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pluviophile-bookworm · 3 years

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HSMTMTS 2x11: Let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents... the reason for my next mental breakdown

I can't believe myself, honestly. Oversleeping on the one day of the week that I've got something exciting to wake up for? Oh well, I'm up now and I'd better go ahead and do this before my dashboard has showered me with spoilers. I mean, I have never really minded spoilers, but when it comes to this, somehow I do. Though I do wish something had forewarned me about last week's snap ending (get it, 'snap'... I'll see myself out). I'd better dive in already.

Yes, Mr Mazzara, that's what I've been saying for a while! Ok, maybe I haven't been very vocal about it, but it was in the foreground of my mind that they should have asked for Mr Mazzara's help re: transformation! I'm just glad he pointed it out. Not that he could have done much while he was busy playing therapist for his beloved Miss Jenn. Oh well.

Were those Ash and Ricky doing actual paired-up warmups? That is what they should have been doing for weeks now. That and having actual off-stage interactions, too. But I still subscribe to the theory that the gang had some good rehearsals off-screen — otherwise there's no way they could have been this good on stage as we saw in the previews. I said it last time and I'll say it again — not everything is for us to see.

Wow. The one time our leads are in unison, and it is about both being injured. The East High drama club must be cursed — they can't have one production run smoothly and without what can only be described as pure unbridled chaos.

They don't have any understudies? That explains some things... but also how? But also, I'm so happy Ashlyn is going on. No way she would have missed her first (first of many, right?) chance of being the lead because of some 'minor' injury.

Ricky and Nini still can't talk to each other properly. Oh well. Take your time. It's not like I care about this pairing anymore.

Did EJ just use the word 'dig'? Boy, the boy's got it baaaaaad. Also, what is it going to take for these two to realise they're in love? For all we know, they might have that big kiss we're all dreaming of and still be like 'nah, it's nothing, we're buddies'... give me a break! But I mean, at this point they might just be turning into Redlyn 2.0, where even a kiss doesn't define things. But hey, if they do follow in Redlyn's footsteps, that only means good things in their future, right?

What did that fake French git do to my boy Carlos? He's not supposed to look this inanimate until right before the climax of the play! Well, I mean, at least Seb serving as his interpreter means that Seb gets more lines for a bit. Too bad he can't go on for someone with more lines in the play.

Miss Jenn's 'words of inspiration' were less than inspired... yeah, this show's going down. Or it would, if it depended solely on her. Let's hope the kids do better. I mean, I know for a fact they will... at least for about 5 minutes of the thing. There is still room for things to go wrong and I'm scared.

Oh, my sweet boy... I wish I could jump in there and do something to help him feel less nervous. Thing is, if I were there, I'd probably be the most nervous of them all, even if I were playing Townsfolk #3 or something, and everyone's nervousness would rub off on me, and I would be making things worse instead of helping. So yeah, I'm kind of glad I'm not there.

Ahhhh who called it? @redlyncentral was it you? Ash got flowers for her Biggie! And there's a card whose contents we've yet to see. But that doesn't seem to be helping either. My sweet, sweet Reddy... I hope and pray he'll be alright.

Well this is awkward! Who told Mike to show up and shake everything up right now? Miss Jenn is literally on the brink of exploding, and now she's stuck in this completely unnecessary love triangle. She needs some space. And a quiet place to breathe, thanks Mr M for suggesting it.

'Did we forget to build a mote around the school or...' Yeah, you tell her, Rick! That girl whose name I never want to pronounce (because it makes me think of much nicer people and she's making me hate it) has no business being there. She's not... being given a redemption arc, is she now? Some people just don't deserve it. And if hating her is an unpopular opinion now, well, I never did care much about having popular opinions. I can live with that.

'Lily, scram!' Yes, thank you, Natalie! I've always wanted someone who would voice my thoughts in a way that the characters can hear them. Make this girl a main next season, won't you? (Just so we're crystal clear, I mean Natalie, not the other one.)

OMG Mr M is in the play! In a way... I love that!

I love, love, love the way they did the prologue. 'Repulsed [the prince makes an over-the-top gesture of repulsion] by her haggard appearance [the witch shows off her face to the audience]...' I love this. I would pay a lot for a chance to see their entire play, you know?

Oh dear, somebody give my boy Reddy some sort of... medical aid against all the throwing up! I've got a nice pill that helps me with my bad cases of motion sickness. Hey, so maybe I could have helped if I were there after all. Great, now I feel bad. But also, is all the throwing up an excuse on the writers' part to keep my boy off-screen for the majority of this episode? Because it's a really lame excuse.

Gina's 'Many questions' continues to be a mood. What exactly is Miss Jenn expecting from the kids? Last-minute adjustments? No way. This spells disaster.

Was Carlos on vocal rest or something? Because he shines like the star he is... despite all the very obvious nervousness backstage. I mean, I wouldn't have it any other way, but... oh well, I wouldn't say it's unrealistic. In my personal performing experience, the most nervous ones perform the best. (So... what is that saying for my boy Reddy? Good things only.)

I've already had the opportunity to geek out about Be Our Guest yesterday, but... I mean, just look at them! Carlos doesn't need actual candles to be on fire, Ashlyn is stealing the scene without any lines in it, Gina is absolutely gorgeous, and don't even get me started on EJ and Big Red looking at their girls in absolute awe! This is everything!

Aww, look at them! Gina and Ashlyn dancing together, I mean. They're sisters and it really shows. And I love them both so much.

Kourtney is an absolute show-stealer! I'm still upset about some casting choices (one of them is in this scene, doing his absolute best with the crumbs he has been given), but she is absolutely perfect. I think I'll rewind and watch this entire scene again before moving on with the rest of the episode.

I'd just like to point out that Frankie's voice in his lower register is everything!

'You absolutely dusted that stage'... Not EJ making a pun so punny even I could not have thought of it... boy is absolutely smitten!

Not me tearing up when Jordan Fisher appeared as Gina's brother... like, I knew it was happening — I knew it even before it was announced. And I still teared up because, well, it's emotional in-universe and out.

Awww, my boy Reddy is so in love with Ashlyn... I mean, who wouldn't be... but — not Ricky saying Lily might not be as mean as they thought. Especially not to Big Red of all people. To him, she was just as mean as they thought.

'Side hustle project in the south hallway'? Ooh, what is it, I want to know now!

Why do I feel like things are a bit too awkward between Kourtney and Howie? Not that I'm too invested in their relationship, but if it bothered me, imagine how it must feel for the stans.

No, Ash, you absolutely do not need to add any fancy riffs to the song! Especially not just because L... well, that girl did it. You're unique and lovely and a literal Disney princess inside and out. That girl? She's just a wolf in a sparkling golden dress.

Awww... Big Red literally lowers Ash's blood pressure! Those two are such an amazing couple! (Full disclosure, though, he kind of does the same for me too; the other night I had this horrible nightmare, and I woke up in cold sweat in the middle of the night, and then... ok, getting too personal there.) The point is, if even the fantasy of a Big Red hug makes me feel better, imagine what his actual presence would do for Ash at that moment. Where is my boy? Everyone seems to be looking for him.

Oh... guess they took my advice to give the poor boy something for his vomiting issue. Good for whoever thought of it.

And we're back to the Porter siblings... forgive me if I still can't wrap my head around calling Gina's brother Jamie. I don't know about you guys, but thanks to my lovely new friend Paz he will always be Theodore to me. I guess we can headcanon that as his middle name. Anyway, I love it that they made a joke about the hilarious height difference between him and Gina because, well, it's the only thing I can think about when I look at the two of them. It reminds me of me and my little cousin who has been taller than me since she was 10, and is still growing taller now at 13. But, I mean, it's not very hard to be taller than me, since I'm so, so short... ok, this is not about me. Moving on.

Was I the only one who actually laughed out loud at Ricky drinking from the bowl as the Beast? I mean, that part has always made me laugh in the original movie, but something about Ricky's take on it makes it even funnier.

Meanwhile, my girl Ash is absolutely killing it as Belle. Not me having the very same expression as Big Red while watching her... gosh, I love both of them so much! Also, no offence to the rest of the cast, but Julia really is the best vocalist out there. Out of all of them. I said what I said.

My apologies to Ricky, but his voice is just not it when it comes to playing the Beast. Still, with the other option being him putting on that fake deep voice from the audition, I'm glad he didn't.

Ahhhh Portwell nation you ok guys? Since we didn't get them singing Something There, this is very much the next best thing... and boy, is it good!

Those glances between Kourtney and Howie, on the other hand... what on Earth is happening there?

Ok, so you all know just how strongly I feel about Seb's casting as Chip, and yet... boy had one line and absolutely ate it up! Give him an actual singing role next time, Miss Jenn!

EJ being starstruck by Jamie not because he's a big music producer, but because he's Gina's brother... excuse me while I sob!

Excuse me, what!!!! 'A big brother figure'? Boy, this didn't turn out the way I thought it would... now I'm scared.

Way to ruin things, Jamie! And I don't even mean the fact that his name is not Theodore. It doesn't matter what his name is anymore. He might just have put a spanner in the works of Portwell, and they were just doing so well! Ugh, I'm so frustrated. I wish I'd never boarded — what did I call it — 'the majestic S.S. Portwell'. What if it doesn't set sail now?

And there goes another disappointment... Carlos' 'the orchestra hasn't vamped this much since Bop to the Top' line had nothing to do with Seblos, and everything to do with what might still be the downfall of this show. I am not ready.

No. Miss Jenn did not just say that. She did not just tell Ricky — who, may I remind you, not that anyone's forgotten, just fell off of a high place last episode — to 'jump off of something high'. I realise she's under all the pressure, but that is not an excuse. Well, at least she heard herself.

Oh my gods... Nini — well, Nina, actually — did not just call him 'Richard', did she? That's it, that's the point of no return. And well, I kind of wanted them to reach it.

Told you, didn't I? I told you that-girl-who-must-not-be-named was evil! I always follow my intuition and it has not once deceived me. Redeem that, if you can! Guess what? You can't. We've just reached another point of no return.

Wait, a bloody cliffhanger? I cannot handle this. I physically cannot handle this. If you need me, I'll be sitting on my bed in shock, trying to process everything that happened. I'll need a while to get a grip on myself.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts s2 #ricky bowen #nini salazar-roberts #gina porter #ej caswell #ashlyn moon caswell #big red redonovich #carlos rodriguez #seb matthew-smith #kourtney greene #hsmtmts miss jenn #hsmtmts mr mazzara #hsmtmts howie #jnk

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asexualastarion · 4 years

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For the album ask game... how about The Black Parade?

oh ABSOLUTELY. i LOVE you. this is all subject to change at the drop of the hat bc im wishy-washy and i love all of these songs anyway so

this got WAY too long so i am putting it under a readmore shhvkldlkdgjlkdsj

not including b-sides:

1. Teenagers- kind of a basic pick i know, BUT, in my defense, the song slaps. it’s such a fun song, especially when you’re singing it at the top of your lungs. the guitar part is super cool too- im trying to learn it rn but it’s a slow process bc im bad at guitar.

