#my first time listening to christmas music this year :0

[sleepinginmygrave]

laufeys christmas ep is sooo good

[danjaley]

Adventures in Reading

The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey

My first encounter with the Hobbit was when I was about ten years old and on a train-journey. My mother handed that pink edged book to me and said this was a good one, I'd enjoy it. So I looked at the cover and wondered which of these unpleasant-looking creatures was supposed to be the "Hobbit". To make things worse, the name Bilbo reminded me of a puppet-play by the Augsburger Puppenkiste "Bill-Bo und seine Kumpane" (about a gang of robbers), which I didn't enjoy. Although I usually think the world of the Augsburger Puppenkiste, and if they'd adapted the Hobbit, it would have been perfection.

Then I read the first few pages. A dwarf rang at the door of the "Hobbit". Then another dwarf. And another. And another. I did not notice anything humorous about it. I handed the book back and said it was a stupid book.

I don't have that copy any more - these are covers reprinted in the German Annotated Hobbit. It was only there that I found out, the cover art was originally supposed to look like the one on the left. Which at least has a unifying concept. But I have to confess I never liked anything by Klaus Ensikat.

The first thing by Tolkien I thoroughly enjoyed were the Father Christmas Letters, as an adorable tiny boxed set.

In my early teens, the Lord of the Rings movies came out, so it became common knowledge that this work existed, and The Hobbit was a prequel to it. My mother loves boxed sets, so of course we also have one of the Lord of the Rings+Hobbit. When I was small I always wondered why they put a small figure there instead of 0. Because I had seen those spines all my life, declared "a book for grown-ups" I never thought of them as something I might actually open and read. Since my best friend at the time "read Tolkien", I wanted to give him another chance, so I read Tuor's Arrival in Gondolin. Which is not exactly the best thing to start with.

There came the day my mother played a CD in the living-room, which I wanted to hear, but without anyone noticing I was listening. My relationship with music was even more complicated then, than it is now. So I picked up the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, which was lying about, and that was when I finally got it.

After this revelation I did read The Hobbit, but again I had tackled it wrong. Directly after The Lord of the Rings, I found it rather disappointing. It had one thing in common with Wuthering Heights: At 50% I thought, okay, all the famous quotes have been delivered, what on earth are they going to do with the rest of the book?

As an aside, my mother also owns this extraordinary English copy, which came out with the old animation-movie. That was my first read-through in English, but nowadays I have a reading-copy with all the appendices.

Then came the year 2012, in which the world did not end, but it was one of the worst years I ever lived through. It was also the year the first Hobbit movie was released. I remember thinking at the time, if I have nothing else to look forward to in this life, at least I can look forward to another two films like this. Gawd, I'm glad I was wrong! I hated part 2 and 3!

But that was when I finally got into reading The Hobbit and enjoying it. I remember how amazed I was how much the dwarf-scene made me laugh (with a clear memory of that train-experience). I had discovered that the university-library owned an old edition of the Annotated Hobbit, and I could read this in my breaks. Thanks to the movie, there was also an affordable, and much updated edition of that work in German (on the right).

But actually I also own it in English now, because the German can be all over the place, trying to squeeze poems and their translations into the margins. But then the German edition has an extra focus on the Hobbit's printing history in Germany. And that's how I discovered the beauty of annotated editions. It's a story-book, but with lots of stories about the story. I particularly love when stories in books develop after they have been published, like the famous riddle-scene between Bilbo and Gollum.

And so I wrote my own annotated edition of a book (currently secret, hopefully to be published over the next years).

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 11/11/2023

Your Silent Reality

Season 2 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips Volume A

Ripped by Ahmaykmewsik

Birthday Special!

Yep, its the big day - 11/11th is the day I was brought into the world, and now I'm yet another year older. And I was thinking about this in the context of the blog for a very long time - I really wanted to make this day somewhat special too, by highlighting a particular rip that means a lot to me. Or, well, that was the thought I had back in like, July this year. With close to two hundred posts, I've already been drip-feeding the blog with some of my all-time favorite, most resonant rips from the channel's life. From Battle! The Trainer Inside Your Head!, to Everybody's Special Course, to The 0 Has Returned and A love letter to this wonderful community and my amazing friends - to not even mention everything connected to the Christmas Comeback Crisis such as voiceless and 時の回廊 ＜ver. CCC＞. The amount of times SiIvaGunner has touched my heart and rewarded me for my time invested in such a silly project is frankly incredible, and I've shared many of those feelings with you here already.

Yet one remains. Your Silent Reality.

To say that A Silent Voice was a film that broke me would be an understatement. It to date remains one of my all time favorite films and my first time watching it, I cried more than I believe I ever have in my life. To date I still have yet to rewatch it purely because of how dearly I hold those memories of that initial viewing, how much it meant to be to be able to be so openly emotionally connected to art. Instead of rewatches, its Your Silent Reality that's kept my mind still thinking of the film - a rip that has touched me, and seemingly thousands of other viewers, to their core. Its release in Season 2 just so happened to be at the absolute perfect time for me, and its been my go-to therapy music for every year since.

I feel like Ahmaykmewsik may be a contender for the most underrated ripper on the entire channel? The guy has been around for a very long time, and I've covered his rips here on the blog before with Everything Circus and Picture This Ranch - he's a ripper with an excellent attention to detail, and in general knows how to make stuff emotionally resonant. There's a number of his rips coming up in the pipeline, but Your Silent Reality is obviously no exception to the rule. In describing it as a mashup between Your Reality from DDLC and music from A Silent Voice, and a six-year old rip at this point, you may initially get the impression that it'd be a rather simple effort. But in listening, I get the sense that Ahmaykmewsik himself knew how important the music he was arranging here was, likely even due to personal experience - and went above and beyond in delivering that premise. Small little edits and tweaks are done to the rip's instrumentals, changing in and out of melody changes to other, well-loved songs by the SiIvaGunner fanbase, be it music from Undertale or a cue of Snow Halation - yet it never interrupts the ongoing vocal performance, the heartfelt ending to Doki Doki Literature Club.

Though I've fallen out of interest with the game at this point, back in 2017 the game was yet another game I found it hard to divorce my feelings from - its music and characters do genuinely mean a lot to me. DDLC - most notably Monika - had a rather large presence on SiIva during Season 2 and Season 3, though I believe the plans for her importance to the lore...eventually fell through. Yet that's not something I mourn - in fact, in a way I think it adds to the spirit and feel of the rip as a whole. That knowledge, and the knowledge of everything that would happen to the SiIvaGunner channel over the six years that passed since Your Silent Reality was uploaded, serves to remind me of one very simple fact:

The SiIvaGunner team are, just like us - human.

A non-profit, passionate group of hobbyists, with a silly plan for a storyline, organized within a bunch of different minds, a bunch of different creatives with differing goals for the channel. And amidst it all, sits Ahmaykmewsik - another human, another individual, who just so happens to love A Silent Voice. And though the lore and foreshadowing and all such greater plans for Monika and DDLC seemingly amounted to nothing...Your Silent Reality didn't. In fact, NONE of the rips paying tribute to DDLC did - Your Silent Reality may be my favorite, yet I'm certain you reading this have your own favorite rip of the game, or favorite rip of another game - rips all made from the burning passion of individuals the world over making music. And in all honesty, as borderline fanboy-ish as it sounds, I find it hard to be truly upset with whatever direction the SiIvaGunner channel takes when I know its all for the benefit and strength of its team of immensely talented, fellow human beings.

There's a YouTube comment, left on Your Silent Reality in particular, that I vividly remember reading back when the video was first uploaded six-odd years ago. Part of the kayfabe with the SiIvaGunner channel is that its an entity that rarely if ever directly interacts with us as fans - our gratitude is reciprocated through indirect action, or through dialogue with individual rippers, yet SiIvaGunner himself is an entity so large and all-encompassing to where it would feel...wrong, to have it interact with us as people. The only interaction it usually has with the comments is with a track's original composers discovering and approving of rips - yet this time, a Heart was awarded to just another comment, by just another human. Yet NexusPlayerNA's comment resonated with an entire community, saying the silent, heartfelt feelings we'd all had bubbling internally out loud: Its 267 words of pure, unfiltered love and gratitude toward everything SiIvaGunner does. Because behind all the memes, behind all the shitposts and behind all the demands, requests and disappointments we may express toward the SiIvaGunner team - I think many of us are simply grateful for all that they've done. What was once a mere gimmick playing off of Vinesauce memes has evolved into a magical network of human expression, a place for artists to grow and connect with one another - and a place for humanity to be expressed within the confines of remixed video game music.

"Godspeed, you magnificent bastards. I hope you never stop finding fulfillment in everything you do, because I always will."

