#btw i did this interview lol self promo

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

Episode 3

Meghan calls the engagement interview “an orchestrated reality show” during her own orchestrated reality show. Hilarious. These two deserve the Nobel Prize for Lack of Self-Awareness. 

Cringe Diana montage. Royals acting “absolutely thrilled” about the engagement. Lol, Catherine’s face is epic. 

Meghan complains they weren’t allowed to tell “their story” during the engagement interview. I get the feeling she really wanted to tell the world about the Call of Duty costumes and penguin onesies. Well, the world now knows, Meghan. We just wish we didn’t.

BTW, the engagement interview looks a lot less orchestrated than what they are doing now. The cozy space, the comfy sofa, and the sympathetic interviewer nodding along and validating all their bizarro statements (“I didn’t know much about him”) all make a huge difference. 

Weird historical montage. Honestly baffled as to why they are spending time on this and not on Skippy’s wedding or the reaction to the Vanity Fair article. Yes, it’s the race card but you can play that card with the VF interview backlash and it’s a lot more relevant and relatable. The “objective” (not really) historical viewpoints break the rhythm and take the viewer out of the story. I have no idea why they are using them. Maybe they are trying to sell Netflix a historical documentary to follow up this one?

Talking about clothing. Pic of dress from June 2018 but they aren’t even married yet at that point. Dog still had its legs in casts then? Poor puppy.

Different Restoration Hardware showroom in 2021. New York City. Makeup artist dude and Archewell person who just quit. Harry has no idea what a royal correspondent is, which is honestly surprising. I knew he was dumb but I didn’t realize he was this dumb. The only journalist who just called himself a royal expert with no substance was Omid Scobie and that’s the guy they use.

Wait, was this the NY visit when they filmed the fake pap scene? Why didn’t the makeup artist pretend to be a pap? That would have made it more believable. C’mon makeup person. There’s no I in teamwork.

Complaining about the press…with Kate and Camilla’s headlines. Use your own headlines, cowards! Harry’s “their trauma is our narrative” quote is very amusing as he’s using the same strategy to sell his documentary. It reminds me of the old “when you fight the monsters you become a monster” concept. He claims to the the tabloids for exploiting his family, but he has effectively become a little exploitative tabloid, selling his family’s trauma to keep his wife in upscale yoga wear. A childhood friend says Meghan was never obsessed with Princess Diana. Girl, the past two episodes of this documentary strongly disagree with you.

Meghan complains about her mom’s family being quiet and classy and her dad’s family “acting differently.” She doesn’t seem to realize that she is a true Markle in this regard and she’s doing to the royals what her family did to her. The royals are being quiet and classy, and she’s “acting differently.”

Samantha’s daughter shows up. She doesn’t remember Samantha but she has a close relationship with her niece? They are a weird family. I do love the fact that Eugenie and Ashleigh are now token family members.

Princess Michael’s brooch. Racist art that is apparently not in any of the palaces. Unconscious bias. Harry clearly has no idea what the term means. Nazi uniform. 

Sandringham is “like the big family I always wanted… with movement and energy and fun” which is not how anyone has ever described Sandringham. The Carolyn Bessette Kennedy cosplay was because she wanted to blend in. Oooookay. Kate’s Christmas coat was so epic. 

Super awkward military visit they did in November 2021. They sound like entertainers and Harry’s clown act does not fit the US military culture. They get awards “for everything they do” which makes no sense. Royal military promo montage. again, with no acknowledgement that his soldier persona was crafted by the same tabloids he now rails against. The Daily Mail were the ones who created the “hero Harry” image just as they created his “African philanthropist” image when he was a teen. 

Royal Foundation event. Isn’t blue a color? Pretty sure she’s wearing blue, and so is Kate. Lol, first time her divorce is mentioned, I think. Meghan jumps on the #MeToo bandwagon, just like she jumps on every press friendly movement. A journalist notes that Kate didn’t wear black to the Baftas and Camilla never mentioned #MeToo. Interesting that now, five years later, Kate has her big mom-oriented First Years project, Camilla’s charity work with women has grown and grown, and #MeToo has completely fizzled. Who has done more for women in past five years? The woman who jumped on the media bandwagon or the two stalwarts who focused on working with and building organizations?

I’d forgotten how bad she looked in the first engagements. Unkept hair, Ill-fitting clothes…but the tabloids still supported her at that point.  Sandringham…poo emoji hat… She’s complaining that Julie Andrews didn’t tell her her hat looked like the poo emoji? Do you really need a protocol officer for that? 

