#Discography Overview

[thatscarletflycatcher]

So you have heard Rick Astley was the unexpected sensation at Glastonbury this year...

and you'd like to get a taster of his music, but you don't know where to start, because you are only/mostly familiar with Never Gonna Give You Up?

This post is for you!

I'll give you a quick overview of his discography, and a recommendation of what I think are the best tracks of each album and why. Aggregated playlist at the bottom of the post.

Whenever You Need Somebody (1987)

This was Rick's debut album, and the one that included Never Gonna Give You Up. If you have heard the piece of trivia that says "if you drop the pitch Kylie Minogue's I Should Be So Lucky, it will sound like Rick Astley"... there's a very easy explanation for that: both were composed by Stock Aitken Waterman, a trio of music producers that wrote several of the most well known eurobeat hits of the late 80s and early 90s (i.e. You Spin Me Like a Record), based on the principles of... well, being very generic and catchy. Half of the tracks of this album were written by them.

Thematically the album is strangely obsessed with cheating, cheating women, and being in love with cheating women, and being heartbroken over them. I don't know what to tell you, sometimes I forget how common this was around that time for the romantic ballad outside of the US (?)

Anyways, of the 10 tracks of the original album, the best (and also most Never Gonna Give You Up-like) are Together Forever, Don't Say Goodbye, and Whenever You Need Somebody.

The album closes with a cover of When I Fall in Love, that to me feels very out of place. Perhaps it was one thing Rick himself was dead set on singing?

This album had a 15th anniversary expanded remaster in 2010, including 3 ""old-new"" songs and 4 remixes (one of them is an extended version of NGGYU). I'll Never Set You Free is remarkable for being one of the creepiest songs this side of Every Breath You Take.

The 2022 remaster:

This one includes one "old-new" track that is a severe earworm, My Arms Keep Missing You (it does deserve the THREE remixes it gets in this album), several remixes of other songs, three instrumentals, AND, most notably for me, three "reimaginings" of NGGYU, Together Forever, and Whenever You Need Somebody as slow piano ballads, very very worth listening if you are into that sort of thing (these were first released in the compilation album The Best of Me (2019)).

It also includes a new version of When I Fall in Love, that really highlights Rick's growth as a singer and an artist, very worth comparing the 1987 to the 2022 one.

The remixes and "old-new" tracks in these anniversary editions come from compilation albums Rick Astley - 12" Collection (1989) and Dance Mixes (1990).

2. Hold Me In Your Arms (1988)

If you liked Whenever You Need Somebody (1987), then Hold Me In Your Arms (1988) is just the thing for you, because it's more of the same, but louder, catchier, and now with less cheating obsession! This time it's 3 out of the 10 songs that are SAW written, one is a cover of The Temptations' Ain't Too Proud To Beg, and the remaining 6 are all by Rick himself, but the tone doesn't shift that much between them.

The first half of the album is non-stop top danceable tunes: She Wants to Dance With Me, Take Me To Your Heart, I Don't Want To Lose Her, Giving Up On Love (big involuntary "I'm killing off Sherlock Holmes" moment for Rick, the not giving up didn't even last a year :P), and Ain't Too Proud to Beg; the second half is not as strong, but also not bad either. It definitely helps that the tracks are ordered in such a way as to slowly slow down till the beautiful sweet soft ballad that closes the album and gives it its name: Hold Me In Your Arms.

I Don't Want to Be Your Lover, the penultimate track, is the first song that feels more like what Rick writes and sings as a more mature artist.

The 2010 expanded remaster is just remixes of some of these songs, I'll Be Fine (which is, quality wise, between the rest of the tracks of the second half) and My Arms Keep Missing You, again.

The 2022 remaster includes even more remixes, reimaginings of She Wants To Dance With Me and Hold Me In Your Arms (I'm not a big fan of either, but they are interesting, as they are much more modern ballad sounding) and instrumental versions of Take Me To Your Heart and She Wants To Dance With Me.

3. Free (1991)

Almost like a pun, this is Rick's first album "free" of SAW. He even grew out his hair! (probably one of the rare cases of a guy to having gorgeous hair that somehow suits his face horribly). The tone moves away from the 80s eurobeat hit into the soul-ish + gospel-ish ballad, which seems to be more like the territory he feels comfortable in. It's a bit of an "experimental" album, in the sense that he's trying new things and new sounds, but it's all very tentative, and the unsure footing is noticeable.

Even so, Cry For Help, written and sung by him was a hit all the same, although it isn't a favorite of mine. In general it's difficult for me to pick favorites here; none of the songs stick out to me as particularly good or particularly bad. If you like slow ballads, you will probably like Cry For Help, Wonderful You, and Behind the Smile. Really Got a Problem is a first sample of a "social" song in his repertoire. Move Right Out, Never Knew Love, and The Bottom Line are more the essence of what his music evolved into later on, whereas In The Name of Love, Be With You, and This Must Be Heaven are dead on the sort of generic adult-contemporary of the early 90s.

4. Body and Soul (1993)

This album takes a more... lounge-ish turn I do not relish. You'd say, okay, but what sets Rick Astley apart from the general adult standard lounge music of whatever decade he sings in? Difficult question to answer, as all questions about vibes are. To me it is a mixture of A) cringe is dead, long live cringe B) earnest feeling C) plain, direct and sometimes quirky lyrics D) It sounds like he's having a good time singing them.

I just cannot really buy the constant "baby" and "lover" in Everytime, for example. And while none of the songs in this album are bad, most of them aren't even fun. Body and Soul and Enough Love I think are the two most interesting tracks here.

That same year, Rick got on hiatus.

5. Keep It Turned On (2001)

This comeback album is a bit of a rarity -it was released in Germany, but never in the UK (although some of its tracks made it to compilations later on), and it's therefore rare to find, which is a pity, because I think it is one of his best!

It is also one of the most early 2000s sounding things ever. It is to 2000s eurobeat and pop ballad what Whenever You Need Somebody and Hold Me In Your Arms were to 1980s eurobeat and pop ballad, so if you are into it, this whole album will be for you.

I have a particularly soft spot for Sleeping, and the way it just sounds like what a 2001-2007 summer night sounded to me; it's very nostalgic. The lyrics, just like the ones in the ballad Breathe, give heartbreak what I perceive to be a more mature tone that I like much more than the treatment it gets in previous albums.

Other highlights are the very danceable Wanna Believe You and Keep It Turned On (this last one a very pick me up song), and on the ballad front, I think Romeo Loves Juliet has the most delicate, enjoyable sound, but Full of You has better lyrics.

6. Portrait (2005)

This album is a collection of covers of classic pop standards, so there isn't much rickness to it at all, and it is to me, personally, a skip; while I usually like Rick's covers in other albums (and I think his reimaginings of the SAW songs are interesting) these are... off. I just don't think the style he picked for them suits at all.

Between this and his following album, Rick released two independent singles: Lights Out (2010) and Superman (2012) which I think are both peak Rick and worth a listen; earnest, simple feeling and catchy sound.

7. 50 (2016)

This is my favorite Rick Astley album, and it seems I'm not alone in this! It was the first album of his to be number one since his debut one. He sung AND played all instruments for it, and it really feels like a personal project, that brings the artist close to the audience.

From the very title you know you are in for something: the 50, Rick's age in 2016, is a tongue-in-cheek homage to Adele (whose albums have all been titled after her age at the time of release), that also speaks of this sense of being a middle aged artist in an industry and particularly a genre or family of genres that leans so heavily into youth and coolness.

