#but i cant stand the falsetto in the chorus???

[jayflrt]

i just wanna say that yes the budget was in hell like they spent too much on bite me im crying but holy coww short as hell song but they've changed their tone soo much the way they've embraced their vocal potential is gorgeous i wish i knew enough about music to explain it but heeseun'g part before the chorus is cocaine they tell that guy to go ape in the studio and he does and jay's pre chorus part.. his voice is so golden boy coded, he's good at falsetto and reaching higher pitches but heeseung's octave reach. in the english version his part before the second chorus he sang it like he was a 5sos singer. you can tell he's enjoying this album so much but SUNGHOON'S I WOULD GIVE UP HEAVEN IF I HAD TO? what if people cried? i have trouble deciphering sunghoon's voice because it's so gentle and he doesn't use any distinct sound or pronunciation like the others but i stood like the standing emoji during his eng verse. "i cant speak english", says sunghoon. all men do is LIE because that verse spoke to my HEART! sorry this is so long im efherf i love you alice im so happy

the budget still makes me upset knowing how much of a cinematic masterpiece that teaser was 😔 but right!!! i am soooo so impressed with the song itself so i think that's why the mv felt all the more disappointing :( but i've just been listening to it on spotify so it's been so enjoyable like their voices sound amazing for this song and the lyrics flow so well in the english version !! (do not get me started on sunghoon i will THROW UP) but im really glad enha is experimenting with different styles bc this really showed how well rounded their discography is :') i feel like they can make any song sound good lowkey...... and i feel like riki rlly shone this era !! like the michael jackson inspiration was FOR him <33 HAHAH DONT APOLOGIZE I UNDERSTAND I AM GOING THRU SWEET VENOM WITHDRAWALS TOO now that spotify released the lyrics too i've been going crazy reading them,,

[usermaha]

CB Thoughts

This album is if Eternally was an entire album.

The actual shock to my system that was Devil By The Window??? the jaw was on the floor the whole runtime i kid you not

i dont know the lyrics?? Its All English from the sound of it?? All i can hear is Soobin and Soobin sounds angelic

This album is very tied to the narrative or theme. Which makes me really happy bc i was kinda expecting to get robbed out of the storytelling teased by the promo stuff.

I was jumping up and down in glee when i heard the intro to Sugar Rush Ride DARLING IVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU SINCE DECEMBER

You know every txt cb has a part in the melody/production thats so good its almost pure coke and they build the entire song around it and its kinda repetitive but you dont complain bc its so good you cant get enough of it?

WAIT the vibes of CYSM’s thing (you know what i mean) and SRR’s intro are quite comparable

Up until the prechorus she is tons of fun and there are so many good vocal moments i dont know who’s who yet bc its happening too fast

But the chorus is a little short of a disaster to me the puncture of the energy to the empty chorus??? you mean to tell me i dislike a txt chorus what is happening??? Its gonna take me a while before i get around this song, even if i actually do. Which as a moa is a real shame.

Im really really excited to see the whole choreography

Okay all of this is very sexy. The narrative is “being tempted by the devil into a psychedelic bliss that is actually a hoax/dangerous but its irresistible”. I suppose that angle was always present in the concept but i didnt expect it to be played this upfront.

Sigh i should have known when YJ was shirtless. Everyone said Angry Soobin from GBGB was a shock SLUTTY SOOBIN??? Did i even type that phrase?? Txt is constantly challenging their concept and image and this is the more jarring one yet. They would’ve done an edgy concept that was a given but i legit never couldve imagined them this way.

i shall not speak any more of this, and i am respectfully looking away.

Yeonjun’s “What did you do to me, sugar” 😵 i still havent figured out my favorite line but this might be it

Happy Fools has a Balance Game energy. And i do not like Balance Game so. ://

and the feature really took me out otteokhe

Tinnitus is kinda fun kinda groovy… and also very sexy

Farewell Neverland gave me Lonely Boy. And Lonely Boy is one of my favorite songs from txt so this one will definitely be a at the top of this album

MY PETER PAN-

This pretty neatly fits my theory that they are visiting Magic Island (Neverland in this context) for a final time for closure.

Throughout txt’s discography there is this headstrong argument supporting escapism, that’s what the concept of Magic Island is about. “Run away with me.” And at this point the illusion of escapism finally crashes. We must go back home.

Honestly heartbreaking you can hear the bittersweetness in their voices

But i was expecting the Cat to eat them or something none of the action in the middle :(

When i heard Minisode 2 for the first time my gripe was that its not doing much in terms of interesting or unique. But here its’ inverted; this album experiments and pushes the envelope, and im happy for that, but for me it doesnt stick the landing

but again the album might grow on me as i slowly get around each song. It has happened before with txt songs. But this is how it stands right now.

Member-specific points:

Soobin era. From Devil By The Window ive called it. His falsettos are in full form here and i love to see it

It feels like Yeonjun’s existence as an idol was destined for a moment like this. He unhinges his jaw and never retracts it back. HIS VOCALS TAKE ME OUT every cb day dont sleep on YJ’s vocals please this has been a PSA

Beomgyu’s vocals in Farewell Neverland he is such. an emotional singer he sings with so much heartbreak in his voice

Fuck Taehyun honestly he sounds better and better every cb and for what. For me to bias him harder??? Fuck him.

