#plus my friend is doing an awesome piano solo!!!

[ask-the-crimson-king]

Music Shill of the Day: "JUDAS" by Lord of the Lost

PART 2 of 2: "SALVATION"

Welcome back to part 2 of me shilling the fuck out of Judas and telling you, the lucky reader, of why it's so great. If you didn't see part 1, here's a link. Beware, it's long as fuck. LINKS TO ALL SONGS WILL BE PROVIDED. All songs will be rated on a scale of 1-10; 1 - garbage. Horrible. Why did you let this leave the studio. 5 - average. Meh. Not horrible, but not impressive. 10 - fantastic. Thank you for this existing. I love this too much. I will make a final post about my overall thoughts separately as well as give the top 5 songs of the album. BUT FOR NOW, we venture ever onwards. STARTING WITH--

13. "The Gospel of Judas" - 9/10

Starting off EXTREMELY strong with a very excellent piece with a brilliant message.

These lads said "happy last day of Pride, please take this video and this song" and I say thank you because. Watch the video. Careful with some people malding over them becoming "political" by adding a pride flag in the comments (but there are plenty of responses shutting them down since LOTL has regularly been supportive of the LGBT+ community and very vocal about that support).

This song is meant for those who are outcasts in society for being who they are, whether it be from gender-based, sexuality-based, race-based, whatever. Great intention and a great message.

The song itself, I find myself liking the choruses more than the verses. I'm not a huge fan of the "Judas, Judas" parts, but it works well enough for the song. Not quite an absolute banger of a song, but still really fucking good.

14. "Viva Vendetta" - 9/10

This song is fascinating for two reasons. The first; it features a full 386 person choir. The second; its instrumental was given to 32 different artists, with no title attached, to see what they'd do with it. That's really fucking cool.

As for the actual piece, it has a very nice, flowy, bouncy beat all throughout. I like it. It's something to vibe to, most certainly. It has almost a bit of an 80s feel to it.

The instrumentals are very neat, with the guitars making a very nice sounding bassy groove. Though there does seem to be acoustics used throughout as well, and the occasional synth. Overall? Dope as fuck song. It's genuinely awesome. It slaps.

But. As much as it slaps. A challenger approaches. A song I had been anticipating for over 3 weeks since I heard the "Track by Track" 30s preview.

15. "Argent" - 11/10

Okay. Okay. I know. Priest? Slaps. Born with a Broken Heart? Beautiful. Death is Just a Kiss Away? Love the strings. But.

But, dear reader. Allow me to enlighten you as to why this is, in my humble opinion, the best song on the album.

Let us start with the wonderful, Arabian-sounding vocals to open it. And then the introduction of the piano, it begins to build. And build. And then the guitars and the drums kick in, along with that industrial sound in the back.

It keeps growing and growing, then it begins to cool for the verse. Everything is still there, just waiting. Slowly, everything keeps growing in intensity. It builds and builds along with the vocals of the first verse.

Then we transition to a pre-chorus for a small calm...

Are you out there? Are you out there? I suffer... Your thirteenth suffers!

And then...

IT GOES OFF!

ARE YOU OUT THERE? I'M CLINGING TO THE DARK! ARE YOU OUT THERE? MY FALLEN COUNTERPART! BETRAYAL BURNS, LIKE THE SILVER IN MY HEART! ARE YOU OUT THERE? THE ERROR OF THE STARS!

The best chorus of the album. Without a doubt. There is so much raw emotion here barely simmering at the surface. As my friend @hoholupercal-adopts said;

"It captures ethereal rage, suppressing emotions, sorrow, bliss, and a love and need for hope."

And he is so spot on with that. It is beautiful. It is intense. It's amazing.

And then we come right back to a verse. And we start again, and after the second chorus we enter a small break of calm.

As the bridge starts up, the vocals from the beginning return, along with Chris' wonderful and soft yet gravelly voice with the slowly building instrumentals behind him...

The error of the stars... The error of the stars... A searing oath on the circles of the heart, Are you out there?

The error of the stars...

A brief pause, and then it smashes itself right back into that insane chorus.

This entire song is so powerful. Its so... so raw. So full of just a mix of emotions that it almost feels overwhelming. I just. I love this song so much.

If there is any song you listen to off "Judas", please make it be this. I cannot stress enough how fantastic this piece of incredible artistry is. It is, apparently, "Globalization in practice" according to Chris Harms himself. It is so beautiful. Please listen to it. Do yourself a favor.

16. "The Heartbeat of the Devil" - 8/10

This song has a great groove to it. I like the choice for using electronic drums. It has a very 80s feel about it. Very nice opening, with very open sounding verses and then a very nice chorus.

The piano also works as a nice accompaniment, as per usual at this point. The song is a fine song indeed, it really is grand. However its missing a few things that keep it from a 9/10 or a 10/10. Not entirely sure how to pinpoint what they are, but they're there.

Overall, a grand song, as most of these songs have been. Also this is a song for the Emperor of Mankind and it's funny cause it's number 16, which is Horus' number. But you wanna know what else else? It isn't the only ironic incident of this happening.

17. "And it Was Night" - 10/10

This song took me a bit. Off its intro with the synths, I wasn't vibing with it too much. With the introduction of the guitar and drums, I started to get into it. For the verse, I was still uncertain. That kinda odd synth was back. But it still sounded fine, I supposed.

However. The chorus is, ironically enough, where it shines the most.

It sounds beautiful. There, everything reconverges after the break in the verse, along with the backing choir, and it is simply...

It sounds ethereal. It sounds dreamlike. It sounds perfect for a song entitled "And it Was Night".

Everything afterward sounds great. The elements used in the intro and the chorus are used a bit more in the following verse, and the chorus just hard carries this song to a 10/10. It is fucking fantastic. It has some raw emotion within it, similar to Argent, but instead on a more... dreamlike, hopeful level. Kind of like childlike hope and wonder.

Also I've had 2 people tell me it's a Lorgar song and I agree wholeheartedly. Plus its #17. So ha.

18. "My Constellation" - 6/10

The vocals are fine, and they remind me of a song I can't really put my finger on. But this song just doesn't really do it for me. It has plenty of nice emotion and power with it, but the instrumentals feel kind of... weird. They fit, somehow, but they feel like they shouldn't.

It's still a very above-average song for the musicality of it alone, and the very pretty lyrics. Plus the vocals of the chorus are also nice. But it's still just missing things. It's not that great, but it's definitely an above-average song. One of the weaker entries on this album, but that's not saying a lot since this album is still fucking amazing as a whole.

19. "The Ashes of Flowers" - 8/10

The synths in the back of the intro with the piano sounded kind of odd at first. This is a song that doesn't have much buildup, it just goes along for about a minute and then BAM, intense instrumentals.

I do appreciate such songs as much as I do those that build. Those that slap you in the face will usually, indeed, slap. And this song does, for the most part. There are some bits that sound a bit janky to me, but it is a good song. Very strong entry on the list. At times it shares in that "these don't feel like they should fit together" vibes as its predecessor, but it only happens twice at most. Very gospel-sounding song, especially with how it sounds around the 3:30 mark, with the choir and Chris singing.

20. "Iskarioth" - 9/10

Now we got that more classic sounding heavy metal on the album. I grew up listening to stuff with this sort of style. But of course, the song has some newer elements added in. I love the riffs, though. They sound great. Love that classic sounding over-overdrive on the guitars. Love how it carries into the second verse. The beat and rhythm have that classic metal feel to them as well.

The chorus is, as most on the album thus far, very powerful and clean. The heavy riffs from the intro and breaks between chorus and verse are absent, leaving room for Chris and the backing choir to shine alongside the beautiful piano.

The break for the bridge that slowly builds to the final chorus is very nicely done, and I like how the guitars were added back in. An extremely strong song. Very well done. Love it.

21. "A War Within" - 9/10

Strings are back. I'm a bitch for strings. I love them when they're used in metal. I love them when combined with an organ and piano. I love them also when combined with great vocals. The opening verse leading to the pre-chorus, the repetition, the build to that powerful chorus, it's wonderful. The piano, as always, twining beautifully with the vocals.

The fucking cello solo with the leitmotif is fucking amazing. Favorite part of the song. It's so beautiful.

Very, very excellent piece of music. This song is a 9 for sure. Not quite a 10 since, while the chorus is nice, it could've used a bit more intensity. The pre-choruses where the rhythm picks up and everything feels more urgent is where the song shines for sure. Without a doubt.

22. "A World where We Belong" - 8/10

An interesting somber song that blends the heavier and intense pieces with this overall feeling of melancholy, yet hope. This song doesn't have an instrumental intro. Instead, Chris just starts right off singing. This song definitely feels like a sort of cheesy church song. But it does have a nice message to be found within the lyrics, and it's a nice and slow song too.

Good pacing. Good vocals. A good song.

23. "Apokatastasis" - 10/10

So. Um.

This song is an instrumental that's basically entirely strings.

The name means "the restoration of equilibrium after the apocalypse", and it serves as a respite for the album. A breath of fresh air, similar to Be Still and Know.

However, where Be Still and Know had the various members of the band show up, this one has them quieting down. It features the leitmotif once more, and it definitely has that feeling of peace and quiet. The album, until now, has been a bit chaotic. There's been a lot of emotion, power, and just... feeling.

This is a beautiful piece. It truly is.

10/10, easily.

Now let's wrap up the album.

24. "Work of Salvation" - 9/10

Soft, gravelly vocals greet the listener after that beautiful respite, paired with a lovely choir and piano as well.

Slowly, we get that buildup again. The organ comes back. The song feels very much like "The Death of All Colours", only this time with instrumentals backing instead of just vocals. A nice callback after this long journey.

This song works as a great ending to the album, a very nice catharsis. It isn't overbearingly powerful, but it isn't too soft either. It matches the mood of its predecessor and of that of the album wonderfully.

I'll talk about that in the post after this, but wonderful song.

It even ends with a beautiful, and almost sad rendition of that leitmotif on piano. As if lamenting that the journey is over. A beautiful end to a wonderfully amazing album.

[flyingstar360]

Let It Go- Julie and the Phantoms Fanfic

So, I haven’t written a fanfiction in almost seven years. And now this stinking teeny-bopper Netflix show has me so hooked, I couldn’t stop thinking about this all day. So here’s a little unedited drabble I thought up after realizing the guys have been dead for 25 years... and would most likely not prioritize watching princess movies. So they’ve never seen Frozen. Or heard Let It Go.

Let It Go

Julie Molina loved movies.

Everyone knew she loved music, of course. But people often forgot that a really good movie has a really good score. That was one of the things her mother had taught her- music shares emotions, tells a story, connects people, no matter the setting- Rock Concerts, pianos in a theater, or orchestrations swelling though speakers scattered around the studio.

Much like the way the latest Star Wars movie was sounding right now.

She’d tried to ignore it. After all, the guys of Sunset Curve had been dead and missed out of twenty-five years of stuff.

 Plus, to a group of seventeen year old boys, the fact that Star Wars had come back not once, but twice, and killed Han Solo, and introduced Jar Jar Binks… well, it was a lot. And so she was trying to be understanding about why Alex and Reggie were sprawled around the television with her DisneyPlus account pulled up, critiquing Kylo Ren and Rey slashing at each other with lightsabers in the rain. But she had a headache, probably from the calculus homework she’d been working on for what felt like a lifetime.

“…He’s a Darth Vader rip-off. Basically, they took the awesomeness of Darth Vader and his shiny helmet and tried to stick it on this whiny kid-” Reggie was complaining again as Alex nodded. Even annoyed, Julie couldn’t help but smile at them. She knew them well enough now to know that Alex was one hundred percent not listening.

“Alex.” She called his name, watching as he chewed on his lower lip, lost in thought. “Hey. Alex? Alex!”

He shot up from where he was lounging on the floor, blonde hair falling in his eyes. “Huh? What? Sorry. What’s going on?”

“Are you okay? You seem- well, maybe more anxious then normal.” Julie asked.

Reggie chimed in. “Yeah man, I’m not even sure you’re watching this.”

Alex shook his head. “I’m sorry, guys. I was just thinking about something I said to Willie. It was probably the wrong thing. And now he thinks I’m even more of a loser. And that’s impressive considered I died because of a bad hot dog.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.” Reggie said, trying to lay a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “And if it was, you can always just blame it on like, death brain, or something.” Alex rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, it couldn’t have been that bad.” Julie smiled at the drummer, who was overthinking his interesting little relationship with the ghostly skateboarder. “And if it was, just be cool and move on. You know? Like Queen Elsa, just let it go.” She wiggled a little dance and giggled at her bad joke. She and her mom loved making Frozen related puns. Mostly because Carlos had been obsessed when the first movie came out and the music drove her dad insane. She hadn’t gotten the guts up to sit through the original, or watch Frozen 2. 

“Who’s Queen Elsa?” Alex asked. That stopped Julie in her tracks. 

“Oh my god.” She gasped. “You’ve been dead for twenty-five years.”

“We know. Alex cried that whole time.” Reggie said.

“Reggie. Seriously, it didn’t feel like twenty-five years, so like don’t-“

“Ap-pa-pa” Julie held up her hands to stop the guys from going off on a tangent. “You’ve been dead for twenty-five years. You’ve never seen Frozen.”

Reggie looked confused. “I mean, we seemed frozen for the twenty-five years- Hey! I was watching that!”

Julie plopped herself down on the sofa, clicking the remote to the main page. “Not anymore, you’re not. We’re watching Frozen. Right now.”

“Is this a princess movie? Cause I love The Little Mermaid as much as the next guy, but I’m not sure-“

Julie cut Alex off with a wave of her hand.

“Trust me. This is not an ordinary Disney princess movie. You’ve missed a lot, boys.” The title page popped up, and Julie hit play, as the image of Elsa and Anna faded into the Walt Disney Castle logo with Norwegian rhythmic vocalization echoing in the background, the film began. As soon as the music started, both boys’ eyes were glued to the screen. And by the time the ice harvesters and baby Kristoff and Sven appeared, she knew they were hooked.

Julie had seen this movie hundreds of times. But watching Alex and Reggie’s faces as they saw it for the first time was probably going to be her favorite time watching it.

                                                             ~

“The sky’s awake. So I’m awake” Anna flopped over her sister dramatically. Reggie’s eyes were wide. He was definitely an Anna.

“Did she die?” He gasped as Anna got hit by Elsa’s ice beams. They rushed her to the trolls. “TALKING ROCKS.”

Alex watched silently as Elsa locked herself away from the world.

                                                             ~

“This is how I feel like when Rey doesn’t answer me.” Reggie mumbled during “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”.

Julie looked over. “Why would my dad answer you?”

“Ummm, you see- oh see, that’s a better death than hot dogs!” Julie looked back at the screen, to see Anna sitting back to the door for the funeral. For a second her breath caught in her throat. But it didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would. And by the time Anna showed up on screen waking up a mess, Julie actually giggled along with the guys.

                                                                 ~

When the screen turned to the mountain top, and the first notes of “Let It Go” started, the guys’ eyes were the size of dinner plates. Watching Elsa’s transformation, seeing her take control of her power- Julie felt like for the first time, she understood why people look at the band like they’re some kind of hero. The power in the music convinces the audience that Julie and the guys have it all together- even when everything else in their lives or after lives- seemed to be going wrong. Just like Elsa, being a boss while having accidentally started eternal winter.

                                                               ~

Luke poofed into the studio a while later, surprised to find Julie sitting at the piano, playing as Alex and Reggie had shirts tied around their necks like capes and the three of them screaming “Let It Go” at the top of their lungs.

“What the heck did I miss?”

[multimetaverse]

Andi Mack 3x19 Review

A Moving Day was a lovely episode though one that had too much filler for such a late episode. Let’s dig in!

Positives:

Despite the cut ep and the re-shoots they were able to give Bex and Bowie a lovely wedding. Bex and Bowie have really been one of the core story lines for the show and it’s nice to see them get such a happy ending. There was a lot of history packed into Bex thanking Bowie for sticking it out and boy was the pay off ever worth it.

This smaller wedding works much better for their dynamic than the big farm wedding did and having it just be a main character affair makes the show more equal. And the snow and the trees and mountains and gazebo made for one of the most visually stunning eps of the show. Almost like a farewell to filming on location in Utah.

