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fallenloverecords · 6 years

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Interview: Gentle Brontosaurus

Hi lovers! Here at Fallen Love headquarters we periodically interview people that we adore in order to shine a spotlight on our wonderful pop planet. We post all those interviews right here for your education and enjoyment.

Gentle Brontosaurus are an indiepop band from Madison, Wisconsin, USA. They are Huan-Hua Chye (ukulele & keyboard), Nick Davies (keyboard & trumpet), Cal Lamore (guitar), Paul Marcou (drums), and Anneliese Valdes (bass). Fallen Love head Harley interviewed the band through a computer. Fallen Love Records: How did Gentle Brontosaurus begin? Huan-Hua: Get ready for some band lineage in excruciating detail:

Nick and I used to be in a band called TL;DR that broke up after a couple of band members moved away, so we decided to start a new band.

We knew Paul and Jon from having played with their old band, Baristacide, and we recruited Michael to play bass for us through Craigslist.

Eventually Jon decided it was time to part ways with us and we asked Cal to play guitar. Nick and I had met Cal through a songwriting website called FAWM, February Album Writing Month.

Last year Michael moved to Milwaukee and decided to leave the band so we recruited Anneliese, whom I had met via a community ukulele club called MAUI and who had filled in on bass for us a while back for a Buffy The Vampire Slayer Musical Episode cover show we did with our friends Croaker.

And here is a curated selection of a few of our other related current or recent projects you might want to check out - we are busy individuals: Square Bombs (Paul & Jon) The Werewolverine (Anneliese) The Ferns or C. H. Lamore solo (Cal) Vowl Sounds, Red Tape Diaries (Huan-Hua) Spiral Island (Nick)

FLR: All five of you sing. Was that something planned on from the early stages or did it just discover itself? HH: We used to only have three vocalists (max one lead and one backing at any given time) but decided that seven instruments and three vocals between five people wasn't making the sound guys' lives hard enough (not to mention ours) so we added some more. It has definitely been a voyage of self-discovery. I think we'll try to streamline a bit more in the future, though, since venues almost never have enough mics. FLR: Based on your social media some people might expect you to be a comedy or novelty band. Are new listeners ever caught off-guard? Nick: Is this regarding the Facebook account where we share dinosaur memes or the Twitter account where we post things like Baha Men trivia? Early on I had our genre listed as "brony rock" on Facebook just as a joke and it’s come back up occasionally. Like the time Jimmy K, a local radio personality, had both us and The Ferns (Cal's previous band) on an episode of his show and he got his intro cards mixed up and called The Ferns "brawny rock." HH: Also we got invited to put a song on an actual brony rock compilation, which was unfortunately vetoed by other band members. Anyway I aim to keep expectations at rock bottom so that new listeners can only be pleasantly surprised when we turn out to be (hopefully) honest and charming and good. I don't usually aim for funny when I'm writing songs (although sometimes it ends up there) but I usually aim to be entertaining on social media. (I usually man the Facebook account and Nick the Twitter account). I feel it's the least I can do. FLR: Who writes the lyrics? Each song carries a real depth, like a full short story condensed into four minutes. HH: Nick and I are about 50/50 on songwriting. On the first album our old guitarist wrote one and our old bassist wrote one but I think on the new album it's more or less evenly divided between me and Nick as far as lyrics go. I think the two of us share a love for possibly ill-advised wordiness and allusions so sometimes people have been surprised to find out who wrote which songs. I wrote poetry for years before ever turning to lyrics and a few songs, like "Rabbit Test", are remnants of poems or stories or concepts I could never quite make work on the written page. N: I don't intend to give every song a narrative but in addition to FAWM in February I participate in NaNoWriMo in November. Maybe some of that bleeds over into songwriting. Storytelling does provide a way to address topics without being tied to your own perspective. I'd be kind of uncomfortable writing songs all about Nick and how Nick feels right now, especially if we might decide to have someone else in the band sing it. HH: I, on the other hand, love writing songs all about HH and how HH feels right now. Maybe this is why we have so many songs about food.