2. Mama- what can i say. it fucks. the old time-y feel, the harmonies/background vocals, the layers. the guitar goes so fucking hard. banging lyrics- “you should’ve raised a baby girl, i should have been a better son”??????? songs to be trans to.”but the shit that i’ve done with this fuck of a gun” is the kind of lyric that you can only properly convey if you’re screaming it at the top of your lungs. the whole ending is just. mind blowing

3. The End.- LISTEN!!!!!!!!! the end is WAY TOO FUCKING UNDERRATED!!!! oh my goddd i love it so much. i love it SO much. it’s such a perfect beginning to the song. the lyrics are great (”now come one, come all, to this tragic affair” if you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see, you can find out first hand what it’s like to be me”, “another contusion, my funeral jag. here’s my resignation, i’ll serve it in drag. you’ve got front row seats to the penitence ball, when i grow up, i want to be NOTHING AT ALL!!! SAVE ME!!! GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!! SAVE ME!!! TOO YOUNG TO DIE, AND MY DEAR!!! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME JUST WALK AWAY AND TAKE ME!!). the bit with the snapping and the ooooohs is fun too. such a good song, it could honestly be 1 or 2 but my ranking system isnt based in logic and makes no sense to even myself

4. House of Wolves- house of wolves was my favorite mcr song for a good chunk of time, but as a result i’m kinda burned out on it, which is why it isn’t higher. however it is still number four because it’s objectively a fucking amazing song. the guitar is so fuckin fun, the lyrics are great, and it’s just. fun to dance around and sing it at the top of your lungs. you better run like the devil cause they’re never gonna leave you alone!!!!! tell me i’m a bad, bad, bad, bad man!!!

5. Welcome to the Black Parade- the big man itself. the titular song. their biggest hit. a lot of people shit on wttbp for being popular and, like, pretty much the only song of theirs to ever be on the radio anymore (and even then it’s once in a blue moon), BUT. it got popular for a reason. it’s a really good song. i love the structure of it, i love how it builds and builds and builds. the lyrics are wonderfully done- “a world that sent you reelin from decimated dreams/ your misery and hate will kill us all”, the whole “do or die, you’ll never make me” stanza is The Ultimate rallying cry. and the “im just a man, i’m not a hero” is just. ughghghdlkslakdjglsdkg. the titular song of an album entirely about death and dying and misery being SO hopeful and SO upbeat really portrays the album as a whole much differently- mcr is known as The Emo Band because, yeah, their aesthetic is dark and their songs touch dark stuff but they have never been all whiney and boo-hoo-y and melancholic for the sake of melancholy. there’s always been a positive note to their music and a lot of people just don’t get that which makes me sad. anyway. wttbp is fun and i like it and i like the drums and the trumpets at the end. marching bands fuck

6. Blood- ok so the pattern here seems to be that i favor the fun songs over the slow ones, and blood sticks with that. much like with mama, i love the old time-y feel. i love that this is like a fun little bonus ditty to end the album on. the lyrics are silly and fun and jovial, and the piano is great. love it and it makes me happy

7. Disenchanted- OUGHH. OUUUUUGH. i know cancer is objectively the saddest song on the album, but disenchanted just hits different. “when the lights all went out, we watched our lives on the screen/ i hate the ending myself, but it started with an alright scene” just DECIMATES me, man. the acoustic guitar is a nice change of pace, and the vocal performance is just. so fucking emotional. especially the “woahhhhhhhh-ohs” at the end. great song, makes me Feel Emotions

8. The Sharpest Lives- ok so i know this is pretty much in the middle of the list, but i want to stress that i dont hate any of the songs on this album, so even the middle of the list is pretty fuckin good imo. the sharpest lives makes me go batshit. the lyrics are so fucking wild. “a light to burn all the empires, so bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be” is SO fuckin sick like OH my god. what a line. also “there’s a place in the dark where the animals go/ you can take off your skin in the cannibal glow/ juliet loves the beat and the lust it commands/ drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands, romeo” like WHAT?????????????? GERARD POPPED OFF W THIS ONE FOLKS!! also i love how at the beginning the whisper-y vocals bounce from ear to ear. also “so why don’t you blow me......a kiss before she goes” is fuckin hilarious. honestly this song should be higher but i havent gone through a phase where i’ve been obsessed w it yet so it stays down here for now. one day it will take hold and be all i can listen to for a month straight and THEN it will climb the ranks.

9. Cancer- makes me cry like a liddol baby. my mom doesnt let it play in the car cause it makes her too sad. twenty one pilots covered it and it was FUCKING AWFUL so the song is kinda ruined now cause i can only think about their shitty cover. like the AUDACITY. but anyway besides that the song is heart wrenching and amazing. the hardest part of this is leavin you!!!!

10. Dead!- look, i know technically the end. and dead! are the same song/ are just continuations of each other but i’m listing them separately bc dead! is, to me, the worse of the two. not that it’s bad or anything, it just doesn’t pop off the same way the end. and all the songs before it on the list do. however i do love the guitar at the beginning and the solo, and the “one! two! one two three four! LA LA LA LAs” are super fucking fun.

11. Famous Last Words- i used to hate this song!!!! i truly did!! it’s obvs not on the top of my list now or anything, but i have grown to appreciate it a lot more than i used to. like with wttbp, it is the silver lining of the album that betrays its optimistic side. it’s a happy final message to a dark album. the ending is fucking amazing. I am not afraid to keep on living!!!! i am not afraid to walk this world alone!!!!!!

12. Sleep- Sleep is, unfortunately, just kinda boring in comparison. i almost forgot to even put it on the list. however, i do like the “the hardest part’s the awful things that i’ve seen” and the “a drink, for the horrors that i’m in. for the good guys and the bad guys, for the monsters that i’ve been” lines. also the “three cheers for tyranny, unapologetic apathy!” line. but overall it’s just. eh

13. This is How I Disappear- i have. complicated feelings on tihid. on one hand, it reminds me of my favorite oc, re, and is on their playlist. on the other hand, i have grown bored with it over time. it just doesn’t stand out to me at all really. that being said, i do really like the “who walks among the famous living dead” and the “can you hear me cry out to you” stanzas.

14. I Don’t Love You- while i dont think idly is a bad song at all, it just simply isnt my kind of song. i do think gerard’s vocals are extremely strong throughout, especially during the “when you go, would you have the guts to say/ i don’t love you like i loved you yesterday” line. like wow ok maam please continue. but overall i just dont vibe w breakup songs bc i cant relate

including b sides: 1. Heaven Help Us

2. Kill All Your Friends

3. Everything else

4. My Way Home is Through You

my reasoning:

heaven help us is tied for my favorite mcr song Of All Time. everything about this song is catnip for lil old me. the angsty christian imagery, the vocals, the guitar. all of it. the lyrics make me lose my mind, especially the “will you pray for me? or make a saint of me? and will you lay for me? or make a saint of- cause i’ll give you all the nails you need/cover me in gasoline/ wipe away those tears of blood again/ and the punchline to the joke is asking ‘SOMEONE SAVE US’” and the “you don’t know a thing about my sins/ or the misery begins/ you don’t know, so i’m burnin! I’m burnin!!!” parts. like i absolutely vibe with this song so fucking hard. i sing it constantly, it’s great to sing (very stimmy for me), it sounds beautiful. i am obsessed with it through and through

similarly, kill all your friends also speaks to my very soul. i can’t pick favorite lyrics bc id just have to copy and paste the whole song. i love the build-up, i love the time progression throughout the song (it’s been TEN FUCKING YEARS since i’ve been seein your faaaaaace rounnnnnd heeeere), i love the “you’ll never take me alives”. literally everything about this song makes me emo. it just Gets Me. it’s literally about my greatest fear. all my friends growing up and moving away and getting on with their lives without me, leaving me to rot in my hometown waiting for them to return. we only see each other at weddings and funerals, so it’s time to kill all your friends so we can party when the funeral ends!! it’s probably tied with heaven help us, but i’m putting it at number two just because it didn’t hook me as strongly as hhu did. it’s more of a strong, steady favorite than a “this song has latched on to my very soul and i have to listen to it on repeat over and over and over again”, if that makes sense. it’s still in my top 5 mcr songs though

i never vibed with my way home is through you. i don’t listen to it often, and i just don’t really feel it. it’s not bad, it’s just. eh.

anyway if you’ve read this far down i love you so much. thank you for listening to me ramble, mcr means a lot and i love to infodump about my music tastes. i really really appreciate being given an opportunity to do so <3

#mcr #asks #anon #SERIOUSLY. ILY. MWAH.

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orrible-orrible-orrible · 4 years

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Music Facts

This was so difficult and still so much fun. A lot of my songs are Hindi songs All the ones marked in Red are Hindi songs. Thanks for the tag @softboylwt

1. Your favorite song - I don't have a favorite song. I can't choose, really can't but there are 2 songs I never skip, Lag Jaa Gale by Lata Mangeshkar and Rolling in the Deep by Adele so I will go with them.

2. Your least favorite song - I don't think I have a song that is my least favorite. If I don't like it, I simply don't have it on my playlist.

3. A song that makes you happy - Cups by Anna Kendrick

4. A song that makes you sad - Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey.

5. A song that reminds you of someone - Raat Akeli Hai by Asha Bhosle

6. A song that reminds you of somewhere - Zara Zara by Bombay Jayshree

7. A song that reminds you of a certain event - Bheege Hoth Tere by Kunal Ganjawala. I had to do an impromptu duet dance to this on my fresher's party.

8. A song that you know all the words to - There are about 500 songs like that but I will go with Hello by Adele and Kabira by Rekha Bhardwaj

9. A song that you can dance to - London Thumakda by Labh Jubna, Neha Kakkar and Sonu Kakkar and Paper Rings by Taylor Swift

10. A song that makes you fall asleep (or that you can fall asleep to) - Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh by Lata Mangeshkar

11. A song from your favorite band - Home by One Direction

12. A song from a band you hate - I don't think there are any bands that I hate. If I don't like them, I don't listen to them.

13. A song that reminds you of someone that you would rather forget about - No such songs.

14. A song that no one would expect you to love - Work by Rihaana

15. A song that describes you - Royals by Lorde

16. A song that you used to love but now you hate - Tum Hi Ho by Arijit Singh, simply because I have heard it too much.

17. A song that you often hear on the radio - Bala (title track of the movie Bala, I hate it)

18. A song that you would love to hear on the radio - Just you and I by Tom Walker

19. A song from your favorite album - I have too many albums that I love by I will go with Hard Feelings/Loveless by Lorde and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (translates to oh heart, it is difficult) by Arijit Singh

20. A song that you listen to when you are angry - Make Me Wanna Die by the Pretty Reckless, Saada Haq by Mohit Chauhan

21. A song that you listen to when you are sad - Jag Soona Soona Lage (translates to the world feels empty) by and Hold on by Chord Overstreet

22. A song that you want played at your wedding - Din Shagna Da (translates to The day of auspiciousness) by Jasleen Royal

23. A song that you want played at your funeral - Time of Our Lives by Tyrone Wells

24. A song that makes you laugh - Engine Ki Seeti. This song is so freaking funny and peppy. I love it.

25. A song with a great music video - Bloom by Troye Sivan and Kajra Re by Alisha Chinai, Shankar Mahadevan, Javed Ali

25. A song that relaxes you - Abhi Na Jao Chod Ke by Asha Bhosle

26. A song from your childhood - Chhaiya Chhaiya by Sukhwinder Singh. When I was a kid, I used to have one of those toy flip phones that would play songs when you would press the buttons. This was one of those songs. Also, it is very beautifully written.

27. Favorite song that you discovered recently - Toothpaate Kisses by the Macabees

28. A song that you would sing at a karaoke night - Slow Hands by Niall Horan/ Badtameez Dil by Benny Dayal and Shefali Alvares

29. Your favorite love song - At the moment it's Beautiful War by Kings of Leon or Bulleya by Papon

30. A song that you never get sick of hearing - Almost (sweet music) by Hozier

31. A song that you find annoying - Yummy by Justin Bieber. Never heard it but I find it very very annoying.

32. Your favorite rap song - I don't listen to rap music a lot but from what I have heard I will go with Apna Time Aayega by Ranveer Singh. (translates to my time will come.)