Asher’s performance of You Girl was awesome, glad they played what seemed like the whole song. 

Like Celia, I’m also glad no one said ‘um’!

It was nice to see Celia again. I’m glad they were able to give her ample screen time this ep to somewhat make up for what she’s lost. It makes so much sense that she’d be so into puzzles. And really showcases her personality that she climbs a mountain in heels. 

This really was a nice send off for the whole Mack family. Andi gets the nuclear family she’s always wanted, Bex and Bowie get the happy ending they’ve waited 14 years for, and Celia gets to see her wayward daughter take charge of her life. 

It took until the penultimate episode but we finally met Jonah’s mom, Judy Beck née Bartholomew (Terri really does like her Biblical names). That she ended up marrying one of her background helpers is a love story for the ages. 

I’m glad they gave Jonah a happy ending and we can end the series knowing that his family is in a better place and on track to recover from bankruptcy. 

I’ll have more to say about the filler in the negatives section but I did like Buffy’s deconstructed toast line, Cyrus not being self deprecating about his strength, and Asher almost breaking character while doing his mom’s dance. 

Nice that they snuck in one more Buffy picking up Cyrus moment. Truly those two have the best friendship on this show. 

I’m almost certain that Bowie scaring Celia was a nod to Trent scaring people on set, he has a whole instagram story dedicated to him spooking his co-workers. 

They brought in one of their casting directors, Steven O’Connor, to play the officiant which was a nice gesture and of course we got one last family cameo with Coco Angel playing Judy. 

Re-Shoots:

Bringing in this section since most of this ep were re-shoots. I’m not going to nit pick the plot holes that arose because of them: like how did Jonah learn You Girl without Bowie teaching him, how did he write the extended version, how Jonah and Cyrus and Buffy got to the Gazebo, why Cyrus and Buffy were dressed as waiters and didn’t actually do any waitering. Obviously whatever the original Gazebo event was would have had differences and production had limited time and budget to turn it into a new wedding as smoothly as possible. 

Not much actually happened in this ep and that was a sad side effect of the re-shoots. Scenes like the Macks in the car and the Macks hiking dragged on so long because they were easy to film fairly quickly, just like the party scenes in A Good Hair Day were quite long. 

I’m actually glad that they didn’t bother giving a reason for Bex suddenly deciding to get married. I don’t think it would have made all that much sense in otl anyway but without Ham I don’t think they could have come up with a good enough justification. At least with Ham it would have made some sense that he could have mended the rifts between Bex and Bowie and Bex and Celia since he was always the peacemaker and reasonable authority figure as well as a surrogate father and best man for Bowie. 

It seems that every story line except for Tyrus was damaged in some way by the cuts and re-shoots but definitely Celia suffered the most, which is such a shame.

Negatives:

I can’t believe the show decided to waste precious time on a toast making competition in the second to last ep of the entire series. It might have been fine in 3a but to have that filler for a cold open so late in the game is awful.

I gasped when Judy asked Jonah if she could finally meet his friends. He’s been friends with the GHC for like 14 months at this point and they still know nothing about his family? They’ve always kept Jonah apart from the GHC in a lot of ways which hasn’t been to the show’s credit. And while I’m glad that we finally met Jonah’s mom, it shouldn’t have taken this long. 

I’m not surprised but I was disappointed that we never heard that Jonah told his parents about his panic attacks. I get that in America’s horrifying healthcare system that they probably wouldn’t have been able to afford treatment but at least if they knew they could support him and try to help.

Looking Ahead:

Terri must love Winnie the Pooh if she’s having Cyrus quote him as shown in the most recent finale promo. The way Disney cuts the quote with clips from the ep is very clever: we have Tyrus being brave enough to confess their feelings, Muffy strong enough to be vulnerable and get together, and Jandi smart enough to know that now is not a good time for them go get back together. 

Looks like Terri was able to get ample screen time for TJ and Marty so Tyrus and Muffy won’t feel rushed. 

Very glad that Cyrus is the one who approaches TJ at the bench. I’m very interested to see how we go from delusion to confession on Cyrus’ part. Certainly they look happy when Cyrus asks if he can sit and Cyrus is obviously there because he wants to confess.

I assume the bench scene will come late in the ep. Cyrus seeing TJ talk to Kira must be what causes him to feel like he was deluding himself but what spurs him to decide it’s worth the risk to confess to TJ I don’t know. If the music performance is after Kira’s appearance than maybe Cyrus is feeling forlorn and then TJ appears to perform with him, in a way making up for costume day, and that gives Cyrus hope. Or if the performance is before Kira than maybe it’s what gets Cyrus’ hopes up only to have them crushed before someone or something gives him hope. Regardless of which scene is when, I do think that Cyrus and Buffy both give each other the final push to go seek out TJ and Marty and lay it all on the line. 

I’m trying to keep my expectations low since it’s still Disney but I do think we get hand holding based on their bench scene positioning and the fact that Ciris got to hold hands. I think it’s likely they’ll use the word boyfriend and I do think they have some brief post canon scene inside before the party clears out and that’s likely where Tyrus and Muffy have an interaction. I would also like Andi at least to congratulate them but I’m not holding my breath. Having TJ use the word gay would be amazing but seems unlikely and Luke will be able to confirm it on social media anyways. Having Cyrus compliment TJ’s outfit and say it brings out his eyes would be a nice little moment if Terri could swing it. Josh has heavily hinted that we’d see some pay off to Cyrus calling TJ oblivious back in 3x07 and it would be great if we could see Cyrus using a mashup name for him and TJ like was able to with Iris. 

Nice to see them make use of Luke’s piano skills and that means we’ll learn something new about TJ as well as learning his name and of course for most of the audience, the reveal that TJ is gay and likes Cyrus. 

Seems like Cyrus, TJ, Buffy, Bex, Bowie, Amber, Jonah, and Andi are involved in the song, not sure where Marty is. Buffy compliments Marty and says he was funny and I wonder if he did some solo performance beforehand or after. 

If they sing the theme song that’s cheesy af but I can’t see what else they’d have the rights to. 

Muffy confession is outside which makes sense since they’d want some privacy for the Muffy kiss. Very smart to have them canon in the place they first met and once again I’m so glad they got Marty back, a Wuffy endgame just wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good. 

I think the scene of Cyrus and Buffy standing inside in their jackets watching Bex and Bowie dance in their dress and tux is likely after they come in from confessing to their boyfriends and near the very end of the ep. I think Andi showing the mains that she’s cleared out Andi Shack because she got into SAVA is probably at the very end and one of the last scenes.  I don’t know if the show is gonna pretend she’s starting at SAVA immediately because the finale is in December and she would’t be starting high school for 9 months which takes away a lot of the emotional impact of her moving. Or maybe she gets to start early or has to transfer to some new art middle school to finish up 8th grade in order to beef up her skills before starting at SAVA. 

No sign of Kira in any of the promo clips and TJ arrives at the party alone which fits with her appearance meant to be a surprise twist as well as brief since Raquel was only on set for one day and that was the day all the other main and recurring kids were on set and her screen time comes out of TJ’s screen time. I think her 30-60 seconds of screen time will be by far the worst part of the finale. She’s been the most poorly written character on the show; her motvation going from trying to hurt Buffy to trying to date a guy she knows is gay and I’m sure her apology will probably introduce a new motivation, she just wanted a friend or some crap like that. On the plus side it doesn’t look like she sticks around so we don’t have to see TJ befriend her for no justifiable reason though I do think that ‘’sometimes there’s a nice person inside trying to get out’’ line is said to her by TJ or about her by TJ which is awful. I do think that she encourages TJ to talk to or hang out with Cyrus or something and that begins the ‘redemption’ we’ll luckily never have to see. 

We’ll see such growth on Amber’s part from her behaviour at the first party to now.

Jonah gives Andi the bracelet maybe? I don’t think they canon but I do think they leave the door open to get back together in the future. 

I wonder if Celia is coming back to Shadyside or if she’s leaving for good and I wonder if we’ll get a hint for a Bexie baby.

I’ve been hard on Terri but I do trust that the vast majority of the finale will be great and that she got the best ending possible for the show and I’m glad she fought as hard as I’m sure she did for the wonderful Tyrus ending we’re getting. 

It’s going to be bittersweet getting that payoff while also saying goodbye to the show but at least with the longer length we’ll get to see pretty much all of what they filmed. 

We’re on the cusp of watching history being made as Tyrus becomes the first gay couple on Disney Channel. With that in mind, I’d like to remind everyone that Tyrus week starts Monday July 22nd at 4pm eastern standard time and I hope everyone reading this will participate in whatever way they can so we can get Tyrus to number 1 on fandometrics. 

Can’t believe I only have one more review to write. It’s gonna be a great week and a great ep and I can’t wait for us all to see it!

[hanramm156]

Rammstein Family Game: Get to know me! (Warning: a long ramble)

I’m honored to be tagged by @cherrisplace​ and @momoredcrow​. ^^ It’s been a pleasure to read other people’s Rammstein memories and opinions, so here comes mine as well. Writing is one of those rare things that keep me sane during this crazy season, so I apologize this being super long. More rambling is probably coming when everything’s cancelled and I have nothing else to do.

Rules: There are no rules. Tag whoever you want. Don’t tag yourself. Tag yourself. You don’t have to answer all the questions. Do what you please. Have fun.

Created by: @vapor-stein

1. I’m curious: when did you discover Rammstein?

2004 properly, but I might have heard Du hast or other popular songs even earlier.

2. Tell me your story. How did you discover them?

As said, it was 2004 and I was watching some random Finnish music show. Back in the days, I watched a lot of music videos from the tv and recorded my favorite ones to VHS. One evening Rammstein’s Amerika came from the show and I was like “??? What on earth is this??? Sounds interesting…”. I wasn’t into metal music back then (I mostly listened to indiepop and alternative rock), but for whatever reason, I got hooked instantly to this German band’s dark, eerie sound. It was refreshing to hear something else than English and the video was also thrilling.

Rammstein had intruded my mind already, but the final straw was when I saw the Mein Teil video. I liked both the song and the video A LOT - so much that I even felt kinda “dirty” for liking something this dark. A 14-year-old me was constantly asking from myself that: “am I even allowed to like this kind of stuff this much?”. The backstory for the song was creepy, but so mesmerizing – like I had been introduced to the darkest corners of human mind: yes, this kind of stuff happens, and we shouldn’t close our eyes from it. So next, the only thing I could do was to buy Reise, reise album, listen to it on loop and sketch my German notebook full of Rammstein lyrics. Here’s a proof:

I have so many stories about my relationship to Rammstein that I might have to write them all down now when there’s a lot of time.

3. Favourite song?

This topic would be worth a novel itself, but here are some of my favorites:

Asche zu Asche – So badass, gives me such an energy every time – plus, not to forget the burning microphones and SILVER REESH!

Bück dich – Yes, it’s a horrible story once again in this song, but I can’t help but to admit that the song is freaking catchy and in a weird way, hot. Also, there’s a funny backstory when I was in 9th grade and we almost performed this song in our official graduation party with my boyfriend and a bunch of our friends (maybe good that the idea was abandoned in the end…). We had a vague clue what the song was about, but we just thought it was funny – also, our German teacher dressed always in leather and loved Rammstein (she played us Bestrafe mich during one class and I’ll always remember the awkward atmosphere) so we were thinking to dedicate the song to her for as our goodbye. XDD Seriously, why I have been so weird for all my life…

Sehnsucht – In most of the pop songs, longing is described by tender words and soft lyrics, but not in Rammstein’s case. I’ve had this weird feeling of “longing” all my life that I can’t describe properly. It’s kind of an inner emptiness, only arts and music can help to deal with it when it hits. I think Sehnsucht describes so realistically what is longing about in reality: it’s this angry pressure in your heart which you want to get out of your chest but can’t. In the end, you just want to scream your lungs out.

Mein Herz brennt – Powerful song that always gives me goosebumps. I can’t even explain why. Maybe the fact that “tough” men being emotional is my soft spot and Rammstein hits that spot hard.

Links 2-3-4 – I have always been kind of a rebel and I feel like when everyone else is going to the “right” I have to go to the left, to the unknown. My heart is longing for adventure, for the paths the others are not going. I dunno, but this is such a powerful song for me. When I hear it, I always just want to jump around. In Tampere concert I went totally nuts when Links started as the second song, lol. From that moment I felt like I was back home with my boys.

Mein Teil – No need for further explanations anymore.

Los – The harmonica solo!!! The dropped c tuning and the acoustic sounds!! I love it.

Amour – My favorite R+ ballad. I confess that I listen to this and think about the lyrics when I’m in the mood for writing something painfully romantic.

Weit weg – There’s this painful longing once again that always resonates to me. I listened this to a lot after the “after blues” of Ratina concert.

Tattoo – A song that I didn’t care about so much at first, but for whatever reason, it’s almost my favorite from the new album nowadays. It’s catchy as hell and I like the “rattling” guitar riffs.

4. Least favourite song? Come on. I know you have one.

Feuer frei – Too much Vin Diesel vibes. I also get a picture of drunken, middle-aged Finnish guys on a R+ gig who don’t care about to band, but just want to have a party of their life and get drunk, far away from their wives. (No offense to anyone, but as music is almost like a religion to me, I can’t help but to have a bit of disrespect for kind of people who just “consume” music.)

Pussy – Both musically and lyrically, so bad, but I get the point the guys tried to give with this nonsense.

5. Favourite album? & 6. Least favourite album? aka. I ramble about all the albums.

Tough one… as the rules were vague, I decided to have a short opinion about each of the albums.

Herzeleid – Summary: a bunch of guys, born and raised in DDR, are tired of everything so they get together and play aggressive songs - you can almost smell the testosterone miles away while you are listening to this album. I have to admit that I love this album even though it’s not musically super creative. It’s just raw men with raw feelings – and I have to say, it works for me.

Sehnsucht – I was creeped out of the album art as a teenager, lol. But yeah, musically improved from the former one and there are some classic songs that make Rammstein as they are nowadays. I listen to this often when I’m driving.

Mutter – The album that they had the most struggles with if I have understood correctly. The pain can be heard through the songs and it’s so honest and raw. I lost my friend in 2004 tragically and this album was one of the things that kept me sane back then. Especially the beginning of the album (MHB, Links, Sonne) hits me hard in the guts.

Reise, reise – The album that started all this hype in me, so it has a special place in my heart. I also liked how they tried something different to their usual sounds in this one, like orchestral and acoustic songs.

Rosenrot – To be honest, this album has always left me a bit “cold”, so I cannot even make a real opinion of it. There are some good moments though, like Mann gegen Mann that really speaks to me.

Untitled: This has been on the loop since last August and I was honestly surprised how good the album was. I hadn’t listened to Rammstein for a while, but when I got this album to my hands after the concert, holy shit it hit me. I like hearing the path the guys have gone: their new music is much more mature than the first angry albums. Also, I love Till’s poetry in this one, like Was ich liebe and Weit weg.

I think I answered the question #7 already, so I’ll skip to #8.

8. Unpopular opinion about a member? A scandal? Anything?

Even though I appreciate Till as an artist and a poet, I don’t find his appearance attractive. You can throw rotten tomatoes at me now, but this is just my opinion, no means to offend anyone. Maybe the reason is that my taste for men tends to go for androgynous side, so I am not drawn towards very masculine men.

I’m not interested in Lindemann project and I don’t like their music so much, but the tour looked entertaining though. I bet all the people who attended had a lot of fun.

How Richard pronounces English is extremely sexy to my ear, even though it clearly sounds like a German guy trying to sound American - still, it’s like honey to my ears. Stupid man who makes my knees weak with everything he does.

I hate to admit that I don’t like Ohne dich so much. I don’t know why. :(

9. Have you ever seen them live? Tell me what you felt.

Three times this far! Oh man, I could talk about for hours how the concerts have made me feel, but I try to be reasonable now.

Ruisrock, Turku, 2005 – My first time seeing them live – and going to a festival without any adult supervision, so it was a special experience overall – and they blew my mind. It was raining and thundering and we were completely soaked with my friends, but it was worth it!

