#cannot describe how listening to this album makes me feel

[nirvana-ok]

Alice in Chains’ self-titled “Tripod” album was released 28 years ago today. November 7th, 1995.

Featuring the singles “Grind”, “Heaven Beside You”, and “Again”, it was the third studio album released by the band and the final with Layne Staley ♥️

📸 Photo by Marty Temme, 1995

[daydadahlias]

i’m crying you did NOT gaf about LH1 😭

oh i loved LH1 !! I think it's an absolutely bonkers insane piece of art but it's not really an album that I can listen to tbqh and i do not say that in a derogatory way at all. it just sends me into absolute hysterics every time and that's not very productive for me, so i dont really listen to it (just bc i genuinely can't handle it) and, because of that, im not personally chomping at the bit for LH2 (even if I know a ton of people are) because I just know that I, Jess, am not the target audience for it and i shouldnt have to pretend that i am

[ghostmustdiexoxo]

Ok, so The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance is not my favorite album but I love it as much as all the other albums. My top album is Three Cheers at the moment. But The Black Parade goes last. I don't think it's because I don't like it at all. I think it's because I really really love the album that I don't know how to face it.

Whenever I listen to The Black Parade I end up crying my eyes out every single time. It's just so powerful, overwhelming it gives me so much hope and joy. I love it so much. Like it's the most effective, most emotional music I've ever heard. The guitars. The vocals. And the story in general. The concept. Everything. The amounts of emotion and aggression and how much they really put into this album is truly amazing. I'm glad they created it because with it I wouldn't be where I am today.

The Black Parade grips onto me so much. I can't even describe how much it affects me. It scares me. I listen to it atleast 2 times a month. And during most of those times I cannot remember a time I didn't cry to it. It feels like it rips into my heart, digging deep into something that I don't even know. But it's there. It's like it has a special place that it always hits perfectly each time. Then I feel something that just makes me so emotional, every emotion hits me. Like I said, it hits somewhere deep inside me that I don't know exists. That's the part that scares me. I don't know how to describe it. I don't know how to handle it nor face it. And I'm left in an emotional mess after I'm done listening to The Black Parade. It reveals something, bringing something out in me that I can't even.. handle at all. Something I haven't figured out yet or something that's exposed to me too early that I can't comprehend it. I mean I'm only 13, turning 14 soon.

So I think that's pretty much why it's my least favorite album. I mean it's good, nothing I've heard ever before. But too good for me to even face that it hurts. I love it so much I can't even handle it.

[toclor20]

twenty øne piløts

Another day, another blog entry!

But this time I will dedicate this blog entry to my all-time favorite band called: twenty one pilots :D

I cannot even describe how much I love Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun (the members of tøp = twenty one pilots)

I basically grew up with them! I remember sitting in front of my desktop, watching the music video of „Holding on to you“ on a cold November day in 2012.

I was 10 years old and fascinated by the visuals by the song itself in all aspects! I basically fell in love with a band that day ^^

Almost 12 years later and the love is still lasting and will probably last until the day of my death!

Tyler‘s creative fascinating mind, writing the songs, sometimes consisting of grotesque vibes but always with important messages within! His singing and rapping always make my soul feel full.

Josh‘s drumming style will be engraved in my mind! He is the reason why I always wanted to learn how to play drums :) I hope one day I will be able to cover their songs with the drums!

Fun fact: „Car Radio“ is the first ever song that I learned by heart and I am still able to fully sing/rap it :D (mind you, I am not good at learning song lyrics by heart somehow..)

Another topic that fascinates me is the way tøp is able to keep a story and characters interesting for years! Talking about Dema and the nine bishops! Such an interesting concept created by Tyler!

This year (2024) the new album „Clancy“ will be released on May 17! Some people say, that it might be the last album to their created story! Which would be so interesting to listen to! I am not sure if that is true but let‘s stay curious.😌 (No it will not be the overall last album, FORTUNATELY!)

Listening to their song „Overcompensate“ from the upcoming album gave me literal goosebumps all over! And I would definitely recommend to listen to that song because I‘ve been listening to it almost 24/7🥹

[borahaerhy]

D-Day is an absolute masterpiece; let's discuss.

Obscenely long description of each of the songs under the cut

TL;DR: I'm an emotional wreck and this is the best album I've ever heard for so many reasons.

Haegeum??? That MV??? Never wanted to quit my job and start a gang that bullied the rich and steals their money more in my life (and trust me, that's something I've wanted to do since I was like 13). Yoongi is the only rich man I'd ever let lecture me about capitalism. He can do it all day every day. This is a fucked system, but thank you for turning me on while lecturing me about it and murdering people with some dirty chopsticks 🥴

D-Day is absolutely sick, 100% exactly what I'd expect from him. How a song can go so hard and still be so poetic to me is just insane. The beat is SICKENING. The chorus? CATCHY. 10/10 song, perfect opener to the album and set's the tone for the rest that's coming in an amazing way.

HUH?! killed me. We open the song with "what the shit do you know about me" and bro? Nothing, ion know shit about fuck, but you got me all the way fucked up with that attitude. Hoseok?? THE "HUH"S EVERYWHERE?? dead. deceased. The beat? Would literally sell my soul to be able to be in the studio when that man makes anything. I went to school to be an audio engineer, I've seen the way people put music together and create these catchy ass beats and have even made a few of my own, but FUCK BRO THERE'S NOTHING BETTER THAN THIS MAN IN THE STUDIO.

^^That goes for every song, not just Huh, but I just thought that it was important for EVERYONE to know that I'd sacrifice my firstborn child just to watch this man work.

AMYGDALA had me in tears. I was literally sobbing reading the lyrics. There are no words I can say that will accurately express how I feel about this song. This song has been out for less than 24 hours and I already feel so close to it, I can't even begin to describe it. The way most of the instruments fall out in the pre-chorus just so they can all come back in the chorus for that intensity with him basically yelling the lyrics is just *chef's kiss*.

SDL Is so cute and heartbreaking at the same time. The chorus is everything, so beautiful. Talk about bitter sweet lyrics, I'm eating that shit up. His vocals are absolutely outstanding, that "I'm thinking 'bout you" is making me so delulu you have no idea.

People Pt. 2 has already been out, but man that song is gorgeous. IU's vocals are such a great contrast to Yoongi's rap, and when they harmonize I wanna start crying whY DO THEY SOUND SO GOOD??!

I'M NOT KIDDING YOU WHEN I SAY I WAS CRYING, LEGIT SOBBING THE FIRST TIME I HEARD POLAR NIGHT. The instrumental is so uniquely Yoongi, and makes you feel so much. Yoongi is one of the only artists whos music makes me feel what they feel; and this song is the best representation of that. Everytime i listen to it I have to stop myself from crying and it has nothing to do with the lyrics. I cried before I even knew what the song was about, just because that's how good of a composer and producer he is. Genuinly one of the best songs I've ever heard.

I've never had an interlude make me feel so much. He's perfected the art of making his music invoke the emotions of his listeners and there's nothing more perfect than a minute-and-a-half-long interlude with no words in it that's still able to do that. Incredible.

Snooze is honestly one of the best thing's to have ever graced this planet if i'm being 100% rn. I know I keep talking about the emotion of the music but broooo. And the Woosung feature? His voice is amazing and is already so raw and emotional and paired with this song I just cannot. The lyrics make me want to sob, which I will probably do later when I get off work. And the the reference back to So Far Away? I'm on the floor someone please hug me.

Yoongi's vocals go fucking crazy in Life Goes On. If this was my introduction to Yoongi I would 100% believe that he's a singer and has been his whole life. The pure raw talent of this man will never cease to amaze me.

In conclusion, I love Min Yoongi with my whole chest and I hope he knows how much his music helps people, because it really, really helps. I can never even fully express just how this album alone helps me, that's not even speaking about all his other solo projects and the hundreds of songs he's worked on throughout his career.

