#remember your own lyrics justin: what goes around comes around

[nessa007]

[whatiwillsay]

off topic - let’s talk about gaylena 👀

selena gomez is one of taylor’s oldest and bestest friends and given that she is in the 22 liner notes, a huge part of taylor’s life, and maybe fruity herself it seems like possibly we don’t talk about her here at the blog enough!

i don’t want to do a timeline of selena and taylor’s friendship - you can read more about that here, but they met back in the day when they were both dating jonas brothers and to me this idea of finding a real friendship in the midst of these contrived promances is pretty adorable.

ofc most of y’all think taylor is a fruit basket but i think there’s a good chance that selena is too!  i’m not saying she is for sure but y’all know me.  i’’m here to make a compelling case that everyone and their dog is gay so let’s gooooo! 

Part I - At least one fake rs!  

Selena “dated” Taylor Lautner in 2009 and he’s definitely gay.  Of course, that doesn’t mean she is, it could just be PR, but y’all know I gotta note everything!  We stan our fruity bffs dating the same gays 😍

Part II - Selena x cara delevingne

i feel like there’s a chance they met through taylor but everyone in that squad adjacent circle knows one another.  cara dated michelle rodriguez for the first half of 2014 and then got with annie clark in March 2015 but it feels like it’s possible something has gone on between her and Selena from summer 2014 - early 2015? ...maybe something casual on and off a bit?

August 2014 - Steamy pics surface in Saint-Tropez, France

Selena and and a freshly single Cara vacation together in part to celebrate Selena’s 22nd birthday.

They party together and look cozy!

Pictures such as this surface and spark rumors around the two:

Selena apparently loves the rumors and gushes about being shipped with Cara.

Quote:

You say Selena drag queens were the true measure of success for you. But isn’t it true that you’re not truly famous until you’ve been the subject of a gay rumor? And last year, the tabloids had a field day with photos of you and Cara Delevingne. I’ve made it!

How did you react to those rumors? Honestly, I loved it. I didn’t mind it. Especially because they weren’t talking about other people in my life for once, which was wonderful. Honestly, though, she’s incredible and very open and she just makes me open. She’s so fun and she’s just extremely adventurous, and sometimes I just want that in my life, so I didn’t mind it. I loved it.

Notice she doesn’t deny them?  Now of course she could just be being cool, if she freaked out about it that might be even weirder but hey, it’s still kind of interesting.

Then she admits to questioning her sexuality???

Have you ever questioned your sexuality? Oh, I think everybody does, no matter who they are. I do, yeah, of course. Absolutely. I think it’s healthy to gain a perspective on who you are deep down, question yourself and challenge yourself; it’s important to do that.

(Selena btw, this is cool and all, but not everybody questions their sexuality, maybe you’re just gay 👀)

November 1 - LACMA Art + Film Gala 

they even left the event together 👀

and they hung out earlier that day as well:

They were seen the next day partying for Kendall Jenner’s bday singing to her:

a few weeks later Cara tweets Selena’s lyrics!

In December 2014 they are travelling together in texas:

in january 2015 they get cozy at the golden globes together!

and they leave together again:

January 19th/20th a bunch of gay nonsense happens

They post this gay shit with matching shoes and linked fingers:

then they say this to one another:

Enty says they were hooking up!

then we don’t get any more content that i can find for about six months! perhaps they had a fling from summer 2014-jan 2015 and then it ends, Cara gets with Annie in March?  Then after half a year apart Selena and Cara resume a friendly relationship?  Perhaps!  Selena is seen with Justin a bit off and on during this time but this was in their Style/Heat Death Era imo (tbh i probably shouldn’t give a hetty pairing including Justin that designation 🤢but y’all get what I’m saying - it’s fully possible Selena was hooking up with both of them!

Now I’m not super familiar with Selena’s discography so y’all lmk if I’m missing anything major - lyric wise that point to her not being straight.

Selena’s album Revival that comes out after this relationship has a few songs with some vibes, even though I get the feeling a lot of it is probably about Justin, allow me to reach.  The title track could be translated as someone coming to terms with their sexuality (among other things):

I feel like I've awakened lately The chains around me are finally breaking I've been under self-restoration I've become my own salvation Showing up, no more hiding, hiding The light inside me is bursting, shining It's my, my, my time to butterfly

Good for you, imo, is too sexy to be about a man even if it’s not super queer lyrically it’s a vibe ok?

Me & My Girls might be a bestie anthem a la 22 (oh wait, no 22 was gay too) but I mean...could be about a girl gang of lesbians too!

And if we want it, we take it If we need money, we make it Nobody knows if we fake it You like to watch while we shake it I know we're making you thirsty You want us all in the worst way But you don't understand I don't need a man 

Quinn Fabray indeed!

Nobody feels probably like a retrospective on Justin 🙄but...there is a hint of sapphic craving in there!  Saying this particular lover loves them differently than everyone is a bit 👀 plus this stanza:

No oxygen, can barely breathe My darkest sin, you've raised release And it's all because of you, all because of you And I don't know what it is, but you've pulled me in No one compares, could ever begin To love me like you do And I wouldn't want them to

Is Perfect about some bitch Justin started dating?  Probably but bear with me here this song is actually pretty fucking gay.  Gay enough that I’m gonna add it to one of my gay playlists.  Could this song actually be about Cara moving on to Annie?

Ooh, and I bet she has it all Bet she's beautiful like you, like you And I bet she's got that touch Makes you fall in love, like you, like you

I can taste her lipstick and see her laying across your chest I can feel the distance every time you remember her fingertips Maybe I should be more like her Maybe I should be more like her I can taste her lipstick, it's like I'm kissing her, too And she's perfect And she's perfect

Part III - Selena x Julia Michaels

Julia Michaels is a singer/songwriter known for her song Issues.  I don’t know her sexuality but she at the least has gay vibes!  It seems they met around this time perhaps because Julia wrote on Revival.

They have a friendly enough friendship for a few years, liking one another’s posts on IG from time to time, posing for a photo a time or two and then they seem to get swept up into this very intense friendship in 2019.  They write some music together and Julia goes whole hog in promoting the shoe brand Selena is hawking this time 😭

2019 - The Superior Sapphic Jelena Timeline:

It starts, for some reason with a lot of shoe promotion:

chill, chill

more shoes

but more gayness?

this homo shit

ok...

Then we go into the REALLY GAY NOVEMBER OF 2019:

Then they perform together:

And...actually kiss...on the mouth on stage???

Sure it’s just a peck but still...if that were a guy people would say they were dating.  

Somehow kissing on the mouth isn’t the gayest thing these girls do over this period because these fucking dykes got matching tattoos.  I’ve read enough Larry blogs to know this actually means they’re secretly married.  All jokes aside this is fruity behavior. 

From their IG stories:

Selena gets Julia a very nice christmas gift:

Covid sets in and content drops off but god damn!  It’s possible they just had an intense friendship but if a man and a woman collabed on music together, kissed in public, and got matching tattoos everyone would say they were dating!

Selena, as far as I can find, didn’t have any public boyfriends around this time so who are some of these love songs about?

Rare comes out in January 2020 and perhaps has some gayish songs?

Don’t tell me why but boyfriend lowkey, has a gay vibe.  Don’t ask me to explain it but it’s just the musicality of it.

Crowded Room could be a love song for Julia?  (or by Julia for Selena, since they’re collaborators?)

Baby, it's just me and you Baby, it's just me and you Just us two Even in a crowded room Baby, it's just me and you, yeah

These are general gay vibes, our secret moments in a crowded room tease

It started polite, out on thin ice 'Til you came over to break it I threw you a line and you were mine

It would have started out polite between them, since they worked together for years before whatever 2019 was happened.  And throwing someone a line first of all makes Selena sound like the aggressor but also “throwing someone a line” could be a reference to writing songs together.

Yeah, I was afraid, but you made it safe I guess that is our combination Said you feel lost, well, so do I So won't you call me in the morning? I think that you should call me in the morning If you feel the same, 'cause

Lots of people are afraid at the beginning of a gay rs.  Treacherous tease 👀

In summation!

Selena does gay stuff like fantasizing ab kissing other women in her music, getting very touchy with famous dykes on vacay, hangs out with Taylor Swift, has chronic mental health issues, dated a jonas brother and a twilight gay, has admitted to questioning her sexuality, and loves being shipped with women.  Is she gay?  I don’t know!   But all she’s missing from her celesbian bingo card is a suspiciously intense friendship with a Glee Cast member! What do you guys think?  Selena fruity or just weird?

Edit to add: so apparently I missed an entire ship and Selena supposedly acted really gay all the time with her backup dancer Charity Baroni.  Exposing SMG has posted a lot about all that.

Also Selena has been cast in a gay role! edit to add: @bisluthq went and found this for me - julia is indeed a fruit queen

[kaorimiyazonotl]

Like Us, Like You and I

Do we get it yet? Do we get and understand the fact that every celebrity and artist are like us. Filled with mountains of struggles, emotions, issues, illnesses, and so much other shit. I don't think people get it, they're not gods or goddesses of Olympus, Cardi B was a child once and so was Selena Gomez. Everyone starts as a child and then their career paths just take them on the road to fame, money, and chaos. People struggle, they struggle, we struggle, all of us struggle! She may look like the top hottest model but she has insecurities of her own, he may sing so good, but singing so good cost him to lose his voice. We may be inspired at what they do but some of them weren't born perfect or lucky, in one of Alicia Keys's songs Love Looks Better, one of her lyrics is

"Coming, coming from the bottom Better learn how to dance Find, find what you're made of, alright"

Just one of the main key points of her song, to me it was a reminder that she wasn't born into a famous family or a royalty family, she was born like us filled with passion for making music, writing songs, and singing. I bet Alicia keys struggled too. The Main key thing to always remember is, there's no such thing as being P-E-R-F-E-C-t, we all get anxiety, OCD, pimples, stress, trets, depression, bipolar, etc. The celebrities we look up to so desperate and dearly too are just as connected to us as they are.

We weren't made perfect. If we were the most common thing we'd be would be a frickin robot, not knowing certain emotions, being controlled how to act and behave a certain way. Who wants to be a puppet? I sure as hell don't, I want to live my life the way I want it. First I gotta find my way and break that barrier. So I got inspired by a documentary and I noticed that we relate to many struggles like the celebrities and artists or any other, but the thing about being famous, is how to deal with the hate we give them, the expectations, just what we want from them until they break, which it pretty F up because if your a fan, your suppose to love them and accept that hey "their music and songs are dope" or "hey, that movie they were in was pretty cool". I get the media trying to pinpoint some details about them to make a story of shade and gossip, but you're frickin invading their privacy of spilling out the beans. I think it's rude because I think that just want to live a normal life of peace. But the reason for the media is so WE the audience/fans can have an understanding of where they come from and what they've been through or believe the lies the media points out so we can either love or criticize their work. The criticism we give them must hurt too much to a young artist or celebrity cause at such a young age, who the hell knows how to brush off the hate? It's a work and progress to get through those tough walls.

I watched Billie Eilish's The World Seems a Little Blurry and I really liked it some of the things I liked was, because she does all this work to please us maybe or maybe not but still, the concerts, she's even said she wants to give us a good show. I can relate to trying to please people cause I'm so worried about what other people think (Hello aka What Other People Say by Sam Fisher ft. Demi Lovato, highly recommend)and we forget that there are just some things we can't do to please others cause we forget to love ourselves first and that's key. I've read over like I think six poetry books and no matter how the sentence is put, but to love others you have to love yourself first.

So, I watched the documentary and I loved it, she was giving us little bits of behind-the-scenes throughout her eight teenage years, and hey from the looks of it, she's grown from what I see, she's different. She doesn't show off or point out she's famous,  she didn't use that to buy a new house like everybody else, she got what she wanted and I think she's satisfied with that. If I could do an interview I wouldn't know where to begin, but I love how she doesn't put it out there that she has money. I mean she could probably use it for vacation but you never know. Anywho, anyone who's done a documentary, like Shawn Mendes, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Justin Biber, and any other celebrity is so we can see the behind-the-scenes and what they go through or what's their schedule like or any other stuff they want to show us. Also speaking do documentaries, I know that the Demi Lovato fans know what's coming and I can't wait either so fingers crossed to release soon. ( I can't wait)

I may not know why they show us the insides, I think it's because people ask too many questions and haters got nothing better to do. But maybe to give the fans a better understanding from their perspective that they're human too. I've said in previous writings of mine that nobody's perfect, cause we're all equally connected and go through the same struggles or illnesses. We forget that people, celebrities, famous poets, models, artists, any significant other have insecurities and emotions too, they hurt, laugh, love, enjoy, and suffer through something, it may be worse than others, but look it doesn't matter about race, everyone goes down the struggle path. That's the toughest road there is and at some point, you can break down that barrier and the walls around you. We are all equally connected and it doesn't matter if they're famous or not.

