#review brah

[bluedawnflower]

we need more butches who look like TheReportOfTheWeek

[spiralfucker]

Sorry to anyone at all (the two or three of you) that was hoping I’ll actually release music soon but I just got new headphones that make all of my mixes sound like absolute garbage so I WILL be doing all the EQing again, false animal fans stay strong

[cinemaocd]

men don't want women. men want fanny packs that are called edc sling belt bag or some shit....

[zelphin124]

Idol Error meets Idol Fresh (Short Story)

Finally, the long awaited prize for @zucchiyeni, I am sooooo sorry it took so long to get to..

These short stories were the prizes of the honorable mentions in the SeasonTale Creative Challenge.

Whew, now, onto the story!

~o0o~

"That's like, totally unrad bro."

Error glanced down at his watch again. 5 minutes... they were five minutes over the meeting time they were supposed to speak with him, and it ticked him off.

Error was one of the most famous independent singers in the entire multiverse. He had rewards for his skills in rapping and voice tuning. Despite his inefficiency with technology, he produced some of the most captivating videos and VR experiences known to mankind. It was said he only had one producer, but to this day, no one could figure out who it was.

And the contractors wanted to hire him.

He told himself it was stupid. He knew that they would take his rights to his music if he agreed to their deal... yet the price tag wasn't something he couldn't refuse.

His producer seriously needed a raise.

"Dude, you can't fire me! I won't be the vibe anymore! The town's countin on me radical skills!"

Error rubbed his head, hearing the younger guy talk in the room with the contractor. All he could think about was how annoying his voice sounded. The way he talked, and the way he yelled... It was ticking him off even more.

He decided he wasn't going to wait any longer. He stood up, banging on the door to the office. "HuRrY Up," he hissed. "I d0n't g0T a11 d@y t0 wa1t f0r y0u."

The conversation stopped, and rapid footsteps were heard before the employer, wearing a bright smile, opened the door. "Error!" He smiled with glee. "So happy to have you here, just give me maybe 5 more minutes as I deal with this hobo mkay?"

"1 d0n't h@vE m0r3 t1m3," Error glitched, adjusting his outfit. "T1m3 1s m0n3y."

"But of course," the small skeleton shuddered. "Right, Fresh, I'm going to need you to leave. Unfortunately, we will not be renewing your contract and that's final."

"But lad," Fresh, a tall-appearing skeleton begged. "Tis is ma only source of income! I can't produce any more music unless you chill and let me have the rights to my own voice yo!"

Error grimaced in disgust at his rainbow outfit. He was a walking kid's toy, with trinkets on his outfit that made no sense and the style skill of a two-year-old. However, he didn't like the look of the contractor's outfit either... it was all black with a white undershirt. Very boring, in his opinion.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I could do."

"Wh@t d0 y0u m3an, yoU dOn'T hav3 th3 r1ghts t0 yoUr OwN v01c3?" Error gestured to the hobo, considering what he said earlier.

"Totally unfair, brah!" Fresh explained. "In the contract, they steal the rights to your voice, music, everything! They only pay a pretty penny until your rates drop because of their unrad standards!"

"Wait, no, that's not entirely true-" The contractor had a pleading look in his eyes, glancing at Error and grabbing the scruff of his sleeve.

Error immediately shot his hand out of his reach, looking at him in disgust. "N@h, that's BS r1GhT th3rE. I'1l c0nt1nuE t0 b3 ind3penDenT."

"But-" The contractor flattened his face with a defeated look. He glared at Fresh as Error walked out, but not out of earshot. "You just ruined our chance to make a big buck, prepared for your entire career to be ruined."

The scrape of a chair echoed through the hall. "Too bad you already did lad."

Error rubbed his head, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He really needed the extra cash, but with the terms he overheard and the reviews from other artists stuck in contracts with the company, he saw no benefit. Even the Star Sanses were stuck with them for six more years, unable to produce their own stuff. It made Error wonder if the instant fame was worth it for them.

Not like he experienced that desire. He had posted his music one day and it caught fire quickly, each of his videos going viral the moment it released.

Yet, nothing paid him enough to give his producer the raise she needed. Most of the money he made himself went back into his production and to pay his own bills.

"Yo broski, wait up!"

Error cringed, clenching his fists together as the footsteps behind him got louder. As if this hobo couldn't get any more annoying...