Bonus for everyone who managed to read this far: teenage me waiting for Rammstein to start playing, looking so badass with my denim jacket and R+ logo drawn with eyeliner. :D

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, 2012: We went to the show together with my boyfriend to celebrate Valentine’s day and holy shiiiiit it was awesome. Hands down one of the best evenings of my life. I was so hooked to Rammstein afterward that when we were at my bf’s family’s cottage, his brother had to tell me to stop blasting Herzeleid all the time in the kitchen. :’D

Ratina Stadium, Tampere, 2019: Aka. byebye my life, say hello to fics, listening to the band all over again, stupid memes and all the content this fandom creates. I fell in love again with Rammstein during this concert.

I have tickets for Düsseldorf and Tallinn, but now I can only wait and stress that will Corona ruin everything. In that case, I’ll weep alone and write fics about the tour 2020 that ended up never happening.

10. Do you play any instruments? If you do can you play any song by them?

Yeah, I play guitar and piano but nowadays I mostly sing. Rammstein songs are super easy to play with guitar and I recently learnt to play Tattoo and Sex. Have been practicing Engle on piano as well. Some songs I like to sing are Deutschland, Tattoo and Engel. The “speaking” parts are difficult though. ^^;

I’m not sure who I could tag to this who hasn’t done it already, but I’ll try my luck: @ah-its-too-much​ @soronya​ @einemelodie​ @xiaolianhuax​ @so-darya-darya​ @maximaembra​ @kvidasjuklingur​

[janenightwork]

How to Keep Christmas: A Reylo Romance in 25 Parts

"Four: Santa's Helpers" is below, or start from the beginning on AO3!

Fic Summary:

Rey and Ben have had feelings for each other since she began teaching at Chandrila Elementary School earlier that year, but neither knows their affection is mutual. Rey plans to use the the Christmas season––her favorite time of year––as an excuse to spend more time with Ben, and to find a way to tell him how she feels. But can she convince the Grinch-ish Ben to enjoy Christmas with her? Equally important: will her friends Finn, Poe, and Rose be able to stop themselves from matchmaking and meddling and general mischief?

Four: Santa's Helpers

Ben met Finn and Rose in the school’s auditorium, where Poe was about to appear dressed as Santa.

“Why are we having the Christmas extravaganza so early this year?” Ben asked Finn and Rose. “The kids aren’t gonna be able to focus on anything for the rest of the time between now and the break.”

Finn shrugged. “I heard the idea is to give them a chance to let off steam. That way they’ll hopefully be able to settle down. I doubt it, but hope springs eternal, right? Plus, Hanukkah was earlier than usual this year, and we had that party already. The kids associate Hanukkah as being near Christmas so they’re expecting it.”

Ben nodded his head in acceptance of Finn’s logic.

“Besides: can you really say your kids aren’t already checked out?” asked Rose.

“Oh, my kids have been checked out since the week before Halloween. They’re trying, they really are, but it’s all visions of dancing sugarplums at this point.”

“I’m just looking forward to seeing Poe as Santa. Do you think the kids will recognize him?” Rey’s voice said behind them. Ben turned to greet her and nearly choked.

She looked as adorable as always, but her outfit was ludicrous. Atrocious. A sartorial crime. She wore a pair of slacks as usual, but over them was a sweater with a huge cartoon reindeer on it. He was pretty sure Colin Firth’s character Mark Darcy had worn something similar in Bridget Jones’ Diary. (He was man enough to admit he enjoyed the occasional romantic comedy.) This reindeer, though, was covered in sequins. There were Christmas lights in its antlers, and its expression could only be described as deliriously happy, or possibly deranged. Ben suspected narcotics were involved. As if the sweater wasn’t bad enough, she was also wearing a headband with reindeer antlers, which somehow lit up. Ben didn’t know whether to laugh or feel vaguely afraid.

“Oh, you like Sparky?” she asked, humor lighting up her eyes at Ben’s horrified expression.

“Spar––” his voice failed him. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Sparky?”

“Yup! Look, it even says so right here!” She turned slightly to the side and pointed to the word “Sparky!” embroidered near the hem.

“He’s, um—”

“The ugliest thing you’ve ever seen?” she supplied helpfully.

“Quite possibly.”

“I think so, too. I bought him for an ugly Christmas sweater party a few years ago. The kids un-ironically love him, though, so now he makes an appearance every year.”

Rose turned to see Sparky and had much the same reaction as Ben, though she was a bit more vocal about it. She gasped, squealed, and smacked an unsuspecting Finn on the chest. “Ugly! Ugly sweater! Party! So perfect!”

Finn frowned, rubbing his pectoral. “Honey, geez, calm down. Also: what?” Then he looked at Rey and nodded at her sweater. “Oh. Hey Sparky.”

“You should make your Christmas party an ugly Christmas sweater party! That monstrosity is perfect for it! Sorry, I just got a little overexcited there for a second,” said Rose.

Rey tilted her head to the side in thought. “I’ll run it by Kaydel; I don’t think she’d mind. It’d have to be ugly sweater optional, though. People get grumpy when you force them to buy something to wear just for one party.”

“Do you have an ugly Christmas sweater, Ben?” Rose asked, eyes agleam.

He did not own an ugly Christmas sweater. Furthermore, he would not pretend to understand the trend of intentionally wearing something ugly. But he had vowed to make this Christmas as festive as possible for Rey’s sake. If wearing something that ought to be burned would make her happy, then so be it.

“No. But they can’t be hard to come by. And it’s all in the spirit of the season, right? Maybe I can find one my kids would like. You know, like…Sparky.”

Any further conversation was prevented by a whole auditorium’s worth of children squealing in delight at the appearance of Santa.

“Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, boys and girls!” Poe called out from the stage. Ben had to hand it to him: he made a great Santa Claus. He was nearly unrecognizable behind layers of pillows under the suit, plus the wig, hat, and beard. The kids’ faces, all of them staring up at Poe, looked enraptured and enchanted.

Santa dutifully allowed each student to sit on his knee and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. When they'd all had their turns, a few of the other teachers herded them off to lunch. Poe got changed back into his regular clothes while Finn, Rey, and Ben cleaned up the auditorium.

“Hey guys!” Poe was all smiles when he reemerged from backstage. “How’d I do?”

“You know perfectly well that you did awesome. You just want to hear us say it,” Rey teased. “But since it’s true, I’ll give you the satisfaction: you did awesome.”

“Thank you, Rey. I appreciate it,” Poe laughed. Then his expression transformed into one Ben knew from childhood, and which could only be described as devilish. “By the way, do you know what the most common thing was that the kids asked Santa for?”

Before Ben could intercede and warn her not to take the bait, Rey said, “No, what?”

“They asked for Mr. Solo and Ms. Niima to get married! Isn’t that something?”

Rey’s face erupted into a fierce blush, and Ben wasn’t sure whether he was more furious with Poe for embarrassing Rey with his pot-stirring or more embarrassed on his own behalf.

“Did they. Really.” Ben hoped his tone conveyed the sort of conversation they were going to have later. Poe had the grace to pale a bit.

“Yeah! No, I’m serious. Really. They really said that. I didn’t bribe them or prompt them or anything. I mean, why would I do that? That’d be weird. Anyway, yeah, they really want you to get married. I guess the two of you singing that duet at the talent show really made an impression.”

It was a good memory. One of Ben’s favorites, in fact. She’d asked him to play piano for her at first, and then at the last minute asked him if he’d sing “I See the Light” from Tangled with her. He’d been nervous, because his voice just all right, but hers was much better. She’d encouraged him, though, and it had turned out beautifully.

They’d sat side by side at the piano, Rey singing about the joy of finding her place. All of Ben’s nervousness melted away in harmonizing with her, the lyrics uncannily true to life. "All at once, everything looks different, now that I see you." He’d forgotten anyone else was there until the cheering started.

“Well, that settles it. We can’t disappoint the kids, Ben. You’ll have to marry me,” said Rey. Her cheeks were still bright with a blush but she smiled at him, tentative and hopeful. His heart squeezed so hard it hurt.

“Okay, I'll marry you.”

[unicornio-unicorniando-blog]

Online Vocal Instruction And Singing Techniques

The Advice on Singing

- There are a number of basic singing exercises offered to help you be considered a better singer, or even a rudimentary knowledge of these fundamentals can dramatically boost your voice

-  In fact, learning a variety of singing exercises is vital in succeeding as a much better performer

-  Always remember that even very talented singers must practice on a regular basis and ensure they look after their voices

-  By doing this, they have an inclination to harness the talent they have and employ it to its maximum advantage

That being said, obviously there are some pointers which you can use to aid train your voice and have it to where you desire to be. Two of the most important exercises could possibly be two of the most obvious, but they're actually the least utilized. Interesting, isn't it. Well, the two thing are, singing itself and recording yourself. One of the most important and finest things you can do when you wish to improve your singing, is always to actually sing whenever and wherever you'll be able to, all the time.

Your voice is like anything else that you might want to cultivate as well as the more you employ it and develop it, better it will become. It's a basic rule to check out however it is so very important. Your voice can be a muscle which needs to be exercised and also the more its exercised the greater its likely to perform to suit your needs. Have you ever noticed that sometimes a certain song comes on radio stations that's never a problem to suit your needs to sing before, is now a little difficult in your case to sing comfortably?

This is because the muscle, "your voice", will not be exercised and therefore loses a few of its ability. Sometimes it loses a lot of it ability. So doing the point that you really love the most, which can be singing, you'll regularly exercise the pc muscle as well.

-  You can start by picturing yourself doing it

-  In fact, you can go on it a measure further by simulating it

-  For example, you can grab a brush or any situation that includes a long handle

-  Then you stand it front of the mirror and commence singing

-  The aim is to feel more confident in regards to the concept of singing

-  By being able to see yourself within the mirror, you'll be convenient of using the microphone and humming out the tunes

Facial expression can seriously curtail your singing in case you let that person have its way. Try singing a really high note and notice what that person does. Chances are, your jaw and throat become very tight. The veins stick out. You might even increase your head just as if physically reaching for the note. NONE OF THIS IS HELPING YOU HIT THAT NOTE. In fact, that person is so that it is much much harder to sing it than in the event you used no facial expression whatsoever.

Not all great singers are created exactly the same way when you are. There is nothing different in how a large amount of great singers are born. They do not have bigger lungs or better shaped vocal chords to allow them to sound awesome. What they have may be the expertise in the way you use their voice the appropriate way when singing and you may learn that as well.

It could be the sweet melodies with the impromptu African acapella sung in the 3 or 4 - part harmony at any sort of function where individuals are gathered, mostly family or friends, or even the radio deejay playing smooth, silky soulful sounds about the local station or yet it may be the church choir on an early Sunday morning singing "Hallelujah"

-  It does not matter which part of your lifetime you see it in music is not resisted or avoided

-  I give you some precious thoughts I have around the arena of music

Place your hand around the corner where your chin and neck come together. Now swallow. Did you recognize that thing moving up and down your throat once you swallowed? That little thing is termed your larynx. You can feel it move whenever you swallow, nevertheless, you should not be able to feel it move if you sing. If you do feel it move, you're singing the wrong method.

- The easiest way to start out deciding on a striker is usually to search for a store that sells singing bowls in person

-  Here you will discover a good selection to choose from

There are other varieties of chords you can learn, apart from the major triad. The "major six" consists of the most important third chord, plus the sixth note. The "major six add nine," obviously, consists of the most important six plus the ninth note. The "major seven" can be a major triad in addition to the seventh note, whilst the "major nine" is the major seven plus the ninth note. There are countless other chord variations, and several can be truly complex and challenging. But you can use all of these chord structures as the building block if you learn to sing harmony.

Actually my present seems to be cemented in classic or traditional country as aficionado's reference it and again there are numerous favorites it hard to pick one over another, numerous great songs you merely wish you can sing them all. Somewhere across the early nineties I decided that I would perform some writing of my own, personal and compiled a ten song cassette's worth of home grown. We went in to the studio and recorded it with a few of the highest quality musicians on earth producing something I was proud to set my name on. I didn't do much with it incidentally of promotion because concurrently I was too involved operating a trucking business that consumed almost all of my waking hours.

Proper Posture for Better Singing

- Are you looking for ways to learn how to sing vibrato

-  Well, it's vital to realise why when make use of it

-  A number of singers use vibrato to reach a fantastic crescendo

-  However, one of the leading hurdles faced by many singing beginners is learning to sing this vocal style

-  Many people progress to attempt to become skilled at some other singing method and they're struggling to achieve the correct tune to sing vibrato

-  Learning to sing vibrato is imperative since it adds flavor for your voice

-  This will also open other doors for the career, because everyone likes it and many people stop trying from becoming skilled at it, so that it includes a high demand

Currently, you will find only 2 Justin Singing dolls singing hits including Baby and One Less Lonely Girl. The other dolls are each put on another fashion outfit including red carpet, street and music awards. Each fashion doll comes with the 12" Doll, unique fashion outfit and microphone, sunglasses and headphones, as well as a collectible mini magazine. Singing dolls comes with a 12" doll with outfit from his famous music video combined with the music from any particular one video in addition to a collectible mini magazine.

- It was the director Anurag Basu who noticed Hritik singing once after pack up

-  He insisted that Hritik should sing a song inside the movie, and after much prodding Hritik finally consented to sing that song

-  Being the bona fide and hardworking sort, he tried his level best anf the husband adds that he isn't a professional singer

-  However, the director Anurag Basu was so excited which he continued to advise that Hritik should think of music as a substitute career

If you're shy your singing and speaking will probably be shy. There are terrific books, videos, seminars and classes which can help you with this particular problem. Go on the internet, visit a bookstore find the best therapist. But first you have to admit and accept your shyness. If you shrug it well and say "oh that's only the way I am" you might never be a singer or public speaker. You don't have to affect the way you are, but you do should try to learn the way to place it aside when you're performing.

Our annual Awards Night gala was quickly approaching, and I wanted singers and dancers. Jennifer approached me planning to sing...a solo! We brainstormed and found the ideal song; a straightforward, yet catchy tune. What came next? Leading up to the important night was comprised of weeks of rehearsing, minor breakdowns, and Jennifer ultimately mastering the song; along with she managed. She performed beautifully, being a shining star! She owned it looking at bavarian motor works logo that has reached over 100 people! Was her performance perfect? No, but the thing that was perfect was her ability to surpass her fears, and are proud of herself for who she was and what she accomplished. This was successful, not the failure she had been conditioned to.

How to Develop Your Singing Skills

- You might be a novice to the karaoke scene but there are several that have become so pleased to be singing who's has spread nationwide in popularity

-  People really adore to sing mainly because it makes them happy relieves many of the stress of the day and so they like to have some fun at the same time

-  Even professional singers enjoy commencing a bar and singing along to a karaoke machine

-  You are usually with people that have a similar tastes while you and that means you are out for any good time

What do we do, as Voice Professionals, whenever we must sing a concert, provide a presentation or speech, whenever we wake up your day of our event and also have an excessive amount of mucus on our vocal cords as well as in our throat? This is among the numerous challenges in the Voice Professional. Excess mucus is practically always due to something. Diet.

- There are many different varieties of singing lessons available these days

-  Of course, there is certainly still the woman across the street which will to utilise her piano and play scales as you sing along

-  That will never change

-  But, i am not saying that she is the best way to learn how to sing

-  Just have a look at some singing course reviews and you'll notice that these day there are many alternatives to the traditional methods

There are other varieties of chords you can study, aside from the major triad. The "major six" contains the most important third chord, together with sixth note. The "major six add nine," as you know, contains the most important six as well as the ninth note. The "major seven" can be a major triad plus the seventh note, even though the "major nine" is the main seven as well as the ninth note. There are countless other chord variations, and several could be truly complex and challenging. But you may use these chord structures since your foundation once you discover ways to sing harmony.

They must activate their creative mind! Sounds like an oxymoron, that singers should try to learn to activate their creativity... But it's the  singers have trouble accessing higher amounts of creativity. Why? Because most of them are utilizing their and engaging their left brain hemisphere a lot more than their right brain hemisphere.

