#grace ivers aesthetic

[haleway]

                                              🗼 = Grace Ivers

[l1tterae]

𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙴  𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂   &.  𝙹𝙾𝙷𝙽  𝙻𝙾𝙶𝙰𝙽   𝙴𝙳𝙸𝚃𝚂.   mutuals  may  interact,  personals  do  not  reblog.

[danteragnulf]

@dhcmpirs​ location: ye old record store notes: we love a neon aesthetic

Maybe the owners were going for some sort of renaissance, but it worked. The record store had a lounge, a coffee stand, and it attracted the sort of beatnik crowd that Dante had been hanging around for the better part of the last decade. There was something about him that loved the lost and the wandering, the broken ones that were desperate to have all their little pieces put together and assembled. The lycan came across a lot of faces, a lot of scents, and rarely did he forget any that managed to leave an impression. This store was where Dante had landed, he had a gig at a lycan bar on the other side of the city but performing one night a week - mostly for tips - wasn’t going to keep the lights on. So, there he was, trapped in retail hell. His saving grace would be that he loved music, and most of the people who came through were either loitering or just trying to steal something. Both of which made work relatively easy and meant he could slack off, sketch, or work on his music with his boots up on the counter. 

There was a customer, a real bonafide customer that made Dante sit up and lean on the glass display case, notes put aside as the dull murmur of the hipsters drinking espresso in the corner served as white noise overtop the record that was playing. Bon Iver. “Hey- that’ll be-” there was something familiar about this one, it had been a few years but yeah, sure. “we’ve met before right?” I fucked you. Was what Dante didn’t say but he would have known those eyes anywhere, the other’s scent came second. “Yeah, yeah, um Paris? Maybe. I was playing at the underground and you brought me to your friend’s party.” There was a beat that lingered for a second, he smirked, more wolfish than was necessary. “Good times.”

[lilvcalloway]

“You’re the last person I think about before I go to sleep, and the first person I think about when I open my eyes in the morning. You’re it for me, baby.”

[carstairstuff]

— sabrina james and john tucker headers.

like or credits on twitter @sethcvpella

[lolacricketts]

“I love you, you stupid jackass!” Grace and Logan, The Mistake by Elle Kennedy. 

lolacrickett

[declannbhd]

❄🌹 série off campus: Grace Ivers

[ts1989fanatic]

Every Taylor Swift Album Ranked

We revisited each of the singer’s original studio albums and ranked them from best to worst.

FEATURESEvery Taylor Swift Album Ranked

We revisited each of the singer’s original studio albums and ranked them from best to worst.

By Slant Staff on July 6, 2021

Taylor Swift started off as a country artist at a time when the genre was both less respectful and accommodating of the voices of women than at any other point in its storied history. The singer’s first four albums barely scan as country music in a meaningful way, instead embracing her preternatural gifts for pop conventions, and her output has gotten stronger the more openly she’s embraced those skills. In the 15 years since the single “Tim McGraw” launched Swift to country stardom, she’s jettisoned the genre’s ill-fitting signifiers and overcome the limitations of her early recordings—improvements captured in her “Taylor’s Version” re-recordings of those albums as a powerful statement of artistic agency.

As Swift takes an apparent break from new music to re-record those early releases, including Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and this fall’s highly anticipated Red redux, we revisited each of her original studio albums and ranked them from best to worst.

9. Taylor Swift (2006)

Though she was praised for her songwriting right out of the gate, what Swift’s self-titled debut truly shows in hindsight is how diligently she’s worked to hone her craft over the years. Some of her trademarks—her gift for melody, her third-act POV reversals—were already present here, but there’s a sloppiness to the writing that she’s long since cleaned up. Whether that’s emphasizing the wrong syllables of words because she hadn’t quite mastered the meter of language (most notable on “Teardrops on My Guitar”) or mixing metaphors (on “Picture to Burn” and the otherwise catchy “Our Song”), there’s a lack of polish and editing on Taylor Swift

8. Fearless (2008)

Nearly every track on Swift’s sophomore effort, Fearless, builds to a massive pop hook. But while her grasp of song structure at this point in her career suggested an innate talent for how to develop a melody, Fearless also highlights Swift’s then-limited repertoire and lack of creativity in constructing her narratives of doe-eyed infatuations and first loves gone wrong. It’s admirable that she tries to incorporate more sophisticated elements into a few of the songs here, but dancing with or kissing someone in the rain is a default image that crops up with nearly the same distracting frequency as references to princesses, angels, and fairy tales. Fearless, however, just as strongly made the case that Swift had the goods for a long, rich career. The bridge to “Fifteen” includes a great, revealing line about a friend’s lost innocence (“And Abigail gave everything/She had to a boy/Who changed his mind/And we both cried”), while the playful melody of “Hey Stephen” captures the essence of what makes for indelible teen-pop.

7. Speak Now (2010)

Swift’s third album, Speak Now, is problematic in precisely the same ways that its predecessors are, but there isn’t a song here that isn’t an absolute wonder of technical construction. Perhaps even more impressive is Swift’s mastery of song structure. Consider how the instrumentation drops out during the last two words of the hook in “Last Kiss,” allowing the singer’s breathy vocal delivery to bear the entirety of the song’s emotional weight, or how a simple acoustic guitar figure on “Enchanted” slowly crescendos behind each repetition of the line “I was enchanted to meet you.” Unfortunately, the greater complexity and range found in Swift’s sound and in her song constructions doesn’t necessarily translate to her songwriting. Her narrators often seem to lack insight because Swift writes with the point of view that hers is the only story to be told, which makes songs like “Dear John” and “Better Than Revenge” come across as shallow and shortsighted. And though she does vary her phrasing in ways that attempt to mask her limited voice, Swift is still noticeably off-pitch at least once on every song on the album.

