#that album is a goddamn masterpiece…

[squizazz]

[kirk-goes-to-gallifrey]

I am obsessed.

[pardonmydelays]

clancy

[marianas-trench-is-not-that-deep]

The Legacy of Marianas Trench

So I was listening to Danger Days by My Chemical Romance (for anyone who hasn't heard it, recommend it a hundred percent), and it really got me thinking about them for a second. I'm not sure how many of you guys are My Chemical Romance fans but the fact is, when the Danger Days album came out, it was not well received :( . A lot of the fans had clung to their heavier and gloomy music that was associated with their previous albums -- Black Parade, Three Cheers, and Bullets. Those three albums have all progressed in their own way with Black Parade being their magnum opus (in my humble opinion) but Danger Days went such a different direction. I feel like this little decision can be paralleled with Marianas Trench's career.

Danger Days (in my opinion) is such a magnificent album but so many people and fans alike dismissed it because of its drastic change of sound, a more brightly, sassy, and fun sound. The album itself I feel like it still represents MCR, with their experimental sounds and twist on alternative music and lyrics that criticize society, but so many people just couldn't get it into because of their "poppier" sound. Gerard Way has even stated in a few interviews regarding DD that the reason why he chose to change sound was because he thought it was time to start something different and stray away from all the angst. And sadly, as previously mentioned, it wasn't well received than their other albums, with fans even commenting and spreading that they should just go back to their "old sound".

This has been the case for a lot of the artists, especially rock artists I seem to notice. The artist would like to try something different from the sound they established and end up finding some kind of push back when they try to experiment with different sounds.

This is where Marianas Trench comes in. Marianas Trench has not have that problem. In fact, it's the opposite. Fans ANTICIPATE how different the next album will be compared to their other albums and draw parallels and find those little easter eggs. They can't wait to hear what kind of musical influence will be the main sound for the album and can't wait to hear the lyricism along with it. All five studio albums so different from each other but we KNOW it's Marianas Trench. It has this Marianas Trench signature sound that is weirdly enough, not a sound, but more of a passion (?) and creativity (?) that only Marianas Trench could have. And they are so successful in doing this because Josh recognized from the get-go that he doesn't want to be stuck in this box. One musical genre and be known for just one really good album and his fans to be stuck in that genre, compared to MCR and much like other bands who had accidentally trapped themselves in that way. Cause when one traps themselves in that box, then they will reach at a crossroads; do something safe that they know their fans will enjoy, or do something the artist would enjoy to do with the risk that fans will be disappointed. They are stuck with having to figure out how to do the same thing repackaged in a new wrapping.

But Marianas Trench knows that whether they experiment or not, their fans will always be so supportive of them. I for sure will love them. And I believe that some would actually be disappointed if they don't experiment and show us something different. And it gives them that liberty to evolve and grow in different sounds. In simpler terms, I guess I could say that they got the best of both worlds, being able to experiment with the safety net of their supportive fans.

However, I can't help but think, that may be the very reason that's holding them back. As one knows, Marianas Trench are KINGS in Canada but are almost barely known in any other places. And what I mean by that is that they are not as big as I think that they should be. But maybe it could be because of their non-commitment to one genre, they aren't able to have new or more listeners stick with them. For example, one fan loves their Fix Me album but can't listen to their other discographies because it's just not their cup of tea (which is absolutely okay). But at the same time, they have found their audience, fans will stick with them, and be able to actually enjoy what they are doing and that is enough. More than enough. Because they have the ability to do what they love professionally.

I know the topic is a little more multifaceted than what I explained here but I just can't help but draw some parallels. I will forever be grateful that Marianas Trench is able to strive in this generation with their ever changing sound and wish them all the fame and fortune that they deserve but it's also really great to seem them be grateful for the fame they have earned. They are truly just happy being able to do what they love and stay true to themselves without getting greedy. And i am so glad, we as a fanbase, gave them that kind of chance. So I would really like to thank you guys for supporting them as a fellow fan myself and thank the band for not stopping and continuing to grow.

