#punk rock cyborgs

[89hitokiri]

♕R3X-✧F7-⚛M9-ΩV4

Listen to the Music

[deadinsidegraphics]

[rookshocksshack]

Sold Adopt!

im open for work, and you can find me on other sites too! https://rookshocksshack.carrd.co/

[regi-mentle-black-blog]

[dvktheartist]

Punk culture is back!

[kokonoko84]

Sometime in the not so distant future, Roxy rocks out against the system.

[that1garrulousfan]

OC AND/OR DRAWING IDEAS FOR ARTBLOCK

🌸 - Interacting with a canon character

🎀 - Dress them in your favorite outfit and/or an outfit you wish you had

🔥 - a r s o n

🎃 - Halloween costume

🦾 - Robot or cyborg

🎤 - Singing

🎁 - Reacting to a present they received or waiting for a reaction from someone they gave it to

🛍️ - Shopping

👑 - Royalty

😈 - Villain

🖤 - Emo/punk/grunge aesthetic

🪡 - Working on a sewing projecting (or crocheting!)

🔪 - Horror art

🧥 - Investigator or a detective

🎬 - Film director

🤿 - Snorkeling and/or swimming

🥸 - Disguise

🍂 - Autumn

🍀 - St. Patrick’s Day

🪖 - Soldier

👾 - 8-Bit

🧤 - Gardening

⛲️ - By a water fountain

🎄 - Decorating a Christmas tree

⚽️ - Playing soccer/football

🏀 - Playing basketball

🏈 - Playing football

🎾 - Playing tennis

🏐 - Playing volleyball

⚾️ - Playing base ball/soft ball

🏓 - Playing ping pong

🪵 - Gathering firewood or just with logs/wood

🎡 - At a carnival

🕷️- Reaction to a spider

💐 - Giving or receiving flowers

💌 - Confession

😒 - Annoyed and/or sarcastic

🤣 - Laughing

🎫 - Buying tickets

✈️ - In an airplane or at an airport or boarding the plane

🐚 - Collecting seashells and/or at the beach

🤩 - Amazed

🌝 - Waiting for a reaction (specifically a prank or something obvious or “You’ll see” expression)

🎮 - Playing video games

🍔 - Eating a burger or other fast food

🎒 - Buying school supplies and/or getting ready for school

☔️- Standing in the rain with an umbrella

🌂 - Going out into the rain

🚗 - Driving and/or driving test

💅 - Painting nails

🧣 - Wearing a scarf

🤳 - Selfie (maybe with a few friends)

🪺 - Stumbling across a bird’s nest

🍳 - Making breakfast

🛹 - Skateboarding

🥧 - Baking a pie and/or cake

🪩 - Dancing and/or at a party

🤡 - The character’s most embarrassing moment

✨ - Star gazing

⛳️ - Playing golf

🪅 - Breaking a piñata

❄️ - In the snow

🛝 - In a liminal space

🐍 - Their reaction to a snake

🍉 - Eating a fruit

🍽️ - Setting up a table (maybe as a waiter for a restaurant or just a family/friend dinner?)

🕶️ - Wearing cool shades

🥠 - Opening a fortune cookie

🩰 - Ballet

🎼 - Learning and/or practicing music

🎯 - Playing with darts

🚲- Riding a bike

🛴 - Riding a scooter

🎪 - At a circus (maybe a d i g i t a l one???)

🖼️ - Admiring art (or not)

🍋 - Trying to eat this

🍨 - Eating an ice cream

🥯 - “A bagel… Two bagels.”

🎢 - On a roller coaster

🎭 - Acting

🛶 - Kayaking or canoeing

📸 - Taking pictures of random objects for no reason :]

🪐 - Trip to space and/or on a planet

💻 - Working on something on the computer

🙌 - With something they admire

🌶️ - Trying a spicy pepper

🫖 - TEA PARTY

🪨 - Rock climbing

🪃 “Wanna know the difference between your honor and my boomerang, Zuko?” “What?” “Your honor will never come back.” “THAT’S NOT FUNNY, SOKKA—“

⛽️ - Getting gas

🧭 - Using a campus

🏕️ - Camping

🌳 - Sitting under a tree

I may reblog and add more later but I hope this helps for now!! Best of luck y’all!! 💖

[harmonypunkrock]

One thing I haven't talked about here is how the Harmonies have animal partners that turn into giant cyborg Beasts. They call them Beasts of Peace or BOPs for short. The antagonists also have Beasts, known as Beasts of Burden or BOBs. So yes, this comic will have kaiju fights. I'm going to keep the other Beasts a secret until the comic comes out (we'll be making an announcement as to when later this year), but I'll share art and stuff of Punk Rock's Beast, Hahana aka Leaf Nose! She's a Honduran white bat and when transformed she gets sparkly laser wings.

Art by @kaban-bang

[tardistogongen]

My first ever Audiobook, Death and Doubling Cubes, has now dropped! Explore a world of living memories, rock and roll, steam punk cyborgs, and weird aliens in this wild novel performed in audio by David Winter! I'm SO excited to actually have one of my books in audio like this!? Check this out, you'll have a great time.

