#literally the best whole entire album to exist

[ilostyou]

OH I WOOONDER WHOOOO I'M LOOKING FOR. CAUSE YOU DOOOON'T GO TO PAAARTIESS AAANYMOORRREEEEEE

[rahuratna]

Hi rahuuuuu!!

My mind is fresh and awake (it’s one am), so I can continue the conversation about thoughts Gojo now. Just now, I was staring at the beautiful album cover art for jjk s2. I’ll attach it below:

He’s so fine— off topic. The first thing that stood out to me was… guess who is in the reflection of the glasses! Suguru Geto, of course. Gojo only has six eyes for him. And we take a look at the red side, there’s no more Geto. And I think that’s the point of this entire piece: how Gojo is like before and after Geto. It’s compare and contrast, and we get to see it side by side. This is a good opportunity to look at the differences in 1.) design, 2.) background/foreground, and 3.) expression.

1. Design

Here I’ll point out the height difference of the neck collar thingy (what’s it called?). On the left, we see more of Gojo’s face and on the right, his face is more hidden from view. This reminds me of a barrier. The taller collar is where Gojo doesn’t necessarily hide entirely behind— we can still see his expression after all— but something that separates him from the viewer. And for me, this personally resonates with me because I didn’t feel much of a connection to him in season one, but when we got to his backstory, I was actually able to. In terms of the storyline, I think it applies similarly. While he forms genuine connections with his colleagues and students, they do not get to see the entirety of Gojo because of this, like you said, self-imposed barrier.

2. Background.

Okay, so I’m pretty sureeee we know about the blue and red themes. The blue spring, and then specialz red for destruction and chaos (red like the fiery sparks which is on par with sukuna, jogo, and incineration in general). Not gonna go deep into it. But the foreground!! You see these black splotches, something we’d associate with corruption or something tainted. And maybe it’s just me overanalyzing but I really appreciate how the artist chooses to skew the splotches towards the red side which is in line with the red destruction theme.

3. Expression

Loss of innocence is what I see. No more smiley face (oh my gosh, I want to give Gojo a hug…) and also the blood smeared on his face. Literally and figuratively, he has blood on his hands now. He is responsible— or he feels responsible— for all the lives he couldn’t save. And that’s Geto included. Gojo was Geto’s executioner, and so Geto’s life was in his hands. Not just at the very end, but from the start too, relating to how Gojo blames himself for his best friend’s defection.

Now let’s connect back to my first point on where Gojo is looking. Gojo looks only at Geto at first. Geto was his focus, Geto made up a significant part of Gojo’s world. And we move on to the red side of the picture. One thing is clear, there is no more Geto. It is clear that Gojo is not looking at Geto, and so where is he looking off too? I suppose it’s a bit ambiguous and can be left to interpretation but my assumption is “ahead.” Gojo is looking ahead past something ahead, or further away from where Geto stood. He’s looking towards something that— and this is very subjective by the way— feels much bigger than just one person. Here I am referring to Gojo’s mission: to rebuild the jujutsu system with a new generation of strong sorcerers. Why do I say one feels bigger than the other? Well with Geto, there was a finite point where he actually existed in front of gojo. And with Gojo looking ahead towards the future, there is no finite point. There’s no end. Doesn’t this hit so hard with the whole being of jujutsu kaisen? There’s no end to corruption, no end to the conflict between not just curses and sorcerers, but also between humans too. It’s literally in the name. Jujutsu kaisen means “endless battle of curses.”

[Oh, side note: I just think that it’s so interesting how curses and humans are very intertwined and similar yet curses and humans alienate each other. (Even humans do it to each other with racism and ideological differences…). Curses don’t even have to take the form of the monsters we see in the series, it already exists even without a medium between humans. Like with Junpei being bullied. Or even when Gojo says that “love is the most twisted curse of all.”]

Anyways, when Gojo looks ahead, I interpret it as that he moved on from Geto.

[Pause again: I knowwww there’s a lot of fanfics, headcanons, and fanart that show how they pine for each other behind closed doors. Pining as in like they yearn deeply to be with each other again. And I totally eat it up hehehehe. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, I enjoy the content very much! But in context with the series, to me I would very unfortunately have to disagree.]

I do think that Gojo moved on from Geto. Not that he can’t miss him or can’t feel a fondness for his best friend. But I think there’s a reason why Gojo does not completely forgo his values to be with Geto. (Oh but how I do love the fanarts that show what would happen if he did. It’s absolutely delicious 🤤). I actually think they maybe moving is a bit insensitive of me to say? Because Geto will always have his own special place in Gojo’s heart/soul. Perhaps a sense of resignation. Knowing that reaching out wouldn’t be any good but only serve as a painful reminder of their now vast difference. In the end though, we know that Gojo is looking forward at something that is beyond one person (ugh this hurts to say… but it’s also what I think but I don’t want to think it but I do…). Something that has no end point.

Just like what Geto said.

So what do you think? Would you say Gojo moved on/forwars? Maybe Gojo really does pine down bad over Geto behind closed doors! I totally indulge the idea 😏 😏

It makes my heart palpitate hehehehe. Then my brain is like “Gojo is a man with goals, dude… he don’t have time and his goals just seem so big!” Then my heart is like “yeah, well their relationship is on another level of big in a way you cannot compare. How dare u compare. It is not comparable.” Heart wins this round. Because if I do compare the relationship between Gojo and Geto and versus Gojo’s ideologies, I’d be overlooking soooo many things because I’m only comparing one aspect of each. That’s not fair! So it’s important for me to be more mindful in that way, and i’d like to be better with the way I frame these thoughts with my words ^^

I hope that the little art analysis is interesting! I tried my best to tie it in with the storyline and big themes of jjk. I also love music analysis. Ahhhhh, I could do one about “Hollow Purple” but I do not know if people would understand what I’d be rambling about LOL. Hope you are having an amazing amazing day!!

🤩💗🤩💗🤩💗,

Court 💜

Good morning my fellow STEM-girlie, sweetheart @courtneedsleep Your analysis arrives ... to help me through a lazy Sunday afternoon, lol. My brain needs to wake up!

Do you know, I actually haven't seen this art before. It's symbolism and the juxtaposition of the colours and moods are very striking. So, the same elements that you mentioned immediately jump out at me.

1. The collar design. Like you said, the higher collar seems to create a barrier between the reader and Gojo. There is that idea of a protective shield being built between Gojo and the rest of the world, not just to protect himself, but to protect the ideals he comes to hold so highly above everything else. Gojo IS an idealistic man, in his own way, just like Nanami and Kusakabe. Although made jaded and cynical by their experiences and the burdens they carry, they keep these secret flames burning inside themselves which they successfully hand down to the sorcerers of the future. But the hard lessons, the loss of innocence, comes first.

2. The black splotches do remind me strongly of corruption, and also the sense of the fabric of things burning to ashes. Gojo and his fellow students, including Geto, had a vague idea of the darkness in the world before Riko's death. Afterwards, there was a sense of impending darkness, of a doom that was certain to claim them all if someone didn't take action. Gojo took a lot of that responsibility onto his own shoulders for obvious reasons.

3. There is also something about his eyes that I have to comment on. The glasses reflect Geto, during a better time, a time when they had not just each other, but a belief that they could triumph over anything. The fallacy of infinite potential. There is a certain opacity to Gojo's gaze in the second half. As you put it, very perceptively, he seems to be looking outwards, beyond just the singular point of Geto and their relationship. The lightness of being, youthful innocence and cheekiness we see from before is replaced with something sombre, something that does not let the light through. Gojo will never look at the world with that innocence again, but he will do his best to protect it for others. (Getting my tissues out)

There is a lot of mythical and spiritual symbolism in the themes of JJK regarding the cycle of birth and death. I had a great conversation with @tsukimefuku about this at one stage too, concerning the principles behind reincarnation and rebirth that are tied in with the symbolism in JJK. I also find it fascinating how Gege brings in the themes of discrimination and the inability to co-exist alongside those significantly different than yourself (rather effectively and subtly, in some cases).

The reason I mention this is because I believe it also has relevance to what happens to Gojo and Geto. Here, the theme of rebirth as something new is subverted. They are brought back, but in a sense that forms a travesty of their independence and desire for liberation.

It also relates to my personal view on how I believe Gojo handled Geto's defection. He didn't take it well, naturally. But more than that, he had to find a way to process it, to mark it as a failure in his own book of mental records and try to find meaning in it. How did he try to achieve this? By making sure that those in a similar position, young, vulnerable and with the high possibility of falling into despair (Yuuji, Yuuta and Megumi) never felt truly alone.

