#one of the highlights of the whole album campaign

[dreamings-free]

11/11/24

replay the Faith In The Future listening party here !

[brightlypainted]

I went completely bananas and wrote a full analysis of Joker Out and JO fandom stuff and situation... idk

Hi baby boos!

I’ve seen some confusion regarding JO’s latest announcements and social media activity (or lack thereof) so I've tried to analyze the current situation with a critical eye 🤓

I don't use Tumblr much so you're probably more familiar with my Twitter but I got suggested to post this here for easier reading (and... better audience in general 👀)

Long rant under the cut:

Before I begin I must point out that these are my opinions and theories. I have no idea how JO’s communication and management is being organized right now, I’m just making assumptions based on my perception as a fan 🤷‍♀️

(also I’m a communication graduate but my studies and current job cover this sector only tangentially so I may not know how some/most of this works…)

Let’s start with comparing last year’s situation to the current one: one year ago the boys were riding high on the wave of enthusiasm, having had a successful ESC (despite the ending placement) and having gained a lot of attention as fan favorite competitors ✨

A very high % of the growing fanbase, esp the international one, was coming directly or tangentially through ESC and how do you maintain that attention once the contest is over? you increase your social media presence and you start planning international concerts. which they did!

This constant exposure to content made the fandom flourish: we were all witnessing how easily people from everywhere could join and already feel at the very center of attention, both because JO’s communication was being very active and successful and also thanks to fanmade organizations like JokerOutSubs, group chats, old time Slovenian fans sharing juicy pre-ESC content, etc. I'll be grateful forever

We had a past year that could be divided into 2 halves in terms of communication: it all went extremely well until more or less the end of 2023 (last tour dates in Spain) and then started gradually becoming very odd and chaotic all through 2024 until last month’s complete draught

We know that they mostly tend to manage their online presence on their own, so ofc during breaks and during very busy times is harder for them to find good content to share. They had also been very clear about needing time off their phones all through the London era and the album recording in Hamburg, so that didn’t come as a surprise for fans 🤷‍♀️

But having very sensible, personal reasons to quit/decrease social media presence has unfortunately no meaning in communication, where the laws are very simple: once you stop sharing, you stop existing

I don’t want to criticize their choices, because they are entitled to their privacy and offline time. I’m just pointing out that this very long, hiccup-y period probably could have been avoided with better management and with the presence of a smm/pre-planned sm communication 🙃

It also unfortunately happened concurrently to the new ESC season, which was bound to “organically” erode part of the fandom anyway, and to an EU tour that, although successful, has still highlighted a lazy/bad management and yet again a communication that made little to no sense at times (es. the whole campaign that subtly asked people to go to more than one concert, which clearly made fans with less financial and logistical possibilities feel ‘lacking’ and ‘inferior’) 🙄

In their defense, the tour was to establish a fanbase more than gaining more fans and exposure, so pushing for getting more of a loyal than an occasional fanbase wasn’t completely wrong an idea… it just backfired

And it did because the greatest part of their international fanbase is made of very young people who aren’t financially independent and whose interests are bound to be fleeting and shifting ESPECIALLY when they aren’t constantly met with content production/consumption

Let’s also not forget that having completely shifted their attention to international waters at the expense of the Slovenian/regional fanbase has been very risky. We still can’t tell if the gamble was successful or not

It’s never a good idea to ignore/neglect your hardcore supporters, the very people that helped you raise to your current standards. it’s true they are the most loyal, but they are also very easily the ones that could feel more betrayed

I also think it’s very risky trying to shift the fans’ content consumption out of social media and into a (controlled, easier to manage, ofc) site like Openstage for two main reasons: as said before, complete disappearance from socials means communicational suicide and until now, the “dedicated content” directed toward fans on the site has been… too bland and generic (sorry)(they can learn how to improve that)

Openstage has other very interesting uses tho, firstly the early access to ticket sales and secondly the tracking of international fan presence, which was pretty clearly the main goal and reason why they opened the site in the first place... so it’s not ex ante a bad communication choice, just (until now) one that has yet to show its potential and usefulness

So what now? I think it’s time they make a few considerations and sensible choices to maintain what’s currently the status quo and in order to tackle festival season in the best way

They need to keep their international presence by opening their fanbase to a new kind of fans: festivals bring exposure to bands from a very specific type of fanbase, more interested in music than in contents. If they manage to capture the interest of Sziget people, for example, they could gather a new type of international fanbase less interested in the “social media” content consumption and more in the “I wanna see these guys play again, somewhere else, maybe a show of their own” way

(which, to be completely fair, could be the best choice to cure their current crazy/shifting/confusing fanbase state, giving them more peace of mind, more privacy and a more “normal” rock band experience than the one they had in the past year… that we can all agree has been pretty bad at times)

I personally think this summer season must go in the quantity direction (gaining more new fans) and at the same time in the quality direction (less shows, bigger stages) and this is why some of you are disappointed in seeing so little shows compared to last year or to the SYS tour... I get it

Many of us, me included, won’t be seeing JO live for the whole summer season, and I’m aware that is disappointing, but I hope this analysis has helped you put things into perspective and consider maybe one of the possible reasons why this next phase for Joker Out is being organized this way

I’m still hoping they’ll find a good compromise with their social media communication, because right now I really feel that being the main issue with the gradual but constant drop in traction (please boys hire a smm. i adore jan’s sad edits and the unhinged video and stories like the next person but serious work has to be done too)

Ending the rant on a note of hope: I wish to see you all enjoy the summer and the content to come and I hope for the boys to have a successful, fun season full of new experiences, new music, new people, fresh ideas for the future. I’m honestly very excited for what’s to come! 🌻

[josephlikesmusic]

BRAT - Charli xcx (2024)

(Wowie first album review on the blog!)

BRAT is easily one of my favorite albums that's been released since the start of the decade. I adore the combination of hyperpop and club music that this album experiments and hope that this album starts a new trend of pop albums experimenting with the futuristic sounds of hyperpop. Songs that stood out to me on the album were 360 and Apple. Both songs have become massively popular on TikTok, with Apple starting its own dance trend. Other major highlights of the album include Club Classics, Talk Talk, and Mean Girls.

I've noticed that the songs I enjoyed most on BRAT tend to be the more upbeat songs that I find myself longing to dance to, which makes sense seeing that Charli has mentioned that a lot of the album's inspiration was drawn from the London rave scene. A major theme that BRAT returns to throughout it's tracklist is girlhood. I Think About It All The Time is an extremely personal song about her uncertainty about whether or not it's the right time for her to have a child and delve into the journey of motherhood. The song also explores how women and mothers are perceived in our world, with Charli asking questions such as if motherhood makes you anymore of a woman. Sympathy is a Knife and Girl, So Confusing also touch on the perception of women, especially in the music industry. The general public is always comparing music stars to each other and even though many would be ashamed to admit their jealousy, Charli admits to overthinking and comparing herself to others, a bad trait many girls can relate to. While BRAT is mainly filled with these fast paced songs, songs like I Think About it all the Time and I Might Say Something Stupid while might not literally be slower, take a short break from the back to back "party songs" while I Think About it all the Time still keeps the upbeat tempo and fits well with the genre mixing of BRAT, I don't think that I Might Say Something Stupid fits 100%. I think that IMSSS is a great song standalone, although I don't love the autotune on the vocals, the song just feels out of place between Sympathy is a Knife and Talk Talk.

