#with an equally awesome music video

[victorluvsalice]

Heard the original "Rock Me Amadeus" on the radio recently and was reminded of this version, so here it is again! Do have to warn for flashing lights at the end, though -- it's not TOO much, but there is some definite strobing.

Have an electric string quartet arrangement of Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus”.

[craftywitchywoman]

Avril Lavigne - How You Remind Me (Official Audio)

[sjwallin]

I was reminded of this awesome music video and original song I put together a short while ago with some wonderful human beings. 🥰 It’s a part of a chamber opera I’m in the process of finishing. You can also stream the song everywhere.

The scene takes place in the United States circa 1903, at a time when women were just beginning to populate the social areas previously reserved for men. To guard against “mashers” who were simply afraid of seeing so many women outside the home, many women trusted their protection to their hatpins, a dangerous fashion accessory that was common in this time period.

Lyrics:

Lyrics:

Our numbers are what scares ‘em,

The sheer numbers of young women on the street.

Without a male escort, we’re just lambs for the slaughter,

...unwitting red meat.

They’re just not used to seeing women outside, away from home, In the workplace, in the factories,

Living our life, as we see fit, all on our own.

Mashers, beware!

You speak words of endearment that are making my skin crawl.

But on this small, crowded streetcar, I’m no helpless prey.

When your hand goes a-wand’ring,

Don’t need no man to rescue me.

Get too close and I’ll punish your sin,

Thanks to my trusty hatpin.

We are here and we’re here to stay!

In my mother’s generation,

Showing ankle was risqué.

Keep her in the home, out of sight and locked away.

Public sites for cultured men, private spaces for all women.

But when cities rise and jobs expand,

Why can’t we take the jobs you won’t?

You don’t like to see us, thriving on our own,

Earning our keep without deferring to a man.

So you take it out on us when you see us on the street.

Mashers, beware!

You speak words of obsession that are making my skin crawl.

But on this small, crowded streetcar, I’m no helpless prey.

When your hand goes a-wand’ring,

Don’t need no man to rescue me.

Get too close and I’ll punish your sin,

Thanks to my trusty hatpin.

We are here and we’re here to stay!

My hatpin is a symbol of evolving social norms.

You’d better get used to women joining men as equals.

Pursuing an education, Working for a living, Ruling our lives,

Crossing the street.

Get too close and I’ll punish your sin,

Thanks to my trusty hatpin.

We are here and we’re here to stay!

We are here and we’re here to stay!

Credits:

Words & Music by Sarah Wallin Huff. Recorded in So. CA 2022-23.

Claire Fedoruk (soprano), Vanessa Alexis Gomez (mezzo-soprano), Sarah Wallin Huff (Alto/Electric Violin), Michael Jung (piano), Shannon Canchola (flute), Linda Silva (clarinet), Anne Sherrill (cello).

[corruptedcaps]

7 Minutes in Heaven

Sarah adjusted her glasses and smoothed down her Star Wars t-shirt as she stood in front of Franklin’s house, clutching a book, a small gift for him. Her heart pounded in her chest, not just because it was Franklin’s 18th birthday, but because she had finally decided today was the day she would tell him how she felt. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Franklin's mom greeted her warmly and directed her to the basement, where she could already hear the familiar sounds of excited chatter and the hum of a video game console. Descending the stairs, Sarah spotted Franklin in the middle of a lively discussion about the latest Dungeons & Dragons campaign with their friends.

“Sarah! You made it!” Franklin called out, his face lighting up as he saw her. He wore his favorite Doctor Who shirt, and his messy brown hair fell over his thick framed glasses as usual.

“Happy birthday, Franklin.” Sarah said, handing him the gift bag with a shy smile. She could feel her cheeks redden as their hands briefly touched.

“Thanks! This is awesome.” He said, peeking into the bag and grinning.

Just as Sarah was about to ask Franklin if they could talk in private, the basement door swung open with a loud bang. Brett, Franklin’s older brother, swaggered down the stairs, his muscular frame filling the narrow space. Behind him trailed his girlfriend Kayla, her high-pitched bitchy laugh grating on everyone's nerves. Behind them was their posse of equally obnoxious friends.

“Hey, baby bro!” Brett called out, his voice dripping with mock affection.

Franklin’s face tightened with a mixture of fear and anger. “Brett, mom said you couldn’t crash my party!”

Brett ignored him and sauntered over to the stereo, swapping the geeky soundtrack for loud, thumping music. Kayla and her friends started raiding the snacks, making loud comments about the “kiddie” party.

Sarah's blood boiled as she watched Franklin’s party being hijacked. She couldn’t stand seeing him hurt like this. Summoning all her courage, she marched up to Brett. “Hey! You can’t just come in here and ruin everything!”

Brett raised an eyebrow, amused. Before he could respond, Kayla stepped in front of him, a condescending smile plastered on her face. ��Aww, look at you standing up for your little nerdy friend. How cute.” She said and pushed her onto the nearby sofa with a cackle.

Brett smirked, relishing the tension in the room. “Alright, we’ll leave. How about a little game?”

“And then you’ll leave?” Franklin asked.

“Scouts honor.” Brett said making a mock crossing of his heart. Franklin nodded.

“Ok we’re going to play a little game I like to call, 7 minutes in heaven.” Brett said with a deepening grin.

All the nerds in the room shifted uncomfortably, they knew what was involved in that game and the social awkwardness that came with it.

“But we don’t have any bottles to spin.” Franklin said matter of factly. Brett looked around the room and grabbed a long, somewhat phallic statue.

“This will do.” Brett said picking it up.

Franklin’s eyes widened in horror. “Brett, we can’t use that! That’s one of Mom and Dad’s fertility idols they got on vacation!”

“Cram it Franklin, it’s just a game. Now everyone, sit in a circle.” Brett snapped

The room fell silent as Brett’s friends began to sit down, their sneers making it clear they were enjoying the discomfort they caused. Sarah exchanged a worried glance with Franklin, but reluctantly, everyone followed suit and sat in a circle on the floor.

One of Brett’s friends, Greg, a tall guy with a smirk that matched Brett's, took the idol and spun it hard. The room watched with a mix of dread and anticipation as it slowed, finally pointing at Lydia, a shy girl from Franklin’s group who was known for her encyclopedic knowledge of all things Star Trek.

Brett laughed loudly, picked up the idol and handed it to Greg. “Alright, time for 7 minutes in heaven! Get in the closet, you two.”

Greg hesitated, clearly not thrilled about the idea, but under Brett’s watchful eye, he reluctantly stood up and walked over to Lydia. She blushed furiously but allowed herself to be led into the small closet nearby. The door closed behind them, and an awkward silence filled the basement.

The next seven minutes felt like an eternity. Brett's group exchanged snide remarks, while Franklin and his friends watched the closet door with a mixture of anxiety and curiosity.

Finally, the door creaked open, and the two emerged. Though it was subtle, Lydia looked different. Her glasses were gone, her hair was out of it's ponytail and from somewhere she had gotten gum and was chewing it obnoxiously. Sarah spied her nails and saw they were long and manicured. Did she have those earlier, she thought to herself.

Apart from her physical difference though she seemed to hold herself differently. Her head held higher, her poise more confident. She clung to Greg as though she were his girlfriend.

“Eh, dude me and my lady here are going to head out.” Greg said to Brett as her looked lustfully at Lydia and tossed the idol back to Brett who looked at them confused.

“Fine, leave. Whatever.” Brett said eventually shrugging his shoulders. Irritated by loosing two of the party but undeterred, he turned his gaze to the circle. “Alright, who’s next? You over there, spin.” He ordered, pointing at one of Franklin’s friends.

As the game continued, a strange pattern began to emerge. Each time the idol was spun, the pair that went into the closet emerged with a transformation that no one could quite explain. If a nerd spun and landed on one of Brett’s bully friends, the bully would come out transformed, more like the nerd who spun, and vice versa. And each time, the pair exited the closet infatuated with each other, holding hands, and promptly left the party together.

It was odd, surreal even, but no one thought there was anything at play other than some horny teens’ hormones getting the best of them. The tension in the room grew thicker with each round, and now only Brett, Kayla, Sarah, and Franklin remained.

“Well only four left. We could call it quits now, but let’s see where this goes.” Brett grinned as he took the idol and spun it.

The idol whirled around, everyone holding their breath as it slowed. When it finally stopped, it was pointing directly at Sarah.

Sarah’s heart skipped a beat. She glanced at Franklin, who looked as though he wanted to intervene, but Brett was already stepping forward, his sneer firmly in place.

“Looks like it’s you and me, nerd girl.” Brett said mockingly as he grabbed Sarah by the arm and led her to the closet.

“Don’t go falling in love with her.” Kayla said with a cackle after them.

Inside the cramped closet, Sarah and Brett stood on opposite sides, arms crossed and glaring at each other, with the idol standing between them against the wall on the floor. The tension was palpable, and for a moment, the only sound was their breathing.

Then, faintly at first, Sarah began to hear whispers in her head. “Brett is so manly, so handsome. Isn’t he better than that loser Franklin?” She shook her head, trying to ignore the foreign voice, but it grew louder and more insistent. Neither her or Brett had noticed the idol's eyes glowing.

“If Franklin really cared about you he’d be ripping that door open to get you but he’s not because he’s weak and pathetic. Brett on the other hand… that’s a real man.” The voice continued and she found her eyes betraying her as they slowly drifted over to Brett.

She drank in the sight of his strong jawline, his confident stance. The repulsion she once felt for him and his cruel ways started to melt away, replaced by an inexplicable attraction. She bit her lip hungrily, her body reacting before her mind could catch up.

Her body was starting to heat up as memories of seeing him mow the lawn topless ran through her head. The image of his glistening muscles making her panties suddenly wet. She tugged at her clothes in discomfort as if they were too tight.

She didn't yet realise but her tits had gone up two sizes already and her waist had shrunk. Her butt as well had swelled enough to give her whole body a new more pleasing silhouette. She hadn't yet noticed but Brett had.

He looked at her like he had never had before, his eyes noticing curves he had missed. Sarah was just the nerd next door but for some reason now he was seeing her in a completely different light.

