#My Favorite Riff Outro Part

[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

[taylorhawkins]

14 Essential-Listening Taylor Hawkins Tunes

… that aren’t “Cold Day in the Sun”!

1. Pitiful (Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders)

One of his most emotionally raw tracks. I love the strange chords he used on the acoustic guitar to convey the somber depiction of guilt and shame associated with drug addiction described in the lyrics. This is a really painful song to listen to, but it’s beautiful.

2. The Path We’re On (Nighttime Boogie Association)

Matt Cameron and Taylor share vocal duties on this tune (Taylor sings the verses, Matt sings the choruses). Their voices together are pure heaven! Also features Melvins’ Buzz Osbourne snd Steven McDonald on guitar & bass. This group unfortunately only put out 2 songs during the pandemic, but they’re a magical 2.

3. I Could Be Somebody Else (NHC)

Psychedelic in every aspect of that word, this one is best experienced cranked with headphones. Trippy as hell. Dave Navarro was right when he said Taylor is a mind-blowing lyricist and singer. Another emotionally raw tune, when he said one of NHC’s songs makes him feel naked, I think he was referring to this one.

4. Running In Place (Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders)

This song takes you on a journey. It eases you in, then crescendos into classic prog-influenced chaos before it turns to a stream of pretty guitar work and layered vocals as it drops you back off. Taylor said this one was something he wrote talking to himself, trying to bring himself back down to earth and not go crazy. “The Teacher” by Foo Fighters almost certainly took inspiration from this song - the breakdown is nearly identical, and the “…say goodbye” outro is very similar.

5. Too Much for My Own Good (Phil X & the Drills)

This song by Phil X features Taylor on the drums. This is such a fun rock & roll tune that will definitely be stuck in your head for days but you won’t be mad about it. Every person I’ve ever played this to has loved it!! PS- you’ve definitely heard Phil X before, his discography as a studio musician is wild.

6. You Drive Me Insane (Taylor Hawkins & the Coattails Riders)

I love the trippy riff and the vocals in this song, it’s a California rock & roll vibe and it’s one of my top favorites of his. One of his sexier tunes he said was written about Mrs. Alison Hawkins.

7. Southern Belles

No group credited as he played every instrument and sang this one! (I think the bass is either Chris Chaney or Nate Mendel, but I couldn’t find out for sure). This is a heavy-hitting, super catchy one about his southern family roots. Really under-appreciated track from the same EP that gave us “Range Rover Bitch”.

8. Never Enough (Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders)

Taylor’s vocal range doesn’t get talked about enough… The cathartic way he belts his heart out at the end of this song gets me every single time. His voice was so beautiful. Another of that emotionally raw side of his music.

9. It’s Ok Now (Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders)

Another earworm, this one’s rhythm is bound to make you move. His voice is pure rock and roll. I think you can really hear how much his songwriting impacted the Foo Fighters’ music on this album, even though many people think Dave told everyone what to play…when you really listen, that doesn’t seem to be the case. This song feels like summer sunshine to me.

10. Guess I’ll Go Away (Edgar Winter)

Taylor on vocals for “Brother Johnny”, a tribute to Johnny Winter album, this was one of the last things he did musically. He SLAYED that shit. He sounds so good. Rock and fucking roll.

11. Louise (Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders)

I have no idea how he played that drumbeat and sang this song at the same time. Mind boggling. This song is so unique and so catchy, I don’t get why it wasn’t a hit. The rhythm section is my favorite part of the whole thing, Taylor and Chris Chaney locked in together SO well. It’s no wonder they played together from the Alanis days all the way up to him putting the ‘C’ in NHC.

12. Fearless (NHC)

This is a Pink Floyd cover…But it’s an amazing one! It’s groovy and trippy and they’re so locked in together, they were made to play music with each other. NHC unfortunately has a very small discography, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have selected a cover…but maybe I would’ve anyway, this one is just so good!

13. You’re No Good at Life No More (Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders)

Taylor and Dave Grohl split the vocals on this one and it’s such a wild ride. You can really hear his Queen influence throughout this album… so much so that he manifested Roger Taylor’s appearance on the last track! D&T’s voices together are magic as you hear on “Rope” by Foo Fighters and their cover of “Come Together”, I always wish they sang together more often.

14. Perfect Day

Only a minute long, this beautiful song is just Taylor and his guitar. A sweet reminder he wrote for Mrs. Hawkins that his love is always with her no matter where he goes. I’m sure she treasures this one. There’s so much love in it.

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

Bring Me The Horizon - POST HUMAN: NeX GEn album review

Well I didn't expect to write a full BMTH album review today but here we go. The band officially blueballed their audience to the point that as soon as they passed the longest streak without releasing an album, they surprise-dropped it completely unexpectedly. Just a heads-up, I'm not familiar to the lore of the album, what the Nex Gen is or whatever but still, here's my review:

[ost] dreamseeker

This is the shortest and most basic noise intro they've done I think for a while, it's just sounds of steps and the fade in to the first track

2. YOUtopia

Way before the album was announced, back during the Survivor Horror album cycle Oli said something along the way that the Post Human series wants to explore each of their favorite and most played genres, one of which was "emo" as he said. Emo in a sense that MCR or Underoath was emo, not the old-school way. YOUtopia has definitely the MCR feeling to it, not as much as LosT has though but that is not the point. This song has a bouncy riff, catchy chorus (similar style to Werewolf, the song the guys did with Lil Uzi Vert on his latest album) and the most 'amo' feel outside of the singles for me. Great song, definitely will be played during concerts.

3. Kool-Aid

The last single before they dropped the album, possibly the most balanced song out of the singles. Very catchy chorus, even the first few seconds feel like the "you're gonna die in the pit" fright that I usually feel at concerts. The breakdown is crazy, it has a very death metal guitar solo, what more do you want?

4. Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd

When I first read the title I thought this would be the most emo song on the album. I was not wrong. The style of 80% of the song is pure pop punk. There's the old school blink-182-like riff, the chorus sounds like it's from a 00's teen movie. Sometimes in the song there are cheeky blastbeat parts which I adored with Super Mario coin sounds that were hilarious. Oh and there's the Poliphia-bridge that made me smile. This is gonna be a top song on the album for sure for me. It's just so unapologetically fun, it's crazy.

5. liMOusIne (feat. AURORA)

The most out of place song for me, it doesn't even feel like BMTH. It sounds like they hopped on the Deftones-core hype train with the 8 or 9 string low tuned guitar riff that is more Sleep Token than BMTH. Still it's a banger, the bridge by AURORA is really catchy as well. The outro of the song is probably my favorite of theirs outside of One Day the Only Butterflies... on the previous album.

6. DArkSide

DArkSide was the fifth single, and in my opinion the most basic bitch one. It just sounds like they wanted to rip off Linkin Park's Somewhere I Belong again, this of course doesn't mean that the song is bad. In fact it grew on me a lot since it got released. The lyrics are very edgy which is expected from a BMTH song but this song was also a bit too cheesy for me, it definitely goes for the safe radio play option that the band still needs to be as popular as they are.

