#also the hands on his hips thank u david it’s what i’ve always wanted

[ninemelodies]

SEDATE ME SEDATE ME SEDATE ME

#dw spoilers #doctor who spoilers #SPOILERS OK!!!!!! #ANYWAY #HOLY FUCKING SHIT #GRABBING HER HAND??? THE KISS??? HES TRYING SO HARD TO COMFORT HER BC SHES FREAKING OUT #THE PROMISE HE’LL GET HER HOME NO MATTER WHAT #also the hands on his hips thank u david it’s what i’ve always wanted #doctor who #14th doctor #donna noble

[johannesviii]

Top 10 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2007

18 to 19 years old. Things were slowly starting to get better and better.

15 honorable mentions, but this is still only a top 10. What an incredible, amazing year for music. My favorite hit song for the entire decade is in there! I think everyone already knows what that is because I am, in fact, extremely predictable.

Disclaimers:

Keep in mind I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these top 10 things. There’s songs in English that charted in my country way higher than they did in their home countries, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

Of course there will be stuff in French. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible and I’m not a critic, just a listener and an idiot.

I have sound to color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

Second to third year of my History studies. Met a great guy. So great, in fact, that I married him in 2019 because we’re still living together 13 years later. Got my first summer job but spent my first pay on driving lessons, because, again, I needed to get out of my parents’ appartment and knowing how to drive would be good to find a job. I had a much better access to internet. I still had great grades. Things were getting much better.

I stopped making my personal lists of favorite songs that year, and I had an mp3 player, which really opened a world of possibilities even if you could only put something like 40 songs on it, at best.

I was still reading Rock Mag a lot. As you can see, the biggest controversy at the time was what was emo and what wasn’t.

We were alright.

As far as non-elligible songs go, well there’s I Still Remember by Bloc Party (and the fact I can’t put it on the list is a heartbreak and a half) and basically everything from Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails. Nightwish, Epica and Within Temptation all had pretty good albums too.

Here’s a metric ton of honorable mentions first!

Snow (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - Perfectly pleasant song.

D.A.N.C.E (Justice) - Never understood why this was so popular. Still good.

Love is Gone (David Guetta) - Heyyyy another repetitive dance track, perfect.

Miracle (Cascada), Smack That (Akon), Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol), SexyBack (Justin Timberlake) and Say It Right (Nelly Furtado & Timbaland) - Still elligible songs for that year. Still great songs. Still not making the list.

Butterfly (Superbus) - I didn’t like this band, but I liked that song.

Thanks for the Memories (Fall Out Boy) - Same here basically.

Who Knew (Pink) - Not her best, but not her worst by a mile either.

Walk It Out (Unk) - Stayed in my head for days, I swear. I have no idea what the general opinion about it is nowadays. Maybe that’s a humiliating pick and I genuinely have no idea.

Crank That (Soulja Boy) - I do, however, know that the fact this very nearly made the list IS hilarious.

Alive (Mondotek) - Laugh all you want about the tektonik phenomenon, this is still a banger and a half.

Sound of Freedom (Bob Sinclar & Cutee B) - Not as good as Rock This Party. That’s the only thing I can say against it.

Umbrella (Rihanna) - This is an edit because holy shit I forgot Umbrella. It very nearly made the list too. Sorry.

And now, possibly one of the best top tens yet.

10 - This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race (Fall Out Boy)

US: #32 / FR: #71

Almost everyone got the lyrics wrong. The title is way too long. I really don’t like this band of pretentious idiots; if you’re gonna be pretentious at least write about something more grand and epic than your own navel, and go all out (more on that later). Nobody ever really cared about their supposed feud with Panic! At The Disco. And, to make matters even worse, the singer looked exactly like the terrible ex I had punched in the face the previous year.

This is still a damn good song and it’s on the list instead of any of the honorable mentions.

RIP me.

9 - How To Save A Life (The Fray)

US: #24 / FR: Not on the list

You already know I loved The Fray. This song could have apparently also made the previous list but it’s on this one instead. It was overplayed. I still loved it.

8 - U + Ur Hand (Pink)

US: #29 / FR: Not on the list

In 2002, I bought Pink’s Missundaztood album and as you might remember this was the second album I ever bought in my life, right before the gigantic trainwreck that highschool was.

The fact that about five years (that felt like twelve) later, Pink was on the other side of that trainwreck, back in my earphones, just as energetic and fun as she was before, was nothing short of heartwarming.

7 - Je Suis Un Homme (Zazie)

US: Not on the list / FR: #43

I’m not gonna beat around the bush. This song is terrifying.

Here’s a translation. Yeah, it’s about humanity destroying the Earth and itself in various ways, and it’s preachy, but holy shit, how can something be so bleak, so scary and still so catchy. It’s a mystery.

6 - Double Je (Christophe Willem)

US: Not on the list / FR: #2

When I first heard this song, I genuinely thought that was also Zazie and I was like oh wow, she’s learned to have fun again after that bleak, bleak song.

But no. She only wrote it, and it’s sung by this guy. It’s relatable as hell (”When I grow up it’s gonna be easy, I’ll finally know what I am”, “Who’s fault is it? / I’m something and its opposite / Double me”). The fact that a guy had this kind of voice and that a ton of people loved it (enough for him to win a big talent show and make this the second biggest song of the year!) also did wonders for my dysphoria, by the way.

5 - Ta Meuf (Faf Larage)

US: Not on the list / FR: #19

This is a song applying the most obnoxious rap and hip hop clichés about gangsters (and guys in general) to a woman, and she ends up terrorising all the guys and they’re realising these clichés might, in fact, be really toxic.

It’s a great song about gender roles usually seen in this kind of music and instead of being preachy, it’s hilarious, and well-written (I mean, it’s Faf Larage, it’s a given, but still). Check it out.

4 - Relax Take It Easy (Mika)

US: Not on the list / FR: #12

All hail the new king of pop. He was here to stay and what a breath of fresh air he was. This was very much his year in Europe as soon as the album Life In Cartoon Motion dropped.

My significant other absolutely loved this album and we listened to it wayyyy, way too much, and even with all the radio overplay AND the overplay when we were together, I still can’t get enough of this album.

3 - Love Today (Mika)

US: Not on the list / FR: #39

Here he is again!

If this was any other year this would top the list very easily. What were the US even thinking back then to not let this guy chart. Why isn’t Mika a huge star over there too. What is your problem guys. Do you have something against fun or what.

Anyway, here’s possibly the best comment on the music video:

I mean. You’re not wrong.

2 - What I’ve Done (Linkin Park)

US: #38 / FR: Not on the list

Aaaaaaand they’re back. And they’re once again topping my list. Lord have mercy on me. I loved them so much.

This was the first step into their modern sound, less raw, more U2. A couple of years later, when Lacuna Coil released Shallow Life, I used to joke that Lacuna Coil was trying to sound more and more like Linkin Park, that Linkin Park was trying to sound more and more like U2, and that U2 was trying to sound more and more like boring garbage and. I mean. I wasn’t wrong there.

My absolute favorite part of the song is at 2:24, when the music calms down a bit and the lyrics go “I start again / And whatever pain may come / Today this ends / I’m forgiving what I’ve done” and then the guitar explodes again. So powerful. Love it.

And now you’re probably thinking “so... Linkin Park was back, and with such a top quality song and it’s NOT your #1? After you put a Linkin Park song or a Linkin Park remix at #1 for three years in a row in 2002, 2003 AND 2004? What’s going on, Jo? Are you okay?”

Oh I’m more than okay. Friends and enemies, here comes the absolute best hit song of the entire decade and possibly of my entire life so far.

You probably already know what it is.

1 - Welcome to the Black Parade (My Chemical Romance)

US: #59 / FR: Not on the list (shame on you French charts)

I know I keep complaining about stuff I love not charting, or charting but not high enough to make any year-end list, but... How was this even allowed to chart. Why and how did it end up on the US year-end list when so many more radio-friendly hits I loved couldn’t even scratch the hot 100.