[superluigiglitchy]

Super Glitchy Heroes (Villains don't got nothing on these Dumbasses)

SMG4 is your average everyday meme nerd who is constantly terrorized by his supposed archnemesis SMG3 at his school, Mushroom Highschool and having started a new dreadful year it only make sense on the first of school he immediately gets sent to detention only to accidentally make friends with other detention goes

Mario the school idiot with a shockingly golden heart and a deep loyalty to his friends, Luigi his scaredy cat brother who is built like a truck and shares the same golden heart and loyalty with his brother and who may also be a little fruity, Meggy they're adoptive younger sister whom they found unconscious on the beach one day and took her in who also happens to bean amnesiac, Tari the sweethearted cyborg who loves video games and ducks who no one knows HOW she ended up in detention not even she knows, Saiko Tari's begruding best friend and a punk with a rough and tough exterior who won't hesistate to kick your ass, Bob the school smuggler and aspiring rapper who often gets his ovaries rocked, and Boopkins his reluctant partner in crime who is a total weeb and is often a target of bullying

now you'd think with this premise SMG4 would be in a slice of life anime with friendships and other mushy heartfelt stuff, well your not wrong, it was that way for about 2 weeks

until the gang stumbled across an alien space ship and accidentally got super powers

yeah

Mario and Luigi can do this crazy jumping shit, tari can enter technology now, saiko has super strength, boopkins embraces his fishy moniker and has become part fish, BOB HAS BLADE HANDS, SMG4 can no summon memes, and meggy... she still has epic marksmanship skills thats its, for some reason the powers skipped her (she got a killer migraine though)

oh and SMG3 and his weird friends were there too... yeah thats not good

so now the Glitchy Gang are being trained by 2 aliens named SMG1 and SMG2 who were sent to this universe to prevent SMG0 from taking it over and killing everyone, so much for a boring school year

now having to juggle between training they're new powers, the usual angst of high school, fighting bad guys, gay awakenings and growing pains, will our heroes save the universe and solve the mysteries surrounding they're lives now or will shit hit the fan and everything gets engulfed in flames with mario's stupid ass in the center of it all

and what's with Meggy's weird past coming to haunt her via dreams?? that's wierd af

[inioranackatori]

Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale, Part 2

I have little reason not to, so here we go. I’m going to poke and/or rant at every single eye catch tech spec in GaoGaiGar. The vanilla King of Braves only; I’m not touching Final with its funky formatting.

Speaking of funky, let’s talk about Guy Shishioh.

Guy Shishioh. The son of benevolent mad scientist Leo Shishioh. Astronaut and only person on board a super-classified shuttle at the ripe age of eighteen. Which means Guy is a chip of the old block and is a certified, certifiable genius.

We’ll skip over the obvious and hop straight to the bottom of the list: GS Ride Class Classified. This makes sense: Guy is an experimental cyborg. His very existence is classified, so of course his power source is classified.

Height: 201 cm. Just over six and a half feet tall. That’s a foot taller than the average, and around half a foot shorter than Soldato-J.

Weight: 125 kg. 275.6 lbs. A perfectly normal, respectable weight given his height and musculature.

Nothing really outstanding here, either. The Machineheart is a nice punk rock name band, though I’m fairly certain it’s a reference.

What does stand out to me is the power supply. Hi-Density Tubeler Battery. Tubeler, in this case, being a misspelling of tubular. The tubes are here:

Yup. Guy’s hair is a bunch of batteries. Which has got to make his hair care regiment… shocking.

Equip response time of two seconds. Note, here, Equip does not mean “put on all the armor”. It means putting on the helmet, activating the scanner thing built into it, and turning on the hair batteries. The batteries give him a 30% boost to power - the listed Power Up stat - and he can gain an additional 15% up when activating emergency powers. All the stat boosts are in the amazing hair.

The actual time to put on the whole armor set is unlisted. But we’ll get more into the full armor later. For now, let’s hit the last point.

Speed: 61.5 km/h. That’s about 38 miles per hour using the imperial system. That’s as fast as a greyhound dog. Or if you prefer -

Guy is as fast as a cheetah.

Wait… Something must be wrong. The absurd giant robot show doesn’t have absurd stats for its protagonist?

Nope! There it is!

“But Iniora,” I can hear you asking. “How is a knife absurd?” Two words.

Variable. Sharpness.

The sharpness is tied to Guy’s will power. The greater Guy’s will, the sharper the Will Knife becomes.

That means Guy can cut down a door with the strength of his will alone.

[emmalostinwonderland]

Inspiration weekend!

Thanks for the tag @firenati0n 🥰

The WIP I’m actively working on rn is of course Butterflies & Tummy Aches which is my FirstPrince soulmate AU with shared senses and food-related shenanigans.

It was initially inspired by Sweet Tooth, which is one of my fav Royal and the Serpent songs. I’m doing a whole RATS-inspired series this year - lmk if y’all want to hear about any of the pending ones (the punk rock au, the rehab au, the cyborg au… etc).

