#HOW are they as a duo this underrated in fan spaces I DO NOT KNOW 😂 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

grimelords · 4 years

Photo

So since the last time I posted one of these the entire world has changed dramatically and hopefully 4 hours of music will tide you over in quarantine for a bit longer. Strangely I’ve been busier than ever, and what started as a personal challenge to listen to a new album every day in February turned into me listening to 116 new albums in March and 124 in April. I’ve got a stacked google doc full of star ratings and dates now and it’s really been a lot of fun, I highly recommend trying it yourself. This is my March playlist, because I accidentally took a month off, and I’m thinking of either switching these playlists to weekly to make them a little more digestible or just dropping them whenever. Who knows. Let me know what you think and drop album recommendations in the comments please.

Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0k1JjT8fXcUFO6VpM3kaez?si=gWSv88vdShKSnHhLJ_80pQ

If you’d like to receive these playlists in a more digestible email format, please subscribe to my tinyletter here: http://tinyletter.com/grimelords

On A Slow Boat To China - Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee: Ok first off it’s amazing this song isn’t more racist. I don't remember now how or why I came across this. I think I was just thinking about crooners and how as a genre it's now existed in common popularity as a nostalgic idyll of a mytholigised past far longer than it was ever actually popular which is interesting. The origin of this song, according to wikipedia, is also one of the most 40s ideas I've ever read: "I'd like to get you on a slow boat to China" was a well-known phrase among poker players, referring to a person who lost steadily and handsomely. The idea being that a "slow boat to China" was the longest trip one could imagine. Loesser moved the phrase to a more romantic setting, yet it eventually entered general parlance to mean anything that takes an extremely long time".

Fight Night - Migos: I saw that Offset had some new show on Quibi the extremely fake sounding streaming service and I thought "how did Migos get so world conqueringly large that they get to make 10 minute shows nobody will watch for a $2 billion venture capital funded app that will never make any money?" They seem to have this massive reputation without having much to back it up. The last thing I remember everyone talking about was how Culure II was two hours long in order to game streaming numbers and was simply not good. They seemed to have sort of settled into making background music for scrolling instagram. But then I remembered Fight Night and I thought: "oh wait, that's right, Migos are fucking great". Where their other big hits like Bad And Boujee and Walk It Talk It have this sort of laid back vibe where they've comfortably nailed the formula and relax onto it, Fight Night commands your attention. StackboyTwan killed the beat - it has this propulsive momentum where it feels like it's constantly ramping up, moving up from the sidesick and bassline in the verse, up to the claps on the beat, and the big gang chants on the offbeat once the full instrumentation kicks in - then it just goes around and around and around with the constant bassline the whole tim. It's a perfect all-rise production because it never actually explodes, it's all building tension held down by an unchanging bassline.

Do It Puritan! - El Hombre Trajeado & Sue Tompkins: I am extremely delighted to announce that Sue Tompkins of one of my all time favourite single album bands Life Without Buildings has broken a nearly 20 year musical hiatus to appear on this song by El Hombre Trajeado. It is so nice to hear how her voice has changed and her approach has stayed the same. Her style is so unique and so good and I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.

5 8 6 - New Order: Before 'the incident' I had tickets to see New Order at the end of March and so I embarked on a big listen through of their discography, which has now unfortunately made it feel even worse that live music is cancelled indefinitely.

Oom Sha La La - Haley Heynderickx: First of all I love songs where they talking about how they're writing a song halfway through. And I love songs that seem like a pretty normal singer songwriter indie thing where someone just starts screaming near the end. I love this song. A great staring at the wall and absolutely losing your mind because you haven't done anything with your whole life anthem.

Elektrobank - The Chemical Brothers: Can you believe I've never listening to a full Chemical Brothers album before this month? Can you believe big beat ever went our of style? It feels insane that we ever swapped this sort of energy for the beige algorithm of EDM. I think there's a real triumph in this album, and in this track especially of replicating the live feeling in studio. Giving it this much space to grow and change and get very hairy near the end is amazing, it feels like it was just recorded live.

My Mind's A Ship (That's Going Down) - Katie Pruitt: It feels very rare to me that this sort of extremely smooth Nashville prduction actually makes a song better. It has a habit of strangling the life out of a song and making it blend into a boring paste of soundalikes, but with Katie Pruitt it works amazingly. Her songwriting is so distinct and clear and her voice, especially near the end where it punches hole in the sky, is so strong and so her own that it doesn't need anything else.

Water - Ohmme: "What if Tegan And Sara were a noise band instead?" is a question I didn't know I needed an answer to. I love any band that has the guts to write songs like this that sound like pop from an alternate history, so off kilter and odd and noisy but with this undeniable pop heart that the duo vocals make sound like schoolyard clapping chants remixed by Lightning Bolt.

Lions, Tigers and Bears - SLIFT: A friend put me on to Slift and described them as French King Gizz and really, I'm inclined to agree. This is the traditional long last song at the end of their new album, and as usual I am advocating that every song should be the long last song at the end of the album. I love this style of jam where everyone else goes to space but the rhythm section just digs in and works hard as fuck for ten minutes. Then the whole last 3 minutes of the song are just fat drone riffs. This song's got everything.

The Pines - 070 Shake: This 070 Shake album is unbeleivably good and it warms my heart to see the dark energy of The Pines live on through another century in yet another permutation. I have more to say about it later in the Jackson C Frank version coming up but it feels like this 070 Shake album kind of came and went but I implore you to listen, it’s an aoty contender for sure.

Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On - Funkadelic: If you can stop thinking about the intro, which I certainly can’t (Hey lady won’t you be my dog and I’ll be your tree and you can pee on me.) there is so much goodness in this song. For a while now I’ve been thinking about how, for lack of a better word, ‘positive’ music is consistently underrated in the critical canon. Dance music, disco and funk especially are derided as empty sugar music, while every cookie cutter metal band absolutely demands to be taken seriously. In dance music this manifests as genres like tech house sucking all the fun and individuality out of music until it’s just an endless parade of producers working to a schematic of the barest essentials. It feels like you can’t have fun and be taken seriously at the same time, which feels like an obvious contradiction but shouldn’t be!

Spoils - Dry Cleaning: Dry Cleaning are my Lock Of The Month Band To Watch In The Future Because They’re Gonna Go Off. They have such a great sound and I’m desperate for an album because I just need more. This song absolutely knocked me down when I first heard it. I love any band where it sounds like the singer has just wandered in while the rest of them were rehearsing. There’s a very good talking-songs movement happening in the UK right now between these guys, Do Nothing and Fontaines D.C and i’m excited to see where it progresses. I might put together a playlist a little later to show you what I mean.

As - Stevie Wonder: I finally listened to Songs In The Key Of Life this month, which is an experience I would recommend to everyone. This shit goes for 21 songs over 105 minutes and absolute bangs the whole way. The original release of this album was a double LP plus a 7", which is yet another reason I am grateful for streaming that I don't have to buy a damn box set to hear this thing.

Sleep Now In The Fire - Rage Against The Machine: I am working on a very niche playlist called Songs Where The Guitar Amp Accidentally Picks Up A Nearby Radio Station For A Couple Of Seconds and it's only 3 songs so far. A Man A Plan A Canal Panama by The Fall Of Troy, Melody 4 by Tera Melos and Sleep Now In The Fire by Rage Against The Machine. In every single one of those songs it feels like a critical component even though it's just an accident that's been left in because it sounds good. Here it's the perfect ending as the rage dies down and the commercial world fades back in. Anyway, my other question about this song is about the great Michael Moore directed video where they famously shut down Wall Street for an afternoon. There's a shot of a guy for a second holding a sign that says Donald Trump For President in 1999. Which is odd but not out of the question, he's been famous for a long time and there's always been freaks. My question is why the fuck did he have that sign that day? Was he amongst the Rage Against The Machine Fans that showed up? A counter protestor? Was he, perhaps most chillingly of all, just walking idly around Wall Street with his Donald Trump For President sign like usual and stumbled upon this whole hoo-haa accidentally?

Applause (Purity Ring Remix) - Lady Gaga: Did you fucking know that Purity Ring did a remix of Applause? If there’s something I’d love to know more about and it’s Purity Ring’s forays into pop production. After their first album they did some production for rappers like Danny Brown in the great track 25 Bucks, which is a good fit really - their sound is witch house with the tempo pushed back up, witch house of course just being chopped and screwed reinvented by tumblr users. So it’s a natural fit to take that new perspective back into the world of hip hop. They also did this fantastic remix of Applause after their first album. Then, after their second album they produced 3 songs for Katy Perry’s Witness album, and one Katy Perry song for a Final Fantasy mobile game soundtrack (?) and feel like the long silence and delay between their second and third albums is because of more behind the scenes pop production work - but if that’s true, where is it? Is it, as I suspect, part of my own personal Pepe Silvia, Katy Perry’s scrapped 2019 album that has vanished into thin air? Or is it part of Chromatica? I think Purity Ring have solidified an interesting place in pop, paving the way for Billie Eilish and Kim Petras’ dark anti-pop and so i’m excited to see where they go after this new album now that they’re the architects of the new wave.

React/Revolt - Drahla: The smartest thing you can do is add a saxophone to your band. The whole first half of this song could go for 20 minutes of growling screaming saxophone post-punk and I wouldn't mind. Then when the second half of the song kicks in it's fantastic in the way this whole Drahla album is: it's tight and sprawling post-punk at the same time with a complicated structure that seems to just pile onto itself instead of ever circling back.

And I Was Like - Porridge Radio: I'm seemingly having a real thing this month for songs that open with a bizzare acapella chant. Between this and the Funkadelic one it's a genre I'm very interested in hearing more of. Isaac Newton was a virgin and it's important to recognise that. The thing I love about this song is how it's in 3 distinc sections: Isaac Newton was a virgin, she's a birthday girl in a birthday world, and mum no please it's grunge, and they all feel like the concentrated energy of a 14 year old's thoughts. She sounds like she's almost crying when she sings 'she's a birthday girl in a birthday world'. The concentrated confusing teenaged energy of this song is just overwhelming.

Dirty Mattresses - Mama's Broke: So much of contemporary 'traditional folk' either exists as pure nostalgia music or as music that's trying too hard to be 'authentic' and evoke a mythology of a bygone time, but Mama's Broke manage to make it feel new and modern but honest and authentic at the same time. The super close harmonies and modern approach remind me of House And Land who I also love, but the songwriting is in another class entirely.

Building A House - CHOPCHOP: I don't know if you've ever seen Bad Boy Bubby but CHOPCHOP feels a little like the band that he ends up joining at the end. A musical ensemble built to enable the will of a very strange man. I think the band is from the UK and I'm not sure where the singer is from, but he has this incredible deeply accented voice that brings such a gravity to everything he sings in the way that anyone speaking english as a second language accidentally brings new weight to common turns of phrase.

Universal Soldier - Jay Electronica: It feels fitting, looking back, that Jay Electronica finally released his album right before the world ended. It was literally now or never. Some how Jay-Z is the breakout star of this album for me. He's got some of his best verses in years on here and he's a great opposition to Electronica's flow when they trade verses. I would also, as an aside, like to know the origin of the kids cheering sample throughout this, because it's the same one from AM//Radio by Earl Sweatshirt and Wish You Were Gay by Billie Eilish. So what's that about.

Sticky Hulks - Thee Oh Sees: I've been very slowly getting into Oh Sees and I love them a lot so far. Their unweildy, huge discography spread across a lot of variations of the same name makes digging into them very rewarding as well. There's a great line on their wiki detailing all the times they've changed their name that goes: Orinoka Crash Suite (1997–2003), OCS (2003–2005, 2017), Orange County Sound (2005), The Ohsees (2006), The Oh Sees (2006–2008), Thee Oh Sees (2008–2017), Oh Sees (2017–2019) Osees (2019) to give you some idea of what we're working with here. Basically it's just everything you could want from a pychedelic band like this: a history and discography as shaggy as the songs themselves.

