#he's in my top 10 for sure BUT he's not my most fav fav yk?

[seumyo]

do you perchance like bakugo . . .

. . . he's alr bff

[methodrones]

album review : their satanic majesties' second request

released: june 1996

genre: psychedelic rock

and here we are to one of bjm's most popular albums! i think it's pretty solid, though i can't think of every track off the top of my head or anything like that, so i'll have to see after going through it. of course, this is the album that holds anemone, so it makes sense that it would be so popular. but let's dive in!

all around you - intro

this is the same as the outro, but we have a fun little voiceover to the music... this is for sure anton talking out of his ass but i love it. i think this is definitely somewhat inspired by the intro of sing this all together ( the first track off the rolling stones' album, their satanic majesties request ) which is also cool. i mean obviously, the album is literally named after it. this is giving kind of culty vibes and i'm surprised i've never actually listened to this? i reaaaally like the voiceover it's giving me everything, his voice slowly becoming more and more manic. good shit! i really enjoyed this, especially the lyrics like "the love we share / it's a secret for everyone." very much enjoyed...

rating: 9/10

cold to the touch

it's been a loooong time since i listened to this song. this is giving 60s, it's really good lol. and the tambourine ofc <3 but the chorus is great, the 'wooo!' is fun. i love when they just yell random shit. solo slaps as always, there will never be a bjm solo i don't love i think ... also anton's kind of whispered voice is reminding me of matt hollywood, i wonder if he wrote this song. i wouldn't be surprised, it's got that very sultry vibe matt's songs usually bring. but, who knows! good song, i enjoyed it much more than the last times i've heard it.

rating: 9/10

donovan said

the beat on this one is really good, very eastern inspired for sure. which i guess makes sense that something like in india you would be on this album lmao, i forgot how much this album brings in that sound. "she took just a tiny sip / now she's starting to trip" I LIKE THESE LYRICS. and the way anton sings "i wonder what she sees in you" ughhhhh it's good ... i've always enjoyed this song, the way the lines are sang and how it all flows together, and the soloooooo?!?? i can't tell if it's a synth or like an actual violin or something ... either way i really like it. so i'd give this one a good rating! it's not my fav on this album, but i do listen to it every now and again.

rating: 8/10

in india you

speaking of in india you ... here we have it again! it's soooo much better suited to this album than methodrone idk what was going on with that decision but, yk. whatever. the song itself is pretty good, the name is self explanatory when listening to it lol. the little beat drop is good, i like the vocals ... this is probably the same shit i said on it earlier tho ( unless i just complained about it, which i might've done ). probs my least fav so far but it's not bad or anything like that.

rating: 7/10

no come down

MATT HOLLYWOOD! i listened to this song for the first time like two months ago and i really enjoyed it, but, again. matt. his voice does hit every time and the tambourine coming in ... phewwww. the riff is good and i like some of these lyrics. and the switch up then it going back to being slow?! i love it. his vocals on the "if there's a god in heaven" are good i fuckin love his voice UGH. it's not even like his voice is that amazing it just has this quality to it i really enjoy. also i like the line "i got the holy spirit breathing down my neck" his little religious lyrics are fun, the second switch up is really good. anyway kind of a long song, almost six minutes, it does feel a little long but overall it's a solid track!

rating: 8/10

(around you) everywhere

okay synth ?! very short kind of interlude, sounds very similar to all around you. it's giving their satanic majesties request lol. the horns are good, but yk, it's just ... instrumentals. not much to comment on here. also my spotify fucking crashed right after this song played that's weird. thanks ANTON.

raring: 5/10

jesus

I FUCKIN LOVE THIS SONG. for me this is absolutely a hit, i think every single part of it works so well and all of the different solos make me go crazy. the lyrics and the way they're sung are also??? SO GOOD???? "missed my connection to the second resurrection / on a close up inspection / i lost my direction" WHAT THE FUCKKKK the lyrics have no right being this amazing. i do think this song is a little long, at least for me personally, but truthfully every other part makes up for it so ... it gets an extra point from me. god the soloing is just so fucking good. "i turned to jesus when i lost all my friends / and the good times all ended, with my money i spent it" idk something about the way this shit is sung makes me go insane. then the "have mercy please jesus" being sung in the background of the outro solo.... fuuuuuuck.

