#like if the instrumental goes aaAAAaa and the vocals go aaAAAaa too

[dappledpaintbrush]

honestly even as a fan of some of his songs they’re really hit or miss for me. like some of the lyricism is like. will you could do this better i think. and some i could take it or leave it. and im pretty sure the only reason i like as much as i do was because it was my intro into like 3 different fandoms

YEAH like I can’t pinpoint why I don’t like his work it’s just . Not really my style? If that makes sense? Also maybe because I’m just not the biggest fan of the idea of my favorite characters singing (it makes me cringe despite being a big fat theatre nerd). And I agree he does have good lyrics sometimes but he could do a lot better too

[ciderlikethedrink]

nate “reviews” albums: razzmatazz

it’s finally here.

it’s razzmatazz day.

i’m gonna do an album “review” of it.

review in quotation marks because it’s mostly just gonna be me gushing about how good this album is.

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so i’ve been waiting for this album for a while, and it was very much worth the wait. a lot of the melodies in this album are so nice to listen to and some of them even make me feel nostalgic in a way. even the first time i heard them. dallon seems to be really good at that because i had a similar thing with “too weird to live, to rare to die” and a lot of the songs on “vices & virtues” (both albums that dallon wrote a lot of) so i guess dallon weekes is just really good at writing melodies. something else i like about razzmatazz is that all of the songs have similar sounds so you can tell they’re all from the same album, but they don’t sound the same and you can still differentiate between songs easily. like- they all have the same synths.

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Leave Me Alone: i remember being very excited when this song came out because it was the first things we’d gotten from idkhow in a while. something i want to point out is that there are a lot of references to,,,, hanging in this album. (”go fly a kite until you’re tangled in the hanging tree”) i also adore the sound of the bridge and how it comes full circle after the line “and when the sun comes up, you’ll find a brand. new. GOD.” it’s just so cool and a great way to start things off.

Mad IQs: ABSOLUTE BOP!! back at it again with the hanging references. (”i’ll watch you tighten the noose”) this song is such a vibe and sounds pretty similar to “leave me alone” but like- more dance-y. it makes sense because lyric wise, they both seem to be about dallon’s “hollywood life” according to genius lyrics.

Nobody Like The Opening Band: I WAS SO HAPPY WHEN I FOUND OUT THIS WAS GONNA BE ON RAZZMATAZZ!! this song was my favorite idkhow song for a while and i adore it. i love the lyrics and how it mention that opening bands are trying their best just as much as the headlining band. also the way dallon says “end” dfsjlkasakslfsdkl his vocal performance is so amazing in this song. and the last part!!! aaaaaaa!!1! you aren’t sure if he’s gonna do the high note or not, but then when he does it it’s just SO GOOD. and i love the notes he hits as he goes down (i don’t know anything about singing, i play the guitar, but that’s really nice) 

New Invention: thebassthebassthebassthebassssss the way dallon says “bad dreams” he’s just so talented =‘)) this song seems to be about a not-so-good relationship that brings out the worst in the narrator but doesn’t want to leave. or at least that’s how i’m interpreting it. another bop

From the Gallows: 2nd new song. it seems kinda like new invention pt. 2 possibly about the same person because dallon once again mentions someone being beautiful and evil at the same time. i love the piano in this song and the way it sounds like a generic slow love song, when it’s actually a little bit dark. also, is that the fred voice? as in fitter, happier voice? i’m almost certain it is. i don’t have a mac, so i don’t know, but it sounds like fitter, happier voice.

Clusterhug: this song sorta reminds me of some of the stuff dallon did with panic! and maybe even the brobecks. i feel like it could’ve been a vice & virtues bonus track and i wouldn’t question it. oh i just looked it up and apparently it was written during too weird era. so that explains it. the chorus in this song is just so pretty and dallon is once again going crazy with those high notes. it’s very ironic that dallon wrote the line “holy quarantine” before 2020.

Sugar Pills: “could it be that it’s only in my hhhheeeeeeEEEEEAAAAAAAAADD?” i’ve said it once and i’ll say it again, i’m in love with dallon’s voice. that funky musical interlude is so cool. this is one of the songs where the synth-y noises make me feel nostalgic in a way. not that i’ve heard them before, but like you could’ve told me this song was a hit in the early 2000′s and i’d believe you. this is probably one of my favorites.

