#i truly hope that more indie animation can succeed.

[funsizedcrow]

"Animation is only for kids" im going to fist fight you

[atamatajiih]

To Hazbin Hotel fans and haters alike, a reminder: you hold very little power over this thing's success and you shouldn't really worry about that either

The web-show pilot turned Amazon Prime animated series Hazbin Hotel by Vivienne Medrano/Vivziepop is scheduled to finally start airing next January after a very long wait since the pilot of the show was first uploaded to Youtube. There's a big crowd who are looking forward to the show, both fans who are eager to spread the love and dedicated haters who are waiting to rip this show to pieces.

I'm not really gonna pour over the reasons why this show has such a strong fanbase and hatebase, because the reasons aren't really important to this message/call out/shout into the void. Good thing is that love is just hate turned inside out and vice versa so these two feelings have a lot in common! To be more specific, both of these emotions require heavy emotional investment. And, as someone who has largely watched The Great Vivziepop Discourse from the sidelines, I can definitely say that both sides are extremely emotionally invested in this show. People who love it really love it and people who hate it really hate it.

Just as I am not gonna go over the reasons people might love or hate Hazbin Hotel, I'm not gonna tell anyone how they're supposed to feel about the show. Whatever your thoughts on Hazbin Hotel are, they're totally valid. Instead, now that the show is only about three months away, I think both fans and haters need to start internalizing one thing about the show before it releases and the floodgates truly open:

You do not have any power to affect the success of this show.

A simple thing, no? Obvious one might even say. And yes, you'd be right. Most people, when they have feelings about a thing, can accept that it's success, or lack thereof, is wholly independent of their own actions. A show doesn't succeed or fail because you, as an individual, choose to support or not support it.

But the thing is, when you become very emotionally invested in something, you start to imagine things. Fantasize a bit about how you'd wish for things to go. And if the posts I've seen online from both fans and haters are to be believed, both groups have stacked a lot of hopes and dreams on how this show's big debut will go.

On one side, Hazbin superfans have painted in their minds a scenario where Hazbin breaks all the records, wins all the prizes, Vivzie becomes the Hayao Miyazaki of indie animation and the Hazbin criticals get owned so bad that they shrivel into dust.

On the other, the Hazbin Hotel criticals have written in their mind another scenario: A24 despises the show, the whole thing falls apart under it's creator's lofty ambitions, the entire Hellaverse universe comes to an embarrasing end, Vizie becomes a pariah and the Hazbin superfans get owned so bad that they shrivel into dust.

And while there's nothing wrong with some flights of fancy like this, the problem is that it seems like both groups are so sure, so absolutely certain that their favored scenario comes to pass, that they have started to essentially treat it as fact, lambasting the other side for being delusional in the face of obvious facts. All of this ignoring the fact that, frankly, both sides are talking out of their ass. The only party involved in this who actually gets to decide whether this show is a success or not is A24, since they now own the series. What anyone else tries to tell you about how the numbers line up is at best making an educated guess or at worst talking nonsense. The circumstances that allowed show X to succeed or show Y to fail are not something you can actually use as a measuring stick when it comes Hazbin Hotel. The measure of Hazbin Hotel's success is not something that some rando on the internet can claim to be an authority on.

Now, this isn't to say you can't have any influence on the show's viewership numbers. A popular post on social media or your talks with people you know IRL can certainly influence a small number of folks to watch or drop the show. However, the actual impact these actions have is breathtakingly small. My current team at work has about 12 people in it and I'm not at all convinced I could easily sway all of them to watch or not watch a show. The exact numbers are all over the place, but Amazon Prime subscriptions seem to be somewhere in the ballpark of 200 million. That's, well, a really big amount. And I feel most of us realize that even the most popular, record breaking post on tumblr is probably not gonna be enough to sway 200 million people into your preferred opinion on Hazbin Hotel. If that huge mass of people has enough people who want to watch Hazbin, you'll have no choice but to accept that. And if that mass doesn't have any people who want to watch it, you'll have to accept that too.

Everything I've said is probably painfully obvious to people, but I have seen both of these groups get incredibly invested in their dream scenarios for how how the big Hazbin Hotel debut will go down, I am starting to really be worried about the folks who will inevitably have their dream scenario come crashing down before their eyes. And someone must, when the possibilities being proposed are either historic success or catastrophic failure. That's why, regardless of which side you're standing on when it comes the Discourse, I am urging all of you to start emotionally distancing yourself from this show, at least to the extent that you can accept the show's actual reality without having feeling emotional anguish. Because placing this much emotional weight on the success of a TV show, something that again, is completely out of your power to meaningfully affect, is just not healthy to you. Whether you love the show or hate it, please start processing the possibility that your desired outcome for it may not come to pass. Entertainment industry is a fickle business and really, as a viewer it's not even your job to really care about how a show is doing, that's the burden of the people working on it. All you need to do is sit back, relax and let your heart fill with love and/or hate. Not to mention the success or non-success of a show isn't even that conductive when thinking about a show critically. A successful show simply means it is popular, it doesn't mean it's good. Is your Hazbin hating heart really gonna step aside and not enjoy ripping this show a new one just because it made money? And of course, vice-versa for the Hazbin stans! Everyone knows tons of great fiction goes underappreciated by the masses, are you really gonna stop filling the internet with your endless gushing and adoration just because enough normies didn't like your hell cartoon?

