#simply because ... well how many people do you know who can cover duran duran songs?

[xcziel]

i just randomly had the realization (while doing some mending, as you do) that one of the reasons jimin is my bias is because his unique voice shares qualities with the singer of my og favorite "boyband", simon lebon

they both possess that vocal "sob" and a slightly nasalized "growl" in the lower register - if you listen to say, Take the Dice (or anything off Seven and the Ragged Tiger) and then listen to Face Off you'll get an idea of what i mean

they are not at all alike otherwise - simon's voice is often strident and anthemic, not really ever delicate or breathy the way jimin sometimes is

but the jimin growls and low notes from early days bts aren't so far off - sparking off a recent discussion i saw somewhere: i think in his heyday simon *could* have covered Lie the way few might be able to

[passionate-reply]

This week on Great Albums: they’ve been called Duran Duran for art school nerds, and a whole lot worse, but you probably know them as...Japan! Find out what made their last album their best work, and how they landed one of the most unusual and experimental pop hits in history. Transcript after the break!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, I’ll be taking a look at an album that proved to be its creators’ hard-earned mainstream breakthrough, as well as their final release as a group: Tin Drum, by Japan. Japan had gotten their start in the mid-1970s, as a glam rock act, and as the 70s melted into the 80s, they kept up with the times, gradually sidling into the “New Romantic” scene--a movement which, in turn, owed many debts to glam pioneers like Roxy Music and David Bowie. By their fourth LP, 1980’s Gentlemen Take Polaroids, they had arrived at a lightly electronic pop sound that fit right in with the musical landscape of the early 80s.

Music: “Gentlemen Take Polaroids”

The following year, Japan would release Tin Drum, but it’s not exactly the album you would expect it to be--at least, not entirely.

Music: “The Art of Parties”

The most immediately striking feature of Tin Drum is its unique instrumentation. The rich and distinctive sounds of Chinese horns and African flutes jump out immediately, producing a powerful and distinctive accent upon what’s otherwise a somewhat conventional rock band arrangement. I feel like the “exotic” instruments here actually function in a similar manner to how the bands of this era who remained grounded in rock often approached synthesisers--that is, they add flourish and flair to the hooks, and bring an inherent timbral interest to the music, but ultimately, they’re used in a more condimental manner. Underneath all of this exoticism lurk the bones of pop excellence: the ineffable brilliance of a great hook, and some wondrously groovy basslines--the contribution of core member Mick Karn, on his distinctive fretless bass. Artsy as it is, it’s not so hard to believe that Tin Drum was the album that finally pushed Japan from cult darlings to artists with a major hit single to their name. But, when you hear what that single was, you may well be surprised.

Music: “Ghosts”

“Ghosts” is certainly a singular track, that stands out even on this fairly unconventional album. Its complete lack of percussion contributes immensely to its uncertain, unpredictable atmosphere of invisible menace--a bold move, for sure, but one that really delivers on the song’s premise. While “Ghosts” is fascinating and unforgettable, it’s far from the most obvious hit single you’ll find on Tin Drum. If I had to guess, I’d probably have pegged the lead single, “Visions of China,” as most likely to succeed.

Music: “Visions of China”

The dreamy “Visions of China” seems to center the idea that what we’re experiencing is a fantasy vision of Asia and not the real thing. Japan may have been a bunch of White, British guys playing around with Oriental aesthetics, but at least they appear to have been somewhat self-aware about it. Or, at least, we can come to that conclusion if we read the lyrics closely. It’s also very possible for a more casual listener to gloss over that aspect, especially when it’s so easy to get swept up in that triumphant refrain. While some critics might describe Tin Drum’s Orientalism as wholly or partially “ironic,” I think that idea forms the beginning of a conversation on how these themes are used, and not the end of one. The album’s closing track, “Cantonese Boy,” is much harder to take at face value.

Music: “Cantonese Boy”

Just how do you write a compelling song about a subject as controversial as Maoism? Many artistic portrayals of totalitarian regimes fail to resist the urge to play up their clownish and absurd appearances--Laibach being a prominent musical example. That can be valuable, but it’s also, comparatively, somewhat easy. “Cantonese Boy” is designed to lead us to sympathize with the beauty of the Communist dream, and presents an insidiously stirring vision of glory. But it’s hard to imagine listeners nodding along with it, and singing about the Red Army, despite its anthemic charms and driving, martial percussion. I think “Cantonese Boy” is the track that most successfully balances irony and sincerity, and it pays off.

Tin Drum’s cover features frontman David Sylvian in a lonely, austere dwelling. The New Romantic movement is often dismissed on the grounds of being style over substance, for its elabourate wardrobe and makeup aesthetics, but much as the music breaks expectations, the sparse surroundings here set this album apart as something more subtle or contemplative. The first thing one notices is this drab colour palette, which is particularly ascetic by 1980s standards, but the more you look at it, the more the little details of this interior scene stand out: the bare lightbulb, and the tears at the edges of this portrait of Mao, make it feel particularly threadbare.

It’s somewhat ironic that this album is most famous for a song with no drums at all, but is titled “Tin Drum.” That aside, though, I think it’s an interesting title overall. The expression “to bang a tin drum” signifies creating clamour and commotion to call attention to something, most often, a social or political cause. It seems to be used in that sense in the lyrics of “Cantonese Boy,” and straightforwardly so. But the title also calls attention to the album’s instrumentation, which is of course one of its most noteworthy qualities, and it centers the instrument itself, as a physical object. A thing is simply a thing, an inanimate object to be used and abused however human beings see fit. In a way, the title gives tacit permission for the album’s re-interpretations of exotic instruments.

Ultimately, I do think it’s hard to reckon with the impact of Tin Drum without asking some difficult questions about culture and race. In the early 1980s, Orientalism was all over pop, particularly in the New Wave and New Romantic scenes. A lot of hit singles from this era contain much more overtly upsetting caricatures and stereotypes of Asian people and their culture than anything you’ll find here. But just because Tin Drum is a bit better than that, and sells us what it does with more class and panache, doesn’t render it above criticism. Nor does the fact that Japan were well received by listeners in the country of Japan, and collaborated (elsewhere) with Japanese artists like Ryuichi Sakamoto. It’s still essentially an album that uses instruments and themes perceived as foreign and exotic, in an attempt to whisk us away to the world of the Other, and I don’t think it could possibly be made in this day and age. While I do think Tin Drum is a Great Album, and simply tossing it aside as “problematic” is no solution, I think it’s worth examining the ideas and associations underpinning how and why these artistic decisions were made. This isn’t an easy conversation to have, but it’s a necessary one, and one that I wish wasn’t so markedly absent among fans of the music.

As I mentioned in the introduction, Tin Drum would prove to be Japan’s final studio album as a group, and they would split up to pursue their separate ambitions shortly after. Percussionist Steve Jansen and synthesist Richard Barbieri would form “The Dolphin Brothers,” and take more influence from the synth-pop stylings of Gentlemen Take Polaroids, but Tin Drum’s evocative, experimental soundscapes would serve as the blueprint for the solo work of both Mick Karn and David Sylvian.

Music: “Pop Song”

My favourite track on Tin Drum is “Still Life in Mobile Homes.” It’s a track with a hell of a hook, and probably the single song that drifts through my mind at random times more than any other, which is saying something. But what really pushes it over the top for me is its eerie, surprisingly dissonant breakdown. In one track, it seems to distill all of the tension between avant-garde strangeness and pop par excellence that wrestle one another throughout the album. As always, thanks for listening!