"Sorry about the lazy impression back there bud, I tots wasn't having the best convo of all time. But I know your music and I must say you're pretty rad and wanted to ask if you wanted to collab sometime." Fresh rambled, before stopping and taking a few big breaths.

Error glanced Fresh up and down... well, more up than anything. He raised an eyebrow and continued walking. I don't have time for this...

"C'mon broski!" Fresh bounded after him. "I won't let you down and I can add some sick beats to your vocals!"

"1 h@v3n't h3arD yOuR mus1c beFor3." Error glitched, adjusting his clothes once more. "YoU juSt g0t f1r3d, wHy shOulD 1?"

"Look look look," Fresh immediately pulled out his phone to search for examples of his music. Even Error was surprised at the rate he pulled it up while keeping up with his pace.

The song played fancy and radical tunes, ones that Error had never heard before. There were some parts he liked, but the main melody of most of them sucked in his opinion. Error then explained to Fresh the few parts he liked while everything else was trash.

Fresh did not seem disheartened in any way. "Thanks for the feedback broski, I will take it into account! I could lend you the sounds for a collab, just one brah."

Error scoffed, turning around to face the rainbow once more. "Tw0 w0RDs, m@ss1v3 mAk30v3r," Error gestured to his entire outfit. "Y0u'R3 n0t l0Ok1nG l1kE th@t 1n mY v1d30."

"Really brah?" Fresh frowned, unzipping part of his outfit to show the inside of it. "You think this is lame? It's better than the lazy hobo that you're wearing."

"Th1s 1s f@shi0n, thAT b3l0nGs 1n th3 DumPSt3r." Error fired back, getting more angry by the minute. He snarled and waved his hand in dismissal, walking towards his car.

He didn't see the devilish grin of a cunning idea wrap around the parasite's face. "Relax lad, why don't we let yo cute producer decide? The collab would be made by her anyway~"

Error stopped dead in his tracks, glitching in and out at the mention of his producer. There's no way this loser could have figured out who she was... right? The fact that he even talked like that about her fueled his fury. How disrespectful of him.

If it weren't for his popularity, Error would have strangled him on the spot. However, people were starting to look and point them out, as he was being recognized. Fresh knew this, he saw this... and he laughed about it. They both knew Fresh was taunting Error.

"I'll make it stop if ya wish to collab, broski," Fresh shrugged, rezipping his coat.

Subconsciously, Error pulled the strings from his eyes as they continued to glitch, showing his anger. "N3-3-3-v3r." He hissed, holding the strings around his fingers. "N0 0-0n3 wh0 diSr3sp3ctS m3 @nd m-m-my c-cr3w w0rkS w-w1th m3."

"Hope to see you on stage then broski, when you come crawling back to me!" Fresh bowed, the silver on his clothes blinding Error when the sun reflected off of it. "I'll personally be your rival. It'll be easier to get popular that way."

"D0n't f-forg3t a-a-ab0uT th@t s-stup1d c0ntr@ct y0u siGn3d." Error unlocked his car, seething.

"What they gonna do lad, fire me? I'm on my own," he gives a mocking salute to the rap star. "And I'll be the one to take over your career. Good luck broski..." his eyes turned a scary shade of purple. "You'll need it."

Error was incredibly puzzled by Fresh's behavior as he drove home. The only word he could use to describe it was childish, yet it still got under his nerves. Usually, threats don't bother him as they don't get very far. But this one... it was very unsettling.

The rap star would make his way home in silence before eating his favorite meal and collapsing in bed to sleep. Despite all the things he tried to do, Fresh stayed fresh in his mind, and he was unable to shake the feeling that something was about to go seriously wrong for him.

Little did he know what kind of battle for his career this rainbow hobo would bring... And the rivalry it started to this day.

Even then, his producer stayed loyal to him, and Error still made music as usual. Security was increased, and he was able to get his producer a raise due to the song rivalry with Fresh, despite never collabing. Error always thought Fresh's music was childish and inexperienced, especially when the song was putting him under the bus. He believed he had the real roasts when he finally put the song together to tick off the parasite back.

But after the song "Fresh to Rotten Fruit" was released, Error was unable to sleep. He pissed off the rainbow parasite... and the threat on his life and his producer's life was too serious to be ignored.

And Error couldn't fix it without ruining his career.

[samejimachich]

My impression of GLAZE and Nightshade

It may be a bit long post I guess.

I tried to use GLAZE and Nightshade, so I'll show you how the images are changed.

Nightshade

Here is the latest UI.

