#had just watched a boygenius video

[chai-berries]

[rablunt]

i am actually obsessed with the bite the hand fancam and the fans reaction to it because they are cringing away. theyre not ashamed or introspective and dont even seem to be even aware of how powerful that moment is/can be, they just seem embarrassed.

like this is some of the most direct confrontations of celebrity i think you can force your audience to experience and rather than take that in and process it or even try to participate in the art, i see people saying how they covered their face or stopped singing or sang along stone faced when a moment ago they were screaming. and this isn’t coming from a place of reflection, of feeling ashamed or introspective about how they have treated and engaged with the boys and other parasocial relationships, no instead they just seem embarrassed that their face is attached to a critic. especially one that very much applies to them. it’s the shame of being called out rather than for their actual participation in the culture that bothers them. they are putting the preservation of their image over a meaningful critic like they understand what the boys are doing and what the song is doing, but how they look for it is more important to then than the intake of that message. maybe i’m wrong and just haven’t seen enough bite the hand discussions, but the way i’ve seen people talking and joking about this part of the set just makes it feel that to many fans, upholding their own aesthetics is so much more important than uplifting something substantial

idk i just think its really interesting how people are actively trying to detract from a moment that i think is so haunting and cool, and have just decided to not examine that impulse at all !

[zot3-flopped]

When discussing Taylor's missteps on Grammys, many people focus on whichever they have found the worst, but when you look at it as a whole it actually turns out, that all those situations come from the very same problem - Swift's unability or unwillingness to consider other people's feelings.

Starting off with being late and walking in mid opening monologue (though Noah Trevor is a kiss ass, so w/e); standing up all the time during performances knowing damn well it will make cameras cut to her even more; standing up and blocking view for other people (there is whole video on YT of just Swift standing during Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs' performance and Meryl Streep is behind her moving side to side trying to see the stage); dragging upset Lana Del Rey on stage after she just lost an award and by that basically forcing her into smiling; not even looking at Celine Dion, when getting award from her, despite her going to Grammys just for this, while being very sick; announcing her new album, as if she was in front of her fans and not peers; walking into Boygenius' interview, where they got emotional after calling out former head of Grammys over SA allegations, and Swift starts talking about puppies? and then during posing for photos asks, if she can put her award on their heads, while one of them is literally still crying.

Such an amount of these type of situations in one night is not an oopsie missread accident, it's a pattern of how Swift really is. It really hit me and frankly also made me upset, when I've read one comment on Reddit under post about Taylor and Boygenius moment, so I'm just gonna quote it:

"This really was so tough to watch. My grandma was self-centered, always had to have attention, and whatever she was feeling she assumed you did too, so was very flippant. Watching this sent me back to seeing my mom and aunts trying to deal with her - one trying to give her a little attention to give the other two space, one trying to focus on the person who is most upset, and grandma yapping away, not understanding why others aren't as happy as she is."

Taylor, sincerely, get therapist. And no, your mom doesn't count.

👏👏👏👏 I think a lot of her disinhibited behaviour at awards events is also down to her being very drunk. There's no excuse for nearly throttling your producer:

[heyftinally]

Swift is a Quanity Artist not a Quality Artist. She has high sales because of the Quanity of her albums not because of the Quality. Her fans are not ready for that conversation.

She has one song!! doing 2Billion streams on Spotify and she got that just recently. For a modern Artist who is active, it's a pathetic achievement. Abel's highest is 4Billion and there are other artists who got songs with higher streams.

Her fans constant comparsions with MJ make no sense, their output is completely different. Mj became a high selling artist with a relative small discography but big albums. Taylor Swifts output - when it comes to releasing albums- is more similar to Elvis or you would say (Prince) and I'm only talking about sales not talent ofc.

Her behaviour with her fame on top of that is completely different aswell. MJ was careful of not being overexposed during the heyday of the Thriller era. Apparently he even demanded only to be shown a few seconds during the Pepsi commercial in 84'. Barely gave any interviews, no tour ( Thriller), the album just sold on hid own. While Taylor Swift unintentionally or not, forces herself down on people. Her art itself cannot survive on it's own if she didn't do that heavy promo. The heavy Promotion also on Tiktok where, when you even watched a random video; her face would pop out in a small circle. This one of the worst thing she could have done to annoy the gp even more.

Many people who were once neutral about probably began to hate her, simply because of that. It's annoying. And it's also quite pathetic to have your new album play in over 800 radio stations! I mean, how insecure are you about your own art? Good music does not need that heavy Promotion.

