#george could write me a diss track any day

[themagicalmysticalboy]

i’m pretty sure Run of The Mill is George’s Paul McCartney diss track but like... it’s the most comforting diss track in existence...?

It’s like he was giving Paul a big hug then slapped him upside the head. which i feel just emanates George energy.

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

re: your tags here

Ive always felt like Too Many People was more justified then How Do You Sleep, because lyrically Paul wasn’t really making a statement on Johns entire being and personality - he’s (IMO) making valid claims about the actions of John and Yoko, and the way in which he was treated by John etc. (eg. “Too many people pulled and pushed around”). Its always felt to me as though with TMP, Paul was getting perspective on his life and on his relationships. Its still a bitchy breakup song, but like, theres a point to it, if you get what I mean? It isn't a solely just an unfair attack against John, because theres substance to it.

Whereas in HDYS, Johns claims seem for the most part to be insincere, unproductive, needless (eg. “The only thing you done was yesterday” - like John, bby, we *know* thats not true), and overall just spiteful and aggressive, I guess. I feel like theres arguably some valid truths to Johns resentment in the song, but he’s so enamoured by this bitter feeling towards Paul that he fails to bring out any genuinely valuable claims against him. All in all, it doesn’t feel to me as theres any kind of benefit or perspective gained from writing the song, he’s only adding fuel to the fire.

(Btw if youre sick of hearing about HDYS discourse for the evening then no pressure to answer this - just thought id throw my 2 cents into the Tumblr void :) )

This is an interesting point. I think what makes HDYS kind of fail for me as a song that could potentially help me sympathize with John is how deeply unpersonal it feels to me.

John deliberately chose to attack Paul's artistry and public persona, knowing this would be something that would hurt Paul more than other points of attack. In doing that though, he sacrificed the relatability of the song by not touching on the personal wrongs Paul had done (or he perceived Paul to have done). It's a diss track but he doesn't even seem to care about Paul or whatever he's done to deserve this. (This is what I meant a few days ago when I said George wrote better anti-Paul tracks. Because George wasn't afraid to say what he truly felt and express his real sadness or frustration at having lost a friend.)

That being said, I think there are probably some very mean-spirited lines in TMP meant for John, like the one about losing weight, which could very well have been a vague reference to John's disordered eating habits/weight loss from drug abuse. Also Paul seemingly rubbing Linda in John's face to spite him at the end of the song.

All that is mean and petty, but first of all, it wasn't something the GP picked up on and was thus only meant for John to understand and second of all feels personal. The song is petty but "And that was your first mistake / You took your lucky break and broke it in two" just sounds far more like he was once invested in his relationship with John than HDYS sounds, to me personally at least.

IDK if HDYS was warranted. I think John felt like Paul had hit him where it hurts and so he hit Paul back where it hurt Paul. It's all petty and stupid and their fight seems to be an endless cycle of YOU STARTED IT.

[strawberrielarrie]

Music Industry Stunts and why they happen

Stunts are a big part of the music industry, you may not know it, but they are.  The purpose of stunts is to push a certain narrative to the general public. Now this could mean many different things, PR relationship; coverups; or to peak the publics interest. Why? You may ask, why would the artist do this, why wouldn’t they just be truthful? Well, many don’t have a choice, the music industry is a place that I wish no one would have to be in, it is a cruel and awful place to be if you don’t know how to get around it, or if you don’t have the correct connections. In the past (and still now), many big brand music industries, such as Sony Music and Warner Music have controlled artists immensely.

George Michael

As a legend in the music industry, George Michael is a well-known name in the average household. From his time in the hit duo “Wham!”, Michael’s music was distributed through CBS, but in 1987 Sony took over and that’s when things went downhill. Michael reveled in the popularity of his hit album “Faith” in 1987, and so did Sony, because he was earning them money.

But that ended quickly with the news of his next album “Listen Without Prejudice” in 1990, Sony refused to promote the album and appear in the music videos for it. Michael in turn, disputed his contract with Sony, but he could not do close to anything, because Sony possessed the power of approval over everything that he put out. Meaning, George Michael could not release music without it going through the board of Sony, and if he did, he could get sued and fired.

(Sony is a whole other world of fucked up, they fucked MJ up so badly, Sony Kills)

During this whole time, George came clean, saying that the board of Sony, used many different homophobic slurs against him, and wouldn’t let him release any music that seemed to allude to the fact that he was gay.

George Michael brought Sony to court in 1993, claiming that between 1987-1992, he had made worldwide profits of £7.35 million ($9.8 million) compared to Sony making £52.45 million ($70 million). Ultimately, the case lasted till June 1994, and Michael had lost, the judge claiming that it was fair. Michael retaliated saying how Sony is “Professional Slavery”.

Suzanne Kessler, Entertainment attorney at Bone McAllester Norton and former in-house attorney at A&M Records and Universal Music Group stated, “There are two sides to this tale,” she said. “The music business is a relationship business, and he was uneasy with what was happening. A label often wants an artist to continue to trade on their established brand with the public. But after “Faith” Michael was trying for a new direction, to be taken more seriously as an artist instead of just as a pop star sex symbol.”

This brings me to my next point,

 Closeting in the Industry

(Now I could go on for day about closeting in the music industry, but I will only give you the basis and then I will link another post that goes further in depth.)

Closeting is not a rare thing in the music industry, it in fact happens more than you might think. Many different artists have come forward, saying how their management said they should remain closeted to the general public, in order to maintain the brand that has been established. A popular example of this would be Sam Smith, they were offered multiple times by their management to have a beard. More closeting in the industry comes from Colton Haynes, who has been open about how his management closeted him because he “could not be gay and work in the industry”.

Colton link

Beard: A woman or man who fake dates a person of the LQBTQ+ Community, to hide their real sexual orientation or identity

 The Types of Stunts and Stunt Songs

“Pap Pics”

Stunts are common, we all should know that. From the amount of staged paparazzi pictures and videos that get posted to twitter on the daily it is not surprising that stunts happen. One of the main reasons stunts happen is for publicity, I can tell you now, living in LA for as long as I did, the paparazzi aren’t at every corner just waiting for a celebrity to walk past. They are called to meet at a place where the celebrity is going to be, in order to get pictures. This call is made by the artists management normally, and many times it is done against the artists will.

“Relation-shit”

These types of stunts are the relationship stunts, normally it is two popular celebrities dating to gain publicity for a movie or song that they are doing. A popular reference to this would be Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato, Joe was approached by a head of Disney, who asked him to date, at the time, co-star Demi Lovato. This stunt was to push the new Disney movie that both were starring in, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. Now at the time Demi was unaware that Joe was approached to do this, so when Joe and hid dad approached her about it… wow that must have hurt.

Another example of a relation-shit would be Shawmilla. Now before you attack me for this, let’s look at all the facts. Everything that relationship has done has been staged, let’s look at the timeline.

 August 2015

-       the first time they publicly hung out (at the 2015 VMA’s), sparking rumors of them dating

September 2015

-       pictured together at the iHeart Radio Festival, sparking rumors of Camila branching off of Fifth Harmony

November 2015

-       “I Know What You Did Last Summer” was released and performed many different times, Camila was still in Fifth Harmony at the time

June 2016

-       Shawn and Camila win an award for IKWYDLS and accepted together

-       Camilla ultimately starts her solo career

December 2017

-       Shawn is pictured with Hailey Baldwin (Bieber)

February 2018

-       Camila is in a serious relationship with Matthew Hussey, confirmed by a trip to Mexico together

April 2018

-       Shawn and Hailey go to the Met Gala together (Iconic)

December 2018

-       Camila hints at music between her and Shawn on twitter (6 months before Senorita)

https://twitter.com/Camila_Cabello/status/1070381510740598785?s=20

May 2019

-       Matthew and Camila last spotted together, returning from a vacation in Italy

-       Met her family on May 14th

June 20th, 2019

-       Senorita is released, now this had been in the works for over 6 MONTHS, so this was all very planned out

-       On release day, the Senorita music video was also released, which is literally soft porn, I do not know how it is still on the internet, gross

-       But, Camila? Aren’t you still dating Matthew? Why would you release this very VERY touchy music video with Shawn, if you are still dating Matthew?

June 21st, 2019

-       Shawn and Camila in V Magazine, still very touchy

June 26th, 2019

-       Breakup articles about Matthew and Camilla, Weird since he met her family only a month before.

July 3rd, 2019

-       Staged photos of Shawn and Camila out and about

4th  

-       more staged pics

5th

-       Camila at Shawn’s Concert

6th

-       Shawn denies that him and Camila are dating

 https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1147700409919778816?s=20

7th  

-       Shawmila in San Francisco all day

12th

-       That god awful making out pics that shook the entire internet

-       More pics in SF

 Ok you get the point, they are pictured together only when one of them has music to promote, In this case its Senorita. Now for more recent proofs of this entire relationship being a sham. Shawn just released an album called “Wonder” and guess what we wonder Shawn? Why do you not post any pictures of Camila until you have an album to promote? And now you have a puppy? Pulling an Elounor are we?

Senorita is a total stunt song to “prove” to the public that they are together.

“Style”

Now this type of stunt gets its name from the queen of stunt songs herself, Ms. Taylor Swift. The notorious song Style, supposedly about “Ex” Harry Styles, is probably one of the most stunty stunt songs I have ever heard. Like come on! “James Dean Daydream look in your eyes” if you didn’t know, here is a short recap on the icon himself James Dean.

Taylor has time and time again written amazing songs, I would be lying if I did not call her one of the greatest lyricists on the 21st century, the woman can write extremely well. So why would she put a nod to James Dean, a famous actor, who was a closeted, RAGING bisexual in a song so clearly about Harry Styles? She knows what she is doing.

Talking more about the “Haylor” stunt, can we please end that? It was a 3-month PR stunt that happened 5 years ago, please just get over it, they never really dated. And to the hardcore Haylor fans, there is no chemistry between them.

Haylor; The Stunt

“I hate you because I’m getting paid to!”

Now I do not go into this one much, but basically it is when you see two artists publicly fighting and releasing diss tracks. A popular example of this would be, Machine Gun Kelley and Eminem, with their songs called “Rap Devil” and “Killshot”. Their “beef” was totally staged to boost views on both sides, its even more prominent because they have the same record label, INTERSCOPE.

Eminem v. MGK

 I will be adding to this the more things happens, but it you have and questions feel free to ask them!

[cxptain-carol]

𝐢. 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐲 | 𝐟.𝐰.

◊ part one - part two - part three

◊ summary: madam pomfrey’s helper, y/n, doesn’t care for the ever-popular sport that is quidditch. but throw in an injured fred weasley, a week together in the hospital wing, and a sprinkle of innocent flirting and she might just have to change her mind.

