#mashup so bad I made 2 randoms leave the stage

[inescapablefrenzy]

fortnite is not fucking real

[blapisblogs]

Oh god... Yeah, right after the in-video ad break, we’re hit with this: Doug Walker dressed like a Nazi with a smudged dotted line around his face and the words “person you hate” written on his forehead in sharpie. Dude, if this moment didn’t make you stop and wonder what the fuck happened with your life to bring you to this moment, then it damn well should’ve been.

Before you ask if this was based on something from the film or album, yes, but as usual there’s context for it. It’s difficult for me to explain, but in short the idea is that Pink’s attempt to build a metaphorical wall between himself and everyone else is making him more and more mentally unsound, right up to the point where after he’s forced to be drugged up for one of his shows he hallucinates himself as a fascist (the very thing his father died fighting against), the fans his zealous followers, and his concerts rallies where he encourages violence against marginalized groups. This goes on for a few songs with the violence and threats escalating in each one, and by the end of the last one he’s ranting and raving incoherently on a megaphone until the hallucination ends as he shouts for it all to stop, finally realizing how dangerous the things he’s been doing to himself are. It’s disturbing, and intentionally so. That’s what I got out of both the album and the film anyway. I have no clue what Doug Walker got out of this part of the film, though, because these next two parody songs have almost nothing to do with it. The first one mentions it so people will know that it’s a parody of something from the film, but that’s about it, and the second one doesn’t mention anything about the film or album at all.

The next two parodies are of “In the Flesh” (the reprise), and “Waiting for the Worms”, neither of which I will post links to based on what I explained earlier, but if you want to look them up yourself I will warn you that there are things said there that are identical to things the Nazis have said and done, and use words like “queers” and others that I dare not say nor want to. (Also, yeah, they didn’t include “Run Like Hell”, presumably because Doug couldn’t think of another full parody’s worth of “fuck you, haters” for it.) In the parody of the former, Doug addresses his crowd of followers, which are the same five people copy-pasted onto the screens of multiple devices (I can’t tell if that’s supposed to be intentional commentary or Doug didn’t have enough people willing to work with him to pull off what he wanted for this), in a place called the “Echo Chamber”.

Yes, really.

It’s supposed to be commentary on how bad callout/outrage/cancel/purity/whatever-we’re-calling-it-this-month culture can be, but considering who this is coming from, what his own fans are like, and the rest of the presentation in this “review” it comes off more like “technology bad” and “social media bad”. Worse than that, the latter parody song is still about callout/outrage/cancel/etc. culture, only now it’s even more apparent that this is his way of commenting on the Change the Channel movement. This isn’t just me saying this either, other people have taken note on it as well, including people who didn’t even completely hate Doug Walker after the Change the Channel thing happened. I’ve seen one person try to (rather weakly) argue that it wasn’t trying to mock the Change the Channel movement, but even if one were to give them the benefit of the doubt and they weren’t making fun of that, then 1: they still should’ve known that doing something like this was going to get people to draw comparisons to said movement whether it was intended or not, and 2: it’s still absurdly over-the-top and out of touch with why “outrage/cancel/callout/whatever culture” has become a thing. It’s about as subtle as, well, a hammer to the face. (Speaking of which, the hammers for this parody are used to make hashtags instead of an ‘x’ and instead of chanting “Pink Floyd” or “Hammers” the fans chant “hashtag”. I’ve been sitting here for five minutes trying to think of how to comment on this, but all I can do is put a hand up to my face like Captain Picard in those memes, I think that says it all.)

This message of “technology and social media bad” is so ridiculously passé at this point that it’s laughable, and yet it seems like Doug Walker is under the impression that he’s saying something new and brilliant. This is also a truly bizarre message to be hearing from a guy who had so much success with his internet career that he quit his previous job to pursue it full-time. You know, that career that’s dependent on technology. (Also, Doug, social media itself didn’t cause those problems with said internet career: that was all you.)

