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deadcactuswalking · 2 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 12/11/2022 (’Her Loss’ by Drake & 21 Savage)

“Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift reigns at #1 for a third week on the UK Singles Chart, and let’s just thank God it isn’t Drake. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

I don’t know what it is about Drake, but he always seem to command just... bizarre weeks for the UK Singles Chart. You’ll see with our egregious amount of returns but it’s clear in the sheer amount of notable dropouts – songs exiting the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40 – that the charts were really shaken up. The aforementioned dropouts are a massive list today – no Drake pun intended – so I’ll rattle them off, apart from the one-week wonders which still include “In My Head” by the late Juice WRLD. Otherwise, the list includes “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am”, “Body Paint” and “There’d Better be a Mirrorball” by the Arctic Monkeys – yes, all three – “Living Without You” by Sigala, David Guetta and Sam Ryder, “BREAK MY SOUL” by Beyoncé with uncredited vocals from Big Freedia and “Summertime Sadness” by Lana Del Rey. Of course, we also have the Halloween tracks leaving, including “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell with uncredited vocals from Michael Jackson, who also sees “Thriller” leave the chart, alongside “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr. and “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers. I’m honestly not sure if the premature dropouts for regular charting songs, or even some of the long-term proven hits like “BREAK MY SOUL”, will get a second chance due to all of the Christmas songs coming back soon enough.

I mention Christmas because already, we see “Last Christmas” by Wham! at #71 and “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey at #56. The rule for Christmas songs is that I only list the top three until they get into the top five, as well as listing the returns when they happen, but I will never track every single song as a gain because that is ridiculous. Apart from those, we see regular singles hop back in like “Crazy What Love Can Do” by David Guetta, Becky Hill and Ella Henderson at #75, “go” by Cat Burns at #74 and “Until I Found You” by Stephen Sanchez at a new peak of #72. Thanks to TikTok, Billie Eilish’s “TV” returns to #58, originally peaking at #23 earlier this year, and thanks to Joji’s new album SMITHEREENS, the lead single “Glimpse of Us”, originally peaking at #12, is back at #34. What is probably most fascinating is the inexplicable return for “Mockingbird” by Eminem, which is a classic song from Eminem’s most unfairly derided album. It originally peaked at #4 in 2005 and is looking to make a return to the top 40 as it’s back at #48 this week. I’ll have to assume it’s due to TikTok, but what a bizarre choice.

We move then into our notable gains, which isn’t exactly a large list but it does include “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert at #52, “Victoria’s Secret” by Jax at #43, “Warm” by K-Trap all the way up to #18 thanks to a Skepta remix, and then we see two new entries into our top 10, alongside the three new arrivals (we’ll get to those). These are “messy in heaven” by venbee and goddard. at #9, the first credited top 10 hit for both, and – with a heavy heart – I announce that “Made You Look” by Meghan Trainor is at #8, becoming her first top 10 since 2015! God help us.

As for Off the Charts, it is increasingly difficult to find much time and effort dedicated to listening to new releases, and I don’t want to increase the burden especially when I run out of interesting things to say. I will do one last rendition of the section, probably on a Christmas week, just to cover everything and anything from pretty much late October onwards, just to get it all out of the way. Great music does get released at the end of the year, there’s a 10/10 R.A.P. Ferreira album to prove it that I will at some point find time to discuss. That’s not for this episode, however, as instead, we can talk about the top five on the UK Singles Chart. This week, it consists of “Major Distribution” by Drake and 21 Savage debuting at #5, “Miss You” by Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz at #4, another debut from Drake and 21 with “Rich Flex” at #3 and of course, “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras at #2 and “Anti-Hero” at the very top. Now that all that is out of the way, I suppose it’s time to focus on our new arrivals.

NEW ARRIVALS

#64 – “Moving All Around (Jumpin’)” – Schak and Kim English

Produced by Schak

I’ll be transparent: I put most of my energy into Drake this week, so I’m going to try and blast through these first five before we get to the main event. To start with, we have an interesting remix. Kim English was a soul singer who ended up making house and dance-pop in the 1990s, having a couple minor hits from 1994 to 1996. In 2001, she released “Jumpin’ & Bumpin’”, and whilst the Michael T. Diamond club mix may be a bit shrill and dated, its unrelentless fun across 10 whole minutes is to be commended, and Kim English’s performance is impressive as your typical house diva. Schak, a DJ from North England, must have found this earlier this year as we now have a remix that is surprisingly solid and crisp in its vocal mix for a remix of a song from 2001. It honestly feels like a throwback to that era in its synths that come clambering onto the typical Eurodance-esque house percussion, and it’s honestly unfortunate that it doesn’t try more considering the pulsing bass is a solid foundation... but it’s not an interesting take on the sound and at its worst is just mildly annoying. Carried by a great performance by the late Kim English, I can see this being a hit on pure nostalgia but I’m not particularly a fan.

#60 – “10:35” – Tiesto and Tate McRae

Produced by LOSTBOY, Ryan Tedder and Tiesto

Can you really credit yourself as the main artist when two thirds of your role is filled by other producers? Besides that food for thought, we don’t exactly have an interesting song from Tiesto here. Tate McRae is still a completely uninteresting vocalist, especially over this kind of dour, nightclub house that she tends to just attach to rather than actually be fully submerged as she probably needs to be. It’s a really awkward fit, especially in that bassy slap house drop that feels so stock, especially with the synths and drum fills brought in seemingly at random. This doesn’t feel finished exactly, and it’s not even that sticky of a hook so unless it fills some kind of niche that is breezy dance-pop that doesn’t even sound like it’d fit in a club, I don’t see this doing much. Knowing my rate with predictions, this’ll be the one song to survive Christmas by December.

