#if you want any recommendations for anything by black artists in any genre

[pegasusknightcore]

i know i'm just another white woman online but i think the thing that is so frustrating/perplexing to me about tumblr's 2024 Rap Discourse is that it really underlines so many white people's inability to actually listen and humanize black people. it underlines the way that white "anti-racism" still dehumanizes and others black people.

they can talk about why anti-blackness is bad, and talk to other white people on here about why whitewashing is bad and why structural racism is bad but they can't actually handle black people saying the same things in their own words.

to be clear, i am no better here. i am constantly working on my internalized racism and my internalized anti-blackness. this is a lifelong struggle because we're socialized with white supremacy and it's so hard to undo. but consuming black art and actually listening to black people Obviously makes a huge difference because, well, it is humanizing.

even beyond that, when you hear people complain about sexdrugsviolence in black music, the fact of the matter is that those things are all products of white supremacy and the structures that people live within. but white people create art about similar things, no?

is Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B.'s WAP not a radical reclaiming of sexuality by women? yet we don't flinch when white women sing about sex on top of house beats.

when it comes to drugs, what's the difference between white people favorites such as TiK ToK and 50 on High all the Time?

we idolize Kurt Cobain and the violence he sings about frequently, but what's the difference between him and, say, 2Pac?

what's the difference? seems clear to me.

so yeah, listen to the rest of Kendrick Lamar. let the pain and wisdom in the words in The Blacker the Berry sink in.

listen to The Roots on Don't Feel Right and the way they present american fascism in a clear view in a way that it would take us white american leftists decades to understand.

listen to Public Enemy talk about black representation on Burn Hollywood Burn and the way that media has no interest in portraying black people in a positive light or any light that may upset white audiences.

but it's not just about conscious hip-hop and the oppression that black people face and have been speaking up about. all of the artists I've mentioned are so much more than that because, they're people who have so much more to them than that.

listen to Kendrick talk about love and heartbreak on LOVE. listen to The Roots enjoy the thrill of competition on Adrenaline. listen to Public Enemy just have a good goddamn time on Give It Up.

ultimately, the fact of the matter is that despite claiming to be anti-racist, when confronted with a black person talking about their existence, white leftists and liberals still find it easier to listen when it's "more palatable".

when people make you think about the white supremacy you participate in, it's a lot easier to ignore them, huh?

[auckie]

I think the things that offend me most nowadays in like, smaller interpersonal interactions rather than grand, sweeping trends in culture, are when people chose to not partake in a wide set of things. Like musical close mindedness, or refusal to try different foods from different cultures. Not watching an entire subset of films bc they’re ‘french’. Avoiding reading bc you say you have adhd and it’s too hard. Like dude I get it, I’m busy. I can be picky. Everyone can. But the willful ignorance of closing yourself off to those VAST portions of the human experience, and not having curiosity and a lust to learn and explore art that was made by someone worlds apart from you either in terms of their culture, era, whatever. I dunno man it just pisses me off so bad. I think it’s arrogant. Like oh you’re comfortable in your safe little bubble huh? And you’re enforcing its barriers with the excuse that you’re autistic and have sensory issues. With music made by black people?? lol okay. It is pretty presumptuous for me to assume malicious intent but I think those prejudices are borne from either the comfort of being someone who’s wealthy and probably white not feeling the need to learn past what they think is enough, or it’s a reflection of a society that’s taught you to prioritize what it shills— popular, current (white, depending where you live ig) artists who are making streamlined, easy to digest content. Often when I meet people with these issues they’ll have one particular ‘niche’, and it tends to be like. 70s music. Victorian literature. Anime and Japanese games. But they’re still not really investing beyond the media presented. Like there’s so much more to Japanese culture than liking some cartoons put out between 2010-2020. You don’t gotta become some sorta Einstein who learns the background of every little freak in FGO yeah. But don’t you wanna aim higher? Aren’t you interested in any of the historical figures? And nothings wrong with hopping onto a trend. You read Dracula bc of that Dracula daily thing. Cool! Read more. Some people will say they’re chronically ill or disabled and can’t get outside. That’s okay. The internet is full of things you can read other than fanfiction, YouTube has a shit ton of free music. There’s Wikipedia and free articles online if you have questions about things. Yeah nobody is spending four hours a day looking at the national archives website and studying art history but it’s imbued in the things around you, and youll absorb it ambiently as you go along. you dont have to be a jack of all trades and cover every major genre of every major medium, but it never hurts to try! I really love seeing ppl ask too. Bc it can be kind of humiliating to admit to what seems like some jackass hipster that you’ve never delved into, idk, Serbian films (lol not that one). And hopefully if whoever you’re asking will give you honest good recommendations and not berate you. I’m kind of berate a straw man rn I guess. The hostile tone def doesn’t lend to an atmosphere of sharing but I cannot tell you how many times I’ve rbed anything involving specifically jazz only to see someone rb and add the stupidest comment on the post, or in the tags, or go into my inbox to be like waaah I don’t like jazz bc it’s boring and old and for pretentious hypocrites who hate neurodivergent people! Like what are you TALKING about. Fine if you don’t like it but don’t try and rationalize that as a moral standing you shit lark. And just as they’re allowed to dislike jazz I’m allowed to not really enjoy people who don’t like jazz. Or country. Nautical knots. Knit wear. Watching urbex YouTubers get their shit rocked by squatters. Korean food. Pachuco fashion and stupid ugly low riders. Bollywood films. and they don’t want to try any of those things either yknow? The next thing I’m getting into is circuit bending.

[makingqueerhistory]

Queer Book Recommendations

Every once in a while I like sharing some queer book recommendations on here as I read a lot and I get requests to share some of the books I love, so here we go! 

Tell Me I'm Worthless: Three years ago, Alice spent one night in an abandoned house with her friends Ila and Hannah. Since then, things have not been going well. Alice is living a haunted existence, selling videos of herself cleaning for money, going to parties she hates, drinking herself to sleep. She hasn’t spoken to Ila since they went into the House. She hasn’t seen Hannah either.

Our Wives Under The Sea: Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe. It soon becomes clear, though, that Leah may have come back wrong. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded on the ocean floor, Leah has carried part of it with her, onto dry land and into their home. 

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty: Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again.It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now—an artist with her own studio, and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and a major curator who wants to launch her art career.

Silver Under Nightfall: Remy Pendergast is many things: the only son of the Duke of Valenbonne (though his father might wish otherwise), an elite bounty hunter of rogue vampires, and an outcast among his fellow Reapers. His mother was the subject of gossip even before she eloped with a vampire, giving rise to the rumors that Remy is half-vampire himself. Though the kingdom of Aluria barely tolerates him, Remy’s father has been shaping him into a weapon to fight for the kingdom at any cost.

Disintegrate/Dissociate: In her powerful debut collection of poetry, Arielle Twist unravels the complexities of human relationships after death and metamorphosis. In these spare yet powerful poems, she explores, with both rage and tenderness, the parameters of grief, trauma, displacement, and identity. Weaving together a past made murky by uncertainty and a present which exists in multitudes, Arielle Twist poetically navigates through what it means to be an Indigenous trans woman, discovering the possibilities of a hopeful future and a transcendent, beautiful path to regaining softness. 

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower: As a master of disguise, Thomasina Wynchester can be a polite young lady—or a bawdy old man. She’ll do whatever it takes to solve the cases her family takes on. But when Tommy’s beautiful new client turns out to be the highborn lady she’s secretly smitten with, more than her mission is at stake . . . 

