#why are the best Finnish songs always pop songs?

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Reloaded 3 2001 Alternative Rock / Indie Rock / Pop-Rock / Britpop / Post-Grunge / Nu Metal

Back in the early 2000s, the compilation arm of Universal Music put out a brief series of double-discs in the UK called Reloaded that ended up serving as something of a contemporaneous snapshot of the country's wide alternative rock landscape, spanning from soft and folky, indie-type stuff, to the most banal of radio rock, to the leading rock sound du jour at the time that was nu metal. And for an American listener like me, this series' third installment here, from '01, mostly makes for a great and clashing mix of bad and dumb nostalgic fun with some genuinely good turn-of-the-millennium rock fare that I'm not nearly as familiar with.

But although this comp is heavily dominated by rock music, the tracks that close out each disc are actually electronic, and I think they happen to be the two best songs of this whole set. Maybe you don't know Finnish band Pepe Deluxé's nifty vocal breakbeat tune, "Before You Leave," by name, but perhaps you remember it from this big and strange 2001 Levi's ad? 🤔

And the other swell non-rock tune is UK duo I Monster's retro-futuristic trip hop classic, "Daydream in Blue," which was then later sampled by Lupe Fiasco for his own "Daydreamin'." But as you could probably tell, I Monster themselves sampled from another song to create their own too, which was a cover of Belgian band Wallace Collection's "Daydream," that was done in 1960 by a German group called Günter Kallmann Chor.

Now, for the cream of the crop when it comes to the actual rock music on here, there's Cali indie band Grandaddy, who also happen to provide the theme music for one of my favorite podcasts too, Citations Needed, which isn't a music-related show, but you should definitely listen to anyway 😁. On "Hewlett's Daughter," the group provides a soft and light, floaty indie groove, with frontman Jason Lytle playing keyboards while also delivering some Neil Young-type vocals.

And another rock song I really love on here is one that feels way more formulated for an alt-rock radio type of format, but in that regard, it excels exceptionally well as an unrelentingly smooth and upbeat tune: "Catch the Sun," by UK indie band Doves. This one doesn't appear to have charted in any capacity Stateside, but it probably would have if it had been given a real chance to. And it was featured in Project Gotham Racing too, which is a videogame that I happened to play a lot of when this song was around, so maybe that's partially why I enjoy it as much as I do 🤔.

And for the fun and dumb nostalgia, we have a whole litany of stuff: Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'," Papa Roach's "Last Resort," Matchbox Twenty's "If You're Gone," Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag," Bloodhound Gang's "The Bad Touch"—whose new wave intro I've always really loved—and Creed's "With Arms Wide Open," which sees Scott Stapp singing the word 'man' like no one had probably ever heard before ('mahhn') and then singing the word 'demand,' which partially rhymes with 'man,' in a completely different way, but also pretty much exactly like you would've expected him to sing it anyway ('demayhnd')?

So, I pretty much love this thing. Quality rock music, a couple terrific alt-electronic tunes that have aged really well, and then a bunch of songs that will take you right back to the silliness that represented so much mainstream rock music in 2001.

Highlights:

CD1:

Limp Bizkit - "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" Papa Roach - "Last Resort" Muse - "New Born" Queens of the Stone Age - "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" Wheatus - "Teenage Dirtbag" Feeder - "Seven Days in the Sun" JJ72 - "Algeria" Placebo - "Taste in Men" Ocean Colour Scene - "Up On the Down Side" Grandaddy - "Hewlett's Daughter" Elbow - "Red" PJ Harvey - "A Place Called Home" My Vitriol - "Grounded" Bloodhound Gang - "The Bad Touch" Pepe Deluxé - "Before You Leave"

CD2:

Stereophonics - "Have a Nice Day" Doves - "Catch the Sun" Creed - "With Arms Wide Open" Turin Brakes - "Underdog (Save Me)" Lowgold - "Counterfeit" Thirteen:13 - "Truth Hurts" Matchbox Twenty - "If You're Gone" I Monster - "Daydream in Blue"

[m3r1m4r5u333]

The silly new series: Earworms on a plane

An announcement to my unfortunate followers! To change it up a bit from always posting about my latest hyperfixation, the tv show 9-1-1, I'll start a new series of posts. (No worries anyone who followed me to see my unhinged 9-1-1 posts! I'll still post that stuff, too. You can't make me stop.) Anyway. I figured, I love music, I am ancient compared to many of you, I am from Finland, my taste in music reflects my ADHD brain (= it's quite random) ... So I feel like it would be fun to share my favorite music with you all! I'll tag and call these song recs Earworms on a plane... Because in my private inner world, the 'earworms' are more like snakes. They're intense. Often I can't hear myself over their hissing.

The reason why I want to share this stuff with you is that so much of the music, of what I love, and find inspiring... is something many of you may never have even heard. So I'd like to educate you all 😉, you know, to fight this common mindset that the Swifts of this world, the super popular artists, are all there is, and that music has "best before" dates. No, there's so much cool stuff in the world of music, and modern pop in english is just the surface ☝️🧐 Hear the roar of this dinosaur 🦖!

So I'll try to focus on reccing the music that I feel is these days forgotten, undiscovered, not that mainstream... You know, the stuff which is likely to slip the spotlights, or maybe already had it's moment, and is now kinda lost. Maybe because it's just too quirky, or old, or foreign or rough to be mainstream. Yep, I'll try to rec some awkward stuff, too. There may not be any autotune 😳 You get the gist. The idea is provide variety, to inspire curiosity, and hopefully... discovery!

I may translate some of it, if it's in finnish - but not always, because I'm lazy and also... because I'm a firm believer in the idea that the language of music is universal. Sometimes it's fun and interesting to not understand the lyrics! Really, trust me if you haven't already explored foreign music - there's a strange magic to be found in listening to music in a language which is totally incomprehensible to you.

And some of the songs I like and share may already be outrageously popular, maybe you're already tired of the stuff, we'll see! I may just share it because I'm hypnotized by it, too. I don't like setting too many limits on myself, so who knows where all of this goes.

My goal, btw, is to rec one random song daily. I don't know what you guys like, who knows, you may not like any of these song recs! But I hope you're curious anyway and check them out, even if it's to promptly cringe away. Let's get started. The song I've been listening to a lot lately has been this song, so I'll just share it.

CMX - Sivu paholaisen päiväkirjasta

The reason why I adore this song... is that it sounds dangerous and that tickles my brain! How cool is that mood! The title of the song, Sivu Paholaisen Päiväkirjasta, translated from finnish, is "A page out of the Devil's diary" and I feel like this really fits the mood of this song rec series 😉 After all, I want to seduce you guys, to check out something new, alien, sometimes maybe even a bit scary! 🤪 So here be dragons!

[beauty-and-passion]

What Eurovision 2021 taught us

1. That a nice, enjoyable show was possible (even if 4 presenters are still too much)

Of course nothing can beat Love Love Peace Peace (even if Ja Ja Ding Dong does its best), but this year's intermissions were very enjoyable.

We expected something flashy and over the top because hey, The Netherlands. Sex, drugs, gays and all that jazz.

But instead Covid surprised us. And then The Netherlands surprised us even more, by making a very enjoyable show, despite the restrictions. My personal favourites were:

The water intermission of the first semi-final. I loved the mixed feelings, how water is both scary and respected, for being such a powerful, unstoppable force.

The rooftop concerts during the final. Social distancing? Sure, no problem, let's make the past winners sing on top of some roofs all over Rotterdam. That was pure genius, I loved it so much.

On the other hand, the presenters were basically all useless. We could've had just two of them instead of four. But hey, at least they weren't as cringy as the three scary ukranians from 2017 or the useless four ladies from Portugal. The true highlights of the show were the intermissions, the guests and especially the songs themselves and this is perfectly good for me.

________________________

2. That we can live in a world without boring ass ballads

I’ve never been so proud of the Eurovision public, especially during the second semifinal: that evening was PACKED with ballads. Boring ballad after boring ballad, with just a couple more funny songs in between.

The ballads were all left behind. Even the two Amen. And I love the irony we chose El Diablo and the finnish band for the final, but no Amen. No saints allowed, only the norwegian angel. As it always should be.

And so we had the best final I've seen since I started following Eurovision in 2014. Catchy songs, dance songs, upbeat songs. And power ballads. Yes, ballads can still have a place, but only if they're good.

Because yes, Switzerland and France were good. Very good. Just not as good as the ones the public wanted.

________________________

3. That we want Eurovision, not Englishvision

Every year, the same message blasts from all Europeans: send a song in your native language. This show is supposed to make other people from Europe (and the rest of the world) to know more about your own country, to enjoy its rhythm and to listen to something we don't usually hear. So why waste this huge opportunity, to bring a generic song in English?

Because the English song wins. Because we all understand English, so English has more chances.

Flash news: GUESS WHO WON THIS YEAR. No, it’s not the generic English song.

The public has been crystal clear, the final poll is even clearer: the top five includes an italian song, an ukraine song, two french songs and only one english song. We want different styles and rhythms, we want to listen to Europe.

So I want to give my full thank you to:

Albania: amazing song, great voice, wonderful language. Do it again.

Serbia: these ladies are fantastic, their song is great and they sang it in their language so I love them

Switzerland: thank you for leaving English to the side to give us some good french

Spain: the song wasn't as good as Universo, but it was in sexy spanish, so thank you for using it almost every year

Danemark: the song was terrible, but it was in your language and this alone deserves everything

France: I know we all make fun of you for being France, but your language is perfect for songs, so thank you for always using it

Ukraine: take note, Ukraine, because Europe is madly in love with your language and your rhythm

Italy: our language is beautiful, so thank you for delivering every year

While my biggest biases go to:

Greece: a generic pop song with no balkan rhythm and no greek either? An absolute shame, greek should always be used for songs.

Russia: russian language is very melodious and yes, we got something this year, but what about bringing a full russian song? We want it!

Germany: I may sound crazy, but I honestly think german language is good for songs. It's not like the mediterranean languages, but it still works. So please, do not be scared and show what you can do with it!

Scandinavian countries: why do you never want to bring your own language? Do it, don't be scared! Yes, Sweden, I'm talking with you: you still never tried to bring something in swedish, so do it.

________________________

4. That we don't want Americans to play with us

For reasons we still have to understand, Flo Rida was competing this year. And he was competing for San Marino, the smallest European country.

I'm pretty sure they took some time to explain to him what was going on, where he was, where San Marino is, wtf was happening, why there were sexy italians and ukranian witches and a norwegian angel and loads of beautiful women everywhere.

And I loved how we all send memes about this, about ahahah why is Flo Rida here, what if San Marino wins where would they host Eurovision, all while enjoying an actual catchy song.

And then, in the end, Flo Rida basically disappeared. Who remembers Flo Rida, when we got Ukraine, Italy, Finland, Iceland, and the UK? And Germany being wholesome? And the love story between Norway and Azerbaijan? We collectively forgot about him and I think it's very sexy from Europe to just say "nope" and push America away, even if for just one week.

And this isn't the first time: we basically showed Madonna in a corner in 2019, thanks to Mans, Eleni, Verka and Conchita. Once again, Europeans knows what they want: we don't want Americans. Australia can because they're like that little brother we took under our wing for no reason and now it's part of us. But not Americans.

The rest of the year is all yours, but one week is ours.

________________________

5. That we can lose like bosses

This year, the voting results have been absolutely insane and FOUR COUNTRIES got zero points from the public, while the UK got both zero points from the public AND the jury.

Don't get me wrong, the song was bad. And yes, Brexit played a role in this. And yes, hating England is Europe’s favourite sport.

But can we please all take a moment and appreciate how James Newman reacted? The public gave him a round of applause and he celebrated this achievement like a boss.

And he had all the reasons! He achieved something incredible, he unlocked something that this new voting system was supposed to never lead to. But he did it. So hats off to you, my boy: My Last Breath was better.

Germany is also used to the bottom of the chart, but this year I really thought Jendrik could have a chance to achieve a higher position. The song was funny, carefree, lively, the hand costume was the kind of trash we need and the message was nice as well. But he still got 3 points.

Despite that, Jendrik celebrated like a maniac and seeing his this happy made me happy as well. I really wish him the best.

________________________

6. That FUCK YOU JURY

Again, same message every year: the jury vote should be eliminated. It's a fucking farce and their votes have nothing to do with what the public want.

The jury focuses on the voices, except when they don't, and clearly giving points to your neighbours is because you like the song, not because they're your neighbours.

I usually make fun of Greece and Cyprus showing eternal love to each other, by giving 12 points to each other every year, but this time, it sounded even more stupid than usual. It really looked like a farce. Why should we see this farce? Why can't we just choose what the public wants? So at least we would blame ourselves for our shitty musical tastes.

Even if I'm pretty sure we all have great musical tastes. Let's not forget that in 2019 the public's winner was Norway, with a song that mixed english, a catchy rhythm and an amazing part in yoik language. Arcade is good as well, but we cannot deny the norwegian entry was a lot more interesting.

And this year, the public's taste was flawless:

Look at this beauty: italian glam rock, ukranian techno folk, french powerful ballad, finnish hard rock and whatever that thing was with Iceland.

