#my correct music opinions

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

Man I just love dressing crazy. Star-shaped eyeliner, jacket covered in bottle caps with smiley faces, bright pink glasses, piercings in my face. I thrive in the weird looks from strangers. I love being that person little kids think is a fairy and remember for years. I love giggling at myself while I make faces in the mirror.

To me, this is what it is to be punk. To make weird, messy art. To sing your crooked voice as loud as you can. To be the most beautiful ugly. To be that creature 8 year old you wrote stories about in their school notebooks. To be the greatest you you can be.

There is nobody on this Earth who can do you like you. So why not go out and be the best you the world's ever seen?

[bittersweetyrn]

big fan of essek thelyss, not the fanon interpretation, which is either "smol bean, tiny fragile elf who's a sweetheart and basically a child" or people mistakenly calling betrayal of one's home country a "war crime" and then proceeding to be flippant about it anyway, but the real Essek

pretentious motherfucker that committed treason bc he though he was smarter than everyone else

learned to float literally just to impress other rich people

canonically neutral evil

basically head spymaster of his country and master of lies but sucks shit lying to his friends

stayed bitchy even after his redemption arc

"there is nothing I would love more than to not be around you all for the remainder of this day"

a space wizard that crushed someone with telekenesis just to show off (the person was already dying)

sexy feet, nice ass, overall hottie

fell in love with a traumatized wizard of his enemy country and it was mutual despite all the betrayal

faggot

gave away state secrets to enemy wizard bc he though he was sexy

discovered time travel with his boyfriend

proceeded to say they shouldn't use time travel (bc now he's a good boy) but was willing to sacrifice everything and help if his bf wanted to use it

once confessed he had such a bad fight with his dad that his dad ran into the demon caves and never returned (essek doesn't feel bad about this at all)

young for an elf but still 120 years old, he called his bf "young man" and flexed on him about how much more evil he is

[originalartblog]

Good morning~

[jon-withnoh]

Give me the hot Elisabeth and Rebecca takes!

Sure thing! (Oh boy this turned out long.)

Elisabeth disclaimer: this is purely based on vibes. I have some knowledge of the historical background, but it’s not really my field of study.

Rebecca disclaimer: this is my field of study and I have very strong opinions on it, though I do not claim that I am always correct. I do however maintain that I could back up many of my claims if I had the time to do proper textual analysis and read secondary sources.

I genuinely think Elisabeth (the musical as it was written) is a masterpiece. The framing device, the way certain melodies mirror each other to foreshadow events or indicate character development — it’s amazing! Plus, the music is ridiculously good. 100/10. I love this musical.

Most stagings/recordings of Elisabeth since 2012 though? More than questionable. Levay/Kunze musicals in general appear to be following a pattern where the original production and a maybe one or two productions after it are full of nuance and complexity, only to have that complexity broken down and reduced over time. That is no fault of the musical itself, but a worrying trend of not trusting audience to be able to handle nuance and trying to make every element of a production more palatable and easier to handle. I hate it. Both the 1992 and the 2005 Wien productions have so much to recommend them (I can’t speak for the German productions but would humbly turn over the questions to more Elisabeth-versed mutuals like @fitzrove), but it all seems to be going downhill.

HOT TAKE: I think bringing on more and more “Broadway-sounding” performers to do both Elisabeth and Rebecca is a mistake. For me, Levay/Kunze shows have a very specific sound to them, a sound that fits into European musical theatre and makes sense for when and where they were created. Hiring almost exclusively people with a way more modern, belt-y sound is not a direction I personally like for these shows. Don’t get me wrong, this is not about any specific performers, it’s about trying to change the sound of these shows into something more akin to a big Broadway musical and that really doesn’t work for me. Both Elisabeth and Rebecca are so idiosyncratic in how they sound and how they’re written, trying to make them fit into a mould they don’t belong in does them a disservice. (Looking at you, VBW.)

Maybe not a hot take: but I love the 2005 Wien production of Elisabeth so much. It was my first exposure to the musical and remains my go-to cast album. It certainly has faults and I totally understand why people might gravitate towards different productions, but since I haven’t listened to the full 1992 Wien and 2001 Essen (?) productions yet, I can only compare it to 2012.

