#this episode is so chaotic and has some banger lines

[sophsun1]

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia – 5.04: The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention

[mystic-myrtille]

What did you think of Jagged Rock being revealed to be Luka's father?

Oh I have a lot of thoughts on that. As most things in the show, the execution is shit but the general idea is cool.

I mean, a plot line where the guy with daddy issues finds out that his deadbeat father, who left his mother behind with not one but two little kids and never even trying to reach out to them, is in reality his number one idol with whom he had interacted in the past.

That is fucking juicy.

There is so much potential for angst there. They could've explored Luka's trauma and the effects it has on his life, how he reacts to this reveal and ultimately how he tries to deal with it. Would he act out and cry over how shitty Jagged is?Would he let his friends and family comfort him? Or does he try to keep things to himself to not burden anyone? Does Jagged feel regret? Will he try to redeem himself? How do they move forward? Would Luka want to keep in contact with the man who abandoned his family? How would that affect Jagged's relationship with the rest of the cast? What if, for example, Luka doesn't want contact but Juleka does? The family dynamic is super messy and there's a ton of stuff you can do with that, develop characters further and have them grow.

And canon... yeah. The reveal is shoehorned into the Luka//nette breakup episode. It's not the main plot, not even a b-plot, it's just like a fun fact thrown in to justify Luka's reaction to Marinette keeping secrets.

Jagged then waits before the boat and just goes "Hey we can make dope music together:)" and Luka just fucking forgives him. Instantly. No questions asked. After Jagged has the audacity to say him leaving his family inspired some banger songs, one of which is Luka's favorite. After Luka yells at him with so much hurt in his voice why he abandoned him.

And then the show sets Jagged up as so great and cool that he came back to his family and stepped up as a loving dad who made amends with his ex gf (with whom he randomly flirted pre reveal but then had a bad relationship with her??) in order to have a happy family, completely ignoring that he only did all of that when he was specifically called out for being a deadbeat. Like had Luka not been akumatized into Truth, Jagged wouldn't have come back into their lives.

This whole thing ruined canon Jagged and are pretty clear indicators that the writers don't care about writing complex characters with complex feelings. It's all shook value and plot device.

But if the writers really didn't want Luka and Jagged to have a bad relationship, they could've just left it at "Jagged and Anarka were in a band once". Jagged learns that his old band mate has kids who are into music and have a band, so he decides to invite them to his studio, show them some cool stuff on the guitar, become their mentor. He doesn't have to be their bio dad to take care of them and love them. Of course, the show could've dropped some ambiguous hints that he might be, but then never confirm it because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. Or if they confirm it, it's also a surprise to Jagged, so he wasn't there as a dad because he didn't even know he was one and now everybody adjusts their life according to this new revelation.

And I like those wholesome plots. I love fanworks about Couffaine family shenanigans, they're chaotic and awesome<3

So yeah, in conclusion, everyone involved deserved better.

[neospokenworld]

SPRING ANIME 2024 FINAL THOUGHTS (PART 2)

Part one here

SEIYUU RADIO NO URA OMOTE

You know, ever since seeing Oshi no Ko's 1st season I've wanted to watch another anime that more or less walked through the behind the scenes of the industry, so when I heard what was Seiyuu Radio about I definitely wanted to see it and now that the season ended it was quite good ngl.

it was pretty good to watch and even if it probably isn't faithful to the VA industry it also gave some insight to the behind the scenes of it, I absolutely loved how in this final episode the entire sequence of Yasumi rerecording her lines to the 'Phantom' show was done with no music nor sound effects, just pure raw Voice Acting altogether. One thing I would say tho is that if it wasn't because a lot of yuri pages I follow said that this is a yuri slowburn I wouldn't even believe it was the intention other than slight subtext lol, I get the feeling that this show would need like 2 more seasons to show something romantic between Yuhi and Yasumi and to be honest I wouldn't mind it at all, I absolutely loved their rivalry in here and how they have each other's back if either of them was in actual trouble (Like Yuhi with the casting couch rumors and Yasumi with her lack of confidence for her role in Phantom). Needless to say this was a good anime all in all and while I would probably put it at the bottom of a ranking with all of the ones I saw complete this season it's wouldn't be because it was bad by any means, but just because I liked the other ones more in the end (also I would love to see a 2nd season of it, even if the chances are almost 0 lol)

GIRLS BAND CRY

When I first started this anime, all I thought was that it was gonna be a fun little anime with great visuals and not much else, but now that it finished all I gotta say is that it was easily my favorite anime out of the Spring season.

Like seriously, it's crazy how with each episode it got better and better. All of the TogeToge girls were really likeable to see and their interactions with each other were just so good in general, the animation was 100% a standout for the series with such an amazing 3D, and the songs were like OH MY FUCKING GOD THEY ARE SUCH BANGERS!! Like at one point I just downloaded the album they have and each new song that it came just went straight into my playlist

Another great thing it had was the relationship Momoka and Nina had over the course of the show, I'm gonna be honest here I didn't expected the yuri elements to be brought up again after the confession, this isn't that type of story in the end and even then, you could see the two sides of their really close bond, from one side of bickering and arguing but in the end being there for each other, to the other side of deep admiration (and love) for the other and always having each other back. Even if there wasn't anything canon in the end they have such chemistry that it wouldn't be crazy that they would be already dating by the time the final episode arrived

And that mainly going on Nina and Momoka's side of the band, both Rupa and Tomo had already that deep bond between them and you could see how much they trust each other, and Subaru being the wild card that easily ties everything together in the amazing band that is Togenashi Togeari. Every character has something going for them that can make you love them and be their favorite without looking down any of the others. Nina's passion and decisiveness, Momoka's leadership and coolness, Tomo's take-no-shit attitude and brash honesty, Rupa being basically the mom/older sister of the group and having an overall more relaxed nature (thus making her an amazing hidden agent of chaos), and Subaru's chaotic and grounded nature that helped both enhance the comedy and bring the girls down whenever needed

I hope we get more content for the show in the future, whether it's in form of new music; merch; a movie; second season; manga; anything, 'cause this was just too fucking good to just end here. Goated anime and the best of the season imo

KAIJU No. 8

Honestly I'm still surprised that this series isn't talked more, like I know that it has a fandom talking about it that I still haven't interacted with, but outside of that I've seen very counted posts recommending it or just mentioning it which is a shame 'cause these last 5 episodes were absolutely amazing

Like at first I was like ''it's a good one, but not as good as most I'm seeing'' but after Number 9 came to attack the defense force for the first time it was like the show awakened and started delivering banger after banger episodes, and before that we already had cool characters to go for in Shinomiya, Kafka, Hoshina and Reno. The animation was real good (especially in both the Hoshino vs Kafka fight and the full awakening of Number 8) and the action was cool too, plus it has nice characters and a pretty interesting story to tie it all up, I'm like 90% sure this will have a second season in the future and I'll be waiting for it 'cause I wanna know more about the story (even if I'm gonna start reading the manga sooner or later lol).

This anime was a late bloomer like Kafka in the end lol

SASAYAKU YOU NI KOI WO UTAU

Well, technically this isn't the final episode, but since the final 2 have been postponed until further notice I'm gonna share my ''final'' thoughts here.

I HATE how badly was this anime treated, like it had everything to become easily one of the best Yuri anime of all time after the first 2 episodes but then everything came crashing down and the production of it was basically a Mappa 2.0, so much that episodes 9 and 10 were delayed for 2 weeks and the final episodes are gonna be aired at some point in the future, leaving it inconclusive for the season.

