#im aware this is wild but in a world with so many good lyrics i refuse to choose

[burnmywholelifedown]

We can call it even, tis the damn season!!! Hello from your secret santa!! I hope your day was good today, just wanted to pop in and introduce myself 💜 I figured I'd ask you a question a day until reveal so here's today's : what is your favorite maisie song lyric and why ?

hello!! ugh YES ttds is my favorite Taylor chrismtas song I think. looks like my secret santa has great taste 😉 oh boy this question is so hard man. It's so hard to pick favorite lyrics cause there are the ones that you personally relate to and then the ones that are super well-written and sometimes those are the same thing. I don't know how to pick so you're gonna get a few. These are the ones that came to mind first:

Okay let's start with Personal Best: August was two blue bikes we don't use now you drive Mm-mm Apple juice, tipping wine Oh, what's yours is always mine

it's so concise, it sets up the song perfectly - in the midst of change and transition this relationship has constants. Gosh I love it so much (just like I love my sister, my ride or die).

Also: And the months flew like swallows to sea Now you're calling my phone instead of my street Are you dancing whilst I am asleep? Do you miss having me beside you.

the months flew like swallows to sea? I mean… it's gorgeous, stunning describing the passage of time as movement when she's also singing about her sister going to uni and them having life experiences apart.

I ADORE the pre to Tough Act:

Everybody knows that a breakup Is better when there's someone to hate but You were my favourite way to stay up And I'd say that still

You were my favourite way to stay up?? are you hearing that??!?!? the pure simplicity of the ache?? like DAMN. I've been there and it hurts like hell.

every line of The List but especially: I need to stop my excuses and put my feelings in order Need to look in the mirror and stand a little bit taller Need to stop getting drunk as a reason to call ya I need to stop letting myself down

So can you talk? You know I'm stacking up Until the night I'm not enough And you're just someone else I disappoint

I should stumble in love instead of running and hiding

Put your hand up if I've let you down again

man this song was one of those 'wow did you read my diary' type songs. I love it because it helps remind me to fight the physical and mental posture of anxiety and be brave - to fight that urge to slouch/be tense and self-deprecate. Also from a writing perspective I love her turning that fear of letting others down on it's head and reminding you that actually you need to stop letting yourself down. it's fantastic.

Worst of You is another song that I love lyrically: Give me your lips that taste of her, I'd kiss them again I'd rather you walk all over me than walk away Give me the worst of you 'Cause I want you anyway

I mean... the sheer angst of it all undoes me every time I hear this song. Cause sometimes being treated like shit is worth the illusion of being appreciated.

JHM: 'Cause if you don't want me Then you're not the one

cause I think this is a life lesson and Maisie putting it in a song so we can all enthusiastically chant it has helped me so much

Volcano:

Thought I'd be a cool girl but turns out I'm livid I'll cry you a river then I'll drown you in it Bet you hope I'm done but there's no way I'm finished

cause this is Maisie at her most feral and I love it. big Vigilante Shit energy

mkay I'm gonna stop myself now but I could go on indefinitely. hope that answered the question lol. what about you?

[alittle-mad]

tunes to groove to! (an amateur music review)

good day to any fellow music fiends out there hahaha yes i’m well aware i’m talking to myself right now but truly i don’t care i have faith there are people out there on the hunt for new music so look! no! further! boy do i have some bops for ya:)))))

GOODIE BAG- STILL WOOZY

So let me start off by simply saying Still Woozy has absolutely stolen my mind body spirit soul i love this damn boy and his sound. goodie bag specifically SLAPS and it has such a psychedelic vibe to it that simultaneously makes me want to bop my bussy but also lay in the dark with some mood lighting you feel?? he has a sound that i can barely even explain because its so cool and different and just makes me feel like i shouldn’t have a care in the world:)

SUMMER DEPRESSION- GIRL IN RED

i don’t think i ever have jammed so hard to a song about depression in my life. i shouldn't be crumping to the lyrics “summer depression, theres so much time to question my life” but i am as i write this so yeah i recommend. i think a common theme with most of these songs is that they chill you out but you can also shake your a$$ to them so idk what more you could ask for. the irony of this song is just the best.

GIRLS GO WILD- LP

hooooooolyshit though wow. this here song masterpiece i’ve been praising for many a month now and it doesn’t get old. LP truly honestly is a badass and her raspy and edgy voice is sjhdkashd i  b u s t. the little guitar moment at the beginning OH my god i love a good alternative moment. i n v e s t your time into this song.

