#this show is absolute nostalgia as a gen z kid

[kurakuradon]

simon petrikov 🧊👓

[larkandkatydid]

As a kids these days myself (b.1999) I had to google the William F Buckley thing and holy shit. Calling for a mandated HIV tramp stamp is like cartoonishly evil. He IS in hell lmao.

The thing about William F Buckley that inspires a clear-eyed kind of nostalgia in leftists is that he was our best villain. We will never see his like again. In the Trump age there’s something worth remembering about Buckley who was brilliant, eloquent, quick-witted with exquisite taste and absolutely unrepentantly evil. He was a giant, but like Kronos devouring children.

On the other hand, it’s Pride month. There’s a non-binary tween with married lesbian moms at a drag show somewhere in the Midwest who has never even heard of William F Buckley. We won.

This is very close to the emotion I felt watching Matrix Resurrections on a plane.

Also I made this for @mariacallous to celebrate lgbtq gen-z

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 222

Halt & Catch Fire/Time Heist

“Halt & Catch Fire”

Plot Description: when a vengeful spirit starts killing off a group of friends through their electronic devices, Sam and Dean race to find an explanation

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: the GPS told the girl to get out of the truck so I’m gonna go with sure

“What do you know? Your phone’s 3G” is such a weird burn, especially for like 2014 or maybe 2015.

This was the funniest opening to the show I’ve seen yet, I think…but I don’t think it was necessarily trying to be. Between the aforementioned comment, the GPS first calmly telling the girl to get out of the car and then screeching at her to, and then “destination dead ahead” as the car careened off a bridge that was out. BRAVO, supernatural writers room

WHAT IS THIS EPISODE?! We’re not far in at all and dean’s eating something that sounds like it’s part brownie, part croissant, and part cookie, and Cas has discovered riverboat gambling which is apparently a problem???

Bitch, you are from KANSAS, why did you say the Midwest so derogatorily??

This girl reading Dean for FILTH with his lack of technological knowledge and then just going “you’re gen x. Right.” Girl, you are my new best friend.

This is quite possibly my favorite conversation in this whole show. Sam is an older millennial, Dean’s late gen x, and this girl is full gen z. Sam is enjoying himself, knowing everything the other two are talking about as they snark each other on things the other doesn’t know

Is there NO security at this junk yard? You can just torch an entire pick up truck and no one notices???

I know I still sometimes do it, but the whole talking out loud in hashtags these girls are doing IS annoying. Unfortunately, it does fit with the time

…I’m sorry…this girl’s laptop charger strangled her. Like…came up behind her like a snake and wrapped itself around her neck. I just…what is this show even??

Dean immediately questioning the decision to name a fraternity Sigma Theta Delta or STD is just…it’s beautiful. I love it here

Also him loving college campus food is so very Dean

Why are all these high school and college boys just the ABSOLUTE worst?? They show absolutely NO remorse and just…are weirdly threatening all the girls they’re in content with. Like…ZERO redeeming qualities

So this ghost is kinda I Know What You Did Last Summer-ing these kids

As much as he pretends to be a skeeze (and kind of is a skeeze sometimes), when it comes down to it, he’s SO kind and compassionate to young women

I hope she has good insurance on all her electronics…Dean just smashed them all

Oh this poor lady…the ghost’s widow (who he was married to for less than a year) just didn’t want to lose her husband again 😭

Dean’s so good at giving advice that he should take

I know they’ll find a cure but I am crying at Dean wanting to just fight the mark as much as he can til he goes down swinging

“Time Heist”

Plot Description: The Doctor turns bank robber when he is given a task he cannot refuse

You can really tell that the budget is so much bigger than it was in earlier seasons AND that Moffat’s stylistic choices are REALLY having their effect (derogatory on both accounts)

Clara in a pantsuit though??? It’s definitely a good look for her

Ohh!! A very high stakes escape room!!

Yeah, I suppose having a shapeshifter on your team would be good to have when dna verification is something that’s on the table

Why did I, as I was typing about them having a shapeshifter on the team, forget that she was a shapeshifter and wonder where their fourth team member went?? SMH

This thing in orange is the teller….sometimes it does feel like that

THE TELLER IS NEVER WRONG??! God how I wish that’s how banks worked…ok, it’s very funny that I paused before the end of that sentence because the full sentence is “the teller is never wrong when it comes to guilt” which feels very like people cutting off the “in matters of taste” from “the customer is always right.”

I would LOVE to be able to wipe the minds of customers and turn their brains into soup if I felt they deserved it

Is this why people call it a safety deposit box? Television?? (Buckle in for a lot of really stupid bank talk this episode and good luck figuring out what’s ACTUALLY happening) because at my bank it’s just a safe deposit box and it drives me up the wall when people call it a safety deposit box. I’d never actually correct people like “well ACTUALLY it’s THIS” but I will use the correct term right back

Love Clara’s little nod when the Doctor answers “I still don’t know why you’re in charge” with “basically, it’s the eyebrows”

He just called them Team Not Dead? 💀

I think there’s something wrong with Psi (of all the spellings, I wouldn’t have thought of that. I was thinking it was either Sy or Cy) that’s beyond stress making him glitch

I’m connecting the dots (I’m not connecting shit) between ESPECIALLY the Doctor and Saibra and Psi. Or maybe Psi is more along the lines of Clara, but they all seem to be alone (with kind of the exception of Clara and the Doctor having each other). Psi has had to delete all his loved ones from his memory, Saibra has been taught she can’t be trusted, The Doctor is the last of the time lords and Clara? Well…I dunno.

