#anti anti michael bublé

[bubblesbenson]

How come Harry Styles and all of these modern pop stars can do whatever they want, but if Chris Pratt or Michael Bublé even fart (you know, like being accused of homophobia when there is no physical evidence other than a bad church), the Internet will mercilessly attack them?

Really would like to understand this logic.

Also, can we also leave Brie Larson and Tatiana Maslany alone too while we’re at it?

@impulse-cake @raven-eyed-wanderer

[saintmeghanmarkle]

📋 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐌 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐀𝐑𝐎, 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟒𝟎𝐱𝟒𝟎 📋

📌 ARO jam recipients (as of May 27th, 2024)

Tracy Robbins (designer, wife of Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins) *

Delfina Balquier (Argentine socialite, wife of Nacho Figueras) * and Nacho Figueras (professional polo player) *

Kelly Mckee Zajfen (friend, Alliance of Moms founder) *

Mindy Kaling (actress and comedian) *

Tracee Ellis Ross (actress, daughter of Diana Ross)

Abigail Spencer (friend, Suits co-star) *

Chrissy Teigen (television personality, wife of John Legend)

Kris Jenner ('Momager') *

Garcelle Beauvais (actress, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) *

Heather Dorak (friend, yoga instructor) *

📌 Archetypes podcast guests

Serena Williams 🏆

Mariah Carey 👑

Mindy Kaling (actress and comedian) *

Margaret Cho (comedian and actress)

Lisa Ling (journalist and tv personality)

Deepika Padukone (Indian actress)

Jenny Slate (actress and comedian)

Constance Wu (actress)

Paris Hilton (entrepreneur, socialite, activist)

Iliza Shlesinger (comedian and actress)

Issa Rae (actress and writer)

Ziwe (comedian and writer)

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (former wife of Canadian PM Trudeau)

Pamela Adlon (actress)

Sam Jay (comedian and writer)

Mellody Hobson (President and co-CEO of $14.9B Ariel Investments, Chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation, wife of George Lucas)

Victoria Jackson (entrepreneur, wife of Bill Guthy: founder of Guthy-Renker, leading direct marketing company)

Jameela Jamil (actress, television host)

Shohreh Aghdashloo (Iranian and American actress)

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (actress and singer)

Candace Bushnell (Sex and The City writer)

Trevor Noah (South African comedian)

Andy Cohen (talk show host)

Judd Apatow (director, producer, screenwriter)

source

📌 40x40 participants

Adele 🌟

Amanda Gorman (poet and activist)

Amanda Nguyen (activist)

Ayesha Curry (actress, cooking television personality)

Ciara (singer and actress)

Deepak Chopra (author and alternative medicine advocate)

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (former Surgeon General of California)

Elaine Welteroth (former Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue)

Dr. Ibram X Kendi (professor and anti-racism activist)

Fernando Garcia (creative director of Oscar de la Renta)

Gabrielle Union (actress)

Gloria Steinem (feminist journalist and social-political activist)

Hillary Clinton (politician, wife of former US President Bill Clinton)

Katie Couric (journalist) *

Kerry Washington (actress)

Chef José Andrés (founder of World Central Kitchen)

Melissa McCarthy (actress)

Princess Eugenie (member of British Royal Family)

Priyanka Chopra (actress)

Sarah Paulson (actress)

Sofia Carson (actress)

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (former wife of Canadian PM)

Stella McCartney (fashion designer, daughter of Paul McCartney)

Dr. Theresa "Tessy" Ojo - CBE, FRSA (Diana Award CEO)

Tracee Ellis Ross (actress, daughter of Diana Ross)

Unconfirmed - Edward Enninful (former Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue)

Unconfirmed - Daniel Martin (makeup artist) *

An official list of all "40x40" participants was never disclosed

source 1 // source 2 // source 3

📌 Notes:

Names with an asterisk (*) indicate that they follow ARO on Instagram

Notably missing from these lists: Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and wife Nicole Avant, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, Beyoncé, Tina Knowles, Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Kevin Costner, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia Rossi *, Brooke Shields, John Travolta, Kelly Rowland, Holly Robinson Peete, Misan Harriman *, Michael Bublé

Wedding guests missing from these lists: Jessica Mulroney, George and Amal Clooney, David and Victoria Beckham, Idris Elba and Sabria Dhowre, James Blunt and Sofia Wellesley, Janina Gavankar, Elton John and David Furnish, James Corden and Julia Carey, Patrick J. Adams and the rest of the cast of Suits, Joss Stone, Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley, Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford [Source]

Sunshine Sachs must've called in a LOT of favors to get so many famous names on board the Archetypes Podcast and the 40x40 project. Vanity projects that went... nowhere.

Without Sunshine Sachs, IMO it's highly unlikely that M will ever be able to reach the same level of celebrity access on her own.

If there are any names missing from these lists, please comment below 👇

Post link

author: SeptièmeSens

submitted: May 27, 2024 at 06:44PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[purplezombietumbler]

"Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" Character Playlists

Puss

Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift

Sorry by Halsey

Sabotage By Bebe Rexha

Bones By Imagine Dragons

Uma Thurman By Fall Out Boy

Applause (Purity Ring Remix) By Lady Gaga

Dance With The Devil By Katy Perry

Not Over You By Gavin DeGraw

On The Floor By Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull

Party Monster By The Weeknd

Death

Bad Guy By Billie Eilish

Enemy By Sam Tinnesz ft. Tommee Profitt & Beacon Light

Disturbia By Rihanna

HUMBLE By Kendrick Lamar

Dead But Pretty By IC3PEAK

Happy Face By Jagwar Twin

Wolf In Sheep's Clothing By Set It Off ft. William Beckett

The Ghost By NIVIRO

Feeling Good By Michael Bublé

Devil's Train By The Lab Rats

Perrito

Sunroof By Nicky Youre & dazy

breathin By Ariana Grande

Good Time By Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen

Stitches By Shawn Mendes

A Place In This World By Taylor Swift

Lights By Ellie Goulding

About Damn Time By Lizzo

Be Kind By Halsey

Ooh La La By Britney Spears

Shake It Off by Taylor Swift

Kitty

Hey Mama By Nicki Minaj ft. David Guetta, Bebe Rexha, Afrojack

Confident By Demi Lovato

Feeling Good by SOFI TUKKER

Waves By Normani & 6LACK

She Wolf By Shakira

Just Call By Prince Fox & Bella Thorne

Wish You'd Stayed By The Haunt

Poison By RITA ORA

I Do By Cardi B ft. SZA

Vigilante Shit By Taylor Swift

Goldilocks

Manners By Ashnikko

Rise By Katy Perry

Dumb Blonde By Avril Lavigne ft. Nicki Minaj

Diamonds By Megan Thee Stallion & Normoni

My Family By Migos, KAROL G, Snoop Dogg & Rock Mafia

We Don't Sleep At Night By Cash Cash ft. Bim

Team By Iggy Azalea

WTF Do I Know By Miley Cyrus

I Wish By Cher Lloyd ft. T.I.

