#recommend me some channels and influencers who do this | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

traffic-light-eyes · 2 years ago

Text

Ninja as influencers

My previous post got me thinking, and now I have to write this down.

Kai:

He for sure has Twitter/Chirp and uses it regularly. Very popular. He also has the ninjago equivalent to Instagram and is also very popular there, too. I could imagine him having a yt channel and doing silly vlogs and the occasional game, but that's about it. The other ninja were a bit weirded out by the vlogs at first because they didn't really want to feed into the whole idolizing the ninja thing, but realized that they could show the world that they're just. People. Normal people who save the world sometimes but are normally just passed out on the couch. They all love being in his vlogs now. When he records something embarrassing, he makes absolutely certain that the person it's of is okay with it being posted. Like, he gives them weeks to think about it. He has a video of Zane singing let it go (due to Jay's programming skills), and he was ecstatic to be able to post it. He's also a tiktok star. He does the silly dances and lip-syncing.

Nya:

She has Chirp but doesn't use it for social media purposes? If that makes sense. Like, she mainly only scrolls through her friends' chirps and responds to those. She gets into the groove and made a really sweet and chill community once the people that were only there for the "inside scoop" of the water ninja's life left. Now there's just her friends and a bunch of nice people. She comments on and rechirps? a lot of fanart, though. She has an Instagram but only to comment on Kai's posts with a thumbs down. She has a tiktok. It's secret. She posts little edits about her artwork or mechanics. It's fairly popular. She sometimes uses the filters and makes videos using them but never posts them.

Cole:

Similar to Nya, he has a Chirp account but doesn't really use it much. He'll respond to fanart and fans, but he only really posts occasionally. His posts normally consist of song recommendations or riffs of his friends. He threads callouts when he feels especially petty. It's pretty chill. He probably has a secret second account for art. He doesn't want people to like his art just because he's the earth ninja, so he made a second account. He has a tumblr too. I don't make the rules. He tries to stay in the loop with everyone's thoughts and shuts down the gross people. He's pretty well-known on the site. He likes reblogging the ship content and misdirecting people because it's funny. Pixal found him drawing techno and he scrambled for an excuse but she silently put a finger to her lip, winked, and left. He was very confused. She was absolutely dying on the inside from laughter because she knew of his account but wanted to freak him out. He couldn't look her in the eye for a week because he thought she thought he shipped them or something. She purposefully spoke to him often. He kept trying to explain, but Pixal always had an excuse to leave or change the subject before he could say it.

Lloyd:

He has Chirp. He has tumblr. He has ao3. He's not allowed on Instagram. He has a yt channel where he exclusively talks about comics and games. On his Chirp, he is completely unhinged some times, and other times, he posts cute animals he finds on missions or on patrol. He found a stray cat once and named her mittens because a follower commented it. He has #mittensmonday, where he posts a picture of her. It's always trending on Monday. His tumblr is once again about games and stuff, but he has a semi-secret side blog for Ninja Shenanigans where it's theorized that it's him, but no one has proof and he doesnt give a direct answer. He has unknowingly reblogged and messaged Cole on multiple occasions because he doesn't know about the Secret account. Cole doesn't know what to do. His ao3 account is mostly to check up on what people are thinking. If he sees something unsavory, he immediately logs off because that's him. Avid tiktok enjoyer. He could make a video of just him staring at the screen, and it would go viral. He finds it hilarious. It's his goal to find the most obscure thing to post and for it to finally not get viral.

Zane:

He has Chirp, but he hasn't used it. Either that or he uses it so terribly incorrectly. I could be convinced that he has a cooking yt channel. He'd call it something nerdy or informational, but people kept chirping about it calling him cookingmama, and he doesn't get it? But due to Jay's persistence, he changed his @ to cookingmama.

Jay:

He has Chirp. He uses it to keep up with the world + just talk to fans. He has a gaming channel and a Twitch account. He streams at least once a week. He loves it! He has a pretty chill community, and he often asks his friends to play with him. He makes sure that the games he play with them are suited to them first. He doesn't ask. He just knows. He picks action-based games for Kai - maybe LoL or, like, Left 4 dead. He plays silly smart games with Nya, like Portal or Keep talking and nobody explodes (they are ridiculously good at this). He and Cole would play scary games. They exclusively play them at night; phasmaphobia has caused many of the ninja to awaken to a shriek. Comfy and typically non-violent games are his and Lloyd's go-to. They'll play Minecraft or stardew for HOURS before they realize the sun is coming up. He and Zane play semi-stressful cooking games, or Zane is just there for commentating. They'll be seen playing overcooked or cooking simulator (they always play that one with a challenge somehow). He makes silly follower goals, and he has unfortunately had to do many, many things because his followers keep rising.

Honorary Ninja, Pixal:

She has an account for every platform that the ninja have just to crowd control + to support them in their comments. She rarely, if ever, posts anything aside from commenting on her friends' posts. Hc that Borg owns every platform, so she uses that to weed out the weirdos by asking him to make the platform very buggy on their device specifically. It's only a matter of time before they delete the app, and she loves watching the downfall via their posts and complaints about the website. She knows of everyone's account, even the Secret ones. She never lets them know that she knows of them, even if they do something strange because of it (check Cole's). She loves messing with them. If someone posts something recently, she conveniently talks about it the same day and gives them whiplash because what are the chances that she said that today. She's the go-to gal if there are any tech issues on stream or during editing.

Here ya go! Hope you enjoy my brainrot <3

192 notes · View notes

legallybrunettedotcom · 5 months ago

Note

how do you find new music? you seem like someone who knows a lot about music and different music, like actually educated about it. i always get stuck discovering new stuff.

Firstly, thank you, I like to think I know a lot, but above all I am interested and love learning.

Secondly, I don't know how you listen to music, like what platform you use or whatever. With all it's faults, I love Spotify. I personally rarely encounter an absolutely abysmal Discover Weekly, there's always something interesting, something good there. Sometimes I leave my interest at liking one song and sometimes I get thorough with it all and go through a band/artist's entire discography.

I also discover new music on Youtube. Idk if your Recommended vids look like mine, but I often get recommended like full albums by artists I've never heard of and it ends up being a hidden gem, something actually genius that the artist hasn't uploaded anywhere else or just some ancient forgotten music.

Also I discover new music through music Youtube channels, like my favourite is Trash Theory bc they do these deep dives on various genres, scenes, artists etc. They present insanely good research and I just get so sucked into it all and find so much good stuff which also then makes me better informed about context, history, influences etc. Another way I find music is by watching those "what's in my bag?" videos by Amoeba Records youtube channel where they invite mostly famous, well known people who then talk about music, cds, records they have chosen and get to be enthusiastic abt it which then makes me more interested.

And then I just scour the internet for music, like going thru reddit pages, seeking recommendations, browsing lists etc. I listen to everything, I give everything a chance, some things suck, for some things it's just bad timing.

17 notes · View notes

witchescollection · 1 year ago

Note

Hello! How are you? I was wondering if you had any advice or tips for someone who was interested in learning and wanting to try folk magic? I've been interested in looking into it for a while, but I'm not really sure of where to go with it.

Hi! I'm good thank you!! This is my jam!!!

Okay so this might be a bit of a long one -

Folk magick is incredibly personal and local to where you are. It is magic for the people, by the people, and as such harnesses incredibly old ways of working. It is also, as a pathway, deeply accessible. I see it as a path that allows you utilise the energies around you, rather than requiring certain tools or garbs or timings like ceremonial magick does.

Some general tips I'd recommend include:

Get to know the flora and fauna in your local area, both through research but also actively communicating and working with those plants and animals. For some practitioners, like myself, this can influence the food and herbs you cook with and use for spell work (and even down to the tea I drink!).

Channel your community. Connect with the people whom you share these spaces with and understand them. You don't necessarily have to be besties, but saying a quick hello to your neighbour can go a long way.

Find your spot! When I moved for University, I picked a tree on campus that was my tree and sat with it, and - eventually - I brought more people to come sit with me. If chatting to people feels daunting, find somewhere to call your own (a booth at a coffee shop, a sofa at the library, a statue in a museum) and anchor yourself there. I like to avoid using my phone at my spot, and it's become an energetical hearth during my time at Uni, when I would often move physical spaces.

And some further reading I'd recommend to get you started:

Folk Magick vs WItchcraft

Folk Magick in the fight against Capitalism

Folk Magic Guide Video

I'll be doing a podcast episode on this shortly, so please stay tuned for that! And if you have any questions please don't be afraid to shoot me an ask - I hope this helped! x

#Special interest go brrr #so hard not making this british folk #if yall want a post on that lmk bc i have so many fuckin resources good lord #folk magic #folk witchcraft #hearth witchcraft #anti capitalist #eco witch #environmentalism #witchblr #wicca #pagan #hearth witch #folk witch #witchcraft #divination #tarot #astrology #paganism

22 notes · View notes

kukuandkookie · 6 months ago

Text

Sinophobes are a fun batch of people because they will write shit like this and completely mean it. 🤣

They always refer to the Red Guard and the evil CCP and how badly it destroyed Chinese culture and tradition, but they never want to address the fact that there’s a historical domino effect for why China rejected tradition for a bit (if you get stomped on by colonizers for a lengthy period of time, you’re naturally going to feel like you didn’t modernize fast enough to fight back against said colonizers).

These sinophobes also never want to address the fact that so much of Chinese tradition and culture is actually alive and well in China! It still exists—meaning you can literally fucking wear a hanfu on the street or eat some traditional food or go to a fucking museum or read a traditional poem or look at some traditional art. And what even is the Chinese tradition and culture they’re referring to, anyway?

China is so big and diverse with such a long history, are you going to say the other ethnicities don’t count as part of China’s cultural identity? Like on China destroying culture, does that mean the Qing dynasty doesn’t count as Chinese because it had Manchu leaders and influence? Are we really going to act like Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia can encapsulate all of China’s complex history and culture when a) it is so complex and b) they have their own fucking cultures and histories???

Like I’m pretty sure if you told a Taiwanese person or a Thai person that the place they’re from is an embodiment of China, they’d be pissed off at you.

Even with how contentious Taiwan is, whether you’re pro- or anti-China, you’re not going to bring up the history of Qinshihuang and the terracotta warriors or the Great Wall etc as being part of Taiwanese history. So why would you expect to find the major aspects of Chinese culture and tradition in Taiwan? Especially when I thought we were supposed to see Taiwan as its own thing!!!

