#pop rocky mag

[allshadowylined]

A-ha

For Pop Rocky Magazine, 1986

⚠︎ No photographer credited, found on Pinterest

[skeedelvee]

Carry On Countdown Day 13 - Lyrics

For this year's COC I've decided to put together daily fic rec lists! Let me know if you find any new favorite reads from these <3

For todays prompt I've gone with fics that prominently feature music and lyrics

All I Ever Wanted was the World by @facewithoutheart

Rated E, 30,152 words

Simon finds himself at the Wank of England, Vauxhall’s infamous gay pub. Ruled by drag queen Baz Pitch aka Tyra Fangs, and staffed by lovable queer misfits, many lost souls have found themselves within its dark walls. But Simon’s not just another lost soul, and Baz is more than the sparkling gowns he wears as armour, and together they may build something better than a place to grab a pint.

Only Creatures by @emeryhall

Rated E, 88,073 words

After Simon dumps Baz in the San Diego airport, Baz tries to be normal about it. He finishes up at LSE, gets an MSt in poetry from Oxford, dates a few men, fucks around. Then he gives up and retires to the Scottish Highlands to cultivate his “Rick Rubin beard” and “Unabomber vibe.” Everything is going just bloody brilliant. That is until Fiona shows up with some unexpected news. Oh yeah, and a porno mag featuring his ex wearing nothing but wings and a tail.

Ride 'Em Cowboy by @wolfywordweaver

Rated M, 9,673 words

Before going on a months long trip to the Midwest with his father for business, Baz is dragged to a strip club on a Cowboy Themed night for one last hurrah by his friends Dev and Niall. It just happens that at the club he meets Simon Snow, a stripper that shakes his world and makes him want things that he think he can't have. Except, maybe Simon wants those things too.

Across the Universe by @sillyunicorn

Rated T, 8,815 words

School has started, but where is Baz? And where did this cat come from? Simon searches for his missing roommate, learns to love the Beatles, and finds comfort in his new furry friend. And maybe, just maybe, what he’s been looking for has been here all along.

Take On Me by @basic-banshee

Rated T, 49,589 words

Baz Pitch is an overworked uni student who -- between his heavy course load and his shifts at his aunt's bookstore -- is stressed all the time. There are expectations on him to follow the family footsteps, and he doesn't want to deal with that right now. His aunt Fiona's bookstore is his one oasis in this (except for on poetry slam nights) and he's glad to have her -- even if she does come with her own brand of crazy. But when Simon Snow, a lit student with a short temper who's trying to distance himself from his bad history, starts working at the bookstore, Baz's life gets infinitely more stressful. Amidst bad poetry slams, author signings, getting locked in storerooms and gaining a (unwanted) roommate, Baz comes to realise that Simon Snow is so much more than he's prepared to take on.

✨Gratuitous self rec✨

In Just Seven Days (And Six Long Nights) I Can Make You a Manahhahaan! by me! @skeedelvee

Rated T, 30,109 words

Reccing this one again because I messed up and forgot I was saving it for this day's prompt before

The Popped Cherry shadow cast is in dire need of a Rocky. Simon Snow has a week to prepare for the role. The person enlisted to help bring him up to snuff? None other than the show's star (and Simon's roommate), Baz Pitch.

If you have any recs that fit the prompt that I've missed, feel free to leave them in the comments! There's plenty of gaps in my reading so there's a good chance I may not have read it

Also I've had a hard time finding if some people are here on Tumblr, so if you know someone who hasn't been tagged, feel free to leave that in the comments as well <3

[frankbedbroken]

frankcore august 2024 update!!

already more than halfway through september lmfao i suck at this. regardless, here's some musics! this time around there's a Lot of art pop and trip hop related projects, fair few bits of electronic here and there, as well as some tracks in the more experimental end of hip hop and some more guitar-centric stuffs.

in regards to art pop (and other adjacent pop styles, sort of): jenny hval's moving, literally larger-than-life euphoria on spells, martha skye murphy with need and its more solemn and slowly enveloping atmospheres, the ever experimental hakushi hasegawa with a cut of his latest project featuring dizzying blends of jazz, pop and psychedelia, and jessica pratt stealing the show on an a$ap rocky track of all places to be featured in. as for the rest of the pop and r&b on the list: tinashe presenting an ambient-esque r&b piece somewhat in the line of oklou's galore, your-favourite-artists-favourite-vocalist cecile believe's soaring synthpop, strange blends of laidback r&b and pop vocals with latin-american soundscapes and some electronic touches courtesy of argentinian producer / vocalist moro, a cut off mag bay's newest project (solid! not my favourite from theirs but i'm more partial towards their shorter-form material anyway), and a great cut of dnb-infused k-pop from bebe yana.

the trip hop and downtempo related cuts here come from firstly james k and hysterical love project, both of them bringing curious blends of trip hop and ambient pop as well as some more influences from dream pop in the case of the hlp track; ms ray's signs in comparison is a bit cheerier, taking a bit more of inspiration from sophisti-pop and the sunnier side of downtempo, similar in a way to avalon emerson's sandrail silhouette, which is also a great track. on the other end of the spectrum, jabu and chester giles deliver a very nocturnal and dubby piece built mostly on giles' spoken poetry laid atop the somber, looming sample loops. the rest of the electronic sounds here are somewhat varied: a sickeningly short burst of "rally house" courtesy of aesthetic-extraordinaire and extremely versatile producer nuphory, a classic ukg cut from todd "the god" edwards complete with his signature micro vocal chops and rolling grooves, a distorted, club ready flip of sugababes' 2000s hit "round round" courtesy of uk-bass-sensation-that's-sweeping-the-nation duo two shell, a delightfully catchy and satisfying footwork banger from underground producer username, and jazzy and glitchy drum and bass sounds from xploding plastix.

in terms of hip hop, we've got poppy yet aggressive delivery from slayyyter and tommy genesis atop hard-hitting trap knocks, a bouncy, speaker rattling, hyphy-esque beat from ivy lab, and nana フリーク版 by chilean artist akriila, off of her debut album epistolares, which has solidified as a very close second to brat as my album of the year, partly because of cuts like the above mentioned, an extremely hard-hitting industrial hip hop banger (in a way, similar to iglooghost's coral mimic also from this year) with a defiant edge to the lyricism and delivery. i really could've picked pretty much any track from that record, it's that good imo, check it out if a varied ride consisting of club-ready perreo, poppier sounds of drum and bass and even some chilean folk for good measure sounds like a thing you'd be into.

to wrap up, the things i haven't mentioned yet: a curious blend of baggy-esque indie rock with r&b vocal delivery from tama gucci (artist whom i've always adored their voice and whose output is super underrated imo), classic midwest emo with a bit of a twee edge from everyone asked about you, dreamy hypnagogic pop from chanel beads with a bit of a similar vibe to the mica levi track from last week, and the third single off fontaines dc's romance (much like mag bay's album, it's pretty solid, though i feel like it dips a bit in quality by the second half, aside from the closer ofc).

tube it!!

[a-table-of-fics]

The Man from Utah, Chapter 7, Draft 1, Part 26

He jumped, clutching onto one of the MAG’s ribs. Slowly, he dodged efforts to push him off and clambered to the spine. It was wrapped in wires, and Liam was soon able to trace them to the visor.

He couldn’t see the plugs or the black box which presumably led to the payment data, but he could at least sever cords. Being careful to avoid the obvious power cord, he started severing wires. He was quick to pull caps out and cover up the wires before they could shock Mac’s MAG or himself; some habits never died. Soon enough, all that was left was the power.

The visor on the MAG flickered before the light faded entirely. Immediately, he went from flailing to reach Liam to flailing in general.

“That’ll cost you extra!” he exclaimed. “You disconnected my network, but I estimate that will be at least six hundred more on your balance!”

He soon stopped flailing, stepping back as Dan got a good slice on him.

“Of course, we also accept repossession… Of your G03-LM… or your skin!”

He took another swipe, knocking Liam straight off.

“In this case, I can take both!”

ObjectiveState==SURVIVE: 180

He raised his arms in preparation to pulverize Liam, but before he could even try to slam or try to block an attack from Dan, he heard tires screech over the gunfire. He turned just in time to be slammed by an ObduraCorp van.

A few giant ribs flew every which way as the MAG’s feet dug into the ground. He latched on to keep himself upright, sending rocky ground flying. He tried to punch against the van, but there were very shallow dents at best before the van went into reverse, parking right next to Liam.

“Need a lift?” asked Doto as the doors popped open.

[louisvuitttonn]

A$AP Rocky and Naomi Campbell for Pop Magazine, 2016

[bluesrocknrollingstones]

Mick inside the Pop Rocky mag

[abybweisse]

have you heard of the manga earl cain? i just read the plot summary on wikipedia after someone compared it to black butler, it is from the 90s and is REALLY similar, victorian-era manga featuring an orphaned earl with a mysterious butler and estranged evil brother. the ultimate enemy is also doing creepy experiments to revive the dead ("deadly dolls" that thrive off of human blood). there was also a circus storyline. i wonder if yana was inspired by it???

