#and misunderstanding song lyrics and their themes and motives.

[im-smart-i-swear]

♪ for Buddy

oh you hit the jackpot with this one, buddy has the most songs i associate them with out of all my guys.........

(also some of these also apply to kuron too cause i kinda lump these two together(since technically theyre the same character. technically..)

'The Moon Will Sing' by the crane wives - ........ i dont have to explain anything here, you already know<3333

'Joe' by AJR - okay i feel like i need to explain a little here- this song is about trying to move on from your past and insisting that you dont care about your old friends/colleagues' ' approval anymore except surprise!! you do. a lot. so this is a song i feel like encapsulates buddys relationship with team voltron pretty well! buddy tries very hard to convince themself that they dont care about their old friends (and that they never did in the first place) as a coping mechanism, but deep down they still care.

'Saint Bernard 2' by Lincoln - this is buddy reminiscing about all of their past actions and mistakes years after the fact and making peace with themself about it. they hurt people and suffered and made stupid decisions, and they propably will again- but thats okay. theyre not the black paladin anymore. that time of their life is over. they will always carry a piece of that time with them though, and thats okay

(The last two are more Kuron-coded than anything but i'm putting them here anyway)

'Burn Him Down' by Kitsch Club - this song makes me think about how kuron is seen as disposable to haggar (and his friends) and was something to get rid of once he stopped serving his purpose?? idk if this makes sense but. yeah..

'Zamki na piasku' - Lady Pank - this song is in polish so im gonna explain- the plot is about a famous celebrity who snaps and becomes a terrorist i think??? it has motives of being a cog on the machine and how people percieve fame and i think that suits Kuron/buddy a lot

Thanks for asking bestie<333

[eveeyehorizons]

The song "Congregation" by Low explores the dynamics and complexities of a group of people coming together as a congregation, possibly in a religious or metaphorical sense. The lyrics suggest various themes related to division, indecision, distraction, isolation, and tradition.

The opening lines, "Sometimes, the congregation takes the other side, an inquisition of familiar lies," suggests that within this congregation, there is a tendency for individuals to take opposing viewpoints, possibly leading to conflict. The mention of an "inquisition of familiar lies" implies a questioning of truth and a potential lack of authenticity within the group.

The next verse, "Sometimes, the congregation can't make up its mind, incarceration creeps up from behind," hints at a lack of consensus and the fear of being confined or limited by the decisions and ideas of the group. It suggests that individual opinions may be suppressed or silenced, leading to a sense of confinement or imprisonment.

The line, "The implication is its own device, in the middle of a salient fight," suggests that the congregation's own assumptions or implications about various matters can contribute to internal conflicts or struggles. These conflicts may arise from the congregation's own misunderstandings or prejudices.

The following verse, "Sometimes, the congregation can't be satisfied, can't be bothered with the ways and whys," implies a sense of dissatisfaction or apathy within the group. It suggests that the congregation may not be interested in understanding the reasons or motivations for their beliefs or practices. This could lead to a stagnant and unchanging nature within the congregation, a resistance to questioning or evolving.

Finally, the line, "Generations like their ways and times," implies that the congregation is rooted in tradition and has a preference for adhering to the practices and beliefs of their own generation. This suggests a resistance to change and a tendency to hold onto established customs and values.

Overall, "Congregation" examines the challenges and conflicts that can arise within a group of people united by a shared purpose or belief. It delves into the themes of division, imprisonment, conformity, dissatisfaction, and tradition, prompting reflection on the complexities of congregational dynamics.

[freddiekluger]

please drop the essay length analysis Judas and Jesus (extra gay Swedish edition), O great and knowledgeable monarch of our times

alright, you ask i deliver! please excuse any typos, my eyes aren't exactly working rn

welcome to my probably super subjective but correct analysis, aka

Judas Was Right and Jesus Was A Victim (At Least, In Swedish)

Before we get started, a couple points: i’ll try to avoid comparisons to other specific productions, i’ve only seen the other recorded 2012 british version which i didn’t like for reasons including but not limited to the amount of white people with dreadlocks. Also, my understanding of swedish is limited to a couple words and phrases, so most of the lyrics i reference will be english subtitles from Ola Salo’s swedish translation and therefore might not be the most accurate !

There’s so much i could cover in this, but for now i’m going to focus on how jesus and judas are portrayed in the 2014 swedish arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar (JCS) starring Ola Salo as Jesus and Peter Johansson as Judas, along with how this production more implicitly views god. 

From the opening number, translated into swedish as En Dimmig Himmelsdröm (A Foggy Heaven’s Dream), Peter Johansson’s acting and semantic differences in the lyrics present us with a deeply sympathetic portrayal of Judas. Looking purely at language, the english equivalent Heaven On Their Minds instantly paints Judas as much more of a faithless doubter- lyrics exclusive to the english version like “all your followers have gone blind / too much heaven on their minds” and “they think you’re the new messiah / and they’ll hurt you when they find they’re wrong” strongly enforce Judas’ main motivation for his actions being that he has less belief in Jesus and God’s plan than any of the other disciples with strong statements judging the other disciples for following him and claiming that Jesus ISN’T the messiah. The swedish translation doesn’t paint exactly the same picture- the focus of Judas’ number becomes his fear for Jesus’ wellbeing, not because he isn’t the messiah (the production remains fairly ambiguous on this point), but because Jesus can’t cope. The root of Judas’ concern comes from fear for Jesus’ wellbeing, and the disciples are referenced as regularly misunderstanding and wilfully twisting Jesus’ words. The swedish equivalent lyrics for the above examples are “they say, “jesus is god’s son” / but you know how people can change” (judas isn’t concerned with truth, just the danger that jesus will be in if the tide turns), and “the kingdom of heaven is within us, that’s what you said / bu they sew it, stitch by stich into some kind of foggy heaven’s dream”. Judas is showing that he HAS been listening and cares for Jesus’ teachings, but ‘they’ [his disciples] are turning them into something else entirely, and Judas’ worries that the support of the masses is fragile at best- the lines “and everything you say gets twisted by your lackeys / it will be anything but what you’ve said”  and “you are being used by people who want you in their battle” reinforces this again. When combined with Peter Johansson’s tough but tender performance, in which he dances between disdain for Jesus, the institution, and affection for Jesus, the man (an important distinction), Judas is the harsh realist doing his best to look out for the man he loves. The way he takes Jesus hands and looks at him with love and urgency straight away establishes that his motivations are pure- Judas is doing what he thinks is best, even though it feels like no one will listen to him. 

That was long, but En Dimmig Himmelsdröm is the perfect character introduction for Judas. He’s not totally unrecognisable, still delivering digs about ‘Jesus, the little carpenter’s son’, his manner is still rough and at this point we’re not sure whether or not the claims he makes about the disciples have any truth to them, BUT we can also see how much Jesus means to him, an important point that give context to the intensity of their future arguments and really makes the whole story much more heartbreaking.

This brings me to Ola Salo’s Jesus. Delightfully camp and queercoded, Judas describes him as being caught up in his own magic and mystery and buckling under the pressure, and he’s not entirely wrong. Throughout the first act, Jesus basks in the luxuries that being messiah can give him (the oils Mary paid for using disciple funds that were supposed to go towards helping the poor, him absolutely thriving in the shopping cart in What’s the Buzz?), and is shown actively avoiding any reminders of the seriousness of his position. He’s sick of the disciples asking him for a plan, he chooses the comforting Mary, who’s theme consists of telling Jesus everything is okay and he doesn’t need to think about anything, over Judas, who is less perhaps ‘cosy’ but is actively trying to warn and protect Jesus from an awful fate. During The Temple, he starts to crack as he’s overcome by the followers begging him to make him well, fear in his eyes as he raises his arms while frozen on the spot trying to avoid being devoured by the frenzy in desperate need of a messiah. Judas’ point about Jesus buckling under the pressure is starting to look more and more reasonable, and the dashes of showbiz campness add to the sense that much of Jesus is a persona constructed for the masses to give himself enough distance to prevent him from being crushed by the weight of God entirely. Jesus, the institution, prances around, lays his hands on his followers, and projects an air of easygoing calm. Jesus, the man, is scared and alone, and Jesus, the man, really comes out in Last Supper, but before we get there, I want to circle back to the Jesus/Mary/Judas thing.

