels. There’s an ominous, eerie and menacing beat, violent and braggadocious lyrics from Digga, and then a bunch of silly, humorous ad-libs over it. This song has an identity crisis first and foremost, and while we’re at it...

#24 – “Earth” – Lil Dicky

Produced by benny blanco and Cas—

Nope. No, sorry, not touching this one. I appreciate what it’s doing for charity but I have a LOT to say about this song and trust me, it is not overwhelmingly positive, so, no, I’m not covering this one, at least not like this, and not right now. I might do a full-length review at some point but I think it’s much more likely that I talk about this at the end of the year, if you get the gist. For now, to replace an actual review, let me just list the guest stars, because technically, this is a song by Lil Dicky featuring Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Zac Brown of his eponymous band, Brendan Urie of Panic! at the Disco, common fungus Hailee Steinfeld, Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart as Kanye West, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth, Sia, Miley Cyrus, Lil Jon, Rita Ora, Miguel, Katy Perry, Lil Yachty as an STD, Ed Sheeran, Meghan Trainor, mother-father gentleman PSY, professional basketball player Joel Embiid, Tory Lanez, John Legend, Bad Bunny, Kris Wu, Leonardo DiCaprio and the entirety of the Backstreet Boys. Does that count as a review for Lil Dicky’s second UK Top 40 single? I don’t care, I’ll talk about in length when I want to. Trust me, I’m planning ahead.

#23 – “What I Like About You” – Jonas Blue and Theresa Rex

Produced by Jonas Blue – Peaked at #1 in Belgium

Oh, yeah, this, okay, well, Jonas Blue exists, I guess, and I’m supposed to review everything he puts out because everything this dude makes charts... and sucks. I don’t really have a problem with the dude, but nothing he makes is all that interesting, and he’s the epitome of carelessly generic EDM and dance-pop. This particular track features vocals from Theresa Rex, Danish pop singer who you won’t know by name and she doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page, but you will know the voice of from “Solo Dance” years back, which she had uncredited vocals on (I’m glad they stopped not crediting the vocalists on EDM tracks, especially since, you know, they do all the heavy lifting in terms of singing). The production here is pretty tropical, I guess, with some handclaps and a weak synth drop that has a few orchestral stabs to replace any unique instrumentation. None of the vocal melodies catch on yet and I’d much prefer “Solo Dance” to this. What else am I supposed to say? I know I’ve taken the easy way out with these two songs, but honestly we’re at a standstill in the charts right now where it should really be more interesting than it is.

Conclusion

Even if I didn’t review it, I don’t care, Lil Dicky and friends still get Worst of the Week for “Earth”, with Dishonourable Mention going to Jonas Blue and Theresa Rex for “That’s What I Like About You”, or something to that effect. In fact, there’s no Best of the Week or Honourable Mention, the Dishonourable Mention is tied as Kygo and Rita Ora’s “Carry On” exemplifies the exact same problem. God, what a crappy week. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more pop music ramblings and Top 20 rankings, and I’ll see you next week!