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dumbificat · 8 months

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Obey me brothers music headcanons under the cut! (^Ｏ^)~☆♪

Includes general music headcanons + examples of artists and songs!

Lucifer

Definitely listens to classical music, mostly by record too.

Likes piano covers of songs, especially if they sound reminiscent of classical music.

Could also see him humming a song that a brother/MC has been playing on repeat.

Prefers little to no lyrics, so he can listen while working and focus, or to relax. (^_^)

Example artists:

Claude Debussy, Ludovico Einaudi, Moisés Nieto, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Example songs:

Clare de Lune (Debussy), Run (Einaudi), Song of Storms (Nieto cover), Deh Vieni Alla Finestra (Mozart).

Mammon

Pop, specifically from the early 2000’s.

Loves any other song that could be considered a banger/classic.

Loves to sing those songs while driving! If you join the ride/singing, he enjoys it a lot more.

Karaoke nights with Asmo and MC, imagine you three singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (*'▽'*)

Example artists:

Spice Girls, The Pussycat Dolls, Taylor Swift, Outkast.

Example songs:

Out of My League (Fitz and the Tantrums), Partners in Crime (Set it Off, Ash Costello), Hollaback Girl (Gwen Stefani), Gimme More (Brittney Spears).

Leviathan

Anime openings/endings, video game soundtracks.

J/K-pop. Bonus that he knows the dances and does them as exercise.

Also any hyper pop song or song that he can stim to (see Galen Tipton on Spotify for reference)

Would try to make his own music, sounds similar to undertale music ٩(^‿^)۶

Example artists:

LiSA, Hatsune Miku, Twice, the Living Tombstone.

Example songs:

コネクト(Connect, ClariS), Daycare Theme (Allen Simpson), Core (Toby Fox), Fireflies (Owl City).

Satan

Alt/alt rock. Movie soundtracks while he’s reading.

Sometimes listens to pop from the 10’s and would mouth the words if no-one’s looking.

Also enjoys a good piano/harp cover of any song.

Prefers if songs have a deeper meaning or are a big metaphor, but also enjoys songs with no lyrics.

Welcome to the Black Parade karaoke with Belphie, thinking of Lucifer (T_T)

Example artists:

Paramore, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Avril Lavigne.

Example songs:

Babooshka (Kate Bush), Orinoco Flow (Enya), Choke (IDKHow), Zelda’s Lullaby (Amy Turk cover)

Asmodeus

Any pop song, knows all the words and isn’t afraid to sing them whenever.

I feel like he would enjoy some J/K-pop, especially sweet songs like Candy Pop by Twice. Bonus if he knows some of the dances like Levi!

Prefers the feel/sound of a song (and if he can dance to it)

Karaoke nights with Mammon/MC, has to sing Maneater solo at least once (๑>◡<๑)

Example artists:

Nelly Furtado, Brittney Spears, Lady Gaga, Red Velvet.

Example songs:

Maneater (Nelly Furtado) Toxic (Brittney Spears), Starships (Nicki Minaj), Girlfriend (Avril Lavigne).

Beelzebub

Loves workout music, or any songs that can get him motivated.

I think he’d enjoy almost any song, likes more literal songs that deep metaphors.

Enjoys music with food in the lyrics/name. Bonus: didn’t realise Cake by the Ocean wasn’t about dessert on the beach (〃ω〃)

Example artists:

Jack Stauber, DNCE, Ricky Montgomery, Europe.

Example songs:

Strawberry Mentos (Leanna Firestone), Sunflower (Post Malone, Swae Lee), HONEY (Derivakat), Eye of the Tiger (Survivor)

Belphagor

Either heavy metal or quieter songs to help him sleep.

Personal opinion that he loves musicals. Probably listens in secret though.

Likes to drown out his thoughts with loud songs, or enjoys the wordplay most musicals have.

Secretly (not a secret) emo. Likes songs that match his aesthetic. (u_u)

Example artists:

My Chemical Romance, BABYMETAL, Heathers cast, IC3PEAK

Example songs:

Welcome to the Black Parade (My Chemical Romance), Chop Suey! (System of a Down), Parasite Eve (Bring me the Horizon), Say My Name (Beetlejuice)

BONUS:

All of the brothers will listen to any song you recommend, and might even learn the words to impress you (>_<)

Thank you so much for reading! I Hope you enjoyed, feel free to tell me what you think of these headcanons! Also, let me know if you have any ideas/suggestions （╹◡╹）♡

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g-xix · 3 months

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favourite sidemen videos?