It's the ignoring Celine Dion at the Grammys, annoucing an album at the Grammys. It is evident that they tried to make this moment a Taylor Swift moment in history of the Grammys, similar to MJ's back then. But it just ended up being embarrassing and awkward. Her putting her Grammy on boygenius' head. I couldn't even watch this, due to the second-hand embarrassment. She carefully forces everywhere to be always in the center of attention. And she does make it in a way where it seems like it is not her fault, so people getting mad shouldn't be blaming her. But that she supposedly has no say how her public persona is perceived is just laughable. She may cannot control the paparazzis and some articles they write. But she knows how to get attention.

And then this:

https://x.com/PopBase/status/1791100169347375609

Her fans are mad at this because it is a Coleen Hoover book and they feel that Swift deserves better than this. I quite honestly don't understand what they mean with better. But for my understanding Taylor owns her songs post Reputation, right? So she had to give her ok using one of her songs in this Film.

I also, unpopular opinion as an already huge artist find it cringe to have a song as a movie soundtrack. Like you are already popular enough. Give it a rest sometime.

She oversaturates the market just to always be on everyone's radar in the most obnoxious way. It's not just that her music is on 800 stations, it's that on any one station they'll play four of her songs for every one of anyone else! When I can hear the SAME Taylor Swift song 4+ times in >4 hours, that's excessive.

But she truly doesn't care, as long as she's the center of attention at all times to feed her ego. Just like when she snubbed Celine Deon. But she paints every and any criticism as an attack/"misogyny" (she wouldn't know the definition if it slapped her smug smirk off her face), and just further feeds her victim complex.

And, for the record, she does control the paparazzi, in a way. There's been reports of her staging outings with friends and having her team call the paps to get shots of her and her entourage. With Taylor always in the middle like Regina George, interestingly.

That said, Taylor doesn't deserve anything "better" than a Colleen Hoover movie adaptation oh please no someone say sike. Taylor can't write good music - might as well pair it with a trash book lol.

Depending on the artist, I think including them in a movie soundtrack can work. Bowling For Soup was in a fair amount of Phineas & Ferb. Hilary Duff had a thriving music career when she was in The Lizzie McGuire Movie and A Cinderella Story, and her music was in both. Same for Selina Gomez in Another Cinderella Story, and Aly Michalka in Phil of the Future on Disney Channel. In all of the above cases the singers had established careers in music, but their music still added something to the media they were in.

Now, that said, I don't think Taylor Swift's music will do the same. I already saw that back in Valentines Day, and her song "Today Was A Fairytale" felt excessively cheesy, childish, and almost Disney-ish for what was supposed to be an older teen/adult movie. And given how stagnant her "growth" as an artist has been since then, I can't see her current music having much benefit for *any* movie.

And yes, she has final say in what movies get her songs at this point, so she signed off on this somewhere. So if/when she cries and/or bitches and bashes the movie for whatever petty reason she decides to fabricate, I want everyone to remember that 1) I called it 2) she HAD to have given permission for her music to be included. *I* have to pay royalties just to use music for a group of 8 year olds to compete at a dance competition - Taylor Swift was ABSOLUTELY compensated after signing an agreement somewhere.

[groovesnjams]

2 / 50

"Not Strong Enough" by boygenius

MG:

Writing about boygenius, at this point, feels impossible. I have an urge to defend them, to shout down some anonymous but not entirely imagined comment section* (it felt like everywhere I turned on the internet just fucking hated this group and it always always always boiled down to some projected misogyny) and a world that just couldn’t…quite…admit this was the greatest song of the year. Even in the places where boygenius unequivocally ruled there was this little whiff of embarrassment like they’re great but, ok, not that great. Well, they are that great! They don’t have to do something wholly original or reflect everyone’s personal identity back to them to be great! 

But we don’t need more of that, it’s a stupid feedback loop, I have to be the change I want to see in the world and that change is to write about this song without defending it! To do that, however, would not be entirely honest because, to be entirely honest, I was very much that person I outlined above for most of the year. I put “A&W” at the top of my dopey playlist and felt very vibey about it and even had a period where I got into Father John Misty a little bit because that made sense. And then when it got closer to calling it, as I was listening through that playlist a whole bunch to make cuts and remember things I’d forgotten, I listened to “Not Strong Enough” for the first time on headphones and it fucking ripped. It ripped my brain right open! This song is gorgeously produced, full of rich instrumentation that colors neatly in-between the wavy lines of the storytelling. It’s the kind of thing I want to choreograph a dance to, I want it to soundtrack a movie about an aimless, broken person who surrenders to life’s enduring beauty and awakens to their own possibility, I want to watch a music video where boygenius play in a barn with vaulted ceilings. Every detail of this song feels so specific and fully realized that I can’t help but play along. It speaks to some half-remembered, half-imagined past but it’s also coming to, in the front seat, still happening, still going somewhere. 