6. Red (2012)

Considering that Swift’s previous material was almost always better when she tossed the ill-fitting country signifiers and focused on her uncanny gift for writing pop hooks, Red was a smart, if overdue, move for the singer. The album plays as a survey course in contemporary pop, and Swift is game to try just about anything, from the uninhibited dance-pop of standout “Starlight” to the thundering heartland rock of “Holy Ground.” The tracks that work best are those on which the production is creative and modern in ways that are in service to Swift’s songwriting. The distorted vocal effects and shifts in dynamics on “I Knew You Were Trouble” heighten the sense of frustration that drives the song, and the driving rhythm section on “Holy Ground” reflects Swift’s reminiscence of a lover who “took off faster than a green light, go.” Not all of the songs here are so keenly observed—“State of Grace” and “I Almost Do” lack the specificity that’s one of Swift’s songwriting trademarks, while the title track underwhelms with its train of pedestrian similes and metaphors—but if Red is ultimately too uneven to be a truly great pop album, its highlights were career-best work for Swift at the time.

5. Lover (2019)

Swift’s seventh album, Lover, lacks a unified sonic aesthetic, ostensibly from trying to be something to everyone. The title track, whose lilting rhythm and reverb-soaked drums and vocals are reminiscent of Mazzy Star’s ‘90s gem “Fade Into You,” and the acoustic “Soon You’ll Get Better,” a tribute to Swift’s mother, hark back to the singer’s pre-pop days, while “I Think He Knows” and “False God” evoke Carly Rae Jepsen’s brand of ‘80s R&B-inflected electro-pop. When it comes to things other than boys, though, Swift has always preferred to dip her toes in rather than get soaking wet; her transformation from country teen to pop queen was, after all, a decade in the making. Less gradual was Swift’s shift from political agnostic to liberal advocate. Her once apolitical music is, on Lover, peppered with references to America’s current state of affairs, both thinly veiled (“Death by a Thousand Cuts”) and more overt (“You Need to Calm Down”). “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” however, is her stock in trade, a richly painted narrative punctuated by cool synth washes and pep-rally chants, while “The Archer” is quintessential Swift: wistful, minimalist dream pop that displays her willingness to acknowledge and dismantle her own flaws, triggers, and neuroses.

4. Reputation (2017)

In the run-up to the release of her sixth album, Reputation, Swift was excoriated by fans and foes alike for too often playing the victim. The album’s lyrics only serve to bolster that perception: Swift comes off like a frazzled stay-at-home mom scolding her disobedient children on “Look What You Made Me Do” and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.” But it’s her willingness to portray herself not as a victim, but the villain of her own story that makes Reputation such a fascinatingly thorny glimpse inside the mind of pop’s reigning princess. Swift has proven herself capable of laughing at herself, thereby defusing the criticisms often levied at her, but with Reputation she created a larger-than-life caricature of the petty, vindictive snake she’s been made out to be. By album’s end, Swift assesses her crumbling empire and tattered reputation, discovering redemption in love—only Reputation isn’t so much a rebirth as it is a retreat inward. It marks a shift from the retro-minded pop-rock of 2014’s 1989 toward a harder, more urban aesthetic, and Swift wears the stiff, clattering beats of songs like “…Ready for It?” like body armor.

3. Evermore (2020)

Evermore is at once as confident and complete a statement as Folklore. Certainly, it matters that the two albums were born of the protracted isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic and that collaborators like Bon Iver and the National’s Aaron Dessner figure prominently on both. But Evermore finds Swift digging further into her explorations of narrative voice and shifting points of view, taking bigger risks in trying to discover how the newfound breadth of her songwriting could possibly reconcile with the arc of her career. What makes Evermore an essential addition to her catalog is her willingness to tell others’ stories with the same insight and compassion with which she’s always told her own. And on this album, in particular, the stories she tells are about how her narrators’ choices impact others, often in ways that cause irreparable harm.

2. 1989 (2014)

Swift’s 1989 severed whatever vestiges of her country roots remained on 2012’s Red, replacing acoustic guitars and pedal steel with multi-layered synthscapes, drum machines, and densely packed vocal tracking. Swift, of course, got her start writing astutely observed country ballads, and these songs bolster her trademark knack for lyric-crafting with maximalist, blown-out pop production courtesy of collaborators Max Martin and Jack Antonoff. The album’s standout tracks retain the narrative detail and clever metaphor-building that distinguished Swift’s early songs, even amid the diversions wrought by the aggressive studio production on display throughout. Songs like “I Know Places” ride a reggae swagger and trap-influenced snare beats before launching into a soaring, Pat Benatar-esque chorus. It’s an effortless fusion that, like much of 1989, displays Swift’s willingness to venture outside her comfort zone without much of a safety net, and test out an array of sonic experiments that feel both retro and of the moment.

1. Folklore (2020)

Folklore is neither a culmination of Swift’s career to date nor a pivot in a new direction. She’s doing exactly what she’s always done: offering a collection of incisive, often provocative songs that incorporate authentic, first-person details and leaving others to argue over specific genre signifiers. Song for song, the album finds Swift at a new peak in her command of language. While tracks like “Cardigan” and “Invisible Strings” hinge on protracted metaphors, “Mad Woman” and “Peace” are blunt and plainspoken. In every instance, what’s noteworthy is Swift’s precision in communicating her exact intent. That she employs her long-established songwriting tropes in novel ways is truly the most significant development here. She’s mined this type of melancholy tone before, but never for the full length of an album and certainly never with such a range of perspectives. It isn’t the weight of the subject matter alone that makes Folklore feel so vital—it’s the exemplary caliber of her writing. The album finds Swift living up to all of the praise she earned for her songwriting earlier in career.

ts1989fanatic not sure I 100% agree with their ranking order and some of the snark on reputation is a little OTT but overall it’s not bad

[bananaofswifts]

Taylor Swift Conjures Stories Destined to Endear and Endure for Generations to Come on ‘folklore’ | Album Review

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Something of a semi-career capstone, Taylor Swift’s seventh studio album Lover (2019) presented—in some form or another—all the various sounds she’d taken up across her previous six records. Usually when a recording artist arrives at a point of vocational reflection, a customary singles compilation is dutifully imparted. Not so for Swift—the decision to generate a new song cycle suggested that she still had artistic energy to burn off. And so, alongside any of the nostalgia that buzzed on Lover, an exploratory air could also be heard too.