I also took inspiration from a Stucky fic which introduced to me the concept of sense-sharing as a soulmate marker. I have been thinking about this AU since I first read it; it’s practically my Roman Empire by now. Cannot recommend enough How to Fuck With (and Feed) Your Soulmate by BlueSimplicity on ao3

Tags below the cut! Hope it’s ok that I’m breaching fandom containment here but I’m trying not to tag people who have already gotten one

@bluesimplicity73 @louikazooie @earlgrey-lateatnight @babygirlbridger @materassassino @malakia215 @insertmeaningfulusername

[snobgoblin]

something for next gen I've had trouble doing is like. choosing which music genres they should represent. because like with original Gorillaz it's obvious and reinstated a lot, 2-D is electronica and Murdoc is rock and Russel is hip hop and Noodle is....... I can't really figure her out tbh it's a little bit poppy but not mainstream necessarily. anyway with next gen pretty much the only ones I have solid are like... Cyborg Tucker is goth music and Barb is barbershop quartet music- but then it gets a little bit messy like yeah Tucker is rap but he also loves chiptune music and Y2K is so hard in the electronica direction but equally as hard for punk music and they love pop and rap, too and Flower loves psychedelic music and grunge and the blues its like hm........ it really should be a bit more concise but I'll worry about it later

[jaijaitbinks]

A Long Collection of inessential Genos, Saitama, and GenoSai headcanons that gradually get more chaotic

Individual Headcanons:

Saitama has no connection with his parents whatsoever. He practically raised himself. And, as a result, he hasn't had much of a childhood, and he isn't as knowledgeable as he should be about certain subjects due to lack of role models to teach him (projection go brr)

Genos initially learned how to cook si he could provide for Kuseno whenever he stopped by, because he secretly always felt bad for being a "burden" and for distancing himself from the man for the first 1 1/2 years since becoming a cyborg. He and Kuseno spoke about his feelings, however, and now he just learns cuz he gets bored on his hunt for the Mad Cyborg sometimes.

Saitama used to have trichotillomania, and it was what he first thought caused his hair loss. Additionally, after about a month of having godly strength, he knows the exact reason why he lost his hair (and no, it was not his strength. Kinda.)

Genos simultaneously loves autumn and hates it. Loves it cuz pretty, hates it cuz overactive (and edgy teen) brain is reminded of dying almost every time the season comes.

Saitama has ADHD-PI (ADHD predominantly inattentive). He is also autistic, with auditory and vestibular stims.

Genos has ADHD-HI (ADHD hyperactive-impulsive). Like Saitama, he has autism as well, but he has visual stims (he likes to zoom in and out on stuff with his robo eyes)

Saitama sees himself as a person heavily leaning towards Masc., and he's only ever known to be a man, but if someone somehow thought/referred to him as a different gender, he wouldn't care. (To this day, he justifies it as him not caring enough about a small mistake like that)

Genos also does not give a fuck if you thought of/referred to him as a different gender. He's too concerned about the Mad Cyborg to care whenever it happens.

Saitama has two exes. A shitty one and a chill one. He doesn't talk to either of them, but he did see them on the same day sometime after Genos moved in.

Genos has a massive soft spot for symbolism, major and small things alike. Aka: give him symbolic flowers and he probably won't throw them away immediately.

Saitama bites his nails when he's anxious. His palms are very calloused, too, compared to the rest of his skin.

Genos likes ducks—specifically Plumed Whistling ducks. He just thinks the feathers are neat.

Saitama loves lykois ("werewolf cats"). He spent 4 years begging his mom to get him one when he found out they existed. It didn't work.

Genos specifically asked Kuseno to make his latest arm set black because Saitama had told him once that black suited him.

Saitama used to be a D&D (or OPM universe equivalent) nerd when he was a young teen. He dropped it cuz of high school bullies (teachers included)

Genos sense of humor is just anything bizarre and loud.

Saitama takes long showers because he likes being enveloped in hot water. (Aka: he's touch starved to the 3rd degree)

Genos considered having Kuseno change his hair brown when he was 15.

Saitama despises beaches. Apart from the views, he hates everything about them and will actually go on a passionate rant about them.

Genos knows how to drive. Saitama doesn't.

Saitama used to work as an actor for a haunted house when he was 17.

Genos went through a grunge phase when he was 15.

Saitama knows how to steal without being caught, but he never uses that knowledge.

Genos eats straight sugar sometimes.

Saitama used to collect rocks, sticks, and marbles. He still has a few of those, sitting in a duffel bag he has in his closet.

Genos once got a shitty sticker stuck on his arm and couldn't get rid of it for a full week.

Saitama, prior to meeting Genos, used to go dumpster diving for paint cans so he could put graffiti on abandoned buildings.

Genos picked a fight with a squirrel once in his late teen years for "disrespecting Dr. Kuseno's property"

Saitama once put a hole in the wall from headbanging to music (punk rock, specifically). He put a ban on himself to never listen to it in the house again.

Genos spent an entire day chasing down a dog that took off with his (broken off) arm.

Saitama got stuck in a strip club overnight twice. Both times he was drunk and woke up under the stages. He snuck out when the clubs opened up again.

Genos burned half of Kuseno's hair when he was first learning how to use his fire attacks. He felt bad and burned his own to make it even.

Saitama snuck into his school during the night just to get back his favorite pencil that he left in his locker. He somehow didn't get caught.

Genos, before he learned proper combat, he used to have a "grab whatever's close and throw it" type of style of fighting. More often than not, it was usually chairs and tables he threw.