If you read all of that I love u and I hope u have a spectacular day.

[bluedalahorse]

Getting to know you tag game

Kiitos and tack to @sflow-er for tagging me! This was fun. Going to answer all my questions below. Maybe people will learn something new about me.

Do you make your bed?

No. It’s a loft bed so it’s sort of difficult to make, and no one sees it so there’s minimal incentive to do much with it. I mostly prefer to sleep in a nest of blankets.

What's your favourite number?

Nine. Odd numbers are fun and it’s three threes.

What is your job?

I don’t like to talk about it on tumblr, but it’s something in the education sector.

If you could go back to school, would you?

I am technically back at school at present, since I’m in a graduate program in writing part time. Honestly, I could just study forever and get paid to do so, without much extra strings attached, I would just go to university forever and major in a thousand different things while studying a thousand more.

Can you parallel park?

I cannot even drive, as it happens.

A job you had that would surprise people?

I used to work catering at my college, where I learned a lot about how to chop and prepare different vegetables and similar. The best thing about working catering was getting to take home leftovers. Also, chopping vegetables is a generally soothing thing for me to do when my anxiety is getting the better of me.

Do you think aliens are real?

Sure! Visiting earth seems unlikely (I mean why would you) but scientifically they have to be out there. I used to tell my mother I was an alien when I was a teenager.

Can you drive a manual car?

See above re: parallel parking. I think I’d be a lot more successful with a question about navigating city bus routes.

What's your guilty pleasure?

Hmm as I get older I am increasingly of the opinion that describing pleasures as “guilty” is something I’m too old and tired to do. Like, it would truly be not good for me to put food in this category. There’s also definitely favorite movies and books I have that I view with a cautious, critical eye (Lawrence of Arabia and Jane Eyre, for instance) but I don’t know if “critical consumption” and “indulging in guilty pleasures” are the same things. And I refuse to feel guilty for being an August and sargust enjoyer.

Like… I don’t know. Doll collecting? Is that a guilty pleasure? I currently wish my doll collection was making less a mess in my apartment.

Tattoos?

Not for me, but I’m glad for the people who like theirs.

Favourite colour?

Green, generally. For wearing, green again, as well as yellow and blue. (Or as I like to call them together, deconstructed green.)

Favourite type of music?

Gosh, hmm. I was going to say folk and progressive bluegrass, because a lot of stuff I like fits into that category already. (Nickel Creek, Punch Brothers, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donavan, I’m With Her, Rhiannon Giddens, Jake Blount, etc.) If the songs are murder ballads or songs about shipwrecks or whatever (shout out to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” on the Punch Brothers album Hell on Church Street) all the better. I also realize I like a lot of music with classical/orchestral influences, but not necessarily like… traditionally classical. Today I’ve been listening to Kishi Bashi’s Omoiyari album on repeat and thinking about how Marigolds would make a great song for an ensemble YR fanvid.

I think my favorites will always be the artists who are absolute nerds for music and who will play with genre about it.

Do you like puzzles?

I don’t think I like puzzles, like they’re not always something I seek out, but I promise you that if you put a jigsaw puzzle or a logic puzzle in front of me I will hyperfixate until I figure it out. So I guess I like them.

Any phobias?

Mice. They like to come into my apartment when it’s cold. I would prefer they don’t.

Favourite childhood sport?

Gym class was the bane of my existence, but I also come from a sporty family, so I could kind of tolerate basketball for my athletic mother’s sake.

Do you talk to yourself?

Absolutely. When I was getting my neuropsych evaluation, the evaluator noticed that I was always talking myself through tasks in order to get them done. This is apparently what you need to do when you score 99th percentile on verbal intelligence but 2nd percentile on things like task initiation and executive function.

What movies do you adore?

I tend to be more of a TV and documentaries person than a movies person right now. That said, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and the 2005 Pride and Prejudice are good comfort watches, as is Pixar’s Luca. I really like the Georgian movie And Then We Danced.

Coffee or tea?

Tea. Specifically, green tea. Coffee is yummy (I like bitter things sometimes) but doesn’t play well with my health.

What was the first thing you wanted to be growing up?

I wanted to be a writer pretty early. That said, the earliest written record I have of “what do you want to be when you grow up” was a first grade assignment where we had to answer that question. The two jobs I named were teacher and artist, specifically an artist who paints murals. (I misspelled the word “mural” because in the Baltimore accent I grew up with, mural is essentially one slurred syllable. Make me say Aaron earned an iron urn, I dare you.)

No pressure tags to: whoever wants them! I have not been on tumblr much lately so I don’t know who’s done this already.

[nonsubstantial]

MARCH 2024 DIARY POST

I'm keeping up the habit of writing a monthly post to catalogue all the things I've been obsessed with in 2024. At the end of the year, I want to be able to look back and remember what was making me happy all year long! If you are reading this, I hope you will enjoy hearing about these things or checking them out too! First, a chaotic collage of those things!

VIDEO GAME: As you may already know, Splatoon is probably my favorite video game franchise of all time. I really cannot overstate how important it is to me. Naturally, I was highly anticipating its new singleplayer DLC, titled Side Order, but when it finally came out at the end of February, my elbow was fractured in a way that made it painful for me to play. So, I had to wait until about a week into March for my elbow to heal a little. Then, I spent about 10 hours obsessively playing it, and I loved pretty much every second of it. It featured by far the most difficult levels ever seen in a Splatoon game, which was a treat to me as a player who was disappointed by the rather simplistic story mode of the base game. Splatoon 3: Side Order took the form of a roguelite battle tower, similar to Salmon Run but with new enemies, unique (and sometimes puzzling) stages, and customizable weapon builds. Even players who find it a bit too challenging at first can eventually mod the difficulty to an extent that (hopefully) makes it doable. The story was nothing crazy, but the gameplay and visuals were so unbelievably good that I honestly wished I could erase it all from my mind and play it again from the start. Just yay 💕, I love Splatoon so much.

TWITCH STREAM FAN EDIT: If you don't already know who Jerma is, he is a prolific video game streamer that I became a big fan of a few years ago. His unique humor has consistently impressed and appealed to me, and his fan community has proven itself to be both creative enough and motivated enough to persistently churn out edited “best of” versions of his streams. For better or for worse, Jerma announced his retirement from streaming last year, leaving his eager fans with nothing but his earlier content to dredge for, well… content. One such fan edit that was released this year, post-retirement, was a massive compilation of all his Nancy Drew playthroughs (save for one). This edit in particular was one that I found overwhelmingly funny and good, and it inspired an ongoing fanfic that I’m still currently working on writing. Oddly enough, watching this caused a domino effect that got me back into writing in general and has given me the surge of confidence and inspiration that I needed to keep working on creating the fiction that has lived inside in my head for years. I really hope this feeling never dies. You can watch the stream that inspired me, linked here!

MUSICAL ARTIST: Peach Kelli Pop is probably tied (with a few other artists) for the title of my favorite band of all time. Their entire discography is only about 2 hours long, but they were still my most listened to artist for several years in a row. It’s due to the consistency of the vibe across all of her work: upbeat and positive while still delivering a profound emotional impact. I've been able to just listen her entire catalog of music over and over and over again on shuffle. I might describe it as DIY rock, or feminist punk, and if you haven't heard it before, Gentle Leader is probably the best album to start with. Listen here!

MUSICAL ARTIST: After listening to nothing except Peach Kelli Pop for about a week straight, I started to look into similar bands that I hadn't already checked out and found one that really caught my interest. That's how I was introduced to Tacocat! Their band name is both a palindrome and euphemism, and their album Lost Time was love at first listen. They have cozy lyrics about aliens, birth control, and creating your own values, and their music has left me in a good mood every time I've thrown it on. You can listen to the first song that I heard, linked here!