◊ pairing: fifth year!fred weasley x fem!reader

◊ word count: 2.3k

◊ warnings: most of the story’s set in the hospital wing (no blood is mentioned), not really a warning but reader is implied to have a female best friend

◊ genre: good ol’ fluff

◊ racially inclusive reader

◊ reader’s house not specified, but makes the most sense in hufflepuff or ravenclaw 

◊ this part includes saturday & sunday

◊ a/n: this is my first time writing something this long but thanks to my being at home for the time being, i got it done. i split it into three parts so it wouldn’t be so overwhelming but i hope you like it! things are crazy in the world right now so here’s some fluff for the soul. stay safe and healthy and do your part to stop spreading germs. (aka, don’t go outside. read fanfics instead.)

“Could you bring these over there? Thank you, dear.” Madam Pomfrey handed you a stack of clean bandages, which you gladly accepted, and motioned towards the cabinet a few beds over. As you crossed the room, you paused for a moment, standing up on the tips of your toes and peering outside at the Quidditch pitch below.

It was a clear blue day, birds soaring past the window and through the sky but you paid them no attention. Above the neatly cut grass, you could make out the green and red blobs that whizzed around the field. Quickly losing interest in the match, you continued on your way to the cabinet and placed the bandages in an unmarked box before adjusting your apron.

While you never cared much for those weekend Quidditch matches, you wouldn’t mind getting some fresh air. Thankfully, the hospital wing had been empty since a fourth year boy was discharged this morning which gave Madam Pomfrey a chance to reorganize. That happened to be one of your favorite things to help with, so you eagerly joined her.

Your friends never failed to poke fun at you for enjoying something as “dreadful” as cleaning, but you didn’t take it seriously: they were always incredibly grateful when they returned to the dormitory to see all of their belongings orderly and in place. The one thing they couldn’t seem to wrap their heads around was your apparent aversion to Quidditch.

Almost consistently, you refused to accompany them and instead hid out in the library with an essay or helped in the hospital wing. Not even them swearing that the game you dubbed “repetitive” was in fact, just their excuse for checking out the players, was enough. You simply stated that you could see them just fine at breakfast and couldn’t be bothered to watch from the crowded stands and under the unforgiving sun.

You had moved on to rearranging bottles in the metal cabinet at the back of the room, stopping only to fix smudged labels and wipe off the shelf.

It was your second year volunteering in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey. At a young age, you noticed that you had a knack for taking care of the people around you and ever since, you hoped to become a Healer at St. Mungo’s. To gain a little experience in the field, you asked to work in the wing and were happily permitted.

There was only one problem, however: you, overloaded with work at almost any given time, couldn’t exactly afford to spend hours tending to patients. That’s why weekends were your favorite.

After a good twenty minutes of smoothing out bed covers and deep-cleaning bedside tables, you heard the loud thundering of a group of students in the hall. Squinting out the doors, you groaned at the quickly approaching mass of crimson-clad Quidditch players.

The team surrounded a hovering stretcher which Madam Pomfrey promptly magicked away after the student was laid down on one of the vacant beds. Too short to see over the team, who had moved to crowd around whoever was laying there, you sighed and resorted to busying yourself with plumping pillows. Almost a second later, your eyes landed on the mess of dirt that the Gryffindors were leaving on the freshly clean floor and you were suddenly very ticked off. The nerve of Quidditch players.

“Oh, relax,” Madam Pomfrey motioned for them to back off—reluctantly, they listened. That was when you noticed that you only saw one Weasley twin standing with the team.

“Can one of you actually tell me what happened?”

The crowd shifted and you could finally see an agitated Fred Weasley who didn’t seem to be in much pain at all.

“It was that git, Lucian Bole. I couldn’t help-”

“They had an altercation and Bole landed on his foot.” Alicia Spinnet cut him off.

After asking a few questions and trying in vain to get the Gryffindors to leave, Madam Pomfrey sighed and turned to you. Following her gaze, the team turned around and looked at you as well.

“Sprained ankle, Y/N dear,” she said with a sigh. “I trust you can take care of it.”

With a wide smile stretched across your face, you nodded. “Of course!”

She turned to the team, looking significantly less pleased.

“Out, out!” She finally snapped. “And you’re tracking dirt all over the floor!”

Once the team had filed out, you listened to Madam Pomfrey’s suggestions and went to the cabinets to grab supplies. Fred sat there silently, so still it almost looked like he was asleep. As gently as possible, you set down your things and tapped him on the shoulder. He opened one eye, looking around before landing on you. You held up the bandage and pointed at his foot.

“May I?” He nodded, looking a little less tense than before.

You gingerly began wrapping his ankle without a word. Talking to patients wasn’t really your forte.

“How come I got the assistant today?” Fred suddenly joked. “How do I know you know what you’re doing?”

He wore a smile now and you could feel the warmth returning to the room. You chuckled, propping his leg up.

“Madam Pomfrey’s been cleaning since dawn-” You were cut off as the doors burst open.

In rushed Professor McGonagall and clutched in her hand was the arm of a nervous-looking Hufflepuff boy who was soaking wet and covered in grass.

Not even bothering to listen in on the story, you waved your wand and the bundle of ice that you had carried over in a bucket was wrapped in a neat little pack that you handed to Fred. With a satisfied smile, you stepped back.

“I don’t see you around much, Y/N. There’s only… what, three classes I can think of that we have together.”

Realizing that he was pursuing a conversation, you sat down beside him and spun around in your swivel chair.

“Yeah, I don’t see Gryffindor too much, but you and your brother on the other hand—well, I don’t think anyone can go a day without running into you two.”

Closing his eyes again, Fred laughed lightly. You cocked your head to one side and eyed him curiously. Only seconds passed before he opened his eyes a sliver and squinted.

“What’s it like working in the hospital wing?” He stared up at the ceiling as he asked you this.

“Exhausting.”

“Why do you do it?”

You sat up a little straighter.

“I’m planning on becoming a Healer.”

Fred nodded.

“Makes sense.”

“But sometimes it’s nice. After class, I just get to come in here and help out. It… it makes me feel better somehow,” you continued. You could tell he was still listening despite the tired look in his eyes.

“That’s nice. It must suck to miss Quidditch though, right?”

You snickered.

“What?” Fred was smiling again, somehow amused by your surprising reaction.

You grinned too, nervously playing with your hands and avoiding his gaze. It was one thing to diss the sport behind closed doors but another to tell it to one of the players.

“Well, I’m not a big Quidditch fan,” you began. “It’s never really interested me.”

Fred looked taken aback.

“How? It’s the best sport there is! Kinda the only sport there is.” You laughed behind your hand.

“I don’t know, my friends are always telling me to watch a match or two, but I don’t see the point. Not to mention, I can’t stand when you guys come rushing in here, making a mess and fussing over the most minor injuries. I thought Gryffindor was bad at first but all the teams do it!”

Fred shook his head. “But don’t you think it’s good to see that? Nothing boosts a genuine camaraderie like one of your own breaking a bone. Or two.”

Once more, you were laughing. You couldn’t explain, Fred was just doing it to you.

Soon enough, you were sent to the Great Hall to bring some lunch for Fred which you did cheerfully, easily sliding into an hour-long conversation over the fresh sandwiches. George stopped by late into the afternoon and that was when you slowly began tidying up the room before clocking out.

Fred, who was now asleep, shivered and turned over, the setting sun in the sky painting him with fiery orange. His already red head seemed to be ablaze.

As you swung your bag over your shoulder and bid Madam Pomfrey farewell, you found your eyes landing on Fred again. There was just something about him that made you feel at ease and for some reason, you couldn’t be happier about getting to spend more time with him.

A small grin tugging on the corners of your lips, you turned away from him and strode out, closing the heavy wooden doors behind you as the sun began to sink below the horizon.

-

“Quick: pumpkin juice or butterbeer?”

Without missing a beat, you replied "Butterbeer."

Fred looked at you curiously.

“If I remember correctly, you were the one who practically bought out pumpkin pasties on the train in September.”

You choked on the water you had been drinking. Wiping the corner of your mouth, you nodded.

“That was me. But pumpkin pasties are different.”

Fred suddenly smiled and you fought the urge to tell him how cute it was.

“You’re really something else, Y/N Y/L/N.”

You were smiling too, but you shyly hid your face behind your hand. He quickly reached out and pushed it away.

“Stop hiding from me!”

Giggling, you adjusted the wrinkled sheet on Fred’s hospital bed. It was quiet in the hospital wing, as usual, but that was somewhat uncommon for Sundays specifically. Students always ended up filling the wing when they had free time to cause trouble but the only other patient was a third year Slytherin who had been playing around with his friends and got hit with a hex.

“Do you see much while you’re working here? It doesn’t seem as hectic as I imagined,” Fred remarked, looking around. You sighed in response, flicking your wand and handing him a fresh bundle of ice.

“The injuries are pretty similar: clumsy kids who messed around with spells, disastrous potion-making failures, and you Quidditch players- oh, but your brother Ron . . . he was here just last week to scrub out bedpans for detention. He sure does curse a lot. I had to use a silencing charm on him because Madam Pomfrey couldn’t stand hearing it.”

You examined Fred as he looked away, chuckling.

“You’re not like that,” you said quietly. “You’re a little more . . . pleasant.”

It became silent between you two. Your eyes shifted to the floor and you twiddled with your fingers, panicking about what you had said.

Interrupting your thoughts, you heard Fred reply in a whisper, “I take it you don’t give compliments often, do you, Y/N?”

You shook your head, raising your gaze to meet his. With one look at his warm brown eyes, you were smiling again. Suddenly remembering one of last week’s patients, your eyes widened and you bounced in your seat.

“You know who else was in here recently,” you said smugly. “Cedric Diggory.”

Fred groaned and turned away from you.

“Don’t worry,” you giggled. “I wasn’t going to fawn over him. You can turn around now.”

He did and you sighed.

“I guess the witches in your life can’t seem to shut up about him, judging by the way you just reacted to me saying his name.” He nodded.

“But y’know, Fred, I don’t really see the appeal.”

“Appeal of what?”

You shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Quidditch players.”

Fred laughed, laying his head back against his propped-up pillows.

“Are you hinting at something, Y/N? Because if you are-”

You cut him off with a wave of your hand. Smiling to yourself, you tidied up the bedside table and picked up your wand to revive the wilting bouquet of flowers.

“Just simply letting you know,” you added with a smirk.

It felt as if time paused for a moment, you and Fred smiling at each other as the midday sun shone brightly through the large windows. You weren’t even supposed to be here, but here you were, chatting with Fred in the hospital wing instead of doing your Transfiguration homework. It had been hours since you clocked in and since then, you had been discussing every topic under the sun with him as a few students came by for quick visits to ask questions about their peculiar injuries.