But I'm gonna see it here on a positive side, the first two episodes were just extremely beautiful and even if by episode 3 the animation was downgraded I'm here as an anime only for this series, so I could watch this for the story instead of for the adaptation and to be honest I love the story. I love the characters and the dynamic between them, the soundtrack was really good and the songs were great too, in my opinion this anime is a top 3 for the season, and I understand the hate it gets from the fans since, while I still haven't read the manga, I can imagine how bad it must feel that the adaptation was butchered so badly that even the author hated it.

This anime deserved so much better, I really liked it from beginning to end, to the point where I'm gonna start reading the manga because of how good the story was so at least the anime did it's purpose of guiding people into reading it's source material. if by some miracle there's a remake I'll 100% be here for it, I loved it as someone who didn't knew anything about it but the fans deserved a far better adaptation

And that's it!! I'm gonna leave here my ranking for each of the anime's I saw to completion, I'll probably make another rank for my favorite OP and ED tomorrow too but for now thanks for reading

1 Girls Band Cry

2 Jellyfish Can't Swim at Night

3 Whisper me a Love Song

4 Bartender

5 Kaiju No. 8

6 Train to the End of the World

7 Delicious in Dungeon

8 The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio

[everybodyknows-everybodydies]

Elizabeth Corday and Romano for the send character post

Elizabeth:

Why I like them: arrogant and has good reason to be. wildly self-destructive in response to emotional turmoil. so bad at so many things but absolutely confidently doing them anyway. total weirdo who, and I quote, thinks "being 'cool' seems somewhat limiting." desperately trying to be Good but she's also capable of such vicious pettiness and unkindness. when she does the big sad eyes I would throw myself into the sea if she asked it of me.

Why I don’t: s10 my nemesis until the end of time

Favorite episode (scene if movie): EXODUS ft. Sooty Elizabeth, a favorite blind box variant (gestures to my icon)

Favorite season/movie: I have to say s6. Dean Rollins arc my most dearly beloved

Favorite line: her goodbye spiel to Rollins is just banger after banger... but especially I held your every breath in my hands. like!!!!

Favorite outfit: whenever she wears sweaters!! the blue turtleneck especially is so underrated.

OTP: ot3 reigns forever :')

Brotp: canonically, Cordano. noncanonically, Susan should have stayed specifically so they could be chaotic bi friends.

Headcanon: she wants to be the kind of person who starts decorating for holidays super early but she always is like "tomorrow!!" and then it's like The Day Before Thanksgiving and she's hurling fistfuls of orange streamers over the banister like WHY DID NOBODY MAKE ME DO THIS SOONER

Unpopular opinion: That Woman Was Never Supposed To Be A Mother: a 25 page essay by Mouse

A wish: more sweaters!! less emotional self-harm!!! also she should kiss me.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: what else could you possibly do to me that s10 didn't already. I mean.

5 words to best describe them: the. love. of. my. life.

Romano:

Why I like them: he has made himself a performance. he has made himself a villain. he is soooo fake and he is soooo horrible and he's my special little guy and I need to fistfight him in the parking lot. he says things and then is just like :) as though he hasn't just vocalized a sentence no human being would ever say under normal circumstances. he is like a chew toy to me and well I am tearing him to shreds

Why I don’t: lol have you seen him. I said meet me in the PARKING LOT, ROBERT

Favorite episode (scene if movie): hmmmmm this is a TOUGH ONE. Power is one of my all-time favorites anyway but he's really good in it especially so let's go with that one

Favorite season/movie: s5&6 again. it's where I LIVE

Favorite line: "DO YOU DREAM OF LIZZIE CORDAY??"

Favorite outfit: I am legally obligated to say the speedo unfortunately

OTP: please.

Brotp: Cordano... Peter... Rogreene... Gretel...

Headcanon: I read him as ace so whenever he pulls a "haha I thought we were talking about sex :)" at an utterly bizarre moment, in my heart he's like "Mission Complete: I Have Successfully Passed As A Normal Heterosexual Man!"

Unpopular opinion: I feel like an insane person but he is so obviously a constructed persona most of the time. like. a person with power over others is not going to be well-liked by everybody so he just decided he's not going to be well-liked by ANYBODY. also if you tell him to stop... he stops. he respects people who have a spine.

A wish: no, little bald boy, don't go onto the roof

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: backstory lol I like him being such a blank slate and so fan attempts at giving him some kind of tragic past are always so funny to me like. he's just a massive dick it's okay he doesn't need a sad reason for it

5 words to best describe them: idiot garbage bag with heart.

[avinaccia]

A Completely Objective and Logical Ranking of Every Hetalia Character Song

New character songs are dropping,  I have too much time on my hands, let’s go. 

Also here’s a Youtube playlist for the ~✨nostalgia✨~

Bring it on in the tags 

71. Ah Legendary Class⭐The Awesome Me Highway [Prussia]: Absolutely tearing it up on the drums and on the vocal cords alike (I pray for Atsushi Kousaka). Great for the memes. 

70.  Happy Thoughts Museum [???]: This is listed as an official song but I had literally never heard of the title. Then I listened to it and BAM! Smack back to 2013 watching the teasers for the show on Funimation. Not sure I’d count it as a character song though...

69. (Nice)  My Song that is written by me for me [Prussia]: Deafened me but I can appreciate the industrial grind.

68.  My House is...Quiet. ~With the Trolls~ [Norway]: I have never heard this song, nor can I find any version of it online. By default it goes here and I am so sorry Norge.

67.  Make a Wish to Santa♪ [Sealand]: The discordant notes and childish exuberance only serve to make this sound like a demonic plea to Santa to eliminate the singer’s enemies.

66.  Heaven and Hell on Earth [Rome]: Rome sounds like he’s been in the corner of a restroom. Extra points for the metal version, minus points for the fact that the beach scene was replayed like 1764 times.

65. Canada Complete Introduction [Canada]: Quiet af until Kumacheerio shows up and blows out your speakers. they did you dirty my darling 😔

64.  It’s Easy!!! [America]: I don't think any video of this has ever stayed up for more than 20 seconds. Sounds cool, but like I was listening to 20 different genres at once, someone make him calm down.

63.  Bù Zàiyì the Small Stuff ☆ [China]: I cannot for the life of me find the complete song anywhere, clips have a cool beat though

62.  Let's Boil Hot Water♪ [Italy]: Exactly what it says on the tin..though a bit too close to elevator music for my tastes.

61.  The Fragrance of Early Summer [Japan]: Very ‘from the books’ Japan-esque song

60.  Peace Sounds Nice…[Baltic Trio]: All well and good until the radio demon shows up

59.  W●D●C ~World Dancing~ [America]: How a song can sound like it’s from 4 different decades at once is beyond me

58.  Overflowing Passion [BFT]: This is just drunken karaoke and I have 0 clue what’s going on #iconicforallthewrongreasons

57. Ren●Ren●Renaissance♪ [Rome+Chibitalia]: Wholesome Grandpa with Grandson content - barring the fact that Italy sounds on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Rome has had too much wine.

56.  Roma Antiqua [Rome]: Similar energy to any one of China’s songs - there’s a part of the song where it sounds like he’s singing in the shower, and I will never not laugh at [CENSORED]

55.  Country From Where the Sun Rises, Zipangu [Japan]: Very chill, very Japan, but just meh for me.

54.  Moon Over Emei Shan [China]: Good message, okay song.

53.  My Friend [England]: What a mind palace you must have Mr. Kirkland

52.  With Love, from Iceland [Iceland]: Three words: Heavy. Metal. Puffin.

51.  Having Friends is Nice...♫ [Russia]: Russia is the cutest thing ever

50.  Mm. [Sweden]: Smooth transition from WWE Smackdown to shopping at IKEA.

49.  Why don’t you come over? ~Beyond the Northern Lights~ [Iceland]: I don’t want to be mean but...this does sound like the second closing theme to an anime whose first closing was much more popular (à la Soul Eater)

48. Gakuen☆Festa [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Sounds like a 60s song of the summer but oh dear their voices do not go together. Hella cute though.

