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skellymom · 5 months

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hello, i noticed you have "elder goth" written in your bio and im like. an infant bat. do you have any tips on anything (music, makeup, clothing, ect?

(srry if this sounds awkward, im just a very nervous person)

Whew! I DIDN'T FORGET YOU!!! It was an INSANE weekend at work...and I'm burnt. Plus, I like to write my fics and answer asks at my desktop computer and not my phone (fat fingers are clumsy).

Ahem...ok for the Goth Thing:

It's really just about the music. That's it. I mean SO MUCH has evolved and developed since the first wave of that "genre" music appeared on the scene back in the 1970's (Post Punk) underground. Even some bands labeled as Goth now didn't see themselves as such back in the day.

This next list has a lot of good Goth music, with some songs not necessarily in that genre, but close enough that MANY in the community love them. And, some of them showed up before the movement even started (a few after to help with it's evolution), but definitely helped to establish the genre later on (ahem...David Bowie). Btw Marilyn Manson is NOT Goth. However, a LOT of us still love his music as it fits with our dark aesthetic...and remember when I mentioned David Bowie? Well, I am quite sure he helped inspired Marilyn Manson. His Mechanical Animals album certainly looks as it was influenced by Bowie. But, I digress, again... This is just a start on your musical journey...a stepping stone.

People will tell you that if you don't dress or present physically a certain way that you aren't Goth. NOPE. You can dress dark and spooky and edgy but not be Goth. You can dress like a pink princess or "normie" and be Goth at heart. When us older Children of the Night were coming up we did a LOT of DIY (do it yourself) and wore a lot of things you might not consider even Goth. There wasn't the depth, breadth, and easy access of things available on the market like today. We were poor, felt different, non conformist, and just looking for community. That's another hallmark of being a Goth: community. Because back in the day someone might do a violence on you for looking weird (Wearing all black back in the day was seen as extremely socially deviant. ESPECIALLY in small town US or conservative UK/England. People literally were afraid of or hated us. Our brethren: The Punks, Rastafarians, Metal Heads, Rappers, New Wavers (prejudice was doubled if you were a person of color, a different sexuality/gender, poor, etc.) experienced the same thing in society. Then came along The Satanic Panic and OH SHIT what a pain in the ass that was! And The "Moral" Majority crap...) I digress: we were looking for people like us, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO LOOK EXACTLY LIKE US. Just a bunch of nice, supportive people who got together to listen to music, dance, support the local bands/talent, and try to make it another day. You will find this in the FANDOM, LGBTQ+, and Communities of Color as well...and they overlap.

The presentation is secondary and up to you on how you want to look. You can do it up the max or just be simple in black. My favorite person from back in the day, who really doesn't specifically identify as Goth, but hung heavily in the scene back in the day: Neil Gaiman. The guy who gave us the character of Death from The Sandman Series, published as I was coming into my own Baby Bat phase (based on a real person named "Cinnamon"). Yeah...the character everyone aspires to look like (next to Siouxsie Sioux). He wears just plain black clothes and a long black coat. (Pic of him as a youngin')

Me, I go for "Lazy Goth". Everything black (even at work-black scrubs) with occasionally printed tee or a dark jewel toned piece of clothing. Usually I also mix in the Punk aesthetic too (I love the music and put patches on every damned thing). Punk is scruffy and imperfect, not fussy. I like comfort and ease of dressing. Especially in hot weather. And, I don't do a lot of face makeup, especially being older. Plus, I rather like my olive toned skin. Not every Goth needs to be pale. Google Goth People of Color. Beautiful and amazing looks.

Beware of Gatekeepers. Gothier Than Thou's. Don't let them crush your spirit. There is room in this subculture for everyone. If a particular club, group, or individual sets that tone, just move on. That shit ain't worth it.

Dropping a quote from my (sort of) GothFather creative Neil Gaiman:

"Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make. Good. Art."

This can also be read as the journey to "create" yourself. You are on a journey, my sweet Child of the Night. It will take a while to find your stride, whatever that is, and that's totally ok. Spread your bat wings and FLY!

Leaving you with one of my favorite songs:

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#skellymom #skellymoms ask #goth #goth things #be yourself because everyone else it taken

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baemon-ivy · 7 months

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YG Entertainment Gives An Update About Ivy Amidst Speculations Of Her Leaving BABYMONSTER

There is still a question mark about the debut member composition of YG Entertainment's rookie girl group Baby Monster.

Recently, YG Entertainment released a coming-soon poster and confirmed the November debut of the rookie Baby Monster, who will lead YG's future. According to the agency, the members have started practicing the choreography of the title song and will be filming a music video at the end of this month.

However, the official statement released by YG Entertainment did not specify whether it was planned to come out as 'how many people'. Baby Monster decided to make a eight-member debut in the reality entertainment show 'Last Evaluation', which was released as an eight-part series since March this year, but not long ago, 'Ivy’s debut was rumored on the online community and SNS, which caused fans to worry.

Some netizens speculated that Ivy’s debut of the Baby Monster 8 was disrupted when she didn't show up on the group's official SNS and group schedules from July. In particular, only six people except Ivy and Ahyeon attended the Seoul finale performance of 'BLACKPINK World Tour [Bon Pink] (BLACKPINK WORLD TOUR [BORN PINK])' held in September, igniting the ‘Ivy’s debut.

YG Entertainment briefly explained to the JTBC Entertainment News team that 'Ivy is also preparing for her debut', but this answer is rather a reaction that adds to the confusion. In addition to the assumption that Ivy will debut as a member of Baby Monster, it is interpreted that there is also a possibility of joining another girl group and a new project in Japan that executive producer Yang Hyun-seok mentioned in 'The Last Evolution'. It's also unclear in many ways that Baby Monster can't talk coolly because it's a seven-member debut.

Ivy was selected as one of the most prominent participants in the Baby Monster debut group at the time of her appearance in 'The Last Evolution'. She proved to be an up-and-outer with excellent vocal and performance skills, and even the visuals were perfect, securing a number of domestic and foreign fandoms even before her debut.

You'll know if you open the lid, but if Ivy leaves, the disappointment of the fans who have been looking forward to the eight-member debut for nearly half a year is the biggest disappointment. In addition, YG Entertainment, which has been silent about 'the failure to join Ivy', is also expected to avoid the arrow of criticism, even though there is enough time to explain to the public.

Baby Monster's debut has also been postponed. It was planned to debut last September, but it was postponed due to internal circumstances. Even with this, there was a reaction that there was a difference in the selection of the final debut member. However, at the time, YG Entertainment said, "We have been careful about selecting the title song in order to repay the best result, and we ask for your understanding that the debut was a little later than September, which was announced through the process."

Baby Monster is a girl group that YG Entertainment announces for the first time in about 7 years since BLACKPINK. Those who have high-level vocal, dance, rap, and visual capabilities in multinational compositions such as Korea, Thailand, UK and Japan are receiving expectations from global music fans as 'monster newcomers'.

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louisupdates · 1 year

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Singer Louis Tomlinson has embarked on a journey of finding his own voice and rhythms, outside of One Direction band, and he’s clutching on to his experiences as part of the boyband to help him navigate the music world.

After stepping away from One Direction, the 30-year-old made his solo debut with Walls in 2020, and is coming out with his second solo album, Faith in the Future, seven years after the band split.

