#this meme has summed up my philosophy on so much shit

[keplerspacecraftofficial]

i'm not a punk but i do believe their beliefs

[tfw-no-tennis]

mtmte liveblog issue 30

30 issues wow...forget the fact that I skipped like 5 issues of crossover event nonsense

another big ole swerve recap omg

this trial is so messsyyyyyyyyy lmao 

hvbajdfbahsjkfdbhjs starscream listening to meagtrons speech looking like ‘hmmmmmmm I may have miscalculated’ 

prowl looks pissed af meanwhile optimus just looks dead inside lmao

I mean. megatron kinda does have a point. this is like, the most biased, conflict of interests lookin trial of all time, in that all the major participants have some sort of long, complicated history with each other. what a mess

optimus, listening to megatron’s speech: wow this is worse than divorce court was

oh shit I totally forgot that those decepticons attacked the trial 

MAGNUS HAMMER AYYYYYY

a guy saying ‘objection!’ as optimus prime punches half his face off...that pretty much sums up idw op lmao 

op: oh thank god, I can punch shit now. I'm not cut out for this bureaucracy nonsense

megatron: thanks, random decepticon, for the attempted rescue, but I'm super old and I just want to nap so no thanks

random decepticon: wtf- [gets murdered by optimus prime]

I love op’s big ass antennae 

meanwhile, brainstorm goes to a bar and instead of buying anything, pulls out his own drink. I feel like that isn't allowed in most bars, or is at least frowned up vbsjdhfbhjdkfn. ily brainstorm 

also? big ass mood I was so broke last time I was on a barhopping vacation w/friends that I brought a cheap giantass bottle of mixed drink in my backpack and just drank that at all the bars lmao

WHIRLLLL I love his humansona sm. and also I love that whirl is into artsy french movies or w/e omg

brainstorm, drinking thru a wrist funnel: sorry I cant take my mask off rn it isn’t plot relevant yet

‘earthlets’ lmao

I love that rung is like, too pretentious to care that much about movies and would rather read earth books lol

and then bluestreak is like ‘yeah they have books...comic books’ can this man not read

I still cannot fuckign believe that the argument that got megatron out of a for-sure death sentence or w/e was ‘its not a war crime if we’re on the moon’ liiiiike what the actual hell lmao

also I love that, once again, we see magnus’s strict adherence to the law, technicalities and all

magnus: you cant really stop a trial and move it somewhere else where the laws are better suited to the outcome you desire

prowl: what are you, a cop? fuck off

also op being like ‘ok whatever all that doesn't matter...what DOES matter is that it would look bad for us to move the trial to cybertron in an obvious attempt to circumvent the rules, and public perception is what’s most important, fuck all that ‘morality’ bullshit’

meanwhile, rodimus is dead! and ambulon is also dead, which makes first aid sad, which makes ME sad

ayyy, rodimus is still alive! well, one rodimus is alive, at least 

rodimus and megatron really have the vibes of ‘stepfather and stepson forced to work together on a family road trip gone wrong after dad decided to sit this one out’ lmao

ah yes, ‘malaise’ the medical diagnostic term for ‘I don't feel so hot and idk why’ that practitioners like to throw under the ‘diagnostic notes’ section of lab orders to explain why they're ordering every blood test under the sun for a patient 

I love medical terminology. ANYWAYS

BE NICE TO MY BOY MEGATRON. 

rodimus: listen I have to come to terms with the fact that there's another version of me right here, and he’s DEAD, which means we can’t fuck, which is super lame 

I firmly believe that rodimus would be team ‘hell yeah id have sex with my AU self’ tbh 

I find it interesting that megatron is often casting blame for his actions onto others - here, he says that rodimus made him realize he doesn’t want to stop doing stuff w/his life, and then says that starscream forced his hand w/the whole ‘luna 2 law’ thing, and previously he’s said how whirl beating him up in jail is what led to him abandoning pacifism - take responsibility for your actions and decisions dude!

though he goes on to say here that he resorted to violence because he realized that the system that was in place could withstand everything else he would have tried to use to change it, which is super interesting 

megatron: okay, yes, I MIGHT have murdered billions, but I could help find us a new planet, which would be baller, sooooo...how about you co-opt your lame son’s frat boy ship and put me in charge? 