Whatever their views on sorcerer society, they knew that Gojo sensei was in their corner. That was never in doubt. His manner of teaching them may have been irresponsible at times (there were certain emotions and responsibilities Gojo clearly wasn't equipped to handle), but he was there, and never left them feeling like they had little to no support structure.

I don't believe that Gojo ever 'got over' Geto, and the manner by which he believed he failed him. When he confronts a dying Geto at the end of the movie, there is a sense of resignation, like you pointed out, a sense of finality, grief and regret, but it seemed that somewhere along the line, he'd found some way to manage his own pain. Maybe not in the healthiest sense (if there is even such a thing for a sorcerer) but he seemed like he'd said his goodbyes long before their meeting.

I also think that in his own way, Geto was longing to see Gojo once again. There was a certain mirthless longing in his own confrontation with the man he had once been closer to than anyone else. What eventually happened to the both of them was not natural or fitting in the natural cycle of birth and death. But it is fitting for those whose souls are inextricably linked, those who desire to be close to one another, even in a 'not-death' that makes a mockery of their lives and dreams.

As bleak as that sounds, Gojo left a legacy for those who came after, to bring into this world a  panacea that even he could not. Yuuji's declaration, in recent chapters, that people are not tools, is an ode to individualism, a firm rejection of the way both Gojo and Geto were treated by the societies they inhabited. The fact that he carries this belief forward would probably be enough to satisfy the two tragic men who gave up so much, including each other, to search for some truth in the world.

Please, please do the music analysis. I don't have much knowledge about that, lol, but I'd love to listen to your thoughts on it.

Have a beautiful day!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

Love, Rahu 🧡🧡

[silawastaken]

I love seeing people compare music to their favourite characters and go like 'oh yeah this verse might be this character... and then this one is the other one... and then this little bit here is them both honestly. Or something like that' because I HAVE gone through every taylor swift song on evermore and folklore and compared it to skk. Sorry to be autistic on the writing account, but this is a fanfic writing account and I'm writing my second novel length fic about them so what did you expect.

folklore/evermore are very canon skk, and verge into fanon and some songs are the reason for very specific head canons, or some of the ways I write the way they perceive each other. 1989... DON'T GET ME STARTED OMFG HAVE YOU EVER LISTENED TO BLANK SPACE? I THINK IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT HAVE AND OMG IT'S SO SKK CODED LIKE WTF. I HAVE VERY FIRM OPINIONS ABOUT WHICH LYRICS ARE THEIRS. Also the vault tracks literally exist what more do you want from me. 'i think about jumping off of very tall somethings just to see you come running and say the one thing I've been wanting' okay dazai pack it up you did that already, beast exists. 'i call my mom sister she said that it was for the best remind myself the more i gave you'd want me less' yeah yeah chuuya we know he left you get over it, it wasn't personal(think that line could go for either of them but the other line 'the way you faded till i left' feels more Dazai personally). Plus suburban legends. For personal reasons I struggle to listen to song without SPIRALING FUCK YOU THAT ONE PERSON SEHDHSSJNS but very skk as well 'we were born to be national treasures' is very soulmates of them. And out of the woods screams them in fanfic when they try to get better. Red, straight away all too well. They both remember it all too well. All too well skk cover with switching vocals anyone? The last time. The one with gary lightbody. Underrated song, is my favourite on that album, and SO THEM. 'this is the last time you tell me ive got it wrong, this is the last time i wont hurt you anymore' because they're fated to be together and are constantly drawn to each other and yet keep HURTING EACH OTHER RAGH. also 'we are never getting back together' is pretty funny and nice when applied to them. also state of grace. any taylor song with a mild drop of religious imagery is them cause yeah. but 'i never saw you coming, and I'll never be the same'... okay pack it up, we don't have time for your yearning. 'you were never a saint' (dazai abt chuuya) 'and i loved in shades of wrong' (bc hes toxic and doesnt know how to healthily like people) 'we learned to live with the pain, mosaic broken hearts' (bc they continue anyway and stick it out, living with the pain of being bad for each other because of how deeply they care). I almost do. Dazai after leaving. moving on to more religion, holy ground. 'for the first time i had something to lose' 'and i guess we fell apart in the usual way, and the storys got dust on every page' AAAAAA IT'S THEM. Can't really speak on debut- but I've listened to our song and picture to burn and if picture to burn isn't a vengeful chuuya idk what is. BOY OH BOY SPEAK NOW.

excuse me. one moment.

Mine- literally a skk au

Sparks fly- 'the way you move is like a rainstorm and im a house full of cards, you're the kind of reckless that should send me running' that entire verse screams dazai's fascination with corrupted chuuya, and the whole song is well yeah

back to december- dazai when they reunite just trust me on it just trust me on it. the repetition was intentional, that's how serious i am. 'i go back to december all the time' 'I got back to december to make it all right'

speak now- might just be me but it really makes me think of teen skk in fanfic harbouring urges to ruin the others relationship for 'some reason. I don't know, seeing him with her just... irks me'.

the story of us- first verse is chuuya, second verse is dazai, and the third is them both because they're LOSERS and they LOVE EACH OTHER and FUCK I'm CRYING NOW. 'id tell you i miss you but i don't know how' EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED BASTARD.

enchanted- self explanatory. for more context, i really think it's from dazai's pov in this case, could probably be both, but dazai fell first and harder so it's really like god he's been in love ever since he got kicked into that wall he wants him around forever. He held Chuuya's hand in the fight with rimbaud and then had all those close moments in the manga and went home to lie on his bed kicking his feet and giggling don't lie. (god im still crying this isn't helping)

better than revenge- they're both pretty vengeful idk it makes me think of iwsynttr for some reason

haunted- chuuya pov. 'i thought i had you figured out, something's gone terribly wrong' 'stood there and watched you walk away from everything we had' they're so sad, but the general idea of chuuya thinking he has figured out dazai and knowing how he thinks and then dazai just leaves suddenly and he's like 'Wow! I thought i knew you. How do i forget this'. 'wont finish what you started' bringing chuuya into the mafia then leaving it.

last kiss- 'you told me you love me so why did you go away' chuuya pov again oh god it hurts why am i doing this to myself? 'never imagined we'd end like this, your name, forever the name on my lips' yep yep ow.

LONG LIVE.- LISTEN. TO. THE. SONG. AND TELL ME IT'S NOT DAZAI AND CHUUYA. I COULD DO A WHOLE ANALYSIS ON JUST THIS SONG. 'promise me this, that you'll stand by me forever, but if god forbid fate should step in, and force us into a goodbye...please tell them my name, tell them how the crowds went wild, tell them how i hope they shine, long live the walls we crashed through, i had the time of my life with you' FUCK IT'S DAZAI AN HE'S IN LOVE WITH CHUUYA AND DOESNT KNOW ODAS GONNA DIE YET, JUST THINKS HE DOESNT GET TO KEEP ANYTHING HE WANTS. FUUUUUCK. THEY'RE IN LOVE AND DAZAI WANTS IT REMEMBERED PLEASE I'M SO SAD.

anyway, i can't pretend I'm normal about skk anymore i haven't even covered fearless, reputation, lover or midnights please somebody encourage me to actually write full things dedicated to each album and the most fitting songs from said albums please i'll do it and plus i need to actually gather proof for my autism diagnosis appointment so this would be a good way to to that probably. anyway yeah this'll never make it out my drafts lol

[firethekitty]

okay you reblog a lot of albums ive never heard of and am curious about but it’s hard to get myself to sit down and listen to a whole album so please please, Top Ten-ish Songs To Get To Know You kind of list? pretty please?

i literally daydream about people asking me stuff like this LOL. so this is hardly a comprehensive list of all my favorite songs ever but here are some songs that are really important to me!!! this got REALLY long so i put it under a read more

1. meet me in the woods by lord huron

my absolute favorite song Ever like of all time. means everything to me. i could listen to this every single day and never get tired of it. INSANELY fun, incredible vibes, makes me want to go outside and shoot a beam into somebody. lord huron is an Experience. all their albums are concept albums and there’s actually a fair amount of lore going on. on the physical CD for strange trails it actually has the characters’ names next to their respective songs

for meet me in the woods, it sounds very upbeat and happy, but listen closely and you’ll realize it’s not quite as it seems… in-universe, it’s narrated by a woman named francine lu, and the song has the same chords as the first track of the album (and another of her songs) “love like ghosts”. she also narrates “the night we met”, easily LH’s most famous song. francine lu is not having a normal one. what’s her problem? listen to find out…..