It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror: Horror movies hold a complicated space in the hearts of the queer community: historically misogynist, and often homo- and transphobic, the genre has also been inadvertently feminist and open to subversive readings. Common tropes—such as the circumspect and resilient “final girl,” body possession, costumed villains, secret identities, and things that lurk in the closet—spark moments of eerie familiarity and affective connection. Still, viewers often remain tasked with reading themselves into beloved films, seeking out characters and set pieces that speak to, mirror, and parallel the unique ways queerness encounters the world. 

Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture: Everything you know about sex and asexuality is (probably) wrong. The notion that everyone wants sex–and that we all have to have it–is false. It’s intertwined with our ideas about capitalism, race, gender, and queerness. And it impacts the most marginalized among us. For asexual folks, it means that ace and A-spec identity is often defined by a queerness that’s not queer enough, seen through a lens of perceived lack: lack of pleasure, connection, joy, maturity, and even humanity.

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

You watch slasher movies? I haven't done so in years (much to my disappointment), got any recommendations, classics, popular, underrated, anything really?

I knew I hadn't watched them in a long time, but it wasn't till I had to try and write something based on classic slashers, that I realized how long its been since I consumed that kind of content.

My only plan so far is that I need to watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Alright, Pandora, it depends on your tastes, and what you look for in a "slasher" ❤️

As you may remember, I fucking love the OG the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and when I got pretty bad last month emotionally I watched it on repeat for two weeks straight. However, if you go in for a regular slasher film you will be disappointed. The first movie is incredible, focusing on amazing shots and atmosphere for nearly the entire first half. It's less of a slasher as we would come to know the genre, and more of an artistic film centered around the horrors of humanity. The series is a wonderful mess of multiple timelines and little continuity, but the sequels better fit the slasher archetype. The best sequel (imo) is the one directly after the first, and it's a black comedy slasher, focusing more on the kills.

Now, slashers ❤️

If you're a nerd and want to experience the slasher history, then before Halloween (which still holds up) there was Black Christmas, and before that the Town that Dreaded Sundown.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown is based off a true serial killer, and unlike TCM which is loosely inspired by Ed Gein, a lot of the kills (except the trombone scene) are based on actual murders, with his mask accurate to the only real world survivor's testimony of her assault. It's very slow pace, and with how desensitized we are as a society you might find it boring, but if you ever get a phonecall from Ghostface, then you have to know the Town that Dreaded Sundown. Fun fact, his mask also inspired Jason's mask from Friday the 13th part 2!

Black Christmas is awesome! I'd recommend it more than Sundown, because of pacing, characters, acting, and overall atmosphere. I love my second wave feminism horror (Stepford Wives (mwah)), and it did a lot better with it's feminist themes than the loose remake from 2019 that tried to be intentionally feminist (ignore the 2006 remake entirely, so bad, so lame, so gross). It did the first person perspective of the killer nearly four years before Halloween's iconic opening. It introduced the idea of the final girl, but she wouldn't become a sexually repressed younger woman until Halloween solidified the trope. It has some great kills that still hold up, and Billy is iconic. I really feel the only reason why he isn't more well known in non-horror spaces is because he doesn't have a mask or outfit that can be replicated and sold in Spirit.

After that we have our most well known slashers, and they're popular for good reason ❤️

A Nightmare on Elm St, Friday the 13th, and Halloween spawned sequels that spiraled off into varying degrees of madness, but still have fun moments.

After the success of Friday the 13th (and the realization of the franchise-ability of slashers) there were a lot of slashers that tried to capture the money magic of the first few success stories. Not all of them were great, but a few notable slashers imo are My Bloody Valentine and the Dentist.

Although Candyman is often lumped in with slashers, like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the first movie is more than a traditional slasher. I recommend the first one as a beautiful love story about the horrors of American racism. It's score is still incredible, the behind the scenes are so interesting, and Tony Todd is absolutely beautiful. Such an amazing actor. (Not so) Fun fact: Tony Todd said in the behind the scenes that there originally was a romantic scene where Helen proclaimed her love for Candyman, but they were forced to cut it, because "they were okay with a tall, black man covered in bees.. but, mm, when it came to a kiss, or something like that, it was a little bit too risque..." ( :/ )

(Please please please watch Candyman)

Then the best, or worst (depending on your views), thing happened to the genre; Scream.

One of the best slashers there is, it isn't the first self referential, meta horror (see Wes Craven's New Nightmare), but it did change the slasher genre for a very long time. It was a revival for the genre, since it was declining in popularity by the early 90s. However, post Scream horror was very meta. See Chucky's personality changing from the occasional funny quip, to Bride of Chucky levels of silly (still love him tho). Of the terrible horror trying to copy Scream, I'd recommend Urban Legend over I Know What You Did Last Summer. It was a shame, just how silly a lot of scary movies got back then, trying to be as smart and self aware as Scream was.

But my favorite (outside of Scream) meta horror slasher film is Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon ❤️ took meta to a whole new level, mockumentary style, a camera crew follows a wannabe slasher killer explaining how to be a slasher icon.

I've watched too many slashers to remember all of them right now, but if you want really meta black comedies, Tucker and Dale vs Evil isn't a slasher but a loving joke on the genre, and the Final Girls made me laugh and cry like a little bitch.

A lot of slashers since the late 90s have drifted closer to the black comedy sub genre. Killers that kill for the sake of killing are often B-rated blood fests, that can be great for mindless fun but not so great for box office gains, especially in our current horror renaissance. Slashers don't fit in to the current horror culture. Serial killers aren't scary for desensitized audiences, and the mindless gore expectations set by older slasher films have created a pretty specific genre setup and pay off (dumb people who only exist to die get brutally murdered). It either has to be B-rated mindless fun (Laid to Rest 1 and 2 had terrible camera work and directing, making even incredible actors like Lena Headey feel lackluster, but the practical effects are so impressive I'd recommend it just for the blood and guts (and bewbs)), or comedic (the Hatchet series has great cameos, genuine laughs, and more impressive practical effects, but with good cinematography and directing (still bewbs)). Slashers that don't lean in to how ridiculous the concept of slashers are and try to take themselves seriously often end up falling short, either creating boring killers with no personality or trying to force a plot into a generic slasher shaped hole.

This does include most remakes of slasher movies, as a lot of slashers were remade in the early 2000's with less interesting characters to be killed off by the slashers. The remake of Candyman was an exception, because even though it wasn't as good as the original, it did go back to it's non slasher roots, learning from the mistake that was the third Candyman.

TLDR:

Non slashers that are considered slashers because of the slasher sequels/iconic murderers:

the Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Candyman

Child's Play

Best Precursor to the genre:

Black Christmas

Popular Classics:

Halloween

Friday the 13th

a Nightmare on Elm St

Pre 90's Slashers that I recommend:

The Dentist

Sleepaway Camp (it's divided on whether it's problematic or interesting representation)

Alice, Sweet Alice

My Bloody Valentine

Post 90's meta commentary/black comedy:

Scream

Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon

Hatchet

The Final Girls

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

There are obviously a lot more, but these are a few off the top of my head ❤️

[ghostboyhood]

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

A boy lays in his bed with headphones on listening to the same song he has been for hours. His eyes are sunken in and he is visibly tired.

The camera pans to the boys face. He sighs, looks directly into the camera, and closes his eyes.

Cut to black.

☆ Name - Ghost / Kurt / Matt

★ Pronouns - He/Him

☆ Sexuality - Queer

★ heyy!! this is mainly a place of whatever my current hyperfixation,, i talk a lot about a lot very incoherently so bear with me..