In 50 Rick leans on instead of shying away from the fact that he's not young (In either the heartfelt "Don't fake it, I can't take it/My heart is, close to breaking/It reminds me of my youth" or the humorous "I got to thirty and you show a little wrinkle/One more big plate/Now I'm putting on weight/Skinny jeans but nobody's fooled"), cool, or detached, but that doesn't make him jaded, heavy, or self important; the songs of this album are filled with a sense of hope, gratitude, generosity, and... fun. It's a curious marriage of the lighthearted beat of the pop that made him famous, and a mature version of the soul-ish style he seems to love and that he tried first in Free. Although there isn't a single skip in this album for me, the most representative, and that have what in my opinion is the best sound, are Keep Singing, Angels On My Side, Wish Away, Pieces, I Like the Sun, Let It Rain, Let it be Tonight.

8. Beautiful Life (2018)

There's little I can say about Beautiful Life in general, other than characterize it as an echo of 50. Same ideas, same themes, same tone and sound.

The highlight tracks are: Beautiful Life, Last Night on Earth, Rise Up, and Try.

Since Beautiful Life, Rick has released a compilation album (The Best of Me, 2019), a few remixes and a couple new singles; of those singles I'd highlight Giant (a true banger), Every One Of Us, and Unwanted.

Rick's next album, Are We There Yet? releases in October this year (2023).

#Rick Astley #music #discography overview #nostalgia

[leguin]

sure, rock in general is basically dead, but dyke indie rock is very alive and having a blast

#kinda want to just do a big partner discography overview #i'm being hyperbolic here abt the death of rock which has been greatly exaggerated #but also...dyke rock is where it's at rn imo

[neochan]

NCT GROUP CONCEPT - THE SLEEP CYCLE

warning: I am not making this up, this is actual facts, some is speculation, but this is a very real concept within the group and not a work of fiction.

(finished writing this back in 2020 and now it's relevant again so i'm adding to it and reposting it)

Concept Overview

The NCT members are going through sleep cycles, which are portrayed in music videos and extracurriculars. Every time they complete a ‘dream cycle’ they add more members into the group and when they complete a sleep cycle they make a new subunit. Now SM is straying away from this concept, but for the first two and half years its very evident this is happening.

Alternatively  - NCT only exists within our [fans] dreams, and each music video is a different dream. This explains the different themes in music videos, some not making sense. 

Debut

It starts with, “The synchronization of your dreams.” [SOYD] In this, the members have already fallen asleep, and the ‘synchronization’ is the members coming together to form NCT U. Lets not forget the concept of NCT U is for any members, from any sub units to come together and entertain you [consumers/fans] in your dreams. This also can work with the synchronization of each sub unit to form one whole dream, or NCT as a whole.

After this, NCT U is debuted with the hit song seventh sense. The seventh sense? Lucid dreaming - the ability to control your dreams. There’s more to this song than people realize. 

In the SOYD we have haechan vocals, but he isn’t in the final debut song seventh sense. People think this is in fact a hate crime SM committed, but it is only because he has fallen back to his own dream scape AKA NCT DREAM. 

After the SOYD and Seventh sense, NCT DREAM debuts. This is the first dreamscape, and the main one. The next section explains more on their sub units

NCT DREAM

They have a whole concept within their dreamscape which is why they get a whole section. NCT DREAM implemented a graduation system for the members, but no this isn’t to torture fans lmao. 

They debuted with the song Chewing Gum, which is very juvenile. Throughout NCT DREAMS discography you can watch their hits turn from juvenile bubble gum kpop to mature themes, most significantly turning after their song GO. 

The idea for this group was, the older the fans get the more they change. When you’re a kid you’re going to be dreaming about bubblegum, but when you’re older you’re going to be dreaming about driving with your friends etc (WE GO UP). 

Their whole concept stems from the brain patterns and dream growth in growing kids. This is why they implemented the graduation concept. The older you get the less you are to dream about kiddy stuff, and that’s their whole sub unit concept. 

NCT 127 

After NCT DREAM debuted, NCT 127 made their appearance with hit song FireTruck. Now the song means absolutely nothing to me, it’s just a bop, but the video means everything for the sleep cycle context.

In the video we are met with a young girl, and one of the first things the members do is destroy her sand castle. This symbolizes how they are one step up from dreams concept aka repping the dream patterns and growth of teenagers to young adults.  The destroying of her sandcastle has obvious connection to how when you grow up, all the kid stuff is no long relevant and your dreams (in life as well) change. 

Throughout the video we see the female protagonist grow up through her teen years and even into her working years. The concept is so plainly obvious but yet so hidden because why are they rapping about firetrucks (maybe because growing up puts out the fire, aka passion, that we have for our dreams?)

NCT DREAM LAB -> EMPATHY 2018

There are a series of videos titled NCTmentary, which fully back up my theories and show this concept in depth. This also predicts the new members that would be joining us a couple months after the first video was uploaded. 

They basically spell out that NCT is in the deepest sleep (REM CYCLE) at the moment and that anything can be possible, aka them debuting new members, or to us, the fans, creating new members in our dreamscape. 

The third episode title is Empathy, hinting at the new album that would dropping and again, hinting at new members. They debut three new members, but don’t make a big deal about them being debuted because NCT is in deep sleep right now. 

The entire series perfectly describes the entire concept and I could write an entire 60 page thesis on it and its meanings but i’m going to spare you. 

WAKEY WAKEY

So this song is them waking up, yep. The time between Empathy 2018 and this EP is nct going through their dream cycle, and then this is them and us finally waking up. A couple months before this, WAYV debuted, and I’m still not sure what their role in this concept is. Remember in the beginning where i told you that SM is straying from this concept, well WAYVs debut is the first big plot hole.  

There isnt much more to say, because this is kind of where SM dropped the sleep cycle concept, but!!!!!!!!! they ended up dropping the concept when they appointed a new company president so I think thats the reason. 

THIS IS WHERE I STOPPED WRITING LAST TIME. TIME TO CONTINUE THIS SHIT

WAYV

okay so wayvs concept is pretty much right there for everyone to see. it's some kind of sci-fi, space themed dreams, and i think it's awesome. that's all there is to say on their topic lol.

GOLDEN AGE

so between loveholic and golden age, we get a bunch of random music videos and albums for each subunit. again, this is because they're each in their own dreams right now...they're not really coming together. until we get to golden age. now we have everyone together, forming a multi-dimension dreamscape basically. everyone is meshed together again.

AND WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THIS? THEY DEBUTED A NEW SUBUNIT. NCT WISH.

now i don't know anything about this new subunit, BUT my theory is that because nct dream has now matured in their concept, they need to bring back the original concept of bubblegum kiddie dreams. this also fills in the plothole of them cancelling the nct dream graduation thing. now they'll have another kiddie friendly group or kiddie friendly dream scape.

AND WHAT NOW?

now they're back to being awake again. this is detailed in nct dreams new concept ()SCAPE films. they're being awoken. finally.

EXTRA - CHART

falling asleep

↓

beginning of rem sleep / individual unit albums

↓

deep sleep / album with all members / debut new ones (or take away some)

↓

end of dream cycle /making their way out of main rem sleep and having smaller individual dreams aka music videos

↓

waking up - this usually follows a japanese album (wakey wakey & gimme gimme)

↓

fully awake now and then they debut a new sub unit

EXTRA - how nct fits the chart

SLEEP CYCLE #1

synchronization of your dreams (falling asleep)

↓

a few individual unit albums (nct#127, limitless, the first, cherry bomb & we young.)

↓

they debut lucas, kun, and jungwoo and we get the first multi dreamscape album (empathy)

↓

more albums (chain, we go up, regular-irregular, regulate)

↓

awaken album (japanese) (it's important to note that the last song on the album is end to start, which means they're now going back to the start which is falling asleep again.

