#tldr this album is fantastic

[pidgefudge]

SO. i have listened to @gooboogy 's wonderful green album. and i wrote down my thoughts on each song. and now i am putting them here!!

"thoughts" being actually somewhat coherent comments that devolve into What Would This Be In A Video Game because this is me we're working with after all

and you reading this. yes you. go listen to it

verdant: oooough blorpy,,,, very cool i like. good beat it's quite foot tappable. also the name itself might be a new vocal stim. verdant. vvvverrrrrdant.

halls: much noises!! the instrumence in this scratch my brain in a good way. feels a bit like im 7 years old watchinf my brother play 2d mario stages and reimagining the music

agua: oooohh arpeggio action and a SICK beat. once again the Noises are lovely. big fan of all 3 so far but this one in particular methinks. however i have many more songs to go (!!)

doot doot: very fun i also like this one a lot :3 and coming to you from my one-track autistic mind: this album would be a fantastic game soundtrack

side note i know im writing less for some of these but thats bc im experiencing them in shapes and colors more than expressable words. trust me they're stirring the brain stew

going for a walk: i know the title is about a walk but im envisioning this as the soundtrack to a sort of road trip montage animation thing. specifically my road trip with family from san francisco to la. oh yes this ending is us finally getting to the hotel and me flopping onto the bed

forward: im liking the melody here a lot <33 this album is making me want to boot up lmms again and try my hand at original music,,, ive only ever attempted remixes (i tried to do aquarium park from sonic colors a few years ago and gave up but now i kinda wanna go back to it,,, i wonder if i was cooking) ok yes back to the actual song whoops this one is soo cool one of my faves so far

snag: i like these opening chords!! i dont know what you actually call them but the like. buildup parts?? you know?? those bits??? big fan OOH and a uh. build down (lol) bit too! also liking the sparkly chimey instrumence

blazen: OHHH YESSS this would be the theme for my favorite antagonist in the hypothetical game that i am apparently going to be referencing multiple times (dimentio and mr L came to mind immediately) absolutely jamming

beep boop: fuck yeah man it sure does OH SPOOKY NOTES OH OH COOL BEAT ASWELL i am in for a fun time this is. also the theme of my favorite antagonist. but the battle theme i think. oh hell yeah the orchestra hits. yes yes definitely battle theme. sorry for putting all these in a vgm context shfjdkfkssghf i just listen to a lot of it so thats how my brain parses instrumentals

hunt: strimgs :3 wohhh this is so cool. buzzy in a good way. golden brown triangles and other spiky shapes. that's kinda meaningless to anyone but me but. oh nice more Noises always love the Noises

overwhelm: theme for when i have a project due the next day and am swamped with other homework shdjdksfjdh

VERDANT!: once more with gusto!! loving the faster tempo. constellationy crystally instrument is particularly pleasing. oooughh so gooddddd

creepin': spacey!! im watching a crew set out in their little shuttle, oblivious to the horrors awaiting them on their station

envy: this is a boss fight that's emotionally heavy for the protagonists. perhaps fighting a former friend or mentor or team member

whomp whomp: quite a tricksy track!! some sort of haunted place,,,, maybe the place where the previous battle takes place. maybe it's actually a ghost (especially if the protagonist had some role in their death and feels crushing guilt) (bonus points if the ghost openly expresses resentment for the protag)

gromulous: the word ever. final boss' lair for sureee. yeah this song sure is gromulous. idk how else to describe it you hit the nail on the head

largemouth: oooh a bit silly but also cool guy. im thinking some sort of underground secret society/lab thing they have to infiltrate that's hiding a Sinister Secret (the big plot twist of the game) doesn't even have to physically be underground it could be a moon base situation. maybe i should just make this whole thing into a scifi space rpg

a way out: i can see this as the final boss music and as you get further in the fight it ramps up. i know i already assigned songs to the main antagonist but shhhhh. (or i can always pull a super paper mario in terms of antagonists)

under over: oh!! i love this one!! hometown theme. chill and familiar but still upbeat rather than sleepy. and it has a very strong nostalgia factor,,,,, in love with this song it might be my favorite. but there are still 3 more so!

float: this beginning is very cool im loving the vibe. dire dire docks but make it just after sunset and watch the ocean come alive with bioluminescent lights and fish raves. i guess it isnt a space game anymore. or maybe dream sequence beach episode?? WOAHHH OCEAN MAGICANT i might be cooking with this one Hold On. yesyesyes ok some sort of trip/dream where theyre shrunk down marinauts (whatever ocean prefix) as opposed to astronauts and exploring a cool coral reef/ocean floor area and talking to the sea life and woahhhhhh this would look gorgeous in pixel art. tbh this one could be in its own game considering how vivid the imagery is

outside: post-final-boss world returning to normal/person being rescued or uncorrupted/whatever magical thing happening. very fond of the bird chirps too <33 OH MUSIC BOX SOUNDS i also adore this one. i think the ending of this game is kinda bittersweet. we saved the world/person/whatever but At A Cost. this is sooooo pretty. would also transition well into credits

Green: and roll credits!! this would be the kind of credits theme i sway in my seat and contemplate the game to. the entire album is fantastic and these last few especially have been so lovely

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

06/05/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; RhysDarby/TheCryptidFactor; Taika Waititi; David Jenkins; Leslie Jones; Vico Ortiz; Erroll Shand; Samson Kayo; Ruibo Qian Samba Schutt; SOFMD Crew Fundraiser for Queer Elders; SOFMD Crew Guide to Call in to Menace Max; AdoptOurCrew - Articles On #DontStreamOnMax; SonnetforBonnet - Hope for OFMD; National Park Service; Fan Spotlight; Pride Month; MerMay2024; LoveNotes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika;

== Rhys Darby ==

Rhys is on The ParaNormal Life with Dan Schreiber today! When two paranormal podcasts collide!