Knife On The Platter - BODEGA: In reading about Bodega I learned that they don't have a drummer in the traditional sense. They have someone credited as a 'stand up percussionist', and in listening back I realised that's they key to the groove in their music. He's not playing a kit he's just slamming at a tom and a snare on a rack, while one of the singers plays hi-hat here and there. So all the drumming has this barebones caveman feel to it and I absolutely love it. The band feels a lot like The Fashion, and that whole mid-2000s dance-punk movement that I've been desparate to come back so naturally I love it a lot.

Against Gravity - Horse Lords: Horse Lords are one of the most incredible bands I've heard in a long time. Somewhere between a more analogue Battles and Laddio Bolocko, they make a kind of churning math-jazz that sounds like huge intersecting squares of rhythm slowly overlapping. It feels like there's an infinite depth in these songs, you can listen and focus on a single instrument and see it shifting in and out of place with everyone else, before you lose it again and it retreats back into the swirling mass.

Plain To See Plainsman - Colter Wall: I've been listening to this Colter Wall album a lot, and it's really beginning to rank among my all time favourites. I grew up around the flattest place in the southern hemisphere, so I love the plains and it's very nice to have a cowboy song I can relate to like that.

The Nail - Sarah Shook & The Disarmers: Sarah Shook has so much character in her voice I completely love it. She is also a fantastic songwriter that manages to make outlaw country punk that sounds authentic and doesn't have the rockabilly posturing that a lot of the genre suffers from.

Inner Reaches 慾望的暗角二 - Gong Gong Gong 工工工: The best thing about Gong Gong Gong is you can listen to this whole song before you realise they don't have a drummer. They're a guitar and bass duo that play and sing with such a layered rhythmic intensity between the two of them that they really don't need one. A drummer would just clutter the space already taken up by their ferocious rhythm.

Country Pie - Bob Dylan: I'm a big fan of Bob Dylan's dumb songs. He has a lot where if it's the first song you ever heard from him you would be mad at whoever told you he was the greatest songwriter to ever live for trying to trick you like this. What I especially love about this song is how abruptly it ends, like dad just came home and everyone panicked cause they're know they're not supposed to be staying up that late.

You Did It Yourself - Arthur Russell: It seems hard to believe that I've only just found out about Arthur Russel. He seems to be a mainstay of Music Guy lists and somehow I've only heard of him this month. I've been obsessing over the Iowa Dream album, which is a compilation of a lot of different (mostly extremely high quality) demos from the late 70s to mid 80s and what really shines through other than the singular strength of his songwriting is how readily and easily he bends from country style folk to romantic piano ballads, to groovy post-punk like this. What I love so much about this song is it's a great lesson in songwriting: sometimes a song can just be a vague review of a middling movie and still have emotional resonance. Incredible. There's a great NPR article about Arthur Russel and the process of assembling half-takes and demos into complete recordings that you should read if you're interested. https://www.npr.org/2019/11/20/779721417/which-arthur-russell-are-we-getting-on-iowa-dream

The Dogs Outside Are Barking - Arthur Russell: I love this song because it's such a perfect distillation of a teenaged moment: trying to find a moment alone with someone when you have no freedom at all to create one. The song cycles through potential situations but leaves the problem unresolved, existing in the moment of nervous romantic tension preceding an unasked question and it's just beautiful.

Men For Miles - Ought: I love the vocal melody in the verse here so much. Spiking up unnaturally at the end of the lines like a nervous and strange version of The Strokes. Even the way he cramps his words in in the chorus is so good, switching registers randomly like he's impersonating someone else.

Mister Soweto - Lizzy Mercier Descloux: https://pitchfork.com/features/from-the-pitchfork-review/9828-lizzy-mercier-descloux-behind-the-muse/ Pitchfork has a great article about Lizzy Mercier Descloux detailing how she is continually undervalued and underappreciated. I found her though my Discover Weekly and became immediately obsessed with this album - a perfect mix of off-kilter 80s bass and brass that is so colourful and seems to move in a million directions at once like the songs can't even catch up with themselves sometimes. I'm excited to dig into her discography more and try to understand her more because she has a truly unique approach that I can't get enough of.

Sweden - Marilyn Crispell: I've been looking for a while for other pianists of Cecil Taylor's calibre, rare type that it is and I am so glad to have finally found out about Marilyn Crispell. She plays free jazz like Taylor, but in much less percussive and disonnant style. There's a New York Times quote that seems to follow her that says "Hearing Marilyn Crispell play solo piano is like monitoring an active volcano. She is one of a very few pianists who rise to the challenge of free jazz." and it's really very apt. She will move with seemingly no warning at all from mediative, colourful stokes to a mad descent unto uncertainty and beyond, then back again without a moments hesitation. Her music moves like a dream, linking a stream of unlinked images with an ease that only seems incongruous on reflection.

Twins - Gem Club: I have loved this song for a very long time and I come back to it over and over and appreciate it anew. What I appreciate about on listening to it this time is the strangeness of it's structure, following up the verse with an instrumental break, and then a long instrumental intro to the chorus gives it so much space to spread out and breathe, giving the beautiful gravity of the song even more weight. Then after the chorus it moves straight to a bridge and then the intro and first verse again. It's a fantastic song that makes it's small parts so large, where another songwriter or another producer would pare them down.

Grand Central - Paul Cauthen: Something I've learned in listening to a lot of cowboy music is that the number one thing that cowboys hate and fear is getting hanged. They hate it worse than cats hate getting sprayed with water. I found out about Paul Cauthen combing through Colter Wall's similar artists looking for more of this brand of new old fashioned country and I really found it here. Paul Cauthen comes from four generations of preachers and left the church to pursue country music instead, which feels like an extremely old fashioned position to be in here in 2020 but I guess lots of people in Texas still live like that, and thank god they do or we wouldn't have Paul Cauthen's big mournful Elvis voice to sing us songs about the railway.

Serafina - BAMBARA: I love this sort of spoken word leather jacket rock and roll. It's so extremely Cool in an old fashioned way. Like a more rock and roll version of Enablers.

So 4 Real - The Hecks: I love love love this song that sounds like a sped up Prince demo. The strange thinness of the mix and the way the vocals are buried just makes it sound so strange and great, like it was put together on some ancient 4 track recorder that can't handle the pure energy of the song.

In The Pines (Version 2) - Jackson C. Frank: There's a very good 3 hour compilation of Jackson C. Frank recordings that came out a few years called Remastered And Unreleased that I listened through the other day. It's just magnificent. This version of In The Pines is one of my favourite I've ever heard, the mournful vocals coupled with his churning rhythm guitar really brings out the darkness of it in a way I've never heard.

(Tumble) In The Wind (Version 1) - Jackson C. Frank: Another favourite from this compilation that is slightly hard to listen to. I don't know if there's a date on it but I'd guess this was recorded near the end of his life. It is so beautiful, but you can hear in his voice and breathing that he's unwell. In Horseshoe Crabs by Hopalong she sings a story from his perspective this song really seems to fit in the second half of that. "Woke from the dream and I was old / Staring at the ass crack of dawn / Walked these streets up and down / Looking for Paul Simon / All I found was myself, lost in time / I tried singing my songs / But I lost my mind"

Sludge - Squid: I'm thinking of putting together a playlist of all the great Black Midi-adjacent bands I've found out about recently and Squid is at the top of the list. This new breed of art-punk is so fantastic and goes in a million different directions. I'm just so excited it exists.

Straight Shot - Quelle Chris: I love this song and Guns is a phenomenal album but there’s one thing bothering me. The ‘who are you, what are you’ part at the end sounds so incredibly familiar to me and I can’t figure out why. As far as I can tell it’s not a sample, but googling reveals that the english voice on it is fucking James Acaster the standup comedian. So what’s going on? Quelle Chris himself is less than helpful: “Straight Shot is one of those ideas that reached out to me, we got along and I simply showed it around town. The chorus, poem at the end and basic piano progression literally came to me in two separate dreams”. Who knows. Great song though.

Levitation - Dua Lipa: What I really like about this song is that she says sugarboo. This whole album bangs and Dua is really reaping the benefits of being the only pop star with the guts to release an album while everyone’s in lockdown I also have a half-baked theory about the way this song is almost interpolating Blame It On The Boogie in the ‘moonlight, starlight’ part as a sort of aggressive takeover of Michael Jackson’s cancelled legacy. Which is smart really. The same way Taylor Swift is re-recording her albums, let’s just get The Weeknd in the studio for a couple of days and give the world back it’s bangers.

Another Crashed Car - Nine Inch Nails: I am so glad Trent Reznor put out another two volumes of Ghosts. Ghosts I-IV from 2008 seems to have been the bridge from his Nine Inch Nails work to his film score work, and now that he’s had such success with that it’s nice to hear him writing in this style without telling anyone else’s story again. It’s also interesting for him to go back to this project now that Ghosts I-IV has paid dividends in the form of the sample at the centre of Old Town Road but that’s neither here nor there. It’s hard to pick and individual track from these, because they work so effectively as long form albums and not individual tracks, but I chose this one because I put the album on as background ambient while I was doing some boring data entry at work and this track is the point at which I realised I was going out of my mind with stress from doing the simplest tasks because of Trent’s Damned Chords.

Lilacs - Waxahatchee: This is a perfect song. It makes me want to like, draw charts about it and go through it bar by bar to figure out how she did it. It’s perfectly put together. It feels like she uses every trick in the book and it just comes together flawlessly in 3 minutes. Amazing.

Cool Water - Hank Williams: I decided to properly listen to Hank Williams because his shadow stretches over so much of country music, and while a lot of his music really alienated or bored me, and a lot of his songs feel like they would read as novelty songs today (like Hey Good Looking), this is the song that made me understand why he’s so revered.

In My Bones (feat. Kimbra and Tank And The Bangas) - Jacob Collier: Jacob Collier generally irks me. He makes brain music for redditors that lose their mind when someone shows them chord inversions or odd time signatures. Youtubers whose whole personality is ‘y’all heard Giant Steps?’ But he killed it on this song. It’s great despite him. There’s still a lot of corniness to work through, mostly in the big yuck funky lyrics, but structurally it’s a kaleidoscope and a big chunk of its success I’m putting down to Kimbra and Tank who understand that performance is a bigger part of a song than composition in a way Collier maybe doesn’t yet. He can overload the bassline and stop-start the rhythms as much as he likes but without actual personalities driving it it’ll just sound like a Peter Gabriel midi played at 200%.

Earthquake - Graham Central Station: I learned something wonderful in researching this band. The leader, Larry Graham, who was in Sly And The Family Stone is credited with inventing slap bass. He himself refers to the technique as "thumpin' and pluckin' ".

Quand Les Larmes D’un Ange Font Danser La Neige - Melody’s Echo Chamber: Once again furious that I’ve known of Melody’s Echo Chamber for years but never listened to them until now. I have been missing out. This is a perfect sprawling psychedelic jam punctuated with a bizzare cut-up recording about shitting yourself when you die and being declared brain dead in the vatican. It’s got everything. I had to look up who the drummer was on this song because he’s just nailing it, and it turns out it’s Johan Holmegaard from Dungen which is really a perfect fit.

Murder Most Foul - Bob Dylan: I was thinking the other day about how Bob Dylan is doing in quarantine. The man who hasn’t stopped moving his whole life and who’s been on a never ending tour since the 70s is now, I assume, just pacing a hole in a hotel carpet somewhere and jabbering to himself. The strangest part of Bob dropping this 17 minute song about JFK out of nowhere is that he hasn’t put out any original music since 2012. So a gigantic song like this is an even bigger surprise. I, already a huge fan of gigantic songs and Bob Dylan, unsurprisingly love it. I love the slow stirring of the instrumentation, like he hired Dirty Three as a backing band and I love that nearly the entire second half is just listing good songs that he knows. It’s a remarkable song and unlike anything i’ve heard before from Dylan or anyone else. It’s interesting to hear Bob Dylan step into being the great chronicler of the 60s like he’s been told he already was his entire life almost 50 years later, finally accepting the fate foisted on him. The other thing I love about this song is the line when he for some reason praises Lee Harvey Oswald’s shooting “Greatest magic trick ever under the sun / Perfectly executed, skillfully done”

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0k1JjT8fXcUFO6VpM3kaez?si=gWSv88vdShKSnHhLJ_80pQ

#playlists

233 notes · View notes

stitch1830 · 3 years

Text

ATLA Q&A

So I got tagged by @mycomfortblanket and @dannyurl but it wouldn’t let me reblog on the thread so I made a new one lol. Never really thought about these questions til now, so good exercise!