OG LUV KUSH pt. 2- KAIIT 

wow. a tune. really just something you can groove to and pretend you just got rid of a lame ass boyfriend. unless you did, then this will speak volumes i’m sure. UGH oh my god! a good RnB feel that just gets me goin i hope you vibe w it. when you reach the “so hard to please you, boy bye” repetition i hope you look at yourself in the mirror and sing it as if you’re singing to someone who just ISNT worth your time cause thats exactly what i do. n e x t

BODY- DANGER INCORPORATED 

this some good shit right here good shit good shit. it’s definitely more of a lay down and chill kind of song but my ass can really make any song a dance song so hi nice to meet you i like to bop. the high pitched vocals i fuck with and its generally once again, a very different sound that i think isnt everyone's taste BUT i say give it a shot if you like the other songs listed:)

SUNFLOWER- REX ORANGE COUNTY

yeeeeeeeeah rex orange county. yes please hi yes thank you. this has been a frequently played song during my dance parties i have alone in my bedroom and no no one else is welcome. i managed to twerk to this song and that was also when i realized i could t w e r k.  so yeah this song holds a place in my heart i guess. it starts off slow but she speeds up as do my little feet on the floor. i think this song is just a good song to play with friends and if anyone says to shut it off tell them to shut it up. shit makes my heart happy.

GOOEY- GLASS ANIMALS

this song oh my gooooodddd its kiiiiinda weird and almost makes me feel uneasy idk if thats just me but its just a mix of everything about it and i think you just have to listen for yourself. theres just something about it that i love so much like the lyrics are odd and the sound is odd but theres something about it and songs like this that i dig a lot. glass animals and still woozy really give me that same feeling but its cool im cool with it.

LUCY- STILL WOOZY (FEAT. ODIE)

this is truly a groovy ass song like as soon as it starts you’re like alright groove.exe has been launched. odie is wonderful on it. i really don’t have much to say other than that like its just a quality song that i urge you to search?? please?? i’m also just getting lazy with this lol and hungry so we’re cutting this short a bit

DANG!- MAC MILLER (FEAT. ANDERSON .PAAK)

My ass? shaking. yeah i’m sure many of you (lol literally no ones reading this) have heard this or generally just know who mac miller is. this song just speaks for itself like dang! thats a groove. mac miller? exquisite. anderson paak? divine. love it love them love these jams that i have listed here 

so there it be brothers. i made this a little short but they’ll probably get longer and better once lovely people actually start following these lmao unless i lose all motivation to continue. but idk man that was fun cause i just get to talk about my favorite tunes while jamming to them so. i also have no clue what i’m really doing on here or if people actually like this type of thing but this doesn’t just have to be me chatting about songs, no no, lets start a discussion and share songs and maybe be friends idk?? also tips on how to grow this blog wouldn’t be terrible?? anyway guess thats it! hope someone gets down to these songs!

[theanatomyletter]

here is a perfectly sane response to the climate emergency

Right so like 3 days ago once everyone found out a couple weeks too late that the literal amazon rainforest is on fire I went into a sort of anxiety/depressive spiral and it was terrifying!!! I was scared and shocked out of doing anything and kept thinking of all the bad things that are happening and how we are all going 2 die and kept thinking of how to make more ppl understand that climate destruction is part of the same racist project as white imperialism and I’m !!! Stressed !! And I was scared and freaked out!!! I remember as a kid one of my favourite things ever was the book Journey To The River Sea by Eva Ibbotson and I s2g that book made me a person it taught me so many things about what it means to love a place and to be alive in the world and how to sustain a sense of self and community in meaningful connection with that it means to be alive and here and breathing and it’s a book about the rainforest and the river and so I’ve just been,, thinking of it a lot, little blue butterfly from the cover floating thru my brain and all that. It’s hard!!! I thought I was afraid of not saving/earning enough money to do a masters next year but I was actually afraid of the consequences of the climate emergency. Pay more attention to your emotions and honour them for what they are and figure out what is at stake for you, what does it make you feel that the world is in crisis. I think that’s important

Depressing chat aside after I panicked and felt radicalised (what does that even mean?) I found this twitter thread which was basically like these are all the terrible things that can happen and here is how we stop them and at first I felt SO SCARED because there’s NO WAY we can actually organise mass strikes at this scale!!!! We have never had to organise at this scale before, I panicked and got really scared and went on a rant about how we have to use existing structures to fix things because we don’t have the time or resources to organise at this scale but like. I now think we actually do, I found this resource for organising strikes globally from 20TH TO 27TH SEPTEMBER and like, we have the Internet and we have a month to plan and prepare and if you are able to strike you absolutely should !!!!!! There are people smarter than me speaking to the urgency of this, I’m just having some feelings and writing this on my phone notes, but like. Read about strikes in your area. If there aren’t any, find resources to help organise one. Text your friends your colleagues your family whatsapp group the people you went to school with, spread the word and organise how you will sustain your community in that time