Besides this small annoyance, I adore BRAT. I've said it before and I'll say it again but this album is truly one of the best pop albums of this decade, and I hope that pop music as a whole starts becoming a little more experimental instead of falling into a formula. BRAT is quickly earning it's status as a modern classic, from it's iconic cover to Kalama Harris using the album to promote her presidential campaign. I have so much fun listening to this album and I am so glad to see so many people enjoying such an experimental album. I am also glad to see pop stars being able to come clean to their fans and admit their flaws, making themselves more relatable to the real fans that they have. Charli explores many themes that managers would typically advise their stars to stay far away from and tells her own stories that people can confide in. I hope that the success of this album will prove to the music industry that you can be a sincere person with the same flaws as everyone else, make music about your authentic feelings and experiences, and still be successful, and most of all I hope that those who have faced the same struggles as Charli can find comfort in her music and further prove the above statement.

[galerymod]

HER ...... ROCKET MAN

HER

The story of HER is characterised by massive successes and tragic strokes of fate, by triumph and tragedy in equal measure - but ultimately it is above all the story of a friendship: that between Victor Solf and Simon Carpentier.

German-born Victor and Frenchman Simon met back in 2007 - they were still at school - and the two hit it off like brothers. When they started making music together, their sound was equally influenced by classic soul à la Otis Redding and hip-hop from the post-"Yeezus" phase. They gave their project the name HER in 2015.

Their music became instantly recognisable when the early song "Five Minutes" was used as the soundtrack for Apple's "Shot on iPhone" campaign - which ultimately earned them more than 6.7 million streams on Spotify. The duo from Rennes with Franco-German roots then released the EP series "Her Tape #1" and "Her Tape #2", which were peppered with highlights such as "Quite Like", "Union" and "Her" - which in turn meant more than 20 million additional Spotify streams for HER. Behind the seductively provocative visuals that adorned their covers was a subtly dreamy newer wave sound, minimalist, somewhere between pop and soul, in which jazz elements also flickered - and so the two best friends circled the globe several times, presented the EPs live and also made a decent wave in the States.

So much for the numbers, the impressive successes of the last two or three years - because in the midst of all the hustle and bustle, Simon lost a long, hard, silent battle against cancer, which hardly anyone outside his closest circle of family and friends realised: he died a few months ago, in August 2017.

"The whole of last year was incredibly hard because Simon was so unwell," reports Victor. "For example, it was incredibly difficult for him to do our tour - but he also thought it was important to carry on and give concerts! He just didn't want to give up, he didn't want to stop... he battled with this illness for six years. And we didn't actually talk about cancer or death that much during that time: We wanted to talk about life instead. And now, I think it's my job to continue this line and this approach. It's really difficult for me, but I'm doing my best - for myself and for him."

With the support of his late friend, at least in spirit, Victor went back into the studio and continued working on their debut album "HER", which will be released by Republic Records in 2018. He put the finishing touches to the existing songs and also returned to the stage in between: among other things, he played a stunning, deeply moving set at the Rock En Seine Festival in Paris - a festival, incidentally, where HER had always wanted to perform. More shows followed all over Europe and then the album was as good as finished: "Most of the songs were already finished beforehand; they just needed some fine-tuning on the vocals, the background vocals...", he reports. "It was just important to me that Simon's voice, Simon's vision and his guitar playing remained virtually untouched and really sounded exactly how he wanted them to in the final version. I worked on that."

With the single "We Choose", HER have already released a significant album harbinger in advance: Simon's unmistakable voice spreads out over an extremely minimalist, light and smooth production, meaning that his presence can be felt immediately and his signature is unmistakable. "The strange thing is that this was the very first song we wrote as HER - and also the last one I recorded with Simon," explains Victor. "We wrote it just as our previous band was coming to an end. We wanted to make a real statement with it: that you can't lose hope, that you have to hold on to what you love. We were working on new ideas every day back then, and this song just stood out because we were also about holding on and carrying on - after all, there were people back then who thought we were going to stop completely now that the other band had ended. Well, we didn't stop. And I think now is the perfect time to release 'We Choose': Because even when things are bad, there's still one thing - hope. The song is kind of the prologue to the next chapter. A chapter that will hopefully continue the way he would have wanted it to."

While the band started this new chapter with a sold-out concert at the Bataclan in Paris, the music of HER remains the best and most tangible proof of how unique the chemistry and bond between the two band founders was.

"It's just extremely important that this album comes out," Victor concludes. "It's the only way for me to come to terms with his death. This is music forever, for life."

[tonycarlucci]

(Tony Carlucci) TONY CARLUCCI has released a Presidential Campaign Song called: VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP – MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Tony feels that Donald Trump can help “Make America Great Again”. Tony’s song is an energetic pop/rock tune that stays focused on a positive, fun and upbeat vibe while still getting the message out to all. As the race between Trump and Harris hots up, Tony Carlucci wasn't shy in voicing his opinion. The song gives a rather friendly and positive message in uncertain times. As election season roars along, Tony Carlucci emerges with a high-energy campaign-trail bop, bright, upbeat, and full of gusto, suave, showy, and loaded with sensational synth, classic Rock'n'Roll riffs, and fun cameos of definitive patriotic staples. VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN is a political Pop-Rocker unlike anything you've heard this year, one part Chuck Berry-esque melody and drive, one part larger than life showmanship, and all passion-powered political enthusiasm ready to cheer on the right! VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN is driving and uptempo, keeping energy high throughout with quick confident instrumentals and smooth, jazzy vocals that pack tons of swagger. Carlucci's lyrics are simple, straightforward, and stay focused on the track's electoral goal, while providing a variety of points and perspectives in support of D. Trump, giving audiences a more in depth look at our current president than some of the piece's other political song/jingle peers. The presidential highlights mentioned stay positive and accessible, reminding listeners of all the character traits they could  have in the Oval Office without losing attention or becoming too bogged down with the nitty gritty of policy specifics, while the song's instrumental bed provides plenty of dazzling sonic spectacle from stirring patriotic melodies including America The Beautiful and God Bless America, to bluesy guitar soloing that helps color in this carefree track. Complete with a cleverly simulated grandstanding megaphone segment, VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN proves itself again and again as a lively, nimble song grounded firmly by Carlucci's patriotism, ardor, and hopes for his country. This song is full of fun, excitement, and genuine enthusiasm for anyone along for the ride. With its unapologetic full-steam delivery and grandiose vision, it's a solid track with nice structure and great commitment. Target Audience Appeal: Tony Carlucci has a loaded song that speaks to this exact moment in history and is ready to be used now! A great choice for a one-off single that could generate buzz without having to rely on a whole album release, a music/lyric video could also go a long way in helping VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN garner a larger following online. Tony Carlucci is a colorful recording artist with a wide variety of musical styles ranging from Sinatra to Electronic Dance Music. Tony’s ability to perform all genres is totally amazing. Whether Tony is belting out a Sinatra tune, hammering out a Rock & Roll song, or performing a pulsating original Electronic Dance Track, Tony’s music is always tasty and enjoyable. Check out Tony Carlucci at http://www.jango.com/music/Tony+Carlucci Listen - https://soundcloud.com/tonycarlucci/tony-carlucci-vote-for-donald-trump-make-america-great-again-wav

[arpov-blog-blog]

..."If you believe the polls, Biden is not just losing but is in arguably the worst position of any incumbent seeking reelection in the modern era. To turn it around, the president and his campaign team must recapture the “resistance” zeitgeist of 2017, link Trump to the violent extremists in his coterie, lay out exactly what dangers he poses to the United States, and advance a coherent vision of what Democrats plan to do with their power if Biden is reelected.