op: sounds fair to me. now how about we do some more Big Speeches before I make you somebody else’s problem

vbhdjskfbhaskdjf the ‘team rodimus’ lineup setup reminds me so much of the ‘together we make the ______’ meme with the different members being like, ‘the power’ ‘the gay’ ‘the awesome’ ‘the guy with no ears’ hbvhjdkfbs

chromedome: if I do this I could die

rodimus: that sounds like a you problem bro

‘this one time’ YEA RIGHT c'mon cd honor your dead husband’s wishes

omfg I forgot abt brainstorms ‘early early warning system’ lmao

I love nautica soooo much oh man

ooooof drift :( :( oh no

dead future rodimus!! uh oh is right

rodimus, known himbo: I'm sure I can defeat the inevitability of future events! all I have to do is cut my own arm off!

tailgateeeee he’s so cute...I love that he can tell stories of his daring escapades, just like at the beginning of mtmte, but this time its actually TRUE

OH SHITTTT GETAWAY

he looks so fucking sinister there lmao how are we NOT supposed to realize he has bad intentions from the get-go

‘you’ll make a prime one day’ well, getaway, you’re right about that at least...

cyclonus in the bg like 🤨🤔 at getaway

seriously I cant get over how getaway has such a slimy kinda vibe to him, like specifically in his interactions w/tailgate - this is before things even really take off but I'm still like TG GET AWAY (lol) FROM THIS GUY

cyclonus: somebody flirting with my crush? better go stare out a window instead of communicating absolutely anything to said crush about my feelings!

honestly I feel like, while megatron renouncing the decepticons and becoming an autobot is certainly interesting, it would be equally interesting for him to remain a decepticon but try to change the philosophy of the movement 

like, I get why op had him give that speech - to prevent the cons from trying to free megs again/thinking that he was being coerced into things (ironic considered he WAS coerced into giving that speech) - but it’s kinda the easy way our for megatron - being able to completely abandon the decepticon cause and not deal with it at all, and start over anew as an autobot

it would've been a lot harder to remain a con and try to reform what he has broken in the decepticon movement - but I think that would've been really interesting

though from a writing logistics standpoint, I get why jro didn't go for that bc we don't get a lot of other decepticons in the cast for that to work, and also megatron still definitely DOES have to face down all his mistakes w/the decepticons w/the djd and overlord and whatnot

anyways. I cant believe that all megatron had to do to join the lost light was make ONE speech denouncing the decepticons. like, they should've at least had him do a tiktok dance too or something, just to make it a really tough deal

I love the rodpod vbhjfsdkfbjaskjndfj

ok but I still don't really get the logic of making megs CAPTAIN like ouch. poor rodimus 

I feel like making megs a bartender at swerves or st would've been WAY more useful in showing him humility or w/e. OR it would've made him evil again, which, fair, 

ratchet: don't worry, we’ll medically poison him, it’ll be fine

ok but rodimus is right, this is SO messy, op wants to prove his ex husband isn't 100% evil so he’s like ‘ill let my rebellious son deal with him’ lmao god. I love this setup so much, its so wild

ratchet is also right, rodimus’s fuckup definitely pales in comparison to megatrons All That 

OH BRUTALLLLLLLL when ratchet says the list is fake ‘because my name’s not on it’ FUCKING OUCHHHHH

‘only bad guys say ‘unhand me” rodimus ily

omfg ‘we’ve practiced this’ of course they've done evacuation drills...magnus ily

lmao it’s the panel where it looks like rodimus and megatron are doing karaoke or having some sort of rap battle

and the lost light is GONE! oh shit!!!!

and there closes issue 30! once again we’ve gotten a lot of setup and exposition - which, while definitely necessary, means I don't have too much to say

I will say, throwing megatron onto the lost light has definitely mixed things up, and it’s interesting to see new dynamics already forming

so, until next time!

[danganronpedits-archived]

could I req a matchup? any media is fine!Im a pretty eccentric guy, I love clowns, surprises and have a soft spot for 'so bad its good' horror. Im also really interested in the paranormal ,psychology, but I've been described as that one guy that puts waaay too much effort into a shit post. I'll admit though, I mostly act like that to make up for the fact that I grew up too fast, I lack trust in the world, so barely anyone really knows that side of me. ty!

ah, yes!! i have another kin matchup anon coming up, and i think it would be interesting to see you guys talk... but yeah, let’s get into it! i’ve been really indecisive about these lately, if you were wondering why it took a while!! i’m sorry!!

first off, from pokemon, i match you with...

acerola!