SONG: It's Don’t Rain On My Parade, by Barbra Streisand!! I still haven't watched the musical that this song is from, but the drag queen Plasma mentioned it on RuPaul Season 16, which is how I ended up hearing it. This song gets an individual mention because I was absolutely blown away by this one individual track! It's brilliant and catchy right out of the gate, "Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter! Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade!" It's from 1964, but its recording sounds crystal clear and it channels its intended emotions perfectly. I felt compelled to listen to it over and over again, because it really is just so cheerful and artistically inspiring. I feel like it's a perfect piece of music. Listen here!

SONG: I have to give another song an individual mention! It's Mood Indigo, by Nina Simone!! I’ve been a big fan of Nina Simone for years now, but more often than not, I've stuck to my favorite album, Pastel Blues. I did branch out and listen to this song a few times in the past, but it only recently dawned on me just how perfect it is. Wikipedia says that it was recorded in 1964, about the same time as Don’t Rain On My Parade, and while it's technically a cover of an old Duke Ellington song, Nina Simone’s version has a totally unique vibe, evident from the first few bars. Its lyrics are meant to be cathartic, as they discuss suicidal ideation, while the drums, bass, and piano create a beautiful and upbeat swing melody that perfectly juxtaposes and rebuts the content of Nina’s vocals. It's menacing, catchy, uplifting, and truly perfect! I now believe it to be a landmark in Nina Simone’s career, and the whole of music history in general. Listen here!

MUSICAL ARTIST: Okay, one last music rec, I swear!! I was really feeling the vibes this month (but mostly just listening to bands that I already know and love). Along with Peach Kelli Pop, another one of my favorite bands is King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Ever since 2017 (aka, the year of the gizz) they have probably reigned supreme as my #1 most listened to band. They just have so much music, with so much variation, that I can usually find at least one of their songs that appeals to me. Since the start of this year, I've been collecting and organizing a playlist of my favorite songs by them, titled 31 Days Of Gizz. Not for any particular reason, but just because I find it fun to make lists! At the last minute, I decided that I would organize the songs, specifically in the way that I would play them if I were introducing someone new to the band. So, if you haven’t heard their music before, maybe it’s time I introduced you? But no pressure, I just like their songs and I made my playlist just for me! I'm linking to it on spotify, HERE, if you’re interested! (forgot to put this one on the collage, lol)

VIDEO GAME: Right before the month ended, I bought the new fantasy tactics game, Unicorn Overlord, and I am fucking in love. I’ve been a longtime fan of the fantasy tactics genre, so as soon as this game started making waves, I begrudgingly accepted that I HAD to play it. I really don’t have a lot of time in between trying to take care of things at home and working on my writing, as I mentioned before, but I briefly dropped all my other hobbies and managed to fit about 10 hours of gameplay in before the month ended. I really wish I had time to obsess over it, because I feel like it is a masterpiece, even if the rumors about there being gay content ended up being a disappointing exaggeration (the game was developed by Vanillaware, but was published by homophobic giants ATLUS and SEGA, so I’m not surprised). Despite the story being pretty much dog shit though, I believe the gameplay is damn near perfect, and even revolutionary within its genre. I’ll probably be sinking all my game time into it until the new Elden Ring DLC drops. If you’re a person who also likes fantasy tactics, then I highly recommend playing it (I got it for the Nintendo Switch, where it seems to run perfectly).

(that’s it. It is now APRIL!! There might be some repeats this next month, or I'll leave them out... we'll see. Hope you have a good day! ♡)

[lovethelittlerthings]

found heaven x saltburn

i just listened to conan gray new album and i cannot get over the fact that this album is very much a saltburn-coded album. i am very much in my everything is saltburn era and this is no exception.

TRACK ONE: Found Heaven

this was what inspired me to make this blog post because just read that. it has oliver written all over it. from the blasphemy and the hunger to the rejection. this song is oliver.

as i said. oliver.

TRACK TWO: Never Ending Song

i imagine this as oliver reading a magazine and seeing a model that reminds him of felix and calling felix's old phone and saying this in his voicemails. i imagine everytime ollie misses felix, he sends him a voicemail from his old brick phone that still is in good condition even as decades past.

ah, everything reminds oliver of felix like how everything reminds me of saltburn.

just oliver clinging on his memories of felix.

TRACK SIX: The Final Fight

maze scene. this oliver and felix in the maze scene.

future oliver here. going to new york, growing and coming back to saltburn only to realize that felix never changed because he dead. he's broken because of him.

back to the mindset of oliver in the maze scene begging felix to listen to him, to make his wrongs right. getting that final fight but alas.

TRACK SEVEN: Miss You

yes once again maze scene cattonquick is at play.

this is maze felix. then this is future oliver.

TRACK EIGHT: Bourgeoisies

ollie yearning for that high class life when hanging out with felix. how disgustingly rich he is.

this is my monologue ollie. this what ollie wants as to perceived him a social climber and not a love-struck card who dealt his cards wrong.

TRACK TEN: Eye Of The Night

this is felix everytime ollie watches him. i genuinely think felix knows ollie' watching him and revels in his attention.

this future ollie feeling as though felix's ghost is haunting him.

TRACK ELEVEN: Boys & Girls

and then to end the post with one of my favourite songs from this album. not only does it sound like it could be in the saltburn film but it is so ollie describing felix's power and how it affects him and the people surrounding felix.

-

Now that is all for this very long blog post rambling about saltburn. conan ray is a very important artist to me and i am so glad that two of my obsessions are colliding in this manner though it's just my delusion. you guys should listen to found haven and keep obsessing over saltburn like me hehe. im sure there are more things that i didn't touch on about saltburn and there lyrics on other tracks that reminds me of them but i didn't include because of the photo limit as well as that the whole song doesn't descrive them unlike these ones.

[catty-words]

because my ever after (2011) list helped me find the marianas trench corner of tumblr and i want to celebrate being among my people and also because i simply cannot resist the allure of this format as one ideal for expressing my appreciation for music on which my brain likes to chew,

a non-exhaustive list of things i love about masterpiece theatre (2009):

- themes!!!! this album’s exploration of performance vs authenticity is its beating heart and like, i’ve gotten the sense that it’s the work that really carved the band’s name into the tree trunk of canada’s popular music scene - nevermore to leave there (heyooo) - which makes the bitterness that runs through the album’s veins so so potent. this album is biting me biting me biting me and i never want it to stop

- how the title functions as a mission statement. one of the identifying characteristics of the band’s work following this album, and arguably* including this album, is that it’s serving at least forty percent theatre at all times

“masterpiece theatre i”

- first of all, the fact that this album includes a piece that has three separate movements (and the way this makes ‘symphonic rock’ the objectively correct way to sort marianas trench into a genre thank you very much)

- the tune-up is such a nice touch, why lie? yes kings, i am on the edge of my velvety seat, i am at the theatre!!

- please note that when i mentioned captivating prologues being a hallmark of the band’s work, i was thinking of “masterpiece theatre i” as the next best example to “ever after”

like, a thesis statement for an album what could be better?? the performer (i am consciously separating the art from the artist, josh ramsay et. al., but i am also kissing you directly on the mouth) feels the curse of the performance as much as he can’t live without it.

- the line every word is calculated because the closer i look, the more i see the loving care with which every creative choice in the band’s discography was made so like. say👏 that👏

- the soft plosiveness of this is just a part i portray and how it makes the refrain really fun to sing along to, as well as all the more powerful as the performer’s greatest plea to his audience, that they recognize the divide between authentic self and performance

“all to myself”

- the punch to the face that is the transition from “masterpiece theatre i” to this song

- how it belongs among the ranks of the band’s most danceable numbers, i never can sit still listening to this one

- i’m half asleep, and i am wide awake because, yeah. constantly, forever.