[x-h3kk3ning-x]

Lolololol all of my top songs but ONE are from Drew XD

Does he know? Does he KNOW how he held up my mental health this year??? DREW LET ME BUY THE CD I COULDNT AFFORD IT BEFORE BUT I CAN NOW I LOVE YOUUUUUU <3

[milkywayes]

Top 10 Albums

I love this idea, thanks for tagging me @corpocyborg!!

Rules: List your top 10 favorite albums, and (if you want) include a brief description for why each one made it onto the list. Then, tag 10 (or however many you want, really) others to do the same.

I tag: @gammaraydeath @lilmissnatcat24 @tarysande @kalliesa @dulcidyne @jaina-lyn :)

These will be in no particular order because I can’t decide between them. In fact my list was way longer than 10 to start with, narrowing this down was painful

My 10 Favorite Albums:

stereo mind game - daughter every song on this album is an emotional gut punch. contains my most played song of 2023. daughter always delivers both impeccable lyrics and vibes but this album dethroned my previous favorite album of theirs with how earnest and atmospheric it is

west ryder pauper lunatic asylum - kasabian i’ve been listening to this since it came out in 2009 and i will never stop. no one does it like kasabian. banger of a concept album. also kicked off my teenage obsession with asylums and lobotomies? lol? don’t ask.

arkhon - zola jesus listened to this religiously as i was getting into mass effect and it will forever capture that feeling of a dangerous galaxy and hard choices, characters muddling their way through… if omega station had a soundtrack, this would be it for me

run with the silent wildflowers - raised by swans actually got a way longer album title but i just put the sub-title here lol. i listened to this forty billion times over the past two years and it still has me clutching my chest dramatically, every time. literally every song on this is a delicate masterpiece. mr eric howden where is your grammy

high violet - the national i can’t believe it’s been almost 15 years since this came out. whadda hell. anyway high violet remains their best album, not because their new stuff is bad but because you can’t beat perfection. listening to sorrow on loop as a kid while reading angsty stories was a formative experience

on dark horses - emma ruth rundle i actually wanted to put every ERR album on here but forced myself to pick just one. if ERR has just one fan it’s me, if she has no fans I’m dead, etc etc. i force everyone in my life to listen to her and i’m not sorry. i wish all music sounded like this

l.w. - king gizzard & the lizard wizard i’m obsessed with a bunch of songs on this… see me, ataraxia, static electricity… once in a while i’ll remember they exist and listening to them feels like what i imagine eating an edible with shrooms is like. idk i’m straight-edge but: tastes awesome and makes you see new colors.

lust for life - lana del rey it was so hard to pick my favorite lana album but i think it’s still this one. it has heroin, mustang, cherry and 13 beaches. iconic. if ride was also on the tracklist then it could probably kill me dead

wasteland, baby! - hozier as much as i love unreal unearth, the concept of wasteland baby! is unmatched. walking open eyed into the apocalypse with a smile on your face. as it was is still my favorite hozier song. goddamn

an end has a start - editors another formative one. i think i wrote my first fanfics to this as a soundtrack. it really captures something about the human condition… but in a rocky cinematic way.

[thaywrites]

ᯓ★ PALAYE ROYALE PROMPTS, a collection of prompts / lyrics taken from palaye royale’s songs from their album, the bastards.

( mentions of possibly triggering subjects such as violence, self-harm, death and more. ) 

✦ LITTLE BASTARDS

i can’t take this. i’ve been a little patient.

i’ve got to get away a little faster.

run, you little bastards.

fake friends all around, they watch while i drown. no one is there to help me.

sometimes i’ve been losing my mind, running out of faith.

i’ve been feeling lonely, put me in my place.

so, fuck you — i don’t even like you.

no sleep, got another nosebleed. i can’t feel my face.

