Have you seen the 2007 movie version of Sweeney Todd at all (the one with Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman?) I personally really liked Alan Rickman as the Judge, and he wasn't a bad singer either.

i was actually JUST watching it last night this is so funny but yes i have! i think it gets a bad rep sometimes because it's a movie musical in the same vein as phantom of the opera 2004 but visually it's one of my favourite adaptations of sweeney todd because of how well it utilizes it's victorian london setting and makes it feel as gritty and grimy as it would have been. as for judge turpin i think alan rickman and timothy spall are kind of underrated when it comes to their respective portrayals. judge turpin needs to have a particular kind of ick factor and imo both alan rickman and philip quast (from the 2014 lincoln center half concert half staged production of sweeney todd that you can actually find on youtube for free should you wish to) are easily the best because the 2014 lincoln center version has mea culpa in it (a song that seems to get cut more often than not because it's literally just judge turpin self-flagellating and singing about how he's lusting after johanna à la judge claude frollo in the hunchback of notre dame) and both philip quast and alan rickman just. play judge turpin in a way that is both weirdly charismatic and also so fucking sleazy that it just makes sense.

"Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary." -Gerard Way

Introduction

Daiki Kamiyama may appear as an ordinary high school graduate working as a waiter, but at night he crusades by his more commonly known name, Paladin. As the second member of the Veiled Vanguard, he proudly represents the small city of Obihiro whilst trying to avoid the inevitable association he has with his family.

Born into a large family with a massive influence, Daiki is the seventh child to the Kamiyama family and is treated as the baby brother. Despite this pampered and sheltered life, Daiki craved to leave his pompous family behind and make a name for himself without the help of his family’s money or power. So, as soon as Daiki had graduated from his private school he snuck away from his family’s estate and made a journey to Obihiro city as a way to start anew and achieve his longtime dream of being a superhero.

Although these dreams are still far off, Daiki manages to keep a tiny apartment with the money he makes as a waiter. And as soon as he is off from work or out at night, Daiki dons his handmade costume and does his best to do what he can to help everyone he comes across. Unfortunately he is constantly harassed by his personal butler Jack, who insists on following him around everywhere.

Appearance

Although Daiki's hair is naturally black, he has gotten his hair dyed a light blue color. He keeps his hair on the longer side, often tying it in a little ponytail in the back. His eyes are an off gray color, with a mole under each eye.

While his outfits change drastically from moment to moment, he is almost always seen with a black and white baseball cap. His normal civilian outfit is that of a waiter's uniform, with a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, some black pants, and a black and gold apron, with the team's symbol imprinted on the bottom left hand corner. Daiki's sneakers are colored black, white, blue, and yellow. For accessories he has black sweatbands on each wrist and an additional two golden bracelets on his left arm. He has golden rings on each earlobe, and a silver tongue piercing.

Hypnosis Microphone

Daiki’s microphone looks a lot like a toy cell phone, but upon closer examination it appears as a sentai hero’s special gadget colored red, blue, yellow with black and gold accents. His speaker takes the form of a giant boombox, with his MC name messily spray painted across the top. An LED screen below the name scrolls with the title to his songs.

Daiki’s rap ability is called “Buffer”, a defensive ability that will block any attack for a certain period of time. Once the ability wears off however, the damage that was absorbed will immediately affect Daiki, usually incapacitating him instantly.

For such an immature young man, Daiki has a strangely calm and soothing voice that tends to sing and harmonize more often than rap and rhyme. This is due to his backing music seeming to fit more towards R&B and soul music. Still, even with his soft voice his lyrics often feel pretty childish with tons of references to pop culture, darkness versus light, and other good against evil allusions.

Entomology

Daiki - Meaning "big" and "shining". Put together, it means "great radiance".

Kamiyama - Literally translates to god mountain.

Trivia

Daiki is left handed, but his family has forced him to do most tasks like eating and writing with his right hand.

Daiki loves anything involving superheroes and as a result absolutely loathes anyone who may have committed the smallest of crimes. His scale goes from murder (the highest sin) to lying being the lowest crime, although you can rectify such lower-tier "crimes" if you take back your actions or ask for forgiveness.

He loves anything packed with sugar but hates broccoli.

Being so young and naïve, Daiki often runs into people who have more knowledge in "justice" whether they be law enforcement, martial artists, or even just a kindly neighbor. These people he will often dub as his teach/teacher/sensei or master/shishou; the last title being the highest title Daiki gives out.

Ironically, he dubs Shuu Edogawa as "Master Shuu" after repeatedly running into the detective.

Daiki being half British is fluent in English on top of his fluency in Japanese. He also can speak basic German, French, Spanish, and a little bit of Chinese in total.

DEBUT BOOTCAMP UPDATE: REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS

SCHEDULE TYPE: UPDATE SCHEDULE RESTRICTIONS: Concerns only muses who signed up to the debut bootcamp

( important note: this is just an ic update, the following post will contain information and requirements for part 2 )

JUST A DANCER

on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, at 9AM sharp, the 26 trainees of the debut bootcamp are gathered in the largest practice room on CJ ENM CONTENTS WORLD campus. SEO YOUNGJAE and the various coaches present at the camp stand in front of the crowd, waiting for silence to fall. once the room is quiet enough to SEO YOUNGJAE, he finally speaks: "good morning. the first part of this bootcamp is finally complete. before we reveal what's to come, we have a couple of announcements to make, beginning with 'JUST A DANCER' auditions results.

the trainees to join as back dancers, as decided by US and HONEY herself are: NOH AREUM, WATANABE MIYU, HAN NOEUL and lastly... CHOI KAI.

congratulations to the four of you. I hope you aren't sick of the song yet, because for the next several weeks, you'll be practicing it almost daily!" he announced with a chuckle.

ANNOUNCEMENT

before anyone can make a single comment, SEO YOUNGJAE then raises a hand up to stall them. "before answering any questions concerning the results, let me make an additional announcement; HAN KEEHO, JUNG WOOKJIN, PONGSAK TEE" his eyes easily find the three boys, "today is your last day at the camp" he tries to keep a poker face, but a smile still tries to break his stern expression. "actually, this is your last day as trainees; the three of you will be joining V&A and introduced as new members from their next comeback! V&A's manager is waiting for you outside, you may go right away." he nods proudly to the three boys and waits for them to leave the room to continue.

( CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR DEBUT! AS MEMBERS OF VERSUS (JUNG WOOKJIN, PONGSAK TEE) AND AGITO (HAN KEEHO), PLEASE WAIT FOR THE V&A UPDATE POST THAT WILL COME LATER TONIGHT FOR MORE INFORMATION )

REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS

once the three boys exit the room, SEO YOUNGJAE' expressiosn darkens a little, more than upset, he seems mildly disappointed. "this isn't called a debut bootcamp for fun; our goal was to make our top trainees quickly improve skills we deem critical in idols, and also to assess who is ready to debut.

some of you have managed to surpass our expectations, while others have been content with doing the bare minimum. we're actually baffled to realize that some even managed to improve more on skills not taught during the last 5 weeks compared to those we've been drilling you on all this time. how is this happening? is this a joke to you? are you just coasting through? do you think you’re already so good, so ahead of the curve, that you don't need to push yourself further? i'm telling you right away; you are wrong." he sighs. "this wasn't planned, but since many of you seem to only learn with the carrot and the stick, we have prepared a reward for those who went above and beyond what was expected, and a punishment for those who did the opposite;

BANG YOHAN, HAN NOEUL, KIM NAYOUNG, LEE HAYUN, NOH AREUM, PARK CHAEKYUNG, PARK SEOJIN, WATANABE MIYU and YOON DAYEON; congratulations, for the rest of the year, you are allowed to begin your weekends on SATURDAY 1PM.

CHOI KAI and KANG MAXIMILIAN; for the rest of the year, you will be required to come to the office on SUNDAY FROM 8AM to 12PM for personal training in DANCING, SINGING/RAPPING, ACTING and PERFORMANCE.

lasty, KIM YUJIN, although your progress has satisfied the coaches, LEE HYEMI, of the marketing and communication team has given us a heads up that you need recentering. You will thus be joining MAX and KAI on SUNDAY MORNINGS. you will received special lessons of ETIQUETTE and MARKETABILITY, as well as COUNSELING with a life coach.”

Importance of “Walk on Water” off Eminem’s Revival Album

Over the course of my last few blog posts, I have discussed the reason I chose Revival by Eminem as my artifact, the creation of it, and the race aspect within it. Each post I really was interested in what I was writing and what I was learning while writing it. In the album as a whole, there is a lot of reference to class standing. To preface, Eminem was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, but predominantly grew up in Detroit, Michigan.  He moved around a lot as a child, settling in Warren, right outside Detroit at age 11. Him and his mother, Debbie Mathers, and his younger brother, Nathan, lived on a road called Dresden, which was one of the poorer parts of Warren. Essentially, Eminem grew up in poverty, yet became one of the bestselling rappers of all time.

           The reason of mentioning Eminem’s history is to better understand his music as a whole, not only his album Revival. The song I want to focus on the most in this post is “Walk on Water” featuring Beyonce. This is probably the most touching song on the album, and although it doesn’t speak directly to class, there is a connection there. This song is very touching in my opinion, and a reminder that regardless of money status, fame, or anything really, we’re all humans. We should all be held to the same expectations regardless of class status and such.

           Starting with the chorus, Beyonce sings, “I walk on water/ But I ain't no Jesus/ I walk on water/ But only when it freezes”. This verse is honestly one of the most important ones in the song. We as a society put celebrities like Beyonce, Ariana Grande, Eminem, and more on a pedestal almost, and forget they are humans too. Many treat celebrities as if they are ‘Jesus’. We hold them to such high expectations, believing that they are more important than the average human being. The point of this song is essentially to say that it is unfair, it puts a lot of stress on them. We are all human and should be treated as such. This means allowing for privacy when needed, and to be treated like another person instead of an animal, or Jesus. In my opinion, one of the most important lines in the song, which also goes along with the chorus in a way is, “Kids look to me like as a God, this is retarded/ If only they knew, it's a facade and it's exhaustive/ And I try to not listen to nonsense/ But if you bitches are trying to strip me of my confidence/ Mission accomplished/ I'm not God-sent”. This is once again a reminder of the pressure put on not only Eminem, but every big celebrity and musician out there. Many, like myself, look up to Eminem as a symbol and guide almost. His music has helped so many people through so much. However, I think we all need to step back and realize our favorite celebrity, the one we look up to is human too and goes through similar situations. We need to treat them with respect as well, and if we don’t like what they are doing or saying, simply walk away. Celebrities are held to such a high standard because of the money they have too. This also leads into how this song connects to class.

           I think that our society thinks that if you have money, or live in a nice house, you should almost be treated like Jesus. I believe that that is what Eminem is trying to get at in this song. Class standing should not change how you look up to someone or treat them. Eminem basically came from nothing, he grew up being bullied and beaten up. Now, he is one of the most famous rappers, with a lot of money. Now, he gets treated amazingly. There is something to be said about how society treats the poor versus how we treat the rich. In the end, Eminem is human, Beyonce is human, and Kanye West is human. We cannot treat those with money as Kings and Queens, because they are not. It puts pressure on them to be perfect, when once again, they are human just like us.

           In the first verse, Eminem raps, “Why, are expectations so high?/ Is it the bar I set?/ My arms, I stretch, but I can't reach/ A far cry from it, or it's in my grasp, but as/ Soon as I grab, squeeze/ I lose my grip like the flying trapeze/ Into the dark, I plummet”. Eminem is speaking more to his music here, the expectations set by everyone. He feels the need to constantly be the best and make new, different music. He feels so much pressure by not only fans, but everyone who might listen. Again, Eminem is the number one best selling rapper of all time. Overall, I felt as though this song was very raw, and Eminem really opened up in it. I found it to be a very important reminder that even those celebrities in Hollywood are humans, not animals, or ‘Jesus’.

Reference: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-21-mn-28235-story.html

Other performances of Walk on Water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxkLy_mvGXE

hanami

matchaloveblossom - founder's trio festival day 1

Kojiro and Kaoru were from respectable families themselves once upon a time, but even back then they had not been permitted to visit Adam’s family estate due to the fact that they were pierced up, loud-mouthed, skateboarding hoodlums that had once landed a teenaged Ainosuke in a holding cell for an hour and twenty-three minutes.