FLR: Your debut album, Names Of Things And What They Do, came out in November 2015. What was the process to get there and how has the path shifted since then? HH: That album was very DIY like our new one will be. We recorded it over a period of months in our old practice space and our old guitarist Jon mixed it. Similar approach this time around, all home recordings. It's going to be an interesting mix as some of these songs, like "Kevin Bacon", we've played for years (it almost made it onto the first album) and others, like "A Shot" or "For Emma, Forever Ago", we'd only been playing for a few weeks and had never played live before starting to record. So for those newer songs we're kind of figuring out arrangements and parts as part of the recording process. We recorded all the drums and scratch tracks live, the way we're used to playing, and are now going along and re-recording individual parts to replace the scratch versions. One of the things that's pretty interesting about our piecemeal recording process is that we often can't hear/process the cool things everyone else is doing since we are distracted at the time with our own performances. Sound balance is also difficult to get right live with five people,so there have been a lot of moments where, once you're listening to a clear recording, you go "Oh, I had no idea you had this awesome part happening here." It makes you appreciate everyone and their contributions and musicianship just that much more. FLR: Do you think dinosaurs had feathers or scales? Anneliese: Yes, and some had neither. FLR: Why hasn't Netflix rebooted popular '90s sitcom Dinosaurs yet? A: This might be a question for the Jim Henson Workshop. Fun fact: Kevin Clash, who's the voice of Elmo, was also the voice of Baby Sinclair. And Jessica Walter (of Arrested Development) was the voice of the mother. HH: I'm sure it's on the horizon since we are apparently officially in the midst of a serious worldwide franchise shortage. I will officially volunteer us to provide the soundtrack for the inevitable gritty, sexy reboot. (I mean have you seen Riverdale, the gritty, sexy Archie reboot? Anything is possible.) The theme song will be called "Nobody's Baby" and will be in the style of Julee Cruise and everyone will wear black leather jackets and white undershirts in a very sexy James Dean kind of way. Also, if you don't have a physical copy of our album, Baby Sinclair fans should check out the art on the inner sleeve. FLR: Do you ever get tired of answering dinosaur questions? Will your choice of band name haunt you for the rest of time? HH: No and no. Since we are from the Land Before Time I'm not totally sure yet what this "time" thing is but I'm sure I'll figure it out one of these days. (Sorry to the random person on Tumblr I stole that joke from.)

FLR: What's your earliest musical memory? N: The first songs I wrote were entirely MIDI, written in a sheet music editor. Sadly they were lost forever in the mp3.com buyout of 2001. I thought I had a cassette copy but I went back to my parents' house in D.C. this past summer and the cassette is gone too. After that era I started recording angsty stuff with a beat-up acoustic guitar and some ill-conceived "rapping." Unfortunately there are surviving copies of that. A: Dancing around the living room to my dad's old boogie-woogie records when I was three or four. HH: They gave us recorders in grade school because the only thing better than one five year-old playing the recorder is fifteen of them all at once so I clearly recall making some really avant-garde noise rock as part of my early musical education. Also one of our music teachers was a grad student at the UC Berkeley School of Music and wrote an opera called The Nightingale that he made us learn, like a troupe of performing opera monkeys. FLR: What song have you listened to the most this year? HH: I went to look at my Spotify stats and some of my top tracks in recent months have been: Frankie Cosmos- "Fool", Big Thief - "Masterpiece", X - "The World's A Mess, It's In My Kiss", Eux Autres - "Other Girls", and Jens Lekman - "To Know Your Mission." N: I'm also enjoying the new Jens Lekman album! Crying's Beyond The Fleeting Gales has been the album that has hardly left my car stereo this year. FLR: What's one question you've never been asked in an interview that you would love to be asked someday? HH: You are standing in front of two doors. Behind one lies immeasurable riches, behind the other lies certain death. There are two guards guarding the doors, one sworn to always lie and one sworn to always tell the truth, but you don't know which is which. What is the best song ever written, and why is it "Africa" by Toto? N: If we're ever interviewed by Nardwuar [The Human Serviette] I hope he knows that I dressed as him for Halloween once. HH: Also I think Paul and Anneliese were hoping to do a Jerry Springer-style interview someday with paternity tests and chair fights in front of a studio audience. FLR: What does 2018 look like for Gentle Brontosaurus? I know you're working on your sophomore album. N: We've started recording out at Cal's parents' barn in Cambridge, WI. You must have seen the big chart on Facebook. Once we get that released I think we're hoping to go out on tour again. Maybe reconnect with some of the folks we met on the road in 2016 or maybe play some shows around the upper midwest where we actually haven't been yet. FLR: The first album came on CD with a piece of toast. Will the new album come as a download code in a jar of jam? N: If someone bought our toast in 2015 and is still hanging onto it in 2018, I don't think jam is going to make it edible. HH: I'm not really into jam bands. Gentle Brontosaurus on Bandcamp Gentle Brontosaurus on Facebook

#interviews #Gentle Brontosaurus #scouting report #indiepop #Madison #Wisconsin

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theyellowsubmarinefanremakeblog · 5 years

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Part 11

(Cut to the Blue Meanies charging across the landscape. The sub arrives just as the Pepperlanders are preparing themselves for musical battle.)

George: There’s a war on, here.

John: Then brothers in war, to the skirmish. Must we 'ence?

Other John: Shall we 'ence?

Paul: Let's not waste anymore time sitting on the 'ence. BEATLES TO BATTLE! CHAAAARGE!

(Ringo blows a fanfare on his trumpet. They then proceed to courageously leap into the fray... and are chased by the Meanies.)

Ringo: AHH! The battle’s come to the Beatles!

(One Stormblueper brings along a bulldog.)