Jesus, Mary, and Judas are presented as a love triangle: so much so, that Judas seeing Mary sing of her love for Jesus (I Don’t Know How To Love Him) is actually played as the inciting incident that sends him to the pharisees. Judas, the picture of the jealous lover, storms onto the scene, breaking them up and attempting to kiss Jesus, who instead shoves him to the ground in disdain. Judas, who is perhaps a little controlling, realises that any influence he had over Jesus has gone, and it’s likely a combination of jealousy and the knowledge that Jesus won’t stop that prompts him to head to the pharisees. In his meeting with the pharisees (known in english as Damned For All Time, although that phrase doesn’t appear once in the swedish), Judas’ expresses outright that “I’m the one who sees / Jesus, he can’t handle it anymore” “the truth is that this hysteria is making him lose control”, once he can get past explaining how much this plan of action feels like a last resort. He never even verbally or physically accept the pharisees’ offer of money, he denies it twice before it is eventually thrown over him after he reluctantly gives them the date and time to find Jesus- we never even see him pick it up, unlike other productions which show Judas grabbing for the cash and place a higher emphasis on Judas making sure he ‘won’t be damned for all time’, painting Judas as far more self serving. When it comes to Jesus, Judas is active- he’s running around trying to help, caressing him, embracing him, grabbing his hand, kissing him. They share countless moment of intimacy, especially at the start, establishing the fondness between them instead of instantly jumping to their conflict. When it comes to Mary (and admittedly, this is partially because she’s a secondary character- don’t get me wrong I still love her and Gunilla Backman does a brilliant job), she’s much more passive. Other than the much more gentle kisses in I Don’t Know How To Love Him and her penchant for dabbing Jesus’ forehead, she’s mostly just ‘there’. She cares for Jesus after the fact, and even when performing acts of intimacy like the oil and the kiss, she maintains a lot of physical distance- her songs touch on this as, much like Jesus (admittedly for different reasons), she actively distances herself from feelings to protect herself, so naturally she literally places distance between herself and the object of her love.

This brings me back to Last Supper, Gethsemane ( I Only Want to Say), and the kiss of death that broke all of our hearts. Throughout this segment, this is when Jesus, the man, really comes through, and it’s devastating. In Last Supper, he properly expresses the sheer amount of loneliness he feels, reiterating how he feels everyone will forget about him once he’s gone, and doesn’t really care about him as a man (”for you, my blood is not worth more than wine / for you, my body is not worth more than bread” “you will have forgotten me as soon as i give up my life”). This devolves into the disciples fighting each other and, you guessed it, ignoring him. For the first time, Jesus meaningfully lets out his anger, and as it turns to Judas, Judas does the same. Because of the set up of their complicated romantic relationship and the stakes involved, the amount of personal attacks and anger that comes out of Jesus and Judas’ repeated fights (which get physical) make complete sense- Jesus’ frustrations come from the fact that his entire fate has been predetermined and to him, Judas is just another instrument in the ways he’s been controlled (both with Judas being his betrayer, but also the way that Judas’ constant advice and interference with Jesus’ life (most obviously, the mary thing) are acted by Ola Salo as becoming increasingly frustrating to Jesus)- these frustrations are directed at their real cause, God, in Gethsemane. Judas’ frustrations come from the fact that no matter how hard he tries to help Jesus and keep him safe, Jesus keeps rejecting his efforts resulting in “all that we’ve built up [being] destroyed”- Judas’ heart hasn’t just been broken by Jesus rejecting him romantically, but on every level. Here, he’s actually shown to be the disciple most passionate about helping people practically and long term, being the only one concerned about Mary taking money which was supposed to help people, manipulated by the pharisees with the promise of doing good for the masses, and criticising Jesus for how they could be doing so much for people, ending his part of Last Supper with “every time i look at you i ask myself why you let all your things go so wrong? / all i ever wanted was to help you”. 

This is also the point where Judas’ claims about the disciples are essentially confirmed, and this productions intent to portray Judas as more of a tragic hero become absolutely clear. In the english version, the disciples chorus remains virtually the same each time it appears, generally being far too calm considering their leader is about to die, revealing their aspirations to be apostles, and their intent to write the gospels to be remembered. the swedish translation still achieve this, but with variations from chorus to chorus it becomes much more poignant. i’m just going to stick to ttwo, which are choruses 1 and 3. In chorus 1, lines roughly translate to “i’ve always wanted to be an apostle / life is so nice when you’re saved/ then when we’ve got time we’ll write the gospels / then everything will be the way we want”-  the apostles declaring that life is so good when you’re saved supports Judas’ opening statement that they care more about some idea of heaven than anything else, not to mention ignoring the absolute horrors that Jesus will have to go through to be saved, while the final line about the gospels introduces their intent to change whichever details they need to make ‘everything the way we want’: once again, exactly what Judas warned us of in En Dimmig Himmelsdröm. In chorus 3, taking place after Judas storms out for the last time, these lines change to “never really liked that judas / never saw what jesus saw in him / then, when we’ve got time we’ll write the gospels / and we’ll angle it so he gets all the blame”. Judas as a sympathetic character is confirmed here, as the disciples straight up admit how they don’t like Judas anyways and intend to write him as a villain (also inadvertently admitting that, since they have to write the gospels to make it look like only Judas’ fault, Judas isn’t really the sole one responsible for everything that is to come). It’s deeply unsettling, and for me was the point where I really began to question how good any of these disciples were, and by extension, how good is this production’s God if his truly sanctified followers are acting like this?

Jesus vents out all of his anger and desperation in Gethsemane. He acknowledges his own powerlessness and begs him to change the plan, but with the dark stage and no response (along with Ola Salo’s spectacular acting) it becomes clear that if anyone is there, they’re certainly not listening (”you, who have all the power / can you please change the plan / for i can already feel the pain burning in me”). It’s worth mentioning that a lot of the imagery in this swedish version is much more intense than the english, both in this song and the production as a whole. Jesus plainly calls god “thoughtless”, begging to understand, and it’s that this point we realise that he agrees with much more of what Judas has been saying than he’s been letting on- Jesus’ faith appears to be the only thing keeping him from listening to Judas and running away. Judas’ messages about people misunderstanding Jesus’ words also come out (”you care that everyone sees / but not that anyone understands”), and his eventual agreeing to die is played less as an inspiring act of faith, and more an act of desperation as he realises, he realise has no other choice. In this song, we see just how much of Judas Jesus has valued and taken on board, and that his air of carefree aloofness which frustrated Judas was, as we’ve already touched on, a complete act. The line “might as well finish what i’ve... what YOU’VE started” is absolutely miserable, reinforcing one of the major themes of this production: the idea that Jesus and Judas were both just ordinary men tormented by futures defined by forces out of their control. Just as Jesus has absorbed Judas’ logic, as an audience so we have, and it’s difficult to view the rest of the play’s events as anything other than an immense and unnecessary act of cruelty.

we’re almost done i promise!

Even knowing what Judas has/will do, Jesus still greets him with love. Judas, still under the impression that Jesus will be okay and that he’s doing what’s best, approaches him with the utmost tenderness, and the kiss is a beautiful signifier of two things. For Jesus, the return of his love for Judas shows his realisation in Gethsemane that Judas isn’t the one who’s sealed his fate and has only being trying to help, it’s god himself who has decided Jesus’ future. For Judas, the kiss shows that despite all of the anger and frustration that has been pouring out of him, he truly does love Jesus, and the way he cradles the scared and alone Jesus to his chest afterwards shows just how much he wishes he could be the one to help him and keep him close. Even with all their arguments and dysfunction, here Jesus and Judas find comfort in each other, and it almost seems like everything will end up alright. It’s in this moment that Judas and Jesus are most identifiable not as enemies, or as villain and hero, but as archetypal lovers from a Shakespearean tragedy. Neither of them set out to hurt each other, but through miscommunications, their own flaws, and external forces (both natural and supernatural), their love is simply never to be. Furthermore, in the following torture and spectacle, everything that Judas predicted for Jesus is about to come true. Another detail I find interesting is the way that Jesus and Judas both sport black nail polish, leather pants, and similar length hair: along with just looking cool as hell, the similarities really reinforce how close they are and how much they influence each other- it feels like a contemporary version of carrying a cameo or a lock of your lover's hair with you, a way for 'star crossed lovers' to keep a piece of their beloved no matter what.

The disaffected persona of Jesus, the institution, comes back as he’s taken by the authorities and subsequently insulted, degraded, and whipped. Also the swedish version of The Arrest, when the chorus starts singing questions, contains this dick joke and I think we all deserve it: “why were you dating a whore? / talk about a huge magic wand!”

Skipping forward to Judas’ Death, this is where both his character and the production’s conception of god beautifully (and miserably) align. When Judas runs to the pharisees, minor semantic changes (along with the genuine concern and great acting from Peter Johansson) reinforce that this Judas genuinely didn’t know that Jesus would be beaten and sentenced to death the way he has been, and Judas’ concern regarding how things look is played less as ‘oh no people will hate ME!’, but how having sentenced the man you love to death is one nightmarish thing, but for everyone to think you did it knowingly and willingly and then congratulate you for it is unthinkable. Where the english shows Judas’ attempting to evade responsibility for Jesus death, the swedish is more focused on Judas’ guilt, horror, and regret. The english “I’d save him all the suffering if I could / don’t believe our good / save him if I could” is swapped in swedish for “If anyone should die here I should / don’t say I’m good / better if I died”. While the english statements are somewhat empty (sure, Judas says he’d save Jesus’ suffering if he could, but he can’t so we’ll never truly know) and are still focused on Judas’ attempt to construct himself as a good guy, the swedish translation has Judas admit his guilt (even if it’s not really his fault), and make the promise of “better if i died” which, given the name of this sequence, he later delivers on. When english Judas sings “Christ, I’d sell out the nation / For I have been saddled with the murder of you”, swedish Judas sings “Jesus, I’ve been deceived / because of my act your blood’s now being spilt”, and instead of ending this first section with “I should be dragged through the slime and the mud”, swedish jesus returns to the theme of character assasination with “i will be cursed as the one behind your murder”. 