Music: “Still Life in Mobile Homes”

[sanshineaus]

it was acceptable in the 80s

MARK LEE 80s AU

warnings: none

type: bulletpoint au, fluff

word count: 2383

a/n: first post! i just hope you enjoy :D

mark is just a regular coffee shop worker by day; a polite boy who serves clumsy smiles and a small cookie with each black coffee.

and he’s not remarkable in the slightest, really.

he’s lost to his sea of coworkers, all equally polite and eager.

mark’s fresh out of college, really. he majored in music, much to his parents’ chagrin, and to his own dismay could only land a job in said coffee shop.

but by night, mark spends hours practicing bass in a shed he rented with his ‘bandmates’, yuta and johnny. 

they’re not so much a band because of how rare it is they’re together to practice a song, even if they write separately often and manage to harmonise their thoughts well.

sometimes, he feels as if it’s not worth it; yuta is constantly busy trying to finish his master’s, and johnny makes mark laugh way too much when he’s not practicing solo because his long limbs just seem to always be in the way.

but mark’s persistent. his bass playing is amazing (despite his insecurity in it, the practice is most definitely not for nothing) and his vocals are getting better too.

however, those pesky vocals just don’t make for a very compelling rock band, which is undoubtedly their sound.

they did book a bunch of gigs last summer, ‘83. it was pleasant environments, bars that needed a performer and a niche for a night. none of them minded, but not because they needed gigs. it was simply nice to play, and have people come up on stage to try their best at aiding them in singing when they figured out that johnny wasn’t quite exactly too good a vocalist either.

mark even had a great companionship going with a bar owner, taeil.

either way, mark still lives with his parents- his gigs only paid so much, and he instead helped around the house and worked his quaint little coffee shop job to aid as much as he could.

his parents absolutely nag his ear off lmAOO

mark’s fine with living like this. he doesn’t really brood often unless it’s when he’s sitting in the rented shed.

enough about his musically inclined nature though.

you’re absolutely not a regular in the coffee shop. matter of fact, you have no clue where it is.

or that it even exists, really.

you’re just a chill person, absolutely vibing! and you’ve pierced your ear three times, your sister almost fainted when she saw you.

you ride a motorbike, too. 

and you honestly might look a bit intimidating with your permed hair and black collared jacket with red stripes running down your left sleeve.

and suuure, a grandmother on the street has told you that you might end up in hell, and you said ‘alright’ and just left.

but you’re a very sweet person.

and you know what? it’s summer ‘84! and it feels as if there’s a change in the air and you get to live in a new way.

but a new way isn’t what you’re used to, and so your first late june visit is a bar with a couple of your other buddies. 

you all park your motorbikes outside, and one of your friends points out that the bar seems unusually full.

and sure, it’s a pretty famous bar in your town, but? not to the degree it’s currently packing.

there’s permed, layered hair everywhere, colourful two pieces, matching and annoyingly vibrant tracksuits.

you’d run your hand through your hair had it not been meticulously hairsprayed twenty minutes prior.

the first unusual thing as you approach the counter is that there’s a stage set up to the left of you.

so you order a drink and crane your body towards it.

idly sipping, you’re met with two guys setting something up on it.

an amplifier and a mic stand, and someone’s impossibly tall back in attire suspiciously similar to yours.

the dude facing you is also dressed in mostly blacks and leathers, but with an obnoxious neon green shirt. he’s handsome, too! 

his cheekbones are so very high, and his eyes seem so innocent.

he’s really cute!

it takes them about ten minutes to set everything up, and by the time you and your friends are all done with your drinks, the cute guy’s mic tapping catches the attention of the buzzing bar.

“good evening, we’re nct. let’s have a fun time?” he says with an equally cute grin and he seems so proud of himself for simply introducing the band.

he looks back to the tall guy, and the new addition of a strawberry blond, before they begin playing a familiar song. 

the reflex by duran duran fills in for the chatter and people are overjoyed.

even the boys seem to be enjoying themselves immensely, they’re performing with a vigour you can’t quite explain. 

and damn do bassists hit different.

they play a couple more songs spanning from 78 to now, and even sprinkle in some original songs.

apart from one song, you felt yourself throughout all of the performance.

around what you think might’ve been 11:30, they decided to bring patrons of the bar onto the stage. 

it was then that you realised your town truly lacks the talent these three boys had.

and your friend nudges you.

“go on on for the next song.”

and you’ve had a couple drinks already. there is most definitely courage from everywhere, so when the strawberry blond asks if there’s any takers for crimson and clover, you stand up and make your way to the mic as swiftly as possible.

and holy hell do you belt your little heart out. 

crimson and clover might just stay an evergreen.

the band plays behind you naturally- and you feel very comfortable. but the song ends and you decide that maybe someone else should have the opportunity to get applauded like you just had.

the rest of your night is going great, even though your group of friends thins and you stay with a much closer circle until 3am, when they finally stop playing.

you know you just have to talk to the cute guy, or you’ll end up suffering long time bassist longing.

and so you stand up while the bar begins to empty out. 

it’s very unprofessional how the owner has the bartender be the one to hand the three boys cash.

but you mingle in between the parties easily, offering to help the guys carry their equipment. 

to which the strawberry blond one smirks and gives you a considerably heavy box, where they most likely stashed the amplifier. 

“i’m yuta. this is mark, and that’s john.”

“johnny’s fine.”

“just john.”

you giggle at this, but you help them to their car.

the breeze of the night air is very refreshing as you place the heavy box into the open trunk of a benz w210.

once johnny closes the trunk, he’s the first to pull yuta into the backseat and help himself to the driver’s, sending you a smile. 

and mark seems very uncomfortable while standing next to you.

“uhh...”

what a riveting conversation.

you lean on the trunk, hoping johnny wouldn’t mind, and you send mark a reassuring smile.

“you play real nice, you know?” you begin, and his sheepish little smile is enough to send a puppy running for its cuteness title.

he thanks you quietly with a slight bow of his head, sucking in a breath of air right after while scratching the back of his neck.

and you take in a breath of your own before simply asking, “can i see you again some time?”

at this, he seems to lighten up with confusion.

but he nods eagerly. and 4am just seems a bit less cold.

mark takes out a visit card from his jacket pocket, and basically places it in your hands before slumming on about having to get into the car before johnny kills him. 

and before you know you’re in a stupor in a parking lot, smiling ear to ear while a friend of yours snickers from the entrance of the bar.

you walk home with your bike in tow, which takes you until 5:15. you simply don’t feel stable enough to drive, and your eyes might as well close with how much you’re smiling.

imagine your surprise when you’re finally home, in bed, and you look at the card only to realise it leads to a cafe and not to a smiling funny band boy.

but by the time you’re actually in bed, you’ve had to shower, take off your makeup, take the hair gel out, and so on, so it’s way too late (or... early?) to think about it.

you drift off to sleep until 1pm, and you’re woken up groggy and confused. the visit card sits at your bedside table still, though.

so you get ready, and you don on your usual attire and favourite jacket to go along. 

it’s a great day outside, and very, very warm compared to the morning.

you check the card again and on the back of it is a small, monochrome map of a part of town you never really quite drove through.