I get it, what I said about Chappell Roan, about being unlikable and thus lovable, applies here, too. I can’t make you like this song, it is unlikable and it got better every time I heard it (a lot, it was blessed and highly favored by Sirius XMU, who chose to make Mitski’s TikTok hit “My Love, Mine All Mine” their song of the year) and I love “Not Strong Enough.” It is my favorite song of the year.

*(To my complete and total amusement, shortly after I finished my first draft of this post, the comment section I was thinking of voted "Not Strong Enough" their song of the year. I'm not sure if there's a significant disconnect between commenting members and voting members or if I'm a woman of the people, charting the course of lukewarm acceptance to full on wholehearted embrace of this song. But, either way, good for all of us!)

DV:

Wow it's really tough to talk about "Not Strong Enough" without talking about boygenius and parasociality and fandom in 2023, huh? This may also be true of a lot of this year's list, but with the rest of the lot it's relatively easy to find other angles into the song. With boygenius the angles all lead back to the band, their dynamic, their process, their relationships. It's a little gauche isn't it? I don't feel like boygenius meant for the story of their 2023 to be about themselves but here they are at the end of the year where they went viral for Halloween costumes and they're winning gendered awards like Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation, and we just have to hope things age better in reality than in fiction. But also, boygenius made "Not Strong Enough", which some days felt like it might actually be my favorite song of the year (a distinction shared by many others on this list, but one this song got more than most.) It's a song built out of climaxes, rolling and building, with hooks to spare and a secret weapon in the drummer, whose name is weirdly difficult to find but whose fills do more to make the song than even the jangliest guitar. So on one hand, I know more about this band's lore than I do about any other artist who I can't name a second song by. But on the other: "Not Strong Enough" is straightforwardly a gorgeous, propulsive power pop banger, delivered beautifully. When you have a Lucy Dacus and can hold her in reserve for a climax like this one, taking fully a minute and a half but never losing momentum, you're simply operating at a level that few other artists are capable of.

[garbbitch]

i have a request!! maybe julien talking about her crush on reader (who is also a singer and maybe part of a band) but she’s like super duper femme, and people starts shipping them online maybe

do ur magic!! thank u (and pls pls pls)

this was such a creative ask. i love this.

i’m gonna do this as little moments from interviews n stuff where she’s talking about reader and her crush on her and as time goes on their relationship.

julien was scrolling instagram while lucy was playing music in the background of the tour bus when she heard a song by you playing in the background

"who sings this?" she asked lucy as she tapped her foot to the beat of the song. "(Y/N)" lucy said back not looking up from her own phone. julien googled you, she thought the song was catchy. she saw your picture pop up on google and blushed a little. she saw the first photo and tapped it, it was from your instagram. she scrolled through your curated feed seeing all of the outfits you wear on tour. lucy looked over at julien and saw a blush creeping across her cheeks. "what're you looking at?" she asked. "hmm?" julien peeled her eyes away from the screen, "i found (Y/N)'s insta. she's pretty. have we met her before?" she found herself scrolling through your feed. lucy smirked a little, "you got a crush jb?" she asked loud enough to catch pheobe's attention. pheobes head picked up from her phone. "ohmigosh who is it?" she said quickly walking over to julien to look over her shoulder. julien hid her screen from phoebe. "none of your business." she said with a twinge of sass in her voice. "it's (Y/N), we met her at that party that one time, remember." lucy said to pheobe. julien racked her brain for a time of meeting you. "when?" she turned her head to them. "aww look she's blushing." pheobe said to lucy ignoring her question. julien got frustrated and flipped them off before walking into a different area of the tour bus.

she doesn't mean to but she literally constantly talks about you now that she remembers who you are

like when boygenius did their first Zane Lowe interview when The Record came out she brought up her "crush" constantly

she also saw that you reposted The Record announcement on instagram and freaked out

"oh my gosh, did you guys see?" she said all giddy looking at her phone. "aww" pheobe and lucy said in unison when julien showed them the story post. julien flipped them off. "shut up." she said quietly as she found your tiktok page. she saw some tiktoks you had made recently talking about your tour while doing a get ready with me video.

a couple weeks later when julien was going on a tiktok detox (i get this vibe from her, she has her moments idk) lucy was scrolling and saw an edit of you and julien in the same video

she kept her mouth shut and only sent it to julien. "what is this?" she asked her as she tapped the link. "just watch it, i think you'll like it." she said as julien's eyes quite literally lit up when she saw that it was an edit of the both of you. she scrolled through the comments where everyone was saying that y'all would be cute together. she blushed and then she saw a comment by you on the post. [y/n]: OMG we should recreate this she felt her face heat up when she saw it.

