#this year is my first time attending emo concerts since 2014

[louisloulouie]

I was so sad I only had 3 concerts left for the rest of the year but Pierce The Veil just announced more US tour dates, I can’t wait to spend another $100 on a concert and make my bank account suffer 😌

[swiftgronmasterpost]

Spring/Summer/Fall 2013 - The End(?)

Click here for an appropriately sad Swiftgron breakup playlist.

I don’t know if it’s important or not but Dianna wishes several friends a late happy birthday on twitter, apologizing for missing the actual day through this spring and summer.  It seems like maybe she’s going through something (like a bad break up?) because it’s not like her to miss friends’ birthdays.

March 26, 2013 - Maybe a relevant tweet?

April 7, 2013 - Dianna tweets a photo of James Dean in a day dream like setting:

April 16, 2013 - The article that outed them:

Someone made a fake article that said Swiftgron was dating:

Dianna tweets seven times that day which is a bit much for her.

The hashtag here stands out to me:

The fake article goes viral and all week people are tweeting about the possibility that Dianna and Taylor are dating.

April 23, 2012

It seems to culminate on this day.  Many people are buzzing about Swiftgron and this actress tweets:

That’s right at midnight.

About 12 hours later Dianna deletes her public Tumblr:

On that same day Dianna reblogs several things on her private Tumblr.  These two stand out to me:

She reblogged both of these posts and the only hashtag they had in common was “#lost love” - she was searching that hashtag.

I think it’s very clear that today is the day Swiftgron 2.0 broke up.  I believe they were forced to by their management teams due to being outed.

April 24, 2013 - Taylor seems regretful/stressed out she screenshots her text to Austin and posts:

I think Dianna’s obviously upset about this and as an act of defiance she tweets at Taylor a few days later (Taylor does not respond.)

April 29, 2013

Instead Taylor posts on Dianna’s Birthday (April 30) a silly google search (very DIanna in nature tbh) with a play on the lyrics from 22:

Taylor had the week of Dianna’s 27th birthday off of the Red tour (it was scheduled like that) but as far as we know they did not hang out.

May 4, 2013 - Ours

At her first show since their supposed break-up, Taylor performs Ours as a surprise song. She introduces it by saying: “This is a song about how, when you fall in love everybody starts to give you their opinion. I imagine it could be really hard to make a relationship last, I wouldn’t know. But, given that everyone is giving you their own opinion about it, I think that the only opinion you should really listen to is yours and if you love that person, that should be all that matters.”

Dianna dyes her hair brown and goes to Morocco a week later with Ashley (”You searched the world for something else, To make you feel like what we had”) from about May 11 - May 14 or 15.  While there she attends the A Small World relaunch. ASW could be viewed as a bit “sketchy” if you will.  I think this is where she befriends Olivia Wilde.

This is Dianna’s first (known) trip to Morocco (Derek Blasberg is there too) but she seems to be drawn there over and over again after this, even marrying Winston Marshall there (and possibly meeting another boyfriend, Gus Wenner there.)

May 19, 2013 - Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas

Taylor wins 8 awards and says this during her acceptance speech:

This and the performance of Ours makes me think Taylor is bitter about a break up right now, even though publicly she broke up with Harry back in January.

This is also the event where Taylor is famously grossed out by Justin and Selena’s hetero nonsense and does this:

It seems like as always, Taylor has a lot going on right now...some kind of drama with Justin is boiling but it’s possible she’s also referencing her breakup with Dianna in her acceptance speech.

Dianna pops back up in NYC.

May 20, 2013 - WLW icon Kristen Stewart apparently spends the night at Taylors?

May 28, 2013 - Taylor plays Haunted on the Red Tour and gives a speech:

"This is a song that I haven't played on this tour so far. It came up when one of my friends tweeted the lyrics to it today and it reminded me that I haven't played this song in about two years. It has to do with the fact that, you know people talk about ghosts all the time. You just kind of imagine it being this supernatural thing, but there's another kind of ghost and it's just a person who is out there walking in the world or just doesn't love you anymore and that's a whole different kind of being haunted." Seems like she’s really going through it.

July 2, 2013 - Anniversary of Hyannis Port trip and interesting private Tumblr post from Dianna:

Bad things happen this summer.  Cory Monteith passes away and Taylor is assaulted at a meet and greet by a DJ.

July 2013 - Dianna buys a house in LA (I Wish You Would)

August 2013 - Dianna’s whosirmesir moniker gets outed and she stops blogging under that tumblr account.

August 14, 2013 - Taylor is in a weird place according to the Lover diaries:

1.  she seems to have basically written The Lakes here

2.  she’s really harping on themes she ends up addressing in I Know Places, Out of the Woods, and Wonderland

August 29, 2013 - Dianna steps out with restaurateur Nick Mathers.  

Not sure what to make of this one.  Dianna seems to date two types of men:  1. teeny bopper actors for bearding and pr purposes (it generally seems) and 2. rich businessmen.  Nick is type 2, but their relationship is reported on as if it’s PR.  “Sources” call up gossip sites to fill them in on the relationship and both their projects get plugged along with announcements on them as a couple:

I don’t know if they were more or less legit but she goes out with Taylor five days later...

September 4, 2013 - The Fun! Concert:

Swiftgron’s last pre-Kaylor public sighting - they go to a Fun! concert in LA

It’s just a split instant of video footage but Sarah Hyland uploads this to Vine and it does not look like Dianna is enjoying herself:

Note:  It kind of looks like DIanna has her arm around Taylor’s waist and also the person to the right of Taylor is Selby Drummond who is still friends with DIanna as of writing of this masterpost (December 2020) and who still appears to be a fan of Taylor’s.