So, really this heavy investment both sides of the discourse have for the show's future success is kinda preplexing. Discourse is about whether something is good or not! And sales and viewership numbers should barely be a footnote when it comes to that discussion. There's so many more interesting things to dissect in a show. TL;DR: Whether you love Hazbin or hate it, none of us individually can actually tangibly affect Hazbin's financial success, so it's best you stop making up scenarios about it in your head and getting invested in them + it's not like financial success actually matters when you wanna talk about the show's actual quality.

[mlsofh]

Fandom Thoughts - Fandom Etiquette

Hello Wayward Sinners!

Happy 2024, year of the Dragon on the Chinese zodiac! Hope your New Year is spent well. The extermination is over: it's only twelve days until some lucky viewers get access to Hazbin Hotel's first two episodes a whole week in advance. So I'm here to remind everyone of some basic etiquette to abide by for our early hotel habitants. One: Minors shouldn't be entering this fandom. I am not talking 17+ I am talking 16 and under. If you're a minor who is under or is 16 reading my blogs or is in the fandom: you shouldn't be. This is a fandom of an adult show, for adults made by adults. Your brain isn't developed enough to be processing some things in this show healthily no matter how mature you think you are. None of this is said with malice, but with intent to keep you safe. Even if you think you're internet savy, you should be safe. If you want to be in the fandom/you really just can't help yourself, observe from a distance and don't interact with adults. That means liking posts too. Instead, save the link in your notes to the posts you want to like when you're old enough too. Two: Do not send harassment to the Hazbin Hotel Staff(cast.) We want this show to do well, we want to see how much Viv has grown as a content creator, director, character creator and so much more. We want people to succeed. We want one of the first indie animations to get picked up to do well. That being said: the cast has done nothing to you. They did their best and they're professionals: they probably know more than you do about their craft that they've honed for years. Third: Shipping wars should not start again, period. It stressed Viv out two years ago when Chalastor week was in her birthday week. She shut that down, and requested it not be done again. We need to respect the creator herself. If we are fighting over ships then we don't get to enjoy the content of the show to it's fullest. You may ship Nifty/Husker, or Alastor/Valentino, but you don't get to send hate to people who ship Charlie/Vaggie or Sir Pentious/Angel Dust. You can have your opinion respectfully. We need to remember these characters are not ours to claim, they are Vivs. We can love them, respect them, make AUs and more! But that does not mean going and hating someone. We(the fandom) don't own these characters. Fourth: If you have access to two episodes in advance(on the 12th), reminder it's only probably a couple thousand of us who have episodes in advance! When making edits, put a spoiler IN the video not just the caption. If you're making blogs, or content, make sure you have a large spoiler warning or just wait to post the drafts until the 19th of January (when everyone get's episodes 1-4.) WARNING: MENTIONS OF GROOMING AND COM/PRO SHIPPING. THIS IS LAST ON THE POST SO IT'S EASILY SKIPPABLE. Fifth: If proshipping/comshipping posts are made, just ignore them and don't send hate to the person. It's not by any means healthy. I personally don't support it, but I truly want those people to get the help they need and deserve. Especially if they're kids. If you negatively enforce their behavior they're more likely to do it. An adult just needs to be blocked and reported. They're only human. Just report, block, and move on. If you notice an adult is perusing minors, here is what you can do!

How to Report Online Grooming Your priority in a fandom as an adult in circumstances like this will be ensuring the minors in the fandom aren't hurt. We can do a lot as adults with more experience. It's important to report abuse so perpetrators are stopped from exploiting minors. Here are some key steps to take in reporting an online abuser:

Don’t delete any messages the minor has received—these can be used as evidence! Report the perpetrator to the platform your child was using. Block the perpetrator. Save conversations and screenshots to share with local law enforcement. Reporting procedures vary state-by-state so take advantage of RAINN’s State Law Database if you suspect a minor is being groomed or is the victim of any form of abuse from an adult. It can feel scary, overwhelming, and worrying. You are not alone in your worries. You may have trauma yourself. Don't perpetuate it: help the minor. Even if they are upset by you helping just remember they're a kid who doesn't understand the gravity of the situation. You aren't in the wrong for protecting a minor! That's all for now! What do you think? Comment/reblog with your thoughts! Stay Tuned for more, Happy New Year!