It’s part of the reason they eventually agree to Adam’s invitation. The other parts being that 1.) Adam will not stop asking, 2.) they are trying to give Adam a second chance, and 3.) they want to see what he’s planning.

Adam spends the better part of the first hour of their visit leading Kojiro and Kaoru on a tour of the Shindo estate’s sprawling gardens. He lists off the names and meanings of flora and fauna like poetry before leading them across a stream over a whimsically ivy-hung stone bridge and into a grove of vibrant, sweet-smelling cherry blossom trees.

As Adam steers them both by the arm into a small clearing, they set eyes on a large blanket sprawled across unnaturally healthy grass. A hefty picnic basket weighs the center of the blanket down, with a bottle of a wine poking out of its top, and a cat has settled itself just beside this, snoozing in the warm, breezy afternoon.

“Well, isn’t this fucking adorable,” Kojiro croons, the first to settle on the blanket, kneeling, one leg stuck out as he pops open the basket and peers inside. “Did you do all this yourself, Adam?”

Kaoru recognizes that Kojiro’s gauging how much effort Adam put into this versus Adam’s servants, trying to understand how much this gesture matters.

“Yes.” Adam shoos the cat away with a feign of his boot and a canine snarl and then lowers himself gracefully onto the blanket as if he hadn’t. He sprawls onto his back, not unlike the cat had been sleeping, and crosses his arms. Kojiro catches but ignores the mild glare he receives before lifting small containers of strawberries, cherries, and sliced peaches out of the basket and retrieving three stemless wine glasses.

“Not all of us went to culinary school, sweetheart,” Adam drawls and kicks at Kojiro’s thigh across the blanket. “You could at least pretend to be impressed. Wouldn’t want to hurt my feelings.” He pulls a long face, his hands flutter over his heart, and Kojiro snorts.

Adam turns toward the shadow stretching above him and reaches out both hands, his long fingers callused for an aristocrat’s, but clean. “Sweet, delicate, Cherry Blossom, will you kiss my feelings better? You like it don’t you?”

Kaoru smothers an indulgent smile with the back of his hand and makes a show of surveying the picturesque, sugar-scented, sunny grove, with its swaying pink trees. Petals drift on the wind like fresh, warm snow, and Kaoru’s always been partial to the trees he had been nicknamed after, even if sweet, delicate cherry blossom had once been an ironic title given to a teenager who enjoyed getting into brawls and beefs and generally didn’t lose them.

It’s difficult to argue that the scene is not idyllic.

“It is very beautiful here…” he allows, his eyes gradually drifting back down to Adam and Kojiro, sprawled comfortably on the blanket. They look fairly idyllic themselves, well-dressed, casual, relaxed. Kojiro with his sleeves rolled up, to show off his absurd muscles as he pours out a Riesling, liberally as always, and Adam licking sugar from a strawberry a little too slowly. “And I see you brought wine, so, I’d say I’m content.” Kaoru lifts his sandal delicately onto the edge of the blanket, feeling for rocks underneath. The garden is immaculately manicured and all is smooth as he folds himself neatly by Adam’s legs. “Although, I didn’t expect we’d be roughing it…”

“Hm.” Adam’s hum stretches too long, his smile a little nasty as he rises to sit, the better to hold his wine glass—the better to reach out with his free hand to run his thumb across Kaoru’s cheek, just before pinching it. “You must be misremembering my proclivities.”

Kaoru snaps teasingly at Adam’s fingers with his teeth—he knows better than to rap at them with his fan—and Adam retracts them with a smug smile, as Kaoru mutters, “I remember them just fine.”

Kojiro pretends to ignore their antics, his eyes shifting from the trees to the picnic arrangement, drawing both of their gazes as he replies to Adam as if he hadn’t paused, “No, he’s right. It’s… nice… Just not exactly your usual fare.”

Adam holds Kojiro’s stare for a moment in recognition of the challenge in it. Kojiro seems to both tease and approve of Adam’s softness at once and it makes Kaoru’s stomach flutter faintly.

Adam breaks the gaze with a downward glance and then sighs. “Mm, yes, well,” he tilts his glass, making the wine swish, “my therapist might have suggested it.” Adam’s gaze shifts to Kaoru, because Kaoru asks more often, “And I do rather like this one. I think I’ll continue courting her a while…”

“You have your therapist giving you dating advice now?” Kaoru bats back, the muscles of his jaw stiffening.

“Not exactly,” Adam dodges and frowns back, fine lines between his brows, and leans forward to smooth Kaoru’s hair and give him his wine glass, since Kojiro had been distracted from pouring a third. “Relax. There you are, pet.”

Kaoru’s lip juts out, eyes narrowing, and he gives Adam’s shoulder the mildest of bats with the back of his hand. “I am not your pet.”

“No, of course not,” Adam sings, fond yet dismissive. He looks perfectly aware he has the upper hand as Kaoru accepts the glass and leans unconsciously into another caress of Adam’s palm, also callused, against Kaoru’s cheek. Kaoru’s skin is faintly pink from the blatant attention, and Adam wonders dimly and not for the first time if that’s why Cherry Blossom really wears a mask.

Kaoru swats Adam’s palm away when he lingers too long, but Kaoru does not flit his golden eyes away from the ruby ones that stare longer.

“You’re our beautiful Cherry Blossom,” Adam sings.

Kaoru can see Adam’s eyes flicker with devilry as his lip curls. “Joe’s our pet.”

Kojiro grunts an objection. “Come say that to my face why don’t you?” he challenges from over Adam’s shoulder, smiling and rising up to his haunches, all rippling muscle.

“You are our tiger,” Adam flirts, pleased with the response, crawling across the blanket on all fours, with more catlike elegance than either of the other two. “Big, strong, fiercely protective. Overly fond of very bold prints.” Adam reaches his target, and Kojiro leans back to let Adam climb into his lap. Adam sportingly tugs open the collar of Kojiro’s loud sky-blue shirt with its pattern of palm leaves, as he straddles Adam’s thighs.

Kojiro laughs, bright and overwhelming as direct sunlight, as Adam rests one hand on his collar bone. The other plucks one of the various blossoms Adam had collected in his coat pocket earlier and tucks it prettily behind Kojiro’s ear, smoothing back green curls with his thumb. “A tiger lily for a tiger man.”

Kojiro bares his teeth at Adam with a sly smirk, and then his eyes shift Kaoru’s way, smile warming, tone mocking, “I’ll take that over gorillaany day.”

Kaoru rolls his eyes, sips at the wine, and watches Kojiro’s brawny arms wrapping Adam’s broad chest as Adam shifts in his lap to watch Kaoru. Heat rises under Kaoru’s skin, and he feels a bit like a steaming up kettle as he exhales slowly.

“And how does your therapist feel about your fascination with pet play?” Kaoru counters, closing his eyes to better appreciate the feeling of the sun with its fuzzy pink cherry blossom glow heating the bare skin of his cheeks, neck, ankles…

All the sun, of course, he tells himself.

“Need I remind you your skateboard calls you Master, darling?” Adam counters quickly enough that he may have had the comment on standby for just such an occasion.

“I…” Kaoru grimaces.

“Yeah, wait a second.”

Kaoru finds himself saved by Kojiro who wraps his hands around Adam’s which have absconded with Kojiro’s wine glass and is lifting it daintily to his lips.

“What exactly are you focusing these sessions on, Adam,” Kojiro echoes, “that led to sappy, romantic picnic?”

“Oh, the usual.” Adam gives an exaggerated eye roll, ruffles his own hair in mild exasperation. “We’ve been talking about healthy outlets: ways to relax, destress, let off some steam without…” Adam swishes his hand in a euphemistic circle, “maiming anybody.”

Kaoru tenses, eyes flickering open and finding Kojiro’s already on him, soft with concern. Adam is oblivious, head leaned back on Kojiro’s shoulder, watching the flowers above shift and shimmer in the breeze like a mirage. Adam’s hand shifts restlessly with his explanation, “Not an entirely fruitless effort, I suppose. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with yoga and the sacred art of meditation, and my therapist suggested hanami.”

Kaoru’s shoulders relax again hearing him sound so comfortable with such formerly foreign concepts.

“Meditating and connecting with nature, huh?” Kojiro’s hands have wandered from Adam’s arms to his chest, roaming with a thoughtless kind of ease. “Well, look who’s turning over a new leaf.”

“Everyone could do with taking a little time to stop and view the cherry blossoms,” Kaoru says, voice unusually soft, shifting closer to the center of the blanket, where the basket had been. Petals polka dot the warm fabric, and Kaoru scoops up a handful, leaning forward to lift them over Adam’s head. “Here, let me help you appreciate them properly.” They flutter down his face and broad chest, catching on his hair, his cheek, his lip.

“Full of yourself, are you?” Kojiro teases, flicking a few petals from Adam’s shoulder.

“I deserve it,” Kaoru counters, eyes still focused solely on Adam’s.

Adam chuckles quietly, as Kaoru touches the petal sticking to his lip, and then Adam kisses his palm and wraps his wrist in his hand.

“Not just view them, Cher,” Adam purrs, “breath them in, admire them, meditate with them, worship them… and I thought…” Adam sets down his glass and reaches for Kojiro’s wrist, drawing Kaoru and Kojiro’s hands together, watching their fingers intertwine.

Kojiro’s grip is firm and Kaoru’s tightens to match it. Their eyes meet, always, Adam observes, with that sharp sizzle of tension and the thick underlying glow of trust.

Adam eases himself off of Kojiro’s lap, squeezes their wrists and releases them. “…Who would know more about viewing Cherry Blossom in all his glory than you, Kojiro?”

“My glory?” Kaoru smirks but his eyes flicker nervously between them, his fingers twitching. “Why don’t I like the sound of that?”

Kaoru watches Kojiro’s pupils dilate as a smooth, confident smirk slides across his face, his expression beginning to mirror Adam’s.

Kojiro’s knuckles bump Adam’s shoulder. “You know I never pass up a chance to show off.”

Adam reaches to the shoulder and begins to shrug off his suit jacket. “I’m going to have to insist that you do. For my therapy.”

Kaoru’s scoff catches in his throat and his voice comes out a little thin, “Need I remind the two of you,” Kaoru pauses as Kojiro lifts their folded hands and kisses the inside of his wrist, and Adam crawls to kneel at Kaoru’s back, his hands settling possessively on Kaoru’s shoulder blades, “where we are right now…?”

“In a grove of sweet, ripe cherry blossoms…” Adam’s fingers knead hard into Kaoru’s back, and Kaoru can’t help but lean into the warm, certain attention.

Kaoru’s head rests against Adam’s slow, steady heartbeat, his chin tilting up as Adam’s face draws closer. Kaoru can feel Kojiro’s lips pressing and nipping their way up his arm, drawing the flowy fabric of his sleeve up to his shoulder. “Ah…”

“Flowers waiting to be outshone by a more…” Adam whispers, his tongue tracing Kaoru’s lips before Kaoru leans up to close the distance. Adam’s kiss is firm but brief. “… superior specimen…”

Kaoru feels a faint pinch in his bicep and a low pained noise comes from Kojiro’s direction. Kojiro watches a string of saliva pass between their lips, before the distance closes again with a muffled squeak from Kaoru that might have been inspired by Adam’s teeth or Kojiro’s hands dropping to wrap Kaoru’s slender, muscular thighs, effortlessly easing them up onto Kojiro’s thick, stony ones.

“Ko… Kojiro,” Kaoru scolds, voice thin, half-breathless, hand reaching out and grabbing blindly for Kojiro’s arm, as the hands slide slow and hot up his thighs. “You big, thirsty galoot—” The heels of his palms trace the grooves of Kaoru’s hips on their assent toward the belt of his trousers. “We’re out-outside…mm.”

Adam’s fingers press briefly to Kaoru’s lips.

“Hm, so, what?” Kojiro purrs, his massage spurred on by the way Kaoru melts and rises against his hands.

“On private property…” Adam tacks on, sliding his chest down Kaoru’s back and wrapping Kaoru’s hair around his hand. “You said you’d help me appreciate you properly.” Adam’s lips find the back of his neck and Kaoru’s eyes flutter half shut. “Let us appreciate you, Kaoru. All of you.”

“I have not had enough wine,” Kaoru insists smooth and articulate as ever, leaning the back of his neck into Adam’s teeth, sliding his hands along the muscles of Joe’s upper arms, “to take off all my clothes in the middle of your garden, in the middle of the day…” Although the thought of skateboard rough hands on his bare skin makes him sound increasingly less certain with every breath. “Why don’t you ask Six Pack Joe here?”