7. ​​a bulleT w- my namE On (feat. Underoath)

If you read this review carefully you might have noticed that I namedropped Underoath earlier. Well, they are featured on the album. This one literally feels like an old-school Underoath song but with Oli's vocals and the modern hyperpop spin that they do through the whole album. At some point Spencer's vocals felt like they were originally be Jordan's which kinda broke my heart a bit, since the Oli+Jordan duo were my favorite songwriters in the scene. If you're a fan of Underoath you should definitely give this one a spin.

8. [ost] (spi)ritual

Intro=Dark Signs by Sleep Token, Lyrics=Fully Satanic, title=clever wordplay. It's a 2 minute long interlude that has some guitars in it so most fans will not be disappointed in it, the biblical references are there for the edge of it but are barely audible, if you're one of those fans who recently got offended by their latest marketing ploy (the Jesus one), then I'd suggest skip this one. Also it's BMTH, they have always been against religion in general so... don't be surprised.

9. n/A

This song broke me. The first two lines are: "Hi, My name is Oli and I'm an addict. I'm here cause I'm not quite all there". The guitar work is very simple in the beginning, reminiscent of Where is My Mind by the Pixies, but you can sense that something big is coming. This is the most personal song on the album, I haven't heard Oli open up this much about suicidal thoughts and addiction since Sempiternal. It also has a grotesque feel to it as he discribes how he would kill himself in various ways (jumping down a building, making love to a chainsaw, etc). This one is also pretty emo, but not just because of the lyrics, by the sound as well. Definitely will be landing on my playlist.

10. LoSt

Undoubtedly my favorite song on the album, i've been constantly listening to it since it came out last year. If there is a thing called "I'm not Okay"-core this is it. The breakdown is the funnest one through the whole discography of the band, the chorus is a clone of the aformentioned MCR song and the pacing feels like a pop punk banger with an easycore breakdown. Still 10/10 for me.

11. sTraNgeRs

It's kinda crazy to think about how much time passed between each single and the album itself. This song will always remind me to coming home from my ex-girlfriend whom I've completely alienated from at that point and humming to myself: We're just a room full of strangers. I know that the original meaning of the song is quite the oposite, it has a sense of unity and togetherness but still, my personal story overwrote this one for me and I cannot help it. This was the second single and in my opinion didn't age as well as the others but still a very good song.

12. Rip (duskCOre RemIx)

Some segments of the lyrics of this song can be found throughout the teasers BMTH put out in the past few years. This one is a purely hyperpop/heavy pop banger that is very common towards the end of the record. The pacing is again very pop punk and emo, but it has those glitchy effects and even a dance beat at some point. It's a fun one but the poppiest out of the whole record I think. Oh and there's a woah-woah post-chorus which is again, very pop punk. Also despite the sound is very happy and hyper the lyrics are very self-loathing and depict the disappointment Oli had with himself after relapsing during COVID. Just a not so fun fact.

13. AmEN! (feat, Lil Uzi Vert and Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw)

The heaviest song on the album that was premiered live in my home country last year. I'm really disappointed I missed that and am still salty about it. Anyway this song is the same as Darkside for me, it's not a bad one, in fact, the old school BMTH fans will like this one the most, but for me it's not as exciting. I'd rather listen to the random bullshit they come up with than Oli trying to replicate Suicide Season style vocals which tore his throat up back then. But back to the song, it also grew a lot on me, the choir breakdown will always be fun and the lyrics have very much the Hospital of Souls kind of feel and edginess.

14. [ost] puss-e

Speaking of randomness, this one is about the female genitalia. it's an interlude (as every song beginning with [ost]). I think it's the biggest brain fart they had since the Music to Listen to... EP dropped. The callout before the breakbeat is literally: What would you do for pussy?. It's a random noisy shitshow that people will be mad about just like they were during the amo era but this is still unfathomably BMTH at their finest.

15. DiE4u

It's crazy to think about but this song came out almost 3 years ago, back when Survivor Horror had its album cycle and people were still mostly locked up in quarantine. The lyrics are about addiction again, not surprisingly and were inspired by Oli's relapse that I mentioned earlier. During COVID he made some very bad choices that lead him to get on ketamine for the first time since I think 2013 or so. This song is basically him singing to the drugs, it's a little fucked isn't it? It definitely didn't hold up as well as LoSt or AmEN because back in 2021 Oli was still trying to spread the idea he had about making a new genre called heavy pop. Well, some of his ideas are on the album so I guess he was successful.

16. Dig it

The closing track of this massive album and again we're back to the topic of self-hatred. Oli is again very disappointed in himself to a melody that is similar to Something in the Way by Nirvana. Maybe that was an inspiration, since that song also screams self-loathing. Then there's the modern pop drumbeat, but still the instrumentals are very lowkey, it's clear that the intention is to focus on the lyrics. The closure of the track gets heavy as usual and we hear Count Your Blessings era vocals again. There is even a little snippet at the very end after a little silence, that the AI playing the album failed which means the album is over.

Overall it's a great album, I think Oli and the band ended up with a terrific record, however I still miss Jordan's work on some of the songs. Maybe some ideas were scrapped, maybe even reworked at certain points but I'll always miss his handprint from now on I think. All of the fanbase will be happy with this record I guarantee it.

[shifuto]

216/365

@zexalmonth 2023

3rd: The High Priestess upright | Intuition, sacred knowledge, the subconscious mind Music can do miraculous things to the subconscious mind. You can make something based on the soundtrack or themes/motifs you like. As a challenge, put on one of the Zexal soundtracks and try to make something before the song ends! Show it to us!

the Zexal OST is one of the things I never remove from my phone because it's just that good! I feel like we got so lucky that Conisch was the one to make it because it's the best in the whole YGO franchise in my opinion (a very biased opinion considering how much I love games and how much gaming vibes Zexal music has). It sounds like something straight out of a JRPG, epic and more..

was going through some of my favorite themes to find inspiration for today's prompt and I have to talk about these 2 songs:

"Duel Of Certain Victory" (from Zexal Sound Duel 5)

guess this one plays on the last few episodes, probably in the duels with Nasch and Zexal? Anyway. I really like the urgency and heroic motifs in this, a fight between Chaos and Light. My favorite part is that shift at 2:03 when the time signature changes (4/4 -> 3/4), it's so freaking good

"Forced Duel" (from Zexal Sound Duel 4)

not sure where this one plays unfortunately (if you do, LET ME KNOW AAAAAAAA) so I'm going to assume it's on the late episodes too. This track is crazy good wtf!!! I really love the rock base (sounds like something from Megaman or Castlevania) and there's a lot going on with the time signature on this: there's the build up in 4/4 and a jump to a 7/4 bridge, going back to 4/4 and the first guitar riff/verse, then back to that bridge, then the build up again but make to more epic, then the resolution in 3/4 and outro in 7/4...... phew!! This is a fantastic tune, and one of my favorite songs in general

hmm wasn't sure how to convey this image but I liked how it turned out. Ryoga and Astral are dueling against each other (because it's in grayscale it's not possible to see but this is Ryoga-Nasch dueling with Chaos so no need for D-Gazer.. an excuse to have them both heterochromic)

Ryoga is pissed because he's losing lmao

[vitaminwaterreviews]

Suho - 1 to 3

I initially decided to check out this album because someone on Reddit described it as “scratching my Beatles itch,” and I gotta say, I am not disappointed. I didn’t totally get Beatles out of it, but it’s way more of that British rock vibe than like, 99% of anything else in kpop. It did still sound quite modern though, a lot of synths in places where the Beatles wouldn’t use them, the vocals were so clean in a way that the Beatles just never did. But then, nobody’s saying that this is Beatles-y except for that one commenter, so analyzing it as imitation Beatles is probably not a good-faith analysis.