I’m not complaining at all. I’m just baffled.

Play the first note on a piano and I’m already a wreck. Heck, I’m pretty sure everyone from my generation is. It was basically our very own Bohemian Rhapsody. It still is. Where do I even start.

Oh. I know. Look at this page from a 2006 Rock Mag, it’s gold.

Yep, they highlighted The Open Door by Evanescence and praised it, and were like “this is very risky and ambitious and we’re not sure you’re gonna like this” for The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. Hilarious in hindsight.

A few months later, the same magazine was desesperately using double pages to interview them because everyone adored the album.

So in case you’ve never listened to it (I’m... not even sure why I’m doing this since I’m pretty sure even people who don’t like this type of music have tried to out of sheer curiosity), it’s a concept album about a guy (...possibly. I mean there’s a lot of trans and/or nonbinary hints in the lyrics and did you really NEED to make all of this more relatable? What the hell guys) dying of cancer, remembering all the good and the bad things that happened in his life, and since his fondest memory is seeing a marching band once as a child, death arrives in the form of a marching band. He then settles some scores with his friends and family, says his goodbyes, and... and doesn’t die in the end. He ends up surviving the whole ordeal, and the last song, Famous Last Words, is one the most incredible things I’ve ever heard. It’s so propulsive, uplifting and motivating. “I am not afraid to keep on living / I am not afraid to walk this world alone”. Holy. Shit. Sadly, it’s not elligible.

Welcome to the Black Parade is basically the centerpiece of the album, as you already know or might have guessed, but here’s the thing. It also works out of context because there’s already an entire narrative arc within this one song. It’s larger than life. It’s about death and the meaning of existence. It basically contains all the stages of grief, and the conclusion it reaches is that this guy will be remembered and therefore, he will transcend death. It’s full of rage and passion and triumph. There’s key changes. There’s tempo changes. There’s everything. It’s a rock opera in a single song. I put it on my mp3 player immediately after listening to the album, and it’s still on my mp3 player today. I never, ever removed it. I listened to it countless times and every single time, it feels like rewatching one of my favorite movies.

Best hit song of 2007 by a mile. Best hit song of the decade, hands down, and now that the 2010s are over, I’m pretty confident in saying nothing has topped it so far. I’d say “fight me” if I thought this was a controversial opinion, but it’s not even that controversial.

And that feels damn right.

Next up: Is... is this a list with actual filler? Are you telling us there was ONE mediocre year for music in the 2000s? Sounds fake but okay

#Johannes’ bad not good pretty terrible music lists #music #long post #flashing lights #eye contact tw

[spine-buster]

Alone, Together | Chapter 2 | Morgan Rielly

Bee was hiding behind a wall.  Like an idiot.

She had finished her tutorial almost ten minutes ago but was too much of a chicken shit to make her way into the foyer of Sidney Smith where she had peeked earlier, only to see Morgan sitting on one of the chairs, intermittently looking down at his phone and looking around for her.  Her stomach was in knots and she had no idea why.  They had mutually agreed to this – it wasn’t like he was a stalker or anything.  She had been excited about it leading up to this.  She’d even texted Angie about it.  There was no reason to be nervous.  None.

Her phone buzzed in her hand, and she looked down quickly to see Angie’s name flash across the screen.  I don’t care if I’m in Kingston rn, I will force you to see him if you somehow cancel or chicken out.  I will fuckin walk back to Toronto if I have to.

Bee knew that Angie meant it.  She took one last peek at Morgan and took a deep breath, readjusting her bag on her shoulder before walking out on wobbly legs.  

Morgan saw her almost immediately.  He had been looking down at his phone but the second she started walking from behind the wall, he looked up and saw her.  A quick smile adorned his face before he waved and got up from the chair, smoothing down his pants and adjusting his shirt.  Bee waved back.  The closer she got, the closer she could see bits of his blonde hair sticking out from beneath his hat.  

“Hey,” he said, giving her a quick up-down.  “How’s it going?”

“Good, thanks,” she nodded her head.  “Sorry I’m a bit late.  Some students had some questions one was rushing to hand in his last essay,” she fibbed slightly.  A student did have one question.  It took her all of two minutes to answer.  Everyone had handed their essay in at the beginning of class.

“Don’t worry about it,” he waved her off.  “Did you have lunch yet?  Do you want to grab something to eat?”

Bee looked towards the door and saw how sunny it was outside.  She was also well aware of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she had in her bag.  “You want to just take a walk?” she asked.  

“Yeah, that’s cool,” he agreed with her quickly, following her eyes to look outside.  “I’ve actually never been on campus before.  I’ve been around the perimeter, obviously.  But never actually on campus.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing.  It’s beautiful around here.”

“Mind if I just grab some coffee and a sandwich, then?”

Bee hadn’t even considered that Morgan hadn’t had lunch yet and felt awful.  “Oh my God, please!” she exclaimed.  “I didn’t – I’m such an idiot – please go eat some lunch,” she shook her head at herself, causing Morgan to laugh.  “I’m honestly the worst.  Please don’t even – like – I have a sandwich in my bag and I figured you might have eaten a big breakfast or grabbed something before getting here and --”

“You can stop freaking out.  It’s lunch.  It’s not like I’ve been fasting all day and desperately need food,” he said.  “You’re a bit of a neurotic, you know that?”

“It’s part and parcel of being a Master’s student at U of T, sweetheart,” she rolled her eyes.  This wasn’t the first time someone was calling her neurotic.  

“Kinda reminds me of Larry David.”

She almost burst into a fit of laughter but she tried to remain stoic.  “You better go get that sandwich before I kill you.”

As they made their way out of Sidney Smith and into the sunshine, Bee made the executive decision to bring Morgan to some of the prettier buildings on campus, particularly the quads of University College and Trinity College.  He seemed enchanted enough as she talked about the buildings and her memories in them: how she had a class in Trinity College that made her want to bang her head against the old stone walls; how she once fell asleep under one of the trees at University College after an exam because she was so tired and didn’t have the energy to walk home; how Victoria College across campus had the best book sales every September and it was the only time of the year where she splurged on books she wanted but didn’t actually need.  She had built up quite the collection over the years.  She always went on the first day, to get the best selection, and made sure to bring at least three tote bags.  She had a complete Ali Smith collection now – probably her absolute favourite modern author – and almost a full collection for F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Virginia Woolf, and she had just recently grabbed a copy of Persepolis for only three dollars and –

-- And at that point, she realized she was rambling.  

“You can tell me to shut up, you know,” Bee said after she apologized for going on and on.  “I’m always talking about economics shit and not about actual books…so, like, when someone lets me talk about them, I don’t stop.”

Morgan shook his head at the notion.  “I could listen to you talk all day.”

Bee felt an immediate blush in her cheeks, and suddenly she was thankful that she kept her hair down today, if only so that it could possible hide the rouge.  “Do you want to maybe sit and eat your sandwich?”

“I’m fine,” he said quickly.  “What else do you want to show me?”

“I…” she was at a loss for words.  Did he really want to spend the entire afternoon walking around a university campus with her?  “Can we please stop so you can eat your sandwich?  I feel really bad.”

Morgan couldn’t help but smile.  “If you insist,” he shrugged his shoulders.  “Should we just sit under this tree?” he motioned to the openness of the Trinity College quad.  When Bee nodded her head, Morgan crossed his legs and plopped himself down on the grass.  She followed suit, silently thanking herself for wearing jeans today, despite the fact that for the last few months they had fit a bit too snug around her hips and thighs.  They were probably one of the oldest pairs she had and they served her well, but her body at 18 was not the same as her body now at 23.  It was just a fact of life.  