“Everything is just…smaller.” She clearly didn’t take her job seriously at all. 

Fugly red dress fitting.  Four Carolina Herrera employees helping her and she still looked awful. That takes real talent. Harry ask whether she has ever had four people help her into a dress.

She never wore color? I guess the purple and red monstrosity was just a bad dream. And didn’t she just show pics of the Royal Foundation forum where she and Kate both wore blue?  That was five minutes ago, Meg! We haven’t forgotten it. 

Of course you can wear the same color as the Queen. Lol, she just made up a protocol, right after complaining that the tabloids made up royal protocols. Seriously, who edited this documentary? She’s also wearing muted tones right now. 

“I didn’t want to embarrass the family.” I’m confused. This was Sandringham before the wedding and she had just worn a $75k dress in her engagement pictures, but she claims she didn’t want her clothing to “embarrass the family”? She “didn’t want to stand out,” so she sent out engagement pics in a see-through, $75k dress with feathers?????!!!!! I need to rewatch this because I literally can’t believe this. “There is no version of me joining this family and not trying to do everything I could to fit in.” Girl, you dressed up as a burlesque performer and sent the pics to everyone. What are you talking about?

Samantha’s tweets are shown right after the “I don’t want to embarrass the family” comment. Yes, that. 

BTW, no mention of a stay at Amner Hall or the “Fab Four” show of support. 

She was “turtling”? She was sending out invites to Oprah and the Clooneys. That’s not exactly turtling. Lol, no mention of her “very meaningful” religious conversion she supposedly had during this time. Didn’t Charles supposedly give her a Birk’s bracelet as a present? No mention of that either.

The palace didn’t let invite her niece? Please, they were desperate to have any family at all show up. The niece who was practically a sister attending the wedding would have been a godsend…of course she would have had to be Maid of Honor and Jess couldn’t have that. This girl is pretty and Meg wasn’t going to risk a Pippa Middleton situation. Simple as that.

Serena Williams shows up sounding like a zombie. 

Commonwealth Day. Weird “Commonwealth is evil” montage. Weren’t these two heads of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, and Youth Ambassadors? Didn’t Meghan add all the flowers of the Commonwealth to her veil? The Commonwealth wasn’t so evil then, was it? They don’t dare criticize the Queen directly so they bring in academics. Cowards. LOL, I googled one of the academics criticizing the “imperial” aspects of the nation and he literally has an Order of the British Empire. You can’t make this stuff up.

Stephen Lawrence murder memorial underscores that they abandoned this platform to sell tawdry gossip to Netflix. 

Dad drama. Lol, she used her dad’s texts. Weird to bitch about dad selling pics to improve his public image when they are doing the same in this doc. “It’s amazing what people will do when offered a huge amount of money.” It sure is, Harry.

Dad picture story comes out. Lol, her agent admits he knew it was a set up when the book pic came out. They really should have done a better job briefing these people. They are giving her away right and left. The book pic came out April 4 and Harry and Meghan were pretending the pics weren’t set up and complaining to IPSO through mid-May. I gotta say, Meghan bitching about her father talking to TMZ is hilarious given that she did a two hour Oprah interview and she’s now doing an entire documentary. 

This whole scene explaining why they didn’t confront Thomas feels very fake. I bet they have repeated this song and dance many times in front of the Royal Family. Tom Bower confirmed that they were summoned to Castle Mey to discuss the dad drama so my guess about that was right.

“You’re not picking up my calls and are instead talking to TMZ.” I’m dying. They did the same thing with Oprah. BTW, I’m pretty sure they had to pay TMZ for this footage and TMZ was the outfit that first published Harry’s naked Vegas pics, which have not been mentioned in the documentary yet. If you’d told me ten years ago that someday Harry would be paying royalties to TMZ I wouldn’t have believed you. Yet, here we are.

Very weird episode. They could have focused on their charity work, connecting it to the events they did before the wedding—minority neighborhoods, women’s issues, Stephen Lawrence, Commonwealth meetings etc… and they instead chose to use those events to cast the royal family as racist and imperial. And the supposedly imperial aspects of the family—the Commonwealth, Africa, the Caribbean—were the ones they were going to work in. It’s a very odd position for the heads (or ex-heads) of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust to take.

