loossemble first mini first listen rank lets go!!!!!! fighting my babies!!!!

real world - GIRL??? TRUMPETS?? CLASSICAL??? OH VIBE YES HYEJU OOOOH NOW WERE RNBING THIS LETS GOOOO oh this is the VIBEEE right here HYUNJIN LOW NOTESSS GO OFFFF

Colouring - ok scifiiii OKAY BEAT COME IN OH YEAH BABYYYYY THIS IS A VIBEEEEE yall need this in yalls lofi studying rnb playlists im NOT kidding oh i bet hyunjin was so happy to get this chorus SHE SOUNDS SO GOOD

sensitive - i LOVE IT!!!! i was so anxious but it's bouncy and bright and it suits their voices very well i love how they mix up the chorus as well i LOVE the chorus! it's appropriately sentimental but also SO FUN!!! im SO PROUD of them!!!!!

day by day - BEGINNING??? FUCKING ROCKS?? thats a txt production whattt oh that synth in the back OH THE DAY BY DAY !!!!! WHAT A CUTE PROGRESSION!!!! again this is SO txt they have a song just like this

newtopia - i love how even though they're bright they're not all in your face oh i LOVE how they sing that chorus!! new new new topiaaaaa is SO satisfying it gives it such a special vibe

strawberry soda - LETS GO YVES PROD oh the joint singing!!! SO CUTE AHHH CUTE CHORUS?? what a happy cute song i love the bridge

intro: searching for their friends - THE STRINGS????? cannot dethrone love & evil but it's RIGHT BELOW it

i think they utilized them very well they really made use of those things we knew they could do well (the adlibs, for example, which they have the perfect voices for) and amplified those things that could've worked against them in other types of songs but which are well at home in this album, like the bounciness and breathiness of their voices. The elements they added also kept everything so fresh! the classical sample for example was well utilized and recurrent. and they kept this sci fi ish element popping back up in certain synths ALL THEIR INTROS WERE VERY GOOD??? i really think they did very well

verdict: STREAM IT!!!!!!! ITS SO GOOD???????

ttpd review: thoughts (and prayers)

cuz wtf was that. (also providing my two cents that no one gives a shit about)

Is the promotion in the room with us?

Not going to lie, this part pissed me off. As a post evermore release swiftie, the first album release I got was midnights. And while the promotion for midnights wasn't astoundingly genius, the track list release (midnights mayhem with me) was smart. Everyday, there would be chaos all over social media of taylor taking out a number and releasing the track name. The excitement over YOYOK was to die for. But after reaching peak fame, girlie just decided shit wasn't necessary anymore. Absolutely no promotion for ttpd, except a few lyrics that provided no context (or excitement) whatsoever. That, and the very non subtle "hinting" of some big reveal of what went down between her and joe, by making some playlists, that not only ruined the perspective of many of her fans and the relationship they had with her previous songs, but ALSO. THE ALBUM HAD BARELY ANYTHING ABOUT JOE. (Not that i personally care about what happened, but it was so unnecessary to center the ONLY promotion done around someone who was barely a part of the album). Swifties went on the internet to harass joe alwyn (and his female coworkers) who might as well be called a special mention on a matty healy album. Why even do all that then? We will never know.

Confusion?

taylor released 31 songs, and while a double album theory coming true would be a dream come true for any swiftie, it just... wasn't. Out of 31 songs, barely 10 stood out. Some of it just didn't make sense, in any way. "Why is this on the album?" "This sounds like a midnights vault track." "No issues, maybe this is just a skip. I'll listen to the next. Oh wait nvm. Um." Like girl what. It just feels like a giant vault album of synth pop music.

Also, it's called the tortured poets department. There is barely anything poetic or tortured about the album aesthetic. Except maybe it's torturing me, but I'm as much of a poet as she is, which basically means I'm not one.

The album just feels so different than the other albums, in the sense that they followed an aesthetic, a certain style of music and lyrics, and created some sort of story. This one just feels like she wrote many songs and put them all on an album, picked whatever track name seemed interesting enough as the album name, and called it a day. Some of the songs are gems, some create a confusion as to why they are on this album, and some just make you cringe- or atleast go "wtf". Which is fine, but if not even half the songs fall under the first category out of 30 songs, then it's a problem.

These were written by... taylor?

The lyrics omfg. I'm not going to be one of those ppl who go around saying that the lyrics sounded like an emo middle schooler (I've heard this take) BUT again, some songs have lyrics that make you question how taylor, someone who wrote the albums folklore and evermore, and many great songs like would've, could've, should've, story of us, all too well, fearless, white horse, dbatc, daylight, red... I could keep going tbh, produced...this.

It was very weird to listen to the words "tattooed golden retriever" from someone who wrote "handsome, you're a mansion with a view" (also who the FUCK is calling matty healy that??)