As a side note after I went on panic rants all over my social media I think I realised that terrifying people into frenzied action won’t work because it’ll often just scare them into inaction (that’s what it did to me) and I felt better only once I found that resource for actual organisation, the mass general strike felt like an impossible project until I found out it’s already being planned. So like, don’t be helplessly scared, we have multiple years to fix things, and I think this is important: REMEMBER TO BE ALIVE AND HERE AND BREATHING, it’s important to actually feel the absolute miracle that is consciousness otherwise all of the saving the world will have been for nothing. Take photos of your friends and give hugs to your pets and get drunk and go dancing and remember that what matters is that feeling of being so achingly alive and aware of your existence in the world when you look at the sky and feel dizzy with how small you are and how yet the whole universe is inside of your brain, remember to breathe and feel glorious and loud and bright and reckless.

On that note, I was having a hard time giving a shit about much but I copped on a bit after I talked to my friend Naoise Dolan (buy her book it is out soon !!!) I felt like calmer and more like I was allowed to enjoy things and write things (that’s why I finally pulled it together enough to do this) and so I LISTENED TO THE NEW TAYLOR SWIFT ALBUM ON REPEAT and I’ve decided I love it, here is my ranking of all its songs from worst to best, I have so many thoughts, the lyrics are golden, I’m so happy to be alive in the world at a time we can make things better and listen to music like this that’s tailor made (sorry) for us to forget about any guilt we may feel from bopping to boardroom produced songs about corporate feminism

18. Miss Americana and whoever the fuck

Idk what this obsession is with high school motifs (shout out Mike Dolan for pointing this out) like it’s just weird for a 29 yr old to use school as a metaphor for her love life. The “you win stupid prizes” bit sounds nice though. It’s like a low-key creepy obsessive song like why is she doing that funny voice? Is it meant to sound vaguely haunted? What’s going on

I’m also just tired of “America” (the white kind) as a cultural construct and it being used as an expression of identity in popular culture like we get it you built a nationalism out of “gas stations” and “hallways” and “whatever” but you’re still racist, Stop. Like it’s just an inherently violent construct and nobody white is reckoning with it responsibly so at least maybe stop romanticising it or just shut up. Heck yea I’m reading too much into this. I do what I want

17. You Need to Calm Down

This song is bad. It’s so bad. The lyrics are pointless, the ohoHHHH is annoying, her voice is irritating, it’s also just gross and patronising and tries to do twelve things at once (are we leading a parade to pat ourselves on the back for telling homophobes to “take several seats” or are we saying we “all have crowns” wtv that means?)

This song is actually just gross and it doesnt even SOUND GOOD

16. ME

It’s less problematic than you need to calm down and that’s the only reason it’s slightly less bad. It’s a garbage song idk why it exists i’m so mad at it

15. Paper rings

IM SORRY tHe mOoN is HIGH like your friends were the night that we first met I’m sorry WHAT miss swift we get it you have been near drugs, Jesus CHRIST this song is a juvenile childish self important mess. The lyrics r awful and her voice is sneaky and weird and she does weird noises and the chorus is dumb like the “uhuh that’s right” makes me want to give CHITTAR. Also she says darling WAY too much in this album like we get it you’re dating a Brit. It’s not The Worst song because if you pay zero attention to the lyrics or her voice it’s kind of fine sounding? It’s so bad tho lol, I remember when she wrote Mine and the video came out I was like wow wild this is weird and adult and why are you pregnant but this one is even MORE weird. I also HATE every time she says dreary mondays and “baby boy” (GROSS) and I hate that she keeps repeating it lol. The I hate accidents line is kind of fine

14. I forgot that you existed

I hate the lyrics and I hate the premise (we get it you’re indifferent that’s why you wrote a whole song about it) BUT it’s such a bop, it’s very /this feels like a perfect night to make fun of our exes/ vibes and I would be LYING if I said I didn’t enjoy that. Yes we exists

We are pretending her fake laughter and starting to talk in the middle of songs things isn’t real though. It wasn’t cute in we are never ever etc and isn’t cute now

13. I think he knows

I love the 16th avenue bit, it fills me with giddy happiness, the rest of the song is shit, and also lazy. Also stop being obsessed with being 17, it was weird in starlight and is weird now

The bridge is also sort of nice but not nice enough to redeem the rest of it

12. London Boy

Im sorry I promise I know this song is bad. It is bad. I hope it’s ironic? But it’s bad. It’s a weird colonialism complex fetishisation of posh brit whiteness and its even more gross when it’s like “btw IM american, DOUBLE whiteness”, it’s icky and bad. It is a bad song. I apologise for enjoying it and I promise I am ashamed but also u know what, if you ignore the lyrics entirely and pretend you’re 15 and un-enlightened about the violence inherent to the fetishisation of an english identity……….maybe a fun tune. I know. I know. I am sorry. I promise I enjoy it only ironically

