#oh dear god its been 50 days since this masterpiece

[distroyer0g]

Drawing Spider-man until beyond the spider-verse. Day 50!

[lovelytonys]

100 great things about megamind

basically i just watched megamind and wrote down everything that made me go “hey that’s good”

1. The opening monologue slaps I literally do not care about your “cliches” it’s GOOD

2. “8 days old and still living with my parents...pathetic right?”

3. The idea that Megamind is inherently good since his origin story should have been his dad saying he’s destined for “greatness” but the greatness got cut off uwu

4. Literally just the fact that Megamind was about to go to the Rich Nice House and his destiny changed at the last second,,,everything about this movie makes it a cinematic masterpiece

5. “A baby! How thoughtful!” “yes yes I saw it and thought of you”

6. “While they were learning the itsy bitsy spider I was learning how to dehydrate objects and rehydrate them at will”

7. When you hear the Bad to the Bone guitar riff kick in,,,,,,heck yeah babey!!

8. J.K Simmons is here! yeah!

9. Will Ferrell’s voice acting is literally SO darn good like even just from the beginning,,, the funny affectation of whatever kind of accent that is,,,,,the expressiveness of literally everything he says,,,,,I’m not actively a fan of Will Ferrell or anything but he just did a good job ok

10. “His heart is an ocean inside a bigger ocean”

11. Idk why but I just love the phrase “you fantastic fish you”

12. Metro Man is such a fun character. Like. A hero who shouldn’t be a hero, but he just….is one? Someone who’s idol-worshipped and, despite his grandeur, doesn’t exactly deserve it?

13. MEGAMIND’S CHARACTER DESIGN IS LITERALLY SO GOOD like the vivid colors of his skin and eyes? His COSTUME? His hilarious proportions, between the giant head and the skinny & scrawny everything else? Superb, you funky little alien

14. All dialogue between Megamind and Minion is god tier by default

15. The twist on “damsel in distress” where yeah the girl gets kidnapped but she is so not distressed and has the intellectual power in the situation as she roasts Megamind at every turn and he can’t combat anything she says

16. “Oh potato tomato potato tomato”

17. “I’m shaking in my BABY SEAL LEATHER BOOTS”

18. THE ENTIRE EXCHANGE BETWEEN MEGAMIND AND METRO MAN ABOUT JUSTICE AND REVENGE AND THE MICROWAVE OF EVIL AND WARRANTIES

19. “Can someone stamp my frequent kidnapping card” “You of all people know that we discontinued that”

20. The way this movie manages to SO effectively establish character while diving right into the action and keeping with a fun, fast pace? The world & characters are set up incredibly well AND the start of the journey/ “break into the new world” hits at a brisk 20 minutes? Lovely work, Dreamworks

21. When Highway to Hell kicks in with the lasers and Megamind dancing at the police,,,,,this is nothing short of priceless

22. “Imagine the most horrible terrifying evil thing you could possibly think of and multiply it…..BY SIX”

23. When you’re a supervillain who takes over the city and you say “let’s just have fun with this” to the citizens

24. *whispering behind the door* “now slam the door really hard!” *snickering like a 12 year old girl* “move they can still see you”

25. “Did you think this day would come?” “No, no not in a million years, not ever...I mean yes”

26. “That’s called a window, sir. All the kids are looking through them”

27. Crazy Train is SUCH a nice touch, the fade into Alone Again Naturally is great. The use of music in this movie is absolutely A+, MEGAMIND DID IT FIRST AND GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY AIN’T SPECIAL (jk gotg you’re so special ily)

28. The images of Megamind’s destruction & deterioration of the city are so creative and funny

29. *to a desk toy bird* “What’s your vacuum like?”  

