#all of the non vocal tracks sound ass

[mymp3]

GETTING ON TUMBLR TO BLOG ABOUT THE SOUNDTRACK VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!

[tearlessrain]

please help me- i used to be pretty smart but i’m having so much trouble grasping the concept of diegetic vs non-diegetic bdsm!

gfkjldghfd okay first of all I'm sorry for the confusion, if you're not finding anything on the phrase it's because I made it up and absolutely nobody but me ever uses it, but I haven't found a better way to express what I'm trying to say so I keep using it. but now you've given me an excuse to ramble on about some shit that is only relevant to me and my deeply inefficient way of talking and by god I'm going to take it.

SO. the way diegetic and non-diegetic are normally used is to talk about music and sound design in movies/tv shows. in case you aren't familiar with that concept, here's a rundown:

diegetic sound is sound that happens within the world of the movie/show and can be acknowledged by the characters, like a song playing on the stereo during a driving scene, or sung on stage in Phantom of the Opera. it's also most other sounds that happen in a movie, like the sounds of traffic in a city scene, or a thunderclap, or a marching band passing by. or one of the three stock horse sounds they use in every movie with a horse in it even though horses don't really vocalize much in real life, but that's beside the point, the horse is supposed to be actually making that noise within the movie's world and the characters can hear it whinnying.

non-diegetic sound is any sound that doesn't exist in the world of the movie/show and can't be perceived by the characters. this includes things like laugh tracks and most soundtrack music. when Duel of Fates plays in Star Wars during the lightsaber fight for dramatic effect, that's non-diegetic. it exists to the audience, but the characters don't know their fight is being backed by sick ass music and, sadly, can't hear it.

the lines can get blurry between the two, you've probably seen the film trope where the clearly non-diegetic music in the title sequence fades out to the same music, now diegetic and playing from the character's car stereo. and then there are things like Phantom of the Opera as mentioned above, where the soundtrack is also part of the plot, but Phantom of the Opera does also have segments of non-diegetic music: the Phantom probably does not have an entire orchestra and some guy with an electric guitar hiding down in his sewer just waiting for someone to break into song, but both of those show up in the songs they sing down there.

now, on to how I apply this to bdsm in fiction.

if I'm referring to diegetic bdsm what I mean is that the bdsm is acknowledged for what it is in-world. the characters themselves are roleplaying whatever scenarios their scenes involve and are operating with knowledge of real life rules/safety practices. if there's cnc depicted, it will be apparent at some point, usually right away, that both characters actually are fully consenting and it's all just a planned scene, and you'll often see on-screen negotiation and aftercare, and elements of the story may involve the kink community wherever the characters are. Love and Leashes is a great example of this, 50 Shades and Bonding are terrible examples of this, but they all feature characters that know they're doing bdsm and are intentional about it.

if I'm talking about non-diegetic bdsm, I'm referring to a story that portrays certain kinks without the direct acknowledgement that the characters are doing bdsm. this would be something like Captive Prince, or Phantom of the Opera again, or the vast majority of bodice ripper type stories where an innocent woman is kidnapped by a pirate king or something and totally doesn't want to be ravished but then it turns out he's so cool and sexy and good at ravishing that she decides she's into it and becomes his pirate consort or whatever it is that happens at the end of those books. the characters don't know they're playing out a cnc or D/s fantasy, and in-universe it's often straight up noncon or dubcon rather than cnc at all. the thing about entirely non-diegetic bdsm is that it's almost always Problematic™ in some way if you're not willing to meet the story where it's at, but as long as you're not judging it by the standards of diegetic bdsm, it's just providing the reader the same thing that a partner in a scene would: the illusion of whatever risk or taboo floats your boat, sometimes to extremes that can't be replicated in real life due to safety, practicality, physics, the law, vampires not being real, etc. it's consensual by default because it's already pretend; the characters are vehicles for the story and not actually people who can be hurt, and the reader chose to pick up the book and is aware that nothing in it is real, so it's all good.

this difference is where people tend to get hung up in the discourse, from what I've observed. which is why I started using this phrasing, because I think it's very crucial to be able to differentiate which one you're talking about if you try to have a conversation with someone about the portrayal of bdsm in media. it would also, frankly, be useful for tagging, because sometimes when you're in the mood for non-diegetic bodice ripper shit you'd call the police over in real life, it can get really annoying to read paragraphs of negotiation and check-ins that break the illusion of the scene and so on, and the opposite can be jarring too.

it's very possible to blur these together the same way Phantom of the Opera blurs its diegetic and non-diegetic music as well. this leaves you even more open to being misunderstood by people reading in bad faith, but it can also be really fun to play with. @not-poignant writes fantastic fanfic, novels, and original serials on ao3 that pull this off really well, if you're okay with some dark shit in your fiction I would highly recommend their work. some of it does get really fucking dark in places though, just like. be advised. read the tags and all that.

but yeah, spontaneous writer plug aside, that's what I mean.

[piratefishmama]

Crossing the Line | Part 2

For Eddie Munson, it started with a tweet. A random little tweet in his mentions that ignited his incredibly hard to control impulsive curiosity. One of his long-time followers and his best friends little brother, a boy with a love of DnD who only begrudgingly followed him after he recorded one of his campaign sessions and posted it to YouTube, pinged him a mention with a single link in it to Instagram captioned “roast him he’s ruined Crazy Train!”

Michael Wheeler you little shit. He’d get Nancy on that one, Mike’s obsession with roasting people was getting mildly out of hand.

But Eddie was a curious soul and someone had apparently ruined an Ozzy masterpiece, so of course he followed that link, he didn’t even hesitate, even let out a cute little “boop” out loud as he clicked it.

Now. Eddie Munson, could have probably been classed as a bit of a music snob. He wouldn’t go too far with his snobbery, but for some people... it was just an unwritten rule that some people deserved the snobbery to the max. They deserved the shit storm that came with Eddie’s brutal honesty and lack of verbal filter.

And Nepo-babies with nothing better to do than *fix* legendary metal tracks with their top 10 bubblegum bitch bullshittery were 100% deserving of the roasting his bitchiest of little sheep had called for.

Did he go a little overboard over the following week while bored shitless in between customers at his shitty non-chain coffee shop gig? Absolutely. Did he feel bad? Absolutely not. It’d taken him all of five minutes to decide Steve Harrington was the worst.

Even if the nepo baby thing wasn’t enough, he was spotted with a different piece of arm candy every month, he had girls and guys falling all over themselves to get a glimpse from him in their general direction, like, there were articles about fights breaking out in the audience of his shows because fans couldn’t decide which one of them he looked at. He lived in some fancy ass house if his insta photos were anything to go by which no doubt his parents bought for him, he did way too many PR stunts to make it seem like he was a good guy, and while his voice was… okay, it wasn’t bad… passable, it was passable…

It sure as fuck needed to stay in its own goddamn lane.

So, the boredom in between the rare rush thanks to the Starbucks down the street was filled with what could only be described as obsessive online bullying, his ADHD hyper fixated so hard, but no way was he even going to notice it, so Eddie didn’t even feel bad about it. The guy had so many people falling all over themselves in hopes he’d notice them that his measly little insults would probably wind up just buried in the sea of hormones and the occasional desperate “COME TO BRAZIL” hashtag Brazilian flag and several thousand heart emojis.

And just as a fun little topper on the ice cream sundae that was his weeklong bitchfit into the void, a lovely little cherry on top, he covered Crazy Train on his channel. Not just the guitar bits, but he made chords and tabs for the lyrics too, letting his sweetheart sing for him, he never sang on his channel, vocals were just for the band gigs, his channel was primarily game music covers but this one, this one he declared “This is what it’s supposed to sound like” in the intro then rocked it.

Eddie was all about freedom of musical expression, but Steve Harrington could go suck a fat one if he thought he was getting away with ruining a masterpiece with his croony bullshit.

“So” The week after he’d finally put his one sided feud to rest, found one Nancy Wheeler, the instigators older sister sidling up to the counter mid-way through the most boring Sunday shift Eddie had ever worked in his life.

“Wheeleeerr, my sister from the most boring of misters, what can I get you babydoll?” He didn’t even need to ask, and she didn’t actually need to say it, he was already halfway through making her fancy little favourite, a cinnamon hazelnut latte with soy milk knowing she probably only had five minutes before she’d have to bolt again.

“Eddie… why have you spent the better part of a week harassing a celebrity on Instagram?”

“I think you mean an entire week, your little brother released the dogs of war. Aaaand the ADHD told me to do it.” He grabbed one of the little honey buns from the treats display and popped it onto a plate for her “forgive me honey bun?” A pet name AND a treat combined. She rolled her eyes fondly before accepting the free treat. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” There was absolutely a reason, but… honestly he brought whatever was coming to him upon himself. Sort of. She'd stand in his corner if shit got real. “I’ll handle Mike, don’t harass celebrities until you’re actually a celebrity, and even then, don’t harass celebrities.”

“It’s not like he’d notice, let’s be honest he has more fans than there are stars in the sky, all of them, and I do mean all of them, fully up for bearing his children.” Seahorse dads in the house! But also, mpreg too, ass babies unite. “It’s not like some rando having a questionably obsessive and lowkey aggressive meltdown over his ‘I’m bored as shit’ experiment would ever grace his radar.”

“I’m just saying Eddie, you never know who you’re going to reach with your online nonsense, if you ever want to get out of this place, you’re going to have to play nice with people from all walks of life, including nepotism babies.” The bark of laughter that erupted from Eddie Munson would have probably insulted most people, but Nancy had known him for years. He was listening, he was, there were just layers upon layers of automatic reactions to get through before he’d visibly take in what you were saying. “He could be nice, you never know.”

“Oh yeah, his royal highness seems lovely. Did you know people used to call him King Steve?” Seemed like the worst person on the planet masquerading as a semi-decent guy. Eddie wasn’t fooled in the slightest. “Your drink, mademoiselle!” He presented her with a large to-go cup filled with her favourite beverage.

“Don’t you have some odd little moniker on your youtube channel?” She asked behind the lip of her cup, before taking a sip and humming in appreciation. Even if he was a little shit, Eddie could make a mean latte.

“That’s a persona, it’s an online personality! People calling me Kas is different, people just called him that cause of how much ass he got. It’s weird, I bet he started it himself and paid his cronies to use it until it caught on.” That was good, maybe he’d pick his feud back up just to lay that one on him. “Seems very nepo baby of him, y’know? Can’t get a good nickname circling so he’s gotta buy one.”

“Wouldn’t his parents have bought it for him?”

“Ohhhh Wheeler good one! Nice nickname, did your daddy buy it for you? Babe, sugar plum, I love you. Imma write that one down for later.”

“Please don’t.” He was already off, and she caught sight of her smartwatch beeping about some meeting she was close to being late for. “Shoot! Gotta run, no more harassing celebrities!”

“I promise nothing!” Ah well, it probably wasn’t that big of a deal that Steve Harrington’s best friend had DM’d her, probably not a big deal at all, probably meant nothing... probably.