[taste-in-music]

taste-in-music’s top 30 songs of 2022

Hello everyone! Welcome back to my annual countdown of my 30 favorite songs of the year. 2022 had a lot of great music releases, and I’m so excited to recount the songs I replayed throughout the year. Now, on with the list!

This year was so jam-packed I have ten honorable mentions to share before we get to the list proper: tears in the club by FKA Twigs ft. The Weeknd, Destination l’amour by Pi Ja Ma, Little Freak by Harry Styles, Fast Times by Sabrina Carpenter, EMPATHY 4 BETHANY by Saya Gray, Be Cool by Maggie Rogers, This Hell by Rina Sawayama, Heavy Heart by Bartees Strange, Karma by Taylor Swift, and Shotgun by Soccer Mommy

F2F by SZA: “F2F” was a fast favorite that came late in the year, mostly for how pleasantly surprising it was. The 2000s pop-punk revival has been percolating for the past few years, and SZA’s entry into the genre suits her frighteningly well. She’s written on the complications of revenge sex and missing an ex before, but the area-ready bombast of the guitar-driven instrumental elevates it to the next level. It may have looked to the past for sonic inspiration, but it feels fresh.

君に夢中 (Kimini Muchuu) by Hikaru Utada: I didn’t know what to expect when I clicked play on J-pop icon Hikaru Utada’s new album on a whim, but when I heard “君に夢中,” which translates to “crazy about you” in English, I was immediately struck by a feeling of familiarity. It may be because the opening synth riff reminds me of “Boys Of Summer,” it may be Utada’s impassioned delivery, it may be the rattling hi-hats that instate an undeniable groove on the song’s back end. Whatever it is, Utada managed to capture something ethereal on this track, and I can’t wait to explore more of her catalogue in the future.  

Flower (In Full Bloom) by Luna Li ft. Dreamer Isioma: Romantic angst never sounded so damn dreamy. On “Flower (In Full Bloom),” Luna Li pleads with a lover that refuses to put in the effort in a relationship, while Dreamer Isioma provides the opposing perspective speaking about how the spark has already died. As the song progresses, the cushy soundscape of twinkling keys escalates to a bitching guitar solo that makes for one hell of a final moment.

Kissing Lessons by Lucy Dacus: If nothing else, “Kissing Lessons” is a marvel of concision. Each detail Dacus compiles, bracelet charms, hair tosses, dreams of buying a three-story house, all come together to form a rich vignette about a young girl’s budding sexuality and growing inculcation into gender roles in just under two minutes. Place those details over a rollicking rock instrumental and you’ve got on special sucker punch of a song that gives you just enough to want to know more. The only choice, then, is to hit repeat.

It’s Raining by Superorganism ft. Dylan Cartlidge and Stephen Malkmus: For Superorganism, there is no sample too silly, no instrumental flourish too strange to throw into their melting pot. Describing “It’s Raining” from their sophomore album World Wide Pop means describing the barrage of baffling moments it throws at warp speed. Frontwoman Orono Noguchi sings about a “cyborg grilled-cheese-sandwich machine” over thunderclaps. English rapper Dylan Cartlidge spits bars about Elon Musk over a backing chorus of what sounds like demented Muppets. Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus’s lyrics about riding a horse-drawn carriage are ushered in with clip-clopping hooves and a sample of a neigh. These moments come together to form a loopy, loping confection that’s as absurd as it is addictive.

Superfan by Chelsea Jade: On “Superfan,” Chelsea Jade navigates the blurred lines of talking to a crush, a situation where you’re trading adversarial jabs and confrontational quips and you can never tell if you’re flirting or fighting. Ultimately, Jade reveals the obsession lying beneath the surface, identifying herself as a “superfan” trying to play it cool. Driving home the playful awkwardness is Jade’s use of vocal samples throughout, whether they’re narrating along to her conversation or splicing through the chorus with hiccup-y clips of harmonization. It’s a song that cuts through the guise to reveal the vulnerability at its core.

Holding Back by BANKS: In the years since her debut, BANKS has become my go-to artist for electropop bangers that conjure emotional vulnerability and goddess-level confidence alike. “Holding Back” may be an outpouring of memories in the wake of a doomed relationship, but the hard-hitting electronic groove and boosted bass breathe new life into a familiar concept. As BANKS switches between vulnerable coos and full-chested belts, she unleashes the innermost desire for her care to be reciprocated. “I wrote you a melody,” she sings in the chorus, “can’t you see that?”

Whatever Fits Together by Skullcrusher: Skullcrusher has perfected the art of weaving immersive tapestries from whispy sonic fragments, a strummed guitar here, a gossamer synthesizer there, a lyrical fragment about leaving home to tie it all into a single package. “Whatever Fits Together” pulls disparate pieces from their distinct places in the ether to form something transient and melancholy, the mournful tone of Helen Ballentine’s voice balanced by a sunny tambourine. It’s ephemeral, it’s beautiful, it all fits together perfectly.