2. crystals by of monsters and men

this was my favorite song ever for about 6 years until meet me in the woods ranked just a tiny bit higher. sooo fucking fun, itches a part of my brain that’s only accessible via icelandic stomp & holler. makes me very happy and always cheers me up! of monsters and men was the first new (at the time) band i ever really discovered on my own without hearing about from my parents or other people, and i’ve been listening to them ever since (almost 13 years!!) they are incredibly important to me and i highly recommend all of their albums

3. sunblind by fleet foxes

relatively new but became a favorite as soon as i heard it. this is also one of the most Me songs i can think of on top of just being so fucking gorgeous and raw and heartfelt. this song is a tribute to deceased musicians who influenced robin pecknold (the lead singer and songwriter for fleet foxes) and how their music is pretty much the reason he’s even alive today. my favorite lines are “only way that i made it for a long time / but i’m loud and alive, singing you all night”. this entire album is sincerely a masterpiece and i highly recommend listening to it all. fleet foxes have really beautiful and unique lyrics, they remind me of mitski’s lyrics in that they’re very poetic and personal and emotional but still subjective enough that you can connect them to your own life

4. this must be the place by talking heads

specifically the stop making sense live recording, which i still half-refuse to believe is a live recording because it’s just THAT fucking good. whenever someone says david byrne can’t sing i direct them here, because he does sincerely have an incredible voice and he simply Chooses to sing weirdly bc he’s a quirked up white boy with autistic swag.

this is just a really sweet and romantic song from a band that otherwise stays far away from love songs and it works extremely well. this entire album is fucking incredible and easily the best live album of all time. half of them are BETTER than the studio recordings, and you can also watch david byrne leap straight up backwards like a full 4 feet

highly recommend watching stop making sense just the entire film

5. vein of stars by the flaming lips

back in 2014, i watched a very beloved streamer play a game called “space engine”, in which you explore as much of the universe as we’ve theorized to exist. this was a little before copyright laws got so fucking strict on youtube and twitch, so mr. vinny vinesauce could play any music he wanted while planet-hopping. one of those songs was vein of stars, and it’s been one of my absolute favorites ever since.

the flaming lips are definitely an acquired taste. wayne coyne does Not have a very good voice and it can get extremely grating, especially to someone who hasn't heard them before. but when it works, god it works. this song is so pretty and nostalgic to me, always calms me down whenever i’m In A Mood. it’s nihilistic but not in a depressing way, more like “yeah maybe we aren’t here for any particular reason, maybe there’s nothing after this life. there’s nothing we can do about that, so why worry?”. very peaceful. REQUIRED listening when stargazing

6. good old-fashioned lover boy by queen

one of the first songs i ever truly hyperfixated on. unfortunately i listened to it SO fucking much it kind of ruined it for me, but i still do really love it. i may not listen to it that often anymore but i felt obligated to put it here bc it had a Profound Effect on my developing brain

7. too much time by john vanderslice

the year is 2012 and you're halfway through the newest episode of the hit podcast welcome to nightvale. cecil announces the weather. little do you know that you will carry the next 3 and a half minutes with you for the rest of your life. this one is just absurdly nostalgic to me (and not to mention incredibly vash the stampede coded). beloved song!!!

8. waltz for zizi & the real folk blues by the seatbelts & mai yamane

well it’s no secret that i think cowboy bebop has the greatest anime soundtrack of all time and one of THE greatest soundtracks of all time Ever. this is just an objective fact actually.

i believe this is because the seatbelts and specifically the composer yoko kanno studied real jazz, blues, and bebop to make the ost. like it's not just "jazz-flavored", there is genuine, deep respect and you can hear it in every single track. waltz for zizi gives me physical goosebumps every single time i listen to it, it's absolutely perfect. i've made it a ritual to listen to every time i visit the shore at night and go stargazing. sincerely transcendent experience

9. cuckoo song by cosmo sheldrake

hhhhhrrr this entire fucking albummmm hhhhhhhrhhhhrhhhaauuuuUUUUOOOGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

back during my final semesters of college, i had to take a course for art degree seniors. we’d pick something we were passionate about, make art for it, and it would be hung up for a week in the exhibition room. i chose birds of course, but wake-up calls inspired me to shift that choice to something more important than just random funny bird drawings. i focused on bird species that have gone extinct within the last 60 years because wake-up calls is made almost entirely out of endangered bird songs.

i’ll be honest i can barely listen to this song or anything on the album because i WILL literally start sobbing like in real life. cuckoo song in particular just makes me start crying every single time i listen to it, it’s like a magic spell. it’s not even necessarily sad but just viscerally bittersweet. the art for the album is made by flora wallace. here’s the spotify canvas i made a gif just for you 👍

10. take you back by orville peck

and finally………….. the song that made me realize that i actually DO love real country music a lot, and that the derivative “bro country” sub-genre that developed in the early 2000s has absolutely destroyed any positive opinion of country music in society. we NEED to go back, and orville peck is more than doing his part. this is the first song i ever heard by him and it's just so goddamn fun. i am completely unable to not sing along to this when it comes on

not only do i highly recommend orville peck but also any country music from the 50s and 60s, especially marty robbins, charley pride, conway twitty, and of course mrs. dolly parton. and later country rock/folk rock bands like america and creedence clearwater revival. it’s SO good i’m so serious

orville peck is the only modern country singer i can think of who's not afraid to bring back the harmonicas and whistling and steel guitars and whip cracks and yeehaws. it's fantastic. he's also gay and an outspoken trans ally. i believe this gives him the power to revive country music from the dead 🙏

[superblysubpar]

we'll call it love masterlist

Hey, thanks for being here - whether you binged the series or have been here the whole year or you're literally just reading this and don't care to read the series. I know it's a little (okay a lot) cheesy to make a whole post saying thank you for a silly little fanfic but I've had a tough year, and I didn't want to make the post longer and well, here we are. Don't read it if you don't want to or you think it's cringe.

I wrote the "Rocketman is Dingus. Dingus is Steve. Steve is Rocketman" scene on November 25th, 2022 in the back of my mother in law's car while shopping. I had no real vision other than Friends With Benefits, modern AU, use the songs off of the Uncanny Valley album by COIN, reader hates love and duh - Steve falls in love with everything that moves. Over the course of basically an entire fucking year, a short, 4 "parts" "minseries" turned into this. This lovely, wonderful, infuriating most days, pain in my ass series that I'm going to cherish for the rest of my life. I learned and discovered so much about writing and about myself while creating it. We're truly almost at a year, and originally, when this idea came to me, I was back on my old blog and I just can't even express to you how crazy it is to know the notes I got on first fics to this journey to the new blog and this series...I feel like I can't say thank you enough or express how crazy it is to me and how truly grateful I am. While writing this I was thoroughly broken down to just a sobbing mess multiple times by comments, messages, and love left for the story - I have your messages saved, and they mean more to me than you could ever know. I made new friends while writing it, I daydreamed about these fucking idiots while on my first international trip, I'm chasing crazy dreams and it's truly all because of this story and you guys. All because of your patience and encouragement as I strung you along for almost an entire year just for a silly little fanifc.

A special and specific thank you to @sweetsweetjellybean I love you I love you I love yoouuuu and I know this was a way bigger commitment than either of us foresaw when I asked you to beta for me. Hours, days, and months of friendship and encouragement can't be acknowledged with a simple thank you, but it's the best I got. And another special thank you to @loveshotzz who not only is also an avid supporter, editor, and encourager, but gave me all the Chicago daydreams and sightseeing tour that literally is at the heart of this entire series. Red Hot Ranch idiots, Steve's apartment, Replay, the train, and many more things wouldn't exist without her.

Thank you for your endless support, for literally taking my hands and dragging me across the finish line, I don't deserve either of you 💛

thank you all for your constant patience, encouragement, and love. And thank you for letting me tell Rocketman and Y/N's story 💛

[antialiasis]

Chess på svenska

Wow, this one really is entirely different from the others. This is a Swedish translation of Chess from 2002, and I mean translation very loosely: half the songs here have just been repurposed to be about something entirely different and/or take place in some entirely different context within the plot, and the lyrics may or may not have any relation whatsoever to what the original lyrics were. ("I Know Him So Well" is just literally the exact opposite of the original song, Svetlana arguing that Anatoly needs structure and rules i.e. her and Florence that he needs freedom i.e. her.)