There's variety, there's everything for everyone. And there are native languages. Italian, Ukranian, and French on top three, followed by English.

Moral of the story: the public is great and the jury should be abolished forever.

________________________

7. That Ukranian technofolk is all we needed in our lives

I didn’t see enough love for Go_A, so as italian, I think it's my sworn duty to give my appreciation to them and their amazing entry, because this band is awesome and Shum is currently on top of the Spotify top 50 - as it should be, because everyone should listen to it and join this slavic rave party.

I already liked their entry for 2020, Solovey. But I also liked My Last Breath from the UK and Universo from Spain. And this year they brought two of the worst songs. So I was very wary of Go_A.

But Shum is an absolute blast. Katerina Pavlenko's voice is unique and the song is even more, because based on ukranian folklore and traditional dances to summon the spirit of spring. They managed to teach something to all Europe in a three minute song and I think that’s incredibly sexy of them.

And so, I searched for other songs and OMG, I don’t know how it’s possible, but they are all great. Rano-Ranenko, Zhalmenina, Tanula, they all are perfect and I’m in love with this band.

And if all of this is not enough, THEY DID A COVER OF DANCING LASHA TUMBAI. The most iconic Eurovision song, sang by our god Verka. And this is the coolest, most badass cover ever in the whole universe. Please listen to it HERE everyone needs to hear this.

So thank you, Ukraine, for giving us Go_A. We all had a small empty place in our hearts and this place has ben perfectly filled by them.

And yif you think you don’t need ukranian technofolk, is only because you still haven’t listened to it. Please listen and enjoy Shum. You’re welcome.

________________________

8. That rock and roll never dies (and Italy’s well deserved victory)

The last time Italy won was in 19-fucking-90. 31 years ago. I was just born.

And now, they finally won again. And what a song! Despite being italian, I've never listened to Maneskin before, but oh damn, this song is good. Not all their songs are, but this one is. And also Morirò da re.

Their show was perfect as well. This post is really eye-opening about how well they put on their show. The use of the stage, the movements, everything has been part of a great performance, even their clothes. Damiano's voice never faltered, despite having an entire continent watching him. They handled the stage like bosses, despite being only in their twenties. And they gave us some good fucking rock.

And so the public said a loud "FUCK YOU" to the jury and chose its winners. The sassy, sexy italians.

And yes, I know that there has been a lot of petty polemics because those youngsters are having drugs!1!! as if they were a bunch of idiots who used drugs on international TV, with their manager sitting next to them.

Of course it was a pointless accusation and honestly I don't care if some people are sore losers. The drug results were negative anyway, what a shocker.

What we should truly think about is how strong the Maneskin's bladders are, because they spent the whole evening of the final drinking the entire alcohol supply of the Eurovision and, at the end, they were still happy and cool. Hats off to you, you sexy people.

This man is just iconic, why did I miss him before.

Also, have some more Maneskin. You know, as a treat.

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9. That solidarity and wholesomeness are the biggest winners

It's just beautiful to see these nice people, from all over Europe, bonding, having fun, taking photos together and being friends.

The true winner of this, is probably Norway: Tix wanted to have a good time and he had a good time. The video of him vibing with Ukraine and Germany while listening Hard Rock Hallelujah is the best (HERE). His love story with Efendi from Azerbaijan is even better (please, check the video on his youtube channel, it's hilarious). I don't like his song, but he's a great guy and deserves everything.

The italian and finnish rock relationship is also great. Maneskin and Dark Sides found each other, considering they were the only two rock bands in the competition, so mutual appreciation was inevitable.

But Damiano is also a man of culture and he appreciates Ukraine's entry. And Ukraine appreciates both Finland and Italy. Is this what world peace looks like? Because I love it.

________________________

10. That Italians will be Europe's clowns again (and you're all allowed to make fun of us)

Beware, Europe: we Italians are messy and chaotic, our presenters don’t know a single word in English, we are homoerotic AND homophobic at the same time, our musical competitions are so fucking sloooow... let’s say next year’s Eurovision is going to be interesting.

And yes, you’re allowed to make fun of us. We don’t care, we won, so we deserve to be Europe’s clowns once again.

And I don’t know who the presenters will be (my bets are on everyone’s favourites: Fiorello, Amadeus and Malgioglio), I don’t know how we will ridicule ourselves once again, I don’t know where will we find the money to put on the show, I don’t know how ungodly long it will be... but I know that Mans Zelmerlow will be part of it. This man loves Eurovision just like all of us, so I can already see him packing his suitcase and planning his flight to Italy. Come to us, Mans, we will wait for you. We actually need an English presenter, so if you have nothing else to do...

[born-to-lose]

Tagged by @six-shot-heart-attack 💖

1. Why did you choose your url?

The song is my brand

2. Any side blogs? If you have them, name them and why you have them

I made a langblr for Finnish (and some French), but it's still in the works so there's nothing to see yet. I'll link it as soon as I have an actual concept

3. How long have you been on Tumblr?

Since early 2017

4. Do you have a queue tag?

I don't always use it for queued posts but #sweet queue o' mine

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I was a theater kid back then and nobody irl wanted to hear about my obscure interests

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

I love Mike and Stiv and the vibes of this photo

7. Why did you choose your header?

Because I finally have a theme now and neon + black = chef's kiss

8. What's your post with the most notes?

Probably that David Bowie/Jesus meme, but I don't really keep track

9. How many mutuals do you have?

Quite a few and I love you all

10. How many followers do you have?

2250

11. How many people do you follow?

584

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

Everything in the #mel talks is a shitpost, just with different intensity

13. How often do you use Tumblr each day?

Way too much. I wake up, send my best friend a short text and it only goes downhill from there. Except when I'm at school, but even then I pop in during breaks

14. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? Who won?

I don't think so. It was more of a personal thing that led to both of us talking shit about the other on our blogs. I stopped at some point but idk about him and idc (post-breakup beef y'know)

15. How do you feel about 'you need to reblog this' posts?

I only reblog them when it's actually important like that suicide hotline post or things like that potato dog or the elephant strawberry, but then it's only because of the picture itself

16. Do you like tag games?

Yeah but I'm really lazy and slow at doing them, so I still have a bunch from last year, but I'm trying to catch up asap

17. Do you like ask games?

YES

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

@tuffduff @six-shot-heart-attack and @smokeandmirrorz because y'all have those cool vibes 🥺👉👈

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

Lmao obviously and you know it

20. Tags:

@thespacecowboyyy @polka-dot-duff @smokeandmirrorz @izzys-nose-ring @slashxrose no pressure tho!

[dunne-ias]

Surviving Eurovision Song Contest Finale without going crazy

Look. Every year it’s the same thing. I know people get their hopes up, and every year they get disappointed, and angry, and I see the same kind of reactions. So let’s just go over a few things to keep in mind so you can check your expectations.

First of all. There are almost forty countries competing every year these days, and tonight’s finale will have 26 songs. The competition is over 60 years old, but still. It’s a lot to ask to get to win often. In fact, if your country has won even twice over the years, then there’s no statistical reason why you should expect to win again soon when there are countries who have only won once, or never. So let’s just lower our expectations on your own country’s song winning right at the getgo and realize that the odds are against everyone.

Secondly. There are 26 songs, which is a lot. If your country, or even your favourite song, has made it this far, that’s already a good thing. Getting on the left side of the result board is an even better thing. And if your song makes it to the top ten, then that’s awesome. It’s really, really awesome and it’s something to be proud of. Of course you want your song to win! But getting in the top ten at a Eurovision finale is huge! Don’t forget what a win that is! I’ll explain why:

Third. The participating EBU members (aka, the countries who compete) have an enormous population combined. There are soooo many people watching this thing (it’s in the Guiness World Records!) and they have a great variety of tastes and traditions between them. In each country, and between the different countries. What this means is simple: The song that wins, is never going to the one that is the “best” because there is no way to measure that. Think of it instead as the top ten usually consists of the best in different genres and subgenres. If you’re in third place but have the highest placed pop song, then that’s actually a win in itself. This competition is, and always will be, a competition within genres as well as between genres, more than it is between 26 individual songs. Sometimes it’s a pop year. Sometimes it’s a ballad year. Sometimes it’s - you know what, I still don’t quite understand how Lordi won but I’m glad they did and maybe this year will be the year of hard rock.

Fourth. Block voting is a thing. It’s not a part of a nefarious plan to ruin things for everyone else. It’s a combination of implicit bias (this person is my friend, so I will notice the good things about their song. that person I don’t know so well, so I might notice the bad things about their song more), and shared history and culture. I bet I’ve listened to more Finnish hard rock than a random person from Spain for example, even if our general music tastes were otherwise similar. But no country ever got by on JUST relying on their neighbours, and block voting can mess things up if there are too many great songs within the same block, as it splits the votes in ways that no one can foresee.

Fifth. What’s popular on the internet is not the same thing as what’s popular among all televoters. Just because tumblr is all over certain countries, doesn’t mean the rest of the EBU is. And the odds pages are very much depending on things like internet searches and youtube statistics and things like that, but that really only hints at what eurovision fans like. And most people just watch the shows and then vote without listening to the songs beforehand, or after.

Sixth. There are too many unknown factors determining the winner. Your song can be freaking awesome, but this year there might be others that are similar, there might be three other acts with an upbeat song sung by a single woman in a sparkling bathing suit. There might be so many songs that “stand out” that yours might not even though you sent something great and original. People might not be in the mood for what you sent. And that’s one of the most important points: the top ten is not random, but the winner might very well be partly up to chance. And the closer the results are, the more that’s true.

The winner is determined by the televotes AND the jury. The winner is the one who can appeal to BOTH. You might not like it, but these are the rules, and they were implemented for a reason. These are the rules of the game, and your song needs to appeal to both enough. If your song only appealed to the Jury, you won’t win. If your song only appealed to the televotes, you won’t win. And if the winner was number one with the televoters, but didn’t win the contest, that doesn’t mean they were robbed, or that the game is unfair, or rigged (that last one is just conspiracy theories and please just stop those. Just... just stop.). Block voting was worse before they added back the juries. Learn your history if you don’t believe me.

And lastly. Eurovision song contest is fun. Don’t make it about your anger because your favorite didn’t win.

okay, so a last comment about tonight’s finale: my prediction is that neither Italy, Finland, Iceland or Ukraine will win because they’re pulling on too many of the same fans, the vote will be split, and something much more boring will actually win on account of being the most interesting boring song. That’s not what I want to happen, but I think that’s realistic. We’ll see in about 9-10 hours.

[happymetalgirl]

Five* Outside albums of 2020

I do this little list every year of my favorite albums that fall mostly “outside” the metal sphere and weren’t so metal-adjacent that I reviewed them formally during the year. The past three times I have written this little piece, I have kept it to five, but *this year, I’ve just had a hard time narrowing it down, so I figured, why do that? Well, I could go through a few dozen albums or so that I fucked with this year outside the metal sphere, but I’m compromising with the addition of a new, quick (we’ll see) honorable mention section.

So, in the interest of keeping my verbose tendencies in check, I’ll cut this introduction off and get into the honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions:

Anna von Hausswolff - All Thoughts Fly

I did review Anna von Hausswolff’s previous record, Dead Magic, back in 2018 as part of my bunch of metal albums reviews that year, because it was kind of tangentially metallic. It wasn’t a lot at a technical level, only a few metallic elements here no there, but it had a lot of harrowing qualities that I thought metal listeners might appreciate. For the Swedish singer and pipe-organist, that album really was the closest she ever came to metal’s territory, and I don’t think any flirting with the genre was intentional on her part. Most of what she does is haunting, neoclassical, organ-based music that’s usually not as wild as what Dead Magic was, and this year’s album is a real scale back to her roots and an appreciation for the pipe organ. While I do miss her bewitching vocals on this entirely instrumental album, All Thoughts Fly stands well on its own merits as both a solid tribute to von Hausswolff’s organ playing and as a beautiful, incredibly immersive ambient album that does so much with its relatively small palette. I’ve talked a few times on here about really shitty ambient music that’s approached with a clearly lazy attitude because of its supposed background role. Rather than being made to be ignored, All Thoughts Fly pulls you in and around in a swirl of lush sounds that aren’t too common in ambient music, and with a relatively minimal approach, relying on the naturally serene tambre of the instrument to fill the space with a lightening, floating ambience and well-structured movements to do the gentle moving. It’s a beautiful example of what an ambient album can achieve if it’s actually made with a lot of love and care.

Shabaka & The Ancestors - We Are Sent Here by History

Okay, that first one went pretty long. I’ll try to keep the rest of these here relatively short. Sons of Kemet band leader, Shabaka Hutchings, takes his other group on slightly less chaotic Afro-jazz odessey that what Sons of Kemet have been delivering us. While more contained on the surface within the genre’s usual light grey areas, Shabaka & The Ancestors move with freedom and flexibility on this album in a way that highlights the natural appeals of the Afro-jazz sound pallet through constantly engaging arrangements from masters of the craft.