[thesimperiuscurse]

FINE. All of them for EVA. Jerk

NO U. aight i’m gonna answer these for the start of chapter 6, two weeks from the end of chapter 5. 

zinc white; how are you really feeling today? no one-word answers please! 

ready to kick ass, make the most of her work day, determined for upcoming regionals and exams. nothing is yet to trouble her.  

cadmium yellow; when you think of the word “happy” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? 

the faces of her family. they are what she loves most in the world. 

lemon; what’s your comfort food?

in winter, her mom makes rich and creamy soups with veggies from the garden. pair that with soft buns fresh from the oven, and it’s guaranteed to comfort eva on the coldest and dreariest days.  

hansa yellow; what’s your guilty pleasure song? 

classic justin timberlake songs, like cry me a river. 

yellow ochre; name an artist/band whom you just discovered & can’t get enough of! 

just yesterday i found a new one for eva, an electronic artist named kloud. there’s one song in particular, humans, the lyrics and intense beat of which she’s super vibing with.    

naples yellow; where do you feel most at home?

the family villa in malibu. cherry and gabriel made sure to raise their children in a happy, secure, peaceful home. no repeat of their own turbulent and traumatic childhoods. 

raw sienna; with whom do you feel most at home?

again, her family. 

golden ochre; describe the relationship you have with your closest friend. 

eva doesn’t have a best friend. all the people she’s really close to are members of her family. she’s always been far too ballet-focused to maintain deep relationships with anyone outside of her family. however, she’s now growing very comfortable with sasha, piper, misha, and mako. they’re all quite bantery with each other. 

golden deep; what’s your favorite season? 

summer. always. 

cadmium orange; what do you like to do on your days off? 

her day off is sunday. currently — she wakes up at 8:30, has a slow breakfast with piper in the cafe, checks in with the academy physiotherapist at 11:00, and the rest of the day is loosely scheduled for gym, procrastinating maths homework, kickboxing, visiting family, playing her guitar, or watching netflix.   

orange lake; do you have anyone you can turn to when you’re sad? 

she has a super strong support system in all her family members, but her mom in particular. cherry is always checking up by call whether her daughter is happy and healthy. 

titans; do you prefer slow mornings or relaxing evenings? 

slow mornings. eva can’t wake up before eight, and if she’s forced to, she’ll get cranky. she wakes up when the sun does. 

shakhnazaryan red; are you currently binge-watching anything? 

not binging, but she’s slowly working through sex education on netflix. 

red ochre; are you more right-brained (creative) or left-brained (analytical)? 

right-brained. she can’t analyse for shit, unless she’s working something out using empathy and emotional intelligence. like misha, in that sense. 

burnt sienna; is there a painting that brings you peace when you look at it? 

she’s not one to enjoy the silent purity of art galleries. she prefers to explore nature and breathe in the ever-changing beauty of the earth. the sight of the sea always brings her peace. 

english red; what animal do you relate to most? 

probably a dumb but very cute and energetic dog.

vermilion; what’s your favorite accent?

scottish? she finds limmy’s show hilarious.  

cadmium red; do you have a “type” when it comes to a significant other? 

for summer boyfriends: hot surfer boys, tall and athletic, that have a big smile and laugh, laidback yet adventurous, sunkissed with messy sea-salted hair. in other words, mako ain’t it. for a significant other: she hasn’t thought about it. a serious romantic relationship is not in her interest for now.  

scarlet; describe your current crush/es. 

no crushes. or at least, she hasn’t realised she has one yet. hehe.  

ruby; what does your ideal first date look like? 

eva doesn’t actually go on proper dates. she can’t be bothered with awkward conversations and formalities. she might grab an icecream with a guy, surf and play sports, or go to a bonfire beach party together.    

carmine; what does your ideal second date look like? 

hook up with him, i guess. 

madder lake red; would you ever kiss someone (or accept a kiss) on a first date? 

if it isn’t clear by now, eva gives absolutely zero fucks about traditions or ‘rules’ around dating. her relationships are in friend-with-benefits territory, and she goes straight for what she wants.

rose; what’s something really positive going on in your life right now?

the family puppy, senor papperino. her siblings send her a million pictures of him as he grows up. a bittersweet joy.  

quinacridone rose; what’s something you’re really looking forward to?

her cousin amaya is getting married to amir next year, a spring wedding in the sonoran desert. eva’s helping her with the planning and dress design, which lilith is to create.     

violet rose; what does your dream house look like? 

a simple beach house, warm with natural light, that sits gently in nature. small, because her time spent inside is minimal. she really isn’t impressed with flashy luxuries.  

violet; is there any place in particular you’d like to settle down? 

a place right by the beach. she loves malibu and would want to stay close to her family. 

blue lake; what would you like to do/accomplish before you settle down? 

honestly, ‘settling down’ is something she’s barely thought about. she’s going to dance professionally as long as she can, maybe become a teacher like darcy, and explore her other passions, like surfing and environmental conservation. the traditional concept of marrying then having children is one that she feels may happen to her naturally, rather than she HAS to settle down at a specific point in her life. it’s just not on her priority list. 

cobalt blue spectral; what is the most beautiful place you have ever been to?

the most beautiful place in the world in eva’s mind is the garden at her family home, which blooms with dandelion clocks in summer, full of fruit trees, and is right by her favourite beach. her happiest childhood memories lie there. 

ultramarine; when was the last time you were in a good mood? do you know/remember what sparked it? 

at the moment, eva’s always in a good mood, because she’s in a place where she’s working at her greatest passion everyday. she’s friends with mako now, so the only person that could really put her in a bad mood is vicky. 

blue; what’s the most recent dream you remember? 

she can’t remember any of her dreams. 

bright blue; what does your dream family look like? any kids or pets? how many of each? 

since eva doesn’t really care about getting married, that hasn’t crossed her mind. she already has a broad, loving, ‘dream’ family, and her siblings are bound to have kids, so she doesn’t feel any pressure. she would be perfectly happy spending time with her nieces/nephews instead. a cute dog is a definite, though, probably another golden retriever.  

blue cobalt; do you like your name? would you give yourself a different name if you could? 

evangeline’s named after one of the strongest women in her life. she’s proud to have inherited the name, and hopes to live up to it.  

prussian azure; what’s your favorite scent? 

grapefruit, sea salt. 

azure blue; what’s your favorite type of tea, if any?

she’s a coffee person, but in summer, her mom likes to brew iced tea with fruits and herbs from the garden, which eva loves. 

turquoise blue; if you could start a garden, what would you plant?

lots of citrus trees. plants that can grow wild and thrive on their own. 

cerulean blue; if you were guaranteed to have a viewership, would you start a youtube vlog? 

i can picture eva vlogging, but in reality she’s too busy dancing for that shit. she prefers to live her life off screen, grounded in her reality.  

glauconite; describe your body without using any negative adjectives.

“jacked as fuck”

yellow green; picture yourself walking in a field. what do you see & hear in this scenario?

a field of tiny wildflowers on the dry coastal hills of malibu. the sun is burning bright, the sea is crashing against the beaches below, the wind is pulling wild at her hair. 

green light; are you in a comfortable place in life? if not, what do you think might make it better?

eva’s always striving to be more than just comfortable. her ambition means she’s already achieved an impressive amount in life, and she’s happy with how she’s moving along, but she’s forever shooting for the stars. 

green; name three countries you want to visit; do you have any actual plans in place to visit any of them?

she can’t afford to travel at the moment but hawaii, spain, greece.  

emerald green; do you speak any languages besides english? are there any additional languages you want to learn? 

a tiny bit of spanish, korean, and german from gabriel, but nowhere near fluently. she would like to improve her skills in those languages if she has the time.  

oxide of chromium; what’s your favorite book?

eva isn’t bookish. she just can’t sit still long enough. when she was a kid, she did love the magic slipper series, written by one of the prima ballerinas she idolises. 

olive green; are you currently reading anything? how do you like it so far?

her calculus textbook. she wants to set it on fire.  

mars brown; what’s a movie that always puts a smile on your face/makes you laugh? 

she likes cheesy 90s era movies. she’s the man always makes her laugh. 

burnt umber; what’s something you plan to do before the day is over to take care of yourself?

an ice bath and self massage for her legs, if pointe work is particularly intense, treat any new blisters or bleeding on her feet. typical ballet things. 

umber; have you drank enough water today? 

eva is always mindful to drink eight cups of water per day. 

voronezhskaya black; what or who is your go-to outlet for when you need to vent? 

amaya. she listens coolly, and provides helpful commentary. a few weeks ago, eva vented to her about mako and how much of an ‘arrogant ass’ her partner is. after she finished letting off steam, amaya asked her what the exact reasons for disliking him were, which helped eva realise her own stubbornness, haha. 

sepia; name five things that always make you happy.

perfect surf waves, a hug from her parents, adding a new piece of jewellery to her minimal gold collection, warm sunny weather, camping with her siblings.     

indigo; what’s the best/sweetest compliment you have ever received?

she’s received a lot of ‘you’re pretty’ type compliments from guys over the years, but what makes her happiest is compliments about her dancing, particularly from professionals. 

payne’s gray; describe your aesthetic? 

summer beach chick, relaxed shades of sea blue and white froth, minimalist, with a rough edge.   

black; post a selfie because you are so beautiful!

nah i’m too lazy to open the game at the moment. anyway, eva doesn’t really take selfies by herself, since she’s not that active on social media. 

[gossipgirls]

I’m sorry if you’ve answered this question already but what are your favorite songs that are in the show?

i’ve made lists of my favourite songs from s1 and from s2 but never the whole show! i’m gonna list a bunch of faves, but i’ll bold the ones i really, really love and listen to frequently.

young folks by peter bjorn and john

what goes around.../ ...comes around by justin timberlake (this song makes that 1x01 scene feel sooooo beautifully 2000s and places a deep nostalgia in my chest)

hang me up to dry by cold war kids

hard to live in the city by albert hammond, jr.

when did your heart go missing? by rooney

believe by the bravery

stripper by sohodolls

with me by sum 41

rich girls by the virgins

here it goes again by ok go

la ritournelle (mr. dan’s magic wand mix) by sébastien tellier 

nolita fairytale by vanessa carlton

comin’ home baby by mel tormé

secret by the pierces

three wishes by the pierces 

apologize by onerepublic and timbaland (because this song is my childhood and, again, makes for a beautifully 2000s scene)

the general specific by band of horses (love love love love love love love love love love love LOOOOOVE this song, i keep it on my christmas playlist simply because it’s in the christmas episode lol)

all that i want by the weepies (also in my christmas playlist!)

campus by vampire weekend (vampire weekend x gossip girl is my ultimate vibe)

shut up and let me go by the ting tings

the ice is getting thinner by death cab for cutie (not a fave death cab song, but i just love death cab so)

time to pretend by mgmt

paparazzi by lady gaga (A Moment)

fell in love without you (acoustic) by motion city soundtrack

boy in a rock and roll band by the pierces

new york, i love you but you’re bringing me down by lcd soundsystem

it’s a lot by the 88

electric feel by mgmt

nyc-gone, gone by conor oberst

wooden heart by the duke spirit (a favourite song of mine in general)

dark on fire by turin brakes

sheena is a punk rocker by ramones

sex on fire by kings of leon

bad man’s world by jenny lewis

breakdown by deerheart

hero by the asteroids galaxy tour (forever obsessed with this song)

signs by bloc party (UGGGHHHHHHHH)

slow show by the national (just as vampire weekend x gg is my ultimate vibe, the national x gg is my other ultimate vibe)

no you girls by franz ferdinand

mexican dogs by cold war kids

kids by mgmt (i mean of course)

runaway by yeah yeah yeahs

waters of march (aguas de março) by anya marina

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh by say hi

prom theme by fountains of wayne

november was white, december was grey by say hi

season of love by shiny toy guns

good girls go bad by cobra starship and leighton meester (obviouslyyyy)

moth’s wings by passion pit

home by edward sharpe & the magnetic zeroes

in transit by albert hammond, jr.

whatcha say by jason derulo (YUUUUP)

the only exception by paramore

suicide by the raveonettes

janglin by edward sharpe & the magnetic zeroes

crystallised by the xx (i have this in my cb playlist... not for lyrics but for the general sound of it)

run by vampire weekend

paradise circus by massive attack (a major fave)

i’m in here by sia (fml)

tighten up by the black keys

afraid of everyone by the national

rill rill by sleigh bells

dancing on my own by robyn

hang with me (acoustic) by robyn

blue moon by kendal johansson

through the dark by alexi murdoch

cosmic love by florence + the machine

at your door by alexi murdoch

youth knows no pain by lykke li

in safe hands by badly drawn boy

rolling in the deep by adele

swell window by zee avi

concrete wall by zee avi

slow by grouplove

suego faults by wolf gang

wait by m83

cheerleader by st. vincent

dancing song by little comets

graveyard by feist (another all-time fave song of mine)

dreams by the cranberries

new york city by among savages (and ANOTHER all-time fave song, another song that i love love love love love love could listen to on repeat for the rest of my life)

we are young by fun. feat. janelle monae

angels by the xx

who by david byrne and st. vincent

lost by frank ocean

thinkin bout you by frank ocean (who remembers that episode where the person who chose the gg music obviously discovered frank ocean the night before lol)

hanging on by ellie goulding

you’ve got the love by florence + the machine (🥺)

[dailyaudiobible]

12/18/2020 DAB Transcript

Habakkuk 1:1-3:19, Revelation 9:1-21, Psalms 137:1-9, Proverbs 30:10

Today is the 18th day of December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I'm Brian and it's great to be here with you today as we continue the journey step-by-step day by day. Moment by moment together we move through the Scriptures. And it's not a secret that we’ve been moving rapidly through the Scriptures because we’re encountering shorter texts within the Scriptures. Today is no different. We got a brand-new book in front of us. And this one is called Habakkuk and we will read Habakkuk in its entirety today.

Introduction to the book of Habakkuk:

It's the eighth of the minor prophets. And who Habakkuk was is pretty well unknown. Maybe we know less about Habakkuk than we do any of the other writers in the Bible. Nahum, we didn't know much about him when we read that yesterday, but we did have some…some time…like we could locate him in time because of some specific references. Of course, me saying we’re not really exactly sure who Habakkuk was, that's like not new. People have been wondering, figuring, having traditions about a Habakkuk for centuries, even millennia. There’s a Jewish tradition that speaks of Habakkuk as is the son of a Shunamite woman who was resurrected through Elisha. And that stories found in the book of second Kings. Of course, Habakkuk’s not named in that story. So, it's a tradition. There’s other traditions, like fantastic traditions, one that’s found in the up apocryphal book “Bell and the Dragon” that talks about Habakkuk with Daniel while he was in the Lion’s den. But like I said, these are traditions, they may be long-running traditions, but they’re traditions and most scholars, especially with, like “Bell in the Dragon” find…find a story like that to be maybe be legendary. Nevertheless, many verses that are found in Habakkuk are famous. Maybe the most famous will be like Habakkuk 2:4 “but the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.” That might sound familiar – “the righteous will live by faith” - is like a mainstay quote from the apostle Paul in his writings. It's also in…in the book of Hebrews. It's a core theme in the Christian faith. And scholars have noticed that…that the book itself, the text itself is sort of lyrical in form and definitely has a Psalm or hymn at the end, which leads some to think maybe Habakkuk was a temple musician, possibly. But basically, the book of Habakkuk is a conversation between the prophet Habakkuk and God, and it begins at a place of doubt. Habakkuk is saying out loud the things that he’s seeing, and they are leading him to doubt. He wants to know why God continues to allow evil to exist and to continue forward almost like he…he’s indifferent to it. And then God responds by saying the Babylonians are gonna come punish His own people, which leaves Habakkuk confused even more. Not sure, he’s perplexed. And then God reveals the Babylonians will punish His people and the Babylonians will be punished. Evil will be destroyed in the end. That's the goal. And, so, Habakkuk begins to realize that God’s not indifferent, he’s not unaware. He has His will. He will continue to move His plan forward. He is a God of justice. And Habakkuk ends up moving into a place of worship. And, so, Habakkuk has three chapters, and we will read them all now starting with chapter 1.

Prayer:

Father we thank You for Your word and another day to spend together in Your word. And we thank You for Habakkuk, a book that we read in its entirety today, one that shows us a movement from frustration and confusion to worship when we understand fully that You’re not aloof. You’re very, very much paying attention to what's going on and You are in control. We lose sight of that when we judge that it doesn't look like that, when we deem that it doesn't look like that anymore. And, so, we have these questions and these frustrations and then when we can settle into the fact that You are good, You are present, You are the most-high God, You are the all-powerful one and You are our Father. When that context takes hold again, when our actual reality reasserts itself than we, our spirits are again turned toward worship. What else can we do? There is none higher than You. There is nothing else to give our hearts to in worship. There is no other place to put our hope. And, so, our hope is in You and You alone. Come Holy Spirit, lead us forward in truth we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, that is indeed home base and its where you find out what’s going on around here. And what else is going on…on besides Christmas time. We are getting very close are we not? We’re going to go through this weekend and then it’s gonna be Christmas week. How did it get here so quickly? Are we ready? Is everything done? All these things are swirling through our minds at Christmas and those things can kind of cover over what we’re really looking for underneath it all, which is hope for the arrival of the Savior.