Part 4

[colorisbyshe]

Monthly Music 08/24 Hehehe

Albums/Multi Song Section:

Taemin released a mini album. Honestly, listen to all of it, even the more ballad-y fare but honestly... Sexy In the Air is a track EVERYONE should give a shot. It's what it says on the tin--sexy. Highlights: Horizon, if you like Kavinsky but want a kpop, energy-infused twist, try this out! (ITS A REACH BUT!!). Crush has some MJ-esque delivery that is very enthralling. Deju Vu is for the people who want to feel songs vibrate in their bones and in their [redacted]

Tinashe released her follow-up to the (superior) BB/Angel! My faves are No Simulation, Thirsty, When I Get You Alone, + No Broke Boys. Chill, alt R&B. Ethereal, sensual. Tinashe and Taemin should collab or at least do choreo to each other's songs tbh. NBB is a modern reimagining of No Scrubs

Foster the People is baack. BIASED REVIEW because I'm a longterm fan. See You in the Afterlife (oddly cunty??), Feed Me (cuntier except some of the instrumental could've been produced on Gene Belcher's random sound keyboard), Paradise State of Mind (Tame Impala knock off, mayhaps), & Glitchzig (discordant, extraterrestrial).

Fromis_9, a kpop group, has had a mini release. Here's a mini review: Supersonic & Beat the Heat have a throwback appeal. Simple, joyful pop with a non-obtrusive vocal power behind it. Talent wins <3

JPEGMAFIA released a new album and it's... beyond explanation? Alt hip hop with an amazing infusion of rock, gospel, dance elements. Dark, funny, slick as hell. Highlights: i scream this in the mirror before i interact with anyone, sin miedo (my fave, I think), don't rely on other men, vulgar display of power, Exmilitary (great use of samples), JPEGULTRA! (denzel!!!!!!!!! HORNS!!!!!!!!1), either on or off the drugs (one of my faves, absolutely), & loop it and leave it. If you're like "that's a lot of songs," okay well the entire album is good. 9.9/10 album

Recent Releases:

"Feel The Way" Peggy Gou. Just a solid dance track.

Ibibio Sound Machine's Black Notes is groovy and vocally ascendant.

"Leave" Low Hanging Fruits is Krock that feels straight out like... mid 2000s alt-pop rock. Just lively and lovely.

My blog title was taken from a Chase & Status song, so of course I need to shout out their collab with Stormzy, "Backbone." Just goes hard, is grimy as hell, and goes WUB WUB.

Want something that goes harder? Petit Brabancon, Japanese metal supergroup, is back and "Gankou" is... growling and intense and also just kinda fun.

Not here for music that might be a bit scary? "Edge of Saturday Night" The Blessed Madonna, Kylie Minogue is some eurodance to take the edge off.

If you like that track, try "Urallineed" by Jazzi Bobbi for some vaguely dancy indie pop. Love her voice.

This could've gone on the album review but honestly... Monkey Majik's new album is kinda Maroon 5-y and doesn't deserve a full shout out but give HYLMN a listen if you want to hear a fun, misremembered rip off of Blur's Song 2. Also, I guess the song Imposter.

"Check" by Flo is like... the kpop tracks inspired by Tinashe but... not kpop. Does that make sense? American, Fifth Harmony-esque song that feels like a kpop GG ripping off American Tinashe. A perfect feedback loop. Delectable.

"Out of Touch" Four Year Strong. Throwback, pop punk sound with a modern flourish.

"Nissan Altima" Doechii. As a Nissan driver, I had to rec this lmao. Great song, great flow, GET YA TITS SUCKED

"Tokyo" Sable Hills. Screamo :3 The guitar fucks

Older tracks: Keep Away by Carly Rae Jepsen (song to sway to), Bloom by Macico (the Japanese sound Harry styles tried to rip off), Thanks for Your Time by Gotye (dour and sensual) and Miss Fatty by Million Stylez (music to shake your ass to)

Posting this early because I know more music (Chungha, Bree Runway) is coming and uhhhh this post is already too full

[rammbles]

DAY #15: 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

ugh this is gonna be hard for most without going back through their entire discography, but I'm gonna try me best here. I want to point out that I have always, since getting into rock and metal as a middle schooler, been deeply more prone to recognizing and remembering guitar work and obviously the vocals; it's not a conscious choice, it's just what my brain does, but it does make this a much more difficult question for every single thing besides guitar. So, I'll start with guitar!

(Cut here bc I'm sure this post is gonna be long and yucky formatting-wise)

So my mind could possibly change if I listened to everything again, however I am pretty fucking confident in that for guitar, it's "Mutter." More than anything else, it's that fucking refrain; it sounds entirely overflowing with wrenching pain and sorrow to me, and I cannot BELIEVE Reesh has said he wrote that shit for a wedding, like bitch it makes me want to cry without vocal assistance to set the vibe, holy fucking shit who died at that wedding??????????????? It will regularly give me goosebumps when I listen to the song.

Okay, second-easiest (I think, lol). For Flake's keyboard work, I'm a BIG fat lover of his performance in "Weit weg." I adore synthwave-style musical works, and this sound is just so classic and really does it for me. I think it also helps that I recently binged it for like, a full day for no reason other than it was stuck in my head real bad lmfao

All right, next one: bass. This is one of those more difficult ones, because I think like a great number of people, the bass is astronomically harder to single out in heavier music, unless it's basically the only thing playing (which we stan hard as fuck I wanna hear my Boy), and because of this, I took the time to listen to some bass covers of various tracks to have the sound singled out more, and now, I think I'm going with "Stripped." It's a head-bobber to me!

... aaaaand the hardest: drums. I want to scream from the fucking rooftops that this is no disrespect or disregard for Schneider, he is a vital member of the band that I adore, and drums are so instrumental in establishing the beat of songs, it's just that this is the one instrument that for some reason, my brain doesn't seem to latch onto and remember when I think of the song? It's completely indeliberate, I hear it and it just slides off my smooth-ass brain. 😭 I hate it because I love our dilf drummer so very much, so like this makes me feel so rude and as if I don't care for his part in the band, which couldn't be further from accurate; I reiterate, he's vital, as much as everyone else. All that being said, this is the instrument I am least confident about when picking a favorite, but like for Ollie, I visited a big chunk of songs that made me think "wait I think the drum performance is strong here," so take this one with the biggest grain of salt: I think I'm going with "Eifersucht." I like the fast pace of the drum in this one, and it's super rhythmic, and that's... all my non-drum-intellectual ass has got, lol. I'm that kid critiquing shit they don't know about right now.

previous days: 　1.) favorite song 　2.) favorite era 　3.) favorite single 　4.) favorite album 　5.) favorite music video 　6.) favorite member 　7.) favorite lyrics 　8.) favorite b-side/unreleased track 　9.) favorite remix 　10.) favorite live photo(s) 　11.) favorite live video 　12.) favorite "making of" 　13.) favorite picture 　14.) favorite vocals

[gabethesquid]

My favorite albums of 2022 (Part 1)

2022 was a year of changes for me. I graduated High School in the spring, and went to college (SUNY Purchase) in the fall, meeting tons new people and discovering myself.

There was a ton of great music to go along with it it too.

Blackbraid - Blackbraid I

U.S.

August 26, 2022

Blistering Atmospheric Black Metal with a theme of Indigenous Peoples who live in the Adirondacks. The riffs are great and catchy, vocals understandable, interlude tracks are beautiful. Great musicianship.

Favorite Track - Barefoot Ghost Dance on the Blood Soaked Soil

Bloodywood - Rakshak

India

February 18, 2022

Indian Folk mixed with Nu-Metal. Tracks switch between angry protest tracks and tracks about mental heath. The folk influences set this band apart from most other Nu-Metal, and are so intertwined the band wouldn’t be the same without it.

Favorite Track - Chakh Le

Chat Pile - God’s Country

U.S.

July 29, 2022

Sludge metal with vocals that feel very deranged. A perfect soundtrack to this late capitalist hellscape, with great riffs, pounding drums, and amazing atmosphere.

Favorite Track - Why

Death Island - Aeons of Carnage

U.S.

October 12, 2022

Melodic Death Metal band from my area, formed at the college I go to. With a unique Blackened Death sound with lyrical themes taking from all over, the dual vocalists are fun to listen to. I’m excited to hear more.

Favorite Track - Wolves Are A Feasting

Froglord - Army of Frogs

U.K.

November 4, 2022

Gimmick sludge metal about a kaiju Frog? The best Froglord album ever with catchy hooks and a fun metaplot? Proceeds going to save the frogs? Count me in. A fun album. (Fun fact: Army is the noun used to describe a group of frogs in science)

Favorite Track - Army of Frogs

Kanonenfieber - Yankee Division

Germany

March 23, 2022

The follow up to 2021’s amazing debut, this EP kicks serious ass with heavier melodic songs. The late Trevor Strnard of The Black Dahlia Murder is featured, and it’s just great musicianship.

Favorite Track - The Yankee Division March

Kanonenfieber - Der Fusilier

Germany

November 19, 2022

The second EP of this year, this is a concept EP about a single German soldier, featuring one of Kanonenfieber’s saddest songs. This has solidified the band as more than just a one off success.

Favorite Track - Der Fusilier II

Lorna Shore - Pain Remains

U.S.

October 14, 2022

The first full-length featuring Will Ramos, he solidifies himself as the growling GOAT with emotional tunes and soaring choruses. The symphonic elements make this deathcore great. The breakdowns are brutal af.

Favorite Track - Sun//Eater

Non Est Deus - Impious

Germany

March 4,2022

From the guy behind Kanonenfieber, his first project’s third album is awesome, with catchy evil riffs and an anti-Christian theme. The cover art is amazing, and the music just as good. More traditional in it’s black metal, it’s still great musicianship.

Favorite Track - Hexenwahn

Sakis Tolis - Among the Fires of Hell

Greece

March 22, 2022

From the frontman of legendary Black Metal band Rotting Christ comes an emotional album about the soul through the lens of Satan. It sounds like 2000s Rotting Christ, but with a different message, and just as good atmosphere. My favorite track has also made me cry.

Favorite Track - The Dawn of a New Age

[anosci]

(181-196 albums etc that I’ve listened to this year, copied from twitter) (now with art. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14])

names and thoughts below cut

181/ (all mono211/monotonik releases, 1999) saddened that "End of an Era LP" (source of the album art im using) is primarily colored by dnb, even if its high quality. otherwise, a million singles. standouts mostly mp3: "gobblad" feeling that turn of the century chill style "702" fascinatingly rephlex "benedict" ok some dnb is fun actually "Shadowfighter" what rebelious energy! standout!!

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182/ (all Tokyo Dawn Records releases, 2000) mixed bag etc etc. best at hip hop. "killer of the zodiac" dnb yes, but. this guy is weaponizing his mp3 encoder. love it "reckoning" brandishing lofi "limits" as central assets? ace. "surnaturel forme" ace trip hop turntable timbre

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183/ VA - supermariountwirled ep (2000) get dunked on ocr emix we're sampling the chiptunes for our technos in the y of 2k!!! …oh. it's not great :( yeah sadly this is filled with poor execution, even when the ideas are fun. only "flying mario (xllv remix)" is worth keeping imo

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184/ (all mono211 non-albums, 2000) mono y2k KICKING ASS. herein lies the good stuff! ex: "we're like air.." EXACTLY the made at home optimistic post-y2k electronica i adore holy shit "Timecrunch EP" gorgeous!! cant get over how good this is!!!!!!!! "woozy dog" homemade y2k! homemade y2k! homemade y2k!