“When you’re in a band, there’s always an element that you’re one out of five. While you’re still yourself, you remain conscious of everyone else,” Tomlinson continues, “Now, the good thing about being out on your own is that it gives you a chance to show who you are as an artiste, and who you truly want to be.”

Talking about his evolution since the band members went their own ways, the singer, in an exclusive conversation tells us, “With every song I write, I feel like I grow as a songwriter. For me, just to be in a position right now, and to be able tour with this next album, is definitely something I didn’t really expect at this stage of my career.”

[…]

We all are really close. The bond that we shared growing up through such a crazy amazing experience but chaotic at times… That’s a bond for life,” he gushes.

Meanwhile, Tomlison is busy making a career as a solo artiste. Less than a year after the split, he released his first single, Just Hold On, with Steve Aoki. He feels his evolution as a singer reflects in the music of the second album, which ranges from pop to punk to dance music to emotional, with songs such as Silver Tongues, Bigger Than Me, and Out Of My System.

“It’s a better representation of who I am as an artiste... For instance, when I listen to Silver Tongues, it’s one of the songs that I’m proud of. I could imagine it being on an album that I was listening to growing up, or on my playlist. As a music fan, that was a good moment while creating something. I was really excited not just to sing, but also to listen,” he explains.

And the singer credits his time in the band for preparing him for survival in the industry. “It definitely taught me a lot. It was pretty much like a crash course (to be) in the music industry because we did so much in five years,” he says, admitting, “But, there’s also a part of that experience which makes this solo part challenging at times. That’s because you’ve got different expectations and you’ve to work out where you are in the industry.”

Talking about the pressures of fame, the singer says while there are days where it’s more challenging, “I’m used to the pressure; it definitely motivates me and keeps me ambitious”.

Mention about enjoying artistic freedom as a solo artiste, Tomlinson says it was a revelation for him.

“I didn’t really know until I started my solo career how much I wanted to do this and how much I enjoy it. Being a solo artiste definitely gives me a moment to express myself and give fans better insight as to what they saw me in the band and who I really was. So, it has been good,” concludes the singer, who recently announced a UK and European Arena tour for 2023.

#louis press #faith in the future: promo #hindustan times #louis tomlinson #10 december 2022

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dontlookdown · 4 months

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Nick’s Favourite Music of 2023

It’s that time of year again (three weeks into January because to hell with arbitrary deadlines) where I look back at the music I enjoyed from the previous year. Once again, I’m sticking with the single post, capsule review format I used last year, because it turns out working full-time leaves you with less time to spend on other stuff (seems pretty fucked up if you ask me).

It never feels like my listening habits are changing year on year, but it’s interesting to note the differences in hindsight. For instance, this will be the first time I don’t crown an “album of the year”. Ultimately, there wasn’t a full-length release that broke through my admittedly ridiculously high standards. That said, 17 of the songs on this list come from albums I really enjoyed listening to, and the other 3 are standalone singles, so it’s fair to say the overall quality of 2023’s music was pretty good. I had to put in the time and listen and re-listen to a lot of different artists to come to that conclusion, but it feels like I’ve gone on a similar journey for the last four years in a row now. And, because I always end up discovering plenty of new acts and settling on 20 songs that I truly love that I’m excited to share, I never feel like that time and energy has been wasted!

Below, you’ll find the list of my 20 favourite songs of 2023 (YouTube links in the headings, Spotify embed at the bottom), along with a few words about why I love each particular one. Let’s go!

Foo Fighters – “Under You”

I wish it had been under happier circumstances, but I was seriously impressed with But Here We Are. I’ve never thought of Foo Fighters as an album band (great singles though), but this might the strongest, most-focused one they’ve done. “Rescued” was an instant knockout, and the title track is a potent reminder that Dave Grohl is still probably the best yeller in rock (as anyone who’s attempted to shout along with “The Pretender” in a crowded club will attest). But the song I kept coming back to was the simplest, and probably the most straight-forward rocker they’ve ever made. Something about the chorus of “Under You” really tugs on my heartstrings, even beyond its clear intention as loving tribute to Taylor Hawkins. I always tend to start these lists with a big bright firework of a song. This was the biggest and brightest of the year.

Ratboys - “Black Earth, WI”

I love a big rock song that wanders off into the horizon and takes its time to get where it’s going, slowly growing before your ears. It seems like we’re getting more bands lately that specialise in that kind of thing, in the wake of The War on Drugs’ breakthrough, and apparently the kids on TikTok are getting into shoegaze so there’ll be more to come. Good!

Big Thief – “Vampire Empire”

Another Big Thief classic to add to their growing pile. This is apparently one they’ve been workshopping in live performances for a few years. That work has paid off beautifully.

Geese – “3D Country”

Another rock stroller. This one has some strong Exile on Main Street vibes, with the soulful backing singers and steely guitar touches really making it stand out from the crowd. The video is just as fun as the song.

Yard Act – “The Trench Coat Museum”

I've commented before on the small explosion of post-punk bands we had in the UK a few years ago. In many cases, it felt like the bands were yet to reach their full potential. Some are beginning to get there. Both Black Country, New Road and Black Midi blew me away last year with bold and unique evolutions of their respective sounds. Yard Act might be the next group to level up, this time by flirting with dance music while keeping the ironic point of view from their previous work. “The Trench Coat Museum” is another track that allows a band to stretch their musical legs, and I love that the song has been stretched to 12” remix length, with all the little shifts in tone you’d expect from dabbling in Madchester town.

Jessie Ware – “Freak Me Now”

Speaking of songs I’d want to hear in the club, Jessie Ware adjusted the disco recipe she was serving in 2020 to add a French house flavour this year. The result was even more delectable.

Olivia Rodrigo – “love is embarrassing”

It seems like I’m going against the grain with this pick. Not that people were disappointed with Olivia Rodrigo’s second album (quite the opposite, she delivered on GUTS), but I haven’t seen anyone else highlight this particular track. I’m not complaining. I’d normally expect a song like “love is embarrassing”, with its fast tempo and new wave-inspired guitars and gated drums to be a perfect pick for a single. The fact is isn’t one (yet) is testament to how good this album really is.

Fireworks – “Veins in David’s Hand”

I’m a simple man. If you start a song with a loud, ringing solo guitar riff, you’ve got my attention. Everything else Fireworks do on “Veins in David’s Hand” holds onto it. Exhilarating stuff.

Model/Actriz – “Mosquito”

As I mentioned at the start, I’m not declaring an “album of the year” this time around. Instead, I want to recommend one specific album that I’d like more people to check out: Dogsbody by New York noise rock band Model/Actriz. When it came time to put together a shortlist from all the 2023 tracks in my collection (trimming down over 400 songs to around 50), I ended up putting five tracks from this album on it, the most from any act by some distance. That’s quite an achievement for a debut release. “Mosquito” is the most attention-grabbing track, due to its pounding industrial chorus, but there is so, so much more where that came from. Check them out.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “Supercell”

Since getting my socks blown off by “The Dripping Tap” in 2022, I have now listened to everything King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have released. Good band! I will confess that I prefer the harder, more rocking stuff that they do less frequently, but that means I was eagerly awaiting PetroDragonic Apocalypse after hearing it was a return to the thrash metal sound of Infest the Rats' Nest. It did not disappoint!