Lady Gaga - Chromatica

I know we’re all well aware of Lady Gaga, but the pop icon has been relatively quietly been making the best music of her career since taking the edge rather than the center of the spotlight, from 2013’s diverse Artpop to 2016’s more bare-bones Joanne. And now, after her mellower, more traditional Americana-influenced album in 2016, Gaga cranks the volume and the fun way back up. Chromatica is a blast of an album whose wide span of dance pop albums influences new and old keeps it varied and lively all the way through. This album feels very much like it’s Gaga unleashed, just doing her thing and having a good time with a bunch of dance music styles that she’s always loved, and it’s impossible not to feel that enthusiasm secondhand, and groove the hell out along with it.

Black Thought - Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Abel

Black Thought has had nothing to prove since the relative inactivity of The Roots this past decade, but he has sure been rapping as if he does have something to prove on his solo work. The Philadelphia rapper put out a couple of EPs back in 2018 that showcased his impressive modern lyricism and flow, and the third, LP-sized installment in the series is just another offering of further proof of the man’s lyrical chops. There’s a little bit of an understated delivery in the music overall, but Black Thought really lets his words speak for themselves more than his moderate bravado. It’s not super flashy because it doesn’t need to be.

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

Indie folk has always loved to soak in the puddles of personal sadness, but Californian singer Phoebe Bridgers takes the style to whole new depths of personally gripping, bordering on the outright emo, and that is by all means a compliment for rather than a shot at. The album’s candid journaling of Bridgers’ personal struggles is so tangible and so genuine that it would probably rival Connor Oberst’s best work with Bright Eyes. It is just a beautiful, yet tear-inducing album.

Alright, now on to the five “main” “non-metal” albums of the “list proper”.

Hexvessel - Kindred

Hexvessel are a Finnish six-piece whose sixth album of psychedelic folk here manages to touch on the same haunting, gothic tones that groups like Opeth and Gazpacho do at their most forest-y. Indeed, Kindred is an enchanting album, with sprawling styles and a full-bodied sonic pallet to keep it interesting the whole way through. And it’s as strong in its more bombastic song like that which opens the album as it is in its more stripped back acoustic tracks like that which closes it. Songs like “Magical and Damned” straight-up evoke Mount Eerie, while songs like “Kindred Moon” hearken to The Beatles at their most minimal and folky, and there’s plenty of spooky, mystical energy to go around. Definitely one of the best finds of the year for me.

The Strokes - The New Abnormal

Coming at the end of a seven-year gap between it and their previous album, 2013’s somewhat fan-polarizing Comedown Machine (which I liked a lot), The Strokes’ aptly named return is a return to the spotlight, but hardly to normalcy or the musical roots in garage rock that so many of the band’s fans have been sweating for. Twisting the electronic alternative rock of their Angles era into some odd, but mesmerizing forms, The New Abnormal is a subtly wild ride of an album through lots of melancholic overtones and undertones whose impact is made all the more potent by the occasional teasing of sorts with the few more traditionally rockin’ moments on here. It doesn’t take long to pull back the seemingly preppy synth rock or 80’s rock curtains to find the melancholy beneath “Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus” and “Bad Decisions”, respectively. But the band aren’t even that subtle with the immediate depression of just the straight-up guitar melodies on songs like “Selfless”, “Not the Same Anymore”, and the chill-inducing soar of “Ode to the Mets”. The album’s prize piece, though, has to be the utterly gorgeous and empathetic minimalist synth song, “At the Door”, whose simple melodies and bare delivery make for one of the most gently heart-piercing songs I know and of my favorite songs of the year and probably my favorite Strokes song ever, as hard as it is to listen to. Welcome back Julien and company.

Rina Sawayama - Sawayama

Quite possibly the best outright pop album I have heard in a long while, Sawayama sounds simultaneously fresh and vintage in the landscape it was born into, making use of a lot of early 2000’s pop rock instrumentation, even some heavy metal guitars here and there, but most importantly, a real sense of passion that seems to be flat-out absent from so much of the pop that I (usually inadvertently) hear. I don’t want to overstate the prominence of the metal elements, but the album does have a bubbling, infectious energy both vocally and instrumentally from front to back that the occasional bursts of heavy guitars between Sawayama’s charismatic, dance-inducing performances do provide a good snapshot of. Furthermore, there’s a rich diversity of song types across the album that dive into the pop sphere beyond the standard trend-hopping that dominates streaming playlists and make for a dynamic and fun, rather than disjointed, pop album. And that’s all only possible with the consistently tight compositions o the album. Indeed, this is one of the best pop albums I have ever heard, certainly in recent years.

clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned

clipping. are the second artist to be on here two years in a row after last year’s spectacularly spooky There Existed an Addiction to Blood, and Denzel Curry’s one-two punch of TA13OO and Zuu in 2018 and 2019 respectively. There Existed an Addiction to Blood was a thrilling and fresh take on many tropes of horrorcore with the band’s already forward-thinking and creative noise-driven instrumental production guiding harrowing stories of femme fatales and street violence in a more modern setting that often flipped the script on victims and perpetrators, as well as settings themselves. Visions of Bodies Being Burned is quite literally a continuing sequel to that explosive album, also released in time for Halloween this year; the material was recorded in the same sessions as the previous album and in the same unique vein. Consequently, there’s not really a whole lot I can say about this album in contrast with the last without getting way too in-depth and spoiling the fun. Whereas MC Daveed Diggs’ hooks were one of the biggest strong points of last year’s album, the creatively noisy production is the big star on this album. The fans seem to be leaning a bit more toward this year’s release, but I think I’m still a little partial to There Existed an Addiction to Blood. Nevertheless, Visions of Bodies Being Burned is a blood-pumping follow-up not to be missed.

Mac Miller - Circles

The posthumous release from Pennsylvanian rapper Mac Miller captures the man at his most chill and contemplative. The album is more of a minimalist ambient singer-songwriter sort of album than hip hop and its serene atmosphere becomes kind of inadvertently tragic in the posthumous context, but it serves as a beautiful swan song for the creative rapper whose struggles with addiction sadly prevented him from being able to bask in the deserved wide appreciation of his sixth album. Circles is a soulful, bittersweet cap to Mac Miller’s legacy that I think anyone will be able to feel the love and raw humanness of.

[igotanna]

Smile for me

“And since it was so amazing can I request another one? Number 15 with Jackson and some fluff 🤗”

request from @smooshdelia​  I hope you like it hun!

prompts list here

15. “The evil queens are always the princesses that were never saved.”

gif is not mine

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As long as could GOT7 members remember, their  life was tightly interconnected with group (more of an army) of make up artists, choreographers, assistants, cameramen, stylists and other dozens of professionals they couldn’t even count. It was sort of their team. Their assemble. They were the closest to them and still normal people at the same time. GOT7 as all idols were time to time very tired from all the other idols around, all the mc’s, all the famous people who thought the same way. It was nice to have down-to-earth people around. People who go home and no one wants selfie with them. They gave GOT7 most impulses and they were most fun.

As time went by and GOT7 grew, they had a closed  group of people around them that they brought everywhere with them. On tours, concerts, sometimes even to events where local stylist and make up artists were cavailable. But they liked to say that their group knows each member  and knows what fits him the best.

And since part of this team of theirs were women,  GOT7 couldn’t help themselves and flirt with them from time to time. It was natural and both sides thought of it as fun.With only one exception.

Y/N.

After one concert in Macao boys gathered in one hotel room instead resting on their own. It was idea of the managers – they were suppposed to do vlive. Boys liked to interact with fans but vlive after concert was tiring. They goofed around and wraped it up soon

„The fifth generation. In May.!“

„Mark, finnish with your trademark.“

„Peace out bro!“

After the camera was off the boys continued with scruming around in one bed and then Jinyoung asked „Who’s up for a drink?“ of course they all were.

They asked the staff to bring them some wine and beer and they started a private get-together.

Some of them were talking together, some was telling everyone some story nobody listened to and some were on their phones.

After 20 minutes she walked in „Guys I’m sorry to disturb you  but your coach said you all wake up at 8 tomorrow so you’d better to wrap this up and go to sleep.“ Her mouth twisted in something like sympathetic smile and turned around to leave the room. After all she was just make up artist, she wasn’t supposed to be there.

„Hey Y/N!“ cried Bambam to stop her. She turned back and raised her eyebrows „Could you wake me up in the morning?“ he was scolded and laughed by other members but she looked at him with blank face and shrugged „Of course. What time?“

„Uuuuuuu….“ „Buurn..“ laughed boys as she left the room cold as always.

„Man I tell ya,“ started Bambam, but he had to drink more to finnish his sentence „If anyone is ever going to get off with this woman,…“ pointing at the door.

„Then you have to lend him your fireproof coat.“ finnished Mark with more laughter.

„Cold as ice really. I never saw her smile or anything, did you?“ asked Yugyeom and drank his last drops of wine.

Boys had to think about that. No, never. When thinking about it they couldn’t recall when or if they ever saw Y/N to smile or laugh. She was imune to their jokes or pick up line or flirting.

„Maybe she doesn’t have sense of humour.“ speculated Youngjae.

„Naah, I saw her once watching dr.Phil on her phone.“ objected JB.

Maknae line laughed „What kind of proof is that??“

„Nobody without sense of humour watches dr.Phil.“ explained Mark and got up to clean up the table „It’s more comedy show than serious programme. He likes to pretend that but nobody actually takes him seriously.“

„I’m just saying that to pull her would take a man.“ Said Bambam with giving up gesture.

That was like a red flag for all of them. Jackson, Bambam, JB even Yugyeom started bickering about who is the real man here and who would be up to do it.

Jackson yelled louder than everyone „Wait! What kind of price for the one who takes her on a date??“

„Price is your life because before you take her on date she’s gonna take your balls!“ taunted JB.

„LET’S HAVE A BET!“ screamed Jackson again.

Jinyoung and Mark were the only one silent. Jinyoung still sat on his chair with crosses legs, wine glass rested on knee and smirk on his face as he watched his favourite show. Bickering with GOT7. Mark just shook his head and continued with cleaning up.Youngjae was laughing and sometimes commenting too.

„Wait, seriously?“ stopped Yugyeom.

„Yeah,“ shrugged Jackson and shook his hands and legs like he was preparing to fight or run a marathone.

„Okay,“ JB was up to the challange „Who takes Y/N on date is the man of this group.“

Few moments of silence. This was serious. It was question of honour. Jinyoung coughed and finally said something „I’m giving up to that title. I am more man than you all ever gonna be and I don’t need Y/N to prove it. You can fight over her without me”

„Yeah I’m not into this either.“ sounded Mark from the bathroom.

„Then it’s useless. How someone could be the man of the group if all of us aren’t participating?“ threw Bambam hands in the air.

Jackson frowned and then snapped his fingers with excitement „Let’s change the task. Whoever makes her smile will have the biggest rooms on the rest of the tour and the others will bring him breakfast to bed.“

After some more bargaining they agreed that this is maybe even harder task and the price is adequate.

It was obvious that Jackson is so ready for this and so when they were all leaving to their own rooms Bambam stopped Jackson pulling him by his elbow „Man you’re really into this right?“

Jackson grinned „Get ready to bring me breakfast for next 7 weeks. I like my chicken breast shake, you should work on that.“

„Why? You fancy her?“ attacked Bambam again with perv smile.

Jackson sighed rolling eyes „You know I’m up for any challange.“

„Yeah yeah yeah, of course…“ laughed Bambam and fake nodded „Well good luck with the evil queen then.“

Jackson gave up „Look, the evil queens are always the princesses that were never saved.” wink „She just needs her knight.“

After that started a proper combat that took place anywhere, anytime. In the waiting room. In the common dining hall. Next to the stage. During the rehersal. After concert. Between songs in the backstage. In the make up room.

Y/N was attacked, bombed, inclusived by compliments, jokes, attention, random pick up lines, unwanted stories, inappropriate notes, gifts and random kisses on the cheek „for luck“.

Jackson, Bambam, JB, Yugyeom (when picking up the courage) and sometimes Youngjae (for the fun) surrounded Y/N like bees nice flower and competed in who’s going to make her smile or laugh.

It was hard, maybe the hardest task they ever tried to acomplish. Not that Y/N was cold bitch or didn’t have sense of humour. She was just used to their foolines and it was part of her job. Don’t ever get yourself entangled with and idol. She knew very well that only one smile and her armour would break like glass.  She had to stay strong to resist.

Jackson got quite stimulated by her cold even indifferent attitude. Normally he would loose his interest, it was his nature – if somebody wasn’t up to play his game he just went to find someone who would. But teased by other members and the thought of competition made his competitive spirit work harder. He could fall over himself.

After two and half months later now in Singapore Jackson almost lost his patience. Y/N was doing his make up and he gazed into her eyes deeply. He had to- she became secret he just had to unlock.

„Y/N stop it.“ he begged.

Her brush pulled away as she stopped with his eye shadows.

„Stop playing hard to get.“ he finnished and pouted.

She sighed and rolled her eyes „So that’s what it’s all about. I‘m not playing hard to get for your info.“ She added.

„What then?“ he knew Mark is sitting next to them having his make up on too, but just now it was just Jackson and Y/N. Her eyes were quizical „Nothing. I’m not playing anything.“

„Well I noticed you’re imune to all my jokes and pranks I need to know why.“

Her lips twitched a bit but she didn’t smile.