I really enjoyed the album sonically. Like, every song was pleasant to listen to; nothing demanded too much of me, and nothing was too boring either. Admittedly, a lot of the songs were kind of boring structurally - but then, the same can be said of Beatles music too. I appreciated how the Wendy feature was more of an actual duet, rather than just giving her a few lines. And I also appreciate the actual guitar solos; kpop tends to shy away from instrumental solos, since the focus generally is on the singer.

Average score of 8.4 which feels maybe a bit low, but I’ll stick with it. Really good listen, definitely give this a shot.

- Mayday

Lol okay what is this movie trailer intro

Mkay and now we’re kind of garage rock

And now his vocals are just Pretty

I’m not typing much bc I’m vibing so hard

This is like, totally the stuff my dad would like, and I happen to really like his taste in music

9/10

1 to 3

The guitars in my left and right ears are slightly different and that’s a neat effect

Not much guitar at all in the verse, heavy bass though

Yeah, same thing in the chorus with the different guitar lines in different ears

And in the post-chorus, one half of the harmony in one ear and the other half in the other

8/10, could’ve done with a little more variety but really enjoyable nonetheless

Cheese

My feelings about Wendy are well-documented

And that harmony in the intro was really cute

Notice all the piano when Wendy comes in

I hope she sticks around for the rest of the song, but knowing SM, that’s unlikely

There was Goodbye Summer I guess

Oh okay, she’s got some ad-libs in the post-chorus, that’s nice

Heyyy a proper guitar solo, we don’t get those very often in kpop

Okay yeah, her voice is present throughout the song, that’s really great

9/10

Wishful Thinking

Haha the “DUN DUN DUN DUN” that’s great, love that

And now it ushers in the prechorus, probably

Or is this ahhhh part the pre-chorus? Or was that the chorus?

This song has a lot of building left to do

But it’s already halfway over and I’m not sure it’ll build to where I want within the next minute

Okay, this bridge/outro/whatever is really nice, not quite as much as I was hoping for though

8/10, love the sound, underdeveloped though

Moonlight

This is another song which is more about the sound than the song

Like that adorable guitar riff in the intro is basically the whole song

Oh I just adore vocals alongside instrumentals though, really pretty

8/10

Alright Alright

I didn’t expect his voice to go so high here in the chorus

This feels kinda generic though, with the ‘ooh’s and stuff

Oh wait, who is Giriboy

I don’t know Suho’s voice nearly well enough to tell who’s singing

Oh nvm this is a rap section, so this must be Giriboy

Good song, a lot of it did feel kind of generic and forced to me though

8/10

Zero Gravity

Again with the movie trailer intro

And now it’s all cute and pretty with a soft acoustic guitar?

He has such a pretty voice in the chorus here

That same distortion again in the post-chorus, I really want this song to Go somewhere

I mean, it is and has been going somewhere, so hopefully it builds even more

Mkay yeah, this is more of what I wanted

9/10 but I could see this becoming an all-time favorite one day

[waterparksdrama]

since it's airplane convo's birthday today, would you be willing to do a track by track review??

very late but yes :) but i will be very biased

silver - it's a classic. honestly it's not much but considering this was a local band that used to rap about rainbow cholos this is a considerable standout as an early single. it's sweet and awsten sounds so young and earnest singing lyrics about wanting to protect someone. maybe the gage screams were kind of rough to put in but also they were a local poppier band in mostly hardcore scene = it makes sense - 7/10

bones of 92 - not my favorite off airplane conversations tbh maybe it's the rhythm between the lyrics and some of the guitar in the chorus specifically that messes me up i'm not too sure and then the random gage yells again. i think the part that does save the song is the outro. this entire album in general is so hopeful in a way i don't think awsten can be anymore, but the way the guitars and synths swell and he pleads to not be forgotten really gets to me, especially with how the instrumental fades to just him singing - 5/10

i was hiding under your porch because i love you - it's a classic to me and that's all that matters. the lyrical content is a little more vague and not as strong here in favor of the song's catchiness. idk it's just cute and gage is here again because he always is except for the song awsten still likes - 6/10

they all float - i'll admit it. this is one of my favorites off this album. i feel like all the problems i had with the other songs where they focused too much on one element to focus on the other is solved with this one. there's a catchy lead riff and relatable and hopeful lyrics with some unique metaphors. also this is the last song where gage is yelling lol - 8/10

fantastic - FUCKKKKKKK. fuck. i didn't really "get" airplane conversations when i started listening to parx and then i was close to turning 18 and this song came on and i was like. fuck. fuck. that's exactly what i feel like. and i still do. there's something so nostalgic and melancholic to start the song with those minor key guitars and sleigh bells, much like the way awsten displays his insecurities and fears at full force throughout the song. it's clearly a song written in a doubtful wintery depression and yet it's still so hopeful for the future. and you can't help but feel a little strange with how well things would work out for him and how he probably doesn't talk to most of his friends rambunctiously yelling at the end underneath the swells of a midi strings and frantic guitars and piano. it makes you wonder even now how much awsten has to sacrifice in his personal life to fulfill his dreams in music and never being forgotten for it. fuck. - 9/10

-iz

[jules-has-notes]

Get Back Up Again — VoicePlay music video

Most people will never undertake an arduous journey to save an entire community. But whether the task is large or small, everyone needs a little pep talk now and then. VoicePlay took this energetic anthem of self-motivation, added some extra harmonies, and put their own entertaining spin on it. Give it a listen and let them lift your mood.

Details:

title: Get Back Up Again

original performer: Anna Kendrick as Princess Poppy in Trolls (2016)

written by: Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

arranged by: Layne Stein

release date: 10 May 2018

My favorite bits:

recreating the Dreamworks fanfare with their adorable animated avatars sitting on the VP logo, particularly the harmonized ♫ "Ta-da!" ♫

Earl's vulnerable tone on his opening lines

the peppy major harmonies for ♫ "It's gonna be a fantastic day." ♫

that quick little bell chord on ♫ "gonna sing" ♫

✨ glitter farts ✨ as part of the group percussion line

the back row's little plucked guitar line behind Geoff's lead

the exaggerated auto-tune on J.None's solo riff, in keeping with the movie character

those subtle bass slides Geoff does underneath

Eli's clear, cheerful tone for his lead section

Earl and J doing little shoulder bounces to go with their stacatto harmony line

♫ "I'm really really really gonna be OKAY!" ♫ "Heeey." ♫

Layne's deep ingressive "Yeah!" transitioning out of the bridge

Eli's nervous ♫ "The bergens are coming" ♫ counterpoint

the camera shake timed to Earl and Layne's ♫ "knock knock" ♫

"Hug time!" "Hug time!" "Hug time is my favorite!"

