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redclercs · 1 year ago

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DELICATE✰ CHARLES LECLERC.

INTERLUDE: this is why we can't have nice things.

— the one where everybody's waiting to see the fall out.

warnings: this is basically like the INTRO chapter with all media, we're going to pretend publications and broadcast timings are not mistaken or fake, okay? ok. am i myself if i don't mention taylor swift in every chapter? no. foul language.

masterlist ✢ next

By Tom Gill // June 23rd

Vic Presley confirms y/n hasn't reached out to her even after Vic called asked her to in a publication a few days ago.

"I think she has blocked my number by now," Presley said, "I am devastated by this. I didn't think it was like her to discard relationships so easily."

Presley and y/ln have been friends since 2020, when they met at the opening of the SENSE Club in downtown Los Angeles and quickly became inseparable.

"y/n really was— is my best friend. I miss her and I want her to come back to me."

Vic Presley also commented on y/n's split from Aidan Kim in her own way: "I hate that she hurt Aidan. I was not aware they had so many problems, that's definitely the kind of stuff you tell your best friend."

y/n was spotted just a week ago with alleged (and constantly denied) boyfriend, Charles Leclerc on a stroll around Central Park. Victoria Presley couldn't help but speak her mind on this.

"y/n has changed so much since she met that guy. I met him in Miami and Monaco, he's not one of the good ones. He's managing to isolate her from everyone who loves her."

Once again, Victoria urges y/n to contact her so they can rekindle their friendship. "I am not angry at her, disappointed maybe. But I will always have my arms open for her."

SEE ALSO:

→ Mia Kim, the talented sister of Aidan Kim, set to make big screen debut.

→ Were Mia Kim and Victoria Presley mocking y/n y/ln in new Youtube Video?

→ Mia Kim: "y/n should have kept her mouth shut, there's still shit to be exposed about her."

FROM THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW — JULY 6TH

[Y/N]: ❝(...) What matters to me right now, is that people now I am nothing of what they're calling me. I am not perfect, nobody is. But I have never cheated on a partner or used someone else as a 'toy' and most importantly, I built my own career.❞

[Y/N]: ❝It gets exhausting, you hear things about yourself you never even thought possible. It could be laughable if it wasn't so cruel❞

[Y/N]: ❝My relationship ended in February, but I believe it was over way before that. I acted in a way that was not fair to my ex-partner nor to myself, and I expressed my regrets about it. He had the right to not accept my apology, but not to make stuff up about the whole situation.❞

[Y/N]: ❝He's feeding his ego, he's a man, after all. But doing it at the expense of my work and my reputation is disgusting. I want one producer or casting agent to come forward and say they gave me a role thanks to my ex-boyfriend's input, just one.❞

[Y/N]: ❝I have surrounded myself with different people. They have been a great support system, always motivating me, and holding me back when I'm about to do something stupid. This also means I have left some people out of what's going on with me, and it's for the best.❞

[Y/N]: ❝Taylor Swift, bless her soul, has given me a lot of advice. She's the sweetest person ever and since the same guy that is trying to drag me has gone after her in a few interviews, she wants this to be over as much as I do. I think he made a mistake by messing with Taylor too.❞

[Y/N]: ❝Rumors will keep running, but I am finally at peace with knowing who I am and who I can trust. But those 'sources' should know my patience is running out.❞

By Jenny Highland // July 20th

Mia Kim and Victoria Presley are the hottest topic right now, but not for the reasons both influencers wish, as they are in trouble!

Both Los Angeles locals have received a 'Cease and Desist' letter from recovering actress y/n y/ln this week, per her team's advice. This was confirmed by both Presley and Kim on Twitter, saying they are 'flabbergasted' that y/n is accusing them of defamation.

While y/n is far from gaining her place back in the public's heart, we are not blind to what Victoria and Mia have done for the past month, riding the wave to get views and followers talking about their shared time with y/n. Who has every right to ask them to stop, as she has done in several interviews throughout the month.

For many people, this makes it more evident that it was either Presley or Kim who contacted tabloids to get their five minutes of fame and sink y/n deeper.

Actions have consequences for everyone, and if y/n decided to pick this fight at this point in her downfall/rerise/wherever it is that we are with her, it's because she knows she can win, right?

─── team principal radio: ❝thank you for reading! please let me know your thoughts! I know I'm ending your patience with this slow burn thing but I promise you we're getting there! Charles is back next chapter and you'll see haha. again, your interactions mean the world to me and i'm sorry if sometimes i don't reply to your comments, i'm just awkward but i love you all♡❞

✰ paddock club members: @sassyheroneckgiant @flowerchild-96 @fangirlika @shegotboreddsoo @roseamongthorns13 @cissyp @chimchimjiminie16 @saturnsrinqs @roni-midnights @gayyvodka6 @studioreader @its-ash-not-grey @lu-morningstar @ferraribabe @reidsworld @feelslikestrawberries @celestialams @kosmosgalore @heeseung-baby @missenclod @buendiabebeta @mycenterfold @aces-tattooartist @burningrred @you-bleed-just-toknowyouarealive@rainybabe25 @ru-kru @lazybot @teenagedreams-cl @cool-ultra-nerd @kuskumu @formulakay3 @bisexual-desi @somanyfandomsbruh @icarus-nex @haziefairy @xjval @xoxoloverb @sainzleclercs @headinthecloudssblog @incoherenciass @bookophiliac @torrie421 @nooshytushie @azxulaa @steephanie07 @anonymous8462 @tbisloneely @pukklv @bn7921 @be-your-coffee-pot @fdl305 @lovely-blackinnon @landonorizzz @ruleroftheuniverse @ivegotparticulartaste

want to join the paddock club? click here!

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#charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x female reader #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc fanfic #f1 imagine #f1 fanfic #f1 imagines #f1 x reader #formula 1 imagines #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 x reader #cl16 fanfic #cl16 x reader #cl16 imagine

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jikookuntold · 10 months ago

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The Untold Truth of "Letter"

Back in 2021, 2022, or even early 2023, if someone had told me about the possibility of JK having vocal credits in Jimin's solo album, I would have called it wishful thinking at best. But it happened, and we got the song "Letter" (AKA Dear Army) as a hidden track in Jimin's first solo album, FACE, with back vocals by JK, and his name written invisibly in the album book.

The perfectly matching vocals of Jikook, with the heartfelt lyrics and soft instruments, undoubtedly made one of the most beautiful songs of the year, which could break many records for Jimin and his album if it was released in the streaming and buying services. The release of Letter as a hidden track in Jimin's solo album raised many questions and debates among Jikookers, and as someone who barely scrolls in the Tumblr app, I know I'm a bit late for the party, but I may or may not have some notes to add to the already made discussions. FYI, these are my analytic views and speculations, I am fully aware that this song has been named "Dear Army", and Jimin called it a "Fan song" on different occasions. So, I do not intend to ignore that and diminish Jimin's expression of love for his fans.

What's a Hidden Track?

Before getting into "Letter", we need to understand what a hidden track is. Well, the definition is pretty clear; When a song is not listed in the official track-list of a music album, but it exists in (some versions of) the physical printed CD, cassette, or LP, it's called a "hidden track".

Hidden Tracks of BTS

There are several techniques and reasons to "hide" a track in an album, but in the case of BTS discography, the hidden tracks exist for a specific reason, and I'm going to explain it with the only examples we have. The debut album (2013) and Love Yourself: Her (2017), are the only BTS albums including hidden tracks, and if we ignore the skits in each album, "Path" and "Sea" are the only hidden songs BTS ever released. So, these two songs must have something(s) in common and different from the other BTS tracks that caused them to end up as a hidden track. To find that common factor, we need to check their lyrics first:

Path

[Intro: RM] Yeah, wassup? You know, time flows like stars (Check it, check, check, check, check it out) [Verse 1: RM] I started from imitating Eminem, Garion, Epik High To writing my own raps Now I see that I’m already at Hongdae My lyrics back then were all (****) Bossy But we dunno, we dunno When I dreamed without anyone to stop me Reality tied me down and trapped me inside Oh, my youth trapped me My hot heart lost to my cold mind (Damn) As I blindly told myself my decision was right I don’t know whether it’s an angel or a devil, but it says to me "Do you really have any plans to rap properly?" (Yes or no?) I didn’t have more time to hesitate and didn’t want to be stupid So I came here and three years passed by Some say art is long, life is short But for now, art is life Life is sports, just do it, uh [Chorus] If I had chosen a different path, would have I been any different? If I stopped and looked back (Oh hey ya, hey ya) What will I see at the end of this road? Where you should’ve been standing? (Oh hey ya, hey ya) [Verse 2: Suga, Suga & Jungkook] A long time passed and by 2013, I was a trainee for three years I was a high school student who grew overnight (I became a child) White hair grew from my desires and one by one my many friends (Parted ways with me) I spent my time in Seoul alone without a family (That was my third spring) I thought my worries would disappear with my debut ahead of me I closed my eyes to the present that had nothing to change But the reality was different, even as my family and friends tried to stop me I walked into the tunnels that shed no light on my own I thought I would be alone (Why?) As it turns out, there weren’t seven bare feet but we were wearing the shoe named Bangtan We’ll have to go forward, take one more step, become newer And that’s how I spent my fourth spring in Seoul (Whoa) [Chorus] If I had chosen a different path, would have I been any different? (Hey) If I stopped and looked back (Hey) Oh hey ya, hey ya What will I see at the end of this road? Where you should’ve been standing? (Oh hey ya, hey ya) [Verse 3: J-Hope] 2010, the year I walked towards Seoul! I just loved to dance, and now I’m standing on top of the stage Until then, I overcame many pains and scars to prepare myself I survived with my belief to bend, not break, and ran for three years Let the stars inside my heart shine! Now shine on me differently Write “Bangtan” on the paper world I walk my future with more lights on Give a smile to that far future (Ha, ha)

As you can see, the lyrics are simple and self-explanatory, so I guess we don't need any lyrics analysis, and the description section of the Genius translation I used here, says it all:

“길 (Road/Path) follows the member’s decisions to become idols in the Korean music industry. They recall their different upbringings from listening to hip hop in school to the hard years of being trainees under BigHit Entertainment. BTS pose the questions of how their lives would be different if they made a different decision, and they ask themselves what the future entails. A very introspective track about their career for a debut album, BTS display their thought processes as they enter the music scene.”

