#i haven't listened to that album in probably a decade and i know i KNOW it's still going to get to me

[moosenaround2448]

Ah man. I haven't listened to this in a while.

[foone]

weird thought: I think if I was a teenager now (or anytime in the last decade or so) I think I would have written (and read!) a lot more fanfic than I did in reality, where I was a teenager in the 90s.

See, I've never been hugely into fanfic. Never had anything against it exactly, but it just wasn't something I was into. But I think that has to do with an interesting combination of how my brain works and what time I was first really getting into being a fan.

I've got a "librarian" brain (I'm literally typing this from within a library, WHERE I WORK). It wants to know things like "what are all the works in this series/by this creator?" and "are they all accessible?" and "what info is available about how it was made?"

I'm the kind of person who will watch a show then go look it up on wikipedia to see how many seasons it has, who made it, if they're still making it, check tvtropes for any more info, etc. Or I hear a song I like by a band I've never heard of, so I go listen to their entire discography while researching them. I just focus on things I'm into that way, you know? I don't half-ass my interest. (this is probably related to my autism, of course)

So what does this have to do with fanfic? like, do I go read some fanfics as part of this process? No, and I think the reason for it is when I specifically first got into fandom, as a teen.

See, this sort of fandom-librarian was harder to do in 1997, you know? You couldn't just pull up the wikipedia for that new show and see how many episodes it had. You also couldn't just listen to the whole discography of that band! Forget Spotify or Google Music, even Napster didn't exist yet.

So my interest in fandom focused a lot more on very basic questions: How many episodes/albums/books/whatever are there? Where can I see/hear them all? Like, I remember getting excited because I found some fan magazine that had a list of all the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes. Just a list! Not even descriptions or anything. I finally could take that list and see how many I'd seen, so I'd know when I saw them all in late-night reruns.

So I'm focusing on these very basic parts of being a fandom-librarian and I stumble across some fanfic. I'm like "oh, is this a transcript of an episode I haven't seen yet?" and I realize it's not, it's a story written by a fan, and I get a knee-jerk reaction of "that's not helpful to my quest to know and find all the episodes". It's like I am on a quest for the holy grail and I found a fake cup. It's not helpful to me, and at worst it's a distraction from my goal.

And the thing is, I think the fact I had that reaction is entirely due to the time and situation in which I first encountered fanfic. It was in that environment of "I can't even find a list of the episodes, let alone a way to watch them all!" and that anxiety that colored my response to finding fanfic.

I think if I instead was first introduced to fanfic NOW, where those fandom-librarian drives aren't so difficult to fulfill, I'd be way more positive about fanfic. If I could get a list of episodes with a quick google search, and watch them easily on netflix/prime/whatever, I'd be less "THIS DOESN'T HELP! I AM STRUGGLING WITH THE BASICS HERE!" and more "yay, more content for the fandom I'm obsessed with!"

Like I said, I'm not anti-fanfic, I never have been, I just never got into it. From the beginning I had this reaction that was "this is not useful" and I never developed any real interest in it. Which is a shame, honestly. Fanfic is great. It just never became one of my interests, and while I've written it and read it from time to time, I imagine I'd be way more into it if I didn't have the weird reaction to it due to the worries of the time in which I first encountered it.

I don't know how many other people have brains that work anything like mine, but if they exist, I'm glad they're now growing up in a world where they won't have these problems. They can get into fanfic without this weird baggage caused by a lack of information.

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 3: Kimono My House (Falling In Love With Myself Again)

Kimono my house, mon amour! Everyone knows how great and one of a kind this album is... So what can I even say about it that hasn't been said already? Well, I'll just plunge right into my own experience with it and go from there.

This was my first Sparks album and it definitely made a huge impression right away. While it wasn't really the album that got me hooked on Sparks, it still managed to pique my interest in this specific era especially, so my choice for the next album to go with was obvious (more on that tomorrow). And it was surely like nothing I heard before at that point... or since, really. Altough I must also admit that it was probably the furthest I went back in time listening to music at the moment, as in, I haven't even ventured much into listening to much music from the 70s on my own until that point, so I didn't even really have anything to compare it with. Still though, that doesn't change as I get into more 70s music - there's still nothing quite like Kimono.

I love how cohesive this album is, without becoming same-ish, it still has so much different stuff to offer. I really don't know how to best put it, but it's really like a huge, wonderful and whimsical journey. Just thinking about the opening and closing tracks and how well they work for their roles... It was mindblowing to hear a year and a half ago, and it still is to this day. I'm honestly suprised by how, even though I really loved KMH from the very start, I can still love it more and more.

And the most (seemingly) unforeseen of things will cause this. Like my "Kimono My House Summer", by which I mean last summer when I went on a trip and all the different songs from this album accompanied me through it and are now an integral part of my memories of that time. And how getting KMH on vinyl just last month caused my love for it to suddenly skyrocket still - it was actually just last month that I rejected one particular opinion I still held with full conviction until now regarding this album, but more on that tomorrow...

Favourite songs (and other highlights):

Okay, this is when this section actually gets kind of hard to deal with properly. Because almost every single song from this album is something I could have considered a favourite at some previous point in time. So this time I'll go about it by listing my longest-standing faves.

This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us: obviously. I remember the first time I heard this song so well because it really made such a huge impression. The day I get to hear this song live might change me forever. I'm sure there's nothing quite like experiencing it live. I also really want to learn to play this one on piano. I hope that's doable with my current skill level!

Amateur Hour: this song stands out in the sense that right away i got the impression that there's just this... sort of classic quality to it... that makes me think, wow this is one of the originals. This is one of the songs that set the standard for pop music of the following decades. Keep in mind that this was when I was only getting into Sparks and all this information I've aquired about them was very fresh in my mind, like how they were such an important influence for so many artists to come. Like, one of the biggest influences and most important figures in history of modern pop PERIOD. So indeed, with this song it truly felt like wow, I hear this, totally. Very satisfying moment (and I'm actually really curious if anyone else got this impression from THIS tracks specifically as well)

Here In Heaven: feels strange to not say anything about this one when I said so much about the previous two, so. I'll just say that I really love the guitar parts during the chorus (like when the title is said?). Also, enjoyable story in the lyrics (but that's no rare thing on this album)

Hasta Manana, Monsieur: when I think about it I start to realize I could consider this my very first Sparks fav OVERALL, I'm pretty sure that hearing this song is what convinced me to give this whole album a go! Or my memory is lying to me about this specific fact and it was actually some other song, but either way, the point still stands I think

Talent Is An Asset: going with the early impression for this one again, and I think it's one of the most important entries on the list of songs that felt like they should be newer than they are. This song did not sound 50 years old to me by any means. Very ahead of its time? That's sort of Sparks' whole thing though, isn't it?

Equator: again, not even a personal fav necessarily, or at least until very recently, but I still want to mention it because I truly think it's one of the songs of all time. It's just, so very good. And these days I can't listen to it without being reminded of the several incredible live performances of it. They're all impressive, to say the least!

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

Shudder Before The Beautiful • Weak Fantasy • Élan • Yours Is An Empty Hope • Our Decades In The Sun • My Walden • Endless Forms Most Beautiful • Edema Ruh • Alpenglow • The Eyes Of Sharbat Gula • The Greatest Show On Earth (i. Four Point Six, ii. Life, iii. The Toolmaker, iv. The Understanding, v. Sear-Worn Driftwood)

Spotify ♪ YouTube

Submitter's note included under the break due to length.

This album is the first album made with their current and third singer and first without their previous drummer who had to retire due to severe insomnia and is themed around science and reason to constrast the previous album about fantasy. The latter part of the album quotes passages from Charles Darwin and Richard Dawkins. One of their live shows even had Richard Dawkins as a guest and he read live for their insane 21 minute track 'The Greatest Show On Earth' which is a song about evolutionary history. The album is intended by the songwriter Toumas Holopainen to be listened to beginning to end like a movie. The band camped out in an isolated cabin to write this album. They also got a crab "Tanidromites nightwishorum" AND a prehistoric rockshelter (Alpenglow Rockshelter) named after them/their songs for this album.