to start off, acerola is definitely eccentric. at least, in the games she is ("Phew! Well, there goes my hope of beating you to smithereens and becoming Champion myself!")! she seems very energetic and a little teasing, though she mostly keeps it to herself- she’s never really hurtful, in my eyes. she’s charismatic the way i kind of see you being! just to get this out of the way, i think that she is a little more... cartoonish, and peppy, than you are- but just from the matchup, the two of you seem very similar!! we don’t know much about her stance on some of the things you listed in your interests,, but she definitely has an interest in the paranormal! after all, she adores ghost types and specialises in them! she loves surprises, and her entire trial is... kind of like a kidz bop version of a horror game! it’s not really good horror- you taking pictures with a cute little rotom camera... kinds of breaks the immersion- but i think it can still be a little unsettling, despite how warm and welcoming pokemon is as a whole! maybe you’d like that little segment, or maybe you do- i don’t know if you’ve played (ultra) sun/moon! i think acerola could also be into psychology to an extent, as she has a lot of people around her that she tries to sympathise with. in fact, while i don’t remember the scene in detail, acerola does say, "Now, Lillie, you're coming with me to do some shopping!" and... i mean, you could argue that this was rather perceptive of her, since lillie struggles with picking out things for herself. i could see you having moments like that, anon, picking up on things about others and maybe not even realising that you are!

acerola is definitely the type to get carried away on a shitpost- i don’t think that when either of you do it it’s annoying or anything, but it’s like... wow! it’s funny, and it’s got a cute little bow on top! ...something like that, you know? i think that acerola would describe herself similarly to how you do, and just- you kind of talk like an older version of her, if that makes sense? not much older, but just... a little more cautious with your wording than i think she’d be! i do think, however, that you both grew up too fast- um, i’m sorry for that by the way, anon! hope you’re doing well and taking care of yourself afjdsjf,, however, acerola is very protective of younger children (”Back at Aether House, I'm like everyone's big sister! They all really depend on me.") and whenever their safety comes into question, she gets very serious and concerned, which is a sharp contrast to her usual demeanor. the aether house, where she grew up, is an orphanage- all of this can contribute to her having to grow up fast, having to take care of others. relating to you though, anon, her seriousness at the threat of danger to her siblings is really the only glance we get at her ‘other’ side. i would say she also lacks trust in the world to an extent, and this is more of an assumption, but anon, i think you can find it hard to grow personally close with other people. acerola relies on herself to defend the younger children at the aether house, and i’m sure that she would doubt their safety if she left them behind- almost in a motherly sort of way. point is, she depends on herself, not the other people around her.

second off, from bang dream(bandori), i match you with...

kaoru seta!

once again, kaoru is definitely eccentric. she’s the kind of theater kid that’s very confident, but not overconfident to where they’re just going around bothering people. maybe you’re not the exact same kind of eccentric as her, but the two of you definitely stand out in a crowd with your personalities. appearance wise, maybe not at first, but there’s a lot to see behind initial appearances with you!!! plus, you also seem... i don’t know, but you and her have a really similar vibe in terms of being prince-ly, but still a bit feminine. not to call you girly or anything, anon ^^;. we don’t really know her stances on a lot of your interests, but a hobby of hers is reading philosophy books- i think that could be attributed to psychology, in a way! also, in of herself, kaoru is sort of a surprise simply with her presence. she does feel human to me, the way you also do, but with both of you... there’s this sort of untouchable aura. like i couldn’t even begin to measure up to you... you know? while she isn’t exactly comfortable around the paranormal or spookier things, as seen in the cursed well event story, i’d imagine that she does at least engage with the content as part of theater- essentially summed up in this quote, ”I've played the part of a ghost, have I not? I not only think so, I know so! So please, enough of this ghost nonsense!”.  she can definitely see the art in horror, ghosts and the like! in terms of clowns, i mean, kokoro is one of her best friends, sooo...

i’d also say that kaoru would put... a lot of effort into her shitposts. not only for the sake of her prince persona, but also because... as she would say, a meme so comedic... is unbelievably fleeting. point is, she strives to lift others up, and this would show in her humor as well! to an extent, she kind of is a walking and talking shitpost. i don’t mean that in a derogatory way, but maybe you could relate to... not feeling like people take you seriously, because of how you present yourself! i definitely understand that- it’s hard to be honest about that kind of thing sometimes,, plus, i’d say that like you, kaoru also grew up in a world not made for her. while we don’t know much about her past, she used to have both self esteem and confidence issues, putting on the mask of a prince to make sure others wouldn’t have to experience those same issues. acerola and her both feel protective over the people they care about, and i kind of get a similar instinct from you. she’s very bothered about things that she didn’t say in the past, and maybe you relate to that- looking back, and loathing the things you didn’t say. kaoru does seem to lack trust in the world, to an extent, as whenever she’s by herself, the facade she puts on almost completely vanishes. maybe when you’re by yourself you find yourself more solemn, too.

and lastly, from danganronpa, i match you with...

kokichi ouma!