So, I mentioned yesterday, we released a new single “O Holy Night” performed by Jill my wife and we’re just releasing it into all of the flurry of activity and festivity that goes on at this time, these moments, these days before Christmas comes. The words to that song are timeless and they root us back to that story underneath it all. Yes, this is joyous. Yes, there's a lot of chaos involved in Christmas, but underneath it all there is “oh holy night the stars are brightly shining it is the night of dear Saviors birth.” So, you can stream that on Spotify, or Apple music, or YouTube music or Google play, wherever, or you can buy it at any of these places as well and keep it a part of your permanent collection. Just look for Jill Parr. That's…well…that’s Jill’s maiden name, and that's what she was known of…known as before she was Jill Hardin. So, just look it up, “O Holy Night”, the single and enjoy. Listen to the words of that song and let it lead you deeper into the Christmas season.

The other thing we’ve been talking about is the Daily Audio Bible Shop. There are a number…there’s all kinds of stuff in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. Some stuff, yeah. If you’ve taken the 2020 journey, something to remember that journey. This has been an unforgettable year and we might want to forget it as quickly as possible, but we shouldn't because when we get some hindsight on this thing, we are going to see that we grew up all lot and it was time. We…we were…we were getting soft and pudgy, we were acting like a toddler, we were kicking and squirm…squirming, we were throwing our bottle down on the ground because things weren’t going our way. We were jumping up and down and throwing a fit.  And once and a while things come along and they tell you, “you know what? A new season is upon you. Whether you like it or not it's time to grow up.” And we have in so many ways. So, just to kind of remember that, that is important because…so that we don't have to do these lessons again, not that pandemics are going to be sent upon the earth every year, but so that those pathways that lead us to transformation and growth and growing up so that we can have learned the lesson no matter what the catalyst was, so that we could've learned what we needed to learn and pick up what we need to pick up and lay down what we needed to lay down and move forward stronger. So, there's the case for remembering. But there are number of resources in the Daily Audio Bible Shop that just…there just that kind of a thing, they’re commemorative things each year as we go through the Scriptures. So, check that out. There are number of unique gifts there for…yeah…for anyone in your life. So, check that out. We have basically the weekend and then that’ll be sort of the end of it because we've reached our threshold for shipping inside the United States and etc. etc. So, check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop and maybe that hard-to-find gift will be there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. I thank you with all of my heart, with all of my heart, with all of my gratitude for your partnership. Especially here as we’re ending the year. Thank you. Thank you for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if that's your preference, is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

This is Quiet Confidence from Virginia and ever since I got out of the mental hospital, I feel so lost. I’ve just been begging God to just please take me home because life seems so unbearable. It seems very unbearable. Every day is a struggle and I just need God to have mercy on my soul. I used to be so close to Him and I don’t know how I got to this place. But I need God to help me. The enemy keeps telling me I’m not a Christian, I’m not going to make it to heaven, but I ask God for forgiveness of my sins and that He would just please allow me to go home. My husband of 24 years has been trying to help me and I’ve been taking my medication, but I still struggle, and I really need God to deliver me. I don’t want to self-harm anymore, but I really need God to please just…just take me home. I just want it to be over because it’s a terrible feeling to feel lost every day. Lord Jesus please have mercy on my soul.

Hey this is holiday greeting from Justin in Colorado. I’ve walked with the Lord for several decades. I’ve been in the mission field. I’ve been on church staff. You know, all the things. But this year I purposed to work through the Bible in a…in a single year and I’ve just gotta say the Daily Audio Bible was such a huge gift. And consuming large volumes of Scripture every day has been transformational for me in the sense that I’ve got…I feel like I’ve gotten to know the Lord, His personality, just…just to know who He is, what He does, what He likes, what He doesn’t like. I…I feel a greater level of intimacy than I’ve ever felt even having quiet times and going a verse at a time every morning like I’ve done for years. So, this is been just a huge blessing to me. Thank you so much.

Hi yes this is Living by Grace. I don’t know if you can hear me clearly, but I just want to give a praise report. This is long overdue. Back about two years ago I called about my wife having some anxiety problems and since I called in maybe about a week and half afterwards really started see a marked change. And she was struggling even going to work and was really in a rough place. And I believe that God saw her through and helped use that situation to grow her closer to Him. And I just want to encourage anybody who is going through those things that I know is very real and I know that God has a plan for it and that He’s able to overcome whatever difficulty you’re going through. I’m a personal witness to it and I…I know that He has to continue to sustain her, sustain us in all that we do. But I just want to say thank you and thank the whole family, the Daily Audio Bible family for praying for us and just have a blessed day.

Hey, DABbers this is Katie in Kentucky. I just want to call and pray for all of you parents who are exhausted, whether you have a newborn who is not quite sleeping through the night like those two hour stretches that leave you just so tired or a parent of a four-year-old who wakes up in the middle of the night and won’t go back to sleep, those parents of teenagers who are out and trying to wait up for them or any of those parents who are just dealing with your children’s big feelings overall the Covid restrictions. I just want to pray for all of you. God lift up the parents, give them strength, give them energy that is just beyond anything that they can have on their own. Give them wisdom and the words to say to their kids as the kids are struggling. Give them peace. And God as much as possible, just give parents a good night’s sleep. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Love you DABbers. Bye.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible friends and family this is Granny Mary from Missouri. My best friend Vera has Covid and she’s in a coma on the ventilator in the hospital. She’s been in a coma for two weeks. They’re going to give her another week and try to decide. She’s got grandkids and a daughter. And would you please pray for her because, you know, it’s not easy for families who lose loved ones. She’s a wonderful Christian lady so, I know if God does take her home where she’s going, but the kids all need prayer, her grandkids and her daughter. So, thank you very much. God bless you all. Have a good day. Bye-bye.

[theparaminds]

A new face in music, Binki is exactly what many have been looking for but have been unable to find. His style contrasts a stark relaxation in sonics with an introspective understanding of lyrics and emotion.

An theatre student, Binki truly understands what it takes to connect with an audience, what it takes to express emotion honestly and how to be a truthful soul within sound itself. His first song, Marco, does so perfectly, reminding us of youthful innocence and the troubles that come with it.

In his first interview ever, Binki tells us of his baggings and what it took to make the jump into music, as well as has upcoming move to New York set to put a lot into focus. 

PM: First question as always, how’s your day going and how have you been?

It’s been pretty uneventful. I had to go to court earlier for this speeding ticket, but other than that I've just been cooling. Later I’m gonna go jam with my buddy though.

PM: For those who don’t know, who is Binki? What does he represent and what is his vision?

Yeah I'm pretty sure nobody knows me! Binki was actually my nickname growing up, not really sure how it came to be, but it stuck. I recently decided to release music as Binki to remind myself to not be too self-serious with my music. I definitely care about what I'm doing but if it's not fun then what's the point? Overall though, I want to make music that connects and makes people days easier.

PM: What was the spurring moment that really told you to start releasing music as opposed some odd demos here and there?

A few things, but my brother played a big part in it all. He would always gas me up when I showed him a song he thought was good. I always had desire to go full tilt with the music but I always held myself back. I was in school studying theatre and acting for the past 4 years; and I had it in my head that I couldn't do both for some reason. I thought people wouldn't take my acting seriously if I had this music career on the side. But life's really too short to not do the things you love. There's also plenty of people who have done both successfully. It was really just fear.

PM: Were there others around you inspiring you to push into musical ventures?

Yeah, there's definitely a "house show" scene at the school I went to. I was definitely inspired because I wanted to be a part of it and perform. I also really enjoy live music. I didn't have a band though, and it's really hard to get people excited to hear some random dude perform over an instrumental.

PM: To move a little back to the past, what did your environment and location look like growing up and how did it manifest into your sound and style?

Suburbs as fuck. I spent my early years in Hershey, Pennsylvania. A lot of white people and not a ton of culture. I wasn't miserable though, I had a lot of friends and I was outside playing most of the time. My brother put me onto a lot of stuff growing up, but in highschool I kinda veered off into my own lane. I remember this girl I had a crush on showed me Pink Floyd, which spiraled into me listening to a lot of classic rock. Then in college, I watched this Jimi Hendrix documentary, which is no longer on Netflix unfortunately. But after that, I started learning how to play guitar. I don't know though, the internet kinda changed the way everyone consumes music and other people's culture. I feel like it's super valuable for artists who might feel like they're in a bubble geographically. I'm moving to NYC in like 2 weeks though so we'll see how that changes things.

PM: What’re some of your fears and aspirations with living in new york? What is it you hope to find in the city you wouldn’t find anywhere else?

It's actually just starting to hit me that I'm moving to NYC. It's something I've always wanted, feels a bit surreal. I guess a fear would be that the city will just expose me as a talentless hack and I'll have you move back to the burbs. Or that it'll take me 20+ years to make it. I'm really not afraid of much at the moment. I feel like a big part of being successful in any field, especially creative endeavors, is just being bold enough or naive enough to think you have something to add. So many people give up before they even try. My goals are pretty nebulous at the moment. I really just wanna connect and collaborate with talented artists. I'd love to perform my music in some capacity, that's been the mission for awhile. NYC represents opportunity in my mind. There's an energy. If you live there, you might inherently have it. If you move there you're looking for something, and you gotta be driven to survive there. I'm looking for that energy.

PM: On the topic of the music itself, how have you come to develop your sound over time? What changes are you working on and improvements as time goes?

Most definitely still developing my sound. I think the best thing has been working with different people. The same way you communicate with other artists if you're having a jam. I think my writing changes when I'm exposed to different sounds. I never understood when artists say they only listen to their own music when they are creating, I can respect it, but I feel like I'd lose my mind if I tried that. I take pieces from all of my favorite artists, but it's all filtered through me so it's always gonna sound like me. Going forward I just want to keep taking risks and remain ambitious. I'll always want my music to be enjoyable. Not commercial necessarily, but I don't want my music to live in a bubble where only a select few enjoy it. That said I really want to do a concept album at some point, something along the lines of My Beautiful Dark Fantasy.

PM: What is about the concept album that you love and why is the idea of making one appealing to you as an artist?

When it's done well, it adds another layer to the music. Also albums are just in a strange place right now. I really hate this trend of artists releasing 30+ songs and calling it an album. Something really cold about it. I think concept albums, and more ambitious video projects, show a different level of passion. Even when done poorly, I'm like: “okay there's intention behind this.”

PM: What’re some of your personal ambitions and goals going forward? Do any include live shows?

The biggest one is to just put out music that I'm proud of. There will be live shows in 2019. I'm kinda just speaking that into existence but it can't be that hard right? Even if it's just like 20 people, that'd be tight. I'd love to go on tour eventually. Also more videos! My brother and I made the video for "Marco" in like 48 hours with no plan. So we just want to keep getting better and stay consistent.

PM: Tell me more about that Marco shoot, how did come together and how did it conceptualize through the day?

So I called off work and drove down to Atlanta, we started just shooting random bits around my brother's apartment complex. Then we just bounced around the city starting at a museum, then a park, and we ended at dance party. It was a super fun day, it felt like we really had something. The next day I said we should get a shot of me falling in a pool. Totally inspired by the 'Untitled' video by Rex Orange County. I didn't think we'd get any shots of me underwater though because we were shooting on an iPhone. My brother was like "I'm pretty sure this is water proof." I was like, I don't know man but we ended up just going for it. We got the shots and then his phone died. He plugged it up to charge and then the screen started glitching and shit. I was so hurt man, I thought we lost all the footage, but like thirty minutes later it started working again and we transferred everything to his laptop. It was wild, I'd never seen a phone come back to life after something like that. After that shoot, everything kinda shifted for me. I was like "oh, I can really just do this shit." Been riding that wave ever since.

PM: That’s an amazing story. Do you have a best memory of the last year, if it’s possible for you to pinpoint?

When I went to NYC in March. That was pretty dope, but to be honest, I feel like releasing Marco might be the highlight. The response has been wild. This Russian YouTuber put it on his playlist and now there's a bunch of people in Russia playing my music. Crazy. It's one thing for your friends and family to support you but getting support from strangers, people with no stake in my well-being, is the best feeling. I don't know if I've ever felt that to this extent.

PM: And as a final question, if you could recommend one movie to everyone reading currently, what would it be and why?

Well my favorite movie is "Superbad," but I feel like everyone's seen that right? So I'll go with "Rushmore." The main character in that movie is full of contradictions and on the surface he's pretty shitty. But you root for him, and you understand why he is the way he is by the end of the film. I feel like the world is lacking empathy right now. It also has Bill Murray in it so that's a plus

PM: Do you have anyone to shoutout or anything to promote? The floor is yours!

Yeah! shouts out to Chasen, Justin, and Sam for helping me make this shit. Also big shoutout to Raymond & Jerry! And check out "Marco" if you haven't yet!

Follow Binki On instagram 

Listen on Soundcloud and Spotify

[nprmusicwnyc]

From uploading songs to YouTube to being hailed as one of pop’s most promising new prodigies, Ryan Beatty is forging his own unique path and he’s not looking back.

It’s been nearly a decade since Ryan Beatty posted a cover onto YouTube and people started twigging that he was something a lil’ bit special. Originally pushed onto the ‘Justin Bieber path’ - y’know the one: millions of hits, record deal, smile for the cameras - he soon realized this wasn’t what he had in mind, retreating from the spotlight to learn more about himself, before releasing hypnotic debut album ‘Boy in Jeans’ back in 2018.

After sharing second record ‘Dreaming of David’ earlier this year, he’s older, wiser and fully ready to flex his newfound musical and lyrical muscles to prove himself among other pop names. Blending experimental melodies with R&B hues, he’s also found time between experimenting with his pop stylings to hang out with “best friends” BROCKHAMPTON to collaborate on several tracks, including both the recent remix of ‘SUGAR’ with Dua Lipa, as well as the original.

We caught up with Ryan to reflect on his near-decade in the biz and what pop’s most promising new prodigy has in store next.

For those unaware, can you give us a little summary of how you first started out?

Music was the one thing that I’ve always felt drawn to since I can remember. Singing was a natural talent that I was born with and then it’s like what do you do with it? There are a lot of talented vocalists out there and to be an artist is something else. Naturally I could sing, then as I got older, I started to see where I could go with it. That was when social media was really cracking off and people were posting videos of them singing and getting recognised for it. I would post on my sister’s channel and that’s really how I got my start. Just seeing the feedback even back then reminded me that I had a talent in this.

It wasn’t until I was probably 20 that I felt like I was a songwriter. That’s when I felt like things really started for me because that’s when I connected all the dots of a vocalist, singer, visually knowing what I like… It was all these things coming together at once.

You were originally compared to Justin Bieber. What was the experience like?

