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fairyeunji · 3 months

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Another list of groups/soloists who need a comeback immediately (as of Feb 2024):

Alice/Elris - Not only have we not had a comeback since APRIL of 2023, but Do-A and Yeonje are still on hiatus with basically no updates????? Ngl, I'm getting a teeny tiny bit worried about them

AOA - .....wishful thinking. never gonna happen. just leave me to cry

Apink - Not too worried about this tbh, even their last comeback was April of 2023, it's natural for a group that's lasted so long to focus more on individual releases and solo work. I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon, and I'm happy with a yearly album. Still, I do think it's time for the comeback lol

Apink CHOBOM - Again, wishful thinking. One of the best sub-units of all times, I NEED another Copycat

ARTMS - They are preparing for their debut, but I just need it to happen quicker

Billlie - Hear me out, this one is specific - OT7 comeback or nothing. Sua and Suhyeon come back, the kids miss you....

Blackswan - Karma and Cat & Mouse were 10/10, DR is literal dogshit but cmon, Blackswan go viral on twitter every five minutes

BB Girls/Brave Girls - I feel like they re-debuted/re-launched and disappeared???

bugAboo - never taking them off this list, idc if they're all doing separate things and have re-debuted, i am putting my hands over my ears and closing my eyes so that i can live in delusional peace

Cherry Bullet - Going off their once a year comeback strategy, this should actually be happening sometime soon. Cherry Dash was March 2023, so who knows?

Choi Yoojung - if Weki Meki aren't allowed to have a comeback, give Yoojung something, I'm begging

Chung Ha - this is long overdue, I need her to release bare & rare pt. 2 immediately

CLASS:y - I know they released a barely-promoted winter single a while back, but their last proper comeback was October 2022. That's so fucking long ago.

CLC - CLC reunion??? who said that??? pls i'm begging

CSR - Not too optimistic, most of the members have been shipped off to a survival show. Sucks cause CSR had a really strong start, but their promotion went really quickly downhill after Shining Bright

DreamNote - I'm just tired..... please.... I'll take a digital single atp

EL7Z-UP - Hasn't been that long since they debuted, but I still would love a comeback lol

Everglow - my ult of all ults do something. Me and every other forever on twitter are rocking in the corner and predicting april for the next comeback

Fifty Fifty (the ACTUAL group, not the brand) - 3jeong return pls. not to attrakt, just to releasing music. keena pls leave that company, i'm literally begging.

Fromis_9 - Unlock My World was June, Hybe it's been a while. We all know you hate Fromis, but do your job. Give the people what they want

Geenius - They debuted last month lol, but I just can't wait for their first comeback. I loved Voyage so much, so I'm definitely tuning in for any comebacks whenever they may happen

Gfriend - I will beg.

Girls Generation - again, delusion. 20th anniversary???? please???

Girls Generation Oh!GG - why did they evaporate into thin air, sm.

GOT the Beat - bring them backkkkkk

IOI - there's always more room for delusions guys. they're totally gonna have a comeback guys. it'll happen i promise, i saw it in a dream

Iz*One - same here. a talking cat told me they would have a comeback.

Jeon Soyeon - she's overworked as hell, so i do not want this, but i also really really really would love another solo album

K/DA - Riot stop picking random groups to release theme songs, bring back the mothers themselves

KARD - i just think it'd be neat

Kep1er - the fact that we only have 6 months left is sickening. genuinely. i need a full album

Kiss of Life - whenever they get around to it tbh, not too worried.

Kwon Eunbi - please please please go back to glitch and door

Lee Chaeyeon - I just love her songs, they're so fun. Let's Dance was September, so sometime soon???

Lee Hi - I am on my hands and knees please give us an album

Loona - delusions.... i think you mean truth

Loossemble - need this soon or else

Mamamoo - mothers come home

NewJeans - I was so surprised when I actually realised it's been a hot minute since Get Up came out... like 7 months is weirdly long

Pixy - an actual comeback pleak

Purple Kiss - can we go back to horror now, 7heaven was cute but not what we all love

Rocket Punch - yeonhee get back in that building and remember your roots

Weki Meki - not even gonna say anything...

Wendy - one of 3 people who can release a full ballad album that I will enjoy

WJSN - this is a need

Yuju - up there with wendy

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thesinglesjukebox · 4 months

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TVXQ! - "DOWN"

youtube

Rose presents to us a long running K-pop duo who made a comeback this year...

[5.50]

Rose Stuart: I have to admit, TVXQ!'s newest release had big shoes to fill. Infrequent comebacks can create lofty expectations, but "Down" proves what K-pop has been missing during their five-year absence. This dreamy sex song (a genre that also has been rarely heard recently) floats from note to note, with soft, whispery vocals that manage to soar to new heights of TVXQ!'s already impressive range. It's filled with yearning to the point of desperation, the drumbeat an almost maddening ticking clock, and the relaxing guitar contrasted with an almost aggressive electronic breakdown in the chorus beautifully showcases the conflict. When the song reaches its climax, the energy is enough to knock you off your feet in the best way. Sex has been TVXQ!'s signature since "Mirotic," but "Down" feels closer to "Wrong Number" and "Before U Go" in its R&B influences. Throwing back to past songs while also carving out a new direction for themselves is the best thing TVXQ! could have done for this release, and I have only the highest hopes for what their 20th anniversary album will bring. [9]

Nortey Dowuona: The drum programming on this is amazing, in that it's completely stationary beneath the post chorus breakdown and limp during the bridge and over compressed to the nines during the actual chorus. Truly amazing. Thank god these boys can sing. [7]

Katherine St Asaph: Alternate 2010 history in which Justin Timberlake had a collab with Alex da Kid, with falsetto that's practically countertenor. [6]

Will Adams: A solid update of turn-of-the-millennium boy band pop, right down to the glitchy breakdowns that BT had once provided them. [6]

Ian Mathers: Those growly synths on the chorus come so close to having that dog in them (especially at the end when the one guy starts really wailing) but "Down" feels like just one small push away from being properly and satisfyingly OTT. [6]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Sounds like something Jason Derulo would reject on account of lack of subtlety. [2]

Micha Cavaseno: Back in 2019, I grabbed a TVXQ! single from a used book store close to my family (along with records by xbxrx, Ellen Allien and something else I can't recall), one of the ones where they still dressed up like Visual Kei artists on the cover. I found it less an interesting record and more a curious artifact given how K-pop has had its faltering existence on this continent for roughly as long as the group in question has been around in some incarnation or another. So as a result, I had to grab the CD in question just as a sort of totem, a weird reminder of where my Twice and Dreamcatcher CD books (with all its extensive paraphernalia) came from. It was more reverence than any sort of eagerness or desire. Listening to TVXQ! is kind of similar to that due to how any comeback single they make relies so much on their importance and not anything in particular that feels like a good song. It's an R&B Imagine Dragons record of swagger-step that doesn't feel particularly cool or sexy or beautiful, but you know it's important! It's not about actually enjoying it, but about respecting it. It's unfortunate that I can't respect them for making records I want to hear in 2023 though. [3]

Michael Hong: Proven by single "Rebel" from earlier this week, SM's experiments are still alive. That one might feel tame compared to the best of what they've done -- it's further evidence that the company formula has grown rather tiresome -- but "Down" feels like nothing more than a set of ticked boxes. [5]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#TVXQ #music #k-pop #pop music #music writing #music reviews #music criticism #the singles jukebox #Youtube

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blatantlybluntblog · 7 months

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youtube

Dizzee Rascal - Sugar and Spice ft. iLL BLU (Official Video)

Dizzee Rascal keeps summer alive with energetic new visuals 'Sugar And Spice' prod by and featuring iLL BLU

This comes ahead of Dizzee's massive shows at Cardiff, Nottingham and Newcastle in October > grab your tickets HERE!!

Following the 20th anniversary of his seminal album “Boy In Da Corner”, grime icon Dizzee Rascal keeps summer alive with uplifting new single “Sugar And Spice'', produced by and featuring iLL BLU. The track’s sunkissed opening hook gives way to Dizzee’s ever-formidable flow, sharing his appreciation for the finer things in life over a swaggering garage beat. The single’s undeniable energy is a pertinent reminder of the talent that established Dizzee as a chart-topping legend, his ability to move freely through styles is unrivaled, as his closing line reminds us of exactly what he’s here to do: “I mash up the dance then dash”.

This comes ahead of 3 huge live shows to mark the 20th Anniversary celebrations of Boy In Da Corner, where Dizzee will be joined by a stellar cast of support acts to join him on the Nottingham, Cardiff and Newcastle legs of the tour.

With his track ‘Bassline Junkie’ being the unofficial national anthem for the new bassline generation Dizzee has enlisted the support of the biggest up and comers in bassline music today. The much lauded rapper has enlisted the help of Bradford bassline heroes Bad Boy Chiller Crew for all new dates, with DJ/Producer extraordinaire TS7 joining the all star cast for the Newcastle and Notts shows. Window Kid - one of the most deservedly hyped up and coming MC’s on the scene right now will be appearing on all dates and Wales’ most exciting grime / hip hop crossover talent Mace The Great will be joining the Cardiff show.

The electrifying show, which sees Dizzee perform the album in its entirety, followed by all his bassline hits such as ‘Bonkers’ and ‘Bassline Junkie’, will coming to Nottingham’s Motorpoint on 6th October, the Cardiff Utilita Arena on 7th October and Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on 8th October.

Brimming with confidence since his return Dizzee commented: "Before I ever did the first show at the 02 Arena I already knew there was no way this could stay just in London. Looking forward to celebrating 20 years of Boy In Da Corner and my musical journey with the whole of the UK. Roll on October!”

On the anniversary itself Dizzee has said: "It's mad how it's 20 years since Boy In Da Corner! That album changed my life and I'm forever thankful to everyone who's shown love in that time”.

Released in July 2003, when the innovative MC and producer was only 18, Boy In Da Corner won the prestigious Mercury Prize and remains THE definitive grime full-length. The critically-acclaimed LP saw Dizzee labeled “the most original and exciting artist to emerge from dance music in a decade,” by the Guardian.

As one of the UK’s most successful and influential rappers of all time, Dizzee Rascal is credited to bringing UK Grime to the masses during its peak in the mid noughties. After Boy In Da Corner catapulted him to international stardom, he has since worked with some of the biggest artists on the planet, such as Calvin Harris, Arctic Monkeys, Shakira, Armand van Helden, Florence and the Machine, will.i.am and Robbie Williams. He also has four UK #1 hit singles to his name - ‘Dance Wiv Me’, ‘Bonkers’, ‘Holiday’ and ‘Dirtee Disco’ - and six consecutive UK ‘Top 20’ albums - Showtime, Maths + English, Tongue ‘n’ Cheek, The Fifth, Raskit and E3 AF.

A welcome extension to the 20th anniversary celebrations for what is a truly legendary album, Dizzee Rascal’s October shows simply cannot be missed.

#youtube #dizzee rascal #grime #UK #UK tour #UK rap

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radioheadmerch · 1 year

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Whether you're in search of a Radiohead T-shirt or Sweatshirt, or you're looking for something more casual such as a tank top, there are plenty of options available to you. There are also plenty of new releases available as well, such as In Rainbows and Kid A Mnesia.

