#Im a sucker for distorted instruments

[lifemod17]

thoughts on 'Unaired EP'

IN THIS ESSAY I WILL-

below the cut in case you don't want spoilers <3

Nobody's Soldier

THE FUCKIN FALSETTO IS DRIVING ME INSANE ITS LIKE HE LACED THIS SONG WITH CRACK

"Benzos and gasoline" line is WILD (it is so hot for no reason wtf Andrew)

the little break that happens at 1:43 with. i don't even know what that is? like a sort of distorted / reverbed guitar bend / riff? either way, LOVE THAT.

also lets give it up one time for the organ, that is SO GNARLY, YOU CANNOT DENY IT!!!

hearing the live version vs. this recorded one is different, I literally went "OMFG WHAT IS THIS PART" starting at 2:53 when he gets all whisper-y WHY IS IT SO HOT

Listen man, I am a sucker for a good pause, and that pause after the bridge has me UNWELL.

SLOWING IT DOWN for the ending will never not be iconic. you don't see that happening a lot!

the intake of breath on the outro??!! tumblr user lifemod17 is NOT FARING WELL

July

so full of hope and promise and really just about having that thing or that someone to look forward to. The definition of "postpone that funeral"

THE SYNTHS??? FORGIVE HIM FATHER FOR HE HAS SYNTH!!!

"JUST KNOWING THAT'S GETTING ME THROUGH"?!?!?!? I wanna throw up. that is a Tonee-ass line. yeah 'July' is DEFINITELY taking the crown. This is my favorite from the EP.

i WAS right! he says 'prada' because it just made so much sense with the 'wore me out' line.

the whole second half had me in SHAMBLES. the lyrics were already insane but also throw in his soft voice mixed with the FUNKY & GROOVY beat?? I fear it is so over for me (I was genuinely screaming into a pillow and needed to sit down even though I was already sat and also I didn't know what to do with my person so I was just laying there and looking up at the ceiling while fighting off tears. I was SHOOK.)

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and makes me want to roll downhill a field and pick flowers to give to strangers

Have I mentioned the pen game? Because it is on level 9000. His pen was on fire when he has writing this

B A S S O U T R O GOT ME ACTING TF UP

That You Are

I was not expecting the lyrics to be "that I'd be anywhere that you are". im sorry but that is devastatingly beautiful and rips my heart out brb sobbing

my wig quietly and peacefully ascended from my head.

it's a lot more raw, production wise. the vocals aren't super clean, but I actually really like it this way!!! it makes the song that much more precious, gentle, intimate

Bedouine's vocals NEVER DISAPPOINTS!! She always has a way of transporting you with her music- makes you feel like you're floating above water

I needed to sautee the yearning for this one, its so pretty but hits you right in the feels

The fact that this is speculated to be the contender for the spot of 'I, Carrion (Icarian)' I'M GONNA CRY AGAIN Andrew please do an EP breakdown cuz I need to know!

that little instrumental interlude towards the bridge is so lovely and the entire song really! I think they did a good job of splitting the vibe 50/50 <- I say this because I listen to Bedouine a lot and the vibe of her songs is definitely here. it just really shows that they both wrote this together. its not a feature, its a collab

We're all gonna cry and then afterwards we're all gonna hug cuz this song just inflicted so much emotional damage upon all of us

[impossible-rat-babies]

okay give me the future SLAPS

[yeonjuins]

I listened to the songs a few times to really grasp them ♡︎♡︎ and here are my thoughts:

foolish heart by luca - I really love the instrumental and the overall vibe of the song and the vocals >>>> literally so pretty ( I was picturing a specific type of performance in my head but i literally can’t English right so it’s hard to describe sksk) and also listening to this with the rain sounds in the background or just on a rainy day >>>>>>>