It definitely made me angry because I felt like people were saying that in a condescending way. It felt like a lot of the times people would say that in a way to diminish me as if that’s already been done before. It’s so funny because that’s just such a surface level thing to compare me to!

“This time around feels different because I actually really enjoy it.”

Obviously you retreated away from the spotlight after that happened, what were you doing during that time?

Being 17/18 and realising that I don’t really know myself at all or that I knew that I wasn’t in a place I wanted to be and what I was doing then wasn’t going to last forever, I definitely felt a sense of a search for something greater than what I already had and it started off with me just being a normal 18 year old and exploring my own identity and what I liked and didn’t like.

It took a long time for me to really understand myself. It’s hilarious to think about though, since I started this at such a young age, I feel so old and weathered now that when I talk about this I forget that it’s nearly a decade since this all started!

This time around feels different because I actually really enjoy it. Before I felt like I was a character for other people and really submitting to the audience and playing that up. At the end of the day, back then I had the crowd that I had and I had the attention that I had, and it’s like, if I were to really be myself it would’ve gone against what people liked about me. It was all a really scary time. I had no clue if I would ever come out the other side and that’s why this time around I’m really excited and find the joy in it all because this could have all gone completely differently. The fact that I’m in a place where I feel like an artist that people appreciate for the art and what I create just proves that I wasn’t wrong.

'Boy In Jeans' was really about self-discovery and reflecting on my youth and talking about all that I went through in my late teens and early twenties. It was very much a reminiscent of my life. 'Dreaming Of David' is very immediate, very what I’ve been going through in my life right now, and I think even more introspective than the previous one to the point where a lot of the details on the record I don’t even think people will understand because it’s so specific lyrically, which I actually really enjoy.

Writing like that must have been quite a cathartic experience?

Writing is something I love just as much as singing, and to write and sing about the things that I’m going through and experiencing just helps me understand it all really. It helps me make peace with the things I find difficult and helps me understand relationships because it allows me to reflect on them. I can be writing something and what I’m writing and looking back on it seeing what I actually meant versus what I thought I was talking about can be completely different at times. This is a place where I can be very honest with myself at sometimes.

I’m lucky that I’ve surrounded myself with people that I work with that I don’t feel any judgement towards and I feel very supported with all my ideas. I think it’s very important that you create that environment.

“At the end of the day you have to be your biggest cheerleader and you have to believe in everything that you’re doing.”

So when did ‘Dreaming Of David’ start taking form?

I started working on this album March 2018. The first song I made for it was the title track and it’s a title track and kind of a concept in my mind that I’d had for a second. The way that it all came together was exactly what I hoped for, which is the most natural and following my instincts. It’s funny because I had such a fear after I made my first album. I felt like I’d made something so personally great I was like 'How do I follow up on this?' I think I’ve answered that question with this album. Also, my last album laid out expectations of who I am as an artist, this album kind of goes against that in a way that not a lot of artists do right away after their first album.

I just had rapidly started growing and changing right after I made that album. The confidence that making ‘Boy In Jeans’ created, it made this thing in me that made me go deeper into the feelings I had and made me realise that I could flesh out these ideas I had and create something. That confidence just unlocked and unleashed something within me that felt really powerful. At the end of the day you have to be your biggest cheerleader and you have to believe in everything that you’re doing and that’s what I lean on a lot. When things can feel tough and really hard on the outside of things, I always go back to the music and realise that I need to be doing this and I’m glad that I’m doing this and people are going to enjoy this.

To be an artist is almost to be seen constantly. I feel like I still hold on to a lot of my privacy and that’s something that I’ve learnt form the past from the early days in my career, that I don’t have to give everything away, that I can still keep things for me, and that I can still be successful.

Is it weird knowing some of those personal stories will be heard by the world?

There are definitely parts of the album which are scary to think about with like I’m telling this story and this is gonna come out, but I obviously did it for a reason. I’m not over thinking it and I’m not stressed, but knowing that the person you wrote it about will probably know that it’s about them too that’s more so the interesting part.

The album all about exploring personal relationships with many different people, whether it be friends or family or past relationships or current relationships, and the way that those relationships have affected me. Part of it is a lot about letting go of things and people that mean a lot to you but knowing that you have to in order to move forward or learn anything else about yourself. There’s a bittersweet feeling to the whole thing. A lot about what I write about on this record is kind of sad if you look at it and really read the lyrics, but there’s still a lot of hope in it and realising that even if you’ve just gone through these things there’s still a light at the end. It’s kind of that moment of self-awareness, I guess.

And what overall are you hoping that people take away from the record?

I just want it to be heard, really. I want this music to be heard. However people take it is how they take it. I want the chance, at least, for people to hear it because I think they’ll really understand where I'm coming from a lot. I feel good in my position and the way people see me. When you make stuff that is exactly what you want to say, that’s when you’ll be perceived in the way that you really want.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 13/03/2021 (Drake, Silk Sonic, Justin Bieber, AJ Tracey)

Look, there are tons of new arrivals for this week, mostly in the top 50 and a third of them being Drake. Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license” is still #1 for a ninth week despite the aforementioned Drake. Let’s just run through this as quickly as is possible. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

We have quite a few notable dropouts from the chart here, particularly the UK Top 75 which I cover, including “Siberia” by Headie One featuring Burna Boy, “Apricots” by Bicep, “Afterglow” by Wilkinson off of the return, same with “ROCKSTAR” by DaBaby featuring Roddy Ricch and then some pretty massive dropouts, some of which might return, most will not. These include “willow” by Taylor Swift, “What You Know Bout Love” by the late Pop Smoke, “Take You Dancing” by Jason Derulo, “Looking for Me” by Diplo, Paul Woolford and Kareen Lomax and finally, “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles. I’m surprised there weren’t any Drake songs dropping out because he debuted three tracks, the most he could possibly debut, but apparently there weren’t any Drake songs on the chart in the first place. Naturally, as it’s a busy week, we had quite a few notable fallers for songs already on the chart, like “Get Out My Head” by Shane Codd at #16, “Streets” by Doja Cat at #19, “Up” by Cardi B at #21, “Anyone” by Justin Bieber at #23, “Afterglow” by Ed Sheeran at #27, “Bringing it Back” by Digga D and AJ Tracey at #31, “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd at #33, “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK at #36, “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence at #37, “Money Talks” by Fredo and Dave at #38, “We’re Good” by Dua Lipa at #39... okay, maybe “quite a few” was an understatement. Regardless, we still have more fallers outside of the top 40, like our biggest fall for “Bluuwuu” by Digga D at #42, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa and remixed by DaBaby at #43, “Love Not War (The Tampa Beat)” by Jason Derulo and Nuka at #45, “Sweet Melody” by Little Mix at #46, “Toxic” by Digga D at #47 and “34+35” by Ariana Grande at #48... as well as “Ready” by Fredo featuring Summer Walker at #50, “Mood” by 24kGoldn and iann dior at #51, “Good Days” by SZA at #52, “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi at #53, “You’re Mines Still” by Yung Bleu and remixed by Drake – apparently that doesn’t count as Drake – at #54, “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I at #55, “you broke me first” by Tate McRae at #56, “Regardless” by RAYE and Rudimental at #57, “Whoopty” by CJ at #58, “Pierre” by Ryn Weaver off of the debut to #63, “Be the One” by Rudimental, MORGAN, TIKE and Digga D at #65, “Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus at #66, “Mixed Emotions” by Abra Cadabra at #67, “Lemonade” by Internet Money and Gunna featuring Don Toliver and NAV at #68, “Roses” by SAINt JHN and remixed by Imanbek at #69, “positions” by Ariana Grande at #71 and finally, “Didn’t Know” by Tom Zanetti at #73. You’d think it was Christmas with all of this, except in this case there aren’t returning entries or even many gains other than “SugarCrash!” by ElyOtto up to #59. That’s literally it for any notable gains, so apparently only hyperpop can withstand Drake. God help us.

NEW ARRIVALS

#75 – “Don’t You Worry About Me” – Bad Boy Chiller Crew

Produced by Tatics

The “Bad Boy Chiller Crew” sounds exactly like a 2000s UK garage collective from London, and thankfully, I’m pretty much right, except these guys were actually formed in 2018 and see themselves more of a “bassline” group, even if they were formed a decade after the fact. Bassline was big in Yorkshire in the mid-2000s, and I guess the BBCC – subtle – are here to bring it back? I mean, I’d rather it go this way than having rappers lazily sample bassline classics like a couple weeks back so, what have the Bad Boy Chiller Crew got to say? Well, not much clearly, but they’ve never had to. UK garage groups weren’t ever hardcore rap collectives in reality, at least in the mainstream, and their primary purpose was to make bouncy music for the clubs and, yes, it worked. Does this work? Well, no, because it’s not really UK garage or bassline, going for a sampled piano-house chorus and percussion that never really goes full on with the “bassline” or has that much of a breakbeat. These rappers are definitely a presence and whilst I may not know what they’re saying because Genius.com gave up two lines through, at least they’re not more boring, just settling for mildly obnoxious in how everything sounds like double-tracked gang vocals. I can definitely see the mid-2000s influence in some of these synth patterns and absolutely the vocal tone on the chorus, which, by the way, is an incredible chorus that deserves a more subtle rap presence. Hell, I think KSI did a similar track like this with Nathan Dawe... he could have worked here. When I’m saying I’d prefer KSI over your own song and your own beat, you’ve got a problem. As it is, this is a really promising bassline-adjacent song with some really nice string flourishes and an infectious chorus, that falls flat in its attempts to keep me interested when the chorus isn’t playing because it serves more to repulse during instead of keeping its momentum. I’m praying for a remix that takes these guys off, honestly. AJ Tracey? Please?

#74 – “The Bandit” – Kings of Leon

Produced by Markus Drays

Ah, Kings of Leon, that indie rock band who hasn’t made anything good ever. Okay, maybe that’s a blunt, over-the-top statement but as little as I care about modern mainstream indie rock in the first place, I care even less about Kings of Leon, who I’ve yet to hear anything worthwhile from in singles. Regardless, they have a new album, which meant their lead single could finally chart, and I don’t know what a non-fungible token is and I’m not doing research for an album that my friend’s dad – read: Kings of Leon’s main demographic – thought was boring, so how’s this new single? Well, there’s an acoustic guitar strum I swear I’ve heard before, followed by a riff that admittedly sounds okay, a steady drum beat you can see replicated in rock songs of this tempo... the vocalist here is covered by everything in the mix, it feels, and even when I can hear him clearly, the lyrics feel overly cryptic to the point where nothing really sticks, and the guy’s delivery at least used to be commanding. Here, he’s fully checked out and I’m convinced everyone in the band stopped bothering. Whoever does the left-channel electric guitar wankery feels like he’d be more fit on a slower, lo-fi indie rock project and he’d really work in that context. Here, I couldn’t care less about this nothing of a song that just does not move. It chugs along through odd mixing and a “get this over with” guitar solo, and just chugs and chugs for four minutes. I honestly do not see a reason to seek this out, let alone an entire album... but it still went #1. That’s sales for you.

#70 – “What Other People Say” – Sam Fischer and Demi Lovato

Produced by Rykeyz

This song was released last month and hasn’t reached any chart in the US outside of the Bubbling Under yet, even with a video, which is just concerning for Demi, but I know she’s been struggling to reach any kind of further success recently, which is unfortunate as she always came off as one of the most interesting singers to come out of that late-2000s Disney star cast. To be fair, she did collaborate with professional nobody Sam Fischer, so I guess it’s partially her fault. That said, I like this song quite a lot, actually. Lyrically, it focuses on how both singers feel like they’ve left behind your individuality as a result of becoming famous and ending up distancing themselves from people they actually love and care for, with it being heavily implied in Demi’s verse that this is a result of not wanting people like her mother to see where she is now: taking the same drugs she was taught to say no to, with that pre-chorus of her realising she felt she was “better than” all of the people that she mirrors to. You can tell this comes from a real place from Demi, and it’s kind of heartwrenching, even if this instrumental is mostly piano-ballad fluff that does work for such a lyrically heavy song by casting off all attention away from the weak acoustic guitars and the finger-snaps that add more of a soul or gospel element to this production, which is pretty apt for some of the references to separating yourself from the religious practices you grew up on in the chorus. Demi’s vocals are pretty powerful here, and there are some really interesting backing vocals and ad-libs in that last chorus from both of them... oh, yeah, Sam Fischer is on this song too, but he’s such a lack of presence in comparison, even lyrically, that it probably doesn’t matter. Regardless, this is a good song and I hope it becomes a hit past the chaos of this week.

#60 – “Heartbreak Anniversary” – Giveon

Produced by Maneesh and Sevn Thomas

I figured this guy would finally chart here in the UK eventually, “Chicago Freestyle” notwithstanding, which was a top 10 hit for him and – guess who? – Drake. Anyway, this guy’s from California yet he totally sounds British sometimes, but that’s all I’ve really paid attention up until this point, and, yeah, I like this quite a bit too. Giveon has a really unique voice and the intro with those distorted vocal samples is a real Kanye touch to the whole song. The song is about Giveon finding it really hard to cope with a break-up of a relationship he thought had a lot of potential, through the odd and janky metaphor of “heartbreak anniversary”. The really cavernous mixing does accentuate how the percussion feels very stunted and the song as a whole feels kind of rough around the edges, but the desperate tone in Giveon’s voice and those pretty excellent backing vocals in the post-chorus sound pretty excellent, especially over these subtle pianos, and there are certain moments in the song that, like all good R&B, you remember for the vocal run or the harmonies, really rather than the chorus, so, yeah, this is good and I hope it sticks around. Huh, maybe sleeping a lot does make you more of a positive person... or maybe the music’s just good for once.

#49 – “Ferrari Horses” – D-Block Europe featuring RAYE

Produced by Da Beatfreakz

Ah, “Ferrari Horses”, from the same album as such gems as “Mr. Mysterious”, “Only Fans”, “Gulag” and my personal favourite, “Perkosex”. Maybe I’m just happy whenever I know a D-Block Europe song’s debuting because these guys are very rarely all that great but just consistently hilarious... and this one’s no different. It starts with reverb-drenched Auto-Tuned moaning from both RAYE and Young Adz that reminds me of Charli XCX if anything, because... sure, before it’s drowned out by acoustic guitar loops and a drill-adjacent trap beat... and, yeah, it’s really badly-mixed, especially the bass mastering, but, it’s a really satisfying drop, I’m not going to lie. The chorus’ melody is way too infectious for its own good, and you’d be surprised with the chemistry that Adz and RAYE seem to have, as she shares a verse with Adz where they bounce off of each other’s flow quite smoothly, both going into pretty funny falsettos – one that genuinely made me laugh out loud when I heard Adz’ attempt – but she really sells the melodic trap angle, I’m really surprised. Why is she still doing EDM? The double-tracking on her last few lines is beautiful, and I love how she comes in when it’s unexpected to awkwardly interrupt either Adz’s chorus or where Dirtbike LB’s verse would be... until he does actually come in and he kind of kills it, not as much as RAYE of course, but I think his delivery here is pretty great, especially when he slides in his Auto-Tuned flow from the more fast-paced cadence to the melodic drawl afterwards where I’m convinced he interpolates Weezer. Sure, the mixing is still bad, with the reverb percussion in the last chorus being really unnecessary, and the sequencing generally being off, and the content is really nothing interesting at all, except with a couple fun lines from RAYE, like when she says how she feels like she’s in Prince’s house because there’s purple all around her (we can infer what that “purple” is) or how she’s “so lit” that she can see two Young Adz, before realising it’s actually Dirtbike LB. I don’t think either member of D-Block Europe realises the layers to that line, but it’s probably best to keep them in the shadows, especially if it’s as unintentional as it sounds. Yeah, this is genuinely really great, and whilst I doubt it’ll last, I’m honestly shocked to the quality of this. Maybe D-Block Europe are just... good? Okay, I won’t go that far, but check this out.