30. “GOING OFF THE RAILS ON A CRAZY TRAIN SIR”

31. Haven’t yet mentioned how lovely the animation of Megamind’s face is! Every single frame, he’s so expressive

32. Mispronunciation of words like “school”, “Metro City”, and “melancholy”

33. This voice cast in general is so good like it’s not just big names phoning it in for an animated movie, they’re fully into it

34. Real Bernard doesn’t get much screen time but he’s hilarious

35. “Typhoon Cheese”, whatever that was gonna be

36. The juxtaposition in body language & facial expression between Real Bernard and Megamind Bernard,,,,,actually just the way Megamind’s physicality is transferred to the other characters he disguises himself as. Great stuff

37. Megamind’s off-the-walls high energy is so fun and electric

38. “This is a bad idea” “yes, a good idea for the greater good of bad” “maybe it seems good from your bad perception but from a good perception it’s just plain bad” “oh you don’t know what’s good for bad”

39. Ollo? Oh, hello

40. “I’m just yelling at my…..mother’s urn”

41. Megamind and Minion just saying “code” before things that aren’t in code. This movie is so good with its running gags, they don’t feel like “oh haha they used that joke again!” they feel like inside jokes between the characters I love it

42. Megamind fighting himself as Bernard while complimenting himself, COMEDY GOLD

43. The various occurrences of random life-altering things happening on a whim to the wrong people, like Hal getting the superpowers and earlier Metro Man being molded into a hero and Megamind landing in prison as a baby

44. The forget me stick

45. Space Dad and Space Stepmom

46. Every character Megamind inhabits always retains Megamind’s eyes

47. MR BLUE SKY PLAYING OVER HAL’S DISASTROUS TRAINING SEQUENCE AND THE FALLING IN LOVE SEQUENCE THAT INCLUDES DONKEY KONG AND MEGAMIND WEIRDLY TEXTING ON A FLIP PHONE (gotgv2 who? Don’t know her)

48. Roxanne’s positive influence making Megamind genuinely want to make the city better uwu

49. ROXANNE AND METRO MAN WERE NEVER A COUPLE! Lovely trope subversion

50. Tropes in this movie in general are so fun. This isn’t some uninspired genre parody. They don’t just subvert tropes in the exact way that you’d expect. I feel like the way that this movie plays with the superhero genre often feels unique and creative

51. Bernard’s character design kind of slaps tbh. The turtleneck, the hair, the glasses, all very nice

52. When Hal calls Roxanne “a really good looking one I’ve got my eye on” like she’s meat or something as opposed to Megamind valuing her personality…..makes ya think u know

53. T h e  b l a c k  m a m b a a a a a

54. “Maybe I don’t want to be the bad guy anymore!” and Megamind & Minion’s subsequent falling out that served as a precursor to the disastrous date with Roxanne- it happens pretty much exactly halfway through the movie. Some people look down upon following structure to a T, but sometimes it’s satisfying when a movie perfectly follows structure and this movie’s structure is flawless

55. “Good luck on your date” “I will” “That doesn’t even make any sense” “I know”

56. Right after fighting w Minion when Megamind looks in a cracked mirror and frowns at his reflection but then changes into someone else, into Bernard, and then smiles? THE CINNAMON TOGROPHY, THE STORYTELLING

57. When Hal is just an incel whose feeling of entitlement is framed as disgusting and he’s not supposed to be sympathetic and Roxanne’s rejection of him is not framed as evil but rather completely justified? VERY epic of them, this movie would have SMASHED the pop culture scene if it came out today

58. The GRAVITY of the part when Roxanne accidentally reveals Megamind in the restaurant is so powerful that I can STILL barely watch it even though I’ve seen it so many times

59. The part that immediately follows where Roxanne shuts down Megamind is SO well done. Roxanne is giving out some harsh words to our dear protagonist, but she is not framed as the bad guy. The great thing about this scene is that they let Roxanne call out Megamind on how he’s been a jerk and she gets to be RIGHT. How very cash money of them! The emotion here isn’t anger at Roxanne because she’s ~being mean~ to Megamind. It’s a sting over the fact that she’s right, and the heartbreak over the dramatic irony of us knowing that Megamind is becoming a better person and Roxanne having no idea. Now Megamind is left with a decision that will show who he truly is on the inside: he could either retreat back into safe, evil ways for the rest of time because it’s easier to be bad because then no one expects anything from him and rejection is easier to handle, or he could ultimately choose to grow from this and recognize how he was wrong and how he has to change. The execution of this midpoint is exemplary.

