#so tl;dr: fantastic tunes. do listen

[dabidagoose]

What's your fave video game sountrack(s)? =^o

Ok that is a very loaded question so this is gonna be a long ass response, I hope you're prepared for what you've done.

(ok there's a tl;dr at the end if you want it sorry for this lmao)

FIRST POINT my immediate thought was the Ikenfell soundtrack (actually my immediate thought is I can't fuckin' choose they're all amazing but. then ikenfell). On the personal side, I was pretty much obsessed with the game for like three months straight, and i fuckin' love aivi and surasshu's music. I am also a simp for chiptune so jot that down. Moving past what may very well just be personal preference there are some incredibly interesting musical choices and impeccable choices story-wise that hit just. SO fuckin hard. Like emotionally. I won't elaborate on to the context and why the song works so well but the final battle theme is absolutely SPECTACULAR. (I could elaborate though so. ask if you will and i'll write another spiel on why it breaks my heart and soul). But also to reference a less-plot relevant piece I'm gonna bring up Alchemy is for Everyone. The squish bass sounds at the beginning are SUCH a fun environmental sound, it is really just NOT a sound I hear often which makes the track really stand out. And it fits SO perfectly for all the slimes and just. It's so WET. I love it. Makes me wanna wriggle. Which ok is probably also personal preference on reflection because my friend hates a wet song that I love but. Ok it's GOOD. Anyways continuing to the melody the fuckin PITCH bends. This is digital music at it's peak. We get the fun sounds. We get the fuckin pitch bends. Which are so fun because having slightly out of tune notes is such a fun feeling. It's a little off kilter, it's a little different. It's just SO funky and sounds so awesome to bend those pitches just a little bit, take full advantage of the medium and play around with it. Now I'm gonna talk a bit about why I love aivi & surasshu's music so much which. Ok so I believe(?) they coined the term "digital fusion" where you're mixing all these fun fresh digital sounds with real instruments/more traditional sounds and it can work SO fuckin well (for extra musical literature on this subject I'd like to suggest Yoann Turpin and specifically Chip Ship). Which we already get a taste of that where the pitch bends are playing on piano but it really kicks in when the violin takes over the melody and it's SUCH a graceful instrument in comparison to all this funky/awkward stuff we've had. The dichotomy is fuckin awesome. The violin is like a graceful victorian socialite ballroom dancing in after these pitch bends just pinned their arms to their sides and wiggled their hips around. We then get a third spacey instrument (I. have no idea what it is.) and it is. SUCH a switch. We have moved from awkward and stilted to almost too perfect and graceful (I forgot to write before but the high piano at the violin adds so much) to a moment of awe and discovery. We are now exploring the universe, the world of science and alchemy, and it is fantastic. The song almost seems to have it's own little narrative, and this is just a backing track for exploring one of the buildings!!!! This is within the first couple hours of gameplay, it is incredibly non-plot-relevant but SUCH a piece of art. I am absolutely in a slime ball watching amazing science happen so precisely and it is. so fuckin cool. And I could probably go off about every single other song, but in the interest of keeping away spoilers and finishing this post before 2 am, I will not. (Addendums because I can: this is less wet than the one my friend hates, and also this song is MOIST. I would also like to mention It's Showtime and Between the Lines as other song favorites but if I went into them I would never sleep.)

Okokokok. So. So SECOND point (I'm. so sorry.) I looked at my video game music soundtrack (I have two main soundtracks one for just every music but I didn't want to overwhelm it with VG music so I made one just for that that has ENTIRE soundtracks from almost every game I've played which. oops.) and I found two other contenders based mostly on I Really Liked The Games. The Oneshot soundtrack and the Night in the Woods soundtrack. Ok I'm gonna talk about Night in the Woods first cause HOLY shit. holy shit. The fucking astral songs. Those are fucking masterpieces. Such a simple ensemble but it creates such an INTENSE atmosphere. I really love instrumental music can you tell. I specifically want you listening to Astral Train for this one (played it for my senior recital and even though I had to play the violin part on clarinet I maintain it was one of the best choices I've ever made), but we the way the layers blend together is a fucking masterpiece. Since this song had to be designed so that any layer could play alone and each one could join in any order, each part of the quartet has to be interesting, but they still all must blend together and so they each get melody moments but the harmony/bass lines have to be interesting as well and. They ARE. This is such a hard task and it's accomplished SO. INCREDIBLY. WELL. (Side note: also makes for a good ensemble piece for, say, your and your friends' senior recitals, so everyone gets fun parts, a chance in the limelight, and a chance to rest, haha totally irrelevant note right there definitely no connection to my real life). With Astral Train we really get this cool ghostly train feel and through all the Astral pieces we REALLY feel the absolute intensity of Mae's dreams and the music creates such an immaculate vibe. It is unmatched. The rest of the soundtrack contains plenty of bops in a variety of genres too, where the bass songs have to be both playable and fun (Die Anywhere Else my beloved), and we get nostalgic and mischievous music fit for this ragtag team. This is the feeling I've had hanging out with my teenage friends at 10 PM in a parking lot. It is absolutely perfect for this video game. The music is SUCH a bop and really emotionally connects to me cause the game is such a bop of a plot. It is truly fantastic. (Addendum: Ok listening to Gregg rn and. Holy shit bop. I love him. I love this)