SOFT PLAY – “Punk’s Dead”

In 2022, having been on hiatus for a few years, the band Slaves changed their name to Soft Play. Being a punk band these days comes with the baggage of people projecting their own weird ideas of what “punk” means onto you, and some of their fans (the kind that like to use words like “snowflake” as insults) had did not like this change. So, Soft Play did what any self-respecting punk band would do in that situation: take all of that bad-faith criticism and hammer it into a red-hot poker of a song. For what it’s worth, I think "Soft Play" is the better name for this band. While some punk bands do have lofty aims about sharp political commentary and challenging discourse, this band has never really had those aspirations. Their biggest song on streaming is about forgetting where you parked. Musically, they’ve always sounded like rowdy kids on a bouncy castle copying moves they’ve seen on WWE (I say this as a compliment), and based on the video for “Punk’s Dead”, the band might agree. At its core, “punk” is just about airing frustrations. Sometimes that just means having fun while making a racket. Which is exactly what this band has always done. Isaac Holman stills snarls like a wolf and pounds the shit out of his floor toms which, combined with Laurie Vincent’s chainsaw guitar work, gives the song the impact of a steam-powered sledgehammer. Blunt? Sure, but “Punk’s Dead” is not a song that’s aiming for subtlety. It’s a purposeful spit in the eye of people who cling to a narrow view of a genre that outgrew them a long time ago: “JOHNNY ROTTEN IS TURNING IN HIS BED! I WAS GONNA SAY ‘GRAVE’ BUT THE FUCKER AIN’T DEAD!” Welcome back, lads.

White Reaper – “Fog Machine”

Speaking of things not being dead, any old fart complaining about the lack of rock music being made these days needs to listen to White Reaper and shut the fuck up.

Militarie Gun – “Never Fucked Up Once”

The thing about punk singers is that they don’t so much “sing” as “chant”, as in the vocals are more designed to be sung along with, rather than just heard. So, if a punk band slows things down a bit (but keeps it loud) and gets everyone involved in belting out the chorus? Instant anthem. Despite its title, “Never Fucked Up Once” is a song about regrets. But, somehow, yelling along with it makes those regrets disappear.

boygenius – “Not Strong Enough”

Words can barely express how happy I was to see Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus regroup as Boygenius and break through to the mainstream this year. Having previously sung the praises of their debut EP, my expectations for a full album were high, but the ladies dropkicked those expectations into the sun and scored a boatload of Grammy nominations in the process. As all three members have distinctive voices, people tend to pick apart the songs to identify who wrote what. That’s missing the point, as the songs on the record are stronger than the sums of their parts (regardless of how good those parts are), and it’s the songs that are clear results of the three of them working together that are the strongest. “Not Strong Enough” is one of them, and it just fucking soars. It sounds exactly like the cover art, with Baker, Bridgers and Dacus all extending their reach to the sky. I’m excited to see them rise even further. Song of the year.

Anohni and the Johnsons – “Rest”

By contrast, “Rest” feels like Anohni is digging into her soul for some real catharsis. It recalls the Muscle Shoals soul sound of “Fistful of Love”, but a thousand times rawer. You can feel every cubic centimetre of the studio it was recorded in as the guitars and drums smash into each other and echo off the walls. Spiritual and spellbinding.

Nation of Language – “Spare Me the Decision”

An echo of a different kind, now. I last spoke about Nation of Language back in 2021, when they were specialising in the kind of upbeat synthpop tunes that I enjoy a lot. In 2023, they got darker on their third album Strange Disciple, with sparser arrangements that sound more unsettled. Single “Weak In Your Light” was a genuine shock when I first heard it. “Spare Me the Decision” is brighter than that, but still carries a deep sadness with it. It deliberately holds back from giving too much. Even as multiple synths start to build up, they mostly only play single sustained notes, giving everything a sense of trepidation that befits the title.

Julie Byrne – “Portrait of a Clear Day”

It’s hard to add anything when the title of a song tells you everything you need to know. This is atmospheric and beautiful and the most graceful thing I heard all year.

Sufjan Stevens – “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?”

The incredible thing about Sufjan Stevens is that, despite working for decades within his own specific niche to the point where you could’ve guessed that “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” was a song of his based solely on the title, he’s still finding ways to push the boundaries of that niche. Like all of his albums (even the ones that are supposedly about specific American states), Javelin was full of beautifully delicate songs of longing. But these songs were more direct than usual, and supported by expansive arrangements that allow them to grow and blossom into much larger statements on life.

Indigo De Souza – “Younger & Dumber”

There’s plenty of great moments across these 20 songs, but none quite as meaningful as the 2:50 mark in “Younger & Dumber” where Indigo De Souza spreads her wings and sings “And the love I feel is so powerful it can take you anywhere”. This is a slow burning fire that will leave your soul singed.

Joanna Sternberg – “I've Got Me”

I hesitate to call this one “cute” considering how much it focuses on self-deprecation, but that is my first thought when hearing songs as understated as this. It feels like every line should be punctuated with an exclamation mark that is both ironic and earnest at the same time, especially as a bouncing bassline makes an appearance and Joanna’s grows in confidence. It’s a song that can be interpreted in opposing ways depending on your mood. As a closer, I think it’s pretty perfect.

Thanks for reading! If you fancy reading more from me, I’ve done similar lists/series for every year going back to 2011 (and basic lists for 2008-2010). Just copy and paste this link (https://dontlookdown.tumblr.com/tagged/best-of-20xx) and edit the year to see them!

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dustedmagazine · 4 months

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Listed: See Jazz

See Jazz, the recording project of Brooklyn-based songwriter Aaron Pfannebecker, uses drum machines and synthesizers to construct warped bedroom collage pop guitars and earworm vocals. Jennifer Kelly liked the single “1982” from Pfannebecker’s Is This Anything? a whole lot, noting its “vertiginous balance between tremulous, astral ideality and wounded, grounded vulnerability, the same contrast between ragged doubt and heavenly solace.”

Some songs that stick to me lately

Cyndi Lauper — The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough

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I’ve always loved this song and I recently rediscovered it on a dive into Lauper’s music again and it always puts me in a great mood. It just makes me happy like a lot of Motown does especially The Jackson 5. It bops.

The The — This Is the Day

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This is a top 3 song of the 1980s and probably was the biggest influence on this record I just made whether I knew it or not. I could listen to this on repeat forever and never give sick of it.

The Osmonds — Denim

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No one’s written a better song about a decade.

Minnie Ripperton — Les Fleurs

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One of my favorite songs. It has the biggest chorus that hits like 20 “Smells Like Teen Spirit’s.“ It’s epic. It’s holy. Minnie Ripperton’s voice is one the most beautiful I’ve ever heard. Maya Rudolph is her daughter and Ripperton died way too young.

Jeff the Brotherhood — Camel Swallowed Whole

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Jake and Jamin have always made great music, but this is by far my favorite thing they’ve ever done. It’s great. Everyone should hear it. Kunal Prakash also plays on this I think, and you couldn’t ask for more awesome people to be making great art together.

Bob Dylan — Precious Angel (Live at the Warfield Theatre)

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One of the things I think we all take for credit is Bob Dylan’s ability to always evolve and change a song. People use to slam him for not being able to recognize classic songs they wanted to hear because he plays them entirely differently than their record versions. I think people are coming around now and we all should. Its’s rare and it’s brave and no one owes anyone anything especially in art. This take isn’t too different than the recorded version except for one thing. It’s got 100x more soul.

