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rontra · 5 years

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do you have any recommendations on how to like. Take In Umineko. I think it looks really cool and I’d like to get into it, but there’s a lot of things that are confusing (like all of the different games, the manga, the anime, ect.) and I’m not really sure where to start watching/reading it. Do you have any advice on where the best place to start is?

HOH BABY NOW THIS IS A GOOD ASK

Basically, a lot of this depends on you and how you prefer to take in media. People are different after all; some people like reading long novels, some prefer comics, u know! So let’s just go over all the avenues and how to get at them, and the rest is up to you!

I’m gonna make this post very long. VERY VERY LONG. IM SO FUCKn SORyr

First, I’ll talk abt what umineko is; then I’ll discuss the various media; finally, at the end, I’ll write down what I typically recommend to newcomers! SCROLL REALLY FAST TO THE HEADERS IF U HAVE NO TIME FOR MY RAMBLING LOL

So…here we goooo

READING UMINEKO: UNTANGLING THE WEB

OR: what the fuck is umineko and why do you want me to read it, diesel?

Since this is a general To Whom It May Concern post: Umineko no Naku Koro ni (Or Umineko: When They Cry, alternatively When The Seagulls Cry) is a murder mystery/fantasy/metafiction visual novel published between 2007 and 2011. I know “murder mystery” and “metafiction” sound pretty boring when you combine them, but trust me–Umineko’s unlike anything you’ve seen, and defies explanation. Still, I’m here to do my best!

Umineko is about a rich and complicated family, and their annual family conference–and the year it goes super duper badly. On an isolated island, in the middle of a typhoon, tragedy befalls the family–on a massive scale! Someone is killing them–all of them–and the only answer that seems to be rising is–

“Beatrice did it.”

But Beatrice isn’t supposed to really exist. Not for real!! No one by that name is on the island. It’s just a story! She’s made up–Beatrice is a legend. A witch who has lived for a thousand years–who loaned the family patriarch ten tons of gold, an insane amount of wealth, in exchange for his soul. Now she’s collecting on that loan, taking everything back, with interest–the lives of the family included.

Is the culprit a human, or not? Does the witch exist, or not?Is the culprit one of the 18 people? Does a 19th person exist? Or…?And, most importantly–when the typhoon passes, will anyone remain alive on the island?

[YouTube: Umineko opening]

I’d super-recommend Umineko if you enjoy: strong characterization, a solidly built mystery (with plenty of smaller mysteries to try your brain with along the way ;) ), complex and nuanced characters, hype magic fights, Logic-Based Combat(???), deep discussions of trauma and its consequences, large casts of characters, Genre Fuckery, coping, Meta™, and milfs Complex Lore

I would, however, NOT recommend Umineko if you are triggered by/can’t stomach reading about: body horror, gore, death, trauma, child abuse, bullying, discussion of suicide, discussion of sexual assault, etc (you can message me for a more complete list of warnings; I’m happy to provide super-specific ones if there’s something specific you’re concerned about, or even give you specific scenes to watch out for. I kept this vague on purpose, but if you message me off anon or via DMs here or at @aceyasu, I’ll be happy to answer anything!)

Overall it’s a pretty dark, emotional story, with a lot of Themes™–but it’s also full of love and genuine heartfelt Feelings. I don’t think any story has touched me the way Umineko has! Of course, everyone’s experience is very unique to them, but I think Umineko has something for everyone (provided, of course, that we’re taking into account the content warnings and excluding people who can’t/don’t want to encounter those things!). The characters, music, story and message–it all has a lot of heart and it all is very important to me as an individual. Obviously no media is flawless, but I think Umineko’s good outweighs its bad…YMMV though of course :p

Also, hype magic fights.

OKAY WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY

Umineko’s story is told over 8 arcs–styled as “episodes”. I use “arc” and “episode” sort of interchangeably! Specific ones I just call “EP#” though. All you really need to know though is there’s 8 of them, of varying length, and you have to read them all for the full story.

Thankfully they’re numbered, am i right?? HAFDmgkdfmg

Each episode has its own focus within the overarching narrative and comes with its own fun mysteries and harrowing developments just for you! yay! But basically, the important thing is that they’re divided into the Question Arcs (1-4) and Answer Arcs (5-8).