I Hope You’re Happy Now By Carly Pearce & Lee Brice

[dollyboned]

welcome to my place!

soph | minor | neurodivergent | poc | agender aroace lesbian [she/her/doll | they/them/spirit] | brazilian portuguese & english (learning spanish!)

☆ DNI:

basic dni criteria, TERFs, zionists, bigots, ableists, anti goth/punk movement, leorio, gon & killugon hater, doesn't tw, pro-shippers, pro-ana, pro animal testing, right-wing, lesbophobics, dream fans, acephobics, paranormal things and porcelain dolls hater, witchery hater, doesn't tone tag sarcasm or jokes, constantly joking about suic*de. (intrusive thoughts vent allowed because it's not a joke)

☆ BYF:

communist, goth punk for music, books and sociopolitical views, fanfic writer, i don't play about killugon yuri usually offline & when online reblogging a lot about autism and killugon. ♡

☆ BYI:

i have trouble with tones, english isn't my first language, if killugon is the topic im prone to get really excited. usually missing letters or whole words when talking even if i reread a lot before posting. sometimes brutal honest with no intent to harm; will apologize if you explain to me that you felt bad about it. not interested in flirting and will feel really weirded out if you do so. probably going to remember the most not related topic during a conversation. i can tolerate criticism if you're not mean. rejection sensitiveness dysphoria and "sorry i didn't message before, i forgot you existed for a while /lh /gen" combo. amazingly good at being bad in retaining information unrelated to my sp/in.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ(via kamal fareed on pinterest)

☆ special interests;

killugon. my own fanfic (mother arcade), specially killua from mother arcade. paranormal life, haunted dolls, kelsi davies paranormal investigations, soulmori's haunted house, my own haunted doll, malice mizer.

☆ hobbies;

writing. ballet (beginner). drawing. collecting pretty rocks and crystals. music, probably going to learn violin. singing (im an alto!). beginner at crocheting too. writing letters.

☆ music favorites;

goth/v-kei: malice mizer, kaya, buck-tick, scary bitches, siouxsie and the banshees, this mortal coil, type o negative, bauhaus, london after midnight, xmal deustchland, rammstein.

pop/indie/etc: laufey, wave to earth, grentperez, rocco, beabadoobee, wasia project, chappell roan, the marías, her's, lyn lapid, hozier.

brazilian music: gal costa, maria bethânia, alceu valença, chico buarque, elis regina, maria rita, caetano veloso, raul seixas, milton nascimento, rita lee, gilberto gil, belchior, gonzaguinha, djavan, legião urbana.

timeless: michael jackson, jackson 5, george michael, etta james, aretha franklin, louis armstrong, chet baker, ray charles, stevie wonder, michael bublé.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ(lyrics to seasons, by wave to earth)

thank you for reading! i hope we can be friends. ♡

[starlitangels]

Write your name with song titles!

I got tagged by @pinksparkl for a game made by @frenchiefitzhere so here we go!

—

Save the Last Dance for Me (Michael Bublé)

This is War (30 Seconds to Mars)

A Sky Full of Stars (Coldplay)

Renegade (Styx)

Love Runs Out (OneRepublic)

I’m So Sorry (Imagine Dragons)

Thnks fr th Mmrs (Fall Out Boy)

Anti-Gravity (RUNAGROUND)

Never Die (All Good Things) I maintain this is a Darlin’ song and you will never change my mind

Grace Kelly (MIKA)

Eye of the Tiger (Survivor)

Let It Be (The Beatles)

Sound of Silence (Disturbed)

—

Tagging: @zozo-01 @palilious @gwenifred @itsyourstarboy @gingerbreadmonsters

It doesn’t have to be your full URL. I could have just done Star or Starlit or Tally but I have a lot of music in my playlists. Pick a “name” my friends lol

[corvids-corner]

Tagged by @ladytemplar to post 5 songs in my recent rotation (songs I’m really into rn)!

1. Anti-Hero - Sekai No Owari

2. Cry Me A River - Michael Bublé

3. No. 3 - Cosmo Sheldrake

4. Labyrinth - Miracle Musical

5. Your Head’s On Fire - Louie Zong

Im tagging @madslad @nostalgiamonster @polymechs @ceph-lol-pog @crayfurbs @strawberryblacktea25 @emery-reblogs @littengamer909 @green-cryptid @crow-enthusiast

[gwendolynlerman]

Seventeen people, seventeen questions

Thank you for tagging me, @giuliaisstudying!

Nickname: Martita, Marts, Marti

Sign: Cancer

Last thing I googled: "superlínea Santander" (my bank won't let me send money to people using Bizum, so I had to call them, but they're not working because it's Sunday 🙃)

Song stuck in my head: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas by Michael Bublé (It snowed a lot in Berlin yesterday and everything was set up for Christmas, but many Christmas markets were unfortunately not yet open.)

No. of followers: 4,020

Amount of sleep: 9 hours (The first time I've slept more than 8 hours this week 🙃 I had to get up at 3:30 am yesterday to catch a flight.)

Lucky number: 2

Dream job: Something that allows me to use multiple languages in an international setting

Wearing: an evergreen blue-green sweater, gray jeans, white socks, and black booties

Movies/books that summarize you: All the Bright Places, Rubinrot, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Favorite song: Anti-Hero (right now)

Aesthetic: dark clothing in winter

Favorite authors: Laura Gallego and Rick Riordan

Favorite animal noise: cat purring

Random: I'm currently on board a flight from Berlin to Cluj-Napoca, Romania, for a 1h layover and then on to Madrid (The direct flight was much more expensive and I had to get home today instead of tomorrow as planned because I have work tomorrow—which I didn't know I'd have when I bought the flights, so I had to buy an additional ticket and lose the money from the original return ticket because I'm cheap and didn't buy cancellation insurance.)

I tag (no pressure) @fluencylevelfrench, @guillemelgat, @lang0weilig, @tealingual, and anyone else who wants to do it.