„Have you ever thought about the option you’re not as far funny as you think you are?“ she asked and her soft touch on his cheek as she continued with shadows became itchy for Jackson. Suddenly she was more than a price to win, he had to conquer this badass lady.

He couldn’t even answer as she took his breath away. And at that moment he got an idea.

„Thanks.“ He jumped up and put quick kiss on her cheek just from force of habit he grew these past months. She didn’t even blink.

Jackson couldn’t think of anything else than his plan and her eyes the whole concert. He didn’t even know but he was loosing his distance.

„We’re very happy to be here again guys,“ started JB their goodbye speech. Jackson was holding his mic and smirking now and then to the backstage. When it was his turn he didn’t even cry as he sometimes did. He thanked all the funs and expressed how gratefull he was to be in Singapore.

„Now please, let me give some credit to people who you don’t know about but have a huge part on how we look everyday for you.“ He waved to the backstage and on the big screens projected a shot of camera man going through corridors to the make up room.

„I want to thank all our make up artists for making us look SO.AMAZING. THIS NIGHT!“ he raised his voice as the cameraman slowed down to shot Y/N and few others.

„Guys I know you can hear us, please wave and smile for our fans who thank you as well as us for your GREAT WORK!“followed by applause.

And as he planned, Y/N smiled and waved with her coworkers. It was bright, wide, heart warming and honest smile, thought her eyes were a popped with shock. Jackson melted as he saw her smile the first time. When he was supposed to talk again he stuttered a bit before he turned to Mark to continue.

His plank worked. He won. But he got to another conclusion – he has to see her smile more often. Because even the boys now brought him breakfast to the bed, even though he had the biggest rooms, he still couldn’t think of anything else than how she looked with that hearty smile.

When the tour was over he managed to get her phone number from her coworkers and wrote her a message.

Hi Y/N. It’s Jackson Wang here. I wanted to ask you if you’d fancy to have a dinner with me. And also if you’ll accopmpany us on our next tour. 🙏 thank you for your hard work 🙏

He never hoped for someone saying yes so much.

[beansprouts]

Bean’s Eurovision 2021 Top 5!

(aka Bean’s Eurovision 2021 Song Ranking: Part 5)

This is the S-tier for me, and I would be ecstatic if any of the following artists won.

5) Manizha - Russian Woman [Russia]

I genuinely don’t understand how, Russia being the way it is, this pro-LGBT Tajik refugee utter goddess managed to catapult her modern feminist anthem to winning the Russian national competition. Maybe after charming everyone with internet darlings / rave trolls Little Big last year, Russia decided a conventional Eurovision act was for squares? Or maybe Manizha is just that good? Honestly probably a bit of both. This song is a tour de force. If you’re like me you might need multiple listens to be ready for it, because it exists somewhere outside of conventional genre expectations, but I promsie it’s worth it. If it wouldn’t be insulting to Manizha I would suggest it comes from an alternate universe where electronic music is more freeform and you could combine Russian girl-rap with a sick synth guitar (sitar??) drop without it being weird. I feel I need to mention again how good that drop is. It’s not a dubstep-type drop, but when that first beat kicks in you feel the energy, and it makes the subsequent slowdown for the lyrical belts (”Борются, борются Все по кругу борются, да не молятся”) all the more impactful. That her message reduced so many Russian viewers (and a fucking cultural committeeperson) to pearl-clutching only proves how much it’s needed. People hate to see an immigrant woman win. But, have you seen her? She’s fierce and she cannot be shut up <3

4) 10 Years - Daði og Gagnamagnið [Iceland]

If you follow my tumblr you’ve probably seen me reblog stuff about Daði Freyr, because I think he’s delightful and I love everything he does. In the wake of Hatari’s BDSM-with-a-message shaking the world in 2019, Iceland swung in the complete opposite direction in the best possible way by introducing us to Daði Freyr, potentially one of the most wholesome musicians of all time, and his high-school-found-family-turned-band-Gagnamagnið. Their 2020 song Think About things was written as a sort of letter of hope and acceptance to Freyr’s young daughter who’s too young to form opinions. It’s utterly charming and probably would have (deservedly) won last year’s Eurovision if the pandemic hadn’t caused it to be cancelled. 10 Years, in turn, is a love letter to Freyr’s wife, with whom he’s been married a decade. Freyr’s style is both unusual and distinctive: smooth and simple yet irrestibly catchy vocals, funky brass fills, and the gorgeous experimental synths of a self-trained internet hobbyist. His attachment to his old-school 8bit aesthetic makes him not just endearing to my own nerdy biases, but refreshing to a generation of Eurovision viewers tired of the overproduced and inauthentic bombastic power ballads of yesteryear. Freyr is clearly the musical genius of the group (as evidenced by his frequent covers, streams, and other fun experimental breadcrumbs he clearly releases just for the sheer fun of music) but I also love that he’s always surrounded by his buds. That one in the front is his wife :) You can tell they’re friends, you can tell they’re having such fun, and it’s a straight rush of serotonin to me and anyone else who goes buckwild for found family in fiction. I want to play video games with him. 🎵How does it keep getting better????👯‍♂️

3) Discoteque - The Roop [Lithuania]

The Roop’s Discoteque is the ultimate theme song for dancing by yourself in your room. That is it, I have condensed its essence into one sentence for you. It’s really not hard to get the appeal of that. Haven’t we all been trapped in our rooms for the past year? Don’t we all need to be told that “it is ok to dance alone”? I feel like The Roop made the accompanying dance simplistic for other viewers on purpose. Discoteque is for everyone. Discoteque is a sealed package of pure fun, and it’s addressed to everyone who has heard the chorus of this song. Even though everyone is isolated in their own home right now, we can do the dance ourselves, and it is ok to dance alone. Dance alone, dance alone, dance alone.... 🕺

2) SHUM - Go_A [Ukraine]

Songs like SHUM are the reason that Eurovision exists: a blend between Ukrainian folk (heralding the beginning of spring) and utterly banging hard techno. Where the fuck else would I find Ukrainian technofolk? And more importantly, where else would I find one that goes this hard? There’s a reason why in the past week I have seen videos of almost every Eurovision performer dancing to SHUM, and it’s because SHUM is a fucking banger. I’ve already posted that I think I played this song so much my neighbours are getting sick of it, and I’m trying to teach myself the Ukrainian lyrics. It’s not out of effort, really, it’s just because if you like EDM at all you will fall in love with this song and have it in your brain constantly, and next thing you know you’re learning Ukrainian folk tales about the metaphorical resonance of sowing hemp. It’s such a good song purely on a musical level that anything else it could offer is just extreneous, frankly. But we also have Kateryna Pavlenko’s god-tier cyberpunk queen aesthetic, Ihor’s brilliant flute-playing, and a genuinely very punk video of the band visiting Chernobyl to benefit from Go_A too. The band that never stops serving.

1) Dark Side - Blind Channel [Finland]

Ok, look, nobody is surprised to see me simp for the Finnish nu-metal band. But give me a few paragraphs to convince you that they (or at least this song) merit just a bit of simping. As a treat. From the perspective of Eurovision this song came pure out of left field: electronic pop and hard rock in a harmonious marriage the likes of which the music scene hasn’t seen in decades. Apparently they like to use the term “violent pop” to describe themselves. In many ways the feel like a Linkin Park revival, if maybe a bit more energetic: dark, emotionally vulnerable, and the kind of thing you would belt out in the shower on a bad day. It is also technically perfect. Considering the simplicity of the lyrics it’s easy to overlook all of the compositional details at play here, but from the vocal effects to every guitar riff to the drum solo in the bridge to the sheer energy of the performance, everything is both perfectly engineered to be musically effective yet authentically hard rock as fuck. These boys may have the aesthetic of someone who spends their days crawling out of dive bar dumpsters (affectionate) but they are extremely hardworking with their craft and I wasn’t surprised to see the release of their mini-documentary wherein it’s obvious they are working themselves ragged and should probably be getting more sleep. Not to forget, of course, the message of Dark Side. This song is a tribute to the outsider, to feeling lonely, to being emotionally stuck and needing release. It embodies catharsis. Every human out there (even though some may claim not to) know what it’s like to want to stick your middle finger up at everyone. And it’s that often-maligned part of you this band is channeling with this amazing rock song. I want Dark Side to win because I think, after 2020, what we as a society collectively need is to put our middle finger up, take a shot, throw it up and don’t stop.

Previous parts of my ESC 2021 song review: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

[hanramm156]

Rammstein Family Game: Get to know me! (Warning: a long ramble)

I’m honored to be tagged by @cherrisplace​ and @momoredcrow​. ^^ It’s been a pleasure to read other people’s Rammstein memories and opinions, so here comes mine as well. Writing is one of those rare things that keep me sane during this crazy season, so I apologize this being super long. More rambling is probably coming when everything’s cancelled and I have nothing else to do.

Rules: There are no rules. Tag whoever you want. Don’t tag yourself. Tag yourself. You don’t have to answer all the questions. Do what you please. Have fun.

Created by: @vapor-stein

1. I’m curious: when did you discover Rammstein?

2004 properly, but I might have heard Du hast or other popular songs even earlier.

2. Tell me your story. How did you discover them?

As said, it was 2004 and I was watching some random Finnish music show. Back in the days, I watched a lot of music videos from the tv and recorded my favorite ones to VHS. One evening Rammstein’s Amerika came from the show and I was like “??? What on earth is this??? Sounds interesting…”. I wasn’t into metal music back then (I mostly listened to indiepop and alternative rock), but for whatever reason, I got hooked instantly to this German band’s dark, eerie sound. It was refreshing to hear something else than English and the video was also thrilling.

Rammstein had intruded my mind already, but the final straw was when I saw the Mein Teil video. I liked both the song and the video A LOT - so much that I even felt kinda “dirty” for liking something this dark. A 14-year-old me was constantly asking from myself that: “am I even allowed to like this kind of stuff this much?”. The backstory for the song was creepy, but so mesmerizing – like I had been introduced to the darkest corners of human mind: yes, this kind of stuff happens, and we shouldn’t close our eyes from it. So next, the only thing I could do was to buy Reise, reise album, listen to it on loop and sketch my German notebook full of Rammstein lyrics. Here’s a proof:

I have so many stories about my relationship to Rammstein that I might have to write them all down now when there’s a lot of time.

3. Favourite song?

This topic would be worth a novel itself, but here are some of my favorites:

Asche zu Asche – So badass, gives me such an energy every time – plus, not to forget the burning microphones and SILVER REESH!

Bück dich – Yes, it’s a horrible story once again in this song, but I can’t help but to admit that the song is freaking catchy and in a weird way, hot. Also, there’s a funny backstory when I was in 9th grade and we almost performed this song in our official graduation party with my boyfriend and a bunch of our friends (maybe good that the idea was abandoned in the end…). We had a vague clue what the song was about, but we just thought it was funny – also, our German teacher dressed always in leather and loved Rammstein (she played us Bestrafe mich during one class and I’ll always remember the awkward atmosphere) so we were thinking to dedicate the song to her for as our goodbye. XDD Seriously, why I have been so weird for all my life…

Sehnsucht – In most of the pop songs, longing is described by tender words and soft lyrics, but not in Rammstein’s case. I’ve had this weird feeling of “longing” all my life that I can’t describe properly. It’s kind of an inner emptiness, only arts and music can help to deal with it when it hits. I think Sehnsucht describes so realistically what is longing about in reality: it’s this angry pressure in your heart which you want to get out of your chest but can’t. In the end, you just want to scream your lungs out.

Mein Herz brennt – Powerful song that always gives me goosebumps. I can’t even explain why. Maybe the fact that “tough” men being emotional is my soft spot and Rammstein hits that spot hard.

Links 2-3-4 – I have always been kind of a rebel and I feel like when everyone else is going to the “right” I have to go to the left, to the unknown. My heart is longing for adventure, for the paths the others are not going. I dunno, but this is such a powerful song for me. When I hear it, I always just want to jump around. In Tampere concert I went totally nuts when Links started as the second song, lol. From that moment I felt like I was back home with my boys.

Mein Teil – No need for further explanations anymore.

Los – The harmonica solo!!! The dropped c tuning and the acoustic sounds!! I love it.

Amour – My favorite R+ ballad. I confess that I listen to this and think about the lyrics when I’m in the mood for writing something painfully romantic.

Weit weg – There’s this painful longing once again that always resonates to me. I listened this to a lot after the “after blues” of Ratina concert.

Tattoo – A song that I didn’t care about so much at first, but for whatever reason, it’s almost my favorite from the new album nowadays. It’s catchy as hell and I like the “rattling” guitar riffs.

4. Least favourite song? Come on. I know you have one.

Feuer frei – Too much Vin Diesel vibes. I also get a picture of drunken, middle-aged Finnish guys on a R+ gig who don’t care about to band, but just want to have a party of their life and get drunk, far away from their wives. (No offense to anyone, but as music is almost like a religion to me, I can’t help but to have a bit of disrespect for kind of people who just “consume” music.)

Pussy – Both musically and lyrically, so bad, but I get the point the guys tried to give with this nonsense.