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185/ (all mute releases i found on an ftp, mostly y2k) a very bedroom idm romp. sadly i didnt particularly vibe with this selection. it feels very focused, but on smth not quite for me. favs? hmm. proswell had a nice little EP. the unsearchable "insta" by sin is a standout too

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186/ subi - The Rave-O-Lution Has Been Terrorised (2000) it's a throwback to the sounds of 10 years ago… from 23 years ago. kinda mixed bag of "resonating with me" but still pretty fun. prodigal rave stuff. favs? "var 4rom earf" ez

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187/ binary - binatone (2000) a little meandery. a little idk. not particularly "bright" but it feels right somehow. lazy afternoon vibes i guess? standout: "ivor commodore part 3" i think. also enjoying "formel 2" and "ballad of pam and tommy part 5" for quite different reasons

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188/ Andy Stott - Faith In Strangers (2014) slowly unfolds into heavy soundscapes. less "fog" or "smoke" and more like humid air that's too hot to breathe. and then sometimes its just slappy beats. highlights? "Violence" perhaps. "How It Was" is also massive

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189/ Kink - For The People (2023) 3 nonstop slappers but i PARTICULARLY vibe with "Kazan". sadly, 1 slap stopper at the end (i do not vibe with that vocal sample in "Vacation")

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190/ L.A.M. - Balance of Terror (1992) I heard "Nuclear Facelift" was a common track in early AFX sets and yeah i hear why. i love the synthwork overall, really fun stuff, and its ontop of a very early sounding drum soundscape. really cool era encapsulation going on.

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191/ Cylob - Lobster Tunes (1999) I guess i missed this rephlex release somehow? nonstop DELIGHTFUL sound design grooving in 99 "Wanking Off On Other People's Misery" srsly the groove! "Smash Up The Pram" !!! that weird meter in "Stomping FM"!!!!!

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192/ KNOWER - KNOWER FOREVER (2023) listening to this like "its ok" then the piano kicks in and im rockin "Real Nice Moment" real into it. "Nightmare" grooooove "It Will Get Real" finally showing its real in the second half. not my fav knower romp but overall ok.

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193/ Mr. Carmack - Drugs (2014) me saying "kinda bangs actually" repeatedly. it kinda feels like a collection of sketches, which is how it's presented tbf. standouts "insanity and this music industry" holy shit "Dark Hadou (Remix)" retrofuturebanger "lonelyfuckingsamurai"!!!!

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194/ (Tokyo Dawn Records & Sparks, 2001) plesantly suprised at the shift from dnb to chill br8ks. very ninjatune esque. a few highlights: "buenas" the exact oldschool timbre i crave "night light" oh hell yeah!!! tight! also, much love for michael victory's deep style

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195a/ VA - FF8: SeeDs of Pandora (disc 1) (2023) a very pretty, artisanal opening. feels like stunningly beautiful arrangements of music that im not too familiar with, except for "Longing for the Horizon" which is a standout to me. oh, and "The Jellyfish" for similar reasons.

195b/ VA - FF8: SeeDs of Pandora (disc 2) (2023) two of five. driving up that nrg. im surprised at the super good psytrance chops here! "Downtown Run" is super good i was suspicious of the vocals in "Filthy Lies / Wasted Virtue" but they work so so nicely!

195c/ VA - FF8: SeeDs of Pandora (disc 3) (2023) three of five. imediately opening with the WILD vibes of "Even Ill Omens Need a Break" "Swagger de Chocobo"!!! koan influence!! making making me love chocobo again! "Willing Sacrifice" rly fun spooky turned beat beats. MkVaff! "A Scar to Match" this brings an absurd energy that i cant help but appreciate "OH!! DEKA-DE-JAZZ-DE-CHOCOBO ~ Dirty Contacts Mix" yooooooooo this is a fun experimental piece that's also just. fun! "Into the Singularity" oh hell that's MASSIVE "A Wounded Spy" everything falls into place. i rly didnt expect to like this but yet. i do

195d/ VA - FF8: SeeDs of Pandora (disc 4) (2023) four of five. insanely massive opening with "Voces Maledictionis et Spei: Children Fated to Lead" very very happy to see the "massive collab to cover a FF boss theme" resulting in ABSURDLY BANGER tunes trend continue. "Heavy Residents" laughing that ppl are citing random songs that i specifically adore and saying "im referencing that" and then they all rock. "SeeDs of Pandora" title track? it packs the heat.

195e/ VA - FF8: SeeDs of Pandora (disc 5) (2023) five of five. not at all what I expected, in that I thought it was going to be literally goofy throwaway nonsense and it's far from that lol "Song of the Desperado" is a TREAT. "As One Closes, Another Opens" chipper thing that ends up as somehow nostalgic "The Definition of Insanity" is 100% THE standout tho! absolutely wild fun!

195/ VA - FF8: SeeDs of Pandora (2023) i ended up dividing my thoughts into one tweet per disc (see above) but overall: i have no attachement to this game. that doesn't stop me from being in awe at the BANGERS here. FF collabs seem to bring out the beast in ppl. also: the shocking quantity of beautiful live stuff!!

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[istherewifiinhell]

okay just gonna link a bunch of the es story boards videos (i started this with the mind of curation but ended up in a place of COLLECTION. whoops)

and ONE FUN BONUS at the end which u could just skip to the bottom for if (website popup voice) YOU DONT LIKE COOL ANIMATION. (joking lmao. this is for me interact however u like). The bonus is BOTH a fun fact and a fun vid.

i could not be any more clear at ALL TIMES. that i want ppl to watch es but lol either way. <3 story boards. (note also the rise turtles like swag (crossover staff) and see why i say this show looks so good cause u can tell their doing the 3d like its 2d)

notes: scratch track (the non VA audio in theses) so charming. yay u get to see them actually use purple rain. u can really clock mandroid flubbed a punch cause he DIDNT want to punch alex (inch resting) LOOK how extra expressive twitches alt mode is in 2d tho RIP. (crys about the little bird moment for the five hundredth time). Hashtag <3 fucking lmao.

this scene is one of those first DAMN thats crazy in the show i feel like and oh lol. would u look at that. DAMN THATS CRAZY.

AND THEN. this is the part with the meg move i love so much and the meg.op battle couple AND THE AND THE. (passes out) its sooooo cool.

notes: deleted scene, explains WHY shock wave got out during the megs field trip ep. gayass. CUTE KITTY. #3 son mug. this shits literally just so funny. she/her rav pronoun drop fjgbdfjg.

notes: altered version from the final ep they moved night shade around. they all have their final mode colours in the boards aw lol. ALSO. little like. adopted kids moment that i doooo get why they cut but u ALSO GET how it would emotional payoff in the ep with NS protecting their parents Oughhh (rolls on the ground)

notes: JUST A LITTLE MORE emotional oumph to the megs flash back but not that different. hes handsome tho i like to see him. like the scratch tracks impression of shock wave its cute. i can hear the vocal quality their going for.

oh hey also GAY CARS. i just found these/am seeing them first time today

Neat!

NOT THE SAD SHIP VIDEO VIBES.... OH GOD OH GOD... NOT THE SAD ASS PIANO MUSIC..... WHAT THE HELL. THIS IS DEVASTATING. watching bd tanking those shots for bee and crumbling APART. awesome. what the fuck. HELLO.

finale stuff

kids fighting oppie at the train yard. just COOL

fight on the bridge. ALSO COOL.

BIG finale scene stuff in 3 diff parts

scary shit and visuals that FUCK

THE MEGS ANGST. im KILLS ME that it didnt get a way in there. tho would have killed me to see also. no really tho this shit is so visually insane god damn. seeing this DID also help me understand how the screamer save happened better. EVIL SPIDER MAN. also in the group that comes saves em. was not in the final ep but we must pray hes still safe maybe just doing smth else.... (hes with swin and his bro busting in. the brother is the car. lol). twitch doing megs move!!! (propelling herself with her canon). mandroid going full fucking beast mode.... etc.

urghh u can really vibe out how bad those injuries are. and emotionally. bwah.. and. THIS SHOW. god. okay.

okay this one isnt the bonus but ill give it anyway

song from the tf the movie and also my alarm for several months (yes it HAS stopped working thanks for asking) BWAH. my loves. (weeping gently)

OKAY HERE IS THE FUN BONUS VIDEO

REALLY funny really goofy really fucking delightful. the mean girl trio seekers energy is supreme. god i love gay ppl. anyway. hey. doesnt that screamer look.... familiar...... WHY YES. YOU MAY NOTE THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL... SAME PERSON. THEY GOT A FUCKING JOB. ON THE SHOW. (unsure if its causally related) THATS SO FUCKING CRAZY the world is wonderful. es seeker trio THE mean girls seeker trio of all time. even if their barely in it. cause like. wow. (gets stuck in my loop of watching this forever and ever again) BWAH

[falsebooles123]

Confessions of a Recovering Genrephobic 2/17/2024

Hey Whores,

Don't really have a lot to say about this week. Been getting some stuff done. Namely Taxes. Been spending some money investing in myself. And realizing that I really need to kick my ass in high gear and start applying for new jobs.

Carnival of Clockwork (2015) - The Cog is Dead

Genre: Various, Steampunk Length: 47:14 (14 tracks)

I don't have a lot to say about this album. Mostly because i am a silly billy tired boy. Look do you like steampunk stuff with the storys and the cogs and the aestetics. Your'll like this.

I wasn't expecting the album to have such an eclectic sound to it but overall it has been a really nice time.

4/5

Sorry For Party Rocking (2011) - LMFAO

Genre: Pop Rap, Electro Length: 37:15 (10 Tracks)

So we have all heard LMFAO right? Sorry for Party Rocking, Shots, Everyday I'm Shuffling. Right?

(God I love Francine. This isn't even the specific scene I was trying to reference)

LMFAO is like the ultimate 2000s party music. It has a dub-step adjacent sound, the lyrics are fun and stupid. And its just hot and stupid and fun. Its like if Marshmellow and Lil John had like Gay sex while piss drunk on Johhny Walker and Lemon Drops and then had a child that somehow was the epitome of straight party bros but like in a nice wholesome way.

There is a surprisingly amount of variety in this album. Besides the more remembered singles there are tracks on here which are just explicetly EDM with sparse vocals and we love that for them.

5/5 (partialy for the nostaglia)

Pink Friday 2 (2023) - Nikki Minaj

Genre: Hip Hop Length: 70:14 (22 Tracks)

OOOH GURL. We don't stan.

So first of off the real critics criticize this album for being overally long and yeah bitch this is 22 FUCKING SONGS. GIRL WHY DO I NEED TO HERE 22 SONGS IN A GODDaMN ROW> WHO IS SHE WHO SI THIS PERSON THAT SO MUCH OF A BARB THAT WE WANT TO HEAR 22 SONGS IN A ROW>

She ain't here girl all I'm saying. Not to belabor the point but I literally thought the album had ending and that I was listening to autoplay for the last 20 minutes.