Huening Kai plays the sexy so right its almost wrong he is such a fantastic idol and performer he is a chameleon he carries any and every concept with such ease he has it all truly

[marchofthekillerqueens]

Queen Album Reviews: Jazz (1978)

Title: I mean, yeah. I don’t connect with this title particularly, its no News Of The World but at least its not just Queen 6/10

Cover: I don’t like this cover. I don’t like it all. The only redeeming factor is the bikes at the bottom of the cover but the whole thing is just kind of... ugly. I dont care for the overall deign and a certainly dont care for the pink accent on the thing. 4/10

Mustapha: This song is bizarre and comes out of a left field but it’s great. I think the mix of English in combination with Hebrew/Arabic/Persian lyrics works really well, particularly given Freddie’s Parsi background. Its such a strong opener for the album and is such a unique song! 7.5/10

Fat Bottomed Girls: This song really doesn't get old for me. I really like the lyrics and the chorus is suer catchy! 9/10

Jealousy: This song is musically pretty basic and for good reason. Its lyrically beautiful and allowing the piano to lead the song is such a nice touch that we really dont see all that often. I really like the concept of allowing jealousy to ruin a relationship because it’s an incredibly relatable feeling that doesn't necessarily have to be romantic, so I thiknk everyone can relate to the song to an extent. 8/10

Bicycle Race: Another bop. Sure the chorus is repetitive but I love the verses so much - I cant help but sing every one of them! I also love the bridge, its a welcome change in the tone of the song, that in addition to the bike bells ringing make it one of my favourites in the album for sure! 9/10

If you Can’t Beat Them: The chorus in this one is really catchy and its a good enough song but it really doesn't stand out too much for me. 6/10

Let Me Entertain You: I find this song to be such a fun listen, it was very obviously written for the benefit for their live shows and I think it works really well! This song would definitely get me in the mood for a show! I really love the outro too, look at that outrageous costume! 8/10

Dead On Time: This is a really aggressive rock song and I absolutely love that! The second verse is without a doubt my favourite becasue I love the line Fool got no business hangin' round and tellin' lies largely because of the delivery, but I also love the change of key we get with the line oh, no matter in the chorus. I just admire that its a heavy rock star but maintains its complexities which I think can be a difficult balance 8/10

In Only Seven Days:  I really don’t think much of this song to be honest, it’s nice that theres a softer song in the album and it’s a pleasant enough listen but it just doesn't captivate me like some of the other songs in the album. 6/10

Dreamer’s Ball: Now this is a song I can get on board with, another gentle song and a great tribute to Elvis! 7.5/10

Fun It: This song isn’t really anything special but i really enjoy the way its performed, I love the pre-chorus, I think its the strongest part of the song, and I love the way the chorus is delivered. Is it Roger’s most complex song? No, but I think it’s still a pretty good song. 7.5/10

Leaving Home Ain’t Easy: Brian writes great ballads, and objectively this is another great song, however something about it just doesn't captivate me in the same way his other songs do and I cant quite out my finger on it. 6.5/10

Don’t Stop Me Now:  I’ll never grow tired of this song. Another one with personal significance because it’s become mine and one of my housemates Soph’s song (yes i have a ‘song’ with my housemate) It’s such a feel good song and every-time we go on a night out together we request this song and completely lose our minds, it’s just such a great song to get up and dance to! Plus that guitar solo is something else! 10/10

More of That Jazz: I feel like this song is so underrated! It’s a really well written and constructed song! I think it’s really experimental and I love the use of sampling in the outro, it’s the perfect song to end the album on. Oh! and bonus points for the falsetto 8.5/10

Overall Average: 7.4 Songs Only: 7.8

[juunshua]

i actually really dig so cool and hurt road a lot from the album. so cool is just the...epitome of confidence not to mention the combination of classic alt rock with hip hop makes for a really slick “I’m Hot and I Know It” song. hurt road reminds me a lot of i’ll try, all alone, and still melodically in terms of heavy piano focus and emphasis on vocal work. i’m still shocked to this day that young k wrote that heart wrenching of a song in one hour on a taxi!! that takes skill and magic.

i feel like for me personally, more ballad type songs, like hurt road, take a bit of time for me to warm up to but you say youngk wrote which song in one hour on a taxi ?? (skill and magic for sure how does he only grow more perfect by the day what cant this man do) but yes hurt road is definitely a song thats meant to have a heavier focus on lyrics and such, since the actual composition is quite simple and bare. i feel like full appreciation of that song for me personally will come when i finally digest and understand the lyrics. so cool actually reminds me a bit of some of infinites sound i can hear infinite singing it as maybe a bside track, esp the chorus bit. i feel like for me personally the use of falsetto in the chorus makes the chorus lose that drive that i personally feel that it needs. understandable why theyd go into a headier mix and a falsetto for the chorus bc its so freaking high, but if they transposed it down and had a more chestier chorus i feel like i could see myself jamming to it a bit more. like comparing it to 121u a bit, the falsetto in the chorus really helps with the phrasing in that song, but for me i feel like so cool needs to come across a bit harsher and brash almost so id love to have heard that chestier mix alskdj idk ahaha personal preference!! but after a while i feel like my favorites are probably more 121u and headache (and days gone by is still standing as probably top fav in the album so far)

[high-fructose-lesbianism]

The 5 Best and 5 Worst songs from 2017′s Billboard Top 100 Singles

Whoops, this is like a year late.

The 5 Best Singles

5. 1-800-273-8255- Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid (#79)

Whenever pop songs touch on any sort of serious issue the question for me is do I buy the sentiment? Do I think it comes from a place of authenticity or is it a particularly cynical cash grab? I believe the sentiment on this one. I like the use of the suicide hotline number as the song title and the message is uplifting though not in a way that “message” songs can be where it just says, “hey, don’t do that, you don’t need to.” This song acknowledges the struggles of depression and suicidal thoughts without glorifying them nor minimizing them. 

4. I Feel It Coming- The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk (#34)

I love The Weeknd’s collaborations with Daft Punk. The majority of the Weeknd’s work is more slow jams that might go on a “songs to have sex to playlist” but, well, I don’t have a great deal of need for such songs. I do always have a need for catchy, funky songs that combine the talents of robots and Canadians. AND while being more upbeat, it’s still absolutely a song you could have sex to.