5. Favourite album? & 6. Least favourite album? aka. I ramble about all the albums.

Tough one… as the rules were vague, I decided to have a short opinion about each of the albums.

Herzeleid – Summary: a bunch of guys, born and raised in DDR, are tired of everything so they get together and play aggressive songs - you can almost smell the testosterone miles away while you are listening to this album. I have to admit that I love this album even though it’s not musically super creative. It’s just raw men with raw feelings – and I have to say, it works for me.

Sehnsucht – I was creeped out of the album art as a teenager, lol. But yeah, musically improved from the former one and there are some classic songs that make Rammstein as they are nowadays. I listen to this often when I’m driving.

Mutter – The album that they had the most struggles with if I have understood correctly. The pain can be heard through the songs and it’s so honest and raw. I lost my friend in 2004 tragically and this album was one of the things that kept me sane back then. Especially the beginning of the album (MHB, Links, Sonne) hits me hard in the guts.

Reise, reise – The album that started all this hype in me, so it has a special place in my heart. I also liked how they tried something different to their usual sounds in this one, like orchestral and acoustic songs.

Rosenrot – To be honest, this album has always left me a bit “cold”, so I cannot even make a real opinion of it. There are some good moments though, like Mann gegen Mann that really speaks to me.

Untitled: This has been on the loop since last August and I was honestly surprised how good the album was. I hadn’t listened to Rammstein for a while, but when I got this album to my hands after the concert, holy shit it hit me. I like hearing the path the guys have gone: their new music is much more mature than the first angry albums. Also, I love Till’s poetry in this one, like Was ich liebe and Weit weg.

I think I answered the question #7 already, so I’ll skip to #8.

8. Unpopular opinion about a member? A scandal? Anything?

Even though I appreciate Till as an artist and a poet, I don’t find his appearance attractive. You can throw rotten tomatoes at me now, but this is just my opinion, no means to offend anyone. Maybe the reason is that my taste for men tends to go for androgynous side, so I am not drawn towards very masculine men.

I’m not interested in Lindemann project and I don’t like their music so much, but the tour looked entertaining though. I bet all the people who attended had a lot of fun.

How Richard pronounces English is extremely sexy to my ear, even though it clearly sounds like a German guy trying to sound American - still, it’s like honey to my ears. Stupid man who makes my knees weak with everything he does.

I hate to admit that I don’t like Ohne dich so much. I don’t know why. :(

9. Have you ever seen them live? Tell me what you felt.

Three times this far! Oh man, I could talk about for hours how the concerts have made me feel, but I try to be reasonable now.

Ruisrock, Turku, 2005 – My first time seeing them live – and going to a festival without any adult supervision, so it was a special experience overall – and they blew my mind. It was raining and thundering and we were completely soaked with my friends, but it was worth it!

Bonus for everyone who managed to read this far: teenage me waiting for Rammstein to start playing, looking so badass with my denim jacket and R+ logo drawn with eyeliner. :D

Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, 2012: We went to the show together with my boyfriend to celebrate Valentine’s day and holy shiiiiit it was awesome. Hands down one of the best evenings of my life. I was so hooked to Rammstein afterward that when we were at my bf’s family’s cottage, his brother had to tell me to stop blasting Herzeleid all the time in the kitchen. :’D

Ratina Stadium, Tampere, 2019: Aka. byebye my life, say hello to fics, listening to the band all over again, stupid memes and all the content this fandom creates. I fell in love again with Rammstein during this concert.

I have tickets for Düsseldorf and Tallinn, but now I can only wait and stress that will Corona ruin everything. In that case, I’ll weep alone and write fics about the tour 2020 that ended up never happening.

10. Do you play any instruments? If you do can you play any song by them?

Yeah, I play guitar and piano but nowadays I mostly sing. Rammstein songs are super easy to play with guitar and I recently learnt to play Tattoo and Sex. Have been practicing Engle on piano as well. Some songs I like to sing are Deutschland, Tattoo and Engel. The “speaking” parts are difficult though. ^^;

I’m not sure who I could tag to this who hasn’t done it already, but I’ll try my luck: @ah-its-too-much​ @soronya​ @einemelodie​ @xiaolianhuax​ @so-darya-darya​ @maximaembra​ @kvidasjuklingur​

[loganeaves733-blog]

(PDF) The Character Of Music Genres

Throughout the United States people are obsessed with all forms of music, however have you ever ever questioned which musical genres are most popular during which areas. Americana; the music in regards to the working class. The hopes and goals of the free American individuals. Driving rock that you could hear in bars and stadiums alike. Jazz, rock or classical are terms regularly used to distinguish between different genres" of music. However they is also described as completely different styles". In that sense, style" would denote the more basic and genre" the more specific characteristics of the music concerned. Be that as it might, it's useful to regard genre" as an outline of the social function of music.

As an instance you are in a shop that's enjoying music and you want to know the identify of the tune or who's singing it. Simply hold down the House button on your iOS machine. Inform Siri Shazam this" and bretedments777471.wikidot.com Siri will give you the track title and artist. Warning: you would possibly lose a whole hour to this… Each Noise at As soon as is a one-web page map of playable audio samples for more than 1500 musical genres, from deep tech house to Finnish metallic to easy jazz to geek people to klezmer to deep opera.

In 2017, more DJs took advantage of the one detail that makes their artwork kind truly unique: they'll play anything. Nina Kraviz, regardless of the absurd controversy it as soon as brought on her, continued colouring exterior the strains, be it with a hundred and fifty BPM techno or straight up drum & bass, on the principle stage at EXIT Competition or in room one at Unsound's Lodge Forum. Avalon Emerson, armed with wildly eclectic music on impeccably organized USB sticks, drifted seamlessly from straight four-4 into hip-hop and R&B. On the final morning of Sustain-Launch, PLO Man appeared intent on encompassing as a lot as possible of all the panorama of digital music in one set, with separate chapters devoted to jungle, garage, deep home, dub techno and ambient. Rock and pop bands use the identical quantity of instrumentation on stage, which is normally two guitars, one set of drums, and one bass guitar. One other similarity is the variety of musicians on stage which includes: vocals, guitar players, bass player, drum participant, and again vocals. The last similarity is the way both type bands perform. Both styles carry out with a robust stage presence, being very energetic on stage. Some examples of bands which might be pop bands and are confused as rock bands are: ‘N Sync, Backstreet Boys, and Justin Bieber. Music in America is at the moment in an interesting place. The internet has made it easier than ever for artists to release their music for the world to hear, but on the same time it might probably feel like a smaller group of artists is capturing the highest of the charts. Still, with regards to touring exhibits and local scenes rock and nation musicians are serving to to carry followers together all throughout the country. While the charts is likely to be dominated by music that's streamed over telephones and computer systems the local concert venues are filled with people searching for that traditional combination of drums, a guitar, and a singer that can make them really feel something. Solo: This can be used anytime, ideally after a round or two of refrain and verse, to add just a little jam feel. Used loads in jazz and can really create cool sections in music. When you find yourself thinking of live performance Solo components are always unbelievable, even if it's not in your released monitor. we fell in love with this music, and it's not one thing you typically grow out of, so long as the music evolves with you. and as long as there is a demand, there will likely be like minded folks supplying.

Eminem!? Eminem is amazing. I like to recommend looking into his music. My favourite genres are Various, Grunge, and Rock. Eminem has meaningful music. I am okay with you not liking him, but categorizing him with the others talked about? No. Just. No. Before John Lennon and http://www.audio-transcoder.com Paul McCartney's songwriting partnership turned the dominant drive of ‘60s fashionable music, there was Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, who were a hit-making duo in rock & roll's earliest days. Elvis made their song Hound Dog"—recorded quite a few times by numerous artists as early as 1953—famous in 1956, and when Presley's new film 'Jailhouse Rock' got here out the next year, they had a monitor ready just for him.

Music based upon a rhythm style, which is characterized by regular chops on the backbeat, performed by a rhythm guitarist. Reggae is an African-Caribbean style of music developed on the island of Jamaica and carefully linked to the faith of Rastafarianism (though not universally popular amongst its members). Some school students discover that one of the best music to study by is so-called put up-rock music. It's a numerous genre that includes many bands that focus totally on enjoying instrumental music with none vocals. Nevertheless, some bands do embrace restricted vocals with hard-to-discern lyrics. In consequence, their songs typically present perfect background music for learning since they do not draw quite a lot of consideration to themselves.The effect of various musical styles on serum cortisol levels, blood stress, and heart fee is presently unknown. Yes, we have mentioned this earlier than- however ya'll do not listen so we are going to say it again. What you are calling EDM falls below the umbrella term of electronic dance music - but it surely's not EDM. The rationale why, is that there is no EDM subgenre. Wait, you imply EDM isn't a subgenre of EDM? STUNNING. music a sort of contemporary electronic music that developed in the Nineteen Eighties, changing disco as the most well-liked form of dance music. It combines deep bass sounds with components that are sung or performed on a synthesizer.3. Tone and Intonation. Jazz musicians will be obsessive about their sound and their tone quality, however overall I'd say it's less a precedence than it's within the classical world. Sometimes jazz musicians additionally go for bigger fairly than higher on this regard, for the above-stated causes. this is nowhere close to a whole listing of musical genres… what about witch hop or s3rl… or comfortable hardcore… or future base. was just wanting to level that out… there is approach to much music for anyone but a big group of lots of to listing and research.

[luffyasksandanswers]

4 and 6 for the song meme c:

Three Songs Meme @minister-of-candy

6:Three of my top dancing songs 

//World is going nachos because me has changed the order of the reply *laughs* Ok, first of all, frankly spoken, I’m not a good dancer. I mean I can jam like “uu, nice song!” but going further from nodding the head or moving the feet slightly , my brain just doesn’t know how to multitask any complicated patterns xD but anyway, most of the songs below are from the time I was a university student and ran at these monthly parties just to get collectible patches xD

Keinutaan by Antti Tuisku (feat. VilleGalle)

Antti is without a doubt, the king of Finnish pop. He rose from the third place of a talent show to the stars. After singing soft songs for a while he released his wild side and he definitely knows how to take the spotlights at the stage. This song is one of the rare ones which choreography is somehow danceable even for a pipe brain like me xD Also both of the singers in this song participated to the finnish verson of  De beste zangers (van Nederland) [x] and their brotherhood there was beautiful. 

Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 (ft. Christina Aguilera)

My friend used to always say at the student parties “oi, it’s your jam Id!” whenever the DJ dropped this one and I have no idea how this ended up to be that way but I assume these kinda parties just happen xD Well anyway, this song is groovy so why not, although my moves are more like Jäger although I don’t even like that drink

Tarkenee by JVG

A funny memory related to this song is that at my friend’s wedding this was played few times and we created a “dance” to this song’s chorus and even newlyweds’ granny was so happy to jam with us *laughs*

ps. random fact: The one who sings the chorus is Teemu Brunila who was the lead singer of the band called The Crash who is known for example from a song called Lauren caught my eye [x]

4: Three songs that always make me cry/teary-eyed

There are lots of songs that can fit into this category, especially movie soundtracks but these were the first one that popped into mind :D

 Bronte by Gotye

Anyone who has lost a pet (own or someone else’s that was close to you) can relate to this. It’s melancholic but it’s beautiful at the same time and the video reminds me visually of Princess Mononoke.

No more drama by Mary J. Blige 

I remember this song from youth when MTV still played quality music instead of reality shows and heard and saw this again after a long long time, still remembered how much sadness it gave, especially now that as an adult the lyrics are much much more understandable. As someone who tends to overthink and worry with the will of saving people on this planet, it is kinda devastating to know that the “characters” on the music videos are describing things some people go through every day whereas some people are born under luckier stars. Well, as a conclusion, this song has a very beautiful melody and message It would require big actions so that things on humanity would find the balance. 

 Tuntematon potilas  by  Arttu Wiskari

Wiskari’s productions doesn’t belong in my music lists in general but this song hits right in the feels everytime when the radio plays it. The translated lyrics can be found here [x]. 

This song’s first verse is basically from someone’s perspective who has struggled with Alzheimer/Dementia (”This disease took my sanity although I tried to fight back”) and the second verse is from the rest of the family’s perspective (”Now I understand the request that made me angry earlier”). 

Reason why listening to this is a ticket to Feelsville is because I  strongly associate this song with one of my grandparents because the memory loss kept on eating him inside for years. Eventually, he started to wish that it would be his time already and of course, it first felt bad to hear but it was even sadder to see how someone dear to you turns slowly to vegetable without their own will. 

