#which is a little higher than the studio track

[vimbry]

hey beast of horns album on youtube ?? !!!

[anxiety-elemental-kay]

Vash's Dual Powers in Trigun Stampede

Or: Christ on a cracker episode eleven really was that fucked up holy shit

Here’s that essay about Stampede Vash’s powers I mentioned a while back. This is another where I yell about Trigun and gender and worry I’m spouting shit that was obvious to everyone, but you’re getting the essay anyway.

Content warnings include discussion of sexual assault, pregnancy, and forced pregnancy. I’ll be talking about episode eleven a lot so. Yeah.

The first time we see Vash manifest his powers is the same time Knives and Conrad do: when he creates a black hole in his arm. We see it absorb the corpses of the people Knives just killed, and we can see from Vash’s panicked expression he has no control over it. Knives then cuts his arm off because his brother just manifested an entire black hole like right there.

(It’s worth noting that the music track for this scene is called ‘Drain Gate’, and another track using Vash’s theme is called ‘Plant of Drain’. In the episode twelve stinger the Pieces of Earth fleet reference using something called a ‘drain gate’, which might be related to FTL travel. I have no conclusions for this point, just that this powers seem to have greater implications than just ‘black hole’ in Stampede.)

So far this is stuff the manga has more or less covered before. Vash’s power specifically was creating black holes. In TriMax we see July and its citizens consumed by a black hole. For Stampede though, Orange gave Vash a secondary power: fertility.

And I do mean fertility and not virility; the capacity to become pregnant versus the capacity to impregnate someone else. At the start of episode eleven, Knives penetrating Vash is pretty obviously phallic. His knives are the literal mechanism by which he seizes control of and violates Vash’s mind and body. On the other hand, when Vash sprouts roots which connect to the other plants in the tank, it doesn’t read as phallic to me.

They look like umbilical cords.

Each root connects to the plants’ stomachs, and aside from a brief red flash this doesn’t appear to cause them any pain or distress, contrary to Vash flailing away from his brother’s blades. We see energy move down the roots from Vash to the plants, and when they unfurl to reveal their pregnancies the roots remain connected at their navels. They look surprised and afraid. Those pregnancies are, almost literally, also his.

For all of Conrad’s technobabble about the plant core and souls and whatever, Vash’s powers seem to boil down to this: he can send things to the higher plane by creating a black hole, and he can take from the plane by manifesting with his, or others’, bodies.

I think this interpretation is reinforced by a series of three shots after Knives says “Happy birthday Vash". The pussy portal opens behind Vash (with a goopy sound effect), we cut to outside the tower to see the purple flowers blooming on the roots, and cut again to inside the tank where the plants unfurl to reveal they’ve become massively pregnant. Portal, flower, pregnancy. It’s all about biological reproduction.

And then Knives goes into the pussy portal and finds an inter dimensional ovum, which he then also penetrates with his blades, explicitly to impregnate all the other plants.

Like.

Studio Orange looked at the Fifth Moon chapter in the original Trigun manga and said “You are like little baby. Watch this.” and then made an episode which made me spend the rest of the day somewhere dark and quiet when I first watched it because holy shit.

(It shouldn’t go unsaid Vash and Knives are canonically trans in Stampede, it’s in the text even if it’s not what Orange was thinking of! Vash is surrounded by yonic imagery and Knives has no dong I don’t know what else to tell you.) (edit: okay so maybe not CANON canon but i'd still argue it's an easy interpretation to make)

There’s always been a dichotomy at the heart of Vash as a character: a desire for peace versus the necessity of violence. A living weapon trying to live and love among humans who constantly reject him. Avoiding hurting others while physically capable of great and terrible destruction.

When Vash regains control he transforms the growths he was forced to make into a MacGuffin that’s easy for the twins to fight over. He transforms what he was forced to create into a bomb, because there didn’t seem to be any other way for him to neutralize the mass. (I assume this because Vash seemed to have immediate and almost perfect control of his powers in episode twelve, and it would be strange for ‘make a bomb’ to be his first choice for dealing with the roots.) Vash has been forced to create something that poses a danger to himself and everyone around him.

Vash was a weapon, even in creating life, from the roots growing to choke all of JuLai, to the pregnant plants, to the nuke cube obliterating the largest human city on the planet.

Forced creation is no different from destruction. Reproduction is not beautiful or honorable when unwilling.

(This is my essay so I’ll allow myself another aside: episode eleven is a good demonstration of why I tend to prefer genre above more realistic stories. Here, like in the manga, we see a metaphorical rape scene stripped of anything that could be (intentionally) titillating, leaving only the victim’s fear and pain. I feel like only in this kind of metaphor can sex be stripped away from assault, and instead put the focus on the emotions of the scene.)

Vash having fertility as a power is (one of many) things that fascinate me about Trigun Stampede. I’m an afab nonbinary person, I’ve always been afraid of getting pregnant, and I’ve never wanted kids. Sexual assault is something I’m deeply afraid of, and I would genuinely rather die than give birth. It’s all tied up in my feelings about my gender and my body and how it’s perceived by others. Vash is pretty much experiencing my literal worst nightmare.

All this circles back to what might be my favorite topic when it comes to analyzing Trigun: how it depicts masculinity.

There’s a lot about masculinity in Trigun that I think is genuinely radical to some degree, and whether it’s something Orange intended to add or if it’s just easier to do a queer interpretation of this version of the story isn’t a question I’m interested in. I’m gonna rub my gay trans little hands all this anime and you can’t stop me!

Stampede doesn’t depict fertility and masculinity as opposites or even incompatible. Vash and his body isn’t made repulsive because he has this power, in fact when he regains control he gets a color change and a sick new hairstyle. Vash possessing this power isn’t depicted as that different from the black hole, it’s just a thing he can do, but here it’s being taken advantage of by his brother. The disgust and horror isn’t from the metaphor of a man becoming pregnant, it’s because he was violated by someone who claims to love him and want to protect him.

For contrast, imagine a similar scene, in which a masculine character is surrounded by feminine/pregnancy imagery, and consider how it would likely be framed in most other mainstream media. Those of you who don’t live under rocks might even think of some examples! Typically in media, men seen anywhere in proximity to femininity are mocked and humiliated.

Vash’s masculinity, his identity, his personhood, are ultimately disconnected from his capacity to reproduce, and by what means his body is or is not capable of making babies. He regained agency because Meryl called out to him, and she called out because he inspired her, and she was inspired because he was out making human connections with people, trying so hard to do the right thing even when he failed. His powers are a part of him, but not what ultimately make Vash truly powerful.

I’m curious to see if/how Studio Orange will continue with this theme going forward. So much of Vash’s character is about contradiction, and in this way they’re making some of those themes even more literal. More contrast-y.

To wrap this up, here’s one more thing I’m curious about: what will become of the Independents who will be born from this? The pregnant plants escaped with Conrad and his flying saucer lab. Assuming any children survive, and considering how much the twins grew in only a year, they could have a role in the future story. What will they be like? How will their origin shape the people they become? How much will Knives control (or fail to control) his children? What will they think of humanity, of Knives, of Vash, of themselves?

[isfjmel-phleg]

Photographs, 1916

Rachel Doncath, age twenty-five. She stands steadily and faces the camera, but her eyes show a hint of glancing at someone out of the shot. There is a hint of humor about her expression, as if the unseen person were trying to make her laugh. She wears the height of fashion, a dress with a higher waist and a fuller skirt with a hem high enough to expose a pair of delicate shoes that lace up her ankles. Underneath her wide-brimmed hat, her hair is waved. A watch is clipped to her waistband, and she holds her handbag at the ready, as if she hasn't much time to waste in the photographer's studio. A notation on the back of the photograph indicates that it was taken in Otionovia during a state visit from Queen Rietta.

Rietta I of Faysmond, age twenty-six. This is her yearly formal photograph, a portrait of her in state intended for mass production. Unlike most previous years, she sits rather than stands. Her court gown, dripping with various sorts of intricate lace representing different regions of Faysmond, engulfs her, as does an impressive train swept in front of her. The glove of her left hand is removed, revealing her famous emerald engagement ring and wedding ring. The state crown of Faysmond rests on a table beside her, and on her head is a smaller (but not small!) crown. Not a curl is out of place; they seem to have been tamed with some sort of hair product. Her expression is difficult to read. There is something uncertain in her gaze.

Delclis V of Corege, age twenty-five. An unnamed photographer has caught him sitting in the corridor outside a conference room before a meeting. His face is partially turned away toward a large window through which sunlight is streaming. He wears a dress uniform with sash and decorations. His pince-nez rest on his nose. They are attached to a string tied to one of his medals. A wire fox terrier puppy paws at his knee, and he strokes its ears. A faint smile crosses his face. He appears to be desperately trying to grow a moustache.

Elystan, Duke of Gorchester, age twenty-one. He is posing in the full academic dress of a BA from Hollingham University over an elegantly-cut suit. One hand rests nonchalantly on a pile of books on a table, representing his literary studies. The other hand is on his hip, exhibiting the sleeve of his gown. He holds himself regally, shoulders back, chin uplifted a little. His eyes are less dark-circled and his face less hollow than in earlier photographs. He looks very pleased with himself.

Amarantha Melbray, age twenty-one. In a pose reminiscent of a famous self-portrait of her favorite Renaissance artist, Teofila, she sits at her easel lifting a brush to an already-complete painting of a little girl. The painting is identifiable as "Portrait of Chrysantha" (1916), produced during Melbray's time at the Royal Art Academy. Her palette and an orderly paintbox wait nearby. She wears a ruffled light-colored frock that she clearly would never have worn while actually painting. Her hair is pinned high on the back of her head and waves over her ears. She fixes the camera with a steady, intent gaze.

Tamett Låsrygg, age twenty-one. An informal photograph, made clear by the wide grin on his face. He leans casually against the side of an aeroplane. His arms are crossed over his chest. He wears a leather jacket and flying helmet with goggles. A scarf, probably knitted by his sister Emenor, drapes around his neck. Noriberrian insignia is pinned to the lapel of his jacket. The photograph is inscribed with his signature and the words "With love from New Archangel. Watch the skies for me soon!"

Josiah Callon, age twenty-one. He sits at the piano, one hand over the keys, the other holding a pair of spectacles, which he appears to have just removed. His long legs stretch out in front of him; after years of track and field at Hollingham, he is built like a runner. A morning suit, with its cutaway tailcoat, accentuates his height. Instead of the common 1910s male practice of slicking back the hair into flat smoothness using oil, his hair is parted on the side with curls dipping across the forehead above one eye. His expression is not so much haughty as it is profoundly serious and a little sad.

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Elemental is a delightful surprise...

I am generally a fan of anything Pixar. They probably have the best quality track record of any major studio in Hollywood. So I expected a minimum level of quality going into the movie, but the reviews for the film were more moderate than top tier Pixar. Frankly, after watching the movie, I am shocked that the reviews aren't higher because the movie is an absolute delight. A beautifully animated, visually stunning, and very fun and well meaning movie which was hilarious and moving at various points. The movie is a mixture of a romcom, a first generation immigrant story, and a self discovery story, and these elements are all juggled together due to a creation of some really likable characters. This is genuinely the best romcom that we have seen in years. Romcoms have become a rarity in theatrical release, but Elemental has all the ingredients of a good one. There is great chemistry between Ember and Wade, which made me really root for them. There are funny moments, genuinely romantic moments, and some heartbreaking moments between them. The first generation immigrant story is also heartwarming. There are little touches that work so well, like Bernie and Cinder having to keep names that are easier to pronounce in Element city, Bernie's english not being perfect, and having their own community and traditions, separated from the rest of Element city. The story of dealing with the pressure of expectations, and the battle between duty to your parents vs doing what you want is an evergreen story. If there is a ding against this film, it is that these are all stories and tropes that have been done before, including by Disney, and the metaphors are fairly obvious. But it honestly didn't matter to me because the execution was great. And frankly, these are stories that are always relevant. All the individual aspects of the story just work and there are numerous quite moving scenes. I will say that I was surprised by just how much the very ending scene moved me. Of course, being Pixar, the animation is breathtaking. The way they show emotions of Ember by how her flames ebb and flow is just a joy to watch. Element city is vibrant and full of color. There is a dance scene with Wade and Ember that is beautiful, romantic, and intimate, and a lot of credit has to be given to the design and animation of that scene.