== Taika Waititi ==

Taika out with Rita and VasJMorgan :)

Source: BeachersMadhouse Instagram

== David Jenkins ==

Chaos Dad reposted an OFMD ad from BINGE... apparently OFMD is streaming there now!

Source: David Jenkins' Twitter

== Samson Kayo ==

Some rare footage of our beloved Samson!

Source: Samson Kayo's Instagram

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba sending out some love to his costars/writers/directors! "A beautiful shoot with the incredible @mintmilana, written and directed by the lovely @valerieandchaney, with a bunch of beautiful people, where I get to play a fantasy man (makes sense, makes sense….)😶‍🌫️💫✨ #film #indiefilm #bestlife"

Source: Samba Schutte's Instagram

== Erroll Shand ==

Are you ready to see Erroll Shand in #TheTwelve this July? You can watch it on Binge!

Source: Erroll Shand's Instagram

== Ruibo Qian ==

Some sketches of our Pirate Queen out on the town <3

Source: Ruibo Qian's Instagram Stories

== Vico Ortiz ==

Vico's new movie SPARK starts screening on June 24 in LA! You can visit https://www.thefilmspark.com/ for tickets and information!

Source: Vico Ortiz Instagram Stories

== Leslie Jones ==

Leslie's out with the LA Sparks <3

Source: Leslie Jones Instagram Stories

== Save OFMD Crew: SAGE ==

The SAGE Fundraiser (for LGBTQ+ Elders) is now live! This fundraiser is tiered so as more goals are met, there will be more to come!

Source: Save OFMD Crew Instagram

= MORE BELOW THE CUT =

== Save OFMD Crew - Week 1 Call In Guide ==

Wanna help menace max on the phone?

Find out more here: SaveOFMDCrewMates Tumblr

== AdoptOurCrew - Articles ==

More #DontStreamOn Max Articles. Thanks @adoptourcrew for catching them!

Tech Radar Article

Hot New Hiphop Article

Source: AdoptOurCrew's Tumblr

== Hope for OFMD ==

Our awesome crewmate @sonnetforbonnet shared this article from Metro regarding Netflix picking up an axed show with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes Rating. There's hope for Our Flag Means Death yet!

Source: SonnetForBonnet's Instagram

== National Park Service ==

Our crewmates at the National Park Service are at it again! Check out their instagram post to learn more about Night Skies and Moonglow!

Source: National Park Service Instagram

== Fan Spotlight ==

== Cast Cards ==

Today's cast cards is one of our other directors-- Andrew DeYoung! Thank you @melvisik for highlighting him as well :)

== Pride Month ==

Another lovely piece by our friend SpencerDoesArtt for Pride month <3 Can't wait to see what they get up to this month!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by spencer (@spencerdoesartt)

== MerMay 2024 Prompts ==

Seeing some more of the mermay submissions still coming in!

== GooGooGoJob ==

More MerMay from the talented @googoogojob. Wow, this is absolutely stunning!

Source: @googoogojob's Tumblr

== Eros The Artist ==

Day 27 was The Chain! The fantastic @erostheartist re-made the Fleetwood Mac album in Lucius and Pete's image! Love it!

Source: @ ErosTheArtist's Tumblr

== Love Notes ==

Hey lovelies. I hope everyone is having a good Thursday! It's almost the end of the week! Have you had enough water today? Have you had a snack lately? Please remember to hydrate especially as half the world is coming into summer months!

Today I wish I had more time to write something but I'm once again a bit behind. Gonna send a love reminder from someone else today. Rest well crew <3

Source: MyNames_Ellen's Instagram

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

I'm sure I've done both of these before but they are happening again, so there. Gifs courtesy of my darling @ofmd-ann, may your pillows always be soft and cool.

[ouchpotatoex]

Cherik Musical Appreciation in X-Men '97

Listening to the X-Men 97 OST and feeling very normal about leitmotifs, particularly the ones used during scenes involving Magneto and Professor X. Apologies if I've used the wrong terms as I don't have musical training, I just listen to soundtracks a lot and I'm a sucker for recurring themes.

We're first introduced in "Magnus the Savior" (ep2) as Magneto tries so hard to honor Charles' request. Pay attention to the leitmotif around the 1:54 mark because it comes back through the series quite often. Bonus: Almost everyone refers to Erik as Magneto, even Erik himself. Charles has been referring to him as Magnus since around season 4 of TAS so we can interpret this title as coming from Charles and his wish for Magnus.

In Episode 5, "Remember it," the theme comes back very, very subtly when Magnus is talking about Charles to the Genoshan council. You really need to blast the volume to hear it.

In episode 6, "Galactic Peace" plays during Charles's chat with Gladiator and the theme comes in towards the 40 second mark, almost mournful as he's talking about Magnus. Later on during the classroom scene, the theme comes roaring back in "We Need You" as Charles talks about his family. The theme flows into a variation of the X-Men theme when he makes the decision to return to Earth.

In episode 9 ("Tolerance is Extinction Part 2") we get a dark and mournful variation when Magnus confronts Xavier about Genosha. It sounds almost sinister towards the end. I'm kind of sad it's not on the OST.

Episode 10 "Tolerance is Extinction Part 3" gives us 2 more variations. The first is when Charles hijacks Magnus' powers to save the planet. It's got this fantastic build up and features a choir and orchestra. Sadly, it's not on the OST for some reason. The second variation in this episode is "Rising Waters" which is equally bombastic when Magnus' mind is restored and he has his Big Damn Hero moment.