after this she literally redownloaded tiktok and went down a rabbit hole of watching edits of you

she also loved the comments of people shipping the 2 of you

she felt like a sily fan-girl

pheobe and lucy didn't let her forget it either

they teased her constantly

one night after a show lucy talked her into sliding into your dm's

"she probably won't even see it, what's the point?" julien said to lucy as they walked onto the tour bus. "you'll stop loudly swooning." lucy said back. "i am not loudly swooning." julien tried to defend herself. "yes you are." she said back to her before climbing into her bunk to relax after the show. julien sat in her bunk thinking of whether or not she should dm you. she wrote and wrote several different messages and sent none of them. "what should i even say?" she said to lucy. lucy rolled over and groaned a little. "i dunno, use that charisma that makes you a foot taller." lucy said before adding "just be you." she said sincerely. she gave up on actually saying something and liked your story. she swiped up on it. [julienrbaker]: i love your style she turned off her phone and went to bed.

for the next couple of weeks y'all texted and she sent you tickets to the msg show.

she did send you an extra one just in case you had someone you'd rather bring with you

the week before the show you were featured on gayotic and talked about being invited to the msg show by one of the members of boygenius and twitter literally erupted

julien was getting sent screenshots from lucy and pheobe about this and they were laughing their asses off about it

julien was wildly embarassed by this fact

at the show she was already super nervous but everytime she saw you in the crowd when she was even more nervous.

she had someone find you during the set and invite you back stage

when you met her you ran up to her and hugged her. she was caught off gaurd but leaned into the hug.

"you look great!" julien said to you pulling back a little from the hug admiring the outfit you were wearing. "you don't look too bad yourself" you said to her. you both walked together for her to put some stuff away. "you wanna see your instagram melt down?" you asked her as you got an idea. she looked at you puzzled. "what do you mean?" she asked a little confused. "get someone to take a picture of us." you said back to her. she looked at you a little confused. "just do it, it'll be funny. people have been frothing at the mouth since i brought boygenius up on gayotic." you said to her. she got lucy to come over and take a couple pictures of you guys. as you guys took pictures you were hugging and laughing as you took pictures and you felt your stomach flutter with butterflies with the closeness of julien. you guys both paused in place like you both had the same thought and wanted the same thing but lucy just snapped a pic of you guys looking deeply into eachother's eyes. lucy giggled before handing you back your phone. "send me that last one." she said as she walked out.

you sent her that one and with in the second you sent it it was posted on her feed

of course she tagged you and julien

your phones began to melt in your hands and you and julien could only laugh.

i hope this is what you wanted. this was intruiging to me and i had a good idea, i'm not sure if i did it good.

[ambiguousthoughtsinsilence]

my year of boygenius

Why do we listen to music? Is it just melodic noise that provides background to our daily existence or is it a space where we look for meaning, purpose and beauty? This is a false question, as music can be all of these things, but it is so much more. For many people, the beauty of music gives their life meaning, whether listening or creating it. Most of us will have fond memories of listening to the radio in the car or discovering an album that transported us to a seemingly magical place, expanding our understanding of what music could be and do (e.g. Jeff Buckley’s Grace for me).

Growing up in a relatively small town by the Baltic Sea, one of my favourite activities was to go to the seaside in winter, when it was stripped of human presence, sit down on the staircase of a lifeguard’s lookout and listen to the songs on my iPod. Years before that I had a silver cassette player and a CD player that I always carried with me, along with a CD wallet. Music has always been a comforting presence in my life. But even in this rich history, there are certain albums and artists that have had such a transformative impact on my life that they have become part of who I am. There are not many albums that fall into this category, but this year one of them did appear.

In March, 2023 the record had come out, the first full LP from boygenius. As I listened to it for the first time, I knew it was going to embed itself in my brain as I was going to play it again and again and again. I became obsessed with the record and the three women responsible for creating it - Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers.

It was like being a teenage girl again, eagerly watching interviews, trying to find out ways in which to watch their Coachella performances and following a fan account that reposted every live video and tour photo imaginable. People always talk about separating art from the artist, but the songs on the record felt so grounded and rooted in familiarity, like they were made by people that felt real and compassionate and vulnerable. In interviews they would talk about books and artists they admired and how they valued each other, and for someone, who has long felt that romantic love should not be valued more than friendship, it felt almost revolutionary to hear that as a foundation of an indie ‘supergroup’s’ ethos.

In August I had a chance to attend Oyafestivalen with my best friend Tina, who had very kindly gifted me a ticket. boygenius were due to play in the early hours of the evening. This was my first time seeing them live.

‘I want to hear your story / And be a part of it’ / boygenius- without you, without them

Making meaningful connections with other people is probably one of the, if not the most, important things you can do with your life. As I stood on a lawn in Oslo and kept bawling my eyes out, I couldn’t help, but end up in existential ponderings about love, loneliness and human connection and the fact that my closest friend was sharing the gig with me. We live thousands of km apart, but I love her loads and appreciate that she’s a part of my life.