AGHHH I LOVE ASKS LIKE THIS!! Ty for asking this :)

In order of oldest to newest...

Sidemen Fear Pong - Featuring Harrry's doggo Herb and the iconic "DRIVERS OF LONDON!"

Sidemen Yoga - Featuring "PHIL!", prime sexiness JJ and zesty Harry... This video gave me sm ideas of making smutshots for Phil (but i thought nobody rly wants to see hardcore Phil smut and decided against 💀💀)

The Sidemen Show Ep4 - Haunted House - Literally just a Sam and Colby vid filmed by British idiots also featuring my fave JME

Hide and Seek at Wireless - Genuinely SO GOOD, like, Wroetostar combo goes SO HARD, Hide and Seeks were at their peak when they filmed this, they had sm energy and clearly were enjoying this shit so much... Plus all their charity match hairstyles are such a throwback to see

Sidemen Bowling - So goofy, loved this era where they were all just enjoying making budget ass content together which they somehow always found a way to violate

Sidemen Olympics - Tbh i just loved comparing my sporting ability to them + knowing i can throw a discus farther than all of these mf's and their highest scores

Christmas Football Challenges - Pervy Santa!JJ will also never be topped

Try not to Laugh: w Jack Whitehall / Shocking edition / Bad jokes edition

One word Interview - Shoutout Simon, one of the best YouTube series imo... He's got way more on his channel w each member + these answers are j so iconic

James Charles Makeup Challenge - featuring Click house, KSImon, and Harry's gay panic era

£10,000 vs £10: first holiday / roadtrip / Europe holiday / song

Sidemen Go Back to School - Literally the video that first introduced me to them. Absolutely iconic. Featuring Phil, Stephen Tries and Babatunde, this and the Sidemen Bake Off are their 2 vids that go hand in hand for most iconic atl imo

Worst Outfit Wins - not the exact title but summarises it better. Didn't like this thumbnail initially and put off watching it for a looong time but honestly it's too jokes to skip

Sidemen Become Parents - Literally the way that they descend to chaos and slowly become worse and worse parents is something special that everyone needs to see, full fuckin stop.

24 Hours Handcuffed - trust me.

Make a Christmas Song - Love these songs sm, literally have them on my acc Xmas playlist

Sidemen Dragon's Den - Featuring Niko, Max Fosh (Bosh), BambinoBecky, Chi With A C, Cal² and more

Hot Wings Challenge - Lol, love seeing their pain in this + JJ's Reddit absolutely peaked when this video came out

Sidemen Pub Golf + Europe edition- Just iconic, first post!lockdown pint with the boys where absolutely everyone got involved... and it ended badly for everyone except Harry and Ethan. Europe edition features Harry's birthday and just a lot more chaos i suppose.

Sidemen Gogglebox - Harry and Ethan are fresh off of a night out and cba, KSImon is released once more, and Josh, Vik and Tobi are just fulfilling their duty of watching the programs 🤷‍♀️ Thrilling post!lockdown entertainment imo

Sidemen Silent Library (1) and (2) - super new n unconventionial concept which was just really enjoyable to watch

The Cube - They're missing half the Sidemen but have Big Randy and Stephen Tries instead. They just get drunk to cope with the depression and it turns out for a pretty good vid.

Sidemen Hole in The Wall - solely for Waterman tbh

Forfeit Blind Dates - Ethan's pervy clown character, Deji's sheer energy (litr made me girl-crush on him) and that leng last lady, whole vid was a rare Sidemen banger

Japanese Gameshow - Loved the style with JJ as the host tbh he really fit it, and ofc the Deji feature was an added bonus

Weirdest Hotels - Featuring the Chrismd on a team w Harry n Vik, this rly was an absolute banger honestly

Mystery Box Challenge - idk something j felt very authentic excitement and interest about this vid

Sidemen Become Farmers - brought out the most wholesome and sexy side of the Sidemen all around

SMALLEST VS BIGGEST CAR - Hands down SUCH a banger, the chemistry between all these TERRIFIED mfs and the surprise guest (ᴉɾǝp upside down) ik the sidemen often feel overproduced, but this felt like such a genuine shiggles vid. Oh, and that kiss between Ethan and mystery guest was err... yeah.