The bit where doing it in Swedish means they have to write new lyrics does give them a lot of creative freedom to restructure the story. An English version has to try to find some configuration of the existing songs and write its way between them, or else actually get Tim Rice to write entirely new lyrics. Chess på svenska knew the language change meant it didn't technically have to do that, and just really milked that for all it was worth in figuring out an entirely new way to tell something loosely like the base story using some of the same melodies (and some new ones).

This time around, Anatoly is the main-main character (he's played by Tommy Körberg, who was Anatoly on the concept album, and I do like his performance a lot). We start with him at home, singing "The Story of Chess" to his son after an argument with Svetlana, who already thinks he's cheating on her on his chess trips. There's only one chess tournament once again, in Merano, with Freddie as the champion and Anatoly as the challenger.

I think this was the best beginning of Florence and Anatoly's relationship in any of these. She really does vent her frustrations about Freddie to him (in a completely rewritten version of "Someone Else's Story", taking place after she witnesses Freddie with other girls at a club after "1956 - Budapest Is Rising"), and he's interested in her father, and he sort of pulls her with him when Molokov is distracted so he can go apply for political asylum. All in all I quite liked much of the first act here, the way it also gave focus to Florence's trauma and the way they connected and the generally effective staging, and was prepared to speak generally positively of it by the time of the act break.

On the other hand... where Chess in Concert's first act was far too slow, this one really dragged in act two. We spend a while on the romance drama, and in act two it all gets a lot blander and lengthier.

We start Act II by doing "Argument" from the concept album but as a totally rewritten argument between Florence and Freddie, which is fine. Then we do "Pity the Child", which is one of the songs that's just legitimately a translation, although it loses the whole parallel of the repeated "Just in case they said...", boo. Then we do an argument between Anatoly and Svetlana at their hotel (Molokov had her and their son just plan abducted and taken there) after Anatoly cavorting with Florence has been publicized... and we use "Endgame" for it, and it's partly a translation, has Svetlana berating him for only caring about himself and him telling her she never understood, etc. I was like huhhh, we're pulling out the super-dramatic climax song now? Okay, I guess it gets a reprise for the climax? But okay, cool, fine.

Then Florence does "Heaven Help My Heart", which is not really a translation but still fairly generic love song. Then Svetlana sings a new song, "He Is a Man, He Is a Child", about her relationship with Anatoly. Then we do a "Merano" reprise where Florence and Anatoly go out to dance somewhere and Freddie arrives extremely drunk to warn him off her because she's a terrible woman don't you know women are the worst (can't believe every version of this musical is wildly different from the others but apparently every one of them chooses to include Freddie's misogyny verse, even the Swedish version that has to move it to an entirely different spot in the plot in an entirely different song). Then we do a long sequence with some acrobats doing cool acrobatics while Florence and Anatoly gaze in each other's eyes. Then they do "You and I", as a generic love song. At this point I looked up at my husband and went, "So like, is the chess tournament still going on at this point?" Don't get me wrong, the acrobats are great, it's very artistic, but as far as the story goes we've just ground way to a halt by this point, in my opinion, and my attention was definitely wandering.

I think the problem is there isn't a good enough sense of actual emotional progression to all this - of course dramatic arguments can totally be gripping storytelling, but here it kind of feels like you could put these bits in any order or skip some and they'd all make the same amount of sense - it doesn't feel like anything actually changes for Florence and Anatoly because of Freddie showing up the way he does, or like Anatoly's argument with Svetlana affected his emotional state or informed how he acts in the dance scene, or anything. As a result, it feels like it's just kind of spinning its wheels here, doing scenes that are dramatic on their face but aren't actually progressing anything for the narrative.

After this the Arbiter does announce they're going to continue the chess match (what even is the Arbiter in this version, incidentally). After the rewritten "I Know Him So Well", Anatoly meets Molokov and asks when he'll get to meet his son, and Molokov tells him he's sure adopted the Western ideology of selfishness fast and you know what'll happen to your family if you stay in the West and if you know what's good for them you'll lose the next match and then rescind your defection. (Oh, and Molokov gets a song here about the wife he used to have whom he betrayed as a sacrifice for the cause.)

Then they do the match, under the "Champions" chorus, and Anatoly just... quietly loses. No "Endgame" at all other than the one during that argument near the beginning of the act! I actually managed to miss the moment he even lost and had to rewatch it to be sure exactly how it went (it's not even explicit whether he threw the match on purpose per se). It's quite an anticlimax compared to the bombastic high drama of "Endgame". I do get what they're going for with this, though, the quietness and the ominous choir reciting the champions in the background just making it all very small and sad, and we don't really need words here to know this Anatoly loves his son so much it was never a choice for him under Molokov's explicit threat - after that Molokov scene, this is the most effective this ending could be, and I think they made a good call doing it this way, given they went for that.

I like Anatoly and Florence in this version, although I feel like they get muddled and less distinct in the second act. Freddie here is the boring asshole version, never really humanized beyond the obligatory "Pity the Child", which isn't enough by itself to make Freddie feel like a compelling character. I found myself particularly disappointed in Svetlana, though, because she does get a significant amount of focus but never in a way that really makes her sympathetic or likable or interesting, as she's constantly just being pitted against Florence and Anatoly rather than truly getting developed as a person with her own independent existence and feelings that aren't about grr Anatoly and grr Florence. One of the things I liked about "I Know Him So Well" originally is that it's about Florence and Svetlana, who are theoretically romantic rivals, each being sympathetic to the other's point of view (even if they don't know it) - originally Chess doesn't pit them against one another at all, instead only having them echo and back up each other. Not so here, where Svetlana calls Florence a whore and "I Know Him So Well" is instead an argument where they're both going, "No, mine." I just enjoy that dynamic a lot less, and Svetlana just feels kind of one-dimensional.

So, all in all, I think this version had cool promise and did some cool things, Tommy Körberg was great, but it also definitely floundered in various ways particularly in the second act, in my opinion. I may write one more post of final synthesized Chess thoughts now that I've experienced all the main plot strains as far as I understand it.

[girlreviews]

Review #295: Random Access Memories, Daft Punk

It sort of blows my mind that this album is already over a decade old. It’s been out long enough that I listened to it too much, let it live in the wilderness for a while, and then fell in love with it again. I kinda think it might have been a little critically divisive at the time. Some people thought it was very commercial and really far away from what they had come to love about Daft Punk. But a lot of people didn’t mind the direction they had taken because it was still artistically really good. I definitely think it holds up. And I liked their older stuff a lot too. It’s okay to like both, not sure if everyone realizes that. We actually don’t have to fight about it guys! Not only did it have a lot more emotional and lyrical substance to it compared to previous work, but they were really adding in a lot of complexity with more mainstream instruments through their collaborations. It was really cool, what those robots did, man. They really did a lot for music in the 2000s. Even with their music videos and shit. Thank you robots.

This record came out in late May of 2013. I left the UK and moved back to the US in late June of 2013. That last month was spent with friends, spending quality time before we said goodbye, and we happened to get a few weeks of sunshine. Get Lucky had been released in April ahead of the full album, and it felt like a breath of fresh air. I remember my boy bestie sending it to me and being like, hey, fuckin’ listen to this, yeah? It had Nile Rogers from Chic in it! Fuck yeah! We fucking love some Chic! It’s about time people realized they were cool! By the end of the week our group chat was just back and forth of “We’re up all night to get [insert literally any two syllable word]”. It got old quickly to be honest, and eventually so did the song. But I still do melt right at the very end when its tiny little guitar riff gently repeats and fades out. I will always let the song play all the way through just so I can hear it end so perfectly. It never bothered me that it got so overplayed on the radio, it bothered me that on the radio, that guitar riff got talked over by the DJ EVERY FUCKING TIME. Criminal.

Then the rest of it came and every meetup or long weekend together was a lot of dancing, alongside a heated debate or deep and meaningful conversation about which track was the best. There were only a few people who were just too cool to admit that it was simply a great album. Always the usual suspects. I was always an outlier with my thoughts on the best track, which in my humble opinion is Touch, featuring Paul Williams. The same Paul Williams that wrote Kermit the Frog’s Rainbow Connection, and the entire Muppet Christmas Carol soundtrack. I imagine other people might cite other more famous works of his — but I really love the Muppets, and I’m proud of my choices. I think that fact alone is enough to make it the best track truth be told but it also happens to just be absolutely incredible. Lyrically, it actually blows my tiny mind. Multiple times throughout, actually. But musically it’s just out of this fucking world. Someone had this song in their mind, and brought it into existence so that it could be heard and witnessed by us all. I can listen to the piano alongside these electronic space travel noises gently lead into two robots beautifully singing to me, like a lullaby, until it descends into a whole-ass choir:

“Hold on

If love is the answer

You’re home”

On repeat. For awhile. Just long enough that you’re like. Wow yeah, I’m home! Everything’s gonna be okay! Thank you kind robots and children apparently in space! And then some violins are gently floating you back down to earth, with an up-tempo and assuring drumbeat. The children are still singing, but they’re getting further away. Suddenly. Paul’s back. And his voice is alone, eventually joined by the piano, which is somber. He’s very serious:

“Touch, sweet touch

You’ve given me too much to feel

Touch, sweet touch

You’ve almost convinced me I’m real

I need something more

I need something more”

WHAT? ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS? WHAT JUST HAPPENED? WHERE HAVE I BEEN? AM I OKAY? WILL I EVER BE OKAY AGAIN?