Earl's silly "Hello!" with the spider in the outro

that sneaky snippet of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" as a coda during the end screen

Trivia:

The guys' animated troll avatars were drawn by artist Leon King. Both the art and VoicePlay's wardrobe were inspired by the characters in the original movie.

The stuffed worm that Geoff holds is named Mr. Dinkles, and is the beloved pet of Biggie. On the few occasions in the Trolls movies when he says anything other than "mew", he speaks in a surprisingly bassy voice.

That final excerpt from "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (an orchestral piece about trolls from Norse mythology) was included in the movie as a repeated motif in "Hair Up". Layne eventually created a full a cappella version of "Mountain King" for VoicePlay four years later.

This video was filmed at Studio One in Orlando, a new location for the group.

In addition to her usual role as production manager, Kathy Castellucci is also credited as "puppet master", with assistance from Hayley Cohen, Rek Dunn, and Nick Perez. Those plush bugs don't fly on their own, after all.

The YouTube description goof for this video is a simple, "Shhhhh… Candace Bergens…"

Layne's rhythmic stomping and accompanying antics during on-set rehearsals made J.None crack up.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VoicePlay (@thevoiceplay)

Layne posted a snippet of his editing process on Instagram while the guys were on the road as a teaser for the full video.

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A post shared by Layne Stein (@laynestein)

They even made a dedicated teaser clip for this one. (Check out those lucious chords!)

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A post shared by VoicePlay (@thevoiceplay)

This track was later included on VoicePlay's "Citrus" album, which compiled most of the songs they recorded from 2017-19. Because the individual songs had already been made available digitally, that album is exclusively a physical item that can only be purchased at live shows or through their website.

[dustedmagazine]

SPRINTS — Letter to Self (City Slang)

“This is an exploration of pain, passion, and perseverance.”

Karla Chubb, SPRINTS

After three years of playing during which they released two EPs, the Dublin-based band SPRINTS has issued their first full-length recording, Letter to Self. Rather than reaching for the catharsis of relatively nonspecific raucous vitriol, which typified their inception, SPRINTS uses the LP to zero in on emotional illness and feminist issues: bodily autonomy, shaming and sexual assault among them. Karla Chubb, the band’s singer, guitarist and principal songwriter has crafted songs that capitalize on the band’s capacity for noise-laden yet often melodically memorable music-making, and on her own ability to bellow lyrics with harrowing emotionality. She isn’t the only one shout-singing, and one of my favorite parts of the record is when what seems like one moment to be a chorus of howls will move seamlessly into harmonized, if rough hewn, vocalizing. Guitarist Colm O’Reilly, bassist Sam McCann and drummer Jack Callan are a tight unit that unerringly support the charged rhythms and distressed harmonies that exemplify SPRINTS’s sound.

“Adore, Adore, Adore” has a slow burn with sprechstimme from Chubb in the verse followed by a plaintive chorus,”They never call me b-b-beautiful, they only call me insane.” Like the best of Letter to Self, amid a thicket of distortion, and with the edge of a scream, lies a memorable hook. Another standout is “Heavy,” for which Chubb discusses emotional illness, with the lyrics, “And I can’t sleep, And I can barely breath … Do you ever feel that the room is heavy?” Double-tracked vocals give the chorus a vertiginous demeanor appropriate to the mood, as does the sliding, soaring lead guitar riff on the verse. Similarly, “Shadow of a Doubt” describes an isolated person in unrelenting nervousness. It erupts into a chorus begging for a respite from a siren in their head: “Can you help me stop the screams?”

“A Wreck (A Mess)” is about domestic abuse, in which the female narrator blames herself for being the target of male aggression. But Chubbs’s songs never sound preachy or opine easy bromides as answers for societal ills. The song is filled with nervously repetitive rhythms, gearing up to a chorus in which the narrator loses her moorings. The sentimentality found too often in the media is drenched from the song, leaving its victim isolated, with quiet feedback lulling to end it with a sense of foreboding. “Cathedral” addresses “Catholic guilt,” with a young woman being shamed about relationships and sexuality. Once again, the narrator fights back, unrepentant and willing to call out hypocrisy where she sees it.

The recording closes with the title track, which details the perseverance necessary to survive the previously detailed traumas. “I gave it all, But you were never happy ... If I took my life, would you be happy?” Chubb screams. But the outro is, from a musical standpoint, surprisingly gentle, even hushed. It closes, “I’ve always had the willing, Now I’ll find the way, Any habit can be broken, Any night can become day.” The narrator’s desire for transformation reveals a hopeful, but tenuous ending to an emotionally fraught and musically ironclad journey. One wishes more concept albums were so authentic.

Christian Carey

[bargainoriley]

Meddle (1971) part 2 (aka my echoes thoughts)

6. Echoes

God there is so much to say about this song, here we go! The piano chimes (which are supposed to be the “echoes” of life) keyboard and guitar intro already set an amazing and ethereal atmosphere and fit the song perfectly! You already feel excited about what’s going to happen with this song.

And then the drums hit and the first (amazing) part of the song starts! And then the lovely singing starts! David and Rick’s harmonies are so beautiful and angelic in this song overall… and then the instrumental interludes start that are really good! The lyrics here are also very very good and resonant and detail the start of life on earth (just like the beginning key chimes intro signifies the start of life on earth). Then the second verse hits and travels into the future of humans with miscommunication and the mortality of humans being mentioned here (communication is very very important to humans, but they still miscommunicate, even though you don’t live forever on earth: miscommunication is very bad, since humans have an innate need to communicate and have a limited time on this planet). Did I already mention the instrumental interludes in the first part are freaking amazing and some of the best stuff I’ve ever heard???? Every instrument is simply divine and sounds absolutely incredible (the bass, the keys, the guitar, the drums).

And then one of my personal favorite parts hits: the groovy part! The drums and bass here are sooooo good because they’re simplistic and serve to show the amazing things the guitar is doing! The drums here remind me of a heartbeat! I think this part is supposed to represent evolution imo, because this part gets increasingly more complex in its improvisations, but some things ultimately stay the same (the drums and bass), just like evolution! The improvisations here are so freaking good as well!!!!

Then comes the whale noises part (my least favorite part of this song). I do think that this part serves a purpose, and it’s to maybe show the dark side of humanity?? Because this part sounds very creepy and eerie, as if you’re in an apocalyptic wasteland and humanity has died out, only leaving these weird alien creatures who make these noises. Or it could mean that there are dark periods for humanity in general where no single sign of humanity is found (in the mental way).