[beautifulpersonpeach]

As promised here, I'm continuing a series of posts on NewJeans and why I think the group holds real potential. What I want to briefly talk about this time, is the quality of their music.

Credit: @/haerin1sta

*

Not exactly sure how this is going to come across, but the truth is very few groups in k-pop give me a quality sonic experience. I mean, for a lot of groups, I get no joy from playing them out loud in my space. BTS is one group where the music is so dynamic, textured and layered... I know this probably sounds pretentious, but BTS's music is the perfect blend of cohesive + complex + simple to suit my taste. I enjoy sitting back in my living room, dimming the lights and drawing the blinds, to hear Dis-ease play over my Bowers & Wilkins 800 D4 speakers. It feels like an actual pleasure. I get this with BTS, nearly every time. There's a handful of other groups whose songs I sometimes feel this way about, but there's been no other group that consistently gets me this way lately more than NewJeans.

At least I'm pretty sure there's no other group that gets me to break out a subwoofer more than NewJeans, after BTS.

All their songs have such a deep and rich bass.

It's almost sickening. Listen, k-pop has done R&B for years. The sound isn't new to the industry by any means, but the way NewJeans does R&B you can tell whoever makes their shit, cette personne a eu le cœur brisé par une personne noire.

Take for example a song like ASAP. That moment the bass comes in at 0:40, during the chorus - it sounds heavenly on my speakers. The whole song feels kinda magical and odd, like Christmas in July, and I suspect one reason why is the chord progression which I recognize to follow that of many Christmas hymns... and the deep heavy bass.

You might not hear it right in this clip because of how Youtube compresses their sound, but I think one can still tell the pitch shifts slightly. The tweaky game-beat percussion that fills up the rest of the song feels disorienting but that's also the point. By the time the second chorus comes in, the contrast it creates feels like you're diving into a pool of cool water on a hot day. It's so good. It's like that weird genre-mix thing SM likes to do in their songs, but with NewJeans it's so much more effortless, weirder, and cooler.

*

This is Minji.

*

This is Danielle.

*

This is Haerin.

*

This is Hyein.

*

This is Hanni.

*

All five girls have clean, clear vocals and very distinct vocal colours. One reason their music is so good, is because all their songs put an emphasis on their vocals. For example, listen to the pulled stems for Hurt.

The first 2 minutes and 50 seconds is pure acappella heaven, and then you realize it's placed in the center. The mix is so full and centered, it's perfect. The other stems in the video from 2:50 too are such a delight to listen to.

The sense of easy excellence is everywhere in NewJeans' sound and concept. They don't need to force anything, they don't need crazy ornamental riffs, or ridiculous beat switches to capture and hold attention. All the harmonizing that needs to be done is already in the music. It's simple and for that reason, good. Hurt for example is just a well made song.

It's so fun to play in the car. It sounds like a joint Andre 3000 would produce.

Another song that absolutely blows me away when I play it, is Cookie. Can you even try to imagine what the intro on Cookie sounds like with subwoofers?

It's mad.

*

Ador encourages the girls to fully participate in several aspects, from songwriting (the members have been writing their songs since debut and 4 out of 5 members are credited on their songs so far), to making their choreography, to applying their ideas towards their marketing. It's really remarkable for a rookie group, but I also feel this is a culture HYBE has been trying to create at all their sub-labels.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to more music from NewJeans. Get Up was a solid treat - my ranking of the songs on it so far:

New Jeans

Cool with You & Get Up

ASAP

ETA

Super Shy

*

(Haerin - dancer and vocalist)

*

(Danielle - dancer and vocalist)

*

(Hyein - dancer, vocalist, and maknae)

*

(Hanni - dancer and vocalist)

*

(Minji - dancer and vocalist)

*

(I don't have a bias in NewJeans. And that's the first sign for me that this is a solid group.)

[shinobuscanonwife]

Helloooo! I was wondering if you could match me with a character. I saw something like this on another post and I wanted to try it with my favourite Tumblr writer! (Aka you) Basically I tell you how my personality,looks and stuff like that are and you tell me which kny character (preferably a demon, but I'm ok with getting matched with a slayer too, as long as they're not a minor!) you would think would be most likely to date me :)) So here's about me!

My name is Lucifer

Appearance: I'm 5'7, I have long dark brown hair and I'm not that skinny but I'd say I'm not chubby either. I'm a romantic goth so most of my clothing are really dark and gothic. I prefer wearing dresses and skirts rather than pants, but when I do wear pants I just wear black jeans, my eyes are a dark brown!

About me: I really love danger and horror, I watch horror movies almost all the time and get really excited while watching them. I am really into cuddles and when I get into a relationship I'm pretty clingy. I don't get scared easily. I'm bisexual with a preference for boys. My favourite kny characters are Muzan, Douma, Mitsuri, Inosuke and Enmu! My favourite hobbies are listening to music (specifically slipknot or heavy metal in general), reading crime books or horror books, dressing up, watching crime documentaries, going out to enjoy some fresh air, playing rhythm games and drawing!! :)) I'm an ambivert, so I love both staying home and going outside. My favourite weather is rainy weather with thunderstorms! (It excites me for some reason) My favourite animals are sharks and capybaras :) My favourite movies are Halloween, Scream (1996), Mean girls, Friday the 13th, The cult of chucky, The nightmare before Christmas and Jaws. I collect horror movie figures and I also love cosplaying! Usually the characters I cosplay are either vocaloids or villains from different animes! I loveeee slipknot, they're my favourite band and I'm literally on the top 0.5% slipknot listeners on Spotify, not even kidding. I am pretty energetic, I'm also autistic and may have ADHD (not sure, but I do have a lot of symptoms!) When I get really excited I jump a lot. I love jewellery and painting my nails and I'm really good at mathematics :) I'm kind of a germaphobe honestly. I do swimming as a sport and I've won 3 medals in races, but I stopped racing a while ago and just do swimming for fun now. I get cold really easily on winter 😭 My favourite holidays are Christmas and Halloween! That's it, I honestly can't think of more stuff to say about me heh

Hope you're having a wonderful day! This is my first request that isn't anonymous so I'm pretty nervous

Bro were literally the same person

I match you with.....

Muzan

He absolutely loves your personality. He enjoys reading horror books with you and he loves cuddling with you while it's thundering and listening to the rain and thunder. It relaxes him and finds how happy rain makes you cute. He lets you paint his nails sometimes and offered to paint yours. he made you promise you wouldn't tell anyone Muzan loves the fact that you're clingy. It makes him feel all warm and fuzzy inside whenever you cling to him or when you offer to cuddle with him. He loves going on walks with you right after it stops raining. He loves buying you little gifts. Sometimes it's new skirts or clothes or sometimes it's flowers or drawing supplies or nail polish but he always buys you stuff whenever he's gone for a couple nights because of work. He had never really worried about holidays before but ever since he met you he loves spending Halloween and Christmas with you. He buys you the most expensive gifts on Christmas and makes sure you have an amazing time every year. He prefers staying inside during dates especially cause he can't go outside during the day.

Thank you for your request!! I've been waiting for someone to request something like this :0 have a nice day/night

[ghosts-and-blue-sweaters]

June and July? :>

favourite book

Dang I have gotten a lot of asks for this question :0 Good news is that I love books/stories so yippee!!!

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (!!! Dude. This is a hard book to read, but it’s so so good; the format, the lack of “chapters”, the way the character’s names are never revealed, the pain so real it seeps through the pages right into your soul… dang. Highly recommend)

And two fanfics :)

Apartment 238 by Snekkyfics (okayokay I’ve already talked about this one but akdgsksgkwg it is ONE OF MY VERY FAVORITES SO I WILL TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN AAAAAAAAH it’s just. Ough. Ough. Best fic best fic. BEST FICCCC!!! Literally everything about it I just love on an unbelievable level. It’s like, perfect. BEST FIC!!!)

Bummerland by Snekkyfics (IT IS SET IN THE SAME UNIVERSE AS APARTMENT 238 AAAAAAAAH HAPPINESS!!! SO MUCH HAPPINESS!!! It brought me so much joy to beta-read this and so much joy to read it on A03 and it made me smile and laugh—I actually laughed out loud that doesn’t usually happen when I read aksvaksgaj—and it made me do this face 🥺 and AAAAAAAAAH!!! Literally just- oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I love)

favourite song/band

EEEEEEEEE I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED THIS EEEEEEEE YES

Alrighty, so I have three favorite bands—I like a lot of other bands/artists but these are the Core Three—and they are, in order of when I discovered them…

1. AJR

2. Emma Hamel

3. Lovejoy

I found AJR right around the time OK Orchestra came out!! They’re just YES!!! I love their style and the things they write about and how unique they are and here are some of my favorite songs of theirs :D

Christmas in June

Wow, I’m Not Crazy

Turning Out

IN ADDITION, last year I was in the top 1% of their listeners on Spotify heck yesssssss

I discovered Emma Hamel in August-ish of 2021, and I am SO happy I did!! She’s a very small artist, but her songs are beautiful and nearly every one of them is relatable to me 😭

I’m Not Here For You was the first song I’d ever listened to that like… described anxiety in a way that felt real. I felt like this song was talking about the exact kind of anxiety I experienced (still experience at times) and it was INSANE!!! I left a long ramble-y comment and EMMA REPLIED!!! YOOOOOOO!!!