3. Starboy- The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk (#20)

Yeah. I really like The Weeknd/Daft Punk collaboration. This one ranks a little higher because I think the beat is more recognizable. It charted last year and this year so this song has staying power and it deserves it. This is a catchy, well-produced song that missed getting on my best list in 2016 but a year later, with different songs to compete against and (hopefully) me developing slightly better taste in the interim, it’s definitely one of the best charting songs of the year for me.

2. Praying- Kesha (#67)

I don’t know if there’s been a pop song with this level of raw emotion in all the years of Billboard charts I’ve looked at so far. Kesha is an absolute powerhouse in this song. I’m really glad this song charted because it is definitely different from her previous charting singles, it’s certainly not a song to grind against a dude you’ve just met while intoxicated but Praying is such a showcase of Kesha’s talent as an artist. The amount of emotion she evokes in this song is really impressive. Even Adele hasn’t released a charting single that’s such a punch to the feelings. 

1. Feel It Still- Portugal. The Man (#45)

But, at the end of the day, what I really want from my charting pop music is something I can dance to. Feel It Still is an exceptionally danceable song. I love it. It’s so funky. It makes me want to bust out all my white girl dance moves. I feel like there’s a dearth of songs that really make you want to get down and boogie in the charts these days and Feel It Still is there to represent that specific subgenre and it does so perfectly, with a great baseline and retro flair. I’m so about this song.

The 5 Worst Singles

5. Magnolia- Playboi Carti (#79)

There weren’t necessarily a lot of really notable, memorable bad songs on this year’s charts. Magnolia is here because more than anything, it’s forgettable. I guess there’s some use to it in that it sounds like an amalgamation or stereotype of the entire year in charting singles but nobody will remember this song in 15 years. Hell, I’m not sure anyone will remember this song in one year. It’s so disposable. There’s no staying power to it. It doesn’t seem like a song that a lot of people with have a big nostalgic connection to and exclaim in delight if they hear it in 15 years on a throwback radio station. Magnolia just kills three minutes and leaves no emotion, memory or thoughts behind it.

4. I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)- ZAYN & Taylor Swift (#26)

I can’t stand Zayn’s falsetto. It hurts my ears. That’s the major sin of this song. If he sang at a register that appealed more to my human ears than bats, this song probably wouldn’t even make my short list of considerations for the worst songs because it’s otherwise a competent if unremarkable song. But jeez, I do not like listening to Zayn hitting that register. It makes me cringe like nails on a chalkboard. The song also doesn’t scream or even whisper passionate, kinky BDSM relationship but hey, the movie also failed on that front so I’m not even mad at that particularly.

3. Look What You Made Me Do- Taylor Swift (#39)

With 1989, if not before then, Taylor Swift proved she cant make a good-ass pop song. 1989 was an album full of them. As a followup, Look What You Made Me Do is more than disappointing. The melody isn’t good and is so unoriginal they had to settle a claim with Right Said Fred of I’m Too Sexy fame. That’s a problem. The sort of sing-talk that Swift does for most of the song also doesn’t appeal to me. And there’s the lyrics. Subtlety thy name is not Taylor Swift. We all know what this song is about and it’s not charming. She comes across as petty, thin-skinned and unlikable. She also completely fails to evoke any sort of bad-girl image despite that being her clear attempt. This song is bad in a way where I’m tempted to call it lazy because it’s definitely not utilizing all the potential of Taylor Swift and her team but that’s sort of the worst part about it, it’s not lazy or a throwaway song. A lot of thought went into this and all those thoughts were bad. This is not a song, it’s a compilation of bad ideas.

2. Chained to the Rhythm- Katy Perry ft. Skip Marley (#73)

It’s arguable if Katy Perry ever had a personality but in recent years I still feel like she’s lost whatever personality she initially had. This song is cliche and lame. Maybe a singer with a more powerhouse voice could’ve sold it but I dunno, the basic tune of this song seems like something I’ve heard several times before. Katy Perry’s music has always been pretty shallow but I excused it in the early years because it was at least catchy. I don’t find this song nor many of her recent hits to be such. Chained to the Rhythm just seems tired. It’s supposed to be a roof-raising party song but I just feel sleepy and a little sad when I listen to it. Even the fact that the chorus mentions zombies doesn’t soften my opinion to it. It’s such a bad simile and doesn’t even have the right number of syllables to quite fit the melody. I don’t like it.

1. Body Like a Back Road- Sam Hunt (#8)

Holy shit. This song is the highest charting of any song on my best or worst list and it’s the stupidest. I don’t need to do a particularly in depth analysis of this, do I? Comparing your lover’s body to a road of any description is a bad and unflattering metaphor. Anyone who’s a fan of country music should be furious at this song because it sounds like a parody of country music. How did Sam Hunt ever think this was a good and complimentary thing to say about his girl? God, this song is just beyond stupid. Sam Hunt deserves to be punched in the throat by the shambling, resurrected corpse of Johnny Cash for writing, recording and releasing this song.

Other Observations on this List

It’s been like a year since I started listening to this and I’m just hammering this out before I go on vacation for a week so these observations are gonna be kinda half-assed.

Listening to this playlist back in January and then months later when I finished was sort of interesting because I had a lot more passionate opinions in January and a lot of them felt sort of nullified when I went back and finished this in later months because music trends just sunk in more for me I guess.

I do wish this current trend of sort of droning pop music would end. So many songs this year don’t have a whole lot of inherent danceability.

So white rappers aren’t even a notable change in the status quo now, huh? I’m not saying 2018 was the first year that white rappers existed but I have noticed that in the past two or three years there just seems to be far more prominence of white rappers and less discussion about that. I think, as a culture, we’ve just stopped caring if it’s cultural appropriation or whatever which is fine I guess, but some of them are so average, I sorta wish it was still the case where (with the exception of Vanilla Ice), white rappers had to be in some way notable to prove that they deserved to take up space in a genre that started as being by and for the black community.

I didn’t put Bodak Yellow on my best list basically because of personal taste (mine is bad) but damn. What a powerhouse of a song. As a statement of intent, it’s exceptional. Cardi B came to slay.