#41 – “Medicine” – James Arthur

Produced by Red Triangle and Matt Rad

British daytime television and news rarely cover the Top 40, but at some point Lorraine Kelly did bring up new music releases expected to smash the charts, those being this song, Justin Bieber’s new track and that Joel Corry song we discussed last week. They did not mention the three new Drake songs or even the new track with Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, both of which out-charted this guy intensely. Regardless, this has the foundation of a good song somewhere. It starts with a really nice-sounding pop-punk guitar riff that James Arthur could really sound good on. The song’s about being overly dependent on a woman who really helps with maintaining his mental health... but then instead of being a rock song, it goes straight into a generic, boring trap ballad with too much in its cluttered mix for its own good. The lyrics feel increasingly lacking in self-awareness, asking the woman to not let him “spiral” when he becomes suicidal, which seems like an obligation the woman does not need to take up unless she really cares enough. In the second verse, he starts rapping, full-on triplet flow, and I realise that this is James Arthur trying to do emo-rap and lose all hope. Then he says, “Everything gonna be Gucci today”, and the hope goes into negative numbers. If we’re going to bring back some essence of rock on the charts, please don’t let it be whatever the hell this is.

#34 – “Anxious” – AJ Tracey

Produced by Remedee

I guess he heard my pleading a couple songs ago. Anyway, it’s pretty bad that I could vision how this song goes by looking at the lyrics... and I was pretty accurate, but that’s partially because of how he uses Drake flows all over this song, directly referencing his songs “Life is Good” and “POPSTAR”. Regardless, this song is pretty alright, actually, especially with that bassy ambiance that serves the drill-adjacent trap beat with a lot of tension, perfect for his checked-out delivery about gunplay and flexing. It’s a British trap-rap song that does what it does in very little interesting fashion, but has good production and a vaguely charismatic vocalist. It also sounds a lot less fun than the lyrics will make you think, but it does have some energy in this fast-paced beat and by the second verse, AJ Tracey is saying some funny stuff, like how he’s “recession proof” and seems to know his exact UK Singles Chart statistics. Please, just do my job, I think people would be genuinely interested in reading what AJ Tracey thinks of Kings of Leon. I never really like AJ Tracey when he’s on a dark vibe, anyway, I think he really shines on more sugary production, but I think that’s just my preference when it comes to trap anyway. The song’s fine, but I can’t say it’s anything more.

#25 – “Hold On” – Justin Bieber

Produced by Louis Bell and watt

I’m pretty sure Bieber is still pushing “Anyone” and in the US, “Holy” is still doing pretty well to my knowledge, so I guess it makes sense to drop an album but not really another single before it, especially since now it seems to start underperforming. Regardless, I’m a bit more willing to enjoy this one because of that washed-out acoustic guitar pick-up and a definite groove in the bass and percussion during that chorus. I mean, Justin Bieber still isn’t interesting at all, but I like the guitars in the chorus and I guess that’s something. The content? Condescendingly holding his hand out to a woman he only vaguely describes, whilst pushing out the “we all make mistakes” narrative he wants to continue from “Lonely”. By the time the guy has any genuine rock energy he’d need for this song, it ends, so I’m just going to say that this is mid-tier Maroon 5 and move on.

#20 – “Leave the Door Open” – Silk Sonic, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak

Produced by D’Mile and Bruno Mars

When Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak revealed a collaborative album was to release soon under the band name “Silk Sonic” – an incredible name by the way, how did no-one in the 70s copyright that? – I was immediately overjoyed and excited. Not only would this probably be a great album but it would be that one last boost that pushes .Paak into a mainstream context and for the record, he’s one of my favourite artists working today. His last three albums are all great and he’s made some of my favourite music ever, and has never been able to get that final reach into the charts until now, where riding on the coattails of Bruno Mars – who, by the way, is a fantastic artist in his own right nowadays – they’ve made a massive retro-soul cut that debuts at... #20. Okay, well, I know this style is bigger in the US but I did expect a top 10 debut here. Huh, well, that doesn’t take away from the fact that this song is absolutely incredible from the moments it starts with that drum fill and that distorted bass flowered by the jingling keyboards, with .Paak delivering some angelic intro vocals, and that’s before the first verse, where .Paak trades off with Bruno Mars really smoothly about simply picking up a girl yet making it sound like the most wonderful thing in the world. Bruno Mars almost sounds like he’s imitating .Paak at times, especially when he says that he just shaved and is “smooth like a newborn” in a really funny harmony. You could call Mars’ chorus cheesy but it’s just as cheesy as 70s funk was back in its day, and the way the instrumental builds up the tension with the rising pianos and smashing percussion just to cool down for the perfect pay-off in the chorus proves that even a song trying its best to imitate a live, jam-band recording and doing it very well can sound this intricate and perfectly crafted. .Paak’s second verse – he handles all of the verses here, probably because he’s ostensibly a rapper – has even more of a smooth, comedic charm as he offers the girl weed before also offering her filets, whilst also referencing some classic, iconic songs by three artists, namely Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson and... Anderson .Paak himself, and somehow it does not seem either forced or too unsubtle of a flex. The harmonisation in the background vocals in the chorus convince me that angels have been dropped down from Heaven and are currently living in Bruno Mars’ recording studio. Even at points where Bruno Mars is serenading you with “la-la-la’s”, its ridiculousness is undercut with .Paak’s ad-libs, and each chorus is so different that it never feels like Bruno is meandering or repeating himself... until the outro, which just of fades out because it goes nowhere. Honestly, I would rather prefer to see how the song really ends, and I think we will when the album comes out, but as a single, it definitely still works, and hell, a lot of those 70s soul and funk cuts faded out on the single edit anyway. I don’t think I’ve been this excited for a project in ages so, yeah, I have high hopes for Silk Sonic and this song alone keeps me fed well enough. Also, .Paak isn’t just a vocalist here, he’s on the drums too. Just saying.

#10 – “Wants and Needs” – Drake featuring Lil Baby

Produced by Cardo, Dez Wright and 40

At this point, after I’ve mentioned Drake a couple times and said he had three debuts this week, you’re probably wondering where they all are. The answer to that is that every single song from his triple-barrelled single release, Scary Hours 2, debuted in the top 10, with this being – to my surprise – the lowest, only hitting #10, which is still nothing to scoff at. Even for Drake, this is doing really well, which I imagine is because of how he had to delay his album so people are really craving for some new Drake that isn’t “Laugh Now Cry Later”. Now, I for one am not, and honestly I’m probably craving for less Drake if anything. That’s just my personal bias, though – I didn’t really like this project and haven’t liked much of Drake since 2015 or even earlier, but I still think the guy’s talented. I’m just pretty sick of the formula at this point. This particular single-EP thing doesn’t stray that far away from it either, with one song for the clubs, for the radios and for the fan. This one I think is for the clubs, even though they’re not even open so it’s really just for anyone to stream, and hence, we have Lil Baby on his third song with Mr. Graham. I wasn’t a fan of Baby until recently, and I’m not sure being a “fan” is really all that sincere as it’s really just hope and good will, but he absolutely kills his verse here and is the only reason could possibly be worth for me to revisit. The beat has vague squelchy synths and a boring trap pattern, heavy bass and some admittedly cool strings in the background that are cut out and drowned out by Drake being pretty blatantly off-beat. The chorus is monotonous and just stalling time until we get a brief escape from Drake for around 50 seconds of Lil Baby ranting rapidly in his typical frog-throat delivery and it left me kind of astonished on first listen because of how unexpected it was, and it’s still a great verse, even if the content is just flexing. “I’m not a GOAT, but I fit the description” is a bar, and I like the reference to betting his Ferrari off in a Las Vegas casino, which I hope he did not actually do. Hey, it’s more interesting than Drake wasting time with Kanye subliminals that aren’t even subliminals anymore, and a reference to how people grow on his albums, which I don’t think is even true, at least for his recent work. Ah, well, it could be worse. For example:

#6 – “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” – Drake featuring Rick Ross

Produced by Austin Powers, FnZ, Keanu Beats and Boi-1da

I refuse to believe this many people listened to Drake ramble for six and a half minutes. I refuse to believe there was a need for four people to make this lazy, unchanging beat that can’t even mix its sample correctly. I refuse to believe Rick Ross washed Drake on his own song for... you know, being vaguely clever and not a waste of time? Maybe I just love that “M-M-Maybach Music” tag, who knows? I definitely like it more than Drake, who handles the last five or so minutes with his monotone delivery and taking breaks to let the beat play because apparently, he can’t think of a flow that means he wastes less of the listener’s time. I’m sick of Drake’s more lyrical tracks nowadays where he goes on and on about how everything goes wrong for him despite him being so rich and famous and that’s the plot of this verse. It does not make you likeable or “real”, Drake, it makes you much more distanced and honestly just coming off as boring and kind of a dick. He starts his verse on a melancholy boom-bap beat by flexing that he’s a war hero – even though the last “war” he was in, he thoroughly lost – whilst also saying he’s doing all this expensive stuff in foreign countries when really, he should be staying in Canada or wherever he is during a pandemic. He then says, “These days, fame is disconnected from excellence”, which first of all, has always been the case and second of all sounds rich as hell coming from Aubrey Drake Graham, the most famous rapper, singer and musician currently alive, and far from the most “excellent”. That’s before he does his typical click-bait female-name-dropping and brags about his child whilst also side-eyeing the child’s mother for no reason, saying he had brunch with the judge he’s appearing before in court for child custody – you know, bribery – and that he doesn’t like how when he pays child support, she sends her the heart emoji in response. What else do you want, Drake? She’s the one raising this child, you have no right in telling her what emojis to use when you brag about sending child support to her, and then in your song which gets millions of plays. I’m not going to make assumptions about the mother here but it sounds like a really bad move, especially when you continue to talk about how the mothers at parent-teacher meetings flirt with you and ask if you know celebrities, whilst also bringing Secret Service-level security to the humble French school in Toronto your kid goes to. Something feels really icky about putting so much pressure on your son and their mother through rap lyrics, not even giving them much of a limelight other than through condescending references in a snoozefest of a single. Oh, yeah, and then he boasts about being friends with the corrupt, human-rights-violating royal family of Dubai, before mixing lines about how his house looks bigger through his son’s eyes with how his penis looks bigger when the woman is drunk. Yeah, no, you can’t really redeem this especially when the beat is unchanging and dull. I’m not a fan, and honestly, Drake’s pushing into his late 30s and yet I still think it’s applicable to tell him to grow up. I can’t say as much for this next track, however.

#3 – “What’s Next” – Drake

Produced by Maneesh and Supah Mario

Okay, for our final Drake track, we have the only solo cut and surprisingly easily my favourite of the three, and the reasons why are pretty subtle. The trap beat relies on a really bassy trap knock over a chiptune-sounding beat that goes really hard, and even if Drake’s vocals are mixed... just straight-up incorrectly, being so far in the left channel for no reason and that being kind of inexcusable for a big artist, he still has a lot more energy here than he does on any given Drake track. His flow is faster-paced, and he references a lot of his older work through pretty slick lines, mostly based on delivery, and there are really subtle counter-melodies in the beat that creep into the mix and sound really great. Drake himself actually brings one of his best verses in the second verse, which is probably his best flow in years and some pretty nice bars, none I can quote here because of how long that stream of bars goes for. The sequencing is somewhat off and Drake’s vocals seem to cut off really abruptly a lot of the time but for Drake, this is as good as it gets in 2021, and I’m pretty happy to have a genuinely good Drake song on the chart. Hopefully, it won’t be eclipsed by those two other tracks as time goes on, but we’ll see.

Conclusion

It may sound odd after dunking on Drake for a while at the tail-end of this episode but this is a damn good week all things considered. I think I only dislike the Worst of the Week here, going to “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” by Drake featuring Rick Ross, with a Dishonourable Mention for Kings of Leon’s “The Bandit”, though it’s not really that bad of a song, just pales in comparison to some of the absolute gems we have this week, particularly Best of the Week, which obviously goes to “Leave the Door Open” by Silk Sonic, whilst Honourable Mention is a bit more of a toss-up. I’d give a tied Honourable Mention to both “Ferrari Horses” by D-Block Europe featuring RAYE and “What Other People Say” by Demi Lovato and Sam Fischer. Sorry, Giveon, it was really close. Here’s our top 10 for the week:

Thank you for reading. You can follow my Twitter @cactusinthebank but I’ve actually been permanently locked out of that, so I probably wouldn’t bother. Regardless, next week, in the words of Drake, we’ll see what’s ‘bout to happen next. See you then!

[atmosphericshykid]

2020 first aid kit playlist thing

My year began pretty well, but the problems didn't end just because we reset our calendars and all that. And with missing my life, feeling like a failure, most of my friends with arts/culture careers feeling similar, the pain/system/news, the chain of painful events that happened in February… I was walking around ready to cry the universal flood at any moment. A friend sent a video of a filmmaker (?) sharing his 2020 experience through films to a group chat so we could all feel less alone in our thoughts and feelings or something, and I finally cracked.

After all the feels I did what I do most of the time and went through my music to pick myself up. It helped. So I thought I'd drop some songs here to keep as a time capsule; and most of all, in case it helps anyone the way I saw that guy's movie list help me and my friends.

I first thought of 26 and Anxiety Attack, but I feel like they might be too much, so instead, I'll start with the gem that is:

It translates to “I am my own Monday” and after the awkward inside joke intro, it begins: “I hate feeling like I can't breathe, you know, my lungs should, but they won't expand / You have problems, I have almost the same problems…” and “it's a pity that if we work hand in hand it's due to the shackles that hold us” and “selling my time for money that doesn't fulfil me / doing things I wouldn't do if I didn't really have to”.

I should honestly just translate the whole thing, but here's the end:

Have you ever felt like your guiding light blinds you? / a single match can't illuminate the whole sky / I don't want to lose the shine that I brought / reading some other character's lines* / sometimes sadness takes hold of my mind / I brought the perfect records to face it

* or script?

And here's a fun story: no film festival is completely clean of intellectual/artistic elitism/ego. It happens to the best of people as much as I dislike it. A couple of years ago we made a press conference to announce everything music related in that year's edition: our film selection, concerts, special events, and the bands that were going to collaborate with the teams of that year's Collegiate Rally (my baby <3).