The new spin on the dad story is also very strange. The fact that they never visited him and broke all contact with him after the pics made a tiny bit of sense when he was portrayed as a greedy asshole, but the new spin is that he was manipulated by the evil tabloids who took his phone, didn’t let him call his family and then texted his daughter pretending to be him. That doesn’t make him a villain. It makes him a victim. She has spent three hours demonizing the tabloids and now she says they basically kidnapped her sick, elderly father….and she just shrugs it off? It’s bizarre.

No comment from husband other than to say the niece was cute and the red dress was ugly. Group chat agrees the dress was ugly and she's doing the same thing her dad was doing. Much typing about whether we are supposed to think the poo emoji article was racist and whether navy blue is a different color than just plain blue.

On to the next episode.

[biansella]

This December, Bergen County natives The Front Bottoms will be throwing their annual ‘Champagne Jam’ in Asbury Park’s historic Convention Hall for the fifth year in a row after a successful co-headlining tour with beloved indie band Manchester Orchestra. The Front Bottoms are a band that just won’t stop from their humble D.I.Y. beginning on Bar/None Records to their cult-icon status on Fueled By Ramen. Their last major release was the Ann EP, the second in their grandmother series, which sparked a tour where they would play both the EP and Going Greyfront-to-back.

 This tour, they’re taking things even looser with an entire bar setup on stage and more crowd interaction than thought possible for a band that signed to a major label. I got the chance to catch up with lead singer Brian Sella and talk about new beginnings, the artistic process and what home means to him.

How are you liking tour so far?

 So far, so good, you know? All the shows so far have been pretty fantastic, so it’s been a nice feeling…To be able to come out here and, you know, play the music, and it’s like, “Oh, wow, people are rockin’, rollin’ and having a good time.” So, it’s really incredible.

You guys are originally from New Jersey. I am too, so I know it must be nice to get away from it for a bit, right?

 [Laughs] Yeah you know it. Jersey is a nice place to come home to. A nice place to leave, a nice place to come home to.

Lots of great bands and musicians are from New Jersey, like Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, My Chemical Romance and The Misfits. What do you think it is about New Jersey that inspires great art?

 Well, really, I’m not sure. I think it’s probably the tone or the atmosphere of it all. It’s just kind of, like, you could live close to Manhattan, but you don’t live in the city. You live close to Philadelphia, but you’re not from Pennsylvania. You could go to the beach, it’s on the coastline. You could also shoot up to Boston. I think the fact that there’s access to so many different styles makes its own style. I think that’s kind of why so many people from Jersey end up being total freakin’ nutjobs. [Laughs] Just kidding.

Your music seems to be heading towards a more polished, pop sound with each release. Was this the goal of your art from the beginning, but you now have the skills and label power to complete it?

 I think the goal from the beginning was to just play shows. My life for the past eight to 10 years has been going on tour and playing shows every single day for months at a time, going to a different city and playing in front of different people. And the recording process for me? That lasts, like, two weeks. That’s such a quick blip in terms of the artistic experience. So I would never say that that was a goal to make the recording sounds the way that they sound. It was just part of the discovery of the art. I was just trying my best, and when all of a sudden you’re in a room with amazing equipment, and your friends are there and all the time it’s like, “Let’s try to make this sound a little bit better.”

 But really the process for me is just one of discovery. It’s not like a projected path, I’m not thinking, “Oh, when I was playing a basement in New Jersey,” or “Oh, I wish this sounded like a Katy Perry song.” Each day happens and it unfolds and you roll with the punches. I think the most important thing is hindsight and looking back and saying, “Okay, that happened. So what did I like? What don’t I like? What do I want to change?” And really every single step and every single part of the process is you just figuring it out.

 So, I don’t know the next album in terms of the discovery of myself through the art. It might be a country album or a D.I.Y.-sorta basement style recording. I can just kind of discover [myself] through the music and everybody can listen to it.

 To answer your question, it definitely wasn’t a plan to have things turn out this way. I feel like that’s why things happened so positively; because it was never a plan. Everything was awesome and any little experience or accomplishment was the biggest thing that had ever happened to us, even if it was just a tiny, little thing. We just kinda roll with the punches all the way through. I think it would be unfair to give myself the credit of saying this was all a plan.

You kind of built your way up from the bottom — you played D.I.Y. shows and you and the audience were on a peer level where you could have a beer with all eight members of your early shows. Now, you’re selling out large venues and people are tattooing your face on their body. How does it feel like to have gained a cult following?

 [Laughs] It’s strange, it’s a strange world. I think that’s part of the whole thing that we were saying — there was no plan, you kinda let the audience decide the plan. That’s why I always take requests on stage, because I’m not up here for myself, I’m not up here for my plan. This is whatever people want.