Lol that took an hour of my life.

Anyways, if you're ever bored and wanna binge the unanimously decided best vids of the sidemen- I've collated these vids (and a few more) into a YouTube PLAYLIST which u can add to your libraries n watch whenever - or just check out to see whether you've watched all of these or missed any

anyways, hope you've enjoyed that bc that was LONG

And those are j main channel SDMN vids, but there's sooo many good vids on the moresdmn channel on top of these... MoreSidemen has sm mf hidden gems man, one day you'll see 🙏🙏

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jet-bradley · 6 months

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a list of artists (and groups of artists) who could do tron 3's ost, not because they sound like daft punk, but because tron 3 is probably going to completely ignore everything that made tron tron and they might as well do it with a banger soundtrack:

susumu hirasawa (especially in the style of p-model) (LISTEN TO THE SECOND SONG ON THAT ALBUM IMMEDIATELY)

mick gordon (because tbh i want tron 3 to be a tron 2.0 remaster/sequel FPS with him on the soundtrack. WHAT CAN I SAY? LOOK AT MY URL.)

most of the random edm artists making homestuck music in 2013. this includes toby fox but im gonna drop some of my favorite lesser-known tracks: crystalmethequins (dubstep with lots of industrial samples), heat (ambient industrial with a cello lead???), and fuchsia ruler (its just edm idk subgenres well enough to tell you)

telemist (literally almost everything they do, but here's some highlights)

3TEETH (cyberpunk metal. they did a collab with mick gordon and i couldn't tell where one started and the other ended, to give you an idea of their sound. two examples)

you can go down the chipspeech rabbit hole BAD in a post like this, but im going to limit myself to two recs from the chipspeech scene: attack humanoid 2015 and quantum leaper <- THESE ARE THE CLOSEST THIS LIST COMES TO FITTING IN WITH ANY EXISTING TRON SOUNDTRACK BTW

montopolis, because they toured live accompaning the silent l'inferno in tiny art house theaters, which feels more tron than... tron, somehow

THIS IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST

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sunhatllama · 8 months

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I was tagged in this game by @silvercap and @lightenupcowboy !! Thank youuuu 🫶🫶🫶🫶 this sounds like fun!

Rules: shuffle your repeat playlist and post the first ten tracks, then tag ten ppl (or more!)

I have so many more bangers on this playlist but alas, I only can do the first ten. I'm surprised no resident evil songs came up LOL.

I'm gonna tag @highball66 @leonisdumbasallhell @snailvee @leon-thot-kennedy @hurrakka @thebrandywine and @aussiepineapple1st (y'all don't need to if you don't want to <3)

#🦙 talks #ask game adjacent #LOL #music #i love my music sm #Spotify

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acerikus · 2 years

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I need to take a moment here to really, REALLY appreciate Toby fox's characters and writing. Having such a big, popular indie creator who's also so LGBTQ-positive (not gonna pretend it's any of my business wether he's One Of Us or just an absolutely banger ally) means a lot to so many of us - especially since he's in a position where he doesn't have to worry about corporate censoring and having to fight to have his story told the way he wants or to include intended representation.

'Would they ever be brave enough/able to make this wlw/mlm ship canon?' isn't even a question with his work - more just 'is this intended as romantic or simply a really beautiful, well rounded and full-of-heart friendship?' (best example that comes to mind here is sans and toriel, a m/f pair lol)

And the amount of nonbinary characters!!!! We've seen so many examples of characters who use they/them, one of which who uses no pronouns at all in-game (seam), and even someone who seemingly uses they/it! (That being chara). And ofc mettaton and mew mew's stories being pretty clear examples of binary trans characters...

The fact that this feeling of normalcy even extends to poly relationships is absolutely staggering to me, and so, so rare in any kind of media. @determinators' recent post went into a lot less detail with this kinda thing but to just to reiterate: there were several example of poly relationships being normalised in the sweepstakes and one in cyber city, and then on top of that we have the knowledge that homestuck (which Toby contributed to) had a canon poly relationship be endgame, and then there's Asgore's whole.... Situation. (There's hints towards him and Rudy, but he also seems FULLY intent on trying to win toriel back and Rudy apparently still loves his wife and doesn't seem headed towards divorce currently, y'know?) The fact that it's now POLY relationships that people are questioning if they could really happen in his games (with the possibility being real!) is... Really cool!

