#the one actual good line from a “Christian” rock song

[herunswithscissors]

I'm a lover, not a fighter

I fought all my life trying to find love

i am a lover. but underneath that i'm a hater. and then underneath that i'm a lover again

[hygienic-soap-dispenser]

4, 13, 42!

Omg omg my first actual ask hello hi!! <3333

4. What's a headcanon you need to work out?

There are actually a lot of headcanons where I feel I need to figure things out! One of the biggest ones that I have trouble with is figuring out where countries come from and how. I previously liked to imagine that they had parents or ancestors for the stories and narratives that you can tell with that, but then you have to think about family lines and lineages and ~all of these things~ and it just ends up taking up so much headspace that it makes worldbuilding unnecessarily complicated.

Figuring out hws Finland's origins is especially difficult since prehistoric Finnish history is relatively unknown and vague: there were little to no written records of Finland before Christianization, populations were scarce and divided into diverse Tribes, and Finnish soil is very acidic which means that artifacts and fossils dissolve uber fast and it doesn't leave much for the archaeological record womp womp 😔

In the end I just decide to opt for "they popped out and grew very slowly and people took notice that they're special", but I won't lie, I still like the idea of nations having parents or biological families because I feel it would make things more interesting and dynamic. But on the other hand, I feel like it would make things more constrained and strict, y'know? Like you can't just act any way towards family and putting characters into a familiar dynamic just sort of sets it into one specific relationship for the rest of their lives. Also I feel having bio families makes all of the inter-nation relationships much more complicated; I can imagine that after a while all the nations would be related to one another lol.

Honestly, I would in the end much prefer a more mentorship or found family dynamics style for nations as opposed to strict families, since then relationships can be flexible and change over the years, but are still in the end rooted in those foundational moments.

Alternatively, I like to think that they were born from regular people, and that their parents and the village/community realized that they're special, either through their slow growth, or maybe a shamanic prophecy or local legends or something, I think that'd be really cool!!

13. What song gets you daydreaming about Hetalia?

That's a good question!! Honestly don't know what to really say here bc our most holy Finland takes up 95% of my headspace so if there's a song that I like, I can absolutely make it about him. I often listen to movie, show, and video game soundtracks, pop and rock, and have recently had a lot of Antti Tuisku, Erika Vikman, and Bess stuck in my head and Spotify sooooo... Finnish pop anyone? 👀👀

42. Any Hetalia merch (og or fan-made) rave-worthy?

I'm sorry anon but I don't have any Hetalia merch or have anything that is "rave-worthy" 🙈 In general I don't really buy fandom merch unless I absolutely love it. Most Hetalia merch feels too "plasticy" to me and most of what I have from Hetalia is from my friends and fanart <3333 The closest thing to actual merch that I have is a t-shirt with Varric from Dragon Age, it's my workout shirt 💪😎✨

I've only been to one rave in my life: got some glowsticks w friends, danced to loud EDM, and the people around us got really weird and touchy-feely so we left early :'D (yes we went to the rave sober... it was at a con)

[numetaljackdog]

what i'm listening to 3/2024

spot.//yt

Limp Bizkit - Pollution: got this played on my local radio station bc i got connections

DC Talk - Jesus Freak: i have become OBSESSED with this christian rap rock (kind of) band. couldn't explain it very well myself but i think they're really fun and super silly. i've been listening to this particular song for quite some time now but it's only recently that my full obsession has developed and i've been getting other people roped into it too..... i'm just spreading the good word 😁

Whitechapel - The Saw Is the Law: had this one stuck in my head something FIERCE these past few weeks. just that crusher chorus line is so fucking good, I never was a huge whitechapel fan but they go hard when the mood is right. played it at work and everything

The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again: cumming all over myself i love the riff and the melodies and there are some real good lines despite very few lyrics overall... admittedly that squeaky chipmunk harmony is pretty goofy but when the rest of it is so good who even care.

Faith No More - Midlife Crisis: i like this one more and more every time i hear it. a friend of mine introduced me to this and it's been stuck in my head relentlessly ever since. also definitely goofy as fuck but i love the kinda hardcore-type vocals mike patton throws into the verses, especially in the live version and the big swelling bridge. a song like this makes me get why people talk about faith no more as "proto-nu metal" or whatever..... fred durst would do some shit like this <3 also got this played on the radio station

Butthole Surfers - Cough Syrup: i don't like this band as much as i wish i did, though i've certainly got plenty more listening to do. def some stupid lyrics here bc it's the butthole surfers but i actually really really like "i can't talk so i guess i got nothing to say." something about that one

Third Eye Blind - Jumper: it's back! i think i've expended all the words i have about this already but man what a good little pop song

Breaking Benjamin - Skin: great example of how enjoying breaking benjamin is more about hearing the loud guitars and the unique syllabic experience of ben's weird as hell enunciation than it is about anything original or lyrical. what the hell is this song about i don't know. but it bangeth mightily. this also stands to represent that i and mine have been listening to a fuckton of bb lately

Elliott Smith - Cupids Trick: a dear friend of mine has put me on that elliott smith shit fairly recently and i think this is my fav from either/or... the riff so good and it's catchy and has a really dark punchy sound compared to the rest of the record (which is also real good! but just different)

Gorillaz - Cracker Island: heard this on the radio a ways back and instantly came all over myself and said "omg who is this is this the new sound of the summer????" and then looked it up and saw that it was a band i already know that's been around for decades ^_^ but it's just a banger and they found one good hook and punched it up to 11!!

Kittie - Eyes Wide Open: KITTIE BACK???? and with a rager O_O <me when my eyes are wide open. lol. not much further commentary here i'm just excited for the new record and i hope it's good and not bad

Enon - Window Display: my experience continues of getting into this band at the pace of a tortoise or perhaps a snail. p sure this is like the biggest song from them and. it good! they just have a tastey sound and i like the vocalist's delivery

Lamb Of God - Redneck: been on some metalcore shit too and like groove metal and shit and it hardly gets better than lamb of god. i feel like i haven't often properly appreciated them but what a consistently banger band. and this one just has some cool catchy parts that have been in my head since like high school. JUST! ONE! TIME!!!!!

Insane Clown Posse - Halls Of Illusions: my friends and i have been indulging in what we're calling "fucked up friday" which sometimes includes icp as a soundtrack. still want to listen to the full album with people at some point. but anyway i never took too too much notice of this track until a friend put it on and i realized how good it is. and frankly kind of saw-coded w it

Drowning Pool - Tear Away: kind of not great but the chorus glued itself to me. sort of the death toll of nu metal giving in to the way of the post-grunge ballad but man this vocalist was damn solid!

Victoria Monét - On My Mama: proof that i haven't completely exited the pop listening sphere. i still got todd. go watch the top ten of 2023 for a review

Rai Panesar - I Don't Give a Shet (IDGAS): okay this is a stupid joke song. i think. but i like to imagine it's sincere. like i like to imagine the dude that made this thought it was actually pretty cool and had fun making it. i'm scared to find anything else out about him bc it might ruin this hope that i have

Theory of a Deadman - Rx (Medicate): SUCKS. but kind of fascinating. how the fuck did theory have a hit in like 2017 or whenever this came out. by making a hip hop country rock song about doing drugs. oh okay

The Revivalists - Wish I Knew You: adding this alongside cigarette daydream in the canon of "indie band has relentlessly catchy pop hit that i listen to a bunch and attach memories to but actually think kind of sucks ass." i heard this in a restaurant a while back and went omg it's crazy by gnarls barkley i love crazy by gnarls barkley despite not really having very strong feelings about crazy by gnarls barkley but well these are the things we think to ourselves. so i kept waiting for the part where he goes does that make me craaaaazayyyyyy.... but it never came!!!! every chorus would just end on nothing and then move on to the next verse. i got edged by this song until almost the very end where i finally figured out what song it actually was and then got that stuck in my head but i'm still bitter! motherfucker! and also i don't like their band name. what exactly are you reviving 🤨

[dancing-to-architecture]

39 - The Eagles - Hotel California (1976)

Ugh. No. I refuse. You can't fuckin' make me. Give me the screaming German chainsaw techno. Please!

I KNEW that Jeffrey Lebowski was My Guy as soon as he said the immortal line: "Come on, man. I had a rough night and I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man!"

Don't ask me why i hate the eagles. I know they're technically competent and all that, like they're good at what they do. I also have an irrational hatred of Josh Groban and he's technically competent as well.

I think it's a mix of being dramatically overplayed throughout my life and my just being wholly uninterested in any their work, or just a general dislike of most of the people who are vocal fans of the band.

Fuck it. Buy the hellticket, take the hellride.

•Hotel California-

Aww, fuck me, "she got the Mercedes bends" is actually a good turn of phrase. I never once caught it until I actually read it, though.

The line about "we haven't had that spirit here since 1969" only gets dumber and funnier the older this song gets. The dude orders "a wine" and it just blows this guy away!