 Like, back in the day, when there would be 10 people at the show, I could drink a beer with every single one of these people and a lot of these people got my face tattooed on them. It’s crazy, it’s a weird experience. I’m still so fucking lucky and I just try and stay naive about the whole thing and just excited about every little step.

I think that’s the best way to do it.

 I think so. You can’t plan anything, really, and it’s a bummer, but sometimes it works out. In this particular situation it worked out. It was years of time that I think people would consider it not working out. The six or seven years of time where there was only 10 people coming to the shows. And my family was like, “Okay, what are you doing? You’re still living in the van with Mat…” But for me, I was so happy and so pumped, this was amazing.

 So, I think that naiveté of it all was very important. If I had listened to anybody else talk, I wouldn’t be where I am now. You gotta stay positive and do what you want to do. I know it’s hard to be like, “Oh, just stay positive and everything will work out,” but really that’s kinda what happened. Me and Mat just stayed positive and remembered that we were having fun, and how lucky we were to not have to go work at a landscaping job or at a grocery store or something like that. That was the best feeling in the fucking world. You know, like with your writing it’s the same thing, you write articles and people read them. That’s a form of art. That’s incredible.

Thanks. Yeah, it’s nice for people to see what you produce.

 Exactly! One time this girl was like, “I want to go around the country and read my poetry to people.” And in a very negative way I was like, “That doesn’t exist, that’s not a real thing.” And she said, “That’s what you do.” And it really hit me like, “Oh my gosh, that is what I do.” And it was like this crazy awakening of, yeah, I shouldn’t be telling people, “That doesn’t exist, that doesn’t happen,” because that’s what everybody was saying to me when I was trying to “read my poetry” around the country.

Now that you’ve been signed to Fueled By Ramen, you guys have been able to add more touring members and build a more elaborate stage setup. You, Mat and Tom are familiar faces on tour, but Jennifer, Roshan and Eric are now a part of the ensemble. What made you choose them?

 Basically, Mat. First of all, the people in the band: Roshan, Eric and Jen, are unbelievable musicians. They’re fantastic. They are actual musicians. They are the reason it sounds incredible on stage.

Oh, I agree, it sounds great.

 Thank you very much, that means a lot. It’s an experiment, like I was sayin’, we’re trying to figure it out. It’s all over the place, everyone has their style and we’re just trying to put on a good performance.

 But basically, Rosh[an] is in a bunch of bands, he played keyboard in a band Mat was good friends with. Mat’s girlfriend was somehow involved. I met Ro[shan] at a bar one night, he was playing bass, and he had come highly recommended from Mat. And then Jen was in a band called River City Extension that we have quite a history with. We’ve known those guys a really long time, and I really wanted a violin player, I thought that would add a lot. And then Eric, we met at the studio. He was a studio rat, just always there, and I was making demos and stuff with him and it turns out he’s really incredible at bass. So we had him play bass and moved Tom over to electric guitar. And he loves to play electric guitar, so he was all about that.

 And that’s always how it all comes together. Same with how I met Tom. I met Tom through [former guitarist] Ciaran, eight years ago. He just showed up at my house and Ciaran was like, “This guy plays bass, he’s amazing,” and we heard him play bass and we told him, “Dude, you should be in the band!”. That’s always the way that it’s been. We always try to keep it loosey goosey like that.

Sounds like a good deal. By the way, ‘Champagne Jam’ is taking place where you live: Asbury Park, one of many coastal New Jersey beach towns [like where I’m from]. In your latest single “End of Summer,” and also “Vacation Town” off of Going Grey, you capture the melancholy that comes with the passing of another season. Was that inspired by Asbury [Park]?

 Absolutely inspired by Asbury Park. My girlfriend and I, we’re living there right now, so it’s definitely full circle. I wrote a lot of those songs when I was living there. That vibe of the summer time going into the winter time, it is definitely an energy that inspired those songs, absolutely.

Do you feel like that sort of parallels your life? Like you’re entering a new season, or new chapter?

 Everything is very personal with my art, even if it’s about somebody else. I’m always drawing from my little perspective in there, especially as a songwriter, I gotta do that. I do feel like maybe it is a new chapter. Like I was saying, I’ve been on tour for fuckin’ nine years. Not consistently, but I’ve been hustling for nine years and it’s been a fucking grind for sure. And we have this tour, we do the ‘Champagne Jam’ and then in the new year we’re planning to just write a lot. I’m going to try to write as much as I can.