Sea

[Intro: Jungkook] Oh, ah, yeah [Verse 1: Rap Monster] I just started walking and ended up at the sea I'm looking at the coast from here There's endless sand and the rough wind I'm still looking at a desert I wanted to have the sea so I swallowed you up But I'm even thirstier than before Is what I know really the ocean? Or a blue desert? [Refrain: J-Hope] I don't know, I don't know If I'm feeling the waves right now, yeah I don't know, I don't know If I'm being chased by the sand wind, yeah I don't know, I don't know Is this the sea or the desert? Is this hope or despair? Is this real or fake? Shit [Pre-Chorus: J-Hope] I know, I know, my hardship right now I know, I know, I'll overcome I know, I know, open me up It's the place I can rely on Think positive, I'm swallowing my dry spit Even if I'm nervous, even if I'm in a desert I'm in the beautiful Namib Desert [Chorus: Jimin, Jin] Where there is hope, there is always trial (4) [Hook: V, Jungkook] Where there is hope You know, you know You know, yeah yeah (2) [Verse 2: Suga] I thought this was the ocean but it's a desert A medium-sized, ordinary idol was my second name Countless people get cut from broadcast But someone's empty spot is our dream They say some of these kids can't make it cuz their agency is too small I know, I know, I know too Times when the seven of us had to sleep in one room With foolish hope that tomorrow will be different before we fell asleep We saw the mirage in the desert but we couldn't grasp it Praying that we'll remain in this desert till the end Praying that this isn't truly our reality [Verse 3: Suga] In the end, we reached the mirage and it became our reality The scary desert became the ocean with our blood, sweat and tears But why is there this fear in between the happiness? Because we know too well that this place is really a desert [Refrain 2: Suga] I don't wanna cry I don't wanna rest No, who cares if we rest a little? No no no I don't wanna lose It's always a desert I told you everything Then I'll just be more depressed [Chorus: Jungkook, V] Where there is hope, there is always trial (2) [Hook: Jimin, Jin] Where there is hope You know, you know You know, yeah yeah (2) [Bridge: Rap Monster] Ocean, desert, the world Everything, the same thing Different name I see ocean, l see desert I see the world Everything's, the same thing With a different name It's life again [Hook: V, Jungkook] Where there is hope You know you know you know yeah (2) [Chorus] Where there is hope, there is always trial

Compared to “Path”, we have more innuendos and metaphors in “Sea” because of Namjoon’s lyricism (it was supposed to be in his mixtape at first), but as the description says:

"It discusses the hardships BTS has experienced since debut, particularly struggling to compete with groups from other, larger agencies. In this song, BTS reflects on these hardships, fearing that their global fame and success could leave as suddenly as it arrived."

Common Denominator

These two lyrics have one big thing in common, and it's the topic they are discussing. They talk about the members' struggles, fears, hopes, and dreams career-wise. I was thinking maybe these issues are something they can only share with their longtime fans, not the general public, therefore, they decided to release them as hidden tracks in the physical album for their real fans who buy them, something like the difference between Weverse and Instagram, I guess? Then I realized that’s something Namjoon has mentioned himself to Billboard Magazine, in LYS: Her interview:

And if fans are so lucky to own the physical album, they’ll hear two hidden tracks at the very. Why keep them secretive?

"I think they’re hidden because you have to be a real fan of BTS to understand them. Otherwise, you won’t. Otherwise, you’d like to be, “Why are they feeling so confused about things? They’re good?!? They’re No. 1 somewhere, they have so much stuff, why are they worried?” People always talk about that. But if you are a true fan of BTS and you buy the album and you listen to the hidden track — if you are an Army and we spent time together from 2013, 2014 — they could understand. It’s kind of more special, more closer, to our true hearts"

What about "Letter"?

In conclusion, hidden tracks for BTS, are something between them and their real fans who know about the path they have wended, therefore they can open up to them through lyrics and talk about their fears and struggles and ambitions without being judged or misunderstood. Also, we have to debunk some of the misconceptions going around (especially after the release of FACE) about hidden tracks. For example, some claimed that Letter is made for fans because hidden tracks are always supposed to be “gifts” for fans. This claim obviously can’t be true when you are able to listen to a hidden track legally, only by purchasing the physical album. Gifts are supposed to be free of charge, like Promise, Still with You, Christmas Love, My You, and so on.

Then what about “Letter”? Why this song is a hidden track in Jimin’s first solo album? Did Jimin want to say something by hiding this track in FACE? To answer this questions, we need to pay attention to the lyrics and how the song was made:

[Verse 1] What should I say? And how should I convey it? I'm really not getting my words right I know it sounds so clichéd So that it's not taken lightly Let me say it to you properly [Chorus] I say oh-oh, I hope you can be happier You, who stretched your hand out to me whenever I fell I say oh-oh, I'll hold it now (I'll hold it) So when you feel like crying, you won’t fall [Verse 2] After all this time has passed Will we still be the same? Just like we were when we first met, hmm-mmm If we are together, even the desert could turn to a sеa Just like how we were then, oh-hoo-ooh [Chorus] I say oh-oh, I really hope that it’ll last forever You, who felt like a warm spring to me in a cold winter I say oh-oh, I'll always cherish it All those moments between you and I [Refrain] Baby, don't leave Just stay by my side, yeah To you, who see me bigger than what my little self is (to you) So that I can give as much as I’ve received (oh-oh) So that I can keep my word (oh-oh) Don't worry, just stay by my side, yeah (Yeah) We don’t know what the future holds (holds, yeah) And that’s scary and makes us afraid (oh-oh) But don’t forget that we’re always together (don't forget) [Outro] I know it sounds so clichéd So that it's not taken lightly Let me say it to you properly

The Feelings

If you compare these lyrics to "Path" and "Sea" you can clearly see the differences, and except a mention of "sea and desert" there's nothing in common between them. Letter is not a monologue about career issues, it's a romantic song. These lyrics are expressing the feelings and addresses them to an audience and appreciates them. But how was this song made?

According to Jimin, at first, SMF Pt2 was supposed to be the last track of his solo album, but in their YTC promotion and recording era when they announced that they have planned to put their group activities on rest, Jimin decided to express his feelings of the moment through a letter, and turned that letter to song lyrics. Producers liked the song so much and decided to add it in his album and that’s how “Letter” was born. Although Jimin didn’t explain much about those “feelings” and left the conclusion to us like a true artist, we all know that this song is totally different from the other tracks in his album.

All the tracks of FACE are dark and sad. Jimin’s first album is all about himself, and he talks about the painful emotions he had as an artist and a person in the past few year, but with “Letter” there is a different story. Recording Academy admitted this and wrote:

“Though the EP is technically only six songs, the physical version has an additional “hidden” track called “Letter”. The song provides an intimacy that stands out from the other FACE tracks, capturing Jimin in his best form. The lyrics are poignant and vulnerable as Jimin pleads for someone to stay (“Baby, don't leave Just stay by my side, yeah”) The biggest surprise though? Fellow BTS member Jungkook contributes vocals to harmonize with Jimin.”

A Fan Song?

“Letter” being a “Fan Song” is a stated fact by Park Jimin himself, and there can’t be any arguments about it, but that fact doesn’t mean Jimin made this song with the thought of fans in his head and all about them. In one of my old posts, I said that a faceless crowd can’t be the muse for a romantic song, especially when that song has a "standing-out intimacy".

Another reason for calling "Letter" a fan song, is the fact that it starts at 6:13 of the album, the numbers that remind us of the debut date of BTS. We can't call this a coincidence because we know how thoughtful and punctual Jimin is. But don’t forget that 6.13 is more of BTS time than ARMY time. So, as much as you call this track a song for fans, it can be called a song for his fellow BTS members.

Why JK?

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. Why JK was a part of this song? Did it mean something for Jimin, or did he have no other options? Jimin said that FACE is an album about himself, and he didn’t feel right about featuring other artists in it, that’s why he decided to record SMF Pt2 all alone and do all the rap parts by himself instead of featuring Yoongi in it. He collaborated with several producers and songwriters (including Namjoon), but there was no featured artist in the whole album.

About the background vocals of the album, he did most parts by himself, and for the other parts, he worked with artists who already had credits in his album, such as BLVSH, Sumin, and James Keys. But JK didn’t have anything to do with Jimin’s album. Jimin was fully capable of doing the background vocals of Letter by himself, as he did for the first parts of the song. Jimin never really explained why he decided to have JK in the song, other than saying their voices match. This known fact doesn’t give us much information, but we can have our speculations.

Closer Than This?

Another thing that questions the idea of “Letter" being inspired by fans, is the existence of “Closer Than This”. The newest release of Jimin is the exact definition of a fan song, the lyrics are straightforward and directly address the fans and leave no place for speculation. If CTT is the result of Jimin getting inspired by his fans, then “Letter” must be inspired by something different because these two songs are not comparable.