rating: 10/10

before you

another kind of short interlude, longer than (around you) everywhere tho. again with the eastern kinda influence! honestly i don't have much to say on this, it's alright. it gets a shrug.

rating: 5/10

miss june '75

ohhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHH. matt. matt matt matt you never cease to amaze me with your songwriting. this is a matt hollywood song through and through and i fucking adore it. it's slow, sensual, has the matt-esque suggestiveness of it all ... yeah. i know these lyrics by heart not even gonna lie and this is a fun, but simple, love song to play on guitar. do you want to hear me talk about solos again? because the solos in this song are great. anyway we get to the kind of main course and i really love the line "the way she dances makes me lose my mind" ughhhhh.... idk. something about it! his voice is so good here. i will say i usually skip the rest after "the two brightest stars up in heaven" just bc it's literally matt singing about having sex but. yk. interesting listen! very long song, but if you just listen to the first five minutes you'll be good and get the gist.

anemone

the greatest hit on this album, the most popular bjm song ... anemone! i actually have no clue who sings this one, i heard it was anton's wife, katy, but idk what was going on in 1996 so i can't really say that with any sort of confidence. anyway this song is just great. do i even have to describe why??? the intro, the riff, the solos, the bass. the tambourine literally makes this song what it is. and the vocals are great, i really like her voice. i also like this song live, it's soooooo good, i think i may actually prefer anton's voice on this track but the studio version really is great. the outro with anton and her singing "now that you're not around," UGHHH so good. this was the first bjm song i ever heard and what i think should be most people's first foray into the band! it pretty much perfectly encapsulates their sound. so, obvs, this gets a perfect score.

rating: 10/10

baby (prepraise)

another random instrumental ... yeah. idk why this reminds me of something that would be in the shining LOL.

rating: 5/10

feelers

mooooore eastern type stuff. idk if that's a sitar or what but i like the sound! i am not actually sure i've ever heard this song, very simple lyrics tho. i honestly don't have much to say, it's my least favorite on this album up until this point. another shrug.

rating: 6/10

bad baby

interesting little intro. interesting song in general ... i do like it tho, it's kind of soft and has a nice beat. the vocals are also good! this is pretty long, like eight minutes long, which i don't love but. whatcha gonna do. also has a percussion ass outro which is pretty cool. but this gets the same amount of love from me as feelers did.

rating: 6/10

cause, i lover

I DIDN'T EVEN RECOGNIZE THIS AT FIRST it's from thank god for mental illness ... or i guess technically it's from this album but it appears again a little differently on the next album. i really like this song!!! it's short and sweet but very country ish. good stuff.

rating: 9/10

(baby) love of my life

short ass instrumental again. literally i have nothing to say here! not too huge a fan of these types of tracks tho.

rating: 5/10

slowdown (fuck tomorrow)

weird track .... it feels very beatles. it's alright, not loooving it or anything like that but it does align pretty well with the 60s feeling a lot of this stuff is going for. not much more to say!

rating: 6/10

here it comes

i really like this song!! it's not too long, and the music is great and so are the vocals. very calm and vibey ... the lyrics are also cool, it's just overall a good song, not my favorite on the album but definitely a nice one to listen to. that solo too ... UGH!

rating: 9/10

all around you - outro

this is the all around you i usually listen to! but i may have to start taking a listen to the intro one too lol. it's pretty much the same exact song minus the voiceovers, with some other changes. i think they probably could've left one of these off the album, it doesn't seem all that needed to put the same song on here twice, but hey ... i like this one, surprisingly i like the intro one better tho!

rating: 8/10

to crazy to care - bonus track

this song is ALSO on thank god for mental illness, it's a good one and i love it!! i don't think it's necessarily fit to be on this album, but it's a bonus track and apparently with bonus tracks bjm doesn't give a shit. clearly. look at spacegirl... ANYWAY good, short song!! i'll go into it more on the next review.

rating: 9/10

there we have the album! this album was a little longer than the previous one, but not by much. i don't think i've ever listened to it all the way through like this, so it definitely put the whole thing into perspective for me. there's a lot of psychedelic rock vibes and eastern influence in here, it's a great album, mostly the misses lie with the interludes though. i don't think they were all that needed, or they could've been a little more interesting. the first half was also better than the second half in my opinion. but either way, this was very good! i actually have a greater love for this album now having heard all the genres and themes tie in together.

hits: anemone, jesus, miss june '75

misses: feelers, bad baby, all of the interludes

overall album score: 8.5/10

there we have it! next up is thank god for mental illness, which i've been looking forward to this whole time. expect it soon!!