11. The man

Corporate white lady feminism? With the word HUSTLE in it? In this economy? Yes obviously

The lyrics are a bit ehhhh but some of them are quite clever and I think she’s quite honest in this song in a rare sort of way without trying to exaggerate it for shock value and it’s a very like, this is my life, here you go, sort of tune, it doesn’t do anything for women’s rights but I think it sounds nice and is probably fun to dance to, and “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man” and “if I were a man, I’d be the man” are fUN lines !!! Idk how wild this comparison is but like, I feel this song is trying to deal with similar things as I know places (a very privileged rant, if you will, without much self awareness) but I think The Man does it better because it’s less self important and has less ambition about it solving or expressing the world’s worst problems.

10. False God

Ok, so, what is it with the religious motifs in this album, i don’t get it, though it kinda works a lot in this song? I wanted to rank this higher but after a few listens it got slightly grating, the beginning is a bit unecessary too? Like it’s trying to create this weirdly artificial aura of glamour and sophistication, it’s quite an unnerving and haunting song and I quite like that about it and it makes me a bit surprised and startled. This thing she’s doing with like slow, building, repeating tunes i think has worked the best in this song (we might just, get away with this, religion’s in your lips e-,ven if its a False gOd) also, THE ALTAR’S IN MY HIPS, OOF, the chorus does the trick honestly and i love when she’s like slightly laughing but in a wry sort of way. Love it tbh, something about it just makes me a bit stressed though and not in an intentional way (i think)

9. It’s Nice To Have a Friend

Miss taylor who gave you the RIGHT, to shove your hand into my chest and grab my heart and step all over it. I love it and it makes me cry and it’s so soft and sweet. Zero complaints abt it it’s a beautiful song. There r just MULTIPLE EXTREMELY GOOD SONGS that’s why it’s not like my absolute fav and im confused too as to why it’s so low but like. Idk. it is a very soft and sweet song. I love it. If anything maybe it’s a bit uncreative n lazy but i think that’s slightly on purpose so doesn’t rlly constitute a criticism

8. Death by a thousand cuts

I like this song a lot a lot. The lyrics are SO GOOD IM SO HAPPY SHES DOING GOOD LYRICS AGAIN. I love the “one for the agEs” line and i’m generally a slut for any mention of chandeliers in music or poetry (dont ask), her voice is delicate but proud and wild and i’m a fan, honestly, cannot wait to bop to this. The My my my bit is annoying tho

7. The archer

I HATE the bit where she says CoMbAt but otherwise this song is soft and lovely and gentle and I love it !!!!! I love the lyrics and I love her gentle restraint of how she slowly unfurls them and then let’s go in “help me hold onto you”, there is such a commanding frankness to it, it’s an ask for collaboration, an ask for honesty, an ask for I want to do this with you

I think it’s one of the strongest tracks lyrically and she also shows like great skill vocally which has been annoyingly missing from so much of what she’s recently produced. I feel like there’s a bunch of annoying stylistic choices (the they see right thru me bit is grating) but like the song overall is lovely, I think you can feel in her voice she knows she’s created something good and it’s not the usually insufferable IM A GENIUS vibe. WHO COULD EVER LEAVE ME DARLING, BUT WHO COULD STAY !!!

6. Soon you’ll get better

Made me cry. We’re not talking about this one

5. Lover

This song is soft loving, slow whispers, careful realisations that you can build a life with whatever you like and love will save everything, I love it, I love it I love it I love it, “can I go where you go?” moves me to tEARS it is such a soft and gentle expression of care, it is such a kindness, it’s such surrendering, such reckless care, I love it so much, it’s so hopeful and also sure, it’s so frightful but also unafraid. I think this is one of Taylor’s most earnest songs ever and it does the thing of combining that earnestness with brazen daring that doesn’t turn into embarrassment only because she commands her lyrics with such certainty, and that’s rare and often I think that daring has ended badly for her (LOL most of reputation) but here it’s done so beautifully and w so much happiness and LOVE, this song is truly just a beautiful lil piece of art with so much happiness dripping thru it

4. Cornelia Street

This song. This SONG. It builds up so beautifully with this ever so slightly hesitant fascination with its own emotions, i’m so obsessed with it, the lyrics are lovely and perfect, i was expecting it to feel slightly forced and oddly specific because wtf is a cornelia street anyway, but it WORKS. I think it wants me to think of like a glowy streetlighty street and it DOES THAT, “filling in the blanks as we gooooo” sounds so gorgeous and does that thing with her voice which literally is just showing off that Yes She Does Know How To Sing and it’s so certain and sure and restrained and open and bare (again in “i thought you were leading me onnnnn”). Also, “the city screams your name” should be a tired cliche but its just an excited expression of abandon im,, in love. The song is so shaky and uncertain but completely confident and relaxed at the same time and it FEELS EXACTLY LIKE COMING TO TERMS WITH BEING IN LOVE AND WANTING IT TO LAST FOREVER, also like, when did she learn how to write good bridges again because yEs