33. Most listened to song on your Spotify/itunes - I don't know. Didn't check. Sorry.

34. A song that you would perform in front of people - Hasi by Shreya Ghoshal because I know how to play it on guitar.

35. Favorite song from the 70s - Tiny Dancer by Elton John / Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Todenge by Kishore Kumar and Manna De

36. Favorite song from the 80s - Kabootar Ja Ja by Lata Mangeshkar and S.P. Balasubramanyam

37. Favorite song from the 90s - All songs of the movie Taal

38. Favorite song from the 2000s - Toxic by Britney Spears / All songs from the movie Devdas

39. A song that you are not really fond of but you listen to anyway - Lovely by Kanika Kapoor

40. A song that evokes good memories - Barso Re Megha by Shreya Ghoshal and Uday Mazumdar

41. A song that evokes bad memories - Abhi Abhi Toh Mile Ho by Akriti Kakkar, KK, Shreya Ghoshal

42. A song from your favorite movie - Muala Mere Le Le Meri Jaan from Chak De India (translates to God, take my life away)

43. A song you wouldn't want to sing at a karaoke night - Back to Black by Amy Winehouse. I would never do it justice. Never in a million years.

44. Best female vocals - Shreya Ghoshal, Adele

45. Best male vocals - Arijit Singh, Hozier

46. Best party song - Single Ladies by Beyonce or Taare Gin Gin by Ikka Singh and Sukhbir

47. Best Duet Song - God, there are so many of those that I love but I will go with Do Pal by Sonu Nigam and Lata Mangeshkar

48. A song that reminds you of school days - Dhunki by Neha Bhasin/ Hall of Fame by The Script

49. A song you sing in the shower - Always you by Louis Tomlinson

50. A song that's currently stuck in your head - Not in The Same Way by 5SoS

51. A song that has a good beat - Don't by Ed Sheeran

52. A song from a band no one you know has heard of - Marz by The Yellow Diary

53. A song that gives you a rush - Breathless by Shankar Mahadevan. The singer sings the entire 3 minutes of the song in one breath. So it is quite exhilirating. Or Aigiri Nandini by Amit Trivedi.

54. A song with lyrics you can't understand - Thunderclouds by Sia

55. A song with no words - I don't listen to instrumental songs because lyrics are my favorite part of a song

Tagging: @aniridescentreadertoo @spiderrpcrker @moonlwt and anyone else who wants to do it.

#Wow that was HARD #but so much fun #tagged #about me #music #bollywood

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uguu · 5 years

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So I listened to the new album and it’s not good! Don’t read if you don’t like opinions about Ringo being bad! I wrote my thoughts on the tracks as I listened and it’s kind of funny how you can see my disdain grow with each one. Also I am NOT a writer so take that into account.

1. 鶏と蛇と豚 | Niwatori to hebi to buta The opener. Immediately makes me think of KSK, in the same way that seeing a bootleg Gucci bag makes me think of the real thing.

2. 獣ゆく細道 / 椎名林檎と宮本浩次 | Kemono yuku hosomichi / Sheena Ringo and Miyamoto Hiroji This song was OK when it was released last year, it's still OK now. I actually like the EXPO version better because it had more energy while this version seems like another lifeless Ringo Showtime Extravaganza.

3. マ・シェリ | ma chérie If you heard the Expo version you've heard this. Well basically. I would say the main difference is Ringo's vocals were more powerful in the Expo version, while she spends most of this song sounding like she was recovering from strep but had to record or else. I will admit though, I like it. Even though it's another commercial tie-in...

4. 駆け落ち者 / 椎名林檎と櫻井敦司 | Kakeochi mono / Sheena Ringo and Sakurai Atsushi did y'all hear sumn?

5. どん底まで | Donzoko made So this is a new recording, and they made it worse. I actually LIKED the original. Now it's another lifeless arrangement clearly based on the Expo performance. Why.

6. 神様、仏様 / 椎名林檎と向井秀徳 | Kamisama, Hotokesama / Sheena Ringo and Mukai Shuutoku I love this song, it's my favorite Nu-Ringo song, it deserves to be on a better album. Also it's from 2015.........

7. TOKYO Kamisama Hotokesama does NOT fade well into this. It's jarring. Anyway this isn't a bad song but it should have been a b-side on some single that never saw it's way onto an album. I almost want to say a Jihen b-side, but it doesn't have enough personality for that.

8. 長く短い祭 / 椎名林檎と浮雲 | Nagaku mijikai matsuri / Sheena Ringo and Ukigumo I am an Ukigumo defender so I'm glad he's on the album but I also don't really like the auto-tune. At the same time I think this song is catchy as hell, but in more of a 'play this at a BBQ' way and less of a 'play this on a nice sound system' way. Also buy coke.

9. 至上の人生 | Jijou no jinsei I never liked this song and I still don't like it. Sounds like a really bad anime ending.

10. 急がば回れ / 椎名林檎とヒイズミマサユ機 | Isogaba maware / Sheena Ringo and H ZETT M So an HZM and Ringo event. I felt like I was waiting for the song to actually start and then it was over. I don't hate it but again it deserves to be a b-side, not on an album! I'm starting to think Ringo is sapping away talent from these artists because I certainly expect more from HZM.

11. ジユーダム | Jiyu-Dom (“Free-dom”) It's a theme song for an NHK program and it sounds like it. NEXT!

12. 目抜き通り / 椎名林檎とトータス松本 | Menuki-doori / Sheena Ringo and Tortoise Matsumoto So it's a new version and the vocals are switched? Anyway, a strong intro with dark sounding strings that almost remind me of KSK....and then MORE FUCKING SHOWTUNES! I hated this when it came out and I still hate it now! NEXT!!!!

13. あの世の門 | Ano yo no mon I'm writing ahead of listening to this right now to give my expectations. Ringo's closers have always been amazing...I'm not expecting another Souretsu but maybe.....MAYBE....could this be good?

OK I've started and I'm giving the blow by blow. I don't like this intro. It's bad. It's really bad. We're 50 seconds in and it's not improving. OK....accordion has started playing and now it sounds like a Jihen song which might be good...nope never mind. I could really do without the English lyrics. And the song is almost over. It was bad.

Final thoughts: I REALLY wanted to like this album. I've been a ride-or-die Ringo fan for over a decade now. But I can't defend this. It's mostly old songs, with a few songs re-recorded in a way that makes them worse. HOW does one manage that? Ringo found a way.

And Ringo's showtunes. Now, I actually LIKE showtunes. I like jazz. I enjoyed the jazzy songs of Tokyo Jihen, and the new (at the time) direction Ringo took with Sanmon Gossip. I EVEN LIKED SUNNY!!! Now it's getting old. Especially because they're not even good jazzy/showtuney/WHATEVER songs. If they were I would still be a little sick of the theme, but still admire the music.

I can't really speak for all the collaborators, but I would guess that their solo careers are probably good. I'm a huge fan of Ukigumo/Nagaoka Ryosuke/Petrolz and his stuff is great. I'm not as big of an HZM fan but I know he's very talented. If your only exposure to these two artists was from this album you would probably think they sucked.

Ringo seems to be surrounded by people more talented then her, and in this album she drags them down. I NEVER thought I would say that but it seems to be true these days. This album is so fucking bad that it almost makes me wonder if it's intentional, like maybe she's trying to end her career and go onto her dream of just producing songs for others. But if that's the case wouldn't you want to go out with a fucking face melting KSK part 2?

Does Ringo just suck now? I'm so disappointed.

#shiina ringo

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mashitandsmashit · 5 years

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America’s Got Talent: The Champions - Auditions 4

So, despite what I said last week about not wanting the results to be spoiled to me, some jerk in the Youtube comments gave away this week’s results (and pretty much all of the remaining results for this season...I thought the finale would at least be live, but I guess not...) Needless to say, it kinda ruined my day...

I mean, some of my favorite variety acts in the history of the show were all there...And both of the acts to advance are the two solo singers with sob stories! (That’s a lot of S’s! And S is for SIMON!!!)

But since I heard them ahead of time, I was able to go into tonight with an open mind, take the results with a pinch of salt, understand that they probably would have been quite different if it was live, everyone watching at home could vote, there were more spots, etc.

And indeed, I was overall very satisfied! Everyone tonight seemed to put everything they had into their performances, and they all had something to offer...Even some singers that I wasn’t looking forward to rose well above my expectations! While I’m still very disappointed by the results, I can at least see what circumstances led to this, and overall, this is probably my favorite Champions show so far!

So let’s rank the acts that made up this strong show...

10: Moonlight Brothers. In a night filled with strong contenders, these two stuck out like a sore thumb...Ironically, by NOT sticking out! Howie pretty much summed it all up when he basically said that America is a completely different arena than where THEY come from, because if they were on AGT, they would have been cannon fodder...But hey, I thought they were pretty entertaining and had some interesting moves...Nonetheless, there was no doubt who last place was going to...Also, GOOD GOD, I’M SO SICK OF THAT FLOSS DANCE!!!

9: Issy Simpson. Didn’t know who she was before, but now that I do, I like her! ...Except she apparently already did this same trick for her BGT audition...Ouch! That’s gonna dock her some significant points!

8: Brian Justin Crum. This is who I THOUGHT was gonna get the GB, because his story is just the right amount of “inspiring” for Simon, but he’s also proven to be one of the more exceptional singers in recent seasons...Also, the promo last week showed him in front of a glittery golden background, so I thought it was a dead giveaway...Turns out I was half right, because that apparently comes up for the OTHER act advancing as well...Anyway, yeah, I still like him, but compared to some of the other acts, I wish it went to someone else...And it’s ironic, because I was ready to accept him advancing ALONGSIDE one of my favorites over the other two singing acts...And yet, the other two actually exceeded my expectations, whereas he settled on being...BIG! Not that that’s a bad thing in and of itself, but for me it just wasn’t as compelling to listen to...But I will say, that song choice was just a natural pick for him, especially since it’s from a fellow gay man! In fact, during Season 11, I was waiting to see if he was gonna perform it...

7: Drew Lynch. I’ve always considered Drew to be quite underrated, and his jokes tonight were mostly quite solid...Maybe if the set lasted longer than 30 seconds (I know that’s an exaggeration...His stutters add at LEAST an extra minute!), he’d rank higher!

6: The Texas Tenors. Ahhh, Season 4...The year I got into AGT! I was a naive young fool back then...I was VERY prone to getting my hopes up (even more than I am now!) I was like, “Well, that Kevin Skinner guy is good and all, but he’s not as good as the other singers, so maybe the semi-finals is as far as he should go...Can’t have TOO many singers in the final round, right? Gotta make room for the variety acts...Like Acrodunk! They should TOTALLY clean up tomorrow night!” That infamous season is what ultimately prepared me for the pain I would have to endure down the road if I were to continue to watch this show...And one of the biggest pains was watching these three pretty-boys (okay, the short one’s not that pretty) make it all the way to Fourth Place on what appeared to be nothing but their Southern charm! And it’s not even that I hated them; I acknowledged that they had singing talent, and they had this schmaltzy charm to them...BUT FOURTH PLACE!? I mean, I watched some great acts get knocked out in favor of them, some of my favorite acts of the season! And these rednecks get to smile their way all the way to fourth!? It was one of my first big outrages while watching this show...But why? Again, they could sing...But there was just something about them I couldn’t stand...Anyway, I’m rambling here; The point I’m trying to make is that I actually really enjoyed them tonight! I don’t know what it is...Maybe their individual vocals have improved (because they all have uniquely great singing voices), maybe the harmony has improved...Or maybe I just feel differently about them now! I guess I’ll have to go back and re-watch their Season 4 performances and make a comparison...(I have been strongly considering watching AGT from the beginning and giving my thoughts on the older seasons, seeing how they compare with my thoughts back then in the cases of Season 4 onward...)