The difference becomes more obvious when we look at the initial version of the Letter lyrics in Jimin’s drafts. I wonder what the Grammy journalist who called the final lyrics of “Letter” intimate would have said if they read this:

You hugged me tightly Only you who protected me Hold my hand, hold my hand tightly You who reached out my hand You held out your hand to me

We don’t know what was going on in Jimin’s mind when he wrote these, but we can see that the initial lyrics have been moderated, and the intimate parts, which clearly refer to a person, didn’t end up in the final lyrics. FYI, I’m doing a lyric analysis here, and this is not a complaint or conspiracy theory because Jimin said that he liked the way the final version came out, and it's all that matters.

For Fans, Not About Fans

So far we made it clear that "hidden tracks" are not about fans, they are for fans like any other BTS song, but the hidden tracks are a secret between the artist and the fan, something that only the true and dedicated fan can understand, and this applies to Jimin's "Letter".

Jimin gave up on many records for streaming and buying by releasing this song as a hidden track in his album. So, there must be an important message in this song that he wanted to convey to the true fans. He did his share of being thankful to fans by CTT, and I don't think he needed to do it twice in a year.

Maybe you prefer to think Jimin just made this song for ARMY and hid it in the album as a surprise or because it didn’t match with the whole concept of FACE, and you might not be wrong about any of that. But, don’t forget that he didn’t explain anything about this, and we both are just making assumtions.

Yes, maybe Jimin didn't acknowledge JK being a part of Letter in his promotion era, but JK did everything he could for his share. A few hours before the release of FACE, he started a live and played a part of it with his guitar, and months later, he watched Jimin's live performance for Festa while harmonizing with it and reminding us that he knows the lyrics very well. In Jimin's documentary he was very supportive and even teased for a live performance with him in future.

Why Just Jikook?

Jimin and Jungkook are not the only members of BTS. But I don't know why everytime Jimin or JK do something with romantic undertones, the fans (OT7 ARMYs, to be more specific) immediately try to label it as "About ARMY". I usually don't see this energy with the other five members. I'm perfectly sure they are also very grateful for ARMY, they have released several songs about them, and they would have loved to collaborate in a fan song with Jimin, too.

Then why Jimin only included JK in Letter? Why he wanted to sing for "ARMY" with him? Unless we assume Jimin's gratitude towards ARMY has connections with JK, and I don’t even want to bring up 2019 "I am army" jokes. But "Letter" is the song the most optimistic Jikookers didn't expect to exist. You may try to ignore and normalize it, but you can't deny the fact that Letter proved Jikook's unbreakable connection as two harmonic colleages, long time friends, and inseparable souls.

#jikook #jimin #jungkook #letter jimin

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sunkissedliterarylightofchrist · 6 days ago

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Favorite TØP album?

Actually I've been trying to decide if it's Vessel or Blurryface. I am having a Very Hard Time picking. Here's two experts from a SUPPPPPPER long post I wrote about every single TØP song ever.

Vessel

This album [Vessel] dives into even tougher themes this time around and I am here for it. Mental health, purpose, meaning of life, faith, doubt, all with a lot of emotional intensity and shaking-you-by-the-shoulders urgency here, and it really does cement their signature stuff.

I LOVE this album musically SO MUCH. UGH its just GREAT. I love the rocking rhythms, the beat switches and changes and drops, and its really where they developed their style of ukulele-rap-pop-punk-screamo

Ode to Sleep We get started with a bang. This is where I think he really unlocks his awesome rapping and then beats his mental health using it, and fights the demons and it ends in hope. 10/10 no further notes needed

Holding On To You Also a Top 10 song for sure. I could jabber about this song for an entire post. I adore the piano and drums in this and his rapping is so on point and perfect. The music video is wonderful as well. But the lyrics are what makes it so epic. Him taking his body back and shoving his flesh out the door??? Through writing and thinking he wants to give his soul to Jesus??? And that God is always around him and Tyler is holding on to Him??? And then we have the verse to end all verses where he goes DON'T KILL YOURSELF OKAY! and shows that you've gotta control your emotions and not let your emotions control you??? And then how he just repeats over and over and over how he needs God to continue to entertain his faith so that he can hold onto Him??? I'm literally speechless guys, 100000/10 its AMAZING that he's not gonna be a slave to his own mind anymore.

Migraine I love how the intro asks the question that I have found that 99% of teenagers think- 'Am I the only one I know who is struggling with this?' It's one of the biggest lies for the teenage age group that Satan throws at them. It sure worked on me. By thinking I was the only one who'd ever felt Like That, I thought that no one could ever possibly understand me, so I never bothered to talk about it and instead just silently wallowed in my misery and was really selfish about myself and my emotions. Also I just love that part where he screams 'I AM NOT AS FINE AS I SEEM!!!!' then quietly goes 'pardon' because its both funny and very true. And then he goes on to elaborate how terrible and dark his mind is, then says one of my favorite lines ever, 'Cause sometimes to stay alive you gotta kill your mind' Which is so true and so well said. A lot of us really do need to learn how to tell our thoughts to simply Shut Up. And then the song ends on the best note ever. 'That life has a hopeful undertone.../We've made it this far kid' One of their best songs in my opinion

House of Gold It's a really cute and sweet song about his love for his mom and I like it. Don't have much to say on it, its just solid. (I do not get the mv at all though, it seems so out of place and morbid with the context to me)

Car Radio A complete and utterly iconic masterpiece. Top 10 club here. I love how the main themes are Peace Will Win and Fear Will Loose and While Music is a Great Tool for Fighting Darkness, You Need to Have Silence and Allow Yourself to Deal With Your Thoughts and Personally Fight Them Because Music Can Become a Mask that Allows You to Get Away with Bad Things. Which is really important and something I think the fandom needs to be reminded of, especially as we get to later albums like Trench which are all about how using music will defeat your demons. Sometimes too much of a Good Thing turns it into a Bad Thing.

Semi-Automatic One of my favorites. I love how he's just like 'Yeah, I am Messed Up. And my flesh likes being messed up, but my soul is revolted by it and I need Hope and Sun to shun my darkness out' It describes the human condition so well. And the instrumentals??? I love them so much! The opening is the best, with the synthy stuff with the beat drop and then Tyler's vocals sounding like a punch. I love how he teases tension along the whole time. And the do-do's make me very happy :D

Screen I like how this song goes 'I know you can see my flaws, and I'm okay with that, even though it scares me' and he encourages us to do the same. And the instrumentals are sweet.

The Run and Go I love how this song is about guilt, and how Tyler wants to hold his cards to his chest about who he is and what he's done, but admits that he needs help and for someone to be with him through the dark nights. The banging introduction is ~iconic~ to me and makes me want to lace up my shoes each time because its the first song in my running playlist and its a great song to run to. And once again, the do-do's make me very happy :D

Fake You Out I like how this song talks about hiding your struggles from everyone and putting on a mask to pretend that you are find and a better person than you really are. I think that it continues this theme of not being as good as you seem really well.

Guns for Hands This song is very direct about self harm and suicide. Acknowledging it, and the lies and hurt that come from it, and offering hope in it's place and suggesting a less violent course of action. And yes the upbeat ba-bum-bah's of the drum and piano are awesome.

Trees I like how he is reaching out to God, knowing that He is there, but not sure where, and longing for assurance and safety and comfort, and he continues to seek God even when it seems like He's gone, but Tyler knows that He's just testing his faithfulness.

Truce Tyler's going, "Stay alive. Have hope. I'm looking right in your eyes as I say this, holding your hand, you've gotta take things one by one. You are not alone. There is Hope and Light in the world. Look for it." Its the perfect ending to this album.

Blurryface

Here [Blurryface] is where everything clicks together so perfectly. The lyrics? Gut wrenching as ever, forcing you to wake up and take a look at the world and yourself, and with SO MANY allegorical references and the album (and most of the songs) start out dark but end in triumph as he defeats Blurryface. The themes? Captivating. This is probably their deepest and most thought-through album, talking about self-doubt, anxiety, inner conflict, insecurities, and self-focus, and about breaking the cycle by facing it head on. The background music? EPIC!

This is where they really step it up and slam dunk their style and sounds. Every song on here is a banger. I love how the chaotic electronic songs perfectly support the chaotic feel of what Tyler is saying, and Josh's drumming here is elite. The music videos and imagery? AFADJFHADLFKAHSA don't even get me started. Every single one of these songs right here could be an entire post.

Heavydirtysoul Best song on the album hands down. In their Top 5 for sure. The rapping is utterly brilliant, trying to get the dark voices out of his head, then getting cut through his pleading singing of 'Can you save my Heavydirtysoul, from me?' Its SOOOOOOOO apparent how he's talking to God here, and it's incredible. "All the mindless zombies walking around with a limb and a hunch, saying stuff like, 'You only live once, one time to figure it out'"? I almost fell over the first time I heard it, it's genius. It's so true what people do and say and pressure other people to do and say when they aren't even really living themselves! 'Death inspires me a like a dog inspires a rabbit'? He's scared of dying you guys. He knows and understands morality and is scared shirtless (literally sometimes, have you seen those tour clips lol) that he won't make enough of his life, and NEEDS God to save his Heavydirtysoul. Iconic and perfect. And then the I n s t r u m e n t a l s??? Insanely incredible, anyone who says otherwise needs to get their hearing checked lol. The frantic beat and killer drums and gunshots that get the entire thing started? SO GOOD! Everything about it is epic, and the way that they were able to mesh all of those sounds together was quite the epic feat, I've listened to this song on loop for hours, trying to figure out how they made it sound so good and couldn't figure it out. This song is genius. And the music video was also awesome, because it has so much depth to it, but mainly because at the time, it was the kickstart of the DEMA storyline and nobody knew it yet! That was probably a pretty cool experience I imagine.