Earl Cain/Godchild vs Black Butler

⚠️ Long post ⚠️

Well, the original Earl Cain series was published, split between two related shōjo mags, between 1991 and 1994. Actually, it was published in those mags under four short, separately titled series… then split between five volumes and later referred to, collectively, as Earl Cain. Yana Toboso turned 10 in 1994, and it’s possible she read the series, though it probably would have been a few years later.

Both mangakas seem to have been inspired by historical Victorian England, as well as British and European literary giants (Hans Christian Andersen, Lewis Carroll, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Arthur Conan Doyle, etc… and at least in Kaori Yuki’s case also Kafka) and pop culture (various movies, games, and manga/anime). Yana Toboso seems to incorporate more folklore, in general, while Kaori Yuki (to the best of my knowledge) focuses on vampires, zombies, and biblical stories. Yana-san incorporates all that plus quite a bit of Norse, Japanese, Egyptian… and some Celtic mythologies. Both of them also eventually toured England (particularly London) to do some research, though Kaori Yuki didn’t do her tour of London until she was working on Godchild, which wasn’t premiered until October 2006. Idk about Kaori Yuki, but Yana-san now has someone on her team that helps with historical research.

Was she inspired at all by Kaori Yuki’s early works? Perhaps so. But I personally think that Kaori Yuki was possibly later inspired by the quick successes of new series like Black Butler to return to her old series with a sequel called Godchild, which, as I said earlier, didn’t show up until October 2006. Running these series neck and neck, but with one in a shōnen mag and the other in a shōjo mag, they could have been picking each other’s brains, for all we know, though Kaori Yuki must be her senior by roughly two decades… at least, since she’s been active since about 1989. (Yana-san was born in 1984, while Kaori Yuki’s birth year is not publicly known.)

There are some important distinctions to make between Black Butler and the (combined) series Earl Cain, along with its sequel Godchild.

Black Butler is basically from the viewpoint of the butler, not the young master. The demon-turned-butler is canonically the titular and main character, and “Ciel” is merely one of a presumably long line of contractors. We learn so much about this contract because it’s pivotal in the demon’s long life. It’s ongoing, so we don’t know what the demon does afterwards, but this kid isn’t his first master; it’s just a particularly interesting contract. The demon has been named after a dead dog, and Sebastian happens to be a common name for butlers in Japanese stories set abroad, like England. Earl Cain is the titular and main character of his stories, and his butler is surprisingly loyal… for turning out to be a Deadly Doll. Also, the butler’s name comes from Riff Raff, a character from Rocky Horror Picture Show. 😆

Cain is at least 17 in his two series, whereas our “Ciel” is 10-13, nearing his 14th birthday, for the duration of the demon contract. We get various flashbacks of the twins all the way back to their birth, when “Ciel’s” birth is a surprise.

Cain eventually kills his own abusive father, whereas “Ciel” is trying to avenge the deaths of his entire immediate family, as well as the abuses he and his twin brother suffered at the hands of people they didn’t really know (but who largely ran in the same circles as their father). Our “Ciel” is currently fighting the Aurora Society and Undertaker, but his main goal is to figure out and defeat whoever planned and/or carried out the attack on Phantomhive Manor. And that wasn’t Undertaker, since he’s obsessing over his own losses when the Phantomhive family was attacked. It’s also not likely to be Vincent, having somehow faked his own death, as Undertaker has no reason to mistake those ashes as Vincent’s. Vincent, by all accounts, is very dead… and extras like “With Father” and the “Akuma6” chapter just emphasize he’s not alive and somehow faking his death.

Cain has multiple brothers and sisters, as well as half-siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc… and his father is very abusive. The stories are extremely convoluted, and Cain’s eldest sister turns out to be the most manipulative one of all, even having controlled their own father, who is (oddly enough) named Alexis. 🤔 Our “Ciel” and real Ciel only have each other, as far as real Ciel is concerned, but they also have cousins, aunts, and uncles. Their uncle Alexis seems to be the most oblivious of the bunch, but he’s also probably the nicest.

It’s hard to tell from the somewhat confusing wording of the Wikipedia entry on Cain’s stories, but Cain’s eldest sister appears to also be his mother? Incest is a common theme in the stories of his adventures. So is abuse from their father. Ciel’s parents are not related (at least not closely!), and they genuinely love each other and their children. Vincent and Rachel are gently manipulative of their sons but not the least bit openly abusive.

Cain’s own father, Alexis, is the one creating the so-called “Deadly Dolls”, and it’s ultimately because he’s trying to revive his eldest daughter, who had apparently died by suicide, as an end to her growing insanity. In Black Butler, it’s a reaper (136649/Undertaker) who is creating the “Bizarre Dolls”, though he might turn out to be the twins’ paternal grandfather, Cedric. And it’s confirmed that even Undertaker’s current experimentation with real Ciel’s corpse (and the others) stems from his loss of previous heads of the Phantomhive family, like Vincent (who would be his son, if he’s Cedric) and Cloudia/Claudia (who would be the mother of his children, if he’s Cedric). This part is arguably the biggest similarity between Earl Cain (and Godchild) and Black Butler.

Alexis (from Earl Cain) creates and runs Delilah, the secret society that makes the Deadly Dolls. Undertaker uses the Aurora Society to achieve many of his goals, but I don’t know if he created it. Meanwhile, Black Butler’s Alexis seems oblivious to quite a bit, but he openly destroys Bizarre Dolls on the Campania and seems disgusted by their mere existence. Black Butler also has a mysterious group called Osiris, and we don’t know who runs that… at all. Could be the queen — or John Brown — for all we know. Another family among the Evil Nobles? Something Undertaker started? Someone from a competing country, like Germany? 🤷🏻‍♀️ And what mysterious group convinced Undertaker to test out his Bizarre Dolls as “animal weapons”? 🤷🏻‍♀️ 🤷🏻‍♀️

The timelines are completely different.

The other big comparison is that both Earl Cain and Earl “Ciel” Phantomhive solve various mysteries, with Cain focusing on murder mysteries, whereas our “Ciel” does whatever assignment the queen gives him… as well as things that might help him reach his own goals. It often involves murder, but not always. The biggest difference here might be that Queen Victoria is a decidedly minor character in Earl Cain. While she (or John Brown) could still turn out to be the big baddie in Black Butler.

I still see way more in common between Black Butler and Nintendo’s Mother series, particularly Mother3. Characters, timeline, actions, etc. are much more deeply paralleled between Black Butler and that game series….

[cyberstarlope]

Star Strike and/or Roller Brawl headcanons?

I’ll do my best~!

Star Strike:

✧ although some find her mysterious look intimidating, she’s actually very outgoing

✧ she has a partial solid body under her gloves and robe that stops above the neck and below the waist

✧ that being said, she loves making jokes about having no hands or crumpling to nothing when she takes her robe off cause she loves seeing peoples’ expressions

✧ her and enigma aren’t of the same species(?) but they have a similar composure and came from adjacent realms so they talk sometimes about their lives before skylands

✧ it’s no exaggeration when star says she has no intention of going back home; while there are parts she misses on occasion, she had a rocky upbringing and ironically feels like she fits in more in skylands more than she ever did in her home realm

✧ also, don’t try looking for that banishment spell, it was destroyed when she beat kaos’ ass on sight

✧ she also has an amazing lie detector radar that she uses for both skylanders related work and also just to mess with people sometimes

✧ she’s closest to enigma, smolderdash, pop thorn, hoot loop, riptide, and deja vu

Roller Brawl:

▼ despite her punk-like attitude, she is very understanding and caring at heart

▼ having five older brothers, she was often babied growing up which grew more annoying as she grew older

▼ she actually originally got into roller blading as a sort of rebellious activity (undead versions of sports tend to be a little intense) but ended up falling in love with the sport and kept up with it

▼ becoming part of the undead roller derby league was a dream come true and she kept at it for many years

▼ after kaos fell in love with her, and had her brothers captured by drow when they resisted, she left the league to search for them

▼ her journey landed her in an unfortunate accident, which also introduced her to the skylanders

▼ her mission was put on hold, healing from an amutation as well as processing the trauma, but she was still adament of being part of her brothers’ search party

▼ noting her skills and determination, she was given a propasition- and a new pair of literal roller blade legs designed by mags herself

▼ roller has since found her brothers and greatly enjoys her work as a skylander, helping others through the kind of hardships she went through

▼ she is closest to cynder, hex, freeze blade, night shift, and chill

[littlemusicreviews]