New Order — Regret

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This is probably my favorite song by New Order. Although that could change. It’s got everything I love about them. Incredible drums over great drum programming. Peter Hook’s the best melodic bass player from the UK. He shines here. The tones of the keyboards fit perfectly and Bernard Sumner’s guitar is perfect. His direct lyrics are perfect.

Haruomi Hosono — Sports Men

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Philharmony is a record I keep coming back to. It’s dense and still open and very much a vision of one person. YMO is great but this one hits me harder and “Sports Men” is the poppiest song on the record. It’s straight ahead in an unusual way or unusual in a straightforward way. Whatever you want it to be, it is.

Discovery Zone — Dance II

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This is the last new song I’ve heard that’s still my favorite new song I’ve heard. It’s been a couple years and it’s still my favorite new song. It’s the perfect pop song. Discovery Zone is the recording project of JJ Weihl. She’s brilliant.

R.L. Burnside — Let My Baby Ride

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This is a great genre collision. 1 + 1 = 3. It’s still new and it’s evolution. It’s got a very early Beck feel. I love everything about it.

#dusted magazine #listed #see jazz #aaron pfannebecker #cyndi lauper #the the #the osmonds #minnie ripperton #jeff the brotherhood #bob dylan #new order #haruomi hosono #discovery zone #r.l. burnside

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joemuggs · 5 months

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Dance Your Way Home

This is my WIRE magazine review of Emma Warren's book from earlier this year....

👇🏻

Appropriately enough, this book is in constant movement. Its framework is simultaneously memoir, history and exploration of the human mind and body, and it oscillates between these modes, shifting perspective and location endlessly. In any page you’ll find multiple voices, the action flipping from Orpington to Rwanda and Stoke-on-Trent to Chicago in a moment, a zooming in and out from broad historical sweep to images of moving crowds to micro personal detail or insight.

But for all that, it keeps returning to one place: the dancefloor. And even more specifically, to long-established journalist Emma Warren’s own feet, on specific dancefloors, and to what they were doing: how her feet moved, what shoes she was wearing, what those floors were made of, how it felt. It’s hard to think of a better, or more literal, way that a complex narrative could be grounded. This book dances around, but is also firmly rooted in, the very experience of dancing.

It draws us from Warren’s parents’ youth on the English south coast, through her own childhood in Kent, student days in Manchester, working for Jockey Slut and The Face, parenthood, community organising and on. Each time we get a sense of where dance was in her life, from infant school tap and ballet, through youth club discos, funk and soul clubs, acid house, 90s superclubs, drum’n’bass, dubstep, UK funky and into the myriad of jazz-adjacent fusions of the past decade.

But every step of the way it fires off backwards in time and across continents, digging into the roots of specific dance moves and styles, the functions of dancing for social groups and movements, it’s effects on the human brain. First and second hand sources are quoted constantly – from those Warren shares specific memories with through keystone musicians and promoters to academics and scientists with insight into the dance.

In this way, it feels very similar to Jude Rogers’s The Sound of Being Human from last year, which also used memoir as a springboard to examine the science and social function of music. But where Rogers was looking the echoes and abstractions of memory, Warren keeps the focus tightly on physicality – of experiences and the building blocks of culture passed from hand to hand, body to body. And her language has a deeply satisfying physicality to match, as in “Our gestural polyphony changed the temperature, too, heating venues up with human-generated humidity.”

Despite its omnidirectional approach, this core keeps its momentum like a groove running throughout, and it really works on all its intended levels – and simply as a polemic in favour of dancing, whether in clubs, at home or professionally. Looking at subcultural evolution through the dancer’s lens – reminding us, for example that some of the most crucial dance musicians like A Guy Called Gerald and Shut Up & Dance were trained, even professional dancers – provides endless vital insights. And Warren’s phrase making provides plenty of pithy reminders of her fierce sense of purpose. “Culture matters when everything else falls away,” she says. “You can’t eat culture and it doesn’t pay the rent, but it does provide pride and history, which are useful starting points for recovery.”

#dance music #dance culture #memoir #books #book reviews

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randomvarious · 6 months

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Today's compilation:

Virgin's 21st Anniversary Sampler 1993 New Wave / Alternative Rock / Progressive Rock / Alternative Dance

Pretty essential listening here if you want a quick and dirty rundown of one of the most important independent record labels in the history of contemporary and popular music. Chronologically woven, this one-CD, UK-released 21st Anniversary Sampler from Virgin Records tracks the label's growth and evolution in 18 songs, beginning in 1973 with Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells"—which also served as the theme music for The Exorcist—and closes out in 1991, with an offering from the phenomenal and innovative electronic-new wave-synthpop group Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark. Can't say I'm too fond of the track that was chosen to specifically represent them, though.

Truth be told, billionaire business magnate Richard Branson may be a tax-evading ass who's like a baby boomer version of Elon Musk—although a lot less abhorrent in many ways—and his seemingly heartfelt desire to help rid the world of its existential crises seems to often be at odds with his own practice of hyper-capitalist entrepreneurialism, as well as his extravagant lifestyle. But still, like him or not, before there was Virgin Airways, Virgin Megastores, Virgin Mobile, and all of his other many, many ventures, the guy definitely had an ear for good music. And Virgin Records ended up marking the highly successful start of his quite absurd and sprawling business empire.

So, with this release, you definitely will not be getting a full representation of Virgin in its first 21 years, as it's missing contributions from quite a lot of people, including the Krautrock bands that fueled a lot of the label's initial success, like Can, Tangerine Dream, and Faust, and essential new wave and synthpop groups like The Human League and Culture Club too. But be that as it may, when taking on the nearly impossible task of boiling down this label to just 18 songs, this CD still definitely goes, and it really shows just how large Virgin managed to get and how impactful their roster was on music in general.

Virgin had originally started out as a relatively small enterprise, but after being able to nab such a controversial act as The Sex Pistols in '77, things only proceeded to grow from there, and they then ended up becoming quite a force for British alternative, prog, and new wave, with bands like Genesis, Madness, Simple Minds, and XTC leading the way. Following the dissipation of that era in the late 80s and early 90s, they then landed acts like Soul II Soul, Lenny Kravitz, and Enigma too, whose own early successes of "Back to Life," "Let Love Rule," and "Sadeness," respectively, showed that Branson had developed a label that had clearly been built to last and could adapt to popular music's changing and expanding landscape, all while managing to maintain a certain air of alternative coolness—despite the cringeworthy "21 year-old virgin" joke that comes along with this album itself 😒.

Highlights:

Mike Oldfield - "Tubular Bells (excerpt)" Roxy Music - "Love Is the Drug" Sex Pistols - "Pretty Vacant" XTC - "Making Plans for Nigel" Phil Collins - "In the Air Tonight" Madness - "Our House" Genesis - "Mama" Simple Minds - "Waterfront" Public Image Ltd. - "Rise" Peter Gabriel - "Sledgehammer" Soul II Soul - "Back to Life" Lenny Kravitz - "Let Love Rule" Enigma - "Sadeness"

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borisbubbles · 1 year

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Eurovision 2022: #10 - #6

10. UNITED KINGDOM Sam Ryder - “SPACE MAN 2nd place

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Decade rank: 18/79 [above Last dance, below Je me casse]

UP IN SPACE MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN

There are moments I forget Sam Ryder and Space Man are real things that happened. A good song representing Union Jack colours, by an influencer who looks like a labrador superimposed onto the face of Janice the muppet through deepfake software. Are we sure this was not a fever dream? 😳 Are we sure this is the BBC ?