Ok now onto Oneshot, which, admittedly, does not have as strong a holding on the podium as these other two do, but curse me for having been emotionally destroyed by the video game because now I am emotionally attached to the music too. But, again, ATMOSPHERE. I am once again gonna be speaking in the interest of spoilers here, so I hope anyone who's finished the game will forgive what I'm not saying, but the entire landscape of this desolate planet is just SO much. The world is so simple and empty, and yet awe is often mixed with this feeling of despair. This is incredibly fitting for Niko, for the hopeful little pal they are, and creates an incredible effect. (I included specific song reccs for the last but I don't quite for this - so I'll just say now that I'm listening to On Little Cat Feet). The visuals are fairly simple, the map small, and just looking at the game the world feels incredibly small. But the music makes it all seem so vast. We really get put into Niko's shoes (or their little cat feet I suppose), and get to see this world for the vast, terrifying, but incredible place it is. The music makes you feel like that child seeing a new world for the first time, (this isn't spoilers past the first chapter but I'm warning you anyways) even though you are meant to be a god, you are still made to feel small and the world still large. The music does so much of this work, and it's incredible. Throughout the soundtrack the underlying angst, the despair, remains present, and the game has so much more impact for the music. No game is incomplete without it's music, and Nightmargin does a fantastic job creating this music for Oneshot. I haven't analyzed the actual music instruments/structure so much, but it's those instrumental sounds again tearing at my heart strings again. I would also like to recommend this game beyond the soundtrack, since it is an incredible story, with some puzzling gameplay, and it has made me feel how no other game has. It is a masterpiece of a game, and I implore everyone to play it through. Get hints if you need to, or play alone, just make it to the Ending. You'll know when you're there. (Addendum: I think I'm very repetitive here but I refuse to edit it so you have to live with this. Anyways gonna say it again: Play Oneshot!!)

Now I have chosen three game soundtracks that had a story that incredibly connected with me, and music to bolster that story and those emotions in incredibly meaningful ways. But there are so many others with great music, but that didn't necessarily connect on such an emotional level. Portal and Portal 2 have fantastic soundtracks, Celeste has beautiful music, Underhero has some funky and spectacular beats, Undertale and Deltarune are famously incredible (although I also did emotionally connect with them... but they're already talked about enough. Lancer beloved.), Clam Man is just. Fun., Oxenfree is also incredibly atmospheric and spectacular, Sewer Rave just has nice beats, and Minecraft is nostalgic as all hell. There are so many games to choose from, that from the moment I saw your question I knew I would be writing a far too long Tumblr post to answer you, because it feels an injustice to just answer one without reasoning, or without bringing to light all of the other amazing sounds I've discovered.

To finally answer your question, I think Ikenfell deserves the top spot in my heart. My instinct was right, there's fresh sounds, great musical structure (see: Between the Lines that I didn't elaborate on), incredibly emotional sounds, and fantastic storytelling within the soundtrack. But I love all of these other soundtracks, so I must bring them up. For they also have spots in my heart.

TL;DR - Ikenfell wins but I also love Oneshot and Night in the Woods and many others so I don't know what to say chief (lies i have too much to say)

#i will not apologize you brought this on the world by asking #i'm so sorry you had to find out i'm such a nerd This Way #i want to ask my friends to proofread this for legibility before posting but lets be real thats not happening. it wont be legible #so sorry about being this much of a nerd. not really but. wow that got long. mm vulnerability my behated #ikenfell #night in the woods #oneshot #only tagging those three cause theyre the ones i got too emotional about. #ok ok im gonna post this now lmao #wait am i legally allowed to mention blaseball cause the garages or is that not allowed #ok i think its not allowed #but the garages r very good i listened to the newest album today and *chefs kiss*

[inkofamethyst]

May 21, 2020

Day 142 of the Cute Campaign: ...I need to pick myself up.  On the bright side, I did my hair last night and while it does feel really tight and make me look a little like Mickey Mouse, these are the biggest puffballs I’ve ever done and they do look really cute.

Day 70 of quarantine: uuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh now that I’m not doing anything (will change in nine days with the start of my ~climate change anthropology class~), I’m feeling it even more.  Like, being cooped up in the house while doing work all the time is one thing, but being cooped up in the house without a rigid structure is another.