Tldr; the soundtrack is pretty good and adds even more subtext to these two. I really wish the sound mixing was more balanced so we could actually hear the music without blowing out our eardrums. In a sense, the original series did it better because its distinct themes were more prominent. I hope they eventually release the tracks that weren't included in the first release.

[foxes-that-run]

If I could fly

The TLDR is that If I could fly is about Harry being vulnerable with someone he is separated from by distance which is painful. Harry wrote it in February before the OTRA tour. When asked about it in the Track by Track, (1:52) Harry spoke about the album for 2 minutes, when prompted he covered his body language was closed before saying it 'kind of fell down, it was natural to sing it' then talked about Johan. Thank for sharing your music Harry.

When was it written

Harry wrote it with Johan Carlson and Ross Golan in Los Angeles. Johan said they wrote together several days a week over four weeks leading up to the On the Road Again tour, which started 7 February 2015. Harry wrote with Johan on ‘Just a Little Piece of your heart’, ‘I love you’, Maybe Someday and 'Stockholm Syndrome'. Johan said:

"He's such a good songwriter - it's an honour to write music with him. He's fantastic with the words and he can really put down lyrics that are very conversational and people can relate to. We're just having a good time."

Niall also said Made in the AM was written in January and February, before Zayn left the band in March. He also told Ryan Seacrest the bulk of the album was written before tour and recorded on the road.

Live performances

One Direction never performed it live and Harry hasn't since 2018. Harry included it in his first main setlist throughout 2018. He performed it on the B stage after Sweet Creature. When performing it live Harry paused, shushed the crowd with a finger for up to 2 minutes before saying "it's your turn" for them to sing the last chorus and "I feel it," both of which Harry led on the album.

What the band said about it

To Apple Music Liam said he got emotional listening to "the song Harry wrote", which is likely 'If I Could Fly' because his other writing credits were with 1D and/or 1D writers. Harry deflected answering what it is about but said it was a farewell (to a hoodie they had been joking about). The farewell is interesting to me as the lyrics are ambiguous to me, Harry sings of being apart from his muse, going out of mind and hoping they don’t run from him.

Julian Bunetta said to Rolling Stone:

“I remember when Harry first played it to me. That one I didn’t write, but I remember when I first heard it. We were in Westlake Studio for a week. I kept asking why he wanted to call it ‘If I Could Fly.’ It’s a great song, so it doesn’t really matter what it’s called, does it?”

The title is only in the first line, compared to 'for your eyes only' which is the main line of the chorus. If I could fly is a reference to the paper airplane necklace and Taylors Out Of The Woods "Two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying". It also sets the meaning of the song as about someone he's physically apart from rather than the band or fans.

Timeline

27 October - 1989 release, Harry and Taylor seen together again in November and December. (2014 timeline)

10 January - 4 weeks writing with Johan incl. 'If I could Fly'

16 January - The last time Harry and Taylor were seen together before the Exile BBMAs was Lily Aldridge's birthday. (WITW)

1 February - Taylor not at Harry's 21st birthday, in Nashville the next day, maybe broke up (Hunger and Coney Island).

7 February - ORTA tour start, end of writing period.

14 February - Style Music Video released and Two Ghosts written.

27 February - Harry posted the overgrown Winding Wheel.

7 November - Harry Tweeted 'If I could fly' before it was released. He had given Taylor the Airplane necklace on 7 November 2012.

Lyrics

If I could fly I'd be comin' right back home to you

"If I could fly" is not an obvious title for this song, but was important to Harry.

The opening of Taylor’s vault track The Very First Night is “I wish I could fly / I'd pick you up and we'd go back in time”

It is one of Harry's last One Direction songs, he fly's (over an ocean and woods) in the MV his first solo song, Sign of the Times, which works as a through line. Harry said to Jimmy Fallon that he 'would have been happy with a green screen' which sounds like the flying was his idea before he got concepts.

Harry has sung about flying and the distance separating him from his muse many times, especially in One Direction songs. This title and opening lyric are clear the song is about someone Harry is separated from by touring and living internationally:

Fools Gold "You're the shining distraction that makes me fly home"

Half The World Away "Never gonna be the same / 'Cause you're half the world away"

Lay down "Hearts are divided / Now that we’re worlds apart"

Trouble "And you know that i’ll be gone in the morning"

Already home "You don’t have to go, but you’re already leaving" and "From aeroplanes to the bullet trains, summer skies to the pouring rain / All the future plans we will never make, from a beating heart to the farthest place"

Daylight "If I was a bluebird, I would fly to you"

Canyon Moon "I'll be gone too long from you"

Daydreaming "You know I'll be gone for so long / So give me all of your love, give me something to dream about"

Since meeting Harry while writing Red, Taylor has sung about flying in more than 10 songs about him, most closely in The Very First Night: "I wish I could fly, I’d pick you up and we’d go back in time"

Home is also an important theme in Harry's music, home being with the person rather than a physical place.

I think I might Give up everything, just ask me to

Here, in Maybe Someday and in Taylors 'The Lakes' they have both sung about being together after giving up their careers, Slut! and Gold Rush Also has a similar message.

however on Harry's House in Music for a Sushi Restaurant and As it Was Harry started to say he should be able to have both because 'he's not going to go broke' or 'you know it's not the same.'

Pay attention, I hope that you listen 'Cause I let my guard down Right now I'm completely defenseless

Harry guards his privacy carefully, he has spoke in the Behind the Album that the world knew everything about him in the band and he found he didn't like that. To let someone in is important.