But then we get the key chimes again and an a beautiful orchestra, maybe represents how life, despite despair and hardships and suffering, always perseveres. The contrast here to the natural orchestra instruments vs the previous inhumane electric guitar sounds here also exemplifies that nature and life will always win over the artificial/lifeless imo. The buildup is absolutely beautiful and great and epic, and is also one of my favorite parts of the song along with the upcoming beat drop (I think every part is beautiful, I can’t decide which part is the best) and then the absolutely divine and beautiful guitar riff comes with the beat drop!

And then the lyrics come back! The following lyrics detail the immortality of the sun, sunrays (i think), how humans crave affection/relationships/other human contact, and how the need for communication overpowers the miscommunication from one of the previous verses (humans decide to communicate instead of choosing to miscommunicate because they crave affection; a triumph over the previous verse where strangers fail to communicate).

The improvisations at the end are very very very good as well and the fact that the song goes back to the beginning part could also represent the endless cycle of life on earth. The interplay with the guitar and keyboard in the outro is also beautiful and could show a relationship/bond forming (the guitar and keyboard are copying each other/communicating with each other). This is making me realize that Rick’s and David’s voices could also symbolize the building of a relationship (they are the strangers meeting on the street and failing to communicate, but then successfully do it in the later verse and outro) like this ending part here (best shown in the “strangers” verse and the previously mentioned keyboard/guitar outro).

This is easily the best song on this album and also easily my favorite! This song is one of the most beautiful and meaningful songs I’ve ever heard and it is probably my absolute favorite Floyd song. The meaning/theme of life in this song is sooooo beautiful and touching as well, and makes me feel all the feels (I nearly cried while listening to this song, not even joking).

In general this is definitely my favorite Pink Floyd album so far (I did listen to DSOTM and WYWH, but it was a while ago, so I will see if meddle will stay as my fav Floyd album) and also one of my favorite albums ever now! The songs are so well written and musically all songs are just incredible and immaculate (except Seamus, which definitely was a weaker song) Next up is Obscured By Clouds

Edit: I also just realized the last verse with the humans communicating could also represent how it’s never too late to start communicating and connecting with others better! Don’t let miscommunication hinder you in any way, is what the last message of this song is imo

Here is part 1 if this shows up for you first!

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: (G)I-DLE (Part TWO)

After a year-long hiatus following Soojin leaving the group, we have Tomboy. Let’s level with ourselves here: Tomboy is not a good song. Is it catchy? Yes. Is it entertaining? Yes. Is it imprinted on my brain so much that I know every word and sing along whenever I hear it? Absolutely. But it’s not a good song, guys, I’m sorry. (If I’m dead tomorrow, we know who to blame). Though I appreciate the point it was trying to make in regards to breaking the stereotype of “the perfect girlfriend” and I totally understand why it became a song that many people connected to, as it stands, it’s a bit hard to not laugh. I do admit that it’s a catchy song, especially the pop punk influences and the guitar riffs, and when I approach it like I do War Of Hormone by BTS (not taking it too seriously and enjoying it at face value), I do enjoy it.

My Bag, which was also promoted as a single with the album, unlike with Tomboy, has never been a song I’ve enjoyed. There are parts of it that I like (like Yuqi’s rap around the 1 minute mark or Miyeon’s quieter, more melodic moment to shine around the 2 minute part), but I just can’t get past the incredibly grating effect that that chorus has on me. This is more of a personal issue than anything else though.

From the first full album, I Never Die, I enjoyed the full-on grungier rock of Never Stop Me, the great guitar riffs in Liar, the sweet reminiscence in quasi-ballad Polaroid, and especially the nostalgic synths and let’s-run-away-together lyrics of Escape, which was my hidden gem. I still have no idea why, out of all of these great tracks, My Bag was the one chosen as a special track.

Nxde follows Tomboy’s example of making a grand statement, this time delving more into misogyny and the sexualization of both young girls and idols. It uses the aesthetics of 20’s burlesque to 50’s glamor, and uses a sample from the famous opera Carmen alongside very high strings, swingy jazz instruments, and synths, intentionally using sarcastic lyrics about the ideas people hold on the word “nude” in the “why do you think that about ‘nude’? ‘Cause your view’s so rude. Think outside the box! Speak out!” Though I appreciate this song more than I like it, and don’t find myself replaying it often, I do really respect what they set out to do here, and I think that on the whole, they’ve succeeded.

From the EP, I Love, my favorite was actually a song almost all in English, Change, which is unusual for me. It reflects on fame and how it doesn’t stop loneliness, but instead increases the feeling that no one could possibly understand. In truth, it’s a very sad song, especially because it’s self-penned. I both hope that it doesn’t reflect their own feelings and hope it does.

Pre-release single Allergy is a perfect example of (G)I-DLE’s message done very well. It’s catchy, with a 2000’s teen pop style, it makes a great point, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously, managing both to critique the high standards placed on women’s bodies and discuss self-hatred, and have a good laugh at the pettiness of teenagers and social media. All in all, it’s something that I hope (G)I-DLE does again.

Queencard picks up where Allergy left off, but doesn’t quite stick the landing. Though it has a pretty great first minute, second verse, and especially outro, its chorus is…not it. Though it’s absolutely a satire, the chorus is just too silly and harsh when compared with the rest of the song. The same issues I had with Tomboy repeat in Queencard, where the underlying ideas and themes are really good, and I genuinely do respect what they were trying to do, but I think that the song needed to go through just a bit more workshopping for it to work here. Again though, I really do like that outro, and I wish it was used consistently as a post-chorus.

From the EP, though I enjoyed the sweet lyrics of Paradise and the distortion in Lucid, my hidden gem was definitely Peter Pan. For a group with a name that translates to child (“aideul”), they have a lot to say about growing up, and that’s really reflected here, as the girls reflect on lost childhood, the promises made to their parents, and how they’re not quite grown up just yet. Though we aren’t the same age, I could still find a piece of myself in this one, and it became a favorite of mine.

I think that, as (G)I-DLE gained more creative control and began writing every song themselves, the b-sides got much stronger in meaning and the EPs began to feel more cohesive in sound and message. As the titles have gotten flashier, their b-sides have been able to become pared down and vulnerable in a really lovely way.

I Do is (G)I-DLE’s English debut, and the MV tells the story of a shapeshifting alien (played by all five members) and the human boy she falls in love with. It’s a synthy, spacey, city pop sound that’s new for the group, and while it plays it a little safe and lacks the social messages that are (G)I-DLE’s signature, I enjoy the spotlight it gives to their voices and how much fun they seemed to have shooting it. It’s a solid song, don’t get me wrong, it just doesn’t feel like them.