So, uhh, the food? scares the shit out of the guy? They're all killer robots? But they just can't kill the beast? What the fuck is the end of this stupid fucking song even saying?

Fuck, i hate the Eagles and i hate this goddamn song.

•New Kid In Town-

This feels like 1976. Different singer? Feels a bit more folksy.

Oh boy i really hate this.

•Life In The Fast Lane-

One of the only Eagles songs that doesn't make me wish i was born deaf... might be because i honestly thought this was a Dire Straits song for like 20 years.

But, after reading all the creepy horny lyrics in the verses that i generally can tune out, i almost wish i was born deaf AND blind.

Might be because I've never been all that fond of cars, but why are there so many songs about wanting to fuck in cars?

•Wasted Time-

Breakup song. It's okay. I've heard better ones today, let alone throughout this project.

•Wasted Time-

(Me reviewing this album)

Yeah let's reprise the song we literally just finished, why not? And also give it the same title!

•Victim of Love-

"Clearly, everything is the woman's fault." 🙄

•Pretty Maids All in a Row-

Title sounds like the name of a porno. Interminably slow, with "I'm stoned and this feels deep" lyrics.

After listening to Leonard Cohen talk about similar themes this just feels even more trite.

•Try and Love Again-

It looks from the lyrics that he had a good thing going and went for something else and now he laments what he "lost" (walked away from). 🙄🙄

•The Last Resort-

Worthless hippies and their native cultural appropriation and inability to actually DO anything. Fucking Christian cults and their megachurches actively destroying this country in the name of God, then packaging and selling hope back to the dipshit faithful.

I honestly like what this song is saying, but i think I'd vastly prefer it packaged in a 2 ½ minute long aggressive punk song than some 8 minute grandiose soft rock epic.

Well, it's over, and i still hate the fuckin' Eagles. Next!

Favorite Track: i was initially thinking life in the fast lane but now i am going to say "the peaceful silence after the album was finished".

Least Favorite Track: E. All of the above.

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 24th April

An exercise in contrasts this week. I can't think of a double A-side with more disparate vibes. Not that I find them particularly memorable, in general - you generally get one side that's actually good and one that's just kind of there - but still, the change in energy between these two Pat Boone numbers is enough to give you whiplash. Thankfully, both sides of it have their charms, so I can't really complain.

A Wonderful Time Up There - Pat Boone (peaked at Number 2)

The first few notes of this lie to you, as Pat starts with a really slow Well, now, preparing you for a ballad. And then immediately we up the pace to something that's just alarmingly quick. We're rocking and rolling, but, like, really fast! We're not quite into tongue-twister territory, but Pat's really packing those syllables in. Honestly, it's quite a pleasant change from some of his sleepier offerings, recently.

And it turns out there's a reason for Pat's haste - you see, this is a song about the second coming, about how everybody's gonna have religion and glory / Everybody's gonna be a-singin' that story. As such, there's a genuine time crunch, a sense that the apocalypse might be coming, and coming soon: Brother, there's a reckonin' a-comin' in the mornin' / Better get ready 'cause I'm givin' you the warnin'. Heady stuff.

In true gospel music fashion, we have a real mix of emphasis on the excitement and goodness of heaven, with lines about how everbody's gonna have a wonderful time up there (glory, hallelujah) or some ( theologically dubious) lines about how we're gonna be rewarded for the things we've done, along also some more fire and brimstone bit, with Pat asking his listeners questions like How you gonna feel about the things you'll say on that judgement day? or Are you gonna be among the chosen few?

It's not that this is a wrong mix of things to put into the song - it's probably one of the more honest explanations out there of the Christian view of the end of things, abeit one that's definitely a bit lacking in Jesus - but the rock and roll "party" sound combined with some of the heavier lines does create a pretty weird sense of cognitive dissonance. The song seems like it wants to both put you into a party mood and scare you into trusting in the Lord. I don't mind it, but I can absolutely see why you might now. Especially because Pat does manage to sound pretty smug throughout. I mean, the emphasis on being rewarded for the things you did definitely comes off a bit self-satisfied, and lines later one, like the one where he urges you to read Revelations if you can understand - and you can if you try, also have a distinctly patronising vibe to them. Like, yes, I do personally think you can get a lot from Revelations, but do you have to be like that about it, Pat?

Thankfully, the song still makes me happy. Partly this is simply due to the sound of it, which is like nothing we've really heard so far. You've got a lot of clapping, some guitar and what sounds like a xylophone (?) but mostly, this song lives and dies on the backing singers, who join in prominently enough that the whole song has a sort of pseudo-a cappella vibe. It's fun, and the sheer pace of it covers a multitude of sins, including an absolute clanger of a key change that somehow, at the song's breakneck pace, kind of works? Or at least doesn't deratil it completely. I'm not convinced that the song actually needs the energy that the key change imparts, but that's not a problem, per se. So yeah. Not, despite it all, a bad song.

It's Too Soon to Know - Pat Boone (7)

And then, as if to make up for all the pace and excitement of the last track, we get this. A terminally sleepy track that calms you right the way down. It's a storied track, having first been recorded by the Orioles back in 1948. That first version has been credited as the first rock and roll track, which is kind of cool. But then here we are, ten years later, listening to Pat's honestly pretty soporific version, and it really doesn't sound like he's added much in the intervening years. We could have been listening to this back in 1952, easily enough.

Lyrically, I do like it, though. It's simple, and there's a real vulnerability to the lyrics, as Pat asks does she love me? It's too soon to know, / Can I believe her when she tells me so? He's in love, but it's all pretty new, and he's not sure if his girl is really taking it seriously: am I the first, or just another flame? He never comes out and says that he loves her, but he does acknowledge that he will be heartbroken if his attraction to her is one-sided, and then, in what's maybe my favourite moment of the whole thing, Pat also admits that If she don't love me, let her tell me so / I won't hold her if she wants to go / Though I'll cry when she's gone / I won't die, I'll live on. Which is just a beautiful and nuanced sentiment that you don't find in pop songs often enough. There's not a sense that Pat would blame his girl for just not having feelings for him. And he knows it would make him sad, but he's still tentative enough about their relationship that he also knows it wouldn't completely break him. It's a really honest kind of lyric - all credit to the Orioles' songwriter!

As I hinted at, Pat's version is sleepy, just him singing quite quietly, a piano, a faint guitar picking out chords, and a few pretty subtle backing singers. It's very light, very delicate, and it really suits Pat, here. I started off finding it a bit too sleepy, but the more I've listened, the more I've become convinced that actually, with the lyrics, it works really well. In a song about tentativeness and uncertainty, you really can't attack it too hard. And there's a restrained emotion to the delivery, you can't help but feel for Pat, a little. It's not a song about passion or desperation or wild delirium, it's a song about affection and anxiety and fledgeling hope. Of course it sounds like this, you know?

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by both of these songs. I've been a little down on Pat, but this set of songs was really quite good. I mentioned in the intro that the change of pace gave me whiplash at first, and that's still true. But I think that's a feature, not a bug - you aren't at risk of confusing them with each other, at any rate, and you feel like you've got two properly different records for your money. At first I was convinced that I preferred A Wonderful Time Up There. It's lyrics were a little questionable, but musically it just had me convinced. Plus It's Too Soon to Know was boring. But then I listened more to ITStK's lyrics, and they really make that song pop. Enough that I actually want to go listen to other versions of the song. So, surprising even myself, I think I ave to crown the nothingy ballad as my champion this week.

Favourite song of the bunch: It's Too Soon To Know

[cookie-nom-nom]

Spirituality is supposed to be hard. So often it’s taught as believe xyz and don’t question it, but that’s obviously unhealthy and authoritarian. From my experience spiritually should be this wrestling with ideas, asking questions and staring dead on at the parts that don’t make sense. A lot of the reason why Christian rock sucks is because it’s just playing it safe, which is an insult to both aspects but specifically rock? You took rock and wanted to make it easily palatable? Seriously?