She watched as Morgan unwrapped the sandwich he bought out of the cellophane wrapping, making sure none of the ingredients spilled out onto the grass.  She took the opportunity to slip her hand into her bag to grab her own peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Morgan took one last look around at the old stone building before grabbing a half of his sandwich.  

The simplest of his movements were endearing to her.  There was no preface around him; no air of graces or formality or stiffness – just a defined kindness and humbleness; a sense of gentleness, humanity, and unpretentiousness.  He was just Morgan.  And she was just Bee.  And here they were, sitting in a quad in the middle of Toronto, eating sandwiches.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asked suddenly.

“Of course.”

“What university did you go to?”

Morgan took a giant bite out of his sandwich.  “I never went to university,” he revealed through a full mouth.  He was polite enough to shield it with his hand.  “I sort of…you know, worked my way up the ladder type of deal.”

“Oh,” Bee was taken aback slightly at his answer.  In this day and age, it was very rare to hear of someone who didn’t go to university, let alone someone who had a seemingly good job in the Toronto sports industry who didn’t go to university.  She figured any one of those positions would have required some sort of degree, but she guessed she was wrong.  Maybe there were still people out there who grinded hard in the workforce before they made it into a good position, and there were still people out there who hired those workhorses.  “And how long have you been working in the sports industry?”

“Seven years in Toronto,” he said.  “I’ve been here since 2013.”

“So you’re not from Toronto?”

“No.  I’m from the west coast, actually.  Vancouver.”

Bee cracked a smile.  That was definitely new information.  “You don’t seem like it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Bee shrugged her shoulders.  “Everyone I’ve met from the west coast has been fucking weird.”

Morgan snorted and erupted into a fit of laughter at Bee’s words.  “Wow Bee, that’s something.”

“It’s true!”

“Well I’d like to hear that story,” he commented.

“It’s not a story.  It’s just…I don’t know.  You meet a lot of people in academia.  A lot of people come to U of T.  And, like, all the people I’ve met from the west coast – old, young, male, female – without fail, there’s just something different about them.”

“You guys are just jealous we have the ocean and beautiful mountains,” he said matter-of-factly, taking another bite into his sandwich.  “Jealous that we can go skiing in the morning and swimming in the afternoon.  It’s alright, though.  Whatever.  I get it.  The only mountains you have around here are hills and you think that counts but whatever.”

It was her turn to snort and laugh, knowing exactly that he was referring to Blue Mountain, a popular skiing destination for people from Toronto.  And he was completely right in referring to it as a hill because, well, compared to the Canadian Rockies, it was a hill.  “Touche, Morgan.  Touche.”

“Can I ask you a question?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“What’s Bee stand for?”

“Briony.”

“Briony?  That’s…why do you go by Bee?  Briony’s such a nice name.”

Bee shrugged her shoulders.  “No clue.  I’ve just always been called Bee.  It’s followed me everywhere.”

“Why’d your parents name you Briony if they were only gonna call you Bee?”

“You’re gonna have to ask my mother,” Bee rolled her eyes.  “I think she told me once that she saw the name on the news and chose it that way.  It’s not like it’s special or a family name or whatever.  She literally just couldn’t think of or come up with anything else.”

“And your dad didn’t complain?” he asked.

Bee’s body stiffened slightly.  “Dad was never in the picture,” she revealed.  

“Oh.  Sorry,” Morgan said awkwardly.  “I didn’t mean --”

“Don’t worry.  It’s honestly not a big deal,” Bee said.  “My mom hasn’t been in the picture for a while either, so, you know…whatever.”

She watched as Morgan’s eyebrows furrowed at her admission.  “Why not?”

“I was legally emancipated from her at sixteen years old,” Bee revealed.  “She was a pretty awful alcoholic my entire life.  Ever since the emancipation there hasn’t been any effort to find me or keep in touch.  I haven’t exactly tried to find her or keep in touch with her either, but to be completely honest, that’s probably for the best.”

Bee looked at Morgan, who was staring straight at her, an unidentifiable look on his face.  She knew this was all a bit heavy for the second meeting with someone, but she had spent enough time on first dates or throughout relationships hiding the fact, only to be disappointed down the road when the supposedly ‘mature’ or ‘responsible’ man wasn’t mature or responsible enough to handle or understand her life story and the…unique perspective it gave her.  She made the executive decision with herself to lay it out in the open at the beginning from now on.  If they guy stuck around, good; if he left, even better.  She didn’t want to waste time on anyone or anything.  

“That’s…” Morgan began, but it was clear he couldn’t find the right words.  She waited for a few moments so he could formulate what he wanted to say.  “So you were able to accomplish all this – university, a Master’s, an internship – you were able to do it all on your own.”

Bee smiled.  If there was one thing Morgan could have taken from the small amount of information she just gave him about her life, that is what she would have wanted him to take.  “Exactly.”

“That’s…you’re awesome, Briony.”

The words were music to her ears.

After their picnic, and after their continued walk through Queen’s Park to the other side of campus towards Victoria College and St. Mike’s College, Bee and Morgan stood outside of Museum Station, delaying the fact that Morgan had to meet up with a friend for dinner.  He leaned against the wall of the stairs for entirely too long.  To her credit or demise (she still wasn’t sure yet), she spent entirely too long talking about the ROM.  She was absolutely sure Morgan had been to the ROM before, but she couldn’t shut up.  

“Are you busy Friday?” he asked finally, in the slightest lull of their conversation.

“No.”

“Can I take you out for drinks?”  There was a slight hesitation in his voice.  Bee figured that as the words came out of his mouth, he realized asking a girl who had just revealed she had an alcoholic mother out for drinks wasn’t the wisest thing to ask.  “Even – I mean even if it’s not drinks.  Even if it’s just another walk.  Or snacks.  Whatever.  Can I take you out on Friday?”

Going out meant spending money.  It meant not marking the stack of 30 essays she just received.  It meant probably having to save money on her next grocery bill – no raspberries, or no avocado, or something else she’d have to work out.  But beyond doing the mental math, beyond planning to mark more essays per day so she wouldn’t feel guilt about going out Friday, she began nodding her head.  “Yeah.  Yeah of course.”

#morgan rielly #morgan rielly imagine #morgan rielly fic #toronto maple leafs imagine #toronto maple leafs fic #alone together series

[padfootdidit]

LAISSER DERRIÈRE TOUT CE QUI EST PERDU: the section that starts "At least once a week everyone meets up at someone’s house and James feels like he’s known them as long as he’s known Lily. It’s weird, how quickly people can become integrated into your life. James doesn’t mind at all." and ends "He uses someone else’s words because his own are painted with green eyes and wine hair and he’s afraid to say them in case they cut his throat."

LAISSER DERRIÈRE TOUT CE QUI EST PERDU

At least once a week everyone meets up at someone’s house and James feels like he’s known them as long as he’s known Lily. It’s weird, how quickly people can become integrated into your life. James doesn’t mind at all.

this was just kind of a transition between the last scene and the next one ? for me the last scene (when james meets all of lily’s friends) was clunky and i was never 100% happy with it but it was important that james become a part of lily’s life and not just be some man on the edge - lily’s friends are part of who she is so they couldn’t really love each other without him knowing them. and this bit just sort of sums that up and shows that james is part of lily’s life.