For your eyes only I'll show you my heart For when you're lonely And forget who you are I'm missing half of me When we're apart Now you know me For your eyes only For your eyes only

I really love the phrasing of 'when you're lonely and forget who you are' it beautifully communicates how highly Harry thinks of his muse, but knows they don't see themselves as he does. This is quite similar to

Lay Down: "Two Hearts are divided / Now that we’re worlds apart, They seem so hard to take"

Satellite "I can see you're lonely down there, Don't you know that I am right here?"

Little Freak "I was thinkin' about who you are / Your delicate point of view"

I've got scars Even though they can't always be seen And pain gets hard But now you're here and I don't feel a thing

This verse gets me everytime. Harry is speaking about past trauma, which he also touched on with Rolling Stone discussing his parents separating and wanting to protect his mother, as well as internet criticism. Taylor Swift has a similar story in Seven, and in Cardigan "You drew stars around my scars"

I can feel your heart inside of mine I feel it, I feel it I've been goin' out of my mind I feel it, I feel it Know that I'm just wastin' time And I hope that you don't run from me

To me the outcome for the relationship in the song is ambiguous, as it may have been for Harry. He’s vulnerable, hoping the person doesn’t run from him, but is leaving and thinks he wasting his time. To me this reflects a relationship that’s complex, but clearly special. As we can see with how Harry didn’t want to discuss the song.

This verse reminds me of these lyrics.

Sweet Creature "Two hearts in one home"

Where do broken hearts go "Mind is running in circles of you and me"

Fools Gold "You're the raise on the waves that calm my mind"

[tipsheda]

Favorite Music I Listened to in 2023

Through Census Designated this year and her various Dariacore albums, I discovered Jane Remover in 2023 and I'm really glad I did (thanks for the recommendation, Imogen!). Census Designated has an utterly fantastic vibe that resonates with feelings of nostalgia and melancholy like nothing else for me. It puts me in such a unique headspace and I will treasure it for that.

The album is supposed to embody dead grass, and it nails it. It makes me recall timeless moments with friends doing nothing together. Of countless nights driving back and forth between Rochester and Minneapolis back when I didn't live in Minneapolis yet but had friends there. It brought me back to some of the feelings I had right after college when I had to leave so many friends behind to join the Real World, and how I was able to hold on to some of those relationships despite distance and change. I didn't even like this album that much on first listen. It's been through repeated listens in different contexts that it's won its way into my heart. In my basement, listening with a friend. Outside, listening with some friends around a bonfire. On lonely drives to and from my various old stomping grounds.

TLDR: I have imprinted on this album and it's now a core memory and feeling that I can reference back to in the future when I want to revel in the emotions of a certain time period in my life. Good shit. Also, good companion piece to the game, Fallow.

I listened to some of the songs from Caroline Polachek's new album, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, for the first time in the car with some friends driving through a small town in Wisconsin. It was on full blast. What a sound! The album has so much energy. It's just absolute banger city.

Say what you want. But I've waited so long for a new Skrillex album and we got 2 in one year. Been a fan ever since listening over and over again to every single track he put out back in middle and high school on my school bus rides from 2011-2014. His work had a huge impact on my musical taste and my own music. Not every track on these albums hit for me. They never have on any of the past albums. But the ones that hit, fucking hit.

I had listened to some underscores songs a couple years ago and liked them, but never looked much further into the artist's music until a friend brought them up again. Then they released a new album this year and all hell broke loose. Great music. Energy, passion, emotion, all the good stuff.

Frost Children is great. Saw them live this year. They sound even better live. Listen to Frost Children. Favorite song is COUP.

Also saw Arooj Aftab play live with Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily and it was just chill and beautiful sounds with haunting vocals the whole time. Good stuff.

Dodgr had only really put out the occasional single for so long and each one was an absolute banger with a great and unique vocal style over some good beats. I missed that she put out a whole album last year. It slaps.

Also, I want to give one final shoutout to a band I forgot to mention, Geese and their album this year 3D Country. It's like neo-Dad Rock or punk country. A blend of country/rock music with punk cowboy vocals. It was the music that was the most out of my wheelhouse out of everything I've listened to this year and I love it now. Saw them live and they were great.

Honorable mentions:

Elise Trouw - Losing Sleep

KNOWER - KNOWER FOREVER

Alexander Panos - Nascent (2022)

Rebecca Black - Let Her Burn

[reptilia2003]

why do you hate pitchfork?

why do I hate pitchfork?

first off, I think music criticism as a whole is kind of odd. I do like being able to hear what other people thought of albums! But the way most criticism is constructed takes something that’s mostly subjective (taste) and tries to make it objective. I understand that ratings make for an easy way to categorize music, but theirs are confusing.

Take for instance this review of the latest little simz album—if you read it, you’ll find they criticize basically nothing. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/little-simz-no-thank-you/

It gets a 7.7. You can read pitchfork reviews that lavish similar amounts of praise and get 9+, and you can find ones that get 6.5. (Many have noted that they tend to knock female artists for things they don’t knock male artists for.)

taste is subjective, rating albums numerically is hard, and makes no sense a lot of times (looking at you, 5.7 rating for grammy winning album the new abnormal. not that grammys mean anything either but i think this shows that two different groups of “experts” can have wildly different opinions)

I’d say my biggest beef with pitchfork is that it seems to pride itself on being pretentious and inaccessible. (I say this as someone who is kind of pretentious about music! I look at my Last.fm and collect vinyls and listen to a lot of things that people who are Pretentious Music Enjoyers listen to!) I have no problem with big and complicated words being used in criticism—I think it’s actually good, it can help describe things in a way that simpler language can’t. But theirs ends up coming off as arrogant and almost masturbatory. We get it pitchfork—you’re Cool and Smart and Know Things and you’re therefore the Authority about music.