Kiss Goodnight: i love this song,,, a lot. this is a really sweet love song, it makes me feel like i have a crush on someone even though i don’t. i also love the line “believe i’ll be a gentleman or you can show me the door”  because it’s foreshadowing to a later song on the album. i feel like i would hear this song in like- a cool mall. it’s so sweet and i love the pretty lyrics and aaaaaa it’s so beautiful!!!!! did i mention i love dallon’s voice???? i think this might be another one of my favorites, but i could honestly say that about every song on here.

Lights Go Down: this is another one with that nostalgic synth noise. the instrumentals honestly remind of lemon demon, maybe it’s just me, but that those funky noises just radiate lemon demon energy. this song makes me feel like i’m in a car late at night in a big city where all the pretty lights are out and the car smells like air freshener. that makes no sense, but it just does. such amazing vibes. the drums in this song are also very epic. cool saxaphone.

Need You Here: i feel bad because i almost forgot about this song. and it’s about dallon’s kidsssss~!!! that’s so cute. amelie did such a good job. i remember when i first listened to this, i was like “wait is this about his kids?” and it is. i didn’t know amelie could sing so well, i honestly thought they got some other artist to sing there. the high note GOD I LOVE DALLON’S VOICE.

Door: i’ll be honest, i cried like a little baby the first time i heard this one. sorta reminds me of how i am with my friends. just always suggesting that they leave me because i don’t feel like i’m good enough for them. it really do be like that sometimes. “promise the next time you take my hand is to show me the door” that line- oh god- that line gets me every time, dude. my sensitive little baby brain can’t handle that much emotion.

Razzmatazz: i think it’s really cool how they ended the album with the title track. i think this one is my favorite idkhow song. the chorus is so lovely and it makes me nostalgic as hecc. and apparently i’m not the only one because when i commented it about it one the music video some people seemed to agree. the way dallon says “cast all your spells” makes me smile whenever i hear it BECAUSE I LOVE HIS VOICE. that chorus is my life support, i adore it with my entire heart. i’ll never get tired of hearing this one because whenever i hear it, it feels like i’m hearing it for the first time again. “let’s go paint the town on our way home.”

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if i had a physical copy of this album, i would give it a hug and kiss every night before i go to bed, i adore it. 10/10, great album, i love everything about it. i also feel like the track listing is perfect. ending it with razzmatazz was an amazing idea because i brings everything together after door. and starting off the leave me alone? that was a genius move. a wonderful listen from start to end, i’m so excited to see what my boys dallon and ryan do next because i was not expecting an album this great. i’ve already listened to it 2 and half times and it just got released today. absolutely worth the wait.

and that’s all i had to say about razzmatazz, in all honestly, it was the only reason i wanted to get up this morning.

ok thanks for listening

[oishioshis]

Favourite Songs 2016 ~A Mixed Bag~

This is probably the longest I’ve put something off in my life, for one reason or another whenever I started writing this list I became overwhelmed or really down on myself. What do I know? Who am I? What value is this at all? Well, none of those questions really matter. I’m doing this for myself and hopefully there’s the added benefit of friends looking at this and maybe getting an idea for what I’m into.

It’s no secret my interests have vastly changed between 2015 and 2016 making this an incredibly hard list to curate, but that process made me realise that this whole thing is kinda nonsense. It’s a fun thing I’m throwing together based on what I enjoyed, it’s not me scouring every release throughout a year and giving you my take on it. I’m going to miss things and skip songs and entire albums, this is an unranked list except for my absolute favourite of the year.

However, before I get into my favourite releases I want to give my take on a hobby I had a couple years back. While I think their releases are often really poor and lacking in mostly every regard, it’s worth highlighting the very rare gem they manage to spit out.

AKB48 - Love Trip

This song is kinda fantastic in that it’s everything I personally feel AKB48 should be. It’s energetic, youthful and intense. AKB48 is often bogged down with releases that are mellow and way too easy going for the sheer amount of personality they have. They should be fun, and Love Trip is exactly that, and well executed, too. The mix of acoustic guitars and wailing electric guitars throughout give the song an energy more reminiscent of their older output, the accompanying layered gang vocals, while they leave something to be desired on a technical level, do add to the intensity of the song itself. It’s not abrasive, it feels just right. Love Trip could be described as a beautiful chaos, as it is a mess, but a mess that works to the benefit of the listener, it’s a song about young love, and the song sounds as chaotic as that moment in your life feels. Overall, I’d say this is the best AKB48 song in years, and continues to be.