The swedish translation of the next rework of I Don’t Know How to Love Him also places much more emphasis on Judas’ genuine romantic love for Jesus- we’d be here for hours if i listed everything but here are a few key contrasts. The english has Judas sing “I don’t know how to love him /  I don’t know why he moves me”, whereas the swedish has Judas crying while singing “how do I show my love / all I want is to be close to you”. Along with acknowledging Judas already loves Jesus, the entirety of this segment is shifted from Judas singing about Jesus in the third person ‘he’, to a direct address. Judas isn’t performing his sadness, or venting his emotions, he’s emitting one last desperate cry to the man he loves as he sobs on a stage completely shrouded in darkness, and it’s devastating. Peter Johansson lets his voice run raw as he’s belting, and interrupts lines with sobs, and this Judas answers the question of “do you love me too? do you care for me?” with a quiet “no”- Judas is about to go to his death convinced Jesus must hate him, just as Jesus will face his knowing his love inadvertently put him there.

We finally reach Judas’ actual death, and the production’s far more ambiguous (if not negatively geared) depiction of god comes to a head. Judas’ screaming at god the moment he realises that his god essentially forced Judas to be the one to kill Jesus (an act of ultimate cruelty given their love) comes across as horrifying in it’s validity, unlike in other english language productions where it follows the more common characterisation of Judas being an unbeliever who can’t take responsibility for his own actions. When he spits on the ground, screaming “you have murdered me!”, we can’t help but agree- Judas was trying everything he could to stop Jesus from dying, and yet here he is. Most notably, Judas doesn’t set up his own suicide- a noose literally descends from the heavens, already tied, and Judas is literally trapped between the edge of the stage, and the symbol of death behind him. Much like he didn’t choose to kill Jesus, Judas has no choice in his own suicide- it’s suggested to merely be another part of the plan god has for him, and Judas raising his arms to form a crucifixion pose before he finally turns and jumps, disappearing into the depths of the theatre as the rope trails down (somewhat evocative of a leap to hell), highlight the sick joke. Much like Jesus begging in Gethsemane, a plea with god that in anyway implies fault or cruelty is met with silence followed by a death sentence. 

When Judas reappears to the broken and bloodied Jesus in Superstar, he appears as more of a twisted hallucination than the literal spirit of Judas. He’s the opposite of everything he was in life, draped in colour, surrounded by red lighting instead of the signature blue, his hair quite literally let down, joking and dancing. Despite singing about him, Judas virtually ignores Jesus for the whole song except when he’s taunting him, snatching his hand away after a broken and desperate Jesus reaches out for the image of his beloved (refuting Judas’ belief that Jesus would die hating him), along with the swedish additions of Judas repeatedly addressing him as “little Jesus”. Where the living Judas was serious, sometimes harsh but always well intention, often paying more attention to Jesus than he received, this Judas is the opposite: light hearted but cruel, not caring about Jesus one bit. It’s somewhat an inversion of the beginning of JCS, where the tormented Judas was constantly reaching out to Jesus, and often met with scorn and insult (see: most of their arguments, this line from Everything’s Alright: “the thought is beautiful but quite unrealistic / yes, even quite stupid”). As the song goes on, and even as Jesus is crucified, the victorious scoring of the Superstar theme ends up reinforcing the cruelty and questioning of god distinctive of this production: Ola Salo’s Jesus is one of the bloodiest Jesus’s (Jesii?) I’ve been able to find, with blood covering his torso, his arms, and all over his face, not in passive dribbles, but violent ‘swooshes’ spreading out from his eyes, emphasising the fear and pain contained within them. As the music suggests how great and wonderful Jesus’ death is, the images straight out of a horror movie before us don’t seem to match up: as both Judas and Jesus question, if no one is understanding what Jesus is saying, why kill him? instead of making a point, you’re ensuring that the falsehoods continue to circulate, unless spreading the true message isn’t really the intent at all. or, simply that Jesus was wrong: his interpretation and teachings of god were far too kind and practical, and the true god really is the one that he briefly saw in the garden of Gethsemane, and that Judas saw before his death- a cruel and vindictive god using them for his own sick purposes. If you're a strong Christian, I'm sure you could watch this production and still believe that God was right (although I think Jesus and Judas being in love counts as blasphemy), but I think in doing so you'd lose part of what makes this production so hard hitting and, as i keep saying, devastating.

that’s pretty much it for this one! i feel like jesus and judas as a queer couple is less significant to this production than the fact that it’s specifically jesus and judas that are in love - they don’t face explicit homophobia as such, although i do think the paratextual and historical associations of queerness (both with them each looking visibly queer, and them as a couple) adds a beautiful dimension by subverting the standard christian teaching of Jesus’ sacrifice as “a love that changed the world” and making the love that truly could have been transformative (and was, to a degree) the love between Jesus and another man, not to mention the way in which queerness is often viewed as radical perfectly upholding the ‘radical’ views of god and the story of Jesus shown in the production. Why wouldn’t the love between two men be the love which has us questioning god, faith, and that which many of us have been taught since birth? Ola Salo has talked about how he’s able to be positive and negative towards christianity, along with how he wanted Jesus and Judas to really represent two sides of the same coin (’faith and intelligence’), and being bisexual along with having alluded to being raised christian (not to mention Breaking Up With God, a song by his band The Ark), it’s not surprising he’s managed to present such a nuanced and layered interpretation of Jesus Christ Superstar that even me, a trans exvangelical, can fall in love with.

UPDATE: @bands-and-hobbits has just let me know that Ola's dad was a priest! Apparently he's said that he liked the organs and the music, but that was all when it comes to christianity, which (when combined with Ola stating in interviews that the JCS soundtrack has been one of his favourite albums since he was 14) makes a lot of sense about the level of familiarity he had with the text giving him confidence to go in and make changes to really capitalised off of some of the themes that are hinted at in the english version- you have enough information to understand how everything works together, but aren't so dedicated to preserving belief that you feel you can't improve/change things (and my god are we glad he did)

[starring-movies]

Killing Eve: Episode Analysis

*SPOILERS*

Season 2, Episode 1 - Do You Know How to Dispose of a Body?

The first episode of Season 2 begins immediately with the aftermath following the end of Season 1, after Eve stabbed Villanelle in the Paris apartment.

We can see that Eve is shaken, and her judgment is off, through a number of moments in this episode. First Eve has the misunderstanding with the woman in the station who thinks she’s a drug addict, then Eve panics when she thinks Oliver is Caroyln’s child and being kidnapped, and finally her general worry that she’s killed Villanele by stabbing her.

The song playing over the scene as Eve panics that she’s killed Villanelle is ‘It’s Not You, It’s Me’ by Unloved. Some of the lyrics of the song are:

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate it,

It’s not that I don’t care,

It’s not you,

It’s me”

The lyrics reflect Eve’s motivations for stabbing Villanelle. Eve didn’t necessarily stab Villanelle through anger or that she didn’t “care” about her, but more her feeling that she had to fulfill a personal desire to prove herself.

When Villanelle gets to the french hospital, and is speaking with Gabriel, he tells her “women don’t stab”. This initial thought of Gabriel’s is part of the reason that makes Villanelle so successful as an assassin, people don’t pay any mind or suspect her, because stereotypically “women don’t stab”. Gabriel’s comment also draws attention to the fact that Eve had the opportunity to shoot Villanelle with the gun, which is a much more distant and removed method to kill someone; however, she chose to stab Villanelle, which required her to be far more intimate and closer to Villanelle, and is a much less emotionally removed way to kill someone.

Villanelle tells Gabriel that Eve “did it to show me how much she cared about me” and also says “sometimes when you love someone you will do crazy things”. Both of these things which Villanelle says shows that she thinks she understands why Eve stabbed her and also identifies with Eve’s actions, especially seeing how she similarly shoots Eve in S2E8 for not loving her back. Villanelle’s feeling that she understands Eve more now is also shown when she tells Gabriel that “I know her better now, I know her better than anyone, better than she knows herself”.

When Eve returns to her home she is dealing with her many varying emotions, and we can see she deals with the aftermath of traumatic events in the same way, as she does similar things after she is shot by Villanelle at the end of S2E8. She is doing the mechanical and repeated action of cutting vegetables, just as she works in the Korean restaurant in Season 3 (we can see from the massive piles of the vegetables that she’s been distracting herself and as been completely zoned out as she’s cut far too many). Eve also listens to Armando, the widow salesman, to be distracted, just as she watches the telescoping channel in Season 3.

When Carolyn meets with Eve, she tells her that she thought she’d “draft in the head of the fan club”, which reminds us of S1E2 when Eve tells Carolyn at the Purple Penguin that she’s “just a fan” of Villanelle’s.

Despite Eve dealing with these two events (the stabbing and being shot) in similar ways, we do see her character growth in Season 3. In this episode she allows herself to be sucked back in by Carolyn getting her back in the chase for Villanelle; but in Season 3 she stands her ground and doesn’t allow herself to get sucked back in for Villanelle, she initially only agrees to get back into the investigation to find out who Kenny’s killer is.