200 Best Songs of the 2010s

200. Neon Indian – “Annie”

199. Hop Along – “Somewhere A Judge”

198. Empress Of – “Standard”

197. Mitski – “Townie”

196. The 1975 – “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You)”

195. Jessica Mauboy (feat. Ludacris) – “Saturday Night”

194. Sheer Mag – “Worth The Tears”

193. The Range – “Florida”

192. Tove Lo – “Disco Tits”

191. Jamie xx (feat. Young Thug & Popcaan) – “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)

190. Florence + The Machine – “Queen Of Peace”

189. School ’94 – “Common Sense”

188. Majical Cloudz – “Heavy”

187. Years & Years – “All For You”

186. Sleigh Bells – “Sugarcane”

185. Britney Spears – “Man On The Moon”

184. Miike Snow – “Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)”

183. Justin Timberlake – “Mirrors”

182. Taylor Swift – “Cruel Summer”

181. Animal Collective – “FloriDada”

180. easyFun – “Blink”

179. Kacey Musgraves – “Dime Store Cowgirl”

178. Lykke Li – “Gunshot”

177. Lana Del Rey – “Ride”

176. Elliphant – “Not Ready”

175. Phoenix – “Chloroform”

174. Kim Petras – “Hillside Boys”

173. Natalia Kills – “Free”

172. Chelsea Wolfe – “After The Fall”

171. Sky Ferreira – “One”

170. Charli XCX – “You (Ha Ha Ha)”

169. CHAI – “Feel The Beat”

168. Lim Kim – “Awoo”

167. Justin Bieber – “Sorry”

166. Liz – “When I Rule The World”

165. Normani – “Motivation”

164. Teyana Taylor – “WTP”

163. Mac DeMarco – “Passing Out Pieces”

162. Sam Smith – “I’m Not The Only One”

161. Icona Pop – “Light Me Up”

160. Jessie J – “Domino”

159. Phantogram – “Don’t Move”

158. Miguel – “Adorn”

157. Susanne Sundfør – “White Foxes”

156. Kero Kero Bonito – “Picture This”

155. Crystal Castles – “Celestica”

154. Alexis Jordan – “Happiness”

153. Sharon Van Etten – “Your Love Is Killing Me”

152. Solange – “Losing You”

151. Washed Out – “All I Know”

150. Caribou – “Odessa”

149. Beyoncé – “XO”

148. Georgia – “About Work The Dancefloor”

147. Jamila Woods – “Blk Girl Soldier”

146. Empress Of – “When I’m With Him”

145. A$AP Rocky (feat. Skrillex) – “Wild For The Night”

144. Dreamtrak – “Odyssey, Pt. 2 (A. G. Cook Remix)”

143. SBTRKT (feat. Little Dragon) – “Wildfire”

142. Avril Lavigne – “What The Hell”

141. Cults – “Oh My God”

140. Alvvays – “Archie, Marry Me”

139. Kacey Musgraves – “Slow Burn”

138. James Blake (feat. Bon Iver) – “I Need A Forest Fire”

137. Charli XCX (feat. MØ) – “3AM (Pull Up)”

136. Sir Babygirl – “Pink Lite”

135. CEO – “Illuminata”

134. Katy Perry – “Teenage Dream”

133. Japanese Breakfast – “Rugged Country”

132. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Cut To The Feeling”

131. SOPHIE – “Bipp”

130. Charli XCX – “Vroom Vroom”

129. Katy Perry – “Wide Awake”

128. A. G. Cook (feat. Hannah Diamond) – “Keri Baby”

127. Julianna Barwick – “Vow”

126. Sleigh Bells – “Comeback Kid”

125. Hatchie – “Sleep”

124. Ke$ha – “Die Young”

123. Blanck Mass – “Please”

122. B.o.B (feat. Hayley Williams) – “Airplanes”

121. The Wonder Years – “Passing Through A Screen Door”

120. Sevdaliza – “Hubris”

119. Tobias Jesso Jr. – “How Could You Babe”

118. Kanye West (feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver) – “Monster”

117. Joanna Newsom – “Anecdotes”

116. Purity Ring – “Stranger Than Earth”

115. Vampire Weekend – “Unbearably White”

114. Local Natives – “Heavy Feet”

113. Last Dinosaurs – “Andy”

112. fun. – “Some Nights”

111. Danny Brown – “Ain’t It Funny”

110. Neon Indian – “Polish Girl”

109. Regina Spektor – “The Light”

108. Rhye – “Open”

107. Lana Del Rey – “Brooklyn Baby”

106. hellogoodbye – “Finding Something To Do”

105. Bruno Mars – “Just The Way You Are”

104. Bon Iver – “Holocene”

103. CHVRCHES – “Clearest Blue”

102. Mount Eerie – “Seaweed”

101. Fiona Apple – “Werewolf”

100. Edward Maya (feat. Vika Jigulina) – “Stereo Love”

99. How To Dress Well – “Words I Don’t Remember”

98. AlunaGeorge – “Your Drums, Your Love”

97. LIGHTS – “Banner”

96. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – “Home”

95. Kendrick Lamar – “The Blacker The Berry”

94. Starfucker – “The White Of Noon”

93. Everything Everything – “Regret”

92. Two Door Cinema Club – “Undercover Martyn”

91. Bombay Bicycle Club – “Shuffle”

90. Marina & The Diamonds – “Oh No!”

89. Ed Sheeran – “Castle On The Hill”

88. Lykke Li – “Sadness Is A Blessing”

87. Julia Holter – “Feel You”

86. Real Estate – “Talking Backwards”

85. Tame Impala – “‘Cause I’m A Man”

84. Passion Pit – “Constant Conversations”

83. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu – “PONPONPON”

82. Adele – “Someone Like You”

81. Calvin Harris – “Feel So Close”

80. You, Me, And Everyone We Know – “The Puzzle”

79. Waxahatchee – “8 Ball”

78. Grimes – “Artangels”

77. Florist – “Glowing Brightly”

76. Perfume Genius – “Mr. Peterson”

75. Sky Ferreira – “Werewolf (I Like You)”

74. Big Thief – “Forgotten Eyes”

73. Christine And The Queens – “iT”

72. Drake (feat. Rihanna) – “Take Care”

71. Autre Ne Veut – “Play By Play”

70. James Blake – “Retrograde”

69. Mitski – “Geyser”

68. Perfume Genius – “Hood”

67. Weyes Blood – “Movies”

66. Vanessa Carlton – “London”

65. Waxahatchee – “Air”

64. Crystal Castles – “Affection”

63. Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”

62. Bombay Bicycle Club – “Home By Now”

61. Vampire Weekend – “White Sky”

60. Big Thief – “Mythological Beauty”

59. Ariana Grande (feat. Zedd) – “Break Free”

58. Marina & The Diamonds – “Froot”

57. Kendrick Lamar – “Swimming Pools (Drank)”

56. Mayday Parade – “Stay”

55. Cee-Lo – “Fuck You”

54. Marina & The Diamonds – “Primadonna”

53. Sigur Rós – “Ísjaki”

52. Beach House – “Woo”

51. SZA – “Garden (Say It Like That)”

50. Wynter Gordon – “Dirty Talk”

49. Alt-J – “Breezeblocks”

48. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Want You In My Room”

47. Sky Ferreira – “Everything Is Embarrassing”

46. Ball Park Music – “It’s Nice To Be Alive”

45. Hundred Waters – “Wave To Anchor”

44. Florence + The Machine – “Never Let Me Go”

43. FKA twigs – “Cellophane”

42. Youth Lagoon – “Mute”

41. Ariana Grande – “Into You”

40. Of Monsters And Men – “Mountain Sound”

39. Björk – “Stonemilker”

38. Paramore – “Still Into You”

37. Future Islands – “Seasons (Waiting On You)”

36. Solange – “Cranes In The Sky”

35. Lorde – “Perfect Places”

34. Ball Park Music – “Coming Down”

33. Rihanna (feat. Drake) – “What’s My Name”

32. Perfume Genius – “Slip Away”

31. CHVRCHES – “The Mother We Share”

30. SOPHIE – “Immaterial”

29. Vampire Weekend – “Hannah Hunt”

28. Sufjan Stevens – “John My Beloved”

27. A.A.L (Against All Logic) – “I Never Dream”

26. Deakin – “Good House”

25. Beach House – “Silver Soul”

24. ANOHNI – “Drone Bomb Me”

23. M83 – “Midnight City”

22. Sampha – “(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano”

21. Lorde – “A World Alone”

20. Beach House – “Myth”

19. Sabrina Claudio – “Wanna Know”

18. Grimes – “Genesis”

17. Purity Ring – “Fineshrine”

16. The Wonder Years – “And Now I’m Nothing”

15. Beach House – “Sparks”

14. Hatchie – “Without A Blush”

13. Robyn – “Dancing On My Own”

12. Rihanna (feat. Calvin Harris) – “We Found Love”

11. Alvvays – “In Undertow”

10. Nicki Minaj – “Super Bass”

9. Frank Ocean – “Thinkin Bout You”

8. Beyoncé – “Countdown”

7. Lana Del Rey – “Born To Die”

6. Deerhunter – “Helicopter”

5. Azealia Banks (feat. Lazy Jay) – “212”

4. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Run Away With Me”

3. FKA twigs – “Two Weeks”

2. Sky Ferreira – “I Blame Myself”

1. Mitski – “Your Best American Girl”

[disappointingyet]

Esto No Es Berlín (This Is Not Berlin)

Director Hari Sama Stars Xabiani Ponce de León, José Antonio Toledano, Ximena Romo Mexico 2019 Language Spanish (with English subtitles) 1hr 55mins Colour, some black & white 

Art goths vs the cult of Hugo Sanchez 

This is your classic subcultural coming-of-age story: boy meets new noise, falls for new noise and the fellow lovers of the new noise, and things get a bit messy. Boy – we can usually assume, and certainly can here – will then grow up to be the director of the film you are watching. 

