#drake vs everybody

[mod-doodles]

Lol we got rival companies beefing with the bear 😂 - idk be funnier 🤷🏾‍♀️

[amazingstuffs]

Things I learned while consuming media about this Kendrick vs Drake feud as someone who isn't from the US

Drake's real name is Aubrey

Kendrick is a Pulitzer Prize for Music winner (amazing if you know what it means to have one)

Drake has an ongoing feud with practically everybody in that community

There was someone else in this feud who removed themselves from the equation because they didn't want to be part of the massacre

Drake used AI to recreate Tupac and Snoop's voices as if he didn't know copyright infringement exists

Drake has tons of ghostwriters

Things I did know before this feud even started

Drake's a pedophile

[nba24highlights]

Aaron Gordon 🆚 Zach LaVine NBA 2016 Dunk Contest #nbaedits #zachlevine #aarongordon

[new-revenant]

Danny makes some little animal stick figure desktop pets, with Tucker's help, mainly to help with homework, act as autocorrect, and serve as something cute. He notices after a few weeks that they can interact with different things in different ways (think of the stick figures from animation vs animator) and is impressed. He decides to bring the six with him in his phone on a class field trip to Gotham and excitedly shows Sam and Tucker the evolved code. While there and walking around the sticks were just messing around in Danny's phone when they manage to accidentally air drop themselves into Tim Drake's laptop. Tim somehow doesn't notice until he's back at the cave and connects his computer to the bat computer and accidentally uploads the desktop pets to it, Danny at this point also realized his desktop pets were gone. At this point Danny and Tim are both low-key freaking out for different yet similar reasons.

omg they accidentally created a computer virus! And it’s probably a ghostly one too all things considered. Maybe it’s just some blob ghosts that infected the code, or Technus. Team Phantom might be blaming Technius at first haha.

And Tim is going to suffer, this I swear. Why are these weird, stick figure things messing the Batcomputer? He tries to fix everything and delete the little animals before anyone else shows up…but an 1 hour later, when Batman calls everybody to the Batcave, they find Tim is now a sobbing mess, whining about how the Batcomputer got hacked by stupid stick figures. Who hear that of course and decide to blast music right into his ears. The rest of the Batman try-and fail-to fix it. It definitely isn’t a normal virus, and could be something magical, but they aren’t too sure. Meanwhile, Team Phantom has been trying to figure out where Tim lives. Now Danny, as Phantom, is floating around Wayne Manor. He really hopes they don’t sue him after this.

[chrollohearttags]

I said I wasn’t going to talk about kendrick vs drake anymore but if it’s two things this whole thing has taught me, it’s:

nothing holds weight within the black community until a man says it. Black girls and women have been calling out this nasty man for quite a while now but were all but told to shut up. Meg was told she took it too far calling him a pedo + saying he had a BBL. Nobody cared about or even acknowledged the fact that he’s bled the culture dry until ANOTHER man said it. The same ppl who were up in arms abt Cardi, Tyla, and any other lightskinned/mixed race woman in general are the same ones who worshipped Aubrey. Now that Kendrick calls it out, everybody wants to pretend they give a shit. The mob mentality is something else. Also, cue *that* Katt Williams interview. As somebody who really loves him and is a huge fan (maybe bc he’s the only comedian who’s actually funny and has never had to make blk women the brunt of his jokes), that Club Shay Shay thing was nothing more than a regurgitation of EVERYTHING Monique had already said years ago. From Tyler Perry and his tap dancing, Oprah, Steve Harvey, etc. To see a bunch of blk men who willingly made our women caricatures for the white gaze and profit, proclaiming that they were ‘forced’ is a fucking insult at best and a sickening ploy to avoid accountability at worst.

white people don’t give a damn abt activism until it’s time to be racist towards black people. Two rappers get in the news for a weekend after months of Palestine being at the forefront of everything (bc fuck Congo and Sudan, right?) and all of a sudden it’s ‘BiLLiOnAiReS arE StEaLinG thE sPoTLigHt—“ the same could be said for FlatBack Swift but every yt gay, Sarah and Brittany was bumping her shitty album and posting her with that bum of a football player like they were the new president or something. All of it is nothing more than a dog whistle for racism and shows just how vapid y’all’s concern for others humanity truly is. This coming from the same subset of ppl who couldn’t be vexed to do anything further than post a black fucking square when police brutality was at an all time high. Putting Hello Kitty stickers on serious terms and posing for Insta at riots like it’s a big goddamn game and of course, when it was no longer trendy or cute to have #BLM ✨🙏🏾😩 posted all over your profiles, y’all went right back to being anti black and making fun of us, WHILE sucking every part of our culture dry.

[clara-maybe-ontheroad]

Little musings on Gap (Drake), Only Friends ep 1 & 7

It's probably been said by someone already, but I'm appreciating the fact that the superposition between Boston sleeping with Gap in the first episode and Nick jerking off to his phone was such an announcement of what was to come.

-> The voyeurism of Nick going through Boston's phone for his sexual pleasure while (we now know) Boston was being filmed against his consent for Gap's sexual pleasure.

-> The revelation that this isn't just a one off and that Gap actually has a career with filming guys he has sex with and putting it on the Internet as porn.

Which begs the question though : was any of that first interaction between Boston and Gap real ? In episode 1, Gap says he has a boyfriend but that boyfriend lets him play with strangers sometimes. It's entirely possible that it's true, but in episode 7 we also learn that Gap has put so many sex tapes online that he isn't surprised that someone like Mew might recognize him from "his work".

(as an aside, I've talked in previous posts about how much "work" and "services" seem to almost exclusively refer to sex in this show, the trend continues)

Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if Gap lied to Boston in that first encounter, because everybody in this show and in real life lies, and also because he probably saw what would make him more exciting to Boston : being taken, unavailable, technically belonging to someone else yet wanting him. We all know that's Boston's type, and maybe Gap could tell. Gap was putting the ground work to see if Boston was daring enough and would make a good subject for his videos.

Edit : turns out I was misremembering and potential threesome guy wasn't Gap, so no lying on Gap's part there. Still though, the rest of the lying stands since Boston didn't know about the camera ; and maybe Gap justifies it to himself thinking that since he has a presence online, if people approach him it's their responsibility to know ? Or not his problem

Does Gap know who is going to put on the Internet and who he's going to keep for himself ? I don't know, but it seems like he didn't actually release the video with Boston, he tried to use the fact that he had it to get more sex out of him.

The show treats it as a bit of a bleep in Mew's revenge scheme, but we do see how many folders Gap has on his computer of sex tapes. A lot.

Btw love how P'Jojo has to insert himself into everything haha, after the Twitter account now the sex tape folder

How many of these people knew they were being filmed ? How many didn't ? How many that didn't had their faces hidden in the shadow ? The example of Boston Vs Mew seems to suggest that when they do know, Gap's partners often prefer to have their face hidden in the shadows, while someone like Boston who is in the dark (ah) about what's happening will show their face on camera unknowingly.

Would that make those videos more valuable to Gap ? Collecting faces of men who didn't consent ?

The show does treat what Gap did as something had, but it's mostly there so Mew can have its revenge moment of threatening to Boston but keeping the moral high ground, showing he's better than everyone.

But the show is telling us everyone's moral standards are in the gutter. No one is truly shocked at Gap's behaviours, and it doesn't seem like there's going to be any consequences to that. It's just going to be a bump on the road, because there are shitty people everywhere like that.