The band: Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band that started in 1996 that has had three different lead singers over its run, with the first (Tarja Turunen) parting ways with the band in a very public and emotionally fraught friend breakup in 2005 that to this day causes divisive fights in the fanbase about the decision between the really old fans and the newer ones. Their current lead singer and the one for this album is Floor Jensen, a classically trained dutch singer who joined in 2015 and has incredible range. They are one of the most successful Finnish bands. Their songs contain repeating themes of wonder at the natural world and wanting to return to innocence/childhood, but may broach a variety of topics.

Songs not on this album you might know them from: End of All Hope - Song used a lot in amvs on youtube. Wish I Had An Angel - biggest US hit single Amaranth - got very popular in Europe as a single Ghost Love Score - The live version with Floor instead of the album version with Anette (the second singer) is fairly popular on youtube. This is a song that most fans start with as its a good introduction to Nightwish's current style without being too isoteric. Interesting song notes: In 'Yours Is an Empty Hope' that is indeed Floor doing the super low death growls. Marco is the one singing clean. Yes really. Alpenglow is considered the "ultimate Nightwish song" by Holopainen.

The Greatest Show on Earth is the longest song this band has recorded to date, includes quotes by Dawkins and Darwin, and includes homages to music history with excerpts from Dies Irae, Minuet in G major, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 by Bach and Enter Sandman by Metallica. Holopainen considers this song their most ambitious song to date he says the song "is probably the culmination of everything that we've done together". Personal notes: AAAAUUHGHGHG This band makes me insane. They make a song an atmospheric experience. Most bands are not great live- they are better live. Somehow. They have incredible stage presence. This album is my favorite Nightwish album and probably my favorite album of all time.

[chaotic-neutral-knitter]

Ed Coded Mountain Goats Songs Part 2

I decided to challenge myself to assign a Mountain Goats song to each episode Ed appears in. It's going to be a series of posts because for some of them I have, uhhhh, a lot to say.

Previous Post | Next Post

S1E4 - Discomfort in a Married State

This episode's song is Bones Don't Rust, from the album Bleed Out. This album was inspired by 1960s-1980s action movies, simultaneously celebrating and subverting them in all their pulpy, bloody glory. Which, considering Ed's costume is a direct homage to Mad Max (1979) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) was a source of inspiration for the show, feels appropriate.

This is the first episode Ed is really in, and it's critical for setting up his character arc. The audience isn't given any of his backstory yet, but we're given lots of important details about who Ed is and what he wants.

Like, even with Blackbeard, you know, like going, ‘Okay, he’s basically Mad Max, but on the high seas. He’s a biker. A sad biker.’ - Taika Waititi

One of the things we learn about Ed is that he feels trapped by his role as Blackbeard. When Stede asks, "Do you work for Blackbeard?" Ed is visibly taken aback and says "Never thought about it like that. Yeah, I suppose I do work for Blackbeard."

Never any call for a lone wolf You have to learn to go with the flow But they can find a use for a scarecrow Depending on your stomach for crows Always gonna need a little muscle If you prove yourself worthy of trust Your bones don't rust

Blackbeard isn't Ed, it's Ed's brand. Blackbeard is the guy in Stede's book who looks like a "viking vampire clown with nine guns" on him. Blackbeard is is so terrifying people see the flag and surrender immediately. "I don't even need to be on the boat." He's a figurehead, a scarecrow, trapped inside his own legacy with no idea how to get out.

Bones Don't Rust is a song about the grizzled veteran of whatever profession (assassin, detective, mafia guy, biker, etc) who has been doing the same job for decades and is going to do it until it kills them. Probably if they tried to retire they would either die two days beforehand, or end up getting pulled out of retirement for one last job.

Haven't checked a mirror in years Don't need to know the bad news There's not gonna be a gold watch After 30 years of paying your dues

Ed wants to quit, but he doesn't know how. Pirates don't retire, they die. And Ed's so bored and burnt out that death is starting to feel like his only option. When Izzy says that Ed needs to make a decision or they'll all die, Ed replies with, "Now that's an idea, I haven't done that yet. Haven't died yet, have I? Maybe we should try that."

Show up five minutes early as usual Work on just a couple hours' rest Your bones don't rust They stay hard as diamonds They cut through steel They still sing when they're hungry And they ache when they're angry

Despite all this, Ed is still very good at what he does. Izzy spends the entire episode haranguing Ed over whether or not he has a plan, but Ed came up with one before the episode even started. He has it calculated down to the second, and knows there is nothing that needs to be done until nightfall. Is the plan flawed? Yes. But you get the sense that Ed has been the smartest guy in the room for a long time, and he gave up on asking for help a long time ago.

When Stede says that he'd give anything to be like Blackbeard, even for a second, Ed uses that to demonstrate to both Stede and Izzy exactly how much it sucks to be Blackbeard: "They're going to die and it's all your fault." He knows that this isn't sustainable for him. At some point he's going to slip up and everyone is going to die. That's what pirates do, isn't it? Most of the pirates Ed knows are dead, anyways.

Listen for the voice of the spirit Maybe something wrong with your ears Always on the edge of collapse now Absolutely nobody cares But everybody loves a professional Not a single track in the dust Your bones don't rust

Ed is alone. He opens up to Stede partly because there is no one else for him to talk to about any of this. Everybody loves Blackbeard, the professional, the "world's most brilliant tactician." They love him for what he can do for them, the role he's perfected. In all of those relationships, there's no room for Ed as a person. There is something wrong, and Ed knows it, and absolutely nobody cares*

*Until he meets Stede, who tidily overturns Ed's entire worldview within a day of meeting him. Even after he learns Ed is Blackbeard, he never demands that performance from him. He suggests Ed retire instead of staying miserable. He goes to keep Ed company when they all expect to die, without demanding a new plan from him, and comes up with the lighthouse idea at the same time as Ed. Finally, Ed has someone on his own level. Stede may not be a good pirate, necessarily, but he matches Ed perfectly.

[calandrinon]

spotify wrapped predictions for lols (under a cut because I can't openly talk about things I like or the horrors will get me, also for reasons of length)

top artists

the question is not whether my top artist is phoenix, the question is whether I am their top listener (it's possible) (I hope someone actually looks at their stats and is like "cine plm e australiancă aia")

number 2 artist would almost certainly be travka except one of their albums isn't on spotify so my ~listening experience~ is skewed

maybe zdubii at nr 3 but after that I have no idea, there are a few that might get up

top songs

this depends on whether they've fixed the weird issue with there being two instances of some phoenix albums

if they have then it's either fata verde or nunta

(yes I know fata verde is problematic, i am 103 years old i have so much experience headcanoning away problematic lyrics for the sake of the music)

(and I know I listened to it heaps trying to arrange it for my dulcimer)

(nunta I just like)

ANYWAY if they haven't then probably something from vreau să simt praga, I'll guess nimic de pe frontul de est 2

or relaxați-va actually

or miorița? I know I was spamming it for a while but I think that was last year what even is time

do they count albums?

ooh or maybe bucovina

probably none of my other folk group songs but you never really know do you

cei ce ne-au dat nume

mugur de fluier

vreau să simt Praga

cine știe

habar n-am

what else

my top genres are and will probably always be romanian rock / romanian pop / moldovan pop

top podcast will be Doza de serenitate because it's the only one I listen to through spotify

for some values of "listening"

"bine te-am găsit ființă minunată" (eu dorm imediat)

(spotify does not know the difference between romanian pop and moldovan pop jsyk)

and spotify also doesn't know the difference between an album's initial release date and its remastered release date

so who knows what decade it will put me in

or which city for that matter

99% chance i can guess the country first go

>:)

[black-arcana]

THREE DAYS GRACE To Finish Recording New Album In January

Last week, Canadian rockers THREE DAYS GRACE released "Mayday", their first single since the return of original frontman Adam Gontier. The 46-year-old musician, who left THREE DAYS GRACE in 2013, is sharing lead vocals in the band's new lineup with singer Matt Walst, who has fronted THREE DAYS GRACE for the past decade.