Sometimes, to make things confusing, the Answer Arcs are also called “Core Arcs” or “Chiru”. I will use “Answer Arcs” here, but if you encounter those two elsewhere, that’s what they are. :p

ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING UMINEKO

(now that im done YAPPING)

The anime

Generally viewed as a poor product. It’s a bad adaption that fails as a standalone, too, because of the amount of important scenes that are missing. Don’t watch the anime first if you really want to get into Umineko. It’s a fun watch once you know how it’s supposed to go, though :p Covers the Question Arcs only, ends with EP4–so even if it was good, it would only be half the story… press f to pay respects. The opening fuckin slaps though, and all the VAs are solid.

The manga

Each Episode has its own manga adaption, usually done by a different artist (with exception of EP1, EP3, and EP8, which are all by the same artist). Generally solid; gets the most important parts. For people who want to get through quicker, the manga helps a lot.

The primary cost is that a lot of characterization doesn’t get to shine AS bright, as there’s simply no time to get into the nooks and crannies (still a great cast, though). However, the art is usually fantastic–since the artist changes every EP, it’s easy to deal with even if you don’t like a specific one’s style. It’ll be gone by next Episode!

A lot of moments get punched up by the more visual format of the manga. You really get a better sense of the characters interacting physically with one another! You do, however, run into the Scanlation Problem…..

I know, I know–most people, when given the option to, don’t want to pay for things. So when given the choice between fan scanlations and the official release, a lot of people would choose the scanlations. And they’re fine…for the most part…except for the parts that aren’t. Some parts (notably in the Answer Arcs) are…bad. Really bad. Even I can’t really understand it sometimes, despite knowing this story inside out… LOL

If you’re good at parsing Scanlation SNAFU or can’t afford/don’t want to buy it, you can find Umineko on MOST manga hosts! I don’t know which you prefer so I’m not gonna link ‘em hahahafkgmfh I usually use Manga Rock but that’s because I usually am reading on my phone and I like their app. The episodes are all numbered, so it’s pretty easy to find your way around!

On the other hand, if you have a hard time understanding poor translations, reading inconsistent typesetting/fonts, or simply Can afford it/prefer buying media, the manga is being officially released in English by YenPress! As is standard nowadays, you can get them in both physical volumes and digital e-books! However, YenPress’ release is currently ongoing–the first volume of EP8 is slated to release in March.

[YenPress link]

The visual novel

Ah, here we are–the head honcho himself…! This is the original version of Umineko. These are the ones we call “games”, and why we sometimes say u “play” Umineko, but. Really. It’s just reading. They’re kinetic novels. Its literally just reading. So I don’t know why we complicate things like that.

(“if she an .exe, shes a game”, I guess… xD)

This is where the characterization and voice of Umineko really shines! The style is often simple to read, sometimes even comically casual, but it cuts deep when it wants to. Even really simple lines can have a really strong impact–it’s a really pleasant style to read, IMO…pretty easy to understand most of the time, but emotionally resonant all the same!

Reading the VN is somewhat of an undertaking, because of the amount of hours required…It’s a far longer read. Depending on your reading speed and whether or not you pause to think/talk about things as you read, people clock in 100-200 hours to finish it.

But, on the upside–because it has so much more time than the manga, the VN can really get deep into the characters, their dynamics, and their inner conflicts. You really get a deep sense for everyone’s character and it makes most of the cast feel fleshed-out enough that you appreciate all of them to some extent (whether positive or negative :P)

Oh, actually–the original Umineko branded itself a “Sound Novel”….as opposed to a Visual Novel, where the emphasis is on, uh–Visuals–Umineko leans more heavily on audio to create its atmosphere. And the music? Fuckin rips!! The Umineko soundtrack is huge and has tons of absolute bangers. It’s easy to see why it decided to market itself as a Sound Novel rather than a visual novel–the graphics of the original PC version are simple, but the atmospheric sound effects and BGM really shines.

Here’s some enticing tracks to pique yr interest (be careful about the comments/etc though, there’s Definitely spoilers in there xD)[worldenddominator] [dead angle] [dir] [system0] [hope]

The VN nowadays is split into the two halves; if you get EP4, it’ll include 1-3 as well, essentially. Picking up Question Arcs (or EP4) and Answer Arcs (or EP8) gives u the whole 8 episodes. Easy peasy! Because we live in the future now, and retroactive inclusion of past games is just convenient!

