#man i was listening to so many banger songs while making this

[machinerot]

[cinnamonroll-anon]

Hi! If it's okay to ask/request, could you do TFA Decepticons and Autobots, of your choice with Human Reader? Can be romantic/platonic

Reader's a fan of fnaf-related, from games, books, lores, movie, etc…

A/n: Absolutely Anon, thank you for the request! Sorry for any grammatical errors or making the characters to OOC. Sorry for any misinterpretation of the prompt anon, these can be seen as platonic or romantic (sorry for not including the fnaf movie, i haven't seen it and it wouldn't do justice to write about it, but I'll definitely go back and write the headcanon after i watch it)

TFA Autobots/Decepticons x GN!Fnaf Fan Reader (Platonic/Romantic)

Optimus

At first he would think it was based off of real events, in which you've had to remind him they're not. It's just a videogame

I think he'll find it odd how you could be so interested in something entirely fictional (he's not judging tho, man is a history nerd and he knows it) he may be just a bit concerned in the beginning

But it all shifted when you mentioned the books

That peaked his interest and you give some recommendations on the first ones to read. Obviously reminding him that what happens in the books doesn't happen in the games

I feel like he's a night owl and will definitely be reading them late at night. Sometimes you even join in and it becomes a fun little geeking out session, especially when he has so many questions and you're happy to answer

Ironically more into the horror aspect of fnaf (especially in some of the books because damn, messed up shit do be happening) and he's eating it all up fr (rip matpat mpreg that he read because, you little shit, you'd definitely tell him about it. Man was beyond flabbergasted and also learned about the theory side of fnaf) (definitely one was to make an impression 💀)

I think he's definitely more of a casual fan of fnaf

Bumblebee

Probably the most open to learning about your interests, especially fnaf

He thought it would be something simple like the video games he's played while on earth, boy was he wrong

You've got him hooked on the lore, it confused him at first but you guided him through the most confusing bits, like not canon works like the books, security breach, the peak of the fandom etc.

You guy's definitely watched "An Undeniably Canon Five Nights at Freddy's Timeline" and he was definitely hollering while watching it with you and it helped him understand the lore just a bit better (bonus that y'all watched it like a movie night!)

In absolute awe of the Fnaf songs, each one is a banger

He'll definitely ramble about it with you if it's your hyperfixation and he's always happy to learn more about what makes you happy

Bulkhead

More reluctant on it especially because it's in the horror genre and i don't think he takes it too well

He understands the idea and how it can be interesting but you might need to leave out agony and renment, might frighten him too much

Please don't show him the VHS tapes, that'll certainly scare the color off of him

He listens to the songs and thinks the community is very creative

Definatly likes the more cute and wholesome side of fnaf

Overall he's open to you but be mindful of his heart, he's a softie

Prowl

I feel like he may be the hardest one to introduce to but it's not your fault, it's bumblebee's (He's bothered prowl with videogames and stuff before)

But i think he'd give you a chance, seeing that he cares alot about you and this means alot to you

I think he'd be more intrigued with the horror mechanics of the game, learning how a mix of jumbled sounds and scenes could scare someone

He'd be down to play it/ watch you play it/ watch gameplays

He definitely jumps ip from the jumpscares. In his defense he was caught off guard

Overall he'd be supportive, listening to you explain the convoluted story and all the details

He'd remember just about everything you tell him. It's how he shows he cares, actively listening and remembering things you like

He'd find it cute how you like fnaf so much, reminds him of how focused and happy nature makes him

Ratchet

He at first waves you off, saying that he's to busy or tired to care

But this guy's got a soft spot for you

So he might not take the deep dive into fnaf, but he definitely listens to you

He'll let you ramble while he's working on something. Sometimes you feel like you're being overbearing and stop talking, he notices of course, "I'm still listening, this William guy sure is a piece of work"

He remembers everything you tell him, so you find yourself over the moon when he remembers some reference you said like a month ago

Finds himself pleasantly surprised that it's more interesting than just a horror game, but i feel like he'll deny that (but watch him ask what else happened)

Blurr

He probably is taking this more seriously than what he needs to, but you appreciate it

"So you're telling me that the sorrow he felt for losing his youngest son led him down a desperate path that ended up killing his own daughter on accident, but by then he was so broken he killed Henry's daughter, while also pushing away his eldest son, which would lead up into Micheal vengefully chasing down his father until Henry managed to trap everyone and put an end to Williams torment on all his victims and family?" He'd practically babble almost incoherently fast

Yeah that's practically it

He'd definitely like the more theoretical parts of Fnaf like how William had gotten away with it that long, why they didn't find the body's, etc.(he's practically a police officer as well, this is all up in his alley)

He's a quick learner and basically devours everything you show him, both invested and interested to learn why you love it so much

He found his answer and a hyperfixation!

Megatron

Being on earth for as long as he has, just collecting dust and not being able to go anywhere is pretty crushing... And boring

He'd listen to you ramble on the premise that he's so utterly bored that he'd listen to just about anything

He'd be on the edge of his seat waiting to hear what happens next, he'd be interested if you also showed him just about everything

He'd grow used to it and doesn't sincerely care what anyone else thinks, letting you ramble and just enjoy yourself

He'd be lying if he didn't say he enjoyed that time together

He'll let you sit on his shoulder and just go off

He's basically unfazed by it but enjoying it

Starscream

Probably freaks him out ngl but he'd shake it off under the impression that he couldn't be afraid of such a silly human story

Oh boy wait until he hears about the spring lock failure

But as much as it would freak him out man is invested to know everything

He'd jump up and scream at the jump scares when watching the gameplay. Every. Time.

He'd be in a love-hate relationship with fnaf, loving the complexity but hating the horror aspects

Honestly you rambling about it helps ease him into it, you're calming and so happy when you talk about it

Black Arachnia

Might not be as interested in the beginning, halfheartedly listening until you mention Springtrap

He reminds her of herself, an abomination both organic and technology. Both painful experiences and the agony of never being what they once were

She ends up enjoying listening to you explain how agony and remnant works. It's reminds her of her experiments to return herself to normal

She'd listen to you as she works, using your voice as a way to ground herself as she works

Definitely shocked at the family drama, but she loves the tea

Overall happy to be able to have one more thing to talk to you about.

Blitzwing

He's having a field day

"Such interesting methods of disposing the bodies- Yeah, what a cold hearted killer- Oh! Killer like the music!"

His three sides are all equally interested in it, job well done!

One is analyzing the crime aspects, one is taking the story at face value, and of course the other one is just as/ if not more ecstatic about it

He loves it and loves learning more about it and rambling with you

Will listen to a Fnaf playlist with you happily, especially because it reminds him of you

Idk but something tells me he'd laugh at the jumpscares, thinks the suspense is funny

Lugnut

He's surprised you fan remember so much about Fnaf. Like theres just so much

I feel like he'd boast about how much you know. "Look at the genius before you, they know more about this subject than anyone!"

He's super supportive

He'd drop just about anything he's doing to give you his full undivided attention

If you sometimes forget that you've already told him something and say it again you're doing him a solid. He doesn't have the best memory but hes enthusiastic!

He's proud of you and isn't afraid to show it, as you shouldn't be afraid to share of what you like with him

Shockwave

Man has been working on the clock for ages. I feel like when he'd listen to you introduce him to fnaf he was honestly so overworked and stressed that he just needed a distraction

And indeed it was a distraction

If you're the type to go into long rants for hours, sign him up

Definitely asking questions and just actively indulging with you

It's honestly adorable

If anyone asks what you're doing at his desk, he'll just shoo them off saying that you're a key part of his work

He's interested, hooked and loving it

Show him the music and that's a new guilty pleasure for him. He listens to them while he works quietly, never thought he'd enjoy it so much

Definitely eager to learn about everything; books, games, you name it, he wants to know

Loves spending more time with you, especially bonding over your interest!

Back to Nav

[aquilacalvitium]

who is this Nate?

Oh.

Oh, buddy.

Oh I get to talk about Natewantstobattle and you will regret this.

So! I'm not a NWTB expert so don't expect a full bulletpoint presentation BUT I can share my experience!

Natewantstobattle is a nerdcore turned original artist who made songs about video games, anime and cartoons for years and only recently (last year I think) decided to leave nerdcore behind and focus entirely on original music.

He's made some BANGER songs, has the voice of an angel and seems to have the same enthusiasm about dark/demonic fictional imagery as myself ^_^

He's made a lot of FNAF songs which is how I found him. His music got him noticed by Random Encounters (RE) who make small-budget indie musicals based on video games and decided to make a five-part special musical based on FNAF for which they reached out to get Nate involved. He appeared and sang as a prominent character in that musical as well as plenty of others that they made. Markiplier was also in that musical.

Nate is popular with a lot of Jacksepticeye and Markiplier fans as his content focuses on similar games, leading to the same people finding him. Because of that, the fans' habit of making characters or "egos" for youtubers from their videos also extended to Nate and honestly while I still listen to his music I haven't been active in the fandom for a while so I have no idea how many egos there are now, but I'm desperate to rejoin the fandom space and catch up!

Anyway, the egos I'm very well aware of are Natemare and Phantom.

Haha yeah, he kidnapped Matpat for that music video.

The video in question is for Mangled, a 2~ minute song based on FNAF 2. The character he portrayed was an instant hit with the fans and was subsequently dubbed "Natemare" as a play on nightmare.

Also in 2018 Nate released a limited edition Natemare shirt thus confirming the name as canon and also I have that shirt so cough cough.

Secondly, Phantom!

MAN I LOVE PHANTOM!

From a music video for a song of the same name.

As far as I'm aware there's practically no canonically confirmed information about him other than he makes deals and steals people's souls. That lead to a lot of fans calling him a demon, including myself.