Anyway tldr I guess: I love that we don't need to question lgbtq representation in undertale and deltarune - we know it's something we're getting constantly and all the time regardless of if characters are in relationships or not, and it always feels so genuine, fleshed out and full of heart. The fact that there's kids out there getting to grow up with Toby's work is so, so important to me.

#deltarune #undertale #utdr #xan's thoughts #idk how well i put this but i wanted to ramble some praise!!!!#i couldn't find the space for it here but other things that make me very happy: the implication from word of [dog] that sans is asexual #and that toby crafted two whole worlds filled with monsters + robots + living objects but STILL chose to make the humans nonbinary? AMAZING #... that shouldn't be groundbreaking but so many creators will take the easy route and just make all their enbies nonhuman #toby made ALL of his humans nonbinary AS WELL as some monsters and darkners #and having examples of one of those humans using it/its sometimes too?! based toby thank u for making video games #also none of his female characters feel like lazy writing with lacking personalities like... certain rpgs and that's v nice #and he lets his queer characters be messy and many mistakes and not have to constantly be perfect!!!! 😭💜

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solardistress · 1 year

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TOBY YOU CANT DK THIS TO ME YOU CCANY POST AUCH BANGER ART

I CANT HIT POST LIMIT AGAIN ITS TOO EMBARRASSING TO HIT JT 3 TIMES IN A ROW BUT GOD DAMMIT I MIGHT AGAIN

#just for you bbg/j #NNFMWNFME #HELP

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astralm00ns · 7 months

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Rules: shuffle your 'on repeat' playlist and post the first ten tracks, then tag ten people.

OKAY got tagged by @tearwolfe let’s see how this goes even though i don’t use spotify

the undertale au fan tracks i listened to back in 5th grade dragged me to be a soundcloud user ok anyways let me just

1. honey i’m home - ghost (i’ve been a huge ghost fan for a really long time, this is one of the many iconic ones)

2. checker dance - toby fox (yeah no i’m a HUGE utdr enjoyer, i have had some tracks saved for a while because like,,yeah toby)

3. unfriendly hater - meddmia (GAH this song is so fun i love the little story along with it, if motivation lets me one day i might do an mv, but chances are 50/50)

4. glory steady go - kinoshita (self explanatory i love wxs)

5. miracle paint (wxs ver) - oster project (song is funky when you excuse the meaning, also probably one of my favorite early game covers it’s still a nice listen)

6. suna no wakusei - hachi (i remember trying to find the symbolism for it way back when considering how many references are in the mv, also a huge banger which slaps)

7. close to you (sans ver) - niki (i think anyone who was into utdr has seen that ONE animatic with that song,,i still love watching that video every now and then the animation and vocals are gorgeous)

8. popipo - lamaze-p (vegetal)

9. aishite aishite aishite - kikuo (i love being funny at times and hitting the high notes, which aren’t nearly as high as i remember after listening to kara kara kara no kara, which uh,,yeah, still great song though kikuo never misses)

10. scapegoat - ghost (another ghost banger that i enjoy listening to)

okay um that was a shuffle mission uhmmhhrr uh i don’t have many mutuals oopsies

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lunariamv · 7 months

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about me :>

so i just realized i cant just be some random person posting stuff without much context..... so here we go

┊⠀┊ ┊⠀┊

┊ ˚➶ ｡˚ ✧

˚✧

hi, my name is lunaria, or luna ^^

˚✧ some grill that wants to be a artist, writer, and maybe like a lowkey game dev

˚✧ i consume a lot of media: video games, anime, yt, movies, tv shows, books, fanfics, etc

˚✧ i really love the impact media and stories have on the world and people, and there's a lot i love, but also there's a lot out there that frustrates me, or feels like it's missing something, so i wanna throw my hat into the ring and make my own content for me and other girls like me <3

˚✧ atm i write fanfics to practice writing and build an audience, and i draw fanart to improve art skill, also just so i have an art portfolio,,,, cuz if i just started posting games without much of a background i feel like ppl are gonna be like,, "who tf is this???" lol

⊹˚. game dev??? ⊹˚.

i'm really interested in making my own games, specifically rpg maker ones because rpg maker/rpg horror/indie horror is my fav genre (pewdiepie's misao gameplay was my first horror game ever <3); i just love retro horror style a lot

so i'm practicing pixel art and stuff and then later i want to learn some 日本語 so i can translate the games, and also learn to make music so i can go full toby fox lol

and then maybe later on if i got rlly ambitious and had a lot of money id make fancy otome games, manga, fancy horror games, and pERSONA FOR GIRLS

i have a lot of ideas for diff series and id love to share them all <3

⊹˚. my inspirations: ⊹˚.