Lng/SHT was in the lineup and he was that day in the panel. When a reporter asked his thoughts on our festival he said “Yeah, I love it. They have something for everyone: from intense art films to more Michaelbayish stuff for guys like me who enjoyed Transformers.”

Repressing my reaction to our director repressing her reaction was so hard I almost busted a lung. Good times.

I think this one speaks for itself. The whole lyrics are in Bandcamp and I like their Tiny Desk.

This choice might not be for everyone, but almost always death makes us think about our own death, and this is one of the first times I thought about mine in a peaceful way. Here's some death positive media from before Ask a Mortician was cool.

I love the imagery in this one. And I love how I feel listening to it or singing it (my voice makes onions cry though).

I found this on thesixtyone back in 2011 when the apocalypse was a fun niche theme/genre/aesthetic. I remember reading this guy's bunker updates and the lyrics of his songs, and thinking “lol what a creative guy”.

It's been like 6 years since the last time I listened to this album, so when it popped up on shuffle last year during the quarantine… I began singing it because I knew the lyrics and then because of the lyrics.

Does it bug me that if I had been monologuing first, I would have had a decent Howard Ashman transition? Yes.

But for a moment, my life was a musical, I had a solo, and I'm not ashamed to say it.

I like this album a lot. I like the home movie element in this song, but other than that I don't think I have anything else to say D:

Be More Kind was the obvious option, but this song starts “let's inherit the earth, 'cause no one else is taking it” and YES.

Also, I thought this needed a little energy.

I believe you can sing this song and omit the “not” in “I'm not sad” if you feel like it. I found the lyrics very relatable and I think I needed someone to remind me that “who I'll be needs who I am”.

When most people think of Beethoven they think of Napoleon, his 5th Symphony, the age of revolution, the heroic spirit, and such. Listen to the opening and see where your mind goes.

I think we should also remember that his friends called him Louie or Luigi, and when he began losing his hearing he got very depressed and contemplated suicide. Intestinal ailments are one of the least glamourous things that come with stress and depression. And still, the opening of this movement is inspired by burps, farts, and that kind of noises. I don't know if this was his idea of humour at the time, but the fact that he wrote something so allegro molto when he was at his lowest, is beautiful to me.

Re: Stacks I think is the perfect ending to For Emma Forever Ago. I love this song. It's a warmer tonal shift in the album, it's about an ending marking a new beginning, there is something there about stacks that (I think) represent the effort and time JV put in, just for everything to fall apart…

I like that “this is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization”, and you don't need to forget about your pain to start a new chapter. Finally, if you listen closely you'll hear Justin put away his guitar, get up and walk away. I like that that's there.

There was a band called Kithkin and it is awesome. They made an LP called "Rituals, Trances & Ecstasies for Humans in Face of The Collapse" seven years ago. It is also a favorite. Sorcerer is the last song. I love it on its own, and I think it's a good end to this playlist. Here is the whole lyrics, and here's the part I'll quote:

I know / Every answer begs a question / Every end is just a new beginning / I hope / I'm right

I know / If the worst is yet to come / Then the best is gonna follow / I hope / We survive

Sorcerer is Sorcerer, but I decided to add this version of Hope for the optimism. Tom Rosenthal is one of my favorite artists and I love all of his songs equally: the funny ones, the sleepy ones, the soppy ones, the emotional ones… all of them.

And the videos are a gem, sometimes I do Tom Rosenthal video marathons because that's how much I enjoy them.

The song is self-explanatory, and I like the video because it reminds me of community and connection, creativity, and that there are lovely people out there who are worth everything.

(That conclusion was too cheesy, but I guess I'll have to live with that and leave Carlos & Miguel a death threat.)

[balarouge]

Help solve a decades long mystery: what is the name of this mysterious 80s song? | Entertainment & Showbiz from CTV News

If you were an experienced audience of new-wave popular music in the 1980s and occur to have an excellent memory, you could possibly assist handle a musical enigma that extends decades.

Termed "The Best Mystical Track Online," this straightforward, three tiny tune, seemingly tape-recorded off of a German radio terminal in the 80s, happens with more concern proofs than an investigative book.

From the reverb-heavy, much challenged verses to the absence of a validated tune title as well as artist, the tune opposes interpretation.

A dedicated team of popular music enthusiasts and amateur sleuths have actually been actually hunting for the identification of the song across the web, a mission that has astounded chat rooms, music data banks and also YouTube comment areas.

After the hunt experienced a renewal of rate of interest this year, the sleuthers are wishing that this might eventually be the year they locate the artists behind the popular music.

THE ACCOUNT

The breadcrumb path of hints goes all the method back to 2007.

On March 18 of that year, an individual going by the username "bluuue" submitted a clip of a tune on a Canadian broadcast station fansite along with the review, "Tape-recorded it 82-84 coming from a german radio terminal. Seeking performer ever since:--RRB-".

Concurrently, one more article was actually brought in on a German website called best-of-80s. de including the same clip and question, submitted by a customer knowned as "bluuue," but authorized along with the nickname "Anton."

In additional messages about that internet site, Anton uncovered that the track was very likely tape-recorded off of the radio terminal NDR2 from a program knowned as "Music for youths" (Musik für junge Leute), where unknown bands were actually typically featured.

The song is actually made up of driving guitar, a deeper, male voice vocal singing often equivalent English lyrics, and a pointy synthesizer impact on the chorus.

The majority of appear to agree that the singer has an emphasis and is very likely International, yet is it Swedish, German, French? Is the emphasis organic, or even put-upon? Several concepts based upon the design of the music-- defined due to the tune chasers as post-punk, new wave or darkwave-- have been actually recommended by commenters around the world wide web, but none of the bands suggested to have a similar noise have actually ended up the elusive artists behind the song.

Over the next many years, the excerpt of the track was actually posted to YouTube a pair times and discussed on a handful of forums. The quest mostly went cold.

That is actually, till April of 2019, when Gabriel Vieira submitted the excerpt of the tune on his YouTube stations under the label, "ONE OF THE MOST UNEXPLAINABLE SONG ON THE NET!"

Vieira posted The Mysterious Tune (TMS for brief) to several subreddits, and also inevitably produced a specific Reddit stations for the investigation in to TMS at the beginning of July if you want to put together theories. An individual gotten in touch with "johnnymetoo" always remembered joining the authentic hunt in 2007, and also had the ability to give the total recording of the track.

The search really acquired traction when it was actually dealt with by well-liked YouTuber Justin Whang for his "Stories Coming From The Internet" collection. His 1st video recording concerning The Mystical Track achieved over 400,000 perspectives.

Much of the leads that the song detectives talked to all seemed to be to obtain continued one blockade-- without having the ability to talk to the person who submitted the authentic audio, how could they clarify their inquiries?

The vital then, seemed to become discovering Anton.

THE RESOURCE

In August, a German female called Lydia Holz published in The Unexplainable Tune's Reddit web page under the title "bluuely," claiming that she had initially posted the recording as bluuue/Anton.

To prove her identification, Holz talked to iconoclasts to notification the profile bluuue on best-of-80s. de, the German website where the song was published in 2007, preserved in a thread that still exists today. Quickly after, she was actually brought in a moderator on the Reddit team.

The 53-year-old, who stays in Germany and also deals with people along with unique necessities, talked to CTVNews.ca over e-mail. She claimed that it was her much younger bro Darius who had actually indicated the song. His memory of when as well as how the recording came approximately is unsteady, Holz stated, considering that "in the starting it was actually simply a great song," that he believed he will hear once more very soon on the radio, at which factor he could learn the name and also musician.

He never heard it on sky once again.

"He never ever possessed the suggestion that each of this will end up being thus crucial someday," Holz claimed.

She said the search had actually been happening long prior to the net got involved, as her sibling "used to talk to close friends and individuals that made use of to listen closely to identical songs back in the 80s" if they realized it.

When her brother uncovered the hunt had reignited this summer months, he said to Holz, as well as she decided to find ahead as the authentic banner.

Ever since, she mentioned, her lifestyle has transformed greatly.

"I devote method very a lot time on the journey," she acknowledged.

THE INSPECTION

Each time a brand-new method has actually been explored, searchers met a block wall surface.

To maintain points managed, the Reddit thread includes a hyperlink to every one of the disproved ideas and lifeless tops in a Google.com Spread sheet along with over 150 rows of relevant information.

Shazam-- a tool utilized to determine songs solely coming from an audio recording-- shows the label "Antwon01" as the musician, yet this has actually been debunked as a person that tried to copyright the tune and also eventually withdrawed the insurance claim, according to the Reddit string.

Various databases have been actually explored as well as recommended. One is actually GEMA, a German organization that tracks the licensing of entertainers and article writers. Although the puzzle tune can be someplace on a listing of tracks played on the radio in between 82-84 that could be actually found on GEMA, it is unbelievably complicated to recognize what to seek without a title or even artist for the song-- and it is actually not ensured that the track would be provided there in all.

Some of the labels that have been actually suggested are based upon reoccuring lyrics, such as "Like the Wind," or even "Check it In, Check it Out," but it is actually been actually revealed that songs usually bear labels that don't seem in their lyrics in any way.

The absolute most promising top was when the amateur investigators discovered a DJ that jogged the broadcast series "Musik für junge Leute" in the course of early 80s. When Vieira as well as Holz obtained in contact along with the DJ-- a male named Paul Baskerville-- he couldn't don't forget participating in the tune.

Even the basics of the tale base on changing ground. Holz has acknowledged that her brother isn't beneficial about which broadcast terminal and also show he indicated the track off of.

Despite the amount of people talking about the Reddit team daily, as well as the amount of brand new attention on the instance, Holz said she's paniced the investigation is actually in a rut. She believes the trick is actually to obtain the phrase bent on a much older target market, individuals that may certainly not essentially find a chatroom online covering a tune.

"Our company need to have the interest of somebody who was included in tape-recording the song," she revealed.

"He or she will most likely be actually all around 60 years of ages. All of the YouTube stations covering the pursuit are actually usually (intended at) a very younger viewers, so they won't manage to help, unless maybe someday among their fans presents the hunt to his father as well as he (occurs to) be the one who participated in the bass on the tune."

Holz mentioned she adores the track on its own, and also keeps in mind being actually "blown away" when her bro played it for her the very first time.

"It has a perspective of despair as well as mournful, although being extremely powerful," she mentioned.

It would certainly "suggest a great deal," to her to discover the identity of the tune. She stated aspect of it is that she wants the musician to eventually obtain credit rating. However there's another factor: an effective end to the hunt would certainly prove that she as well as her sibling have been actually leveling this entire opportunity.

The suggestion that perhaps a long-con racket has been recommended on the Reddit thread a number of times before, along with Holz being actually required to defend herself. For many of the track searchers, the misty identifications and particulars concerning the brother or sisters behind the very first recording may not be a barrier to their passion in the tune on its own-- it is actually just one additional shade to the mystery.

WHY TREATMENT?

The pursuit may seem to be trivial to some, but inquisitiveness is actually a strong driver.

Ken McLeod, an associate lecturer of musicology at the College of Toronto, informed CTVNews.ca in an e-mail that "the seek the identification of the tune writers/performers resembles possessing a longstanding earworm in your head that receives considerably much more annoying (or even in this particular case fanatical) until you can easily get it out of your mind."

He claimed there may be "tens of manies thousand," of songs enjoy this one tape-recorded "around Europe and North America in the course of that time frame," and also it isn't actually astonishing that the identity of the secret tune has actually slipped with the cracks in "the pre-internet age."

Various other "mysterious song" tales have hit the updates before regarding tunes captured anonymously off the radio.

A Canadian songs follower located the identification of a favorite track of theirs after 22 years through transmitting the puzzle on broadcast in 2015. As well as a post submitted on Australian songs website Tone Deaf explains a strangely similar condition to the puzzle track, where a song taped off of German broadcast in the mid-80s went unidentified up until 2013.

The Mystical Song Reddit team has even been component of addressing the beginnings of some others strange songs. On Sunday, Reddit user "cwschultz" published that another unexplainable song videotaped through Darius on a distinct affair had actually been actually identified as "Aged Ned," by Blue in paradise-- updates that the bolstered the neighborhood's spirits.

Being one commenter put it, "this is actually verification favorable that all it takes is the right individual to view or hear the right trait to damage this vast open."

This content was originally published here.

[onestowatch]

The Best Reactions to BTS Getting Shut Out of the 2020 Grammys

Photo: Getty Images

The 2020 Grammy nominations have landed and there seems to be one colossal, glaring, almost purposeful oversight. Despite being one of the most consistently performing acts, both on the record and on the stage, BTS is nowhere to be found amongst any of the 84 categories. The omission follows a year that saw the K-Pop superact present the award for “Best R&B Album” at the 2019 Grammys, leading fans to beg the question if the Grammys are merely interested in the streams and viewership that accompanies the act’s massive fanbase.

And it’s not like BTS is lacking in noteworthy material deserving of a Grammy nod. 2019 saw the release of their smash hit, MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA, which outperformed every other nomination for “Album of the Year,” earning them their third chart-topping album in less than a year. It’s not like there’s no crossover appeal to BTS either, as MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA’s universal hit “Boy With Luv” saw BTS enlisting Halsey for one of the best pop songs of the decade. The only thing seemingly stopping BTS from earning a Grammy nomination seems to be the fact that they’re not singing under Western names and in English.    