(the speed limit was too just small)

it takes you a very short time to actually get there but the parking is hellish; the streets are bustling and although that’d be fun if you were on foot, it notably is not.

however when you finally walk into the cafe, you’re greeted by many a people chatting, the atmosphere groovy and the jukebox in a corner reminiscent of the 50′s playing today’s tunes.

the chairs are pink and green, the tables annoyingly checkered and covered with see through cloth.

and behind the counter sit two people.

it’s where you head first, and you order a drink, the worker’s certainly aiding the pleasant atmosphere. 

you slip a question of “does someone named mark work here?” to the two people, to which one of them nods.

“i’ll fetch him for you.”

you situate yourself on a free table right across the counter, gazing at the vinyls and pictures lining the walls.

suddenly, mark’s standing near it with your cup in hand and a small plate with an even smaller cookie on it. 

his smile is still adorable.

meanwhile, mark is trying to keep calm behind said expression.

he found you exceptionally attractive- and when you offered to help him and the boys, he completely felt himself soar to new heights.

you had an aura which made mark feel renewed, in a sense, and his shift just got ten times better.

your visit to the cafe didn’t go unrewarded, really.

because it’s the way you acquire his number, and you get to call him each night from the house phone. 

he’s sometimes unavailable- and you get a certain amount of fear when it’s his mum that picks up the phone.

really, the woman’s very sweet, but you can just tell she’s growing annoyed by her son’s consistent talking to you (not to mention he must be hogging the phone, as last time you checked it was 12 when you started the call and 3 when you ended it).

it develops quickly; you just... click. and soon you’re visiting him in the cafe.

showing him how to ride your bike while he grips your waist in fear at the sheer speed of the custom thing.

watching him play in bars.

gradually coming to watch him in the rented shed.

it’s one night that you two are sitting together in the shed, his hand lazily wrapped around your shoulder and playing with your fringe, while he attempts to strum his bass. you laugh at a dumb joke he says.

and then you realise- he’s still very cute. even from the downside angle you’re looking at him from.

so you lean up to press a kiss to his cheek- something he’s become used to you doing- before asking if he wants to officiate it.

mark blushes first, and the red really suits him. maybe you’ll try and convince him to put some of your makeup on him, just to see.

but then he nods, and sits up only to kiss you.

from then on, not much changes; you’d already established a comfortable, flirty relationship, and you’ve developed crushes from the day you’ve met.

but a romance with mark, and for real, is fresh each day.

be it him taking you to the arcade, or him showing up to your house to ask you to help pierce him, or design a tattoo with him.

or be it him dedicating you a song, which he plays the night after much to the dismay of johnny and yuta, who are already tired of the constant love songs.

mark is just a comfort- he feels like what sweet tastes. 

you even get invited to sing with them a couple times. it’s all good fun, really, but you stop once the boys get their first actual offer.

a label, which wants to sign them, sponsor them, and within a year they have a concert in your hometown and a record.

you couldn’t be prouder when they truly achieve such a status to be invited as an opening act to another, more famous group’s tour. and although you don’t tag along, and miss mark immensely, he spends most of his coin on payphones to  contact you.

when he does come back, you’re overjoyed. and mark is, too.

he kisses you with such reverence and longing that you can almost feel his soul on your tongue. 

but mark doesn’t stay; and soon, neither do you.

tour after tour as an opening act, it’s the summer of ‘87 that you’re truly at your happiest when nct get a tour of their own. 

you and mark? continue to be happy, to flourish by each other’s side.

they say it’s within couples to fight. but your years together prove that this isn’t true, and the timid, sweet boy from a band who stole your heart and you, his burst of confidence and a ray of sun, have never once fought.

you drink, you cry, you laugh, all together and by each other’s side. as he grows in fame and maturity, you truly know:

you fell in love with the man.

[onestowatch]

Q&A: Meet Mark Johns, Lover Of Pasta, Yaeji’s Biggest Fan, and OWSLA’s Rising Star

I’ve done a number of interviews before, but none quite like my interview with Mark Johns. Settling in at the shared storefront of Moving Castle and Next Wave HQ on iconic Melrose Avenue, I set up my recording equipment and scrolled through Instagram as per usual. I watched Instagram story after story all in the hopes of calming those slight nerves that always seem to creep up when one is preparing to talk to someone whose music you’ve obsessively streamed on repeat before the idea of talking to them was even a reality. So, I can’t say with absolute certainty what I expected, but it most certainly was not a lively terrier-mix, who I would come to know as LiLo, darting into the storefront and leading the way of Naomie, the person behind the Mark Johns moniker. 

Singing Yaeji’s “raingurl” aloud and making herself comfortable on the carpeted floor below me, Naomie wasted no time before delving into her love for Yaeji and the undeniable banger that is BLAISE’s “Dua.” As LiLo ran around the storefront, occasionally stopping to play-fight and bite at my arm, Naomie continued to expand further on her clear and insatiable love for music. It was hard to envision the moment as a semi-formal interview and not as a casual conversation between friends who were simply catching up on their recent music discoveries and obsessions. 

Yes, before me sat, Mark Johns, the only singer on Skrillex’s record label, OWSLA, who was signed off of a single cover and inevitably poised for massive things. Yet, more than anything, the artist I found myself lucky enough to be chatting with was one with a genuine and irrefutable love for not only the music she was making but music itself as a whole. And yes, without a doubt, an artist clearly poised for massive things as well.

OTW: How’s the day been going so far?

Good. I’ve just been listening to that one Yaeji song over and over and over and over again, took my dog out, and made breakfast. I ate a healthy breakfast; I’m proud of that. 

OTW: Going back to where it all started, the first track you put out was with Manilla Killa, a flip of Lido’s remix of Yung Lean’s “Gatorade.” How did this collaboration come about?

That was my first thing ever. I was writing for this blog called Run The Trap. I was super heavy into curating playlists and my whole thing was I wanted to be in A&R. I'm still heavy into that. That's what I spend the rest of my time doing if I'm not making music. I met all these DJs through Facebook when I was covering them or adding them to playlists. It starts in the DMs. So, Manilla Killa is in this other group called Hotel Garuda with this kid Aseem. He used to live in Singapore too and we went to the same school but missed each other by a couple years. So, what happened was somebody that I went to school with in California ended up going to college at Occidental, which Aseem also ended up going to. We were introduced via Facebook and he introduced me to Manila, who introduced me to AObeats, who introduced me to robokid, who introduced me to the rest of Moving Castle. That's when they added me to Moving Castle and that's what formed the whole core brick of my social life. And that’s how I met Manilla Killa!

So, when we were just talking, on this SoundCloud where I was making all these other playlists, I had a couple of covers that I had recorded on my iPhone with an acoustic guitar in my bathroom. And he was like, “Can you help me out? I'm trying to do this cover.” I was like, “Yeah, sure.” I had this hundred-dollar USB mic that my friend bought for my birthday, and that's what I recorded the vocals on. That's also how I met Sable, and we made that “In Paris” remix together that got me signed to OWSLA. And that’s why I’m here, long story short!

OTW: Your rendition of not only “In Paris” but “Rehab” as well, felt much more like a reinvention than a simple covers or remix. What inspired you to tackle that track in that particular manner?

I was just listening to the Tennyson song and then I started singing “Rehab.” I was doing something else at the time, the song was just on one of my playlists. So, I recorded it on my phone and didn't do anything with it for a minute and then I watched that Amy Winehouse documentary. I have the weirdest relationship with Amy Winehouse. As much as I love her and everything she's done, she's so much more of a cautionary tale to me, because I see so much of myself in her, in terms of our characteristics and tendencies. So, I just look at her whole story and I'm like this is what cannot happen. That's why that whole Lil Peep thing hit me so hard. The whole scenario felt very similar. But when I watched that whole documentary, I felt this person is too important to me to not do something, and I remember that Amy Winehouse voice note and just did it. I put it out without telling anyone, because I was so emotional. They were so pissed at me the next morning. They were like you can't just do that! I was like, “But why? It's just SoundCloud.” Anyway, everything worked out for the best.