So uh yeah, the UK had a pretty good entry last year. 🙂 At last, a British hopeful who isn’t embarrassing right out of the gate and could unironically be described as enjoyable. If The UK were winning a jury vote any year, then 2022 was that golden opportunity.

The crazy part is that they did AND it felt earned? “Space Man” is so unequivocally British-sounding. The score effortlessly conjures up that unique Brit-rock vibe that we know from Queen, David Bowie, the Beatles, and turns it into something that sounds like a clarion of triumph thundering gloriously over the Turin 2022′s remaining proceedings.

I feel like Space Man’s inherent sense of achievement and of victory - despite the lyrics dealing with the dark side of success and the return to the simple life - (you know i love a clever lyrical contradition) made so many people flock to it. There WAS some lameness to be found (”searched around the universe / been down some black holes” did the songwriters look at grindr bio’s for their material?) but overall Space Man stood up as the rare Good UK entry.

So if you have all that empowerment jazz in your song, you need a good act to bring it out? Fortunately, the BBC for once did well there too. As soon as I saw they had built a spacecraft out of scaffholding (clever lateral staging btw), had stuffed in Ryder into a swarovski-studded leotard and forced him to perform a cheesy guitar solo I knew. I knew they had managed to summon the spirit of Ziggy Stardust to bless Ryder with winnerness and that he would steer his rebar rocket into a top finish. And so he did.

Now, as for my reservations because I have a few

One, Ryder. Yes, Ryder had the best vocal out of anyone this year, period. I have no doubts he’s a genial young man too. Cool if you care about these things. I however do not, because I don’t find him charismatic. 🙂 First of all, he does fucking look like a deepfake what the hell is up with that? Secondly, the adlibs. Normally I like it when contestants go full ham but here I find it irritating. Space man is good and doesn’t fucking need embellishment. Therefore the adlibs must be some kneejerk instinct Ryder inherited from his influencer days, which ew. The BBC have taken Ryder out of the TikTok but they have not managed to take TikTok out of the Ryder.

Two, The Social Media Craze. You already know I feel about that stuff and how it interacts with Eurovision, although I mind it not so much here - Space Man came fifth in the televote and not first (and thankfully, also not seventeenth), and was also adopted by the radio stations ahead of its viralness. Also Space Man went less viral than Snap. Its popularity was a natural evolution. All of these things are preferable when you’re solidly into “Good Not Great” territory. 🙂 Still, any mileage derived from braindead spyware apps is a sin on principle, so ::ding::

Three, Irrespective of anything else I’ve written above, I’ve always solidly liked, but never fully loved Space Man. This applies to both the song and its staging. I don’t mind that it got second, but it did beat better entries while doing so. Eleven months later I still feel that way, and as we go forward in this ranking, it has to leave within this update. If I have to choose who to rank higher between an annoying influencer with a good song and a bunch of lovable randoms with clown fiesta music, the randoms always win!

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09. IRELAND Brooke - “That’s rich” 34th place

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Decade Rank: 16/79 [Above Destiny, below Natalia Gordienko]

NO TITLE SCREEN?! ROBBED!!!! RIGGED!!!

God I wanted it for Brooke, I really, REALLY wanted it! In the same vein as Ryder, finally an entrant for Ireland that isn’t a walking cringe, or a dead on arrival lamus or an offensive sap. Finally an Irish entry that isn’t fucking HOPELESS. (um ignore that I believed in Maps until it crashlanded into last place lol)

But of course, less hopeless than the average Irish entry only meant "another solid NQ, just not in last place this time”. lol. 😥

I greatly enjoyed Brooke though. Here’s yet another flawlessly flawed combination of song and singer, united in holy floptrimony. “That’s rich” is a trash baby of the finest camp qualité, and at least half of its sassy vernacular belongs in an Almanac for All Time Eurovision lyrics. LOSER LOSE YOUR ATTITUDE I’M DOING GOOD YEAH THAT’S ON ME and BYE BYE FOOL are and will forever be a part of my brain-to-post jargon from this Brooke onwards. Me and the friends even conjured up a French version called “C’est Riche” which is the ultimate high honour you can get, as I’m sure you’ll agree.

The way Brooke and That’s Rich synergize together spoke to me. The song is very sassy and feisty and playful, whereas the singer is kind of... a dorky shrew (<3). Reminder that Brooke is a friend to all Spanish Customs Officers and dedicated enough towards maintaining that friendship to greet her Italian audiences with “OLÉ OLÉ OLÉ” . She went ALL IN on channelling ALL the emotions during her live performance. Unlike Ryder’s, Brooke’s adlibs felt genuine enough to adore. Let the GIF reel commence: ´

É, CRETIN

C’EST RICHE, J’EN AI EU ASSEZ DE VOUS

C’EST RICHE, T’AS UNE AIRE DE CLOUN

C’EST RICHE; TU N'AS QU’AUCUN CLOU

DONC C’EEEEEEEST RIIIIICHE

VA T’EN, CON 🙂

Ryder dead in a ditch. Brooke broke from her betadom to live the ALPHA LYFE on that stage and based on merit, I thought she had it. Yet almost nobody (of relevance) cared?! How? Well ok I know why (it’s eurotrash <3) but honestly how difficult was it to just penalize all the cheaters on the spot? I guess garbage like Fade to Black and River absolutely DESERVED those algoritm points!!! In the end, I can accept this outcome because WRS also served edible fun and I sorta nibbled, but Europe denied us a feisty feast here! Another year were Ireland deserved better! WILL IT EVER END?!

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08. AUSTRIA Lum!x ft. Pia Maria - “Halo” 36th place

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Decade rank: 14/79 [Above Natalia Gordienko, below Senhit]

LEMME BE YOUR HAY-LA HOOOOOOOOOOOOO

There you have it. This year’s best non-qualifier. And its journey was through Eurovisionland was WILD. 😍

Where to start? Like always and more pressingly than usual, at the selection. Imagine waking up to Austria declaring that a 20 year old Gabry Ponte protégé with no solo experience will be their rep, accompanied by something or someone called “Pia Maria”, a name that gave you zero hits if you put it through google or spotify. So of course me and the gang instantly started spec’ing whether “Pya Mariyah” was a huge untapped talent discovered through chance by Lum!x (not implausable! Janet Grogan is, after all, a better vocalist than Adele), a highly advanced neural net or Philipp Kirkorov in disguise.

Then “Halo” was released, and it doled out BpM at a faster pace than most nightcores and had an absolute word casserole for lyrics. 😍 “Philosophers like Socrates go find something to get on your feet. Go sharpen your teeth” lmfao what?!

And like that, the journey dove head-first into hilarious absurdity. WHAT IS THIS ENTRY?! This was chosen by the SAME people that bored us with Cesár Sampson and Vincent KinderBueno? HOW did ORF land on Pia Maria? Where did they find her? Did they select her via a raffle, or was she in the room when Lumix realized he needed a vocalist? Was she a random they snagged off the streets? Is she someone’s secret nepobaby? It honestly fries my brain that this was deemed a serious attempt at a qualifying entry by the fandom.

