Golden Hour feels different and I think I know why...
This album feels a lot less cohesive than all others they've ever released. I'm by no means saying it's bad or you shouldn't enjoy it or support the comeback, but it's still something noteworthy.
They said they were really happy making this album, which is amazing and I'm glad they've been enjoying all the new opportunities they've been getting, but when I listen to most of these songs, I feel like we' we've been given a folder from the producer's computer with all the leftover/unfinished tracks, and I think I may know why that is.
First, I wanna say what I mean by the album being less cohesive: Ateez are big on concept albums. The songs tell a story, they're connected, both conceptiually and lyrically, even as we switch genres. Look to the Fever and World Series where you can track the themes even without knowing about their storyline.
Ateez are also famous for their cinematic songs - Inception, Answer, Guerrilla, Halazia - the instrumentals are layered, interwoven, it feels like you're on a journey as you listen to it. You start in one place and don't know where you're headed until you get there. They're full of unique instruments, random noises, hidden harmonies from Maddox and the vocal line. It's art.
And now move on to Blind, Work, Shaboom, and it's one beat in the back that switches up as we move along but there's nothing new to notice on repeat listens, nothing remarkable to pick out. Wooyoung summed it up as "easy listening" in their KStar Next Door interview. Lyrically, Work is also a lot more repetitive which is something Ateez historically stayed clear of because Mingi and Hongjoong especially are very invested in the writing process and want the songs to have meaning.
Proving my point, they mentioned during the Preview Live that Mingi and Hongjoong worked more on Empty Box and Siren, with Siren even being a contender for the title track and Empty Box being their collective favorite and, hey, look at that, those two are the only songs on the album which are a lot more complex on all fronts, a lot more similar to their usual approach to music.
Looking at the bigger picture, I absolutely don't think it was laziness which led to the slight drop in quality. I think KQ just has a pre-planned release schedule where everything is organized so they can squeeze in comeback promotions between tour schedules and, this time, they had to find a way to squeeze in Coachella, which is an opportunity you simply cannot turn down and they made a judgment call and decided to take preparation time away from the album.
Regardless of how Ateez felt about this, they worked their asses off, and while they're already in the US, they attend interviews, take extra classes, film the music video etc. and thus, weeks of album preparations are now spent on Coachella-related schedules. As a result, there ultimately just wasn't enough time to hole up in the studio as much as they normally would've which, as a performer, must be a whole lot more fun, but isn't so great when you're just a listener.
The Edenary team is still responsible for most of the songs, of course, but they're now also working for Xikers which is likely possible because Hongjoong now has years of experience under his belt and can compose full songs or add finishing touches himself whenever needed while also working on Xikers' music on occasion - we've seen him credited multiple times.
On top of that, they also used a live band at Coachella, meaning their songs had to be translated to acoustic which was most likely fully Edenary's doing and also took them away from preparing for this comeback.
These days, their albums aren't as pre-prepared anymore as they used to be a couple of years ago when we still got song teasers at the end of tracks several comebacks in advance. They've caught up by now, as we've been able to see in behind the scenes footage of Hongjoong in the studio and from his interview with Chankyun from Monsta X (I.M on the Beat) where he largely talked about working on The World - Ep Fin. which was clearly still fresh in his mind.
Normally, this wouldn't be a downside at all, but it does make scheduling conflicts like this something to be cautious about, especially looking back to how exhausted they (and most other K-pop artists) always are between December and February every single year when all the award shows come together.
Whether I'm right or not, I don't know and can't prove, but I think it makes a lotta sense and would explain some things. Either way, watching them perform Work is still fun and it's lovely to see them so happy and thriving, but I do think there'll be a noticable difference when the next album drops without any surprise schedules throwing things off course.
For the behind-the-scenes story of how I made this animated mini-short, click “keep reading” below.
I started this 6 weeks ago, just before Nintendo shut down its 3DS and WiiU servers. The server shutdown meant no more multi-player online play for 3DS games, like Mario Kart 7, but also no more uploading to the Butterfly Animation online gallery directly from the app.
As an homage to the Inchworm and Butterfly Animation apps for the DSi and 3DS that I’ve been animating on since 2011, I originally was just going to animate just a single shot featuring something butterfly related.
But the story evolved as I began asking myself a series of "what if" questions that I had fun answering, like, “what if it was a little girl playing dress up as a butterfly?” And then “what if she was first cosplaying as a caterpillar then the butterfly?” “If this is a story of growth, what if she stumbles? What is her attitude when she stumbles?” “What if the design of the girl was something like Isao Takahata or Yoichi Kotabe would draw?”