So, how is BTS’ army reacting to the obvious oversight? Well, let’s just say this tea was brewed to perfection.

how is it that there are more articles talking abt bts not getting a grammy nomination than articles talking about those who ACTUALLY got nominated

— gabe D-13 (@jinjoonies)

November 20, 2019

Best selling albums of 2019 globally (so far): #1. BTS - Map Of The Soul: Persona (4,140,000) #2. Billie Eilish - WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? (3,802,000) #3. Ariana Grande - thank u, next (3,101,000) #4. Taylor Swift - Lover (2,238,000) pic.twitter.com/o2AA757iZ7

— The Pop Hub (@ThePopHub)

November 8, 2019

dont invite a group to your museum, ask them to present an award at your ceremony knowing it will up your view count, display their suits in said museum then pretend their music doesnt exist

— liz ♡ 15.9k (@triviaminnie)

November 20, 2019

What else do the Grammys want from BTS though like????? Do they want them to change their names and make an English album??? Ah yes, album of the year goes to Nathaniel Kim, Justin Jeon, Hank Jung, Thomas Kim, Yohan Min, Spencer Kim, and Jack Park for "Map of the Soul: America"

— na'ama. (@iknownaama)

November 20, 2019

BTS entire Korean discography has re-entered US iTunes 🇺🇸#ThisIsBTS @BTS_twt

— BTS Charts (@btschartdata)

November 20, 2019

A Korean act that sold out the Wembley Stadium TWICE.#ThisIsBTS pic.twitter.com/ZhepHZawY3

— Anna🇬🇷 (@Its_annadim)

November 20, 2019

ok but what makes you an ideal nominee? selling millions of albums? breaking records? selling out stadiums in minutes? charting 15 albums at the same time? creating your own songs and producing them? writing lyrics? creating perfect visuals? bc they've done all of that and more

— fawz (@yoonjo_on)

November 20, 2019

don't ppl understand that "you should have worked harder/come back next year" is the same toxic rhetoric poc have to hear in every field all their lives

— 🏳️‍🌈 jo 😓 (@YE0NJOONS)

November 20, 2019

the only thing stopping them from accomplishing their dreams is the industry at this point https://t.co/8yK7YsNhcc

— chihiro [back to semi-ia] (@k00kceptional)

November 20, 2019

#ThisIsBTS who unites us 💜 This is what is looks like when ARMYs around the world come together to show their love for @BTS_twt. I've never seen this map shine so bright ✨ (PST) We love BTS a little extra today 🥺 pic.twitter.com/31JUOZtBF2

— BTS • ARMY Research 🔍 (@ResearchBTS)

November 20, 2019

Remember what Drake said in last year's grammy, "If u have people singing your songs word for word, if ur a hero in your hometown,if people who have jobs are coming out in rain & snow to see ur show,u don't need this You already won”#ThisIsBTS @BTS_twtpic.twitter.com/8D76XXZojz

— Sachi🐥 (@mintyoonz)

November 20, 2019

making a whole song in english only to please westerners is not the solution. bts are korean. it’s the western music industry that needs to change that toxic mentality that english is some kind of superior language because it is not. they’re the ones to need to change, not bts.

— aᴳᴳᴵᴱ (@gukthobi) November 20, 2019

[itwilltoteshappen]

Boy bands are peculiar machines. Identity within a pop singing group is squeaky clean and carefully defined but also masterfully slippery. Singers flash megawatt charm but coolly avoid specific stances that might alienate their base, since their base is essentially everyone. In many ways, their success hangs on the ability to be personable without exuding too much personality. The more you reveal about yourself, the less endlessly relatable you become. As such, it is possible to follow a boy band for years and still find its membership sort of ineffable and unknowable. Maybe you pick up on favorite colors or food items, a beloved friend or pet, but the battery of interviews, video shoots, signings, and performances that occupies a working boy band’s time can often leave big picture questions of life and love unanswered. It’s hard to make yourself known in a group of five, to define who you are through choreographed routines in football fields packed with screaming masses.

One Direction was a monsoon. That all of it — X Factor auditions, platinum albums, international stadium tours, miles of branded merchandise — happened in just over five years is insane. That the guys seem normal after spending their teen years in the middle of a media maelstrom is commendable. That they’re all angling for respectable solo careers flies in the face of much of boy-band history. New Kids on the Block spawned a few decent but forgotten Joey McIntyre and Jordan Knight records. With respect to JC Chasez’s promising Schizophrenic, ’N Sync launched Justin Timberlake into lasting solo fame and left the other guys with nice pensions. The last time a male singing group splintered into a spread resembling the 1D singers’ expanding campaign of rap, R&B, folk, and rock solo tracks might have been New Edition’s fruitful late ’80s.

One Direction alum Harry Styles just released his self-titled debut solo album, and it’s a conscious effort to create a musical identity separate from both 1D and the rest of his pop peers. He swears he had no idea what he was making going into the writing process, but the album’s sound and scope are so refined it’s hard to believe. There’s no state-of-the-art beats or duets with outside guests, no EDM or dancehall vibes. There’s very little inkling that this music was created in this decade at all. Classic rock and country-folk are the points of inspiration throughout Harry Styles. It’s a curious move; while Styles certainly sang on rock and folk-pop cuts like “Story of My Life,” “Little Black Dress,” and “Through the Dark,” the songs he helped write were more often big ballads and heavily produced pop. From opener “Meet Me in the Hallway” through “From the Dining Table,” Harry Styles shrinks away from that, abandoning heavy embellishments for the comfort of a small band.

The first thing you notice on Harry Styles is wide open space. “Meet Me in the Hallway” coasts on acoustic guitar, watery bass, faint keys, and Styles’s high lonesome wail. Even the busiest album cuts — the massive “Sign of the Times,” where Styles pushes a huge hook up and up like a rising tide, the jagged blues jam “Woman” — seem sparse, big sounds coming out of just a handful of building blocks. That’s likely due to the presence of star producer Jeff Bhasker. Bhasker’s touch gave fun.’s “We Are Young” and “Carry On” some of their pomp and assisted in mitigating the balance of hip-hop and dream-pop values on Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die. Styles’ specific magic is sounding warm and light, not so much produced. It’s a record about good craft, great performances, and the feted power of rock and roll.

If you came to his album not knowing Harry Styles is something of a rock obsessive, you’ll find out in a dozen reverent flourishes and lyrical tics. The chugging “Carolina” evokes “Stuck in the Middle With You” by the Scottish band Stealers Wheel, once home to the great Gerry Rafferty. “Two Ghosts” offers the same mix of wistful, airy acoustic guitars and tasteful electric leads as the Allman Brothers Band’s “Melissa,” while the lyrics appear to call back to Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” (“We’re just two ghosts swimming in a glass half empty” borrows images and cadences from Floyd’s “We’re just two lost souls living in a fishbowl.”) The lean licks and bluesy swagger of “Only Angel” are Rolling Stones fan service; “Woman” apes the sparing, echoing drums Ringo Starr played on John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band. In spite of obvious influences, Styles avoids coming across like a kid punching out of his weight class thanks to some clever writing and truly transcendent vocal performances.

Harry Styles was first discovered on the talent show X Factor, so it should come as no surprise that he can sing. You don’t make it past Simon Cowell night after night without serious pipes. Still, the giddy twists and runs of the album are bound to shock everyone but diehards with encyclopedic knowledge of who sang what in 1D. “Sign of the Times” is the calling card: brash blue notes, pristine falsetto, and controlled, tuneful screams silenced early concerns that this record would be lightweight radio fodder. The world-weary “Ever Since New York” and the hotly jealous “Woman” deliver two different pictures of longing back to back. The former’s patient upper-register vocal commutes exhaustion through hanging syllables, while the latter eases off high notes, selling pain on sultry runs and a stutter in the explosive chorus that oozes desperation.

You can hear Styles pushing himself as a writer too. “Meet Me in the Hallway” is practically Panic in Needle Park, with its tale of two lovers trying to navigate cohabitation and codependency under a pall of opioid addiction. “Sign of the Times” has been described by the singer as a mother’s pep talk to her newborn as she dies during childbirth. Not everything here is that heavy; there are songs about the rush of new attraction and the gnawing emptiness of a breakup. The lyrics carry ’70s hard rock’s taste for clever koans and witty turns of phrase that skirt silliness without falling prey to it: “You can’t bribe the door on the way to the sky,” “I’m just trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat,” “Promises are broken like a stitch is.”

The cheeky classic rock approach doesn’t always land. “Carolina” is a character study of a Southern girl taking root on the West Coast whose chorus (“She’s a good girl / She feels so good!”) is big but not as fascinating as the tiny observations leading up to it. “Kiwi” pushes for edginess but comes back sloshed on kooky sex and coke metaphors, plot that seems contrived for the sake of rhyme (“When she’s alone she goes home to a cactus / In a black dress, she’s such an actress”), and a lyric about questionable agency that nudges it way off track. (Is “I’m having your baby, it’s none of your business” a barfly’s sketchy pickup line or a conniving threat to cash out on his fame? Both readings feel a little shady.)

We’re still getting to know Harry Styles after all these years, and he is still adjusting to having control of his own career, but the hard-won wisdom of these songs exudes potential. The album is filled with stories about bad things happening to questionable judges of character. The junkie in “Hallway” who runs with thieves after her lover ditches her, the boyfriend in “Two Ghosts” who clings to a relationship he knows is over, the guy in “Kiwi” who is getting scammed but swears he’s “kinda into it,” the ex in “Woman” who can’t accept that his crush has moved on … everyone is in the heat of a war between irrational urges and the knowledge that the thing they crave the most might not be good for them. That’s just growing up. Eventually you figure out that you can’t eat candy for breakfast, play video games all day, speak to people any way you please, or drink and sleep around all night and wake up a clean slate. You’ve heard Mick Jagger say it before, but it applies here too: “You can’t always get what you want.”

[spynotebook]

Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

The first time Britney Jean Spears ever left America was to go to Stockholm in 1998. It was spring, and in less than a year, the fruits of ten days of labor there would be out in the universe. With it, the hardest-working, most successful teenage superstar of the 1990s would have a debut album. Prior to that, she was just a 15-year-old Mouseketeer — a former classmate of future ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, future ex-rival Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling. On her first international voyage away from her small hometown Kentwood, Louisiana, she met a bunch of bearded Swedish producer-songwriter dudes (no disrespect to the now-monolithic Max Martin, and the sadly departed Denniz Pop), and together they made pop history and miscellany.

Perhaps that context is why …Baby One More Time (named, of course, after the Goliath breakthrough single) is the listen it is 20 years later. It wasn’t the reactive album conception we’re accustomed to now. It came before album rollouts were meticulously mood-boarded in the wake of one viral online hit, and plotted with the use of some neurotic, algorithm-assisted A&R development program. Spears’s debut was a bunch of songs she’d recorded before her opening statement changed the course of popular music.

That single — and title track — moved the earth with its first bars. Those first few seconds still sound like an intergalactic alarm clock rousing us from a faraway planet inhabited by horny robots. “DUR! DUR! DUR!” they warned. The Millennium Bug was coming to wipe us out and MTV was the most likely host for the final dance party. The single remains one of the signature pop songs of its ilk, borrowing from the school of Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync but with a new melodramatic, turgid molasses of beats and piano stabs that sounded as heavy as the distress their lovesick narrator suffered.

There is no second “… Baby One More Time” on the record. Her third single “(You Drive Me) Crazy (The Stop Remix)” was the closest contender, but still planets away from that entrance point. To listen to Spears’s debut front-to-back is to travel back to a distant past where the wool was willingly pulled over audience’s eyes and fans were satisfied with being hit over the head by a song without needing to know the who, where, and what from whence it came. This was before we gained a bird’s-eye real-time view of the warts-and-all process of cherry-picking backwoods talent on X Factor. It was before that accessibility worked the other way, and the likes of Lorde could launch a career online from the end of the Earth. Nobody in a pre-social-media era demanded logical intent from their overnight superstars. The aim was to use the vessel that was Spears and build a catalogue of danceable teen bops for her to perform in the malls where she made her first touring appearances. The LP’s clean fun also established a foundation from which she’s since built a career far longer than this album ever anticipated. The foundation is listenable and enjoyable, yet questionable, flawed, bizarre, and epically over the top.

Spears had a voice that was bigger than her life story so far. It was not the voice of an innocent small-town girl. “…Baby One More Time” could be sung by a 15-year-old or a 40-year-old. Spears’s voice was perhaps a problem. The Britney-isms were fine, great even: bay-buh versus bay-bee, and an inflection so nasal that one of her backing vocalists once told the press she pinched her nose while recording her takes for the album to match Spears’s. Those affectations lend her a sort of pop-star weirdness, but it’s the rich depth of her voice that creates an issue: It’s too serious for frivolities, like a ball gown she can’t fit into yet but has to wear anyway. In attempt to match it, her collaborators tried both adult contemporary and tween jingles on her in the hopes something would stick.

Take the reggae-inspired “Soda Pop,” a song riffing on the addictive nature of soda (“open the soda pop, bop-shee-bop-shee-bop”). You may ask again: What planet did this come from? The charming bamboozlement of “Soda Pop” notwithstanding, silliness is not Spears’s legacy. Pain, solitude, gut-wrenching rejection — this is where she lives. Not to shade her performance on “Soda Pop.” There is not another singer in the world who could run lines around the lyric “the pop keep flowin’ like it’s fire and ice,” and ready it for a highly anticipated debut album release. Artists like Billie Eilish are decidedly not recording a “Soda Pop” at the moment.

More confusing than “Soda Pop,” however, is her presentation. The consistent message of Spears’s story arc has been the innocent-until-proven-otherwise mantra. Her album’s material conflicted with her physical presentation. What she did with her body and what she said via her mouth were worlds apart. For example, contrast the album-cover art with her first Rolling Stone cover. The latter was shot by David LaChapelle, and featured Spears on her bed in lingerie, a Tinky Winky doll brushing her nipple. Oh to be a fly-on-the-wall during the decision-making process about which Teletubby was going to work best. Even after two albums, Spears remained on the fence with her third record, Britney, concluding at the age of 20 that she was “not a girl, not yet a woman.” But the seeds of the oversexed virgin enigma were born on …Baby One More Time with its advanced lyrical appeal to the perils of thwarted romance.

The schmaltzy “I Will Still Love You,” a homogenous duet with Don Philip about undying love so burdensome the tryst sounds like life imprisonment. Then there’s single “Born to Make You Happy,” which is emo-level tortured. “I don’t know how to live without your love,” she sings on the piano-driven hit. She was 16, channeling emotions that are on par with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (incidentally, nobody was pretending those guys were just holding hands). She plays the doting, subservient girlfriend, always on the other end of the phone, neither a threat to the school jock nor to his mom and dad. And yet she burns with the desire of a thousand Jackie Collins novels.

It made sense that this was Spears’s oeuvre. She would reveal on TV appearances that she was a student of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. She was eager to be considered a singer-songwriter. Before the train pulled out from the station, she was looking to position herself as a younger Sheryl Crow. After sexing up the Catholic-school-girl look, she was a lifetime away from Crow, but the songs were rooted in a similar world of romantic balladry; one in which love is as intoxicating as it is near fatal. There are hints at her own inspirations too. Natalie Imbruglia in “I Will Be There” — a guitar-based number, which has a post-chorus wailing guitar line that borrows heavily from “Torn.” Cher is referenced with a great cover of Sonny & Cher’s “The Beat Goes On,” which came before Cher resurrected her career with “Believe” and auto-tune.

The album is also a time capsule for the desperate, but still lucrative, state of MTV in the late ’90s, appeasing the erratic genre-bending of the network’s jukebox before it imploded. It features a ton of, at the time, commonplace production bells and whistles: the sci-fi whirring effects transitioning into verses (“Sometimes”), the copious cowbell (“(You Drive Me) Crazy”), the sprinkles-of-stardust keys (“Deep in My Heart”), the bouncing synths (title track). Stepping into the future was the song, “Email My Heart” — which Rolling Stone called “pure spam.” In an interview from 1999, Spears discusses its inception: “Everyone’s been doing emails, and it’s [called] ‘Email My Heart’, so… everyone can relate to that song!” Turns out Spears would have the last laugh considering the intimacy of our online discourse two decades later.