Alright guys.  Don’t hold your breaths because it could just be a lucky fluke, but, I think I’ve got an A in organic chemistry?  Now, now, hear me out.  I just checked my unofficial transcript, right?  To see the damage on my GPA from the A- that I thought I’d earned in the class.  To my surprise, I see a regular old A sitting there across from the course.  My other two courses that have grades in (humanities and anatomy 2) both have A+ grades, as expected, and now... I’m not sure whether there was some sort of 3% curve applied to the class (which is a big curve considering the fact that the prof said on the first day that he didn’t curve), or...

Now, it’s possible that there’s been a mistake.  I don’t know how grade inputs work, whether it’s automatic from Canvas or if a professor has to manually input grades.  I didn’t receive any notice that a curve would be applied, especially not one that substantial.  The class must have performed really poorly compared to other semesters or something for me to go from the lowest possible A- to an A... or maybe he just decided to give us all a break?  Or maybe that an A was an A?  Or maybe there was a mistake putting my grade in???

I performed in the top 50% consistently for the class.  According to his general grade distribution, ~50% of students for this class earn an A-/A/A+. Only another ~30% end up in the B/+/- range.  A little over 25% of the class earns a solid A, while a little under 10% earn an A+ and ~10% earn an A-.  So, I’m definitely not in the top 10%.  But I could be right in that 25% sweet spot for our class and he decided to curve because of Miss Rona.  Maybe.

tl;dr I got an A instead of an A- in organic chemistry on my unofficial transcript and I don’t know why, though I should probably just not worry about it and accept the grade I’ve been given even if it changes back to an A- due to a mistake.

Audio drama time!  Finished We’re Alive!  I know I’d complained about it quite a bit early on, but I think it ended on an extremely high note.  The quality throughout the show was very high, and I really liked all of the characters (eventually, anyway).  I will say that burying Scratch alive only to check on her every day while she starves to death... that’s terrifying.  Literally gave me shivers.

After that I listened to the latest Night Vale saga all in one and it was really really good.  The one with the Pilot?  Yeah... excellent and satisfactory.

After that I’ve been listening to Zero Hours and those have been fantastic as well.  Hearing the Wolf359 crew in different roles again... yeah, good stuff.  I listened to the 2019 on last night and it was wild but I loved it.  I think I’m learning quite a bit about pacing and characterization and character introductions.  I don’t know what I’ll be starting next.  Preferably something completed.  

So, yeah.  That’s about it for today.  Stay tuned for updates on orgo thing if anything comes of it.

Today I’m thankful to be in a position where I can afford to take classes over the summer.  Some people have to use their summers to earn money, and while I do need to get on with the emailing for anthropology-based opportunities and the scholarship essays (ughhhh), I’m just super grateful for the position I’m in.  While I probably could’ve done a bit more forward planning (...I could’ve been two classes into my potential anth major instead of one by the start of the fall semester had I planned better), this experience should still be really really fun!

[juunshua]

I think people underestimate how many idols pass their auditions despite being basically tone-deaf. I think a lot of the early vocal-training just focuses on being on tune except for the main singers. Some people in svts vocal-team obviously aren't pros when it comes to technique. That doesn't mean that they're not great people with lot of potential, or that people aren't allowed to love their voice as it is, so I hope people don't take offense to this. Because technique ≠ objective beauty!!