Render Quality is all slowest, because they didn't look different from Faster to Slowest.

Intensity: Low

Intensity: Default

Intensity: High

GLAZE

Here is the latest UI.

By the way, if you want to use both GLAZE and Nightshade, you must use Nightshade first.

So at first I'll show you the images only use GLAZE.

I only show Intensity: Default ver./Intensity: High ver.

Render Quality are both Slowest.

Because the lowest intensity in Glaze is Default, and I guess Default is the recommendable setting from official.

Render Quality: Faster

Render Quality: Medium

Render Quality: Slower

Render Quality: Slowest

Next, Glazed after Nightshaded ver. Intensity: High Render Quality: Slowest

(Green texts are Nightshade settings.)

So, if you want to use both, it depends which look you like tho, but I recommend both settings are Intensity: Default/Render Quality: Slowest.

But IF you want to use both and furthermore using the effect as watermark, I recommend both sittings are Intensity: High/Render Quality: Slowest.

The following sentences are just my opinion and how I post my art from now on. so you don't have to read more if you don't care about what my art will do.

So, from today onwards, I'll post my art as Intensity: High/Render Quality: Slowest nightshaded/Glazed ver.

Because, once, my fanart ha been unauthorized reproduction on Youtube, and long ago, my arts have also listed in the "Maybe I'll review it one day on my YT channel" box on DA. Of course no contact to me. I didn't feel anger but disgusting, and the alert to the stealers was so tesious. Seriously, I think my art never be stolen from "Al artists" but I no approval that someday Al steal Mike Mignola-ish art and someone praize for them like "Wow, it's really Mike Mignola!!". I believe Al and Al artists never understand the skill of the lighting, at least in a few year. But IF someone try to, I don't know how angry I'll get.

Sorry to let me change the subject slightly, I don't think Al Tim Burton-ish arts are not even Tim Burton-"ish" arts. (It's JUST my opinion tho, I love Burton's sketch.) They just picked up the "Burton-ish features" like spiral, stripe, twig-ish neck, morbid looks, brah-brah-brah. But I was shocked many people saw them and praized.

So, this is the one of the opinion of mine.

Second, I think the artists need more protect our art from network. Once, (I only know Japanese artists tho) social medias were the gratest places for commercial of art, even for non-famous artists. We wanted to show their art high-def and we tried many times how we can post our art without dull. But we had to notice, we were too open. Our posts were like setting up the unattended store on the side of the road in a slum area. Inside the store, there was no security buzzer but just free mercandise. Finished product, not a sample. And a flyer on the side saying "If you like my art, please give me some tips or a job."

Once again, I believe my art will never be stolen at least from Al. This is my worthless action, but some artists need I think.

If you want to see my proper art works, you need to buy my book or join member ship on ko-fi. Thank you for reading this long sentences.

[ebonysplendor]

Perfect Love: Milo Change -- TS4 Edition

This is totally not becoming a Perfect Love fan page ^^;; I swear I'll shut up about this game after today...

...ANYWAYS! Show and tell time!

So, I made the Milos in The Sims 4, so that's cool, I guess!

Introducing OG Milo Change, "Deceive, defame, and deny" Milo, and "Always choose violence" Milo.

Peep the eye colors though; red for violence, blue for manipulation

This is pretty much it, but it you wanna see me ramble more and/or the other pics, you can keep going :)

Okay, so hear me out. I think these actually came out pretty okay?

First off, it's very hard for me to make faces. What I mean by that is, usually, whenever I recreate characters in The Sims, I find a base "face" and then I edit it. I can dress them, sure, but the "genetics" part kill me; I can't recreate a face to save my life, and I absolutely rely on other simmers for that. That being said...I was on my own this time, so just ignore the faces altogether if they look off, even though, this time around, I think I did pretty okay.

Now, I do feel like I did pretty damned good on the wardrobe, especially for my "always choose violence" Milo; that one was my favorite, and he came out pretty close to the actual sprite, which was a big "yay" moment. At least, I think it did. Am I being delusional or overly critical...? I'm not sure lol. Like, I'm not trying to drag myself but I def do not want to overhype myself because these probably could've been better, but I honestly don't know, like... how to make it better. Whatever though, I did it for funsies, and now, I have the option to put them in one of my playthroughs, which is super exciting.