Learn to Sing Songs

- Learning how to sing songs properly can be a testing time

-  While some everyone has lots of singing talent and pick-up things effortlessly with hardly any effort others struggle with concepts and application of these singing techniques

-  So what sets these individuals apart

-  These discover how to sing properly tips may shed some light for the issue

Currently, there are only 2 Justin Singing dolls singing hits including Baby and One Less Lonely Girl. The other dolls are each dressed up in a different fashion outfit including red carpet, street and music awards. Each fashion doll comes with the 12" Doll, unique fashion outfit and microphone, sunglasses and headphones, plus a collectible mini magazine. Singing dolls includes a 12" doll with outfit from his famous music video combined with the music from that specific video as well as a collectible mini magazine.

- What most experienced wedding planners feel is that you simply cannot really do without one or perhaps the other because every one has a unique role to play

-  Most people believe that a live band is essential for wedding music because it can begin to play the level of music that goes best with all the occasion

-  Not only will this guitar rock band be able to provide music for the main ceremony and the events before it nonetheless it may also play dance music to keep guests entertained through the reception

Warm up is an additional important things to accomplish to be able to sing well. Our voice have to be gently heated up as a way to are very effective and avoid damage. Singing intensely without right warm up will produce a harsh and rough sound and definately will eventually damage your voice box (larynx). Even 10 mins of warm-up is enough. Warm up exercises on your voice include breath control, scale exercises and humming.

Conventional singing lessons can be very expensive without any guaranteed results. However online lessons are not only affordable, but also help to further improve your singing as lessons could be repeated as frequently as you would like. Expertise that has been once available the wealthy is available at the internet at affordable rates.

[zhonglino]

Rules: Tag twenty blogs - Thanks for tagging me, Andy (@cuhuy) !! I’ll keep it under a read more~

Nickname: Tuki! It was given to me by my best friend at the time in 4th grade. I never would’ve thought that it’d become a huge part of who I am now that I’m older ^^ Any other interesting nicknames I have are just variations of Tuki so~  Two of my closest friends also call me pup since I’m like a puppy, and I really, really, really like it ;3; it’s so cute so it makes me happy when I get called it.

Gender: Female

Sign: Gemimi~

Height: 5′3″

Time: 8:40PM

Favorite Bands: WHOO WHERE DO I BEGIN. Well, to keep it short, BAP & BTS are the ones that I really follow the closest and they’re the ones that have made  very special impacts on my life. So, I’d say those two are probably my all-time favorites. But BAP is the number one in my heart, forever and always. <3 

Favorite Solo Artist: Uhhh, I’m going to cop out and just say Suga !! I’m sure there’s probably some actual solo artist that I’d consider my favorite but I can’t think right now and I’ve been crying over Yoongi/First Love all day so, Suga ^^ 

Song Stuck In My Head: I just listened to Produce 48′s Pick Me song so~ It’s so, so cute and catchy, and it’s a feels-good song and and and !! Also, love and support my bby Sakura Miyawaki, pls and thanks

Last Movie I Saw: Infinity War. T3T 

Last Show I Watched: My brother and I started watching King of the Masked Singer so

When I Created My Blog: I think my anniversary just passed, actually! May 10th, 2010 - Has it really been 8 years ??

Last Thing I Googled: SF9′s member profile because I was wondering how old Zuho was, lol

Do I Have Any Other Blogs: *sweats nervously* uhh a few, yes. I have a sideblog for: 

Yoongi 

Jungkook 

TSM/Doublelift & Bjergsen

Art

BAP x BTS Interactions 

All the Minhyuks in K-pop (which hasn’t been updated in forever since it still says that Rocky’s yet the debut oh god) 

other personal things ^^; 

I really shouldn’t have all of these blogs though since I’m in pharmacy school which means zero time and I’m just a lazy person in general who forgets to update things. I think a bunch of them don’t even have proper themes because I didn’t care enough to go find one LOL

But there’s my shameless self-promotion~ I’ll just put links for the ones that aren’t too messy. but feel free to ask for the others

I really want to make one where idols wear green too since my favorite color is green and idk some idols just look really nice in green alsdkfajls I need to stop.

Do I Get Asks: I told myself that I wouldn’t reblog asks unless I somehow got a decent amount of followers with curious enough people to ask stuff so, no. There’s a lot sitting in my drafts though so if you’re ever curious, *finger guns*.

Why Did I Choose My URL: Sigh, it’s an old username that I came up with when I first made my twitter in 8th grade, so I pretty much used it for everything. But I’m tired of it, and I changed my usernames on both my twitter and instagram so maybe one day I’ll finally change my tumblr one, too. I wanted to use my League IGN but it’s taken so :( 

Followers: Like how many I have? A decent amount, I’d say? I don’t know how  many of them are truly active, but I do see some people from time to time. I think they’re mostly my friends though. 

Average Hours of Sleep: OOF okay so during the school year, I was doing pretty well with sleeping relatively early and getting about 7-8 hours of sleep in. Now that it’s summer though... >_> 

Lucky number: 7 !! It was my lucky number in the board game Life and since my birthday is June 8th (mark your calendars), it’s cute because 7 is between 6/8 ^^; 

Instruments: I was honestly tempted to link Yoongi’s First Love here since I relate so much to it. I’ve played the piano since I was in 3rd grade? So about 14-15 years? I’m no Mozart or anything, but I enjoy playing it from time to time. In the more recent years, I’ve started kinda composing my own songs as well. I even bought a little music book to write down notes instead of just recording them in my phone ^^; But yeah, I love the piano and honestly, the lyrics of First Love really capture my experience with piano. 

What Am I Wearing: A nightgown and a light robe since it was freezing when I woke up from my nap before dinner. Nightgowns are the best, guys, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. 

Dream Trip: To keep it short, I’ll just list a few countries I’d like to visit/go back to, because it’s kinda hard for me to describe what my dream trip would be without it sounding weird and vague.

Italy

Japan

England

South Korea

Vietnam

Nationality: Vietnamese-American

Favorite Song: Another loaded question, ahhhh. I don’t know if I have a favorite kpop song, but for American music, I always say that Lost Stars from the movie Begin Again is my favorite. I’ll be honest and say that I’m not always 100% in the mood to listen to it, but I do listen to it when I’m feeling down and it’s helped me sleep on a few occasions, lol. I also always sing it during karaoke too, so there’s that. 

Last Book I Read: Oof I honestly don’t know +_+ I’ve been meaning to re-read the Series of Unfortunate Events books though. For some reason, when I was younger, I read 12 of the 13 books. TWELVE. AND I NEVER FINISHED IT. I have no idea why, either. aldsfkjalsd so yeah, I’d like to re-read those again someday~

3 Fictional Universes I Want To Join: oh boy

Fire Emblem Awakening’s universe because I trust all of them with my life, I’d make an awesome Grandmaster and plus my husband, Lon’qu 

Akagami no Shirayukihime’s because I, too, am a prospective pharmacist so I’d like my own Prince Zen fawning over me and rescuing me from bad guys 

BTS’ HYYH Prologue because they went to so many places with pretty water scenery and sometimes you just want to run away and be adventurous with your best friends

Thanks again, Andy, for tagging me !! I’ll tag @jibaby, @youretheairibreathe, @whenitfallsthrough but you don’t have to if you don’t want to lol. And then anyone else that wants to/does do it, please tag me because I really want to read your answers ;3; !! 

[jafreitag]

Grateful Dead Monthly: Academy of Music – New York, NY 3/28/72

Before Europe ’72, there was Academy of Music ’72. Between March 21 and 28, 1972, the Grateful Dead played seven concerts at the Academy of Music in New York City.

That’s the original Academy of Music. It opened in 1854 as a 4,000 seat opera house on the northeast corner of East 14th Street and Irving Place in Manhattan. The Dead didn’t play there. They played across the street at a 3,400 seat movie palace also named the Academy of Music, which opened in 1927.

That’s the latter Academy of Music. It shifted from a cinema toward a concert venue in the mid-60s. The Rolling Stones played there on their first U.S. tour in 1965. Around the closing of the Fillmore East, some eight blocks south and east (if my dodgy NYC geography is correct), the former movie palace was a full-on rock palace, hosting the Allman Brothers Band (8/15/71), Aerosmith opening for Humble Pie and Edgar Winter (12/2-3-71), and the Band (12/28-31/71 – those shows were excerpted for the 1972 live album Rock of Ages and featured in their entirety for the 2013 box set Live at the Academy of Music 1971).

The Academy of Music was renamed the Palladium in 1976. And on 9/20/79, this happened there.

The guitar smash, not the album, obv. #paulsimononftw The venue was converted to a nightclub by Studio 54 guys Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager in 1985. In 1992, they sold it to Peter Gatien, who kept it open until 1997. The last concert at the Palladium was Fugazi on 5/1/97 (Red Medicine tour, I think). It’s now an NYU dorm with a gym in the basement.

The Dead visited the Academy/Palladium twice – once in 1972 and once in 1977. In ’72, they were workshopping material that they would soon take across the pond. In ’77, they were solidifying material that they would soon take upstate for the ne plus ultra. Fun fact, the fourth night of the ’72 run was presented by Hells Angels. Here’s the full poster.

[The lessons of Altamont ’69 apparently had been learned, then put to rest. Quick replay, tho, from less than three years earlier.]

The New York Daily News summarized the run like this: “Seven concerts in one week at the Academy of Music, every one of them sold out within hours, more by ESP than advertising… The week’s series will help finance the Dead’s traveling expenses for a two-month, seven-country tour of Europe beginning Saturday.” That quote appears in an excellent and exhaustive recap of all the shows (and their recordings) by someone called “Light Into Ashes” on the Grateful Dead Guide blog. There, LIA posits:

“Musically, this run falls midway between the honky-tonk vibe of the fall ’71 shows, and the smoother Europe ’72 tour. Probably one of the Dead’s plans for the run, aside from raising money for the Europe tour, was to hone their performances for the upcoming live-album recording – after a two-month break from playing shows together, they would need to get back in the groove! 

People who saw them at the time were probably struck by the changes in repertoire. (They only played two songs that had been on Live/Dead, one time each; few songs from Workingman’s Dead or American Beauty were played at all; and many of their newer songs were not on any albums yet.) Pigpen was also singing and playing more than he had in ’71 (singing five or six songs a night); a new piano player had altered the band’s sound quite a bit; and some unknown longhaired lady would come onstage to sing for a song or two. New Yorkers would also have noticed that the Dead no longer played til dawn, as they had done so often at the Fillmore East!

The average show length was three and a half hours, as they played through most of their repertoire each night. (Any audience members who went to several shows in the run would hear most of the same songs a LOT of times.)”

The Grateful Dead Sources blog has a 1972 newspaper review from Toronto’s Grapevine. Pretty funny, it’s worth a look.

Betty Cantor-Jackson recorded the shows, but the tapes disappeared until some guy from Northern California bought them at an auction in 1987. The tapes sat in his barn deteriorating. When Jerry died in 1995, one of the guy’s friends, who must’ve known a thing or two about the Dead, contacted Dark Star Orchestra’s Rob Eaton. Eaton cleaned and restored the tapes at his own expense, and returned them to the guy.

(^ Rob Eaton)

From LIA’s post, which quotes Eaton from an interview with Katie Harvey:

“‘The collection was really unique. Half of it was Garcia-Saunders from ’73, 74, 75. It was just nothing anybody had ever seen. And all the Academy of Music tapes from the Dead in ’72, which no one had ever heard a tape of: really bad audience tapes were the only thing [from that run], nothing was in the Vault. So I knew it was really important.’

Eaton kept DAT copies of the reels, although the buyer made him sign a contract not to copy or distribute the recordings. ‘He drew up this contract that I was liable for $100,000 in liquefied damages if I released the contents of the collection without his written authorization. And I wasn’t allowed to keep a copy according to this thing. All the copies had to be in his possession. Of course I’m keeping a DAT master of everything I’m doing. I’m not that stupid. I was a deadhead and protecting the music was my first and foremost thought. Legally, I wasn’t really that concerned with it. Because I was sort of in with the Dead office at the time, they found out that I had these. They wanted to get a hold of the guy. So I got them in touch with this guy who wanted a million dollars. They just told him to fuck himself. They came back to me and they go, “Look, we know you’re smart. We know you probably kept a set of DATs. What would it take to get that set of DATs from you?” And I said, “Well, first of all, I signed this contract.”’

But according to Hal Kantor, the Dead’s attorney, ‘He can’t claim rights to what’s on the tape. He has rights to the actual physical tapes, but what’s on the tape is our rights, not his.’ So Eaton copied his DATs (including Dead shows from 1971-76) and gave them to the Vault. And as Harvey writes: ‘They prohibited him from distributing copies because they planned to commercially release the material.'”

Parts of all seven nights in 1972 are scattered across various official releases, but the archivists have unloosed only two complete shows – 3/26 (Dave’s Picks #14) and 3/28 (Dick’s Picks #30). The latter also contains the Bo Diddley sit-in from 3/25, so ECM and I decided to focus on that one.

According to the DP#30 Wiki, the 3/25 show was a “semi-private party” billed as Jerry Garcia & Friends. In reality, it was a GD with the band backing Bo Diddley for the first set, then playing its own second set. The entire show has sound quality issues, but the first set is quite poor. The “jam” is the most notable part. It’s essentially a slower version of the “Hard to Handle” wig-out, and not super interesting.

The Dead opened their set with a couple rarities – How Sweet It is (To Be Loved by You), on which Donna Jean reaches a truly wicked level of caterwaul, and Are You Lonely for Me Baby?, from which Bobby must’ve gotten inspiration for Black-Throated Wind. Are You Lonely was later a staple of Garcia/Merl Saunders sets in ’72-74.

3/28 is better, and offers more typical Dead fare. The first set features an extremely hot China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider duo, and some funny stage banter from Phil Lesh. After the band played Mexicali Blues, some audience members chanted for Alligator. Phil responded, “Hey, for all you Alligator fans out there, we done – ah alright alright alright. We understand that there’s a lot of Alligator fans out there, but we done forgot it, see. And so ah, we’re gonna have to remember it sometime later, you know.” The second set showpiece is an extended version of The Other One that offers a preview of what the band would do in Europe.

Ed reminded me that this show was Pigpen’s last in NYC. And he added that it contains Donna’s first Playing in the Band wail. Awesome. His listening notes are more robust than mine, as usual:

The Europe ’72 tour began on April 7th, but the boys played a preparatory seven-night run at the Academy of Music in NYC in the days leading up to their flight across the pond. 

The festivities open with a rockin Truckin.’ All the first set songs are played with gusto and feeling especially the “new” songs such as Tennessee Jed, Chinatown Shuffle, BT Wind, Mr. Charlie, You Win Again and Mexicali Blues.  After Mexicali, the audience is calling out for “Alligator” and Phil tells them that “we done forgot it.” A rare, mid-set Brokedown follows and it is a pure joy. It just might be my favorite song from the entire first set. Next Time You See Me is perfectly executed. The band tears up Cumberland. Bobby is high in the mix and it is exciting to hear his guitar part. Next, Bobby introduces LLR as a “cryin’ song.” It’s a gorgeous version that has Jerry on pedal steel and Phil on backing vocals.  and China->Rider really stands out. The segue jam in China->Rider is especially interesting as the band seems to struggle at first to find the groove behind Bobby’s solo, then they just roll with it, and then Jerry locks into a cool riff before diving into Rider. The only minor complaint is that after 6 shows, Garcia’s voice is beginning to show signs of strain (You Win Again, Big Railroad Blues and China Cat). 

The setlist for Set II pretty much speaks for itself. Playing in the Band continues to progress. This performance marks the the first time that Donna lends her vocal contributions. The jam section starts off drifty like Veneta with that big psychedelic bubble. By the 6-minute mark Jerry is in full guitar psychosis mode. They cool down into drifting, mournful ribbons of sound only to bring it to another peak around the 10-minute mark before entering the reprise. A few songs later we get a high-energy Sugar Magnolia. Jerry goes nuts on the wah pedal during the coda. Donna has not yet found her way into the arrangement yet). This segues directly into a brief drum intro that leads into a 28-minute version of The Other One. The entry is surprisingly laid back as is the entire performance. By the 7-minute mark there are no traces of the song. The band has entered uncharted territory…deep space. This is pretty experimental stuff…atonal notes and peals of feedback. Things begin to become melodic again at about the 14-minute mark as the band prepares to deliver the first verse but it takes them 2 more minutes to eventually get there and after dispensing with it they return to the same misty pastures where they once were. The concert ends in fine form with their standby crowd pleasing closer of NFA>GDTRFB>NFA. The jam at the end of NFA leading into GDTRFB especially shines. 