And as said in other posts, the low level to high key shittiness of absolutely everyone in this show is what's making it gold.

(this is not high degree meta so I don't know if it's worthy of the ephemerality squad but I'd love to hear more thoughts on the Gap situation or to be pointed to more posts already written about him so tagging @waitmyturtles @lurkingshan @ranchthoughts @twig-tea @slayerkitty @distant-screaming @neuroticbookworm @chickenstrangers @thatgirl4815 @wen-kexing-apologist )

[captainofthetidesbreath]

Please explain the drake thing I'm so lost

It's a feud between Drake and Kendrick. It's been ongoing for a while, but everyone is losing it because Kendrick has released the fourth diss track since April 30, three of them between today and yesterday.

I am not really a good person to ask to explain the whle thing, but I can throw you a few links. Multiple because they're written for different audiences and by people with different backgrounds, and I don't know which is most appropriate or helpful for you:

Abridged summary going back to 2012

Vibe.com's Drake vs. Everybody timeline

Billboard has a timeline from 2011 to "meet the grahams"

Variety write-up, I guess

This timeline from Complex really illustrates, uh, how fast things are going now. (They don't have a summary article, but they have a lot of breakdowns on each individual diss track on their website.)

But, largely, I'm not really a good source for what exactly is going on. I'm a rap casual at best, and I've been following this beef for months via a very strong and interested network of folks I follow and am friends with on Twitter, so I don't really have the stuff to really explain it, unfortunately.

The best I can do is toss some links to get you started and familiar with what's happening and the track names and involved parties.

[bluerosefox]

Stories/Prompts List:

[In General Prompts]: |Moving On (Character moving on and away from the toxic people/places)

[Encanto]: |Everybody (in Town) Loves Mirabel

[Genshin Impact/Encanto prompt]: |Anemo Mirabel idea (Quick idea)

[DP]: |Rather Not |Middle Name |Entrance and Exists |New Title Idea

[DPxDC]: 2023 Prompt Lists 1 2023 Prompt Lists 2 2023 Prompt Lists 3 |Our Well Deserved Break (Danny decides he and a bunch of stressed out hero teens need a weekend break from...well everything.) |Supersons vs Ghost Gal (It started with Grandma’s Kent Cookies) (Jon is punished for stealing cookies and ropes in Damian to prove he’s innocent by catching the thief... Only there is a certain traveling ghost whose the thief who may or may not wanna troll them now) (read notes) |Uncle Damian Mode ACTIVATE (Twins!Damian and Danny, baby!Danielle, hints of good mom Talia. READ NOTES) (Damian is having a normal patrol... Until Danny shows up with a baby and going to hunt down a fruitloop for trying to clone him... Damian is going to be the best uncle) |Possessed Pearl’s (Danny finds a ghost needing help. Martha has a chance to get herself home to Gotham) |Ghosties and Black Bats (Hinted CassxDanny) (Danny gets a call from Dani and goes to help only to see a rather kick butt lady doing the job, and oh boy Fenton genes are in high gear) |Mystery Spouse (Dannyx???) (Danny and [Any Bat of choosing] get into a whirlwind romance and marry... they just forgot to tell their families though) |Presence Pressure (Twins!Danny and Damian) (Danny figures out how to hid himself from his adopted parents and the GIW radar, only he didnt take into account that they might pick up his twin’s corrupted ectopalsm) |Our Strengths (Danny and his family are taken by the GIW. Sam and Tucker hack and blackmail their way to save their best friend and his family) |Drake Siblings (Tim gets a call from a little Jasmine Fenton and finds out he has a half brother named Danny.) (Danny and Jazz are adopted Fenton. Danny is the son of Jack Drake and Dana Winter-Drake btw) |In Luminous Green Glow (TaliaxDanny) (Danny, CW’s apprentice, is inspecting a Pits, only to meet a blade to his neck) |Bittersweet and Sweetheart Exes (Past TaliaxBrucexDanny) (Talia and Bruce are bittersweet exes to each other but towards Danny he’s their sweetheart ex) |Family Resemblance (Daniel Wayne was kidnapped the night his and Bruce’s parents were killed. Years later Bruce gets a call from Damian about two possible poorly made clones or hidden blood children. Meanwhile Dan and Elle Fenton are calling their dad about a possible Vlad clone surviving) |The Amazing Adventures of Tim Drake and Little Baby Man Danny. AKA two feral raccoons loose on Gotham (Little Tim Drake makes a friend when stalking the Bats... and feral vibes with the baby man Danny) |One in the Same (Tim is tossed in the Pit during his RR run, and wakes his memories of being Danny Fenton/Phantom... and ponders what to do next to mess with the fruitloop Ra’s) |Fenton Coded (Tim discovers he’s not a Drake by blood... and he’s not a Wayne (like he and others suspected) but is a Fenton) (past DannyxJanet) |Ghost With Heartbeats (maybe Dead on Main?) (hinted Deaged Dani) (Jason used to have a penpal, a kid named Danny Fenton. Then he dead, came back and the thought of writing to his friend was forgotten... until he finds all the letter’s Alfred saved. Even letters Danny wrote to Jason after his death) |Invites (Hinted Dani(Ellie)xDamianxJon) (Wrath aka Ellie comes to the Watchtower to complain about a Ball being hosted in the Infinite Realms) |Kidnapped Persephone Style (JasonxDanny. Dead on Main) (Tim witness Jason being taken by a ghostly knight and tells the rest of the Batfam) |Gray and Graysons (Siblings Danny and Dick)(Dick remembers his baby brother before he had been given to the childcare system, so he isn’t ready to see him years later at the Watchtower as one of the new engineer hires) |Siblings Behavior (Ghost King Danny/Dad Danny)(the Ghost King summons the two factions of the DC verse, to talk about his two kids Wrath and Wisp) |Feral Gremlins VS Fruitloops (Deaged Danny and Tim) (Danny and Tim are deaged by their dumb Fruitloops, the two feral things meet and decide to team up and escape) |Mama Bat (Deaged Danny and Mama Cass)(Cass finds a baby in Hong Kong before being yeeted back to Gotham with baby stuff and a glowing sticky note) |The Flow of Time (Deaged Tim) (CW takes matters into his own hands when he spots a deaged Tim timeline where his family fails to save him from Ra’s plans) |Once Upon A Time... (Hinted JasonxDanny. Dead on Main) (Ghost Robin!Jason finds a sleeping Ghost Prince Danny when in the Realms. and a sticky note is hinting something) |That Good Ol' Fenton Charm (SelinaxDanny) (Deaged Danielle and Dan!) (Danny meets his neighbor Selina when one of her cats gets into his apartment one night!) |Little Danny's Big Adventure (Mentioned Regent Jazz) (Deaged/King Danny) (Little Danny gets yeeted into the DCverse when he was deaged, stops a villain and goes to a safe house for naptime!) |Always Favors You (Half-Brothers Danny and Jason) (Ghost Prince/King Danny) (Jason is invited to the crowning of the future Ghost King Phantom. Thing is the Ghost Prince is his half-brother he gave away years ago when he was a baby)     

My Art Tag! (Random things I’ve drawn)

[feuqueerfire]

Wandee Goodday Ep 1 - 5 Live Blogging

When I watched the GMMTV 2024 Part 1 announcements, I was still going through my show slump/apathy phase, so wasn't super hyped about this show. However, as time went on and my interest in series and BLs reignited, I started anticipating this more and now I can't wait to watch this show until it finishes airing because people have been liking it so much.