The sad part is that for this sequence we get some brief scenes with actually good CGI of things like marching smartphones (identical to the original’s marching hammers) and a decently-animated 2-D(-ish?) sequence of a six-fingered hand coming up from the ground and forming into a hammer much like something that happened during part of the film (not this part specifically, but a part). It’s weird in context, but these animated parts look far better than any of the other effects that were used earlier. I’m guessing the guest person who made the effects I’ll talk about later also animated this (at least the CGI bits; as I said earlier, the 2-D-ish parts look so suspiciously close to the original that I have to wonder if they were traced over for this). While it is good, that just makes me wonder that if they were hired to make the animation in this part then why didn’t Doug let them animate the black eagle scene for the “Goodbye Blue Sky” parody section too? He clearly had the time and budget to get a talented animator to do this stuff for him, so why not fully use them?

Also, I swear one of the visuals looks more like a mashup between something from the opening of Phantom of the Paradise and The Wall than anything actually from The Wall alone. Maybe Doug and/or the person animating this got their rock operas momentarily mixed. Maybe they did this on purpose to mess with people. Maybe my brain’s making up this shit because a Phantom of the Paradise/The Wall double feature sounds infinitely better than this “review”. Maybe the headache I’ve gotten while watching this dumpster fire is fucking with me. I don’t know.

[Lyrics (and snark) below the cut]

Oh yeah, I’m the P-Person you all think you know That sucks up all your angst and confusion I’m that nameless foe, huh!

[Oh, so you are trying to do an impression of Bob Geldof. ...It shouldn’t take me over half-way into the “review” to figure out for sure that’s what you’re doing. Or did you choose to only actually do an impression of him for just this one part? I can’t even fathom almost any of Doug’s thought process for this “review” anymore.]

I’ve got some weird news for ya, sunshine, This was dissin’ Thatcher’s administration

[So I have seen Wikipedia mention that at least some people have either interpreted or used this part as commentary on Margaret Thatcher, and I don’t know enough about UK politics to dispute whether it was intentional or not. What bothers me is that if this was intentional, then how did Doug pick up on this? That would mean that he either caught this but somehow didn’t pick up on any of the other, more obvious things in this film that doesn’t have “the slightest bit of subtlety”, or he researched this and only this. Or it was a random guess he made that happens to coincide with what some others have interpreted from this part. Who knows.]

But it’s vague enough to put anyone you fear - Politician, showman - just put their face here!

[Uh... Are you talking about how someone edited this part of The Wall so that it was Drumpf in there because of how much he talks about his stupid wall? ...You are aware that the entire point of the film and album is that those kind of walls aren’t good and should be broken down, right? You know that Roger Waters himself openly despises Drumpf, right? ...Right?]

Are there any authority figures in the crowd tonight? Well put them in The Wall! (Get. Them. All.) That one’s looking stressed, he wants to feel oppressed Put him in The Wall! (Post. His. Balls!)

[Oh yes, The Wall - a film about the cycle of abuse and the effects it has on people and how taking self-isolation to its most extreme is unhealthy for the health of one’s self as well as those around them, among many other things - is something that adults don’t take seriously, not like this web video that has lines talking about people posting some dude’s balls on social media for shits and giggles. (In case you couldn’t tell that was sarcasm.)]

And that one looks sheltered, like she never leaves her room I’ll be that friend that you can blame for all your gloom That one looks like he really wants to be outraged! Now with social media, you have the stage!

[...You know, as awful as the previous songs in this “review” were, at least they were about the film and album. This, however... What even is this?]

(This is the part where the five-person audience starts chanting “hashtag” which goes on until Doug and his two goons run outside, run back inside due to it being too bright out, and then start the next parody. There’s not much to comment on for that, it’s just stupid.)

[End “In the Flesh” parody, begin “Waiting for the Worms” parody]

(One, two, three, post it!) Ooh, you can’t convince me now Ooh, I’m too far on my side Goodbye, nuance I never will abide

[You are not one to talk about nuance, not regarding this film or album, and certainly not about the Change the Channel movement, which this parody is pretty transparently about as we’ll see soon enough.]