In the wake of Lover’s initial rollout, Swift certainly kept busy: “The Man” (the final single from Lover) and the Miss Americana documentary debuted on January 27th and 31st respectively—each of them won critical acclaim. Not long after this double whammy of activity, the world found itself paralyzed by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Suddenly, the touring reality for musicians, regardless of any pecking order, changed overnight. Many assumed that Swift—now unable to tour Lover as planned in the spring and summer of 2020—was going to embark on a minor break. They were wrong.

Swift was inspired to start scripting stock for her eighth studio affair folklore while in isolation. Enlisting a tight crew of collaborators that included an old friend (Jack Antonoff) and a new face (Aaron Dessner of The National), Swift and her colleagues managed to assemble the long player, albeit piecemeal, and observe social distancing guidelines—a masterful feat in and of itself. With an exception issued to “exile,” where she handsomely partners and writes with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, the rest of folklore is penned (and partially produced) by Swift with co-writing-production support courtesy of Dessner and Antonoff.

The unexpected announcement of folklore’s imminent arrival only one day before its July 24th release was a power move à la Beyoncé. By late Friday afternoon, the raves for folkore were piling up and one question was repeating itself among devotees and pundits: what was a comparable album to folklore in Swift’s established canon?

The only previous effort to come close would be Red (2012).

Swift’s fourth set was her last LP where she explicitly engaged with a guitar driven aesthetic while also prognosticating a much larger play for broader pop prominence. But if Red was an album defined by wide-eyed ambition, folklore brims with experience gained as a maturing woman. The groovy, piano-pop lilt of “the 1,” a radio ready number, opens Swift’s current offering as a lowkey flip on the vibe of “I Forgot That You Existed” from Lover. Yet with “cardigan,” an adult alternative stunner, following directly behind “the 1,” Swift evinces that folklore is in possession of treasures far richer sonically than what that introductory selection teases.

Across the remainder of its fifteen tracks—seventeen with “the lakes” if one procures the physical copy—folklore is an aural panorama of album oriented rock (“my tears ricochet”), chamber pop (“epiphany”) and acoustic country-folk (“invisible string”). All the content is beautifully outlined by Swift’s voice, an instrument that has always been pleasantly competent, but on folklore it displays a gracefulness and passion never heard before.

One can safely assume that this is owed to Swift paring down the production gloss wielded on 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017) and Lover—not that it drowned her out on those efforts. But, for the first time, it feels synchronal to Swift’s singing and she wisely retains enough of that production muscle to lend folklore a sense of widescreen majesty despite its obvious intimate slant. These creative choices demonstrate knowledge gained by Swift and she actions this expertise on four songs at the heart of the album: “mirrorball,” “seven,” “august,” and “this is me trying.” The quartet finds Swift moving even deeper into the cited chamber pop and country-folk atmospherics to winning effect; and this song strata additionally points to her true talent as a writer.

Although Swift’s embrace of social justice has been to her benefit topically, the politics of the personal remain her greatest asset and best form of communication with her public—“Hoax” is an undeniable highlight of this enduring skill to tell her own stories. However, where she once only skimmed the surface of touching on the tales of outsiders, Swift lets herself become a channel to share narratives that aren’t born of her. In an official statement, she describes the change in her writing mindset for folklore this way, “I found myself not only writing my own stories, but also writing about or from the perspective of people I’ve never met, people I’ve known, or those I wish I hadn’t.”

Swift takes this approach to the next level with “the last great american dynasty,” a fascinating account of the long since deceased St. Louis heiress Rebekah West Harkness—a misunderstood figure and firebrand of her day. Harkness was the former owner of a Rhode Island coastal home Swift purchased in 2013. Swift ties herself into the end of “the last great american dynasty,” in first-person, to forge a connection between Harkness’ journey as a complex woman and her own multitudes. She does the same (again via the first-person method) on similarly absorbing entries like “illicit affairs” and “mad woman,” where the line between Swift’s reality and the task of being an interpreter is blurred.

As a complete body of work, folklore is Swift’s most compelling and challenging record since Reputation. No longer a former “country starlet gone pop,” Swift is a woman with a singular vision moving forward to blaze new paths and create art that will resonate for years to come.

Notable Tracks: “cardigan” | “hoax” | “the last great american dynasty” | “mirrorball”

[sparklygoblin]

Haikyuu battle of the bands!!! This is stupid but I'm a choir kid and I really love music so I had to imagine this one. I'm sorry this is really self indulgent but I dunno I hadn't seen it yet and I'm a sucker for mood music so yeah feel free to ignore this I get it.

TW: suicide, drugs and scary music ahead.

Tsukki, Yams, Hinata, and Kenma have a band that freaking destroys the indie grunge garage rock genre, they all grew up sad and messy. They sound a bit like mcafferty or the front bottoms and maybe cavetown when yams takes over more

Bottom-Mcafferty (yams and tsukki doing this one together is kind of so good)

Twins Size Matress-The Front Bottoms (I'm basic I know)

Lemon Boy-Cavetown (Ah if this ain't Yams about Tsukki)

Tsukki is a lead singer and nothing will change my mind, he can write and sing in that grunge way, it's hot. He's got a very cool detached vibe, and guys and girls alike are thirstin but none of them ever come to anything. He's got an eye for his little back up singer with the green hair

Yams is the back up singer, and also a base guitarist and he's kind of iconic, Tsukki has never needed anyone else, it's been him and Yams since they were kids, and it's been that way for a reason, Yams is almost a better lyricist than Tsukki

Hinata is their little guitarist and he's literally king of those jaw dropping garage rock guitar shreds at live shows and god he's really broken in this AU but he's still extremely sunny, he just has a lot of trauma in his past

Kenma hits the drums, and writes a lot of the lyrics, he can also sing very high harmonies, so he'll occasionally chip in on those

Bokuto, Iwaizumi, Kuroo, and Kyoutani have a freaking sick rock band, like I'm talking guitar shreds, eyeliner, screaming vocals ahhhhh I love it so much. They're literally adored and they fall just on the edge of hard but not too hard. They sound a bit like Breaking Benjamin, Foo Fighters, and a little bit of Three Days Grace

Diary of Jane-Breaking Benjamin

Best of You-Foo Fighters

World So Cold-Three Days Grace

Kuroo is the lead singer, very mid 2000s rock sound, raspy screaming, deep lyrics, sad eyes and beautiful hair. Drinks a lot, everyone loves him but him, wishes he were dead like a lot.