✦ ANXIETY

indecisions have been breaking my sanity.

retaliation when i’m full of anxiety.

a band-aid on a bullet hole that’s still bleeding.

numb you up until you can’t feel a goddamn thing.

a generation full of anti-sobriety. a generation that is full of anxiety.

all the voices in your head that keep talking.

all the blood on your skin that keeps crawling.

i was born to be anything i wanted to be, raised to be fucking mean.

i’m a masterpiece.

blasphemy meet again in a world so vicious.

mothers scream, fathers drink and all you bastards scream.

✦ TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT I DIE

lonely, another day. drowning, please save me.

i am struggling in my own daydream.

i know i can’t live much longer, hear the angels sing.

could I be a prisoner to the voices in my brain.

my mind is gone to waste, can’t stand to look at my face.

all these thoughts inside my head will be silenced by the bang.

believe me when i say tonight is the night i die.

as i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i look at you as i take my last breath.

as i die and fall to the floor, my pain and suffering is no more.

✦ LONELY

my life don’t mean that much to me so i’m living for you.

and you can’t stand the sight of me so what’s the point of this fucked up catastrophe?

i pop these pills to waste some time as i’m fading.

too lazy for a suicide, i just watch the days pass hoping to die.

daydreaming of my funeral — like who would show, bet no one would go.

hey dad, would you show up for me now? just to bury your little boy in the ground.

you broke my heart when you left me.

so sick and tired of being alone. so long, farewell — i’m on my own.

i dug this grave i call my home.

✦ NERVOUS BREAKDOWN

twist the knife just a bit further.

don’t look at me — i think about murder.

i think i’m about to explode. i think i’m goin’ to have a nervous breakdown.

start to feel myself panic again and all the blood rushes to my head.

you say you love me but you still left me — i guess that’s why i hate myself.

you say it’s over but you’re still calling — i guess that’s why i live in hell.

my brain has been fucked enough. please, stop wasting all my thoughts.

cut my throat and please let me go.

✦ MASOCHIST

’cause i’ve been craving your sweet haven.

so i keep turning while your body burns to the ground.

don’t try to tell me that i should go softly.

just look me in my eyes and feed me your sweet lies.

i’ll cut through your alibis.

hang a cross upside down. your church is burning down.

just take me for the night.

✦ BLACK SHEEP

do you see what i’ve become? why are you still holding on?

something lingers in my veins, that’s telling me i’m not the same.

i am sinking now. the water’s over my ears and i can’t hear no sounds.

scream out or drown — can you hear the voice say now?

go home and back to sleep, and count the black sheep. 

go on away from me, i am the black sheep.

you said it’s all in my head, you said it’s all in my brain.

there’s nothing left that you can say to me.

i am everything you hate.

i am unwanted, i’m not the answer. you were hoping that i’d change.

you push me down once again because i seem different.

✦ STAY

i see you for what you are

it’s something in your eyes that look past my scars.

where do you go when you leave in the night? ‘cause i see those teary eyes.

i am the only hope for you and you are the only hope for me, too.

i just wanted you.

so stay this time. don’t go away.

the end is near, i really don’t want to know.

it’s haunting me to watch you go.

✦ REDEEMER

can’t you see that everyone is dying?

the animals are crying, religions are dividing as my family keeps on fighting.

now i’m caught in something — my eternal suffering.

looking for the meaning of it all but i got nothing.

don’t know where i’ll go when i die, must be better than this.

ain’t it sad when you got nowhere to go? got no place to call your home. burden to everyone you know.

i try just not to think about my life so i do another line. it keeps me numb just for the night.

and i’m here just waiting for you to come home.

and i’m screaming all on my own with the revolver and a note.

will you please pick up the phone? will you please come back home?