Comments like this one just fascinate me because they’re obviously wrong, yet they’re so happy being wrong since they come from this stubborn prejudice that doesn’t fucking care that China actually does still have its historical traditions and cultures and that they’re actually pretty decently intact for a nation with a history as long and as chaotic as China’s. But this comment fascinates me all the more because it feels like they went so anti-China they got confused by their own messaging, because why does it sound like you don’t see Taiwan and Singapore and even Thailand and Malaysia as having their own unique identities and cultures? 😂

This is also why bad faith comments like this become amusing after a while:

People like this don’t believe that there can be anything good about China. They pretend to be all civil and tell you to “just focus on the good of China,” but they don’t mean it lmao. Because as soon as you post something about China that is positive, such as praising its greener energy efforts or its high speed rail or what have you, these people will tell you it’s fake or ask, “But at what cost?”

It’s just ironic, and in multiple ways.

It’s not okay to run accounts and channels hating on the US but it’s okay running accounts and channels hating on China like China Uncensored or that one David Zhang guy who I swear to fucking God I wish YouTube would stop recommending to me when I search up “China vlog”—?

But most of all, it’s ironic because Chinese people can and do “sell the beauty of China,” but sinophobes have their ears and eyes closed to shit like that. What can you do, am I right? ;P

Which is why more and more Chinese people are becoming pro-China, and then sinophobes wonder why Chinese people are so brainwashed.

It was literally just a few weeks ago that someone praised a video on Chongqing because it showed the city in a more mundane light rather than painting it as a cyberpunk city, and when people disagreed with them, they said this:

The answer to their last question is obviously “the sinophobia here stems from you immediately doubting anything positive about China as propaganda and then assuming anyone who disagrees with you is a CCP shill while also insisting that China itself must be a dystopia in reality” (also, Chongqing went viral because of tourists on TikTok, and no, you can bet they weren’t paid by the Chinese government, so how exactly is it propaganda again?).

People like this wonder why there are so many “CCP shills” out there to the point they feel the need to call them the “CCP Junior Kids’ League” without realizing they’re contributing to the creation of these “CCP Junior Kids’ League” members.

Because oh, I don’t know, buddy—maybe antagonizing an entire nation doesn’t always endear you to that nation’s citizens?? I know I for one became more pro-China after being surrounded by sinophobia online, and I’m a Canadian-born Chinese who never even really felt Chinese growing up.

And the funny thing about sinophobia is that it’s just this quiet, increasingly acceptable aspect of western society. It’s not a hate that’s outwardly violent or brutal, so it’s not as big of a deal. It’s almost mundane and banal. That’s why I always feel weird discussing it, like I should be putting disclaimers everywhere that emphasize I’m western, I’m educated, I’m critical of nationalism and patriotism, because if I didn’t, I’d just be another “member of the CCP Junior Kids’ League.”

And now I feel guilty discussing it because sinophobia can’t be easily compared to other forms of racism that manifest in far more brutal ways, especially in this current day when Israel is committing literal genocide with such cruel, fully dehumanizing, hate-filled, racist roots.

But whenever I do discuss sinophobia, it’s stuff that’s built up over weeks and weeks and weeks. I do curate my spaces and I do ignore prejudice when I have to (eg I learned the hard way to NEVER search up “中国🇨🇳” on Twitter because you will get a lot of racism against China from Japanese users). It’s only when it gets to a point that I’m exasperated and rolling my eyes that I vent on Tumblr.

I will admit though that the more time passes and the more sinophobia becomes normalized, the more my exasperation also turns into mild amusement. They hate China so much, man. They will literally never change their minds. They will always be this ignorant. Isn’t that wild? 😂

And although, when I do think deeper about it, I do admit I think it’s a pity that people can walk the streets and think of what are essentially my people (ancestrally speaking, anyway) in such a degrading, delusional fashion and be so wrong about China, yet it’s just a fact of life. It’s pretty normalized and not something that will likely be challenged because it’s “not wrong morally” to hate on China as long as you emphasize “I hate the government.” So I can only be exasperatedly amused by their ignorance.

#kuku rants #long post #if any sinophobes touch this post I will feed you doorknobs and nails 🫶

7 notes · View notes

dervampireprince · 1 year ago

Text

youtube

ASMR | Elisabeth das Musical - Der Tod x Listener SFW Death Becomes Entranced And Seduces A Lonely Prince

[M4M/GF4M] [Prince! Listener] [Seduction] [Manipulation] [Kissing - no character death, lore here is Death's kisses can kill if it's 'your time' but if it's not they don't but they're still cold and cause temporary frostbite-like symptoms] [TW implies the listener is depressed and has been experiencing suicidal ideation, Death at points advises the listener to kiss him which would kill them, please skip this audio if you think these issues could affect or trigger you and if you are affected by these issues please seek help and contact hotlines in your country. This audio is fictional, Death's attempts to be a voice of suicidal ideation should not be taken seriously nor applied to real life.]

I've been wanting to make this audio for so long. While I've left it ambiguous enough to be enjoyed as an original audio, this character is actually from my favourite musical 'Elisabeth das Musical'. It's a German-language dark queer historical romance where Death (Der Tod) is drawn to those who think about him, in particular it follows the life of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria, and her son Rudolf. The musical does deal with serious mental health topics and some historical events from that time including the rise of fascism so please know that going in, but if you think you can handle such topics then I couldn't recommend the musical enough.

The original 1992 Vienna production is on Youtube with English subtitles, that is my favourite production and means a lot to me as Uwe Kroger as Death is just... perfection to me, very much gender envy and has been a big influence on me and helped me with accepting myself and my gender expression, and his characterisation of Death as this genderfluid, pansexual otherworldly being is just beautiful. And if you enjoy then I'd also recommend the 2005 Vienna production which is also on Youtube with English subtitles mostly for the few extra added song and Serkan Kaya's performance as Lucheni.

For those of you in my Patreon Discord server, I streamed this musical last Sunday in there for you guys and it finally felt like the perfect time to bring this audio to life. And if Kronprinz is still around, I know you were requesting a Der Tod audio for a long time and I hope you're happy with this one. The listener in this audio series takes the place of Rudolf, but you don't need to know anything about the musical to understand these audios. I chose to present them more like my original royalty series audios as Elisabeth das Musical is not very well known outside of mainland Europe and Japan, so I hoped by framing it this way with a photograph of myself cosplaying Death from a couple years ago would entice more people who aren't familiar with the musical.

I love this musical so much, European musicals in general are my biggest interest and if you go searching for them it wont be long until you find my sfw account @emptymasks posting too much about them. If you're interested in learning more I have some masterlists and info posts pinned on my emptymasks Tumblr, but also as part of my subathon rewards I am doing a stream on my Twitch explaining about infodumping about European musicals and I've been working on some video essays for years that I hope to get finished this year that will be up on my emptymasks Youtube channel. I also run @europeanmusicals . If any mutuals or followers from my main or side blogs finds this... well hello there, I find myself nervous to drop this in the euro musical tags, as if people are going to find this format of fanwork weird but well... I had fun, I hope you guys are nice about this (nice doesn't mean you have to like it, but please don't be mean about it if you just don't enjoy asmr or audio content).

Something something if I had a nickel for every time Prince voiced a personification of Death from different fandoms I'd have three nickels.

Old public spicy audios on sound gasm (link in pinned post). 2 Exclusive spicy audios on Patreon every month. I also stream on Twitch every week @ dervampireprince . [minors + ageless blogs dni. this blog is for 18+ only.] [do not repost/reupload/edit any of my content]

#elisabeth das musical #todolf #der tod #european musicals #der tod x rudolf #death x rudolf #der tod x reader #der tod x listener #the vampire whispers #royalty kink #Youtube

33 notes · View notes

newmusickarl · 20 days ago

Text

youtube

5-9’s Album of the Month Podcast – new episode out now!

With a sadly absent Mama Mañana Records’ founder Kiley Larsen, myself and 5-9 Editor Andrew Belt review five high profile album releases from the past month in music, ultimately naming one as our Album of the Month at the end of the discussion. It’s another eclectic selection of albums, as we cover some of the biggest and best releases from February.

For our January episode, it was global superstar The Weeknd who shockingly emerged victorious in a tightly contested month, earning our first award for 2025 with his epic final album, Hurry Up Tomorrow. Now in our second episode of the year, the albums vying for the February 2025 Album of the Month title are:

Erotica Veronica by Miya Folick

Sinister Grift by Panda Bear

End of the Middle by Richard Dawson

People Watching by Sam Fender

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory by Sharon Van Etten (Poll winner, thanks for voting!)

Just like January, it’s another tight vote with divided opinions, so hit the links below or click play above to see which album emerged victorious!

A reminder also that if you want to listen to any previous episodes, simply follow the links below and be sure to follow 5-9 Blog on Instagram and YouTube for more news and polls relating to the podcast.

Listen on Spotify here

Watch, like and subscribe to our YouTube channel here

Vote for the fifth album to join our April line-up here

Album & EP Recommendations

MAYHEM by Lady Gaga

Back in 2009, I was lucky enough to see pop icon Lady Gaga perform at Glastonbury. I didn’t realise it at the time, but I was witnessing (excuse the deliberate pun) a star being born. You see hers is an influence that can still be felt on the mainstream pop acts of today, be it the dance-pop of Charli XCX or the theatrical flair of Chappell Roan. Now with her career having detoured everywhere, from more Rock and Country-inspired records to even a shift into TV and Hollywood, Lady Gaga is back – and she’s returning to (excuse another deliberate pun) the sound that brought her to the dance – pop.

MAYHEM is very much the return of vintage Gaga, from the artistic music videos all the way through to the club-inspired, earworm anthems. You’ll likely already have consumed singles ‘Disease’, ‘Die With A Smile’ and ‘Abracadabra’ either consciously or subconsciously into your psyche by now, but it is some of the deep cuts that end up having the biggest replay value here. ‘Perfect Celebrity’ is the kind of addictive powerhouse track that would’ve slotted in perfectly on Gaga’s debut The Fame Monster, while ‘Zombieboy’ is the kind of Gwen Stefani and Nile Rodgers crossover that only Gaga could cook up. ‘Don’t Call Tonight’ then brings some 80s shimmer with shades of both Kavinsky and Daft Punk, before ‘Blade of Glass’ serves up a soaring Bonnie Tyler-style power ballad.

A wild rollercoaster ride through various shades of pop music, MAYHEM is an album that certainly lives up to its name. Never a dull experience and bringing her career full circle, it proves Lady Gaga can still do it better than anyone.

Listen here

Night Life by The Horrors

Also making a welcome return after some time away, albeit at the other end of the spectrum to Gaga, are industrial goth rockers The Horrors. With their last full-length project ending with ‘Something To Remember Me By’ and longtime keyboardist Tom Furse leaving the band, I had pretty much made peace with the fact that The Horrors may have ceased to exist. Thankfully, the band have finally returned with new music and they are sounding as great as ever on moody sixth album, Night Life.