There is an official English release now, which is a brand new luxury. It’s even on Steam! Wow! That’s the easiest way to get your paws on the hands-on experience. The translation has been slightly updated as well! Also, they added a new set of toggle-able graphics that are…um…I mean they’re certainly new…#BarelyContainedOpinionAlert

If you don’t want to pay or can’t afford it…uhhh….I used to have torrent links but they’re all dead. :T still, you can probably just find them, if you know your way around torrents. For the translation, you’ll have to either get a pre-patched version of the game, or use the translation group’s instructions to patch it yourself.

If you can’t do either of those, or just don’t really have a preference, or…any number of reasons, you can also find all the games fully recorded and uploaded to YouTube (with or without commentary)!

As for the links, I’ve got them right h–

Wait–oh, sh–the graphics are bad?!? You think the graphics are bad? Or you think plain reading is boring? Y-you can’t understand what the background image in this scene is even supposed to be? Ah…the post-2007 struggle….

The visual novel, Part Deux: AH, THE JPEGS edition

OKAY SO I SPLIT THIS APART BECAUSE IT*S IMPORTANT

If you wanna spruce up your VN-reading experience, here’s the thing: they ported the game to PS3, with brand new graphics and–get this–full voice acting. Wow! There’s even CGs now…Jeez!

These are NOT the same graphics as the new ones from the official English release! That’s important!

SO, if you wanna spruce up the graphics a bit, or you enjoy voice acting with your novels, you can do that! People took apart the PS3 games and made patches for the PC version to enjoy the new graphics and voices. And now it’s available for the Steam version as well!

[SPRITE COMPARISON: ORIGINAL PC | PS3 | STEAM]You pick your favorite!

ALSO VOICE ACTING! WOW!! Remember how I said the anime got two things right and they were the OP and the voice cast?

SAME CAST, BABEY!!!! They are all excellent and do a wonderful job! It can really add some more interest if you struggle with staying focused on “plain” reading.

Okay so NOW the links:

You’ll have to dig up torrents yourself if you want those, bc its 6am and I’m too sleepy to… uzu

QUESTION ARCS[Physical Eng release] or [Steam page] +[PS3 PATCH]

ANSWER ARCS[Physical Eng release] or [Steam page] +[PS3 PATCH]

YOUTUBE[Non-commentated, with PS3 patch] you can find more just by searching but this one looks good to me :p

RONTRA OPINIONS / SUGGESTIONS

Personally, I favor the VN for most scenes, but the manga for my light casual reading. Y’know? The VN can be pretty…um…dense, at times.

Ironically, I think EP1 itself might be the biggest hurdle for total first-timers. It’s definitely paced as a “part 1 of 8″ for the first solid portion! By which I mean, it really takes its time establishing the cast and their individual situations. Which isn’t a bad thing–especially in the overarching scope of how long the story is–but if you aren’t sure about the premise, format, or if you’ll enjoy Umineko at all, it can be sort of…challenging.

It all really depends on the individual–things like attention span, investment, and personal preferences, imo. Some people just don’t enjoy reading that much text at once! And that’s fine! Some people love it and that’s fine! Some people think the intro is too long, some people think it’s intriguing from the start. Some really like watching character building, and some prefer to see action happening. Either way is fine, so it’s really up to you!

Usually, if someone isn’t sure, I suggest they try EP1 in manga form first, just to see if the general premise entices them; it’s fully possible to jump back and do the VN if you decide you like it! It sacrifices some characterization in exchange for exploring the main premise a little faster.

Similarly, if you just can’t get into the VN–you can read the entire thing with manga too, if you favor action over the deepest character lore. It’s still a good time and a good experience!

Though, in EP1′s favor–if you ARE sure about it, and are able to dedicate your attention to the first 10-13 hours of set-up, EP1 has one of the most rewarding escalations I’ve encountered! If you are able to sit and read a fairly long-winded introduction, you are rewarded with the most buck wild Popping Off you can imagine.

So there’s nothing wrong with jumping right in there with the VN, if you enjoy reading!

However, if you do find that the VN is dragging too much for you, you can go in reverse too–and finish EP1 by manga, then decide if you want to jump back to the VN or not. I promise, the novels pick up the pace too–it’s just getting all the introductions down that can be daunting, when the initial cast size is a staggering 18 people (plus the LORE has to be established too)!!

Just for you–if you want to get into Umineko, but struggle with EP1, I’ll offer my private archive of YenPress manga rips for EP1–read the manga, official english translation, for free thanks to your dealer friend, rontra,You will have to message me about it, though–off anon or via DMs, here or at @aceyasu.