Stressed Out I really enjoy this song for three reasons. 1) the music video. It absolutely reeks of nostalgia, and the imagery is perfect. 2) How the current insecurity is tainiting your good memories 3) How some of those 'good memories' aren't actually as good as you want to make yourself believe. I also go more in depth about this song here if you'd like. This song doesn't really resolve, but that's kinda the whole point with this one, it works.

Ride I love the emphasis on living > dying. Like we know that we'd be willing to make certain sacrifices for certain people, but it would be a whole lot better and even more meaningful if you live for them and sacrifice in other ways. And he's like, 'you gotta find purpose' but leaves the dot dot dot on what gives you purpose. It is also very catchy.

Fairly Local BAM Blurryface as a person > just a concept is introduced. And in an incredible way. I think that the way they split up Tyler's vs. Blurry's verses is intriguing. Cause Blurryface is remind Tyler, 'Look at yourself, look at me. We are the same, which makes you a worthless, terrible person because you allow me to exist, and it's all your fault.' But that kinda has the reverse effect of waking Tyler up, and him going from I'm evil to the core-> I'm not evil to the core, there are terrible parts to me, yes, but it isn't all that I am since I've placed my trust in something higher than temporary emotions, there is hope for me if I defeat you. Which is a great storytelling shift. Also it's the first introduction to the phrase 'The few, the proud, the emotional' which is such a cool and cold line that could be broken down ~lots~. And the darker instrumentals and vocals are epic.

Tear in My Heart Character limit for posts here you go

Lane Boy This song is okay, but not my fav. I think actually the best part of it isn't even in the audio of the song, it's in the music video where the screen says 'Why do I bow to these concepts? [Talking about Fame and Success] Tempted by control. Controlled by temptation. 'Stay low' they say' and then they dance before collapsing at a kneel to each other, with Tyler still standing. And I like that line 'Don't trust a perfect person and don't trust a song that's flawless' Which I think reads into don't trust anything or anyone that acts like they are perfect. Which is very true and very good. HOWEVER. There is a line that gives me pause. When he says that he doesn't know where he'd be without music. Which I think is reallllllyyy something after he wrote Car Radio, where he said sometimes you HAVE to allow yourself to sit with your thoughts and grapple with them, because music can't be a constant distraction from them. But I do understand how much good has come from his music, and I love it, its just like... idk man, I can't put my finger on it.

The Judge I could write a LOT about this, but unlike Tear in my Heart, I will hold myself back this time lol. I LOVE how this song is just him talking to God, the Judge, pouring out his doubts and insecurities and begging for mercy, knowing that he doesn't deserve it because of how he's messed up and sinned in life. And itends with having to trust in God and His strength and knowing that he is saved and needs to take rest in that fact. I adore the instrumentals of this song as well, it contrasts so wonderfully.

Doubt "Even when I doubt you/I'm no good without You" Do I need to elaborate? And how he's just beging God to not forget about him and cast him aside over his mistakes (which God will NEVER do, but it is something that I think is a common Christian experience, we all have that worry at some point or another). Blurryface is kinda winning in this one, and Tyler is trying his best to look past him and to Jesus with every shaky syllable.

Polarize I love the song introduction so much, okay? His synthy voice is the best here. I love that line 'Want to be an adversary to the evil I have done' which the first time I heard it, thought it said 'Want to be an adversary to the Evil One' but you know whatever. They are both good things to say. And his voice breaking when he goes 'I don't know where you are/You'll have to come and find me, find me' It makes me SCREAM its SO GOOD. I love how he wants to polarize the two split parts of his (and the human) condition. I talk about this a lot in my pinned post, we were created to be good, but we chose evil, and we're haunted by the fallen nature of the world and by our own sin and darkness. And then when we put our faith in Jesus, we become holy once more, redeeming and restoring us. His song is exploring the duality of our hearts and human nature and being saved in a more ambiguous way than creature, but still well.

We Don't Believe What's on TV I like how this song talks about the scary side of chasing your dreams- that you could fail, or that it could stop being your dream. And then wondering what people will think of it. But then knowing that people who are worthwhile and love you will still be there, even then. The ukelele in this makes me very happy as well.

Message Man A Top 10 song hands down. The lyrics of this are FIRE and the beat to it is crazy awesome and incredible and I love it. I know that this song has a lot of richness that I still need to chew over to write a post worthy of it, but I love how Tyler is saying, "Look, I am being authentic as much as I can in my music, I've written multiple songs on it, but what you see doesn't even scratch the surface to all this darkness in here. I am messed up. There is a lot of darkness you haven't seen. 'Use discretion when you're messing with the message man/These lyrics aren't for everyone to understand'"

Hometown Nautrally, we live in the dark, where there's no sun (which I'm like 97% sure is their imagery for God). It's our hometown. And yet the shadows that live here are tilting their heads at me (which I think is saying that Blurryface is going like "uh-oh, he's winning this fight and I'm dying, what do I do?") I love how he's acknowledging his hometown (haunted by our flesh) but is going "I don't want to stay here"

Not Today I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH. He's exposed Blurryface now, exposed him, taken him out of his mind, and forced the light in, allowing himself to be seen as who he is without Blurryface controlling him. This is the song where he's really taking action and being like, "You have an eviction notice my evil dude, get out." And then he's also once again touching on something that the entire album is about, getting your insecurities on the outside. Which I think is such an excellent and important messege. With insecurities (and habitual sin, if you wanna go there, which I do), the best weapon you have to defeat it is to get it out of your head, so that you can see it more clearly, and then allow others who are close to you to help you in fighting it too. Which is the only way I've ever been able to defeat insecurity and habitual sin, is by exposing it and telling people I loved and trusted about it, so that they could encourage me and help me fight it, as well as hold me accountable for it and when it starts to win again, not to mention also be like Tear in My Heart ideas. I think some of his best singing in this song right here. And this song has quite a few funnier moments, especially with his contradictions and the phrase "This one's a contradiction/Because of how happy it sounds/But the lyrics are so down" which is the driving force of Scaled and Icy later on.

Goner "I wanna be known by you" he says that 2342 times and its so obviously a plea to God here. "The ghost of you is close to me"??? "I've got two faces/Blurry's the one I'm not/ I need your help to take him out"??? It's a very raw and pleading ending, thinking he's a goner but not ready to get up cause he's got an ace up his sleeve, Jesus. Yeah, he's got fears, but also ultimate hope. And he's going to choose to keep fighting Blurryface with God. A very contemplative ending, which is at odds with the sounds of the rest of the album, but in a way that makes a lot of sense I think. I like how he goes from just vulnerable with the lyrics to being just as vulnerable sounding with the piano. We haven't heard that kinda sound since Before You Start Your Day, and its a good ending to the fight.

Basically, Vessel runs through the Romans 7 cycle, in a really intriguing and incredible way. And basically, Blurryface is a personification of mental health struggles and sin and defeating them through God.

I can't pick which one I like more yet 🫠

#sunkissedliterarylightofchrist #twenty one pilots #tyler joseph #Josh dun #song analysis #music analysis #lyrics #literary analysis #writing #storytelling #blurryface #vessel #albums

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crimium · 7 months ago

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My thoughts on the new Hifuu Album

Well, Taboo Japan Disentanglement just came out! after reading the story and listening to the tracks, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the album!

The tracks

I'm going to go through the album tracks in order and give my individual thoughts on them.

1 - Morning Comes on Tanabata Hill (Original)

This is surprisingly emotional for an opening track. The new drum set here is wonderful, and the piano is soothing and atmospheric. I do think the melody is kind of all over the place though, and it's a bit hard to follow. All in all, a really nice calming song.

2 - Tinkerbell of Inequality (Original)

I've been excited to listen to this one ever since the album got announced because of the interesting title, and HOLY SHIT THIS SONG IS AMAZING. The instrumentation is so weird but oh so good. The track is ominous but jazzy. The melody is catchy. It reminds me of GFC and CoSD, with it's apocalyptic futuristic vibe. This is easily the best track in the album. Solid.

3 - Does the Forbidden Door Lead to This World, or the World Beyond? (HSiFS arrangement)

Now we get to the arrangements. The song is sporting a new drum set and piano, and I can safely say that the instrumentation is a huge improvement to the original. To be frank, I'm not too much of a fan of HSiFS's instrumentation, now don't get me wrong, the songs are great, but they suffer a bit because the instruments ZUN uses are a bit lackluster. Here, that is not the case, this a great arrange. Something I do want to note, is that the BPM of the arranges seems to be lowered a bit from their original counterparts. Not a bad thing, but it's interesting to keep in mind as you keep listening.

4 - Smoking Dragon (UM arrangement)

HOOOOOOLYYYYYY SHIIIIIIIT. The key change. the new drumset. the new, climactic/triumphant atmosphere. The new section added in??? It's all so perfect, this does the original song justice. I love this so much. One of my favorite arranges in the whole album.

5 - Mugen Noh ~ Taboo Marionette (Original)

This song is calming, but sinister sounding as well. It hits a nice balance of calming and uneasy. The instrumentation, once again, is really good here. I do feel that the electric guitar a bit later in feels a bit out of place, but in general, the song creates a really good atmosphere, and it's definitely a standout track.

6 - Crazy Backup Dancers (HSiFS arrangement)

I don't really have much to say about this one, other than that it's a fairy good arrangement of the original song. ZUN added a new synth(?) into the mix, which gives it a distinct sound from the original. It's fun!

7 - Yorimashi Between Dreams and Reality ~ Necro-Fantasia (AoCF arrange)

ZUN. you can't keep getting away with this. This is peak. The song has a newly added intro of the Necrofantasia main theme before the song kicks in, and WOW does it create an atmosphere. The instrumentation is once again great and the key change (that just dissapears half-way through lmao) is also really cool. This is a great track.