47.  Wa! Wa!! World Ondo [Main Cast]: One time I travelled 10 hours in a coach bus with a bunch of teenagers to a city of note in my country, and the only souvenir I bought was the fucking PAINT IT WHITE DVD. Perfectly chaotic, UN ĐĕùX~~

46.  In the Bluebell Woods [England]: In the album cover for this song he’s holding a guitar but this is not a rock song. Still has ‘running through the hills’ levels of dramatism though.

45.  Poi Poi Poi♪ [Taiwan]: You’re telling me that Taiwan, someone whose has *ONE LINE* in Beautiful World (which is criminal tbh what kind of representation-) managed to get an eNTIRE CHARACTER SONG???????

44.  White Flame [Russia]: There’s something to be said for a song that is 3x the length of any Hetalia episode

43.  Ich liebe… [Germany]: Baking cakes for your friends has never been so wholesome.

42.  We Wish you a Merry Christmas [America, China, England, France, Russia]: Nice to see they’ve gotten their shit together since United Nations Sta-hmm.

41.  Ah, Worldwide à la mode [France]: Sounds like a Disney Princess song, hard not to picture France frolicking in a field of flowers.

40.  Che Bello! ~My House is the Greatest!⭐~ [Italy]: Would not be out of place in an advertisement for Sea World.

39.  May You Smile Today [Japan]: THE feel good song of the summer

38.  Let’s Look Behind the Rainbow [Italy]: I will protect you.

37.  I'm your HERO☆ [America]: “Anyone who’s sad or sullen will be arrested” did NOT age well.

36.  Mein Gott! [Prussia]: Alternating headphone effect at the beginning is cool, so is the confidence...the actual singing on the other hand...

35. Nihao⭐China [China]: Listen, all of China’s character songs are great, I just can’t vibe with this one like some of the others.

34.  Pechka ~Light My Heart~ [Russia]: I’m still having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that this and Winter were released at the same time.

33.  Pukapuka⭐Vacation [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Seems just a bit too much like they’re running on a treadmill that’s picking up speed and trying to sing at the same time. Peppy.

32.  Santa Claus is Coming to Town [Germany, Italy, Japan]: This is unironically the best song sung by this trio; can only vibe with for two months out of the year though.

31.  Excuse Me, I Am Sorry [Japan]: Japan’s character traits speedrun. Gives me barbershop quartet vibes for some reason but is catchy as hell.

30.  The Story of Snow and Dreams [Russia]: A superhero anime opening in the making

29. England’s Evil Demon Summoning Song [England]: Sir that is not how you roast a marshmallow, don’t cut yourself on that edge.

28.  Moi Moi Sauna♪ [Finland]: Exactly the type of song you’d expect and it’s wonderful

27.  United Nations Star⭐ [America, China, England, France, Russia]: This isn’t as much of a song as it is a four minute struggle for everyone to sing without America yelling every 5 seconds...Like a particularly musical episode of Hetalia.

26.  Paris is Indeed Splendid [France]: Paris-pa-pa-pa-paris

25.  Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman [England]: Poppy, rocky, polka-dotty

24.  Vorwärts Marsch! [Germany]: To quote the comment section: “This sounds like a German version of I’ll Make a Man out of you.” There’s some truth to that.

23.  Hamburger Street [America]: The product of America’s rapper phase. 8/10 because he’s trying so hard and because I can unironically sing along to all of this.

22.  Hoi Sam☆Nice Guy [Hong Kong]: A song that would absolutely destroy the ankles of anyone in DDR.

21.  I Am German-Made [Germany]: There was once a version that had Germany and Prussia singing at the same time and it sounded positively demonic and Broadway could never

20.  La pasión no se detiene ~Unstoppable Passion~ [Spain]: Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping...

19.  Fall in Love, Mademoiselle [France]: Sounds like it should be in Mozart Opera Rock, I have kiss kiss falled in love.

18. Embrace the Très Bien Moi [France]: This is the definition of SELF LOVE PEOPLE. 

17. Carrot and Stick [Belarus&Ukraine]: Absolutely DRIPPING in 2000s power ballad energy. The type of song that plays on repeat in the mind of the widow whose millionaire husband ‘mysteriously disappeared’ (and the only legit character song ever acknowledged by the anime)

16. C.B.C (Cowboyz Boot Camp) Vol. 1 [America]: AH MAH GAWWDDD

15. Winter [Russia]: Heavy metal fever dream and the perfect song for an angst-ridden teenager

14.  Seychelles Here ⭐ Vacation Island [Seychelles]: UN👏DER👏RA👏TED SONG👏OF 👏THE 👏SUM👏MER👏

13.  Nah, it will settle itself somehow [Romano]: One day I aspire to reach this level of chill

12.  Let’s Enjoy Today [England]: I will never not feel happy when listening to this.

11.  Einsamkeit [Germany]: Ludwig manages to air every single one of his worries about not being good enough compared to his friends and always being perceived as mean or uptight when he’s actually just a softie and now my heart hurts. 💔

10.  Aiyaa Four Thousand Years [China]: A very poignant and beautiful song about the passage of time and the inevitability of its passing; comparable to an ancient ballad complete with explosive crescendos and meaningful lyrics.

9.  Bon Bon Bon❤️C’est Bon C’est Bon! [France]: Peppy, cheerful, adorable, groundbreaking; has been my alarm tone for six years and I’ve yet to tire of it. 9/10 The moaning interspersed throughout has been an interesting wake-up call.

8.  Let’s Enjoy! Let’s Get Excited! Cheers! [Denmark]: This is on par with Everytime we Touch by Cascada in terms of rage potential unlocked (the good kind)

7.  Dream Journey [Japan]: Whoever’s playing the shakuhachi is absolutely KILLING IT. Dramatic, wonderful, great metaphors.

6.  Gourmet’s Heart Beginner Level [China]: Absolute banger, I’m a vegetarian but this would inspire me to eat shumai.

5.  Always with you...Nordic Five! [Nordic FIVVVVVEEEE]: Everyone harmonizes beautifully except for Denmark. Extremely catchy, number placement seemed appropriate. 

4.  Pub and GO! [England]: I love this trash man

3. Maji Kandou⭐Hong Kong Night [Hong Kong]: If you thought Denmark’s song was a banger JUST YOU WAIT. I WILL BLOW OUT MY SPEAKERS LISTENING TO LO-HA-SU.

2. Steady Rhythmus [Germany]: THIS SONG IS METAL AF. Seriously, if it can be classified as ‘hardcore’ by my father and his group of 50-somethings who have decided to single-handedly gatekeep the metal and hardrock genres, it can do anything.

1.  The Delicious Tomato Song 🍅 [Romano]: Beautiful, absolutely awe-inspiring, poignant, catchy lyrics with an extremely deep meaning that only years of meticulous research and analysis can unlock, Romano I love you.

BONUS: Closing Songs

5. Hatafutte Parade (World Series) 

4. Hetalian⭐Jet (The World Twinkle): The song is good, the dancing is cursed 

3. Chikyuu Marugoto Hug Shitainda (World⭐Stars)

2. Marukaite Chikyuu (Hetalia: Axis Powers): nE NE PaPA

1. Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (The Beautiful World)

[ops-on-loop]

OP Review #2: Death Note

For my first solo review I wanted to review openings for another series very near and dear to my heart, Death Note. Death Note is my absolute favorite anime of all time (you can read my review where I gush about it here), so I’m very excited to dive into the openings! 