‘And it feels good/ To be known so well/ I can’t hide from you / Like I hide from myself’ / boygenius- true blue

After the concert ended, I sat down by a tree to regain my composure, tear streaked cheeks and red eyes, an emotional outpouring and connection that meant so much to me. A few weeks later, I saw them headlining at Gunnersbury Park, this time sharing it with Tina again and my other friend Peter. This experience was less rooted in existential ponderings and more just an overwhelming sense of joy. It was a scorchingly hot day and multiple people fainted, however everyone around helped to get those people taken care of as quickly as possible.

Queer care and joy was ever present in this audience, people had arrived with wonderfully crafted items of clothing or little references to boygenius lyrics on them. Tina and I handed out pink carnations to the younger girls behind us. There is something strange about loving a band, whose audience seems much younger than you are, but maybe the best kind of music manages to reach something within us that is shared, regardless of age.

As the fireworks went up into the dark night sky, I felt so much joy. This time their music had reached the part of me that felt an immense gratitude for being alive and being able to experience such happiness with more than 20’000 people. This performance felt even more explosive and raw, but also funny and deeply meaningful. It seemed that all of us were treating ourselves to some self-belief.

‘will you be a nihilist with me / if nothing matters, man that’s a relief / Solomon had a point when he wrote Ecclesiastes/ if nothing can be known, then stupidity is holy / if the bore becomes a void, we’ll treat ourselves to some self-belief’ / boygenius - Satanist

The last time I saw them live was thanks to Peter, in a small and intimate acoustic set in Kingston. It was another very special experience as the songs had become embedded in my brain and hearing them acoustically felt quite different from the previous shows with a full backing band, here were the three people who were responsible for all those captivating melodies. They embody a vulnerable compassion and a reliance on friendship that feels authentic, and it is wonderful to see creativity blossom from a place of deep love and appreciation for each other.

The record is an album I have grown to love deeply, because it seems to fit whatever mental state I am in. Without You, Without Them for when I want to remind myself of the love I feel for my friends, Cool About It as a reminder that all of have had to play it cool, when someone has hurt us deeply, Not Strong Enough and Anti-Curse for when my mental health lies somewhere in the bottom of the bin. Whatever I am going through, I can find comfort in knowing that the record is there to give me solace and company, whether I am staring at the ceiling or going on a walk around North London.

[praybird]

TAG NINE PEOPLE YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER!

favorite color(s): forest green! favorite flavor(s): savory mostly. idk i just had tortilla soup and that was good. favorite music: beastie boys. boygenius. the two genders. favorite movie(s): saw (2004). no other movies exist. favorite series: twin peaks. halt and catch fire. normal people. sharp objects. last song: don't delete the kisses by wolf alice. last series: i honestly don't remember. haven't been into tv so much lately? i think i rewatched normal people a little while ago. last movie: cooties (2014), but i watched it like last month. currently reading: i do not have time to read anything right now, but the last book i read was eileen by ottessa moshfegh. excellent, would recommend. currently watching: i watch shark feeding videos, mostly. currently working on: stuff for my class zine, finishing writing up some of this blog's lore, trying to quit smoking. that's it.

tagged by: @lvebug tagging: @diaboluse, @inflame, @dumbthink, @becoach, @lockslei

[stevenvenn]

Sophie May - No More Birthdays (new single) Been quite awhile, sorry! Just haven't had the desire to do my daily music posts for months BUT I decided to start again for 2024. Here's a new track from the excellent Sophie May. Btw here were my best of 2023 list (including Sophie May) in case you were interested. You can listen to the list on Spotify here. Or watch the videos here (choose play all)

The NIFTY 50 of 2023 (in no particular order except for styles relating to each other)