John: We're surrounded.

Ringo: Nice dog, though.

(As the Beatles and SPLHCB confuse the dog, cometh another song.)

SONG: Hey Bulldog

Sheepdog, standing in the rain Bullfrog, doing it again Some kind of happiness is Measured out in miles What makes you think you're Something special when you smile

Childlike no one understands Jackknife in your sweaty hands Some kind of innocence is Measured out in years You don't know what it's like To listen to your fears

You can talk to me You can talk to me You can talk to me If you're lonely, you can talk to me

Big man (yeah) walking in the park Wigwam frightened of the dark Some kind of solitude is Measured out in you You think you know me, but you haven't got a clue

You can talk to me You can talk to me You can talk to me If you're lonely, you can talk to me

Hey hey

Roar

Hey, bulldog (hey bulldog)

Woof

Hey, bulldog Hey, bulldog Hey, bulldog

Hey man

Whats up brother?

Roof

What do ya say

I say, roof

You know any more?

Ah ah (you got it, that's it, you had it) That's it man, wo ho, that's it, you got it

Woah

Look at me man, I only had ten children

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ha ha ha ha Quiet, quiet (ok) Quiet Hey, bulldog, hey bulldog

Paul: Look! Reinforcements!

John: That’s what we need. Sgt. Pepper, reinforce our music!

(And so, the final battle begins as the Pepperlanders, with the Beatles and Sgt. Pepper’s Band playing, advance.)

Cerulio: DO SOMETHING!

(Max lies down on his belly and plays dead. Frank the Stormblueper throws up his hands.)

Frank the Stormblueper: That’s it! That does it! I’m OFF! I’m done, ya hear?! I’ve had enough! I’m going back to bed! (leaves)

Cerulio: GET BACK HERE, YOU SPINELESS TWIT!

(The Pepperlanders begin to fight back against the Meanies. Cerulio whips out his pistol, points and shoots... but a flower pops out. He throws it to the ground, grabs a machine gun from the nearest Stormblueper, and opens fire, but even more flowers come out of the barrel.)

Cerulio: IT’S NO USE! THE BULLETS ARE JUST BURSTING INTO BLOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

(He then throws the gun to the ground and begins to strangle the Meanie he got it from. Meanwhile, as we see a Pepperlander playing a marching band drum and kicking a Meanie while goosestepping, Clef, Charles, Princess Pepper, Jeremy and Vannessa all jump down from the Rhapsody.)

Pepper: GERONIMO!

(They land and join the battle. A bunch of Meanies rush toward Clef and Charles, who make a run for it, but are cornered. Thinking quick, Clef grabs a large flower, cocks it like a shotgun and points it at their adversaries.)

Clef: All right, nobluey move! This thing’s loaded. I’ll let ya have it!

(The Meanies scream girlishly and retreat, while Clef twirls the flower. Cobalt runs up to Vannessa and kicks her. Her response is to take out a didgeridoo. Cobalt takes one look, then tears like heck across the battlefield, Vannessa chasing after him. A Stormblueper and a Pepperlander run towards each other, as if about to fight. The Pepperlander suddenly turns tail and flees, while the Stormblueper skids to a stop. The Meanie stops in front of a big Pepperlander who squashes him between his cymbals. A commentator watches from the sidelines.)

Commentator: Oh my GOD, this is exciting! Pepperland is on a roll, while the Meanies... (Cut to a traumatized Stormblueper on the ground in a fetal position, sucking his thumb.) Well, they’re not having much luck, there.

(Princess Pepper is confronted by a group of Meanies, one of whom has a rapier. Meanwhile, a group of Pepperlanders, led by the Lord Mayor, roll in a cannon and light the fuse. Instead of a cannonball, a cluster of music notes shoot out and blast the Meanies, sending them flying with a bowling pin sound effect.)

Lord Mayor: Wonderful!

(A crowd of Pepperlanders scatter as Shyaman drives a blue battletank onto the battlefield. He sees a discarded triangle.)

Shyaman: Ha HA! Do you really think that will stop ME?

(He attempts to run over it, but as soon as the wheel touches the instrument, BOOM! The tank explodes, leaving him sitting in a scorched crater, singed and still holding the controls. He coughs up a smoke ring. The triangle is untouched. Aboard the submarine, Coco searches for one particular button.)

Coco: This has gotta be the amplifiers!

(She presses the button. Immediately, the sub shoots upwards, leaving Coco behind. She watches as it vanishes into the etherium.)

Coco: (sheepishly) Maybe not.

(Back with Clef, Charles and Jeremy...)

Clef: Quick, put your book on fisticuffs to work!

Jeremy: Ah, yes! My tome on pugilism! It comes in most handy! The results, just dandy!

(Jeremy takes out a fighting handbook and runs up to a Stormblueper.)