It took me five years to put together a cosplay for Phantom because I couldn't find one part! You'd think it would be the staff, right? Impossible to find an exact replica, right? No. It was the bloody shirt. I couldn't find a single freaking long sleeve red button up shirt for YEARS. I've got it now, though.

His original albums so far include Sandcastle Kingdoms, Paid in Exposure and To Let Go. That one is actually currently coming out one song at a time on his YouTube channel and music streaming platforms. There's only two songs out at the moment and I think the plan was to release them slowly until they were all released by the time the album itself dropped, but it was announced last month that it's been brought forwards to the 18th! That's in FOUR DAYS!!!! The last song to come out was Forgotten on Tuesday which is the one you saw me blogging about. It slaps so fucking hard you have no idea.

If you want any personal recommendations for his music, my favourites of his original work are Phantom, Forgotten, All I See, Perfect by Design and Branded.

PIf you look up Phantom you may see it titled as a Hazbin Hotel song but actually it came out a good while before Hazbin Hotel did, he just realised how well the character of Phantom matched with Alastor from HH and released a remastered version with some of Alastor's voice lines over it.

My favourites of his nerdcore songs are Mangled, No More, Stay the Course, Time to Move on and Ask for More. That last one is about Food Wars. I don't even watch that show, that's just how good the song is.

Oh! As an addition that I almost forgot to talk about, he's also a voice actor! He's appeared in Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, he plays the main character in Luck and Logic and has appeared in multiple video games like Dream Daddy, Yandere Simulator and Monster Prom.

[zeroaddzero]

Top 10 Horniest Bruce Springsteen songs, ranked

Yes there are more horny Bruce songs. Too many horny songs for one list. I don’t know if his game was good because he knew how to write horny songs, or if his game inspired him to write horny songs. Eiter way, we’ve been blessed musically with a lot of horny songs. Here’s the horny songs I managed to fit into a (very biased) list:

1.  I'm On Fire

THE horny Bruce song. A fever fantasy of a wet dream smushed into one moaning, sweaty mess. Before I was a fan, this (coupled with the below performance) was the song that made me go "OH. I get it now."

Spotify LINK

At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet And a freight train running through the middle of my head Only you can cool my desire

2.  Pink Cadillac

About as subtle as Lady Gaga’s “Disco Stick.” Even better paired with the BITUSA tour intro (said intro got noticeably more sexual after Bruce got married in 1985).

Spotify LINK

They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple But man I an’t goin for that I know it was her pink Cadillac

3. Fire

Originally written for Elvis, the bass line alone for this #problematic 70s “don't play coy with me” number will make you reconsider feminism for 5 minutes. The 1986 performance is downright NSFW.

Spotify LINK

You had a hold on me right from the start A grip so tight I couldn't tear it apart

4. The Fever

Bruce is king of the “lying in bed thinking of how horny this person makes me” genre, and this is one of his finest examples. At almost 8 minutes, it’s the tantric equivalent to the more concentrated "I’m on Fire". Anybody noticing a “burning” theme here?

Spotify LINK

Well now the day grows longer The love just grows stronger, baby And the fever gets so bad at night I got the fever for the girl

5. Because The Night

Bruce never finished the lyrics, and this song arguably belongs to Patti Smith now. Bruce has even said as much. However, I am biased and enjoy this banger too much to let technicalities get in the way of horny. On the list it goes.

Spotify LINK

Because the night belongs to lovers Because the night belongs to lust Because the night belongs to lovers Because the night belongs to us

6. Red Headed Woman

I'm Going Down may seem raunchy until you realise it's about a bad breakup. For the other thing, we have this entry. Folks, this song is literally about eating pussy. Bruce even introduced it as such during his Ghost of Tom Joad tour. I’ve yet to recover from the whiplash of hearing him say the word “cunnilingus” while performing at his old Catholic high school.

Spotify LINK

Well listen up stud Your life's been wasted 'Til you've been down on your knees and tasted A red headed woman

7. She's The One

Speculated to have been written about the violinist who played on the album Born To Run, this tune shows our boy is down baaad. Best paired with the excellent "Mona" intro, which is included in the Houston '78 live performance below.

Spotify LINK

With her killer graces and her secret places That no boy can fill with her hands on her hips Oh and that smile on her lips Because she knows that it kills me

8. Part Man, Part Monkey

My Tunnel of Love tour knowledge is woefully lacking despite the tour being his most explicit, and the accompanying album being in my top 3. In the eyes of the public, Bruce was still with his first wife when this video was shot in 1988. Only the band knew he was recently separated, so imagine watching a presumably married man on stage eye-fucking his backup singer. The gossip mill must have been insane after each show.

Spotify LINK

Well the night is dark, the moon is full The flowers of romance exert their pull We talk awhile, my fingers slip I'm hard and crackling like a whip

9. Crush On You

Another genre this Jersey dude excels at is “horny to the point of funny.” Bruce himself has called it "the worst song we ever put on a record" but hey, what does he know.

Spotify LINK

For one kiss, darling I swear everything I would give 'Cause she's a walking talking reason to live

10. Cover Me

I just realised this is only one of four songs on this list included on an official Springsteen album(if you don't count the outtake compilations.) The video contains the studio audio, but I'm not passing on an excuse to plug more Paris '85 concert footage!

Spotify LINK

Now promise me baby you won't let them find us Hold me in your arms, let's let our love blind us Cover me, shut the door and cover me I'm looking for a lover who will come on in and cover me

Honourable mentions (song/album):

Rosalita / The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle Candy's Room / Darkness on the Edge of Town Ramrod / The River Cindy / The River (outtakes) Ain’t got you / Tunnel of Love The Fuse / The Rising

Let me know if you think I missed any! I won't change the list, but more horny song discourse is always good.

[yurigalactica]

would you mayhaps infodump about LC! lyrics? 👀👀 /nf

(I saw you on the anon game and am incredibly interested)

OOOOOOOOOH YESYESYESYES I WOULD LOVE TO INFODUMP ABOUT LOS CAMP LYRICS

okay okay so first of all. this band is so good. they have so many banger ass songs and that cannot be denied. HOWEVER in my heart To Tundra will always reign supreme. like holy shit. it's got lyrics like "meet me at st. nicholas among the oaks, behind the church that sway like pig-tailed girls as summer wind whistles around your bare-skin knees and the forsythia leaves" and "we take on the burden of all these sad-eyed children with lilies bunched in our hands" like. those lyrics are so visceral and potent they literally leave me with my mouth hanging wide open after i hear them. oh my GOD that song is magical

some of my other favorite songs lyrically is OBVIOUSLY tiptoe through the true bits. that's the song that whenever i hear it i have to stop literally everything i'm doing, turn up the volume as loud as it will go, close my eyes and just absorb the Vibes. it's so gorgeous AHHHHHH. the bit that makes my heart go !!!!!! is the part where it goes "the bed-spread decked in suns and moons and symbols of the star-signs, how you read how mine applied to how I would be sex-wise." like that paired with the little guitar picking up in the back and the drums kicking in are SO GOOD AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AND. IN MEDIA RES. that song changed my life genuinely. like WOW. the whole vibe of it, especially the end when the trumpets (i think they're trumpets at least) kick in and gareth goes "if you were given the option of dying painlessly in peace at 45 with a lover at your side, after a full and happy life, is this something that would interest you? would this interest you at all?" like WOW what an existential crisis moment while you feel like you're running through a rainy field. man that hits yknow

ALSO i am emotionally attached to Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #4. i dont know why but the first time i ever heard it my brain latched its claws onto it and now it wont fucking let go. so whenever i hear the guitar at the beginning i am Legally Obligated to belt out at the top of my lungs "I RESTORED YOUR MOTHER'S FAITH IN MEN WHILST BORING YOU TO DEATH LEFT NOTHING MORE THAN A CIRCLE OF STUBBLE RASH AROUND YOUR CHEST--"

AND!!!!!!!!! for flotsam also has a very special place in my heart. i love the lyrics in that one, particularly "summer of odd-numbered year" like. MY GUYS YOU ARE SO CREATIVE???? all of your football metaphors to describe your boredom and emotions. like i don't watch football but you go guys i think its so kickass. i love you los campesinos. also the bit where they go "flotsam, jetsam, and spindrift, all the girls i have loved, dumped to earth by a spendthrift, gilt angels from above" with the "aaaahhh" in the back and the very faint piano in the background that i can only hear when i'm listening to it with my gaming headphones on bc my gaming headphones have really good mid range. just AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

AND WHAT DEATH LEAVES BEHIND TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 fun little fact this was the first song that i listened to when i first decided to listen to their discography all the way through. and let's just say that was a VERY good start because i was very impressed right off the bat. like "i was the first match struck at the first cremation, you are my shallow grave, I'll tend you as a sexton, if you're the casket door that's being slammed upon me, i'll be a plague cross painted on your naked body" LIKE HOLY SHIT. THATS SO EVOCATIVE. HOW DO YOU USE SO MANY METAPHORS AND BIG WORDS. THEYRE SO GOOD AT WORDS. i love listening to this one because it is so lyrically complex and yet it all goes together so well auuugghhhhhhhh

also since i started university recently, hung empty rings very near and dear to my heart. like the bit in the bridge that goes "my vision is fading, it's blurry, there are fingerprints all over the sun, we're glad to be loved but we're lonely and we feel like we're the only ones." like. that's the experience of moving out right there!!! i don't know where the fuck i am and i'm so lonely but it feels so bright and new and cinematic. this song Gets me on the most fundemental level it feels so very College-Esque

ALSOOOOOOO she crows!!!!!!!!!!!11 i LOVE she crows. someone inject this song into my veins Right This Fucking Instant. i need to live and breathe this song right now. just the instrumentals combined with the anthemic feel of the song really seals the feeling of looking back on your life and all of your mistakes and acknowledging that all of them brought you to where you are now. especially the end bit, i don't know why, but when it goes "big tip for the pretty girl waiting the IHOP, these blank napkins/unwritten suicide notes, it's dark inside these eyelids, blacker than the ink (squid)" it really feels like the end of the day. these are the lyrics that buzz like caffiene in your veins as you sit outside a dutchbros at eleven pm surrounded by the only people you feel like you can be yourself around. it's the feeling of cold biting at your skin while your heart feels warm and full. it feels like an open finale, the first time you smile in a long time, an acceptance of the complex beauty of life, that unforgettable moment when you realize that you wouldn't trade who you've become for the world

and CODA A BURN SCAR IN THE SHAPE OF THE SOONER STATE. I LOVE CODA SO MUCH AGH. PERFECT CRYING IN THE SHOWER SONG. like the lyric "an artist's impression of the manhattan skyline" will get me fucking SOBBING immediately. it feels like watching the world move on without you, the world a blur as you crumple inward under the weight of your emotions, a collapsing star in an endless void. and then obviously "i can't believe i chose the mountains every time you chose the sea" WOAH the SYMBOLISM i will just pass away right here in my dormitory with my headphones on. no sorry professor i can't write my essay i am unwell about the romance is boring album again. sorry yeah i'll be unavailable for 3-5 buisness weeks

but uh. yeah. los campesinos amirite???????????