Now, admittedly, I'm peeved that I couldn't find exact clothing, and that's my toxic trait when trying to recreate a character in sims. For some reason, if I can't find the exact clothes and/or hair, it throws the entire thing off for me. It's not as bad when I can find something relatively close, but if it's not pretty much it, it bothers the living hell out of me. That's just a thing with me, for whatever reason, and that being said, why, oh why, could I not find a damned jacket with the sewn on patches and why could I not find an accessory hoodie for the guys? I have a shirt with an eye on it. It killed me not to use it, but I used what was the closest.

Anyways, enough rambling and trying to explain myself. Please either enjoy or criticize these Milos that I made to feed my obsession for this game.

Big preesh for checking this out, brah.

Drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around!

Until next time~!

p.s. Just in case you were wanting to play it, or you somehow stumbled upon this and was wondering what game I was talking about, here's a link to the Perfect Love visual novel. If you just so happen want to read my review and see me absolutely foam at the mouth over this game, here's a link to that as well.

Okay, I'm leaving for realsies now. Lol later~!

[lemonsweet]

Review brah

[befuddledbear]

[the-giug]

GIUG'S COOL ASS FOOD REVIEWS FR

Ya so today I had hot chocolate because I am powerful and cool as hell and I decided to take the Viennese.

The ingredients are:

Hot chocolate

Coffee

Whipped Cream

Cinnamon

I actually wanted to try the Irish one but it had whiskey and I had to be with an adult to try it. Bro I ain't gonna get drunk with a bit of whiskey in hot chocolate calm down brah.

Despite that, this shit was yummy as hell aah

Even my date liked it a lot gah damn.

Bro this mf cute but jesus fucking christ he's so shy... bro I don't bite calm tf down brah.

Ya so this shi was yummy as hell... but I forgot to ask them to not add cinnamon and well... cinnamon ruined it for me. How tf do people eat cinamon rolls that shit ia disgusting. Worst spice ever.

My date was good tho this mf kept yapping about tomatoes and his brother beign a hoe but overall goodass date he was so cute fr.

So yeah, 8/10, fuck cinnamon

If you guys wanna see more sane aah reviews follow me fr I also post coffee and shit I cook oh also Hetalia because gah damn the Italy Brothers got dat gyatt.

[geometricalien]

Life is Strange Double Exposure Review

(Spoiler warning)

I finished the game last night and my thoughts have been given time to proof- like making bread.

Characters

- I loved playing Max again! There was such a sweet nostalgia while playing her and hearing her repeat lines from the first game like, "Shaka brah", and it was awesome to see how 10 years had treated her- both the trauma of Arcadia Bay and how she is more confident, more assured of herself!

- I was instantly endeared to Safi from the beginning, her friendship with Max and their bantering was fun! You could tell they had a good close friendship- which only got deeper during the last 2 episodes. I think she is complicated and interesting. It just sucks that she kinda feels like a watered down Chloe. Which it had to be this way for the themes and plot. She is funny, daring, reckless, sometimes mean, vengeful, scared. I wish I knew more about her since she is going to be a bigger part of the universe going forward (if it continues).

- Moses is sweet but again I wish we knew more about him. We are only in his office once and there wasn't much to snoop around with. He gave such a weird expression when I picked the toilet mug in episode 1, I thought there was going to be more depth (which is going to be a reoccurring criticism of mine). I know he was more Safi's friend and it was only a few days since Safi's death, Max and him can't bond that fast and Alex and gang had weeks/months to bond but it still irks me.

- Amanda. She's nice. I played as a messy bisexual so Max and her are not together and I don't know if that's how it is for everyone's ending (which railroads the ending a bit and I'll go into that more later) but i think she was half developed? She is "a cool artsy music lover gay who falls in love quickly" doesn't that sound like Steph? Deck nine is playing the same fucking tune and I'm getting sick of it.

-Vihn. I didn't like him but then he won me over. What do you meannnn he is a well dressed, well groomed calendar of a bi man who seems like he only cares about the university and yasmin's schedule, but actually he has a prized hedgehog statue (where's that fucking story? Where is the depth? It is a fucking flat narrative object like when max was in that motel loop and everything was flat cardboard except the wall LIKE EVERYTHING IN THIS GAME THATS NOT TIED TO THE MAIN THEME OF THE GAME, sigh, I'll continue this later), and does tarot??? I like him alot more than Amanda actually because he is narratively tied to the plot and hence has more characterization and depth. I don't ship him with Max but hot people appreciate hot people. She smashes. I smash. Let them kiss.