Death Note has two openings for its anime, “the WORLD” for the first 19 episodes and “What’s up, people?!” for episodes 20 to 37. They’re very interesting openings, I’m excited to dive into my thoughts on each!

“the WORLD” (link to OP)

Category 1, Artstyle/Animation: The art and animation in this opening is incredible. Of course, it was made in the early 2000’s, so it isn’t as crisp and clean as the openings that we see now, but it’s still up there. The beautiful renaissance painting parodies across the opening, the detail to each character (even in moments where I’d imagine it’s REALLY hard to animate, like :08-:11 specifically), just the variety of shots in general is amazing. We never stay in the same environment for more than 3-4 seconds, the opening is always taking you to a different shot of a different character doing something that holds great symbolism to the story. It’s pretty great. They’re also able to pair the music REALLY well with the shots in the opening which is just… mwah. So good. 2/2

Category 2, Song: Bit of an unpopular opinion here… I’m not the biggest fan of the song by itself. I still love it paired with the opening, but when I hear people praise it as “a banger” in the same way that I’d applaud an opening song like “Sakura Kiss”, I just can’t agree. It’s a great song! I really like it! But I wouldn’t say it’s as god-tier as everyone makes it out to be. I rarely listen to it by itself, and I listen to a LOT of OPs when I’m driving/walking to classes so that’s saying a lot. One thing that’s pretty cool is that the song itself REALLY relates to the show. It’s in Japanese so even I missed it the first time around, but when looking up the lyrics some important/telling lines are  “I won’t let anyone interfere with everything that will come about from now on”, “am I a broken Messiah? everyone wished for a finale”, and “someday, I’ll show you a shining sky”. If you’re familiar with the show… it feels like an opening song directly made for this anime. I can respect that. 1.5/2

Category 3, Relevance: This opening is filled with symbolism and references. There’s a lot of Christian symbolism, nods to events in the show, at some points the way that certain characters are LOOKING represents different views in the series, I LOVE openings that are packed full of references like this one. I’m not going to do a full-blown analysis on the opening as A) I’m probably gonna miss stuff and B) that’d take too long, but there’s plenty of “Death Note OP analysis” videos out there so feel free to check those out if you’re interested. I love openings that connect so much to the show it’s just… so good. 2/2

Category 4, Originality: Like I mentioned, it’s pretty PACKED, so even if it does a stereotypical anime opening thing (characters in a line/walking dramatically, etc.) it’s not for a very long time, and it’s surrounded by plenty of originality. The pseudo-renaissance art, different shots of Light in his god-like mindset above the city, all the great shots of Misa, it’s great. I wouldn’t say this is your typical anime opening, even if it does have some familiar elements. 1.5/2

Category 5, Bias: I really like and appreciate this opening, but I’d never call it one of my top favorites. Not to give away too much of the second half of this review, but I actually like OP2 better, so more of my bias points will go to that. To keep it at an even score I’ll give it a 1/2

Death Note’s first opening, “the WORLD” , scores an 8/10. I really like this opening, and even if it’s not one of my favorites I can respect how jam-packed it is with symbolism and references, which I always appreciate and like to see. Song is good too, not to the point that I listen to it by itself, but it’s a nice addition. 

“Whats up, people?!” (link to OP)

Category 1, Artstyle/Animation: This opening upholds the same quality of animation as the first Death Note opening, if not even better. Shit gets crazy. I love the new effects and crazy backgrounds that this opening presents. Ryuk dancing with the apple, Misa on the bed sheets, Light in the MANY shots where he’s just losing his shit, and my absolute favorite shot with Light walking through his “ideal world”. This opening is so chaotic, which perfectly represents the latter half of Death Note… Light is losing his shit, everything is getting chaotic. 2/2

Category 2, Song: I might be in the minority here but I LOVE this opening song. It pairs with the opening so perfectly, and though I’m 100% not a heavy metal/screamo/whatever genre this is fan, I still absolutely rock out to this opening from time to time. My favorite part of the song also pairs with my favorite part of the opening, Light walking through his “ideal world”. The sudden calm pairs so perfectly with the scenery, and when it builds back up to the levels of madness it was at before it’s just gold. The lyrics… are interesting… lots of cursing and screaming and I can’t say it means a lot, it certainly sounds like what the inside of Light’s head probably sounds like by the end of the show. I love it. 2/2

Category 3, Relevance: While there aren’t as many symbolic shots as the first opening, a lot of it still relates to different characters in the show and how they’re portrayed. Misa, instead of being depressed and upset like she was in the first opening, is now simply doing her modeling biz, reflecting how she loses all of her memory of the Death Note in the latter half of the series. Light… we can all tell what the shots of Light are supposed to represent. He’s losing it. There’s a lot less L in the opening (for… sniff… obvious reasons), and all of the other important secondary main characters get pretty cool shots too. Going back again to my favorite scene in the opening (starting at :44), you can see Light walkling by all of the prominent figures in the second half of the series, with his view of each of them very clear based on where they are in comparison to him. In his ideal world, Mikami and Takeda are very prominent figures, with Mikami being closer to him than Takeda (shown by how he walks next to Mikami and away from/above Takeda (because… you know)). He also walks directly above Mello, who in his ideal world is living in the sewers, not much of a threat (which is pretty true for his role in the series). Finally we have Near, who lives in what would be darkness in Light’s ideal world, fighting against his idea of justice, perfectly representing how he views the figure “N” and how the series concludes. It’s just… I love it. While it doesn’t have meaning in every shot like the first opening, I still think that the second opening holds up with its madness and sprinkles of references thrown in. Also, seeing Light scream and thrash around is very therapeutic as he rarely loses his cool in the show. It’s nice… ( ￣ω￣) 2/2

Category 4, Originality: This opening is anything but ordinary. Not many shows go this crazy with their opening song choice and visuals, and I respect Death Note for changing it up a bit. It’s pretty cool and memorable, definitely sets it apart from a lot of the generic openings out there. 2/2

Category 5, Bias: While this opening isn’t on my “TOP 10 EPIC ANIME OPENINGS OF ALL TIME” list, it’s definitely up there around #11 or #12. I’ll always remember this opening as being a crazy cool viewing experience, I still listen to the song until this day, and for that I’ll give it a 2/2 bias points.

Yes, Death Note opening 2 scores a 10/10. Maybe I’m jumping the gun a little bit with this score but I really love this opening and think it deserves it! I’m probably in the minority with this opinion, hopefully not(?), but I have been confronted by a few friends going “?? how can you like the second opening better, the first is a classic” so please… don’t bully me. Death Note is my favorite anime, Light Yagami is probably my favorite anime character, clearly I already have pretty trash taste so don’t rely on me for the most “based” opinions~ (>ω^)

Death Note openings are pretty damn cool. They’re definitely made with a lot of care, they have a lot of relevance to the plot of the show, and they’re anything but typical and ordinary! Love this series and love the OPs just as much!

-zantids

[staggeringsmite]

HELLO! just finished properly listening to your (amazing!) corruption arc playlist! I have many thoughts, and so I wanted to ask you about specific moments and/or characters that you associate with songs (as mentioned in your tags), as I am simply SO intrigued. (did you have certain songs that were added for certain character(s)? were any songs for specific what if's? etc.) also, please consider this a free pass to ramble about anything related to the playlist that you wish. it is SO excellent!!

