#so's musical retrospective

[spaceorphan18]

Glee Musical Retrospective: 4 Minutes (The Power of Madonna)

Sung by: Kurt Hummel and Mercedes Jones Original Artist(s): Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland

Baby penguin my ass.

I sometimes go back and read 'of the day' reviews, and one of them stated that this episode featured too much music. And I got to thinking, while I clearly don't agree, this is the one that would probably end up on the chopping block. I'm very glad it didn't though, because I think it has more to say than you may think.

And it's only one of two duets we get between Kurt and Mercedes.

Story Anaylsis

It's really nice to be talking about Kurt again... when is the last time???

So, here's the fascinating thing about this one. Kurt and Mercedes both often feel like they're playing second fiddle - especially to Rachel Berry. And here they get to showcase their amazing talents together. But the thing is - they got this huge performance as a thank you from Sue for making her over in Vogue. (Also - Sue is doing this as an FU to Will, but Sue is savvy enough to know talent when she sees it - and Kurt will remain one of her favorites for the rest of the series.)

The song itself is a little random story wise -- and most likely chosen because it was a highly energetic, more modern hit. It's a song about going out and saving the world in 4 minutes? Honestly - the lyrics are supposed to be about saving the planet, and having the urgency to do so. But I can finagle a few things...

I think one of the things both Kurt and Mercedes are doing here are latching onto the urgency in their own lives. Sue's giving them a chance to shine and they're both going to take it. Neither of them is willing to wait around for Will to give them a chance. So, they'll make their own chances. Which speaks to both their characters, really.

But if I die tonight At least I can say I did what I wanted to do Tell me, how bout you?

I think the lyrics are mostly not the point in this one. But I like this little stanza. It speaks to the two of them briming with their own confidence and jumping at the chance to show, at least the school, what they can do.

I'm going to quote myself from my Kurt meta:

One of the things I really love is how confident both Kurt and Mercedes are in this dance number–with the whole school watching.  Before, both of them were looked down upon, and thrown in dumpsters, and slushied, but now that they’re with the Cheerios and singing Madonna, they really latch on to a growing self-confidence.  Sure, they aren’t there yet, and they have many more obstacles to go over, but just the fact that they’re up there performing, uncaring really what anyone else thinks, is a step in the right direction.

I will say - one of the things that I've often had a hard time buying on this show is that people continually think that these kids are losers. I'd have been so amazed if I saw a performance like this in high school. There's no reason any of these kids get the hate they get except for the fact that the plot needs them to be.

Technical Thoughts

First of all - I love that they arranged this as a marching band song. Not only is it a great interpretation to the heavy sound of the original song, but it's nice to see a marching band used well on screen.

Secondly, they sound pretty good! I love Kurt in his lower register. And Mercedes just owns this song. It's not surprising that they had them switch parts because Amber is much more comfortable with kind of song than Chris and it does show a little bit in the vocal track.

The on screen charisma, though, they both have it. The fact that both Mercedes and Kurt feel so comfortable in their bodies is fantastic. Neither of them are what mainstream society would label as sexy or hot but I love, love, love that this speaks to that -- that these two are both sexy and hot in this number as they play off each other. The choreography on this is the best, and I love that they allow these characters to be in control and confident in their bodies.

Also - sometimes I don't think Chris gets enough credit. Yes, he can be clumsy and fall of a piano (oh we will get there) but sometimes he just owns his physicality in a way that is never commented on is just remarkable.

This performance also has some great reaction shots. I love that Will looks annoyed and almost disappointed. Rachel's 'no comment' was perfect. And I love that Quinn genuinely seems to be enjoying herself. (I love when Quinn gets to be a human.)

Also - super technical thing - but notice all the quick cuts and camera whips? I'm sure that was done purposely to enhance the urgency the song is trying to create.

Fun fact: Apparently, this is the last time Kurt does a duet with anyone else besides Blaine and Rachel until Adam Lambert shows up. Crazy right? Shame that the show doesn't try out varying combinations more often.

vs. The Studio Version: It's the full song! Or more so it feels like they just repeat the chorus a few more times. I do like the second half, though, because they both get into the song just a bit more and it feels even more powerful than the show version.

vs. The Original Song: I love that this song is actually 4 minutes long. It is slightly slower than Glee's version - which makes sense, because that's Glee's trend - to make everything just a little bit faster (I assume to fit into time limit of being on a tv show). As I said earlier, I think Glee's marching band interpretation is really cool - because it's a great in world adaptation of the instrumentation the original song uses. That all said, what is going on in this video? I don't get how this reflects saving the world. *shrugs*