5: Kechi. Ooh, I felt so much outrage when I heard she was advancing over the Top 4 acts in this list (who are mostly ranked like that out of sheer bias)! With all of the acts this season (and in this episode) that make me smile, seeing her tragic disfigurement again and hearing her sad story was bound to bring down my mood, and hearing that I will see her in the finals over said joy-bringing acts brought it down even more! Going into tonight, I knew she had damn well better justify her place! ...She justified her place! BY FAR her best performance to date! I think what I like about her is that she doesn’t try to belt it out all big...I just haven’t been a big fan of hers in the past because I felt that she could USE a little more “big”! And tonight, she went just big enough while keeping it nice and balanced, and when she does that, she really can be one of the best singers! I saw a hint of that in her quarter-final performance back in Season 12, but not until tonight have I seen her full potential unleashed! That said, I think it’s pretty obvious why Simon REALLY wanted to give her the GB, and I’m convinced that as producer, he made sure to arrange her to perform this week when he gets to do that! Classic Simon...

4: Kenichi Ebina. Okay, I’m not gonna deny that my constant support of Kenichi is mostly bias, because even back in Season 8, there WAS kind of a hit and miss quality to most of his performances...But I still couldn’t help but love this guy and everything he represented! Tonight was no different; The dances were mostly limited to the DDR segment at the beginning, and then he went all big fancy effects, and didn’t do a whole lot physically from there...So I can see where Mel’s coming from...But I loved the effects, I loved the story, and I especially loved the little robot dog aiding him throughout...It wasn’t perfect; Honestly, his performances never really were...But I don’t think any AGT contestant has inspired me as much as this guy has! My respect for him transcends his performances! I guess that’s a major reason why I was so happy that he won Season 8 despite his imperfections, and why I was deep down hoping he could defend his AGT cred in Champions by at least making the finals...But I guess you can’t have them all...Nonetheless, I still can’t help but salute this guy!

3: Paul Zerdin. I guess there weren’t any big innovations like the animatronic effects he did back in Season 10, but as Howie said, this guy’s always finding unique ways to play with the art of ventriloquism...Like Darci, I would like to see new puppets from him (and voices that don’t sound like Howie doing a British Bobby Generic), but this guy still entertains me every time!

2: The Professional Regurgitator. I think everyone can take Simon’s opinions here with a grain of salt...His decision to buzz the guy while he had a razor blade in his throat on the other hand...From what I heard from Stevie ahead of time as well as his curse to Simon backstage, I can tell he’s pissed at this, even more than Heidi is! And I know this isn’t for everyone...I should know; I didn’t like this guy at first when he came on in Season 10 either...But with all the crazy tricks he pulled off, he just kept growing on me! This might not have been his best trick to date...but I’m still pretty damn impressed, however he pulled it off! And for all his talk of swallowing Paul Zerdin, perhaps the one who he SHOULD be swallowing is Simon Cowell! It would surely be a terrifying sight...But also cathartic!

1: Tape Face. I’m actually quite surprised that he managed to get into the Top 3 (or 4?) But it provided a slight bit of satisfaction to an otherwise disappointing result...Perhaps a big part of it is that he made sort of a love letter to the show while getting Howie and Terry to do much of the performing...It’s actually quite genius! But a big part of what makes this character so charming is simply his presence! I could only imagine what it would have been like if I was in the audience waiting to see what old AGT act would come onstage next, and then seeing that weird intro where he’s in shadows...and then sits up and reveals himself! I would be cheering...at least in my mind, because I’m socially awkward...Not much else to say; It’s Tape Face! ‘Nuff said!

So again, I would have liked to see at least one favorite make it alongside whatever sob story singer that Simon was inevitably gonna give the GB to...But for what we got, I’m happy! Onward to next week!

I’m actually not gonna bother ranking next week’s acts based on my support, because half of them are foreign acts who I’ve never heard of (but they all sound interesting), and the other half...Well, I can’t say there are any that I DON’T like...Let’s just say that there are two clear front-runners (though I know only one of them will go through), a singing group that I really like, a singer who I...like enough...and a magician who I like, but will surely be overshadowed by the other one who is one of the pre-mentioned front-runners (in fact, they will no doubt play up a rivalry with the two).

I guess that is all there is to say for now...

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theoriesontheory · 3 years

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And I Get Up Again I Get Up Again I - (how I fell in love with producing again/the making of ‘overdue conversations’ pt. 3)

When I got home, the morning I decided to start my project, after going and getting my morning coffee I found that I had turned some internal dialogue into the intro of a song. The lines “where have you been? You’ve been lost inside you head” sung by my computer/the creative parts of myself to me seemed like an interesting place to start a song. I quickly recorded a voice memo.

found_sound.mp3

overdue conversation - voice memo

Even on that memo I sensed that this track was going to be a lot of different things because even in the two sections I had vaguely worked out in my head, the feeling was very different. The ever-changing feeling of this song has become what makes it stand out as unique to me when I look at what I have made so far. The reason it moves from section to section, constantly introducing new musical ideas rather than establishing one that we keep coming back to is this song was composed as it took shape.

What I mean is I made one of the synths in the intro using the mac start up noise (a little nod to the idea that my muse from within my computer is talking to me) and added a second subtle synth part and recorded scratch vocal for that part there. Then I laid down the 808 layer and some basic drums for the first section and recorded that section. And so, I progressed through the entire song. This meant that I was writing melodies and lyrics based on what I felt in the moment of creating the track. Initially I thought the song was going to take a more negative slant, the initial working title being ‘l0ser’ but the remember line turned it for me. I have been doing a lot of introspection recently and trying to document the things I think while I am at various points of mental health. This helps me put my thoughts into perspective and offers insights into triggers and, when used in moderation can be a place to draw ideas for lyrics from. When the line “remember, remember what you said when you were all alone” while it came from somewhere in my brain took me to nights where I felt like the world was falling down but I got back up. I got up because I have gotten up before and I have made promises to myself to keep getting up. The vocal performance on the bridge was completely improvised in a scratch take and the version that I use on the track was the second one I performed, it came from inside of me and that kind of reflected the point that I have landed on with this track.

For such a long time I have felt frozen by the pressure I put on myself to make things that blow people away. Ironically, I was taking what drew me to hyperpop initially, the raw, emotional, hyper nature of it and I was trying to make it fit in what I thought a perfect hyperpop song could be, and that wasn’t a fun way to make stuff. Eventually, through reflection, making stuff and just committing to what I wanted to achieve which was no longer a perfect song but being happy as a creator and artist with what I have made. I am reminded by some funny but poignant comments made by 100 gecs in an interview with pitchfork. Dyllan Brady said that his barometer for if a song was good was, he framed it in the context of his friend coming up to him and showing him the track. (2020) Most stuff, if you said your friend made it you would think was great and encourage their career. That is the new energy I am trying to manifest for my critique of my own work. The tempo change is a primary example of this kind of thinking. Tempo changes in my head are often corny and there are rules (in western music theory tradition) as to how you do them. Even in contemporary music there are rules about changing the tempos of songs in clubs for transitions. I wrote off drastic and sudden tempo changes as poor writing and bad technique. But as I was working on this song, I realised that the two sections I had in my head didn’t fit together if I tried to have them be at all the same speed, so I decided to have a set tempo for the intro and outro and bump up the tempo for the body of the piece. Once I had all the parts together, I went through a process of simplifying some parts, reducing them to what it needs to be added to the song. I have been trying to do this kind of minimalization in parts of songs because I tend to try and be impressive and show how much music I can do, which in some cases is the perfect thing to do but you shouldn’t have all parts of your song doing it at the same time. My initial kick and 808 pattern were quite busy and produced an off kilter, swinging style rhythm that was interesting to listen to, but in the context of this track I didn’t need a rhythm section that was super interesting and academically put together, I needed drums that were big and loud and fun and bass to go alongside.

Once all the parts were simplified to what they needed to be, I started to mix and process all of the signals. This is often where I find my experience block come in. While I have been working in the software for 10 years, only the past 5 have been focused years and even then, only in the past 2 have I begun to experiment with anything beyond recording acoustic music. I have been trying to listen to other songs in the genre to go to as reference tracks, for example I really like the way aldn treats their vocals. [a particular favourite of mine are the two different vocal treatments in: what was the last thing you said]. And the big, distorted section at the end of underscores spoiled little brat acted as a big inspiration for the breakdown section at the end of my track. Using these reference points, I took what I understand about audio editing (which to be fair is a solid amount and I try and learn more every time I do it) and tried to make the sounds I had “fit”. The most important part for me was not necessarily that the track sounded exactly like another song but more that all the parts of the song fit sonically together and, to draw from Dyllan, if my friend came up to me and said that they did this would I think it was sick and encourage them to do more? It was at this point I had two primary problems that took me some time and multiple attempts to figure out. The first was the vocal mix. Like I have mentioned before, auto-tune is not the magic bullet that a lot of critics seem to paint it as, I view it as another instrument that I have had to learn how to play, and the way I play it is through a combination of my voice and my computer. One thing I really like about vocals in hyperpop tunes is that they are very clean. They are obviously manipulated and modulated in various ways, but they are always clean, and clear. I struggled to get this sound until I was watching a video from Red Bull Music Lab where producer Kenny Beats and T-Pain make a song together - Kenny Beats and T-Pain Cook Up an Instant R&B Classic | Red Bull Remix Lab

It’s a video I have watched before but it’s funny and fun and inspiring to see two great artists work together and I just happened to notice that in the effects chain for T-Pain’s vocals, before anything else there was a gate, set very low with a low return. I saw it and instantly understood why it was there, the job of the auto-tune the way I use it is it essentially processes the entire voice, synthesising what was once an analogue recording. However, without the gate, not only was it having that effect on the lyrics being sung but also on the various ambient noise picked up from recording in my bedroom. This along with some creative EQ work and compression got the vocals to a place I was finally happy with.

The second issue was the bass part. After working on my All Eyes on Me Cover for a morning I returned to ‘overdue conversations’ and found that the bass part was sticking out in an obnoxious way, downing out the mix and not feeling settled. I then spent a couple of hours trying different sounds, moving the octave of the part, changing the part, changing other parts. I worked for a few hours before I gave up, and then worked on it a bit, and then gave up, and then worked on it a bit, and then gave up. Even that night as I was eating dinner, I had 808 patterns in my head. The next morning, I loaded up the session and had a listen. Aside from re-recording the pattern in some of the sections to give what was already there some space and let most of the drive and momentum come from the kick pattern and some mix/processing adjustments, what I had wasn’t that bad at all. Reflecting on this, I think it was a combination of mental and physical (ear) fatigue, that day being full of making stuff and listening and trying things and having ideas, as well as instantly comparing what I had at that point to the finished cover that I had just posted to social media and was already getting some love for. After taking a night to sleep on my ideas and coming back with fresh ears the next day I realised that what I thought was going to have to be a full re-record of everything late in the game turned into some subtle tweaks.

So, with all of that said, here is a finalised version of ‘overdue conversations’ which is pretty much ready for commercial/official release but I want to have a few songs put together before I release anything on public channels.

found_sound.mp3

'overdue conversations'

References: Patel, P. (Interviewer). (2020, November). Pitchfork Review: 100 Gecs and the Mystery of Hyperpop. [Audio Podcast]. Get Wired. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1UnB4gNxTsInfjur0iVXEP?si=NXGfknGtTqSId4z-XhKNeg&dl_branch=1

#CIM 401.2 #found_sound.mp3 #hyperpop #original song #new music #process #musician #music #work in progress #canberra #australia #hyperpop journey #autoethnograophy

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jezfletcher · 3 years

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1000 Albums, 2020: Top Tracks #50-26

Hey folks! After the fun and excitement of counting down my top albums of 2020, I'm launching straight into my top tracks. Today, we're counting down numbers 50-26, which will leave the Top 25 as a Christmas present from me to you tomorrow. I don't know exactly how many tracks I've listened to this year, but I conservatively estimate more than 12,000, which puts these tracks in the top 0.4% of all the music I've heard this year. YouTube versions of the songs are included where possible. I belatedly discovered that I can also embed Bandcamp links as well, which is probably a better option, from a "supporting artists" perspective. If you stumble upon something you like, go buy it on Bandcamp. Apologies if the video clips for any of these are wildly offensive—I have not at all vetted them before embedding them. Enjoy!