I’ll admit the pre-release singles didn’t do much for me in isolation, which left me going into this one with fairly mild expectations. However, I needn’t have doubted them as Faris Badawan & co. have forged a dark and atmospheric audio experience that ranks alongside their best work. The shimmering synths of recent single ‘Ariel’ are an immediate highlight, while other singles like ‘The Silence That Remains’, ‘Trial By Fire’ and ‘Lotus Eater’ have more impact within the context of the whole. However it is the final stretch where this album really comes alive, with the synth-driven rock of ‘More Than Life’ recalling their Primary Colours prime before triumphant closing anthem, ‘LA Runaway’.

Mixing electronica, shoegaze and industrial as well as they have ever done, this is a mighty return from the Southend goth rockers that already feels like one of my favourites of the year so far.

Listen here

Microtonic by bdrmm

Then if you’re looking for something in a similar vein to The Horrors, I’m also loving Microtonic, the evolutionary third album from Kingston shoegazers bdrmm.

With their last release I Don’t Know seeing them add more electronic elements to their traditional shoegaze sound, Microtonic feels more like a full transition into crafters of lush, synth-driven soundscapes. Opening on a snappy collaboration with Working Men’s Club, the album doesn’t let up from there, navigating majestically through blissful highlights like ‘John On The Ceiling’, ‘Snares’ and ‘Clarkycat’, before eventually drifting into the ambient haze of ‘The Noose’.

While the greater shift away from shoegaze will put off some longtime fans, for me personally this is my favourite bdrmm project yet. An almost full of auditory delights, made for strapping on a pair of headphones and allowing yourself to get fully immersed in the wonderful vibrations.

Listen here

Service Station At The End Of The Universe by Antony Szmierek

Poetic and powerful, Mancunian spoken-word raver Antony Szmierek finally released his much-anticipated debut album back at the end of February and it’s a life-affirming record that only gets better with each new spin.

The magic of Antony’s music is not just in the euphoric beats or his clever turn of phrase, it’s in the way he’s able to find the beauty in the everyday. Whether that’s a piece of confetti falling from a club ceiling (‘Rafters’), a commercial office building turned Indian restaurant (‘The Great Pyramid of Stockport’), a Yoga Class (‘Yoga Teacher’) or even motorway graffiti (‘Angie’s Wedding’). The stories told across the record are full of joy and optimism, with Antony’s observational prose transforming the mundane into the magical. Add-in a backdrop of inspired synth-driven grooves that will make you want to dance and it’s a combination that will make you want to return to Antony’s perspective of the world again and again.

As far as debut albums go, this one is right up there with the year’s best so far. One for fans of The Streets, if you want uplifting stories you can move to then look no further.

Listen here

The Machine Starts To Sing EP by Porridge Radio

From a debut to a final outing now, as the Brighton rockers led by Dana Margolin sadly announced that this new EP will unfortunately be their last.

As a final shortplayer offering for fans, it delivers everything that has been great about Porridge Radio over their outstanding last three records. From ominous opener ‘Machine Starts To Sing’ to the shuffling acoustics of ‘OK’, to Dana’s signature anguished vocals on ‘Don’t Want To Dance’ and the defiant, lo-fi resignation of ‘I’ve Got A Feeling (Stay Lucky)’, it’s a bittersweet triumph.

Listen here

KOKO by The Lottery Winners

“Influenced by charismatic frontman Thom Rylance receiving an ADHD diagnosis during the early stages of the album creation process, ‘KOKO’ finds the quartet lyrically reflective and seeking to provide some reassurance to all those in need of a little pick-me-up. With the band set to support Robbie Williams on his stadium tour this summer too, the record feels built for the masses, with each track brimming with assured confidence and earworm melodies.”

Listen to the album here

Read my full review for CLASH magazine here

Watch the 5-9 interview with Thom Rylance on the making of KOKO here

Nothing Compares To Nineteen EP by Fiona-Lee

“However, ‘Mother’ isn’t the only frank, emotionally charged moment on ‘Nothing Compares To Nineteen’. Across six soaring tracks, Fiona is refreshingly open about her battles with anxiety, depression, grief and self-confidence, all feelings we each can experience but often don’t know how to put into words. While her musical inspiration and eloquent lyricism often comes from painful memories and experiences, it is at the same time a rewarding process.”

Listen to the EP here

Read my full Next Wave interview with Fiona-Lee for CLASH magazine here

Also well worth checking out:

Lust For Life by Courting

The Sky, The Earth & All Between by Architects

Tell Dem It’s Sunny by Greentea Peng

Out Of A Dream by The Slow Readers Club

Constellations For The Lonely by Doves

Blindness by The Murder Capital

Atmospherics by Hands Like Houses

Festival Season by Saint Jhn

Blood On The Silver Screen by SASAMI

Tsunami Sea by Spiritbox

Song Recommendations

Relationships by HAIM

The sisters are back!

While the title and release date for their new album has yet to be revealed, the HAIM sisters have returned with an excellent new single, with many suspecting it to be the first taste of the much-anticipated follow-up to 2020’s Women In Music Pt. III. Instantly catchy with an infectious R&B-style groove, the track offers an apathetic look at romantic entanglements and arrives complete with a cinematic video directed by Camille Summers Valli.

Watch the video here

Running/Planning by CMAT

One of the biggest breakout stars of the last few years, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson’s first two albums already feel like instant classics. Now her third album EURO-COUNTRY is due to drop in August and that’s not just the name of the record but also an insight into what to expect from the album’s contents too. Lead single ‘Running/Planning’ is CMAT unveiling her new brand of country music, a heartfelt and string-laden epic that culminates in some hair-raisingly passionate vocals from CMAT herself. Sensational!

Watch the video here

Flood by Little Simz featuring Obongjayar & Moonchild Sanelly

Rapper Little Simz has also been on an incredible album run in recent times, also delivering three certified classics in Grey Area, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert and NO THANK YOU on her last three outings. However, we’ll soon find out if she can make it four-in-a-row with new album Lotus due to drop in early May. The tribal rhythms and seismic bass of ‘Flood’ is the first taste of the forthcoming project, a collaboration with Nigerian singer Obongjayar and South African musician Moonchild Sanelly that suggests Simz’s visionary artistry isn’t slowing down any time soon.

Watch the video here

Emergence by Sleep Token

Anonymous metal outfit Sleep Token have had a meteoric rise over the last couple of years, with 2023 album Take Me Back To Eden catapulting them to the top of festival bills and enabling them to sell out arenas nationwide. ‘Emergence’ feels a fitting first single then for their upcoming project Even In Arcadia, due for release in early May, just one month before their heavily debated headline booking at Download Festival. If this awesome new single is anything to go by though, it should be a suitably epic and genre-defying live experience.

Listen here

Statue In The Square by Kae Tempest

Their first new music in two years, immensely talented spoken word rapper, poet, novelist and playwright Kae Tempest returned this month with dazzling new single ‘Statue In The Square’. Brilliantly bold, it’s a song about courage and community that sees Kae weave intricately woven bars, spinning them from their lips at rapid, jaw-dropping speed. As mind-blowing as ever from one of the country’s most original creatives.

Watch the video here

The Test by Billy Nomates

Punk singer-songwriter Tor Maries has already dropped a new project in 2025, with her OST for Mary & The Hyenas boasting more than a couple of highlights. However, ‘The Test’ is the first track to be taken from upcoming third studio album Metalhorse, the follow-up to 2023’s brilliant CACTI. The first song written for the project, it’s a typically strong start to the new era from Maries, a determined anthem about persevering in the face of adversity.

Listen here

Bonnet of Pins by Matt Berninger

After releasing two albums in 2023 with his bandmates in The National after a supposed spout of writer’s block, it seems Matt Berninger has got his creative groove back. Now his second solo album Get Sunk is due out at the end of May and first single ‘Bonnet of Pins’ is a belter. While it doesn’t stray too far from The National’s formula, it’s an anthem that more than matches the exceptionally high standard of his day job, thanks to some scintillating guitars, triumphant horns, gorgeous vocal harmonies and Matt’s signature tongue-in-cheek lyricism.

Listen here

Letter From An Unknown Girlfriend by The Waterboys featuring Fiona Apple

Shaping up to be one of the most ambitious projects of the year, legendary Gaelic rockers The Waterboys are set to release their new 25-track odyssey in April - Life, Death and Dennis Hopper. As the title suggests, it’s an album that will examine the last 75 years of human existence and pop culture through the lens of actor Dennis Hopper’s life. With a few superstar collaborations lined up too, ‘Letter From An Unknown Girlfriend’ is one of the first to be revealed, a beautifully tender song written by Mike Scott but performed by American singer-songwriter, Fiona Apple.

Watch the lyric video here

spit it out / follow your direction by Low Island

Add this to the longlist of exciting releases dropping in May, DIY Oxford outfit Low Island are set to return with their first new album in three years, titled bird. Working with one of their musical heroes in Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear on the project, the band have released two quite contrasting teaser singles so far. Lead single ‘spit it out’ is a rage-fuelled, Radiohead-inspired rock track built on thunderous guitars, while ‘follow your direction’ is a heartfelt, minimalist electro-ballad that sees Carlos Posada’s vocals beautifully shimmer through the distortion. With both singles showcasing the band’s ever-present versatility and eclectism, I personally can’t wait for this one.

Listen to spit it out here

Listen to follow your direction here

East Alameda St. by Free Range Buddhas

You guessed it – another album also dropping in May! This time it’s Hatched, the sophomore effort from Santa Fe outfit Free Range Buddhas. Released on the always consistent Mama Mañana Records, this final single before the album release might just be the best cut off the project yet, bringing together a beautiful love letter to their New Mexico hometown that sees frontwoman Francesca Jozette’s vocals soar over some warm bluesy guitars.

Listen here

Double Blind by Tinvis

What’s that, you want another sonic gem from Mama Mañana Records?! Well you’re in luck, as Californian musician Joel Daniel - AKA Tinvís – just released his fantastic debut single, ‘Double Blind’. One for fans of The War of Drugs, it sees Daniel working with accomplished session players Max Hart (Tegan & Sara, We Are Scientists) and Eric Gardner (Dot Hacker, Melissa Etheridge, Tom Morello) to deliver a stirring heartland rock ballad, brimming with subtle strings, emotive piano chords and Daniel’s own passionate vocals. With album Texnia expected this summer, I personally can’t wait to hear more!

Who Wants To Live Forever by Mickey Callisto

Ending as I always do on a cover, this month’s choice comes from Sunderland-born, superstar-in-the-making, Mickey Callisto. Discovering him through Dot To Dot festival a couple of years back, Mickey’s incredible talent for performing is as raw and obvious as it gets. Beginning his musical life performing in Queen tribute acts, he channels the showmanship and voice of Freddie Mercury into his own original music – with his brilliant debut EP Homospace named one of my top shortplayers for 2023. While it may have taken a few years, I’m pleased to say Mickey is finally getting noticed thanks to a sublime, goosebump-inducing performance on this year’s season of Britain’s Got Talent. Covering Queen’s iconic single ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’ and knocking it out of the park in the process, it is simply a star-making moment that demands to be seen.