The only version of the Sidewalks of New York is just a half-minute tuning.

Here’s the Spotify widget.

I’ll add LMA links at some point.

More soon.

JF

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[imamotherfuckingstar-lord]

An Interview

Bucky Barnes x Mexican!Reader

A/N: Written for my girls.

Summary: A magazine wants to do profiles on all the Avengers, you are paired up with Bucky.

“Yeah…no.”

“I wasn’t asking.”

You stared up from the book you were reading and glared at Tony, who had a smirk on his face.

“Excuse me?”

“Well,” he sighed. “You see, the whole leveling the city and saving the world from the big purple guy - well, it has some folks nervous.”

“Okay..” you said, waiting for him to go on.

“So, they want to do profiles on us.”

“Who?”

“Vanity Fair,” Tony grinned. “So, it’s not optional, even the Manchurian Candidate is doing one.”

“Seriously?”

You were now interested and Tony rolled his eyes. “Yes, and I’m pairing everyone up. Sam’s with Steve, Nat and Clint, you and Bucky.”

“Great,” you piped up with a smile. “Who are you doing your interview with? Vision?”

“Nope, he’s got Wanda. I’m going solo.”

“Of course you are,” you laughed. “When’s the interview?”

Tony shrugged innocently. “This afternoon.”

....

Interviews were being done at the compound and your interview was first. You walked into one of the conference rooms, where Tony and a female interview waited. You could hear Tony’s flirtatious tone from the door and cleared your throat to announce yourself.

“There she is,” the billionaire held out a hand in your direction. “Don’t tell anyone, but she’s my favorite.”

The woman laughed and you walked up to them. “He’s lying, but he does look good doing it, huh?”

Tony winked at you and introduced the two of you just as Bucky walked in - looking nervous and hesitant.

“And my least favorite,” Tony waved over Bucky and you snorted. He was kidding of course. “Alright folks, I’ll leave you to it.”

Bucky sent you a warm unsure smile and you reached for his arm, giving him a squeeze. “Just relax, you’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, doll,” he mumbled, as the two of you sat across from the interviewer.

“It’s nice to finally meet you two, I’ve seen videos and photos, but wow,” she exhaled. “Reality is so much better.”

“Thank you,” you smiled graciously and nudged Bucky, who gave a quiet ‘Thanks’.

“Well,” she shifted in the seat, producing a phone from her purse. You watched as she went through it, setting up her recorder and placing it on the table. “Where do we begin?”

She started with Bucky first, asking about his childhood and growing up with the famous Captain America.

“Steve,” Bucky corrected her. “He’s just Steve to me.”

You listened contently as he went through the first time they met, in an alley fight, to going to school together, and fighting together in the war - the interviewer didn’t press when he skipped the whole Hydra aspect of his history. She asked him about life now, how it felt to be in such a different time.

Bucky cleared his throat and shrugged. “Same world, different background. I have good friends that helps me,” he said, giving you a quick glance. “Life is good right now. It’s hard sometimes.”

“I bet,” she nodded, turning her attention to you. “What about you, Y/N? You grew up in California, yes?”

“Yeah,” you smiled brightly. “My mother was from Mexico City and my father was born in California, but his folks were from Aguascalientes.”

“Are you proud of your heritage?”

“I love being Mexican,” you beamed. “Yo soy chicano through and through. I was raised to be proud of who I am. I love my people, that’s why I joined the Avengers. I wanted to represent them, be someone the little ones could look up to. I fight for them.”

“So why leave California?”

Bucky glared at the woman and you reached out for his thigh under the table. He took it, rubbing his thumb against your knuckles and he relaxed.

“I actually had joined a small hero faction in California, mainly working with Hawkeye or Kate, as I call her. It was great, we took down a lot of horrible people, put them in jail. Eventually, I wanted to do more than the small city fighting, so I came to New York and hooked up with Stark.”

“So what you’re saying is the small city fighting isn’t as important?”

“Watch it,” Bucky warned and you squeezed his hand.

“Not at all. You have Daredevil in Hell’s Kitchen, Luke Cage in Harlem, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist - shit, you got Spider-Man in Queens! These people are fighting those small battles to make the lives of New Yorkers safer. They got that shit - they don’t need my help. I’m happy to be where I am.”

“And what about your parents?”

You inhaled deeply and thought of your folks - they were safely tucked away in the small city you grew up in. Kate had promised to keep an eye out for them, plus they called everyday.

“My parents are the working class. My dad worked for the same company for nearly 20 years, he worked long hours and we hardly saw him growing up. My mom worked as a night CNA and she was always exhausted, but they did what they had to keep us afloat. My siblings and I - we appreciate the life they gave us. Now, I have the means to help them out. They are living a good retirement. My brothers and sister, they keep them occupied, so they don’t worry about me.”

Bucky leaned into your side and brought his lips to your ear. “They still worry about you.”

You laughed and pushed him away, not noticing the interviewer noticing the two of you.

“You two look cozy.”

Bucky and you quickly stilled, moving slowly from each other.

“The whole team is really close,” you explained, knowing she wasn’t buying a single word.

“I see. Well,” she reached for her phone and smiled softly. “That’s the interview. I really appreciate you two taking the time to chat with me. We’ll be needing some photos, Mr. Stark arranged for a photoshoot in the next room.”

Bucky groaned quietly and you nodded. “Awesome, thank you.”

The two of you hurried out of the room, taking a deep breath when you walked into the empty hallway - safe from prying eyes.

“She was a hardass.” Bucky shook his head and reached for your hand. “You good?”

“Of course,” you laughed. “She wasn’t so bad, we’ll just have wait and see how she spins the story.”

“I guess,” he pulled you closer to him, dragging his hand slowly up your arm. You grinned as he dipped his head closer to yours, letting his lips graze yours. “We should tell everyone soon..”

“Why,” you whispered, sliding a hand up his neck. “Steve knows, isn’t that enough?”

Bucky kissed you lightly and pulled away when the sound of distant footsteps echoed from down the hall. You chuckled when he pushed you playfully away and you smacked his arm just as Tony appeared from around the corner.

“You two done? Great, photos in the next room. Nothing fancy. How was the interview?”

“She got under Bucky’s skin.”

Tony looked at the man and snorted. “Who doesn’t? Alright, go on. Steve and Sam are up next.”

Grabbing a visibly annoyed Bucky by the arm, you lead him into the photoshoot room, hoping to get it all over with quickly.

....

A month later…

Bucky caressed your back, his fingertips ran circles against the material of your shirt. The two of you were watching a movie in the living room, everyone was out and about for the day. You were on your side, head on his lap and eyes fixated on the tv - Little Women was playing and you sniffled at the part when Beth receives the piano from Mr. Laurence.

“The original is better.” Tony’s voice rang from behind the two of you. Bucky looked over his shoulder and asked where everyone was at.

“Raisin’ hell, I don’t know, Barnes,” he retorted. “Does it look like I’m running an orphanage for wayward super heroes?”

“Yes,” you replied, not glancing away from the tv. “What’s up, Tony?”

“Since you asked,” he said, walking around the couch, dropping a magazine onto your lap. “Looks like you two made the cover.”

“What?’

You sat up and grabbed the magazine.

“Shit,” you cursed.

The cover was of Bucky and you, both sitting next to each other on stools. You were laughing in the direction of the camera, but his eyes were on you. His lips were pulled into a soft content smile and your face was lit with happiness. You remembered the photo being taken during the five minute break, it was candid - a natural interaction with the man you loved.

“You two look cozy,” Tony remarked with suspicion. “Did you read the title?”

You scanned the top of the cover and rolled your eyes, reading it outloud for Bucky, who was smiling over your shoulder.

“Heroic Love - very classy,” you laughed, tossing the magazine on the coffee table. “Have the others seen it?”

“Not yet, thought I’d bring it to you two first. So,” he eyed the two of you, waving a finger on the air. “You two a thing now?”

“Try six months,” Bucky chuckled.

“You gotta be kidding me.”

“Only Steve knew,” you chimed.

Tony rolled his eyes and smirked. “Well, I guess that,” he pointed to the magazine. “Is your coming out party.”

Bucky slipped his arm around your shoulder and brought you back down to his lap. You grinned and proceeded to watch the movie, nodding when Tony said he had a meeting to get to. When he left, the two of you sat quiet, until Bucky reached down for the magazine.

“Are you okay with this?”

You flipped on your back and looked up at those blue eyes you adored so much. You lifted a hand to the side of his face and smiled.

“Yeah, I don’t want to hide us anymore. This way, we can start making out in front of everyone.”

Bucky chuckled and leaned down to press a kiss onto your forehead.

“How about we get some practice in, doll?”

Cocking your eyebrow up at the man, you smirked and bit down on your lip.

“You dog, Bucky Barnes. You wild, dog.”

Forever tags:   @my-amazing-nerdyness @naih-reedus @maciiiofficial @casownsmyass @jade-taillia @fangirlextraordinaire @indominusregina @feelmyroarrrr @my-rainbow-wonderland @myhopeisinfinite @girl-next-door-writes @dontbeamenacetotheforce @melonberri @superisatomboyuniverse @xloudwhocares @crownie-sr @dracsgirl @moonlight53 @makemyownwonderland @dreamwhisper87 @trekken81  @barely-emily @winterboobaer @purelittleblueberry @goodnightwife @mishaissocoollike  @stormyfandoms @foreverybodythatunderstands23 @gallifreyansass @flirtswithdanger @yana-tardis-drwho @myplaceofthingsilove   @jchona  @alyssaj23  @blackhoneybucky @urbanspacedecay @castieltrash1​ @hannahsakorax3​ @imagine-all-the-imagines​  @motleymoose​ @distinguishedqueenofbooks​ @kitkatgaming​ @fizzylollipop12 @iamwarrenspeace​  @darkmystress00​ @lunarwolfrose​  @kapolisradomthoughts @sisinia13 @swiggityswagness​  @takemetoneverland91 @to-pick-ourselves-up-7 @sarah-mos @rubynationwins​ @padfootorionblack​ @kaywolves​ @wonderlace19​ @yourxaveragexslythergit​ @purelittleblueberry​   @courtneychicken​ @rayleyanns​  @whatmakesmebeme-tblr​ @thewinterwitch​ @avengersgirllorianna​ @holywinchesterness​ @tatortot2701​ @brewsthespirit-blog​ @seabasschino​ @barnesvogue​ @lame-lozer @ex-bookjunky​ @travelwithwords​ @corolux​   @supernaturaldean67​ @thehuntchback​ @shoytai​ @besamiculo-puto​ @ign-is​ @zuni21798​

Bucky tags: @lipstickansupersoldiers @littlecarowrites @buckyappreciationsociety​ @buckysplumfondler​ @dvapeach​ @wellfuckbuck​ @bitchasaurus​ @astrangeevent02​ @alwayshave-faith​

Marvel tags: @littlemissbaby @caffeineaddicttrashcan @earinafae @satisfiedpeggy @travelwithwords​ @tequilavet​ @theoneyoulove @ora-la-few  @addictionmarvel @rileyloves5  @freethefangirl​ @bugalouie​ @astrangeevent02​ @lovelyfandoms​ @bedoflavender​​ @acacheofstrange​ @thefridgeismybestie​

[magg0t-bible]

Top 20 Favourite Alt-J Songs

The title is pretty self explanatory so I’m just gonna jump right in

(Also I’ll be briefly explaining what I like about each one, so another long post. Feel free to skip through if you just want to know the songs)

20. Left Hand Free

Generally a really nice bop. It is arguably their most poppy song, and quite different from most of their other music, but it’s still recognisably them, which is what I love. Honestly all I have to hear is the guitar intro and I’m already dancing like an idiot

ALSO there’s a really cute interview/live performance that the band did on KEXP  (I’ll insert the link at the end if I can be bothered) where they’re playing this song and in the bit where it goes back to “ain’t shady baby I’m hot”, Gus starts clapping to the beat and makes Joe laugh so much that he can’t even sing it properly and it’s v cute

(Also the little “speakeasy” about halfway through is sexy ngl)

19. Interlude 3 ❦

Strange choice I know, but hear me out. I love the simplicity of this interlude, because it’s literally just 58 seconds of piano and quiet vocalising over the top, but it WORKS SO WELL. Plus it’s placed between a heavier song and a more gentle song on the album, so it’s an interesting way of transitioning.

18. Taro

I have such good memories of the first time I heard Taro. I associate it with getting up early in the morning and going for a walk, as cheesy as that sounds - it just generally fills me with so much happiness. I think it’s very well composed, and that INSTRUMENTAL!! I love it!!!

Not to mention the lyrics about the two war photographers (Robert Capa and Gerda Taro) are very interesting. In general I just really love the different topics that Alt-J write about in their songs.

17. Arrival In Nara

This is such a beautiful, peaceful and gentle song. The piano in the first half sets the song up so nicely, and it’s complemented well with the really light vocals. Especially when Joe and Gus harmonise for the “though I cannot see I can hear her smile as she sings”....I’m dead

16. Intro (This Is All Yours version)

 Even though this song does take some time to build up, I’d definitely say it’s worth the wait. The layers are built up so gradually and effectively, and by the time the drums come in, it’s just....it’s just amazing. Wow.

15. Ms

I actually used to skip this song when I first listened to An Awesome Wave, not because I didn’t like it, just because it didn’t really stand out to me that much. WELL. 

You know that meme that’s been recreated a million times that says “when you listen to that one song on the album you always skip and it’s actually fire”? Yeah, that’s Ms. The lyrics are beautiful, the a cappella on “the dark seeks dark” works so nicely, and the instrumental after “the nights of all my youth pressed into one glass of water/the shadow burns across like embers tide paper” is so incredibly relaxing.

14. 3WW

I remember one day early in 2017, I said to myself, “it’d be really nice to see Alt-J live, but they haven’t made any music in like, three years. Oh well.” 

THE. LITERAL. NEXT. DAY. My friend texted me saying that they’d released a teaser for a new song. So after running round my house hyperventilating and whisper-screaming (don’t worry, I was home alone), I went onto YouTube and listened to the 30-second teaser of 3WW. 

AND MY MIND WAS BLOWN. Even more so when I listened to the full song. Gus’ vocals in the beginning are AMAZING - so glad he finally got a solo. Ellie Rowsell’s vocals halfway through are so perfectly placed, and she was definitely the right woman for the job. The instrumentation is absolutely beautiful. Overall the song is just a masterpiece.

13. Hunger Of The Pine

The first song I ever heard from This Is All Yours. I love the way it begins, with Joe singing without any accompaniment apart from that repeating note. It’s another song that builds up nicely, especially by the time the drums come in, and that Miley Cyrus sample?! I had no idea it was her, it just blends in so well.

This is definitely the sort of song you should listen to with headphones on, preferably also with your eyes closed. It’s such an experience and it really takes me places.

(Also shoutout to Gus and his awesome French skills towards the end)

12. The Gospel Of John Hurt

This song is quite similar to HOTP, in the way that it focuses on layers and starts in a very simplistic way before building up. I really like the drums in the second verse and chorus, and the tempo change right after that. I also thought it was cool that the first time Joe sings “Jeremiah” it’s kind of gentle and airy, but then the second time it’s more like “JeremiAHHHHHH” idk it’s cool

And every chorus after the tempo change just makes me feel like my soul has been awoken because W O W

11. Dissolve Me

The first few months of 2017 were a bit difficult for me, and An Awesome Wave as a whole really helped me through them. However, Dissolve Me stood out because of the line “she makes the sound, the sound the sea makes, to calm me down”. My difficulties were to do with my anxiety, and listening to this song helped me to relax like you wouldn’t believe. So it holds a special place in my heart for that reason.