(Don’t mind me, just going to ramble a bit.) Anyway, I think one of my favorite lines in a contemporary Christian song is “God, are you awake at night?” It comes at a quiet part, almost a plea but also a challenge. And it’s such a human thing, staring at the walls for hours trying to fall asleep, wrestling with thoughts and feeling completely alone. And a lot of the song deals with isolation, so it could be read as reaching out spiritually to try and not feel alone. But I hear it a little different. “God, are you awake at night, too?” And suddenly it’s asking not for protection but for connection. It’s asking if God, too, has doubts and anxiety and feels alone sometimes, if God knows what it’s like to be overwhelmed by your own thoughts. It almost feels like the singer is asking if God can actually be a relatable human. And in general churches try to say yes, of course, Jesus was both divinity and man. But they don’t mean God is actually human, they mean he’s ideally human. He’s not human in all the messy, real ways. And that to me erases the point. Because, yes, Jesus did lie awake at night, wrestling with doubt and fear, praying to God and begging for a way out of his upcoming death. God knows what that fundamentally human experience feels like. It’s less a simple answer of ‘God is there silly so stop being stressed’ and more ‘God has been there too.’ Sympathy v empathy, a deeper connection because it’s relatable, it’s actual kinship. Asking questions maybe isn’t evil and can deepen faith?? Who’d have guess actually analyzing something is good for you. There should be questions in faith. Challenges to both you and your god(s). And that’s why fundamentally most Christian contemporary music isn’t good, because it doesn’t want to ask questions or rock the boat out of fear of losing its audience and money. It wants to be as palatable as possible, distilled down for the sake of profit. Which is a problem with a lot of art designed to have broad appeal, but it gets especially bad in Christian media because it has a basically guaranteed large audience no matter how generic. Which, honestly, is disrespectful both to art and God.

Yall ever heard white church music? Christian rock is one of the most gratingly generic and repetitive genres of music out there by a mile. It sucks so fucking bad. I am talking about this now because someone is sitting in front of the hospital and blaring “how great? Is our god?” As loud as the speakers in his truck can handle

[briamichellewrites]

15

Jon brought Phoenix to meet his band before they went home. They didn’t know if he was a boyfriend or just a casual thing, but they were respectful to him just the same. He looked young. They guessed he was in his early twenties. They were straight, so they couldn’t tell if he was attractive or not. Jon found him attractive, so they would take his word for it. They found out he was touring with his band, Tasty Snax. What kind of music did they play? They were a Christian ska and punk band.

It was him and a group of guys from high school. He was also in another band, Linkin Park. They were a rock and rap group. What instruments did he play? He was a bass guitarist, but he also played the electric guitar, violin, and cello. His mother encouraged him to pursue music. They also found out that no, he was not dating Jon. He had a girlfriend named, Bria.

They’ve heard about her from Jon. What was she like? She was one of the sweetest, funniest, kind-hearted women they could ever meet. But, she also kept him accountable and she swore more than anyone he knew. They laughed. She was just super adorable, especially with her cat.

“Is she a cat person”, Richie asked.

“She’s an animal lover. It doesn’t matter what animal it is. She wants to have a house full of animals someday. Cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, hamsters, fish… we’re going to look for a house somewhere with enough room because I want to get a dog.”

“What’s that word she always uses”, Jon asked.

“Awesome. That, and the f-word.”

They laughed. He seemed like a good kid. Probably never really been in any trouble. They learned they were wrong in that assumption. He was arrested for underage drinking while in college. Did he go to jail? Yeah, he did. He was sentenced to probation and had to pay a fine. It helped him get sober. His former roommate, Brad kept him accountable for his sobriety, as did Bria.

They met her when she came in. She had cut her hair into a mullet style. It looked perfect on her! She introduced herself. David Bryan joked about Jon and Phoenix telling them all about her. Oh my god. They laughed.

“Somebody’s got to keep those boys in line.”

They laughed.

“I thought you were bringing Woody”, Jon joked.

“No, he hates his carrier because he thinks he’s going to the vet. So, it’s just easier to keep him at home instead of fighting him.”

Was Woody her cat? Yeah, he was named after Woody from Toy Story. He was an adorable asshole. Why? He was in his teenage phase, so he did things to be annoying like knocking things off flat surfaces or pretending he was starving to death. How did she know Jon? Her parents had a house next door to his growing up. She was around five years old when she met him.

Were her parents from New Jersey? Her mother was. She was from Red Bank, so she and her father bought a house in Middletown in 1986 or 1987. They visited about once or twice a year. Depending on their work schedules. Did they still visit New Jersey? No, they died in 1998 from a DWI accident. She didn’t know what they did with the house. They probably sold it a long time ago. Jon couldn’t remember, either. He would have to ask Dorothea. She would probably know.

Phoenix looked on at his girlfriend. How did he get so lucky to have her? She was having a lot of fun talking with the band. Tico noticed the shirt she was wearing underneath her jacket. It was a Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet t-shirt. He pointed it out and she looked down. She didn’t notice that when she put it on. They laughed.

“That’s a cool shirt”, Phoenix said.

“You want it? You can have it.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Awesome. I’ll give it to you later.”

“Awesome”, Richie said.

“You could write a list of everything I say and turn it into a drinking game.”

They laughed. Before they left, he had her play something on the guitar. What song? Enter Sandman. Hugh MacDonald handed her his guitar. They were curious to see if she could actually do it. She could! They were impressed. She could even do the guitar solo.

When they left, David joked about how entertaining she was. Yeah, she had been that way since she was younger. She had a rough beginning to her life. What happened, if it was okay to ask? She was born under the influence of crack cocaine. Her parents adopted her not knowing what her life was going to be like. She stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit for about a month while her tiny body went through withdrawal. They thought she would have significant disabilities.

Thankfully, she just had ADHD. Her parents sent her to boarding school because it gave her the structure she needed. They were both extremely wealthy. Her father was an investor and her mother was a professional makeup artist. They gave her whatever she wanted while teaching her how fortunate she was. They both did a great job with her.

When they died, they left everything to her. She had a house cleaner and an assistant, who were part of her family. Why did she need an assistant? Because of her ADHD. She was scatterbrained so she needed someone to help her remember to do things and keep her organized. If she had to do things herself, she would have a lot of trouble. She would possibly lose everything because she wouldn’t remember to pay the bills.

But the girl they just met was the girl he had known for almost fifteen years. What about her boyfriend? He was great for her because he was the calm in her hyperactive world. They were best friends. He had problems with alcohol and unhealthy relationships. She was one of his biggest cheerleaders. He was going to see if Dorothea would let him invite them to New Jersey.

Since he didn’t have his permission, he wasn’t going to tell them about the abuse Phoenix went through. They could see what he loved about them. They could visit them whenever they wanted. He would let them know that. Awesome. They laughed.

When they got home, they were met by Mike. What’s up? They went inside where Woody made his presence known. Meow. I’m starving! Phoenix told her he got it. She and Mike went to the living room and sat down.

He hated to ask but he needed a place to stay for a few days. What? Why? Wasn’t he living with Joe? Yeah, he was. They disagreed, so he left the apartment to give him space to cool down. What was the argument about? It was over chores. When Joe got angry, it was best to let him calm down than to poke the bear. Yeah, he could stay for as long as he needed. Thank you.

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @alina-dixon @fiickle-nia

[rodeoclowm]

it's so hard to be a hater of not great things when my heart is full joy and passion for a good musical number

adding a cut because I started having a lot of thoughts and keep having more

honestly hells greatest dad is kinda like if better than you from camp camp was an electro swing edgelord duet about competing for the affection of your estranged daughter - oo but ALSO it's kinda like friend like me from aladdin. weird combo of songs, but like I enjoy it. wild as hell having a third, previously unintroduced character enter as an actual part of the song, but I kinda rock w how hazbin behaves like an actual musical in that way. you don't see Real musical tropes used in animated musicals all too frequently these days.

uhg I keep editing but w/e I'm cold and waiting for my alarm to go off. I also think one of the few smart christian mythology things they reference is like when lucifer feels challenged so he just starts playing the fiddle instead of singing another verse in the lil battle that's started. but also SO weird how they have him cling to like purity and angelicism to the point of wanting sinners to be massacred?? also why is he a duck angel and not like. a goat. idk there are hits and misses here

anyways unfortunately I <3 mr morningstar - he is like gatsby a little

okay UPDATE I actually listened to the song again instead of relying on reels and memory - unfortunately hell's greatest dad suffers from the same problem most of the songs in hazbin suffers from. womp womp. the writing. there keeps being this thing that happens, which is perfectly fine and like a classic musical trope, where bits of the song are meant to be like actual conversation. where hazbin fumbles this is that they go too far with it and forget to keep the conversational lines in rhythm, or even in rhyme.

for example, this is a good use of sung conversation:

it's on rhythm, it rhymes, they're directly arguing but still within the rules of the song.

this on the other hand is an example of bad conversation in song. for context, allistor is talking to charlie, lucifer's interjections are in brackets (except for the "aw" that's charlie):

they try to make it work within the rhythm, and in writing yeah you could kind of make this work, but the performers like. don't, make it work. at all. it sounds weird and bad.

anyways my point is there's potential here but they Did fumble, purely due to trying to stick to the hazbin/helluva boss style of writing. it's like how family guy is really committed to shitting on meg, but it's just like not funny. yeah hazbin is like family guy but less funny and more musical. also you can tell stephanie beatrice charges extra for songs because oh my god she sang COMICALLY infrequently. like there's even a song that contextually, should be a duet her character is participating in, but ends up just being one character singing at her. honestly good 4 u girl, make that coin.