Making this was the embodiment of everything I hope to achieve with my personal animation: to let creativity flow and just have fun animating and creating.
Since this mini-short was animated on my Nintendo 3DS, there was a memory limit of only 100 drawings, which was a bit of a challenge for longer or complex actions, but was a fun puzzle to solve. Sometimes limitations force you to come up with even more creative solutions. (I was able the squeeze in more drawings than the memory allowed, and filled it to the max!) :)
The song I used is from Rebecca Sugar’s album, "Spiral Bound", and perfectly fit the theme of the short. Initially, while I was drawing the character, I found myself humming a tune from Steven Universe that dealt with beginnings, endings, and not being ready. It’s amazing how the brain can subconsciously pick the playlist!
In the end, that song, sung by Steven’s father in the show, didn’t quite fit, but then I remembered another song by Rebecca Sugar which was more on theme with my story, called “My Own Way to the End”. The whole album is wonderful! You can check it out here:
Painting the backgrounds for this was the most challenging thing for me, but also the most eye opening! After painting, I would look around at the trees in the neighborhood differently. So many colors when you really look closely.
There’s so many talented people at my work and it was great that I could ask them for advice. One person I asked was the talented Tia Kratter, who happened to teach a mini-painting class for the animators while I was working on this short. I asked her for advice on one of the background paintings and she asked great questions which challenged me to try different things, but I still felt like I was having fun and playing without fear of failure. I mean, it was still hard though! Hahaha!
If you’ve read up to this point, thank you for reading this. :) I hope you enjoy this mini-short as much as I enjoyed making it!
you’re literally making me get back into bts omg 😭 what songs would you recommend? or just songs that are your fave of theirs in general
OMFGGGGG THIS IS ALL I WANT FOR Y’ALL 🫶🏼 ok… please be prepared bc bts has the best discography of all time like how’re y’all gonna make timeless bangers like this… OK SO!
the songs that people usually listen to when they get into bts are songs that have music videos! so in that case i would recommend these ones and they aren’t in order but “black swan”, “blood sweat & tears”, “fake love”, “fire”, “idol”, “dna”, “on - kinetic manifesto film”, “mic drop (steve aoki)”, “run”, “save me”, & “i need u” and etc… there’s so many more! esp from their debut era do deffo watch the earlier ones too along w the new ones! the last 3 i mentioned are some of their older ones and they’re amazing w great storylines!
ok here are some of my fav songs in general by BTS! ^all the ones mentioned above + i love pied piper, UGH!, paradise, dionysus, sea, path, black swan, come back home, run bts, cypher pt. 3, ddaeng, don’t leave me, so what, best of me, dream glow, dis-ease, stay, stay alive, heartbeat, louder than bombs, we are bulletproof: the eternal, my time, stigma, it’s definitely you, filter, interlude: shadow, intro: persona, boy meets evil, epiphany, euphoria etc… literally every song is a fucking banger (some of these songs are from rapline: UGH, cypher, ddaeng) and some are from vocal line (truth untold, dimple) some are solo songs on albums and duo songs
rapline also all have mixtapes! my fav from joon (mono) is tokyo, seoul, & everythingoes!
from yoongi (agust d - D1 & D2) is the last, give it to me, tony montana // 28, people, moonlight, strange, daechwita, & burn it! (D2 is my comfort album) (also watch the daechwita mv it’s a fkn FILM i swear)
from hobi (hopeworld & jack in the box - WHICH BTW JUST RECENTLY CAME OUT STREAM JITB!) is baseline, airplane, blue side outro // pandora’s box, music box: reflection, arson, & equal sign!
I HOPE YOU ENJOYYYYYYY! I LOVE WATCHING “RUN BTS” TOO I THINK THAT’S A HUGE REASON WHY WE ALL LOVE THEM TOO IT’S THEIR OWN VARIETY SHOW AND IT’S HILARIOUS 😭 the zombie ep, foot volleyball, lotte world, & photozone eps are so fucking hilarious omg
imagine: it’s been years since Eddie and Steve have seen each other. Eddie still keeps in touch with the Party, with Robin and Nancy and Jonathan and Argyle, but for whatever reason, neither him nor Steve have made a massive effort to stay in touch. Eddie can’t help but feel like he maybe had missed out on something, that he’d been too quick to leave, too quick to write it off as unimportant, meaningless, a fleeting crush. It’s okay. It’s fine now.