50. L.E.J. - Pas Peur (French chamber folk)

youtube

I’m starting off this write-up with this excellent bit of folk—a sultry chanson, backed with low strings that develop into a full little chamber ensemble. I’m perhaps demoting this down to a fairly low position because I heard this track as a single, and was thrilling in excitement for the release of their album, which consisted of this song, and a whole bunch of songs that sounded nothing like this song. So it’s a standout, but it’s not necessarily a sign that L.E.J. is an artist I want to follow in general.

49. Avec Sans - Altitude (vapor pop)

youtube

When I first heard this track, I loved it a lot, especially the contrast between the restrained, almost plinky verses, and the smash of drums and synths which mark the start of the chorus. The rolls of the hihat and the fuzzy synth bass are overt and intense and I love it. Overall, it ended up not quite being of the same depth and character as many of the tracks above it though.

48. Trixie Mattel - Malibu (pop rock)

youtube

Trixie Mattel is such a fascinating artist, and she’s a genuinely great songwriter too—far outstripping most (all?) of her RuPaul’s Drag Race cohort. This is a great bit of pop rock, the kind of thing I absolutely groove along to and sing at the top of my lungs (at least until we get to the falsetto swoop in the chorus). I will absolutely keep following Trixie Mattel’s career as long as she’s producing music.

47. Beans on Toast - Logic Bomb (jazz folk)

youtube

The top track from Beans on Toast this year is this jazzy number, performed with his new full band, and filled with pessimistic predictions about the fall of the world through the computers we depend on. I’m far more sanguine about the world he describes, so I’m left to enjoy the groove and the gentle horn riff which launches each new doomsaying verse.

46. Nelson Kempf - Family Dollar (art folk)

youtube

A long, slightly meandering adventure in avant-garde folk, with Kempf’s conversational lyrics, found sound recordings like announcements at an airport, and the persistent presence of gently struck marimba or xylophone. It’s a great piece of music, although it’s also one which is hard to think about as a catchy tune—it’s certainly not something that gets in my head all that much, which is probably why it’s languishing a bit in the 40s. But every time I’m reminded of it, and listen to it, I do enjoy going through it again.

45. Marcelyn - Guilloteens (experimental folk rock)

youtube

I switched from Google Play Music (shutting down, of course) to Spotify about half way through this year, and as a result, my Spotify end-of-year list was jank, missing anything from the first half of the year, and lacking much of my revision listening. I say all of this because of all the songs I’d heard since switching, this was apparently my most listened-to on Spotify. It’s certainly not a bad song, and it’s a song which won Track of the Week the week it came out—but it’s also languishing in the mid-40s on my end of the year list, so it’s not genuinely a standout. But it is very solid, especially the shifting vocal harmonies from an evocative chorus. It’s certainly a song which makes me keep an eye on Marcelyn in the future.

44. Little Big - Hypnodancer (funeral rave)

youtube

It’s one of the great tragedies of 2020 (you know, along with all the sickness and dying) that there was no 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, because Little Big, progenitors of the hardstyle analog “funeral rave” were going to represent Russia. Which possibly would have been one of the only times I would have been cheering for that country come voting time. Anyway, the song they were taking to the competition was not this one, but another called UNO. But this is better, capturing the pop aesthetic into a hard 90s underground techno beat. Maybe we’ll get to see them again in 2021.

43. Walk Off The Earth feat. Harm & Ease - Toxic (eclectic pop cover)

youtube

Prolific indie pop coverers Walk Off The Earth have seemingly come up with a neverending stream of singles this year, none of which seem to be obviously pointing to a new album—especially given that their last album (my #2 album of 2019) was released towards the end of last year. But I keep listening to and enjoying their fun cover versions. This one, done with philosophical stablemates Harm & Ease builds into a great, raucous singalong version of one of the millennium’s pop classics.

42. Stormzy feat. Aitch - Pop Boy (grime)

youtube

I’m very conscious of the general lack of hip hop on my end of year list. It’s a genre that I think is ill-served by its most prominent examples currently. Kanye, Lil Uzi Vert, Drake—all have an extremely thin production quality and a drawly delivery that lacks the rhythm that really helps the style. But grime (and UK rap more generally) seems to get the point of what makes the style worthwhile. With a kicking beat, rhythmic delivery that lands its rhymes beautifully, Pop Boy is probably the best bit of grime this year. Stormzy and Aitch trading flows is genuinely fun to watch. I’m also glad that I have a new grime favourite after its Godfather outed himself as a raging anti-Semite earlier in the year. Stormzy seems pretty chill by comparison.

41. The Fratellis - Six Days in June (pop rock)

youtube

The Fratellis are a band who are absolutely rocking the late era of their career. Their 2018 album In Your Own Sweet Time was an absolutely cracking set of music, and if this lead single is anything to go by, their 2021 album is going to be similar. Swinging in 6/8, and with a horn section to add something of an orchestral sound to their accessible pop rock, this is a great track.

40. MOBS - Big World (80s pastiche pop)

youtube

These guys did an amazingly fun album this year, taking a broad kind of funky electropop and embracing all of the biggest 80s tropes. This one leans on the synth horns, and some working synths that you just know have the black and white keys reversed. It’s a jumpy, poppy, danceable track—one of the ones this year that’s most likely to get me grooving.

39. The Lemon Twigs - The One (alt rock)

youtube

A great piece of music (albeit one from an even better album), this is almost a kind of throwback alt rock—it has elements of the 80s to it, more poppy than the Cure, but maybe containing a similar kind of theatricality to it. It’s very happy to swing between high tenor vocals and squealing guitars for its drama. But on top of everything, it’s just a great bit of pop rock.

38. The Cuckoos - Weekend Lover (glam rock)

There’s something that you’ll likely see over and over again in this list, especially if you listen to the tracks and look for similarities. And it’s a driving, perhaps slightly repetitive riff in a pop rock song. This has a great one, incorporating bass and synths, and working in counterpoint to the straight up percussion line. It’s something of a formula that works really well for me, and you’ll see it a number of times on this list.

37. MisterWives - It’s My Turn (indie pop)

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MisterWives are absolute stars of the music project. In 2017, the last time they really released much music, they had my #1 song of the year for Machine, and also took out #3 on my albums list. This year’s album didn’t do quite as well, but it’s hard to deny there are some pop bangers on it, like this one, their top entry this year. It’s a lot of fun, with manic, colourful energy. Sure, it’s not a #1 track of the year this time around, but I defy you not to have some fun with it.

36. Sammy Brue - Pendulum Thieves (alt country)

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A fabulous piece of country rock, about stealing a bit of time back—maybe you want an extra minute with a lover in a perfect moment, or maybe you want to take back a fight. It’s nicely done with an anthemic chorus and some harmonic slide guitar in the background. Great piece of music.

35. TheFatRat feat. Laura Brehm - We’ll Meet Again (pop EDM)

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Just a great piece of dance music. It has a great riff that evokes other classic dance numbers from the past 10 years like Clean Bandit’s Rather Be, throwing in a bit of grunty wobble bass for good measure. It’s short and sweet and catchy, and I like it for that.

34. Starbenders - Holy Mother (glam rock)

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A track that came out of nowhere the week it was released, because I didn’t overly love the album. But this is just a full-throated bit of stomping glam rock that I couldn’t go past it for song of the week. Incidentally, Sam liked the album a whole bunch more than me and we ended up both giving this particular song a nod. It’s just a raucous, fun bit of music with a singalong chorus I often find myself headbanging along with.

33. Minh Beta - Let’s Fight COVID! (Vietnamese coronavirus pop)

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Absolutely one of my iconic songs of 2020, this is a straight up pop banger released as a PSA by Minh Beta about the best ways to stop the spread of COVID-19 in his home country of Vietnam. It also has an excellent video clip[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSiK7U46PfA] with anthropomorphised superhero versions of things like “Wear a Mask”, “Don’t spread Facebook conspiracy theories” and “Don’t share your ice cream cone with your mates”. It’s apparently a re-skin of Minh Beta’s previous track “Viet Nam Oi!”, but we’ll forgive it for being a timely readjustment for a good reason (personally, I credit about 90% of the success that Vietnam has had containing Covid to this song). And also, it just absolutely slaps.

32. Kiesza feat. Lick Drop, Cocanina & Shan Vincent De Paul - Dance With Your Best Friend (pop)

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You know this might be the highest track of pure unadulterated pop. There’s nothing subversive or quirky about this—this is just a catchy pop track. It’s helped along its path by some great rapping from Cocanina, and a bit of that laddish vocal quality from Shan Vincent De Paul with the London accent of Rat Boy and Yungblud. Just a fun bit of music.

31. Ultrahappyalarm - Messy Gyaru (happy hardcore)

CRITICAL DAYDREAM by ULTRA HAPPY ALARM

It has been so many years since I’ve heard a true bit of happy hardcore like this. It has all the things I loved about the style in the 90s, but it brings with it a complexity to the production which ensures that you can’t just immediately pick apart the tracks. This was the standout on a great set of variegated techno in Ultrahappyalarm’s EP Critical Daydream. More happy hardcore for 2021, please.

30. Saint Saviour - Taurus (chamber folk)

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Instrumentally, this is such a beautiful combination of piano and strings, with cello dominant, and a set of beautifully blending folk voices over the top. Later, it brings in some soft percussion to bring it home. Hauntingly though, the repeated piano ostinato is layered with a counterpoint of vocals in the final section. It gives me chills.

29. Kate Rusby - Love of the Common People (indie folk cover)

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I clearly love this song, originally a standard, but most famously recorded by Paul Young, because there were two separate covers this year which reached my end-of-the-week list of best tracks. This, however, is the better of the two. It has a soft kind of electronic folk quality to it, and Rusby’s sweet, unaffected vocals perfectly fit into the mix. I’ll admit that much of the credit for this being so high has to go to the original songwriters—the team that also wrote “Son of a Preacher Man”. TIL.

28. Seazoo - Honey Bee (indie pop rock)

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A lovely bit of pop rock, clearly a genre I like, especially when it has a catchy, slightly unusual riff to it. In this case, it’s a repeated rhythmic guitar stab that plays against the snare backbeat, creating this persistent sense of rocking back and forward. The rest of the song is solid enough to keep it moving, and a late guitar solo kicks it into another geat.

27. City Mouth - Sanity For Summer (indie pop rock)

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A fantastic bit of upbeat pop rock. It starts with a melodic theme, then absolutely blasts out a manic piano riff which becomes the energetic motor of the track. Mostly, it’s just catchy, energetic music that makes you want to get up and dance. We need tracks like that this year.

26. Cory Wong & Chris Thile - Bluebird (jazz-bluegrass crossover)

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Cory Wong has had a really strong year this year, releasing a full album, a live album, and two paired EPs. This comes from Dawn, the lighter, brighter of the EPs, and pairs his excellent guitar work with the sublime mandolin of every one’s favourite mandolinist. This is just exceptionally virtuosic work from both of these guys, and the combination just ratchets up the quality.

#1000albums #best of the year #albums #songs

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the-jade-goblin · 6 years

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Hi! I've seen that you really like k-pop, I've been trying to get into k-pop but I don't know where to start. What was your first k-pop song? Or your favourite groups?

Hi Nonny! I’d love to help you out in your k-pop journey, there is a lot of content out there so it can be intimidating to get started.

I’ll combine your questions to give you some solid recommendations - my first songs that I heard from some of my favourite groups, AND I’ll throw in my current fave songs from those groups so you can check them out!

My very first k-pop song that I heard was Sad Tango by Bi Rain; I was in primary school (middle school) and teaching myself Japanese, so I went on this anime site to find some Japanese bands that I could listen to, and the Japanese version of Sad Tango was listed there.