When Villanelle is talking to Gabriel again, she tells him “never trust people on their looks, Gabriel. You can see scary people a mile away. It’s the good people you have to worry about”. This comment can be applied to Villanelle herself, Eve and Julian (from S2E2). Villanelle doesn’t look outwardly scary, but she is able to do her job so effectively because of the ‘nice face’ facade she puts on. The comment also foreshadows the character arch that Eve goes on, she lives a normal life and looks unassuming but has a darkness deep within her. Similarly, Julian in S2E2 seems like a perfectly friendly man on the outside, but this is soon found to be not the case.

During this conversation, Villanelle also tells Gabriel “I’m not normal, you know”. This reminds us of Villanelle’s kitchen conversation with Eve in S1E5, where she tells Eve the same thing, “I know I’m not normal”. Although the things she told Eve in the kitchen scene were most likely to manipulate her, we can see from the fact that Villanelle repeats to Gabriel that she’s not “normal”, that there must have been some truth in what she said to Eve, even if she didn’t realise it herself.

Near the end of the episode, Eve and Niko have another discussion about Eve’s job. Niko says he’s accepted that Eve needs her job but tells her that she needs to open up and talk to him more. This conversation is shot in the same location and using the same shots as Eve and Niko’s conversation from S1E4; where in that scene Niko was unaccepting of Eve’s job, but now through the use of the mirroring scene structure we are shown that he has now come to accept her job, but still needs Eve to talk to him in order to make the marriage work.

Although given the opportunity to meet Niko half way and fix their marriage (since Niko is trying to make it work by telling her he’s accepted that she needs her job), Eve doesn’t take the opportunity to tell him that she stabbed Villanelle in Paris. Eve’s decision to conceal her actions is also reflected in the scene of Villanelle speaking with Hélène in S3E7. In the scene with Villanelle and Hélène, Hélène is attempting to get Villanelle to try and tell her what happened with her mother, just as Niko is trying to get Eve to tell him what happened in Paris. However, just like how Villanelle side-steps the truth and tells Hélène “I took a shit in her shoe when I was three”; in the same way Eve avoids talking about what happened and tells Niko “I bought a shit tonne of really expensive windows”.

In the final scene as Eve is lying awake in her bed and Villanelle is lying awake in the back of a car, we are visually shown how they are still being drawn to each other, still thinking about each other and are two halves of the same whole/each other’s soulmates (a theme explored in Season 3). In Eve’s shot, she turns from facing the left hand side of the frame, to look straight up; and in Villanelle’s shot, she turns from the right hand side of the frame, to look straight up - in these two separate shots they are creating a mirror of each other. ‘Sombre’ by Unloved also links this scene with the scene at the end of S1E7, as it is used in the background in both of these scenes. The scene at the end of S1E7 was a very similar scene to this one, showing that Eve and Villanelle were thinking about one another.

You can read my previous Killing Eve posts here:-

First Introduction to Villanelle

First Introduction to Eve

S1, E1 - Nice Face

S1, E2 - I’ll Deal With Him Later

S1, E3 - Don’t I Know You?

S1, E4 - Sorry Baby

S1, E5 - I Have a Thing about Bathrooms

S1, E6 - Take Me to the Hole!

S1, E7 - I Don’t Want to Be Free

S1, E8 - God, I’m Tired

S2, E2 - Nice and Neat

S2, E3 - The Hungry Caterpillar

S2, E4 - Desperate Times

S2, E5 - Smell Ya Later

S2, E6 - I Hope You Like Missionary!

S2, E7 - Wide Awake

S2, E8 - You’re Mine

S3, E1 - Slowly Slowly Catchy Monkey

S3, E2 - Management Sucks

S3, E3 - Meetings Have Biscuits

S3, E4 - Still Got It

S3, E5 - Are You From Pinner? [Part 1]

S3, E5 - Are You From Pinner? [Part 2]

S3, E6 - End of Game

S3, E7 - Beautiful Monster

S3, E8 - Are You Leading or Am I? [Part 1]

———————————————————————————————————————

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: Frozen 2

Frozen 2 is nothing short of miraculous. In many ways, its predecessor became a victim of its own success; after it smashed every conceivable box office record, Disney did what it normally does with its more lucrative intellectual properties: drained all the heart and soul out of it via aggressive marketing. What had initially been hailed as an instant classic ended up... polarizing audiences, to put it mildly. So how do you follow up such a divisive pop culture phenomenon?

The answer is refreshingly straightforward: you build on what already worked, rather than merely recycling or regurgitating it—and, in the process, you refine and improve it. You subject familiar characters to new challenges, thus illuminating decidedly unfamiliar facets of their personalities. You expand upon the setting, revealing details that completely re-contextualize what viewers thought they knew about the fictional world. You twist and deconstruct the previously established themes, demonstrating that not all conflicts can be resolved by a simplistic Aesopian moral.

In this case, Frozen 2 uses the beautiful complexity of “Let It Go” as the foundation for its own triumph. Try to set aside the song’s overexposure for a moment in order to really dissect its lyrics; this is an elegantly-structured masterpiece of musical storytelling that masquerades as a celebration of its narrator’s newfound liberation, but is actually about denial, repression, and anxiety—despite Elsa’s insistence that “the cold never bothered [her], anyway,” she’s still controlled by her fear, slamming the door of her empty ice palace on her old life and resigning herself to a lonely existence of exile and solitude. Such nuance pervades every aspect of the sequel—and not just in the show-stopping numbers (though there are plenty of noteworthy gems in that regard: “Into the Unknown”, for instance, manages to cover several stages of the Hero’s Journey in a little under five minutes, beginning with the refusal of the call to adventure and concluding with the crossing of the first threshold). Our protagonists are permitted to be flawed: Anna’s efforts to support her sister, for example, often hold the latter back from achieving her full potential (“If you don’t want me to follow you into fire,” she scolds in one scene, “then don’t run into fire!”); Elsa’s attempts to protect Anna, meanwhile, frequently place her in greater peril. They make numerous mistakes, but because their respective motivations are so clearly defined, their ill-advised choices rarely feel forced or contrived; all of their arguments, disagreements, and misunderstandings arise naturally and logically, serving as organic obstacles on their quest to save their kingdom. In fact, the most significant antagonist they face is not some foreign invader or conniving traitor… but their lack of genuine trust in one another.

This absence of a central “villain,” in particular, epitomizes the evolution of Frozen 2’s craft and style in comparison to the preceding film. Like I said earlier, fallible characters are hardly unprecedented in this series—but by allowing those foibles and shortcomings to propel the plot towards its spectacular climax, rather than once again falling back on an external foe as a convenient third-act complication, screenwriters Jennifer Lee and Allison Schroeder exhibit a surprising degree of restraint. Indeed, the quality of the script makes it obvious why it took this movie six years to reach theaters (more so than even the impressive visual upgrade—computer animation has certainly progressed a long way in only half-a-decade): instead of following the easy route of adhering to the proven formula, Disney carefully sculpted a worthy story before jumping into production—a major risk, considering the industry’s relentless pace (fledgling franchises tend to succumb to the temptation of “striking while the iron is hot,” usually to their detriment—look no further than the DCEU and Universal’s now-defunct “Dark Universe” for evidence). But you can’t argue with the results of the studio’s patience; although its critical reception appears to be split, in my personal opinion, Frozen 2 is infinitely superior to the original (which I already adored unconditionally)—more resonant, more honest, and definitely more mature.

I know, I know: we’ll soon be buried under a renewed avalanche of Olaf plushies, sing-along CDs, and other merchandise; we live in a capitalist dystopia; blah, blah, blah. Relax. Forget your cynicism for two hours and enjoy a magical, heartwarming fairytale.

Let it go.

[jmeelee]

Sterek Week 2019 · Themes: Lyrics & Quotes, Canon Highlights

Rated: T

Words: 1,137

Based on the song, Put the Gun Down by ZZ Ward

*Warning: While this is very much a Sterek story (pre-sterek, if you will), it is the last episode of Teen Wolf from Lydia’s POV. 

++++++++++

“It’s time to put the guns down.”

-Chris Argent, Wolves of War

Lydia’s relationships with men have always been complicated.  It starts with her father, who not only divorces Lydia’s mom but his daughter as well when he abandons Beacon Hills to start a shiny-new family.  She isn’t naive enough to believe it will end with Stiles Stilinski, but deep down in a very secret part of her heart, she’d hoped. 

She won't define herself by the men who pass her like ships in the night, but she’s fiercely intelligent, adaptive and insightful, and each signal flash illuminates more of her truth. From Jackson Whittemore, Lydia discovers the cost of hiding who you are; from Aiden Steiner, the price of concealing your heart.  Scott McCall teaches her what a family can be, and Peter Hale demonstrates the heights and depths her power can reach.  What Jordan Parrish could have shown her she doesn't allow herself to explore, because the fire burning between two harbingers of death can’t possibly sustain life.  

Then, there’s Stiles.  