↓

debut of wayv

SLEEP CYCLE #2

falling asleep again (take off)

↓

a few individual unit albums (we are superhuman, we boom, take over the moon, neozone, reload, neozone: the final round)

on the same note, then we get wayvs, awaken the world (they're trying to get everyone to wake up)

↓

they debut sungchan and shotaro and we get the second multi dreamscape album (resonance)

↓

this time we get the japanese album first (loveholic)

↓

more albums (kick back, hot sauce, hello future, sticker, favorite)

↓

then we get a second multi dreamscape album, universe.

↓

then they undebut sungchan and shotaro

↓

then we go back to the albums, which coincidentally starts with glitch mode. i think this was intentional. because the order of the sleep cycle got messed up this time around, i think nct dreams glitch modes indicates there was a glitch in the dream world.

this is followed by (beatbox, two baddies, candy, phantom, ay-yo, perfume & istj)

↓

then we get another multi dreamscape album (golden age)

↓

then more albums (fact check, on my youth)

↓

debut NCT WISH (a moreso japanese unit so we don't need any more japanese albums from the other groups for the sleep cycle to continue)

SLEEP CYCLE #3 (FINALLY BACK ON TRACK FOR ANOTHER ROUND)

starts with nct dream waking up (they're new album coming out in which they're literally waking up from their dream in the video teasers.)

and thats the end......for now.

#nct theories

[birdofmay]

do have metal recommendations? I'm new to it. really completely new

*typing up a storm* You just activated the autism in me! 😄

Alright, here's a brief overview. Followers, feel free to recommend songs in the comments, if you listen to metal.

What bands you should know, at least their names:

Black Sabbath, Sepultura, Kiss, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Pantera, Anthrax, Helloween.

No need to know and like their songs, just know that they exist. There are some more, but you'll encounter them eventually anyway, I'm sure. Note that certain old bands are controversial now, for example Pantera and Metallica.

Some recommendations:

Heavy Metal:

The "How it began" part. Just check out Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Black Sabbath. You should know

Thrash Metal:

The earlier albums of Metallica, Testament, Exodus, and of course Slayer. "Raining Blood"

is well known, and I connect "Bloodline"

with long road trips as a child.

Doom Metal:

Some Black Sabbath is also considered doom metal. Apart from that I recommend Pentagram and Witchfinder General.

Black Metal:

Not mine, personally, except for certain derivatives, but they'll come later. I like very few black metal songs. They are:

Death Metal:

Many subgenres, I personally prefer Melodic Death Metal. Cannibal Corpse is well-known and also Obituary. Check out Debauchery, some In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and Arch Enemy too. Recommendation:

But to be honest, most Children of Bodom songs sound alike 😂

Dark Metal/Gothic Metal:

Hard to sort the whole discography of one band into this subgenre. Some Cradle of Filth, some Sirenia, some Samsas Traum, Type O Negative. I also like

Power Metal:

Sabaton, Powerwolf, Manowar (not everything), HammerFall, Grave Digger (not everything), Sonata Arctica, some Blind Guardian. Power Metal often has characteristics of Symphonic Metal in some songs, so it's hard to put one band in one strict category.

Symphonic Metal:

Nightwish, Xandria, Within Temptation, Epica. Too many favourites to recommend a specific song.

Progressive Metal:

Dream Theater, Opeth, Tool, Symphony X. Specific song:

Folk Metal:

Some Ensiferum, some Eluveitie, Týr, Finntroll, some Svartsot, Korpiklaani. Song recommendation:

Viking Metal:

This is actually a "Whatever, as long as it's about Norse stuff and the Viking age" genre. This is why many death metal, folk metal, and power metal bands ALSO are considered viking metal.

Amon Amarth are very well-known, I'd recommend

Pagan Metal:

Also a "Whatever, as long" category. Most folk metal bands are simultaneously pagan metal. Moonsorrow are more black metal but also pagan metal, which is why I'll briefly mention them here.

There also are Varg, but if I'm not mistaken they had some right wing stuff going on, so be careful there. I'm not sure what happened, but I think some of the band members openly supported a neonazi group. Could be that the members were kicked out after that, but even if everything is alright now, they still have a negative connotation.

Somewhere in between all this, there's Alestorm. They're also considered pirate metal, btw. But I'm not actively into that, which is why I put them somewhere in-between.

Industrial Metal:

This is your outsider, and I think every band considered "Industrial Metal" is at the same time considered 5 genres more. Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, Eisbrecher (some would say it's Gothic), Ministry.

Nu Metal:

Some people would say "Nu Metal isn't metal!!!", but I like it anyway. Check out Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Disturbed. "Duality" by Slipknot is the song of a common meme ("I push my fingers into my eyes") 😄

Also Machine Head, but it's hard to categorise them. I just checked, Wikipedia says they're sometimes considered "neo-thrash". Well I guess they're a bit of everything, but their newer albums definitely have nu metal character.

Metalcore:

If you say you're a metalhead but only listen to metalcore, metalheads will hate you for this. Just so you know. ☝🏼 It's a valid genre, but you're on thin ice if you don't listen to other metal genres. There are many overlapping genres here, which is why, again, it's difficult to label bands.

Parkway Drive (some would scream that they're post hardcore), Silverstein (some would scream that they're hardcore punk, others that they're emo), As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, Bullet For My Valentine (some would scream that they're emo, others would say they're heavy metal), Bring Me The Horizon depending on the song, August Burns Red.

Lamb of God are considered metalcore too, but in my opinion they're more metal than metalcore. Anyway I'll mention them here for the sake of classification.

Yeah, that's about it, I guess. This post is already very long, so I guess I better stop at this point. I hope from here on you'll manage to navigate through the big metal genre yourself 😄

P.S.: I forgot Trivium! "Feast Of Fire" is currently stuck in my head

#anon ask #not autism #long post #music tag

[97-liners]

I listened to the on my youth album last year and I loved it kinda made me cry so I am interested in getting to know them but I am extremely lost in where to start :( any advice?

yeah wayv'll do that to you.

i'm kind of insane about wayv its what i used to be known for on tumblr before i deleted my nct blog so, i'm gonna ramble below the cut

click read more for recs/thoughts on wayv music, content, etc etc

FIRST OF ALL. wayv is my favorite nct unit. just some basic overview:

they debuted in january of 2019 as a cpop group completely separate from nct, under label v (sm entertainment but in disguise and in china)

the connection to nct was always there -- winwin was a member of nct 127 since debut (even before johnny and doyoung was added, and jungwoo was added to 127 to "replace" him) and was never removed from 127 on paper. ten debuted with t7s unit, which was nct's overall debut. kun performed without you (chinese version) when he was a trainee

they debuted with regular (chinese version), which was initially a 127 song. they also had come back (chinese version) on their debut mini, which was also originally a 127 song. technically their first song was dream launch

wayzennies don't consider regular their real debut because fucking sm couldn't be assed to let them debut with their own song smh we hate sm here

their first comeback and their debut in wayzennies' hearts was take off

after that, moonwalk, love talk, turn back time, bad alive, kick back, then they went on a cursed haitus, then they broke hiatus with phantom and now, omy

dream launch, take off, moonwalk, and turn back time are their lore music videos. wayv is the only nct unit to have lore btw!

resonance (nct 2020) was a huge era for us because that was the first time they were officially acknowledged as a unit of nct. before that, fans had to put together compilations of nct members mentioning wayv members, renjun got in trouble for mentioning winwin's name in a vlive once, and taeyong once had a vlive where he said "wayv members are here" (but he had to whisper) and showed them in the distance and waved and everything and the fandom went wild

you really had to be there, all nct units (including wayv) changed their profile pictures for 2020 at the same time and the teaser for the resonance project included shots of wayv. i almost cried.