All in all, I think Peter Sohn has done an excellent job with this film. It is definitely an improvement over The Good Dinosaur. The voice acting is stellar, particularly by Leah Lewis as Ember, Mamoudou Athie as Wade, and Ronnie del Carmen as Bernie. I hope that the film has legs and people watch it because it is worth watching. An 8.5/10.

[dare-to-dm]

Xbox Research

Okay, someone just asked me if my research into xbox games from both the 360 and xbox one era revealed any changes in demographic trends between those two generations.  So now I get to rant about my results!

First!  I will describe the data I was tracking.  I made a list of all the games officially released for both of those systems at the time I started the research.  This came out to about 2000 games for the Xbox 360 and about 4500 games for the Xbox One.

Then I started categorizing each game based on the following factors.

Genre: I chose 27 genres for this project, and allowed each game to get a maximum of 3

Mode: Each game was designated as Single Player, Multiplayer, or Both

Protagonist Gender: Classified as Male, Female, Player’s Choice, Unknown, or Not Applicable

Protagonist Race: Classified as White, Person of Color, Player’s Choice, Unknown, or Not Applicable

I’m going to put the rest of this under a Read More, because there is A LOT

I say I “started” categorizing them, because I will be honest and admit that I did not fully complete all this data for every game in the data set.  I prioritized my research by which games were the most popular, ranked by how many players in my data set had played them.  I did get all of this information for every game played by at least one person in my data set, which comes out to about 3100 games fully categorized.

As for my player data, I took 90 players (45 self identified men and 45 self identified women) and used their achievement data to track which games they played.  This differentiates my data from a lot of stuff that’s widely available because rather than tracking sales, I was tracking what people actually played.  If there’s anything I’ve learned in my years as a gamer, it’s that there’s a big difference between what people buy and what they play.

Anyway, on to the trends!

Genres Rise, Genres Fall

The top genres between to the two systems were fairly consistent.  Top 5 for the 360 were Shooters, Sports Games, Action Adventure, Brawler/Hack’n’Slash, and Racing/Driving Games, in that order.

For the Xbox One, the top genres were Shooters, Action Adventure Games, Platformers, Roleplaying Games, and Sports Games, in that order.

The biggest difference between the two system generations is that producing indie games for console became a lot easier in recent years.  So, not only do we have a lot more games overall for the Xbox One, but many of those are from smaller studios.  I believe this is why platformers crack the top 5 in the One era, and why sports game fell from the 2 spot to the 5 spot.

Some genres did have a dramatic shift in popularity between the 2 systems.  Walking Sims functionally didn’t exist in the 360 era, but there are a full 32 of them in my data set for the One (and they continue to grow in popularity - I believe the number/ranking would be higher if I had continued to track this to the current day).

Party Games (defined as more casual games meant to be played with local multiplayer for short sessions) dropped massively in popularity.  This is no surprise given the shift to online gaming and many franchises dropping split screen capabilities.

Music/Rhythm games also had a massive drop in popularity.  Again, no surprise.  Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Dance Central were once huge franchises, but now there aren’t really any equivalent major releases.

Classic Adventure Games (defined as character/choice driven games with stories but no or little action) have risen in popularity.  Again, this is largely driven by the expansion of indie titles in the space.

Simulation games, survival games and visual novels have also become more popular.  I would argue that survival wasn’t really an established genre in the 360 days, but it definitely is now.

ALSO: The prevalence of game modes has shifted greatly!  In the 360 era, games largely needed to have both single player and multiplayer modes, with fully 71% of games falling into this category.  That has shifted over the years, with only 37% of games for the XBox One era having both.  Numerically and percentage wise, exclusively single player games are on the rise.  That being said, only one exclusively single player game (Fallout 4) cracked the top 20 most played list.  The 360 era had 3 single players games in the top 20 (Hexic HD, The Walking Dead and Assassin’s Creed).  So those publishers who claim that single player titles just don’t sell as well anymore?  You might not like it, but they aren’t lying.

The Glass Ceiling For Women Was Raised a Few Inches

When it comes to gender representation in games, my results largely speak for themselves.

360 Games With

Male Protagonists: 46%

Female Protagonists: 4%

Player Choice: 36%

Not Applicable: 9%

Unknown: 5%

Xbox One Games With

Male Protagonists: 33%

Female Protagonists: 11%

Player Choice: 32%

Not Applicable: 17%

Unknown: 7%

So, women are getting a bigger market share of protagonists these days, but it’s still only a small percentage.

Also, I will note that Player Choice is not always as equitable as it sounds.  In addition to games where you get to create your character, any game with multiple playable characters and even one female option was put into this category.  So, for example, a Dragon Ball Z fighting game with 20 characters would count even if only one of them was a woman.  This type of thing was (and still is) pretty common.

And this probably goes without saying, but for all my gender neutral folks, nonbinary options were not purposefully excluded from this study.  Rather, there were so few relevant examples that any few that could count got lumped in the Not Applicable Category (which also included protagonists of species with alternative gender dynamics).

Things Not Getting Much Better for People of Color

The numbers here are bleak.

Xbox 360 Games With

White Protagonists: 35%

POC Protagonists: 4%

Player Choice Protagonists: 37%

Not Applicable Protagonists: 18%

Unknown Protagonists: 5%

Xbox One Games With

White Protagonists: 35%

POC Protagonists: 4%

Player Choice Protagonists: 26%

Not Applicable Protagonists: 27%

Unknown Protagonists: 8%

As you can see, by market share, people of color have not made any gains.  In fact, if you look at games that give you a choice, there has been a backslide!  I will note that I think this number can largely be explained by the rise of indie games on the platform, however.  Character creation clearly comes with a higher development cost than many indies can afford.  And, well, frankly a lot of stuff indie studios are producing isn’t more progressive in this aspect anyway. 

While these numbers are not promising, there is one area in which things are not as bad as they look.  Namely, popular and triple AAA games are getting more diverse, at least through the avenue of letting your create your own protagonist.

In the 360 era, 7 of the top 10 games features canonically white male protagonists.  You don’t get to a canonically nonwhite protagonist until number 14 on the list (Lee, from the Walking Dead).

In the X Box One era, only 3 of the top 10 games features canonically white male protagonists.  The rest let you choose.  (Lee from Walking Dead is still the most played canonical nonwhite protagonist, followed by Kait Diaz in Gears 5 and Beatrix LeBeaux in Slime Rancher).

This category was particularly fraught because race can be subjective.  For example, can we really say that Kait Diaz qualifies as a person of color?  We’re talking about a franchise that takes place in a fictional earthlike setting, so we don’t have any real history to pull from.  Her skin tone is ambiguous and her voice actress is white.  But I feel her name and design puts her in the category of latino coded, and after a discussion with someone who actually played the game, that’s where I put her.

There were a lot of cases like this in this category, so do look at these numbers with a grain of salt knowing that I often had to make a judgement call as to how to classify a character, and other people may have made different judgement calls.

ANYWAY if anyone has any questions about any of the data I collected, please let me know because I could talk about this all day.

[firethekitty]

okay you reblog a lot of albums ive never heard of and am curious about but it’s hard to get myself to sit down and listen to a whole album so please please, Top Ten-ish Songs To Get To Know You kind of list? pretty please?

i literally daydream about people asking me stuff like this LOL. so this is hardly a comprehensive list of all my favorite songs ever but here are some songs that are really important to me!!! this got REALLY long so i put it under a read more

1. meet me in the woods by lord huron

my absolute favorite song Ever like of all time. means everything to me. i could listen to this every single day and never get tired of it. INSANELY fun, incredible vibes, makes me want to go outside and shoot a beam into somebody. lord huron is an Experience. all their albums are concept albums and there’s actually a fair amount of lore going on. on the physical CD for strange trails it actually has the characters’ names next to their respective songs

for meet me in the woods, it sounds very upbeat and happy, but listen closely and you’ll realize it’s not quite as it seems… in-universe, it’s narrated by a woman named francine lu, and the song has the same chords as the first track of the album (and another of her songs) “love like ghosts”. she also narrates “the night we met”, easily LH’s most famous song. francine lu is not having a normal one. what’s her problem? listen to find out…..

2. crystals by of monsters and men

this was my favorite song ever for about 6 years until meet me in the woods ranked just a tiny bit higher. sooo fucking fun, itches a part of my brain that’s only accessible via icelandic stomp & holler. makes me very happy and always cheers me up! of monsters and men was the first new (at the time) band i ever really discovered on my own without hearing about from my parents or other people, and i’ve been listening to them ever since (almost 13 years!!) they are incredibly important to me and i highly recommend all of their albums

3. sunblind by fleet foxes

relatively new but became a favorite as soon as i heard it. this is also one of the most Me songs i can think of on top of just being so fucking gorgeous and raw and heartfelt. this song is a tribute to deceased musicians who influenced robin pecknold (the lead singer and songwriter for fleet foxes) and how their music is pretty much the reason he’s even alive today. my favorite lines are “only way that i made it for a long time / but i’m loud and alive, singing you all night”. this entire album is sincerely a masterpiece and i highly recommend listening to it all. fleet foxes have really beautiful and unique lyrics, they remind me of mitski’s lyrics in that they’re very poetic and personal and emotional but still subjective enough that you can connect them to your own life

4. this must be the place by talking heads

specifically the stop making sense live recording, which i still half-refuse to believe is a live recording because it’s just THAT fucking good. whenever someone says david byrne can’t sing i direct them here, because he does sincerely have an incredible voice and he simply Chooses to sing weirdly bc he’s a quirked up white boy with autistic swag.

this is just a really sweet and romantic song from a band that otherwise stays far away from love songs and it works extremely well. this entire album is fucking incredible and easily the best live album of all time. half of them are BETTER than the studio recordings, and you can also watch david byrne leap straight up backwards like a full 4 feet

highly recommend watching stop making sense just the entire film

5. vein of stars by the flaming lips

back in 2014, i watched a very beloved streamer play a game called “space engine”, in which you explore as much of the universe as we’ve theorized to exist. this was a little before copyright laws got so fucking strict on youtube and twitch, so mr. vinny vinesauce could play any music he wanted while planet-hopping. one of those songs was vein of stars, and it’s been one of my absolute favorites ever since.

the flaming lips are definitely an acquired taste. wayne coyne does Not have a very good voice and it can get extremely grating, especially to someone who hasn't heard them before. but when it works, god it works. this song is so pretty and nostalgic to me, always calms me down whenever i’m In A Mood. it’s nihilistic but not in a depressing way, more like “yeah maybe we aren’t here for any particular reason, maybe there’s nothing after this life. there’s nothing we can do about that, so why worry?”. very peaceful. REQUIRED listening when stargazing

6. good old-fashioned lover boy by queen

one of the first songs i ever truly hyperfixated on. unfortunately i listened to it SO fucking much it kind of ruined it for me, but i still do really love it. i may not listen to it that often anymore but i felt obligated to put it here bc it had a Profound Effect on my developing brain

7. too much time by john vanderslice

the year is 2012 and you're halfway through the newest episode of the hit podcast welcome to nightvale. cecil announces the weather. little do you know that you will carry the next 3 and a half minutes with you for the rest of your life. this one is just absurdly nostalgic to me (and not to mention incredibly vash the stampede coded). beloved song!!!