Watch Mickey’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent here

And if you want a bonus cover for this month – check out Fontaines D.C. mashing up Bring Me The Horizon’s Can You Feel My Heart with Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box for Triple J’s Like A Version here.

Also well worth checking out:

The Giver by Chappell Roan

Lucy by ABSOLUTE & Joe Goddard featuring Lucy Fizz

I HEART YOU by Confidence Man & Eliza Rose

Confession by Girl In Red

Skin by Marika Hackman featuring Laura Marling

The Queen of Mercy by Soda Blonde

Heathen by Deafheaven

Time Will Tell (Maybe) by Share

Jungle Child by ROB.GREEN

The Cross by Dusty 4 Track

REMINDER: If you use Apple Music, you can also keep up-to-date with all my favourite 2025 tracks through my Best of 2025 playlist. Constantly updated throughout the year with songs I enjoy, it is then finalised into a Top 100 Songs of the Year in December.

Add the Best of 2025 playlist to your library here

3 notes · View notes

the-monkey-ruler · 9 months ago

Note

Could we have an analysis of A Chinese Odyssey part one and two? Although I feel that the third part breaks the message of the first two a little? but I don't know, I'm very ignorant about the matter, so I'll apologize if it's more complicated.

Lucky for us there is someone who has done an Analysis of a Chinese Odyssey from the perspective of its cultural impact on other media in Transforming Monkey Adaptation and Representation of a Chinese Epic By Hongmei Sun. If anyone has the time I would highly recommend reading her book or just skipping to the chapters she talked about it in Chapter 4 From Fighter to Lover The Postsocialist Hero in the PRC and Hong Kong.

I shall try to SUMMERIZE a whole chapter below that I think really helps frame how the Chinese Odessery was interpreted though so open at your own cost. Please note this is me just REPEATING what the article says if you really don't want to read the book (BUT YOU SHOULD).

And yes you are right Anon MANY people did not enjoy the third movie as it went against everything the first two movies were about with lost love, rather feeling more like a cash grab made to milk people's nostalgia and adoration of the films. Some people might like it but PLEASE know that it was never intended for the first two films and often feels way too disconnected.

The Postsocialist Hero in the PRC and Hong Kong

Sun Wukong up to this point (the 1990s) has been framed in media as a revolutionary hero (best-known example in the Havoc of Heaven 19060s movie). Chinese Odyssey 1995 coproduced by Hong Kong and mainland China, starring Stephen Chow as the Sun Wukong was one of the first movies that challenged this image of him and redefined the character at the turn of the century. The film subverted the heroic image of Sun Wukong and replaced it with a comedic character who is also a romantic interest. This was his transformation from a "fighter" to a "lover" and while it didn't do well in Hong Kong, it was horribly popular in Mainland China due to the messaging of the movie changing dramatically. The creative "misreading" of the original film has led to its success due to the audience connection during a time of social transformation and widespread anxiety about changing sexual mores. This led to a postsocialist hero for the large population of young people who became its fans.

THE DAHUA PHENOMENON

When first released in Hong Kong and mainland China in 1995, A Chinese Odyssey was a box-office failure. The film’s slapstick humor was initially unappreciated and it was highly criticized for straying too far from the original source material. But two years later, when the film was shown on TV film channels, it caught the attention of college students and grew a large fan base on college campuses in the mainland. For a while, A Chinese Odyssey was vigorously traded in the bootleg disc market. Fans of A Chinese Odyssey, known as Dahua fans, instead of criticizing the movie for deviating from the original, or changing and subverting the images of the characters, Dahua fans found a new aspect of Sun Wukong's story that spoke to them. Audiences saw themselves represented in this Sun Wukong themselves and the story as reflecting the problems they faced in their lives. Even Academics paid attention to the popularity of the film itself but also to the special phenomenon created by its influence over popular culture, which is called “Dahua Culture.” These articles focus on a wide range of aspects, including postmodern culture, adaptation, intertextuality, cultural studies, Internet culture, performance, language, time and space, and also include creative writing, leading to A Chinese Odyssey’s appeal to both fans and academics is steady.

Many fans of the movie express the “postmodern” factors in Stephen Chow’s “nonsensical” style, and the subversive pleasure that audiences derive from the film’s excessive play with the grotesque and the violation of social norms. Stephen Chow transformed the story of pilgrimage into a slapstick comedy where gods, pilgrims, and demons were usually treated with awe and were now a humorous outlet in a political environment where authorities are supposed to always be respected.

The following example demonstrates the kind of analysis that circulates among fans:

If you double over with laughter when watching this movie, it means you have a sense of humor. But if you’re still laughing when the movie is over, you actually understand nothing of the film. When the film is over, if you find your face is covered with tears, you have come to understand the first layer of its meaning. If after all your laughter and tears you are stunned, not knowing whether to cry or to laugh, you understand the second layer of its meaning. If you sit there speechless, dejected and despondent, not knowing where you should go, you understand the third layer of its meaning. A Chinese Odyssey is an allegory. Hidden within the shell of an ancient myth, it appears to be a very funny and sad, bawdy but pure love story, but actually it is about the problems caused by the uncertainty of time and the hesitation of the individual.

Joker’s transformation into Sun Wukong represents the spiritual journey that a man experiences growing up, and Tripitaka and the Bull Demon King each represent different social powers around him. Many fans speak about their experience watching the film repeatedly, and how their understanding deepens after each viewing. Another fan writes about her understanding of love, which changes through the years in which she watched the film repeatedly:

From the 1990s, when she was in elementary school, until when she graduated from college, the film in her eyes has evolved from a horror film to a love story, from an avant-garde film to a love story that is all based on a lie.

A review about the author’s deepened understanding of the film after college:

I suddenly understood the beginning of the movie: A young guy who is talented but does not respect rules (Sun Wukong) loathes the big and important cause that he is assigned (the pilgrimage to India). He especially cannot bear the nagging preaching of his teacher (Tripitaka), but the rules and regulations in the world (Guanyin) won’t let him go. In order to transform him into a devoted pilgrim, Tripitaka - and Guanyin have reached an agreement: let him get reborn and start anew five hundred years later. Such a foreordained beginning.

The review goes on to state that Sun Wukong’s “Havoc in Heaven” takes place during the golden era of four years in college. After he leaves the campus and finds a job he realizes that all his talents and personality do not matter underneath the mountain of Buddha’s palm. In short, while A Chinese Odyssey subverted Journey to the West’s status as a revered classic, it managed to establish itself as a classic. The parody did not just ridicule the gods and teachers in the original story, but it also drew new images for the main characters, establishing new meanings related to the audience. It influenced later adaptations of Journey to the West and deeply changed the normal depiction of characters such as Sun Wukong and Tripitaka.

ABSTINENCE FROM SEXUALITY IN JOURNEY TO THE WEST

In the novel Journey to the West, themes of the body and sexuality are sublimated due to the nature of the story as a religious allegory. Sex is a formidable sin from which all of the pilgrims must abstain and Bajie is the only one who shows weakness toward the temptation of sex. For that, he is repeatedly tested, warned, and punished. In contrast, Tripitaka has sustained his virgin body for ten reincarnations, and it is believed that eating one piece of it is sufficient to grant the consumer longevity. Many demons want to eat him, and sometimes female demons want to have sex with him. If Tripitaka has to constantly work against the idea of sexuality and make an effort to abstain from it, for Wukong sex has never been an issue.

In his own words, he was born without xing. When Patriarch Puti asked him about his xing (surname), he took it as a question about his xing (temperament/nature) and responded that he did not have any temper (xing), and had never lost his temper (yisheng wu xing). This statement also holds true if we take the liberty of relating the pun of xing to sexuality. When it was clarified that the question was about the surname that he would have received from his parents, Wukong responded that he did not have any parents, since he was born from a piece of stone. Puti was delighted upon hearing this, saying that the monkey was born of heaven and earth. Although the narrative of Journey to the West never explains the ways in which Wukong’s birth from stone functions as an asset, it is clear that his parentless birth (a birth that is not as a result of sexual activity) distinguishes him as a model for religious practice. Quite relatively, throughout the journey, sex simply never constitutes a temptation for him, as if his mind cannot fathom the idea of sexuality.

The correspondence of the five members of the pilgrimage group with the Five Phases of Chinese philosophy with Wukong related to Metal (Jin) and Heart/Mind (Xin). Metaphorically Wukong functions as the mind/heart of the group, which is focused on defeating demons and directing the group toward the religious holy land. This is perhaps why the narrative of Journey to the West consistently refers to Sun Wukong as the “heart/mind monkey” (xinyuan). If the heart/mind of the pilgrims should be directed toward attaining Buddhist sutras for the world or attaining Buddhahood for themselves, the body that is attached to worldly pleasures constitutes obstacles for the heart. For Zhu Bajie, the obstacle of the body is significantly greater than it is for Tripitaka. But for Sun Wukong, his body does not stand in the way— born from stone and smelt in Laozi’s elixir furnace, his body is built for battles and transformational magic, not for the sin of desire.

Sun Wukong’s body actually contains many details —from his birth from the stone to his transformation training, to the numerous bodily tricks he plays when encountering demons during the journey— but the writing about the body is paradoxically for the purpose of eventually transcending it, and his physical capacity greatly facilitates that process. The 1960s adaptation emphasized the heroic aspects of Sun Wukong and reconstructed him as a brave warrior who fights against the oppression of the feudalist heaven controlled by the Jade Emperor, and a true pilgrim who can see through the disguises of forms and catch the White Bone Demon despite her transformations. What is unchanged from the religious “heart monkey” to the communist revolutionary monkey is the agreement in his “heart” and his body, originating from his miraculous birth and well suited to the purposes of pilgrimage and revolutionary cause alike.

BODY VERSUS HEART: HUMANIZATION OF THE MONKEY KING

In contrast, in A Chinese Odyssey, the Sun Wukong’s story becomes one of the body working against the heart. With the entire story focusing on Joker’s romantic adventures, love and sexuality become central themes of the film, and the meaning of “heart” in “ heart monkey” changes to refer to love. A Chinese Odyssey gives Wukong (reborn as Joker) a mortal human body, and Joker’s adventure involves various sorts of mistreatment of this body and a focal point of the camera. Joker appears near the beginning suffering from a severe injury where even his his legs soon give out, and he can only walk upside down with his arms. His body continues to be treated cruelly as he is seen falling into a pit of feces; trapped by a spider net; breaking his own teeth; being beaten, burnt, and repeatedly trampled on by his gang members. His private parts particularly become the target of trampling quite a few times.