- ostensibly, the way it’s about a romantic relationship, but like.

you can just as easily read the chorus in the context of the performer speaking to his audience. the push of “isn’t the very act of creating art asking for attention, we’re only giving you what you want”, the pull of “if i’m constantly performing for you, when does the mask end and my truest self begin?” we - audience - are literally making the performer feel like someone else.

- this isn’t what i wanted but / i can’t keep my filthy fuckin’ mouth shut firstly because it fucks!!! but also because of how it fits into the album’s larger theme. fame isn’t what the performer wanted, but quite literally he’s not keeping his fucking mouth shut! he is in the act of making music for us! biting me biting me biting me

- chorus variation to round out a song, my beloved

“cross my heart”

- the way this song bewitches me into doing some bastardization of the hand jive every freaking time

- however you would describe these three bad bitches and their contributions to the structure of the song

- just the whiny, slutty energy of this one in general and how well the little bursts of guitar string feedback build up this feeling throughout the number

- the way and i do want to show you, i / will run to you, to you, til i / can’t stand on my own anymore sets the stage (theatre!!) for the speaker/performer/narrator’s pervasive attitude toward relationships and how he’s constantly swept up in the capital R-Romance of this conception of love while simultaneously having to unlearn it for the sake of his beloved, album in and album out

- how the clapping and then the music phases back in during the bridge

“beside you”

- y’all ever croon?

- this is not going to be accessible to anyone else but it’s my list so. the lyric when it’s in your spine like you’ve walked for miles because so much of my logged marianas trench time has taken place while i’m working, moving between my silly lil dog walks and i’m literally walking for miles and do occasionally very much feel it in my spine

- the words you want are out of reach, but they’ve never been so loud for the way it captures something so small and yet so profoundly true about being a person

“acadia”

- nostalgia!!! and how this song is the album’s first attempt to unpack the authentic self in the performance vs authenticity dynamic. is who i was when my childhood home was my one and only home my one and truest self?

- just like. the way i wonder about the names dropped and how my curiosity necessarily plays into the album’s theme. if they’re real people the performer knows, then he’s shilling out something intimate in an attempt to heighten his art - though, to be fair, he’s doing it in a way that’s not completely accessible to us, there’s only so much to a name itself - but if the names are completely made up, then the performer is merely playing at authenticity to bait us into reading intimacy in his art. and doesn’t that make your brain want to eat itself?? biting me biTING ME BITING ME

- god, the way this song is so well-accomplished at bottling nostalgia because like every memory comes on / when i hear that old song / that we used to sing / with the words all wrong immediately evokes thousands of moments that have tied me back to my childhood. this song really said ‘the power of music!!’ and then repeatedly knocked me on my ass with the truth of that screaming crying throwing up etc.

- not to keep harping on this, i know you guys get it, but like, the way ran out of gas on the highway / we walked there, and i gave / drunken speeches / on sobriety makes me feel like i’m part of this anecdote! i’m there, recalling that stupid speech alongside the performer. stop pulling me so close if you don’t want more kisses directly on the mouth!!!

“masterpiece theatre ii”

- the way the first verse reads as a direct response to “acadia”

after giving us so much of himself, the performer’s inclination is now to draw back

- the way the whole movement feels almost bashful compared to its powerhouse counterparts because more than the other two, “masterpiece theatre ii” is about the performer considering his performance from the audience’s perspective, about his understanding that he’s beckoned us closer but, regrettably, still can’t bring us all the way inside for how that’d destroy him.

- the refrain i’ll burn out and slip away posing the questions to the audience: can we forgive the performer when, eventually, he no longer has more art to offer us? can we turn around and recognize his humanity like he’s acknowledging ours?

“sing sing”

- how the brash opener - can i have your attention? - reads particularly cheeky coming off “masterpiece theatre ii”, where the performer just cautioned us that too much of our attention causes him to slip further and further away, and sets the bratty tone of the whole number perfectly, perfectly

- nothing captures the performer’s feelings about his relationship with his audience as succinctly as the “sing sing” chorus

this is destroying his health, but he still wishes that he were an endless well for us, full of freshness and vitality and all that we need

- just, obsessed with hear the sad little sounds as they fall from my mouth because i DO i AM

- the way the song’s brattiness comes out especially in the bridge. i’m partial to the whininess of gets very hard to drink to my continued success because like, boo hoo. i can’t toast to how popular i am :( it comes at the cost of being adored by you :(

- don’t you ever tell me i’m not loving you best because i WOULDN’T you DO

“good to you”

- GOD but the way they literally invited an audience member (i.e. a fan) to join the performance?? the way that heightens the tenderness this song has for the performer-audience relationship, even as both parties are actively getting a lil messed up by it?? gonna just drape myself on a fainting couch for a minute

- the way the chorus reinforces this read, especially when the performer and the audience sing it as one

hello????

- the way looking at the song through this lens literally just reframed the lyrics i thought i saw a sign / somewhere between the lines for me. here we are, experiencing recognition of the self in the performer’s art and thereby forging an intimacy he has no access to. AHHH!

- so yeah, every love song on this album is actually about the complex love between performer and audience. we are the object of our favorite band’s affection!! we are corrupting each other with our codependency!! ain’t love grand?

“celebrity status”

- they didn’t have to make our return to bitterness for the way performance muddles identity so sexy, but they did and they did it for me, to make sure this album never stops BITING ME

- the PANTING and how evocative it is and, like, yeah, you got me josh ramsay et. al. put me in horny jail, i am once again fuckstruck by your music. but you’re the ones who made it this way so do not pass go, do not collect two-hundred dollars

- the lyrics trading in who i’ve been for shiny celebrity skin / i like to push it and push it until my luck is over because once more with the succinctness of this album’s theme but also because it builds on the drunken speeches on sobriety moment in acadia by making me feel like i know the performer being invited as i am to share a wry laugh over how Much he is at any given moment

- the way i wonder why, why, wonder why, why i oughta / let you wreck, resurrect whatever you wanna tastes

- for all the sexy sardonic tone of this number, there’s a beautiful little ray of hope in the line there’s a piece of me they’re throwing back at us if only for the way it builds on fix me (2006)‘s refrain of the speaker losing bits of himself (see: “say anything”, “september”) by implying that the performance, despite the sea of inauthenticity he sometimes finds himself drowning in, offers the performer the chance to know himself better. it’s a refracted image because of the audience, but he does get to experience recognition of the self in his art, too.

- the way hope also lives in the i’m trying refrain. overwhelmed and cynical about the odds, the performer is still putting forth the effort to be authentic, still putting forth the effort to create art. you gotta keep running up that hill, bitch!

“perfect”

- the seamless fade of “celebrity status” into this song

- if the point’s to never disappoint you / somebody’s got to tell me what to do because it’s very real and it makes me want to pull my hair out in chunks!!!

- i love how pointed the inclusion of this bit

feels because, on one level, “perfect” is about cultivating your image and your art until it’s as appealing as it could possibly be to the masses, and so borrowing a line from the far less polished and palatable (affectionate) “sicker things” builds on that in a delicious way

“lover dearest”

- first of all, shoutout to their ‘live from inside’ concert for unlocking the power of this number for me and, like, i am once again unwittingly roped into active participation in this album’s theme but!! can we grapple for a sec with how watching a performance - seeing the performer laid raw, specifically - is what woke me up to the emotional core of this number?? 😬

- so. you know how some words can be used often enough in a sexy enough context that you can’t help your pavlovian response to them? they lowkey get you hot no matter how they’re brought up? josh ramsay et. al. are responsible for making ‘taste’ one of these words for me (this time that we waste, but i still love your taste)

- the way i’ll just try to hide it, or i could slip into you / it’s so easy to come back into you builds on the “masterpiece theatre i” refrain of you’re beautiful / can i hide in you awhile? and how in general this song really shines a light on the codependent nature of the performer-audience relationship. the fact that this song is also about struggle with addition is like - woof - the performer traded his old vice for the thrill of the performance and amassing an audience and have i mentioned lately? BITING ME BITING ME BITING ME.