“I can get you more wine,” Adam muses into the nape of Kaoru’s neck, and gets swatted in the shoulder by Kojiro for his trouble.

“You spend so much time appreciating my muscles,” Kojiro answers, and Kaoru watches Kojiro’s tan arms stretch as he grasps the collar of Kaoru’s shirt. “Maybe I just want to return the favor, Lord Cherry. What, too intimidated?”

“Our tiger’s muscles might be intimidating, but you’re captivating in your own right. I’ve seen you at S and on the news. People line up to see you too.” Adam’s hands wrap Kaoru’s stomach and reach toward the lower buttons of his shirt, as Kojiro’s thumb presses in on the top one. “What are you so afraid of, Master Cherry?”

“I’m not intimidated by you, musclehead,” Kaoru leans forward to butt his forehead against Kojiro’s, the challenge straining his face slipping into a more thoughtful expression as he worries his lip, “I suppose I’m just afraid the three of us, the two of you, are too good to be true. But…”

He realizes Kojiro and Adam have gone still. Their playful expressions hardening with concern, maybe guilt, and it’s contagious.

Kaoru shakes his head, feeling the light delicious pull of his hair against Adam’s immobile hand. “I don’t want to feel that way anymore.” He meets Kojiro’s eyes and burrows further into Adam’s chest, “I want to let you see all of me, touch all of me, have…” “We’ve got you, Kaoru,” Kojiro leans forward to brush their lips together carefully.

“There’s no safer place in the world…” Adam’s tone is half comfort half-threat, as he presses his lips to the back of Kaoru’s neck once more and begins to pluck open the bottom of Kaoru’s shirt. His touch is almost unfamiliar, his palm smoothing over Kaoru’s abs careful as if he’s cradling a flower blossom. “Yes, I know.” Kaoru closes his eyes, giving into the friction of their hands, feeling the warm air on his chest mingle with the damp, mind-dazzling softness of their lips, their kisses falling everywhere like petals. “I trust you.”

BTS China Job Episode 1 - musings

So this series is about BTS going on a short trip to china, which will include the V awards. It is listed as taking place in 2014 so I’m guessing it’s about 6-12 months after Rookie King

Okay, so the opening airport scene; the first thing I noticed is some of them have dyed their hair! Red seems to be the theme and I like it 😊 Even little Jungkook looks like he’s dyed his – so cute!

So Rap Monster is writing a song; that’s great – it’s nice to see young pop artists writing their own music. It adds an extra dimension to the band’s artistry. Interesting that there’s some pressure on him to get it finished by the end of the trip and that an earlier version was rejected. Is this a first glimpse into how hard they are worked? RM seems more resigned than stressed though but he could easily be putting on a brave face for the camera. Definitely going to keep an eye on this.

It’s nice to see Suga and Rap Monster sitting together in the airport. I’m guessing the older people sitting and walking with them are their agents, assistants, and managers. V is once again interacting mostly with either Jungkook or Jimin in the airport – in fact it’s clear him and Jimin are really close, which is interesting as it didn’t come across so much in Carpool Karaoke – although to be fair no one friendship really did. That’s what drew me in – the fact the whole band seemed close.

I like how the walk through Beijing airport shows that while there may a slight bias for older versus younger when splitting into groups, when the whole band comes together it is clear they really all care about each other. It was just nice to see the younger ones dispersed around the older ones. They clearly all get on, which is miraculous for a band in general let along a band with 7 members!

Jungkook looks like he’s grown an inch or so since Rookie King – I’m really liking his red hair – suits him.

I chuckled when the manager counted them into the vehicle – he so long as there is seven it doesn’t matter lol!

I love how casually (and naturally) affectionate these lads are with each other; so refreshing to see. It’s the small things like J-Hope just brushing his finger against Jungkook’s jaw.

When it’s so natural and unnecessary and understated it means so much more because it’s not for show. There’s still a trace of ‘ew get off me’ at times but it’s funny to watch rather eye-rolling and cringy.

Incidentally, I don’t know whether it was the light of my screen but Jimin looked a little pale on the bus, plus he seemed quieter, I hope he wasn’t ill. Or travel sick – actually I wonder if any of them do get motion sickness, that would really suck since travelling is such a big part of their job.

Moving on. It was interesting to get a glimpse of them waiting around for the rehearsal to start. With them still being so early in their careers I was curious to see what stage they were at in their comfort levels. RM seemed a little nervous at the size of the place – it was his main focus when talking - but he played the nerves off. Jin seemed quietly restless in the background, looking around and fiddling with his in-ear/hair. Suga looked two seconds from falling asleep and that probably helped keep him calm lol. The hat was perfect – I wonder if this is an inside joke, that Suga likes to sleep. V seems a little restless too but plays it down by dancing around. J-Hope looked outwardly comfortable with the situation – a normal-sized nervous but, like RM, I wonder how much of that was a front. Jungkook, more intriguingly looked excited to get going, which is really great to see from the quiet/shy youngest. A little unexpected if I’m honest. Likewise in my surprise, Jimin was the one who looked the most nervous and I kind of wanted to hug him. Compared to Rookie King he seems a lot quieter and calmer in this new series and I don’t know whether I should be concerned. It might be that he’s just naturally calmed down over time but I felt that he was a little overlooked – particularly artistically – in Rookie King so there’s a bit of me that’s concerned this has manifested into his confidence.

The rehearsal: wow their dancing is fantastic – I’m now starting to understand the hype around this band. The sing, rap, dance, write their own music and clearly put a lot of effort in to their work - it’s impressive.

Oh no J-Hope has allergies – I hope they’re not too serious! Poor Jungkook, I wonder if the air pressure during the flight affected his ears.

Good to hear the band vocalise fan safety. While it’s nice people care enough to want to meet them at the airport, crowds can be dangerous especially if emotions (and expectations) get too high.

Them practising Chinese was utter chaotic cuteness.

I noticed Suga touching Jimin’s arm a few times and leaning into him.

 It was an interesting interaction and not one that I could read the intention of. It could be described as comforting Jimin (although he didn’t seem to need it at that moment or vice versa) or quietly seeking Jimin’s attention (but neither made any further contact, be it eye or touch contact so I’m not convince) or, more strangely it could be seen as possessive on Suga’s part – although, again, that doesn’t make sense in context. It was just a couple of weird, unexpected moments. Certainly something I’ll keep an eye on.  

Hahahahahaha them practising their speech in the “dorm”.

Wow RM how many languages do you speak???? Very impressive.

V was so funny trying to get the words out. It’s great they are taking the time to learn their host’s language so they can engage with the fans. That is dedication and shows they appreciate their fans.

OMG, I’m going to say it again, this band are so funny and so playful. It’s a joy to watch them.

MGA4 | EP 4 | NEW

MGA4 Episode 4 | New Classics Team G | 장미와 가시 [ @rksxngyeol , @rksomi , @rkchungha , @rkssoojin ] Song: Bad Boy by Red Velvet [line distribution] Outfit/Hair/Make-up: [x] 

 Sicheng feels his confidence growing. He’s not given himself to delusions of grandeur by any means, but when his team places third out of nine, he begins to think himself competent enough to do well, at the very least, and that’s most certainly a step up from uncertainty. 

 His teammates had been strong competitors, of course, and he didn’t know what was coming next, but he hoped that if he poured himself into rehearsal, if he did his absolute best, he just might make it another round.

 It’s only a matter of keeping up his streak. 

 When the episode airs, he watches eagerly. He can’t help but be happy about the fact that he’s at least featured a bit more, but finds himself cringing at how Yerim is portrayed. Sicheng knows that the girl is...difficult, she’s a good friend of his and he’s aware that she can be prickly even at the best of times, it’s kind of what he likes about her so much, her refusal to sugar coat that which is bullshit, but it still hurts a bit to see her made into some sort of villain. 

 She’d been kind of a brat, to be sure, but she hadn’t really been quite as bad as the show, which leaves out her softer moments, illustrates, and it claps on a light bulb in Sicheng’s brain. 

 Although he hadn’t exactly been neglected, he realises that perhaps he hadn’t given the show much to work with. So he promises to be a little less shy, a little less timid in the practice room this week. To push himself a little more to be friendly.

 It’s a taller order than it seems, of course. He was excited to find out who his new teammates were, but notably less excited for the first day of working with them. He’s always nervous meeting new people, and their initial introductions are awkward because he can only manage shy smiles and deep bows and soft-spoken nice to meet yous, although he does make a deal with himself to initiate a conversation with every one of his new groupmates by the end of the first day, to break the ice that he might work easier with them over the subsequent week.

 The leader is selected rather quickly, it’s Soojin, a cute, fairly unassuming girl, Sicheng thinks initially. The song selection takes a bit longer as they cycle through options, discussing their skillsets, crossing options off their list based on the group’s strengths and weaknesses until they decide on Bad Boy. A good choice, Sicheng thinks. It hasn’t got a rap part, because nobody in this group is a great rapper, but it still manages to exude a strong, dark energy that Sicheng thinks makes up for that. It also allows him to showcase a very different colour, versus what he presented to the judges last week, and he’s eager to do so. 

 Once the details are ironed out, they divide up lines, work through the beginning stages of learning the choreo, and during their first break of the day, Sicheng decides to try and challenge himself, to greet his teammates.He tries this with Sungyeol first, who is apparently also quite awkward. They exchange an awkward how are you, I’m fine thank you, and then sit in a near-painful silence for a moment before Sicheng giggles and apologises, 

“Ah hyung, I’m sorry, I’m so shy...”

 Sicheng is beet red, but Sungyeol is very kind about it. 

 Later, he tries the same thing on Somi, a rascally thing with an enormous amount of very cherubic energy, asking her how she’s doing over lunch, and she knocks him far off his game, telling him about how pretty and shiny he is, and he’s reduced once more to a redfaced, giggly mess. 

 It’s here that he largely gives up on this quest, although he does find that as the day wears on, it happens naturally, that the ice is broken. Chungha, who is initially intimidating, is actually quite cool, and Soojin, who he first thought was cute based solely on her appearance, proves a stern leader, running them like he imagines an actual coach might, although she doesn’t go as far as to make practice miserable, by any means, simply...very well-organised. 

 She in particular, helps Sicheng quite a lot. She gives him lines that stretch the limits of his vocal ability, but also takes the time to sit him down, seeming to recognise that he’s a young singer, without much experience, and give him a few short, impromptu vocal lessons, a dozen or so very important pointers. How to control your breathing for better control while dancing, for one, which Sicheng grasps quite easily; he’s danced much more intense dances his entire life and is thusly in quite good shape. She gives him advice on oral posture, as well, and teaches him how to project for more volume. 

 On the second day, the two of them sit crosslegged in one corner of the room and she runs through a vocal exercise with him, wherein she sings a note, and he matches it in pitch and volume as best he can. It starts out seriously, but eventually dissolves into the two of them getting louder and sillier, culminating with Soojin doing her best impersonation of an opera diva and Sicheng attempting to follow suit only for his voice to immediately crack into a low wail, which sets the two of them off into a fit of laughter. 

 Soojin runs a tight ship, certainly, but she’s no cruel captain. There’s room to enjoy practice a bit, too, sometimes even a lot. 

 He warms to everyone in his group, over the course of the week. Chungha and Soojin at one point reassure him when he expresses worry about the sultrier vibe of the song that it’s less about being “sexy” and more about rocking it in a confident way, and that he’s doing well and really just needs to relax a bit. 

 Sicheng can’t help but follow their lead, trying to study the ease with which especially Chungha performs, putting on an attitude that suits the track and the dance. It’s impressive.

 He’s always been one who appreciates an opportunity to learn, and he’s sure to express his gratitude every time someone takes the time to help him where and when he needs, doing his best to return the favour where he can, helping the others with their vocals a bit, using what Soojin’s taught him, suggesting ways of bettering the impact of their dance. He gives Soojin a few pointers when it comes to performing when she expresses a bit of anxiety over being overshadowed.  

 They carefully select their costumes, and even do a fun little runway, cheering for one another as they one by one do their little dance on the catwalk and strut their stuff. Sicheng can’t help but believe that he looks good, and it’s a much-needed boost of confidence, even as he blushes so profusely that his face pulses with each heartbeat.