Out-of-the-blue, two girls entered but your attention barely shifted away from Fred as you two continued your conversation at a lower volume.

“But personally, I think-”

“Y/N!”

You had been cut off by a slightly irritated-looking Madam Pomfrey who was waving you over. After some quick discussion about the new patients, you began tending to one girl’s headache before she came over again. You stepped away from the girl before Madam Pomfrey spoke.

“Y/N dear, I know it is not my business, but I can’t help but notice that you’ve become quite attached to Mr. Weasley and I’ve never seen you like that with a patient before. Now, I know you’re keeping it professional, but could you stay focused, please? I have a feeling you’ll be spending a lot of time with him this week but I may also need your help, okay dear?”

You felt your cheeks heat up as Madam Pomfrey finished confronting you at the foot of the girl’s bed.

“I promise. Also, I’m… I’m sorry if it seemed like I was being unprofessional today,” you replied nervously. Your fears diminished as a small smile found its way onto Madam Pomfrey’s face.

“Oh, don’t worry, dear. You two sounded very sweet with each other,” she said, knowingly.

You wanted to hide your face in your hands, but as Madam Pomfrey walked away, you locked eyes with Fred. The cute little smirk on his face practically spelled out that he had heard it all.

[itcameuponamidnightqueer]

a happier 2019 wrap-up

every year for new year’s, my mom gets everyone one-a-day calendars tailored to their interests. for 2020, she got me a calendar of funny/stupid answers people have written on tests. 

but for 2019, she gave me a calendar with a different trivia question every day. i had two rules for this calendar: 1) i had to write down an answer for each question, even if what i wrote down was the dumbest shit in the world, and 2) i wasn’t allowed to look at the answer until the day after. 

i saved up all of the ones that i got right bc i like to quantify things, so if nothing else, i know 93 things—

january 18: many musicians have recorded and performed the song “hallelujah.” who wrote it?

january 29: thurl ravenscroft was an accomplished voice actor who sang “you’re a mean one, mr. grinch.” however, ravenscroft was best known for voicing which TV commercial icon?

february 7: who was the first african american appointed to the US supreme court?

february 12: mount rushmore features the giant carved faces of george washington, abraham lincoln, thomas jefferson, and which other US president? 

february 13: what is ninjitsu? 

february 26: mae c. jemison went into space in 1992 aboard the endeavor, earning her what distinction?

february 27: who wrote and first recorded the song “big yellow taxi”?

march 2: what is the longest running show in broadway history?

march 5: what is the largest library in the world?

march 8: what two novels did the lesser-known brontë sister, anne, write?

march 12: which reptile can breathe through its rear end?

march 16: the winner of best picture at the 2017 oscars was moonlight—but, in an historic mix-up, the announcers initially declared which other nominee to be the winner?

march 21: which is the smallest planet in our solar system?

march 22: why is a pound cake called a pound cake? 

march 23: the hit musical wicked is based on a 1995 novel by which author?

march 24: billy eichner, comedian and host of billy on the street, once had a role on which beloved NBC sitcom?

march 27: name the star who plays offred in the hulu series the handmaid’s tale?

april 6: the 2015 song “fourfiveseconds” was a collaboration between rihanna, kanye west, and which other legendary musician?

april 8: why do apples turn brown when sliced?

april 16: what is a pooh-bah?

april 19: what is the belgian town of duffel’s claim to fame?

april 29: what ancient babylonian king created a compendium of 282 laws to guide society in 18th century BCE?

may 2: what is the name for the condition in which a dog’s feet smell like corn chips? 

may 5: in mary shelley’s frankenstein, which character is named frankenstein?

may 7: name the australian pop star whose debut studio album blue neighborhood included hits “youth” and “wild”.

may 10: which superhero did british actor benedict cumberbatch play in a 2016 film?

may 16: which american film tradition began this day in 1929?

may 17: in science, what does “triple point” refer to?

may 26: what function do cats’ whiskers serve?

may 27: where is the tomb of the unknown soldier located?

june 1: which cult classic film popularized the red swingline stapler? 

june 3: who is barbie (the doll) named after? 

june 4: eid al-fitr is an annual muslim festival that marks the end of what?

june 10: which actor was offered a role on the o.c. but turned it down for a role on one tree hill?

june 11: the sport that americans call soccer is known as football in many other countries. where did the term “soccer” originate?

june 17: there is a species of horsefly known as bootylicious. which celebrity inspired the nickname?

june 18: the amc series the walking dead is based on a series of comic books penned by which accomplished writer?

june 24: which actress played wonder woman in the 2017 film of the same name?

june 27: what makes chili peppers hot? 

june 28: which architectural engineering feat allowed the ancient incans to cross canyons and rivers with ease?

june 29: the word “scuba” is an acronym. what does it stand for? 

july 3: who is the bestselling fiction writer ever? 

july 5: which animated film was the first to be nominated for best picture at the oscars? 

july 9: which item did women living in the dust bowl during the great depression commonly fashion into clothing? 

july 16: in nintendo’s mario video games, the nefarious wario is mario’s foil. who is luigi’s foil and archrival? 

july 18: pop stars taylor swift and zayn malik teamed up to record the song “i don’t want to live forever” for which 2017 film soundtrack? 

july 22: which is the only letter that doesn’t appear on the periodic table? 

july 23: which novel is considered frank herbert’s masterpiece? 

july 25: name the three women who were cast in the first season of SNL in 1975. 

july 26: during which years did the olympics award official medals for the arts, including painting, architecture, sculpture, music, and literature?

july 28: what are the ingredients of a moscow mule?

august 2: which “luxury” music festival was supposed to take place in the bahamas in april 2017 but dissolved into chaos and was eventually canceled after attendees began to arrive?

august 3: what is the claim to fame of anchor bar in buffalo, NY? 

august 8: the la brea tar pits are a popular tourist attraction and fossil excavation site. what does “la brea” mean in spanish? 

august 9: the popular board game clue goes by which other name in the UK, where it was invented?

august 11: what is earth’s largest ocean? 

august 12: who wrote johnny cash’s “a boy named sue”?

august 13: what were the original 3 pokemon that players could choose from at the start of pokemon red and pokemon blue, the first pokemon video games released internationally?

august 14: what kind of music did katy perry release as a teenager before she became a pop star? 

august 20: philip k. dick’s novel do androids dream of electric sheep? inspired which 1982 film with a different title?

august 30: batman is to gotham city as superman is to what? 

september 6: what is the hottest planet in the solar system? 

september 9: the first book of the “his dark materials” trilogy is known as the golden compass in the US, and what in the UK? 

september 15: one of the classic monopoly player tokens is a dog. what breed is it?

september 16: why are spiders technically not considered insects?

september 22: on her debut album, lily allen included a song called “alfie” about her little brother. alfie allen is best known now for his role on which TV show?

october 2: a killer whale isn’t technically a whale. what is it?

october 8: name the breed of large domestic cats native to new england 

october 10: which company uses the slogan “because we’re worth it”?

october 12: which female pop star had a brief stint in an R&B group called basic instinct in the 1990s?

october 16: if you ordered a berliner in a cafe in wisconsin, what would they serve you?

october 21: in 1943, when many NFL players were drafted for service in WWII, which two teams combined forces and formed a team called the steagles?

october 25: virginia was the birthplace of 8 US presidents. which state follows close on virginia’s heels as the birthplace of 7 US presidents?

october 28: bram stoker’s legendary vampire dracula is widely thought to be inspired by which real-life romanian prince?

october 30: in european folklore, what is a familiar? 

november 1: what does nanowrimo stand for?

november 13: name the movie that imagines how playwright j.m. barrie came to write peter pan.

november 14: which US state has the smallest population?

november 16: who technically owns all of the unmarked swans in england?

november 19: which entertainment icon was offered the role of phoebe in friends but turned it down?

november 22: robert louis stevenson’s novel treasure island features a cast of colorful characters, including the infamous long john silver. what is the name of the novel’s young protagonist, an innkeeper’s son who ends up serving as a cabin boy on a sea adventure?

november 23: where is dollywood?

november 28: not surprisingly, americans eat more food on thanksgiving than they do on any other day of the year. which day boasts the second-highest food consumption?

november 29: “swish swish”, a song on katy perry’s 2017 album witness, was rumored to be a diss track about which other pop star?

november 30: which actor wore a hairpiece every time he played james bond?

december 2: in greek mythology, perspehone was the goddess of the underworld and the wife of hades. who were persephone’s parents?

december 3: which prominent magazine declined to run an excerpt of the catcher in the rye on the grounds that the characters were unbelievable and the writing was “show-offy”? 

december 12: which comic book series featured batman’s first appearance? 

december 14: what was elvis presley’s natural hair color?

december 21: a 16th century da Vinci manuscript known as the codex leicester sold for over $30 million. who was the wealthy buyer?

december 23: ancient egyptian queen cleopatra had relationships with both julius caesar and mark antony. which of the two men was she buried next to?

december 27: which of the following hollywood stars did not get their start on the disney channel—shia labeouf, hayden panettiere, keri russell, ellen page, ryan gosling

december 29: technically, peanuts aren’t nuts. what are they?

[findsilver]

What do you like most about each Beatle? And about each member of Queen?

Alright, when it comes to the Beatles:

For George, the no nonsense attitude. Paul said himself that Geo would often vocalize what everyone else was thinking and push them forward, and I truly admire that. We truly all need a friend like that, though we probably don’t deserve him. He did that when he manifested in my dream too. Plus... I mean, we share the love for food, I too would call people names if someone ate my cookies.

For John, his sense of humour. I do think regardless of one might think about John, he was ridiculous, and funny often without trying. I appreciate that immensely, because I think that dry wit and weird sense of humour is something I too share, and quite frankly I think being goofy was better for him as opposed to keeping up the macho persona.

For Paul, his passion. See, Paul is one of those creatives that just has the need to create regardless of what it is. I relate to that, because I’m very similar, but he really takes it a step further. Mans has such a drive and passion for everything he does that it really shows through his work, and I can’t help but absolutely admire it about him.

For Ringo, being so easygoing. See, it’s interesting to me considering Ringo was through some tough times, yet remains such a likable person. He doesn’t like conflict, yes, but I don’t think it’s such a bad thing. But he strikes me as someone really nice and easy to get along with, like right away I feel I’d love to be his friend, and I too would vote for him for the president.

When it comes to Queen:

For Brian, his honesty. There are many things I admire about him, but I think the fact that he’s vocal about the good stuff as well as bad stuff is such an important thing. He doesn’t own any of us anything, but he still feels it’s important for him to share, to explain, to show people that even someone like him goes through difficult stuff, and gets out of it. He’s a truly intelligent, inspirational man and I love him.