#46 – “Never Gonna Not Dance Again” – P!nk

Produced by Max Martin and Shellback

I tend to forget that P!nk exists. She made some of the best pop music of the 2000s, and also some of the worst, but I tend to respect her ambition within the genre and much like Avril Lavigne the same decade, her ability to handle something new and unfamiliar, and unlike Avril, she had the maturity and grit to convincingly sell a lot of it. In the 2010s, her music grew to sappy and middle-of-the-road pop yet I’ve never really hopped off the train entirely. This new track has Max Martin on production so had a great deal of promise, but I’m not entirely sure I can endorse it. For a song about how she’ll never lose her ability to dance and have fun through all the hardships, it doesn’t really have any weight or any stakes to make it mean all that much. The cute sandy disco groove is fine until it becomes over-compressed in the chorus, and the writing just feels standard, which is disappointing considering the three pop giants at the helm. P!nk as a performer rarely disappoints, and she brings her signature confidence to this, but it really is the saving grace to an otherwise just fine, serviceable song that occasionally gets a tad cringeworthy considering the middle-aged “bruh” thrown into that post-chorus. The nods to Whitney Houston and Gloria Gaynor are a bit tacky too but it’s not offensive and it’s just cute enough to pass.

#39 – “Die for You” – Joji

Produced by Jacob Ray, Wes Singerman and Tay Dex

I’ve yet to listen to Joji’s new album SMITHEREENS but considering the leap in quality that existed between his debut and his sophomore effort, I am excited to, and the subtle lead “Glimpse of Us” has just grown on me since, so how is this new track faring? Well, it’s another breakup lament, with your typical indie keys and a soulful vocal from Joji that creates a contrast between him and the synths that is almost Tyler, the Creator-esque. With that said, I kind of wish that the song was drumless, since the percussion that is here feels pretty weak and unable to hold the weight of the careening synths that warp all over them, which is a problem Tyler never has. The tension that should be in a song about Joji still recovering from a breakup and still having that passion despite forcing himself to move on... doesn’t really exist here, and whilst I get the more reflective tone and definitely appreciate the synth palette, it essentially just feels a bit too damp for me to really get into. This is far from bad, but with a more complex set of drums, this could be devastating... in the good sense.

#33 – “I’m Back” – Fredo

Produced by CDS and Handz Beatz

Well, he’s back. In typical Fredo fashion, his comeback is accompanied by a long freestyle, this one seeping over six minutes with only two verses spread over one beat. Fredo will always be more compelling in his writing than your typical UK rapper because of his inherent focus on the come-up being so clear and controlled, mostly because of how smoothly and confidently Fredo spins every topic into his pride. Sure, he may spend a lot of his time flexing, but it’s always at least in part aspiration, and immediately contrasted with something really grimey. His delivery on here is venomous, especially over the first beat with its warping bass synths and elevated trap beat that sounds like a perfect mix between the crisper percussion and cloudier production that is just how trap beats should always be mixed. The rhyme schemes are intricate and focused, but delivered in such an impressively effortless way that my main complaint is that it may just be too long for average consumption, even if it feels a lot shorter than it actually is, largely due to the subtle shifts in the twinkling first beat, and the charming, mostly humble wordplay and punchlines dropped into his bars. I wish there were more bits of wordplay, but I think it would distract from the sheer dominance Fredo demonstrates on this track, especially on that second beat, which isn’t as good but demands a menace that Fredo can absolutely bring amidst the mythical vocal loops. Honestly, UK trap doesn’t get much better than this. It’s not going to last because... well, it’s damn near seven minutes, but considering the state of the trap-rap I’m about to talk about, please check this one out.

#7 – “Circo Loco” – Drake and 21 Savage

Produced by Boi-1da, Tay Keith and 40

“One More Time” by Daft Punk was voted by Mixmag as the very best dance track of all time. I don’t think there is a single song in EDM that represents its appeal better than the French duo’s honestly basic but incessantly replayable filtered house jam, drowning Romanthony in Auto-Tune as his pleas to never stop the dancing are submerged in a joyous loop sampled from Eddie Johns. There’s something so pure about “One More Time”, which an ingenious use of sampling. The mix may not have aged perfectly but that riff is timeless. “One More Time” appeals to the gut instinct and the fundamental idea of happiness: never wanting it to stop. It is pure feverish escapism in the best way that EDM can be. It makes me sick to my stomach to see and hear what Drake did to this song. I’m not someone to see sampling as ever butchering an original for the sake of a hit – “One More Time” got all the way to #2 using a sample, yet there’s nothing insulting about Daft Punk sampled Eddie Johns. It doesn’t defy the impact or appeal of the original sample in the way that Drake does, and even if that were the case for another artist or even Drake to take the sample and juxtapose it, it could be compelling... but come on, it’s Drake. He called up his three top producers and paid them either way too much or way too little to add some springy percussion onto a slowed-down loop from “One More Time”, with 808s that sound like they’re hitting the wrong note and create this villainous dissonance perfect for Drake to spray his misogyny onto. I don’t have a problem with misogyny in hip hop as it is when it objectifies women because ultimately, whilst this is a societal issue, men are typically willing to collaborate with women for sexy raps nowadays, and the power dynamic in that regard is starting to change (with conscious rappers out there if you just can’t stand it). Drake’s form of misogyny is the male-manipulator type that will hide behind wordplay and his devoted fans just so he can attack female victims of gun violence like Megan Thee Stallion and undermine former co-signs like Ice Spice, whilst repeating himself and creating a facade of the mobster that is so incredibly thin that you can practically hear 21’s disappointment in his tuned-out verse. There is a clear power imbalance here – if Megan releases a diss track on Drake, she’s the villain. If 21 or any of Drake’s collaborators take an issue with the line, they’re traitors. Drake is practically untouchable and using his platform to take weak shots is embarrassing – he should know better at this point of having decades in the industry. I know that it’s all for attention – it’s the same reason that he’s been posting hentai on Instagram and releasing those fake PR videos – but why would he take nearly exclusively women down with him? Sure, he takes a sub at Kanye but not for the actual anti-Semitism or right-wing coat-tailing that he will freely criticise the Supreme Court for on other tracks – even if it’s just to get in women’s pants. As a song, detached from the lyrics – if you can even do that considering how basic this production is and how much they spit in the face of the purity that is the joy encapsulated in “One More Time” – it fails, since it barely has a hook, both rappers sound checked out and Drake spends half the time repeatedly embarrassing himself, especially when he interpolates the chorus on the outro... which is a minute long for no reason, degrading the sample further but not in a way that’s cloudy or interesting. As an attack on women and a demonstration of Drake’s power, it sadly succeeds. I rarely get upset at songs but this is inexcusable. Megan deserves better – this is disgusting.