AHHHH!! thank you jade (both for the compliment and the free space to yell about my thoughts here because when i get playlist brainrot i get it Bad <3) // the playlist in question

i think i'm genuinely going to do a song-by-song thoughts below the cut, but here are some overview thoughts/associations if you don't wanna read all of that or don't have the time!

overall this started with athena by nova twins! i thought the sp*der imagery and overall vibe was great for a more sinister look at the wacky (mostly) chaotic neutral party as they are, just going full lolth. i wanted the pacing to be semi-slow and then drop into the more rock-heavy reckless villain-y section before moving into a (?) bittersweet? i guess? end that feels a bit more like a question mark of if it was worth it.

i think this party is full of extremely interesting motivations to side with an evil power for their own gain/the benefit of the people they care about, and each one of them has a very complex relationship with that so things spun wildly out of control as a thought about this.

for songs i associate with specific characters here's an overview, but you'll notice there aren't a lot for fy'ra rai or orym which i get into a bit more in the song-by-song:

all: i come with knives, into the spin, steady/steady, control, bad dreams / lolth: million years, athena, diggers / dariax: diggers, plenty, hollow / dorian: athena, grenadine, dangerous / fearne: plenty, you should see me in a crown, black wave / fy'ra rai: home / opal: home, grenadine, black wave, you should see me in a crown / orym: i'm not calling you a liar, dangerous

song-by-song >:)

1. i come with knives (acoustic) - this song, zoowee, so i went with the acoustic version because i think it's a nice slow but sinister start and it very much gave me the feeling of whenever you begin as a character to question taking this kind of power, that is a Source yes that you can do whatever with but is rooted in temptation and associated with evil, is there any real justification for that which is not in some part selfish. "i come with knives and agony to love you" if that isn't the chosen ones to a T in their overall reasoning for even considering a deal with lolth. and as much as that may be rooted in care, and wanting to be strong and powerful enough to protect the people they care about, it is a painful way to love when you really choose that path once and for all.

2. into the spin - this one is based on "slow climb but quick to descend" and i love the instrumentation as a part of the overall vibe, but it's about sowing the seed here. planting even a hint of consideration in accepting the power of the circlet and lolth's words is going to need time for the person to mull it over, but once it's on it is On baby.

3. million years - this is what i mean by All In Baby, and while it isn't the playlists narrative point of anyone actually accepting the power for good, it is a glimpse intended to shake things up after an 8 minute slow start with the first two songs, and this is all about lolth who is a Chaotic Evil entity, who is a reckless and hauntingly destructive force <3

4. home - "everything you made will end up broken" i think this song to fy'ra rai is more of an omen, of everything that she cannot fix but wants to, knowing that she cannot make choices for the group and seeing the potential path they could wind up on and knowing that fundamentally if they go that way it is their decision no matter how much it will hurt her - for opal there is SOMETHING about the tone of this song that feels very much like her, and the complete lack of care it seems to have to rattle off mundane things to the intimate drama of the place, to omens, to demands/declarations i think it shows her personality well and how that pairs with a chaotic neutral entity being offered something like the power of the circlet

5. steady, steady - idk if this is necessarily everyone but the mix of you know when you're ready and i am ready to be the one, this is the song about taking the leap and grabbing for power and/or fy'ra rai and orym's feelings of diving in with them or resisting/leaving them

6. diggers - for lolth this is just the consistent "i've been waiting for you" in the bg which i found fun and disconcering but also i think this is the perfect party and perfect storm for her to convince someone to use the circlets power >:) - for dariax! it seems with what we know he doesn't really know that he is a divine soul sorcerer? unless that is a show he is putting up. still, i feel like him carrying the circlet is Very interesting as someone with a divine bloodline who is in a way being given/chosen for that type of power holding onto this artifact born from evil and perhaps being tempted by it & i think this song works as an interesting back and forth for him with the strange double-entity grab for him in a way

7. athena - truly just a banger that fit the vibes wayyyy too well and started this whole thing, it's loud and reckless and out for blood babey <3 - i think i associate it with dorian mostly because i also associate it with lolth and he is the closest to really taking that leap in canon (and also probably the first one the go if we're following this playlist like a story with everyone/most everyone going corrupt, though it can be read truly infinite ways these are just compiled songs) i think it has a certain flair and appeal that just makes me Feel like it's the song that would play the second dorian puts the circlet on (which! fun fact! decreases your charisma by 2! have fun beloved bard!) - i think it's a very intense conversation

8. i’m not calling you a liar - okayokayokay it's orym thought time bc there are sooo many worlds and routes for orym here and i truly have no idea where he would even end up in this hypothetical. do i think that orym loves these guys and wants to protect them? yes. do i think that he may genuinely take the pain of loving them and keep his morals by walking away and/or turning on them if they all go evil? maybe. do i think he also might love them enough to throw that away? maybe. in a party of all chaotic neutrals besides him without fy'ra rai he is surprisingly the wild card here. while they have each other and no one else, he has the teachings and wisdom of the voice of the tempest and a moral compass that does not align with theirs at all. so, something has to give! dorian's slide into chaotic neutral was natural, but i think orym would be giving up Much More of himself to let himself slide from neutral good to chaotic neutral. i have no answers only sad, sad hypotehtical questions and scenarios so i will just, leave you with "and i love you so much, i'm gonna let you kill me." - this song also comes here before the storm of the 3-5 because whatever way he goes i think orym sees it all happen before anyone else does.

9. grenadine - Do Not Tell Me You Couldn't Hear villainous opal and dorian say the lines "what a big heart i have, i'll be your savior now. what a real catch i am, all the more to pull you down." - i see this song as playful but more genuine for dorian in terms of Truly Really believing any action he does to protect his friends is justified and good to him in his eyes whereas this is a very playful song for a villainous opal - they both give off this vibe strongly though (could see this one for fearne as well but don't have a good a justification)

10. black wave - helloooooo my favorite druid and warlock?? going apeshit with power? more so than they already are on a day-to-day basis (esp given episode 6 combat)? that's what this song is about. "stumbling down the street i swear to god you don't wanna test me" - i also think they both have an interesting question with "what do i believe?" with fearne being of the feywild which is a place of considerably different moral standing to exandria and opal being so young that she doesn't have the world figured out at all <3 terrifying and upsetting when you get into those questions on a corruption arc <3

11. you should see me in a crown - okay i knooooow this one is on the dorian playlist BUT vibes for my brutal babes <333 something about opal’s whole personality and fearne confronting the mirror self But eventually choosing/heading down the path anyway?? impeccable i love it there’s very few other thoughts here

12. control - OKAY not only does this song Fuck but i put it as party wide because i think it transitions nicely into the end of the mix which is more of the “questioning this decision after going all in but not being able to turn back/was it all worth it in the end?” part - i mostly love the “though i like the idea of providence... i’m in love with control” repeated because! i think the circlet is very interesting in that it has been iterated many times over that though it has connections to lolth and she has some claim/twisted abilities with it, it IS just a power source. so, the idea of going all in and accepting this power is an incredibly interesting dilemma of “who’s in charge here? did you really put it on/would you have without these dreams and lolth’s influence? are you really in control?” i think this song really represents that admission/delusion of control in this situation.

13. plenty - okay this song in any context is just my Feywild/Faerie Vibe song so i think this trails back to my feelings about fearne leaning into that different set of fey morals along a corruption arc, and as for dariax i think this is about abundance! following through that mixture of divine power source and chaotic evil god origin over dariax and his chaotic history of vast and varied experiences in emon, i think this very much befits a corrupt version of him.