8. waltz for zizi & the real folk blues by the seatbelts & mai yamane

well it’s no secret that i think cowboy bebop has the greatest anime soundtrack of all time and one of THE greatest soundtracks of all time Ever. this is just an objective fact actually.

i believe this is because the seatbelts and specifically the composer yoko kanno studied real jazz, blues, and bebop to make the ost. like it's not just "jazz-flavored", there is genuine, deep respect and you can hear it in every single track. waltz for zizi gives me physical goosebumps every single time i listen to it, it's absolutely perfect. i've made it a ritual to listen to every time i visit the shore at night and go stargazing. sincerely transcendent experience

9. cuckoo song by cosmo sheldrake

hhhhhrrr this entire fucking albummmm hhhhhhhrhhhhrhhhaauuuuUUUUOOOGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

back during my final semesters of college, i had to take a course for art degree seniors. we’d pick something we were passionate about, make art for it, and it would be hung up for a week in the exhibition room. i chose birds of course, but wake-up calls inspired me to shift that choice to something more important than just random funny bird drawings. i focused on bird species that have gone extinct within the last 60 years because wake-up calls is made almost entirely out of endangered bird songs.

i’ll be honest i can barely listen to this song or anything on the album because i WILL literally start sobbing like in real life. cuckoo song in particular just makes me start crying every single time i listen to it, it’s like a magic spell. it’s not even necessarily sad but just viscerally bittersweet. the art for the album is made by flora wallace. here’s the spotify canvas i made a gif just for you 👍

10. take you back by orville peck

and finally………….. the song that made me realize that i actually DO love real country music a lot, and that the derivative “bro country” sub-genre that developed in the early 2000s has absolutely destroyed any positive opinion of country music in society. we NEED to go back, and orville peck is more than doing his part. this is the first song i ever heard by him and it's just so goddamn fun. i am completely unable to not sing along to this when it comes on

not only do i highly recommend orville peck but also any country music from the 50s and 60s, especially marty robbins, charley pride, conway twitty, and of course mrs. dolly parton. and later country rock/folk rock bands like america and creedence clearwater revival. it’s SO good i’m so serious

orville peck is the only modern country singer i can think of who's not afraid to bring back the harmonicas and whistling and steel guitars and whip cracks and yeehaws. it's fantastic. he's also gay and an outspoken trans ally. i believe this gives him the power to revive country music from the dead 🙏

[legion1227]

Ranking All 111 Albums Listened to in 2023!

111. Yeat- AftërLyfe. 0.5/5

Yeat's third studio Trap album was an utter slog to get through. I hate how it sounds, many of the tracks blend together, and it's way too long. Yeat's appeal as an artist is mindboggling to me.

110. Lewis Capaldi- Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent. 1/5.

Capaldi's second album harbors nothing of note and fails to engage me vocally, lyrically, or instrumentally.

109. Mia Carucci- Deities of Stone. 1/5

I appreciate it's brevity, but Mia's voice is grating to my ears and the production fails to evoke strong emotions from me.

108. Slowthai- Ugly. 1.5/5.

British rapper Slowthai's third studio album has one song, "Never Again" that is perhaps the best song on the album, but the rest of the competition is unimpressive with subpar instrumentals and lyrics.

107. Post Malone- Austin. 1.5/5.

Post Malone's 5th studio cements the notion that I am not a fan of his voice or music. His voice wavers and teeters onto annoying at times and with filler/bad bars, "I'm calling her Shrek cause she got a donkey" This is not an album I rock with.

106. Conor Maynard- +11 Hours. 2/5.

Back in 2013, Conor Maynard dropped the song "R U Crazy" which I liked then but does not hold up for me today. The songs on this album are slightly better than "R U Crazy" but are not lyrically interesting.

105. Crystal Fighters- Light+. 2/5.

The electronic indie band Crystal Fighters dropped their latest album in November and delivered an, in my opinion, underwhelming experience. With mediocre beats and forgettable lyrics, I feel there was potential for something better that they just didn't reach here.

104. American Authors- Best Night of My Life. 2/5

Best known for their 2014 hit "Best Day of My Life" the album to sequel from their hit song is too sweet and poppy. It has a positive vibe which I respect, and appreciate its brevity, but each song meshes together to create a generic, disappointing experience.

103. Youngboy Never Broke Again- Decided 2. 2/5

Decided 2 starts off terribly but gets a little better as the project goes on. Its production and lyrics are both okay towards the middle and end portions. Youngboy could've definitely stood to trim some tracks from the album.

102. Jason Mraz- Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride. 2/5.

Instrumentally, every song on the album sounds and feels different which gives it a somewhat unique listen. On that level, they surpass his 2008 hit "I'm Yours." Unfortunately, he lacks compelling vocals or lyrics. An instrumental version of this album might be better.

101. Escape The Fate- Out of The Shadows. 2/5.

The lyrics of this rock band are forgettable or incredibly cringe. "irreversible" is possibly the worst song on the album. Instrumentals carry the project slightly higher than the others.

100. Front Bottoms- You Are Who You Hang Out With.

The reverse of Front Bottoms appears as the lyrics are fine, but the instrumentals are uninspired. Lead singer Brian Sella's voice is something I can't stand with his nasally vocals.

99. Bebe Rexha- Seasons. 2/5.

Bebe's album has a decent pace and I really do like her voice, but she provides nothing engaging from a lyrical or instrumental perspective, unfortunately. "Born Again" is the only song of the 12 tracks I feel is worth a listen.

98. Scouting For Girls- The Place We Used To Meet. 2/5.

The Pop band's 7th studio album is a trying endeavor that's a bit too corny or sweet for my liking. Which might be surprising since I genuinely like their 2007 hit, "She's So Lovely" which is sweetness incarnate as a love song. The messages in some of the songs in the album are clearly made for his kids or his significant other, but it's not for me so it's ranked low.

97. Depeche Mode- Momento Mori. 2/5.

The English electronic music band's latest album was simply not for me. Lead singer Dave Gahan's low croons in his songs do nothing for me, and the instrumentals are not too fascinating. "Ghosts Again" and "People Are Good " were two of my favorite songs from the album, but nothing else really resonated with me,

96. Chief Keef- Finally Rich (Complete Edition). 2/5.

The Complete Edition of Chief Keef's Finally Rich adds seven previously unreleased songs to celebrate the anniversary of the album's release from over ten years ago. Besides the classic track "I don't like" there are no other songs that I really enjoy. There are still sparks of fun in his rap songs and the instrumentals are bombastic and go hard, so there's some credit to give.

95. Kelly Clarkson- Chemistry. 2/5

There are moments on Kelly's newest album where goodness bleeds through. "My Mistake" is her best song, but it's still a chore to go through it. The album could benefit from better production and lyrics, but at least Kelly still has some super vocals.

94. Sam Smith- Gloria. 2/5.

Chocked with features, yet none are particulalry gripping, especially Jessie Reyez on "Gimmie." It started decent with its opening track "Love Me More" but sadly wavered from there with forgettable tracks to follow.

93. John Mayer- Sob Rock. 2.5/5

Released in 2021 and resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,John Mayer's Sob Rock carries solely on vibes. The title track is the best one, but goes down from there as the rest meander from vocals or lyrics.

92. Ten Tonnes- Dancing, Alone. 2.5/5.

Indie Rock artist Ethan James Barnett, or Ten Tonnes has decent production in his sophomore album, with hints of special moments sprinkled across the songs. It's a fine project, but nothing comes close to the acoustic version of one of his older songs, "Born To Lose."

91. Niall Horan- The Show. 2.5/5.

Another fine project from one of the former members of One Direction. There are some instances where the songwriting and vocals are strong, like in "Science" or "You Could Start a Cult," but other songs do not have the privilege to be as remarkable, unfortunately.

90. Gucci Mane- Breath of Fresh Air. 2.5/5.

Gucci Mane's newest album was too long with underwhelming features. Luckily for Gucci Mane, he outshines his colleagues and impresses at points. If the production were done by someone else, he could make something even better, I feel.

89. Robin Schulz- Pink. 2.5/5.

EDM artist Robin Schulz's best song on Pink is "No Drama" which reminds me a little of an Avicii song. Every other song is mostly serviceable, but doesn't stick out too much.

88. Rae Sremmurd- Sremm 4 Life. 2.5/5

Hip Hop duo Swae Lee and Slim Jimini do well on a few fine songs like "Royal Flush" and "Flaunt It/Cheap." Other songs don't live up to the quality, but Lee and Jimini are pretty competent in this run.

87. Taylor Swift- 1989 (Taylor's Version) 2.5/5

Taylor Swift's rereleased album 1989, which dropped back in 2014, is the weaker of Taylor's rereleases that I listened to this year. Her 'From the Vault' songs surpass the original tracklist, but they only carry so far. The big hits, "Blank Space," "Bad Blood," and "Shake it Off" have never worked for me, while the majority of the rest fall short lyrically. But still, from the vault tracks like "Suburban Legends" are really good.

86. Drake- For All the Dogs. 2.5/5

Drake's latest album is too long and at times monotonous. One of the best songs, "First Person Shooter" is brought down by Drake after an excellent J Cole verse and a beat switch that brings down the vibe of the song. There are some solid lines sprinkled throughout by Drake, but it's still overwhelmingly mediocre. Although, 8am in Charlotte is another bop admittedly.

85. Maneskin- RUSH! 2.5/5

The band starts strong with its first three tracks and then loses steam so fast. Sonically, every track varies from sounding really well to completely ear-piercing. Instrumentally sound throughout, but the fall-off is such a shame. The first 3 songs are good enough to carry it as high as it is.

84. EST Gee- MAD. 2.5/5

EST Gee is lyrically coherent throughout with a decent flow, but the production fails Gee too often. 25 Min Freestyle is the weakest song of the bunch as it lacks energy, but every other song is mostly okay. "Undefeated" and "Kadas Song" work on lyrical, instrumental, and vocal levels.

83. Idina Menzel- Drama Queen. 3/5.

The voice actress of Elsa from Frozen is unsurprisingly a great singer. "Madison Hotel" is the best song the Disney princess VA has to offer on the album. Besides that, the rest of the songs fail to meet her on the same level. If the production or lyrics were as good as her voice, Drama Queen would rank even higher.

82. Michael Bolton- Spark of Light. 3/5

The musical veteran behind classics like "How am I supposed to live without you" released a decent album that sounds better when he doesn't dip into guttural vocals. "Running out of ways" is my favorite song from the album, but the other songs could stand to be better.

81. Rick Astley- Are We There Yet?- 3/5

The legend of the Rick Roll has nothing here on the same level of his original classic, but there are plenty of fine songs in this decently paced 12-track album. Maria Love is the most intriguing song from a concept level and production-wise. While every other song is okay, I recommend seeking out Maria Love if you had to listen to one song from here.

80. Portugal, The Man- Chris Black Changed My Life. 3/5

Dedicated to their longtime friend Chris Black who died in 2019, the rock band produced a decent time with okay vocals and instrumentals, but spotty features. Grim Generation and Champ are standout songs, while the rest aren't bad but could stand to be more impressive.

79. Plain White T's- Plain White T's. 3/5

The same band behind Hey There Delilah produced a few songs here with the same cheesy earnestness. It works for tracks like Would You Even and Fired Up, but not so much for the rest.

78. Logic- College Park. 3/5.

A step down from his previous album. Not bad at all, but Logic might not be my cup of tea like he used to be when I was a teenager. His production this time around is iffy, the skits are intriguing but are too heavy in abundance, and the features fail to impress. But Logic can still impress with his lyrical ability when he puts himself to it.