When Joker and Jingjing fall in love, in the short moment when they were together, sex was never consummated. Paradoxically, the narrative of this film about love seems to focus unmistakably on castration. Whereas part 1, Pandora’s Box, tells the adventures of Joker’s body, part 2, Cinderella, becomes the story of his heart. But just like the mistreatment of the body in the earlier part, something always goes wrong with his heart in part 2. Joker spends this part of the journey in denial: of both his love for Zixia and his identity as the Monkey King. It is only by means of the literal separation of his heart from his body that he is eventually able to find and recognize his heart—he is killed by Ma’am Thirty, who cuts open his chest and takes his heart out, so he sees it with his “eyes of the heart/soul” (xinyan). At this moment, after his heart leaves his body, he becomes the Monkey King, who has to put the golden ring on his head to control his worldly desire.

Later, when the new Sun Wukong is faced with a hard choice between saving his true love Zixia and saving his master Tripitaka, the golden fillet tightens to make sure he makes the right choice. With its depictions of the body and the search for love, A Chinese Odyssey seemingly delivers a message that is diametrically opposed to that of Journey to the West until the ending, when it hits on a conclusion that is much in agreement with Journey to the West: abstaining from worldly pleasure. The last scene of the movie sees the group of pilgrims set off once again on their journey to the West, when they come across a couple, the exact replica of Joker and Zixia, repeating the scene that Joker once experienced when he refused to kiss “Zixia” and profess his love for her. Possessing the body of the replica Joker, Sun Wukong embraces “Zixia,” gives her the requested kiss, and tells her that he will never leave her. Having done this, Sun Wukong leaves the body of “Joker” and sets off on his journey, leaving the embracing couple behind. Although this ending provides Sun Wukong the chance to make up for his regret by means of the body of the substitute, it also concludes the separation of the body and the heart, permanently.

By the same token, although the film is replete with sexually charged language and images, sex is never directly represented. Sexual expectations are subverted and rebuffed. The story of the conflicting body and heart of Joker ends with a symbolical self-castrating action, when we see Sun Wukong eating a banana, on two occasions near the end of the movie, with peels dangling at his mouth and the banana bitten off. These scenes, echoing the trampling scene described earlier, epitomize the conflicting relationship between body and heart. Although they no doubt create a humorous effect, part of the “nonsensical” style for which Stephen Chow is known, the Monkey King image created by such effect forms a stark contrast to that of the successful and capable fighter in earlier adaptations.

Now that he knows love, his body is working against his heart. Thus, the new Sun Wukong must bear the vexing challenges of life, just like a normal human being. It is this contradiction between body and heart that has become the source of inspiration for many Dabua fans who see the story as reflecting their own: the dreams of the young heart and its obstructions in reality.

BETWEEN DEMON AND DEITY

Sun Wukong has lost the godly control and coordination of body and heart that he enjoyed in Journey to the West. But the film still resists a simple dichotomy between deity and demon as blurring the line between the demon and the god is a major endeavor of the narrative. Not only does the film question the categorical nature of the Monkey King, but it also ridicules the differentiation between deity and demon. Wukong is reincarnated as Joker as a punishment for his demonic behavior, but he repeatedly refuses opportunities to be transformed back into the deity Monkey King. When he realizes that he has finally become the Monkey King reincarnate, seeing the image of a monkey in the “Mirror of Demon Revelation,” he immediately throws the mirror to the ground, tramples on the mirror (and his predestined identity), and runs away. Thus the final transformation into Sun Wukong at the end concludes the human Joker’s resistance with his eventual submission to his predestination (or the pressure of the social environment, in one Dahua fan’s interpretation).

The question of “deity or demon?” as a major theme is represented by what Zixia asks Joker when she first meets him:

“Deity? Demon? Thanks.”

Indicating her immediate need to categorize Joker as a deity or a demon, the question reflects her interest in detecting disguises. In her short earlier encounter with Erlang Shen and the Four Heavenly Kings, the gods transformed into humans to deceive her. Gods such as Erlang Shen and his team are represented as quite ungodly, their conversations indicating that they all have ordinary humanlike faults and concerns. Demons identified by the mirror turn out to be as lovable as their human disguises: Jingjing is devoted to love, and Ma’am Thirty sacrifices herself to save her partner and baby. The triangle formed between Joker, Jingjing, and Zixia involves a human, a deity, and a demon, and the fact that they fall into different categories never constitutes a problem for them as the narrative presents the human side of all beings, including their frustrations, their desires, their dreams, and their fears.

The line between deity and demon is also blurred in Journey to the West itself. In the sixteenth-century text, Sun Wukong himself goes through the identity transformation from a demon (a king of monkeys who occupy a mountain and claim it as their territory without recognition from authorities), to a deity recognized by the Taoist authority (first as the imperial horse keeper, then as the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven), and finally a Buddhist pilgrim who eventually attains Buddhahood. This upward transformation from an outlaw to a recognized deity was deliberately overlooked by the socialist adaptations, which downplayed the importance of social recognition either from the Taoist or the Buddhist order but only emphasized the idea of rebel and the metaphor of the journey. Hence the Monkey King was simply represented as a heroic rebel of oppression or a devoted follower of the path for socialist construction. In contrast, Joker’s transformation in A Chinese Odyssey moves in the opposite direction from Sun Wukong in Journey to the West. Refusing to return to the monkey-deity identity, Joker prefers to remain as an outlaw.

In this film, for the first time, he is given the right to ask questions about who he is and what he is doing. His heroic halo taken away, the Monkey King once again becomes the down-to-earth nobody, a humanized antihero who speaks to the sympathetic audience.

REINCARNATION, REWRITING, AND THE STORY OF HONG KONG

The story of the Monkey King’s reincarnation can be read as one of rewriting. Guanyin and Jade Emperor were official rewriters of Sun Wukong’s story: they dislike the version in which Sun Wukong rebels against Guanyin, and give him another chance by reincarnating him as Joker. Joker, however, after being reminded of his identity in his previous life, which he has completely forgotten, chooses to run away: he does not want to become Sun Wukong, the protagonist of the “Journey to the West” story already written. Instead, he makes as many revisions as he can and tries to lead the story in a direction of his own choosing. From this point of view, the entire movie is about the tension and conflicts of the two rewriting plans operating in opposite directions. Although Joker battles to be the writer of his own life, in the end he has to give in to the dominance of Guanyin’s rewrite. Despite his resistance, in the end his memory and identity as the Monkey King is regained, or, more accurately, reconstructed. Joker’s own effort to rewrite his story can be seen from his repeated time travels.

When he finds out that the Moonlight Box can take people to other times, he tries to go back in time to change what happens to Jingjing and hence change his own love story. But his timetravel plan never works out and he travels back five hundred years by mistake and thus begins the unintended love story with Zixia. Joker’s plan eventually has to yield to divine intervention. Before his story reaches a happy ending, his life is taken by the spider demon, and his spirit faces Guanyin’s master plan: the Monkey King’s golden headband and golden rod are waiting for him. Although taking on the mantle of the Monkey King is presented as a matter of choice, there really is no alternative, and the film portrays this transformation as the saddest moment. Solemnly and ceremonially, Joker raises up and puts on the fillet, repeating the lines he once insincerely spoke to Zixia:

“Once there was a genuine love devoted to me, but I took it lightly. When I have lost it, I know it is too late to regret.”

It is as if he uses the last moment as Joker to redeem the lines that he performed badly before, but this time with complete sincerity. This sincerity in his last words about love proves the tragic nature of the unwilling transformation into Sun Wukong. Among all the Journey to the West adaptations, A Chinese Odyssey is probably the one that most emphasizes the tragedy of being the Monkey King.

The film’s demonstrated anxiety over transformation in general, and Joker’s frustrated effort to work against the divine plan in particular, builds a significant link to the story of Hong Kong. The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China in 1997 had been a great concern in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s. Whereas in mainland China the transfer was expected eagerly as Hong Kong’s “return,” in other parts of the world it is referred to as the “Handover.” Anxiety and doubt about the Handover are expressed directly or indirectly in popular culture. The reference to Hong Kong in the film A Chinese Odyssey is unnoticed when it travels north, despite its popularity and the abundance of discussion about the meaning of the story. The transformation of the “Journey to the West” narrative into a love story took Dabua fans by surprise and has been a major focus of their discussions.

Fans rather relate to the story to their own social reality and seem to have neglected the abundant references to the social transformations in Hong Kong either in the major theme or through specific scenes. For instance, the film has a scene of the entire group of pilgrims stranded in a town on an isolated piece of land that has been blown up by the Bull Demon King with his magic fan and is floating slowly toward the sun. Wukong tries to push the island back with his golden rod but his individual effort cannot overpower the gusts created by the magic fan. For a few seconds the film freeze-frames on a distant shot of the bloodred sun (communist China), occupying almost the entire screen, with the small island (Hong Kong) floating irreversibly toward it, and the single Monkey King trying desperately to stop its motion. The scene poses an urgent question to the audience: Will the pilgrims be able to escape?

The answer is yes, when the magic works: all pilgrims narrowly escape using the Moonlight Box, which transports them to a different time-space right before the island explodes. As comparatist Ackbar Abbas has noted about films from Hong Kong, “almost every film made since the mid-eighties, regardless of quality or seriousness of intention, seems constrained to make some mandatory reference to 1997.” Even though A Chinese Odyssey is a spoof of a mythical story, the reference is quite clear. Joker’s situation corresponds quite closely to the “floating” identity and the problematics of the “deja disparu,” as Abbas discusses; with the slipperiness and ambivalence of his true identity and the rapid changes of status, he is unable to see what is right in front of him, and when he does see it, it is “always already gone.” The desperate scene of the floating island moving toward the sun creates a pressing sense of crisis. Despite all of Sun Wukong’s effort, the city disappears after all, indicating a quite pessimistic view of the future of the “floating city.” The image of the “floating city” (fucheng) is used frequently in popular culture as a reference to Hong Kong.

CREATIVE MISREADING, POSTSOCIALIST HERO

Many Dahua fans are college students, the film resonates with those who struggle to find their own identities in an authoritative regime. Frequently discussed themes include impossible love, the struggle of the individual against society, and eventual submission to social pressure. The Joker with whom Dahua fans identify is the rebel who is doomed to fail but who nonetheless remains the rebel— that is, until he eventually has to give in to an indomitable external force. A common analogy discussed by fans is the comparison of Joker’s resubmission to authority once he dons the golden crown of the Monkey King to the increased censorship of the Internet after 1997.

The creative misreading of A Chinese Odyssey has created a new image of the Monkey King for the mainland with Joker establishing himself as a “postsocialist” hero. This new hero replaces the images of Sun Wukong as a “revolutionary” hero that were created and popularized in the 1960s in works such as Havoc in Heaven. The term “postsocialism” develops the idea of postsocialism in response to Deng Xiaoping’s “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” indicating that the Chinese socialism in practice is not exactly socialism (nor is it capitalism), scholars in Chinese studies adopt and adapt the concept for different purposes. The postsocialist nature of the image of Sun Wukong is evident from the relationship between the people and the system. If a socialist system means people have faith in the socialist discourse, it becomes postsocialist when this faith is lost, even though ideological control from the leadership is still strong and is currently getting stronger. There exists a discord and discrepancy between the expectations from above and grassroots-level practice.