1. What is your favorite character?

Toph Beifong. Need I say more?

2. What is your comfort character?

Hmmm, does Appa count? If yes, then Appa. He’s a good, chill pal. I’d snuggle with him.

3. Which element would you bend if you could?

Probably earthbending. I like the fighting style of firebenders a bit more, but I think that the element of earth has more opportunities and possibilities to adapt the martial art and then also bending the different compositions of earth lol. Plus metalbending is a dope technique and I would love to be able to do that as well.

4. What’s your favorite nation?

Probably Earth Kingdom. Idk, maybe because it’s the biggest nation, so there are lots of different cities to travel to. I can’t really explain why it’s my favorite lol.

5. What makes you love ATLA the most?

Probably just the established world. If I ever try to make up my own stories, creating the setting and space the story takes place in is always the hardest for me. So the fact that there are multiple nations, maps, cities, and cultures associated with the story, and those background details are fleshed out is pretty impressive. And even as a kid I noticed that.

COULD GET YOU ATTACKED QUESTIONS

1. Who is your least favorite character in the gaang?

I think as a kid, I didn’t care for Sokka or Aang. Sokka seemed useless to the team to me as a kid and then all of a sudden he was an expert strategist in my head. And Aang bothered me because he was a bald kid with tattoos lol. Weird for my 10-year-old brain to wrap around at the time. I love both of them now, obviously, and see my flawed thought process as a kid lol. Otherwise, I never cared for Mai or Ty Lee.

2. What character do you think is severely underrated?

Mmmm, idk. No one from the Gaang seems underrated, nor do the main villains. I’ll find realms of the fandom that tend to overrate characters, so I feel like a lot of them get the love and appreciation they need. Even Cabbage Man has support. Like, okay.

Maybe Freedom Fighters? Like, all of the minor ones. They kind of come and go as they please, and they probably need more backstory than they actually get.

3. What’s your least favorite nation?

Again, as a kid I never liked that all the Air nation people were bald and had tattoos. Not the smartest logic on my end lol. But idk, I still prefer the other nations now.

4. What is your controversial ATLA opinion?

I actually struggle to watch the show now as an adult and after reading some fantastic posts on Tumblr about the show’s flaws. Obviously I shouldn’t judge the show based on bad writing near the end or series finale relationships, but I can barely watch it now without seeing the hints of romantic relationships and cringe or just... knowing that the outcome of the show isn’t what I particularly want to see. It’s easier for me to just stay in fanfiction and read about fan theories and then come up with my own outcomes.

The show used to satisfy me, but now? Not so much. I like, only watch season 2 now if I want to watch it at all, mainly for Toph and because there aren’t as many obviously displays of Aang crushing on Katara.

SHIPPING QUESTIONS

1. What’s your favorite ship and why?

Canon ships only.

JK. Taang. Taang for days. As a couple, I see them having a lighthearted relationship where they know how to balance each other. They are powerful and strong and independent on their own and certainly don’t need to be in a relationship, but they would choose to be together because they add value to their lives and want to be together. They’ve got that classic ‘opposites attract’ dynamic that isn’t like “I can’t live without you” feeling, but more like “You help me be better” feel.

Before finding Taang, I never really shipped Toph with anyone, and didn’t even know she had canon kids until like... the pandemic started lol. I just thought she’d be a badass and wreak havoc on the world and be responsible for only herself. And if I did ship her with a character, it was usually Sokka bc of the angst and canon compliance it provided. But after reading a few Taang fics, there was actually potential for her to be in a longstanding and committed relationship with someone that made sense to me. It was cool to find a ship that opened my eyes to that, because otherwise, I would’ve never assumed or thought she’d ever marry or have kids or anything.

Tokka is a close second because it got me into reading fanfiction, but idk Taang is just feels so right to me lol.

2. What’s your least favorite ship?

After reading lots of metas, I don’t like Mai/Zuko and Aang/Katara. They just rub me the wrong way now.

3. Do you sometimes self-insert?

As far as inserting myself into a romantic relationship with ATLA characters... No. Not my cup of tea.

I do sometimes create OCs that are just like... best friends with the Gaang and went through their own shit during the war. But they don’t resemble me at all. If anything, they mirror the personality of the character they’re close with, simply because I think friendships where characters have very similar personalities would be interesting. We see a lot of opposite duos, romantic and platonic, and I certainly do the same thing in my life (I have lots of friends where I am not like them at all, but we’re really close). But to see relationships where they act very similar... Interesting dynamic. They probably butt heads a lot and fight a lot, but also really understand what the other needs for help, and... yeah. Those friendships seem unappreciated to me. So I like to make those up lol.

4. What ship would you make canon if you were the creator?

I wouldn’t make ATLA about romantic relationships. If anything, I would emphasize the family aspect of the team, then let fans and audiences decide who works best with who ~after~ the show ends lol. I tend to like endings with open interpretation, and also, just based on my personal life/preference, I think it’s sometimes weird when really really close friends get together in relationships afterwards. Like, I’ll think of those friends as my family, and dating ‘practically family’ is sometimes weird imo lol. Of course, I know why those relationships tend to happen, mostly because those characters are the only ones that can relate to the war trauma they all went through, so I get that and love that aspect of it.

I would certainly lean in the direction of the Big Three: Zutara, Sukka, and Taang, just by pointing out their dynamic, having them confide in one another, or something of the sort. But no one would like, get together at the end.

My thoughts on ATLA, and I’m going to tag anyone that wants to do this! I’m looking at you. ;)

#atla #atla q&a #asking the hard hitting questions #I barely knew the answers lol #tag game

4 notes · View notes

bearpillowmonster · 5 years

Text

Top 15 Movies

I made that Top 15 Games post so I decided to do movies as well, same rules apply here but you’re going to see mostly Marvel and Disney movies anyway so I made it one per franchise such as one Star Wars, One Avengers, One Guardians, with that Guardians Vol. 2, Pirates: Curse of the Black Pearl, Spider-Man: Homecoming were the runner ups. No particular order.

Incredibles: I went to the theaters to see this and I feel so happy that I did, I remember being so impressed with Dash running on the water then beating those goons. It really set the bar and holds up today considering I hold it higher than it’s sequel and it made me a fan of Brad Bird.

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse: Am I hopping on the bandwagon here?...Nope! I was making this list and I was going to put either the first Raimi film or Homecoming and I started thinking...why not Spiderverse? I really adore the other ones but there are a few glaring problems with them, this one...I can’t actually name any.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: I really enjoyed this when I saw it, it’s one of those where I can watch it again and again and not get tired of it. I’m not sure why but it was a lot more fun than I expected, it also had ONE of the best villains of the MCU (in my opinion) as well as the worst.

The Losers: I see this as a staircase to the Marvel universe, I mean we have Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans here, what’s not to love. I think we all know what my favorite part was...

The Three Musketeers: Mickey, Donald and Goofy: It did justice to the characters and made a classic story into something new and entertaining. It’s underrated. And who can forget this part:

Tron: Legacy: This or Tron, This or Tron? Both were very good but this one has a little better effects obviously as well as doing a lot of things that the original already does, add Daft Punk’s killer soundtrack in there and you got yourself a formula for an uprising. #TronLives #FlynnLives

Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Good voice acting, cool effects, a nice aesthetic with the glowing lights, crystals, and ancient technology (I guess you can say I like blue lights judging by my previous entry) But I remember first seeing it and immediately feeling the weight from that beginning with Kida’s mom. It’s a nice adventure and makes me wish that it’s sequel wasn’t so iconicly hated because it gives the title a bad name. I refuse to watch the sequel if it really is that bad.

The Lion King: Can you blame me? Do I even have to explain? Animation is gorgeous, designs are peak, music is top notch, and expressions that they get ‘Oh so right’ that no live action remake could ever recapture. This is considered a masterpiece. I can quote it on the daily, remember even the tiniest details and just the amount of times I’ve seen it makes me want to say it IS a part of who I am.

The Avengers: Infinity War was close but this was the cake. You can walk into a room with this playing at any given moment and be like “Oh yeah this is a good part.” They spend every minute doing something interesting.

Captain America: The First Avenger: A lot of people overlook this one because of the other 2 but this one will always be my favorite. I remember seeing it the first time, just came out on DVD and my mom went to her baby shower, me and my dad watched it and she came back AS SOON as it was done, as if this was just to pass that exact amount of time. Cap is a character you want to root for, his morals are worth fighting for. Iron Man may have started the MCU but I say Cap shaped it and made it better, this was the real start (as Avengers was next. Red Skull is just a villain I like, both movie and comic as well.

Baby Driver: I was superhyped to see Spider-Man: Homecoming so I traveled just to go see it as early as I could, I said if anything went wrong, I would go see this. I ended up being fine and waited until this was on DVD. Edgar Wright has some of the best editing in his movies, the way this movie uses music, the tone, the idea of it being in the perspective of the ‘Getaway driver’ it makes it exciting and gives it spunk, it makes you like the character, the music, and heck root for a criminal. I wasn’t a big fan of the big twist everyone likes with the villain but that’s ok.

Inside Out: I went to Disney World and when I learned they were still playing this in theaters there, I dropped everything and went to go see it. Little did I know how right I was because I really enjoyed it. It’s an emotional film, gets me crying probably more than any other film, it really nails what’s it’s talking about...feelings. Mix that with glowful animation, good voice acting and a lesson that makes you think and really ponder.

Guardians of the Galaxy: I thought this would try and be like Star Wars and just be a giant battle in space. Nope! This has charm, character, and maybe a little bit of rudeness but man! I mean escape from prison in zero gravity, freezing in dead space, singing in the middle of everything and once again the villain. Why do I like the underrated villains? I think it’s a good contrast with the goofy personality of the characters to have a serious, brooding, and gritty character. As well as a proper introduction to Thanos (yeah he’s still number 1 villain in my book)

Star Wars: Somewhere, somehow, this had to be on the list. One way or the other, Star Wars is a phenomenon that can’t simply be ignored, with all the controversy and misdirection within the community right now, for some reason I keep getting tossed and turned but I find myself coming back e-v-e-r-y-t-i-m-e! I’ll say A New Hope is my favorite but really, I could say just about all of them. Something about seeing Luke, Vder, Leia, and Han in the same place just tops it off. The witty duo of R2 and 3PO, the original Death Star, the quotable moments that make you wish you were on that planet yet also find yourself relating with the way Luke wanting to get away but at the same time missing his old ways.

Black Panther: I’ll be honest. I don’t really like Black Panther in the comics. I felt like he was a cool secret weapon in the cartoons but I never really gained my appreciation for him until Civil War came out, then I really liked him. I figured out why too, I just really didn’t like how bland his suit was in the comics, I ended up reading a few anyway after the movie. I think he’s worthy of the Infinity Gauntlet like in the comics. Well this movie came out and I saw it opening day to a big crowd, it had good music, good style, a fresh take and blend between ancient and modern styles (kind of like how Atlantis did) as well as giving it a sense of culture, and not shying away from that. It’s almost like the Lion King, I never felt the same way about a film but those two feel similar and for that alone is a feat.

23 notes · View notes

eurosong · 5 years

Text

SF1 vs SF2: My preference

Morning, folks - this is the second part of my look at the semis, since one became two back in 2008, to find whether I’ve historically preferred one semi or another. Every year, we hear talk of one semi being strongest, but do I agree? Part one can be found here!

2014: Semi-final 1 had Calm after the storm, a lesson in elegance in simplicity that I still think should have won; Not alone, a divisive song, but one whose epic instrumentation I really enjoyed; Moj svijet, one of Montenegro's highlights; and in terms of smaller pleasures, the loveably goofy Cake to bake, the roaring No prejudice, and the uplifting Amazing (which unfortunately wasn't so good live.) It also had the creepy, oedipal Mother, and Running, a fan favourite for many but which I always found very annoying and cynical.