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 29/05/2021 (Eurovision, BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Galantis/David Guetta/Little Mix, Anne-Marie & Niall Horan)

What better way to celebrate the end of a week in which I have been consistently ill and surprisingly busy? Sixteen new arrivals, of course! Shoot me, but first, congratulate Olivia Rodrigo for her second #1 as “good 4 u” gets the album boost to overthrow “Body” this week. I can safely say I think it’ll be there for a while. Let’s just start REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

Sixteen new arrivals and therefore, kind of a bloodbath. Why are there sixteen new arrivals? We’ll get to it. Other than six new arrivals from last week, we have a couple other drop-outs, the notable of which being those that spent five or more weeks in the UK Top 75 – which I cover – or those that peaked in the top 40. Therefore, those include, rather ironically on Olivia Rodrigo’s album week, former #1 “drivers license” (only dropping out because of a silly UK chart rule that only allows three songs per lead artist on the chart), as well as “Don’t Play” by Anne-Marie, KSI and Digital Farm Animals, “Another Love” by Tom Odell, “Calling My Phone” by Lil Tjay and 6LACK, “Heartbreak Anniversary” by Giveon, “Tonight” by Ghost Killer Track and D-Block Europe featuring OBOY and “Miss the Rage” by Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti. I’m not complaining about most of this, sorry, Giveon.

We have no returning entries – thankfully – so instead we can just focus on notable falls and climbers. I guess we’ll start with notable losses, songs that dropped five or more spots from their placement last week, and of course we do have a few of them at least as a result of, say it with me, sixteen new arrivals. The first few of these are all harsh drops because of ACR, which happened to coincide with the rest of the chaos, including “Little Bit of Love” by Tom Grennan at #24, “BED” by Joel Corry, David Guetta and RAYE at #25, “Friday” (Dopamine Re-Edit) by Riton and Nightcrawlers featuring Musafa & Hypeman at #26, “Peaches” by Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon at #29 and “Let’s Go Home Together” by Ella Henderson and Tom Grennan at #33. We also have the losses for J. Cole staying surprisingly slim with “My Life” featuring 21 Savage and Morray at #27, “Pride is the Devil” featuring Lil Baby at #28 and “Amari” at #35. The rest are mostly just expected continuous fallers, like “Wellerman” by Nathan Evans and remixed by 220 KID and Billen Ted at #44, “Nice to Meet Ya” by Wes Nelson and Yxng Bane at #46, “Your Love (9PM)” by ATB, Topic and A7S at #50, “Marea (We’ve Lost Dancing)” by Fred again.. and the Blessed Madonna at #51, “Ferrari Horses” by D-Block Europe featuring RAYE at #53, “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals at #57, “Seeing Green” by Nicki Minaj, Drake and Lil Wayne at #58 off of the debut, “All You Ever Wanted” by Rag’n’Bone Man at #61, “Martin & Gina” by Polo G at #63, “Leave the Door Open” by Silk Sonic at #64, “My Head & My Heart” by Ava Max at #65, Travis Scott’s remix of HVME’s remix of Travis Scott’s “Goosebumps” at #67, “Addicted” by Jorja Smith at #68, “Beautiful Mistakes” by Maroon 5 and Megan Thee Stallion at #70, “Sunshine (The Light)” by Fat Joe, DJ Khaled and Amorphous at #73, “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi at #74 and finally “Believe Me” by Navos at #75. Phew.

Now what’s interesting is that we have nearly just as many gains, and they’re pretty unique, big surges in most cases, starting with “Cover Me in Sunshine” by P!nk and Willow Sage Heart at #52 thanks to the album boost that also prompted P!nk’s “All I Know So Far” to creep into the top 40 at #39, “Build a Bitch” by Bella Poarch at #32 off of the debut, “Starstruck” by Years & Years at #31 thanks to a bizarrely uncredited Kylie Minogue remix, “Little More Love” by AJ Tracey at #21, “Didn’t Know” by Tom Zanetti at #20, “Higher Power” by Coldplay at #19, “Black Hole” by Griff at #18, Majestic’s remix of Boney M.’s “Rasputin” at #16, “Good Without” by Mimi Webb soaring into the top 10 and hence becoming her first at #10, and Olivia Rodrigo getting her third thanks to the album boost as “deja vu” is at #4. I think that’s more than enough that needs to be said about music that was already on the chart last week, so welcome back to the part of this series where I get either increasingly frustrated or exhausted every time I have to list another song.

NEW ARRIVALS

#72 – “Life Goes On” – PS1 featuring Alex Hosking

Produced by PS1 and Mark Alston

So, what better way to start sixteen new arrivals? A generic piano-house club track, of course. PS1 is a New York DJ and for this track with a 90s-esque piano and synth melody, bassy drop and tight, bland percussion as well as oddly-mixed anonymous female vocals made to sound robotic regardless of genuine emotive performance, he’s enlisted Australian singer Alex Hosking as well as co-songwriting from hit-makers GOODBOYS, both of which make remarkably little difference to the fact that despite being a faux-inspirational club track, this song is incredibly joyless and flailing in as pathetic and one-note of a fashion as possible. Yes, that is one exhaustive sentence chugging on as long as possible, but there’s no better way to parallel this disposable garbage than that.

#71 – “What a Time” – Julia Michaels featuring Niall Horan

Produced by Ian Kirkpatrick and RKCB

Niall Horan coincidentally has two unrelated female-male duets debuting with him in this week. Thankfully, Julia Michaels only has the one track debuting, and for the love of God, I can’t even figure out why she has the one, as this is a track from a 2019 EP that flew massively under every radar except seemingly mine as whilst I have listened to this EP, I cannot remember for the life of me liking any of it besides “Anxiety”, which makes sense since Michaels is at best an uninteresting songwriter and at worst an insufferable vocal presence. Regardless, I’m going to assume the surge is due to TikTok or some kind of residual Niall Horan hype, whatever there is of that, and look at this song two years after the fact. Well, for what it’s worth, I appreciate the vaguely folkish guitar riff, even if it’s going to be drowned out immensely by Michaels’ approach to vocal takes, which is to put as little effort into that first take and then multi-track enough for it to sound listenable, particularly on that bizarrely unfitting chorus in which reminiscing on a wonderful, intimate time with your partner is demonstrated by rote piano chords, an awkward string swell and distant, reverb-drenched incoherency on the vocals. I guess I do like the switch in the final chorus as she changes “what a time” to “what a lie” to emphasise the bitterness of that break-up, but I don’t think that bitterness has to soak the entire master because this song is dripping in apathy that I just don’t have any time for personally in my pop power ballads. Wait, Niall Horan was on this song?

Eurovision Song Contest 2021

Whilst I may not do a special episode on this blog for the Eurovision Song Contest, I’d be lying if I didn’t confess to watching and enjoying it every year. This year’s, the first since 2019 for obvious reasons, was hosted in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and was won by an Italian rock band, with the United Kingdom infamously receiving zero points yet somehow more applause than Israel’s performance. Telling. It’s not all politics though, obviously: the reason songs win is not just the lighting, stage presence, vocal performance or grandiosity, but rather the songs themselves, or at least ostensibly so. The winner this year didn’t have the best of any of those factors in my opinion – no, not even the politics – so it’s clearly about a mixture of this success criteria. This year had some particularly good songs and the most consistency out of Eurovision in a while, naturally leading to quite a few new arrivals, also factored in by the charts being weak, so we essentially get an album bomb. Let’s pile up every new arrival related to Eurovision and talk somewhat more briefly about each song, starting with...

#66 – “Dark Side” – Blind Channel

Representing: FINLAND

The Finnish entry this year is one of two heavy rock entries, both of which charted, and this is a genre represented by about one country annually. There’s always a Gothic-influenced or industrial-esque band in the shortlist or national finals if not the semis and international final, but it doesn’t stop them from being some of the most interesting Eurovision contesters. It’s in English and came sixth with 301 points. Is it any good? Well, it’s far from bad with that pumping electronic groove before it’s crushed by metallic, distorted and rather ugly guitars that remind me of, if anything, scene-era nu metal and crunkcore, especially due to the clean and growling vocal dynamic. The song is still anthemic as all hell and if we ignore the dog barking and stuttering vocals, as well as the fact that these vocalists don’t have that much grit to their performance, we can appreciate the clamouring rock track this is, and I’d be lying if I said that final chorus isn’t pretty epic. Next!

#62 – “Voilá” – Barbara Pravi

Representing: FRANCE

The French entry this year is one my staunchly Italian nationalist online friend immediately had a distaste for, and as someone with British citizenship, I am also legally obliged to give this Worst of the Week. Sorry, Barbara but traditions are traditions. It’s in her native French and came second overall with 499 points. Is it any good? Well, like many French entries and French pop songs in general, it’s in a chanson style that adapts very well to the modern western art-pop sound, as Pravi’s cooing vocals are at full focus in the mix as they skate around more subtle pianos, wonderfully elegant strings and this wistful tone that may or may not make sense for the content. What? I’m not learning a word of French past what was grained into me during primary school. Overall, I think this is a pretty great song with a lot of that almost Bjork-esque swell especially in Pravi’s vocal performance that I think makes for a pretty excellent listen, especially by the time that abrupt finish hits. I’d probably prefer it being a bit less minimal and scattered so the hook hits harder but overall this is one of the best Eurovision entries this year. However, she is French so, next!

#59 – “SHUM” – Go_A

Representing: UKRAINE

The Ukrainian entry, always successful enough to get to the finals, was particularly hyped up prior due to its... eccentricity and ended up in fifth place with 364 points. It’s in their native Ukrainian so they might as well be garbling acid both verbally and as a written text, so I guess I have to judge it on the fact that this is pretty bonkers, with a charismatic and energetic vocal performance that yells over triumphant bassy horns perfectly blended with the 80s bass synths but not so much with those chirping flutes that, whilst cool on paper, kind of just give me a headache when faced against this thumping dance beat that remains decidedly strained for most of its runtime, and annoyingly so as it means the song never has that cathartic of a release, at least to me, but what drop it has ends up deconstructed and janky in something that might fit on PC Music but I’m not sure it does on Ukrainian Eurovision. This has something there, but I’m not into it. Sorry.

#47 – “Embers” – James Newman

REPRESENTING: United Kingdom

A catastrophic loss is British culture at Eurovision, and it’s not the first time in this century that we’ve gotten the infamous null points. James happens to be related to the more noteworthy John Newman, but that didn’t avoid a “nil points catastrophe”, coined by Jochan Embley, who reviewed the song for the Evening Standard and is now set in stone as an utter fool as his quote predicting that not to be the case this year is now forever preserved on the Wikipedia page for this very song. Nice one, Embley. We finished at twenty-sixth and Newman should honestly be glad this embarrassment is charting. The worst part of this whole ordeal is that the song’s actually fine and definitely representative of British pop music with its 90s-esque piano, bassy drop and anonymous vocal performance – if any of that sounds familiar – and I do love the plastic brass added here for the sake of bombast. It’s nothing interesting, and a tad too long considering how little it does with its musical premise, but it’s not worse than half of any given Eurovision. Maybe next year we submit a UK drill song, I’m sure that’ll get the people going. Tion Wayne, do you want to take a flight to Italy in 2022? Maybe bring Young Adz here while you’re at it; that could truly be a fascinatingly out of place Eurovision entry but at least one of these countries – probably Russia – would vote for it. As for now, at least this was funny to see absolutely bomb, and Graham Norton become increasingly hopeless for its success as the night went on.

#43 – “10 Years” – Daoi Freyr

REPRESENTING: Iceland

One part of this guy’s backing band tested positive for COVID-19 so they had to isolate and just show the dress rehearsal again but it didn’t stop them from charting and delivering a pretty damn unique entry, as Iceland is known for doing nowadays. It’s all in English and finished in fourth place with 378 points, and is it any good? Well, for one of the whitest concepts in television, this is the whitest song of this year’s entries, starting with some gentle violins before abruptly careening straight into this Daoi Freyr guy monotonously droning over bass-heavy nu-disco straight out of the 2000s with a level of irony balancing out whatever sincerity there is in the quasi-R&B breakdown, and, you know, it’s fun, at least? I do think the stage performance is remarkably more interesting than this funktronica mess in the studio, but this is catchy and inoffensive, two good ways to get people to care about your song in Eurovision, so it makes sense. Also,  that chiptune synth-solo borderline saves this song, even in all its brevity.

#17 – “ZITTI E BUONI” – Maneskin

REPRESENTING: Italy

So third place didn’t chart – sorry, Switzerland – but we do obviously get the winner charting as high as the top 20. The chart’s weak and the lead singer’s hot and probably does cocaine – it’s a recipe for success, especially when they probably have mafia connections and can threaten or buy their way into the charts. Unrealistic and possibly xenophobic stereotypes aside, this is the Italian entry and whilst I was personally gunning for Portugal, who came twelfth, I can see how this gathered 524 points, even if they had to censor the lyrics for the sake of the contest, not that I can tell because I do not know a lick of Italian. Sorry, Ignacio. Anyway, this song kicks ass and rather disrespectfully at that, as the lead singer breathily sings over garage rock-esque guitar licks and some pretty manic drumming that delivers not only a catchy hook but an undeniable groove, assisted by some slick rapping that comes out of the blue in the second verse and honestly fits the song – and the singer – a lot better than it has any right to. Congratulations, Italy – you’ll be paying out the ass for the next contest. Ciao!

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Well, that got a lot out of the way. Not all of it, though.