I really liked it and became obsessed with Bi Rain, but as I was young, my friends peer pressured me into stop listening to him and “Weird” stuff and instead I went back to listening to the Jonas Brothers and Nickleback bc I didn’t want my friends to stop liking me.

It wasn’t until I was in yr10 of highschool did I re-immerse myself into k-pop. I was in the library and a girl I’d just met in math class the day before was listening to something on her laptop - she was watching an MV and I got curious and came over to ask her what it was.

She told me it was called Lucifer, but a k-pop group called SHINee. My instant reaction was “oh that’s so weird?” but I took the earphone she offered me and watched it with her. I loved it. She then showed me other MVs from SHINee, and I was hooked. With a friend who was also into it I felt more confident in my passion for k-pop, and she became my k-pop supplier haha

She and I still best friends to this day, though we now have many more k-pop friends (and friends we’ve converted to k-pop *evil laughter*) and we’ve gone to so many concerts together to meet some of our favourite groups.

Now that my personal history is over with, I’ll get to the recommendations!

I’ll go through my favourite groups, and the first songs I heard from them + my current favourite songs of theirs! I’ll go in alphabetical order to make things easier to navigate, and I’ll provide links to all songs listed

Under the cut because this is a LONG POST

1. B1A4

My first B1A4 song was Beautiful Target, their debut song. My current favourite is not a title track but I love it, and it’s called Wonderful Tonight (unplugged remix) from their first album It B1A4. My favourite title track is 걸어 본다 (Tried to Walk) from Into the Wind.

B1A4 was my very first kpop concert, I went to see them in Sydney in 2014 - their first Australia concert - with my friend, literally the DAY after we graduated from highschool - while others went to the afterparty after our formal (prom), we went to the airport

2. B.A.P

The first BAP song I heard was, once again, their debut song Warrior, back when we called them Blonde Asian People bc at the time they all had blonde hair haha

My all-time fave BAP song is One Shot, but there are SO many others that could hold that title too - like 1004 Angel, Wake Me Up, Save Me, Honeymoon, Hands Up, Skydive, Young Wild & Free - there’s so many. I really recommend BAP for beginner kpoppers

I saw BAP in concert in Sydney in 2016 for their Live on Earth tour - their 2nd Australia concert

3. Boyfriend

I was with Boyfriend since debut (no surprise there I’ve followed many since debut lmao) so my first song of theirs was their debut song Boyfriend. My ultimate favourite Boyfriend song is Janus

I saw Boyfriend in Sydney, along with JJCC, in 2016 - their first Australia concert

4. BTS

BTS is one of my all-time favourite groups, I’m so emotional about these boys I love them to death. My first song of theirs was their debut song No More Dream. I have a thousand favourite BTS songs, there’s so many that I adore, but if I really had to pick I’d say currently my favourite title track is Save Me, and my favourite non-title track is Best of Me, but there SO MANY others I could have picked, like Serendipity, Dope, Fire, Danger, Boy in Luv, Hip Hop Phile, Let me Know, DNA, Dimple, MIC Drop, We On, If I Ruled the World, War of Hormone, Blood Sweat and Tears - ALL OF THE SOLOS Begin, Lie, Stigma, First Love, Reflection, Awake, MAMA - Lost, Spring Day, 21st Century Girl, Wings, Cypher 4, Not Today, I Need U, Converse High, Young Forever, Run, Butterfly, Ma City, Baepsae, Autumn Leaves, TO NAME A FEW

I saw BTS in Sydney a few years ago, their first Australian concert

5. B2ST

Beast is no longer called that, it’s called Highlight now since they lost a member and re-branded themselves, and tbh I haven’t listened to any of their stuff under Highlight (my bias was Hyunseung, the member who left) but I still love B2ST even if I don’t listen to them much anymore

My first B2ST song was, unsurprisingly, their debut song Bad Girl (when you watch the MV you have to remember this was 8 years ago, and kpop was…very different back then. Like Asian Eurovision. It was…bad)

My favourite song from B2ST is a non-title track called I Knew It, but my favourite title track is probably Fiction, it’s old but it’s good

6. CNBLUE

Again my first song of CNBlue was their debut I’m A Loner. CNBlue isn’t a dance group like most kpop groups, they’re an actual band so they play their own instruments.

My favourite CNBlue song is a toss up between the non-title tracks Lie (tho I prefer the Japanese version) and Sweet Holiday. My favourite title track is In My Head I think, but again that’s a Japanese release

7. EXO

Mama was EXO’s deubt song, and surprisingly this was actually not my first EXO song. I came a little late on the EXO train, I wasn’t following the hype of EXO pre-debut, so my first song was actually their second single History.

My absolute favourite EXO song is Miracles in December from their first Christmas album, and will always be my fave

I went to see EXO at K-Con in Sydney last year

8. FTIsland

FTIsland is another k-pop band, and my first song of theirs was Love Love Love, which isn’t their debut song Love Sick. My favourite FTIsland song is an old one called Hello Hello

9. Girl’s Day

My favourite girl group! I wasn’t into girl groups for a long time so I came into Girl’s Day quite late; my first song of theirs was Something, which is still my favourite Girls Day song, tied with Expect

10. Infinite

My first Infinite song was Paradise, which is from their first album but not their debut song. I’ve had a lot of favourite Infinite songs, like Before the Dawn, Last Romeo, Destiny and Bad, but I think my favourite currently is Back

11. MBLAQ

MBLAQ are an old favourite of mine. My first song wasn’t their debut song, it was a song called Stay (again, kpop was…very different back then) and it’s probably still one of my favourite MBLAQ songs, but my ultimate favourite I think is This Is War (its a great karaoke song)

12. Monsta X

I love Monsta X with all my heart, though I got into them a little later. My first song was Hero from their second extended play, and is still a fave. I have many favourite Monsta X songs, most of them non-title tracks, Ex Girl, Perfect Girl, Incomparable, Amen, Broken Heart and Miss You to name a few, but for title tracks I think my favourite is a tie between Beautiful and Shine Forever - I also adore the acoustic version of Beautiful

I saw Monsta X at K-Con last year

EDIT: MONSTA X JUST HAD A COMEBACK LIKE YESTERDAY AND ITS’ THE BEST THING EVER

My new favourite Monsta X song is Jealousy, Destroyer, and Lost in the Dream - wait no Special, idk they’re all lit as fuck

13. NU’EST

My first Nu’Est song was their debut song FACE. My favourite Nu’est song is probably Yeoboseyo, but I adore Not Over You and Good Bye Bye equally

14. Pentagon

My first Pentagon song was their debut Gorilla, and while my favourite used to be 감이 오지 it’s now Like This and Runaway

I saw Pentagon at K-Con last year

15. Seventeen

Seventeen is amazing; my first song of theirs was Shining Diamond, which is technically not their debut song Adore U because it’s not the tile-track, but it’s the first track on the album and I pre-ordered it before I listened to any of their material and Adore U was the second track is listened to so like idk point is I’ve been here since debut. Seventeen is made up of three sub-units that’s important, the vocal unit, the hip-hop unit, and the performance unit

I have a lot of fave Seventeen songs, including If I, Rock, 20, Say Yes and Adore U (vocal team ver.), and while Don’t Wanna Cry has been a long-standing fave, lately I’ve fallen back in love with three songs in particular; 13월의 춤 from the Performance Unit, Trauma from the Hip-Hop Unit, and Change Up from the Seventeen leaders, a new unit made up of the leaders of each sub-unit

I saw Seventeen in Sydney a few years ago

16. SF9

I’ve been a fan of SF9 since their debut of Fanfare. I love this group and have so many favourites, like K.O, Easy Love, Jungle Game and Roar, but my favourite is O Sole Mio

I saw SF9 at K-Con last year

17. SHINee

SHINee was the first kpop group I fell in love with, my first song of theirs was Lucifer. There are so many faves I could list from SHINee. Dazzling Girl, Juliette, Amigo, Hello, In my Room, Romantic, SHINee Girl, JoJo, Up & Down, Electric Heart, A-Yo, Ready or Not, Love Pain TO NAME A FEW

My forever-fave is Replay their debut song and Quasimodo (and yes, I don’t listen to new SHINee stuff, I haven’t listened to any new songs since the Sherlock album, oh except like the title track Everybody and Why So Serious. I’m an old-school SHINee fan I prefer their old music)

If you’re going to get into SHINee you should be aware that their main singer Jonghyun recently committed suicide, so there’s a lot of pain in the community right now. I personally have not been able to listen to a single SHINee song since he died. I burst into tears when I tried to play Replay, and I did listen to Crazy, Jonghyun’s single debut, twice since then but I cried half way through both times and had to skip the song.

18. Super Junior

MY ULTIMATE BIAS GROUP!

My first song from SuJu was No Other, but since then I have loved all their other releases. I’ve bought every CD they’ve ever produced and practically devoted most of my life to them, so you could say I’m a bit of an ELF expert XD

My absolute favourite songs will always be Neorago, Evanesce and A-Cha (my must karaoke songs) but there are so many others.

Super Junior also has many sub-units including; Super Junior M (Chinese unit) Super Junior T (trot music unit) Super Junior Happy (cute concept unit) Super Junior K.R.Y (the vocal line unit consisting of Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung) and Super Junior D&E (dynamic duo unit with Donghae and Eunhyuk)

Most of the members have their own solo careers too; Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung in particular, also SJM members Zhoumi and Henry. Heechul also has his own band with TRAX member Jungmo called M&D, they write their own lyrics and music, perform and film the mvs on their own - which is why they’re so weird xD Heechul’s a weirdo

A incomplete list of my favourite main group SuJu songs; Shake It Up!, Oops!!, 나쁜 여자, 사랑이 이렇게, Reset, What If, Dead at Heart, Happy Together, Hit Me Up, Don’t Leave Me, Islands, Scene Stealer, Haru, Bittersweet, Daydream, So I, Over, Love U More, Sapphire Blue, Missin U, Our Love, 사랑이 죽는 병, One More Chance, Shirt, Opera (Japanese ver.), U, Don’t Don, Sorry Sorry, Marry U

If you’re gonna check out the subgroups I recommend; D&E - Still You, Growing Pains, Sweater and Jeans, Don’t Wake Me Up, Breaking Up | SJM - Break Down, Perfection, Super Girl, Go, Strong | M&D - 울산바위, Close Ur Mouth, Springs Days of my Life (which is a cover I believe), Narcissus

and I’ll leave the other subgroups and solos to your own browsing pleasure, I’ve rambled about SuJu for too long already ^^;

19. Stray Kids

MY CURRENT OBSESSION! I LOVE THESE BOYS SO MUCH ;O;

Stray Kids originally appeared an a survival reality show for JYP’s next boy group. There was lots of pain and tears during the elimination rounds, and I won’t spoil it for you if you want to watch it, but I’m so happy the ot9 got to debut together - plus Chan and Felix are Australian! and Felix’s Aussie accent is thicker than mine xD it sounds so bad

Since Stray Kids have only just debuted, as of like, freaking yesterday, they’ve only got a limited number of songs. But they’re all so good I HIGHLY recommend! Stray Kids released a pre-debut mixtape made up of the songs they wrote on their survival show, and yesterday they made their official debut with their second mixtape.

So because they’ve only got those two albums so far, I’m going to link the entire albums here, along with their performance videos of Young Wings, Grr, because honestly I can’t pick a favourite song from the two I love them both so much. Needless to say my first Stray Kids song was both their pre-debut title track Hellevator, and their official debut title track District 9 xD

Their first mixtape can be found in its entirety here, and their second album “I am NOT” here

AGAIN, I CANNOT RECOMMEND THESE BOYS ENOUGH

I HAVE SEEN THEM GO THROUGH SO MUCH PAIN AND ANGUISH TO GET TO THIS POINT AND I’M SO FUCKING PROUD OF THEM OKAY I’M VERY EMOTIONAL ABOUT THESE SWEETHEARTS

Ahem, moving on...