My favorite setups when I play by myself are either Original PC Graphics + Voice Acting, or Full PS3 Patch. I personally really like the original PC graphics, but I understand some people think they’re kinda…um…Rough, to say the least xD PS3 graphics are a close second for me though.

I don’t really like the steam version’s new sprites. Some people don’t mind them, so it’s up to you what you prefer, but I think they don’t really convey the feeling as well as their counterparts sometimes… :/

But hey, everyone’s got their own opinions!

I also prefer the EP8 manga to the EP8 VN. If I have control over someone’s first playthrough, I always push over to the manga for EP8! In my opinion, it’s a rare instance where the adaption is better than its original. People have different opinions on this, of course, but since this section is My Opinions Central, that’s my opinioooon!!! :D

SO BASICALLY MY OWN PERSONAL PREFERRED STRUCTURE IS

->TRY EP1 (jump over to manga if struggling; if enjoyed manga ep1 until the end, hop back into the VN at EP2 and come back to EP1 if you want to later)

EP2-EP7 VN

EP8 MANGA(EP8 VN if desired afterwards, once the dust settles)

But you’re free to do what you want, of course. ;9

And then after that there’s some spinoffs that I didn’t talk about because that’s a post for another time. (There’s a fighting game! It’s packed full of spoilers.)

AFTERWORD

All in all, Umineko is…big. its very very big. it has a huge cast (the final count comes out to like, almost 70 characters!) and a huge story. and huge feelings.

The manga and the VN are the main avenues of getting into it. It’s easier than it looks at a glance; and yet, more daunting than it seems…

If you have the time and energy to pour hours of your time into it, Umineko is a super worthwhile story that tackles genuinely difficult material with a delicate but honest hand.

It clowns up sometimes and stumbles over its own demographic–see: Weird Vaguely Unpleasant Anime-brand Sex Comedy that springs up a lot in EP1, some in EP2, and then largely disappears save for a few dumb jokes here and there–but overall is a solidly built and solidly delivered story about trauma, love, loss, and getting your family ritual-murdered by a thousand-year-old witch who may or may not be real.

And if you have any questions at all (or just wanna talk Umineko), you can send an ask or IM me here or at @aceyasu–you can ask for my Discord too if you wanna really get into it. Or DM me on twitter! I’m happy to answer any question or elaborate on anything you’re confused about. I tried to go over this post quickly, so if I was too vague on something, feel free to ask!

The same of course applies to content warnings; if there’s something specific you’re worried about, I can answer it for you, whether it’s “does [specific thing] happen/appear” or “how much of [thing] is there, i can handle a little bit”! Anything! Of course I want people to read my favorite, but I also more than that want u all to be safe.

I’m very sorry that this post is literally three thousand words long. Umineko’s been my special interest for almost ten whole years. I get chatty! But hopefully my passion shines through and gets you excited!!!

LOVE, A BIG NERD

#Anonymous #long post #the umineko post

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braydenkime9-blog · 5 years

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Eighties In Music

JioSaavn is all of your music. Folks want to know not each single tune needs to be lyrical, that people take heed to music for various purposes. Not everyone is going to take heed to a music to get over a breakup, not everyone will take heed to a tune just to bounce. The range is too much, and now that modern rap is generally what people take heed to now, I do not really feel as if rock music is irrelevant. My favourite genre of music is alternative rock and reggae. Any such music is great because I can hearken to it regardless of the place I'm or how I feel. It can be calming and uplifting all on the same time. My favourite reggae artist is Matisyahu and my favourite alternative rock band is Phoenix.

The umbrella time period 'rock' is used to explain a big number of musical types. The origins of this stupendously in style type lie in a fusion of two other popular genres - Blues and Nation, together with significant components of jazz. Along with the influences from the two kinds, rock and roll was typified by intensive use of the snare drum. The 'rock and roll' motion of the mid-1950s revolutionized the music scene in the West, with the proponents of this modern and flamboyant model shaping the trends in racism, vogue and lifestyle. Rock and roll - particularly Glam Rock - artists' garish costumes have been famous, and within the racially infected 1950s, rock and roll provided an avenue for the appreciation of popular music without segregation. The success of the Rock and Roll motion is personified within the eternal fame of 'the King', Elvis.