while i would hesitate to call them ‘tone-deaf,’ i do agree that when auditioning for a company, perhaps if they claimed their forte was ‘dancing’ or ‘rapping’ instead of ‘singing,’ there may have been idols who have struggled with that aspect, the same as when idols who didn’t know much about dancing just clapped their hands to the beat and were often accepted. but companies know this. its their responsibility to ‘groom’ these trainees they accept to become idols and that often entails things like dance practice and vocal lessons. what you’re saying about ‘early vocal-training’ and how it focuses on being on tune, it just confuses me that if a company has a trained professional certified vocal trainer work for them, why such a person would only focus on being on tune because singing is far more complex than just that. learning how to breathe properly is literally the first step of singing, and the way that most idols sing these days, its as if they’ve never even received this simple lesson. and along with that, voice classification is also an important first step for singing so vocalists know and are aware of the limitations of their voice, but why does it seem like so many baritones out there don’t seem to know that they are baritones? and blame themselves for the inability to hit high notes with the same ease as tenors? when its not their fault at all. ive helped one of my old orchestra teachers for many summers teach children how to play string instruments and the first thing we teach them is not how to put fingers down on the violin and play notes, but instead how to hold their instrument properly, how to hold their bow properly, how to sit properly etcetc and we do a lot of exercises with that in mind. im no music major and i have not a degree in teaching music but i know as a violinist what things will benefit my students if they adopt these good habits now rather than trying to fix them later. it should be the same for vocal teachers too i dont think i would understand the reason why actual educated vocal instructors would try to teach their students how to sing without teaching them a lot of important basics. singing in tune is important yes, singing on the beat is also important yes, but along with those first steps in music should also be a basic understanding of the instrument youre working with and how to best take care of it so you dont injure it or yourself, which is something i feel many idols don’t have.i honestly believe that everyone has the potential to be a decent vocalist if they have the proper mentorship and work ethic so yes i agree, even if svts vocal unit, or svt in general, are struggling in the technique department, it doesnt mean that they cant adopt it and learn from it and improve…but thats also partially why its so frustrating ahaha they can improve but they dont and just stick to their confines of societal expectations of a good singer which is one that is again: loud, high and “stable.” the room for improvement with that mentality i think is a bit limited honestly for me, its always the vocalists who have shown that they know what vocal technique is, that i am always the most excited for improvement because i know that they know how to improve. also i agree that you’re allowed to love whatever voice color you want even if theyre not the best vocalist. in terms of color, i really love yooa’s voice from oh my girl even if she doesnt really know how to support ahah her voice in ‘cupid’ was the whole reason i biased her tbqh, and even though kyuhyun is redeemed as a fantastic vocalist, his vibrato bothers me quite a bit and i much prefer ryeowooks vocal color and voice in general over his. same with exo i prefer baekhyun/kyungsoo over chen even though chen is the more technically advanced. enjoying someones voice as it is is fine, everyone has different preferences when it comes to the type of voice they want to hear and thats all fair and good.however, yes while “technique ≠ objective beauty,” as beauty truly isnt ever going to be objective as it is dependent on personal preferences as well as societal expectations, i think a reverse/modified version of that statement should be considered as well: “subjective beauty ≠ technique.” ive seen in many fandoms, carats included, where someone tries to ‘justify’ the reason they like someone’s voice as being because they have ‘great technique’ when thats just…not the case at all. its okay if you like ur favs voice and they don’t have great technique, just try not to attribute something to someone that isnt there and please recognize someones hard work and skill when it is there. in the end my whole stance on vocal technique is that it should be something that more idols should try to adopt because its only better for the health of their vocal cords. many idols want longevity, esp those who focus on singing, it would be a shame if they were to seriously injure their voice especially since its the one instrument that you really cant exactly buy a new one of if it ‘breaks.’ singing with technique in mind also opens up a lot of other doors, such as versatility, dynamics, overall control of your voice, etc. like it just increases the musicality of every vocal performance imo. for instance boo here goes from soft and gentle sounding to more gritty and loud and often goes back and forth between the two sounds and all the intermediates. the changes are very gradual and minute but there if you listen for it and hes able to do this because he knows what he has to do to manipulate his voice to execute the musical interpretation of the song that he chose to sing because he knows what technique is. but it’s not to say that people who sing out there who arent trying to employ technique are invalid as singers and that their voices are not ones that people can enjoy. tl;dr yes enjoy voices and their vocal colors and listen to the voices that make you feel happy and that you like but the importance of vocal technique should not and must not be dismissed.

#anon #replies #i dont want fifty million boos i just want ppl who are more aware of their voice #like for instance wu jiacheng? rn his voice probably peaks at support at around g4 #and i dont think he has resonance either #BUT his voice excites me because he seems to know what hes doing with his voice #every note he sings is deliberate in how he takes in his breath and what he sings #hes the kind of person i would expect to improve if he continued along this path #but ppl who focus on sounding loud and having pretty tone ? #the former means shouting more and the latter is just...subjective lmao like you can only go so far

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #19

Blonde

(2016)

By Frank Ocean

Overall Rating: 6/10

TL;DR: Good songs that meander until they lose all meaning and make you question why you are listening.

“I’ll try and review an album a week” she said. “That’s a realistic goal” she said. Well she is me and she is a liar. This is beyond late but honestly I’ll be surprised if I ever release these on a weekly basis during the school year. Choosing this album as the one to come back to didn’t help either. Hopefully the next one will be less painful so I can get a review done sooner!

Overall Thoughts

Ugh I am frustratingly conflicted about this album. It had so many gems in it but they were diamonds in the rough. This album is a whopping SEVENTEEN songs and lasts over an hour. And every time I listened to it I fell asleep or completely zoned out and forgot what I was listening to. Every once in a while I’d tune back in and hear a part I liked, but most of the time these songs just went in one ear and out the other.

I think the main problem with this album is that it meanders with no end in sight. Pretty much every song sounds the same, with it getting hard to distinguish when one starts and the other ends. I have listened to this album more than probably any other I have review, and yet I could tell you how maybe two songs go off the top of my head. They are all frustratingly long too, with all of the main tracks being well over four minutes and the last one being over NINE. That one was a test from god.