[lovejustforaday]

My Top 10 Albums of 2019

Rose Gold - Kitty

Main Genres: Electro Pop

A decent sampling of: Chill Hop, Chill Wave, Alternative R&B, Cloud Rap, Future Bass, Synth Pop, Trip Hop, Wonky Kitty's sound keeps changing from EP to LP, but one thing that remains constant is her witty, hyper-feminine cool girl persona. On "Rose Gold", she explores a variety of electronic genres while maintaining a near-perfect chill mood and atmosphere. "Rose Gold" easily avoids falling into the traps of repetitiveness prone to a lot of lo-fi chill music thanks to Kitty's charming personality and clever lyricism on tracks like "B.O.M.B. (Peter)" and "Florida". I feel like this is definitely a late night album, one you might listen to while sneaking around your kitchen to make a late night snack while wearing your cutest pajamas. Alternatively, this is the album your stuffed animals all get up and vibe to while you're sleeping. Oh yeah, and "Counting All The Starfish" samples FF7 which is pretty cool. Highlights: "B.O.M.B. (Peter)", “Don’t Panic (Interlude)”, "Mami", "Counting All The Starfish", “Disconnect”

8/10

House of Sugar - Sandy (Alex G)

Main Genres: Indie Folk, Neo-Psychedelia

A decent sampling of: Folktronica, Psychedelic Folk, Indie Pop, Americana I admit, I was completely unfamiliar with Alex G's material until this album came along and garnered a lot of attention. I'm very excited to explore his back catalogue now thanks to this album. Fitting to its name, "House of Sugar" is somewhat like a psychedelic sugar rush, feeling at once strange and whimsical yet also sickly sweet and delirious. Under the album's upbeat folky veneer lies darker themes about loss both personal and conceptual. "Gretel" and the album title itself are both inspired by the fairytale of Hansel and Gretel, which makes a lot of sense because I really just want to get lost in the woods while listening to this album. "Project 2" is a noticeable outlier and the weakest track, forgoing conventional song structure completely for experimental synth music yielding mixed results, but even this short track manages to be oddly beautiful and adds to the overall experience. Likewise, "House of Sugar" is an exceptionally interesting musical journey even at its weakest. Highlights: "Gretel", "Sugar", "Hope", "Walk Away", "Taking"

8/10

Titanic Rising - Weyes Blood

Main Genres: Art Pop, Baroque Pop

A decent sampling of: Progressive Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Soft Rock, Progressive Electronic, Alternative Country Most acclaimed album of 2019? Quite possibly. While it's not my top choice of the year, I can definitely understand the widespread praise this album has received. At its best, Weyes Blood's "Titanic Rising" is a truly lush and cinematic experience, incorporating musical influences from the best of 60s and 70s era pop music with a moving lyrical narrative of coming to terms with depression and getting older. Mering's voice is warm and tender, and her insights about generational woes on tracks like "Everyday" and "Something to Believe" are mature and nuanced. If you're new to being an adult like I am, and you find the prospects of trying to build a fulfilling and meaningful life in the kind of world we live in scary, then listening to "Titanic Rising" will feel like a very bittersweet soundtrack written for a movie based on your own real life. Considerably front-loaded, but the concept for this album is very fresh and ambitious, and when it's good, it's brilliant. P.S. definitely the best album cover of 2019 Highlights: "Everyday", "Movies", "Andromeda", "Titanic Rising", "A Lot's Gonna Change"

8/10

Grey Area - Little Simz

Main Genres: Conscious Rap, UK Rap

A decent sampling of: Jazz Rap, Hardcore Rap

Little Simz sounds like she knows exactly who she is and what she's doing on "Grey Area", like she has her flow and writing lyrics down to a science. The album really feels like seeing the world through her eyes, and Simz holds nothing back, talking about everything from institutional racism and violence, to things like therapy, motherhood, and even video games. "Grey Area" succeeds as well as it does largely thanks to the strengths of Simz's offbeat personality, lyrical insights, and excellent delivery, while the production on the album is mostly smooth and slick in a way that never overpowers her as the main focus. I'll admit, I find at some points that the production on some of the songs falls considerably short of the standards set by Simz's own talent as a rapper, but when the production does reach that level on tracks like "101 FM" and "Venom", the pay off is brilliant. "101 FM" in particular is such an interesting and unique hip hop song, in the same way that Simz is a very interesting and unique rapper. Honestly this album is worth the listen alone just to hear what Little Simz has to say about everything.