- I like Gwen. She's fucking awesome. I loved snooping in her office. Icon. Firewalker mention! But again, I could use more info about her outside of relation to Safi and Yasmin.

- Lucas. [Crowd boos] shhhhh shhh you're right but shhhhh. This is less cruel Jefferson. Narcissistic scum of the earth. But still I feel like we needed more info on him. Think about how much info we have of actual Jefferson and even Nathan!

- Yasmin... let's hear it for overprotective parents who value their reputation more than their child's health and safety whoooooooo

- Diamond. Again i feel like i don't know much about her. And I'm trying to dig into what her power could be- probably something with past and future or prophecy shit. Idk I'm just thinking about her project in the fine arts building. Also who did she have a crush on? Moses? I liked having little undergrads around but she could have been developed more

- Reggie. Anxiety gay boy. Does photos. Could have been developed more.

- Reporter girl. I don't even remember her name, SHE could have been developed more. Could have been an actual element in the story, someone pressuring Max about inconsistencies and shit. Except she didn't. Not in my play through

Setting

- College was very cozy and so was the bar. I'm also a grad student so alot of the background talk of grading, finals, college traditions, thinking about dropping out, that x professor hasn't given feedback for your proposal- it was all so fucking relatable.

- but it was small. The world. The set pieces. There wasn't alot to examine or explore. I feel like if there was more of this we could know the characters more and a campus is one of those characters! I do think the split dimensions offered a slightly interesting view of the campus with and without tragedy but only in episode 2 and 3 bc then that aspect was forgotten about.

- episode 5's setting was great. I always loved the dreamscape "nothing feels real or is right" of the original's last episode AND true color's last episode bc those types of settings tell us about the characters. And that's what setting is supposed to do. I feel like double exposure didn't use the setting effectively enough

Plot

- the parallelism was good but if this was released an episode a month or two like the original- people would be calling the twist ending of episode 3. I wasn't fucking surprised. I was intrigued and wanted to see what they would do with a shape shifter but. I'll get into that in the ending section

- lis games are getting very predictable bc the creators have a mold they want to follow for better or worse "main character has superpower, aesthetic vibes, romantic interests, murder to solve, a twist!" And now. A fucking marvel ass universe. I'm intrigued but ugh. The media is so so over saturated with superpower teams of heroes and multiple dimensions- I'm over it. And so is alot of people.

Themes

- the one thing they did really really well was having Chloe and Arcadia Bay haunt Max. Everything that happened back then was paralleled in the present and Max faced the storm. She made up for her cowardice and mistakes.

Did it honor lis 1?

- yes. And no. Yes in the way that I think it was the best way to wrap up the hotly debated ending of the original. It really showed how Max grew as a character. Which is important if she's like one of the main characters in this universe they are trying to make. No in the way that it upset many people that Chloe and Max broke up. It really goes to show you can't have a decisions matter game as a series. You just can't. Because you railroad shit and take away choices and character insights. You take away the punch the bite the thing that makes the story talked about a decade later.

Gameplay

- I know there is a reason both intext and meta wise why the power is dimension hopping. But it could have been developed more. It left me wanting. (Common theme of this review)

Choices

- again. Your choices don't matter. Deck nine in making more installments trying to reuse characters or tie in events, make it so your choices don't matter. It becomes more and more aparrent every game that deck nine makes that they are railroading the game and your choices. I'm not even upset about Chloe and Max break up because I sacrificed her in my playthrough, I'm saying true colors ended with Alex either being in Colorado or not being in Colorado. This game ended with Max agreeing to stand with Safi or not when she comes back- and I'm willing to bet, deck nine will not make a game that has a big impact if they are friendly or not. That's not how deck nine makes their games. They railroad choices and make things go their way. They aren't going to do something intriguing like have one game be Max and Safi taking over the world together and another where Max is fighting Safi. That is two separate games. Whatever game they make in the future with these characters is going to be 1 game. 1 game where they decide your choices you made previously don't matter. They are going to make the story they want to make. Which is why you shouldn't make a choose your own adventure/examination on interpersonal relationships game a fucking series- and that's why so much of the set dressing and interactable objects were gone which in turn impacts the characters.... it's a fucking shit show.

- also some of the choices I made that said "this will have consequences" didn't fucking matter. Like, I didn't tell Safi about the restraining order. I really thought in episode 5 that would be important and the cops would be called at the bar. It. Wasn't. It just. This game railroads you hard.