14. dangerous - this song makes me insane, and the first reason i put it on the mix was the “the dead are true believers. rest assured. we are all believers” really just made me think of a terrible and cinematic moment of them discovering the circlet with the dead aboard the ship ESP in the context of this playlist’s narrative where that was the point they were destined to claim its power and go through their corruption arc - “how does it feel to be your own deceiver?” is the main reason and feeling as for why i made this a dorian song as well in line with “don’t worry i would do anything for my friends.” bc i personally find dorian’s corruption arc to be disillusioned with his own intentions and takes a lot of convincing himself that taking this power for his friends is noble in the scope of this group’s collective morals and self-interest in keeping each other safe and prosperous so <3

15. hollow - woowee dariax corruption, at least in this scope, i think is very frightening to me in that i think he’s going full maximalist, abundant, greedy, impulsive chaotic evil if we’re realllly leaning into a villain arc but still many of those things if we’re just going “this group is the only thing that matters and i’ll do anything for them no matter the cost” - i also think this song has a tone of resentment towards this? apprehension a bit? recognizing that this is how the person singing is but not entirely enjoying or feeling justified in it? as impulsive as dariax is, i think he cares A Lot, and is even a character i could see pulling a reverse dorian and going chaotic good in a different story than we’re in? “so simple when i was younger” and “i’d be a dancer of a different tune” really give me angsty dariax vibes in the height of his corruption arc

16. bad dreams - “don't you worry about your bad dreams cause I'm not in them. don't you worry about what change brings cause you can't stop it.” WOOF i don’t know that this one really needs to be explained but it’s the climax and the descent all in one of the party/corrupted individual being too far gone in their decision to step back or be saved. i think the tone of the song lends itself well to a mixture of uncaring but also giving some question to if they regret it or not based on the narration of the crowd against them.

[grimelords]

​My October playlist is finished, please enjoy it. From 14 minute 70s acoustic guitar instrumentals, Armand Van Helden bangers and Christian music I’ve had a lot of feelings about this playlist has it all in four hours.