...but i will say, you have REALLY BIG kaito momota vibes for some reason??? from these major matchups, i’ve concluded that you have purple hair in real life. ^^; that’s a joke, but kokichi came to my head right away when i read your matchup!! i bounced around a bit, but ultimately(haha) decided on him. you may need to hear me out, as... he’s a little different from the other two. kokichi’s entire gang has a clown aesthetic, and he loves surprising people, finding joy in taking them off guard- like, take one single look at the insect meet & greet. take a glance at his role in the chapter three investigation. i don’t really know where he stands on horror type things, but a lot of his actions, while dominantly pranks, can be genuinely offputting- um. see the two examples i listed a second ago. again, i don’t know his stance on the paranormal, but i do think he has an interest, or at least skill, in psychology. he’s a human lie detector, though it’s not a flawless ‘system’. kokichi is definitely eccentric, his beliefs more often than not differ from his classmates’, and many remark that it’s hard to get a grip on what he’s thinking. once again, maybe you can relate to that- especially since you’ve said that you act differently thanks to your growing up, it might be hard to really lock down a perception of you. maybe you feel safer like that- i’m not sure.

look at me in the eyes right now and tell me that kokichi doesn’t make dank memes and post them to reddit for a living. he is the spawner of surreal memes. kokichi, with all of his pranks, is easily one of the most playful and jokey characters in danganronpa. some of them can be dismissed as cheerful lies, but also... like. kokichi is the major spawn of several danganronpa memes... but that’s kaede’s lie, isn’t it? while a lot of kokichi’s past is obscured, it’s implied that he, like acerola, is an orphan. that... would definitely cause you to grow up fast- and it’s not every day that someone decides to form a clowncore gang. plus, kokichi’s distrust in the world and constant lying are most likely for his own defense. he does have a mix of compulsive and pathological lying in him, the former tending to come from when lying is necessary in your home environment. i’m not saying that you’re like that specifically, but his complete lack of belief in anyone makes it clear that yes, he has little to no trust on the world. it’s only in chapter five that kaito briefly sees past kokichi’s facade- but even then, i’m sure kaito couldn’t really understand kokichi beyond just... a feeling. a wordless sympathy. little to no one knows kokichi, since... it’s like shuichi says. he’s the embodiment of a lie. (a statement i don’t fully agree with, but it gets the point across.)

-

minor matchups time babey! from danganronpa, you also remind me very strongly of kaito momota, and somewhat of jataro kemuri, ryoma hoshi, and nagito komaeda. from 1bitheart, you remind me strongly of the yakumo twins and hiyu mekami. from pokemon, you also remind me of shauntal, phoebe, iris, and will! from my hero academia, you remind me of denki kaminara. from my little pony, you remind me of cheese sandwich and discord. from corpse party, ayumi shinozaki and seiko shinohara. from danganronpa another, satsuki iranami. from fullmetal alchemist, you remind me a bit of edward elric. from little witch academia, you remind me of sucy manbavaran. from haikyuu, you strongly remind me of satori tendo, and somewhat of bokuto kotaro! from pokemon reborn, you also strongly remind me of cain! lastly, from your turn to die, you remind me of the yabusame siblings!

...sorry that those were a little stoic! i was trying to keep them short, since there were so many ^^;. hope this was okay, anon, i admittedly wasn’t great at locking down matches for you... if you need anything changed, just let me know!

-mod tsu

[personalized-radio]

hello again guys its time for me to talk about another one of my favorite people in the whole world bc it is KENN’S BIRTHDAY!!!! go give @allrighthello happy bday wishes and also $$$ bc she deserves it thanks