Bokuto plays guitar and just wants his friend to be okay , he seems very strong spirited and happy on stage but he has a habit of making a complete turn, and struggles with bipolar disorder on his own

Iwaizumi is a silent, brooding guitarist and probably lowkey the hottest member of the whole band, he shreds and him and bokuto shred back and forth at live shows its crazy

Kyoutani is a drummer with heavy dark make up and terrifying eyes, he's the classic vision of rock and roll and god help him he has so many parents who h a t e him.

Asahi, Daichi, and Kiyoko are amazing. They vibe with a more indie pop sound, with soft piano chords and deep female vocals, reminiscent of Florence+the Machine, Of Monsters and Men, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, and Bon Iver.

Over the Love-Florence and the Machine (Imagining kiyoko with a voice like this is such a trip)

Dirty Paws-Of Monters and Men

Lung- Vancouver Sleep Clinic ( the anxiety in this song gives me Asahi vibes)

Blood Bank-Bon Iver (daichiiiiii)

None of them have set places in this group, they're extremely mutable and that's what makes them so special everyone loves that the vibes stay the same even though the voices are constantly switching

Oikawa, Yahaba, Hanamaki, and Mattsukawa are reminiscent of Harry Styles, One Republic, and Coldplay. They write slow sad alternative pop music to cry to bc Oikawa is an aesthetically pleasing sad boy.

Girl Crush Cover-Harry Styles (Oiks being gay and sad in a floral suit KILLS ME)

All Fall Down-One Republic

Violet Hill-Coldplay

Oikawa has an incredible voice that he didn't come by naturally, and the fact that he had to practice makes him all the more likeable. His stage presence is nuts, and he cries like a lot.

Yahaba is an adorable little keyboard player with soft eyes and a really nice harmony with Oikawa

Hanamaki strums soft sad strings

Mattsukawa keeps a steady melancholic beat

Suga, Noya, Tanaka, and Ennoshita are modern rock in a nutshell, and god do they know how to make you angry and heartbroken all at once. They release music in the vein of Badflower, Boston Manor, and The Plot in You.

24-Badflower

Halo-Boston Manor

The Plot in You- Feel Nothing

Suga is the lead singer and his on stage emotion is crazy he's an emotional wreck, practically screaming S A V E M E, he's obviously on a lot of substances and victim of crippling low self worth. He cries on really bad nights, his voice is incredible but he's losing himself to the heartbreak. Suga writes almost all of the lyrics.

Noya and Tanaka party all the time to cover up the fact that the both of them feel alone in rooms full of people, to hide the fact that they need saving too. Tanaka is guitar, Noya is drums.

Ennoshita is a guitarist as well, and he's probably the only one keeping all of his bandmates from dying. The pressure is a lot for him.

Yachi is an unhinged curveball, you'd think she sings cute pop songs, but nah, that girl is straight up nuts. Screaming, vulgar, chaos is how you'd describe her music. She's been repressed her who look e life and it SHOWS.

I Hate My Mom-GRLwood

Mumble rap is a controversial genre to say the least, but I can't deny that I love it and could see a few of the more spooky or apathetic volleyball boys partaking, especially Tendo and surprisingly, Kunimi. They'd sound somewhat like Ghostemane, $uicidBoy$, and Sueco the Child.

Nihil- Ghostemane (tendo style)

Sold my soul to satan waiting in line at the mall- $uicideBoy$ (together)

Novacane:)-Sueco the Child(Kunimi vibes)

Tendo is scary af which really lends itself to the whole terrifying music style and stage presence he has. His music is dark seductive dissonance as is he.

Kunimi has suffered in a constant state of pure apathy and sorrow his whole life, this lends itself to the whole $uicide theme he's got going.

[needyoulikeaheartbeet]

FOLKLORE FIRST THOUGHTS

ft. very little editing LONG SONGS! LONG SONGS! AESTHETIC TITLE! 63 MINUTES!

1. the 1

PIANO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! omg her voice is so soft if you wanted me you really shouldve showed IF YOU NEVER BLEED YOURE NEVER GONNA GROW OMG ALREADY A BANGER LINE OMG HOW SHE SINGS THE BRIDGE YESSSSSS THATS CATCHYYY

2. cardigan*

DEEP VOICE SULTRY OOOOOOOOOO the piano reminds me of jazz the IIIII hand under my sweatshirt baby kiss it better omg this is sexi ? OMGGGGGGGGGGGG wow the chorus and when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone’s bed you put me on and said i was your favourite WOW playing hide and seek part omg her voice the IIIII part is sooooooooo nice omg this is hot but sad but like NICE THE STRINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JADORE TELLEMENT you drew stars around my scars but now im bleeding THE STRINGS THE CHORUS THIS IS SO GOOOOOOOD IM CRYING PETER LOSING WENDY this is tugging on my heart strings... that bridge... wow... im literally crying tears rolled down my cheeks wow that was so beautiful im still crying LOL

3. the last great american dynasty

oo that twang-y in the distance im still crying from cardigan sorry all her what friends? was that bleeped? LOL [The clean version of the album on Spotify was available for me before the explicit version] omg how she sangboys you can HEAR her smiling i love it so much my precious bean THESE STORYTELLING LYRICS I NEED TO RELISTEN TO IT ALL STARLIGHT VIBES? omg i had a marvelous tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime <3

4. exile (FEAT BON IVER!!!! OMG?!!!)*

i love how much piano there is in this taylor i love it thank u WHAT A RICH VOICE youre not my homeland anymore?? so what am i defending nwo? im baby STRINGS!!!! <3 this reminds me of the last time kinda duet i cri balancing on breaking bridges im not your problem anymore so who am i offending omg wow her voice is so pretty i gave so many <3