Oooooo they found the cage the teller is kept in…oh poor Saibra…

I know I’m supposed to sympathize with Team (3/4) Not Dead, but man do I wish I was allowed and even encouraged to destroy people being assholes at the bank

So…all that was pretty much for nothing?? Saibra and Psi are dead and the vault still isn’t opening?

I wish more banks still had the large circular vault doors. I know at least one branch near me does but that’s far too few

Of COURSE the teller is the last of its kind…

THEY WEREN’T DEAD!! The atomic shredders were really teleporters!!!

What is it about powerful but more importantly evil red haired women that are just…you know? First Abaddon, then Rowena, now Director Karabraxos…oh, she’s awful and I would never want to be within a hundred light years of her in real life but oMG

I feel like I’m starting to understand all the weird timey wimey stuff happening for this episode to work but the final part is just out of my reach

Ok. Why’s the Doctor trying to be the funniest person at his brain soupening? “Lots of memories. Big scarf…bow tie…bit embarrassing. How do you like the new look? I hoping for minimalism, but I think I came out with magician” I mean…he’s not WRONG but like…a minimalist magician

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We KNOW and figured out the Doctor and the Architect are the same person…oh, is Madame Karabraxos’s big final regret keeping the teller hostage?? It wasn’t the last of its kind!!! There’s another!!!! I’m just. I’m weirdly emotional

I wish we could get more of Team Not Dead

[bluescluesposting]

Thank you for talking about Blue's Big Musical. I was absolutely obsessed with that as a kid. I'm pretty sure my entire family and me can still sing the whole soundtrack from memory. So many people seem to have no knowledge of this movie.

You're welcome! It's been a childhood favorite of mine ever since it came out- I still remember getting it for Christmas in 2000. And it's safe to say my mom has the soundtrack memorized just like I do- she's admitted to listening to our cassette copy of the soundtrack on her way to work accidentally, since it was always playing in the car.

It's really too bad the movie doesn't seem that well known! I remember Nick advertising it a lot back when it came out. But from what I gathered the DVD doesn't get rereleased very often, and when it does it's in 2-pack sets with other Blue's Clues or Nick Jr. DVDs. I think the most recent one was sold with a Dora the Explorer DVD- which is annoying if you're like me and you love Blue but can't stand Dora (maybe there's more nostalgia for her with the Gen Z crowd? But in general Blue always seemed to have a larger amount of older fans, even when the show was running). Well, at least I half a copy saved to my computer, and of course, my old VHS copy, which for those who are too young to remember, actually WAS blue (though some of the later printings were either orange- like most Nick tapes at the time- or black, which Nick switched to in late 2001).

It would be nice if maybe the Nick Jr. channel (or even the main network) could air it again. I don't know when's the last time the movie aired; I'm guessing the mid-2000s on the main network, and then I can't say with Nick Jr. because I hadn't watched the channel since it was Noggin- and still paired up with The N/TeenNick no less.

[roxie0strawberry]

Into the mind of a Zillennials :

Both Millenial and Gen Z 

Urban Dictionary defines zillennials as "too young to relate to the core of millennials but too old to relate to the core of Generation Z. They were 2000's kids and transitioned from teenagers to adults during the 2010's." 

Born in 1996, when I found out about the term zillennial it comforted me, but it also made me wonder and think more about this micro-generation I belong to and the things we’ve been through. The more I analyzed my own generation and thought about it in the grand scheme of things, the more I realized that by understanding my generation a person could gain many very particular and important insights into the most active buyers of the current market, 20-40 year olds. 

So let’s start with Nostalgia. Why is it such a big trend nowadays, especially with these generations? Well, let 's use Zillennials as our core analysis point. For us in this generation nostalgia is particularly strong because we feel old, we feel like we’ve experienced so much in your short lives that we already look forward to moments of nostalgia and remembering the simpler days of dial-up internet and having to despertly avoid using the internet on our phones or we would be murdered with absurd charges on our phone bill for 1MB of internet. 

This point of disconnect between age and experiences lived is something a lot of people of these generations share. Let’s start with the amount of evolution in technology these generations saw. While Boomers and Gen X were only introduced to rapid technology changes well into their adult years, Millennials, Zillennials and Gen Z have been dealing with the rapid evolution of the internet and technology in general since some of them were babies. 

Speaking personally I was 4 when I started using a computer and dial-up internet. By 7 I had a Myspace, Facebook and a MP3 player and already knew how to burn my own CDS. By 10 I was already using Wi-Fi and uploading videos to youtube and blogging. Now at 25 smart homes are a normal thing, I have a smartwatch that I can answer calls on as if I’m a Power Ranger, Elon Musk is making a neuro-link that can connect the human brain to the internet and all of the things I saw in the futuristic movies and kids shows of the 2000’s are now reality! How can a person not feel old like this? 

Keeping all of that in our minds let’s now also take a look at the amount of historical, tragic and traumatizing events these generations have seen:

Y2K

9/11 

War in the middle East

The 2000’s economic recession 

The Burst of the world wide web

Bird flu pandemic

Crazy Cow disease pandemic  

The Burst of Smart devices 

The Swine Flu

Covid Pandemic

The New Economic Recession due to the Covid Pandemic

War between Russia and Ukraine 

Aliens being real and confirmed

Housing Crisis

And these are just the very talked about and world wide events. 