#5 – “Major Distribution” – Drake and 21 Savage

Produced by SkipOnDaBeat

Well, I may as well use this song as a way in which to talk about the actual album, that being Her Loss, which debuted at #1 this week. This album has barely anything to do with 21 Savage, who serves little purpose other than to usually outshine Drake but with so little effort that he comes off as a commodity – when he actually contributes greatly to a song like on his solo introspective cut, “3AM on Glenwood” or the fun “More M’s”, it ends up pretty great. Instead, this album is a full Drake parade, who after the backlash to Honestly, Nevermind, figured he could recover with 21, and sadly, it worked. He spends most of his time in that same mode, pining over women who supposedly wronged him and mostly wasting listeners’ time, especially with the singing on tracks like “Hours in Silence” and the closer. The best collaborative moments of the album comes when Drake steps into 21’s zone, because even when he’s unconvincing, he can serve as a breather from the violence and still get some excellent hooks in. Elsewhere, Drake seems to be running out of creative juices, as this album, with its writing and production credits furthering this, feels more like Lil Yachty was more creatively invested than 21 Savage and whilst we may pretend to like Yachty now because of “Poland”, we do have to consider the man’s body of work is not impressive, and consists mostly of trend-hopping and bloated albums... of which Drake is also a master. This song itself is basically unremarkable: the slow R&B intro with Drake is charming enough but it quickly devolves into a bassy plod because beat switches are no longer a creative idea and are now a lazy way of constructing “songs”. Drake and 21 flex and threaten intermittently, with them both practically whispering – Drake doing his best 21 impression – and whilst I appreciate some of the vague attempts at interplay and 21’s bars are still vaguely clever, nothing can make this beat or the nothing hook interesting.

#3 – “Rich Flex” – Drake and 21 Savage

Produced by Tay Keith, Vinylz, FNZ and BoogzDaBeast

Don’t worry, I’m not going to moan about this one too much. In fact, as an opening track, it gave me false hope that 21 sparked a fire up Drake’s ass when in reality, the album is your typical low-effort Aubrey. The soul sample the album opens up with is pretty cute alongside Young Nudy’s narration, but I am glad that it immediately gets replaced with eerie Memphis rap vocal loops and warped pads since that is pretty much the dichotomy of 21 and Drake making an album together. It’s a pretty clever production touch, and whilst the initial hook from Drake may seem embarrassing, it’s effectively hyping up 21’s humorous performance, who has seemed to up the sex and violence to 11 for this album, probably because he knows that Drake can’t deliver on that front. With that said, I love Drake’s bridge, which is his typical condescending singing but commands attention before the drop, after which Drake delivers his best verse on the project. The rhyme scheme using abbreviations may seem lazy but Drake has the stoic confidence on this track to deliver it with just enough violence on the driving beat that you can forgive some of his later cringeworthy playfulness. The T.I. interpolation is fun too, so whilst I can’t say that the album as a whole impressed me, I’m glad that the decent opener is the track getting the most attention for now because this really isn’t bad, even if it barely counts as a song in all honesty.

Conclusion

Well, it should be plainly obvious that Drake and 21 Savage get Worst of the Week for “Circo Loco”, and nothing else is really all that offensive so I may as well give the Dishonourable Mention to “Major Distribution”. As for the best, this wasn’t a particularly good week but Drake and 21 also take the Honourable Mention for “Rich Flex” whilst Fredo has a clean sweep for Best of the Week. None of these other singles made me feel much at all, if I’m honest. As for what’s on the horizon, hopefully the charts will quieten down in preparation for the holidays and I can place my time and efforts elsewhere for a month or two. For now, thank you for reading, rest in peace to Takeoff and Aaron Carter, and I’ll see you next week!

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fishylife · 3 years

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Street Dance of China, Season 4, Episode 8

- I don’t remember if I’ve said this before, but Poppin’C seems like such a chill guy. He always seems very optimistic, very open-minded, very friendly. I was just reminded when he was talking about what he thought of the first freestyle battle challenge. The thought it was difficult, but he wasn’t like, bitter about it or anything. He just takes the challenges as they come. But even from episodes past, we see that he’s very non-judgmental of stuff and things in general. Side note, the Chinese subtitles always call him Christian (which I assume is his given name).

- Henry’s outfit here is cute.

- The relay freestyle dance challenge got really fun as we got through more rounds, and got dancers of different styles dancing to the same music.

- In the relay freestyle dance battle, you could tell who the versatile dancers are. We already knew Bouboo had range, but what I think is interesting is that his stage presence is so strong is that his dancing ends up overshadowing the song. It’s not bad, it’s just an observation, because a lot of his performances, even with very different music, sometimes have more of a similar feel, because his dance style is so strong. On the other hand, some dancers like Rochka or even Xiao Jie (even though he didn’t get to battle much) seem to fit themselves to the music, which makes them very entertaining to watch. It feels like I’m watching a different dancer when I see them dance to different sorts of music.