#60 – “Topshottas Freestyle” – Potter Payper

Produced by Chucks

Potter Payper is basically some guy from Barking, East London, and that’s all you need to sign a record deal with the same label that has Stormzy on payroll so that’s why he’s here. With that said, there’s something deeper here, or at least in the first few lines of this singular verse – without a chorus – in which Potter Payper narrates a street lifestyle, far too common for young working-class British men, retelling what is probably his truth about the consequences of ignoring motherly advices and finding yourself in a situation surrounded by gang violence, drug trafficking and all the paranoia that comes with it. Of course, he then brags about his wordplay, gunplay and fashion, and the rest of the verse just feels aimless with nothing exactly restraining the meandering checklist of clichés, and zilch returning it back to what I thought was going to be the point of the song. I guess this trap beat is okay but this same acoustic guitar and oddly-mastered bass is so common and uninteresting that I find it hard to care. I don’t have an issue with British music being Americanised as that’s just the result of musical evolution and the sharing of culture, but when the only way you can tell this isn’t from the States is the accent does make me question why this is charting amongst Dave and AJ Tracey instead of Lil Baby and Gunna.

#56 – “GANG GANG” – Polo G and Lil Wayne

Produced by Angelo Ferraro

Polo G, after just having the biggest hit of his career with the US #1 hit “RAPSTAR”, follows it up with a Lil Wayne collaboration and thanks to a busy and just misguided release date and timing, it makes a lot less noise than it should. It absolutely deserves that level of attention too, with its chopped-up borderline ambient melody that creates  a perfect foundation for this high-energy bass-heavy trap beat as well as Polo G delivering a lot more energy than on “RAPSTAR” (to the point where I think that’s the reason why his actually interesting songs don’t do as well). The chorus has a pretty great melodic switch-up by the end and whilst the flows are pretty rote, it’s hard to say they aren’t smoothly delivering all of the flexing and gunplay pretty typical of Polo G, and if anything that’s what it’s missing: an extra layer of depth, not that I care of course, because Lil Wayne’s on it. Wayne has been astonishingly great on features recently and this is one of his most impressive features to the point where I could barely write about it on first listen, with some of his slickest flow switches ever and whilst the content doesn’t get any more interesting than pouring his heart out for his lean, his pure charisma outshines anyone who could have been on this track and this means this ends up pretty excellent in terms of 2020s trap-rap. I don’t know when that Polo G album is coming but I hope it has more of this. Also, for the love of God, Wayne, keep this energy up for the next album. I’m begging you.

#42 – “SUN GOES DOWN” – Lil Nas X

Produced by Roy Lenzo, Omar Fedi and Take a Daytrip

As his follow up to “MONTERO”, we have a new, decidedly less sexual Lil Nas X hit debuting again surprisingly low on the chart considering the last single’s success, finally delivering in the musical department as for me, there’s a constant conflict between wanting to like Lil Nas as a character, performer and personality rather than actually enjoying any of the guy’s music. Last time I talked about Lil Nas, I did bring up the Pitchfork album review that questioned if he really liked music and whilst it’s funny, I do see how Lil Nas could have perhaps taken Pitchfork to heart as a result as he practically explains his love of popular music as a way for him to feel like he belonged in a community, which is especially meaningful for a man constantly left alienated because of his own mental health issues as a teenager and struggling to come to terms with his homosexuality, to the point of suicidal thoughts. I just love how the verse ends on a happy note where makes the leap of faith to come out and how now he’s proud of himself, he wants to make sure his fans are proud of him since they’re the people who got him there. For me, those last lines recontextualise the chorus as becoming less about contemplating death but more about ascending to a happier place and rejecting all your struggles that you’ve overcome. It helps that this is all sang pretty soulfully over an almost emo guitar melody with some basic flows but gorgeous multi-tracked vocal melodies accentuated by strings that elevate this song even higher, even if it seems underdeveloped. Sure, it doesn’t have that second verse, but does a victory lap need a re-over?

#38 – “Mask” – Dream

Produced by Perish Beats and Banrisk

Nope.

#22 – “Our Song” – Anne-Marie and Niall Horan

Produced by TMS

Okay, so this is a duet where two ex-lovers – only in the song – attempt to get over each other but end up hearing a song they held special to their relationship and all of the memories and pain comes flooding back. Without the youthful exuberance of Taylor Swift’s song of the same name, this duet should carry some bitterness and resentment but mostly capture a hesitant nostalgia... and despite being oddly Niall Horan-dominated, I guess it does that pretty effectively, or at least would if Niall wasn’t crushed by a misshapen trap beat that drowns this pathetically fluttering guitar loop into a mush that not even Anne-Marie can over-sell. Everything here is so utterly basic that it kind of screws itself over by trying for any energy or passion, and therefore kind of just doesn’t. I’m glad.

#9 – “Heartbreak Anthem” – Galantis, David Guetta and Little Mix

Produced by Bloodshy, Henrik Jonback, David Saint Fleur, Thom Bridges, David Guetta, Mike Hawkins, SONDR and Johnny Goldstein

It really speaks to the power of Little Mix that even with only three members and only one of them not expecting a child, they can bring Galantis back of all people. Although given that Galantis is already a duo, I fail to see why David Guetta needs to be here, and the same can go for any of the other seven credited producers of this song, which actually only includes one half of Galantis! I question if a song ever needs that many, despite the fact that in reality they probably contributed zilch to the song each, just enough to get a pay check. None of that should matter, however, if the song isn’t good and I’ll admit this is far from the worst that any of these guys have delivered, with a string melody and swell not unlike 2015-era house Galantis themselves made, and vocal deliveries from the girls that sound like they were located in vastly different locations from each other (to the point where anyone harmonising with Perrie sounds really awkward regardless of how many vocal manipulation effects you can put on them). For seven producers, that’s inexcusable, but as a song, it’s just a shallow post-break-up song that kind of feels like a dig towards Jesy if anything (although I hope it isn’t). I’m not a fan – I never was going to be – but it works for what it is as this colourful house jam, and not much else. This is Galantis’ first top 10 since 2016, by the way. Yeah, Little Mix are that big.

#7 – “traitor” – Olivia Rodrigo

Produced by Dan Nigro

It couldn’t have been “brutal”? Or “hope ur ok”? Okay, well, if we’re going to have the dullest track on the album bar one I guess we’ll go with the one that follows the “drivers license” formula to a T but without as much passion in the vocals, without as much interesting songwriting quirks and with a whole lot of rote fluff removed far from any indie-girl influence that undercuts what is essentially a teen-pop product. I’m not going to pretend I cannot get caught up in melodrama and embrace that, but this is a slog of a ballad with an almost sing-song, condescending vocal melody in that chorus, multi-tracked and studio-produced to rid her of any of that natural rasp she has when singing live. The song is about being annoyed by an ex finding someone new and the more toxic thoughts that come with being the ex-girlfriend in that situation, but with decidedly low stakes this time around that just make her more unlikeable than relatable. I’m sorry, I didn’t think that album was half-bad at all, but please don’t make this the post-release hit.

#3 – “Butter” – BTS

Produced by Ron Perry, Rob Grimaldi and Stephen Kirk

See, I value my personal information, and I don’t know about you but I’m as scared of these guys as I am Nicki Minaj stans, or Minecraft YouTuber stans, or serial killers, so whilst I doubt my platform is extensive enough to reach that level, I also know that these people are so online that they could easily find me somehow somewhere. With that said, just to clarify, when I say I wish I could “Nope” myself out of this one like I did with Dream because I have consistently little to say about this band, it’s not because I in any way dislike BTS or the band members within, or their record label that manages them and many other K-pop bands which I also do not dislike, or, because I’ve seen this happen, East Asians in general. Is that enough stalling to just say I don’t care about this basic pop fluff? When BTS are in Korean, their lyrics aren’t embarrassing and their production tends to be more experimental or at least catchier, more interesting. I like a fair few Korean BTS songs as a result but I just do not see the appeal in making another stiff, cleanly-produced 80s-esque funk-pop song with some chiptune synths that are admittedly kinda cool other than getting on US radio. There’s some interplay between the boys here but it just leads to a pretty homogenised track where none of them have enough personality to shine through, not even SUGA and RM on the tacked-on rap verse that so awkwardly ends. The synth solo sounds perfectly out of an era of dated 80s synths that I’m not sure anyone other than Bruno Mars actually had nostalgia for, and not even some pretty vocoder can save it. The writing is too clumsy, the production’s not equipped to handle it and there’s not much to speak of in terms of performance. I fear for my life when I say it but I think this is actually pretty bad.

Conclusion

Okay, so, we’re finally finished with this week and God, I’m glad, as there’s not that much quality here to speak of, although what is here is here in droves, so Best of the Week gladly goes to Polo G and Lil Wayne for “GANG GANG”, with “Sun Goes Down” by Lil Nas X following closely behind as an Honourable Mention. In terms of Worst of the Week, it doesn’t actually go to they who shall not or he who should not be named, instead going to the pathetic “Your Song” by Anne-Marie and Niall Horan, with a Dishonourable Mention going to BTS for “Butter”. It’s just “Dynamite” again but with considerably less reason to exist. Here’s this week’s top 10:

If I make it to next week, who knows what’s coming? This is a slower week – hopefully – and I don’t think black midi will chart, though it’d be comical, so I’ll hold off on predictions and just thank you for reading. See you next week!

[nanalikessurveys]

 — Get To Know Me Uncomfortably Well Tag (100 Questions)

1. What is your middle name?

Emilia

2. How old are you?

20

3. What is your birthday?

October 17th 1998

4. What is your zodiac sign?

Libra

5. What is your favorite color?

Turquoise

6. What’s your lucky number?

I don’t have one

7. Do you have any pets?

2 cats

8. Where are you from?

Finland

9. How tall are you?

About 160cm

10. What shoe size are you?

38

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Many, too many

12. What was your last dream about?

I don’t remember my dreams

13. What talents do you have?

I guess gymnastics and dance? i don’t know if i’m that good to be considered talented tho

14. Are you psychic in any way?

I am not

15. Favorite song?

Hold your breath by Ruelle at the moment

16. Favorite movie?

Too many to just pick one

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

Someone who makes me laugh and accepts me the way i am, someone who i can just chill and relax with

18. Do you want children?

Maybe

19. Do you want a church wedding?

Why not

20. Are you religious?

No

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

Yes 

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

Nope

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

One finnish singer, but she’s not that popular in here tho

24. Baths or showers?

I love baths but we don’t have a bathtub

25. What color socks are you wearing?

I am not wearing socks at the moment

26. Have you ever been famous?

No

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

No, i wouldn’t

28. What type of music do you like?

I like pop, something i can dance to, but i also like chill out music

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

Nope, and never will

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

Just one 

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

On my back, or on my side

32. How big is your house?

Our apartment is pretty small, we have just two bedrooms and a kitchen, and one bathroom

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

Yogurt with muesli, if i’m feeling fancy, then yogurt with berries or fruits

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

No

35. Have you ever tried archery?

Yes! i loved it

36. Favorite clean word?

I have no idea

37. Favorite swear word?

Fuck

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

I don’t know, about 30 hours?

39. Do you have any scars?

One on the corner of my leftt eye and one on my stomach after a mole got removed 

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

I wouldn’t know if they were secret, but i highly doubt it

41. Are you a good liar?

I have no idea

42. Are you a good judge of character?

No i’m not

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

I can’t do any english accents

44. Do you have a strong accent?

When i speak english i sound weird, so yes

45. What is your favorite accent?

New Zealand

46. What is your personality type?

I’ve taken the test so many times but i always forget my results lol

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

My winter jacket

48. Can you curl your tongue?

Yes

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

Innie

50. Left or right handed?

Right handed

51. Are you scared of spiders?

Very scared, yes

52. Favorite food?

Sushi, or something with chicken

53. Favorite foreign food?

Japanese just cos of sushi

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

I’m really messy

55. Most used phrased?

I don’t know

56. Most used word?

^

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

About 45 minutes, i’m slow af

58. Do you have much of an ego?

No

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

Suck, i don’t trust people who bite their lollipop

60. Do you talk to yourself?

Yes when i’m alone

61. Do you sing to yourself?

^

62. Are you a good singer?

I am not

63. Biggest Fear?

Losing someone close to me

64. Are you a gossip?

Noo

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

The Truman show? what counts as dramatic

66. Do you like long or short hair?

I like long hair on me, short hair wouldn’t suit me, i’ve never had long hair tho

67. Can you name all 50 states of America

I can’t, maybe 40? i was actually pretty good in geography

68. Favorite school subject?

English, swdedish and finnish, lol

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

Introvert

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

No, i haven’t 

71. What makes you nervous?

Thinking about school 

72. Are you scared of the dark?

Yes, but not that much anymore

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Sometimes 

74. Are you ticklish?

Yes

75. Have you ever started a rumor?

Nope

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

Nope

77. Have you ever drank underage?

Yes

78. Have you ever done drugs?

No

79. Who was your first real crush?

One girl from my class in elementary school

80. How many piercings do you have?

8

81. Can you roll your Rs?“

Yes

82. How fast can you type?

Pretty fast, but i make a lot of typos too

83. How fast can you run?

Pretty fast aswell 

84. What color is your hair?

Blonde

85. What color is your eyes?

green-ish blue

86. What are you allergic to?

Mosquito bites, lol, and penicillin

87. Do you keep a journal?

Yes i do

88. What do your parents do?

My mom is a practical nurse and my dad is ict engineer

89. Do you like your age?

Yes, i just don’t want to get any older

90. What makes you angry?

Ignorant people, racists, sexists, just some people

91. Do you like your own name?

Yes

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

I haven’t

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

I don’t care, maybe both

94. What are you strengths?

I’m a good listener and i’m just nice to everyone, lol

95. What are your weaknesses?

I’m really lazy and boring

96. How did you get your name?

How did i get them? i don’t know

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

I highly doubt it

98. Do you have any scars?

Yes

99. Color of your bedspread?

White

100. Color of your room?

White and black mostly

[kristallioness]

I was tagged by @cassidy-alice. Yay! Thank you so much for tagging me, it's been a while since I last got to answer something like this. This will be fun. ^_^

🎀 - Are you named after someone? No, I'm actually named after something - the name of a brand of a specific type of product, but my mother changed the last letter.