Jeremy: Hello, Blue Meanio! If I may... Ahem! Left to the nostril, right uppercut, right to the eyebrow, left to the gut!

(He throws a punch, but ends up missing and running into an apple tree.)

Stormblueper: Nice try!

(The apple comes loose and falls, hitting the Stormblueper on the head and knocking him out. Ringo runs to Jeremy’s aid.)

Ringo: Jeremy!

(Jeremy looks at the unconscious Meanie and smiles. He jumps to his feet.)

Jeremy: Come on, Ringo! (skips off confidently)

Blue Meanie: RUN AWAY!

Blue Meanies: RUN AWAY!/Run!/ HAAAALLLLPP!!!

(The Blue Meanies are finally forced into a retreat as the Pepperlanders cheer in victory. Cerulio tries to rally them back into battle.)

Cerulio: Get back! GET BACK! Once more unto the breach, dear Meanies! You’re advancing the wrong way! Retreat backwards, you FOOLS!!! Get back there NOW!!! I’m not losing this nation-

(He is run over by a herd of frightened Meanies. After they’ve passed, he breaks down crying.)

Cerulio: (sobs) My kingdom for a horse! (wails)

(Who should come across Cerulio but Jeremy, who stops once he sees the miserable prince. Cerulio stops once he sees Jeremy, then dons a Slasher Smile.)

Cerulio: I think I’ll tear him up into little pieces.

Jeremy: Oh, he does, doesn’t he?

Cerulio: I think I’ll make a blue burger out of him.

Jeremy: Ha-ha, I don’t care what you think!

(Just as Jeremy is about to throw another punch, he is grabbed by Cerulio, who holds him up by the tail.)

Cerulio: Oh, you don’t, eh? We’ll soon see about that!

(Vannessa, seeing this, runs over and tries to pry Jeremy free of Cerulio’s clutches.)

Vannessa: Leave him alone, you big bully!!!

(Cerulio just snarls and throws her aside before attempting to punch Jeremy. However, the boob grabs onto the Blaumiesen’s leg.)

Jeremy: He does in truth seem quite annoyed. Some reference material, be-be-before I’m destroyed!

Cerulio: ENOUGH POETRY! I’m going to blue-pencil you, FOREVER!!!

(He succeeds in pulling Jeremy off of himself, holding him by the scruff of his neck. Jeremy reads from “1001 Ways to Defeat a Meanie”.)

Jeremy: Where ground is soft most often grows... Arise! Arise! Arouse, a rose!

(He pokes the tip of Cerulio’s nose, and in an instant, a pink rose pops up on the spot.)

Jeremy: Ah, a rosy nose??

(Cerulio, enraged, throws him to the ground.)

Cerulio: SPEAK YOUR LAST PIECE!!!

Jeremy: Piece, Peace! Supplant the doom and the gloom. (dodges Cerulio as he pounces) Turn off what is sour. Turn into a flower and bloom, bloom, BLOOM!

(So saying, Jeremy pokes the screaming Cerulio here, there, everywhere. Wherever he touches, pink roses pop up, until finally...)

Cerulio: CAAAAARRNAAAAAAATIIIOOOOOOOOONNNNS!!!

(...Cerulio is covered with flowers. He lets out a final scream upon seeing himself.)

Ringo: First time I saw that Nowhere Man… That nobody, I knew he was somebody.

John: You’re right.

Cerulio: NOT SO FAST! (holds up a detonator) Need I remind you that there are BOMBS under this land?! (The Pepperlanders look terrified.)

Vannessa: Actually, I disconnected them before I rescued Jeremy. You push that thing and nothing happens. (The Pepperlanders are relieved.)

Cerulio: ...I don’t believe you! Once I push this, we’ll all get blown TO KINGDOM COME!

(There is a dead silence. The Beatles are not really worried at all.)

Cerulio: Very well. For the honor and glory of all of WATERBLOO!

(He pushes the button on the device. Max cringes. After a few seconds, still nothing has happened. Max cracks open one eye and looks around. Cerulio looks worried.)

Cerulio: (weakly) Ka-boooooom!

(He breaks down again. The Pepperlanders cheer.)

Lord Mayor: They’re beaten! They won’t violate our land ever again!

(Suddenly, a familiar voice rings out.)

Rita: There’s been a violation here! I’m taking Old Fred to court for desertion!

Fred: Aw, Rita, I was coming back to you!

Rita: I don’t mean deserting me, Old Fred. I mean deserting that!

(She gestures to the towed Rhapsody.)

Lord Mayor: Holy crescendo! Our national monument! How can we get it back?

Rita: Pay the fine. I want Old Fred’s hand.

Lord Mayor: Right or left?

Rita: Both, in marriage.

Coco: Well, dang!

Fred: That fine’s fine with me!

(The couple turn to leave.)

Fred: Ta-ta, Lord Mayor!

Lord Mayor: Wait, Young Fred! You’ve got to conduct the victory concert! Who else could lead it?