OTW: How has the journey been from that original collaboration all those years ago to being part of Moving Castle now?

It's cool to see something that started as a group chat grow into what it is now. I remember the Facebook group and the goals that we had then, they seemed so big to us back then, and, in comparison to the goals we have now, they seem so small. So, just to see that trajectory and that growth, it's so exciting. I'm stoked for everybody. I’m very excited that it’s all happening! It’s such a good feeling.

OTW: You’re a clear standout on Skrillex’s electronic and DJ-leaning label, OWSLA. Is it ever a worry for you being the only the singer on OWSLA, or is it something you find to be empowering?

That's kind of why I signed to them. I know how it goes with most labels, at least major labels. The last thing I wanted to do was sign to a developmental deal. They sign you off a single or give you a certain amount of time to come up with a single and you have that single moment, hopefully. If you don't follow that up, they kind of shelf you. I've just seen it happen to so many people, and that's not what I want. And I don't want anyone trying to tell me what to do, because I don't know what to do. I was signed off of a cover. I wasn't even writing original music at that point, so I know this is going to take me a hot minute to figure out, so when OWSLA was like we’ll give you full creative control that was tempting. They set me up with a place and studio space, and I dropped out of school and moved here. My parents weren't too excited about that at the time. So, I would wake up every day and eat pasta, go to the studio, come back from the studio, eat pasta, and go to sleep. It took me awhile, but they've been super patient with the whole process, and that's exactly what I needed at the end of the day.

OTW: Speaking more on your love for pasta, so much so that you have a Spaghetti Sauce Spotify playlist, walk us through your favorite pasta recipe.

My favorite pasta recipe probably starts at Trader Joe's. They have pappardelle egg pasta. I get that, and then I make a cream mushroom sauce with pesto. That’s my favorite stuff. I can eat a whole pot of that. It’s the best.

OTW: Your debut EP, Molino, is beautifully downtempo and emotive. What are some of the inspirations lying behind the album?

I was writing so much music, because I felt the need to be experimenting trying new things, and working with new people, but it kind of had this opposite effect on me where it diluted the music I was making. I felt at one point I needed to just step back and just write songs. Let’s just really write how we feel and get that all out, so then we can go back to experimenting and figuring all this shit out. So, it was a very introspective moment for me. It sounds like a love song EP. All them sound like I'm talking to a dude or significant other, but, at that point, I didn't know how to write about my relationships or just people in my life without using romantic metaphors. So, a lot of these songs are about everything, and I had to use these pronouns to make it make sense in my head.

OTW: And what was the feeling like as an artist putting out their first ever release?

I think there was too much weight on it. I know this happens everywhere, but it took longer for this actual project to come out. When you're sitting on something, and you just want the world to hear it because you're growing in that whole period and changing as an artist as well, you’re starting to not feel the same way you did five months ago. You get scared of what you made, especially as your first project. It’s so defining in a way and you don't want it to be. I don't think anyone ever wants any of their projects to be defining. Because I think everyone, as an artist, hopes to grow throughout their careers at some point, as long as you plan to keep on doing this for your whole life, which I hope most artists do. I was just scared that would be too big of a defining moment for me, because even for myself I felt that it was a too little left field for what I usually make, but I was very relieved. I felt I had gotten a lot off my chest, and I feel every artist should have those songs to go back to.

OTW: So, was music an integral part of your household growing up?

No, not at all. I had the most fucked-up relationship with music ever. My parents are pretty religious and had a pretty strict stance on what we could and couldn't really listen to growing up. So, I just listened to the radio stations my mom would put on, so a lot of Celine Dion and Duran. It was very PG, and nobody else in my family was really into music, and I wouldn't say I was either. I wouldn't ever have considered music to be one of my defining characteristics. I didn't develop an intimate relationship with music until a lot later, not until high school when I had my own computer and was downloading shit off LimeWire and getting into YouTube. I was learning there was more than just the singles you heard off the radio; there were whole albums. Honestly, I think the whole suggestions tab off YouTube is the whole reason I got into music, because it was just like, “Here you go, here's a curated playlist of songs you might like.”

OTW: Your name is a play on the visual artist Marc Johns. What’s the relationship like between you and the Mark Johns moniker?

He does not like me. I was so bummed. So, last year there was this billboard, the first time I was ever in a print publication, and like two weeks after it came out I get an email from Marc Johns and he was like you just can't take my name. So, that was a little bit disheartening, but I still love everything he does. The reason I chose Mark Johns was because one of his pieces was the background on my phone, and I was stressed out and panicking so I just went Mark Johns, “That's the one!” It kind of sucks that he doesn't like me, but I still like him.

OTW: What’s your favorite part of making music?

I like wordplay. That's my favorite part of making music and writing, figuring out how to make a sentence clever, like double meanings and all that. I get a lot of my inspiration from just reading sentences and thinking that a sentence meant one thing and being like, “Oh wait, nope.”

OTW: You parents weren’t originally too keen on you dropping out of college and moving out to Los Angeles to make music. Have they come around at all since then?

They were so pissed. They didn't talk to me for a hot minute. Yeah, I think no mom and dad wants to hear from their kid, “Hey Mom! I want to be a singer that's what I want to be in life.” As you grow up in life, you realize obviously you should always chase your dreams and do what fulfills you, and as a parent, I can understand how scary that must be to hear. You obviously believe in your child and think the best of them, but you worry that other people don't. I haven't lived at home since I was 14, so I've always been a little bit detached from that and to hear that I was going to be even more detached from their way of living and perspective on life, it was scary for them, so I understand. I went back to visit, and that was the first time I had seen them in about a year-and-a-half and from that point they became a lot more tolerant. They ask a lot more questions. They’re more curious. It’s a good relationship, and that’s all I can ask.

OTW: What does the future hold for Mark Johns?

More music. I have so much music that unfortunately you get so caught up in the way that people talk about music releases and it gets so strategic, but I don't believe in that at all. It took me a minute to come to that affirmation, but I was like, “No, that’s not okay.” I make so much music, and I’m working all the time. Sometimes it takes me forty minutes to write a song and the forty minute songs don't mean anything less than the three-months-to-write songs, so I just want to be more consistent with the music I'm putting out and have a more open relationship with my fans.

OTW: Is there anything at all you’d want the world or your fans to know about?

Just that we’re in a good place. I know that it’s probably going to go down again at some point, and then up again, and then down again, and then up again, but it was definitely a long little dip there. We learned a lot, and I’m really excited for next year.

OTW: Who are your Ones To Watch?

I’ve always believed in this kid Matt Maeson. I’m really really into BLAISE. You should look up his song “Dua”. He was obsessed with Dua Lipa, so he just made a song about Dua Lipa and it went viral that day. He’s the one who introduced me to writing in a way. He can do anything and everything. He’s a Ones To Watch for sure. I’m heavy into this Yaeji girl. I think she was a house producer before, but now she’s been singing on her tracks. There’s this one song “raingurl” that’s so fucking dope. I can’t not listen to it from when I wake up to when I go to sleep.