˚✧ game wise: currently my inspirations are charon (of those yan charon games) and dsp (ik they go by a different name now but that's what i know them as, also its funny because the name reminds me of darksydephil HAHAHA); i like the retro pixel and slight horror themes and aesthetic of their games, but i dislike the writing, so i'm gonna make my own :D

also i like the idea of an oc multiverse like dsp's so i want that too

toby fox is also technically an inspiration too; i wanna learn music so i can make my own bangers with little references and leitmotifs for fun :>>>

˚✧ writing wise: i have a lot, but my main inspirations are mostly like writing in the anime-ish games; danganronpa, persona, ace attorney, yttd, kakegurui; psychological stuff where you gotta think about them, but they also have unique quirky characters and they interact with each other in creative ways

also horror and psychological, i like writing about scary stuff and characters with their complexities, and addressing the rlly messed up parts of humanity and society bc its spooky;; sometimes with a very dark nihilistic outlook bc i love angst, or sometimes with an optimistic one

((thats kinda why i like yan stories but more in the horror sense, like look at all the crazy scary stuff this person is doing lol))

but for characters in general, i like stuff with FEMCS <33333 persona 3 with ya girl kotone shiomi, danganronpa v3 with kaede, sara in your turn to die, genshin lumine, and that one part in ace attorney where we get to play as mia fey

that's also why i lowkey like the writing in romcom/chick flick movies, cuz its just unique characters and stories and usually has a female protag or a group of girls as the mcs

LIKE MISS CONGENIALITY, MEAN GIRLS, AND LEGALLY BLONDE I LOVE THOSE MOVIES SM AND I HAVE MILLIONS MORE EXAMPLES BUT WE'D BE HERE FOREVER

but aside from heavy and horror stories, i also like simple cute straightforward stories like older barbie movies XD (or winx, mlp, bratz, monster high…); they're just really wholesome and cute where ya girl goes on a magical adventure with quirky characters and learns good lessons like trust, courage, friendship, etc…

ITS MUSHY BUT I LOVE IT AAAAA

so my main theme is being a girl and doing stuff, bc girlbossing is fun

but ya know i like making hot guy characters too wwwww

⊹˚. my art/writing style ⊹˚.

i'd say in general its like a mix of asian themes with western; its like anime but with western elements in it

i'd also sometimes like to explore other cultures too, kinda like how jjba has varying characters bc that's cool;; but if i have characters with varying nationalities its because i want to, not bc a woke person held me at gunpoint

⊹˚. aesthetics ⊹˚.

i have a lot that i like, but here's my main favorites i guess that will be in my things

˚✧ cute + edgy; melanie martinez, lucy loone, yandere, ddlc;; basically anything where you juxtapose cutesy with scary horror -- its so fun and subversive

˚✧ femcel/female sigma/doomer girl/anti-egirl; LANA DEL REY LANA DEL REY bc i'm a sad girl

˚✧ retro things; 80s and 90s but mostly early 2000s stuff; early internet, old stuff, y2k, scene/emo, mcbling -- huge emphasis on mcbling, i love the girly hedonistic aspects of it -- ayesha erotica, panty and stocking, bad girls club;; that aesthetic i love it sm LETS DO OUR NAILS AND PARTY ^^^^^^

˚✧ internet horror stuffs -- indie horror, analog horror, internet mysteries, meta horror, local58, mandela catalogue, fnaf, creepypastas, liminal spaces

˚✧ then some internet guy stuff -- vaporwave, cyberpunk, blade runner, hotline miami, madness combat, carpenter brut, etc -- i'm tomboyish in this regard xd, i fangirl over guns and edgy sigma guys fighting

⊹˚. extra stuff about me (bc who tf r u >_>) ⊹˚.

writes a character bio

˚✧ name: luna

˚✧ some randy girl that likes to make stuff

˚✧ not rlly a weeb but i like asian culture a lot, japanese, chinese, korean, vietnamese, thai, laos, filipino (yes), etc