Juno by choker - I never heard a song like this but I actually really like it.. THE WAY IT WAS THE DISTORTED VOICE AND THEN THE ACTUAL VOCALS CAME THROUGH *dies* that was so good… help the switch ups are so good.. the song reminds me of so many different things but I can’t put my finger on it- but the vibes are immaculate (don’t know why but at the beginning I pictured someone breaking glass in slow motion with this in the background AKSK) the ending -I’m obsessed-

diary by sogumm ft. punchnello - oh the vibe!! The vibe… the vibes are great,,, I’m a sucker for voices like hers- I like how the song starts off calm and then kinda picks up futher into the song and also the beat and small voice distorts??? wow… and when he starts rapping is also great and the ending???? gold. I feel like “I always say I can do better” is gonna be stuck in my head-

honey bee by sogumm . penomeco - the beginning is so pretty!!! the melody, the beat, their voices together >>>>> this is such a good pairing,, not enough words to express sksk I really like it ,, her voice is so so pretty ,, it’s such a cute song … it’s too good to be two minutes!!! also the ending for that one too.. the little instrumental was so nice

movie by penomeco - oh this is so pretty… I love how it’s just the guitar (I think it’s a guitar- SJSJ) for a little while and then the “claps” come in but the vibe ,, gives off a good spring like driving to the beach for a picnic vibe,, the song is so pretty… (child come on after that ended and idk i kinda liked the transition-)

-humming anon ♡︎

(lengthy answer!)

HELLO MY SWEET ANGEL ! school was cancelled today so i was able to give your songs a listen (": i'm sososo glad you like the songs and yes... juno by choker hits SOOO different and just how it musically progresses is so addicting AAAA all these songs are just pure chefs kiss to me and i'm so glad u enjoyed them (": hopefully at least one of them was playlist worthy

i was able to give your songs a listen hehe they're all pretty swell <3 there was nothing to be worried about

Winter - JUNNY & Yelloasis ft Yayyoung

omg i’m so surprised people know junny... i absolutely love his song ‘by my side’ ;; i think i found him through thank you though and that got me absolutely hooked... i love junny’s vocals so much but i think i found love with yelloasis’s voice oh my god... idk something about those words of vocals just HIT with me? it’s similar to be’o - counting stars (”: 

Like a Sunflower - Rheehab ft Yayyoung

ouu im seeing a trend here... you like yayyoung (”: PAHAHHA this one is sososo chill oh my god... definitely the sort of song to listen to while studying and just chilling... oh my god i did more inspecting on yayyoung and i acc have one of her songs in my library ;0 it’s ‘do you feel like you have no one to turn to?’ but oh my god im listening to ‘if only you knew’ and i’m in love... it samples the same guitar part as ‘come over’ - tom the mail man so i instantly new the song... imagining just meshing these two songs together would create such a sweet harmony oh my god...

sorry for going on a tangent abt the featured artists but otherwise this song is so lovely and chill... i can see u listening to this at night on a calm drive back to your house (”: 

Fallin For U - Peachy!, Mxmtoon

now this is the lofi song everyone listens too PAHAHHA i know this song blew up on tiktok and was paired with all the aesthetic edits / montages of people living their daily lives so i simply associate this song with that (”: mxmtoon is so lovely her voice is so angelic... 

History - Frex

ouuu i like this one the most... her voice is so pretty wtf WHA the pre-chorus build up with the kick snare is so GOOD and how it sort of... whats the word... explodes ?! PAHHAHA oh my god and then the part where the song takes a back for a bit and it’s just her vocals along with this simple beat.... this song doesn’t really have a structure to it but i love it even more for that sole reason because it just makes sense... 