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 9/5/2023

moving closer to your best friend means hanging out in big groups a lot of the time. while this is theoretically good for mental health or whatever, in practice i overextended myself this weekend and am going to wake up tomorrow with the mental equivalent of a sore lower back

listening (2x bonus)

very fond of måneskin's new single HONEY (ARE U COMING?). sonically different from their other stuff, lyrics and tone-wise another incredible sad banger! spotify

my sister viewed the film Party Girl (1995, dir. von Scherler Mayer) last week at a party in philly and sent me this song featured in the film with no further explanation. Double Cross by First Choice (a Larry Levan remix) has what i want to call bollywood strings, a flute, and the funkiest bassline backing up some really classic disco vocals. First Choice were a group out of philly, which no one at the party knew at the time, and this blog calls this specific remix "dancefloor soul" which is probably as good a descriptor as any. i have had it on loop for a solid week. lyrics include

Love stealing, double dealing, two-timing lowdown son of a gun

which is just so much fucking fun to sing in the car. spotify

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reading (2x bonus here also)

i read the mandalorian comics in between volumes of berserk, which feels a bit like saying i took a break from watching the evil dead franchise to watch some cocomelon.

the mandalorian comics are a remarkably uninspired nearly shot by shot breakdown of the episodes. not in the way most film/tv comics are, where they’re very clearly traced screencaps, but screenshots redrawn. this would be interesting if the artist was not contractually obliged to the very flat marvel comics style. i am constantly reminded of how the mandalorian is simply…not very good. it’s entertaining as a spectacle of television to watch, but there are not a lot of fun ideas in there. something that made me fucking scream with laughter are these panels of baby yoda

pápá, your son is So high

back to the other series with a dark haired, roaming, grouchy, reserved man on a mission. unfortunately i don't have a lot of berserk thoughts just yet, i am waiting on vol 4 to come off my library holds and my brain is still digesting it. anyway i think not wanting random "friendly" embraces from strangers is a very reasonable thing for guts to dislike and i truly do not understand why ppl in-universe get so fucking offended. unfortunately reading these late at night did lead to an unpleasant sleep experience.

bitches love a fucked up interior space that can't ever actually exist (it's me i'm bitches)

not to be all therapeutic but im trying to be Curious About and Gently Interrogate why i get a real bee in my bonnet once a year to read some horror comics/manga when i am big squeamish baby about film depictions of those things. i think mostly bc comics gore is so much more stylized than some of the very effective practical and cgi effects? and crucially nothing is actually like writhing around on screen it’s a still image? does anyone else’s brain have a much easier time handling still images over moving images of gore? much to consider

as with many other things, me reading berserk is indirectly @dying-suffering-french-stalkers ' fault

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watching

i have viewed the first four episodes of Fire Force, the urban fantasy mercenary firefighter anime and do not think i will be continuing. while i have a great many questions about the worldbuilding (gravitational anomalies?? genetic predisposition to spontaneous human combustion?? solar god nuns??) it has a dead mom plot, which i am allergic to. this is also a 7.5-8 on the Ass part of the Weeb Ass Shit scale, and has a lot more casual assault than i try to encounter in anime. it's by the soul eater guy, remember the level of Stuff going on in soul eater? a little bit more ramped up groping and stuff that makes me say out loud "wow i don't like this" than soul eater.

the animation re: aforementioned fire is really top notch tho. visually complex and interesting television program.

how i found this: me and my best friend and my best friend's husband morosely poking around the anime section on hulu, looking for something to fill the spy x family void. this ain't it tho

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playing

i have no fun genshin tidbits to share bc i am grinding talent mats while catching up with the podcast episodes of the road to partizan and i don’t have much to say about the not-fun parts of gachas. why am i playing something if it’s not inherently fun? great fucking question

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making (3rd 2x bonus)

very uninspired (derivative, even) abbreviated sofrito thing over rice. with heavy application of Worcestershire sauce it was fine. no pics

also i finally bought a couch bc salvation army had 50% off everything for Labor Day. this is a question of ethics vs money i have decided for myself, and encourage you, the reader, to go off and quietly make your own philosophical choices without explaining them to me in detail.

it will be arriving on friday bc that is when the strapping young men who own trucks are available. my front door is a very non standard size and i have a very awkward front stair, so i needed something that could fit under the overhang while standing on its end. this one was the best size and (fortunately) the cheapest at $150. it is some sort of extremely flammable early polyester and 100% has a grandma’s soul trapped within its fibers. i will probably buy a cover at some later date to deter miss macaron but in the meantime we will do the strips of brown painters tape, which does successfully deter her. this really really does not want to be steamed so i will also be procuring some chemicals.

here are some other couches i could have bought but didn’t.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Jimin, dude, man, bro, wtf? What in actual goddamn fuck???

Listen, there like 3 Jimin solo songs I like and I am not a big fan of some of his vocal choices but let me tell you I was really hyped and hooked when the teasers came out. The drama, war anthem-ness, the grandeur of everything, I liked it all. So I was quite disappointed when the news of him rapping came out because I've heard him rap before and it was bad, and I especially was reluctant to watch the whole MV after I heard a snippet of it on my tl (the stylistically autotuned rap part, yeah). I was afraid to be disappointed after such great teasers.

despite my fears I finally watched the MV... fuck... WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK PARK JIMIN??? It's so damn good! Even the rap part??? I LOVED it. Separately it doesn't sound very nice but combined and mixed it somehow works well. And his stylistic vocal choices, the way he changes his voice all the time, it's amazing, it keeps you hooked and anticipating what comes next, it keeps surprising you, even shocked at some point. I haven't been a fan of bts songs since the fake love era (even black swan is not IT for me, it's really good but not THAT great) so it says a lot. this one is easily one of my faves EVER in their discography.

The song is a statement. A grand opening. Empowering.

BTW, the song is totally a type of song that you would play in your car while driving around with your friends and singing-shouting along. Wow, just wow.

*

Ask 2: Opinions on set me free pt. 2 seem to be divided in some circles 👀👀👀 ofc because of the vocal processingz that’s a common complaint for so many years already lol. I mean Pdogg is the main producer of the album so idk what they expected… personally i love the song and i think the vocal processing works but i think i can understand some people have different tastes and expectations… at the end of that day it was a choice consciously chosen by jimin and his producers. It’s there for a reason imo. I’m happy though that jimin really tried something different!!!!! So many people were expecting a ballad for this title instead we got a banger lol… and like you said Yoongi’s style is obvious even when he doesnt have a hand in making it directly… now i’m so curious what like crazy will sound like!!!! But i wanna ask if youll be making a post for set me free bpp???

***

Posting these two asks now because my inbox is already getting out of control and between getting zero sleep and a flight I've got to catch in exactly 73 minutes, I'd rather briefly get out some thoughts now, regardless of if they're coherent or not, because I don't know when next I'll have time.

Hi Anon(s),

I don't think I'll ever write a full review for this song, because there's a lot about it I don't want to talk about, a lot I don't want to share and would rather keep to myself.

That said,

Everything about Set Me Free Pt. 2 is right up my alley and objectively brilliant. Every single thing about it: the melody, the autotune, the chants, the rap, the fact the whole thing plays out in the same prison, the way Jimin uses his body as a canvas for inscriptions that only enhance his storytelling, the performance.

I have nothing to say to anyone who doesn't like this or that about it. Rapper Jimin was in my wishlist for PJM1 so... and I'm a hiphop head who listens to Travis Scott-type autotune at least a couple times a day. Plus I've got Yoongi, that nasty, autotune-loving, foul-mouthed cat as my bias. Joon and Hobi aren't that much nicer either. Anybody reading this to hear me say something critical about this song should wake up and smell the matcha.

Some things I want to gush about:

First of all, the instrumentals. PDogg went stuuuuuuuuuuuupid on this track goddamn.

This song is pure trap. An orchestral, haunting trap anthem is what Set Me Free Pt. 2 is.

It is so sick. So maddening in how good it is. No wonder he was so excited about Jimin ending k-pop in 2023, the song he produced is easily the best produced Korean song so far and believe me when I tell you that is really saying something, because the competition this year has been stiff.

*

The Vocals

Jimin's voice is the most emotive in BTS. That's one reason I love it. Another reason is because nobody's vocals in BTS, in k-pop, fuck, in all of Korea, drips as much sauce as Park Jimin's. I've said before, Jimin sounds inhuman almost, I describe his voice as serrated steel coated in honey and wrapped in silk because it sounds distinctly metallic, but can be oddly soothing. But with Jimin, there's a tone he takes sometimes that has this undercurrent of nasty, of unapologetic vulgarity, and in Set Me Free Pt. 2, he uses autotune to amplify it to brain-piercing perfection.