[numetaljackdog]

sos. saas. top 40 ranking week of 12/31/2022. i even copied the right one this time

Steve Lacy - Bad Habit

Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song

Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Beyoncé - CUFF IT

Sam Smith - Unholy (feat. Kim Petras)

Wham! - Last Christmas

Thurl Ravenscroft - You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Drake & 21 Savage - Rich Flex

Kelly Clarkson - Underneath the Tree

SZA - Shirt

Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock

Gene Autry - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

The Weeknd - Die For You

Harry Styles - As It Was

Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You

John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (with Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra)

Bing Crosby, Ken Darby Singers, John Scott Trotter & His Orchestra - White Christmas

Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me

Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas

Dean Martin - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

The Ronettes - Sleigh Ride

Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero

The Jackson 5 - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Metro Boomin - Creepin' (with The Weeknd & 21 Savage)

SZA - Kill Bill

Chuck Berry - Run Rudolph Run

Andy Williams - It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick

Frank Sinatra - Jingle Bells

Nat King Cole - Deck The Halls

Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Burl Ives - A Holly Jolly Christmas

Gene Autry - Here Comes Santa Claus

José Feliciano - Feliz Navidad

Andy Williams - Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season

Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime

David Guetta - I'm Good (Blue)

Michael Bublé - It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas

Chris Brown - Under The Influence

[raceydays-hopelesshaze]

howdy 🤠 music ask: 1. 2. 3. 8. 13. 14. 29. 32. 35. 42. 46. 48.

Hi! Thank you!

1) Are you an albums person or a singles person?

Singles, but I listen to new albums front-to-back when they come out and really love concept albums or when albums have a connecting thread through the songs.

2) Do you still buy CDs (or other physical media)?

I buy vinyl records! Mostly because they’re pretty and I can get a better look at the album art tbh. I still have my CDs which is nice because it’s the closest I can get to hugging a song/album but I rarely buy new ones.

3) Do you listen to more oldies or more current stuff?

I’m not sure. Most of what I listen too came out in the last 20 years.

8) Is there an artist or song that you like, despite being of a genre you don't usually like?

I don’t really like techno but I like Katy On A Mission by Katy B a lot after I heard the (very different) Arctic Monkeys cover of it.

13) Who’s the most popular/mainstream artist you listen to?

Lizzo, Taylor Swift

14) A song or album from the 50s or earlier:

Dream A Little Dream Of Me!!! It was first recorded in 1931 but my favorite version is sung by Ella Fitzgerald in 1957 (nothing against Louis Armstrong on the track but I prefer the version with JUST Ella Fitzgerald which I think you can only find on YouTube)

29) Songs you love to dance to:

Obsesión - Aventura

Volví - Aventura & Bad Bunny

Suavemente - Elvis Crespo

Como La Flor - Selena

Sway - Michael Bublé

No Scrubs - TLC

One, Two Step - Ciara ft. Missy Elliott

32) When was the last time you cried when listening to a song, if ever?

I think the only song that has ever made me cry was The Clock Was Tickin’ by Brandon Flowers

35) A song you like in a language you don’t speak:

Lemon - Kenshi Yonezu

42) Your favorite(s) “no skips” album(s):

Teatro d’ira - Måneskin

Razzmatazz - IDKHow

1981 Extended Play- IDKHow

Evermore - Taylor Swift

46) Do you like comedy songs? If so, do you have a favorite?

I don’t really listen to comedy songs beyond SNL musical skits (particularly when Andy Samberg/The Lonely Island was still there). The first ones to come to mind are Boombox (ft. Julian Casablancas) and Threw It On The Ground

48) Who’s an artist you think it’s criminally underrated and deserves more recognition?

King No-One - they’re a small indie rock band from England (which means they will never come to the US 😞). Highlights: Anti-Christ, Toxic Love, Out of My Mind

Meg Myers - !!!!! Rock musician. Music that makes you go “AGHHHHHGGGHHGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” Highlights: Desire, Jealous Sea, Numb, Sorry

Alex Turner - he’s technically not underrated but he really is the best lyricist of our generation and it irks me when he and Arctic Monkeys are written off as “cringe 2014 tumblr/aesthetic music.” Plus, beyond writing lyrics, he has a really good voice, musical knowledge, and integrity when it comes to the music industry.

Ultimate music asks

[wqbytop100]

WQBY

Top150 for the week ending April. 28, 2024

Weight of the World --Bonnie X Clyde -1

Jet Plane --R3HAB, VIZE, JP Cooper -2

What If We Met --Ali Gatie -9

Sleep Tonight (This is the Life) --Switch Disco, R3HAB, Sam Feldt -4

Kissing Strangers --USHER -13

Lighter --Galantis, David Guetta, 5 Seconds of Summer -10

Love & Pain --Enrique Iglesias' -21

Make Me Your Mrs. --Mae Stephens -6

Young & Foolish --Loud Luxury f/Charlieonafriday -3

Reckless Child --Milky Chance -5

Before You Go --Seeb -8

When I Wake Up --Lucas & Steve, Skinny Days -7

Low Again --Bakermat -12

Without You ---Disco Fries, Lavish Life -18

Beat of your Love --Ownboss, LAWRENT feat/Ekko -20

Feel This Way --Victoria Nadine, R3HAB -17

Waterslides --Tiesto, Rudimental, Absolutely -15

Monster --A7S, ALOK -11

Lonely Dancers --Conan Gray -16

Heaven Or Not --Diplo, Riva Starr, Kareem Lomax -47

Outlaw Love --Brooke Eden (Dave Aude Remix) -14

Hell Together --David Archuleta -25

One, Two & 3 --Galantis -26

Slide Out --Life on Planets -19

She's on my Mind --Romy -22

Never Be Friends --Jost, Minogue -24

Cutting Loose --Disco Lines, J. Worra, Anabel Englund -27

The Afterhours --Kyle Watson -23

The Moves --NEIKED, Muni Long, Nile Rodgers -31

Anyone --Morgan Page -30

Electricity --FAST BOY, R3HAB -32

Save You A Seat --Alex Warren -34

Monster --Don Diablo, Felix Jaehn -35

One On One --Robin Schulz, Oaks, Topic -36

Houdini --Dua Lipa -28

Lil Tune --Gus Dapperton, Electric Guest -38

Dirty Desire --Vicetone -29

Triumph --Bishop Briggs -40

Take A Moment --ATB, David Frank -37

Mas Que Nada --Oliver Heldens, Ian Asher, Sergio Mendez -44

Don't You Cry --Sunday Scaries, Discrete -46

Weak --Vintage Culture, Maverick Sabre, Tom Breu -33

Shipwreck --Mount Kimble -43

Murder on the Dancefloor --Sophie Ellis-Bextor -45

Do You Feel It --VAMERO, Cyril M. Mougleta -39

Loose Ends ---Lucas Estrada, Syn Cole -52

Home --CamelPhatt, RHODE (Vintage Culture Remix) -66

Everyone Know I'm High --SHAED -48

Forever (Stay Like This) --Armin Van Buuren -49

We Ain't Good At Breaking Up --Brothers Osborne -50

Fantasy --Cosmo's Midnight feat/Frank Moody -70

<>Public --Mike. -(re-entry)