77. Macklemore- Ben. 3/5

Macklemore's lyrical ability to surpass Logic by just a tad is wild to me. When he is rapping and embraces hip-hop, Macklemore is better. Unfortunately, the plethora of pop songs on here are nowhere near as good and bring down the quality. Still, it's a decent listen.

76. Rolling Stones- Hackney Diamonds. 3/5.

For a first-ever album listen from the classic rock band, I sort of expected more from them. On par with some of their classics? Probably not, but the instrumentals are enough to drive the album to become a vibe as other facets of the songs fall a bit short.

75. Offset- Set It Off. 3/5

Offset's solo record is bloated with songs that could be removed to improve the quality. But the rapper himself is lyrically decent. Coupled with features from Travis Scott and Cardi Bi among others that do well and production varying from okay to good, Offset's latest outing is an okay time overall.

74. Rick Ross and Meek Mill- Too Good To Be True. 3/5.

The collab album between both Robert rappers is a bit lop-sided as Rick Ross does a more impressive job than Meek. While Ross impresses lyrically and even has funny lines, Meek doesn't raise to meet Ross at his standard, though he has some good verses throughout. With mixed features and production alike, the album is a missed opportunity to be better than it is.

73. Kevin Abstract- Blanket. 3/5.

One of the members of the former rap group BROCKHAMPTON launched out on his own and surprised me with an alternative rock album to the usual rap he's known for. Kevin's best songs come from the crushy, love songs that remind me of old Blink 182 at points.

72. Blink 182- One More Time. 3/5.

Speaking of Blink 182, the punk rock band still presents decent melodies and instrumentals all these years later. Lyrically and vocally, there are moments where the band will falter, but there are still songs to enjoy and latch onto which is a more than welcome surprise.

71. ZZ Ward- Dirty Shine. 3/5.

A soulful artist at heart, Pennsylvania native ZZ Ward presents strong vocals in an engaging style. She harbors a little hip-hop influence in the album which I love to see. (She makes a Lil Wayne reference in a track that pops me). The features were decent on this project, but also could've provided more. Luckily for ZZ, she performs well across the album.

70. Icona Pop- Club Romantech. 3/5.

Swedish synth-pop duo Icona Pop dropped an okay EDM album that could've been more bombastic. vocally and lyrically the tracks are uninteresting as the beats carry somewhat, but they could be better.

69. Meredith O'Connor- I am. 3/5

Upon request earlier this year, I listened to singer Meredith O'Connor and her 2015 album, "I Am." With production and lyrics being decent as they are, it's O'Connor's vocals that carry the quality of the album, bringing a vibe reminiscent to someone like Cascada, which is a positive in my eyes.

68. The Hives- The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons. 3/5.

Garage rock band The Hives should have songs that work so much better than they do. Bogus Operandi and Two kinds of Trouble are two fun and intriguing listens that the other songs fail to reach the same level as.

67. Avenged Sevenfold- Life Is But A Dream. 3/5.

The metal band tried something bold with their latest project. There's electronic songs sprinkled throughout that seem to grab influence from controversial artist Kanye West/Ye. Some of it sounds fine but it's not as good as some of Kanye's older works. The production is better for the rock songs than for the electronic tracks. Above all else, it's an interesting listen.

66. Big Time Rush- Another Life. 3/5.

A nice welcome back from a boy band group that disbanded long ago and whose show I used to watch on Nickelodeon in the 2010s. Vocally, all 4 members of the group are sound, but it's admittedly hard to tell who is singing at some times. It's classic boy band material through and through and it's hard to hate on that.

65. Rita Ora- You & I. 3/5.

Her material needs better work, but vocally she is sublime. "I don't wanna be your friend" works really well as a cute way for the singer to articulate her feelings. Some of the songs feel a big generic, but some are really earworm-like on a sonic level.

64. Daz Dillinger- So So Gangsta. 3/5.

As one-half of the rap duo Tha Dogg Pound, Daz Dillinger dropped a "so so" album circa 2006. Daz and the various features have some decent lines and the production is sound and feels right out of the 2000s, but the subject matter to which Dillinger raps about could stand to be more engaging.

63. Temple of Angel- Endless Pursuit. 3/5.

This indie band has some decent songs overall, but I think they need to work on their mixing. In some songs, the lead singers voices feel drowned out against the instrumentals. With a male and female lead singer taking turns across the 11-track run, I also find the female lead singer to be the stronger of the two. I definitely recommend the album as a listen, but especially tracks like Tangled in joy, Waving to the Wind, and Secret Place.

62. Killer Mike- Michael. 3/5.

The other half of Run The Jewels manages to have plenty of impactful bars, but also comes off as preachy at times and uninspired. Shout out to Andre 3000 and 2 Chainz though for having some of the best features on the album.

61. Foo Fighters- But Here We Are. 3/5.

The first two tracks set a nice standard. "Rescued" and "You" are some of the best songs Dave Grohl and the band have to offer. There's a small downward slope in quality after the first two songs, but it's still an okay album overall.

60. Dave Matthews Band- Walk Around the Moon.

The beginning and ending tracks are some of the best songs Dave Matthews and his band have to offer. The middle portion is a bit meandering, but his acoustic, low-key songs work pretty well for Dave Matthews.

59. Metallica- 72 Seasons. 3/5.

The iconic rock band started incredibly strong with its first three tracks, but sort of drifts off into mediocrity afterward. It's roaring instrumentals and guitar riffs are dope, but could and should be better from its lyrics and James Hetfield vocals.

58. Kesha- Gag Order. 3/5.

Kesha strayed from the party days of Die Young and Tik Tok long ago, but the dive into her own psyche on this project is fascinating. Vocally and instrumentally, it holds her back. But lyrically, it's compact with thought-provoking subject matter. Living In My Head has to be my favorite song of the thirteen on here.

57. Poppy- Zig. 3/5.

Known for surreal performance art videos on YouTube, Poppy's music is as intriguing as her artwork, blending dark elements into pop-techno vibes. The first two songs are heavy into EDM as the rest lean more into pop. I would've preferred more EDM fusion but Poppy still crafted something worthwhile.

56. Daniel Caesar- Never Enough. 3/5.

R&B artist Daniel Caesar dropped a decent projects days after his 28th birthday. Vocally he's pretty good. The same applies to his lyrics, but the instrumentals are not so noteworthy. Cool and Toronto 2014 are 2 of my favorite songs from him here.

55. Ellie Goulding- Higher Than Heaven. 3/5.

Goulding's pop sounds comes across as typical sometimes, but other times its incredibly pleasant with stand out moments. Her songs for love, "Cure For Love," "Love Goes On," and "How Love" are some favorites on the album among a few that aren't as memorable unfortunately.

54. Kim Petras- Feed The Beast. 3/5.

You may or may not be aware of Kim Petras from her feature on Sam Smith's big hit Unholy, but on Feed The Beast, Petras strives off on her own in her debut album. The first half of the album is stronger with more bangers in the dance-pop project. "Alone" has to be one of my favorite songs from the album, though to be fair, it's a bit of a cheat since it interpolates the beat and instrumentals from the superior "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay.

53. Nicki Minaj- Pink Friday 2. 3/5.

The long-awaited sequel to one of her best projects, it could stand to be better by cutting some of the songs, but it's still an okay listen. J Cole's guest feature was the best on the album as others were more or less impressive. As for Minaj herself, she sometimes delivers and sometimes hits just right in Pink Friday 2 with some fun pop jams.

52. Miley Cyrus- Endless Summer Vacation. 3/5

Vocally, Miley Cyrus is a champion. Lyrically, she flip-flops between engaging and meh. Her lead single, Flowers, is a certified bop, but other songs like "Jaded" and "You are" are two other dope tracks. Every other song is mostly acceptable, but the album would be better if it ended on "Wonder Woman" instead of another version of Flowers.

51. Lil Tjay- 222. 3/5.

On his third studio album, Lil Tjay dropped a finely paced album with decent lyricism. He even incorporates singing elements that were surprisingly nice to accompany solid production. It's chock-full of features that are hit or miss, but Polo G is definitely a standout amongst the sea of other rappers.

50. Dave East- Fortune Favors The Bold. 3/5.

The same rapper who portrayed Method Man in the Wu-Tang series delivered an adequate album that's way too bloated. At 24 songs, it's too much Dave East to endure, but there are still some verses and bars worth praise. With decent storytelling and solid production, Dave East's album could be better if a plethora of songs were cut.

49. Rupaul- Black Butta. 3.5/5.

As someone who does not follow or keep up on Rupaul much, I was pleasantly surprised to see how good this album was. The energetic dance elements are astonishingly well done here by the drag race icon.

48. TK Blockstar- Malicious Heart. 3.5/5.

I did a review for Cave Dweller Music on this upcoming artist, but to touch on her, TK Blockstar's 2019 release Malicious Heart is a really good debut album for her with some of the best aspects coming from the production and its features. Though one of my favorite tracks has to be Came a long Way.

47. Vic Mensa- Victor. 3.5/5

A bit long in the tooth, but Vic Mensa cultivated a rap album that impresses lyrically and vocally. While the features vary in quality, Mensa delivers quality verses in a run that could stand to have some songs cut.

46. Wiz Khalifa- Decisions. 3.5/5.

A song dedicated to Nipsey Hussle was a strong beginning. From there, he mostly tackles subject matters typical to him: Weed and Women. The tracks about girls are okay, but his weed jams are fun and elevate the album to be a decent, fun jam.

45. Troye Sivan- Something To Give Each Other. 3.5/5.

The theme of love goes strong throughout the album as its main subject, and it's done incredibly well. It's a cool instrumental, EDM album that has some admirable songs across the board.

44. Ben Folds- What Matters Most. 3.5/5.

Ben Folds crafts an engaging, emotionally charge experience with superb storytelling. With simplistic instrumentals and a soothing voice, Ben puts a unique spin on songs only he could craft like "Kristine From 7th Grade" and "Paddleboat Breakup."

43. Yellowcard- Childhood Eyes. 3.5/5

A short EP that makes the most of its runtime. The Pierce The Veil feature is a great surprise, Three Minutes More is the best of the bunch, and every other song is nice to listen to sonically.

42. Ab-Soul- HERBERT. 3.5/5.

At the tail-end of 2022, established rapper Ab-Soul dropped his fifth studio album titled after his birth name. One of the better rap albums to listen to this year with good beats and bars, but some iffy features.

41. Ava Max- Diamonds & Dancefloors. 3.5/5.

Ava has a stellar voice that the instrumentals compliment nicely here. Pacing, lyrics, there's plenty to like from this project with good tracks like Ghost or Hold Up (Wait a Minute).

40. Steel Panther- On The Prowl. 3.5/5.

The raunchy comedic rock band has funny shtick that manages to entertain for at least the first half of the project. It starts wearing thin in the second half with childish jokes or remarks, but it's pretty fun to listen to at points throughout. And it definitely helps that the instrumentals are sublime for the most part for the band.

39. Rod Wave- Nostalgia. 3.5/5.

Rod Wave shifts back and forth between rapping and singing, but its the singing that's stronger from him. At 18 songs, the tracks could've been shaved off after the tenth joint. 2018 and Call Your Friends are lowkey faves with sweet or interesting messages attached.

38. Melanie Martinez- Portals. 3.5/5.

Melanie Martinez is a gifted vocalist and lyricist. There's a story told throughout the project with peaks and valleys aplenty. Contortionist and Evil are standout tracks amongst some others.

37. Jorja Smith- Falling or Flying. 3.5/5

Jorja's emphasis on love is a wholesome, fascinating endeavor. Helped with decent production, but also could stand to have some songs be shaved off to help its length.