For the two years following Trump’s election in 2016, Democrats were unified in an almost unprecedented fashion. Despite all the social media dunking on “the resistance,” the reality is that, for a time, even rank-and-file Democrats who rarely turn out for anything but elections were enlisted in a whole-party effort to thwart the Trump administration’s designs. The Trump administration did everything it could to boost this mobilization effort, with a seemingly never-ending string of outrages and policy assaults throughout 2017, including the so-called Muslim ban in January, the firing of FBI Director James Comey, the ham-fisted and doomed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Trump’s juvenile nuclear brinkmanship with Kim Jong-un, and more.

That fighting spirit and cross-coalition camaraderie will be hard but not impossible to recapture. To do so, potential defectors from Biden, as well as first-time voters for whom this is all ancient history, need not be bludgeoned with the past but rather asked to viscerally inhabit the consequences of a Trump victory. That also means facing a cold reality: Jan. 6 won’t cut it. The insurrection’s political utility for Democrats has been exhausted. While convictions of Trump in the Jack Smith–led trial could conceivably change some minds, no amount of rehashing the day’s events or Trump’s role in them is going to meaningfully move the political needle.

Biden’s speech on the anniversary of Jan. 6 was a good example of rhetoric that the president and his allies need to leave behind. It was mostly a greatest-hits album of things that Biden has hit Trump with a thousand times: about not just the insurrection, but calling fallen veterans “losers and suckers” and promising to suspend the Constitution. He talked about how Trump won’t accept the results of the 2024 election. And all of these things are true, but they are priced in. Is there anyone out there who thinks Trump will give a gracious concession speech on election night and call for unity like a normal person?

Voters need to hear less about Jan. 6 and more about how Trump plans to deform the government he hopes to once again lead. People need to be scared by new threats Trump guarantees and by ways that American lives will be made materially worse by a second Trump term. I’m thinking about something like a two-minute prime-time ad that narrates the second Trump administration from a year or two in the future. What is it that we think he will do with his first year in office?

If we believe the far right’s Project 2025, there are plenty of horrifying answers to choose from. The first is the broad-daylight scheme to use the Insurrection Act to put down any post-election protest and dissent across the United States and to deploy the U.S. military to the cities Trump routinely disparages as crime-ridden hellholes. Biden mentioned it briefly in his Jan. 6 address, but this authoritarian impulse needs to be front and center. The First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and protest will be erased. The Biden campaign also needs not just to highlight Trump’s worsening rhetoric about how he will “root out” people on the left who “live like vermin within the confines of our country” but to treat it like a promise—and convince Democrats that cherished rights are at stake.

And there’s one cherished, already decimated right that Biden must repeatedly tie inextricably to Trump: the right to abortion and contraception. As Jill Filipovic wrote in Slate this week, the president needs to make Trump’s reelection synonymous with the ongoing threat to destroy what remains of reproductive rights in the United States. Since Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices struck down Roe v. Wade, Republicans have simultaneously pursued a national abortion ban and used the federal government to crack down on the availability of abortion drugs, to harass and intimidate officials in states where abortion is still legal, and to make all forms of contraception more difficult to obtain and pay for. One needn’t reach too deep to imagine what this reproductive dystopia would look like; it’s already there in places like Texas and Florida. Liberal and moderate voters need to be convinced that it will come for them too. And since the Dobbs decision came down in the summer of 2022, Democrats have routed the GOP every time abortion has been directly at stake, in ballot initiatives and constitutional referendums and judicial races.

It’s not just the reproductive tyranny that Biden needs to tie to Trump but also the right’s attacks on vulnerable people and schools: the war against trans lives; the hysterical, book-banning onslaught against public educators; the desire to coldly look on (if not cheer) as migrants drown in rivers. Democrats crushed Republicans in school board elections across the country this past November when these culture war issues were front and center, and during his presidency, pushing back against cruelty to migrants was one of the most successful aspects of anti-Trump politics."

[concerthopperblog]

Review Roundup: Colin Cutler and Angra

This week, we've got two albums on offer and they couldn't be more different. One is a genre-hopping roots album of songs inspired by one of America's greatest authors. The other is the first album in five years from a Brazilian progressive metal stalwart.

Colin Cutler- Tarwater It takes a lot of guts to base an album on a literary titan like Southern Gothic trailblazer Flannery O'Connor. To do so invites comparison and there aren't many people who can win there. But Colin Cutler manages to avoid either comparison or fawning emulation on his new album Tarwater. Some of that comes down to Cutler's song choices. Half the album is a full-band re-visit of the songs from his EP Peacock Feathers while the other is made up of newly written material.

Musically, Cutler's songs bounce from honky tonk to blues to Southern rock, and some tracks that blend multiple genres. Album standout “A New Tattoo” has a driving rockabilly beat with some .38 Special-worthy guitar solos thrown in. “Save Your Life and Drive” is another muscular rocker, this time driven by some excellent blues harmonica and by Cutler's fast patter vocal delivery on the verses. Lead single “Bad Man's Easy” serves up a little Southern gothic vibe of his own. “Mama, Don't Know Where Heaven Is” kicks off with a Delta guitar riff before settling into a rambling country tune.

I'm a sucker for a good literary adapt so I've had high hopes for this album since he ran a Kickstarter campaign for it earlier in the year. However, my optimism was cautious because of the project's ambition. I shouldn't have worried. Cutler has pulled off a feat in honoring O'Connor's legacy successfully while recording an album that can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone entity.

Angra- Cycles of Pain It's been five years since Brazilian progsters Angra released an album and that's far too long. Since their formation in 1991 and through multiple lineup changes, the band has remained one of the more consistently excellent acts in progressive metal. For Cycles of Pain, they themed their album around, unsurprisingly, pain, both personal and collective. Since their last album in 2018, founding guitarist Rafael Bittencourt's father passed away as did former vocalist Andre Matos. Then there was that whole pandemic thing in 2020 that certainly brought its own share of pain.

To convey different aspects of pain, you need an appropriately versatile voice and Angra certainly has that in ex-Rhapsody of Fire vocalist Fabio Lione. While he's been with the band since 2013 and this is his third album with them, this is definitely him hitting his stride. He's operatic on “Ride Into the Storm,” he's a belter on “Gods of the World,” and he's melodic on album highlight “Tears of Blood,” a duet with vocalist Amanda Somerville.

Musically, it's Angra doing what Angra does best. Neo-classical progressive metal that never loses its melodic soul along the way. Cycles of Pain isn't anything groundbreaking from Angra, but it doesn't need to be. They're great at what they do and what they do is enough to make this a must-buy album for any prog fan.