Dianna does look miserable but I do think it’s interesting they seem to be making an effort to hang out on the two year anniversary of their public (perhaps private as well) first meeting.

Dianna tweets about the concert the next day:

September 6, 2013 - Taylor plays Speak Now as the surprise song on the Red tour.  Interesting given the timing of Dianna and her new boyfriend being public just one week before this.

September 8, 2013 - Taylor plays Sad, Beautiful Tragic for the first time ever live and gives this speech:

"I kind of feel like playing a song I've never ever played live before. This is um a song that I wrote about how you know just because something's over doesn't mean it wasn't incredibly beautiful. Cause another lesson I've learned is not all stories have a happy ending and you have to learn how to deal with that. So this is a song about a story that didn't end so happily but was still supposed to happen. This is called Sad, Beautiful, Tragic."

I don’t think this song was originally written about Dianna but I do think at this time while they stumble through the last phase of their relationship Taylor was inspired to sing it.

October 2013 - Taylor writes I Wish You Would, a song inspired by an ex who had recently bought a house near her driving past her house.  It’s thought to be about Harry but Harry didn’t buy a house in LA until March 2014.  But of course we know Dianna did buy a house near Taylor’s in LA earlier this fall.

November 11, 2013 - The music video for “She’s Just Another Girl” premiers starring Dianna looking stunning in high fashion drag, dressed up as the lead singer, and lip syncing the words to the song:

Some lyrics to the song include:

All of my friends say I should move on She's just another girl, don't let her stick it to your heart so hard And all of my friends say it wasn't meant to be And it's a great big world, she's just another girl

I could be reeling them in left and right Something's got a hold on me, tonight Well maybe all of my friends should confront The fact that I don't want another girl

I think it’s at least possible that Dianna was drawn to this project because the lyrics resonated to her given what she was going through with Taylor at the time.

November 12, 2013 - Day of Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show rehearsals and Dianna posts this (now deleted) picture:

November 13, 2013 - Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show where Taylor performs and Karlie Kloss walks the runway.

Dianna posts this picture (now deleted) of her at Emma Stone’s birthday party from 11 months previous:

It’s likely she’s looking at Taylor in this photo who was seated across from her.

It’s a very random picture to post.  It wasn’t titled as a throwback and it wasn’t an exact year after the picture was taken (prompting some kind of happy birthday shout out to Emma Stone or anything) - just a random picture of Dianna smiling, likely at Taylor. 

November 17, 2013 - Dianna posts a (now deleted) photo about missing someone:

November 21, 2013 - Taylor posts lyrics from a hopeful love song about a troubled relationship:

Lyrics:

December 9, 2013 - Dianna listens to Pale Blue Eyes

Lyrics are about being emo over a lost love with Blue Eyes:

Sometimes I feel so happy Sometimes I feel so sad Sometimes I feel so happy But mostly you just make me mad Baby, you just make me madLinger on your pale blue eyes Linger on your pale blue eyes

Thought of you as my mountaintop Thought of you as my peak Thought of you as everything I've had, but couldn't keep I've had, but couldn't keep

Linger on your pale blue eyes Linger on your pale blue eyes

If I could make the world as pure And strange as what I see I'd put you in the mirror I put in front of me I put in front of meLinger on your pale blue eyes Linger on your pale blue eyes

Skip a life completely Stuff it in a cup She said, "Money is like us in time It lies, but can't stand up" Down for you is upLinger on your pale blue eyes Linger on your pale blue eyesIt was good what we did yesterday And I'd do it once again The fact that you are married Only proves you're my best friend But it's truly, truly a sinLinger on your pale blue eyes Linger on your pale blue eyes

December 11, 2013 - You know the drill...Dianna posts a now deleted photo to Instagram:

December 13, 2013 - Dianna posts an attention grabbing photo on Taylor’s Birthday

Conclusions - Swiftgron very clearly goes through a rough breakup due to being outed. 

Then they attempt some sort of reconciliation - even hanging out (date night?) on the second anniversary of their Fairfax Flea Market meetcute, but it goes wrong.  

Taylor is on tour for much of this time and Dianna is posting angst ridden and peculiar Instagram posts exactly at the time Taylor meets Karlie.

Click here to keep reading!

[taylizmasterpost]

Reconciliation and Late-Stage Tayliz (September 2014 - Present)

Despite not seeing each other for a while, Taylor and Liz clearly still hold a soft spot in each other’s hearts.

During the Secret Sessions for 1989 in Nashville, fans took pictures in Taylor’s home, and you can clearly see she has photos from Charleston displayed:

When it came time to mend the fences between Taylor and Liz, Claire Callaway was the one who ended up doing it:

2 October 2014 - Claire tweets a TBT to the Charleston trip. Liz responds to it:

That seems to get the ball rolling, because when Taylor drops Out of the Woods as a single, this happens:

14 October 2014 - Taylor and Liz tweet about how much they miss each other:

Then, when Taylor walks the runaway with Karlie at the VSFS, this happens:

Taylor is with Karlie at the time, and obviously nothing romantic is happening on Liz’s end either, because...

20 December 2014 - Liz gets engaged to Bryan Brown and has dinner with friends:

16 February 2015 - Liz tweets that Taylor is badass

8 April 2016 - Liz makes this gay post on Facebook that I’d like to think is a response to Style, since the MV had come out a few months before:

And Liz seems to have found a group of gay friends...

Although, that could just be a typo.