There are so many gems hidden in this onslaught of the same guitar thought that it makes it hard to dislike this album. Frank Ocean’s voice is absolutely amazing and he often pairs it with the organ (“Solo”, “Good Guy”, “Godspeed”) in these songs that make you feel like you’re in a church after hours trying to reconnect with God. The vibes are immaculate but that is all they are, vibes.

It also feels like a lot of these aren’t complete songs. Sure there are lyrics, chords, and a vague melody, but they don’t seem to go anywhere. For five minutes it feels like the only shifts come from completely changing the song and not actually going anywhere. The lyrics also match this meandering and half baked vibe as there are ideas that flit here and there but are never used to make a point. Every song is a vignette but they all mash together by the end.

There are some really good songs in this though! “Ivy” and “Seigfried” were really great but just didn’t go anywhere. The latter has a fantastic acoustic guitar that perfectly goes with his voice but it just feels incomplete. “Pink + White” seems to be one of his biggest songs and I see why, it is spectacular. “Solo” is the champion of this album with an absolutely beautiful organ part as the chorus. The focus on stress more than rhyming in the lyrics makes everything flow so well and it is truly a transcendent experience.

I also have to mention the little stories for a bit. “Be Yourself” is hilarious and my favorite tiktok audio so it gets a 15/10. “Facebook Story” is just so stupid that it makes me mad. Like oooo so deep people like technology, girls are hysterical, society is so superficial. Ugh, say something new Frank.

Final Verdict

Would I buy this album? Hell no. Do I hate it? A little less enthusiastic no. Do I like it? Ehhhh. This seems to consistently rank as one of the greatest albums of the 2010s and I truly don’t get it. I think this wins most frustrating review because everything here is so good, yet almost great.

#album review #album recommendation #album 19 #frank ocean #frank ocean blonde #rnb #album of the week

[7thart]

great blog! a movie with great cinematography never gets boring. i always consider your posts as movie recommendations. so far, i've loved all three i watched: vertigo, rushmore and chungking express. out of all the ones in your cinematography appreciation posts, which three would you highly recommend i watch first? (aside from the three i already watched)

Hey anon! :-) I hope you love reading long answers because, as someone who loves films too much she created a blog about films, I love it when people ask me movie recommendations. So please bear with me as I blabber along.

Firstly, thanks for appreciating this blog! And for watching the movies I post here. I agree that a movie with great cinematography never gets boring. To be honest, I think a deadpan, tedious movie would still somehow be watchable if it had amazing cinematography (okay, I said watchable, I didn’t promise it wouldn’t put me to sleep).

Now, I don’t really know which movies to recommend because I don’t know which genres you are into. So let me just give one genre for each of the three recommendations you are looking for. I’ll give a little review of each movie and hope I do not to give away too much.

Sing Street (2016). The third installment of John Carney’s unofficial musical trilogy (Once (2006) and Begin Again (2013) being the first two), Sing Street is one of those movies that you can watch a hundred times and never get tired of. It’s a feel-good movie that you can watch whichever mood you’re having. Happy? Be more happy, watch Sing Street! Sad? Turn your frown upside down, watch Sing Street! Bored? Watch Sing Street! The music is fantastic, it’s been a year since I first watched this, but I still listen to the soundtrack occasionally. The cast is extremely talented–they’re actually the ones really playing the instruments in the movie. I love this movie so much that my family got annoyed at how much I keep talking about it, they watched it just so I would stop. But seriously, the thing I love most about Sing Street is that every time I watch it, it keeps me inspired to achieve the dreams I’m already slowly giving up on.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). You said you loved Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums is the third full-length film of the same director, Wes Anderson. His dark and awkward humor won’t fail to fuck your feelings up. After all the funny scenes and dialogue, there are underlying darkness and sadness to it, which, I’m sure, everyone (at one point or another) can relate to. It was a quiet, very well-written film, that was made even more chilling because of its soundtrack. In my opinion, this is Anderson at his best (It’s probably my father issues talking, lol).

Pulp Fiction (1994). This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Pulp Fiction has everything–cinematography so good it will make you want to be a filmmaker; amazing story lines that will pique your interest and will keep you asking questions, thus making you want more; iconic dialogues, too many quotable quotes; epic soundtrack with groovy tunes that is a helluva roller coaster; and star-studded actors perfectly-casted, their chemistry just spark throughout the whole movie.

I’m sorry for the long answer to a very simple question. I just got too excited, it’s my first time talking about films in this blog. lol. I usually just post cinematography appreciations and dialogues.

TL;DR: Thanks for the message. I recommend Sing Street, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Pulp Fiction. lol

#ask #sing street #the royal tenenbaums #pulp fiction

[soul-sucking-jerk]

I saw Car Seat Headrest tonight!

And yes I was going to turn off the camera but then he sang my favorite line:

"If we learn how to live like this, maybe we can learn how to start again"

...And yes the quality is shit but I only had movie maker to edit.