🎀 - When was the last time you cried? Last night after watching one of my favourite Kataang AMVs, this one right here. The song, the lyrics and the scenes used in that video all blend together so well and it makes me really emotional.

🎀 - Do you like your handwriting? Yes, very much! I've always liked cursive because I think it's pretty. My handwriting has pretty much stayed the same since basic school. When taking quick notes on some random piece of paper or solving crosswords, I usually use block/capital letters and not cursive. I have many nice examples of my handwriting posted along with some sketches in the 'my sketch' tag (such as: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

🎀 - What is your favourite lunch meat? Umm, I don't think I have a favourite. When it comes to making sandwiches or cold dishes, then perhaps turkey or just regular ham/sausage?

🎀 - Do you have kids? No, but I've given it some thought already and I believe that I'd love to have at least one child in the future.

🎀 - If you were a different person, would you be friends with you? Probably not, since right now I consider myself to be very kind, humble, intelligent and rather confident with who I am (which has taken me a long time to accept). If I were different (mean, cocky and not worked hard to study as much as I could during school and university to become a well-educated person), I might not like me as much.

🎀 - Do you use sarcasm? Quite often every day, ever since I learned what it is and how to use it properly.

🎀 - Do you still have your tonsils? Nope! I had those removed when I was a very little girl, about 7+ years old. Whenever I became sick, I used to take a long time to recover from even the simplest colds and that happened pretty often during my childhood. The doctors thought it'd be better for me to have them removed. My voice changed a bit after the surgery and everybody (my parents and, later when I returned to school, my classmates) kept saying that I sounded different, but I never really noticed it (or was too young to understand the difference), so it was really funny to me.

🎀 - Would you bungee jump? I haven't so far and I don't think I will in the near future. I'd have to be reassured several times that everything is secure and there'd have to be some soft thing to land on down below in case anything happens.

🎀 - What's your favorite cereal? I've eaten so many throughout the years and they're all so good! I've been eating lots of Froot Loops and Lotte cereal lately (Lotte is an Estonian dog cartoon character), which tastes exactly the same as Chocapic, but I also love Nesquik, Coco Pops, Frosties, Cookie Crisp, Cini Minis and Cheerios. Did I miss any of my childhood favourites which are still sold in our shops?

🎀 - Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Every time.

🎀 - Do you think you're a strong person? Physically, strong enough to defend myself but not like I visit a gym daily. Mentally, stronger than I might seem because I've endured bullying throughout basic school and learned how to defend myself against such people.

🎀 - What's your favorite ice cream? Right now I'd have to say it's vanilla Jättis by Ingman, which is a Finnish ice cream company. *sends greetings to awesome neighbours*

🎀 - What's the first thing you notice about someone? Probably their face and, shortly after, their general appearance.

🎀 - What's your least favorite physical thing about yourself? I strive to be thinner (for a good reason, since I'm overweight). During the last 5 years I've managed to lose 55 pounds and I've never been as thin as I am right now in a long time (my mother said I was this thin back in 6th grade). I'm proud of that. I feel lighter and am confident that I'm healthier, too.

🎀 - What color trousers and shoes are you wearing right now? I'm not wearing any shoes since I'm indoors, but I'm wearing black jogging pants that have white stripes going down the sides.

🎀 - What are you listening to right now? Nothing, but I remember one of the last songs I listened to on YouTube was "Good Grief" by Bastille.

🎀 - If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Maybe pink? Because I'm optimistic, friendly, feel great love for all my friends and family. Or perhaps blue? Because I'm also realistic, intelligent, introverted.

🎀 - Favorite smell? Fresh air, freshly cut grass, the Mayday trees and common lilacs near my home.. some smells I like when it comes to nature. Our apartment (every apartment has a unique smell, believe me), nice soaps, washed laundry/clothes, when my mother is cooking something tasty. The smell of new books (my Estonian/literature teacher from secondary school told our class how she likes smelling new books and her habit sort of grew on me when I started ordering the Avatar comic trilogies, those Dark Horse books have a unique smell that I like).

🎀 - Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My mother.

🎀 - Favorite sport to watch? Formula 1, followed by football, athletics, skiing and everything else (especially those fields where Estonians are participating).

🎀 - Hair color? Blonde.

🎀 - Eye color? Greyish blue.

🎀 - Do you wear contacts? Luckily no, no glasses either.

🎀 - Favorite food? I try to vary my menu, so I can't choose anything specific. Have you heard of kama, Estonia's national food? It's so yummy, I love making it sweeter by adding more sugar to the kefir (which gives it a sour taste). You should definitely try a spoonful when you have the opportunity.

🎀 - Scary movies or comedy? I prefer comedies over scary movies, but I wouldn't mind watching a good scary movie sometimes.

🎀 - Last movie you watched? "Planes" on channel 3 last Saturday (which I enjoyed, but "Cars" is definitely closer to my heart).

🎀 - What color shirt are you wearing? A dark emerald green tank top.

🎀 - Summer or Winter? Why must you make me choose between two of my favourite seasons!? Nah, I love all of the seasons to be honest. Summer, because it's warm, you can wear lighter clothing, I enjoy eating strawberries, my birthday is near the end of July, Estonians celebrate Victory Day and St. John's Day in June as well as the day we restored our independence in August.

🎀 - Hugs or kisses? Hugs.

🎀 - Book you're currently reading? None, because I prefer reading (and writing) fanfiction nowadays. The last one I read though was "North and South: Part Three", the third part of the last Avatar trilogy. I'm waiting for my preordered copy of "Turf Wars: Part One" to arrive next month, so that'll be next.

🎀 - Who do you miss right now? My old classmates from secondary school and my coursemates from university. Our school is organizing a reunion in October, so I'll get to see my fellow alumni of our class then.

🎀 - What's on your mouse pad? The background is red, but there's a mouse holding a piece of cheese. The mouse has a wide smile with human teeth and it looks really funny. Like someone photoshopped a human's smile on the mouse's mouth.

🎀 - What's the last tv program you watched? "Bones".

🎀 - What is the best sound? This soundtrack, the entire Avatar series' (both ATLA and TLOK) soundtrack, the thrush nightingales singing at the beginning of spring, Estonia's national anthem (which has the same melody as Finland's), the soothing sound of a (slow) heartbeat.. it's impossible to bring out just one because there are so many and some of these totally depend on my mood.

🎀 - What's the furthest you've ever travelled? I've never left Estonian soil, at least not yet.

🎀 - Do you have a special talent? I solve sudokus pretty fast. My friends were surprised to discover that I draw using only my touchpad and/or my mouse.

🎀 - Where were you born? In a local hospital of the town that serves as the hub of the county.

Tagging: @chel-burr @eskalations @hailkuvira @jinoras-light @kataracy @mindatworkk @snotpup @thecaroliner (I hope I don't miss your posts and that you haven't already been tagged!)

[kinjaru]

Suffer my boi 1.-70. To the ask

thanks alot making me suffer you fuk :^D

1. A Song you’re ashamed of likingthis

2. Favourite lyrics

I’m not about to complain.That’s too much time and energy,too long a walk to try to turn back.

And i’m not the same.It’s plain enough to see,but some of us are living in the past.

3. Favourite band/artistI dont have any because my music taste is random but Coldplay been my favorite for long time

4. Top 5 Favourite songs at this momentSIAMES - Wolf, SIAMÉS - USED TO BE, OK Go - The Writing’s On the Wall, Grouplove - Ways To Go and Daughter - Numbers (god help me)

5. Latest song that made you smilePogo - Living Island or OK Go - I Won’t Let You Down (tho because of music video)

6. An overrated bandOne Direction and The Chainsmokers

7. An overrated songOneRepublic - Counting Stars (tho i like this but i heard it everywhere)

8. Latest song that made you crythis and this 

9. Artist/band that saved your life Coldplay, Syd Matters, The Killers, Hurts and Of Monsters and Men

10. If you could see any band/artist live, who would it beIdk but Coldplay  : ^ D

11. What song/album/band/artist always brings back memories for youColdplay, Vance Joy, this and whole LiS soundtrack still haunts me (i have way too many)

12. saddest song you knowis this sad enough?

13. Favourite song to sing in the showerNothing. I just listen vaporwave music.

14. If you played an instrument in grade school, what was itFlute a little but i liked to sing ALOT.

15. What song would you like to have your first dance to at your wedding idk but i let that somebody choose if i ever get married (likely never going to happen)

16. 5 Songs to have sex todont have any :>

17. One band you’d have get back together/bring back from the deadSwedish House Mafia

18. You’re forced to listen to only one album for the rest of your life, what album is itCarpenter Brut: Trilogy or Sparklehorse: It’s a Wonderful Life

19. A song that gets you through shitthis, this and this too

20. A song to shut everything outthis sometimes or this

21. A song that’s a joke between you and your friendsMMMHWATCHASAAAY

22. A song to jam out to at 4amBright Eyes - Lua

23. A song that punches you in the gut every single timeyou know what it is :^)

24. A song that calms you downColdplay Up&Up and this

25. A song that makes you feel aliveLisa Miskovsky - Still Alive, The Royal Concept - On Our Way and Amanda Palmer - In My Mind

26. If you could get any lyrics tattooed, which would you choose    The end, the end    Everyone will go away    In the end, the end    Everything will go

   or (because i like being still trash)

   We played hide and seek in waterfalls    We were younger, we were younger

27. What band/artist would you get your children addicted to at an early age Im not gonna get kids

28. Can you play any instruments, if so, whichI can’t :D

29. If you could be a member of any band for one show, who would it beNoboby

30. CDs or Vinyls CDs

31. 25 songs to play at your funeral

just play this then some meme songs then i can rest peacefully :D

32. What are some song titles that you loveTake a Walk, Best Friend and Be Just Fine

33. If your life ended today, what song would you choose to represent iti dont know does these represent my life??

34. Can you give me a 10 song playlist on ____

i dont have any?

35. A heart wrenching songFoals - Spanish Sahara (i still can’t listen it without crying and mourning)

36. A band/artist you’re proud ofI have way too many but i have to mentioned Koethe Koethe 

37. A song that has a lot of meaning to youthis

38. A song that reminds you of schoolKatri Ylander - Välitunnilla

39. A song not sung in your native languageFLIP FLAP

40. An instrumental songdoes soundtracks count?

41. A classical songi hope this counts

42. A song with no percussion:  )

43. Something you’ve heard performed liveJenni Vartiainen - Suru on kunniavieras and thiiis

44. Something you’d give ANYTHING to hear performed liveColdplay - Hymn For The Weekend

45. A song from a band/artist that’s from your town/city/state/province asdfhg

46. A song made suddenly precious because of a special someonei dont have any or i dont remember

47. A song made suddenly painful because of someone speciali wanna die.

48. A song that demands lip syncing and a makeshift microphone

dont have any?

49. A song from a band/artist you met/knowRetronymous

50. A song that you would rock at karaoke Vesala - Tequila or some finnish pops

51. A song you can’t help but dance toCapital Cities - Safe and Sound and this

52. A song that makes you want to dance on a table

this and this too

53. Your 10 song striper playlistdont have any  :’>

54. Favourite Disney song Why should i worry?, Colors of the Wind, I’m Still Here or Dig A Little Deeper

55. A song that starts with the first letter of your nameOf Monsters and Men - I Of The Storm

56. A song from an artist still alive a-ha - Take On Me

57. A song from an artist who’s dead ;_;

58. A song you love by an artist/band you hate One Direction - Story of My Life

59. A song you love with a colour in the titleFloas- Blue Blood

60. A song you love with a number in the titleAnarbor - 18

61. A song that reminds you of someone you would rather forget aboutKodaline - Talk and Kodaline - All I Want

62. A song that needs to be played LOUDTHIIS

63. A song that makes you think about lifeThe Paper Kites - Willow Tree March

64. 15 Songs that get suck in your head easily123456789101112131415

65. A song that you think everyone should listen to  :^D

66. A song that makes you want to fall in loveNicole Dollanganger - Sweet Girl and Hayley Kiyoko - Cliffs Edge

67. A song that makes you think about ‘him/her’Coldplay - The Scientist

68. A song that you remember from your childhoodASDFDF

69. A song that reminds you of you Kodaline - High Hopes

70. Okay what’s the real answer to number 1its still the same