[glenngaylord]

MY MOMENTS OUT OF TIME IN FILM 2016

Instead of a Top 10 List, every year I like to honor a long-discontinued but influential annual column from Film Comment magazine. I couldn’t wait for my father to come home from work with the “Moments Out Of Time” issue.  The writers would cite their favorite scenes, images, or lines of dialogue, even from films they may not have liked, because let’s face it, even bad films may have a great moment or two, unless you were a film called DIRTY GRANDPA.  In that case, you had no such moments.  None.  Not one.  Can you tell it wins the award, hands down, for worst film of 2016?  No?  Ok, I’ll say it.  It’s the WORST FILM OF 2016 and possibly every year that preceded it.  And remember, I also saw INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE.  I feel better now.  Let’s move on to all good things.  This was a pretty spectacular year for film.  Some of the best allowed their films to breathe, to find glimmers of real human connection, or to remind us that movie-movie moments are sometimes way better than real life. Others made their mark by diving off the deep end, face first.  I missed a few films that I understand would surely make the cut, such as THE HANDMAIDEN, SILENCE, and HACKSAW RIDGE, but I’ll get to them eventually. Here, in no particular order, are my Moments Out Of Time in film for 2016:

Forget the elections.  Amy Adams, huffing and puffing as she rises into an alien spaceship, was all the fear and dread I needed in 2016.  Her intimate, deeply felt performance grounds this epic film and makes you feel like its grand themes are being whispered gently into your ears - ARRIVAL

Until now, I’ve never experienced a movie audience shuddering in unison from a line of dialogue (my favorite of the year) like they did with this vivid piece of work by the late, great August Wilson: “We go upstairs in that room at night, and I fall down on you and try to blast a hole into forever.”  - FENCES

Just two women sitting down for a cup of tea and cakes on a “fancy” tiered tray talking about how to please their men.  A harpist plays in the background and the all-female crowd wear floppy hats, pant-suits and flowing gowns.  Add false eyelashes, dense mascara, and all the pink its incredible DIY director, Anna Biller, can muster, and you’re convinced you just dropped the needle anywhere in VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, but, in truth, it’s 2016 and you realize this film has something on its mind - THE LOVE WITCH

For all of its eye-popping scenes, and there are many in this sometimes great (that opening freeway number?!!), sometimes flawed musical, its immortal moment arrives when Emma Stone simply stands and sings “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” - LA LA LAND

Before LA LA LAND, Channing Tatum, tapping about in his sailor suit during “No Dames”, and Scarlett Johansson in her mermaid getup going all Esther Williams on us, showed us how an old-fashioned musical is done - HAIL, CAESAR!

And yes folks, 2016 gave us another great musical where we experienced the entire creative process of writing and performing songs.  Set in the 1980s, we see a bullied kid watch MTV videos by The Jam, The Cure, Duran Duran and more, examine events in his own life or simply find inspiration from a girl he loves, and then set it to glorious music.  For me, nowhere was this more defiant and wonderful than in the protest song “Brown Shoes” where he voices his anger at his strict school principal.  The lyrics make me wanna stand up for all of the glorious, put-upon weirdos of the world: Yeah the boot’s on the other foot now/Buckle up we’re taking you down/See the curtain’s falling so take your bow/Cause you had your time in the sun/And it’s no use banging your drum/Now the boot’s on the other foot take your bow - SING STREET

Thrillers get a bad rap when it comes to awards.  Think about it.  One of the only films of its kind to win a Best Picture Oscar was THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and that was in 1991.  While not quite on that level, this film perfectly delivers beautifully sustained suspense and scares.  Just the sight of cutting back to a sleeping blind man (a fantastic Stephen Lang) only to see that he’s now sitting up, proved to be THE most haunting edit of the year - DON’T BREATHE

In a film chock full of moments out of time (and seriously, why isn’t it getting Oscar buzz?), the one that punched me in the gut the most was when a dying Molly Shannon visits her former colleagues and can barely even speak above a whisper.  Through it all, she maintains a brave face. She tries to tell a story about a student but one of her peers keeps interrupting because she can’t hear her. The subtext of how some people cannot handle being around a dying person is palpable. Heartbreaking, memorable, great, great, work - OTHER PEOPLE

Emulating her mentor, the great James L. Brooks, first timer Kelly Fremon Craig nails his quirky rhythms in the opening scene in which Hailee Steinfeld doesn’t get the desired response from her teacher (a sublime Woody Harrelson) when she threatens suicide - THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN

Two men sit in a diner, in an achingly beautiful, deliberate scene, where in the back of your mind, you wonder what song will play on the jukebox.  Barbara Lewis’ great “Hello Stranger” with its appropriately touching lyrics (Shoo-bop, shoo-bop, my baby ohhh / It seems like a mighty long time) make the moment soar.  Has a song ever been repurposed so profoundly? - MOONLIGHT

Best Movie Speech of the Year: Do you see that guitar? I used to be able to play that guitar well. I used to ride hot girls. I could run 200 meters faster than anybody in my school. You're the youngest. You get to follow the path that I macheted through the jungle that is our mad family. I was alone with them for six years. You think they're crazy now? Think about what they were like when they were in their late 20's. Two Catholics in a rented flat with a screaming baby who just got married because they wanted to have sex. They didn't even love each other. I was in the middle of that, alone! And then you came along, thank God! And you followed the path that I cut for us. Untouched. You just moved in my jet stream. And people laugh at me, Conor. The stoner, the college dropout. And they praise you, which is fine! But once, I was a fucking jet engine! - SING STREET

2nd Best Movie Speech of the Year (I initially put this at #1 until I remembered that there’s no better advice than that which comes from a loving older sibling):  First of all, Leslie practiced Buddhism, which to her was a philosophy and not an organized religion. In fact, Leslie abhorred all organized religions. To her, they were the most dangerous fairy tales ever invented, designed to elicit blind obedience, and strike fear into the hearts of the innocent and the uninformed. To her, the only thing worse than death would have been the knowledge that her rotting flesh was to be trapped for all eternity inside a big box, and buried in the middle of a fucking golf course. Although the absurdity of being eulogized by someone that didn't even know her has exactly the kind of comedic flourish that Leslie would have cherished. If nothing else, she had a sense of humor. - CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Ralph Fiennes and Alden Ehrenreich square off over the pronunciation of “Would that it were so simple” in my second favorite deliciously extended back and forth of the year - HAIL, CAESAR!

Michael Barbieri, a young discovery who has caught Hollywood’s attention, practices the Meisner Technique with his acting professor in my #1 favorite deliciously extended back and forth of the year - LITTLE MEN

Any film that illustrates a child’s resilience and delusions by having him say that he and Tupac Shakur were best friends gets a standing clap from me - HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE

I cried when a little boy wakes up on a train, separated from the life he once knew. I cried when a grown man sees a dessert from his childhood.  I cried when a family reunion takes place.  I cried when the title card appeared at the end right after revealing its meaning.  I cried during this movie more than any other in 2016 - LION

I only cried twice during this film -  when Sigourney Weaver breaks down with her grandson, and when mother and son have a tender final talk - so it’s no LION, but it still packed a wallop - A MONSTER CALLS

A dinner table conversation turns to the topic of menstruation and becomes a feminist rallying cry from now until forever - 20TH CENTURY WOMEN

Some may call it an Oscar-baiting ploy, but Viola Davis earned every drop of tears and mucous in her big, cathartic moment - FENCES

The band can’t get the production value needed for their music video shoot to “Drive It Like You Stole It”, but Conor, our young hero, imagines all of the people in his life showing up and creating the one perfect moment we all wish for in this magical, unforgettable sequence - SING STREET