 Sungyeol brings his daughter, an adorable little thing. Sicheng doesn’t know why, but he’s shocked to learn that he’s a father. He seems so young. Sicheng loves children, though, and interacts well with them, and so whenever he gets a chance that day, he crouches down to her level to ask her how she’s doing and coo at her just a little bit, even playfully sneaking her the biscuit he’d brought for himself as a treat with lunch.

 On the final day of practice he is sure to take a minute to speak to his group. 

 “I just...would like to thank you for working so hard with me this week, and for teaching me things. Let’s do well together!” and although his Korean is slightly accented, and perhaps a little childish, he does his best, although he still blushes at the sentiment. It’s a little corny, is all, but he still means it. 

 By the time Friday rolls around, he’s surprisingly confident in his part. Not entirely lacking in nervousness, by any means, but confident that him and his group are capable of giving a worthy performance. They were awfully thorough, especially compared to his last group, who were much more laidback, even laissez-faire about certain things, whereas with Soojin’s guidance, they’d left no stone unturned in their quest to improve this performance. They’d gone about every decision with a discussion, with logic, allocating lines based on skill, thinking about who should be in the centre and when, what to wear, how best to deliver Bad Boy to their audience in every way. Sicheng hoped it had been enough.

 It’s incredible how fast this week had passed, how it seemed like one second he’s stepping into the KT practice room for the first time, and the next, he’s on stage, the lights dimmed as they stand in their starting formation, and then they raise, and the track begins and they begin to move, and sing, and perform. 

 Sicheng has a few key moments in the centre of the performance, and he does his best not to waste a second of it, finding his cameras, painting on an intense expression, half-envisioning how he might look to a fan on the other end of it, and adjusting accordingly. He’s always been photogenic, at least, having good camera sense as a result of being sat for more photoshoots with his dance company back home than he can count. Tilt your head back a bit, stick your chin out, tense your forehead. Even when he’s not in the centre, he’s flanking the person who is for much of the performance, and is thusly sure to keep the intensity up even when the focus shouldn’t necessarily be on him. 

 He keeps the pointers Soojin gave him in mind every time he sings, as well, and is surprised with how much a few technical improvements can go to really making one a better vocalist, and when the performance winds down, and they’re in their ending poses, he finds himself at peace with what they’ve achieved. 

 As they make their way backstage he bows in greeting to the next group waiting, giving them a friendly hwaiting. He’s happy, and hopeful.

Yin and Yang: The Story of Burr and Hamilton

To start off, a note: Hamilton the musical is a beautiful work of pure genius on Miranda’s part, and I’ll love its themes, songs, and characters ‘til my dying days!  However, it is also historically inaccurate, so this text post is only about the musical.  Anything I say in reference to the characters and events in Hamilton is confined solely to Miranda’s work.  Thank you!

Now, on with the show~!

Alexander Hamilton first appears in (surprise surprise) the opening song “Alexander Hamilton”.  But his most important song concerning his approach to life comes as the third in the musical: “My Shot”.  It is a fast-paced, exhilarating anthem to how hard he has worked to get where he is and how hard he is willing to work to get where he wants to be.

Aaron Burr has to wait a little while longer for his chance in the spotlight, but he finally gets his opportunity to shine in the beautiful, thoughtful piece entitled “Wait For It”.  In this song, Burr explains how he is willing to wait and bide his time until he can seize his moment of greatness.  There are a few components to this strategy, some of which are revealed in earlier songs:

1. “Talk less, smile more.”

He hopes to charm the people around him enough until they give him a shot.

2. “Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for.”

He doesn’t want to give anyone anything to use against him, so he doesn’t have outwardly spoken political beliefs.

3. “Wait for it.”

The titular component, this one involves waiting until you eventually get your chance to rise.

While Burr’s hesitancy is less motivational than Hamilton’s persistent drive for many, it is also more inspirational for others.  For those who feel like they are being left behind in life, it can be invigorating to know that you are not alone.  There are others who are willing to wait for their chance to rise as well.  Meanwhile, some fans find Hamilton’s relentless fighting and writing encouraging, as it shows that you can go places if you just work hard enough.

But which of these lifestyles is better?  My answer: Neither.  Let me explain.

(Oh geez, that sounded pretentious.  Turn on the “Beginning to Sound Like Logan From Sanders Sides” alert.)

Anyway...

I’m going to sum up the frenemies’ contrasting methods with these phrases: “Wait For It” versus “Work For It”.  Now, let the battle begin!

Burr’s “Wait For It” strategy is very much emotionally driven.  He likes control over his life (”I am the one thing in life I can control”), and he is afraid of messing up his parents’ legacy.  So, he waits and waits for his spot in the Revolution and in life to open up...except it doesn’t.  Throughout the first act, he is rejected again and again.  Even worse, he is made fun of for his "Wait For It” tactic by pretty much everyone in the musical.  You can feel his frustration with his position in life, especially in comparison to Hamilton, grow over the course of the first act.  This all culminates in the last song (”Non-Stop”), where Burr expresses both frustration and awe over Hamilton’s non-stop writing and accomplishments.

In the second act, Burr slowly starts to gain more confidence.  In “The Room Where It Happens”, Burr finally figures out what he wants: to be the one making the decisions.  And he knows how to get it: by not waiting for it but taking it.  From then on, his tactics shift.  He “Works For It”.  As the second act progresses, he becomes more and more politically active, as can be seen during “Schuyler Defeated” (in which Burr even credits Hamilton for inspiring his change in strategy).  Burr doesn’t give up the “not holding political beliefs” part of his strategy, but he does use Hamilton’s fighting for what he wants technique, which leads to Burr teaming up with Jefferson and Madison.  Together they try to take Hamilton down through the Embezzlement Scandal Gone Wrong in “We Know”.

After that, things start settling down a bit.  Burr is doing well, Hamilton is in ruins.  Everything’s fine.  Then, comes “The Election of 1800″.  Burr almost becomes president, except Hamilton sweeps the rug out from beneath him.  Burr had finally been achieving everything he had ever wanted, but Hamilton once again foils him.  This time, it wasn’t even Burr’s faulty tactics (except the “talk less, smile more” portion, but even that was something voters were fine with before Hamilton endorsed Jefferson) that failed him.  It was his frenemy, the one who (in Burr’s mind) was responsible for all of Burr’s political pursuits going awry.  

Tensions build from there, and we all know what happened in “The World Was Wide Enough”.  Burr acts; he doesn’t wait because he assumes Hamilton will do what he’s always done...not throw away his shot.  But in a twist of fate, Hamilton “Waits For It” and Burr “Works For It”, and both of their lives are ruined forever. (Side note: The fact that Burr sings a tiny reprised version of “Wait For It” at the end of “The World Was Wide Enough” is a magnificent touch by Lin Manuel Miranda!)

That is Burr’s story.  He went from “Waiting For It” to “Working For It”, and neither did him any good in the end.  Now, it is time for Hamilton’s side of things...

Unlike Burr, Hamilton has a lot more success with his “Work For It” tactic.  In the first act, he ascends through the ranks of the military, gathering friends, allies, a wife, his wife’s sister (awkwwwward), and a boyfriend- I mean, best friend.  Yes, totally.

Hamilton forges a reputation for himself in the first act, ending with the song “Non-Stop” in which he is at the top of his game.

Then, comes the second act.  From whence all emotional turmoil comes.  “Work For It” seemed like a great idea, until you have to constantly work just to stay ahead of your political enemies.  I’m sure your wife won’t mind if you ignore her for a couple more days, that’s fine.  Did you know her sister is coming to visit, the one you write pretty flirtatious letters to?  Better not go on vacay with them, bad political shit could happen while you’re gone.

Instead, bad personal shit happens.  He acts rashly and foolishly and sacrifices his marriage and political career by not saying no.

But let’s go back a second before we get to that...

In the second act, Hamilton is politically thriving.  Although it takes a lot of rap battles, he manages to get his debt plan through.  In a strange twist of fate and a wonderfully written narrative moment, this occurs in “The Room Where It Happens”.  For Burr, this song is fraught with jealousy and lifestyle changes, but for the Hamster, this is the song in which Jefferson and Madison give Hamilton the votes to pass his debt plan in exchange for them getting to decide the location of the nation’s capital.  Craziest of all, Hamilton actually achieves this by using part of Burr’s “Wait For It” technique - the “talk less, smile more” portion.  He charms his way into getting what he wants, instead of fighting tooth and nail as usual.  He sits down for dinner with his worst enemies, and they come to a compromise, something that would previously have been unthinkable to stubborn Hamilton.

Hamilton uses “Wait For It” and, for once, it works.

Afterward, Hamilton reverts back to his usual tactics, and they work moderately well (mostly because he has “Washington on [His] Side” ;D).  Until the storm hits...

In “Hurricane”, Hamilton has to figure out what to do about the rumors of him embezzling money from the government.  So, he decides, “Working For It” (or, rather, “Writing For It”) is his way out.  He will “overwhelm them with honesty”.  The “wait for it”s in the background during the ending of the song are absolutely magnificent, telling Hamilton to “Wait For It”; to not act for once in his life.  He should have let the rumors die down and not dignified the school-yard taunts with a response.  Instead, he made his second biggest mistake (sleeping with Maria being his first) and wrote...The Reynolds Pamphlet.

By the end of the play, Hamilton has lost almost everything, only recently having regained Eliza’s trust.  He continues to “Work For It”, but he has almost no outlet for that due to his political career going down in flames.  Not to mention he loses his son because he advises him to proceed with the duel, instead of stopping the ridiculous affair to begin with.  The only major benefit his strategy causes is his rejection of Burr, and even that didn’t go exactly to plan.  He “Waits For It” in the end and dies as a result. (Side note, again: The fact that many of the lines from “My Shot” are repeated in Hamilton’s final thoughts in “The World Was Wide Enough” is again a wonderful, wonderful touch by Lin!)

So, where does this all leave us?  “Wait For It” worked for Hamilton once upon a time, but it never helped Burr succeed.  “Work For It” pushed Burr to the top, but it also caused him to act too hastily.  It helped Hamilton rise, but it sent him crashing just as fast.

I personally think that neither “Wait For It” nor “Work For It” are effective systems on their own.  In and of themselves, they would theoretically work fine, but the attitudes they inspire in their users tend to lead to destruction in one way or another.  As Burr would say, “We rise and we fall”.

BUT if these two ideas were combined together, it’s possible they could balance each other out.  Like yin and yang, on their own they are imbalanced, but together they are strong.  If someone was ready to act and do whatever it took to achieve something but was also cautious enough to think through whether that action was worth doing, maybe they could lead a long, powerful life that wouldn’t end in them going down in flames.  I give to you all...

GENERAL WASHINGTON (the moment you’ve been waiting for, here comes the general)!

That’s right.  In the middle of writing this, I was only going to provide a hypothetical situation of someone with that balance.  But then, I was like, “Waiiit, there is a guy who balanced action and inaction and was able to retire peacefully for it.”  In the musical, Washington is calm and collected, but as shown in “Stay Alive”, he’s also ready to act whenever it is needed.  In Act 2, while everyone is fighting like children, he hears all sides of the argument and makes a rational decision based on them.  Sometimes he has his own opinions, but he keeps them to himself so he can let other people try to convince him otherwise.  He comes into things with an open mind and leaves with an action-based plan.  He is the “best of both worlds”.  He even knew when to step down and let someone else lead; something others have a lot of trouble with. (Looking at you, Georgie)

To conclude, action and inaction go hand-in-hand, and one system should not be held above the other.  They are like two sides of the same coin.  Without one, the other will not work properly (I mean, imagine handing a coin with only one side stamped to a cashier.  They’re not gonna accept that shite).

                          Together, however, they can go far.