I've seen Great in Manner of Death and I watched NetJames' side story in Catch Me Baby, so I didn't actually see Great much for that. I know Inn was in Miracle of Teddy Bear but I didn't watch that.

I tried watching 23.5 while it was airing but was terrible at keeping up with it weekly, I ended up practically just doing 2 small binges. BUT it's fine if I can't keep up weekly with this because I'm in the middle of some other cool show when this releases or whatever, I'll just... catch up on 2-3 eps at once when I have the chance. It's fine. I'm just watching it because it seems fun and I wanna be in on the general conversation since everybody seems to be watching and enjoying this one. I hope it holds up until the end.

Fun to see this post on reddit r/GMMTV that highlighted how Great and Inn used to have shippers back in the day lmfao and now a decade later, a main lead in a BL. The post is literally from August 1, 2023, months before the Wandee trailer, I think Inn joined around that time (while Great joined earlier).

Also fun to see them talk about how they actually became a pair. Interesting to see that Great was promised Beauty Newbie (side) and Wandee Goodday (main) if he signed and was told Inn would be the partner if he signed; I wish Inn spoke a bit about what he was promised if he signed, was it just Wandee since he's not in any other 2024 series.

Long preamble because I'm stalling until it's 12am and the new month starts so that I can finally start this because I don't wanna start it in May lmfao, 10 more minutes. I'm browsing reddit wandee posts before release and they seriously posted some cute photos from when they were shooting.

Ep 1 (June 1)

1-1

ah, Wandee's character is the one who doesn't wanna kiss?

3 Days Ago

Wandee means good day

asexual Drake (Kao) yayyy

heroic Wandee

Are Yak and Cher the same age? With Oye being older than them?

oh, Yak and Oye are brothers fr?

aw, Yak secretly meeting a girl behind his brother's back but Cher knows, that's cute, I like their teasing dynamic that still has space for them to share stuff with each other

Dee is soooo in love with Dr. Ter lol, he's wide-eyed like this O.O

is ter purposefully torturing Dee lmao does he know about Dee's big big crush

8 years?! he's had this crush for that long?

Wandee's supposed to not be the original doctor but is being asked a favour

ah, their first meeting

Waited so long to watch it that I have to go to sleep but great start

1-2

antagonistic start

Yak is so rude, please

ah, fast beating heart

"I hope we don't have to see each other again, Dr. Wandee" well

scholarship to study abroad: Dee vs Ter

Wandee's so cute with this boss Doctor too lol

waittttt Yak's definitely several years younger than Wandee right? hehe. because Wandee's a full doctor and doesn't seem he's a new one either while Yak's in his final year (may have been taking longer than graduate than usual, so maybe older than 22 but not that much older?)

Taem being paid by Yak to do his homework lol

lol Taem rejecting Yak before he even finished asking. "I'm yet to finish my delivery to your doorstep. You returned it before it reached there."

Yak getting rejected and Wandee will be rejected

1-3

I will Need Kao to get a boyfriend by the end btw

8 years ago he was a freshman, so Wandee is ~26 years old? If Thai uni starting age is also ~18

please, not Wandee literally letting out an exhale-laugh and saying "I'll let you say it again" when Ter says he likes girls

ah, the Too Vanilla comment

and chasing after Dee to ask for the scholarship lmfao

wild Dee is so embarrassing at the club, idek how I'll make it through the convenience store scene (I'd seen clips/gifset of it before but I didn't have the knowledge of their antagonistic initial meeting back then)

a chance meeting and Dee following Yak

1-4

pleaseeeeee I can't loll

the condom is actually sending me, the audacity omg

the cashier being like oh condom only? lube is essential too

ah, drunk with the trash

Room 609 (Bedtime Story? Another P'Golf show)

ah, Yak's into it as soon as he steps through the door. Wandee's embarrassing display actually worked lmfao though I guess he was attracted to him before then too

it's like 2am

Yoryak means giant?! pls

loll The Eclipse cameo

so much talk about Yak's dick goddamn

the shaking causing "Ordinary days that will never be the same again" book to fall

this part had me pausing and holding my head so much ahhh

Inn as Wandee has such wide sparkly eyes, feels like glitter effects should be on screen sometimes when he blinks. Reminds me a bit of Triage's Tol played by Tee. Also JamFilm To Sir With Love/Laws of Attraction's Film kinda.

But also Wandee's so... him being pushy like why don't you like me >:( at Ter (though he dropped that quite quickly) and then just openly following around and harassing Yak was wild lol

Ep 2 (June 1/2)

I'm trying to only watch 1 ep a day so that I don't have to wait too long for ep 6 but I also just want to binge what's out, so we'll see how long I do 1-1.25 eps a day

2-1

oh, we're picking up right where we left on - in the middle of the sex on the couch with the Eclipse playing

Wandee's insecurities + being mad about being called vanilla lol

my Akk and Ayan witness to all this

"once is enough" they keep saying things like let's hope we never meet again and once is enough, like don't you two know you're main leads in a romance drama?

Dee not giving Yak his contact

Dee fr locked that man out

they're antagonistic again

I like established Yei and Cher

lol ofc Yak spending the night is apparently uncharacteristic for him

wtf did Ter try to speak on behalf of Dee to forfeit the scholarship? let's kill him

2-2

omg let's fucking kill Ter, him using Dee's feelings for him to be like give up the scholarship for me? please? and we can def talk about your feelings after I come back <3

lol Yak really waited and schemed until he got Dee as his doctor

ah, Yak saw the convo between Ter and Dee

ahhhh Yak redirecting from almost holding Dee's hand to pretend he was curious about the pen

plssss this cow costume for his school project video

oh yeah, Yak likes Taem

I like Taem

Yak thinking of vulnerable Dee even when he's with Taem

are these two people sinister? wait, are they gonna drug Dee?

agh, scary. Personally not a fan of attempted sexual assault/rape/noncon recording or whatever else being portrayed just so our ML can sweep in and be the hero because these are serious and scary things and make me feel other emotions than just <333 yay I'm glad our ML is here to help <333

2-3

Less Expectations More Satisfaction neon lights over the bed kills me every time

pls not the freaking sponge bath at 1:30am

Yak's like already so into Dee, whelp

cuddles

I kept noticing the clock; I don't think it should've been at 1:38 by the end, maybe 1:4_

SEVENTY PERCENT?! not on the written part but on the campaign for the department that'll be voted by other doctors/nurses/etc?

hehe the cafe and P'Golf as a server, is it the same cafe as The Eclipse? Does both The Eclipse and the cafe in it exist in Wandee Goodday lol

and even in the show the character is named Golf

ah, here's the grandma

damn, Dee's parents are dead?!

2-4

okay, I'm back in the morning after having slept

Does Yak still like Taem? does he just wanna hang out with her as a friend? Does he realize that he's falling for Dee? Is he just in the habit of asking Taem to things?

oh, he's wistful so I guess he does indeed still like Taem

Dee taking care of Yak kinda and wanting to know what's wrong

woah, Direct

[Linguistics] Yak refers to Dee as Maw/Khun Maw/Doctor and Dee refers to Yak as boxer guy but right now, he used 'Nai.' I think they also use Khun with each other

the FWB proposal and establishing rules

first kiss? oh, Dee

[Linguistics] oh, Yak doesn't like that Dee refers to him as with Nai 2nd person pronouns and wants him to use his name.

omg I am so shy when watching them but have so much fun. Yak being like i like you moaning :) let's have another round and Dee being like okay but this time you have to play with my dick longer like okay, let's go, talking about what we want

loll the costumes come about because of the concern about Yak getting into a scandal?