PDogg brilliantly uses autotune to aid Jimin in sending a message.

The shrillest, most distorted we hear Jimin is when he raps after the first chorus, and that's by design. The use of autotune in this song is intentional, and we can see this because every time it ratchets up, Jimin is being crude and uninhibited - as though it's a second voice, an alter-ego, or Jimin himself speaking the deepest truest thoughts he holds, pushing them to the surface after suppressing them for nine years.

PDogg has used this sort of autotune on Jimin's voice before, in the second chorus of Black Swan (timestamp: 2:24 - 2:50)

It's hidden in the backing vocals in Black Swan but felt in full cathartic force in SMF pt 2. And it feels incredible.

Stream:

*

The Message/Lyrics

This is the part I don't want to write about because I'd rather keep my thoughts to myself. Not because I have special insight or think I've discovered something no one else sees or whatever, but because it's the only thing about this song that stayed within my expectations of who I think Jimin is. Plus I'm certain various interpretations will be offered by many other bloggers, so I'm okay sitting this one out.

That's the most I'll say now.

[neuroticbookworm]

Current Tag Game

Tagged by my dear friends/mutuals/incoherent scream sesh partners @twig-tea (here), @colourme-feral (here), @blmpff (here), @telomeke (here) and @waitmyturtles (here)

Current Time: nearly 5:00 PM

Current activity: Doomscrolling on social media (not recommended), writing this post (highly recommended, please interact on Tumblr, that's what makes this hellsite fun!)

Currently thinking about: Just watched the IFYLITA finale this morning with my bestie @lurkingshan, so my brain is currently ??????-ing all the different iterations of Yai we got to see (I like that Commander Yai looks more self-assured and confident than our widdle-20-something-lost-and-confused-baby Yai, but, DEAR LORD, The Mustache has to go. Just.. nope. Get that man a razor, STAT). Oh, and also, thinking about dinner.

Current favourite song: I recently watched Utsukushii Kare / My Beautiful Man (Season 1) a few days ago and I have the song from the opening credits stuck in my head on repeat: Caramel / カラメル by Mosawo / もさを。(Original MV with English captions)

(I'm also gonna link the Utsukushii Kare Lyric MV from MBS because I want Kiyoi's pretty face on my post)

I've also been feeling nostalgic lately and listening to some decade-old bangers from my teen years (ah time, thou art a cruel wench)

Patakha Guddi lyrics, translated from Hindi, here

Mogathirai lyrics, translated from Tamil, here

Currently reading: Nothin' but meta posts from the lovely big-brained folks of Tumblrville

Currently watching: Oooooh. I actually wrapped up a lot of live watches and caught up on some incredible shows last week, so lemme do 3 mini-lists:

Recently Watched: Only Friends, Utsukushii Kare / My Beautiful Man, If It's With You / Kimi to Nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo, I Feel You Linger In The Air

Currently Watching: Midnight Diner / Shinya Shokudo, endless reruns of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Community

Next-Up on the Watchlist: I Cannot Reach You / Kimi ni wa Todokanai, Shadow, Dark Blue Kiss, Middleman's Love, Last Twilight, Playboyy, The Whisperer

Current favourite character: Ryuji from If It's With You.

< mild spoilers ahead for If It's With You >

This show did an incredible job portraying two people who have different levels/intensities of desire for one another and I was *floored* when Ryuji responded to Amane's confession in episode 4 with so much care, thoughtfulness and respect for both Amane's desire and his own boundaries. "Please make it one sided for a while" will live in my head rent free for the foreseeable future.

And Amane and Ryuji's conversation at the beach in the finale was another heartfelt and expertly written moment. I deeply adore how Ryuji basically went "I miss you and want to meet you whenever I feel like it, and if that means being a lover, then so be it. Let's date".

So yeah, I'm in love with this highly articulate, fictional, Japanese teenage boy

Current WIP: Ohhhhh man, SO MANY. The most pressing one is a retrospective meta on the Only Friends finale, which I must release into the wild before people move on from the show

Tags: I'm epically late to this one, so I might tag folks who have already done this, so if I do, apologies, friends!

@bengiyo, @italianpersonwithashippersheart, @sunshinechay, @syrena-del-mar, @ranchthoughts, @troubled-mind, @sorry-bonebag, @so-much-yet-to-learn and anyone else who wants to participate. No presh!

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 12/03/2024

Hella Pummel

Season 7 Featured on: Rips of Christmas Present

Ripped by venula

Requested by xinos! (Request Form)

God, man - trying to pick favorites from the Jay Eazy takeover of January 7th feels like pulling teeth. It's truly just as Mr. Eazy said - "Shawty's cute AND her circle too" - in that so many of the event's rips are all bangers in their own ways. There's of course You Are Book Smart, the rip I covered back as the event wrapped up, which still stands out as one of the event's most creative in execution - yet in terms of picking out pure BANGERS from the event, Hella Pummel had tons of competition (including one you might've seen floating about here on Tumblr if you're in Splatoon circles). And while I don't really have any attachment to Undertale Halloween Hack itself, getting the rip requested really opened my eyes to just how fun of a listen it is. In xinos' own words, "there's something so infectious about it that it gives me brainworms".

And yeah, I can't say I disagree - mashups like this that modify both songs used to make them really fit together, stuff like Guilty Eyes Creeper, have a sort of hum-along-ability to them that's hard to get out of your head. It's in large part thanks due to how Jay Eazy's songs, primarily Mega Man as used in this event but his other stuff as well, are sort of the perfect blend of being genuinely funny in terms of lyrics whilst having an infectiously catchy beat and flow. But Hella Pummel then also employs the fantastic little trick covered in Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and the days of high quality rips?, where the vocals are given just a slight amount of compression on top, giving them a sort of nostalgic texture and meshing more naturally with the source track used. In having Jay Eazy's part play along with the already catchy Puma Pummel, slowing down and speeding up, leaving reverb and such where it best fits the mashup, the rip feels incredibly harmonious on the whole as a result, with the vocal filter in particular reminding me of Jevil's voice samples in Deltarune in particular.

There's of course the unsung hero of the rip, the surprise appearance of classic YouTube video Epic Rap Battle: Nerd vs. Geek by Rhett & Link for the rip's chorus. What connection the song has to Jay Eazy isn't really something I can comment on (I suppose both have ties to making geek culture into listenable music?) but it serves as an incredibly fun 180 in the rip's high point. The continuing use of the rap beat iconic to Jay Eazy rips throughout the rip keeps it all feeling cohesive even through its different phases, and several small voice samples of the guy are interjected here and there to maintain that Eazy flavor - including putting his best ever bar, "I think my money is gay / There's too many men on top of one another", in the fade-out section at the rip's end.

Hella Pummel is the kind of rip that speaks volumes for itself, yet likely got overlooked by far too many people due to the sheer quality of the event as a whole. I again can't say I have any knowledge of Undertale Halloween Hack itself, but I'm incredibly happy that venula included its distinct music amidst her many sources for Jay Eazy rips during the event. Much of Hella Pummel's competition was rips also made by her, and I am incredibly happy to see that Jay Eazy has such a strong soldier aboard the SiIvaGunner team.

[bright-and-burning]

tagged by @landoisokay and @bsaka7 to do my 9 favorite albums (with commentary. i had a lot to say...)

these are all relatively recent because i pick and choose older songs individually more than i listen to them as a single album. like i could pick at least an album’s worth of queen songs, but they’re not all off the same album, ya feel.

in no particular order!! w some explainers below the cut:

dreamland (2020) - glass animals. i almost put how to be a human being but i’ve been listening to that album basically on repeat for the last three weeks so i needed to switch it up. such an experience of an album honestly?? where how to be a human being makes me feel like the main character in an over-saturated murderous movie set in miami, dreamland is like, over-saturated fast car movie set in tokyo (the like. hollywood idea of tokyo, to be clear). forever intertwined with midnight walks through empty cities during covid, driving too fast, the first time i hung out with people after getting to come back to college, neon lights on cinderblock walls and $12 plastic handles of liquor. fundamentally bittersweet as an album imo? but so full of bangers that you forget that it’s . really sad. tokyo drifting with denzel curry was my top song of 2020 and spotify helpfully informed me that i listened to it 30 times on my 19th birthday. lol. the “get loose, streetfighter” with the street fighter sound effect… oh yeah baby that’s art. it’s all so incredibly loud also a song of all time tbh. whole album is floaty and sharp all at once, insane production, the perfect sadness layered underneath, every song building into this brilliant crescendo… perfect album for 2020 eve for like so many reasons, i could wax on about this for AGES so if u want more drop an ask no joke it’ll make my week. still holds up soooo well

lemonade (2016) - beyonce. LOL. this album dropped right around when i was getting cheated on by my gf of. over a year. and then we broke up and i signed the papers to transfer schools the next day without telling anyone. so this album fr got me through uprooting my entire life to start over. (what timing, to get cheated on right as beyonce drops her got-cheated-on album). i knew beyonce belonged on here (too influential musically to me to Not) but i was stumped on what specific album to include (i had 4 on cd in my car in high school, for example, and homecoming: the live album felt like cheating) until i remembered how much play time this one got, and how much i leaned on the album and the visuals then (which. by the way. i bought on itunes bc it wasn’t available for streaming. used precious data bc school wifi wouldn’t let me download it. possibly the last album i bought on itunes??)