- the leave me wail. reblog, you agree.

- how the bitter in you and the quitter in me / is bitter in you and the quitter in me being reminiscent of the “shake tramp” bridge makes my brain go brrrr

“masterpiece theatre iii”

- the way the tinkling xylophone (??) intro automatically brings the drama. i am once again on the edge of my velvety seat!!

- the i’ll wreck this if i have to / tell me what good would that do / i’ll wreck this if i have to refrain being followed-up by a creeping couple bars of i’d be so good to you and how it’s a call and response between the performer and his audience. consenting to the wreckage of the masterpiece is how we, the audience, can be good to the performer. it’s how we could show our most unselfish love.

- how weaving “celebrity status” into “cross my heart” continues to highlight the album’s interest in the act of creating art being essential to the performer’s personhood while the audience’s act of consuming the artist alongside the art turns around and cheapens the performer’s identity all in the same breath

- and then also how the outro makes explicit the connection between “lover dearest” and “masterpiece theatre i”

and the way it all adds up to acknowledge the codependence without resolving it??

- and then these motherfuckers have the audacity to sprinkle on a dash of “say anything” (that’s the thing i’m sensitive about!!!!!!)?? the way i never took you for a trick but sometimes i don’t know what you want serves as the performer’s last acknowledgement that he needs to hold the audience at arm’s length because our want for his art is so monumental that it threatens to overshadow him???? the way i could take it if you need to take this out on someone beckons us closer one last time, invites us to use the art as a mirror????????? UNFAIR, I AM GNASHING MY TEETH

*in conclusion: all these songs being in conversation with one another gives the album a really satisfying cohesion and sets up what’s to come in the band’s later works, though it ironically lacks the rising and falling action that’d convince me to count it among the more theatrical pieces in their discography. it’s my rotten soldier, my sweet cheese, my good time boy, and either my second or third favorite marianas trench album, depending on what day you ask me.

[girlreviews]

Review #46: Graceland, Paul Simon

It makes sense to do Graceland next, right? Ha. You might think I’m gonna fucking rip on it after that last post but I did say I loved it, and I do.

Here’s the thing: I think Paul Simon is a twerp. I could write a white paper on his ego and pretentiousness. That ego and pretentiousness would factor into whatever section that covered the controversy surrounding the production and creation of Graceland. That’s a nuanced discussion. He’s still a twerp.

However, he’s a twerp that made a damn near perfect album on this occasion. I’m going to have to keep myself in check or this review will itself turn into a white paper. Simon recorded some of the album with South African musicians including The Boyoyo Boys and Ladysmith Black Mambazo in Johannesburg, and remaining parts in the US with other guest artists like Linda Ronstadt and The Everly Brothers (!!). Unlike his previous work, since he had always been a singer-songwriter type, the music came first and the lyrics came last. This, is SO fascinating to me, because the lyrics are two things in Graceland:

One: Completely disconnected from the sound of the music behind them compared to the lyrical content, which I have always thought just somehow works. Songs about Memphis, songs about New York City, but sung over South African street music.

Two: Absolutely stunning. Masterful. Some of the best to ever be written and sung. I will have a lot of trouble not quoting entire verses. And I don’t always feel this way about Paul Simon. Sometimes I think he misses in a big way. He just didn’t on this record.

I’m going to start with Graceland itself. Make no mistake: this song brought my ass to Tennessee. It did. I listened to this record more in the year preceding my decision to move back to the US more than any other. So much so that I got banned from playing it in my office (true!). Consciously or not, when the time came for me to decide what the fuck to do with my life, I was hearing “I’m going to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee, for reasons I cannot explain, there’s some part of me that wants to see Graceland”. I actually have never been to Graceland. Well I have, I’ve been to the parking lot and the gift shop. But that’s it. I’m not paying that much money to look at some weirdos weird lair. You’re never going to get me to care about Elvis like that. Anyway, I digress. This song breaks your heart. Knowing your love doesn’t love you anymore. Everyone seeing directly inside your totally deconstructed heart and soul looking at the ruins of your future. What do you do to recover from that but hit the fucking road? Accompanying those soul crushing lyrics is a guitar riff that feels like how tears feel. It sounds like you’re in a bath tub and you go under for a minute. It’s under water. And that’s exactly right. It hurts so good.

Next! Oh my god, I want to say my favorite but this is one of those where they’re all my damn favorite. I Know What I Know. Firstly, this is the wittiest Paul Simon has ever been:

“She looked me over and I guess she thought I was alright

Alright in a sort of a limited way for an off night”

But he then describes her as moving so easily “all he could think of was sunlight”, and that’s pretty fucking special. I can’t lie. You could be a twerp but with talk like that, if you were a little funny, and you could sing pretty songs, yeah maybe plenty of women would give you the time of day. Maybe the ego makes sense. This song also reminds me of a former boss, who was actually from South Africa. He just sung the last words of each line, because they were really pronounced “moooooney”, “fuuuuuunny”, and it was annoying as hell. Probably because he was a real racist piece of shit, and one day when I really just told him I had nothing left in me and thought I might kill myself, mans looked me dead in the eye and told me to “pick a different thought and just keep showing up for work”. Money. Funny.

Moving on, there’s this chaotic accordion in Gumboots. I don’t really know how to single out any of the lyrics, but I’ll pick “I said hey señorita, that’s astute I said, why don’t we get together and call ourselves an institute”(the fuck???? Come on! I want to be mad at it, but it’s just the right damn side of the line where he’s not high on its own supply, it just is really that good). It’s a vocal performance for sure. It’s witty again. It’s conversational. It’s confusing. It’s unresolved. There’s joyful happy percussion and trumpets backing that up. It doesn’t make a damn bit of sense and yet it works perfectly.

I can’t get into every other song because they’re all amazing. But a poor boy is “empty as a pocket” in Diamonds of the Souls of Her Shoes. There’s a “roly-poly little bat faced girl” in You Can Call Me Al. In Crazy Love, Vol. II, “the fire in your life” is “all over the evening news”. I really can’t cope with it all.

Here’s my two stories. They’re good ones, too. Like I said, I really got to know this record in 2012, when I found it in the charity shop across from my shitty apartment at my shitty job that ruled my shitty life. I found so many good ones there (Joni!). I listened to it non-stop. Got banned from listening to it. Did it anyway, etc. Wouldn’t you know, it was the 25th anniversary of it being released? Paul Simon toured that year, with all of the original musicians. I saw it. My life was a disaster, and I was miserable all told. The people largely responsible for the misery bought tickets for everyone but me, knowing how much I loved it. But I was given VIP passes by my former housemate who worked for Columbia Records, because yeah! Sometimes you catch a break! I know in spite of all of the misery and pain of that time that felt all consuming, there was a sunny day in Hyde Park where I saw this album performed from start to finish by the original musicians. I wore a cute leopard print dress and have a picture from that day with my very dear friend Sophie, and I can see in my eyes that I was happy. He threw in some other classics too. Even some Simon and Garfunkel. I got drunk. I was in the moment. I was the roly-poly little bat-faced girl. Whatever that means. For me it means I was happy.

Fast forward a year, I moved to Tennessee. Fast forward a few more years from there. I’m married to a man who works for a nice couple who happen to be South African. One Saturday I stop in to see him at work, and he says “Hey girlreviews, I need to introduce you to someone”. That someone was a tall, slender, aging white man that I recognized from a documentary I had watched some months ago. He had a lovely South African accent. My husband tells me, “he worked on Graceland”. I didn’t know what to say, but I shook his hand and told him how much I loved the record and how special it was. I was so overwhelmed I don’t even recall his name without rewatching the documentary, or what role he played in the making of the album.