Though (G)I-DLE did have their English language release in the meantime, pre-release Wife comes around eight months after I Feel. This is definitely one of those songs that toes the line between making commentary and being slightly insane, and if Tomboy was strange, this one is off the rails. With all five members dressed in matching oversized white track suits with bright blue bobs while they sing-talk and awkwardly dance their way through lines like “won’t be your wife, but she is.” Full disclosure, I hated this on first listen but it’s shockingly grown on me. The lyrics are surprisingly explicit for K-pop, and i think that the combination of that and the ridiculous clothes makes for quite an amusing social commentary on the expectations for “wives” vs “girlfriends” in Korea. I can’t say it’s my favorite (G)I-DLE song by any stretch, but I can appreciate it for what it is.

Super Lady just came out this morning, and right from the start, it screams “(G)I-DLE” in a way that really feels like a follow up to Lion. It’s absolutely an anthem, with a driving drum beat, the barely repressed anger, , and of course the “Onward ladies, follow ladies” refrain, and reminds me of a 4th Gen version of 2NE1’s classic “I Am The Best” (naega jeil jal naga, motherf*cker) . This has such a great build up in the pre-chorus, and though I don’t think its anti-drop quite follows as well as a pay off should, I’m surprisingly not mad at it. That outro is probably my favorite part and had me nodding my head, and overall I’m confident in saying that Super Lady is my favorite title of theirs since HWAA.

From 2, the 2nd Full Album, I enjoyed the slow, sensual build and pay-off in Revenge, the dreaminess in Vision (which is the first song Miyeon’s written!), the light beat of all-English 7Days, and the great lyrics of Fate (which was absolutely my hidden gem), describing everyday life when something—or someone—happens to change it forever.

Overall, I’m very glad I did this! This discography deep dive has really made me enjoy (G)I-DLE’s work, and I’ve begun to appreciate a lot of b-sides I never gave the time of day before. And, in this redo, I fell in love with their music all over again. As I’ve gone through this, I’ve also noticed that their voices form a really nice harmony. Soyeon’s is harsh and sharp. Miyeon’s is high and polished. Minnie’s leans into ethereal sometimes. Yuqi’s deep soulfulness is reminiscent of Adele (who she’s actually covered!). And Shuhua’s sometimes soft, sometimes powerful mezzo floats in the middle, rounding them out.

My Top 5 would be Lion, HWAA, Peter Pan, HANN: Alone In Winter, and Put It Straight, with Escape and Allergy as honorable mentions. (G)I-DLE gets an 8.75 out of 10: pretty solid, with a couple dips, and definitely some highlights. Though I do have some issues with their discography, I can see how much work and time goes into it from them, and I don’t feel like those problems are caused by laziness or a company shilling out half-baked songs, but rather just personal opinion.

So, I’ll see you next time, for a boy group’s discography! Tschüss!

[interpol-nyc-documents-blog]

Interpol’s ’Toni’

What is your favorite song on The Other Side of Make-Believe?

Mine’s Toni. Not just because it’s catchy and ”soaring”, kind of flowing and elevating, it has this feeling of the endless road and freedom. It has this mode of melancholy, yet it is caught in the moment of feeling of recollection, decisiveness, abandon in the moment, denial of what is going on in the world, pretending that this is it, everything is ok, now, at this moment. Yet, something is lurking! That is a constant feeling for me in this world and also that relief which temporary abandon brings.

Daniel playing the piano, but in the same way he plays guitar, it makes the song more airier and gentle. Yet the song is very full sounding, as usual, intense, as usual. The part of the song starting around 2:55 is extremely satisfying! It is such a fasinating build up, alternating in giving prominence to each instrument, and then the fullness when the vocals start. Then it flows to the end and stops with the drum. It is partly building up -type song but it has partly poppy structure. It may sound simple but it is actually complex. It begins with a relatively long intro. Then it tricks you with ABAB type verse/chorus but then comes the long outro with all that magnificent building ”up and down”, sound fullness and alternation with the prominence of instruments, hypnotizing piano riff and the crispy guitar rhythm, and the repeating of ”who are you to doubt this?” & ”above the ocean”, the drums keeping us going and going, the bass uniquely following the vocal rhythm and so much more… such an amazing song. Coming at you, through you, with you. If you want, endlessly.

My favorite parts from the lyrics. So very evocative of feelings and images, interior processes and personal and apersonal relationships:

”Flame down Pacific highway”

”(yes)”

”[Go home] through perception's hallways”

”When the change comes we'll live in green skies”

”Who are you to doubt this?”

”Let me tell you 'bout the wayward starlet, face adorned with bones”

”Let me tell you 'bout the wayward starlet, face adorned with skulls”

”Looked me up and down, said, "Babe we're soaring, but you don't notice"

”Lift you up and down, the whale is soaring, but you don't notice”

”Above the ocean”

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

[peanuts-stafford]

Radiohead - In Rainbows (2009) Album Review

This is a great album. I've listened to this, OK Computer, and Kid A, and I don't know which one's my favorite. In my next Radiohead review, I'll probably let you know. I'll also definitely have to make a top 10 albums list, and I'll make sure to post that on my blog. These three albums are definitely all in my top 10. What can I say, I love Radiohead. Now for the review.

To start, "15 Step" is an amazing opener. It gets your attention with how upbeat it is and its solo electronic drumbeat. If you've ever looked at Charlie Thompson's graph of how sad each Radiohead song is (https://www.rcharlie.com/images/blog/fitter-happier/album_chart.html), you'll know "15 Step" is considered the happiest, with a 100 on the "gloom index," the happiest possible score. The next song, "Bodysnatchers," starts and ends chaotically. It begins with this crazy distorted sound. The body of the song sounds pretty structured, but switches to chaos again while Yorke yells "I've seem it coming!" Next is "Nude," a much slower and sadder song. The instrumentation is beautiful, as well as the lyrics.

"Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" is a more upbeat song, but still very beautiful. The lyricism is great. I really enjoy the ending of this song, as Yorke is singing some low notes and I find that beautiful and very cool. "All I Need" continues the trend of beautiful songs. It features a low, droning electronic bass. "Faust Arp" is pretty lowkey instrument-wise, but Yorke's vocals make up for that. The lyrics are just one after another. It's almost like he's singing his every thought, if Yorke thinks in song lyrics. (I would not be surprised if he did.)

Speaking of nice vocal performances, "Reckoner" is no exception. It features many different percussive instruments and some epic strings. Thom's voice is VERY beautiful in this one, as he sings some long high notes. "House Of Cards" is my least favorite track (it's just not that catchy) but it excellently builds up to "Jigsaw Falling Into Place," my favorite track on the record. Starting off with an amazing acoustic guitar riff, the track builds up for 57 seconds until Thom starts singing. The lyrics give me chills every time. "The walls are bending shape, they've got a cheshire cat grin, all blurring into one, this place is on a mission." Shortly after this the first section ends, and after a quick instrumental interlude, the second section begins. Thom sings "Before you run away from me, before you're lost between the notes, the beat goes round and round, the beat goes round and round." The second time he sings "the beat goes round and round," it is an octave above the first time. Thom continues to sing like this for the rest of the section. It builds up to the outro, and it's absolutely stunning. The lyrics are amazing. Everthing about this song is amazing. This whole song gives me chills.