Can we PLEASE be done with Maroon 5?

iSpy almost made my best list. It’s dumb but at least it knows it’s a dumb song which shows self-awareness that actually makes it smarter than a lot of songs on this list.

[nearmidnightannex]

Eurovision 2018! commentary as it happened

Reposting from something done elsewhere. It is very very long, what with the competition lasting, you know, FOUR HOURS, so there is a keep-reading tag below.

No idea who the performers were, but I really liked that second number leading into the beginning and the parade of nations.

Interesting that Ross and Shangela felt the need to explicitly state that they will not be talking over the performers. I'm guessing that they had comments about that in previous years. (Also, totally forgot that Celine Dion got her start with Eurovision. And also somewhat confused, what with her being, you know, Canadian. Then, there are random Americans here this year, and I think Norway’s performer last year was actually from Australia, so.)

I do not remember the Ukranian boy band hosts from last year doing the instructions in English and French. I'm guessing in part because as they stated they were very new to English, so handling both would have been a bit much.

And here we go!

Melovin, Ukraine, "Under the ladder". Had a few problems wandering off key at the start, but then the number went insane and he was fine. Seriously, that ending was kind of nuts for a song that really wasn't all that intense. Didn't like it that much, meself, but we shall see.

Amaia y Alfred, Spain, "Tu Cancion". Surrounded by a sea of phone screens on one side, and a stage of things that aren't phone screens but might as well be on the other. It's actually the sort of very sweet ballad that wouldn't tolerate Eurovision-standard overproduction, so the lack of LED screen probably doesn't hurt them at all. No sense of whether or not it will do well, but the audience (and Ross and Shangela) seem to love them. (Cat Valente on Twitter: "Oof, Spain's only special stage effect was heterosexuality.")

Lea Sirk, Slovenia, "Hvala, ne!". A song and performance with attiTUDE, at the least. And about ninety million more flashing laser lights and spotlights than any song needs; I'm not epileptic, but I literally could not watch the chorus because it hurt. I can't imagine how difficult it was to be in the room.

Ieva Zasimauskaitė, Lithuania, "When we're old". A very very small and sweet ballad. If we didn't have the example of last year's winner, I wouldn't think a song this small would have any chance of making it through. Given that there's no projection screen on stage with her, I'm guessing that the images of couples we see next to her can't be seen in the auditorium, so they're aimed squarely at the juries and viewers, all of whom are watching on television elsewhere. And that staged ending, however hokey, was really sweet.

Cesar Sampson, Austria, "Nobody but you". I like the sound of the song, although I think it may have a shade too much repetition. His pants are ... weird. (People, if I, the fashion-impaired, am wondering why his spandex pants have a crotch at his knees, something is decided ODD.)

Elina Nechayeva, Estonia, "La Forza". Oh, Opera. Or at least operatic. And she gets around the LED screen restriction by wearing her own. Man, that skirt is MAGNIFICENT. It also provides all the motion, which is good, because she can't possibly be able to move without screwing up the screen. (Um ... were those sperm cells zipping around on her dress for a hot minute there?) I do wonder how much the auditorium can see, though; the main seating/standing level is all below stage level, and the balconies are all very far away.

Alexander Rybak, Norway, "That's how you write a song". A previous winner performing again. And again, effects that the audience can't see because they're composited into the camera. And it was fun, I guess, and I suppose that's how you write a song, but ... eh. Whatever.

There is a LOT more direct outreach to the auditorium audience this year than there has been in the past. The Slovenian grrrl group asking them to sing along, the Austrian guy saying  "How are you, Lisbon" in a song that really didn't tolerate it, Norway throwing his jacket into the audience ... I wonder how much this is a reflection of them compensating for the LED effects they don't have.

Claudia Pascoal, Portugal, defending champeeen, "O Jardim". Apparently, Portugal has decided that "small and quirky" is their niche, and they're going to OWN that. That said, the song built a little, in a way that last year's song never did, if only a very little.

And now a bit of business, both literal and figurative, in which the entire world sprints for the bathroom. Plumbing system managers around the world are thinking, "What the ... must be a break in Eurovision."

SuRie, Great Britain, "Storm". A very energetic performance, in which some rando grabbed the mic from her to get political. It was handled expeditiously, to put it mildly. She was able to get the audience back with her pretty quickly. Intrusions aside, the song was ... OK, I guess.

Sanja Ilić & Balkanika, Serbia, "Nova Deca". Cant understand a word, of course, but I like the sound and staging. Also the studmuffinly lead singer who set sail on a shorter version of the SS Kaftanic.

Michael Schulte, Germany, "You let me walk alone". It's a very nice, low-ish key song. Again, very simple staging accompanying effects ... although, judging from the reflections on the stage floor, unless the floor itself was part of the effects, the audience actually could see those. I wonder if management changed its mind about the LED screen ... or if he somehow brought his own with him. (EDIT: judging from later acts, the latter.)

Eugent Bushpepa, Albania, "Mall". Very dynamic. I mostly liked the sound of it, although I could have done with less of the falsetto blasts. Back of his jacket was ... odd. And ... that's it. That's all I got.

Madame Monsieur, France, "Mercy". So ... being able to kinda sorta just a little understand parts of the song are throwing me. Not least because it took me a couple rounds to catch up with the concept of "My name is Mercy", and not "My name is Thank you." Not helped by the fact that they were actually playing on that confusion deliberately. That aside, the song was ... very very French.

Mikolas Josef, Czech Republic, "Lie to me".  It's a fun song -- why is he wearing a backpack? -- but good lord, there's a lot of just standing more or less in place this Eurovision. (Well, OK, until the end of the song, for him. Bopping about with dancers and the occasional backflip off stairs is not “just standing in place”, no.) Also, it would have been helpful to have established the context that the other dancers were standing in light boxes bseside him; it looked on screen like they were somewhere else entirely at first. It's one hell of a dynamic performance, I'll give it that.