<>What Do You Do For A Living? I Do My Best --Iamnotshane, EMME -(re-entry)

Soultrain --Triplism, Nandu, Radeckt -76

Good For You --Dimtri Vegas, Chapter & Verse, Goodboys -122

In Your Arms --Jess Bays, Jem Cooke -74

<>Lead Me On --Fletcher -(re-entry)

Come With Me --Claptone -91

You Know It --Gorgon City -61

Underwater --Dubvision, Afrojack -60

Give Me --Will Clarke, BURNS -41

I Don't Wanna Worry --NEEDTOBREATHE -42

Fire --Alan Walker, YUQI, JVKE, (G)i-DLE -51

Raccoons --Caravan Palace -96

***Fallin Luv --Gordo, Jeria -(new)

Same Drunk --Walker Hayes -51

***Enhancer --Northeast Party House _(new)

***Karma --JoJo Siwa -(new)

Business As Usual --Eliza Rose, MJ Cole (Night Shift Mix) -101

Lie To Me --Jubel, KIDDO -54

Addicted --ZERB, The Chainsmokers feat/INK -80

Good As It Gets --Blanco Brown -107

Count Me Out --Vicetone -73

Kettle's Up --Mahmut Orhan, Axelax, Botin -74

***Eyes Closed --Imagine Dragons -(new)

Bad Blood--Theresa Rex -72

Out Loud --Cage the Elephant -77

Lose Control --Teddy Swims -78

Yes, And? --Ariana Grande -69

Mine --Micheal Gerow -111

Spicy Margarita --Jason Derulo, Michael Bublé -57

Mr. Useless --Shygirl, SG Lewis -58

Some Kind Of Static --Neil Francis, Alan Braxe -63

Keep Your Head Up --We Are Messengers -113

I Hate You In The Morning --Otha -114

Never Ending Song --Conan Gray -108

In The Cards --Jamie Miller -118

Lil Freak --bbno$ -104

***Buscando Money --TWENTY-Six, Tayson Kryss -(new)

The Weekend --Anti-Up -106

***Undone --Forest Blakk -(new)

Level Up --Wolfgang Gartner, Scrufizzeer -87

***Eat the Bass --John Summit -(new)

20 Something --Jessica Baio -103

Sweet Love --Myles Smith -112

Me Voy Acostumbrando --Enrique Iglesias -86

***Wish I Never Felt --Nate Smith -(new)

***Yellow --Jxdn -(new)

Can't Stop Us --Regard -71

I Got Time --Brittney Spencer -64

Human Nature --Yot Club -115

Close Your Eyes --Lucas Estrada -55

You're Hired --NEIKED, Ayra Starr -56

Graveyard --A R I Z O N A (Shoffy Remix) -59

Texas Hold 'Em --Beyonce -60

Kill Anyone --Two Feet, Ari Abdul -61

It's Love (If We Get It Right) --Anthony Russo -62

Me Before You --Bleachers -68

Anthem --Diplo, Shram, Pony -88

Regret the Morning --SILK, Mali-Koa -89

Love Me --INNA -90

Everything You Do --AFROKI, Afrojack, Steve Aoki, Aviella -92

One On One --The Knocks, Sofi Tukker -82

All Fckd Up --Kapuzen -81

Both --Tiesto, 21 Savage, BIA -83

Flex --Tony Dark Eyes -84

Feels Like Us --GT_OFICE, ALWZ SNNY, Robbie Rosen -85

ADHD --Mae Stephens -93

Kiss Me Better --Julie Bergan -116

Say It Right --Dubdogs, Farfetch'd -117

My Favorite Drug --Justin Timberlake -102

Without Your Love --Deorro, TELYKAST, Catello -123

Can i Have This Groove --Kenyon Dixon -124

Outside Of Love --Becky Hill -125

Higher Ground --Purple Disco Machine, Roosevelt -126

Nothing Ever Changes --Vintage Culture, MAGNUS -127

Dreams --Ali Farben, Maurice Lessing, Emma Wells -110

My Body --Illusionize, Y&M -105

Beautiful Things --Benson Boone -94

Rusty --Layto -95

Progressive Heart --Pat Premier (Dave Aude Remix) -97

Diamond Therapy --Diplo, Walker & Royce, Channel Tres -99

Dizzy --Sick Individuals, LOUI LANE -100

Heart Still Beating --Nathan Dawe, Bebe Rexha -98

Cutting Through The Country --Medium Build -109

She --Karin Ann (Benny Benassi Remix) -119

Fire In My Soul --Yulia Niko, Carn Crua -120

Need Your Love --Ikay Sencan, KALUMA, Adam Woods -121

Next Years Light --Elliot Moss -128

Life Goes On --HU -130

Premedicated --FETISH -131

Good In Goodbye --Frank Walker, Trivecta -129

Broken By You --Alexander Stewart -132

Never Be Lonely --Jax Jones, Zoe Wees -135

Gravity --Matt Hansen -138

More Baby --Chris Lake, Aluna -134 >>>

Body Moving --Eliza Rose X Calvin Harris -145 >>>

***Dance Alone --SIA feat/Kylie Minogue -(new)

***Whatever --KYGO feat/Ava Max -(new)

***Better Me --Michael Schulte, R3HAB -(new)

***12 new on the chart this week and <> 3 re-entries 4.28.24 <>#52 Pubic <>#53 What Do You Do For A Living? I Do My Best <>#57 Lead Me On #65 Fallin Luv #67 Enhancer #68 Karma #75 Eyes Closed #89 Buscando Money #91 Undone #93 Eat the Bass #97 Wish I Never Felt #98 Yellow #148 Dance Alone #149 Whatever #150 Better Me

>>2 OFF

[bubblesbenson]

Again, can someone explain to me how Michael Bublé is “homophobic”???

All because of a song?????

@raven-eye-dreamer @luciaelena @impulse-cake

[nyanbary]

Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift

Wrecking Ball by Mother Mother

Control by Halsey

Hate Me by Nico Collins

Is There Somewhere by Halsey

Moonsickness by Penelope Scott

It Took Me By Surprise by Maria Mena

My Alcoholic Friends by The Dresden Dolls

Feeling Good by Michael Bublé

parents by YUNGBLUD

Blood - End Credits by My Chemical Romance

The Fighter by Gym Class Heroes ft Ryan Tedder

[cdcore]

GETTING INTO MUSIC VOL. 1 -- Rap

Hey, internet! Initially, I was planning on making this a video project --- something I will likely still do in the future --- but I wanted to get some content out in the meantime! I think many of us have been faced with the age-old "what type of music are you into?" question. So many times when I ask people about their music opinions I hear the same answer. every. single. time. "I like a little bit of everything, except rap and country!" This is always really frustrating for two reasons! First, now I have no idea what you're actually into and enjoy music-wise.