[thcbolter]

taylor swift — the manuscript

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

I had these weird recurring dreams I had in middle school that I mostly forgot but kept using as fuel for melodramatic daydreams where I was a secret agent slowly dying by poisoning or just me, a kid, dying slowly of brain cancer and it took me like most of a year to figure out that the reason all those angsty middle schooler daydream scenarios I was playing out in my head in the car or in bed at night had a strange edge of deja vu to them because they'd started out as barely remembered dreams. I think it clicked when I was sitting in an airport waiting to board a redeye flight to visit family. there's a certain feeling about sitting in an airport when it's dark out and you're tired. everything is a little bit off. it's a liminal space by definition but as a kid it has a strange melancholy to it that somehow I felt like I'd felt before, and it scared me. it wouldn't get out of my head. I didn't know it them but I was about to spend that entire trip, nearly two weeks, locked in that strange melancholy deja vu darkness. and the thing is that a part of me enjoyed it. was compelled by it. I was scared but it wasn't in a bad way. I called it bad dreams because I didn't have any other words to explain why it made me nervously excited to daydream my own death. it was a feeling of mystery, almost, and bittersweet. but the sweet in that word comes at the end. it was melancholy and I felt like I'd been there before and would die in that feeling. but I always wanted to know more about it. always wondered about the strange recurring dreams and imaginary worlds they sparked. there was always something fascinating about those to me. it always struck something in my emotions that nothing else really can.

and that's what listening to Circa Survive feels like to me

[pansyfemme]

kinda hyped going to a musical theatre confrence tommorow and i fucking love those even tho 9/10 readings ive seen at these things suck ass

[heardatmedschool]

*Music festival is announced*

Student 1: A sugar [daddy] has never felt more necessary.

Student 2: My right kidney has never felt more unnecessary.

[camgirlkaminari]

hey my friends and i are watching the bnha musical where kurogiri is basically shiggy's vape pen but with glowing eyes (in real he's a smoke machine we think) and we were wondering what flavour vape he is? i thought you would know the answer to this.

ok so first of all, SO glad you came to me with this. this is so important. initially, my first impulse was to say OBVIOUSLY since he is purble, he must taste like grape. but then i was like no that's too obvious. too simple. perhaps he is blackberry. or funnier, watermelon breeze. or whatever. but I can't choose there's so many hilarious flavors he could be. my man is the reanimated corpse of a seventeen year old who is in charge of a bunch of unhinged 20 somethings, perhaps he is whatever Slapple Menthol™ must be. or, considering this is shiggy smoking this man, perhaps he is a clove situation: no tobacco, all spice (all the sigma males smoke clove.) eventually, defeated, i had to consult my crack team of scientists (goof chat) on this matter and it was very much a consensus:

he purble. so he taste like

[lesbianlotties]

lottievanshauna. elaborate

okay. SO. i don't have that many coherent thoughts but

this is lottie looking at shauna

this is van looking at lottie

and this is shauna fucking biting van

and shauna and lottie laready had gay sex (shauna almost beat her to death)

so. naturally, i think they're all in love

[residentinsomniacartist]

hello everyone! please go listen to ‘Strawberry Wine’ by Noah Kahan and think about Caleb and the blumentrio while you do. it’s so sweet and sad and it’s so perfect for them, my heart can’t take it

like? do you hear?? these lyrics?? they so perfectly encapsulate how Caleb thinks of him and Astrid and Eadwulf. they loved each other deeply. they were forced together due to circumstance. he misses them dearly every day. he could never be with them again.

“If I could lose you, I would”

“Strawberry wine, and all the time we used to have/Those things I miss, but know are never coming back”

“If I was empty space and you were a formless shape, we’d fit/But love leaves little runway, and every time we run/Straight over it”

and “No thing defines a man like love that makes him soft” followed by “for a moment, I see you” reminds me so vividly of drunk Caleb mistaking Jester for Astrid, and it makes me wonder how many other times his new family reminded him of his old one.

did Fjord ever laugh like Eadwulf? did Molly have the same taste in drinks as Astrid? did Caduceus and the Wildmother remind him of Eadwulf and the Raven Queen? did he ever give Astrid the same wildflowers that Yasha had pressed in her journal? did he ever wake up curled beside the Nein in the dome and think, for just a brief moment, he was somewhere else, huddled against a different band of ragtag wannabes?

[spaceorphan18]

Glee Musical Retrospective : Hello (Hell-O)

Sung by: Rachel Berry and Jesse St. James Original Artist(s): Lionel Richie

I have to ask - what libraries have a piano in them? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of people trying to study? Anyway...