36. Paul Wall and Termanology- Start Finish Repeat. 3.5/5

A lowkey rap album where two great lyricists trade off bars and go back and forth is a superb listen. It's a chill vibe for people looking for something lowkey to listen to.

35. Danny Brown- Quaranta. 3.5/5.

Danny Brown's solo rap joint is a somber, retrospective listen. His unique voice works for the most part, and warrants listens from fans of him and hip hop alike.

34. Pierce The Veil- The Jaws of Life. 3.5/5.

There's a four-track run from the punk album that's wild and utterly sublime.

33. P!nk- Trustfall, 3.5./5.

P!nk's vocals and lyrics are really good, with her still being outstanding this far into her career.

32. PinkPantheress- Heaven Knows. 3.5/5.

The features sort of fumble the bag, but PinkPantheress is clearly better on her own and relishes in her solo project.

31. Burna Boy- I Told Them. 3.5/5.

An improvement on his last album, Love Damini, that's carried by chill vibes and a sampling of Birthday Sex by Jeremih that I have a soft spot for.

30. Gorillaz- Cracker island. 3.5/5.

The Gorillaz do EDM surprisingly well to me, I wasn't expecting it.

29. IDK- F65. 3.5/5.

The fusion of rap, jazz, and soul, is too damn good. Some of the songs are too short and should benefit from an extra verse, but IDK can sing and rap well, it's astounding.

28. Tiesto- Drive. 3.5/5.

More of the artists featured on this lowkey album do better than others and elevate the project to be really good.

27. Olivia Rodrigo- GUTS. 3.5/5.

I didn't like as much as her first album, which is on this list, but it has a lot to offer with lyrics and her range as a vocalist.

26. Alicia Keys- The Diary of Alicia Keys. 3.5./5.

As the 20th anniversary came and went, the initial release of Alicia keys 2003 classic is iconic.

25. Mitski- The Land is inhospitable and so are we. 3.5/5.

Mitski is an impressive vocalist but her song-writing ability is top notch as she records poetry for the listener to indulge in.

24. Lana Del Rey-  Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. 3.5/5.

Lana's songwriting and lyrics are even more sublime as she crafts a stunning effort with some easy favorites like Paris, Texas.

23. Rebecca Black- Let Her Burn. 3.5/5.

Rebecca Black recovered really well from the fiasco that was her disastrous song Friday. Tinges of darkness spread throughout to my liking.

22. Jon Batiste- World Music Radio. 3.5/5.

Jon Batiste aligned himself with a talented assortment of features to craft songs that are super solid to listen to.

21. Janelle Monae- The Age Of Pleasure. 3.5/5.

Janelle Monae crafted instant bops like Champagne Shit, Phenomenal, and Lipstick Lover, which fans of her and R&B genre should listen to.

20. Kali Uchis- Red Moon in Venus. 3.5/5.

Her soothing voice and intriguing lyrics help propel her romantic songs as some of the best tracks in 2023.

19. Taylor Swift- Speak Now. (Taylor's Version.) 3.5/5.

The obvious superior album to release from Taylor's vault this year, as opposed to the other one she dropped. The original lineup and from the vault are better here than 1989 by miles.

18. Paramore- This is Why. 3.5/5.

My favorite band dropped an album not quite as good in my opinion as After Laughter, but still a reaaaaally good listen that's gotten better as I listen more and more. Lyrically, vocally, and instrumentally, This is Why is an awesome listen.

17. Weezer- SZNZ: Winter. 4/5.

As Weezer experimented with 4 albums in 2022, one for each season, its the Winter season that may be my favorite of the bunch.

16. Bishop Briggs- When Everything Went Dark. 4/5.

Possibly the best EP I got to listen to throughout the year that makes the most of its short length.

15. Olivia Rodrigo- Sour. 4/5.

Olivia's freshman album surpasses her latest album by just a little bit with better pop-punk elements at play.

14. Dove Cameron- Alchemical: Volume 1.

sonically intriguing, one of the better pop elements to come out with decent pacing.

13. Corey Taylor- CMF2. 4/5.

The lead singer of Slipknot does well on his own swimmingly, as it works well and almost makes me want to check out the other Slipknot songs.

12. Travis Scott- Utopia. 4/5.

The long-awaited Utopia was worth the wait as it has songs that have great production and features that kill across the board from Drake to Westside Gunn to Beyonce.

11. Voyager- Fearless in Love. 4/5.

Instrumentals are godly, its vocals are a triumph, and most of the tracks here are powerful bops.

10. Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA- Scaring The Hoes. 4/5.

its not my favorite rap album I listened to this past year, but it is the most interesting by far. the production is all over the place, its loud, bold, it full of nerd samples and references to games and wrestling that I love, its awesome.

9. 38 Spesh and Conway The machine- Speshal Machinery. 4/5.

Some tracks feel like retreads of other Conway songs and albums, but there are still some great songs, samples, and features across the board.

8. Hozier- Unreal Unearth. 4/5.

Similar to Mitski, the lyrics are akin to poetry. It's a remarkable sensational achievement with highlights like Damage Gets Done.

7. Conway The Machine- Won't He Do It. 4/5.

Conway by himself surpasses the collab with 38 Spesh by just a little. Brooklyn Chop House is a masterpiece of a song where Fabulous and Benny The Butcher are sublime in it.

6. Talib Kweli- Quality. 4/5.

Released in 2002, Talib Kweli dropped a critically acclaimed album that supplies dope bars, off-the-charts production, and sublime features. if it was just a little bit shorter, it would rank a tad higher.

5. AFI- Sing The Sorrow. 4/5.

Another epic album from the 2000s, my favorite decade. The punk album floored me with nostalgia as it hits peak 2000s punk rock. Vocals, lyrics, and instrumentals are exactly what I want from a project like this.

4. Raekwon- Only Bult 4 Cuban Linx. 4/5

It's billed as a Raekwon album, but it's more of a Raekwon and Ghostface Killah collab featuring other Wu tang members. Released in 1995, the production and bars shared by members of the collective are at their best which shows why this album is among some of the best.

3. 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne- Welcome 2 Collegrove.

it's one of the most fun albums to come out this year. Chainz and Wayne go dumb for song after song as they go back and forth with memorable moments throughout.

2. Fall Out Boy- So Much (For) Stardust. 4/5.

Heaven, Iowa is the only song from the album that is weak as hell. Every other song is a strong addition. It's instrumentals, lyrics, it all is immaculate.

Czarface- CZARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. 4.5/5. Czarface is a hip hop duo involving Inspectah Deck and Inspectah Deck. They managed to make raps about nerd shit like Marvel cool and it makes me grin ear to ear. I love almost all the features, mama's basement and marvel at that are endearing highlights. few low points but no bad songs overall. Clearly, my favorite album listened to in 2023.

[a-vast-horizon]

Ink Demonth day 28: Devour

Henry had lost track of the days by the time Joey finally pulled him from the closet. It had to have been at least a week, maybe longer, but it was so hard to tell without being able to see the sun rise and set, or hear the bustle of the studio’s employees. For all that he was in a crowded building, he was as alone as if he was in some remote desert. At least then he would have been able to see the sky.

Joey grabbed his arm without a word, pulling Henry out of the closet with one tug. He’d provided food once or twice, cold cans of bacon soup, but not enough. Henry tried to pull his arm free, but he was weak, and Joey was relentless.

He pulled Henry into an elevator and pushed a button for a higher floor. Had he finally come to his senses? Was he letting Henry go?

“What… what are you doing?” Henry asked. His voice was rough, his throat dry. The water from the tap had gotten more inky each day, so he’d been trying to drink it as little as possible, even though the bitter taste of the ink had started growing on him.

“It’s a new day for Joey Drew Studios, Henry. Today marks the start of a new era of animation,” Joey grinned. “I almost wish you could be there to see it.”

Henry’s head swam, trying to make sense of the words, before he finally remembered what Joey had said that first day. 

“You’re really going to try sacrificing me to make a cartoon real?” he asked, disbelieving.

“I’m going to do more than try,” Joey said. “I’ve had my mind set on this for a while, Henry, and I’ve found a way to make it happen.”

“You’re insane,” Henry spat.

“Well, people called the Wright brothers insane too, and look how they managed to fly anyway,” Joey said. “I’m not really concerned with your opinion anymore, old friend.”

The elevator chimed, and the grate pulled back. Henry tried to run for it, but Joey’s grip on his arm tightened, and he slumped, unable to pull free from it.

“There’s no running from fate, Henry,” Joey said. He hauled the other man upright, and began pulling him in a direction that looked vaguely familiar.

The Ink Machine.

—

Henry had trouble making sense of the scene in front of him. He was woozy, dazed from hunger and poor sleep, and his vision swam as he tried to take in the Ink Machine room.

The room was dark, lit only by candles that danced with dim light and sent shifting shadows out across the cavernous room. There was a circle on the floor, drawn in ink, surrounded by symbols Henry was sure weren’t English. Dozens of papers lay on the floor surrounding the circle, and Henry realized with a start that they were posters for the cartoons. There was a book on a small table, written in the same script as the circle, with a cool of rope set on top of it. And of course the Ink Machine hung above it all, somehow dominating the enormous room and making it feel so small.

As Joey pulled him towards the circle, Henry noticed that there was another man standing towards the back of the room, barely visible in the shadows, wearing workman’s overalls. 

“Please, help me—“ Henry choked out, but the stranger didn’t react, as impassive as if he was simply waiting in line at the bank.

“Mr. Connor is just here for the Machine, Henry,” Joey said. He pushed Henry, sending him sprawling to the floor in the middle of the circle, and then Henry felt Joey’s foot pressed against his back, pinning him down as the other man pulled his arms behind his back. 

Then came the rough rope against his wrists, holding his arms in place behind his back. Joey tied his legs together next, and then tied those bonds to anchors on the floor just outside of the circle. Henry pulled against the bonds, trying to free himself, but the rope held strong.

Joey chuckled above him.

“It’s just a temporary measure, Henry, to keep you in place while I get the rest of the ritual ready,” he said.

Which was honestly what Henry was afraid of. Whatever crazy ritual Joey had come up with wasn’t going to end well for Henry himself, he was sure, and he was running out of time to get away before the other man could put his plans into action. 

All he could do was lay there on the floor, trying in vain to grab a knot in the rope so he could untie it, forced to listen to Joey’s preparations without being able to see what he was doing.

Papers rustled. Wood creaked as Joey dragged the table to a slightly different position. Joey started chanting in a language Henry had never heard before. The Ink Machine groaned and clanked.

And then there was the ink. 

It hit Henry like a waterfall, gallons and gallons of pitch-black ink in a second, icy cold. His skin prickled with goosebumps, and then prickled with an entirely different sensation.

For days now Henry had been drinking ink from the spigot in the closet without very much thought, but he was suddenly very aware of its presence inside him as it pressed against the walls of its stomach, digging inky tendrils into his flesh as it attempted to reunite with the ink pouring down outside of him. And the fresh ink was doing the same thing, digging tendrils into his skin, worming and searching for what was inside of him.

Henry gasped for air, and ink choked him, flooding his throat and holding his mouth open as more and more ink poured in to tear him apart from the inside out. His chest was already heavy and cold, saturated with ink that was creeping down his arms and legs, tearing apart his flesh in its quest. 

The ink was eating him alive.

No, no, no, this can’t be happening! This isn’t possible!

But possible or not, it was happening. He could feel it as the ink broke into his veins and replaced the blood flowing there, tracking the chill as it shot through his body. His feet were numb, he couldn’t feel his fingers, and his chest felt like pure ice… 

Although it was getting hard to tell where his chest stopped and the deluge of ink started. As it was tearing him apart, it was rebuilding him, remaking him out of ink. Henry understood all at once how Joey thought that he was going to get a living Bendy out of this, reforming ink in ways that blood and bone could never bear.