3. Daylight

Solely for the lines “i’ll tell you the truth, but never goodbye // i don’t want to look at anything else now that i saw you” she deserves a grammy it actually pierces my emotions and makes me want 2 explode, this song is sooooo lovely and it has the vibe that makes me feel like i’ve already heard it years ago (but maybe thats because ive had the album on repeat 2 days straight) but it’s just,,, very good and it feels like sunset and glitter and i think is a perfect ending to a great album i love how it builds intensity and then strips it down and just,,, love it.

2. Afterglow

This is i think, one of the most beautiful things this woman has ever produced, one of the loveliest and most powerful songs ever made, i love it so very much. She finally learnt how to do autotune properly lol, this song is like, a crescendo of emotion, everything is falling down around it and it’s like a little haven of bare, frank honesty and complete surrender, of complete vulnerability, the whole song sounds like an act of care and an act of expressing pure emotion, it’s so gorgeous. It moves so softly and doubles in on itself and she’s sorry and sad but so proud of this love and so certain of its importance, “i’m the one who burnt us down”, it’s such a zooming in on a very specific emotion and it’s done so well, i love it

1. Cruel summer

I LOVE THIS SONG. I LOVE THIS SONG. The lyrics are flighty and exciting and shivery, WHAT DOESNT KILL ME MAKES ME WANT YOU MORE- plug that shit into my VEINS. This song makes me feel like it’s 2015 and nothing is real yet and I’m living inside a YA novel and my biggest problem is my crush being mean to me and I’m RELISHING in that freedom and indulging every last drop of emotion because being alive and paying attention to it is incredible and Extremely Cool Actually (I DONT WANT TO KEEP SECRETS JUST TO KEEP YOU, dead right gal)

That said. Organise for the climate strike. Read up on what’s going on so you can answer questions in your family whatsapp group. Field those conversation, DO THAT EMOTIONAL LABOUR (again, what even), spread the word. But take care of yourself !!!! Listen to Taylor swift and remember that we are an absolute joke of a species, we went to the MOON, we can do this, I love you

[amazingviralinfo]

Wests life and music have combined into an ongoing piece of performance art one that appears unsustainable at this pitch

In an era when the likes of Beyoncé can release perfectly formed records without warning, the saga of Kanye Wests seventh album has been comically messy. He first announced it a year ago, under the name So Help Me God, but postponed its release by several months while renaming it Swish, Waves and, finally, The Life of Pablo.

In the weeks prior to its grandiloquent live-streamed launch at Madison Square Garden on Thursday an album playback featuring celebrity guests and an army of black models debuting Wests latest Yeezy fashion line he posted a series of perplexingly self-destructive tweets on topics including his ex-girlfriend Amber Rose and Bill Cosby. Even for a man who clearly subscribes to Oscar Wildes dictum, There is only thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about, it was a bizarre display.

West, 38, is arguably the most important pop artist of his era and certainly the most compelling, for good or ill. He speaks, and indeed acts, in superlatives. In recent years he has described himself, not always entirely seriously, as the greatest living rock star on the planet, the new Steve Jobs, a potential US president and, simply, the nucleus. Inevitably, he inspires extreme reactions.

When he was booked for last years Glastonbury festival, more than 130,000 people signed a petition calling for an insult to music fans all over the world to be dropped. The vehemence of such attacks on an apologetically outspoken black man doubtless had a racist dimension but that alone does not explain why the rapper is such a uniquely polarising figure.

West was brought up to achieve great things. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, but raised in Chicago by his mother, Donda, an academic, he was given the name Kanye meaning only one Omari wise man and she taught him above all to love himself. In her memoir Raising Kanye, Donda wrote that West inherited from his father Ray, a former member of the Black Panther party, little patience for what he thinks is unjust. Wests kindergarten teacher said to Donda: Kanye certainly doesnt have any problem with self-esteem, does he?

That dude was focused since he was a shorty because he knew what he wanted to do and he had a mother who supported the shit out of him, his friend and fellow rapper GLC once told Complex magazine.

Kanye West in 2004. Photograph: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

After enrolling at art college in 1997, West dropped out to pursue production work for the likes of Jay Z, with a signature sound based on accelerated soul samples, and then fought doggedly to be taken seriously as a rapper.