In SF2, we had my personal pick for best Swiss song of this century, Hunter of stars; the smouldering emotion of Silent storm; Georgia bringing the experimentalism once again with Three minutes to earth; the bizarrely wronged, fierce Same Heart; but also, a hell of a lot of unexceptional, filler songs (I put Heartbeat, Something Better, Coming home and Miracle into this category tbh) and some like Rise up and To the sky which actively annoyed me. SF1 wins!

2015: SF1 had some seriously good songs for me - Rhythm inside, one of the best of the Belgian renaissance crop; De la capat, which I found exquisitely moving; the fierce and energetic Warrior; the gentle but poignant Wars for nothing; A million voices, probably Russia’s best effort in the past decade for me; and the sublime Goodbye to yesterday, which I think was well deserving of being at least top 5 that year. It also has the inexorably boring One last breath; the six soloists competing hot mess of Face the shadow; I want your love, a one-man early 2000s boyband throwback where the one member manages to be as annoying as a full quintet; the excruciatingly juvenile Walk along; Autumn leaves, whose qualification over Brod szto tone is a high crime; and Beauty never lies, which was the precise moment Serbia broke this serbophile's heart, abandoning a tradition of using their language and musical tradition with aplomb.

SF2 had the other two thirds of the Baltic annus mirabilis: the delightfully cute and catchy This time and Aminata's soaring, epic Love injected. We also had Montenegro's best ever for me, the heartbreaking and yet affirming Adio; A monster like me, Norway's best song in the past 20 years for me; and a trio of beautiful songs whose non-qualification still surprises me, the delicate Playing with numbers, delightfully saudadic Há um mar que nos separa and the baroque Hope never dies. On the other hand, it also has my least favourite winner of the decade; the worst of the two years Warriors by far from Malta; the dull, repetitive duo of songs that "helpfully" cushioned Heroes, Unbroken and Time to shine; and one of those “annual fan faves I can’t get behind”, the advert for nasal spray that was Here for you. Nonetheless, SF2 takes it!

2016: SF1 was a nightmare semi for me in that my biggest favourites, Jüri's dark but inviting Play, Bosnia's catchy fusion of traditional local music and rap in Ljubav je, and the sensationally wronged Hear them calling all ended not qualifying. Amongst the qualifiers, I quietly enjoyed the rousing Pioneer, the imperious Lovewave and the contemplative Slow down, but most of the other songs - qualifiers or not - annoyed me to some degree, like the generic Sing it away and Falling stars; the hymn to co-dependence that was I stand; the inane, repetitive, bubblegummy Loin d'ici; the dull Walk on worrah; and Miracle, whose qualification was a miracle - from the devil.

In SF2, my favourite also did not qualify - a crime of treason against queen Kaliopi and her deeply moving Dona. I also was hoping that the Slovenian Taylor Swift's quietly sweet Blue and red could get through, but no dice. Luckily, my other big favourites in this semi did get through - the defiant Shelter and perhaps the most uplifting song of the last decade, If love [were] a crime. I also really liked Heartbeat, Aminata's equally accomplished sophomore effort, and the delectable slice of mid-90s britrock that was Midnight Gold. This semi also had the whining puppy lament that was Colo[u]r of your life; the lolcow hotmess that was Last of our kind; two songs in one and neither were good in Icebreaker; and the prissy Made of Stars. SF2 takes it!

2017: SF1 had the delicate, quietly moving City lights; the dark and experimental Skeletons, Azerbaijan's best song ever for me; Amar pelos dois, one of my most favourite ESC songs ever and whose poignancy still hits me in the heart; the soaring Fly with me, perhaps Armenia's greatest moment so far for me; as well as the inexplicable non-qualifiers Blackbird, the deep and meaningful Paper, whose message about depression really got to me; the low key lovely My turn and the banging Line. It also had a ghoulish Keep the faith; the fuckboi anthem that was I can't go on; the embarassing Space; the generic and badly sung This is love; and the equally dull Gravity, On my way, Flashlight and Don't come easy, the last three of which were real dirges.

In SF2, we had the riproaring, cri de coeur that was Origo; Belarus' best for me, the delectable, sweet Story of my life; Dance alone, which was great at least as a record; the guilty pleasure Yodel it and the surprisingly moving Lights and shadows. We also had the twee Running on air, the dull Breathlessly, the earache-inducing Spirit of the night; the abomination that was Maaa fwenn/Moy frenndddd; Grab the moment, which left me completely cold; the generic I feel alive; the unsympathetic Beautiful mess; and the song that put me against thousands of people I know who were raving about it, the 80s throwback and awkward Verona. SF1 wins easily.

2018: SF1 had Mall, my #1 that year, which absolutely blew me away with the combination of lyrics, voice, music and pure emotion, and my #2, Nobody but you, probably the best gospel-tinged song ever sent to ESC for my money. I also really liked the quietly moving When we're old; Lost and found was one of my most listened to tracks before thát performance; and whilst I was dubious about Together's tangentially-related staging, it gave me the good kind of shivers on the night. The rest of the semi is most unremarkable for me, though I have to note that I heavily dislike Fuego, Monsters and the written in 3 minutes-feeling X my heart.

SF2 had another rock out moment with Outlaw in em; the visceral Viszlát nyár; the overlooked but superior feminist anthem of the year in Hvala ne; the criminally underrated, poetic Inje; Goodbye, which tore my heart remembering friends lost; and the bizarrely overlooked, sad but sensual Funny girl. It also had the ironically titled That's how you write a song; the deeply irritating Dance you off; the torturous I won't break; embarassing Light me up and overblown Taboo. SF1 has the two songs that I found the most beautiful of the year, but SF2 has a higher proportion of songs that I found good, so SF2 clinches it.

So, in 11 years, it’s been really even. SF1 has been the stronger of the two semis for me 5 times, SF2 6 times. This year, it’s difficult to guess whether SF2 will go 7-5 for me or whether SF1 will tie it up, 6 years each. We’re excitingly close to seeing!

#eurovision #eurovision song contest #esc 2019 #opinion #esc

7 notes · View notes

flickwatches · 5 years

Text

M-V-P!

I’m going to be listing (ranking?) the MVPs for each team regardless of there League MVP potential. Some teams have multiple players and I’ll be lucky to find at least 1 for some teams so lets go.

20. Florida Mayhem

Hagopeun

Most consistent player on the roster. The support back line for this team is pretty strong considering how bad the front line has been all season. They have one of the worst Dva players in the league in my opinion.

19. Washington Justice

Corey

Not many good things to pull from this team but Corey has shown some strong flashes all season. If anyone else could be mentioned it would be Ark. Corey is easily the best player for the Justice this season.

18. Houston Outlaws

Muma and Danteh

Its hard to pick a player for this team considering how inconsistent the team and the players have been. Muma had strong flashes early in the season while Danteh struggled early on with his new team. Could even argue Jake or Rawkus. There all so evenly under performing to be honest.

17. Los Angeles Valiant

Space and Kariv

I’m not a big believer in Space but his talent can’t be denied. He’s been playing strong all season. Kariv hasn’t played for parts of the season so I didn’t want to include him but he is hard carrying lately. Valiant could sneak into the season playoffs on a hot streak.

16. Atlanta Reign

Dafran

Pokpo and Massa

The most consistent parts of the Reign this season. The glue that’s been holding this roster together in game. Hopefully we get to see the power of Erster soon as DPS start to sneak back into the meta.

15. Guangzhou Charge

Shu

With a better record we would easily be talking him as one of the best flex supports this season. Each of the DPS have been popping off this season but Shu has been consistent and strong all season. His front line needs to start performing better so he can shine.

14. Boston Uprising

Fusions

This one is easy. Was an MVP candidate till stage 3. Right now he’s looking mortal but what he did the first 2 stages can’t be denied. One of the best Reinhardt players in the league.

13. Paris Eternal

Greyy and Nicogdh

Hard to judge such an under performing roster. But Greyy and Nicogdh have been as consistent as possible. Players like Danye, Finnsi, and Lhcloudy have been playing well at times thru out this poor season.

12. Toronto Defiant

None

11. Chengdu Hunters

Ameng

1 trick. Ball superstar. Savior of the season. We all know about his abilities on Hammond. But the fact he played the other main tanks well is what gave Chengdu so many chances to win games. Has been doing all he is capable of this season.

Yveltal

Support god. The mercy player challenging Neptuno. This boy don’t care about no DPS players and is out gunning them down.

Jinmu

Craziest DPS player. He doesn’t do crazy flanks or overly aggressive pushes. He just explodes at random during fights and finds huge amounts of value. People question Chengdu in a pure DPS meta but I’m confident Jinmu would hold his own and than some.

10. Dallas Fuel

None

Joking Joking.

OGE AKM

Consistent and strong. This is honestly the strongest meta for a player like OGE but I feel like there must be an issue with coms for him not to be able to play well. Either he isn’t comming strong or his team won’t let him. AKM continues to have a strong season on a bad team. Dallas has a lot of strong players not to mention Unkoe. I can see why there fans are upset with them.

9. Seoul Dynasty

Ryujehong

Well this one is stupid hard considering they play all 12 players. They’ve all been playing well. Marve1 has had a strong season also. Both the lucio players have been consistent. Wish they would of let some players become specialists and played a more solid group of players instead of 2 teams.

8. Philadelphia Fusion

Carpe

Carpe at 50% power is still the best part of this team. The longer this season has lasted the lower his play has gotten. He tried to keep up his mentality in stage 1. But you can tell he’s telegraphing his play in goats meta at this point.

7. Shanghai Dragons

Gamsu

Everyone will want to talk about the DPS. And everyone will want to talk about the Supports. But this team doesn’t have the record and the chance to make the playoffs it does without Gamsu. He should be considered an MVP candicate after the Shock and Titan players.

6. Hangzhou Spark

Guxue and IDK

IDK is one of the Lucio players that should be considered a real MVP candidate in my opinion. Guxue has been strong and consistent since the middle of stage 1. Could mention Adora but I feel like these 2 are the strongest part of this team so far this season.

5. London Spitfire

Gesture and Fury

Somehow still underrated in season 2. Gesture if one of the best main tanks in OWL and possibly the best outside of goats. Fury has been strong even on different roles this season. I would be scared of these 2 late season as goats starts losing power.

4. Los Angeles Gladiators

Hydration and Shaz and Biggoose

Of all the DPS players the Gladiators could of showcased this season I did not expect it to be Hydration. Has been strong inside and outside of goats. The support back line has been strong and consistent as always. Its so easy to overlook them because they rarely make mistakes. One of the best support duos in the league without a doubt.

3. New York Excelsior

Nenne

A lot of people would want to mention Jjonak and Meko. But I would want to focus on the fact Nenne is the best player on this team RIGHT NOW. Jjonak is Jjonak and Meko was a monster in parts of stage 1. But Nenne is getting better every stage and been placed into a hyperbolic time chamber while being on the same team as all these world class DPS players. As soon as he’s let off of Zarya you’re going to see the league’s strongest DPS player. Watch out for stage 4 McCree meta.

2. San Francisco Shock

Sinatraa and Moth and Super and Viol2t

Crazy how each of these 4 players could win league MVP. I think Sinatraa is blinding some people because he does that Sinatraa thing where he builds ults in 10 seconds. And Super is the unmovable front line for this team. But Moth is fucking crazy with his positioning how much he outperforms the opposing Lucio. The power of the Shock is the support back line that out frags, builds ults faster, and just has better position than the opposing supports. Viol2t is has been starting to hard frag since the end of stage 2.

1. Vancouver Titans

Twilight and JJanu and Slime

All 3 are MVP candidates. I really hope we don’t get stage 4 of DPS and have MVP voting for the entire season ruined by 7 games of what some popular player did. Twilight is the top of the flex support players right now but he’s being followed hard by rest of the top players. Slime and Moth are the 2 best Lucio players in the league without a doubt. JJanu has been a super strong off tank player. Once Vancouver and San Francisco learn how to play off of goats and when to swap back to goats they won’t another game unless its against each other. The kings won’t soon be dethroned.