Second, I think anyone who is a fan of either of those genres immediately feels bad hearing someone dismiss an entire genre in front of them, especially when they each have large enough artists and subgenres that the person could probably find music they liked within either genre if they took the time to dig. I think a lot of us (myself included) tend to start off enjoying music pretty passively --- maybe we only listened to whatever our friends' played, or that one Michael Bublé CD mom had that she would endlessly play on repeat.

For a large portion of people, I think music exists more as background noise than anything, hence people not really having a solid answer when prompted with the "what music do you like?" question. That takes us to our topic today: actively discovering and enjoying new music! As an avid rap fan for the past few years, I wanted to start this series off with rap.

I'm hoping to deconstruct the genre as a whole, list the characteristics commonly seen in online discussions and Billboard Top 100 lists as ideal rap ability, and hopefully drop some helpful recommendations along the way! 1) WRITING If rap really is just a guy spitting poetry, I would argue this is the most important part of his music. I am heavily biased given my background as a former English major, but something that really draws me to rap personally is that deeper emphasis on writing compared to some other genres given lyrics are the primary focus. We're going to focus on two umbrellas for rap writing: the thematic content --- or message of the piece --- and the syntax, basically how words are rearranged in the sentences themselves. The absolutely beautiful thing about rap is it can be as profound and nuanced as you want it to be. By its nature, rap has routinely been a discussion point in social and political culture for basically as long as it has existed. Its roots in Black culture and the often anti-establishment way it grapples with poverty, crime and racial injustices cause ire often, especially among conservative outlets, which see the genre as supporting crime. For writers like Kendrick Lamar, Nas and many others, the goal is to paint vivid pictures of the intersection of race and poverty across cities within the United States, showing how those structures lead to the routine gang, drug and crime culture cities face.

They argue that American courts, law enforcement and government structure are built on institutions that profit from racial discrimination and unjust punishment, leading many into poverty and therefore crime to make ends meet. Lamar himself won a Pulitzer for his album "DAMN." while in it sampling FOX's own coverage of him and their beliefs that rap has culturally harmed African Americans more than "racism in recent years." Rappers routinely satirize this depiction of them as violent criminals to poke at how media and the nation seem unable to attack the real root of the intercity conflict: poverty. With all that being said, your enjoyment of rap doesn't have to be that deep either!

For every nuanced, thematically dense rap album out there is an equal amount of silly, weird esoteric songs that are just meant to be listened to for fun. Artist Tyler, the Creator has a song about waiting to pick someone up and being frustrated with how long they're taking (It's titled, "Come on, Let's go if curious).

Rapper Aesop Rock has a song about how cool his cat is ("Kirby") and what it's like to be a kid who doesn't want to eat his green beans ("Grace"). There are millions upon millions of dance-instruction songs, and a limitless supply of songs and freestyles just flexing how rich, successful and famous rappers are. It's part of what makes the genre so diverse and nuanced --- rappers can make plenty of layered introspection on culture and religion when they want, and still have dumb, fun songs flexing their vehicles too. If you're looking for some larger commentary, some classic albums are: To Pimp a Butterfly, Illmatic, 4.44, among others.

More recently, J.I.D.'s The Forever Story serves as an impressive look into his life, family loyalties and career changes. Some other recent albums with good messages are GHETTOLAND, All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ and GHETTO GODS. If you're wanting weirder albums that focus on less common topics in rap, Aesop Rock's more recent albums come to mind immediately. For more of your hype-inducing songs focused on flexing wealth and success, Her Loss is a pretty solid contender for this, Lil Wayne's The Carter III does this very well, and for a more indie pick I might go with Solar Flare by Kill Bill: the Rapper and Rav. Now, allow me to be your AP Language teacher again and talk about the technical aspect of writing: literary devices. Any Scholastic Book Fair kid knows that writing comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. One of the most fun parts of rap is how clever the wordplay can be at times. It's very common for double and triple entendre to exist, lines that simultaneously show off multiple meanings at once. Homophones, or phrases that sound similar are often used to employ these more complex meanings. Jay-Z was particularly famous for this with lines like: "I'm not a business man/I'm a business, man/let me handle my business, damn." When listening it can sound like he's just repeating business man twice with more emphasis on the second. In reality, he's conveying through that homophone that he is not a scrappy capitalist, but rather has made such wild success for himself financially that he as a brand and cultural identity creates wealth like that of a full business (allowing him the credibility to handle his own business as he asks for later in the line). Beyond clever double meanings in lines, rappers find insane ways to hold multiple simultaneous internal and external rhymes across multiple verses. Rappers like MF DOOM and Eminem come to mind for their complex, multi-syllabic rhyme schemes.

To see what I'm talking about, check out this video:

On a raw vocabulary level, the aforementioned Aesop Rock is known for having one of the most complex, diverse vocabularies of any rapper. He and rapper Lupe Fiasco are known for their word choice and metaphor stacking, with earlier Aesop Rock works almost being cryptic with just how buried they are in complex figurative language. There's also a simple beauty in rappers delivering messages directly as is. Tupac was known for prioritizing his message over everything else, speaking directly to the listener --- this is something Jimmy more recently has done on that GHETTOLAND record I mentioned. If you’re looking for funny, sometimes dumb bars, my mind immediately goes to people like 21 Savage and Kanye --- if you still feel morally comfortable listening to him given all that he's done. For more of that traditional homophone-heavy, double-entendre work check out: Nicki Minaj, Lil' Wayne, Eminem and Jay-Z. Your lyrically conscious rappers are going to be Kendrick, J. Cole among others, and more esoteric wordplay comes from Lupe Fiasco, MF DOOM, Black Thought and Aesop Rock. 2) SOUND I am infinitely less qualified to talk about instrumentation, music theory and vocal delivery as someone with minimal background in playing and learning music. As a result, I'm going to make this section as brief as I can, though there is a few key points I think need to be hit. A big part of rappers is how they deliver their lyrics vocally --- this can be everything from the rhythm they're rapping (usually called flow), their actual pitch if there's singing involved etc. Issues of annunciation separate rappers from the derogative "mumble rap" category, and a lot of this I think comes down to personal preference more than anything. I think it is worth noting that rapper Eminem is known to be excellent in the actual technicals of delivering rap. He's able to control his breathing well which allows him to rap longer, he can rap incredibly fast and with multiple rhythms seamlessly. Artists like Smino and JID have stood out recently as well for just how often their vocals are varied in pitch, rhythm and more. For a final footnote, production is the instrumentation behind rap. Rap has a long history of sampling, or taking existing sounds or portions of music and reincorporating them into a new track. With some artists, this can be done to further drive their theme which can work very poignantly! As someone with little production and music theory knowledge, unfortunately, all I can do is recommend the classic greats of making interesting, catchy beats. The Alchemist, Kanye West, Madlib, Pharell and J-Dilla all stick out. So does Nujabes. There are a lot of really interesting experimental production artists in Injury Reserve, JPEGMAFIA, and Danny Brown if you just wanna hear new crazy sounds also!