Anywhos, thank you for listening to my long ramble!  If you couldn’t tell, I love Hamilton, so I would love to hear your thoughts about the musical or this post!  Love you all~! <3

DONDA

My first impression of Kanye West's DONDA was a flurry of 'what is this' and 'this doesn't belong here' but after a couple listens i finally understand. I'm a huge Ye fan, a stan even, but coming into his 10th studio album I had my doubts as an avid Yeezy listener. To me in the beginning it was an album of short Kanye versus and features that didn't mesh well with the rapper himself, until my 2nd listen. This is not an album it's an experience. The album has a super dark undertone, starting with the all black cover art, progressing to the fact that the album is homaged to his mother who has passed away and reaching the tracks. The first half of tracks are littered with dark toned 808s and gritty levelled vocals with the latter stage promoting a more uptempo, happy vibe. With 27 tracks it's definitely a marathon of music but in the most beautiful way you can imagine, it's been a very long time since we've heard Yeezy rap like he did on tracks such as 'Off The Grid' 'Hurricane' and 'Keep My Spirit Alive' and honestly this may be credited to the abundance of lyrical features included in the album, Kanye, a man of very few words, has alot to say on this album and I have to say it's very refreshing seeing the Chicago rapper go ham on these intricately produced tracks. As the album is 27 tracks long I'm going to review my top 5 tracks, buckle up it's about to get chaotic.

Lord I Need You; This is Kanye's ode to relationships and God. This track see's Ye head back to his soft tone singing transitioning to his fluent rap style that just feels so, Kanye. The beat is one of the less full intstrumentals on the album but it's used so well, Kanye seems to flow best on these {beats} where he allows the beat breathe and he does his thing, it's not rushed or forced, it feels so organic. Kanye raps to his lover about the trials that come with marriage and to not worry because his faith in God will guide them to where they need to be. All of this combined with the choir and the background instruments make this track a definite favourite.

Jail pt 1 &2; These tracks are just wow, let's start with pt 1. This is where the dark undertone of the album is set, from the gained guitar chords, to the chilling choir they mesh so well. It sounds like a chaotic mess that is meant to be together. Featuring a head bopping verse from Hova it really makes you feel like The Throne is back together, 'Donda i'm with your baby when i touch back road, told him stop all of that red cap go back home' from this bar alone you can see and feel the chemistry between Ye and Jay and once again feels so natural. Pt 2 features a bit more of a controversial one, which is nothing new for Kanye. Putting Dababy and Marilyn Manson on such an important track definitely creates a statement and a huge 'fuck you' to alot of people. Dababy for sure spits a hard verse where he adresses the recent incidents including his statements aimed towards the lgbtq community "I said one thing they aint like threw me out like they aint care for me, threw me out like im garbage huh, and that food they took off my table, you know that feed my daughters huh' you can't help but feel like he has a point, has cancel culture gone too far to where we can't say what we want? Anyway the vocals from Manson don't really contribute to the track unless you're listening for them specifically. As i stated earlier this track is essentially a 'fuck you' and I love it.

Hurricane; This is undoubtly the most popular track on the album with guest appearances from The Weeknd and Lil Baby, that's right, if I were to ever tell you Baby and Ye would create one of the best tracks you would laugh at me yet here it is. The weeknds dark, isolated vocals over those low 808s create such an atmosphere that is hand in hand with tha album cover. Then comes in Baby, the rapper spits a verse remeniscing his street days and transitions into his fame and riches. I think everything on this track is perfect, the production is top tier and every verse is perfectly suited for what the topic is. Kanye has strong feelings in his verse about how he is percieved by everyone stating 'here I go again acting too rich' I think at this point we just have to admire his genius

Keep My Spirit Alive; my favourite and in my opinion the best track on the album. Not only does Westside Gunn and Conway do their thing, although short, KayCyy hits us with an unreal intro that sends chills down your back and has you screaming 'KEEP MY SPIRIT ALIVEEEE' Gunn does his thing rapping about life in the streets where as Conway raps about his blessing surviving a car crash and leaving it in Gods hands. Kanye really shines on this track spitting a very 2006-esque verse that reminds you he can hang with the rappers of today if not put it over them. This track is easily for me, something that only happens once every couple of years. One of my favourite songs of all time.

Ultimately DONDA is a masterpiece, a musical experience that cannot be enojyed by everyone but If you can then you understand how the album progresses from gritty street rap and instrument filled tracks to airy, choir filled tracks that make you feel the faith of the lord even if you aren't religious.

Kwami -

Nicolle Murdaa:

It's a given that everyone sins. Like it or not, they're also forgiven as well.

But what happens when the wicked take a trip to Murdaaville?

An artist who torments the damn with a fiery pit of confidence -- Nicolle Murdaa is the type of female who backs up her talk (& I cannot make this up.)

She's not afraid to blow sh*t up like Hussein (Propane) or cut people off like she's Edward with the Scissorhands (Slayer).

Still -- she doesn't use her prowess as a lyricist to just codemn the non-believers.

Nicolle's verses also resurrect those who've been close to knocking on deaths door.

She doesn't stay in the dwelling place for long either. Instead she opens the floodgates & "speaks on a lot of emotional topics some people in the more urban cities are hesitant to speak on." (including her own)

At most, Nicolle Murdaa is the good & evil.

Her wrath of wordplay & similes could scorch one alive or warm up a cold soul. You decide.

Given the nickname "Murdaa" from a friend in high school, it was destined for Nicolle to back it up in her music.

Although she didn't start off slicing necks open with her razor-sharp rhymes, it just seemed to be her true calling. "Since I was younger I was always drawn into music. I loved the emotion an artist could convey by just singing or rapping. When I was younger, I actually wanted to be a singer but as life took it's course I became more drawn into hip hop & rap." says Nicolle " I felt I could relate more to the content versus R&B, Pop, etc. I was also always interested in writing growing up, whether a story, poem, or a song. But it wasn't until about a year ago when I actually started putting myself & my content out there."

Besides advocating for authencity in her sound, Nicolle Murdaa also wants others to know that it's okay to let people in. "I feel there's too much pressure to be a certain type of person in this world. I personally have a lot of anger & if I listen to an aggressive rap song, it calms me down. Also, I want to show females that they can be a boss. They don't have to depend on anyone or look a certain way just to be heard. With my songs that touch on emotional topics like depression, bipolar disorder, or whatever it is, I want people to know it's ok to not be ok. You just have to keep fighting. It's okay to tell someone when you're not doing good. It isn't considered weak. I've personally lost friends to suicide & never knew they were going through anything & I honestly believe it's because emotions are looked at as being weak. I'm trying to defy all of that. 

In the same fashion, music seems to be Nicolle's coping mechanism. She defines it as her home & even has a tattoo that says "when words fail, music speaks." Essentially -- music has helped her find herself. "In time, I'm just going to put myself out there as hard as I can which is usually a challenge. I'm always second guessing whether or not someone will be able to understand where I'm coming from in my music. Not all of my music is aggressive rap."

Not to mention Nicolle Murdaa's rap style branches out from icons like Big L, Tupac & Nas. But why? "I loved how raw Big L's lyrics were & honestly.. how blunt & disrespectful he could be on a track & still be lyrical using metaphors & similies. Tupac, definitely was a top inspiration too! His voice carried a certain pain behind it & I related to it. I loved that he would rap about real issues going on & still have a thing demeanor. Lastly, Nas because of how lyrical he could be. It wasn't random lyrics. He had a strategy to his rhymes. There was always a message in his songs.

Notwithstanding that the current rap era is how it use to be. "The current thing I would like to see change in the rap game would be this damn drug user music" Nicolle chortles "I feel like rap went from drug dealer music to drug addict music. No one's really lyrical anymore. It's all solely a vibe, which is fine but we definitely need some lyrical back." Speaking of lyricist.. did you know Nicolle set it OFF with Venatei in her recent song Power? Funny enough before this was written Nicolle listed her as someone she'd love to collab with in the future!

For all of you aspiring artist out there, jot this down. " Focus on your own grind & be your own number one fan." Nicolle says "I focused a lot of doing features with other people when I first started & I didn't focus on my own craft, which I felt was a setback. Be your own biggest fan because you can't always rely on the next person. Just be yourself."

You never know, you could create celestial music just like this angel in disguise.

 "Slayer" is available on all major platforms. Stay tuned for her mixtape. It'll be released on Datpiff.

By: Natalee Gilbert

Link(s):

1. Instagram: @nicollemurdaa

2. Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nicollemurdaa

a band i love

if you know me personally or know me online, you most likely know i am the equivalent of a groupie when the conversation relates back to twenty one pilots. they are one of the first musicians where i found myself in adoration of the craftsmanship equipped with their art. i use to love music like justin bieber, and now that i’m older im willing to admit the large contribution his appearance had to my admiration. it was the first time i was amazed at the craft someone has put into music. it’s not like this was the first time i heard good music or anything, but it was the first time i chose to listen to something unconventional. that’s part of why i attribute so much of my craft back to them. 

i learned of twenty one pilots my freshman year in high school. before i found them, i had just gotten into panic at the disco, and wanted to listen to more of Brendon’s voice. but the say i found top, i was in a class i despised at the time with an earbud snuck into my ear through the sleeves of my shirt, and i was in a phase of trying to find really good new artists. i had gotten over justin bieber and wanted to find someone new to bop my head around to. i had found this song called swimming pools (by, if you don’t know, another incredible group called the front bottoms) and i liked it a lot. it was a very different sound that the type i was use to casually listening to, but i loved it, so i made an apple radio playlist based off that song. before i found top, i was told by a handful of people to listen to them, and my stubborn butt wouldn’t do it out of pure laziness. car radio came on the radio station and i froze. “what is this? is it rap? it’s not. i’m so confused. who is this?” i pulled the phone out of my jeans pocket, wanting an answer, and rolled my eyes while smiling to see the name “Twenty One Pilots” with the name Vessel, and two old men sitting on the cover. I leaned over to my friend who was already interested in a few of their songs, asking the question, “Are Twenty One Pilots two old guys?”

Now, 2 or more years later, I shuffle No Phun Intended when I am sad and need something to sing along to. I remember that at that point it was around March 2015. There was also no Blurryface yet, so I was just repeatedly listening to Vessel. I remember knowing a handful of random versus and committing to see them in September of 2015 in the Hammerstein Ballroom, yet barely knowing any songs off of Blurryface. You must remember, they were decently big at this point, but were not massive the way they are now. They hadn’t played Stressed Out on the radio yet, and they were still playing ballrooms in 2015. There were about 800 people at the Hammerstein Ballroom show, and although my two friends and I didn’t know every single word to every single verse of songs dating back to 2009, it seemed like 797 other people did, and felt the need to scream them. I got to see the medley they use to do with Pantaloon live and didn’t know a single song. I look back at me then and want to punch her for not knowing those songs and getting to see them live. They played the Pantaloon in front of my face, and by the time all was said and done, about three rows from my face, and I did not even know the album it was off of existed. They played The Run and Go and I got on a random college dude’s shoulders and almost wiped out and was offered weed and danced around and was with 800 people who really loved the music. Each one of the people in that room knew every word to every song. This show was also that night that Halsey and Hoodie Allen and Walk the Moon and Misterwives decided to come out during We Don’t Believe What’s On TV to sing along with them, and Tyler passionately kissed Jenna at the end of the song on stage. I didn’t know it was his wife. 

Things are so different now that these boys (and we) are such an enormous concept. There are more people like me in the Hammerstein Ballroom and less people like the other 797. I hope to always play shows with 797 people who care over 15,000 who sorta care and a 1,000 that care very much.

Art.

For a change, review or criciticize lead singers of girl groups like Solji of EXID, Minah of Girls Day, Hyorin of Sistar, Gayoung of Stellar, Uji of Bestie and others.

Hello. Before addressing this very interesting proposal, I do want to update readers that I am doing well and that reviews are coming although slowly. I happen to be quite busy with university, hence the current delays. Thankfully, for tomorrow I have set aside around four hours to focus on finishing two requested reviews. (And to those requesters, I greatly apologize for this delay.)

As for this proposed reviewing idea, this would definitely be a fun task. Pondering over this, it definitely is possible that I “review” a specific idol for their vocals, but there are many reasons for why I hesitate to do such. For one–and by far the biggest reason–while the vocals in a song are definitely important (for my reviews, that is) and are an aspect I greatly focus on, to write a review that purely focuses on such and thus goes into much depth would be impossible for me to do. Or at least, if I were to do a genuinely decent job. To critique and analyze purely vocals would mean I would have to become extremely knowledgeable about singing in of itself. As readers can tell from a majority if not all my reviews, when I discuss the vocals in a song it is exactly that: in a song. I critique the singing and rapping in the context of the song itself. To instead critique vocals in its own individual context would be vastly different and admittedly is an area I still need learning and experience in. What constitutes “good singing” versus “good singing in this particular song” are different, after all.