Kao and this security guard?

the A/C service one when Ter's also in the elevator is sooo good

[Linguistics] cleaning fridge = rimming euphimism in Thai, I've learned. how fun

oh my god i love how puppy Yak is when Dee's wiping his head

damn, the mood is so romantic. almost kiss from Yak and giving him the necklace and kissing his chest. different than the more fun/sexual-tension-filled vibes of their other scenes

When I binge, I like episodes to be 40-45 mins but when I watch weekly, I'm mad that it's not 55 mins at least lol

I wanna know how old Yak is because he referred to himself as a grandpa student.

Sometimes this BL touches on interesting topics and just the whole aspect of FWB-while-we-both-have-other-crushes to kind of get over their crush and battle their loneliness is engaging on its own. It feels somewhat mature in its discussion around sex and what they each like or want. Still, it also sometimes feels immature, like the spiking (+ planning to take noncon videos of him?!) that's only there so that Yak can rescue him (the topic itself is really dark but the way they deal with it feels so... handwavy) or the scholarship being 70% popularity contest.

I don't know, I hope the narrative is coherent throughout the whole 12 eps and I continue to like it. Unfortunately, I can't hope for "Less expectations, More satisfaction" because I'm only watching this on-air because I'm expecting to love it, so I hope I don't regret that. I'm having fun so far.

Also, I guess it was indeed AJ who was also in the Eclipse because this is so funny: "I also appreciate that P'Golf's determination to make AJPloy happen is so great that she turned one character into a girl and completely created another one out of thin air."

Their short Ep 2 reaction

Look how puppy

Ep 3 (June 2)

2nd episode of the already oof

3-1

oh yeaa, i saw the 69 gifs

such a cute su su na

Yakalso has deceased parents?

cheek sniff kiss

ahh the lack of vs the acquiring of the necklace being noticed. it's like they're leaving their marks on each other (though they told their friends/family that they're just FWBs)

omg Yak is a known generous person when dating

just realized Dr. Kwan is Emi

office gossip

voice message about missing Yak... video of him doing situps to Dee... girl.

why does Yak look so confused when confronted with his own video that he sent lmfao

Dee's apparent flaw... he loves to win

Dee likes to order Yak around lol being like say you miss me and also change my lightbulb

Dee's nodding when Yak's like let's see if this works is very cute, very puppy also

3-2

oof, they mentioned last ep 2 the costs of running this gym and now they're bringing up financial troubles again

ah, and Yei doesn't want to let on how much things aren't okay + doesn't want to borrow from Cher's (presumably rich) mother

Dee the fucking clown

oh noo this kid has cancer

is the not having enough skilled physicians gonna come back?

aw, video call

the nurses all being women and feminine gay men is interesting ig

anyway ig it's fine that they're also gossipy/mean(?) since there are several other non-villainous gay/queer people in the show, although none are quite as feminine as these 2. though there aren't many women, just Taem and possibly Kwan but they both have small parts

and this is how the fake boyfriend thing starts

3-3

Dee's thinking of getting Yak to be his pretend boyfriend but like, didn't Yak not wanna get caught?

[Linguistics] I have no idea if Yak's saying "then take back your paper kha" but I wish I knew if he was or if it's just part of the word

no fr how is Dee even asking this of Yak and it's not even a real relationship!! "Please come out for this fake boyfriend stint even though you're afraid it'll affect your career"

Dee is at the gym?! girl

Yei notices Yak's necklace

[Linguistics] Okay, Yak definitely used kha when he says Doctors are rich

Dee is a menace, let the man alone!

Cher calls Yei Phi, Dee Phi, but not Yak. so he's same age or older than Yak but younger than Dee, which confirms that Dee is older than Yak (in the novel Yak's apparently 20 while Dee's 29 but that's not happening here lol)

lol cute, Yak teaching Dee how to box. i wanna take up boxing too

3-4

the way Dee grabs Yak's hand to place it on his own thigh is so good somehow

man, Dee being sad is pitiful but like Yak was extremely clear that he won't do it and Dee's the one who's chasing him and keeps asking him

oh, we're suddenly getting Dee having flashbacks to his parents' death

sharing food <3

[Linguistics] Yak using Rao as 1st person pronoun with Dee

CCTV in his room where he fucks would be crazy lmfao

not the fireworks as Yak is sufficiently convinced to be fake boyfriends. i imagine something will go wrong for him down the line though, oof

bro why are they acting like taking up the scholarship competition is some sort of challenge against the senior specifically when they were both offered the chance to compete for the scholarship by higher-ups

why are they doing all these dramatics in front of patients waiting too, bruh

naurrrr not public flower bouquet gift to show people that Dee indeed has a bf T.T I don't wanna press play, I actually cannot with anything public esp when it's not fake and played up like this T.T

Yak is instantly recognizable to the patients, girl I hope this doesn't have a blowback on your boxing career, you know the traditional and masculine field which I expect has homophobic tendencies (and Yak knows it too). but also Yei has a legit boyfriend and mans was a world champion or something too, right? or are they a secret?

please, their acting

why are we doing PDA I'm skimming, finger on the forward button bc ahh embarassing

going from fake boyfriends in public to domestic FWBs cooking together in private lol alright

I kept wondering if the necklace was going to be given back when they weren't speaking and Yak was like this is over but that never happened. interesting ig

I muted the tag after episode 3, so eps 4-5 will mostly be new stuff for me, though I know some general stuff too

Ep 1: Yak saves a pathetic Dee from the trash cans. Ep 2: Yak saves a drugged Dee from those fuckers (I still don't like that they used this plot point). Ep 3: Yak saves Dee by agreeing to be his fake boyfriend after his genuine pathetic monologue about why he needs a bf and why it needs to be Yak.

I hope Dee also helps out Yak or initiates things, especially because I think the last thing he promised Yak was that the boyfriend thing won't get out of the hospital but uhh I don't think that's gonna be possible. Dee's insistence on the fake-BF thing as he ignores Yak's nos for most of the eps is blagh, but I guess it stems from his need to win. So we'll see whether he can ever "lose" to Yak or be there for Yak when he needs him or what.

Ep 4 (June 3)

55 minutes long, fun

4-1

they were pretty grown when Yak's mom died, I'd thought he'd be younger

Ter doesn't like to see Dee move on but is it for sinister reasons or for hidden feelings reasons

Dee and Yak running into Kwan dropping food off for Ter early in the morning. them living in the same condo allows for such shenanigans

[Linguistics] Dee using Ai'Yak

Ter room#: 666 lol and he's imagining the good times when Dee used give him food

eating tons of food in the show while Great was dieting/starving/dehydrated af while filming with all these shirtless scenes

Yak telling Dee about Taem, interesting. but does that mean he really wasn't jealous of Dee possibly still liking Ter? they're literally discussing Taem and Yak's crush on her now.