That concludes my first look at the genre of rap, and I hope it inspires you to check out one of the many artists I mentioned here. What artists should I have included? Are there any aspects of rapping I missed? Feel free to reply with anything you think I should've expanded on. Thank you and have a wonderful day!

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 03/12/2022 (Christmas Garbage, Stormzy)

I think this’ll be a short one. Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” reigns for a sixth week and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start with our notable dropouts, which are songs exiting the UK Top 75 – which is what I cover – after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, that list includes “Major Distribution” by Drake and 21 Savage, “TV” by Billie Eilish, “One Up” by Central Cee, “She’s Not Anyone” by D-Block Europe featuring Burna Boy, the original “Miss You” by southstar sadly being eclipsed by the Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz version, “STAR WALKIN’” (League of Legends Worlds Anthem) by Lil Nas X, “Super Freaky Girl” by Nicki Minaj, “2 be Loved (Am I Ready)” by Lizzo and some really big 2022 hits saying farewell: “Big City Life” by Luude and Mattafix, “Last Last” by Burna Boy, and “Running up that Hill (A Deal with God)” by Kate Bush. Oh, and “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran is gone but it’ll be back. To be fair, most of this will be after Christmas.

One thing I appreciate about ACR is that in a year wherein festive celebrations came earlier than seemingly ever, there aren’t four Christmas songs in the top 10 like in the US, and we had more of a trickling in effect than Stateside. That doesn’t mean that our notable gains and returns aren’t largely dominated by holiday music, however. In terms of where our three highest-performing festive tracks are, “Merry Christmas” by Ed Sheeran and Elton John is at #15, “Last Christmas” by Wham! is at #9 and, to prove ACR’s impact, “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey is at #8. Without ACR, it’d top this week’s chart. We also see 14 returning entries from the Christmas canon, so bear with me as we welcome back “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber at #71, “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano at #70, “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono with the Plastic Ono Band and the Harlem Community Choir at #68, “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes at #66, “Snowman” by Sia at #65, “Merry Xmas Everybody” by Slade at #63, “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” by Dean Martin at #61, “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Michael Bublé at #60, “One More Sleep” by Leona Lewis at #57, “I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday” by Wizzard at #53, “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney at #51, “Step into Christmas” by Elton John at #45, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams at #44 and “Driving Home for Christmas” by Chris Rea at #42. I wouldn’t usually do this since I name these songs every year but it’s a short episode so I suppose it’s worth listing off my opinions on these songs, in the exact order I mentioned them. So just briefly: better than you remember, mind-numbing, infuriating, a classic, I hope the snowman isn’t autistic, sounds like a drunk dads’ karaoke (in a good way), fine enough, Satan’s spawn, modern classic, disagreeable but good, genuinely bizarre and incomprehensible, jolly good fun, sounds like a warm fireplace and finally, seriously underrated. As of now, there are five Christmas songs in the top 20.

In terms of gains outside of the Christmas songs, there really aren’t many to speak of as most songs found themselves falling or stagnating. Regardless, “Lionheart (Fearless)” by Joel Corry and Tom Grennan is at #22 and Stormzy sees gains for “Firebabe” at #11 and “Hide & Seek” at #7 off of the #1 album (more on that later). Also in the top 10 is a massive gain off of the debut for RAYE’s “Escapism.” featuring 070 Shake at #6. It’s the first top 10 hit for 070 Shake, and whilst I do doubt its longevity considering how opposed it is to sounding festive, I do hope it sticks around. It’s a great song.

This week’s top five on the UK Singles Chart consists of “PSYCHO” by Anne-Marie and Aitch at #5, “Miss You” by Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz at #4, “messy in heaven” by venbee, goddard. and ArrDee at #3, “Made You Look” by Meghan Trainor at #2 and of course, “Anti-Hero” at the top. Now we can go through our list of new entries on the chart, as is the point of this series yet I’ve still not found a good segue. It’s been damn near five years.

NEW ARRIVALS

#52 – “Someday at Christmas” – Lizzo

Produced by the shills over at Amazon

Every Christmas, we get Amazon pushing songs, typically covers, by big artists that are exclusive to their Amazon Music service so that Alexa will play it when someone asks for holiday music and whoever recorded it gets a cheap, Astroturf hit. To me, it kind of ruins the point of a Christmas song to make it exclusive to a service (especially considering the universal and optimistic, hopeful world view of the original song), and it largely makes no impact as the song leaks onto YouTube or... totally legal torrenting sites anyway. “Someday at Christmas” is a classic by Stevie Wonder and is available on all streaming services so it’s really not worth digging a cover up. As a part of my opposition to these sketchy Amazon original covers, I opened this spot up to people on a music Discord server largely centred around the charts to give me suggestions of songs to check out, so in kind of a lightning round, here are 10 songs that the server wanted me to listen to instead of “Someday at Christmas”.

Jade suggested “The Thrill is Gone.” by RAYE, which acts as the B-side to “Escapism.” and in my opinion is worth a single release on its own. RAYE has that typical mix of cold swagger and quivering whisper that works for the uncertain content, desperate for validation from this guy when the thrill in the relationship has just withered away. I do think the chorus is a bit weak but the jazzy groove is top-notch and really organic, especially in the breakdown, with the tempo shifts adding some real sense of dynamics across the arrangement. This new direction from RAYE reminds me of Amy Winehouse and whilst she may not have the punch yet in these singles, she’s got me compelled with these singles and I’m excited for that album.

Piran suggested “player 2” by piri & tommy, a UK garage duo who have learned from the winning formula that is PinkPantheress, mixing the classic groove with bedroom pop sensibilities. This is far from my favourite from their album froge.mp3, especially considering “beachin”, “on & on” and “say it” exist, but it still has that vintage-sounding wave of subtle keys and a thumping beat that is decent. If Tommy Villiers were a vocal presence worth caring about, I’d probably not mind the bog-standard content but in comparison to the more energetic tracks, that chorus feels kind of tedious and piri is obviously the standout in this duo when it comes to the vocalist. Regardless, it’s still got a groove to it, the build-up is well-implemented and its mix is impeccable for its genre – the bass really hits and the vocals are cloudy and all over the mix like they should be in more casual UK garage, but it’s also mostly a demo of a song that feels like it should have been re-recorded somewhere across the line.