So yeah the second they had set a foot in PalaOlimpico, Pia and Luca immediately immolated themselves to death in a blaze of chaotic neutral. I hope everyone saw this coming because I sure did and relished every nanosecond of it. Pia became winded approximately 40 seconds into the performance and spent the rest of the performance running a losing race against her vital capacity.

Luca meanwhile, oh man. Pia gets a bad wrap for her vocals, and she was Not Very Good, but like what do you expect from a newbie cajoled into performing a litany of jibberish. What really took “Hayla Ho” on a ride down Hysteria Lane for me were Luca’s jubilant adlibs juxtaposed to Pia’s visible failure. Every time Pia missed a note she at least looked a bit disappointed with herself. Luca went on a fucking runner’s high with every passing beat, blissfully unaware to the hellscape forming itself around him and Pia.

He absolutely CANNOT contain himself. 😍 So much so that his voice cracks THREE SECONDS INTO HALO. 😍 The true insane asylum heights of fusedmarc were never reached, but they came sorta close.

So yeah, like That’s Rich, Halo was instantly ironic eurotrash. Unlike That’s Rich, I not once thought Halo would do well lmfao. How could anyone think that?! Its entire purpose at Eurovision was to be a great and memorable trainwreck. They passed with flying colours <3

Oh and as all great morality tales go, this one ends with Pia deleting Luca off her social media mere hours after the live performance, having accomplished her goal of getting a three-week free holiday 😍 If that doesn’t cement her as the most relatable neural net of this decade, then idk what will.

K and now for a MASSIVE leap in quality:

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07. THE NETHERLANDS S10 - “De diepte” 11th place

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Decade rank: 11/79 [above Manizha, below TBA]

🦉😂 -- S10, me.

Yep, above Manizha who was top five for me in 2021. 2022 is strangely top-heavy, where the good entries are all GREAT and the rest of the contest simply doesn’t exist.

So yeah, time to discuss a few Real Songs before the final countdown. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Eurovision is a music contest. This selectful forgetfulness is achieved when great music fails to reach the top 10! 🙄 And people wonder why juries are important. Forget the Die Togethers and Fade to Blacks of this world - THIS is sort of interpretation juries ought to reward.

Anyway, “De diepte” is kind of my jam and you may think this would make the write-up easier and you’re so so so wrong. Stien dwells deeply (ahem) in that Victoria zone where the quality is so obvious it renders further words redundant. WHICH IS PERSONAL RANKER HELL!!!

“De diepte” is not some dreck-wreck featuring several layers of mass hysteria (some of which only exist in my head <3) that I get to describe in various degrees of colourful language. "De diepte” is a song. A real song. It’s emotionally layered, intelligent, well structured and easy to listen to on repeat, and I have for several hours total. The moment RIGHT after the big note, when S10 looks almost overwhelmed with emotion and is about to cry man, I Felt That. I Felt it in my core, in my bones, in my soul. I’m not made of concrete. The contrast with Botmanda couldn’t be greater:

Now as far as my random things I specifically loved about S10 go, they include: her nom-de-plume which caused several people (including Matt 🥴) to pronounce her name as “Season Ten”, the fact that AVROTROS wanted to push a song in Dutch and then came up with a chorus that can mostly be summarized by two emojis, and of course this:

It’s not quite the Tinkara sorcery, but the intent is there, and I appreciate it.

Other than that, “De diepte” is a very good showcase of Dutch indiepop, which -living 30 km from the NL border- is a genre I know very well and fucking love. It’s what I would call A Real Song, a song that actually speaks to people and has legs outside of the contest. It’s defo something I would listen to during the off-season when i’m detoxing from ESC if it had not been ESC itself.

However, I have to also put my Big Ranker’s Pants on and make my Big Ranker decisions: When picking who I rank ahead of other entries I like roughly the same, I need to assess the contest. 2022 was light on europulp spectacle and heavy on the”“Good Musical Quality” type of entry. So in a sense, I feel like i need to prioritize spectacle over song to a certain degree. Or at least those I am able to praise with more profound terms than “this is very good, not a top 10, REALLY, Europe?”.

And on that note~

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06. PORTUGAL MARO - “Saudade, saudade” 9th Place

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Decade rank: 10/79 [Above S10, below TBA]

Ok so, S10, Maro and the 5th placer are basically three acts I like equally much, and they’re ranked based on how much I can talk about :-)

THOSE ARE THE RANKER’S RULES, SORRY! Speaking of things that rule, I present Maro: a woman who forgot to stage her song in the semi of FdC because she assumed nobody would like her and then won the final in an overwhelming landslide <3

and for good reason because “Saudade Saudade” is berry gud. Like “De diepte” i feel like its appeal is just very obvious? It’s clever, it’s emotional, it’s very well performed. It is one of those songs that would find their way to an audience even without the exposure of the Eurovision Song Contest.

That said, Maro *very* narrowly edges out S10 for me for a handful of reasons. First off, while beam sorcery is a nice staging trick, I do find the circle of wymyn powah a slightly stronger visual representation. It creates some interaction on the stage,which translates to spectacle, which translates to good television.

Secondly, the vocals: Systur’s harmonies were already outstanding. Maro and her backings are even better. Maro’s own hoarse vocals holy heck. t’s difficult to fully engage into praise because Cornelia exists and we’ll get there in the next post, but talk about a song whose rawness came alive through sheer vocal timbre. Anyone who can sing is able pull off a “De diepte”. The list of people that are capable of doing a “Saudade Saudade” is very short.

Thirdly, both songs deal with break-ups and letting go, but I find Maro’s methods more wholesome. “Saudade, Saudade” is literally an attempt at unspooling raw thoughts being put into little word blankets, and coming to the realization that the best memories and strongest emotions cannot be turned into lyrics. They exist in the heart. And that I can feel.

Ok some other little details here include Maro recruiting her former rivals Ginger Ale Lady and Woman’s Corpse Lady into her backing cabal, the fact that her fucking insta handle is or was @ItsAMeMARO and her growing disbelief that people really *truly* liked her as much as they did, and you know you have a pretty awesome contestant on your hands. Maro feels humble in a genuine and endearing way that you rarely see in Eurovision where most contestants are inexperienced, ambitious or huge fans.

Overall though, Maro runs into the same ranker curse as S10. There just isn’t much to discuss beyond the music, and the music is really darn good. Still, it’s a very positive sign that the juries recognized that by giving her 5th place (without a single 12? lol?) and countered her bad position in the R/O. In the full picture she falls a bit short for me though. 🤷‍♀️

CONGRATULATIONS TOP FIVE!!!

WHO. WILL. WIN?!

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duran-duran-less-official · 1 year

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Sometimes I genuinely forget that duran duran is an Actual Thing and not just a silly little name one of my mutuals (you <3) has. I should rly look up some of their stuff at this point shouldn’t I

What kind of music do they make?

I hope, as one of my mutuals (no idea which one!), you're ready for an infodump.

Duran Duran is a New Wave band who have been making music steadily since 1981. New Wave is a term that very loosely encompasses everything that happened after punk in the late 70s and early 80s. In the UK, Thatcher had just taken over and started running the country into the dirt - Reagan would come along in the US shortly - and the response of many artists was to use their newfangled "synthesizers" to just... have a lot of fun with it! Duran Duran's own lead singer said they were a band to dance to when the bomb drops, and that seems like a pretty good description of New Wave in general. One of their songs even includes a tongue in cheek reference to nuclear war.