Another Man’s Jeans by Ashe: Ashe may have broken onto the pop scene with brokenhearted ballads, but there’s always been a confidence and cleverness to her delivery that’s made her stand out. On her comeback single “Another Man’s Jeans,” she douses her witty songwriting with pure funk concentrate and struts through a kiss-off to a situationship with more swagger than she’s ever showcased on tape before. It makes for one of the most fun party jams of the year.

girlfriend by hemlocke springs: I first encountered hemlocke springs via an Instagram Reel where she posted a video propositioning “do u wanna hear the weirdest bridge you’ll ever hear in ur entire life?” The subsequent bridge shows springs hurling her voice up and down the scale with reckless abandon over a spritely synth groove, and wile it might not be the “weirdest bridge” I’ve ever heard, it certainly was one of the most memorable the year had to offer. The rest of the song, a blasé kiss-off to a potential suitor, pulls of the rare achievement for a viral song and lives up to the catchiness of the initial clip.

Spitting Off the Edge of the World by Yeah Yeah Yeahs ft. Perfume Genius: “Spitting Off The Edge of the World” is awesome in the archaic sense, encapsulating the simultaneous awe and terror that comes from facing something so much bigger than yourself. It’s a song that earns it galactic sense of scope from the quiet moments it provides to contrast it, as Karen O and Perfume Genius trade demure, flitting verses before the chorus kicks in on the heels of a larger-than-life barrage synths and guitars. It’s titanic, it’s triumphant, it’s just awesome, (in that it’s also just damn great.)

The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen ft. Rufus Wainwright: I remember when this song was released just ahead of The Loneliest Time album and questioning how this collaboration could possibly work. As soon as I heard it, the answer was clear: never question Carly Rae Jepsen. At this point, Jepsen has boiled pop music down to a science, but that doesn’t mean it’s sterile or forced. The string-adorned, disco-inflected groove on “The Loneliest Time” is the perfect landscape for Jepsen and Wainwright to trade verses about giving an old flame a second chance. It all culminates in that excellent bridge where Jepsen enthusiastically declares “I’m coming back for you baby / I’m coming back for you!” I, too, will continue coming back to this song, and Jepsen’s catalogue as a whole, when I need a pick up from my own personal loneliest times.  

fairy song by beabadoobee: Throughout her second album Beatopia, beabadoobee’s jaunty melodies and sugar-sweet vocals just barely cover a greater desperation for care and connection percolating beneath the surface. The best demonstration of this is “fairy song,” where a running list of self-care tasks atop perky pianos slowly cracks apart until it fully breaks into a buzzy whirlwind of distortion and beabadoobee’ screams just barely audible in the background. Then, just as the pandemonium reaches its peak, the song pulls itself back together and returns to the chipper atmosphere it began with. Ignoring one’s distress will only take you so far before the weight becomes too much to bear. Sometimes, drinking water and going outside isn’t enough. Letting the mess fly free every so often might just be the key to moving forward.

Cardigan by Sophie Cates: “Cardigan” is my silly pop song of the year, the track I turned to when I needed an instant sugar rush of endorphins. Sure, Sophie Cates rhymes “again” with “again” with “cardigan” with “again” again on the hook, but when it's set against the most instantly catchy melody of 2022, I hardly even notice. That’s not a slight against Cates’s writing though, the other choice details she employs throughout the song paint a vivid picture of a romance that’s lost its sparkle, and the wistful desire for the magic to return. It’s that undercurrent of longing that elevates “Cardigan” from being just a silly pop song to a great silly pop song, one that sticks around long after the initial rush has passed. 

Bump by Dora Jar: Dora Jar’s music captures the dark whimsy of a fairy tale, but the real fairy tales where the pixie dust and glass slippers come with a hungry wolf or vengeful witch lurking in the shadows. It’s a musical world that’s a little spooky, rife with curiosity, and lit up with a flicker of excitement. “Bump” is one of the best demonstrations of this quality, with Dora Jar describing the wonder of a chance encounter that may escalate into something more. The song is accented with astonished gaps, a swampy chorus of backing vocals, and an air-tight beat. It’s sweet and wondrous and a little claustrophobic, sonically capturing that tight-throated, heart-hammering anticipation to see what comes next.

In The Eyes Of Our Love by Yumi Zouma: “In The Eyes Of Our Love” is good in a way that just feels obvious, providing a breezy yet danceable energy that’s poised to play out the romantic climax of a teen movie from the 90s. Beneath its cheery surface, though, is a tremor of anxiety. Lead vocalist Christie Simpson signs of crumbling walls, splitting lips, and looming storms, worries that accelerate and melt away over the song's duration. Every great pop song grows all the greater with a sense of urgency, and “In The Eyes Of Our Love” threads that needle effortlessly while still being danceable as hell. What more could you want?

Part Of The Band by The 1975: Over the past few years, The 1975 have twisted the anthemic pop-rock that put them on the map to reveal the absurdity and anxiety at the heart of modern life. On “Part Of The Band,” the band’s first single off their 2022 album Being Funny In A Foreign Language, frontman Matty Healy’s musings on social upheaval are equal parts hilarious and insightful. After stuffing the song full of dizzying rhymes, (“vaccinista tote bag-chic baristas” with “communista keisters” especially comes to mind,) Healy finishes on a searing moment of self-reflection: “am I just some post-coke, average, skinny bloke / calling his ego imagination?” With a twitchily elegant backdrop crafted from plucky string swells, chopped-up vocal samples, and quivering synths, it’s a song whose catchiness, cleverness, and creativity lives up to the critiques on display.