Actually, she replies to most of the comments :D She’s liked a bunch of mine!! So neat :D :D

LOVEJOYYYYYY HEYYYYYYY

I remember trying to listen to them last year, and just… not having it lol. I didn’t like the style or the way it sounded and it was very meh in my eyes.

BUT THEN!!! I listened to The Fall!!! And oh boy!!!

I very slowly started listening to more of their music, one song at a time, and well… they started to grow on me. I’m not the kind of person who enjoys/listens to rock shsgsjsgja so the fact that I like them at all is surprising XD

And now I literally like every single one of their songs 😭 Like… just all of them. What the heck.

I HAVE LISTENED TO THEM SO MUCH DUDE THEY’RE DEFINITELY GONNA BE ONE OF MY TOP ARTISTS AT THE END OF THE YEAR

Portrait of a Blank Slate is leaps and bounds their best song, in my humble opinion! My mouth dropped when I first heard it lol

I also really like Warsaw, Concrete, Perfume, You’ll Understand When You’re Older, Oh Yeah You Gonna Cry, and of course, The Fall :)

[harlcwes]

kaylee   kaneshiro.     they/she.     non-binary.      ›     spotted   at   the   met   steps   ,   HARLOWE  SAITO   BRENNER   ,   most   likely   listening   to   back   in   black   by   ac/dc   with   their   airpods   pro   .   the   twenty-five  year  old   gained   quite   a   reputation   ,   known   to   be   -blunt   yet   +resilient   to   anyone   who   knows   them   .   you'll   easily   spot   them   when   you   hear   about   a   motorcycle   speeding  down  the  street   ,   drumming  against   any   surface   out   of   habit   ,   an   intricate   sleeve   tattoo   ,   followed   by   jasmin   17   by   le   labo   .   latest   nepoupdates   article   talks   about   catfight   ?   harlowe   brenner   spotted   getting    into   a   physical   altercation   with   the   paparazzi   ,   but   i   guess   any   reputation   is   good   reputation   .  

[  !  ]  WANTED  CONNECTIONS.

[  !  ]  ESTABLISHED  CONNECTIONS.

penned  by  HECATE  (  she/her  ,  pst  ,  21+  )

OVERVIEW .

STATS  PAGE .

NOTE :  harlowe’s pronouns  are  they  and  she  so  please  keep  that  in  mind  !  preferred  pronouns  are  they/them  however  ,  she/her  is  also  acceptable  .  to  clear  up  any  possible  confusion  ,  my  writing  uses  both  pronouns  !

FULL NAME: harlowe yumi brenner

NICKNAME(S) / ALIASES: harles

DOB: 10/31/1997

AGE: 25

HEIGHT: 6′0″

ZODIAC: scorpio

GENDER: non-binary

PRONOUNS: they/them/theirs, she/her/hers

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: biromantic

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: bisexual

LANGUAGES: japanese, english , spanish

AESTHETICS:  a  motorcycle  speeding  down  the  street  ,  drummming  against  any  surface  out  of  habit  ,  an  intricate  sleeve  tattoo  ,  leather  jackets  ,  toying  with  a  butterfly  knife  ,  the  feel  of  toned  muscles  ,  wearing  doc  martens  on  the  daily  ,  kickboxing

CHARACTER  PARALLELS:  georgia  miller  (  ginny  and  georgia  )  ,  haley  graham  (  stick  it  )  ,  stiles  stilinski  (  teen  wolf  )  ,  luna  snow  (  marvel  comics  )  ,  donna  troy  (  dc  comics  )

BACKGROUND .

 they’re  born  into  a  legacy  in  los  angeles  .  victor  brenner  is  a  former  winter  olympian  .  having  won  gold  in  snowboarding  multiple  times  and  now  is  a  highly  sought  after  coach  .  naomi  saito  was  a  renowned  actress  and  musician  .  part  of  a  j-pop  girl  group  that  went  global  in  the  90s  and  won  an  academy  award  back  in  the  2000s  .  born  at  exactly  8:28pm  and  on  the  same  day  as  their  older  brother  ,  harlowe  is  brought  into  the  world  .  from  then  on  ,  them  along  with  their  brother  became  the  dynamic  duo  of  child  actors  .  with  victor  being  a  former  athlete  and  naomi  ,  an  actress  and  musician  ,  it  was  a  no  brainer  that  the  twins  would  go  into  either  profession  .

 at  age  5  ,  harlowe  is  as  cindy  lou  who  in  how  the  grinch  stole  christmas  ,  jumpstarting  her  career  in  acting  .  from  then  on  they  start  booking  various  roles  in  various  shows  like  spy  kids  2  and  bridge  to  terabithia  .  during  this  time  ,  harlowe  also  starts  voice  and  music  classes  .  they  take  up  piano  before  moving  on  to  guitar  then  bass  and  then  percussion  ,  falling  in  love  with  the  notion  of  playing  drums  .  and  at  age  8  ,  they’re  told  they’re  a  music  prodigy  .

 at  age  13  ,  harlowe  gets  cast  as  jenny  humphrey  in  gossip  girl  and  stays  as  a  series  regular  for  about  three  seasons  .  for  the  time  being  ,  she  and  her  family  relocate  to  new  york  .  and  while  not  everyone’s  favorite  character  ,  harlowe  finds  success  in  that  role  .  a  couple  years  down  the  line  ,  they  start  their  band  ,  ultraviolet  .  the  band’s  success  ultimately  leads  them  to  leave  gossip  girl  and  take  a  break  from  acting  due  to  being  pulled  in  different  directions  .  she  starts  to  separate  herself  from  her  brother  .  focusing  more  on  music  than  acting  .  playing  shows  and  eventually  touring  the  united  states  .

 at  the  end  of  their  first  tour  ,  the  group  goes  on  hiatus  for  a  couple  years  ,  letting  harlowe  focus  on  college  .  they  secure  a  spot  at  juilliard  .  by  now  ,  they’re  known  as  more  than  just  one  half  of  the  brenner  siblings  .  since  graduating  ,  harlowe  has  taken  a  permanent  residence  in  new  york  .

PERSONALITY .

 they’re  perceptive  .  direct  .  sociable  .  others  often  see  them  as  comfortable  with  their  environment  .  they  also  keep  people  on  their  toes  ,  never  quite  knowing  what  to  expect  from  them  .  however  ,  they  can  be  insensitive  and  impatient  at  times  .  their  bluntness  shining  through  with  those  who  can’t  keep  up  with  them  or  when  things  get  a  little  too  emotional  for  their  liking  .  and  despite  her  demeanor  ,  she’s  quite  fond  of  company  and  is  the  type  to  interact  with  almost  everyone  at  any  event  .

HEADCANONS .

this  section  is  a  wip  and  will  be  updated  when  i  think  of  more  things  !  <3

 career  claim  /  inspo  :  taylor  momsen  &  bailee  madison  .  they  were  cast  in  how  the  grinch  stole  christmas  ,  spy  kids  2  ,  and  gossip  girl

 went  to  juilliard  for  college  and  graduated  with  a  bachelor  of  music  with  focuses  in  composition  and  piano

is  the  drummer  and  lead  singer  of  their  band  ‘  ultraviolet  ’

 has  extended  family    living  in  new  york  so  the  city  isn’t  unfamiliar  territory  to  them

has  a  dobermann  named  kenzo

 did  brazilian  jiu  jitsu  when  they  were  younger  and  continued  on  into  adulthood  .  they  currently  have  their  blackbelt  !

in  recent  years  has  picked  up  kickboxing

 collects  vintage  weaponry  (  specifically  knives  and  daggers  )  and  butterfly  knives  

speaking  of  butterfly  knives  ,  often  has  one  on  her  and  is  often  doing  tricks  with  it  whenever  they  want  to  keep  their  hands  busy

if  it  is  not  obvious  ,,,  a  little  bit  of  an  adrenaline  junkie

has  been  away  touring   with  their  band  and  it  only  recently  ended  so  harlowe’s  taking  a  bit  of  a  breather  before  starting  to  compose  next  album

[gaybosposts]

Living Room Album Review

I used to be a fan of AJR. But after learning more about music and finding out about AJR hate. I’m a hater too. But if you like AJR, I’m glad you like them. If you don’t wanna hear negative comments about AJR, don’t continue if you’re a fan. Because I have a lot of stuff I hate about this band. Anyway… let’s start!