[writingmochi]

an honest review of the world ep.2: outlaw purely from musical observation (not proofread)

opening remarks: as i'm preparing to plan terra incognita; a cyberpunk au that will include each member from the groups i write for (txt, enhypen, and ateez) later in the year and an aspiring cyberpunk: red ttrpg game master that is planning a campaign to play during the break, i've been exposed to many cyberpunk-esque songs such as synthwave, breakcore, and hyperpop to be added into playlists for them. ateez's last entry to the world series was one of them

concept-wise, i don't have many complaints because they are consistent and on the line with their growth. from the pirates, to zero aka prequel series to the pirates, to now where they are revolutionaries trying to voice out their movement with their music, the genres of music they took also follow with the growth. ateez now takes a whole new spin on a cyberpunk and futuristic kpop concept with a bit of western in outlaw. i expect songs like propaganda, sector 1, cyberpunk, and guerrilla with this release. a bit in-your-face sounded but smart techniques with harmony and percussion

let's start!

1.this world: a nice intro with the bass synth and getting up the high before it slows down to san's soft voice in verse 1, playing with the perception of rhythm and it is very cyberpunk. the chorus is a blaring of four chords while they chant then the post-chorus is an almost instrumental break with a drum machine. did i hear a harmonic minor(?) chord in the bridge? with it, love the new haunting color in the song. outro follows the intro, making it come back full circle. i almost couldn't recognize yunho's and seonghwa's voices here but i could hear how wooyoung has so many lines, good for him! jongho is killing the high notes in this song (i could also hear san belting a few layers behind?)

2.dune: i especially gasp when i saw the song title in the tracklist, especially with the association with dune the book series. so i expected a phryigian-sounding song akin to the deserts of arrakis, alas i get what i wanted.

the plucking strings layers make it bouncy (gonna probably be the whole theme of the ep) especially with the phryigian melody running in the voice sample. the low voices attack in the chorus giving a surprising and unexpected twist to the song before being replied to with jongho's booming high-tone belt. gosh the verses' instrumental is dirty af, i love it! san's chest voice to head voice falsetto in the pre-chorus is freaking great. the chorus does sound haunting in a way, kinda reminds me of the sandworms lurking under the sand lmao. the harmony comes in the bridge before mingi's voice crawls up and leads it and gave the torch to hongjoong. jongho singing along with the low voices in the chorus. okay... this song is great. nomads in cyberpunk will probably like this song.

3.bouncy (k-hot chilli peppers): the autotune fest of the album, for stylistic use ofc. but i just don't really like autotune in a song, especially in seonghwa's rap, but i'm gonna allow them to cause they use autotune like an instrument too. the anti-drop in the chorus before each layer of the instruments comes back before it fully comeback with high note autotune felt like the song is expanding. most of the guys sing in their lower tones is also great. also, YEOSANG BRIDGE LET'S GO! this song is joong's yeosang's and mingi's song! but for the performance, this song is definitely yunho's. i like the emptiness before verse 2 where mingi spits fire. jongho is used here as almost like a cosmetic to fill up the vibe, which is great cause it helps highlights the other members too (+ we know his vocals is crazy). ateez has literally mastered the dance break/party last chorus ever since pirate king, it might even be better than the one yg ent does for their artists.

4.django: tropical synth? hell no as seonghwa and yeosang come in blaring. the bouncy feeling came back with the synth around the lower part of the eq including with the bass. wooyoung's voice in the pre-chorus sounds so light that it gave a some sort of "hope" before being juxtaposed with yeosang's lower tone. what is that random yo in the middle of joong's rap? i giggled. what is that last chorus yunho?!?!??! the end of it emphasizes on the running bouncing bass synth that sounded kinda 2000's rnb, especially with the singing melody (kinda mary. j. blige family affair sounded)

5.wake up: the vocal fry technique between yunho and seonghwa before being attacked by a punchy synth as we stay with one synth line following through the verse before we meet the pre-chorus. the choice to use the rhythmic singing in the chorus and the flowing note that is lower in volume is giving creepy vibes; wooyoung leads it so well. and the harmony behind them increases before jongho comes it. hongjoong's rap is so fast it might rival eminem. and san's voice in verse 2? *chef's kiss*. jongho's "wake up" falsetto with the beating bass underneath it is enthralling in the best way and he gets higher in the last chorus wtf?!??!? imo, another stand out in the ep!

6.outlaw: gritty bass to start before mingi and joong rap duet. yunho in pre-chorus sounded so nice and jongho's entrance with the belt like a screaming angel as yeosang sings wtf?? that silence as we enter the chorus... how can they make anti-drop such a bop D: san's voice here is wtf so nice. his voice is sexy af, it's very lustful especially when he guides the chorus. the last chorus with seonghwa wtf?! did we just change the key? omg we did!!!!! and the choir underneath the main voice makes me bop so hard

closing remarks: it definitely expands their own concept of cyberpunk-esque songs while being different from ep 1: movement. this definitely has the more western concept included and the reason why it's not as full of synth and in-your-face as the previous the world album. a bit calmer as ateez and atiny have settled down in the world, and the music also follows along. i think there are more standout songs music-wise other than bouncy but for the title track position, bouncy definitely has it with django being followed as a follow-up track (just like sacrifice's role is to bite me or devil by the window is for sugar rush ride)

the techniques they use here are great for vocal layers. vocal fry, chest to head, falsetto, and the fact that each of them has a timbre that is so recognizable it helps. but what they use stylistically is also their downfall. their usage of autotune kinda makes it hard to recognize who is singing but it is to be expected with a cyberpunk concept. i think autotune is also one of the highlights for bouncy but sometimes it kinda turns me off and is a bit excessive to put it in the verses with yunho and san. some of the songs have the layers so muddled that i couldn't hear what they are pronouncing (prominently with bouncy) other than that, i like it but it still doesn't compete with treasure ep 3 for my fav eps of theirs.

final ranking:

6.bouncy (k-hot chilli peppers) [what does it mean if the title track is ranked the lowest? it means that this album is good]

5.django

4.this world

3.outlaw

2.dune

1.wake up

small conclusion: hybe!!! this is what you'll get for having songs with bridges and consistent concepts. a good album! + the ateez production team might be on par with onf's monotree producers in creating cyberpunk-esque kpop songs!

[louisupdates]

WASSERMAN’S HOLLY ROWLAND ON THE RISE OF LOUIS TOMLINSON

"When I say I've booked a 39-date arena tour for Louis, people can't believe it and they can't believe his ticket sales," says Tomlinson's agent

By IQ on 23 Nov 2022

Wasserman Music agent Holly Rowland has spoken to IQ about Louis Tomlinson’s 2023 European arena tour.

The former One Direction star is to embark on a 39-date outing across 28 countries next year, having recently completed a pandemic-delayed tour that spanned 57 dates in Europe, South America, Asia and Australia.

“Louis wanted to go everywhere,” says Rowland, who represents Tomlinson with Wassmerman’s Alex Hardee.

“One Direction never really toured Europe extensively – they did the major cities and the stadiums – but they never went to Eastern Europe for example. During their solo careers, Harry Styles has never done it and Niall Horan has never done it.”

Rowland believes that unlike Styles and Horan, who have also carved out solo careers since the best-selling boyband disbanded in 2016, Tomlinson’s worth is often underestimated.

“When I say I’ve booked a 39-date arena tour for Louis, people can’t believe it,” Rowland tells IQ. “They don’t believe his sales or the fact he has his own festival.”