Highlights: "101 FM", "Selfish", "Offence", "Venom"

8/10

Pang - Caroline Polachek

Main Genres: Art Pop, Alternative R&B

A decent sampling of: Electro Pop, Glitch Pop, Ambient Pop, New Age, Downtempo Of all the albums I've listened to this year, "Pang" feels like the most varied journey with an impressive collection of 14 songs in under 50 minutes. On this LP, Caroline Polachek takes the listener through her world of romantic fairytales and magic. Some of the songs are poppy bangers like the funky "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings" and the rhythmic "Ocean of Tears", while other songs are more mood-driven and meditative like "Parachute" and "Insomnia". Many of the songs place emphasis on the vocal gymnastics of Polachek herself, who makes great use of her range and techniques like heavy breaths on "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings". The production work of Polachek and Danny L. Harle is sophisticated and intricate, with a lot of attention to detail on tracks like "Door" and "Pang". A lot of the songs are  mysterious and cerebral, especially the penultimate "Door" which has an equally cerebral and trippy music video. Overall, I'd say that "Pang" definitely opens and closes with its strongest few tracks, but there’s enough variety and intricacies throughout its entirety to make the album experience highly engaging on repeated listens as you explore the different musical worlds that each song has to offer.

Highlights: "Door", " So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings ", “Parachute”, "Pang", "Go As a Dream", "Ocean of Tears", “Hit Me Where It Hurts”, "The Gate"

9/10

Norman Fucking Rockwell! - Lana Del Rey

Main Genres: Art Pop, Soft Rock

A decent sampling of: Dream Pop, Chamber Pop, Contemporary Folk, Psychedelic Pop, Piano Rock, Blues Rock, Americana, Pop Soul So yeah, this album happened. Lana Del Rey has always been an artist I appreciated for her unique sound and persona, but I found that her 2012 LP "Born To Die" mostly didn't quite live up to her potential as an artist, and I never really bothered with the rest of her work apart from individual songs until now. I'm so glad I checked this one out because "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" rightfully deserves the wave of acclaim it has received this year. Lana Del Rey's songwriting has become so sophisticated on this LP, and the warm, rich soft rock sound that she's adopted on tracks like "The greatest" compliments her vocals better than any other genre she's explored so far. Like most of her work, "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" explores American identity and femininity, and the songs are tinged with sadness and nostalgia. That being said, I actually find parts of this album very uplifting, especially on "Love Song" and "Mariners Apartment Complex". "Venice Bitch" is, simply put, a true masterpiece. It's the reason I checked out the album when I heard the single last year, and it damn near blows everything else out of the water with its gorgeous soundscapes and 9 minute length that could go on for an eternity if it wanted to. Regardless, there's a lot of songs here that I love, even if the LP is a little front-loaded. Lana has outdone herself this time with "Norman Fucking Rockwell!", and I already look forward to the projects she's announced for 2020. In the meantime, I should check out the LPs that I missed in her discography. Highlights: "Venice Bitch", "The greatest", "Mariners Apartment Complex", "How to disappear", "Cinnamon Girl", "Love song", "Norman fucking Rockwell"

9/10

Keepsake - Hatchie

Main Genres: Dream Pop, Indie Pop

A decent sampling of: Shoegaze, Synth Pop, Twee Pop, Jangle Pop

This album pretty clearly derives a lot of its sound from a particular era of early 90s dream pop, shoegaze, and jangle pop. So what makes "Keepsake" so special? For one, Hatchie knows her sound niche and does it incredibly well. Songs like "Stay With Me" and "Kiss The Stars" feel like lost gems from an era when they could've been heard on college radios in between the Cocteau Twins, MBV, and the Cranberries. While her sonic timbre is pure retro, Hatchie's own take on classic dream pop from a songwriting perspective is fresh and unique. Her lyrics and melodies are pure and saccharine in a way that reminds me of feel-good teen romcoms about sappy high school romances, only I mean that in the best way possible. Songs like "Without A Blush" and "Secret" feel like what I thought falling in love was gonna be like when I was 11 years old. "Stay With Me" is a rush of euphoria, and the song feels like prom again whenever I listen to it. Her pop songwriting sensibilities are well-crafted in a way that makes it look like she's been doing this for years and years, when really Hatchie only started putting out her own music in 2017. The sequencing of the tracks is well thought out, and I find "Keepsake" is at its strongest in the middle portion. There's just a certain essence of carefree youth and sentimentality that Hatchie has captured so vividly with this album. If you're looking to recapture the feeling of your best memories as a teenager, "Keepsake" will take you there. Strongest debut LP of the year, and I super look forward to whatever she does next. Highlights: "Stay With Me", "Secret", "Her Own Heart" "Kiss The Stars", "Without A Blush", "Unwanted Guest"

9/10

Djinn - Lingua Nada

Main Genres: Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Noise Rock

A decent sampling of: Noise Pop, Progressive Rock, Math Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Indietronica, Experimental Rock