On that note, we also run into the issue of how reviewing a certain idol’s singing is heavily based on the songs they have been given to sing in the first place. For example–and apologies if I somehow upset fans–let us consider TWICE’s main vocalist, Jihyo. If I were to “review” her singing, from my current knowledge of songs she has sung before, it would be relatively neutral if not somewhat negative. Now if I were to review, say, Ailee, her review would be full of excessive praises. Although this is a poor example given that Ailee genuinely is a very solid vocalist and by far above many other idols (or at least from what we can tell), the main point is this: many of Ailee’s songs have been composed as either ballads–a genre that is incredibly vocal-orientated–or as songs that contain strenuous vocals. In Jihyo’s case, many of TWICE’s songs are minimally strenuous with vocals and for the most part are not vocally-orientated at all. 

Now we come to the question I throw at those who blindly bash artists’ singing: if Ailee were to sing “Cheer Up” by TWICE, would she be the Queen Vocalist Ailee as we know it? Less critical people would easily scream, “Yes!” but this is where I disagree: Ailee–despite her amazing skills–would actually sound mediocre because that is how “Cheer Up” is composed to sound with the vocals. “Cheer Up” is not intended to have amazing note holds, vocal beltings, vocal layering, and so on. The vocals in that song have been purposefully composed to be merely catchy–no amount of singing skills would “fix” the issues we see in the composition. And yes, we could play the circling game of claiming the composition to “Cheer Up” is weak (if TWICE fans are upset at me saying such, please do send in a request for the song so I can respectfully and critically explain why I believe that song is poorly composed) because TWICE are incapable of more strenuous songs, but this is besides the point and I have already addressed this “circling debate” in the ladies’ reviews. (In short, we do not know the true answer until we actually hear TWICE’s vocals at their true capacity, and of which would have to be elicited from a song that requires complex vocals.) 

In other words, the message I am trying to get across is that an idol’s vocals is very much dictated by what she sings; if an idol is only given mediocre pop songs then he will seemingly sound like a weaker singer, but on the other hand, if he is given amazingly composed ballads, we can expect his vocals to sound more alluring. Perhaps a genuine example of what I am discussing is Hyorin’s “Paradise.” Readers should check the review to see what I mean, but in that review if I recall correctly, I gave a lower vocal rating despite Hyorin in general proving to be a stellar vocalist. It is this risk that makes me hesitate to firmly review idols’ singing.

Onto this proposal itself now, I will give a clear answer: I doubt I will “review” idols’ singing due to what is mentioned above. However, I love this proposal’s idea and thus will easily accept it but with a twist: rather than reviewing an idol’s singing–an implication that I will be critiquing their vocals and skills in of themselves and assigning a position on their skills–I would be open to merely analyzing and discussing an idol’s singing as seen in their song releases. Though it seems minor, I argue it is incredibly important (in this case) to maintain these distinctions. I can only truly review and analyze if within the context of a song–and rightfully so as discussed above with not every idol having the chance to show off her/his best vocals–and I would only be discussing their vocals versus having to leave a “rating” or a position if it were a review.  

Overall, thank you so much for this idea and thank you for truly igniting my passion (as we can see by how much I have to say over a seemingly small topic). In summary, I will definitely adopt your idea and give it a try, but I will modify it in a way so that it works with my inexperience of analyzing purely vocals, and so that it acknowledges how idols’ perceived singing abilities are oftentimes tied to their songs. Nevertheless, thank you so much for this idea; it truly is one I never thought of but it is one that would definitely provide a lot of variety and even insight into K-Pop beyond its superficial layer. After I finish up current requested reviews (and a few regular reviews), look forward to these bonus vocal analyses write-ups to occur. 

LOADING INFORMATION ON JINX’S MAIN RAP KIM MINHEE...

IDOL DETAILS

STAGENAME: Rina CURRENT AGE: 27 DEBUT AGE: 18 TRAINEE SINCE AGE: 15 COMPANY: Midas SECONDARY SKILL: Variety

IDOL PROFILE

NICKNAME(S): lady boss – which was given to her after her fancam went viral and she started receiving attention for her sexy persona INSPIRATION: while growing up, one of the things that brought her comfort and peace of mind was music and she learnt to love those moments and appreciate it in a very personal level. she felt she could stop thinking and just enjoy that moment on her own and that was something she took a lot joy in. when she started thinking about becoming an idol though, she learnt she could share those experiences and feelings with other people and that she didn’t have to remain alone. as for great inspirations, she looks up immensely to older groups like ses and diamant and great female soloists too, like lee hyori. SPECIAL TALENTS:

she’s a math calculator, meaning she can solve simple math problems and give back the results almost immediately;

can impersonate some characters from movies she has watched and even some variety people.

NOTABLE FACTS:

she has a younger brother who’s also an idol. they are fondly known by fans as the ‘infamous kim siblings’;

she became popular after a fancam going viral during ‘up & down’ promotions;

she’s known for being quite friendly and a good listener, someone who befriends easily;

she failed in her audition to msg. they were her first pick, but she wasn’t what they were looking for at that moment;

had to have knee surgery in 2015 during ‘I don’t need a man’ promotions. 

IDOL GOALS

SHORT-TERM GOALS:

now that she’s getting more attention and becoming a more present figure in variety shows, she wants to establish her presence as someone good at it, not wanting to give off the impression she’s only appearing on tv because she became momentously popular. she’s also preparing for her debut as a solo artist, now that she has the public to do it, she wants to spread her name as much as she still can.

LONG-TERM GOALS:

once they disband, minhee wants to keep on going with her solo career in music as well as variety. although there aren’t many female examples of this in the business, she does expect to be able to change that and become rather successful in her attempt. her aim is to become someone like lee hyori who feels free to speak her mind and to open her house to complete strangers.

IDOL IMAGE

rina has so much potential and there’s so much to explore but she’s not what people look for when they hear the word ‘idol’. that cursed word brings in people the expectation of seeing someone falling into their perspectives of beauty. the pretty and tempting but at the same time innocent eyes, the slim body with beautiful legs. when she debuts, she knows she doesn’t fall into many of those categories. being talented wasn’t the first thing to pop in the minds of the public, the first thing they notice isn’t the singing or the dancing; what they see first is the package, the image, and for her, the packing given wasn’t one that would get her much attention.

in the beginning she’s overlooked. ‘she’s a good rapper’, they say, ‘for a female idol, she’s doing a decent job’, they claim. it’s like she has nothing else to offer, so she’s stuck in a little limbo where she’s popular because she’s jinx but being in jinx also outshines her own figure. she’s not a present person anywhere, not in tv shows, not in radio programs, she’s not casted in dramas and she’s not someone fit to go solo with her lack of popularity but then her lucky strike happens.

her fancam goes viral and suddenly all eyes are on her. how could they not have seen her spark before is a mystery. she’s seen with different eyes; the sex appeal, the way she’s just as charismatic as the others, how she interacts with the public, how her smile reaches her eyes, how she pays attention to every single fan and lend them an ear. all of those little things that she has been using for years and now the public are paying attention, and they liked it. they like her.

she starts attending more variety shows, starts showing herself off more. with a boost of confidence, rina becomes someone people are actually interested in seeing. she starts getting popular for her friendly looks versus on-stage persona. despite looking intimidating, she’s someone surprisingly easy to talk to and have a good laugh with. she’s witty and she’s smart and she knows which buttons she can push and how far she can go because she has been in the business for that long, she knows how it runs.

while rina is all certain about her words and actions, minhee is less sure about many things and it’s almost palpable the difference. minhee should be dealing with this better, she grew up being competitive, working her way to become the best but sometimes she gets tired and confused. how far she had to go to separate minhee from rina. until what point is she sure of the things she’s saying, of how she acts. how much of this egocentric persona did she let in her own personality? she’s scared, she was always scared, but as years go by and her work starts becoming more part of herself, she wonders until when she can manage until she loses herself completely.

IDOL HISTORY

busan was nice and neat, her life wasn’t complicated, it wasn’t chaotic. they lived their lives as they were supposed to. her mother and father were both partners in their law office, they had two beautiful children who did well at school and never gave them much of a headache. they weren’t interested in gossip or trends as long as their reputation as reliable remained untouched. they kept the same pattern for years. no scandals to stain the family’s name, no unexpected situations to throw them off the tracks. it was all peaceful. too easy. too boring.

as kids, they were angels. there wasn’t much they could do besides playing and studying and following their parents like ducklings. minhee wasn’t one to mind the quiet and stillness of everything. she was older, she learnt to be more contained, to look after her brother, to look after their apartment if her parents were away. her brother was another story. the youngest of the house, the first son, the messiest and the loudest, the one who made their mother laugh and who was taken to go fishing with their father.

as they grew up and their interests started diverging from their shared games and mutual bickering, the house wasn’t so peaceful anymore. two preteens growing up under the same roof, they were just waiting for the hurricane to come. they fought way too much, said words they shouldn’t too often, there was always a disagreement. she always loved music classes, her parents could afford that monthly expense and minhee took them with the utmost pleasure, her brother in the other hand didn’t show any interest for anything she did, almost stubbornly so, just to be contrary of her. even at school they pretended not to be related, which was stupid because everyone knew the kim siblings.

she was fifteen when she told her parents she wanted to become a singer and they were against the idea as strongly as they could. she was too young to follow something so foolish, that she shouldn’t think that because she had a couple of dancing and singing classes that she was good enough to become a professional and lastly, if she did become an idol, who’d take the family name seriously. despite the promises that she’d hit big no matter what and that she wouldn’t bring shame to them, they were unbendable. at least, until their favorite spoke up, telling them he’d do the same and take care of minhee while they were at it.

she was boiling with fury still when she auditioned, first to msg and then midas media. both are great names, both have their respective reputations and she’s excited and anxious, still angry, but she forgets that for a second when she performs. she never goes past the first stages for msg but midas keeps her on their grip. she keeps performing and keeps going ahead, until she’s finally accepted. the young girl who may not have entered because of her looks but because she knew the basics and something else. in contrast to her, there was her prodigy brother, with his perfect styled hair and killer smile that put him in without breaking a sweat.

that became her fuel. become better and work harder to surpass him even though she felt she was the only one competing. she’s so young and so naïve. she wants to impress others but she also wants to impress herself, push herself to her own limits, do what she’s told. do singing classes and rapping classes, go on diets and present dance performances, she tries it all, she wants to be perfect and wants to be the best but she’s not competing against others, she’s competing against a shadow.

three years pass and all she worked for starts to pay off.

it’s not fair to say she’s fulfilled. even now, she’s not certain if the nights she spent sleepless were worth it, if the meals she skipped gave her any positive result. even when she had a serious injury on her knee and had to go under surgery, she felt she was lacking yet the incident happened because she was overworking herself to, literally, the breaking point. she spent months not being capable of practicing, and even then, against the doctor’s orders, she went back on stage, too scared of what could come if she remained behind. she knows that after her fancam went viral, people started linking her to the image of sexy goddess, that she’s seen more often in tv shows as much as she’s allowed for a female artist.

she’s more scared than she lets out. since jinx debut she has been overlooked, not paid much attention to, even though she was, as many said, doing a decent job as a female rapper. but she wasn’t enough. she did think that. not being enough, not being good enough, debuting for the simple reason of being available. in the back of her mind, she reasoned with herself, saying it was a ridiculous statement, that midas wouldn’t be a fool to do as such and if she managed to debut, it was on her own merit, it meant she was worth of it. but then, there wasn’t much they could do or wanted to do with her after her flop in popularity made itself clear.

she was stagnant. for a long while she did the bare minimum and it showed when she went back on the stage. she was the same as the previous comeback, and then again and again until it was all but an endless cycle. it wasn’t until 2015 that she started working at full force again, since there was barely anything of her anywhere, she didn’t want to give the public the wrong reasons to speak her name. working too hard has good and bad results and that saying was proven right when ‘I don’t need a man’preparations started. she paid no mind to the discomfort at first but it wasn’t long after that when problems started showing and there was nothing else they could do besides resorting to surgery. it happened just after they finished the shootings for the MV and a couple of weeks before they started promoting, but recovery is not something that happens in a blink of eye, and for pretty much all stages of ‘I don’t need a man’, she was absent. the dread of going back to stake one was back, she felt like she had done all of this for nothing, her injury was for nothing because despite getting better and perfecting herself, there was no way she was going to show that off. that’s when her insomnia problems started to appear and the music that used to be something she used as an escape, started hunting her down.

going back to work, even though she was supposed to be resting didn’t bring any new lights or high praises, she was doing her job and things went back to normal quickly. it wasn’t until the fancam went viral that things started to work out for her and lead her somewhere that wasn’t the limbo she lived in during those six years since debut. the sudden attention came as a shock to her. suddenly she was apprehensive of doing something that wouldn’t be good to neither her’s or jinx’s reputation, of saying something wrong or looking too eager. things turned out quite alright in the end, if she disregarded the number of antis that appeared after the sudden rush of popularity.

even now things are not as bad as it used to be but still, there are issues to bother her during the night. in all those eight years since jinx debuted, she’s more unsure than ever of where their careers will take them, if she’ll have a spot if they ever came to an end or if they’ll remain relevant. most importantly, the question is if she’s finally comfortable enough to admit that her little rivalry with her brother despite helping her craft her own start of career, was childish.