60. “Do you really think I’d ever be with you?” “....no” the delivery of those lines is so good

61. “You were right! I was….less right!”

62. The Black Mamba is a god tier costume and the fact that it has its own theme song in the score makes it at least 6x better

63. WHEN BACK IN BLACK KICKS IN YEAAAHHHH (Iron Man who? Don’t know her) (Iron Man was already out at this point but how fun is it that this movie used TWO iconic mcu songs)

64. Megamind in the giant suit playing with cars

65. Hal SUCKS I love how much the movie wants you to hate him

66. The difference between Megamind and Hal/Titan/Tighten is so interesting to watch. How Megamind is the self-proclaimed “bad guy” but he’s not even out to do serious damage & it’s just a game to him, while Hal is out for blood but was created to be a hero

67. “Now it’s time for witty banter” “AAAAAAAAA” “I’m not really sure where to go with that”

68. “I’M CALLING A TIME OUT”

69. Twisting the Kryptonite trope by having Metro Man make up the copper weakness

70. “Does he have a hideout? A cave? A solitary fortress?” lol I understood that reference

71. “OW! MY GIANT BLUE HEAD!”

72. Metro Man’s confession scene is so good. Really, how often do you get a hero who feels that he was forced into being a hero? That’s usually a villain trope. Does the hero ever realize he doesn’t want to be a hero….and actually quit FOR GOOD? Again, the trope subversion is awesome

73. “I have eyes that can see right through leaaaaaaaad” that’s my favorite song

74. “You left the city to HIM! No offense” “no I’m with you”

75. “There’s a yin for every yang. If there’s bad, good will rise up against it.”

76. “I say we just go all GANGSTA on him” ms tina fey i would die for you

77. Megamind turns himself in to the police, the fact that he willingly submits himself to the punishment of being a villain at this point is a lovely and stirring way of showing the sense of justice he has deep down and showing his character development

78. When Roxanne gives Megamind a desperate & compassionate pep talk over live tv no matter what it means for her reputation :*))

79. When Megamind has 88 life sentences

80. “I. Am. Sorry!” *dramatically slides down door*

81. Megamind’s heartfelt and regretful admission of all his mistakes that brings his character arc to a head? Lovely

82. “Good luck” “WE’RE GONNA D I E! Hahahaha!”

83. “There is no Easter bunny, there is no tooth fairy, and there is no queen of England.”

84. MEGAMIND’S EPIC ENTRANCE BY COMING OUT OF HIS OWN MOUTH

85. “Oh you’re a villain alright. Just not a super one.” “Oh yeah? What’s the difference?”

86. P R E S E N T A T I O N

87. METRO MAN THUNDER CALVES

88. Again with the green eyes continuity! Love that!

89. “Going somewhere? Besides jail?” *flies in a fancy pose*

90. When Megamind is ready to let everyone think Metro Man is back but Roxanne wants to see the real hero :*))

91. “This is the last time you make a fool out of me!” “I made you a hero, you did the fool thing all by yourself” SICK BURN

92. “There’s a benefit to losing. You get to learn from your mistakes”

93. WHEN THE DEHYDRATION GUN COMES IN CLUTCH

94. Minion being a drama queen lol comedy peaked in 2010

95. Minion’s Little Face

96. “GET BACK YOU SAVAGES” “Sorry he’s just not used to positive feedback!”

97. “Destiny is not the path given to us but the path we choose for ourselves”

98. When Megamind gets to parallel Metro Man’s entrance from the beginning of the movie and everyone cheers for him :*)) and he adds his own fun little twist by making a villain joke

99. “Megamind, defender of Metro City” “you know? I like the sound of that!”

100. Name a better villain to hero story. YOU CANNOT. Cinematic excellence. I am never disappointed.

[strangerdarkerbetter]

What’re your favorite songs?