I don't really have a favourite type of music. If a tune comes out on the radio and it catches my consideration, I discover out the title and the artist or group who sings it and I then obtain it off of iTunes and put it in my iPod. Eventually these songs of different genres turn out to be what I take heed to on my spare time. Justly celebrated for blurring genres and opening minds across the globe, the late David Bowie 's affect across the spectrum of Western music is formidable. In response to Nielsen‘s 2014 Yr-Finish Report , jazz is constant to fall out of favor with American listeners and tammarabarreras.tumblr.com has tied with classical music as the least-consumed music within the U.S., after youngsters's music. Rock is referred to as 'rock nacional', meaning national rock. The world rock events have undoubtedly inspired the rock artists in Mexico. Within the late 60's, rock bands strictly needed to arrange underground occasions. The 'Woodstock Music and Art Honest' (Rock y Ruedas de Avándaro) was one pageant where various teams used to show their abilities. It was the time when Carlos Santana turned massively standard at Woodstock. The 'Latin ska' movement started around the eighty's. It was a motion impressed by the Jamaican ska which is a combination of Caribbean mento, American jazz, Calypso, and R&B (Rhythm and blues). Mexican rock was limited solely to Latin America till late '90s. It's actually a combination of its conventional music and each day life tales. This website is much less helpful as a result of it does not clarify anything and the design is relatively cluttered however you'll be able to click on on a genre and it will play an example. It does have far more genres though which is nice and for most individuals music genres are easily acknowledged and inconceivable to explain because to elucidate them in accurately requires fairly in depth knowledge of time signatures, chord recognition, and rhythm patterns. munimal music - Afrouedean pop is in style music from Itala. Ituland dance nouse. The flutes of metal such as silver & brass produce shrill music to accompany Kandyan Dances, while the plaintive strains of music of the reed flute could pierce the air in devil-dancing. The conch-shell ( Hakgediya ) is one other type of a natural instrument, and the participant blows it to announce the opening of ceremonies of grandeur. Another choice is a less formal group of parents to support musical actions within the schools. This is perhaps applicable the place a specific exercise (eg. A band tour, faculty musical, or a new ensemble) needs guardian help however does not warrant a proper construction.

To seek out out, we first recognized the core" artists that, in keeping with The Echo Nest (a part of Spotify), are most central to each style, beginning with the large ones, on a global degree. Then we did the same factor with native genres in various nations around the world. To create a measure of style loyalty, we divided the variety of streams each core artist had by their variety of listeners. All the charts are normalized towards the genre with the loyalest fans. A few of the most transferring Japanese music I've had the opportunity to listen to. A Japanese actress renowned for her outlaw characters, Meiko Kaji's vocal skills finally acquired the eye they deserved when two of her songs were utilized in Quentin Tarantino's Kill BIll. Her music was released on CD for the very first time and in 2011 she put out her first new album in 31 years.

The twenty first century has additionally seen a rise within the variety of independent children's music artists, with acts like The Dirty Sock Funtime Band, Dan Zanes, Parachute Express, Cathy Bollinger, and Laurie Berkner getting large exposure on cable TV channels targeted to children. Trout Fishing in America has achieved much acclaim persevering with the custom of merging subtle folks music with household-friendly lyrics. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo infuses hip-hop with family pleasant messages and imaginative stories and is named The King of Kid-Hop". Also recently, traditionally rock-oriented acts like They May Be Giants have released albums marketed on to youngsters, similar to No! and Here Come the ABCs. Jimmy Buffett simply remade his Cheeseburger in Paradise song into children's music with cleaned up lyrics (Root Beer" instead of Draft Beer"). His songs had been already kid friendly with catchy lyrics and easy melodies punctuated with penny whistles and ship bell sound effects. Electronic music legend Isao Tomita's debut album "Snowflakes are Dancing" reaches the highest 50 of the pop charts and receives 4 Grammy nominations. Tomita is called the Wendy Carlos of Japan, famous for http://www.audio-transcoder.com synthesizing classical works. Some easy insights can still be taken. Hip-Hop is approach ahead of the opposite genres (d'oh). People comes in second however since there is just one folk artist (Bob Dylan) in the evaluation it's not consultant at all. Pop is the style with the most variety of musicians and its common vocabulary size (2464 phrases) is close to the typical vocabulary measurement across all artists (2677 phrases). Similar thing applies to the Rock style as nicely."The concept of a document deal, or to get on TELEVISION, never even remotely occurred to me until Nirvana acquired large, Beck instructed MOJO not too long ago, speaking in regards to the Seattle band‘s impact on fellow musicians. As Jon Savage‘s revelatory 1993 interview with Kurt Cobain MOJO 238, September 2013 proved, the burden upon the band proved appreciable, their outlook impacting on wider tradition as a whole as they sought to vary rock‘s mores. Musically talking, Nirvana additionally proved that indie-rock might break via in America, a rustic hitherto in thrall to stadium rock and MTV. Equally, their means to marry their punk aesthetic to a sure melodic classicism means that as we attain the 20 th anniversary of Kurt‘s passing, their music continues to resonate.