It’s 1986, and we’re in México DF. Carlos (Xabiani Ponce de León) is a lanky, Pre-Raphaelite-looking teenager whose classmates seem primarily interested in dirty mags and rucks with rival schools. Carlos digs the centrefolds, is less fond of the fighting. He spends most of his time hanging out with best mate Gera (José Antonio Toledano) and gazing hopelessly at Gera’s older sister Rita (Ximena Romo, who has a definite Linda Cardellini vibe in this film). 

Carlos’ home life is not easy: his father is absent and his mother (Marina de Tavira, who played the mother in Roma) paralysed by depression, so he’s left looking after his younger brother.

Then, one happy day, his knack for electrical engineering means he can fix Rita’s band’s synth, and he and Gera get to tag along to their gig at Mexico City’s top underground new wave/goth dive. Pretty instantly, Carlos renounces his love for blues rocky dullards Ten Years After and plunges himself into the polysexual performance art/synth noise thing, alienating his former school chums by sporting eyeliner and Phil Oakey hair. Even worse, Carlos’ new pals are totally opposed to the nation’s big party – the 1986 World Cup.*

As is sometimes the way with these kind of films, the stuff the director seems less interested in – schoolkids being schoolkids – is stronger than the ‘cooler’ bit. The stuff at home and school could only be bourgeois Mexico City, the stuff in the club anywhere where people pretended they were at Warhol’s Factory or the Mudd Club. As the title suggests, that’s kind of what director Hari Sama wants to explore – scenes where everyone knows they are not where the rest of your world thinks it’s at, where you’ll never get see Einstürzenden Neubauten play, only a local band doing their dodgy approximation of EN, and yet everybody involved experiences things as intensely – likely more intensely – than if they actually were in London/NY/Berlin etc. It’s a subject that has been played around with quite a lot in recent times – I thought of This Is Memorial Device, David Keenan’s novel that provides an incredibly detailed and authentically messy (and often rather unpleasant) fictional oral history of the post-punk scene in Airdrie, Scotland (pop 37,130), whose participants are convinced they are miles ahead of what is happening elsewhere. 

Sama, though, has nothing particulary fresh to say on the subject. Like a lot of quasi-autobiographical works, This Is Not Berlin has a disappointingly conventional narrative shape. My adolesence didn’t fit a tidy three-act pattern – did yours? And so a reliance on cliches undermines any sense of authenticity. 

Maybe Sama’s best contribution to the film is on screen, not off – he gives the film’s standout performance playing Carlos’ favourite uncle, a man refusing to give up on the 1960s. The other bit of casting I like is Mauro Sanchez Navarro as Nico, Carlos’ art-scene mentor and possible romantic interest, whose face really would have fit in in West Berlin at the time.

Which reminds me that these are (unsurprisingly, considering how the country works) a fairly European-looking bunch of people. The characters in this film have two contrasting encounters with Mexico’s not-white majority: once when the band plays at an open-air punk gig out in the sticks (‘You’re the pretty ones,’ someone tells a bewildered Gera there), and once when they are being processed after being arrested. 

This Is Not Berlin is an absorbing, entertaining film, with added value if you have a taste for Latin American teen slang. I just wish it was a little less predictable, a little less rote. 

*[NOT REALLY A SPOILER] If you have seen the film, and are wondering about the 68/86 slogan, in the run-up to the 1968 Olympics, hundreds of students were killed by government forces in the historic centre of Mexico City in what is known as the Tlatelolco massacre. 

[rockrevoltmagazine]

Interview: Heather Hellskiss of The Damed

The Damed are a powerful three piece punk outfit out of Hollywood.  They are currently tearing up the Los Angeles club scene promoting their debut self-titled album and upcoming videos.  Here is Heather Hellskiss vocalist for The Damed. 

Who are the members of The Damed, what do they do in the band, and how did they get there?

On guitar and lead vocals is me, Hellskiss, Watts on drums and Suze on bass and sings backup vox. I started the band and have been playing with Watts for a long time and we have a strong musical rapport and really trust each other. This is my first project with Suze and we share the same political views and like a lot of the same bands. We all just vibe off each other very well and also share a silly sense of humor.

The Damed is a fairly new band but you’re already getting some traction.  Do you think that it’s solely based on the solidness of your new album or are their other creative factors in play?

The album says a lot of things both musically and lyrically. And we do not hold back. There is time spent getting the right guitar sounds/fxs and we really tried to capture our rawness on this album. We are not one specific genre and I think that keeps things interesting.

For people who haven’t heard your music before can you describe the songs of The Damed?

Intense, gritty, melodic, bittersweet.

Your debut release is a very political, but yet personal album, why did you go that route and what are some of the stories behind the songs?

Personal is the only way I know how to be. Songwriting is a release, so I write about what impacts me in my life. ‘Equal Pay Day’ is about the gender pay gap. ‘Extreme Vacancy’ is about how we interact in this internet age and ‘We Are the Proof’ address the #MeToo movement.

Is there a balance when recording of being too rushed versus being given too much time and what is that balance?

It can be a tough balance. But if you don’t have a lot of money you don’t have the luxury of being given too much time. So, you have to crank it out in a few days. It’s very punk rock, haha.

When writing, do you start with a rhythmic, melodic or lyrical idea? Please give an example of a specific song’s first spark of an idea and how it was developed into an entire song from there. 

Usually melodic. In Little Ship I liked the juxtaposition of these 2 guitar riffs I was working on and smashed them together into 1 song. It felt like rocky waters. It created a visual of a ship and definitely the music alone tells the story of a rocky relationship.

Do you have any particular song off the new album that you enjoy playing live the most?

Escape from The Shadows is a real erratic noisy song where we just go off and get crazy on stage. I like that there are no rules and we are just being uninhibited.

What other types of punk (horror, skate, pop) do you enjoy listening to and will you ever venture into those sub-genres?

Post-punk and no-wave mainly. We already starting incorporated some elements of no-wave into a new song and definitely want to maintain our post-punk flavor.

Have any members of The Damed had professional musical training or are you all self-taught? If you’re self-taught how did you keep yourself disciplined through the years to elevate your skill level?

I took piano lessons when I was pretty young and have taken some guitar lessons, but I am mainly self-taught. Feel is more important to me than skill. The need to write/play kept me disciplined. Also, I tried to learn guitar solos I would never play in my own music to improve my skill and also help me think outside of my box.

So how does your own music influence you as a person and does it help you through your day-to-day life?

It definitely gets me thru my day-to-day life because I emote through music and these songs represent my beliefs and states of mind.

If you could pick a song that you wish you wrote what would it be?

“Don’t Stop Believin'” is the first song that popped into my head. “Bizarre Love Triangle” was the second song.

How do you physically and mentally prepare for a performance?

I usually go thru the set on my acoustic guitar to warm up, take it easy if possible, no big meals/dairy (not good for singing) and just prepare for the show like writing out the set list, packing up my gear and things like that.

What are the goals for The Damed for the rest of 2019 and beyond?

We are working on some music videos, a small west coast tour, new songs, record our 2nd release and hopefully make some sort of impact on society.

Is there anyone you would like to give special thanks to for helping you out in life and music?

My partner Melissa for being so supportive of our music and reminding me of my strengths when I am not feeling them.

Anything you would like to add?

I can’t believe we can’t teleport by now.

https://thedamedband.bandcamp.com/releases

Interview: Heather Hellskiss of The Damed was originally published on RockRevolt Mag

[blacknpurplewarpster]

big-ultra-mags

Wow, that was easier than he thought. Now came the hard part.

keeping a long conversation with another bot.

<<Ah, i honestly wasn’t expecting you to pick up at this late of an hour, my apologies. But i’m glad you did. I have a few questions for you in regards to Earth..>>

The enforcer replied, leaning back in his chair, vents huffing softly.

<<You’ve been on Earth for a while, and i know that our race isn’t exactly on the greatest of terms with one another, But i really need to find a place to stay on Earth for a week or so with a….Partner of mine. Do you have any spots you can recommend us hiding out at?>>

<<I don’t recharge most of the time for various reasons. I’m you can say, a night-owl in human terms.>> He was a darker frame after all; the sense of blending in with darkness would consume him at times. 

Great. Earth came up. Just fine and dandy. Not that he’d mind, there were lots of Autobots on Earth. More like took it over. 