For Freddie, being himself unapologetically . There’s so much I could talk about, but I think it’s amazing that despite all he’s been through and his inner shyness, he went through a journey and came out sticking to himself and his inner core. He made it his own brand and he owned it, and I’m intensely proud and hopeful that one day I could have that too.

For John, the unpredictable energy. Are we talking about the cinnamon roll or the god of mischief? Nobody knows. I love that about him. I love that he can completely surprise you. He may seem not dangerous at all, but then whips out a killer riff. He’s sweet and lovely, but will probably write a diss track about you if you get on his nerves, and that’s beautiful.

For Roger, his kindness. I love our boy Roger, and he is many things, a lot of which people like to exaggerate. But I’ve always thought that he’s an absolutely lovely person. He’s a rockstar, so of course there is temper and ego at stake, but I think that passionate energy just makes him a very loving person, and a good friend. You need me for your solo project? Yeah, I’d love to wear a skirt! And I often think about how despite being an absolute legend and being made of pure talent, he would rather work hard and make a good project then push himself to the front.

[helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog]

Taylor Swift vs. Katy Perry: The Complete Timeline of Their Feud

Taylor Swift and Katy Perry's pop star feud just keeps on giving!

Over the past few years, these famous frenemies have seemingly used their beef as songwriting material, addressed their differences in interviews and have gotten their squads involved. 

Here's a look back at how the feuding first began and how it's progressed:

Sept. 8, 2014: Taylor Swift's Rolling Stone Interview

Getty Images

Getty Images

Prior to Swift's revealing Rolling Stone tell-all, Perry and Swift appeared to be friends, gamely posing at awards shows together.

But Swift had everyone talking ahead of the release of her GRAMMY-winning 1989 album, thanks to her quotes to Rolling Stone magazine, in which she revealed that she had a feud with a fellow pop star, which inspired her hit song, "Bad Blood."

"For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not," Swift said. "She would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, 'Are we friends, or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?'" 

"She did something so horrible," she continued. "I was like, 'Oh, we're just straight-up enemies.' And it wasn't even about a guy! It had to do with business. She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me.”

Several internet commenters then noted that Perry did lure a few backup dancers away from Swift's tour as she embarked on her own Prismatic tour in 2014. However, according to one of the dancer's agents, the dancers "exercised a 30-day out in their contracts and left Taylor, but Katy didn't steal them."

"They just didn't want to tour with her anymore because there is basically no choreography or dancing in her show," the agent claimed.

While Swift did say that the feud had nothing to do with a boy, both previously dated singer John Mayer.

Sept. 9, 2014: Katy Perry Calls Swift a 'Mean Girl'

Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing...

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) September 9, 2014

Perry didn't shy away from Swift's Rolling Stone comments, tweeting the next day: "Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing..."

In January 2015, Perry confirmed the tweet was pointed at Swift.

"​​If somebody is trying to defame my character, you're going to hear about it," Perry told Billboard magazine when asked if her tweet was about the "Shake It Off" singer.

May 23, 2015: Taylor Swift Will Never, Ever Talk About Katy Perry Again

In an interview with The Telegraph, Swift made it clear she was over Perry. "I'm not giving them anything to write about," she said when asked about about her nemesis. "I'm never going to talk about her in my interview. It's not going to happen."

Swift did, however, confirm she had her "enemies" in the business. "It's not real if someone appears to never have any issues with anyone," she explained. "I have my friends. I have enemies."

July 22, 2015: Katy Perry Hits Back at Taylor Swift Amid Her Nicki Minaj Beef

Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman...

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 22, 2015

The pop star feud was resurrected when Perry jumped in on the Twitter beef between Swift and Nicki Minaj over the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards nominees.

"If I was a different 'kind' of artist, 'Anaconda' would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well," Minaj tweeted, getting vocal about her VMA snub. “If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year."

Swift took the tweet personally, responding, “I've done nothing but love and support you. It's unlike you to pit women against each other.”

Perry then chimed in with a devastating tweet referencing "Bad Blood."

"Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman..." she wrote.  

July 27, 2015: Taylor Swift Throws 'Left Shark' Shade at Katy Perry

@TSwiftOnTour@TSwiftNZ@taylorswift13 THERE WAS A SHARK DURING #BADBLOOD TODAY #BADBLOODSHARKpic.twitter.com/VXWetafdj6

— Jillian ❤🎤🎧 (@Swifty448) July 26, 2015

Swift appeared to be back at it again later that month, seemingly trolling Perry during her Foxborough, Massachusetts, stop as part of her 1989 world tour. Her performance of "Bad Blood" curiously featured a cameo from a life-sized shark mascot -- a not-so-thinly veiled dig at Perry's Super Bowl dancer-turned-internet meme.   

July 13, 2016: Calvin Harris Brings Taylor Swift and Katy Perry's Feud to the Forefront

pic.twitter.com/m6ebYV8D1r

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 13, 2016

Time, the ultimate truth teller.

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) May 9, 2015

Swift's ex-boyfriend, Calvin Harris, brought up Swift and Perry's bad blood when he slammed the singer on Twitter. Harris was upset after Swift's rep confirmed that the singer wrote his and Rihanna's summer hit, "This Is What You Came For," under the pseudonym Nils Sjoberg -- when the two were still a couple -- and after Swift began dating actor Tom Hiddleston, who she broke up with that same year.

"Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though," he tweeted, after initially praising Swift. "I figure if you're happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do."

"I know you're off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I'm not that guy, sorry. I won't allow it," he continued.

Perry later tweeted out a GIF of Hillary Clinton shooting out an epic "I told you so"-look shortly afterward.

Adding more fuel to the fire, Perry then retweeted her own tweet from May 2015, where she wrote, "Time, the ultimate truth teller."

Sept. 10, 2016:  Katy Perry Would Collaborate With Taylor Swift Under One Condition

if she says sorry, sure!

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) September 10, 2016

Perry was looking for an apology after a fan asked her on Twitter: "Will you ever collab with Taylor Swift?"

She surprisingly tweeted back: "If she says sorry, sure!"

Oct. 26, 2016: Katy Perry Rocks Out to Kanye West's 'Famous' Taylor Swift Diss 

Perry once again rekindled the pop star feud while celebrating her 32nd birthday at Kanye West's concert in Inglewood, California. She even shared a video of herself dancing along to the rapper's now infamous Swift diss in "Famous."

May 20, 2017: Katy Perry Calls "Swish, Swish" an 'Anthem' Against Bullying

Though Perry never mentions Swift in her song, "Swish, Swish," the track is clearly slamming somebody, and of course, fans couldn't help but notice that that "swish" isn't so far off from Swift.

"From a selfish or a sheep/ Don't you come for me/ No, not today/ You're calculated/ I got your number," Perry sings. "'Cause you're a joker/ And I'm a courtside killer queen/ And you will kiss the ring/ You best believe."

"So keep calm, honey, I'ma stick around/ For more than a minute, get used to it," she continues. "Funny my name keeps comin' outcho mouth/ 'Cause I stay winning."

"I think it's a great anthem for people to use whenever someone's trying to hold you down or bully you," Perry told Jimmy Fallon about the song during her appearance on The Tonight Show. "That's kind of what this record is about. It's just like [a] 360-degree liberation. ... I think 'Swish' represents the liberation from all the negative that doesn’t serve you."

Of course, some of Swift's pals definitely didn't see it that way. Ruby Rose took to Twitter to defend Swift and slammed Perry, writing: "Purposeful poop" to 'bomb a petit' to a sloppy mess of writing over the top of Funkagenda..stop trying to make 'Wit..I mean 'fetch' happen."

"I've always stood up for the people I love and against things I think are cheap or mean spirited. That's not new. You have to follow your ❤," the actress continued. "I just think with everything going on in the world to go from rebranding as political activist only to ditch it and go low.. is.. a bummer."

May 22, 2017:  Katy Perry Claims Taylor Swift 'Started' Their Feud and 'It's Time for Her to Finish It'

Perry didn't hold back during her Carpool Karaoke segment with James Corden, addressing the beef head-on.

"Honestly, it's really like she started it and it's time for her to finish it," Perry said after the Late Late Show host asked her to clear things up. "She wouldn't speak to me. I do the right thing any time that it feels like a fumble. It was a full shut-down and then she writes a song about me and I'm like, 'OK, cool, cool, cool. That's how you wanna deal with it?'"

"But, what I wanna say is that I'm ready for that B.S. to be done," she added. "Now, there is the law of cause and effect. You do something and there's going to be a reaction. And trust me, Daddy, there's going to be a reaction. It's all about karma."

It should be noted that "Swish Swish," coincidentally, has a line about karma, where Perry croons, "Karma's not a liar."

June 8, 2017: Katy Perry Slams Taylor Swift for 'Trying to Assassinate' Her Character

Perry wasn't quite done talking about Swift. In an interview with NME, she gave background on why she decided to address the feud with Corden.

“I mean, I’m not Buddha -- things irritate me,” she said. “I wish that I could turn the other cheek every single time, but I’m also not a pushover, you know? Especially when someone tries to assassinate my character with little girls [her fans]. That’s so messed up!”

June 8, 2017: Taylor Swift Puts Entire Song Catalog Back on Streaming Services -- Right When Katy Perry's Album Drops

Actions speak louder than words. Though Swift has stayed silent on Perry's comments about her, she announced on June 8, 2017 that her entire song catalog would return to all streaming services at midnight -- just when Perry's Witness album dropped.

Perry was later asked about whether the move bothered her during an interview with the Today show's Natalie Morales. "I don't know, I can only do me," Perry replied. "All I need to say to her is I love her, and God bless her on her journey. And that’s it."

June 10, 2017: Katy Perry Is '100 percent' Ready to 'Let Go' of Feud

Perry made it clear that she was ready to make amends with Swift during a conversation with Arianna Huffington, which was live streamed to promote Witness.

"I'm ready to let it go. Absolutely, 100 percent," Perry said of the longtime beef. "I forgive her, and I'm sorry for anything I ever did, and I hope the same from her, and I think it's actually... I think it's time."

"There are bigger fish to fry, and there are bigger problems in the world," she continued. "I love her and I want the best for her, and I think she's a fantastic songwriter, and like, I think that if we both, her and I, can be representatives of strong women that come together despite their differences, I think the whole world is going to go, like, 'Yeah, we can do this.' Maybe I don't agree with everything she does, and maybe she doesn't agree with everything I do, but like, I just... I really, truly, want to come together, and in a place of love and forgiveness, and understanding and compassion."