Next is the closer, "Videotape," and I would agree with Thompson's sadness graph that this is the saddest song on the album. Piano is at the forefront of this song along with Thom's beautiful but melancholy vocals. Towards the second half of the song, some experimental percussion kicks in, and I love it. The last third of the song is a beautiful instrumental, and eventually, the song fades out, a perfect ending to the album.

I cannot express how much I love this album. The instruments are great, as are Thom's vocals, the flow is flawless, but the lyrics have to be my favorite part. They are intricate, compelling, and beautifully written. They stand out. Lyrics usually don't do that for me. Most of the songs are very sad ("15 Step" being the exception.) I will be listening to this album until I'm dead. It is absolutely transcendent to me.

Rating: 10/10

[theghostpinesmusic]

I started listening to Goose in mid-2019, which means that I haven't been a fan quite long enough to make the archetypal hipster claim that I was into them before they were cool. It also means, though, that in some corner of my brain I still think of "Pancakes" as a "new" Goose song, even though according to the results of a quick Google search, they played it for the first time way back on 1/27/22, and have played it forty-plus times since.*

As with most Great Blue/Peter-written songs that Goose integrates into their catalog, fan reception to "Pancakes" was somewhat mixed initially. Rick writes the majority of the songs for the band, and there's the perception of a bit of a Lennon/McCartney stylistic thing going on within Goose where Rick writes the "serious" songs and Peter writes the "goofy" songs. That's simplifying things a bit (see, for example, "Red Bird," which was written by Peter and is one of the band's most emotionally touching songs), but generally speaking it's a perception used as a rubric by a lot of fans who then see Peter's "goofy" songs as ruining the flow of a set/record/etc. that might be otherwise be full of more "serious" songs like "Silver Rising" or "Seekers On The Ridge."

For me personally, Goose debuted "Pancakes" right as I was reaching the peak of my Tame Impala fandom, which was great because to me the song sounds a lot like a Tame Impala tribute musically, if not necessarily lyrically.

As Goose seems to do with a lot of songs, nearly every early version of "Pancakes" from the debut on featured a huge jam or series of jams (see "Atlas Dogs," "Thatch," etc. for other examples of this). Over time, though, the song has seemed to generate less interesting or extensive improv from the band and has settled in instead as a kind of mid-set (or sometimes set-two-opening) rocker. So, I noticed when they took a page from the 2022 playbook during this version from 11/7 and went deep.

The song proper usually (or maybe always?) starts as this version does, with a bit of space/noise jamming that culminates with Peter encouraging the audience to help clap out the opening beat. Then we drop into the Tame Impala-ish main riff and some legitimately goofy-but-catchy (McCartney again!) lyrics about...pancakes.

One of the things I find myself liking more and more about Goose these days is how they manage to weld seemingly disparate parts of songs together to form a cohesive whole. "Feel It Now" is my current favorite example of this, but I'm sure I'll write about that tune eventually on here. With "Pancakes," the Tame Impala-like verse careens into what is, frankly, a very piano-heavy, Phish-like chorus, and the juxtaposition of the two just shouldn't work, but somehow it does.

Then, the third part of the song kicks in at 4:10 in this version: this wonderfully anthemic guitar part from Rick that launches into the jam. They used to sit on this part of the song a bit longer and play it a bit faster, and I kind of miss that...but on the other hand, now we get to the improv even faster!

The jam starts from a relatively sparse place, with Rick and Peter bouncing melodies back and forth for a minute or so while the rest of the band continues to hang on to "Pancakes" proper. Then, Rick and Peter coalesce on a neat syncopated thing (technical language only, folks!) and everyone else slowly moves away from the composed part of the song (Trevor gives up on the song's outro bassline last).

Right around 6:30, the drums start in on a less passive, more driving beat, and Rick moves out from the syncopation to something more melodic and then we're really cruising along. I like that throughout this section, Peter keeps playing a repeating "sample" of sorts on the piano, making sure to inject a bit of tension into the jam.

Interestingly, Peter keeps this tension up even as the jam starts to turn into a quintessential example of a major-key bliss jam, riding over a couple of peaks around 9:30 and 10:30. Finally, as the jam continues to build in intensity, he finally switches (one hand?) over to the organ to add to Rick's energy.

Things start to take a slightly darker turn starting at 12:30 as Rick signals a change in direction with a few notes. Rick keeps soloing through this (maybe minor key, my ear is terrible for stuff like this) but for my money the focus has shifted here to Peter and Trevor, who are both just rolling along on piano and bass, respectively. In a few places here, Rick seems to echo Peter's stuttering, staccato playing on the guitar, which is neat.

At 14:30, the band switches into full-on tension-building mode for a brief bit, and we get to see the light rig go absolutely bonkers. Rick's tone at 15:00 is gnarly, and I absolutely love it. More of this, please!

A little bit of wonderfully evil piano from Peter finally propels us out of the darkness and back into the "Pancakes" outro to end the song.

This is one of two songs I'm writing up from 11/7 because it was one of my absolute favorite nights from the Euro tour, so I'll be back shortly with a thing (again, technical terms only!) on "Thatch."

* Fun fact: I didn't realize until literally now that the version of "Pancakes" I saw on 2/3/22 in Portland was only the second time the band had ever played the tune live. Neat!

[deadrituals]

"Prisoners” turns one year old!

Our song Prisoners was released a year ago today! It remains one of my favorite Dead Rituals singles.

It is a straightforward indie rock track, but my goal was to add some interesting textures and layers add some depth to the mix.

The song is about pressure from toxic people, and struggling to find a sense of belonging. It’s an open question that relates to one’s chosen path in life, looking back on every little thing that brought you here. What would happen if you could do it all over again?

The original concept for the song was to have it be an electronic-leaning track, much like the song Dark turned out later on. 

However, I quickly realized “Prisoners” begged for a more energetic approach, so I made it a bit heavier with drums and guitars. My collaborator Paolo Cotrone developed some additional guitar parts and the heavier outro riff, which helped the song come together. My wife Brita also sang on the track’s choruses; I enjoy how her vocals contrast with the dense, raw guitar parts! Paolo and I also created an acoustic version, which gave the track a different flavor. The song also appears on our 2022 live EP, as we recorded a full band take during the sessions. Just a few seconds into the first pass at the song, the nut of my guitar, which I had cut improperly, exploded in scattered pieces everywhere! Thankfully, I had a backup guitar!

Find this song and more of our music on Spotify, Youtube, or Bandcamp.

[jules-has-notes]

Beautiful Low mashup — VoicePlay music video

One of my favorite aspects of a good mashup is when the lyrics of the component songs are placed in conversation with one another. For this arrangement, the guys combined two different perspectives on struggles with self-esteem and the ways external factors can affect the way we see ourselves.

Whether the greatest influence is something intimate like the disolution of a personal relationship leading to depression, or something more pervasive like the judgment of society at large for physical diversity that doesn't match arbitrary beauty standards, it can be difficult to feel self-love in the moments when it doesn't feel like anyone else loves you either. But even at our lowest, there are people willing to help lift us up. Sometimes in the form of a song.