15 July 2015 - Liz posts on Facebook that “Thanks to some really talented friends, I got to record something beautiful today. Can’t wait to share this one.” The picture she attaches definitely looks like Taylor:

Liz also tweets this:

We do NOT know where Taylor was that day. However, she performed in DC on the 1989 tour on the 14th and was papped in NYC on the 16th so it’s not impossible she was in Nashville working on something with Liz. Unfortunately, whatever they worked on has yet to surface (unless you subscribe to the theory that Liz is WB...)

3 August 2015 - Shawn Brooks releases a song called Matter of Time that was written sometime in 2014 by Liz.

Notable lyrics include:

She’s got me lovestruck, crazy Going out of my mind She’s got me lovestruck, crazy But sooner or later, she’s gonna be mine It’s just a matter of time

Don’t know what this means for Liz or TayLiz, since Liz has been with Bryan since early 2013 at the latest, but this is very gay and fun.

27 August 2015 - Thirst tweet:

31 August 2015 - Liz calls Taylor sexy in response to the Wildest Dreams MV:

15 October 2015 - Liz tweets about Better Than Revenge:

28 October 2015 -  Liz quote tweets Taylor about OOTW acoustic:

11 November 2015 - Liz responds to Caitlin’s tweet tagging Taylor about nostalgia:

9 December 2015 - Liz congratulates Taylor on her Grammy noms:

13 December 2015 - Taylor’s birthday. Liz wishes her HBD:

29 January 2016 - Liz says her favorite song from 1989 is This Love:

15 February 2016 - Liz and Taylor both attend UMG’s Grammys afterparty at the Ace Hotel Theater :

26 February 2016 - Liz posts a TBT to Charleston:

16 April 2016 - Liz and Taylor both attend Coachella:

6 May 2016 - Liz tweets about This Love:

10 May 2016 - Liz possibly writes STFU and Hold Me (likely about Bryan, since he’s out on tour with the woman he’s going to leave Liz for, signaling to me that their relationship is on the fritz):

4 August 2016 - Liz posts a throwback to the Vogue photoshoot at the Bowery.

3 September 2016 - Liz and Bryan’s last interaction on Twitter:

(Bryan had been on tour with Jillian -- who he’d later marry -- and tweeting at her all summer, much more than he’d been tweeting with Liz). It’s important to note the way their relationship ended for when we start studying who Liz’s songs are about.

26 November 2016 - Liz tweets about Clean, possibly signaling her and Bryan have broken up by this point:

13 December 2016 - Liz wishes Taylor happy birthday with a post about Charleston (captions vary based on site). This also signals to me that her and Bryan are over, since she’s reminiscing on Taylor picking her up off the ground after her breakup with Jason:

11 July 2017 - Liz tells a fan that You Are In Love and All Too Well are her favorite songs from 1989 and Red (guess her favorite song is no longer This Love…):

11 August 2017 - Liz releases STFU and Hold Me:

This MV has a LOT of parallels to the IKYWT video. The lyrics talk about “staring with a bang” (”took off faster than a green light go”?), and reckless abandon (”this path is reckless”). MV parallels are as follows (thank you @mercuryonparklane​ for all the help finding this):

(notice the key necklace?)

So, either Liz is lowkey ripping off Taylor’s work or she’s trying to signal that she was the muse for IKYWT. However, considering Liz is deliberately trying to keep her image separate from Taylor, it doesn’t make any sense that she would try and rip her off. Of course, it could just be a big coincidence...

30 September 2017 - In an interview with The Young Folks, Liz says that STFU and Hold Me is about “getting to that point in a relationship where you’re sick of going around and around talking about the same issue with your partner and it’s time to wave the white flag,” Huett says. “We’ve all been there.”

Of the lyrics “I’m coming from a line of problems / I was born and I became a product” Liz says “I’m not exactly the most polished person. I’d rather be real than perfect and sometimes that means I say things that make people uncomfortable or act out in relationships and test limits, etc… I’m an honest mess but I believe I can and should be loved in light of that. :)”

I still think this song was written about the end of her relationship with Bryan, but it’s still interesting to see how Liz describes herself in relationships.

27 October 2017 - Liz releases H8U

This is another song that I think was written about Bryan. The lyrics reference taking another woman to a Tom Petty concert (Liz LOVES Tom Petty) and generally moving on quickly with another woman, which seems apt for the Bryan/Jillian situation going on.

HOWEVER, the lyrics also reference “our first date two years ago,” which doesn’t make any sense, since Liz and Bryan didn’t break up until 2016 and were together since early 2013. So it could maybe be lyrically about Taylor.

I do think the MV makes a deliberate Taylor reference, though, with the interrupting the wedding scene. Taylor famously had Liz dress as the Bridezilla on the Speak Now album art:

And, at the end of the H8U MV, Liz DOES kiss the blonde bride on the mouth after interrupting her wedding... which is... INTERESTING (especially since Liz is dressed in full RED the whole MV):

I don’t think it’s a stretch to presume Liz could’ve reversed their roles here. IDK.

9 November 2017 - Liz makes her “H8U, love these” playlist on Spotify, which features All Too Well.

1 November 2017 - Liz obsesses over Reputation:

15 November 2017 - Taylor posts an IG story with photos of her Liz and Caitlin in Australia in the background:

13 December 2017 - Liz wishes Taylor happy birthday:

20 December 2017 - In a now deleted tweet Liz obsesses over New Year’s Day

6 April 2018 - Liz releases Don’t LV U Anymore. Here are some interesting lyrics:

I don't steal your chapstick anymore / Don't wake up to your kiss anymore / And I don't have a washer and dryer full of guitar picks anymore / 'Cause you don't come over to my place anymore / Don't flirt with my roommate anymore / And I don't run to your friends / To get them on my side when we fight anymore / And I never say it / I keep it inside / But maybe I'm wasted / Or maybe it's time to get this off my chest, babe / ... / I don't love you anymore / But I don't love you any less / I don't play you my songs anymore / To see if they're good anymore / You don't tell me your secrets / 'Cause you don't know if I keep them to myself anymore / I don't go to church anymore / Don't know what to believe anymore / And I don't remember the beat of your heart / The smell of your car anymore / ... / Two years and counting / Still got all this weight on my chest / Two years and counting / And I can't remember what I can't forget

Based on the “two years and counting” line, as well as the line about a washer and dryer of guitar picks, I’m inclined to believe this is another song about Bryan. 