ALIEN SUPERSTAR by Beyoncé: It was difficult to pick a favorite track from RENAISSANCE, an album so consistently excellent in its delivery of dancefloor euphoria. In the end, I had to go with the self-love celebration “ALIEN SUPERSTAR.” Every element of this song oozes self-assurance, from the spacy disco instrumental to Beyoncé’s vocals, which switch from sensual cooing to a British accent-inflected declarations to braggadocious belting at the drop of a hat. The result is a track poised to dominate dancefloors across the galaxy for years to come, and who’s surprised? She’s one of one. She’s number one. She’s the only one.

Nothing Gives Me Pleasure by Girlpool: I clicked play on Girlpool’s fifth album Forgiveness without any clear expectations. I certainly wasn’t expecting to be blasted with a wave of distorted synths followed by the most memorable opening line of the year: “Do you even want me if I even have to ask? / Break it to me gently with your fingers up my ass.” It’s an unforgettable one-two punch that immediately establishes the core themes of the album, trying to reconcile the desire for emotional and physical intimacy, and how those desires often conflict with and contradict one another. “Nothing Gives Me Pleasure” walks the power balance in a relationship built on mismatched expectations, trying to sate yourself with sex and coming up short. The soundscape skitters and heaves, the distortion ratcheting up as Harmony Tividad reiterates the title line over and over: “Nothing gives me pleasure like the words I know you won’t say.” 

cool by Uffie: Uffie made a name for herself in the bloghouse scene of the early 2010s, a musical moment defined by glitchy earworms, a punkish dedication to keeping the party going as long as possible, and lots and lots of glitter. For her 2021 comeback single with Company Records, “cool,” Uffie evolves the quirky maximalism of her past into something slick, modern, and effortlessly, well, cool. On “cool,” Uffie digs for gold in moments of stillness amidst chaos, chronicling moments of reprieve during a night out: sleepy Uber rides, poolside kisses, eating cereal with her partner. The best demonstration of this comes when, at the precipice of each chorus, all the music cuts out for a moment before Uffie ushers in the razor-sharp groove with a simple utterance of the song’s title, delivered with a blasé surety of someone who’s seen it all. As she sings in the song’s third verse, she’s “got nothing left to prove.” 

HENTAI by ROSALÍA: Amidst the raucous genreclash that makes up the rest of the MOTOMAMI tracklist, the gentle pianos of “HENTAI” may initially feel a bit out of place. But if you listen closely, there’s much to discover beneath its deceptively simple surface. First off, the lyrics are filthy as hell, (I know, big surprise for a song literally called “HENTAI,”) but the cheeky references to bike riding and tape making are balanced out by a tender backdrop that knows when to up the bombast. Whether it be the barely-there string flourishes, fluttering vocal runs, or the skittering blast of drums that drives the song’s closing moments home, “HENTAI” provides just enough off-kilter details that make the song transcend from mere sexy piano ballad into only “La ROSALÍA” could provide.

Simulation Swarm by Big Thief: Despite Big Thief’s fifth album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You dropping all the way back in February, I found “Simulation Swarm” shamefully late in the year. But as soon as I heard it, I knew it would be on this list, and pretty high up too. Adrianne Lenker crafts songs that are immediately familiar, like I must have been listening to them from childhood. The details she employs throughout "Simulation Swarm” balance beauty and malice, painting the dark fairy tale and casual terror of modern life “crystal blood like a dream true,” “swallows in the windless field,” “river of light who I love / That I sing to in the belly of the empty night.” Set against a locomotive folk instrumental, “Simulation Swarm” feels like a gentle hug from the abyss, voicing the ability to face danger and walk forward with hope. 

Till We Run Out Of Air by Hatchie: I thought I knew what to expect going into Hatchie’s sophomore album Giving The World Away. Early singles like “Quicksand” and “This Enchanted” delivered another helping of the joyful shoegaze pop she’s been delivering for years. It’s a sound I’m always willing to gobble up, but there was an echo of something greater hovering right beneath the surface. With the final song on the album, Hatchie delivered a falcon punch of a finale that transforms that spark into a fireworks show. With its susurrus of swirling, watery synths and arena-ready chorus, “Till We Run Out Of Air” plows right through me with each repeated spin. It’s a song enraptured in the fine line between destruction and exhilaration, tracing the final moments in a romance with larger-than-life bombast. Perhaps the best encapsulation of this euphoria comes at the precipice of the chorus. “Open the curtains and let in the light,” Hatchie sings, before a glowing blossom of synths barrels the listener right into the song’s most anthemic refrain. It’s like the light at the end of the tunnel finally breaking through the darkness at just the right moment.

doomsday by Lizzie McAlpine: On her second album five seconds flat, Lizzy McAlpine elevated her personal songwriting with a cinematic scope. This approach is immediately introduced on the album’s opening “doomsday,” a slow-burning ballad chronicling a breakup though the lens of hindsight. McAlpine circles through deathly metaphors throughout the song: pulling the plug, violent ends, her partner as a “murderer” initiating their split on Halloween, the sample of a bone being split in half. This ghoulish gravitas of is backed up by an orchestral swell that makes the melodrama feel earned. These compounding elements build up the song’s momentum until McAlpine’s final revelation slams into you at full force: “I would’ve married you / If you’d stuck around / I feel more free than I have in years / Six feet in the ground.” The relationship may be dead and gone, but McAlpine makes it clear that she’s only getting started.