[jezfletcher]

1000 Albums 2022: Albums #25-16

I'm a bit late in writing up my Top Albums this year, but it being the first day of 2023, I thought it's probably a good time to look back on the year that was in music, and start writing up my top albums. As has been the case since 2016 (wow, 7 years of this now), Sam and I have listened to over 1000 albums this year, and I've distilled the very best of 2022's music into just a top 25. For the stats-curious: we hit 1032 albums in total this year, of which 938 were actually released in 2022 (that's 91% brand new music). That added up to over 11,000 individual tracks, and almost 717 hours of unique music (that's about an entire month listening 24 hours a day). My Spotify Wrapped said I listened for more than twice this when you take into account relistening and so-on—so it's undoubtedly a big undertaking. In addition to our 2022 albums, we listened to 2 "throwback" albums from previous years each week, and managed complete retrospectives of four different artists' work. This year, the lucky artists were Van Dyke Parks (including the various albums for other artists that he produced and arranged for), Buffy Sainte-Marie, Tracy Chapman, and Blur. Of these, the absolute standout was Buffy Sainte-Marie, who was a revelation to me. For two sides of a fascinating artist, check out My Country Tis Of Thy People You're Dying, one of the best bist of protest folk I've ever heard, or the psychedelic folk rock of Sweet September Morning. Amazing stuff. Anyway, we're not really here to talk about that, but I can't resist putting a little call-out for Buffy. We're here to count down my Top Albums of 2022. I've gone fom 25 to 16 in this post. Tomorrow, I'll count down 15-5, leaving the top 5 for a big reveal in a few days. But lets get started...

25. Bitch - Bitchcraft (experimental queer pop)

Bitchcraft by Bitch

Kicking off the writeups this year we have this pot-pourri of experimental and less-experimental queer electropop from self-styled poet-witch Bitch. It has all the anarchy of true punk, laced with screaming electronic hooks and a consistent use of Bitch's iconic violin. But she also turns in soulful, melodic ballads like Another Wound, which may be the best piece of music on the album. It all makes for a rich and varied experience, always with a very unique and personally engaging world view. As an iconic song from the album though, which represents all the wonderful genre-smashing, I can't go past "Hello Meadow!". You'll like it if you want: Lindsey Stirling, only weirder, and queer rather than fundamentalist Christian.

24. Lack the Low - God-Carrier (avant-pop)

God-Carrier by Lack The Low

Björk had an excellent album this year; it ended up #34, so just missing out on a write-up. But instead we have Lack the Low, an Australian artist who obviously owes some inspiration to the darker parts of Björk's oeuvre. I heard the excellent The Sharpest Knife playing one Saturday morning on our local community radio station, and it immediately thrust God-Carrier on to my listen-list for the following week. She does wonderfully atmospheric electro-prog with a sense of build to her tracks that drives towards an often ecstatic, cathartic finish. While The Sharpest Knife was my introduction, I think the best track is the opener, Rushlight. You'll like it if you want: independent Aussie artists taking barbershop in strange new directions.

23. Kae Tempest - The Line Is A Curve (spoken-word poetry)

kaetempest · Priority Boredom

One of our finest modern poets, Kae Tempest brought back the punch of their spoken-word outings like Let Them Eat Chaos and Everybody Down, leaving behind what I found more introspective and downbeat in their previous 2019 album. This pushes Tempest back into the upper echelons of the year with The Line Is a Curve, another collab between Tempest's gripping delivery with Dan Carey's electronic production—together they provide one of the most potent electronic albums of the year, while Tempest proves once again why they are lyrically such a powerhouse. Hard to single out a track to represent the whole album—its potency comes from the accumulation of the whole—but I've shared here Priority Boredom which I feel is a fabulous entry to the album. You'll like it if you like: contemporary spoken-word poetry or modern electronica. You'll love it if you like: both of the above.

22. Murder By Death - Spell/Bound (gothic country)

Spell/Bound by Murder By Death

Atmospheric indie rock by way of That Haunted Gorge Where All Those Cowboys All Mysteriously Disappeared Exactly 10 Years Ago Tonight, Murder By Death provide a wonderfully dark take on modern Americana. This is all about creating a mood with their sophisticated rock, lashed with country elements. It's music for driving at night through West Texas, or for that hipster bar in Asheville that hasn't quite shaken off its bluegrass roots entirely. This is an album I could absolutely listen to end-to-end and consider it a singular experience. It's hard to single out something again—this is about the whole journey, not the sights along the way—but I'll go with Never Be which I think is possibly the most accessible, even if it's not that emblematic of the whole album. You'll like it if you like: country, but only kinda secretly.

21. Telenova - Stained Glass Love (indie pop)

Stained Glass Love by Telenova

Easily my highest-rated EP of the year, this 5-track outing gets a big boost from having a Track of the Week for the title track, and then following it up with another a few weeks later when we heard the full EP, this time for Silver Lining, which is a wonderfully melancholy bit of downtempo pop that shifts its way through various harmonic peculiarities. As always when this kind of jewel-studded EP appears, you fear that it's just the precursor to a bigger debut album which will seem less novel when it's just "this EP stretched out to 45m long". But presuming that this is a stand-alone, it's a great one. I've highlighted the title track here, but you can spare the 21m to listen to the whole thing. You'll like it if you like: anything of modern indie pop, or 90s downtempo

20. Mice Parade - lapopọ (post shoegaze)

lapapọ by Mice Parade

I came across Mice Parade for the first time at the 2008 Sydney Festival, where I completely eschewed their show, but was waiting outside the Spiegeltent waiting a different performance while they were on inside. I was rapt by their fascinating blend of dreamy shoegaze and complex polyrhythms, even if the sound was muted by the canvas between me and them. Fortunately, since then, while I've not managed to catch them live, I've fallen in love with their albums, and their latest might be their best. It has the same hypnotic drawl of Adam Pierce's vocals (an anagram of "Mice Parade", you'll note), with fluid motivic guitar riffs and multi-layered drum-patterns. This is an album that builds up over time, but I have to call out Eisa Dancers which starts with this ethereal riff (possibly on hammered dulcimer, or on a koto) and builds waves, wending in and out of the dream-like otherworldiness. You'll like it if you like: a novel take on jangly indie rock.

19. Keston Cobblers Club - Alchemy (twee folk)

I've recently very much become attached to the music reviews site At The Barrier, which does a great job of unearthing music that I find nowhere else—they also have a particular focus on various kinds of folk, and this is one of those albums this year which comes solely from ATB. It's an eclectic album, jumping between variations of folk pop, switching out singers and showing off their multi-instrumental prowess. I could call out quite a few song here—Jupiter has a wonderful expansive space-folk sound (is that a thing? it should be), Rigmarole brings in tuba and accordion for a kind of indie-trad sound, Tarantula has a musical theatricality to it to bring the album home. I might just go with one of the early tracks Find My Way, which sits a little more in the centre of everything. You'll like it if: you're not afraid of a bit of a trad folk sound, but still enjoy pop songwriting.

18. Frank Turner - FTHC (alt punk)

Frank Turner is a little hard to classify, because he definitely comes from a punk background, but now turns to a kind of raucous singalong pub rock—he can also pull together a genuinely excellent bit of pop like his satirical Make America Great Again from 2018. Here, he's in more of a heavier, angrier, shoutier style for the most part, even when he sticks with pop tropes like in Haven't Been Doing So Well, or the show-ending Farewell To My City. The standout track for me here though is the wonderful Miranda, a story about reconciling with his father after she came out as trans. You'll like it if you like: hard indie rock, or punk with a soft heart.

17. bis - Systems Music for Home Defence (electropunk)

Systems Music For Home Defence by bis

A great collection of eclectic, shouty electropop that takes the kind of 80s sound back to its post-punk root, and is willing to have fun along with way. I love music that doesn't take itself too seriously (my common refrain is that you should be able to tell that the band is having fun), and this has this feeling all over it. Bis has only released about an album every 5 years or so since 2000, although they've been around since the mid-90s (and broken up then reformed at least once), and you can feel like they're pretty happy just doing what they want—nothing is forced in this album. They've got nothing to prove, and they can do the things that work for them. My pick here is the opening track Lucky Night, which has a pointed satire to it, as well as a super-catchy indie pop sound. You'll like it if you like: 00s electropunk, after big beat went off in a weird direction.

16. Death's Dynamic Shroud - Darklife (slushwave)

Darklife by death's dynamic shroud

This is a bit of a monster, both in terms of its length, and its aggressive, spiky electronica. It takes some of the massive symphonic sound of someone like Roly Porter, but adds synthpop elements, along with the kind of knowing deconstruction of hyperpop. I relistened to this on a drive between Sydney and Canberra and I realised that I'd probably massively underrated it earlier in the year (even though it won my Album of the Week the week it was released). But it's an album that you really need to experience in its entirety to get its full impact. That being said, there's a nice sample of the whole in the epic, progressive Messe de E-102, which gets my nod here. You'll like it if you like: Wagner

[nazmazh]

Playlist: Let The Show Begin

(This, of course, is not universal, and represents my personal tastes)

If the other list was big and bombastic and would fit for a Warriors series game, these ones are a little different tone. They're not so much "Cutting a Swath through everything in front of you" as "Ignoring all the chaos around you, slow marching towards your single target, casually tossing aside anyone who tries to get between you and them".