(The Beatles come over.)

Paul: What happened to Old Fred?

Lord Mayor: I had to trade him for a yellow submarine.

Ringo: Somebody got swindled.

George: It’s back and look at Rita’s meter!

(The meter says “LOVE”.)

Lord Mayor: What a mess. Who could possibly lead the concert now?

(Cut to Clef onstage.)

Clef: Aw man, am I gonna make this introduction. Ladies and gentlemen...

(A little man dressed in brown and pink, and wearing a hat saying “OLD BOOB”, steps onstage next to him.)

Jeremy: Ad hoc, ad loc and quid pro quo...

Clef: Wh-JEREMY?

Jeremy: Yes?

Clef: You can do that, too? Why didn’t you tell me?

Jeremy: You didn’t ask!

Clef: ...Anyway! Ladies and gentlemen, playing alongside Sgt. Pepper, direct from somewhere else, where they are absolutely something else, we’d like to present our four guest soloists: our friends! Take it away, guys!

(The audience cheers, and with Jeremy conducting, two bands begin to play.)

SONG: Yellow Submarine

In the town where I was born Lived a man who sailed to sea And he told us of his life In the land of submarines So we sailed up to the sun Till we found a sea of green And we lived beneath the waves In our yellow submarine

We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

And our friends are all aboard Many more of them live next door And the band begins to play

We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

(Full speed ahead Mr. Boatswain, full speed ahead Full speed ahead it is, Sergeant. Cut the cable, drop the cable Aye, Sir, aye Captain, captain)

As we live a life of ease Every one of us has all we need Sky of blue and sea of green In our yellow submarine

We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine We all live in a yellow submarine Yellow submarine, yellow submarine

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deadcactuswalking · 5 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 24th March 2019

Top 10

“Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi is still at the top for its fourth or fifth week and really? US pop music has been getting weirder, darker and more interesting, whilst the UK is lagging behind with boring pop ballads staying at the top for no reason other than the intense label push and some kind of pseudo-emotional strength that the track seems to be emitting to people. That’s not how it’s supposed to work, it’s supposed to be the other way around. This song is just lazy and feels like a total waste of studio time.

“Giant” by Calvin Harris and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man is still at the runner-up spot this week, because, yeah, this was an insanely dry week – so much so that I may not even get to the word limit I set myself.

“Don’t Call Me Up” my Mabel is still at number-three since last week – at least this one’s good.

Tom Walker is up six spaces to number-four with “Just You and I” – I think this is the video dropping? I don’t know, I don’t care anyway, I don’t think this song is worth talking about.

Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker” seems to have some form of longevity as it moves up two spaces to the top 5 at number-five.

I’m glad Ariana Grande’s “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored” seems to be falling, down two spots to number-six this week.

Coincidentally, Ariana Grande is also at number-seven, down a position from last week, with “7 rings”.

Out of all Dave songs to increase, I did expect the most Afrobeat-influenced one to succeed into next week, and the song has grown on me, so I suppose I’m glad “Location” by Dave featuring Burna Boy is up three spaces to number-eight.

LAUV and Troye Sivan’s “i’m so tired...” is up four spots to number-nine, becoming both artists’ first ever Top 10 hit in the UK Top 40. Congratulations, but the song isn’t great in my opinion, and it’s not a surprise it charted well so far considering how accessible it is.

Oh, and Dave’s back at #10, as “Disaster” featuring J Hus is down only two spots since last week’s album bomb; I expected all of these songs to drop much more than they ended up doing.

Climbers

Sigrid’s “Don’t Feel Like Crying” has moved up five positions to #15, perhaps on its way to match “Strangers”, her last hit, which is cool because this is a great song yet not even close to the best song on her album. Oh, and Wiley’s “Boasty” featuring Idris Elba, Sean Paul and Stefflon Don seems to be doing very well, as it’s moving up 11 spaces to #22 off the video.

Fallers

Well, Sam Smith and Normani’s “Dancing with a Stranger” seems to be on its way out, as the UK chart has ruled it eligible for streaming cuts, as it falls down 11 spaces to #16. Otherwise, we have the continued falls for “How it Is” by Roddy Ricch, Chip, Yxng Bane and the Plug, down seven positions to #34 (Still not fast enough), and a surprise drop for “wish you were gay” by Billie Eilish down 13 spots to #39 off the debut. I guess that one isn’t catching on over here, which is completely understandable, the song is pretty mediocre.

Dropouts

We actually have a couple notable ones this week. Notably, streaming cuts seem to have affected “Baby Shark” by PINKFONG, sending it right out of the top 75 all the way from #34. “Hello My Love” by Westlife is also out from #38 (I’m surprised it even lasted nine weeks), and “Robbery” by Juice WRLD is out from #39 off the debut, and that’s it, so let’s talk about a song that isn’t even released yet.