It’s us vs. them, I don’t even know who us or them are

[“Us and them, and after all we're only ordinary men.” Come on, man, I know it’s not from The Wall, but the opportunity was right there. Actually, since Rob Walker is there as the Charts Guy (a recurring character in Doug’s reviews), you could’ve even thrown in a “Have a Cigar” reference if you wanted (also not from The Wall, but still). I know at this point I’m nitpicking, but I’m forcing myself to watch a “review” where a guy dressed himself like a Nazi to make a blatant “take that” statement against his “haters” without understanding and/or caring why the Nazi comparisons were there in the original; if Doug Walker doesn’t give a shit about those kind of details, then why should I.]

I just wanna be angry so I can be (Tweeting) About those who hate me (Tweeting) I need their attention (Tweeting) Love me or hate me, just look at me more

[Sadly one can’t say that this train wreck of a “review” didn’t make at least some people look at Doug Walker again even after they didn’t want to.]

(Tweeting) Whatever side you choose, just don’t ever wane (Tweeting) Waiting for the point

[I’d joke about how that’s how most people felt about the video at this point, but everyone has made that joke already. Everyone.]

Don’t fear that you’re wrong Just fight until the end, my friend

[At this point I could just say “Okay, Boomer” at every line in these two parody songs and it’d be about as meaningful as all of Doug’s comments about the actual film. Remember, the film he’s parodying here and supposed to be reviewing (allegedly)? The film he’s not mentioned once in this particular parody?]

All you need to do is fight off something Don’t worry! As long as you don’t see me as human, You can hate me all you want! Because remember, this can never happen to you! I’m bad! You’re good! The more extreme you can get the more happy you’ll become! They’ll put that person whose face you hate here, and tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet!

[...Doug, please tell me you didn’t have these parody songs in mind first as a sort of rebuttal against your detractors and then used it as an excuse to make a “review” for the actual film in this style as well as a whole parody album of it...

Also, this may be another nitpick, but towards the end the guys aren’t even “marching” in time to the music. Because of course they’re not.]

[tvfanatic]

Okay I wanted to make a post about rep Tour Denver last night, but I’ll put it under the cut cause it might be long and I know not all of you care so. But if you wanted to read a superfan review @taylorswift or @taylornation here it is :)

So the day of I woke up at like 8 am cause that’s 9 am my time and I was just super excited. I held off on getting ready until I checked into my flight around 1. A little 1989 tour throwback for ya!

Okay so I got to the stadium around 2pm. My Lyft driver had asked me if Charli aka Charli XCX was her boyfriend. I set him straight don’t you worry. Anyway he had no idea where to drop me off at the stadium so just sort of let me out and I started walking toward the Merch bus, but saw her fleet of tour semis along the way.

I get closer to the Merch bus and some lady stops me and asks me where I’m headed so I told her and she told me I was in a restricted area so I apologized and told her my Lyft driver got lost. Oops. So I ended up buying the Grey tour hat, how could I not after the the TS Merch account retweeted me saying I wanted one. haha There was a little throne and I had some nice random people take my photo with it.

So I go find the line for field seating entry and Taylor Nation comes by and takes a video of us in line, so I made it on to their Insta and Twitter!!! I’m there for like 2 seconds maybe but I’m there. It was so HOT in the sun I was dying in this jacket but after I took it off for a while, I felt my shoulders burning so back on it went. I planned to go buy a water once I got inside, but I was just so overwhelmed, I had already started tearing up, that I just went straight to my seat and then I was too afraid to leave it for fear that I would miss something idk?? Anyway my seats looked fabulous, but I spent most of the time staring at her back and/or on the giant screen. Right next to the stage, but actually behind her with the layout

The video they played with her home videos and story up til now montage BITCH I CRIED. I sat there watching the rest of the videos wishing I had cash on me to buy water from the guy coming around with it, and then Charli XCX came out and she was fabulous. I was happy to finally actually know her opener, I knew most of Charli’s songs and sang and danced along she was fab. Camila came out walking right by that silver gate up there and waved at me so I waved back. The only song I know of hers is Havana so I just kind of swayed to her set, enjoying it. I had been warned that Tequila, Obsessed, and Bad Reputation would play before Taylor came out so I started freaking when they started. 

