#it makes me so sad ik it's online people but online a lot of folks say stuff that maybe can't say irl although they can still act out

[justaholeinmysoul]

Empathy and sympathy for weird, different and weak people are decreasing so alarmingly tbh .

I can't believe that people freak out for some slur on a TV show and tits but let others post online the most ableist, eugenics and disgusting shit

[incarnateirony]

i feel like a lot of people are essentially saying the same thing to you so i apologize.

but honestly like we really don’t know what went on in their marriage. like yea i mean i’m kinda bummed because they did seem so sweet together but also i’m thinking about the folks i know in real life who are getting divorced/separated and all of them are better off separated (and honestly there’s been a lot of divorces among folks ik recently) but yea like with people i know it was a good move for everyone involved including their friends and such so like. idk i think some folks online are getting waaaay too upset about this and idk. m & v are both smart people and wouldn’t take this lightly. i’m sure it’s a good move for both of them. i think you’re right in that yea they’ll both be sad obvs but sometimes a relationship has just gotta end for the sake of both parties. also - the kids will be fine too because i feel that both m & v already thought of themselves as parents first and foremost (above actor, writer, historian, activist, etc) so yea. idk just more thoughts i guess

I think a lot of it is this site not exactly having a healthy gauge on healthy relationships, or making healthy relationship decisions, much less in very long term situations--frame of reference for themselves OR their parents really. It was, ironically, my more toxic younger relationships that had me clinging on. When you know they're gonna be okay though, and you have your own way to make through, and your paths just aren't matching anymore and you know what that is and what that really means -- it's a whole other thing.

[jenroseyokel]

Awesome of the Year 2018: The Music

Welcome to round two of 2018’s Awesome of the Year lists. It’s time for one of the most fun and frustrating of them all… my top albums of the year.
 

So by the time I get around to making a list for my blog, I’ve already made… um… three. Three lists that don’t match up, because they’re all for pretty specific audiences and have varying levels of criteria to meet. When I settle in to make these lists, it’s usually through the lens of recommendations more than a best of... what are the albums I loved that people who read this website will love too?

By the time I get to my blog, I’m don’t even want to try to rank albums. But here we are. I’ve attempted to semi-rank my Top 12, with a handful of honorable mentions at the end. These are by no means the OMG BEST albums of 2018, but they’re some of my favorites, whether they met me on a deep spiritual level (like my #1) or just provided some fun background for driving around.



Or of course, you could skip this long list and just queue up My Listening Year 2018 playlist on Spotify. It’s 3 hours of 2018 releases I enjoyed that starts out all rock and roll then runs from folk to pop to CCM to whatever. Hopefully you’ll find something you like in this crazy mix. :)

2018 was a pretty dang great year for music. What were your favorite songs and albums? Let me know in the comments!

Audrey Assad - Evergreen 



Audrey Assad’s first collection of original songs in five years tells a painfully honest story of faith lost and found, spiritual growth, and evergreen hope. Lovingly crafted from start to finish, this marks a courageous new chapter in her career and was my personal most-played record of 2018.



Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour 

Blending small-town country with glistening pop and songs that waver between wistful and playful, Golden Hour quickly won me over. I guess this means I like country now? 


Andrew Osenga - The Painted Desert



Thankfully, Andrew Osenga isn’t done making music after all. The Painted Desert comes after time off from the road and studio, and these songs about renewal and hope create one of the most powerful records of the year.



Andrew Peterson - Resurrection Letters Vol. 1 


Ten years later, the prequel to Resurrection Letters Vol. 2 is here, and it is 100% worth waiting for. These joyful songs show a seasoned songwriter at the top of his game, with big arrangements and powerful lyrics to celebrate coming back to life.

 (Don’t miss the Resurrection Letters Prologue EP for Lent and Good Friday too!)

1/11 EDIT: Ben Rector - Magic

Chris: Ben Rector came out with a remix EP today. Me: Oh cool! Wait.... did Magic come out in 2018? Chris: ...