5. my tears ricochet

omg the intro is nice is that her voice? or keyboard voices i didnt have it in myself to go with grace that electronic voice during chorus reminded me of getaway car... i c u jack + the beat... in the bridge wait wake? I NEED LYRICS TO FOLLOW ALONG SKFSKDFNS TOO DISTRACTED AND CONSUMED BY THE MUSIC [I was indeed distracted and not following the lyrics so I thought the wake was connected to one of the previous songs gskng I was like who died omg dummy]

6. mirrorball

ooo this sounds pretty from the start this sounds like a gem i find on youtube at 2 am when no one is around my dear! oooo i like AW SHINING JUST FOR YOU! IN HER HIGHEST HEELS, LOVE? That's so cute i can change eerything about me to try to fit in is SO relatable her vocals r so pretti aw this song makes me smile, the bridge was v cute [Little did I know when I’d relisten and read the lyrics that this song is not one to make you smile ma’am]

7. seven

this is different! this doesnt even sound like her omg but its so nice omg the verse hehe cute THE STRINGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS YES big fan aw is this from kids pov? pirates poor lil bb sweet tea in the summer, cross my heart wont tell no other

this is different but beautiful

8. august

oooo yes another youtube sounding gem with the quality of the music and her voice oh wow how she sang more OMG YES louder THIS IS NICE twisting in bed sheets aw cause u were never mine oh wow after second chorus the MUSIC YES THIS IS SO NICE IM SO HAPPY AND CONSUMED one ting? huh? cancel plans in case you call... omg

MEET ME BEHIND THE MALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you werent mine to lose aw... this song i like a lot

omg the story telling im crying i missed this so much it reminds me of fearless era this is so wow tat resumed loudly LOL i laff but omg this is like happy but sad at the same time THE STRINGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I CANT THIS MUSIC IS SO NICE I WANT IT TO CONSUME ME AND JUST LISTEN TO IT FOREVER like an instrumental version. just driving. even this version. this was so nice. i missed storytelling like this. i adore

9. this is me trying

i like dis so far yes, another youtube gem ORCHESTRA my words shoot to kill when im mad i have a lo of regrets about that sphere omg at least im trying!!! wow ma'am that was so pretty ???? the build up to the bridge wow jack?

10. illicit affairs*

beautiful guitar, wow omg yes those vocals?? lil guys? or is that guitar i like oh wow yeah def an illicit affair huh this is pretty folk dis make me sad but excellent storytelling omg

clandestine meetings ooooo the BRIDGE YES omg !!!! youve shown me colours that you know i cant see with anyone else you taught me a secret language i cant speak with anyone else OWWWWWWW

11. invisible string

this is fun to dance to its so cute bad blood ? *side eye emoji* prechorus is really nice and catchy her voice is so nice ugh i like this bridge <3 is this about joe? chains around my demons one single thread of gold tied me to you!!!! centennial park blues then purple pink skies! lover <3

12. mad woman

nice piano and strings the beat o wow i hate you forever (... is this clean? fuck you forever?) UPDATE IT IS FUCK YOU FOREVER WOO! omg you found something to wrap your noose around w o w, that's so powerful women like hunting witches too; omg wanting me dead has brought you two together wow but when she sang it wow i love watching you climb over people like me wow this is pain :( the vocals in the background are so nice and add to the feeling it makes my tummy sad :(

those back vocals make me think she can still sing safe and sound live one day maybe so tha tmakes me happy though

13. epiphany

the intro feels like an epiphany lemme tell ya i close my eyes thats nice i dont understand whats happening i need lyrics to follow along but it sounds nice strings <3 does this have to do with the wake? the outro is so soothing british accent?

14. betty

country! this is country! COUNTRY! OMG SHES SINGING COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!! TOO!!!!!!! LIKE ACCENT! OMG the classic storytelling... taylors so good at this my god the worst thing that i ever did was what i did to you PARDY music between chorus and bridge UGH YES JAMES! YESSSS THE SOLO BREAKDOWN yes the only thing i wanna do is make it up to you i showed up at your party? aw! (and then you kicked me out LOL) will you have me will you love me will you kiss me on the porch aw shes so talented wtf. man aw standing in your cardigan kissing in my car again stopped at a street light you know i miss you aw [this was the clear trio clue lol]

15. peace

omg that guitar yes sexi rich deep yez thats so nice

that was catchy omg (when she started) OMG IT IS CENSORED...... i talk * with my friends? GIVE US THE UNCENSORED GOODIES CMON!!! oh i just saw the one thats explicit CLOWNS TO THE WEST WEY IT US aw the rains always gonna come when youre standing with me

16. hoax

so simple, vocals and piano wowie omg best laid plan around there the STRINGS are stunning. seriously stunning wow im obsessed this is nice sad feels the guitar added agh yes omg im gonna cry it still hurts beneath my scars when tey pulled me apart im cryin.... that part im cryin!!!!!!!!! THIS WHOLE BIT the background vocals are stunning her voice :( the stirngs :( the piano :( the guitar :( the simplicity :( me saying okay and nodding while crying

Note. The asterisk was me trying to decode which songs were part of the trio, but I kind of lost track and got confused once we hit Betty / I was too distracted by it being country hahaha

[between-the-pages-ofa-book]

So, I’m bored so I’m going to break the rules on this one and answer the questions without being asked first. Will I get bonus points for any answer that doesn’t include a folklore song because this really is my favorite thing she’s ever done. Enjoy!

𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

taylor’s albums edition:

1. 🎬 the 1: what is your favorite opening track? The 1

2. 🌊 cardigan: what is the best 1st single? Honestly, probably Mine , Love Story or Cardigan lyrically; Look What You Made Me Do as far as it being an event goes. 