8 - The Lonesome Path in Hitachi (Original)

A surprisingly upbeat track given the title. It's composed in swing rhythm, and because of that, it kinda reminds me of Let's Live in a Lovely Cemetery and Like the Brilliance of Fairies. Not that that's a bad thing, but it does make it sand out a bit less for me. Still a good track, though! Also ZUN chill out with those reverbs

9 - The Lamentations Known Only by Jizo (WBaWC arrange)

I like the new choir here, it makes it sound more dramatic. I am a bit disappointment that the flute kind of overshadows the Spooky Lead from the original, but it's not a bad arrangement at all. And man this drum set is really doing wonders rn

10 - The Concealed Four Seasons (HSiFS arrange)

WOW. TALK ABOUT A GREAT FINALE. This arrangement tweaks just enough without completely changing the vibe of the original song, and it's fantastic. About halfway through, there's a key change that makes it sort of feel like a phase 2 to the song, and it really completes the whole package. Fantastic.

11 - Apparitions Abound Even Outside of Night (Original)

Oh cool, what a nice, calming, uplifting trac- ZUN WHAT ARE YOU DOING. So the song starts off very calming and atmospheric, and then turns into digi-rock like a minute in. It's kind of jarring but I think it works, the song is still fantastic, and does a good job wrapping things up for the album, and the story. Speaking of which...

The story (spoiler warning)

Without going into too much detail, because I highly recommend you read the story on your own, the predictions of Merry and Renko being separated where not exactly wrong, although I think the story was a lot less heartbreaking than everyone thought it would've been. It serves as a nice drama and really shows how these characters relate to each other. Seeing Renko drop everything just to save Merry shows that even if they get on the wrong foot, they're still the Hifuu club, through and through.

In conclusion, this album is absolutely stellar. ZUN's instrumentation this time around is incredibly diverse, and I can tell he was having fun experimenting. The story is also well written, showcasing these two characters and their conflicting yet similar ideals. Please, go give this album a listen! It may have been 8 years since the last hifuu album, but it was definitely worth the wait.

#touhou #touhou project #hifuu club #hifuu #maribel hearn #renko usami #touhou music

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tactidoll · 7 months ago

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Dollypop, got any rap recs?

so ive been planning on doing a series of playlists as a kinda introduction to rap, especially so after the dot vs drake beef has put rap back in the spotlight and made more people than ever actually aware of the lyrical content of these songs, its mostly been an issue of executive function beating my ass 5 ways to sunday lately, but suffice to say rap recommendations has been on my mind a lot lately

i could probably go on for a few hrs about hip hop and its place as the culmination of all music prior, but rap is a genre that more so than others rewards album listening so i will more often than not recommend albums over singles/tracks but ill try my best to isolate what i consider to be a well rounded list (no links cus i dont use spotify lmao)

theres a lotta ways to split up rap and hip hop as a whole into a thousand micro genres, especially when you take regions into consideration but i think im gonna go with just 15 tracks that cover as many bases as i can and give a little explanation for each track starting with

NY State of Mind - Nas: ny state of mind is THE classic in my books, dj premier provides the perfect boom bap beat for nas to make the final push to usher in a new generation of rap, literally sampling eric b and rakim in the chorus, the previous pair to bring the genre from the 80’s into the 90’s, furthering that push with more complex rhyme schemes and blending the street/gangsta rap of nwa and wu-tang with the jazzy introspection and philosophy of de la and tribe, a perfect set piece for the album of a desperate kid rapping and telling his stories like its his last day on earth because it just might be

Doomsday – MF DOOM: the manifesto of a super villain, a rulebook on rap, a re-emergence of a forgotten rapper, after the death of his brother and issues with the record label dropping KMD Zev Love X disappeared in ‘94 and then in ‘99 MF DOOM dropped operation: doomsday, the dizzying rhyme schemes and word play, the casual humor and pop culture and sampling referencing lends to a true statement of a song, that DOOM was here and was gonna change the world

4th Chamber – GZA: a dozen wu-tang tracks could’ve appeared on this list and all would be justified but 4th chamber is my favourite by far, starting with the now iconic samurai or kung fu film sample and then kicking into a crazy intro beat that calms slightly in time for ghostface killah to come in and pick it right back up with the first verse of this slick posse cut

Mathematics – Mos Def: Yasiin Bey Is a genius plain and simple, another track produced by preemo another masterpiece of a beat, Bey raps about the sociological statistics that work to keep the black population down in this mathematically driven guide through the politics of the late 90’s

You Got Me – The Roots: this track really shows just how good live instrumentation can be, black thought is one of the greatest of all time, simple as frankly I don’t have too much more to say its just a brilliant song

Wesley’s Theory – Kendrick Lamar: the opening to the greatest album of all time, opening with the mission statement of the album, the sample at the start before the james brown esque hit me pulls the tone back down to earth, part one of the track being a young kdots reactions to the money hes been looking for and part two kendrick plays the role of uncle sam the mascot of white supremacy looking to exploit over eager black artists and talents and lump them with a bill and lock them up when they cant pay it, the deep seeped politics, the groove of thundercat and george clinton of the parliments and funkadelic collectives and the dr dre break really helps sets the tone of the album

Jazz (We’ve Got) – A Tribe called Quest: the perfect jazz rap song, the beat was original made by pete rock before being remade by q-tip, a quintessential classic of the genre simple as

Shook Ones pt 2 – Mobb Deep: the greatest gangsta rap song of all time and frankly its not close its something spectacular, the hardest two 19 year olds ever sounded, over a dark almost evil beat produced by havoc this track is an absolute landmark for not just queensbridge but the entirety of the east coast

Introvert – Little Simz: this track is nothing short of spectacular, a powerful, cinematic, orchestral masterpiece, deep diving into her inner turmoil and her roots, the corruption of the british government, this song shook me to my core when I first listened to simbi, a rallying cry that calls for a war against the oppressing forces further tightening the chains if we ever are to be freed from the oppression

Don’t Cry – J Dilla: this song is gorgeous, chopping up I cant stand (to see you cry) by the escorts into a wonderful beat, made by jay dee in the final throws of his life, half worked on while hospital bound, frequent collaborator and fellow soulquarian questlove stated that this was a message to his mother as J dilla knew the end was near

Nuthin’ But A G Thang – Dr Dre ft Snoop Dogg: the quintessential G-funk banger the genre doesn’t get better than this

SORRY NOT SORRY – Tyler, The Creator: a weird choice for this list, I wasnt sure if I wanted to include it because its so tied to tylers discography but its honestly one of the best rap songs ever when you have the context, especially when you take into account the music video where tyler and all the various versions of himself stand before an audience of ex’s and other notable judgemental presences in his life, as he kills almost every version of himself barring the ‘ugliest’ sides of himself in igor and goblin era tyler potentially insinuating those parts of him still reside inside him

I Used to Love H.E.R – Common: this song is so very important, maybe the best use of metaphor in the whole genre, a fallen out of love story for that very same genre, fantastic storytelling and a great beat by no I.D. one of the most important producers and figures in hip hop out of chicago

Aquemini – Outkast: the title track from one the duos third album and really the record that put the dirty south on the radar on a nationwide level, a sign of their decision to stick together for as long as possible, andres verses really shows hes one of the all time greats and that big boi is not far behind at all

Hazard Duty Pay – JPEGMAFIA: this song was all I listened to for a few weeks after it release, an aggressive single verse track over a soulful beat what more could you want

#sorry i rly wanted to do a bit of write up on the songs #some i had a lot more to say than others but thats because those tracks speak for themselves #as always if you like any of these songs lemme know and i can point you in the direction

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mieux-de-se-taire · 1 year ago

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Danger Days - Part 2

Save Yourself - one of my favorites from Danger Days, definitely my favorite Danger Days intro, that simple opening melody is just so perfect, and then the lyrics, god the lyrics, every single line fucks so hard, and they’re arguably some of the best Gerard ever wrote, this song is just everything distilled: the anger and resentment while still being catchy and fun, the raw cynicism paired with the will and determination to live and care for others, the martyr complex in full force with contemplations on legacy and immortality, the song is just screaming “I’ll die for you! I’ll die for you!”, as a fuck you to the media and those who commodified their suffering and the suffering of their fans, and as a promise to their fans, I’ll protect you, I’ll die for you, I’ll die for you, and isn’t that the message underlying all of Danger Days and Conventional Weapons, christ, and then how legacy is tied into it: “We’re never leaving this place alive / But if we sing these words we’ll never die”, “We can live forever if you’ve got the time”, “This ain’t about all the friends you’ve made / but the graffiti they write on your grave”, when making and joining a band saved your life but then spiraled out of control and fame threatened to tear you apart again but the very thing that’s killing you is also your legacy and the reason you will never die because you will always be remembered and hated and loved, and what kills you keeps you alive, the poison is the cure, oh my god, I don’t know if any of this is coherent, I love this song so fucking much

Scarecrow - on the surface one of the happier songs MCR ever wrote, but stupidly devastating when you really listen to the lyrics and learn about the context and deeper meaning, still such a bright, summery, comforting song, one of the most important Danger Days songs I would argue, especially the lyric “Love won’t stop this bomb” (3:07), which is one of the central themes on this record, and as a follow up to save yourself, the repetition of the idea that the end is inevitable and they’re going to die, but instead of anger, scarecrow is more about comfort, it feels like a love letter to their fans, the band still acting as martyrs but focusing more on the listener: “He burns my skin / Never mind about the shape I’m in / I’ll keep you safe tonight”, and knowing that love won’t change anything, but caring anyway, man, maybe Geoff Rickly is right