let me start with this: kenn is the whole reason i am friends with pretty much anyone im friends with in the cc fandom. i think we may have been friends even before i started my sideblog??? id tell you the actual day but lmao i accidentally blocked her a few weeks ago bc tumblr mobile despises me but the POINT is this: once upon a time, there was me and my awkward, panicky personhood and i was very shy and had no idea how to do anything at all to talk to people. and then there was a very kind person to messaged me and made FRIENDS with me even tho i was weird and awkward and panicky. and then that very kind person invited me to join her server and help her and her friend set it up. as you can probably guess, that kind person was kenn and, without her, i never would have met…...pretty much anyone. she introduced me to phoenix and vero, she beta reads for me even when its fic she doesnt care for, she talks to me even when im annoying the fucking shit out of her, she sent me recs for ships i never thought i’d be into that led me to being friends with gina. Somehow she managed to introduce me to nearly every friend i have in the fandom without even meaning to, encouraged me when i was close to quitting, talked me down from at LEAST three freak outs, and SOMEHOW still thinks that she isn’t the literal best person in the world (which lmao she is so?????? fix this bad thinking @god)

but enough about that story, lemme tell you about kenn herself. kenn is someone i admire. she’s SO strong, incredibly brave and never backs down when she believes in something. she’s incredibly patient, hilarious, and has this like…...aura of??? i cant even think of the words for it honestly. maybe an aura of Fuck With Me At Your Own Risk. i love her!!!! its like when you talk to her, she’s ready to ride or die in the conversation, be it about fucking…….kit kats, or until dawn, or the philosophy behind a video game. ive said some Seriously Weird Shit to this girl and all she does is laugh or play along or send me a dumb meme. ive annoyed the ever loving SHIT out of her, and she still messages me later to make sure i knew she was joking when she yelled at me. she’s called people out to defend me, she’s always there to talk if i need to talk, and i think sometimes she doesnt see how truly crazy amazing she is??? which is Wildt bc i WISH i could be more like her tbh.

anyway, there’s a lot more i could say about kenn but most of it can be summed up in “Kenn is one of my favorite people, one of my best friends at this point, and im SO glad i got the privilege to know her.”

happy birthday, kenn!!!!!! im glad that this is a day that exists, i’m glad that you messaged me that year-and-some-odd-days ago, im glad we both watched the same youtube channel enough to want to read/write fic about it, and i cant thank you enough for being who you are!!!!! happy. i love you <3

[soycrates]

Why I’m Looking at an Alien Cult’s Manga at 4 in the Morning

I fell down the Wikipedia rabbit hole tonight after learning that Neil Gaiman’s entire family is (or in the case of the deceased, was) devoutly Scientologist. Or how his father was nearly excommunicated from it as a scapegoat involved in various operations intended to infiltrate and undermine the government for the benefit of their “religion”. Or how, when Gaiman was about 7, a South African man studying Scientology staying at their residence committed suicide, and his father lied to the media/government that the man had anything to do with Scientology and claimed he killed himself to escape gambling debts. Or that there’s a transcript of an interview Gaiman gave when he was 7 about being a Scientologist. (Honestly, just click that link if you’re at all curious about Neil Gaiman’s ties to Scientology - it sums it up much better than I can!)

And all he’s really ever said about it is “I’m not Scientologist, that’s more my family’s thing”. Considering the fact that his sisters and ex-wife (whom he has multiple children with) are still part of the “Church” - and followers are told to cut off communication with anyone who openly denies or criticises Scientology - it’s not too surprising there’s no record of him saying “Yeah, fuck that crazy cult shit”. Still kind of makes me wonder how much of that silence is dedicated merely to keeping ties with the family.

While discussing this with Joe, we looked around to see if there’s anything out there more widely believed, but just as bonkers as, Scientology. When looking up “most popular religious cults” I did get a list of “Most Dangerous Cults” that included the KKK, The Children of God (cult about paedophilia being okay), and the Church of Euthanasia, among other more well-known groups. One I didn’t recognize, or really understand being on the list, was Raelism, described as advocating “for world peace, sharing, democracy and nonviolence, and also has a very liberal attitude towards sex”. This, on a list of dangerous cults? I had to know more.

Looking over Raelism’s wiki for the last hour or so has been a fascinating learning adventure about the French-based cult that uses a Jewish star of david with a swastika embedded in it as their symbol, comprised of a body of people advocating for cloning, GMO’s, an intelligent electorate body that governs the Earth, and a lot of “sex-positive feminism” (as a means to rationalize their leader’s numerous orgies with a group of sex workers dedicated to him alone, who are told to defend him with their very lives). Their metaphysical philosophy, though often actually grounded in scientific beliefs about the nature of the universe and the lack of an eternal human soul, often takes sharp turns into a pantheism resembling Stargate SG-1 lore.

What I also happened to notice while reading is just how many locations were mentioned when discussing the followers of Raelism: China, Israel, Japan, France... Here in Canada, in Quebec?! It just seemed like... too many places, with too many people, for a religion so fringe and yet without the popularity and star-power of something like Scientology. 