A very important part of taylor's music is how it is focused on the lyrics. The music itself isn't the most special, or different, in most of her songs, but what makes them (and her) special is her songwriting. However, from her songwriting going from commonly used phrases and idioms to make them tell a story, use a wide range of vocabulary, heavily using personification, allusion, transferred epithet, and a few other figures of speech that she uses in her songs to make elements such as colours, for example, tell a story, in a way it seemed effortless and fit perfectly, to this... now it feels like she's trying to do that, but that's it. She's TRYING, and it's not yielding results, and seems more like a try hard "poet" rather than... whatever she was going for. The songs are filled with self-satisfied "clever" metaphors that are being reused and recycled over and over. This is not what ppl meant when they asked you to be more environmentally friendly, taylor.

Final thoughts I guess?

While the songs are basically only an empty shell of something that taylor used to make, the album isn't all bad. Some of the songs do sound good and go well with taylor's voice (aaron dessner, the fucking legend you are) and are quite enjoyable, if not as memorable as her other songs.

There are songs such as the prophecy, clara bow, so long, london, loml, guilty as sin?, etc., that really do come through and honestly I really like them.

I do feel that the album can grow on people, but it's just... not the best. Like she says so much, and not to quote taylor swift, but genuinely the only thing in my head right now is "the more you say, the less I know".

Overall, the album is fine, but not in taylor swift standards. It's just... not bad, with some exceptions.

[Start ID. A digital drawing of Minos Prime from Ultrakill, who's wearing a strapless slit dress and sandals of the same deep purple. He faces towards and slightly to the right of the camera, his head is tilted further right. With one hand he gestures in a vague pointing motion, his arm folded and held close to his body. There is nothing in the background, but bracing himself on one arm, Minos is implied to be leaning against something about the height of a countertop. The background is a blank purplish black, save for three diagonal stripes in the colors of the bisexual flag. End ID]

Shading study that quite literally came to me in a dream two weeks ago, after this post apparently beamed itself into my mind

(also a few edits below the cut! they're very slight but whatever :])

[Start ID. Three different versions of the previous drawing. The first changes the tone of the lighting from blue to pink, and similarly the shading from pink to blue. The second replaces the faint black border with pink, purple and blue, syncing with the stripes in the background. The third combines both these changes. End ID]

I dunno, and I haven't read the Ascendency novels to be clear, so I can’t speak of who he was before his exile - but maybe Thrawn accepting Grand Admiral for that shitshow on Batonn sealed his fate. Maybe he wasn't the one to pull the trigger, maybe he was appalled by the needless death - he still took the promotion, even if he didn't want it. The moment he took the rank plate was the moment the blood on his hands became insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The moment where all his intentions begin to be buried by his actions.

Everyone is all about how Thrawn isn't that bad of a guy - and honestly I do agree that his character is misunderstood more often than not - but he still did terrible things with the Empire. Turned a blind eye and condoned much more with silence.

Because the fall of Nightswan and Batonn may not have been his fault - but he accepted the stain when he took his promotion.

For all you try to keep things fair, it doesn't matter if you're working in a system that is instituted to be cruel. And while Thrawn had never claimed to be a good man, and had only joined ultimately for the protection of his own people, there's something to be said of this deterioration of morality. How he doesn't understand politics, but is still shaped by the dangerous and vindictive workings of Imperial political scene, forgoing honesty for station.

Pirates and smugglers turn to insurgents and rebels. Capture turns to execute. He kills to prove a point.

He develops for the worse. For all he shapes the Imperial Navy, it shapes him all the same. I dunno. Complex character and all o that. He’s no scum of the earth true evil, but he’s no shining star either.

Beetles when they're juiced

okay actually screw them why is "It Hits Different" my favorite so far without even looking at the title

Y’all…

top five fictional characters that are butch lesbians

Im assuming you dont mean top 5 fictional canonical butches. Maybe im wrong but wtv, mixing and matching canon butches and characters who are butches to me

1. Wesley princessbride

2. Gideon Nav

3. Kit Tanthalos and Jade Claymore (2 for 1)

4. Kristen Applebees.... i have faith

5. The Knight From Belle Dame Sans Merci. I mean, look at him

@andisitover tagged me to share my albums of the year! (i'm going with nine faves that came out this year & not including rerecords/reissues/deluxe versions where the og album didn't come out this year)

i tag anyone who wants to do it (seriously pls do it and tag me, i would love to see your faves!!!!!)

okay taylor swift the tortured poets department first listen rank/review (except im only doing like. top ten bc im not ranking all that) (alternative a half hearted attempt at a should've-been selection)

the prophecy

how did it end?

the albatross

fresh out of the slammer

i can fix him (no really i can)

florida!!!

the black dog

fortnight

cassandra/robin/peter (it's the same to me - cass has the most interesting instrumental, robin's theme is cute, peter makes the most sense re: past albums)

so long london

somewhere in there is a real album and im sorry to see she fired the person who was supposed to tell her when to stop. i dunno if it's the vault tracks or her unprecedented fame that's convinced her a 31 track album was okay (it'd have to be functionally distinct to its counterpart to be a second album and as it is it's a bside at best), but the length is baffling and the songs inside are not good enough to justify.