If Tomlinson was overlooked before, it all looks set to change now. Last Friday (18 November), the star beat Bruce Springsteen to score his first solo UK No. 1 album with ‘Faith In The Future’ via BMG. At the same time, ticket sales for his forthcoming tour are “really strong” despite going on sale a year in advance.

“It will sell out,” says Rowland. “London’s The O2 [cap. 21,000], for example, is on 90% and even markets which are typically late sellers, like Greece, are nearly sold out even though the concerts are still a year away.”

Rowland says it’s thanks to a symbiotic album-tour campaign that Tomlinson’s sales are strong on both the recorded and the live side.

“You wouldn’t typically go on sale with a tour so early but we needed to go out before the album so we could get the pre-orders,” she explains. “Synchronicity with recorded and live has sometimes been missed before but now, more than ever, it’s so important. An artist does well because their whole team is across everything and is communicating with each other.”

Rowland and Tomlinson’s team are particularly proud of the ticket prices for the tour, which start at £27.50 regionally.

“He’s a man of the people,” she says. “For example, he won’t do any golden circles or platinum or flexible ticketing or increased isle seating or paid meet-and-greets. That’s his philosophy.

“The issue nowadays is costs are going up so you have to cover your base but also keep it fair for the customer. The promoters crunched the numbers on their side and there was a lot of back and forth on the ticket price but obviously, the tour is spread across multiple dates so that helps. Plus it’s something Louis really wants to do.”

Promoters working on Tomlinson’s forthcoming tour include Live Nation (Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria), 8 Days a Week (Baltics), Pop Farm (Greece), Follow The Step (Poland), Charmenko (Romania), Fource Entertainment (Czech Republic) and SJM (UK).

The Faith In The Future 2023 outing is the follow-up to Tomlinson’s first world tour, which concluded in September, having been pushed back due to the pandemic.

Highlights from the tour include South America – “one of Louis’s biggest markets” – which saw the star sell 30,000 tickets in Brazil, 30,000 in Buenos Aires and 21,000 in Mexico.

Rowland also notes an open-air show in Milan, Italy, at the beginning of September, which saw 34,000 tickets fly off the shelf in 48 hours.

2022 also saw the evolution of Tomlinson’s own festival, Away From Home, which launched last year in Crystal Palace Park, London, and was free to attend.

This year the event moved to Malaga in Spain and featured The Vaccines, Sun Room, Stone and Hinds, all of whom performed alongside Tomlinson. This time around the event was ticked and Rowland says it sold 15,500 tickets in two days.

“I programmed it [alongside Louis] so it was quite fun to be on the other side of things, being the promoter and offering out supports to agents,” says Rowland.

Launching a festival was the natural progression for Tomlinson, who is known to hand-pick his own tour supports – many of whom go on to see great success, according to Rowland and Hardee.

“His fanbase is so loyal and they hang on every word he says,” says Rowland. “He’ll go onstage after the support acts and say ‘How amazing were they, go out and follow them,’ and that’s what his fans do because they really believe in him and trust him.”

Rowland notes that Tomlinson’s fanbase is surprisingly young – between 14–18 years old – which translates into strong merchandise sales, thanks to the parent pound.

“What’s crazy is that his fanbase is so young, they weren’t even around when One Direction were having their heyday. They must’ve found the band through siblings or something…” she notes.

When asked if it has been difficult to extricate Tomlinson from his previous work in One Direction, Rowland says: “He can’t hide from his past – One Direction were one of the biggest boybands of all time – but we need to respect his path and see him for the artist he wants to be and not who he was.

And as for comparisons to his former bandmates’ solo careers, she adds: “Harry is pop, Niall is more singer-songwriter and Louis is indie. That’s the music he loves and you can see that through the acts he requests to support him. It’s time now to shine the light on who he is.”

IQ MAGAZINE Nov 2023: more on FITFWT planning

[mr-styles]

Executive of the Week: Columbia Records SVP/Co-Head of Digital Marketing & Content Development Manos Xanthogeorgis

"Most people will most definitely forget about the numbers but they will hopefully remember how this campaign, and ultimately the album, made them feel."

Harry Styles’ “As It Was” debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 this week with the largest streaming week of the year. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?

Probably that we didn’t think about any of this until the song and video was already out. Our undeniable number one priority has been to build a campaign — or, better said, an experience — that is up to his artistic and creative standards. We stress about creating great art around the album, not achieving big numbers. When the art is great and the approach is creative, fun and inviting, the numbers will come.

It is a celebration of artfulness, self reflection and inclusion. Different elements that are added every day mean different things to different people. Everyone is invited. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is home.

We are more proud of the cultural impact it has achieved so far, and will hopefully continue to achieve, vs. the numbers, charts and awards. Most people will most definitely forget about the numbers but they will hopefully remember how this campaign, and ultimately the album, made them feel.

It was also not only his first No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart, but his first top 10 on that chart. How did you set this up to ensure that this song would do well there?

Fine Line walked so Harry’s House could run. All the work that he and the team has done with the previous album is translating now. It’s very rare to see an artist with already 12 years of a career at this level to continuously gain new fans and speak to the youth.

Our favorite comments online are of people who are expressing how Harry’s House is the first campaign they get to experience from the beginning, which means they discovered him and his music through Fine Line. This generation of digital and streaming natives is key to all the streaming numbers you see. But besides demographics and strategies, the song — and, yes, the entire album — is that good. It will be on repeat.

The song was not just big in the U.S., but around the world, debuting at No. 1 on both of Billboard’s global charts this week as well. Why did it make such a mark globally?

He is a truly global artist and the campaign so far has reached far beyond the core fans.

Shutterstock has reported that since the campaign launched “Doors” and “Houses” have seen their clickability surge 145% and 42% respectively. When you see giant and global brands like Hulu, Samsung, Twix, Adobe, and then Architectural Digest or even sports teams like Sporting Lisbon CP, insert themselves in his house or behind the door you know the campaign has created a pop culture moment. At that moment you just step back and watch magic happen.

In a streaming-first world, are all digital campaigns inherently global?

Yes and no. Campaigns live globally when they become mainstream/pop culture, but they mostly live within niche audience segments and these segments are unrelated to geographic location.

Harry’s House is one global place for everyone to be, and most of the time elements from the campaign have trended globally, but we do like to highlight the diversity and flair of different countries and territories. One of the most fun tasks was to translate “You Are Home” in different languages for the print ads we ran in different parts of the world. Every language and translation had slightly different meanings, so inherently a different philosophical meaning. It’s funny, but although I’m a Greek native, I might have spent three hours stressing about the proper translation in Greek — there are probably 20 different ways of saying it, similar but also very different in meaning! Every translation was absolutely intentional.

We know that the fans will take every piece and dissect it so we put a lot of thought and intention in the details. I truly admire his fanbase — they make this whole campaign so special and fun. We read everything.

How did the plan for this first single differ from the last album cycle for Harry?

Strategy-wise, the biggest differentiator in this cycle was that we introduced the album theme before the first single. We wanted to set the tone, build the world and narrative of what the album is about and then follow with music and the first single.

Numbers-wise, his audience is much bigger — probably double — and more engaged than when we started with “Fine Line” and “Lights Up.” You might say this makes things easier, but it really doesn’t; the pressure and expectations externally and internally towards ourselves to deliver what he deserves is much greater. More answers on that tomorrow behind the door.