Because Eddie has the life he’s always dreamed of. He travels the world, gets paid to play his guitar in front of crowds that scream his lyrics back at him, dates celebrities, and sees things he couldn’t have even imagined back in that Hawkins trailer park. He doesn’t regret much. He can’t, when everything has led him here.
He’s just released his third studio album and it’s been a commercial and critical success. He’d tried something a little different with this project, something a little outside his comfort zone. He’s never been known for his love songs, but he couldn’t help himself this time. He just had so much he’d never had the chance to say until now.
Eddie loves the Grammys. It’s a fun night, full of fellow musicians who care deeply about what they do. He’ll never get used to being in the same place as his idols, the voices he used to listen to when he’d dream of getting the hell out of small-time, small town Indiana.
He’s got a date on his arm this year, a handsome actor who’d just had a film premier in Venice. Eddie loves the attention, knows the fans are speculating about which songs on the new album are about Rob and their relationship. It’s not hard to act like they’re in love; Rob is beautiful, tanned and golden and smiling big for the cameras. It’s easy to fuel the rumors, to make eyes at each other like they think no one is looking. Eddie lives for this kind of thing, loves to put on a show. He kisses Rob right there on the red carpet, like he doesn’t care who’s watching them, like he just can’t help himself.
He’s up for a whole bunch of awards tonight. Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Metal Performance…. Eddie’s skin is buzzing, a dull thrum of excitement just under the surface.
Halfway through the ceremony, Eddie wins his first award for his performance in Las Vegas earlier in the year on tour promoting the new album. He doesn’t have a speech prepared, hadn’t wanted to jinx anything by over-preparing, and now he’s nervous he’ll forget someone and not have another chance to tell the world how he’s gotten here.
Eddie’s smiling big when he takes the stage. His face feels stretched, his cheeks hurting. He feels like his body can’t hold all his excitement inside him, all the feelings of love and amazement that threaten to burst through his skin.
He thanks Wayne and the Party first, clutching his trophy in his sweaty fist. They’re the ones that really got him here, the ones that made him believe he was worth saving. The ones that made all this possible.
Then he thanks his management. His agents and producers and tour managers, all the people that make the logistics of touring possible, that give him the ability to do what he loves.
There’s one last person to thank. His PR team had told both him and Rob to lean into the relationship, to embrace the spectacle, and there was nothing Eddie loved more than performing for a captive audience. He looks out into the crowd and finds Rob smiling up at him from his seat. He looks perfect, tan and beautiful, and it reminds Eddie of someone he used to know.
“And to the man who’s inspired every song on this album,” he feels his lips spread into another smile, sees the camera from the corner of his eye and imagines how goofy he must look on screen. He wonders who might be watching, if the person he’s been thinking about for the last ten years even knows he’s winning an award right now. “Stevie baby, thank you, darling.”
There are confused grumbles from the crowd and for just a second, Eddie doesn’t understand. But then he glances at where Rob sits in the crowd, his smile plastic and forced, and he realizes what he’s said. The wrong name. The name of a ghost. The name of a person who only exists for him in his memories.
Eddie’s legs feel numb. His chest starts to ache and his hands feel hollow. Horror spreads through him as he hears the music start to play. The presenters gently usher him backstage, push him toward the darkness, away from the cameras. He stands there out of sight for several moments, frozen, rooted to the spot he’s been left in, before a familiar figure steps into his eye-line.
“Eddie,” Rob says, sounding both surprised and irritated. “What the fuck?”
the question pounds my head, what’s a lifetime of achievement if i pushed you to the edge but you were too polite to leave me? do you miss the rogue that coaxed you into paradise and left you there? will you forgive my soul when you’re too wise to trust me but too old to care?
summary: you're not the only two who love your marriage.
requested: yes!
a/n: I'm having way too much fun with these, please keep requesting them 🥺
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y/nricciardo
liked by landonorris, danielricciardo and 802,786 others
tagged: danielricciardo
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y/nbabees here she goes again, what is the context bestie????
danieldr3 what love language is this?
y/nricciardo tough loving
charlos5516 and they say romance is dead
loverskies29 Daniel is holding up 4 fingers...4th album soon? 👀
y/nluvu god I hope so it's been too long :(
danielricciardo exploiting your husband again?
y/nricciardo so he is good for something?
norrizz4 should we get the divorce papers ready? 👀
ricienation mother make new music please we've been starving, there's no crumbs left
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danielricciardo
liked by landonorris, y/nricciardo and 798,543 others
danielricciardo happy birthday to the wife who has the best husband in the world, you're so lucky to have this handsome men by your side, you should always remember this. Happy birthday, my luv. ❤️
tagged: y/nricciardo, landonorris
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landos4 crying why'd you post a picture of lando 😭
leclercc_16 that's his wife, what do you mean?