With August also comes art galleries. Lily insists on taking him to every single one in Paris, and so they go to every art gallery in Paris. Inside the galleries Lily stands out next to the other visitors, her hair spilling like wine over her shoulders, and James looks at her more than he looks at the art on display. Studies the line of her jaw, the almost invisble freckles on her nose, the scar below her eyebrow, the pink of her lips, the slope of her neck, her soft skin. He thinks about telling her that she is more beautiful than any of the pieces they look at. The words never quite make it out.

james will literally do anything for her !! she wants to go to all the art galleries in paris ?? hell yea let’s do it. why? cos lily wants to. (obviously he wants to see the art too but,,,, most people Know which galleries contain which pieces they like and want to see - and james does too cos he’s an Artiste - but he’s happy to go along to all of them anyway cos lily wants too. he’s smitten ok-ay). this is also me just reminding the reader how beautiful lily evans is in every universe thxverymuch.

and the last line — i’ve felt that. when you’re with someone who you like/love and u have something to say but you’re scaredscaredscared it’s one sided and they’ll reject you. the words are There - you know what you want to say - but you physically can’t push them out and i wanted james to be scared because sure, he’s cool and suave but not when it comes to lily evans

They hide behind pillars to take photos in the ‘no photography’ galleries, pretend to be lost English tourists to annoy a pretentious French man who Lily overheard commenting on the length of her dress, he grabs her hand when they runaway from a guard who chases them after Lily accidentally leans to close to a sculpture. They stand still, a tableaux, in front of Monet and Van Gogh and Michaelangelo and Matisse. He lets her push her way to the front of the crowd in front of the Mona Lisa because, even though he’d rather look at Renoir than Da Vinci, she is so proud to show him this.

this is kind of a run down of all my experiences in art galleries: 

1) i went to florence with my family and we saw david and my mum got told off by four different guards to stop taking pictures but she’s my hero and somehow managed to get really good ones anyway?? and it involved a lot of quick leans around pillars or placing the camera surreptitiously on my/my sister’s shoulder

2) u’d be surprised how many grown men think that because you’re in an art gallery, they’re allowed to comment on Everything – including other people. my skirt length is not up for critique thank u very much

3) i Love watching people look at art. i especially love watching my dad look at art. there’s this specific way he stands in front of every painting and he always has the same expression and,,, it really is another piece of work in itself (hence ‘tableaux’. also i’ve always loved that concept like. let’s bring that back into social circles)

4) james is not a da vinci fan - or maybe he is but the mona lisa doesn’t capture his heart quite as much as renoir (who i love and needs more love) But, again, lily likes the mona lisa. she’s proud because she feels like it is one of the best pieces in paris’ arsenal. she Knows that you can’t see it anywhere else in the world. it’s her city, it’s her painting, she wants him to see it. 

“Growing up, I never really paid a lot of attention to art. I wasn’t very good at it in school. The only painting in my house was a print, of a girl playing a card game. I loved that painting. That was art for me. It didn’t need to be drawn by some old master, hung in a frame. When I came to Paris and visited the Louvre for the first time I realised that I didn’t need to know anything about art or be good at it to appreciate it. It’s all beautiful.” They’re standing in front of Van Gogh’s Portrait of Doctor Cachet and Lily’s voice is soft, inked with the past. James looks at her.

the print ?? that was the only painting in my mum’s room in her childhood home and she has always said how it’s one of her favourite pieces of art even tho ? it’s just?? a print? and ! that’s the point of art people !! it doesn’t have to be a master or anything…. it’s how you feel. [insert that scene from mona lisa smile where julia roberts ruins betty warren] lily didn’t have the best education but she saw beauty in things and she appreciates art, wherever it came from. ‘inked in the past’ is me being purple prose-y and there’s nothing u can do about it. 

“How are we not art, when our hips and our lips and our hands all fit together like corresponding pieces?” He uses someone else’s words because his own are painted with green eyes and wine hair and he’s afraid to say them in case they cut his throat.

i wanted james to say something here to show he understood lily. that he didn’t think what she was saying was childish or stupid or Wrong in the ‘’art world’’. none of my words were right so i googled ‘art quotes’ and spent way too long trawling through them all to find one i liked. i actually can’t find/remember who said it rn so i’m really sorry whoops. and also james knows if he uses his own words right now,,, he’ll just tell her she’s beautiful. ‘painted with green eyes and wine hair’ – everything he’s thinking is her her her and so he has to quote someone else. ‘cut his throat’ – again the fear of confessing something to someone when you don’t know how they are going to respond. rejection can physically hurt and your throat (like james’ heart at this moment) is a very vulnerable place. also it’s me trying to be poetic.

thanks for coming to my TEDtalk. (send me 500 words from any fic i’ve written and i’ll give you dvd commentary on it)

#this is Long sorry #blueandnoah #rhiannon replies #i cant remember my tag for this fic ?? #oops #rhiannonwritesdrabbles #honestly half of this fic was me being #how pretentious can i sound #without sounding like a knob #but anyway y'all seemed to like it #i hope this lives up to what u expected #lost and found fic

[losttalongthewayy]

l u c k y

prompt ;; CS + late night convos about their growing family + a wee touch of misunderstandings. (( AO3 )) 

((I have oh so many half finished stories right now, so please don’t mind me while I just put them out into the universe before the week properly starts :))

— ღ   —

He’s fresh out of the shower when his eyes land on her. She hasn’t moved much, still lying on her side on their bed, awake yet with her mind a hundred miles away. 

Killian gets her though —it’s a big deal, and he too, can’t stop thinking about it.

They share a small, yet meaningful smile before he moves to dress and Emma watches him.

His hair is still wet, sticking to his skull in all odd places making her smile at the sight. 

He joins her in bed, not especially caring he may wet their pillows. Thankfully, he knows, Emma doesn’t care either right now.

Killian just settles behind her, chin on her shoulder while his arm wraps around her on instinct.

Emma hums and closes her eyes, holding back onto him tightly. She breathes deeply, tries to blank her mind.

(Fails to blank her mind)

He can sense her slight frustration, so he slowly starts kissing the skin of her shoulder, her neck, and it makes him happy when she smiles easily at his touch.

She tilts her head slightly, shifting to see him. Her smile only grows when she catches the smirk on his face; that glint of joy shinning in his eyes when he looks at her.

He looks at her knowingly. “You need to stop thinking so hard, love…”

Emma smiles at that, but still shakes her head. “No can do…”

Killian’s lips form into a line, but that shine of…something happy doesn’t disappear from his eyes. It warms Emma somehow.

Still… “I can’t stop thinking how I’m going to tell Henry about it all,” she tells him, answering the question he didn’t ask.

Emma knows he wanted to ask it but didn’t, instead choosing to give her her space and not push her to share if she didn’t want to.

She does want to though.

“Ah,” Killian lets out as an answer. Emma can see something else crossing his face as he does however.

She narrows her eyes a bit, eyes steady on his as he looks down and that hand of his, previously running in circles on her hip, stills.

She tries to think for a moment, about what she said, but then he speaks. “How do you suppose the lad is going to take it?”

Emma pushes aside his change of disposition, for now, and instead gives him a shrug in lieu of an answer.

Killian’s cheek shifts to rest on her shoulder fully and he gently drops a few kisses there —face angled away from her.

Emma allows this for a moment, she holds a bit tighter onto the arm he still has wrapped around her, and kisses his bicep softly in return.

Eventually she shifts, wanting to properly see him instead of keeping her back to him. She snuggles against him; Killian easily turning with her and gathering her in his arms without thought. He kisses her mouth….her jaw, her cheeks, her forehead as well. Emma smiles against him, but it’s a soft thing. She knows there’s something he isn’t sharing, but she doesn’t want to push him either.

She settles instead with moving one of her hands up to his face, cupping his cheek. His face dips, as it simply always does when they are close like this, and they kiss fully and properly one more time. His eyes close and so do hers; her fingers shifting to the back of his head, tangling in his still slightly wet hair that once more is getting just a wee bit too long.

Their foreheads touch, she’s still playing with his hair, and his hand is now tentatively shifting to her middle.

Emma’s eyes are closed, but she still feels the hesitation in him when his fingers sprawl not quite over her stomach. She sighs, her eyelids slowly fluttering open.

She looks at him softly, love and affection hitting her at once. “Here,” she mumbles, her free hand, the one not playing with his hair, moving to grab his. She intertwines their fingers, moving their hands so that they are jointly resting over her stomach fully.