My favourite part has to be the ending when Joe and Gus are harmonising with the “ohhh” and then the chords from the intro come back, and they take it in turns to sing “she makes the sound the sea makes, knee deep in the north”. Absolutely spectacular, even more so live.

10. Something Good

This song definitely lives up to its title. As far is I’m concerned, if you tell me that you can listen to the drums in the intro and not want to dance, you’re a liar. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.

The vocals in the verses are honestly so groovy, and the choruses are somewhat gentle, but they still make me want to get up and dance. The drums throughout the whole song also give it a really nice vibe.

9. Interlude 1/The Ripe & Ruin ❦

I have a surprisingly strong connection with this song, and I’ll explain why. The lyrics are generally about finding balance in your life, but they more specifically describe a woman who constantly counts her steps while walking and makes sure to “abide by the law that she herself has set”. One of my idiosyncrasies has always been pretty much exactly this, and I’ve always thought I was weird for doing it, so this interlude makes me feel lot less alone. Plus the lack of music makes it feel much more intimate.

8. In Cold Blood

AN ACTUAL BANGER. That’s pretty much all I need to say.

The way it instantly begins. The fact that the numbers in the beginning are backwards binary code for ∆, meaning it’s the world’s most cryptic name drop. The line “all above crowd around so fucking loud”. The brass in the chorus. The way the music at the end of the chorus just instantly stops, Joe sings “in cold blood”, and then the music comes right back. I LOVE IT ALL.

7. Tessellate 

Tessellate was the song that led me to discover Alt-J, thanks to my extreme obsession with the Ellie Goulding cover that spent a long time being my favourite song ever. I will admit that my younger, unappreciative self wasn’t huge fan of the original song initially, partially because I saw some of the dodgy looking people in the music video lip syncing to the song and naturally thought they were the band. But over time, I decided to give Alt-J another go, and it was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. And I obviously LOVE Tessellate now.

6. Adeline

I’m pretty sad I didn’t get to see this song live, but listening to it at home with headphones is a magical enough experience. It has such powerful lyrics, the way everything gradually builds up is just so beautiful (yes I say that a lot, but they do it a lot okay), it’s just incredible. Especially that end bit where Gus is singing “ohhhhh my Adeline” and you hear the “YAAA YAAA YAAA” over the top. MIND=BLOWN.

5. Matilda

I can honestly say that it was love at first listen with Matilda. Given that I’d been introduced to Alt-J with Breezeblocks and Tessellate, it was nice to listen to something that was a little more light and gentle (in my opinion). I love the way the song references the film Léon, and the drum beat right at the start of the first verse is so peaceful and nice to listen to.

4. Fitzpleasure

When I first got into Alt-J and I’d only heard An Awesome Wave, Fitzpleasure was actually my number 1 favourite song of theirs. I obviously still love it, given that it’s now number 4. The bass line (and guitar in general) is so COOL!! It’s such a groovy sounding song and I love the way it switches between Joe singing a cappella and heavy bass. 10/10.

(P.S. yes I know what the song is about, and no, we are not discussing that today.)

3. Pleader

My favourite Relaxer song, the music video for which has made me cry on multiple occasions. The introductory violins, the way everything is layered, the vocals, the lyrics, basically this song just makes me feel every single emotion at once and it gives me goosebumps and it’s AMAZING. What a killer song to end an album with.

2. Bloodflood

This may come as a surprise, but I actually took ages to listen to this song. I didn’t actually listen to An Awesome Wave from start to finish, I kinda just put it on my laptop and listened to each song gradually, which I now realise was not the best idea. But HOLY MOLY. BLOODFLOOD.

I don’t think I need to say much about this song, because every Alt-J fan knows why it’s amazing. However, it is only number 2, because in terms of personal connections and meaning, there is only one song that can top it.

And that song is......

*drumroll*

1. Nara

WOW. Where to even start. The first time I listened to This Is All Yours (actually from start to finish this time), Nara just stuck out to me for some reason. I have always been a huge supporter of the LGBT+ community, and hearing a song about a gay relationship is just really nice for me. It’s incredibly powerful due to its description of how difficult it is to be gay in a situation where that isn’t truly accepted. 

As well as that, the repetition of “hallelujah, Bovay, Alabama” at the end always hits me right in the feels. It’s such a simple motif, yet it works so well as an outro, especially if you understand why they chose those specific words.

So there you go, my top 20 favourite Alt-J songs. Congratulations if you made it this far.

Honourable Mentions

(aka songs that could’ve been on the list but I only thought of them after I’d finished writing the list and I couldn’t be bothered changing it so here they are)

Breezeblocks

Bloodflood pt. II

Deadcrush

Every Other Freckle

Intro (An Awesome Wave version)

Last Year

Portrait

353

Ok I promise I’m done now

[Here’s the interview if you’re interested, Left Hand Free is at 7:14]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrqIws8Q7H4&t=441s

[josai]

Rules: answer 30 questions and tag 10 blogs!

tagged by @kayejwrotes! thank you my dear ♥ i have done ask memes similar to this but not for some time and i’m procrastinating, sue me

Nicknames: cj, or ‘hey bitch’

Gender/pronouns: f // she/her

Star sign: aquarius

Height: 164cm or so? idk it’s been a while since i measured

Time: 11:14 pm

Birthday: january 29th

Favorite bands: i’m gonna be honest here and say i don’t listen to a huge variety of stuff...lmao i’m either listening to atmosphere or (as of late) bts don’t judge me jk i judge myself

Favorite solo artist: this changes basically on the daily, but i’ve been dying repetitively over sa-roc’s stuff lately so i’ma say her

Song stuck in your head: bts’ born singer (i’m not crying you’re crying)

Last movie you watched?: i honestly don’t remember... i haven’t watched many movies lately.

Last show?: peaky blinders (watching through that new season)

Why did you create your blog?: to talk to people who were interested/commenting on my fics on ao3 (since it does not have a dm system)

What do you post?: a lot of iwaoi, and my writing sprinkled in (sorry i’m so inconsistent y’all)

Last thing you googled?: google flights (♥ @superiortechnology)

Other blogs: @justtruffle is my personal blog (rn just a lot of bts) and @justcatsreally is where i literally just reblog pictures of cats because i’m an adult and i can do what i want

AO3: thunderingskies

Do you get asks?: sometimes! depends on the day

How did you get the idea for your URL?: i was given this url and i love seijou a lot so it just fit!

I follow: 344

Followers: 2128

Average hours of sleep: i’m a literal mess and it depends, like i either get 4 hours or like 10 there is no proper in between

Lucky number: honestly i don’t have one, every time someone asks me this i literally just make a number up and i usually pick 7 or 11 for literally no reason

Instruments: i used to play the guitar and the piano, but i haven’t touched them in years. i also played the trombone in my middle school band, which was quite a sight cause i’m a very small person and carrying that instrument was heavy as fuck lmao

What are you wearing?: ...,,,,underwear...guys i’m laying in bed and gonna sleep soon so i’m the epitome of comfy, plus this + heated blanket = love

Dream job: i’m pretty content with my real job right now - i like being a teacher, i’d like to be more permanently into a high school job but i also really appreciate the freedom that comes with casual teaching so...i’m good where i’m at rn. but if i could publish a book or smth someday? that’d be pretty dope but like idk 

Dream trip: everywhere i haven’t been? lmao since i started travelling i just. don’t want to stop.. i wouldn’t say i have a dream destination but more so a dream trip visiting new places and adventuring w/ my close friends. (you know who you are, all two of you who may be reading this lmao)

Favorite food: french fries....so versatile...drowned in salt and vingar? awesome. poutine?? dope. straight-up crispy as fuck with some ketchup when they’re hot and good to go??? steaming hot with gravy???? sign me the fuck up this is the kind of shit i’m on this planet for

Significant other?: nope & content with it. too much to do that i need to be selfish about in my life right now dudes

Last book I read: i’m currently reading beartown by fredrik backman

Top 3 fictional universes: mass effect, fallout and something with superhuman abilities/magical creatures or something?? idk

i’ll tag anyone who wants to do this!! feel free to tag me ♥

[tophernash]

New album – Escalation Point! – available now

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/album/escalation-point/1536234416

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5CEF7w3QILQMLNBXPaJxLo?si=09IwQC9aSwCpt9nbVHINoQ

Youtube: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lhheQk3PQmvLwh4AENbdqoSNUL01X_R9I

It's real. It's shipping (virtually, anyway). And on Friday, it will be out for the whole world to see: Escalation Point!  My first full-length solo album. Woop woop! Why make a full album? I've recorded two EPs in recent years, and I wanted to challenge myself to do something more ambitious, more artistically complete. Plus, I'm old school, and I just love albums. Always have, always will. So the time came, at least in my mind and heart, to make an entire album of my own songs. This album is a collection of escalation points in my life, captured as pop songs drenched in '80s synths and stomping beats. I did my best to craft singalong hooks that sometimes highlight and sometimes conceal frank commentary or sly winks inside the lyrics: A Canadian’s take on Trump America. Witnessing the collapse of a company workplace. The death of an old friend. Turning the tables on some awkwardly backhanded musical compliments. And with the closing track, Corona Station, I'm even trying to find a light inside the tunnel of a still-ongoing COVID pandemic lockdown.

This one shows its synthpop genes in full view for the most part, with the majority of songs mixing real vintage synthesizers from the '80s with modern software, electronically-precise sequences with live performance, the fictional story with the deeply personal. The exception to the electro dance party is "Sanctuary", which is a piano ballad written for my kids.

The songs were written and recorded in my home studio over the last couple of years, brick by brick, session after session, at my home studio named after our beautiful Edmonton neighbourhood, King Edward Park. How you can help

Download the album on Apple Music, Spotify, Youtube or wherever you stream music. Add it to your libraries and playlists. If so inclined, buy the album as a digital download instead of streaming, but either is awesome, honestly. 

Share it out. Tell friends, share on social media, forward the email, add songs to playlists if that's your thing... it all helps spread my music to new people who hopefully will like it too. 

Reply! Let me know what you think! Which song is your favourite on the album? What surprised you? Do you have any questions about how I wrote or recorded any of it? I'd absolutely love to hear what you think, so please reply to this email and let me know!

Album Credits

All songs written by Christopher Nash. ©2020 SOCAN.

Recorded, produced and mixed at King Edward Park, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2018-2020.

Backing vocals on Corona Staton by: Gillian and Jason Nash, Jen Horvath, Kyra and Lauren Schaefer, Ryan Ezinga, Jorg Bauer, Mike Berg, DC Motion, Icy Queue, Vienna Whyte, Margaret Bujold, Kayt Wilson and Jay Summach

Additional thanks to Ryan Ezinga and Jeff McLellan for their assistance.

Mastered using LANDR.

Distributed by CD Baby.

Instruments used on this album:

Reason 10 (DAW and virtual instruments) on a Macbook Pro

Native Instruments Maschine 2 (controller and software)

Arturia V Collection software (mostly for virtual Prophet 5, Moog bass, Oberheim Matrix synths and Fairlight CMI sampler)

Yamaha Montage 8

Roland Fantom G6

Roland JX-3P

Yamaha DX7

Ensoniq SQ-80

Korg DW-8000

Oberhem DMX

Sterling Music Man AX40 electric guitar

Ibanez Artcore semi hollowbody electric guitar

Yamama APX500II acoustc gutar

Hula Ukulele

[huahsu]

YEAR OF WHAT HAPPENS ON EARTH STAYS ON EARTH

[longer version of what I contributed to the new yorker’s year-end package. you can read that here, and listen to the accompanying megamix the video team made! links to previous year’s lists at bottom.] I did not grow up going to church, and I am not a particularly religious person. A few days after the inauguration, I wandered into a nearby church and took a seat in the back pews. I’d gone there right after the election. There was some time for anyone with anything on their mind to stand up and speak. If you need others to pray for you, just let us know. A middle-aged black man in a leather jacket got up and began telling us about an argument he was having with a friend on Facebook. It was about the election, but it was actually about the intractability of racism. He was getting frustrated while describing it to us, in part because he seemed to value being the cool and level-headed one. Plus he was describing the kind of argument millions of people were having on the Internet. “I just hope he finds peace,” the guy said. He paused, then put his hands on his chest. “On a lighter note, today would have been Jimi Hendrix’s seventy-fourth birthday.” He opened up his leather jacket to show everyone his Hendrix t-shirt. “I just wanted to say that, because he was just awesome.” So I returned here, the day after marching through Manhattan with a poster that said “HOLD ON, BE STRONG.” I needed to be in a room that was powered by something other than hate--to be reminded of vision and purpose, even if they weren’t mine to claim. To listen to wisdom gleaned from a book I’ve never read, and pick and choose what I wanted. To hear others pour themselves into songs I never, ever sing along to. I wanted to steal their vibes.  Instead of a hymn, they passed out small pieces of paper with the lyrics of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” This is not the type of church people come to for the music. The pianist started playing, and I remember thinking about how it felt like magic when I learned how to play those chords as a kid. I couldn’t believe we were doing this. We sang, tentatively at first, as though we could not believe these words in this space. Picture it: singing of “no heaven” and “no religion, too,” with humility and hope, inside a house of worship. It was like an admission that faith was inadequate. All we had was one another. “Imagine” is a song I’ve heard millions of times, the type of song that is so ubiquitous that we rarely bother scrutinizing its words, its vantage point, the possibility that someone wrote these words because he actually believed them. I sang along with a room of strangers, and we looked at one another, and, for the first time in months, I began to cry.   TWO LYRICS THAT REMINDED ME OF POLITICS EVEN IF THEY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS "Wrote this shit January 21″ “Take me back to November / Take me back to November” “I’M AN ANGRY TEENAGER” Novelist, “Street Politician” ONCE THEY START, I HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE END Jim O’Rourke’s recently unearthed cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” Kanye’s sitcom-length remix of “Bed” THURSDAY NIGHTS ON NBC Ross from Friends’ very Madchester guitar-y Boiler Room set DJ Seinfeld, Time Spent Away from U Nino Man, Jadakiss and Styles P, “Friends”

IN ANOTHER YEAR FULL OF NIRVANA/KURT COBAIN REFERENCES (DID YOU SEE JAY:Z’S JACKET?) MY FAVORITE SONG, PROBABLY: this Trippie Redd snippet

SOME VERSIONS OF THE NINETIES THAT WILL NEVER COME BACK THE WAY GRUNGE ENNUI HAS, BUT WERE SO POSSIBILITY-RICH TO ME BACK THEN Kicking Giant, This Being the Ballad of Kicking Giant, Halo: NYC/Olympia 1989-1993 Helium, The Dirt of Luck/The Magic City LIKE MANY WHO LOVED “A STORM IN HEAVEN,” I OVERLOOKED THEM AT THE TIME Acetone, 1992-2001 A REALLY GOOD BOOK ABOUT ACETONE, LOS ANGELES, DREAMS OF GREATNESS Sam Sweet, Hadley Lee Lightcap WOULD HAVE LOVED THIS IN 1994, 2002 OR 2017 Big Thief, Capacity CREDIBLE AND DOPE EARLY NINETIES R&B HOMAGE, SAX AND ALL Joyce Wrice, “Good Morning” SPEAKING OF THE NINETIES, LEECH MADE A MIXTAPE OF JUST THE FLOATY/DREAMY PARTS TAKEN FROM CLASSIC GOOD LOOKING/MOVING SHADOW SINGLES Leech, “Just the Liquid” FOR THE COMEDOWN, DARK-ASS STUFF ASSEMBLED EXCLUSIVELY FROM SLIPKNOT SAMPLES Croww, Prosthetics NOSTALGIA, ULTRA (UK GARAGE/BASSLINE EDITION) tqd, ukg SUMMERTIME ‘SECOND SUMMER OF LOVE’ VIBE Opus III, “It’s a Fine Day (Burt Fox remix)” UNEXPECTED BURIAL SUMMERTIME VIBES Monic, “Deep Summer (Burial remix)” NO REISSUE OR  tk ANNIVERSARY TIE-IN, JUST SOME OLD SONGS I RE/DISCOVERED THIS YEAR Active Minds, “Hobson’s Choice” El-B, “El-Brand” Kamal Abdul Alim, “Brotherhood” Spiritualized in Reykjavik  U2, “Numb (Soul Assassins remix)” U2, “Mysterious Ways (Massive Attack remix)”