HOW DID I FORGET TO PUT MAGIC ON MY LIST IT’S SO GOOD Y’ALL. We saw his tour and everything. I am super disappointed with myself right now.

The New Respects - Before the Sun Goes Down



Elements of funk, soul, blues, and 70’s rock n roll come together for one of coolest rock records of 2018.



Liz Vice - Save Me

I loved hearing Liz Vice at Hutchmoot this year and immediately checked out her music. Save Me blends classic R&B, soul, and gospel influences with pop beats and her expressive singing for one powerful, hopeful musical experience.



Andy Gullahorn - Everything as It Should Be

For a certain core of Nashville indie folk fans, Andy Gullahorn needs no introduction by now. Once again this master songwriter delivers a thoughtful folk record that observes the small beauties of life and speaks hope into a divisive culture, all with the right mix of humor, profundity, and grace.



Sandra McCracken - Songs from the Valley



Songs from the Valley is an album of lament, drawing from the Psalmic tradition and Sandra McCracken’s own broken heart, but the shafts of light in the valley shadows lend this album a real, hopeful beauty. 

Death Cab for Cutie - Thank You For Today

There will always be a part of my soul that loves sad Seattle indie rock. I never expected a new Death Cab album, but that sad Seattle indie rock part of my soul is really thankful this exists.



Lauren Daigle - Look Up, Child



Lauren Daigle’s debut was a pretty solid and safe pop record, but her sophomore release is everything I ever wanted from her. Rather than sticking with CCM radio style, she embraces her New Orleans roots, and it sounds like this is the music she was born to make. 

Paramore - After Laughter

Technically a 2017 record, but I discovered it around this time last year. I never could get into Paramore in the past, but geez, this is a fantastic pop rock record. (And apparently, my most played album on Spotify this year? Ya figured me out Spotify.) 

Honorable Mentions (There was a lot of good music this year!) 

Joy Ike - Bigger Than Your Box, The Lone Bellow - The Restless, Beta Radio - Ancient Transition, Mumford & Sons - Delta, The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships, Mat Kearney - CRAZYTALK, Mutemath - Voice in the Silence EP, Jason Gray - The Kipper Gray Sessions EP, NEEDTOBREATHE - Forever on Your Side EP

[helltaeyong]

Pretty. Odd. Masterpost

  Since the anniversary of my favorite album by panic! is coming I decided to do a master post! 

Tracklist:

-We’re So Starving -Nine in the afternoon -She’s A Handsome Woman -Do You Know What I’m Seeing? -That Green Gentleman(Things Have Changed) -I Have Friends In Holy Spaces -Northern Downpour(im crying help) -When The Day Met The Night -Pas De Cheval -The Piano Knows Something I Don’t Know -Behind The Sea -Folkin’ Around -She Had The World -From A Mountain In The Middle Of The Cabins -Mad As Rabbits Alternate Versions: -Northern Downpour  -She Had The World -Behind The Sea -Do You Know What I’m Seeing?

Release Date: March 25, 2008 Duration: 48:50 Location Where It Was Recorded: Las Vegas Nevada + London, England Members At This Time: -Brendon Urie -Ryan Ross -Jon Walker -Spencer Smith