 So I do think that it’s kind of like a chapter sort of ending and also sort of starting again. You need that refresher for art. You need to go get new inspiration. That’s where I’m at. I’m taking it year-to-year in Asbury, and you know, I like it. You’re always looking for the next thing and this is the first time in my life that I’m like, “Okay, I guess I can just chill”.

[elenatria]

hello! ive gone through your hiddlesworth headcanons tag and i absolutely love every single one of them

Awww thanks for loving my Hiddlesworth headcanons, that means a lot! ^__^

As for where the Tom vs Taika theory came from… Shall I tell you?… :-P

There’s no evidence or hints of Tom not liking Taika’s style whatsoever. I’ve asked the people making those claims time and time again and I got no answers, to the point I thought they had inside info or something and they wouldn’t tell us lol.

So, as a disclaimer, this is my SPECULATION, my HEADCANON. I do believe some people will get offended anyways by my assuming things about fans and celebrities I do not know personally so beware of… imminent butthurtness. *puts helmet on and opens an umbrella*

There’s a simple explanation to the Tom vs Taika dispute: it’s called… Loki/Tom stanning. Not in the sense that the majority of Loki/Tom stans are not nice people who support him and his work. In the sense that some Loki/Tom stans cannot love Loki or Tom without hating on Thor, Chris or Taika. 

Why? Because to them everything is a pissing contest and their baby is not loved enough if another baby in the same film gets… equal, or bigger amounts of love. The logic of it all makes my brain trickle out of my ears. 

Get  this: if a THOR  movie called “THOR” isn’t all about… Loki/Tom, if co-stars and directors are not sucking up to him 24/7, if Loki isn’t the badassest badass who badasses the shit out of Thor, then there must be something wrong with the movie, with the protagonist who’s “the new flavour” (Chris) or with the director who “doesn’t care enough about Loki’s character/arc” (Taika) because he has his own headcanon about Thor and Loki and “loves Thor/Chris more”. 

There are many many people disappointed in “Ragnarok” (and Taika) because this time it was Loki who got his ass kicked, Loki who got tricked, Loki who got pushed around for shits and giggles. Oh my GAWD the horror, the poor poor innocent baby who is allowed to blast a whole city, throw his brother out of a hellicarrier, lie to him on several occasions because “he was adopted and lied to” and get away with it all, while some stans bawl their eyes out just because he got… electrocuted and because Thor didn’t suck his metaphorical dick in the elevator scene proclaiming his undying love to him (as if Thor DIDN’T try to do that on several occasions in the past - and failed). So, to them, Loki being on his brother’s side, helping him, meant he was back again in Thor’s shadow, and Loki is not supposed to do that, in any film. He’s supposed to be a king and rule the universe and be the coolest shit in all Thor films, as if his mere existence in the comics isn’t permanently linked with his brother’s fate. There would be no Loki without Thor but… whatever, don’t try telling them that. They talk about “balance” and “equality” but in reality all they want is Loki to take center stage again. Talking about insecurities. 

Then there’s the Tom stanning. Again, if a “Thor” promo tour is not all about Tom (and people forget that this happened mostly during “The Dark World”, when Marvel caught up to Loki’s popularity - and NOT so much during the two previous films) then there must be something wrong with the director, right? Let’s face it, Taika is the “fresh prince of Marvel” these days, promoting himself and his work, leaving his fingerprints all over the film, filling the promo tour and the gag reels with his exhuberant persona. He likes to act like a total diva who loves himself and never misses a chance to show off (watch him photo-bombing Vin Diesel’s selfie vid during the 10 Years of Marvel photo shoot), and why not dammit, he’s gorgeous and funny and a genius, the fucking absolute role-model. Apparently Marvel sensed he can work miracles with the franchise and gave him free rein.

Can you see the coincidence here? Tom was all about promoting his work (and Ragnarok) at Wizard World and Nerd HQ up until summer 2016. Then, when it was time to do the Ragnarok promo tour a year later, Tom’s withdrawal, exhaustion and absence from most Ragnarok premieres (and interviews) combined with Taika’s popularity and self-promotion led people to believe Taika had stolen his thunder.

Less Tom + More Taika = They don’t like each other/don’t work well together, geddit?

The thing is, Tom and Taika have many things in common, but they’re also very very different. 