Lullabye by Grace Ives: Throughout Janky Star, Grace Ives concocts idea-stuffed soundscapes that vacillate between the anxieties and thrills of young adulthood. The earworms come so casually that they even materialize in the album’s moments of brevity. “Lullabye” is a perfect example of this. As the album’s closer, it shows the chaos winding down, giving way to moments of reflection. Ives’s breathily narrates the “lovely mess” of her life: watching movies on repeat, casually attempting gymnastics moves in the kitchen, and swapping confessions with a loved one late into the night. Set against gauzy landscape of synths, skittering drums, and chirpy backing vocals, I turned to the casual wisdom of “Lullabye” all the times this year when life got overwhelming. “No it’s nothing to be sad about,” Ives sings in the song’s closing moments, “It’s just something I’ve been thinking about.” It’s a welcome reminder of the power ruminating on small joys can hold.

Say It by SASAMI: On her latest album Squeeze, SASAMI took to flipping white male-dominated genres like punk and metal to articulate her own rage. One of the best examples of this is “Say It,” an unapologetic frenzy of glitchy rock scuzz. In an Apple Music interview, SASAMI stated that the song was “about the pain of someone not communicating with you,” carried out as she trades places with a bassy, distorted mirror of her own voice. Situated atop a strutting groove concocted of squealing guitars, grumbling bass, and booming drums, it all comes together to form something equal parts cathartic and terrifying. “Say It” might be one of the best rock songs the year had to offer, but amidst the ruckus, it’s first and foremost a call to throw your repentance to the wind and speak your mind. 

Yuck by Charli XCX: If you’ve been on TikTok for the past year or so, odds are you’ve come across the idea of “the ick,” the moment in a romantic relationship where something as simple as watching your beau chase a ping-pong ball across the floor flips your feelings of adoration into disgust. It only makes sense that one of pop’s most forward–thinking artists would capture this cultural phenomenon with masterful specificity and simplicity. Over a bouncy synth-heavy beat, Charli XCX lays out the moment when her love interest’s gooey romantic devotion starts to drive her away. Throughout “Yuck,” she takes romantic tropes like puppy dog eyes and bouquets of roses and flips them on their head. The result is the definitive song to throw on when the candy hearts get cloying. After spending the last few years of her career pushing pop to its very limits, her latest album Crash was a welcome reminder that even without all the hyperpop flourishes, she can still write damn good and effortless catchy bangers like this.

Free by Florence + The Machine: How do you persevere in the face of suffering? seems to be the question Florence Welch fixates on most throughout her projects with Florence + The Machine. She’s turned to several places in the past: making a break for freedom on her breakout hit “Dog Days Are Over,” self-destructive love on rock bangers like “Ship To Wreck” and “Shake It Out,” and reconciliation on her previous album, High As Hope. While the definite answer for such a question may never materialize, Welch has recognized how music can be one of the most potent salves for such woes. Her 2022 album Dance Fever provides several welcome additions to Welch’s growing catalog of musical catharsis, but it was “Free,” a free-spirited banger co-written by Jack Antonoff, that ended up hitting me the hardest. “Free” taps into something primal yet graceful, a raucous recognition that sometimes, the most inspiring feelings of freedom come hand in hand with singing at the top of your lungs. “For a moment, when I'm dancing,” Welch declares with titanic vocals over a propulsive drum beat and glittering keys, “I am free.” This relief may be temporary, but for the moment, it’s nothing short of magical.

American Teenager by Ethel Cain: On her debut album Preacher’s Daughter, Ethel Cain chronicles a journey of adolescent ennui and religious turmoil through sprawling, atmospheric ballads. Before she gets into all that, she also proves that she can write a teen pop anthem for the ages. “American Teenager” is the first official song on the album, and while it may be shorter and more immediate than its predecessors, it’s no less deftly crafted. Cain harnesses the larger-than-life, anthemic synth pop of the 80s, accenting the soundscape with shining synths, booming drums, and a bright saxophone solo. While the song relishes in altruistic Americana imagery of crying on the bleachers and whiskey-fueled rebellion, Cain also acknowledges the darkness lurking beneath the jubilation on the surface. The opening verse describes her neighbor’s brother being shipped home in a coffin, “another red heart taken by the American dream.” Still, despite this darkness, there’s a hope at the core of “American Teenager” that catapults it into the stratosphere, that suggests that maybe someday, those promises might come to fruition.

touch tank by quinine: I first came across “touch tank” as a fragment on TikTok, a looping clip of quinnie lip synching along to the first few lines of the chorus: “He’s so pretty / when he goes down on me.” And what an attention-grabbing set of lines they are, it’s not everyday that you stumble across a sweet, unassuming bedroom pop song explicitly discussing cunnilingus. But it isn’t just the refreshingly matter-of-fact  references to sex that make “touch tank” stick in the memory, it’s the atmosphere of intimacy quinnie builds around those lines. In its final form, “touch tank” builds an aqueous wonderland of small yet palpably intimate moments, freshly laundered t-shirts, discovering new tattoos, choosing to be gentle. “touch tank” is a tribute to those early stages in a relationship where you’re poking and prodding with care, trying to reach tender places without drawing blood. Rounded out with warm guitars, cooing flutes, and just a twinge of vocal distortion, it’s a song that feels lived in, welcoming, drawing you deeper into its depths with each repeated spin. 