I have a confession to make. My first watch through of the show, I really did not like Jesse St. James. Like, at all. And somehow over the past few years, I've really just fallen in love with Jonathan Groff. And I've come back to Jesse St. James with a greater appreciation.

So, let's dig in!

Story Analysis

You had me at hello....

A couple of things right off the bat - continuing with our 'hello' theme - we have a new character! So, of course, we are saying /hello/ to Jesse St. James. Is it blunt? Well, yes, but it's also Glee.

So, here's the thing -- right after Rachel gets her heart smashed by Finn, this random guy shows up who hits every once of Rachel's fantasy kinks, then sits down to do an impromptu piano ballad duet with her so... it's no surprise that Rachel just melts like a puddle.

Jesse clearly knows what he's doing. Did he do his research? Or does he just understand Rachel on a more fundamental level because they are both cut from the same cloth? Hard to say -- but this song really works for an initial introduction.

I've been alone with you inside my mind And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times I sometimes see you pass outside my door Hello, is it me you're looking for?

This song is just kind of perfect for this dynamic. Jesse is singing to her soul. How often has Rachel just sat and daydreamed -- about Finn, about any guy really just wandering to her and being the perfect match. And here Jesse is singing what she's feeling. It's instantly mesmerizing.

I can see it in your eyes I can see it in your smile You're all I've ever wanted And my arms are open wide Cause you know just what to say And you know just what to do And I want to tell you so much I love you

Again - he is playing to her wants and needs and fantasies. Not only is he everything that /she's/ always wanted -- but he's singing back to her that she's all that he wants. It's a fever dream -- where some guy is telling her all the romantic things that she never had told to her -- that she never thought would be told to her.

And it's especially impactful that this comes after Finn dumping her. Because even before this -- Finn was such hard work to get to admit his feelings for her. And here's someone who now speaks her language, and bam! instant connection and Rachel can hardly contain herself.

Rachel comes into the duet here, too -- which amplifies the effect that she's buying into her fantasy coming true. She's hesitant just a little at first, but then pushes in rather quickly. Rachel's a pretty dramatic girl, leaning into self indulgence, but Jesse's willing to play into that. Sure, we don't know at the moment that he's purposely playing her, but he's just as dramatic and there is a pull there between them.

Sometimes I feel my heart will overflow Hello, I've just got to let you know

This is such a Rachel line -- her heart just bursts with emotion so much. It's a great line for her.

Tell me how to win your heart For I haven't got a clue But let me start by saying I love you

I love these lines for Jesse. Because it's the way he plays the moment. It's like touting innocence -- playing on that instant connection. But he's calculating his every move in this performance. He knows exactly how to make her fall in love with him, and using it to his advantage. Such a fantastic, sneaky little line here.

Technical Thoughts

I may not be huge on this song but I LOVE this performance. There's so much going on. Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff are on fire -- and each doing exactly what's needed to portray their characters perfectly. This scene is so well shot.

First of all, musically. Look - if you are one of the five people who don't know, don't be alarmed, I didn't -- Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff are bffs, and had quite the bonding back when they did the Broadway musical Spring Awakening together. So there's a lot of chemistry and a lot of natural comfort here. And I'm not being hyperbolic when saying that Jonathan Groff is easily the best male voice they've featured at this point. (Sorry Matthew Morrison)

It does help that both actors are well trained vocalists that can keep up with each other. It helps sell the idea that these two have an instant connection. And they do! Even if Jesse is suspect. The fact that they sound good together is a huge thing.

The acting here is just phenomenal as well. The shot is super simple -- the camera closing in on them as the song goes on. It can be visually boring just watching two people sing at a piano. But the camera begins to get intimately close, and both of them are playing such complex characters here.

I love everything that's going on with Rachel. That she's getting sucked into this fantasy -- a fantasy she really only dreamed off. She's a bit demure at the beginning, then just sinks all the way in, and is just smitten by the end of this duet. This girl falls hard with infatuation (which will be her downfall) but ooff is it played so well here.

(A side note -- there are a few brief moments where we see some genuine smiles from Lea Michele, and I get the impression that she's just over the moon excited to be doing a duet with her bff. It's the subtlest of actor bleed, but I feel like the giddy looks are genuine.)

Meanwhile, I love the calculated looks by Jesse. So, Jonathan Groff does something that I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. Most of the time, he's staring her down to sing deeply into her eyes. But every now and then he's carefully looking back at the piano and the music. I don't know if this was because Groff wanted to make sure he was doing/playing/singing something right? But it makes an interesting effect - where, when Rachel has her head turned, it's like he's looking at the script of what he's supposed to be doing and it makes the whole song seem just a little suspect. I realize I'm probably looking too much into it, but it's just a couple of fascinating moments.

