sandybrett

[sandybrett]

The thing that would scare/depress me about a time loop is the inability to make progress on any sort of creative project. I could write a whole chapter I was extremely proud of, and when the time loop reset I would have to re-create it from memory. What's the point of having infinite time if I can't use it to write?

But a time loop in which my hard drive was somehow along for the ride with me? Hell yeah.

Alright which time looper are you:

- *becomes a better person in the loop*

- stuck forever, no choice but to suffer

- stuck forever, hell yeah I’m immortal

- I’m in a time loop? Oh. …Oh. Oh no.

- *becomes a worse person in the loop*

#five dimensional chess #i hope you write i hope we both write

[sandybrett]

I have a theory that "Easton & Main" and "The Bird Hunters" are about the same couple.

#turnpike troubadours #and now for something completely different

[sandybrett]

#top hat #obviously #poll

[sandybrett]

I'll have to check these out! Also I made my own:

enough about taylor swift already. reblog and tag the smallest, least known artist you listen to

#music recs #playlist #and now for something completely different #Spotify

[sandybrett]

enough about taylor swift already. reblog and tag the smallest, least known artist you listen to

#frog holler #i could come up with others but that's the first band that comes to mind when i think of “obscure music i listen to” #and now for something completely different #music recs #uncaptioned gif

[sandybrett]

I guess this is what I get for attempting to escape the conformist capitalist media landscape by... paying for a Taylor Swift album...

I'm kinda tempted to pre-order the new T.S. album so I can experience it entirely separately from the pop-culture narrative. No social media hype, no YouTube comments, no Spotify data, nothing.

#and now for something completely different #capitalism may or may not have been made by birbs #media i'm gulping

[sandybrett]

So far the Anthology tracks are a lot better!

I looked at Wikipedia and, yup, this half has a lot less Jack Antonoff and a lot more Aaron Dessner.

I wish these songs were the ones I paid for.

I'm kinda tempted to pre-order the new T.S. album so I can experience it entirely separately from the pop-culture narrative. No social media hype, no YouTube comments, no Spotify data, nothing.

#and now for something completely different #media i'm gulping

[sandybrett]

"Believe" by Dollar Store

"Burning Love" by The Meat Purveyors

"The Train From Kansas City" by Neko Case

"Comfortably Numb" by Luther Wright & the Wrongs

"Driveway to Driveway" by Two Dollar Pistols

Honorable mentions: "Death by a Thousand Cuts" by The Small Calamities, "MacArthur Park" by The Templeton Twins

Top five cover songs?

This was really fun to think through!

NOT IN ORDER:

1: Jolene (Miley Cyrus). The context and aesthetics and timing of this specific cover were just designed to jump up and down on some childhood stuff of mine, and it took me out at the knees the first time I saw it.

2: Wildflowers (The Wailin' Jennys). Strong feelings about this song, picky about covers of it, this one is so gorgeous that I might almost prefer it to the original.

3: Fast Car (Luke Combs & Tracy Chapman). Jesus. And such a good illustration of a cover designed to love and honor the original artist.

4: Friend Like Me (NE-YO). I don't remember how/when/why I came across this cover, but I have a TRULY EXCELLENT Leverage vid idea for it.

5: Shake It Out (Capital Children's Choir). Just gorgeous and haunting.

#music recs #and now for something completely different

[sandybrett]

Here are my completely honest thoughts on a bunch of audio dramas I've checked out. (Don't worry, nothing scathing, they're all reasonably good. But please proceed with caution, or don't proceed, if you're involved in creating any of these shows.)

In the order I first listened:

The Storage Papers: Nine episodes in. A little slow paced, but I've heard it picks up in the later seasons. My only real concern is that it seems like a lot of the horror revolves around "this thing looks sort of like a human but it's Wrong somehow. also it kills people (or cats)." I hope at some point we meet a creature that looks and acts as unsettling as the Grinner but is nice, or at least complicated.

The Cellar Letters: Seven episodes in. I LOVE it. I love the natural-feeling messiness of it, the way Nate and Steve talk in circles and go back and forth on what to believe. It's made me laugh out loud multiple times. I can't wait to learn more about that weird little room full of letters with that one random word written on the wall (I forget what).

400 Words a Horror: Three episodes in. I had to re-listen to the first episode because I hadn't been paying enough attention, but I think that particular episode rewards re-listening anyway. Also it is the only show on this list that genuinely frightens me so I have to pace myself. Very good.

Tin Can Audio Presents: Middle:Below: Two episodes in. I won't say I'm hooked, but I am somewhat interested. It's a lot more relaxing than the other podcasts on this list, so I keep thinking I'll save it for listening closer to bedtime, then not getting around to it.

The Grotto: Six episodes in. Very much enjoying. I was SO proud of myself for correctly guessing the twist in the second episode. I love the characters and am extremely intrigued by the mysteries. My only criticism is that the musical interludes drag on too long. And I'm saying that as a WOE.BEGONE fan.