[yukeri]

ESCAPE ROOM is Lovemonth's second single album and was released on June 30th, 2022. The title track was "ESCAPE ROOM" with "왔다갔다 (Come 'n' Go)" as a promoted B-side. This is Lovemonth’s first comeback where the group is not promoting with their full lineup as Rudy is on hiatus.

~TRACKS~

ESCAPE ROOM

왔다갔다 (Come ‘n’ Go)

Not Friends (Lovemonth Ver.)

Hair:

Yumin continued to rock her usual straight, platinum blonde hair, but chose to get it cut short and get bangs. Her haircut along with the stage outfits for this comeback, a lot of comparisons were made to Rosamund Pike and the “i’m bored lemme ruin some random guy’s life real quick” vibe she often gives in her movies.

Yeojeong stuck to her long, brown look…but she got bangs this time! Fans asked if she would ever go with a new, bold look for a comeback on Vlive and she was like “I mean…if a role allowed me to? idk” which launched a bunch of “secure the bag” memes.

Byeol decided to come back with a bolder look: long, center-parted, jet black hair that was dyed ombre to grey. Her biggest decision though? No bangs. ælifes were shook; Byeol had had bangs ever since her trainee days to the point where there were countless jokes and tons of theories in the fandom as to what was actually under them. Some ælifes missed the bangs, but most not only saw the lack of bangs as a chicer, more mature look for her, but it had a lot of ælifes questioning their sexuality…

Hotaru surprisingly gave her scalp a break and went with a more natural chestnut brown bob. ælifes were similarly gagged by her transformation, but there was a lot more pushback as many fans really missed her Manic Pixie Dream Girl™ looks. Hotaru apologized for her lack of colorful hair and promised fans that ✨Magical Girl Hotaru✨ would be back soon.

Chowon had long, curly, jet black hair with a comma bang. ælifes were a little confused since she seemed to steal Rudy’s previous hairstyle…? 

For those keeping track, that makes 4/5 girls with bangs. Literally all the active members got bangs except for the one that’s known for them.

Stage Outfits:

ESCAPE ROOM

As the promotions for ESCAPE ROOM would be shorter, the designer decided to go with a simple, but effective silhouette that would be memorable to audiences. What encapsulates that more than a suit? The girls wore both classic suits and newer, oversized suits with cropped tops underneath in neutral and pseudo-neutral colors like black, white, navy, burgundy, and slate grey. The girls usually wore sneakers with the oversized suits and heeled boots with the more classic suits.

왔다갔다 (Come 'n' Go)

The costuming for their B-side was a bit of a hot topic. Not for the stage version; those outfits were relatively tame. Simple white lace tops with white pants, black shoes, and an oversized black jacket for the male backup dancers to drape over them at the end of the routine. The controversy came with the dance practice video costumes: Lovemonth wasn't really known for a sexy side, but they definitely showed it in the dance practice with their collared shirts and intimate dancing with the male backup dancers.

~THE CHARTS~

"ESCAPE ROOM" peak positions:

Genie: #72 MelOn: N/A FLO: #78 VIBE: #83 Bugs!: #91

Music Show Wins: 0

~ERA HIGHLIGHTS~

Whew chile this gon’ be a doozy........Lovemonth in their flop era! 😃

The whole #WhereIsRudy debacle really took whatever anticipation there was for Lovemonth’s comeback and completely deflated it.

The music video, which was more of a performance video with better camerawork, took a whole week to hit 1 million views.

Usually there were campaigns to get the Lovemonth music videos views, but the ælife community was in shambles. Half the community was on strike due to the mistreatment of Rudy that resulted in her seemingly leaving the group.

There were still ælifes that tried to remind everyone that regardless of Rudy’s status and treatment, there were still five other girls in the group working hard to deliver a comeback, but it sort of fell on deaf ears.

The charts weren’t any kinder: ESCAPE ROOM was their lowest-charting release, ranking lower than their debut. The Rudy scandal really took all of their momentum.

The worst part was that you could see it on the members’ faces. Any time they were on a variety show, when they were backstage at music shows, even on their social media. You could see how much this was affecting them.

Despite all the doom and gloom, the silver lining came towards the end of their comeback era: My Girlfriend’s a K-Pop Idol!

The web series had casted Byeol and Hotaru as a duo and gave them two of the most slayful songs to ever exist.

Both tracks were for the gays and the gays went UP accordingly.

The web series became very popular and First Memory (the duo from the series’ name) actually trended on NAVER. It boosted the popularity of Byeol and Hotaru, and of course Lovemonth by extension. Not enough to hint at a possible chart reversal, but enough to keep the threat of disbandment at bay.

Byeol and Hotaru started appearing on radio shows and variety shows as if they were an actual duo, which perturbed a few ælifes, but most saw it as a blessing in this dark time for the group.

The popularity of the duo gave the company some ideas…but anyway, at least the ESCAPE ROOM era ended on a high note!

~SCANDALS & CONTROVERSIES~

#WhereIsRudy pt. 1: During the months of Lovemonth’s hiatus, all but one of the members seemed to be keeping busy. Yeojeong was doing well as a model/actress, Chowon had been hosting After School Club consistently since their last comeback, and the other members had other activities that they were working on. Except Rudy. Her absence was constantly being brought up by ælifes to which members usually answered that she was resting. Then suddenly they stopped addressing it altogether. Anytime someone would ask they just…wouldn’t answer. Rumors started going around that she had left the group since she was the only one who was not active at all. The most suspicious moment came during one of Byeol’s Twitch streams: someone asked her about Rudy’s absence and she replied, “Ah…Rudy-unnie has returned to Thailand…she thought about her family quite often during our MOON promotions and wanted to see them.” Her reply was strange as she was very hesitant; as if she 1) realized she probably shouldn’t have been relaying this information to hundreds of people, or 2) she wasn’t telling the truth. Even stranger, she abruptly ended the stream, citing an “emergency”, and the stream (at that point, around 2 hours and 37 minutes in length) would not be available for replay. All of this happened before ESCAPE ROOM was even announced.

#WhereIsRudy pt. 2:  An anonymous Reddit user found the social media pages of Rudy’s friends and family and discovered she was none of their recent updates. As a result, Byeol got a bit of hate for allegedly being complicit in Rudy’s disappearance. All of the suspicion came to a head when all of Rudy’s social media went dark; ælifes panicked and started demanding YURI&Co. for answers.The #RudyDeservesBetter hashtag that was swirling around ælife Twitter during the tail-end of their last promotions morphed into the much more prevalent PR nightmare #WhereIsRudy hashtag. It was not just a hot topic across K-pop Twitter itself, trending in several different countries and becoming cannon fodder for every K-pop tea and news channel on YouTube. After being flamed across social media for several days, YURI&Co. finally had to release a statement. They apologized for the lack of communication on their part, explained that Rudy had been showing symptoms of depression and anxiety, and that she was spending her time resting in addition to seeing a licensed professional. Many ælifes were satisfied with this information and sent well wishes to Rudy, but some felt there was something the company wasn’t telling them…

Everybody loves…Yumin?!: On a lighter note, the members appeared on Jackie & Jill, a popular YouTube channel that is known for chaotic, unfiltered interviews with rookie groups and soloists. Jill, one of the hosts, is known for being an out lesbian and playfully flirting with female idols. Well, Yumin’s generally masculine-leaning clothing choices and all-around charismatic energy have garnered a lot of female fans over the years, but combined with her new I Care a Lot hair? The girls who love girls were frothing at the mouth, including Jill…and it was a glory to behold. From Jill whispering “I know what you are” to a completely taken-aback Yumin when she casually stated she's never had a boyfriend, to their impromptu “teen drama confession” scene where Yumin dips and almost kisses Jill, it was all very fruity. Yumin’s tags across social media were in shambles for weeks. Hell, they���re probably still a wreck.