☆ my dms are open but if you make me uncomfortable ill just block you! i do enjoy talking to people, i just have a rough time starting conversations because i dont want to be annoying.. i also have a very hard time getting my thoughts into coherent sentences.. but dont hesitate to dm or send me an ask !! oh and close moots can ask for my insta <3

★ right now im really into they might be giants!!! im currently watching white collar !!

☆ i love tv show and movie recommendations,, i cant guarantee ill watch it 100% but i bet ill eventually get to it one day.. i plan on watching succession, the good place, and interview with the vampire sometime.. i also love talking about tv shows/movies with people so Pleaseee talk to me about ur interests or my interests or whatever, i luv listening to ppl infodump!!!

★ some other things im into areee - house md, its always sunny in philadelphia, breaking bad, bobs burgers, good omens, all of john mulaneys specials, velvet goldmine, brokeback mountain, rocky horror picture show, saw (2004), fight club, dead poets society, a quiet place (all three), deadpool (+ wolvie), the outsiders (book mostly), many more movies just ask, life is strange, i plan on beginning detroit become human, dan and phil, danny gonzalez, kurtis conner, drew gooden, markiplier, and a lot of other things i just.. havent written down

@faileddog ^ (mona, joel, and i watching american psycho)

☆ i love love love love music with my whole heart,, i listen to most genres but i go through phases of only listening to specific songs/genres/albums/etc

★ my favorite artist is vundabar!! they have been for years now i love them so much

☆ right now ive been in a slight music rut so ive been listening to the same songs over and over on my main playlist i have..

★ some artists i like include - they might be giants, pure sport, ween, the frights, stephen sanchez, my chemical romance, green day, david bowie, nirvana, system of a down, sign crushes motorist/birth day, lord huron, the magnetic fields, alex g, deftones, childish gambino, twist off!, etc etc

☆ if u wanna go listen to any of my playlists ☆

★ hmm what elsee,, im really into punk rock n i go to a lot of punk shows!! concerts are like my favorite thing and ive seen 20+ people live <3

☆ as i said i luv movies, i want to work on movies one day as a cinematographer or maybe even director.. my dream is to make my own movie. i would also like to be a concert photographer because i love photography and yeah!!!

★ ouhh i also love queer history, history in general but mostly queer history.. i love learning about the past and how life was for people.. im mainly intrigued by like the 70s-90s but honestly anything in the 20th century..

☆ i could talk about some of my favorite characters for hours,, i get Really invested in usually one show at a time though so its hard to invest myself in things that arent.. that fixation

★ i dont wanna write down all the guys i like but you'll definitely be able to tell because i wont shut up about them and my reblogs will mostly be them...

☆ credit- @hopelesshardrockfan for my banner

[itsgonnagetinspiringsoon]

ok so i know i've literally never posted abt sanders sides before on this blog (i haven't been keeping up for a few years) but i've been tumbling down a waterslide lined with my old hyperfixations for the last few hours and ended up creating D&D au character designs for the core four sides using heroforge. images and descriptions under the cut if you're interested ❤ bonus points if you can guess what classes they are (this is EXTREMELY self-indulgent so pls forgive the ranting abt them, they're very important to me ok)

First up we have Roman! my beloved. one of my first questions when starting his design was how can i make him look as cunty as possible? the answer: heeled boots and winged eyeliner (It's a little tricky to see but he's got gold metallic eyeliner). I ADORE Roman's colour pallet so i kept it as close to accurate as i could, making white the base colour and accentuating it with the gold armor and the dramatic red shoulder cape as my stand-in for his sash. he's wielding a katana OF COURSE how could he not be. he's slaying ⚔ 🐉 and slaying 💅💋

moving on:

Patton. my baby, my honey, my ragtime gal. i decided to make his hair a little longer than roman's bc i thought it made him look softer and more approachable. it was UNBELIEVABLY hard to find something that sort of replaced his cardigan without looking too chunky but i did like this kind of loose tattered mantle, so i went with that. kept the sky blue shirt and gray cardigan/shawl, but gave him more greyish blue pants so they didn't blend into the shirt too much. glasses are round instead of square bc again i thought they made him look friendlier than the square ones. freckles bc i personally think freckles are very cute and patton is very cute so he got freckles. no shoes he's travelling the realms like the gods intended. the dad vibes are strong i want him to give me a hug 🥺

next up:

logan is quite possibly my favourite side so i really wanted to get his design right. the MOST important thing was giving him his iconic necktie, which ended up being pretty much the same color as his canon design. i couldn't give the tie specifically a pattern, so i made his vest stripy like his tie is in the show and i think it looks really good. his glasses are the more classic nerd ones which is perfect for him and i gave him black eyeliner bc i thought it made him look more serious. i added the coat for more of a d&d look (it doesn't make sense to traverse planes wearing a vest and tie) i think it gives him an extra bit of style that i love.

and last but not least:

the Anxious BoiTM himself (i've only had him for five minutes seven years but if anything happened to him etc etc). virgil's was one of the easiest designs aesthetically and hardest mechanically (you'll never guess what class he is guys i took some BIG swings). I knew i wanted him in black and purple (obviously) and i knew i wanted to give him the iconic purple hair dye and eyeshadow. i almost said screw the genre and put him in a zippered hoodie but i do think that a cloak and cowl would suit him very well (good for hiding in) and i found a combo that looked equally cosy and spooky. a bow is good for attacking long range and keeping out of danger (appropriate for anxiety, i thought) and the mask looks intimidating but actually helps him with sensory overload (with the cowl and mask on he's basically in a mini sensory deprivation bubble). an eyebrow ring bc he's edgy idk why honestly i thought it looked cool.

So that's basically it! As i said before if you can guess their respective classes i'll give you a cookie (🍪). since i can't draw, heroforge is usually my go-to for character creation and i have to recommend it (i think i talk abt this site a lot but 🤷‍♀️) it's so helpful for non-artist types like myself.

I hope you enjoyed! please leave comments if you liked they feed me (if you didn't like it, please just move on and don't let me know, i'm doing this for fun and i don't want any negativity please ❤) @thatsthat24 hope you like 🥰

[defjux]

Hi Chris! I followed you a few years back because you posted a lot of Jazz and Hip Hop but I know you're into other genres as well. I've been trying to branch out a bit and you seem like a good person to ask for recommendations, so I was wondering if maybe you could post some of your favorite band/artists currently or anything you'd recommend? Any genre is fine! Love your blog btw, glad to see you're still on here :) Cheers!

thanks for the kind words anon, always nice to feel like the time i've spent on here wasn't a complete waste. sorry it took a few days to respond to this, but i wanted to give a more in depth answer. i can throw out some recommendations for sure, i basically just went through my last.fm from the last year and added all the non hip hop / jazz stuff to a list. you didn't mention if you were into metal or hardcore at all and there's quite a bit of that on here, but if you're not interested in that let me know and i can suggest some other stuff. i'm not a genre expert or anything but i did my best to give a brief description, so maybe if you end up liking one of these artists it'd be easier to find something similar. also a good chance you might be familiar with some of the ones that are more hip hop adjacent. you can also click the name of the artist and it'll take you to an album i recommend on bandcamp or spotify. i'd also be down to do another one of these later if you want, you can even hit me up off anon if you want. i appreciate you and i hope you're doing well! peace.