<<You’d be surprised. The humans are more resilient than we realize. They’re more afraid of us than anything because of our power and size. They don’t want war waged on their planet anymore, just like us. Without freaking out the population, I’d stay for the more rural areas. The Rockies are a good place--but its easier to maneuver with those of flight capabilities due to the steep altitudes and harsh conditions. I can’t actively give out Joe land because they’re not the most comfortable with other Cybertronians for various reasons.>> 

Skywarp thought on it for a minute. <<A lot of tropical areas are more populated, even islands. You see. Wherever you go, you have to be aware of Dire Wraiths and Fatal Fluffies--hell even Baron Karza if he happens to pop up somewhere. If you do, don’t engage and comm myself. My strike team will deploy since we protect Earth.>>

[hastybooks]

For the mash-up: Any pairing, Historical, summer camp

Historical at this point includes the 1990s, right? So neon colors and fanny packs and kids wearing sun visors non-ironically, and while I’ve never been to a summer camp, I have been one of those unfortunate 8-year-olds who had to hike through the Rocky Mountains foothills because this was before the internet and everything remotely fun and it was the only way to keep kids from whapping each other with those little plastic braid things they had made earlier in the morning.Now imagine-- Carter Hutton and Colton Parayko are in charge of making sure these kids don’t stray off the trails. Colton will require at least 5 gallons of sunblock because altitude is a bitch and gets called a nerd for worrying about things like water and How to Interact with the Wild Safely. Carter is the ‘‘‘‘‘cool’‘‘‘ guide who tells kids that if they stick their hands out the shuttle’s windows their hands will fly off and makes this believable. Both of them split a 12-pack of Coors Lights and a dirty mag after the kids get popped back into school buses and swear to never do a off-season like this ever again but skis are expensive and they gotta feel the powderrrrr as soon as October hits

[uprootedandrelentless]

2020 Review  - Miraya

2020 was a year we’ll always remember. At first glance it’s the year of COVID-19, a global pandemic, Trump, BLM, shelter in place, businesses closing and so much loss and sickness. Future textbooks will need many pages to cover the history of this year. Zoomed in (get it?!) at the smaller scale of my little bubble it has also been a year of lots of virtual experiences, career change, working from home, and sweatpants. Obviously there were so much bigger and more monumental issues than my own but for the sake of this year in review I’m just zooming in on my day to day life. There is so much out of our control, that this year was a reminder to be grateful for our relationships. Despite the craziness of the year, there were many joyful and happy moments that I want to remember of 2020, so I’ll focus on those. 

It’s hard to think about this year pre-Pandemic/pre-March, but I am grateful that I squeezed in so much in the beginning of the year. In the first few months before lockdown, I luckily got to see so many friends and travel to all my favorite cities (London, New York and Palm Springs). Matt and I rang in the New Year in London, so we started 2020 there! I celebrated Claire’s Bachelorette party with 20 of her friends in Los Angeles, went to New York for my first Dessert Goals corporate event on Valentine’s Day, spoke at Alt Summit conference, and planned Clarissa’s bachelorette in Palm Springs. These trips feel like distant memories besides scrolling through photos on my phone. I can’t wait until we can travel again.

Since March my days have been much less glamorous, but there have still been moments I’ll treasure. Matt and I love watching movies, playing games and eating and luckily got to do a lot of these from the safety of our home. Some favorite moments of the year:

Snuggling on the couch with Matt and Rocky, watching movies and eating popcorn with Trader Joe’s ghee spray and truffle salt

Working out while playing Just Dance with Matt, our favorite song is “What Does The Fox Say”

Lots of cooking - using our air fryer, crockpot and Matt becoming a mixologist and creating a 50+ page Google Doc cocktail book

Every time we leave a grocery store with a giant cart full of food and I say “we will not starve”

Supporting small business with fun experiences at home, like Pop Up Mag in a Box and Mama’s Date Night Kit 

Playing Pandemic Legacy co-op game season 1 and 2

Celebrating my 30th birthday at Claire’s house and learning a choreographed dance of Aaron Carter’s I Want Candy with Claire, Evan, Matt

Creative socially distanced activities like picnics with my parents and friends, playing croquet with Matt’s family, renting out a nail salon for Claire’s birthday 

Virtual events like Six Degrees Society, monthly Pizza Party mastermind group, Dreamers & Doers, The Assembly entrepreneur group, my 30th Birthday with friends and family across the country 

Solo workouts and dancing on my rooftop in the middle of the day

Home improvements like painting our bookshelf blue, getting a new coffee table and buffet table 

Sleeping With Other People 5 year anniversary watch party with Rom Com Fest and IFC Zoom with Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis 

Seeing Instagram Story photos of people across the country receiving Dessert of the Month boxes

Spending a week in Los Angeles in an Airbnb with a pool and hottub and going to our favorite restaurants while working from a different desk than our usual at home

Finding our wedding venue and booking a date for March 2022

Sadly the year has also included many not so great moments:

Closing of Eco Goods, my parent’s shop of over 20 years

Closing of The Assembly, my co-working space and slice of heaven in SF

Clearing out my LA storage unit of all my event supplies, many of which I just purchased in November for Dessert Goals and have sat unused since then

Getting Covid in May - luckily it was mild I just had a high fever and was achy and sick for a few days then quarantined for 10 days

Having to let my employee go because I couldn’t keep paying her

Having to cancel all of my festivals

Moments of feeling totally defeated and lost and not sure how to keep my business going

Shock at the country and that there are so many stupid and selfish people

In my little world, the hardest part about this year for me has been my struggle with my identity as an event planner when I can’t plan events. I’ve always felt such an association of what I do with who I am and when I suddenly am forced to stop doing what I love, with no end in sight, it’s been really tough, both for my identity and my business. I had my year all mapped out, three festivals, sponsors, and first I just postponed my events, and now they are cancelled until the foreseeable future. I tried some virtual events, launched a Dessert of the Month club, but nothing was enough. Dessert Goals and Rom Com Fest are so much about the IRL experience and I couldn’t figure out how to translate that at home. 

With a wonderful stroke of luck I was connected with someone in August looking for help with his event hosting software platform, Mixily, and he brought me on to do customer success and marketing. It’s the first “real job” I’ve had since 2014, and first time I’ve worked at a software startup. It’s been like MBA training, sink or swim. We have a small team all across the world and it’s been exciting getting to Slack and Zoom with others all working on the same project together. I’ve transformed a corner of our bedroom into an office (with a desk from The Assembly), bought a laptop stand, keyboard and mouse, and it’s the most official work setup I’ve had in years. Considering this crazy year and not being able to plan events, I am so  grateful I got this opportunity to keep working and flexing my muscles in a new industry. I’ve joined many new communities to connect with others in the software world, such as Indie Hackers, and have learned a lot of new perspectives about startups, that sometimes you’ll work on something for years and then have to call it quits. With Dessert Goals and Rom Com Fest I hope it’s not quits forever, but I’m coming to accept that they can be on the back burner for now. 

This year I turned 30. The biggest milestone the year has had in my mind is the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, which I never made it on. Obviously it would have been great, and I can’t say I’m not bummed that I didn’t, but I do know it’s not everything. Besides that, and wishing I could have a big party for my birthday which wasn’t totally possible, 30 hasn’t felt dramatically different yet. I know that I compare myself to others more than it is healthy, it’s hard to prevent it, especially when scrolling through Instagram. I hear from others as you get into your 30s you feel more confident in your skin, I hope this clicks for me and I quit the comparison game soon. I’ve started paying attention to my phone’s screen time and it’s pretty scary how many hours of each day I spend  on Instagram. I’m juggling accounts for my personal, Rom Com Fest, Dessert Goals and Mixily, so it’s a lot. A mix of research, posting, and inspiration, but it’s not a good use of time. Over the holidays I logged out of all my accounts, so if I wanted to check I had to go through the extra step of logging in, and it’s decreasing my scroll time drastically. I know Instagram is not a good use of time and adds to my comparison feelings, so it is something I want to decrease next year.

One of the new communities I joined because of Mixily, Reality Bites, asked me what three things I want more and less of in 2021. Here they are, plus a few more. 

More: travel, exercise, picnics, walks with friends, outdoor time

Less: stress, snacking, guilt, Instagram, comparing myself to others, sweatpants 

Last year I included lists of my favorite books, movies and TV shows of the year and want to keep the tradition. I’ve been tracking books in Goodreads, movies in Letterboxd, and TV shows in Notes. Here are my top picks of the year. 

Books

Last year I read 27 books and set a goal for 30 books this year. I ended up reading 32! My top 5:

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner  

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

Not Like The Movies by by Kerry Winfrey

Body Love Every Day: Choose Your Life-Changing 21-Day Path to Food Freedom by Kelly LeVeque

The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you by Rob Fitzpatrick 

Movies

Matt and I watched A LOT of movies this year! Many older movies, including many from 1999 and a ton of Tom Hanks. Matt always creates his top 10 movie list of new release films. Here’s my top 2020 movies in alphabetical order: 

An American Pickle

Bad Education

How to Build A Girl

On The Rocks

Palm Springs

Save Yourselves!