[Linguistics] ahhhh Dee said "You don't know how to flirt, do you? Do you want Phi to teach you?" and Yak defff uses kha with Dee sometimes, especially in a teasing moment

goddd they're practice-flirting

omgggg and Dee getting into the fake-confession as he thinks of his time with Yak

and Yak is OBSESSED with wanting to kiss Dee bruh

omg and now Dee's the one who's like fuckkkk as Yak's excited about asking out Taem

ah, Yak probably doesn't want to be a boxer and that might be why he's wanting to finish up his degree? but also mans does not do work for that degree, he pays Taem to do it lmfao

Cher being like well, idk if you still like Taem but Yak's like I'm not somebody who changes his mind easily. is that why he's still holding onto (past?) feelings for Taem even as he's falling for Dee?

plsss horny thoughts during situps

Yak is literally dizzy with horniness, that's so funny lmao

ohh Taem appears. and Yak's like :D while Dee's like :(

4-2

the music and mood change between Taem/Yak's convo vs Dee's angry boxing (but he can't even box properly so his hits are weak)

hints that Taem likes Ohm and Yak knows that Taem likes Ohm

oh nvm not even just hints lol he calls and then appears and they're coming and going together and Taem is eager in a way that she is not with Yak

i love her little 2-finger salute she does to say hi and bye

Taem also notices the Yoryak necklace lmfao everybody clocking them

"A jealous man has been sighted at the boxing club" Dee, girl... make that 2 men

Dee being speechless and uncomfortable knowing Yak's planning on hitting on Taem fr

plsss Yei and Cher spying on them in the hot spa or whatever

oh yeah, what does Kao work in again? I assumed something with sexual health because he talked about his patients sometimes going from ONS to FWB or whatever. i love you, our asexual sex and sexual health doctor

plsss her listing stuff out they've tried

her: "i tried everything, even if it's not me." him: "should i try having sex with somebody else?" i actually can't

Dee at least realizing he's getting jealous over Yak

I'm nervous that somebody at the hospital's gonna overhear their convo and know that it's a fake relationship

aksdjfl;kasdfj Kao smiling and wanting to strangle Dee when he says he promised Yak he'll help pursue his crush

ah, Kao telling Dee to hold off on his heart and not fall deeper or whatever and that def makes sense to not fall for your FWB/fake-bf who you're helping pursue his "real" crush but wrong advice for a romance drama lol

neither Yak nor Dee have armpit hair (from the sauna scene and swimming scene).

4-3

the thumbnail has them with faces really close but I don't think they've kissed actually

Yak almost kissing Dee once againnnnn girl

Ter saw them at the pool...

at least Ter has enough brains to realize it's fake lol

oh, apparently everybody at this hospital goes on break at the same time lmfao

Ter wanting Dee to wait and saying he was just confused before... stfu

glad that even though Dee kinda goes in a daze sometimes, he hasn't yet given in to Ter's manipulative tactics at all

physiotherapy lol

idek why they need to sleep in the same room or why they need to mention it in front of everybody instead of just Yei or Cher lol

oh, they're certainly orchestrating some IG stories lol it's clearly so planned bro, could've at least made it seem more casual by like having a sliver of Yak in the shot when pretending you're focused on some cool food or smth

Dee hanging out and having dinner with Yak, Yei and Cher

4-4

is him graduating Yak's mother's dream?

Dee tutoring Yak, somewhat of a parallel to Taem tutoring him

pls, even Kwan catching Ter looking at Dee's story lmfao anyway ig I feel bad for her if she likes Ter. I hope she gets over him quickly and finds somebody better

Yak boxing and Dee also cheering him on through the screen at work

and bragging about Yak to Kao lmfao

Kao being like girl... you two aren'ts fake boyfriends anymore, y'all like each other

Kao's Sleepless Sleepwear lmfaooo hey friend, can you try on these costumes for sex that I made and lmk how it goes?

Yak has a little bunny tail awww cute

Yak getting mad that Dee doesn't consider him a close friend cuteee

i love Dee sniff kissing Yak's cheek like Yak's always kissing Dee, so I like it the other way around too

okay, extra post-credit scene

omg talking about HPV vaccine and how just condoms can't prevent all STIs, we should be aiming for safer sex

Dee gets me when he calls Yak Big Doggie, I keep calling them both puppies

It's not just for Dee, it's for Yak too, we're all protecting ourselves

Yak apparently is recognized by everybody, including the nurse. and dee did say hundreds of thousands of people watch the matches live

Grandma coming over to visit next ep, heheheheheh

Ep 5 (June 3)

i'm so excited to see the grandma but not excited to be all caught up and have to wait weekly for 7 more weeks eughhhh

5-1

damn, Yak's also here with Dee to surprise the patient child? Isn't Yak himself Dee's patient too lol

they're quite familiar with each other, so I guess they've met the patient several times before

lol peeking at birthday. Also Yokyak knowing down to the minute how long they've been together... okay

P'Golf plsss "I watch [boxing] for the eye candy"

Dee being Baffled at P'Golf wanting him to take the photo of her and Yak lmfaooo it's like P'Golf has brought the two of you together and she can also tear you apart

since they've been together for 1 month (I'm assuming since the fake dating began? or around then), there are 3 months left of their deal?

I think straight up half of Kwan's lines are just saying Wandee and his bf are cute together

Kao conducting an Interview about his animal pyjamas for sex

he's giving them sex homework i'm crying

Dee loves to win and losing bothers Yak

damn, what's Yei thinking about at night? money problems?

it's strange to see them fighting and to see Yei be kind of apathetic since he's always all up on Cher

I like this because it's like even though Cher puts up a (typical in BLs) perfunctory fight and says to stop when Yei kisses up on him and hints at sex, it's not real protest because they're just playing lol and Cher's desire for Yei to initiate it when he hasn't for a few days shows that

aww Cher's 2nd time asking if Yei has somebody else or is bored of him already :( the second question seriously reminds me of LITA Sky to Prapai

they're so cuteee Yei being like how many nights do I owe you

they're wearing fucking bunny and tiger ears after presumably having sex looking at outfits for Yak that will impress Taem

Yak boutta change himself for Taem (and she still will continue to like Ohm) while Dee likes him just the way he is

grandma is so fun hehe

AND THE EARS ARE STILL ON

"keep pulling the pants up" plssss

5-2

a dick plush pillow pls

bro i'm so confused with the use of the word faen, like I thought it included Exclusivity? but the way Dee talks about Yak having a faen during that breakfast convo before finding out about Taem or here when he tells his grandmother than Yak has a faen, it doesn't seem to imply that Yak's literally cheating on his faen but nor does he mention any polyam situation or anything. why doesn't he say crush instead of faen?

Dee being like I shouldn't develop any deep feelings for him but they getting up to watch Yak sleep and crosses the invisible line...

aw, they've gotten used to cuddling

cuddling in couch and bringing up Taem, it's almost like Yak brings Taem up whenever he feels like he's liking Dee too muchor something

don't give your grandma the bunny ears you wore for sex!!

introducing your fake boyfriend to your parents when you take him to their graves while he wants to be introduced just as regular real boyfriend

5-3

ah, Yak's already implementing the outfit changes. that's legit what Ohm was wearing lmfao

not Cher following Yei

aghhh I know we're not getting answers for that this episode though because I saw somebody guessing what Yei's hiding, meaning we don't find out. and i'm not gonna just have the next episode available alksdjfkladsf >:((

gathering votes

5-4

legit laughed at the huge ass banana right after them eating the hotdog sausage thing

pls i get so embarassed/shy watching this show

they're baking together, how cute

got stressed thinking about cleaning all this flour everywhere

oof, Ter taking Kwan to the restaurant Dee took him to... He's just using Kwan right? They don't want us to like Ter right?

fitting lyrics... it's an OST right?