Turns out that what they lack in celebrity endorsements, Raelism made up for in a frequent and well-maintained online presence and moderate low-impact scandals. The website for their (probably fake) cloning company still exists - the cloning company that garnered them attention in the early 2000′s for claiming, quite often, to have successfully cloned healthy human children, despite never stepping forward to substantiate these claims. They have Youtube channels dedicated to regional chapters of their organization, along with websites updated as recent as a few days ago. Pretty functional websites too, with smooth user interfaces and modern graphics, hi-res images with their slogans emblazoned on them. Despite trying to rebrand in the early 2000′s, they’re still using the Star-of-David-Swastika; that crazy offensive religious combo that feels like a culturally insensitive gut punch.

I’ve danced around the subject too much, and I’m itching to get to it, not just because it’s five in the morning. Having navigated to the website for the “Canadian Raelian Movement” - which is, may I remind you, a “religion” that believes all major religious prophets were aliens (who just heckin’ love sex positivity, LGBT rights, and genetically modified food) that simply cloned humanity in cloning facilities and will visit us again once humanity achieves unanimous and democratic world peace - I have scrolled down to see none other than their free “manga”. 

Which I feel it is the utmost importance you know: this is not a case of some old, out of touch peace and love alien cultists not understanding what the word manga means. 

It’s a manga.

Free-Loving Cloney Alien Cultist Propaganda Manga has made my cup runneth over with images that provide for dank out-of-context reaction memes.

Haha same dude

“Wow, there it is!”

There it is indeed.

[daylightarchives]

GUIDE TO ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER

As a fringe guy who’s always been more interested in experimentation and provocation than gratification of any sort, Oneohtrix Point Never (the alias of writer-producer-performer extraordinaire Daniel Lopatin) enjoys that intimidating “weirdo critical darling” status where the everyone from Pitchfork to Fantano to the pretentious bohemians of the wider blogosphere seem to love him, but the average listener (me, at one point, included) has no idea how he fits into the larger conversation surrounding electronic music or if he’d sound good tucked between other “ambient” and “vaporwave” artists on a playlist (hint: he wouldn’t). The point of this piece isn’t simply to ramble on about how profoundly difficult Oneohtrix Point Never is, though; I’m writing instead to make the argument that despite that aforementioned inaccessibility as an artist, the music of OPN is worth attempting to seriously listen to if you have even a passing interest in music as an art form, challenging art, or just plain interesting ideas. 

To sum it up, Oneohtrix Point Never began as an ambient act fascinated with ideas like nostalgia and cultural memory, especially with relation to idealistic visions of the future as computers became widely used in the ‘90s (think ‘90s educational videos, nature documentaries, commercials, etc). After some widely successful releases in that genre, Lopatin expanded the OPN aesthetic, inventing vaporwave and releasing album after dizzying album of plunderphonics, early computer nostalgia trips, and, most recently, a cinematic epic encompassing dance music, grunge, and apparently, a lot of philosophy. An album by album guide to the artistic output of Lopatin as OPN follows… feel free to skip around if one thing seems more interesting than another: the OPN discography is about as varied as they come, and even if one album sounds like the most boring thing you could possibly listen to, I guarantee the literal inverse exists somewhere else - Lopatin’s musical canon really is that diverse. In depth reviews in the full post!

RIFTS (2009)

For those of us who weren’t in Brooklyn while Lopatin established himself as a local legend in ambient and noise scenes through a prolific run of cassette only releases from 2007-09, Rifts serves as a convenient collection of OPN’s three breakout albums from that period: Betrayed in the Octagon (2007), Zones Without People (2009), and Russian Mind (2009). As 2+ hours of incredibly dense music, I’d call Rifts probably one of OPN’s most intimidating releases, unless you really dig ambient music. However, for all of its uninviting qualities, Rifts can be an incredibly impressive listen, full of synth lines that echo into oblivion, invocations of an imagined future, and huge soundscapes that evoke the majesty of early ambient classics like Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume 2. That ambient-genre tag might seem to imply that Rifts’ 27 tracks are homogenous and basically formless, but it’s surprisingly easy to tell when one album ends and another begins: Betrayed in the Octagon is droning and melancholic, Zones Without People has a noticeable sci-fi bent with laser beam sound effects and serene field recordings, and Russian Mind sounds legitimately as though it was created by a computer (especially the icy and kind of funny title track). Rifts is admittedly not for the feint of heart, but can be great as a long and intense synth odyssey thats just as easy to actively engage with as it is to totally get lost in.