tried to make this as neat as i could so i put it in alphabetical order and made it a read more. 1. 10th Letter (Electronic/Jazz/Hip hop - Underappreciated producer, if you’re a fan of Flying Lotus you’d probably like this) 2. Alvvays (Indie Pop / Dream Pop) 3. At the Drive-In (Post-Hardcore, Relationship of Command is my favorite album in the genre) 4. Autonoesis (Thrash Metal / Black Metal) 5. Birds in Row (Post-Hardcore / Screamo) 6. Blood Command (Poppy Post-Hardcore/Alt Rock. Not a huge fan of their new vocalist, but the previous album and EP with Karina are both fantastic) 7. Boris (Drone, Stoner Rock, Noise Rock, Sludge, Post-Rock, Crust Punk – depends heavily on the album. ) 8. Bruno Pernadas (Progressive Jazz Fusion Art Pop) 9. Brutus (Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal, Stefanie is one of my favorite vocalists right now) 10. The Callous Daoboys (Mathcore) 11. Chelsea Wolfe (Darkwave / Gothic Rock / Doom Metal / Dark Folk) 12. Cibo Matto - (Art Pop / Trip Hop) 13. Cleric (Avant-Garde Metal / Mathcore / Brutal Prog) 14. Cloud Rat (Grindcore / Punk) 15. Converge (Metallic Hardcore, another all time favorite band.) 16. Cult of Luna (Atmospheric Sludge Metal / Post-Metal) 17. The Dillinger Escape Plan (Mathcore, top 5 band of all time for me) 18. Dragged Into Sunlight (Blackened Death / Doom Metal) 19. Dreamwell (Screamo/Post-Hardcore) 20. Every Time I Die (Southern-fried Metalcore / Mathcore, an all time favorite of mine) 21. Fievel is Glauque (Jazz Pop / Progressive Pop) 22. Genesis Owusu (Hip Hop/Neo-Soul/Funk/Post-Punk - all over the place in a good way) 23. Gospel (Blend of 70s Prog Rock with Screamo/Post-hardcore, with their 2022 album being a lot more of the former but still very good.) 24. Greyhaven (Metalcore / Post Hardcore - one of the few bands i know of carrying the torch for that Southern-tinged Metalcore sound since Every Time I Die split) 25. Grouper (Ambient/drone, folk and dream pop influences)

26. Hiatus Kaiyote (Psychedelic Neo-soul / Nu-Jazz) 27.  Ichiko Aoba (Minimalistic Ambient Folk) 28. Imperial Triumphant (Avant-Garde Black Metal fused with Jazz) 29. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard (Foundation of their sound is pretty much Psychedelic Rock but they pull from all over the musical spectrum. Last album even had a couple tracks with rapping, hard band to classify. It’d be easier to list the rock subgenres they haven’t dabbled in) 30. Knoll (Grindcore / Death Grind) 31. Krallice (Avant-Garde Black Metal) 32. Liv.e (Neo-Soul / Alternative R&B) 33. Massa Nera (Post-Hardcore / Screamo / Post-Rock) 34. Maudlin of the Well (Avant-Garde Progressive Metal - Also check Kayo Dot) 35. Messa (Doom Metal) 36. Misþyrming (Black Metal) 37. Ne Obliviscaris (Progressive Black Metal with violin except it’s actually tasteful and doesn’t feel gimmicky) 38. Neptunian Maximalism (Avant-Garde Jazz/Drone/Noise/Industrial.. like Swans meets Sun Ra meets John Zorn’s Electric Masada. These guys also have some of the best album artwork out there.) 39. The Ocean (Progressive Metal / Sludge - mainly on the earlier albums) 40. Oranssi Pazuzu (Avante Garde Psychedelic Black Metal) 41. Os Mutantes (Brazilian Psych Rock) 42. Otoboke Beaver (Noisy, High energy Hardcore / Garage Punk from Japan, very fun band) 43. Panopticon (Atmospheric Black Metal with some Bluegrass and Folk influences) 44. Protomartyr (I think I like these guys the most out of all the newer Post-Punk bands) 45. Rolo Tomassi (Mathcore, Post-Metal, Post-Hardcore) 46. Senza (Blackened Screamo/Mathcore. Chaotic in a way that reminds me of Jerome’s Dream a bit.) 47. Sigh (Black Metal, Avant-Garde Metal, Progressive Metal) 48. Soul Glo (Noisy Hardcore Punk, 2022 album incorporated some more hip hop elements and even had rap features. Shout out to McKinley Dixon who used to be on tumblr waaay back about a decade ago.) 49.  Spiritbox (Alt Metal / Djent / Metalcore) 50. Stereolab  (Space Age Pop mixed with Lounge Music and Krautrock) 51. Sudan Archives (Alternative R&B, Art Pop / Neo-Soul) 52. Tim Hecker (Ambient / Drone) 53. toe (Japanese Math Rock / Post-Rock - Kashikura Takashi is one of the greatest drummers ever.) 54. Tómarúm (Progressive Technical Melodic Black Metal) 55. Tricot (J-Rock / Math Rock / Pop) 56. Tropical Fuck Storm (Punk-Blues, Noise Rock) 57. U.S. Girls (Psychedelic Pop / Art Pop) 58. Ulcerate (Technical Death Metal) 59. Ultha (Atmospheric Black Metal) 60. Vanishing Twin ( Neo-Psychedelic Art Pop, check if you like Stereolab or Broadcast) 61. Wake (Black Metal / Tech Death / Sludge - Grindcore on the early releases) 62. Weyes Blood (Baroque Pop / Art Pop) 63. White Ward (Black Metal / Blackgaze /Dark Jazz) 64. Wormrot (Grindcore) 65. Yves Tumor (Unique sound blending Neo-Psych / Soul / Glam Rock /  Hypnagogic Pop + some Sound Collage / Ambient stuff as well on earlier albums)

[neocoffeecafe]

thank you to @daydreamingyuta for tagging me, love !!

get to know me !!!

do you make your bed? hehe no i dont. it’s always ready for me for bed, though !!

what is your favorite number? i’m gonna be honest i dont have one !! as an nctzen i do naturally go ballistic when i see 127, but i don’t have one specifically !!

what is your job? i work in a restaurant ! i am the expediter, the person who takes out the food. i really enjoy it, and i would recommend it

if you could go back to school, would you? yes! i am actually working for college to do some basic classes and to take art classes

can you parallel park? living in a small town where most of the parking is parallel, ive gotten pretty good at it

a job you had that would surprise people? nope! my job at this restaurant was my first and i am still employed there :)

do you think aliens are real? i like to believe that farther away our galaxy there are other civilizations just like us, alternate realities could even be real too. theres just so much out there the possibilities are endless! but yes, i do believe they can exist just not on earth

can you drive a manual car? LOL i can hardly drive an automatic

whats your guilty pleasure? causing trouble in online games to make people angry LOL

tattoos? NOOO but i want to get some so badly !! i want to get three cardinals on my back for the three men in my life that ive lost. my uncle, grandfather, and my other grandfather that i never could’ve met but wished i would’ve. i want to get stars on my knuckles and i want to get a saturn somewhere, unsure where, i was thinking my shoulder area ! i was also thinking about getting a tattoo of luxray, my favorite pokemon. but i would like to get tons of tattoos in the future !! i’m just super nervous because i have the worst pain tolerance ever

favorite color? i have more than one! blue, black, white, silver, and rose gold are my favorites !!