"Mayday" was produced by Zakk Cervini and Dan Lancaster with vocal production by Howard Benson. In addition, the band released an epic CiRCUS HEaD-directed visual to accompany the track which can be found below.

Speaking to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, THREE DAYS GRACE drummer Neil Sanderson stated about Adam's return to the band (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We had been talking and we've kept in touch. And the band was just talking about, like, how great would this be for us and for the fans and for the nostalgia of THREE DAYS GRACE. And then he got up on stage with us [for a guest appearance], and then we just thought, 'Let's make something new. Let's sit down and write a song.' And once we kind of got into that songwriting process, it just felt really natural and it felt right. And I think for the fans, we're giving them something that we haven't done before and hasn't really been done much in the past."

He continued: "At the end of the day, THREE DAYS GRACE, we're family. In fact, as you may know, Matt, one of our singers, is Brad's [Walst, THREE DAYS GRACE bassist] brother. And he kind of grew up around THREE DAYS GRACE and then slipped into the position. But we're really guitar heavy — we've got a lot of guitars going on and stuff — and those guys [Adam and Matt] both play guitar. So it's gonna be great to have another guitar on stage, too, as well as two singers. So it opens up the door for us to do a lot of things that we might not have been able to do before."

Regarding "Mayday", Neil said:  "First of all, it's been a crazy journey since the beginning for THREE DAYS GRACE, but bringing Adam back into the band has just been — it's all been really positive, super organic. And we decided, 'Let's get together and see what we can really do together,' and this song kind of came out quick.

"This song is just kind of about putting one foot in front of the other in a world of kind of disillusionment," he explained. "And, basically, when Adam and Matt started singing it, the natural trade-off of vocals just kind of came together. We kind of listened to a bunch of PINK FLOYD, 'cause both singers have their own characteristics and stuff, so we really played to those strengths. And at one point the guys were rock paper scissors to see who was gonna sing the next line."

On the topic of the "Mayday" video, Neil said: "It was a really fun video to make. It was kind of especially cool for me because very rarely as a drummer do you get to make a video where you don't have to fake playing drums all day. [Laughs] And so, yeah, complete melee goes on on the plane. And it's kind of an analogy to just feeling like we're hurling through life at warp speed, and sometimes it doesn't feel like there is a pilot that's in control of things. But it's also a bit of a celebration, like, 'Hey, if we're going down, we're all going down together.'"

Asked when we can expect a new THREE DAYS GRACE full-length album, Neil said: "We're working on it as we speak. I was just with the guys on Zoom, and we're finishing it up. We basically hope to have it done by the end of this year and finish recording in January. And then, of course, we go out on tour. We're starting with DISTURBED and then we're putting together a headline tour for later in the year and lots of festivals and stuff. So we need to wrap the record up by January, and I think it'll probably come out a couple of months after that."

THREE DAYS GRACE teased a reunion with Gontier less than two months ago by posting a voicemail message in which Adam told Matt that he would "be at the studio soon, if you can just let everybody know."

Gontier said about his return to THREE DAYS GRACE: "I feel like it's been seamless, better than we were expecting. It's like we got back in a room together and picked up where we left off. We have been friends for so long, it's kind of natural to get back in the room together."

Walst added: "It's been so much fun and inspiring making this record. Combining over 20 years of THREE DAYS GRACE and doing something that no band has ever done. I'm excited for the fans to hear it!"

In April 2023, Gontier reunited with THREE DAYS GRACE onstage during the band's concert in Huntsville, Alabama. Gontier rejoined his former bandmates when they opened for SHINEDOWN at the Probst Arena At The Von Braun Center to perform two classic songs from THREE DAYS GRACE's 2006 album "One-X": "Never Too Late" and "Riot".

THREE DAYS GRACE later shared a post-performance photo with Gontier on social media and wrote in an accompanying message: "Soooo we did a thing."

In July 2022, Gontier said that a reunion with his former bandmates was "likely" to happen "down the road at some point." The Canadian-born musician made his comments just a couple of weeks after he and two members of the band's most recent lineup, bassist Brad Walst and his younger brother, vocalist Matt Walst, were inducted into the Norwood District High School Hall Of Honor in Norwood, Ontario.

Asked in an interview with Rock Feed if he would be open to working with THREE DAYS GRACE again now that he appears to be on good terms with his former bandmates, Gontier said: "You know what? Yeah. I mean, for sure. We've all grown up. It's been a while. There's no hard feelings or anything like that. We're all in touch now and we talk and text and stuff. We haven't really talked about doing anything — not yet anyway — but I feel like something like that is most likely down the road at some point," he added.

When interviewer Brian Storm noted that Adam's reunion with THREE DAYS GRACE would be a "big" deal, Gontier said, "And it would be a lot of fun." Storm then reiterated that the reunion would be "very big," to which Adam said: "Probably would be. You never know, man. We haven't really talked about it. But, yeah, I guess we'll see."

Earlier in July 2022, Brad Walst spoke about reconnecting with Gontier at the Norwood District High School event in an interview with Tommy Carroll of the 97.9 WGRD radio station. He said: "It's funny 'cause the high school's been calling us for years. And, obviously, we've all had kind of different schedules, and Adam's been doing his thing and we've been doing our thing. And until recently, to be honest, we hadn't really spoken that much — we'd text and stuff. But Adam's moved back to the area, and he's got a great family and a great wife. And we've all kind of been chatting and hanging out. Yeah, I called him and just said, 'They want the three of us' — they want Matt, Adam and myself. And everyone agreed, and it was, like, 'Okay, let's do this.' So it was pretty cool to see [our] high school, where you grew up… It's nice to be acknowledged."

He continued: "It's funny, 'cause I texted Adam, 'You made the Hall Of Fame.' He's, like, 'Yup. Straight-B student.' [Laughs] But I think just having us together in that room was way more powerful, for sure. So it was a pretty cool feeling."

In 1992, Gontier, Brad Walst, Phil Crowe, Neil Sanderson and Joe Grant formed GROUNDSWELL while most of the members were still in high school. That band broke up in 1995, but two years later Gontier, Sanderson and Walst reformed as THREE DAYS GRACE. Gontier left the band in 2013 and was replaced by Matt, the vocalist from another Norwood band, MY DARKEST DAYS.

In a 2007 interview with The Oklahoman, Gontier said that he met some of his first bandmates while they were freshmen at Norwood District High School.

"I ended up hooking up with Brad because we had the same love of music," Gontier said. "He didn't play anything at the time. I suggested him getting a bass, and he did."

Gontier said that Canadian bands, including THE TRAGICALLY HIP and OUR LADY PEACE were early influences, along with the Seattle rock scene, particularly the group SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE.

Gontier initially went into rehab in 2005 in Toronto after admitting an addiction to Oxycontin. The rehab stint influenced some material which would appear on THREE DAYS GRACE's "One-X" album, including the songs "Pain" and "Over And Over".

Gontier left THREE DAYS GRACE in the spring of 2013. At the time, the Canadian rockers cited unspecified "health issues" when his departure was announced. Adam later released a statement explaining he exited THREE DAYS GRACE to pursue new projects, and not to deal with addiction.

Gontier is currently a member of SAINT ASONIA, which also features STAIND guitarist/founding member Mike Mushok. The quartet is rounded out by Cale Gontier (bass) and Cody Watkins (drums).

THREE DAYS GRACE's latest album, "Explosions", was released in May 2022 via RCA Records.

Photo credit: Matt Barnes

[broke-bruce-wayne]

My Top 50 Albums of 2023

Finally got around to putting this together, the first time I've been able to have a list like this in...a long time. At least a decade. So, here we are. I tried to listen to a lot, but of course there will be things I wasn't able to get to. Let me know if you think something is missing, and I'll be sure to check it out, if I haven't already gotten to it. I tried to give a succinct blurb and a key track for each album too, to make it easier to check out.

Notes on my rankings: This is based on around 60% how much I personally liked the album, and 40% how objectively good I thought it was. Therefore there will definitely be things on here you won't see on other lists, and probably some albums that would be expected, that won't show up. Also, I only took into account albums specifically released in 2023, unlike lists from most publications (so no SZA album, which would've been top 10).