"Did you get a haircut or something? Whatever it is you're looking great." He asked her with a mix of confusion and intrigue.

Sarah felt her his eyes on her, looking at her, noticing her. She liked it. “Mmmm he's complimenting you, that's more than Franklin ever does. Reward him.” The voice purred in her head.

"You tell me." She grinned as reached up, pulled her hair out of its ponytail, and let it cascade down her back in a teasing manner. Brett's eyes followed her every movement, almost entranced.

"No I don't think that's it. Maybe it's your glasses?" He said with a cheeky smile as he took a step towards her. Her heart pounded as he did.

"He likes you, but can you make him WANT you?" The voice in her head said darkly.

Sarah took off her glasses, tossing them aside carelessly. Her vision remained perfectly clear, as if her transformation had enhanced her senses and although she couldn't see them, her eyes had changed from her dull brown to icy blue.

"What glasses?" She said returning his cheeky smile to him, while taking a step closer herself. They now stood closer to one another than they ever had in their life.

"I know, it's got to be those nails." Brett said snapping his fingers and nodding towards her hands. Sarah looked down at her freshly manicured talons painted red. It didn't even dawn on her that they had been chipped and bitten only a few minutes ago.

She flexed her hand and looked at her nails with glee. They looked good but her mind couldn't help wonder how they would look wrapped around Brett's cock.

"Take him! You deserve him and it'll be so hawt stealing him from Kayla, won't it?" The voice purred as Sarah ran a hand up Brett's strong chest, her fingers lightly tracing the contours of his muscles.

While clearly turned on, Brett nevertheless cocked his eyebrow in curiosity. “What are you doing?”

Sarah smiled flirtatiously “Just admiring the view.” She replied, her voice sultry. Her eyes locked onto his, a mischievous glint in them as she continued to explore his chest with her hand.

"What's gotten into you?" Brett asked, his voice low and husky.

"Does it matter?" Sarah replied, her voice dripping with seduction. "I think we're both enjoying it, don't you?"

Brett lifted a hand to her face, cupping it tenderly sending a shiver down Sarah’s spine. Her body was red hot with desire for him but a part of her still resisted, urging her to leave. The part of her that still held a candle for Franklin. However just as she was building up enough strength to pull away, Brett extinguished that candle with a kiss.

As their mouths moved together and their tongues entwined the transformation in Sarah surged. Her chest swelled even more, filling out her shirt to the point where it strained against the fabric. Her skin took on a golden tan, becoming flawless and radiant.

Makeup appeared on her face, enhancing her natural beauty with perfectly applied eyeshadow, mascara, and lipstick. Her dull brown eyes became icy blue.

As Brett and Sasha continued their fervent kiss, a deeper transformation began to take hold. Sasha's mind started to shift, reshaping her thoughts and desires. The once fervent love for nerdy stuff like comics, video games, and sci-fi dissolved, replaced by an intense interest in makeup, jewelry, and fashionable clothes. The joy she once found in knowledge and creativity morphed into a fixation on beauty, status, and power.

Despite the heat of the moment, something in Sarah's mind was compelling her to open her eyes. When she did she finally saw out of the corner of her eye the idol. It's eyes glowing an ominous red. That's when she put two and two together.

The idol they had been using as a makeshift bottle was somehow turning the spinner’s target into the spinner’s perfect partner. She knew if she didn’t stop it soon she’d be forever changed, she'd no longer be the Sarah everyone knew. But she didn’t want to stop it now, she wanted more!

Her previous kindness and empathy were overwritten by a growing desire to be bad, to assert her dominance and superiority over others. She relished the idea of being a bully, of wielding her newfound beauty and charisma to get what she wanted, regardless of who she hurt in the process. The spark of cruelty in her eyes intensified, and she pulled away from Brett, looking at him with a newfound arrogance.

"My God Sarah...you're..." Brett said, his eyes wide with amazement at the complete transformation before him.

"Ah ah, call me Sasha, babe." She interrupted, a playful smile on her lips.

Brett nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from her. "Sasha... you're incredible."

“You haven’t seen anything yet.” She said with a devilish smile as she sunk to her knees and undid his belt. Brett's cock sprang eagerly out and Sasha's mouth began to water at the sight of it.

Wasting no time she wrapped her pink lips around it and started to suck. Brett groaned immediately as she worked his dick like a pro. She couldn't believe how good it tasted, she was going to enjoy doing this more often.

As she sucked her body continued to change. Her hair darkened, her pussy tightened, and her body became incredibly fit and flexible. It dawned on her that the other guys and girls that had been in there before them had only kissed, their passions fuelling the idol only so much and in turn their transformation. Sasha was now the hottest girl in school but she wasn't about to stop there.

Running her tongue up his shaft and hungrily swallowing his precum, Sasha pushed Brett against the wall of the closet, kissing him deeply.

"Fuck me babe, fuck me hard with your big dick! Rip off my panties and fuck me." She moaned in his ear. Brett expertly undid her now baggy jeans which slumped to her ankles. He did as she had asked and ripped her underwear off her in one clean tear. She giggled at the sight of his strength.

Her giggles soon turned into passionate moans as his dick slid easily into her wet pussy. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as the idol's eyes bathed the two of them in red light.

Sasha’s tits grew even bigger, her lips plumped up and her skin became even softer and more tan. Even her clothes began to change. Her jeans seemed to turn to dust and blow away. Her nerdy shirt grew a little longer, darker, turning into a little black slutty dress. High expensive heels wrapped around her pedicured toes. She lifted herself onto Brett and wrapped her sleek legs around him.

“Mmmm yessss baby, fuck what little of the nerd I used to be out of me! Oh god, I’m going to cum!” Sasha whined as Brett pounded her pussy over and over until a wave of pleasure washed over both of them as they both climaxed.

“Oh my god Sasha you’re perfect.“ Brett managed to say as her lifted her gently back down onto her feet.

Sasha pressed herself against him, her body warm and inviting. "You’re not so bad yourself stud." She purred.

Sasha smirked, reveling in her new identity. She straightened her dress and admired her reflection in the mirror, her thoughts centered on her own beauty and power.

Sasha and Brett emerged from the closet, hand in hand, their faces glowing with a shared and inexplicable infatuation. Franklin and Kayla stared at the pair in stunned silence.

Kayla, her face twisting with anger and jealousy, stepped forward. “What the hell Brett? I thought all those sounds we heard was a joke!”

Sasha grinned triumphantly as she squeezed on Brett’s arm, ignoring the glare from Kayla. Kayla however grabbed Sasha and pulled her from her embrace.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing slut, but get your hands off my man!” Kayla snarled.

Sasha laughed, a cruel, mocking sound that echoed through the room. “Bitch, you’re yesterday’s trash.” With a swift, calculated move, she grabbed Kayla’s hair and yanked it hard, causing her to yelp in pain and fall to her knees.

Relishing her power, Sasha pointed a perfectly manicured finger at Franklin. “That’s your man now.” She declared with a smirk.

Kayla’s eyes filled with fury and confusion as she looked at Franklin, who seemed equally bewildered. Sasha turned her attention to Franklin, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of malice and amusement. “Spin the idol, Franklin.”

Brett tossed the idol to Franklin who put it on the ground and gave the idol a spin. As it slowed, Sasha maneuvered Kayla to make sure she was in its path.

Sasha’s grin widened. “Looks like it’s your turn, Kayla. Enjoy your seven minutes in heaven.” She said and pushed Kayla toward the closet, the look in her eyes daring her to protest.

Reluctantly, Kayla stepped into the closet with Franklin following suit, clutching the idol. Sasha slammed the door behind them and Brett propped a chair up to seal them in.

Brett pulled Sasha close, his hands resting on her waist. “You know, I never thought I’d see the day when little nerdy Sarah would turn into such a knockout bitch.” He said with a smirk.

Sasha chuckled, running her fingers through Brett’s hair. “And I never thought I’d find myself attracted to a mean guy like you, Brett. Funny how things change, huh?”

Brett leaned in, his lips brushing against her ear. “So, what’s the plan now babe? You going to take over the whole school?”

Sasha grinned, her eyes gleaming with ambition. “Oh, you bet. I’m going to be the queen bee, and no one’s going to stand in my way. Not Kayla, not anyone.”

Brett’s smirk widened. “I like the sound of that. And I’ll be right by your side, making sure no one forgets who’s in charge.”

Sasha leaned in for another kiss, savoring the power she felt in Brett’s arms. “Oh fuck you make me so wet you hawt bastard. Come on, lets go upstairs so you can fuck my brains out some more.” She grinned as she pulled him towards the stairs.

"What about those two?" Brett said half heartedly as he gestured a thumb at the closet.

"Leave them. The longer they are in there the more dorky Kayla will become. Taking her place as the queen bee will be a cake walk." Sasha smirked as she led Brett up and out of the basement.

[jokeroutsubs]

📝ENG Translation: Elle Men Special: A Fashion Odyssey with Kris Guštin

Article written by Ajda Gregorc, published in the November/December 2024 ELLE Slovenia Magazine. Print and digital versions of the magazine are available for purchase.

Scans and English translation by @kurooscoffee, review by @weolucbasu and a member of JokerOutSubs, proofread by IG GBoleyn123.

Full article translation, scans, and Spotify link are under the cut 👇

🎧 Article available in audio form on Spotify.

Elle Men Special: A Fashion Odyssey with Kris Guštin

With Kris Guštin, the music author and guitarist of Joker Out, we escaped to another side of music, and with that, to his other passion. We talked about style and everything connected to it. There will also be no shortage of this in the band's third album, titled 'Souvenir Pop', which is released on the 15th of November—one week after the issue of Elle you’re holding now. How perfectly synchronised we are!

PHOTOS URŠA PREMIK, STYLING ALENKA BIRK

At Ljubljana’s Moderna Café, on a fresh but lovely autumn Tuesday, when everyone’s still at work or in school, he arrives in a dark green jacket with a checkered pattern, awesome trousers, and her necklace. This time, the menu is not serving music and life, but matcha and "all things fashion." I’m in a regular trench coat and a white T-shirt, but luckily he doesn’t judge people by their style—instead, the style might be what piques his interest to converse, if it's good, of course. Besides, he's the one being interviewed. So, let’s begin! AJDA GREGORC

Interviewer: When did you first discover your personal style or the field of fashion? Was it in childhood or a bit later?