His eyes are still closed, but he smiles, and it makes Emma do so as well. “I’m truly looking forward to everything, you know?”

Killian’s eyes open then, he fixes her with a look Emma can’t quite read. It prompts her to elaborate for some reason, “I would barely allow myself to touch my stomach when I was pregnant with Henry —ever,” she stresses. “I avoided it. I didn’t want to even think about it. I—” she trails off, shaking her head before trying again. “This time things are different —this baby’s loved and not going anywhere after it’s born. I’m not letting it out of my sight and everything that’s going to happen these next few months, I…I want it. I’m looking forward to it…”

Killian nods, his thumb running idle circles over her lower belly. He’s been imagining the whole thing himself, most of the times having to shake himself out of the same thoughts that not too long ago felt like utter impossibilities. The reality that this is, in fact, his reality, still hasn’t quite sunk in.

Still, “Henry adores you,” —this right now isn’t about him, is about Emma and the worry in her heart.

Because he understands what she means —how she’s not the least bit troubled about their baby itself, but she’s instead worrying nonstop about her son; about letting him in on this, about his reaction, about hurting him with this all.

“I love my parents too, doesn’t mean it didn’t hit me like a ton of bricks when Neal was born…”

Killian nods at that —he was right there himself when Snow admitted to David —and them— Gods, to Emma — that she longed to have a child with whom she could have everything she missed out on with Emma growing up.

Killian remembers the look on Emma’s face, the pain, the almost soul crushing hurt the realization brought to her. Instinctively his hold on her tightens then. “You love the little prince, my love…”

This makes her chuckle and she nods at the needless reminder. “It’s true,” Emma agrees, looking at him. “I don’t doubt for a second Henry is going to be a great big brother, I just…”

“—You worry about him mistaking this baby coming into our lives as you replacing him…”

Both of which are neither true nor right, and yet… “Yeah…” Emma breathes out, her eyes casting down to where their hands still rest on her stomach. “I wish sometimes things had been different back then —I wish I’ve held him, seen him for real at least. I sometimes wish it’d been in the cards for me to actually be with him back then…”

Killian knows there’s really nothing he can say that’ll make her feel better about this particular subject, so he just offers a small soft smile, and leans over kissing the tip of her nose. It’s a gesture that almost never fails to make her smile. His scruffy face tickles at her skin just so, and she can’t help the smile that forms in her face.

Killian smiles a little brighter at her smile. “You’re here for him now…”

“Yeah,” Emma says, then sighs. “He’s too damn big these days though —what do you think I have to do to make him slow down, huh?”

Her sudden sunnier disposition causes him to grin —fully. He beams and detangles their hands just so he can cup her face. “Just trust your lad, love. He loves you and I’m certain that even if he’s put out a bit at first about the news, he’ll come around,” he tells her, his words steady and certain. “Just as you did with the little prince…”

Emma smiles at that, nods her head and then shifts her face to the side just enough to drop a kiss to his hand. Killian caresses the apple of her cheek lovingly, once more ducking his head to kiss her lips.

He stares into her eyes adoringly when he pulls back from her.

“Thank you,” Emma says and Killian can’t help beaming.

“Aye,” he nods. “Whenever you tell the lad, allow him time and space to process the news Swan. He’ll understand in his time, and I’m rather certain he’s going to be excited about it…”

Emma chuckles a little at his optimism. “Okay…” she mumbles with a small nod.

“Would you also, uh, assure the lad he’s free to speak to me any time as well, love,” Killian goes and says then. “I understand your reluctance at involving me when telling him the news, but I’d still like for him to know he can come to me any time to discuss this if he feels the need—”

“Wait,” Emma stops him, frowns, and then tries to sit up fixing him with a strange look. “What? What are you talking about? Reluc— excuse me, what?”

“Love,” he says, and he sounds tired and Emma very much doesn’t like it.

“No,” she shakes her head, now fully sat up on the bed. She stares at him strongly. “Can you explain to me what you meant,” she tells him, before slightly softer adding, “Please?”

His face hangs and she knows he’s not pleased they are discussing this, but the more time he takes in answering, the more impatient she grows. “Killian,”

He takes a huge intake of breath before looking up at her. “Just now, Swan, you were very clear this is a conversation you wish to have on your own with the lad. I respect your decision very much,” he explains, although Emma is still as confused as ever. He just continues anyway, “Henry is your son, and I understand I am not his father, but regardless of this, I still wish the lad to know that it is my hope his and I’s relationship doesn’t go away because you and I are expecting our own child together now…”

It takes more than a moment for Emma to process his words. She’s not entirely sure she’s following, but she’s sure as hell she needs to fix it. “So, let me get this straight, you think I’m…reluctant to involve you in this because I said I was going to speak with Henry?”

“Well, yes Emma, aye…”

“I…” she sighs, shaking her head. “Killian, this is all…new to me. I don’t —I’m not sure how to do…this,” she says motioning between the two of them. “Would I love for you to be there when I tell Henry about the baby? Absolutely, but…I don’t want you to feel as though you have to, because you don’t…”

“–But I do want to, Emma,”

She frowns a little, confused. “You do?” She asks, and Killian can tell she’s honestly insecure about this.

He deflates and suddenly he’s not all that hurt anymore —not that he ever truly was, he’s mostly just a tad annoyed at himself now. “Love,” he tells her, taking one of her hands into his own. “I care about your lad every bit as much as I do for you —the two of you, you’re my family,” he says, but then pauses, something like a smile crossing his face quickly. “Three of you, including the babe…”

Emma smiles a little at that too. “I know that…” She tells him because she does know, but Killian can tell she’s still feeling uneasy. “And you know Henry loves you —he does. I guess…I don’t know, I didn’t think—”

“Didn’t think I’d want to be involved?”

Now he’s sounding slightly hurt again and Emma hates it. “No, no, it’s not that!” She curses inwardly when the stupid words to explain herself just won’t form quickly enough. “I just don’t ever want to put you on the spot —I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything,”

“Love?” His voice is much softer now.

Emma looks at him, and slightly nods at him to continue.

“Can we just agree that I’m always going to want to be involved? In any way that concerns you, Henry, or the babe…just…put me on the spot any time you need to, please?”

Emma breathes deeply and nods at him at those words. “Okay,” she says softly, but he’s still looking at her expectantly. “Fine, yes, okay, I will…”

“Aye,” Killian nods, before an actual, honest to God, precious smile makes it to his face. “Thank you, Swan…”

“Yeah,” she breathes out, reaching over for him without thought. Killian holds her in his arms, tightly enough and allows the moment, their words spoken to sink in completely. He feels Emma relaxing little by little until she’s pretty much slumped against him —feeling completely boneless and at ease. It makes him smile. “I love you,” he tells her, pressing a kiss to her hair.

Emma hums, nodding her head slightly against his chest.

Killian presses yet another kiss. “I love you, our baby, your lad so much as well…I love him as much as if he were my own blood, Swan…” He says, his voice soft, and with just a wee bit of hesitation still there. “I just…I love you all…” He promises, knowing Emma’s listening to his heart speaking right now. He smiles sheepishly when Emma tilts her face and looks up at him. His face scrunches a bit, and his hand shoots up to scratch at that spot behind his ear. “I just want you to know that, love…”

She smiles fully, at him. “I love you, too…” Emma promises, completely enamored of his sudden bashfulness. “And I know you love him, I’ve never doubted it, I promise you…I’m just…not used to this still…”

“This?” He asks and now it’s Emma who smiles shyly.

“Yes, this,” she tells him. “Love like this,” she adds, and Killian gets a little more now what she’s saying. He beams at her though —feeling smug and happy all at once. Emma chuckles.

“You should be used to it, Emma…it’s not going anywhere, love…”

And for whatever reason her heart starts racing and she feels her belly making a flip. “This kid’s lucky,” she says suddenly, and it takes Killian a moment to register she’s talking about their child —their kid.