I immediately started crying when that opening video montage started playing, and kept saying leave her alone @ the lame-o rude media people featured, and basically bawled while singing through all of Ready For It, while still managing to do some of the choreo from her SNL performance that didn’t change. I managed to sing along to the tour version of IDSB pretty well, guess I’d watched that video on Twitter more than I realized. haha The crowd was so loud on the line “If a man talks shit then I owe him nothing!” incredible good job team. After that song though holy shit the crowd went insane. We were all yelling SO LOUD Taylor couldn’t even speak. She kept lifting up her microphone to try and would just smile, and laugh, and adjust her earpiece. We were really blowing her away I’m so proud of us. She told us several times throughout the night what a great, and loud crowd we were, said we were the best crowd she’s ever had at Denver. Said she loved that we were all just YELLING the words to every song. 

She was kind of on my side of the stage for LWYMMD and did the choreo from the music video, that iconic end part anyway, just modified cause this time she’s holding a mic, but I did it with her from the crowd it’s fine. It’s probably so good I was on the end of my row I needed the dancing space. I literally ran into the lady behind me during You Belong With Me when Taylor told us to jump. Guess I jumped backwards? LMAO I was too busy holding up my Fearless style hand heart. hahaha

Um so did she go to B stage after that or sing Don’t Blame Me? Listen I’m not a religious person AT ALL but Don’t Blame Me was a religious experience like I can’t even explain it. And when she fell to her knees on “I beg you on my knees to stay” like !!!!! stop girl you’re killing me it’s too much too much (don’t ever stop Taylor not ever)

Anyway so B stage acoustic set. DWOHT is my favorite on the album so I was singing it loudly but I felt like no one around me knew it?? So I could awkwardly hear my terrible singing voice the whole time?? Stop sleeping on my song people. But she said something like it’s been forever since I’ve played this song AND FUCKING SANG TEARDROPS ON MY GUITAR. Listen I screamed and doubled over and couldn’t stop crying, I like sob sang my way through the entire time and my legs were shaking. It was the first Taylor song I ever owned and she was singing it all these years later. Every time I thought about it for the rest of concert I started crying again.

After she was done at the second B stage, she took the snake skeleton thing back to main stage and I swear we made eye contact when she went past me while singing Bad Blood. And then during Getaway Car, she was on our side of the stage again. And again people around me weren’t really going crazy for the song so I started jumping up and down and waving at her and SHE POINTED RIGHT AT ME HI TAYLOR I LOVE GETAWAY CAR...AND YOU. 

Where did the piano acoustic set fit in this? It was somewhere and it was amazing and there was more crying from me I looked like a raccoon. Waterproof my ass, Tarte. Um so Long Live has always been special to me ever since I heard her sing it during the Speak Now tour (the night we first made eye contact, it was during Love Story) and I LOVE New Year’s Day so holy this mashup can I own it? Taylor release a tour album I want all of the mashups from this show. But she pauses toward the end of the song for whatever reason and we all went nuts again and she did THE ABSOLUTE CUTEST LITTLE EXCITED DANCE SHE WAS SO HAPPY I CAN’T STAND IT. WE DID THAT. WE CAUSED HER HAPPINESS I’M CRYING AGAIN HELP. 

I was in between two different confetti canons for Call It What You Want and I’ve never sat close enough at a Taylor show before to be showered in confetti so it was magical to have it swirling all around me I caught so many I couldn’t stop smiling. 