I realised that he was going to make it happen and he didnt mind being an asshole, Damon Dash, Jay Zs partner in Roc-A-Fella Records, told Complex. If you dont mind being an asshole, youre not going to lose. He wasnt scared, he had gall. A decade later, West told the New York Times: I knew I was going to make it this far; I knew that this was going to happen.

In October 2002, West was involved in a car crash that shattered his jaw and changed his life. He was convinced that God had saved his life and that he needed to write more profound lyrics. He described this epiphany in his 2003 single Through the Wire: a superheros origin story in which he emerges from a life-threatening accident stronger than ever. I knew I was dealing with a different human being after the accident, his managerGee Roberson told Complex. From that day forth, it was game on.

Unlike his mentor Jay Z, the middle-class West couldnt draw on a violent, hardscrabble youth for credibility so he had to create his own drama, trumpeting his talent and ambition to a degree that was unusual even by hip-hops self-aggrandising standards.

Im the closest that hip-hop is getting to God, he told journalists at an album playback in 2005. Talking to the Guardian afterwards, he described his florid braggadocio as both a form of self-motivation and a theatrical performance. Its like Im walking on this tightrope. Its like, damn, what if he falls? And if I do make it, its like, damn, he made it! But either way youre saying damn. Everybody else is just walking on the ground.

West backed up his rhetoric by constantly redefining what hip-hop could be. The College Dropout (2004) bridged the gulf between mainstream rappers and socially conscious underground MCs. The lavish Late Registration (2005) was co-produced by thefilm score composer Jon Brion. The Daft Punk-sampling, Nietzsche-quoting hit Stronger, from Graduation (2007), began hip-hops lucrative liaison with EDM. Most of its current stars, including Drake and Kendrick Lamar, walked through doors that West opened.

West is a tireless enthusiast with constantly expanding tastes and an ear for whats next. He has been adept at choosing collaborators, from big names such as Rihanna and Daft Punk to up-and-comers such as Arca and Kid Cudi, and taking inspiration from fashion, cinema, architecture and visual art. He is a famous perfectionist who claimed to have mixed his single Stronger 75 times before he was satisfied.

Logic would seemingly state that an album with so many people working on it would sound disjointed, but what Kanye manages to do is get the best out of everyone working towards one sound, the producer Evian Christ told Pitchfork in 2013. You cant really overstate how difficult it is to do that.

West is also an unpredictable lyricist who is equally capable of self-aware jokes, crass, misogynist punchlines and eloquent examinations of race and class. Early in his career, he spoke out against homophobia in hip-hop and blurted out George Bush doesnt care about black people during a telethon for victims of Hurricane Katrina, although he has only sporadically engaged with politics since. He is often at his best when he is being inappropriate. (Five years later, Bush called the incident the all-time low of his presidency.)

Wests behaviour changed dramatically after Donda Wests death in November 2007, from heart disease. He rarely talks about the loss but last year told Q that he blamed himself: If I had never moved to LA shed be alive. West became a more haunted and guarded figure, returning to music with 808s & Heartbreak (2008), a brave, introspective album that featured more Auto-Tuned singing than rapping and paved the way for Drake and The Weeknd.

Kanye West takes the microphone from Taylor Swift as she accepts her award during the MTV VMAs in 2009. Photograph: Jason DeCrow/Associated Press

The loss of his mother invited sympathy but the next turning point in Wests life inspired fury and derision. In 2009, he interrupted Taylor Swifts acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, bringing to the boil a long-simmering backlash. (West ungallantly references the incident on his new song Famous.) He retreated to his bunker if Hawaii can be called a bunker and made his decadent epic My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) with a legion of collaborators including Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver and Elton John. He later described it as a long backhanded apology.

In recent years, Wests ambition has become both grander and more diffuse. During interviews and concerts to promote Yeezus (2013), an audaciously abrasive electro-punk primal scream that he called a protest to music, he delivered long, furious monologues about his struggle to break into the fashion industry.

He increasingly seems more interested in clothes than in music Right now, over 70% of my focus is on apparel, he told Paper magazine and much more besides. He has compared himself to such world-changing figures as Picasso and Walt Disney, befriended the tech stargazer Elon Musk, and talked about his ambition to inspire an army of risk-taking cultural soldiers. You can see the growth from Im gonna be this great artist to I wanna do something that ignites a fire in peoples souls, he told Q.

However much credit West gets, it is never enough. In a 2013 interview he compared his critics to the eight-grade basketball coach who would not include him in the team even though he hit every shot. The next year, he made the team. West is driven by the desire to prove his doubters wrong, and fired up by his previous ability to do so.

While most high-profile artists accept that they cannot please everybody, West craves approval from establishment institutions that he appears to hate, from the Grammy awards to European fashion houses, as a point of principle. I dont care about the Grammys, he told the New York Times. I just would like for the statistics to be more accurate.