SAME, BUT TAIWANESE INDIE ROCK EDITION Chocolate Tiger, “Piecing Together” REISSUES, OR: PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WEIRD AND SPACY#, OBSESSED WITH NATURAL BEAUTY## # Planetary Peace, Synthesis # Pauline Anna Strom, Trans-Millennia Music ## Pep Llopis, Poiemusia La Nau Dels Argonaut REISSUES, OR: WHEN I WAS A CHILD THERE WERE NO BETTER SONGS THAN THE ONES THAT PLAYED THROUGH TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE AND FOR SOME REASON THIS JOYOUS EP REMIND ME OF THAT SHEEN, THOSE HOOKS, THE PERFECT, THEATER-SIZED ECHO Om Alec Khaoli, Say You Love Me BEST ALBUM-LENGTH METAPHOR FOR THE CITY, ITS LIMITATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES Wiki, No Mountains In Manhattan SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE IT WAS DESCRIBED, JAMAICA VIA OUTER SPACE Equiknoxx, Colon Man I NEED TO GO OUT MORE Jex Opolis, “Mt. Belzoni” KH, “Question”

I LISTENED TO THIS ABOUT TEN TIMES, MY SENSE OF ENCHANTMENT GROWING AND GROWING EACH TIME, BEFORE REALIZING THERE WERE BARELY ANY DRUMS ON IT Mr. Mitch, Devout SERIOUSLY THE MR. MITCH ALBUM WAS REALLY MOVING AND FANTASTIC Mr. Mitch f/ Denai Moore, “Fate” CRAZY WISDOM MASTER Vince Staples, Big Fish Theory C’MON AND RAISE UP Rapsody f/ Kendrick, Lance Skiiwalker, “Power” SO ICEY Zomby, Mercury’s Rainbow ECHO PARTY Demen, Nektyr Evy Jane, “Give Me Love” THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Vic Mensa, The Autobiography DUNGEON FAMILY, EVEN IN DARKNESS Earthgang f/ J.I.D., “Meditate” FUNNY HOW TIME SLIPS AWAY Lee Gamble, Mnestic Pressure Pessimist, s/t NOT SURE HOW THIS BECAME THE DIWALI OF 2017 BUT OKAY French Montana f/ Mariah, Rae Sremmurd, PNB Rock, Belly, Elephant Man, Vybz Kartel, J Balvin, NORE, Wizkid, “Unforgettable” HOW ARE THIS MANY PEOPLE ON A FOUR MINUTE SONG? GOOD VIDEO THOUGH A$AP Mob f/ A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, Quavo, Lil Uzi Vert and Frank Ocean, “RAF” I LIKE IT WHEN FERG’S VOICE GETS ALL NAGGY Ferg, “Plain Jane” METRO BOOMIN MADE A BEAT THAT REMINDED ME OF RADIOHEAD Post Malone f/ Quavo, “Congratulations” THE MARIACHI VERSION IS PRETTY SWEET Brian Imanuel, “How I surprised Post Malone with a mariachi band” ”IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR LYRICS, IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO CRY, IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO THINK ABOUT LIFE...” JonWayne, Rap Album Two CORNBALL PIANOS AND THEN THAT SYNTH DRAGS, AND THEN THE DRUMS KICK Tee Grizzley, “First Day Out” “BUT WILD/WITH MY MONOTONE STYLE” 21 Savage, “Bankroll” Kodak Black, “Candy Paint” Rich Chigga, “Glow Like Dat” ANNUAL SPOT RESERVED FOR LA MUSICA DE HARRY FRAUD French Montana f/ Pharrell, “Bring Dem Things” WHEN LAETITIA SAYS HER OWN NAME ON “EMBERS” Vagabon, Infinite Worlds WHEN JESSIE LEANS INTO THE WORD “FUCK” Jessie Reyez, “Figures” THAT LIGHT MISTING, THAT CASUAL SPRITZ OF SYNTHS Lanark Artefax, “Touch Absence” A GOOD ANTI-DJT THING THAT CAME OUT EARLY THIS YEAR, WHICH FEELS LIKE EONS AGO Lushlife + friends, My Idols are Dead + My Enemies are in Power THE BABY, THE FLUTES, PIERRE’S OBNOXIOUSLY LONG TAG, THE JESSE LINGARD DANCE Playboi Carti, “Magnolia” ILLEST SHIT I SAW THIS YEAR, BABY-RELATED A child at a restaurant watching an iPad and an iPhone at the same damn time “[FREE] PLAYBOI CARTI TYPE BEAT” YBN Nahmir, “Rubbin off the Paint” GUNS N ROSES, BEFORE ONE OF THE WEIRDEST BEEFS OF THE YEAR Trippie Redd f/ 6IX9INE, “POLES1469″ SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO BELIEVE YOU CAN SING, AND DO IT WITH CONVICTION, AND I WILL LISTEN Trippie Redd, “Rack City/Love Scars 2″ ALL THE BACKGROUND NOISE/ECHOED-OUT ADLIBS MAKE THIS BlocBoy JB, “No Chorus Pt 10″ SMERZ HAS FUN DESPITE THE AWKWARD OF IT ALL Smerz on NTS IT SEEMS REALLY EASY TO MAKE A GOOD-SOUNDING SONG THESE DAYS Global Dan, “Off White” OF ALL THE DOPE SHIT THAT FUTURE APPEARED ON THIS YEAR, THE MOMENT I WILL REMEMBER IS That tiny pause before he sings “I need fresh air,” when he seems happy and content IS THAT A GEORGE MICHAEL SAMPLE? Mozzy, “Prayed for This” THE FIX C Struggs, “Go to Jesus” "IT’S COOL, BUT IT’S NOT...END ZONE” Lil Uzi Vert, “XO TOUR Llif3″ AN ALBUM BOOKENDED BY TOTALLY DIFFERENT KINDS OF COLIN KAEPERNICK/TAKE A KNEE REFERENCES Miguel, War and Leisure IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR Brockhampton, Saturation I-III SZA, Ctrl SPEAKING OF SZA: WHAT A GREAT TITLE, BESIDES IT BEING ONE OF MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF THE YEAR Kingdom, Tears in the Club THE KELELA ALBUM WAS LOVELY, AS ARE THESE Kelela x Bok Bok, Dub Me Apart A RANDOM YOUTUBE COVER THAT I ALSO LIKED, BECAUSE IT CAPTURED HOW MELODIC THE ORIGINAL ACTUALLY IS Kathleen Nguyen covering Kendrick and Zacari’s “Love.” DAMN. WAS GOOD Almost as good as “The Heart Part 4″ LIKE A DE LA SOUL ALBUM, SOMETHING THAT I KNOW I WILL CONTINUE ENJOYING/UNDERSTANDING ANEW FOR YEARS TO COME Tyler, the Creator, Flower Boy ”BLONDED RADIO” MADE ME JOIN APPLE MUSIC Frank Ocean, “Chanel” Frank Ocean, “Biking (solo)” Tyler and Frank, “Where This Flower Blooms” MACH HOMMY MAKES GOOD MUSIC THAT’S HARD TO ACCESS “x Earl Sweatshirt” EP ty Soundcloud IT’S A WEIRD TIME B/W THIS BEAT IS SO DEMENTED Tay-K, “The Race” PROBABLY MY FAVORITE PHARRELL BEAT Kap G f/ Pharrell, “Icha Gicha” MAYBE THE GREATEST MUSIC EVER MADE, REISSUED Pharoah Sanders

REMINDED ME OF PHAROAH, WHEN IT WASN’T REMINDING ME OF BON IVER Joseph Shabason, Aytche AND I ENJOYED AYTCHE FOR SIMILAR REASONS I LIKED ZONING OUT TO Tom Rogerson and Brian Eno, Finding Shore ANNUAL SLOT RESERVED FOR MUSIC I LOVED THAT FEATURED HARP Alice Coltrane, World Spirituality Classics Vol 1

SAME, BUT FOR HARP STUFF THAT ALSO SHOUTS OUT WAWA Mary Lattimore, Collected Pieces ANNUAL SLOT RESERVED FOR TASTEFUL VIBRAPHONE Jenifa Mayanja, “Warrior Strutt” YOU TRYING TO GET THE PIPE, TO PLAY IT, OF COURSE, AS PART OF AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPOSITION? Mary Jane Leach, Pipe Dreams THERE’S A MOMENT DURING THAT BAD BOY DOCUMENTARY CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP WHERE IT BECOMES CLEAR THAT EVERYONE WHO WORKS CLOSELY WITH DIDDY EVENTUALLY TURNS TO GOD, AND IT WAS LIKE THE STRANGE OBVERSE OF Jay Z et al, 4:44 footnotes 2016, BUT I SAT IN THE MET BREUER AND WATCHED THIS OVER AND OVER FOR ABOUT AN HOUR Arthur Jafa, “Love is the Message, The Message is Death” I WANT TO WATCH THE FULL FOUR HOURS OF THIS Dev Hynes talking to Philip Glass TRICKSTERY BUT KINDA MESMERIZING! Klein, Tommy Lolina, Lolita EP Hype Williams, Rainbow Edition “NOT ANOTHER GOT MORE SEOUL, UNLESS YOU KOREAN” (CHILLWAVE REMIX) Mogwaa, Deja Vu “THE TING GOES SKRRRAHH, PAP, PAP, KA-KA-KA/SKIDIKI-PAP-PAP, AND A PU-PU-PUDRRRR-BOOM/SKYA, DU-DU-KU-KU-DUN-DUN/POOM, POOM, YOU DON’ KNOW” Big Shaq, “Mans Not Hot” IBID., BUT “PERKY” Drake, More Life I WANTED TO LIKE THE WIZKID ALBUM MORE, BUT THIS WAS AWESOME Tiwa Savage f/ Wizkid and Spellz, “Ma Lo” LISTENED TO THIS QUITE A FEW TIMES SIMPLY BECAUSE ”BREAKING NEWS: WILD GOAT ON THE LOOSE” IS A WEIRD LINE Lancey Foux f/ AJ Tracey, Kojey Radical and Jevon, “Wild Goat” UNITED TIL I DIE BUT AJ TRACEY’S TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR KIT LAUNCH FREESTYLE HAD ME BUZZZZZZIN AJ Tracey, “False 9″ DIFFERENT TIME OF DAY, KINDA LEFT ME SPEECHLESS Grouper, “Children” Colleen, A Flame my love, a frequency Kara Lis Coverdale, Grafts Ryuichi Sakamoto, async LEFT RYUICHI SAKAMOTO ENVIOUS Metaphors: Selected Soundworks from the Cinema of Apichatpong Weerasethakul FROM OMNI TRIO TO THIS, A PRETTY VISIONARY CAREER Robert Haigh, Creatures of the Deep A SONG THAT FEATURED TWO PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE PRETTY BIG IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS DJDS f/ Amber Mark and Marco McKinnis, “Trees on Fire” LIKE, THIS IS GREAT Amber Mark, “Lose My Cool” AWESOME YEAR FOR POTIONS Social Lovers, “Drop Me a Line” Boss, “Song for Gods” WHISKED ME BACK TO MEMORIES OF the enormous room Joakim, “Samurai” Calvin Harris f/ Frank Ocean and Migos, “Slide” Amp Fiddler, “I’m Feeling You” Chaos in the CBD, Accidental Meetings LIKE FALLING ASLEEP ON THE SUBWAY, OR A TRUCK HITTING A POTHOLE AND SPITTING OUT A RECORD COLLECTION, OR HEARING A NANOSECOND OF BRAND NUBIAN THROUGH SOMEONE’S HEADPHONES AS YOU PASS THEM ON THE STREET, IT’S A VIBE Standing on the Corner, Red Burns MIKE’S A SAVIOR Mike 1. I SPENT A LOT OF TIME THIS YEAR THINKING ABOUT THE STRENGTH, ELASTICITY, FRAGILITY, GRAIN OF THE HUMAN VOICE AND SOME OF THIS WAS TOTALLY NECESSARY AND SUBLIME Deep Throat Choir, Be Ok Diamanda Galas, All the Way Moses Sumney, Aromanticism 2. SO ACHINGLY GOOD AND INTIMATE, ESPECIALLY THAT FAINT CROAK IN THE FIRST CHORUS Rostam f/ Kelly Zutrau, “Half-Light” 3. OF COURSE THESE WORLD-MAKERS TOO Bjork, Utopia Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, The Kid Valerie June, “Astral Plane” 3a. A STRANGE PROPOSITION THAT I ENDED UP ADORING KAS covering Sade’s "By Your Side" THE BAY AREA IS JUST DIFFERENT Droop-E, Trillionaire Thoughts Lil B, Black Ken THE “BUILD YOU UP” VIDEO WAS FUN AND ALL BUT I’M REALLY GLAD THIS WASN’T THAT Kamiayah, Before I Wake THE BAY TO L.A. AND BACK AGAIN Mozzy f/ G Perico, “Blammatory” G Perico f/ Mozzy, “What’s Real” GYEAH MC Eiht, Which Way Iz West OUTRUN THE BEAT SOB x RBE, “Lane Changing 2″ BANDS THAT ALWAYS SOUND LIKE THEMSELVES, IN WAYS THAT I FIND COMFORTING the xx, I See You King Krule, The Ooz SAME AS ABOVE, MIDDLE-AGED DIVISION The Feelies, In Between Slowdive, “Star Roving” SOMEONE WHO SOUNDS LIKE NO ONE ELSE Jlin, Black Origami THE NEW NATIONAL ANTHEM Dreezy f/ 6LACK and Kodak Black, “Spar” I LOOKED UP EACH TIME THIS CAME ON THE SHUFFLE Shanti Celeste, “Loop One/Selector”

PROBABLY MY FAVORITE SONG GoldLink f/ Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy, “Crew” OR MAYBE Jorja Smith x Preditah, “On My Mind” THIS WAS SICK TOO GoldLink & Co. covering Outkast’s “Roses” MAYBE THE BEST SONG J Hus, “Did You See”

ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER YEAR WHERE MY FAVORITE RELEASE WAS PROBABLY FROM YAEJI, THE “GLASSES FOGGING UP” LINE WAS VERY RELATABLE Yaeji, EP2 THE SONG OF THE SPRING, SUMMER, WINTER   I MEAN, IT’S WAYNE’S WORLD, WE JUST LIVE IN IT ### SIKH DEVOTIONAL MUSIC :: 2016 SPOOKY BLACK :: 2015

[roguekriger]

Tag Time!

TAGGED BY: @the-shifty-cow ! Thank you kindly! (I meant to do this earlier but I just started another Mass Effect playthrough and I is distracted)

RULES: Answer 30 questions and tag ██ blogs you are contractually obligated to know.

TAGGING: @thxchampagne @cauldronfalls @spacejampire @haaska @rareastrees plus anyone else who wants to do it! (I’m sorry I have so many other people I’d like to tag but can’t think of at the top of my head!)

Nicknames: Rogue is the main one since it’s my alias on LITERALLY EVERYTHING. I also get called N7 a lot. My actual name isn’t the easiest to make nicknames for soooooooo

Gender/Pronouns: Male - he/him

Star Sign: Aries

Height: 6′2″ some people will say I’m 6′1″ or 6′1.5″ and those people are LIARS

Time: 11:32 PM (Eastern Standard Time)

Birthday: March 22

Favorite Bands:  Lord off the top of my head Linkin Park (RIP Chester), Two Steps from Hell (technically Orchestra but close enough) Smallpools, Starset, Disturbed (video is kinda dark), Stuck in the Sound, and AC/DC. For things that aren’t technically bands (which I listen to more often tbh) there’s Drunk Girl (one of my all time favorites!), Hermitude, Hollywood Principle, Daft Punk, Destroid, Niklas Ahlström, C2C, and Shirk. There’s definitely more but good lord can I not remember them rn

//Imma put each name as a link to their best song (imo) in case ya wanna listen

Favorite Solo Artist: Literally the ONLY solo artist I follow and listen to on my own accord is James Durbin. Sure I listen to all the mainstream artists but he’s the only one where I actually buy his music and listen to him regularly.