Details:

title: Scars To Your Beautiful & All Time Low mashup (feat. J.None)

original songs / performers: "Scars to Your Beautiful" by Alessia Cara; "All Time Low" by Jon Bellion (see also: acoustic version) [NOTE: The original lyrics are more explicit than VP's version.]

written by: "Scars to Your Beautiful" by Alessia Cara, Warren "Oak" Felder, Sebastian Kole, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, & Justin "DJ Frank E" Franks; "All Time Low" by Jon Bellion, Mark Williams, Raul Cubina, & Travis Mendes

arranged by: Layne Stein & Hannah Juliano

release date: 1 February 2017

My favorite bits:

the back-and-forth panning on Layne's opening electronic-inspired percussion line (best experienced through headphones if you can)

J's crisp descending run on ♫ ⇘ "nooow" ⇘ ♫

the strategic lyrical substitutions to keep things PG-13

the earnestness in Earl's voice and expression when he takes over the lead vocals

those backing harmonies from Geoff, Eli, and J under the second verse, alternating between stacatto plucking and short crescendos

Layne's descending riff in the middle of the second chorus

that gradual layering and weaving of lyrics during the bridge until they reach the climax of the last chorus

Geoff's smooth slide to kick off the ending section

those soaring harmonies on the final ♫ "beautifuuul" ♫

J's little fanfares in the outro

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Trivia:

This recording was part of the audition process for VoicePlay's new member to replace Tony. Since J had already been performing in that capacity at live shows with the guys for a couple months, he was tapped to go first. Consensus among many of the YouTube commenters was that he was a great fit.

The lyrics were particularly resonant for Earl, which made him a little nervous on the eve of filming day.

J recorded his vocals with Layne at Rayne's Room. He was surprised at not having to memorize his part first, and how freeform the process was, allowing him to noodle around with different dynamics, rhythms, and riffs. I'd say he adjusted to VP's methods pretty well.

The guys usually coordinate their own clothes for non-costume outfits, but for this video they enlisted a local stylist named Tanya Buzu. J.None certainly seemed to enjoy his wardrobe.

The video description on YouTube reiterates that "You should know you're beautiful just the way you are." Very sweet of them.

A fan was inspired to create drawings of some of the guys.

A couple weeks after its initial release, this mashup was played on University of Nebraska – Lincoln's campus radio station during their weekly Vocal Chords show that features a cappella music.

They garnered a bit of praise from their friend and colleague, Tim Foust. (Sadly, the potential collaboration didn't happen, but most of the guys did get to attend the Home Free show that brought him to their hometown.)

This track was later included on VoicePlay's "Citrus" album, which compiled most of the songs they recorded from 2017-19. Because the individual songs had already been made available digitally, that album is exclusively a physical item that can only be purchased at live shows or through their website.

[jackasspenguins]

I came up with my Top 25 Christmas songs. Meaning, these are my 25 favorite Christmas songs. It's subjective to me, so don't get mad if your song isn't on the list, create your own damn list. I limited it to my personal favorite from each performing artist, so there isn't any group that appears more than once. I also tried to make the songs all different tunes, but I'm not 100% sure if I accomplished that. I'm going to post 25-11 today, and then slow roll the top 10 each day until Christmas.  25. Jack Johnson "Someday at Christmas (Alternate Version)" This is exactly what you would expect a Jack Johnson Christmas song to sound like. Syncopated playful guitar riffs with a strong bass and drum foundation. It sounds great once a year like every Jack Johnson song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9hHUkQzaiE 24. Ringo Starr "Come On Christmas, Christmas Come On" This is from Ringo's underrated late 90's Christmas album. It sounds like something you would find on a T. Rex album. Plus, it's Ringo. What's not to like? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQq0Wy7VKxk 23. Boris Gardner "The Meaning of Christmas" This is a reggae number but it's a cute song. I'm sure it will enrage people who are devout Christians, but what did you expect from a reggae song? Boris is nearly unknown outside of Jamaica, but is worthy of your attention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GE_EaoKCTM 22. Julian Casablancas "I Wish It Was Christmas Today" Again, this is exactly how you would expect a Christmas song from The Strokes to sound like. A refined nugget of ear candy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wS-k66MKgs 21. MxPx "Coming Home for Christmas" Probably the best late 90's-early 2000's pop punk Christmas song in existence. Starts how you would expect but has a great Christmassy outro to bring it home. Surprisingly nostalgic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQvneV0xFPM 20. Nate Dogg "Be Thankful" Nate was talented, that's a fact. Most of the time he was singing about weed, regulating or being generally misogynistic. It's refreshing to hear him not sing about the usual things. Plus, it's actually a respectable Christmas original. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSejZV5llck 19. Jimmy Castor Bunch "Merry Christmas" I absolutely love the groove and vibe to this. It's a product of its time, the 1970s. You can't mistake that. But it's a great listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOlKTk3FXqQ 18. Carla Thomas "All I Want For Christmas Is You" This is not the Mariah Carey song. Spoilers - that song and artist is not on this list. But this is a great Christmas song with a Wall of Sound motif. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QATvC2oiNY 17. Ray Charles "That Spirit of Christmas" This really stimulates the nostalgia part of your brain. Famously used in Christmas Vacation when Clark was stuck in the attic. A Christmas classic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3z91z2kjAo 16. Men of Worth "Christmas in the Trenches" This duo supplements their income by providing guided tours to Ireland. They did a great job on this song which is about the fabled Christmas 1914 on the front lines of the Great War where the guns stopped and both sides hung out in No Man's Land. Apparently this happened more than just that day as the grind of war really set in. But it's a powerful story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dUHxHiDbUQ 15. Squirrel Nut Zippers "Gift of the Magi" Based on the famous story by O. Henry, this is just a fabulous listen, very folksy and uniquely American. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJrcr-lMbXg 14. "Welcome Christmas (Reprise)" The climax of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, it features nonsense words that somehow have meaning but I can't explain the meaning for sure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIFFcRFPi4M 13. Elton John "Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who'd Be A Turkey At Christmas?)" This is the B-side to his smash Christmas hit "Step Into Christmas" but it's often overlooked. You shouldn't sleep on it though. It's basically the Christmas "Bennie and the Jets" and it has that same feel to it. Just an absolute blast to listen to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac97CJQhx5E 12. Smashing Pumpkins "Christmastime" Billy's ode to Christmas always has a soft spot in my Christmas playlist. Recorded during the Adore era, it displays how Billy could create any type of song he wanted with ease back then. This is about the midpoint of his arc of doing no wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmFeg2e5GzI 11. Paul McCartney "Wonderful Christmastime" Love it or hate it, there is no one on Earth who thinks this is just OK. I fall squarely in the love it column. I love clunky old synthesizers though. Regardless of the backing track, this has some great Paul melodies if you can focus on the vocals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94Ye-3C1FC8