Ending

- so as I said, your choices don't matter, they will just explain away Safi and Max's friendship in the next game like they always do

- the fucking cheesy ass marvel ending- i am both vaguely curious what will happen and sick to my stomach because. What. Why. Why are they doing this. I give them some benefit of the doubt because if they go the "we could be Gods" route... it could be interesting. But it makes me hesitant.

- People are souring over this series. I'm not even sure if they will be able to have enough support to make the series they want to make. They need to break the mold they put themselves in (see me saying the predictability in plot) but when dontnod made life is strange 2 with completely different characters and setting and a main character without power- people hated it (i loved it, it's my favorite lis game) but that's why deck nine has been leaning hard in the prequel and steph and Max and "max will return" but what they are doing in making this a series is betraying the original premise and fucking importance of the original game. That choices matter.

- Unless they suck it up and actually make a game that takes into account all the different endings we have (which max could she really could in the final game of the series, the last episode, hopping dimensions that have Chloe alive, Daniel in Mexico or not, etc.) this series is going to be a pale shadow in comparison to what it could've been.

Extension Game

- What the fuck was that. The cat extension seems fucking stupid to me, if someone actually got that and played it tell me- did it actually add something to the game or was it a way for us to give deck nine 10 more dollars?

And lastly, Ranking:

Here's the thing. Double exposure is a really good sequel/continuation of Max's story but it's a bad execution of a "choices matter" game and a game hinging off of interpersonal relationships and how superpowers can impact them. So,

Life is Strange 2

Life is Strange

Life is Strange: True Colors

Life is Strange: Double Exposure

Life is Strange: Before the Storm

Now with my mixed feelings I am going to play lis2 and wait for lost records bloom and rage comes out hoping that dontnod does their usual magic again.

[tuttle-4077]

The 2024 Papa Bear Awards Nomination Round

Bramp Bramp Brah BRAAAAAAMP

Hear ye, hear ye!

The Nomination Round for the 2024 Papa Bear Awards is finally underway! Head on over to the website for a list of the eligible stories and the nomination forms! The nomination round ends on March 17th, 2024. So get reading (and viewing). Oh, and while you're at it, leave some reviews too! :P

[3liza]

I don't know anything about review brah except that he exists but it's so weird that no one has put him into their serious fashion editorials yet. it would be so funny and he would knock it out of the park

[thesinglesjukebox]

SHINEDOWN -"A SYMPTOM OF BEING HUMAN"

Something to say about the human condition!

[3.13]

Ian Mathers: Brah, help he out here: is being undistinguished and boring as fuck also a symptom of being human? [2]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Makes the Eminem song we reviewed earlier sound like the peak of musical agility. Even relative to the decayed standards of modern rock radio stalwarts, this is dire -- I'd go for the most recent singles from Finger Eleven, Avenged Sevenfold, Five Finger Death Punch, 311, and many other bands without odd numbers in their names before I opted for this one. You can hear the exertion in every minor move here. Melodically and lyrically, this is effortful music, trying its hardest to convey the weight of the world and the uplift of its "Normal is just a setting on a washing machine"-ass wisdom. The song is ultimately a paradox; you can at once hear all of the very human failings at play in this song's construction, but all of those disparate, repugnant choices come together to create something altogether inhuman. [1]

Aaron Bergstrom: I once got stuck in a traffic jam trying to leave a parking garage at the same time a Shinedown concert was getting out. This song is a pretty solid approximation of what that felt like. [2]

Harlan Talib Ockey: Come on down to the Shinedown Emporium! We have: 1) Uncanny valley processed vocals! 2) A synth pad that sounds kind of like strings! 3) Conflicting lyrics! (Is anxiety a special, exclusive ticket to a “lunatic ball”, or an ordinary “symptom of being human”?) 4) A hollow bid for as many listeners as possible, especially adult contemporary and country fans! Buy as many as you want; we’ll be here for just over four minutes, but it’ll feel like a lifetime. [2]

Taylor Alatorre: I think Brent Smith sees himself as performing a public service by watering down his firsthand account of a panic attack to make it palatable for Hot Adult Contemporary. There's a respectable logic to that; sometimes the "YOU ARE NOT ALONE" message needs to be skywritten in big block letters for it to get through, particularly in the parts of the U.S. where acts like Shinedown still reign supreme. On the other hand, the stab at universality may end up filtering out those who see themselves as, or know they are seen as, more than just "kinda weird." If everyone's invited to the "lunatic ball," including those who present as normally functioning members of society, then what is the point of labeling it as such? The answer may lie in post-grunge's strange place in the current landscape -- exiled from the mainstream, but not oppositional to anything in a meaningful sense. Genre reflexes being what they are, Shinedown can't avoid the ever-present temptation to prescribe a sold-out rock concert as a kind of collective therapy session. It's a quaint idea, in the sense that it needs to be preserved for those who are helped by it. [5]