01. boygenius - the record 02. Holiday Ghosts - Absolute Reality 03. The Reds, Pinks and Purples - The Town That Cursed Your Name 04. The Clientele - I Am Not There Anymore 05. Teenage Fanclub - Nothing Lasts Forever 06. Fenne Lily - Big Picture 07. Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We 08. Sufjan Stevens - Javelin 09. Shana Cleveland - Manzanita 10. This Is the Kit - Careful of Your Keepers 11. Billie Marten - Drop Cherries 12. Sophie May - Worst Thoughts in the World 13. Dean Johnson - Nothing For Me, Please 14. Andy Shauf - Norm 15. Sparklehorse - Bird Machine 16. Durand Jones - Wait Til I Get Over 17. Jessie Ware - That! Feels Good! 18. Julie Byrne - The Greater Wings 19. Grian Chatten - Chaos For the Fly 20. PJ Harvey - I Inside the Old Year Dying 21. Bully - Lucky For You 22. Margaret Glaspy - Echo The Diamond 23. Mandy, Indiana - i've seen a way 24. Home Front - Games of Power 25. Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World 26. Pigs x7 - Land of Sleeper 27. bdrmm - I Don't Know 28. Film School - Field 29. Sea Lemon - Stop at Nothing ep 30. slowdive - everything is alive 31. Flyying Colours - You Never Know 32. Beach Fossils - Bunny 33. Wild Nothing - Hold 34. Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You 35. Yves Tumor - Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume 36. Daughter - Stereo Mind Game 37. Cloth - Secret Measure 38. JFDR - Museum 39. Beach House - Become ep 40. Art School Girlfriend - Soft Landing 41. Depeche Mode - Momento Mori 42. Sampha - Lahai 43. Everything But The Girl - Fuse 44. Nation of Language - Strange Disciple 45. FM Attack - Cosmic 46. Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan - The Nation's Most Central Location 47. Craven Faults - Standers 48. Loscil / Lawrence English - Colours of Air 49. Oliver Coates - Aftersun OST 50. Ryuichi Sakamoto - 12

[angrypedestrian]

I went to go see Illuminati Hotties opening for The Linda Lindas tonight (which, congrats to Sarah Illuminati Hottie for all those boygenius record grammy noms! Someday she will absolutely get her own nod for production), and I stuck around to see The Linda Lindas out of curiosity, because aside from that viral video that first got them attention, I haven't really paid them any mind. They were really good! I wasn't surprised by that, but I was surprised by how much I legitimately enjoyed their music. I was bopping along and having a good time.

But I kinda felt bad for them, because the crowd was predominantly parents who had brought their young (like 6-10) kids and like 40 year old NPR listeners who haven't been to a non-seated show in a decade. Seattle is sometimes a tough crowd to get moving, but this was absurd. I've never seen so little movement relative to the energy of the music. They literally had to beg people before their last song to start a pit. Luckily a couple of my fellow random weirdos who were mostly there for Illuminati Hotties obliged and people finally started bopping a bit, but boy howdy was it rough to watch.

And I know they're kinda nepo babies, and they've had humongous opportunities so many other bands would kill to get, but I just was so bummed for them, because they're kids! 3/4 of them are LITERAL kids. This was the first show of apparently their first headlining run ever and they seemed so stoked to be on stage playing and they just like...deflated a bit over the course of the set because they're playing to the completely wrong audience already. They should be playing at house shows where their friends scream their words back in their faces and sweat all over each other and every part of the fire code is being broken! And based on what I saw, they would absolutely kill in a situation like that.

I dunno why this bugged me so much that I had to write a whole tumblr post about it, but I hope their buzz can die down a bit so they can play some smaller rooms to people their own age. One of them is literally 13! They don't need to be role models for 8 year olds! Let them have a sweaty basement show goddammit, they certainly deserve that joy.

[worstlovesong]

Lucy voice feel like watching the sunset on a hill/rooftop leaning against your best friend with her arms around your shoulder, your head on her shoulder. There a blanket that you stole off her bed wrapped around you both, you are just surrounded her warmth. Maybe you just fought with your dad or had a terrible coming our or just a bad day, but you are with her now, you are safe, warm and loved.

I think I might have listened too much of the rest and Hands again... but yah that what Daytime kiss kiss voice sounds like to me rn.

This means,,, so much to me you have no idea

I especially feel this when I listen to Thumbs and Please Stay but all of home video has this vibe especially and oh my god you’re so right. Her voice is so warm and familiar and safe. Whatever happens it’s okay because she’s here right now and all you need to do is just stay.

She can take the most devastating lyrics and make them so beautiful and it’s so mystifying to me. I can’t even begin to comprehend the way she weaves stories in her songs and I’m so sleep deprived it wouldn’t make sense. Still, just the way her voice makes you feel so safe versus the catharsis of hard hitting lyrics and I think that’s the punch that boygenius songs need.

I’ve never been inclined to describe someone as a siren until now but oh my god Lucy Dacus the woman you are I would listen to any word you say.