The image reflected back to her in Stiles’ warm, brown eyes is always artfully applied cherry-red lipstick and perfectly coiffed strawberry-blond curls, even on her worst days. For years she’s wrapped his devotion around her like a favorite oversized sweater, easily hung back in the closet when the weather turns warm.  These days it’s made of tougher, sturdier stuff, things she can’t define, and wears like armor, protecting her heart.  Before tonight, she never worried it might not be enough.

Despite no longer sporting crimson eyes and the title of alpha, Derek Hale storms back into town with self-assured confidence, born of blood and sacrifice and evolution, and wherever Derek goes, Stiles’ eyes follow. It makes Lydia feel bruised, skin rubbed raw, body dragged along the concrete under Roscoe’s tires. 

“You came back for Beacon Hills?” Scott asks, surprise and gratitude coloring his words. 

“No,” Derek answers, “I came back for you.”  Derek and Scott hug, grasp each other’s shoulders, bridge years of miscommunication and misunderstandings in seconds as the pack looks happily on. She’s never related to Peter more than when he breaks up the saccharine reunion with a snide, immature comment.  There's a petulant child inside her too, longing to scream in Derek’s young, handsome face, I had him first.   

She’ll never hang Derek for his family’s tragedy—that yard of rope wraps solely around Kate Argent’s neck, and will hopefully strangle her one day—but Derek’s return to the pack ignites a spark that threatens to burn down Lydia’s whole damn house. It’s devastatingly ironic  Should she laugh, or cry? Or scream.

Inside the vet clinic, she listens with a tight, sardonic smile as Stiles and Derek banter back and forth, weaving the tale of their reunion.  “You convinced the FBI to bring an intern onto an extremely dangerous field operation?” Lydia asks Stiles, lips pursed and eyes narrowed.  

Derek rolls his eyes. “I'm surprised he didn't convince them he could lead it.” The reply is part slight, part praise, just another round of their endless tug-of-war.  Lydia tries not to think about who will fall first. 

“Anyway, long story short,” Stiles gestures toward Derek, “I basically had to, you know, save his life.” 

If you unraveled the story of Stiles Stilinski and Derek Hale, the words would span continents, developed in chapters when Lydia was merely a recurring character, spine reinforced, made stronger by years of wear, tear, and repair.  The tale Stiles tells about rescuing Derek is something straight out of a romance novel, the cheesy kind she used to hide under her bed in middle school. While Derek’s version is less flowery, it’s clear they both want to be the hero in each other’s stories.  They always save each other.

Instinctually, she doesn’t want to look too closely at Stiles’ face, illuminated in the surgical light of the exam room, afraid she’ll see the ending clearly written across his features: Lydia, holding a white flag, back against the bullet-riddled wall.

--------------------

“I should have let you board that plane to Paris,” Lydia tells Malia, statue face frozen in perpetual terror. “Should have pushed you into the arms of those mysterious French men."       

She’s lost Jackson and Ethan somewhere in the dark, deserted halls of her alma mater, and a monster lurks outside the closed classroom door, turning her friends to stone.  “I love you,” it whispers through the cracks in the wood, between the beats of her heart.  It emanates from a Stiles-shaped space inside her head, but speaks with Derek’s voice. She’s heard the phrase before, directed at her, but never with that desperate, broken edge, so sharp and jagged it shreds her apart from the inside out.  She squeezes her eyes shut, presses palms against her ears, but the words are peppermint-scented, tickling her nose, the exact scent and flavor of Stiles’ toothpaste.  

The ardent whisper of a lover. Now. Darling. Then it changes, a wolf’s growl.  Let me in.

“Fear’s pretty motivating,” Derek words from earlier ring in her ears.  She sees him, strategically positioned next to Stiles, their bodies turned unconsciously toward each other.  It’s burned onto the backs of her eyelids. “Especially when it leads to anger.” 

Lydia never imagined she’d be this afraid, but it doesn’t make her angry.  She’s enraged. 

“You can’t have me,” she tells the Anuk Ite, and thinks of her quiet strength, her loud scream, of bringing an armory full of grown men to their knees.  

--------------------

“He’s not healing,” Malia cries, desperate fingers scrabbling over Scott’s bloodstained cheeks. 

“I’m trying.” Scott’s panicked breaths echo around the library. Her stomach heaves. “It’s not working.  I can’t focus.”

Malia cradles his head in her hands.  “Hey.  Hey!  Look at me.  Yes, you can, just concentrate.”    

But he’s not healing, no matter how much Malia begs, and everyone knows what it means.   Stiles looks at Lydia, eyes desperate, unnerved.  Lydia grabs Stiles’ hand, holds on for dear life.  “Malia...Kiss him.” 

Her friend looks back at her, face incredulous.  “What?”

“Kiss him.”

There’s a collective intake of breath when Scott and Malia’s lips part, and Scott’s eyes blink open.  Something exciting burst in her chest, strange and startling, and Stiles squeezes her hand. She looks up into his face, thinking, Love can win.   

But Stiles isn’t looking at Lydia.  As Scott heals, he and Derek stare at each other, faces alive with hope.  This is what you do for me.  

Her fingers slip from Stiles’ bruising grip.

Lydia’s relationships with men have always been complicated.  The end of this one has her feeling curiously sad, like she’s lost something she never even knew she had.  But she’s smart, and even tonight, on the eve of all-out war, Lydia still learns new, hard truths. 

Love is not bulletproof.  And Derek Hale is a smoking gun.

[forgetfulsubs]

Vocaloid is lame - english translation

☆Music by PinocchioP @ Twitter | Channel | Mylist | Website ☆Illustrations by Imamura @ Twitter | Mylist ☆Video by Yuma Saito @ Twitter +Translation by Forgetfulsubs

“Vocaloid is lame, but you know… it’s kind of fun. -- Is what I said, facing the stain on my wall.”

Subbed via the CC!!! (and just managed to get the eng lyrics and notes in the description, the first part of the description keeps reverting to the machine translation though...) Input and corrections are welcome. Remember to give PinocchioP your support!!!! This song will be featured on Pinocchio’s upcoming album 増殖する今村 (Proliferation of Imamura) in which he uses Imamura’s illustrations as a theme!

Tracklist : 1.増殖する今村 (Proliferation of Imamura) 2.ボカロ は ダサい (Vocaloid is Lame) 3.Honjara-ke 4.じゅごん (Dugong) 5.なんにもない (Nothing) 6.アップルドットコム (Apple.com) 7.死ぬのはいつも他人ばかり (Seems like those who die are always strangers) 8.モチベーションが死んでる (Motivation is dying)

Official site. Buy on amazon.jp or on toranoana (or in person at comiket if you’re that lucky…)

ダサ　ダサ　ボカロ　ダサ　ダサ　 ハァ　ダサ　ダサ　ヤメタゲテ 正攻法では　犬も食わんから ケーキで釣っちゃって

So lame, so lame, Vocaloid is so lame, so lame Hah… so lame, so lame…. Just stop that, would you! Even dogs won’t {listen} to it if you use a straightforward approach, So I’m fishing them in with cake...

性善説に　びっしり草が生えてる　 隠した純情　伝わらないまま 怒りを買っちゃって 仏のような御仁から袋叩き

To the belief that humans are born good, a thick patch of grass grows (wwwww) Without conveying my hidden pure heart I’m stirring up all kinds of hatred, Taking a beating from even the most Buddha-like personages.

(grass grows = Japanese slang for laughing is “wwwww”, the term “grass grows” is a slang of a slang because these “wwwwwww”s look like grass.)

勘違いから　孫の代まで祟るエレジー 耳ふさいでも　患部に届く そう　ボカロはダサい　ほら　ダサい　 そう　誰かが言ってた

From a misunderstanding, the elegy curses even my grandchildren’s generation, Even if I cover my ears it reaches right down to where it hurts... Yes, vocaloids are really lame. Look, just how lame they are. -- that’s what someone said...

殴られたら痛い　ほら　痛いとか わざわざ言うみたい　なんで

最近どう？　内心もう　美味しいカレーが食べたい ボカロはダサいけど楽しい 壁の染みに向かって言ってた

If you get hit, it hurts. Look, it’s like you just end up actually saying “it hurts” or something, why?

How have you been recently? In my innermost thoughts, I think... I just want to eat some tasty curry. Vocaloid is lame, but you know… it’s kind of fun. -- Is what I said, facing the stain on my wall.

アレが悪いとか　コレが悪いとか　 すぐ決め付けちゃって 天狗の面をつけたまま死体蹴り いつもの手癖じゃ儲からないから　 どこかへ行っちゃって やがて　あたたかな家庭 築くらしい 季節は巡り 子供産まれ　名付けた「慈恵羅志(ジェラシー)」 センスないけど　寿命は延びる　　

This is bad, or that is bad-- I fix my mind on things like that real fast, With my tengu mask, still equipped I’m beating a dead horse here. I won’t turn a profit with my usual sticky fingers, So off I’ll go somewhere, And in the end, make a cosy family, apparently. The seasons turn and a child’ll be born, I’ll name them 慈恵羅志 “jealousy” I know it’s not a very pretty name, but it promotes a long life. *

(beating a dead horse = actually a video game term for kicking the enemy even after they’ve been defeated. I thought the English proverb fit?)