- The dancers praising Yixing for earning two points in the relay battle 🥰🥰

- This panel made me laugh because just as Rochka was going up against Yang Kai and very in the zone, someone shouted “Rochka’s really cute!” I mean, he is, but in this moment, I think he was going for cool.

- My boy MT-Pop!!! I think this is the first time we’ve seen him actually freestyle (most of his previous performances were a prepared performance or a group performance) and I love how he maintains that creativity in his movements! Bouboo’s response to his challenge was pretty cool too, I loved that Bouboo matched MT-Pop in terms of having really interesting movements and weird body placements.

- Yixing being the first team to win 7 points, and MT-Pop and Yixing each getting 2 points 🥰🥰 Sorry but I am biased. During the battle, Yixing did mention that he and his teammates tried come up with an order that would be to their benefit (i.e. in terms of using music against their opponents). So the strategizing worked.

- You did so good dude!

- Our little meowmeow was telling his team how he used all of his power on his first dance off and by the second battle he was already out of ideas lol. Except on his second battle against San’er he did have some good ideas!!

- Poppin’C said Yixing’s krumping was so shuai :P

- Is that Yixing running to grab the water bottles in the background?

- I did like Ibuki’s performances over Nelson’s in their second place dance off. Like Judge Philip said, she had a lot of variety in her dance moves. Especially during the popping music, Ibuki did some popping (?) moves that I had not expected from her. In the first episodes, I thought she was all about waacking so I love seeing her expand her repertoire.

- Lmao Yuwan called Ibuki “全村的希望” which is something like “the hope of the village” XD

- What’s also cute is that Yuwan called Ibuki 小吹, Xiaochui, because Weichui is the Chinese reading of the kanji for Ibuki.

- And then he called her 村花, “Village Flower,” which is something akin to the village beauty.

- MT-Pop and Poppin’C battled so many times together, and I had fun every time they did! The fact that they have so many routines is impressive. But I also just love how happy and cheerful they look every time. It makes their performances that much more interesting to watch.

- Not gonna lie, seeing Ma Xialong dance hip hop was really fun haha. I think Han Geng’s team didn’t really have some “general” hip hop specialists, so that was why they had to ask Eleven and Ma Xiaolong to go forth, but I think they at least delivered a product that was fun to watch. If anything, they have swag.

- Omg Xiaoji and Xiao Jie team for maximum entertainment

- Rochka and Boris are so interesting to watch, because they are both such big boys, and it’s like, how do they move their arms and legs that fast when they’re so long??

- It seems to me that the lockers always have very pleasant expressions, as in, they never forget to smile, which makes their performances very enjoyable to watch.

- Chika and Han Yu are such a cute duo.

- Okay but Han Geng? Sir? This fit? Old man team ftw.

- You were wearing two pairs of sunglasses the whole time????

- Han-xiansheng.....excuse me.....sir.....

- Dianmen and Rei-san from Gogo Brothers was such an interesting combo because Dianmen is a popper and Rei-san is a locker, and this music is rather slow compared to normal locking music.

- Ibuki and Eleven was pretty hype, even if they did lose their battle.

- Judge Tam was praising MT-Pop and Poppin’C :3 She basically said that they technically aren’t similar dancers, but they have cool chemistry and fun ideas.

- Yibo got a lot of praise in this challenge, because he danced three styles of battle (popping, locking, hip hop), which showed that he’s flexible, and as Judge Phillip said, it also means he has a good memory because he had to remember all those routines :P

- Poppin’C truly the realest dude ever. He was like we were happy that we were first, but can’t let your foot off the gas either, because Yibo’s team is going to be challenging them from second place.

- Henry’s team is lowest in points right now, and Rochka was saying how Henry was being very encouraging and motivating.

- Just a small note, Momo speaks in a combination of Japanese and English and it’s cute :P I remember Junna did that on the show too, but I think this is the first I’ve seen it in the interview section. Most of the Japanese dancers speak in Japanese even if their English is alright (e.g. Ibuki), though Momo more often speaks in English than Japanese from what I’ve observed.

- The 5 person performance from Yixing’s team was cute! It wasn’t the most explosive, but it was very cute and quirky. I can see all of the influences of the different choreographers though. The parts when the dancers were in a V shape (more hip hop) were probably choreographed by Kenken, the parts relating to the table were probably choreographed by Bunta, and I think Huang Xiao did more of the choreography for himself and Qiao Zhi, who were supposed to represent the Chinese chefs. And actually I MT-Pop might’ve had a hand in choreographing the part when he and Kenken burst through the table (the quirky eccentric stuff). But like Li Bingbing said, they were focusing a lot on the story part of the performance, so that’s why they couldn’t plan as many cool dance moves that were just cool from an aesthetic point of view, and not necessarily related to the story.

- Han Geng’s team’s performance was abstract and artistic. I think the wind as a prop was really interesting. Technically we can’t even see it, but the wind changes the “direction” of the dance. All of the moves revolve around the fact that the wind is coming from that angle. So it acts as both a prop to alter the “perspective” of the dance, as well as a prop for the story.

- The performance from Yibo’s team was more of what I’d expected out of this challenge, something that was just aesthetically cool from all angles. Like Ye Yin said, it wasn’t advantageous to compete from a storytelling perspective, so they might as well just focus on the visuals.

- After this performance, Rochka told Henry not to worry. He was like “psst Henry! 一劉 team? We’re great!” The captaon says 暖心卡寳. 暖心 means warm hearted, alluding to the fact that Henry might’ve gotten worried since other teams had such strong performances and they were behind in points and Rochka wanted to reassure him. 卡 is “ka” as in “Kaka” as in “Rochka.” 寳 means treasure, but it is also the “bao” in “baobei,” and it’s also something you can just add at the end of someone’s name to make it a cute nickname. So basically the caption is saying that Rochka is a warm hearted baby.