Jade also suggested “Zukunft Pink” by Peter Fox featuring Inéz, which is Fox’s first solo release in 14 years and went #1 in Germany. I liked the intro with all the strings coalescing into each other amidst the hand claps, and they definitely carry a grandiosity when the bassy digital dancehall groove comes in. I’m not entirely convinced by Inéz on the hook but Fox’s vocals deliver a bassy rumble that is pretty fitting for this kind of subtly uplifting but also incessantly-flexing track... and compared to your average rap song, it definitely has more of a bounce to it so I’ll take it. Sure, it’s a tad unmoving but when he starts the second verse by dissing Elon Musk and the little chiptune synths arrive in the bridge, I can’t say this isn’t good fun.

Piran also suggested “The Loneliest Time” by Carly Rae Jepsen featuring Rufus Wainwright. Whilst not successful commercially since “I Really Like You”, Jepsen has won with the critics and usually, not me as much. This new single went viral on TikTok and is completely competent with its vaguely disco sound as the strings wrap around an unnecessarily driving beat that, alongside the chipmunk post-chorus, just sounds a bit too awkward. Rufus Wainwright sounds like a Jonas Brother in this but at least with a modern duet, there’s actual interplay and they both have a lot of vocal charisma, getting back together after a breakup because they’re both so irresistible. It’s cute, but the production is too distracting for me to really endorse it fully. I wish I could like Carly Rae Jepsen more than I do but more often than not, whoever’s behind the boards is doing too much. I don’t like bog-standard synthpop but I also don’t understand the need for such maximalism as that bridge with all the sound effects when the songwriting reflects such a simple, instinctual emotion. Something more minimal and striking could have worked here.

Luca suggested “Get with You Tonight” by DJ Mark Night and Lukas Setto, a throwback deep-house tune with a sweet bass hook that pretty much won me over before anything else. That specific tone of synth bass in a funky house context will never not work, and Setto has that kind of liquid voice that just meshes with the production in such an effortless way. Sure, the content isn’t compelling but in a dancefloor smash like this, it doesn’t need to, and the way each falsetto note just perfectly hits on the stabs of the synth strings in harmony makes the chorus seem so cathartic, especially when the verses tend to be slippery with subtle ad-libs. The swell of the production is really grand yet never really oversells itself because the groove is so solid that every other inflection is just a DVD bonus feature. I have no idea why this isn’t a hit, it’s incredible.

Piran also suggested “Weapons” by Ava Max, who sadly started making good music as soon as she stopped charting. Whilst this second album seems set up to be a slump in the eyes of the public, at least I’m enjoying the singles, and this is one of them. Her brand of 80s pastiche has a certain synthwave drive to it, with a delivery so coded in vocal manipulation that any emotion comes off as an act, in a perfectly camp way. If anything, I kind of wish the song was more camp, since the main chorus melody sounds like it should be in a musical and the lead synth is not far from a Phantom of the Opera organ. Regardless, the drums are punchy as Hell and it’s incessantly catchy. It’s not my favourite Ava song – “Maybe You’re the Problem” still has that on lock – but this won’t make a bad album track. If anything, that may be the problem. I’m sure there are songs more single-worthy than this one.

Jade also suggested “Baby Girl” by Disco Lines, which may take a while to explain. Firstly, Adele released the fine enough song “Melt My Heart into Stone” in 2008, and in 2010, Donald Glover took an incredible piano and vocal sample loop from that song that had real flip potential with an actually good rapper on it, but since this is early Childish Gambino, it’s embarrassing and largely cringeworthy, as well as being like two minutes too long with a bad mix. A drumless flip of this loop with Griselda on it, or even a full hip house flip, would work, but alas, it didn’t happen. In 2014, HOME released the vaporwave classic “Resonance” that in the eyes of the Internet came to define the entire movement, with its wavy synths, many of its melodies becoming pretty iconic. Nowadays, I find it pretty rote to be honest, but it’s a solid instrumental that is definitely chill to relax to and the synthwork ends up keeping you on your toes more than you’d think. Colorado DJ Disco Lines took the hook from “Do Ya Like” and the synths from “Resonance”, sped both of them up for TikTok views and made a pretty annoying loop out of it. I appreciate the mashup as I’m a fan of Bastardised pop, especially putting vaporwave with Childish Gambino because well, that’s what he should have always rapped over... but when he’s taking a mediocre hook and splashing it over synths that become less recognisable once you’ve added these bog-standard house drums over it, it just becomes much of a muchness, not really existing in a form that is separable from virality, especially when he starts sampling MLG meme lines. Like come on, at least pretend it’s a real song.

Luca also suggested “CORALINE” by Maneskin, proving my thesis that this band is better in their native tongue. The acoustic backing reminds me of a Latin-inflected Red Hot Chili Peppers with how it makes a surprisingly flickery and upbeat strum sound drained and mellow, and whilst the language barrier does prevent me from fully taking the lyrics in and I can’t comment on their tone because of what may be lost in translation, it’s a pretty compelling and tragic story about a girl called Coraline who seems emblematic of those longing for a release or escape from a constant background of mental trauma. Frontman Damiano David plays it safer with his nasal tone which makes it even more gripping when that first electric guitar riff comes in and he breathily whispers over the tumbling drums, his delivery evolving into a raspy screech as the song intensifies and... yeah, this is exactly my thing. These suggestions have been good, but this one in particular scratches an itch that is so cathartic to me and I don’t get to talk about hard rock nearly enough on this show. David strains himself in his slippery delivery which sounds as messy and difficult to solve as the mental problems he’s describing, especially when his rolling rasp gets more venomous and desperate over the a killer drum fill – I had to search who Maneskin’s drummer was and whilst Thomas Raggi deserves credit for his guitar work, especially on that solo, the drums from Ethan Torchio are just crushing and absorb all space in the mix. It is seriously intense and honestly perfect for this content, especially if restraint wins over sonically as Damiano sounds defeated moaning over the same acoustic riff we started with. It’s a passionate, heartbreaking song that is pretty much up my specific alley in many ways: I live for dramatic alt-rock melancholy, and this is up there. Maybe I shouldn’t write these guys off as much as I do sometimes.