I started crying again during her finale cause I knew it was the last song and it was about to be over. Her and the dancers playing in that fountain though it looked so fun I wanted to join them. hahaha

I seriously can’t believe I get to experience it all over again three more times at Gillette. The only thing that could make the show even better, would be to finally get my Taylor hug at one but idk if that will ever happen, so many of us want that opportunity. I’ll just continue to dance my ass off and sing and cry from the crowd. Still makes for an epic night. 

xoxo,

Emily

[lizzleolsen]

Reputation Tour - Arlington #2

This is going to be long. (:

Since this concert was in Dallas, which is about 6 hours from me, we had to leave SUPER early in the morning to have time to get there, check into our hotel, and still get to the concert early (I like to be early. always. to everything.) anyway, so the day started at around 7 in the morning, and my hype over the day was already extreme! I was so ready and sooooo excited to finally see the show!! (And only a little sad I'd missed Maren the night before. lol.) When we finally did get there, just around 4:10, because I did not go to the main entrance, but to a side one, I actually got first in line!! Which worked soooo nicely, because they had a t-shirt stand right when you walked in, so once I got in, right at 5, I did not have to wait in line at all, and got my t-shirt and tour book right away + got a water after all within like 3 minutes. It was amazing to not have to wait for all of that, and then we were able to just go right to our seats - all the way across the arena... so that was the only downside. But it was mostly because of our parking. I forgot to buy any, until like last month. So I just got whatever was left. lol.

NOW FOR THE CONCERT!!! CHARLI XCX. I went in not expecting much from her. Like I enjoy some of her music, but I would never have said I was a fan of her. But my gosh did she put on an amazing show. She really drew me in, and just was amazing. A major thing that happened during this though! Okay, so next to us was this older man, and he was already drunk, like before Charli was on, and he kept spilling beer and just. ugh. So anyway, this girl, like 19ish walks up to me, shows me her seat, and I'm like "Oh no, that's no this one, that's... where that man is sitting." So she goes up to him, and he starts SCREAMING AT HER "I'M NOT MOVING!!' So I told her to get security because no one wanted to argue with the drunk man. So she left, and like a minute later came back, and he TRIED TO ARGUE WITH SECURITY!!! It was insane. They made him move though, and she got her seat. Anyway, back to Charli. She was sooo entertaining. Like even the songs I did not know (there was actually only one tbh) I enjoyed, because she just made it fun, and made the crowd really enjoy her performance, and she took a presence on the stage, and just really impressed me.

Camila? Ehh. I was sooooo excited for her. I love her album, and had such high hopes. Went in really thinking I was going to walk out loving her even more. Even almost bought a Camila shirt. But her performance was lacking so much. I don't know what it was, but she never drew me in. I loved the music, but her stage presence was lacking so much, and it made it really hard to enjoy. I stood for maybe two songs, then was just like.... and sat, and I noticed a lot of people around me doing the same. And it was just really sad, because I wanted to love her performance so much, as much as I love her album. ): She danced a lot, I’ll give her that, but I was not drawn in at any point during it.

THEN IT WAS TIME FOR TAYLOR. When I say I started to cry right away, I’m not even joking in the least. Ready For It started, and the tears started rolling. I was so excited, and I can't even explain fully how i felt. It was just the happiest, overwhelming feeling possible. After months of waiting, it was finally here. I was finally seeing the Reputation Tour. Taylor was really there. I cried instantly, and was not fully expecting it to happen so quickly. Like it wasn't a full on tears running down my face like during Long Live/New Years Day, but it was still tears nonetheless. ANYWAY. 

After Ready For It was I Did Something Bad. AND OMG. THIS TOUR VERSION. IT'S EVERYTHING. I need to see it again. I need to find a video of it. She needs to sing it that way on the award show. It was so incredible. I started to realize here that she was sick, and you could hear it in her voice, but even with that, it did not effect the performance she gave. it was amazing. As always, I was blown away by her, and how captivating she is up there on stage.

The way she mixed Style/Love Story/You Belong With Me, was so truly amazing. I will never grow tired of hearing Love Story live. I teared up during it once more this tour, thinking yet again of how long I've loved her, and all she means to me. It's just amazing to know I have been a fan for so long, and can still feel that same excitement and energy I did so long ago when I saw her for the very first time.