save rock and roll (2013) - fall out boy. oh man. 2015 me was on one bc i was a HUGE mcr/fob/atl/p!atd/green day girl but at the Exact same time. a 1d girlie. my shuffle would literally go from mama to up all night. ANYWAYS. was stuck between american beauty/american psycho and save rock and roll, but i think american beauty/american psycho didn’t hold my attention for long and only recently came back on my radar (has some very toxic inspiration won’t lie). the mighty fall ft big sean? life changing. big fan of rappers being dropped into songs that you aren’t expecting them to feature on. “i’m either fuckin or workin so the grind don’t stop” is a work of art. young volcanoes and save rock and roll were legitimately like. the most comforting songs of all time as a sad and lonely 14 year old

when we were friends (2019) - the backseat lovers. starts out so strong and keeps it going. what an album to listen to while absurdly into someone who then starts dating your roommate lol. just like, beautiful stuff. makes me yearn. crazy good to belt out in the car while driving

cleopatra (2016) - the lumineers. feels like home, and being dumb young and in love to me. i’ve been listening to them since ho hey played on our local membership supported radio station when i was . 11?? finally got to see them two summers ago and bawled my eyes out the entire time. this whole album no skips but also like. so overwhelmingly nostalgic and infused with feelings with nowhere to go that i can’t help but want to cry. i learned how to play ophelia on a piano in a basement of a dorm i’ll never see the inside of again lol. patience makes me insane and it’s literally just piano. the lumineers in general make a lot of music that makes me ache for times and places i can’t return to, but this album is pretty peak for it

lungs (deluxe edition) (2009) - florence + the machine. god florence just does not miss does she. dog days are over another local member supported radio station hit. i started listing all the perfect songs off and then had to stop because i was listing the entire track list. floaty and romantic with a heavy edge of morbidity and violence. remember when i said i love when rappers on songs you aren’t expecting? if you listen to anything from this post PLEASE listen to you’ve got the dirtee love ft dizzee rascal from this album. a long ass album that’s good the whole way through, i’ll truly never tire of it

ctrl (2017) - sza. i think SOS might be better and eventually take this slot but i’m trying not to let recency impact this too much. drew barrymore went quintuple platinum in my bedroom in high school. it really was the perfect album for insecure 16 year old me? speaks of growth that listening to this album doesn’t hit me where i live half as much as it used to, that instead of being like damn so real sza to things like . “im sorry im so clingy i dont mean to be a lot... lonely enough to let you treat me like this” im like. damn good song

hozier (expanded edition) (2014) - hozier. take me to church another song that member supported ad-free radio station introduced me to. what a fucking album my GOD. angel of small death and the codeine scene… jackie and wilson was literally like. the love song to me. still is can’t lie. need to be saved and have hands through my hair. every single song has lines that literally make my jaw drop, i feel like i discover something new on every listen through. “free and young and we can feel none of it”… foreigner’s god makes my chest ache. i can’t fucking believe this album is ten years old???

mt joy (2018) - mt joy. another album that reminds me of home; my whole family listened to this for months on end during covid. i’m your wreck is such an opener… “and whatever happens please remember all the laughter” like i’ll cry. my instagram bio is from this song lol. the bit where it shifts into what my family calls shoulder lean mode… anyways. ASTROVAN!!! A SONG ABOUT JESUS SMOKING WEED but like. also an emotional tale of assuring mom how music’ll work out even if they’re broke the whole time. whole album gives me Feelings. this might be the happiest album on this list and it’s. not really that happy. just a very specific kind of like. optimism. we move forward even when we look back. the world fails us but we build it better. idk. like the last song is a break up song, but it’s whole thing is “so if you worry, don’t worry bout me, i always wanted you to see the california coast-line on your own time.” so like yeah, love is burning out, but don’t worry about me. i told u. Feelings.

uhhhh no pressure tagging @mecachrome @freeuselandonorris @monacotrophywife and @oscarpiastriwdc

[misskattylashes]

One Man Band Track by Track Review

Right, so I have listened to the album twice. Miles wasn’t lying when he said it was banger after banger. But while the music is upbeat the lyrics are in places dark. Touching on self-doubt, insecurity and loneliness. For me OMB is the yin to CDG's yang. Both confessional (depending on your beliefs – both largely about the same person) but while CDG is an album of heartbreak, OMB is an album of hope. It seems Miles has found himself, and judging by the last track, he has someone who loves and understands him. And well, it all kinds of explains why he is so happy these days.

Troubled Son

This song could essentially be called I am approaching middle age and I am coming to terms with the person I am. Good and bad. Musically this track always reminds me of The Strokes.

Lyrically, despite beating himself up a bit, it is a song of hope. Once you face your own demons you can start to battle them.

This is the song that will get people singing at gigs. The lyrics are relatable to so many of us and it would be quite cathartic sharing the fact you’re a bit fucked up with several thousand people doing the same thing.

The Best is Yet To Come

Miles has admitted this is a song about being on the lash with his mates Big Lou and Romeo. Musically the driving rhythm and backing vocals are reminiscent at times of Queens of the Stone Age. Hard to explain, but this track is the most traditional Miles Kane and could have quite easily come from an earlier album.

One Man Band

Can I just start by saying there are not enough words to describe how much I love this song! Another song of self-reflection. I promise not to make too many comparisons to You Know Who, but as I have said before, the characterisation reminds me a lot of the character in Mr Schwartz. The performer who puts on the front to entertain people and make them happy, whilst hiding a lonely interior. But whilst Mr Schwartz is heart felt ballad. Miles being Miles. One Man Band sounds like sunshine.

Never Taking Me Alive

The most bonkers track on the album. Musically driven by surf guitar, lyrically an excuse for Miles to sing about his Italian American Heroes – De Niro, Pacino and Sinatra. This is a hype song. The sort of song you stick on on your way to a job interview, to pump you up.

Heartbreaks (The New Sensation)

Probably the weakest track, but still a banger. It evokes the image of a former girlfriend back in Miles’ mod day (retro boy trying to chase away time). With its Motown beat, this could have fitted easily into Change The Show. I mean it is a feel good banger, so to say it is the weakest shows how brilliant all the other tracks are.

The Wonder

Okay, anyone who follows me knows who I think The Wonder is about. So I won’t linger on that. In a nutshell, a song about realising a former lover and all the complications they bring is worth it, and this time you are going to put your fears aside and take a chance. The highlight for me are the rich backing vocals at the end, elevating it to almost gospel level.

Baggio

The happiest song in the world. I have analysed this before. In a nutshell, little Miles Kane is enthralled by Roberto Baggio and his flamboyance and realised its fine to be yourself. It is also a tale of hoping to reconnect with a lost love (cough cough)

Ransom

A mellow track about being afraid of falling in love because he is positive he is going to get heartbroken. However the object of his affections has hold of his cynical heart and he can’t afford the ransom, meaning he can’t escape them. A plea for them to be tender with him because he is trying to find a way. The final refrain being ‘cos I’d anything for you’. Whoever they are he loves them big time!

Doubles

I'm sorry but this is a Milex song. A happy upbeat song with Miles telling ‘the person’ that he is scared but he is missing his ‘Two player high’ but he will wait for this person. The middle eight lyrics ‘Never say never, never say never again, never say never I wanna know where it ends, I’m never in doubt when my heart starts to fall, there’s nothing in my life that I have wanted more, anymore’ ahhhh. This is also a sort of dancing in your bedroom alone song. Or maybe that’s just me.

Heal

This is the epic track of the album. With a heavy, rich musical arrangement, it is like the sequel to the Coup de Grace album. Where Miles was heartbroken, disillusioned with life in LA and at his lowest ebb. He acknowledges he needed time to heal to get to the place where he is now. Once again, gospel style backing vocals elevate the track to the next level. It is another song of hope. Facing up to the fact that we all have to endure the shit times in life to become the people we are.

Scared of love

A sweet acoustic ballad, where Miles opens his heart to his lover. Telling them he is sorry for holding back, but they sweetly tell him they understand because they know he is scared of love. Another song of hope. It would seem he has found love and whoever they are, they are there for him to help him fight his demons.

In no way does the last track inspire a fan fic in me.

Total score 5/5

[theelast-straw]

My Top 9 albums of 2023

tagged by @mysterygrl20 tysm <3

my taste in music is kind of all over the place so prepare yourself for a wild ride, although I also listen to a lot of kpop (I've kinda been slacking on keeping up with releases over the past year tho oops) and we definitely have some overlap in favorite albums

I apologize in advance for how long this post is going to become but you're really opening the floodgates by letting me talk about music lol

(it's been a very dry year for my favorite metal bands or this list would've been even more chaotic lmao)

1) Dear Insanity... by DPR Ian

while I struggled to rank most of these, there was absolutely no question about my #1 album of the year. I only just discovered DPR Ian in 2023 and he very quickly became my favorite artist ever. you might have even seen me talk about this album an unhealthy amount of times already lol. he's just such an insanely good artist and every single song on this album is just soooo damn good.

part of why I love him so much is also the story he tells throughout his music videos and just how insanely good all of his MVs look and how well the visuals fit the music so I feel obligated to link the MV to my favorite song off this album:

(some flashing lights in this one, folks, be warned)

2) The World Ep.2: Outlaw by Ateez

everything Ateez releases is immediately getting added to my favorites, what can I say. I didn't have the money to go to their 2023 tour but I did see them live in 2022... absolutely worth the one and only time I ever caught corona. not a single bad song on this album, they're all absolute bangers.