I will, you will, we all will, but what’s just happened is, we have all just listened to an absolutely perfect and incredible work of pure emotional and artistic genius. When I hear this song it feels like my muscles relax. It makes my ears warm. It moves me. I’m not really joking when I say it’s literally a journey — no wait, a Broadway performance, featuring Nile Rogers — through time and space.

I believe we all agreed that Giorgio by Moroder was outstanding. I still agree with that. In fact from my love of the track I have gone on to listen to a lot more of Giorgio Moroder’s work, or maybe discovered that I had listened to a lot of it without really realizing. The part about the “click”, and the Moog modulator. I love thinking about this time in music, because there would have been this time where people heard sounds they had literally never heard before. I went to the Moog factory in Asheville, NC and it was the coolest shit ever. Nerdy, cool ass shit. Like Giorgio Moroder, and Daft Punk.

Random Access Memories was just the perfect soundtrack to that very sunny, sweet, and sort of sad time. I was gathering up my belongings and delivering the most special items to my friends (my records, my guitar, art, books), things I couldn’t bring with me, so that they could look after them until I got everything figured out. If I were to look at any pictures from those last few weeks in the UK, I know we would were all super fucked up in every single one. In our defense we were all 24/25 years old, and I don’t think we wanted to deal with our big feelings. I most certainly didn’t. And it was really fucking fun. We all felt the love. They are happy memories. Those are still my people. They still have my stuff. We all still love this record. It’s just that the last time I spent New Year’s Eve with them, we played nerdy board games, watched Jools Hollands Hootenanny, had a cheese plate and some wine and went to bed by 1AM. And then on New Year’s Day we went on a “lovely nice walk”.

At one of my friends 30th birthdays, and this was well into my living in the states, everyone was really hammered and the playlist was pretty all over the place. A lot of very millennial emo, Blink 182, you know. But suddenly Instant Crush from this album, the collaboration with Julian Casablancas came on. I swear to god, the weirdest thing happened. It had been pretty rowdy, we were all drunk and singing along to whatever was on and getting pretty silly, but when this song came on. Everyone stood in a circle, and sang it really sweetly doing tiny little robot wiggles. It was so pure. It ended, everyone cracked up, and then resumed the chaos. The next day I had one of the worst hangovers I’d had in a fucking WHILE and had to go to a pretty fancy brunch with my brother in law and his wife. I had to excuse myself from the table to barf SEVERAL times. I regret nothing.

I feel really sentimental about this record, it just makes me think of summer, friends, sunshine, being fucked up in a fun way, and goodbyes — but the kind that are okay because it’s with your ride or dies who you know are always gonna be there. It’s twelve years later, I’m listening to Random Access Memories as I write this, and we are all still besties. I do probably need to get my stuff from them though.

In 2023, to celebrate 10 years of Random Access Memories, Daft Punk released the drumless edition of the album. This one didn’t seem to be such a universally adored hit among all of my pals. But I gotta tell you, I loved it just as much. It feels totally different and I was here for it. Check it out, maybe you’ll hate it, but keep an open mind. I admit, it’s likely that I have rose tinted glasses on about it. That’s fine with me.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

i just finished the chapter AND OH MY GOD. it was so cute and sweet but absolutely heartbreaking at the same time. toge and panda broke me☹️☹️☹️ i love hana sm and i love the way you portray her bc she seems like such a sweet person and i really love how y/n tries to befriend her and not make her feel unwelcome

yuta just continues to raise my standards, that man is the greenest flag to exist and the way he loves y/n so much makes me bang my head against a wall. they’re everything to me and they’re literally the definition of what love is

maki is my baby, her and y/ns relationship is so pure and you can see how much they care for each other. i feel like their love for one another doesnt have an explanation, its more than just platonic love, they’re literally soulmates

TULLIA UGHHHHHHH everytime shes mentioned my heart drops to the ground and i miss her so so so so much. it shatters my heart the way she never got to confess to toge herself, they deserved so much better ☹️☹️

and gojo omg. y/n and gojos relationship may be my favourite in the entire series. i love how much they care for each other and the way they’re literally siblings. the photo album ABSOLUTELY killed me, it was so thoughtful and so sweet and fr the best gift you can ever give someone. it makes me really sad that its probably the last thing she’ll ever get from gojo (if the story goes there (PLS DONT IM GONNA SOB AND SCREAM))

all in all, i absolutely loved this chapter but it felt like the calm (if you can call it that really) before the storm and im so not ready for the next chapter. it kills me that pi is ending so soon, i’ll miss it so much and i’ll miss all the characters and inside jokes of the book, but im still really excited to know what happens and see everything get revealed (im gonna be screaming crying shaking and dying on the floor)

toge and panda the forgotten favs 😫 i’m like 99% sure that’s the last time we’re going to see those two and they’ve been there since the BEGINNING so it was so bittersweet writing that chapter 😔 but HANAAA i love her sm she deserved sm better from the fandom and from gege as a whole i will always defend her. the whole trend of female characters obsessed with the male main characters that dgaf abt them is so annoying and disappointing to me tbh especially because hana had so much potential to be such an interesting character given her powers and dynamic with angel. so i tried to expand on her just a little bit!! maybe in another fic i’ll focus on her more because she really is so cool.

YUTA IS SO SWEET he is THE boyfriend of all time like the biggest gentleman ever i love him sm 😢 he’s just so kind and loving and ugh i can’t

maki and y/n really do escape definition tbh. like i couldn’t tell you WHAT they are but whatever it is it’s a very very pure form of love and they are so dear and important to me. their relationship (along w y/n and yuta’s ofc) definitely exemplifies the core of pi and idt the story would be the same without it at ALL

the tullia mentions are so sad for me too because i’ve actually never killed her off before so it’s weird to write something without her there in some way shape or form. her and toge deserved sm more than they got fr.

GOJO AND Y/N. that’s it that’s the sentence…as much as the romance in pi is central to it i think the bond between gojo and y/n is just as important. they kill me every time because they didn’t get as much time as they deserved together (#l/nclanslander) but they still love each other more than anything. the photo album had me sobbing especially describing all of the pictures from the first half of the story 😭 it felt so end credit scene if that makes sense?? and just reminded me that this entire ridiculous journey is almost over ☹️ no spoilers for what will happen to everyone hehehe you will have to wait and see

THIS CHAPTER TRULY IS IT. the calm before the storm the last time we see everyone…it truly will be the end of an era once pi is over (which is so so soon) i’m going to feel so empty for a bit and it’s going to be so odd to not be able to write more adventures of the pi crew (but at least that means asftd and h/h can get back to being updated regularly again!!)

[littlescaryinternetguy]

From your travels, what are you favorite human facts/inventions that you’ve discovered?

OK, sorry this took a while, but actually, this works. See, fairies have no use for amplification. For one thing, we usually take pains NOT to be noticed. This, and only this, is why you never see teeny tiny little busted boom boxes littering the forest floor. For second, our music is a music of grace, a music of harmony. A music, for the most part, of peace. Loudness is considered something of a vice in our culture. At best it is considered a necessary evil, best summoned as infrequently as possible. Fairies can hear you people coming from a mile away. Literally. We got good ears, and y'all have all the grace and light feet of a squadron of tanks. Me? I have use for amplification. I love music, and much of the music that y'all make from, oh, 1940 on is amplified. I love what humans can do with amplification. I love how humans can mis-use amplification. There's some human band who has an album called Feedback Is An Act Of God, and they didn't know how right they are. Amplification allows the instruments to speak for themselves. There is a whole world of sounds that could never exist without it, and they aren't just loud. The reason this took a while is because instead of responding I stowed away in someone's trunk and went to DC and I saw a show last night that absolutely kicked my ass up around my earlobes. I saw a man use a guitar in ways that are entirely incorrect. He looked like he was having a seizure, or like one of us in one of our rites. In fact, he chanted QUICK! QUICK! in counterpoint to someone else singing (through amplification) some lines from one of your gospels. QUICK QUICK Knock and it will be opened QUICK QUICK Ask and it will be given QUICK QUICK Seek and you will find... so open up your fucking mind and you can fly, silence is still death and clone fashion and clone motion are still silent signs Because you know we have the handle And you know they have the blade So, boys and girls, its time to decide decide decide

Silence is beautiful and it is the language of my people, but God, we're not Episcopalians. At least I'm not. So noise, volume, disturbance: use them, cherish them, love them. My favorite human invention is amplification.