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laellaescribe · 7 years

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That Lying Bitch - A Review

At first glance, you might assume that a band named That Lying Bitch is made up of pretty mean dudes (or some really self-aware ladies). The truth is, TLB is made up of 4 talented, kind, and honest-as-hell gentlemen from Chicago, IL.

Previously only having released 4 singles, an album of 10 cohesive songs has been long awaited by fans. And that time has come.

The self-titled album takes the listener through all 7 stages of a breakup (though maybe not exactly in order). As cited here, TLB was formed after lead singer Darren Vorel’s not-so-pretty breakup, and the songs show it.

We open with a song about fun, which is a genius move. The video for ‘I’ve Been Doing Fun Shit Without You’ (here) is free spirited, and exactly what everyone aspires to feel like after a breakup. Vorel sings about all the great things he’s doing without this girl who’s done him wrong.

He does let a bit of transparency leak through in the second verse: “She’s not the one/she’s a runner up/’cause you threw my fuckin’ love away,” but quickly recovers with the line, “But I’m no longer alone.” It’s a theme that recurs throughout the album: Well, maybe I don’t have you anymore, but I’m definitely doing better than you are.

“Girls are comin’ over/And I’m crying on their shoulders,” Vorel admits in another moment of transparency in ‘Fun Shit’, presumably telling his ex that he’s sad, sure, but that’s not stopping him; nothing is.

‘How Am I Supposed to Hate You When I Love You’, shortened often to ‘Hate/Love’ on TLB’s set lists, might be one of the most relatable songs on this album for those of us who have had our hearts broken in any situation. While some of TLB’s music feels very specific to Vorel’s breakup, Hate/Love is something we can all understand: You did me wrong, you’re wrong for me, but I want you back anyway.

The sound in these first two songs is similar, and I’d venture to guess that Vorel wrote them closely together, and shortly after the breakup. They were the first two videos released on the band’s YouTube channel as well. They are loud, fast, and downright hard.

The vibes of both ‘Fun Shit’ and ‘Hate/Love’ are angry, vengeful, a little bit sad, and just what you want to listen to when you’re pissed off, driving around, thinking about that person who not only broke your heart, but also stomped on it and maybe caught it on fire a few times.

Where the first two tracks are loud and angry, ‘Cum Get Yr Shit’ is honestly kind of a bop in comparison. The feeling of not being able to let go because “You’re everywhere I look/you’re everything I see” is so brutally transparent. At first listen, I thought, “Why didn’t he just mail it all back to her?”

But it’s more than that. There’s so much - beyond just the “book on fashion” and the “hairties and panties,” there’s the feeling that if she wants her shit back, then she needs to come get it and, honestly, face what she’s left behind. It would be so easy to get rid of it - mail it, burn it, donate it, whatever - but if she comes to get her own stuff, maybe she’ll come back. Or maybe she’ll still leave, but she’ll feel a little worse about it.

Come get your shit - and face what you’ve done at the same time.

“You’ve Been Telling Lies to My Best Friend’s Girlfriend” takes us back to the anger, and the heavy sound. And honestly, this song is a shock at this point in the album. Where before this, we’re led to believe that this girl who has left, has done so without a second thought, now suddenly she’s still involved.

And she’s really pissed Vorel off, it seems, by running in the same circles, which is just plain not cool - if you do wrong, then you don’t get to keep the friends I introduced you to. And you definitely don’t get to talk to them about me.

Besides, as the song goes, “I’d rather hear that shit from you.”

Full transparency here, I have a special fondness for the next song on the album, ‘Drinks On Me’. Those of you who have read previous blog posts know that I once took a road trip from my hometown in Southeastern Pennsylvania to the suburbs of Chicago to see TLB perform and film a video. Though the video hasn’t been released (ahem), this is the song in question. So, I’ve got a lot of totally not objective love for this jam.