Piran also suggested “Blue” by Sigrid, which is in comparison to the previous song, kind of underwhelming. There isn’t really room for comparison here though as these are pretty much randomly selected tracks. I’m not a fan of Sigrid anyway, but what I’ve heard from her recently doesn’t even have the same punch as her debut, and as a ballad, “Blue” just feels like it exists. It almost has a country twang in its acoustics but watered down so that a Norwegian actually makes sense singing on it. There isn’t enough detail to the content to make it all that distinguishable, and it probably needed some extra drafts so that the writing weren’t so repetitive, especially if as a song it’s going to be this cloudy and unmoving. Sigrid is a great singer for sure, and she delivers vocally here, but she’s selling very little over a song that doesn’t even have a typical power ballad swell. This is just... completely fine, and that’s pretty much it.

Finally, Jade also suggested... “Vagina” by cupcakKe. You know, the blaring instrumental of this song sounds really dated for 2015, especially considering that a lot of other trap from that era has not aged one bit, and the rattling lo-fi percussion is pretty distracting, especially with the twinkling bells that are loud enough in the mix to annoy me. It’s just a bit of an instrumental headache and it really is unfortunate that there is not a comically obnoxious female rapper talking explicitly about sex over this beat. I get we can’t have everything we want.

Of course, we can’t exactly have a Best or Worst of the Week for this week, so I may as well replicate it for this section: my favourite was by far “CORALINE” by Maneskin but “Get with You Tonight” by Mark Night and Lukas Setto gets pretty close – turns out Luca suggested both. I’m not really a fan of all of them, but it’s mostly a good batch and the only track I’d say I dislike is “Baby Girl” by Disco Lines, but even that is only less than two minutes and has some decent ideas going for it. A big thank you is due to everyone who suggested, of course. Oh, and if you’re forgetting what this show is about:

#32 – “This is What I Mean” – Stormzy

Produced by P2J, Knox Brown, PRGRSHN and Joel Peters

Stormzy feels confused. This arguably maturer, slower effort This is What I Mean still gave him a #1 album but sonically, he seems too ambitious for his own will. He’s still a great rapper, yet he spends a great deal of his time singing. He has an ear for great production, but doesn’t develop upon the foundation enough. The beats are all immaculately mixed for the most part and definitely intricately sequenced but in the Jacob Collier fashion wherein very little soul is brought to the table and we’re relying on Stormzy for the emotional impact... which is just not going to come through since whilst he has a resonant voice in rap, he’s not going to tug at your heartstrings in R&B mode. Also, Jacob Collier helped produce the album – go figure. It’s a conflicted album that is less than the sum of its parts but ultimately delivers a pretty apt path for Stormzy to go from here, even if this album is far from perfect. My favourite track was the sweet, retrospective “I Got My Smile Back” which is way too wholesome for me not to dig, but the title track does get close, mostly because it’s a grime posse cut and those rarely fail. Stormzy handles most of the track, which mixes a fluttering romanticist piano with pulsating, warping bass and a genuine swell in the strings for the intro, before flattening into staccato harmonies and shrieks for Stormzy to start going off... and he does. There’s not much wordplay, but his sheer cold confidence and playfulness with his flow is more than enough to make up for it, especially when all of the vocal loops create an incomprehensible, bassy mess that he somehow still stands out against, before the grimey, filthy bass beat comes in and he can slide over it as he usually does, with effortless swagger and a wonderful blend of ad-libs and sound effects that are all so intricately placed to fit with Stormzy’s flow that it sounds like it took weeks. For the third verse and the bridge, Ms Banks comes in to trade bars with Stormzy, appearing on a distorted phone call verse that has a striking yell to it, right before Ghanaian singer Amaarae comes in and kills it with her convicted swells, venomous chants and violent, eerie harmonies perfectly aligned with the strings. I think it’s pretty hilarious that the week after Stormzy called himself Kanye, he said that he vibed with Hitler, but when you sit on an album for this long, some of it can age... not quite so well. The track ends with an infectious chant and hypeman outro from Black Sherif that goes pretty hard, and whilst I wish it ended up with a more solid bang and really, it fails to set the stage for how the album actually sounds, it’s great on its own and definitely has single material.

Conclusion

Well, I suppose Stormzy, Ms Banks, Amaarae and Black Sherif get Best of the Work for “This is What I Mean” but there’s not exactly competition, especially since Lizzo’s cover is only a negative on principle and is honestly a pretty fine, faithful rendition. As for next week, I imagine it’ll mostly be more Christmas garbage, but for now, thanks for reading, rest in peace to Irene Cara and Christine McVie, and I’ll see you next week!

[tinseltina]

michael bublé is like an alien trying to mimic human speech but has no idea how words are forms, ESPECIALLY THE LETTER ‘Y’ at the end of words. It’s Hah-LEE Jah-LEE not “hah-leh jah-leh” 

literally he’s sounds like he’s holding a marble in the middle of his tongue while he forms words. 

[undertheknightwing]

🎵 <3

Hi Kit! thank you for the ask!

I don't have just one playlist so I'mma shuffle through my five favorite playlists for whatever songs it chooses,,

1 . I Believe in You - Michael Bublé || GarJon playlist ; It's less a teenage love song and more of a growing together love song, like the music video is about two kids meeting and falling in love as they grow up together and how love gets them through life's struggles. It's so sweet,, I tear up every time I watch the music video. I just love the lyric "I believe in love, you give me reason to."

2 . Karma - AJR || Jonathan Kent playlist ; Jon is so sweet, so helpful, everything he does is from the heart but no matter how much good he does, it never seems like he gets anything good in return. So a song about that exact thing, a man in therapy wondering why despite all the good he does, to try and make himself happy again, he only gets worse. I thought it fit very well. And the ending lyrics of "You say that I'm better, why don't I feel better? The universe works in mysterious ways but I'm starting to think it ain't working for me. Doctor, should I be good? should I be good this year?" really reminded me of him.

3 . Animal - The Living Tombstone || Garfield Logan playlist ; Do I really gotta explain why this one is in the playlist? lol It's a song about feeling like you're losing control of yourself and becoming something else, the song uses becoming an animal as a word for whatever the singer is actually feeling/becoming. With lyrics like "I have become something new or am I turning into you? and will I even make it through this delusion or is this evolution? I'm feeling like an animal." do you expect me not to put it in the playlist?? I throw any songs about being an animal in there lol

4 . Play with Fire - Sam Tinnesz (ft. Yacht Money) || Jon-El playlist ; Okay I pretty much only added it because it lowkey sounds like a villain/anti-hero song and the power he uses the most in the show is fire breath soo.. play with fire lol

5 . Kryptonite - Three Doors Down || Superman & Lois playlist ; Yes I did only add it because of the song name but some of lyrics give me season 2 vibes, which could be good and bad thing..