Brb, crying about that guitar sound for the 87546490075734643th time. If you’ve never heard a guitar under water, all you have to do is get in your car, put on Graceland and head to Memphis. Only the putting on Graceland part is actually required.

[felix-floyd]

We need to take a moment to appreciate how talented the @superguitarbros are. Their playing is absolutely incredible, I can feel that shit in my soul and get literal goosebumps listening to their work💙💙 And @crowtrails for the cover art, i loved the first albums cover and now this?! You’re all so amazing🩵🩵

This album brought me so many emotions, Clocks and Wayward Son caused literal sobs, and the rest of the album just hit so hard I cannot even begin to describe Dan’s talent. He’s single-handedly managed to make my life worth living with everything he’s a part of: I listen to NSP to alleviate my anxiety, I watch game grumps to help me sleep with insomnia, Starbomb gets me laughing no matter what mood I’m in… I will never be able to thank him enough just for being so freaking awesome. I will never stop promoting their work, and I will never stop sending so much love to them🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

[redpiperfox]

another Itzy album, another Red review, so hi, welcome, buckle up for--

Born To Be Album Review

Born To Be

Starting off the album with a loud, brash, gut-punching anthem. Fanfares to herald their arrival, and explosive vocals to as boots hit the ground.

I'm going to be honest, before this album, I was going to have a bone to pick with how Itzy arranged an album. Kpop in general had me nitpicking people who tastefully put together and arranged their songs on an album so I could enjoy them from start to finish without shuffling, and those who just made good songs and threw them together. (Note to the reader: my general standard has become Stray Kids in the kpop world of album arranging) But then! Itzy released this! And this is how you open an album-- comparable to Megaverse and Hall of Fame and Cheese by Skz opening up and setting the stage for what to expect from an album, Born To Be boldly and powerfully sets Itzy's standard of self-confidence and power. Lyrically, the first listen had me a little critical of the English lyrics, but it's grown on me in the way Itzy has always been upfront and blunt about who they are and the message they're trying to send. I will listen to "aespa concept copying" only to say that this is reminiscent of their debut era choreo, that's grown and modified styling from an era that aespa has left. Itzy's dance styles have always caught my attention, because individually they've got such complex skills and talents, and they sacrifice that individuality (like most members in a group do-- we hear more often about artists having a "group" vocal tone and an individual vocal tone) for a strict, angular, stiffer group movement. Watching the interview done with the choreographer, it was satisfying to hear him say that he often makes choreos and then has to modify them for the group's skills, but Itzy has such a strong dance base that he was able to flush the choreo out to his contentment. Do I love the choreo? For a dance on it's own, not particularly, but as a performance? Damn, I watched every stage, it was larger than life and powerful, and those high kicks O.O XD

Untouchable

She took the sultry beat of I Want That by gidle and made it a Boots Are Made For Walking, chin held high backtrack, while also maintaining a cladenstine spy operation, that's the only way I can describe this track.

One complaint before I begin-- why do all my favorite titles from Itzy feel like they have the least amount of plot T-T Cheshire and Untouchable, my loves, I LOVE YOU MORE.

NOW COMPLAINT ASIDE-- WHAT A BOP. This is Itzy listening to "Aw, I miss the old Itzy" and smashing them in the face with power concepts. I was worried they might just re-hash a Japanese release, and take from that musical plot they were developing, but no, they took their darker concept and made it sound like it was coming from a matured Itzy. The vocals, the harmonies (that they sing live *chefs kiss), and production, all lean into a dance group that's confident in what they're doing. A note to "I miss the old Itzy"-- the back and forth between the summer fun concepts and the darker mature winter concepts are precisely the "Old Itzy" for a developed group. They can't go back to making fun kids dance songs, because this wave of kpop standom wouldn't stand for it (I say as I look over at my lovely StayC, going strong in releasing music for the fun enjoyers. keep at it girls T-T). They've separated their image into the two fundamental pillars that make them up, and honestly, they're doing it well. Even against my own complaint-- the mv highlights their stage presence and dance movement as a group, and focuses on cementing their confidence, both lyrically and visually. (Also. I adore their dresses in their solo sets and shots. *chefs kiss*) (Also also, cannot wait to see what Lia brings to the song when she returns!)

Mr. Vampire

[Inhales deeply] [Screams]

An afternoon high tea even in the 21st centry, off the shoulder dresses, straightened hair pinned up, winking over your shoulder, the siren luring the sailor in broad daylight.

I am discovering that I absolutely adore Itzy's growth in this genre they've carved for themselves, of softer, summer breeze type songs. Yes, Ryujin as a vocalist slays, absolutely, but also could hear Lia's fingerprints ghosting my mind in ever part of this. This track instantly became my None of my Business for the season, it's absolute perfection. Yeji mentioned how she didn't know how all their voices would meld cohesively in a track like this, and was surprised at how well it turned out and YES. There's something about this that highlights their voices and even cheeky, alluring tones individually, and together make it sound like an even richer track. Love! Adore! Claimed! (This is mine, everyone else back off, I own this track now XD)

Dynamite

Itzy's debut era b-sides reborn! "What I want" has a sister! My "noisy" music enjoyers, this is a stage sparkler, a flare you dance with at a night party, neons at a party. And all the way through, an Itzy club and workout bop.

Crown On My Head (Yeji)

"Someone said I'm like a leopard / Hell yeah, I'm untameable, I'm born to be wild."

Crawling, pouncing, claws, but also gritty in wiping the blood from your cheek with the back of your hand, tying your sweaty hair from your face, and cackling in the middle of a volcano.

Yeji and a rock song are just fitting. Her voice and vocal style just complement a harder song so well, and this track really leaned into her strengths. Lyrically and visually, this felt like Itzy Yeji meeting a middle ground with all her solo projects, and feeling the firey core she has an artist. Lyrically it definitely felt like a template Itzy song in just stating what it is and wants to tell you and accomplish, but it lends itself to the image and message Yeji puts forward.

"Even though I hit a barrier / I'm not afraid, be bold, ay / I know my way / Got no limit, I go straight, ay"

Blossom (Lia)

"How was I like? / How was I like? / How was I, How was I, How was I like? / We weren't alike / We weren't alik / We weren't a- We weren't a- We weren't alike"

A spring greenhouse, dewy and sparkling in the morning, where a young heiress hides and talks to the little creatures that give her the time of day to dream.

"Hunched up, curled up / Even if I endure everything without blooming / It's not late, not late to give me love / I'd love to be a flower too"

Going to be honest, lyrically, this made me so sad when I first heard it. Maybe because it was fresh off Lia announcing her hiatus personally, but there was something raw and crying out in the lyrics, that made me think she could use this hiatus as a way to leave the group, and if she did, I would have been happy for her and her freedom of being held under the critical microscope that's followed Itzy and burned her for not fitting an image of the group that people have come to expect. But since the album's release and the firm assurance of her return from the Itzy members, it's felt hopeful and quietly reflective. It's lyrically soaked in doubt that's given way to patience, and the imagery it brings is so fitting to the image Lia puts for herself vocally and visually in her collab and cover projects. I was expecting more of an RnB track, but as the only track with her voice on this album in an era she's completely hidden from public speculation, it's a little like gems hewn into stone, and a soft breeze on a wild field, and makes me await her return all the more hopefully. The vocalist solo album of a group always holds the highest expectations for me, and I think Lia will not only exceed them, but bring a sound to kpop that we don't hear enough. Girly's set to be on the same level as Taeyeon in my head, idk yall.