Out of Touch - Laica

THE ALBUM COVER IS SO FUCKING PRETTY GOODBYE i love LOVE songs with a good ALBUM COVER LORD.... just STARING AT IT... i acc love ‘close to me’ by her as well (”: god god this song is acc so good perhaps this one is acc my favourite in the end (<- clearly needs to explore this artist more) hehe this one got added to one of my playlists... i really like this one... idk there’s something about it... i definitely think it’s the distorted guitar sounds(?) during the chorus and how that slowly gets integrated throughout the rest of the song (i’m clearly rambling at this point) TLDR this one hits hehe 

[guyinlovewitheremika]

Oooh could you expand on why you liked the op?? I honestly don't know what to make of it yet, especially since it felt so different from other ops, but I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Absolutely will do!! This took longer than I wanted cause everytime I sat down to write I started getting distracted from the OP and just listening to it on repeat lmao

To start this off, I should add that throughout the week leading up to release date, I was following a couple of leakers on twitter who did drop some info on the OP; mainly that Shinsei Kamattechan were returning, the title, that it wasnt gonna feature any characters and instead be a metaphor for the “cruelty of war”. Knowing all of that had me pretty excited but also gave me the right expectations, so it wasnt too jarring to see at first. 

But, to jump into this, first of all, I just loooove the visual style in general. It mostly just being static shades of white and light grey, with these very washed out colors exploding and flowing onto the image...it’s absolutely gorgeous! Like I just really dig this color scheme. And it’s highlighted even further by the gorgeous, fluid animation...these explosions look so good! I’m also just a big sucker for familiar characters/entities being represented in a sort of timeless way...be it a portrait, a statue, a monument, whatever (think smth like this), so seeing Eren and the other titans at the end there was just an absolute treat. Whatever that thing is, I want some kind of print/purchasable piece of merch of it because that heap of titans looks amazing. 

The song also just bangs tbh. It’s such a weird agglomeration of instruments and vocals but I find it comes together really well. The childrens choir, the piano at the beginning, the distorted vocals and most importantly that E-violin!!! so fucking good! Honestly I just love the way this song sounds and Im more hyped for the full version than the ost release atm (even tho I love what we heard so far from that too). The combination of the visuals with the music too is great here...I’ve never seen a flamethrower used in combination with the beat of a song before (outside of mad max fury road I guess lol?) but goddamn its just such a cool fucking combination I cant get over it. 

I have some thoughts on the imagery and the symbolism and my interpretations of it all, and I wanna get into those too, but really, the main thing I absolutely love about this OP is how different it is. Just as the marley arc is probably the most different of all in the manga, just as the new studio has made a show that, in many ways, looks feels and sounds vastly different from the old Attack on Titan, the OP encapsulates all of that by just being this new thing and succeeding at it

I love WIT’s OP’s, I love Linked Horizon’s work on the show. But honestly, the “Linked Horizon hype OP” genre pretty much peaked with Guren no Yumiya for me. I still like all the others, but overall, OP 1, 2, 3 and 5 just feel a bit too same-y for me, especially given that I honestly don’t think any of the follow ups surpass the original. Heck all these other songs even reference GnY in some capacity--I cant help but feel like they could never let go of Guren’s success and never tried something else. Except for Red Swan of course, which is also my 2nd favorite WIT OP. It’s slower, it’s sadder, it’s melancholic, and vastly different from all the others, and I really appreciate that. It tries to be its own thing and it succeeded for me. And “My War” even more so feels like it has a very distinct, unique vision, goes all out in that way, and it just works beautifully.   

And it’s that distinct, unique vision that I wanna dig into lastly here, because, just as the marley arc does for this manga, I find that out of all the OP’s, My War most explicitely depicts and visualizes many of the core thematic ideas of Attack on Titan and brings them directly into the forefront. I’ve seen a bunch of cool interpretations of the song at this point, and someone may have somewhere already said all this, but I wanna throw it in here regardless

After countless battles, sacrifices, victories and losses, Eren and the survey corps were able to win the war against the titans that their walled world was stuck in for a hundred years. Their gigantic enemies were defeated, and freedom ought to lie ahead. But no, beyond the shores is just more...more oppression, more war, more death and more sacrifice. The history their king to from them is one of war and oppression, a never ending cycle of violence, spanning back 2000 years, continuing forward. One oppressive regime falls, only for the next to take its place. This has been the history of mankind since the dawn of man, and it continues on and on and on. 