[sub-rosa-love]

not Ethel Cain starting her new album with a distorted version of Nearer My God To Thee, also used in the goddamn heartbreaking gut wrenching tears inducing ending of the Masterpiece that is Midnight Mass I mean instant hook thank you, jaw on floor

[dear-space-cadet]

because I’m sure everyone was waiting for my review. here it is. directly copy pasted from my notes app

Franz album review

Audacious - more like atrocious. I wish I liked this one but Alex’s lyrics are just cornballs as per usual #DontStopFeelingBodacious 3/10 bc the beginning riff set us up for SOMETHING and then took it away

Everydaydreamer - mildly ass TO ME just bc of the lyrics again… RIP Nick McCarthy I miss your influence this is ass 3/10

The Doctor - more like doctor poo… jk this one is actually not bad. The lyrics again are just making me mad bro 😭😭😭😭😭. I like this one it’s giving slight itao in ways… wait is this actually a good song??????? I think this is an actually good song WOWWWWW ok 8/10

Hooked - oh and here we go welcome back always ascending… some habits die hard. Album name drop 5/10. Lyrics bad again fuck offfff. Alex cannot write lyrics bro like how much of that was Nick bc AA and this song were both ass lyrically

Build it Up - NICK MCCARTHY PENTAGON HERE???? I think this song is about their beef esp bc it’s an older song that got worked into this album. It sounds like actual Franz Ferdinand too wow oh this is good… I like this one 10/10 THE LYRICS ARE NOT CRIMGE WE WON… welcome back Your Diary… welcome back YCHISMB period tbh like I was so good at predicting… anyway this one is such a banger I keep coming back to it like this is actually a GOOD song and not just something I’m giving a good score bc it’s not bad???? Like this may enter my rotation in big 2025???? Wowwww… justice for Black Tuesday tho but that was a Paul Thomson production so I get it

Night or Day - I already gave this one an 8/10 but it’s worse after the masterpiece that just hit my ears. Like I can’t even rate this one bc of the Yass I just let out at a Franz Ferdinand song in gargantuan 2025

Ok I’m getting off the subway so I gotta pause here but I’m gonna listen to the rest

Tell Me I Should Stay - 8/10 I’m too aroace for this shit. Alex is on key tho which doesn’t happen often. I like this one. I just hate the “hug me kiss me” like no I will not be doing that and I don’t think anyone in their right mind would want to UGLY… maybe it’s about Nick tho in which case I give it a thumbs up. This album pmo it’s like Alex forgot he was gay and repressed. But tbh that’s kinda character development, like he realized his art doesn’t have to be Profound, which is actually a good thing in his case bc when it’s Profound ppl just imagine him fucking his opp/former lover in the ass…. Anyway

Cats - actual song about cats bro this is kinda a booty metaphor tho … the whole world cheered for a Nick McCarthy riff tho like maybe they exchanged ideas in 2022 when they posted each other on insta… /j lyrics ass but song good 7/10… my only serious criticism is “you can’t turn a cat into a dog” is a popular transphobic talking point and Alex follows JK Rowling and Glinner who r two prominent UK transphobes, plus remember he QRTed that thing saying cancel culture was stupid…………. I know that isn’t the intent of the lyric but it rubbed me the wrong way….

Black Eyelashes - IS THAT A FUCKING BOUZOUKI??????????? Goddamn stop talking abt Greece tho gtfo my house… good song tho I guess… WHY CAN I UNDERSTAND THIS SHUT UUUUUPPP GTFO MY HOUSE 7/10 tho I like the vibes here. I do think it’s funny he’s essentially somehow sonically doing Yellow Mexico Filter but for Greece here… also I’m saying “he” bc this entire album is an Alex Kapranos production I fear. Let the bald one, the big twink, the girl, and the definitely gonna be transfem one speak!