However, it is a really similar sentiment to that Civil Wars song Liz posted back when her and Taylor first ended things, and the line about running to get friends on a side when fighting is very similar to the “you go talk to your friends, talk to my friends talk to me” in WANEGBT and the image in Battle/Let’s Go of all their friends standing around watching them fight. Could go either way.

9 April 2018 - Liz reposts a Facebook post announcing Dammit that implies it was written a while ago. But we already knew that.

19 May 2018 - Reputation in Pasadena. Liz attends. Surprise Song: All Too Well. Camila Cabello is the opening act.  

27 May 2018 - Liz gives an interview at Bottlerock festival where she says that Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus is a song she used to get over someone (likely Bryan). She also says Havana was the song she last had stuck in her head -- probably because Camila performed it at Taylor’s show the previous week.

14 March 2019 - Liz makes a happy birthday post for Antoni (who’s dating her friend Trace):

27 April 2019 - Bryan and Jillian get married:

3 May 2019 - Liz releases Nothing Personal:

This feels like DIRECT BRYAN SHADE, since she released it right after his wedding. However, you definitely could also read it as being about being let go from The Agency.

Early May 2019 - Taylor shoots YNTCD. Her and Antoni bond over their love of The National (keep in mind Taylor would end up asking a member of the National to work on exile with her):

17 June 2019 - Liz likes Taylor’s post announcing YNTCD is out:

26 June 2019 - Liz posts on IG a video of unreleased song “One of These Days” with the caption “i’m emo” Lyrics:

One of these days I’ll rise above the blue / One of these days when I get sober too / I’ll be flying high you know / Gonna say I told you so / One of these days I’ll rise above the blue / The stars will align / My heart will come back to life / I won’t have to cry anymore / Someday soon, when I / When I get over you / One of these nights I’m gonna get some sleep / One of these nights you won’t be in my dreams / I will lay this love to rest / I will miss you in this bed / One of these nights I’m gonna get some sleep / The stars will align / My heart will come back to life / I won't have to cry anymore / Someday soon, someday / When I get over you

More evidence that Liz does, indeed, struggle with the things that Reddit post suggested.

14 August 2019 - Liz posts on IG a video of an unreleased song called “I Wanted It to Be You” with the caption “I really did” and a red rose emoji. Lyrics:

I’ll find someone else to take your place / In no time at all I’ll be okay / So you don’t have to say it babe / We don’t have to cry / ‘Cause I know you got shit to do / And baby so do I / I’ll find someone else to take your place, hey / I wanted it to be you I’m closing down the bar with / I wanted it to be you I’m fighting in the car with / Who I could push away / Come back and beg to stay / Ooh, I wanted it, I wanted it, I wanted it / I wanted it to be you

Likely for Bryan BUT maybe a red rose grew up out of frozen ground with no one around to tweet it (lol I’m joking the lakes is very likely not about Liz).

22 August 2019 - Taylor releases the Lover MV, featuring the “breakable heaven” board game:

In the bottom left corner, you can spot a blue 0527. May 27th is Liz’s birthday. What does this mean? I don’t know. I absolutely do not know, but whatever it is is driving me INSANE.

28 August 2019 - Liz posts on Twitter a screenshot of her listening to Cornelia Street:

16 October 2019 - Liz comments on a fan’s video of Taylor performing at the NPR Tiny Desk concert saying “she cute”:

19 November 2019 - Liz says on IG that her favorite songs from Lover are The Archer and Cornelia Street:

22 November 2019 - Liz releases That’s What You Get. This is the one late-stage Liz song that I FULLY BELIEVE is about TayLiz due to a few very specific lyric parallels:

“That’s what you get when you recklessly fall in love” >> “This path is reckless” from Treacherous

“That’s what you get for keeping your armor up” >> “You come around and the armor falls” from State of Grace >> “I would put my armor down if you said you’d rather love than fight” from Story of Us.

“And all your friends are lining up to hate me” >> “You go talk to your friends talk to my friends talk to me” from WANEGBT >> “First shot’s fired everybody’s gathered around” from Battle >> “I can't run to your friends anymore / To get them on my side when we fight anymore” from Don’t LV U Anymore.

It also, just from an outside perspective, doesn’t make any sense for Liz to write a breakup song about Bryan blaming herself when it seems very clear to me that they broke up because Bryan wanted to be with Jillian instead. That’s not her fault. So either this is about another breakup (I’d guess Taylor, based on the lyric parallels), or she’s just very very self-loathing and won’t let herself think it’s Bryan’s fault (which both H8U and Nothing Personal don’t suggest to me).

25 November 2016 - Liz posts a video on her IG story about Taylor at the VMAs.

6 December 2019 - Liz talks about That’s What You get with Earmilk and gives an interesting quote: 

Huett explains, “This song is about facing myself after a brutal season of running from it... I made a self-destructive choice that hurt someone I really value. The angle of the chorus is really sort of a letter to me after that first long look in the mirror. It SUCKED. However, in owning my shit (and sharing this song) my hope is that listeners might apply the sad lesson without having to learn the hard way, or, if they’ve ever found themselves in the regretful position I was once in, I hope this song can at least make them feel less alone."