Nogizaka46 - Harujion ga Sakukoro

I was once writing what was basically a love letter to this song that I never got around to posting. When this song first came out I adored it, the composition and arrangement is so uplifting and beautiful that it’s hard to put into words how exactly you feel about it. The song is a mix of a thumping house beat and string sections with what sounds like a synthesized chorus vocal line, and it works perfectly. The music itself never really resolves itself in its transitions from chorus to verse until the end where the story of the song is resolved, and I thought that was a very smart, well crafted touch.

I don’t hold Nogizaka46 to the same standard as AKB48. I personally feel that Nogizaka46’s output is very solid for most releases even if they falter in some coupling track decisions here and there, but Harujion ga Sakukoro is a very, very special song and I feel it is a highlight when it comes to idol songs.

Now with that out of the way I get to my favourite songs of the year. These songs are in no real order but at the very end I’ll give my absolute favourite song of the year, so if you only came for that then just skip to the end because this’ll be real boring otherwise.

Favourite Songs

Perfume - Flash

People like to rag on Perfume these days for whatever reason, can’t say I really get it. I understand the music has changed but that doesn’t mean it’s objectively better or worse. I find Flash to be a highlight in Perfume’s discography, and the Cosmic Explorer album, while I understand it’s a bit more western influenced and trendy, it’s a lot of fun. Flash kinda just goes in, heavy on the synth leads, snares for days, it’s dumb fun. It knows it’s dumb. I’d also like to give a shout out to the album mix of Flash, it’s rearranged and the dynamic and structure of the song sounds completely different but it’s also really good, just in a different way.

Kariya Seira - Colorful World

A very fun, electro-funk song. I love the electric piano throughout, the bendy bassline, swimmy, sparkly and stabby synths. I also love Seira’s singing, she’s become a really beautiful singer over the years and this song highlights it unlike no other. If you’re ever feeling down I’d really recommend this song among Seira’s other songs.

BiSH - Orchestra

Probably BiSH’s most ambitious song to date. It gives off the melancholic yet optimistic vibes of a smoother Nogizaka46 song, but with a really intense double-kick build into a flurry of orchestral strings. It’s not really a mix you think of to often, but the mix of metal and a string section with this really off-kilter idol punk singing works beautifully. Idol music can sometimes feel a bit fake, but BiSH always manages to feel authentic and I feel Orchestra is a good example of that.

Fujiwara Sakura - “Kawaii”

My favourite side of Fujiwara Sakura is her really emotive singing, and that especially shows in the chorus of “Kawaii”, it’s a very pretty, sentimental jazz song. It’s very jazz, so if you don’t like jazz maybe this won’t be your thing, but it’s jaunty, it’s a lot of fun. Please try it, she’s really good. I’m on my knees begging. I love her so much.

Maison Book Girl - lost AGE

I’ve never been able to describe Maison Book Girl, they’re a unique genre unto themselves, very heavy on strings and acoustic guitars but chopped and mixed incredibly weirdly. I honestly wouldn’t recommend a single song by them, but their entire discography. It’s so unique, it’s indescribable. It’s all one cohesive style so if you don’t like one song you won’t like any of their songs, really, but you need to check them out.

Ladies’ Code - Galaxy

More jazz! But now lower key and subdued. Galaxy is very pretty musically and visually, so definitely check out the music video. I really like the places the song goes, in the bridge it kinda builds this jazzy momentum in contrast to the very mellow beginning and they carry it towards the end. It’s a very neat, chill song, I thoroughly recommend it. Also I adore the bassline.

Ladies’ Code - The Rain

More upbeat and less subtle than Galaxy, but the bouncy synth on top of the continued jazzy feel from Galaxy makes The Rain my favourite of Ladies’ Code releases from 2016. There’s also something about the lead in with the heavy violin into the hard hitting chorus that makes The Rain feel a bit more intensely emotional than Galaxy. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but I like it a lot.

Lee Hi - My Star

Lee Hi continues her motown streak with My Star, and it’s kinda motown-lite but there’s something about it that I really like. The hook is really catchy to me, it’s reminiscent of contemporary motown where it sounds a bit more pop than full motown and that’s alright for me. I also reward any song for expensing actual session played instrumental work, like this song has actual brass sections. However the main snare they’re using sounds EDM as heck. Song’s produced by Teddy so it’s to be expected to some degree isn’t it.