Take the first paragraph from their review of Alvvays’ Blue Rev. what is the point of this meandering treatise on the genre of power pop, besides to assert that they Know Things?

They follow this up with this line. So it turns out that all that stuff they just said about genre is actually unimportant! Great! Thanks for wasting a paragraph on showing off your Understanding of genre.

This attitude also tends to attract a certain type of reader. When they polled readers for their favorite 200 albums of the last 25 years, here’s what they came up with

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of fantastic albums in this list. But three radiohead albums in the top five says something about your audience. (And I own two of those three on vinyl, so I fully realize I’m also the type of person I’m talking about here. but I think that also makes me more qualified to criticize it.) We go through neutral milk hotel’s in the aeroplane over the sea, sufjan stevens’ illinois, Kanye’s yeezus, Frank ocean’s channel orange, lcd soundsystem’s sound of silver (another one I own), and madvillain’s madvillainy before we get to any album made by a woman (lana del Rey’s Norman fucking rockwell, coming in at #17). This is pitchfork’s audience, and it’s who they cater to and this greatly influences how they think about music.

tldr halsey was right.

[gible2k]

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF CUTOUTS BY THE SMILE (ramble incoming):

just fucking incredible. after my first listen I can definitively say Bodies Laughing is one of the best The Smile songs, maybe even one of the best songs I've heard. it's just a gorgeous song, tha acoustic guitar just has something about it that gets me, it somehow sounds raw and real, yet has that echoing "wall of sound" aspect that i love about The Smile. hearing the chord change at the "but everybody's laughing" part for the first time hit me like a fucking truck it's so good.

rn another one of my favourites has to be Colours Fly, it's so groovy, and personally i love odd time signatures in music, it just adds a special feel I can't quite describe? it just makes the 1 of the beat really punchy and powerful to me??? the sort of arabic, indian classical sound (?) in the riff is SO GOOD. I really haven't heard much like it. also all the speaking in the background give it an even more off, almost eery feel, (also thoms little HEY! 2 minutes in makes me laugh when i hear it its great) this song just feels off in a good way, almost giving a similar impression to Climbing Up The Walls. I'm itching to see this song live specifically it's really special.

EYES AND MOUTH. the contrast of the really tinny, high guitar riff underpinned by some really beautiful, full, jazzy piano chords is just incredible. and thoms vocals are absolutely KILLER in this track, they just sound so packed with emotion that it's physically spilling out of him into the track, fucking mesmerising. his voice crack at around 2mins 30 just HITS ME IN MY SOUL. this track is getting looped to high hell, absolutely gorgeous.

another track that really spoke to me is Tiptoe, that beginning, dissonant soft piano is something special. again I really love the use of speaking in the background of some of these tracks, to me it makes it feels more raw, and in the moment? on my first listen the orchestra kicking in GOT ME. it really would feel right at home on A Moon Shaped Pool, those strings are so intensely beautiful that I cried my first listen. thoms vocals on this track again are superb, they're so soft in a way that feels like a lullaby to me. i haven't checked out the lyrics for any of these tracks, but from what I hear the line "all of you appeasers and enablers" has stuck in my head since I heard the track. honestly wish this was longer i could listen to those strings all day.

though I wont go into detail about the other tracks, this whole album is packed with quality. ironic is this albums title bc it's probably their best album so far and doesnt feel like the offcuts of Wall Of Eyes in the slightest. this might be another Kid A Amnesiac situation where one could become discredited bc its seen as just a "b-side comp", which I hope doesn't happen. this album is just incredible, rlly blew me out of the water, bc imo the singles released b4 the album were some of the weaker tracks, (apart from Bodies Laughing) (not saying any of these tracks are bad btw they're all fantastic). rlly this is some of the most quality ive ever seen in an album but i expect nothing less from Thom, Jonny and Tom. this is a rlly special record, though I will always hold Wall Of Eyes as my favourite of The Smile, that album is really my baby.

tldr: CUTOUTS WAS AN ABSOLUTE W, WERE RLLY WINNING WITH TWO FANTASTIC ALBUMS THIS YEAR CANT WAIT TO HAVE THIS LOOPED FOREVEEERRRRR

[surrealisticduvet]

Album Review – Cosmic Partners: The McCabe’s Tapes (Live 1973)

“Well, I don’t know if you’re familiar with Red or not, Red Rhodes, the pedal steel guitar player. I would hope that you are because Red’s like, uh, my cosmic partner. Between he and I, we plod on keeping Saturn in orbit…”

Cosmic Partners is arguably the best live album Michael has put out, although it’s hard to compare. With a selection of hits from the beginning of his songwriting career through 1973, along with some covers and instrumental classics, the track listing and sound quality is enough to make this a great record. However, what really makes it special are the transitional tracks with Michael’s introductions, anecdotes, and laughter. From the moment you put it on, you are transported to this moment in time - up until it cuts off suddenly when the tape runs out during “Silver Moon”. Coming back down to earth is jarring and a little upsetting - but it emphasizes just how good this recording is. 

Favorite parts of the album:

This album is so good I can’t even pretend to be reviewing it critically. Let me just gush. 

The intricacies of each pre-song anecdote or offhand joke are endless; and that’s without getting into the depth of “The Great Escape,” which is a real-life Monkee-romp retelling with classic Nesmith flair. The band is fantastic; Red is in fine form and deserves all the applause he gets and more.  TLDR – I highly recommend listening to the whole album if you have the time. 

more below the cut!