Yak wants to kiss on the lips and Dee's ready for it too

Yak's been taking videos of grandma and Dee and now even posting a Gooddy photo on his IG

sudden position argument WandeeYoryak vs YoryakWandee like it's a funny moment but girl y'all are already fucking, how is it a question? you know the answer

Very fun so far, I'm really enjoying it. I do wish these Thai BLs were like the het dramas that release 2x a week so that I don't have to rely on getting less than one hour a week for 2 more months.

I'm curious about their first kiss, what the Yei secret is, how they'll deal with their growing feelings, and I really hope it's all explored well and coherently pleaseeee. I can't watch a show as it airs, wait for many weeks to get to the end and have it be bad, I'll lose my shit. Wandee Goodday, I believe in you!

[nba24highlights]

2016 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Aaron Gordon vs Zach LaVine HD Full #aarongordon #zachlavine #nbadunks

[legion1227]

X2: A Movie Review

This has been a good year for everybody's favorite mutants so far.

So far, we are halfway through X-Men 97, a sensational return for the original X-Men cartoon, picking up where it left off and blowing away expectations. Meanwhile, we are still three months away from the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, which will feature the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and possibly other surprises from the X-Men films released back in the 2000s, among other Marvel films from then.

With the success of X-Men 97 and the upcoming release of Deadpool & Wolverine, it makes sense to look back and celebrate the X-Men films to come beforehand. At the time of this writing, I have rewatched the X-Men (2000) and X2 only. X-Men: The Last Stand has not been reviewed yet, and X-Men (2000) was good, but X2 is the topic of discussion here, as it's not only better than its predecessor but one of the great comic book films to grace screens.

The last time I watched either X-Men film may have been as a kid during the 2000s. The rewatch all these years later proved how stellar X2 was, buried under the wave of Marvel films to follow throughout the 00s, 10s, and today. If you don't know or have forgotten, X2 introduces its main antagonist, Stryker, played by the brilliant Brian Cox; a man who threatens the existence of mutants with the proposed mutant registration act. After launching a full-front assault on Professor Xavier's school and after Magneto breaks out of prison, the X-Men, Xavier, and Magneto must band together to face a common enemy that threatens their very existence.

From the opening scene of Nightcrawler fighting his way through the White House to make it to the president, the film establishes more clearly than its first one how it has the sauce. Nightcrawler poofing his way throughout the halls and dispatching the guards one by one with opera music in the background is one of the best openings to a CBM. Overall, the action scenes here are a vast improvement over the first one, whether it's the opening scene, the raid on Xavier's school, or Wolverine vs Lady Deathstrike. While the first film's fight scenes were decent, the choreography harbors more dynamic action that contributes to an overall more enjoyable time.

The character work here varies across characters and performances. Ian McKellen has one of the best performances once again. While his role as the antagonist in the previous film was great, his partnership with Xavier, Wolverine, and others forces a compelling dynamic. Magnus breaking out of prison using the iron in a guard's blood was badass. Then, to see him forced to work with his enemies provided entertainment beyond belief. From there, unfortunately, it's a bit of a mixed bag from the other actors and actresses and their characters.

Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is iconic for good reason. He brought gravitas and an aura of savagery that was always entertaining to witness, whether here or in virtually any other film the character appeared in, especially in Logan. Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier is a tour de force in his own right as well, but it's the other members of the X-Men that bring apprehension. While I enjoy James Marsden as an actor, he brought nothing to the table as Cyclops, and reminded me why others for years have hated the Scott Summers character; Coinciding with his performance, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey isn't given many intriguing things to do. It's a bit infuriating when juxtaposed with the performances and stories told in X-Men 97. The X-Men and X2 spend too much time on a love triangle where only one-third of the people involved are engaging to watch on-screen. (Although if X-Men 97 focuses more on the love triangle after the time of this writing, this may age poorly, lmao.)

I liked Shawn Ashmore as Iceman and the scene of him coming out as a mutant to his parents. A decent allegory for a teen coming out as gay to their parents, and I think the scene, as well as Iceman/Bobby Drake in general, work well for the movie. Aaron Stanford's Pyro was also a fun slow-burn, watching him turn heel towards the end of the film. I'm really excited to see him return in Deadpool & Wolverine. Others like Rogue, Beast, Mystique, and Lady Deathstrike, to name a few, I would've liked to have more screen time to grasp these performances and their character moments better. Overall, X2 could've utilized some characters better, but some of the characters get so right and attributed to one of the quintessential 2000s CBM movies out there. There are a handful of iconic scenes to witness or reacquaint with in the first two acts. The third act may waver a little bit, but this is still a great film that warrants a rewatch to appreciate the X-Men further. 4/5.

[cynthiaruth95]

update: earlier in the year i started to intentionally put aside time to listen to more albums in full --- so far i’ve filled up a journal page of my favorites and wanted to share them here: 

Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, Laura Nyro (1968)

American V, Johnny Cash (2006)

Pink Moon, Nick Drake (1972)

I’ll Cry If I Want To, Leslie Gore (1963)

Soup, Blind Melon (1995)

In a Silent Way, Miles Davis (1969)

Save the Animals, Alex G (2022)

I am a Bird Now, Antony & the Johnsons (2005)

The Decline of British Sea Power, Sea Power (2003)

Burn Your Fire For No Witness, Angel Olsen (2014)

Little Girl Blue, Nina Simone (1959)

Without a Sound, Dinosaur Jr (1994)

Vincebus Eruptum, Blue Cheer (1968)

Fanny Hill, Fanny (1972)

Gather Me, Melanie (1971)

What a Way to Die, The Pleasure Seekers (1960s/released 2011)

Singin’ the Blues, B.B. King (1956)

Loved, Cranes (1994)

Fallen Trees, Lubomyr Mehyk (2018)

Whitesnake, Whitesnake (1987)

Rat Saw God, Wednesday (2023)

It’s My Way!, Buffy Sainte-Marie (1964)

Bert Jansch, Bert Jansch (1965)

Songs, Adrianne Lenker (2020)

McCartney, Paul McCartney (1970)

Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes (2008)

Everybody Hollerin’ Goat, Otha Turner (1998)

Team Sleep, Team Sleep (2005)

Odessey and Oracle, The Zombies (1968)

Vs., Pearl Jam (1993)

Passionworks, Heart (1983)

Guard Dog, Searows (2022)

I Against I, Big Brains (1986)

Unsung Passage, The Dead Tongues (2018)

Last Splash, The Breeders (1993)

Shake Your Money Maker, The Black Crowes (1990)

Our Hands Against the Dusk, Rachika Nayar (2021)

Where is Home/Hae ke Kae, Abel Selaocoe (2022)

1966, Karen Dalton (60s/2012)

Colour Green, Sibylle Baier (70s/2006)

Dance Hall at Louse Point, PJ Harvey and John Parish (1996)

Waiting to Spill, The Backseat Lovers (2022)

Fever to Tell, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003) 

Garden of Delete, Oneohtrix Point Never (2015)

Pet, Pet (1996)

Townes Van Zandt, Townes Van Zandt (1969)

Jar of Flies, Alice in Chains (1994)

Family Tree, Nick Drake (60s/2007)

Stick Season (We’ll Be Here Forever), Noah Kahan (2023)

The Great Dismal, Nothing (2020)

[sickenoughsteve]

Beef, Bars, and Banter: Navigating the Drake vs. Kendrick Feud and the Hilarity Ensuing

When I first came across Pop Base’s prompt to write something for their newsletter based on modern-day pop culture, like Drake, I wanted to hire a ghostwriter. 