This is what this episode shows us, another military battle around another walled encampment, and this is what this opening shows us...a world perpetually at war. Man’s hatred for one another leads to conflict, to war: it’s continued existence in history and continued technological advancements are the perfect visual representation of this. Man’s capacity for war breeds more war, and it takes lives and it takes freedom and it doesnt stop, it just keeps consuming. 

The Opening starts off with battleships, artillery fire, mortars, flamethrowers, nuclear explosions and a titan spine forming among them all, until the birds of freedom fall dead out of the sky. Neverending armies of soldiers march the streets, airships rule the sky, but all the soldiers, all the military craft, the marleyan military and the paradisian soldiers all fall to pieces and get destroyed. War and conflict rage on and all the pieces fall to the ground, littering the earth in nothing but death and destruction. And at the end, atop this mountain of corpses and mayhem, the titans arise, reaching forward, attacking. They are born from mankinds neverending cycle of destruction, the physical manifestation of our inner demons that lead us to kill each other. 

I thoroughly believe that this sequence of events most perfectly encapsulates all of attack on titan. Look at the marley arc: the years of their attempts to wipe out Paradis island lead the island and the attack titan straight to them, delivering a terrible blow to them during their declaration of war. 2000 years ago it was the warmongering, slave hording king fritz who had a girl hunted for sport who brought about the era of the eldian empire, creating a system to eternally maintain the titan’s ability to wage war and rule the lands that would wind up ripping humanity apart. Look at the final arc: all of humanities hatred towards the island devils birthed the final attack titan and his horde of demons who have come to trample the world underfoot. The titans have always arisen as the consequence of man’s tendency towards conflict and death. Eren’s titan first formed from inside a titan who just killed him, his last titan was born out of his own death yet again. Titans are man’s desire to kill given shape, and the more man kills and fights, the more titans arise. 

It’s a bleak and terrible look at the cruelty of the world, that I think the OP highlights immensly well. It’s a gorgeous looking and sounding 90 seconds, and despite its contents being essentially horrifying, its fun to look at and listen to. Isayama once said about Eren’s attack in marley that “what eren does here is the worst thing. but if you were able to feel just a little bit of excitement from it, then it was worth drawing manga all this time”. Somehow, one way or another, we’re drawn to conflict, despite how terrible it is. And I think this opening manifests this beautifully 

[jae--z]

wow the new mv is like

a visual masterpiece tbh like dam how controlled the verses are in both delivery and the editing compared to how glitchy and emotional the chorus is. like there are so many rests and stops for breaths in the verses -- they’re musically stopping the emotions from flowing, yanno? its very stop-and-go and then the chorus hits anD they breAK the frame of the video when they sing about breaking down im in tears, and when they have their banGIN’ instrumental breaks

and ugh theres a lot of distortion both in like the guitar pedal effect and the video and editing and its just?? such?? a good? mv augh. like it just is such a good reflection of the music, and that at the core is the purpose of a music video. and like a lot of their other videos are super iconic and add to the emotion of the song, but this mv really added to the listening experience, yanno

and the turmoil is so well depicted by how chaotic the editing and video clips are spliced together? and wow im just so impressed

also like hot damn when they do that thing where they cut to each member on beat? yeah i live for those moments

im also a sucker for that prechorus mmMMM i cant place my finger on it but something about those bars is gorgeous

[therappundit]

May 2018 - *PlayLi$t of the Month*

You ready for summer?

Winter is finally in the rear view, but hard hip-hop is coming in waves like hoodie season is a year-round event in 2018! Yeah I’m liking that trend. We have seen a mixture of old and new faces this month, which means rap music continues to thrive in its’ state of sound diversity. So here are some of my favorite rap songs that I have kept on replay for the last few weeks...