Soul Operator: Three episodes in. It's good but there isn't any particular element that's drawing me in just yet. There's a lot I don't know about the world yet, though, so there is still plenty of time for me to fall in love with this show. (Irrelevant note: I always get "Smooth Operator" by Sade stuck in my head when I think about this show.)

Shadows at the Door: Listened to half of the first episode. It was somewhat interesting, but I decided I had higher priorities for my listening time than disconnected hour-long episodes that are only *somewhat* interesting.

Archive 81: Five episodes in. Quite possibly going to become a major obsession. It's got everything: playing with point of view; the Power of Storytelling but in a menacing way; vivid character voices; probably a cult. I particularly love the way conversations play out on this show--I don't know exactly how to explain it but there's a certain... friction that happens in real conversations but rarely in fictional ones outside cringe comedy. I don't usually enjoy that sort of thing when it's played for laughs, but for realism or suspense? I eat that up. It does make me a little tense so this is another show I pace myself with and I'm glad the episodes are short.

Alice Isn't Dead: Two episodes in. I'm not going to make it a priority--it's got a similar sort of surrealism to Night Vale, but with higher stakes and less humor, and I had enough trouble getting immersed in Night Vale. I could probably enjoy it if I gave it enough time, but for now I'd rather focus on *gestures at some of the shows above*

The Silt Verses: Listened to the first ten minutes of the first episode and got bored, which I think says as much about me as it does about the show. It does get off to a bit of a slow start and leaves more space between lines of dialogue than most of these shows do, but I could probably get into it with adequate time and sleep. Not prioritizing it, for similar reasons to Alice.

#audio drama #the storage papers #the cellar letters #400 words a horror #middle below #thegrottopod #soul operator #shadows at the door #archive 81 #alice isn't dead #the silt verses #woe.begone #<-tagging because a lot of these shows are woe.begone-adjacent #media i'm gulping

[sandybrett]

Wyatt Flores really said, "What if I wrote a country song personifying various parts of the body including the heart, like 'Achy Breaky Heart', but it was actually good?" And then did it.

#wyatt flores #country music #and now for something completely different #music recs #Youtube

[sandybrett]

The issue, I think, was that I really could not separate the songs from what I've picked up through pop culture osmosis. Oh, this song is about a guy who lives in London! Hey, this song is about a guy who makes offensive jokes! Now there's a song full of football metaphors! Forget being able to bring my own interpretations to the songs and let my imagination run wild! I went to the ice cream shop and ordered a brownie and they put ice cream on my brownie without asking me and I tried to wipe it off but I can still taste it!

[Please do not take that metaphor too far, I do not actually think my favorite artists are required to cater to my tastes.]

I'm kinda tempted to pre-order the new T.S. album so I can experience it entirely separately from the pop-culture narrative. No social media hype, no YouTube comments, no Spotify data, nothing.

#and now for something completely different #capitalism may or may not have been made by birbs #media i'm gulping #(unusually apt tag)

[sandybrett]

My redesign hot take is that if you’re aiming to “desexualize” a female character, don’t make her boobs smaller. You’re implying a lot here.

#gender #representation #art advice

[sandybrett]

The album was all right, I guess? But I was sort of left feeling like a child following the Pied Piper around.

I'm kinda tempted to pre-order the new T.S. album so I can experience it entirely separately from the pop-culture narrative. No social media hype, no YouTube comments, no Spotify data, nothing.

#and now for something completely different #capitalism may or may not have been made by birbs #media i'm gulping

[sandybrett]

I went ahead and pre-ordered.

Oops.

If I'd waited, I could have had a whole extra album's worth of songs for just one more dollar. But I'm not being given the chance to do a complete-the-album or anything.

I'm kinda tempted to pre-order the new T.S. album so I can experience it entirely separately from the pop-culture narrative. No social media hype, no YouTube comments, no Spotify data, nothing.

#i'm probably gonna pirate the rest of the album #i'm willing to pirate songs when a) the artist is dead #b) the song is out of print or otherwise extremely difficult to find; or #c) the artist has a net worth of over 100M #and now for something completely different

[sandybrett]

Trying to enjoy Taylor Swift's music while having as little of a parasocial relationship with her as possible sometimes feels like going to the ice cream shop where all your classmates like to hang out after school, buying a brownie, and eating it at home.

I'm kinda tempted to pre-order the new T.S. album so I can experience it entirely separately from the pop-culture narrative. No social media hype, no YouTube comments, no Spotify data, nothing.

#and now for something completely different #fandom

[sandybrett]

I think we may have live, laugh, loved a little too close to the sun...

#verbal brain noise

[sandybrett]

As someone who grew up with about equal exposure to all of the various Fleetwood Mac eras, it's always fun to watch people realize just how different they sounded before Buckingham and Nicks joined the band.

Probably my favorite Fleetwood Mac song:

Today I learned

"Black Magic Woman" is a Fleetwood Mac song.

#and now for something completely different #fleetwood mac #peter green's fleetwood mac #Youtube