Some are just slower-paced bangers with the fight energy still there. Others are here because the pure dissonance of setting a fight scene to them would be amazing.

It is a fine line that divides the two categories of these two related "fight song" playlists - If the two need dividing at all. A lot of times it's more about vibes than actual BPM or whathaveyou, okay? Just go with it, okay? Play with me in this space.

Blue Oyster Cult - Cities On Flame With Rock and Roll

The Strokes - Reptilia

Eric Johnson - Cliffs of Dover

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - S.O.B.

Lindsey Stirling & Peter Hollens - Skyrim (Main Theme) [I like their version of it, okay?]

Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice

Nena - 99 Luftballoons [Auf Deutsch, natürlich]

The Doors - The Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)

Thin Lizzy - Cowboy Song [Just edges out The Boys Are Back in Town and Jailbreak. But only just]

The Kinks - Come Dancing

Elton John - Crocodile Rock

Poison - Dead Flowers [cover of a Rolling Stones song]

Ghost - Dance Macabre

The Dead South - In Hell I'll Be in Good Company

Queen - Keep Yourself Alive

Steam Powered Giraffe - Eat Your Heart (Hot on the Trail would also work)

Van Halen - Right Now

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Don't Come Around Here No More

The Sweet - Little Willy

Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut

Emma Blackery - Blossom

Poets of The Fall - My Dark Disquiet [Could work for the higher-energy one, but compared to Take Control, this one feels more purposeful, less high-energy (Old Gods of Asgard is their alter-ego from The Remedy-verse)]

Mountain Goats - No Children

Vixy & Tony - Dawson's Christian [An excellent cover of a filk song by Duane Elms and Vic Tyler]

Ninja Sex Party - Thunder & Lightning

Garbage - Only Happy When it Rains

Boney M - Rasputin

The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue

AC/DC - Hell's Bells

Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb

Lynyrd Skynyd - Gimme Three Steps [Mostly to emphasize how badly your opponents have fucked up]

Priestess - Blood

Social Distortion - Story of My Life

Alice Cooper - Hello, Hooray

TWRP (ft. Dan Avidan) - Starlight Brigade [The version in the playlist is just the audio, for smooth playback purposes, but you really do need to see the actual music video for it if you haven't]

The Who - The Seeker [Pinball Wizard and You Better You Bet were runners-up here]

ZZ Top - Legs [More for a woman kicking everyone's ass, than for some schlub like me]

Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way?

Nightwish - Ever Dream [Had a hard time deciding if it fit better here or on "3, 2, 1 - Let's Go!". Like I said, the boundaries aren't always clear]

Personality test

Best song to hear on the radio in a car full of friends when it's dark and warm and raining outside and you're all kinda tired but still having a good time

The song that would play in the movie about your life at the part where you finally snap and enter a violent, freewheeling action scene

The worst song you can imagine playing in the background of a deeply personal or intimate moment

A song you'd want played at your funeral

A song you WOULD NOT WANT played at your funeral

[headgehug]

headgehug playlist masterlist :3

i’m going to go back in time through my playlists because some of the old ones are really incriminating. <3 live your dreams, make your personal blorbo soundtracks.

edit: updated as of 2023, the best ones in bold bc I know it's um a long list

harmoanica - slutty as hell to play the mouth organ. why do you wanna show us you can suck and blow. (not much here yet, send me your best recs).

cry cry cry - holy hell. tearjerker countryesque playlist.

village - just a 60s dumping ground as I listen to albums but it's really good so . lol

everybody in this country club desires me carnally - I'm a nice young lady and I like the kind of music old country club men like to hog and it makes me feel superior but I know I'm just a young lady and my feelings of superiority mean nothing to stop them viewing me as an object Kick Ass Tunes!

well, this is the forest of Arden - songs that are nice to pretend you're walking through ?? it helps to be inebriated.

only you - for the movie so I married an axe murderer <3 90s grungey romance (YES "there she goes" is on there 4 times like in the movie)

well. - nothing special just beatles according to what I've listened to so far. and;

a second, deeper well - john lennon according to what I've listened to so far + songs that I deem adjacent. embarrassing! so it goes

do NOT rewatch skins - skins uk for real makes me feel miserable so I made this to stop me in my stupid tracks

yellow light - if I were to share any of these as a genuine rec it would be this (or I Walk The Line, much much later on the list). this is soft slow afternoons on the couch thru the lens of 60s folk-y rock

Pandora's box - my first "social" media was pandora radio comment sections. does that explain anything. early 2010s indie ""sleaze"" as they kids say

forever zed - zed from police academy :) punk rock and more for a very funky guy

they say that it's over - yeah it's a stranger things 4 chrissy/eddie playlist sue me.

dream on - songs I wanna rock garth algar of wayne's world's world to. if you get my drift

a deal with god - this is just like "maybe my gods" but more specific in some ways. like in the longing way

roulette wheel - 17 hrs of all the emo hits. go on, give it a spin.

one crazy summer - playlist for THE summer movie of all time feat bobcat goldthwait.

big stack of records - what I think charlie would actually listen to based on the records in his apartment

nurse - for the nurse in hotel artemis! inspired by her listening to california dreamin

orange - this is technically @charlies-freckles 's but I helped :) it's like soft orange light through a window

complicated relationship with religion - i got so into black veil brides etc and then got in mega trouble at home and got my secular music privileges rescinded. lmfao. so what I had was my dad's old christian metal... which I do treasure now lol

i’m a fool to want you - the janitor always mops twice au, film noir and 40s inspired

air - it’s like romance for when you’re trying to pick up artsy chicks. [lie] not inspired by anything by the way. (trips and falls and the thought of charlie day playing ‘to be of use’ by smog for his wife falls out of my pockets)

untitled - sons of anarchy inspired playlist. my interest in the show fizzled out before i could finish but it still goes hard.

we’re spontaneous! - i want you back inspired classic rock romantic mix. heavy on the rod stewart.

it’s a time machine - going the distance inspired 80s/synth pop ballads and yes it starts out with take my breath away.

the trick is to keep breathing - the chronicles of amber inspired playlist for random & vialle’s relationship lol. the title references how to get into remba you have to walk into the water without holding your breath but it’s also a song by garbage.. wow

untitled gamer longing - when you want to play something but don’t know what you want to play and also you feel sad.

disco elysium hotel room - disco elysium but it’s mostly lana del rey for when you’re thirsting after the miserable old man

you make me feel like i can do anything - ska playlist with a little touch of wow i wish charlie kelly was my boyfriend

pocket candy - playlist for when you’re gonna put out for the cute janitor

roller rink mix - 80s/early 90s skating mix to go with my fic

indoor stargazing - songs I would never partake in any substances to btw. actually for real because these are so good on their own.

squadra - um, jojo’s bizarre adventure in 2022 because i’m still not over la squadra from part five?

it’s pronounced “nice” - acapulco hotel artemis playlist. it’s more 80s jams but this time a little sleazier, a little more “it’s a sin” a little more “maneater”

mild mannered romantic lead - uhh, another 80s/90s playlist but this time some just like heaven, some hopelessly devoted to you.

violent women <3 - rage playlist to drive home from work to. or to work to, i don’t judge.

in the suburbs - my serious macden playlist, cowboy angst inspired

oh so he’s a captain now? - my captain jack harkness playlist but it’s mostly billy joel just be warned, it’s really good though.

living in the question - less of a hermann gottleib playlist than it is just a me being very sad and lonely playlist but that’s fucking lame to say <3 dark academia core

oct31 - boring ass Halloween playlist

it’s closer than you think - owen harper torchwood angst playlist that starts out with elton john’s jaunty “i think i’m gonna kill myself”

men seeking other men - vaguely charmacden twinsizedmattressy vibes

you came back! - toshiko sato torchwood angst playlist. one could describe it as kafka-esque

mcdn - macden emogirl playlist

cbmflau - charbitch my fair lady au playlist. musical numbers i think charlie and his smart bf should kiss to

and the living is easy - it’s like if hemingway did trip hop.

why would someone name a knife? - horizon zero dawn’s niloy presents: badass scores

elf friends - sam/frodo lord of the rings inspired, also just general sad, beautiful yearning.

hasty folk aren’t we? - merry/pippin lord of the rings inspired. 90s, early 00s, sweltering summers in cars without ac.

crimson and clover - dad rock playlist of songs i thought kicked ass when i was 16 (they still do)

necromancin dancin - when you’re dead and evil and cool as fuck

the sun you cannot feel - my d&d oc lol

subaru crosstrek - god i don’t know how to describe this one unless you’ve seen big time adolescence. it’s like loser music.

not so great - oikawa haikyuu inspired depressing hyperpop i think...... don’t judge <3

brainmelt - vaporwave recommendations!

i know it’s over - it’s over but you’re still in love, whatever that means.

one way or another - yuri fire emblem three houses core. it’s like, sexy, evil, hype.

hymns - hubert fire emblem three houses core. it’s like sexy, evil, hype (very different than above, trust me)

are you kidding? - my chuck/blair gossip girl playlist...