1. “Outside” - Royce Da 5′9″ feat. Marsha Ambrosius & Robert Glasper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55wuczmMgSc

(With PRhyme 2 still in heavy rotation, Royce Da 5′9″ dropped Book Of Ryan, his most personal, and well-constructed solo work yet. There are so many gems to mine through on this album, but perhaps the most impressive one to me is this beautiful song that’s dedicated to Royce’s son. Much as Kendrick Lamar’s “FEAR” excelled due to to it’s unflinching exploration of how anxiety feels, “Outside” excels because Royce lays his entire relationship with his son on the table, warts and all. Pulling from a troubled childhood and complex relationship with his own father, “Outside” perfectly captures the battle to raise a child without passing down the parent’s baggage. Book Of Ryan is a powerful listening experience.)

2. “This Is America” - Childish Gambino

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY

(Donald Glover is simply one of the most talented human beings alive today. He is a comedian, actor, and musician, so his next move is tough to predict due to the many different directions he may choose to go. Regardless of whether you think “This Is America” is a brilliant socially conscious song or just a clever attempt to “sell” a political record in order to strengthen his brand, there is no denying that the track is a fantastic piece of production, and Gambino masterfully glides all over it. Plus, the video is easily the most captivating of 2018.)

3. “Yes Indeed” - Lil Baby feat. Drake

http://www.thefader.com/2018/05/15/lil-baby-and-drake-drop-yes-indeed

(What can I say, I’m a sucker for a Drake song when he goes into rap feature grind mode. While I never had a reason to check for Lil Baby amidst the sea of never-ending “Lil’s” in hip-hop today, he manages to capture my attention with this verse...which includes my favorite silly rap line of the moment: “wah wah wah: bitch I’m he Baby”. The wheel isn’t being reinvented by either artist on “Yes Indeed”, but they sound like they’re having so much fun over this Wheezy production that I can see myself keeping this song in the rotation for months to come - much like “Look Alive”. Like it or not, Drake is coming next month.)

4. “Dust & Powder” - Jim Jones feat. Jadakiss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsytbeybxP4

(At the start of 2018 I would not have expected Jim Jones to drop a new album chockfull of strong cuts, but low and behold, here we are. The retro-Dipset vibe of this track still feels fresh, plus Jones and Jada rhyme with enough energy that it low-key feels reminiscent of a classic Just Blaze hit. More of this from modern NYC MC’s, please!)

5. “Lotto” - Westside Gunn feat. Benny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLq0y9zgPEc

(I. Love. This. Video. The hip-hop lover in me has me rewinding this Benny verse, but the wrestling lover in me has me scouring the internet for more classic Chris Benoit matches. I really can’t wait for this new Westside Gunn album.)

6. “Worldwide2x (Shaq & Penny)” - Fly Anakin & Ohbliv feat. Nickelus F

https://mutantacademyrva.bandcamp.com/track/worldwide2x-shaq-penny-ft-nickelus-f

(Score another one for Mutant Academy, because this Fly Anakin and Ohbliv Backyard Boogie album is fire. And any time fellow Richmond-ite Nickelus F jumps into the fray, you know it’s going to be one of the doper cuts on any project.)

7. “Caterpillar” - Royce Da 5′9″ feat. Eminem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dARAN1z2KqY

(Yes, more heat from this fantastic Royce album. What a year he’s been having, eh? A lot of folks skipped ahead to this track when they saw that Bad Meets Evil would be reuniting on Book Of Ryan. While Em doesn’t quite reach his past elite status with this “Caterpillar” verse, the track is bangin’ nonetheless. And it’s one of the finest pieces of production on the album, s/o to S1.)