(I know it’s not a very pretty name, but it promotes a long life. = Japan has a kind of fortune telling determined by the kanjis in your name. I don’t know how it is determined but I assume this is what the reference is about)

そう 命はダサい　ほら　ダサい サイボーグが言ってた

Yeah! Life is lame. Just look how lame it is! -- That’s what a cyborg said.

傷ついたら辛い　ほら　辛いとか わかりゃしないのに　なんで 最近どう？　内心もう　ずっとベッドで寝ていたい 命はダサいけど　不思議 道祖神に向かって言ってた

If you get hurt, it’s really tough even though I don’t understand what that is, why? So, how have you been recently? In my innermost thoughts, I think... I want to stay in bed forever. Life is really lame but, you know, it’s rather mysterious. -- I said, facing a Dōsojin

ダサ ダサ　ボカロ ダサ ダサ　 ハァ ダサ ダサ　 イェー マイクチェックワンツー 博愛主義者のマウンティング 自己内省のファインディング プライドのディスカウンティング　 17歳はセブンティーン やめられない　やめられない やめられない　とまらない　ああ　 全国ショップで好評発売中

So lame, so lame. Vocaloid is so lame, so lame! Hah, it’s so lame, just so lame... Yeah! Mic check -- one two! Philanthropic PUTTING OTHERS DOWN. Self reflectional FINDING. Pride DISCOUNTING. 17 years, is SEVENTEEN. I just can’t stop! Just can’t stop! Can’t stop here. It just doesn’t stop, AAH. At the nationwide shop, popularity itself is on sale.

そう　ボカロはダサい　ほら ダサい そう　誰かが言ってた そう ボカロは楽しい　ほら　楽しいとか わざわざ言うみたい　

Yeah, Vocaloid is so lame. Just look at how lame they are? -- That’s what someone said. Yeah, Vocaloid is so much fun. Look it’s so much fun! ...looks like people are going out of their way to say so.

そう　ボカロはダサい　ほら　うざい　 ほら　死ねよ　ほら　消えろって言っていた人は その情熱が糧となり　憧れの宇宙飛行士になった 夢が叶って 宇宙飛行士になった

ダサ ダサ　ボカロ ダサ ダサ　 ハァ ダサ ダサ　ヤメタゲテ

Yeah, Vocaloid is so lame. So annoying. Come on, just go die! Just go disappear! -- the person who said that ended up with their passion becoming fuel, and they became an astronaut, just as they had longed to be. Their dreams were granted, and they became an astronaut…

So lame, so lame. Vocaloid is so lame, so lame. Hah… so lame, so lame…. Just stop that, would you!

[thesinglesjukebox]

ASHLEY O - ON A ROLL

[5.00]

It's Amnesty 2019! In which our writers choose singles from the year that we didn't get to. And what better way to get the ball rolling than with a song that's got something to say about pop music...

Joshua Lu: In the final episode of season five of Black Mirror, Miley Cyrus plays pop star Ashley O, whose desire to escape her contract leads her aunt to put her under a coma, which leads to two of her fans saving her, which leads to her performing "Head Like a Hole" at a night club, happy now that she's freed from the literal and metaphorical restraints that came with being a pop star. Undergirding the episode is "On a Roll," a remake of that same Nine Inch Nails song but made so overtly benign and bubbly that it becomes as unnerving as the original. Most of these unnerving aspects are probably intentional: the ambiguity behind lines like "'Cause I'm going down in history" or "I'm gonna get what I deserve," the distorted moans and cries buried in the instrumental, or the way the bass drops off at the start of the chorus, leaving Ashley O screaming motivational platitudes over an unfeeling beat. But there are so many parts that are equally unsettling yet don't come across as intentional -- were they really expecting us to hear "hey yeah whoa-oh" and not "hey I'm a hole," or is this mixup supposed to act as commentary on, say, perverse undertones in popular music? (The fact that the original song has "hole" in the same spot makes this mondegreen all the more suspect.) Are the dozen or so seconds of dead air at the end of the song just a consequence of a lazy audio engineer, or was this silence deliberately included to let the song's termination settle uncomfortably into nothingness? It's these parts of "On a Roll" that make it so fascinating -- not the rockist message of its origin, and especially not the corny, ham-fisted cracking screen in the music video -- so much so that even after streaming it for months, I can't tell how much of this song I'm supposed to enjoy, and how much I'm supposed to fear. [8]

Vikram Joseph: Like "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too", the Black Mirror episode which birthed it, "On A Roll" serves as both escapist fun and a pointed facsimile of meticulously-constructed big-studio pop. Brooker and Reznor's four-part construction is unexpectedly good -- a cheerleader-chant of a chorus (surely intentionally written to, in turn, be wilfully misheard as "hey, I'm a hoe!" by gay twitter) sandwiched between big, melodic, reverberating synths in the pre- and post-chorus sections. Squeezing "achieving my goals!" into a pop chorus is worth an extra point, and also works as a sly joke about influencer culture's obsession with productivity. [7]

Alfred Soto: Imagine shouting "achieving my goals!" with less enthusiasm than an assistant vice president of human resources at a two-day retreat. At least "California Gurls" put the self-help gumption behind solid beats. [1]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: "On a Roll" was designed to be a hollow shell of a prototypical pop song grounding a Black Mirror episode satirising toxic music stan culture. And yet, contrary to the episode's whole point, the Gays™ have still found a way to make it the object of stan culture anyways! Frankly, I can see why: it's low-key a bop, the kind that burrows under your skin and slowly takes over your body until you're singing it all the time. I can't help but like it even though I know I'm not supposed to. Do we really have free will? [6]

Kayla Beardslee: Yas queen, I'm literally gagging. We love a thinly produced bop! New main pop girl Ashley O has done it again, constantly raising the bar for all of us who want to make basic pop that serves looks? eh vocals? I guess its story without ever impressing outside of its narrative context. We stan. Keep her in that coma so she can churn out more average, serviceable music for AO2! [5]

Natasha Genet Avery: Ashley O's Gaga impression had me in the first half, I'm not gonna lie. But Gaga would never waste a verse and bridge this good on that laughably staid three-note chorus. [5]

Nortey Dowuona: A fizzing, swaddled bass synth lopes around the black hole of drums that sucks down every other musical instrument, burying a thinning synth key patch pushing up and sinking while Miley scrapes it off the bottom of the ice cream pail. [3]

Tobi Tella: In the same vein as A Star Is Born, turns out executives trying to make empty, vapid pop music actually ends up slapping. It's a perfect pop parody, with a million meaningless hooks; the drawn out "oh honeyyy," the pre-chorus that has nothing to do with anything, and, of course, the chorus, which hits the cheesy pop vibe perfectly. Not to mention the fact that it's an interpolation of a hard metal song, everything about this is nonsensical yet amazing, and it's honestly probably better than anything Miley Cyrus has put out this year. [7]

Jackie Powell: Ashley O might have just performed my "I can beat burnout" theme song. While this track was released in mid-June, it's exactly what is needed to deal with the darker days of December. It's almost as if I'm visualizing that Rachel Bloom on a stage somewhere singing about burnout, but I'm not actually hearing a musical theater melody. It's one hundred percent pop. It's also sexier while still cheering me on. How's that for an anti-burnout fight song? It's also ironic that "Head Like a Hole" is lyrically so dystopian while "On a Roll" sonically and visually -- with its simple synths responsible for the track's chord progression and a purple wig and white bodysuit -- projects more of a utopian vibe. But as a song featured in Black Mirror, the choice to pay tribute to "Head Like A Hole" was more deliberate than not. [8]

Katherine St Asaph: As long as Nine Inch Nails have existed and yarled, people have observed, often intending to blow your minds, that they might Actually Be Pop. There were the band's early appearances on questionable proto-TRLs. There was that Sound on Sound interview about how Dave Ogilvie mixed "Call Me Maybe" like a NIN song, resulting in this (featuring, in the comments, one "DigitalPimp" marveling at how it sounded like something out of a Black Mirror episode, four years before "Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too"). There was the weird spate of offhand references in media about and/or marketed to young, non-generally-industrial-listening girls, from Clarissa from Clarissa Explains It All to Cassie from Animorphs to the babies in A Visit From the Goon Squad who are sold future!NIN's hit "Ga Ga." There are the many real-life "Ga Ga"s, like this, this, or this by Devo, or this seasonally appropriate medley. And there is, of course, this deeply strange year 2019, in which Trent Reznor earned his first No. 1 hit with one "Old Town Road," and in which there was this. I'm not a Trent purist -- I'm too much of a Tori Amos fan for that -- but "On a Roll" misunderstands the medium. The track, at least, is done by actual pop producers, The Invisible Men, and thus sounds plausible, though it can't decide whether it wants to be "California Gurls" or Weeknd-produced-by-Max-Martin smooveness or whatever the hell that half-time prechorus or Can't Take Me Home faux-soul backing vocal are. But the lyrics are by Charlie Brooker, and though he nails the inane in-universe promotional bullshit, he doesn't understand songwriting. "Bow down before the one you serve" is a more plausible pop lyric than "I'm stoked on ambition and verve." One shamelessly plunders greed and S&M and melodrama and does so the way actual people talk. One is a thesis statement rather than a lyric, doesn't scan, and is finished by rhymezone.com-ing vocabulary that for the life of me, I cannot remember if any pop lyrics have used. It's not even a timely thesis; in cynical 2019, post-Madonna, post-Gaga, post-Eilish, hell, post-"7 Rings," a pop star is less likely to put out "Everything Is Awesome" jingle music than just cover "Head like a Hole." And indeed, "On a Roll" exists so Black Mirror can get a cathartic moment out of Ashley O singing the actual "Head Like a Hole," which sounds great, because by comparison what wouldn't? Trent says he's OK with it, but then we know his stance on what he'd do for money. [2]