favorite type of music? i literally listen to anything and everything !! genres honestly dont exist to me anymore, if i like what i listen to i will like it and save it if not i wont ! i have over 7,000 songs on my liked songs and still counting !! i have a playlist for new releases/comebacks and new music in general, it’s SOOO outdated and i am VERY behind on it but i will literally listen to anything

do you like puzzles? yeah i do ! my favorite is word search

any phobias? OH MY GOD YES I AM SCARED OF AIR ATP !! insects, dark, thunderstorms (i love them but at the same time i’m terrified I KNOW IM WEIRD !!) theres more i just can’t remember them atm LOL. AI AND ROBOTS !! i HATE ai and robots

favorite childhood sport? t-ball LOL

do you talk to yourself? yeah LOL teachers in the past have made fun of me for talking to myself while doing things, sometimes i think better talking to myself

what movie(s) do you adore? NIMONA !!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE THAT MOVIE i watched it for the first time like a month ago and i’ve seen it about seven times

coffee of tea? OK SUE ME !! both. i love red diamond sweet tea and drink it religiously, but i say yes to both because i do like coffee, but it has to be doctored up… a LOT. i like getting the starbucks glass caramel frappe thing and the mcdonads caramel frappe. it has to be that type of coffee, i don’t like any others

first thing you wanted to be growing up? i’ve always wanted to be an artist! always always. my goal is to now become a concept artist, for video games specifically. preferably character concept design !! for companies like riot, hoyoverse, even nintendo, etc.

hmm i wasnt sure who to tag so i closed my eyes and picked two lol! @phoxphenex and @mrkis !! no pressure you don’t have to !!

[rottingwaysofmisery]

Tutorial for Exploring Metal

New to the genre? Already familiar and just curious? Regardless, I’m here to give a short guide and some tips. Mind you this isn’t a strict thing, more so some suggestions and some (hopefully) helpful advice!

Genres

Now, you might be under the impression that genres are stupid, but in a lot of people’s experiences those labels can be very helpful when describing and finding what sounds you like and don’t like. You want something with keyboards with spooky church organs or choir-like effects? Maybe something more Gothic might be up your alley!

I’m not going to go and describe every genre for you, I’d rather you give a listen and learn the history of genres and to form your own opinions. Wikipedia, despite its flaws, can be a very helpful resource for learning the history of genres and getting at least a vague idea of what a genre might sound like. Hell, you might even find a new band you like out of the bands mentioned on a given genre’s article.

Also, remember, this is all made-up and held only by consensus, form your own opinions on what a genre is and isn’t! It’s okay! Even if someone might call you stupid for your opinion, as long as you’re educated on the history you’re still going to have an understandable opinion.

If someone ever asks you what the first black metal band is, and you say could say “Venom”, and someone might disagree with you and say “No, it’s Bathory”, but those disagreements are okay and neither of you would be objectively wrong. Hell, you’re even allowed to disagree with me and say that these genres ARE objective. Just don’t be a dick about it and you’ll be fine.

Useful Tools

I already mentioned Wikipedia, but that’s not going to be your best resource. Your best resource is going to be the Metal Archives website. Now, one thing I must warn you about before you use it. They don’t allow any bands that they deem to have more non-metal influence than metal influence, because to them it all starts at the riff. If they have one album that is predominately original metal riffs, then it is going to be accepted. What is a metal riff? It’s a “You know it when you hear it” kinda thing. If you hate that, I’m not the one who designed the website. Essentially what this means is that Nu Metal, most metalcore or deathcore bands, “kawaii metal” (as in babymetal, babybeard type stuff), vkei with metal elements (Dir En Grey), industrial rock (KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails), whatever Primus is, Prog Rock (Tool), are not allowed on the archives. Also, please understand that a band being deemed non-metal has nothing to do with the quality or aesthetic of the band, it just means they don’t think they have any albums or releases with predominately original metal riffs.

With that out of the way, let me explain why the website is useful as a tool.

1. If you decide you like a band that also happens to be on the Metal Archives, then it’s going to have a “Similar Artists” tab, which will recommend bands that other people have voted to be similar to that specific band. (Mind you this isn’t completely reliable, for instance, Danzig is at the top of Type O Negative’s Similar Artists tab and they have very few similarities).

2. The forums have a section dedicated JUST to recommendations! It’s called “Recommendation Central”, and if you make an account you can post and ask about recommendations for bands of specific sounds and genres.

3. Avoiding problematic bands. I will elaborate further in the next part.

Avoiding Bigotry

This is a huge concern for people getting into metal, I’ll give some tips on things to avoid.

1. Avoid anything labelled NSBM (National Socialist Black Metal) or RAC (Rock against Communism), as both are heavily associated with white supremacist music.

2. Look at the “Themes” portion of the Metal Archives page for a given band, if it says some shit like “Misogyny”, “White Supremacy”, or “Antisemitism”, then you’ll know to throw it in the garbage.

3. Do a simple google search. I’m serious, sometimes people will make entire write-ups about everything that’s problematic about a band.

4. If you’re really paranoid, look for the lyrics of individual songs before you go and add them to your playlists. Often times albums on the Metal Archives will have lyrics.

If you really loved a band, deep dive into them. My two favorite bands are Type O Negative and Death, and yet I could absolutely infodump about everything wrong those bands have done. 

Don’t be afraid to consider your own values and principles, if a band has problematic themes or a problematic background consider how it might make the people around you feel if you listened to them, especially promoting the music openly. Consider things like, if the musician(s) behind the music project is/are dead, does it matter? If the art is the problem, do I only listen to the songs that aren’t the problem? If the music is bigoted against my identity and I am personally okay with listening to it, does that make it okay? If I am okay recommending a band with problematic themes or backgrounds to another person, should I warn them what they’re about to get into? If I’m okay with listening to music with problematic themes, where do I draw the line, if I even do?

I’m not going to tell you what you ought to think, I just want you to develop your own thoughts and feelings.

With all that said, I will say. If you listen to and/or promote music with White Supremacist themes literally fucking DNI with me. I don’t want to make friends with NSBM fans.

That’s all! Happy Listening!!

[im-just-kinda-here-k]

11 and 12 for the ask game?

11: fave piece of lgbt media?

Off the top of my head there's owl house (fun fact I dont got Disney plus so I watched the whole dang series through YouTube clips and episode analysis. I should just suck it up and go torrent it but ough) another one I'm a fan of is cosmic wonders. An in-progress anime type thing made by p.m. seymour. The gist of it is that God, known as chronoa, decided to make a fucc ton of celestial spirits, who design whatever celestial body she tells them to. Then when they're finished, they are gifted special powers that symbolically represent their associated celestial body. (Ex. The lunar spirit Cyana can summon magic shield bc the moon protects earth from meteors)

The series takes place on earth, with the main cast being a band/fighting group that is working to raise awareness of earth's non human population (beast folk, mermaids, elves, a few immigrants from other planets in the solar system) as well as encouraging their acceptance. The villains are the black suit corp, a government organization turned terrorist group who want anything non-human dead. I highly recommend u watch the pilot and episode 1, + check out the fandom wiki aaand im gonna cut myself short before this post gets any longer.

12: fave lgbt artist?

That would have to be The Stupendium! I'm not exactly sure what genre their music be considered to be, but every single one is timeless like you literally can't get sick of it. If you haven't seen their music the best way I can describe it is if ur friend in middle school who made minecraft parodies went professional, most songs are based on a specific game like stray or tf2 and it's works perfectly each time.

[magicalyaku]

I had to write like three emails this month and am left thoroughly drained to write anything else at all. x_x Apart from that, though, my January was actually pretty good. I finally talked my coworker into getting the snowboard trophy in Tales of Vesperia for me because I failed horribly at it and it was the last one missing for Platinum. My friend and I spent like 3 hours thinking up the plot for an entire novel because I complained that books are always about that but never about this. Aaand I got a new bookshelf! So let's fill it up!

