“ohh liking AJR is cringe, the general consensus is AJR is cringe” don’t care + didn’t ask + cringe culture is dead + hating popular things doesn’t make you cool + i’m glad growing up wasn’t traumatic for you + if you want to be big like your plans why’re you so tiny and why’re you so mad

Got snagged and tagged by @autumnfangirler. I have been playing my Sidestep playlist over and over for the past month-ish. Seeped into my non-stop playlist like an infection.

1.) Labyrinth – Miracle Musical, Shane MauX, and KAYE

2.) Intertia – AJR

3.) Iron Lung – Musiclide, The Stependium, GridLine Studios (Farm Vibes from FH:R imo)

4.) Brass Goggles – Steam Powered Giraffe

5.) Dog Days Are Over – Florence + The Machine

6.) I'm Gonna Win – Rob Cantor

7.) Human – Avanae

8.) Out of Touch – Daryl Hall & John Oats

9.) Cigarettes Out the Window – TV Girl

10.) Punk Tactics – Joey Valence & Brae

I'm tagging @obsolete-stars-if @chinchinashi @sexlesssnakebaby and @autistic-sidestep Shuffle your On-Repeat 10x :>

AJR - The Maybe Man

Up until listening to pop-rock / indie-pop AJR’s new album, The Maybe Man, I only knew that a lot of people hated them. I had only listened to a couple songs, and I never thought they were outright horrible, but I wouldn’t want to listen to a full record of that. Well, things change, and I decided to be morbidly curious about The Maybe Man, both because I had never heard a full record from these guys and because the circumstances behind it were interesting. This record was written either before or during their father’s passing, as AJR is composed of three brothers whose first name comprise the initials of the band, so they were really going through it. I also listened to a podcast that they were on and talked about the record, so it made me want to hear it, since they seem like great, earnest, and down to earth guys that love music, so I hunkered down late last week and spent some time listening to this record. Is this band as bad as most stuffy online critics make them out to be?

Honestly, no, not at all. While I won’t say that this is the best album of the year, it’s a genuinely good one that kind of surprised me. I had a lot of fun with this, and I found myself surprised by how solid it truly was. I don’t want to oversell this album as some kind of masterpiece, because it’s not, but this record is a lot of fun and oddly poignant in some ways. This album is kind of rooted in rather sad themes, with a lot of songs being about disillusioned with fame, dealing with mental illness, struggling with getting older, and their father’s passing. This album has some good hooks, such as “Touchy Feely Fool,” “Yes I’m A Mess,” “Intertia,” and “Hole In The Bottom Of My Brain,” among others. Hell, the song “Steve’s Going To London” is a song that’s kind of a commentary on how songs don’t need to be about anything. The first half is a bunch of nonsense lyrics about a bunch of people doing unrelated things, and the song jumps into a bit of meta commentary on how they tried to a write a song that tries too hard to be about writing a song.

The album’s centerpiece, though, is the second to last song “God Is Really Real.” This is the track about their father’s passing and it’s honestly kind of a tearjerker. You can really feel the band’s pain as they come to terms with it, but some of the song is about how they’re in denial of their dad’s illness. It’s not attempting to be corny, silly, or over the top, but it’s grounded in more reality. The title is also rather interesting, because one of the biggest lines in the song is “God is really real when you really, really need him,” and “God’s fucking fake ‘til he’s not,” which is a variation on the idea that someone is only an atheist until something bad happens and they need to pray, but it weirdly works.

At the same time, I can understand why people wouldn’t like this. This album is a bit overblown in spots, and some of the lyricism is very corny (there’s a kind of cringy reference to Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools” in “Steve’s Going To London,” but it works okay for what it is), but they downplay the over the top sound that they normally have. This album is more stripped back, despite having some moments that bombastic and over the top, and it feels more like a straightforward pop album. It won’t blow your mind, by any means, but if you never liked these guys, I’d check this out, even if it’s out of pure curiosity. I won’t say it’s amazing, or even great, but it’s still really good.

I'm trying so hard to make the Dusk playlist like a nice mix of things BUT AJR FUCKING SLAPPED ME WITH THAT ALBUM. IT'S SO DUSK VIBED.

So anyway Intertia was added.

🎶

I've worn the same skinny jeans Since I was 15, it's probably nothing (Inertia) my friends say they're quitting this week To chase down their dreams, they're probably bluffing, but

Don't you like it bigger, better? But you do what you can (do what you can) Don't you like it a little better When you don't understand? (Don't understand) I was gonna save the planet, but today I got plans I guess this is just what I am

-Intertia, AJR

//this is the song I based a lot of Pip’s personality on :)