Soul

The Half Of It

The One and Only Ivan

To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You

TV

In between movie watching, and while multitasking, I was able to watch quite a lot of TV shows this year, some with Matt and some on my own. Matt and I watched all the seasons of Veronica Mars which started a marathon of all other Rob Thomas (the creator of Veronica Mars) shows including Party Down and iZombie. Of new 2020 shows, here are some of my favorites, in alphabetical order: 

Dash & Lily

Dead To Me season 2

Emily in Paris

Love Life

Never Have I Ever

PEN15 season 2

Queen’s Gambit

The Bold Type season 4

The Home Edit

The Morning Show

Trinkets

At the end of my post last year I wrote of all the things I was looking forward to next year including 4 weddings and 3 festivals, all of which were cancelled. 2020 felt so planned out and yet everything was changed. I have no idea what next year will bring. It could feel exactly the same as this year, working from home and wearing a mask all year. Or we could be able to host events by summer. Every virtual event I’ve attended about the future of events seems like a similar level of uncertainty. It feels impossible to set goals or make plans for 2021. We just have to roll with the punches, be kind to one another, stay safe, wear our masks and ride this out.  

Here’s to a brighter and safer 2021!

-Miraya

[happymetalgirl]

June 2020

-(16)- - Dream Squasher

Exhibiting for the eighth time on full-length form their mastery of groovy southern sludge metal, the L.A.-based quartet make their statement of longevity and experience a versatile one, from the most trudging, doom-ridden iterations like “Acid Tongue” to the most groovy cuts like “Harvester of Fabrication”, while tracks like “Sadlands” and the harmonica-infused “Agora (Killed by a Mountain Lion)” pay tribute to the NOLA-borne sludge sound’s southern roots. The band do well to keep their performances vibrant all the way through, but the album does eventually tire compositionally a little more than halfway through, the band expending most of their creativity in the first half for sure. Nevertheless, Dream Squasher is far from a letdown and a robust statement of the band’s intent to hold their ground at the top of the sludge metal ladder.

7/10

Cosmovore - Into the Necrosphere

One of my more exciting Bandcamp finds, Cosmovore’s debut here, Into the Necrosphere came out in May, but I couldn’t just skip it. The album is an aesthetically pretty familiar type of spacey, filthy death metal that makes heavy use of a lot of the same low register guitars and dissonant chords that Meshuggah used on their Nothing album, but filled to the brim with blast beats and filthy growls too, sometimes using those more typical death metal elements to jolt out of the meditative trance rather than induce it. The writing here is impressive, the way Cosmovore glides so smoothly from one mood to another and through their various winding atmospheres is beyond what I would expect of most debut projects in this vein and I hope there will be more to come from them soon because this is a very good start.

7/10

Cryptic Shift - Visitations from Enceladus

Speaking of Bandcamp finds, Cryptic Shift’s Visitations from Enceladus has been one of the albums getting a lot of buzz around there and for good reason. 26-minute opening epic that takes up more than half of the entire album is certainly an ambitious kick off for a debut LP, but Cryptic shift have been around for a little while now and have trained for this debut through several splits and demo releases across the previous decade, and Visitations from Enceladus just shows that they are ready and not messing around. As if summoned by the disgraceful dissolution (and recent reformation) of Vektor, Cryptic Shift fill the uber-technical sci-fi thrash void Vektor left behind, though Cryptic Shift lean more toward a balance with 90′s progressive death metal than straight thrash than Vektor, with animalistic growls taking the place of the piercing shrieks in Vektor’s music. Visitations from Enceladus is as cerebral as it is celestial, winding through odd time signatures and twisted atmospheres on a journey as mesmerizing as it is bumpy and dynamic, mirroring the band’s road to this inaugural point in their career, and now that they’re initiated I’m looking forward to what else they have up their sleeves.

8/10

Ulthar - Providence

Certainly one of the more anticipated sophomore albums of the year after their rather hyped up debut in 2018, I was hoping Ulthar would live up to the hype and build on the indeed solid start they set off with on Cosmovore on its follow-up. Providence is certainly not a step down, but the band still aren’t doing anything particularly mind-blowing with their brand of snarling blackened sludge metal mixed with moderately technical death metal. The band do well to emulate a small spectrum of proportions of black and death metal but they are at their best at their fastest and most direct, leaning more toward the death metal portion of their sound, but for about equal time on Providence, they are at their least exciting trying to doom-ify their sound, ultimately just sounding super derivative. I don’t know how the rest of the people who caught this band’s first album’s hype are feeling about this continuation of their sound, but I feel like I’m still needing to hear more to be converted.

6/10

Make Them Suffer - How to Survive a Funeral

On the bright side, at least I can make this one quick because in a year that is seeing metalcore continuing its revival (or next wave) through blossoming young acts like Code Orange, Vein, Knocked Loose, End, etc., Make Them Suffer come through with one of the most cliché, dated, and forgettable, melodic metalcore albums of the year. The melodies are unexceptional at best and cheesy at worst, and the structures of the songs from intro to breakdown are thoroughly predictable. You can imagine your way through this album and you wouldn’t be far off. The highlight moments I could count on one hand are not worth the full 35 minutes to find them that this album eats up.

5/10

The Ghost Inside - The Ghost Inside

Making a significantly more convincing case for the sustenance of 2000’s metalcore, The Ghost Inside’s self-titled fifth LP certainly isn’t shattering any norms or expectations, but the L.A. band showcase a much more competent handling of Gothenburg-influenced melody and a much more palpable sense of urgency in their performances than Make Them Suffer. It’s, again, by no means reinventing the wheel of metalcore, but it is at least taking some of the compositional cues of the times to avoid sappy, cheesy, pop punk melodies a la The Amity Affliction or A Day to Remember (with “One Choice” being an unfortunate exception) in favor of the more direct aggression of bands like As I Lay Dying whose older brand of metalcore has survived the harshening landscape of metalcore these days. While there aren’t too many exceptional standout tracks, when the band hits those cathartic sweet spots like “Begin Again”, “Phoenix Rise”, and “Overexposure” they hit them hard, and at least the filler in between is quite serviceable.

7/10

Cro-Mags - In the Beginning

With two decades of absence to make up for, the hardcore punk energy of Cro-Mags re-enters the fold at quite the apt time, and the band do sound like they haven’t missed a beat. Granted, the primeval brutishness of the punk the band play thrives primarily on attitude more than technical ability or compositional ingenuity, so 2020 alone was probably enough to warm Cro-Mags right back up for their sixth album of meaty punk thrashers. The writing is pretty straightforward and expected for Cro-Mags, but the speed and urgency the band need to resume their duties is present from front to back, with enough grit from vocalist Harley Flanagan and enough solo display from guitarist Rocky George to keep the melody interesting and the octane high. Cro-Mags are definitely a band whose return this year is welcome, and In the Beginning is a good restart.

7/10

Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin - Stygian Bough - Volume I

Doom power duo Bell Witch emerged steadfast from the tragic untimely loss of former drummer Adrian Guerra with 2017’s monolithic single-track double-album Mirror Reaper dedicated to Guerra’s memory. The 82-minute epic was an absolutely beautiful tribute to the friend and former band mate, subtly brimming with grief throughout the calmer parts of the album, but absolutely open and overflowing with lamentations during the bursts of droning funeral doom heaviness. The duo’s sprawling melancholic doom largely dominates this collaboration with Erik Moggridge’s folly solo project, Aerial Ruin, with the funeral folksman making an easily unnoticeable impact on the album. Perhaps the next of the apparently multiple volumes of this collaboration will be more weighted on Moggridge’s folky style, but for now, Stygian Bough - Volume I is very much a continuation of the heavily slow-trudging dirge that characterized Bell Witch’s first two records and was extremified on Mirror Reaper. Arguably an even further extremification, Stygian Bough - Volume I zeroes in on the hauntingly cleanly sung portions of the band’s seminal album and builds around them with pensive acoustics and towering doom passages, and it’s as sorrowful now as it was in 2017, my one wish with this project being that the band made up for their stylistic specializing with more compositional dynamic.

7/10

Vile Creature - Glory! Glory! Apathy Took Helm!

Another crushing doom power duo, this one coming with the high praise and recommendation of Lingua Ignota mastermind Kriten Hayter, Vile Creature hails from Ontario, Canada and their third LP here is much more seething and violent in its response to the tragedy and ills of this world than Bell Witch. Blackening their sludgy approach to doom with a searing flame quite similar to that of Inter Arma, drummer Vic and guitarist KW share tortured vocal duties during both the album’s eviscerating climaxes and its eerie atmospheric build-ups, and the diversity of sounds and motifs the band are able to establish through such simple foundational means is honestly pretty impressive. And though the compositional aspect of the album is pretty par for the sludge-doom course the fire of the band’s performances is more than enough to power this album to its destination. Unwaveringly spewing with disdain and furious passion, the kinship between Glory! Glory! Apathy Took Helm! and an album like Caligula is pretty clear and the mutual respect the creators share makes perfect sense. Knowing Hayter’s eagerness to collaborate with her friends in the music world, perhaps the joining forces of another enigmatic solo visionary and doom duo is on the horizon... But for now, Glory! Glory! Apathy Took Helm! is well worth appreciating for what Vile Creature alone bring to the table.