Kid A Mnesia

Earlier this year Radiohead announced a special collection of merchandise to celebrate their upcoming triple album reissue of Kid A and Amnesiac. Items included a custom-made tea set, bedsheets, a tin of bear-shaped biscuits, and patches. They also released a special virtual art exhibit to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Kid A.

The virtual exhibit, which is available to play on PC and PlayStation 5, is an unconventional way to experience two of Radiohead's most revered albums. It features audio clips from the albums, accompanied by artwork from Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood. It's also been designed to be a sort of interactive museum. Users can scan QR codes for access to objects and interact with them.

The virtual exhibit was originally conceived as a physical installation. However, the laws of physics and zoning conspire to prevent this. To get around this problem, the band enlisted the help of video/computer artist Sean Evans and interactive producer Matthew Davis.

In Rainbows

XL Recordings, a subsidiary of Sony Music, released Radiohead's latest LP, In Rainbows, on 31 December 2007. The album has been certified gold in the UK and is the first major label release for the band since their EMI contract expired with Hail to the Thief in 2003. It has sold over three million copies worldwide and has topped the US Billboard 200.

The album also made a splash in the music business by virtue of being the first album by a major artist to self-release on the web. This gave Radiohead the ability to set their own price and promote the record in a number of ways. One of the most effective marketing tactics was the use of a viral video. This video featured singer Thom Yorke performing the track, "Fear of a Blank Page." It went on to become the most successful video of its kind to date.

Radiohead Hoodies

Getting your mitts on one of these high tech tees will be the first step in the right direction. The good thing is that Radiohead is more than willing to oblige. The only caveat is that you need to be in the right place at the right time. The best time to do it is on a Sunday evening. Besides, you can never have too many options in your arsenal. It is not surprising that the aforementioned dudes have a knack for snagging the best deals in town. They are also a swell bunch to boot. Hopefully this article has provided you with the requisite information you need to land the deal of the century. The rest of your aforementioned evening can be spent slaying it in style with the best company on your best company.

Sweatshirts

Whether you're looking for a gift or just want to wear the latest trend, Radiohead sweatshirts are perfect for anyone. The hoodies are made from a 75% cotton 25% polyester blend, and are available in five different sizes. These are also machine washable, making them a great choice for anyone who likes to have their clothing squeaky clean.

The hoodies come in a variety of designs, including The Bends, Radiohead, and more. These are all adult unisex, and are printed with high quality prints. They are also sweatshop free, so you can rest assured that you're getting a quality product. They also ship within three to five business days, so you can have your new hoodie within a short amount of time. The designs come in a range of colors, so you'll be sure to find one that suits your style.

#radioheadmerch #Radiohead Merch #Radiohead Hoodies #Radiohead T-shirts

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greensparty · 2 years

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This Month In History - September

Here are just a few of the pop culture landmark anniversaries I am raising a glass to this month:

Sept. 5, 1957: On the Road release

In Sept. 1957, Jack Kerouac’s magnum opus was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2017. Happy 65th On The Road!

Sept. 11, 1992: Crossing the Bridge opens

In Sept. 1992, one of the most underrated movies of the 90s was released. Writer/director Mike Binder has gone on to have a big career in both film and TV, but this was a remarkable debut IMHO. A few years after high school Mort (played by Josh Charles) still hangs out with his high school buddies in suburban MI in the late 70s, but he aspires to being a comedy writer. When they get an offer to transport drugs from Canada into American, he has some decisions to make. It is a really personal coming of age story and I highly recommend seeking it out. Happy 30th CTB!

Sept. 14, 2012: The Master opens

In Sept. 2012, Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic about a WW2 vet looking for some guidance via a new religion was released. This was a very polarizing film and in 2012, a lot of audiences just didn’t get it. I’ve seen it quite a bit since then and the cinematography, the production design and the ensemble are all incredible, but it’s really about the utter sparks flying between the leads Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. PTA has said that this is his favorite of his films. I don’t agree with that, but its definitely one of the best of the 2010s (I named it #38 on my Best Movies of the 2010s list). Happy 10 Master!

Sept. 15, 2017: Concrete and Gold release

In Sept. 2017, the Foo Fighters’ 9th album was released. After a number of albums recorded in their studio, and various high concepts (recording in a garage, recording an acoustic side and an electric side, recording a each different track in a different city) which were all good, this was a return to basics. The band recorded in a studio with noted pop producer Greg Kurstin. I named this my #1 Album of 2017 and my #10 of the 2010s. Happy 5 C&G!

Sept. 18, 1987: Amazon Women on the Moon opens

In Sept. 1987, one of my favorite sketch comedy movies was released. Similar to Kentucky Fried Movie released a decade earlier, this was a series of skits, mostly spoofing late night TV. The problem with most anthology movies is that some are stronger than others and in this one there were several directors, but I found it all to be super funny. I watched it when I was a tween and have watched it a number of times since. Happy 35th AWOTM!

Sept. 18, 1992: Singles opens

In Sept. 1992, Cameron Crowe’s Gen X romance set during the Seattle music scene in the 90s was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2017 and here is my review of the 25th anniversary edition of the soundtrack. Happy 30th Singles!

Sept. 21, 2007: Into the Wild opens

In Sept. 2007, Sean Penn’s best movie as a director was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2017. Happy 15 ITW!

Sept. 22, 1982: Family Ties premieres

One of the best family sitcoms of the 80s premiered on NBC in Sept. 1982. In many ways this show was way ahead of its time by showing the political divide within a family, with ex-hippie parents and kids including young republican Alex P. Keaton brilliantly played by Michael J. Fox. But the show was actually very funny and it addressed many serious issues for a sitcom at the time. Happy 40th FT!

Sept. 24, 2002: Sea Change release

In Sept. 2002, one of Beck’s best albums was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2017. Happy 20th Sea Change!

Sept. 25, 1982: Silver Spoons premieres

In Sept. 1982, one of my favorite sitcoms as a kid premiered on NBC. Ricky Schroeder played a tween who goes to live with his rich Dad, who didn’t know he had a son from a previous relationship. The laughs were big! And every kid wanted to live in that house with a train running through it and video arcade games. Happy 40th Silver Spoons!

Sept. 26, 1987: Alf animated series premieres

In Sept. 1987, after the success of the live action Alf sitcom, the animated series premiered. Here is my piece I wrote in 2017. Happy 35 Alf animated series!

Sept. 26, 2007: Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace release

Speaking of Foo Fighters, their 6th album was released in Sept. 2007. Here is my piece I wrote in 2017. Happy 15 ESP&G!

Sept. 27, 1992: The Ben Stiller Show premieres

In Sept. 1992, one of the all-time great TV sketch comedies premiered. Here is my piece I wrote in 2017. Happy 30th TBSS!

Sept. 28, 2012: Looper opens

In Sept. 2012, one of the best sci-fi movies of the century was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2017. Happy 10 Looper!

Sept. 30, 1982: Cheers premieres

In Sept. 1982, one of the longest-running TV sitcoms premiered on NBC (BTW Sept. 1982 was a big month for NBC!?!). Cheers was about a neighborhood bar in Boston run by a former Boston Red Sox player Sam Malone. Even though it was filmed in a Hollywood studio, I always thought it was so cool how they made references to Boston and the area. The show lasts 11 seasons and didn’t lose its steam or jump the shark. It was a show I discovered in re-runs midway through the series run and then got hooked on the new episodes as they were airing. Happy 40th Cheers!

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paper--machete · 2 years

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MY PERSONAL TOP 13 SINGLES OF 2021

13. Walking At A Downtown Pace - Parquet Courts

I felt like Parquet Courts' latest album Sympathy For Life was a bit of a let down; it was more groove oriented, which left way too much elbow room for the songs to drag on as long as they wanted to. Walking At A Downtown Pace, however, is so full of energy that every time I hear it I want to stand up and move around. I love Adam Savage's vocals all over this song, bouncing around the verses and preaching out loud in the chorus. The guitars wail through the song, and the drum beat reminds me a lot of the title track from their last record Wide Awake (in a good way!) It's just such a fun song and a great pick for a lead single. Just wish the rest of the album sounded like it.

12. Chaos Space Marine - Black Country, New Road

Already so soon after the release of For The First Time early this year, Black Country, New Road is already preparing for a new album this Feburary with Chaos Space Marine as its lead single. It's an exciting little romp that opens with this great riff, and before long launches into this Arcade Fire-esque section that I thought was the chorus but I guess BCNR just doesn't roll that way. It's a much more accessible song than anything off of For The First Time, which isn't necessarily a bad thing; I'm a fan of the direction they're taking their sound in and I'm looking forward to hearing where they take it on Ants From Up Here. (I'm making sure not to listen to any of the live performances as to not spoil it.)

11. If You Say The Word - Radiohead

2021 marked the 20th anniversary of Radiohead's Amnesiac, and the band finally decided to stop pretending it was independent from Kid A and bundled the two of them together for the anniversary collection Kid A Mnesia. The collection itself was a little disappointing I'll admit (at least compared to 2017's OKNOTOK collection) but it still gave us two brand new songs, If You Say The Word being released as a teaser for the collection. This track definitely sounds like it was abducted straight out of Amnesiac's liminal world, as listening to it I feel that same numb atmosphere of being between worlds that Amnesiac is just so good at. If You Say The Word paces along slowly, with a thick bass riff accompanied by Thom Yorke giving his usual haunting vocal treatment to complete the package. The cherries on top are the little chimes of bells (or something like them) that accentuate Thom's wails in the later choruses of the song. The other single Follow Me Around has grown on me since I first heard it, but it pales in comparison to the fully produced disassociativity of this song.

10. John L - black midi

Everyone knew this was coming. We knew black midi had been cooking something up, we were just waiting for the inevitable moment it would drop. When it did, time seemed to stop (a recurring theme of this song.) John L is a fucked up little window into the new sound black midi has been developing for their new album Cavalcade, and as far as I can remember it's the most chaotic it gets. Frantic, dissonant guitars plick and pluck through the whole song while Geordie Greep bumbles strange lyrics that, once you realize they're about a cult, are disturbing in a way that perfectly complements the instrumental. There are points in this song where it comes to a complete stop, starting and stopping like trying to rev up a lawnmower, and continuing like nothing happened, which I feel add a lot to the uncanny vibe of John L. Listening to it, of course it's a bop, I expect no less of black midi, but the world they're painting with this song makes me feel like something very wrong is happening in this world and I can do nothing but listen and watch it all fall to pieces.

9. Grapes Of Wrath - Weezer

I've never been much into reading, so I envy Rivers' enthusiasm on this song. It's so fun to see a Weezer song that's equal parts genuine, dorky and good. Usually with this band, you can only pick two of the three. Grapes Of Wrath is probably one of the best pop songs Weezer has put out in a while, the hook is so goddamn catchy and it's difficult to resist singing along. Rivers has some great vocal melodies in the verses, and the bridge brings an excellent emotional tension to the song that if it wasn't there I wouldn't have known I needed it. The little references to famous books like Moby Dick adds a lot to the fun factor of this song, and I feel like the baroque pop direction the band has taken on OK Human really helps sell it; if this song was reworked for the black album or something else, it wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable. I'm just glad he didn't go with the original lyrics for the bridge. Search for it at your own discretion.