When you take into considerations all of these events and the technological evolution this generations have lived through you start getting a more clear look at certain driving factors of these generations: 

We are unfazed by big world changing events and yet take small and focused problems very seriously - Obviously this is not a rule for absolutely all people of these generations, but nonetheless it is obvious when looking at socials that this is true. For example, we are currently years into the war in Ukraine and 3 years into the Covid Pandemic. Have those problems been resolved? No. Are they headlines any more, of course not! People care more about Instagram turning into Tiktok. Twitter becoming X and Elon Musk being stupid, Why? Because what are we going to do anymore about the war or the pandemic? The people that care are all vaccinated and have protested about the pandemic and the war. Nothing really happened, as we are used to, so we move on to things that we feel we can actually make changes. Also our planet is literraly boiling us alive because we can not seem to slow down our polution and consumerism.

We care more about mental health, being ecological, LGBTQAI+ rights, legalizing weed, using second hand objects and other things that Boomers tend to think of as secondary because we don’t care about the "big scheme of things" (AKA money and capitalism) anymore. I know our world is doomed due to climate change, rich people wanting to be more rich, pollution and violence, so our focus is trying to make life easier while we still have time here. 

[fratboykate]

For a few days now I have e been thinking about your most recent Disney is evil rant and how you always seem to think of the Disney machine as "Disney-Marvel", and don't get me wrong, those two are wholy linked; but that's not why Disney has had the market penetration it has. While yes, many of the millennials who got the Disney subscription paid for it because they wanted that sweet superhero juice injected right into their brains and that's about as much disposable income we have for anything remotely fun (85% of us are broke af), but the bulk of Disney subscriptions is made of older peeps with children paying for a service that offers the nostalgia films of their childhood and new ones without the risk of radicalizing their childrens while they cook/clean/work from home (hey! YouTube algorithm). So what I am saying here is that even if you get our broke asses to stop giving the 10$/month (I think?? I have been too broke for a while now to pay for any streaming services) to Disney, you will make zero dent in their income because the old peeps are the ones paying for that stuff and they skew mostly conservative.

This is uhm.......factually fucking incorrect LOL

Why does everyone seem to think Millenials are still like 12? Let's see how old each generation is at this point:

WW II: 95 – 100

Post War: 77 – 94

Boomers: 58 – 76

Gen X: 42 – 57

Millennials: 26 – 41

Gen Z: 10 – 25

Gen Alpha: 9 and under

A lot of Millennials deadass have kids in high school or in college lol. Disney's huge moneymaker right now isn't the "nostalgia" films. The way Disney really makes their big checks is Marvel, the SW franchises, and every other massive franchise they launch. You know who isn't watching those franchises? Boomers and Gen X. You know who is making Marvel and all of those other franchises billion-dollar enterprises? Millennials and Gen Z. That isn't "Old People". That's a proven fact. That's not who Disney's target audience is. "Old People" is NO ONE's target audience. Do you not understand that the key demographic for EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, FOR EVERYTHING is 18-34?

The BULK of the Disney+ subscriptions is being driven by all of the Marvel and SW series. Disney themselves have admitted it. You know who is paying for those subscriptions and watching those shows? Not "Old People". That's Millennials and Gen Z.

I just find it fucking funny that the same group of people who love to stomp their chests claiming to be SO PROGRESSIVE and SO PRO-LGBT is out there throwing money at a company who after being reamed over the weekend for supporting every homophobic politician in existence doubled down today with one of the most absolutely batshit crazy fucking statement I've ever seen in my life:

Bob Chapek is Disney's CEO by the way. He for real was like "Disney can't do anything...but like...subscribe to Disney+ tho. That will help us change the world ;] (It's not like we make any gay content anyway because we can't piss off the right...and we're also homophobic. But subscribe anyway! We'll use that money to keep supporting every politician that drafts up the most hateful bills intended to take all your rights away!)"

But, idk, keep making excuses so y'all can continue watching your superhero bullshit or whatever. It confirms how big of a hypocrite everyone is.

[local-femme-gentleman]

10 things I’ve watched in the quarantine (so far)

1. Dazed and Confused 1993 ‧ Comedy/Indie film ‧ 1h 43m

So, I kicked off the apocalypse lockdown with Dazed and Confused - and yes, even though the movie made me realise I was going to have to survive literal months without my usual amount of marijuana consumption, it also filed me with that warped sense of nostalgia and longing for a bygone era that Dazed and Confused always leaves me with - especially a deep yearning for seventies music because the soundtrack of this movie may be one of its best aspects. It is equal parts kinda stupid, ridiculously fun, and wholly introspective, and at the end of the day I love this movie for helping me see what my boomer parents - and their whole generation - were like as teenagers more than anything else.

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 ‧ Sci-fi/Adventure ‧ 2h 44m

2001: A Space Odyssey has since its release become an absolute classic, and I for one adore it to absolute death. This was one of the first ‘adult’ movies I watched, I was 11 years old at the time - and although I didn’t understand it then, and frankly got a little bored, revisiting it now (after having rewatched it many many many times, and as a slightly older, well, kid) I’ve come to absolutely love it. I personally was looking for some slightly longer movies for the lockdown - considering I have more than enough time, and if you are too then this one may be just what you’re looking for - even if you’ve seen it already. There’s always more to discover in a movie like this one.