Well, Henry wasn’t going to let him have what he wanted. As the ink tried to swallow him whole, Henry struggled with renewed fury. If Joey was willing to steal away Henry’s life, then stealing his dream in return seemed only fair.

(Read and follow on AO3 if you have an account!)

[dustedmagazine]

Bardo Pond — Volume 9 (Fire Records)

As its title indicates, Volume 9 is the ninth in a series of releases, dating back to 2000, of outtakes, jams and Bardo Pond-related sonic ephemera. But while most of the earlier Volumes were originally made and distributed independently by the band (on CDr, in small batches), Volume 9 has been released by Bardo Pond’s current label Fire Records on vinyl and as a digital download. The new (sorta) record makes visible Fire’s ongoing reissue campaign of the Volumes, including a number on vinyl of various splashy shades. That enterprise may principally be a collector’s fixation, and one might wonder about the relative value of the music, beyond the layers of insider hipness, the fluorescent orange records and the many, many 15-minute-plus explorations of deep and dark psychic terrain.

The relatively higher profile of its release implies that something is different about Volume 9, and the record makes good on that gesture. To be sure, if one listens to some of the earlier Volumes, there’s a charm to their shaggy-dog quality; see Volume 3, which wanders elliptically from informal studio jams like “Sifaka” to intensely stoned improv meditations like “Lomand” — sounds, one imagines, of a typical weekend at Lemur House in the early Aughts. Volume 9, on the other hand,feels like a more sonically focused affair, and the record makes more sense as a record, rather than just a collection of moments, however winning or blissed out.

Tracks on the first side — the long-ish (by Bardo standards, anyway, for whom songs don’t get really long until you top 20 minutes) “Conjunctio” and “The Nine Doubts” — were both recorded with Philly percussionist Michael Zanghi, likely best known as the drummer in the Violators, Kurt Vile’s live and frequent backing band. On these recordings, Zanghi leans into Eastern textures and flavors. There are suggestions of tabla in “Conjunctio,” along with tambourine and other hand-held percussive instruments. The Gibbons brothers’ fuzzed and fucked-with guitars dominate, as ever, but Bardo listeners who dig it when Isobel Sollenberger picks up her flute (and if you don’t, what are you doing listening to the band in the first place?) will want to tune into her playing, which hangs at the edge of the mix, spectral and mournful.

While “Conjunctio” suggests a bare melody and spends the rest of its time floating in the general area of that suggestion, “War is Over” is far more grounded in harmonic statement and something approaching song form. Two versions of the song appear on Volume 9: a three-minute statement and a twenty-one minute exploration of the statement’s potential. Both are evocative, yearning, a little melancholy. But the long version is the real deal, and for listeners attracted to the band’s sludgy psychedelia, it’s a terrific experience. Few bands are able to combine deliberation and slow accumulation with ecstatic abandon like Bardo Pond, and “War is Over” works that dynamic masterfully. While the song does not achieve the transcendent chaos of some of the band’s most sublime performances (see their cover of “Maggot Brain,” for instance, but buckle up), its fealty to its basic melodic structure makes it special and beautiful in different ways.

Volume 9 might not be the best way in to Bardo Pond’s particular powers and pleasures for the novice, but for anyone already familiar with the band’s remarkable music, the record is more than just a number for the completist. You’ll play it. And it will fill you with the peculiar, sometimes magnificent, sometimes terrifying joy that only Bardo Pond can create.

Jonathan Shaw

[audio-luddite]

Nothing is real or correct.

I am making headway on the ARC amp, but it made me think.

Decades ago a rather pompous man created an audio magazine because only he knew best. Actually come to think of it that has happened several times. I am currently talking about "The Absolute Sound" from just outside of New York City in the 70s.

His concept was two fold. The sound of any component should be judged only in comparison to live performances in Jazz clubs and concert halls or some similar site. It sounds like a good idea but is it even a little realistic? The second fold was to not take advertising from manufacturers as that is a conflict of interest. That fell away after a few years as it takes money to produce a real printed magazine. A friend and I were early subscribers and devoured each new issue. I know better now.

In a symphony concert every seat in the place is slightly different. I have sat in several concert halls and listened to lots of music from different seats. It is not the same at home on the system. I find my home system sounds better than live performance in general. I guess I cannot afford the best seats, but recording engineers tend to place mikes in the best places. Yes that big drum in the back is impressive live, but the rest....

In a Jazz club all the sound you get comes through a PA system of not necessarily high end quality. And be real, you are there for the performance not the audio or should be.

In a Stadium Rock event I need ear plugs as it is always so FN loud.

So comparing a system to live is not truly valid. Whatever you get is a matter of taste and luck

Consider the rather long chain of custody the sound endures from musician to your ears.

Start with the venue. Most recordings are done in purpose built studios with usually extensive sound treatments. Likely totally unlike your listening cave. How the musicians are set up and what equipment they use is very dependent too. How many times have you seen singers and instrumentalists in isolated boxes or behind barriers in a studio so the mike they use does not conflict with the ones around them. How natural is that?

Or how about recording a Piano. You always see several mikes around pianos for Jazz or solo or small group performances. I only have two ears solidly fixed to either side of my head.

Next microphones and mixing consoles all have characteristics and a voice. The type and brand and technology of the microphone all are adjusted and tuned. The sound in the mix is adjusted to get just the right effect. Accuracy, what's that?

One of my favorite audiophile albums is Cowboy Junkies "Trinity Sessions" Nice big room with natural sound, the band set up around a single 3D microphone using the gear they use on tour and basically no mix. WYSIWYG. But if you were there it would have sounded different than the recording as you would not be where the mike was. Still likely as accurate a recording as you can get.

Another is Steely Dan's Aja. Every track is fiddled and massaged and made to sound just so coming out of the studio speaker. Very clean and totally unreal.

A very good album is Diana Krall live from Paris. Listen to the group and "see" where the mix has placed each musician. Then look at the photo of the group on stage. Not the same is it?

Then the fun really starts. Is it analogue tape and which brand of machine Ampex or Studer and which vintage? Is it DSD digital or lowly PCM? Which processor! All those have a voice.

And now jump into your media. How is the product distributed? Vinyl rules! Well that's my thing. Which master remixed the master, what plant pressed it?

Both streaming and hard copy digital are valid and can claim lower noise and distortion usually. But those are just numbers.

Each electronic device has a voice some more subtle than others. The higher you go the clearer and cleaner it gets or should at least.

Thinking of phono pickups there are so many methods and products. It is really impressive how linear and consistent those things are in spite of all that. Many writers go on and on about velocity versus displacement and when that happens I know they are full of it. It turns out that blind tests show that what some call clarity and detail is just a slightly different frequency response. Or even a resonance in a convenient place. A few db here a few db there makes all the difference.

Still I find it remarkable that I can extract as much information off of a flat disk as I do with my modest three figure phono pickup. At the very base of the issue is like choosing a microphone. People have favorites.

In the digital domain you are depending on microchips. A DAC may have exotic this or that attached to them, but all the chips come from one factory or another made by people in bunny suits. Discrete components cannot keep up to digital speeds so the chips rule.

And we have not even got to preamplifiers and amplifiers. Tube verus solid state you have to choose a tribe. Both are best and neither is. Frankly it is the place you choose the type of distortion you like. The flaw with every tube amplifier is the output transformer. They all need them and they have a major hit on the sound. The flaw with every solid state amplifier are the gain devices and the feedback used to tame them. Tubes use feedback too!

Designs that avoid or just minimize feedback just force you to accept an acceptable distortion.

As I am bouncing between the tribes now recall that tube amplifiers are rated at 1% distortion. Transistor amplifiers at about ten times less. (Sometimes tens times ten times ten less.) Much better, but not better. It is the sound of the distortion that makes the difference and the preference. Some people like different stuff.

Oh time for the worst offender, the speakers. The frequency response is pathetic compared the quality of the signal going in. Why fret about an amplifier being plus or minus 0.2 db when the speaker is plus or minus 6 db. And the room has modes and reflections and well unless you are rich enough to build very special room you just have to hope your brain gets fooled.

And that is it really. Your brain wants to be fooled. If you listen to any system long enough you get used to it and adapt. If you only listen to single ended triodes into horn speaker you come to think that is the way things should sound. And you will find a tribe to support you like a cult.

It is a flawed process from beginning to end. But it lets you experience brilliant music and performances when you want to. With care and attention to detail you can solve the puzzle in many different ways.

And no it is never like a live performance, its maybe better.

There is no best.

[bbsprint]

DEV01: New Music Track System

i'm not very good at audio. i can't make music and my sound design is mid-ish at best (maybe). this also applies to the low level portions of working with audio: me and waveforms don't get along so well

so could you imagine the face i had when the moment came where i wanted to add proper introlooping to the tracks in the game?

i'm using unity's audio system, which means the most i can do is limited by its boundaries. i could have used fmod as it is amazing from all the things i've read and heard. fmod studio looks awesome. but there are chances that i would need to rework how absolutely everything worked in the audio side and i didn't want to spend too much time doing that (remember: my current next milestone is nano plus! it's meant to be quicker!). as a matter of fact, i probably wouldn't later in development because i am content with a solution i came up while digging how some people looped their tracks seamlessly.

there's this Unity addon called IntroLoop. i originally was going to use it for the game, but the way it stored metadata and how it worked with its player could pose a problem and, again, i did not want to rewrite too much to implement this particular bit, as well as some opinionated ways-of-working a friend had warned me about from using it. not that it's bad, it just probably would've been kind of a pain

IntroLoop uses somewhat low-level components of the Unity audio engine to make sure the audio loops properly, such as directly reading from dsptime and scheduling sound plays. it works very well from prior experience. however they do say webgl has issues with it because of course, webgl is very unstable of a platform for unity and precision anything after all. (partially a joke. but there's so many unsupported things in webgl that it's crazy)

my approach uses something different based on how i've seen other people handle seamless loops. one person in unity answers had come up with the solution of using two tracks with a little bit of overlap between them so when changing the audioclip and the position of the sound the loop would sound seamless.

i thought that using two tracks was kind of wasteful, so i went and added 3-4 seconds of the loop's start to the tracks of the game that had an introless loop. below is an approximate of where the loop ends and the trailing bit for the next loop to start

i then take the desired loop end's samples (original end length), store them in notepad, paste the loop's tail, and put it in a new track metadata class that incorporates all metadata i want for the track in one place, like name, album cover, description, attributable link, and now loop start and end samples

no spoilers! this is a new track. the metadata still needs some polish.

with this approach, when the playhead's sample position exceeds the sample end, i just subtract its position by the length of the looping section and with the little bit of leeway given by the extra seconds any delay will be compensated for with the builtin overlap, and sounds very good (as in, PERFECT) for my purposes.

you probably noticed i'm saying samples instead of seconds of time. i wanted the loop to have zero cracks or pops when using this overlap mechanism, and i am afraid of floating points for many reasons. it just so happens the song time variable from the AudioSource in Unity has its timer in seconds, stored as a floating point value. these fears got me scared enough to instead choose what i consider a more reliable way of counting time in audio: samples.

all songs in bbsprint, ingame at least, are locked at a 44.1k Hz sample rate. if any song happens to be higher Hz than that, i will override it. it saves space and for the game it doesn't have to be that high quality; leave that for the OST release, but more importantly it allows this system to work with all tracks

it is also worth mentioning that this method probably disallows an OUTROloop (as in, letting the audio play, no loop, and having it end gracefully!) depending on how some tracks are structured, maybe you'd have to make the looping tail a section way too long so it's still structurally sound to achieve the effect.

i also have not tried testing whether the audio actually works well with this compensation in webgl, which is the most finnicky of all the build targets i have available.

however, this works for me and i am glad it does as well as it does, at least in desktop being profiled thru the unity editor, which... yeah, let's say that it adds quite the overhead compared to a standalone build (which gives me strong hope).