2010s flashback - what it says on the tin also send recs please.

villain backstory - i am so so evil.

members only - 80s/90s nerdcore

two drifters - linhardt fire emblem three houses core. it’s like sad, sweet, deep, sleepy.

beach episode - sylvix fe3h flavored beachy sad breakup playlist.

out of my head - prosciutto jjba part 5 flavored sexy gun toting dry 80s inspired getting over your ex by executing various acts of precise violence sort of mood.

early morning radio - it's 4am and you're driving. this is what's on the radio.

super fly - disco! good for cleaning your house.

so it's the same - big depression good music (must confess this is also jjba's jotaro kujo inspired. sorry. "so it's the same kind of stand as star platinum?" but make it oh so it's the same depression everywhere)

go on, thank me - my not so secret god complex mix (jjba kishibe rohan inspired)

maybe my gods - gay gay homosexual gay

do you believe in gravity? - a diopucci playlist but it's just like gregorian chants.

I walk the line - cowboys in love (Jojo part 7 mix)

melodramatic - slutty music I play to impress party people (jjba melone mix lol)

click. hum. - depressing but you're in love so it's okay. and like you want to die but you'd live for them (jjba bruabba mix...8+ hrs long cause I was Going Thru It)

diamond is unbreakable playlist - it's like chill cute music idk the genre name. (josuyasu mix)

Christmas ? - infallible Christmas playlist for people who don't like christmas pop

capricorn - it's like cowboy fantasy music for me. idk.

[musicallisto]

May I request 👒 for Edmund Pevensie of Narnia? Thank you and congrats ✨

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬: Ravenclaw, INFJ, my enneagram is 4w5 and my moral alignment is Neutral Good. I may have a slight introverted tendencies and awkward nature, I describe myself as fiery, swears like a sailor, confident, jokester, and, passionate. Religious, super talkative, sometimes hyper (because of excitement), giggly (I always laugh for stupid reasons), nerdy, actually sweet and nice though I can be aloof, intimidating, and scary when I get so angry. I tend to become really fiesty, stands boldly on what I believe (claiming myself as a realist though some of my views doesn't makes sense), and unbothered to be true to myself, clumsy, stubborn, hopeless romantic, young-at-heart, unfortunate and inattentive. I have "no bs" towards the people that I hate, sarcasam and savagery is my main language. But on the other side, I overthink a lot and cry over small things many times, small mistakes leads me to provoke me even more that sounds like a drama queen, yet recognizes a soft spot for dumb jokes, cheesy pickup lines and prefer people with a good sense of humour who see myself as equal. Chill in academics, but very competitive that manages to the top even for my dreams---I'm very dedicated on what I want for my life, and I display modesty and gracefulness towards some people that deserves respect. One notable feature about her is her multi-potentiality due to being naturally gifted in artistic fields (this includes singing).

𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗦: Arts, choir, poetry, karaoke, literature, history, makeup, beauty pageants, fun/deep/dumb conversations, expanding my knowledge in Christianity, documentaries (about saints), reading interesting stuffs, talking about social issues, and creative writing, chilling both indoors and outdoors.

𝗛𝗢𝗕𝗕𝗜𝗘𝗦: Drawing, singing, dancing when nobody's around (I'm very bad at it), sharing nerdy or opinionated thoughts, walking like a model (if I ever feel so confident), sleeping, listening to music (from rock to kpop), chatting or browsing on social media, watching videos on YouTube, making terrible jokes/puns, watching cartoons, writing, reading interesting things, and conceptualizing my artworks. I also used to study Italian language a bit

some headcanons about your relationship with edmund pevensie...

you attended an all girls private school in London, and sure enough, Edmund attended the all boys private school immediately next to yours. no one would have pegged you for the rule-breaker type, and in a way you weren't (it was completely harmless, after all!), but a well-known hole in the fence between the two schoolyards was all you needed to meet and play with Edmund

you'd talk all your days away, dreaming about magical worlds and blessed places, truly anywhere other than your city where war was brewing.

until he disappeared one day, sent to the countryside with his siblings to evade the Blitz...

when you're reunited, Edmund is still the sweet and mischievous boy you've always known, only a bit changed, more mature already, and you attribute that to the war. but he tells you all about narnia and the marvelous kingdom he ruled and you understand

you really wish you could visit narnia yourself, but understand you haven't been called (yet), and therefore are content in only listening to Edmund's stories

he looooves your voice. it's one of the only things that manage to soothe him and he tries to teach you narnian songs he remembers by ear for you to sing (with little success)

he's not very good at dancing either, but he's had to learn in the many years (or so it felt like) he's been in Narnia. you stumble through the steps together and he even tries his hardest not to wince when you step on his toes

eventually he's called back to narnia with his siblings and... so are you?

you don't really understand what's happening at first but piece it together fairly quickly basing what you witness on Edmund's numerous accounts

he's elated to see you in Narnia and finally be able to show you his world of legend

even if you passed on your chance to rule Narnia alongside him, the brief time you had together was the most meaningful you've ever shared with anybody

[earlgreytea68]

This post got me thinking about Pete and religion.

Fall Out Boy lyrics are full of Christian religious imagery. You kind of get the impression that Pete was raised in a household where he was just casually surrounded by all of this STUFF, that he absorbed and turned over in his lyrics. I mean, “Knock once for the Father, twice for the Son, three times for the Holy Ghost”... (West Coast Smoker).

He’s preoccupied by Heaven as an exclusive party. The idea shows up again and again. The Black Cards (I *love* the Black Cards stuff, I need to devote a whole thing to Black Cards at some point) have an entire song called “A Club Called Heaven.” On “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Fame,” “Heaven’s got a gate full of metal detectors.” On “Thriller,” he shows up with his plus one to the afterlife.

But Pete’s not entirely sure he’s getting into that party. In fact, usually Pete puts himself in Hell: He might be dancing in a club called Heaven, but he knows the doorman in Hell personally. The road to his house is paved with good intentions in Hum Hallelujah (which is, of course, traditionally what the road to Hell is paved with); “we’re just Hell’s neighbors” in America’s Suitehearts (if we’re not in Hell, we’re right next door, and that could be Heaven but I don’t think so). To get on St. Peter’s list, you need to lower your standards, says Rat-a-Tat. This is what Pete Wentz lyrics do, a simple sentence like that is LOADED with meaning. Because after all, his name is Peter, and it could be Peter Wentz’s list he’s referring to there, and it could also be the list to get into Heaven, and it could be that getting on Peter Wentz’s list doesn’t actually take that much (lower your standards, I’m never getting any better than this) and it could be that it’s St. Peter at the gates of Heaven who needs to lower *his* standards (again: I’m never getting any better than this).

(My absolute favorite Heaven/Hell lyric, though, is when Pete throws in Purgatory, that place in Catholicism where you go to do penance for your sins before you’re let into Heaven: On w.a.m.s. Pete writes, “My head’s in Heaven, my soles are in Hell, let’s meet in the Purgatory of my hips.” The glorious beauty of the sex innuendo being the *purgatory*: what you have to get yourself through to get to actual Heaven. ugh, Pete Wentz kills me sometimes with the way he uses words.)

He left his conscience pressed between the pages of the Bible in the drawer, but what did it ever do for him? So asks XO, and the gorgeously ambiguous phrasing of those lines KILLS ME. What’s the antecedent to the “it”? His conscience, sure, that’s what he’s thrown carelessly in the drawer. WITH THE BIBLE. Which could also be the “it”: What did that whole faith thing ever get me anyway?

But he wants it *so badly.* My second favorite lyric from Hum Hallelujah (a song that is nothing but excellent lyrics is “I love you in the same way there’s a chapel in a hospital.” There is SO MUCH packed into that line. SO, SO MUCH. And one of the things in there is the ambiguous irresistibility of faith: Sure, maybe the chapel is a last-ditch effort when nothing else works, or maybe that chapel is the ONLY thing that works and the only thing that matters in the whole place. I love you like that, like I don’t know if you’re all I’ve got left or you’re the only thing that matters, and I don’t know which it is but wow, either way, it would be great if you gave me a sign. Ugh that liiiiiine. “Have you ever wanted to disappear and join a monastery?” asks 20 Dollar Nose Bleed.