There songs are fine? Its a lot of samples and vagualy etheral sounding production. It sounds like I'm listening to someone sample a "Now this what I call Music '83" while I'm Stuck in the bottom of a well. Nikki be spitting verse but I can't say that it has much of the same stopping power as like any of her other music.

This just wasn't for me and the length makes it harder for me to appreciate the individual tracks.

2/5

Prelude to Ecstasy (2024) - The Last Dinner Party

Genre: Rock, Baroque Pop Length: 41:16 (12 Tracks)

ok this was just a lovely fucking time for a rainy day. Imagine a kinda 80s pop ballad band, mix it with light rock, and a florence-adjacent voculist and you got The Last Dinner Party. I'm gonna play one song for you and if this doesn't do anything for you then I'm sorry baby.

There non-singles are a lot more esoteric in the sound. They trade the catchy pop rock structure for something quite a bit more layered, baroque, and theatrical? orchestral? surreal? Baby girl, baby boy, baby zem you know I'm not good at discribing music.

Its like the perfect album for a rainy day. Meloncholic, evocative, and just almost purient in feeling. Its like wet chiffon against the skin in a summer rain.

4/5

[iveneverseenthesebowlsbefore]

(Thought I'd post this separately in case any non fandom people were interested.)

I was thinking to myself the other day that maybe I don't get more engagement on my tunes because ppl don't know how hard I work on them (obvs it must be that) so because so many of you asked, here's a long ass post on how I write a (fan)song.

Part 1: The Idea

Most of the time, the idea's the hardest part for me. I'll get either lyrically or musically inspired one day and play around on guitar or piano or open garageband and scroll through loops but not come up with anything i like enough to want to develop. And it's really because there's no spark behind it. That's the best part of fandom songs, I never need help for inspiration.

I get accosted with feels from a show, decide I must write a song for it, think about Stede and Ed, open gb on my phone, pick some chords and open my mouth and see what comes out.

(Le beginning)

Usually i get a lyric or two, a phrase maybe, and the start of a melody. Tbh It all happens so fast.

But after 15 minutes or so i have the bones of something; some lyrics; chorus and a verse, and what story i want to tell and where I want it to go.

Part 2: Taking Shape

Moving to the desktop now, we got a notes app with the WIP lyrics up and a few tracks from the iphone of the chord progressions for the first verse and chorus.

Usually i just have a simple guitar part, some percussion loops and bass...although if anyone has ever heard any of my songs you may notice that 'bass' always means CELLOS because i REALLY like low strings cuz they are DRAMATIC and i grew up on too much HANS ZIMMER.

Anyway, that's when i put my headphones on and start to sing what i have into the mic. it usually sounds very silly. i talk to myself lots. There's lots of gibberish. There are many kitty cat pitter patter sounds. (From the cats, not me)

Basically here is when I shape the content of song - edit and finish the lyrics, figuring out what story I want to tell while I do.

If I can't get the melody and lyrics to flow, what needs to change? What rhythm might work where, what's awkward, what lyric is too cliche or could hit harder?

What instruments do i want in this song? Do I want to add any ahhs or mmms or ooos to the background? what part is boring, what type of sound might make things pop?

Musically, I take out anything that doesn't feel good to my ears and add in anything they want to hear. Lyrically i try to add more depth with less words at any necessary phrase changes - any constraints actually makes lyric-writing easier for me (rhyming is also great for that)

I sand it down, smooth it out; make it into a song I would want to listen to and as a vocalist one I want to sing. This is only a first draft of the song, but the more I like it, the better i'll sing it.

Part 3: Finalizing Melody/Adding Harmonies

Usually i take a break between pt 2 and pt 3. My uncle likes to say i wear a lot of hats doing the song thing and i think he's onto something. Songwriter hat, lyricist, arranger, vocalist, topliner, engineer, producer, i kinda have to dabble in all them to get a song into a song. I def wear some better than others tho. And arranging harmonies is probably my favorite. At least, this is the part that comes most naturally to my earballs.

First I'll either piece together or record a new rough lead vocal of the final melody. I'll probably sing through it a couple times just to make sure everything feels good and locked in. I'll pick my favorite take, mute the others, and at last, it's harmony time bitches.

I make a new vocal track, press play, and then stop and record at any place i hear there ought to be harmony. A lot of time that's like, everywhere.

Sound painting i call it.

What can I say, I did a lot of choir and i hear a lotta harmonies and I'm so adhd guys i just wanna put all the noTES EVRRYWHERE

I go through a few runs of this. I'll want to make sure i have everything i hear recorded, even if i don't use it, so i can figure out what actually sounds good. I then have a LOT of extemporaneous harmonies to go though. As i enjoy pain, I then go through those.

I sort of go back and forth between zooming out and zooming in during this part. Zooming out on the entire song, figuring out what doesn't click, what's too much, what needs more and what needs less and then zooming in on the actual harmony parts. Does the vocal blend blend? Does it sound sexy or just dissonant af?

The more parts I add the more i have to make sure something wonky doesn't go and wonk everything up. The harmonies are never very complicated, usually just a 3rd and maybe a 5th in places. But i like to do counter melodies sometimes and then put harmony parts on *those* as well. Sometimes i add a bass vocal or a high octave, sometimes i do that on only certain words or phrases.

At the end I'll usually end up with my lead vocal, a double at some or all the choruses, and pruned harmony tracks on the verses and choruses, bridge, and on any counter melody thing I've done at the end of the song. i listen again, rerecording any harmony parts that need some tightening. These are only rough vocals; this is to get all the parts down and recorded and ready to sing later.

After that, the hard part (of this step) is over and I can start to play around a bit. I'll listen for any places calling out for what i like to call ~sparkles~ - moments where some ear candy would enhance the song. A high octave heaped in reverb somewhere, maybe an echo effect for one word only.

Once i start the sparkles part well... o the vocal plugins... the reverb alone... all the different ambience and echo-y sounds you can try, "church reverb", "echo chamber reverb"...

(tag yourself I'm Prison Main Floor)

You guys there's just. So many presets. Wtf does 'dark rising hall' sound like? I dunno but i'm about to find the fuck out.

i lose time then. Some hours pass. Days mayhaps.

Part 4: Vocals

Oh vocals. See this part. This part sounds like fun right? The singing! I love the singing of the song! And I do actually! But this part? This isn't singing. This is recording. And it's the actual worst.

See, I am, at heart, a theatrical singer. A performer if you will. And if I may draw your attention to this microphone on the left here:

This one on the left? This is a dynamic mic. This is my friend. This is a mic you use on stage. Where some people belt into it and others stick the whole thing in their mouths. You can do whatever with dynamic mic. Dynamic mic don't mind. Dynamic mic loves you. Dynamic mic lives for the drama of the theater.

Now the mic on the right? This mic is a mic for recording in studios. This is a condenser mic. This is a very different mic. Condenser mic very sensitive. Condenser mic pick up a fly fart. The juicy details of it too.

i have a very strained relationship with the condenser mic.

Getting the final vocals down in an apartment with paper thin walls, squeaky floors, cats licking themselves (loudly too Daphne jesus), with a condenser mic, just getting the room sound sounding soundy enough is hard enough, but then i gotta sing into the thing!

i don't edit my vocals in a program like melodyne anymore because its too fucking hard and time consuming (aka pitch correcting the pitchy notes) which is a thing you absolutely should do when you're stacking as many harmonies as i stack. But again, lazy. This means i gotta get those babies on pitch as much as I can. I have to get them at a decent level - they can't be too loud or the mic gets mad, they can't be too quiet or the fly farts will drown out my voice.

With proper breath support and a nice warmup most of the time I can get a decent tone outta myself. But guess what, your girl here? She got that long covid. And when you have lungs that are supposed to be all hot air balloon shaped but instead have become more like knotted up twisty straws and you gotta breathe real good to get a nice tone that isn't brittle or pitchy...

oh and remember those harmonies i love arranging oh so much? Gdi me. Gdi.

So yeah this part's really hard. It may take a while depending on the state of my voice (or yk, lungs/general health) it'll get done over the span of several days, lately, because my voice gives out so quickly. But eventually ill have a few takes of each vocal part, maybe 3, of performances where my voice was in ok enough shape.

Oh but we're only halfway done this part.

Part 4a: Comping

Now its time to go through the song one line at a time. And listen to all three sung versions of that line. One at a time. And pick which one is least offensive to my ears (aka one with a good level, nice tone and intonation, on pitch, controlled, has decent phrasing and diction and feeling too. And one I sang the correct lyrics on. I flub them more than you'd think). And then put them all together on one track to make a Final vocal track. This is called comping vocals.

I hate comping vocals.

It always gets a little messy.

I am usually very very cranky at the end of comping vocals.

Cuz remember all those harmony tracks? Guess what. I gotta comp them too. And all those sparkles and any mmms and ahhs and stuff I added? Yep. They gotta be comped. And *then* i gotta blend them together with fade outs and fade ins so it doesn't sound like 3 takes spliced together. And then I gotta make sure there's no kitty feets in them. And then I gotta reorganize them; join the regions, bounce the tracks, rename files, so it's *not* so messy and not a nightmare to mix.

Man oh man. I love to sing but i hate this part. I always get there in the end. But i have a lot of curses to edit out of those takes ill tell ya what.

Part 5: Tightening It Up And Sending It Off

At this point i can take off the vocalist hat and go back to the song-writer/producer hat and concentrate on making this song a song other people wanna sing along with too. How much i work on this part depends highly on the song. Sometimes it feels ready where it is, sometimes not.

I listen again and pay attention to the dynamic movement of the song. Is there enough build, drama, ear candy, etc? Is there a part calling out for a random funky loop? Most importantly, is it the best version of the song my ears can hear?

i start trying things. Take instruments out in places, vary them in others. Mute everything but the percussion. is it too much, not enough? Mute everything but the percussion and bass, the heartbeat of the song. Is it vibin'?

I think about the characters, think about how i feel listening to the lyrics; do they evoke them the way I wanted it too? Does it say about them everything I wanted it too? Does it need something more at the end, a hook all throughout? Should i take a sparkle and expand on it?

A bitch can get lost in this phase. But I'm better at it than you'd think after writing all that out. Because really, i don't think. I'm just listening. What do i want to hear? It's an intuitive thing, a feeling thing.

When i don't hear any places left I can improve it's time to send it to co-producer and engineering master badass uncle man. His ears are actually the best ears. They are grammy winning ears. I used to get intimidated sending my songs to him but now after working with him for so long, i just get super excited. What's *he* gonna hear??

Part 6: Edits

Producer notes! This part might be lengthy or not at all - basically what i said, what does Uncle Badass hear? He is very very good at hearing things. Sometimes he'll hear something sticking out that isn't working, sometimes he'll hear that the song needs a fucking church bell like in Safe to Land (which i maintain is a legit stroke of genius it works so well. 'Member Ricky's exploding clock? Wtf. UB don't even watch the show, how'd he know?)

Sometimes he'll notice a vocal thing, a harmony he hears and thinks I could add, a part of the song that needs to go somewhere different. Maybe something will sound wonky in the chords or harmonies.