- Henry’s team had a cyberbullying theme going on. I thought this performance was cool because it was both visually very cool and it told an interesting story compared to how minimalist their props were (just masks). Basically the dance covered themes of online bullying, and how social media can be just as isolating as it is connecting. I was surprised that Judge Phillip said that the theme kind of lost him because he thought it might not be clear to everyone who was watching. But I guess it’s also because Henry mentioned that there was a cyberbullying theme so I wasn’t as confused as someone might be if they were going in blind.

- Han Geng came over to cheer on Henry’s team before the final battle.

- This was the first freestyle battle that Kenken did and can I just say, his dance style is just so hype. Kenken was up against Nelson though, who is tough to beat. Yixing said that he’d wanted Kenken, Bunta, and Huang Xiao to join in on the battle to at least have some fun, but he hadn’t expected him to run into Nelson ^^;;

- Yibo’s team won 6 points in a row and everybody was like “who’s gonna challenge them? who’s gonna dethrone them?” OUR MEOWMEOW KING IS!!!!!! Yixing stopped Yibo’s team’s streak lol. Yixing’s team went on to say how he inspired such confidence in them, that he was their hero haha.

- Henry tried to challenge next. He challenged Dianmen. But alas, Dianmen got the point. At this point, I feel super bad for Henry. He probably feels a bit powerless to help his team v.v Ahhh I hope some good luck comes his way!!!!! He deserves it!!!!

- In this last battle, where teams can change their challengers however they want, we see how important it is to win the point, because once you’re on the defence, you get an opportunity to get a point every battle, whereas for each of the challenger teams, if you lose, you have to wait another round for your turn.

- Lmao as San’er was going to challenge, Chunlin just started yelling “AHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Guess that’s his way of motivating his teammates XD

- Yibo’s team won the final challenged in the end. Here’s our boy Poppin’C being all “shucks, but we’ll get them next time!”

- 23 points wasn’t shabby for Yixing’s team.

- Yixing started singing Billie Jean but the subtitles are not right at all lmao

- Yixing’s team said that through the challenges, they felt like they’d grown closer as a team :3

- Han Geng being encouraging to his team. In typical dad fashion he was like “no matter what happens, let’s have fun, don’t think about winning or losing!”

- Henry’s team members were talking about how it kind of hurt to see that they had the lowest score by far :(

- Oh no :(

- Rochka explained that he had asthma, so after the first round, he was quite tired, so he felt very sad that he couldn’t help his team in the later battles. The words on the side say that Rochka stayed on scene after he got medical help, but Henry didn’t want to let him battle. Later on, Rochka was available to dance again, but Henry moved him to the back of their queue (probably so he’d have more time to rest), but as we saw in the challenge, it took a while for them to get their turn and thus Rochka didn’t end up dancing.

- Rochka kept apologizing and saying he had no excuses and Henry comes up being like “what are you talking about bro?”

- That’s right! Give him a hug!!!!

- These two really take every opportunity to flirt huh. Well it’s more like Henry issuing the flirt challenge and Rochka accepting the flirt challenge by returning with equally flirty behaviour.

- The way Huang Xiao described the competition was very cool. He said that the world cannot stop your radiance, but you also are not able to cover up someone else’s light.

- Nelson announced to the show that he had to leave, to go back to France to handle some issues about custody over his son. I had heard that he had left the show, I just didn’t realize it would be so soon. But like everybody else, family is important, so we can’t be mad for someone wanting to return home for personal reasons. After all, this is just a competition, just a game.

- Poppin’C patting Yixing’s shoulder. Iunno, I just thought it was fun :P

- This round did not end with eliminations, but I suspect that as the winner, Yibo will earn some sort of perk later on.

- Finally, all of the figures in a row!

- I know the hot pot show is now no longer members only, but I don’t think I have the time to watch it. Maybe I’ll just download it now and save it for later, maybe after I’m done SDOC, but I probably won’t watch it as I’m watching the main SDOC show.

#thinking out loud #cvariety #street dance of china #screencaps

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takaraphoenix · 5 years

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1, 6, 15, 17, 23, 41 aand 44 please

Thanks for playing! <3

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

The first I got involved in? Not wrote, but just... involved. Mh. It’s gotta be One Piece, that’s where I discovered fanart and fanfiction for the first time. First fic I ever read was some self-insert love-triangle between a Mary-Sue and Luffy and Ace and I absolutely loved it because the mere fact that here, for free, I just got to read about my favorite characters and my favorite anime was absolutely mindblowing.

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Holy effing shit this one alone will take A LONG TIME. Okay. Cutting this short to actually involved in, as in I actively read or wrote in that fandom, not every time a ship caught my fancy. And only one OTP per fandom, the top OTP.

Also, alphabetical order.

Ace of Diamond: Miyuki Kazuya/Sawamura Eijun

Arrowverse: Mick Rory/Leonard Snart/Barry Allen

Avatar - Legend of Korra: Iroh II/Bolin (I never really got into TLA when it came to fanfiction)

Ben 10: Rook Blonko/Ben Tennyson (HIGHLY UNTERRATED SHIP!)