Final Exam

Question #2 Gone but Not Forgotten

The Beastie Boys and MCA Forever

Since High School, the Beastie Boys has been one of my favorite rap groups.

When I was in high school, my musical taste began to stray away from the pop hits the short playlist of chart toppers that streamed all day on 96.7 Kiss FM (the pop radio station in Austin) and I started to explore more obscure, indie music that my friends liked and older music. Both of my parents, my dad especially, have always been old school hip hop fans. When I finally joined Instagram (my dad was on it before I was), he would tag me in or DM me photos of artists who I should check out, like Mos Def, LL Cool J, and Run-DMC. At first, I resisted. But eventually I gave it a try. Run-DMC was the first group I got into, and I really liked the simple beat of the music and their cool style (I am actually wearing the Superstar adidas that I bought in high school). But eventually, because of their collaboration with the group in the mid-‘80s, I eventually ran into the Beastie Boys, one of my favorite groups to this day.

 I have gone through a series of phases of obsession with certain artists throughout my lifetime in which I watch all of the artists’ music videos, listen to each of their albums in order, and buy various t-shirts of the artist, and I definitely had a Beastie Boys phase. I liked that the group, Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, and the late Adam “MCA” Yauch, did not take things to seriously, their music was fun, if sometimes problematic. I liked their IDGAF attitude, that was very much the opposite of my self-conscious self in high school. And I liked that their music dipped into the genre-bending and experimental realm. Since the group started out as a rock band, each album usually had a rock song or at least one that combined rock and rap, like the anthem “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” on their first album “Liscensed to Ill.” And “Paul’s Boutique,” although it sounds like a conglomeration of sounds with its various samples, seamlessly blends one song into the next, and I have to listen to it in order every time. I was not yet a Beastie Boys fan when Yauch died in 2012, but the first summer that I spent in New York City for an extended period of time, visiting Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn Heights was on my to-do list.

 _____________________________________________________________________ Question 3 The Significance of Wesley Morris’ “The Last Taboo” 

Morris combines historical context and personal essay to critique the 2016 film “Moonlight.” 

 “The Last Taboo” by Wesley Morris, published in the New York Times, is a piece of criticism that made me think about the role of the critic and offered a new perspective on what a piece of criticism should look like. In this critique, Morris uses the black penis as a motif to explain the ways in which the depiction of black male sexuality in film has changed over time, how it affected him as a gay, black man, and how we eventually got to see a film like Barry Jenkins’ Academy Awarad winning film, “Moonlight.” 

 The main thing that makes Morris’ critique effective is his use of context. Before getting into the history of the depiction of black male sexuality in films, he begins the piece by discussing more modern depictions of or representations of male sexuality in modern films and television shows, like “Ted 2” and the HBO series “The Night Of,” comparing and contrasting the way that these shows and films depict the sexualities of black men versus white men. Then he goes into the introduction of and racist history of black men in mainstream film and TV in “Birth of a Nation” and he goes into explaining the significance of Blaxploitation films. So before Morris gets into the main work that he critiques, the reader has a clear idea of where he is coming from, why what he is talking about is important, and because one of the main points of his critique is explaining how we got to seeing a film like “Moonlight,” he shows the reader exactly how by laying going through all of the context.

 Towards the end of the essay, Morris talks about “Moonlight” and the importance of Jenkins’ nuanced depiction of, the main character of the film, Chiron’s sexuality in the movie. And then at the very end of the critique, Morris gets into the personal piece of the essay and provides a personal anecdote that sums up how the depiction of black male sexuality affected him growing up and why “Moonlight” and this topic matter to him. Morris’ piece made me reevaluate the role of the critic and the importance of the critic’s point of view. Not only is the critic able to display their response to and opinions on a piece of art, but why the piece of art matters to them specifically and most importantly, why they are writing about it.

 _____________________________________________________________________ Fun (but serious!) 1: Thundercat’s “Walkin’” is a Futuristic Bop 

 “Walkin’” from Thundercat’s 2011 album, “The Golden Age of Apocalypse” has an old school beat with more futuristic sounding instruments thrown on top of it with upbeat lyrics sung by Thundercat himself, Stephen Lee Bruner. 

 The song begins with the drum beat and then, a guitar with what sounds like effects pedals begins and Bruner sings, “When it’s just you and me, there’s no place I’d rather be.” And the repetitive lyrics throughout sound like a love song that a 1960s boy band like the Beatles sang at the time. The song, only about two minutes long, is short and sweet, like a walk down the block with a friend on a nice day. 

 The song’s music video was produced as seemingly simply as the song itself. It looks as if Bruner and some friends stepped outside their front door with a digital camera on a sunny day, took some footage, and put it together with Windows Movie Maker. In it, Bruner walks down a suburban sidewalk with a girl, both in matching glasses and t-shirts as some weird things go on around them, a zombie offers them snacks, and a guy in a wizard beard blows bubbles with faces in them. The greatest Blockbuster effect of the video occurs at the end, when a friend shoots lasers out of his eyes, blows up another guy’s head, and then Bruner and his laser-eyed friend go for a high five which ends in an explosion.

 _____________________________________________________________________

Fun (but serious!) 2: Arts, Culture, and Fashion Criticism 

 What sticks out to me on the worksheet and its summation of my interests now and in the past, is how much my interests growing up affected me as a writer/critic. In my personal essay on “Mean Girls,” I think I wrote that in high school, my friends and I were pretentious and purposefully listened to music, watched movies and TV shows, and liked things that went against the norm of what everyone else at school liked. I also remember that we used to discuss the arts and culture that we consumed as if we were critics as well (i.e. why we thought the Arctic Monkeys were a better group than One Direction.) So I didn’t realize it at the time, but now I have realized that I was beginning to form opinions on and think about the music I liked in a critical way, even though I thought sometimes that perhaps we were a bit too opinionated. 

Expert: Back in the heyday of the old Soviet Union, a phrase evolved to describe gullible western intellectuals who came to visit Russia and failed to notice the human and other costs of building a communist utopia. The phrase was “useful idiots” and it applied to a good many people who should have known better. I now propose a new, analogous term more appropriate for the age in which we live: useful hypocrites. That’s you and me, folks, and it’s how the masters of the digital universe see us. And they have pretty good reasons for seeing us that way. They hear us whingeing about privacy, security, surveillance, etc., but notice that despite our complaints and suspicions, we appear to do nothing about it. In other words, we say one thing and do another, which is as good a working definition of hypocrisy as one could hope for. — John Naughton, The Guardian “Who needs direct repression,” asked philosopher Slavoj Zizek, “when one can convince the chicken to walk freely into the slaughterhouse?” In an Orwellian age where war equals peace, surveillance equals safety, and tolerance equals intolerance of uncomfortable truths and politically incorrect ideas, “we the people” have gotten very good at walking freely into the slaughterhouse, all the while convincing ourselves that the prison walls enclosing us within the American police state are there for our protection. Call it doublespeak, call it hypocrisy, call it delusion, call it whatever you like, but the fact remains that while we claim to value freedom, privacy, individuality, equality, diversity, accountability, and government transparency, our actions and those of our government rulers contradict these much-vaunted principles at every turn. For instance, we claim to disdain the jaded mindset of the Washington elite, and yet we continue to re-elect politicians who lie, cheat and steal. We claim to disapprove of the endless wars that drain our resources and spread thin our military, and yet we repeatedly buy into the idea that patriotism equals supporting the military. We claim to chafe at taxpayer-funded pork barrel legislation for roads to nowhere, documentaries on food fights, and studies of mountain lions running on treadmills, and yet we pay our taxes meekly and without raising a fuss of any kind. We claim to object to the militarization of our local police forces and their increasingly battlefield mindset, and yet we do little more than shrug our shoulders over SWAT team raids and police shootings of unarmed citizens. And then there’s our supposed love-hate affair with technology, which sees us bristling at the government’s efforts to monitor our internet activities, listen in on our phone calls, read our emails, track our every movement, and punish us for what we say on social media, and yet we keep using these very same technologies all the while doing nothing about the government’s encroachments on our rights. This contradiction is backed up by a Pew Research Center study, which finds that “Americans say they are deeply concerned about privacy on the web and their cellphones. They say they do not trust Internet companies or the government to protect it. Yet they keep using the services and handing over their personal information.” Let me get this straight: the government continues to betray our trust, invade our privacy, and abuse our rights, and we keep going back for more? Sure we do. After all, the alternative—taking a stand, raising a ruckus, demanding change, refusing to cooperate, engaging in civil disobedience—is not only a lot of work but can be downright dangerous. What we fail to realize, however, is that by tacitly allowing these violations to continue, we not only empower the tyrant but we feed the monster. In this way, what starts off as small, occasional encroachments on our rights, justified in the name of greater safety, becomes routine, wide-ranging abuses so entrenched as to make reform all but impossible. We saw this happen with the police and their build-up of military arsenal, ostensibly to fight the war on drugs. The result: a transformation of America’s law enforcement agencies into extensions of the military, populated with battle-hardened soldiers who view “we the people” as enemy combatants. The same thing happened with the government’s so-called efforts to get tough on crime by passing endless laws outlawing all manner of activities. The result: an explosion of laws criminalizing everything from parenting decisions and fishing to gardening and living off the grid. And then there were the private prisons, marketed as a way to lower the government’s cost of locking up criminals. Only it turns out that private prisons actually cost the taxpayer more money and place profit incentives on jailing more Americans, resulting in the largest prison population in the world. Are you starting to notice a pattern yet? The government lures us in with a scheme to make our lives better, our families safer, and our communities more secure, and then once we buy into it, they slam the trap closed. It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about red light cameras, DNA databases, surveillance cameras, or zero tolerance policies: they all result in “we the people” being turned into Enemy Number One. In this way, the government campaign to spy on our phone calls, letters and emails was sold to the American people as a necessary tool in the war on terror. Instead of targeting terrorists, however, the government has turned us into potential terrorists, so that if we dare say the wrong thing in a phone call, letter, email or on the internet, especially social media, we end up investigated, charged and possibly jailed. If you happen to be one of the 1.31 billion individuals who use Facebook or one of the 255 million who tweet their personal and political views on Twitter, you might want to pay close attention. This criminalization of free speech, which is exactly what the government’s prosecution of those who say the “wrong” thing using an electronic medium amounts to, was at the heart of Elonis v. United States, a case that wrestled with where the government can draw the line when it comes to expressive speech that is protected and permissible versus speech that could be interpreted as connoting a criminal intent. The case arose after Anthony Elonis, an aspiring rap artist, used personal material from his life as source material and inspiration for rap lyrics which he then shared on Facebook. For instance, shortly after Elonis’ wife left him and he was fired from his job, his lyrics included references to killing his ex-wife, shooting a classroom of kindergarten children, and blowing up an FBI agent who had opened an investigation into his postings. Despite the fact that Elonis routinely accompanied his Facebook posts with disclaimers that his lyrics were fictitious, and that he was using such writings as an outlet for his frustrations, he was charged with making unlawful threats (although it was never proven that he intended to threaten anyone) and sentenced to 44 months in jail. Elonis is not the only Facebook user to be targeted for prosecution based on the content of his posts. In a similar case that made its way through the courts only to be rebuffed by the Supreme Court, Brandon Raub, a decorated Marine, was arrested by a swarm of FBI, Secret Service agents and local police and forcibly detained in a psychiatric ward because of controversial song lyrics and political views posted on his Facebook page. He was eventually released after a circuit court judge dismissed the charges against him as unfounded. Rapper Jamal Knox and Rashee Beasley were sentenced to jail terms of up to six years for a YouTube video calling on listeners to “kill these cops ‘cause they don’t do us no good.” Although the rapper contended that he had no intention of bringing harm to the police, he was convicted of making terroristic threats and intimidation of witnesses. And then there was Franklin Delano Jeffries II, an Iraq war veteran, who, in the midst of a contentious custody battle for his daughter, shared a music video on YouTube and Facebook in which he sings about the judge in his case, “Take my child and I’ll take your life.” Despite his insistence that the lyrics were just a way for him to vent his frustrations with the legal battle, Jeffries was convicted of communicating threats and sentenced to 18 months in jail. The common thread running through all of these cases is the use of social media to voice frustration, grievances, and anger, sometimes using language that is overtly violent. The question the U.S. Supreme Court was asked to decide in Elonis is whether this activity, in the absence of any overt intention of committing a crime, rises to the level of a “true threat” or whether it is, as I would contend, protected First Amendment activity. (The Supreme Court has defined a “true threat” as “statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals.”) In an 8-1 decision that concerned itself more with “criminal-law principles concerning intent rather than the First Amendment’s protection of free speech,” the Court ruled that prosecutors had not proven that Elonis intended to harm anyone beyond the words he used and context. That was three years ago. Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in Elonis, Corporate America has now taken the lead in policing expressive activity online, with social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube using their formidable dominance in the field to censor, penalize and regulate speech and behavior online by suspending and/or banning users whose content violated the companies’ so-called community standards for obscenity, violence, hate speech, discrimination, etc. Make no mistake: this is fascism. This is fascism with a smile. As Bertram Gross, former presidential advisor, noted in his chilling book Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America: Anyone looking for black shirts, mass parties, or men on horseback will miss the telltale clues of creeping fascism. . . . In America, it would be super modern and multi-ethnic—as American as Madison Avenue, executive luncheons, credit cards, and apple pie. It would be fascism with a smile. As a warning against its cosmetic façade, subtle manipulation, and velvet gloves, I call it friendly fascism. What scares me most is its subtle appeal. The subtle appeal of this particular brand of fascism is its self-righteous claim to fighting the evils of our day (intolerance, hatred, violence) using the weapons of Corporate America. Be warned, however: it is only a matter of time before these weapons are used more broadly, taking aim at anything that stands in its quest for greater profit, control and power. This is what fascism looks like in a modern context, with corporations flexing their muscles to censor and silence expressive activity under the pretext that it is taking place within a private environment subject to corporate rules as opposed to activity that takes place within a public or government forum that might be subject to the First Amendment’s protection of “controversial” and/or politically incorrect speech. Alex Jones was just the beginning. Jones, the majordomo of conspiracy theorists who spawned an empire built on alternative news, was banned from Facebook for posting content that violates the social media site’s “Community Standards,” which prohibit posts that can be construed as bullying or hateful. According to The Washington Post, Twitter suspended over 70 million accounts over the course of two months to “reduce the flow of misinformation on the platform.” Among those temporarily suspended was Daniel McAdams, Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute. Rightly contending that tech companies are just extensions of the government, former Texas congressman Ron Paul believes that social media networks under the control of Google, Apple, Twitter and Facebook are working with the U.S. government to silence dissent. “You get accused of treasonous activity and treasonous speech because in an empire of lies the truth is treason,” Paul declared. “Challenging the status quo is what they can’t stand and it unnerves them, so they have to silence people.” Curiously enough, you know who has yet to be suspended? President Trump. Twitter’s rationale for not suspending world leaders such as Trump, whom critics claim routinely violate the social media giant’s rules, is because “Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial Tweets, would hide important information people should be able to see and debate. It would also not silence that leader, but it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions.” Frankly, all individuals, whether or not they are world leaders, should be entitled to have their thoughts and ideas aired openly, pitted against those who might disagree with them, and debated widely, especially in a forum like the internet. Why does this matter? The internet and social media have taken the place of the historic public square, which has slowly been crowded out by shopping malls and parking lots. As such, these cyber “public squares” may be the only forum left for citizens to freely speak their minds and exercise their First Amendment rights, especially in the wake of legislation that limits access to our elected representatives. Unfortunately, the internet has become a tool for the government—and its corporate partners—to monitor, control and punish the populace for behavior and speech that may be controversial but are far from criminal. Indeed, the government, a master in the art of violence, intrusion, surveillance and criminalizing harmless activities, has repeatedly attempted to clamp down on First Amendment activity on the web and in social media under the various guises of fighting terrorism, discouraging cyberbullying, and combatting violence. Police and prosecutors have also targeted “anonymous” postings and messages on forums and websites, arguing that such anonymity encourages everything from cyber-bullying to terrorism, and have attempted to prosecute those who use anonymity for commercial or personal purposes. We would do well to tread cautiously in how much authority we give the Corporate Police State to criminalize free speech activities and chill what has become a vital free speech forum. Not only are social media and the Internet critical forums for individuals to freely share information and express their ideas, but they also serve as release valves to those who may be angry, seething, alienated or otherwise discontented. Without an outlet for their pent-up anger and frustration, these thoughts and emotions fester in secret, which is where most violent acts are born. In the same way, free speech in the public square—whether it’s the internet, the plaza in front of the U.S. Supreme Court or a college campus—brings people together to express their grievances and challenge oppressive government regimes. Without it, democracy becomes stagnant and atrophied. Likewise, as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, if free speech is not vigilantly protected, democracy is more likely to drift toward fear, repression, and violence. In such a scenario, we will find ourselves threatened with an even more pernicious injury than violence itself: the loss of liberty. More speech, not less, is the remedy. http://clubof.info/