Anyway, here we go. Full list under the cut.

50. The Whaler - Home is Where: Starting off with a Midwest Emo album is so typical of me, but this one was good, if a little odd at times (not a bad thing). Key Track: Yes! Yes! A Thousand Times Yes!

49. Did You Know That There's a Tunnel under Ocean Blvd - Lana Del Rey: Good but not great, this one was just a bit too long and samey in the middle for me. Still a solid listen though. Key Track: A&W

48. Jaguar II - Victoria Monét: A pop tinged R&B album, full of good beats and solid lyricism, this one had its fair share of bangers on it. Key Track: Smoke

47. Voir Dire - Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist: Earl Sweatshirt is one of the best lyricists out there, and he continues on this collab album full of fun tracks. Key Track: The Caliphate

46. Guts - Olivia Rodrigo: I liked when this album really leaned into the punchier, pop-punk tinged tracks, but I felt that a few of the ballads on the back half were a bit lacking to rank it higher. Key Track: Bad Idea Right?

45. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess - Chappell Roan: The flip side of the previous album, I really liked when this album had more room to breathe in the middle of the album, whereas the more over the top pop tracks were more hit or miss for me. Key Track: Casual

44. I Killed Your Dog - L'Rain: Modern day psychedelic rock, this was a good time, though my biggest complaint is I wish a lot of the songs were a bit longer. Key Track: Pet Rock

43. The Record - boygenius: A supergroup album that definitely sounded best when it really leaned into the fact that it was a supergroup album. Key Track: Not Strong Enough

42. Blondshell - Blondshell: These next two both fall in the genre of indie that is best described as 90s alt revival, and considering I like 90s music, I thought both these were good. Key Track: Sepsis

41. Lucky For You - Bully: I thought the highs on this one were a bit higher than the previous, and just a really good time throughout. Key Track: All I Do

40. No Joy - Spanish Love Songs: One of the albums I was most looking forward to this year, it met all my expectations while shifting genres into something I've seen lovingly described as Heartland Emo. Key Track: Clean-Up Crew

39. Time Ain't Accidental - Jess Williamson: This was a break up album that was less about the break up and more about moving past, a nice wrinkle for a country album. Key Track: Hunter

38. Life Under the Gun - Militarie Gun: This album has grown on me more than just about any other from my first listen. I didn't think it was that special on first listen, yet I kept finding myself going back to it. Key Track: Never Fucked Up Once

37. Fountain Baby - Amaarae: Just a really fun, summertime album. A really, really easy album to dance to. Key Track: Counterfeit

36. Model/Actriz - Dogsbody: This album sounded like if NIN made music even more specifically for gay clubs, a fascinating industrial listen. Key Track: Mosquito

35. Red Moon in Venus - Kali Uchis: A great, groovy modern R&B album with some high highs but also a few that tracks that were just fine. Key Track: I Wish You Roses

34. This is Why - Paramore: As someone who is admittedly not too big on their earlier work, I've enjoyed their shift into post-punk revival. This was a good time, especially the second half of the album. Key Track: This is Why

33. The Enduring Spirit - Tomb Mold: I did not expect to get into a death metal album as much as I did this one, but it was surprisingly melodic, and the guitar shreds throughout. Key Track: Fate's Tangled Thread

32. The Greater Wings - Julie Byrne: A soft, peaceful folk album, featuring minimal production that allows her vocals to truly shine through. Key Track: Lightning Comes Up From the Ground

31. The Window - Ratboys: Nothing groundbreaking, just really well put together, perfectly executed, and diverse sounding indie rock. Key Track: The Window

30. Oh Me Oh My - Lonnie Holley: Probably the most interesting album I listened to all year, this was an emotional whirlwind. Almost felt like listening to a history lecture set to music at times. Key Track: Mount Meigs

29. Why Would I Watch? - Hot Mulligan: This year I finally bought into the hype around this band. I probably listened to it more than just about most albums on this list. Perfect mix of pop-punk and midwest emo. Key Track: Shhhh! Golf Is On

28. Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling - Slaughter Beach, Dog: Music to sit outside in the summer evening, relax, and drink a beer to, all the makings of a great alt-country album. Key Track: Strange Weather

27. Madres - Sofia Kourtesis: House music isn't necessarily my genre, but I couldn't help dancing along with this one. A great time. Key Track: How Music Makes You Feel Better

26. But Here We Are - Foo Fighters: In my opinion, the best Foo Fighters album in about 25 years, as Dave Grohl worked through his grief through passionate songwriting. Key Track: Rest

25. Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume - Yves Tumor: A psychedelic post punk album with cool guitar work and great vocals, all which form a winning combination. Key Track: God is a Circle

24. Erotic Probiotic 2 - Nourished by Time: A very catchy, albeit sort of odd, experimental R&B album, not quite sure how it worked, but it did. Key Track: Shed That Fear

23. Heaven Knows - PinkPantheress: I couldn't help but have a good time with this one, a great album to dance to, very fun. Key Track: True Romance

22. Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? - Kara Jackson: With beautiful vocals singing great, passionate songwriting, this was a fantastic folk album. Key Track: Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?

21. Let's Start Here - Lil Yacthy: The most surprising album of the year for me, a genre shift into a more psychedelic rock sound worked out amazingly well for him. Key Track: Reach The Sunshine.

20. Heaven is a Junkyard - Youth Lagoon: This was an extremely introspective indie pop album, following a major health scare for the artist, with the emotion shining through with every word. Key Track: Prizefighter

19. Scaring the Hoes - JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown: An experimental hip hop album from two guys full of tongue in cheek internet jokes and all kinds of random references, this one was a fun time. Key Track: Kingdom Hearts Key

18. Softscars - Yeule: A fun mixture of dream pop and electronica, the opening track is one of my absolute favorites of the year. Key Track: X W X

17. The Land is Inhospitable and So are We - Mitski: A beautiful, mellow, and emotional album (and my first introduction to her work, surprisingly). Key Track: My Love Mine All Mine

16. The Loveliest Time - Carly Rae Jepsen: I shouldn't be surprised that she managed to put an album of b-sides out that surpassed the previous album, and yet... Key Track: Psychedelic Switch

15. That! Feels Good! - Jessie Ware: Disco revival? Disco revival! This one is just a great time throughout, a ton of fun. Key Track: Free Yourself

14. Weathervanes - Jason Isbell: One of the best modern country songwriters has done it again, an easy listen even with the long run time. Key Track: Cast Iron Skillet

13. Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? - McKinley Dixon: Beautiful jazz based production as well as very personal raps, this one reminded me quite a bit of some of the rap albums I loved growing up. Key Track: Run, Run, Run

12. After the Magic - Parannoul: A Korean shoegaze album with more than a hint of emo, as well as extremely captivating vocals. An extremely well layered album. Key Track: Arrival

11. Lahai - Sampha: Alt-R&B album with experimental, almost atomspheric production and very smooth vocals, a very crisp listen. Key Track: Suspended

10. Desire, I Want to Turn Into You - Caroline Polachek: I'll be the first to admit that outside of actually being in a club, pop music isn't necessarily my thing. But there was something about this album that was a lot of fun. The production here is outstanding, varying between traditional and experimental sounds, and her vocals are fantastic too. A really fun time. Key Track: Welcome to My Island

9. Zach Bryan - Zach Bryan: My highest ranking pure country album of the year, this one was just so well put together. Forgoing the modern country sound for a more slowed down production, it really let the strong vocals and genuine emotion shine through. Key Track: I Remember Everything

8. Enola Gay - Asia Menor: This was the debut album from this Chilean band, which got a lot of buzz online, but less so in traditional media outlets. Which is a shame because it is just a lot of fun musically. A solid mix of indie post-punk, with more than a fair share of math rock and emo/post-hardcore thrown in. One of my favorite listens of the year. Key Track: La Naturaleza

7. We Buy Diabetic Test Strips - Armand Hammer: The first of two billy woods related projects in my top 10, this one was such a fascinating listen. A rather experimental project, this mixed conscious raps over almost ambient beats. It took a second to get used to, but once you do, it really shines. Honestly, it probably shouldn't have worked as well as it did, but it really really did. A great time. Key Track: Y'all Can't Stand Right Here