1. Overture

This is the most boring overture AJR has ever done. I don’t think I remember anything except that it’s just the upcoming songs from this album into this one song. 3/10.

2. Infinity

There’s a bit of country thrown into this whole album and I hate it. This was slightly more memorable than Overture. 4/10.

3. I’m Ready

At first, I thought this song was ok at best. But now, it’s so annoying! The sample and lyrics are not good. It’s just not good. 3/10.

4. My Calling

The “My Calling!” Part was ok. But I didn’t really enjoy it. It’s better than I’m Ready by a bit. 4/10.

5. Thirsty

Oh boy… This song is sooo bad… I think even AJR fans hate it. I don’t need to listen to it again to remember the terrible beat, lyrics and the yodelling… The fucking yodelling… This is the most terrible song that had ever graced my ears… this shit stinks! 0/10.

6. Pitchfork Kids

Yeah… it’s definitely better than Thirsty. But it’s still not good. But it’s the best one so far. 4.5/10.

7. Woody Allen

The beat ain’t bad. It’s just the lyrics are terrible and out of date. Nobody wants to be Woody Allen. 3/10.

8. Livin' On Love

Forgettable and dull. It’s not even as enjoyable as the beat for Woody Allen. I just keep getting disappointed. 2/10.

9. Big White Bed

I don’t even remember what it’s about! That’s how forgettable this shit is! But if I can remember as hard as I can, I think it’s about the singer wanting to be on a big white bed with his lover. I don’t know. If I get any of these meanings wrong, please let me know. I’m pretty dumb. But not like a 5 year old kinda dumb. 1/10.

10. The World Is A Marble Heart

What is this about? I genuinely don’t remember. All I remember is the beat. And it wasn’t interesting at all. 1/10.

11. The Green And The Town

*Screams in agony* why did I do this to myself?… Five minutes makes it worse. The vocals are trying to be what I hate the most about country. The exaggerated country voice. I hate it so much. But they fumbled it so hard that it’s almost laughable. 1/10.

12. Big Idea

Hey! I have a big idea! Let’s go back in time and tell AJR to not make Thirsty or Christmas In June. (Christmas In June is from their fourth album). Anyway, Pro Tools and a mix and a big idea is a terrible lyric. 2/10.

13. Growing Old On Bleecker Street

Great! A forgettable song to end off a forgettable debut album. 2/10.

Overall: This is the second most forgettable album from AJR. as their next album too. But this one has Thirsty. So it’s not as forgettable but for all the wrong reasons. I’m giving this snooze fest a 2.5/10.

I used to think Thirsty was actually good… now I just wanna cry myself to sleep and hope to think that thought away.

[suddenlyseymour23]

What I think about every month

JANUARY: it’s pretty chill, beginning of year and the last few days of this month is the final days of winter break, overall 7/10, could be better

FEBRUARY: I honestly have no thoughts about Valentine’s Day (cause I’m the hottest kid in the grade so I get plenty of asks for valentines) but the rest of February is nice and pretty chill, overall 8/10

MARCH:I don’t have much to say about march either, nothing cool happens during march, it’s boring, overall 2/10

APRIL: commonly the month before school ends, also Easter, that I don’t celebrate, cuz I’m Jewish (I don’t go to church but it’s treated like any other day) but pretty good spring month, overall 5/10

MAY: the last month of school for some, and a month before my birthday, also, may is a pretty good and chill month, overall 10/10!

JUNE: the first days of this month are the last days for people who start school in September, I like this month cuz my birthday and its very slay, so 9/10!

JULY: I hate this month, I’m British and sense I live in the states all I hear is HAA, 0/10 wtf George Washington

AUGUST: the first month of school, I like school, so personally 7/10

SEPTEMBER: the second first month of school, I like this month cause of fall cause I like the spooky vibes, so 109/10

OCTOBER: no comment, purely amazing 3847376373728373/10

NOVEMBER: I like this month, I get to start listening to Christmas music and get to start decorating, but I wouldn’t think the same for the guys sadly,

DECEMBER: I like dis one too, very festive and a lot of family time! Overall 10/10!

[celtfather]

High Up On An Irish Cliff #612

What’s that you hear high up on an Irish cliff, soaring with the birds? It’s the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #612.

Willos', Irishtown Road, The Jig Is Up!, Arise & Go, Amelia Hogan, We Banjo 3, The Carroll Sisters, Giant's Dance, Logical Fleadh, Tan and Sober Gentlemen, Ockham's Razor, Band O'Brothers, Highlander Celtic Rock Band Australia, Jim Sharkey

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VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20 FOR 2023

This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. You can vote for as many songs and tunes that inspire you in each episode. Your vote helps me create next year's Best Celtic music episode.  Vote Now!

Two weeks after the episode is launched, I compile your votes to update a playlist on Spotify and YouTube. These are the results of your voting. You can help these artists out by following the playlists and adding tracks you love to your playlists. Follow us on Facebook to find out who is added each week.

Listen on Spotify and YouTube.

THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC

0:02 - Intro: Christa Burton

0:14 - Willos' & Massimo Giuntini feat. Martino Vacca "Pipers Paradise" from From Now On

5:03 - WELCOME

7:23 - Irishtown Road "O'Keefe's Slide / Kerry Dance / Michael's Farewell To Glasgow" from On the One Road

12:19 - The Jig Is Up! "When First Unto This Country  -  Christmas Eve" from On Yer Toes!

16:22 - Arise & Go "Waltz & Reels: The Jewels Of The Ocean / The Humours Of Tulla / Last Summer's Reel" from Meeting Place

19:47 - Amelia Hogan "Manx Lullaby" from Taking Flight

23:16 - FEEDBACK

27:38 - We Banjo 3 "High On A Mountain (Live)" from Live in Galway

31:29 - The Carroll Sisters "Fairy Queen" from Daybreak

35:46 - Giant's Dance "Cunla/The Frieze Breeches" from Giant's Dance

40:22 - Logical Fleadh "The Ballad of Saint James" from Logical Fleadh (17 - Track Album)

44:33 - THANKS

46:21 - Tan and Sober Gentlemen "Heart is Haunted" from Regressive Folk Music

49:17 - Ockham's Razor "Buile Shuibhne (The Frenzy of Sweeney)" from Secrets and Silence

54:30 - Band O'Brothers "Nancy Whiskey" from Band O'Brothers

58:47 - Highlander Celtic Rock Band Australia "Galloway" from North of the Wall

1:02:46 - CLOSING

1:04:04 - Jim Sharkey "Vignettes" from Misty Morning Rain

1:09:03 - CREDITS

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather and our Patrons on Patreon. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs. Visit our website to subscribe to the show. You’ll find links to all of the artists played in this episode.

Todd Wiley is the editor of the Celtic Music Magazine. Subscribe to get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. Plus, you’ll get 7 weekly news items about what’s happening with Celtic music and culture online. Best of all, you will connect with your Celtic heritage.

Finally, please tell one friend about this podcast. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to support any creative endeavor.

Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/.

WELCOME TO THE IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST

* Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. I am Marc Gunn. I’m your friendly neighborhood musician and podcast. This Podcast is here to build our diverse Celtic community and help the incredible artists who so generously share their music with you. If you hear music you love, please email artists to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast.

You can find a link to all of the artists in the shownotes, along with show times, when you visit our website at celticmusicpodcast.com.

I had such a fantastic time on my Celtic Invasion of County Mayo. I kept a personal blog on the trip that I’ll publish in the coming weeks. You can also find pictures scattered across my different profile pages.

If you’re thinking of going, I think my favorite things were the cliffs on Achill Island. There were some stunning views. And my absolute favorite was Downpatrick Head. There were more stunning views, but there was a blowhole that went under the cliffs which made it interesting to see too.

Next month, I’m launching a Kickstarter for the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. I’m raising money for some album pins to promote the show. I would really LOVE your support.

You can follow the Kickstarter campaign through the website.

THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST!

Because of Your kind and generous support, this show comes out at least four times a month. Your generosity funds the creation, promotion, and production of the show. It allows us to attract new listeners and to help our community grow.

As a patron, you get music - only episodes before regular listeners, vote in the Celtic Top 20, and you get a private feed to listen to the show.  All that for as little as $1 per episode.

A special thanks to our newest Patrons of the Podcast: Deborah S R, John

HERE IS YOUR THREE STEP PLAN TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Go to our Patreon page.

Decide how much you want to pledge every week, $1, $5, $10. Make sure to cap how much you want to spend per month.

Keep listening to the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast to celebrate Celtic culture through music.

You can become a generous Patron of the Podcast on Patreon at SongHenge.com.

TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS

Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through its culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos.