I actually have a lot to say about this concert and I needed to write it down right away so I don’t forget.

TL;DR: I found a new obsession

Will Toledo is probably the most talented songwriter in recent years. I had the absolute pleasure of seeing him live tonight, since he played very close to where I live.

First things first: there is no rockstar attitude to be found. Not in his tight jeans, not in his classy black shoes, not in his weird grey turtleneck, not behind the clunky nerdy glasses, not in his messy hair (in fact he does a great job of hiding behind it) and not in the mug he brought on stage. When he came on stage this guy behind me said to his friends: “OH MY GOD LOOK AT HIS PANTS AND HIS SWEATER AND HIS HAIR AND EVERYTHING, HE’S THE MOST INDIE LOOKING GUY EVER!” (he said it in the most loving tone of course, just like I do throughout this... tirade?) There is no way the fame will ever get to this guy’s head, no matter how big Car Seat Headrest might get in the future - Will Toledo’s ego will not.

But by god, when he starts playing...

I swear the guy just belongs on stage, everything else does not make any sense. His songs seem so lo-fi on his records, his voice sounds all over the place but once you see him live you realize: He knows exactly what he’s doing. Every crack of his voice harmonizes with the music, everything just falls into place. It. was. magical.

And yet he seems so nonchalant when his fans shout: “We love you Will” and he simply answers: “Thank you” without batting an eye, there’s not even a little smirk on his face. It’s almost as if he’s just alone in his basement playing his little tunes. He’s in it for the music and nothing else. What kind of proves this is his odd boxing-inspired dance moves during the last song (if only I remembered which one that was - I just haven’t been a “fan” (let’s say appreciating listener) long enough) EDIT: I remember now. Pretty sure it was Connect The Dots. When he couldn’t hold on tight to his beautiful black telecaster (was it a tele or a strat? What the fuck is wrong with my short-time memory? EDIT: It was a tele).

I haven’t felt this way since I’ve seen Beck in London, this instant feeling of a deeper connection. This feeling as if he just pulls his melodies straight out of my dreams.

I loved how frequently he used the feedback of the speakers as effects, he plays it like its own instrument.

My highlight was Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales because it’s just one of my favorite songs and everybody sang along and it was beautiful, but also Unforgiving Girl right afterwards was just the perfect choice. You go from almost crying and shouting: “IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS” to dancing your ass off. So many emotions aahh!!1!

Too bad I don’t remember the setlist - I think they played 1937 State Park? EDIT: Yeah they did. I know they played Fill In The Blank because duh. There was a ballad (I’m so bad with song titles EDIT: It was Maud Gone you idiot) that was absolutely beautiful and I thought “wow I wish he only played ballads” and then a faster song would follow (Destroyed By Hippie Powers) and I’d think to myself “wow I wish he only played upbeat songs”. In a nutshell: I just didn’t want them to ever stop playing.

I actually remember thinking: “I can’t wait to see him again” when he was still on stage?? I just realized it’s wrong to only refer to “him”, of course the rest of the band was great too (but let's be real, he's the mastermind). The guitarist (his name is Ethan - thank you kind anon!) has a pretty nice voice and there was a guitar solo (again - don’t remember which song) that he absolutely nailed. They all sound amazing together. They just... They sound amazing and I’m in love. I’m in love ok?

Attraction is a curious thing. Nothing is more attractive to me than musical talent. And when someone uses that talent to write lyrics like Will Toledo that just speak to me on so many levels?? Lord have mercy. Let’s run away together Will. I love you.

I didn’t expect it to be so fantastic. I was gutted when they left the stage and I was ecstatic when they played their encore. And now I wanna cry because I was so done with obsessing over bands but here I am again. Fuck. It was such a good concert. If I wasn’t a fan before I sure as hell am now.

I don’t even care if my English is bad at some point I’m just so excited. Also I didn’t have enough cash for a CD so I stole a poster.

#car seat headrest #will toledo #ethan ives #andrew katz #seth dalby #csh schorndorf #csh

[thewishingpages]

Okay lemme rant to y’all about a thing that happened to me.