Kris: I roughly divide my life into two periods: before I first held a guitar, and after. When I really got into playing and ventured into music, my world opened up in all areas. Discovering fashion definitely falls into this second period, so the post-high school era. To be completely honest, my style in high school wasn’t something I’m particularly proud of today. (laughs) My girlfriend and I still have a photo of me wearing cargo pants and a black sweater, which is a proof she truly loves me, since that look was far from the best choice. (laughs)

When did it evolve from just a aesthetic impression to self-expression?

My first contact with fashion as a form of art or expression was during our band's first music video or fashion shoot, when I realised that this is also something you need to consider as a musician. At first, it seemed to me like a fairly peripheral element, but as our career developed and we met new people who gave us more insight into this, I began to understand its significance, what I could personally gain from it, and what we as a band could gain. This quickly developed into standard practice. I was increasingly exposed to fashion; we had more and more costume rehearsals and stylings, and two years ago, we even got our first proper stylist. And then I really committed to it—at around nineteen or twenty. Before that, my philosophy was always to "just wear whatever I first find in the closet," but then I shifted to "I'll wear things that would make me stand out from others". But this process was a long one.

So, your style development with the band inspired your personal growth too? I’ve always wondered if a young person is compelled to mature in every area when so many 'big things' happen all at once, as they did for you.

Maybe you do "grow old" in terms of personality sooner. Yes, at first I wanted, and still want, to primarily express the difference or uniqueness that I feel inside myself through music, but then I discovered that this goes very much hand in hand with fashion, so I started looking for my expression there as well. Today, it's almost an equally important part of my day.

Which fashion ideas or directions attract you? You’ve probably encountered a lot of inspiration during your travels on tour, right?

Definitely, but speaking purely origin-wise, I think I’m just like any other rock musician—we draw from the rock aesthetic of the ’60s and ’70s, which was also very "in" when my fashion awareness was born. Back then, around 2016 to 2018, here were a lot of flamboyant shirts on the music scene, with a slight hippie influence, which was the starting point. Only later did I start getting interested in slightly more modern clothes. When I was younger, I found myself in street fashion, that sort of Eminem-esque, hip-hop vibe, so very baggy clothes, which I then began to reject when I made the shift toward the ’60s and a slightly psychedelic aesthetic. It makes perfect sense, as humans tend to jump between extremes. When I had worked through that style, I started discovering the aesthetics of the ’80s and late ’90s, which was also reflected in music at the time. The best example that comes to mind is Dua Lipa’s previous album, which was in the style of the “new ’80s,” and the fashion matched that as well. Today, the early 2000s style has come back, but I haven’t fully decided whether I like it or not. As a musician, I was, of course, initially inspired by other music groups. Arctic Monkeys were a big inspiration for us both musically and visually, as was the whole British rock scene, including bands like The Kooks and Oasis. That entire aesthetic has always been strongly present with us. I doubt there’s a single inspiration board at our shoots that doesn’t include a photo of one of those bands or, for instance, the Beatles. And that aesthetic has always been close to my heart, too.

Rockers have always been associated with more masculine fashion elements, while in recent years, many male musicians have been experimenting with more feminine style elements (for example, Harry Styles and Lenny Kravitz). David Bowie was already the one who back then started to blur these fashion boundaries. You, too, wear such pieces and dare to stand out with them.

It happened quite naturally, as the stylists we worked with always chose slightly more “unmanly” clothing for me. This doesn’t necessarily mean women’s clothing, but rather somewhat more androgynous pieces, which I quickly embraced. I found them interesting and appealing because there’s a lot of fresh expression in that style that I don’t find in traditional men’s clothing, though I don’t want to overdo it. I also started experimenting with them personally, choosing many more varied colours. For a while, I was very fond of pink, and lately, I’ve been playing around with orange. On the cover of the album 'Demoni', I wore an orange-pink sweater.

Are we, as an audience here, already mature enough for a musician to present his feminine side through fashion? Does that require courage?

It does, there will always be people who won’t understand you. But for me, when it comes to the stage or a shoot, I’ll wear anything, and if I feel good in it, I don’t worry about what someone thinks. When I walk around "in civilian clothes," however, especially in Ljubljana, I am still aware if I’m dressed somewhat "untraditionally." There’s a certain boundary that I still need to break within myself. On stage, it’s easier because it’s not necessarily a hundred percent my expression; I’m playing a certain character, but personally, sometimes I do need some courage to show up in a particular style. However, the awareness of being different is stronger in Ljubljana than in other parts of the Western world. For example, I never felt that way in London, but still, our capital isn’t the worst when it comes to this.

Speaking of influences, what about other artistic or cultural movements?

I love art deco, the aesthetics of the '20s and '30s, though it doesn’t influence my daily life. In terms of photography, Damon Baker’s black-and-white style is beautiful. The vintage camera aesthetic has recently won me over, which will also be reflected in our band. Musically, over the past year, I’ve been listening to old Italian chansons and older French music, chansons as well, so I’m clearly feeling very retro this year. (smile)

Will the third album visually stand out from the previous ones then?

Yes, it will be very different. In the last two, we used a lot of colours, but there won’t be as many in this one.

Style can be an excellent tool for expressing an artist's authenticity, but with increasing success, the artist can also become its slave; the line is thin. Do you ever feel the pressure of having to express your fashion style in your private life as well?

No, I’ve never felt like my style owns me; it’s always been the opposite. I’ve always felt like I want more, like I want to dress even better than the day before, especially when it comes to my music career. Perhaps style only hangs over my head a bit when I have no inspiration and would rather wear sweatpants on an ordinary, relaxed day. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but then I do think about what would happen if I ended up somewhere in the middle of the city dressed like that.

It seems that Joker Out has developed a distinct style despite outside influences.

Yes, today we are already very complete in our style. Others have definitely had an influence on us, and I think it’s great that each of them tried to express themselves through us – it was interesting to experience how Joker Out was seen by Ponorelli, and how Andraž Drobnič or Karlo Kirri did. Of course, there is a difference in this, but it also aligns with the development of our music and aesthetics, so all these influences are very welcome.

How much of your personal fashion identity is therefore reflected in Joker Out?

Maybe, as someone who is not an external observer, I can't answer that, but I can say that I was always one of the first to give feedback to the stylist when we were creating our outfits, approving moodboards, and so on. So, I have definitely shaped our style in a direction that suits me. On certain "blind stylings," when we just dressed up, I quickly threw something on myself and then helped look for pieces for the other band members.

What about this photoshoot, where Alenka Birk took over the styling? Did you let her take the lead with her tactics, or did you collaborate on fashion choices? How did the communication go?

I didn’t know Alenka, who, by the way, is an excellent stylist, before. She was recommended by Urša (the photographer, ed.). Later, she confided in me that she had also worked with my father. Alenka focuses on elegant men's fashion, which is a departure from this more fluid fashion; and this suited me because I had never really been photographed in a men's suit, jacket, and tie. I wanted to try something new. I hadn’t seen the outfits before the day of the photoshoot when we met in her small studio in the morning. There were nine of them in total, and we only swapped out a piece or two in at most three of the looks.

This is more of an exception than a rule in fashion photoshoots. Does that mean you felt good in them?

Yes. In some more so, obviously, but in others, you have to trust the people you're working with. When I first look in the mirror, I always keep in mind that if something isn't optimal, it doesn't mean it won’t work well on camera. Even if the pants are too short or creased, it's still worth photographing them, because the photo can be edited later, whereas on stage, it's a different story, and everything has to already be perfect in the mirror. Working with Alenka was very simple; we clicked really well, and I will definitely work with her again.

How linked are your confidence and the way you feel on stage with your styling?

Very connected. As a musician, you want to enjoy yourself as much as possible on stage, and the people who come to listen to you and pay for the ticket deserve to see you at your best, which means you have to feel good in every aspect.

You recently attended Ljubljana Fashion Week. Which of the local fashion designers do you like to follow?

As far as the Slovenian fashion scene is concerned, I’m still quite the beginner, so I only knew the designers we had worked with. This was my first time visiting the Fashion Week.

Which shows did you watch?

On the first day, all of them. I didn’t like everything, but what stuck in my mind was Sarivalenci¹ with their somewhat "country club", Lana Del Rey vibe, and golf moment. I also really enjoyed the Belgrade Fashion Week, as there was an obvious Balkan touch, which I would love to see more of in Slovenia.

¹Sarivalenci is a Slovene high fashion brand created by fashion designer Sari Valenci.

You are a fan of vintage clothes and second-hand shops. What do these pieces have for you that new ones don't?

Honestly, I don’t know if there’s an objective explanation why. I started getting into it because it was popular, and at the same time, it gives you the feeling of getting a more unique piece. At the same time, you're shopping sustainably and not contributing to the production of unnecessary new textiles on Earth, which is great, but I would be lying if I said that’s my main motivation. What I like the most is the experience of "flipping" through clothes, where each piece is different, like a treasure hunt, compared to regular stores where you "flip" through the same clothes in different sizes.

Did your mum, who comes from the Netherlands where people have been aware of this for many years, introduce you to this concept?

I wouldn’t say we talked much about it at home, but I literally lived it. This is probably true for Slovenians in general – almost all the clothes I had as a child were from older peers, or I would take something from my dad, too. When I was done with wearing the clothes, my brother would wear them too. Every piece of clothing that came into our house was passed around, which is a great practice, and it’s still like that today. My sister "stole" half of my sweaters, my mum sometimes takes something too, Maks borrows jackets from my dad, which I’ve also done myself. It's like we all share one big closet! (laughs)

So you have influenced each other’s style in your family, or rather, you still do so? Who has otherwise had the most influence on your style in the past, and who does today?