3) Take Me Back To Eden by Sleep Token

I only just discovered Sleep Token in 2023 but I absolutely fell in love with this entire album and their style in general. almost got to see them live but then I ended up getting surgery on the exact day of their concert... :')

4) OO-LI by Woodz

I am a Woodz stan first and a human second. I'm convinced this man is incapable of releasing bad music, everything he does is just so damn good and I love how he explores a bunch of different genres while still making all of his music just sound like him y'know

also honorable mention to Amnesia which is only a single album so it didn't make the list but if you like more eerie stuff and the general vibe of his music, definitely check it out, I love it so much

5) On My Youth by WayV

WayV will forever have me in a chokehold. they've been my favorite NCT unit since their debut and honestly also the only unit I managed to properly keep up with over the last year ashgasj. I just really love their style of music and how they've actually been sticking to it

6) The Name Chapter: Temptation by TXT

It's truly been a TXT kinda year for me, I've been listening to them a lot. there aren't many songs on this album but I still love it so so much, all of the songs are great and Sugar Rush Ride is such a unique title track

7) Dark Blood by Enhypen

honestly Enhypen are part of the reason why I might have to update my top 3 kpop groups to a top 5 lol. all of their albums so far have been great and this one was no different, I still listen to a lot of the songs on it on repeat

8) RUSH! (Are U Coming?) by Måneskin

well what can I say, Måneskin have had me in a chokehold ever since they won the Eurovision and I actually got to see them live in 2023! drove all the way over to Berlin for them and everything, great album with great songs. I love both their more rock-ish songs and their slower songs and this album has a great mix of both (although I wish there would've been some more Italian songs on here)

9) MONO by K.Flay

K.Flay has been one of my more underrated faves for a couple years by now and I'll take any chance to gush about her music. there's just something very unique about K.Flay's music and this album certainly didn't disappoint. honestly, the only reason why I ended up putting this one on the "last" place is that I haven't listened to it as much as the other albums on this list

Honorable mentions!

bc once I start talking about music, I just simply can not stop at only 9 albums and this list isn't quite chaotic enough yet to properly describe my taste in music lmao

ODD-VENTURE by MCND

this is a rather recent one so I haven't listened to it enough for it to make the list, but I love everything MCND put out and this is definitely also a great album! (plus the title track is yeehaw kpop which is incredibly creative of them and I didn't know I needed that in my life)

HAPPYPILLS by Utsu-P

and this is where I expose the true chaotic nature of my taste in music lmao. Utsu-P's music is the perfect clash of world's between teen-me's obession with vocaloid and current-me's love for metal. I didn't include this album bc I still haven't gotten around to listening to all of it, but the songs that I did listen to, I absolutely loved

Phantomime by Ghost

oh you thought you made it through an entire post of me talking about music without mentioning Ghost? Hah, fool. jokes aside, this is an album full of cover songs so I didn't include it but it's still full of bangers. I reached audio cap now but I'll include their Jesus He Knows Me cover bc this was an absolute treat to witness live:

if you've made it this far without getting whiplash: congrats!

tagging (as always, no pressure, feel free to ignore this): @negrowhat @fallsouthwinter @spicypussywave @thisisworsethanitlookslike @supanuts @buddhamethods @alienwlw and anyone else who wants to do it!

[therantsofawriterrr]

Sooooo my first kdrama of this year is King The Land and OMG IT'S SO CUTE HELP-

I started watching kdramas last year and the ones I've seen yet are: Hometown Cha Cha Cha, The Glory, Destined With You, Perfect Marriage Revenge, The Good Bad Mother, Alchemy Of Souls, My Lovely Liar (not completed) and Guardian (also not completed)

There might be spoilers under the break so

Gu Won is sooooooo cute. Going from hating Sarang's smile in the first or some ep to needing to make her smile on ep 4? Or 5 maybe idk but yea. I think this is the first kdrama I've seen where they both have like, an actual date so early on (it was a date, i will refuse to believe anything else). Plus i think it's also the first kdrama where the relationship development has mostly been fluffy and not angsty. I feel like it's gonna get angsty? Idk. But i feel like Gu Won and Sarang are like the typical grumpy-sunshine trope.

I love the fact that Sarang actually has besties that support her and listen to her and they have a realistic friendship? Like for me, personally, I haven't rly seen realistic friendships, might also be because i haven't seen that many, but this is the first kdrama where I've seen girl besties just be comfy with each other, healthy jealousy, randomly starting to party and all the other things. Friendship goals fr. I just hate how her colleagues treat her. Like ok y'all studied and shit and came up but that doesn't mean that she just got lucky. She put in her effort and hard work into her job, so she got recognised and promoted. I think the thing with Sarang is that she actually wants to do her job and enjoys it, while the others just do it cause they need money.

Anyway, but they're sooo cute together. Also, the OSTs. All kdramas have banger OSTs but man, this one wins for me. I love the songs and I love how the timing is accurate. I'm prolly gonna add it to my playlist.

Also, Gu Won's mom either died and noone told him how and he was lied to by his sister(power hungry bish) or she wasn't his mom at all and was fired. Or smn else idk.

I hate how Daeul's husband isn't paying attention to his wife or house. I feel like he's cheating. Or he's just ignorant asf. Plus omg i love her daughterrrrr, she's so cute and she's so right when she's supporting her mom.

Pyung-Hwa looks perfectly nice to me, but apparently she has a dark past or smn? Idk what to expect with this character tbh she's kinda confusing to me. But I do hope there are no misunderstandings between her and Ro-Un.

Anyway so far so good, I will be screaming abt kdramas here a lot so I'm rly sorry lol.

[manysmallhands]

Top 10 Albums of 2023!

This was all supposed to work out differently. As i recall from the now long distant past, my original plan was to do a countdown where i put up one post a day throughout December. However, I got Covid on December 1st and that plan immediately became lame and useless. After that, my assumption was basically that i wouldn't be able to do any of this, but i got better more quickly than i'd anticipated and found myself working on these reviews in bits as the month has gone on. So, having rushed through all the the song blurbs that i wanted to do, here i am on New Year's Eve with a more or less finished Top 10 albums to put up.

The only problem is that there are ten quite lengthy reviews here and the vibe is already pretty tl:dr. But tbh that's fine: there really is only my girlfriend who ever reads everything (and i believe her, trust is what love is all about after all) so for anyone looking at this and thinking blimey, that's a lot of text, my advice is: you don't have to read any of it. Just look at the albums, scan thru to see if it sounds like something you might like and give one or two of them a listen if that looks like the case. The words are really just to keep me occupied but i'd like to hope that someone likes some of the records.

I said yesterday that i would reveal what the best one is and so I am now delivering on that important promise. The best one is Scarlet by Doja Cat. Anyone who follows me on whatever platform already knows that the best one is Scarlet by Doja Cat. Don't make me say it again.

Barbie - The Album

Few people have seemed much interested in the Barbie soundtrack, other than the punters who kept it atop the compilations chart for four months. I, as ever, channel the spirit of the populous. The sound is basically 80s synth pop updated for a modern audience  - the likes of Haim and Ava Max slot in predictably well - but its the extra dimensions created by how the artists interact with the film that provide some of its more interesting aspects. Sam Smith’s Man I Am reflects a surprisingly LGBTQ Ken despite protestations (certainly its "I'm not gay bro, but..." T-shirt is prompting a lot of questions already answered by the shirt), while Billie Eilish dwelling on life as a manufactured product makes for interesting and uncomfortable parallels in What Was I Made For. Mark Ronson’s plasticky production suits its subject to a tee, further cementing the conceptual unity of the project.

Star turns abound throughout the album as A-listers like Dua Lipa and Lizzo bring their best games alongside some terrific and unlikely downcard cameos. What Was I Made For? and Dance The Night were both deserved #1s, but the pacey pop punk of GAYLE’s Butterflies and Dominic Fike’s breezy, hook laden Hey Blondie are as much highlights as any of the bigger names here. Special mention should be made for Ryan Gosling’s I’m Just Ken, a blockbuster 70s rock number that, whilst puncturing the wider stylistic template, is batshit and hilarious enough to more than justify its place as well as netting him a surprise hit too. The quality lapses once or twice (Tame Impala in particular are bloody awful) but by the time Ava fires the final laser I’m generally happy to go back and start all over again. With banger after banger here, my verdict is in: the Barbie soundtrack is *Charli voice* HOT!

Claire Rosinkranz - Just Because

While this has been a year that I’ve gotten more fully into pop, it took a while for me to find many new albums that I’ve been interested in. This may partly be to do with me clinging to an idea that LPs ought to be substantial beyond having good hooks and charm. In truth, all I needed to do was revert to my indiepop training, where bands have never knowingly been fussed about having any great weightiness. But even so, it took Just Because to make it clear to me that no, you really don’t need any grand vision at all: a high number of great if frothy pop songs will do just fine. It’s a record which bounces from banger to banger in an endearingly sunny style, with each tune so catchy that their lightness becomes a strength rather than a weakness.

Rosinkranz’s voice seems to mark her out as one of the many Billie clones who populate the current pop scene but her musical ambitions are both simpler and more instantly engaging. Not yet 20, her songs have an element of schoolyard whispers which add a welcome silliness here and there, but she also plays with the intensity of youthful emotions to make them a little heartrending even as she goofs off. Highlights include Dreamer, a break up song where the vocal makes it clear that she’s far from as done as she says she is, and Wes Anderson, which offers some sombre advice but packages it in a song so sweet that you’d never know. But in spite of all this it makes no end of year lists (well, maybe just the one), being merely a lovable set of songs that are very hard to forget. Need it be more? I don't believe so.

Doja Cat - Scarlet

Mired in discourse throughout the year, Doja Cat still found time to make a chart topping single (Paint The Town Red) that took the world by storm and a cracking album which, sadly, did not. Scarlet was in my opinion the better of the two: largely ditching the afrobeat pop of Planet Her, Doja staked her claim as an old skool rapper and brought it off pretty well, mixing hard rhyming with her more scattershot pop delivery and sounding entirely comfortable wherever she landed. While flitting musically between modern RnB and neo-soul grooves, her subject matter was largely taken up by how much she hated her fans, a bold strategy that found her shedding support even as blistering tracks like Fuck The Girls shaped up as some of my favourites of the year.