Summertime - a great transition from Scarecrow by keeping the cheerier sound but actually making it joyful through some truly tender and sweet lyrics, it’s so sappy, almost excessively so, but there’s something so pure and genuine about it, which I think is one of Gerard’s greatest strengths as a writer and a singer, to be able to write very simple lines that would otherwise sound cheesy and phony (think Famous Last Words “I am not afraid to keep on living / I am not afraid to walk this world alone”) but delivering them in way that feels so honest and resolute and making you believe everything they say, it’s also interesting how unabashedly positive it is considering the darkness and anger or bittersweet melancholy that seems to accompany joy everywhere else on this album, Summertime becomes a breath of fresh air

Destroya - completely unironically my favorite Danger Days song, actually the first I heard other than Na Na Na, it fucks so hard, I always have to sing along with the chorus, it’s just so infectious, and the drums, man, it’s one of the most aggressive and powerful sounding songs on the album, and there’s something hypnotically and subversively menacing about it, especially how it was performed live in 2022 with Gerard growling and screaming with demonic vocal distortion, it sounds like a kind of battle cry, which is part of why the extended moaning sections are such a bold and unique choice, but it works in a weird way, at least once you know to expect it (and it’s not live and Frank isn’t genuinely whimpered and groaning on stage sir this is an all ages show), it’s just so angry and weird and fucked up and incredible, and it has some of my all time favorite Danger Days lyrics like “If what you are / is just what you own / What have you become / when they take from you / almost everything?”, which is a brilliant line that ties into the themes of criticizing commodification and consumerism found on Conventional Weapons and Danger Days, also “You don’t believe in God / I don’t believe in luck / They don’t believe in us / But I believe we’re the enemy” is such a raw line, god it’s such a great song, fuck anyone who just reduces it to just the “horny” song

Kids from Yesterday - probably of one the best songs on the album, especially how they performed it live in 2022 and 2023 with the extended outro (Ray Toro what the fuck is wrong with you this is devastating), it’s so bittersweet and nostalgic and just brimming with love, they always describe it as a song for themselves and you can really hear and see the joy and love among them when they perform it, while other songs feel like promises to the audience, Kids feels like a promise to each other, “I love you. I love you. I will always love you”, it’s so fucked up, “I’ll find you when the sun goes black”, unforgiveable, and it’s also interesting how they revisit legacy as a theme (”You only live forever in the lights you make” is one of my favorite lines in the entire album) and discuss many of the same struggles of fame as other songs, but do so in a far less angry way, it puts less focus on the band as a single entity to be exploited, revered, and hated and more focus on the individuals and how their legacy relates to them as people and their connections with one another, god, it’s just such a stunning song, wish I could listen to it more but I literally can’t handle it

Goodnite, Dr. Death - I really like the radio transmission at the beginning, but I usually skip this one because I don’t feel the need to listen to the American national anthem on the regular, especially not with the very painful (cool sounding, but painful) jumpscare at the end, that being said, it might be favorite of Dr. Death Defying’s interludes, because it’s much calmer and more muted, almost soothing, but disturbing at the same time with how casually death is warned against in an address to children, really adds to the world building, and “Even if you’re dusted, you may be gone, but out here in the desert, your shadow lives on without you” is such a cool line

Vampire Money - so fucking funny, I don’t even know what to say, the iconic roll call intro and countdown followed immediately by the deeply poetic line “We came to fuck”, the fact that it was changed to “We came to suck” in the clean version, the fact that Frank says “Oh I’m there baby” sounding like he’s talking about sex rather than playing music, which he has never once (at least to my knowledge) properly said live and even refuses to acknowledge, the way the whole song is making fun of how people latched onto and then commodified their vampire symbolism and aesthetic early on, and specifically being asked to write a song for the twilight movies, god, I love how they’re so aware of and continuously willing to poke fun at how they’ve been portrayed and perceived over the years, and I also love how malleable this song is live, changing lyrics in little ways every time they perform it, another great example of Danger Days songs being best live

#mcr #my chemical romance #danger days #album review #save yourself i'll hold them back #scarecrow #s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w #summertime #destroya #the kids from yesterday #goodnite dr death #vampire money

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leelee120000 · 11 months ago

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Looking Back On: Panic! At The Disco, “Vices and Virtues”

April 27, 2020

“Vices and Virtues” is pure steampunk in aesthetic and sound. It was the newest Panic! At The Disco album when I got into them in early 2011. It’s so good but I should stress that these articles cover my favorite albums – not the albums I think are technically the best – because If that were the case, I’d be writing about “Pretty. Odd.” (2008). Nothing else in emo can compare to it and most fans cite it as P!ATD’s best work.

The album even received a short film! (Source: Youtube/Fueled by Ramen)

The album “Vices and Virtues” starts with “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” with its dark, moody tone and strong strings it sets the bar for new-wave baroque pop and immediately shakes away any fears of this being a basic album. The music video is wonderful and only builds upon the aesthetic as it takes place at a funeral. I won’t spoil the twist ending but it’s great.

“Let’s Kill Tonight” is one of my all-time favorite P!ATD songs, placing among my top three. So everything has to be perfect when it comes to that level of my standards. The strings, the lyrics, the speed, the story is all breathtaking and accompanied by the music video, it is a song that well-defines the album.

“Hurricane” is so good. I love the elevator-music-style intro right before the song shifts into high gear, it’s such an appreciated change of pace before such an intense song. The following track, “Memories” being next to “Hurricane” is so natural; they fit so well together. The lyrics in “Memories” talk of a young love that burnt out fast and the “Hurricane” is song about a fast young love.

Next is “Trade Mistakes.” If I haven’t gushed enough about the strings on this album, here, I have to. They fit so well. The chime noise is so weirdly creative but works so well. Perhaps it’s because of my own orchestra background, but the string work makes this album for me.

“Ready To Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)” is next. Hot take here: the music video is amazing with its time travel storyline and isn’t too crazy for the album. I know that it got a lot of hate when it came out for “breaking” the narrative and I get that but I think that it works! Honestly, I used to hate it but I’ve grown to appreciate it.

“Always” makes me want to cry but in a good way. It was the first album released after the band split up which makes the emotion behind the post-split hit so hard. “Always” feels like it was written for the other bandmates. The emotion of “The Calendar” is so good. The ending acts as an intermission for the album.

“Sarah Smiles” was written to woo Sarah, the woman who eventually became Brendon’s wife. It is so cute. I adore it with such romantic lyrics like “Sarah smiles like Sarah doesn’t care, She lives in her world, so unaware. Does she know that my destiny lies with her?” and “Oh Sarah, are you saving me?”

“Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met…)” is such a good song. The demo version, remixed with the final cut became my ringtone for years. Nothing beats the intro after the choir singing and the strings. It feels the most like a Bohemian Rasphody echo with the multiple songs in one song. The transition between the intro to the bass really makes this song.

Now onto the bonus tracks. “Kaleidoscope Eyes” is a great song but it ranks lower than the rest. It feels the most basic with generic lyrics and it would’ve tanked the album if it wasn’t a bonus.

“Oh Glory (Demo)” is amazing and clicks with the album but I understand why it wasn’t included as it feels uncompleted.

“Stall Me” is such a bop, but I think the emotions around the break-up explain why it stayed as a bonus having two split songs would’ve been excessive.

The last few rapid-fire thoughts, “Bittersweet” is so well known, so I don’t even think of it as a bonus. “I Wanna Be Free” fits really well with “Ready To Go.” I think it was cut due to similarity. “Turn Off The Lights” should have made it to the album; it’s too good to have been a bonus.

LeAnne McPherson

#my writing #p!atd #panic! at the disco

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maneskintalk · 2 years ago

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RUSH! released, and I finally have a moment inside my chaotic life to sit down and listen to this list is not going to include the loneliest, mamma mia, supermodel, or gossip, gasoline since you know we already heard those, lol

Own my mind - A powerful opening to the album, a very vibey catchy introduction. I love the riff and especially the bass!

Timezone - I REALLY love Damiano's voice in this one raspy & powerful love how it starts soft and gets stronger as the song continues. Definitely, I say, the second-best ballad on the album

Bla Bla Bla - I know some people see this song as unserious and fun but according to the rush! The storyline is about a boyfriend and a toxic relationship. It's one of those unserious songs with deeper meanings overall I'm in a love-hate with this song sometimes I will listen to it sometimes I will skip it lol

Baby Said - L O V E, the guitar intro sold this song for me 8 seconds. I love how you continue to hear it throughout the whole song, and let me add this Thomas shines during this album. His guitar skills *chefs kiss*

FEEL - Seeing this storyline, and they were like we were just having fun. There's no meaning behind the lyrics, guys! It made me laugh, but the song itself is good Damiano saying LA LA LA LA is now buried in my brain.

Don't Wanna Sleep - I love the song definitely in my top five. The drums in this song are to die for, and Thomas's AMAZING guitar solo, Y E S!

Kool Kids - I disliked this song. The way Damiano sings it annoys me, but he was drunk while recording this, so LOL, but this song is just bad. Remove this from the album, and nothing changes at all.

If Not For You - Damiano brings such passion and soul. This ballad is very calm compared to the others, in which you expect a beat and instruments playing louder instead, it stays on the same pace, and I love it as you can tell I'm a sucker for ballads!

Read Your Diary - This is very addictive, and "forever and ever" is like a drug. It gets stuck in your mind even though I'm not too fond of the song. It's very catchy

Mark Chapman - This song I was MOST curious about because of why they named it after a murderer. Anyways it's good, a very speedy song like they're on a timer, and it's about to go off.

Il dono della vita - Just like with If Not For You expecting the instruments to play louder instead, it's on the same pace. This song was the perfect way to end the album for RUSH! It's not the strongest ballad on this album, but it's the perfect The End Song.