So after talking to my friend @dinamicus we came to the conclusion that might even… confirm what Tom stans say!… I mean yeah, they might be right!… But I assure you, from my part, it’s a TOTAL HEADCANON based on Tom’s studies and public appearances that suits my Tom=Cinderella, Taika=Wicked Fairy Godmother of the West theory. Plus it DOESN’T mean they don’t get along in reality, or that Tom has probs working with Taika. It’s a theory, one which I don’t totally believe anyway.

Tom/Taika differences:

Taika loves improvisation but it doesn’t seem to be Tom’s forte. Tom came from RADA, remembers everything and recites Shakespeare in his sleep while Taika has a more loose directorial style not based on “classical training” and learning things by heart. Also notice Tom’s speeches at the Bafta awards (with Mark Strong) and the Golden Globes (the one he got so much unfair criticism for). Maybe maybe he’s not at his best when he doesn’t have a solid script to work on, that’s why those speeches came out so awkward, and maybe that’s why he got so much bashing after the Globes. Poor man, he couldn’t catch a break just because he made the mistake to “talk too much”. I assure you, to me it wasn’t about “self-promotion” and “self-indulgence” as most people accused him of, it was about him wanting to connect his award with his work for Unicef, and he was talking and talking and, unavoidably, some of it sounded as if he was bragging. Also, from most of the Ragnarok interviews I’ve seen, he didn’t mention improvising as much as Chris and Mark did.

Taika loves self-mockery, Tom doesn’t. They’re both funny af but they have a different type of humour. Tom always blushes when he receives compliments BUT you’ll never see him use self-sarcasm, like, ever. As if he’s too self-conscious (or just a bit insecure…?) to let himself loose and, like Chris or Taika, to make fun of himself, his image. Maybe he’s not as confident as those two, maybe he cares too much about people’s opinions, maybe he’s too uptight, maybe he’s not into that type of humour. Who knows.

Tom/Taika similarities:

They both love their fans, and love being adored by them. So imagine these two  enfants gâtés being in the same room. Who will get more attention, hugs and kisses? It’s a contest!

They both missed their dads while growing up (Tom’s parents were divorced when he was 13, Taika has said more than once that his parents weren’t together as he grew up and he missed being cuddled by both of them - btw could someone enlighten us on this? I don’t know much). So, two big kids who apparently need all the love and the attention in the world collide because they want the same things. 

But honestly, I don’t need any kind of “proof” to know that Tom and Taika got along. 

I just take Tom’s word for it.

Oh. And Taika’s.

Who apparently liked Tom enough to miss him after the filming ended...

... and 

TO BE THE HAM IN THE GODDAMN HIDDLESWORTH SANDWICH.

Still, “Taika doesn’t like Tom”.

Whatever.

[ificouldflytotheclouds]

5 Seconds of Summer Self Titled Album Song Ranking (target edition)

I wrote this almost 2 weeks ago but I pushed it because of Youngblood’s release but so I don’t forget to post it, here is my ranking of 5sos debut album 5 Seconds of Summer. 

Like SGFG I will be shuffling the album

Before I even start I will say I feel like this ranking is going to be shorter than the last. I find it funny because this is the album I was so excited for when I was deep into 5sos, but I resonate with sgfg so much more even though I only properly listened to it recently bf I completely fell back in love with these idiots (that one of the perks of stepping back/not always being in the know, also there's more content to catch up on)  

**I do not include the older songs in the ranking such as heartbreak girl because I don’t view them as part of this collective and I think they would outperform the “newer songs” that were released with this album.

Kiss Me Kiss Me

A good song to begin this review. It is one of those songs where you want to run away with your lover, young, wild, and free.

Ranking: 1 of 1

End Up Here

Sigh. Lol, this album is going to be more difficult to rank because I feel like more songs sound similar. This song surprises me because of Michael's yelling/singing during the chorus. It’s not something I would typically be into but ugh it is such a feel-good song. Is it just me or do you envision the girl as older? I gravitate more to 'Kiss Me Kiss Me,'  partially because it’s at the beginning of the album ( I tend to skip the first 3 singles bc overplayed) but I think End Up Here is the better song.

Ranking: 1 of 2

Beside You

 It’s a cute song. COnsidering this was one of their earliest songs I think this speaks volumes of how far they would come. It’s simple but you can invision it. THe singer and their partner sleeping worlds apart thinking about each other. *Creates a music video in my head when ever I hear this song* 

Long Way Home

This song has been on my mind a lot recently so I think it deserves to get a higher ranking. It’s about taking in the moment and just more time with the people you love. It was memorable as I ended up my days at college.