6. My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross - ANOHNI and the Johnsons: One of the last albums I listened to this year, this one was beautiful and heart wrenching and just fantastic. With a 60s soul sound mixed with modern flourishes, the instrumentals were great. They were soft when they needed to be but grandiose at all the right times, perfectly matching her emotionally heavy vocals. A fantastic listen. Key Track: Rest

5. Rat Saw God - Wednesday: Probably the album I debated the ranking on the most, as I've had it everywhere between 5 and 15, but I just kept coming back to it. The very intense vocals, the mixture between alt country and noise rock, and the fantastic guitar work throughout, all make this one of the highlights of the year for me. Key Track: Chosen to Deserve

4. Quaranta - Danny Brown: Danny Brown's second appearance on this list (two 2-timers in the top 5 too), this one was my favorite of the two releases he was involved in this year. He took a more low key (by his standards) approach to his usual delivery style on this one, and it allowed his words to have the added emphasis they needed. A great rap album. Key Track: Jenn's Terrific Vacation

3. Hellmode - Jeff Rosenstock: To those of you who know me well, you probably already know that this was my personal favorite album of the year. Jeff is the most innovative artist in the pop punk realm, and he managed to put together an album that was diverse and layered and better on every listen. Seeing him perform the whole thing in its entirety was the highlight of my music experiences this year. Key Track: 3 Summers

2. Maps - billy woods & Kenny Segal: The second of two billy woods appearances on this years list, this album was, in my opinion, both more easily accessible and technically better than the Armand Hammer release. Beautiful mixture of jazz and atmospheric beats with superb storytelling, just a great listen. Key Track: FaceTime

1. Javelin - Sufjan Stevens: As soon as I listened to this one, I was almost certain that it was going to be my album of the year, and nothing else I listened to after really made me question it. Truly a beautiful expression of love and grief and loss. No other choice in my opinion. Key Track: Shit Talk

[thundrstrik3]

Was reading your intro post, and just wanted to say - I loved Dream Theater growing up. I would listen to images and words and scenes from a memory on repeat in the background when I was reading basically anything, but I haven’t thought of them in ages.

Do you have any recommendations for someone who has not listened to them since like 2011?

Hey! You're actually in luck, because they've got a new album coming out on Friday! It's the first album they've made since Portnoy came back in the band, and actually got my hands on it a little early, but haven't had the chance to listen to it yet, haha. But the new album (which is called Parasomnia) has had a couple singles that are really good, so I'd highly recommend checking them out!

If you want some individual song recommendations, I'd say check out Breaking All Illusions and Bridges in the Sky off of A Dramatic Turn of Events, Illumination Theory off their self-titled album, Three Days from The Astonishing (an album I really love but is far from a fan favorite), Barstool Warrior from Distance Over Time, and A View From the Top of the World from the album of the same name! Those are all my favorite tracks from every album since 2011 (ADTOE was probably the last album you listened to, that was the first album after Mangini joined the band as their new drummer), and I think it shows the best of what they've been up to in the past decade.

So yeah, check those out and then listen to Parasomnia on Friday when it drops! Let me know what you think about them!!!

[depressedraisin]

ok ok quick summary of my thoughts and feelings so far:

it's 5:30 am and ive been up since 2:30 so probably gonna regret this but here we go

FIRSTLY, im incredibly INCREDIBLY proud of them for putting up the show. last week was tense and rather scary, we were all shitting ourselves with worry over alex's voice and health so i felt like i could cry in relief seeing look so much better and sound so much better and obviously being great at his job. the others, particularly nick on 4/5 and matt on body paint- fuck they were showstopping!!!!! overall very very enjoyable experience, im glad we have this.

YET.

yet. i AM disappointed and i got no qualms admitting it. the car is my favourite album, tbhc id die for, i literally spend so much time with their discography i probably AM a little too emotionally attached and not-objective about them. so yeah it's saddening. to not see the car and tbhc getting the limelight and the appreciation. i for one do believe there are songs in them which would work in a gigantic stadium or a festival, but we would never know if they do bcs they never gotta the chance to be taken out for a spin. also the rest of the albums- for a discography as diverse and as deep as the band's, so much of it sits in an attic catching dust. but yeah i get it i get it- logistics and commercial considerations and audience and all that. i get it....... sometimes. most times.

glasto did piss me off a tiny bit however. (just a little im sure it'll wear away soon). i was really fucking excited for it, jumped through so much to get access to the livestream and all, barely slept today just to watch it. i was holding out a lot of hope for this gig- ofc bcs it's glasto!!!!! it's such a consequential milestone in their career, it's been so long in the waiting. and being really fucking honest here- i took the "they'd surely do something different for glasto!!!" to heart. BUT I UNDERSTAND. i understand, why they might not have done anything, why things planned might not have worked out. I GET IT.

but also. there's a miniscule corner of my brain which is like. how different would a glastonbury show have been in an alternate timeline anyway? yeah they do surprise us, but signs haven't been pointing towards those directions at all in this tour. so all in all, yeah im disappointed. not so much for this one gig but the tour as a whole and the general attitude in this era. things alex has been talking about in the album.....at times their way of going about things seems so contrary to that. and yeah they're a band of 2 decades of experience and fucking professionals so no, i don't believe it's external uncontrollable reasons every time.

the monkeys are such an important band, yk? they might be the last of their kind- which other band will have their level of critical and cultural impact again. i hate LOATHE DESPISE to see all the potential getting wasted. they're saying such important things and not many are paying- but the band isn't trying particularly hard to get anyone to listen either. and yes, it's been the case long before alex got sick and long before they got up on the pyramid stage.

anyway enough whining and ranting for today.

i just love the car ok i'll defend it to my grave.

i just love the band so much i wanna give them a giant hug.

also yes i AM a lowly fangirl and miles kane not being there makes me sad.

[manysmallhands]

Top Albums of 2024: #30 - #21

Welcome to my albums of the year posts! This will come in four(ish) sections: firstly this one, followed by numbers #20 - #11 which will be in the same format. From there on in, #10 to #1 will all have a longer post of their own but i will post them in two rounds: from #10 - #6 and then #5 to #1. I put a lot of work into doing these but if you click on this and then find that you just don't want to read them (and who does? if you have a blog, i probably haven't read it) just use my randomly scribbled words to assess the situation in brief and maybe press play: you might find that you like something.

Before i start, i just wanted to throw in a bubbling under list, consisting of a few albums i've liked this year that haven't made the cut for various reasons which i'll list as i go:

Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter (Country, RnB) - too long and rambly but some points were made

Wallice - The Jester (Indie pop, singer-songwriter) - not listened to it enough to say much but i think it's good

FLO - Access All Areas (RnB) - ditto

Kendrick Lamar - GMX (Hip Hop) - not entirely sure that i enjoy it all that much but there are certainly some tunes here: it requires further listening

SZA - Lana (RnB) literally just put it on now and it's alright isn't it

With that, i'm just gonna get on with them

#30. Cosmorat - Evil Adjacent 

Indie, Altpop

There’s a certain glitchiness and sense of menace that reminds me of Jockstrap on Cosmorat's debut EP, with singer Taylor Pollock coming off like the kind of girl who used to pull the wings off of flies and has since moved onto bigger and nastier targets. Evil Adjacent is pretty genre fluid so that not only do you not know how the next song is going to sound but the one that yr listening to can become unpredictable at a moment's notice. "Backseat Baby" is a banger of a single but it was the creepy chamberpop of "No Sleep" that caught my ear and there’s enough indie and altpop experiments here to suggest that they’ve got plenty left in the tank. 

#29. Kenya Grace - The After Taste

Dance pop, Club music

Kenya Grace’s first EP is a sort of concept record, a sad girl drum n bass song cycle where the highs of the dancefloor are replaced (or augmented) with the melancholy of someone trying to cling onto love. Viral hit "Strangers" is an obvious pointer with its fleeting relationships that can vanish in a moment but there’s plenty of other strong material here too, with the warmer indieish vibes of "Someone Else" and banging closer “Only In My Mind” both fuelled by tearful fantasies of impossible romance. Nominally I guess she's looking towards the club scene but The After Taste feels more like the kind of record that you might put on when you’ve been dumped and need something to drunkenly sway around to in the kitchen.