It is unclear what will happen when West can no longer hit every shot. The singles he released last year, including collaborations with Paul McCartney, were coolly received. His Glastonbury performance promised to be either a triumph or a disaster but, most reviewers agreed, fell somewhere in-between. Pitchforks Jayson Greene wrote: He is responsible for the current zeitgeist, but listening to his slightly confused new material, you get the distinct sense that hes struggling to find his current footing in it.

Reading Wests recent tweets, it is impossible to work out exactly what he is trying to achieve. He is clearly a more volatile and erratic character than he used to be. Marriage and fatherhood are often stabilising influences but marrying Kim Kardashian in 2014 has pitched West into a tabloid world with an endless appetite for gossip. It is unlikely that he could retreat from the spotlight, as he did in 2009, even if he wanted to.

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Kanye West releases album and fashion collection at Madison Square Garden

His life and music have combined into an ongoing piece of performance art which is unsustainable at this pitch. No artist can remain the nucleus of pop culture indefinitely. One day, this extraordinarily successful figure will face the new challenge of learning to cope with no longer being the man everyone is talking about.

Potted profile

Born: Kanye Omari West, on 8 June 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia

Career: Began producing music for local Chicago rappers in his teens and landed his first high-profile job in 1999. Launched his solo career with The College Dropout in 2004. Has released six platinum albums, won 21 Grammy awards, designed several clothing lines, and featured twice on the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. Runs the record label Good Music and the creative content company Donda.

High point: Bouncing back with his magnum opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010 after his snafu at the Video Music Awards temporarily derailed his career: even Barack Obama called him a jackass. In December 2014, Pitchfork named it the best album of the decade so far.

Low point: The death of his mother in 2007, soon followed by his split from fiancee Alexis Phifer.

What he says: I will die for the art, for what I believe in, and the art aint always going to be polite.

What they say: Hes a brilliant madman. He cant help himself. Like, he doesnt have the same filters other people have. He has to blurt things out hes always saying inappropriate stuff. But he also has brilliant ideas, if you can get him to pay attention long enough Madonna.

[sufferblr]

this is just a diary entry of my day w my love ok lmao 

Finally, after months and months of ditching each other last-minute, we got to meet on the second day of a promising new year. (So glad 2016 died)

When I got to the meetup location, I passed by a 7-eleven and bought two packs of chocolate milk and hid it in my handbag, because it’s the thing between us. Ever since that day you said you liked this brand of chocolate milk, I bought you a packet every (rare) time we meet, for old time’s sake. It really brings memories from MCS back. 

I picked you up at Exit B at the station and we ran into each others arm with a giant fluffy hug! “You smell really nice!” you said. “Yeahh I got this for Christmas!” “You got smelling nice for Christmas?” you joked. I said, “What??I got this perfume!!!” We laughed. Note: Victoria’s Secret: Bombshell. 10/10 will wear again. 

So we, being our spontaneous selves, strolled around Tai Wai for food. Tai Wai is truly my favourite place in the world - I only have good memories in it, and it is full of friendly people and just the perfect place for bonding experiences, no matter it’s with family, friends or crushes. We strolled down the street full of comfortably half-full restaurants and got way too immersed in our conversation. God, we haven’t seen each other for nearly half a year. How did I even survive in those days? Our conversations are simply natural and easy. It is so easy for us to keep talking, and even the dead air moments are comfortable - there is no such thing as an awkward silence between us. Knowing she is next to me is already so fucking enough. 

We went to the end of the vertical street and went back a bit, to eat in this neat little place with red chairs and red tables. They actually let us go upstairs instead of the ground floor because it was full, and wow I am glad about going upstairs. There are way less people and more space, so that we can talk and laugh as loudly as we like. We talked about my new year’s eve, which I got so fucking drunk and couldn’t tell Sharon and Aaron apart; the receptionist that asked me if im okay because I walk all slouched and with a grin fixed on my face; also, my drunk text to you that says “i locw you <3 <3 <3″. Then you told me about your drunk stories - well, technically it wasn’t you being drunk, cus you are such a good drinker. You told me about taking care of your friend Connor, who said “I’m not drunk” while lying on a bed full of his own puke. You are such a mom friend! 

I knew you were broke af this Christmas, so i pondered on making this dinner my treat, but you said that I can pay for dessert instead. Fair enough. We left the place and walked along the entire few blocks of Tai Wai Village. Despite living here forever, I never dared to stroll around like this, especially at night. You make me feel so adventurous and brave, baby. We talked about your wild af life in LPC after MCS, of fake ids and underage drinking and all that. I wish I could join you over there. 