Ok! This is gonna be a bit long, lol. I tend to get really into a song or few for anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks during which time I will play the song or songs obsessively (I don’t know if this is already a thing, but I call it samesonging)

So, my current songs are:

Waving Through a Window from the musical Dear Evan Hanson

Hunger - Florence and the Machine

Sky Full of Song - Florence and the Machine

First Burn - a reworking of Burn from Hamilton featuring six women who have played Eliza

Found Tonight - Lin Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt (it’s a mix of Story of Tonight from Hamilton and You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hanson)

I have a few tattoos that incorporate song lyrics. The songs and lyrics are as follows:

Ever After - Marianas Trench

“I could be your perfect disaster, I could be your ever after” 

Porcelain - Marianas Trench*

“When your heart releases, you won’t fall to pieces”

“It’s alright to take time to find where you’ve been”

Shake It Out - Florence and the Machine

“It’s hard to dance with a devil on your back, so shake him off”

“It’s always darkest before the dawn”

Let It Go - Frozen

“I’ll rise like the break of dawn”

“Let the storm rage on”

“It’s time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through”

“Let it go”

Fighting for Nothing - Meg and Dia

(I changed up the lyrics a little for my tattoo. I start from where my tattoo starts which is about halfway through the song. The lines that have been striked through were not included in the tattoo. The final line in italics is my own addition which is a variation of lines from the song)

I’ve got my mouth: Its a weapon. Its a bombshell.Its a cannon. I’ve got my words.I won’t give them mercy. Mercy.But these things take time love.These things take backbone.And they’ll tell you what you want to hearCause they think its better. Better.But you better know how to point out the liars.You’ve got to weigh your wars make sureYou’re not fighting for nothing. Nothing.Are you fighting for nothing?I’ve got my words. I hope they hurt you.I hope they scar you. I hope they heal you.I hope they cut you open,Make you see you’ve been warringFor all the wrong reasons.Make you see that some things are worth bruising for.Make you see that your name is your honor code.Make you see that your hands you’re accounted for.Pick and choose where your sweat and your blood will go.Make you see your life’s not to be lived alone.Make sure you’re not fighting for nothing 

And, because I have way too many songs that I love to be able to leave it at this, the following are a selection of songs I’ve obsessed over at some point in time, all of which I still listen to in between bursts of samesonging. I’ve grouped the songs by artist and listed alphabetically by artist for convenience below the cut. 

(songs with asterisks next to them have trigger warnings listed at the end)

Anastacia featuring Ben Moody

Everything Burns

Bat for Lashes

Horse and I

Breaking Benjamin

Dance With The Devil

Cascada

Everytime We Touch

Dia Frampton

The Broken Ones

Homeless

Isabella

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog (musical)

Brand New Day

My Eyes

Evanescence

Going Under

Good Enough

Lacrymosa

Sweet Sacrifice

Whisper

Fall Out Boy

Dance, Dance

A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me

The Phoenix

Sugar, We’re Going Down

Flight Facilities

Crave You 

Florence and the Machine

(basically her whole discography, but I’ll list my favorites)

All This and Heaven Too

Delilah

Never Let Me Go

Ship To Wreck

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

White Rabbit

Hamilton (musical)

Burn

Guns and Ships

Non-Stop

Satisfied

I Hate Kate

Embrace the Curse

Imogen Heap

Hide and Seek

Joseph 

Cloudline

Kerli

Tea Party

Korn

Coming Undone

Lily Allen

Fuck You

Lindsey Stirling

Roundtable Rival

Shatter Me (feat. Lzzy Hale)

Marianas Trench

(again, basically everything lol)

All To Myself

Astoria**

Beside You

Cross My Heart

Desperate Measures

Ever After

Fallout

Good To You

Masterpiece Theatre I, II, and III (three different songs)

No Place Like Home

Who Do You Love?

Mayday Parade

Black Cat

Jamie All Over

When I Get Home, You’re So Dead?

Meg and Dia

Black Wedding

Hug Me

Monster****

Nineteen Stars

Roses

Misterwives

Hurricane

Not Your Way

Oh Love

Out of Tune Piano

Reflections

Revolution

Riptide

My Chemical Romance

The Sharpest Lives

Teenagers

Welcome to the Black Parade

Next To Normal (musical)

I’ve Been

Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling***

Panic! at the Disco

The Ballad of Mona Lisa

Build God, Then We’ll Talk

Nearly Witches [Ever Since We Met...]