"Cause I really want, I really want / I truly want to be blooming"

"Actually the words I wanted to hear / 'You're beautiful'"

Run Away (Ryujin)

"It flew like the cigarette smoke / There will be nothing left, as if it was a dream."

The anti-hero to her own story, the grey morally complex character who spirals into a descent of madness that everyone sees coming, a trainwreck no one looks away from, because despite it all, you're still rooting for her.

It wouldn't have been a Ryujin solo without her actress side bursting through, as it does in everything she does, and it burst through in an array of splattering oil paints. While the English lyrics it opens with come off a little cringey, she follows in the shoes of several western artists and through her lyrics, paints a very distinct and vivid picture. The complicated story of taking the fall for a relationship that's doomed, but also making the main character all the more soaked into the image of a "bad" girlfriend-- Ryujin nailed it. The track also draws out the absolute best in her voice. We don't hear the lower voices sing much in kpop, and to hear her range and the emotions she's able to trill between in the bridge is absolutely skillful. While she lacks the refinement of experience, she pulls powerfully from the getgo, and makes me excited about where she'll take her solo projects as they unfurl.

"If you're afraid, I will be the villain / If you really can't say it, you can blame it on me"

Mine (Chaeryeong)

"I've been looking for somebody / like you / I circle around you again and again / All of my attention / will always find you / I circle around you again and again"

A doomed and haunted mansion, candelabras and crystal chandeliers, and a playful corpse bride laughing at you through ornate mirrors and little hand watches.

The people have spoken that Chaeryeong is Sunmi's daughter, and I'm inclined to agree. I was expecting something a little cutesier for Chaeryeong voice and taste (hello number one SNSD fangirl XD), so the sound of this track came out unexpected and out of left field to me, but then paired with her AOTM image and the alluring innocence of her voice, the track brings out something in her character that still feels like the Chaeryeong we've known and watched grow from Kpop star. The quality of her voice and the way it melds and echoes off itself are enchanting and charming. Cute, in an unexpected way.

"Forever mine, already mine / Just say it / du-du-bi, du-bi, da / Forever mine, already mine / Not a secret, du-du-bi-di, du-bi-di, du, la-la"

Yet, But (Yuna)

"Nothing matters, it's all about ya / Flawless, that's what you are / I mean, maybe you don't know yet, but / Not yet, huh"

Bursting bubble pop, a bright encouraging fairy in the mirror, skipping through the mall in a cute outfit and a pep band behind your back, and glittering diamonds in your hair, eyes, and smile.

" After passing through the painful times / (No matter, no matter what they say) / I’m waiting for your perfect time, ooh / Oh, hot like a fever!"

I want to know if Yuna had creative direction for her mv. I need to know. Because from first watch, girlie is READY for a solo career, I swear-- and I'm sorry, but she was the last person I expected, but she really burst in and filled the space! We already knew she was Nayeon's baby, but HOT DAMN POP! DIED AND WAS REBORN IN YET, BUT XD This solo preserves everything we know and love about Yuna and bursts out in confident joy I was afraid kpop standom had killed in her. It's talking into the mirror to herself, and to all the girlies who are stumbling in doubt in the places she's been already. Learning "not yet but" was a wordplay, on korean "I'm pretty," and then the fifty-eight cuts of a diamond-- lyricism was just the cherry on top. Everything, from her pop voice, to her cute and fun visual aethetic, to the simply complex lyrics themselves, everything is bubble pop perfection! I love! Well done Shin Yuna!

"Fifty-eight ways to shine / For you who will meet your most perfect time / Not, not yet, but"

Escalator

Another debut era and Checkmate bside cousin, we're literally riding the Dalla Dalla escalator in darker leather and those big kpop stomper boots. And maybe some nice big shades. With the cute sparkles on the sides. Leveling up in a video game, the popular trendy girl winking as she passes by.

On a whole, the promoted three songs absolutely hit expectations, and the solos exceeded and made me excited for their upcoming touring schedule and whatever lies ahead of them. I wished they would've pulled a Twice in the way they handled Lia's hiatus, but I can imagine the strain was truly too much for her to not even record her voice in the title and bsides and not have a small feature in the mvs. I wonder if they'll perhaps recosider their promotion schedule and not go back to back to back (Korean-Japanese-Korean comebacks, it was mentioned they prepared for Born to Be right after Cake promotions ended) in the second half of the year like they have been, and perhaps pacing themselves out a little more? But however they do it, I am listening, and await their growth musically as individual artists and a group as a whole.

Lingering final thoughts on Itzy-- I have been hearing a lot of hate for JYP and Div 2 and whatever people and the girls say about management, the thought hasn't left me about how much less protection and promotion they would get if they left, and how they would probably not be signed together anyway, and Got7 hasn't taught me much, but they've made me hope Itzy doesn't get discouraged and scared off to leave the company. Not renewing is as good as disbandment, it seems. Like with Twice, I hope they're able to get themselves more satisfactory contracts, maybe... but we'll see!

Anywho, if anyone listens or has thoughts on the album, I would love to chat! January is looking to be Quite the comeback month, and I eagerly all the music for the upcoming semester :3

[shadowetienne]

One of the things that I wanted to do before diving further into my breakdown of the individual songs on the album and their themes was to look through what they actually wrote as the description of the MV for "dOpamine" and the album as a whole on YouTube.

Overall, it's interesting, if not incredibly well proofread, and helps me tie together some of my thoughts on what the album was going for in conjunction with what it achieved.

[Under the cut for length, contains the full text of the description along with my notes.]

OnlyOneOf is returning in January 2024 with their new album [Things I Can’t Say Love]. This upcoming long-titled album will mark the peak of the musical direction OnlyOneOf has built up so far.

It's interesting to think about this as being described as the "peak" of their musical direction. If I think of it in terms of the climax of story telling, that means we are now moving towards a resolution, and there's still quite a bit of important story telling left in the arc of this story. It's interesting to me that this goes with a performance based MV, but also tells me that if we want to pay attention to how it connects with the story, that paying attention to the lyrics and how it ties into the idea of "things I can't say [about] love" is important!

Lovers who feel their love isn’t blessed, feelings that had to be hidden and concealed. What is often called the minor path of love is brought to light and expressed through songs.

I love how they keep coming back to this oblique and yet so obvious phrasing about lovers who have not been blessed. It's a tie that travels through a lot of their descriptions and calls back the undergrOund idOl series. It's a poignant and beautiful bit of phrasing, and I find that using it here ties in well with the idea of what cannot be said. Yeah, we as people who engage in their work, as queer readers/viewers/listeners of their story, know exactly what they mean, but it's definitely the sort of phrasing that is born of the closet, though perhaps the glass closet. I think that the phrasing of "expressed through songs" is important here because I think that a lot of the important stories and messages of the album are in the lyrics, not the MV. (Hopefully we will get a second MV with story, or a follow up set of promotions of some sort that will be more story based, but I'm not holding my breath.) I'm also going to note that it's interesting that the only song without words in the album is "things I can't say, lOve" and hold onto the thought that it's maybe important that they didn't put words to that or make it a full track.

The well-made dance tracks of OnlyOneOf delicately add up another layer. The title song “dOpamine” refers to the term of the excitement and pleasure of being in love. It is a song about the love that one unknowingly falls into. As a UK drum and bass genre, the song captivates listeners with its addictive melodies that continue in repetition.

I'll have more to say about this later, but it's interesting to think about this in the context of "the love that one unknowingly falls into" from the queer lens. This isn't necessarily a song about a healthy sort of love, but it's definitely an interesting set of connections to the realization of queer love, especially first queer love.

Another track “O” [**in the Korean, this discusses "give me the lOve, bitch"**] highlights the boyish charm of OnlyOneOf with its refreshing sounds just like the music in a Pocari Sweat commercial.