#28. Kali Uchis - Orquídeas

Dance pop, Latin pop

Kali’s semi-Spanish language album is probably at its best the more Spanish it gets. There’s lots of fun dancepop bops at the beginning with a liquid summer vibe that the sweat just seems to pour off of, but tbh things starts to drag after the first few and really it’s when the more flamboyant material - like the trad latin "Te Mata" and battering reggaeton "No Hay Ley pt 2" - turns up that it all gets going properly. Tbh this is a tricky listen in deep winter - it’s a record that seems to require a Mediterranean beach as a necessity - but there’s still plenty of fun to be had if you can just match yr stride to the beat as you trudge thru the wind and rain.

#27. Tinashe - Quantum Baby

RnB

Tinashe's commercial revival was a slight mirage but certainly Quantum Baby (and it’s lead single "Nasty") did more to revive her fortunes than anything else had for a decade. I haven’t really enjoyed her a lot before - I tend to find her a bit gloomy - but the eight songs on this mini album feel much more engaging than whatever I’ve heard previously. The back and forth split between the catchier RnB bangers and the more minimal and experimental songs knits together well and, while the likes of "Nasty" obviously stole all the attention, the focus on subjects other than having lots of hot sex on tracks like "No Simulation" and "Cross the Line" give it an emotional dimension that she could probably stand to use a bit more of.

#26. Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard And Soft

Pop/rock, Singer-songwriter

Billie’s third album has been one of the biggest of the year but, while I’ve found much to love in it, it’s also been a vast source of frustration. The run of songs thru the first side are some of her finest, especially the pulsing, jellylike ���Chihiro” and gorgeous love song “Birds Of A Feather”, but the second half falls off quite badly by my reckoning, firstly with “The Diner”, which is simply rubbish, followed by two multipart songs which both start well before drifting off into not so much. Having listened back to it all the night before I wrote this, I am preparing to admit that closing track "Blue" might not be bad and further reassessment could also yet happen. But my feeling that such a lush, delicate and apparently well balanced record managed to drop off quite so far has annoyed me a lot over the course of this year and so i've marked it down a bit anyway.

#25. Nelly Furtado - 7

Dance pop, Latin pop

Nelly Furtado’s seventh album has been seven years in the making, a fact she apparently felt worth celebrating but sadly no one remembered to turn up for it. No matter tho! The world may not have moved on its release but that did not stop 7 being really very good. Nelly sounds happy reaching across the genres, as comfortable making club bangers with Tove Lo as she is singing warm dramatic soul ballads like "All Comes Back", as well as drifting off into other areas like folk and Latin pop with the kind of assurance that one expects from someone who’s already aced them all before. That changeability can leave the album feeling a bit indistinct as a project but there was quality enough here to keep me tuned in anyway, both in terms of the songs and the performer at the heart of them.

#24. Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism

Dance pop; Pop/rock

Dua’s third album was always struggling to get off the ground commercially but it sounds like a victim of poor marketing rather than anything else. The most commanding material here is in her classic dancepop vein, with "Training Season" and "Illusion" still going extremely hard, but pop rockers "Happy For You" and "Falling Forever" both have a wonderfully hypnotic momentum to them too and the psychedelic swirl of opener "End Of An Era" sets the pre-release hype into a more positive context. It’s probably not as good as Future Nostalgia overall but Radical Optimism is still a solid record which largely deserved better than its fate.

#23. Shakira - Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran 

Dance pop; Latin pop

Shakira’s latest Spanish language album is a rather broad affair, largely dealing in sunny latin influenced dance pop but with a strong side hustle of bombastic rockers, emotive ballads and some entertainingly flashy trad stuff as well. Ofc at the centre of it all is Shakira’s trademark quivering vocals and mastery of pop melodrama and, while I’ve only returned to Las Mujeres infrequently this year, I always tend to enjoy it when I do. One of its key wonders to me is how a gentle ballad like "Ultima" can feel like such an extraordinary tearjerker when I don't understand a word of what it’s about. Ofc imagination and the international language of pop manage to fill in the gaps here and there, but i haven't discounted the possibility that she’s communicating how sad she is about having to pay her tax bill, something that i think we can all relate to. 

#22. The Last Dinner Party - Prelude To Ecstasy

Indie rock

The title here gives a strong impression of the kind of flouncing around in the dress up box vibe that they’re well known for, but scratch the surface of The Last Dinner Party and luckily they’ve got talent to burn too. Channeling early Kate Bush, Queen and Abba into their theatrical artpop sound, things can occasionally feel a little overdone, especially on their gothier numbers. But songs like "Caesar On A TV Screen", "The Feminine Urge" and "Nothing Matters" are hugely impressive with their big choruses and high drama, as well as an understanding that being a bit ridiculous is a thing to be taken very seriously.

#21. Confidence Man - 3AM

Dance, Club music

Confidence Man’s third album carried on with their 90s dance obsession but shifted it more towards rave culture. The move suited them well: their goofy image is pretty much ideal to take on the glow sticks and finger popping vibe of the era and musically it was a cosy fit with their all bangers all the time approach too. 3AM is their best record yet for me: certainly it's more consistent than Tilt, less focused on lyrical gimmickry and more fully on top of its material, but also it doesn't just make empty retro references and brings a clear understanding of the joy inherent in the kind of music that they're making.

Back whenever i finish the next round

[aromanticgarbage]

If Joji decides to retire this year, do you think your obsession with him will end? Or would you still follow all his old stuff and that will keep you going?

He retired from social media already, youtube as well and he won't be coming back to any of that, let's be honest. All is left is his music, and I personally feel like he's over it. Not only the tiring/ repetitive touring, but the set path of the music industry where you don't just create stuff for fun but it's expected of you every few years> tour > rinse and repeat.

Just trying to have a convo, we like to hear your opinions :)

First of all, I don't think that he is going to retire any time soon? The man has been making music nonstop (comedic or not) since he was a preteen AND at this point in his life its his main source of income. He has talked in several interviews in 2018 and then again in 2020 about having philanthropic goals, wanting to help in the medical field and stuff but not having the funds for it yet (x). Assuming that he still has those goals and he hasnt suddenly gotten bored of music (a thing he has loved since he was a kid) i just cant see him suddenly retiring. There's a chance that maybe he wont keep up with his "new album every two years" pattern but i personally wouldn't be mad about that. I know that people love to complain about him not dropping music often enough but from my perspective, two years isn't a long time to wait for a new album. I listen to Fiona Apple too and she drops new music once every eight years. I listen to bands who broke up decades ago and bands whose main vocalists committed suicide before i was even born. Waiting doesn't mean anything to me. Also im so late to the party, i have a literal decade of his old and more recent content to get through (music, comedy, all of it).

Second of all, my obsession with him will fade away eventually either way !!! Ive been obsessed with many things (media, shows, musicals, music artists etcetera etcetera) over the years, i know how this works. Last year i was listening to the 2006 cast recording of company the musical starring Raúl Esparza everyday Non Stop. At some point i moved on to other things. Doesn't mean that i don't still smile whenever a song from this musical makes its way onto my spotify queue, or whenever a new photo of Raúl gets posted online. Unless something bad happens that sours the experience for me (most notable example: harry p*tter) i always think fondly of my past hyperfixations. Plus I genuinely love Joji's music. Im not in it just for his cute face !!! I will probably always have a soft spot for these songs even if (emphasis on if) he drops off the face of the earth and never releases anything ever again.

When it comes to his retirement from social media (permanent or temporary) all i honestly have to say about it is this: GOOD for him. Instagram is hell. Twitter is a fucking cesspool that has given me a headache every single one of the five (5) times ive dared to try and use it. If you use twitter routinely, my trust on your character automatically lessens, sorry. And since i only ever unfollow artists on insta for uploading TOO often I don't really have an issue with his inactivity. I wasn't a fan of his when he was still active on his socials, I don't have the experience necessary to miss this. I'm enjoying his old posts and that's good enough for me.