I don’t remember ever looking at my parents as role models in this regard, as I didn’t really think about it back then, but they definitely influenced me, at least subconsciously. When I see how my mom dresses today, I see parallels with my own style, so she probably did influence me, perhaps more than my dad. As for street style, which I mentioned at the beginning, it might have been inherited from my uncle, my aunt’s husband from the Netherlands, who wore loose sweaters and listened to hip hop. My mum also had an uncle from the Indonesian side of the family, whom I never met, but he was very eccentric. Some of his clothes made their way to us over the years, and when I looked at these pieces in the closet, I was fascinated by how they reflected his personality. Asian fashion became a bit closer to me because of this, and I might even explore it someday.

The heart necklace you wear all the time, even today, is from your girlfriend. Do you ever dress your girlfriend or does she dress you?

My girlfriend is very fashion-oriented and has played a big role in my fashion development. She has always encouraged me when I tried new clothes that, at the time, seemed more radical to me. In this way, she partially shaped me. We also really enjoy shopping together. She dresses me more often than I dress her, which means I ask her for opinion. There have also been times when we’ve dressed the same when it comes to basic pieces; we’ve never really styled each other, but there will probably be time for that in the future.

Where do you like to go for vintage pieces in Ljubljana? Did you find any gems while on tour across Europe?

Textile House Vintage Shop is, in my opinion, by far the best in Ljubljana. The next one is Humana on Stritarjeva street, where I find something every now and then. Abroad, we’ve visited many vintage shops in Dublin, Paris, and London. In the latter, I always go to Brick Lane, which is a street with vintage shops in the east side of central London, where the more hipster area starts. The downside is that it quickly becomes quite an expensive experience.

What kind of information can you deduce about a person based on what they’re wearing? Who, in your opinion, is truly well-dressed?

A person’s style is never a reason not to engage in conversation with them, but it is a very strong stimulator of my interest in that person. If I think someone is really well-dressed, I automatically assume they might think similarly to me and be interested in the same artistic, musical, or visual directions, so I’m more eager to talk to them. However, I’ve often met people who didn’t seem interestingly dressed, and later realised they were amazing people, even if they dressed completely casually.

Your audience expresses itself very differently in terms of fashion, as your parents also mentioned in a recent interview for Elle. How do you as a band perceive this?

Yes, what they meant was that it is no longer the case that you have to be "appropriately" dressed for a rock concert. When we observe the audience from the stage, I would say that the most typical thing for our time is that we are no longer genre-bound. Not just musically, but also in terms of fashion. 30 or 40 years ago, you would see people at a rock concert in leather jackets, black shoes, and jeans, and that was it. Today, you have flamboyant outfits with blue and green hair in one corner, gothic style in another, and of course, people in simple t-shirts and pants somewhere in the middle. And no one feels like they don’t belong; everyone sings our songs, and that’s really nice.

- ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

❗Please do not repost without credit, and if you quote, please link back to this post!

[star-ar512]

on signalis characters' voices (signalis spoilers!)

after playing signalis more than once and putting aside the overwhelming amount of feelings this game and its story can and will make one feel, it is easier to notice the more subtle details; e.g. enemies behavior, meaning behind documents and objects, and in this case, the characters' voices.

paying attention to the various living npcs you can talk to, one detail that stands out is that every character has a different tone of voice (similar to undertale).

i like to believe those sounds which accompany the text could represent what each character could sound like; one would expect, since replikas are basically copies, for them to have all the same voice.

well, that's not exactly the case.

here is a video with text and dialogues from all the npcs, without music to hear the "dialogue" clearly. (not all the dialogue is included, only one dialogue per character is present; except for elster as she does not like to speak much).

ACHTUNG: MAJOR SIGNALIS SPOILERS!

the dialogues are in chronological order:

-wounded star unit (STAR-S23?? is her name in the game files) in the aula before classroom 4C in floor B1, S-23 Sierpinski (elster included even if she has two lines);

-Isa Itou in the library, floor B1, S-23 Sierpinski;

-Storch Sieben (STCR-S2307) in the rationing office, floor B2, S-23 Sierpinski;

-EULR-S2312 (probably named Dezember given her number designation; eules in game like to use months as names, using the last two numbers of their designation as a reference) in the nurse station, floor B3, S-23 Sierpinski;

-Adler (ADLR-S2301), presumably in the elevator lobby in floor B4, S-23 Sierpinski;

-Arar (ARAR-S2318) in the vent below the Storch dorm in floor B8, S-23 Sierpinski;

-KLBR-S2302 in the library, floor B8, S-23 Sierpinski;

-Beo (MNHR-S2301) in the third room in the mines where monofilament stockpiles can be found, in the rightmost corridor.

-Ariane Yeong (and LSTR-512, still has an unbelievable amount of max two sentences at once) in the personnel room. floor B2, Penrose-512 (memory);

-Falke (FKLR-S2301) in her own room, found in Home.

you may ask, what purpose does comparing the "voices" serve? probably none, still i wished to know if they were the same sounds for every character or not.

here's what i could find out:

the majority of replikas have a different voice, with some exceptions:

-STCR and LSTR units have the same voice;

-as do STAR and FKLR units;

-a bit more expected, the gestalts npcs we see in the game (Isa Itou and Ariane Yeong) have the same voice.

now, for the fun stuff: by analyzing the frequencies which stood out the most in each "beep" from every character's voice, i could rank them from high pitched to low pitched ones.

again, has no purpose, but the result is actually delightful (to me).

here is the ranking:

1. kolibri

2. mynah

3. eule

4. isa-ariane

5. storch-elster

6. star-falke

7. adler

8. arar

pretty surprising, huh? i'd have wagered for isa/ariane to be in second place, followed by eules; also was expecting for arars to be just after the eules, and have behind them stars, then storches, then adler.

no one is surprised kolibri have the highest voices lmao, but mynah having an almost equally high voice was slightly unexpected but not unwelcome.

what's truly surprising to me is falke having the same voice as stars. i'd have expected something different tbh (stars being the lowest rank of protektors, etc etc, they're silly and stupid and crass; all things falke is not supposed to be).

elster having a deeper voice compared to ariane is the cutest thing ever! (as that post about them says)

that's probably the instance where you can notice the most that there is in fact a difference in most voices.

the funniest thing ever to me is that storches apparently have a higher pitched voice compared to stars, also arars having the deepest voice out of all replika is truly awesome to me (definitely fits).

here are to what musical notes the frequencies corresponded to, in the same ranking as before (visual rendering on a piano keyboard for fun i guess):

kolibri (G6 B6 E7 A7)

mynah (F#6 A#6 D#7 G#7)

eule (F6 A6 D7 G#7)

isa-ariane (F6 G#6 C#7 G7)

storch-elster (E6 G#6 C7 F#7)

star-falke (D#6 G6 B6 F7)

adler (D6 F#6/G6 B6 E7)

(adler has five notes as two close frequencies were distinct from each other, compared to only one in the "feminine sounding" voices. i guess that's how they made him sound different, by overlaying two notes)

arar (C#6 F6 A#6 D#7)

that's it! thanks for coming to my ted talk about signalis voices and listening to me ramble about them :)

[cinis0]

Now what if I said all 3 of the last competitors represent toxic types of love taken to the extreme. Notably all types that are usually shown in music.

Let’s be for real here, all of these kids grew up in captivity or at the very least spend a majority of their life in it. What are the chances all of them have a healthy and good idea of love? Yeah. close to 0.

But let me explain what I mean with the above.

Let’s start with the most obvious in my opinion, Ivan. He represents the idea that love equals suffering. That any sacrifice is worth for being seen by the person one loves.

He shows that through one, his habits of stealing things from till and picking fights, and then of course in black sorrow where he literally says how much Till hurts him but he’s going to keep standing by his side. And of course his sacrifice in Cure. It was sad, yes, I cried too. But ultimately it was the manifestation of just that. Taken to the extreme.

Moving on, Luka.

He shows the type of toxic “love” or rather charm that is displayed in countless music videos. You know, the ones where the “love interest” plays hard to get but then ultimately gives in anyway. He represents the idea that love can be a given as long as the person is charming and attractive enough. That as long as they seem appealing, anyone would fall in love. Luka takes this way too far with both Hyuna and later Mizi.

Lastly, Till. Let me start this by saying I do believe he’s the most “redeemable” out of these 3, but I do believe there’s some flaws to be recognized here.

Now, Till represents something less common than the other 2 but present nonetheless. Till represents the inability to let go of things. To spend one’s entire life chasing after something they can’t catch. He shows the belief that it doesn’t matter how resistent/non interested the person you’re chasing after is, eventually you’ll get them. And obviously the outwardly destructive frustration at not getting that but I think that’s more Till’s personality and tendency for trouble in general but worth noting.

Because let’s be honest, Mizi doesn’t seem very interested. It’s clear she’s in love with sua.

Now, he hasn’t taken this too far, yet. And I doubt he will, but I wanted to mention him at least.

One last thing I want to point out, is how all 3 of them throw their ideas into a competition. Putting it out on display for the whole world ( or alien world idfk) to see and decide what’s better.

And who are the only ones who didn’t do that? Mizi and Sua. (Haha this is hidden a Mizisua appreciation post I tricked you)

Mizi and Sua didn’t compete, instead simply singing with each other. No sacrificing, no overly affectionate display, nothing. Just them singing with each other and sharing their love. They don’t need everyone to see. They have each other and they know they love each other and that’s enough. They have their love in between them and not infront of them.

TLDR: Ivan and Luka probably represent the most extreme types of toxic love, while Till shows signs of it and might get there but he isn’t yet and Mizi and Sua are fucking awesome for being seperate from all this.

[suddenly-stickmin]

I saw you answered my ask, and I totally will reblog it (planning a little something), but I just want to ask, I’ve been listening to the Creaks OST, and I love it! Do you have any more video game OST recommendations?