Also, I have to point out a moment that generally has me chuckle -- it's the whip around to see that there's a string quartet that's been added, as if that's also normal in a library.

Also, also going to add that this song is mostly sung in minor -- but at the end it lifts into a major chord. It's a nice touch -- that there's this melancholy loneliness about this song until it has a hopeful ending.

Glee Live

This is super cute. It's much more Lea and Jonathan (with Jonathan goofing around a little) than Rachel and Jesse, but still a treat - and probably a fun surprise on whatever tour stop this was at.

vs. The Studio Version : There's not a whole lot different from the tv version. The mixing is a little more balanced between voice and instrument, and of course as usual, it's a cleaner track. But nothing huge.

vs. The Original Version : So... Glee pretty much stripped the 80s right out of this song, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Making it a straight up piano ballad with out all the synth modernizes the song, and it works better for high school students in the the late 00s, and less like an 80s after school special. No disrespect to Lionel Richie, though -- wow does he have a light and airy elegant touch to his voice.

[chasing-chimeras]

RULES: PICK A SONG FOR EACH LETTER IN YOUR URL

tagged by @mmoosen @wolfboy88 and @de-constructmybones 🖤

C: Can Ghosts Be Gay? - carpetgarden

H: hope for the underrated youth - YUNGBLUD

A: American Pie - Shea Diamond

S: sugar at the bottom - Hayley Kiyoko

I: ICARUS - GRANT KNOCHE

N: National Disaster - Hannah Hill (easily my current favorite song) 🖤

G: God Complex - The True Blue

-

C: caroline - OSKAR O.

H: Hoodie - Hey Violet

I: Indie Alt Boys - Ghostryder

M: Matty Heally - Georgia Twinn

E: Euphoria - bülow

R: RUNRUNRUN - Dutch Melrose

A: Alex - Roy Blair

S: Shapeshift - Jenna Doe

[lorettapetrichor]

i have been thinking about ms honeys verse in when i grow up from matilda the musical since i was like seven years old like god it hits so hard

[latin-dr-robotnik]

One Way Dream (Ending Theme) - Sonic Frontiers (2022)

I’m a spark that won’t go out ✨

[misterradio]

one thing abt these movies is that shinya tsukamoto will sit in a body of water

[musicrunsthroughmysoul]

One of my goals that's ever-present in the back of my mind is to listen to more hip hop and rap by women. I discovered Queen Pen through Blackstreet's song "No Diggity" (on which she features, and her verse in it is AMAZING) and either I've listened to her album My Melody before and just forgot that I'd already listened to it, or I've at LEAST heard "All My Love" before. Whether or not I've listened to this album (or song) before, this song is SOOO GOOOOOOOOOOD, and I'm also enjoying plenty of My Melody so far as I listen to it, too.

[nerves-nebula]

I think one of the first warning signs that something was Seriously Wrong with my home situation that I just didn’t pick up on was that I would hear songs that were clearly about romantic break ups and torturous romances and be like “Oh this is just like my parents.”

I was listening to Misery on the radio when I was a lil baby and was like “Oh my mom does this. Yeah I am miserable, why WONT my mom answer me? Wow the silence really IS killing me.” (the silence, as I would find out, was neglect!)

a later example of this was the hamilton song Burn. When that hoe said “You forfeit all rights to my heart” I was like “damn thats kind of like how my parents don’t deserve my love or respect anymore-”

[inklingofadream]

I like. wasn't still upset about a couple awful professors I had freshmen year. like this was a funny story at this point

until ratemyprofessor let me know my reviews were deleted! they don't provide the TEXT of the deletions, or the reason. And maybe I did write something mean in a way that would conflict with their guidelines, i can't definitively deny name calling at this point though I don't remember doing so

So you better believe I replaced reviews of Only Art 1010 Professor At This School, Who Teaches His Opinion As Fact And Gets Nasty If You Disagree (likely removal reason: 50/50 chance of something along the lines of "masturbatory" was in there, because he also used HIS OWN ART as an "objective" example of good art) and the guy who 1) refused to believe I was absent due to a stomach bug, 2) was REAL sure it was a mental health issue, 3) decided it was His job to make sure it was dealt with (NO I'm not telling you what antidepressant I take or switching to a new one on your recommendation!), 4) got mean when I reiterated that it was a stomach bug and also, a music professor is not qualified to determine that in any way shape or form 5) reported me to the wellness center AFTER the semester ended (like a month and a half after the conversation happened) that I was suicidal (I was not, and I DEFINITELY didn't indicate such to him)

and i am actually angry about it again!