#overwatch league #ranking?#Flickwatches #MVP #Overwatch

3 notes · View notes

twtrv · 6 years

Text

an accurate guide about red velvet

So since so many people are getting into Red Velvet recently, I decided to make a guide to help them out. You know, give yall some slack because learning five names is super hard. A guide accompanied by my half-assed jokes, interesting.

PSA: If you’re only here to stan the girls because of their recent comebacks like Peek-A-Boo and Bad Boy and are going to drop them as soon as they release tracks similar to Dumb Dumb and Ice Cream Cake, leave because we don’t want you here.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get straight to business (TO DEFEAT THE HUNS WHY DID THEY SEND ME DAUGHTERS WHEN I ASKED FOR SONS)

Basic Facts

Red Velvet is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment in 2014.

There are five members (OT4 stans can choke).

They debuted on August 1st in 2014 with a single called “Happiness”.

Fandom name is Reveluv. Since “rêve” means “dream” in French, the meaning behind the fandom name is that us, Reveluvs, make their dreams come true and Red Velvet gives us their immense love in return, thus the “luv” part. Sometimes they also call us “Luvies”.

Official fandom colour is pastel coral and not red because l o g i c

The fact that they were formed by SM Entertainment doesn’t mean they got a free ride to the top so sit your entitled asses down, thanks.

Now, you see, they weren’t actually supposed to debut in 2014. I bet you must be confused but don’t worry, it is I, your trusty homie, that is gonna help you realize how many similarities every student has with SM lmao plus the reason for their early debut.

2014 was a rough year for our buddy Lee Soo Man. Jessica left Girl’s Generation; Sulli left f(x); Kris, Tao and Luhan left EXO... This, of course, caused a goddamn World War III amongst the fans of the respective groups. They were about to go in front of the official SM building with torches and pitchforks to demand SM to step up their game. To calm the situation down, our amigo SM must have thought: “Welp I sure fucked up. How the hell do I fix this? Wait, I have an idea! Let’s debut another girl group to cover up all the shit that has been piling up for years now!”

And your boi gone and did it. He basically debuted another group despite the number of problems he had to deal with already. This is every student ever, just make another problem to cover up the first one.

Red Velvet debuted with four members; Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Joy. The “Happiness” music video got 2 million views in a day and was the most viewed kpop music video for the month of August in 2014. See, the queens already breaking records.

However, the original version of “Happiness” was full of controversial topics such as 9/11 being the most prominent one. This caused such hate to the girls that everyone started calling them “flops”. Lmao Red Velvet stays unbothered as the kpop act with the most Billboard charted albums bYE.

Some of you still may be wondering what the hell happened with Yeri. Well, because their debut was rushed and due to her age, Yeri, unfortunately, couldn’t debut with them. When Red Velvet debuted, Yeri was 15 years old so basically a child.

“bUt jiSUnG fROM ncT DreAM dEBuTed wHeN hE WAs onlY FoUrteEn”

Before, there was a law which stated that kids under the age of 16 couldn’t debut.

No need to worry fellow Yeri stans! Red Velvet only released another single called “Be Natural” before Yeri was officially added. The single featured NCT’s Taeyong on it too so if you are one of those fangirls, better go and check it out because your oppar is there + it is an underrated bop.

Yeri was added to the group during Ice Cream Cake era! Of course, many people hated her, acting as if Red Velvet released so many songs and solved world hunger without Yeri. Um, bitch they had two songs take a seat.

Discography and music in general lol

IT IS GOLD!1!!!!111!!

Okay listen, every single song of theirs makes me thot-drop in the middle of the goddamn school. Jesus Christ sunbaenim is shaking.

Albums: Ice Cream Cake, The Red, The Velvet, Russian Roulette, Rookie, The Red Summer, Perfect Velvet, The Perfect Red Velvet.

Queens of naming their albums don’t even @ me.

Listen to every single song if you want to cure your depression, clear your skin, feed your children and harvest your crops. Seriously, all of their b-sides are so amazing and such bops they are worth a listen and you, as a person who chose to stan Red Velvet, deserve to have your ears cleansed.

Another topic that I want to bring up is “the red concept” and “the velvet concept”. It is not complicated. Basically what it means is that they split their concepts into two. The red concepts are more upbeat, catchy and poppy songs such as Dumb Dumb, Rookie, Russian Roulette etc. However, the velvet concept is where they show their mature, more serious ballads. Songs that represent the velvet side are Automatic, One of These Nights, Peek-A-Boo etc.

They filmed 13 music videos so you are going to get attacked by visuals 13 times, good luck.

The members

The most interesting and fun part of this guide to be honest. So yeah, five members and five completely different personalities. Trust me, you’re gonna love every single one of these girls because they all have such amazing personalities and are extremely funny. Get abroad the homo express!

- Stage name: Irene

- Real name: Bae Joohyun

- Colour: Pink

- Position: Leader, Visual, Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Vocal

- She really is a bae tho we love a powerful woman

- Born on March 29th, 1991; the eldest

- She literally looks five what the fuck

- tiny

- Takes pictures of everyone and everything so that she can stare at them while she does the laundry because she is such a mom

- “Shut the fuck up I am not a mom”

- A GODDESS PLUS TOP VISUAL OF THIS GENERATION NO PRINTER JUST FAX

- loves pussy

- Drinks men tears to stay hydrated

- Forgets names of her kids aka the rest of Red Velvet

- Snorts laundry detergent

- Talk shit get hit

- Silent but plotting world domination with her at the top

- Speaking of tops, she doms bYE

- She survived the World War II and was Stalin's deskmate when they were in the third grade

- xXButtLoverXx

- Likes winning. Who got to the finish line first? Her. Who travelled to space first? Her. Who found the cure for world hunger? Her.

- Actually very talented in everything she does and is a blessing to humanity

- Stage name: Seulgi

- Real name: Kang Seulgi

- Colour: Orange

- Position: Main Dancer, Lead Vocal

- Either as fluffy as a teddy bear or a fucking sex God there is no in between

- Born on February 10th, 1994; second eldest

- hER EYES MAKE ME QUESTION MY SEXUALITY

- She, in general, makes me question my sexuality

- also tiny

- “Hello I am the 71st prettiest face in the world”

- First half of the “DD” also known as “Dumbass Duo”

- Someone help her she is lost in time and space

- The type of person to put a red sock to wash with the whites

- Is not capable of doing the splits because she dumb lmao

- How the fuck is one this confused???

- Gets bullied by her members a lot

- A sunshine in human form. You know that sun from the Teletubbies? That be Seulgi

- Her abs make me feel like Kylie Jenner, y’know... pregnant

- “If there’s no food I’m going home”

- THE number one fan of Beyonce™

- Pringles advocate

- She didn’t train for 7 years to have people shit talking her because she is multitalented and leaves people all around the world shooketh

- Stage name: Wendy

- Real name: Son Seungwan

- Colour: Blue

- Position: Main Vocal, English speaker

- Is also a HELLA good rapper

- Born on February 21st, 1994; third eldest

- Used to live in Toronto when she was younger, her English proceeds to give everyone a boner

- the tiniest out of all

- The kpop singer with the widest vocal range (this is an actual fact)

- “S H I N E O N M E”

- So caring it makes me bawl. She literally cooks for everyone and is so supportive it is truly beautiful

- Is actually the one behind the iconic “PARK SOOYOUNG! WHEN YOU SMILE I SMILE TOO”

- If she ever covers your song, you can say goodbye to it because it’s hers now

- A soccer mom

- Also that famous Kris Jenner “You’re doing amazing sweetie” meme

- Rescue her scalp someone pls

- Probably used “WHOMST” once in her lifetime unironically

- The gayest out of all the gays

- She is a boob person and also has a very nice butt Irene knows

- Once stacked a gazillion hats on top of her head because why the fuck not

- Is also a sexy pornstar ... no wait, I meant a “saxophonist”

- Is so beautiful and deserves all the love in this entire world but the world doesn’t deserve her at all

- Stage name: Joy

- Real name: Park Sooyoung

- Colour: Green

- Position: Lead Rapper, Lead Vocal, Mood-maker

- + an actress

- Born on September 3rd, 1996: fourth eldest

- Invented “cute” and “sexy” don’t fight me on this

- TALL (for a Red Velvet member lmfao)

- Has the prettiest profile, God took extra time in crafting such a masterpiece

- Speaking of God... God is real and in a form of Park Sooyoung

- Likes finer things in life such as herself

- If the song “Me Too” was a human, it would be her

- Ruthless

- When she gets scared her soul deadass leaves her body and it is hilarious

- A dramatic bitch

- HAS THE BEST BODY SORRY YALL CAN’T COMPETE

- Can get very angery

- Probably was kinkshamed by someone once

- Is having a mental breakdown at every waking moment

- “Can you stop I’m very sensitive”

- Tom to Yeri’s Jerry

- Just the most amazing human being, an all-rounder and a happy virus

- Stage name: Yeri

- Real name: Kim Yerim

- Colour: Purple

- Position: Maknae, Lead Rapper, Sub Dancer, Vocal, Songwriter

- Is being an absolute savage a talent?

- Born on March 5th, 1999; the youngest

- The other half of the “Dumbass Duo”

- So much sass is contained in this tiny human being

- Plans to take over SM soon one day

- HAS THE MOST CONTAGIOUS LAUGH IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE AND IT IS SO GENUINE I LOVE IT

- Likes pineapple on pizza cancelled

- The OG Sone

- A mess

- (ง •̀_•́)ง

- Not a big spoon nor a little spoon, she a knife

- Tries her best

- Knows everyone and everything; what a social butterfly it warms my heart

- Likes to read smut so all of you smut fanfiction writers, watch out, she is lurking

- SPEAKING OF LURKING

- She lowkey had a fan account that was all about Girl’s Generation

- A woman we all aspire to be

- Is an actual cinnamon roll that yes, could kill you but everyone loves her because she really improved a lot. WE WATCHED HER GROW UP INTO A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN SHE IS NOW B L E S S

Popular ships, let’s play a game where you guess which two people are paired up (not like it is completely obvious)

SEULRENE

WENRENE

WENSEUL

JOYRI

YERENE

JOYGI

JOYDY

WENRI

SEULRI

Ending note

On a more serious note, Red Velvet is an amazing girl group that deserves so much more. I hope this at least got you to check them out. If not, your loss lol.

I could use a fuckton adjectives to describe their perfection but trust me, that ain’t enough.

Anyways, OT4 stans can fuck off, don’t comment on this post.

Just love all the girls and don’t point out their insecurities in a rude way mmkay?

This is all from me and I hope you enjoyed and that this helped you and maybe made you chuckle (maybe?)

If there is another question that you want me to answer, ask me because I would love to.

P.S. It doesn’t have to be Red Velvet related because I am trash that stans more groups than the number of bad jokes I made in this post.

Follow for more quality top-notch content.

3K notes · View notes

rainydawgradioblog · 3 years

Text

RDR Essentials - Folk & Country (5/05)

RDR Essentials is a weekly newsletter of alternating genres that outlines key releases of the past month, upcoming events around Seattle and happenings in the specified music genre.

Made in collaboration between Rainy Dawg DJs and the Music Director.

Releases:

Church of Roswell - Here Comes Church of Roswell

Candi Carpenter and Josh Doyle are the duo that make up Church of Roswell. Here Comes Church of Roswell is their first EP, and it is brilliant musically and lyrically. Carpenter has performed at the Grand Ole Opry. She covers Dolly Parton songs, and she is very good at it. Doyle’s claim to fame is as a member of a British pop-punk band called The Dum Dums— in the early 2000s, they made a bit of a splash in England. The two couldn’t be more different and yet, somehow, they work by embracing the eclectic. Overall, Here Comes Church of Roswell is incredibly cohesive and it’s best listened to in order, where the songs flow with clear intentionality.

The EP opens with “Werewolf,” which, as lyrically devastating as it is, doesn’t sound downtrodden. Carpenter and Doyle’s comforting wash of harmonies shine on “Rocketeer” especially, where the two repeat the phrase, “Nothing is going to bring me down today.” The melody on “Rocketeer” is about as infectiously lighthearted and catchy as it gets. The themes of existentialism and outer space are some of Carpenter’s favorites to explore (see her solo track “The Astronaut” for ample proof of this).