Allegedly! Anyway…

I went to ChatGPT to see if I could streamline the process and create something funny, witty, and on-trend without spending too much time. It didn’t work at all. What came out (with specific prompts, even) was incredibly corny and very clearly written by AI. This is why we need REAL writers to be compensated fairly and given the correct resources to entertain and inform us properly.

Anyway, that’s my little rant on writing. But let’s go back to Drake. Right now, this man is getting cooked by the entire industry, yet it seems he’s holding his own? Whether our favorite cornball, who everyone admits is actually somewhat appealing in a way none of us can explain, is your favorite, or if you like the Pulitzer Prize winner, Kendrick, you must tip your hat to the revival of beef in the rap game.

This is fun!

I mean, The Weeknd is out here singing sultry diss bars, Future is butt-hurt for what seems to be the first time ever, Metro Boomin is catching strays simply because he’s good at making beats but doesn’t rap, Rick Ross is on IG calling Drake “whiteboy”, J Cole avoided a massacre but might have lost some respect in the process, Pusha T is somewhere saying “I told you so,” Kanye is continuing to be his same insane self… even Quavo and Chris Brown are getting intensely and perhaps almost violently disrespectful on the undercard for this headliner beef.

That said, rather than diving into this beef from all angles, I want to acknowledge that this is a lot of information to digest, and many battles are going on in this war. That’s why I will do my very best to give a bird’s-eye view of this whole situation and see if this perspective can help all of us enjoy it for what it is. Not necessarily to tell you who to “support” but rather to recognize that negativity might save us in 2024.

We’re missing pop culture events that unite and get us all thinking about the same things. That’s where I believe Kendrick and Drake are doing a massive service to hip-hop. Putting it all on the line gives us something great to sink our teeth into. I, for one, love it.

So, as far as comparing this beef to past beefs, I remember in middle school, hearing Nas on ‘Ether.’ It rocked my world. I was raised on Nas and thought of him as the ultimate rapper. A rapper’s rapper. Instantaneously upon hearing “Fuck Jay Z” several times in succession on the song, I became a bonafide 100% Jay Z hater.

Did I have a problem with Jay? Not really. He was a star. I liked his music and had absolutely no issues with him. But not anymore! Nas had set the stage for me to learn as much as possible about Jay Z and become skeptical of everything about him.

This time around, the same feeling is back. However, it’s even weirder because the internet is out here internetting. Drake has a team of social media people who ensure he has the best and most impactful content strategy any rapper in a beef could ask for.

The internet is all about timing and trolling. Drake and his team are certainly better equipped there. And it’s showing to be necessary. However, one could argue if the bars are all that matters, Kendrick might have him beat there. Hence, the need for Drake to win these small battles on social media.

I think the best thing about beef between world-class musicians is that we are instantaneously reminded that everybody is insecure and we all make mistakes. The goal of beef is to expose those missteps and air out those insecurities. Before, I never would have guessed Drake had a BBL, fake abs, and other body modifications. Does that make me hate him? Not really. Does it even bother me? No. Does it make me think he’s very weird? Hell yeah.

In this politically correct world, toxic masculinity makes a resounding comeback whenever rap beef is declared. That’s probably the most upsetting thing about this all, but at the same time, let me reiterate that it’s fun. In a world of Israel and Palestine headlines, one of the most significant elections of our history, climate issues, and other general sad, sad truths, this is something we quite certainly NEED.

Silly bullying.

Drake making fun of Kendrick’s shoe size is, frankly, hilarious. I don’t care at all that Kendrick is short. Why would I? It doesn’t matter one bit. But if you put it on a song, it’s GOING to be funny. But of course, he refers to him as “midget” a few too many times for our PC culture to be happy with him. I found this most interesting when stepping back and thinking about it all. To come across as “real” also means NOT being politically correct.

Drake came for Kendrick for making music with Taylor Swift. Meanwhile, he’s in a commercial singing and dancing to Taylor. Is working with one of the biggest stars of all time something you should be ashamed of? Clearly not. But it’s not manly. So we have to be embarrassed by it. Beef is confusing in 2024; that’s all I’m saying.

And Kendrick isn’t guilt-free, either. He told Drake he doesn’t like it when he says the N-word. Of course, Drake has a black father but was primarily raised by his white mother. Now, he must feel bad about using our culture’s most controversial word. Of course, there’s a lot a sociology professor could unpack about why this is wrong, but in rap beef, it’s fair game. And it works as a way to poke holes in Drizzy's entire being! So it plays.

Another thing. Before we had Rap Genius and could look up what these guys were saying, some more subtle jabs would go under the radar. But now, the whole thing—from Kendrick naming the song ‘Euphoria’ because of the HBO show Drake is a producer on—and the connection there to pedophilia to Drake calling his diss ‘Push Ups’—there’s simply lore everywhere you look.

I used to write for a company that covered Marvel/DC, comics in general, and action franchises, and the main thing I took away from it was that people love Easter Eggs. We love digging into the material and finding references to the past or things meant to not just be on the surface. That’s what we love most about rap beef - especially nowadays.

We want to make discoveries about these greats that make them less untouchable, to bring them down a peg. Interestingly, human nature is to humiliate those on top whenever possible. 

But alas.

So, whether you “don’t trust” Drake or love and agree that he’s winning this 20v1, you must admit this is “for the culture” and far from over. So buckle up; this will be a hilarious and fun ride.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 10/02/2024

Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” is still #1, it’s a short episode, you really probably should skip it - there's nothing of value discussed here... welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

This is not a good week. You could call it a stale week, it’s probably accurate, because there’s not much of interest and what is here is mostly utter garbage. Potentially, up there with the worst weeks ever in terms of new arrivals to the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, and speaking of what I cover, notable dropouts are songs exiting said top 75 after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40, and this week, we bid adieu to: “Skin and Bones” by David Kushner, “neé-nah” by 21 Savage, Travis Scott and Metro Boomin, “Practice” by Drake, “Pink Friday Girls” and “Everybody” featuring Lil Uzi Vert by Nicki Minaj and finally, “Paint the Town Red” by Doja Cat. One highlight of this dire week is that I’m not really complaining about any of that.

Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” returns to #67, what a joy, as well as “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift at #62 and “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus at #51. Can’t help but think the GRAMMYs had some influence on these. As for notable gains, we see boosts for Taylor’s “Is it Over Now?” at #68, “MY EYES” by Travis Scott at #65, “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish at #58, “Would You (go to bed with me?)” by Campbell and Alcemist at #52, “Perfect (Exceeder)” by Mason vs. Princess Superstar at #39, “Runaway” by Ye featuring Pusha T at #35, seemingly because well, there may or may not be an album coming because that’s what we needed: more discourse. Then we have “Scared to Start” by Michael Marcagi at #31, “Selfish” by Justin Timberlake at #29 (why are we doing this?), “exes” by Tate McRae at #23, “Alibi” by Ella Henderson featuring Rudimental at #16 (Christ), and we end with two positives at least, as YG Marley and Benson Boone both get their first top 10s with pretty damn good songs, in my opinion: “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” at #9 and “Beautiful Things” at #5, which brings us to that top five, which is otherwise completely the same as last week. Jack Harlow’s at #4, Teddy Swims at #3, Sophie Ellis-Bextor at #2 and for a sixth week, Noah Kahan at #1. You know the song names off by heart by now, and I need some time to let off a deep sigh before rattling off the new songs. Oh, boy, the new songs.