June 12, 2017: Katy Perry Changes a Key 'Swish, Swish' Lyric

Perry backed up her conciliatory quotes by pointedly changing a few lyrics while singing "Swish Swish" during an outdoor concert for her fans. Instead of singing the line, "Don't you come for me," in the first verse, Perry sang, "God bless you on your journey, oh baby girl."

July 19, 2017: Katy Perry Says She's 'Always Loved' Taylor Swift Despite Their 'Differences'

Perry wasn't done trying to make nice with Swift. 

In an interview on Australia's Today show, Perry reiterated that she had love for the singer. "I mean, I love her, I always have," Perry told host Richard Wilkins. "We've had our differences, but I just continue to say, 'God bless her on her journey.'"

While Swift never acknowledged Perry's compliments, Twitter was abuzz that the ladies would finally put their beef behind them at the VMAs. After all, Swift did so with West at the 2015 VMAs when she presented the Video Vanguard award to the rapper, and when she jumped onstage to open the show with Minaj after their Twitter feud that same year.

However, Swift did not end up attending the 2017 VMAs.

August 24, 2017: Katy Perry Releases Star-Studded "Swish, Swish" Music Video

Like Swift's "Bad Blood" music video, Perry enlisted a bunch of celebrities to star in the music video for her single, "Swish, Swish," her diss track widely speculated to be about her frenemy. The release was ahead of Swift dropping her first single, "Look What You Made Me Do," off her album, Reputation.

August 24, 2017: Taylor Swift Releases Shady "Look What You Made Me Do" Music Video 

While Perry hosted the VMAs, it was Swift that got people talking with her shade-tastic music video for "LWYMMD."

Main moments of shade include Swift made up in a way that could be described as “Katy Perry-esque” and wrecking a car (complete with a Katy-cat in the front seat).

March 17, 2018: Karlie Kloss Addresses Taylor Swift Feud Rumors After Hanging Out With Katy Perry

The model-turned-tech philanthropist was longtime friends with Swift, and opened up to The New York Times after fans started speculating that she was now Team Katy. After all, the girls was spotted hanging out together a month prior.

"Don't believe everything you read," Kloss said simply.

March 18, 2018: Katy Perry Subtly Shades Taylor Swift on 'American Idol'

The feud continues! @katyperry throws SHADE on @taylorswift13 on @AmericanIdol#AmericanIdolpic.twitter.com/IBut9mAkhn

— TalentRecap (@TalentRecap) March 19, 2018

During a montage segment of Idol hopefuls auditioning for the panel, Perry's fellow judge, Luke Bryan, asked one scruffy, guitar-carrying singer, who he looks up to as a musical artist. "I'm sorry for this Katy… Taylor Swift," the hopeful answered nervously.

"Oh, you don't have to be sorry," Perry replied.

"I love Taylor Swift," the contestant added, emphatically.

"I love her, as a songwriter, as well," Perry stuttered, before shrugging indifferently.

Will these two ever make amends? Here's more on the feud:

May 8, 2018: Katy Perry Sends Taylor Swift a Literal Olive Branch:

It appears the feud is finally over. Swift shared a video of an olive branch and a note from Perry on her Instagram Stories on May 8, one night before her Reputation tour kicked off. The note is addressed "Hey Old Friend," and a closer look at the handwriting shows that Perry apologized to Swift.

"Hey old friend, I've been doing some reflecting on past miscommunications and the feelings between us, I really want to clear the air," the note reads. 

Swift was clearly pleased by the gesture.

"So, I just got back to my dressing room and found this actual olive branch," she says in the video. "This means so much to me."

"Thank you Katy," the text on the video also reads, along with pink heart emojis.  

Katy Perry sent Taylor an olive branch for the opening night of the reputation Stadium Tour! pic.twitter.com/6GDamcxezI

— Taylor Swift Updates (@TSwiftPR) May 8, 2018

A source told ET that Perry gave her apology to the "Gorgeous" singer a lot of thought before sending it, and has been wanting to bury the hatchet for a while now. 

“Katy planned a very personal, sweet apology and took time to write a kind note in hopes Taylor would see how much she cared about putting this behind them,” the source said. “Katy told friends if Taylor didn't accept this apology, she would keep trying because she is done holding on to the past and wants to be part of the change in today's society. She wants to set a good example for women, so she planned to never give up, if that is what it took."

“Katy hopes they finally can be supportive of each other's music and maybe one day soon even hang out together again," the source added. "Katy realizes they need to take it one day at a time, but that this is a great start.”

RELATED CONTENT:

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Andy Grammer Weighs in on Taylor Swift, Katy Perry Feud: ‘At This Point, Let It Go!'

[jumpingjackets]

He Blew You Away (Philip Hamilton x Reader)

Request:

Anonymous said: 2,3,12 with Philip please💙 base on “blow us all away ”

Word Count: 2091

A/N: I’m so pumped for this one, I’ve always wanted to write from these lists. Hope you like it! (I may have gone a lil overboard with this, sue me)

from this prompt list

2. “You are not going without me.”

3.“I can’t believe you!”

12.“You can’t die. Please don’t die.”

You were happy.

Walking hand and hand with your boyfriend through town, it felt like the world could be burning down but you would be okay, because he was there. Smiling, bouncing with happiness, and overall just the beautiful person he is.

“I need to take you to that show, Y/N, I was thinking about you the whole time. You’re gonna love it.” Philip said with excitement, which you responded with fond laughter.

“Aren’t those types of plays really expensive? I don’t want you wasting so much on me.” You said, looking down with slight discomfort.

“Don’t you worry about that. My father will get them.” He said, planting a sweet kiss in your cheek.

“You’re too good to me.” You said with a beaming smile.

You walked in comfortable silence up until the heart of town, where a group seemed to be gathered at the town fountain. There was a man standing on top of a wooden crane, screaming at his audience. The people around seemed to respond in agreement.

“Isn’t that George Eacker?” You asked, standing on your tippy toes to try and see him. You recognized him mostly by his voice. Eacker shouted obscenities about a certain Hamilton that you wouldn’t dare repeat, but were clearly heard. The crowd roared.

“He’s talking about my father…” Philip whispered in apparent shock. His body seemed frozen, his fists balled up at his sides. His expression was unreadable.

“He’s a nobody, Pip. Let’s just go.” You said, tugging at his arm. His eyebrows furrowed, but eventually gave in and walked away with you. The silence between you as you reached his house wasn’t as comfortable as it was before.

When you stirred awake, it may have been well past dawn. It was still dark outside and significantly cold. You were laid on your side when you tried to reach behind you to where Philip was supposed to be, but were just met with the empty side of your bed.

You sat up, confused and tired, and looked around the room for any trace of the young boy. When nothing pointed to him still being there, you light up the candle beside your bed and walked downstairs. You had reached the bottom when the front door opened, and a fuming Philip slammed it shut. It startled you to the point where you almost dropped the lit candle.

“What were you doing out so late?” You tried to keep your voice as leveled as possible.

“That Eacker, I swear to God.” His voice was like poison, very unlike the loving and gentle Philip you’ve always known him as.

“Calm down, Pip. Tell me what happened.” You said, motioning to the nearby couch and setting the candle on the table next to it. He seemed to untense just slightly, but sat down next to you.

“After you fell asleep, me and Richard Price went to confront Eacker about the things he was saying. You know, about my father.” Philip started, fiddling with his fingers.

“Go on.” You said, leaning closer. Your mind was racing through a lot of emotions, none recognizable.

“And when we did so, he started to talk shit about us personally. Calling us rascals and scoundrels, that one was for me specifically.”

“Philip, I swear to God. You better not have done what I think you did.” You said, standing up abruptly. You turned around, back facing him, and rubbed your temples roughly.

“I challenged him to a duel. I couldn’t let him continue to talk down my father like he was. Y/N, you must understand.” Philip said desperately, his hands carefully wrapping themselves around your waist. You quickly, and rougher than you intended, pushed his hands off of you.

“I can’t believe you!” You screamed at him. You felt tears in your eyes, but your anger prevented them from falling.

“Y/N, I had to! He was disparaging my father’s legacy!”

“And to kill yourself is the way to salvage it?!” You said, turning around to stare at him directly in his eyes. Your voice started wavering, the prospect of losing Philip already overcoming you.

“I won’t let that lowlife continue dissing my family name.” Philip said quietly. He went from angry to, now, almost frightened.

“When and where is this happening, Philip?” You said firmly.

“In Jersey, tomorrow.” He said, looking down in shame. The use of his first name had an effect on him.

“Alright, I’m coming with you.” You said with a sense of finality.

“What?! Absolutely not.” You could tell Philip was terrified now.

“You are not going without me.” You said, a single tear going down your cheeks. All traces of anger or seriousness washing away.

He seemed to sense that there was no arguing with you, so he just submitted and wrapped his arms around you in a tight embrace.

You stood there for a while before he guided you back to your room. It’s safe to say that you didn’t get a second of sleep after that.

“Please hide behind here.” Philip said, motioning to a dead tree close to the duel ground. You reluctantly sat at the roots, looking up at him with bloodshot eyes (from both lack of sleep and extensive crying).

“Please come back for me, Pip, okay?” You said, voice pathetically shaky. He kneeled down and pressed your foreheads together.

“I will. Don’t you worry.” He whispered, closing the distance between the both of you with a kiss.

It was strange. It wasn’t the same sweet and loving kiss you have grown used to. This kiss seemed deep, passionate, almost final.

When you pulled back, you stayed quiet for a bit before Philip looked up.

“He’s here. I need to go.” He stood up and fixed his coat. He began to walk towards the duel ground before he stopped in his tracks.

“Y/N.”

“Yes, my dear?” You asked, worry heavy in your voice.

“I love you.”

And with that, he continued his walk until you couldn’t see him anymore without making your presence known. You laid back down, your back hitting the hard trunk behind you and wrapped your arms around your bent legs in front of you.

You rocked your body back and forth softly, sending a quiet prayer to God for him to protect your Pip.

You could hear talking far behind you, but as hard as you tried, your nerves didn’t let you understand anything. You were left teary eyed, praying to God, and mumbling to yourself until the sound of a gunshot filled your ears.

It rang inside your ears for a few moments before you stood up and looked back at where Philip had walked just minutes ago.

It was like the entire world stopped. Philip was in the floor, his gun had fallen beside him, Eacker was fleeing the scene, and you could see blood pooling around his body.

You let out a heart wrenching scream before running to his side, staining your clothes completely with blood (but that was the least of your worries).

You slid your hands below the nape of his neck, carefully lifting his upper body and resting him on your knees while cradling him.

“Hey, hey, Pip, it’s okay, I got you. It’s okay.” You said, your hands hovering over his body and the bullet wound.

Philip was breathing heavily, his hands trembling as he took yours in his.