Any fan of the kind of folk-rock popularized by the Lumineers will love the track “Love is a Killer.” This track has a clear, upbeat urgency, which “The Witcher” serves as a continuation of. “The Witcher” particularly highlights the enormous talent Carpenter and Doyle’s backing band, many of whom are also members of Jason Isbell’s acclaimed The 400 Unit.

As a listener, with the expansive “Canary” as the last track, you’re left wanting more. And congratulations, you’re now a congregant of the Church of Roswell.

— Michele Rubinstein

Ashley Monroe - Rosegold

Ashley Monroe is arguably more known as a member of the all-female supergroup the Pistol Annies than she is for her solo work, which is a real shame. Normally, Monroe is a masterclass in vulnerability and the confessional. She has never been afraid to branch out. While her latest (and highly anticipated) album isn’t a departure from her adventurous norm, it is a departure from her standout poignancy.

In Rosegold’s 10 synth-heavy tracks, Monroe lends much of her writing to cliché. With lines like “wind blowing waves in your hair” and “you're movin' mountains in me,” the song “Groove” best exemplifies this unfortunate decision.

Tracks like “Flying” and “See” emphasize that Monroe’s intention was to craft an airy, ethereal body of work and, while that is admirable, it has also resulted in an album almost devoid of substance.

“Til it Breaks” and “The New Me” are the standout tracks on this album. The only problem is that they’re the last few tracks. By the time I got to them, the disappointment had already set in. I still think Monroe is incredibly talented, but she’s got better albums under her belt than this one.

— Michele Rubinstein

Taylor Swift - Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

Okay… In a writeup of recent country releases there was NO way I wasn’t going to include Taylor Swift’s remastering of her 2008 Fearless album. Swift’s intention with her planned re-recordings is to regain control of her master recordings. The public stab at music manager Scooter Braun, who currently owns the original masters, is just a plus.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) intrinsically invokes nostalgia that knows no bounds in its audience, much of whom were very young when Fearless was first released. The iconic opening line of “Love Story” — “We were both young when I first saw you…” — suddenly has a double meaning.

Predictably, the re-recordings sound much more polished than their original counterparts. It became clear from the get-go that this was not going to be Taylor Swift re-enacting her teenage self; instead, she would perfectly juxtapose the songs of her adolescence with her current vocal maturity. This is most evident on the track “Fifteen” where, at 31 years old, Swift reflects back on her freshman year of high school. Swift goes about the re-recording of “The Best Day” in a similar manner, and it’s deceptively simple sounding considering the complex topics that Swift is exploring. Somehow, Swift successfully evokes her adolescence more skillfully now than she did fresh out of it.

The album also includes six previously unreleased “from the vault” songs. Two of the six (“You All Over Me” and “That’s When”) include collaborations with Maren Morris and Keith Urban respectively. However, I’d argue that “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is the best of the six— As an upbeat, scream along in your car type break-up song, it’s reminiscent of Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway era.

— Michele Rubinstein

Croy and the Boys - Of Course They Do

Croy and the Boys embody the ideals of traditional outlaw country music with a modern twist (Singer and guitarist Corey “Croy'' Baum identifies generally as an anarchist and anti-capitalist. I will leave it to you to decide if that is a traditional outlaw ideal or not.) Their latest release Of Course They Do is a six-track EP entirely made up of punk covers.

One of the covers (The Dicks’ song “Hate the Police”) is renamed “Croy Hates the Police,” but otherwise remains unchanged. The decision to cover punk songs is one I find particularly interesting, because punk songs tend to be both politically charged and poignant lyrically, but a lot of that is incoherent in the traditional punk sound. By stripping back punk songs, Croy and the Boys clearly emphasize that punk is more than a sound.

My favorite track off of the EP is “Do They Owe Us A Living,” which was originally written by the band Crass over 40 years ago. While Croy and the Boys have updated some of the lyrics, the song’s underlying message is as relevant as ever. Baum describes how the song felt particularly “timely” to revisit in the midst of the pandemic, “watching as Washington debated whether to send us relief checks.”

And, by the way, the song’s answer to the question “Do they owe us a living?” is a resolute, repeated, “course they do.”

— Michele Rubinstein

Upcoming Releases:

Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, and Jon Randall - The Marfa Tapes (5/7)

I don’t think I could overstate how excited I am about this collaboration if I tried. The two singles released in anticipation of the album (“Geraldene” and “Anchor”) have, impossibly, only increased my excitement. Lambert, Ingram , and Randall have collaborated before: in 2016, they met on a front porch in Marfa, Texas, and wrote “Tin Man,” one of Lambert’s most devastating ballads. Last September, when the three met in Marfa again, The Marfa Tapes were written around a campfire. It’s clear that, if not for the pandemic, this collaboration would never have been released.

As popular as she is, I’d argue that Miranda Lambert’s talent and versatility as an artist is criminally underrated. Lambert regularly sells out arenas. As single take, live recordings ridden with perfect imperfections, The Marfa Tapes are an obvious departure from her polished, dramatic norm— though they do include a stripped back version of “Tin Man.”

Other standout singles released so far include the twangy “Geraldene” and an emotional ballad called “Anchor.”

Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2 (10/8)

I know I may be getting a bit ahead of the game by referring to an October release as an upcoming release. But, the two singles (covers of Prine’s songs “Paradise” and “I Remember Everything” by Sturgill Simpson and Brandi Carlile respectively) released from this one already make it clear that it’s worth building up your anticipation now.

This is the second volume of a compilation honoring the late singer-songwriter John Prine, who died of complications from COVID-19 last year. Prine’s independent record label Oh Boy Records has yet to release the album’s tracklist.

0 notes

shervonfakhimi · 4 years

Text

The Cleveland Quandry

When the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Darius Garland with the fifth pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the pick was met with a mixed bag of skepticism due to fit and praise for taking the best player available. His rookie season was something of a similar note, looking like the crafty playmaking guard of today’s game at times but mostly looking like a player over his head against the best of the best, as most rookies are. His fit with the Cavs is questionable as well after they took Collin Sexton with the eighth pick of the 2018 draft with the pick acquired by Boston via Brooklyn in the rare lose-lose Kyrie Irving trade. After a (kinda) season, some of those concerns regarding the pairing dubbed ‘SexLand’ (I don’t make the nicknames don’t shoot the messenger here) are still there. Can both of these undersized guards make it work?

Well, if history is any indication, it’s going to be difficult. Seeing as Garland and Sexton both started more than half their games this year and possessed a usage rate above 20%, I looked through all the teams that made the conference finals from the 2010-11 season onward that had two guards start at least 35 games, own a usage rate above 20% and their heights both be 6’4” or below. I found two examples: the 2016-17 Boston Celtics (Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley) and the 2018-19 Portland Trail Blazers (Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum). Both of those teams would wind up losing within 5 games, respectively. One other team did meet the threshold, (the 2013-14 Oklahoma City Thunder) because Reggie Jackson started 36 games filling in for Russell Westbrook during that season, but still started fewer games than Thabo Sefolosha, who did not get much usage at all starting as a defensive specialist.

In the abbreviated 2019-20 season, seven teams met the threshold set earlier: the Cavs (Sexton and Garland), Hornets (Terry Rozier III and 2019-20 breakout Devonte’ Graham), Blazers (Lillard and McCollum), Kings (De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield, who would get benched for Bogdan Bogdanovic later in the season in a move that… actually worked?), Raptors, Jazz and Wizards. The Cavs and Hornets are bottom feeders, the Kings and Blazers are playoff hopefuls with a semi-decent chance to make it in DisneyWorld, the Raptors and Jazz are playoff teams, though the Jazz weren’t getting the Mike Conley we’ve become accustomed to in previous years before the quarantine and the Wizards are, well, the Wizards (I legitimately did not know Isaiah Thomas started 37 games for the Wizards this year.). Even here, the results are a mixed bag.

So can Collin Sexton and Darius Garland make it work and become a winning duo? I suppose it’s possible, but I need to see more to be convinced. Both Sexton and Garland have shown they can space the floor without the ball in their hands (Sexton shot 42.1% on catch-and-shoot threes, per NBA.com, while Garland shot 39.2% on shots of the variety. Sexton is a career 39.2% shooter from three on 4.2 attempts per 36 minutes; Garland hit 35.5% on 5.8 attempts from deep per 36 minutes.), which helps the fit offensively. In a pick-and-roll heavy-league where teams look to find players across the floor capable of creating a jump shot, these two can provide plenty of that. Darius Garland prefers to work his magic against switches through stepback threes. Sexton is an underrated, more well-rounded bucket-getter than Garland with a soft touch on floaters, athleticism to pounce upon driving lanes and attack the rim and matches that with a solid handle to create some space and fire away from the midrange and beyond. Sometimes, you’d see flashes of those two working together to create a symphony, providing glimmers of hope these two can figure it out as a duo. Sexton scored 22.7 points per 36 minutes while boasting a solid 51.7% effective field goal percentage and generated 0.90 points per possession while operating the pick-and-roll (65th percentile); both very good marks, especially for a second-year player. Garland’s endeavors were not as fruitful, however, though customary for a rookie guard who didn’t have much college experience. All in all, scoring is not the problem with this backcourt.

While there’s no disputing these two can get buckets, I’m a bit skeptical wondering what else these two can provide. Let’s start defensively. Sexton surely does play with effort on that end, half the battle, but you could see his body move faster than his brain as he attempts to compute what is happening on the floor. Though this bucket didn’t count, it didn’t count because Sexton got stuck attempting to navigate a Steven Adams screen. Though I imagine it wouldn’t be pleasant to get tussled with Poseidon’s less-successful brother Joeseidon, that was a sight Sexton made look far too routine. His backcourt in Garland wasn’t much better. His size already doesn’t do Garland many favors, but it compounds matters when you don’t bring the requisite fight to make up for that lack of size, especially against bigger guards, like here how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steamrolls past him for an easy layup. It isn’t just bigger guards either; Chris Paul, sure he’s a sure-fire Hall of Famer, works Garland at ease for a bucket and a foul to go with it. Kyle Lowry and Fred Van Vleet can get away with their lack of size through smarts and tenacity; Sexton and Garland are miles away from that. To be fair, they’re only sophomores and rookies, respectively; on the other hand, they were two of the five worst point guards according to ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus-Minus metric. When Sexton and Garland share the floor, the Cavs’ defensive rating is 117.3 which would rank last in the league. Though the Cavs can suppress that some with more defensive help surrounding Sexton and Garland on the wing and in the paint (please draft Onyeka Okongwu!), it’s fair to wonder if these two can hold up defensively.

Playmaking is another aspect regarding these two that concerns me. Garland fared better than Sexton in this area, showing flashes of slick playmaking in between tight corridors. However, both he and Sexton had their issues reading the entire floor and being late with decisions. Both like to pound the ball and go for broke early in the clock as opposed to getting others involved. Neither were able to crack the top 50 in potential assists. Again, there is plenty of room for these two to improve upon and it is still super early for both of them in their NBA careers, but both have to improve in the area of playmaking and making their teammates better to fully maximize their talents.

I don’t normally dissuade myself or a team to take the best player available if that’s what they believe, even if the fit is tricky. NBA players are good enough to blend in with their surroundings, and Collin Sexton and Darius Garland have certain skills to coincide with each other. I’m not going to definitively declare these two cannot coexist, but they need to improve in areas like playmaking and defense to prove Koby Altmann and the Cavaliers right that these two can coexist. It took Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, lightyears ahead of where Sexton and Garland are currently, years to even make the conference finals, and when they did, they got swept. Cavs fans can look to them and Toronto as evidence this *can* work. I remain skeptical, however. Sexton and Garland have a lot of room to grow to get to that level. Both are intriguing players, but that neither are distinguishable defenders or playmakers exacerbates their size, or lack thereof, as teammates. Perhaps they can flourish together over time, but I’m not convinced quite yet.