This is SO DIFFERENT fro mhow her relationship with Bryan ended, but matches up so well with Liz getting help and owning her shit after spiraling in 2012.

24 July 2020 - Folklore drops. Two of the songs are written by the mysterious William Bowery. One of those songs is Betty -- a popular nickname for Elizabeth. Liz tweets at Taylor about the 1 because all of Taylor’s exes wanna think that song is about them.

So, IN CONCLUSION: Liz got help and worked through her shit and they’re on good terms now. They were possibly working on something together in 2015, although that never saw the light of day as far as we know. Liz seems to maybe be referencing Taylor in her music and MVs, but there’s no way to know for sure. Better Than Revenge on the Speak Now Tour was an iconic moment of sapphic energy, and maybe, just maybe, when Taylor re-records her masters, Liz will sing backup for her again.

Thanks for reading!

[chaos-and-recover]

you know what, just do all the fuckin music asks. ALL OF THEM

ALL OF THEM.

LIKE I HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO 

(I don’t)

1: name 11 bands you listen to regularly

AFI

Anberlin

The Rocket Summer

July Talk

Take That

Lucky Boys Confusion

Jimmy Eat World

The Gaslight Anthem

Paramore, lately, I guess

Dreamcar

Blaqk Audio

2: is there a band with only one song you like?

I really never got SUPER into Underoath beyond A Boy Brushed Red... but MAN that song goes hard

3: what is a very unpopular band you're into? tell a little bit about them

Unpopular as in no one knows who they are, or unpopular as in... they’re kind of a joke and no one takes them seriously/admits to liking them? The former would be July Talk, who are my darlings and one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen. The chemistry between the two singers is UNREAL. They’re like... indie rock but sometimes kinda bluesy? Also they’re all my faves, their guitarist spends 90% of his time on twitter retweeting people talking shit about them and their drummer is the purest ever and just uses Instagram for his birding photography, I love him. The latter, a band no one admits to like/no one takes seriously/are pretty much a fucking meme are the Plain White T’s but LISTEN!!!!! I’ve been listening to them since 2002, they are so much more than Hey There Delilah, they’re my boys and I love them.

4: name a great band you recently discovered

I’m kinda really big on Creeper right now. Go listen to Misery. Do it. I’ll wait.

5: which rare recording of any band would you like to possess?

I don’t know if it like, actually counts/if there are recordings in existence but listen there are songs written BY Fall Out Boy FOR One Direction that were considered “too weird” for them and I’ve never needed to hear any specific songs more in my life.

6: is there an artist whose solo career you prefer over their work with their band(s)?

I prefer Justin Timberlake to N Sync because those battle lines were drawn when I was 12 years old and I chose BSB. I OBVIOUSLY made the right choice but man, solo JT is the shit.

7: which is you favourite side project by any band member?

Blaqk Audio. But I also really like Brian Fallon’s solo album but I think that’s just... his project now, I don’t think Gaslight Anthem is a thing anymore.

8: which song do you think should everybody listen to at least once in their lives?

Hear me out -- it’s the Neverending Story theme song by Limahl. I FUCKING LOVE THE NEVERENDING STORY MORE THAN MOST THINGS. (also the New Found Glory cover is A+++)

9: explain why your favourite song is your favourite song

I don’t really know what my favourite song is, like, of all time. As a kid it was probably Forever Young by Alphaville and I can’t really explain why except that instrumental bit at the end is amazing (also ask @sinceubeenjon about how I feel about the One Direction cover because... I love it. I’m not ashamed). My favourite like... not-embarrassing song is probably “Falling Slowly” because I also love the shit out of Once, and it’s like 7 years later and I’m still obsessed with it winning the Oscar over three Disney songs, it’s the greatest underdog story of all time. And I’m in love with Glen Hansard.

10: any bands you got into after seeing them live?

So okay my love of the Plain White T’s (which started after I saw them open for Jimmy Eat World, so there’s one) meant that for a LONG time I was seeing them open for other bands or as part of really weird lineups and because of them I got into The Rocket Summer, Lucky Boys Confusion and, recently, Set It Off. I also got into Anberlin in 2003 when they opened a show I went to and they went on to be one of the most important bands in the world to me (and then ruined my life by leaving me forever in 2014 but IT’S FINE I’M FINE)

11: any bands your friends got you into?

I guess I can count Jacques who got me into Creeper lmao. Also in high school my friend Shannon fell in love with the first Taking Back Sunday album and gave copies to EVERYBODY, so there’s that one, and I fucking love that album (kiiiiiinda fallen off them lately but damn that was a good record.)

12: a band which is the only band from their genre you like?

I don’t regularly listen to all that much hip hop but I adore clipping. so I guess they count.

13: an unpopular opinion on which is your favourite song by any band?

Listen, all you former emo kids are dead wrong about MCR, Welcome To The Black Parade is not their best song,  it’s obviously Headfirst for Halos or You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison or Helena like... anything off Three Cheers. Also like as recently as last week I was thinking about a band where the die-hard fans all pretend to hate their most popular song and wanted to say we can all admit it’s fucking great, let’s not be too cool for it but I CAN’T REMEMBER WHAT BAND OR SONG THAT WAS ANYMORE. I REMEMBERED WHO IT WAS IT WAS JIMMY EAT WORLD AND THE SONG WAS THE MIDDLE. FUCK Y’ALL THAT’S A GREAT DAMN SONG.

14: _th favourite song by your _th favourite band?

This one needs more direction I think I need a number to answer with?? It also seems like it would require a LOT of thought.