8. “Mercy Killing” - Estee Nack & Sadhugold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z4grNwOpwc

(Find a way to add this Estee Nack and Sadhugold album to your life. Nack’s been one to watch for a while now, but he has really come into his own on recent projects. He displays wonderful chemistry with rising underground elite producer Sadhugold across the whole SURFINONGOLD.WAV album, so give some this stream a listen but make sure to support at the link below.)

https://esteenack.bandcamp.com/album/surfinongold-wav

9. “Friends” - J. Cole

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g5f5Ct0fCM

(I have been hard on Cole in the past, but only because I always thought the guy had as high of a ceiling as Drake - if not higher. I do believe he dropped the best project of his career with KOD. Musically, he finally found the right soundscapes for him to work with on this album. He often punches his rhymes as if he’s breaking the bank lyrically when that is often not the case...but he is still a very talented artist, and when placed alongside deceptively tight instrumentals - which is the case through much of KOD - he can really shine. He is successful at walking the line between motivational and preachy, but the real reason why J. Cole comes out of KOD triumphant is his willingness to vary his delivery more on this album.)

10. “448” - $ha Hef

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLgVmdwEqcA

(Hef’s new Kommunity Service project brings the type of hard music that we have come to expect from the NYC MC. No skip-worthy material on this one, but “448″ is the one I keep coming back to.)

*Bonus - Honorable Mention*

“Banging” - Jim Jones feat. Mozzy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08Yfhdp_BNo

(Jim Jones delivering a new joint that feels like a hit? Not sure what year this is, but this track goes.)

"I’m Good” - Lex One, Lucian White & DJ Snips feat. Conway

https://soundcloud.com/lexonegtps/im-good-ft-conway-the-machine?in=lexonegtps/sets/lex-one-lucian-white-midnight-crisis

(You had me at Conway going over the classic Shadez Of Brooklyn sample.)

“42” - Rae Sremmurd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGxcyuVPPz4

(Rae Sremmurd’s barrage of new music came in the form of a group album and two solo albums, with a mix of highs and lows throughout each project. This one is a standout to me in part because of the raw distortion on the production, and because both Swae & Slim due a good job of flashing their potential with nimble flow-work.)

“Bundles” - Royalz feat. Conway

https://grhymeproductions.bandcamp.com/album/bundles-feat-conway

(Royalz blesses Conway with an underground banger, and since last year’s collaboration with Roc Marciano - “Facts” - is still heavy in my rotation, I’m growing more and more intrigued with Royalz production work moving forward.)

“The Game” - Smoke DZA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP0LgYv8Fo8

(He always has a good ear for beats, but I think DZA spits some of the strongest bars of his career on this one.)

[ICYMI: Last month’s list below] 

https://therappundit.tumblr.com/post/173049916871/april-2018-playli-t-of-the-month

[sidras-tak]

music stims! bc i was thinkin about it and i want to write them all down

piano! that’s the main one i think, i live for piano runs/riffs, but they can’t be too flowery. too many notes at once or close together is So Uncomfortable

piano subsection: i like high notes better than low notes. prime music is repeating high note riffs with one or two low notes to ground it

violin but mostly in the background. no squeaks

cello! im such a slut for cello. slap that sucker in the background of a song and watch me cry

the voice quality of the singer is v important 2 me. clear, mid-to-high range. v important

steady beats or beats that start simple and get more complex. bonus: changing time signatures

lyrics are So Important also? i will go back and listen to an entire song for an hour just for That One Lyric again and again i swear

clever lyrics with puns/double meanings

layering of instruments!!! sign me the fuck up!!!!!!

that moment when the music swells up really loud bc it’s the High Point of the song and then it CUTS OUT and the vocalist is the ONLY THING LEFT HOT DAMN

HARMONY. BLEASE. TWO VOICES BLENDING TOGETHER PERFECTLY. BONUS IF THEYRE TWO LADIES OR TWO DUDES. DOUBLE BONUS IF THEY PASS THE MELODY BACK AND FORTH WITHIN A FEW LINES

good solid endings, no fade out

echo/distortion effects but not too much (one song glory style)

i dont like repeating lyrics like a chorus in the background, repeating words. they get stuck in my head too easily