What I'm saying is, if you like most 80s music that people still remember today (The Safety Dance, Bette Davis Eyes, Take on Me, the synth-heavy stuff), you will probably enjoy at least a few of Duran Duran's early songs (1981-1985)

But Duran Duran also changed up their sound a fair bit, not just in the way that you might evolve from album to album. I can't pretend that I'm well-versed in music theory enough to know all the specific sub-genres at play, but Notorious (co-produced by Nile Rodgers) sounds very different from The Wedding Album which sounds very different from Medazzaland, and Astronaut sounds more like an evolution of the sound of The Wedding Album but nothing like Paper Gods (also co-produced by Nile Rodgers, but still very different from Notorious) and it's hard to know what to recommend to people who ask!

But I'm sure I can't cover everything that Duran Duran has put out over 3 incredibly varied decades, so I'll just list my favourites by year.

Songs that Duran Duran are actually well-known for:

Girls On Film (1981) (just about SFW)

Rio (1982)

A View To A Kill (1985)

Notorious (1986)

Ordinary World (1993)

Songs Duran Duran made that most people don't know about but I still like them:

The Chauffeur (1982)

My Antarctica (1990)

Last Day On Earth (2000)

Beautiful Colours (2004?) (officially unreleased)

Girl Panic! (2010)

Paper Gods (2015)

Tonight United (2022)

#Duran Duran #ask

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lonely-soul-02 · 10 months

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Actually DOYS charted better in the US than their previous albums in the 00s! No 5 on Billboard 200 (DBTT was 12, HC - 23) - not that bad for the UK band past its prime and that was with half-arsed promotion and half-arsed everything really (I don’t like it sorry) The trend was raising. Better album with better promotion could ve done better

And it was myth that Liam didn’t let Noel be more adventurous with music - the myth perpetuated by Noel much later, in his disco years not so long ago . If you read an interview posted by Devilsrefugee some time ago I think he said in 2008 (or bit earlier) music wise he and Liam on the same page, their issues is purely personal. If you listen to the songs he wrote in that period there was nothing not “Oasis-y”, it wasn’t like he wrote disco or whatever songs and shelved them because the evil Liam made him, they didn’t exist. It was Liam who bring Death in Vegas in their studio. because he wanted the next Oasis album be different, at least in the 2000s he wasn’t against changing their sound a bit. Sooo that’s just another Noel lies. Oasis was criticized for their lack of music evolution or whatever and Noel instead of taking responsibility for it like “the chief” and the main songwriter of the band, put the blame on Liam

Yeah it was my point about Amsterdam, there was potential for the band for growth at least on the European market back then (and even the US wasn’t hopeless case), Liam wasn’t wrong

Even if they’d had a ‘better album’ as you say (what would have made it better?) with better promotion, how far do you think they could have gone in an era when rock was in decline? And they weren't Coldplay, or the Arctic Monkeys. The trend wasn’t rising. For rock as a genre, it was falling. By 2010 with a few exceptions, rock had largely given way to pop, dance and hip hop/rap. So we'll probably have to agree to disagree on that one, but that's fine, it's all opinions/speculation!

Re: Liam and Noel's musical differences. Yes, Noel lies and spins narratives to suit himself, but that doesn’t mean there is no truth in anything he says. At any rate, I think Liam's issue was less to do with not liking Noel's offerings and more to do with him trying to assert some control in a situation where he felt increasingly insecure. Saying that, would Liam have supported Noel taking Oasis ever further down the melodic pop and strings route; would he have championed Noel taking Oasis into Who Built The Moon territory? Bearing in mind that Liam has said WBTM isn't even all that 'far out' (he's right) yet he still hates it. I could see Liam wanting more psychedelia and less romantic pop to be honest.

In any case, Oasis was not the vehicle for Noel to branch out creatively, and Noel knew that. With his penchant for pop and dance and his collab with The Chemical Brothers, it's not surprising that after he left Oasis Noel turned to Amorphous Androgynous. He got cold feet on that collaboration (the divisive fan reaction to WBTM confirms he was right to get cold feet). But listen to the beautiful Ibiza infused AA Shoot A Hole Into The Sun. Can you imagine Liam approving that for the next Oasis album?

Let’s not forget that Liam’s opinion and his ‘great set of ears’ mattered to Noel. It was Liam’s opinion that Noel sought first. If Liam said a song was't good enough for Oasis, Noel listened.

This is not to say that ‘evil Liam’ made Noel shelve songs. It wouldn’t work like that. Noel was constrained by being in Oasis. Being in Oasis meant writing certain songs in a certain way for a certain crowd - you said yourself you don’t like DOYS. You’re one of many. As Noel has said, over time, the pressure to please everyone gets to an artist. I don’t believe that Noel really wanted to leave Oasis. What he wanted was a creative outlet where he didn’t have the pressure of Oasis hanging over him and time away from brotherly conflict. And Liam didn’t want Noel to have that outlet because he was understandably terrified of losing him, along with his purpose in life. Now he sees he should have let Noel have the outlet but as young man with his own issues and insecurities, he couldn’t see it then.

They were bound to have creative differences as they grew. Liam is his own person with his own ideas, of course he wouldn’t agree with Noel’s ideas all the time, of course they would disagree. That’s just bands for you. But with those two, their personal differences exacerbated any musical differences.

youtube

I adore this version and wish we could hear the whole AA album.

#ask #oasis split #gallagher musical differences

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xomby · 8 months

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tagged by my dear friend @fancy-a-dance-brigadier

3 ships- benton/yates OBVIOUSLY they’re the world to me i literally can’t even begin to explain the amount of over analyzing i’ve done to make their relationship complex and incredible, nyssa/tegan the most sickening little gutting loves on earth, 3/delgado IM SORRYYY i’m not immune to thoschei and they’re by far the best and most interesting take on it (yes i only engage in the dr who fandom at this point)

first ship ever- god maybe quicksilver/nightcrawler from x men evolution lol?? the first one that changed my life was monty/jasper from the 100 which is DARK DAYS 😅

last song- jennifer by faust 😁 bit of a faust kick again

last movie- just watched paprika w/ my sibling which was pretty cool!! before that was either la grande bouffe or rewatching el topo, i can’t remember which

currently reading- the upanishads tbh, also the orgone accumulator handbook, but i’m reading them so slowly that it barely counts

currently watching- i’ve been watching fear factor uk which is the pits but i like a bit of mindless reality tv while i make art. still trying to get through twin peaks which is great but i’m so slow at it

currently consuming- jalapeño + mango cocktail 😋

currently craving- a fanfiction/fanart driven all nighter to make me feel alive

9 people to tag- ummm uhh idk whoever wants to!!!