There’s A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven’t Thought Of It Yet

Paramore

All We Know

crushcrushcrush

Emergency

Ignorance

The Proclaimers

I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)

PVRIS

Ghosts

Holy

Let Them In

Regina Spektor

Better

Samson

Relient K

Be My Escape

In Love With the 80s (Pink Tux to the Prom)

Sarah Bareilles

Eden

Fairytale

I Choose You

Let The Rain

Shiny Toy Guns

Frozen Oceans

Le Disko

Sia

Alive

Chandelier

Elastic Heart

Freeze You Out

Steven Universe (TV show)

Here Comes a Thought

It’s Over Isn’t It

Love Like You

Peace and Love on the Planet Earth

Stronger Than You

Tonight Alive

Bathwater

Reason To Sing

What Are You So Scared Of?

Train

50 Ways to Say Goodbye

The Used

The Bird and The Worm

Earthquake

I Caught Fire

Pretty Handsome Awkward

Take It Away

VersaEmerge

Lost Tree

Whisperer

A Very Potter Musical (fan musical)

Goin’ Back to Hogwarts 

Granger Danger

Not Alone

A Very Potter Sequel (fan musical)

The Coolest Girl

Harry Freakin’ Potter

Victorious (TV show)

Take a Hint

Walk the Moon

Shut Up and Dance

We The Kinds

Check Yes Juliet

Wicked (musical)

No Good Deed

Within Temptation

The Howling

What Have You Done Now?

Zedd

Clarity (feat Foxes)

Find You (ft Matthew Koma and Miriam Bryant)

Hourglass (ft LIZ)

10 Years

Through the Iris

3OH!3 feat Neon Hitch

Follow Me Down 

*Trigger warning: song is based on the singer’s experience with his own eating disorder

**Trigger warning: song deals, in part, with his time spent in a psychiatric hospital, includes a reference to a hospital. Also references: suicide, self harm, rough sex, alcohol use. Allusion to substance use. 

***Trigger Warning: song is between therapist and patient, deals with PTSD, amnesia, psychosis, death of a child

****Trigger Warning: song is about child abuse

[rockloveletters-blog]

Beggar’s Banquet - The Rolling Stones

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste."

It's one of the most potent opening verses in the pantheon of immortal rock songs. Instantly recognizable, sinewy, swaggering. No introductions needed.

This is a love letter to Beggar's Banquet, which is celebrating its 50th birthday. 50 years!  That's going to make some of my friends here on Facebook feel old. Boomers, take consolation in the fact that the rock and roll heroes of your generation produced some of the most epic, durable albums in rock history. They genuinely don't make 'em like this anymore.

Beggar's Banquet kicked off a 5-album run of hall of fame material, including Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main Street. Ben Fong Torres describes it as "an album flush with masterful and growling instant classics." This release is where the "World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band" thing started. At least, it's where the masses came to agree with Jagger's own proclamations.

This was the Stones' coming out party as musicians and songwriters. But in typical Stones fashion, there's plenty else to unpack around this album before we even consider the music.

Banquet followed Their Satanic Majesty's Request, the Stones' supposed answer to Sgt. Pepper.  A turnaround of epic proportions, to be sure. Satanic Majesty sucked, except for “She's a Rainbow” and “2000 Light Years From Home.”

It's the last Stones album featuring any meaningful contribution from Brian Jones - his absolutely sublime slide guitar work on "No Expectations" -  before he was found dead in a pool.

Controversy? Yes, please. First, there was Banquet's original album cover: Graffiti scratched onto a wall above a toilet in a dirty bathroom. It was so controversial at the time that it got pulled and replaced with the plain white design most of us are familiar with.  More controversy on the track "Stray Cat Blues," with its sexually-charged lyrics and one of the meanest guitar riffs Keith's ever summoned forth from his Tele.  No way it gets released in the age of #MeToo.

Stellar guest players,  including Nicky Hopkins, Ric Grech, Dave Mason, and Jimmy Miller.