Where are we going in 2024? Subscribe to the mailing list and Learn more about the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/

#celticmusic #irishmusic #celticmusicpodcast

I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? You can take a screenshot of the podcast on your phone. You can send a written comment along with a picture of what you're doing while listening. Or how about a picture you took of a band that you saw.

How would you like to introduce an episode of the podcast? It’s super easy. Contact me for details.

Email me at celticpodcast@gmail, message me on Facebook, or contact me through Mastodon @celtfather@c.im.

Richard Medaugh emailed photos:

Rising A Pint of Guinness at the Gaelic League  -  Irish American Club in Detroit, Michigan on Saint Pádraig Day 2023 – Sláinte

Russ Gaudet emailed photos: "Hello there, Yes the Knights of Columbus had a very successful St Patrick's Day dinner and dance at our Church in Middleton, NS

Here are a couple of pictures to prove it. Cheers"

Ann Peck McBride emailed photos: "My Ceili group, Ceili of the Valley, here in Salem Oregon, has a "walkabout" every St Patrick's Day, complete with the Willamette Valley Pipes and Drums. Everyone wears green and has a good time!"

Caz of Crikwater emailed photos: “Marc, Thanks for reaching out…Happy belated St Patrick’s Day!  we have a bunch of pics from last weekend.  Buffalo,NY goes all out for the High Holy days…we have 2 huge parades!!!!(and two irish fests over the summer) ..one parade on Saturday through the Old Irish Neighborhood and one on Sunday through the middle of Downtown…so that results in a BIG Party weekend with LOTS of gig opportunities…

We played 16 shows in three weeks in March (all on weekends)..Last weekend alone we played 7 gigs in 72hrs!!!

NOBODY in the music biz works harder than Irish musicians in the month of March!!! Hup! I’m attaching a few pics for you.”

CRIKWATER Pic 1…We played KeyBank Arena at an NHL game to a crowd of 19,000  -  pregame & between periods of the Sabres v Bruins on Sunday 3/19

CRIKWATER Pic 2…Sportsmens Tavern, Buffalo NY..sold out

CRIKWATER Pic 3… Ploughshares Barn, Canandaigua, NY..sold out

CRIKWATER Pic 4…Molly Maguires Pub, SouthBuffalo, NY..max capacity(we definitely exceeded Fire code - don’t mention that please😉)

CRIKWATER Pic 5…75 Stutson Street with our good friends Dady & Ryan in Rochester,NY..sold out

I got a private message from Bob on Patreon which I felt needed addressing in a public format:

“Marc: I am going to end my Patreon sponsorship of your podcast. The cursing on your podcasts irritates me and I don't think it syncs up with celebrating Irish culture nor a fun, family oriented atmosphere.

One example: the Magic Dragon podcast  -  -  Forkroot "Coyotes at the Dump" from Water & Shade, about 20:16 mark.

So rather than me being irritated and you being irritated at my reaction, I'll wish you the best, but I sure don't get where you are going.”

I did respond to Bob’s comment, but I thought I’d address it here too. I did catch that explicit word in Forkroot’s song. Unfortunately, I was not listening closely to songs right before I headed out on vacation. They were the type of band that I did not expect to hear foul language from. So yes, I messed up.

I am terribly sorry for anyone who had to endure the explicit language. As you should know, I do my best to keep episodes of the podcast family - friendly. And as I told Bob, if you ever hear explicit language on the show, please please email me ASAP so that I can correct that error. I rely on your generosity to help me catch these problems.

I caught the language problem a day after the show went live and removed the song from the public version of the show. I left it in the Music - Only episode on Patreon, but that song was removed, also from the Celtic Top 20.

Check out this episode!

[jimin-bangtan]

My Pre-release and Post-release FACE thoughts

Jimin’s mini solo album called FACE (2023)

My PRE-release impressions (2023.02.27)

Details about Jimin's first solo album have recently been released. It only has 6 songs.  1 is a continuation of Suga’s already released song “Set Me Free “.   2 songs are the same - one version in English, the other in Korean, and 1 is an interlude with no lyrics. So there are 4 unique songs.

The album case is very underwhelming.  Jimin may have a reason for it, but it’s very plain and bland.  His name nor his image are present in any clear way or at all. 

The teasers have shown Jimin rapping, playing guitar, and the audio snips do not intrigue me.  I hope the actual presentation is better than what I’m seeing at the moment.

HOWEVER, there were pictures of Jimin working with other famous producers and some of them are on this EP (extended play) album. SO there’s hope that another album will be released after this one or perhaps multiple singles.  

JMs rollout is being muddied by nasty fans and haters and his company. Possibly due to military service enlistments, HYBE is announcing other member’s projects at the same time, which pulls attention away from JMs first effort.  He has not had many other projects but the others have already put out material. So…I’m a bit annoyed, but in honesty, Jimin often gets shafted; HOWEVER, he usually rises to the occasion and is successful anyway. It would be nice for him not to have to fight for every achievement. 

BTW the company is finally releasing his other solo songs (Promise & Christmas Love) officially to streaming platforms, several years after their initial releases. :-/

My POST-release impressions (2023.03.26)

I have now listened to the entire album and watched the accompanying music videos and dance practices. Jimin’s mini solo album called FACE (2023) actually has 7 (0 skip) songs. 

The album, Face, is said to not be about Jimin’s handsome face but about Jimin having to face himself in order to grow and be free. It had been highly anticipated by fans, nemeses, & the industry.

My first impression is that my pre-release impressions were proven insufficient to what was actually delivered. Jimin's product, as always, exceeded my expectations. Jimin’s songs are all wonderful, and his voice sounds beautiful.  There is a lot of variety & creativity in the types of songs and the production of the tracks. The matching videos are well done for Set Me Free Part2 and Like Crazy. Jimin's dancing is, as always, stellar. The lyrics are very open and honest.  All of the songs have a dark, troubling thread, revealing someone who is struggling but who ultimately triumphs.  Alcohol is mentioned in every song as a problem: the overindulgence of, the use as medication, the crutch to forget, the destructive instigator. There is minimal cursing in 2 of the songs, and it’s not the lighter cursing. It’s the F bomb, mostly being used to express angry feelings.  Face-Off has direct disturbing lyrics that imply someone (or some entity, some suggest even himself) took advantage of him and really wounded him and at their “masquerade party,” something happened while he was f**king drunk. They took his money, his heart, his trust & betrayed him.  He says his piece to them about “it being f**king over” & that he’s moving on.

The performances he has begun to do, as the very short promotional period rolls out, show a relaxed and prepared JM.  The live choreography is very good, and the songs are presented well.  And best of all, the individual songs and the album are doing well on the charts and among fans. Strange hater stuff and odd, corrupt business things are still happening (such as sale/streaming counts being mysteriously reduced) but he’s still doing well. JM is doing a surprising promotional tour that includes American & Korean talk shows, Korean music shows, radio shows, and a WeLive to talk more about the album. The most surprising thing is the hidden song on the album found at the end of Like Crazy (English) at 06:13 (BTS time) after a silent pause. While no other BTS members or collaborators sing on the album, JK sings as a background singer on this song called Letter.

**Future Letter thoughts and post-promotion thoughts to come.

[simpsimperee]

Annie O’Malley: Behind the Songs

From mid summer to November 2017, a 17 year old singer performed in the famed Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio as the opening act for the band Chicago. It was the first big performance she had ever done, just her and her guitar in front of the 20,000 person venue. She continued to tour with the band, opening for 16 different shows over the course of the tour. Since then, she has grown into an exceptional musician, as she now has over 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

Annie O’Malley is a musician based in Los Angeles with an extensive musical background; she has been singing since she could talk. Since 2018, she has released a lot of music. Her first album titled “Skrapbook” in late 2022 and recently released a single titled “11th hour”, out on April 14, 2023.

Since the age of eight, Annie has been writing her own songs. Her first performance was when she was nine years old, playing original songs on her guitar and singing at her school’s winter concert.

“My choir teacher told us that we could bring like a song in to sing as a solo or something, so I decided to write one,” Annie said, “I performed it at the christmas show with my guitar in front of 800 people and the choir sang on the chorus with me. That was the first time I got to perform my own music and I never wanted to stop.”

Annie O’Malley, from a photoshoot for the release “in beetween”.

Throughout her childhood, Annie struggled with school and used music as an escape, as it made her feel understood and helped her express her emotions.

“When I was in elementary school, I went to a private school and I had a lot of learning disabilities,” she described. “They never tried to help me, they made it my fault, told me I was dumb and lazy. So at a very young age I remember feeling so numb and hopeless.”

Because of how her school treated her, she had a hard time with her self image and still is affected by what happened to her. In addition, Annie struggled with spelling and reading, and later made that a part of her brand, as many of her songs have titles and lyrics with words that are spelled differently. Despite her struggles at school, at home she would create music, music videos, and create all sorts of art.