15: _th favourite album by your _th favourite band?

SEE ABOVE.

16: favourite album artwork?

MxPx - Life In General. I’ll fight you on this. I love that album cover. Although Glassjaw - Worship & Tribute had a bad ass minimalist design too.

17: favourite booklet design?

It doesn’t feel like this should be my real answer but I both love and hate what Anberlin did with Lowborn, from the cover variants (I have all of them and they’re framed with a signed one in the middle because I am GARBAGE) and the band photo on the back of it with like an obituary type layout. It hurts my soul but I like it too.

18: favourite concept album?

Showbread’s Anorexia & Nervosa albums were INCREDIBLE but then everyone hated them because no one likes when bands take risks for some reason??? and it made them bitter as hell and they called everyone out on their next album lmao I miss them. Also Boys Night Out���s Trainwreck was really good and someone made it into a stage show I want to see so badly.

19: which bands would you like to see live one day?

I think I’ve actually gotten to see almost every band I would ever want to but there are a handful of boybands I never got to see because they never made it over here that I’d like to. A1 and 5ive mostly. I don’t care. I’d go hard for them.

20: which was the longest concert you ever attended?

Like in terms of a single artist’s set fucking Eric Church played for three and a half goddamn hours on his last tour. C’mon man I don’t have that kind of energy. Good show though.

21: a musician whose music you enjoy but whom you dislike as a person or vice versa?

So uh... Stephen Christian from Anberlin SORT OF falls into this because obviously I love him??? and I love Anberlin and I love Anchor & Braille but MY DUDE I cannot do the worship album he just released. Can’t. Sorry. Not for me. 

Also, there used to be the concept of “Good Guys Bad Band” thrown around the scene a lot, and I very strongly associate it with Simple Plan because it SEEMS LIKE THEY GOT HIT WITH IT A LOT and honestly? Those guys are/were the best. I can’t really speak to it now but like 15 years ago when they were starting out, they were rad as hell. SUPER nice, SUPER friendly, just really good dudes. But their music. Bruh. Same thing with Marians Trench, actually, Josh was just THE BEST but holy shiiiiiit they suck. (I’ve heard he’s kind of a dick now and that disappoints me)

22: list 10 favourite songs by your top 10 bands (each)

Like, 10 songs each by 10 bands? WE’RE GONNA BE HERE ALL NIGHT.

Songs won’t actually be in top 10 order but:

AFI:

Narrative of Soul Against Soul

This Time Imperfect

Malleus Maleficarum

Days of the Phoenix

Veronica Sawyer Smokes

Wester

Darling, I Want To Destroy You

Kill Caustic

The Great Disappointment

A Deep Slow Panic

Anberlin:

The Unwinding Cable Car

The Haunting

The Runaways

Atonement (lmao I will never not cry listening to it though)

Alexithymia

Autobahn

Miserabile Visu (Ex Malo Bonum)

God, Drugs & Sex

Time & Confusion

Uncanny

The Rocket Summer:

200,000

Skies So Blue

This Is Me

Brat Pack

White Fireworks

Do You Feel

Colors

So, In This Hour

The Rescuing Type

Mean Thoughts & Cheap Shots

Jimmy Eat World

If You Don’t, Don’t

Kill

Work

Big Casino

The End Is Beautiful

The Middle

A Praise Chorus

Futures

23

For Me This Is Heaven

The Gaslight Anthem

The ‘59 Sound

Great Expectations

Handwritten

Boxer

Here’s Looking At You, Kid

Blue Dahlia

45

Mulholland Drive

Rollin’ and Tumblin’

We Came To Dance

Take That

When We Were Young

Back For Good

Pray

Wooden Boat

Hold Up A Light

How Did it Come To This

The Flood

Eight Letters

Said it All

MxPx

The Next Big Thing

Move To Bremerton

Responsibility

Chick Magnet

Andrea

I’m Ok, You’re Ok

My Life Story

My Mom Still Cleans My Room

Party, My House, Be There

Punk Rawk Show

Tiger Army

Never Die

FTW

Incorporeal

Cupid’s Victim

Annabelle Lee

Ghost Tigers Rise

Wander Alone

Forever Fades Away

Prisoner Of The Night

Twenty Flight Rock (ok it’s a cover IT’S FUCKING AWESOME THOUGH

July Talk

The Garden

Gentleman

Uninvited

Summer Dress

Strange Habit

Lola + Joseph

Johnny + Mary

Having You Around

Now I Know

Touch

36 Crazyfists

Bloodwork

At The End of August

Slit Wrist Theory

I’ll Go Until My Heart Stops

Destroy The Map

Skin & Atmosphere

Absent Are The Saints

Time & Trauma

11.24.11

Song For The Fishermen

23: favourite singer (only for voice?) and favourite drummer/guitarist/bassist (only for playing their instrument)

Singer: Adam Lambert has a stellar voice and I will, as usual, fight anyone about that.

Drummer: Adam Carson was way better than early AFI deserved tbh, and honestly Travis Barker has always been better than every single band he’s ever been in.

Bassist: Mike Herrera is lowkey the love of my life soooooo

Guitarist: I CAN’T DECIDE SO I’M JUST GONNA SAY IT’S JADE PUGET.

24: favourite songwriter/lyric writer

Davey Havok & Stephen Christian are two of a very short list of people who have written words I have planned (but not GOTTEN AROUND TO) to tattoo on my body forever, so.

25: somebody you absolutely adore as both a musician and a person

MY DARLING BALL OF HAPPINESS BRYCE AVARY AKA THE ROCKET SUMMER. THE LIGHT OF MY LIFE. A LITERAL RAY OF SUNSHINE. I L O V E HIM.