8. Pleura - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

The rollout for L.W. was a funny one, what with the band pretending that there was no such thing as L.W. despite K.G. obviously showing signs of getting a sequel, but the singles were just something else. The absurd funky If Not Now, Then When? threw us all for a loop, only for O.N.E. to set us back on track. And while I didn't love Pleura at first, it's grown on me a lot since its initial release and become one of the standout King Gizzard tracks from this era. It's your run of the mill microtonal Gizz but with a fun alternating 7/8 and 8/8 time signature and thinly veiled COVID-related fantasy lyrics. I love Stu and Joey's shared vocals throughout the song, one singing the melody and the other singing a deep scratchy vocal. Following his songs being the best on K.G. plus this song and his stuff on Butterfly 3000, I'm convinced Joey may be the best songwriter in the band. Whenever this guy has a moment in the spotlight he kills it.

7. mememe - 100 gecs

When I first listened to 1000 gecs, I hated it. When I listened to it a second time, I still found it annoying, but still saw some quality in it. I could understand the hype, and by the end of it I knew 100 gecs were an artist I wanted to keep my eye on. Flash forward to the last few months of this year and they drop mememe, the preview single of their upcoming 10000 gecs. I was completely caught off guard by how much I ended up loving this. The chorus is hard hitting and powerful, just absolutely bashing your head in with distorted-to-fuck drums and what I think are guitars. The verses are amazing too, I didn't know either of them could sound like that (ESPECIALLY Laura, good GOD I love her verse on this song so much.) The ska 'bamp' honestly is a super fun touch to it too, it's just every single thing about this song is everything I've been hoping to hear from 100 gecs since I first saw the potential in them. I never thought I'd say this but 10000 gecs is one of my most anticipated albums of 2022 and I can't wait to see what those two bring to the table going forward.

6. The Beachland Ballroom - IDLES

An IDLES song that I don't think anyone saw coming, The Beachland Ballroom is a straight up waltz. I know a lot of people didn't like their 2020 album Ultra Mono for treading old ground among other things (personally I loved it but w/e,) but the change in style on this one was the sigh of relief everyone needed. It's a slow build all the way through, with Joe Talbot actually singing instead of just shouting. I've seen some people suggest that his voice is autotuned but I can't tell. The second half of the song is when it kicks forward, with a VERY passionate breakdown built on guitars and piano working in tandem to tear down the listener while Joe repeats "damage, damage, damage". It's truly one of the best songs the band has ever put out, in my opinion it succeeds because it manages to have a strong emotional component but still be an exciting and energetic track.

5. G.A.F.F. - Tropical Fuck Storm

Since TFS dropped both singles Suburbiopia and Legal Ghost in 2020 I was anticipating a new release from them before too long. Unfortunately due to (checks notes) jaundice, it seems their release schedule got pushed back by a year so I think that G.A.F.F. was released as a new lead single to restart the rollout for their new album Deep States. G.A.F.F., or Give A Fuck Fatigue, is just a flat out really good TFS song doing what they do best. You've got Gareth Liddiard doing his usual political spouting with some of the most passionate vocals that I've heard from any rock group, backed by crusty and distorted drums and plucky guitars that give TFS their signature sound of a radioactive B-52's. The lyrical delivery especially has always been a huge driving factor of what I find so special about TFS, and this song's no different. Gaz is just spitting line after line about how the constant barrage of bad news in the past two years (or more) has desensitized him to the horrors of the world and that he's come down with a nasty case of the titluar "give a fuck fatigue". I love the way this song sounds, I love the bridge where the vocal melody from the chorus is corrupted into some sort of primal wail like an injured animal or something, I love the little bursts of intensity before each chorus, just grade A TFS stuff.

4. Skyrocket - The Murlocs

Skyrocket probably has to be one of my favorite songs The Murlocs have ever released. It's very simple so it's a bit hard to write about, but it's super effective. A lot of what carries this song in my opinion are Ambrose Kenny-Smith's vocals. They're very passionate, they're great against the instrumental, his singing flows great with the lyrics, and it's just a pleasure to listen to through the whole song. Especially the chorus, which sounds like it reaches a peak in the song's energy right at its start leading into a great payoff once the guitar and drums kick right back in. It's just a really, really good song. I've listened to it countless times this year and it's super fun to sing along to. Please listen to Skyrocket.

3. You Lose! - Magdalena Bay

I wasn't super impressed the first time I heard this song, but as I slowly fell head over heels for Magdalena Bay's debut Mercurial World this grew on me a ton. You Lose! is a simple pop track that's absolutely soaked in noise and chiptune influence. I love Mica Tenenbaum's voice, I feel that it's something that really helps elevate my enjoyment of Mercurial World and it's especially great here. When the chorus kicks in the drums get distorted like five times over, with extra crunchy guitars trudging along. The whole song is littered with little bits and bytes of digital synths that are reminiscent of classic arcade soundtracks and sound effects, contributing to the You Lose!'s video game theming. I've seen other people say the lyrics are great too but I've read em and I don't see the hype. I just think the song sounds tasty to my ears like an ice cream sorbet with crunchy sprinkles all over it.

2. NDA - Billie Eilish

This spot was previously occupied by the song Happier Than Ever, but considering that this is a list for individual singles and not songs taken out of albums, I feel like grading that song as an isolated single would be unfair to other songs on this list. That being said, NDA is definitely my favorite of the main singles to come out of the rollout for Billie's latest record. The main verses are super reminiscent of her debut WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP etc., but the chorus is where the song ascends from "pretty good Billie track" to "holy fuck" levels of good. Her voice jumps into a pained autotune as the instrumental transitions into a Yeezus-style soft industrial breakdown (might've stolen that analogy from Fantano but I'm speaking positively about the song so I'm different 🙂). The lyrics are fun, another example of songs on Happier Than Ever talking about the effects fame has had on Billie's lifestyle but taken in a bit of a bitter direction, about having to make anyone she meets sign a non-disclosure agreement and all that. The final chorus of the song is of course the peak moment, Billie's vocals turning into a plead as the autotune corrupts her voice bit by bit until it finally fizzles out. It's definitely grown on me a lot since it first dropped, and I'm glad it did. It's a song that works best with headphones on, cranked when the climax hits and letting the feels just seep right into your ears.

1. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X

MONTERO is an important song. If I had to judge this song on its contents alone, it'd probably still make this list, but not reach as far; still though, I should probably touch on the quality of the song itself first before anything. Lil Nas X has proved he's more than a one hit wonder following the success of Old Town Road, as his hit-making abilities are stronger than ever here. MONTERO features a catchy flamenco style acoustic guitar over the whole track, with a thick top-50 pop beat backing it. Along with Lil Nas' fantastic singing, the three parts complement each other so well. The lyrics are very in your face but passionate; I loooove the unforgiving delivery of "shoot a child in your mouth while I'm riding", a line that every time I listen to this song feels like it comes out of nowhere in the best way possible. The only gripe I can say I have with this song is that the outro could've been extended, maybe to twice its length or perhaps repurposed into a second chorus. Either way, it's a fantastic track. The reason it takes my number one spot comes from the impact it's had on the world. I love Lil Nas X, and while I wasn't super invested in the album that he dropped earlier this year I had a blast following the rollout for it, which all started with the stick of radio dynamite that was the release of MONTERO and its music video. Lil Nas X already had a huge platform from the worldwide success of Old Town Road, and thanks to the whole thing with Billy Ray Cyrus and challenging the charts, he's shown that he can make waves in the industry. Now that he knows he has that power, I'm so happy to see that he's decided to use it for good by making a song that is so unapologetically GAY that it's difficult to change the lyrics to make this song for anyone else. He made the LEAD SINGLE for his first debut album a GAY AS SHIT SONG!!! And to go even further, it blew the fuck up! At the time I'm writing this, MONTERO is less than 100 million plays away from overtaking Old Town Road as his most played song on Spotify and this means the world to me. As both a gay and autistic man, I think a lot about the fact that this is a world not made with me in mind. I have to understand that my lifestyle is not the target demographic for nearly all of the media I consume. Seeing a song like MONTERO, explicitly LGBT in its themes, lyrics, and by a gay artist, topping charts worldwide gives me hope for more and more acceptance and normalization in the music industry. Also the video is fucking baller and I love to see him pissing off Christians. I hope Lil Nas X continues his career of changing the industry and setting new standards, but I'm sure whatever happens he'll make it fun to be along for the ride.

#aoty #final album of the year writeup isnt gonna come til after new years tho sorry <3 #i had to omit kkb's princess and the clock because i didnt have much to say about it :(#once again sorry not sorry for scattered writing style <3

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isaarchive · 4 years

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The Story Behind Every Song on Linkin Park’s ‘Hybrid Theory’: 20th Anniversary Track-By-Track

The group's Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn dive deep into the diamond-selling classic, sharing how smashes like "In The End," "Crawling" and "One Step Closer" came together in the studio.

By Jason Lipshutz

“It was a bizarre, but very special, moment in time.” That’s how Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda describes the release of the band’s seminal debut, Hybrid Theory, one of the best-selling rock albums of all time.

Upon the album’s Oct. 24, 2000 release, the members of Linkin Park were in their early twenties -- “just children, screwing around,” as Shinoda affectionately describes the group’s early days in the Los Angeles suburbs. With Shinoda and Chester Bennington sharing the frontman role, Linkin Park offered a bold progression on the strand of rap-rock that had bubbled up the charts in the late ‘90s. They often delineated the rapping and singing duties between vocalists and carefully balancing hard rock riffs from guitarist Brad Delson with hip-hop-style beats from drummer Rob Bourdon and turntablist/DJ/programmer Joe Hahn.

The band’s mixture of rap and rock was approached with some skepticism from their label, Warner Bros. Records, and their producer, Don Gilmore. Yet as soon as “One Step Closer,” Hybrid Theory's blistering lead single, became a top 10 hit at U.S. alt-rock radio, those doubts were quickly alleviated.

“When I grew up, you were either a rock kid or a rap kid, but you didn’t listen to blended music, really,” Shinoda recalls. “I was so excited when Rage Against The Machine came out, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, or when I found Led Zeppelin by listening to Beastie Boys. There were things that were out there that took from varying styles of music and put them together, but they were not the norm at all. And to have played a role in mashing styles together, that is, for us, part of our legacy that we’re proud of.”

Indeed, Hybrid Theory remains a touchstone of the time period: the album has sold a whopping 10.8 million copies to date, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, and produced singles that have remained alternative radio staples for decades. “In The End,” the brilliantly rendered signature anthem that mixes rap verses and a melodic hard rock chorus, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while “Crawling” earned Linkin Park its first Grammy award. The album would kick-start a career that produced seven total albums, 28.8 million total copies sold, and countless arena performances, until the tragic passing of Bennington in 2017.