[theji]

SDOC4 Ep 9 Commentary

Keeping the rest of my comments under the cut to prevent spoiling the ep for anyone.

• I didn't do a recap for the last ep but can I just add this here. I super love the army green Givenchy hoodie DD wore last week. I already had my eye on it when it first appeared in the publicity poster. I would totally buy it. Then I found out it's Givenchy. Okay...

• Also, re. Nelson's departure. I only saw a couple of erroneous comments on this in online conversations but child custody issues is very different from having a child in custody. Two separate matters. Most people didn't misunderstand the situation but this is just a reminder to be careful with our choice of words.

• I had a proud mama moment watching DD coach YK in acting. It's like my boy has grown up, from being a newbie in acting to coaching others. It reminded me of the directors praising him for his intuitive acting.

• DD's meaningful and knowing looks during the Tao Tao and Cici interview segment. Something tells me this little piggy who is supposed to be too young to be in a relationship knows a thing or two, or 10, about being in a committed long term relationship.

• I found myself frowning during Team GOGO's performance. Did you all get the theme? Like DD, I wasn't too sure what they were trying to convey. I vaguely got the sense that it's about breaking out of the box/shackles, getting out of comfort zone but I wasn't sure about the light bulb. But still, it's an admirable effort on GOGO Brothers' part cos they chose to try something outside of Locking. Even George didn't do much breaking.

• Bunta!!!! Why?? I like him a lot. I'm sad. I knew he had to go eventually but like, just one more ep?

• The part with Daswitch and Acky-san was so touching. They really do have such a special relationship.

• "I'm Bouboo, she's Momo. She's cute, I'm sweet. That's a fact."

• Is it just me? Or does anyone else find themselves fixated on AC's arms when he's dancing? I love his fierce expressions but I find myself admiring his muscle tone a lot. Such beautiful lines.

I think the team performances this week are really solid and you can see a lot of them really trying to outdo themselves or try something different. Here are my top three:

1) H&B and Ye Yin

Ooh this was my fav of the night and not because I'm biased towards Team Boom. The whole routine is so captivating and infectious, from the slightly retro, old school vibes, to the energy exhibited. And Zin-san doing those high level b-boy movements. That perfectly synchronised sideways drop near the end? I think they had a good balance of story and dance in this one. Compared to eg. Keven's night watcher/ghosts performance, which I enjoyed too cos it reminded me of those Chinese period dramas I used to watch as a kid. The atmosphere of that was good, the magic cupboard, the wine jar that moves by itself, but I felt that it just had a little too much acting and not enough dancing in it.

Maybe I am a little biased cos I watch anime and I recognised the Detective Conan inspiration right away. And the last bit where Ye Yin shot DD with the tranquilising dart from his watch? Fans of Detective Conan would recognise that gag. It's iconic and DD reacted perfectly.

2) Huang Xiao, Daswitch, Bo Zi

They didn't score very high I don't know why but I loved this performance. I even crowned it my fav until H&B came along. I've always liked Huang Xiao's pieces, since the last season. The beginning part where it was just him as the composer and they leveraged the shadows behind the screen. That part captivated me. I found the whole performance very cinematic, very powerful. It had depth. The music is perfect and Huang Xiao is so expressive. It's a pity Daswitch and Bo Zi had to go in the end. I truly liked this one.

3) Chun Lin, Rochka, Chika, Han Yu's soldier dance

I like those with story but sometimes I just wanna enjoy this type of dance. Pure dance energy, powerful moves. Nothing fancy, no props. The whole team was so in sync. Such a visual extravaganza. I'm hoping to see more of Han Yu actually, cos he seems to be a versatile dancer and he was season 1's winner but so far I don't think we've seen much personality from him yet.

Now that we are down to the top 30, I guess the show is ending soon. Probably 3 more episodes. Looking at the current list, I'm trying to see who could be a potential winner but I have no idea at this point. No one seems to particularly jump out yet as a clear contender for the winner. I personally like AC, Ma Xiao Long, Huang Xiao, Xiao Ji but unlikely any of them would be able to make it through a battle, which would definitely play a part in the finale. I also like Ibuki, Acky-san, H&B, Rochka but let's face it, no way would a foreigner win SDOC.