RARRRGHHGGHHG IM SO HAPPY TO HEAR YOURE LOVIN THE CREAKS OST!!!!! Seriously I think it's one of my top favorite OSTs to listen to whenever I need some music while I draw/write, or if I need inspiration for a very specific tone. It's just oogoughughugh soooo phenomenal. As for other recommendations!! I'll suggest some that immediately popped into my head when I first read this question! Night In The Woods - This game has a wonderful soundtrack, it's also another game where I'll put on the complete OST as background sound. But my two favorite songs out of them all have to be: Astral Alley & Astral Coal , specifically these two versions [which I've provided through the links!] where the creator mixed and matched different instrument tracks to see how they'd sound & what emotions they'd evoke. Honestly I think they accomplished their mission perfectly, I swear this is the only version of these songs I listen to and there's certain segments throughout them that just go insanely hard.

Super Paper Mario - Another fantastic game with an equally fantastic soundtrack. Honestly I need to give it another listen cause it's been a little while, but some of my favorites that came into my mind instantly were: The Ultimate Show, The Woah Zone [especially 1:30 and beyond, something about that repetitive 'falling' sound is just so perfect to me], and Memory [a very very beautiful mashup of multiple songs throughout the game]. THIS VERY SPECIFIC SONIC SONG --> Solaris Phase 2 ITS LITERALLY SO PERFECT FOR IMAGINING AN INTENSE FAST FIGHT SCENE BETWEEN TWO OR MORE CHARACTERSSSS RAAARRGHHGH NIGHTS JOURNEY OF DREAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!! PROBABLY ONE OF MY OTHER FAVORITE OST TO LISTEN TOOOOOOOOOO ESPECIALLY THE BOSS MUSIC Some of my personal favorites: Drifting Donbalon [something about those voices that come n go throughout this song is just sooooooo fantastic], Queen Bella's Ball [SUCH A BANGER SUCH A BANGER I could listen to this one for eons], and NiGHTS and Reala [Specifically from 1:25 to the very end, it brings such an ecstatic and freeing feeling it's just rhaogughurhgsdjgjfddg melts its so awesome]

Definitely recommend giving any of these bad boys a listen! Thanks so much for askin!!!

[jessequinnfirstofhername]

The Rules:

Every twenty-four hours there will be another round. After every round, the song in last place will be eliminated.

If there are multiple songs tying for last place, there will be a special elimination round. In these rounds, every song in last place will be eliminated, even if all the songs have tied equally.

When there are only two songs remaining, they will face off against one another in a week-long poll to determine the victor.

If the song that you consider the best isn’t listed here, hit the ‘I think you forgot ___’ option and reply to this post with the overlooked song. The song with the highest ‘write-in’ votes will be added to the next round. Welcome to the party, More Than Anything and Ready For This!

This is all for fun. Don’t take it too seriously ;)

...nobody talk to me. I'm so disappointed in you all. Goodbye ADDICT.

Note: This music video comes with a trigger warning, please heed it before watching.

ADDICT is such a banger, and it's one of my favorite Hazbin Hotel songs. It's pure electropop goodness with an awesome, if very dark, music video.

For any newer fans who are confused by it's history: it's a fan-made song by Silva Hound, sung by Angel Dust's pilot VA (Michael Kovach) and Kelly "Chi-Chi" Boyer, eventually animated by Vivziepop herself.

My only criticism is that because Michael Kovach is singing in-character, his singing sounds very nasal. But it sounds authentically like Angel, so it's not a huge criticism.

Round Four!

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 07/05/2024

Rooftop Bop

Season 4 Episode 1 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume AI

Ripped by Mitchell

Requested by InitialDDD! (Request Form)

Man, Scatman John...what an interesting relation he has to the internet, huh? For whatever reason back in the early days of YouTube, his titular hit song Scatman became really prevalent to use in amateur comedy videos, most notably with the "Super Mario 64 Bloopers!"-genre of video. These are actually videos that I have memory of watching - people just playing around in their childhood 3D game and making up their own little stories and sketches to the tune of silly music. But Scatman, and its less-viral sibling Scatman's World, are more than just nonsense, there's an emotion to John's two legendary songs, a distillation of raw nostalgia - one that the internet suddenly rediscovered back in 2019, and one that SiIvaGunner itself celebrated in bursts throughout the whole year, with Rooftop Bop being an absolute standout example.

Like with most memes, its hard to really trace down a logistical reason for their upbringing - check any KnowYourMeme page, and its bound to just say something along the lines of "on this date, this video/image was posted, and gained tons of attention". The Scatman-posting of 2019 was a pretty interesting case on top of that - the "AWESOME - HE FINALLY" memes that initiated it all were like a big mishmash of memes old and new. Part of the joke was in using nostalgic pieces from the old internet, the music and the "black border" template, over clips from Vine or elsewhere edited to have a positive, borderline innocent outcome, as if to intentionally turn the "Loud equals funny" format that so much of Vine fell under on its head. It's like three layers deep into irony, to where it loops around into finding sincere happiness funny - but it is genuinely still just a really good bit, the perfect kind of stupid comedy that's at once unexpected yet also brings its audience together over the nostalgia it evokes - nostalgia for two different eras of the internet, even! Despite being so core to the old internet days, Scatman wasn't very prominent on the Unregistered Hypercam 2 takeover of 2018, taking a backseat to other internet anthems like Never Gonna Give You Up in Never Gonna Give Up Mahjong and Dreamscape in How 2 Do Anything. But, as if it was fated to be, just a few months later in 2019 Scatman John would once again be made relevant - and the SiIva team was right on top of things.

A lot of Scatman John's prominence on SiIva in 2019 was, of course, on the legendary Not Funny Didn't Laugh day - on the 10th of September (whats 9 plus 10?), a series of shitposts intentionally drenched in as much irony as possible were featured on the channel, the depths of which I explored back in Sex - Steve Harvey. But beyond giving us all brain damage, the event was like a huge shot in the arm for Scatman Stocks - and just two weeks later, we would receive perhaps the best Scatman rip yet. The guy had been lurking as a meme on SiIva before, notably being in some Season 1 rips here and there - and so his return on Not Funny Didn't Laugh day felt like just one more piece of internet history to be nostalgic for. Early YouTube, Vine, and the very first months of SiIvaGunner - all rolled into two songs filled with such whimsy, yet also filled with pure emotion. Now: Does that ring a bell to anyone else?

I feel like Rooftop Bop is the definition of a "more than the sum of its parts" rip, if that makes any sense. It's an excellent melody swap/mashup no doubt, the kind that almost makes you wonder how it was even done with how authentic the violin's lead melody sounds, and the chorus returning to the original Rooftop Run: Act 1 theme with Scatman John's vocals hits oh-so-hard - its an amazingly paced out rip throughout, ping-ponging between melody swap, mashup and both at once throughout - but like I said, the rip is so much more than all of that. It feels almost like a universal experience (at least, for my generation) to have an attachment to Scatman John - but more than that, we all have an attachment to the very thing his two hits represented. Because his balance of silliness and genuine heartfelt emotion is the exact thing that made SiIvaGunner so special all the way back in Season 1, the kind of balance that has made us all smile, laugh, empathize and outright cry, althewhile never losing its core of pure whimsy. Be it The Paragoomba and the Wiggler, Aphex, Planet Wisp Mashup Medley, Turnabout Fishters, or indeed Rooftop Bop - SiIvaGunner, very much like Scatman John, has gotten so many emotions out of us, and made us all too attached to an entity others may consider naught but a silly gimmick.

It's a fantastic listen - but more than that, it's an incredible experience. The latter half of Season 4 Episode 1 of SiIvaGunner was perhaps the most exciting period to ever follow the channel during, and Rooftop Bop's unprecedented ability to unite us all through a raw dosage of nostalgic memories couldn't have come at a better time.

[hidingoutbackstage]

Okay I’m STILL procrastinating watching s15 bc I’m SCARED so here’s my extremely biased ratings/opinions on the episodes of s14 to help me procrastinate (episodes which are multiple parts of a single story will be condensed into one slot)

Room Zero: SO cute and good, I LOVED the animation style, it was simple and short but really well done with great colors, fun alien designs, and fluid animation, and I just like seeing the guys go on missions like that. It's a shame that the animated show never got picked up bc I would've adored seeing more of it. 10/10

From Stumbled Beginnings: Very cute and funny origin story for Simmons and Grif, and I love that they were p much always together since they enlisted lmao makes their dynamic rlly good and the humor actually got a couple laughs out of me. 8/10

Fifty Shades of Red: Sarge's humor never quite landed with me like is has for some people (my boyfriend lmao I literally have to pause episodes sometimes so he can stop laughing. Anyway) but it was a very humorous and in character origin for him as well. 5/10

Why They’re Here: Less interesting than the previous two, obviously just meant to fill in plot "holes" and to also show us the origins of the other characters. Also I am completely ignoring that one line from Tucker in the interview, just gonna chalk it up to the "edgy" humor it does not exist to me. 4/10

The Brick Gulch Chronicles: WONDERFUL stop motion, very fun and cute and entertaining, very wholesome and still in the vibe with what the show itself is. I appreciate the willingness to do stop motion for most of it. 10/10

Red Army Unit FH57’s Adventure: It was kinda interesting and kinda funny but I found myself kinda tuning it out cuz it just felt kinda whatever. The combo of the different animation styles was cool though and I thought the ship misunderstanding them was funny. 5/10

Locus and Felix: Okay I'm gonna be a black sheep for a second and say that I rlly don't care that much about Locus and Felix. I don't think Felix is a secretly deep sadboi whom I'm gonna spend an unnecessary amount of time thinking about, I don't think Locus as secretly good all along, and I don't care that much about their partnership and what they were like before Chorus. That being said, the animation here is absolutely gorgeous, this is probably my favorite animated story in the whole season, it looks awesome. The plot is nothing special but who cares like I said it's beautiful, 6/10

Fight the Good Fight!: VERY funny and well-executed propaganda video, short and sweet and nothing more to it. It does its job. 5/10

Meta vs. Carolina: Dawn of Awesome: Another one I really don't care for because literally everything leading UP to the fight between Meta and Carolina is a waste of time. Maybe some people really care about their weapons and stats, but I don't. And even then, you kinda know Carolina is gonna win the fight, the question is just how. 4/10

Grey vs. Gray: I don't know or care about the Game Grumps and the entire thing felt like a short gag that went on for way too long with a predictable ending. 2/10