˚✧ sigma?? i think people should be rewarded based on talent and skill, rather than their identity. if i am successful, its because my work is good, not because i am a minority. i'm also learning to draw, write, make music, etc because i want to make content without having to rely on others for assets. why ask other people if i can do it myself? B)

˚✧ i like cute things and being girly, like dressing up and having stuffed animals and cute stationary everywhere :> if i have a chance to be extra and decorate something, i will take it in a heart beat

˚✧ i'm a stocking kin, i love sweets, cake specifically, and milk tea (im addicted to boba its horrible T-T)

˚✧ i like tea, i drink 2-3 cups a day :) oolong is my fav atm

˚✧ cat >>>>

˚✧ unhealthy attraction to fictional men… currently thirsting over tohru adachi 💀💀💀 LOL my friends are like "eww wtf is wrong with you???" i must be a raccoon because i really love garbage

☸ my links ☸

all my links are on caard, but here's an organized list of the main ones; my tumblr will be my main hub for stuff i guess; the degree of activity ranges ;-;

˚☸ art stuff

✧ newgrounds (i wanna be a newgrounds girl tbh)

✧ twitter

✧ insta

✧ tiktok

˚☸ writing stuff (fanfictions)

✧ quotev

✧ wattpad

✧ archive

˚☸ oc archive

✧ deviantart (bc im too lazy to code toyhouse atm)

also apologies if i dont respond to things fast enough, im shy

˚☸ dividers by cafekitsune

#✧ info #☏ lunaspeaking #✧ blogstuff

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dontlookdown · 1 year

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Nick’s Favourite Music of 2022

Those who have followed my work for a while know that I usually start the new year with a collection of reviews looking at my favourite songs of the year. This year, I’m only doing the one post. If my experience with burning out halfway through last years’ list taught me anything, it’s that I can’t commit to the traditional series of twenty-plus blog posts when I know full well that I don’t have the time or the energy to see it through. Maybe things will be different next year. For this year, I’m happy to compromise.

Below, you’ll find the list of my 20 favourite songs of 2022 (YouTube links in the headings, Spotify embed at the bottom), along with a few words about why I love each particular one. Let’s go!

Röyksopp – “Speed King”

I started putting this playlist together with the first and last tracks already in mind, due to their lengthy runtimes. Normally, I’d kick things off with a true opener, something loud and driving. Despite its name, “Speed King” is not that. It’s a slow, electronic burn that builds into something truly formidable. My immediate reaction upon first hearing it was “This is the Daft Punk track I’ve been waiting for since 2005,” but that backhanded compliment ignores how the way the bassline steadily bubbles away in the background is pure Röyksopp, a hallmark that you’ll find throughout their work. The duo released three albums over 2022 and, while there’s great songs on all three (especially the tracks featuring Alison Goldfrapp and Susanne Sundfør), they saved the best for last.

††† (Crosses) - “Procession”

We’re going to stay in a low-key mood for a bit with the next two songs. Considering how I fell in love with Deftones in 2020, it seemed right that I should check out Chino Moreno’s side project when they re-emerged with their first new material in nine years. The PERMANENT.RADIANT EP turned out to be the perfect taster for this group’s softer, more atmospheric sound. I particularly loved “Procession”, which is the perfect showcase for Chino’s distinct voice and a show-stopping bassline that kicks in at 2:40.

The 1975 – “About You”

I find it difficult to pin down my feelings about the 1975. They’re a band I always want to keep at arm’s length, and yet they’ve ended up my year-end lists three times now. That’s an achievement in itself, but doing it with three songs that sound nothing like each other is something else. “About You” is the most U2-ass sounding song of the year. And I like U2 a lot.

Asunojokei – “Diva Under the Blue Sky”

Here we fucking go. Asunojokei are a Japanese band that have picked up the “black metal but happy” torch from Deafheaven and ran a mile with it with their album Island. I keep getting Undertale vibes from “Diva Under the Blue Sky”. Something about the main melody feels very reminiscent of the excellent work Toby Fox did on that game's soundtrack.

The Beths – “Silence Is Golden”

A bit of blistering Kiwi indie rock to get the pulse up.

Phoenix – “After Midnight”

I was not expecting this. A beautiful reminder of what Phoenix are capable of, absolute masters of a slick, twisty pop-rock style that’s very much their own.