“I remember laying in my room late at night a lot, so stressed because I didn't do my homework because I didn't know how, but at least I could grab my guitar.”

The dream of growing and going on a big tour continued to fuel her to be a better musician and work as hard as possible. Her younger self always dreamed of becoming the next Taylor Swift, someone she looked up to often. However, the path of music wasn't without its struggles.

“There have been times in my life where I got too comfortable where I was and I didn’t push hard enough, but usually something would happen that would remind me how much I want this and I would get inspired and keep pushing.”

Though her parents didn’t create music of their own, they were always supportive of her growth as a musician, and would aid her in her music creation when she was too young to do it all by herself. When Annie was young, her mother would often help her write song lyrics when she was having trouble, and continued to support her after she was able to write them herself.

“They always encouraged my love for music but they never pushed me in a ‘living vicariously’ sort of way. My mom would always say ‘why not you?’”

Throughout her career, her mindset has changed to be more positive in how the music she puts out makes her feel.

“Everytime I release music, I make sure that I genuinely love what's being put out, that why if it gets 0 streams I'm still really proud of it,” she described, “In the past I have had songs that I didn't love and when they didn’t do well I took it personally. When I release with this new mindset, it keeps me excited for the next project and any bit of attention the songs get is an extra bonus to me.“

Annie talked about her past self and her experience with music throughout her life.

“In life we stray from our child-like selves sometimes and recently I've learned how important it is to keep her near me in every moment of my life,” she said. “My younger self was fearless when it came to music, and I think as time went on I developed so many fears that have created more resistance for myself. I’m working on letting go of those fears by facing them head on. *wink wink* reference to album 2 *wink wink*”

For the vast majority of Annie’s songs, she takes inspiration from her current life. Self reflection and talking about feelings are big parts in how she was raised and how she writes her music now. She believes that being honest with your emotions leads to a fulfilling life. Her songs focus on these subjects, with very few being partly fictional.

“When you do a lot of self reflection and you stay very curious there is so much inspiration everywhere. I also believe I am a vessel that gets sent music and if that's the case I'll never run out of ideas.”

Annie’s first album, “Skrapbook”.

Her debut album, titled “Skrapbook”, reflects her past experiences in life and with relationships. “Skrapbook (title page)” was the song that inspired the name and theme of the album, even though most of the album had been already written and released beforehand, such as “in beetween”, “preshure”, and “wait 4 yew”.

“The most exciting part about releasing Skrapbook was seeing something I was genuinely so proud of for so long out in the world.” Annie then further described her feelings about her latest release. “With ‘11th hour’ having 1,300 streams in the first 5 minutes was insane, and 22k the next morning, was unreal,” she said. “This release has made me so excited to keep pushing and work hard because I got a little taste of recognition for what I've been doing and I know that if I just keep going more people will find me and my art and we will build this together.”

As Annie continues to grow as an artist, fans can expect more from her in the near future such as a second album. In another article, written by Emily May, Annie talked about the impact of her music.

“When life gets hard, it’s only you that will get you through it but music can act as a life raft when it feels like you’re drowning. If I can provide that for someone, that’s the greatest gift in the world.”

[rhythmandstrings]

2022

Here we go again!

1. What did you do in 2022 that you’d never done before?

Paddle the Whanganui River, finish a degree, get Covid, keep plants alive for over a year, knit a sock, hire an employee.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Nah, still don’t really do those.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yep. One close friend, and one other friend, as well as several acquaintances. Living that early 30s life...

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Nobody close, but several friends lost parents this year.

5. What countries did you visit?

Just around NZ. Hopefully next year, now that the borders are open again!

6. What would you like to have in 2023 that you lacked in 2022?

I’m hoping by the end of the year to have a place of my own. Maybe even one where I’m paying my own mortgage, rather than someone else’s?

7. What dates from 2022 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Whanganui River, Pukawa trip, Vanessa and Alister’s wedding, Milford Trip, Caitlin’s visit, Rakuira trip, Wellyfest, probably other stuff. Basically all the lovely travel away with friends.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Finishing a degree in Youth Development, definitely! With straight A+s to boot.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I don’t think I had any super major ones this year, which is really nice. Probably some work stuff around people management and communications of responsibilities.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Got Covid after the Milford trip. It was highly shit and I was down for two weeks, and still recovering for a further three months. 0/10, would not recommend.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Travel and rips away with friends. A new tramping pack. Some lovely artwork.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

I don’t know. I always find this question really hard. Most people deserve to be celebrated?

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

I also always find this one hard. A few of our ex-volunteers, Putin, and the general awful that is alt-right assholes.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Food, rent, travel, and the dentist.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Caitlin visiting. Also travel stuff, friends’ wedding, Jenny Mitchell concerts, and Vanessa starting at work

16. What song will always remind you of 2022?

I’m really not sure this year. Maybe Tug of War, by Jenny Mitchell

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier

b) thinner or fatter? Oh, definitely fatter

c) richer or poorer? Richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Going for walks outside, reaching out to friends

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Buying takeaways

20. How did you spend Christmas?

The usual combination of family and family friends. Lunch at family friends’ place, then an assortment of people over for dinner at my parents’ place.

21. Did you fall in love in 2022?

Nah

22. How many one-night stands?

Technically none, but maybe kind of one.

23. What was your favourite TV program?

Buffy. Binge watched it all for the first time, and can’t believe it took me so long!

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Not really. I don’t really do hating people, and those that would otherwise fall into the category aren’t worth my brain space.

25. What was the best book you read?

Bonk - the curious coupling of sex and science, by Mary Roach

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I feel like I’ve done a lot of listening to new albums from artists I already know and like this year. Maddie Poppe?

27. What did you want and get?

A degree, a bit more free time, several good adventures.

28. What did you want and not get?

Jeans that fit right

29. What was your favourite film of this year?

I haven’t really watched many movies once again. Onward?

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Turned 31. Went to work and had dinner with my family.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Sorting out my stuff enough to be a bit further along the house buying journey? I think overall it’s been a pretty solid year for the most part, though.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022?

Jeans, leggings, t-shirts, and a fair bit of plaid. Comfortable and clean clothes are still my go-to here, and really doesn’t change on a year-to-year basis.

33. What kept you sane?

Music, podcasts, friends, colleagues, monthly supervision sessions, naps.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I don’t think I can even name someone for this one...

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

Probably the war in Ukraine.

36. Who did you miss?

Caitlin remains top of the list. Ireland is very far away.

37. Who was the best new person you met?

Marlene and Udit, I think

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2022:

Trusting others’ assumptions about the priority level of different projects is not the same as confirming them with the whole team, and it’s really a lot better to be sure of this sooner, rather than at the last minute.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

“It’s just the way that it goes // sometimes the world feels awful slow // and it’s just the way that it is // we all go fishing, ‘til we’re sick of fish // and it don’t make no sense // we all dream of the green over that fence // but it comforts me to know // that it’s just the way it goes.” - Lucy, Jenny Mitchell

40. How did you spend New Year’s Eve?

Board games, pot luck, spa, and friends down the road at my parents’ place.

[heartbrake-hotel]

I posted 2,911 times in 2022

That's 2,911 more posts than 2021! 😳

10 posts created (0%)

2,901 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@presleyonfilm

@star-shard

@karamelcoveredolicity

@troubleinapinksuit

I tagged 1,938 of my posts in 2022

Only 33% of my posts had no tags

#fave - 193 posts

#art - 85 posts

#laugh tag - 77 posts

#🌺 - 16 posts

#long ref - 15 posts

#🔒 - 14 posts

#mine - 10 posts

#👉👉 - 9 posts

#🦇 - 7 posts

#things to never lose - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#right on the heels of a very beautiful reminder that even deeply flawed personas deserve respect if not love given to telling their stories

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Lol I read your tags on the Las Vegas text post and I’m thinking no longer than half an hour realistically 😅 but I googled it and it would actually be longer for a 30+ man but for him being a sex symbol and horny af I’m thinking it could be even be 20 minutes 😂

BHAHAHAHHA GOOD im glad someone saw that 😅😅 cmon elvis the people need ANSWERS,, this is for SCIENCE

but yes exactly like i read the research ik what the most probable answer would be from a human bio standpoint but im afraid the typical male anatomy does not account for ep's specific brand of Massively Horny 😔

so good good im glad to hear you agree.! ideally i was thinking three over the course of maybe a couple hours so that seems reasonable💫 and also post-show which uhh. historically seems to have.. dare i say Increased his libido😳

of course if that had been too frequent it wouldn't have been a hassle to incorporate some edging instead oop

5 notes - Posted October 14, 2022

#4

for the first question of the elvis ask game bc i am incapable of Shutting Up;

"When and what was your first exposure to Elvis Presley?"