3. Okja 2017 ‧ Adventure/Drama ‧ 2 hours

Of all the movies on this list this may be the one I recommend the least. Not because it’s a bad movie, because it honestly and truly isn’t ( Bong Joon Ho still definitely came through for this one), however, this movie is, in my opinion, far too heartbreaking for this exact moment in time. If it was any other period in history I would be overwhelmingly promoting this movie, because I honestly and truly loved it - but it made me want to give up meat in a period of time where I simply do not have the resources for that to be an option. So if you’re down with your day just getting a little bit sadder, albeit in a not entirely bad way, I’d say watch Okja - if not, then I’d say, just for now, maybe stay away.

4. Spirited Away 2001 ‧ Animation/Fantasy ‧ 2h 5m

Okay, I love this movie, my parents love this movie, your parents love this movie, your sister loves this movie, your best friend loves this movie, you’re-cousin’s-nephew’s-dog’s-best-friend’s-owner loves this movie - and, if you don’t love this movie, well, each to their own but you’re kind of a monster. Spirited Away is one of those universally agreed upon masterpieces, everything about this movie just makes you feel good, from the colours, to the world, to the characters, to the animation. Spirited Away wraps you up in a blanket of all things warm and comforting in this world - if you’re looking to just feel better, which given current situations you probably are, this is the one for you.

5. Before Sunrise 1995 ‧ Romance/Drama ‧ 1h 45m

I’ve always loved this trilogy, yes, it may be one of the most teenage girl things to ever exist, the ultimate teenage girl fantasy, but what’s wrong with that? Before Sunrise, at every watch and rewatch, makes me want to meet a stranger on a train and just wander somewhere in europe for a single night. I’m fairly sure this will never happen, but this is the perfect time for daydreaming and so I will. Honestly, this movie truly is good, the amount of angles explored in Jesse and Celine’s still forming relationship over a single night is fascinating and it’s a very pretty film. If you’re just looking for something light and easy to watch - that gets you just the right amount of emotional, this is the one for you.

6. The Royal Tenenbaums 2001 ‧ Drama/Comedy-drama ‧ 1h 50m

Oh so you thought I’d go one recommendations video without mentioning Wes? Ha. Okay look, The Royal Tenenbaums is probably my fifth favorite Wes movie, but considering I love basically every Wes Anderson movie that isn’t not saying much. The Tenenbaum siblings stand as some of my favorite Wes Anderson characters and I love Angelica Houston no matter who she plays. The Royal Tenenbaums is just a good Wes Anderson film, and you get exactly what you’d want and expect from it - whip pans, impeccable wardrobes, symmetrical shots, a Wilson Brother, a sugary colour pallette, the futura font, and rich white people, well, being rich white people

7. American Vandal 2017 ‧ Satire ‧ 2 seasons

Ok I’ll say it, this is the perfect quarantine show. It’s completely stupid in the smartest way possible, absurdly funny, and overall one of the best shows netflix has ever produced. If you’re looking for a laugh, and I know I was when I clicked on this, then this is the one for you. American Vandal is satire at its peak - and I can officially say that both seasons hold up at a third rewatch, because yes, I’ve watched this entire show three times over. If you like true-crime series, or The Office and Parks and Rec (and yes I see the disparity in genre) then you will absolutely adore American vandal - and the fact that this show didn’t get a third season is a whole tragedy. Shame on you Netflix, shame on you.

8. Marriage Story 2019 ‧ Comedy-drama/Drama ‧ 2h 17m

Again, considering current times Marriage Story may have not been the best choice, but hey, I love this movie, and as sad as it makes me, it also makes me incredibly happy in a bittersweet sort of way. The good thing about marriage story is that it’s one of those films you truly get lost in, when I watched it just a few days ago, I truly and honestly, for just those few moments, forgot about everything going on right now, and - i say this at a risk of sounding selfish, I know - it felt good. Marriage Story is by far one of my favorite movies of last year, the writing is gorgeous, the editing is genius, and although the movie isn’t intrinsically happy in nature, it may just be what you need right now.

9. Every John Mulaney Special New in Town ‧ The Comeback Kid ‧ Kid Gorgeous ‧ etc.

So I, in true Gen-Z fashion, have watched every John Mulaney Comedy Special  many many times. I love these specials, they truly mean quite a bit to me. I like playing these in the back while I do other things like cleaning my room or cooking. I think I watched him so much  that his voice has become almost comforting - I may have formed a bit of an attachment. Chances are you’ve probably seen at least one John Mulaney Special, if you’ve only seen one watch the rest! And if you’ve seen the all then rewatch like I did! For me, this is the perfect time to just watch some good standup, so even if it isn’t John, just watch a comedian who makes you happy - trust me, it’ll help.

10. Tangled 2010 ‧ Animation/Musical ‧ 1h 40m

Ok so honestly my friends put this on together on Netflix Party to watch that first song and get some self-quarantine ideas - but then we just watched the whole movie so, yeah. I do love Tangled though, it was one of my favourite Disney movies as a kid, granted I’ve always been more of a Pixar girl (speaking of which this is the best time to binge on Pixar movies!!!!). Honestly, this is just a solid disney movie, it’s cute, it’s adorably animated, I properly adore Pascal and Maximus because no matter how old I get I will always adore a fun animal sidekick. Honestly, now is just a good time to watch a good disney movie, I had fun with this movie okay, no lie it was great.

[thesinglesjukebox]

THE 1975 - PEOPLE

[5.56]

The 1975 you know is gone! THEY'RE HARDCORE NOW!!!