now. lemme talk about music

wayv is one of the music units, definitely. 127 and wayv both have very distinctive musical identities that are reflected throughout their discography

btw, nct units used to have interludes on their full albums. it's more of a yearly full nct thing now, but it was used in regular (127), neo zone (127), awaken the world (wayv), and then resonance (2020) to kind of pull their entire concept together with the signature nct chime. nct interludes are also just some good music !!!

wayv as a unit has a very dramatic sound, the take off/moonwalk/turn back time holy trinity definitely is very consistent in sound and has prominent rock/orchestral elements in the instrumental plus the signature guitar dance break

a lot of their songs are produced by ldn noise and moonshine

on my youth is actually a departure from their old sound. moonlight sounds most wayv 1.0 in their album. the rest of the album is definitely wayv 2.0, which is great because it kind of signifies their transformation and renewal post-dozen

other

if ur chinese: kun and xiaojun's cover of red bean

when they debuted they had a project called rainbow v where they created their own content

wayv has their own version of nct u where they break out into subunits. kun & xiaojun back to you, ten & yangyang low low

they have iconic pets. they even have pet merch. my little friends bias is bella, obviously. just look her up on youtube, she peed on livestream more than once and also has pooped on the sm practice room couches before, also is afraid of her own reflection

winformation - in which winwin interviews every member

wayv on weekly idol

they had two seasons of wayvision on seezn but it's a korean show and, while certain parts are fun, it was a little awkward. right after debuting they had a show called wayv's dream plan which was filmed in china and a lot more fun

of course because i'm me, if you're chinese speaking you should check out their huya lives. i'm not sure that they're subbed in english tho

for translations i'd recommend bun bun, wayv china station, and faith (she's actually my favorite, she does a great job at translating colloquial language and remaining faithful to the 'vibe' of what was said in chinese)

#anon #ask

[dustedmagazine]

Sonic Youth — Live in Brooklyn 2011 (Silver Current)

Photo by Eric Baecht

Few people would have known it at the time, but in August 2011 at Brooklyn's Williamsburg Waterfront, Sonic Youth played its final significant show. After 30 years together, the band would split up that November. The concert has been available for a while, but this release of Live in Brooklyn 2011 gives it a proper mastering job, and the sound quality is exceptional. The setlist was an odd one, seemingly prompted by Steve Shelley's whim. Rather than pull from recent albums (though The Eternal was two years old at that point), the band dove deep into its catalog, going not only far into the past but looking for surprising picks. The show has the feel of an alternate-universe career overview, tying recent releases into the group's earliest days while being almost constantly surprising and (not surprising) consistently intense.

The show starts off with a pair of tracks from 1985's Bad Moon Rising, “Brave Men Run (In My Family)” and “Death Valley '69.” Nothing feels retro or nostalgic about the cuts. While Sonic Youth continued to innovate throughout their career, the early material stayed fresh and of a piece with later work. The opener sets the tone for the show and stands out as a highlight, the mix of a heavy riff, the shift toward noise rock, and Kim Gordon's vocals make it a strange sort of classic. The band transitions smoothly into “Death Valley '69,” almost as if the two songs were parts of a suite (they were released together on a single a couple decades ago). That “Brave Men” hadn't been performed live since the mid-'80s makes it all the more impressive as an opening number.

From there, the group never lets up. Sonic Youth doesn't necessarily sound tight, but they do sound inspired, whether inspired by the novelty of the song selection or the finality of the show or, most likely, they just reach the heights they often attained as a live act. The joy of the album doesn't like simply in the rarities. The band played “Drunken Butterfly” a couple hundred times over their career, but it hits just as hard here as always.

After that, the band does a couple encores, breaking out “Flower” (another of the five Bad Moon Rising songs) and “Sugar Kane” for the first one. The second encore has the weirdest song choice of the night, Thurston Moore's solo piece “Psychic Hearts.” It's an odd shift to a song that's not particularly overwhelming nor connected to anything else the band's doing (though it fits in fine). They finish the show with “Inhuman,” going all the way back to debut album Confusion Is Sex. The song disintegrates into noisy static as the band takes its final leave from the city it's been so long associated with. The wails and feedback suit the moment, as if nobody wants to leave. Moore says, “With the power of love, anything is possible,” and with that Sonic Youth is effectively gone.

The group did play more, ending their career with a festival in Brazil that fall. Fans have, accurately or not, considered this Brooklyn set to be the group's finale, and it's certainly a powerful one to go out on. Fans will consider the show essential for its historical significance and the quality of the setlist, but the album's energy pushes it beyond a completist live album, making Live in Brooklyn 2011 a wonderful cap to one of experimental rock's greatest discographies.

Justin Cober-Lake

#sonic youth #live in brooklyn 2011 #silver current #justin cober-lake #albumreview #dusted magazine #rock #noise #guitar #live #bad moon rising #finale #Youtube

[raytorosaurus]

hi!! where would you recommend starting to get into thursday?

you came to the right place lol <3 carp @geoffrard and i run a thursday blog @thursdayarchive where we upload (mostly old) pictures, and in our pinned post there's a crash course on the band's (genuinely bonkers insane) history if you're interested in any of the context!

music-wise, it depends where you're coming from. we have this playlist that we feel encapsulates their different sounds over the years pretty well to give you a solid overview.

but if you're a full-album person like me: if you're into heavier/denser/more hardcore stuff, i'd recommend starting with war all the time. it's not their most iconic album (that title goes to full collapse, which you should listen to second), but i think it's a really great showcase of everything thursday is - experimental, daring, earnest, overwrought, reactive, political, personal, postmodern...lol. it took them 8 months of non-stop writing in a tiny windowless studio to finish and it shows.

but if you like more experimental/melodic/artsy stuff that, then start with no devolucion, their final album. it's definitely the most accessible of their albums and it's just....soooo fucking good. it was written and recorded in two weeks flat and geoff considers it their masterpiece, everything the band was working towards all along. if ur in australia you'll have to find it on youtube or get a cd and rip it because it's not available on streaming services here <//////////3.

i adore literally every single one of their albums though, my favourite changes on a daily basis. but their sound varies so much that i reckon anyone who is into mcr at all will definitely find at least something they love in thursday's discography!

#thursday #answered #LOL forgot to link the archive at first soz

[dojae-huh]

hi! briize here to answer ur riize qns :D

riize gained attention initially due to 1) sungchan & shotaro & their new grp 2) a bit bc of anton being yoon sang's son and 3) siren mv because of their difficult choreo!

personally, their success in enlargening their fanbase probably came from tiktok as well? i saw them getting viral in tiktok due to the get a guitar challenge, sohee's talk saxy bridge & anton being 'riize's tiktok social manager' since he (and the members) were rly active in liking and commenting briize's tiktoks + creating rly gen z tiktoks w themselves too

their mainstream success probably came from 1) their performances (they debuted nearing towards award season, so they did a lot of performances i.e. rising sun by tvxq which highlighted their proficiency a lot) & 2) the members' visuals going viral (i.e. wonbin & sungchan who are constantly getting mentioned by hong seokcheon)

riize has rly become monster rookies since they debuted, earning rookie of the year titles less than 6 months of their debut. sohee is being lauded by his seniors for his vocals, wonbin is constantly on the spotlight for being a 'once in a generation' visual who's likened to jaejoong (and jaejoong knows this as well).

and although most news do center on seunghan's situation, that still pushes riize's name to the forefront, esp when it comes to briize's relentless support (rii7e forever 🥹)

and yes, there's no leader! they don't exactly have set titles aside from the basic dancer, vocal, rapper (sohee's the only one labeled as 'main' as the main vocal!)

riize's name was formed by sungchan, and riize as a group was set to debut due to a choreo by shotaro & wonbin which the 7 of them did together. they still don't have a full album yet, and is going to comeback in april iirc?

hope i was coherent and it's helpful 😭

Hi, thank you for the detailed overview!