Caboose's Guide to Making Friends: Again, ADORABLE art style and very cute having a story be told from Caboose's perspective. 7/10

Head Cannon: Kinda funny I guess. I wish we'd gotten it spread out more equally among the heads Omega jumped into. Ik he didn't spend equal time in there but who cares. Whatever, still funny. 5/10

Get Bent: I LAUGHED PROBABLY THE HARDEST AT THIS ONE AND THAT'S MOSTLY BC OF LESBIAN DONUT IT CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD AND IT WAS HILARIOUS (also hello, bisexual church?) 9/10

Red vs. Blue: The Musical: it was fine. it was creative. The dancing was well animated. Enjoyable. 5/10

Mr. Red vs. Mr. Blue: I haven't seen Reservoir Dogs but Kaikaina was in this which automatically boosts it to a 8/10 (I also like that they have movie nights it's cute)

RvB Throwdown: Fine but mostly forgettable. 3/10

The Triplets Story: REALLY interesting concept (y'all know I love the freelancers) that felt like it dragged on too long and only gave Ohio something to do. 4/10

Immersion: The Warthog Flip: I loved the costumes and the actual Warthog and it got a couple laughs out of me. 5/10

Red vs. Blue vs. Rooster Teeth: This was made for the fans/themselves. As someone who is neither, none of it was funny and I just kinda waited for it to be over. At least the animation of the armor irl looked rlly good

[unholyverse]

waterparks // rock sound awards 2021

(full text under the cut)

WATERPARKS

CLASS OF 2021 ARTIST OF THE YEAR

WORDS: JAMES WILSON-TAYLOR PHOTOS: JAWN ROCHA

Another album, another lap around the world…another year that very much felt like it belonged to Waterparks. Their exponential growth continued this year with a new label deal and their latest and absolutely greatest record.

They began 2021 in isolation putting the finishing touches to 'Greatest Hits', and end it off the back of a triumphant, huge North American tour, by way of big, big festival slots and the realisation of more ideas than even they might have thought possible.

Here, Awsten Knight looks back on the journey he and his bandmates Geoff Wigington and Otto Wood have been on over the past 12 months, and faces towards the future.

How has your 2021 been, Awsten? It seems like a lot of bands have understandably found this year to be way more productive than last…

"It's better, but it's been equally productive. In 2020 I still made over 100 songs. Still recorded all of 'Greatest Hits'—it was pretty much done by January—made the DVD, 'FANDOM: LIVE IN THE UK'… that took like, five or six months. Yeah, 2020 was still super productive and then obviously this year…album release, making a million more videos, playing shows. That's why I say it's equal."

Was there any transitional period for you, or were you just straight into work mode?

"It never stopped. And I'm not saying this is necessarily a good thing, but I just can't stop working. It's very hard for me to stop. Sometimes I actively try to just because, but I feel like I just operate better if I'm working on things. The thing is, at least if we are out doing shows, I'm not writing songs because of it. But last year I didn't have an excuse."

'Greatest Hits' was of course released this year. You've talked before about wanting to better yourself with each album, but what's interesting is it feels like the leaps between each record are now getting bigger too…

"I'm very about smooth transitions between stylistic stages. It feels very inorganic if somebody has screamo, alternative rock and then they try and go full pop. It's like you didn't do it naturally, so it feels disingenuous. I also think that I was more impatient being stuck at home. And on top of that, since I had more time to create and just make weird sounds and demo things out, I got to learn a lot and hit a lot of things that I wouldn't have necessarily found so soon. So I think it's a combination of those things. This gave a lot of time for me to find the most weird, left of centre, out of pocket stuff. I can't tell you how many Halloween sounds I went through making 'See You In The Future'. Sorry, 'See You In In The Future."

It's funny hearing you talk about acts earning that change in sound. It's like you are world-building but it's about the musical sounds rather than characters or stories…

"Yeah, and wanting to make as many different styles as you can. Because when it stops being fun or fresh or exciting, I don't wanna do it. Touring itself is very fun and rewarding, but it can also get monotonous. So if you are not pushing the boundaries everywhere you can, whether its sonically or show production or whatever… I mean, you see how easily I get distracted. I won't want to do it if it's not fun. You know who has got the best transition between that I think I've ever seen? Like, as far as musical styles go as a band? Bring Me The Horizon. I know where they started and watching them go to 'That's The Spirit' and even the stuff they are putting out right now… it changes style-wise so much. Not only is it consistent, but it changes and I think thats awesome. Not a lot of bands are willing to do that in case it feels like they are putting on somebody else's clothes. But they've done it in a very smooth way."

"WHEN IT STOPS BEING FUN OR FRESH OR EXCITING, I DON'T WANNA DO IT"

"I THINK BEING ALONE ALL THE TIME MADE ME WANT TO COLLABORATE MORE…"

Was there anything specific on 'FANDOM' that you wanted to improve on or push further this time around?

"I don't wanna compare songs especially because if you compare old things to new things, just because of how nostalgia works, it'll never compare until more time has gone by. But if I can sit down and look at 'Numb' vs 'Watch What Happens Next… They're both cool, they both have interesting pre-choruses in very different ways. One of them is more drawly, very minimal and then the other is a little hip-hoppy but more in a Beastie Boys kind of way. Then that outro is from hell, just crazy. I love the vocal patterns in it, in the b-section. And then I'll look at 'Watch What Happens Next' and compare those patterns. I look at things like that. What stuff got added in that's special? What are the special elements that aren't just guitar, bass, drums? I compare stuff like that a lot. Some songs are written where it's like, 'This one will have a pit'. Some songs it's like, 'This is for people who don't even fuck with us, but it has such a groove'. Or, 'This one is a dark 'Life Of Pablo'-type production that's dark and evil but expensive-sounding'. There's just certain things I wanted to accomplish and especially at that time, during recording, being stuck at home, I needed to do what's going to make me feel fulfilled right now."

You seem to be in a very collaborative mood too with the guests on the album and then things outside the album like the track you did with DE'WAYNE. Is that collaborative spirit something you are becoming more open to?

"Yes, definitely. I think being alone all the time made me want to collaborate more. And then also I feel like, and I hope this comes off okay… as good as I feel like I am at writing and production and finding creative ways to do things, I know that other people are so much better than me at other things. I don't wanna be the fucking best in the room at everything, because then why am I in this room? When I gave 'Crying Over It All' to Zeph, I didn't give very much instruction. I was like, 'Just add harmonies, do your thing, pretty freeform, just go for it'. Because when I listen to her stuff, she'd always send me demos or even on her Instagram stories she'll post the acapellas of stuff she is working on. There's like twenty layers of vocals and they are doing these random swells and all this cool shit and I'm just like, 'Woah, that's insane'. So when she sent back all of the vocals for that, it was the same kind of thing. And that's not something I would have thought of. It's no longer me sitting at this desk right here working on 'Double Dare' or 'Entertainment. I think you can only go so far alone and if you happen to have friends and people you like around you who are incredible at other things, I don't see why you wouldn't collab with them. At the end of the day, all I want is the best album in the world."

It felt like that spirit of collaboration had disappeared in the scene for a while but is now coming back around again, which is great because, like you say, everyone benefits from that…

"Yeah that's totally true. And at least for me, I felt like I had something to prove, especially early on. Because we did… we had a lot to prove. But I think, maybe in an ego sense, or I don't know what it was, but I took a lot of pride in it. We'd meet people in other bands who were bigger than us and they'd go, 'Is it true that you had no co-writes or people working on this or anything?' But in the grand scheme of things, we're not shit. In the world of music, most people don't even know we exist. But I feel like that thing - that weird alternative music mindset. Some, 'Us against the world, got to prove yourself' type of shit - I don't really have that anymore. And I'm glad, because it's not productive, it's not helpful, it's not gonna make you have a better album. I feel like alternative music, as stubborn as everybody is, I think they are probably seeing how good collabs are in hip-hop, or how Spotify works and are like, 'Oh shit, we should do that"." You've always talked about personal stuff within your lyrics but it feels like on 'Greatest Hits', you were a lot more open and direct.

What do you think has changed in your approach to lyrics?

"I think there's multiple reasons for it. I think most people just don't look that deep into stuff and I want them to know what I'm talking about. 'Entertainment… that whole fucking album is metaphors. The whole thing. And I think with stuff like 'Turbulent', that was in a way more cathartic. This isn't an objective truth or anything, this is just for me, but I think it's more cathartic to be blunt. And thats not to say metaphors or keeping things poetic isn't good. I want to still use metaphors, part of me wants to lean a little more on that. There's just something very cathartic about just saying it. 'LIKE IT'… just getting to talk shit for verses and I had even more verses written but I just wanted it to be like a punk song. A very grungy, punk kind of thing. It was just more of a release. People that are very into the band will look more deep into things but sometimes I just want someone who hears ten seconds on Tik Tok to know what the fuck I'm talking about. Lyrically, I didn't want to waste any time, I just wanted to get to it."

'Double Dare' celebrated its fifth anniversary this year. Is there anything about the creative process back then that still applies to how you work now?

"Honestly, it's the same. Sit down, laptop, guitar, keyboard, bass, mic. Shut everything out, start making shit. What is made has changed, but the process is the same."

Is there anything you wish you knew back then that you know now?

"All I would do if I could go back is just give them a mixing budget. Because I wouldn't change anything. I like some of the songs more than others but I still think they should all exist. We made the whole album for like, $10,000. Some people might hear that and think it's a lot, but it's not. For making an album, especially on a label, thats nothing. If we could get a Zakk Cervini mix, like a remix…"

When it came to the live show, this tour seems to match this new era in feel. How did you approach bringing 'Greatest Hits' to the stage?