Fuck the people who think bullying people is the way to guide them in life. Fuck them. So I have to go to physical therapy three times a week for my injury, and I don’t drive (it’s sad and pathetic I know) so I have to take uber. Normally a fantastic app with usually awesome drivers and experiences - with the occasional “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, LOCO?!” but I digress. I might tell those other stories another day. This past week, while I was on a tiny hiatus, I had one of the worst drivers I’ve ever encountered. No, he did not drive on the wrong side of the road, or cuss me out, etc. He just would. Not. Fucking. Stop. He was an older guy, said he was in his 70′s, that’s cool. We did the usual “How old are you, what are you doing in life, where you going” questions, that’s fine. Tell him I’m in retail, and not going to school, because fuck all if I’m going to put myself through hell again and also put myself in debt. Oh no. He wouldn’t have it. “Well you have to do something with yourself, you just have to find something you love” “Oh yeah sure, I might pick up a trade, but I really want to be a writer; that won’t make me much money unless I become Stephen King or something haha” he goes off about how people pick something useless, insert the liberal arts joke, etc Me: “I just have to get my ducks in a row, I have my plan for life-” Him: “By the time you get your ducks in a row it’s going to be useless” *Squints eyes because now I’m getting a gross feeling in my gut.* “Well, I just want to be married before I do anything drastic like that, we’re getting married in novembe-” “There’s plenty of time inbetween now and then, you just have to do it!” Oh no. He’s one of those; the old people that think no one is actually progessing unless you follow and adore their advice. The old people that are so fucking set in their ways, they cannot accept any reason as to why you wouldn’t want to do things their way, or why you would deviate from their plan for you. Nothing is good enough for them, because obviously you’re just being lazy, you dumb young person, they know everything obviously. You’re just a rebellious young person, you don’t take anything in life seriously, you just want to do the youtubes and watch the vine and smoke the weeds. They’ve already made it through life, you’re just a stupid, ignorant young person who diesn’t what to listen to their amazing advice. “Like I said, I have my plan, I just want to get married first, I don’t want to be spending money when I need to pay for a wedding” I think that’s perfectly sound logic and an alright plan for me. But no. He won’t have it. “You’re not trying unless you’re going to school!” Oh, really? I’m gonna admit something here, I immediately stopped listening to him. fuck that, the hell I’m not god damned trying. I do my best to give everyone the respect they deserve and accept their paths of logic, trying to get new points of view. It’s when you berate a person, WHO YOU DO NOT KNOW, for their life choices and plan because “ugh young people aren’t going to school anymore how dumb you young people”. YOU SIR DO NOT KNOW ME. I have injured my spine, I’m trying to pay bills, trying to help my injured father, trying to plan a wedding, trying to maintain healthy relationships with the people around me instead of being a hermit, trying to see my fiance as much as I can, sleeping regualrly, actually eating and trying not to be anorexic AGAIN, trying to do the things I love and have fun in life, trying not to fall into depression AGAIN, trying to deal with the trauma of abuse while still seeing the abuser on a regualr basis, and trying not to burn out completely - All while having Aspergers. Fuck you. The hell I’m going back to school and putting myself through MORE stress and putting myself in incredible debt, because guess the fuck what... I’m broke, why the fuck you think I’m working right now. Why the fuck do you think I’m INJURED BECAUSE OF MY WORK. To continue, he keeps going on about stuff, but I’ve tuned out comepletely. “You’re not listening,” He says chuckling to himself. “You’re not listening.” He says something and I don’t respond, because I am 100% done, “You don’t have anything to say to that, now, do you?” He says smugly enough that I want to punch him in the face. “No sir, I honestly do not.” aka Go fuck yourself. Thankfully it was a short ride and I was soon rid of him, however he had already ruined my day. TL;DR Don’t judge people’s lives and plans just because you’re at the end of your life and someone is at the beggining of theirs. I don’t care if you think you know what’s best for them, if you are harrassing a stanger after they tell you they have a plan for their life and it doesn’t include something you think they should do or vice versa, Fuck you. Someone can have a reason not to do something you think is vital, or to put it off until a later time.

#cautionary tale #bad experience #Trigger warning #holy shit #'this generation' bullshit #stupid young people #fuck you old guy #also language #sorry I say fuck so much #bad uber #he ruined my whole week #don't be an asshole please #rant #thanks for reading

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the week #1

Dream Chapter: Eternity

(2020)

By Tomorrow x Together

Overall rating: 6/10

TL;DR: this album is meh but has the greatest song ever recorded, “Fairy of Shampoo”.

So the first album (well, mini album) of the week is kpop because I recently got back into listening to it and wanted to choose a random album I’d never listened to before. I asked my friend who is deep in kpop hell for a recommendation and this is what she threw at me, which honestly was a great pick on her part.

So for the album of the week, I’m gonna just go over each song one by one, then a full summary. But first, I’ll go over my general thoughts because I’m sure you don’t want to read hundreds of words.

General Thoughts:

Honestly pretty good. This is the first 4th gen Kpop album I’ve ever listened to and was kind of worried it would suck. I’ve been listening to kpop since 2015 off and on, and the last break I took was because all the new music that was coming out just sounded like American pop to me. That doesn’t mean it just got bad, it just became something I didn’t want to listen to.

Maybe I was just listening to the wrong groups because this album didn’t feel like that for me. I don’t think any of the songs were super unique, but each was different from the other, making an album that didn’t blur together. The fact that I won’t mix them up after only knowing them a week shows that this has a pretty nice variety.