Alex Clifton: As far as the lyrics & delivery go: a truly punk song, a well-needed wakeup call, and Healey's screaming is how I have felt literally every day for the last four years, which I deeply appreciate. As an actual single: I can listen to this maybe once a month because it's super dissonant and honestly does not help with my constant anxiety that the world will end shortly. [5]

Kylo Nocom: Rightfully devastated punk that would probably sound a lot better if it didn't just seem like yet another damned attempt by the 1975 at appeasing the indie crowd through art-y posturing. Really, throw shit at their debut all you want, they knew exactly what they wanted to do and did all of it with near-perfect pop sheen. Their obsession with their own legacy has led to their musical downfall, and now we have to listen to them condescend and uphold it as somehow significant, as if there aren't artists with significantly more to say than Matty Healy that don't have the resources to have their voices heard. Eclecticism does not equal talent; Healy's inanities will not save us. [3]

Alfred Soto: "Syndrums? What syndrums?" Blustering through a rawk number showing little sweat, The 1975 write a Marilyn Manson take on "Love It If We Made It." It likely portends nothing except increased facility. [5]

Ryo Miyauchi: "People" as just the music is something I can't resist. Matty strutting to the beat of loud ass rock riffs with the tones bleeding from the seams? The guy singing like a snot-nosed know-it-all jerk in love with the spotlight, audibly kissing the camera? He may not be good at screaming as much as he think he does, but him simply giving himself to the moment sounds good enough. But if he also hopes to say something, and for me to feel like he actually did, well, this isn't exactly it. I've long understood that Matty lives in the same fucked-up world as me -- that's what "Love It If We Made It" made sure to do after all -- but I'm honestly exhausted from songs that's reportage and not much else. I can see the world burn down from my own eyes too! If Matty, or whoever else in pop, wants to say something, I need them to expand upon that blank between "republic's a banana, ignore if you wanna" and "fuck it, I'm just gonna get food, girls, gear." Ignoring is easy, I know, but that self-care via self-indulgence can't do much to help anymore. What exists beyond it when it's no longer the go-to step? Matty doesn't have the answer for that here. [6]

Maxwell Cavaseno: The only man who apparently decided that The (International) Noise Conspiracy was just what the world needed, long after even the actual T(I)NC was dissolved, would naturally be Matty Healy. Plenty of 'people' have misattributed this song to sounding like Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People" which is an association I just simply don't hear at all. Instead I get a lot more of Manic Street Preachers, The Hives, The Blood Brothers, T(I)NC and even their frontman's prior band Refused's last moments. When the soon to be released 1975 album was discussed even in the build for last year's listless and dissatisfying A Brief Inquiry... constant invocations of the band's past as a journeyman post-hardcore act that probably would've died a death in the lower-tier nostalgia bin alongside earthtone9, Devil Sold His Soul, SikTH, Rinoa or The Ocean Fracture. The fodder of so many long gone myspace pages and collections of patches. Now it feels that era is being discussed with a genuine affectionate nostalgia again; and if there's anything this band loves to key in on, it's genre nostalgia. Do they land it? Maybeish. Straight Ahead Rock has admittedly felt less capable in The 1975's hands unless filtered into Glastonbury Festival Anthems a la "Robbers", so hearing them try to defiantly thrash while remaining groovy is either endearing or slight. Still, I admittedly can't think of a 1975 album yet where the key single was the leading one, so for now it feels just like a proposition of yet another shape-shifting going down. [6]

Oliver Maier: Post-hardcore with traces of 13-era Blur could have been the key to finally converting me to the church of the 1975, but this still isn't doing it for me. I don't doubt that Matty Healy is concerned about *vague hand gesture* the state of things, but for a band so aware that sincerity is indeed scary, I always feel as though their ventures into new sonic territory are the product of a desire to impress rather than earnestly communicate, that they might dip their toes into afrobeats or flirt with trap drums only because people don't expect them to. Which isn't a crime! But the punk signifiers here feel like just that: signifiers, gesturing at a genre that's all about urgency in an attempt to reverse-engineer that same quality, but capturing none of its essential recklessness. I prefer the unhinged vocal here to Healy's usual crooning, but paired with lyrics that modulate between the generic, the outright dreadful and the word "fuck" a whole bunch, it's just not enough to dispel the impression of a calculated facsimile of protest music. I could see myself softening on this if the rest of Notes on a Conditional Form sticks to the same sound, which might suggest some real commitment rather than the sense that the 1975 are still just trying on new masks and expecting an A for effort. But I'm not holding my breath. [4]

Rachel Bowles: I was lucky enough to hear this song for the first time live and witness the crowd erupt with infectious anger and joy- somehow knowing every single word of this days old song. There was something truly palpable, political and vital there, Healy has told the press he's never felt more like he's in a punk band and experiencing 'People' live, it's not hard to hear why. At the time I described it as "a Marilyn Manson meets Glassjaw-esque punk screed with enough F-bombs to satisfy even the most discerning teenage contrarian... an anthem that screams with the rage of billions of millennial and Gen Z 99 percenters, powerlessly watching the world burn (literally) as Donald Trump and Boris Johnson pat themselves on the back."Had I not clearly seen Healy & co in front of me, I would never have pegged 'People' as a 1975 song- this new venture into raw punk, however impressive, is just another string in the bow of band that is constantly reinventing themselves. [8]