20. Teen Top

Teen Top is another old school fave of mine. My first Teen Top song was Crazy, which wasn’t their debut song Clap, but they both remain very nostalgic faves for me.

My favourite Teen Top song is probably Love Is, tho it used to be I’m Sorry and Missing

21. UKISS

Ukiss debuted the same year as SHINee, so they were sort of overshadowed in their debut. My first UKISS song wasn’t their debut song, it was Man Man Ha Ni, which is most Kiss Me’s first song.

Ukiss have lost a lot of members over the years, and gained new ones in return. Mostly they’re active in Japan rather than Korea so they have a lot more Japanese releases than Korean ones, tho my favourite remains 0330, a Korean release.

Other of my faves include, Love On You, Mysterious Lady, She’s Mine, Quit Playing, Heartless, Tick Tack, Forbidden Love, DoraDora, Alone, Sweetie, Believe, Standing Still, Every Day, I Don’t Understand and Neverland

While I haven’t seen UKISS live, I did meet one of the members, my bias Kevin, at K-Con last year. He was the host and I got to meet him during my hi-touch event with UP10TION briefly - best day ever

Speaking of UP10TION...

22. UP10TION

Another group I highly recommend, all the members are such talented sweethearts. My first UP10TION song was their debut song So Dangerous and it’s still a solid fave of mine, as well Runner

Currently my fave song of theirs is tie between Going Crazy and their latest release Candyland in terms of title tracks, it used to be Catch Me! and Wild Love tho. Non-title tracks, I love Everyday, Be My Luck, Come With Me, and Holic

I saw UP10TION at K-Con last year - I told Sunyoul he was really cute and he got so shy it was adorable, but I digress

23. VIXX

We’re nearly there just bear with me haha

VIXX is life, VIXX is love. My first song of theirs was their debut song Super Hero, which was..fine, I mean I’m very glad they’re where they are now they’ve progressed so much.

My fave VIXX title song is probably Error, but I die for Fantasy, Hyde, The Closer, Shangri-La, and Chained Up too. For non-title tracks I adore Love Me Do, Eternity, Rock Ur Body, Six Feet Under and The Romance is Over.

I saw VIXX last year in Melbourne

24. Winner

Winner is the forgotten group of YG, who’s only interest lies in Big Bang let’s be real. Personally I prefer Winner, but that opinion seems to be controversial in the kpop fandom (Big Bang is overrated, there I said it). Winner is the product of a reality survival show, who won their debut that way over their competitors iKon who debuted later under the same label.

Anyway, my first Winner song was their debut song Empty, though my favourite remains Different. For title songs my favourite is a tie between Really Really and Fool. I love their first album the most so I can only rec my faves from that album, Don’t flirt, I’m Him, Love is a lie and Color Ring.

25. Day6

I know this is D but it’s down here bc they’re not on my playlist I was working from and I forgot to add them earlier.

Day6 is another band group, from JYP the company Stray Kids has just debuted from. They have consistently released a comeback every month for the last year so they work hard to get where they are and we need more fans for these sweethearts.

My favourite Day6 is also my first song, I Loved You, which isn’t their debut song but I got into them a little late. From them all their songs are stellar, but I recommend Free, How Can I Say, When You Love Someone, What Can I Do, Man in a movie, I Wait, I Smile, Out of my Mind, I Like You and First Time

ps most of the mvs tell the clearly obvious one-sided love story between Wonpil and Sungjin and no one can tell me different

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

For groups that I love but didn’t make it into the top *counts* 25 apparently

NCT, including their sub-units NCT U, NCT Dream and NCT 127. My favourite are NCT U and 127

For NCT U I recommend Without You, The 7th Sense, Baby Don’t Stop and Boss

From NCT 127 I recommend Cherry Bomb, Mad City, Good Thing, Whiplash, Baby Don’t Like It

Wanna One - a product of another reality survival show called Produce 101, out of 101 trainees these boys from various companies were picked. Their contract has been extended but it does end this year, so they will be disbanding and returning to their companies. Still, they have some good music that I recommend, Energetic, Boomerang, Burn It Up, and Beautiful

VAV - ABC, Flower, Under the Moonlight

GOT7 - also from JYP, I recommend Girls Girls Girls, Just Right, If You Do, Look, and Never Ever

VICTON - Eyez Eyez, Blank, #Begin Again

ROMEO - Love Sick, Miro, Without U, Hustle

MYTEEN - Amazing, Mr. Misery

Madtown, who have sadly disbanded now - OMGT, New World, Lie

iKon - Rhythm Ta, Dumb & Dumber, My Type

JJCC - BingBingBing, Be Good, Insomnia, Fire, Trauma, Where you at

Cross Gene - Billion Dolla, Shooting Star, La-Di Da-Di, Sky High, Black or White

History, who have also disbanded recently - What Am I To You, Queen, Might Just Die, Psycho

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leegeumhyuks · 7 years

Text

Seventeen in Toronto Highlights (Long Post)

this is gonna be such a shit post im basically ranting bc i have a lot of seventeen feels rn (its gonna be long too)

the concert happened like 4 days ago and I’m still not over it

Okay so I live in new Brunswick so it was a 15 hour drive one way. We drove up the day before and drove home the day after.

It was tiring, but so worth it. One of the best experiences of my life(oh btw i went with a friend ^^)

(not relevant to the concert but we went to a cute Korean store called Sarah and Tom which had a MASSIVE collection of kpop albums so I bought Going Seventeen and a BTS album :) )

Alright so the concert was at a place called Massey Hall which is more like a theater than a concert stadium [lowkey looked like a place you would go to see a play or an opera or some shit]

it was a pretty small place so really no matter where you sat, you could see really well so any seat was a good seat

Me and my friend were center-balcony near the back so we had a very clear view of the stage (other than there was some tall dude in front of me so it was a bit difficult at times)

We arrived outside the venue at around 6:20 (concert started at 7) and the line to get in already went around a whole block. People were stopping to ask what was going on and apparently it made the Toronto news??

So we get in at around 6:40 and the venue is already more than half full and theyre just playing music videos and everyone was singing along

And when I say everyone was singing along i mean everyone

Honestly I only remember a few of the songs but I they played BoomBoom, Very Nice, Highlight, Healing, and Check In

I have never been happier in my entire life when every single damn person in the venue did Mingyu’s “WhhoAHHH YeaAAHHH’ part. Super. Fucking. Loud

Alright so let me tell you my dudes, It was the biggest adrenaline rush when all the lights went out and you could see the boys run out on stage in the dimness. My heart felt like it stopped.

The lights turn on and I hear Dokyum say “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Diamond Edge” but honestly I wasnt even paying attention bc I was just so blown away

Literally my very first thought upon seeing them was “They’re not real” bc the very first person I looked at was Jeonghan and I thought he was so damn gorgeous he must be fake

He’s literal ethereal. I could go off about how good looking he is. Honestly the true visual of Svt (i swear hes not my bias)

So the very first stage was Pretty U and honestly I dont remember much bc i was too busy freaking out over the fact that I was actually there and they were actually here. I just remember everyone dancing along to Dokyums “Neoneoneoneo” part and all of us doing the “Yeppeuda” part

(they performed Beautiful right after and i really dont remember much of it other than the dance in the chorus [i have such a shit memory its mainly why im making this post before ill forget it all])

So after that they went straight into Adore U (which is my fav svt song although it probably isnt anymore after habits but ill talk about that in a bit)

Oh man if you thought I went off about Jeonghans visuals let me tell you about this mans vocals. They’re so sweet. Sweeter than honey. Jeonghans part in the chorus is my absolute favorite part of the song and it sounds 10000x better live. He just sings it so flawlessly while doing the dance and overall I was just so impressed??

Jihoon also sounded amazing but like let me just take a minute and say every single member sounded fucking perfect and flawless like if you aren’t stanning Seventeen then what are you doing

And the dances were so on point too. I didn’t notice any slip ups or anybody trippin or nothing. Like you’d think they’d show signs of fatigue or being tired bc they did two shows the few days before but they were all so hyped and gave their all in every stage and they genuinely looked like they were enjoying themselves

Anyways back to Adore U

Everyone in the crowd did the “Akkinda” part and I could see Soonyoung smiling so big bc of that like he was really happy bc of it

After Adore U finished they all lined up to do their intros and introduced themselves as a group and then did their individual intros

Most of them just did a casual “Hi I’m ___” but then you had the extra™️ members

Soonyoung got us all to chant something (im not sure what it was exactly I think it was ‘rock the beat’) and then he did his usual “What time is it??” “10 Hour 10 Minute” which honestly made my life i was hoping for him to do that (i love soonyoung sm honestly most of my favorite moments of the concert were bc of him)

Dokyum also did a thing where he got everyone to scream for him

All of their intros were great but none of them were as memorable as Jihoons for me

I know a lot of people were saying ‘He’s not that small in person’, but to me he was so small and cute and I just wanted to go and hug him bc hes so freaking adorable

So Jihoon’s kinda quiet and shy in general, we know that from variety shows and such but I saw it a lot in the concert. Like when other members were talking he just stood quietly with his hands folded and there was this one part where they all ran towards the edge of the stage and gave hearts and Jihoon like covered his face a bit and looked embarrassed

So anyways he does like this cute little “Hi guys” and I just fucking melted right there. I made an audible “awwwww” sound that my friend was like ???

I love Jihoon so much and I will forever see him as the cute and adorable little smol (boi got a voice tho holy shit)

So they talked a bit more after that about how they walked around Toronto a bit the day before and how they were impressed with the crowd dancing along to Pretty U and Mingyu taught us a little chant where they would say “Seventeen Carat” and we would go ‘clap clap Ehhhhh’ it was weird but cute

So they went straight into Still Lonely from there and I hate my brain for not remembering most of it bc its one of my favorite songs but I just remember Minghao doing Jun’s part in the last chorus and sounding amazing honestly i want an official 13 member version of that song

So after that was Very Nice which was indeed, very nice. Dancing on point. Dino and Vernons rap were amazing and the whole audience did the “Maja” part

Also dont remember much of that stage but I definitely remember the last part bc thats the part where my son, Chan, is in the front. 10/10

Okay so I have 2 favorite performances of the night. One of which was Swimming Fool. I am such a hoe for Performance unit (considering 2 of my biases are in it) so actually every performance of theirs was my fav but Swimming Fool tho.

That song is one of my favs and I had never seen the dance before so I was basically dying the whole time. Soonyoung’s little wiggle dance and the jumping up and down dance that Chan did. The whole dance was so cute tbh Ive been re-watching that video every day since. (if youve never seen the dance pls watch this. Not my video tho)

Alright imma talk about Soonyoung for a minute. This boi. Was so hyper the entire concert. He was doing his usual yelling during songs and was giggling a whole lot, I noticed. (He also dabbed like 20 times and i was like someone pls stop him)

(There was one part where he went and dabbed right in front of Jihoon and i laughed a little harder than i should have)

And I’m honestly so glad that Soonyoung was feeling great the whole time bc apparently at the Chicago(?) show he wasn’t able to perform bc he was sick so we were extremely blessed that all 13 members were well and healthy to perform for us so like thank u jesus for keeping them all safe

(I was lowkey worried about that a lot before the concert bc of when I heard Hyungwon was missing parts of the tour with MX so I was like “Lord pls let it be all 13″)

anywho so all the members went to change outfits and they played a vcr (dont remember what of tho i have such a shit memory)

So yall they did Mansae next and started out with the class chairs and Dokyum was the teacher at the blackboard it was rlly cute!! ^^ And towards the end they repeated the “MansaeMansae” part and got everyone to do the dance it was such a great time

So while the rest of the group was preparing for the next stage(i presume), Chan and Seungcheol came out, just the two of them, with a gopro and said it was the camera for “Going Seventeen” and were filming the crowd and interacting with us a bit. And then they had a dance battle (Which Dino clearly won Seungcheol didnt stand a chance against Michael Chanson)

So then everybody came out and did BoomBoom which was incredible (every stage was amazing i feel like i shouldnt have to say it) Most of the crowd even did the shirt thing which was really fun. Chan slayed his rap (i love my son)

So after that there was another vcr and the members changed outfits again

Vocal unit came out and sang We Gonna Make It Shine and boys let me say I have never fell in love with someone vocals so much before in my life. Like I’ve always loved Jihoon’s voice bc it was unique and its got a nasally tone to it and I love it, but hearing it in person made me love it 100x more

And for a while I actually thought Jihoon wasn’t singing?? Bc he just sounded so flawless, like exactly like the recording that I thought ‘maybe hes lip singing bc his throat is bad or something’ and I’m hitting myself now for even thinking that bc really Lee Jihoon is just the most amazing vocalist I’ve ever heard Boo Seungkwan who???