New Entries

#75 - “Out for Love” - Andrew Underberg, Sam Haft and Daphne Rubin-Vega

Produced by Andrew Underberg and Sam Haft

So, Hazbin Hotel was a web pilot by Vivienne Medrano or “ViziePop” that was later picked up by Amazon as a television series this year. It is a musical animated series hence has several soundtrack singles, and given the weak charts and viral nature of the show, some of them have ended up here. I watched the pilot and first four episodes of the series, and found it genuinely quite difficult to stomach - I love adult animation, I love musicals, I actually even like the art style - it was the narrative elements of the show that killed it for me, and this is not a TV review blog, it’s a music review blog. I knew at least one song would debut as the midweek update showed one song at #73, I figured that would be the only song and it could potentially not even appear, so I wrote a very tersely-worded review for that song in particular. It’s a bit… not all that useful anymore, for lack of a better phrase. So I’m largely not going to be covering these. This is from the seventh episode, which I haven’t seen. Song doesn’t make any Goddamn sense to me. Journalism.

#74 - “Thank You (Not So Bad)” - Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Tiesto, Dido and W&W

Produced by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Tiesto, W&W, Bassjackers and Renze Michels

Okay, if you’re going to credit a grand total of five EDM producers, why not go the full mile and have all eight pick out a lead? Also, I would ask how eight people were involved in producing this if I had any doubts that it wasn’t just an uncredited guy who got paid to sell this lazy sample flip off to people with actual star power. A sample flip of what, you may ask? Sigh… well, if there’s anything vaguely positive I can say about “Alibi” is that it’s influential. This is somehow even lazier, however, so I guess let’s start with some kind of history.

First of all, Dido’s “Thank You” is a perfectly fine, honest song that peaked at #3 in 2001 - “Do You Really Like It?” by DJ Pied Piper & the Masters of Ceremonies rightfully took #1 that week - and whilst I’ve never been a big fan, I can definitely see why the melancholy downtempo ballad resonates with people, and on a bad day, I can definitely throw this on and feel a little hope. This is a bad chart day, and if “Thank You” were to chart in its original form, it could perhaps be a reminder that things are, despite everything, it’s not so bad. So I imagine rap fans will know one of if not both of the uses of this song in popular hip hop, the first being Eminem’s classic “Stan”, probably my second favourite of his. It actually did #1 for one week in 2000, before the original had charted. It’s a stark and incredibly clever recontextualisation of the song that I’m pretty sure has already been discussed as much as possible, there’s a reason why many consider it Em’s crowning moment. Rae Sremmurd, “Lean’s Gone Cold”… maybe not so much. That one didn’t chart, but it’s funny.

Now there is precedent for house remixes of “Thank You”, and whilst I’m willing to consider interpretations and reimaginings of practically any song as any different style, I feel like making “Thank You” more danceable than just a vague nodding of the head skews some of the narrative’s tone? It definitely makes for a weirder, more dissonant listen, and whilst the Deep Dish remix, actually a GRAMMY Award-winning remix, does its best to maintain the atmosphere in its nine minutes, turning “not so bad” into a faint, looping mantra under a constantly developing house groove, to the point where it is a genuinely pretty great house song production wise… it still doesn’t feel like a great adaptation of “Thank You”, just a different product entirely, which makes sense and honestly makes for a better song. It doesn’t try and be “Thank You”, despite not even registering itself as an original song, just a remix of the original still credited solely to Dido. In 2016, European electro house duos Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and W&W made a song called “Arcade”, it’s a loud, compressed smorgasboard of cheap synth sounds made for a live festival setting and being practically unlistenable outside of that context. In 2020, German producers Felix Jaehn and VIZE made a much more conventional and, at least in terms of how much it cribs from the original, a more faithful rendition of “Thank You”, subtitled “Not So Bad”. It’s a flavourless tropical house riff that I think the world would be better off not hearing, it’s like “Thank You” by Dido if she was commissioned to make it by an advertising company looking for a soundtrack to gym commercials.

Somewhere across the line, I guess it must have been Tiesto who said, “What if we made a version of that Felix Jaehn song but basically in the soundfont of “Arcade”?” - the latter even being directly listed as a sample on Genius. I mean, otherwise, I don’t know what the Hell Tiesto is doing here but, generally, you have to be shitting me, right? This is two minutes and 20 seconds constructed out of bits and pieces of songs I may not like but had a lot more purposeful artistic intent to them, if that’s a correct way of phrasing it. This is a vaguely functional crap-shoot molded from genuine song ideas, starting with a gentle singer-songwriter track that actually means a Hell of a lot to millions of people. I’d believe that to many fans, that Rae Sremmurd rendition means a lot to them. What does this mean to anybody?

#63 - “Bandit” - Don Toliver

Produced by ReidMD

I don’t like Don Toliver, really, or Tame Impala for that record, but there’s a level of inherent quality here, right? Don can sing, Tame Impala can construct a vibe and the sample here is “One More Hour” from their 2020 album The Slow Rush, it’s completely serviceable, could make for a good song. So why the sample is rendered in such low quality screeching is beyond me, but hey, maybe a powerful beat could work? Oh, the trap skitter is not only completely rote and overdone, it’s really high in the mix and distracts from the bass, which could really help make this song work? Okay, well, what’s Don doing? Being basically a cartoon character with his flows and incessant ad-libs? Well, that could be fun - oh, he’s comparing himself to Marilyn Manson? Barely rhyming? Catching a good, intense flow only to mumble repeated lines mostly about having sex that make up much of the song, with a tiny verse in the middle? Well, maybe the outro can make up for it - oh, he’s doing a Cookie Monster impression. Welp, all hope is lost.

#55 - “Poison” - Blake Roman, Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg

Produced by Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg

This is an upbeat synthpop jam that soundtracks a sex slavery montage. It sounds like a song by The Weeknd covered by a SpongeBob AI voice model. Next.

#53 - “Loser, Baby” - Andrew Underberg, Sam Haft, Keith David and Blake Roman

Produced by Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg

This was the song that made me turn the fourth episode off in disgust. I had a massive review prepared, covering its treatment of sexual abuse, which probably gave it a higher degree of nuance and generosity than many others are willing to give it, but I’m not compelled to rant about cartoons in this series. I want to write about animation more often but preferably animation I like or actually find compelling. With all respect to those who enjoy it and power to them, Hazbin Hotel was not something I would like to grant any more attention than the brief necessity of my format. Thanks for understanding.

#40 - “Home” - Good Neighbours

Produced by Good Scott and Oli Fox

I was very much willing to give this one a good shake because, I mean, what else do we have? Scott and Fox teased this on TikTok months prior before releasijng this as their official debut single together, after malformed, quickly aborted solo runs a few years ago. Sounds like a recipe for chart success and oh, the song’s terrible. It has a whistle about as charming as the American Authors’ milennial whoops, really insufferably screeching vocal tones that remind me of Passion Pit more than anything - that isn’t really a good thing - and sentimental lyrics about what home means to him, which would be completely serviceable without the stiff, grooveless splodge of grey matter that calls itself a chorus. Oh, and you know those sentimental lyrics? They’re gone by this point, it’s an incredibly manipulative breakup song with some really gross attempts at poetry - “wrap my name across your mouth when I let my feelings down”? Ew, man, Charlie Puth is less contrived than this. Naturally, the song goes nowhere and sadly, that probably won’t be its chart trajectory. Yet, once again, this song is practically unlistenable.

Conclusion

…Don Toliver gets Best of the Week. Somehow. Thanks for reading, I guess? See you next whenever.