Bar Lonely - I can tell this was written in 2015… ALEX WHEN I CATCH YOU… such a banger… one thing I don’t like about this album is the insistence on saying the song title as like a lyric in the song if that makes sense. Like just randomly saying it. They do it in almost every song and it’s so annoying. Not like naming the song after a lyric but using the song title as a chorus almost. This songs like an FFS song almost like I can’t explain it but the telling a story about somebody aspect is very ffs… esp bc it’s apparently set in Japan and we all know about FFS and Japan. 8/10

The Birds - boring sloppy messy lazy… “we all do things we shouldn’t have done” “the birds don’t care what the birds have done” “thank you for accepting me for the things I’ve done” like ok whatever… not to mention the “thing you have done” is grooming teenage girls. 5/10 terrible album closer dude we could have done without this one

—

Hope u enjoyed my Music Criticism str8 from the heart. From the very same Lev who brought you beautiful long form essay comparing their favorite nba player to the fucking Velveteen Rabbit

[catt-crossing]

I ALWAYS FORGET THAT LOVER DEAREST IS ON THE MASTERPIECE THEATRE ALBUM AND IT HITS ME LIKE A TRUCK EVERY GODDAMN TIME 😔

it is such a good song but it's just 😭

[rivetgoth]

Nobody asked but over the last couple of days I decided to listen through every mainline Skinny Puppy album (all formal LPs + Remission which is for some reason considered an EP, never fully understood that) from beginning to end in order of release. I've listened to all these albums 5 billion times and know them more or less by heart but it occurred to me after the last show that I don't know if I've ever done this.

After each album I wrote a little Twitter-sized review of it and highlighted a few standout songs. This is, of course, because I originally did this on Twitter. It was a really fun little post-concert activity so I figured I would share it here too.

Maybe even a good introduction if I still have any followers putting off checking them out...? 👀

Remission (1984). The one that started it all. Kind of. Simpler than the rest maybe but still so iconic. “Far Too Frail” continues to be my favorite, hearing it live for one of the encores blew my mind. “Film” as the encore opener also brought tears to my eyes.

Bites (1985). Still simpler than later outputs but also still a classic. Has a ton of really underrated instrumental-heavy/atmospheric tracks, and “The Choke” and “Last Call” are perfect songs. “Assimilate” is legendary but unfortunately gets hardcore overplayed lol.

Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse (1986). The addition of DRG is palpable. SP starts coming into their own and sounding less like a Cabaret Voltaire tribute band. Lol. Moodier, more complex, and lush with dark soundscapes. “God’s Gift (Maggot)” is one of the best.

Cleanse Fold and Manipulate (1987). From the first beat of “First Aid” onwards, this is one of THEE quintessential Skinny Puppy albums. IMO the real start of their “golden era.” Contains some of my favorite songs of ALL time. “Addiction” is easily a no contest top 5 SP track.

VIVI SECT VI (1988). One of the greatest. Noxious war zones, sterile hospitals, choking, burning, cold clanging cages in animal laboratories. One of the darkest, most nightmarishly psychedelic, heaviest, absolutely masterfully crafted albums. “VX Gas Attack” remains unparalleled.

Rabies (1989). Hi Al. This album just oozes sex appeal. I never get tired of it. It has a deranged masculine militaristic machine gun energy unlike anything else. I’ll never tire of “Hexonxonx,” “Worlock,” or “Tin Omen.” And ending on the dreamy delirious “Spahn Dirge”… Goddamn.

Too Dark Park (1990). A lot of people call this one THE supreme SP album. It’s legendary. Pure unadulterated Skinny Puppy. Sounds like home. An endless barrage of chaos and stormy monstrous polluted amorphous landscapes. “Grave Wisdom” is an all time favorite ever.

Last Rights (1992). The most utterly mindblowing devastating masterpiece of an album maybe ever made. The cohesiveness of the themes, sounds, lyrics, imagery—pure art. It’s a terrifying and desolate hellscape. Flung into sonic Knowhere. “Mirror Saw” is pure perfect transcendence.

The Process (1996). I have some trouble with this album—It can just make me very sad. You can both feel and hear the devastating loss. Barren and hopeless. Still, it’s TEEMING with absolutely rocking, heavy, guttural bangers. “Cult,” “Blue Serge,” and “Curcible” stand out.

The Greater Wrong of the Right (2004). A personal fave. Forever enthralled by the dreary smoking futuristic cityscapes painted by the various textures across each track. An epic journey through destruction of civilization and the mind. “Goneja” is an easy top 5 SP song for me.