HER stage was so massive. Sometimes it felt too big, like there was too much to look at, and I did not know where to focus, but it was done so well. they put so much work into it, and it showed. During Look What You Made Me Do, with all the stage changes, and props, and just, everything that went along with it, I was so blown away. Also, that song was soooo fun live. And just how into it the crowd got (though they were super into every single song of course). Ohhhhh, and the way it looked during End Game was so breathtaking as well. Really, I could say this about the stage during every single part of the show.

DELICATE. I had told my sister about the 1,2,3... And I knew it was coming, but it's so different to actually be there, in a stadium, with thousands of people who all know the same little inside joke. I just really loved that moment so much. Small things like that are just nice to have, to feel like this different connection. idk how to say it better than that. It was just a nice little moment. And then she started flying!! Towards the section i was in, and I was soooo happy. We were right by the B stage, and I couldn't wait.

Being by the B-stage meant I was RIGHT there during Shake it off, Dancing with our hands tied (a song I loved even more acoustic than the actual version. Somehow), and then ALL TOO WELL. tbh, for a repeat song my heart would have soured for Sparks Fly, but I also was so happy to hear All Too Well, and her say how much we've changed that song for her. And I just love her so much.

The fact she sang a first album song in should've said no. it's just. It makes my heart so happy. I loved hearing it, and I'm shocked i didn't tear up all over again right here, but I held it together. lol. Of course, the fact it was Bad Blood and this song, helped in that I'm sure. I actually kept thinking back to 1989 tour during this song mashup for some reason, and felt like I was back in LSU stadium, and back under the stars, hearing her singing that song. Ohhh, speaking of stars, I loved that she still had fireworks, even though we were inside. It was so amazing to get to see them, even so.

The time I did fully cry, was Long Live and New Years Day. I don't know if it was the way she sang thing, or the lyrics themselves, but it really, really hit me, and I sat down so that I could just cry, and I couldn't even sing along or anything. That's how hard it hit me. I stood, dancing, and screamed lyrics all night, until that moment, and then I sat there and cried. When Long Live came out, I was 17, and here I am so close to 25, and I still love it and Taylor more than ever before.

Her poem also hit me so hard. "Whatever you say it is not right." "Your kindness is fake" I hate that she ever had to feel those words. And I hate that it is easy to think that way. To think kindness isn't real. Isn't worth it. It is. Kindness is always worth it. No matter what. Being good to people matters. And I am so proud to have chosen someone to love who is that way, and thinks like that, and I'm just, I'm crying right now typing this, thinking back to that moment, and what it meant to me.

Also, Getaway Car is my fave song on the album, and I loved hearing it live. And Call it What You Want is such a close second, and I'm just really, really happy I got to see all these songs live, and it means more to me than I think I'll ever be able to express fully, that I have loved her for so long, and that her music still means just as much to me as ever before, if not even more, as I can relate to a lot more now, than when I was a young teenager who had experienced so little.

This is why we can't have nice things was such a nice way to close the show, I really loved that she had such a high energy song to close it out, and it left me feeling on such a high walking out of the stadium. Like of all the songs, I never would have thought that would be a good closer, but it was the best option by far. I'm soooo happy I went to the concert, and so happy that it was as amazing as it was, even with her being so sick.

AND BABE!! I GOT TO SEE BABE!! LIVE!! WITH SUGARLAND!! It was such an extraordinary moment. when she said she had a surprise, i lost it, I was screaming so, so much, and then my brain just went 'Little Big Town' I think because she said band, and my brain things band = lbt duo = sugarland, but then the music for Babe started, and I knew who it was. It was an incredible performance, and I'm so glad i was able to see it, and got to hear Taylor singing it more than just her little part she has in the official song and all. It was amazing (I'll keep using that word a million times, because it's what everything was.)

Also, during one song, I was just clapping, and enjoying myself, and a random piece of confetti just fell RIGHT into my hand, so clearly it was meant to be mine. lol.

I had an incredible time, and I so thankful to Taylor, for being such an amazing person to love and listen to for so many years now. I am already excited for next time!! I can't wait to see her again in a couple years. She is someone, I know, no matter what I might say time to time, I will never not want to see live, and want to enjoy every tour she has. I'm just so happy right now, still, and so grateful for everything about that night. <3