Beyblade: Yuriy Iwanov/Rei Kon (my second-ever fandom where I actually got active as a writer! ;^;)

Card Captor Sakura: Spinel Sun/Keroberos

Charmed: Cole Turner/Phoebe Halliwell

Chicago Fire: Kelly Severide/Matt Casey

Danny Phantom: Danny Phantom/Danny Fenton (...and here, you can see exhibit A as to how I got into selfcest)

Death Note: Yagami Light/L

Descendants: Prince Pen/Carlos de Vil

Detective Conan: Kuroba Kaito/Kudou Shinichi

Digimon: Motomiya Daisuke/Takaishi Takeru

Dragon Prince: Soren/Callum

Entourage: Ariel Gold/Eric Murphy

Eureka: Nathan Stark/Jack Carter

Fairy Tail: Loke/Lucy Heartfilia (it’s my OTP, but it’s not the ship I was reading xD)

Fast and the Furious: Dominic Toretto/Brian O’Conner

Free!: Yamazaki Sousuke/Nanase Haruka

Glee: David Karofsky/Kurt Hummel/Noah Puckerman

Grimm: Eddie Monroe/Nick Burckhardt

Haikyuu!!: Kozume Kenma/Hinata Shouyou

Harry Potter: Fred & George Weasley/Harry Potter

Heroes: Gabriel Gray/Peter Petrelli

Hetalia Axis Powers: France/Germany

Hunger Games: Cato/Peeta Mellark

Imposters: Richard Evans/Ezra Bloom

Inuyasha: Kouga/Inuyasha

Jungle Book: Shere Khan/Bagheera

How to Train Your Dragon/Rise of the Guardians: Hiccup Haddock/Jack Frost

Killjoys: Prima Dezz/Johnny Jaqobis

Kim Possible: Shego/Kim Possible

Kingdom Hearts: Axel/Sora

Kuroko no Basuke: Takao Kazunari/Kuroko Tetsuya

Lord of the Rings: Gimli/Legolas

Lucifer: Mazikeen Smith/Chloe Decker

MacGyver: Jack Dalton/Angus MacGyver

Magi Legend of the Labyrinth: Sinbad/Alibaba Saluja

Marvel: it’s a tie between Loki/Tony Stark and Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark

Maze Runner: Newt/Thomas

Merlin: Gwaine/Merlin

Miraculous Ladybug: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste

Musketeers: Porthos/Athos/Aramis/D’Artagnan

One Piece: Trafalgar Law/Monkey D. Luffy

Percy Jackson: Nico di Angelo/Percy Jackson

Pitch Perfect: Kommissar/Beca Mitchell

Prince of Stride: Suwa Reiji/Fujiwara Takeru

Psych; Carlton Lassiter/Shawn Spencer

Ranma 1/2: Ryoga Hibiki/Ranma Saotome

Riverdale: Jughead Jones/Archie Andrews

Road to El Dorado: Tulio/Miguel

Royal Pains: Boris Küster von Jürgens-Ratenicz/Henry Lawson

Sailor Moon: Kou Seiya/Tsukino Usagi tied with Tenoh Haruka/Tsukino Usagi

Scrubs: Percival Cox/JD Dorian

Shadowhunters: Magnus Bane/Jace Herondale

Sky High: Warren Peace/Will Stronghold

Sleeping Beauty: Maleficent/Aurora

Smallville: Oliver Queen/Clark Kent

Teen Wolf: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Transformers: Ironhide/William Lennox/Sam Witwicky

Trollhunters: Draal/Jim Lake

Twilight: Edward Cullen/Jacob Black

Vampire Academy: Mason Ashford/Christian Ozera

Voltron: Takashi Shirogane/Keith Kogane/Lance McClain

Wicked: Elphaba Thropp/Glinda of the Arduennas

Young Justice: Roy Harper/Dick Grayson

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Kaiba Seto/Jonouchi Katsuya (the first ever ship I wrote for!!!)

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

I mean. 75% of the ships I love are “obscure”. I... I always find the very obvious mainstream ships... boring. I mean, sometimes I find them nice in canon, but mostly I find canon to provide enough about them that I don’t really need fandom to get more of it, you know? Or, which also often happens, I find the mainstream ships have more of a very strong friendship-dynamic, or even a sibling-dynamic in some cases, and I just can’t really find it in myself to want to see them in a romantic way.

So, if I have to pick an, as in one, obscure ship, I will have to go with my top OTP. Jagnus. Jace and Magnus literally lived together, in both the show-canon and the book-canon, yet somehow it is an “obscure” ship. I mean, not somehow, we all know why. It’s the unwritten fandom rule of “canon mlm shall NEVER EVER BE BROKEN UP HOW DARE YOU SHIP ONE WITH SOMEONE ELSE”. You have no idea how often that rule has come between me and my OTP. Basically every time there is a canon mlm ship, really.

And this in no way or shape means to criticize those who only ship canon and are content with it, you do you, but I do find the lack of creativity in shipping in fandom where there is a canon mlm ship... really damn boring. Fandoms without canon mlm representation have the wildest constellations of ships, have a far broader variety of content, but when there is canon mlm, the majority of a fandom tends to just happily sit down with it and hug it and prefer not to be creative with the content and the shipping. And as a certified multishipper, I don’t really get that - like, even if you like the canon, you could have multiple ships?

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

My first OTP was Shere Khan/Bagheera, because gods do I love Jungle Cubs. And while other ships I interact more with have pushed it off the throne, if I see any form of Sheregheera content, I am immediately sucked in, no questions asked, no hesitation. I am utterly in love with this very rare, small, very obscure actually, ship and I will always love it and it still is one of my favorites.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

Ooof. Interesting one. I’ve done a variety of PJO fics I’m particularly fond of in previous versions of such a question, so let’s go with something else this time. “The Lost Soulmarks”. It’s, at this point, probably my own personal most reread story. I just reread it the other night, actually. It just - it hits all of the right spots in what I want from a fic. Very often, I write to please my readers, with “What do my followers like most?” in my mind at least to a certain degree, but some things are absolutely self-indulgent. And I should really write more absolutely self-indulgent fics because those are the ones I myself keep coming back to. It has ABO-verse, it has soulmates, it’s Jace-centric, with lots of love, misunderstandings but not the kind where one of them is to blame but rather where it’s due to the circumstances, it’s really emotionally painful, but pays off in the end. It’s... seriously those are all the things I love.