Fred again.. – “Jungle”

A true club banger. Turns out you can do an awful lot with a chopped vocal sample, a savage beat and a great sense of dynamics and timing.

Ibibio Sound Machine – “Protection From Evil”

I’ve got a lot of love for tracks that find ways to keep building and building upon themselves. Having a truly magnetic presence like Eno Williams front-and-centre on the microphone would’ve been enough, but having her vocals and the rhythm behind her slowly rising in intensity before colliding together with horns for the climax is downright magical.

Beyoncé – “Pure/Honey”

Never bet against Bey. There’s a reason RENAISSANCE was the near-unanimous critic’s pick for album of the year, that’s because it’s just so damn fun to listen to in full. “PURE/HONEY” splits the difference between the album’s two moods: hard-edged house to start, with shiny disco as a chaser. The way the songs shifts between those two gears makes it the perfect pick for this playlist.

The Weeknd – “Take My Breath”

I remember first hearing “Take Me Breath” and thinking “this needs something extra”. That something extra turned out to be the extended version on the Dawn FM album. Almost twice as long as the single version, it allows the backing beat room to stretch out, with the chugging muted guitar and arpeggiated vocoder properly setting the scene for song to make more of an impression. It doesn’t just benefit the song, but the album as a whole. The three-song-run of “How Do I Make You Love Me?”, “Take My Breath” and “Sacrifice” is a thrilling moment from an artist with a career full of them.

Spoon – “Wild”

“Wild” is my favourite song of the year. I knew that the second I laid ears on it. Spoon have been one of my favourite bands for a long time, and the fact that they can still come up with songs this good after 25 years is awe-inspiring. “Wild” is such a perfect Spoon-esque song, it’s honestly incredible that they hadn’t written it already.

Alvvays – “Belinda Says”

A blast of aural sunshine, with a key-change befitting of its namesake.

Camp Cope – “Running with the Hurricane”

This was a late discovery for me in December. While making my way through all of the hyped releases I’d missed, it was refreshing to come across music that was so direct and earnest. A true breath of fresh air, which I assume a hurricane would also have plenty of.

Shamir – “Reproductive”

By contrast, this was an early favourite that I rediscovered while combing through my existing collection. It always takes me a few plays to properly acknowledge the lyrics of songs. Once I noticed the streak of self-loathing running through this one, it just made the deep sadness of the music hit harder.

The Smile – “Free In the Knowledge”

Choosing my album of the year was tricky. This and the next four acts on the list were all contenders for the crown, though none jumped out as instant picks like previous winners have. In the end, I gave it to A Light for Attracting Attention by The Smile (the new band featuring Thom and Jonny from Radiohead, and Tom Skinner from Sons of Kemet), simply because I had a nice little moment to myself while listening to it for the first time. Relaxing alone in the park, in the warm sunshine, feeling at peace with everything. By the time I’d gotten to “Free In the Knowledge”, I felt a calmness I hadn’t felt in months. Other albums just can’t compete with those personal moments.

Big Thief – “Change”

One last quiet moment before things pick up again. “Change” is a cool breeze of existentialism on a warm day, the kind of vibe Big Thief have been very good at for some time now.

Black Country, New Road – “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade”

I’d said in the introductory post for my 2021 blogs that, after being slightly disappointed by their debut, I was looking forward to Black Country, New Road delivering on their next album. And boy, did they. Ants From Up There is a record that was fascinating on first listen, and keeps revealing hidden layers on repeat plays, especially when digging into the lyrics. “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade” (it’s about cooking, not killing) is a rich portrait of domestic malaise, the kind Jarvis Cocker used to dabble in. It’s sad that vocalist Isaac Wood has decided to move on, but I’m glad he’s putting his mental health first. That can’t have been an easy decision. And, once again, I’m very interested to see where the band goes from here.

Black Midi – “Sugar/Tzu”

I’d lumped Black Midi together with BC,NR and Squid (or Black Midi, New Squidi, as I liked to call the grouping) in that 2021 post, but they really couldn’t sound more different from each other. While BC,NR spent the year chasing a deliberately pastoral sound with strings and all, Black Midi made a record that sounded like an arson attack at a Cole Porter recital. Hellfire is Black Midi’s most accessible record yet (not a high bar, admittedly), and it’s helped grow my appreciation of their previous work too. If you’re in the mood for hearing three musicians (plus a brass section) playing the ever-loving shit out of their instruments, “Sugar/Tzu” is the song for you. I’m a very big fan of the little guitar break at 3:20.