Lingua Nada is that one really cool indie band that only I and a few others seem to know about. The band has a very distinct and creative sound which combines explosive noise with jerky, whacky rhythms and upbeat melodies. Last year's "Snuff" was a very raw and experimental album experience, and another year-end favourite of mine. This year's "Djinn" boasts slightly more conventional song structures, but the sonic timbres and rhythms are just as strange and beautiful, if not more. As its name would suggest, "Djinn" is partly inspired by Arabian folklore and evokes a sort of mysterious, ghostly presence on songs like the title track and "Salam Cyber". The mix of noise, acid-y psychedelics, and complex rhythms on "Habiba" and "Dweeb Weed" results in alien, otherworldly sounds. "These Hands Are Royal" is a very evocative track as well, with its propulsive beat and dusty guitar riffs giving me the distinct imagery of travelling a desert by foot. Lingua Nada never overwhelms the listener with their explosive songs on "Djinn", and the band takes time to mellow out a bit towards the end of the album with the bubbly, psychedelic indietronica bop "Yalla Yalla" and the minimalist folk tune "In Limbo". Lead vocalist Adam Lenox is buried pretty deep in the mix of guitars, and I wouldn't exactly say he has the strongest presence as a vocalist, but I can't say that this takes away much of the appeal because "Djinn" is clearly meant to be a more impressionistic experience. Lingua Nada have come out of the past two years with a strong 1-2 punch of innovative noise rock albums, and with "Djinn" they've proven themselves to be one of the most daring and multi-talented rock bands of the decade.

Highlights: "Habiba", "These Hands Are Royal", "Djinn", "Salam Cyber", "Yalla Yalla", "Proto", "Gucci Mecca"

9/10

Ginger - Brockhampton

Main Genres: Pop Rap, Contemporary R&B, West Coast Rap

A decent sampling of: Alternative R&B, Emo Rap, Conscious Rap, Indie Pop

This album feels like it's all about growth. Brockhampton have undergone a lot of changes as a band since they first blew up in 2017 between sudden fame, signing a major label, and kicking Ameer for his toxic behaviour. Last year's "Iridescence" felt like a raw, anguished, and messy response to the sudden changes the band had to cope with. Now it's 2019 and we have "Ginger", a more lowkey and sometimes deeply sad album, where members of Brockhampton are still processing many of the same problems. This time, however, the album is far more consistent, more nuanced, and overall, masterfully crafted. There's a lot of talk of male identity and what it means to be a man on "Ginger", and some of the traits brought up are moral integrity, honesty, and vulnerability, all which are part of emotional maturity and subvert machismo gender expectations. True to its album cover, "Ginger" is like a big hug for young guys struggling with depression, but anybody can get something out of this brilliant piece of art. The highlights are many: Joba's verse on "BIG BOY", Kevin's verse on "BOY BYE", and Matt's verse on "NO HALO" just to name a few. But the defining moment of "Ginger" is Dom's takedown of Ameer at the end of "DEARLY DEPARTED", a brilliant 66 seconds of anger, remorse, pain, and condemnation.  Guest rapper Victor Roberts rapping about his traumatic childhood experience with the police on album closer "VICTOR ROBERTS" is also a key highlight, and serves as a fitting note to end an album that so forwardly tackles depression and coping with traumatic life changes. The production is fantastic, from the effortlessly cool R&B jam "SUGAR" to weirder tracks like the off-kilter "IF YOU PRAY RIGHT" which is built around a cartoonish trombone riff. I simply can't praise this album enough. Brockhampton have matured as artists, and "Ginger" will go on to prove their legacy as one of the best rap groups of the 2010s. Highlights: "DEARLY DEPARTED", "NO HALO", "SUGAR", "GINGER", "BOY BYE", "VICTOR ROBERTS", "IF YOU PRAY RIGHT", "BIG BOY", “ST. PERCY”

10/10

Magdalene - FKA Twigs

Main Genres: Art Pop, Glitch Pop

A decent sampling of: Progressive Pop, Ambient Pop, Alternative R&B, Post-Industrial

It's hard to describe what makes this album so brilliant because it's so subtle. "MAGDALENE" slowly unravels to reveal its beauty, in the same way that a flower slowly blooms, petal by petal. Likewise, FKA Twigs slowly strips away all of her defenses, track by track, to reveal the heart of a wounded lover. "MAGDALENE" is all about the breakup of Twigs' highly publicized relationship with Robert Pattinson. The lyrics explore her lover's emotional distance on "home with you", her feelings of inadequacy after being thrust into the broader public eye on "cellophane", her lover's lies on "fallen alien", and the physical pain she endured undergoing fibroid surgery that rendered her feeling weak on "daybed". Like the rest of her work, many of the songs on "MAGDALENE" juxtapose the unnerving with the beautiful, with tracks like "mirrored heart" and "fallen alien" alternating between ethereal vocals backed by piano and glitchy, spine-tingling production that evokes earthquakes and mirrors shattering into hundreds of pieces. There's also a lot of empty space on this album, and a general appreciation for minimalism. Tracks like "mary magdalene" and "cellophane" are made stronger by allowing enough room for Twigs' vocals to carry the music, and boy does she ever. Twigs breathes, moans, cries, screams, whispers, and commands with her voice to utter perfection throughout. The vocal highlights are all over "MAGDALENE", but my absolute favourites include the last line of "home with you", the dark incantations of the verses on "fallen alien", and the withering refrain after the beat-drop on "cellophane". "cellophane" is the centerpiece of "MAGDALENE" and the perfect closer, like listening to the music of a dying flower as it slowly wilts away. Overall, "MAGDALENE" is a stunning piece of art. Twigs has reclaimed her pain on this album by turning one of the lowest points in her life into the most beautiful album of the year. Highlights: "cellophane", "home with you", "fallen alien", "mary magdalene", "daybed", "sad day", "mirrored heart", "thousand eyes"