y/nricciardo can confirm, I'm just a side piece.
landonorris thanks luv. ❤️
scottyjames31 love the cake, facts were spoken.
dr3ln4 watch it scotty, her next song will be about you 🤪
scottyjames31 it'd be an honor
y/nupdates y/n is a whole mood in the last picture, unbothered queen. ♡
dannyswife favorite couple 🥰
y/nricciardo posted on their story
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y/nricciardo
liked by mclaren, danielricciardo and 178,254 others
y/nricciardo something in the orange
tagged: mclaren, danielricciardo
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sharlos55 supportive wife y/n activated
y/nricric you don't understand how much I've missed you on the grid, you looked fabulous once again 😍
y/nricciardo using my man's and his team to promote my new song once again? you bet your sweet ass I am. #ColorsComingSoon
y/nfan004 rip to the people who don't read the comments 😭
Bott_ass you can't just drop this out of the nowhere, I'm hyperventilating 😫
danniericario I'm convinced flipping you off is Daniel's way of saying I love you
y/nricciardo oh no, he really can't stand me but same to be honest
danielricciardo ❤️
dr3ln4 babe wake up mom and dad are being mom and dad again
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y/nricciardo
liked by danielricciardo, pierregasly and 217,111 others
y/nricciardo it's been a while but after months of writing and producing with the best team ever, my new song Colors is out now on Apple music & spotify 🧡
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zoeeeey I could've used a warning of sorts 🤯
mickschummy when have we ever had a solid release date for anything, bestie is so chaotic she'll drop an song or album whenever she wants 😭
y/nnnnn2000 we've been fed!!
redbulldanny is this song about Daniel?
y/nricciardo don't tell him, it'll boost his ego 😉
landonorris this about me, right?
charles_leclerc this will be on repeat for days!
thefridgirlies we love a bunch of supportive friends 🥰
danielricciardo big fan of this
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y/nricciardo
liked by carlossainz55, danielricciardo and 214,542 others
y/nricciardo three years ago, this man made the best decision of his life by marrying me. It's amazing how we've tolerated each other for this long but all jokes aside, thanks for making me feel loved every hour of the day ♡♡
We'll keep saying it; marry your best friend ❤️
tagged: danielricciardo
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sainzchili happy anniversary to you 2! 💞
landonorris congrats mom and dad ❤️
landochaos have they adopted you already?
Isahernaez happy anniversary! ❤️
y/nricciardo ❤️
chilileclerc_ your up next Isa!
dannielricc 3 years?! It seems like yesterday we first saw you in the paddock 😭
danielricciardo and here i thought that we were just partners for one night. ❤️
Thinking about a Corroded Coffin who doesn't get famous. They put out a couple of albums, sell some cassettes, play at college bars to drunk students and shitty metal bars in basements. Nothing really happens, they don't get famous, and Eddie is sort of devastated. But shit happens. He got to have fun and hang out with his friends.
It's not until they're all in their 50s when one of their songs go viral on TikTok. And suddenly they're cool, they're indie, they're underground with a cool retro sound. People are listening to their music.
Eddie finally gets a shot at fame. There's talks of management, and agents wanting to represent them. Money and really making something of this. Cashing in on it.
And Eddie realises he doesn't want it. He doesn't want things to change. He's happy where he is. He's older now, more mature. Has finally softened round the edges.
He has a husband whom he loves, four amazing children - a whole loving family. He has a good job that earns alright money, he has a average sized house in the suburbs.
Eddie's content.
He's old enough now to admit that a 20 something Eddie would have crashed and burned with fame. With sex and drugs and rock n roll. And that 50 something Eddie doesn't want it.
if ur if requests are still open could i ask for one with singer!yn and she’s secretly dating lewis but another driver (maybeeeee charles or daniel hehe) names her as his celeb crush and is always liking her pics so when they confirm it everyone’s like someone check on charles/daniel 💀
him – LH 44
warnings: a few things, I was busy all day, so I very much rushed this and just kinda threw this together, so sorry for this being kinda all over the place and I also tried the whole ‘twitter thing’ as well and I’m hoping it doesn’t look to sloppy
,,,
twitter
Instagram
y/n/l/n
liked by lewishamilton, charles_leclerc, Danielriccardo and 900,999 others
thank you New York for an amazing night, I love you all and will miss you sweet babies 💗😭
📸 y/p/n/l/n ✨
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y/nfan155 I have never cried more than when you played the 30th
vettelkimi y/n opinion on Charles Leclerc and Daniel Riccardo 🎤
> Y/n/l/n they’re cute 🤷♀️
DanielRiccardo thank you y/n
ricccarddo3 please not Daniel hiding in her comments
ashlelcerc444 Charles and Daniel both liking her pics…god they’re obsessed with her
lewishamtilon enjoyed your show tonight y/n ☺️
> y/n/l/n glad you did Lewis 🥰
Vettelmick47 LEWIS? what are you doing here
Mickshoemacher please this is so odd
roseysainz he popped out of nowhere
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lewishamtion
Liked by Georgerussell63, y/n/l/n, and 999,000 others
love New York and it’s people ❤️
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vettelmick47 you’re still in New York?