[godforbidfate]

i know i should be thrilled that speak now is about to reach a whole new demographic of people and obviously new songs and recordings are a huge win but as someone who fully lived through the actual speak now era in 2010, i just think these new people do not understand the context and the complexities of that album and that era! while yes, fearless and red both had their own stuff going on, i think speak now remains the most pivotal era in taylor's early career and her country career especially.

while taylor was making huge waves at that time with fearless and the grammys, she was still ultimately a new artist in the industry and she was still incredibly young. so to jump from an unknown country singer to the youngest album of the year winner, she immediately had people criticizing her left and right. i had to defend her to every other person i met because they critiqued her voice or her songwriting or her dancing and not to mention her dating life! and while all this was happening, we the fans were either around her age (19-22) or right behind her (13-18) and so all of us rallied around her while ALSO being criticized ourselves!! the only reason speak now exists is because PEOPLE TREATED TAYLOR LIKE SHIT FOR WINNING AWARDS AND SELLING RECORDS AND WRITING HER SILLY LITTLE LOVE SONGS ABOUT BOYS IN HOMEROOM!

looking back now it is so much more impressive that speak now was her first million release week and that made such a huge impact not only on the industry but also on us as fans and taylor's career as a whole. while fearless was successful, the bond we formed going into speak now solidified taylor and locked her in for a future in this industry because she showed up for us and so we showed up for her. she started meeting fans, playing the most elaborate show of her career complete with choreography and insane costume changes, she crafted her persona as a Performer and a Songwriter all in one era and while the rest of the world was against her, we stood there with her because everybody was against us too.

which is what is so unbelievably annoying now because EVERYBODY LOVES HER! people will latch onto this album because the songwriting is good - IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN - and i stand by that it truly is one of her best, but it never got the recognition it needed because of the circumstances surrounding taylor at that time. but that means now, with her even LARGER fanbase where culturally people have started to see her in a positive light, launching her into the stratosphere of popularity, there is no way to fully appreciate the context of the album. yes, mean is a fun little song about how people suck and one day you're gonna be okay — but what about the inspiration for the song? what about how people literally told lies that she didn't write her own music? and okay yes, it's wild that she dated john mayer and taylor lautner and the kanye stuff happened, but like...do you realize what it was like to watch her go through that in real time and watch the entire world MAKE FUN OF HER FOR IT? and how do you appreciate all of this while also never being bullied (strong word but not uncommon for swifties!!!) for liking or listening to taylor back when she was still starting out? speak now is an album for US - not just general fans, but the fans who stood by her in 2010 when the entire world thought she was the most annoying person in the industry, not worth anyone's time.

what's more, it makes me sad that fans these days will not get to witness these songs during their original era. it's magical to see her revisit her old stuff and i'm sure these songs will sound even more incredible than they already do, but as a long time taylor swift fanatic, i have to stress that i have always been stuck in the 2010-2011 speak now era. i'll be in my seventies and still thinking about the thanksgiving documentary, about the chanel perfume sweater, the oxford shoes, the purple knit hat with the flannel, the central park piano concert, the bus with her face on it, the fucking speak now tour in all its glory. i'll remember the start of the t-parties, the rain show at gilette, the cover songs and koi guitar and the start of her magnificent mashups, when she started bringing out her friends and idols at her concerts, when we spent hours deciphering the handwritten lyrics she'd put on her arms...

yes taylor has been around for a long time and so much of who she is now is because of all her eras not just this one, but people don't appreciate just how much of taylor is because of speak now. and they don't realize just how much our community and her fans were built on the foundations of that time period. so much of the swiftie standard is because of the speak now era.

i hate to be the kind of person to gatekeep because that isn't necessarily the point and i also know that it isn't that serious but i think it just makes me sad that the older we get, the more time that passes and the more these older eras become their own kind of folklore. it's a kind of grief, mourning all the ways things used to be and how young we were and how we were all growing up with taylor and all of us were getting treated like shit. and so yes, it's cool that new people can access this music and fall in love with it like i did when i was fifteen, but it will never be like it was...and that's kind of special in its own way. you can listen to speak now tv and love these songs, but i remember what it was like back then. i was there, and it meant something, and in my head i'm still there, trying not to grow up but wishing for the opportunity to make my voice heard.

[astroidfangirl]

Meet the Eras

I realize that if I'm making a page of Incorrect quotes about Taylor Swift's albums, I probably should give you guys an idea about how I personally characterize them (This isn't to be taken seriously, and everything I upload to this page is just for fun) That being said let's get into it.

DEBUT- A naive high schooler Says things like "Big mood" or "Fight me" (She would not win in a fight). She doesn't wear makeup or care about her appearance too much. She is a shy bookworm with 2 friends. She also gives terrific hugs. She is the younger sister of speak now because Picture to burn (homophobic version) goes with Better than Revenge (Mysoginistic version) like Peanut Butter goes with Jelly.

FEARLESS- I made her besties with DEBUT because Taylor was also in high school when she wrote this album. However, she is more outgoing and confident than Debut is. She is close to her mother and writes shitty poetry during her free time. She goes to bed at 8:00 PM and always zones out in class. She is the younger sister of Reputation because she was unhinged as heck during this era (The monologue song and the chair throw are everything)

From this point, I imagine everyone in college rather than high school.

SPEAK NOW: Petty and dramatic (But we love her for it). She is pretty irresponsible (Despite claiming otherwise) and can hold a grudge. She has been beefing with Folklore since High School because her boyfriend (at the time) cheated on her with Folklore (Hence the whole love triangle and better than revenge). She enjoys eating sweets and likes cold weather. She is secretly a hopeless romantic and has her entire damn wedding planned.

RED: Roommates with Speak Now. She is currently going through a breakup and is kind of depressed about it. She is a climate protester and is being tormented by the DuoLingo Owl to learn French. She gets drunk at parties and then cries in the bathroom. (And overshares to anyone who will listen to her)

1989: She is the popular sorority girl. She enjoys traveling and partying with friends. She is that one girl who gets good grades in her classes without trying. She says things like- "I was born in the wrong generation," despite always being on her phone. She plans to move to New York City after she graduates.

REPUTATION: Literally the best person you will ever meet. She will stand up for anyone, even if they are a total stranger. If you tell her a secret, she will never tell another soul. She is dating LOVER, and everyone on campus ships them. She has a pet snake. (You guys can give me name suggestions). She is the biggest softie ever.

LOVER: Is lowkey the mom friend of the group. She bakes cookies for everyone during their weekly board game nights. She is definitely a Disney adult. She is a huge feminist and is very involved in politics. She sometimes lashes out at Reputation for small things but always apologizes. She is also an Astrology girl.

FOLKLORE: The whole love triangle in the Album played out with Speak Now as Betty and her as Augustine. She is twins with Evermore, and although she is older by 13 minutes (See what I did there), she journals about her feelings, and her sleep schedule is non-existent.

EVERMORE: Twins with Folklore and Besties with Red. She is an Art Major who loves painting. She watches so much true crime that she probably could get away with murder. She lowkey has commitment issues because her dad was a huge prick (In reference to the song Seven in Folklore's album)

Midnights: Besties with Reputation and is definitely a stoner, She defiantly believes in Karma. Tons of boys are in love with her but she doesn't really care. She is kind of an emo who can scheme people into doing whatever the hell she wants. She studied abroad in Paris for a semester and claims that it changed her life.

[randomvarious]

Today’s compilation:

The Best of the Sound of Sunshine 1991 Disco / Disco-Funk / Funk / Soul

Today I took a look at T.K. Records, an independent label from Miami that played a foundational role in helping to grow and spread disco music worldwide while the genre was still in its mid-70s infancy and then continued on as a Billboard Dance chart staple until its untimely demise in 1981. Had it not been for T.K., it's actually entirely possible that the disco era as we know it may have never even occurred 😮.