#Cleveland Cavaliers #Collin Sexton #Darius Garland #NBA

0 notes

extraneousdominomask · 6 years

Text

~It's time to stake positions!~ ~It's time to set our sights!~ ~It's time for exposition on the Muppet Show tonight!~

Chapter 3: In Brief

I'm very fond of this chapter, especially the transitions. After Nick's remark about staying awake, we cut to Sly waking up - and after that, mid-sentence cuts, which are so fun to do. It felt great to chain a bunch together. I think it really adds a sense of energy and flow to what is otherwise just a chapter of people explaining other people's backstories.

Before that, though, we have The Morning Report - which, yes, is a reference to the not-very-good song added to special editions of The Lion King. It was nice writing for these two newscasters. Originally, I called the snow leopard anchor (underrated fave and bae) "Xue Winters". When her name was finally confirmed decided to be "Fabienne Growley", I changed it. There'll be other Xues.

There's one and only Doctor Emily Nope, though! Say hello to the fursona Zoosona of my very great elder sister, complete with geological training! She was the one who insisted on "Nope Diamond", so she names it in-universe too. Having her team be multi-species was a quick attempt on my part to make this whole diamond heist tie into Zootopia's overall themes. Heh.

I'll probably mention this once or twice more, but it becomes clear when the exhibition is said to be scheduled for "Friday night" - this entire story takes place in under a week. Monday night to Saturday morning. compress Finally, Gazelle's massive (and unwanted) popularity in the mayoral election is a nod to the sentiment going around immediately after the film's release that... she should be the next mayor? It was weird. Yeah, she's nice, and politically active. But it's something of a leap, no? Instead we have Mayor Dewey, a la Steven Universe. Never decided if he was a pig or a deer, but either way, he's anxious and sweaty. “The people want what they want, Peter.” One of my sister's favourite lines. Nice ending to the scene, I think.

bunny s n e e z e s

Here's some dumb trivia about my literal writing process; I use OpenOffice, which automatically remembers words of over 10 letters in length. This includes hyphenated-words. It's mostly a useful feature, but the hyphens get irritating. My last laptop permanently saved "hyena-supporter" and "lion-chunks" because of my old LK fics. So now I tend to use tildas, for hypenated~words I don't want saved. My sister finds this amusing, and pronounces the compounds with ~stupid emphasis~ Anyway, the point of this rambling anecdote is that for "Super-pneumonia~" she suggested to keep the tilda, since that silly emphasis worked for the scene.

god i love clawhauser. He's so fun to write for! Enjoyable energy from our lovely duo here, too. Zootopia fic comes easy for a reason; put Nick and Judy in any situation, and the conversation flows from there. What a joy they are!

"I'm pretty happy here at front desk, really. Gotta play to your strengths, y'know?” My boy Benji just casually dropping the entire moral of Sly Cooper

I'd really love to see more domestic Sly stuff. Just the boys! Hanging out! Cooking each other breakfast! Good fucking shit. Gimme that content.

Probably unrealistic that the ZPD doesn't immediately have Tai Lung's full file, in this age of e-mail and the World Wide Web. But gotta save some of the mystery (and exposition) for later. “You know how many times this degenerate has been arrested?” “Uh,” said Fangmeyer, “tweeeelve?” “Two hundred, or something?” guessed Francine. “Zero,” said Nick with a calm confidence. “Once!” snapped Bogo. “Goddammit,” muttered Nick. Nick's smart enough to spot the pattern, but still gets the answer wrong just out of bad luck. If that ain't an unintentional metaphor...

Coming up with a "normal name" for Peridot was a lot of fun. Peri -> Perrault. Dot -> Dottie -> Dorothy. So, Dorothy Perrault! I considered having her Hacker Name be "Peri.Dot" but I decided it was ultimately unnecessary. writing Computer Stuff as a goddamn sociology student was hard, my dudes. i am completely talking out of my hat here Tai Lung and Peridot are both from "some distance out of town". Tai Lung is from ancient China and Peri is from fucking space

"Usually steals from other criminals, but has been known to break that pattern for anything he considers to be suitably important or interesting." This is arguably a bit of a cheat. It's based on side adventures, like Goodbye My Sweet and the museum heist animation I possibly dreamed, where the goal is what's being stolen rather than who's been stolen from. It is treated as a deviation from the norm, though, and we see what Sly's reasoning is later on. Chief Bogo offhandedly calling the Cooper Gang's name narcissistic - Dr M's ghost lives on. Like I said earlier, putting the Gang against the ZPD means somebody's gotta "lose"; probably the ZPD, since otherwise the Gang's adventures are over. Bogo's lack of optimism was deliberate. They really don't have a hope.

Sly smirked. “Sounds real inspiring.” “Social media certainly thought so,” said Bentley dryly. bentley's not a disney fan

I think Nick's enough of a good boy to not assume the Interpol officer will be male, but I couldn't resist the extra foreshadowing/dramatic irony And Locksley Park is, of course, a nod to Robin of Locksley, Robin Hood himself - the Disney fox whose movie directly inspired Zootopia. Gotta have a reference in there somewhere, of course.

#of heists and hustles #h&h retrospective

2 notes · View notes

agstud-archive-blog · 7 years

Note

I don't think they're the most underrated ship, but they definitely deserve more love, cause you know, daegu line! That's all that matters. I think that people don't see chemistry, like, tae and yoongs don't seem too close, at least in front of cameras, and the fandom has this image of yoongi been mean to tae :/ I just think that they're more reserved with each other (?) Idk why tho, it's just the way their relationship is I guess. But when they do interact they bless us with beautiful moments.

i agree with you, anon!! the few moments we see them interact are worth a thousand!! theyre so lovable jhfsdfgyds i wish they could interact more :(((( i lov them so so so so much!!

but they’re still the most underrated ship and i can even explain why!! but it’s gonna be a long post so ill put a read more thingy at some point haha

well let’s take it like thisss (it’s gonna be a wild ride so fasten your seat belts)…….we’ve got:

suga+jin: roomies, ‘how do we put the youngsters to sleep’ duo, ‘i don’t want any other roommate’, jin the only member than can shut yoongi up, the shy skinship yoongi initiates shdgsydgku jin saying he almost fell for a man bc yoongi is so manly!!

jin+jhope: 2seok aka the saviours of ahl, the ‘laugh until you cry or go home’ team, the happy clouds of bangtan, jhope aka jin’s personal dance instructor, always extra, so much Skinship!!

rapmon+jin: ????? do i need words for this?? the married couple of bangtan according to our reliable source park jimin??? the ‘we say we can’t dance but we dance better than 80% of our fans’ duo?? namjoon winking at jin like they were the only ones in the room?? yeah

jimin+jin: kings of vlive??? providing us with such good (?) vlive content or anyway inside jokes that we dont get yet we still laugh with them bc theyre such sweethearts, literally the definition of sweethearts, jimin or widely known as jin’s dad jokes’ biggest enthusiast, jin’s fav baby

v+jin: december babies, indirect kiSS plus bonus: the disrespectful 18+ moment they’ve had on stage at mama 2k16, tae looks up to jin so much!!! he’s always so heart eyes for him, yet this goes unnoticed most of the time, skinship skinship so much skinship (tae licking his finger after wiping some cake off jin’s lips???? eXPLAIN), they took a shower together, let that sink in,,,

jin+kook: the oldest meets the youngest…but…who is rlly the youngest??? jin literally raised kookie, can we all rmbr how jin used to drive kook to school everyday?? inside jokes, meme generators, extra extra, jungkook annoying jin 24/7 but we all know the only reason he’s still alive is bc he’s the apple of jin’s eye

jhope+suga: sope, literally, bighit ships them what else do you want??? yoongi or hobi’s biggest fan?? yeah not much to say about them since this ship is EVERYWHERE i lov

rapmon+suga: aka the ship that brings the most feels as in theyre gonna make you cry, literally, theyre the definition of ride or die together, together since the start, wrote songs about their story, the Emo duo, genuine and hardworking, went through the most sh*t but stuck together till the end bc they lov each other, lit af, yoongi bought namjoon a new wallet

jimin+suga: *cough* if i start talking about it i cant stop *cough* soft soft soft, another one of bighit’s official ships ‘mini mini cupid duo’, small and adorable, grump and not so grump, ‘jimin is mine cant give to anyone’, TONY MONTANA FT JIMIN SAVED THE WORLD, clingy yoongi, yoongi aka jimin’s fav hyung, love hate but we all know that even the hate is just disguised love, jhope calling them suji when they were late for the rehearsal, rlly ill stop now bc otherwise ill go on forever

suga+kook: sugakookieee, lamb skewers, overwatch +other video games, nerdy duo, yoongi always pats jungkook on the back of his neck like the Proud Brother he is, jungkook loves yoongi sm like he respects him a lot and he’s always so happy to be with him sjdgsdyg

rapmon+hobi: ‘94 liners, the pervs, they’re the pervs of bangtan and expose each other on this (never forget), namjoon: *talks about deep stuff, is emo* hobi: *breathes near joon* namjoon: *still deep, but more positive about the world* hOBI HAS THAT POWER, they called themselves rice cakes bc they’re sticky to each other, always together, probably hobi opens up in front of joon the most and we all know that hobi is also lowkey emo so im pretty sure namjoon knows hobi’s emo side the best :’(

jimin+hobi: two words: skinship and rainbows. they lov each other sm and the pda is all over the place!! supportive and lovable, two angels!!!! ‘jimin is my present’, jhope always kissing jimin on the head :’( rlly weird, they do silly things 24/7 and no one can complain bc we all love them, soft spots in everyone’s hearts

v+hobi: loud, happy, love, too much energy, pda, love, they’ve shared a kiss, fashion icons, weird, love, tae loves hobi so so so so much he bought him those ugly but expensive gucci slippers, hobi takes care of him so much dudousdud, probably one of the first bangtan ships that conquered the world

hobi+kook: kook said it!!! jhope is an angel!!! he confirmed our theories!!! hobi always playing with kookie’s hair and caressing him!! kook always reassuring hobi that he’s handsome!!! supportive older brother!! hugs hugs hugs

jimin+monie: namjoon always dies bc of jimin, his heart melts instantly when it comes to jimin!!! he’s sooo weak for jiminnnn, small and tall, clingy jimin always hugging namjoon and being there for him when he’s sad :( they’re so supportive i cant believe!!! they’re so dvsfdfys two cuties in different sizes

v+monie: roomies, photoshoot besties, museum dates, art hoes, namjoon always believes in him and sees through his silly antics, he knows how smart tae rlly is and how talented and strong he is, they call each other ‘cute’ sooo often they’re so heart eyes for each other!!

rapmon+kook: virgo duo, namjoon loves kook so much and he always compliments him, the golden maknae supporter!! musiciansss making covers and songs together!! jungkook joining bighit bc of namjoon?? nut

v+jimin: FRIENDSHIP GOALS!!! they lov each other to the moon and back!!! soulmates!!! i dont even need to explain!!!

jimin+kook: busan duo, so. much. teasing!! jimin is the type to shower kook in glitter and lov whereas kook is what you would call a tsundere, but he started fanboying over jimin more lately so yeah bless them, jimin the most reliable kook fansite, feeding us when jungkook goes into his hole to play overwatch

v+kook: probably the biggest ship, maknaes, sO CLOSE to each other, like…way too close, have you guys heard of personal space?? again, not much to say about this ship bc taekook speaks for itself lmao

and last but not least…TAEGI: daegu duo, ???, tae called yoongi cool, ???, booty slaps from time to time, tae trying to compliment yoongi but yoongi being too shy to accept them jdhfufs, ???, rare skinship, ???, yoongi being shook when tae started singing like same!! their date in hawaii!!!

and that’s kinda about it…….no interactions…..no content…..underrated…..sadness engulfing me………:’(

#anon #reply #taegi #long post #bts

7 notes · View notes

greenlightmusicreviews2 · 4 years

Text

LIFERS - Local H (2020) | Album Review - 9/10

Now Playing: LIFERS by Chicago, Illinois rock duo Local H.

“When the re-release of the White Album came out a few years ago, I became re-obsessed all over again. One aspect that really hit me about it (this time) was how it’s not really a concept record — but it feels like a concept record. I wanted to do that with LIFERS. This might be a concept record about the end of the world. Or it might just be a party record with loud guitars and cowbells.”