“Aye?”

“Mmhmm,” she nods at him. “He’ll know love like this, from the very start. I’d say that makes it a pretty lucky baby, don’t you think?”

He doesn’t need to think about it —he knows it. “Aye, love…” he agrees easily. “Lucky indeed…”

#Captain Swan #cs ff #cs fluff #cs baby #cs future fic #<3 #*

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 2nd December 2018

Finally, we’ve gotten to December – this’ll be a busy month for me considering all the end-of-year lists and such, but it’s also the holiday season, so let’s look at how the charts reflect that jolly spirit? Oh, a new 6ix9ine song? Okay, well, we’ll get to that in a bit. Welcome to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Top 10

Staying at the top for a fourth week today is “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande, which has recently been knocked off in the US by “SICKO MODE”, but it’s still reigning pretty strong here.

The runner-up spot hasn’t shifted either, as “Woman Like Me” by Little Mix featuring Nicki Minaj is still at number-two.

Actually moving this week, however, is “Thursday” by Jess Glynne, up only one space whilst still entering the top 3 at number-three.

Also climbing this week is “Without Me” by Halsey, now at number-four after a two-spot increase.

Unfortunately, this means “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper has suffered, being pushed down two spaces since last week to number-five.

At number-six, after an initial surge due to TikTok and Snapchat, we have Ava Max somewhat proving longevity here with her first ever UK Top 10 hit, up seven spots from last week, “Sweet but Psycho”. Congratulations.

“Funky Friday” by Dave and Fredo hasn’t moved at number-seven.

“ZEZE” by Kodak Black, Travis Scott and Offset is actually up two spots to number-eight this week. “Guess we all made for each other”, whatever that means in the context of the song – listen, I reviewed the song in full and any time I’ve heard it since have felt like A-level physics tests, without any equation sheets.

“Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack is down a spot to number-nine.

Finally, to round off our top 10, Freya Ridings’ “Lost without You” is down a space to #10.

Climbers

Surprisingly on this slow week, we have quite a handful here. George Ezra’s “Hold My Girl” is obviously up eight spaces after the single push to #25, nearby “Baby” by Clean Bandit featuring Marina and Luis Fonsi up six spots to #26 – which will also get the album boost next week. “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes continues to rise ten positions to #27 (and I couldn’t be happier for it), while “I Found You” by benny blanco and Calvin Harris is up 11 spaces, taking me by surprise to #29. I didn’t necessarily think this would catch on that well, but I guess clubs are interested so I’m not going to be complaining – I like the song.

Fallers

Wow, we have much less of these than I expected. I knew it was a slow week but most slow weeks at least come with a lot more fallers than gains, yet we just have a spoonful. “Let You Love Me” by Rita Ora gets its streaming cut that takes it down nine or so pegs to #14, while The Greatest Showman hype dies down for P!nk’s “A Million Dreams” and James Arthur and Anne-Marie’s “Rewrite the Stars”, down five and one positions respectively at #16 and #17 – this isn’t happening soon enough, frankly. Since “Back and Forth” by MK, Jonas Blue and Becky Hill couldn’t possibly have a streaming cut, I’m just going to assume it absolutely collapsed this week down a whopping 23 spots to #37. Yikes.

Dropouts

“Leave a Light On” by Tom Walker drops out again from its #36 return last week, while of course “Broken Homes” by Nafe Smallz, M Huncho and Gunna is out from #38 as that type of grime-trap never does all too well unless it’s named after a Cadbury chocolate apparently. “Strip” by Little Mix featuring Sharaya J is also unfortunately out from #25, whilst the hilariously awful “No Stylist” by French Montana featuring Drake is taken with it from #22. “The Greatest Show” covered by Panic! at the Disco is also expectedly out from #39, but otherwise that’s all. Now, let’s get to the bigger story.

Returning Entries

Okay, cool, “Remember Us This Way” by Lady Gaga is back at #39, “Goodbye” by Jason Derulo and David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Willy William is back at #40, but the main headline is of course going to be the start of the influx of Christmas music. While I may need to deal with more of this when I potentially change the format next year, we still get enough in the top 40 over December so I apologise for the Returning Entries sections eventually becoming smaller and more monotonous as we go on – naturally by two years we won’t have any returning entries we haven’t talked about, other than special occasions like “Three Lions”, so this December month is pretty much the end of this section and also the start of me attempting to review Christmas music, which is harder than you think. While “Fairytale of New York” is at #66 and “Last Christmas” is at #52, the one that reigns over all, and is currently already at #14 in the US, is this classic.

#34 – “All I Want for Christmas is You” – Mariah Carey

Well, this is one of the first times on the show I’ve reviewed both Christmas music and one of my favourite songs of all time. There’s something in the joy of those twinking bells and synths, Mariah’s sweet yet powerful delivery and most importantly the freaking sleigh bells, that make me want to involuntarily smile. The lyrics are simplistic yet they’re now just iconic, aren’t they? If you haven’t sung the chorus to this song, and you have a working voice-box, I doubt you’ve lived through even one Christmas. It’s not like the verses are anything to scoff at, either, hell, the bridge is arguably where Mariah really excels, especially with the male choir behind her providing some vocalisation that really has that carol feeling to it, especially with the main reason this song is so fantastic, other than the choirs, other than Mariah Carey being the vocal powerhouse she is (seriously, that final chorus is transcendent), and other than the joyful vibe, those sleigh bells combined with the driving percussion which just give the song such a punch that you need for a Christmas song to work as well as they can when you do them right. Even if Mariah Carey flops for the rest of her career, she’ll always be making bank out of this timeless tune which I hope stays for more than a while during the holiday season. Sadly, I can’t give this Best of the Week, but you’re damn sure I would if I had that choice. Sadly, not all of our Christmas returning entries will be this good over the weeks, although I’m sure this entirely makes up for it.

NEW ARRIVALS

Now you’ve got in that festive mood, how about we kiss under the mistletoe to aggressive trap-rap about gang violence? It’s that time of the year again.

#38 – “KIKA” – 6ix9ine featuring Tory Lanez

Listen, I don’t want to seem like I enjoy 6ix9ine’s music or defend his actions. He deserves that 25-to-life sentence, he’s an awful human being and most of his music reflects that in every way. If I really had the strength in me, I’d do what I did with “FEFE” and just ignore it completely, instead talking about 6ix9ine’s legal troubles, but this is Tory Lanez’s first ever UK Top 40 (and 6ix9ine’s third) so I don’t want to seem disrespectful to Tory, hell, he’s easily the best part of the song... which, yet again, I hate to admit, I like quite a bit.

The beat here really reminds me of the tropical trap stuff like “ZEZE”, and just like that song, Tory Lanez doesn’t let the melody go any further than a few seconds before he hops in for the hook, which is insanely catchy and I do like the dude’s voice, so he can pull off lines that may seem cliché like “I do my own stunts, Jackie Chan with it” with enough charisma, but then 6ix9ine comes in and just interrupts Tory with some repetitive, mindless bars that reek of “I wrote this in two minutes”, but it’s over quick and we do get a pretty funny reference to Bobby Schmurda’s hat, so we can quickly get to the kick that builds into the great hook again, hell, and in the second verse, after Tekashi steals a Lil Pump line (seriously?) and claims that he’s on some “Ray Charles, John Cena s**t” because he “can’t see the b****”, which is actually hilarious, Tory interrupts 6ix9ine in return with an admittedly funny skit with him replacing “TR3WAY”, a word 6ix9ine cannot legally say anymore despite his catchphrase “it’s f***in’ TR3WAY!”, with other words such as the Trojan brand of condoms, and the American chain Target, before bursting into laughter. Uh, yeah, I’m hesitant but this is a good ‘un, despite its many, many charming flaws – it’s clearly supposed to be funny, so that’s how I’m enjoying it.