Ranking: 1 of 3 over End Up Here

Heartbreak Girl

This is potentially the first 5sos song I heard (well actually I think I heard one of luke’s covers first, but that wasn’t really 5sos, and not an original song). Compared to Beside You I perfer this song. The feeling of this song is more complex, she appreciates everything he does for her but she doesn't see that he wants to be with her, but he still hopes the best for her. If I am not mistaken some people don’t like this song because it sounds like he wants to break them up, but I don’t think that’s the point. Like just because someone is taken or doesn’t like you doesn’t mean you can’t find them attractive or want to be with them. It’s different if you are ACTING upon that feeling and actually try to sabotage that relationship. This song is an honest song about desire and is also mature in that fact that in the end all he really want for her is the best, and that’s true love for you ladies and gentes

Amnesia

I know this was a single but this is one of 5sos’ best songs, ever, there's a reason Don’t Stop was dropped long ago but they still play Amnesia in concert. I know, at least for the US, Amnesia did really well for a follow up single. It was played on the radio for months, sadly no one needs to know that SGFG singles didn’t do as well (I think youngblood will be the middle ground because the singles are doing well they got their second number one in australia on a song that wasnt even going to be a single, I’m still not over it, they’re 3 weeks strong. And based on promo and how they’re talking about the album I really believe that this will be their best album yet and I have a feeling it’ll do well on the charts).

I think Amnesia did so well because it’s one of those songs that many people can relate to, while it is focused on a breakup I think it can easily be related to other forms of loss such as losing a friend or someone moving away, missing the better times…

Ranking: 1 of 4 over Long Way Home

Independence Day

While I feel like this song stands out compared to some of the other songs such as long way home, everything I didn’t say, and end up here… which all sound similar to one another. This song isn’t a winner for me. Never has been. I don’t dislike,  I am listening for a spark but Independence Day just doesn’t do it for me.

Ranking: 5 of 5

Out of My Limit

Shoot I forgot this song was on here too. Lol. I am not going to rank this to the album as a whole either. Lyrically it’s more exciting than beside you but right at this moment, sonically it’s not doing much for me (I love this song, something tells me that it’s recently been overplayed)

Mrs. All American

“That mini van that you drive really gets me going” Lol. Luke sounds good in the prechorus but I just can’t with this song. I never really cared for this song, honestly it makes me cringe a bit (like I can bop to it at time, but I will typically skip it).

I prefer english love affair.

Ranking: 6 of 6

Tomorrow Never Dies

I always think of the Transformers Soundtrack, specifically New Divide by Linkin Park (ps. The score is a nice listen while you need to focus and need be quick in your action). This song deseves to be in an action movie.

In a recent interview (ash london australia) the boys were asked to describe their new album with songs from their old album (a brillian question btw) and ashton said Tomorrow Never Dies which I find very interesting, if I am not mistaken, this will connect to the hiphop element that will be in their album which has be like??? But it’s nice to hear them talk about this song because it doesn’t get enough love.

I would thought that I would rank this song lower than long way home, but I actually think it’ll be higher because this song stands out on the album.

Ranking: 2 of 7 over Long Way Home

Good Girls 

This song grew on me. I feel like you need to be in the right mood for this song. But I can relate to this song, and when I am feeling it, I find it very empowering. Growing up I would be labled as a good girl and a lot of people thought they knew me but it was like go away you don’t know me (I mean I’m not that rebellious but it’s still like stop putting me in a box and trying to flatten it, I’m not a one dimensional character)

Ranking: 6 of 8 over Independence Day

Don’t Stop

Ok this was defs a bop at one point but now I just always skip it. Lyrically its cringe worthy. And I wasn’t about superhero 5sos. Lol. Some weird is too weird for me. The other day I said it was the worse song on the album, but after listening to other songs, I disagree. Mrs. All American is worse. This as least has a nice beat to it.

 Ranking: 8 of 9 over Mrs. All American

18

I’ve always liked 18, and it’s not just because it dropped when I was 18 it was just a nice coincidence. Sonically I enjoy it and lyrically there’s a story line to follow.  It’s strangely a sad song about the things they don’t have and they sing about 18 equating it to freedom (but is it really??).

Ranking: 2 of 10 over Tomorrow Never Dies

Everything I didn’t say

Wow is this me in a song? I’ve defs written letters over the things I’ve never said (somewhich I’ve actually told to people #yikes). The rumination of everything that is lost, feeling like you could’ve said something to prevent it from happening, but it was already falling apart, you were always too late..