"We went through a lot of different stages with the production. This was the first idea - I want it to make it look like thunder if we want to, make it really dark and moody, no lights around us just silhouettes and bits of lightning, because it's just a full cloud wall, so we can be in a storm like we are going to die or it can glow gold like we are in heaven, or like a sunset. Somebody actually asked me at a Q&A the other day about the symbolism of the doors onstage and I think being in my apartment so much for that long, I was always just looking at them. It felt right to bring the three doors hovering in the clouds. We had the red, yellow and blue bikes because that was my only escape during it. I could come up with crazy production all day, but you also have to take into consideration the rooms you are doing. Is it indoor, outdoor, 500 people, 2,000 people…You base these things on that. What can work in different ways. I think it's the most fitting and conceptually it's probably the best pairing we could have had visually with this album. But some day I think it would be so cool, when we get to do those fucking arena shows, to collab with someone who has done it a million times. The first time or two around, you don't understand the capabilities of what can and can't be done. You don't know what your limits are, so you just kind of be safe. So I'm excited to eventually start collabing with someone on that."

As things get bigger, it feels like the rooms are starting to match your ambition. Is there a pressure to scale things up?

"There's not really a pressure. I just don't think about it like that. The other night, and this hasn't happened in forever, but right before going on I had this weird moment where I felt like I'd re-entered my body. They were already playing 'Greatest Hits' and the first song is about to start and I felt like I'd re-entered. I glanced at the audience and thought, 'Oh god'. Fucking freaked out. Like, 'What the fuck am I doing?' I say that because the best thing you can do is not think. If you just show up and do it, cool shit gets done. If you think about it, if you analyse it, you psych yourself out."

"I NEEDED TO DO WHAT'S GOING TO MAKE ME FEEL FULFILLED RIGHT NOW"

"SOMETIMES I JUST WANT SOMEONE WHO HEARS TEN SECONDS ON TIKTOK TO KNOW WHAT THE FUCK I'M TALKING ABOUT"

It was also great to see you be joined again by Mikey Way during this tour…

"I know man, that was so cool. We're always talking about when we can do stuff because he loves playing shows and he fucks with Waterparks and stuff which is so crazy. I was in Nashville a month before the tour and we hung out and got dinner, and he's like, 'Dude, I wanna play one of these shows'. And he's gonna be in Nashville so I'm like, 'How about Nashville? And anything else you wanna do'. And he's like, 'Definitely Nashville and I'd love to do more'. I was like, 'You let me know what you wanna play and we'll switch up the set after'. That was so fun. He is one of the nicest fucking people in this world. He's in the biggest rock band in the world and does not act like it. He's so humble and so nice. He's just a good dude."

Looking forward, what do you think are the biggest things you learned in the process of making 'Greatest Hits"?

"I definitely don't wanna talk too much, especially as I don't know way too much, but I think that the one drawback that I've had with 'Greatest Hits'… it's not even a drawback with 'Greatest Hits', it's just the way in which it was consumed. I think that because it's so long, and not even long runtime wise… It's just that 17 tracks is intimidating to some, especially if you are not a diehard listener. I think some songs got overlooked, or under-appreciated. There are certain ones where I wonder how long it's gonna stay underrated. The production on 'See You In The Future' is fucking insane but its not even in the top seven of the most listened to. Or 'Magnetic'. Or 'Crying Over It All' is I think one of the best songs Waterparks has ever put out. They just get overlooked. 'American Graffiti', I kind of made that song as I was frustrated one night at how dogshit a lot of alt rock stuff that was coming out at the time was. I was just like, 'This is so uninspired, I'm just gonna make the way fucking cooler version of what these people are trying to do. I'm gonna do the perfect mix of Jimmy Eat World and Death Cab and all these people. And then just throw in some real wild production'. That outro is so fucking pretty. I feel like a lot of those get overlooked because theres so much. And there's a lot we can't put in the set because it's literally 17 songs. We're already playing for an hour and a half every night, which is a lot. We're not playing six of the songs because theres not even time. What I'm getting at is, the next album will probably be more…I don't wanna say concise, because it's not like 'Greatest Hits' isn't. It definitely goes on more tangents because that was the point. But it'll probably be shorter."

It certainly feels like alt.rock is the place where the album is king. In hip-hop you can release singles all the time, EPs, whatever you want. Is that something you've thought about in terms of release structure?

"I'm cool with singles. I don't really wanna do EPs anymore. Mainly because I'd rather just do four singles or release them as a pair. Because then if somebody hates one, they'll probably like the other. But I think that I would probably just do singles or pairings then drop another album."

What is on the to-do list for 2022?

"We are coming to Europe. We've got some more shows that we are gonna announce soon. Some places we've never been before. We've locked in support, haven't announced it yet but its gonna be very cool. We're playing that London show—insane. I wish I could say more. It's gonna be a good year."

Waterparks' latest album 'Greatest Hits' is out now via 300 Entertainment. They're due to tour the UK next summer.

[batmannotes]

The Fastest Man Alive finally gets his own live-action solo flick with several other superheroes from the DC Universe lending a helping hand. Ezra Miller portrays The Scarlet Speedster who uses his superpowers to travel back in time to change the events of the past, however worlds collide when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future.  

Oddly enough, with a number of superheroes making appearances, there is only one major super villain in this 2 hour and 24-minute affair, General Zod … a Superman villain. The Flash becomes trapped in a reality in which Zod has returned, threatening destruction, and there is no one to turn to. The Flash is left to coax a vastly different Batman (Michael Keaton) out of retirement to help rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian … albeit not the one he’s looking for, and to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows. 

The film starts out with an amazing sequence where the Ben Affleck Batman is in hot pursuit of criminals on his new and improved Batcyle and The Flash is left to rescue babies at a hospital. Watching this sequence of Affleck makes me realize how cool a solo movie with him might have been. Besides a large dose of action, the movie also relies on humor to carry the viewer through a nearly 2 and ½ hour film. Some of the jokes land, but unfortunately most of them don’t. Auspiciously though, the action is enjoyable enough to carry the bulk of this outing. 

After Barry changes the past and returns, he comes face to face with himself, or an 18-year-old version of himself. This eighteen-year-old version of Barry Allen is super too … super annoying. Present day Barry needs his other self to help him resolve the problems that he has created. Ahhh … time travel movies.  

Keaton’s portrayal is both nostalgic and fun. He delivers a couple of legendary lines from his original 1989 Bat-flick while his classic musical motif by Danny Elfman plays in the background during the major events. For a lot of Bat-fans this was a dream come true, although I was left amazed at how spry Batman was at 70-year-old.  

Sasha Calle’s Supergirl was lifeless and with no emotion, very reminiscent of Brie Larson’s unlikeable Captain Marvel. Another female character waisted was Kiersey Clemons’s Iris West; don’t expect any notable love story here. The main emotional draw of this film is the love between a boy and his mother. Barry goes to great lengths for the love of his mom, not realizing one minor adjustment to history has major ramifications throughout time. 

The Flash suffers from two major problems; horrendous special effects and the lack of any real villain. It’s hard to believe that with all the money spent on this flick, the computer animation is flat out cringeworthy in most places. The other thing that really bothers me is how DC has such awesome super villains that Warner Bros. has yet to tap into. The Flash is yet another example of that.  

With all that said, overall, I thought The Flash was still fun and much better than the last couple of DC movie releases (Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods). Even with the bad special effects, the CGI cameos were nice to see and added to the film’s enjoyment, however, like Barry Allen, this film is its own worst enemy. Instead of squaring up against a legendary villain from Flash’s large gallery of amazing rogues, the Scarlet Speedster is left to battle a timeline that he put into place with another, much more annoying, version of himself by his side.

MOVIE GRADE: C-

4K Reviews:

VIDEO QUALITY 📽️ : A

In my opinion, you won't get a better picture quality than here. The Native 4K (2160p) transfer looks fantastic even with the horrible CGI in place. Colors burst on your screen at home that are equal to, if not better than, that on the silver screen. 

AUDIO QUALITY 🔈 : A-

Although the dialogue is extremely low and hard to understand at times, the action sequences are bombastic and sound wonderful in this Dolby Atmos & True HD 7.1 sound conversion.

EXTRAS 📀 : A-

The extras (listed below) are great! Included with the digital copy of the film are a wealth of enjoyable featurettes. The only minor thing is Warner Bros. is no longer including a regular Blu-Ray copy of the film. 

“The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus” podcast – Six-part original scripted audio series 

featuring Max Greenfield as The Flash 

The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus Behind the Scenes 

Deleted Scenes 

Saving Supergirl - featurette 

The Bat Chase - featurette 

Battling Zod - featurette 

Fighting Dark Flash - featurette 

The Flash: The Saga of the Scarlett Speedster - featurette 

Making the Flash: Worlds Collide - featurette 

Let’s Get Nuts: Batman Returns, Again - featurette 

Supergirl: Last Daughter of Krypton - featurette 

Flashpoint: Introducing the Multiverse - featurette 

Available at Amazon.

[dullahandyke]

Also I'm gonna try making one liveblog post again ‼ heres case 2 part 2

Was prompted to go into nikolina's cabin but I paused for a sec and sighed and panned to the right and there sholmes was hanging off of a desk bug like. It took several moments for me to gather the strength to engage with him

Sidenote I hate the new names for the Russian characters... pavlova? For real? What were their og names I'm gonna Google it

Ok borchevic isnt that much better but it's not fuckin pavlova!! So

Also I love the susato sprite where shes turned to look at something in the background with u... all the sprites of characters turning towards things of interest r so nice it rlly makes the space feel real. Adds on to the killer cinematography in here

Also also I need to get more like sholmes. This is a bad thing but at least he is not masking (I also dont do a lot of masking but I could do less of it)

DHHWJWJAK HIS FALLING ANIMATIOM IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY HIS BOXING ANIMATION.... he is so comical and animated I love it. Need that to be me

Hes so real for that tho. Singing is so fun if u keep me from singing I'll kill u dead

Also I love his little cap flip animation. A bit stupid but that's fine

(I already have plans to add a sholmes sticker to my laptop once I finish this game)

Everyone has headaches 🤨 I personally blame a gas leak. Those r always happening on old shit arent they

Nikolina has dresses n shit in her wardrobe she didnt before... what did she unpack or something ? Maybe the cat did it. So helpful

Also the bookshelf being in the cabin is so cool the way it's set into the wall like that... dream house feature. Fuck a pool I want a book hole

I like the solution to the locked room being the ship tilting that's nice and fun

'Isnt there anyone who can help me out of this mess' ryuu calls. Deep breath. Pan left. Sholmes is hanging off the coat rack

Love sholmes w the tiara... u just know iris has So much fun doing dress up w him and he is equally as delighted

IRELEVANT SNAKE???