3. 🌾 the last great american dynasty: what is your favorite narrative/fictional song taylor has ever done? The Lucky One; the last great american dynasty

4. 🏔 exile (feat. Bon Iver): what is your favorite collaboration? Exile or The Last Time

5. 🏹 my tears ricochet: what is your favorite track five? The Archer! Dear John is a close second followed by my tears ricochet

6. 🕊 mirrorball: what is your favorite song instrumentally/sonically? epiphany; State of Grace

7. 🪐 seven: which album has the best track order? reputation because you can get a sense of her mindset through the album

8. 🐛 august: what taylor song takes you back to your childhood/is the most nostalgic? The Best Day

9. 🥃 this is me trying: what song became a favorite over time with repeated listens? Out of the Woods

10. ⛈ illicit affairs: what is your holy trinity on each album?

Debut: Cold As You, Mary’s Song, Tim McGraw

Fearless: Tell Me Why, You’re Not Sorry, White Horse

Speak Now: Dear John, Haunted, Last Kiss

Red: The Last Time, Holy Ground, All Too Well

1989: Out of the Woods, Clean, Wildest Dreams

reputation: Dancing With Our Hands Tied, Call It What You Want, Getaway Car

Lover: Cornelia Street, The Archer, Death by a Thousand Cuts

folklore: Exile, The 1, Invisible String (that was hard--the real answer is ALL of them)

11. 🗝 invisible string: which album had your favorite photo shoot/album aesthetic?

Red or Speak Now

12. 🎹 mad woman: what taylor lyric was most shocking on your first listen?

If a bitch talks shit then I owe him nothing and all the ones that have her telling someone f*ck you

13. 🍃 epiphany: what is your favorite music video from each era?

Debut: Teardrops On My Guitar

Fearless: Fifteen

Speak Now: Ours

Red: Begin Again

1989: Wildest Dreams

reputation: Look What You Made Me Do

Lover: Lover

folklore: I mean, I guess Cardigan...

14. 🏡 betty: what song from each album should have been a single?

Debut: Cold As You

Fearless: You’re Not Sorry

Speak Now: Haunted

Red: The Last Time or The Lucky One

1989: Clean

reputation: Getaway Car

Lover: Death By a Thousand Cuts

folklore: I think Invisible String, My Tears Ricochet, and Exile would make good single choices for this album

15. 🦌 peace: what taylor era means the most to you?

reputation is when I first got into her again

16. 🌲 hoax: what is your favorite closing track?

Daylight, Clean, or Hoax

[physics-dirtbag]

I was tagged by @physicsjournal !!! Thank you and sorry this took so long!!!

Nick Name: I don’t really have one?

Real Name: Grace

Zodiac: Aquarius, but I’m not into astrology

Favourite Music & Groups: The Avett Brothers, Johnny Cash, The Districts, Bon Iver, Hozier, The Head and the Heart, Radiohead, classical music, occasionally assorted pop music

Sports: I don’t really like to watch sports, but I like to play most sports! I ran D1 XC/track my first year of college...

Other Blogs: nope

Get Asks: not usually, but I would like to!

Blogs I follow: mostly math/physics related, some aesthetic

Tumblr Crush: :)

Lucky Number: nope

What Am I Wearing: a grey sweatshirt, orange shorts, and grey fuzzy socks

Dream Holiday: I just want to go to Chicago to do my internship at Fermi this summer (just found out it will be held remotely)

Dream Car: I like my Prius. I guess something battery powered?

Fave Food: chips and guac/queso, cinnamon rolls...

Drink of Choice: in the morning: coffee/tea                                                         10 thousand times during a day: tea/coffee/diet coke                                          if I’m at a party: almost any kind of alcohol except most beer

Instrument: I learned piano, guitar, and viola as a kid

Language: English and some German

Celebrity Crushes: none??

Random Fact: I have two pups named Hank and Callisto :)

I am tagging @sub5orbust @schrodingered @quantum-friend-theory @meggo-waffles @championsaremade @vacuously-true @zero-is-natural and anyone else who wants to do this!!!

[welovelofi]

Christmas is upon us and we brought you presents. Another round of Loves Me / Loves Me Not, with a little extra candy to last you through the holidays. Lets commence:

Neighbours Burning Neighburs - Grace

https://soundcloud.com/neighboursburningneighbours/grace

What better bandname to start off the holidays edition than this by Dutch punkrockers? It’s a perfect outfit to fill that void you’ve had in your soul ever since Sonic Youth was no more. This tune of theirs will instantly take you back to the late 80′s and early 90s with all the right teenage angst to cause a riot. This band is releasing their stuff on Dutch label Subroutine, who continue to bring forth class A acts, lately they’ve released songs by The Sweet Release of Death and The Homesick. Neighbours Burning Neighbours seems a wonderful fitting addition to their brilliant roster and I can’t wait to hear more by the band.

Modesta - Violet Fields

When you wake up after that long night and the hangovers are actually kind of nice and you’re feelin’ happy that you don’t need to have any plans for the rest of the day cause you’re too woozy to really do anything proper. This is most likely the first track on the album you should be putting on that day. It doesn’t require anything of you, but it’s gonna make you feel better about anything. If you’re going swimming, skiing or just taking a trip down the street on your electric kick-scooter - you know in a heartbeat this tune will make you look sexy no matter what you’re rocking <3

Postcards - Freediving

https://soundcloud.com/t3records/8-freediving/s-GOkJa

I really loved the Alvvays album Antisocialites that came out in 2017 - it’s a perfect testament to how you can make something as pleasant as worldly possible without giving up on aesthetics. This song by Lebanon artist Postcards is by far the song that comes the closest to capturing that same feeling, and I can only look forward to what other songs they might be releasing the next year time. They will be touring Germany in March, I would go if I was close.

Bauwaves - Early Morning Summer

https://soundcloud.com/bauwaves/early-morning-summer

This is the most gritty diy sound, I’ve heard in a long time, that is somehow also extremely pleasant to listen to - way too much distortion on everything in just the right way. Drums sounds terrible in just the right way. I’m not 100% sure how much of this was done on purpose - but the less it was the more authentic and chaotic it sounds. And this guys vocal is just fucking great! It could very well be a solo project - I’d love to find out? This is none the less as fresh as it comes. I’m keeping my eye on it for sure.