Rasmussen, Denmark, "Higher ground". Selected to perform the song because he looks like a viking. Which cannot be denied, really. Also, putting him in all black makes him look simultaneously undead and slightly terrifying. (Cat Valente on Twitter: "The lead singer for #Denmark looks like undead bearded Jared Leto when he hasn't had lunch yet.") The choice to stage with a bunch of long-haired burly trenchcoat-clad guys sorta kinda marching around is ... interesting. The song is sort of monotone; the performance is making a LOT more of it than it is, which is saying something. (And again, the appeal to the audience: "Come on, walk with us!" Which explains the marching.) Not quite sure what the snow effects have to do with anything. (The stagehands and crew for Eurovision must be both very good and feel very put-upon by the end.)

Jessica Malboy, Eurofied Australia, "We got love". It's dynamic, and it's ... fine. Although this is as close to typically Eurvision staging as we've had in a while. She did go badly off on her big glory note near the end, but she had a fair amount of song left to recover with.

And another break for business, and for business. The bit with the Serbian ... whatever he was, was very cute. The bit with Cesar Sampson was also very cute; hope he didn't hurt anything. And the bit with the Portuguese pod was also very cute. Cuteness abounded.

A very brief "in memoriam" bit to the first Eurovision winner, who passed away earlier this year.

Saara Aalto, Finland, "Monsters". Weirdly, I mostly like this song a lot. I think parts of it needed ... something, but I have no idea what. It just felt a bit off in places. (Not helped by the fact that nerves pulled her off key a bit here and there.) But that aside, it was energetic and interestingly staged. No sense of how well it might do.

Equinox, Bulgaria, "Bones". A motley of a group, with random Americans, according to Ross. Staged -- and presented -- as a really stark music video, sort of. Everyone in black. (My, this is a grim Eurovision this year.) That said, the blond woman singer does look as though she apported in from some completely different futuristic video. The song was ... fine, I guess. Can't quite see it going anywhere, though.

DoReDoS, Moldova, "My Lucky Day". Clever staging -- VERY clever staging, fifties doorway farce translated to music. Not that fifties doorway farce would have involved quite so much groping. It was really a lot of fun. It's so relentlessly out of anything even vaguely popular that I have no sense of how well it will do, but if there's any justice, that should be at least a top five finish.

"It's a very good chicken, sir."

Benjamin Ingrosso, Sweden, "Dance you off". And apparently some performers did indeed find their own projection stage solutions. Song is ... fine. (Saying that a lot this year, but that's all I got. It's not awful, it's not outstanding, it's FINE. If he were on the US version of The Voice, he would probably win.)

AWS, Hungary, "Viszlát Nyár". Um ... well. It's ... dynamic. Yes. It is ... that. Also apparently a fire hazard. And the lead screamer was barefoot. And the electric guitarist/bassist (couldn't tell which) decided to use Eurovision's audience as a mosh pit. (I bet the lead screamer can't talk after concerts, if he tries do to whole sets like that.)

Netta, Israel, "Toy". I really do love this song. Even the first few seconds have graduated from "intensely annoying" to "kind of growing on me". (They also sound MUCH better without autotune.) Not quite sure that the HEY light board thing really translated. Other than that, the staging is kind of lunatic, in initially small-scale Eurovision tradition. Oh, hey, sparkle shooters! And then the lighting went utterly insane! And then fire! And smoke! Ah, Eurovision!

Waylon, Netherlands, "Outlaw in 'em". A country song. Huh. I wouldn't expect that to do well at Eurovision -- an American-style country song being, you know, not even vaguely Euro-anything -- but as CW songs go, that was fun. Although you can tell that this was European, because he would have been Strongly Discouraged From That Staging here. The black guys having angry violent fits around the white singer was ... yeah. THAT. (Probably deliberately, given that the lead singer had lived in the US for a while, but still.)

Ryan O'Shaughnessy, Ireland, "Together". Low-key, lovely mid-tempo ballad. And I think he’s also been to Eurovision before, so he was able to keep his falsetto strong and on-key until near the very end. A nice all-male romance portrayed by the dancers on the stage and bridge. (Weirdly, given that the song itself is very clearly about the breakup and not the romance. Reportedly, the semifinal performance was censored in China, and the Eurovision broadcasting team promptly yanked China’s license to broadcast the grand final and blocked them.)

Eleni Foureira, Cyprus, "Fuego". It's fun, but still not seeing how this song is one of the favorites. To repeat myself: It was FINE. Lots of fire effects at the end, which, given the titlte, were rather required.

Ermal Meta e Fabrizio Moro, Italy, "Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente". Lyrics in many languages pretty clearly composited directly to camera -- they must have been in a complete panic when they discovered that they wouldn't have a big LED stage to work with. The song had sort of a nice build that they played with. Beyond that ... it was (say it with me!) FINE.

Honestly, I'm kind of clueless about what to expect. The staging was very low key. Very few of the numbers stood out. At a guess, my picks, vaguely in order, would be:

Israel Finland Moldova Austria Serbia Estonia Ukraine Ireland Cyprus Czech Republic Lithuania Slovenia Spain Portugal Netherlands Norway Sweden Italy Eurofied Australia (Yes, that's right, outside the top ten for the first time) Albania Denmark Bulgaria Hungary France United Kingdom (may do better with sympathy vote for rando invading the stage) Germany

I think the top three that I listed will actually be the top three, but beyond that ... I have no clue. And, to be scruplously accurate, I don't expect Israel to win, although I think they should. I think the geopolitical moment that we're in, which kept Russia out of the final for the first time ever, will also keep Israel from winning.

And now, the interval acts! The first couple singers are really nice. Can't understand a word, but the songs are still lovely.

The skit about the journey to Portugal's win was ... interesting.