10/10

[independentartistbuzz]

Good News, Good Music 2.0

In this second installment of Good News, Good Music we continue to delight you with all of the positive responses we have received for our partnership with our friends at Cyber PR Music. Without further adieu, we bring you part 2 (hey, that rhymes!)

Please Follow the Spotify Playlist below to hear all of these amazing tracks.

Thanks to all of the artists who shared their music AND their good news.

Matt Charleston | “Painted Roses (On My Sleeve)”

Completed His debut With 55 Upcoming Artists & Producers

Throughout 2020 I worked on and completed my debut album with 55 nationwide upcoming artists and producers. Releases New Year’s Day!

Halvdan Presthus | “By the Seaside”

Used The Lockdown Time Strengthen & Launch A Website

As a Norwegian songwriter I released my first single in 2019, after deciding to make music full time. I started by booking several concerts with my folk-group, before the Epidemic hit. Since then, I have tried to write and record new songs to prepare for a change for the better as a musician. I’m glad to share that I have launched a new website. Believing that working together we can, through hard work,-reach a new creative power to develop new strong human music.

I found these words of wisdom that might inspire some creative people:

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours..” - H.D.Thoreau

Will Kreth, Founder MediaGroove Label | “Isolation Compiation - Pt. 1″

Released “Isolation Compilation - Pt. 1” Thanks To A Successful Kickstarter Campaign

My “good news / good music” story is that my indie label (MediaGroove) released a compilation album this year - really against the odds - because there were so many unfinished tracks when we started. In December 2019, my label raised money on Kickstarter for a full album by one of our artists, but when the pandemic and lockdown hit - it was damn impossible to wrangle all the tracks into completion. So, we decided to put out a compilation EP of a handful of different artists instead, with songs that only needed editing, mixing and mastering - not full "construction and renovation." MediaGroove’s “Isolation Compilation - Pt. 1” was released October 23rd. I learned a lot in producing and releasing this EP.  For instance, how Spotify doesn’t let you promote / pitch songs from a compilation for advance playlisting!   That was an eye-opener and a bit of a rude awakening. 

Calvin & The Coal Cars | “Wayward Daughter”

Did A Drive-In Show For 300 Paid Attendees, NPR & Magazine Interview

We are a country/Americana band out in Montana called Calvin and the Coal Cars. Our debut album release show was scheduled for March 21, 2020 and was looking like it was about to sell out at The Pub Station in Billings. However, six days before the show it was postponed indefinitely. Despite the obvious drawbacks, we have kept a bit of our momentum. We immediately scheduled a Facebook Live show that was streamed on a couple other platforms, and because of our quick action we got an interview on NPR (our first on terrestrial radio). We also produced a Drive In show that was a great success. We had nearly 300 paid attendees and hired a production company that was able to project our band on the big screen, with 4 camera operators. That show ended up getting our first magazine interview. We also used the time to record our follow up album, The Greatest Hits Vol II, which we plan to release March 21, 2021. So while times are tough, we’ve managed to keep creating.

Shaka Banton | “WE ARE the Ones”

Wrote & Released A Dedication To Jacob Blake Who Was Shot 7 times In His Back

This song touched me deeply because of all the non equality for some people I dedicated this song to that and Jacob Blake who was shot 7 times in his back, at that point enough is enough, and as an artist I had to say something. I said I want this song to really sink in and touch the hearts of people to wanna make change in the world. I can't lie, producing this song brought a tear to my eyes because I couldn't wait for the message to be heard. We are the ones, the hook came to me super fast I knew right then that the message would have to be heard.Being African in America is not easy you have to go 10x harder then others to be recognized but where there's a will there's a way, a passion that can't be turned off by anyone.

Tiger Scientist & MJ Raven | “When”

Helping People Cope With Anxiety Through Music 

Boy was it a year, but I'm thankful for the hard truths it made me confront and the growth that came from that. It also allowed my wife and I to finally begin our long-talked-about music project, an epic 5 EP cycle about coping with anxiety and development in the modern age. The first EP comes out in January and the first single is out now, called "When." It's an epic journey through the mind and learning we can be stronger than our anxiety attacks.