~ACTIVITIES~

Probably the biggest and most memorable activity (outside of Yeojeong’s neverending list of acting credits) was Byeol and Hotaru landing supporting roles in the web series My Girlfriend’s a K-Pop Idol!, a show about a Canadian ESL teacher’s assistant who falls in love with his seemingly ordinary supervising teacher only to find out she is secretly a K-pop idol. Byeol and Hotaru played conniving Chung Dayeon and dim-witted Kondō Miori respectively, two fame-hungry idols that would do anything to get to the top. The show featured two performances from them as the up-and-coming duo, First Memory: “Better 나 (Better Me)” and “NAUGHTY”.

Byeol and Hotaru: a medley dance cover: “Be Natural” by Red Velvet and “NAUGHTY” by First Memory…a.k.a. them.

Yumin, Yeojeong, and Chowon of Lovemonth teamed up with Hady and Serim of 7LITE and Yunny for a special stage cover of “Hush” by Miss A.

And because a Lovemonth era wouldn’t be complete without a cover of a Girls Generation song, the girls did a special stage cover of “Lion Heart” by Girls Generation for MCountdown’s special Sunny Summer episode. Yumin, in a shocking turn of events, did not look viscerally uncomfortable the entire time.

[dojae-huh]

SM system works, the issue isnt the earnings or why one unit is being pushed or the other isn't. Wayv was getting to a level and Lucas issue came out of the woodwork.now sm is pushing wayv in a different market.

Wayv has been pushed on South East Asia and they have a lot of fans there so I can see more English based songs and Chinese+English songs for the huge Chinese population in sea.

Dreamies are being pushed coz SM wants to see their worth, they want to see if the company should offer the contract to all or the ones that are worth the effort. They're also young so it would be a testing period for the boys to prove their worth in the label. SM is a business not a charity.

127 is their warning cow, they're not touching it co they know that the group has most number of group fans and not solo Stan's. I got in for 2dong and now I'm even invested in taeil who I thought was hardest to get into.

Shinee had this attitude in 2015, even though they came out with the biggest hits of that year. The company was sure they will have the band wanting to renew and I feel that the main boys all are sure abt staying back .

I think SM wants to also push out the NCT 2022/2023 so they're trying to fit everything in these few last weeks

Sm also doesn't want to invest in an incomplete band, FX sank coz most went doing their own stuff once Victoria went to China.

I want to see if we will even have dream in a few years

---------------

Well, technically, 127 still has 12-25 December for a comeback. "Universe (Let's play ball)" was released December 10th and promoted till NY.

NCT2023. The new unit and NCT warming up period has started. Shotaro and Yuta's and Shotaro and Sungchan's shows in Japan. The NCT Universe show that has started a couple of days ago, which is going to show the new rookies. SM registered WayV's photobook album version, so their comeback is near as well.

NCT system is a new system, there are ought to be mistakes and failures along the way, it is inevitable. However, this system allows to adapt to three new factors: solo-stan culture, newfound longevity of groups and international presence.

Solo stans like me won't care with which unit the bias performs, at the same time different units allow for different genres and different voice combinations. There wouldn't be Boss Doyoung without U, 127 has Taeil as the vocal who is given all the pivotal notes. WayV doesn't have strong vocalists, but Xiaojun can sing a ballad with Taeil (and Renjun). TaeMarkYY combo in "New Axis"? Lit. Cute Mark? Only in Dream now. Johnny, a lead in everything, getting the real central spot in "Working"?

Cross-pollination works wonders. WayV has its own lightstick, but fans come with neobongs to watch them in SEA. Many SuperM fans became NCTzens. I don't follow Dream content daily, I'm not invested in any of dreamies, but I buy their albums if I like the songs in them. It was Doyoung who highlighted Xiaojun for me (Dejun's crush on him, heh) and MAW and Resonance that really showed me his talents (I had the least interest in Xiaojun soon after the debut of WayV).

Neos belonging to a brand not only allows for the name to stay trending while a unit is on hiatus, it's a safenet against scandals and the absence during enlistment. WayV survived Lucas' scandal. But if it didn't, the neos could have been moved easily to new units or continued to be promoted as solo and with U. Sungchan and Shotaro got instant international following and big enough brand deals. Because of Shotaro's interaction with other neos even kfans accepted him quickly despite not liking Japanese idols and the antis creating a whole eviction campaign before his debut.

Units can divide the markets and advertise at different parts of the world. 127 can't stay in Indonesia for long, but WayV can spend a few days. 127 can't fly to Chili on a k-con, but Dream can.

Ten promotes in Thailand on TV, gets new fans, they discover TaeTen's single, get interested in Tae, watch Boss/Kick It and Jopping, and start to follow (or at least listen to) 3 groups.

It wasn't easy for 127 neos in comparison to SungTaro who got their first wins quickly. But it was even worse for Suju who didn't even have proper dorms or enough food or TVXQ with their long slave contracts. Every artist gets his own share of obstacles and troubles. BlackPink is a group on its own, no units, no nothing, and they release an album every two years with little group promotion inbetween, lol. The group debuted same year as 127 and has 5 albums to its name. While 127 has 16(+1 concert album)?

By the way, if you are not aware of its existance, I really recommend

Up Next Session: NCT 127 album.

[whatiwillsay]

Didn’t Taylor have a room for karlie and she ended up moving in with her? If I’m right, how come swifties act like that never happened?

sigh not really. karlie never moved in with taylor as far as we know. rolling stone did a piece on taylor in 2014. in the article in an attempt to plug karlie's whole foods kookies they say this:

Swift leads the way into one of her four guest bedrooms. “This is where Karlie usually stays,” she says – meaning supermodel Karlie Kloss, one of her new BFFs, whom she met nine months ago at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. There’s a basket of Kloss’s favorite Whole Foods treats next to the bed, and multiple photos of her on the walls. Against another wall, there’s a rack full of white nightgowns. “This is a thing me and Lena have,” says Swift – meaning Lena Dunham, another recent friend. “We wear them during the day and look like pioneer women, fresh off the Oregon Trail.”

so like no... taylor had several guest bedrooms and one was the one karlie usually stayed in. although this all feels kind of fake to me. no doubt taylor and karlie spent a lot of time together and i'm sure karlie slept over from time to time but this whole quote is part of two marketing campaigns:

1. taylor wanted to market 1989 and an album about friendship and finding yourself NOT breakups/boys because she had gotten too much heat for being a maneater so they're trying to highlight all her female friendships and 2. they wanted to plug the name combination of karlie kloss + whole foods because this is the exact time karlie's kookies came out at whole foods so if you googled "what are karlie kloss's favorite whole foods snacks" you would get a nice ad for karlie's kookies (now at whole foods!)