[squirrelpudding]

January 1st, 2024

I'll be honest all I did today was work on my silly little media edit and go to the movies with my mom. We saw Wonka, which was really good! Before seeing it I thought Timothee Chalamet would not be silly enough to play the character well, but turns out he is one goofy guy. My mom LOVES the original Charlie and the Chocolate factory, and she really like this movie as well. Every time I go to a movie theatre with my mom she talks about how when picking seats "everyone" (her) chooses the seats that are around other people because, in her words, "what do they know that I don't?". I laugh every time she says that. We went to a theater that was pretty far away because my mom got an AMC gift card from a family member, and the nearest AMC theater was like half an hour away. It was really odd because whenever there was a silent part of the movie or the silence between trailers you could hear the screen making noise. It was like purring (?) but not. Its weird to think it is 2024. The aforementioned "media edit" that I am working on is more like a letterboxd recap. Last year everyone was posting their "me core" edits and their media edits to like "American Teenager" by Ethel Cain. I loved seeing those, and I've seen a few this year but not as many. My edit is just movies I saw this year, but I'm putting a lot of effort into it. My computer cannot handle the ~95 movie clips that I have downloaded, but its fine. Putting my favorite pieces of media to my favorite songs is just so special, I love it so much. That's why I love edits [like on tiktok]! Because I love seeing Merlin and Arthur pine for each other while Boygenius plays in the background! Or seeing Greg and Rowley dance to "Ribs" by Lorde! Also today I watched "My Best Friend is a Vampire", which I only discovered existed because a few weeks ago I was watching "Dead Poets Society" edits on tiktok, and stumbled across an edit of that movie (see attached video). I don't know how the edit is such high quality considering that the movie is from the 80s and the website I watched it on had terrible quality. To be fair, I watched on DEFINETLY NOT a pirating site, so it was bound to have been a little crappy. I think my blogging is going well so far, in the two days/posts I've done, but I think it will start to go downhill when school starts again. I think I will get too busy/tired with school and work that I will only blog like once or twice a week. I hope I keep posting consistently. I have always wanted to keep a diary, and have tried several times, but I always forget to write or I get tired of it and it becomes a chore. But with my twitter "picture of the day" threads I do, I have been very consistent, which is good! I don't know how to end this post.

[sleepy-gardevoir]

april 18, 2023 - tuesday week 6

nice productive day today! i transferred two days of biochemistry notes so i'm catching up there, and i did research on my notion guide (read: watched people's videos on it). i didn't have orchestra tonight so i had some extra time, which was nice!

i started revamping my notion and, while it's pretty bare bones now, i'm excited to make it better! i'm going for a room theme, so i have my desk (school stuff), my vanity (journaling and habit tracking), and my bed (sleep tracking). i just added the habit tracking so i'm excited to utilize those! one thing, though... i realized that i need to drink way more water. oops.

the weather today has been AMAZING!! it was chilly in the morning (love) and then was just the right amount of warm later. if it could avoid getting any warmer than this that would be great 😔😔

song of the day: not strong enough by boygenius

[shesinshambles]

Thanks @dewymorningstar for tagging me!

✿ first artist you remember liking: I think it was Fleetwood Mac or Eurythmics

✿ middle school anthem: For the first half it was Jennifer's Body by Hole, and then I went through an embarrassing Oasis phase so it was Don't Look Back in Anger

✿ road-trip must have: American Teenager by Ethel Cain

✿ song i know all the lyrics to: A lot! I know most lyrics to songs from my favourite musicians

✿ song that makes you cry: St. Jude and June by Florence + the Machine I cried so hard when she played June when I saw her live , Me & My Dog by Boygenius, and Picture Me Better by Weyes Blood

✿ song to yell to: Rid of me by PJ Harvey and Big God by Florence + the Machine

✿ current favorite music video: I don't really watch a lot of music videos but the last one I watched that I loved was King by Florence + the Machine

✿ current favorite band: my always favourite is Florence + the Machine, but cause Boygenius just released their new album they're my current

✿ would kill to see them live: I've been super lucky to see all my favourites live. I'll say Julia Jacklin cause I was supposed to go to a show last year and she had to cancel

✿ if you could listen to one song on repeat for the rest of your life: Honestly right now probably Me & My Dog

✿ stuck on repeat : Not Strong Enough by Boygenius

tagging: @copiousloverofcopia @synestheticbisexual @ophelia-markov No pressure!

[aenesthesian]

March 2024 favourites

Throughout the past few months I've seen several people catalogue their monthly interests in this way, and it's intrigued me as I don't know anyone else who likes to categorise things as much as I do. Maybe I'm just an immensely nostalgic person who is terrified of forgetting things from my youth, which, I'm not going to lie, is starting to hinder me a little! Anyways, this is my first try at this, bear with me.

Film(s)

Saw Dune: Part Two in theatres and holy shit, what an experience that was - it truly is the blockbuster franchise of our time. However, no matter how good the movie itself was, it still left me confused as i hadn't made any effort beforehand to understand the plot. I remember feeling the exact same sense of confusion when I came out of the cinema in 2021 after seeing the first part of Dune. Turns out all I had to do was watch a single Youtube video explaining how the Dune universe works in order to be completely engrossed by the world! If only my stubbornness and refusal to give sci-fi movies the time of day, a genre i've never enjoyed much, hadn't stopped me from wanting to understand it all these years.