Linc Bradham | “The Darkest of Nights”

An Arabic Linguist Serving In The US Army Is Shifting Military Careers

My audio engineer who is also my good friend and I have been working weekly towards me switching careers as an Arabic linguist in the Army into the Army Band as a production engineer. He and I have been working together musically for years and met by chance at a show here in DC! He mixed and mastered my first EP that came out in September and my single Shine which released on 15 December.  Years after meeting, we’re now doing weekly virtual lessons (one of which we finished 5 minutes ago!) so I can learn the production side of things and succeed at the Army Band production engineer audition next year. I’m so grateful to be changing careers to what I’ve always loved and dreamed of doing - music. Since we’re talking about good news, here’s the title track off my EP, The Darkest of Nights. (“Even in the darkest of nights, the smallest of lights, will prevail.”)

Jeremy Weinglass | “The Twelve Days of Christmas”

Played A Senior Center onThanksgiving And Changed A Woman’s Life

On Thanksgiving I was fortunate to have a rare live gig playing piano for the residents at a senior living facility. This has been an especially tough year for these folks since they are not able to have outside family members come visit, all their usual activities are extremely limited and no live music or entertainment since March. I had a fairly small, yet very attentive audience that stayed throughout my entire 2 hour performance where I shared music, stories and gratitude. When it came time to wrap up, I thought I'd conclude with a sentimental Christmas piece (from my album releasing the next day). As I finished, "I'll Be Home for Christmas," a woman approached the piano with tears in her eyes and pulled her mask down and said, "I asked to receive a sign from my husband in heaven that he was here with me right now [pause and sobbing] and THIS was it." She gave a soft smile through her tears and I immediately wept and then she walked away.

Rock Supreme | “Cruise Control”

Released New Music Despite The Pandemic

I did release some new music on 11.27.20, it’s a EP called “Signed Sealed & Delivered” available on all streaming platforms. Be safe out there.

Jon Fuller | “Litany of HeartBreak”

Inked A Distribution Deal That's Focused on International Listeners

On the good news front, I was able to finish and release a fully-animated CGI music video for my track "I.love.you" (the album the song is on came out in 2013, so it was truly a multi-year labor of love!), and I was able to ink a distribution deal that's focused on international listeners, which I'm particularly excited about.

Sherry-Lynn Lee | “Wasted Space in My Heart”

Learned Production, Experimented And Pushed Her Limits - Wants To Help Other Women Do The Same

When we met Ariel in 2017, I didn't know the first thing about production. Fast-forward to today, I can now engineer, produce, mix and master our records. Several of our self-produced songs have been signed to publishers and agents. I've even started producing other artists in addition to George's and my own solo project. Music supervisors and major label producers alike have told me that I'm a talented producer and should seriously consider it as a career path. So I spent most of 2020 learning, experimenting and pushing my limits, all while having a blast doing it. 

In "Wasted Space In My Heart", I used office supplies to create the percussion elements and processed them to create a fun indie pop song. I hope that sharing this will inspire more women to get into production and experience the thrill of realizing a musical vision from idea to master. 

Doug Fergus | “Wannabe”

Released An Honest & “Goofy” Song - And Got 900 Pandora Streams Per Week

When Covid and the shutdowns and that reality started to kick in...I freaked and I thought, "Even though i'm 'older' , what if I miss my chance at ever achieving some form of success?" I blurted out,  "I don't want to be a wannabe anymore!" Then I thought, cool song title!

So I quickly wrote and recorded the song at home and put it out, lack of professionalism be damned! 

Then a magical moment: One of my goofiest songs, "Wannabe" got added to several artists playlists on Pandora and I went from a pitiful 5 or 6 streams a week to over 900 a week!!

Danielle Todd | “A Solo for Autumn” & “Crazy”

Wrote A Custom Song For A Frontline Worker

I was contacted by Desjardins Group and asked to perform a song for somebody in Canada that was going through a rough time because of the pandemic. I was given a girl named Autumn, who was a frontline worker. Her sister contacted Desjardins with the most wonderful message about how hard her sister is working. That night, I wrote this song called "Autumn" and sent it in to Desjardins. Within a few days, Autumn had her very first song written for her and she was brought to tears. It was really nice to help a stranger out during this time.

Night Ride | “D.A.Z.”

Inspired By BLM Collaborated On A Track To Raise Money For Charity

This has indeed been one hell of a year - but the Black Lives Matter movement really impacted me the most. I was straight up experiencing white guilt and felt I had to do something. 

I partnered with two of my close friends who are amazing talented artists and we wrote and created a track with 100% of the proceeds going to charity. The track also raised awareness of police brutality - being named after Daz, a family member of one of my friends who passed at the hands of police. A lot of people helped out and gave their time for free to create a music video and to promote the track and we are now raising money for the charities that need it most!