Now, the band is looking back on its landmark debut with Hybrid Theory: 20th Anniversary Edition, a new collection featuring previously unreleased demos, B-sides, rarities, DVDs and the long-sought-after fan favorite track from the time period, “She Couldn’t,” among many other things. The multiple configurations of the boxed set -- including a Super Deluxe Edition with 5 CDs, 3 LPs and 3 DVDs -- will be released on Friday (Oct. 9); in addition, Sirius XM has launched a limited-run music channel “Linkin Park Radio” on Oct. 5 to commemorate the anniversary.

“It’s a nice time to pause and think and focus on what it took to make that record, the impact it had, and the opportunity it allowed us to continue with our careers,” Hahn tells Billboard. “For me, it’s a testament to the camaraderie between all the guys in the band, to our friendship, to our work ethic, to the values in how we approached not just making music, but the business of making music, and the way we interact with our fans.”

In separate interviews, Shinoda and Hahn shared their memories of all 12 songs on the standard edition of Hybrid Theory, from the biggest hits that the album spawned to the deep cuts that hold a special place in their hearts. Check out their track-by-track remembrance of Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory below.

1. “Papercut”

MIKE SHINODA: To me, the two songs that were the most important were “Papercut” and “In The End.” “Papercut” was all of the identity of the band packed into one song. Even the fact that it started with that beat, and it went straight into a double-time bouncy rap with heavy guitars, the fact that Chester was rapping with me on the chorus -- you can’t even hear him because of the mix, it sounds like it’s just him but it’s actually both of us.

When you got to the bridge, that soaring, huge vocal! And we didn’t come back to a chorus at the end of it, it was a unique song structure. I feel like it checked a lot of the boxes in terms of what the band was really about. And we knew, from the moment we had the song, we knew it needed to open the album.

JOE HAHN: “Papercut” at the time was one of my favorites. We were really trying to mash up styles, and I think we did that pretty successfully. The idea of bringing the breakbeat element that hip-hop has, I think we got pretty cool vibe when we intertwined the guitar riffs with the drum break on that song. The album’s called Hybrid Theory because it represents that ideal.

SHINODA: There was a weird thing with the singles on this album. Technically, there were three singles: it was “One Step Closer,” “Crawling” and “In The End.” And then there was a European single, which was “Papercut.” The reason was that “Crawling” was still going strong at radio in the States, but the European radio market moves faster, so they’d already burned through two singles and they needed a third one. [The label] basically wanted to time it out so that the European market had a third single, and then we could go worldwide with “In The End.” They were like, “We want everything to culminate with ‘In The End,’” and the momentum ended up working out that way.

2. “One Step Closer”

SHINODA: In choosing Don Gilmore as a producer, we were really hesitant. Don had more of these radio-alternative songs, and we knew that he would get that part of our sound right, but he knew nothing about hip-hop. Not a thing! And he said that to us when he met with us. He was like, ‘Here’s the deal, the part of your sound that I can’t contribute to is the hip-hop part. I know that’s a big part of your thing. But I like how you do it, so I will try to just get out of the way in terms of the beats and raps and stuff, I will leave that to you.’ And we were like, ‘Okay!’ And that worked out great, because we didn’t know how to mic up and engineer a rock band in the studio. We didn’t know how to arrange, how to multi-track guitar and vocals, in a way that sounded like what we heard on the radio that we loved. So that was all us learning from Don.

As we got into it, we did have these real tense points of conflict, because since he was hands-off on some of the creative in terms of letting us dictate how the hybrid was supposed to work, when somebody from the label came in and said, “I don’t like what they’re doing with mashing up these things,” or if they came in and said “I’m not sure about the rapping,” then all of a sudden Don couldn’t definitively defend it. He was like, “Uh, okay, well, that’s what the band thinks sounds good!” The power struggle became part of what making that album was. Some of the intensity and frustration you hear on the album is specifically album-related.

“One Step Closer” was me and Chester literally writing about Don. We were so mad at him. The ‘shut up’ riff was literally Chester screaming at Don. We were losing our minds. At that point in the process, it was just like, why don’t you trust us? This is our album. Our A&R guy doesn’t have to have his f--king name on the front of the CD, and play this music onstage everyday. We knew, if we put anything on this record that we don’t like or that we’re not feeling, we’re gonna have to live with it. Like, this is our career!

HAHN: I feel like, at that time, that was our loudest song, which turned into the first single. In making that record, we weren’t completely understood by the record label, mainly because there was a categorization of what bucket you fit in. Being a rock band but trying to have a firm foundation with our hip-hop and electronic influence that we bring to the music. The formats were alternative rock and active rock at the time. I remember the label at one point asked us to have less rapping, and less scratching. If you actually listen to the radio edits of that song from when it first came out, they took out the scratching on the bridge of the song, which I found kind of annoying and unnecessary.

SHINODA: The “shut up” part in the bridge, I know one of my reference points was “F--k you, I won’t do what you tell me” [from Rage Against The Machine’s "Killing in the Name"], and we wanted a part like that in one of our songs. And we were in the studio writing and re-writing “One Step Closer,” and eventually we got so mad that Chester was just writing words down about how mad he was at Don for making us rewrite s--t. And eventually he wrote down “Shut up” and I was like, “What if the bridge is just ‘Shut up’? What if it’s simpler than anything we’ve said so far?” Because we were just writing out lyrics. And he was like, “I think that’s gonna sound awesome!”

We went in and told Don, “Put up ‘One Step Closer,’ we wanna record the bridge.” He was like “Well, tell me what it is.” And we go, “No no no, it’s better if we just record it. Listen to it in its full concept.” [laughs] And Don was like, jumping up and down. I think he figured out eventually that the whole song was about him. At least in part -- it wasn’t just about him, but part of it was inspired by how frustrated we were with him.

3. “With You”

HAHN: We worked with the Dust Brothers on that -- previous to that, they did [Beastie Boys’] Paul’s Boutique, so they were definitely a part of our history of music. They basically gave us a bunch of stems from an unused remix that they had, so we constructed that into the song. Some of the sounds at the beginning, like that ‘Dun-dun. DUN,’ some of the loops and drum breaks in there are from them.

I remember being really excited at that time, working with them, because it just represented a new way of making music, re-assembling parts that sounded cool into something totally different. It was fun to do that in a collaborative fashion.

SHINODA: I always liked “With You”! It was more ‘of the time,’ it was very nu-metal, so for better or worse, that’s what that was really about. I really like Joe’s parts on it. I like the production, the beats and stuff that I did -- we had a lot of back-and-forth about the production on it.

4. “Points of Authority”

SHINODA: There are a couple references on “Points of Authority” that are interesting. The vocal scat thing that I do on the intro, that’s really inspired by the Roots and Black Thought. I heard him doing that on Illadelph Halflife, and I just thought there was something so cool about that. And I thought it would mix well with the scratching, so we kind of did this back-and-forth with those things. The guitar line of the song was originally completely different -- I think we actually included the original riff, the original version of the song, on our boxed set for Hybrid Theory. But at some point we realized that the original guitar riff was really basic, so I went into Pro Tools and chopped it up, and moved the pieces around just to experiment with how it could sound, and I treated it like a sample off a record.

The song didn’t have the current chorus for a long time -- we basically wrote that chorus while we were in the studio with Don, because we decided it needed something melodic but we didn’t want it to be too soft, so we opted for this really simple, two-chord yelling-shouting melodic part.

HAHN: I direct the majority of the music videos, so I had a lot of fun making that one [for a version of the song on the band's 2002 remix album Reanimation]. We story-boarded that whole video, and worked with an animation team in L.A., and went, “Let’s just create this world, and it’s gonna be this race against this race, and they’re battling it out.” I remember I was referencing Saving Private Ryan, and looking at a lot of anime, and the dynamics of things blowing up. It was so fun, because I had this crazy idea, and everyone was like, “Okay! Go do it!” And they let me do it!

5. “Crawling”

SHINODA: The “One Step Closer” video, we had a very modest budget for that, and we had never made a video before. So when it was time to do a second video, we had a little more money, and I think the label was really instrumental at that point in helping us find a really good team to make a good video. And Joe started to get more confident about asserting himself in the process -- during “Crawling,” he really got in there, and probably learned a lot, and asked a ton of questions. But it came out great, the video was really an important part in introducing people to the band.

HAHN: “One Step Closer” is a pretty aggressive song, and it’s not very sweet-sounding by any means. When “Crawling” came out [as the second single], it represented a different side of what we do, intertwining something very intimate with an outpouring of emotion in the chorus and bridge, and even with some screaming. We always tried to play with what works, with the music and the dynamic of the vocal that Chester and Mike would bring to the table. Funny thing too, because the first song was such a big deal at the time -- and then we come out with “Crawling,” which is more of a softer side of what we do. I think if you got the album, you really understood it, but people that didn’t were like, “How does this song have anything to do with that other song?”

SHINODA: We won a Grammy for “Crawling,” for best hard rock performance, and at the time I didn’t know the difference between “hard rock song” and “hard rock performance,” since they had Grammys for both. And eventually I was like, “Oh, this is a Grammy for Chester’s vocal.” Like, it was a great recording, but if we really want to be super honest, the reason we got that Grammy was because of Chester’s performance on that song was bananas. It was so insane! I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sing like that. And it’s just that extra fierceness in his vocal that we captured that day. Just once in a while, he would walk in with that going on in his voice, and we knew we had to record as many things as possible whenever that happened. [laughs] It was like, can we please do five songs that day?

6. “Runaway”

SHINODA: “Runaway” was originally a song called “Stick and Move,” and the lyrics were really trite, but it was super bouncy and fun to play. At all of our early shows, that was basically our big song -- people who would come to our shows for the first time, we would talk to them afterwards and mention that song. So we always thought, this is an important song to get right in the studio. And once we had some of the other songs starting to take shape, we were like, “Oh no, one of our best songs is now one of our worst songs.” We thought we had this gem, and now it’s turning to be kind of a mess.

We completely disassembled the song and re-wrote it. We kept the chords and some of the drum grooves, but added a bunch of new stuff to it, and rewrote all the lyrics, and it became “Runaway.”

HAHN: There was definitely this thing we were doing repeatedly, just trying to master the song structures, going from lulls to reaching climaxes back to the lull. This song represented that formula that we mastered before we started to explore different ways of writing songs. If you break it down, it’s much simpler than some of the later music.

SHINODA: “Runaway” is funny, because some people think that it was a single from the album, but that’s just because a bunch of radio stations started playing it without us even promoting it as a song or doing a video. It was just a time when everyone was so enamored with the album and the band that they would just play album cuts. It was unbelievable.

7. “By Myself”

HAHN: That was one of the songs that we carried over [from early demos], too. I remember it being like this quiet-to-loud, really cool vibe, going from almost a whisper to grabbing your shirt. I think it had a lot of conviction, and when we played it live it definitely had that vibe where people were just amped up from listening to it.

SHINODA: “By Myself” was our attempt to do the softest verses and every other parts of the song be the nastiest, loudest sounds we can. And so it was drawing more from like, Nine Inch Nails and Ministry, than some of the more nu-metal stuff.