Will Wolfe - Saying Goodbye

https://soundcloud.com/manimal-vinyl/will-wolfe-saying-goodbye/s-EkYR0

Lets pretend that the 80s glam was all made up of people wearing cowboy outfits. All the same sass but everything in a “Western” bubble. Id definitely fucking go to the champagne parties being awkwardly fancy. My biggest wish would probably be to run into Will Wolfe so I could ask him how he created this world of his and how we can all learn to mix things so wonderfully for the future? until this happens I hope there’ll be some videos out by this guy and his brilliany 80′s Sassy-Western <3

Maxime. - Arm & Hammer

https://soundcloud.com/maximemakesmusic/arm-hammer

Pretty damn nice lofi bedroom tune complete with full yet shoddy midi-drums and early Bon Iver vocals. On top of this it’s just a pretty nice tune in itself which is why this little lazy monday gem should be on your playlist for when you’re feeling off. I can recommend it for laying down pretty much anywhere, on the floor at the trainstation with people rushing by or in your bathtub full of bubbles. Eyes closed or not it’s a winner.

Bled Tape - Black Ice

https://open.spotify.com/track/25VEyGNcJ3WuixjDjswdXR

Second time we have Bled Tape on here and for good reason. There’s something very very right about the lofi aesthetics, vocals drowning in everything, instruments sounding like it was just fresh out of the bedroom. The only thing I’d love to hear is the drums less midi perhaps - it has a nice vibe to it, but I’d think with just a bit more effort this could really go down a wonderful path. It’s not to keep you from wasting any time digging into this act, there’s good indication that there’s more great tunes to come. It’s like all the 90s angst are hanging onto this tune weighing it down to an almost slowmotion pace! Well done, certainly.

baklavaa - dsnylnd

Probably one of the coolest music videos I’ve seen in a long time, the only one rivalling it would be Potty Mouth by the Malpractice> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWsJJLqndOg - a video in colab with artist Joe Pascale - I recommend you to check it out, but only after you gave this video and tune a look. To me this is nothing shy of Butthole Surfers anno 2020, the music has all the insane diy-like elements of BS and the video is the chaos of our time crammed into a 4min youtube display. I’m pretty sure Gibby Haines and the rest of the band would be proud. Just sit with this tune and video a while and realize how nice it is. Some might cast a first glance and dismiss it as too off - you’re missing out, your loss not mine.

Mother Sun - Happily Sinking Heart

https://soundcloud.com/mothersunmusic/05-happily-sinking-heart

Back to the feel good tunes of 2019, Mother Sun created a laid back tune that hints of country but without all the annoying parts of it. Like in Perfume by Patrick Süskind you get an insight into how they distilled scents, this song probably has 20 albums of bad country songs it was distilled from- It’s not that I’m hating on country it’s just there’s so much silly nonsense there with too many people that have nothing to say. I don’t really care that you went to the restaurant with Dorothy this afternoon and came home to hang out on your porch, just please have more to tell me than that Peter. But I’d venture into the world of the American south with this track on my ghettoblaster. Perhaps I’d even make a friend or two walking down the street pointing a shooting finger or two at passer-bys with a wink and a smile, I’d prefer it to happen in slowmotion, but you can’t have it all of course. Check out the tune for your monday mornings, you won’t regret it.

Nathan & Jessie - Mi Corazon

We all know it’s not Christmas without a little love, so from us to you here’s your 2019 Christmas tune. It’s guaranteed to keep you warm even through the coldest of winters. If you’re in a remote ski-lodge somewhere in Canada with 5 feet of snow to dig yourself out of, just pop this on and you’ll be south of the American border in no time. You can thank us later, or just thank Nathan & Jessie for this wonderful Christmas classic that should be on all the damn streaming hitlists any day of december. Mariah Carey had a good run, it’s time to pass the torch Mari! 

[motifsinthecity]

Favorite Albums: 2019

30 | Speilbergs | This is Not the End (By The Time It Gets Dark) 29 | blink-182 | NINE (Viking Wizard Eyes) 28 | Blood Incantation | Hidden History of the Human Race (Dark Descent) 27 | Tyler, The Creator | IGOR (Columbia) 26 | Drab Majesty | Modern Mirror (Dais Records) 25 | Better Oblivion Community Center | Better Oblivion Community Center (Dead Oceans) 24 | Bat For Lashes | Lost Girls (AWAL Recordings) 23 | Bon Iver | i,i (Jagjaguwar) 22 | Gatecreeper | Deserted (Relapse) 21 | Chelsea Wolfe | Birth of Violence (Sargent House) 20 | James Blake | Assume Form (Polydor) 19 | American Football | American Football (LP3) (Polyvinyl/Big Scary Monsters) 18 | Hania Rani | Esja (Gondwana) 17 | Venom Prison | Samsara (Prosthetic) 16 | Angel Olsen | All Mirrors (Jagjaguwar) 15 | The National | I Am Easy To Find (4AD) 14 | Chillhop Music | Daydreams 2 (Chillhop Music) 13 | Orville Peck | Pony (Sub Pop) 12 | Sturgill Simpson | Sound & Fury (Elektra) 11 | Greet Death | New Hell (Deathwish) 10 | The Japanese House | Good at Falling (Dirty Hit/Interscope) 9 | Sharon Van Etten | Remind Me Tomorrow (Jagjaguwar) 8 | PUP | Morbid Stuff (Rise/BMG) 7 | Freddie Gibbs & Madlib | Bandana (Keep Cool/RCA Records) 6 | Prince Daddy & The Hyena | Cosmic Thrill Seekers (Counter Intuitive) 5 | (Sandy) Alex G | House of Sugar (Domino) 4 | La Dispute | Panorama (Epitaph) 3 | Origami Angel | Somewhere City (Chatterbot Records) 2 | Bad Books | III (Loma Vista) 1 | Oso Oso | basking in the glow (Triple Crown)

The decade is ending and we still have lots to do. Many of us entered our careers in this decade and a lot of us are trying to unlearn the internalized compliance that’s been programmed into us, in furtherance of the American Dream. People my age are industry now, so remember, the goal is to always be optimizing. 