Instead of the kind of collective identification with common ideals established in the socialist period, the postsocialist hero is interested in his individual agenda, which often includes focusing on his personal struggle to challenge the authorities that want to control him. A Chinese Odyssey indicates the postsocialist turn of Journey to the West: from here on, major adaptations of Journey to the West almost always present the Monkey King as a postsocialist hero (with one exception that will be discussed below).

A Chinese Odyssey makes Sun Wukong a rebel again: he had already experienced the five hundred years of imprisonment and become a pilgrim following Tripitaka, but now he no longer wants to follow the prescribed narrative. And not only is he no longer willing to obey the command from above, but he also loudly lets the world know of his intention. This Wukong expresses a challenge to the ideological authority of the contemporary regime. Even though in the end his resubmission is unavoidable, his ridicule and rejection of authority is already enough for the audience to consider him a hero. Soon after, the rise in A Chinese Odyssey’s popularity presents an opportunity to rewrite the story of Wukong as well as other main characters in Journey to the West.

The “post” of postsocialism is reflected in the spirit of rebellion, the lack of belief in authoritarian control, and the challenge to authority; on the other hand, the “socialist” ideology and the government that represents it still maintain a strong presence. In contrast to the socialist revolutionary Monkey King produced during the 1950s and 1960s, who celebrate his victory in the end, both of the postsocialist Monkeys are doomed to lose. Joker has to fight hard for his right to disagree, and eventually, he gives in. The audeince can relate the story of Wukong to the forms of compliance they have to endure in real life. The popularity of A Chinese Odyssey lies in the sympathy that the readers share with Wukong. They grieve over these sad stories just as they grieve over their own problems.

These adaptations are all engaged with the major contradiction of Journey to the West: why would Monkey, once a brilliant rebel, become a model Buddhist pilgrim? It is the ways in which the readers approach this contradiction that determines to a large extent their understanding of Journey to the West. One common theme shared by these three texts is the central issue of thus, looking for his identity is a major struggle for Wukong, and it is a lonely one. He is no longer presented as a member of the pilgrim team—only he himself can solve the problems he experiences, and only from within. Joker refuses to become the hero Sun Wukong, and in this action he remains the rebel. It is because of his own journey/pilgrimage that he is able to accomplish his recovery. Does the ending suggest that the time for Wukong to become a rebel and troublemaker has come again? New adaptations follow the same track in which variants of Wukong, though they may be presented with varying degrees of humor or seriousness, are always marked by a shared sense of loneliness. His struggle has turned inward: finding his identity and his inner strength.

Adaptation of Journey to the West continues, and those receiving public praise have a common theme: rethinking the transition of Sun Wukong from a rebel to a pilgrim, and depicting Sun Wukong rising up as a rebel again. Wukong’s failure and dejection at the beginning and his ultimate transformation into a rebellious hero earns the audience’s sympathy, and their identification with him ensures interest in the project of such revision.

Three other noteworthy examples of postsocialist-oriented adaptation are: The Monkey King (2014), Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015), and “ Wukong,” as sung by Dai Quan on Sing My Song (2.015).

The Monkey King (2014), was a box-office success but a critical failure. Expectations for the film were high, but the top reviews on this site point to a central issue: Monkey is not presented as a rebel but rather as a naive demon who is manipulated by Bull Demon King; he willingly admits his “mistake” and wants to help rebuild the palace for the Jade Emperor. One reviewer calls the writer of the story “a Wu Cheng’en who works for the Propaganda Department,” and The Monkey King is seen as an educational film promoting the mainstream theme of cooperating with deities.

Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015) was a success both at the box office and in critics’ reviews. The film focuses on the moment when Monkey has just been released from the mountain after five hundred years of imprisonment. A dejected Monkey who cannot find his power all through the film, he is irritated, instigated, and finally inspired by a little boy named Jiang Liu (Tripitaka’s boyhood name), who believes in the greatness of the Great Sage he knows from legend. At the very last moment, Monkey rediscovers his magic power and defeats the demon Hundun. The short moment of Monkey regaining his magic in the end, lasting for only two minutes, wins the audience’s heart. Many popular reviews note Wukong repeatedly yelling throughout the film, “ I can’t do it, I can’t do it,” a frustration that aligns his character with normal human beings, in contrast to the radiant hero he finally becomes. The most popular review on douban.com states: “Every Chinese will fall in love with Sun Wukong. Each generation has its own Sun Wukong. I think this film can serve as a good first Monkey King film for children of the new century.”

Why does the audience respond to the Wukong in this 2015 film so positively while regarding the 2014 film as a failure? The different attitudes toward these two films point at the significance of the rebellious quality of a postsocialist hero. 2014 accepts what is offered him from both deities and demons, including evil plans that masquerade as friendly help and that eventually result in the havoc in heaven. 2015, however, does not just accept. He searches, he questions, and he fights against his limits, echoing the examples of A Chinese Odyssey.

The third example is the song “Wukong,” written by Dai Quan. The lyrics describe Wukong’s internal journey and struggle from a firstperson point of view. Explaining the reasons he wrote this song, Dai ays his identification with Sun Wukong is due to what he believes is the “spirit of Wukong” (Wukong jingshen): rebelliousness, variability, optimism, and persistence, which has encouraged him in his life as an artist. The bitterness and loneliness that Dai Quan’s Wukong experiences in his individual struggle, and the freedom this Wukong seeks, are particular traits of the postsocialist Wukons. "Wukong” sings at the refrain,

“What is the use of my Iron Rod and my transformations? There is no cure to the anxiety and frustration. Golden band on my head, unspeakable pain.”

But when it repeats at the end, the message turns positive, a victorious Wukong singing the last line:

“Watch my rod—it reduces all problems into ashes.”

The conflict between the golden fillet and the rod is notable in this short song. Engaging with this major conflict, Sun Wukong tries to use his rod to break free from the limitations of the fillet. This is a clear contrast to the socialist Wukong: the revolutionary who is invincible, and the loyal party supporter who does not complain about the golden fillet. After all his failures and frustrations, the postsocialist Wukong in the end manages to find something to celebrate, a sense of accomplishment for himself, as Dai Quan indicated in his statement:

“In the end, every monkey can become Sun Wukong.”

The monkey becomes Sun Wukong when he finds his lost ability to use his rod again. New adaptations of Journey to the West in recent years thus share several common features. The first is a clear individualist bent, as Wukong invariably goes through a personal struggle, the solution for which lies in himself, not in any external agency. Second, Wukong is no longer the filial protector of Tripitaka or true follower of Guanyin’s teaching. The once-suppressed rebellious spirit is back. And third, although Wukong still has to submit to heavenly authority, he is allowed to think, to search, and even to challenge. His signature Fillet, which is transformed into a bracelet in both Hero Is Back and “Wukong,” reflects this change

#anon ask #sun wukong #anonymous #anon #jttw #journey to the west #xiyouji #ask #monkey king #chinese odessey #monkey king hero is back #hero is back #monkey king 2015 #jttw15 #monkey king 2014

11 notes · View notes

moonbyulsstuff · 2 years ago

Note

Hi hii can I request for viral hit boys x gyaru/beauty + fashion influencer? Gender neutral reader if possible!

I think the idea of them (esp Taehun) will be rlly interesting and cute! Thankyou!

Them Dating A Beauty and Fashion Newtuber.

GN Reader.

Requested.

Masterlist.

Request Rules.

Characters: Seongjun Baek, Taehun Seong, Yeonu Ji.

Seongjun Baek:

A chef newtuber and a fashion + beauty newtuber dating?

It was definitely a hectik when everyone found out that the famous Seongjun Baek and [Name] [L.Name] are dating.

But it also lead to fans asking the both of you if you can appear at each other videos more often.

Which you both did.

He appeared on your channel first, mostly doing his makeup.

Which lead to a lot of "I wish it was me" comments from the fans.

You would use Seongjun as a face example for your videos like a lot.

And whenever you two go out, you would always make sure Seongjun goes out with a style.

You would always style his dress and he just goes along with it.

And you would style his hair a lot, pig tails, ponytails, and a lot of hairstyles.

He doesn't mind being pampered by his very own fashion designer.

Seongjun would always watch your videos, always in awestruck at your skills, and what you can do with a brush.

He would take you out for shopping and would help you looking at some makeup sets.

Or a new set of clothing.

He would spoil the hell of you.

You wanted that new set of makeup kit? He got it for you.

That new brushes? He has it for you ready.

That new Gucci shoes? Well he already bough it.

He will buy literally anything for you, if it helps your dream.

Taehun Seong:

Oooohhh! This boy!

Your absolute of an boyfriend was the perfect modal for your make up and stylish clothing.

Considering this bastard is one hell of a devilish boyfriend, so it wasn't a wonder on why he was chosen.

You would post videos on doing his makeup and it gained a lot of views, and you would use that of course to your advantage but you had a limit.

Considering there were many people who wanted to be Taehun's partner which made you jealous.

Which he teased you about but also reassured you.

Even when you don't video to film. You would still be practicing on him.

You sitting on his lap as you did his make up

He would sometimes tease you, especially when he's looking at you with a smoky look leaving you flustered.

And his clothing?

We can see that he dress simple but of course, you being you. You would style the hell of his clothing.

Telling him to wear what you recommended and over time, he would wear what you told him looks good on him.

After all, he would trust his partner when it comes to a good fashion sense.

Even though when you two first met, he teased you about it.

He really didn't understand anything about you.

Taehun thought makeup was weird.

He always thought why you would put paint on your face?

But after seeing on how you enjoyed it and it brought you happiness.

It made him understand about makeup a little bit more.

Because to be honest, thanks to you. You made him much more hotter, so it was much more easier to tease and fluster you.

Yeonu Ji:

This boy doesn't really know a lot about fashion, he only chose simple clothing just like Taehun.

So when he started dating you, his closet was full of clothing that you picked out for him.

You helped him style his clothing and would practice your makeup skills on him.

He likes being your model, he likes to see what you could do next.

And you two dated after he quit Newtube, finally being to do what he wants.

The first thing he did, was of course, dated you.

You would have Yeonu sometimes on your channel but only if he wanted to.

Considering he never really wanted it.

It always amazes him what you can do with makeup skills and fashion sense of style.

He was always curious and would sometimes watch you put on your makeup.

There was one time actually, where he wanted to do your makeup.

And it wasn't bad when he finished. Of course, you posted it on the internet.

And your fashion style?

Holy shit, it amazes what you can pair the type of clothing you have.