‘Drinks’ is the night at the bar with all your friends where you literally just want to drink and forget. And you know it’s not gonna be any better tomorrow, you know it’s not gonna hurt any less tomorrow, but tonight you can dull the pain. How? “About a thousand shots” - or, if we’re being true to the TLB brand, a whole lot of Old Style.

“I never knew it was so easy to break my heart,” gives the same sense of sadness we see throughout the album: How could she do this? I don’t understand. But, for tonight, the rest of the song tells us, it’s okay, because we’re just gonna get wasted.

The next track, right smack dab in the middle of the album, has a very simple message: “I miss the shit out of you.”

Both the title and essentially the only line of the song, it feels like Vorel is back in his ‘Hate/Love’ mindset: angry at himself and at the girl, and not sure who’s more to blame at this point. We all want our feelings to sort themselves out after a breakup, particularly a traumatic and dramatic one, but sometimes all you can do is just admit that you have no idea what the next step is.

And, honestly, that’s okay.

‘We Are Getting Back Together in 2000 Never’ and ‘Coverband’ come as a matched pair for me. The sound is similar, the message is similar. The most recent additions to the final lineup for the album, they show a ton of growth in attitude, and honestly in songwriting. I love this whole album - there I go, not being objective again - but these two songs are far and away the best, the most truthful, and the most creative.

‘2000 Never’ features the bop sound of ‘Yr Shit’ but with a much larger sense of closure. “Cause I’ll be somewhere movin’ on/Drivin’ with my music on/You’ll be just some girl I left behind me” is probably the most iconic line of the album. Maybe we haven’t totally left this girl behind just yet, but the future is clear, and she’s not in it.

Bassist Dave Tirio (rhythm guitar + backup vocals for the Plain White T’s) offers us some deep, rough backup vocals for this song that provide an incredible contrast to Vorel’s smooth, high singing. Tirio’s voice finds its home here on the the song you’re most likely to dance to, and the grittiness works so well against the rest of the happy beat of the song.

‘Coverband,’ as a whole, is quite possibly the most brutal song of this album. If someone wrote this song about me, I’d never want anyone to know it. It’s harsh, it’s angry, and it’s almost calm in its revenge. ‘Coverband’ is that person who never yells, but instead just stares you down and lets you know how angry they are while keeping their tone completely even. And maybe cocks an eyebrow at how absolutely stupid you are.

“You left a headliner for a coverband,” Vorel sings. Here, the theme of, “I may not have you anymore, but I’m doing better than you” morphs into, “Oh, and I was always better, and you’re kind of a fool for tossing it out the window, so good luck with that.”

From the title ‘I Can’t Wait Till You Get Dead,’ you’ll think I misspoke when I called ‘Coverband’ the most brutal song of the album. But ‘Get Dead’ is pure hatred and anger in comparison to ‘Coverband’s quiet acceptance.

‘Get Dead’ is the moment you found out that she lied about cheating on you. It’s yelling and screaming and dishes thrown at walls. It’s fighting where the rest of the album has been leading up to being done fighting. This sudden turn of events is shocking to the system at first listen, but it fits quite well in its place here at the tail end of the album. It’s the culmination of all these other feelings, these other songs of anger, of sadness, of hatred, of regret.

‘Get Dead’ is the moment when you aren’t struggling to hate her anymore, when you don’t miss the shit out of her anymore, when you just want her to go the fuck away.

Which is why the album has to end quietly.

‘Totally Fucked for You’ is the only acoustic song on TLB’s self-titled record, featuring only handclaps and a guitar to go along with Vorel’s quiet crooning.

Placing this song after the anger of ‘Get Dead’, after the acceptance of ‘Coverband’ is a bold choice, since it seems like a few steps backwards in the breakup grieving process.

But the beautiful thing about an album is that it plays again. (Or, in my case, again and again and again). So where ‘Totally Fucked’ may seem like an unhappy ending, it’s really just another step in the cycle. And at some point, the cycle has to end, right? So while right now, we’re totally fucked for this person who stomped on our hearts and set them on fire, at some point, we’ll just go back to doing fun shit without them.

That Lying Bitch will be appearing at Slidebar Rock N Roll Kitchen in Los Angeles, CA for a free show on Wednesday October 18th. Details here.

#that lying bitch #plain white ts #plain white t's #tlb #punk #punk rock #chicago #chicago music #music #review #music review #album review #los angeles #live music #darren vorel #tom higgenson #dave tirio #eric vorel

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