Will Adams: Always a fun game when a song I'm hearing for the first time ends a line with "remember" and I have just a few seconds to guess which month it'll be rhymed with. (I guessed December. Bzzt.) Things don't improve from there, with Brent Smith making so many maudlin choices to describe the human condition ("the lunatic ball"?!?) that I was expecting a children's choir to appear near the end. (Bzzt.) [3]

TA Inskeep: With more pneumatic production -- and getting rid of the strings -- this could damned near be scaling the Country Airplay chart. Singer Brent Smith's pleading voice makes me wanna punch him in the throat, as do the terrible lyrics here. [1]

Isabel Cole: As someone who has in fact always been slightly awkward, kind of weird, there are moments where I can glimpse a version of this I might like; it scans as sincere, I think, and I'll always have a soft spot for songs offering up this kind of connection over the loneliest parts of ourselves, where cliche can work because it proves the point that none of us are as burdened by uniqueness as we might imagine ourselves to be. But those schmaltzy strings smack of a failure to trust that the song itself was enough to sell its own pathos, draining it of any power a sparser or beefier or otherwise less saccharine arrangement might have let it display, and the yelping vocal that totally lacks in any kind of dynamism doesn't help matters. Plus, "lunatic ball" is way too Joker-core to be forgivable.  [3]

Nortey Dowuona: Zach Myers's guitar line is a simple lick that keeps looping in the background as the piano and strings, arranged by producer and bassist Eric Bass, swirl around Brent Smith's inflexible and stolid voice, providing it a gravitas and weight it does not have alone. The issue is that because the guitar line is the core melodic information, it feels like an anchor to the first few bars, which feel trite and limp, barely able to move. The mere fact that it has to be drowned out by the piano, then the strings, then Barry Kersh's barely propulsive drums, is galling enough. The way the piano plays this lick comfortably and sweetly before choosing not to resolve is worse. It feels like a way to occupy Myers's hands while he and Bass sing background, a way to avoid him being sidelined entirely. A symptom of overloading the song with too much information. [4]

Andrew Karpan: I admittedly missed out on the chance of paying attention to these post-Nickelback butt rawk champions of the sunshine state during my teenage years, but this is very much the kind of thing that would have spoken to me then, a smooth, piano ballad that earnestly insists upon itself and that appears strangely banal in the cold light of adulthood.  [4]

Jonathan Bradley: More than for its pomposity and its voracious appetite for cliché (“coloring outside the lines,” “crystal clear,” unpack all your baggage,” “a ship of fools”), “A Symptom of Being Human” stands out for its unsettling competency. There’s little notable about yet more post-post-post-grunge glurge, but Shinedown’s strained-vocal, string-soaked balladry soars thanks to a structure built on precision engineering -- like a Predator drone, perhaps. That makes it remarkable but also lethal: any song can invoke “November Rain” and sound like it might have been played immediately afterwards on the radio in 1992, but only by knowing how to deploy a big chorus and an arpeggiated riff that starts on acoustic guitar and alchemizes into piano can it reach the grim realm of the actually repulsive. Call it the Hinder rule: ineptitude can’t produce a “Lips of an Angel.” [3]

Mark Sinker: This is how whiskered the “Ship of Fools“ metaphor is: Plato gives Socrates oblique recourse to it in book six of The Republic. Some two millennia later, Sebastian Brant made a German phrase of it, for the title of his much-translated hit novel in the high-blogging Gutenberg moment, just as the Reformation was grinding into motion. It was popular as a figure for statecraft and as a satire of religious conflict primarily because everyone could enjoy the image without having to agree which side of the argument it depicted. Today that enjoyment may have drained away a little: hard to tell in a context where melody and timbre and style and an unbroken line of other lyrical clichés are all so grating. There's some nicely tiny tinny little-mini echoes off at the edge of the vocal now and then, and then there's this clod in clown’s whiteface smirkingly bellowing how everyone’s mad here.   [4]