like literally i could Not in good conscience let this extend my original answer post ohhhh my god 😅😅 but also i quite like the story and want it recorded for selfish purposes so if you are for Some Reason interested...... here she is

my mom really loves elvis (some of you might know this already). she's from alabama, and growing up her dad (who died p young) really liked him (though my gramma still insists "he always did a little too much of that... jigglin' for my taste"). she remembers her father let her stay home from school on august 17th, 1977, because she was so distraught after hearing about elvis the afternoon before. that day after was a wednesday and she was 10 years old. she says it was practically a public day of mourning in the south.

on the other hand my mom is also deeply catholic and experienced a great moral terror surrounding media consumption upon having me, her oldest, bc she was afraid that if my first word had been "margaritaville" she would have had to answer to god for the depravation of my immortal soul :/ and no that's not a joke she literally thought that about jimmy buffet. so we didn't, uh. have music in my house as a kid. my mom had one (1) bruce springsteen cd i wasn't allowed to listen to, and my dad had one (1) johnny cash cassette that i WAS. other than that the only music we had around was the soundtracks in movies and a lot of gregorian chant. and the one copy of the high school musical deluxe edition soundtrack that i got for christmas in 2006 and my sister and i literally wore the ribbon out of bc we were so starved for Tunes dfghs so i actually. had no idea my mom liked elvis she never listened to his music around me or brought him up.

aaaand then in.. 2009 or 2010 (i had to look up the release date of justin bieber's baby to verify this Holy Shit), i went away to sleepaway camp for the first time. it was an art, science, and technology camp at my dad's alma mater (and eventually mine❤) in my parent's hometown, a couple hours away. i stayed with my dad's parents instead of on campus, but it was still A Big Deal growing-up-wise. and my mom sent me a care package while i was there, with a postcard to read for every day of the week i was gone.

they were all pictures of elvis and i had No Idea Why.

i thought maybe she was just being, like. fun and kitschy.?? idk i was a weird kid who had a weird mom, it was easy to rationalize. and she didn't address it at all until the third postcard, when she said she had thought about finding stationary i would like to write these on but instead she decided to give me something precious to her, these elvis postcards she'd had lying around since she was a girl. because of how, you know, she loved elvis so much.

WELL, NO. NO MOM, I DID NOT "KNOW."

up until this point the only defining knowledge i had of elvis could be summarized by the epic rap battle of history vs michael jackson, which contains such lyrical marvels as "here's a tip - don't swallow a bucket of drugs so you won't die on the toilet dropping hunks of burning love," and "well, i may have died on the shitter but i don't give a crap, you ain't got half the badass battle raps that i have." yes i Did type those out from memory. i'm sure i'd heard elvis' music before (i had seen lilo and stitch at least once, after all) but if you had asked me to name even one of his songs at that time i don't think i could've done it. i simply hadn't conceptualized him beyond the vague image of a white jumpsuit and the words "thank ya, thank ya very much." but my mother expressing ANY sort of interest in a celebrity or pop culture at large was Absolutely Shocking, and i was determined to take advantage of this moment by seeing what the hype was all about.

so i went downstairs to my grandparent's basement pc and typed "elvis" into the google search bar. that was it. just "elvis." not "elvis presley," not "elvis songs," not "who the hell was elvis and does an interest in him make my mother lame or cool?" just "elvis." :)

and then he opened his mouth and heaven started pouring out.

and the first video that came up was the rapid city unchained melody performance. i watched the video, and i almost immediately had this absolutely overwhelming outpouring of love for this man on the screen. he slurred out "unchained melody. from an album called unchained melody. makes a lot of sense. ok" and i remember thinking that that "ok" had sounded so SMALL. he sounded like a lost little boy. and then that maternal instinct immediately fled my 12-year-old body and i scoffed like a tweenybopping little bitch and thought from how tiny he sounded he couldn't possibly have had a voice worth listening to.

i had never heard the song before (though i was immediately struck by its.. well, melody). i didn't know he was struggling with a drug habit, and i didn't know it had been filmed shortly before his death and would eventually come to be seen as the crowning final jewel in the midst of years of muddy decline. all i knew was that this man looked like he should've been in a hospital instead of on a stage, pouring sweat, minutes away from toppling backwards off the piano bench, and despite all of that... he was making the most devastatingly beautiful music i had ever heard. his voice was so strong, so clear, and i was once again baffled that a voice like that could be coming out of his visibly ailing body. i thought about how beautiful it was that he was giving so much of himself to perform this song when he looked like he didn't even have it in him to make it another couple of days. and i thought he was the most beautiful man i had ever seen in my life for doing it. it was like i had the word "beautiful" running on loop in my head. the only thought i had was "beautiful, beautiful, beautiful," over and over again until the song finished.

i didn't even realize i was crying until my gramma (who was just about deaf and had been two floors above me and on the other side of the house) came down to check on me. i remember her coming to stand at the foot of the basement steps and looking at me really carefully, asking if i was ok. and i had never heard her sound worried before ever so i took my headphones off and opened my mouth to ask her what she meant, and i realized i couldn't talk because i was so violently sobbing. apparently i had been shaking, hugging myself, and rocking back and forth for the duration of the video and was so insularly focused on elvis i hadn't even known it. dramatic ass bitch

eventually i calmed down enough to tell my gramma i didn't know who elvis was but i was having a breakdown about him anyway, and it felt really weird because a man i wasn't even invested in had just changed my life maybe bc that's about how big what i was feeling was. she just said "ok. do you want to feel that more or less?" so she sat there with me and i watched the video three or four more times and thought he was just angelic. not in the cheesy "did it hurt when you fell from heaven" way but like there was literally something of the divine about him. and i sat there at the computer desk and cried myself out and eventually about forty minutes later said "ok now i would like to feel less" so she told me on the news that morning had been a performance by a boy about my age and did i know who justin bieber was. this was probably a leading question because it was statistically likely i was wearing a my world 2.0 t-shirt at this time, but it gave me an opportunity to show a 70-year-old the baby music video and also to explain what a youtuber was and my emotional range normalized again.

and then that depth of emotion was so uncomfortably strong and i was so unequipped to deal with it as a kid that i shoved it down and learned hound dog and blue suede shoes and can't help falling in love and then totally disavowed myself of Anything elvis for a decade. or at least that's what i thought i was doing but also i loved dion and the belmonts on one end of the relevant temporal spectrum and frankie valli and the four seasons on the other and my favorite movie was bye bye birdie (the 1995 tv one with jason alexander tho not the '63 version sorry ammo) and i spent a Lot of time reading about buddy holly's life story so uh. MAYHAPS I WAS ALWAYS PRIMED FOR THIS.

and then baz luhrmann bashed me on the head with a sledgehammer and it hit my reset button and now here i am✨

6 notes - Posted September 24, 2022

#3

If I had a nickel for every time they made a movie where the plot was "Elvis is in love with his brother's girlfriend, and eventually his brotherly love tops the homicidal sibling instinct but a lot of violence happens first, and also the brother is left traumatized because Elvis eats it at the end" .. I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

9 notes - Posted September 6, 2022

#2

have just been informed by my grandma that my mom's bridal shower was elvis-themed.!

extremely bold of her to be engaged to another man yet publicly dedicate her party to known sex symbol elvis presley.. im incredibly into it honestly

something something baby seasons change😌

21 notes - Posted September 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

if you're looking to have a calm and emotionally stable day i have a very important tip for you - i recommend you do NOT listen to the wild in the country soundtrack and recontextualize it in your head.

do NOT listen to this song that's clearly meant to be about a breakup but imagine the lyrics as a love letter from elvis to his fans from beyond the grave DONT DO IT,

If I should go, forget me never

Please say that you'll remember me

I pray the dreams we share together

Will shine on in your memory

Each time a star falls out of heaven

It leaves the sky a deeper blue

So if we part, forget me never

And don't forget my love for you

And don't forget my love for you

⚠️ this has been a psa

50 notes - Posted October 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[because-its-eurovision]

Wait so what happened between Finnish people and Lordi? This is the first I'm hearing about their reputation being trashed there :0

This is going to be one of my thousand-word essay answers, so strap in.

I also did not know how badly they were treated during the years following Esc until Yle published this article in May 2021. It is in Finnish and I can’t be bothered to translate the whole thing, but the article consists of our previous representatives Lordi (2006), Hanna Pakarinen (2007), Kuunkuiskaajat (2010), Paradise Oskar (2011) and Sandhja (2016) telling about their Esc experiences and how the Finnish public and music industry treated them during and after that (spoiler alert: it wasn’t great). The article was linked to the Finnish Esc forum and I remember us all being very shocked and upset because it was the first time we actually heard about the negativity and hatred Lordi experienced. I do think most of us just assumed their hype went away quietly. What follows is based on my own memories of the time as well as what the band has told publicly.