Sometimes, i didn't get the vocals sounding quite right at all and so...yup. You guessed it. They need a total redo. Part 4 here we go again.

Sometimes it'll be the guitar part i have sucks ass because i'm not a very good guitar player. But hey just my luck. Guess who is.

(Uncle Badass)

So yeah he'll add some sweet ass guitar for me.

He will also tune up my fake instruments to sound a little less fake. For example bass (not the cellos this time); i am not a bass player and it's not the part of a song i attune to naturally unless it stands out, which means the bass parts in my songs are very one note most of the time (ha); he'll add some walk up/downs, maybe, move it around so it sounds more like s bassist playing a bass and not someone pushing a button on a screen. it's pretty neat.

Once we've decided the edits to the arrangement and I've done and finalized any vocal edits I needed to do then it's mixin' time.

Part 7: Mixin', Mastering, And The Final Mix

This is my favorite part because i don't have to do anything. Well mostly. I start to think about like, oh, sharing, I have to like, put it on the online places. Because if I made an art and no one see/hears it, did I really make an art??

This involves very little because i am bad at it.

I really love people like, listening to my songs, that's the point yk? But I don't like anywhere but, eh, tumblr. So usually i just tell my small group of hellsite frez, only a fraction of whom are in the fandom thing the song is about, and make a bad lyric video. I used to do the twitter and the other places; there was a hot minute during the Hannibal times that my songs were getting some real listen-age, it was fun! And i made a couple people cry. Which was the goal really so I've peaked.

But yk, I like my songs. I like it when other people interact with and like my songs too. But i don't really care if they do or they don't anymore. It's the getting older part I s'pose. And also fan edits are like 10 seconds long now. My millennial ass with all my 4 minute show-tunes don't have a chance on this here musk's internet. But I digress.

Anywho, while I'm not doing much, my uncle's *working* on this thing. He's been doing this for... yk what im not gonna tell you how long he's been doing this for because he'd say it makes him sound old. And it's impossible. Did you see that pic? That mofo will never be old.

So yeah, Uncle Badass puts on his engineer hat and makes this thing sound like a song. I've tried my best at audio engineering; i haven't quite gotten it down, but I know enough to know how little I know, you know? It's pretty amazing, I send him a lot of noise and he cleans it up and glosses it all up and finishes it and makes it into a song that sounds like a song.

After a few days he'll usually send me back a gorgeous thing and i'll be like OMG THIS IS A GORGEOUS THING. and then listen to it thrice more and be like OK LET'S TWEAK THIS PART OF YOUR GORGEOUS THING

This usually is just more arrangement talk, nitty gritty details this time tho, maybe i want an instrument to come in a measure earlier, maybe i want to just *hear* that and see if i like it better (and then ofc, he would make that edit for me...and many times...I don't actually like it better...and he un-edits it. But the ears. They want want they want yk?)

We go back and forth a lot during this part.

We tweak here and there, slowly but surely morphing the song into what I heard in my brain when I wrote it back in Part 1, when it was just an idea and a lil stanza in my notes app.

This is a very cool part. Cuz then it's done! It's mixed and mastered and ready to go and just THERE! I can hear it! It's real! It's me! And we made a whole bunch of sound that didn't exist before! How cool is that?

Ahh finished song dopamine is the best.

So, yeah! That's how I write a song. And how it goes from a lil idea to a finished Art. And it feels good to finish an art! And then I post it on tumblr dot com and it gets 2 notes! But hey

[ushdubsar]

2022's Music Was Really Good

I'm crossposting this from Twitter, technically, because it took over an hour to write the damn thread and I don't want to rewrite it, not even to add stuff I omitted. It's long enough. I'm not including album covers again, because that was a miserable task. You get what you get.

---

The music to come out this year is unreal. I had my AOTY overturned several times when it seemed locked in -- I'd dare to say if any of these releases had been anywhere in the past 16 years other than 2022, they'd have been the top of that year.

Let's start with the non-nu metal releases that crossed my radar this year.

Chat Pile's God's Country is the Texas Chainsaw Massacre of ugly AmRep noise rock. I don't have the words to give it what it deserves, just trust that it's worth your time. Slaughterhouse, The Mask and especially Why are particularly impressive. Go listen.

But noise rock wasn't just remade in the image of an ugly rotten-meat deity. It was also beaten to a pulp by Thank's no-wave dancepunk abomination, Thoughtless Cruelty. Dread is delicious, Good Boy is anti-centrist genius, and A Social Contract violates several such beasts.

The last noise rock artist to blow the wheels off of the genre was Haunted Horses, with the fevered panic attack dreamscape of The Worst Has Finally Happened. It reminds me of my actual AOTY in just how bombastic and maximalist it is. Check out Swarms especially.

Next up: jazz-ambient project Crooked Light released a trio of hazy fog-drenched Silent Hill-ass EPs -- and I mean the hypnotic, low-key softer tracks of the first two games, not the death industrial/triphop that eventually swallowed the series. I Have Crept In is my favorite.

Still in ambient territory, Tineidae's magnificent Exo was followed by the even more overwhelming Mothership, once again capturing my love of Cryo Chamber's soundtracky vibe and my obsession with space ambient soundscaping.

Also from Cryo Chamber, Gdanian released Induction, which is a more aggressively atmospheric approach than Submersion's dubby bassline chillness, and manages to nail it. Honestly beats Tineidae for space ambient excellence, and that's saying a fucking lot.

ANOTHER Cryo Chamber masterpiece, Skrika released an impressive follow up to Fifth Nature in Soludenia. Crunchy alien electro-dark-ambient is the order of the day, with distant vocal lines and a nearly unparalleled mastery of the solitary individual sound. Incredible.

The final one I'm including from Cryo Chamber, Metatron Omega's ISIH manages to match and exceed the work of Kurt Harland's Soul Reaver soundtrack in vast, ancient occult grandeur. It's an apt comparison too: this album would easily slot into a Soul Reaver remake.

Author & Punisher's Kruller is everything you could want from Tristan at this point in his career. It's not just more of the same, but it attacks new realms of electronic music without compromising the core goods. Misery is particularly impressive to me.

Zeal & Ardor, of course, released the best thing Manuel's put his name on to date in their self-titled album. If you haven't heard it, just go listen. I want you to realize this isn't the AOTY, and I want you to know WHAT missed that bus.

And I want to reiterate, all of these could be AOTY in any other year. Many of them would be effortless winners, just walking in the room and immediately demanding all eyes on them. 2022 had something extra special.

Unfortunately for everyone, I'm a nu metal freak and particularly horny for nu-metalcore, so that's what you're getting. I'll apologize, but I won't mean it and you'll be more disappointed about me lying than my actual love of nu metal, so let's not do that.

Let's start with the one I've raved about since release: Gloom in the Corner released Trinity, a fucking masterpiece. I haven't heard music this good since 2006. Tristania's Ashes. There have been releases that have almost met that mark in the years since, but Gloom is special.

Yes, Trinity is my AOTY. It's not up for debate. The weakest songs are wildly inventive and take skill I don't possess. Beyond moshing and emotional resonance, it also tells a story better than the band's past releases, and covers such a wide range it's not even fair. MUST HEAR.

Next up: 156/Silence's Narrative is a leering nightmare of self-loathing, spite and mean-spirited brooding that belongs somewhere around Haunted Horses and Crooked Light for sheer atmospheric depths. But don't despair, it knows how to fucking thump too. Check Say The Phrase.

Moodring's Stargazer is lighter than the nu-core shit I obsess over most, so I was ready to write it off. But on release day it took over my ears for a solid month. Unreal. The album doesn't flow like an album so much as a mixtape, but it kicks anyway. Amazing. Check out Xeno.

Graphic Nature is an underrated unknown in the nu-core arena, and New Skin kept on proving the point. It's no full album, but it punches way above its weight class and every song is an instant moshpit classic. The coming album is a likely AOTY contender in 2023.

Notions' self-titled release was an AOTY contender itself for MONTHS, with songs like WOODGUTS and Velvet Room holding their own against the snarling chaos of World Arcana and TxxthTxker. Unfortunately, this is 2022 and this genius rapcore falls into the top ten. What the fuck.

Northlane's Obsidian tightened up their sound from the incredible Alien to the point that the whole album could have been pop music, taking a lot of elements I recognized from futurepop and other goth-club genres. Nevertheless, it felt inventive throughout.

I don't have the space to explain how much I loved Obsidian, so I'll just point out Clarity, Carbonized, Cypher and Nova all coexist. Oh, and Marcus has a voice that manages to go from grimy snarls to enervated goth-stomp intoning to angelic belting. Please listen.

In other goth-club-meets-nu-core releases, Void of Vision feels like they've finally nailed their sound in the Chronicles series. Chronicles II: Heaven exceeded my high expectations, with Berghain and Into the Dark especially sounding like Aesthetic Perfection doing metalcore.

Vein.fm's This World Is Going To Ruin You was an early favorite for AOTY, easily burying 2021. I didn't know what 2022 had in store, though. A song like Funeral Sound reminds me of The Paper Chase, and then there's The Killing Womb. The album is meant to be looped, too.

It's composed as perfectly as Gloom's Trinity, as a matter of fact, and has songs as wildly varied as Magazine Beach's pop-punky propulsion, Wherever You Are's tense ambience, Wavery's ratcheting energy, etc, etc. I could go on forever. LISTEN.

liveconformdie has come a long way from the pretty damn good Vol I: Cigarette Lullaby. Circa '94 should be rightfully considered a classic, and Vol II: Music for Living Failures improves upon that even further. As repetitive as Terrorwave and Nu Life are, they never get old.

Fetish is practically my theme song, Help Yourself is right at home next to Northlane and Void of Vision, Trash Culture is a pitch-perfect piece of trapcore, and even the interlude, In The Dark, manages to be memorable and delicious. You're missing out if you skip this.

Are we done? ARE WE FUCK. Weeping Wound put out idontbelonghere, a horrifying, alienating blend of dark-core DnB, evil industrial experimentation, and nu-core loathing that smashes your car to bits and overdoses in your kitchen. Unreal stuff for a 5 song EP.

Honestly, idontbelonghere. is so good it takes EPOTY from Graphic Nature, and that's just not fucking fair. How the fuck do you beat Chokehold? Apparently with dreaming.room. If there's a full-length in the works, 2023 is going to be a fucking knife fight for the crown.

But wait, there's more! ten56., one of my favorite bands, released three singles from their 2023 EP Downer pt. 2, and do you know how many of them broke my fucking legs? ALL OF THEM! Honestly, Aaron Matts is up there with Jack Murray and Mikey Arthur for my favorite vocalist.

Yenta is a full-song hostile breakdown that leaves you barely able to move your busted toes. Traumadoll is almost nothing but screaming trap-rap, alienating production and chugs like a bombing run. RLS is Soundcloud-rap-core, and I'm underselling it because of space. LISTEN.

Just when you thought we might be near the end, I'm here to tell you there's two more of these fucking things. Witness Orthodox's Learning to Dissolve, a full-length audio torture chamber. It's just aggression from start to finish, with the industrial interlude 11762 for flavor.

Head on a Spike, Cave In, Digging Through Glass, and Dissolve are all must-hear, but singling them out undersells the other songs on the album. It's another album that would have been AOTY any other fucking year, but it picked the stacked-as-a-motherfucker 2022 instead.