REBECCA HOT TAKE: Michael Kunze has stated that he views Rebecca as first and foremost a love story and I think he is WRONG. Daphne du Maurier herself would probably think he was wrong (seeing as she hated the story being described as a romance). This is a core problem with Rebecca das Musical. There are many things to love (Danny, Danny, Beatrice, and did I mention Danny?), but in my opinion, the whole “this is a great love story” angle does it a huge disservice. Let’s make it weirder! Let’s make it as bleak as it fucking is! (Probably not a crowd pleaser but let me have my fun).

Rebecca the musical could have done with some serious editing.

The Magdeburg production of Rebecca, which I am aware was not very accessible to a lot of people, might be one of the best productions of Rebecca ever. Kerstin Ibald absolutely knocked it out of the park with her Mrs Danvers and gave her all the nuance and emotion we so desperately crave. Her Danny is so broken, so lost. Patrick Stanke’s Maxim strikes the perfect balance between the haughty upperclass Englishman who takes kind of a fatherly tone with his young wive, and the haunted, jealous husband who absolutely did murder his first wife. Also in this production Maxim and Ich finally have some chemistry! This production’s Ich (Sibylle Lambrecht, I think) has such a great character arc and it is completely believable that she is into Maxim, even (or especially??) after his confession. Plus, the set design was amazing!!!

More Rebecca hot takes that I’ve definitely brought up before: I know we all like to write Ich as a repressed queer woman who ends up not being all that into Maxim, but honestly, she probably is very attracted to him. We can speculate about the why, but like, it is strongly implied that they have sex for the first time shortly after Maxim’s confession. She wants him.

I maintain and will die on this hill that making Danny sing “Ich liebte sie, doch sie hat mich verraten” is a mistake. I mean, yes please let Danny tell us she loved Rebecca, but come on. Danny doesn’t lose her faith in Rebecca. She doesn’t stop idolising Rebecca. Whatever her reasons for setting Manderley on fire may be it’s not that she thinks Rebecca betrayed her. I don’t even think Danny thinks highly enough of herself to even consider feeling betrayed by Rebecca. Rebecca is god to her.

I definitely have more, but this post is really long and I’m running out of steam… Hope you enjoyed!

[wistfulwatcher]

Well, so then you won't be bothered if I put on...

[skeeverboy]

hi i love making lists and rankings. this is my ranking of all tfb albums from worst to best.

yes i've ranked tfb albums before im trying to go more in depth on this one and also my opinions may or may not have changed

Going Grey

It's experimental. It's stylistically different from the albums leading up to it. It's branching in a new direction, their first step into a slightly more pop sound. And it is boring.

A couple tracks sound the same to me. There's no pull factor for me, it's all around just kind of dull when compared to other TFB albums.

That is to say, though, I do love this album. Peace Sign goes hard, love the connection to Tie Dye Dragon. You Used to Say is a pretty solid opener. Vacation Town is a classic (though it is overplayed ngl)

8.4/10

In Sickness & In Flames

I love this album, I really do. Stylistically I think it's really significant to the TFB timeline, marking their journey into the more pop side that they're exploring recently. There are some absolute BANGERS also - love bus beat, love montgomery forever, love Fairbanks, Alaska. This was also the most recent album when I started listening to TFB.

With that, I think a lot of the album is kind of forgettable. I mean, come on- new song d, the hard way, make way, love at first sight. I forget they exist. Also, for some reason, I just cannot stand everyone blooms and it's the opener to the album. It puts a bad taste in my mouth for the entire thing.

8.9/10

You Are Who You Hang Out With

I reviewed this album on my other blog and gave it an 8.6 but that's changing today because my opinions are subjective and change every hour. This album is great, I don't care what anyone says. Most of the time I genuinely think the autotune and heavy editing works.

It did take some time for me to get used to it, not going to lie. I loved Outlook when it came out, but Emotional was... rough at first. It's absolutely warmed up to me, though. It can feel kind of repetitive sometimes, but I really like how they experimented with style and put out something truly unique.

9.0/10

My Grandma Vs. Pneumonia

I am such a sucker for 2000s/early 2010s TFB. I love the raw sound, and this shit is the DEFINITION of raw and unfiltered. I love this album with all my heart, I love the vocals (controversial, I know), I love the style, I love the simplicity and the lyrical style.