Listening to this after 18 should make it easier to decide if it goes before or after but nope.

Ranking: 2 of 11 over 18

Ummmmmm close as strangers came on but I’m going to skip that one and do it last.

She look’s so perfect

I always skip this song. Heartbreak girl might have been the first single I heard from them but this song really won me over. I remember being so excited for this song. I don’t remember when the song dropped but I remember the music video dropped last period and me and my friend couldn’t wait for the bell to ring to be able to watch it. While there are better songs that could replace this in concert this is a bop, you can’t deny it, this is when the crowd goes the hardest.

As I have mentioned in other ranking posts I hate ranking singles. Especially lead singles. They get extremely over played which I feel like can make people dislike the song, to some degree. I also don’t view lead singles as a collective piece to most albums (or at least since We are never ever getting back together lol).

Ranking: 8 of 12

Close as Stranger

*gets emo* Tell me why my fav 5sos’ songs are sad. But ughhh. Luckily I don’t think about the reality of this song when I listen to it, otherwise I think I would avoid it. BUt I can defs relate to this. I think most people can. It’s a strange feeling. Often times most people know it’s happening, and you want to stay friends but suddenly there’s no longer anything to say. YOu don’t even know why it’s happening but… (it’s awkward when it’s not mutual, that’s a whole other hot mess we're not going to talk about - actually this is probably what saves me from still enjoying the song because this is just a generally sad song but when it’s not mutual that can feel awkward or backstabbing)

Ranking: 1 of 13 over Amnesia

~~ Album Ranking ~~

Close as Strangers

Amnesia

Everything I didn’t say

18

Tomorrow Never Dies

Long Way Home

End Up Here

Kiss Me Kiss Me

She Looks So Perfect

Good Girls

Independence Day

Mrs. All American

Album Review/Ranking Masterlist

[fernsehn]

x (That panel.) Disclaimer: I’m a bit drunk.  David Duchovny trying to be extremely loyal to his buddy (friend? neighbor? ...guy who basically gave him the most important job in his life!) Chris Carter while also trying to express his disdain of certain aspects of the show (”soap opera”) that just always seem to pile up in Chris’ episodes. It’s just a little awkward to witness. And I guess that in my secret heart of hearts I wanna see him at least publicly recognize that it’s only the way that Chris handles that stuff that makes it trashy and pulpy. Which is of course never gonna happen. (Besides, though: I think people really have the wrong idea about actors’ roles in these kinds of scenarios. Having so little control over your “product” is mostly why so many actors love to do theater or music or stuff where they’re much more in control of their art and final product. I mean: You don’t fucking know which one of your performances is even gonna make it through the edit and you don’t really know how exactly it’s gonna be edited together. And in 99% of the time you have no fucking part in writing the stories or dialogue or whatever. And in Gilian’s and David’s cases ...they aren’t even producers on the show. (Which I find super weird, btw, but alright.)) But I love what one of you guys communicated on here, when Gillian did her most recent convention in europe, that it’s in very bad taste to put those guys on the spot and expect them to basically throw CC under the bus while on a panel at a convention.  David seems quite supportive of Chris here. I don’t know if that’s what rubs so many of the folks who watched the panel the wrong way. (I have a bit of a problem with “us” expecting every actor who shows up at those panels to behave like a fucking show pony. I think that both GA and DD have been doing these things long enough to have developed a particular self consciousness at it. Other than that: well, this is DD.... I mean....) But, just personally, for my own weird satisfaction, because for some fucking weird-ass reason I want the stars of my show to recognize that their showrunner is kind of a hack, I think back at December when DD publicly made jokes about CC probably naming a character Cliff Hanger. (lolz - sorry I’m german. Dad jokes are like our normal jokes. Our dad jokes, though....ugh. I actually think I loved that joke so much because it fullfilled that secret desire of mine of David or Gillian just publicly SLAYIN’ Chris lol.) Anyway: He also clearly mentioned that he had some issues with PLUS ONE and the way Mulder was written in that one in some s11 promo interview.  So ...in conclusion. It’s not like DD loves everything CC does. And somehow he seems to file the pregnancy shit under “soap opera”. Right next to the [insert “Detour” Mothman joke here - ‘cause I’m too drunk, tired and german to make one right now].  Why do I care about all that stuff again? LOL. Who knows.  Good night! And remember: Our world is seriously fucked. THIS?... is the FUN STUFF!! :)