I love every track, but the standouts for me are as follows: “Grand Ennui”’s intro here is like no other (played on the track “The Sock Cymbal Scared Me”) with the way he shifts from completely dissolving into laughter over several false starts to pulling himself together and launching into a growly first verse; this album’s version of “The One Rose” (again with a very darling intro) is technically perfect in spite of (because of?) the stumble at the beginning; this take of “Propinquity” is what I’d consider the best recorded version of it, ever. As a closer, “Silver Moon” is impeccable, enchantingly heartbreaking. And again, the way it ends so suddenly leaves you hungry for more, desperate to hear what the people in that room heard as the song and show closed out. 

Critiques:

None! Leave a comment if you can think of any. 

Conclusion:

Endlessly charming – truly grateful that we have such a good recording of this night. I wonder about how long he knew the tapes existed before he decided to release them, as well as what prompted him to do it in 2019 (besides, well, interest being high enough for production.) Not to be too sappy here but I’m sure relistening was an emotional experience, and I think we’re very lucky to be able to experience that along with him. The rest of the band is good, but it’s the relationship between Michael and Red that really sells the whole thing and makes it work; Cosmic Partners, indeed.

[1892]

3 months post UTOPIA. What are your thoughts?

it is no longer (really) in my rotation. i'd say it was an attempt! it was an ambitious project that just fell a bit short. it's too long, it's fake deep, it's semi-well produced but pretty shallow and the lyricism is honestly weak too. just not very good really. but!

i know? is a fantastic pop song and sometimes i can not turn it off. the album cover is gorgeous. hyaena samples maggot brain which is really awesome and was a fantastic album opener! however. the hightlights on this album are the features which is ummm bad! westside gunn's verse was great TBH and 21s was pretty strong. I even liked the drake song!!! it was just so much promising material mixed with so much mid. it disguises the Mid pretty well to start but once i listened to the album more than twice I was disillusioned about its quality for real. IMHO hivemind were on point when they said he was trying to do something futuristic like Yeezus because he was like technically involved in the making of that album or whatever and he wants to be innovative still but i think what this project proved is that he is quite incapable of introspection & is failing at "reinventing" himself. like sorry you can't just try to do what yachty did LOL because he actually did it and you just tried, poorly.

tldr; pretty mixed bag but overall i resent it for masquerading as good

[akwardlyuncool]

Artist Of The Year: George Watsky!

This is gonna be on the longer side, so I'm cool if you don't to read of it. TLDR: Watsky put in the creative work and he's supper nice!

Honestly I didn't know who I wanted to give artist of the year to and although he's been a constant shout out for me over the years, I kept coming back to the thought that Watsky's put in so much creative work this year. He was dedicated to the art, put on a FANTASTIC show and was still trying to give back to his community of fans, even me personally. So, at the end of the day there wasn't really a question cause I already had the answer.

First he put out Intention the final album in a trilogy of albums, did an US/International tour, with a FREE live stream of one of the dates, for that album. Then at the end of all that decided that he'd go back on a mini tour at the end of the year to do a Art Pop Up/Meet & Greet as a send off and a thank you to the fans.

Now I'm not gonna get into the lore of all the challenges and puzzles and international scavenger hunting, he's done this last year as well, and probably even longer, just know that ish is amazing and shout out to anyone who was apart of that being the hella cool thing that it was/is. I just watched him in a not so parasocial way live stream his life for a couple weeks (was it a couple weeks?) while he hand drew all of the art work for the lyrics of his last album to be put into a book. It was a comfort watch this summer. So yeah, when I talk about the work, this is what I mean.

Artist of the year is really better known as artist of MY year, and although he would still deserve it otherwise and knowing that I wasn't the most knee deep into everything, I was still there for so much and had a lot of fun. The tip-over however was when he decided to make small batch of physical copies of the live album he made for the Metro date and I happened to win a copy. The first one got lost in the mail somewhere (or so I'm assuming) and upon sending a follow up email, hoping I didn't look "desperate" he was basically like "you didn't get yours? I'll send you another one."

That story shorter, the special thing about all of this is that he was like you got my word that I'll get you another one. Although I would have been bummed, I would have eventually just been okay with winning at all, but he did the extra and in the world of fan experiences, that was cool of him. It really made me feel like this was something I was supposed to win, like he thought I deserved it. Now ish might not be that deep lol, but to me it felt like it was.

All I'm really saying is that between getting to see a really good "final" show live (from my couch too), watching him livestream his creative process, as well as getting what I consider to be special fan experiences without having to pay for VIP, means a bit to me and so deserving, he is. __________________________________________________________________

Mini Watsky Introduction Playlist

Note: This does not include the lore and unfortunately stuff from the mix-CD's. I worked only with what's available on Spotify.

Two Blue Moons - Watsky (Self Titled)

(*Bonus Track) Dent In The Moon - Cardboard Castles

Sarajevo ft. Dia Frampton - All You Can Do

Wounded Healer (Live) - All You Can Do: Live From The Regency

(*Bonus Track) Exquisite Corpse ft. Dumbfoundead, Grieves, Adam Vida, Wax, Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, and Chinaka Hodge - x Infinity

Same Way - Fine Print (Invisible Inc.)

Welcome To The Family - COMPLAINT

Undermine ft. Raquel Rodriguez - PLACEMENT

FLOAT - INTENTION

Tiny Glowing Screens Pt 2. (Live) - Watsky Live from the Metro

Spotify Link!