Joshua Copperman: Let's unpack the worst line in "People"! Part 1: "My generation wanna fuck Barack Obama": A decade ago this might have been a reference to "Crush on Obama," but now any given Gen Z socialist will tell you that Obama wasn't progressive enough, that he was a neoliberal centrist, etc etc. So it's more like fuck Barack Obama. Double meanings! Part 2: "living in a sauna": Could be a climate change reference, but with the next line it's more likely to be a hotbox joke. More double meanings! Except the idea that Earth is itself a hotbox is both funnier and more evocative. Part 3: "Legal marijuana": Both a long-delayed Halsey comeback for that one line in "Colors" and a catalyst for even more double meanings! there's the aforementioned hotbox joke, or it's the ever-ubiquitous "using drugs to numb the pain" thing. Conclusion: This line both says a lot of things and says absolutely nothing, which is what anyone who hates this song will think it does. Oh right, there's a song attached. And it's fantastic. The mix of a gritty aesthetic with bright, clean guitar tones. The ability to make a tuneless song sound as catchy as "Chocolate" but inexplicably less anoying. This is everything I've wanted the 1975 to do, or anyone to do when everything in all genres sounds so listless and geared towards Playlists. Even Idles pandered with the whole 'ten points to Griffyndor' thing. The 1975 is virtually only pandering to emo kids with this one. And edgelords, hopefully putting them on a path to salvation instead of hatred. Or not. Whoever it's for, I'm glad it exists. [9]

Edward Okulicz: Honestly, I know that throwing reductionist comments at male pop stars stepping outside their apparent lane isn't a curative against how such things have been levelled at women over the years, but my initial, and second, and third, and fourth reaction to this song is "omg Matty Healy just shut up and be a pop star, you know, something you're really good at." I'll be over here in sensitivity training if you need me. [4]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[purplesurveys]

1126

Popular album asks - [askgxmes]

Ok computer: What's your favorite decade for music? I don’t think I have a set favorite decade. I have many favorite artists, songs, and albums and they’re scattered across different decades.

Definitely maybe: Who’s your favorite solo artist? All-time is easily Beyoncé. I was practically raised on her albums and choreography; I have 5 out of 6 of her physical albums and the only reason I don’t have Lemonade is because I don’t think they ever released a physical CD in Asia. Otherwise I’m as big of a fan as it gets, hahaha. The only thing I have yet to tick off my list is go to one of her concerts.

Nevermind: What's the first gig/concert you went to? My first-ever taste of any kind of show was Paramore back in 2013. I’ve since gone to another show of theirs 3 years ago, and I’ve gone to many local gigs as well.

Unknown pleasures: What was the last concert you went to? The aforementioned Paramore concert. August 2018.

The queen is dead: What's the best album to cry to? Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, mainly because of O. I listened to it nonstop when I was in a really low place a few years ago, so now I associate the song with total sadness. I don’t think I’ve listened to the song ever since getting better. Paramore’s After Laughter is great if I’m in the mood for a quick crying session too.

Different class: What was the first album or single you bought? I never bought a single (lol Gen Z showing) but I thiiiiiiink the first album I got that wasn’t anything marketed to kids - like the HSM soundtrack - was actually Beyoncé’s third album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. I was just starting to get into her and it turned out she released a new album, so I went ahead and bought it.

Rumours: A band/artist your friend introduced you to? Athenna introduced me to Banks. I still loooooove her, but I will be honest and say that I’ve been forever stuck with the album I got introduced to lol. I haven’t really tried exploring some of her other stuff. She also introduced me to twenty one pilots and The 1975.

Pet sounds: A band or artist your parents introduced to you I wouldn’t say he actively introduced me to her but my dad bought a Beyoncé concert DVD in 2008. And I don’t think he had any particular reason to buy it...? like no one in the household was a fan of hers at that point. As a bored 10 year old I popped it in the DVD player and got instantly hooked by the production. That was the start of it all.

Abbey road: a song you discovered through a movie or TV show? Baby Blue by Badfinger. Played at the final scene of the final episode of Breaking Bad, and I cannot imagine a better song to have closed out the series.

Back to black: an artist that deserves more hype? The Japanese House, for sure.

Dark side of the moon: a song you've recently discovered: Most recent is probably Not By The Moon by GOT7.

Appetite for destruction: an artist you've liked since you were a child: I’ve been all about Paramore since the 3rd grade. Never left and never took a break from them.

Screamedlica: a band you want to get into? HAIM. I just get sooooo lazy listening and trying to get into to new, unfamiliar music. I bet they’re great, though.

Parklife: a popular band you can’t get into? I have tried listening to The Maine countless times; just can’t get into their music. I’ve really tried my hardest, to the point where I started thinking something was wrong with my hearing lmao. Everybody in my age group seems to love at least one whole album of theirs and I just...can’t. They are absolutely amazing with their fans, though.

Urban hymns: a song you have changed your mind on: You may refer to the entire K-pop category. HAHAHAHA they are really not bad at all?????? I fucking hate myself for refusing to listen to it before lol, the production value in every song is astounding and all the songs I’ve heard so far are fun to listen to even though I don’t actually understand the lyrics.

London calling: a band break up that upset you: I don’t think I’ve ever gone through a band breaking up. All my favorite punk bands are still performing, Paramore’s strong as ever, One Direction is on hiatus – and tbh I wouldn’t mind if they broke up altogether because they all seem so happy with their solo careers anyway.

Goodbye yellow brick road: if you could see anyone in concert tonight who would it be? Paramore, of course. I miss how fuuuuuuun and freeing their shows are.

The gift: what instrument would you like to be able to play? I don’t think my answer will ever change. I wish I had learned how to play the piano.