“Y/N…”

“Yes, baby. It’s me. Stay with me, okay?” You said, kissing his bloodstained hands and looking desperately at the people that had gathered around. “Someone get a doctor, please.”

“Y/N, listen to me…” Philip whispered, cupping your cheek to get your attention. Tears were now flowing out of your eyes, sobs quietly racking your whole body.

“I’m listening, Pip. I’m here.” You said, placing your hand over his.

“There’s an envelope in my coat pocket. Can you give it to my parents?” He whispered. You searched inside his coat and, surely enough, there was a folded envelope inside. “Don’t read it, you’ll find out what it says after I’m gone.”

Your eyes widened as more tears fell down your cheeks.

“Philip, no. Don’t say that. You can’t die. Please don’t die.” You gasped out, clutching his hand over your chest.

In that moment, two men were running to the scene to pick up Philip. You looked up at them, not wanting to let go of him.

“I love you, Y/N.” Philip whispered after some difficulty to sit up.

“I love you, Pip. I love you so much.” You said as you cried into his shoulder. Before you could realize it, Philip was taken from your arms and rowed across the river, probably to a hospital.

The funeral was just days after they announced his death, at his home. You had stayed in Weehawken for hours before you walked back to town, clothes stained with blood and emotionally drained. You couldn’t physically cry anymore, like if you had run out of tears to shed.

One of Philip’s sisters, Angelica Hamilton, had found you and returned you home. She was the one to deliver the news to you, and by some miracle of God, you continued to cry. She never left your side, which you greatly appreciated.

When you arrived at the Hamilton household, you instantly spotted Eliza next to her children. She was slow to look up, but she smiled softly when she realized it was you.

“My dear, I’m so glad you came.” She said, and she wrapped her arms around you gently. Her voice was sweet and kind, and it made you bury your face in the crook of her neck. “Philip was so proud of you.”

Her words made your eyes water, but you didn’t want to cry, not now.

“Your son was a good man, the best man I’ve ever met.” You said after you pulled back. She offered a grateful smile.

You remembered what Philip had asked of you, and quickly fished it from your pocket. “Mrs. Hamilton. Before he…” You started, your hand now visibly shaking with the envelope. “He wanted me to give you this, for both you and Mr. Hamilton.” You finished, your hand still shaking as you offered it to Eliza.

She looked broken as she took the creased envelope from your hand, and looked back at you. “Thank you, my dear. I’ll fetch him now.” With a bow, she was out of sight.

After a moment of being alone, you searched for somewhere you could sit, spotting a chair looking out the window. You quietly made your way to it, sitting down and rubbing your hands over your face.

It was a few minutes before a teary-eyed Eliza and full-on-crying Alexander kneeled in front of you. You were confused, but sat up straighter to look at them. Alexander handed you a letter, unmistakably Philip’s writing, and a golden ring. You looked at Alexander in the eye, not wanting to read the letter nor acknowledge what it could mean, but his heavy eyes alone convinced you to do so.

My dearest, Y/N,

I am writing to you just mere hours before the duel, as a sort of will.

My inexperience, I’m afraid, will be the cause of my demise in such a brutal and sudden encounter. I am sure I will not come out of this alive, which is the reason behind this letter. If I feel that death is inevitable in the dueling grounds, I will ask of you to give this to my parents, which I do not doubt you will do, because you are such an honest woman. One of the many qualities that made me fall madly in love with you.

You are the reason this is so difficult, because I cannot bear to leave you behind. I will admit, I am a bit afraid of dying, but I am more afraid of hurting you in the slightest. Since the moment we met, I have imagined you as my wife. There have been an embarrassing number of nights that I couldn’t sleep because of the excitement I had about the possibility of one day marrying you.

When my mother and father read this letter, this is my way of asking their permission. If this finds its way back to you, it means that they are accepting you as their daughter in law. I ask, my dear Y/N, for your hand in marriage. Wear the ring, and remember me as your husband.

I love you, deeply, and will have you in my heart for all eternity,

Your Pip

[obtusemedia]

In Ascending Order: Ranking Taylor Swift’s singles worst to best

After slowly tilting her sound away from Nashville more and more with each album, Taylor Swift made a clean break from country five years ago with her synthpop masterpiece, 1989. It was about as successful as a pop album could be, producing three massive #1 hits and cementing Swift as the world’s biggest popstar.

Fast forward three years, and her next album, reputation, was bitter and moody — a good fit for the American landscape of 2017, but a far cry from the bright melodies and fun sing-a-longs of her previous smashes, Red and 1989. The lead single hit #1, but quickly stumbled down the charts and the album’s follow-up singles didn’t have the same impact. But you’ll still find those who defend reputation, and a year and a half later, it’s clear there are some gems hidden in the wreckage. 

Now that Swift is entering her 30th year of life with a catalogue that’s ran the gamut from country-fried ballads about teen crushes to vengeful electropop bangers about Kanye West, I thought it was a good time to look back on her career. Because despite her negative (sorry) reputation right now, Swift has contributed many great songs to the modern pop canon.

Here’s the ground rules: The song had to be a single from one of Taylor Swift’s six albums. No deep cuts (apologies to “All Too Well”), no soundtrack tunes (sorry, Fifty Shades) and no featured spots on others’ songs (asking me to listen voluntarily to John Mayer is too much to ask, sorry).

#37: “End Game” feat. Future and Ed Sheeran (reputation, 2017)

Listen, Taylor, if you want to have guest rappers on your single, that’s fine. But maybe get, you know, actual rappers. Ed Sheeran doing his awkward schtick certainly does not count. If this was a hip-hop flavored pop song, fine — then why is legitimate rapper Future here? The Atlanta trap icon feels so out of place on this gentrified R&B cut, and he only gets a few bars anyways, making his appearance seem more like Swift wanting cred more than anything else.

Honestly, if that was the only problem, “End Game” wouldn’t be last place on this list. But nope, the song itself is a giant mess in itself. The production aims for sexy and nocturnal and lands in lethargic. And what is this song even about? Is Taylor making a song about how cool she and her boyfriend are, or about her negative reputation? The post-chorus, which suddenly veers into that later topic, tries so desperately to be a chant-along and it falls utterly flat.

With all of Swift’s other singles, even the ones I don’t like, I at least understand how someone could like it. But I have no clue who “End Game” is for, or who would enjoy listening to it.

#36: “Ours” (Speak Now, 2010)

I’ve listened to this song many times, and I find it hard to remember a single hook or line. “Ours” isn’t aggressively awful, but it is painfully bland, and I have no plans on listening to this nondescript ballad after I’m done writing this.

#35: “Fifteen” (Fearless, 2008)

I can’t take away the good intentions of “Fifteen.” The general message of being wary of manipulative older men (or, in this case, high school seniors) and enjoying youth while it lasts is nice, if a bit cliché.

But this song still bugs me. Swift sings the story of her and her (real-life!) friend Abigail’s experiences as ninth-graders like she’s a wise elder, looking back with years of experience. But she was only 18 when she wrote “Fifteen” — I’m sure she matured some in those three years, but once you realize that, it makes the whole song come off as fairly condescending.

Couple the after-school special lyrics with a sickeningly sweet acoustic guitar musical style, and “Fifteen” doesn’t hit the mark.

#34: “Gorgeous” (reputation)

The lyrics aren’t the problem here (except that any Angeleno knows that at the intersection of Sunset and Vine, it’s just a Walgreens). Nah, it’s the shrink-wrapped production that drives me nuts. There was the potential for a great, 1989-esque pop song here, but it got neutered.

#33: “Mean” (Speak Now)

Given that Swift eventually became the music industry’s Regina George, this song has aged horribly. Also, this sounds way too much like the Country Bear Jamboree for me to take it seriously.

#32: “Bad Blood” feat. Kendrick Lamar (1989, 2014)

The worst song from Swift’s best album, “Bad Blood” is a clunky mess that frankly doesn’t go hard enough. If you’re going to make a diss track towards Katy Perry, go for the kill shot! Prism was mediocre, her whole look was tacky, she wrote this disaster — Swift had plenty of options. But I guess she felt adding a couple phoned-in Kendrick Lamar verses, getting Selena Gomez and Lena Dunham (??) in the music video, and spouting clichés did the job better. *shrugs* At least it’s catchy.

(Side note: Perry obviously lost that feud, but “Teenage Dream” is absolutely flawless and probably better than any song Swift wrote)

#31: “Everything Has Changed” feat. Ed Sheeran (Red, 2012)

“Everything Has Changed” has a gorgeous, wilting chorus, and Swift and Sheeran have clear chemistry. Beyond that, it’s unfortunately kind of forgettable.

#30: “Fearless” (Fearless)

I’m honestly not sure why this needed to be a single. It’s fine and all, but it doesn’t stick in the brain compared to Fearless’ other smash hits.

#29: “New Year’s Day” (reputation)

Ending the brash reputation with a quiet, sparse piano ballad was a smart move, and the bittersweet “New Year’s Day” is a solid enough tune. 

But here’s the thing — Swift wasn’t the only popstar in 2018 to put a minimalist, Jack Antonoff-produced piano song on her album. Lorde did nearly the exact same thing just a few months earlier with the heartbreaking “Liability,” which is much rawer and more intense than “New Year’s Day.” In other words, when I hear Swift’s ballad, I enjoy it, but I find myself wishing she went for the emotional jugular like Lorde did.

#28: “Tim McGraw” (Taylor Swift, 2006)

Here’s the part where I admit that I’m really not into country music, so a lot of Swift’s very early material isn’t for me. But, like with other genres I don’t love, I can at least respect talent, and “Tim McGraw” is a great piece of detailed, nuanced songwriting. But acoustic-y country ballads will never be my favorite.

#27: “The Last Time” feat. Gary Lightbody (Red)

Here, we have the opposite situation as “Tim McGraw” — a musical style I love, but not done very well.

These types of Coldplay-esque, faux-indie power ballads were totally my thing back in the day (shoutout to The Fray and obviously, Coldplay). But although “The Last Time” does have real bonafides with its soaring chorus, great guitar solo, and Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody contributing vocals, it just doesn’t click. The duo doesn’t have a lot of chemistry, and the epic feel shoots for “Chasing Cars” and lands closer to...one of Snow Patrol’s other songs that nobody remembers.

#26: “...Ready For It?” (reputation)

I’d love to just make a snarky joke about Swift trying to rap and embarrassing herself in the process (which she kind of does) ... but I can’t lie, this is a total guilty pleasure. It’s about as close to a classic Ke$ha song as we’re going to get in the gloomy late-2010′s, so I can forgive the try-hard vibe.