In Love with Adam (Liam Erpenbach): This is by a German author whose newer book "Solange wir die Sterne sehen" I read a few months ago. I liked this one a bit better. It's not quite as heavy (no sick boyfriends) but still reasonably serious. Funnily, I found the writing style of this easier to read than his second book. In return, the pacing is bit wonky. I'll keep an eye open for the author's next book! (I'd actually like to read more local authors. :I)

If this gets out (Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich): This one was ... long. Not that it was boring or bad. But for what happenend I think it could have done with a few pages less. I'm also not totally sold on the "two authors writing one story in alternating points of view"-thing. While they claim in the afterword that the other author captured the characters oh so well in their respective chapters I would not fully agree. They did sometimes feel a little off. If I had to choose betweeen rereading this or Kiss & Tell, I'd choose the latter. :'D

Hell followed with us (Andrew J. White): Now this was something. It's the sort of "I have a vision and I'm going with it all the way to the far end no matter what you say", which earns my full respect. While I wouldn’t say I loooved the book, it sure was really good and I had great time (as much as you can have if everyone is dying). I liked the characters and they deserve all the happiness they can get! :( I just wonder how much of the story and the imagery I missed. There's a lot of Bible quotes in there - would it have made for a different reading experience if I had actually touched a Bible in my life? Also my ability to visualise things in my mind is very limited, so all the gruesome gorey stuff? Can hardly affect me. But it also made it harder to track Benji's descent (ascent?) to monsterhood. Good book. And that cover!

The Circus Infinite (Khan Wong): I rarely read true science-fiction, even though I like the genre in other media. Not quite sure why. Maybe it's also partly because of my lack of visualisation. It's hard work. :'D The Circus was a little hard for me as well, but you get pretty close to the main character Jes at least and that helps. Most of the others stay a bit underdeveloped though. The love interest for instance? I don't think he had much going on except being "perfect". 8D But to their credit, that really wasn't the point of the story. The romance was really healthy though, which is a big bonus point with Jes being ace. A year ago I read Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland. I hated the romance in there and got so annoyed in the beginning already because the ace main character works or is expected to work as a pleasure artist and they spent so much time talking about sex and I was like “Why do you think I wanted to read an ace book?! You’re talking more about it than any other book I ever read!! D:” Of course, Jes ends up on a “pleasure” planet as well and has to visit a sex club in the course of the story. He’s also an empath and can suss other people’s horniness among other feelings which makes it even harder for him. But all of that was handled much better and more organically than in Black Door, so I didn’t mind it. There’s also a lot of real adventure going on that revolves around other things. Recommended.

Carry On (Simon Snow 1) (Rainbow Rowell): Finally something light and easy! As always, I was in need of a fantasy story, so after years I finally caved and borrowed this from the library. It was fun! There's only one thing to nitpick (careful, long rant ahead): My personal preference of points of view. I don't like first-person. I strongly dislike alternating first-person. Do I still read a lot of it? Yes. Because I've gotten a whole lot more tolerant during the past two years (I ditched so many books before because of their first-person narrators. :'D) But if I held on to that I'd read like three books a year. If the writing is decent enough, I can accept a lot. But I grew up on third-person, and am also German, so I complain! Take Bone Weaver by Aden Polydoros. First-person for the heroine only. We don't get anything that happens between the boys while she's not looking and it sucks! D: Hell followed with us has three points of view. Main narrator is Ben in first-person, but there's also Nick and Theo who get third-person. Mixing things up like that is so weird to me, especially since they only get 3 chapters in the whole book! Like, if a character only gets to narrate a single chapter, is it even worth to put in? Surprisingly to myself my answer is yes. It still feels weird, but I appreciate very much the inclusion of these chapters and wish Bone Weaver would have done the same. Now there's Simon Snow. And I lost count on how many people are narrating. Six? I accomodated to it as the story progressed and everyone actually got more involved. But ... Do I really need 4 perspective changes within the span of one kiss? (No.) :I I wish third-person would get popular again. The infinite possibilities it holds. u_u But I try to be a tolerant person and not let that spoil my enjoyment of the book. Will be picking up the other volumes soon!

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley (Shaun David Hutchinson): I read the author's latest book Howl last month and now one of his oldest and I'm glad that I read them in that order! Because in Howl there's a lot of shitty people and bad stuff happening. In Five Stages of Andrew, there's still bad people (but they are “out there” away from the story) and bad shit happening but there's also a lot of nice people. Like genuinely nice people. It kinda rebuilds my hope in humanity. xD It’s also smart as usual and there are comic pages inside! It’s a really nice book indeed and yes, it made me cry.

I complained before how many of the books I read lack the balls to do really mean things to the main characters (there are some stragglers of course, looking at you, Mason Deaver), and I'm honestly not really good with bad stuff either. I like to know that things will be okay in the end. But. It makes you love them more, doesn't it? My favourite books of all times, the one I worship and adore, is an old German children’s book Die Katze Leonore (”Leonore, the cat”) about a kitten that gets abandoned because her fur is black unlike her siblings. And really bad stuff happens to her (she loses a paw and later dies). I bawled my eyes out when I read it the first time as a kid. And it made me love that cat and every cat in the world. My friends are always baffled when I laugh out loud about funny books even in public. But I’ll cry easily too when they’re sad. Those stay a lot longer in the heart. So come on, my books, give me feels this year as well, please. uAu

[something-named-vexxie]

"Just finished crying, have decided I won’t let a stranger that knows nothing about me or the way I process things make me cry again ☝️

Yall will NEVER be playing with me its over 😈

#i say this and its bouta happen again just watch lmao#fuckin bullies bruh i should be immune to yall by now#9-10 years and not being used to it is insane!!!#this is a vent post#please ignore this"

i really dont think this is the right takeaway to have. you went to a post about jazz music, which was pioneered by black people, just to talk about a pop song made white people. its like trying to buy clothes at the soup store. imagine talking about rock music and someone mentions bach in the notes. a song wont be considered jazz Just because it uses a saxophone. theres more that goes into genre categorization. like a guitar or bass wont make something automatically a rock song obviously, no one deserves to get bullied and im sorry you cried and felt any sort of stress for what happened. but i dont think "fuck them haters" is the right takeaway to have in this specific situation. what happened was you missing the point of what OP said OP responded with "you dont have to interact with this post if youre going to say that." thats mild criticism, not bullying a better takeaway would be "oh, looks like i dont understand what jazz music is. i could do some research and listen to actual jazz music to get a better understanding." bc youd be learning from a mistake youve made. instead of something that sounds defensive as "wow OP knows NOTHING about me." i have RSD (a symptom of adhd), so criticism can be a tough pill to swallow sometimes. but learning to accept it will let you grow into a better person. if you want to listen to some jazz artists, i recommend ray charles, cab calloway, louis armstrong, ella fitzgerald, lena horne, billie holliday, dizzy gillespie, miles davis, and john coltrane. i hope you have a nice rest of the day :)

Oh shit my bad, thank you for this information, i didnt know it had anything to do with race. I see why it came across as offensive, I’m sorry about that

I still feel like OP could’ve been a bit nicer instead of just telling me to “Get a grip” with no further explanation. I could’ve probably thought it through and made a rational response, but I can’t do that most of the time, so I just assumed the quote I used was somehow secretly really rude when I was just trying to agree while apologizing for not knowing shit in the tags (and I was right on accident unfortunately, I’m sorry)

I was trying to figure out what was wrong but didn’t get anywhere, so I kinda dumbed it down to pure bitchery and put it with the other stuff I’ve dealt with and that’s on me. (I’m not gonna use any of this as an excuse, but I’d also like to say that specific post I made wasn’t specifically about OP, it was mostly a general thing I decided after reflecting for a bit that understandably looks bad with only 1 of 50 contexts, sorry)