So several factors contributed: virality of challenges and choreo, timing of the debut, members' visuals. It's interesting that Anton supervises tiktok, heh. SM's early attempts at using the platform for promotion were very clumsy, the staff didn't know what to do, while few neos, aside from Tae, are interested in tt. Younger people are needed, who grew up with the platform and know it and its algorythms well.

I'm somewhat baffled about Seunghan's situation. I'd think he is on hiatus to let the group go through the debut stage more smoothly, have time to gain strength and a dedicated core fanbase, however, other members also get accused of things. And the fandom seems to stand with him, asking for OT7. Taeyong was also hated by knets during the debut, SM didn't remove him. Demands to get rid of Irene, Chen also were ignored. Which makes me think that either Seunghan's mental state plummeted and he asked for a leave himself. Or there are more idols and companies involved, I heard a rumour that one of the winners of Girls planet was taken out from the final debutet line-up (Illit) due to her connection to Seunghan's group of friends.

How dooes Riize function without a leader? Fans invented positions in the first place, and, as far as I know, NCT got theirs with a delay. It seems that it's a 5gen trend for groups to not have fixed positions.

A full album is too early. It takes a couple of years for a group to make one. Some groups never release a full album. But, perhaps, you meant an EP? I see only singles in their discography. 4 songs with language versions + 1 special project.

Wish also started with singles. So did aespa, actually. Seems like a new strategy in SM. 127's first EPs are poorely know. People buy/download single songs, and often don't look into the whole discography.

#submission #rise&realize

[commsroom]

okay, so. eiffel likes music. i like to make lists about eiffel. i wanted to make a list of (at least most of) the songs/bands he references, particularly the ones he directly says he likes. there aren't really a whole lot of surprising revelations here, but if you would also like an overview of eiffel's music taste, well. here it is.

- ep 2: "... while humming 'mercedes benz' by the immortal janis joplin!"

- ep 4: "everything's gimme shelter out here." ↳ song by the rolling stones

- ep 6: "unless you leave out 'anarchy in the UK', that would be mathematically unsound." ↳ song by the sex pistols

- ep 9: "riders on the storm, man. riders on the storm." ↳ song by the doors

- ep 11: "ground control to major tom, is your circuit dead, there's something wrong. here i am, floating in a tin can..." ↳ space oddity, song by david bowie

- ep 20: MINKOWSKI: “because you are you and he is he and i am me and we are all together. / EIFFEL: “goo goo g'joob?” ↳ i am the walrus, song by the beatles

-  ep 27: “yo, copernicus! look out the window and smell the joni mitchell” ↳ referencing her album, blue

- ep 27: “yeah, yeah, we’re tangled up in blue. we get the picture.” ↳ song by bob dylan

- ep 30: “i’ve got my entire mental john williams discography to get through.” ↳ well, if there was going to be a composer eiffel really liked, i guess that would be the one. does suggest he has a good ear/memory for music, though.

- ep 37, 42, 61: “and let us analyze the real slim shady without a dozen french horns in the way.” / “which slim shady is the living, breathing, human version of your friend!” / “in the immortal words of slim shady: guess who’s back!” ↳ what can i even say about this. three times. i guess these songs are enough of a recognizable pop culture thing to be arguably distinct from the rest of eminem’s music, but like. three times.

- ep 47: “FOR YOU TO GET TOGETHER AND FEEL ALL RIGHT.” ↳ one love, song by bob marley. referenced by the dear listeners, but they got it from eiffel.

- ep 49: “because it’s like radiohead says: you do it to yourself, and that’s what really hurts.” ↳ lyrics from ‘just’

- ep 54: “all along the watchtower, princes kept the view, while wild women came and went, barefoot servants too” ↳ originally written by bob dylan, but the jimi hendrix version is the one most people will think of first

- ep 54: “in the immortal words of marvin gaye: let’s get it on!”

- ep 54: “you gotta check out some of the latest advancements. otis redding. zeppelin. taylor. sir mix-a-lot. i think he’s been doing some of the best scientific work of the last fifty years.” ↳ i would like to be able to give you an alternative explanation. i would like to be able to be like, well, clearly he means singer-songwriter james taylor. he means guitarist mick taylor. he doesn’t. he means taylor swift. you can feel free to suggest another artist who it would make sense to only call ‘taylor’ in this context, but first keep in mind he’s a millennial in a show written by millennials and the writers do, in fact, listen to taylor swift. i’m resigned to it.

- ep 61: pryce mentions “the first two queen albums” as an item in eiffel’s memory

he also agrees with hera that “yeah, this is nice” about the transmission in bach to the future, but doesn’t recognize the piece. further confirmed by a little night music that eiffel’s familiarity with classical music is ‘yeah, i’ve heard this somewhere’ at best. he can’t name any of it.

of the songs and artists listed here, the ones that he is directly saying he likes and/or doesn’t have some clear contextual reason to reference are: ‘mercedes benz’ (and janis joplin in general), ‘anarchy in the uk’, john williams, ‘all along the watchtower’, otis redding, led zeppelin, taylor (swift? i guess?), sir mix-a-lot.

that said, i think you can safely assume he likes pretty much all of these things. they occupy some space in his mind, anyway. so what conclusions can you draw from that? uhh. well. he mostly likes classic rock? he’s a guy who still listens to the radio? he has, all things considered, incredibly normal taste?

none of that is really news, but there you go.

#wolf 359 #w359 #doug eiffel #there are a few things i thought about and chose to leave out because #they felt too indirect redundant or like more like references to other types of media #but this is all under a cut so if i missed something i can add it in #and i think you can make some easy extrapolations based on this #but i don't want to do that or bring in outside information. for the purposes of this post. #i do have a playlist of exclusively classic rock songs i think eiffel would like though. i've thought about this a lot. #he's sooo normal... i want him so bad. #ALSO i love to play mercedes benz for people who haven't heard it because i feel like more than once that has like #somehow reshaped their image of eiffel a little bit. and it's wonderful to me. #i love that he likes janis joplin and joni mitchell in particular i can forgive all of his more questionable choices for those. #also ALSO. wolf like me doug eiffel official playlist. can't miss an opportunity to bring that up again.

[redrumrecords]

SIN DANYI M.LIST

KPROFILE AND BASIC FACTS

___

THE CONNECTIONS

WITHIN ENHYPEN

OTHER HYBE/BELIFT GROUPS

OUTSIDE OF ENHYPEN + HYBE/BELIFT

___

#I-LAND

coming soon...