SpiritWorld – “Relic of Damnation”

My ferocious appetite for metal and hardcore did not diminish in 2022, and SpiritWorld’s DEATHWESTERN was the best the genre had to offer this year. It’s loud as hell, yes, but there’s a buoyancy to this band’s music that harkens back to the thrash metal of the late ‘80s. A song like “Relic of Damnation” isn’t just interested in pummelling your ears, it also wants to propel you forward, smashing through whatever boring chore you have to finish. This band is almost single-handedly responsible for me processing as many invoices as I did this winter. I’d listen to Randy Moore make that demonic horse neighing sound with his guitar all fucking day.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “The Dripping Tap”

This isn’t the longest song I’ve featured on these year-end lists, and it sure-as-shit won’t feel like it either. Of the five (yes, five) albums worth of music Oceanic overachievers King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard released this year, “The Dripping Tap” is the crown jewel. While I’ve found some of the band’s other work to be somewhat meandering, this song is 18 minutes of pure, focused, fast-paced psychedelic rock. It’ll take you on a wild ride without even leaving your living room, and the time flies by whenever I put it on. The way the opening verse returns with a vengeance (and the full band behind it) for the final minute feels like a real gift, and the perfect way close out both this playlist and 2022 in general.

Thanks for reading! I enjoyed writing this! If you fancy reading more from me, I’ve done similar series for every year going back to 2011 (and basic lists for 2008-2010). Just copy and paste this link (https://dontlookdown.tumblr.com/tagged/best-of-20xx) and edit the year to see them!

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sudoscience · 1 year

Text

Updated (spoiler free) thoughts on Pokémon Scarlet now that I've seen the credits, but haven't done any of the post game:

Pros:

Koraidon :) <3

Cool new Pokémon

Actually has a decent story

Toby Fox wrote some bangers for it

Cons:

Bugs/performance issues

Still no voice acting

I miss the catching and battle mechanics from Legends Arceus; even without the performance issues, the battles are comparatively slow

Ed Sheeran

Okay, one "spoiler" under the cut. Not a plot spoiler, but I'm going to keep it safe just in case.

Like I said, I haven't done the post game at all yet (literally just got through the credits like half an hour ago), so maybe this will change, but I thought it was kinda weird how nobody used items. Not even the Elite Four or La Primera. And not just held items, either; they didn't even heal their Pokémon mid-battle. The Elite Four in BDSP, and I think even some of the later gym leaders would use at least one Full Restore if you weren't oneshotting them. But in Scarlet, the battles were kinda easy. I did end up having to use a few Revives for some of them (especially early on when I probably wasn't quite at the level I should have been), but I only blacked out once, and it was the last fight against Arven (because I decided I wanted to level up some more instead of using up all my revives). Meanwhile, Cynthia wiped the floor with me a couple times, and I think it also took me a couple tries to even make it to her.

I don't think I was even particularly over-leveled in Scarlet. They're all Lvl 57-61, and I think my strongest two Pokémon at the time were Lvl 65? And the rest were actually around Lvl 51-55. (Now, for some of the gyms, I was definitely over-leveled, like 10+ higher. But I kinda just did all the "paths" in whatever order I felt like, so that seemed bound to happen. "Oh, I'm done with this Titan. What's nearby, a gym or a Team Star base? Whoops, the Pokémon here are stronger than I can catch. Guess I need to find another gym. Now Arven's telling me I'm close to and Titan, so I guess I'll take care of that. Hey, what's that watchtower over there? Oh, it's a Team Star base. Guess I'm doing that now." That sort of thing.)

Anyway, I spent way longer writing this than I intended, so I'm going to stop. This was supposed to be a short post right before going to bed. Oops...

#pokemon #pokemon scarlet #pkmn #pokemon scarlet and violet #al rambles about pokemon #i feel kinda disingenuous mentioning cool new pokemon when i barely used any of them #my team at the end of the game: meowscarada. corviknight. glaceon. sylveon. ceruledge. lucario #and it was mostly meowscarada and corviknight doing the heavy lifting #to be fair. we're talking about my starter pokemon and a shiny that i caught very early in the game #of course they're going to be like 10 levels higher than the rest of my team

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