“I will never believe in anything again,” says (Coffee’s for Closers), but who really believes that? The temptation of belief creeps up in between the proclamation (”kick drum beating in my chest again,” “preach electric to a microphone stand”), undercutting it in the same way that its over-repetition in the song starts to ring hollow (Pete doth protest too much). The comfort that religious people get from their faith in God, Pete wants that. But he can’t get there. He’s always hedging his bets (“in case God doesn’t show” --Thnks fr th Mmrs). He’s always doubtful of God’s good intentions if He is there (”when the world ends, will God go down with it?” --What a Catch, Donnie).

So he tries to find substitutes for this faith he doesn’t have. “My words are my faith,” says Hum Hallelujah, but then, immediately afterward, “To hell with our good name,” so that’s how much actual trust he thinks you should place in that. “We’re a bull and your ears are a china shop.” Look at what a mess my words can make in there if you let them in; that’s what faith does to you, buddy. His gospel is the gospel of giving up (Arms Race). “Follow the disorganized religion of my head,” says West Coast Smoker. “I can work a miracle,” boasts Uma Thurman. “I’m the holy water you have been without,” says Fourth of July.

But he’s not really what he wants to believe in. “We’re saints just swimming in our sins,” Twin Skeleton’s reminds everyone. “If we pray to the Lord,” goes the outro on w.a.m.s., “does he sing on a stage?” Maybe rock and roll is what he should be believing in? “I’m the last damn kid still kicking who still believes,” claims Save Rock and Roll. “I will defend the faith, going down swinging.”

All of which brings us to MANIA. Religion, faith, belief is ALL OVER MANIA. In fact, the entire album is constructed as a journey toward finding the thing you believe in, the thing you have faith in, and finally settling in to cling tight to it. The first song on the album, Stay Frosty, Royal Milk Tea, is struggling with loss of things to believe in: “All my childhood heroes have fallen off or died.” (Champion later has the same theme: “I’m young enough to still believe, but young enough not to know what to believe in.” The most explicit Pete has ever been about his journey toward faith.) But then, in the second song, Last of the Real Ones, the lyrics have found someone to revolve around, someone to be with forever: “the ultra-kind of love,” that ultimate faith. But it’s not quite there yet. There’s doubt in there. “Tell me I’m the only one even if it’s not true.” “There’s been a million before me.” The bridge is expert Fall-Out-Boy song ambiguity. “I’m done with having dreams, the thing that I believe / you drain the fear from me.” Is that “I believe that you drain the fear from me”? Or is that “I’m done with the thing that I believe”? The song’s phrasing lets it be both at once, both a proclamation of faith and a proclamation of doubt, all at the same time.

But things get better. We eventually get to “Church.” An entire song where the religious imagery is pitched toward love (or blowjobs, like, same thing, maybe, for Pete Wentz). “If YOU were church, I’d get on my knees, confess my love, I’d know where to be, my sanctuary, you’re holy to me,” is the refrain of the whole song. It can’t get any clearer than that. Pete Wentz has found what he wants to believe in, and it’s the YOU (whoever that might be ahem just saying that in “Sunshine Riptide,” the she says “I love you ‘til I don’t,” while the You is the “truest feeling yet”). The other enduring theme in MANIA is fakeness and pretend: fake tears, fake friends, people you’re pretending with and around. That theme shows up in Church, too: “I’ve got a few more fake friends and it’s getting hard to know what’s real.” But in Church the proclamation of faith is in the chorus, which means that no matter how anxious Pete gets himself in the lyrics, he resolves back to the central belief: I’ve got you, I know where I should be. YOU’RE what’s real, right here, forget everyone else. 

AND THEN we get Heaven’s Gate. Which revisits Pete’s favorite idea that Heaven is a party he’s going to have to try to crash. But here the song is all about how he’s no longer aimlessly looking for something to believe in; he’s found it: “I’m a missile that’s guided to you.” Maybe he’s gotten it wrong, that he’s chosen the You as his thing to believe in, that the only thing he wants is Your love, but if he’s gotten it wrong, he’s got faith the You is going to get it right and give him the boost he needs into Heaven. “Honey, please come through” and take me along with Your awesomeness, because I’ve decided it’s You I’m going to follow, Your dreams I’m going to make come true, and I’m not going to try to detox from You anymore, I’m just going to go all-in on this whole thing, and in the end, if I don’t make it on the list, will You slip me a wristband?

The album closes out with Young and Menace, with “I’ve lived so much life I think that God is gonna have to kill me twice,” which is such a beautiful bookend to “I read about the afterlife but I never really lived” in Saturday, like, ugh, that always kills me, look how far Pete Wentz has come, and then finally into Bishop’s Knife Trick: “I’m yours, ‘til the earth starts to crumble and the heavens roll away.”

Let’s go back to the places that we never should have left.

Idk, maybe you could read this as: Pete Wentz finally found something to believe in, and it ended up being the person who hasn’t left his side in 20 years, the person he’s never had to pretend with, the person who’s been there through all the fake friends, the person who’s golden and amazing and DEFINITELY going to get it right when Pete doesn’t. I mean, maybe you could read it this way.

[the-unofficial-village-idiot]

Zombie by the Cranberries by Andrew Jackson Jihad by AJJ by [deadname]

by Mike [Redacted]

“... I don’t believe in anything / And I- I wanna be someone to believe / to believe…” You may recognize that as a line from Mr. Jones by Counting Crows, a band that I don’t even listen to, but I think about that lyric fairly regularly. I think about it because I don’t believe in anything, but I do want to believe. It’s like that cheesy alien t-shirt: “I want to believe.”

If this was a coming-of-age movie, this would be the record-scratch/freeze-frame, “Yeah, that’s me, you’re probably wondering how I got into this situation.” Well, I’ll tell you. I was a practicing Christian until the age of four. I know, I know, just enough time to get sprinkled with holy water but not enough time to eat the wafers. So, needless to say, I didn’t grow up believing in God.

I wanted to, though. I tried praying in fifth grade, but I’m impatient and nothing happened, so I decided not to put too much money on the whole omnipotent-being thing. In sixth grade I got really into Greek mythology. How many of you have read Percy Jackson? Yeah, that was my starting point too. But I told my mom I believed in the Greek gods and she asked me if I actually thought they were real—not in judgment, just in curiosity—and I came to the conclusion that I didn't. I just wanted to believe so bad I could almost feel it.

Like the line from Lies About Sea Creatures by Ada Limón: “Sometimes, you just want / something so hard you have to lie about it, so you can hold it in your mouth for a minute.” That’s what I want, a belief I can hold in my mouth. Something to chew on, to consider. I guess that’s why I’m agnostic. 

I considered believing in something, but I’m uncertain. I don’t like to count my eggs before I put them in the basket, much less before they hatch. What if I’m wrong? I have the guilt of a Catholic with none of the belief; if they’re to be believed, I’ll burn in hell for being queer. My partner recommended I convert to Judaism. I went as far as contacting a rabbi, but I didn’t go through with it. I couldn’t. I can’t cement myself with one singular belief. I’m indecisive.

You might say “Mike, you don’t need religion to have a belief,” and I know that. I know I don’t need religion to have a belief. But I don't have a leg to stand on regardless. I always think about the line from The Great Gatsby, “conduct may be founded on the hard rock or the wet marshes.” I have nothing but wet marshes beneath my conduct and by extension beneath my beliefs.

I’d like to believe humanity is inherently good, but it’s hard not to fall into misanthropy with the daily live-stream of death and destruction, beamed straight to my phone. People are being slaughtered on the news. How can I watch that and think “yeah, humanity is inherently good.” I’ll throw another quote at you, this one from the novel Good Omens: “most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused… by people being fundamentally people.” That I can put some money on; people are people. It’s a bit hard to argue with; people are, by definition, people. The reflexive property, for those of you that know geometry.

You may wonder why I’m throwing quotes at you left-and-right. It’s because I’m no artist. I hear things and I incorporate them into the haphazardly assembled quilt of my worldview. I’m just a kid—I am eighteen years old—and I’m supposed to have a solid worldview? It’s nothing but wet marshes. These quotes are a log I can stand on in the marsh. It isn’t solid, but it’s something.

Maybe I should’ve said that I’m a socialist, but I’ve never read Marx. I’m a lazy socialist, driven by the radical idea that everyone should be given the basic necessities unconditionally. Maybe I’m not a misanthrope. Maybe that’s just a cool word I heard in a Days N Daze song. That’s a band I do listen to, if anyone’s taking notes.

I will call myself a nihilist though. The one thing I’m sure of is that none of this matters. I only bother to keep trying out of perfectionism and a need to make someone—anyone—proud.