Iain Mew: I was at the lower context end of the scale for my initial listens to "On a Roll." I haven't watched the Black Mirror episode; I was vaguely aware of a Nine Inch Nails link but not its form; I don't know "Head Like a Hole." In that context "On a Roll" sounded like an intermittently functioning pop song with some unusually scanning lyrics that ranged from awkward to witty to both. Listening to the Nine Inch Nails song afterwards brought it together in a different way, but "On a Roll" stood up without that at least as well as most of the high concept early-'00s mashups that it's the conceptual successor to. [6]

Katie Gill: Does this work more if you're canon-familiar? Because I get the joke: ha ha, we're going to turn Nine Inch Nails into a pop song as some sort of commentary for Charlie Brooker's Ham-Fisted Social Commentary Hour! But I've only watched one or two Black Mirror episodes, so I can't help but feel that I'm missing something here. Because if the joke is that this complete antithesis of a pop song is now turned into a pop song, I don't think it works. The lyrics are sheer beautiful banality, a 2010s take on the same joke Music and Lyrics made over ten years ago. But the pop instrumentation & reworking doesn't hide the fact that "Head Like a Hole" is not fundamentally built like a pop song. It's like going into a guest bedroom that was obviously once a storage attic with low ceilings and poor insulation: put on a new coat of paint and the bones still show through. Maybe I have to watch the episode in order to fully appreciate the joke. But then again, great examples of musical parody & homage stand wonderfully on their own without context. Why doesn't this? [5]

Alex Clifton: As a parody of manufactured pop, this is pretty good; unsurprisingly, I'm reminded of Hannah Montana's "Nobody's Perfect" with its aggressive positivity ("riding so high! achieving my goals!"). But I'm seen people refer to this as an "accidental banger" and that's overrating the song. It's serviceable, it's catchy enough to be in the background at a party, but if you're going to go for manufactured pop, go hard or go home. This just doesn't commit itself enough to the genre to meet my expectations. [4]

Will Adams: I've spent the better part of the decade railing against PC Music's uncanny valley pop and its purported inability to make satisfying commentary on pop music. Allow "On a Roll" to serve as my mea culpa. Clickable premise of Miley Cyrus covering Nine Inch Nails for a Black Mirror episode aside, "On a Roll" feels pointless. Especially when a pop version of "Head Like a Hole" already exists, deliberately cynical pop by mainstream artists already exists, and your chorus hinges on a line as fatally clunky as "I'm stoked on ambition and verve." [3]

David Moore: A few months ago I was doing my weekly Spotify trawl and came across what sounded like a long-delayed aftershock of self-titled-era Taylor Swift. I was amused to see that this artist was Taylor Acorn, suggesting an elaborate algorithm designed to generate successive Taylor Swift clones named according to a variation on the NATO alphabet: Taylor Acorn, Taylor Bravo, Taylor Charlie. And this in turn gave me an idea for a television pilot with this exact premise, which I wrote ten to twenty minutes worth of before it fell flat. The problem, as it usually is with these sorts of things, is that the music needs to be good, and it can't just conjure its goodness from the perspicacity of its commentary. And of course most bizzer behind-the-curtain shows fail even at this basic commentary level -- the easiest part! -- and are doomed to be not only bad both in show and in soundtrack, but a little insulting, too. So it's a pleasure, if a mild one, to hear those exhausting try-hards over at Black Mirror let a decent pop song just kind of sit there. I didn't see the episode, but from what I can tell Miley Cyrus is supposed to be a bit of a cipher, which of course she isn't at all -- and funnily enough it makes this song do almost the opposite of what it's supposed to; it acts instead as a kind of metacommentary on how hard it is to make Miley Cyrus sound cool and competent. What, Taylor Acorn wasn't available? [6]

Michael Hong: It's nice to see Hannah Montana aim for something that fits directly into the image of the pop machine. "On the Roll" lodges itself firmly in your head while attempting to stimulate your pleasure receptors, rather than forcing all its energy to generate the cycle's "new authentic me," which ends up barely being a reinvention but more of an embarrassing reminder that Miley Cyrus is once again, back at it. Next time maybe she can aim for something good. [2]

Kylo Nocom: As satire? Boring, but not unexpectedly so! A good rule of thumb is that blanket parodies of pop music are never smart and rarely funny. Just last year A Star Is Born and Vox Lux soundtracked rockist paranoia with gratingly obvious piss-takes: "Why Did You Do That?" had a title that doubled as a lament for Ally's career; "Hologram (Smoke and Mirrors)" drove accusations of artifice that seemed directed equally at an imagined lover and Celeste herself. "On a Roll" suffers the same issues through less obvious signaling, being the commodification of an anti-establishment song, yet even here the writers can't resist an ironic nod. An uncomfortably extended silence following the last "I'm gonna get what I deserve" leaves room for interpretation: is this about Ashley exiting the pop machine as a break into authentic living, or about her suffering as retribution for being part of the pop machine? Who knows! The song is otherwise fantastic, and it being fantastic fucking sucks. Interpolating Nine Inch Nails wholesale puts Miley in her most enjoyable mode: anthemic rock-adjacent joy, some of the best she's done since her Hollywood Records era. Even if Black Mirror's idea of future pop is suspiciously like 2017, with tropical percussion breaks from "New Rules" and the pulses from "Sorry Not Sorry," the arrangement of "On a Roll" suggests actual, realized verve. The charm of the song concerns; in the context of the show itself it's the result of exploitation, and outside its context it's packaged with tacky viral marketing bullshit. But I can't resist. [9]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I was prepared to give this some begrudgingly high score based on the weird, feverish week in the early summer where I listened to this on loop. But on the return visit, the appeal of "On a Roll" fades away with its novelty. All that remains is the general structure of "Head Like A Hole," which ties that undeniable melody to a much more compelling creep of a beat, and a slightly-above-average vocal performance from Miley. With every year of this nostalgia-focused decade I have grown wearier and wearier of this sort of reincarnation pop, yesterday's pleasures repackaged winkingly for an audience that sees the artlessness, the lack of aura, as the point. There's no way to listen to this sincerely, and I'm no longer amused by irony's mirror. [3]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[pxrtalmxster]

Android Girl-Deco*27 Inspiration

So the verses I added recently that are more or less directly after academy, were more or less completely inspired by this song as a general plot. Now I know the actual meaning of this song and it’s visuals, but please ignore that for this explanation. The lyrics are the only thing that matters to this post and I’m interpreting them a bit differently. Tw for abusive and toxic relationships and the video itself having some violent imagery.

(Everything in bold is important and has an explanation under it. Anything crossed out can be generally ignored and italics are just things that add to the overall theme) Also read this if you want more context.

We might as well just create our "Togetherland,"

hopping on this match-up with you. "Gimme me more attention. It's not enough." Sing it - the style of jealousy steeped in memories. We took our turns to hurt each other, only to make a show of reconciliation, lying about how we "won't do it anymore." We both cheat on each other with misunderstandings.

"You can tell just by looking into their eyes,'" or so it's said, but that's just stupid.

[As some of you may know, eyes are an important part of the story overall. So this line just fits quite well itself]

"This love has become so rotten,

to the point that I can profess my love to this "delusion."

[Kaos begins to realize his feelings for Kayla, but it was too late. She had already left on her own journey before he had the chance to do anything. But her dark half came to him and he thought of this as an opportunity to work through his feelings.]

Just realize it already.

[He can’t figure out his feelings yet.] Android girl, I've gone out of my mind.

You've become mine and mine alone, but "who" exactly are you?

[Kaos uses her dark half as a proxy for his feelings, but he wonders if this is really the best thing or if this is even really Kayla at all.]

And to think I've trusted you all this time, all this time.

[He certainly is caught of guard by Dark Kayla’s reactions and seeming reciprocation of his feelings. Somehow it feels like a betrayal]

Android girl, what was my feeling for you again?

[He starts to realize his feelings are for the real Kayla and he doesn’t know how to handle that]

The kiss we shared hurt so badly, I had to shut down my breath.

[It’s a bit too late though, as Kayla’s dark half has a lot of her obsessive personality and he’s become the target of that. More specifically, her affections.]

All this time, all this time. No matter how many times I reboot this love, it can't possibly change, not even by a little bit.

[Kaos continues to use her as a proxy, thinking the next time will be better, but it isn’t. Creating a cycle.] "Gosh, how adorable. Whatever am I gonna do with you?" I've had enough of that. Gotta resize those heart-fluttering compliments.

[Dark Kayla is simply molding him into what she wants. Through manipulation and other means.]