Oh, and my friend Prez wanted me to talk about “WAKA” and while I do love A Boogie wit da Hoodie’s singing voice here, with a pretty catchy hook, I’m not sure how I feel about the song in general. The beat has a pretty intense string melody which I can dig, with Boogie actually developing a story which is interesting enough, until 6ix9ine literally shoots the song up, with gunshot and explosion effects that’d make you think he’s Joe Budden, but his part isn’t that awful and it’s insanely short because he’s the feature on his own album for the most part, so, yeah, this is a damn good Boogie song with a few intrusions from the Skittles-man. If we had a version without Tekashi, I’d like it even more.

#20 – “AirForce” – Digdat

Who’s Digdat? Good question. How did his first ever single debut in the top 20? I don’t know, but congratulations, I guess. Since I’ve looked more into British hip-hop, I actually recognised the name but didn’t know much about his particular brand of reggae or pop-infused grime-trap, so I did some research, and yeah he’s pretty okay, albeit a tad boring, so I didn’t expect him to get a hit on his own – and that’s because he didn’t. This song charted because of a remix from much bigger grime duo Krept & Konan, but since that has less streams, we’re talking about the original, and again while I appreciate the dark string-based production and Digdat’s blunt and fast delivery, it’s a bit too generic, I’m sorry. There’s too much bass here that overpowers the actual beat, and the first minute essentially being a bunch of synth-air with producer tags is a bit of an odd choice. The beat is pretty good but the mixing somewhat ruins it, but not enough to be all that noticeable. It just rounds out to a perfect, balanced, “I don’t care”. Hope Digdat gets some more recognition after this, though, the dude has potential.

Conclusion

I don’t feel like I can really give Digdat a Dishonourable Mention or Worst of the Week, but “KIKA” is just clearly so much better, so yeah, Best of the Week goes to Tory Lanez, whilst I don’t think I can really be that mean to DIgdat, so he gets Honourable Mention for “AirForce”. See ya next week, when I’m guessing there will be an influx of Christmas music!

[busstophustle-blog]

Favorites: Songs & Albums of 2017

FAVORITE SONGS

Jorja Smith and Preditah – On My Mind

It should be somewhat established that I love UK garage and tend to celebrate any quality tune that carries the style’s polyrhythms, driving tempo and yearning R&B vocal sensibility. Great garage tunes have an anthemic quality to them, and “On My Mind” is no different. When Jorja hits the chorus, this song just jumps to a higher gear: “I finally found what went wrong,” she belts, leaving listeners longing for closure until she finishes the thought with a bittersweet tang: “I finally found the wrong in you.” It’s a break-up anthem that urges you to move to the beat of independence and dance away the pain.

Big K.R.I.T. – Get Away

I was hooked from the hook: “I gotta get away from that bullshit that they on.” Maybe this song resonated with me instantly because I operate best when I have a chip on my shoulder, and it seems that KRIT does too.

Up until 4eva is a Mighty Long Time, I found it hard trying to make a case for KRIT as one of the greats of this era because I struggled to point to a project that shined from start to finish. Thankfully, with his latest album, he’s cemented the best work yet to justify why he deserves far more recognition alongside contemporaries like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole for what he’s accomplished over the years.

KRIT approaches hip-hop with a soulful touch often missing from today’s sonic landscape. In the case of “Get Away,” KRIT builds around Bettye Crutcher’s “Sleepy People,” building a mood around her lyric “we’re forced to ride around on a merry go round.” Just like with “Country Shit” or “Sookie Now” before it, “Get Away” immediately drops you into his booming thinking man’s music. This is KRIT’s victory lap at the end of a stellar disc one, placing material braggadocio alongside spiritual closeness – verse two boasts “pull up, woofers still quaking, let it be known that I made it” along with “Boobie Miles under lights hater, this God given.”

This is the other song that never feels like it’s long enough. There have been a few times this year where I’ve ridden home listening to this song on repeat all the way to the gate. For me, there’s something undeniably touching in this song.

Reva DeVito – After Tonight (B. Bravo Rework)

Hands down, this is the song on this list most likely to get me on the dance floor. This re-work is actually a remix of sorts from B. Bravo, the other half of DeVito’s group Umii, which updates “Rose Gold” from her The Move EP by swapping bright keys in place of a heavy break beat. Reva’s output can often work from a place of soft, lightly illuminated seduction; however, B. Bravo’s re-work adds a breezy quality that made this a summer tune I continued to revisit through the warmer months of 2017.

It has all the things I love about Reva DeVito: a singalong quality to the melodies, a laid-back delivery with stacked harmonies, a joyful instrumental. She’s not the type of artist that blows you away on first listen, but there’s a je ne said quoi that makes her songs worth repeat listens. 

Goldlink – Crew (feat. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy)

It’s the mood. Goldlink has a distinctive delivery ever since he first hit the scene rapping over house beats and I gained recognition of his name by way of Soulection. Everything comes together on this song. Think of how well this beat pairs three completely different lyrical approaches – Brent Faiyaz’s star-making hook, Goldlink’s signature freneticism tailored to seductive double-time sultriness, and Shy Glizzy’s gangster closing, complete with “ain’t nothing wrong with fake asses.”

“Don’t act like I’m your man, you just a fan,” counters Faiyaz in a compellingly effective, completely dismissive tone. Every time I watch this clip, I wish I were as cool as those two.  

Mahalia – Sober

I ran across this song thanks to a Berlin-based YouTube music channel COLORS. Part live performance and part fashion show, each clip typically presents a musician or band performing in front of a colored green screen, often providing a hue complementing their stylish wardrobe.

In Mahalia’s case, her performance of “Sober” paired her red head-to-toe – bandana, one-piece romper with pleated pants, puffer jacket, Puma suedes – with a soft blue background.

“What ever happened to the time that we spent sober?” she asks before jumping into the second chorus. An extended take on the reasons love came to an end, Mahalia delivers a clearly enunciated performance that perfectly sits in the pocket of the beat.

Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry

I’ll come clean – I was a Demi Lovato hater before this song. But my roommates can also tell you that I made them sit through the entirety of her YouTube documentary when I was under the spell of this song.

For a singer worth as much potential money to management and labels as Demi Lovato, there’s no fucking way “Sorry Not Sorry” was some midnight miracle, an instance of catching lightning in a bottle. I’d bet this was written by committee, demoed by a highly competent vocalist then methodically taught to Demi. But even with those mechanisms in mind, I still can appreciate a really well crafted song from time to time. Plus I’m always a sucker for gospel keys, which is probably why Logic’s “Black Spiderman” floored me too.

Jessie Ware – Midnight (Goldie Epic Remix)

Let me start by saying I love the original version of “Midnight.” I’d say it’s arguably the best written pop single Jessie Ware has ever released. Yes, “Say You Love Me” is best known, but I’ve always felt that was a song that was chasing a hit more than something that truly captured Ware’s artistic sensibility.

With that point in mind, here’s why I prefer Goldie’s glorious remix: “Midnight” plays by pop convention then finishes; Goldie’s remix builds and builds and builds, elevating Ware’s chorus to something more driving and immediate.

Electronic music doesn’t tend to make tracks that are seven and a half minutes long any more, yet Goldie created a song deserving of every second of its run time. He revisits his original theme for five minutes before turning the song on its head and taking a dark turn. Listening to her talk about the remix with Mista Jam, she mentioned the collaboration like it was a dream come true.

“I basically wanted to be a dance vocalist – that’s how I started,” she shares. “My husband and I fell in love over jungle, so why not get Goldie to make you feel like you’re on a jungle track, and feel like Jenna G? Why not?”