And Salvador Sobral himself returns to the stage (sans last year's manbunnage) to sing another "I won't do Eurovision style" song at Eurovision. Which, to be fair, is a very nice sounding lament ... which his movements on stage do not at all match -- I wonder if he usually performs with a guitar or something and just has no idea what to do with himself. Or maybe I'm missing a lot because I don't speak Portuguese. Either way, he just looks odd up there.  ... oh. And now the song acquires tempo as he plays the piano like a drum. (In all seriousness, this is the most Eurovision-style performance I've seen from him; adding in a certain dynamism along with a certain amount of "What is he DOING?") And then he performed his Eurovision-winning song with a person who I guess is his idol. And the audience sort of sang along. (I wish I liked that song more, and I did like it better than last year’s Eurovision performance. Because that was a Moment.)

Interesting that Ross and Shangela, when they picked their top five, had almost NOTHING in common. They both had Israel and Germany in their top five, but nothing else.

And now: the jury vote! And judging from the early vote, the juries are going to be all over the place; Israel, for example, has been in second on one ballot, third on another, out of the top ten on the third and fourth jury ballots, first on the fifth; Cyrprus has a first and a few random other points; France has one first place (...the hell?), and not a single top ten vote anywhere else, and so on. But apparently the pre-competition love for Cyprus was justified; they're doing very well. But countries are bouncing all over the rankings in ways that they haven't the past two years. (Barring a massive televote result, it does seem clear that Eurofied Australia will indeed finish outside the top ten this year.) Unfortunately, Moldova is getting hammered in the jury vote, so they won't finish in the top five. SO UNFAIR!

Halfway through the jury vote, a pause for whatever reason, in which they cover the Eurovision young musicians orchestra very briefly. Israel very narrowly leads Austria and Cyprus. A pattern is emerging, slowly, that if Austria, Germany, Cyprus, Israel or Sweden isn't shown in a particular national jury's top ten, they will usually be the first place vote. Usually. But not always. (Hungary gave their 12 points to Denmark. And again: the hell?)

The green room for Eurovision is MASSIVE. For some reason, I thought all the pods were somewhere front of house. Also, Cesar should forego mentioning his Twitter password methods on international television.

Russia's jury got booed in the auditorium during the jury vote. (I do not have the slightest idea what Shangela was talking about when she said there was a hush in the auditorium.) This may go some to explaining their first-ever shut out from the Grand Final.

Unlike the past two years, at the end of the jury vote, it was utterly unclear which country would win. Last year, Portugal would have needed an unprecedented collapse in the televote to lose (it won the televote, so it didn’t matter); this year, it could easily go to either Austria or Sweden having a roughly equal shot, and Israel, Germany, and even Cyprus (which dropped back to fifth) having a not-unreasonable chance.

And now, the public televote results! Sweden, shockingly, finishes well down the public vote, so now their chances depend on Austria and Israel getting hammered. (Which does not happen.) And the public televote is ... weird. Seriously, how did Hungary do so well? And Austria does not win the televote, or even do particularly well! Serbia does well in the televote! But does not do well enough to matter! Ditto Norway! Moldova did very well in the televote, indicating that some people out there had decent taste!

Weirdly enough, as soon as they announced the fifth highest score, it became apparent that either Israel or Cyprus was going to win, because Austria getting hammered in the televote meant that they couldn't maintain first place. Italy, somehow, miraculously, managed a top three televote result, but finishing third meant that they couldn't win, because they got hammered in the jury vote.

Second place in the televote goes to ... Cyprus!

ISRAEL WINS! ISRAEL WINS! WOO-HOO! 

I only got one of top three (and two of the top six) right (and Germany kind of epically wrong), and it was (sort of) the winner! Woot! And other nonsense noises! (Cat Valente on Twitter: "YES YES YES WEIRD #EUROVISION RETURNS TRIUMPHANT TAKE THAT BLACK SUITS AND EARNEST BALLADS ALIEN CHICKEN MUSIC FOREVER!")

Next year's Eurovision will be in either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, belike. That should be ... interesting. (I'm guessing probably Tel Aviv ... although one of the announcers did just say Jerusalem. Well. That may be ... fraught.)

While I am glad that Netta won -- I really did think it was the best song and performance -- part of me was secretly wanting Austria to win so that next year we could have Conchita and Cesar co-hosting. But I am really happy about this result.

One of the things I both love and hate about this type of competition. "Hey, Netta, you have just won the biggest competition of your life! Now, get it all together and perform for us! RIGHT NOW! No, you can't take the trophy with you ... Oh, all right, take the trophy. LOOSE THE CONFETTI!"

[willtai3800]

Melodrama Track-By-Track Review

Green Light

This is a masterclass in tension and release. Lorde builds up the chorus with a lot of tension. It’s such a great opener because it gives a window into Lorde’s life after Pure Heroine

Sober

Jack and Jill get fucked up and possessive when it gets dark. I mean, is there anything else I can say about this song? The trumpets in the chorus that somehow come off as sparse, but it’s also full and lively. Listening to this song is like putting your mouth around a liquor wet lime

Homemade Dynamite

The pre-chorus is one of the most exciting I’ve ever heard. It’s so tense. Can we also talk about the second verse; Lorde glorifying a car crash? Who let her do this!?

The Louvre

Lorde takes the concept of the chorus and says “screw you” to it. In fact, it de-escalates from the verses literally envelops you in Lorde’s heartbeat (which is the basis of the beat in the chorus). And the fade out. Let’s talk about the fade out. She uses the phrygian C perfectly and makes you feel both sad and nostalgic as if summer slipped you underneath her tongue, as she says in the first line of the song.

Liability

This is one of those cry-your-heart-out-lonliness-at-3-AM songs. The shoddy recording of the piano really adds to the effect of Lorde just playing this song at 3 AM in her own bedroom, recording it with her phone.