Some of this album is a little forgettable, and there are a few in here that were remade to just be so much better. The Theresa version of Supply of Power and the Rose version of Flying Model Rockets absolutely desimate and are just incredible. Though, I will say, the original I Think Your Nose Is Bleeding is better.

Definitely a hit or miss depending on who you are, but I am the type of person to EAT THIS SHIT UP.

9.3/10

The Front Bottoms

This album is an absolute classic. Really similar in style to IHMF and MGVP but sounding just a little more polished. This album has some of the gayest songs ever.

The lyrics speak to the heart. Every track is memorable and incredible. The use of trumpet in certain tracks is really nice, though it's incorporated better in later albums.

9.5/10

Talon of the Hawk

Just an incredible album all around. It's super energetic in an absolute delightful way. It's the perfect blend of their older kind of rough folk-y style while remaining polished and sounding complete. Older albums often sound like they're unfinished demos. Not TotH.

The use of trumpet and other instruments is strong. Some of TFB's most iconic songs are in this album. The knife is iconic. It is the Front Bottoms album.

9.7/10

Back on Top

I love this album so fucking much. Every song is incredible. The style, with the heavy use of electric guitar, is wonderful. It feels very light, very summery.

While it's less iconic than TotH, I'd say some of the most underrated songs are in Back on Top. 2YL, Ginger, The Plan, HELP, all absolutely breathtaking songs.

God I love this album.

9.9/10

I Hate My Friends

This is the most biased top pick ever. But yeah, this is one of my favorite albums of all time, maybe even my favorite of all time. I love the old TFB sound, I love the lyrics, I love the subject matter, I love the immature angst, I just overall love it so much.

I'm getting a fucking tattoo of this album, I have to put it at the top.

10/10

[could-be-calliope]

Most incongruous thing I've learned about Robert Evans in a long time is that he's a devoted musical theatre fan who loves Sweeney Todd, has a lot of respect for Stephen Sondheim, and has a lot of distaste for the disappointment that is Russell Crowe's performance in Les Miserables 2012

[nctjpeg]

idk why i feel the need to provide unsolicited opinions on the beatles at 2PM on a monday while i’m in the office BUT i find it so funny how the other 3 bitched and moaned about having to help make Paul’s “granny shit” songs because all of them were🔥BANGERS🔥

Like I will NEVER, NEVER sit through a fucking listening of Revolution #9 or whatever the fuck but Obla-Di Obla-Da? Lady Madonna? Maxwell’s Silver Hammer? When I’m Sixty-Four? Martha My Dear? I turn my volume ALL THE WAY UP📢📢📢

[littlenim]

sorry I become a different person when music polls are involved. they bring out the asshole in me I just black out and start hating

[auroral-melody]

whats your weirdly specific beef with the world. mine is that orchestral harps are too powerful and should be put down in favor of celtic harps. how dare they be able to do accidentals without manually flipping levers mid-song. tune to e flat major like the rest of us

[bubblingcolaa]

You guys remember when we used to be scared at three am

What was our problem

[mlentertainment]

is wolfgang’s 5th symphony the Best remix of beethoven’s 5th? i personally don’t think so. was it the right choice musically speaking for hi fi rush? absolutely

[fitzrove]

Random 3 am rant: the whole concept of a "pick me girl" is super (hetero)sexist and I wish it never became a thing... now some ppl are using it to call other people out for harmless if slightly pretentious things (and sometimes it's even used if they just happen to have a different opinion on something)

Like do people not realise that by looking down on "not like other girls" people and even verbally putting them down and dismissing things they do as being done just for attention from guys, you are yourself trying to assert your superiority and be "not like other girls". Even if someone does try to put down other women for no reason, you should want to help and understand them and not mock them lol (or at the very least you should be civil). Everyone should just go home to watch the Vivian and Elle scenes from legally blonde

[industrialgender]

1. why is some rando prev tagging me to argue abt aviciis hey brother

2. i was also 11-15 when it came out and it sucked then and it sucks now

[musical-chick-13]

Every single day is a fight to prevent myself from screaming the most ridiculous, pretentious music opinions in the universe.