- Scott Lucas (2020)

Local H has been kicking around now for 30 years, making the title of their record seem all the more appropriate, and in the run up to the release in various interviews or comments given, Scott Lucas doesn’t shy away from this.

"It's strange. But there's also a sense of pride, that this is work you can be proud of. The thing about it is I never really gave myself an out. It's not like I went to college or ever thought there was anything else I wanted to do. On one hand it's impossible to think you could still be doing this so many years later."

- Scott Lucas, Billboard, 2020

LIFERS is produced by the band alongside legendary producer Steve Albini of Shellac and Big Black fame, but perhaps most known for producing Nirvana’s last studio album In Utero. The band released “Innocents,” the last track on the album, as a single back in 2018, and the first track “Patrick Bateman” (along with a great Motorhead cover) the following year. I won’t make any bones about it - this band is probably my favorite band, and I think they’re among the most underrated artists still going today. In any case, I was very excited for a new record. I mostly enjoyed Hey, Killer, their 2015 release, and although “Innocents” didn’t totally light a fire beneath me, I enjoyed “Patrick Bateman” a bit better and still had high hopes for the album.

Local H wastes no time getting into the thick of things, opening up with - as mentioned before - “Patrick Bateman.” It’s fast with frenetic energy and elaborate production. To borrow a phrase Lucas uses often, LIFERS is definitely a headphones album. It also does not shy away from politics. The first track gets right into the swamp:

I got a brother in a cheap red hat Hazy days in a judge's frat You won't like what I have to say Something wicked is a-coming this way

...

They're pulling trains for the gain of the family brand I understand there's some fans in the Ku Klux Klan How did everything get so fucked up?

“Hold That Thought” rumbles onto the scene with an great bass groove and is probably the catchiest song on the entire album, continuing the themes of political disorientation and disillusionment:

Hold that thought and don't get caught Some are sold and some, some are bought Addicted to your state of delusion

In one sense it does sound like “a party record with loud guitars and cowbells” as band czar Scott Lucas states. The first half of the album just up and smacks the shit out of you with loud, noisy and abrasive guitars and big, booming, crash-crash-crash drum performances with Lucas’ aged roar piercing through the speakers like he was right there in your living room. In fact, the album doesn’t let go until track 6 with “Sunday Best,” which is just absolutely soul-touching and sounds like Scott had been listening to a bit of LZ IV. Of course, Scott had been listening to The White Album and Pink Floyd, but probably some Zeppelin also.

In another sense, though, beneath the veneer of raucous guitar chords and feedback-loops and gang vocals is album that’s obsessed with the decline of western civilization. “Winter Western,” “Beyond the Valley of Snakes,” “Demon Dreams” and “Defy and Surrender” all smack of lamentations about the state of society, the injustice of our institutions, the hopelessness of it all. The band has plunged into the political waters before, most notably with 2012′s red versus blue Hallelujah! I’m A Bum - an impressive concept record about the state of the union circa 2012, and more than a few songs prior to. With the world on fire with right-wing regimes taking control of governments, a pandemic ravaging people’s day-to-day, and protests over black lives and police brutality, it’s a timely record, and if you pay attention to the lyrical subject matter, it’s pretty depressing. “Demon Dreams” has some of the most brutal:

Planet in a stressful state Losing weight via suicide rates And I don't know what there is left to do The people with the best of luck Always seem to self destruct And I don't know what there is left to do

“Winter Western” is equally morose though a bit more cryptic:

Consume your weight in anger Be useful serfs and pawns The mood is winter western It's on and on and on and on

The guitar work is creative as ever, with Lucas producing some very meaty and tasty guitar riffs like on “Turn The Bow” and “Winter Western” - the latter of which features the vocal talents of Juliana Hatfield, who offers haunting vocal harmonies to the already evocative wails of Lucas himself. “Beyond the Valley of Snakes” feels like a thematic thrill ride with incredible drum work by Ryan Harding, who picked up the torch from former H drummer Brian St. Clair back in 2013. Local H has always had this theatrical way of producing records - no surprise since Lucas is a major movie buff - but the way this album is approached just feels as if it was orchestrated like a film score. It’s pretty great, and “Beyond the Valley of Snakes” followed by “Sunday Best” comes closes to evoking that cinematic feeling of just being lost in the art and being taken on a journey.

“Farrah” is the one song on the record that has not grown on me since first listen - the instrumentation is solid, interesting things going on, but it’s just not as impactful as the other 10 songs are. “Innocents,” no longer sequestered as a single two years out from the full release, now totally works and makes perfect sense in context coming after the epic “Defy and Surrender,” wherein Scott Lucas indulges in his own prog-rock leanings for a song that reaches just over 10 minutes in length but never wastes a second of space. Except, that is, for some awkward lyrical choices that, I mean, I understand in context, but still feel a little hamfisted (pun totally intended). The album is sequenced perfectly, and although it’s not a concept record the way that most Local H albums are, it flows seamlessly from one song to next, creating a sonic narrative of rage, despair, introspection, comic posturing and - at the end - a little bit of hope for things to come.

It is the band’s strongest record since their masterpiece Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?, boasting some truly touching moments and some incredibly catchy, crushing and gnarly guitar riffs and some very bombastic drumming highlights. It’s a record with an energy overall to match the chaos seen in the world writ large at the moment. At times it can be pretty overwhelmingly stark, in-your-face and plaintive, but it’s not without its moments of levity that bring you back to shore after wading too far into the dark and stormy waters.

LIFERS: 9/10

Favorite songs: “Beyond the Valley of Snakes” • “Turn The Bow” • “Sunday Best” • “Demon Dreams” • “Winter Western”

0 notes

unclebeggar93-blog · 5 years

Text

5 Favorites – Tarek & Justin from The Blue Stones

Sure it’s just stuff. But stuff can make life easier, more enjoyable, etc… Every so often we ask one of our favorite, style-appreciating people to rattle off their five favorite things. Sometimes those things will fit into the realm of “affordable,” and sometimes they won’t. We’re going for the favorites here.

Tarek and Justin of The Blue Stones have been reading Dappered for a long time. Like, a really long time. So long that we’ve been able to track their progress from baby band, to a duo with over 10 million Spotify streams (from just two singles!) under their belts. You’ve probably already heard their music. Their songs have been used in everything from shows like Parks and Rec, to bumper music on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

These two from Windsor Canada can make one hell of a lot of sound between them, and they proudly describe their version of rock and roll as “music we want to hear.” I can’t even recall how they connected with us at Dappered. Way back when they got our attention with some style questions (I think?) and we’ve been rooting for them ever since. They have a REALLY bright future, and their new album drops this Friday October 26th.

If you haven’t hopped on the vinyl train yet, it’s a great time to do so. Many turntable setups and speaker systems are available at inexpensive prices due to the current resurgence in vinyl popularity. There’s nothing like appreciating a beloved album or single in hi-fidelity. Also, record players bring back the experience of listening to music that’s more focused than hopping between random playlists on a streaming platform. Even for casual music listeners, building a collection of your favorite records will give you a reason to sit back and listen again, while also serving as a great conversation point to house-guests.

I know many readers have probably heard this one before, but dark denim is likely the most versatile piece of clothing you can own. As a backbone to many outfits you can wear year round, it’s a must have for the modern man’s wardrobe. If you’re not the skinny fit type, go for the slim taper cut to maintain the fitted look while staying comfortable. Pair them with a comfy T-Shirt and bomber for the weekends, or a tucked collared shirt and blazer for your night’s out, or an untucked, patterned button-up and some boots for a trip into town…the possibilities are (somewhat) endless.

If you’re into live shows, this app is a must-have. Set your location, favourite bands and you’re off. Bandsintown will notify you every time a show has been announced within a customizable radius around your location. Also, it offers the ability to sync with Spotify, Apple Music, and a range of other music platforms to make tracking effortless. Bandsintown will also recommend other shows in your area that you may enjoy based off similar interests, and allow you to RSVP and buy tickets within the app. It’s a no-brainer for any live show fan, and an easy way to get into the scene if you’re not.

For any weird ear anatomy sufferers like myself, finding a pair of headphones that actually stay on—or in—while working out is a journey. Mine ended when I found the Powerbeats. Wireless connectivity to let you focus on your reps rather than where the cables have ended up, as well as ear hooks and in-ear buds to make sure those damn things stay on. Not to mention great sound quality to keep you motivated and sweating. The beats are also great for commutes, or keeping your hands free for housework while on the phone. Yes, at home…don’t be the public loudspeaker guy.

When I first heard of MVMT’s inexpensive but stylish brand of timepieces several years ago, I shot over to their site to see what was in stock. At the time, although simple and clean, most of their watch faces were far too oversized for my taste. However, after learning about there slick new line of 40 mm watch faces—aptly named the “Forty Series”—I became the owner of a “Black Silver” MVMT watch and haven’t stopped wearing it since. It’s just as wearable with a suit as it is with a T-shirt and jeans. Freaky, right? With a wide range of bands, colors, and sizes, MVMT’s Forty Series is an easy favorite for me.

Sometimes you feel weird going to the gym with a gorgeous leather duffel. And you (should) always feel weird bringing a giveaway “hey thanks for signing up for a membership!” gym duffel to the office. This bag is stylish enough for the office, but the nylon material makes it an easy fit for the gym, too. The compartmentalized shoe bag is entirely underrated— put your dirty gym clothes in there to keep it away from the stuff in the main compartment of the bag. Tons of space, great construction and fits as carry-on for every flight I’ve been on. Lifetime warranty, and the brand carries a “cool” factor that isn’t too young. Tons of pattern and color combinations if all black is’t your thing.

The “Cute vs. Sexy” post here on Dappered really resonated with me. There was a big disconnect for me, some days I would feel great about what I was wearing and other days not so much… even though I was following all the “rules”. Problem was, the specific combinations sometimes gave too much of a cute/innocent look than I wanted. A denim jacket adds a ton of “badass factor” to practically any outfit. It can even be styled for business casual scenarios (depending on your work environment, of course). Use it in lieu of a blazer with a micro-patterned shirt and chinos for less of a “professor” look and more of a rock ‘n roll vibe. In my opinion, it’s a must-own item for any style-minded dude. Go with black or light wash… contrast is key here, especially if wearing it with dark denim and trying to avoid the Canadian Tuxedo look.

By far the most efficient and useful way to make good coffee on the road. Designed by the same guy who made the Aerobie Flying Disc… weirdly enough. This is the cool secret of the coffee industry, the incredibly versatile toy that baristas love to experiment with. Yes it’s a plastic tube with a plunger, but once you start making coffee with this thing you won’t use your automatic brewer again.

Gets a really bad rap these days from a lot of artists due to low payouts, but I’m choosing to look at the good side. The music industry has just started to see profits climb back again for the first time since Napster brought the house down. Yeah the payouts are low, but in 2010 the payouts were zero. And with everyone in the world paying a small fee to have unlimited access to music, accessing small independent artists has never been easier. You pay just as much to be able to listen to The Rolling Stones as you do to listen to the kids down the street making music in their garage. There’s no more gambling your money on an album that could turn out to suck. The discovery algorithms work really well to dial in your taste and you fall in love with a band you never would otherwise have discovered. It’s the great equalizer, and is launching the careers of tons of artists, The Blue Stones included. More people listening to more music is ultimately a good thing for everybody.

It’s the “lite” version of New York — all the same stuff you love about NYC but cleaner, friendlier, and cheaper. Especially cheaper if your salary is paid in American Greenbacks, thanks to a great exchange rate ($500 USD is about $650 CAD). West Queen West (the Western area of Queen St. W) was recently named one of the top 5 coolest neighbourhoods in the world by Vogue magazine. Fantastic music at all levels from grassroots indie to arena, world-class dining, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer and even professional football. Shopping galore from hip design startups to gigantic malls. Just don’t come in the winter.

The new album from The Blue Stones, “Black Holes”, comes out this Friday October 26th. Agree with Tarek that Vinyl is sweet? You can get the new record on good ol’ vinyl too. Good luck fellas!

Source: https://dappered.com/2018/10/5-favorites-tarek-justin-from-the-blue-stones/

0 notes