Annoying, annoying concurrent offences I don't even know what I'm supposed to hope for anymore.

[Making his mental state worse and even more unable to come to terms with his feelings.]

Is it still not time for the end credits yet?

"We're always together, no matter where"? That's seriously cringy.

[He begins to think the real Kayla may not be coming back from her journey. Despite her promise to do so.]

Is it okay if I were to indulge myself in "sentimentalism"?

[Kaos thinks if she really isn’t coming back, maybe he could just let the dark half fill that void. Despite the current absence of feelings for her.]

Can I wish for those days to come back?

Yes or no? Tell me.

[He continues to not understand his own feelings.]

Android girl, I've gone out of my mind.

Do you love "me," now that I've become yours and yours alone?

[Kaos becomes more or less resigned to the assumption that the real Kayla might not come back after not hearing from her for a time.]

Looks like you've deceived me all this time, all this time.

[He’s beginning to realize her true motivations and manipulation over him.]

Android girl, what was my feeling for you again?

[Pretty self-explanatory]

How many times did you seek me out, with those rust-consumed arms? All this time, all this time.

[Kaos starts to wonder if the real Kayla really did have feelings for him if her dark counterpart does to this extent.] No matter how many times I reboot this love, it can't possibly change, not even by a little bit. Android girl, I've gone out of my mind. You've become mine and mine alone, but "who" exactly are you? And to think I've trusted you all this time, all this time.

Android girl, what was my feeling for you again? The kiss we shared hurt so badly, I had to shut down my breath. All this time, all this time.

I can't shake off my selfishness.

Never shall I forgive you.

[Kaos fights back against the Dark Kayla’s actions and affections. Especially since he knows how much pain her dark half caused the real Kayla as well.]

Android girl, I've gone out of my mind. Do you love "me," now that I've become yours and yours alone? Looks like you've deceived me all this time, all this time. Android girl, what was my feeling for you again? How many times did you seek me out, with those rust-consumed arms? All this time, all this time.

No matter how many times I reboot this love, it can't possibly change, not even by a little. No matter how many times I reboot this love, it can't possibly change, not even by a little bit.

[sentientsongs-blog]

Things are Not Always What They Seem

When it comes to music, it is often made with a direct intention. Whether it be to express love, lust, or hate--the song usually has a clear meaning the artist or the writer envisioned. However, when this same music is released to the public, interpretations can change or be flipped around entirely. This is true in the case of Rita Ora’s newest single “Girls”. Meant to express bisexuality in a positive and supportive light, many found the song offensive and stereotypical. However, in songs like BTS’s “Fake Love” or Arctic Monkey’s “Four Out of Five”, sometimes the intended meaning is flipped positively and the interpretation of the song is transformed into something must greater than it once was. It can express themes some may not even see, in the case of the interpretation of BTS’s “Fake Love”, which fans are saying hints at greek mythology and differing universes through symbolism and specific lyrical references. Sometimes it can even express a problem with society so great that it speaks of the future repercussions we as a society could face like in the song “Four Out of Five” by Arctic Monkey’s. Originally written as an advertisement of a hotel, it speaks of societal issues through specific references and scenery. Regardless of meaning of intended meaning, song’s are inevitably transformed by the audience and turned into something new.

The Different Side of Love

BTS have returned with their long anticipated comeback single “Fake Love”. Featured on their first full album since 2016, “Love Yourself:Tear”, this song was quick to draw a large audience and was viewed over 50 million times in a little more than 24 hours.

This song, a deliberately darker release than their last love-filled single “DNA”, focuses on the repercussions of love turned sour. Featuring lyrics like “I changed everything just for you/But I dunno me, Who are you?”, BTS highlight the way in which their pre-existing love has now become “fake”, or turned into something that is all pretense.

Their music video, which references several prominent themes within the universe of BTS’s past releases (more info found here), is prominently shrouded in darkness. Not only have all the members adopted an unusual choice (for them) of dark hair, they have also seemed to express their frustration and misery in outfits that seem to be more tattered and slightly chaotic. This darkness is also present in the scenery, as many of the scenes rely on shadows--both as a point of showcasing choreography as well as bringing the members in and out of focus.

This choice really emphasizes the tone of the song, one that features deliberately somber lyrics but a harsh and repeated back-beat. Their love is fake and falling apart, making them not only sad but angry at how it seems to be not through not their own fault but their partners’. This is driven home with their repeated chorus “Love it’s so mad, love it’s so mad/Try to erase myself and make me your doll/Love you so bad, love you so bad/Mold a pretty lie for you” as well as the continued imagery within the music video like Taehyung’s phone turning to dust or the hallway under Jungkook’s feet continually being dropped from underneath him.

Since arriving in United States for the Billboard Music Awards on May 20, BTS have given many interviews where they talk about their new album and subsequent single. In one interview for J14 when asked about this album and their single, the band’s leader RM said 

“Basically, love is a complex right? And, there’s sort of some sides that make us feel really bad or depressed. There could be tear, there could be sadness. So, this time we wanted to focus on some of the parts of love that we want to run away from. And so the name is tear and the main title single is going to be “Fake Love”. We want to say if you are untrue to yourself, love won’t last. And the love could be between a person and a person, it could be between me and myself.

The rest of the interview as well as some links to other interviews where BTS discuss the finer details and motivations for their song can be found here:

BTS with Zach Sang

BTS with Entertainment Tonight

Representation turned Rage

Earlier this week, Rita Ora released her single “Girls” with fellow female artists Charli XCX, Bebe Rexha, and Cardi B. Written with inspiration from Katy Perry’s late 2000′s hit “I Kissed a Girl”, the song seemed on track to be a hit. However, social media users and other singers seemed to find a problem with the way the song seemed to portray bisexuality. Openly LGBTQ+ artists Hayley Kiyoko and Kehlani both were quick to express the way they felt the song fell flat. 

With the song featuring a chorus that repeats, “Sometimes I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls/Red wine, I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls”, it is easy to see where the intentions of expressing positive representations of bisexuality failed. LGBTQ+ identities are already seen as fake or a deliberate choice by much of the world, so associating alcohol with the desire for a woman to kiss other woman can lead to further misunderstandings. 

Another lyric of the song states “Now I could be your lipstick, just for one night (one night).” While not blatantly harmful, this also implies a fleetingness to the relationship that the song is portraying. That while a relationship between women can exist, it is only something that ever happens as a passing interest and is never something long-term.

Considering bisexuality often finds discrimination from both gay and straight communities, it seems a controversy over a song like this was bound to occur. After all, while Katy Perry’s song still receives radio play nearly 10 years later, it too has been criticized for its portrayal of a female relationship. Katy Perry herself has said, if given the chance, she would rewrite her song and change some of the lyrical stereotypes she portrayed. 

After this controversy started making waves on social media, Ora was quick to put out a statement regarding her own thoughts on the song. 

A controversy like this is difficult to place. Although Ora’s intentions were likely positive, if her intention was to make the song representational of an entire community she did not seem to hit the mark. However, if this portrayal was just about her own experiences with bisexuality, it seems unfair for others to put down the way she chooses to express her own sexuality. It lies up to interpretation then. If the song succeeds as a personal statement and fails as a representative one.

A Society Outside of Society

Arctic Monkey’s have returned from a nearly 5 year hiatus with their newest album “Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino”. Known for their heavy rock tones, it came as a shock to many fans the way they have stemmed away from their previous work and adopted more synth tones with their single “Four Out of Five”. 

This single serves as an advertisement of sorts to the larger theme of their album, the Tranquility Hotel itself. Reminiscent of the Greek Lotus-eaters, the song seems to encourage the listener to come and stay in their hotel without much thought. This is further highlighted with the lyrics “Take it easy for a little while/Come and stay with us, it’s such an easy flight” repeated throughout the chorus. This hotel, as explained by Arctic Monkey’s, is said to be located on the moon within a society forced to flee Earth. 

While the song serves to persuade others to stay within it’s hotel in an alternative universe, the song addressed many issues that are prominent today. Speaking of the exodus that required the population to flee Earth as well as the gentrification that is then occurring within the new civilization in the lyrics “Since the exodus, it’s all getting gentrified/ The Information-Action Ratio (The Information-Action Ratio)/Is the place to go, four stars out of five.” Also mentioned in those lyrics is the concept of the “Information-Action Ratio” described in an interview with the lead singer Alex Turner as “a reference to the idea of how we have so much knowledge at our fingertips but don’t quite know what to do with it.”

It is clear here that while this song might be occurring in a world outside our own, the problems we once had did not just disappear. The exodus (or the fleeing of the Earth from most likely environmental failure) required the population to leave, something we as a society still do not have a solution for. Gentrification is also still an issue, as we continue to rebuild areas dominated by minority communities and force them to move by inflating prices. This displaces large populations of people and adds to our ever-growing population of homeless and low income individuals. 

It seems then that this song could be interpreted as a warning of sorts. Not only are our current problems regarding the environment and gentrification detrimental to ourselves, we are also possibly creating technology at a rate we cannot keep up with. The advertisement for the hotel is just surface level, what really speaks the loudest is what is overlooked within the lyrics.