Like you wear something muted colors today and the next, you wear something bright.

And your shoes? He didn't know that those type of hands existed!

In overall, he's just amazed by what you do.

#🌙moonbyulsstuff works #requested #gender neutral reader #gn reader #x gender neutral reader #headcanons #webtoon #x gn reader #taehun seong #seongjun baek #yeonu ji #viral hit #how to fight #viral hit x gn reader #how to fight x gn reader

127 notes · View notes

webalothebruja · 8 days ago

Text

Video Essays I Watched In March

With the lack of film watching in my life, I have noticed video essays becoming a big part of my entertainment. This usually happens when I find myself not having the time to sit through a whole movie. I gravitate towards video essays because of their convenience. I can watch a whole one during my lunch and not have to find other things to watch to fill my time. Some might suggest I need to invest in a TV show and to that I say have you seen what is on TV nowadays?

These were some of the highlights of my month. The full list can be found on my instagram under the “video essays” story on my profile.

If you’re not following me on instagram-what are you doing @/webalothebruja

This Month's Fav Creator: Ryan Hollinger

I found myself so far up Ryan Holliger’s ass I could hear him say HIEVER from a mile away. Though it's not very hard to influence my boyfriend, he even enjoys Ryan Hollinger and found himself waiting for his next video on the queue. My particular fondness of him comes from not only his views on the films (because I couldn't agree with him more) but his confident understanding of the films he is reviewing. I consider him a reliable source and the influence on the horror films I will be watching in the future. For me, watching a video essay on a movie I have yet to see doesn't ruin the fun for me. If anything it makes me want to watch the film more because I can then go back to the video and see what points he was making. These are some of the videos I watched from him this month:

Ryan Hollinger-Exploring The Things Shockingly Faithful Video Game Adaptation ⭐️9/10

Ryan Hollinger- Exploring Nicolas Cage’s Most Disturbing Film ⭐️9/10

Ryan Hollinger- Why Is The House That Jack Built So Messed Up ⭐️8/10

Favorite Video This Month:

Hailey Elizabeth- 14 Year Old Murders Mom Over a Vape: Case of Carly Gregg

⭐️9/10

I had heard of this story briefly when it came out but I NEVER heard the details that made this story wickedly evil. This was one of those videos that had been sitting in my “watch later” folder on youtube for the longest time. I had enough interest to put it in there but I hadn't come around to watching it until recently. I used to watch Hailey Elzabeth a lot during covid and surprisingly missed the style of her videos. She is one of those creators who is just good at telling a story. And even if she’s doing something as simple as putting on makeup, I never lose interest in what she is talking about.

Unfortunately for me she was a youtuber that happened to fall through the cracks of the algorithm so I rarely see any of her videos but I'm glad this is the one that brought her back to me. One of the great things about Haley is she uses footage from different outlets. She shows the video they used in court that presents the crime that was done. When I finished watching this video I couldn't help but send it to my homies. That's how much it impacted me.

Good But Hard to Recommend:

Nicole Rafiee- Chronically online girl explains Nikki Blonsky controversy + lore.

⭐️10/10

This is a category that I am unsure will stay here but it felt needed. I loved Hairspray when I was a kid so I clicked on this video mainly for nostalgia purposes. I had briefly heard about Nikki Blonsky’s racist past recently. I am no longer on tiktok due to political indifferences so I had no idea she had a resurgence over on that side of the internet. This video really went into detail on her past which I appreciated because I wasn't keeping tabs on the girl. Really the only thing I knew her from was Hairspray and all her tweets where she would introduce over the internet numerous times.

This video feels educational, even though there is chisme being spread which I appreciate. I think what sets Nicole apart from other drama channels is she's really just here to tell a story and update anyone who may not have all the details.

What makes this hard to recommend is the topic. To be honest I dont know anyone around me who gives a shit about Hairspray as much as I do. I showed my best friend Micah Hairspray for the first time last year. I want to say it didn't age well but then again, was it ever really considered a great piece of film when it came out? I’m unsure. I was only 5 years old when it was released.

Least Favorite This Month:

Whang!- Reddit’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery: SecretHDD and Dovic - Tales From The Internet

⭐️0/10

This video essay, though short, pissed me off. I haven’t watched any of this creators videos previous to this one but just based off the recommendations under the video, I believe this is part of a series. This topic may have been a huge mystery on Reddit but I dont necessarily think it translated to that big of a deal in video form. I think Reddit mysteries sometimes come off as a bigger deal when you’re looking at the threads and the numerous comments but if you’ve ever tried to explain some of the things you’ve seen on Reddit to a friend, they can come out lackluster. Which is probably why those videos exist where they’ll tell a story from Reddit but have some Minecraft gameplay in the background. Because without that gameplay, people would probably find nothing to hook themselves onto to want to watch the full video.

Now, this isnt any hate to the creator. His rendition of this story wasnt the problem. It was the story itself. This “great” Reddit mystery was never solved because the case itself never came to light.

The story goes that a Redditor found a hard drive sewed into a bag he had purchased online that happened to be second hand. When he tried to contact the previous owner he got no response. After numerous attempts to try to get the information off the hard drive, it was then going to be sent to another Redditor who believed they could retrieve the information. Which is a great set up cause now we’re all wondering what the hell was on the hard drive. Turns out the original redditor never sent it to the guy so now we’re just left with a guy who found a hard drive. There. Done. No new information…

So in that case why are we telling this story?

Short and Sweet:

Popicana- Iconic Pop Culture Moments: The Meat Dress

Popicana is a channel that makes various videos on drama from the 2000s. It can sort of be seen as a time capsule for all things seen in the tabloids or topics that may need more information beyond the rumors.

The Selador-Rage by Stephen King | The Book You’re Not Supposed to Read

I don’t want to give away too much information about this video but this was one of my favorites this month as well! If it hadn’t been so short I probably would have placed it in the number one spot but I think the length of the video is excellent.

This was a topic I knew about briefly but I did not know the details. Leave it to Stephen King to write some freaky shit. I couldn't be more surprised. Then again, reflecting on the events that led to Stephen King outing himself makes me realize we as a society would have cancelled this man to death had this happened in the present time.

Honorable Mentions:

Defunctland- The History of the Muppet Show

⭐️9/10

I love Defunctland! This is one of their videos from their Muppet series.

Brie Cheese- Shane Dawson Won $250,000 For Directing Not Cool (2014) | The Chair Review

⭐️9/10

Even though I have watched numerous videos about Shane Dawson in The Chair, this video is what got me to finally watch the series.

Theft King-The FNAF game that DISAPEARED

⭐️9/10

I cannot believe this game is actually real. After hearing about the lore surrounding this game, I can see it easily becoming lost media.

Coldcrashpictures-Candyman: Breaking All The Rules to Horror

⭐️9/10

If you’re curious about Candy Man lore-and don't mind spoilers-this is an interesting watch. I have recently become infatuated with Tony Todd so I have been looking more into his filmography.

If you have any recommendations for video essays please let me know! I’m always open to new creators and topics!

#gabriella alcala #blog #film #cinephile #video essay #video recommendation

2 notes · View notes

theforbiddeneden · 11 months ago

Text

An Offering From Drumeo | Sleep Token II/ Uma Oferenda da Drumeo | Sleep Token II

youtube

II: I am II and this is an offering from Drumeo.

II: Eu sou o II e esta é uma oferenda do Drumeo.

Interviewer: Well, to all of you out there watching – this is going to be a really special Drumeo live feature, because this is the first recorded video interview that any member of Sleep Token has ever done and we’re honored that II has decided to do this with us. So welcome here, thanks for tuning in! And for any of you who don’t know who II is: he’s a founding member and the drummer for the anonymous band Sleep Token. They just put out a brand new album this year called Take Me Back to Eden, which is one of my personal favorite albums of this year – of 2023. I highly recommend you go check it out because it’s unreal and II’s playing is incredible. But before we jump into the interview – what you see here on the YouTube channel just scratches the surface of what we do here at Drumeo. Inside of our membership, we have thousands of song transcriptions with drumless tracks, including tons of stuff from Sleep Token. We have a full method that will teach you anything and everything about playing the drums. So if you want to check that out, there’s a link down below – drumeo.com/trial – and you can see everything we’re up to in the members area. We’re going to get into it: we’re going to be talking about II’s drumming, we’re going to be talking about some Sleep Token songs, and II is going to be playing a bunch of tracks. Let’s get right into it! Here we go.

Entrevistador: Bem, para todos vocês assistindo – esta será uma entrevista especial ao vivo do Drumeo, porque este é o primeiro vídeo gravado de uma entrevista que qualquer membro do Sleep Token já fez e estamos honrados que o II tenha decidido fazer isso conosco. Então, bem-vindo! E para qualquer um de vocês que não sabe quem é II: ele é um membro fundador e o baterista da banda anônima Sleep Token. Eles acabaram de lançar um novo álbum este ano chamado "Take Me Back to Eden", que é um dos meus álbuns favoritos deste ano – de 2023. Eu recomendo fortemente que você dê uma olhada porque é incrível e a performance de II é incrível.

Mas antes de começarmos a entrevista – o que você vê aqui no canal do YouTube é apenas uma amostra do que fazemos aqui no Drumeo. Dentro da nossa assinatura, temos milhares de transcrições de músicas com faixas sem bateria, incluindo muitas coisas do Sleep Token. Temos um método completo que ensinará tudo sobre tocar bateria. Então, se você quiser conferir, há um link abaixo – drumeo.com/trial – e você pode ver tudo o que estamos fazendo na área de membros.

Vamos começar: vamos falar sobre a bateria do II, vamos falar sobre algumas músicas do Sleep Token, e II vai tocar várias faixas. Vamos direto ao assunto! Aqui vamos nós.

Interviewer: So, from the drums, you can hear lots of influences just in your playing. You can hear rock, metal, electronic music. How do you apply all of this within your drum parts?

Entrevistador:Então, pela bateria, você pode ouvir muitas influências apenas na sua maneira de tocar. Você pode ouvir rock, metal, música eletrônica. Como você aplica tudo isso nas suas partes de bateria?

II: I’ve always personally taken a lot of inspiration from the UK dance music scene. Listening to various subgenres of drum and bass, specifically, allowed me to incorporate stylistic traits from those genres into my vocabulary as a drummer.

II: Sempre tirei muita inspiração da cena musical de dança do Reino Unido. Ouvir vários subgêneros de bateria e baixo, especificamente, me permitiu incorporar traços estilísticos desses gêneros no meu vocabulário como baterista.

Interviewer: So, over the three Sleep Token records, how has your playing evolved from the first to the last album?

Entrevistador: Então, ao longo dos três discos do Sleep Token, como sua forma de tocar evoluiu do primeiro ao último álbum?