___

THE RELATIONSHIPS

CRUSHES

FORMER SIGNIFICANT OTHERS

CURRENT SIGNIFICANT OTHER

___

A PEEK INSIDE HER:

PHONE

PHOTO GALLERY

CONTACT NAMES [ENHYPEN] + [OTHER ARTISTS]

INSTAGRAM

TWITTER

BUBBLE

VLIVES / LIVESTREAMS

GROUP CHATS

CALL LOGS

STYLE

SPOTIFY OVERVIEW / SPOTIFY PLAY HISTORY

MEET&GREETS

THE YOUTUBE VIDEOS

THE ARTICLES

___

THE ERAS + DISCOGRAPHY OF ENHYPEN

[KOREAN RELEASES]

BORDER: DAY ONE [2020] | BORDER: CARNIVAL [2021] | DIMENSION: DILEMMA [2021] | MANIFESTO: DAY 1 [2022] | DARK BLOOD [2023] | ORANGE BLOOD [2023]

[JAPANESE RELEASES]

BORDER: HAKANAI [2021] | DIMENSION: SENKOU [2022] | SADAME [2022] | YOU [2023]

[REPACKAGED ALBUMS]

DIMENSION: ANSWER [2022]

[OTHER / ENGLISH VERSIONS / DIGITAL / SINGLES / OSTs]

HEY TAYO [2021] | BILLY POCO [2021] | ALWAYS [2022] | A KIND OF MAGIC [2022] | I NEED THE LIGHT [2022] | ONE IN A BILLION [2022] | MAKE THE CHANGE [2022] | ONE AND ONLY [2023] | CRIMINAL LOVE [2023] | BLOSSOM [2023] | KEEP SWIMMIN' THROUGH [2023] |

___

#; ─── DRUNK ON YOUR POISON IN MY BLOOD VEINS || [ENHYPEN ADDITION] #; ─── DRUNK ON YOUR POISON IN MY BLOOD VEINS || [ENHYPEN 8TH MEMBER] #➴. ─── HELP HER SHE'D DYING FROM HEARING THE TRUTH! | [REDRUM RECORDS] #➴. ─── EVEN WHEN YOURE NOT HERE YOURE HERE | [EXTRA EXTRA PRODUCTIONS] #kpop oc group addition #oc group addition #kpop group addition #enhypen addition #enhypen 8th member #kpop oc #fictional kpop community #fictional idol community #fictional kpop company

[septembersghost]

hi!! so i’ve been lurking on your blog for a minute and i love how much you love elvis!! it’s super sweet and interesting to me and you’ve inspired me to start learning about him, but i just have no idea where to start. there are like 20,000 albums on spotify 💀 so i was wondering if you could help me out by recommending certain songs/albums you really love/think are essential as a starting point? and i’d love to know if there are any specific books or documentaries you think are really good too. thank you so much!!!

hi!!! anon this is so lovely and kind of you. 🥺 and you're welcome here any time, whether that's to lurk and peruse or to say hello! it's extraordinarily touching that anyone ever looks at my silly posts, or if they can inspire you to listen or learn more in any way (about anything!, but it warms my heart with elvis particularly...he deserves it). i know his discography is staggering and very hard to navigate because of the way it's laid out and the amount of albums/compilations/live recordings/sessions there are.

there's honestly not a wrong place to start, but the obvious is his first self-titled record with RCA in 1956, he's just this young, enthusiastic talent and all pure potential. my beloved is the 1969 album from elvis in memphis, you can hear the passion and invigoration he was feeling creating that music in that time and space. it has a sister album with back in memphis. there are honestly gems across so many records for various reasons, it makes it difficult to narrow down! if starting with compilations/overviews is easier (and sometimes it is!), there's the #1s (this was the first album of his i had, long ago!), the essentials, or if i can dream (which is long but has a lot of great cuts). a bunch of songs will overlap between these because they're the Iconic Tracks, i secretly cherish some of the lesser known music even more, but the famous songs are well-known for a reason! i also really love the compilations they did with the london philharmonic - they added the orchestrations over the original tracks, but the arrangements are so beautiful and full and (to me) highlight his vocals rather than overwhelming them, and i just know he would've loved to perform them in such a lush way. if i can dream (they reused this title, but i cannot blame them. that song is so important, i could wax on about it forever), the wonder of you. if you want a feeling of his live electricity, it has to be the recording of the '68 special, and/or that's the way it is. i have to mention how great thou art, gospel music was particularly dear to him and this album won him his first grammy (his only grammy awards were all in the sacred category). it's interesting too because they split the album into an "a" side, with slower hymns, and a "b" side, with uptempo songs, which is the same concept they utilized on something for everybody, "a" side ballads, "b" sides rock and roll. also i would be remiss not to mention the movie soundtrack (i am linking the deluxe for Reasons!!!), it's not all elvis himself, but the other performances, from austin and from modern day artists, are a really fun experience and speak to the way his music still resonates and can feel really timeless. there's still so much i'm leaving off of this, but i know it's a LOT to sort through.

the '68 comeback special (the file labeled "disc 1" should be the full performance itself, the other two are outtakes/other versions of the session and such!) is a must. there's also a documentary upcoming from producer/director steve binder (who also published a book on the special) in may! the documentary/concert that's the way it is from 1970 is so good and highlights not only his skill as a performer but a lot of his personality, and 1972's elvis on tour is fun too! there's an HBO documentary from 2018 called the searcher that i personally thought was beautifully done and presented. i know there's tons of stuff out there and it's as confusing to parse through as the music, and the books are even harder to navigate. the ones considered the most comprehensive are peter guralnick's the last train to memphis and careless love, they're more scholarly/journalistic than personal. the personal memoirs can all be very tricky and subjective (as other anons and i have discussed recently), though i know a lot of people enjoyed his friend jerry schilling's book me and a guy named elvis (i have read many bits and pieces of it, a bad habit of mine with books recently, but need to read it properly!). elvis: the legend is SO gorgeous and officially released from graceland, so it doesn't delve into the harder struggles or gossipy stuff, it traces his career/music/accomplishments, but that's what i love to learn about and prioritize in many ways. also, on instagram, walking in memphis is a fan page, but she shares really nice stories and photographs that delve into his humanity and character (there are many fan accounts, and good ones!, but hers might be my favorite that i've found). if anyone else has recommendations they'd like to add to this, please do!!!

i don't know if this helps, there are likely better people to ask than me and i'm honored you'd trust me to try. 😭 i hope it does give you a beginning, if you want any more information/clarification, please feel free to come back! this brightened my day (well, night! so you are a star!), thank you again for being so sweet and sending this to me. 💖💖💖

edit: elvis is back!, from the comments <3

also this is how i feel every time anyone asks me about him:

#i shouldn't publish this at 12:30 am but i am going to anyway #anon you are so <3 <3 <3 #anonymous #letterbox #elvis presley #i was a dreamer #me: this is a fairly decent overview i think? #also me: none of these albums include never been to spain which invalidates the entire endeavor! #apologies to aus specifically since that's his jam

[dustedmagazine]

Carl Stone — Electronic Music from 1972-2022 (Unseen Worlds)

Electronic Music from 1972-2022 by Carl Stone

Unseen Worlds brings us their third installment of Carl Stone archival releases. Following "Electronic Music from the Seventies and Eighties" and "Electronic Music from the Eighties and Nineties," "Electronic Music from 1972-2022" makes a stab at filling in some of the gaps from Stone's sizable list of works. Presumably by the time this review gets published Stone will have added another release to his vast discography from the last 50 years.

"Electronic Music from 1972-2022" offers an until now unheard documentation of Stone's very earliest work in the two compositions "Three Confusongs" and "Ryouund Thygizunz," both realized in 1972 at CalArts, where Stone was studying with the composers Morton Subotnick and James Tenney. The voice of Carl's old friend and band mate, the late Z'ev (at this time still known as Stefan Weisser) was used on both these pieces. In stark contrast to the other tracks on this compilation, "Three Confusongs" and "Ryouund Thygizunz" develop slowly with heavy use of delays and resonance. Yet similarly to Stone's later works' extensive use of sampling, recordings of the voice of Z'ev reading his concrete poems provide the basic working material that launches in motion these haunting and mysterious pieces.