RETURNAL (2010)

As OPN’s major label debut and probably Lopatin’s first record with serious philosophical underpinnings, Returnal can be tough to talk about because for all of the conceptual heft behind the record, it can at times sound like it belongs somewhere in that Rifts comp. Returnal is the last Oneohtrix Point Never that I’d comfortably call ambient, and even then, Lopatin really pushes the limits of that signifier: opener Nil Admirari is a total industrial noise freakout and utterly horrifying. To hear Lopatin describe it, it’s a portrait of a distinctly modern kind of sensory overload: “the mom’s sucked into CNN, freaking out about Code Orange terrorist shit, while the kid is in the other room playing Halo 3, inside that weird Mars environment, killing some James Cameron–type predator;” strip away the 2010isms of that line and you’re left with a pretty poignant image that might hit close to home. From there, the album glides effortlessly into the ambient territory Lopatin has already pretty well mastered for seven serene drone tracks that, to quote Noel Gardner, don't invoke a vast space so much as the concept of vastness itself. Though I’m by no means an ambient expert, this record is pretty massive within that community, and, if anything I’ve described here interests you, you should definitely check Returnal out.

CHUCK PERSON’S ECCOJAMS VOL. 1 (2010)

A major stylistic break from OPN’s back catalog and something of a manifesto for the rest of his career, Chuck Person’s Eccojams Vol. 1 came into being innocuously enough as an anonymous youtube upload that Lopatin only retroactively took credit for (in the form of a remastered reissue) after it literally invented vaporwave. From this point forward in Lopatin’s career, the ambient soundscapes would be replaced by something distinctly more musical; namely, on this record and the next official Oneohtrix Point Never release, Replica, samples. The approach for Eccojams is deceptively simple: 15 tracks, and each one of them consists simply of one or sometimes two samples pulled from 80's easy listening hits or muzak slowed down to a narcotic tempo and pitch, then drenched in echo and effects. Per Loptain, the eccojam approach and idea was intended to be a way of reclaiming lost culture and bringing a DIY, memey edge to music long forgotten in the annals of commercial history. For all the heady philosophical stuff, the approach really took off, spawning a huge (now basically dead) movement of fellow artists making vaporwave, reinvigorating a probably ironic fascination for ‘90s culture online, and influencing artists like Clams Casino and Kanye West. To me, Eccojams really demonstrates just how thorough Lopatin’s understanding of internet culture and the philosophical underpinnings of nostalgia is - when was the last time you heard of someone intentionally and successfully inventing a meme, let alone someone this fringe? If you’ve ever used the word “aesthetic” ironically, you probably owe some of your sense of humor to this record and the space it’s carved out for itself at the strange intersection of music, philosophy, and internet culture.

REPLICA (2011)

Replica was also probably the closest thing to a mainstream moment Daniel Lopatin had ever had thus far in his career: coming off the heels of literally inventing a genre of music and touting yet another new musical approach, a much wider audience than before was now curious as to what Oneohtrix Point Never might come out with next. The album this newfound fanbase got was, characteristically, a crazy album even for OPN - even within its most accurate genre signifier, plunderphonics (sample based music that isn’t hip hop,) there really isn't anything even remotely similar. Built around a treasure trove of ‘80s commercials that Lopatin ordered by the boxful on VHS and dutifully sampled one-by-one, Replica is simultaneously really sprawling and kaleidoscopic but also very simple and minute. Songs like Andro and the title track are serene ambient pieces that are eventually swept up in these waves of massive synth lines and samples, and The Power of Persuasion and Sleep Dealer play almost like eccojams, endlessly looping, but with a renewed energy and intensity (Sleep Dealer, interestingly enough, is built entirely around a Wrigley’s gum commercial).  Elsewhere on the record, Lopatin triggers sample after manipulated sample in a dizzying way that eventually gives way to these blurred, beautiful pieces on tracks like Child Soldier (see if you can catch the M.I.A. sample,) the kinda hilarious grossout track Nassau, and Up. There really isn’t anything like this record in the OPN discography or anywhere else, and it also represents at least to me an interesting development on the idea of “vaporwave” as this act of cultural reappropration: if Eccojams saw Lopatin reimagining hits ingrained within the public memory, Replica sees him digging deeper into the American cultural psyche and attacking the history of our consumer culture even harder, playing mindless bits of sales-driven non entertainment on a loop and beckoning listeners to create their own meaning within that weird headspace. I think it’s a ton of fun.