I remember doing the demos for that song in my apartment in Glendale, in the L.A. area, and my neighbor just f--king hated me. The walls were paper-thin, Chester’s screaming the chorus, and they must have thought we were murdering somebody in the room. We were both just shouting, and I’m going, “No, LOUDER!” [laughs] And my neighbors would bang on the wall at 10 PM every night to tell us that it was time to go to bed, basically. And thus, we would record all the way up ’til 10, and then you’d hear a thumping on the wall. We’ve got our headphones on, we’re doing our thing, and they’re literally punching the wall, trying to get our attention and tell us to shut the f--k up.

HAHN: The album is full of these moments like the one where Mike is saying “By myself,” and then Chester goes, “MYSELLLLLF!” That’s what was kind of magical about Mike and Chester as frontmen, partners and co-vocalists -- to have that sort of Jekyll-and-Hyde type moment. Two vocalists that could pull that off together really made us stand out from everyone else.

8. “In The End”

SHINODA: We had a bunch of tracks that we really liked, but we knew we needed something else that was a next-level kind of song. And I was having this moment of, I knew it was on me, I had to find it. I locked myself in our rehearsal studio on Hollywood and Vine -- back when Hollywood and Vine was like, drug addicts and prostitutes everywhere, so you wouldn’t just want to go in and out of there. Once it got to be about 7 o’clock, I went in there and locked the door and stayed overnight. There’s no windows or anything, I didn’t know what time of day it was. I wrote all night, and I ended up with “In The End” in the morning.

Our drummer Rob was the first one to show up that afternoon and I played it for him, and he absolutely lit up. He said something to the effect of, “I was dreaming, imagining that we needed a melodic song that took us to the next level, where the chorus was just the undeniable thing. This is the song. You made the song that I would have imagined.” So that was the first endorsement, and then after that, everybody we played it for had a similar excitement about it.

HAHN: We knew that we needed more melody. We knew we needed to round out what we were doing. People don’t want to be screamed at for a full record -- well, some people do. But everything from the melodies to the piano that loops... we write a lot of music, and for each album, there’s probably at least a hundred song ideas, sometimes double that. Sometimes there’s these magical moments where all of the elements come together perfectly at the same time. This is one of those ‘eureka’ moments.

SHINODA: The only part that we had a lot of drama around was my rap verses -- my original verses were okay, but our A&R guy at the time was really an insecure guy all around, and he kept going around to everybody else asking what they thought about the rap verses on that song. He’d play them and go, “These aren’t right, don’t you think?” And it was like, setting them up to pick something apart. He was the one who suggested that I not rap in the band, that I just be the keyboard player or whatever. Thankfully the guys, and Chester in particular, came to my rescue on that one.

9. “A Place For My Head”

SHINODA: “A Place For My Head” used to be called “Esaul,” and that was one of the earliest songs -- it might have been on the first demo that me and my friend Mark Wakefield made, when the band was just the two of us. And it went through different iterations to this version, but it was always a favorite. I think when it got recorded in the studio for Hybrid Theory, it was one of those scenarios where the song was already something we liked, but then when it was recorded the energy went up a lot, and it became a song that we always closed our shows with, either that or “One Step Closer.”

HAHN: For a while we were making these songs that had this outpouring of energy which would get people to mosh. I think that was our goal: to somehow lyrically and musically convey this feeling of frustration and tension, almost like you’re stuffing a bottle full of those emotions and then you’re shaking it up until it explodes. I think that song does that very well.

10. “Forgotten”

SHINODA: “Forgotten” was the other one that started as a demo with me and Mark. That one was called “Rhinestone” at the time. Both of these demos in their original versions are on Hybrid Theory 20, and we got Mark’s begrudging approval to put them on, with his voice and everything.

HAHN: That was cool, because back then, we were just putting parts together that fit. When I hear that song, I hear the ingredients, in a way that a chef might eat a dish and pick apart the different ingredients, in a very simple but elegant kind of way. It felt great to come out with a product at the end that represented exactly what we were trying to do at that moment.

SHINODA: As a side note, with the Hybrid Theory 20 release, we didn’t mix or re-mix any of the songs. It’s just a mastered version of the original cassette demo. People have asked a couple of times if we ever wanted to do a remaster, and the technology of mastering hasn’t changed a lot between Hybrid Theory and now. I remember telling everyone else who would listen [while making it], “I’ve got a subwoofer and an amp in the trunk of my car, I want to be able to put this record on right after Timbaland and Dr. Dre and have it thump just as much as those records. It needs to have the shape of a rap record.”

11. “Cure For The Itch”

HAHN: Mike had this really cool beat idea, those strings that were on the song. We really liked the feeling of it, but it wasn’t a song. I was like, “What if we put a beat to it, and an intro that I can scratch on?” We took the approach of making it a musical journey, and have it lean more on the DJ side of things. It gives a nice pause to the intensity of the album.

SHINODA: Joe and I loved DJ Shadow and Aphex Twin and so much of the electronic and trip-hop stuff that was coming out back then. One thing that happened when that community butted up against the DJ community is that there was a sense of humor that came through -- DJ crews, when they did their sets, they’d throw in little things that made you laughs. That’s why “Cure For The Itch” is a little bit lighter. It’s kind of flexing in terms of the beat production, but it has a little bit of a sense of humor. We wanted to give Joe a little bit of a spotlight track. We thought it’d be fun for him and that the fans would love it, so it’s very much a Joe experience.

12. “Pushing Me Away”

SHINODA: “Pushing Me Away” was like, basically we were really happy with how “Crawling” came out, so we were like, “Let��s do another melodic song like that!”

HAHN: That’s another one of those ballad-y songs, that’s like one of those conversations ... In recent years we brought it back into our live set, as an a cappella/acoustic version, because it was never a single but we really loved that song. I think that struck a chord with all the fans that loved Hybrid Theory.

#linkin park #I love this album more than anything

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sagehaleyofficial · 4 years

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HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (3.4-3.10.20):

NEW MUSIC:

· Blink-182’s Travis Barker, YUNGBLUD and Machine Gun Kelly shared that they are currently in the studio working on a brand new track for the latter’s upcoming pop-punk album, Tickets to My Downfall. Kelly also revealed other previous collaborators on his new project.

· In a recent Instagram posts, Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba replied to a comment saying we can expect a new EP very soon. Skiba explained the three upcoming songs are mixed and mastered, and come out the day before their tour with Bad Religion.

· Asking Alexandria revealed their sixth full-length record will be titled Like a House on Fire, which comes three years after their self-titled 2017 release and arrives on May 15th via Sumerian Records. The band also delighted fans with a single, “Antisocialist.”

· FEVER 333 wrote, recorded and released a new song, “Presence is Strength,” in light of last Tuesday’s primary elections in 14 U.S. states. In addition to the song, lead singer Jason Aalon Butler also released a new solo track, “Bulletproof.”

· Machine Gun Kelly gave us his new music video for “Why Are You Here” after it was leaked by a fan. The video is colorful, action-packed and centered around fruit, and Kelly went on to ask fans to stream the track as much as possible.

· Boston Manor surprised fans with two new songs, “Ratking” and “On a High Ledge,” off of their upcoming third album Glue. The aforementioned album is set to release on May 1st via Pure Noise Records.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

· PVRIS dropped a new song, “Dead Weight,” as well as announced the “Use Me U.S. Tour” that will take place two months prior to their tour with Halsey this summer. The tour kicks off on May 8th in Columbus, Ohio, and finishes up on June 10th in Seattle.

· Sadly, YUNGBLUD is the latest musician to join the list of performers that have canceled shows in Asia over coronavirus concerns. The singer took to his Instagram to announce the unfortunate news.

· My Chemical Romance officially announced another European show in St. Petersburg, Russia, which offers another look at the skeletal figure from their previous “An Offering…” video. The gig takes place two days after their performance in Moscow.

· Falling in Reverse canceled the final show of their tour on March 4th, which was set to take place in Sacramento, California. The band cited its reasoning to drummer Johnny Mele’s food poisoning and emergency surgery for Ronnie Radke’s girlfriend, WWE’s Paige.

· Hayley Williams is celebrating the release of her debut solo album by heading out to Europe and across North America on a tour this summer. The vocalist gave her first single, “Simmer,” its live debut at Collina Strada’s show during NY Fashion Week in mid-February.

· Armor for Sleep revealed the support for the whole tour, Never Loved, as well as the Cold Seas for all East Coast dates and Silence of You for all West Coast and Central dates. The tour celebrates the 15th anniversary of the 2005 album What to Do When You Are Dead.

· SXSW’s website stated they have been forced to cancel this year’s festival by the City of Austin, Texas. The festival is exploring options to reschedule the event and is working to provide a virtual SXSW online experience as soon as possible for 2020 participants.

· Post Malone fans expressed concern for his well-being after performance videos from the second leg of his Runaway Tour began making the rounds, where he appeared unwell. The rapper has since addressed the claims from the stage of his latest tour stop.

· Halsey played her Bring Me the Horizon collaboration “Experiment on Me” from the Birds of Prey soundtrack live for the first time in Glasgow. Prior to this date, she had been closing her sets out with the songs “Ashley,” “Gasoline” and “Without Me.”

· Scary Kids Scaring Kids are resuming celebrating 15 years of The City Sleeps in Flames at the end of June. The band has recruited the Classic Crime, Picturesque and Eidola as supporting acts for the new leg.

· Four Chord Music Festival is returning for its seventh year this summer in Pittsburgh. In the first wave of announcements, the annual event has revealed Blink-182 and the Used will appear as headliners at the July 11th date.

· Linkin Park is planning on celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album Hybrid Theory all year long, asking fans for contributions to help make the events they have planned special. The band members asked fans for submissions of videos, photos and souvenirs.

· Jimmy Eat World announced the Criminal Energy Tour in support of their latest album Surviving, which will kick off on August 6th in Atlanta and end September 5th in Phoenix. They will be joined by the Front Bottoms, Turnover and Joyce Manor.

· City and Colour declared he is playing a one-off show in Toronto for the 15th anniversary of his debut album Sometimes. The show will take place at the Budweiser Stage on August 7th, which marks the 10th time he has performed at the venue.

· According to YourEDM, Coachella is being moved ahead six months to give more time to assess the coronavirus outbreak. Fans and local residents initially started a petition to have organizers cancel the event over the growing issue.

· After revealing the 320 Project, Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman and 320 Changes Direction founder Talinda Bennington announced the first-ever 320 Fest, taking place on May 9th at L.A. Live. The free event strives to bring awareness to mental health.

OTHER NEWS:

· The Hit Like a Girl drumming contest has returned for its ninth year of competition, which gives female drummers and percussionists the opportunity to show off their skills. Executive director of the organization, David Levine, first created the contest in 2011.

· The Maine drummer Pat Kirch and his wife Shacara Nemetz announced that their first child, Charlotte Rose, was born on Leap Day. Kirch shared photos of their family’s newest member with a brief, loving caption.

· A new app, Jadu, was revealed that allows users to interact with holograms of their favorite musicians and share them to social media accounts. Among the app’s familiar faces are Palaye Royale, Poppy, Vic Mensa and more.