It was also while studying at CalArts that Stone's sampling practice found its future direction. Working as an archivist in the school's library, Stone got saddled with the job of transferring thousands of vinyl records to tape. This saturated Stone's ears with a vast and seemingly incongruous selection of music that included classical repertoire, electronic composition, world music and jazz, just to name a few. Stone had to transfer multiple discs at the same time, thus creating incorrigibly random collisions from this wealth of archival material. Through this process Stone began to see the juxtaposition and repetition of musical soundbytes as the modus operandi for his compositional practice.

Working in a vein with much in common to the use of sampling in hip hop, Stone has never shied away from plumbing the depths of popular music in a fearless and unabashed disregard for any notions of what might be regarded as good taste. It is perhaps this attitude, as much as the actual samples themselves, that imbues much of Stone's work with a heavy dose of humor and playful confrontation. The composition "Vim"  from 1987 provides a good case in point, with samples from The Beach Boys' "Fun Fun Fun" being looped and chopped nearly beyond all recognition while still creating this nagging feeling of "Where have I heard this before?" Only towards the very end of the piece does it become apparent what one has just been subjected to in the form of this insidious earworm.

Stone's work can also be eminently danceable, often employing samples of drums and percussion in a process of accretion that can lead to dizzying heights of tension and release, not far in essence from Derrick May's work, such as the seminal "Strings of Life" from1987. Stone adds to this his experience from the trippy sixties, notching up the density and movement of his compositions till they take on a distinctly psychedelic feel. One can imagine whirling dervishes, The Master Musicians of Joujouka or your favorite neighborhood rave where ecstasy meets a discombobulated vortex of looping samples and very grooving beats.

Parallel to a summary of Stone's work during this fifty years, "Electronic Music from 1972-2022" also gives an overview of the development in electronic music technology which, as much as any conceptual preoccupations, often seems to have provided the impetus for much of the development in Stone's compositions. From working with Buchla synthesizers at CalArts to early samplers and Apple computers, each advancement in all this musical hard- and software has enabled Stone to dig deeper into his proclivity for iteration and sonic disorientation.

Track eight, the 2007 piece "L'os a Moelle," is a good example of this. Developed during a residency at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales studios in Paris, Stone devised a way of injecting new musical material into the shell of another piece of music. In the case of "L'os a Moelle,"  this involves using a brazenly strutting sixties rock riff as the shell and injecting a cavalcade of disparate and confusing samples, all following the tonal and rhythmic form of the original riff, which by the end of the piece has become completely subsumed by the injection of sampled material. If this description sounds confusing, then wait until you hear the track.

Three pieces from 2022 close out this compilation and in a way encapsulate all the ideas and techniques from the preceding tracks. For long-standing fans or listeners just discovering Stone's work, "Electronic Music from 1972-2022"  will provide a fascinating look back over this composer's output from the last 50 years, straddling that fine line between rigorous experimentation and hilarious irreverence.

Jason Kahn

#carl stone #electronic music from 1972 to 2022 #unseen worlds #jason kahn #albumreview #dusted magazine #electronic music #sampling #Morton Subotnick #James Tenney

[raytorosaurus]

Hey so Thursday is opening at my show (Detroit) and I haven't really listened to them much...I have a general idea of their sound (what I've heard seems similar in style to MCR's early stuff) but couldn't pick out any of their songs. Do you think it would be better to listen to a bunch of their stuff before the show so I know what's coming, or to go into it more or less blind and be surprised?

so thursday does an absolutely INCREDIBLE live show (gerard has said that geoff is his biggest influence and inspiration in terms of live energy), but they usually play in much smaller, more intimate venues so it'll be interesting to see how it translates to an arena for sure! and it's fully up to you but i'm always a proponent for knowing at least some of the music before you go in because thursday really encourages audience involvement (watch even just the first song from their reunion set in 2016 and you'll see what i mean. chills every time) and there's nothing like being able to scream I DON'T WANT TO FEEL THIS WAY FOREVER back at geoff rickly. that being said their lyrics are often not the uh easiest to learn (full collapse's lyrics were adapted from geoff's senior college thesis in english literature lol). i would at the very least try to learn the lyrics to understanding in a car crash, war all the time (the song), and jet black new year, since they're pretty much guaranteed to play those.

if you want to hear more, me and @geoffrard made this playlist for songs we think they're most likely to play at the my chem shows, and this longer one that spans their discography and captures their evolving sound to give an overview of their whole deal. also, if you're going to the september 10 show in brooklyn they'll be playing the album full collapse in full at that one, so give it a listen! autobiography of a nation and paris in flames are two live highlights.

also just in general, if you like mcr i truly can't recommend thursday enough. gerard and geoff share very similar musical and thematic influences, to the point where you can tell what thursday album gerard was listening to a lot when he was writing each my chem record. there's body dysmorphia, sexuality and gender, mental illness, grief and suicide, religious trauma, disillusionment with capitalism etc etc. the main difference is that thursday tend to be more political than mcr and they stuck closer to their hardcore roots and then branched out into, like, a heavy experimental indie direction rather than going more rock/punk. they're definitely less accessible than mcr but so so incredible, and everyone in the band is just the nicest fucking dude too. they kind of got chewed up and spit out by the music industry too (you can read the whole saga here if you want) so like it's always nice to throw them some support <3

have the best time at the show it's gonna be awesome!!!

#i wonder if geoff is gonna let the crowd sing the first line of autobiography at the my chem show or if he'll do it himself #thursday #answered #sorry that this got long it will happen agaon #*again #ignore the typos in this lol my HEAD HURTS

[aceticacid]

Any recs for someone who never listened to king gizz? Should I start with an album or dive in with Spotify on shuffle?

anon i am so honored you would ask me this?? king gizz has such a massive discography that spans so many genres that i think diving right into their music on shuffle could be a bit overwhelming! if you're open to all different types of music though it could be really rewarding!

what genres do you enjoy? I can give you recs based on that too!

also, you're in luck, because someone has literally made an entire website dedicated to getting into gizz. this site has overviews of all their studio albums and also gives you the option to go through a virtual flowchart of their music!

someone on reddit also made a flowchart that includes a lot of their eps and live stuff too

both the flowchart and the website recommend starting with I'm In Your Mind Fuzz and i do too! it's the album that many people agree is where they really found their distinct sound. it encompasses a lot of styles that show up in other records, so it's a good place to figure out what specific stuff you like from them!

i hope you have fun checking them out! feel free to message me with any more questions, and also to let me know what you like when you start listening! thanks so much for your ask and have a good day <3

#anon #asks #kgatlw #I LOVE ASKS LIKE THIS....ASK ME MORE ABT MY MUSIC TASTE PLS

[cardboard-box-of-beans]

just chatting/gushing about Frontiers' music

I'm genuinely really happy with what we've been hearing of the OST these past few days and just wanted to ramble about it for a couple paragraphs

"Vandalize" was already stuck in my head since the day it dropped- I've seen a lot of other people voice this opinion but it really does sound like a song you'd hear in those 2007 AMVs, and I couldn't be happier about it

And now "I'm Here" drops out of nowhere, and now it's going to be fist-fighting "Vandalize" inside my head for the next couple of weeks. I'm really liking Merry Kirk-Holmes' vocals here. I'd never heard of To Octavia before this but, as I did with ONE OK ROCK when "Vandalize" dropped, I'm gonna be going through their entire discography because that is some *good stuff*

I'm not gonna lie, I was initially a bit nervous when I saw the main theme had been dropped on YouTube- I'd loved the bits of the instrumental we heard in the Nintendo Direct trailer, but I'd also loved Fist Bump's instrumental and then been disappointed by the vocals when they got revealed. (This isn't meant to be a "Forces bad, grr" post. I unironically love a lot of the songs from the Forces OST- especially Infinite's theme, I think Sage's theme is going to have some big shoes to fill there. It's really just the vocals from Fist Bump I didn't like.)