[b-sai-des]

Lush Arpeggios and Nervous Twists – “Bending Hectic”

When thinking about a song to do a deep dive in, there were a variety of really evocative ones that went through my head – the tragic, operatic, synth-filled “At the Door” by The Strokes, the epic odyssey of “Fire on High” by ELO. I almost decided to write about the wild, strange, and dangerous speed chase of “Sugar/Tzu” by Black Midi, but my mind just kept coming back to—

"Bending Hectic" music video, an animation by Sabrina Nichols and Stanley Donwood.

I talked a bunch about The Smile, the band trio of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner, in my blog post about their tour this summer (still wish I could’ve gone in person!), and I think I already talked a little bit about “Bending Hectic” there. The Smile is going to be releasing their second album in January, which I'm super pumped about. This song is funny because I knew even before my Spotify Wrapped dropped that this would be my top track, and indeed it was with 131 listens this year.

“Bending Hectic” is immensely cinematic, beginning with hushed lyrics from Thom Yorke in this incredibly evocative, emotionally moving experience, and it eventually turns into a soaring and jagged heavy metal climax. The specific emotions that this song as a whole evokes in how it sounds are very particular. There are very specific songs I associate with that vibe like “Bending Hectic” such as "Aruarian Dance" by Nujabes (and the song that samples, "The Lamp Is Low" by Laurindo Almeida), “Night Lights (1965 Version)” by The Gerry Mulligan Sextet, “Mojo Pin” by Jeff Buckley, and “Darkest Dreaming” by David Sylvian.  

Love this song, so comforting.

It's cool to hear the original sample to get the original context and how Nujabes utilized it. This song is such a vibe too.

Bending Hectic was my top song this year. This was my top song last year.

Really serene yet pained, it also transitions between soothing chorus to more a more direct chorus.

This one makes you feel like you're floating in the night sky and lying in bed at the same time.

The ultimate comfort song, like an emotional lullaby.

Big nighttime vibes, or a rainy day, or any calm, maybe nature-oriented, atmosphere. The actual lyrics of "Bending Hectic" mention driving along the Italian mountainside. It's very intimate. Warm in that sense, also but very calm and tranquil, a cool, deep purplish blue.

I first heard this live performance of the song a few months before the studio version released, and seeing the stage lighting may have affected my perception of the "color" of the song.

There’s a lot of really interesting things about "Bending Hectic," like that genre shift, percussion, and use of strings, but its most curious feature is the lush, calming main guitar chord cycle which always ends with an off-kilter high twisting and turning, as if Jonny Greenwood is tuning the guitar. In this eight-minute track, more than four minutes have this tune playing, the first of two stretches of it being nearly three minutes, and it really informs the whole feeling of the song because of that even despite the big mood transition towards the end. 

The song begins with the guitar chords, accompanied by a deep, sentimental bass tune, low jangling and gentle, rising crash cymbal sounds. (A quick aside about the bass, it really is a big contributor to that tranquil, emotional feeling, very comforting, and it periodically rises up in a kind of searching, yearning way). When you hear that twisting higher and higher at the end of the chord cycle for the first time, it really throws you off-kilter considering how soothing the tune is. This is the backbone of the song thematically, and we’ll see how it complements the lyrics and how other parts of the song echo it. 

From what immensely little I know about music theory outside of Carnatic music (even there I have much to learn), I suspected that the chord cycle is an arpeggio, and my sister (who plays piano) confirmed this. When she heard the off-kilter guitar tuning part, she said that it was not really part of the arpeggio, but rather the same note being tuned higher and higher. With this we can distinguish the arpeggio and the guitar bending. 

On r/thesmile I came across someone pointing out the incredible similarity of the arpeggio of "Bending Hectic" and this song, which is super cool. If you were to remove the guitar bending of Bending Hectic's main chord cycle it would give a similar feeling to this.

Possible inspiration for Bending Hectic verse chords byu/smithsonian44 inTheSmile

The distinction made by my sister is formal music-theory-wise, but emotionally it’s felt too. With the particular feeling of the arpeggio, my sister mentioned a song that had a similar-sounding arpeggio as well. I bring this up because despite that similarity note-wise, it feels different, and that may come down to the type of guitar. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find what specific guitar is used for this track, but the song my sister talked about had a sharper, acoustic sound compared to lusher sound of "Bending Hectic." The looseness of these chords makes it feel more raw. Key may play a component too, with "Bending Hectic" being in a lower key.  It evokes much more soothing feelings, as if things are okay, like you’re taking a moment to relax, just taking it all in. (Like I said before, purplish-blue, RIGHT? ....No, just me?) 

See! Purplish-blue.

Also mentioned earlier was how the song talks about driving along the Italian mountains, time being frozen as “you’re gazing at the view,” and it’s a genuinely beautiful feeling. ...Except when Thom Yorke says “Italian mountainside,” it’s “a sheer drop down the Italian mountainside.” It’s a car crash in slow motion. "I swear I'm seeing double, ohohh...." (I really love how Thom sings this line in particular - it brings this aching, accepting quality that matches the chilling string notes). It's weird because despite the danger of the lyrics, the arpeggio is telling you: "it's okay, you can rest now." You just want to float.... The arpeggio’s serene comfort is so essential to the feeling of the song, which makes the guitar bending that much more noticeable. The guitar bending out of tune goes higher and higher at some times, and at other times it goes lower and lower. Both give this growing nervous feeling, gnawing at you despite the calm. The threat of the car skidding “‘round the hairpin.” Every time the arpeggio plays out its vulnerability lulls you into a sense of security and, but then every time guitar bending concludes the arpeggio that security gets thrown off. Then when the arpeggio comes again it lulls you again and you say despite the nervousness “no one’s gonna bring me down,” but then you realize that determination is not to keep on going but instead to “let go of the wheel,” and he's fed up and wants to crash…etcetera etcetera. It’s a wobbling feeling of constantly having these two conflicting forces, and it’s unsteady despite feeling smooth overall. This three-minute beginning part of the song before the first chorus swings back and forth in tempo, starting slow, rapidly speeding up, and then slowing down. When the arpeggio speeds up with its lushness it feels like a wave of relief; when the guitar bending speeds up higher that nervousness tightens more and more. 

A pic of Jonny Greenwood, Tom Skinner, and Thom Yorke released along with the announcement of The Smile's 2nd album Wall of Eyes, which "Bending Hectic" will be on as well. The newest single released, which is the title track for the album, and it definitely has that dichotomy of calm and panic too lol.

The portion of the song (at the timestamp 4:14) following the first chorus returns to that arpeggio again, but this time at a steady tempo in line with the stable drum beat. The guitar tuning end of the arpeggio cycle plays on the down beat with the drums. Here, it’s stable, even with that off-kilter bending, which plays on the off-beat consistently. As I thought about this, I got the idea that the foreboding bending could now be something we’ve become comfortable with, but as I thought more about it while discussing with my sister, it’s more so continuing to creep up and threaten the stability that’s been constructed. The warm, optimistic strings cut out, and we’re back to just the guitar, drums and bass again. The bass stays low and steady in a foreboding manner. Lyrically it’s becoming more tense too – Thom says “the ground is coming for me now. I’ve gone over the edge. If you’ve got something to say…say it now.” With the guitar bending the song is slowly ratcheting up tension, as within the stable, narrow tempo and low wavering bass line there’s something simmering, that twisting nervousness remains even still – yes we may be used to it now but it’s also threatening to go careening off-course. 

That’s exactly what does happen after Thom concludes the verse by saying again “I’m letting go of the wheel,” and all instruments cut out as strings are re-introduced. They're at first expressing concern, and then they turn shrill, horrifying, straight out of a horror movie. (The Shining comes to mind).

Michael Giacchino cooked so hard with The Batman score...the rising strings here!

This is when the song goes full metal mode. Though the arpeggio doesn’t return again, as this is the final climactic stretch, the same bending tuning comes back in the form of Thom’s vocals and the exploding guitar. He goes “Tuuuuuuurrnnnn” as his voice twists higher and higher, and the guitar matches him. I’m reminded of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s theme for The Joker in the score for The Dark Knight – the track has a similar nervous twisting off-kilter rising electric guitar. 

I think it’s really cool how the central arpeggio and guitar tuning sound of this song forms the backbone of its “bending” motif, which all comes together in its final chorus thematically. It all converges here – in the thick of the car crash, despite the “slings” and “arrows” and obstacles, the crisis that we’ve been thinking would happen, we force ourselves to push through, and that turning wheel to avoid death is expressed with the same high-pitched bending guitar we’ve been hearing throughout the song. The line “I’ve got these slings, I’ve got these arrows” in the first chorus made it seem like “I force myself to turn” was an act of wanting the crash, but now it’s “despite these slings, despite these arrows,” and trying to turn has now become an act of perseverance, an effort to survive. It’s interesting because even though the “turn” is said with hope, in the same sentiment of “no one’s gonna bring me down, no” the foreboding guitar bending we've heard all this time and now hear again suggests that the crash and burn is inevitable. Maybe you can’t escape the crash you wanted so desperately before. The song ends with that feeling in a distorted gnarl of defeat. But the merging of incoming, inevitable pain with perseverance as done using the central guitar bending and concluding lyrics give an ambiguity, not entirely shutting that hope out entirely. It’s a specific line that two of The Smile’s members have walked with their bandmates in Radiohead in songs like “Let Down,” “How to Disappear Completely,” and “Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi.” The Smile's newest single for Wall of Eyes also has that, though its sentimentality is more superficial compared to its jaded outlook.

That dichotomy of hope and despair seems to always come back. One side never quite wins entirely.

[asymmetryestablished]

I’m late as hell to the party and literally nobody asked but I’ve finally delivered. here is my Totally Very Official™

One Piece Film Red Song Ranking

from worst to best because tradition or something

I’m going off the original japanese versions, from the album rather than the movie because I feel like it. also that way I get to include Binks’ Brew which everyone knows is a banger

#8 (track 6) The World’s Continuation. this is a good song and I like it! it’s also the only song from Film Red whose melody I can’t consistently call to mind, which makes it by default the worst one. also when I’m listening to the album in the car it’s the one I have to skip because it puts me to sleep, which probably has something to do with why I can’t remember it, but listen, it doesn’t matter. it’s still a lovely song, if a little forgettable

#7 (track 8) BINKUSUNO SAKE. listen I love Binks’ Brew as much as the next pirate but it simply does not suit Ado’s studio-recorded voice as well as it suits drunken sing-alongs. really this just goes to show what bangers every other track on this album is bc from here on out the ratings are all super close

#6 (track 1) New Genesis. GOOD fuckin song. highly recommend starting your road trip with this. for maximum drama, try and time it so the drums kick in just as you hit the highway and step on the gas

#5 (track 2) I’m Invincible. errbody loves a villain song, right? also I would absolutely have ranked this below New Genesis if not for the week or so where it got stuck in my head like twelve times. New Genesis is great but New Genesis did not give me that level of earworm so clearly this track was doing something right

#4 (track 7) Where the Wind Blows. this song is fucking gorgeous and I love it. still gets stuck in my head regularly. the only reason it’s not ranked higher is because fucking look at what is, my dude, cut me some slack. 10/10 ballad, absolutely stellar, literally the only downside is that I can’t bop to it

#3 (track 4) Fleeting Lullaby. SPEAKING OF SONGS I CAN BOP TO. HOT DAMN. this song is so fucking weird and funky and energetic and insane and I love it. a musical fever dream. Uta is insane, Ado’s voice is insane, this song is a total banger