Hamtilony/n Lewis opinion on y/n 🎤
asleclerc55 you talking about y/n?
Y/n/l/n fun seeing you at the show ☺️❤️
Rayvettel44 I smell something fishy
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viewing y/n/l/n’s story
lewishamilton
liked by y/n/l/n, Georgerussell63, and 900,888 others
lovely weekend in New York ❤️
tagged y/n/l/n
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Ashleclerc16 IS THAT Y/N?!
vettelmick47 now hold on…..?
mickshoemacher y/n was wearing that dress a few nights ago at one of her shows-
leclercsainzz44 no because by her insta story and now this, I think they’re dating
sainzznorris455 I mean somebody did see them leaving a coffee shop together and holding hands
Sebastiankimi @.charles_leclerc what do you think of this? 🎤
AstonAlonso HELP?!
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y/n/l/n
liked by lewishamilton, charles_leclerc, Georgerusell63 and 700,690 others
home is with you my dear 💕💗
tagged LewisHamilton
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ashleclerc16 SO ITS TRUE
Sebastiankimi WHAT HOLD ON?
charlessainz16 somebody check on Charles and Daniel…check on them now
LewisHamilton my dearest love 💗
Itsainzz55 @,charles_leclerc @,DanielRiccardo what do y’all think of this 🎤🎤
onlysainz55 wait the caption is lyrics from her latest album….was the song about him THE WHOLE TIME?!
> y/n/l/n 🫢🤔🤫
> itsonlysainz55 y/n what does this mean WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
notmickschmacher so @,charles_leclerc and @,DanielRiccardo y’all doing okay?
warnings: modern!au, fem!reader, i literally just came back to the marauders fandom (after four years), so i apologize if anything here is out of character, english is not my first language.
nora's radio: the marauders era just makes me so happy, and the characters bring me so much comfort, i couldn't help but start writing for them! let me know if you like it. 💕
JAMES POTTER
this boy is the biggest swiftie ever. before you started dating, james already knew the most popular songs from taylor and never hid the fact that he loves each one of them. but after he met you? he listened to you talking about the whole taylor lore for HOURS and even asked questions to see if he was understanding everything, and after a long way of making him listen to the whole discography, he's favorite album is — of course — 1989.
when taylor announced the eras tour in london, james knew that he needed to get those tickets. not only because he enjoys the songs, but because he knows how the singer makes you happy. and he knew all the hours he spent on the online queue were worth it when he saw a big smile on your face and received thousands of kisses.
and he was just excited as you. you both spent hours together making friendship bracelets, trying to decide the outfits, and listen to all taylor songs over and over again.
i think you and james definitely went to the eras tour in matching outfits of "miss americana" and "the heartbreak prince". <3
SIRIUS BLACK
i can't picture sirius being a swiftie, but i can see him being a huge fan of speak now (especially the vault songs) and even reputation.
even though you both have some differences in your music taste, you complete each other really well! and he never made fun of you for like more taylor swift, in fact, he admires how you love the things that bring you joy.
sirius is the one who volunteered to help with your makeup and outfit, and imagine you and him customizing your outfits together.
you have the best time together, and after the concert, you (and especially sirius) couldn't stop talking about how amazing everything was and how taylor is fucking insane for making a three hour show.
REMUS LUPIN
hear me out: you and remus just so passionate about literature and poetry that you both spent late nights just discussing the folklore and evermore lyrics together.
you were the one who presented folklore and evermore for remus, and needless to say, he was impressed with the production and lyrics of the album. he didn't know that taylor swift was making these types of songs.
he can't say no to you, and obviously, he accepted going to the eras tour with you. it was easy to say he wanted to go with a "evermore" outfit, and you matched with him going with a "folklore" outfit.
and imagine remus holding you during lover and looking into your eyes when the song goes, "you're my, my, my... lover." <3