Overall I Love RUSH!, and maneskin did not disappoint. I love the versatility in their music and hope they continue with it

#maneskin #måneskin #rush!#basically my thoughts #music #I was going to post this on my blog but then remembered this one LOL

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monstersliveinthemirror · 1 year ago

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The Guts Write up Nobody asked for

1. Out the gate with beautiful vocals in All American Bitch. The acoustic intro is interesting and catchy, but when it hits with drums and electric guitar, the song picks up so much. I love her almost punk sound in the chorus, especially the second chorus. This one definitely hits pop rock and it's incredible. The drop to the acoustic at the end is -chefs kiss-.

2. Bad idea right? Is THAT bitch. The sound is incredible, but let's talk lyrics. "My brain goes Ahhhh" is such a mood when you think about that ex you aren't over. "Yes I know that he's my ex but can't two people reconnect I only see him as a friend biggest lie I ever said" This whole track is just a love song to making bad decisions around exes. Let me just say it brings back every single time Alex showed back up in my life and we would be "friends" until the whole line of "I just tripped and fell into his bed..." SONICALLY this song is interesting and upbeat, it's just so good.

3. I don't really have much new to say about Vampire- what a beautiful song about a fucked up time in her life. I love the interesting music and changes in the song. It's catchy, it's just good. It's been good since it came out.

4. Let's talk about the bisexual anthem lacy. It's yet another song for the girlies who don't understand the difference between jealousy and attraction AKA me in high school. The lyrics in this one are silly to me, I think describing skin as puff pastry is so ridiculous, but it's such a vibe for being a teenager and thinking someone is perfect and being jealous. "I despise my rotton mind and how much it worships you" IS NOT A STRAIGHT THING.

5. This one immediately starts off gritty and is almost whiplash following Lacy. The chorus has such a neat and interesting sound and I'm so glad she took a risk with the punk leaning sound for this album. This is another song that makes this album the pop rock genre. I love how upbeat it is, it's a bop and a dance around your room with headphones pretending you're the lead singer of a band song. I will say I don't love the part where it slows down, but I'm glad it picks up and doesn't end with a slower part.

6. Making the bed physically hurt me. I feel personally attacked by the lyrics. I'm not sure I can talk about this. "Push away all the people who know me the best, but it's me who's making the bed. I'm so tired of being the girl that I am every good thing is turning to something I dread, I'm playing the victim so well in my head, but it's me who's been making the bed." Fucking ouch okay. "I got the things I wanted it's just not what I imagined" 😭 it's a perfect mid album song, slowing it down for a minute after lots of energy.

7. I don't have words for logical. Love song to the girls who have been in toxic relationships with men who take advantage of the ones who fall hard. This is an Alex song and I hate it but "you've got me thinking two plus two equals five and I'm the love of your life" I mean come on the WAY people convince you of lies. "Why do I do this, I look so stupid" is the moment of realizing that you were hoodwinked but somehow you still feel for them even though you know better. The whole outro of blaming yourself is just heartbreaking and I am unwell right now okay.

8. Alright back to it with some drums and gritty sound. This one has a great vibe. The chorus is everything to me. Upbeat I hate this man I'm gonna fuck up his life, the break up song for us girlies who knows we aren't gonna get closure but like we're ready to take it. The whole vibe of I want to make him hurt....but with the confusing aspect of wanting to make him feel better by being the one he turns to...nope I want revenge except I want him back FUCK. The perfect song for that confusing part of the break up where you're almost ready to move on but not really.

9. Love is embarrassing is a mood lol. The dumb shit we do when we think we're in love, the way we don't really have boundaries or know what we'll put up with yet. I appreciate the sound and how catchy the song is. I also love the pretty abrupt ending.

10. Alright, slow it back down. We've got the signature acoustic and Olivia's beautiful voice for this one. It seems like it's going to crescendo, but it doesn't quite get there. Lyrically, "I fantasize about a time you're a little fucking sorry" got me. "How could anybody do the things you did so easily" I am unwell. This song made me emotional about a fucking break up that happened almost a year ago. Fuck this. I am hurt. ~you know I can't let it go, I've tried I've tried I've tried for so long~ and it just ending...ugh so good.

11. Pretty isn't pretty starts strong. The sound is good, the lyrics are honest. It just addresses growing up a girl and developing self worth issues and is probably one of my favorite songs here because of the topic. We drop from worrying about relationships and just address what it's like when it feels like nothing is ever good enough. It's not my favorite based on sound, but it's good enough.

12. Ending on a sad note, I see. This one is a coming of age song and not understanding there is so much good ahead. You're just nineteen babe you've got so many better days to come. But at twenty eight I felt this. It's saying goodbye to younger days, "they all say that it gets better, it gets better but what if I don't" screams mental illness to me but I'm probably projecting my own issues. God I love how it picks up because it's such a big feeling. She did a great job of using music to set the mood in this one. Also the outro, the baby sounds the mom sounds just God fucking damn.

#guts #Olivia Rodrigo #personal #don't come for me having opinions

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animusiem · 1 year ago

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Billboard USA Exclusion Zone Episode 19 (08/05/2023)

After three weeks hiatus, I am finally back from the break and a lot has happened recently. We got Jungkook and Latto's first #1 hit, this week we have NewJeans album bomb along with Barbie rising up more, and Speak Now Taylor's Version is out as well. That's all that really happened really, I don't know what anything that happened beside that hahaha....anyways here's the best chart on earth's debut review.

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4. "ETA" by NewJeans

I think 2023 has been a great year for Kpop, but if you tell this to like a Kpophead they'll tell you it's kinda tumultuous. Using NewJeans as an example, they have been kinda screwed by their label manager in the lead up to Get Up. This song is the prime example which some people on Twitter are calling this song a support for a far-left Basque separatist group...okay then twitter. Bottom line is that despite the success and this being a great song (even if it sounded like That That by Psy), It has been a chaotic year for Kpop

6. "K-pop" by Travis Scott ft. Bad Bunny & The Weeknd

I will get into the album review next week, but it's kinda interesting how because of Goosebumps and Sicko Mode, he's now is big enough globally that this song can chart on Global Excluding US chart. And also I couldn't forget that while he's indeed a piece of shit and has blood on his hand, at the end of the day the music has to prove itself to be good (unless if you are a Nazi or a rapist and make a song about it). With that in mind, this song is not good. Who thought that mixing funk carioca drum with eerie synth was a good idea is beyond me.

19. "Cool With You" by NewJeans

My favorite part of Kpop this year is how they're embracing the 2000's dance sound along with the club sound. That's why this song is my favorite one from the album. I just love the UK Garage sound and this one is no exceptions.

26. "ASAP" by NewJeans

I've never seen any Kpop bands ever experimented as much as this one. This is legit felt like early Bjork sound modernized and I don't take that lightly.

44. "Get Up" by NewJeans

Cool intro sis!

82. "Barbie Girl" by Aqua

You know my ass was very egg back then when I didn't have negative reaction listening to this song for the first time during elementary. And also me opening up repressive memories of me wanting to play Barbie but couldn't...anyways Barbie movie is great.

110. "Speed Drive" by Charli XCX

The fact that this song sounds like her hyperpop days with the ringtone like synth and the distorted bass charted high in here and also the US showed that we are so back baby!

128. "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor

The saddest part of her death is that I just found out that she converted to Islam. She fought a good fight and this cover of The Family song is still a classic. Innalillahi Wa Inalillahi Roji'un Shuhada' Sadaqat I hope you're finally find peace in akhirat.

129. "Love Like This" by Zayn

Anyways here's Zayn trend chasing the 2000's dance throwback and make it sound like the most uninspired thing ever, even if I do love the anti-drop.

149. "I'm Just Ken" by Ryan Gosling

My favorite part of the movie is the music choices. The fact that they changed the music on the radio from Indigo Girls to Matchbox Twenty to signified the takeover of Kens is inspired, as well as making Ryan Gosling singing what I would describe as an homage to the late Jim Steinmen, this movie is just great.

187. "Montagem - PR Funk" by S3BZS

All I can say is that if you showed this to your grandparents, they would perish.

198. "Rosa Patel" by Belanova

So if I get this correctly, this song is a pop rock song made by a Mexican band that was released in 2006 and during that time they're making Spanish version of High School Musical song...God I love this chart so much.

199. "Dial Drunk" by Noah Kahan

I kinda missed the indie folk sound of 2011-2014 as vapid and meaningless as they sound. And I'm glad he bring this back with some great guitar solo.

I highly recommend everyone to listen to these songs.