The stranger: the last song you listened to? Yellow by Coldplay. I was just thinking about this song and felt relieved that I never associated it with Gabie or our relationship, because at least it doesn’t feel like shit listening to it. I would hate if I could never listen to Yellow ever again; the song really is a work of art. Our song was Sparks, and I’m fine with never having to listen to it ever again because I always preferred Yellow anyway lol.

Parallel lines: the best movie soundtrack? As sucky as the Twilight Saga plots, acting, and movies are, all their soundtracks hit the mark. Literally all of them.

Reputation: a genre you don't really listen to? Country, metal.

Fine line: a band that you liked before they were cool The 1975 and twenty one pilots, c/o Athenna. Girl was always such a good radar for underground groups that eventually become mainstream. Gabie also introduced me to Hozier before he blew up.

Melodrama: an album you don't like by an artist you like Black Is King by Beyoncé, only because I could relate very little to it. Obviously I appreciate the storytelling and production and all the effort that went into making the album, but I’ve only listened to the album once. I also don’t really like listening to Against Me!’s first album (Reinventing Axl Rose) since I find the screaming too much for my liking. The Runaways’ discography also got a little meh as time went on.

Currents: an album you like by a band you don't really like I’m not too big on HONNE, but I love no song without you. Every song is great.

Lemonade: a "bad" song that you love All of One Direction’s older stuff. SUPER CRINGE to listen to as a near-23-year-old, but the nostalgia factor reels me in every time.

[aion-rsa]

NBA Trading Cards: The Resurgence of Basketball Card Collecting

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Presented by:

April 2020 in the United States was pretty terrible for almost everyone and everything. We all know why. No need to rehash it.

Unless, that is, you sunk your time and money into collecting and selling basketball cards. If you did, you were one of the beneficiaries of the strongest surge for the hobby in its history.

“The month of April was the busiest month that … the basketball card industry has ever seen, and by double,” says Geoff Wilson, founder of Sports Card Investor, which offers advice on investing in the hobby and a data analytics platform. He noted that the previous bests date back to the late 1980s and early ’90s.

Plenty of millennials collected cards as kids back then, when the likes of Topps, Upper Deck, and Fleer were among the dominant brands in NBA licensed trading cards. But, if they were hoping to score cards that would fuel their retirement funds someday, most were left disappointed by the steady decline of the hobby. Brick-and-mortar shops dwindled, with sellers better off utilizing online sales on sites such as eBay. 

That’s what makes the rapid rise of collecting basketball cards—which always trailed behind baseball in popularity, and often after football—is so stunning to observers in the collecting world.

“It didn’t only come back. It is an absolute revolution right now,” said Adam Nowak, CEO of SlabStox, an online sports card trading platform. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many people have come to me in the last six months to a year saying, ‘Hey, I love basketball. I used to love cards as a kid. How do I get involved? How do I start trading again?’”

According to Wilson and Nowak, the COVID-19 pandemic directly contributed to the surge in basketball card popularity. Although already on an upward trajectory the past few years, alongside other sports cards, it spiked while people were stuck in isolation and quarantine. With no major American live sporting events on TV from mid-March through late July, Wilson says they sought out collecting “to keep sports fresh for them.”

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Also going on in April: The release of the first installments of the 10-part, Michael Jordan-fueled ESPN documentary The Last Dance. As far as sports intrigue went at the time, the series had a virtual monopoly of fans’ attention. According to eBay, Jordan trading card sales increased more than 370 percent following its release, and Jordan cards increased 307 percent on eBay from March to May 2020.

Nowak points to the power of social media as a contributing factor to the general rise that began before “coronavirus” was common vernacular.

“The whole social media and digital age of sports cards is at a whole other level, compared to the past,” Nowak said. “When you were a kid, [there was] no social media. It was all in-person. You’re at shows. You’re at card shops. … But the whole other side of it, the social media side and being able to network with people around the country about cards, even around the world, has taken it to another level.”

If it’s been a few decades since you bought a foil pack of NBA trading cards, you’ll have to be aware of some changes. The exclusive NBA license to print cards rests with Panini, which wasn’t even a player in the hobby during the ‘90s but has been the league’s lone partner dating back to the 2009-10 season. However, on top of the various Panini-branded sets, they do produce brands that should be familiar to veteran collectors, such as Donruss and NBA Hoops. 

And, unlike the overproduction that derailed sports card collecting decades ago, Nowak points out that there is “a supply shortage compared to the amount of people that have come into the industry, which is why we’re seeing the market explode so much.” Wilson added that there were more cards produced this year than in the past, but that he suspects the hobby can remain about as strong as this for the next few years, at least.

Nostalgia among lapsed collectors, of course, plays into the resurgence of the basketball card hobby. Wilson and Nowak agreed that some millennials, with more disposable income than they had as kids and teens, can finally afford to indulge in a hobby that has not always been cheap.

“Now, you can do it at a much more fun level,” Wilson said, “because now you can actually afford the better cards, the nicer cards, the cards of the guys you want to get.”

But it’s not as if these collectors are simply coming back to chase down Jordan cards or collect Kobe Bryant memorabilia, in the wake of his untimely death in January at age 41. They’re also chasing the next wave of stars, looking to capitalize on potential superstars as investments. Per eBay, trading card sales for rookies Zion Williamson and Ja Morant have increased, with Williamson’s spiking 115 percent and Morant’s by nearly 200 percent since the pandemic began. 