of course, if karlie and taylor were actually involved she wouldn't have her own room she would be sleeping in taylor's room as one does with someone you're dating/sleeping with. so whatever was going on in that article doesn't seem to ring true to anything.

now all this pr silliness doesn't mean that something else wasn't going on behind the scenes with karlie and taylor they could have been romantically involved. but no, karlie didn't "live with taylor" as far as we know.

i've written more about this here and throughout the blog on my kaylor, karlie, and komments tags

[tonycarlucci]

(Tony Carlucci) TONY CARLUCCI has released a Presidential Campaign Song called: VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP – MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Tony feels that Donald Trump can help “Make America Great Again”. Tony’s song is an energetic pop/rock tune that stays focused on a positive, fun and upbeat vibe while still getting the message out to all. As the race between Trump and Harris hots up, Tony Carlucci wasn't shy in voicing his opinion. The song gives a rather friendly and positive message in uncertain times. As election season roars along, Tony Carlucci emerges with a high-energy campaign-trail bop, bright, upbeat, and full of gusto, suave, showy, and loaded with sensational synth, classic Rock'n'Roll riffs, and fun cameos of definitive patriotic staples. VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN is a political Pop-Rocker unlike anything you've heard this year, one part Chuck Berry-esque melody and drive, one part larger than life showmanship, and all passion-powered political enthusiasm ready to cheer on the right! VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN is driving and uptempo, keeping energy high throughout with quick confident instrumentals and smooth, jazzy vocals that pack tons of swagger. Carlucci's lyrics are simple, straightforward, and stay focused on the track's electoral goal, while providing a variety of points and perspectives in support of D. Trump, giving audiences a more in depth look at our current president than some of the piece's other political song/jingle peers. The presidential highlights mentioned stay positive and accessible, reminding listeners of all the character traits they could  have in the Oval Office without losing attention or becoming too bogged down with the nitty gritty of policy specifics, while the song's instrumental bed provides plenty of dazzling sonic spectacle from stirring patriotic melodies including America The Beautiful and God Bless America, to bluesy guitar soloing that helps color in this carefree track. Complete with a cleverly simulated grandstanding megaphone segment, VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN proves itself again and again as a lively, nimble song grounded firmly by Carlucci's patriotism, ardor, and hopes for his country. This song is full of fun, excitement, and genuine enthusiasm for anyone along for the ride. With its unapologetic full-steam delivery and grandiose vision, it's a solid track with nice structure and great commitment. Target Audience Appeal: Tony Carlucci has a loaded song that speaks to this exact moment in history and is ready to be used now! A great choice for a one-off single that could generate buzz without having to rely on a whole album release, a music/lyric video could also go a long way in helping VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP - MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN garner a larger following online. Tony Carlucci is a colorful recording artist with a wide variety of musical styles ranging from Sinatra to Electronic Dance Music. Tony’s ability to perform all genres is totally amazing. Whether Tony is belting out a Sinatra tune, hammering out a Rock & Roll song, or performing a pulsating original Electronic Dance Track, Tony’s music is always tasty and enjoyable. Check out Tony Carlucci at http://www.jango.com/music/Tony+Carlucci Listen - https://soundcloud.com/tonycarlucci/tony-carlucci-vote-for-donald-trump-make-america-great-again-wav

[brynnmclean]

12 & 17 for TTRPG asks :)

12. Favorite interaction between a PC and an NPC this year?

My heart wants to shout about the fact that my favorite NPC got kissed last Friday (!!!) but I think I have a different NPC-PC interaction to highlight.

So through Events, our Navigator's King's Man older brother he hasn't seen in 25 years ended up as a prisoner and it was a whole dilemma about what to do with him-- kill him, try to convince him he's been on the wrong side the whole time, or let him go. Killing him seemed like simultaneously a very bad plan (again, brother of an officer with a slim hope of reconciliation) but also would solve some problems?

[Side note: very fun to just present this issue and kick back while they came up with the solution. Did I have a solution? Absolutely not. Not my job! I just lay down scenarios and see how they respond!]

Anyway, one of my other players, our Healer, is playing a young adult kind of character. She's the younger sister of Isildur and Anárion (my player named her Ithilien which is an endless delight to me like the boys name the most beautiful part of their eventual kingdom after their sister) and has essentially been going on this whole character arc of learning about the reality of her country's situation and what an journey like this really means for herself. I think we called her "book smart but not street smart" at the beginning. She snuck onto our captain's ship because she was very starry-eyed about stories and adventures. She's doing so much growing up over this campaign, it's great.

Anyway, there was a really pivotal conversation between her and this prisoner King's Man where she got to ask him questions about his motivations and through some very good Persuasion Checks she was able to get him to start reconsidering his position enough that the Captain felt comfortable cutting him a deal. It was cool to be on the side of that conversation where I got to listen to her talk and then dig into this guy's psyche to honor the good dice result.

17. Favorite writing/plotting/in-session song/artist/album of this year?

I can't write or work to music that has lyrics that I understand because I get too distracted, so I end up listening to a lot of soundtracks. The Assassin's Creed Black Flag and Valhalla soundtracks have been EXCELLENT.

[end of the year TTRPG questions]

[liam-93-productions]

Stage Crew Need Our Support

Liam Payne is raising money for stage crew charity Stagehand’s #ILoveLive campaign, which is providing financial help for all UK stage crew who are in the greatest need. Stage crew seem to be the forgotten ones in the current pandemic. They’re the unsung heroes of the live entertainment world. Without them shows just couldn’t happen.

The impact of Covid-19 has been devastating for the whole music industry but particularly for the stage techs, sound engineers, guitar techs, keyboard techs, drum techs, stage managers, production managers, tour managers and other live support personnel who make shows possible.

With no shows since March, crew’s income has been slashed with many finding that they are ineligible for any kind of government financial aid. Many are in desperate need and most are sitting with mental health issues.

Let’s help raise some money to support them this winter. It could literally save lives.

The Prize Draw

Liam Payne has donated a VIP experience to this prize draw fundraising campaign.

To be in with a chance of winning the VIP Experience we are holding a prize draw with each entry costing £5. You can enter multiple times.

Entries can be purchased between Friday 27th November and Thursday 17th December. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 23 December.

What’s the Prize?

Platinum-selling Liam has sold more than 21 million singles in just three years as a solo artist since One Direction. He has been streamed a staggering total of 4.6 billion times.

Liam joined One Direction aged just 16 after appearing on The X Factor, with the group going on to become one of the biggest in the world. The band recorded their last performance together in 2016 after a hugely successful five-and-a-half year - 14 UK Top 10 singles, 4 Number 1 albums on the Billboard 200, record-breaking tours, and dozens of awards - before going on an indefinite hiatus. In 2017 Liam released his debut solo single ‘Strip That Down’ featuring Quavo, which has sold a huge 11.5 million copies worldwide and has been streamed over 1.8 billion times. He released his eagerly-anticipated debut album, ‘LP1’, in December 2019 on Capitol Records.

“My shows wouldn’t be possible without the countless members of crew who make my performances the best they can possibly be for my fans, #ILoveLive is a great cause highlighting the sometime unsung heroes of the music industry” - Liam Payne