That being said, the album wasn’t super unique. All of the songs were good, but something I could see any other kpop group doing. Maybe I don’t know TXT enough, I don’t know. Oh and one more point that is more directed at the entire kpop industry: why is falsetto the only way to sing? You guys are employing some of the greatest singers on earth and you’re really only letting them sing soprano. If that would change I would listen to only kpop til the day I die.

Song Breakdown:

1. Drama

THIS is how you start an album. It hooks you in right away with strong chords and sets a tone for the whole album that quickly changes and keeps you guessing. It’s kind of obvious how much I love the art of putting together an album, given that I’m only reviewing those, but this group does it well. Definitely one of my favorite album openings.

That aside the song isn’t my favorite, but it’s pretty dang good. It gives me a summer road trip to the beach vibes, and I really want to blare this on my car stereo with my friends. The chorus annoys me just enough that I’m on the fence about putting it on any of my playlists though. I think this is one of those songs that if I listen to it over and over I’d probably love it, but as of right now I just like it and will vibe to it on occasion.

Also, doing a Japanese comeback with a Haikyuu themed video? Very bold. They definitely knew what they were doing

2. Can’t You See Me?

Okay this is definitely a song that doesn’t match up remotely with the music video, something Bighit just loves doing. I’m not even going to remotely think about the greater storyline with these because I’ve already wasted enough of my life on kpop.

But onto the song, I don’t like this one much at all. It’s definitely not unlistenable and I get while people like it, I just really don’t. I know it’s hard to believe, but I actually don’t like much pop music at all, and this would fall into the not-good category.

It’s just a bit too computerized, and when you mix that kind of background music with auto tune I instantly lose interest. Plus there’s no real instruments in this one :/.

3. Fairy of Shampoo

Hey so do you ever want to take a song, put it in a blender, then inject it into your veins and become it? That’s what this song is for me. It’s not even an ear-worm at this point, it has become part of my brain and plays during any time I’m not talking. It’s hands down my favorite out of the album and one of my favorite kpop songs ever. I could gush about this song for 50 years but I’ll keep is short.

So apparently this song is a cover of a pretty famous disco kinda song from the 90s. I expected to like the original more but TXT’s version sounds better than any other one I’ve heard. The driving baseline makes me move to the song every time and every part of the song is ethereal, down to the fantastic choreography.

God and the chord progression?? It itches a scratch in my brain I didn’t know I had. When it shifts down to the G and the trumpet comes in I’m gone. Seriously you are doing yourself a disservice not listening to this song, it’s a solid 50/10.

4. Maze in the Mirror

So you know how I was saying that while each song was unique the album wasn’t? This song is what I mean. It’s very safe in everything that it does, to the point it is forgettable. I can only remember what it sounds like just after listening to it, and it falls very much into the forgettable middle part of an album.

While I don’t like it as it is I think this song would sound incredible unplugged and live. I think if it’s just them and an acoustic guitar, no editing on the voices, I would love this song. The overdubbing smooths over any character this song would have, and leaves it pretty meh.

5. PUMA

So when my friend recommended this album to me she said “don’t bother listening to Puma, it’s not good” and she’s right. Some people must like it because the music video 27M views, heck even the fact that there is a music video shows they thought it would be popular.

The song seems to meander without any purpose, and it borders on annoying for me. It’s just basic kpop to me with nothing fun added, and I was pretty bored listening to it. I thought Yeonjun’s rap would save this for me but it totally didn’t, it just made me sigh even more.

I don’t throw the word hate around often with songs, and I don’t think this really deserves it. It’s just unlistenable for me to the point I really dislike it. (But hey if you like this song more power to you, wish I could be you).

6. Eternally

Hey, another music video that makes no sense! It’s honestly in the short film category with how long it is, and I have to give them credit for making something super aesthetically pleasing that makes zero sense. But onto the song.

Drama was the perfect way to start this album and this was the perfect way to end it. Just as ethereal as the rest, with the coolest shift I’ve ever heard. The two parts of the song sound so so different from each other but somehow seamlessly shift from one part to another. The beginning sounded like any other BTS song to me but the shift made this song incredible. This is my second favorite on the album, only because Fairy of Shampoo is untouchable.

Final Verdict:

So the final verdict for the album of the week is whether I buy it and put it on my phone. Usually, I buy physical albums, since I’m super bad with technology and am paranoid I’ll lose my iTunes, but kpop makes that tricky. An album comes with so many bells and whistles that it costs an insane amount. This mini-album only has six songs but costs like $20, yikes.

On iTunes it only costs $6 though, so will I buy it? I’m still on the fence, but leaning towards yes. I think I might just buy the three songs I like because the other ones would just be skipped anyway.

#album of the week #album 1 #txt #tomorrow x together #album review #music review #music recommendation