Lily Rabe blends fact and fiction so perfectly in her big monologue where she talks about her mother, a former actress who made a big splash but then faded away.  Seeing how her real life mother was Jill Clayburgh, you can’t help but think she wrote this dialogue herself.  True or not, she puts herself on a par with her late, great mom with this breakthrough performance - MISS STEVENS

My distaste of all things Superheroes is well-documented, but the wit of the screenplay, especially in one of the most memorable and hilarious opening credit sequences of all time, may make a temporary convert out of me.  Set to Juice Newton’s 1981 cover of  “Angel Of The Morning”, standard credits have been replaced by such titles as “Some Douchebag’s Film” and “All brought to you by the Writers (a.k.a. “the real heroes here”) - DEADPOOL

Sex scenes are all the same.  Right?  Soft music.  A lit candle.  Arms and legs intertwined.  You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.  Well, obviously, you haven’t seen two accomplished gymnasts put their own crazily athletic spin on it in what has to be the funniest sex scene ever filmed  - THE BRONZE

It was a great year for cinematography.  Linus Sandgren’s miraculous “single take” on the crowded freeway or James Laxton’s haunting moonlit blue final image of the young Chiron staring right at us definitely entered the pantheon of indelible images.  Same goes for Jarin Blaschke’s desaturated, viscerally wet look at a farm on the edge of a foreboding forest - LA LA LAND/MOONLIGHT/THE WITCH

After a well-contained chamber piece set in a bunker, everything goes off the rails the minute our heroine steps outdoors in a trippy, totally bonkers sci-fi sequence that made me so, so, so happy- 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

If you’re a skilled pilot, when you see a flock of seagulls in front of your hurtling jet, screaming isn’t appropriate.  Instead, you conjure up your years of experience, use your calm, analytical mind and simply state, “Birds” - SULLY

How does toxic masculinity factor into problem solving?  Why, you simply punch another guy right in the face when he disagrees with you! - THE LOVE WITCH

After watching her play to the back rows on EMPIRE, isn’t it refreshing to know that Taraji P. Henson can win your heart with cat eye glasses, pleated skirts, chalk, a giant math equation, and, most importantly, unshakeable will and smarts - HIDDEN FIGURES

Who knew that one could bare their soul by talking about a matchbox? - PATERSON

Up is down and down is up as a team of humans enter an oddly-shaped craft.  Inside is a vast, empty charcoal black expanse.  Aliens look like elephant trunks, communicate in smoky circles, and time isn’t linear.  Welcome to the new sci-fi - ARRIVAL

Which do you prefer?  The Talking Heads or Black Flag?  Sometimes two people can find out everything they need to know about each other and the people around them by dancing around a room to music - 20TH CENTURY WOMEN

I knew it was coming.  Throughout the film, the sexual tension was palpable and then the moment arrived…a full-blown (pun intended), no-holds-barred orgy by the horny unshackled food items at a grocery store and it’s as food pornographic as you would hope - SAUSAGE PARTY

Emma Stone imagines what would have happened if she had zigged instead of zagged in a truly dazzling, wordless musical sequence inspired by AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN but emotionally more astounding - LA LA LAND

In a film with very little merit, I still loved the “Elephant Bukkake Party”. Disgusting and hilarious - GRIMSBY

So the gut-wrenching suspense, the kid lying unconscious on a slowly cracking window pane, the horrors in that basement…none of that was enough for you?  Have your loyalties ever shifted so many times in a movie? Not entertained enough? Ok, fine.  Let’s give you a gloriously extended sequence involving a girl, a car, and a very assertive dog.  CUJO’s got nothing on this endlessly surprising film - DON’T BREATHE

Nailing the former First Lady’s stilted speaking voice as she tours us through the White House, Natalie Portman exudes fragility and strength - JACKIE

Jeff Nichols understands unexpected moments.  Although the film turns oddly cheesy in its final act, I won’t soon forget the way things fall from the sky at a gas station - MIDNIGHT SPECIAL

Forget Black Phillip, the scariest goat in all of cinematic history (or is he the only one?), the real fear in this film came just watching a poor, exiled family trying to find food.  Although having a goat seduce a person by asking “Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?” is pretty damn chilling - THE WITCH

I’m a firm believer that despite Leah Rimini’s extremely moving portrayal of dangerous cults, most aren’t of the highly organized, murderous variety.  This makes the final shot of the red lanterns so ridiculous, but I’ve got to hand it to the filmmakers, it’s incredibly memorable - THE INVITATION

A worn-out, exhausted waitress, played by the scene-stealing Margaret Bowman, in a dusty Texas diner, warily approaches a table and asks her customers, “What don’t you want?” in this seemingly random scene that ends up perfectly illustrating the fatigue that has set in on a floundering USA - HELL OR HIGH WATER

After a long exhausting weekend of partying and baseball practice, our hero starts his first day of college by nodding off in class as “Let The Good Times Roll” by The Cars plays on the soundtrack - EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!

I didn’t love the film, but I’ll never forget the sudden violence when the late Anton Yelchin gets his hand nearly sliced off or when Imogen Poots uses a box cutter to unexpectedly disembowel a man - THE GREEN ROOM

Mowgli and a herd of animals brave a treacherous mountain pass as mud slides all around them  in a staggering achievement in live action/CGI animation - THE JUNGLE BOOK

Nothing came as close to celebrating women as much as the image of Annette Bening in an open-air plane soaring above the clouds - 20TH CENTURY WOMEN

Although I wasn’t a fan of the film as a whole, Tom Bennet’s goofy performance charmed me and Kate Beckinsale relished every single one of her razor-sharp lines, such as when her Lady Susan walks in on a stunned, frozen group of people and exclaims, “What a delightful family pose” - LOVE & FRIENDSHIP

A boy pores over a skin magazine as a car drops off a cliff behind him and crashes through his home.  A case study in anticipation and delivery - THE NICE GUYS

Three words:  The Exorcism Scene - THE WAILING

Emily Meade nearly walks away with this film in her one big moment as the incredibly angry girlfriend of a hostage taker in my second favorite female scene stealing cameo of the year - MONEY MONSTER

Khandi Alexander outplays the outrageous amount of testosterone on display by forcing us to hang onto her every word as she repeated the question over and over, “Are there any other bombs?” in my #1 favorite female scene stealing cameo of the year  -  PATRIOTS DAY

Having seen as many films as I have, one usually can see plot twists coming from a mile away, but the big reveal in this film caught me totally off guard and put a big old lump in my throat - ARRIVAL

A young kid asks the closest thing he has to a father figure, a drug dealer played by the magnificent Mahershala Ali, what a faggot is.  The response he gets is so unexpected, it makes you rethink how easy it is to judge a book by its cover - MOONLIGHT

If you’ve seen the first one, then you know the minute you see an airbag what’s gonna happen, but it doesn’t make it any less funny - NEIGHBORS 2

Colin Farrell woos a cruel, cold sociopath played by Angeliki Papoulia in a hot tub by trying to prove he’s just as awful in the least cute meet cute scene of the year - THE LOBSTER

The glowing triangle during the fashion show is this year’s unexplainable 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY monolith.  It’s just there and things change. - THE NEON DEMON

I honestly couldn’t make out the lyrics most of the time, it had very little to do with the story, and the melody escaped my brain the minute I heard it, but who cares?  Wouldn’t life be better if everyone caught in a traffic jam suddenly started dancing? - LA LA LAND