FEATURED SINGLE

“Bottoms Up” – The BoyBoy West Coast

Produced by LiL Medic Beats

You was at the club / Bottoms up when I first met you

So, this song had its first verse released as a snippet in September 2018, and once the video started gaining traction due to its meme factor (The dude had a dodgy moustache and was drinking out of an empty lean cup), he released the second verse, but naturally, we don’t have the song. We don’t know if there’s a chorus, or a hook, or a bridge or even really an outro or intro. We just know that there’s supposedly a Ramriddlz remix, probably? The BoyBoy West Coast is essentially releasing his potential hit single as stems, as the instrumental was already available via LiL Medic Beats, so who knows? We might get the hi-hat pattern next week. This song, in recreated form that uses just the snippets and instrumental provided, has racked up nearly 400,000 Genius pageviews and eight million views. It literally doesn’t exist yet, or at least for all we know. It seems to be up for release soon, but I love the novelty of having a song that might chart off of snippets and TikTok memes alone, hell, he’s already done a Genius interview for the lyrics that we didn’t fully know at the time of “Release”. Anyway, the song is pretty nice, it’s oddly infectious, with that great catchy hook that lasts the whole song and it’s so joyful, especially with the guitar-lead trap-infused pop beat provided by LiL Medic Beats. Using the recreated version that features both snippets from YouTuber “Icetrocity” for a listen, I’m starting to really appreciate the lyrics, as they seem very genuine and mundane, it’s really cute actually. Basically, he sees a bartender (She was at the club) and he decides to write a song about the dreams he has with this girl, and although I have an issue with some of the lyrics, from the snippets I love his smooth vocal delivery, especially in the second verse, and there’s a couple multi-tracked female background vocals that I appreciate them adding in, it makes the song more full, and hell, I’d argue the distorted vocals from low-quality snippets makes it feel more like a voice memo or a call to this girl with all his aspirations and plans he has for her. I don’t know, it’s just a really delightful, positive song that I’m glad to see is gaining traction, albeit off a novelty. I don’t like the “Eyes lookin’ Chinese” line though, I hope they cut that out when it’s released on streaming services, and, some of them seem a tad contradictory.

Loves drugs, hates being sober (Hates being sober)

Then in the same verse...

She didn’t smoke but now she a stoner (All day)

Regardless, cute song, but let’s get to the new arrivals, including one I am glad to be talking about...

NEW ARRIVALS

#38 – “Juice” – Lizzo

Produced by Ricky Reed – Peaked at #4 in Israel

Lizzo, critical darling and American singer who has been slowly leading up a to a breakthrough hit, finally getting hers in early 2019 after her work with producer Ricky Reed paid off, and while I’m not familiar with much of Lizzo’s work prior, I’m intrigued to check it out now because “Juice” is incredible, and I mean I’m surprised it’s even here, but sleeper hits will be hits in the end and it’s not like I’m complaining. This is an 80s and 70s-influenced retro-styled funk track with anthemic guitars and a raspy performance from Lizzo that is powerful and outrageous, with a smooth pre-chorus that has her rapping and singing side perfectly co-relate and co-operate, with her bragging about her “Juice”, which is essentially everything she has to make her appealing to men, whether it’s her swag in fashion sense or looks, but who cares what it’s about? It’s a vapid song, sure, but her charismatic, energetic delivery, especially in the bridge where this man gets lost in her DMs, combined with this gorgeous instrumental consisting of not only an incredible (Albeit faint) bassline but also an excellent brass line that creeps in via the trumpets in the final chorus, makes this song feel like an anthem, especially in that chorus, which is one of my favourites of the year so far, especially with that catchy keyboard riff backing it up and the hilarious lead-up. It’s perfectly composed and Lizzo’s delivery makes it all the more special. This is fantastic, and one of my favourite songs released this year so far, I hope it gains some more traction and becomes a hit, I can see this picking up because it balances two worlds and two different demographics, that feels like a throwback but still set in a time that needs this pick-me-up of charm. The post-chorus is her repeating “Yah, yah, yeet” for goodness’ sake, how can you not love it? Check it out if you haven’t.

#30 – “So Am I” – Ava Max

Produced by Cirkut – Peaked at #7 in New Zealand

I talked in my “ZEZE” review about how TikTok is a largely music-based platform, so like any musical-related app, it’s going to have some affect on the charts when memes arise, and this is the first meme we’ve had cross over (in the UK, at least). “Sweet but Psycho” is the third single from American single Ava Max, and her first to chart in the UK, top 40 or not. The song’s already gone to #1 in pretty much all of Scandinavia, so combined with the TikTok meme and a Snapchat filter, this was going to land here at some point, but is it good? Well, it’s Gaga, I can tell you that. Comparisons have been made to The Fame and I can’t deny there’s a lot of similarity here, especially with her voice, the content and the electronic groove in the production, which is surprisingly minimalistic for this type of song, as basically everything except the funky percussion here is an airy synth, and yeah, it does feel kind of empty in that regard, and you could argue it’s a little bit too derivative, but for what it is it’s pretty catchy and that abrupt Chainsmokers-ish vocal drop in the bridge is also pretty cool, to be fair, so I guess I can’t be too mad about it. It’s alright in the end, but I wouldn’t exactly recommend this to anyone who’s heard a lot of this type of slick, polished dance-pop.