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PS: When I get to it and have the emotional capacity for that amount of sentimental-ness, I'll do an official reminiscing of the last 10/11, maybe even more years of my time going to Watsky shows. I'm also still gonna make the official Intention tour post, as well as one for the Art Pop-Up, so there will for sure be more Watsky content to come.

[firewoodfigs]

some quick life updates before i yeet myself off to bed and trick my body into a regular sleep cycle: 

bali was great!!! i miss it terribly already. the people were lovely and the beaches were lovely and it was just nice to finally get away from this claustrophobic island of a country after nearly three!!! miserable!!! years!!! it was low-key exhausting because we fit so much into four days - we literally woke up at six in the morning on the third day to take a ferry to nusa penida (me, plagued by motion sickness: dear Lord take this cup away from me) and then did stuff like hike a ton in the tropical blistering heat and snorkel in ridiculously choppy waters. fun fact: I actually can’t swim so LMAO but well *shrugs* here I am... I say this calmly but in reality I was choking on seawater and yelling at my bf HAHAHAHA 

coming back home was super stressful because 4/9 of us who went on the trip got covid lol. I was fretting so hard on the flight home bcs my bf was shivering and breaking out in cold sweat from a fever that just came out of nowhere and the plane did not have BLANKETS because it was a transit flight. what. anyways when we landed and checked our phones one of our friends was like, “fuck, I’m positive”, and we were like, fuuuuuck. I was so sure we got it because all 9 of us shared a burger the night before, so we self-isolated for a few days just to be safe, but it turned out to just be stomach flu on my bf’s end. (I somehow got out miraculously unscathed...) 

also because I got bombarded with work the past two weeks bcs it was my beloved coworker’s turn to go on holiday after me... it was rough, man. I think I worked till or past midnight most days (although I generally try to take Wednesday and Friday nights off for Mental HealthTM) but honestly I'm just happy to not be fired because it was just me and my boss holding the fort together and i’m pretty sure I sent him trash at some point but he was genuinely so nice about it. like, he sent me an email with super detailed feedback and was like, don’t worry, it’s not stuff I expected you to know because it’s super technical, but just keep trying and you’ll get better and I was like yo... thanks... /cryingindaclub

I turned 25 recently and it is just. quarter life crisis ahoy. HELP. I need Taylor swift to write a song about being 25 and knowing nothing at all. actually I just need Dr Swift to drop a new album because I've listened to folklore and evermore so many times that it’s starting to feel a little repetitive and. idk. mad (woman) 

royai week completely slipped my mind with everything that’s been going on and my submissions will probably be really tardy (if they even get finished at all HAHAH) but the prompts this year have been really nudging me back towards writing again. they’re INCREDIBLE!!! I can’t wait to see how everyone interprets it - I'm sure it’ll be fantastic. i have to confess I've been kinda out of fma/royai lately bcs I've been working on other original stuff (also because my latest obsession is Star Wars LOL but this fandom was truly one of the best things that happened to me in 2020 and it’s just really nice to see everyone coming together again for the best week of the year. genuinely feels like Christmas in the summer but instead of mistletoe we have fic. what’s not to love?

anyways yeah tldr idk if I'll end up participating but I'm really looking forward to see what everyone has in store!!! x

ALRIGHT im off to bed take care and stay hydrated and safe mates I’m sending yall all my love to conquer the upcoming week <3 

[megthemewlingquim]

unfortunately, “solar power” was extremely underwhelming for me. this is all my opinion, you don’t have to agree with me.

TLDR; “solar power”, despite its fun aesthetic, fantastic production, and great songwriting, does not meet my already lowered expectations. it is, overall, very bland and uninteresting, and often feels one-dimensional. it’s a let down.

i went into this thing knowing that it wasn’t going to be another “pure heroine” or “melodrama”, and i accepted that with no difficulty. i like the beach/summer/acoustic aesthetic! and i know that lorde and jack worked very hard on this and lorde herself is very proud of it, and i’m ok with that :) if the artist(s) are happy, then i’m happy.

but even when i lower my expectations, this album fails to meet them.

while lorde’s songwriting is still very good, it doesn’t hold the same grip on me. the vocals, while still very nice, are often very whispery and that gets very old very quickly; and the music, while gorgeous, is very one-sided and bland. some songs, like “california”, “stoned at the nail salon”, “fallen fruit”, “big star” and “oceanic feeling” are very good, and i enjoy them. but the rest are forgetful.

i feel like lorde could’ve done so much better.

[kirakiramelody]

Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!! It’s so good!!!!!

I just saw episode 1 and I’m dying it’s so good. I won’t spoil anything here, so I won’t speak specifics, but omg.

Amari is confirmed to be the most relatable character in the series. (Most of her reactions are a mix of NopeNopeNopeNopeNope!!! and what the f*ck what the f*ck what the f*ck?!?!!)

Mario is super odd. I can more or less guess what kind of character he’s gonna end up becoming now, and I love it, but it’s not something I would’ve ever thought of before.

What happened to [___]?!?!! It says it’s gonna tell us in episode 0 but honestly I don’t even know how she would get herself into a situation like that. Actually that’s not true. It’s [___] after all. That’s exactly something she would do.

Speaking of [___], I’m surprised her teammates aren’t more upset. How long has she been like this for? In fact, how long have all of them been like this for?

The timing in this series is really odd. And I don’t think it’s just bad writing. Especially since they specifically pointed it out there at the end. But how??? Somehow that’s one question I don’t think will be answered in episode 0.

Amari’s song is so good!!!! She’s so cool, but I think she’s gonna be a lovely idol. And the cyalume change thing? That I won’t say cause I think that’s a spoiler, like, what happened there? Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome, but really weird.