I remember the 2006-2007 being full on Lordi craze. Their merch and albums being sold at supermarkets. Lordi Cola, Lordi candy. Lordi themed restaurant in Rovaniemi. Celebrations, awards, statues. Squares and buildings named after them, their faces in credit cards and postage stamps. The Arockalypse being the most sold album of 2006, selling triple platinum. In Emma Gaala Lordi won Band of the Year, Song of the Year and Export of the Year, Hard Rock Hallelujah was the most played song of the year, everywhere you went you saw kids wearing Lordi shirts (...sounds familiar?😶)

The way I see it is that by just participating in the national selection, let alone Esc, Lordi had lost all the credibility they had left in the eyes of rock/metal puritans, selling themselves and whatnot because Eurovision a cringefest as we know. I don’t know if music based subcultures are as gatekeepy and stick-in-their-ass level of humourless as they used to be in the mid-to-late 00′s but I pray to satan they are not because that time was ROUGH and I think it might have something to do with what happened to Lordi. 

During those years I spent a lot of time hanging on metalhead and goth discussion forums (because social media wasn’t a thing yet) and I remember it being exactly oh you like this band? name their every song kinda tiring stuff. People arguing about genres and if some band was heavy metal, heavy rock or just metal, or if you could be a goth if you rode a bicycle (??) or listened to anything else besides Joy Division, or if you had the right to wear a band shirt if you couldn’t name all the members, or that if your favorite song from a band was a big hit were you considered a poser, or could a goth person like Nightmare Before Christmas merch or was it too emo, and so on and so forth, and everything was super serious. I remember people even throwing a fit when Children of Bodom wore Hawaii shirts in promo pics.🤦‍♀️So considering the attitudes of the era and the fact that Lordi had been a divisive artist already (can’t take anyone seriously if they wear a costume or are in character) long before Esc, it is in a way no wonder that the music puritans turned their backs on them. Goes without saying how ridiculous that is imo, but anyway.

Normies, aka not fans of the contest or the band beforehand, on the other hand jumped on the Esc boat for the year when Finland was the reigning champion. Our stupid little nation LOVES competing and being champions, so much so that we have a habit of inventing our own ridiculous contests just to win. Like, everyone wanted to get tickets to the live shows in Helsinki, more people joined the Finnish OGAE than ever before, everyone bought the Esc album of 2007 and so on.

And then when the glitter had settled, our hosting year was over and we didn’t do so hot at 2007 & 2008 Escs despite sending “heavy” entries, I guess that normies just returned to their default attitude towards Eurovision which is viewing it as embarassing, pointless, glittery, gay, good-for-nothing waste of time and money in which none of the music can be taken seriously because it’s Eurovision and thus by default shit. 

In the article I linked at the beginning Mr. Lordi tells how performing abroad and in Finland was like night and day. During the Deadache tour 2009 they sold out arenas in Central Europe but couldn’t sell even half the tickets to a club in Finland. Finnish audience spit at them, yelled obscenities, showed middle fingers, asked the band to play quieter or play the eurovision song. Like, I have no idea why you would buy a ticket and go to someone’s show just to be a dick. Teräsbetoni (Esc 2008) has also told in the interviews that at one point they had a group guys in the front row at their shows who just kept yelling GAY during the whole gig 😑

In conclusion: Finnish people got Eurovision hangover from the ridiculous Lordi craze of 2006-2007 and then moved on. Meanwhile Lordi had lost both their original fanbase and failed to gain a new one as the ESC hype went away, that’s how I see it at least.

I could go on a full length tangent about how the BC fever gives me not-so-positive flashbacks to Lordi graze, but I’m too tired for that. What I want to point out though is that I’m not that worried about BC getting the Lordi treatment for two reasons: they weren’t big before Esc so they had practically nothing to lose, and they didn’t win (THANK GOD). Niko & Joel have also brought up this in interviews which makes me admire how smart they actually are for always having known what should be the next move for the band. I also want to believe that Eurovision has changed from the campiest times (2000-2010) to more serious direction and simultaneously gained back the ability to produce global hits and stars again (Måneskin, Duncan Laurence, Rosa Linn) which is something we haven’t really seen since 1988. As a side note I’m really glad to see some of that bleeding into our national selection as well, because before BC and Bess the last time someone became successful thanks to our Eurovision NF and not despite was in 1989.

As @reunalordi importantly pointed out in their tags, this is/was what happened to Lordi’s popularity in Finland specifically. They still have a big fanbase abroad afaik and if someone knows more about their popularity/success nowadays, please do correct me <3

[putschki1969]

2022/09/13 Blog post by Wakana “Wakana Billboard Live 2022”に来てくれた皆さん本当にありがとうございました！〜パクチーと新曲とクリスマス〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ Do ❗NOT SHARE❗ on other sites ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Thank you to everyone who came to see my “Wakana Billboard Live 2022″! ~Coriander, a New Song and Christmas~

I eat coriander salad every day to deal with the lingering summer heat. I love coriander, this time of the year, large junks are sold at various greengrocers near me 🙄 I used to see them often around spring but then they suddenly disappeared during the extremely hot summer months. Now they are finally back and I've been seeing them more and more often recently (I wonder if it a coincidence). For my salad, I lightly toss coriander and sliced ​​onions in sesame oil, add some white sesame seeds, a bit of salt, sugar and vinegar.

Hello, this is Wakana (0￣▽￣0)／

Today, I'll be posting a lot of photos from my Billboard Live OSAKA on September 1st and Billboard Live YOKOHAMA on September 9th! First of all, let’s start with some pictures from Osaka! Here we are after the 1st stage is over. We are ready to go again. And here we are with a big smile on our faces after the 2nd stage. At that point I was super hungry from singing so much Both Takebe-san and Fukuhara-san told me that I was in high spirits from beginning to end. I think it’s because both the 1st and 2nd stage were were filled with so much warmth and passion, I had a total blast!  Now here is a picture of the three of us after the 1st stage in Yokohama. All of those trio shots were taken right after we had come off the stage so everyone’s face still looked quite heated. (ﾟ∀ﾟ) And another picture after the 2nd stage! Taken just 10 seconds after the official end of all 4 performances in Osaka and Yokohama! ! Then we have some rehearsal pictures. I really like the fancy lights! ! Everyone is taking a bow＼(^o^)／Thank you for the warm applause!!

This time, we unveiled a brand new song to everyone, it’s one out of a few songs I am currently working on. It's called "標(しるし= Shiroshi = Sign/Mark/Symbol)". This song was written by singer-songwriter Yoshiko Hanzaki. When we were discussing the song, I burst into tears and poured out my heart to her. Hanzaki-san listened patiently to me while I was shedding tears. We talked about a very special and precious topic, family. My father passed away in the spring of 2020. Back then I felt an unbelievable sense of loss and unbearable grief, I honestly thought the day would never come when I would be able to laugh again. I was only able to motivate myself because you have always been there for me and provided support. Even though I was sad, I knew I would be able to overcome that sadness one day. I wanted to put all of those feelings in a song and convey them to you. At that time my love and appreciation for music increased considerably. The reason I can smile like this now is because all of you have been there for me. Also, from wherever my father is watching, I just want him to see me happy. Even now, whenever I'm singing I hope it transcends time and space to reach him. "Shiroshi" is a song that probably couldn’t have happened without the strength everyone has given me, it’s a song about my feelings for my father. Please look forward to the day when it will be release! [Note: On Father’s Day in 2020, Wakana posted THIS video of her and her mother performing “Moshimo Piano Ga Hiketanara”. At that point her father must have already passed away. Damn, it hits differently now. Also, I am so jealous of everyone who attended her Billboard Lives. I wanna listen to “Shiroshi” right now!! T_T]

Now, I would like to show you a few close-ups of my outfits~♪ This is the white dress I wore for the 1st stage! The floral pattern is subtle, nothing too crazy, just the perfect amount of pretty. I think it’s honestly so cute🥺💕I also like the sheer, puffy sleeves. That’s probably my absolute favourite part about the dress! Next we have my dress for the 2nd stage! I chose it because the vivid colours appealed to me😆 There is a lot of attention to detail in the design, which is something I really appreciate. For example, I really like the shoulders and the difference in texture between at the waist and wrist section! 😍

Thank you very much to everyone who came to my "Wakana Billboard Live 2022"!･:*+.\(( °ω° ))/.:+ For me, it was a truly memorable live that made me discover new music!

My next live will be held on Christmas! 🎄🎅🌟 The performance is scheduled for December 25 at Kioi Hall! Everyone, let's spend Christmas Day together and enjoy music! (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) I'll be awaiting you~♪＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و ////

Finally, here’s a picture of my coriander salad! *laughs* Doesn't it look delicious?🤤

Until next time~☆(*'▽'*)/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