Shoutout to whoever this observant anon is, I would’ve been up all night for years trying to figure out what I did wrong! Sorry about that jazzy OP. And I will happily check out those artists, thank you <3

Have a delectably nutriocios rest of your day too, sorry if my initial post made you uncomfortable or mad ^^

[she-toadmask]

hii i saw ur reblog about rap recommendations so i wanted to give u some :3 sorry that this is a fat rant loll i had a lot of thoughts. individual songs r in brackets

if u like the clearly enunciated internet rap-style but wanted to branch out into black artists, i would say childish gambino is a good place to start! he has a lot of popular songs and is a safe bet to play if someone asks u .my fave song of his is '3005', but a lot of his popular and before the internet album is similar :> others like him r tyler the creator (song: see you again) and and joey bada$$ (love is only a feeling)

if u like songs for lyricism then i would fs rec kendrick lamar. theres a reason so many call him the goat (its bc hes one of the goats) - he also was the first rapper to win a pulitzer in music. my faves from him r dna, humble, pride, pretty much anything off of the damn album, but also auntie diaries is good too! to pimp a butterfly is a great listen if u have the patience and attention span bc it has an underlying story

if u like stuff because of the sound/samples/vibe, 90s/00s rap is a good way to go and pretty much universally loved!! personally i love lauryn hill, (and her most famous song that thing is a good place to start bc its got some good soul elements); ermm other artists that are good as backing tracks while u do other stuff would be doom and 'a tribe called quest' which, again, u can just play their most popular songs. alot of them r famous enough that u may have heard them before anyway (individual recs would be 'rapp snitches' 'one beer' 'buggin out', 'can i kick it') also frank ocean (super rich kids)

if u want fun upbeat songs then ice cubes 'it was a good day' or any of megan thee stallion's most popular is good. mainstream female rappers will usually have songs that r fun and uplifting for workouts/kareoke/aux with friends

basically rap like all genres is entirely up to preference, usually u'll like someones flow or not. ik you said u didnt like whole artist recomendations but legitimately anything by 2pac is great and hes everyone's favourite ever so its good to know at least his most popular (california love) .. . other than that just listen to whatever comes on the radio!! you'll like it or you woint but rap is diverse enough that something will catch ur eye

fanks for reading if u got this far ;3

Thank you so much for this anon

[media-search]

Pinned Post

This is a blog for recommending media. Almost any media at all. Whether you need examples for a college paper, an AMV, or would just like something to read. This is your one stop shop.

Rules:

1. No media bashing.

2. Any media can be submitted because a) People may be asking for examples of things for school work. Op may need to reference a media that is problematic because it is problematic. b) I'm not policing what media people submit, but I am definitely blocking people who harass people for their submissions.

3. Only thing we do not allow is explicitly pornographic material. Ex: Jada Fire Is SquirtWoman 3 (2007) or Bible Black (2006) (I just googled porn movies and I haven't seen a hentai since I was 16 sorry). R rated material with explicit scenes or themes are allowed.

4. Trigger Warnings are only requested if the piece of media doesn't have a profile on Does the Dog Die. Just add the link to it in the suggestion, please.

4. Indie and non-Usamerican centric media/requests are more than welcome!

How to request recommendations:

You can send an ask or submit a post stating the following:

1. What you need. Why is optional.

2. What you already have if you don't want repeats.

And optional:

3. What you don't want.

You can he as detailed or as vague as you'd like. You don't have to be spesific, but don't be so vague that people can't really tell what you're looking for.

Examples can be anything from: "I'm looking for examples of pregnancy loss in music, books, or games for a college paper. I already have a movie and a television show: The Time Travelers Wife (2009) and This is Us (2016-2022). I do not want anything else from before 2012." to "I'm looking for new artists to listen to. I listen to a lot of pop but am a little open to other genres."

Have fun and I hope you find what you're looking for!

[n0stalgicv0id]

Hello Angel ! I’m sorry it took so long for me to reply, I just woke up actually 💔🍓 !

I’m not studying German no, I’m studying English actually ! That’s really sweet how curious you are about me, I’m the same towards you really since I’ve rarely heard of someone who was into literature, especially such specific types in the same way I was- It’s refreshing ! And it makes for good conversation!

I’m happy you find comfort in Otello. It’s truly particular but a undeniable masterpiece- What is the book about ? Tell me everything 🍓 A dear friend of mine loves Moomins so I know what it is ! It looks extremely cozy, I should give it a watch / read !

Gothic literature is amazing, one of my favorite genres probably. My favorite book happens to be Wuthering Heights actually, I don’t know if you’ve read it ? 🍓

Don’t apologize for the pics really, I’m already grateful you took the time to show them to me, they’re perfect ! Do you happen to study music ? Or have any plan in doing so ? Please do tell me, if you want to of course !

Mmmh as French artists I listen to I would recommend "Trop beau" by Lomepal and "Je suis Malade" by Lara Fabian, two of my favorite songs 🫶 Do recommend me some music as well, I’m not too well versed into the emo genre haha !

Don’t worry, I was sleeping myself and I just opened my eyes.

When I was younger I didn’t appreciate literature, I started getting more into it after seeing and reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. At the time there was this girl in my class who was extremely smart, she was deeply into pink floyd and queen. I clearly remember how hungry she was for black and white movies, her passion towards science and I liked to listen to her. But clearly that at some point the madness won over her. She changed school and in general people misunderstood her, you know how vicious children can be. After that event I decided to improve myself and start reading more. I don’t have a certain reason but maybe to some extent she inspired me to improve.

The book it’s mostly a summary of the life of these two women who live together, it talks about their daily life in Finland. Both of them are eccentric, one is an artist who has tons of ideas/hobbies but never finish anything. And the other one is deeply into movies. All the chapters tell a different story and I found it extremely curious and refreshing, even though I prefer other genres but I like reading all kinds of books.

Of course I know Wuthering heights! I love Emily Brontë, especially her poetry. I always have with me a tiny book with her poems when I need to refresh my mind when I’m in the midst of creating. But my eternal appreciation for Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allan Poe is greater than anything else.

I study music to some extent. I have a vocal coach and I’m taking piano classes. Actually with maestro I was referring to my mother’s fiancé. He’s a well affirmed lyrical singer and I enjoy to talk to him when I feel troubled. As we are both artists in our own way we understand each other. I have a lot of questions and I think he’ll resolve all my current concerns. After I finish my current studies I want to try to enroll in a music conservatory. Maybe I’ll become like the Phantom of the Opera and start living under a theater - obviously a joke, I’m just having fun.

Thanks for your recommendations, I’ll let you know when I listen to them! <3

[notebookmusical]

Hi! I'm sorry you're still not feeling well. It seems like it really sucks I hope you were still able to have a good and fun weekend with your friend though! I hope the new medication helped as well but from your latest update, it seems like it didn't. Aww I really hope you feel better before your birthday and the holidays coming up. I've never had black forest cake I don't think..or is that the one with cherry filling in the middle? If it is, then I have and I think it's yummy too. I do love Oreo cake, vanilla, and just plain chocolate or double chocolate. But I have a lot of favorite desserts too..but it's mostly brownies and cookies. I like chocolate chip and double chocolate and ice cream but I don't love it when it's cold. I've never had tiramisu I don't think though.