as it is, the white side is altogether too mushed together and indistinct to hit anything but bland. in spirit, it is about four to five songs spread thin across three tracks each. so many of them could've been condensed (fortnight up to down bad lol, loml-so long london, but daddy i love him-i can fix him, etc) to a stronger effect because they either sound the same or touch on the same topic. you could conserve the three musical lines you've kept (old west pseudo country, 80s tunes, general swift ballad—which are fine! i like the old west best) and open more ground to the better part of the album, which is the folk/high school blend of the black album. it's still rife with needless tracks, but this one approximated the most to songs i would like. i do think i actually like the prophecy, but it doesn't even crack top 25 taylor tracks. the rest are in desperate need to be scraped or seriously reworked.

final verdict: girl get an editor and keep antonoff to a maximum of five for the love of god. this needed at least a year to perfect and a much firmer hand.

first listen ttpd top songs

These are songs that stood out to me (on the basis of lyrics, production, music), or songs I personally related to

In no specific order, because this NOT A RANKING

so long, london

guilty as sin?

loml

i can do it with a broken heart

clara bow

the tortured poets department

the prophecy

i look in people's windows

i hate it here

the manuscript

the bolter

imgonnagetyouback

special mention: so high school (the lyrics are kinda cheesy, but I love it and has the same vibe as stay stay stay (which also had cheesy lyrics but it's so sweet and cute))

ranking billy joel album covers (what i think are his main albums, maybe it's not what everyone thinks are his main albums? i dunno) from my least favorite to my favorite

piano man: yeah this is the only one where i actively go grr when i look at it. like i dunno man the void and how his face looks, i just can't get behind it. no thank you

the nylon curtain: when i was younger i always liked this one cus i thought it looked like a book cover, or rather i liked that it looked like a book cover. but yeah, eh

an innocent man: i dunno this one is just boring to me lol, like yep he sure is sitting on those steps

river of dreams: no it's a cool drawing and all, i'm not really sure what it is about it that it's just like something's off about it for me

cold spring harbor: while i definitely think it gives off the vibes of the album, i dunno it's just not super visually interesting to me. and honestly he looks so different here and that always throws me off too lol

the bridge: nothing wrong with it, i just can't really connect to whatever's going on here and yeah i can see the vibes but not very clearly. and i don't think the banner at the top looks very nice

52nd street: huge jump up here honestly lol. yeah i really like this one, i like the composition, i like how he's holding a trumpet (right? i know nothing about instruments actually lol), i like his blue outfit and how dirty it looks lol. i think this cover does a good job at making him look a little pathetic but like, in a cool way

streetlife serenade: it's so pretty!! i love this, i don't have any issues with it it just can't compete with the ones above it, for me personally

storm front: man i just love it, the red is great and the gray and black are so great, yeah i can't really explain it

the stranger: so cool man, like the gradients of black and white and gray are so pretty and it's just a really neat composition. it's wonderful, i guess i just feel a little stronger about the two above it. originally though i had storm front above this but yeah this one deserves to be in the top three over that one

glass houses: oh man oh man, i love this one, like i just love how he takes up the whole composition vertically and there's still so much visual interest in the rest of it but it's not too much, at least for me. and obviously how the album is glass houses and it's a glass house and he's holding a rock and you may be right (the first song) starts with a sound like glass breaking!!!! like cmon

turnstiles: not really sure if i can explain it but this is just the best one to me, i think the colors are so great and it's cool with all these people and it's just a great composition. and i like how the text looks, which like usually for these either i don't like it or i'm just neutral on it, so that's a plus. yeah i just love this album cover, i dunno

and if you've read all this you should go contact your representatives about calling for a ceasefire! and find some pro-Palestine posts to share and interact with!

?????????

my ranking of found heaven (first listen)

alley rose 

fainted love

found heaven

the final fight

never ending song

forever with me

winner

eye of the night

miss you

killing me

bourgeoisieses

lonely dancers

boys & girls

Happy poetry month! In the spirit of the month, what's your favourite poem? I'm not an avid poetry reader but mine is We Only Want the Earth.

Ooooh I'll have to check that one out, I don't think I've read it!

Hmmm as for favorite poem, there's a few I throw out as my top poem with frequency, but here I've got to say The Bridge by C. Dale Young. I just adore its positivity and the way it isn't afraid to be in love with the small details of life. That's just a feeling I relate with so much in my life and the whole poem is SUCH a vibe. Think I called it my idea of the world's greatest love poem in an essay once (which is def A Claim which idk if I'd fully back up now but the vibes are there) because it isn't just a poem about being in love with someone, it's loving everything they do and everything around you and loving just the world as a whole and how you see it everyday. Its such a vibe fr

Just- THIS !!!! ^^^^^^

1. can't go back, baby

2. one of the girls

3. rush // got me started

4. still got it

5. how to stay with you

6. what's the time where you are?

7. in my room

8. honey

10. silly