Btw the logic and reason spectacular continues to fuck

Asougi on the floor during the spectacular.... :(

Also poor nikolina she seems so scared

Love how susato knows Facts and Knowledge... RIP girlie you would have loved pub quizzes

Ryunosuke naruhodou objectum ally... 'well if the teapot is her friend that's fine, we're all different' ryuu I trust u w my life

LOVE IT WHEN RYUU DOES THE SPECTACULARS hes getting in the facking groove!!!!!

Also love how smooth all the sprites r... the mocap so awesome

We need to get ryuu and susato some kittens.... they would love Cute Kitten Video Compilation

Sidenote I love asougi's shin things. Cunt-tastic

I have to say this is rhe first aa game that I'm not watching a playthru of or cheesing with a walkthru and I'm having fun yippee!!!

I do wonder how long the case is gonna be tho

The percussion in all this music is so awesome

Wait hold on a sec. If ryuu was being framed then that means there was someone else who knew ryuu was stowing away

Sidenote but I've been wondering, what did ryuu tell his family about him going to London? Becauss it seems like literally only he and asougi knew if they weren't even letting susato in on it. Did he tell them he was going somewhere totally different? Did he just disappear? Is he now on the missing persons list? I mean I Guess he could be an orphan but theres that whole ryutarou thing and I'd imagine he would need at least one additional family member to pull that off

We need to get susato access to wikipedia I think she would love it

We also need to get sholmes access to a fidget cube

Ryuu? We can get him access to a nice hearty meal. He deserves it

Ryuu getting distracted by strogenov's beefy arms... 🤐🏳️‍🌈

Nikolina... she looks like a small sad kitten

Wahhhhhh asougiiiiii... so niceys to nikolina...

Whenverr they show asougi I get so sad.. . RIP gayboy I loved u

The final deduction of the wardrobe.... :(

:(

The music is fucking w me too...

I know she killed asougi but cant we let nikolina go.... everyone is being so hard on her she is 15

OH NOOOO SUSATO SAD.... :(((

SUSATO SMIIIIILE YAY :)

SUSATO SHOWING HER THROWS TO SHOLMES... :) friends

Case over.... AAAAAAA!!!! now I am hungry but bubbles is atop me so ig I'll just answer texts... if shes still not up by the time I'm done then we'll see about starting case 3 but doubtful

[dollarbin]

Shakey Sundays #5:

Neil Young and the Shocking Pinks' Everybody's Rockin'

In 1983 Neil Young went bonkers when David Geffen put his foot down... who am I kidding? You all already know this story.

Yes, Neil had left Reprise Records the year beforehand and would forever regret it; yes, he dealt with his young son's inability to speak due to Cerebral Palsy by getting deep into assistive technology; and yes, he then turned that obsession into the primitive prequel to OK Computer that is Trans; yes, that record bombed even though it's actually pretty awesome; and yes, Geffen then rejected Young's next effort, Old Ways 1, and demanded a rock and roll record; and yes, finally, yes, that's why Young complied in the most Shakey possible and made the silliest record of his whole wonderfully silly career: Everybody's Rockin'.

But you didn't visit me on this fine Sunday to read stuff you already knew or can read on Wikipedia. You already know Stephen Stills sucks. You came because anybody who is crazy enough to think that this video was gonna make it big on MTV in 83 is your idea of awesome:

I have thousands of questions about this video. Did they pay for a real helicopter? Is that where all the wind is coming from or did the desert just happen to be that windy that day? Or did Neil summon his giant Budokan wind machines to the desert? If so, are they still out there? Did Geffen pay for all this? Is he still pissed?

And what's the plot here exactly? I see that Neil gets ditched by the band, fails to ride his large scale toy train, truck and chopper to where they're at, runs to them instead, and then the real helicopter shows up... But then what? Who the hell is in the dude in the chopper and what was he planning to offer them on paper (is it Geffen? But he gave Neil a contract! And then he accepted this record and this silly band after rejecting the previous one! What the hell's happening?) before he changed his fake-mustachioed mind?

But while we are at it, who are the actors Neil hired to be the Shocking Pinks in this thing? Are any of them his actual musicians? If not, did they put this acting gig on their resume?

Finally, back to the plot: do they ever make it out of the desert? Or are they still out there, rockin' away, everyone living in a communal trailer beside the Salton Sea and singing their hearts out to bewildered seagulls?

I have no idea. But the whole thing is so silly that it's outta control awesome; it's Neil at his sloppy, wacky best. Boo-hoo-hoo. Boo-hoo-hoo.

So let's talk about the record.

To begin, everything about Everybody's Rockin' is a joke.

Its length is a joke. At 25 minutes total, the entire record is shorter than the single first song on Psychedelic Pill; when I saw Neil play with the Horse on the Weld Tour in 92 he seemingly spent an equal amount of time in between each song, admiring the band's collective feedback. I imagine he spends way longer each day talking to his newest robot.

And the album's songs are a joke. Look no further than the lyrics to the title track:

When Ronnie and Nancy do the bop on the lawn They're rockin' in the White House all night long. Everybody's rockin'...

Needless to say Ronnie and Nancy did not invite Young the White House in response. Rather, they, respectively, committed war crimes and put the moves on Mr. T.

And the Shocking Pinks are a joke. The great Ben Keith is in the group, along with Tim Drummond, one of the greatest bass players ever, and a host of other pros. But everyone plays the most simplified music of their career with great seriousness, careful not to ruin Neil's joke. Just take a listen to Kinda Fonda Wanda:

The whole thing makes Dylan's Christmas record sound like Mozart.

Even the "Neil Young" on this record is a joke. Young acknowledges that the whole thing was "like being in a movie". He'd just finished playing the goofiest, nerdiest possible version of himself, Lionel Switch, in his dumpster fire of a film Human Highway. And he clearly wasn't done playing a bumbling dullard:

Neil knew it all was a joke; after all, he was the one telling it. Years later he commented, "What am I? Stupid? Did people really think I put that out thinking it was the greatest fuckin' thing I'd ever recorded? Obviously I'm aware it's not."

And yet, he dedicated a full year and a half of his life to telling the joke over and over and over. He took the band and his character on tour, foisting it on audiences who'd paid to see Neil shred and play the hits; 17 years after Dylan fought the good fight at Royal Albert Hall and beyond, Neil fought a bizarre, self-created one, and it's impossible to tell to what extent he was giggling or furious.

After the two wonderful music videos flopped he even hired a big deal movie director, Hal Ashby, the guy behind Harold and Maude and Being There, to make an entire scripted film about it all.

Neil Young: with every new wacko phase, he's like a dog with a bone. A year after Everybody's Rockin' he put body and soul into becoming the bizarro version of Willie Nelson; soon after that he donned Dan Aykroyd glasses and created his own version of The Blues Brothers. As we speak he's probably writing a Space Opera or converting water into wine, all while cackling madly.

If Neil's life is a movie, then he's forever hijacking his own script; and the sillier it gets the more fun we all have. With Shakey, Everybody's Always Rockin'.

[egg-emperor]

Hello! I have one quick question. Who is your favorite dr eggman boss fight? Mine is Egg Emperor because of 3 reasons.

1 reason: he is the final boss of my favorite sonic game

2 reason: the music is just chef kiss

3 reason: i´ll show you what real evil is! I can feel the evilness in that line if it was real dr eggman and not metal sonic team sonic would not survive. Ok thats all goodbye have nice day.

Aaagghh it's hard to choose because he has so many great ones, especially when it comes to the designs! So I can't order them properly or possibly list all my favorites but I'll put some of the ones I think of and go back to the most for both design and actual gameplay here because not all of them have as great gameplay as they look but they're all cool.

My favorite that's actually controlled by the real deal Eggman has to be the Egg Dragoon. The way it has fire, ice, electric, drill, AND bullet attacks is super epic. The separation attack in Generations was pretty cool too. I like how the tail can throw things like when he'd try to swing it to through Sonic off him in Unleashed and throw rocks at him in Forces.

And it has a really awesome design, it's my favorite mech that wasn't modelled to look like himself 💜

My favorite version of the fight is the 360/PS3 Unleashed version of course, it's intense and I love how he gives it his all in throwing everything at Sonic that he's got, it still never fails to get me hyped. I also love how energetic crazy and angry Eggman sounds, he's beautifully threatening and it's my favorite Mike Pollock performance ever so 🥰

I'm still proud of my video of the fight in all three games with all S rank with no damage. You can tell I play them over and over a ton lol

The Egg Emperor is equally loved by me and that's why I have the name. It's metal as fuck, it's designed to look like him, and he made himself into the glorious emperor mech of his empire 💕💜💖💗

I'm just sad that he didn't get to use it himself (though I like to imagine he got to in Generations 3DS and seeing him use it in IDW was a delight). I love his lance and missile abilities and his super fast violent charge that used to make me jump. The music is hype and the way it changes to the repeated 3x loop of the guitar at the peak increases the intensity of the fight. All the teams would've been obliterated if it were actual Eggman in there for sure hehe

This is like looking into a mirror because we're both Eggman enjoyers, Heroes is both our favorite game, and my edit is your icon XD

Honorable mentions would be the Death Egg Robot and Nega Wisp Armor. They have simple gameplay but the Death Egg Robot is a classic with cool abilities to stomp on and shoot spiked arms at Sonic, and one of my favorite designs for being designed to look like himself. And the Nega Wisp Armor is always a blast to play with the speed, music, and the seconds you get to come face to face with Eggman hehe

The Egg Breaker is also actually really cool, I dig the different abilities it has in the different fights, like the mace he can jump and slam down on people and he runs and swings around, the laser beam eyes, and the bombs with his face on them are golden. And also the- okay I'm gonna stop otherwise I'll just be listing every single Eggman boss ever at this point because I love them all for their designs, gameplay or both wjhshksbgkshf

Thank you, hope you have a nice day/night too! ^^ And the Egg dollar bill is much appreciated XD