I mean. I just think he’s neat.

[aili]

Music Newsletter 11 / Happy Valentine’s Day 2017

Welcome to the 11th Music Newsletter!

Short intro for the newbies - I love music. I love sharing music with other people. In college I started a "music newsletter" email with some playlists (aka mixtapes) I've made and some song/band recommendations. Why Valentine's Day? Because I think this day should be about love in many ways - including for music!

That brings us to today - the first Valentine's Day mixtape I put together was actually a physical mix CD that I mailed to my home friends while I was away at college. That was in 2008. A lot has changed since then, but my love of music has not. While I feel sometimes too busy or too old or too out of touch to know what I'm even talking about, I hope you'll get some enjoyment out of this - as much as I've been enjoying listening to these songs and picking them for you!

I also have an email listserv with a special music bonus for anyone interested, please DM me to get on the list.

Click here to play Valentine's Day 2017 on Spotify!

1.) "Best to You" - Blood Orange

Starting off this year's mixtape with an incredible artist and song featuring singer Empress Of. Blood Orange is the project of Dev Hynes, who was a member of the British band Test Icicles. He's a songwriter and producer with a pretty epic list of artists on his resume, including Solange, Florence Welch, and Kylie Minogue. His album released last year, Freetown Sound, was a frequent flyer on the best of year lists and is mainly an R&B project featuring songs speaking out on prominent social justice issues.

2.) "Alaska" - Maggie Rogers

Thanks to my sister in law Anna for introducing me to Maggie Rogers, an indie singer-songwriter who's chart-climbing songs have crossed over into pop music's to-watch list. After presenting this track to Pharrell in her senior master class at NYU, their interaction went viral as he praised her work as something unheard before. Check out the video here.

3.) "I Need a Forest Fire" - James Blake feat. Bon Iver

While I enjoyed both Bon Iver and James Blake's latest albums released last year, it was their duo that seemed to encapsulate the sound growth I was looking for by both artists. This is, in my opinion, the best song either of them released last year. Together, the two artists were able to create something that apart was somehow a bit lacking. The combination of their voices is something not to miss.

4.) "Mothers" - Daughter

A beautiful and haunting song from the perspective of a mother on the drain, physically and emotionally, of having a child. The push/pull of loss and love is strong over the entire album, Not To Disappear, and lead singer/songwriter Elena Tonra has discussed the brutal and harsh themes that frequent her album and how she learned to uncensor herself from those sad places.

5.) "Strangers" - Psychic Twin

The title of this song along with the synths would make this a perfect addition to the Stranger Things TV soundtrack, don't you think? After Erin Fein's divorce, her debut album appropriately named Strange Diary, focuses her energy and emotions into a cohesive dark pop album.

6.) "Your Best American Girl" - Mitski

Mitski's fourth album, Puberty 2, is the one that sprang her to critical acclaim and popular success, with her punk-rock music discussing culture, race, identity, and belonging. This song in particular is poignant in a scene that doesn't hold much diversity in its popular spaces. Consistently selling out live shows and having a witty online presence, Mitski is not one to miss.

7.) "Foulbrood" - Two Inch Astronaut

Hailing from my hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland (with one member attending my high school), this band seriously caught my attention this year. There's something to be said about a specific D.C. area rock that is reminiscent of this kind of post-punk sound. One of the greatest influences of this sound was Ian MacKaye, co-founder Dischord, the label Two Inch Astronaut is on and the frontman of bands like Fugazi and Minor Threat. A lot of the local bands growing up had this kind of influence, but Two Inch Astronaut seems to get it right in a way that is all at once nostalgic of Maryland high school basement parties and paving the way for an innovative kind of genre-bending sound all together. Buy their latest album, Personal Life, here.

8.) "(I'd Rather Be) Anywhere But Here" - Honeyblood

Discovering Honeyblood last year was one of those moments where I instantly connected to their music and they catapulted to become one of my favorite bands. Honeyblood is a Scottish duo that could be described as a darker version of early Best Coast. I was lucky enough to see them live and the drummer, Cat Myers, is incredible. Their latest album, titled Babes Never Die, was released last year.

9.) "It Hurts Until It Doesn't" - Mothers

I debated putting Mothers' song "Daughter" on this playlist just to confuse everyone (see #4), but this song is just too good to ignore. The song comes to a slow down and instrumental build up about 3 minutes in that completely changes the tone but somehow manages to tell a consistent story. Mothers latest album When You Walk A Long Distance You Are Tired was released last year.

10.) "Never Meant" - American Football

I was too young to know the types of bands like American Football - the bands that a lot of people 5-10 years older than me consider real emo. Before heavy eyeliner and whining vocals and power chords came bands like American Football with their twinkly guitars and emotive lyrics. American Football and other 90's emo pioneers made punk risky by talking more openly about their feelings and they ended up creating incredible music because of it. This album is considered a classic among the 90's emo genre, and to fans surprise, the band released a new album last year, also self-titled, which can be found here. This song evokes a nostalgia for me because suddenly a lot of emo bands I liked in high school make sense because I can see how they were influenced to make the music the way they did.

11.) "Clay" - HANA

Hana is one of Grimes (Claire Boucher's) best friends and toured with her assisting on instruments and vocals this past year. Along with having a captivating and beautifully clear soprano voice, Hana brings out a lovelier, sweet side of nostalgic pop reminiscent of Carly Rae Jepsen.

12.) "Coconut Crab" - TTNG

This math rock song caught my attention because it evokes lo-fi indie surf rock style with some emo influences. TTNG has been around since 2004 and are from the U.K. Their latest full-length, Disappointment Island, was released last year.