When it comes to youtube, he is definitely never going back to filthy frank that one is a fact and people who act like he would even want to are delusional. Sorry. Nonetheless, Plummcorp is a thing that has been going on for a while now, and even tho personally i haven't really gotten into it, Joji's involvement in it is undeniable. We will probably never know how involved in it he actually is and he will most definitely never show his face on that channel. Still, he is back on youtube in a way and thats also a fact. Even if he's keeping things lowkey (as is his right).

And to go back to the music !!! The tours he is probably really tired of, that one i feel like it's true. A lot of artists probably are, travelling around for months on end can't be easy. I remember Mitski being particularly open about how shitty they made her feel. There was also this old interview where he explicitly said that he is not cut out for the tour life, ("i like to sleep and i like to be alone a lot" x ). That was very early in his career (2017). And taking the fact that he had to cancel some of his shows last year for medical reasons, its important to take into account the fact that his health problems don't make any of this easier for him. I have no way of knowing what his opinion is on the music industry but hes been working on music for years now (even before he really started his solo career) and it was his literal childhood dream to work in this industry. He probably knew how it works before he got into it fulltime.

Tldr: joji can do whatever he wants forever. Im okay either way.

Anyway those have been my two cents !!! Thank you for your questions, they were very interesting.

[catgirlhell]

🎶✨ when u get this u have to put 5 songs u actually listen to. then send this ask or tag 10 of your favourite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool)✨🎶

i'll kill you for cursing me @unclekow

the best way to describe what im listening to at any given moment is that im either playing the soundtrack to an anime that only exists in my head or attempting to block out all psychic attacks inflicted upon me from the world with the power of jazz and 90's/00's japanese alt rock and hip hop.

Get Down to Business, aka the Order Sol Theme by Daisuke Ishiwatari

It's the Sol Badguy music. It's the ultimate cool old guy who sucks music. I have a cool old guy who sucks that I've been thinking about. It's important for my delusions.

Lay Back by Lotus Juice

I am a *very* big fan of acoustic hip-hop, and I also really like japanese rap. I haven't actually listened to Lotus Juice that much (my teenage years were still defined squarely by Nujabes and his contemporaries!) but I've found this introduction to his work to be interesting! I'm looking forward to listening to more of it.

P.H.D. - Portable Headphone Dancefloor by 2mello

You, a buffoon, might say its cheating to list a whole album. I, a genius, would claim that its sacrilege to not treat a house mix as one whole song. If I were to take a single pick from it, dreamin on its own is probably my favorite track out of it all, so much so that I have spliced it out and extended it for my own listening. I've been a fan of 2mello for awhile now and I can safely say that every album he makes is my favorite of his until he makes the next.

Ka Bohaleng / On the Sharp Side by Abel Selaocoe

I don't talk about it much, but I was actually raised in a family that practiced and professionally performed Traditional West African Drum and Dance. As a result, I've always been partial to traditional/ethnic music worldwide, especially African music, and Abel Selaocoe is like the holy grail of such. His work can be described as "classically trained baroque that is distinctly African in nature," and I regularly stream his live performances and studio album. If there is anything in this list I would beg you hear, it is this song, and to a further extent, his performance at Cologne Jazzweek.

Akaneiro ga Moeru Toki/茜色が燃えるとき by Scoobie Do

This thing snuck up on me towards the start of the summer and blew my tits clean off. I'm a person very much trapped in the pre-2010's, especially the late 90's-late aughts. As I get older, I lean less and less towards new media and instead indulge in rediscovering older stuff. I have never watched a Gungrave. I have never played a Gungrave. But I have managed to get my hands on the majority of Scoobie Do's discography and play it regularly. The band is still active, but like all things, I am obsessed with their mini-album Kaze no Koibito, which has this song on it. Please listen to this song and please listen to Scoobie Do. The band is called Scoobie Do man, just do it.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Sleepy Head by the pillows

Earlier this spring, I finally watched Fooly Cooly for the first time ever, after maybe 6 years of people twice my age asking why I had never seen it when it seemed to be so completely grafted to my tastes. Well I did, and then I immediately drew my catgirl holding a guitar because of it. I'm not normal after that show. "Why did they keep asking you why you'd never seen it" I hear you asking. *ahem*

Because I've been listening to its soundtrack and the rest of the pillows discography since I was like. Twelve.

Don't ask me how I found it because I do not know. But between Ride on Shooting Star and this, I've returned to the FLCL soundtrack maybe once every 2 months for about a decade. This isn't propaganda to watch the anime, but it is propaganda to listen to the soundtrack.

@teffiniwynn, @kdinjenzen, @puyopuyo, @shukitanuki, @qwk, @lamphoera, @yuleloggu, @alien-tidays, @girlballs, @ockitten

im gonna go daydream about cringe shit goodnight

[1001albumsrated]

#16: Billie Holiday w/ Ray Ellis & His Orchestra - Lady in Satin (1958)

Genre(s): Jazz Vocals, Big Band

Billie Holiday, of course, should need no introduction. Lady in Satin, however, is best understood in context. It's the final album released in her lifetime, and the penultimate in her discography. One year after its release in June 1958 she would be on her deathbed with liver failure, handcuffed and under police surveillance in her hospital room following her arrest for narcotics possession during her stay (she had been regularly targeted by the federal government and law enforcement since the success of Strange Fruit), her body wracked by decades of substance abuse and hard living. She'd been abused and mistreated by just about every man in her life, and her estranged husband Louis McKay, a mobster, was no exception; she would go on to die the next month with only 70 cents in her bank account on account of him claiming more and more of her earnings over the few years they were married. She was only 44.

By the time of recording Lady in Satin she and McKay were already separated, and her health had noticeably deteriorated. She was, by all accounts, already dying, and I think had been for a long time. I write all this out not to add drama to the story, but because Billie's lifetime of struggles and suffering are so incredibly present and raw on this album. All of her music has an honesty and an intensity to it, but it really comes to a head on Lady in Satin. This is one of those rare, haunting albums that is so incredibly laden with real grief and sorrow that it's genuinely hard to listen to at times. It isn't just the sorrow that gets me on this album; it's the tiredness, not a bored tired or a sleepy tired, but a deep-seated tired that sets into your bones and says "I don't know how much longer I can do this". Her voice sounds old and weary beyond her years on these tracks in a way that I find profoundly heartbreaking. I'm not one to get misty-eyed at sad songs or the ends of movies, but there's just something about this album that punches you right in the gut.

I was about to start writing a conclusion, and then I realized I haven't said a damn word about the actual music on this album. The arrangements are fairly standard for this sort of orchestral big band jazz vocal album. Ray Ellis keeps things minimal and the band stays mostly out of Billie's way, which is absolutely the correct choice when dealing with this kind of powerhouse vocalist. I think with a different vocalist (a Frank Sinatra or the like) the arrangements might come off as overly sentimental, but with Billie they feel completely appropriate. I'm not really one for the big stringy orchestra sound, but it feels right on this one.

I probably don't need to say it after all that, but yes you MUST hear Lady in Satin before you die. My only note here is that it's a massive blunder for the 1001 Albums authors to not also include Lady Sings the Blues; Strange Fruit, in my opinion, is one of the most important songs ever recorded. It's an emotionally challenging listen, but an essential one, and unfortunately one that still carries an enormous amount of weight today. Anyways, this album is a must-hear without a doubt. If you're like me you probably won't listen to it often but you'll be damn glad you heard it.

Coming up next: we take a hard left turn into folk with Ramblin' Jack Elliott's Jack Takes the Floor!

Also I couldn't find a great place tonally to slip in this tidbit, but I listened to this in hi-res on Qobuz. I probably should own a nice copy of it, but it's one of those albums in the A Crow Looked At Me camp of music I love but mostly avoid because I know damn well it will make me feel some type of way. Also, I guess I'll bitch about this more in the distant future when we get to the 2010s, but goddamn where the fuck is A Crow Looked At Me on this list? It's one of the most deeply upsetting and emotional albums out there and is without a doubt something everyone should hear, but I guess they needed more room for Arcade Fire records or whatever. Fuck.