I could listen to this great director talk for days about all the moving parts in the famous CARRIE prom sequence, because his amazing recall and zeal for storytelling is infectious - DE PALMA

To say you’ve witnessed the best dog diarrhea tracking shot of all time seems cheap, considering it’s probably the only one, but damn, it’s the best dog diarrhea tracking shot of all time -  WIENER-DOG

I didn’t love everything about the movie, but Anna Faris playing herself as a coked-up tweaker possibly outshines Michael Cera as himself in THIS IS THE END.  Also, bonus points for paying sublime tribute to the late George Michael in that hilarious car scene - KEANU

The sight of blood on a pink Chanel suit makes an event so well-known to people around the world feel so intensely personal - JACKIE

What kind of woman would invite her rapist down to a secluded basement?  It’s a very good question and one that Paul Verhoeven and Isabelle Huppert bravely tackle in this biting, perverted gem - ELLE

Many shunned this film because of the controversy surrounding its writer/director/star and co-story writer, but for those who saw it, it’s unlikely you’ll ever forget the most horrifyingly brutal dental scene since MARATHON MAN - THE BIRTH OF A NATION

With Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s face eerily placed on the body of a plump, naked teen who sings along in the shower to En Vogue’s “Never Gonna Get It”, it plays as a moment of pure, unbridled joy, until it gets all hate-crimey - CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE

A chair cracks over the back of a bully in one of the more explosive, well-earned acts of violence in movie history - MOONLIGHT

Think what you will as to whether or not criminal behavior took place, my takeaway was that I work so hard when I could be making easy money by tying a guy to a chair and tickling him! - TICKLED

Skewering the briefing scenes from TMZ may seem like an easy target, but Will Arnett finds the right maniacal tone to keep you laughing longer than you thought possible - POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING

A door to a fleabag motel gets opened to the truly horrifying site of a mountain lion stalking the room, which made me rethink complaining about the sandpaper-like towels the last time I stayed in a Motel 6 - THE NEON DEMON

Danny DeVito, as a dead-inside film school professor and failed screenwriter, interviews a prospective student and cannot get him to name one film that has influenced him.  It’s a scene that speaks to a generation that looks at millennials as being completely uninterested in history - WIENER-DOG

In a year filled with intentionally scary movies, nothing chilled me more to the bone than the sight of Michel, the overly tanned cult leader who parades around in Speedos and sexually molests many of his followers - HOLY HELL

This dialogue exchange between Colin Farrell’s David and the brilliant Olivia Colman as the Hotel Manager cuts to the heart of this film’s brittle genius: HOTEL MANAGER: Now have you thought about what animal you’d like to be if you end up alone?  DAVID: Yes, a lobster.  HOTEL MANAGER: A lobster is an excellent choice. - THE LOBSTER

I don’t care what your sexual orientation is, the sight of Blake Lively kicking ass and taking names all while wearing an amazing bikini is hot in anyone’s book - THE SHALLOWS

In a film sorely lacking in memorable lines, Kristen Wiig still manages a perfectly timed moment after being slimed with this fun dialogue:  “That stuff went everywhere, by the way. In every crack.” - GHOSTBUSTERS

Sometimes great actors can salvage a bad movie.  She doesn’t quite do that here, but between this and THE CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA, Kristen Stewart is so warm and wonderful that I can forgive her TWILIGHT years - CAFE SOCIETY

In an otherwise disappointing TV-to-screen adaptation, the airplane scene, in which Flight Attendant Rebel Wilson uses a taser on Joanna Lumley’s Patsy, worked like a charm, especially when Patsy’s response to it is, “Cheers.  Can’t get that on British Airways.” - ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS

In one of the best, more under-appreciated films of the year, Gillian Jacobs plays an improv comic who repeats the line “Has anyone had a particularly bad day?” to audiences throughout the film, perfectly setting the stage for things to come - DON’T THINK TWICE

Meryl Streep makes everything better, am I right?  While playing a rich, talentless singer, she tries to write lyrics to an instrumental piece presented by her pianist and mutters out “…mmm..mmm…mmm…the trees”, proving once and for all that not everybody is Lennon and McCartney - FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS

Driving through dirty, dusty alleys while hightailing it away from a bank robbery never seemed more desolate or grim, which is exactly the type of America this film exposes - HELL OR HIGH WATER

My vote for film score of the year goes to Mica Levi, who blazed a trail with UNDER THE SKIN, and continues to probe inside the minds of the characters, finding beauty and dissonance in our grieving heroine - JACKIE

The Art Direction awards usually go to a sumptuous period piece.  Slap a bunch of Louis XIV furniture in a room and you’re taking home an Oscar for sure.  What production designer Thomas Hammock did with an endless maze of a house, a new grotesquerie at every turn, would merit every prize in my book, but that’s not how the world works - BLAIR WITCH

Speaking of which, “Witch” is a lucky word for Production Designers this year. Craig Lathrop did incredible work bringing to life that isolated farm and Anna Biller not only wrote/produced/directed/edited and costume designed, but she brought every set to impeccable, garish life, going so far as to paint every piece of graphic art on the walls - THE WITCH/THE LOVE WITCH

Say what you will about the movie.  I didn’t love it, but by the end, I’m willing to bet that some people booked tickets to the profoundly gorgeous Newfoundland for a secluded getaway vacation - CLOSET MONSTER

How is it possible to play drunk so convincingly yet still make it seem ripe for parody?  When you’re Emily Blunt in a terrible, GONE GIRL ripoff.  That’s how. - THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

In a movie filled with the horrors of fraternity hazing rituals, none of that could hold a candle to the early sequence in which two strangers casually hitch a ride from our hero and insidiously transform that moment into something truly terrifying - THE GOAT

That final scene, in which two opposing forces have a choice of either killing each other or walking away, beautifully makes the point that the world is filled with enemies who have to figure out how to coexist - HELL OR HIGH WATER

To hear a recording of a casual, humorous conversation by one of the most abhorrent dictators of all time, North Korea’s Kim Jong Il, reminds us that true evil is sometimes covered up by incredible charm - THE LOVERS AND THE DESPOT

James Franco in crazy mode has become a cliche by now, but hearing him shout “No little bitches!” while he works out with his boyfriend, will always be the first thing that comes to mind when discussing this movie - KING COBRA

I still don’t know what it means.  Was he making fun of overweight women or celebrating them?  What does it have to do with the rest of the film?  Did Amy Adams protest having her name over one of those images?  There are the questions I asked myself as I watched the baffling but, sure, memorable opening credits - NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

One of the more humane moments in any film this year comes during a rotoscoped reenactment from a documentary in which a  pregnant student lies in a quad next to her dead boyfriend, who has been shot by a sniper.  A stranger makes her way to them and offers compassion and hope at a moment where both seemed to be lost for good - TOWER

This film didn’t have as big of an effect on me as I had hoped, but there’s no denying that Michelle Williams knows how to move you when she encounters her ex-husband (Casey Affleck) and fails at convincing him to have lunch - MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

I love it when usually reticent actors get a chance to blossom.  All it took for Jessica Chastain was the chance to stare down the camera to find her extremely confident voice - MISS SLOANE

People ask me all the time, “Hey Glenn!  Is a bad movie worth seeing if you get to see Chris Pratt’s butt?”  My answer is and will always be, “Only if your GOOGLE IMAGE search fails to deliver the goods” - PASSENGERS

Speaking of butts, it wouldn’t be inappropriate to ask “Did you see the ass on that tree?” after seeing this film - A MONSTER CALLS

We never learn her name or know anything about her, but a butch lesbian police officer (or at least that’s what I thought they were going for) refuses to budge from her vantage point of one of the Boston Marathon bombers when the FBI try to take over.  Yet another woman who steals this male-dominated movie away from her co-stars - PATRIOTS DAY

[xcziel]

get to know me

tagged by @vishcount (thank you!!) and i'll follow her format bc making two posts seems a little much - i'm not that interesting!!