David Dallas – R U (feat. Lukan Raisey, KidSeb, and Trey Bond)

I’m a lifetime David Dallas fan. I crossed over after listening to his Rose Tint album a few too many times, and have eagerly anticipated subsequent releases ever since. He remains one of my favorite rappers, because he’s clearly a student of the game and has no problem putting his life on wax rather than chasing lyrical trends.

Hood Country Club, his first album in four years, is darker and more politically charged than his previous output, but “R U” is a posse cut of sorts that slows things down. Posing a basic question -- are you down? -- Dallas and his guests revisit a topic known well in hip-hop thanks to anthems like 50 Cent’s “21 Questions” -- will fans and family still ride with them through thick and thin?

Unlike some of his contemporaries, David Dallas has never struggled to seem genuine when getting introspective -- how many other rappers could pull off a musical accomplishment as tender as “Spend a Lifetime”?

DKVPZ – Bonde de Neo Soul

DKVPZ’s Soulection White Label EP is one of the strongest in the LA collective’s freEP series, which now covers over 20 sets.

The playful plinks of keys serve as stabilizers, maintaining harmonic focus against the incessant momentum of the track’s drums. Sango’s distinct production output helped introduce me to baile funk’s sound. This duo comes straight from Brazil, showcasing just how universal the “sound of tomorrow” has come to be.

Joyce Wrice – Good Morning (Swarvy Redeux)

I think it’s those lazy keys that do it for me. They float from one chord to the next, yet they never get too out of pace thanks to the simple, grounded bassline.

The original  version plays directly into that throwback nostalgia younger millennials are eating up right now. The Swarvy Redeux helps strip things back a bit, which brings forth the lyrics more.

A friend of mine says I have an alter ego, who I’ve named baeisha. Baeisha likes music like this, those R&B tales of longing. I guess it fits a part of my persona. I love that idea of being swept off my feet.

FAVORITE ALBUMS 

Big K.R.I.T. – 4eva is a Mighty Long Time

This one was a long time coming from Meridian, Mississippi’s young Krizzle. 

To get you caught up: Big KRIT first made waves in 2011 with his acclaimed mixtape KRIT Wuz Here. Ever since, critics and fans alike have claimed he’s this generation’s torchbearer for the countrified, Third Coast sound of southern rap often best personified by the output of Outkast and UGK. Following a series of acclaimed mixtapes, he was signed to Def Jam, releasing Live from the Underground (2012) and Cadillactica (2014). Both albums received some critical praise, but the numbers never quite followed. It seemed KRIT was destined to be an also-ran, a major label cautionary tale. He left Def Jam mid 2016, and 4eva is a Mighty Long Time is his first full-length since that departure.

It’s a gargantuan return, and the most consistent release of his career thus far. 4eva’s 22 songs can seem like a lot to take in, but thankfully he’s split his material across two 11 song sets, labeled “Big KRIT” and “Justin Scott.” Side one is that candy paint riding music, full of charisma and trunk-rattling beats. Disc 2 is intended to drop the KRIT artifice, and features some incredibly vulnerable bars.

Still hungry. Still striving. Still Krizzle. My favorite album of the year.

Jaimie Branch – Fly or Die

“I’ve never been very good at playing what I’m supposed to play. I’ve never been very good at doing what I’m supposed ot do or saying what I’m supposed to say. I can only do what I’feel at that moment”

Thanks to JazzTimes for this one. Their profile mentioned a new free jazz trumpeter making waves out in Brooklyn, and as I read on I came across a photo of a trumpeter on the bandstand rocking a cocked fitted and a White Sox jersey. From there, I found Fly or Die’s EPK on YouTube. I’d ordered the album on vinyl before bed that night.

Fly or Die does mark Branch’s recorded debut as a leader, but that fact can be a bit of a misnomer. She’s been gigging for a decade, and recently moved from her native Chicago out to New York. Despite her new scenery, this album is Chicago through and through, featuring players she met in the city’s avant jazz scene.  Her quartet shakes up traditional instrumentation, with her group calling for trumpet, cello, bass and drums. Special appearances include a guitarist and two cornet players.

There’s a raw feeling to this album that had me listening on repeat for close to a week. Maybe it’s the fact that jazz carries this academic sheen nowadays, but I’ve never been much of a fan of how clean much of today’s jazz sounds. Yes – great engineers and recording techniques will want a clean, separated experience – it showcases the depth of compassion for the material – luscious recordings show mastery of the craft and techniques to capture it – yadda yadda. For instance, the drums on here carry a rugged quality I wish I heard more often on jazz recordings.

I’ve been drawn not only to the musicianship of jazz but the brazen attitude inherent in its practice. There’s something quite bold about studying a tradition for years to throw that all away and create in the moment. I was reminded of jazz being a transgressive act as I listened through to Fly or Die, and it made me hope this record was a signal of things to come for the scene.

Nicole Atkins – Goodnight Rhonda Lee

Like Lila Downes’ Make America America Again before it, I was drawn to this album because I spend way too much time on the Allmusic site. This cover caught my attention when it was highlighted as editor’s pick, so I took a listen and was intrigued enough to tab the album for a few months until I finally picked it up on CD.

Nicole Atkins’ voice has a vocal power that often lies dormant, but in songs like “Listen Up” and “Sleepwalking,” that force pops out with surprising emotion. I’d say her voice at times is akin to Carole King, and this album certainly honors the warm AM radio / singer-songwriter tunes that dominated the 70s.

Mac Ayres – Drive Slow

Have you ever been absolutely entranced by an album, found something you can’t quite explain but it kept you hitting replay when you got to the end of the album because it just felt too soon to say goodbye? Maybe it was me feeling a need to get away from the Bay for a bit, and relishing the chance to be trapped on a bus with strangers in close proximity, that made me so open to something new. Maybe it was how easily digestible this whole project is, blue-eyed soul melded with that Dilla-esque woozy boom bap.

When I stopped into the Last Bookstore in LA, I was at a loss for what to pick up until  I took a look at the staff picks on my way out, and saw a book with a cover that was drawn to look like a mixtape. It was Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately, a poetry book by Alicia Cook. I read the dedication, which was for anyone who’s ever loved someone struggling with addiction, closed the book, and headed for the counter.  I’d found what I was looking for.

As we headed back up I-5 on the Megabus, I bought an overpriced pen at a truck stop along with some unhealthy snacks I so adore on road trips. With my chore coat on, I had space for everything in those numerous, deep pockets – beef jerky, soda, chips, sour candy, pen, notebook, MP3 player, poetry book. I’d read some, then write a bit, then read more.

Something about Cook’s words and Ayres’ songs touched me in a way I’ll never forget. She sparked the inspiration to tell of it all – to speak on the pain, the indecision, the awkwardness, the great joy and inspiration, and the subsequent loneliness of what it meant to be me at that moment in time. Drive Slow provided a warm pool to float in those thoughts void of judgment. I played the album sequentially, then shuffled it, repeating the process until we got back to the Bay. 

I guess in that sense, this pick has more to do with what this album meant to me this year than the supposed “merits” of its songcraft, etc. But I’ve been over that line of thinking. Often, our taste defies logic -- as it should -- and that’s precisely why music is so beautiful.

Yussef Kamaal – Black Focus

I really enjoy what’s been happening with jazz overseas, particularly the brand of jazz that’s often co-signed by Jazz Re:freshed and EZH Magazine (formerly Jazz Standard). Out of that new crop flew Yussef Kamaal, who, after only one album, may already be done, at least in their original formation.

Like with Fly or Die, Black Focus sported a jazz outline but felt like a fresh take on an idiom that sometimes loves to idolize its greats a bit too much. Jazz isn’t a time capsule, though some fans treat it like nothing that existed past the inception of jazz fusion is worth any merit; it’s an ever-evolving art form that often incorporates elements of other musical traditions into its framework to play with a different set of building blocks. The interplay of these two is seamless, which is one way jazz can really shine. It’s a pleasure to hear musicians locked in, whether it’s live or on record.