[margridarnauds]

hey! if you are still looking for some distraction - what are some of your favourite albums that you've been listening to recently, and why? (i am currently enjoying my first full listen-through of joanna newsom's 'divers', which is immensely lyrically interesting and very... textural? much to like!)

Thanks, I'll check it out!

I'm not someone who usually listens to whole albums -- I often focus on individual songs for months.

That being said, since 3 of my "on repeat" songs from Spotify at the moment are from "Speak Now - Taylor's Version", I think it definitely qualifies as a current favorite. I don't know, I didn't really appreciate this album at the time, not the least because I had a very gradual introduction where I was interested in a couple of songs in her early days (Teardrops on my Guitar, which was a Quintessenial OC Angst Song; Our Song, which was perfect for Rural Midwestern Roadtrip Feelings; Love Story, which was the pinnacle of romance to me; You Belong With Me, ditto), was interested in "Mine" from Speak Now for the same reason as "Our Song", but I wasn't really INTO her stuff until 1989, with "Blank Space", where I started to be like "Okay, I get it now." (And even still, I mainly get info secondhand from friends.) I know that these days, she's probably the most famous pop star working at the moment, and definitely among her own age range (it's hard to put her alongside someone like Beyonce or Madonna, just because they've had DECADES to mold themselves into icons, but she easily trumps everyone from her own age group), but there really was so much misogyny around her at the time that I wasn't able to fully appreciate her until around 1989, when people (especially on here) started to be more critical about the narratives around her + point out how generous she could be with her fans. (Is that part of her own manufactured image? Almost definitely, but there are worse things to manufacture.)

...all this to say that I never really HAD an OG!Speak Now phase, even if I did grow to adore "Enchanted" as well, so I've been rediscovering it in a way.

I've been listening to "United in Distaste" from Starry: The Musical on repeat, mainly because when a friend of mine recommended the titular song, I thought "Pretty" and then did nothing, but there's something about famous painters bitching at one another while admitting that they need one another that happens to relate directly to the reasons why I needed a distraction re: grad school that appeals to me significantly more. Moral of the story: Spare the ballads; send me the bitchiest songs from a musical if you want me to get interested in it.

The Baldur's Gate III soundtrack, especially "Raphael's Final Act" and "I Want to Live - Classical Version", but with honorable mention to "Nightsong", "Down by the River", "Main Theme, Pt. 3", "Weeping Dawn", "Harpy Theme", and all the different versions of "The Power." Not helped by me playing BG3 whenever I can take the time off from studying.

I've been OBSESSED with Epic: The Musical lately, though it's unfortunately mainly songs that haven't gotten official releases yet. "Warrior of the Mind" (officially released), "My Goodbye" (officially released), "Dangerous", "God Games - Aphrodite and Ares", and "The Challenge". I'm really excited for where this musical is going, I have a lot of high hopes for it, and I do like how they've adapted the story, honestly.

[wily-one24]

Weird asks: 1, 20, 34, 43, 46

Here we go!!

Who is/are your comfort character(s)?

Hahahaha. Ok. Well. I guess it depends upon the show i'm watching at the time, doesn't it? I mean, I have favourites in all my shows, but my absolute comfort characters, whom I love and invest in...

Veronica Mars, Emma Swan, Samantha Waters, Olivia Benson, Kaylee Frye, Buffy Summers, Jane Rizzoli, Cordelia Chase.

I have previously stated that I have a type and that type is emotionally damaged but hella strong women who are somewhat lackadaisical when it comes to their own personal safety when it comes to solving a case/getting justice (all of the above women fall into this, except perhaps Kaylee Frye, but she is my 'happy face/light in the darkness' lady, all the rest are my 'strength will rise up from the ashes like a pheonix' ladies).

I have many other faves and likes, however, you can pretty much narrow it down to who I have written fic for. These are my comfort characters, because fic IS my comfort. I have so much free therapy because of fic. I've pretty much written that post before (years ago, I would have to hunt it down) about what each major fic in my life was allegorical to... and I probably don't even WANT to know what my SVU fics are trying to break through in my brain, BUT, when I need comfort, this is where I turn.

Edit to add: Hunted!!

Go here to get a rundown on some self therapy in my major fics.

And here for a more in depth analysis of Paint It Black (question 11).

20. Do you say soda or pop?

No. Neither. I'm Australian. I say "Soft drink". Soda or pop? Pfft, get jumped on. It's SOFT DRINK. I mean, if you're feeling really old fashioned you can say 'Fizzy drink", but nobody really does. Soft drink, thank you.

34. Is there a song you know every word to by heart?

Buah hahahahahaha. Like, I think the easier question to ask there is "is there a song you DON'T know every word to by heart?"

I have a few Spotify playlists, my biggest one is called "Sing Loud", it has 114 songs on it, 6 1/2 hours worth, and I know every single word. Because I *DO* sing loud. And, also, it's worth noting that that is not my entire mind's playlist of favourite songs. Just the ones I sing loudly to. I have full musicals I can sing the entire lyrics to, musical episodes of my favourite tv I sing along to, entire ALBUMS from the 90s that I listed to on my Discman to and from Uni on the train...

OBVIOUSLY, I know most Sheryl Crow songs by heart (at least those pre 2010, I haven't really caught up to her new stuff yet), gimme a bunch of Sarah McLachlan, the Whitlams, No Doubt, Madonna, Machine Gun Fellatio, Garbage... anything from the 90s, a BUNCH of stuff from the 80s. I also like heaps of things from the 70s and some from the 60s, some from 2000 onwards as well. My taste is rather eclectic.

You don't quite know the range of eclectic until someone on the train watches fascinated as you take Rob Zombie out of your Discman and swap it for Sarah McLachlan. I got some *weird* looks.

My brain is very lyrically inclined and I remember so many words to so many songs, it's insane. If I like a song, I will listen to it over and over again until I get the lyrics right. Which, I have to say is so much easier NOW than it was back in the 80s, when you had to hover around your stereo so you could press play/record simultaneously the second your favourite song came on the radio just so you could have a copy...

But, yeah, once I like a song and I've heard it a few times, those lyrics are BURNED into my brain forever. That's why so many of my fics are song titles. Paint It Black, Memory Cloud, Wicked Game, Foolish Game, The Girl of My Dreams (Is Giving Me Nightmares), The White Room, Hybrid Lives, Silver and Cold, Spoonful of Sugar, Breaking the GIrl... etc... and those are just off the top of my head. This is why I used to vid, decades ago.

43. What’s your take on spicy foods?

There's a take? I like somewhat spicy foods.

I do not like stupidly spicy foods, to the point that it hurts and you can't breathe and it's basically a competition of how much you can hurt yourself to win... that's not fun for me.

But I do like a bit of kick. I like spicy thai curries, and mexican chillis, and jalepenos, something that doesn't necessarily want to kill you, but does bite back a little.

I am sensible with my spice level.

46. Favorite holiday film?

TBH, I'm not really sure I have one.

I mean, Die Hard is always a Christmas Classic, I guess? I'm not really one to sit around and watch a Christmas movie or... is there such a thing as an Easter movie? A Queen's Birthday movie? Ramadan? The Melbourne Cup? I don't really know.

(Well, there's probably a few movies about the Melbourne Cup, now that I think about it).

I'm not against them, per se, like if there was a movie on and it looked interesting and it was the holiday times and happened to focus on that holiday, I'm not going to turn it off, but I'm not going to seek out that specific movie.

The only real special holiday thing I watch each year... might be the Carols By Candlelight on Christmas Eve and the New Year's Eve Countdown, but those are not necessarily movies. They're not. One is a concert and one is... well... a countdown retrospective of the year and some fireworks.

I guess the Christmas movies always seemed a little too... faked for me. Maybe it was all the happy families (so fake) or the overly twee messages (please) ... maybe it was all the fucking snow and over the top decorations that seem to be uniquely American.

I don't think I've EVER seen a Christmas movie that represents what I know as Christmas, in the middle of summer in Australia.

@dahllaz