What were your favorite songs from this year? Did I miss anything? Leave a comment or tag some in the reblogs and let me know.

This year has been an absolute whirlwind, and I hope you all have some good memories from it. Here’s to a safe, healthy 2023! 

[xolta]

anime recommendations list

Ted's Big ass anime recommendation list

(probably will update when i remember more) Tv series/ovas: Ghost in the shell stand alone complex(mystery cyber punk/ political thriller/ techno babel simualtior) Trigun(Space western) FLCL(Coming of age/ wacky mind fuckery) Panty and stocking with gaterbelt(comdey) Kill la Kill(action) Fist of the north star(action) Gin Sliver fang(action/ DOGS) Hunter x hunter(adventure/ never ending series) Cowboy bebop (space adventure/sadness) Space Dandy(comedy) Jojo's bizarre adventure(depends on the part okay) Revolutionary Girl Utena (face slaping action/drama) The Rose of Versailles( Drama) Blood plus(vampire bullshit) Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac(action) Tiger Mask(wrestling) Ultimate muscle (wrestling) Lupin III(adventure/comdey) Neo Human Casshan(super hero) Charge men ken(Trash fire/ master class in shitty anime) Getter Robo(mecha) G Gundam(mecha) Yatterman(super hero) Cyborg 009 *The 2000s version i remember more(super hero) Gigantor(mecha) space pirate cobra/Space Cobra(space adventure) Armored Trooper Votoms(mecha) Kinnikuman(comdey/superhero/ wrestling) Golgo 13(manly spy action) Dragonball and dragon ball z(action) Sherlock Hound(furry comdey mystery) Bestars(Furry bullshit) Dirty Pair(space adventure) MD Geist (action) Wanna-Be's(female wrestling/ trash but fun trash) Kaiba(mind fuck/mystery) Ultraman USA(super hero/kaiju fighting) inuyasha( romance drama/rumikos wild ride) ranma 1/2(romance drama) Mad★Bull 34(fun trash) Shin Chan(comdey) Dragon half(comdey/fansty)

Dirty pair flash(scifi action) Iria: Zeiram The Animation(scifi action) Future GPX Cyber Formula Zero(future racing) Slayers(comdey fantasy) Card captor sakura (magical girl) xxxholic(drama) speed racer/mach no go go(racing/fun trash) Berserk(dark fantasy) Record of Lodoss War(fanstay) Steam Detectives(steam punk/mystery) Great Teacher Onizuka(drama/comdey) The Super Milk-Chan Show(comdey) Pokemon seasons 1-4(adventure/monster collecting) Big O (mecha/bullshit ending) Digimon season 1 (monster iskeai) RahXephon(mecha/mind fuckery) Wolf's Rain(drama mystery/ bullshit ending) Fullmetal Alchemist and brother hood(action) F-Zero: GP Legend(future racing/action adventure) Paranoia Agent(mystery/mind fuckery)

Eureka Seven(mecha) Akagi(thrilling drama) Gurren Lagann(mecha/badass) Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor(thrilling drama/) Afro samuri(action) Hellsing and hellsing ultimate(vampire tiddy sim/fun trash) Spice and Wolf(romance/drama/economics 101) Soul Eater(action) Birdy the Mighty: Decode (super hero) Puella Magi Madoka Magica(magical girl/sadness/magical girl Valhalla ) Tiger & Bunny(super hero/dilfs) Inferno cop(comdey/ stupidity) Love, Chunibyo, & Other Delusions(romance/comdey) Parasyte(action horror) My Love Story!!(romance/comdey) SHIMONETA(comdey/dirty jokes) KonoSuba(iskeai parody) Mob Psycho 100(action/supernatural) Yuri!!! on Ice(sports/romance) Made in Abyss*i only seen season 1(adventure/child endangerment) Megalo Box(sports) Banana Fish(crime drama) SSSS.Gridman(kaiju fighting super hero) Dororo 2019 version(action) Ranking of Kings(fantasy adventure/drama)

Movies: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind(fantasy adventure) Locke the Superman(super hero) Nora & twinkel rock nora( trash fires/ master class in shitty anime) Ghost in the shell(cyberpunk) Vampire Hunter D(action horror/vampire bullshit) Castle in the Sky(fantasy adventure) Guyver: Out of Control(super hero) Black Magic M-66(action) Grave of the Fireflies(drama/ why am i crying so much em up) Akira(scifi action) The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor(super hero) Kiki's Delivery Service(drama) Only Yesterday(drama/romance)

Princess Mononoke(Drama)

Howl's Moving Castle(Drama)

Spirited Away(drama)

Pom poko(comdey)

Perfect Blue(Mystery thriller)

Paprika(Thriller)

Princess Mononoke(Drama) Howl's Moving Castle(Drama) Spirited Away(drama) Pom poko(comdey) Perfect Blue(Mystery thriller) Paprika(Thriller) The Girl Who Leapt Through Time(sicfi/drama) Redline(racing) Little Witch Academia (fantasy) Marry and the witches flower(fantasy) Promare (action) Belle(musical/drama)