8/10

Mushroomhead - A Wonderful Life

As much as their hardcore fan base will deny, Mushroomhead’s legacy for their nearly 30-year musical career has been one of living the shadow of one of modern metal’s most iconic acts, and even if you put Slipknot out of your mind as best as you can, the Ohio band’s angsty musical endeavors have often been obscured by the more tangible strife of off-stage tension that has kept them in a constant cycle of line-up changes and bled into their music through silly posturing and pettiness. Throughout all the replacement members and returning members, the steadfast presence of founding vocalist Jeffrey Hatrix and founding drummer Steve Felton have seemingly been the one thing keeping Mushroomhead from just dissolving completely, until 2018 when Hatrix finally went the way of the dozen others band that walked away from Mushroomhead, leaving Felton the only remaining original member. Now I don’t get too hung up on who’s leftover from original lineups and all because bands evolve and it’s kind of arbitrary, so this doesn’t really hit me. And I say this with all due respect to the guy and all the well wishes, but I was actually kind of looking forward to hearing Mushroomhead without Jeffrey “Nothing” because his vocals were just never my cup of tea and consistently one of my least favorite parts of their sound. Plus I was curious to see what the addition of Jackie LaPonza’s vocals would bring to the band. As I alluded to previously, my general distaste for Mushroomhead goes beyond Jeffrey Nothing (who I do respect as a capable vocalist, just not my taste); the band’s amateurish experimentation has never helped their already-low-brow alt-metal that has made negligible evolution across the band’s career, and their last album in 2014, The Righteous and the Butterfly, did not do any convincing for me to revisit their catalog. While still kind of redundant compared to most metal acts, on A Wonderful Life, the band’s three-pronged vocal attack reaches a new height with Nothing’s replacement, Steve Rauckhorst, being a respectably versatile filler of shoes and a much more pleasing clean contrast to the oomph of J Mann’s gruff shouts, which still stand out as a highlight in the band’s sound. LaPonza indeed brings a novel element to the band’s sound which is carried heavily by the vocal dynamic on this album, though she’s not quite as distinct as J Mann or Rauckhorst. Nevertheless, her contributions are a net positive for an album that surely needs them, which brings me to the instrumental facet of the album. Despite their aesthetic rejuvenation and upgrade on the vocal front, the vast majority of A Wonderful Life is still Mushroomhead being Mushroomhead in all the same wrong ways: generic alternative metal with corny methods of enhancing the horror and edginess of it all and clearly mismanaged attempts at experimental techniques that are clearly out of their league that only end up hampering the album’s impact. The band land a few hits here and there; “The Flood”, “Madness Within”, and “Pulse” come to mind. But the rest of the album is passable alt metal at best, with some real stinkers like “Carry On” and “Seen It All” thrown in there to make up for all the ground they gained on the standout cuts. I really want to like Mushroomhead because something tells me I should, but they really are running out of time to get me on board, and by the looks of A Wonderful Life, I think that’s a train I’m just not gonna ride any time soon.

6/10

Aversions Crown - Hell Will Come for Us All

Seemingly through sheer force of technical and melodic prowess alone, Aversions Crown emerge with undoubtedly one of the standout technical death metal albums of the year, and one that serves as a fierce advocate for the genre’s natural power. Hell Will Come for Us All is neither aesthetically groundbreaking or even compositionally progressive; the band’s footwork is dazzling and impressive despite it all being a smoke screen to the same destination every time. You know exactly how they’re going to punch you every time, but they still land each hit, and they land hard. The incredibly deep guttural vocals, the monstrous guitar rhythms, the joint-breaking percussive fills all explode with such overwhelming pace and firepower it’s impossible not to at least appreciate, and if techdeath is your cut of tea, this year’s harvest from Aversions Crown will certainly be a good one to sip on for awhile.

8/10

Mulla - مَوْلَى

This debut album from Iraq’s Mulla actually came out in January, but the band’s mission to capture the spooky atmosphere of the middle east as they say is accomplished through many of the same gnarly means that the Norwegian godfathers of black metal sought to portray the icy desolation around them. The guitar tone is thin and dry as expected for a lo-fi black metal project, but there’s a cutting quality to its graininess, like a sand-ridden windstorm. It is pretty straightforward and not too compositionally dynamic, but it sure as hell captures the mood Mulla is going for.

6/10

Inexorum - Moonlit Navigation

While it’s no surprise that their 2018 debut album, Lore of the Lakes, slipped by me unnoticed, Inexorum’s sophomore effort this year will be a harder one to ignore. Stitching together the triumph of Amon Amarth-esque melodic death metal with the naturalistic grandiosity of atmospheric black metal with the magnificent sense for modern pensive doom guitar melodies and harmonies that made Khemmis’ Desolation an absolutely perfect album. I had to re-listen to this thing quite a bit to make sure my affinity for it wasn’t just for its resemblance to an album that I love so dearly. But my enjoyment of Moonlit Navigation honed in, rather than waned; I became appreciative of the interweaving of the sorrowful melodic motifs into the driving black metal structures, and while I think the band still has some compositional knack to hone, I think this album is a fine foreshadowing of what they’ll have to offer if they hone in on this sound and refine it.

8/10

VoidCeremony - Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel

Another impressive debut record making the rounds on bandcamp, VoidCeremony’s Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel is more than just the confident exhibition of technical death metal ability the band members clearly possess. Taking a slightly more cerebral approach to Obscura’s brand of melodically and compositionally grounded technical death metal, VoidCeremony manage to tame the unwieldy bucking of the genre’s natural elements to a swaggering walk when they feel like it, but also hang on just fine through the dizzying gallop the genre is known for.

7/10

Mrs. Piss - Self-Surgery

Avant-garde gothic folk icon Chelsea Wolfe and longtime percussive collaborator and friend Jess Gowry team up for a quick, raw dose of nasty, industrially tinged grunge. After an expanded return to her folky roots on last year’s Birth of Violence, Self-Surgery is maybe not the return to the heavier sound and form Chelsea Wolfe was moving toward on 2017′s Hiss Spun I was hoping for beyond just a warm-up to the heaviness again. The sound is grainy and nasty and a bit lo-fi, hearkening back to the rawness of the pair’s earliest collaborations, but despite the aesthetic familiarity, the two don’t sound all that natural in this sonic space. Performatively, Wolfe’s more tormented vocal performances (like that of the opening track) fit the mood the album is going for, but her haunting angelic singing (like that of “Downer Surrounded by Uppers”) sounds the most out of place among the Bleach-esque garage sludge. Gowry’s drumming fits the brooding melancholy across the album well, and Wolfe does well when the album is at its most similarly doom-y to Hiss Spun, like the album’s longest track, “Knelt”, but compositionally the album is otherwise rather half-baked, and the pair can only halfway get away with it, as long as they can keep the spooky vibe strong, which is about halfway through any given track. But at less that 19 minutes, it’s worth a check-out to find a few highlights and remember how stylistically flexible Chelsea Wolfe is.

6/10

End - Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face

Comprised of elite veterans of the 2000’s hardcore scene including Counterparts vocalist Brendan Murphy, Fit for an Autopsy’s Will Putney, and Structures drummer Andrew McEnaney, recently formed supergroup End come through with their first full-length statement as a collective after 2018’s preliminary EP, From the Unforgiving Arms of God, a more than sufficiently gritty and mercilessly battering six track appetizer which I regretfully missed out on at the time of its release. But I’m very much here now for Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face, which is undoubtedly the metallic hardcore album of the year so far (sorry, Code Orange). While definitely landing End in the same modern metallic hardcore vein as Code Orange, Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face is a more direct album than either of Code Orange’s past two releases, not nearly as industrially experimental as Underneath, and even more straightforward than Forever, perhaps most in line with I Am King, but even more consistent, punchy, and extremely fulfilling. Stylistically, there really isn’t all that much to say about Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face. It balances powerviolence speed and thrash with gut-punching breakdowns in a quite familiar way, but it’s an album whose bludgeoning, mosh-inducing performances from front to back speak well enough for themselves through the deliciously thick, muscular production of the filthy guitar tone and bruising drums. The grooves on “Hesitation Wounds” and “An Apparition” are so mobilizing, while the ripping chaotic hardcore thrash blasts of “Covet Not” and “Captive to My Curse” keep the dynamic interesting, and the breakdowns on “Fear for Me Now” and “Pariah” are absolutely impossible to not do pit karate to! Altogether it’s such a blistering, invigorating, blood-pumping album that captures exactly what is making metallic hardcore such the hot style right now.