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

Uuuhm so like five WIPs where I am desperately waiting for updates?

Shadowhunters, Jagnus: “Non-Fat Frappuccino With Extra Whipped Cream” by @kimmycup - it’s my top OTP and my best friend gave it to me but now she is slowly murdering me with the wait for part 2

Shadowhunters, Jimon: “Strings” by annhamilton - I looove this story, only recently discovered it and fell in love with it and am now not-quite-patiently waiting for the next chapter

Avengers, WinterIron: “(Iron Is A) Star Killer” by RayShippouUchiha - a fic I read... a while ago and recently rediscovered with the latest update and am now desperately waiting for more!

Avengers, WinterIron: “An Unempty Nest” by gryvon - same as the one above, I read this a while ago and forgot about it and recently rediscovered it for myself and still love it

Avengers, Steve/Bucky/Tony/Tony: “Second Chance (at happiness)” by SailorChibi - I got this fic recommended and devoured it in one sitting and have since then checked nearly daily for updates because I greatly enjoy it!

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

*bangs potts and pans together* JAGNUS JAGNUS JAGNUS SERIOUSLY THEY LIVED TOGETHER. THEY LITERALLY WERE ROOMMATES. IN ANY OTHER FANDOM THAT’D HAVE TAKEN OFF LIKE NOTHING ELSE. THE PARALLELS BETWEEN THEM!! LET. MY. GOLDEN. EYED. BOYS. FIND. HAPPINESS. IN. EACH. OTHER.

Fanfiction Ask Game

#Fanfiction Ask Game #send me asks #Anonymous

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citizenscreen · 5 years

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You’ve probably heard that the schedule for the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (TCMFF) 2019 was published earlier this week. TCMFF is scheduled for April 11-14 and this year’s theme is Follow Your Heart: Love at the Movies. As you can imagine, such a broad theme allows for all sorts of relationships in movies and in that sense the offerings don’t disappoint. There’s something for everyone – from traditional romance to bromance to love in pure evil form. What’s important is that for the 10th consecutive year, classic movie fans will have a love affair with movies in Hollywood.

As has become tradition on this blog I’ve put together my planned schedule for discussion sake. I tried to go a bit beyond my comfort level this year choosing new-to-me fare in more slots than ever before with a dear coming home at the end the festival. This will be my seventh year in Hollywood for this event and the excitement has not waned. There’s simply a lot to look forward to.

Also exciting is the fact that I will be playing a dual role at TCMFF 2019. I’ve mentioned my media credentials to cover TCMFF in the past and that is true again this year. In addition, I will also be one of about 30 Brand Ambassadors. I don’t know many details of this post yet, but follow me on social media and we’ll learn together.

Now to my picks…I hope some of you will chime in with yours. If you’re a blogger and publish a pre-TCMFF post be sure to leave me the link in the comments so I can include it in this post. I enjoy comparing people’s picks and think others do as well. Here we go…

Thursday, April 11

I’m betting the biggest crowd aside from Grauman’s for the official opening night feature, will be at the Egyptian for Howard Hawks’ enjoyable Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and its iconic images. Although I adore that movie, which features Marilyn Monroe in standout comedic form, I plan to attend the 35MM screening of Hobart Henley’s Night World (1932), which I’ve never seen. Sara Karloff, daughter of the legendary Boris Karloff, will do the introductory honors alongside writer Susan King. Spending some time at a Karloff speakeasy is simply too good to pass up and it’s a fantastic way to start the festival.

Next I’ll likely meet bunches of people I know at the Egyptian for the Nitrate screening of Irving Reis’ The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer (1947) starring my love Cary Grant, the lovely Myrna Loy, and the popular Shirley Temple. This is the first of several movies featuring Cary Grant this weekend and I plan to stare at him every chance I get. Almost.

Friday, April 12

Friday morning poses a bit of a dilemma for me. There’s the film noir staple The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) opposite pre-code Merrily We Go to Hell (1932) opposite Judy Garland’s only drama appearance in The Clock (1945) opposite the enjoyable High Society (1956). I decided on Dorothy Arzner’s pre-code featuring Sylvia Sydney, Fredric March and a pre-stardom Cary Grant. How can I go wrong with that combination?

Following that movie I’ll have a bit of time before the Club TCM presentation of The Descendants: Growing Up in Hollywood. This presentation may be as close as I’ll ever get to the idea of “Legacies” I’ve been hoping for, which calls for a panel of children of classic stars. In attendance at The Descendants presentation will be Cary Grant’s daughter, Jennifer. This means I’ll be one degree away from the greatest Hollywood has ever seen.

The next Friday block poses another slight problem. My choice of screening is Garson Kanin’s delightful, My Favorite Wife (1940) at the Egyptian, but skipping Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) is not easy. The reason I’m going to see Cary and Irene Dunne, besides the fact they’re wonderful, is due to the next screening, which will likely be a popular one.

For the 5:30 to 8:00 PM block on Friday I plan to watch the new-to-me Vanity Street (1932) directed by Nick Grinde followed by John Reinhardt’s Open Secret (1948). I think these two films will have long lines because the others screening in the slot are much newer movies. That means die-hard “old” movie lovers have my choices as their choices as well. Robert Wise’s beloved The Sound of Music (1965) is also screening in the slot and that eases my worries a bit.

Next I go to go see Jean Negulesco’s Road House (1948) starring Ida Lupino and Richard Widmark. The other movie I seriously considered in this slot is the premiere restoration of Anthony Mann’s Winchester ’73 (1950). Watching at least one important Western at the festival has become a tradition for me. If I skip Winchester the tradition will be broken, which is tough.