Okay, enough playing, “So Am I”, her second UK Top 40 track; this is Ava Max’s last hit with more inoffensive subject matter that still feels like a complete retread of everything we’ve heard before from this brand of dance-pop, and a oddly shaky vocal performance from Ava Max herself. The whole ordeal feels just as plastic as her last attempt, and I hope Cirkut and Ava Max learn their lesson from copying your last hit and pasting it onto a different drum pattern by having this follow-up fade into obscurity.

#23 – “Here with Me” – Marshmello and CHVRCHES

Produced by Steve Mac and Marshmello – Peaked at #3 in New Zealand and #75 in US

This is how we’re welcoming back CHVRCHES to chart success, with a dumb Marshmello EDM-pop track that I feel we’ve heard before? Okay, well, this is CHRVCHES’ second top 40 hit over here and their highest-charting song ever, Marshmello’s fifth and I feel like Marshmello is just wasted talent. He’s shown he can make legitimately great songs in the powerful “Silence” with Khalid and fun trap tracks like “Everyday” with Logic, but he’s been trying out new musical ideas and playing with them for a while now, especially in 2019 where he’s made a dubstep song with some producer, as well as collaborating with several Indian musicians for a single that... didn’t even chart in India? Since not even Roddy Ricch or Juicy J with freaking James Arthur has been successful for him recently, he went the “Happier” route and made a generic dance-pop song with the lead singer of an indie rock band that have enough indie cred to be considered indie but enough hits to be considered pop, and honestly he can stick to making awful dubstep with Indian dudes because this formula is getting tiring. You have some guitar strumming with trap percussion and a watery build-up that leads to a weak synth-drop that feels sort of cluttered but equally catchy, as Lauren Mayberry performs either some vocal riffing or repeats the chorus a bunch of times over it, with the song not being able to feel as big as it really wants to be, mostly because of the restrained trap percussion. There, I’ve given you a description of what I think about every single Marshmello song, do I not need to talk about them anymore? – Because they suck.

Conclusion

This should be obvious, right? Lizzo gets Best of the Week for “Juice” while Marshmello and CHVRCHES bag Worst of the Week for the formulaic and frankly sickeningly manufactured “Here with Me”. I hope to God something interesting or even just better comes along next week, because following UK charts has started to become somewhat exhausting.

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almcstalways · 6 years

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big brother (20)

carlson young fc -- aubree williams, 22. “the social butterfly.” one of five children, the second to last, and youngest girl. the “mom friend”, always knows what you need even if you don’t. she can get anyone to smile, mostly because she doesn’t stop talking until she’d satisfied she’ll leave someone in a better mood than she found them. applied for bb because it was one of the shows she and her family always watched together.

francia raisa fc -- audrina gonzales, 24. “the fighter.” audrina was always a tomboy growing up, and was known to pick fights with people, especially bullies. audrina lived with her aunt and never knew her parents. she has two half siblings on her father’s side who she’s met in passing but since her father didn’t want her she doesn’t have a relationship with them. she played lacrosse in high school and college. known as the fighter bc she never backs down from a fight.

selena gomez fc -- carina torres, 19. “the runaway.” carina dealt with abuse from her parents growing up, and when she was sixteen she ran off on her own to get away from it all. ever since then she’s been running. she never thought she’d be on bb because it seemed so different than something she’d like to do, but now she’s nervous about her family seeing her again.

lucy hale fc -- cassidy peabody, 23. “the journalist.” cassidy grew up all over, the daughter of a military officer father. she never knew her mother, who died when she was four years old. her father doesn’t like to talk about it. cassidy went through military school, but when it came time to follow in her father’s footsteps she chose different for college, and wound up studying journalist. she’s always got a pen and pad with her--just in case.

bridgit mendler fc -- charlotte paul, 22. “the broadway star.” lottie grew up in new york city, her mother was a broadway star and the blonde always dreamed of following in her footsteps. she spent all her free time as a kid running back behind set and watching rehearsals. as soon as she had the opportunity, lottie was on that stage living her life as she wanted to. and she’s been doing it ever since then.

nina dobrev fc -- evangeline “eve” reed, 25. “the beauty guru”. evangeline, or “enviouseve” as she’s known on the internet, started her youtube channel when the site first aired. originally she would talk about makeup and such, but her channel grew into vlogs and rants and such. she has over 4 million subscribers to date. she’s the mother of three children; olivia (8), julian (8), and ava (3).