9/10

Thou - Blessings of the Highest Order

After a hefty four-project year in 2018, Baton Rouge’s Thou Return from their well-deserved rest with a massive new album, a Nirvana Covers album that has left me with just one question: why? After the band showcased new versatility on their four releases in 2018, especially the despondent acoustic grunge of Inconsolable, I actually went into this project pretty eager to hear how Thou would approach the work of this band they obviously have such reverence for. Ultimately though, I wound up disappointed to find that the band basically just took the lyrics and structures of the songs they chose and fed them through heavier distortion and slowed them down to the band’s well-known sludgy pace, which eliminates pretty much every charm of the original. From the droll, monotonous black metal shriek being a far cry from the raw expressive performances Kurt Cobain was famous for to the indeed crisp, but unfittingly clean production smoothing away all that charming grit that was so refreshing and exciting about Nirvana’s sound at the time, Thou really manages to capture everything but the essential aspects of Nirvana and just delivers a big-ass, dragging album of standard blackened doom sludge (I mean this thing is 75 minutes long) that vaguely resembles a bunch of Nirvana songs. So, again, what was the point of covering these songs if everything great about them was just painted over with the thick coat of sludge of nearly every other Thou album? A few of the groovier songs from Bleach go over alright like “Blew” and “Floyd the Barber”, but Blessings of the Highest Order is just one of those cover albums that seems like a rookie mistake; you (as a band) can’t cover just any of your favorite influencing artist’s catalogs so completely with either high fidelity tribute or an intriguing novel spin to their sound, and Thou can’t really turn Nirvana songs into Thou songs. But also, like shit. Nirvana’s songs are so low-technicality, it should be such an easy task for any band to crank out a Nirvana covers album. I mean I could honestly put together a decent bunch of Nirvana covers if I had the equipment to do it, so this seems like too easy of a target to excuse the band for missing.

4/10

Carach Angren - Franckensteina Strataemontanus

Despite the subject/inspiration of the album, 18th century occultist Johann Conrad Dippel, being not quite as grotesque in his experiments on cadavers and not quite as influential on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as the mythos behind him is often perpetuated as being, that didn’t stop Carach Angren from going all out in symphonic black metal theatrics to emphasize those aspects of their narrative. And Franckensteina Strataemontanus is indeed at its best at its most theatrical, its ghastly tale’s stage set well by a narrator that sounds like if David Attenborough was introducing a gothic play, and its eccentric and expressive use of piano (especially on the title track) giving it a vibe all its own that sets it apart from the less imaginative symphonic black metal albums, with plenty of healthy straightforward bangers like “Monster”, “The Necromancer”, and “Skull with a Forked Tongue” doing well to break up the more concept-serving pieces. It’s an engaging and well-written album, much like a well-written stage production that keeps you interested in each movement as it comes and not falling asleep in the theater.

8/10

Lamb of God - Lamb of God

Probably the most widely anticipated release of the year so far, Lamb of God’s self-titled record is their first without foundational percussionist Chris Adler after the band reportedly decided to make the drumming maven’s time off from the band to do other projects permanent (with Adler attesting that he did not leave on his own volition despite also citing burnout from playing the same songs repeatedly for the duration of the band’s career) and making his temporary touring replacement, Art Cruz, a full-time member. With a longer gap between their self-titled album and its predecessor than the gap that contained Randy Blythe’s nail-biting trial in the Czech Republic, I can understand the rest of the band maybe just wanting to get on with it, but whatever they got on to, they were going to have to justify letting Chris Adler go, and choosing to make their first album without the skilled and beloved drummer who helped establish the signature rhythm of their pummeling groove metal sound eponymous was certainly a bold move to say the least. The album sure does represent Lamb of God the way self-titled albums are kind of supposed to. At this point Josh Wilbur’s production is as integral to Lamb of God’s fingerprint as Randy Blythe’s versatile inflections, and he does the job he’s always done for the band on their tenth album, as does the group’s newest member, who emulates the Adler drumming style convincingly, even if that core sense of groove isn’t the same. The album indeed captures the smashing groove metal breakdowns of Ashes of the Wake on songs like “New Colossal Hate” and especially their thrashier early side on “Routes” as well as the band’s recent branching into melodic clean vocal territory on their two most recent albums on tracks like “Memento Mori” and “Bloodshot Eyes”. And of course the refined melodic and hardcore-infused groove metal that the Sacrament and Wrath brought forth is the steadfast cornerstone it has been since 2006, and songs like “Reality Bath” and the uncannily “Set to Fail”-esque “On the Hook” show that the band are still committed to representing their influential calling card themselves. While not fitting nicely into representation of any particular era of the band’s career, the swaggering riffage and menacing delivery Blythe gives on “Resurrection Man” certainly deserves mention for how it finds the band able to construct novel transfixing nastiness from captivating opening to filthy breakdown through such basic means this many years on, its probably the best testament to their compositional creativity on the album. As the album’s eponymous nature suggests, it does represent Lamb of God as a whole pretty honestly and thoroughly, perhaps to its own detriment, as its shine wanes most when the band temper their compositional creativity to emulate their various stages of growth. As with Resolution and VII: Sturm und Drang, they still don’t commit beyond partial measures integrating clean vocals into their sound, and consequently, the times it shows up here are just as odd and clearly token as the previous albums’, which leads me to think that they should really give it a full go on an EP or something (not just “The Duke”) or drop it. I think they could make it work, but not by tiptoeing around it. Fortunately the band show that they still have plenty of creative juice on the instrumental front to continue refining their iconic modern groove metal sound. With a relatively hefty bounty on the table, I’d say Lamb of God a little more than broke even on this hand.

7/10

Emmure - Hindsight

Emmure and drama-attracting frontman Frankie Palmeri came out the victors after the band’s most recent prominent controversy when Palmeri replaced the entire rest of the band in a move that paid off with a significant upgrade on the band’s previously try-hard Atilla-type deathcore on 2017’s Look at Yourself, the band’s best album yet. Not only was the production far heavier and more at pace with the violent metallic hardcore movement bubbling up in the latter half of the last decade, but the band’s writing was etter tuned to that approach as well, and the newly assembled crew displayed an impressive chemistry together. Unsurprisingly, the group have already undergone a member replacement in the time between now and Look at Yourself, with new bassist Nicholas Pyatt coming in for Phil Lockett, but on Hindsight the controversial band luckily still mostly maintains that momentum they got from the creative kickstart Look at Yourself provided. The once clumsy but fiery attitude that the tangibly confrontational Palmeri brought to the table on the band’s previous album continues to improve with his vocal performances on Hindsight as well; no more contrived, hollow high screams or semi-cringy rapped sections, Frankie has honed in on his strengths as a deathcore vocalist and heightened them. Meanwhile, the rest of the band keep expert pace with him on the absolutely destructive rampage he leads them on through room-wrecking modern metalcore rhythms given the finest production treatment with a dash of Rob-Zombie-style samples to spice things up, and the results are once again impressive. With Palmeri finding his groove, Emmure honestly carries a certain honest rage all their own that sounds so much more real coming from them compared to so many of their similarly “pissed-off” contemporaries. And the band spare no time for needless ceremony either with the thirteen tracks here just barely eclipsing the half-hour mark, fulfilling the suggestion that the band strip down most of the repetitive structures on the songs in favor of ultra quick bursts of deathcore violence like that of “Smokey” versus “Solar Flare Homicide”. The disregard for individual song composition is made up for by the sheer force of the album as a whole as it flows from super-short track to super-short track. The perplexingly cryptic whispers of “203” are perhaps the one exception to this rule the doesn’t work out in the band’s favor, but the slew of supremely disintegrating bangers and slammers like “Pigs Ear”, “(F)inally (U)nderstanding (N)othing”, “Persona Non Grata”, “Gypsy Disco”, “Action 52”, and “Uncontrollable Descent” fulfill exactly the purpose they’re meant to, with Hindsight proving that Look at Yourself was no fluke and Emmure are not the laughing stock they used to be in the deathcore world. No, they have evolved to a much stronger form and are not to be taken lightly.

8/10

[maki-ryota]

For the "send me a ship" meme I gotta go with Cocky because it may be a joke ship but you made me think about it so, there

who said i love you first:Cobra. Rocky is either too oblivious or tsundere at firstwho laughs when the other trips?:Bothwho pays the bills? :Rocky.which one makes a bigger deal around the holidays?:Rocky. Likes to make up for lost time.who’s more clumsy?:I still like to think Rocky accidentally handcuffs himself to random objects on the regularwho checks their daily horoscope?:Cobrawho sings louder in the car?:ghfjdg neither? i can see Cobra singing before Rocky would thowho leaves the cap off the toothpaste?:Cobra, sometimes. Rocky is a clean freakwho is more up to date in pop culture?:Cobra reads gossip mags and thats also where he gets his horoscopes.who insists on going to see the newest movies?:idk. i think Rocky would enjoy Wonder Woman thoughwho cries when the abused animal commercials come on?:Rocky. he ugly crieswho’s the lighter sleeper?:Rocky. He has reoccurring nightmares brought by flashbacks.who believes in ghosts?:Rocky.who does the grocery shopping?:They do it together. Rocky wears a fur coat to the grocery storewho updates their facebook status more often?:not facebook, but tetsu forces cobra to join instagram