Hard Feelings/Loveless

Let’s just talk about the post chorus when the instrumental comes in. I honestly don’t know how they made the sounds for the counter melody. My best guess would probably be just tapping the microphone really hard or in a weird way to create that seesaw sound, and they probably took a mic and played with the strings on a piano to make the other sound. Anyway, I usually hate two songs in one track, but this one works brilliantly, if only because of the transition, but it also shows Lorde’s emotional transition from heartbroken to literally shouting “L-O-V-E-L-E-S-S generation/’all fucking with our lovers heads’ generation” Believe it or not, this is one of the weaker tracks on the album

Sober II (Melodrama)

Some critics have argued this album is a concept album revolving around Lorde at a weekend party and waking up the morning after and dealing with solitude. I would have to agree with that sentiment, and this is where that vision really takes shape. Lorde sings with this fake bravado about how all that shit she did in the beginning of the album, all that partying, all that summer fling stuff, it was only “Melodrama” and how “they’ll talk about us/all the lovers, how we kiss and kill each other.” Not only are the lyrics reflective of the superficiality of relationships in young adult years, but Lorde takes a really solemn production of orchestral strings and piano and turns it on its head with a hiphop/trap beat halfway through the song. It’s really quite genius, and to me sits in the pantheon of the  top 20 songs ever

Writer in the Dark

“Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark”  exclaims Lorde, only to be followed by the most vulnerable falsettos known to music. In a simultaneously guttural scream and wretched cry, Lorde screams “but in the darkest hour, I stumbled on a secret power, I’ll find a way to be without you babe.” It’s so heart wrenching, it’s physically almost painful to play any other track after because it’s almost impossible to fathom how someone could move on from this kind of pain

Supercut

I remember reading an article about Lorde and the writing of this song. She took cues from Robyn, and her satisfying use of the gated reverb, and how there’s an almost innate feeling of a song feeling right. This is that song. She somehow successfully captured the spirit of Robyn while also being completely herself. Lyrically, this song is about the memories with an ex in the face of solitude. “In my head I do everything right/when you call, I forgive and not fight/because ours are the moments we play in the dark/we were wild and fluorescent come home to my heart” It’s so simple and so straightforward, there’s no two ways about it. As for the fade out, I generally despise fade outs. I usually think it’s a cop out or a way to really let a song overstay its welcome. But it works, and it’s only because of the song that follows

Liability (Reprise)

This is the climax of the song for Lorde. It’s the realization for her that the guy she hooked up with at the party, the summer fling, the superficial relationship she had, all the bad shit was just that: bad shit and nothing more. She whispers in the sharpest way possible “you’re not worth/what you thought you were.” She’s taking that power back, and she’s not letting a bad party or some stupid guy allow her to cower in fear of her own solitude; instead she takes control of it and uses it as a weapon, or as Tyrion Lannister would say, as armor to make sure that nobody can use it against her from this point forward.

Perfect Places

This song to me holds a very sacred place in my heart. I generally put it on the altar of “greatest songs ever conceived.” It’s not something I usually do, but there’s something about this song. Maybe its the way the gated reverb in the background somehow wraps everything this album stands for and puts a neat little bow on top of it. No, maybe it’s the piano in the middle of the first verse that mimics the cadence of Lorde’s voice when she says in an almost ironic tone “but when we’re dancing I’m alright.” But wait, maybe it’s that perfect pre chorus at the end where she says “if they keep telling me where to go/I’ll blow my brains out to the radio (ch ch).” No thats not it. What about the chorus which oozes of existential angst when she says “all of the things we’re takin’/cuz we are young and we’re ashamed/sent us to perfect places.” No…. what about the entire idea of our “heroes fading,” and now “we cant stand to be alone.” No, what makes this song so special to me, what makes this song an almost religious experience is the end of the song, when, despite all of the pain and heartache, and the constant searching of a perfect place, Lorde yells in the most maverick tone “all the nights spent off our faces/tryna find these perfect places/what the fuck are perfect places, anyway?” Yes, that's it. It’s finding meaning in the inherently meaningless, it’s epitomizing what Camus postulated in The Myth of Sisyphus. It’s a 21st century spin on the human condition spoken in the most candid way by the artist of our generation.

This album is one of the greats, as I have said multiple times. It’s just Lorde and Jack Antonoff, being their very best selves and putting an almost perfect piece of work. Thank you, Melodrama.

[juunshua]

No pls I love rants on music, especially vocal techniques (had a couple of classes, quit because of life in general, most of my expertise is on the piano side anyway), and would really, seriously love to hear your thoughts on the members vocals (although I do understand that this is time consuming to do) just wanted to say that there's no need to apologise for ranting, we all wanna hear you speak anyways :)

sorry this took forever to respond to! akdjf youve went to more vocal technique classes than i have so maybe you might know more than me ahaha! tbh i really want to formally learn vocal pedagogy so i know what im listening for and what im not. like having that professional opinion alongside telling me ‘ur wrong’ or ‘ur right’ i really want that so i can solidify my learning in a sense…ive been doing that kind of through youtube videos and stuff but still idk. omg ur a pianist? please i love you automatically now so idk why but i’ll probably just summarize in units? and like maybe short comments about each member or more than one member or something idk. under a readmore bc it got longwarning: i am no way, shape and or form a professional. 