Mythmaker (2007). Used to struggle with it, was even my least favorite, but it’s grown on me and I love it. A high octane reality-bending journey through alien dimensions and human mythos. If Ogre’s alien Other belonged to an album it’d be this one. I adore “Dal” and “Pedafly.”

HanDover (2011). Grossly underrated and constantly written off, I ADORE this album. It captures a sort of dreamlike melancholic sharp surrealism unmatched by anything else, like rain falling softly atop a rusting metallic dystopia. “Gambatte” is a stand-out forever favorite.

Weapon (2013). A fitting end. Nostalgic familiarity rejuvenated with sharp crispness. This one taps deep into my imagination; post-apocalyptic fantastical mechanical wastelands haunted by ghosts of the past. “Plasicage” is an all-time fave, and I love the reimagined “Solvent.”

[blindrapture]

lulu at s tier is a fucking wacky take bro i had to double check the tier letter meanings to make sure i read that right

you know nothing of me, then. Lulu has been S-tier for me ever since it came out in 2011. Metallica has never been a part of a greater albim, though admittedly they haven't been trying that hard since. no shade really at Hardwired or 72 Seasons, they had a much more simple goal and are good albums for that.

but Lulu? man.

Lulu was just *actually great.*

some of Lars's best drumming. fascinating atonal exploration. and if you've ever seen the operas the album is based on, or even just Pandora's Box the silent film that tells the same story, you'd see how wild it is to base an album off of that. it's feminist in an old-timey way, but even *that" was apparently necessary, as people weren't even ready for *that." the lyrics are good. I listen to the album multiple times a year.

it may be the weirdest album for Metallica, but it's nothing short of admirable that Metallica wanted to do it. they made an anti-metal album. and as an anti-metal album, it's a goddamn masterpiece.

EDIT: I wrote this as I had just woken up and had to go quickly. I would be willing to think of a more reasoned thing to say about it, as what I said was probably defensive. (to like Lulu is to be at least a little defensive. you've seen how other people treat it.) I can't really claim it is *the* greatest album they've done, as it's a very different kind of album, and for their more conventional metal albums they have definitely made masterpieces. but Lulu is in a different category. and *for what it does*, it is remarkable.

"anti-metal album" is probably accurate, though it could be a confusing term. it uses the language of metal albums-- the instruments, the tempos, and the general tone of the riffs-- but uses that language to make something that's kind of an antithesis. like St. Anger, it is not the metal of "shit, I wanna punch somebody;" it is the metal of "shit, I wanna punch myself." it is heady, and asks you to be patient during pretty impatient stuff. it is not an *easy* album, absolutely!

and as for the concept, to still keep this short, it's literally about a girl who just wants to be happy, who everyone around her *hates* and projects their hatred onto. which itself feels very appropriate for how the album is seen. it's ten stories of people who really, really fucking hate Lulu and would rather she be something else.

I just. I really damn like it, okay. it's S-tier *for me.*

[snazzystarlight]

I know you've done some Halsey before, have you listened to any of The Great Impersonator album???

It's a goddamn masterpiece, I'd love to see how you visualize it 💖💖

I did and I loved it!!!!

Unfortunately I haven't really been able to paint except for commissions during school 😭

[fernsehn]

Aimee Mann's 2017 album Mental Illness is a goddamn masterpiece.

[butchnavi]

clawing at the walls of my enclosure i need new music to listen to. best rina sawayama album for a beginner?

wow this is a hard question. normally I'd recommend you songs from both but. if you want genre versatility I recommend sawayama (it has everything from pop to shoegaze to experimental and htg does too but sawayama is THE genrefluid goat) and if you want killer theatrical soaring vocals that will floor you (with a good helping of mommy issues) I recommend hold the girl <3

MVP songs you cannot miss: phantom, who's gonna save you now?, dynasty, to be alive

actually fuck it. for getting into her i recommend sawayama (her debut LP). almost every song on there is a goddamn hall of fame masterpiece now GO listen to it it's the best album ever made actually <3