OK, so there's some editing/typo issues in this paragraph. I think that this is talking about "give me the lOve, bitxx" based on the Korean, which is I'm guessing better proofread. It's interesting to see this given the highlight of "boyish charm." It's definitely a song that seems like it comes from a place of immaturity.

Also, “circle” [**I am assuming that "circle" is "O"] is a track with dope sounds, further solidifying the unique style of OnlyOneOf under the leadership of Haeil, who has been directing OnlyOneOf music so far.

Second half of the typo paragraph. "O" has so many callbacks to previous songs, both lyrically and sound wise. While the "dOpamine" MV calls back visually to "time leap," "O" calls back sound wise to both debut tracks of "time leap" and "savanna" which makes it interesting to me that they've highlighted the involvement of Haeil who's worked with them throughout here. Also good for them to shoutout their team!

Created by Nine, a member of OnlyOneOf, the track “gravity” showcases Nine’s prowess as a producer, expressing the shifts in emotions that are pulled in like gravity through a flowing melody.

It's so important that "gravity" is the resolution of the album, and I love that it's Nine's song that has that spot. I feel like there's definitely a lot of finishing in the place of starting to actually figure things out that is very right. Moving from a track where one of the producers they've worked with for a long time is the highlight to the one where Nine as a member who is doing a lot of their writing and producing is a highlight is also an interesting mirror of their career.

After the web drama “Bump Up Business,” where every member broadened their acting spectrum and expanded their worldview beyond music, OnlyOneOf is returning to their main job in a long time with the release of [Things I Can’t Say Love]. The comeback once again proves why OnlyOneOf has steadily built its dedicated fan base overseas.

I feel so touched that they call out their overseas fans as a big part of their fanbase that they've built up. I feel like it says something about how the tour was for them, and hopefully their excitement for the upcoming tour. I wish for them the same amount of love and acceptance at home someday as well. I also hope that this tour is even better for them than the first one was. I'm also glad that they are calling out BUB as an important part of their body of work.

Overall, I think that this description reinforces that this album is a queer narrative that they are telling, and I love that that queer narrative really ties back to some of their work before their work became undeniably queer. I'm definitely going to be exploring those connections more within the connections to their body of work as I move on to talking about the different tracks.

[justanotherfanartist]

fuck it assigning freelancers songs I’m obsessed with based on what fits them vibes or lyrics wise. It’s almost 5 am and I have not slept I do what I WANT

( long post. Tired rambles. A lot of music recommendations. I’m very happy about the Tex one though I cannot understate how perfect that song is for her in every way shape and fucking form. Same with the bonus Church/Epsilon one that I figured out on the spot and couldn’t be bothered to type something different.)

NORTH - Holiday Hours by the Posies oh my godddd I’m going to make an animatic for this because this is just him in a nutshell to me relationship with South his own shit going on childhood and all. I cannot describe how perfect this is for him in my head. So many headcanons are tied to this song hhhhhrrrr. I will make an entire post breaking down every single fucking line of this song if I have to.

YORK - West End Girls by the Pet Shop Boys. You cannot tell me he doesn’t listen to this song are you kidding me. It’s genuinely such a vibe and also the lyrics are decently fitting for something he would identify with and DEFINITELY sing a little bit. Has made a bad joke with ‘west end girl’ as the punchline and nobody got it except for North and only because York plays the song so much. SOUTH - The Glitter Prize by the Posies. The lyrics ohhh for her yeah. If this isn’t her whole thing with the leaderboard and feeling inadequate mmmmmmmm. Delicious song. CAROLINA - I Guess You’re Right by the Posies (but it’s a different album this time!). This is her and the director in season 9/10 freelancer arc tbh. The lyrics are *chefs kiss* for their relationship at some points down to the “if I meet more than your eyes” mmmmm.

TEX - Blah Blah Blah by The Oozes. It’s giving her and Church/Director 100 fucking percent. Genuinely the lyrics are fucking perfect for their relationship. LITERALLY this is just her singing about how shitty he is and all the stuff he did I am begging you to at least google the lyrics oh my GOOODDDDD. IT EVEN HAS SPECIFICS “you’ve ruined the color blue for me / I’m surrounded by a deep dark sea / you’ve liess to us and honestly / you’ve ruined the color blue for me” plus it’s got the appropriate hurt/tired/upset/ragey vibes. Everything about this song is perfect for her especially if you picture it has her singing. I cannot overstate how much I love this for her. also Call Me by Blondie. Not for the lyrics just the guitar vibes. CONNIE - For The Ashes by the Posies. Yes it’s getting out of hand I’m aware. But hear me out alright. Listen to the first bit okay. The first one is South the second one is Tex the third is Carolina and the fourth is Connie. And also the rest of the lyrics are pretty perfect for her season 9/10 arc are you kidding omg. Connie my girl this one’s for you.

WASH - Moonshine by Caravan Palace (I highly recommend this band I love them). It’s giving a little bit of early/post freelancer arc/ season 7 era wash tbh. Also the music video character looks kinda looks like him down to the outfit color scheme. Lmao. Look at him he’s got so many problems to work through. The lyrics mmm. For him they work tbh but like I said for a specific era of Wash mostly. He has no idea what he’s doing with his life really. Burn The House Down by AJR. Ough. Yess the lyrics. A little more pop than I’d want for him tbh but it works anyways. And actually the tone of the singers voice and the mild apprehension fits freelancer arc younger wash. MAINE/META - The Wolf by SIAMÉS. Quick tangent the music video fucking slaps for this song. Also the lyrics are pretty fitting. This song has such a good vibe ngl. Not perfect for Maine but very good for Meta tbh. ALTERNATIVELY: Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran. Funny two wolf songs with the same sex metaphor. But anyways yeah same thing the lyrics are close but mostly I just wanted to include because. I like this song. Doesn’t really fit him actually but he’d probably like listening to it.

bonus this one’s for the dakota twins: Golden Blunders surprise surprise also by the Posies (i don’t. have a problem). But come on the opening line is “Golden blunders come in pairs”. Also like- the chorus- “You’re gonna watch what you say for a long time / You’re gonna suffer the guilt forever. / You’re gonna get in the way at the wrong time, / You’re gonna mess up things you thought you would never.” them. them. them. a little bit. Also Accidental Architecture (it’s also the Posies. Bc yes.) I miiiight be reaching a little bit for this one tbh but I still see it for them a smidge. yorkalina a little bit tbh (but like. Moooostly York): Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners. It has his stupid sweet flirty energy alright I think it’s cute for them.

CHURCH/EPSILON - OKAY OKAY SO I NEED SOME HELP WITH THIS ONE. Still Feel by Half Alive. This fits an RVB character I just don’t know WHO. it’s driving me fucking insane. Church/Epsilon?? OHHH SHIT ITS HIM FR. I love figuring things out on the spot omg. It’s literally him. Literally. This song slaps by the way actually and the music video is like watching IT guys on an acid trip or some shit. these lyrics especially : when I’m furthest from myself (far away) feeling closer to the stars (outer space) ive been invaded by the dark (can’t escape) trying to recognize myself when I feel I’ve been replaced i can feel a kick down in my soul and it’s pulling me back to earth to let me know i am not a slave, can’t be contained so pick me from the dark and pull me from the grave cause i still feel alive when it’s hopeless, I start to notice that I still feel alive falling forward, back into orbit

(Some other lyrics and stuff and THEN THIS PART OH MY GOD) floating in outer space, have I misplaced, a part of my soul? lost in the in between, or so it seems, I’m out of control floating im outer space, have I misplaced, a part of my soul? lost in the in between but I can’t keep me asleep for long (and then we kick back to the I still feel alive bit) SCREAMING ITS SO PERFECT.

this troop me almost two hours to make. My head hurts did I mention I haven’t slept. Anyways. Yes. Maybe I’ll do other characters idk I just needed this out of my head and tangible somewhere.