(hilariously, this post shows up as blocked for me bc of the tag 'joker' which? tumblr?????)

Part I

name: i'm an internet old, so i never use my real name online, mainly because it's spelled in a very unique way (thanks mom & dad) - i mean like, if you googled it you could find my home address in a few seconds kind of unique - but also, though i do enjoy the spelling, i actually don't like it very much when it's said out loud? (is it weird that my name written down is 'me', but my name aloud has never felt like 'me'?) always wanted a nickname but never acquired one :/

at any rate, i've had the username xcziel forever and i go by that 😊 (pronounced ex-SEE-zee-el, similar to etc. or ex-SET-er-ah! thanks @xia-xueyi for pointing out that it can be confusing to guess!)

rest behind a cut because it got long!

pronouns: she/her

star sign: i don't ... really *do* astrology? but technically saggitarius

height: 5'4" (162.5cm for the intl folks)

time: 5:43pm but these thing take me forever to type out so ... ???

birthday: playing the 'internet old' card again .. but it floats around american Thanksgiving depending on the year

nationality: american

fave bands/groups/solo artists: lumping these together because i just .. don't really do music much anymore. if you had asked me this back in my 20s i'm sure i would have had all kinds of opinions and things to share, but these days i actually mostly prefer to listen music from when i was a kid. part of it is also that as an old, i prefer to buy my music, even digitally, and i don't really use spotify - which does so much to enable diverse music exploration i admit! but i mostly have earplugs in all the time and music does not work for me as background noise, so...

so i guess my answer would be 70s disco and classic rock and 80s new wave artists? i've never liked any artist's entire discography and prefer greatest hits-type compilations, but i guess duran duran and def leppard and depeche mode would be considered formative? i love new order but specifically late 80s new order, NOT joy division. the only concert t-shirt i've ever worn was the cult? i loved sonic temple but i can't listen to most of it anymore though i still adore love removal machine. i think maybe if you get old enough, for some of us there's TOO MUCH good music and we can't pare it down anymore

song stuck in your head: jamiroquai's canned heat

last movie you watched: re: the above, i re-watched center stage, the 2000 one with zoe saldana and the mandy moore soundtrack, bc it's a happy comfort movie and i just got a digital version

last show you binged: i can't really "binge" very often bc after a couple of hours i need a break, so i guess i'd say the tgcf donghua on netflix since it was short enough to get through all in one go

when you created your blog: in 2012 i stopped lurking so i could post about the avengers movie

the last thing you googled: 5'4" in cm? lol before that it was chinese wrapped street food

other blogs: everything is here! i discovered i compartmentalize about as well as i tag reliably (😓) but i do have several automated ao3feed-tag style sideblogs. and i did, very briefly, have a *winces* hockey sideblog too

why i chose my url: ooh i know i've done this before, sorry if it's repetitive, basically it was the username i picked back when my family first got aol: short, unique combo of letters - 14-year-old me really thought about it! and then it wouldn't let me use anything other than my name. thirty-some-odd years later, trying to come up with a livejournal username that wasn't already taken and getting fed up, i plugged it in and went: good enough!

how many people are you following: like 760-something last i checked? although many, many, many of them are deactivated

how many followers do you have: idk i don't like looking at that stuff, but way fewer than i am following

average hours of sleep: it varies too much day by day, my sleep schedule is too wonky, i have no idea what the average would be

lucky numbers: 7? cliché i know, and again not really buying into it, but somewhere in my hindbrain i like it that my first, middle, and last names all have seven letters

instruments: none. i like singing

what i'm currently wearing: giant black t-shirt and baggy black drawstring shorts, standard sitting around the house gear

dream job: don't have one. if i did it would give me something to be working towards *sigh* this is how you end up in retail for decades, kids! but also, to quote a random post i saw in true tumblr fashion "i simply do not dream of labor"

dream trip: covered this one before but: back to the uk and some railway daytrips, or a really fancy northern cruise, atlantic/pacific either one

fave food: uhhh, don't really have a favorite but i'm almost always in the mood for pizza

top three fictional universe you'd like to live in: none really, if i had to still be me..maybe some kind of actually utopian future? but the pandemic has confirmed for me that i do NOT like living in interesting times, so most fictional story universes are RIGHT out. my favorites to read about like discworld or diana wynne jones' worlds would be way to chaotic for my comfort. possibly diane duane's young wizards universe would be safe enough to be okay?

Part II

last song: watching center stage made me think of my dance playlist so sunrise by simply red

last movielast stream: i don't watch streams or youtube often, so it was the same as you, vish! liu chang's birthday stream was SO enjoyable i screenrecorded the entire thing just so i could play it back (and maybe gif sometime if i ever get the drive to actually do it)

currently reading: well i just finished the translated quan qiu gao kao or global university entrance exam novel, which was sparked purely from catching a single rec post here on tumblr and basically just *falling* into this 166 chapter epic that is *amazing* and not coming up for air until i got to the end, which is typical novel-reading behavior for me (yes i was the kid who read through lunch period and got hassled by people who kept pestering me with "what're you reading" questions and yes i realize probably a lot of you on tumblr were too) plus, the new murderbot novel is out tomorrow!!!!! so that'll be where i end up next!

currently watching: the entire dmbj verse (that i can get my hands on) but ... sporadically and stopping at random different parts because the thing is ... this type of show is not really the kind i enjoy so much? so since it's more for "research" and learning character arcs (and let's be honest: shots of liu sang), etc. it's easy to get distracted by other stuff. i'm also watching the sleuth of the ming dynasty, mr queen, bromance, the expanse, re-watching farscape and stargate sg-1, just finished the falcon and the winter soldier, and then anytime something new and short gets introduced it jumps the queue. there are just. so. many. things. to. watch! (now i have to look into anti-fraud league too!? you all are cruel ...)

what is antipoetry to you: i ... don't really think much about poetry? i know what i prefer is usually the more basic rhymed kind like lewis carroll, emily dickinson, poe, coleridge, etc. so i suppose i don't have much use for classifying non-rhyming verse? i can appreciate stuff like rupi kaur which i guess would qualify? or that william carlos williams plums poem? but it doesn't really stick with me the way lyric-like verse does

currently craving: i never know what exactly this is meant to be in reference to ... hmmm, i would love a new high-concept, high production-quality movie like say, pacific rim, to be released, just for that massive, excited energy that comes with something new that hasn't already got tons of disappointing or conflicting history behind it - that would be so fun!!

other than that, right now, i mostly kinda want some fried fish? but that will have to wait until i go to get my second vaccine shot on wednesday since it's on the way there. i'd also like my internal body parts to settle down and fly right but it's been more than a month and they don't seem inclined :(((( maybe once i'm fully vaxxed i'll think about consulting somebody about it

tagging @foxofninetales @xia-xueyi @momosandlemonsoda @memorydragon @thewindsofsong @elvencantation @mylastbraincql @hesayshesgotboyfriend @aurawolfgirl2000 @smaragdine-galaxy and anyone who wants to! but never feel obligated and if you don't get around to it for like half a year that's totally fine, i am still interested!!!