Another thing that kept me on my toes all month was the promo for Challengers starting, which releases in theatres next month!! I can't believe we're actually getting a love triangle on screen where ALL corners touch. What a monumental event in history indeed.

Also, special mention: Swann Arlaud, Twitter's It-Boy of the Month!!! Well, at least my TL is flooded with pictures and interviews of him, which I'm actually not mad about, not mad at all.

Bars

Usually March is a really tough month, one full of despair and stress. While that was still the case this year, I tried balancing it out by spending more time with friends. It's been lovely spending long Friday evenings in bars, even if I did feel a little distant at times. Strange how one can feel dissociated in a large group and yet still feel like they belong - it only starts being unbearable the moment you begin to feel like an anomaly that is entirely out of place. Our brains work in fascinating ways; regardless, I'm just glad to have spent more time outside of my home. Is this what enjoying my youth feels like?

Skincare

I only properly began about a week ago, but i've been having so much fun establishing, or rather enhancing my skincare routine. I used to brag about not taking care of my skin at all, which looking back was absolutely tragic. Now I'm very pleased with how far I've come in terms of taking care of my own body, at least with this little routine I have.

Music

I've been finding so much new music lately!! Over the last two weeks, there genuinely hasn't been a day where I didn't find at least two songs to my liking. Been listening to a ton of German music as well as any other genre I can think of - from rock, alternative/indie to hip-hop, rap, techno, pop, just anything that comes my way. Here are some of my favourites from this month:

babybreath - Lovesliescrushing Tommi - AnnenMayKantereit Junge - Die Ärzte Another life - PinkPantheress, Rema Subterraneans - David Bowie alone - Cavetown Tumblr Girls - G-Eazy, Christoph Andersson Will I See You Again? - Thee Sacred Souls Beautiful Boy - The Last Dinner Party Cellular (Live) - King Krule Leben leben - OG Ti Philadelphia - Matt Maltese, Searows Pretty Girls - Reneé Rap Am Weg in die Villa - BIBIZA Too Sweet - Hozier Never Wanted To Dance - Mindless Self Indulgence Lottoscheine - AnnenMayKantereit i like the way you kiss me - Artemas nichts - makko Souvenir - boygenius Ssaliva's entire discography

Books

I read How To Get A Girl Pregnant by Karleen Pendleton Jimenez, a memoir of sorts about a queer butch woman trying to get pregnant, and oh my god. The grip that book had on me was unbelievable, it simply felt so distinctly human and helped ease my anxiety about my future as a queer person a little. It's advice that straight parents cannot give their queer child, and I couldn't help but soak it all up. It's available online in pdf format, btw.

Also, I finally finished my third reread of my first All the Young Dudes copy that I started reading in November I believe? I'm afraid those characters, that story, and that fandom will always be a part of me, as it's been three years now, and my fixation isn't waning one bit. Forgot to mention that I began reading The Secret History after putting it off for literally a year or two, which I'm very excited about. So far it's incredible, however pages 44 and 45 left such a deep pit in my stomach that I had to put it down for a few days. Hopefully I'll be done with it by the end of April, as next month may be the most stressful of my entire life so far.

Special mention

The forcemasc tumblr tag has taken over my body and mind. Not sure whether I'm willing to go into more detail, but i just. i just. i. holy fucking shit. Never has anything validated my gender identity along with my sexuality more than that goddamn tag.

A quote that defined my month

[willyouhaveme]

Hi! It's your swiftie pride gifter again. I hope you had a good weekend!

What are your favourite ships and fandoms you're in? (shows, books movies, etc.)

Also who are your favourite artists other than taylor swift?

Talk to you soon!

Hello friend !! Sorry for getting around to this a little bit late! I had a pretty decent past weekend! I have to warn you (/lh) with at least the other fandoms it is going to get a bit niche! I also have a sideblog where I post about other fandoms that aren't music related ( @katvantassel ) !

The two main other fandoms I'm in are shipwrecked comedy (who make literary and history inspired comedy/drama videos) and unprepared casters (a dnd podcast) ! I love both dearly and the communities with them! Alongside those, I enjoy classic books (I just finished p&p), poetry, musicals, and coming of age or animated movies! I also have a letterbox acc that I can share if u want :) when it comes to shows, I do have a few favs or ones that mean a lot to me but I haven't been watching them too much recently haha but most of the time they tend to be shows thay feature sapphic characters !

My music taste mostly covers the indie/ alt pop , rock, and folk scene so a lot of those musicians I listen to! Some of my favs that come to mind tho are lucy dacus (and boygenius), sara bareilles, tessa violet, orla gartland, the regretts, mxmtoon, haley heynderickx, Sidney gish, kacey Musgraves, muna, and more!