Love Love Love - The Mountain Goats: Posting on the web about Mountain Goats songs you've had a moment with is about as universal as it gets, so here's mine for this month. I woke up one morning with the line about Sonny Liston in my head one day after not listening to this song in years. John Darnielle is perhaps the only person on earth I'd trust to write a song about Kurt Cobain's suicide and he does a very simple and beautiful job of it here. Ben's My Friend - Sun Kil Moon: I discovered Sun Kil Moon way after I probably should have via that guy who was doing parody songs of him last year. This song is fantastic because it takes so long to make its point, and like so much good art is just some middle aged guy recounting his every thought and movement for four minutes. You Were Meant For Me - Jewel: I was trying to remember how Dreams by Fleetwood Mac went and all I could think of was this song, and settled on singing it to myself instead. Sober - Lorde: Sorry to be a normie but listening to Lorde break down this song on an episode of Song Exploder was incredibly good and it definitely made me appreciate the way the brass sounds a lot more. Melodrama really does get better and better as a cohesive whole the more I listen to it. Night Moves - Bob Seger: We as a society need to bring back Power Voice I think. I've been obsessed with this song for months now and as far as I can tell Bob Seger has precisely zero other good songs, which is unfortunate because this one is so good. This also is another song about getting the Lamenting Night Hornies because you heard a thunderstorm that reminded you of the times in your youth that you Fucked and it's, in my opinion, very beautiful. Cairo - San Fermin: This is on the list not only because it's a good song but also unfortunately because of Podasts. San Fermin guested on an episode of Improv4humans and got absolutely roasted about this song so I highly recommend the ep. UFO - Sneaky Sound System: It's unfortunate that Sneaky Sound System's highest played song according to Spotify is the Nicolas Jaar remix of Big (an all time top ten piece of music) because it's really overshadowed the rest of their incredibly good singles. Do you remember 2006? What a time to be alive. UFO (Van She Tech Remix) - Sneaky Sound System: This is my absolute pick of the month and I have been raving to everyone who'll listen but nobody cares, I cannot get enough of it. Do you remember when Justice came from France to bless us all with the secret of bass and we betrayed them by inventing Skrillex not three years later? Van She remember. Charlie Chazz & Rappin Ralph - Duck Sauce: I believe there is a real argument to be made that any song that doesn't refer to the listeners collectively as Party People is absolutely worthless. Duck Sauce's album is a completely underrated classic in my opinion, it's a go-to mood elevator from beginning to end and for some reason has a subplot thoughout about aliens transmitting coded messages to influence human evolution, which is a big thumbs up from me. I Took Your Picture - Cults: Guess what Cults are still really really good. I haven't given this album enough time yet but this bassline has invaded my dreams so that's a good sign. Pavement - City Calm Down: The way this layers and builds into and through the chorus is so satisfying. I love this sort of thick synth production and the contrast between the different registers of his voice is so satisfying as the chorus comes back again. Pogo - Digitalism: Australian electronic music had a real moment around 2007 between Digitalism, Van She, The Presets, Midnight Juggernauts, Cut Copy and all them and I'm realising retrospectively that it was very, very good. Semicircle Song - The Go! Team: The world's best band are back and their new album isn't out until fucking January! This song features big horns and a bridge that's just a montage of children telling you their star sign so that's how you know it's good. The Garden's All Nighters - The Number Twelve Looks Like You: It's a real shame that #12 broke up after this album because it feels like they were really on the edge of something. Over 4 albums they morphed from a straight ahead grind band into some sort of math-prog thing approaching it from a whole different direction to everyone else. I love the idea of writing such an expansive, complex song seemingly just about living in New Jersey. The way it transitions into the groovy latin part is so nice and the solo is just beautiful; and unlike other bands in the same sort of sector they never make a joke of genre switches either, they just keep moving forward with a smile. Paris/Orly - Deux: I forget how I first came across this album but it’s easily the wankiest thing I absolutely love. An 80s French synthpop duo that only ever released a cassette and some singles that got reissued by a label called Minimal Wave a few years ago. It is absolutely the best. New wave mixed with Kraftwerk and synthpop except incredibly french and cool as well. I constantly have their song Game And Performance in my head but this one was my obsession this month. Walking Into Sunshine (Larry Levan 12" Mix) - Central Line: There’s something very authentic about disco songs that are lyrically all about working all week all day every day, and desperately needing a break to perhaps, dance your worries away in a new york discotheque. Cradle In The Crater - The Number Twelve Looks Like You: This is maybe my favourite #12 song because it appears to be about some kind of super child who came from space and perhaps wrought havoc on the citizens of earth, but told in a very real and emotional way like it’s a story about someone they really knew. It reminds me of Mother 3 and the good times I had as a teen playing that game with my best friend, so that’s an added bonus. Under The Ice (Extended Version) - Topo & Roby: Italo disco forever. This song is a duet between a woman and a robot where they relay the story of him coming from a distant planet in a spaceship and crashing on the north pole then getting trapped under the titular ice where he waits to I think murder me. Now that I think of it it’s world similar to Cradle In The Crater. It sounds so good, far better than a novelty song like this has any right to. There’s also a video with someone’s 80s mum dancing with an incredibly shit robot on youtube if you’re interested. Outta The Woodwork - Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett: I really love the covers they chose for this album because they both really make it their own. Outta The Woodwork really sounds like a Kurt song now and I love the strong piano giving the song the harder edge the lyrics deserve and Kurt just lazily soloing to hell any chance he gets Peepin' Tom - Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett: I think I almost like this version more than the original, making it just an acoustic thing but still keeping all the dynamics of the original is so nice. I love specifically the deep bass voice of ‘peepin’ to the high ‘tom’. It satisfies something weird in my brain. Mercury (12" Version) - Bloc Party: I can’t believe i’ve lived this long without ever knowing that there was a 12” version of Mercury out there. The song I always felt was way too short to contain the amount of energy it has has a 7 minute version that well and truly lays it out into a slow intense burn instead. Electric Feel (Justice Remix) - MGMT: Just to get my 2007 opinions straight Electric Feel is not a good song. Kids is a good song but Electric Feel isn’t. That said: this remix comes damn close to making it good. Justice figured out the secret sound and we’re all the better for it. Comin' Apart - Gary Wright: There’s no greater joy than tracking down a sample and finding out that the original song is also a banger. This pairs extremely well with My My My as a sort of extended intro. My My My - Armand Van Helden: I posted that playlist a couple weeks ago of songs mid-2000s bangers with extremely horny videos and this is a highlight from that. I'm always amazed with how much mileage great producers can get out of a relatively straightforward sample because this hums along for almost 7 minutes and only gets better. Laser Life - The Blood Brothers: The Blood Brothers are one of the few bands that scratch the brain itch I have for totally bonkers Mars Volta markov chain lyrics phrases like 'Oh dream machine I'm a pound of flesh inside a drum machine dream'. They're also the only band I think that can get away with having this sort of cabaret swing feel in a song with a lot of screaming and not have it be absolutely unbearable. Camouflage, Camouflage - The Blood Brothers: Where a lot of The Blood Brothers early songs were just chaotic bursts, they have a few songs that spread out into a long multi movement ideas culminating in very good final lines like 'I couldn't see the love and affection it was camouflaged as a jungle of erections, and I couldn't see the skeletal lightning it was camouflaged as a young machete' 16 Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford: The mistake people make in covering this song is trying to match the extremely grim lyrics to the music, but this version succeeds exactly because it's on some upbeat Frank Sinatra shit with the clarinet refrain sounding like a children's song while still being very much about dying face down in the dirt from arsenic poisoning. Take This Hammer - Leadbelly: On the other hand you have a song like Take This Hammer from a guy who really worked on a chain gang complete with involuntary WAH sounds to time your hammer strikes to, and it's still so much more upbeat and positive musically than it has any right to be looking at the lyrics. San Francisco - Foxygen: There's something about the chorus of this song, and they way the phrases of the two voices line up where if it gets stuck in your head it just goes around and around and around forever and it is absolutely maddening so I thought I'd share that with you all. El Manana (Metronomy Remix) - Gorillaz: This remix reminds me of Studio to a degree with the way it just moves forward with no regard for regular structure. It's gutsy to remix a song and somehow restructure it so the chorus doesn't even sound like it's the chorus anymore but just another small part in a slowly winding up machine. Monkey Gone To Heaven - The Pixies: The way he's screaming that GOD IS SEVEN in this song I feel like if Black Francis hadn't made it in music he'd be running a very successful incomprehensible conspiracy website. This is a song I can get very lyrically involved in when I'm in certain moods, nodding my head like the creature in the sky DID get sucked in a hole and now there's a hole in the sky, and we're all in trouble because of it. Cannonball - The Breeders: I like this song because it feels like everyone in the band is working on their own unique structure. The clean guitar especially just comes and goes at will through the whole song, the lyrics start whenever, the rhythm guitar just keeps strumming along. It all comes together for the chorus and then they just go their own separate ways until it's chorus time again. S.A.D. - Kirin J Callinan: The production on this song just amazes me, especially as it moves into the later choruses the sheer weight of the chords is just crazy. The barest suggestion of guitars chugging in the background but blending into the huge synths chords. Combined with the vocals it's the most threatening pop song I've ever heard. Wrapped up in plastic thrown down the stairs feeling fantastic. Water Coast Blues - Honeyboy Edwards: I feel like Honeyboy Edwards has gotten a raw deal from history. When he died most of his obitaries made a big point of how he was one of the last living people to know Robert Johnson personally. Which is an important detail but it overshadows Edwards contributions in his own right as a guitarist and songwriter who had a 70 year career. The album this recording's from is a really good compilation that gives an overview of his whole career, mixed with interviews with Edwards and Alan Lomax that are just amazing. Anyway just listen to the playing on this song because it is incredible. The bass figure he switches into when he says 'when I had money'? Phenomenal. Another Leather Lung - The Sound Of Animals Fighting: The Sound Of Animals Fighting was a supergroup of a bunch of guys from RX Bandits/Chiodos/Circa Survive and bands like that coming together in animal masks to make the most pretentious band possible at the time. There's a lyrics on one of their other songs where he sings 'the artist! the true manifestation of struggle!' which is quite good. But outside of that they did make some very good music and the second half of this song where it takesoff is really something. Bone Machine - The Pixies: It's amazing Black Francis hasn't been linked to a string of murders in the mid 80s honestly. This whole song feels like evidence. Also the way he says 'I was talking to peachy peach about kissy kiss.. [incredibly long, awkward silence] ... he bought me a soda. he bought me a soda and he tried to molest me in the parking lot hep hep hep hep' is perhaps the most amazing verse ever. Stomping Tonight On The Pennsylvania/Alabama Border - John Fahey: This is John Fahey's best song and I've listened to it probably 4 times a week for the last 4 years. It is quite honestly an eternal mood. Ares - Bloc Party: War! War! War! War! I love the guitar in this, because it's just textural noisemaking more than anything else and mixed with the vocal manipulations in the chorus it's just absolute chaos. It's such a shame that everyone in Bloc Party either left the band or had their brain removed after this album because between this, Mercury and Talons it was truly an incredible moment. Special Rider Blues - John Fahey: I can't believe I only found out this month about John Fahey covering Skip James, and even that it took me this long for me to listen to the full version of his America album. Mark 1:15 - John Fahey: I also learned that on account of cds only holding 80 minutes of music, this 14 minute reissue version of Mark 1:15 is 2 minutes shorter than the original vinyl version and I'm completely riled up about it and demanding a second, definitive reissue to restore them. Regardless, this song is an absolute masterpiece and when it switches into the portion of When The Springtime Comes again about three quarters of the way through it's just amazing. Swim - Nicolas Jaar: Here's another quite long and involved piece of music from the other side of the spectrum. It has a very similar feeling to Mark 1:15 really, so if you liked that persevere through this. It's taken me such a long time to get around to listening to Nymphs for some reason but I'm glad I finally gave it a shot because this song especially is a real masterwork. Crimes - The Blood Brothers: A third Blood Brothers song for you, If you didn't like the other two there's a chance you'll like this one because it's much more sedate. This song is also a good first Blood Brothers song because the way the second vocalist sounds when he finally turns up is really funny if you're not expecting it. This is another on the long list of songs I seem to just always have in my head and sing to myself when I'm walking around. NRG - Duck Sauce: Are you ready for the most powerful 12 minutes of your life? It's the entirety of the NRG single by Duck Sauce. I like to think of it as a purposeful multi-movement work rather than a song and two remixes because that's what it feels like. Starting out we have the original, incredible instant power of NRG. NRG (Skrillex, Kill The Noise, Milo & Otis Remix) - Duck Sauce: and next we have the absolute peak of the work, the fever pitch. See if you can guess which part Skrillex was responsible for. I love the addition of miscellaneous woos and yeahs among the already busy main riff, I absolutely love the bass which sounds like some kind of steel drum pulled down four octaves. I love the distortion on the vocals in the second half as it slowly gives you time to catch your breath. NRG (Hudson Mohawk Remix) - Duck Sauce: The we move into the comedown, the HudMo contribution where the drums somehow sound like they're coming from next door like the party has passed you by and moved on to enliven your neighbours. I love the snare building and then splitting into triplets like it's going to drop before the peace of the synth gives way to the rolling thunder drums hafway in. On The Other Hand Baby - Etta Baker: I don't know what to say about Etta Baker. She's incredible and it's an absolute shame that she didn't really get recorded until she was about 70. This album was recorded when she was about 92 and her playing is still amazing. Crucible - Sleigh Bells: You have to give Sleigh Bells credit for still going strong four albums in if nothing else. Somewhere along the line they adopted this sort of corny rock chick thing that wasn't really there in their first album and I think it works against them but I really can't get enough of the instrumental of this song. The distorted brass and string amongst everything else especially. I feel like there's a much better song buried in here somewhere but I'll take what I can get. Pirate Blues - As Cities Burn: As Cites Burn are another good example of a metalcore band absolutely mellowing out into a indie rock band over the course of three albums, and the result Hell Or High Water has turned out to be one if my favourites of all time. This song especially is an obsession, and I love a band having the sense to no longer make metalcore, but learning enough from it to take a song to a a huge crescendo when they need to like this one does. Timothy - As Cities Burn: Between As Cities Burn, mewithoutYou and a couple of other christian bands I was very nearly converted in highschool and it still informs a lot of my uh theistic thought in a strangely unembarrassing way. This song, from their second album where they were sort of caught between their metalcore origins and the full fleshed indie rock of Hell Or High Water is one of their best. Yelling at god about your dead friend is a massive thing to write a song about but it's done so well and it builds and builds before dissolving into a sparse, thoughtful solo for a good six minutes into a beautiful ending.