Looking at Beggar's Banquet track by track, I'm struck by how it can be so cohesive and shambling at the same time. It's a  perfect example of how the Stones slipped this ominous tension into everything they did in their classic era. I've heard it described this way: In most rock bands, everybody follows the rhythm section.  Not the Stones, at least not in their work that's got some bite. Charlie follows Keith's guitar, and it feels like everything's perpetually on the verge of falling apart. Until it doesn't. Those in the know say that Charlie is the secret weapon in this band. I believe them.

So there's "Sympathy," which really needs no further explanation. I've heard it a million times. Every time, it's like I'm listening to the soundtrack to the end of the world.

The rest of these drug-fuelled, roots-and-blues numbers equate to a single album, of a unique place and time, worth a book or biopic all its own.  

"Dear Doctor" presages Jagger's tongue-in-cheek country dabblings (Think "Far Away Eyes" from 1978's Some Girls album) and is just plain fun. "I'm down in Virginia with your cousin Lou, and there'll be no wedding today!" he sings in a fake female falsetto to some poor bastard who finally lucks out when his "four-legged sow" of a fiance runs off on their wedding day.

"Parachute Woman: just bleeds Muddy Waters, and when the Stones cover or outright ape Muddy, good things usually happen. Keith doesn't play it straight-Muddy, though. He messed around with his guitar tone in ways he hadn't since "Satisfaction."

And then..."Street Fighting Man."  Oh my God. An uber-anthem for the classic rock ages, guitars like chimes soaring over a city that happens to be on fire. Lyrically, a masterpiece:

"So my name is called Disturbance I'll shout and scream I'll kill the king I'll rail at all his servants Well, what can a poor boy do Except to sing for a rock n' roll band? 'Cause in sleepy London town There's just no place for a street fighting man, no"

And then that bass run, which ends up in Jumpin' Jack Flash a few years later. For good reason, too.  Wyman could work that into every song, and I wouldn't care. It's just that formidable.

Maybe "Factory Girl" and "Prodigal Son," Keith-driven country-blues numbers, were thought of as filler at the time. I don’t know. I wasn’t born yet and my dad probably doesn’t remember. But that would have been premature and disproved in a few short years. Both tracks would have been right at home on Exile on Main Street. And everybody knows there is no filler on Exile on Main Street.

I already mentioned "Stray Cat Blues."  Like I said, it would never get played on the radio today (which I don't understand, given the content of much rap music). You just have to hear it for yourself, throw your sensibilities under the bus and repeat this mantra: It's only rock and roll, but I like it.

No track other than "Sympathy for the Devil" could have opened this album. Likewise, none except "Salt of the Earth" could close it. Keith and Mick trade stanzas in this ode to those who are, well, the salt of the earth.  In somebody else's hands (that isn't Woody Guthrie or Bruce Springsteen), this song might have come off as contrived - and that's before the mid-tempo acoustic guitars and piano tinklings crescendo into an all-hands-on-deck affair with a gospel chorus, of all goddamned things. Emoting heartache and bittersweet yearning or not, it sure feels honest.

"Let's drink to the hard working people Let's drink to the lowly of birth Raise your glass to the good and the evil Let's drink to the salt of the earth

Say a prayer for the common foot soldier Spare a thought for his back breaking work Say a prayer for his wife and his children Who burn the fires and who still till the earth."

The Glimmer Twins weren't yet called the Glimmer Twins when this album was released. These songs - and the ones on the next several albums - were more rust and dust than glitter.  Glimmer, in fact, is the chief problem some of us hardcore fans have with their modern-day efforts like Steel Wheels and Voodoo Lounge. Once in a while, as on Some Girls and even Undercover of the Night, they return to form and act like the World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band. Whether or not they go into the studio deliberately trying to recapture the magic of Beggar's Banquet, their music works best when it at least tries.

========================= Beggar's Banquet Recorded: March 17 - July 25, 1968 Released: December 6,1968

Side A: Sympathy For The Devil No Expectations Dear Doctor Parachute Woman Jigsaw Puzzle

Side B: Street Fighting Man Prodigal Son Stray Cat Blues Factory Girl Salt Of The Earth