#2 (track 5) Tot Musica. YEAHHHHHHHH BABY. the first song I heard from Film Red, & the first thing that convinced me it’d be worth my time to actually watch the movie. everybody loves Tot Musica. it’s the eardrum-blowing-out song. also it was composed by Hiroyuki motherfucking Sawano which explains So Much. but yeah this song fucks so hard

#1 (track 3) Backlight. listen. LISTEN. Tot Musica may hold a very special place in my heart, and I do love the drama, but I will ALWAYS be a slut for a good rock number. also the whole second verse (which they cut out of the movie for whatever reason) is about being obsessed with “red”. wonder who that could be. anyway this song was my fav even before I looked up the lyrics, it’s just such an absolute banger and I love it so much. the perfect mix of showy, yet singable, & funky, & angry as hell, & so many lines just scratch my brain itches so good, like the lyrics just sound good you know? good fuckin song

Final Thoughts: good songs, great album, literally better than the movie tbh. highly recommend buying it if you’re a CD-buying kinda guy, it’s available on Interscope Records’ website for only like $14USD or something like that

[ghost-in-your-house]

ESC PreParty Madrid Thoughts:

Yes, I watched the whole livestream and it's making me concerned for some, relieved for others. It's clear there were some technical issues, so whatever, perfection is not expected. You can watch performances here

🇪🇸 seen her live a few times now, she is the exception. Blanca Paloma is perfect every time, she can sing Eaea into a journalists cellphone (and she has) and will sound amazing. Insane

🇧🇪 Gustaph's voice is great, has been at every stop so far. I hope he has a big show. Really dig the 90's feel of it

🇸🇲 Madrid had better sound than the San Marino national final. Was pleaseantly surprised. Still not really my thing, but better than expected

🇮🇪 They're having fun, but the live performances do nothing for me, vocally not strong either

🇨🇭His voice is good. Considering the live performances of some other I think he has a shot. Still think the song is a little bit boring

🇵🇱 they figured ot that if you turn the back up vocals up you can't hear Blanka sing, which make the song a lot more enjoyable. She still sounds like she sings karaoke though, when you hear her

🇭🇷 it's just chaos. Let3 definitely bring fun to ESC, there are parts where they actually sing ok, but that's not important for the song either way

🇱🇹 Monika sang two songs, and I don't know why, but she sounded way better singing her current song, than her previous. Another one of those people that just nail it at every try

🇱🇻 I like the live performances better than the studio version, which for ESC is a great thing. From all the bands they stand out as consistently good

🇲🇹 Vocals were off a bit, could be technical issues. It's fun, but doesn't stand out for me

🇦🇲 First time live: Excellent. It's not my favourite song, but Brunette delivered live and it's growing on me. Kinda epic.

🇨🇿 I think the best of the live performances so far for them, their voices are good, but the harmonies are still off at times, and they make the song. I really hope the get it until Liverpool, because for me Vesna brought the best studio track this year. Soundmixing was absolutely off on the rap part

🇸🇮 I don't understand the hype, but they're good live. Nothing to criticize, I guess

🇦🇺 First time live: A little bit disappointing. Lead singers vocals were ok, but not great, he didn't growl the part, he picked up the keyboard thing way too late (I know they're not playing, but that was weird). I liked the jumping in unison by the two guitar players. For a seasoned band like Voyager I expected more

🇷🇸 As a live performance this was always good. Luke's vocals were a little wonky at times, but it fits the song and the experience

🇩🇰 Riley didn't hit a lot of the higher notes, and the vocoder is still dreadful, sry. He seems to be enjoying himself though

🇪🇪 This happens if you select someone who can just sing great, with a songs that brings it out, same as Lithuania. Alika hits every note, brings the feeling.

🇫🇷 First time live: Her voice holds up, even if not perfect, she's elegant and classy. I just like the chanson-disco mix.

🇳🇴 uff. Something was definitely up with her voice, sounds like a cold or something. Botched the scream. At times you could hear her ability, but then it was gone the next second. Comments say she was drunk, no idea if that's true. Her national final performance was great, I hope they can recreate that

🇵🇹 another one of those that nail it every time. Mimicat is just great live and owns the stage even if she's alone on there. Audience really interacted with her

🇳🇱 First time live: Both of them had some notes that they missed, especially Dion in the beginning. Sound and harmonies were a little off, but ok. Showed some inkling how they might be staged, nothing groundbreaking, exactly how I imagined it. Very funny when the light person just kept the light on him while Mia was singing in the dark.

🇬🇪 Like all the live performances the soundmixing was weird, they just don't get the backing vocals to a level where they don't overpower her at times, don't know why. Iru has a great voice tho, sounds great every time so far. Found out she's conversationally fluent in english which makes the lyrics even more baffling, but I still don't care, so good

🇲🇩 You couldn't even hear him for most of the song, totally wonky soundmixing. When you could hear him, vocals were not that great. Song is fun though

🇬🇧 You can hear Mae's working on her vocals a lot, in comparison to other live performances she was better. Still fell flat at some points and the high notes were way off. If she wants to dance and sing she has to work on her stamina a lot

🇦🇹 First time live: Great, both of them can sing, they riffed off of each other, harmonies were ok. At some points they were off, but it was every time they were goofing around, so I guess someone will tell them not to do that too much for Liverpool. They definitely bring the attitude to sell the song, audience absolutely loved the Poe, Poe, Poe part

🇫🇮 Käärijä is not a singer, but an entertainer. It works for the first part of the song, his energy makes up for a lot, but unfortunately the second, slower, more pop part isn't as forgiving. His vocals there were really wonky and just using the back up track doesn't cut it for me and I guess won't be allowed in Liverpool. It's still so catchy though

🇸🇪 Last but not least, Loreen. Even she sounded off at times, she abolutely held her mic to close to her mouth which made for some weird noises. Rest of her vocal performance was great though, even when she was jumping. The fact that she sang Euphoria right after Tattoo made the discrepancy even more striking though. I didn't even know how much I love Euphoria, I hadn't heard it in a while and I just went wild. No such reaction to tattoo, unfortunately. Like, it's nice, but it doesn't hold a candle to Euphoria.

[rolandrockover]

Kover It Up Vol. 5 - New York Groove

Hello, Russ Ballard, Kiss. As soon as one even mentally pronounces this chain of associations, the bell should ring for every halfway educated Kissalomaniac that one is dealing with a definitive key figure for Kiss kover songs. Songs that were written by Russ Ballard, and that Kiss or their closer associates have reinterpreted and recorded, mind you.

All in all, this has resulted in a total of five tracks (1), respectively two of which Ace has tackled more or less on his own. And today, of course, we want to talk about the very first one, namely nothing other than New York Groove from Ace's first solo album from 1978 (2). And as is well known, it was Eddie Kramer who persuaded Ace to cover this song, which the latter will probably have learned to appreciate over time.

But let's get down to business.

Hello's version of this NY vision sounds a little as if Chris Norman, in his best Smokie days, had been forced by strict medical prescription to spare his vocal chords as much as possible and not to sing but only to whisper. Such an idiosyncratic decision lends the music a determinedly passive, but nonetheless equally commanding and energetic effect, which is only reinforced by the unusually light, but all the more confident harmonic flow of the background chorus, pushing itself rhythmically into the mix and taking the song to a higher level overall.

What Ace and Eddie cooked up together for their part doesn't sound that dissimilar at all. They certainly didn't reinvent the song (as one could later claim of 2000 Man), and which Eddie Kramer definitely didn't set out to do, but made it just a bit more straightforward and, above all, designed it all around Ace. And that's exactly the key, an emotionally intelligent focus on Ace, his voice, and his person, because that's what this is all about here: The humanization of a rock n' roll alien from the craziest rock band in the world to that point.

The guitars at the beginning are comfortably reminiscent of a quirky Swedish children's television series from the 70s (3) and create, at least in me, a warm-hearted and positively charged energy that, thanks to Ace's charm, doesn't intend to get lost again throughout the entire song. His imperfect voice sounds somewhat tight, thanks to doubling and whatever studio gimmick, and saturated enough, and at the same time left with enough room to be nothing but himself, which brings song and mood to life, and even works to his advantage lead vocally. Is there anyone else here besides me who is also reminded of Peter Criss and Beth? I mean in principle.

Be that as it may, to conclude with a brief mention of Ace's solo playing. Its production seems surprisingly thin and used just as sparingly, but staged in an all the more lively manner, which really puts the finishing touches to this simple but equally gorgeous piece of good-feeling music. And here it is, an urban anthem for the people to believe in, presented by a true New Yorker for all New Yorkers, and of course everyone else too.

More authentic than the original.

Side Note:

(1) New York Groove on Ace Frehley (1978), Some Kinda Hurricane and Let Me Rock You on Peter Criss' eponymous Let Me Rock You (1982), Into the Night from Frehley's Comet's debut (1987), and last but not least Kiss' real last smash God Gave Rock n' Roll to You II (1991).

(2) Incidentally, I have no idea whether the Ace and Peter songs from the 80s are actual cover versions or just purchased tracks without a previous release. I just threw it out there because it fits so well, and what do you do for a halfway successful introduction?

(3) Karlson on the Roof (1974) by Astrid Lindgren.

New York Groove (1975)

New York Groove (1978)

[chaos0pikachu]

Also, Barbie has nothing to do with the release of Haunted Mansion (to an extent) like more than likely other studios didn't think Barbie was going to be the juggernaut hit that it has been.

A budget comparison:

Barbie: $128–145 million

Haunted Mansions budget is: $150 million

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning: $291 million

Fast X: $340 million

Super Mario Bros: $100 million

Indiana Jones: Dial of Destiny

The Meg 2: $130 million

Transformers Rise of the Beasts: $195–200 million

Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse: $100 million

Out of all these listed films that came out in what's considered "blockbuster season" Super Mario, Spider-Verse, The Meg 2, and Barbie are the only ones that have really turned profit. Indiana Jones, and Mission Impossible are really struggling to make profit, and Fast X is going to only eek out a profit. There's a larger conversation here about bloated film budgets and how it's harming the film industry but the thing I want to point out in regards to Barbie is it's on the lower end of the budget tier.

It's made three times the amount of Indiana Jones, Fast X, and Mission Impossible but it doesn't have their budgets. My point here is Barbie was what Warner Bros probably considered "a high risk project" which is why it has a lower budget than Nolan's last film Tenet ($205 million). Barbie's success is actually pretty shocking to the men in charge rn lol Which is why Mattel is getting the wrong lessons from Barbie's success and making a Polly Pocket movie cause, sure.

Haunted Mansion was tracking poorly for a while in ticket sales, so Disney didn't see the point in marketing it. A summer release for a spooky season movie is not a terrible idea tbh, spooky season is starting earlier and earlier (retail is already selling Halloween stuff, you don't actually wanna release your Halloween film during October you'll cut it's success off at the knees). Disney was probably hoping for higher returns on Haunted Mansion but also they needed another high profile film for the blockbuster season and this was the best they had.

Little Mermaid kicked off their blockbuster slate, Guardians continued it, Haunted Mansion was probably meant to round out the season going into November for the holiday releases (The Marvels comes out in November). But Disney is going through a deep flux right now b/c they're seeing less ROI with their Marvel films, and they've yet to find a film footing with Star Wars (the current CEO was the one who brokered those acquisitions of Star Wars and Marvel). Of which the goal for those films (and TV shows) isn't to sell tickets so much as sell merchandise (why do you think there's a Funko Pop for Star Wars Background Char 4.5 every film release?) and sell interest in their parks where they make a majority of their money.

Either way, Disney is greedy and I pray they don't sell or merge with Apple dear lord, and I'm glad VFX artists have begun unionizing

disney when they spend exactly $2 promoting their new movie and release it during a busy weekend and then it flops