And it all starts with this album's opener, the blissfully dreamy and unexpected #1 single that's now managed to sell over *11 million records worldwide,* George McCrae's 1974 debut, "Rock Your Baby." It was written by two members of KC & the Sunshine Band, Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch, shortly before that group would become their own force to be reckoned with. And the funny thing about this particular song is that it sort of happened on a bit of a whim: McCrae was only called in because KC & the Sunshine Band couldn't sing the high notes themselves. And they'd also intended for George's wife, Gwen, whose career he also managed, to record it, but she didn't make it to the session in time. George didn't even have any solo career to speak of at that point and was actually planning on going back to college, but that recording invitation ended up changing everything for not only him, but also KC & the Sunshine Band, T.K. Records itself, and even the trajectory of disco music as a whole since the tune became one of the genre's first ever feats. And it's also one of the first songs to *ever use a drum machine* too. So, it's literally a world-changing record. And I also happen to think that it's one of the greatest songs that's ever been made, period; like, top-ten-status. Seriously, it’s *that* good.

And the unprecedented success of "Rock Your Baby" then paved the way for KC & the Sunshine Band to keep the still nascent disco wave going on their own, with two of their first *five #1 hits in a five-year span* being released within just four months of each other in 1975: "Get Down Tonight" and "That's the Way (I Like It)," both of which have become genre-defining disco playlist staples and are also featured on this album.

KC & the Sunshine Band would then anchor T.K.'s roster throughout most of its remaining existence, but Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch would also co-write more songs for other acts on the label too, including a terrific piece of uptempo funky soul by the one and only Betty Wright, whose "Where Is the Love," released by T.K. sublabel Alston, barely managed to scrape the Hot 100 in 1975, but ended up peaking at #2 on the Dance Club chart.

And T.K. had other successes that didn't involve KC & the Sunshine Band too. One example is another global chart-topper in 1979 from one-hit wonder Anita Bell, who recorded "Ring My Bell" for T.K. subsidiary Juana. The rest of the label's songs that didn't involve KC & the Sunshine Band didn't fare nearly as well as that one, but The Bahamas' T-Connection managed to top the Dance chart for a full seven weeks in 1977 with "Do What You Wanna Do," which appears on this album alongside another excellent track of theirs from the following year called "At Midnight," which peaked at #3 on the Dance chart.

And closing out this album, much like it began, is another chill disco bop that features a great lead male falsetto on it in Foxy’s “Party Boys.” Released in 1980 as the band’s final single, it’s equipped with a fat bassline and some nice, soft touches of organ. It never made the Hot 100, but it peaked at #24 on the Dance chart. and it's proven itself to have been a pretty damn fine swan song for the group.

Now, I wouldn't say that this album fully entails what the best of T.K. Records and its many subsidiaries was, because, for that to happen, at least five of these songs would've had to have been by KC & the Sunshine Band. But still, only with just two of their #1s, "Rock Your Baby," and "Ring My Bell," you can see just how integral this label was to disco's success. And beyond that list of all-time disco bangers, T.K. was also able to keep the Dance chart humming with more terrific offerings that have become much more underappreciated over the years. There's a very important slice of disco history that's packed into this album, even if it doesn't present *all* of T.K.'s greatest hits.

Highlights:

George McCrae - "Rock Your Baby" KC & the Sunshine Band - "Get Down Tonight" KC & the Sunshine Band - "That's the Way (I Like It)" Peter Brown - "Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me" Anita Ward - "Ring My Bell" T-Connection - "At Midnight" T-Connection - "Do What You Wanna Do" Jimmy "Bo" Horne - "Spank" Betty Wright - "Where Is the Love" Foxy - "Party Boys"

[jingyanwang]

Six recent song favourites

thank youu @petrichoraline for the tag i was surprised and double checked 'cause i've only been lurking here so far, yes i'm too shy to interact. but i'm listening to music 25hrs a day and i love doing little lists of anything really. also i'm the kind of person who would say 'wow i love this song it's so good' and then proceed to listen to it 50 times without elaborating+ but i'll do my best

Creepin' by Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, 21 Savage

i love metro boomin i really liked all his albums so far so i was hyped for his new album -it didn't disappoint. and if you give me abel on literally anything i'm already sold before even listening to the song it's embarrassing (and he gave me abel and 21 what was i supposed to do i'm sorry i'm me)

Crescendo by Monsta X

my favourite of the comeback no doubt. for me it was the kind of song that i loved after the first time listening to it and usually i need to listen to albums a few times to know which ones are my favourites, but not here, their vocals, the beat, they did amazing. also kihyun is starting how can i not be sold from the first line i'm so weak

Animal by Jinyoung

my dear.. i was already in love when jinyoung posted the preview and the entire song turned out to be as amazing as i expected. his whole album is really soft thanks it gives me something to cry over

Breath by oceanfromtheblue

i took this one 'cause i like it a bit more but it's not a strong favourite like the two others that i could listen to 50 times in a row but i've been listening to the whole album since it came out it's good i love to shuffle play it when i need to get stuff done (it's music that doesn't distract me) i love the vibe it's pretty chill

Gravity by Jong Ho

it was either halazia or gravity (my atiny is showing) but jongho deserves so much recognition for this song. who do i need to threaten to get this more promoted? the drama is really popular they could at least give it an mv... but anyways i'm really proud of jongho

Amnesia by KAI

*cracks knuckles* yes my love. it's not recent i'll admit but still a favourite so it counts..? his 12 songs keep me alive on a daily basis, it's very recent to me. amnesia is my favourite and i wanna say his best song (dare i say his favourite too even if his brain decided to forget that the song exists). the day he'll perform it live again is the day i'll unalive myself. also his 3rd album is coming mid-march, my birthday month he did it for me

special mention to devil by the window by txt and killer by key. dbtw is my favourite of the comeback but i guess i like crescendo a bit more so choices were made. killer just came out but it's kibum i knew it would be good (and it is!).

i love to know about people's music tastes too

so i won't tag anyone but feel free to do it if you feel like it? it was fun to make ehe

[caralara]

i think the people who talk about not buying louis' album if bbg doesn't end, or cancelling orders, or not watching a documentary if it contains stunt content, etc etc, are missing something kind of important. i think that all only makes sense if you think that 1, the purpose of bbg is to make money, and 2, louis has the power to end it.

as for 1, i think it's easy to contrast with holivia. even if you disagreed, people refusing to go see dwd at least made sense, because the idea was that holivia was designed as a pr stunt to generate attention for the movie that was hoped to turn into ticket sales, so refusing to let it turn into ticket sales would demonstrate that the goal of the pr stunt failed. but i don't know how people would think the goal of bbg (or even simply the recent f mentions) are album promo or to generate more album sales. it's not attracting new fans, generating new attention, or making existing fans more likely to buy the album to hear that f's bedtime is 7. (i'd maybe be more sympathetic to that view if louis were going out to radio stations being like, yeah, that song is about my experience of fatherhood, but that'd be a very different universe in a lot of ways)

and as for 2, if people think louis has the power to end bbg immediately with minimal adverse consequences and is choosing not to... idk, refer to point 1. what would be the point of not ending it? doesn't it make much more sense to consider that louis has logical reasons for doing things the way he's doing them, whether that be a carefully laid plan to end it (which i think is the case) or even just that there is no good way to end it without harming the actual child involved so he's making the best choices he can? (idk, i just get grumpy when people scream about how bbg/being used for bbg is harming f, so clearly the solution is to immediately end bbg and expose b and her entire family as active participants in a huge coverup collaborating with his record label and having all known the whole time that f wasn't louis' kid... like that wouldn't have any adverse consequences for f at all. your theory about how it could end seems like the gentlest possible way to end it for f imo)

Hi love!

Thank you so much for sending in such a thoughtful text, you put it in words very well.

To me it’s so clear that Louis always has a plan. Granted, sometimes things don’t work out or they have to get adjusted, but to me he always does things with a purpose, and to me I think that his end goals are not necessarily profit but to secure a career so he can keep doing what he loves.

Anytime he’s stunting, that’s so clear to me - he’s not doing it for fun or to maximise profit, but bc there’s a logic behind it, a plan.

So I agree, to me it’s very weird and a bit upsetting to see people doubt him so much and blame him for stunting, or throwing a tantrum over it. He’s literally asking us to have faith (in him), and I 100% do.

Thank you again!