13.) "Shut Up Kiss Me" - Angel Olsen

Angel Olsen's latest album, My Woman, topped charts and made many best of 2016's lists. The album was a turn from her previously labeled country-folk music into something she feels fits her personality and voice more.

14.) "Life Crisis" - River Whyless

A indie-folk pop group from Asheville, North Carolina that toured with Blind Pilot. Live in concert, lead singer Halli Anderson discussed how this song was written in part based on a bad break-up after a boyfriend went to visit his ex in NYC while she paced back in forth back home in Asheville. Check out a live performance of the song through NPR's Tiny Desk Concert, including creative choices such as using a typewriter for percussion here.

15.) "Jellyfish" - Laura Stevenson

I was able to see Laura Stevenson open for the Hold Steady in December which was so fun. Laura grew up on Long Island and did keys and vocals for Bomb the Music Industry. Jellyfish was released on the 2015 album, Cocksure.

16.) "Evening / Morning" - Bombay Bicycle Club

Throwback Tuesday can be dedicated to this song by Bombay Bicycle Club. An English indie rock band together since 2005, they consistently release rock bangers. This particular song was actually the first single they ever released. Currently, the band has essentially broken up, with the members saying they want to work on solo projects. Bassist Ed Nash released his solo album The Pace of the Passing earlier this year.

17.) "Black Leaf" - John Paul White

I have a deep love for the Civil Wars, a folk/country/americana duo consisting of John Paul White and Joy Williams. Like most of their fans, I was devastated to learn of their messy, drawn-out break-up official in 2014. They were two excellent artists who met through a musician's workshop and just seemed to click, winning four Grammys in their short time together. Their chemistry was electric, as can be viewed in their live videos like this one or this one. The thing was, they were both married. To other people. Joy's husband was their band manager. John's wife was at home in Alabama with their children. We may never know if a traditional affair happened, but it appeared that in one way or another, at least an emotional rift had opened. After their break-up, Joy Williams was fairly vocal with her feelings, explaining in interviews that "irreconcilable differences" were much more complicated than appeared on the surface. John Paul White was silent. He returned last year with an incredible solo album, Beulah, and rocketed back into success. While he remained silent in interviews about his former Civil Wars partner, almost like a divorced couple with the giant pink elephant in the room, he may have written about it. The lyrics on his album seem to me to easily be interpreted as the complicated emotions he felt while simultaneously losing Joy as a musical partner and friend, and potentially losing his wife for his lack of attention and focus on his family. It's important to note that John Paul White has said himself that his lyrics are meant for fans to interpret more into their own lives, than his. Privacy is important to him, and while we don't know what really happened between Joy and John Paul, maybe we can hope that just like in their song, 20 years from now we could see some sort of reconciliation.

18.) "No Way Out" - Warpaint

Warpaint are from Los Angeles and released their latest album, Heads Up, last year. Their sound is dreamy and especially this song features harmonic reverb as a major theme.

19.) "Left Handed Kisses" - Andrew Bird feat. Fiona Apple

Andrew Bird's feature with Fiona Apple is pretty much perfect. He is one of the most talented contemporary musicians and with his 2016 album, Are You Serious, he gets a little more personal, including writing a love song for his wife (swoon!). In an interview with NPR, he discussed major life changes - including marriage, a child, and his wife's battle with cancer.

20.) "Old Friends" - Pinegrove

Emo is making a comeback. While I've been spending time attending emo/pop punk live band karaoke events, Emo Night BK and Emo Nite LA have been touring the country with sold out events. I've been trying to reflect on this re-popularization of the genre of early to mid-00s bands that were made fun of and dismissed. My teenage years thrived on emo. The darkest lyrics spoke to me in a time when depression wasn't really talked about in the mainstream. Now, it does feel a bit silly to scream along to the same intense lyrics that I once cried over, but at the same time there is a sense of nostalgia. As a very drunk Adam Lazarra of Taking Back Sunday told the crowd at the 2015 Taste of Chaos tour, "I was there when you smoked your first cigarette."

But there's more to emo than 40-something majority white dudes screaming about their broken hearts. There are bands that hold a sense of authenticity and talent coming from 90s punk and post-punk influences.

Pinegrove is a band bringing it back to the start. A cross between the new, indie sound and the older, 90s/early 00s emo authenticity. Pinegrove is an incredibly unique band that not only hits indie and emo, but crosses over into folk and americana as well. This blending of genres is what is making artists really begin to stand out to me, as we cross over into the second half of this decade. Check out their 2016 album, Cardinal, here.

21.) "Radio" - Sylvan Esso

I always put a lot of thought into the order of songs on my playlist. What I love about this year's playlist is that Sylvan Esso's "Radio" can perfectly transition back into the first song on the playlist. So make sure your repeat all buttons are on, and I hope you've enjoyed this year's Valentine's Day newsletter!

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SPOTIFY

Don't forget to subscribe to my playlists on Spotify! And if you don't have Spotify yet, get on that shit, it's awesome. Here is the link to listen to this year's mixtape on Spotify

I try to add new songs at least once a week to this playlist. What I'm currently listening to a lot (updated frequently): currently lovin' (updated freq)

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I hope you guys enjoy the new music and feel free to send me recommendations of anything you like!

<3 aili

Previous Mixtapes:

Autumn Love Spotify

Copenhagen Spotify 

Philadephia Spotify

New Crime Spotify

The City Spotify

Drive Spotify

VDay 2012 Spotify

King's Myth Spotify

Hold On Spotify

Vday 2013 Spotify

Vday 2014 Spotify

Vday 2015 Spotify

Vday 2016 Spotify