The critic Jon Caramanica wrote in the New York Times that Spears’s blueprint of pop is but one subsection of the genre now, which makes sense when you listen back. We live in an age where pop is supposedly controlled by us, not them. This album does not sound like supply meeting demand. Nobody would have streamed most of …Baby One More Time if it came out now. It’s a mess. And yet it’s her biggest seller to date. Producing five hit singles, it made her the Antichrist among critics and purveyors of “real” music. In its review of the album, NME wrote: “Hopefully, if she starts to live the wretched life that we all eventually do, her voice will show the scars, she’ll stop looking so fucking smug, she’ll find solace in drugs and we’ll be all the more happier for it.” It was a different time.

[paintmetired-blog]

Castle on the Hill

Castle on the Hill Lauren Jauregui x Reader A/N (author's note): A gender neutral fan fiction. Please excuse my typos.

Starting out, you were just someone who wanted to post videos on YouTube that contained content of you singing. You never thought that one day, you'd become the most viewed and subscribed to singing channel on YouTube that wasn't famous for having a career in the music industry like Justin Bieber of Ariana Grande. You were well-known for your covers of other people's songs, not your original ones as you didn't have any. However, that was going to change soon.

You had a special surprise in store for you viewers and you were excited but still nervous and anxious to show it.

@y/sm/n(your social media name): Hey guys, just uploaded a video. I think you guys'll like it.

You had just put up one of your own songs that you had written. The song had been sitting idle in your journal for a while because you were always iffy on the decision of whether or not to show it off as you were scared of the repercussions you'd get. But, after a small pep talk from one of your close friends, you chose to say 'fuck it' and just post it.

The song was titled Castle on the Hill and it was basically a short story about your life growing up and your friends and family back home, basically the people that raised you before you blew up and became big. It was a song that you wrote while you were reminiscing about your past.

All you could do now was hope that people would like it.

When I was six years old I broke my leg I was running from my brother and his friends

The video started off black, with the words 'Castle on the Hill' passing by in white. It then faded into view as it showed you sitting in your room, singing.

You remembered this memory clearly as if it were just yesterday. You had just pranked your brother and his friends by throwing water balloons at all of them when they were hanging out. Your devious plan had gotten them all soaked to the bone and to say the least, they were not happy about that.

And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass I rolled down I was younger then, take me back to when I

While you were running away from your brother and his friends, you had tripped over a rock in the ground that caused you to go tumbling down a hill. You were to busy watching what was in front of you and not watching where you were placing your feet.

Found my heart and broke it here Made friends and lost them through the years

These lyrics circled around a couple people in your life that had caused a large impact back then and still to the present day. Your first love, first group of friends, you could recall them all so vividly. After all, the saying goes, "Some people come into your life as blessings, others come into your life as lessons". These people were the blessing of a lesson.

And I've not seen the roaring fields in so long, I know I've grown But I can't wait to go home

You missed your home. When you had blown up as a YouTube sensation, you moved down to L.A. to pursue your dream of becoming a singer. You'd always wanted to join the music industry when you were younger, becoming famous like all the other talented singers. But that all changed when you found out the truth behind the music industry, the corruption and the lies it held. So, you decided to just stay a YouTube singer but you were still in L.A.

I'm on my way Driving at ninety down those country lanes Singing to "Tiny Dancer"

Your favorite song, as a child, was Tiny Dancer by Elton John. You used to jam out to it with your father in the local coffee shop. It was one of your most cherished memories with your father. You even had a ring with the words 'tiny dancer' engraved into it that your father gave to you before he passed away.

And I miss the way you make me feel, and it's real We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill

You were singing about your first love here, Lauren Jauregui. When you closed your eyes, you could picture her long, flowing brown hair and emerald green eyes that held the galaxies in them. Her pale skin that contrasted greatly against her plump red lips and rosy cheeks. You and her had always used to sit atop the hill, watching the sun set and rise as Lauren was always so fascinated with nature. You enjoyed those moments with her the most, just sitting peacefully wrapped up in each other's arms, no one speaking a word but the message and feelings between you two clear as day.

Fifteen years old and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes Running from the law through the backfields and getting drunk with my friends

As you grew older in age, you didn't grow in maturity. You admit, you were a little trouble maker back then but even if you could redo your teenage years with the knowledge you had now, you'd not change a single thing. As the years of high school came along, so did the stress and anxiety of life, the only escape seeming to be a toxic smoke that filled your lungs and promised a certain death, and some illegal actions that were deemed fun by you. Underage smoking and drinking, who wouldn't use those tactics to leave reality behind?

Had my first kiss on a Friday night, I don't reckon that I did it right But I was younger then, take me back to when

The first time you locked lips with the brown haired beauty, also known as Lauren, was on a Friday night when you were both watching a movie. Well, supposed to be watching a movie. Instead your attentions were on each other instead of the motion picture displayed in front of them. You could feel yourself getting lost into those green eyes, and her the same to you. You both started leaning in at the same time, not minding that anybody could come in at any moment. It was like the world around you was tuned out and all you could focus on was the girl in front of you, the teenager that had managed to take your heart without a receipt.

We found weekend jobs, when we got paid We'd buy cheap spirits and drink them straight

Ah, yes, the wretched two day jobs that you had to do to pawn off some money from people for you and your family. Your family was never one of the richest in town, therefore you had to work less than mediocre jobs that had low wages and lots of labor in order to keep your family afloat. You never stuck with one job for two long because you got bored easily of the bosses you got. On every Sunday night, you had a sort of ritual you did with your friends which was going out a buying cheap beer from the local liquor store down the street. The taste of the alcohol was bland and disgusting but you didn't mind it. You were in your youth and you didn't care that the cold brew running down your throat was absolutely horrible.

Me and my friends have not thrown up in so long, oh how we've grown But I can't wait to go home

Your current friends you had now were "matured" and "dignified", they thought the idea of getting drunk until one was throwing up and getting high out of one's mind was a preposterous thing to do, it was simply unheard of. That meaning you haven't drunken the signature liquid that was meant to dull your emotions and brain activity like you used to, you also haven't touched the special plant that enhanced everything. To be honest with yourself? You missed it.

I'm on my way Driving at ninety down those country lanes Singing to "Tiny Dancer"

You were planning a well overdue trip back to the place where you grew up. You were happy to finally be able to see the town that birthed you and raised you. God, how you missed everyone and everything. You believed L.A. to be this great heaven that offered all the pleasures of the world, but you were wrong. You were so wrong. You didn't realize how special home was and home was not L.A.

And I miss the way you make me feel, and it's real We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill Over the castle on the hill Over the castle on the hill

You couldn't wait to sit atop that legendary hill and just breathe in the country air. You could practically already feel the grass that would prickle at your hands and feet, the bark of the tree that would dig into your back as you leaned up against it, the breeze of the wind that would ruffle your hair and chill your bones, the sun that would shine down upon you as it laid upon the horizon, painting the sky in beautiful colors of orange, red, and pink.

One friend left to sell clothes One works down by the coast One had two kids but lives alone

You had heard from your mother about how your old friends were doing. You commonly asked her how they were and what they were up to. Your mother would always tell you to try and reach out to them but you ignored that suggestion. You thought that they'd have forgotten about you by now.

One's brother overdosed One's already on his second wife One's just barely getting by

Your heart broke when you heard of the struggles that some of them were going through. Regret and guilt filled you as your mother told you of Lauren's brother dying of drug overdose. You had known of his depression long before but you never thought it would lead to something as severe as death. You always figured that he'd be fine without you there to support him since he had Lauren and your mother there. You never realized how important you were to him until he was already gone.

But these people raised me and I can't wait to go home

One of the main reasons you were going home was to attend the funeral of Chris Jauregui. You could only hope that Lauren would forgive you. You figured that she would blame you for his death since you had left, you had left them behind. You didn't really want to face the green eyed girl but you had no choice. You couldn't run away from your problems any longer. You had to turn around and face them, look them straight in the eye and accept the consequences that may follow.

And I'm on my way, I still remember These old country lanes

Your plane ticket and bags were all packed up. You were ready to leave L.A. and travel back toward where you belong. You weren't leaving your dreams in the famous city though, you were still going to continue your channel on YouTube but you just wouldn't dedicate your life toward it.

When we did not know the answers And I miss the way you make me feel, it's real

You didn't know what was going to happen when you showed your face at the Jauregui residence, you didn't know how everything would turn out, but you did know that you needed to go. You missed the people who taught you everything you knew in life and you missed the land on where you became the person you were today.

Your heart was racing so fast you thought it was going to run up your throat and jump out of your mouth as you walked up the familiar stone steps that lead to the all too familiar red bricked house. As you reached the mahogany door, you reached a shaking hand up and knocked three times, the quiet banging seeming to ring in and out of your ears. It took a couple seconds but the door slowly opened up, revealing the two sets of eyes that you'd been wanting to meet for a while.

We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill Over the castle on the hill Over the castle on the hill

"Hey, Mom, Lauren," You greeted the two women with a small nod.

[ctomusicartists]

How to Create The Perfect Wedding Song Playlist?

Music is an integral piece of the wedding. It gives the guests a glimpse of who the bride and groom really are by adding a personalized touch to the soundtrack of the night. Not only that, but it sets the tone. Whether it be all night rager, or a dignified and refined reception, the wedding song playlist should be chosen carefully. Keep reading to gain some tips and tricks on making the perfect wedding song set.

How many songs do I need for a 6 hour wedding?

Since the average song is around 3 minutes, it is recommended that you add twenty songs to your playlist for every hour of the event.  For a 6 hour wedding that means you would need to add 120 wedding songs.  

What are the most popular wedding songs?

According to Spotify, the top 10 most popular wedding songs are:

“Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran

“Marry You” by Bruno Mars

“Perfect” by Ed Sheeran

“I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston

“All of Me” by John Legend

“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars

“My Girl” by The Temptations

“A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri

“Marry Me” by Train

“You Make My Dreams” by Daryl Hall & John Oates

However, bridal websites name the following as the top ten wedding songs:

Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”

Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off”

Walk the Moon, “Shut Up and Dance”

Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”

Whitney Houston, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”

Earth, Wind & Fire, “September”

Usher feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris, “Yeah”

Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin'”

Michael Jackson, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”

The Isley Brothers, “Shout – Part 1″

How often should you play a slow song at a wedding?

People like to dance for about half an hour before needing a break.  It’s not a good idea to abruptly play a slow song in between fast paced songs.  Instead, play a slow song every 30-40 minutes and follow up the slow song with a build up in tempo for another 30-40 minutes.   

What songs do you not play at a wedding?

Some songs are overly played, cliche, cringy, and people generally don’t want to hear them…again. The Huffington Post names the following ten songs to add to the do not play list:

“The Chicken Dance” by The Tweets

“YMCA” by Village People

“Electric Boogie” by Marcia Griffiths (a.k.a. “Electric Slide”)

″Macarena” by Los Del Rio

″Cotton-Eye Joe” by Rednex

“Cupid Shuffle” by Cupid

“I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas

″Cha Cha Slide” by DJ Casper

“Single Ladies” by Beyoncé

″Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

  Other songs are added to bridal “do not play” lists because their lyrics feature taboo relationship topics like stalking, break-ups, demeaning lyrics for women, or are generally depressing. The top ten topical “do not play” weddings songs are:

“Every Breath You Take,” by the Police. …

“I Will Always Love You,” by Whitney Houston (or Dolly Parton) …

“Make You Feel My Love,” by Adele. …

“The Scientist,” by Coldplay. …

“My Heart Will Go On,” by Celine Dion. …

“The Sweetest Thing,” by U2. …

“I Will Survive,” by Gloria Gaynor. …

“White Wedding,” by Billy Idol.

“Tainted Love,” by Soft Cell

“If You Wanna Be Happy,” by Jimmy Soul

What are good wedding dance songs?

The best wedding dance songs are different for people of different generations and with different music genre tastes. Therefore, it’s a good idea to vary the age of the songs and include hip-hop, pop, funk, indie, and electronic tunes. These songs can be extremely popular, or just have uplifting beats and positive lyrics. Most songs that get people moving are songs that bring back great memories, so even if a song isn’t well known, add it to your list if you and your guests have a shared experience that makes the song special. Some of the best wedding dance songs of all time include:

“Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran

“Hey Ya!” by Outkast

“I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas

“Yeah!” by Usher

“Electric Boogie” by Marcia Griffiths

“Love Shack” by B-52s

“Respect” by Aretha Franklin

“ABC” by The Jackson 5

“This Is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan

“Jungle Boogie” by Kool and The Gang

“Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder

“September” by Earth, Wind, and Fire

“Respect” by Aretha Franklin

“Time to Pretend” by MGMT

“Get Lucky” by Daft Punk

“We Found Love” by Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris

“Low” by Flo Rida

“Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot

“Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift

What is the most uplifting wedding song ever?

Songs with happy lyrics, in major keys, and with upbeat tempos are scientifically proven to be the most uplifting music for listeners.  Whether these songs are right for your wedding is up to you, but some of the most uplifting songs are:

“Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen

“Dancing Queen” by Abba

“Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys

“Uptown Girl” by Billie Joel

“Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor

What are the most popular first wedding dance songs?

There are some songs that are very popular as first dance wedding songs because they so beautifully articulate the love shared by newlyweds the top ten most popular first dance wedding songs according to insider magazine are:

“Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran

“At Last” by Etta James

“You Are the Best Thing” by Ray LaMontagne

“All of Me” by John Legend

“A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri.

“Make You Feel My Love” by Adele

“I Won’t Give Up” by Jason Mraz

“Everything” by Michael Bublé

“Better Together” by Jack Johnson

“Amazed” by Lonestar

Other bridal websites mention some other classic first dance songs:

“As” by Stevie Wonder, “As Time Goes By” by Dooley Wilson, “By Your Side,” by Sade, “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” by Elvis Presley, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” by Frankie Valli or Lauryn Hill, “Come Rain or Come Shine,” by Ray Charles, and “Crazy Love,” by Van Morrison. 

What is a good exit song for a wedding?

Most recessional songs are upbeat and romantic.  Some even have lyrics that allude to the end of an event or “going home”. Some great choices for a recessional wedding song are:

“Beautiful Day,” by U2

“Fool For Love” by Lord Huron

“Somewhere Only We Know,” by Keane

“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” by Bill Medley

“Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain & Tennille

“You Shook Me All Night Long,” by AC/DC

“All You Need Is Love,” by the Beatles

“The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson

“What a Wonderful World,” by Louis Armstrong

“We Are Family,” by Sister Sledge

“We Belong Together” by Vampire Weekend

“After Midnight,” by Eric Clapton

“Always Remember Us This Way” by Lady Gaga

“Home,” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes

“Closing Time,” by Semisonic

Remember that creating the perfect playlist for your reception is really all about expressing your own style and finding the music that best allows you and your guests to celebrate this special event.  The CTO Wedding bands have years of experience helping couples create and refine their best reception playlists. Don’t be afraid to reach out to us!

The post How to Create The Perfect Wedding Song Playlist? appeared first on CTO Music Artists.

from CTO Music Artists https://cto.com/articles/how-to-create-the-perfect-wedding-song-playlist/