· Green Day announced they are auctioning a guitar on Reverb.com to raise funds for ALS research. The gesture is in memory of Kim Shattuck, leader of iconic 90s punk outfit, the Muffs.

· At the very end of their tour in Sacramento, California, the Word Alive posted that they were robbed of nearly $10,000 worth of personal effects and merchandise. In response to the crime, the band later released a new merch item, a shirt, to cover the expenses.

· According to Deadline, Machine Gun Kelly is set to star alongside Sam Worthington in the action western film The Last Son of Isaac LeMay, which begins production in Montana next month. The rapper’s role will see him as the leader of a gang of young outlaws.

· Dance Gavin Dance announced they are creating a graphic novel called Robot’s Tale: A Dance Gavin Dance Graphic Novel, which will hit stores this May. The book is a collaboration with Z2 Comics, which has also worked with BABYMETAL, YUNGBLUD, Poppy and more.

· Dr. Martens and Sanrio, the creators of Hello Kitty, revealed their new collaborative line is celebrating anniversaries for both of them after they released a similar collab a decade ago. The new collection includes multiple sets of boots, kids’ footwear, sandals and a satchel.

· On March 7th, Twitter and Reddit users realized all of Fall Out Boy’s music videos the From Under the Cork Tree era have disappeared from YouTube. In attempting to access the links, viewers are told, “Video unavailable. This video has been removed by the user.”

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

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hemlockyy · 3 years

Text

Happy Anniversary To

Take Me Home

by One Direction

Such an album that basically tried to set path to what One Directiom was set to become!

Here's a little post on my appreciation for it.

So TMH is a pop rock album who has (imo) some of the most One Direction iconic songs.

Such as:

Magic literally has been incraved in my brain since idk when.

I kid you not this was EVERYWHERE.

and it was not even on the normal avab album. :(

Talking about Albums, I would like to talk about the fucking many editions of Take Me Home we got.

Some new directioners may not know, but it was a fucking pain in the ass to get some limited versions of the albums, and to get special tracks and such.

Youtube was a blessing, yes hahah, but still; having an album was looked up to, but having a LIMITED EDITION? You're basically god.

(taken from personal experience btw, I cant say for the whole fandom because I was not that active back then, only irl and stuff)

Take Me Home - Standard Edition

The album that broke the internet back in 2012, it set One Direction's path towards America.

In this BleSsEd edition we had the main 13 songs we know of:

Live While We're Young

Kiss You

Little Things

C'mon C'mon

Last First Kiss

Heart Attack

Rock Me

Change My Mind

I Would

Over Again

Back To You

They Don't Know About Us

Summer Love

With LWWY being its set off Single being released on the 20th of September

youtube

Take Me Home - HMV Exclusive

this album had the same set of songs, but with the packaging on a special different slip cover, each with a different band member.

It was also only available in the UK ;-;

Take Me Home - Play Exclusive

the play exclusive edition had the same set of songs, bbut with a b&w art of the original cover......... It was also (sigh) only avab in the uk.

Take Me Home - Deluxe Editions

Deluxe Edition - Yearbook

The version we most came to know of (Deluxe), the one on spotify before the 10th year anniversary (which then changed for the extended edition)

This edition (Yearbook) was given as an A5 booklet with the cd inside, it had all tracks plus 4 limited edition ones...

(the yearbook a5 cover)

+tracks:

14. She's Not Afraid

15. Loved You First

16. Nobody Compares

17. Still The One

which are all avaliable within the spotify tracks.

Yearbook Edition

different from the a5 yearbook edition, this one was a square lmao.

Buuuuuuuuut- With it came the bonus tracks previously mentioned, plus four videos from the 2012 Itunes festival.

One Thing (Live)

What Makes You Beautiful (Live)

Moments (Live)

Backstage at the Itunes Festival

Limited Edition Box Set

My dream to have back in 2012 tbh, I still wish I had it.

this fucking box set which came with a tshirt, a picture book, a WRISTBAND AND STICKERS, AND a cd with 14 tracks on it :(

The biggest sad moment in my life.

Special Edition Target Exclusive

A special :) Edition :) in which :) featured :) all normal :) tracks :) plus :) five :) exclusive :) tracks :) this :) little :) shit :) was :) the actual :) limited :) edition :)

Bonus tracks :

14. Truly Madly Deeply

15. Magic

16. Irresistible

17. One Thing (Live)

18. I Wish (Live)

You can already guess, as it took us 8 FUCKING YEARS TO GET MAGIC ON SPOTIFY OR SOMEWHERE THAT WASN'T YOUTUBE. (the other tracks aswell ofc)

BUT STILL IT WAS A ROBERRY.

I DIDN'T GET TO FUCKING LISTEN TO IRRESISTIBLE UNTIL IT CAME OUT ON SPOTIFY BECAUSE I REFUSED. R E F U S E D. TO.

Sighhhhh- Onto the mvs now, a couple set of gifs of my favourite parts :D

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grimelords · 5 years

Photo

My April playlist is finished! Please allow me to take you on a journey from the heaven of THP Orchestra to the hell of Inter Arma over three action packed hours. Specially sequenced for maximum enjoyment, there’ll be at least one thing in here you’ll love - I guarantee it. Listen here.

Good To Me - THP Orchestra: I've said it before and I'll say it again, the number one way to find good songs is to go through the whosampled page for Duck Sauce's 2013 album Quack because every single thing they put into that album is a bonafide classic.

I'm Your Boogie Man - KC & The Sunshine Band: I saw Jungle last week and they were absolutely amazing, and the venue started playing this song as soon as the house lights went up after the show which is an extremely good way to get people to not leave your venue and boogie instead. My favourite part of this is near the end of the second verse where he gets even lazier than normal with the lyrics and just says "I want to love you.. ah.. from sundown.. sunup".

Work It Out - A-Trak: I love this new A-Trak song that sounds like a secret lost bonus track from Discovery right down to that specific wah sound on the guitar.

Starlight - The Supermen Lovers: There was all this news last year that Music Sounds Better With You by Stardust was getting remastered and rereleased for its 20th anniversary and was going to finally be on streaming services that seems to have just.. not happened. It never materialized so now I'm stuck listening to the 2nd rate but still extremely good Music Sounds Better With You knockoff, Starlight by the worst named band ever The Supermen Lovers. The songs aren't even that similar particularly but that's just my personal feelings.

Girlsrock - Siriusmo: A friend of mine is a sort of expert on the whole Ed Banger mid-late 2000s electro scene and it's extremely good because he'll just send me songs like this every now and then that are totally sick and make it feel like there was somehow thousands of hours of this kind of music produced at that time and only the tip of the iceberg made it to public consumption.

11:17 - Danger: Somehow I didn't even notice that Danger had a new album in January but I'm finally listening now and it's a proper return to form and really, really good. This song sounds like if the haunted VHS tape from the The Ring was taped over an 80s workout video.

Ultrasonic Sound - Hive: I went to a 20th anniversary screening of The Matrix at The Astor and great news: that movie still kicks ass and rocks completely and has possibly gotten better in the two decades since its release. Someone had curated a really good mix that they were playing in the foyer after the movie and this song was in it. A heady mix of drum and bass and nu-metal guitar crunch that feels like a 1999 calendar picked up by a strong wind and slapping you in the face.

Homo Deus VII - Deantoni Parks: STILL loving and finding new things to love about this Deantoni Parks album for the third month in a row. I'm repeating myself but this music is just so good and feels so completely original to me. It's a great mix of complete technical mastery and the self imposed limitations of a restricted sample palette. Forcing himself to do absolutely everything he can with the sound and fairly well exhausting it over the course of 9 minutes.

Catacomb Kids - Aesop Rock: There's a good line to trace between this and Acid King by Malibu Ken where Aesop Rock's been thinking about Ricky Kasso for like ten years now which is interesting. There's lots of just very nice sounding lines in this like "Crispy the godsender who thunk over a quarter plunk to local Mortal Kom vendor". Just good weird word combos painting a very impressionistic picture of growing up. "deplanting cadavers" "zoo-keeper facelift". Very nice.

Mask Off - Future: I've never listened to Future much which is weird because he's very good but this is a song that just comes into my head pretty often. Metro Boomin's brain is huge and the vibe he created on this is just amazing. Wringing this sort of atmosphere out of the sample without sacrificing any of the trap beat at the center of it is such an achievement.

Old Town Road (Remix) - Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus: Everything that could ever be said about Old Town Road has probably already been written by now but my favourite part is finding out that the sample is from Ghosts by Nine Inch Nails which means it's also Trent Reznor's first writing credit on a #1 song. Absolutely praying for Trent and Atticus to join Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus on stage at the Grammys to perform this.

Claudia Lewis - M83: Every so often I remember just how good Hurry Up We're Dreaming is and listen to it on repeat for a while. It's absolutely amazing. Start to finish (except for Raconte-Moi Une Historie which SUCKS) it's just fantastic. I looked up why this song is called Claudia Lewis and it turns out that has an extremely good answer "I was surfing the web & found this website with space poems – Claudia Lewis had 3-4 space poems on this site. They were pretty bad space poems but I found it super moving, there was something very innocent about it. She’s probably super young like 12 or 14 but I don’t know her or how she looks or anything about her. I just know that she writes cheesy space poems."

OK Pal - M83: Every single musical element of this song is just perfect. I love the huge broad chords, the synth bends, the massive drums, the inverted Dead Flag Blues monologue. It's just beautiful.Little Secrets - Passion Pit: Passion Pit is currently on a 10th anniversary tour for Manners and I feel age 100 which is no good. But this song is good and it contains in my opinion one of the all time greatest drum fills after the first chorus. Huge, super air-drummable, and very functional: perfect.

Blood - City Calm Down: I think "I'm the one who wants your blood" is just such a great an evocative refrain and I wish he said it one million times more in this song.

Television - City Calm Down: Absolutely love the idea of writing a song about how bloody TV is the bloody opiate of the masses that sounds like a Clash cover in 2019 and sounding so deliberately out of the zeitgeist and doing it so well and with such conviction that it’s absolutely great.

I Am The Resurrection - The Stone Roses: We went to Andrew McLelland's Finishing School and he played this as his last song in honour of Easter Sunday and described it as the greatest piece of acoustic dance music he's ever heard which is honestly not a bad description - it's an absolute jam.

Daisy - Pond: It's very cool that there's like an evil, mirror version of Tame Impala that exists in Pond. I think every band should have that.

Crying Lighting - Arctic Monkeys: Basically the reason this song is on this list is because I got stuck in a loop of saying "your pastimes, consisted of the strange and twisted and deranged and I hate that little game you had called "crying lightning" in a Werner Herzog voice to myself and I thought it was funny.

Keeping Time - Angie McMahon: Angie McMahon is so damn good at songs and I cannot believe it! She's only got like 5 and they're all incredible. She’s gonna be huge!