The one think I can’t like (just yet) is getting rid of [________]. I get why they have to replace it, since it’s a smartphone game now, and not an arcade game anymore, but it still kinda stings.

I hope I warm up to the keys soon. But choki just don’t have the same feel as paki, ya know?

I love the OP though. I was hoping it would be an i☆Ris song for a while, maybe Cheer Up, but realized it wasn’t after I listened to their album. But for [______ _____] to sing the OP is great. And the CG animation at the end? That was terrific. I loved seeing them again.

Also the OP was just? Amazing? The animation was fantastic and the foreshadowing on point? Like, usually you know a fair bit about the show after watching the OP, but it only really revealed what was already shown (with the exception of a few shots.)

And the commentary afterwards was really great as well. My love for Himi-chan is already well known, (Wait… is it?) but I like Riho-san a lot as well. Hearing what they have to say makes the episode just that much more fun.

Tldr: The episode was fantastic, and the OP, audio commentary, and animation were all top notch. I can’t say much about the writing, because it’s only been one episode, but I’m looking forward to solving all the mysteries that episode 1 left in it’s wake.

I guess in the end, Pripara is Pripara, completely unbeatable and utterly magical in it’s own technological way. It is and will continue to be my favorite show, and only continues to prove that every step of the way.

[000scans]

hii, I hope this doesnt come off as pushy or rushy but I’m just curious I hope you don’t mind. What I wanted to ask was if there any specific order of members or albums that you like to go with your scans?

other than that I just wanted to say thank you for posting scans, I really appreciate it and I’m sure others do too. Here is tiny minghao and I hope you’re doing well ♡

omg not at all ur all good!! lmao tbh there isn't really an order other than generally when I receive the thing and what is easy to scan, and then to a certain degree what I'm interested in scanning.

so like for semicolon it'll be woozi -> scoups -> mingyu -> jun -> whoever I get next (seungkwan and the8 were the first two I received). I buy things whenever I see it being sold cheap, although that being said I want to go for the "group" version last

but since semicolon/big albums are kind of annoying to scan, they're my lowest priority lmao. in between if I receive anything easier to scan (e.g. the an ode booklets) I'll scan those to get them out of the way, and not to spoil but I have a couple things coming that are not an ode booklets and are more interesting to me than semicolon that I may also scan intermittently :D

tldr; it's a surprise! ❤️

and ty for the tiny hao 😭😭😭💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️💕💕❤️💕❤️💕💕❤️💕💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️ hope u have a fantastic day!!!

[johannaquartet]

…I want a Black Parade musical

The album is damn good and while it does have a story there aren’t really any official sources that dictate any of the events or what happens when. A musical might give the album more structure and make the narrative more accessible.

Also if they gave it the American Idiot treatment…my GOD it would sound fantastic.

It’s also EXTREMELY relevant right now with the advent of teen musicals, the return of MCR, and the 10 year anniversary a few years ago, AND it could be a great charity vehicle with cancer being such a big part of the story.

TLDR Someone please call up Michael Mayer before I have to do his job for him

[sleevesareforlosers]

thoughts on the girl?

SHE!!!!

i have to say that im guilty of fixating on the male (/male coded) characters in the dd universe over the like, actual focus of the whole damn thing but i LOVE the girl and im a little mad at myself that i havent (i think) done her justice in any of my stuff yet.

But i gotta say that like, she is SO important and i get wildly emotional thinkin about her

because theres this like, kid who NEVER knew her mother because she was already trapped in some weird brainwashy fearscape when she gave birth and the kid was IMMEDIATELY snatched up by a tyrannical megacorporation and studied and didnt get treated like a human for the first months of her life.

then she gets kidnapped? rescued? liberated? by a group of rebels that ideologically knows the kid needs to be free from that company but doesnt have the resources or the patience to actually raise an (already heavily traumatised) baby. so 

they ship her off with some scrawny asshole desert rebel who decides that, despite not a) liking kids or b) knowing how to handle kids or c) running it past their crew first that THEYRE gonna raise this kid. and then she gets!! a great childhood. if you ignore the being hunted by said tyrannical megacorporation and learning far too young things like how to soothe yourself from a nightmare, or hide during a shootout, or bandage blaster/burn/knife wounds and the general fact that life in the zones SUCKS.

but still she gets a great few years and shes happy and loved and shes got a great support system and then she gets captured! again! buy some bald douchebag in a frilly coat and she hangs on to hope that her family will come save her and they do but they also get brutally murdered in the process and she barely makes it out herself.

and as soon as she gets back to the desert she thinks ‘i dont want people close to me getting hurt again’ and runs away!?!? she is SEVEN at this point. she spends like (comics say twelve i say ten) years wandering around the desert alone sleeping in bodybags and shit to stay under the radar of the fucking government/industry that has eyes EVERYWHERE and then in the space of like, how long are the comics, a few days? 

lets be generous and say two weeks

she gets pseudo adopted by this off the walls gang of people barely older than her with NO concept of things like, murder is bad, sees the two people left from her childhood die, dies herself and meets god and learns that her whole point in life is to walk into the city thats been terrorizing her her WHOLE LIFE and be willing to die to bring the company down

and she DOES IT. and she PULLS IT OFF and walks away. alone but alive and she is so prepared to just go back to her solitary life finally free of BL/ind

TLDR bc i dont think ive answered the question yet i think that the girl is the single strongest person in the dd universe and i think that as a fandom (and for sure personally) we dont give her enough credit for that and i think that (gonna loop in the actual album here) she is a FANTASTIC rep of what g was trying to say the whole time which is like ‘we arent gonna be here forever and its up to you to change the world’