Wilson, who said basketball cards are now where he invests most of his money, had invested last summer in PSA 10-graded 2018 Panini Prizm Silver rookie cards of Luka Doncic, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year at the time. He bought 10 of them at about $520 each. Since the start of the pandemic, those cards reached a peak of $7,500 in value — roughly 14 times what he paid. 

“Those are the types of gains that we’re seeing across the market right now,” he said.

Millennials are key to basketball cards’ swoon, but they’re not the only ones fueling growth. Plenty from Gen Z have found their way to a hobby that was not strong during their formative years. Wilson says these collectors may view the hobby as “a fun side hustle.”

“I think you’re starting to see the younger crowd that has this really good understanding for business, sports and marketing, and they’re taking all that knowledge and dumping it into cards,” Nowak agreed.  

Perhaps a surprising nonfactor in the basketball card renaissance is the NBA 2K video game series’ digital card collecting mode, MyTeam. Both Wilson and Nowak agreed that digital cards, be it in the games or though the attempts over the years by card producers to create a virtual trading card market, have not moved the needle with collectors.

However, Nowak qualified that MyTeam and basketball cards’ growth are simply not intertwined “right now.”

“I think [for] those people, [card collecting is] not even on their radar yet, gamers and esports and all that stuff,” Nowak said. “But I just saw this thing from Nadeshot [Matthew Haag], he’s a huge gamer, the other day that was talking about getting into the box-breaking world. The more gamers and esports people out there that are involved in sports games or FIFA Ultimate Team, they start opening packs of actual sports cards on set as they’re streaming, I think that’s a whole other market that can come someday.”

Basketball cards have surpassed baseball as the top dog in the sports hobby, according to Nowak, a development he says was aided by converts from the sneaker-flipping trade. He feels Panini played a role because of their embrace of “dropping products on their website with Dutch auctions, where people have to buy it at a certain point as it goes down in value.”

Wilson echoed that many former sneaker flippers have migrated to card collecting and selling. 

“They see sports cards as even a better mechanism for being able to make short-term profit by flipping cards,” Wilson said, “and basketball cards, in particular, is where a lot of the heat is.”

Once the NBA bubble in Orlando was created and play resumed on the 2019-20 season, savvy card flippers monitored which players were doing well as a barometer for who to invest in for the short-term, not dissimilar from the how a market investor might buy and sell stocks, according to Wilson. In this case, substitute Google shares for Doncic cards.

“In my opinion, it’s a superior version of fantasy sports and a superior version of sports gambling, kind of mixed into one,” Wilson says.

Head over to eBay to add to your NBA card collection!

The post NBA Trading Cards: The Resurgence of Basketball Card Collecting appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[musashi]

What your fave pokeani OP says about you

Mezase Pokemon Master: You spent a lot of time wandering forests or out at dusk as a kid, back when streetlights were curfew. You either know every word to this song or none of them. Either way, you always sing the 'naka's.

Rivals: You miss when pokemon, like, meaaant something, man.

OK!: You love sitting on grassy hills in the sunshine, summer is 100% your aesthetic, and you're the ultimate Johto stan.

Mezase Whiteberry: You run a kidcore blog.

Ready Go!: You cried for like a week straight when Misty left the series.

Advance Adventure: HOENNBABY. You 100% are into this song because it played over some of your favourite moments in the show. It literally does not matter dub or sub, they kept that shit in tact.

Challenger!!: You've probably thought about having a basement arcade at some point. You love competitive battling.

Pokemon Symphonic Medley: You have really, really, REALLY good taste in music. You are known amongst your friends for this.

Battle Frontier: You peaked in middle school and you're still kind of bitter about it.

Spurt!: You Naruto ran at recess/after lunch in primary school & wear a lot of oversized hoodies.

Together/Together 2008: All your friends grew out of pokemon for good around gen 4, and you stayed partially because you had too much love for it in your heart and partially to spite them.

High Touch/High Touch 2009: Dawn is your favourite pokegirl and you cry about pearlshipping on the fucking daily. It's been 10 years and you still don't understand why Ambipom left to play ping pong.

The Greatest - Everyday!: You spend way too much damn money on rock concert tickets.

Best Wishes!: Nostalgia rules like 70% of everything you do. You're a huge Unova stan and you either adore the BW anime and would die defending it, or hate it with absolutely no in between.

Be an Arrow!: You really love your friends and cry about them like... once a week. You listen to upbeat tunes on the way to school/work and pretend you're the star of a music video, sometimes.

Summerly Slope: You long for adventure alongside people you love. Your ultimate dream is to go on a huge roadtrip. Sunsets and stargazing is your jam.

Volt / Mega Volt: You disliked gen 6 but love the XY anime and the conflict eats you alive sometimes.

GettaBanBan: Clemont is best traveling companion. You miss Clemont so, so much.

XY&Z: Edglelord alert! Honestly, though? It's ok. You've been through a lot and you have a really good heart underneath it all.

Alola!!: You just like to have a good time. Why are people on the internet shouting?? No fighting please. Let's drink some fruit punch.

Mezase 20th: Rica Matsumoto could step on you and you'd thank her. You just really, really love pokemon and you're crying about it right now instead of writing your multi-chapter Pokeani fanfiction. Stop reading this. You have work to do.

[pennyxproud]

I hate seeing those posts about a 90s/2000 show being remade into a movie and it looks like absolute shit, but people comment saying that it's not for us (millennials).

What I don't get is why remake something from our generation, knowing that we will get excited for just a bit of nostalgia and good childhood memories, especially while on this shithole we call earth, only to create crappy content and tell us not to judge and that it was made to target kids (gen z)?