That said, I think my fears have been assuaged- I already really like "I'm Here" and I think it's going to grow on me even more as I listen to it more and more.

It *seems* like they're going to be uploading videos about Frontiers every Thursday, if last Thursday's overview video and this Thursday's main theme drop are any indication. Hopefully we get some more OST uploads.

#bean spilling #sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers #probably qualifies as #sonic frontiers spoilers

[livvywritesworld]

A Fist in the Mouth | Overview & Analysis

For those who don’t know, I am a creative writing student in my first year of university. In my introduction to creative writing class this semester, I wrote a short story called ‘A Fist in the Mouth’ for our fiction unit. After a couple rounds of editing, I submitted this piece to my university’s literary magazine and was later accepted for publication.

This is my first ever publication acceptance so of course this story holds such a special place in my heart now, and I thought I might make a post about it just kind of sharing a couple of snippets and some of the inspiration and thought I put behind the story as a whole.

(please let it be known that I retain all rights to my original work and no plagiarism will be tolerated)

excerpts and analysis under the cut

‘A Fist in the Mouth’ began as a way for me to kind of reintroduce myself to short fiction after a period of not having written anything at all due to some health issues. I had all of these ideas for the short fiction piece that I needed to write for class and none of them were working out how I wanted them to while still fitting within the word limit. So, I decided to discovery write something while listening to one of my many Spotify playlists just to kind of get in the groove of writing once more and really just see what would happen.

As I was writing, the song “Modern Girl” by Sleater-Kinney came on shuffle and for those of you who have never heard the song, there’s a repeating lyric, “hunger makes me a modern girl.” This really sparked some inspiration in me and all of a sudden I was writing about a teenage runaway come riot grrrl serial concert goer experiencing the horrors of girlhood and ambition. 

‘A Fist in the Mouth’ begins like this:

There’s a difference between running from and running to. When I left home, I thought I was running towards. I didn’t think of it as me leaving my parents’ oppressive religious household, though that was a fact that I readily acknowledged as a girl. I only ever thought of it as me, freshly eighteen, running full speed at a future I thought I deserved. A future I knew never would have found me if I’d stayed in that town, in that house, with those people, spending my days on my knees praying to a god that didn’t see me as deserving of anything more than I’d already been given.

Now, I think all I was doing was running away from every facet of my life. I didn’t feel the same way about God as the rest of my family, was scared to death of them looking at me one day and suddenly seeing all of me. Back then, I felt like I didn’t have any other choice. And I probably didn’t.

The narrator is kind of inspired by the character Maxine in the film ‘X,’ which I had watched a couple of weeks before writing the story, as well as Ethel Cain’s discography. I really wanted to write from the perspective of a teenage girl fleeing a very religious household (religious trauma for the win) because she wants more out of life than what her parents have laid out for her.

As we move through the story and see how the narrator interacts with the 90s Seattle grunge & punk scene, we are introduced to the narrator’s insatiable hunger (her ambition, queerness, and dedicated yearning). I use a lot of motifs throughout the beginning and middle of the text to try and recreate this feeling for the reader.

I was nineteen and my presence felt both excessive and non-existent. I wasn’t eating as much as I should’ve been, couldn’t really afford three meals a day. Most of my money went towards rent and bills, any real food I got would be leftovers from the diner. The cook was a bit sweet on me, so he’d make me a sandwich every day, free of charge, whatever kind I wanted.

The thing was though, even if I did get enough to eat, I still never felt full. I’d look in the mirror and my mouth would be this gaping cavern, something that didn’t fit on my face. It didn’t matter how old I was, how much life I did or didn’t experience— in the mirror smiling back at me was a gape-toothed girl looking to swallow the whole world if given the chance.

Then, we meet the character of Magdalene Williams, who is the only character in the story that I’ve named. The inspiration for Magdalene was definitely Mary Magdalene— I kind of wanted this holy-like figure to come into the narrator’s life and really give her a taste of the life that she craves for herself.

Magdalene invites the narrator to an all non-men punk show on the edge of Seattle and the narrator feels her hunger clawing up out of her stomach and demanding to go. She is inherently drawn to Magdalene and has no idea why. So she accepts the invitation. 

The story kind of unravels from there, and we end with Magdalene coming onstage with her band and giving The Performance of a Lifetime and generally really disturbing the narrator. The narrator knows that something Is Not Right here, she’s been very active in the scene for the last year and has never heard of Magdalene yet the entire crowd is going wild over her, and once Magdalene starts singing she immediately knows that something is wrong. And yet. She just can’t look away.

In Magdalene, the narrator sees everything that she wants, everything that she is so hungry for, and it terrifies her. She’s also a little jealous, and a little horny but very much in a prophet/faithhealer x devotee kind of way. 

I wrote the entire story in past tense because I really wanted it to have a sort of confessional vibe, to really keep in tone with the religious themes and imagery. My professor suggested after workshop that I might try it in present tense but it just was not working. During our class workshop however, everyone said that they liked the choice of past tense because it was almost like the narrator was telling us, the reader, that she experienced such an intense period of wanting in her life and still made it out in the end.

I don’t know if it’s too much to share on here like word count-wise, but the last few paragraphs of the story are my absolute favorites and I’m so proud of them. They’ve remained mostly unchanged in my various rounds of edits and I’m so impressed with myself for being able to write like this after having literally not written anything substantial in around six months.

Before I left home, my whole life was like a sepia photograph of a sunny day. Over-exposed, parents with smiling faces and sons with square jaws, daughters with ribbons in their hair. Wooden crosses on the walls, simple and unornate because God doesn’t need to be loved in gold foil. Grass stains on white tights, Sunday kitten heels scuffed from being worn so often, deodorant powder refusing to wash off the baby pink dress Mama thought looked so nice with my brown eyes.

There’s a difference between running from and running to. At eighteen, I was running towards something. I’msure of that. I don’t think I ever had an idea of what that something was, or what I even wanted it to be, but I did know that I didn’t want to be some televangelist’s golden daughter proffered up to God like Icarus was to the sun.

I noticed things about myself the way my family noticed things about God and religion and theology. Studied myself in mirrors, in the dark, in the depths of my own mind. I noticed everything and remembered nothing. Blood never started to fill my mouth until I surrounded myself with idolatry of a different kind, the screams sounded too much like mine.

At nineteen, I was running from. That night, hunger attacked every fiber of my being, ate away at my organs, left behind teeth marks and blood. I saw that hunger reflected in Magdalene, her mouth an open wound as she screamed out her lyrics. I wasn’t scared, though. There’s nothing scary about hunger, what’s scary is the response hunger elicits from other people.

This, I noticed. All in real time. Learned it of myself.

I watched the crowd feed Magdalene, and consequently devour her whole. Sanctify her living and alive, right before my eyes. And I never wanted anything more than I did then. I craved it, would’ve let hordes of women and girls crucify me where I stood just to be in Magdalene’s position. She never could’ve been full, not with the way she sang, but at least she was well fed. Oh how I wanted to be kept in excess.

Have learned to become my own number one fan lol

#really am my own biggest fan lolll who else is gonna do it #writeblr #writerblr #my writing #mywriting #viaspeaks #love how I use a nickname on here that I hate but have already committed to #literally no one has ever called me via #and I do not like it #but all of my posts already have via tags #via speaks #queer teenage girls with religious trauma are terrifying #unnamed narrator you will always be famous #kinda sorta working on a magdalene prequel short fiction piece #because she's an absolute icon #and I'm obsessed with her #I literally love talking about my own writing #so if you made it through this I love you