Song Stuck in your head: I’m almost always “rapping” the first verse of Survival by Eminem (that song has picked me up out of some bad times more than once) but currently and almost always I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire by The Ink Spots is stuck in my head.

Last movie you watched: Pitch Perfect 3 which I may add was awesome and better than the second one

Last Show: My dude I have to many shows but the last one was 9-1-1

Why did you create you blog?: Buddy if I had an answer for you I’d be ecstatic but considering the clusterfuck of content I post ranging from mass effect to the stupidest shit posts in existence I would technically say that when I created this 4 years ago was simply for the spicy memes and funny ass text posts but then it more became a blog to keep with my fandoms and yada yada yada.

What do you post?: Well going off of ^^^ mostly Mass Effect, humor (shitposts are humor right?), occasional news or PSAs, space stuff, anything sci-fi really, Gregor the Overlander even tho this fandom is pretty much dead lmao, and really most video games especially like Bioware and Bethesda

Last thing you googled?: Baikal Rift Valley distance from upper mantle            (I HAVE MY REASONS)

Other blogs: I have two other blogs on tumblr and no where else

AO3: Okay I didn’t even KNOW what AO3 was until like a few months ago and I’ve read like maybe two fanfictions in my life but I have written one piece for Mass Effect 3 (should be on here somewhere I think I posted it for N7 day) and a novel length one for The Underland Chronicles which I’m still writing.

Do you get asks?: Lol no

How did you get the idea for your URL?: Okay so...I’m honestly not sure. Ever since Spore came out I’ve loved the word Rogue. Don’t know why, I guess I liked the whole fight against the current lone wolf kinda thing and that’s pretty much what a “rogue” is. As for Kriger, well I also love mythology and history, specifically of Greek and Scandinavian/Norse origin and I believe if my memory serves me right Kriger translates to Warrior in Norwegian. I mean I’ve used this URL for years now so even if that’s wrong its whatever at this point

I follow: 449 blogs which honestly I’m pretty sure a good 80% are inactive if not more. Plus a few friends that...well...aren’t around anymore. For various reasons.

Followers: 419 but that numbers gonna drop because I just KNOW more than half of those are probably porn bots and when I finally gain the motivation imma block em

Average hours of sleep: When I don’t have class or many classes probably around 8 hours but if I have a lot of classes (like last spring) probably 5 to 6

Lucky number: 8, the vertical infinity sign

Instruments: I use to know a few songs on the guitar and piano but idk I never kept with it

What are you wearing?: Andromeda Initiative shirt and jeans! Plus my dog tag

Dream Job: Okay so it’s always been a cross between astronautical engineer for NASA (which is what I’m going to school for) and game developer. I’ve also played with the idea of founding my own engineering company but that’s like way off in the future

Dream Trip: I’ve always wanted to go to Scotland and/or Japan. But honestly a dream trip would be to some ancient ruins in some tropical location or one of those gorgeous nature trips like in the canyons in Zion. Or space, I REALLY wanna go to space. Yeah scratch the other stuff. I wanna go to space. Fuck yeah.

Favorite Food: Beef Carpaccio from Brio straight up. I fucking love it. I’d kill for it. I can’t get ENOUGH OF IT. Also sushi.

Significant Other?: HA. HAHA. HAHAHAHAHA. Oh man that’s funny. My dude my longest relationship was 3 months I would LOVE to have a name to put here but alas I am unlucky and not the most sociable.

Last book I read: Damn I wanna say it was The Underland Chronicles since I reread that at least like once every year but holy shit I can’t remember what was the last book I read. Fuck that’s depressing for some reason.

Top 3 fictional universes: Mass Effect, Fallout, The Underland Chronicles

[ewanreviewin]

  Song: “Slide” by LPX

In <100 Words: Cheating a bit since this came out the end of last year, but I didn’t listen until the EP. “Slide” almost feels like a MS MR single if you didn’t know that Lizzy was doing her own thing these days, with its powerful drums and – so far at least – fairly clear vocals (on the verses). THEN Lizzy starts to belt about the lack of warning her heart gave regarding heartbreak. THEN she and her band bust into the incredible, dancey chorus. You’ll be screaming along with Lizzy by the end of the bridge.

Fave Lyric: “The sweetest love in life cuts you like a knife, ripping your insides, leaves you paralyzed.”

I Also Recommend: “Tightrope” has been and still is my favorite LPX track so far with the absolute shredding of that guitar. “Red Queen” is my favorite “new” song from the EP.

The EP Overall: It’s quite a banger of an EP and really makes me excited to see what the LPX project has to give in the form of a full-length album.

What This Sound Like: My heartbreak coming to life and screaming at me, with sick guitars playing in the background.

Song: “My My My” by Troye Sivan

In <100 Words: Writing a good love song is actually a super underrated skill. As is creating a great pop song. Troye Sivan, luckily, has the ability to handle both under his belt. “My My My” is so unabashedly happy. Troye sings to his lover to just let go and enjoy the moment of being in love – and in a world where love has so much pressure put on it, why don’t you?! Bring on the album, baby.

Fave Lyric: “Now let’s stop running from love.”

The Video: It’s sexy. It’s pretty. It’s gay. Come on – how can you not love it.

What This Sound Like: Running through a field at night as a rainbow – somehow – appears in the sky.

Song: “Supernatural” by BØRNS

In <100 Words: This is a bit of an underrated song from Blue Madonna. I am obsessed with the multiple drum play going on (I even hear bongos) and the strings in the post-chorus. There’s even a theremin solo in the bridge. Hell. YES. Lyrically, “Supernatural” falls on the second half of the album (right after the interlude actually) where Mr. Born seems to be over the heartbreak and is moving into a more introspective view of his previous relationship. It’s all dreamy and just lovely.

Fave Lyric: “Is it love or am I fooling around trying to find the truth?”

I Also Recommend: “Faded Heart” still holds up quite well, the witty and bright, yet bitter and cold “Second Night of Summer,” the rock-tinged “We Don’t Care,” and the empowering “I Don’t Want U Back.” I’d include the interlude, “Tension,” but it’s ONLY AN INTERLUDE!

The Album Overall: I’m really happy that he went down a route that was less energetic and… polished as Dopamine, even though I really enjoy that record too. It’s a great follow-up, though at the same time I feel like he’s yet to achieve his full potential. I have a feeling that will come with the next record.

What This Sound Like: A montage of going to the mall, but on an alien planet, but everyone’s happy.

Song: “After the Storm” by Kali Uchis (feat. Tyler the Creator & Bootsy Collins)

In <100 Words: Kali expands her resume a little by venturing into the deep funk of “After the Storm.” Tyler name drops his newest record & the Disney deer Bambi in his mellow & very fitting verse. Kali sounds great on the track too – singing very sexy & empowering lyrics as she likely speaks to herself in a mirror. The highlight of the track is easily the production. The bass is excellent & the groove slows down a bit towards the end before picking right back up & leaving you wanting more once the track draws to a close.

Fave Lyric: “So you gotta be careful baby, and look both ways before you cross my mind.”

What This Sound Like: Laying in silk sheets dressed in your softest robe.

Song: “King for a Day” by Anderson East

In <100 Words: This song is quite cheeky and I didn’t realize! The opener for Encore is actually a “let’s-get-it-on” song because I’d rather hook up once than be strung along as an unrequited love for a long time. You would not think that’s what Anderson is singing about when you first listen to “King for a Day.” Tinged with some elevating trumpets in the bridge/end of the song & very traditional guitar/drum pairing, the instrumental of this track is quite infectious.

Fave Lyric: “Even if your heart can’t look away, even if our love can’t stay together, I’d rather be king for a day than a fool forever.”

I Also Recommend: The scandalous & energetic “Girlfriend,” “Surrender” which sounds like that “rollin! rollin!” song, the sweet but also jamming with the guitar “Sorry You’re Sick,” and my favorite mid/lower tempo track “This Too Shall Last.”

The Album Overall: It’s quite good Americana/blue-eyed soul music!

What This Sound Like: Wrangling cattle on the ranch as the sun is high in the sky.

Song: “Kissing Tree” by The Spencer Lee Band

In <100 Words: Whoa, WHERE did this song come from? “Kissing Tree” opens up for a while as just an acoustic guitar and a back and forth from higher pitched vocals to, who I guess is the main singer. The song builds up more and more with a few strings, and then a NASTY bass line once we get to the second verse. Lyrically, it’s probably what you’d expect from a song called “Kissing Tree,” but some lines in particular are quite clever. All the instruments being released from their cages in the bridge – oh yeah, favorite bit.

Fave Lyric: “Shake you like a leaf, break me off a piece, I got everything I need under the kissing tree.”

What This Sound Like: Unsurprisingly, like sitting on a tree & making out with someone.

Song: “Disappear” by Tonight Alive (feat. Lynn Gunn)

In <100 Words: In case you didn’t know, Lynn Gunn is the front woman of the awesome band PVRIS. She doesn’t hijack the “Disappear,” but rather she gives the track a little more fire to make it that highlight from Underworld. The song is liberating, fun, and also a bit detached.

Fave Lyric: “Why does it feel like home when I’m lonely?”

I Also Recommend: “Last Light” is one of the softer moments on the record that’s really needed. “Burning On” is another fun, upbeat banger, and the punk rock “Temple.”

The Album Overall: Jenna’s vocals are awesome on this record, but I can’t help but feel the sounds of the album have kinda been done before.

What This Sound Like: Getting out of your comfort zone to do something that you enjoy, by yourself.

Song: “Lottery” by Jade Bird

In <100 Words: What a great melody on this song, especially on the chorus. “Lottery” almost feels hippie/Woodstock ready with the soft guitar moments & jangling tambourine. However, the lyrics add a cool contrast to this, being filled with number-talk. Plus, her voice is lovely – like birds singing almost. Seriously, can I talk about the chorus again? The ending line has been stuck in my head for days now.

Fave Lyric: “You used to say that love is a game, but you got your numbers and you’re betting on me.”

What This Sound Like: Spending your time with a loved one in nature instead of spending your money inside a casino.

Song: “Bite My Tongue” by The Academic

In <100 Words: It can feel good to speak your mind, but sometimes it’s better to just sit down and shut up. “Bite My Tongue” seems to touch on the short-term joy (or potentially, in the end, long-term joy) of not holding back and also deciding to keep quiet for the sake of “not raining on your parade.” Meanwhile, this the band playing probably makes this the most upbeat track on the record – and it sounds great, especially on the chorus.

Fave Lyric: “My dear, what have we become? … So I’ll just bite my tongue.”

I Also Recommend: The track that directly follows this, “Fake ID,” sounds like going out for the night – kicking off the track with the opening of a door. “Permanent Vacation” and “Television” are two more upbeat bangers. I also enjoy “Different.”

The Album Overall: It’s a quick listen at 35 minutes, and while the songs on the record may feel too similar to each other, the pacing & length of the songs don’t tire you out at all. All-in-all, a good debut!

What This Sound Like: Driving with the top down by the beach.

Song: “Perfect” by Andreas Moss

In <100 Words: Andreas has a silky sweet voice that sounds best over non-distracting music. “Perfect” does a good job of this by having, essentially, just an acoustic guitar in the verses/bridge and a fairly subdued worbly bass in the chorus. If anything the shaking bass in the chorus pairs perfectly (lol) as Andreas hits the high notes in a swoon to the listener who “doesn’t have to be perfect” and is “worth it to me.” It really does take someone else to see the beauty in yourself when all you see are flaws.

Fave Lyric: “These are the moments when I see you – the purest form of you bleeding through.”

What This Sound Like: Blushing.

Song: “Stay Off My Mind” by Skott

In <100 Words: Immediately, you’ll hear “I’m thinking of you!” in some sort of ethereal, potentially self-sampling outburst that will catch your ear. The production kicks in as “Stay Off My Mind” enters the first verse with chirpy drums, guitar, and piano. Skott seems to throw in some autotune into the mix, which makes her sound pointedly distant from the listener who she wants out of her mind. The one moment of a back & forth of “still on my mind” in the chorus is really pretty. Lyrically, it’s more heart-wrenching than you’d expect – being about the death of a close friend. Damn.

Fave Lyric: “I’m left with the silence – there’s something about it, I don’t know, I don’t mind just sitting here alone.”

I Also Recommend: Snappy & groovy “In the Mood.”

The EP Overall: Because it’s so short I don’t have too strong of an opinion one way or another, but the two aforementioned tracks get me very excited to see what a full record would look like.

What This Sound Like: Wandering a city, with nothing to distract you from thinking about thoughts you were trying to avoid.

Week of January 12, 2018 Song: "Slide" by LPX In <100 Words: Cheating a bit since this came out the end of last year, but I didn't listen until the EP.

[triscribe]

Since the amazing @fialleril didn’t want to bother tagging anyone, I went ahead and snitched one of the ‘pass it on to twenty other people’ slots. That and I love get-to-know-a-nerd meme posts.

1. Nicknames: ‘Tri’ tends to be the usual one on here, though ‘squirt’ and occasionally ‘squirrel’ are used by certain Parental Units

2. Gender: Female

3. Star Sign: Pisces, I think

4.Height: A quarter inch shorter than my mother. I won’t get to be taller than her for another twenty years, when she’ll (hopefully) start shrinking

5. Time: Always mocks me, by being later than I thought when I’m having fun and earlier than I’d hoped when I’m bored.

6. Birthday: March 12th

7. Favorite Band(s): Imagine Dragons, Skillet, the Cab, One Republic

8. Favorite Solo Artist(s): Reba McEntire, Phil Collins

9. Song Currently Stuck in My Head: This Is Me, a pre-released soundtrack from the new The Greatest Show movie

10. Last Movie I Watched: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (the feels!)

11. Last Show I Watched: M*A*S*H (always a classic)

12. When Did I Create My Blog: Several years ago. When did I actually start doing anything with it? Fall 2016

13. What Do I Post: Personal shenanigans, fan fiction stuff for Voltron LD, Star Wars, Merlin and so on, the occasional snippet from my original works

14. Last Thing I Googled: What type of wood is used to make broomsticks. Don’t look at me like that, it’s for a Harry Potter story

15. Do I Have Any Other Blogs: Negatory. Thinking about starting one for my Turning Point Trilogy, though

16. Do I Get Asks: Sadly, no

17. Why I Chose My URL: I am a lunatic multi-tasker who must have multiple writing projects going on at any given time

18. Following: Twenty-five awesome artists, writers, and friends

19. Followers: Eighty-two weirdos, both strangers who apparently think I reblog fun things and friends who are willing to put up with my craziness

20. Colors: Shades of blue-green with a bit of golden amber thrown in

21. Average Hours of Sleep: Half the week, I get a full eight hours. Other half, I’m lucky to have four, so it averages out to about six on any given night

22. Lucky Number: Three! Third time is the charm, after all - and yet, it’s never shown up on so much as a single fortune cookie for me. :(

23. Instruments: I used to play the piano as a kid. Still have Ode to Joy memorized in my fingertips, but not much else

24. What Am I Wearing: Dark green cargo pants, olive green t-shirt, mid green ball cap, bright green cloth around my wrist, and red and grey wool socks. What.

25. Strangest Hobby: Worldbuilding, and the extremes I take it to.

26. Dream Job: I am going to be an author, dammit. I don’t need to get as rich as J.K. Rowling, or as famous as Tolkien, but I want fantasy-loving kids to recognize the names of my books and characters!

27. Dream Trip: Can I spend a year in Alaska, please? Thank you.

28. Favorite Food: Apples. I will live off of apples, Taco Cabana tortillas, and my hamburger ‘n peas ‘n mac ‘n cheese one-pot meal.

29. Nationality: American, sadly. I wouldn’t mind being British, might give me a leg up on becoming the fantasy author I want to be

30: Favorite Season: Those early spring days when it’s still nippy enough to wear long sleeves and a vest, yet the grass is perking up and birds seem to be everywhere. Also, that’s about when my birthday is, so that’s a plus.

Okay, guys! @knightlychika, @wolveria, @gallusrostromegalus, @yogurtbear242, @chokingonoreos, do with this what you will. ;)