hht: im going to start with hht…tbh i have another name for hht haha its called ‘baritone team’ alsdkjf isnt it a coincidence (not really) that all of svts baritones ended up in hht…thus is the fate of most baritones in kpop sadly :( they either get pushed to subvocal or to the rapper position even if its not what they want initially bc of their like natural (basically) biological disposition of not being able to hit, with the same kind of ease, high notes that tenors can…like tbh tenors cant hit those notes ½ the time either but its less obvious bc theyre tenors…that made no sense lasdj…in relating to current events though heres a classic example of baritone (vn) vs tenor (sk) singing in basically the same high note range but vn has to go into falsetto while sk is trying to mix up there…both of them arent really singing it well (laskdj fmaybe sk is a bad example bc he has a good approach to his voice…but like nonetheless that isnt a healthy sounding note from either of them) but its less obvious with sk bc hes a tenor and more obvious with vn (well maybe the falsetto vs mix also had to do with it but like idk a bari who would want to mix that high ljldkajf). anyways in terms of technique, no one in hht team particularly stands out. All of them tend to either sing with their throat or sing with lots of air in their voice, which isn’t particularly healthy but also to be expected from rappers. tbh rappers i find tend to be more throaty, i think why in this group they also are airy is because of wz lol and his vocal directing. within the entire group though (like not just hht), ww has my fav vocal color and i tend to think from within hht, he has the most potential to become a decent vocalist. its mostly (like 95%) because of his continual expressed desire in singing (it makes me think that when he does actually get proper vocal lessons he would take them very seriously and be very disciplined about it and tbh that just goes above everything else) but also because of that one performance of city escape (here) ? and it sounds really pretty and the range that he’s singing in that song is starting to be in the higher part of a baritones register too. and in some of his other vocal performances too, whenever he is in the range where he doesn’t have to mix, his approach to his voice really isnt bad at all. i say he has the most potential but that doesnt mean the other hht members cant become awesome vocalists they can if they put the right time and effort into it. pt:the rest of the units are composed of all tenors (at least from what i know) btw so yeah all of pt are tenors. again in terms of technique no one particularly stands out. they all seem to approach singing similarly but with putting emphasis on different things which makes them sound different….actually upon closer inspection most of the members of the entire group (not just pt) are like that laksjdl….well maybe with the exception of sk. anywho…jh pushes air a lot which is why you get those like ‘hiccups’?? idk how else to describe it but an example is here. like do u hear how his voice rises at the end of a lot of those notes? hs also gets those same hiccups. jh is also quite nasal, and probably the most nasally member within the 13 members when it comes to singing. nasally voices are my number one pet peeve rip thats why my fav jh singing moments is when hes singing in his comfortable range and esp when its words/syllables that force him to place his voice not so much in his nose (ie this part in my i). being nasal is not really as damaging for the vocal chords as much as it is the individual not really placing the voice in the correct, most optimal place. he also gets really tight on higher notes esp when hes trying to mix that high. same with hs (you can hear the both of them sounding tight in the habit perf i linked to earlier). also jh has tongue tension but im not sure if thats a reflection of him trying to sing in kr…him and hao are probably at a disadvantage when it comes to singing because of the fact that they aren’t singing in a language that theyre comfortable in/fluent in. when it comes to hao, when he said in the seasons greetings video that he was working on singing but no matter how much he practiced, he couldnt improve, that made me really sad :( because that basically means is that the vocal lessons he is getting arent actually good vocal lessons…unless he expects results to happen in a week (which sadly no it takes months upon months). ur vocal chords are a muscle so they take time to develop (like when u first go to the gym u arent going to try and lift the heaviest weight right? or run at the fastest speed or whatever u have to build urself up to that slowly). and then he also compared that to his dancing which he said he could get better at by doing over and over? but its the same when it comes to dancing like u cant be improving dancing if u learn the wrong choreo or the wrong ways to dance a specific type of dance right? like no matter how much u practice a wrong choreo its still going to be that wrong choreo…so if u sing with bad technique no matter how much u practice u arent going to get better u’ll just develop bad technique. but yeah singing with correct technique should yield some results eventually (i can attest to that). anyways im biased and i really want to hear hs get proper vocal lessons bc i find his vocal color sooo pretty i literally listen to campfire like 90%for his part in the chorus (and the other 10% is cheols rap aldjsf)….i also think he hovers around being able to support or maybe its my biased ears talking who knwos… i didnt really talk about dn but hes kind of along the same lines…maybe a bit more dependent on his throat than some of the other members in pt…which kind of makes sense bc thats what rappers tend to dovt: ok js and wz are both similar in how they approach singing i think its kind of obvious too with how much they sound alike at times. oh yeah wz probably has the highest vocal range within the group idt anyone in the group can go higher than him (not that it really matters when it comes to vocal technique but its a neat tidbit of info). jh for one has a lot of tongue tension (just like jn) when he sings and is kinda nasal (not as much as jn but still there). just like the rest of the other members in the other units, these three dont support either. we can finally talk about support when we talk about sm…although his supported range isnt too much he does have that basic down…he gets super throaty though when hes outside his supported range. he does that same hiccup thing that hs/jn do. he hasn’t shown the ability to resonate but at least he can support.  despite singing a lot of the groups high notes, he hasnt developed a connected head voice, as far as im aware of. technique wise hes really similar to a lot of the main vocalists in groups that debut these days. but ok NOW SK aka the member who has the best vocal technique. he supports consistently and he has resonance too its so beautiful and wonderful to listen to like esp since a lot of kpop group vocalists that debut these days for some reason dont really want to resonate. its so nice to listen to his voice. like hes fooling around here but still manages (what i think is) a resonant F#4? (not the high note he holds out, its like the note he sings before he slides up) and if that note isnt resonant then it is at the very least supported very very very nicely. heres a really pretty g4. tbh i really want to hear him start trying to conquer the fourth octave like what a good day itd be if i could say ‘yeah sk can sing up to b4s with good technique’ like thats kind of hard to do but definitely attainable! and he has the potential for sure! i think within the fandom hes really quite overlooked for some odd reason that i cant seem to figure out why. he definitely has the healthiest voice, at least his mixed register for sure. he seems to prefer mixing over head voice for whatever reason when it comes to high notes so honestly speaking i havent paid much attention to his head voice but i wouldnt be surprised if it wasnt connected considering how much he doesnt sing in it…but tbh the fact that he mixes pretty decently is amazing in it of itself. CONCLUSION: with proper vocal guidance and technique ANYONE can become a decent singer.