Whilst I’ve found myself uncomfortable with both the company that she keeps and the views which she may or may not subscribe to (i feel safe in saying that she's a right wing edgelord but i suspect that’s the least of it), Scarlet is such a good album that I’ve found myself, if not making excuses for her, then at least deftly navigating around my distaste in order to keep listening to it. While Agora Hills often reminded me how serious she is about her scumbag of a boyfriend, it’s still a song that can submerge me in its beauty entirely; while some of the complaints from her online audience are less easily dismissed than others, it’s more comfortable just to think about the morons calling her a devil worshiper, especially when she mocks them so wickedly on the elegant Skull And Bones. Am I the problem? Maybe I am: it’s a place I often find myself in with hip hop, where faves are frequently problematic and exceptions beg to be made. As such, I can not wholeheartedly recommend this record to people who might want to take a principled stand against some of her bullshit. I can only say that, as a musical talent, there was no one better all year.

Lana Del Rey - Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard?

After 2021’s fairly middling brace of albums, Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd always felt like it was going to be a return to form and this time the faithful were not disappointed. It was another epic and sprawling record which unfolded like a cross between The Bible and a 50s musical. While changeable in style, ranging from hammy country ballads to trap beats and beyond, the thing that springs to mind most often is the Great American Songbook, as Lana takes the melodramatic grandeur of those standards and soaks them in her own messy and complicated worldview. This draws in family, romance, the future, her relationship with religion and how it all scrappily fits together, ranging widely and wildly across 75 extraordinary minutes.

Much of the album feels like it’s being broadcast from a kind of dreamworld, although one that overlays with reality neatly enough. Lana’s dismissive “if you want some basic bitch go to the Beverly Centre and find her” line undercuts the mood on the otherwise lush and evocative Sweet but the impact is hilarious rather than jarring, a perfect marriage of the strange and mundane. In contrast, the brooding A&W initially brings that realism to a far more uncomfortable level, before goofing off wonderfully in the second half in a way that only Lana ever really dares to do. Much of the record feels like it's creating its own language, as key phrases (“let the light in”, “when you know, you know”) are repeated and musical themes come back around in strange modulations. All in all, while perhaps less satisfying as a pop record than Norman Fucking Rockwell, Did You Know… feels like her most complete statement on a personal level yet, whilst still working well within the broader world that she’s spent over a decade constructing.

Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We

Despite liking the odd song or two, I have until now been largely immune to Mitski over the full length of an album. But The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We has a much more organic sound than I’m used to hearing from her, well adrift from the polished guitar rock of her big 10s records. Instead, it takes many of its cues from classic folk and country, occasionally lush and expansive, often determinedly sombre but always at a distance from the areas where she’s generally been at home. Opener Bug Like An Angel is a brooding scene setter, where Mitski unveils the terse and grumpy presence we will grow familiar with over the next half hour. The main elements of the album are already in place - the spare instrumentation; Mitski’s extraordinary voice, hard and intransigent but still full of yearning; the occasional, overwhelming interjections from the wings. It all creates a distinctive atmosphere, extremely intense but intimate too: we’re allowed into Mitski’s world but there’s a lot to take in.

Lyrically, the songs are both heavily allusive and extremely personal, like hearing ancient parables told by the characters from the story. Surprise hit My Love Mine All Mine seems to sit apart as a relatively standard love song but a closer listen reveals deeper layers; the placing of her love as something independent from its object makes it feel more of a piece with the album’s other enigmas. At a time where Mitski seemed to be cooling on being a rock star, The Land Is Inhospitable adds a new twist to her long musical journey, seemingly presenting a more intimate portrait while in fact retaining most of her essential mystery. As an album, it really is quite something: what that is I’m less certain of but I like it regardless.

Olivia Rodrigo - Guts

Tho I wouldn't have called myself a hater (I don’t think I would have been bothered enough), I don't really like Olivia’s all conquering debut Sour, which I thought a bit too one-note and overpopulated with slushy ballads. But by the time Guts came around I was open to listening again, drawn in by its excellent singles and primed for a different experience. Vampire, the best of them and more or less of this year, was a fantastic example of taking something that Olivia is clearly very accomplished at (the grand piano lament) and then, rather than running that into the ground, instead using it as a springboard for an entirely different idea. Get Him Back and Bad Idea Right hark back to earlier guitar based tracks like Brutal, but on Guts they form a much more substantive part of the album, cementing its brand of addictive pop grunge and working up a much goofier version of her messy teen persona.

Elsewhere, the ballads did in fact return. Some have speculated that this may have been a bad idea (right?) but for me they’ve been growers, particularly the likes of Lacy and The Grudge, where Olivia explores the bitterness of youth and uses it to tear holes in the people who’ve wronged her. But if I’m honest, it’s the rockers that I’m usually waiting for: whether the new wave pastiche of Love Is Embarrassing or autumnal Cure homage Pretty Isn’t Pretty, each one feels like a mini-revelation and it’s the style that I hope she leans on most in the future.

Palehound - Eye On The Bat 

Palehound have been around for a while now and every so often I’ve given their records a try and haven't really managed to connect with them properly. Eye on the Bat has been the first exception, though whether that's because it’s any better than the others or I just made more of an effort with it I don’t know. Its template is certainly well worn in the indie world - country rock with varying degrees of aggression or melodic sweetness - but there’s still a lot here that grabs my attention, especially in the charming indie pop of the title track and the heart-rending melancholy of Route 22.

But the thing that caught my ear the most was Ellen Kempner’s disarming honesty, with much of the album spent documenting what sounds like a deeply messy break up. Whether she’s bitterly picking through the fall out on Independence Day or remembering some hilariously embarrassing bedroom scene on opener Good Sex, Eye On The Bat's almost diaristic view is mesmerising throughout, making you warm to Kempner even as she works thru some of her own worst traits. And aside from anything else, her understanding of relationships underlines her strengths as a lyricist, as she dissects their complexities with wit, sympathy and occasional anger to capture all the stuff that transcends whatever we were hoping for in the first place.

Poppy - Zig

After the wild ride that commenced with 2020’s extraordinary pop/metal mash up I Disagree, Poppy has journeyed thru indie rock, goth and punk to wind up back where she started, only not quite. Zig may represent a return to pop - indeed it’s produced by Weeknd affiliate Ali Payami - but it’s one that’s filtered thru all of the places she stopped off along the way.

The crepuscular grind of Church Outfit and Knockoff sound like more danceable versions of the I Disagree sound, while the crunching title track suggests that she can still go as hard as ever. But there are nods to a lighter side here as well, particularly in the strong trio that wind up the album: The Attic recasts her sound in a euphoric drum n bass clatter whilst closer Prove It kicks up a remarkable blend of manic hyperpop and gentle electro-balladry, whilst still working in the rich emotional palette that she’s developed in recent years.

In one sense this is a huge departure from the frenetic punk of last year’s Stagger EP but the vibes here stake out territory that you’d still find oddly familiar. Some of the gothy ballads are less immediate than other songs but nothing on Zig is boring, just varying refinements on her ever evolving musical journey. The critics were split, occasionally rattled and sometimes just plain baffled, but that’s only to be expected by now. Poppy follows her own plan and rarely sticks to the same tune: in truth it’s a privilege just to be a witness to the chaos.

Sweeping Promises - Good Living Is Coming For You

One thing that I find missing in a lot of modern guitar based music is snappy songs with good catchy hooks. While Sweeping Promises appear to place their focus elsewhere - their high concept sound is best understood as someone broadcasting direct from 1979 through a wristwatch speaker - their second album still finds time to deliver fully on the tunes. Good Living Is Coming To You is steeped in bubblegum melodies and memorable choruses, with songs that become earworms before you’ve even registered how catchy they are. 

More than anything, it's dominated by Lira Mondal’s imperious vocals: whether it’s in the cascading harmonies of Throw Of The Dice, the fierce yells and hisses that close out the title track or her sweet voiced switch-outs on Ideal No, her character springs out of every song in a way that few singers ever really manage to impose. While you might think that the post punk era has been mined to death by now, Sweeping Promises drag new life into it by going back further: their sound may be heavily rooted in a specific moment but the elements of songcraft often have more in common with 60s girl group classics than gnarled art rockers. Ten bangers and no filler: Good Living Is Coming For You is everything I wanted from it and more.

Wednesday - Rat Saw God

While the queasy vibes of 2021’s Twin Plagues are still high in the mix here, it was the welcome injection of melody on Wednesday's third album that managed to alert the media. That lightness was more apparent in Karly Hartzman's lyrics than you might notice on a passing listen too: though often praised for her grimly amusing takes on middle American backwaters, the key to them was her deceptively soft touch, casting a sympathetic eye over grisly scenes even as she retained their gnarlier undertones.

Single Chosen To Deserve, with its crunching chorus and heartwarming romantic turnaround, feels like the designated big moment from the record but in reality Rat Saw God has an embarrassment of riches. Quarry in particular, with its Waterloo Sunset-esque signature and matter-of-fact dissection of grim local gossip, is an almost pop version of the most haunting aspects of Hartzman's craft, while the washed out bounce of closer TV in the Gas Pump pitches a lonelier scene in a similarly gorgeous manner.

This is not to forget that Wedneday can still rock extremely hard when they want to, especially on the brutal 8 minute Bull Believer, an ambitious multipart epic that ends with Hartzman screaming “FINISH HIM!!!” repeatedly over the chaotic finale. But while Rat Saw God brought this kind of sawtoothed sound back to widespread acclaim, its real trick was how it sugared the pill just enough to get it past even the most determinedly sweet tooth.

[best-fnaf-song-competition]

Tilt-A-Whirl propaganda (mostly taken from my own tags in the reblogs)

Tilt-A-Whirl has gone from dying to tying with Freddy You're Supposed To Be On Lockdown, we can make it!