R PLUS SEVEN (2013)

My personal favorite Oneohtrix Point Never record, R Plus Seven takes the idea of experimenting with culturally passé sounds a step further by occupying itself with some Rifts-era ideas - namely, early '90s tech fascination and the host of now considered “cheesy” sounds that came with it. Every single sound on R Plus Seven is totally clean, shiny, and metallic, seeming to exist in a totally sterile environment. Whereas the human voices found occasionally on past OPN records belonged to old samples and occasionally Lopatin himself, the voices here are all computer generated choir patches and individual voices. The songs of R Plus Seven seem almost engineered to sound of a piece with someone old cultural touchstone: Americans begins like a NatGeo nature doc before dissolving into a cacophony of wordless voices and bubbling synths, Problem Areas seems ready to soundtrack an educational video about math or computers, and every other track is peppered with pianos, horns, voices, and other instrumentation that sounds delightfully canned. The other major addition to the OPN sound on R Plus Seven is an increasing penchant for total stylistic left turns: motifs establish themselves and build only to be obliterated by an abrupt wall of noise followed by a totally new idea… Call it cheesy, but to me, the album almost evokes a computer recursively rewriting its own code, constantly stopping and starting and working in frenetic fits in between. Not once does any sort of human touch shine through on this album, but that doesn’t make the album dispassionate or desolate: it actually makes R Plus Seven easily the most fascinating OPN album to date, begging the listener to engage with it every time it evokes some cultural memory long delegated to being simply out of style. Lopatin is inviting is audience to engage with the basic building blocks of music and the culture that surrounds it on R Plus Seven, asking us why we value some sounds over others and displaying a total virtuosity in the realm of “computer music.” A must listen for anyone who wants to make music on a computer, or simply take a horrifying trip through a house of mirrors reflecting fascinating distortions of the culture they grew up in.

GARDEN OF DELETE (2015)

Easily the most visceral and rhythmic Oneohtrix Point Never record, and probably the closest Lopatin has ever come to a pure “pop” moment - take that as you will. Garden of Delete takes a total left turn away from cerebral, ambient experiments, and towards driving rhythms, extremely bright synths, heavy basslines, and vocals that seem simultaneously horrified and in awe of the state of the world as it exists; since it’s OPN, you can also expect a healthy dose of weird samples, extremely manipulated instrumental performances, and general fuckery with any of the cultural expectations a listener would bring to the table when approaching something resembling EDM. Songs like lead single Sticky Drama and closer No Good are the closest approximations of EDM that OPN has ever attempted, with throbbing, resonant bass hits and surprisingly melodic vocals giving away to total noise freakouts and, on Sticky Drama, samples from obscure vlogs on Youtube (yet another example of how OPN really effortlessly threads culture as everyone experiences it into something totally alien). Elsewhere, OPN brings a newfound intensity to tracks that, had they been wrote for earlier albums, would’ve simply been motifs: standout Freaky Eyes is a gothic epic that, after a few seconds of Kanye style chipmunk-soul, gives way to 8-bit video soundtrack bliss and horror movie soundtrack fodder, complete with digitized screaming. Elsewhere, Animals is an honest to god ballad with honest to god lyrics and a beautiful acoustic guitar part, and I Bite Through It is a fascinating exploration of syncopation and rhythm. With Garden of Delete, Oneohtrix Point Never shifted his conceptual focus onto the present and with that shift came a massive stylistic change towards frenetic, crazed intensity that I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted. Another interesting element of Garden of Delete is its sort of cinematic edge, evidence of Lopatin’s increasing prevalence as a film score composer and of his abilities to really build soundscapes around his music or tracks like Animals, SDFK, and Child of Rage. As a document of an omnivorous, Adderal-fueled flavor insanity that couldn't exist without the internet, Garden of Delete is further proof of Daniel Lopatin’s deep fascination and understanding of the world we live in, and of his unique ability to process it into music that’s equal parts unique, engaging, weird, and fun. Definitely not the best entry point to the OPN discography, but perhaps on of Lopatin’s best works.

If you like ambient music a lot, I’d probably recommend you start with Returnal. If you’re more interested in Lopatin’s late period craziness, I’d probably start with R Plus Seven or Replica and go from there. Hope this inspires anyone curious or intimidated by Oneohtrix Point Never’s huge discography to give his stuff a try - if you can’t already tell, I think it’s a worthwhile dive to take.