This year I am making it a point to attend at least one midnight screening and it looks like Joselito Rodríguez’s Santo Contra Cerebro Del Mal (1961) is the choice. It’s exciting to watch a movie in Spanish at TCMFF and, although I am familiar with the Santo superhero character, I’ve never seen one of his films. This should be a heck of a lot of fun.

Saturday, April 13

What hit me immediately upon perusing the Saturday morning line-up is that I might not make it into Grauman’s at all the entire festival. Can you imagine? One of the two golden age films screening at the historic theatre, Fred Zinnemann’s From Here to Eternity (1953) opens the day there, but I am going for science fiction and Rudolph Maté’s When Worlds Collide from 1951. The movie stars John Hoyt, Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, and Peter Hansen. Rush will be in attendance to introduce the film with Dennis Miller. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Barbara Rush on a couple of occasions and she couldn’t be more down to Earth, a truly lovely person who will no doubt offer interesting tidbits about the making of When Worlds Collide.

From possible world annihilation I will venture into the jungles for the special presentation of the 85-year old Tarzan and His Mate (1984), the only directing outing by legendary art director, Cedric Gibbons. One of the first film courses I ever took was taught by a film historian and author obsessed with the nude swim scene and its artistry. I’ve seen it, of course, several times, but never on a big screen so this one is exciting.

Before you continue down my schedule, know that the rest of Saturday is a web of sacrifices for me. Foregoing a few screenings to ensure entrance in the ones I cannot miss is the order of this day. With that I continue…

Following Tarzan I’ll be visiting with Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer in Leo McCarey’s Love Affair (1939) celebrating its 80th anniversary. This will be introduced by Dana Delaney who is a great classics fan in her own right. Although I have no reservation about enjoying this film, which I haven’t seen in quite some time, it would not be my choice if not for the rest of the day’s offerings. For instance, I think I’d enjoy the Tom Mix Double Feature immensely and would attend that if not for Rowland Brown’s Blood Money (1933) hailed as “the ultimate pre-Code film” on the TCMFF page and I’ve never seen it. Blood Money follows in the next slot and if I see Tom Mix I won’t have time to get to it. That’s the deciding factor for me. I’ll also be truly sorry to miss the Hollywood Home Movies presentation at Club TCM yet again.

The worst block of the entire 2019 TCMFF for me as far as decisions go is the Saturday evening offerings after Blood Money. My good friend Laura of Laura’s Miscellaneous Musings mentioned the rarity that will be the screening of George Marshall’s Life Begins at 40 (1935) and she should know as she takes full advantage of the numerous classic screenings available in the Los Angeles area. The problem, my dears, is that if I go to Life Begins at 40 I won’t make it to what I believe will be an unforgettable experience, Mervyn LeRoy’s The Bad Seed (1956) poolside with Patty McCormack in attendance. I’m super excited about this one as I consider McCormack’s portrayal of Rhoda one of the all-time great child performances and an impressionable evil. That said, this decision comes at a great cost because while I’ll be watching this terrific film, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, two stars that mean the world to me, will be Indiscreeting in a nearby theater. This actually hurts to think about, but this will be my first ever screening by the pool at the Roosevelt and I couldn’t look forward to it more.

Sunday, April 14

Another tough choice opens Sunday with Peter Lorre’s fantastic performance in Karl Freund’s Mad Love (1935) screening opposite George Cukor’s Holiday (1938), but in the end Cary Grant wins as does Diane Baker’s introduction. Touch one though.

My choice for this next block may change depending on the TBA. I’m hoping it’ll be Indiscreet in which case that’s where I’ll be. Barring that happening I may well forego movies and attend two Club TCM presentations in a row, which would be a first: Hollywood Love Stories and The Complicated Legacy of Gone With the Wind are both enticing and likely to be entertaining and informative.

Finally, I arrive at the end of the weekend with the two final screenings. These are no-brainer choices for me. The first is Clarence Brown’s A Woman of Affairs (1928), the third picture to team Greta Garbo and John Gilbert and their final silent film together. Present for the introduction will be Kevin Brownlow and Leonard Maltin. This screening will also be accompanied by a live orchestra performing a score composed and conducted by Carl Davis and it should be spectacular.

Now talk about thrilling. This will be a nitrate presentation of Irving Cummings’ The Dolly Sisters (1945) starring one of my idols, superstar Betty Grable and June Haver as famous vaudeville entertainers, Jenny and Rosie Dolly. This movie strays far from the real story of The Dolly Sisters who were known more for their dark beauty than for their talent, so if you’re looking for biographical drama look elsewhere. However, if enchanting entertainment, the wonderful fluff I adore that’s important enough to get a Carol Burnett parody, if what you’re after then look no further. This one means a lot to me. Remember, Betty Grable was my idea of the biggest star in the world. Oh oh…I may cry during this screening. With John Payne as Grable’s love and character greats S. Z. Sakall and Sig Ruman, The Dolly Sisters screening cannot come soon enough even though it ends my TCMFF 2019.

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There you have my picks and ideas on this year’s festival. It all adds up to 16 movies – a decent number for me – three Club TCM presentations, and numerous new experiences. I hope to run into you in Hollywood, but if not follow me on social media for the latest from TCMFF 2019.

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It’s always fun to compare notes with friends so I’m including links to a few other bloggers’ TCMFF picks. I love reading how everyone makes his/her decisions on such things and hope you do too. If your blog post is not included leave the link in the comments section and I’ll be happy to add it to this list.

Check out the choices of Pre-Code.Com

My Picks for #TCMFF 2019 You've probably heard that the schedule for the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (TCMFF) 2019 was published earlier this week.

#TCM #TCM Classic Film Festival #TCMFF

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