#25: “Our Song” (Taylor Swift)

This is the very first of Swift’s songs I ever heard. Naturally, being a 13-year-old wannabe snob at the time, I hated it immediately.

Over a decade later, I can appreciate “Our Song” for its adorable charms and extremely quotable lyrics (“when you talk reeeeeeal slow” is my personal favorite). But it still rubs me the wrong way a bit, probably because Swift was pretending to be a southern hick when she was actually raised by a wealthy family in Reading, Pennsylvania. ...but it’s still a solid pop tune.

#24: “Mine” (Speak Now)

So uh...I guess Swift really wanted to write a Bruce Springsteen song? Specifically, a more optimistic version of “The River,” with a romantically doomed teenage flame sputtering out into adult financial troubles.

But obviously, a song about a shotgun wedding and blue-collar poverty wasn’t going to sell to Swift’s audience, so she gave the trope an uplifting spin, complete with a bright, peppy chorus in a major key. And it kind of works! I’m not going to pretend that “Mine” is top-tier Taylor, but sometimes rough stories do have a happy ending.

#23: “Should’ve Said No” (Taylor Swift)

A nice and pissed-off song about a cheating boyfriend, “Should’ve Said No” has a great, visceral chorus and Swift puts 100 percent of the blame on her scummy ex, who’s trying to weasel his way back into the relationship. I will say this about country: it’s a great vehicle for breakup songs.

#22: “The Story of Us” (Speak Now)

This is a great example of a very under-used style of breakup song — the slowly-drifting-apart story. It’s not usually as fiery, but it’s a lot more realistic and relatable. The best recent example I can think of is The 1975′s new wave heartbreaker “A Change of Heart,” which admittedly, is a lot better than “The Story of Us.”

Still, Swift gives the trope a nice effort here, and the charging guitars perfectly match her growing frustration at this boy who gets more and more distant as time goes on. The book framing device is a nice twist too (“NEXT CHAPTER.”), and it all adds up to one of Swift’s more underrated singles.

#21: “Look What You Made Me Do” (reputation)

Ahh yes, the infamous Kanye West diss track. Let’s be clear, nobody looked good in this feud — Taylor came off as vindictive, back-stabbing and petty. Then Kanye lost any moral high ground by wearing MAGA hats and buddying up to Trump.

The funny thing is, the songs from both artists that are central to this feud — “Look What You Made Me Do” and Kanye’s “Famous,” the song that reignited Swift’s rage — are both deeply ridiculous songs that I love despite my better judgement. The main issue with Swift’s song is that she can’t decide whether to play the cackling villain or the victim. The smart move would’ve been to lean into her dark side, like Kanye himself did with Yeezus, but she isn’t willing to completely do that, which makes the song have a pretty awkward tone.

YET. “Look What You Made Me Do” is still way too much fun for me to hate. The “I’m Too Sexy”-aping chorus? Love it. The thumping, wonderfully stupid Black Eyed Peas-esque production? Give me more! “I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? BECAUSE SHE’S DEAD!!” — that might be my favorite part of all.

It’s a total disaster, but it’s a highly enjoyable one. But considering that I find other bombs like Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP fascinating too, maybe my opinion isn’t valid on this one.

#20: “22″ (Red)

I read a tweet once that called this song the “Kidz Bop ‘Tik Tok.’” Don’t remember who wrote that, but they’re absolutely right. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! It’s probably the closest Swift came to a squeaky-clean Carly Rae Jepsen banger.

#19: “White Horse” (Fearless)

The darker cousin of “Love Story,” Swift proved with “White Horse” she could also use classic tropes to convey weepy ballads as well as the sweeping romances. I honestly wish the lyrics were a little less vague — usually Swift is hyper-specific, which serves her well in these breakup songs — but Swift’s emotive performance carries the song regardless.

#18: “Begin Again” (Red)

Musically, the sleepy sound of “Begin Again” doesn’t do a lot for me, but the lyrical detail and story are stellar. After listening to so many Taylor Swift songs about crushing heartbreak or whirlwind romances for this list, it’s nice to hear a more understated song about a first-date that goes well. It especially works well at the end of Red, a fairly angsty album. 

“Begin Again” might still have some exaggerations (nobody’s first date is that perfect, Taylor, come on now), but the more grounded, mature tone was a nice change of pace for Swift.

#17: “Shake It Off” (1989)

This song is so, so stupid. And yet I know every single word. Yes, even the incredibly awkward rap breakdown (“THIS. SICK. BEAT!”).

I can’t in good conscience name “Shake It Off” as a top-tier Swift single, but it’s damn fun, despite its awful lyrics. Which basically makes it — gasp — a Katy Perry single. Oh, the irony.

#16: “Delicate” (reputation)

Swift went nocturnal with this sleeper hit. I couldn’t get into it at first, but it eventually grew on me, with its subtle production and charmingly insecure lyrics. Who among us hasn’t nervously second-guessed everything they’ve said or done when they’re around a new romantic partner?

The vocoders and slowly building percussion just add to what was already a solid groove, and it’s no wonder that “Delicate” eventually creeped up the charts despite the fact that, as Swift said herself, her reputation’s never been worse.

#15: “Picture To Burn” (Taylor Swift)

If I’m going to enjoy a country song, it better be ridiculous and stuffed with as many goofy clichés as possible. The single can’t take itself too seriously (and should be super catchy, of course). This is why some of the few country songs I semi-ironically love sound less like George Strait and more like “Man! I Feel Like A Woman.” If all country music was as silly as “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy,” I’d probably like the genre a lot more.

“Picture To Burn” isn’t quite on those songs’ level, but it nearly matches the same level of yee-haw fun. Swift puts on an aggressive Southern accent, there’s a literal banjo solo at one point, and it’s about the best country topic there is: getting revenge on your ex!

Swift leaves no shot unfired as she calls out her former boyfriend for her “stupid ‘ol pickup truck you never let me drive,” calls him a stupid redneck, threatens to date all his friends and even gets her daddy involved. (At one point, the song contained a lyric about telling his friends he was gay, but thankfully, she later removed it)

It’s not quite “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” but it’ll do in a pinch.

#14: “Wildest Dreams” (1989)

One of the smartest things Swift’s done during her blockbuster pop era is cribbing ideas from other musicians and adapting them to her own personality. As mentioned earlier, “22″ is her version of a Ke$ha party song, “Mine” is like one of Springsteen’s heartland tunes, and “Shake It Off” is an intentionally dumb Katy Perry single.

But probably the most obvious example of this is “Wildest Dreams.” And the artist Swift cribs from on this sweeping ballad is more of a cult favorite than a true pop megastar: Lana Del Rey. Don’t lie, you hear it too: the cooing, sensual vocals, the cinematic sound, the lyrics that evoke classic Hollywood romance. It’s basically just “Summertime Sadness” without the Spaghetti western guitars.

And that’s absolutely a good thing! Although Swift doesn’t have Lana’s stunning alto vocal (sorry, but you know it’s true), she can still absolutely play that classic movie starlet role. Add a bit more modern pop structure to Del Rey’s indie-darling formula, and you’ve got the recipe for an easy standout track.

#13: “You Belong With Me” (Fearless)

Pointing out that “You Belong With Me,” arguably Swift’s biggest early hit, is problematic isn’t a new take. The idea of that someone inherently “belongs” with you because you like them has been debunked. I’m sorry this guy doesn’t you like you back Taylor, but maybe he has a good thing going with that cheer captain who wears short skirts? Let him be.

...but on the other hand, Swift was 19 when she wrote “You Belong With Me.” Most people criticizing the lyrics here are doing so through an adult vantage. Yes, the message is toxic, but it’s also extremely accurate to how teenage crushes work. I can promise you that I had similar feelings in junior high/high school, and I know I’m not alone in that regard. 

Also, “You Belong With Me” is far too catchy and bouncy to truly hate. So although I can’t rank it too high due to the iffy lyrics, I can’t deny that it does tap into some raw teen emotions, even if they’re ugly.

#12: “I Knew You Were Trouble.” (Red)

I was there. That fateful day in 2012 when Taylor Swift *gasp* MADE A DUBSTEP SONG. People were snarking that this was basically just Skrillex for the Forever 21 crowd, sharing around that (hilarious) screaming goat remix, and so on.

But seven years later, although that dubstep production is oh-so-early-’10s, “I Knew You Were Trouble” absolutely holds up. If Swift was going to abandon country, why not go all out? Besides, the drop still hits with a lot of force, mirroring the visceral anger of her lyrics. If anything, it isn’t intense enough. Maybe she really should’ve gotten Skrillex to produce...

#11: “Out Of The Woods” (1989)

YES inject that synthy Jack Antonoff production right into my veins.

I’m still upset that “Out Of The Woods” wasn’t a smash like 1989′s other singles, but it is a pretty weird song. The chorus is aggressively repetitive (its only real flaw), it’s a breakup song that’s less relatable lyrically and more abstract, and America was too busy paying attention at the time to Bieber semi-apologizing.

But THAT PRODUCTION. It’s nervy yet propulsive, with a quiet-loud-quiet setup that any good power ballad needs. Antonoff even provides some backup vocals, which is always a welcome addition. Swift herself really sells the song too. I wouldn’t say she’s a powerhouse singer, but she’s really giving it her all here in terms of vocal force — something she typically shies away from.

“Out Of The Woods” will likely be lost to time for all but the most ardent Swifties. But for those who love it, may I suggest listening to some Bleachers?

#10: “Back To December” (Speak Now)

The stereotype of Swift’s breakup songs, particularly in the early stage of her career, was that they weren’t self-aware and basically demonized whatever boy the song was about (or the girl she was jealous of). And while that’s not 100 percent true, the stereotype did have some merit back then.

That’s why “Back To December” was rightfully hailed as a breath of fresh air for Swift, and it’s held up extremely well nine years later. The perspective has shifted — in this story, she’s the one admitting guilt for ending the relationship. It’s a very measured, mature song, but with still enough tender emotion and regret to stay relatable. The orchestral sweep is a nice touch as well, emphasizing the tragedy of the situation.

Also, fun fact: This song is about Swift’s relationship with Twilight hunk Taylor Lautner. Maybe the relationship didn’t work out because she thought it was weird to date a guy with the same name? It was probably because she’s more of a Hunger Games fan.

#9: “Getaway Car” (reputation)

Here’s the one thing reputation improved upon from 1989. As just a cursory listen could tell you, “Getaway Car,” sonically, is extremely similar to “Out Of The Woods.” They’re both pulsing, synthy new wave tracks with a heavy Bleachers influence — considering they’re both Antonoff productions, not surprising at all. It even steals a lyric from Bleachers’ “Rollercoaster.”