II: I would say that while my stylistic approach and goals have generally stayed the same, my vocabulary on the kit has expanded. I try to work on not always using the same phrases, or using those phrases in the same voicing, to ensure the parts remain somewhat interesting. However, this in itself is a continual work in progress. As a player, I will admit that I – like others – don’t always achieve this. But to me, that is very, very much all part of the journey itself.

II: Eu diria que embora minha abordagem estilística e meus objetivos tenham permanecido geralmente os mesmos, meu vocabulário na bateria se expandiu. Tento trabalhar para não usar sempre as mesmas batidas, ou usar essas batidas na mesma voz, para garantir que as partes permaneçam um tanto interessantes. No entanto, isto por si só é um trabalho contínuo em progresso. Como músico, admito que eu – como outros – nem sempre consigo isso. Mas para mim, isso faz parte da jornada em si.

II: As I mentioned, I’m also a big fan of R&B and pop, which has worked its way into my playing. I grew up primarily playing metal, so the next obvious step for me was to blend these other styles in amongst heavier playing to add versatility to my drum parts.

II: Como mencionei, também sou um grande fã de R&B e pop, o que influenciou minha forma de tocar. Eu cresci tocando principalmente metal, então o próximo passo óbvio para mim foi misturar esses outros estilos com uma forma de tocar mais pesada para adicionar versatilidade às minhas partes de bateria.

Interviewer: So, when you’re developing your drum parts for the albums, are you just coming up with those yourself before the rest of the song is built or are you hearing the other instrument parts first and then basing your parts off of that?

Entrevistador: Então, quando você está desenvolvendo suas partes de bateria para os álbuns, você mesmo as cria antes do resto da música ser construída ou você está ouvindo as outras partes do instrumento primeiro e depois baseando suas partes nisso?

II: Most – if not all – of the time, I try to pay close attention to the vocals and figure out any specific syllables that can benefit from accents on the kit. I sometimes use the vocal line as a guide of sorts to dance in between what’s being sung, too. Filling in those gaps, if you will. Typically speaking, songs don’t start from a particular drum part, although this isn’t necessarily deliberate. Another element I look for when writing are any specific syncopation[s] that the drums must match. This could be a pattern on the guitar, a breakdown of sorts, something… something electronic … But I feel this takes away a lot of the guesswork when initially writing parts and provides me with a clearer idea of the song in question.

II: Na maior parte – senão em todo –do tempo, tento prestar muita atenção aos vocais e descobrir quaisquer sílabas específicas que possam se beneficiar dos acentos da bateria. Às vezes, uso a linha vocal como uma espécie de guia para dançar entre o que está sendo cantado também. Preenchendo essas lacunas, se você quiser.

Normalmente falando, as músicas não começam com uma parte específica da bateria, embora isso não seja necessariamente deliberado. Outro elemento que procuro ao escrever são quaisquer síncopes específicas que a bateria deva corresponder. Isso pode ser um padrão na guitarra, uma espécie de quebra, algo… algo eletrônico… Mas sinto que isso elimina muitas das suposições ao escrever inicialmente as partes e me fornece uma ideia mais clara da música em questão.

Interviewer: So, around the kit, you can see you’re using lots of different linear stockings and sticking patterns. What are some of the ones that you would say define your drumming?

Entrevistador: Então, em torno da bateria, você pode ver que está usando muita bateria linear(linear drumming) e padrões de baquetas(sticking patterns) diferentes. Quais são alguns dos que você diria que definem sua forma de tocar bateria?

II: I’ve always been a big Eric Moore fan, and gospel drummers in general, that I’ve taken a lot of influence from. A couple of Eric’s licks find their way into my playing. As an example, I use an eight-note linear phrase, which is played as right-left-right-left-kick, right-left-kick. That, along with a phrase called the ‘3-1-3-2’, which is a triplet phrasing of nine notes played as right-left-right-kick, right-left-right again on the hands, and then finished with two notes on the kick. What I particularly like about this phrasing is that it’s three notes short of resolving itself. So, as a drummer, you’re forced to be creative with those last three notes and finish the sticking – the phrasing – in any way you see fit.

II: Sempre fui um grande fã de Eric Moore, e de bateristas gospel em geral, dos quais recebi muita influência. Algumas batidas de Eric entram na minha forma de tocar. Como exemplo, uso um ritmo linear de oito notas, que é tocada como bumbo direito-esquerdo-direito-esquerdo, bumbo direito-esquerdo. Isso, junto com um ritmo de chamada '3-1-3-2', que é um ritmo triplo de nove notas tocadas com bumbo direito-esquerdo-direito, direita-esquerda-direita novamente nas mãos e depois finalizado com duas notas no bumbo. O que eu particularmente gosto nesse ritmo é que faltam três notas para ele se resolver. Então, como baterista, você é forçado a ser criativo com as últimas três notas e terminar com as baquetas– o ritmo– da maneira que achar melhor.

II: Additionally, I’m a big fan of the standard paradiddle. I use this as a chop starter often, as I feel it’s an organic way to prepare the listener for a slightly busier section within the drums themselves.

II: Além disso, sou um grande fã do Paradiddle Padrão (Standard Paradiddle). Eu uso isso frequentemente como um ponto de partida, pois sinto que é uma maneira orgânica de preparar o ouvinte para uma seção um pouco mais movimentada dentro da própria bateria.

II: I also use the six stroke roll often in various elements of my playing – whether it’s groove- or fill-based. Another song I enjoy playing live is entitled ‘Like That’. This is from our second record. Arguably, the drum parts in that song are, to this day, my favorite that I’ve written.

II: Eu também uso o rulo(Stroke Roll) de seis tempos frequentemente em vários elementos do meu jeito de tocar – seja baseado em groove ou preenchimento(fill-based). Outra música que gosto de tocar ao vivo se chama ‘Like That’. É do nosso segundo disco. Indiscutivelmente, as partes de bateria dessa música são, até hoje, as minhas favoritas que já escrevi.

Interviewer: So, when you’re performing live with Sleep Token, do you try to stay true to the record or are you actually taking quite a few creative liberties in the live set?

Entrevistador: Então, quando você está se apresentando ao vivo com o Sleep Token, você tenta se manter fiel ao disco ou está realmente tomando algumas liberdades criativas no set ao vivo?

II: I would say that most of the parts that I tend to play in a live setting vary drastically to what was tracked on the record itself. This happens for a number of reasons. Sometimes, when I have more time to sit with a finished track, while rehearsing for a tour, I can look at it through a different lens and subsequently come up with a more interesting variation live. On the other hand, these things can happen more naturally and take on a different feel or sticking due to simply playing a certain song for long periods of time across touring. There are, of course, certain parts in each song that must remain true to the original. This could be a syncopated guitar part or even an electronic part on the pads that serves more of a supporting role within the song.

II: Eu diria que a maioria das partes que costumo tocar ao vivo variam drasticamente em relação ao que foi gravado no próprio disco. Isso acontece por vários motivos. Às vezes, quando tenho mais tempo para sentar com uma faixa finalizada, enquanto ensaio para uma turnê, posso olhar para ela através de lentes diferentes e, posteriormente, criar uma variação mais interessante ao vivo. Por outro lado, essas coisas podem acontecer de forma mais natural e assumir uma sensação ou aderência diferente simplesmente por tocar uma determinada música por longos períodos de tempo durante a turnê. É claro que existem certas partes em cada música deve permanecer fiéis ao original. Pode ser uma parte sincopada de guitarra ou até mesmo uma parte eletrônica nos pads de bateria que desempenha mais um papel de apoio na música.

Interviewer: So, who are some of your favorite drummers who have influenced your playing over the years?

Entrevistador: Então, quem são alguns dos seus bateristas favoritos que influenciaram sua forma de tocar ao longo dos anos?

II: When I first started playing, I – like many others in my generation – were heavily into drummers such as Joey Jordison, Matt from the band Mudvayne, as well as the more extreme speed players, such as Derek Roddy.

II: Quando comecei a tocar, eu – como muitos outros da minha geração – gostava muito de bateristas como Joey Jordison, Matt da banda Mudvayne, e também músicos de velocidade mais extrema, como Derek Roddy.

II: I was very much obsessed with the gospel style of playing. I spent most of my early adulthood studying players.

II: Eu estava muito obcecado com o estilo gospel de tocar. Passei a maior parte da minha vida adulta estudando bateristas.

II: Tony Royster Jr., Eric Moore, Thomas Pridgen. Slowing down … Simply slowing down YouTube videos in a feeble attempt to understand their concepts, their stickings and influences. These days, I would describe my playing style as a mixture of that signature Abe Cunningham, Deftones-inspired heavier sort of grooving with a linear style gospel influence.

II: Tony Royster Jr., Eric Moore, Thomas Pridgen. Desacelerando… Simplesmente indo mais devagar os vídeos do YouTube em uma tentativa fraca de entender seus conceitos, suas dificuldades e influências. Hoje em dia, eu descreveria meu estilo de tocar como uma mistura daquele tipo de groove mais pesado, característico de Abe Cunningham, inspirado no Deftones, com uma influência gospel de estilo linear.

Interviewer: So, II, what are some of your favorite Sleep Token songs to perform live?

Entrevistador: Então, II, quais são suas músicas favoritas do Sleep Token para tocar ao vivo?

II: I’ve always enjoyed playing a song from our first record entitled Sundowning called ‘Higher’. The parts in that song have always felt very interactive to me, very fun to play, while maintaining a fair deal of variance across the song itself. In regards to any newer material, I enjoy playing a track called ‘The Summoning’ due to the live addition of a drum solo that gives me a little a little more creative freedom, as well as its challenging feel.

II: Sempre gostei de tocar uma música do nosso primeiro disco, intitulada Sundowning, chamada ‘Higher’. As partes dessa música sempre foram muito interativas para mim, muito divertidas de tocar, embora mantendo uma boa variação na música em si. Em relação a qualquer material mais recente, gosto de tocar uma faixa chamada ‘The Summoning’ devido à adição ao vivo de um solo de bateria que me dá um pouco mais de liberdade criativa, bem como a sua sensação desafiadora.

Interviewer: Well, that’s going to conclude this stream with II from Sleep Token. II, thank you for being here and sharing your insights into Sleep Token’s music. And with that, we’re going to close with some final pieces of music from Sleep Token and I’ll leave this one to II. Take care, everyone!

Entrevistador: Bem, vamos encerrar esta transmissão com II do Sleep Token. II, obrigado por estar aqui e compartilhar seus insights sobre a música do Sleep Token. E com isso vamos encerrar com algumas músicas finais do Sleep Token e deixarei essa para II. Se cuidem, pessoal!

CR:

Transcription English Version, click here

Portuguese translation theforbiddeneden

#Youtube #vessel sleep token #sleep token #sleep token music #sleep token ii #ii #iv sleep token #ivy #drumeo #interview #drums #sleep token drummer

8 notes · View notes