My Media Audience: The Third Post

Television is one of the most important and commonly used form of technology, the lecture touched upon how the development of new media technologies has altered the way we use specific devices at home. The professor also questions the class asking how could researchers collect insight on how audiences consume media in private settings versus how audiences consume media in theatres which made me realize that with the concept of livestreaming, that is readily available for everyone to access at home, many people would not have the need to leave their homes and view something in person, which make it harder for researchers to develop a clear insight. By hearing this statement from the professor it immediately reminded me of my personal audience experience that I have quite frequently, where I would livestream soccer games, since it is not practical for me to witness them in person in a stadium where they usual take place. My preference of streaming soccer games online connects to the required reading that was given in week 8, which was “The influences of Sports Viewing Conditions on Enjoyment from Watching Televised Sports: An Analysis of the FIFA World Cup Audiences in Theater vs. Home” by Kihan Kim, Yunjae Cheong, and Hyuksoo Kim. Personally when reading this article, I did not agree nor understood how watching the World Cup in a theatre is preferred more than viewing the games at the comfort of your own home. The reason why I couldn’t get myself to agree with the given statement in the article is because I have a very biased opinion, since I would only watch World Cup games or any soccer game at home with or without family and friends. The study used the most recent FIFA World Cup which was in 2014, where I would watch every game especially when the Brazilian National Team plays at home, since I was able to enjoy my time watching the game in my living room or at my friend’s house. As I gave the article a read, I started to think why I didn’t like going out to sports bars or a crowded theatre to watch games since they do hold an amazing atmosphere, and it was mainly because whenever I would watch a soccer game at home I like to view tweets and see what people would have to say about the game and the players playing on the pitch and also since I personally do not like to be surrounded around a significant amount of people especially when there is a crazy event happening. Since there is no academic research to this date that compares a person’s audience experience of watching games in theaters vs in a home, the article outlines some researched differences when it comes to watching sports at home than the theatre which are based off screen size, image quality, audio quality, viewing condition, cheering atmosphere where I experienced all of these at home. When it came to screen size during the 2014 world cup, it did not bother me at all since I was still living with my parents at the time and they had a 60inch TV which was too my advantage and I was able to watch the game in a fairly big screen at my own home. Although having a big screen was very versatile, when it comes to watching soccer games almost always I would have to livestream the game off my computer which sometimes alters the image quality compared to a live broadcast that you would have to pay for from Bell or Rogers for instance. Since having to livestreaming a game is one of my main methods on watching a game at home, I often run into challenges in having finding links where the commentators (audio) would speak in English or the quality of the audio will be inaudible. Apart from the challenges of livestreaming a game, when it comes to the atmosphere I never not had a good time especially if I am surrounded by people I know, since there are several of different emotions in the room of how the game will turn out. One of my best memories during the 2014 World Cup was when I watched the WC final game, Argentina vs Germany where the atmosphere that surrounded me and my friends was very intense, since our group of 6 split into 2 having one side supporting Germany and the other supporting Argentina. From what I could remember we were all yelling at the TV and at our one friend who kept telling us that it was “just a game” since one of the goals Argentina made became off-side (meaning it is not considered to be a goal) and at the very last minute Germany scored a goal having them win and gain the title, which many of us were upset about since we did not like the German team. Although the atmosphere was very intense there was a moment during half time where I went on twitter to see what people had to say about the game and how the only goal that happened became off-side, but as that was happening we all looked at the TV and noticed someone running onto the pitch and realized it was the YouTube Prankster that goes by VitalyzdTV which changed the atmosphere of all of us being intense to us all sharing a laugh. As mentioned above I would use twitter to know how other users view the same game that I would be watching and see how we all interact from viewing one specific event, which was the world cup, but it did not make me realize that twitter has its own uniqueness for audience interaction until it was discussed in lecture on November 16th. Based on the article, “Framing News in 140 Characters: How Social Media Editors Frame the News and interact with audiences via Twitter” by Ben S. Wasike, that was assigned for the week lecture Wasike stated that twitter is used best to report activities and create interaction within the social network site. The article also identifies Twitter as a news breaking tool where it as the capability to deliver up-to-date breaking news faster than televised news stations. As an audience I recently experienced how many people (users) who use Twitter came to know about the Libya slave trade situation, where many people, including myself, were exposed to videos and pictures of the underground slave trade and not know this existed until it was brought upon on twitter, where users will use the hashtag #Libya to raise awareness about the matter in hopes of government action to stop this slave trade that is happening. The situation that is currently circling in Libya was later broadcasted on TV stations but was first known on twitter since the social media platform is many peoples go to source on getting information on what is currently happening around the world whether good or bad. Although news channels like CP24 and City TV still exist for people, I personally cannot use televised new channels to get my information but rely on twitter and other social networks sites instead, since I am currently in school and live away from my parents, having no access to cable television with news channels to know what is currently going on around the world. Apart from the weekly articles the textbook states, “networked media forms such as YouTube, Facebook, and the online role playing game World of Warcraft are creating new opportunities for audiences to contribute their own creative ideas” reading more into the textbook Sullivan mentions how YouTube is a site for participatory culture where the audience is given power to make whatever content that is put out by users to be considered viral and be viewed by millions. Everyone who has accounts to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram all participated in the culture of sharing content or giving importance to certain content. One out many events that I participated in and being an active audience, that involves YouTube content creators, was keeping my self-updated on creator Jake Paul who is a 20-year-old American actor and YouTube personality who gained fame from an iPhone and android application, Vine. A couple months’ back Jake had received over 100 million views on a rap song he came out with that included many of his friends singing and rapping that blew up significantly on YouTube and went virial on many social media platforms, where people like myself did not like Jake Paul but still watched the video for the sake of knowing what everyone was talking about apart from that video Jake Paul gained even more media attention from audiences like me to be invested in the drama he was a part of, for instance accusing his ex-girlfriends current boyfriend of assault towards his assistant, dissing his brothers fandom and going against his own brother, creating “disstracks” on other YouTubers who are not a fond of him, and bullying his Spanish roommates on a daily basis. With all this going on in the YouTube Community myself and many other users played a huge part in entertaining these dramas towards / coming from Jake Paul by being an active audience. Other than YouTube, I took part in being an audience when social media personal Danielle Bregoli went viral on twitter off a video that was posted of her on the Dr. Phil show disrespecting the people around her including her mother and saying her famous catch phrase that is now considered a meme “Cash me outside”. Not only did I take part in witnessing and sharing her uproar on social media, I took part in many others like Rebeca Black’s music video, the Gangnam Style music video, and another recent one of the Man’s not Hot music video from Big Shaq. Whenever I would watch these videos my intentions are not to help these people grow, apart from ones who truly deserve recognition for doing good, and gaining media recognition for doing unpleasant/ unmannerly but to see why these videos are being hyped by other audience members which unintentionally make viewers give acknowledgement to such videos, which is something people cannot avoid when being a part of participatory culture.