I'll even say I believe in Punxsutawney Phil, and in the symbolism of different numbers of crows. Not really, but for the bit. I'm more committed to the bit than to any belief. It's easier if it's a joke. I know the groundhog isn't immortal and can't really predict the weather. I know one crow doesn't foretell sorrow, two don't foretell joy. I pretend to believe for the bit. That's all it's ever been, I pretend to believe to be funny. I pretend to believe in hopes I'll feel something. 

Give me a revelation! Please! If there is a god, strike me down! I know you want to! I'm a queer agnostic! A perfect example! Give me a sign! Please give me a sign.

So, to conclude, I’m a fourteen-years-lapsed Christian with no solid worldview and a patchwork of quotes to hold onto in hopes of someday coming up with something. Something that lets me say “this I believe…” without feeling like a liar.

Just gave a speech called "Zombie by the Cranberries by Andrew Jackson Jihad by AJJ by [my deadname]" about my beliefs and I'm feeling sooooo menatlly ill <3

[kuroosdreamwifey]

songs the jjk characters would listen to

- headcanons

- yuji; megumi; nobara; inumaki; satoru; kento; toji; sukuna;

- warnings: spoilers(nanami)

itadori yuji

dynamite - bts

dynamite is yuji's go-to jam for dance sessions. when he's alone. dynamite goes on full volume and he's having a whole performance

bad romance - lady gaga

bad romance is yuji's duet song. he will make his partner perform this with him, even better if there's an audience. he even has a whole choreography for it

keep on - sasha sloan

keep on is a very different vibe from the other two. this is the song he listens to when the reality of his fate hits him, and when he gets really sad about what will eventually happen to him. during these times, the song comforts him

fushiguro megumi

sunflower - post malone, swae lee

sunflower would be megumi's whole vibe. it's the song he plays on repeat every damn day. the vibe of this song suits megumi so much.

dancing queen - abba

okay, dancing queen is megumi's guilty pleasure. no one ever finds out about his late night jam sessions and no one ever will. in fact, megumi is definitely a closeted abba fan.

line without a hook - ricky montgomery

line without a hook is the song i feel explains how megumi looks at this partner. the line "she's a lady and i am just a line without a hook" probably hits him the hardest, since he has trouble believing that his partner actually wants to be with him since they're "too good" for him.

kugisaki nobara

jenny - studio killers

jenny will be the song nobara uses to confess to her partner. and since then, it'll become their song. she listens to it, and thinks of them.

hips don't lie - shakira ft. wyclef jean

hips don't lie is to nobara what bad romance is to yuji. nobara knows every word and the dance and the moment she steps up to perform, everyone is in awe because she rocks it.

cake by the ocean - dnce

cake by the ocean is her everyday jam. it's the song she listens to every morning because it puts her in the perfect mood for the rest of the day.

inumaki toge

i wanna be yours - arctic monkeys

toge is an arctic monkeys fan. period. he's a man of few words (literally) so he would most definitely play i wanna be yours as a way of communicating with his partner.

someone's someone - monsta x

okay, this has something to do with his speech restrictions. not many people would be willing to stay with someone who mostly communicates using food names so it's probably a deep insecurity of his. someone's someone would represent his longing to be a good partner for someone.

freak - doja cat

toge is low-key not as innocent as he seems. the man can literally control you with his words what do you expect? freak, in my opinion, is a song that his partner would play for him while giving him a show, iykwim.

gojo satoru

thot shit - megan thee stallion

do i need to say anymore?? thot shit + gojo = perfection. sorry, but i believe that gojo is a religious megan fan, and this is his favourite song for sure.

industry baby - lil nas x ft. jack harlow

this man is the best sorcerer ever, and you're telling me he won't listen to industry baby? the entire song is literally about being the best, and you can bet that gojo knows jack's rap perfectly.

finesse - bruno mars ft. cardi b

finesse is gojo's vibe. i can see him dancing to this song, and forcing megumi to join him too. finesse is the kind of song that'll lift your spirits no matter what, and despite how gojo may seem laid-back and chill, he definitely needs a pick-me-up and finesse is that song.

nanami kento

teeth - 5sos

this may seem like projection, but as a 5sos fan, nanami definitely listens to them on a daily basis. teeth, in particular, is his favourite simply because of the music. this kind of music is something he would love. not too chill, not too loud, just right.

earned it - the weeknd

y'all already know what this song is for. manifesting nanami as christian grey. seriously though, earned it is the exact type of song he'd play while his partner and him are doing nsfw things.

i hear a symphony - cody fry (spoilers)

okay, this may make you cry. if there's one song nanami associates with his partner. it's this. i feel like, as he's breathing his last breath, he'll ask his s/o to sing this song to him. "you took my broken melody and now i hear a symphony" all he wants is to hear his love's voice one last time before he goes.

fushiguro toji

church - chase atlantic

"baptise in your thighs 'til it hurts" are you telling me that toji won't play this while him and his partner are doing the deed?! this is toji's song. it just suits him so well.

all i wanna do - jay park

jay park and toji are in the big tiddies committee together and i take no objections. but seriously, all i wanna do is toji's jam. i can just see him listening to this and thinking about his partner like goddamn this man can make me simp for him with just my imagination.

house of memories - panic! at the disco

this song, to me, is something that symbolizes toji's past loves, or just anything that he used to love but he lost. it's nostalgic, but also a reminder of everything he loved and lost.

ryomen sukuna

slow down - chase atlantic

sukuna x slow down?? best thing ever. slow down is sukuna's song, and no one can convince me different. this song is definitely playing while ~spicy~ moments happen between him and his s/o.

get into it - doja cat

listen, sukuna IS a doja cat person and idc what y'all say. doja cat is his jam and he will be dancing like a stripper to get into it. this song is this man's spirit song okay?

slow dancing in the dark - joji

okay, this was a pretty hard one. everyone knows sukuna as the king of curses, and while he wouldn't care about it, when he's with his partner small insecurities would creep in. things like how his partner deserves someone who hasn't committed mass murder and will probably die. this song perfectly conveys that feeling, so i chose it for him.

--

This is a playlist with all the songs!!: link

[emilyrox]

Youtube Music also has a recap I am SO READY to expose myself 😎

This equals 954 hours and 47 minutes.

That equals roughly 39 days of just music. 39 days we'll spent.

I got into The Weeknd earlier this year, a couple months after "Dawn FM" came out. So like, April or May. Both Dawn FM and After Hours own my heart and I've come up with a whole ass story line for them.

All of these artists I've had specific phases for ar some point this year.

The Weeknd: summer + late October

Evanescence: honestly idk if this phase ever truly ends

Ariana Grande: early in the year. But comes back.

Flyleaf: September - now

Set It Off: March - May

This song is why I don't think the Evanescence phase truly ended. This has become one of my favorite Evanescence songs. The vocals and instrumentation kick ass, it's fast and very stimulating in a good way, and it just hits different, ya know?

I also associate this song with Regina from Once Upon A Time. The lyrics remind me a lot of her internal struggle with dealing with the bad things she's done and wanting to disassociate herself from them (see the season 5 finale) but knowing she can't really do that, and having to accept that (see all of season 6).

Both this remix and the original go hard and are S-tier.

1. Already explained.

2. This song also goes hard and hits different. I know the real context of it is that it's about Jesus (Christian rock band), but I reinterpreted it as being about Emma Swan from Once Upon A Time. The first two verses and choruses can be seen as about her building up her walls due to all her trauma and people that have severely hurt her (Neal Cassidy, for instance), but the bridge and third chorus show her in a better place in her life, now surrounded by people that love her and make her feel safe enough to start breaking those walls (Killian, for instance).

3. I have a specific plot line made for this song but it's too long to put here.

4. Got into this song around the same time ISWM came out so I associate the two together now.

5. First off I had no idea that & Juliet existed until I heard this cover and I want to explore it more. Secondly I didn't think I'd ever hear Britney Spear's "Baby One More Time" as a tragic ballad but here we are. It's awesome and I want Anna's voice.

I don't actually have a favorite genre but this tracks.

Made this playlist because "Monster by KIRA slaps." I'm glad people enjoy it! Although there are definetely more covers to add to this by now. I made this in high school. I'm a sophomore in college now. It needs an update.

YouTube Music was trying to say “Oh you set the trend of people listening to Kim Petras :D” which I honestly doubt, but it honestly gives me “I listened to Kim Petras BEFORE it was cool” vibes

I guess this is true? I don’t think “Erase This” by Evanescence was her most popular song from the album “Evanescence” for example.

Y U P

My top 5 songs you saw earlier I put on loop for days at a time. I am not ashamed.

Gotta have a sick beat for the climax of the fake scenarios in my head.

I’ve been psychoanalyzed by YouTube music y’all. And it fits.

Like I said earlier, I don’t have a favorite genre of music. One day I’m vibing to rock, the next pop, the next Vocaloid, the next a song about a video game I’ve never played but it absolutely slaps.

And this has been my YouTube Music 2022 Recap. Thank you for indulging me to do this.