The House That Heaven Built - Japandroids: Sterogum had a really good writeup the other day about Post-Nothing turning 10 years old that turned into a wrap up of why Japandroids are such a good band and why Celebration Rock is a perfect album and it really crystallized a lot of my feelings about them. They're number one on my list of Bands That Make You Want To Start A Band for a good reason and this article really nails the whole young men figuring it all out feeling of Japandroids' music. I really think both Japandroids albums should be called Youth And Young Manhood but Kings Of Leon already took that name. I remember when my friend first turned me on to Post-Nothing he said he didn't want to tell anyone else except me because it was so good and it was Best Friends Music and I really believe that. It’s best friends music through and through. When I saw them a couple of years ago it was as part of a sort of impromptu road trip with my best friend and I think that was the best context I could have given it. It's absolutely one of the best shows I've been to in my life and also Osher Gunsberg was in the crowd behind me but that's not part of the story. https://www.stereogum.com/2041439/japandroids-post-nothing-turns-10/franchises/the-anniversary/

Motor Runnin - Pist Idiots: The pub rock revival just keeps getting better and better. At the minute it's basically just Bad//Dreems, West Thebarton and these guys but I'm sure there's a million other bands bubbling under that are just about to break as well. I love this song, it's just straight up old fashioned pissed off rock and roll that somehow doesn't feel old fashioned at all.

Chains - As Cities Burn: As Cities Burn have reunited and have a new album coming out and I'm extremely wary of it because they're potentially ruining their previously discussed perfect streak. This is the first single and it's.. good I guess. It's kind of just normal and sort of outdated, a little bit of a step backward into safety for a band that was always changing and moving forward. I think I have a worm living in my brain though because I keep listening to it just because I really love the drum sound. They're very nicely mixed. Some very nice sounding drums.

Whacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man's Bones - The Fall Of Troy: I was talking with some friends about young musicians because of Billie Eilish, and so we were talking about how Alanis Morrisette won a grammy when she was 21 and Taylor Swift won a grammy when she was 20 and Lorde made Royals when she was 17 and all that but what people don't realise is Thomas Erak wrote Doppelganger when he was 20 and it was his second album. He's 34 now and his music sucks badly. That's insane. What will happen to me when I'm 34? Chilling to think about.

A New Uniform / Patagonia - Tera Melos: I think Patagonian Rats is still my favourite Tera Melos album. Toss up between that and Untitled actually. But I love this one for how cohesive it feels. For a band whose whole ethos is chaos it's amazing how well it all comes together as a complete work tied up with a bow by the Skin Surf reprise near the end. I love this song because it's two sketches of songs tied together into one little chaotic lump and the big Primary! Secondary! finale is just so satisfying.

Talking Heads - Black Midi: Black Midi finally have actually proper recorded songs on spotify! The way Black Midi is getting talked about at the moment really feels like the days of blog buzz are back, it's crazy. If you haven't seen it yet here's the KEXP session that's rightfully getting them so much attention https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMn1UuEIVvA I've watched it so many times and it's really something. The best part is the comments are full of music dudes just naming every band ever. "this sounds like if slint, polvo and hella did crack and had a gangbang" yuck "imagine them opening for Swans and/or Daughters" yuck "they're like if Minute Men and Frank Zappa had a baby and that baby dated the child of Talking Heads and Can but then got dumped for their best friend who was adopted and raised by their single parent Voivod but they were cool and stayed friends and listened to Tortoise and Thelonious Monk and got stoned and started a band and conquered the world." yuck "Slint meets Sonic youth meets Pere Ubu meets drive like jehu meets Beefheart...these guys took all that is deranged and twisted in rock and made one big soup of it!" yuck. Anyway the point is they rock completely and here's my addition to the band names: the way he sings sounds like Sting lol.

Walking On The Moon - The Police: This song makes you dumb I think. It's like the dumbest song in the world and listening to it makes your brain mushier, which makes you dumb and stupid. It's very good.

Rubber Bullies - Tropical Fuck Storm: I saw Tropical Fuck Storm opening for Kurt Vile the other day and it was absolutely incredible. My first time seeing them properly, not counting the live soundtrack they did for No Country For Old Men which was was a whole different kind of amazing. It feels like Gaz has finally put together a band that can keep up with is ferocious energy and the result is scary - they basically tore the place apart which makes them a funny opener for Kurt Vile who was as chilled out, relaxed and fun as you'd expect. They played this song near the end of their set and somehow I hadn't really noticed it when I listened to the album but now I can't stop listening to it. It's so good. I love the increasing paranoia of the backing vocals, especially in the last verse as it builds and builds.

Taman Shud - The Drones: This might be the best Drones song. It's a list that's constantly being revised in my head but it's top 5 definitely. It's nice listening to Feeling Kinda Free now knowing what he was going to do with Tropical Fuck Storm because it's all here. Fighting against the constraints of his regular sound and regular songwriting and eventually finding the solution in forming a whole new band. I love this song for a million reasons but the escalation of the disregard is very good. “I don't care about Andrew Bolt or Ned Kelly or the southern cross or the union jack” and you're nodding and then he says ‘I don't really care if you're a pedophile’ and you're nodding but slower. I get what he means in terms of media hype and whatever but it's still a very funny line. Anyway "why'd I give a rats about your tribal tats? You came here on a boat you fucking cunt" is grade A.

Dawn Patrol - Megadeth: The best thing about Megadeth is the sort of half baked politics. Dave Mustaine is the best kind of moron, he engages with everything at a gut level but believes he's being very cerebral about it at the same time. This little intro song about a nuclear post-apocalypse is so good because it's a legitimate warning and a response to legitimate worries but it's also like.. wouldn't that be sick if we had to wear gas masks and carry assault rifles around because all the nukes exploded and everyone was dead. What if there was zombies.

Rust In Peace... Polaris - Megadeth: The story behind Holy Wars... The Punishment Due is so good. "Mustaine has said that at a show in Antrim, Northern Ireland, he discovered bootlegged Megadeth T-shirts were on sale. He was dissuaded from taking action to have them removed on the basis that they were part of fund raising activities for "The Cause", explained as something to bring equality to Catholics and Protestants in the region. Liking how "The Cause" sounded as was explained to him, Mustaine dedicated a performance of "Anarchy In The UK" to it, causing the audience to riot. The band were forced to travel in a bulletproof bus after the show" I just love him. I'd like to share a Dave Mustain quotes about this song also. "I was driving home from Lake Elsanon. I was tailgating somebody, racing down the freeway, and I saw this bumper sticker on their car and it said, you know, this tongue in cheek stuff like, ‘One nuclear bomb could ruin your whole day,’ and then I looked on the other side and it said, ‘May all your nuclear weapons rust in peace,’ and I’m going, ‘'Rust in Peace.’ Damn, that’s a good title.‘ And I’m thinking like, 'What do they mean, rust in peace?’ I could just see it now – all these warheads sitting there, stockpiled somewhere like seal beach, you know, all covered with rust and stuff with kids out there spray-painting the stuff, you know." Goes ahead and writes a kick ass song from the perspective of a nuclear warhead containing the line "rotten egg air of death wrestles your nostrils".

Planet B - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: King Gizz are Megadeth now and I love it! The cold war is global warming now and we desperately need new thrash metal about it to save us!

Primodial Wound - Inter Arma: If you can't tell by me including three of their songs on this playlist I'm still having an absolute time with Inter Arma. Something I really love about this band is their ability to sit in a vibe for so long and expand on it. They're not songs with narrative arcs and multiple contrasting sections, they're songs that just kind of dig deeper on themselves. This one starts deep and then by thinning out entirely at around 6 minutes in only gets darker.

Howling Lands - Inter Arma: This song made me dream of a Dark Souls game where Inter Arma does the soundtrack. It's a peabrained thought but it's one that really got me thinking. This is boss music of the highest order: a song seemingly about itself and the hellbound denizens cursed to perform it in the arena of hell.

Sulphur English - Inter Arma: It's extremely funny to listen to this song a bunch of times and be completely blown away by the total power and ethereal majesty of it and then look up the lyrics to find out that it's about Trump in that very good way of putting normal thoughts through a metal lyrics filter "The charlatan sets his eyes towards the throne / tongue adrip in revolting ecstasy" "Sever the corrupt tongue of the imperious fool / silence the gangrenous root of his abhorrent voice"

Peepin' Tom - Courtney Barnett: When I saw Kurt Vile he brought out Courtney Barnett to play Over Everything as an encore and it was so good to see just how much a hometown crowd loves her. Everyone lost their shit! We love our good friend Courtney! I think I've written about this before but Peeping Tom is one of my favourite Kurt Vile songs and I think Courtney's version is even better. Her voice is perfect for it and she really has to show off her range to do it which I love. The super deep 'peeping' to the high cascading 'tom' is a perfect musical moment to me.

listen here

#playlists

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wardlow · 4 years

Note

Sunset Orange, Banana Mania, Neon Carrot, Cornflower, Inch Worm and Laser Lemon for the crayola asks.

Sunset Orange - favorite vegetable? Carrots. I will eat carrots until I am a carrot.

Banana Mania - best concert you’ve been to? Christ, I can’t even. I’ve been to so many over the years. Top ones? Bouncing Souls 20th Anniversary show, I fucked shit up in the mosh pit. Also their Home for the Holidays shows were always fun especially when I brought my family along. New Kids on The Block Main Event Tour - I cried. It was the first time I ever saw them I’ve loved them since I was 4. They did Tonight and I just sobbed. I don’t know why, but still. My Chemical Romance both their album release party and their VMA’s after party. The after party was at a place called The Knitting Factory, it’s a tiny club in downtown NYC.... there was all their friends and family and all of us who had helped them out for two nights... my friend and I with a few others were the only ones who knew ALL the words to all their new songs. Gerard had even given us shit because we sang the original version of DISENCHANTED. LOLOLOL Album release was a fucking sick time as well because we all went all like 20 of us and danced around, super proud of the fact the album came out.

Neon Carrot - favorite place to go? Montreal and Toronto. Disney.

Cornflower - what always makes you happy? coming home to A - Sappy I know, but it just warms my heart to see him when I come home after work.

Inch Worm - first album you bought? Hangin’ Tough by New Kids on The Block... technically I didn’t ‘buy’ it but that and To Hell With The Devil by Stryper were my first albums.

Laser Lemon - had any encounters with celebrities? LOLOLOL YES. A lot. I have a lot of photos. I’ve met a lot A LOT of band people. I did a lot of stuff back in the day and was very fortunate to meet a lot of people and be on TV. It’s way too many to count or even start to tell about.

#jq answers

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kyotakumrau · 6 years

Photo

Sugizo Tube Vol.2 with Kyo as a guest Part 2/3

Same as always - don’t use it to make subs; if you notice any mistakes let me know. I tried to include as much detail as possible, but obviously some bits are edited. () have my comments.

*Ningen wo Kaburu video*

L: so we just watched the video for ‘Ningen wo Kaburu’, this was the promotional edit with blurred out scenes, full version is available for purchase on iTunes. That’s amazing.

S: You can buy it? Wow. It’s beautiful, this director is really wonderful.

L: Is it someone you have been working with for a long time?

S: The whole time?

K: Mostly it’s been the same person.

L: You always share the images together with the director?