TWICE - TT

What hasn’t been said about TT at this point? It kinda became a cultural phenomenon in East Asia. It’s a really great song. Excellent use of space in the mix, makes the song sound huge and ethereal, the deep house-esque bass synths are wonderful and the hook is super catchy. It’s a perfect pop song if you ask me.

WJSN - Secret

I adore secret, some would call this maybe the biggest surprise of 2016, but it’s an e.one track, of course it’s fantastic. e.one can do no wrong. The music box lead into the melodic synth with an accompanying string section is probably the thing that immediately hooked everybody into this song. It’s a great, fun way to start off your song. That and, of course, the bimiliya aaaaaAa, it’s incredibly catchy. It never gets boring for me.

REOL - Give me a break stop now

REOL’s vocal inflections and general vocal direction is the hook for me, I love her style, but the song is also the type of EDM trap I’m way into. Abrasive trap horns, heavy ass synth, weird ass BONK replacing the snare, the entire thing just kicks you in the teeth and it’s great. REOL and GigaP did a fantastic job at producing this.

BLACKPINK - Whistle / Boombahyah / Playing With Fire

I’m putting most of BLACKPINK’s discography into one because I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed every release they put out in 2016. Whistle’s low-key, simple melodies are something I’m not typically into, but I was immediately hooked by the song, it’s so catchy.  The heavy sub-bass, cowbell rhythm, snare rolling into the bouncy, acoustic build unusually works very, very well and the hook itself is simple and fun, I recommend it.

Boombahyah is basically a pop-ified, big room house banger with all the arabic scale and reverb heavy snares you can handle. It’s almost comical how ridiculous the song is, but it’s a lot of fun, and that’s all I really want.

Playing With Fire is probably my favourite BLACKPINK song of 2016, the electro swing feel throughout, especially in the synth hook is really enjoyable. It’s a very charismatic song, Lisa especially hooks me as I love how she delivers her lines, she’s such a goof but in this song has a lot of attitude.

Red Velvet - Russian Roulette

Russian Roulette is, despite the name, a fun synthpop song with a disco influence. The song is presented in a very monotonous fashion, it leads in with a flat, stuttering “la, la-la, la” and throughout the song the vocals are delivered in a similarly robotic way, very atypical for the blues-y, soulful vocals you’re used to from Red Velvet. I think that’s what makes this song really interesting. It’s a 180 from the absolute belter that was Dumb Dumb, but they still make it work, they, and pop music in general, do not need to be hinged on technical ability to be a fun, entertaining song. While not everybody can make it work, Red Velvet impressed me with their versatility. The music itself is very nice and simple, lots of synth drags, stuttery vocal leads and it even has the rare musical interlude which Korean pop tends not to do too often. Definitely one of my favourite songs of the year.

Oh My Girl - Windy Day

Probably one of the weirder Korean idol releases in recent years. Windy Day is an acoustic heavy, ethereal, bubblegummy type song with very beautifully arranged vocals and an arabic scale (at least I think it’s the arabic scale) influenced musical interlude that completely contrasts the feel of the previous verses. The song is fucking nuts, and it’s great. It’s hard to describe. I really recommend you check it out regardless of the type of music you’re into because it’s a weird one.

Lovelyz - Destiny

Synth, string heavy and intense. It’s not a mellow track by any means, but there’s something about Destiny that is eerie and even haunting. I’d go into Destiny further but I want to write a post in itself about Lovelyz discography at one point where I delve deeper into the sounds and style, but I need to include this because the song is fantastic and you should listen to it.

Absolute Favourite Song of the Year

Gfriend - Rough / Navillera

Both of these songs, to me, are perfect. I find no faults in either of them. They both easily go onto my favourite songs of all time. From the string, guitar heavy Rough to the synthy, discopop Navillera, it’s hard to find a fault, they’re both essentially perfect songs for me. The vocal delivery is beautiful, the way the strings and synths are arranged are both beautiful and powerful, the cute guitar solos feel nostalgic yet unique for the current pop landscape. It all just works perfectly for me. They’re both perfect songs.

And that’s about it. You probably noticed “hey these are all title tracks” well, yes, they are. I wanted to make it easier for myself but I do recommend if you enjoy any of these songs that you check out the respective single, mini-album or album they come from. Also, respect to everybody who produced and was involved with the production of these songs and music videos.

Iggy Youngbae are my dads