#ty for tagging me!! sorry for never doing these lol #doctor who #tag game

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twinsimming · 1 year

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Music Meme

Thanks for the tag @pudding-parade @puffkins2000 @enable--llamas and @joojconverts! Sorry if I’m a little late 💙💙💙

▶ Rules:

🎶✨ When u get this u have to put 5 songs u actually listen to, and publish. then, send this ask/tag 10 of your favorite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool)✨🎶

Tagging @heldhram @olomayasims @jamiegirlposts @carversims @desiree-uk @omedapixel @simsdeogloria @hurricanesims @martassimsbook @bietjie and anyone else who sees this and wants to share! No pressure 🤗

1. The entirety of RENAISSANCE by Beyoncé!! I can’t just pick one song! Every track is a hit in its own right, her vocals are INSANE, and the album has had me in a vice grip since it came out. Easily my album of the year, album of the decade, actually.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzrMYyHmLhGA9MJNeIMOPrciPVTbnk48M

2. Sharks by Imagine Dragons - I’ve been listening to Imagine Dragons since their first album (11 years ago 😵) and they’re still surprising me! The guitar is truly the star of the show on this track and the opening notes remind me a bit of MySims Agents music (my simmer brain at work!). It’s dethroned my longtime favorite song of theirs Roots as my favorite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j7twuejxvU

3. Fun At The Alley by Labrinth - Hands down my favorite male artist and my favorite song by my favorite male artist! Definitely an electronic song (there is a theme 👀) but it also feels stripped back with its percussion. It reminds me of going roller skating and bowling as a teenager. Every track he makes always feels fresh and innovative and this one is no different. Not sure how he managed to capture the essence of a bowling alley in a song, but I won’t question his methods!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPlM7AxhUjw

4. Sweet Melody by Little Mix - Another song from another group I’ve followed since their debut! This is from their sixth album Confetti and has a huge electronic dance vibe to it. Gosh there’s so much I could say about Little Mix and their music and their evolution as a group over the last decade, can you tell I’m a fan? Lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4P-WOOUPk4

5. How You Like That by BLACKPINK - My introduction to the world of K-Pop girl groups! This song gives huge girl power vibes and the beat is punchy in a way the reminds me of my era of listening to bass boosted versions of songs on YouTube. 10/10. No notes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioNng23DkIM

#non-sims #twin is talking

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manysmallhands · 2 years

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#11: New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle 12"

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Released - Nov 5 1986

Highest UK Chart Position - #56

First heard - Substance tape, 1992

It may seem inevitable now that New Order would finally record something as good as Bizarre Love Triangle, but this was really not the case: a number of things had to come into alignment to make it happen. Firstly, Bernard Sumner finally hit his stride as a vocalist. Gone was the miserable croak of early releases, seen off in the end by time and singing lessons: by 1986 he was ready to become the world weary but reassuring presence that would bolster the lives of dance curious indie kids everywhere. And though he never really became a great lyricist, by BLT he was at least no longer actively bad, putting together an enjoyable jumble that you could cheerfully sing along with, just so long as you didn’t look at them too closely (for instance, I remain convinced that, were I shot right thru with a bolt of blue every time I thought of someone, that would actually be a problem of mine). But the real star here is the sound, Sumner’s voice included, and the sound of Bizarre Love Triangle is a glorious thing.

This, again, is result of the group’s evolution: each successive single since Everything Gone Green had been an advance, a refining of the band’s synth pop angle until they finally hit on this unimprovable peak. As an electronic pop song, it’s flawless: the keyboard melody is naggingly catchy, the spring-loaded bassline provides the dancefloor energy. The synthesised choir and strings suggest a grandiosity and triumphalism that seems extremely arrogant but, crucially, doesn’t feel inappropriate. The whole thing has a strong sense of “ok, we’ve done it now lads, everyone else might as well fuck off home” about it, as well they might. I chose the Shep Pettibone mix because it’s two minutes longer, allowing you to enjoy BLT as a peerless piece of dance music as well as the sublime pop single that lies at its heart. But it doesn’t really matter either way: all paths are valid here to this most wonderful of records. Only robbed of being a massive hit by its notoriously baffling sleeve, Bizarre Love Triangle is the final boss of synthpop bangers, magnificent and undefeated. They would never top this: not on Blue Monday, not on Technique, not anywhere.

#Uncool50 #50favouritesingles #New Order #Pop #Indie #Electronic Music #Bizarre Love Triangle #80s #Youtube

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boonesfarmsangria · 2 years

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Foals: 'In the past we've wanted to satisfy all the elements...that could feel a little disjointed'

It’s the evening before the arrival of Foals’ seventh LP, 'Life Is Yours', and drummer Jack Bevan is taking a moment to let it sink in.

“It’s really exciting—it’s sort of snuck up on us because we’ve been so busy. I’ve joined all the dots and I haven’t gone home for like, three weeks, so it sort of doesn’t feel real at the moment,” he says.

Formerly a band of five friends who played frenetic, blood-and-guts math rock in the basement scene of Oxford in the early 2000s, the now-three piece have become one of the most iconic names in indie rock. Their live shows are renowned for embodying an unparalleled energy and intensity. Life Is Yours reflects Foals moving beyond their underground roots and exploring euphoric dance music, designed to transport listeners to the pleasure of summer nightlife and community—things that Foals, and the rest of the world, have pined for over the last few years.

Their lively, technicolor single ‘2001’ was written as a sonic portal to Foals’ elated youth in Brighton. There are many fond memories for Bevan and his bandmates from this time, but it’s the feeling contained within this period that they were looking to capture within the song.

“There was this excitement for the future and experiencing things for the first time. That was the kind of energy that we were tapping into when we were writing— all the possibilities that happen around live music. I remember when Yannis used to be at university, we would go and listen to records and drink wine, and then we’d go on this night out. Everyone goes off and has their different adventures, and you all meet back up at the end to trade stories.”

Across their career, there is a strong sense that Foals are always moving forward. Each album stands alone as its own unique statement. For Bevan, Life Is Yours sits in a specific place within the band’s discography.

“One of the things we talked about when we started writing was how we really wanted to make a very cohesive album. In the past we’ve wanted to satisfy all the different elements of the band, and at times that could feel a little disjointed. So there was this mutual desire to make it do one thing really well, like a lot of our favorite records—Weezer’s Blue Album, Queens of the Stone Age: Rated R or The English Riviera by Metronomy. For me, the new record is up there as one of my favorites.”

Bevan channels a new rhythmic energy on Life Is Yours, experimenting with funk-oriented beats and drum sounds fundamental to the nature of a dance record, while still preserving his own inimitable style.

“It’s some of the most fun music to play as a drummer. I just love it, but I guess there’s a responsibility on me to make it have a groove, without overplaying or underplaying it. A lot of the time when we write, I’ll spend 20 minutes playing exactly the same thing over and over, while Yannis and Jimmy try different things over the top. That kind of hypnotic groove, I find really satisfying. It’s one of those things where I think as I’ve gotten older, I appreciate drumbeats that keep the beat, and can do all the frilly stuff, but choose not to because it’s not what the songs requires.”

At the time of talking to Bevan, Foals had just wrapped up their EU/UK tour, and were days away from headlining Glastonbury, before embarking on a huge North American tour. Having not left the UK in over two years, Bevan is relishing the high of traveling and playing live again, releasing singles on the road at the same time as performing them, as well as giving fans sneak previews of songs reserved for the album’s release.

“We’ve got this totally new stage show with video screens and a proper set. I think that’s been one of the biggest evolutions for us— that step up with the live show. I think we’re just lucky that we’ve got so much material now, we can really tailor a set to do all the things that we want it to, and for it to have a nice flow. The new album was kind of written as a live record so it’s really exciting to see how that’s translating.”

Find the new album here.

#jack bevan #FOALS #life is yours #actual reading #interview

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