Stay tuned …There’s more Good News Coming!

[whitebear-ofthe-watertribe]

@the-penguinator @wanlingnic @wonderwomanlovesyou 

You guys I’m so sorry for taking so long on this! I wasn’t on my computer for the last week and a half because I was out of town, so my queue was the only thing running here! I totally spaced that I did this Ask Meme, please forgive me! 

Anyways, I’m back so here are my answers for the Aesthetic Asks

love: have you ever fallen in love? describe what it feels like to realise you’re in love.

Yes I have, only once though. And it was one sided. I never voiced to him (or anyone else really) that I was in love with him. It feels like... I dunno if I can really explain the moment of it, but suddenly it’s not just a crush anymore. It’s a feeling like you would do anything to make the happy, and it doesn’t take much for them to make you happy in turn. You want to be their biggest cheerleader, you want them to succeed in all that they dream about, and you want to protect them from harmful people and things... I dunno, it was a long time ago... I have no idea what that would feel like now, and I kinda wonder if I’ll ever experience it again... One can only hope

marble: what is the most important thing to you in your life right now?

Hope. Because if I don’t have hope, if I don’t have that joyful expectation of good things to come, then I don’t know how to move forward in life.

matte: if you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living?

I would create more, I would adventure more, and I would love with reckless abandon without fear of getting hurt

pantone: describe a person close to your life in detail.

She is absolutely fabulous. #Fashion goals. A Slytherin. Hilariously witty and sarcastic. Loves those close to her very deeply. One of the easiest people for me to be around, like I honestly never get tired of her. Fricken awesome actress, with a great eye for the dramatic arts (both in theater and film) and literally I’m just waiting for the day when some major film company finally recognizes her talent and scoops her up. One of my best friends, and I can tell we will probably remain friends for the rest of our lives, like you know when you can just tell? Like they’ve stuck with you through all of it, and even over long distances and life changes over the years you stay connected? She’s one of those. Total nerd. Amazingly wonderful human being. 

space: do you have a desk/workspace and how is it organised/not organised?

On top of it are succulents along the back end of it near the window, a mug full of pens and pencils, and a couple small picture frames with friends. My drawing board takes up most of the space, and my drawing tablet sits on top of that. I honestly have no idea what is in the drawers anymore because mostly I just use that for out-of-sight storage

storms: you can only listen to one song for the rest of your life, or only see one person for the rest of your life. which and why? 

One song, because a life without being surrounded by good people is no life at all. I may be an introvert and I may love music with all my heart (I mean I’ve been singing since before I can remember, I play multiple instruments, and I love to perform) but I crave the diversity of people :) Also I could go into the loophole that listening to one song isn’t the same as singing one song, and I sing all the time, but I’m not gonna get technical here

messy bun: the world is listening. pick one sentence you would tell them.

“Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

11:11: name three wishes and why you wish for them.

The first would be surrounded by many life-long best friends and loved ones, whom I can truly help to encourage and make happy whenever I see them, just as they bring me happiness in turn

The second would be the security of having at least enough to live comfortably, to give abundantly financially to both people I care about and random people I come across, to travel with ease, and to create without limitations

The third would be that I could eventually make animated movies and shows that are both beautiful and impactful, that can inspire others in the ways that I myself have been inspired, to help and comfort people when they need a safe escape, and to influence people to understand more about Hope, Truth, and Love

tattoos: how do you feel about tattoos and piercings? explain.

Love ‘em. I may not love all designs and placements, but I respect another person’s right to do what they will. I personally only ever actually like ear piercings on myself (and I’d never get a belly button piercing, but I like them on other people). I also have several tattoo designs for myself in the works, but I am taking my time to plan those carefully, because I don’t want to get one until I have no doubt that I’m satisfied with the art

cry baby: list the concerts you have been to and talk about how they make you feel.

Oh gosh.... there are so many, I can’t even begin to list them! Mostly for any rock/indie/whatever concerts I go to, they tend to be outside and hold a strange sort of summer-night nostalgia. And for all the orchestra and opera concerts I’ve been to, I usually start with analyzing how the various instrument sections perform (because I have been on both sides of the curtain my whole life) but then there is always a shift in emotion, and I start dreaming about fantasy and adventure tales, and the music begins to weave stories for me as the night goes on. I usually cry happy tears at those performances :) Both/all concerts inspire me a lot

grunge: who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say?

JK Rowling. I’d want to know more of her thought processes around her writing, and the world and its characters that she has created. I’d also just like any form of encouragement or wisdom she would see fit to offer someone fresh out of school and about to turn 24, and is seriously full of doubts about what to do and what direction to go in life

Thanks so much for asking, you guys!!! That was fun!