Now I totally get why Freddy is going so strong, it's a silly catchy meme song made by a very talented artist (seriously go listen MiatriSs' other fnaf songs theres so many bangers, they're kinda scattered around but theres a playlist on their channel)

But! Ultimately it is still well a meme song, and while no doubt enjoyable, its kinda slightly devastating to see it sorta crush a super unique song in the very first round </3

Tilt-A-Whirl is such a beautiful SL song! Its so so fun and it really stands out! The singer for Baby really did such a fantastic job and the song itself!!! Just!!! Augh!!! It sounds like a carousel organ!! It sounds like something that'd be playing in a circus! Certainly Circus Baby's Pizza!! It's so whimsical and playful and it spins you around. I feel like I'm at the actual fair or dancing around with circus baby. If I could find an instrumental trust me when I say I'd try to make that play in my room near constantly

It's so fun to hear Circus Baby singing her own song to you, making it so playful while she's trying to kill you

And the lyrics augh!! This whole song!!! I love it so much!!! It really gives you the feeling of a carnival! Gosh I have so much fun thinking of what animations to this song could be! What story could be told!

And!!!! Oh man I like cannot stress enough what this song does to me. Listening to it before voting in this poll was the very first time I had heard it. And man it hooked me IMMEDIATELY. I went from kinda sleeping listening to all the songs while doing to sketches for a request to like. Focused in. I couldn't possibly put it into words. So here's literally just a screenshot of my tags immediately after hearing the song

(I proceeded to fast reblog the poll like 2-3 more times)

Extra propaganda: I kinda ran out of bribes after the main song competition! So all I can really offer is letting yall see my Steve Raglan cosplay. My face would be obscured though so you just get to see the outfit 👉😎👉 man I am so good at this bribery thing

💜

[talenlee]

Decemberween ’23 — The New Music From This Year

New Post has been published on PRESS.exe: Decemberween ’23 — The New Music From This Year

How do you listen to new music?

I understand it’s really common for most people to listen to music in their cars or using systems like Spotify, which I don’t like and don’t drive. That’s right, I don’t like cars and I don’t drive Spotify. I listen to podcasts when I travel, usually, and I listen to music while I work at my computer, because I want something that affects my mood while I’m doing, like, this work.

Frustratingly, just because it’s usually there and ad-free, I let Youtube throw mixes at me. Then when I’ve noticed I’ve done that enough that some songs are part of my personal lexicon, I go and acquire those songs some other way, whether bandcamp (in the case of small bands) or

I want to nakedly recommend an mp3 collection to you. You don’t need special software to manage it. You can just dump all your music in a great big heap and use the search function on any mp3 player you like to find the songs you want. You have paid for music, you have paid for the right to use it in different forms, spotify subscriptions are not paying artists and they are rent-seeking on things you can buy directly, or in many cases have already bought.

Anyway, here’s the stuff that I added to my mp3 collection this year.

The Lads are a Christian band from New Zealand I listened to as a kid. I re-found them on Youtube this year. They’d had a song that stuck in my head, an idea that I’ve been trying to stick to, which is if you need a reason to make a change in your life, anything will do. Why not make a big change on Arbor Day, a day you probably had no idea was a day on your calendar?

Arbor Day - The Lads // Arbor Day

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I mean this isn’t amazing music, but I like having it on hand, you know? The detritus of what we are. Not all of us were influenced by absolute bangers. Sometimes the idea that ‘you can make changes to your life for any given arbitary reason’ is a good thing and it doesn’t matter that much that I got it from a band of dorks who moved to Nashville to sing songs to megachurch kids (which is their spot now).

Sub-Radio - Stacy's Dad (Full Video)

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Next up, a parody song. Stacy’s Mom is a banger of a song about having a crush on an older woman (and the song doesn’t, like, go anywhere with it). Then we get a delightful genderswapped version here, which I hesitate to call a ‘parody’? It’s the same song, basically, it’s just a different orientation with the same comedy bent.

One thing I do find a little awkward is, now I’m starting on being ‘in my forties’ (man that feels weird to say), hearing someone talk about ‘is he learning about the Civil War’ like – so what?! So what if that’s a thing that interests me!? How did I get read like that?

AJJ - "Brave As A Noun & Survival Song" (KVRX Library Session)

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The band Andrew Jackson Jihad, for, perhaps sensibly obvious reasons, changed their name recently. This meant they made an announcement on Youtube at some point and I noticed that (‘AJJ on their name announcement?’ what did AJJ mean?) and that meant I listened to some of their music, annnnnd I like it! I’m told they make Folk Punk, which sounds to me like nonsense but I also am firmly of the opinion that there’s nothing quite so punk as making very specific categorisations that everyone around you must adhere to, right?

BANG! - Last Life AMV

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Thanks to the Last Life Youtube series of Minecraft Hardcore Lets Plays –

What are you laughing at –

I wound up listening to some cool music that was made as part of animatics by cool fans of the series, too. And while sometimes that meant learning about something cool like the band AJR (who are not the same thing as AJJ, thanks file sorting),

Curses - Last Life Animation

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Or something interestingly indie and creepily jazzy, like The Crane Wives (and I’m sure I’ve shared this before, surely it was in my list of new music last year),

W.I.T.C.H | Double Life SMP

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Or maybe even something else normal people like like Devon Cole’s WITCH, it did also mean I wound up appreciating a song…

Sharks | Life Series Animatic

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By Imagine Dragons of all people.

Animatics are great. They recontextualise songs and the recontextualisation means that now I have a story for these songs to be about and not just, like, Imagine Dragons’ latest car ad.

The Killers - A Pirate Looks At Forty (Jimmy Buffett Cover) HQ

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I think I shared this earlier this year too, but it’s the Killers cover of A Pirate Looks At Forty. I may be a bit overly maudlin about anything to do with Jimmy Buffett this year, since this is now the point at which I know that he’s had to leave the party.

Yofukashino Uta

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Also, this year I listened to a bunch of Anime OPs, because I was watching more anime this year. And the anime this year that I liked just happened to have OPs that I think are great, so I added them to my list. In the vein of ‘sounds like just cool music you might seem international and interesting for listening to,’ there’s the band Creepy Nuts! They do Japanese hiphop and, in addition to the songs from the Call of the Night anime soundtrack, you should also check out Song for the Prodigies.

Summer Time Render - Opening | FULL HD [1080p]

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The opening of Summer Time Render sounds to me like jangly folk rock? I think people call it College Rock? Problem here is I don’t even know this song’s name. It’s just The Opening To Summer Time Render, which is my favourite anime of the year, like it just absolutely whips ass, so I hear this song and I remember how that show makes me feel, from its first embarrassing opening of boobs and butts to its astoundingly sweet conclusion.

"Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury" Textless version of opening "The Blessing" by YOASOBI

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The opening to Witch from Mercury has a similar effect, but I really like the way it has this, like, descending step effect? The staggering of it, it sings like dancing, and I love the way it feels like it’s responding to its own anxieties.

I have no idea what this song is saying.

TVアニメ『リコリス・リコイル』ノンテロップOPムービー｜ClariS「ALIVE」

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I think that the opening and ending of Lycoris Recoil whip ass. There’s this thing the opening does which I think anime openings love doing, which is this sort of crooning that turns into a high, wide arc and then abruptly stops and regathers its footing?

Paripi Koumei Ep5 ED

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Perhaps obviously, Ya Boy Kongming, an anime about music in Shibuya District, has nothing but bangers in its soundtrack. Everything, even the song by the Evil Bad Band That Sucks are good, but I especially like this cover of Kibun Jojo for the ending that adds instrumentation and a rap verse as the series progresses.

Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie - Opening | Honey Jet Coaster

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On the other hand, Honey Jet Coaster is just… like, energetic sugary pop music, it feels completely artificial and I have no reason to recommend it. Much like everything to do with Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie you kinda have to get something out of it on a very superficial level, because there is nothing going on here.

(That’s a lie, the song is voiced as if it’s a boyfriend singing about Shikimori, but the vocalist is a woman who sounds like Shikimori, and it describes how Shikimori is a ‘better boyfriend than him’ but you know, so what.)

The Truck Got Stuck - Corb Lund

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Now a hard swerve from songs I absolutely cannot sing to songs I absolutely can. I learned about Corb Lund this year! He’s a Canadian country musician, who I learned about after a comedian who appeared on Behind The Bastards told a story about how one time, a racist on a neo nazi website reviewed his set he did opening for Corb Lund, and was so upset he realised that Corb Lund might not be racist enough for him.

Anyway, truck got stuck.

Roll Northumbria (Loud Version)

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Continuing Canadian songs I can sing along to, The Dreadnoughts dropped an album late last year, lot of good songs but especially good is this version of Roll Northumbria, which is a song I already liked, but this time rendered as a big loud stomping song.

Sidle Up

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Also, something that a lot of bands I like have in common is how good they get when they say, turn forty and stop carrying around a focus on high school. That’s what happened to the Littlest Man Band, which is actually a spinoff band from Reel Big Fish, a 90s Ska Band One And A Half Hit Wonder. I have liked Reel Big Fish all through the years, but on a few tracks, as a gag, they let their member Scott Klopfenstein just do a wholly soulful rendition of a totally different style.

And uh, then he went and made his own band that just does those songs and they’re great.

blink-182 - ONE MORE TIME (Official Video)

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Talking about things from the 90s that got better as they matured, Blink 182 have a single this year. Apparently it’s part of an album I have no interest in listening to, but this single, on its own, phew. Just fantastic vibes and a real improvement on their baseline sound. It’s Blink 182, but with just a lot more musical competence and fewer mangled half-rhymes.

I thought after I was done with single paragraph summaries I’d go back through the article and bulk it out with more details, to get up to the word count I wanted. Turns out I’m at one and a half times my word count, oops!

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#Decemberween2023