So what makes “Getaway Car” a superior sequel? Well, it’s a smoother ride, for sure — the aggressively repetitive chorus in “Out Of The Woods” was that song’s weak spot. And “Getaway” has a more clear concept as well, being about a Bonnie and Clyde-inspired escape from a failing relationship, invoking all the bittersweet emotions that come along with that. “Out Of The Woods” is...about a car crash with Harry Styles? I guess?

It’s really a personal call. They’re both amazing songs, I just happen to think Swift and Antonoff refined their collaboration on this later attempt.

#8: “Teardrops On My Guitar” (Taylor Swift)

“Teardrops On My Guitar” is both obviously written by a 15-year-old kid, but also so, so much better than that implies. 

The lyrics here are extremely wholesome and corny — unlike “You Belong With Me,” Swift doesn’t even take any shots at the girl her crush is currently dating, and there’s references to “wishing stars,” something I think I’ve only ever heard in Disney songs. And like many of Swift’s early songs, it absolutely nails the yearning emotions of a teenage crush, especially for those of us who were too shy to do anything about them.

But obviously, Swift wasn’t an average ninth-grader. The lilting melody in the verses of “Teardrops” fits the lyrics perfectly. And the song comes off both very polished and radio-ready, yet still plucked right from the pages of a diary. Yes, Swift co-wrote the song with pop-country songwriter Liz Rose, but that’s not unusual for a very young artist. Lorde’s “Royals” (written at age 16) had a co-writer, too.

The simple beauty of “Teardrops” is what brought Swift into the mainstream, and there’s a good reason for that: it’s an incredible start to a career.

#7: “Blank Space” (1989)

“Blank Space” might be the only intentional, successful self-own in recent pop history. I can’t think of another time when an artist eviscerated their public persona with such surgical precision, and it actually made them more endearing.

Tired of trolls constantly making jokes about her short relationships and constant breakup songs, Swift decided to make the joke herself, 8 Mile-style. In “Blank Space,” she paints herself as a psychotic maneater who will drive any guy insane. Out of all her disses over the years, she might have saved the best barb for herself: “Darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.” The instant tone switch from the cooing, seductive first verse to the furious, delusional second verse is brilliant.

If there’s one flaw to “Blank Space,” it’s that the production is maybe a tad too minimalist for such an intense song. But the hook is still massive, and the song isn’t about the production anyways: It’s 100 percent a lyrical showcase for Swift, and a way to beat her haters at their own game. 

Dissing yourself while still coming off smart is a tough tightrope to walk, as “Look What You Made Me Do” unfortunately proved. But with “Blank Space,” Taylor proved that, even if for a brief moment, she controlled the narrative.

(Also, this is Taylor’s best video. Obviously.)

#6: “Sparks Fly” (Speak Now)

A lot of the other songs in this top 10 work because of a very specific reason, whether it be the production or a clever lyrical conceit. But it’s difficult to describe what makes “Sparks Fly” fly so well. 

At first glance, it’s not that much different than other early upbeat Swift singles — it’s got the country-rock guitars, lovesick lyrics, a bit of a twang but not too much. But this is where that formula reaches perfection. It’s no wonder that after “Speak Now,” Swift tilted hard into pure pop, because she wasn’t going to top this.

The chorus is passionate and soaring, with even the percussive lyrics ( “Drop. Everything. Now.”) contributing. And this seems like a super-odd aspect of a Taylor Swift song to compliment, but “Sparks Fly” also has a fantastic guitar riff — something few of her pop contemporaries would try.

Sometimes what makes a song great is to just have every aspect go perfectly, and that’s exactly what happened with “Sparks Fly.”

#5: “Red” (Red)

The title track to Swift’s instant-classic album Red is the closest she’s come to being a full-fledged rockstar (well, that and album cut “State Of Grace,” which is an obvious U2 pastiche). It’s definitely more of a country-fried, Sheryl Crow brand of rock, but it suits Swift well. There’s even a killer guitar solo!

As a summation of a whirlwind relationship, “Red” absolutely nails the bittersweet feelings that come after a breakup. Even the best moments or aspects of her ex have a dark side, but she seems equally wistful about the worst moments. And the color-based chorus (a few years before Halsey stole the idea), complete with a new wave-y vocal echo, is simple but effective. It’s the perfect middle between Swift’s uber-pop era to come and her Nashville songwriter past.

#4: “New Romantics” (1989)

I was hesitant to include “New Romantics” on this list. Yes, it was a single, but it was also a tacked-on bonus track to 1989. But it’s too damn perfect of a pop song to leave off.

Honestly, how was this not included in the regular tracklisting of 1989? Yes, it’s her best album, so there’s not a lot of filler, but “New Romantics” would’ve still been an improvement over nearly all of the songs there. The production by pop wizards Max Martin and Shellback pops and whizzes with energy. It’s pure ‘80s heaven, with an anthemic sing-along chorus and bouncy synths and drum machines.

But naturally, Swift herself is a major factor to why “New Romantics” is such an effective pop song. Her vocal delivery here has a knowing wink, with a bit of snark. You might even call it Debbie Harry-esque. For a song where Swift is conveying the joys of non-stop partying, she certainly sells it. And I’d imagine if she released it as a regular single earlier in 1989′s cycle, it would’ve been another #1 smash.

#3: “Love Story” (Fearless)

“Love Story” deliberately misinterprets multiple literary classics to create an uber-cheesy, ridiculous fairy tale. And it’s easily the best song of her country era, and one of the best pop songs of the ‘00s, bar none.

The star-crossed lovers angle is overdone, yes, but Swift sings about this secret relationship with such passion and earnestness that it feels fresh again. When the surprise ending comes and the boyfriend proposes (wait, aren’t they both high schoolers? Maybe wait a bit on that one, guys), it’s got all the sappiness of a Hallmark special, and yet it totally works. You can tell the then-18 Swift didn’t find this cheesy in the slightest, and her bold, passionate sincerity works.

Even the fact that the song seems to not understand what The Scarlet Letter was actually about, or how Romeo and Juliet ends, is honestly more charming than anything else. “Love Story” is like a puppy — full of boundless joy and absolutely impossible to resist, despite not being all that smart.

#2: “Style” (1989)

I can’t imagine the confusion and shock that Swift’s management must have felt when she told them she wanted to record a song that sounded like the Drive soundtrack. But it was an absolutely brilliant move, and it gave us the song that will likely age better than any of Swift’s other singles.

To be fair, “Style” is much more radio-friendly than your average Chromatics single — but not by much! Swift’s vocals are less ethereal than Ruth Radelet’s, and the hooks are much more obvious. But many Chromatics songs, or songs from Drive, are already pretty catchy — Swift just needed to maximize them into a slinky-yet-explosive new wave behemoth.

The pulsating synth background and Swift’s whispery vocals make “Style” an all-time classic song for aimlessly driving around at night, yet it’s big enough to fit in with her more blunt hits. In fact, it might be the one time she actually seemed *gasp* cool. It’s too bad reputation tried so hard to recapture this dusky vibe and utterly failed, but at least we’ll always have her first attempt.

#1: “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (Red)

It took Swift many, many tries to capture that elusive first #1 hit. But when she finally reached that pinnacle in 2012 with the gleefully venomous “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” it made perfect sense. After all, it’s her best song.

Swift has written many breakup songs before, but she’s never had this much fun knocking down her ex — in this case, the famously sleazy John Mayer. And her digs are just so relentless and delivered with a perfect smirk. There’s the dig at Mayer listening to “some indie record that’s much cooler than mine,” which drips with sarcasm. She calls him out for his inability to fully commit, saying both that his breakups and makeups only “last about a day.” And of course, there’s also that wonderfully exasperated phone call, where Swift groans about her ex’s persistence, calling the situation “exhausting” and mocking him. 

The best part is that all of this is delivered in a sugary-sweet, insanely catchy campfire sing-along that wouldn’t leave anyone’s heads in the fall of 2012. That chorus is just so joyful and fun that you have expect the little bouncing ball to pop up next to the “WHEEE-EEE!”

It seems weird to say Swift’s best song is also her big sell-out moment, but some artists were just meant to be pure pop. And in Swift’s case, she didn’t sacrifice any of her sharp songwriting en route to a catchier, more fun sound, which created one of the most iconic pop songs of the ‘10s.

[racingtoaredlight]

RTARL presents: choose your own post

Welcome to some sort of Saturday roundup because I didn’t form a complete idea for a post. So here are some that I considered but didn’t write.

New Kendrick Lamar came out! I think Humble is the first single from the new album whereas The Heart Part IV was more like promo material and probably won’t be on the proper track listing. I could be wrong about that. Humble is getting some heat as typical rap misogyny dressed up as a positive message hidden within another diss track. I honestly haven’t listened much to the lyrics yet so I can’t tell you any thought I might form on that topic.

WHY DID I WATCH THIS?

How To Be Single was on HBO last night and I watched it from start to finish. I don’t have an explanation for that. I had considered that it might make me laugh a few times but it didn’t do that. It was sort of like the feeling you’d have after being really hungry but just eating candy as a meal. I spent a good amount of time trying to remember who Colin Jost is and I wish I hadn’t done that. Anders Holm continued his impressive streak of being in every movie over a three year period without having any name recognition.

MLB OPENING DAY!

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Opening Day is tomorrow but there’s a free preview of MLB.tv today if you’re considering buying it. I’ve had it for the last few years but not always for the full season. If you hold out until June they usually have a half price sale for Father’s Day. I like it, though, and I’ve got unlimited data on my phone now so I’ll listen to/watch even more than I normally do.

NCAA FINAL FOUR

I have watched zero seconds of live action throughout this year’s tournament but I’ll probably watch today’s games. Go South Carolina and Gonzaga, make the championship weird!

UCONN LOST!

I saw Miss State’s final possession. It’s the only non-NBA ball I’ve watched since February. The women’s game is wild. UConn had a 111-game winning streak that ended in the Final Four and they’ve owned the sport so much that it’s considered one of the biggest upsets of all time. Miss State was a 2-seed and it’s the Final Four and it’s a headline grabbing upset that they won. I guess it’s not really much different than when Duke beat UNLV back in 1991 but it still feels funny that Miss State was such a huge underdog.

GODZILLA FINAL WARS IS PRETTY KOOKY

Godzilla Final Wars is 13 years old but it’s still worth asking what the hell? Starz has been showing a bunch of Godzilla movies this week if you want to see something that has two dudes who are somehow mixed with kaiju in a sort of Godzilla-ish version of when George Lucas destroyed what being a Jedi means.

APRIL FOOL’S DAY

If you’re into this sort of thing here’s a thing to read. Or not. Whatever, I don’t know why this is a thing outside of grade school. It was mostly garbage then, too.

So there you have it. Make your own fine post out of these disparate threads.

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