listen here

[airadam]

Episode 108 : Prepare For Fire

"Leave the pills alone, realise you a drug yo'self"

- Z-Ro

The end of the ninth year of the podcast is upon us, along with a rebuild of the website (podcast.airadam.com) - hope you enjoy it. This month's selection starts off slow in pace, and picks up as we go until we reach full-on dancefloor funk! Tunes are new and old and come from Manchester, Houston, NYC, and points in-between. Let's get to it...

One more thing - Beatnuts tickets for the September 19th show in Manchester!

Twitter : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Z-Ro : From The Other Side

We start the episode with a pick from "No Love Boulevard", a low-slung banger from one of the more underrated artists in Hip-Hop (he claims to now be retired, but hopefully not). Z-Ro has never been one to suffer fools lightly, or even to be much enamoured of people in general, and here he's expressing his frustration with hangers-on who want to be spoon-fed instead of taking initiative. His sometimes sung, sometimes rapped style reminds me a little of Nate Dogg with a little 2Pac mixed in. He'll never have the mainstream popularity as either - he's far too raw for many - but he's certainly put himself and Mo City on the map over the years.

Luxury Elite : Cool

A little vaporwave flavour from the "World Class" album by Kentucky's Luxury Elite. Taking an old 80s sample, looping and editing it, and applying some effects sounds simple enough but I've been checking out quite a bit and it's easy to do badly! No such problems here, and I'll definitely keep an ear out for more from Luxury.

Children of Zeus : Slow Down

It's hopefully not too long until CoZ release their debut album, but we have this single to hold us over for a bit. It was almost a guarantee that I was going to play "All Night", the other side of the single, here (I love that "You're A Customer" break), but this one finally got the nod. The track lives up to the title, a nice relaxed piece with plenty of room for Konny and Tyler to shine. Tyler opens up with the singing voice he's known for, before he and Konny both spit raw bars after the drums come in.

Ilajide : Ten Fo

Rapidly becoming one of my favourite producers and MCs, Clear Soul Forces' Ilajide returns this month with the "#0414917" LP. The theme of the release is past issues with the law, and the sonics are absolutely thumping. This particular track sounds somewhat chaotic, with the beat elements and his vocals all tumbling after one another, but when you break it down it's more organised than it first appears!

The Mouse Outfit ft. Ellis Meade and Dubbul O : Trigger The Wave

The "Jagged Tooth Crook" LP is with us and it's another quality outing for the Outfit. Metrodome, a talented producer and DJ from Manchester worked heavily with them on this album, and he takes the reins here alongside core member and keyboardist Chini for a clean, spacey number. On the mic, we have two longtime members of the Mouse Outfit fam who are also busy artists in their own right, Ellis Meade and Dubbul O, demonstrating yet another beat style they can handle with aplomb.

Michael Trapson : Neverland Dungeon

Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but I find this guy immensely entertaining! I was giving this plenty of play even before the "This Is Lit" album was released, so no reason to stop now :) One piece of trivia for this track - the "brrrr-rat-tat-tat" in the hook isn't just a reference to gunfire, but in fact to a very specific ad-lib in Michael Jackson's "Remember The Time"! There are a ton of MJ references and dead-on vocal stylings in this tune, but even if you don't know enough to pick up on them I still think it's heavy.

The Alchemist : G-Type

From the "Rapper's Best Friend" instrumental compilation, this was also the beat for "G-Type" by Scarface and The Product.

DJ Premier ft. A$AP Ferg : Our Streets

Premo keeps on turning out those tracks in his signature style, and on this meeting of the generations, A$AP Ferg is the beneficiary of his drum machine generosity. This is a top single that marks the relaunch of the Payday Records label; they're certainly starting off strong.

Bumpy Knuckles : Flow Temperament

The king of the third verse (and a strong contender on any others) is back with a new project, "Pop Duke, Volume 1", entirely produced by Nottz. Great to hear Bumpy back with new material, and if this is anything to go by, we need to hope for more volumes in this series! Gutter beat and hard rhymes, one for the real heads.

Pusha T : Infrared

I decided to play this track from the "Daytona" (named after the watch, not the racetrack!) album on the day it came out, before the whole beef with Drake fully ignited! The mostly snareless beat from Kanye (who at least managed to get this right) provides ample space for Pusha to throw shade on Drake and his ghostwriters, Trump and the election conspiracy, and plenty more. That line about "I don't tap dance for the crackers and sing 'Mammy'" has a truckload of context now...

TRIBECA-GRAND : Take A Knee

With the NFL's new national anthem rules being introduced recently to polarising effect, this seemed like a good time to pull out this single. Tribeca and Grand Agent come out strongly in favour of the right to protest and in opposition to police violence over a Tribeca-produced beat that once again sounds like he beat the MPC into submission :) This single came out a while back, but now the "Sport Of The Gods" LP, including this song, is available too.

[The Alchemist] Mr. Voodoo : Lyrical Tactics Pt.II (Instrumental)

Total coincidence to go with another Alchemist beat, but he's just got so many good ones! This is from relatively early in his career, with Natural Elements' Mr. Voodoo (aka Agu) clearly one with an ear for talent.

Public Enemy : Cold Lampin' With Flavor

Arguably the breakout Flavor Flav solo joint (eclipsing "Too Much Posse" from "Yo! Bum Rush The Show"), this is one of my favourites from the monumental "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back". Starting off with a sample of Mr.Magic (RIP) dissing PE on his radio show, this is just a hectic track with Flav going free-association from start to finish. 

Ultramagnetic MCs : Feelin' It (Remix)

Classic 80s flavour, heavy Bronx as The P Brothers would say! From the must-hear "Critical Beatdown" album, Kool Keith and Ced Gee are on the mic with styles that, while bearing traces of the old school, clearly shows signs of the MCs yet to come. The beats on the LP were done by Ced Gee, Moe Love, and the late great Paul C, and this is a signature example.

Brand Nubian : Dedication

A deep album cut from Brand Nubian's debut "One For All", with Grand Puba going solo on the mic and showing some love to those who paved the way.

Parliament : The Big Bang Theory

This huge funk track is long enough that I picked it to be the fourth song in this mix and then realised I may as well keep it running as the instrumental bed for the last voiceover! This is one of the best-known tracks by George Clinton and the crew, and as well as on many compilations, you can get this on the "Gloryhallastoopid" album.

Gap Band : Disrespect

The last song of the episode is one of my favourite Gap Band tracks but maybe not one of their best known. The synth bass, the double handclaps, the bell ringing, and the fire hook come together to make this diss track to Prince (!) a funk monster. Do yourself a favour and get yourself a copy of "Gap Band VI" if you see one at a reasonable price! You do get three different versions of "The Sun Don't Shine Everyday", but there are enough other things included for it to be worth having in your collection.

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

  Check out this episode!