This is easier said than done as modern life creates a friction between expectations and ourselves. Indeed, it’s getting harder to “be” in a world that demands more time from us—so Lyft home, Blue Apron that dinner, Wayfair that ottoman. It’s only time, money and attention. Do things. Move fast. Party harder. Relentless. 

The crash appears inevitable. It’s no wonder the buzz around mindfulness has reached fever pitch. We’re tired of feeling tired but the effort to stay afloat feels impossible.

Oso Oso’s basking in the glow comes at the right time then—a record exploring the small moments of pause that just might allow us to hang on to who we are. Riding the hype and wave from 2017’s excellent the yunahon mixtape, basking… finds solo artist Jade Lilitri taking on the possibility that self-care might just be a desperation cocktail of black humor, unwavering gratitude, and compassion for our past mistakes as we all reach for a sense of where we want to be. What results is a concise 10-track collection of hopeful meditations, oscillating between the left-field emo-pop of Saves the Day, the sincerity of The Hotelier, and the softer grace of pre-cancellation Brand New.

While the yunahon mixtape featured the charm of Lilitri’s one-man DIY grit, basking… now features the Midas touch of producer Mike Sapone, the George Martin of 3rd/4th Wave Emo. For that reason, basking… feels like it’s been fortified by sunlight, which you can feel firsthand on the rippling waves of “intro” to the driving power-pop and soaring harmonies of “the view.” These tracks gleam and shimmer, presenting a real warmth that matches the hope Lilitri is trying to channel. He transfigures this feeling on the album’s title track, aching for something outside himself and reaching for restorative absolution:

These days, it feels like all I know is this phase I hope I'm basking in the glow And these days, it feels like all I know is this phase I hope I'm basking in the glow Is there something bigger I don't know?

Elsewhere, on “dig,” Lilitri is torn between the fear of facts and the prison of fiction as the song dissolves into a sugar bath of angular distortion:

Hard to know what you've been shown When all you're shown are lies Black ink put on this page, above a dotted line Oh, oh Oh, oh

Yeah, there's this hole in my soul So how far do you wanna go? You know I'll give it away if it's what you say This hold, it grows, can you feel it too? I mean if that's what you want It's up to you

A sense of searching permeates throughout basking…, positing that the way out into the light is right through our obstacles. For its generally summer-obsessed aesthetic, basking… doesn’t shy away from the shadows that often fall along our journey of self-discovery. The underwater-mixtape acoustic strum of “one sick plan” finds Lilitri face to face with his undoing, gambling on self-reliance in the face of total annihilation. “priority change” finds Lilitri shedding the notion that being responsible for others’ well-being is the same as setting an example for positive change:

Not quite a saint nor a sinner So don't bother saving no souls And with each year these roads get thinner Don't fear walking them alone

Fearless optimism isn’t anything new for emo in 2019—especially in light of some of 2019s heaviest hitters (Origami Angel’s spasmodic guitar heroics on Somewhere City, the sc-fi doo-wop of Prince Daddy & the Hyena’s fuzzed out Cosmic Thrill Seekers come to mind). basking…, however, takes the approach that it’s not always full steam ahead, boundless energy, and relentless awe at the possibility of living one’s most excellent life. We’re not the Avengers, we’re people, and basking… reflects that struggle with gracious restraint. There are peaks and valleys in our paths and the albums’ back half maintains a sublime exploration of both. “impossible game” might be the album’s pièce de résistance, a jerky, flange-soaked track that finds Lillitri’s falsetto flip from slacker dreams to zen master under a Jimmy Eat World-sized chorus:

So slow down, feels like we're rushing away Tried my hold on to this impossible game And I know I'm wrong, what else can I say? I got a glimpse of this feeling, I'm trying to stay in that lane

It’s a refreshing take on “trust the process,” but a fervent reminder that we shouldn’t blindly follow some abstraction of bliss. Lilitri bets on a cultivating a meaningful life through self-reliance on our values, from what’s true for ourselves, to be the best version of ourselves. You can’t rush that sort of thing as time and experience are the greatest teachers, but Lilitri gives us the benefit of that hindsight—as well as a strong case for all sage advice to come with a side of twisting guitar lines and two-step drums.

basking… closes with the haunting “charlie” which chronicles the bittersweet end of a relationship, building from twinkling melodies and dusty shuffles towards stutter-stop explosions. Unlike most break-up songs that devolve into this notion that the departed can’t be replaced, Lilitri subverts that trend with the idea that there’s something inevitable about departure, and the thing we miss most is a memory of a feeling. The song provides the perfect capstone for basking…, that we acknowledge grief in the practice of letting go but that we eventually have to disconnect from its stasis if we’re to survive any meaningful change. Ending with a gossamer solo and gauzy keyboards, “charlie” presents Oso Oso at its most vital, displaying for its listeners that simply having the freedom to choose “meaning” versus “comfort” isn’t enough to guarantee happiness. You don’t always have to be brave but you do need conviction to keep going.

Ultimately, basking… leaves us all with the notion that our lives contain infinite possibilities if we’d slow down long enough to realize them. We often get caught up in the game of going further, being better, and living up to the expectations of others, which often means we are the instrument of our own suffering. With basking…, Oso Oso reminds us that maybe, if we quietly listen to ourselves and trust our values, the race we’re running isn’t worth running in the first place. Sometimes, it’s better to take a second and slow down to unlearn what we have learned about the world and about ourselves. 

Maybe we’ll come to find there’s less to do than we originally thought, leaving more time for the things that truly matter.

[sickofbeingsuicidal]

Saturn and Neptune 💫❤

saturn: what’s your aesthetic?-tbh I’m all about that messy journal and soft music and rainy days with tea life... is that even an aesthetic?????? lowkey I don’t even know xD 

neptune: what’s an album that you can listen through entirely w/o skipping song?-Umm I don’t really listen to anything other than Pandora or Spotify for when I’m out of the country... The station I can listen to and never skip is Bon Iver

Sorry it took me 12 years to respond????????????? I’ve been hella busy BUT I love you Grace