[sunflouwerhabit]

hello, my fellow tortured poets 🩶🤍🖤

happy one month of the tortured poets department! i have spent the past few weeks connecting with this album in a life-altering way and while it’s still too soon to know where it ranks in taylor’s discography for me, i think i am *tentatively* ready (after endless sleepless nights) to provide a *tentative* *potential* top 10 from both ttpd and the anthology! 🤍

((these are subject to change at the drop of a hat because there are already 3 songs that didn’t make the cut and i hate myself for it, and also because i’ve been having a moment with “fresh out the slammer” when she was my least favorite for the past month and that’s proof that i don’t know what i’m talking about <3 but anyway!))

let’s get into it!!!

in no particular order…

i can do it with a broken heart

i adored this song from first listen. it was my initial standout track and i’ve only loved it even more every single day since. it has me feeling ready to take on the entire world. i think if i had heard this song in 2021 i probably would have needed resuscitated

favorite lyric: “i cry a lot but i am so productive, it’s an art” (i’m a capricorn. it resonates so deeply).

peter

i have seen more than my fair share of one direction tiktok edits to this song and i consider every single one a hate crime. it HURTS. but also the way this parallels my favorite lyric in cardigan (“i knew you tried to change the ending, peter losing wendy”) AND the way it fits with maisie peter’s “wendy” … oh i am ruined. you already know i have a playlist with just cardigan, peter, and wendy and it’s pure pain. 1989/10

favorite lyric: “cause love’s never lost when perspective is earned” (but actually the entire bridge, though)

the bolter

taylor read my diary with this one and i’m still working out the best way to take legal action. god i love it so much. the chorus is so catchy and is a masterclass in storytelling. the metaphor of falling through the ice is just … this is a perfect song. it’s an actual perfect song. this one (and peter too) are in my top THREE on the album <3

favorite lyric: “ended with the slam of the door but she’s got the best stories you can be sure that as she was leaving, it felt like freedom”

but daddy i love him

IM HAVING HIS BABY! NO IM NOT BUT YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR FACES!!!!!!!! okay i’m so embarrassed to say that after my first listen, i ranked this song second to last? listen. it was nearly one in the morning and i didn’t know what i was talking about. this feels like a grown up version of love story. it tells a story !!!!! taylor’s country roots come through !!!! and as a queer individual….. i just relate. i love it. it’s perfect.

favorite lyric: “i’ll tell you something right now, i’d rather burn my whole life down, than listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning” (i scream this so passionately in my car)

who’s afraid of little old me?

i think this may be the best written song on the album. it has the witchiness of evermore. the songwriting of speak now. it’s a masterful look into how she views her own fame and sense of self (a topic she has covered before, but never in this way) and while i can’t relate to it on that level, i love it as a storyteller and as someone existing in society as a woman

favorite lyric: “you don’t get to call me about sad” OR “is it a wonder i broke, let’s hear one more joke” (but the entire song is perfect)

guilty as sin?

i could literally listen to only this song for the rest of my life and it wouldn’t be enough. this is god tier taylor. obviously it has the sensuality of songs like dress or false god, but i also think the heart of the song is rooted in the guilt that comes with falling out of love. it HURTS. also the religious lyricism. god. but also also. it’s such a fucking banger

favorite lyric: “am i allowed to cry?” / “what if he’s written ‘mine’ on my upper thigh only in my mind?”

i hate it here

this song feels like the bolter, in the sense that i genuinely think taylor is writing about me. it’s so rude. i once again just believe this song is perfect. the girls that get it just GET IT. i have already used this song in my artwork. as an idyllic daydreamer, it cuts so deeply and resonates in a way few songs do and i also think it’s just so so so so so so so so so so ….. SO real. i love the simple production. it feels like an evermore track and evermore is my album, so <3

favorite lyric: “i hate it here so i will go to lunar valleys in my mind, when they found a better planet only the gentle survived. i read about it in a book, the night i felt like i might die” (i just … I GET IT).

the black dog

AND I HOPE IT’S SH I T T Y AT THE BLACK DOG. i think this song is the essence of everything i love about taylor. her storytelling, her way of making her personal experiences so relatable, the vulnerability. it’s very rare that i connect with a song instantly, but this is one that i feel in love with upon first listen. the production with “old habits die screaming” and the way it fades at the end of the song …. god. the entire thing is a masterpiece. have i mentioned how much i adore the anthology?

favorite lyric: “i just don’t understand how you don’t miss me” (almost crashed my car the first time i processed that one)

so long, london

there are only two taylor albums where the track 5 doesn’t at least make my top 5, and this is not one of them. so long, london was the song i was most excited for when we first got the tracklist and it didn’t disappoint. the production is so melancholic but also SOUNDS like anxiety, in a way that’s reminiscent of the archer. it feels like the stages of grief that ends with acceptance and letting go and i think it’s powerful because it’s about a loss that’s already been mourned. also, as someone who connects deeply with places that i love and associate with people …. it HURTS

favorite lyric: “i’m just getting color back into my face, i’m just mad as hell ‘cause i loved this place for so long” (the way i internalize this line as it relates to my own life …. ooof)

so high school

and we’re rounding off a devastating list with a certified bop. listen. i don’t care. i fucking love this song. it’s pure bliss, pure love, pure joy (and also another one to add to the “spicy taylor swift” playlists). it makes me happy. “you know how to ball, i know aristotle” HELL YEAH!!!! also i don’t think the chorus gets enough credit for how well written it is. i think the lyrics fit the title so well with this song and it’s just … i just don’t understand how you can hear “and i’m pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free” in so long, london and NOT ugly cry when we get to this track. couldn’t be me. i love her. literal perfection. maybe taylor’s happiest pure love song since …… ever

favorite lyric: “you knew what you wanted and boy you got her” (AHSKEKEKWKSKSKS)

anyway! that is her! that is my tentative list! feel free to give me your lists! be advised this list could have looked very different a week ago and may look very different next week!!! i love this album so much!!!!! that’s all!!!! cheers to all the writing she will inspire 🤍

also, for fun: here are my pre-listen rankings based on vibes and my initial ranking after my first listen (before we even knew about the anthology) 🤍🩶🖤

have a wonderful sunday :-)

[wheeboo]

vocal unit girls shall rise 🫡 SAMEX3 IS SO ??? its such a vibe and i love every song uve listed on there omg 😭 attaca was an album i will never forget idc. it had the best songs (to you is just my love) FAST PACEEE ITS ONE OF THE BEST SVT SONGS AND NB CAN TELL ME OTHER WISE. honestly idubilu, good to me, swimming fool and oh my have my heart 😭 their songs are all so good so this was indeed hard lmaoo but u picked the best songss 😭

the way every artist you listed is a vibe there. 🫡🫡 WASIA PROJECT IS SO UNDERRATEDD ISTGG NB NEAR ME KNOWS AB THEM 😭 ranias existence is a need guys. beas songs are just so amazing and i wanna get into her more, any songs u recc?

those songs are so gooddd and some songs id def recc are pyramids, ivy and lost !! (the way u have my fav songs in ur playlist, meant to be ???)

ive left like a million asks about that but can i say im literally like this ⚰️⚰️⚰️ I HAVE FAINTEX I HAVE PASSED OMG URE SO GORGEOUSS 😭😭 ILL FIGHT FOR UR HAND IN MARRIAGE ILL GET U EVERY CORGI U WANT AND ILL STEAL BOO FOR YOU.

im glad ur doing good !! you can get through the homeworkk i believe in uu !! hope u get some rest and a lil treat afterwards for well obvious reasond ✊✊ Dgushs sakes such a cutie fr 😭😭

JEONGHAN WITH STYLE??? rania u keep making me fall in love w umpr3 and more each day.

I NEED SAME X3 TO BE PLAYED WHENEVR I WALK DOWN THE AISLE FR. attacca is literally their fav album for me its THAT revolutionary. FAST PACE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i had an entire hoe phase of it fr it was in my top replayed spotify songs its just that much of a masterpiece. mr lee jihoon pls we need more songs like fast pace 🙏

WASIA PROJECT IS UNDERRATED FR !! need more ppl to listen to them :(( and omg bea's songs... my fav song of her is lovesong, but i also recommend space cadet, you're here that's the thing, cologne, apple cider, she plays bass, tired, and dance with me!! her whole discography is a no skip tho 🫶🫶

i'll def take a listen of those when i can 🫡🫡 tysm for the recs!!

SJLKDSDKLF AND IVE SAID THANK U SM PLS I LOVE U :(( ur literally the kindest n sweetest muah muah i jsut know ur a pretty human being too 🫵😭

thank u!! i'm abt to leave for work soon so i hope u have a good rest of ur day love <33 and i hope ur day overall was good. gets some good night's sleep as always hehe

I LOVE JEONGHANS STYLE SM i need to steal his wardrobe. i need him rn actually. and what if i say i keep falling for u more each day 🤨🫵💞