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mosviqu · 2 years ago

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dark blood review 🖤

fate is definitely not the type of song id listen to i think its meant more as an intro/interlude type of thing correct me if im wrong but the vocals definitely slap. BITE ME THO. EVEN FEOM THE START I WAS LIKE OHMYFUCKINGGOD ARE U KIDDING ME THIS IS THE BEST SONG IVE EVER HEARD. CUNT. SO MUCH CUNT. THE CHORUS BUT ALSO THE DRACULA VIBE IN CERTAIN PARTS !!!!! 20/10 SONG. SOTY IM AFRAID. I WILL KEEP THIS ON REPEAT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. COME KISS ME AND MOTHERFUCKING BITE ME. now im gonna calm myself down for a bit sacrifice (eat me up) is playing. immidiate thoughts i fucking love the intro of this song. pre-chorus goes hard. absolutely fucking cunty amazing mature vibe i love me some dark concept 😩😩😩 jay's voice in this song also. i may have peed a little. 11/10 for me. no comment. they said eat me up and i did! I did eat this song up. and so did they, left 0 crumbs. also a random comment but i love seeing both vie and my uni friend listening to bills it makes me excited to hear the song. first chaconne tho. the guitar in this song slaps i love it. def a bad bitch song in my eyes like id play this while doing my edgy makeup. once again the guitar in the pre chorus makes my blood pressure rise i love it sm 😩😩😩 the song makes me bob my head and my whole body HEESEUNG VOCALS okay we love. also a random thought again but i love the album cover sm i fuck w it so hard. BILLS TIME NOW I FUCKIMG LVOE IT FROM THE START WHAT TGE FUCKKKKK i love rhe vibes of this song so fucking much especially the chorus ?????? very very vibey words cant explain the way i feel about this song like yes go best friends i love this so much 😩😭😩😭 TGE INTRO TO KARMA GOT ME GASPING AND STOPPING IB MY TRACKS WHAT TGE FUCK ??? VOLKNO VIBES IMO YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS IS MY TYPE OF SONG THE GUITARS THE VOCALS THE VUBES ??? I AM CLAIMING THIS SONG. THE STEP SISTER OF ATTENTION, PLEASE. A SPIN-OFF, IF U WILL. AND I LOVE IT SO FUCKING MUCH. GOT ME SHAKING MY ASS AND ALL ??? I DONT GIVE A WHAT !!!!!!!!!! DISNEY CHANNEL CAMP ROCK VIBES. IF I COULD MARRY A SONG I WOULD MARRY KARMA BY ENHYPEN. I AM CLAIMING THIS SONG AS MINE.

TOP THREE MOSR DEFINITELT KARMA, BITE ME AND BILLS. ENHYPEN DID IT AHAIN AND CREATED A NONSKIP ALBUM LISTENING TO FATE RN AGAIN BC ITS ON REPEAT AND WHY FOES IT KINDA GO HARD ?? DEF ONE OF THE BEST 2023 KPOP RELEASES. U CANR CHANGE MY MIND

#the most unhinged and typos filled review im so sorry i have so many feelings #did not even read this after myself im so sorey #review!#🌺

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thisselflovecamebacktome · 1 month ago

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So I'm stealing this from @tayloralisonswift and you should definitely check out their version, but I'm going to listen to and rank all of Taylor's songs album by album (and then maybe her non album songs at the end). You can also see my debut rankings and what I've changed here + my Fearless and Speak Now rankings here and here.

So with that in mind, it's RED's turn. The only thing to note before we start is that (barring the vault tracks of course) I will be ranking the OG tracks (a reminder that I own all the CDs here before you come at me for that) as they are my preferred ones. Also I'm gonna be real, RED haters, look away. RED was the album that turned me from a casual fan to a stan, so this is not the ranking for you lmao.

State Of Grace + Acoustic: Still my favourite intro to this day. Much like Forever And Always, both versions of this song are equal to me but elicit different emotions. Never not a good time when I listen to them. The only thing stopping this (and a lot of the album) being 10/10 is that I'm reserving that for my stan song from each album. 9.5/10.

Red: Dare I say this is an underrated track? It often flip flops with Evermore for my favourite title track of Taylor's. I still yearn for the Red/I Forgot That You Existed mashup that I made in my head to appear on Eras tour lmao. Overall just a great track. 9/10.

Treacherous: This coming out in 2012 at age 17 did numbers on me ngl. 2022 me also related to it just that little bit too much for my liking lmao. But again, another amazing track with incredible lyrics and production. 9.5/10.

I Knew You Were Trouble: Unironically I think this song has her best production to date for what it was trying to achieve. Like it is 'the worst part about it wasn't losing him, it was losing me' in music form, and though she had become more and more pop each album from debut, to me, this was the ultimate jump into pop/non country music. Also I love that she confirmed it was a manipulation/abuse track down the line because it had always been that for me. 9.5/10.

All Too Well + 10 minute version: I considered making these two separate entries because they feel like different songs to me in terms of like how I relate to them, but ultimately I'd give them the same score anyway. I do also want to note here that I think all of the choices that were made for RED were the right ones and the thing I wish I had access to most in the history of Taylor's career is a full picture of when each song made the final album. Because between her saying that Scott thought it was done well before she did and her saying Better Man was almost the track 5 of this album, I would die to see the timeline. I also think that the 10 minute version is the perfect closer to TV. Anyway I know a lot of people think this song is overrated, but I would argue that it's correctly rated and it is simply that other songs deserve to be as highly rated but are not. 9.5/10.

22: Always a good time. Me having cut off (redacted) days before my 23rd birthday at a time when I was at one of my lowest points and partying the most really elevated the song for me lmao. Also I know people bag on the tracklisting of this album because this is a 'too happy' song to put between All Too Well and I Almost Do, but what do you mean your friends didn't take you out when you were heartbroken to try and forget about the heartbreak just for you to feel that heartbreak again when you get home and are alone? But again, always a fun time. 8.5/10.

I Almost Do: Not my favourite from the album, but when it hits, it hits and still well and truly in my upper ranking for Taylor's discography as a whole. 8/10.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together: And now we reach my second favourite trio of this album. Having the 3 on/off again songs back to back to show the anger (WANEGBT), denial/ignoring of the red flags/good times/why she wants to fight so hard for it (Stayx3) and ultimate depression/acceptance that it's do or die (The Last Time) is just chef's kiss for me. Like this is what I mean when I say that RED as an album is repetitive but in a good way that works, because these three songs tell the same story, just from different perspectives. Outside of that, the music video for this being shot in one take is still super cool to me. Overall a great song. 8/10.

Stay Stay Stay: An underrated and misunderstood song in my honest opinion. Like I said, I don't see it as a sweet song, I see it as holding up a white flag to make the red ones rosy because you would rather wear rose coloured glasses than lose the person. Genuinely, it's a very sad song in my honest opinion, but a great and necessary one for the album. 8/10.

The Last Time: This still rivals Exile and Evermore as my favourite Taylor vocal collab tbh. It's been relatable one too many times in my life and has been my go to song for a lot, so yeah I just love it deeply. 9.5/10.

Holy Ground: This is that track that I feel everyone loves more than I do, but I still love it. I'm also so glad that we got the piano version in the Lover era because I love that just as much. 8.5/10.

Sad Beautiful Tragic: My stan song for the album! This song has been a consistent in my life and really helped me through the death of a friend in my teens but also has a sweet spot due to other meanings my loved ones have had for it. Just overall an amazing song. 10/10.

The Lucky One: This is still my favourite song Taylor has written about fame. Her writing it in Australia also warms my heart a little. I don't have much else to say about it but yeah, it's a great song. 8/10.

Everything Has Changed: I was such a big Ed Sheeran fan when this song came out so it holds a sweet spot in my heart. I don't listen to it nearly as much as I should, but I still love it. 8/10.

Starlight: I think this is the song that I have the most fun with when listening to RED. The second verse is perhaps one of my favourite she's ever written and sends me back to such a specific memory of my own. I really should listen to the song more. 9/10

Begin Again: This gives me everything I feel I'm missing from Electric Touch tbh. Like obviously not the pop rock sound, but the emotion of new beginnings and wanting to give happiness with another person one last try. Also listening to this on a Wednesday (which it is for me at the time of writing this) always makes me unnecessarily happy lmao. 9/10.

The Moment I Knew: Love everything about this song. It's relatable (too much so, having this happen 3 times with 3 different people 3 years in a row was... not great lmao), its production is dramatic, it's lyrically great and it's always a fun time showing it to people who haven't heard it before and seeing their reaction to the birthday line. All up a fave. 9.5/10.

Come Back Be Here: Another song that I relate to the friend that passed at their own hand in my teens. Getting the Come Back Be Here/Daylight (a self love song for me) mashup at Eras really made me emotional and will always be something I cherish. All up, another love for me. 9/10.

Girl At Home: The funniest thing Taylor could have ever done is sing this on Melbourne n1 (iykyk). She did not, but I still love the song and it was my 2022 anthem. 9.5/10.

Ronan: So fun fact, this was the song that turned me from a casual fan to a stan. I know I said I was reserving 10/10s for one track per album, but given this has helped me through everything from the loss of friends to death to the loss of my sister via estrangement, this is going to be my exception. I yearn for the day the Ronan/Never Grow Up mashup I made in 2015 gets played on tour (joking in that I know it won't, but god would I love it). 10/10.

Better Man: Lyrically I love this song. Production wise? I wish she had made it like the early 2017 performance she did of it. Personally I do like Little Big Town's version better because of that, but I still love this version. 9/10.

Nothing New: This is one of those songs that if it came out/I had it in 2018, it would have been my everything. But it did not so I find it quite boring even if I understand that it's a sister song to The Lucky One. 5/10.

Babe: I am a 'what about your promises, promises' lover and prefer this version to Sugarland's. Sugarland's music video basically being a remake of Not The Only One's by Sam Smith lives rent free in my head for... reasons, but is among my favourites she's done (on the most part all of the RED related ones are my favourites. I just really like the style that was used for all of them lmao). All up a sad bop. 8/10.

Message In A Bottle: If this had come out on the OG album, it would have been my forever fave. Like I still love it, but god did it take me back to meeting (redacted) in America when I was 18. All up, an underrated bop. 8.5/10.

I Bet You Think About Me: My favourite of the vault tracks. Not much else to say, I just love everything about it. 9.5/10.

Forever Winter: I'll be honest, I like the demo that leaked more than the album version. But I still love it and have it among my most listened to vault tracks. 8.5/10.

Run: A cute number. Not my favourite but still great. 8/10.

The Very First Night: A grower for me because I wasn't fussed on it at all when it first came out, but very fun. 8/10.

Final score: 244.5/280 - 87.3%

#taylor swift

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