zoey deutch fc -- isadora jones, 21. “the spitfire.” isadora was always the person to have a witty comeback. she’s an only child, unless you count the four dogs she grew up with too. she always started fights with people and could never be convinced that she was wrong. she speaks her mind and doesn’t care who tries to stop her.

jamie chung fc -- kelly-anne cho, 25. “the diva.” growing up in beverly hills she kelly was always the center of attention. she was always obsessed with being the best, but she’s a compulsive liar. she likes to talk about the things she’s done, but she keeps a wall up and doesn’t say anything real.

zendaya fc -- noah barnes, 21. “the mystery solver.” middle child. her older brother is 33 and her younger sister is 7. grew up in a house where her mother was a part time jazz singer, part time waitress and her father was a lawyer. noah was always a popular girl; head of the school’s dance team. she also used to solve mysteries a la nancy drew.

natalia dyer fc -- rosalie jenkins, 19. “the preacher’s daughter”. everyone assumes she’s from the “perfect home” due to who her father is, but it’s far from true. her mother ran off when she was a baby and her father’s an alcoholic. she spent the last year and a half undergoing treatment for leukemia at a children’s hospital in TN. applied for bb the minute she was cleared. doesn’t want to tell anyone about her cancer. ------------------

joe keery fc -- aiden nichols, 24. “the prom king.” aiden was the most popular guy in his high school. he was the star baseball player and a track and field guy too. he was prom king two years in a row (his junior and senior year). but when he got to college he was no longer the popular guy he once was. aiden struggled in college, keeping up with his grades and eventually dropped out. he works at his uncle’s store in his hometown, and hopes that coming on the show will help him regain confidence in himself.

avan jogia fc -- amir mitchell, 25. “the ticking time bomb.” amir was born to an immigrant mother and a city boy father. he’s the only boy with three sisters younger than him. he’s an observer and always knows what’s going on but is hardly ever involved. no one knows when he might explode.

ross lynch fc -- bowie jordan, 18. “the mama’s boy.” bowie is the youngest son to his single mother. his older brother is off in the navy and bowie is attempting to take care of his mother, who’s sick. he joined the show in hopes of winning the money to help his mother. he’s a sweet boy who’s stronger than he looks, but promised his mother he wouldn’t lie to get ahead in the game.

thomas doherty fc -- cayden dean, 19. “the black sheep.” cayden was always the black sheep in his family. all his brothers were popular and sporty, while cayden always found his way toward music. he never thought he fit in in his family. and eventually stopped trying to prove that he was one of the guys, because his family would only make fun of him. he didn’t even tell them he was going to be applying for bb, only announcing it when he was leaving for the show

harry styles fc -- derek kline, 20. “the model.” derek was always a pretty boy in school, when he told his father he wanted to be a model he was thrown out. his father thought that being a model meant that his son was gay, and there was no way mr. kline had a gay son. at 17 derek was on his own, living with one of his friends and getting a part time job to get on his own two feet, with the occasional help from his mother sneaking him money. derek launched his career after being discovered in a mall with a cologne ad. he’s one of the most notable print male models to date.

tom holland fc -- jackson wells, 21. “the smartie pants.” jackson graduated high school at fourteen and went on to college at 15, graduating when he was 19. for the past year and a half he’s been working in a lab with his university, but he’s decided he wants to have some fun. which is why he auditioned for the show on a whim.

justin bieber fc -- maxwell “max” evans, 22. “the wannabe cassanova.” max always thought he would make it big in his teens. he was a heartbreaker in school, never having a steady girlfriend. he used to drive for hours to get to LA to go on auditions for shows and movies, but he never once made it. he’s hoping by being on the show he’ll get some recognition and launch his career.

tyler blackburn fc -- oliver quinn, 25. “the musician.” oliver is a selfless musician. he focuses on everyone elses needs but his own, and often finds himself giving his last dollar to buy coffee for the homeless person on the corner. he’d rather help someone else than help himself. it doesn’t help that he’s a musician in the big city, keeping up his job at a local bar by playing four different instruments--piano, guitar, drums, and trumpet.

john boyega fc -- stephen peters, 24. “the nervous nelly.” stephen has always been afraid of stepping out of his comfort zone. he was made fun of for being a nerd when he was younger, and kept to himself to avoid the popular kids. he’s always loved the show, but never thought of himself on the show--in fact, his audition tape was pieced together by his mother and younger brother who thought it would be a good idea for him. he’s awfully nervous and often stutters when he speaks.

nico torotrella fc -- tyson “ty” vaughn, 27. “the identical twin.” ty is the oldest of two children, identical twins. he’s always been known to be the more outgoing twin, until his brother tyler “ty” was on bb last season, nearly winning. this year tyson has come on the show with one catch--everyone thinks he’s his twin brother tyler.

#( meet the muses: big brother !! )#( meet the muses !! )

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