Quotes About The Album And Songs On It: -Nine In The Afternoon: “ This is the first song we wrote. It’s a song we all wrote together. It’s basically about our situation for the past few years, just kind of looking at it all in a good way, and as a positive thing. It’s one of the most straightforward songs we’ve ever had, lyrically. We wanted to have a song people could just get on the first listen…..It was one of those spur-of-the-moment songs that came together in a couple of hours. It’s just a fun song; it’s not really meant to be taken seriously.” -Ryan Ross (2007) -She’s A Handsome Woman: “I came in to the library one night and Jon  was playing drums. I just picked up the guitar and started playing the opening riff, and we all really liked the feel of it. We finished it within two days. It was one of the fastest songs we’ve ever written. We wanted to capture the rawness of it. On the record, it doesn’t sound perfect.” - Ryan Ross (2008) -Do You Know What I’m Seeing?:  “We were happy about writing ‘Nine In The Afternoon’ so we decided to celebrate. We were out in Ryan’s backyard. It was 80 degrees and our shirts were off. We were hanging out and playing guitar. We played that guitar chord for about three minutes, and we started looking around and it was kind of like a little story. The way we wrote it is a little bit like a nursery rhyme.”-Jon Walker “[It’s] a song about the weather pretty much.” - Ryan Ross -That Green Gentleman(Things Have Changed): “ I played C major and that was the first thing [Spencer Smith] started playing on the drums. Four hours later, the song was done. We changed some of the structure and some of the lyrics. We like the spontaneity of writing a song." - Jon Walker -I Have Friends In Holy Spaces: “What happened was one night when we were writing another song, we took an hour break. I was playing something on the guitar and as we were all hanging around I was making up lyrics to it. It just kind of became a ditty and the rest of them – I think they’re all crazy – but they were like ‘You can throw that on the album.’ That was one of the two songs I got to throw on there.” - Brendon Urie (2008) -Northern Downpour: “ This is definitely the most stripped down song in the sense that we want it to be all about the lyric and the melody. Jon (bassist Jon Walker) wrote the melody for the verse and I loved it, Spence (drummer Spencer Smith) loved it also, and (Jon) kept wanting to change it so I wrote the lyrics really quickly so he couldn’t change it."-Ryan Ross (2008) “It was about touring and girlfriends and love and everything that’s been important to us in the past few years. There’s a line in the song that goes, “I know the world’s a broken bone, but melt your headaches, call it home.” I told Brendon to pay special attention to that line.” -Ryan Ross -When The Day Met The Night: “This one changed a whole bunch because we wrote this one on an acoustic guitar and changed it once we got into the studio. It was really exciting and experimental.”-Ryan Ross (2008) -Pas De Cheval: ”Ryan and I came home one night – I was living with him while we were recording – we ended up writing a whole song that was a bunch of different parts. And this song is probably about half of that song. We mixed up some parts and redid some parts. Then as we started playing it with the rest of the guys it turned into this.” -Jon Walker -Behind The Sea: “That....song is supposed to make you forget about everything that’s real. It’s all about imagery. The sounds around it I wanted it to just... sound like the lyrics did. It’s one of those songs you lay down and close your eyes and listen to it”-Ryan Ross (2008) “ I walked in one day and these guys were talking about the song and they said, ‘Why don’t you try to sing this?’ I sang it because it was me and Jon’s song, I knew the song well. We did it and everyone thought it was cool. It’s still one of the coolest songs on the album.” -Ryan Ross -She Had The World:  “That was one of the songs that took the longest. It was kind of a work in progress over the whole writing process. That was one we did in the summer. No one was that excited about it. Then I changed it a few days before we were going to track it, and it ended up being a lot cooler than I thought it was going to turn out. We had some harpsichords and some really beautiful orchestrations.” -Ryan Ross (2008) -Mad As Rabbits: (At a festival)  ‘This last song is a love song. It’s about universal love. And, uh, friendship, and hugs and kisses, and all kinds of things like that. So I want to see a lot of love going on out there all during this last song. Y'know, give your friend a hug or a kiss or a high-five or, or something...”-Ryan Ross (2008)

Writers: Ryan Ross Jon Walker Spencer Smith Brendon Urie

Themes/Aesthetics: -Organic -Mellow -Weed(lmao) -Floral -Sadness -Love -Country Folk -Pop Rock -Rock Nominations/Awards: -Grammy award for:  Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package Available On: -Vinyl -CD -Mp3 -Online/Streaming

Facts: There are so many “fun facts” and I didn’t want to just pick and choose so i’m gonna link a bunch of good fact pages below: -(interactive and user friendly+gives facts on individual songs):genius -kidz:(ik the name but trust me its a good site) -Second studio album by Panic! -Official last album Ryan and Jon were on(split in 2009) -Crickets And Clovers was written in between p.o. and afycso

Happy (early) Birthday, to my favorite album, Pretty. Odd.