K: Yes, well, uhm, this time it’s the image from the song title, we talked about it with the director and made the video.

S: Is it you who decide the visuals for DIR EN GREY?

K: Not everything, but majority.

S: Actually Kyo is an amazing artist in every way, also as a painter; he’s wonderful at the art that uses body, he also has amazing tattoos, he can use his body for expression amazingly. He has this visual sense that, even with Mr.Kondo*, when watching your videos/footage I always felt that the visual direction came from Kyo. It came from the ‘The World of Truth’, right? (I think Sugizo means Mr. Kondo, but not 100% sure)

K: Yeah, this too.

S: His lyrics also contain visuals like that.

L: Where do the visuals come from first?

K: When we are working on a song, the instruments are decided, lyrics and the melody usually progress together at the same time. We also create the main music (??) at the same time. I get the image then and try to give it a shape.

L: So the visuals come already at this stage?

K: Usually yes.

L: How do you get the inspiration for the visuals?

K: I love movies, but, well…

L: Even today you wore a t-shirt with Hellraiser.

S: He really loves Pinhead.

K: But mostly it’s from the news, from what I felt from them, recently there was a lot of such ideas.

L: This time it’s been 9 months since your previous single. What’s the significance of releasing a single for DIR EN GREY?

K: For us it doesn’t matter if it’s a single or album when working on a new music, it’s just that company told us to.

S: [chuckles] 'company told us to!’

K: But with an album it’s easier for us to create a worldview, to express it. With a single we have to express the us of this moment in only one song, that’s quite hard. So I prefer not to release singles. But if we don’t it’s hard to organize a tour, there are many things to consider, so it can’t be helped. DIR EN GREY has an image like this now - it’s like a business card.

S: So you don’t release songs just for promotion (for radio etc), you create a single version.

K: Now that’s true, ?? This way of thinking might be seen as an old fashion now though.

S: Recently LUNA SEA stopped releasing singles. We have a leading song and we use that for promotional reasons, so there’s no reason to create a single.

L: When working on an album do you create songs deciding on the image beforehand or do you work on new songs and then decide on the direction?

K: The latter. We don’t really have talks like 'let’s make an album like this’, 'a song like that would be good’ and so on. We randomly decide to work on a song for an album, everyone listens to it and we realize 'that’s the current course’ or 'we all want to make songs like that’.

L: Do you decide on one mode?

K: Usually we do.

L: To be able to choose one course of action, as a ??、I think that’s amazing.

S: It’s like that for a band that has been around for a long time. Even if the direction seen by each band member is different, if we try to create sound/melody, our direction will at some point settle, come together, instantly. A band is a being like that. I always say that, but the direction for details, way of thinking is different, but rock bands are amazing. Why I think so is, it’s not about how many people created it, it’s about who did it. A song created by these members is like this, with those members the band becomes a new existence. That’s what rock bands are about. DIR of course as well welcomes its 20th anniversary and with the same band members, even without the direction decided upto the small details, if they decide to create new song together, they will be able to do it as them now. What do you think?

K: I hope it will be like that ;)

L: DIR EN GREY is starting from 2014 doing a series of tours revolving around the past albums. It something often done by the foreign artists, but in Japan it was pretty unheard of. How did you get an idea to do it?

K: There was the 20th anniversary thing, if not with this occasion there would be no other chance to look back at the old songs and play them again. So we used this timing.

S: That sounds pretty interesting; I’ve never done anything like that.

K: It’s really difficult.

L: Which part is difficult?

K: We did some really old songs, I couldn’t remember the time/era of the songs, and obviously I completely forgot the lyrics too. We had a tour every 2~3 months. So in the end my brain was just keeping rotating, I had to memorize the lyrics again and again, each album and show atmosphere was also different, so we had to remember that and change the ourselves now, and while doing that we had to express ourselves. That was difficult.

S: I have a very straightforward question about that tour. Old time fans were really glad about it, right? What about the new fans, did they want to see that too?

K: I wonder. But if it was me I’d want to see it.

S: So I’d like to ask fans, would you be happy if the band revived old albums?

L: There were some comments from fans saying 'I’d like LUNA SEA to do that!’.

S: Yeah, I thought fans were thinking like that. But the key or tempo in the past was totally different, right? Bringing that back? When we are older?

L: Oh, there are many fans saying they want to see that. (She reads fans comments)

S: If DIR wanted to see a tour like that, should LUNA SEA think about it as well?

L: Woah! (very happy 'woah’)

K: Please try to visualize it!

S: If I’m able to, then. I can’t really imagine it. Huuuuh. But it would be hard on Shinya. He would complain 'No way, that’s impossible! Why were I drumming so fast?!’. Even now it’s quite hard.

K: But you played Rosier.

S: That was just for LUNA FEST! No way! Don’t wanna!

K: (laughing) Please do it!! Do it! At least one song!

S: (something about lunafes and CY, it’s more likely for CY?)

K: I’d love to see it.

S: Let’s say to Shinya 'do your best’.

L: Is it hard deciding on songs for CY?

S: You can only ignore it. There are also songs that I’d love to perform, but there also opinions like 'isn’t it too much? Wouldn’t people be happy enough with this?’. If we do it don’t we become kids? (??)

K: There’s a song by LUNA SEA with a Japanese title that wasn’t released, I’d love to see them playing it, but so far without luck.

S: I don’t remember it. We probably forgot about having a song like that.

L: It’s that bad? (Kyo laughs)

S: When LUNA SEA was formed we were quite hardcore sounding band, our songs were very fast, our sound was hardcore or goth. Even now I love a genre like that. I’d like to do that, but the reaction from other band members might not be that great, like 'our musicianship is different now’.

K: I’d like to see Inoran to play guitar solos from such songs.

S: There are those songs from before Shinya and I joined the band.

L: Woah, there are so many comments asking Kyo to push Sugizo more.

K: (laughs) I’ve been pushing him about it since before.

S: Extreme feel like during Sport Valley, songs were so fast then. Let’s move to the next topic. (He leans back with a smirk XD)

L: (laughs). Kyo has been leading another band starting from 2013. His fans probably now this, but sukekiyo’s first performance took place as an opening act for Sugizo’s solo show.

S: So nostalgic. To be honest, I totally adore sukekiyo’s music. DIR has that hardcore feel, anger, destruction and sorrow, so sukekiyo has a totally different side, grave (slow manner, solemn) and beauty and feel of progressive rock, they create this very wide worldview. The vocalist named Kyo is able to express the exact opposites. I was surprised by it from the very beginning. Is it like that?

K: Yeah.

L: With what kind of feelings did you start sukekiyo?

K: I wanted to try various things, when [creating music] with different people what kind of music would it result in? I wanted to try many things and sukekiyo was realized then.

L: So with that opening act, did the offer come from Sugizo?

S: No, Kyo asked me about doing an opening act at my concert, I was very happy. That was 5 years ago? You’ve been doing sukekiyo for 5 years now?

K: Yeah.

S: When they were releasing their first album I was able to do a remix song for it, the song was really great.

L: The members in sukekiyo are incredible.

S: And like that I was able to watch as sukekiyo was born. I was honoured.

L (she talks about the information that came up earlier about working on the remix songs - they are called 'sibling songs’)

S: First I got an inspiration from the song made by Kyo and guys, worked on it and it evolved into a totally different song. So they are 'sibling songs’. Through such a creative exchange, being able to exchange DNA, it was amazing.

L: We can see the cover art of IMMORTALIS on the screen right now.

S: Do we have any video to show of them?

L: It seems like it’s coming now. Which song is it?

S: Is it from the newest release?

K: From one before.

L: Then, let’s watch a video from sukekiyo, ‘anima’.

*anima video*

S: Is it okay to talk about the video?

K: Yeah, of course.

S: The video was made by the drummer.

L: That’s amazing. Directing the worldview at the same time as playing drums.

S: Takumi-kun who plays on guitar is also amazing. It’s alright to say that, right?

K: I think he will be very happy to hear that.

S: He’s amazing playing the guitar, but also does programming and he works as a manipulator for DIR EN GREY during their tours. It’s not a secret, right?

K: He’s probably watching even now.

S: Really? Takumi, how are you? (and Sugizo toasts with a bottle of water XD)

(Takumi’s reply: ‘Sugizo, I’m GREAT!’ – and it was followed by a tweet explaining that the reply to Sugizo was his 500th tweet. And when Sugizo asks you ‘how are you?’, you will reply great no mater how you feel XD)

L: So instead of hiring someone to do that, you prefer to chose someone you know.

K: That’s right. We create songs together, so even if we don’t talk about it he will understand many things.

S: That’s a totally new era. One person can do so many things.

L: There was a comment [from Takumi] “I’m watching!” (Changing topic, Layla introduces ONENESS M and Zessai done with Kyo). Zessai was truly beautiful; I’ve listened to it so many times. I love it.

S: Thank you, Kyo.

K: No, it was my pleasure.

S: I’m so grateful for that. When creating songs for my 20th anniversary, as something not done usually, I wanted to gather the vocalists I’m close with. First, I wanted to ask Kyo to join the project and I contacted him soon.

K: There was a talk about it quite early on and I was all for it. At the moment of the shout, I thought I would break my voice but I wanted to record it on the first try.

S: It was amazing [he demonstrates the shout…]. It’s a beautiful quiet song but for a moment there’s this mad shout. To insert this kind of energy, I thought only Kyo could do that. And the speed of him working! I’ve sent him a demo asking what he thinks of the song, and usually people send back more recorded into it including some lyrics. But he was like ‘I got the actual song done’. He was making sure with me ‘I recorded the final version, is that alright?’

L: Did you write the lyrics that quickly?

K: As I explained before, I write lyrics while I’m working on a song. So it was quick. I can easily understand the worldview of Sugizo’s songs. So I could imagine what he wishes from me. I gave it a shape in my own way, the original Sugizo’s work had a melody, I left the best part and added my own colour to it, mixing everything together.

L: In the interview about the release Sugizo commented that it as much better than he was hoping for, that inserting that part of insanity into the beauty; he commented that only Kyo could manage something like that.

S: It was a song I wrote thinking of Kyo, from the beginning. So the artist Kyo the way I see him, I was thinking how to let him exist inside of my music, I worked with this in mind. And when working about him as a vocalist, I how will it work with a dub? Actually, that song is dub. How amazing it would be for Kyo to exist inside of such song and sing that groove, to have a mixture like that. And from that came out a performance that went way over my expectations.

L: Were you thinking about the album track list (song order) already?

S: It was decided by chance. This album has grand, progressive songs. Next was much faster song from Yohei. I wanted to show Kyo’s depth and beauty. I could not imagine more from that song. Thank you for the lyrics and singing, Kyo.

K: Not at all.

S: It’s a song you would want to play live someday, isn’t it?

K: I totally agree.

L: It would be great to have a concert dedicated to ONENESS M.

S: What we want to express and our worldview overlap to some degree, of course the surface if different (??), but I was glad we could create this together.

L: I’d really like to see it live.

#dir en grey #sukekiyo #kyo #京 #sugizo #luna sea #sugizo tube #translation

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