Finally, the release I thought would be the also-ran honorable-mention, but ended up being back of even that line: Profiler's self-titled EP. If you're looking for nostalgia, just go here. Glitch Theory is a lost Linkin Park song, Alpha Nine could have come from Deadsy, etc.

And that's it. I can't fucking believe how long this shit is. 2022, what the fuck was wrong with you? It's fucking distressing. If the bar for good music jumped that high that fast, the coming years look grim. Good luck, up-and-comers! You have some stiff fucking competition.

[jimmys-zeppelin]

ghostin'

chapter thirteen

(table of contents)

(chapter twelve)

june 14, 1976

"Okay, Ellie, now the chorus from the top." The producer from outside the booth said over the intercom. Ellie gave a silent nod before focusing and waiting for the backing instrumentals to start playing in her headphones.

As the lyrics fell from her lips, Ellie felt all sorts of emotions start to wash over her. During a longer break between lines, the blonde backed away from the mic and took a deep, shuddering breath. The playback stopped immediately.

"El? Everything okay?" Carolyn asked over the intercom. The look of concern in her eyes getting deeper with each passing second.

She was quick to shoot back an answer, "yes! I'm okay, I..." Ellie trailed off.

"We have to finish this song for the label. They want it by Friday and they already gave you a week's extension." She paused, "The only part left is your vocals."

"I know, I know." Ellie replied, "It's hard to get the words out."

"Do you wanna talk about it later?" Carolyn asked.

"No, it's okay, Care. Thanks."

With another deep breath, Ellie signaled to the technician that she was ready with a thumbs up to start the backing track. Focusing on the lyrics in front of her, she did her best at getting the words out the best she could.

The reason she was distracted was simple. Jimmy had called the previous night. It'd been nearly a week since the two had spoken and the guitarist didn't have much to say other than the fact that he "missed her endlessly". The tone of his voice, however, suggested his mind was elsewhere and that he'd certainly combined substances that were not made to be combined.

Ellie chose not to mention it so as not to rock the boat, but it depressed her more than anything. The conversation was short-lived and included his itinerary for the day; which didn't include much besides going over some shots they were still getting in order for the movie that was coming out later that year. Jimmy droned about how the cameraman made his ass look too big on screen. Ellie tried telling him it wasn't really a bad thing in an attempt to be flirty. It didn't work. She made an excuse to go few minutes later so that she didn't have to sit through another minute of his monotonous day.

She felt maybe they'd fallen out of sync after being apart for nearly three months, but Ellie remembered the other times they'd been away for more than a few months and nothing big or drastic had happened. She was always excited to hear from him and he was the same. Sometimes they'd even get a little too raunchy over the phone and every now and then he'd call her from his hotel room to relieve some tension. It happened more often than one might think. Ellie could only hope no one living near her would be tapping into the phone line during those late nights.

In any event, this separation period was not the usual "good time" she'd grown accustomed to.

Ellie tried shoving it as far away from her mind as she could while she sang yet another song that was about her dark-haired English lover. She'd amassed quite a few since recording Sign of the Times—the song she started writing over at Jimmy's house back in March. She hoped no one would catch on as the album came together, but Carolyn had certainly caught her bluff.

"You can't just write songs like that about anyone." she said once they were in kitchen for a coffee break.

"Well, some of them are just love songs." Ellie tried to concede.

"If you have any 'just love songs' I'd love to hear them," Carolyn said, pouring Ellie a cup of coffee before handing it to her, "I know it's not my business, but it seems like something more is going on between you and Jimmy."

The blonde shrugged off her manager, "It's just the separation. We're in a bit of a rut. It happens. I've just been reflecting more lately."

"Right, because 'will we ever learn, we've been here before, it's just what we know' is the sound of someone in a perfect relationship." The woman shot back.

"Care..." Ellie trailed off, "I can handle it. I just want to get this album done."

She raised her hands in defeat, "like I said. Not my business."

☆

Ellie was sitting at Carolyn's office, reading a book by herself in a separate room. The words on the page helped to distract her and take her to an entirely different world. The blonde was taken from her world of words when someone came bustling into the room. It was Carolyn herself.

"Songbird's charting! From the looks of it, it's gonna get bigger within the next few weeks."

Ellie dropped the book beside her on the couch and stood up so fast she nearly jumped. A scream of excitement left her and she ran to the doorway to engulf her manager in a hug.

"This is amazing!" she exclaimed, running a hand through her hair, a sudden realization washing over her, "I'll be right back."

-

Ellie burst into Carolyn's office popping open a bottle of champagne excitedly, "celebratory champagne!"

Carolyn arranged for two glasses to be brought to her office and the two cheers'd before taking a long sip of the bubbly beverage.

After a prolonged pause, Carolyn turned to Ellie, "so you ever gonna tell me what that song's about?"

The blonde chuckled, "Not at the moment." she said, leaving it at that. Her manager shrugged, taking the non-answer for the time being. She'd definitely had her suspicions, however, and Ellie knew that the troubled waters between she and Jimmy were becoming more and more obvious to others.

--

masterlist | playlist

Taglist: @diaryofafan17 @tophats-n-lespauls @witchesdust @jonesyjonesyjonesy @paginate54 @hejustsatisfiess @salixfragilis @princesspagey @reincarnated70sbaby @rebel-without-a-zeppelin @kyunisixx if you want to be added to the list lmk!

[pinkoptics]

Would You Catch Me If I Fall?

aka Cherik Fallen Angel fic

Part 2 of Chapter 2

(Previous parts now on Ao3)

Erik is going to do everything he can to make sure Charles is taken care of. Charles saved his life. That’s why. Right… right???

*

“Mr. Olsen, I believe you will do exactly as I’ve asked.”

Mr. Olsen opened his mouth, to protest most likely, but Erik was well practiced in speaking in a way that left no room for interruption. “You will, because you are aware of the exact amount my firm has donated to your hospital this year and every other before it.”

Mr. Olsen was turning an interesting shade of red. It had nothing on Azazel, but the flush beneath his skin was making a concerted effort.

“You are also aware of what it would do to this hospital’s reputation for being at the forefront of mutant medicine if my firm were to very vocally withdraw its support and place it elsewhere, say... Johns Hopkins?”

“Mr. Lehnsherr—“ Still red, but now also sputtering. “You do not have the authority. Shaw would never—“

Erik smiled in such a way that Olsen cut himself off. Erik’s smile, though the word hardly applied, very early in his career had earned him the nickname ‘The Shark.’ Only used when he knew his prey was very much backed into a corner of their own making and it was time for the kill.

“If The Incident were to suddenly appear on social media again, with a narrative much closer to the truth...”

Red became purple. “We have an NDA! You can’t—“

“When information is out it is out, Mr. Olsen. Non-disclosures only hold weight if the parties involved care about the consequences. I could give a fuck. Besides, whether this hospital is guilty or innocent, reputations once ruined are terribly hard to salvage, aren’t they? Once, tried in the court of public opinion...”

“Shaw would— you’d be—“

Erik simply raised an eyebrow.

Olsen was right. Erik didn’t have the authority to stop donations, Shaw would have his job and his ass if he ever went to the public about any of the firm’s cases. Moreover, he would probably lose his license to practice. None of those things mattered however, not because Erik truly didn’t care, but because Olsen only needed to believe he was serious. If Erik couldn’t sense the man’s weaknesses, and couldn’t exploit them, he would hardly have been the best lawyer at his firm (no matter what Emma said to the contrary). The seed of doubt, once planted in a weak mind, was notoriously difficult to weed out.

“Fine,” Olsen ground out. Looking like he was very much sucking on a lemon.

Erik levitated the paperwork he had prepared by its staple. It was accompanied by one of the disgustingly expensive fountain pens the firm utilized to perpetuate its reputation. It hovered in front of the sour countenance and Erik felt the same sense of satisfaction he did after a particularly shrewd cross examination.

Threatening Olsen in this way was beyond overkill.

However, Erik knew of nothing else that would resolve Charles’ situation as swiftly. As Olsen scratched out his signature nearly hard enough to tear paper, Charles’ need for insurance, identity, and anything else he did not have, vanished.

Besides, he’d never liked this man or this hospital, so if he got to have a little fun while getting Charles what he needed, all the better. The faster he could get Charles out of here unscathed the better. He owed him that much, possibly more. There were few people insane enough, selfless enough, to throw themselves in front of a car for a stranger. Erik had made it his life’s work to protect people who couldn’t protect themselves. Charles had more than earned that same protection until he was back to his former self.

T’s crossed and i’s dotted, Erik left Olsen to fume, so he could share the good news with Charles. The words that had been leaping forward died on his lips when he took in the state of Charles’ room.

“. . . Did you rob a florist?”

Charles graced him with a much less hysterical, much more pleasant sounding laugh than he had any time previously.

“Aren’t people just lovely? This one is from the nurse on call, Ben. He has the most adorable little boy. Teething at the moment, which is trying of course, but he’s so precious one can hardly be cross. I’m sure Ben would be happy to show you the photos too. This one is from Dr. Yousef, whom you’ve already met. She detests flowers, personally, as she’s never home consistently enough to care for them properly. This one is from Saima...”

While Charles no longer appeared to be in a state of hysteria, it appeared to be Erik’s turn, and he became suddenly, hysterically deaf. Had he misplaced a day? Or two? More? Was he the one with the head injury?

“Did you— I mean, do you know them?”

Charles cut off his still in-progress monologue about his sudden and inexplicable well-wishers.

“Oh no. We’ve just met. Nancy would like to get coffee when I’m better though. I believe that is a cultural expression of friendship, is it not? Or does coffee equal sex? It’s so hard to keep track of these things as humans rarely say what they truly mean. Why do you lot insist upon speaking in code? A code that changes every generation no less. Regardless, I’ve never had coffee. Given how utterly obsessed with it you all are I’m rather excited to find out what all the fuss is about.”

Erik didn’t know what part of that to address first, if at all.

Ben, Yousef, Saima... who the fuck was Nancy?

Sex?

Never had coffee?

“Oh Erik, I’m sorry. You look so confused again. I forget myself. I would much rather have coffee for the first time with you of course. At that diner you speak so highly of. I believe diners generally serve coffee.”

Erik blinked. Did that mean Charles wanted to be his friend or have sex with him? Or, did never having had coffee actually mean never having had sex? No. Wait. What in the fuck were they talking about?

What came out was, mercifully, “You make friends quickly.” This was something he and Charles certainly didn’t share.

“Do I?” Charles shrugged. “I love people. All people. They’re so fascinating.” Something else he and Charles certainly didn’t share. In his experience, most people were dull or cruel or both. Except Charles. Charles had been the exact opposite of dull or cruel right from the first. Crashing headfirst into Erik, literally and figuratively, and smashing all his expectations of what people did or didn’t do for one another. It might have also been the head injury/amnesia mitigating the dullness, making him say the most ridiculous things that Erik had ever heard and couldn’t even begin to sort out, but Erik didn’t really think so. He read people extremely well and Charles intrigued him. No one intrigued him.