I want need to be released too but mostly just cuz all of the girls was already released so I hope it is and it is like False God. I think cuz it sounds so different from any Taylor song to me. When I first heard it, I think it sounded more like a Selena Gomez song..maybe in the verses more than Taylor..but I do love how Taylor shows her vocals in the song and I do know other people love it a lot. The only thing about that is then it would be technically the last rerecording to be released and idk if it should end with that but I do see how it kinda works. Unless she puts out an eras rerecording doc or something as a thank you for the tour, then it would be the next best thing. I do still like to play it around Christmas sometimes. She also has a show on her birthday next year so that's exciting enough too.

Haha wow. I actually listen to something new like everyday so I could never get burnt out on new music haha. Basically my sister has a long drive everyday so we pick a new album to listen to everyday and kinda have a theme for each week based on genres. That's how I discover so much new music and we add a few songs to a big hours long playlist all year and play it near the end of the year haha and then we will pick our favorites. Obviously if it's an artist I really like, I play their albums for at least a week. I also play a lot of recommended radio so that's how I find new artists too. So what's your top artists and songs for Spotify wrapped since it came out? I think there's an equivalent with apple music if you use that. But I'm so excited to know and I will add anything you recommend to my list. I wasn't really surprised..obviously Taylor was my top artist lol but I feel like it also matters how long an album is and for top songs it's how much a certain song will play on your recommended radio and if you let it play. Oh I forgot about those but will listen eventually of course..along with the fruitcake EP soon.

As for books, I'll have to work on my list and I can tell you what I'll be reading more specifically later. Sorry it's just not something I'm focused on right now but I did find a few more books to add to my list recently so idk and I'm always looking for new recommendations too so I'll look at your post whenever its updated. Oh that's so cool and exciting. I've recently getting more educated on the publishing world which sounds exhausting so that's actually pretty cool. I honestly haven't read Hunger Games in a long time but that sounds like a pretty good plan if you get to it.

Oh I like her music but I'm not sure she would fit as Eurydice..cuz her voice is too soft almost? Thanks for the link! I will go thru it later and give my full opinion. Oh I mentioned a doc about the rerecordings earlier but would absolutely love this too! Beyonce had a little bit of this in her movie which I thought was really cool and made it different than eras. She would talk for a few minutes about something that would kinda lead into the next song so the transitions were pretty smooth and didn't distract from the show. Also it's always very cool to see her talking and share stuff from her personal life which we don't get to see as much. I'm pretty sure she didn't cut anything either which was impressive! I couldn't help comparing it to Eras but more so in a fun way cuz I love both of them and you can really see how much artistry and care they put in the work and that's a really cool thing to see. Taylor also supported Beyonce at her premiere just like how Beyonce did for her and I loved her dress so much..it was really on theme haha. I also paid attention to the sets and it's something I have to pay more attention to in the eras movie again. Another cool thing Beyonce's movie did was show all the different outfits she would wear for a certain song and I kinda wish eras movie did that now lol. Also Beyonce showed all her special guest performances in her movie too. It was kinda cool cuz it was almost set up in eras too but in a different way I guess cuz it wasn't by era..but she did start from the beginning of her career and mixed in a few songs. Also her opening songs started out slower in the show but I think that's pretty typical of Beyonce..like she gets more energetic as the show goes on. She also did not sing a song from every album..there was nothing from Lemonade but that's also a personal album for her or maybe didn't fit this show. But she sang every song from Renaissance and somehow made them work in the order of the album...and she even included the performance of songs she only sang at a few shows. I think seeing it was fun too cuz I didn't know the full show as well as eras even if I saw a few clips online and having it professionally recorded helps a lot too. Even if you don't love her music, it's definitely worth a watch at some point.

I do think it was cool of her to sing it for the end of the year and cuz there's a bit of a break on tour and I agree with how it makes her feel. I just think the chorus could be better cuz she repeats the same lyrics or used thing more than once and I don't love the melody but some people love it. Its just there to me and some songs are just like that I guess. I feel similarly about Illicit Affairs but I like it on tour and maybe even Off the top of my head, the first two opening nights had the best songs! Mirrorball and Tim McGraw and State of Grace and This is me trying but i would probably pick night two. Another one would be the eras movie pick or I Can See You and I think Maroon? Also Getaway Car and Maroon! I got pretty lucky with Right where you Left Me and Castles Crumbling too!!! I liked yours too! What about you?

Aside from seeing the Renaissance movie, I also got a haircut after a long time which was nice. I will probably also be busy for the next few weeks just letting you know. The end of the year is always stressful to me so I'm sorry if I don't reply as much. I hope your weekend with your friend was still fun! Happy Monday and I hope you have a great week!!! 🩷

hi friend!! it was one of the best weekends ever, i think — just something that i very much needed + very good for my soul, but i am very tired and just quite sad now! long distance friendships are so so hard :( i've mostly been feeling a bit better aside from my voice which just does not want to return to me for some reason!! but that's okay — the good news, is that it gives me an excuse to not be super super social at the work party on wednesday (which i'm lowkey dreading haha).

and yes! black forest cake is the one with cherry in the middle — i don't really like cherry, but i do loveeee black forest cake for some reason! i am not a huge fan of super sweet sweets (and often, brownies are too sweet for my taste) but one of my friends has been talking to me about brownies all week and now i really really want one. i think i'm going to try to get one on wednesday when i go to my work party as a pre-party treat, actually! tiramisu is delicious — if you like coffee (i don't know if you do, actually — i don't think we've talked about coffee! do you like coffee? what's your coffee order?) which i do!

i would love love love more BTS for eras and the rerecordings! i just think all of that is so interesting, i want to know about the costumes + the thought behind the dive, the choreography, why the piano is painted with those flowers, why debut was cut from the setlist :(, whose idea it was for those very specific visuals, etc. i just want to know everything!

there is an apple music equivalent — it's called apple replay! my top 5 artists were: the 1975, taylor, holly humberstone, maisie, and sabrina carpenter — but replay also gives you your top 15, so here are the rest of them: inhaler, gracie abrams, the japanese house, noah kahan, beabadoobee, del water gap, olivia rodrigo, lizzy mcalpine, haim and charli xcx! and my most listened to songs are: oh caroline, happiness, if you're too shy (let me know), lost the breakup, body better, me & you together song, you're just a boy (and i'm kinda the man), the good witch, about you, i'm in love with you, pressure, menswear, scarlett, heart out and the sound! which is so funny because i don't even remember listening to a good half of these that much (probably in the first half of the year). my most listened to albums were: the good witch, emails i can't send fwd, notes on a conditional form, the good witch (deluxe), speak now (taylor's version), paint my bedroom black, reputation, barbie the album, the 1975 (deluxe), guts, cuts & bruises, i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, good riddance, in the end it always does and midnights (3 am edition)!

and you don't need to apologize — just know i'm excited for your favorites when you have them! i will try to figure out my list as well! and ahhh, the renaissance film sounds so so good! i'm excited to watch it when i get a chance to 🤍

and yeah, i have a really hard time picturing her as eurydice! but i think she'd be a great girl in once, if she ever did that!

tied together with a smile was my favoriteeeee. it just means so much to me as a song, and i'm so so glad i got to hear it! honestly i really lucked out with my songs — and i think everyone that i went with was really happy (my friend bailey loves ttwas too, my friend mansi got a reputation song night 1 — this is why we can't have nice things, etc.)! just very special! very lovely evening. i'd loveeee to hear mirrorball, or anything debut though. i'm really just manifesting something from debut for my mom :")

and no worries about replying either!! 🤍 take your time, i know you're busy + things are goin on! happy monday + hope you have a good rest of the year friend!!