Katherine St. Asaph: While moving last year, I accidentally ripped some paint off the wall while taking down an adhesive hook. Taking the errant chip to Home Depot, I learned how surprisingly difficult is to find a color of paint that replicates the exact microshade of landlord off-white that was applied to the unit years ago, or at least something that blends in well enough to not jeopardize your deposit. Thus, I can appreciate the effort it took for Shinedown to recreate the radio fixtures of Hoobastank or Lifehouse or Train this faithfully. [5]

Alfred Soto: Declarations of woundedness disguised as pleas for solidarity are as old as the crucifixion, but when I want Nickelback I listen to Nickelback, m'kay? [2]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: The best, prettiest P!nk song I’ve heard in years!  [6]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[cowboy-robooty]

Robooty Reviews: Royal Servant (3/10)

Read this way back in middle school... shared mangago lists with one of my friends and recognized this one and decided to reread. Lord. Who Likes This. The story is about Kyon and his master Lucaon and theres like some plot bullshit since in this world theres these guys who are royals and got these powers that they never fuckin use and live longer too and are strong n all that. and the only way to kill one tho is to give them this special poison that is completely undetectable and the only way to cure it is if the person who administered it fixes that shit. But yeah Lucaon hates servants and Kyon is a servant and Lucaon is a classic stoic scum gong and falls in love with Kyon but only starts being nice to him once Kyon literally spends 20 chapters on the brink of death lol bro got a fever and slit his wrists and fell into an ice pond and then got a fever again and pneumonia and Lucaon went "..... ok ill be nice to you now"

the art is good for this story dont get me wrong but its really really really stiff expression wise. maybe i'm just a little stupid and i need to see a huge cartoon tear drop to tell a character is sad but for realsies I do think that the art is pretty, but the expressions when bitches are fucking dying and shit could be a little more extreme. its okay to sacrifice their pretty boy looks for one pannel trust me..

The romance itself is just like whatevs. I will admit I am a fan of how kyon will just take anything like bro does not give a fuck okay cuz hes madly in love with Lucaon and doesnt care what he does to him. Im pretty sure in one chapter Kyon is just walking in the halls and Lucaon lunges at him and bites him until he bleeds and kyon passes the fuck out from the attack and its just like ok lol. LUCAON DOESNT GIVE A FUCK HES SO MEAN TO KYON UNTIL HES SUDDENLY NOT BECAUSE HE HAD HIS SCUM GONG REALIZATION WHEN KYON TRIES TO LEAVE HIM 15 MILLION TIMES AND ALMOST DIES IN EVERY INSTANCE OF TRYING TO LEAVE. the upside to kyon is that hes a simp and a pussy and he is a bit of a little bitch but he isnt a whiny bitch about it. like lucaon is his tormentor and he finds out that THERES A POSSIBILITY that he could be the cause of Lucaon's demise and immediately is like okay ill kill myself i need to get out of here and thats why he almost dies 10 million times trying to leave bc he only tries to leave bc lucaon's blonde ass brother is like dude. you might cause Lucaon to die since you're a secret spy with your memories wiped. AND ITS KINDA FUNNY BECAUSE HE STRAIGHT UP SEES KYON ALMOST DEAD IN BED AND GOES "GOD I WISH THIS BITCH WOULD JUST DIE ALREADY" LOL!!

When i was younger i was a fan of the pink haired guy (lucaons other brother) and his servant who is his boyfriend and treated as an equal and yeah younger me was right tbh kind wish the story focused on them instead. but ngl i hate the entire family drama thing bc like its the plot and all that but im like WHO GIVE A FUCK? this manhwa is just mid. mid as fuck. I'll admit when i was younger i re read the 20 chapters where kyon is on the brink of death like 50000 times over and over again because i loveeee suicide and i lovee when kyon tries to kill himself a million jillion times and Lucaon is like FUCKING STOP. theres like idk tiny hints of goodness. I can enjoy a good scum gong alright and I do like when Lucaon is like "brah... ive seen you cry more times than smile..... thats kinda fucked" MMMMMMM YES. FEEL BAD. FEEL REMORSE. but its just not worf it okay the manhwa sucks and its 100 chapters or some shit like that bruh moment. I also do like how at the end Kyon acknowledges that hes going to die before Lucaon and Lucaon needs to learn how to love other people than him because he doesn't want Lucaon to be stuck on him forever and ever. I think it was a nice bittersweet thing. In short. just not my thing. mid. equivalent to eating spoonfuls of peanut butter for dinner. Like you can... wont be very satisfying tho