We couldn’t find any good new places for dessert, so I suggested the one CCY told me about before, Summer Ice something. We were two blocks away from the place and suddenly, you took my hand. (i am internally screaming). You started to run and I did too, and god that was so liberating! I haven’t ran like a child for so long. We giggled and stumbled and stopped after a really short run, because we are so bad at sports. “I’m bad at the... you know, leg things!” you said. Our hands are still locked, and we walked by this creepy abandoned kindergarten. “Serial killers live here.” You said. “Naughty children gets sent here” I said. You then suggested we get really drunk one day and break in, to which I replied, “LPC is really getting into you, THAT IS SO WHITE.” We laughed. “But have you ever lived if you don’t do white things??!” Oh my god, this girl! Where are our conservative Good Chinese Girl characteristics, really?! 

We were lucky enough to get the big spacious couple seat in Summer Ice (I’m still fangirling over our luck to get THAT SEAT among so many others!) and ordered chocolate & banana waffles, and this peach drink. (A strawberry drink arrived instead, but eh. It’s good anyway.) 

This time, I asked you to take a picture. I was aware of how often I forget to take pictures when going out with important people in my life. This time, I didn’t. You took a pic of the waffles and a selfie of us. Both of us slayyyy! We talked and talked and talked and you fed me some sorbet on the drink. I screamed internally and ate it. Now I know you don’t mind me doing that either, I did that too, a good several times afterwards. You ate them off my spoon like the good date you are! (aaaaaahhhhhh!!!!) Both of us were too full for dessert actually, but we ate them anyway. By the end of this meal, we caught up with each other’s lives in the last 6 months, and I also found out more about your relationships. I’m so so so relieved that your ‘abusive’ recent ex never hit you, but was just manipulative. I hate to admit it but I got quite angry when you posted “I got out of a shitty abusive relationship” on your private instagram yesterday - I’m not sure what I’d do about that but it’s probably something snakey if your ex-bf ever hit you. Turns out he was just manipulative - phew! Also good to know that my girl is a fierce bitch at heart that ain’t afraid of breaking up with manipulative boys. That’s the girl I love! 

Your twin brother called you and told you to get back at 10:30 for Sherlock, so we finished up and left. We were holding hands again. The street lights gave us this very distinct shadow, and that’s when we put our arms around each other and held our body and cheeks close, just to watch our shadow do the same. She said, look at us, we should be this one big human together (or sth like that, i dont remember the exact wordings). I felt so content, this is so wholesome! 

I walked you back to your minibus station with the excuse of “my bus has a schedule, yours don’t”, but really, I just wanted to spend more time with you, be it 20 minutes or 2 minutes more. We stood at the station in comfortable silence, chatted about your teachers at LPC a little, then the minibus came. 

You gave me a good warm hug again, and complimented my fluffy cardigan. I’d love it a whole new way now. I suddenly remembered something - the chocolate milk. “Wait, I got something for you!” I said and pulled it out of my handbag (which you once complimented a couple years ago - I picked this out deliberately). You giggled again and I clearly remember what you looked like that exact moment, eyes closing into this pretty pretty line and shoulders scrunched a little, and your back arching slightly backwards, as if you couldn’t contain the happiness thrown at you! You were smiling so big and I was so happy that I can make you smile like that. Again, so wholesome. “I love you,” I said again as I went for another hug, which was returned generously. “I love you too.” She replied, and she boarded the minibus. “Bye!” I said. As I walked back to my shuttle bus station to go home. 

On the way from your station to my station, I turned back at least 4 times, hoping to see you wave at me, or perhaps just look at me and smile. I’d mouth to you, “I love you”, but damn my eyesight. I couldn’t see that far, and the inside of the minibus was so damn dark. Still, I stole a few glances at the minibus again. Only after it drove away did I finally stop turning back. 

As always, I need a song to remember this by. I chose Gale Song by The Lumineers, because I don’t listen to it often so it’s a clean state to collect memories and it’s the song I was listening to when i was waiting for you at Exit B - it had come on shuffle. I listened to the lyrics, only to find out it was a love song. 

This loneliness won't last for long I wasn't there to take his place I was ten thousand miles away

So when you hear my voice And when you say my name May it never give you pain

'Cause I don't wanna go But it's time to leave You'll be on my mind, my destiny

And I won't fight in vain I'll love you just the same I couldn't know what's in your mind But I saw the pictures You're looking fine

Gale Song - The Lumineers

Tell me, baby, how are we not lovers? Would we be together if you never left MCS? Probably. But we’re graduating in a few months, could we be together then? You said you wanted to leave Hong Kong. 

And most of all, do you love me back? Because I love you more than words could ever say. From June 2015 to 2nd January 2017, you are in my head every moment. 

And here, I've made a decision: When we graduate, I’ll ask you to be my girlfriend.