Shoving the friends/coffee/sex equivalency conversation aside, Erik patted his briefcase. “I’ve sorted out everything with hospital administration. You won’t have to worry about insurance, bills... if there’s anything you need, just ask. They will be sure you get it.”

“I won’t ask how you managed it.” Charles’ look became conspiratorial. Almost as if he did know Erik’s methods. There was no way, of course, that he did unless he was a telepath, which Erik had already briefly mused on. “You really needn’t have troubled yourself, though I appreciate it, you, all the same.”

There it was again. The strange gravity his words seemed to possess. Erik flushed, not something he ever did, feeling that appreciation to his core. Charles’ smile deepened and somehow held the same weight as his words. Looking at it was almost too much, like looking straight at the sun, it warmed parts of Erik he hadn’t even realized were cold.

“You can stay with me,” Erik said, apropos of nothing, then flinched, his own words surprising him. It wasn’t the offer he had intended to make. The Firm put people up all the time for various reasons, and Erik had planned to slip Charles in to one of his current cases with no one the wiser. The doctor felt certain it wouldn’t be long until his memory returned, based on her previous experience of such cases.

Charles’ astonishment seemed to match his own. “Erik, that’s too much. You’ve done so much already.”

Erik rubbed at the back of neck, avoiding Charles’ eyes, which were comically, anime-wide. While he hadn’t meant to make the offer, he also found now that he had, he also had no sense of regret. His flat was large, he practically lived at the firm, so it would hardly be an inconvenience and the less he abused his position, the less tracks he had to cover.

He coughed, “There’s always Nancy.” Erik hoped the joke would break the sudden tension. “You could take her up on her ambiguous offer.” Charles laughed. Success.

“Coffee, and whatever else it may suggest, is a far cry from living together. Besides, I don’t even know Nancy.”

“You don’t know me either. You may have unwittingly saved a sociopath the world would be better without.”

Charles shook his head. “Don’t be absurd. You’re a good man, Erik. Better than you know.”

Everything about this was absurd.

“It’s settled then, when they discharge you, you can stay with me until we figure out who you are.”

Charles’ face, which Erik was already beginning to realize was nakedly expressive, came over suddenly unreadable.

“I—“ Charles hesitated, eyes flicking away from Erik to the window. Erik supposed coming to live with any stranger was enough to give anyone pause, especially someone who was as disoriented as Charles must already be. He was about to shift back to his original, much less awkward, plan when Charles’ gaze focused back on him. “All right. Until... until then.”

“Until then,” Erik echoed and they both fell suddenly silent.

He was inviting someone to live with him when he had never lived with anyone besides his mother his entire life. Roommates? Please. Erik had never had to, but would have rather lived in a squalid apartment than have to share a living space with anyone, even when putting himself through the extraordinary expenditure of american law school. Yet, here he was. Here they were. It felt right. Perhaps he had an overabundance of gratitude and quid pro quo to sate. It was the only thing that made any sense in the face of something that made absolutely no sense.

He’d probably regret it the instant Charles was in his space, but he also wasn’t someone who went back on his word, so he was taking in this stray whether he came to regret it or not.

Mama, at least, would approve.

*

Now on Ao3

Thanks for reading!!

[colorisbyshe]

June Monthly Music: Half Way Through Edition

Music released before June 13th because WOW this month is stacked and this post is already this big this early!

Kaytranada came out with a new album--"Wasted Words (ft Thundercat)" has hilarious lyrics, "Weird (ft Durand Bernarr)" scratches an itch if you miss Azealia's vocalizations but can't listen to her for obv reasons, "Snap My Fingers (ft Pinkpantheress)" is bouncy and sweet, and "Still (ft Charlotte Day Wilson)" is a pleasant ache of a song. Not a groundbreaking album but reliable and solid.

"Drip Sweat" is my fave off that album, which is why it gets its own line. Very hypnotic, like being tugged into a dark corner at the club for some privacy.

After years away, Foster the People are back with a whole entire new sound. "Lost in Space" is... confusing at first but it kinda makes me think of Katamari Damacy... so I like it. I do not know if it's good, I am prejudiced. (Supermodel was one of my fave albums of all time.)

If you enjoy music from The Sims, yes, the game, give "Open World" by Toconoma a shot. A bit funkier, less perfect for constant looping but it's a purely instrumental song capable of invoking the same joy as booting up the game and hearing creation mode.

NGL, the singles were bangers, but I kinda feel... underwhelmed by the Charli XCX album (didn't think it was bad, just overhyped) but of the new tracks I really dug "Sympathy is a Knife," "Talk Talk," and "365." Bonus tracks are fun tho, "Springbreakers" is my fave.

Raveena's collab wiith JPEGMAFIA, "Junebug," is a sprawling river of champagne through a land of glistening sands and bubbling clouds.

"New Way Out" by Poppy is for those of you who want a song that feels like a re-imagining of Evanescence's "Going Under" by BMTH.

"Balloon in Love" by Sunmi is... cute. I love Sunmi but it's just fine. Worth a try.

"I Am the King" Fat Dog. This track FEELS like an interlude but in a way that makes you feel transient as well. Time is escaping, this song is escaping, you are escaping.

Peggy Gou released her first album and while none of it is as classic as her earlier track, "Starry Night," I do think if you like groovy dance music, "1+1=1," "All that (ft Villano Antillano), and "I Believe in Love Again" are worth checking out!

BREE RUNWAY IS BACK! "JUST LIKE THAT" IS WAY TOO SHORT BUT IF YOU LIKE MISSY ELLIOT, CHECK OUT THIS ELECTRIFYING TRACK.

"She a Wolf" Wayv. Fuck SM but this track does kinda go off. This is a song that would be fun as hell in an arena setting.

Glass Animal's "A Tear in Space" is a massive improvement over the lead single for their upcoming album. Still a step below their older stuff but if you were scared off from the last single, maybe give the a second chance.

"MPH" Doechii. High energy and it is, in fact, givin 'em cunt.

Music I vibed with this month regardless of release date:

"Good Club" Prince Club. Deep house track.

"The Feeding" Real Farmer. Punk, indie rock.

"The Bitch" Basic Element. I laugh-cry at the lyrics every time.

"Moonraker" Enth. Anime-ass song. Fun Jrock that you can imagine an anime character running through grass to.

"Opheliac" Emilie Autumn. Not for everyone but it was for me in middle school <3

"Jaded" Spiritbox. If you liked the Poppy track, come here.

"Make Love" Daft Punk. Transcendent.

NOW ITS YOUR TURN CAN SOMEONE RECOMMEND ME NON-ENGLISH MUSIC, PREFERABLY NOT KPOP (I LISTEN TO ENOUGH DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME)

Any genre works besides like... ballads... or screamo without a balancing melodic voice in the mix. Please. Anons, replies, whatever welcome

[dinosaurtsukki]

haikyuu!! characters and their fave musicals

pretty much an hc’s for funsies type of thing. which characters are absolute nerds for musicals and which ones couldn’t care less? i know not everyone likes musicals but if this is your thing, feel free to read! 

Hinata: he’s one of those people who watched Shrek the Musical unironically and ended up getting really hooked on it but no way is he going to tell anyone

Kageyama: thinks that the Shrek trilogy are counted as movie musicals because ‘the characters sing and everything’. will fall asleep in a theatre so don’t bring him you’ll be disappointed

Tsukishima: loves Avenue Q and The Producers because the humor is right up his alley. also has tASTE and his fave is probs something like Hadestown because it is the best musical. loves to break down the lyrics and listens to an album non-stop when he’s obsessed

Yamaguchi: he tried to watch Grease but ended up throwing popcorn at the tv-screen because of the blatant sexism. yams is not About That. gets his recommendations from Tsukki and has never looked back

Tanaka: likes anything with awesome choreography and really cool special-effects like Hamilton or Be More Chill. when you ask him about the story though he’s like ???

Noya: doesn’t get the concept of musicals. ‘she’s singing about the guy but he’s right there??? doesn’t he hear everything????’ ‘WHY ARE THEY SINGING JUST FIGHT ALREADY’

Ennoshita: also has Taste. watches pretty much anything and loves to keep track of new productions and new casting. if you ask him about his favorite musical he’ll probably specifically mention the cast and where it was performed

Asahi: y’all are gonna hate me y’all are gonna hate me but JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR haha jk. one hundred percent a Dear Evan Hansen kinda guy because he relates to the main guy’s personality. has waving through a window on repeat

Sugawara: LOVES the classics: Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon. knows every song and movement by heart. sings them everywhere. would not listen to anything else. also Moulin Rouge because he’s one Classy Bitch

Daichi: appreciates any good musical recommended to him but the kind of person who presses ‘shuffle’ when listening to the recording and all the fans around him die inside. does this more than once just for that reaction

Kiyoko: loves anything with awesome female roles, particularly Legally Blonde and Six the Musical. raises an eyebrow at you if you say you like Grease and you land on her list of people she would barely talk to

 Yachi: practically raised on disney movie musicals. loves to watch and re-watch videos from Broadway Princess Party a lot. is basically a disney princess herself and loves to put some songs on when she cleans the house. 

Kuroo: one of those people who got really into Hamilton back in the day. would sing the vocals, the back-up vocals, the chorus parts, and hum the intros. says he’s a musical fan but that’s the only one he’s watched/listened to.

Kenma: someone recommended Be More Chill to him (probably tsukki) and he ended up actually liking it. once in a while you’ll hear him humming ‘christiiiiIIiine’ under his breath. likes to listen to michael in the bathroom at 2 am

Yaku:  hates musicals ever since Nekoma had a movie night and then decided to watch Lion King and lev dead-ass lifted him up over his head like what rafiki did to simba in That Scene. 

Lev: another one who likes disney musicals but like, the basic ones (frozen, tangled, beauty and the beast). mostly because they’re his sister’s favorites tho. has more than once did the whole ‘do you want to build a snowman’ thing with alisa and probably his teammates

Oikawa: thinks that liking Heathers makes him edgy it doesn’t. practically paid hanamaki and matsukawa to sing Candy Store with him and using iwa as veronica. absolutely vibes to the Mean Girls musical

Iwaizumi: a hard High School Musical stan, now and forever. thinks that Ryan and Chad are definitely gay. one time oikawa was giving them a pep talk and said ‘what team?’ and iwa yelled ‘WILDCATS’ and then everybody looked at him because they KNEW they KNEW HE NEVER GOT OVER THAT PHASE-- 

Matsukawa: Cats. The Movie.* wrote a long-ass thread on twitter about why the female cats should be given six boob and tagged Tom Hooper. was blocked.

Hanamaki: *see above. probably had his sexual awakening when he saw Idris Elba as a sexy cat. there’s nothing gendered about a sexy cat

Kyoutani: likes the leather jacket aesthetic in Grease. looked up the lyrics to ‘Greased Lightning’ once and shut off his laptop when he saw the innuendos. may have tried to replicate the choreography at one point but fell off a table

Yahaba: a romantic at heart. has a copy of the West Side Story DvD and loves to sing ‘Maria’ and ‘One Hand, One Heart.’ he and Oikawa love to duet ‘I Feel Pretty.’ also tried to copy the choreography and sUCCEEDED

Ushijima: you’ve taken him to see an array of musicals, from the much-loved classics to the inventive modern musicals. every time, you glance at him hoping for any reaction. he always leaves the theater saying ‘it was good.’ only one musical has managed to make him crack a smile: The Muppets (the movie ver.)

Tendou: another boy with Quality Taste. is a hardcore stan of any musical by Team Starkid (also loves that they’re all on Youtube). makes so many references to them but nobody else understands. will yell ‘TIGERFUCKER TIGERFUCKER’ out of the blue

Shirabu: thinks that La La Land is Peak Taste. got angry when tendou showed him a video of ryan gosling scenes in the movie but it’s all replaced by barry, the bee from Bee Movie. now La La Land is ruined because he keeps on remembering ‘you like jazz?’ in barry’s voice 

Semi: tells you that he just doesn’t watch musicals but he secretly had such a Les Miz phase. writes enjolras x reader fanfics and his longest one was 200k words. if he hears anything that vaguely sounds like ‘do you hear the people sing’, a tear will fall out of the corner of his eye

Goshiki: was looking for slime tutorials one and stumbled on ‘not hamilton just a 2 hr slime tutorial’ y’all kno what i’m talking about and watched the whole thing. was disappointed that there weren’t any slimes but is now into hamilton

Akaashi: knows and understands the peak performance quality and biblical philosophy of Jesus Christ Superstar. doesn’t tell anyone about it though because they all assume its all church music. ‘it’s not’, he sobs. ‘it’s more.’

Bokuto: akaashi recommended Jesus Christ Superstar to him and he watched it, thinking that he’d see jesus playing an electric guitar. he was very disappointed and sulked about it for a week. LOVES disney musicals though

Atsumu: was one of those kids who would look up the Harry Potter Puppet Pals videos on youtube and stumbled in to A Very Potter Musical. ever since jk rowling’s snake side came out he began accepting that fan musical as canon. likes to piss rowling off by posting screenshots of the musical and saying its from the movie

Osamu: the Disney fan but with Quality Taste. loves Hunchback of Notre Dame, Princess and the Frog, Prince of Egypt, and Anastasia (the last two aren’t disney but animated musicals). cries at the sound of Phil Collins’ sultry voice. 

Kita: is in love with Phantom of the Opera because his grandmother loves listening to it. he’d sing THE ENTIRE SOUNDTRACK pretty much every day until his teammates catch him singing in the locker rooms while they were changing AND NAILING ALL OF CHRISTINE’S HIGH NOTES LIKE ITS NOTHING

Terushima: doesn’t like musicals so his friend recommended that he watch The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals by Team Starkid because of the crackhead humor. watched Robert Manion perform and ending up going on google and searching ‘does watching men move their hips real nice make me bi?’

Koganegawa:  y’all are gonna be surprised but this one’s a hardcore Wicked fan. has watched all of the different castings of it. he loves to imitate Elphaba’s iconic ‘FIEEEEROOOOOOO’ line in the showers and records it, just to see if he’s close to how it sounds onstage. has Idina Menzel’s autograph

Futakuchi: bitch does nothing but roast everyone else’s musical tastes. hamilton? ‘wow, mainstream much?’ dear evan hansen? ‘psshh, basic.’ be more chill? ‘think you’re edgy or something?’ the greatest show? ‘what are you? five?’ his favorite musical is actually Cats

[passionate-reply]

“Why did Kraftwerk stop making albums?” they all ask, as though Karl Bartos isn’t right here, consistently kicking ass and making great music. If you’re hungry for more Kraftwerk goodness, specifically with an early 90s techno flair, you probably won’t do better than Esperanto, so come check it out! (Also featuring special guest star Andy McCluskey from OMD.) Full transcript below!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, I’ll be talking about an album not too many people have heard, but that I think more people really should--especially fans of Kraftwerk. It’s Esperanto, the 1993 debut of Kraftwerk alumnus Karl Bartos’s project, Elektric Music. The production of the final classic-lineup Kraftwerk LP, 1986’s Electric Cafe, had been dominated by frustrating delays, rewrites, and remixes, and when all was said and done, the resulting album was a relative flop. By the time of the 1991 remix album The Mix, which seemed to end Kraftwerk’s career with a whimper, Bartos had grown alienated from founding members Ralf Huetter and Florian Schneider-Esleben, and fed up with their apparent lack of work ethic. He set out on his own, partnering with Lothar Manteuffel of the Neue Deutsche Welle act Rheingold, to form Elektric Music.

What I think really stands out about Esperanto first is its sense of freewheeling, unrestrained immediacy. For nearly a decade leading up to this album, Bartos had been working at the whim of others, waiting around, and feeling like he was spinning his wheels. Esperanto feels like a tightly coiled spring that’s finally being released. It’s dense, busy, in-your-face music that positively demands to be paid attention to.

Music: “Lifestyle”

Vibrating at the core of Esperanto is an undeniable Kraftwerk-esque sonic template: textural synth side-swipes, chattering vocoder-driven vocals, and hypnotic, mechanical rhythms. It’s natural to expect that rhythmic quality from Bartos, since he was chiefly brought on to provide percussion parts for Kraftwerk, but it’s also important to remember that he’s as interested in pop music as he is in classical. Both Bartos’s solo work, as well as the Kraftwerk tracks he had a hand in, emphasize melody, in a poppy, easy to love manner. The melodies here have some precedent in Bartos’s earlier work, but they’ve never been quite as punchy and vibrant before.

“Lifestyle” also makes early use of vocal chops, which contribute to that tight and busy feel, while also being a marked attempt at pushing this core sound into the musical future. Some of these specific samples are actually repeated across multiple tracks, if you listen closely--a sort of callback to the repeated melodic motives of the early Kraftwerk albums. “Information,” a high-concept eight-minute epic that the rest of the tracklisting pivots around, is even closer to being structured like “Trans-Europe Express”:

Music: “Information”

Bartos has never really ceased struggling under the weight of his Kraftwerk past, torn between indulging in these ideas and themes that come so naturally to him, and feeling obligated to set himself apart--as well as obligated to push the envelope and break new musical ground. Esperanto radiates and burns with that sense of conflict, which feels fresher and more raw, given the timeframe involved. This tension between working with and working against the Kraftwerk legacy is not only musical, but also thematic. Like the Kraftwerk albums, Esperanto is deeply concerned with the role technology plays in our lives...but it’s a lot less optimistic. Take, for instance, the opening track, “TV”:

Music: “TV”

“TV” is Esperanto at its most gloomy or melancholy, portraying the detached haze of modern lotus-eaters transfixed by the glowing screen. It’s an image that’s readily familiar and relatable to us today, of course, and it’s also one that runs contrary to the techno-utopianism of Kraftwerk, where home technologies offer hope of bringing people together rather than splitting them apart, and disconnecting them from the real world. If that wasn’t enough to convince you to read “TV” as an anti-Kraftwerk screed, the lyrics even point to “computer graphics” and “electric bands” as fodder for that destructively distracting entertainment. Ouch! Along somewhat similar lines is the track “Kissing the Machine”:

Music: “Kissing the Machine”

“Kissing the Machine” is also a sort of rebuttal of Kraftwerk tracks like “Computer Love,” demonstrating the pitiful perversion it really is to expect human, emotional fulfillment from a cold and sterile mechanical contraption. Whereas “TV” is more overtly downbeat, “Kissing the Machine” takes the route of dramatic irony, going for an eerily cheerful, naive sort of sound, painting its narrator as utterly oblivious to what they’re missing out on. You probably noticed that the vocalist on this track is actually not Bartos--it’s Andy McCluskey, best known as the frontman of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Like Manteuffel, McCluskey is a younger synth-pop artist whose career began in the 1980s, making music that owed quite a lot to what Kraftwerk had achieved before. Bringing on some slightly younger talent is not only a nod towards keeping up with the times, but also another jab at the legacy of Kraftwerk, who refused to collaborate with any other musicians, and at times even seemed loath to acknowledge how the art of electronic music had evolved in their wake. As the title of Esperanto implies, the theme of language is also prominent here, and that serves as yet another way in which the Kraftwerk philosophy is turned on its head, most notably in the title track:

Music: “Esperanto”

While many people assert that it’s more “authentic” to listen to Kraftwerk in German, they made consistent attempts to incorporate a wide variety of languages into their work. Besides the English-language versions of their LPs, Kraftwerk also sang in French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and even Japanese, to varying degrees. They were selling a vision of “Europe Endless” that was multicultural and multilingual, and seemed to have wanted people from all over the world to connect with them and feel included and represented in their future, rather than view them as some distant and peculiarly Teutonic phenomenon.

“Esperanto” flies in the face of the dream of linguistic unity. Esperanto itself is an artificial, constructed language, created by L. L. Zamenhof in the late 19th Century. Combining features from the most commonly spoken languages across the globe, and streamlining away things like irregular verbs, Esperanto was built from the ground up to become a true “universal language” for all of mankind, that was easy to learn and use. But despite the hopes of Zamenhof, whose name for his new tongue translates to English as “one who hopes,” it obviously never caught on. The most beautiful utopian vision in the world is still just a vision, and you can end up failing even if “you’ve got the perfect pitch.”

Kraftwerk’s longtime graphic designer Emil Schult, whose contributions to Kraftwerk’s signature aesthetic are nearly as important to their legacy as any of their music, returned to create the cover art of Esperanto. With its bright and simple red tone and strong use of diagonals, Esperanto’s cover art is clearly evocative of the iconic cover of Kraftwerk’s 1978 LP The Man-Machine, arguably the finest hour for the band as well as Schult. However, its abstract, non-figurative qualities set it apart from the work Schult and Bartos had done before, as Kraftwerk hadn’t made an album that didn’t feature their own faces front and center since 1975’s Radioactivity. The image of a rising sun is fitting for the idea of Bartos’s empowered return to music after a period of dormancy.

The world is full of people bemoaning the fact that Kraftwerk gave up on making new music, and the apparent irony of this band who appeared to be visiting from the future being absent from the world they helped create, in which “electronic music” has ceased to be a novelty and become a default. Karl Bartos may not be the most prolific artist in the world, but I’ve always seen him as the rightful heir to the Kraftwerk legacy, and I think his string of solo albums since leaving the band are the most worthy follow-ups that could ever have been paired with Kraftwerk’s classic run. Esperanto does everything you could possibly want a 1990s Kraftwerk album to do, staying true to that musical heritage while also pushing forward, and staking a place in the broader artistic conversation. I think everyone who identifies as a fan of Kraftwerk owes it to themself to give Esperanto a spin.

My favourite track on Esperanto is the closer, “Overdrive.” Unlike the readily apparent cynicism purveyed by tracks like “TV” and “Kissing the Machine,” “Overdrive” reads as a more complex perspective about technology and everyday life. It’s a portrayal of that all-too-modern scourge of overstimulation, that’s still ultimately a very exciting one, that sweeps you up in its triumphant “kiss of life.” Listening to its chaotic instrumental outro, I can’t help but feel that it leads directly into Bartos’s follow-up to Esperanto, 2003’s Communication--an album that would tackle the Internet age, and its inescapable virtual hustle and bustle, head-on. That’s all for today--thanks for watching!

Music: “Overdrive”