So yeah Vocal unit slayed even though I’ll always like the 2014 version of that song with Soonyoung better

As soon as that song ended they went straight into Don’t Listen and omg let me talk about visuals. The stage had this whole setup with a table with some fancy ass candles on it and there was a throne that Joshua was sitting in and the lighting was really eerie and I really don’t listen to that song much but im gonna listen to it every day from now on bc damn

HipHop unit had their turn next where they did some song which I had never heard of before called “On Haeng Il Chi” and it was dope then went into Check In and once again everyone did Mingyus “ohhhhhHHh yeahH” part (glorious I tell you)

Seungcheol was serving looks the whole time bc he was wearing this black suit set and he just looked so good the whole time. Honestly Seungcheol was such a tease the whole concert and i got a look at his thighs at one point and man he thicc

Vernon was also wearing this nice green shirt and I just really liked it for some reason and I wish I had taken more pictures and videos I hate myself for not doing that

AlrIGHT Performance Unit time!!! So leadin up to the concert I thought they were gonna perform “WHO” bc it was a bonus track and I just thought they would perform it for some reason so when they were all standing there ready for the song to start, the amount of confusion on my face when OMG came on… Wasn’t disappointed tho that performance was awesome

Still would like to see a performance of WHO tho I hope they’ll do that next time

And then they did Highlight and me and my friend even switched seats so I could get a better video of it bc I love that song so much. Also leading up to the concert I knew they were going to do this song but I wasn’t sure if they were going to do 13 member version or not but I’m glad it was just the 4 of them

Oh man okay I’m gonna talk about my bias, Chan, for a second. His stage presence in every song is seriously amazing. A main reason why hes my bias is bc im a huge fan of his dancing and his dance style(and he pretty cute) and seeing him perform live was incredible. it was almost overwhelming bc I couldnt believe someone this talented existed and I was watching them in their element

Like he put his all into the dance while still executing his raps and vocals perfectly. His voice actually does sound a bit different live, like its a bit higher than I expected but he was so on point the whole night why is he such an underrated member

Okay so the members had another outfit change after this and these outfits were straight up sinful. Not to mention the first song they performed in them was equally as sinful so I’m going to on about this performance bc this was the best performance imo. I will never forget it. It’s ingrained into my brain forever

So Crazy In Love starts. Okay so I don’t listen to this song much as far as just listening to it in my free time, but I’d seen the dance before so as soon as I heard the music, I knew we were royally fucked. I wasn’t expecting this song probably bc i forgot it existed but its my new fav song guys this performance ruined me.

So the lights come on at the very first part and these mofos are wearing tight black skinny pants (which looked like they were leather but they werent) and red silk sparkly shirts that were tucked in. Every single member looked flawless

(Also didn’t mention this before but all of their hair was styled so well bless the stylists. I normally prefer a more natural color for hair on idols so I was glad the colorful dye had faded and most of them just went with black or brown)

But lord have mercy when the song started. Okay Chan is my bias but I could not stop staring at Soonyoung almost the entire time - minus for Chan’s “talking about love” part (which I remember doing the dance for and screaming while doing so)

Like you get Swimming Fool Soonyoung whos all cute and playful and going “YEEEE HAWW” during the song and then you get Crazy In Love Soonyoung whos all bedroom eyes and sexy glares and just everything about the way he moves is mesmerizing (i swear. Hes NOT my bias)

So getting through the first chorus is hard enough when BOTH my bias and bias wrecker are up in front doing that provocative shit and I was so conflicted on which one to stare at but I ended up staring at Soonyoung the whole time.

And then in the second chorus when it’s just Jeonghan doing it and both me and my friend screamed so loud ugh the outfits were so perfect for this dance i wanted to D I E

And then it gets to the Part in the song yknow the “Ooohhhhh” part where they spin around and when it was Soonyoungs part to do that by himself. I don’t even have words for how that made me feel. That image is in my mind forever. You know that meme thats like “you ever wonder whats going on in someones head?” well yeah its that for me

It’s just Soonyung doing that one dance move

okay moving on Ive talked about this enough

My I was right after and I’d never seen the dance to that either and it was really beautiful and cool like idk how to describe it. It was like a very romantic type of dance and Jun and Minghao had such great chemistry on stage together they really blew me away

OKay now imma freak out some more bc Vocal Unit performed Habits. I actually recorded this whole song so I wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening on stage bc they were all just standing there with mic stand anyways. I was enjoying the audio and their lovely vocals. (Again, Jihoon really exceeded my expectations in this song. Like for some members like Dokyum and Seungkwan I know theyre gonna sound great and its not like I didn’t for the rest but I’m just still not over how good EVERYONE sounded)

So I’m enjoying them vocals and the song ends and my friend taps on my arm and points to her face and there are actual tears. This bitch really cried. At the time I was like “during Habits of all songs??” but i was so naive now I understand(I cried 2 days later listening to that song)

Hiphop unit then did If I which I remember 0 of I think I was still too shook from Vocal Unit

I just remember their little hip thrust dance and then immediately after was a ment and Soonyoung was mimicking HH units dance and giggling like an idiot and got the whole crowd to sing and dance to If I

“Ohh Toronto. Dancing good”

Then they were all arguing over which unit’s performance suited Toronto the best but then decided that they all did

And then Soonyoung dabbed

Too many times

Everyone also dabbed with him this group is a M E S S

And then they got Jeonghan to do Aegyo so he spun around and made a heart and said “Toronto I love you!” in the cutest voice possible I swear I’m in love with Jeonghans voice

And then Wonwoo did a cute little dance to which we all chanted ‘Go Wonwoo’ for and then Soonyoung dabbed

again

(It made Jihoon cringe every time)

Then Jeonghan tried to get Seungkwan to sing something and Boo was like ‘moVING ON” but he gave in and sang a bit of Hello by adele which was really nice. Like damn the acoustics in that theater were no joke bc its a theater (i assume) made for plays and stuff and him singing without any track sounded really nice.

And then they asked my boi Chan to dance so he started singing Billie Jean by Michael Jackson and doing the hipthrust dance and Seungkwan ran over like ‘nOO”. But Chan just kept dancing and singing and having a good time and being w i l d to which Seungcheol cracked up at. He literally fell on the floor laughing

And they kept going on about how this was a totally special stage for Toronto, “only for Toronto”

So then they went on to say they were gonna perform a very “hot” song next and my clueless ass was like ‘Don’t wanna cry?’ but naw it was ROCK which I only recorded part of bc the lighting was bad and my phone sucks

But okay I can just say that Wonwoo’s voice sounds 10x deeper in person. If you thought his rap was really deep in that song, wait until you hear it live. For a long time Wonwoo was my favorite rapper in kpop and I think hes regaining that title he was very good the whole night and I really like his deep voice

and then they did Chuck which was SO AMAZING HOLY CRAP

I love that song sm in the first place but I love it even more now upon seeing and hearing it in person. I recorded a bit of that one too and love it i watch that video like 3 times a day

So then they had another short Ment where they taught us the dance to Chuck and Soonyoung doing the “brrrr” part was so adorable I wanted to die. (I feel like Im talking about Soonyoung a lot but im just so glad he was able to perform in Toronto ilysm)

So then Vernon was like “I actually have some bad new for yall” and all the members were like ‘whaaat??’ and pretending to be shocked

So Vernon goes on: “The next song is actually the last song for the night” and Soonyoung made this fake crying noise and then dabbED LIKE 5 TIMES

That was when he went over to Jihoon and dabbed right in front of him and then was like “Oh my god our last song?”

and then Vernon being the cheeky ass that he is was like “Yeah and I really dont wanna cry about it” and then him and Soonyoung went to the back of the stage to “cry” and all the other members were “crying”

Then Vernon came back and like “I wonder what our next song is tho? Hm????” and im like really bitch

So Soonyoung yelled ‘are you ready’ a few times and then they performed Don’t Wanna Cry which was INCREDIBLE

They were all in perfect sync like im seriously amazed. These boys probably have to practice day and night to get dances like that. It was amazing

So the boys left the stage for a bit and there was a another vcr which was of all the member explaining what carats were to them and it was really sweet and my friend cried again (she cried like 3 times that night) and I died at Jihoons bc there was this short clip of him and hes just so darn cute

so they came out again and performed Shining Diamond but were wearing casual jeans and half were wearing blue shirts and the other half were wearing pink shirts and Soonyoung looked so good in that outfit bc his shirt was tucked in in the front and his hair was just so great

anyways they all looked like they had fun performing that song and Soonyoung was yelling as usual and there was one part of the dance that was super satisfying bc all the colors of the shirts lined up and it was just really nice to look at.

And then they performed Healing which we had special banners to hold up during. There was one part I remember bc I couldnt see bc everyone was holding their banners above their heads, but Seungcheol jumped onto Mingyus back and koala hugged him for a good minute and a half and Mingyu kept trying to get him off and Seungcheol just smiled like an idiot and latched on. Eventually he got down and then grabbed his water bottle and dumped half of it onto the people in the front(splash zone)

So once that song ended, Toronto Carats had actually prepared something special for Seventeen. So certain seats had a red board on it that you would hold up after Healing ended but only so many seats had them so it made a message in the crowd and I think it was just 2 hearts and ‘1 7′ and the members looked really surprised like Vernon and Minghao were next to each other and were like :O

Seungcheol and Jeonghan looked really shocked too, overall none of them expected it

So then the goodbye ments came and I was ready to die as soon as they started. They all said the similar kind of thing like “we had a good time we’ll come again soon ect…”

But Minghao’s was all in english and it was the cutest damn thing i have ever heard in my life. He started out with “Today I am so happy because of our Toronto Carats energy.”

and then says the cutest shit ever: “We are like friends. We look after each other and love each other” He also kept looking over at Vernon to make sure he was saying it right

and then he said something like “we care for each other” and the fkcigingf df went “and everyone, don’t be sick. Always be happy okay?” IN LIKE THE CUTEST WAY POSSIBLE I WANTED TO SCREAM I MEAN I PROBABLY DID BUT STILL

and then I only remember Chan saying something like “We’ll be back soon, and when we are you have to promise that you’ll come to our show” and then Soonyoung and Seungcheol held out their pinkies for us to promise them and I held my pinky bc I damn promise if they come to Toronto again I will be seeing them for sure. Or I’ll try my best anyways

and they all gave us hearts and said they loved us and did a bow and then all had to leave the stage and I almost cried;;

I remember Soonyoung was the last to leave the stage bc he kept waving and saying goodbye

Also I remember a person sticking their hand out one last time and it was kind funny bc I just see this random hand pop out for like a split second. I didn’t know who it was at the time, but I later found out it was Dokyum :3

So yeah, he’s not my bias, but Soonyoung made my night

Anyways. I’m still having post-concert depression. Honestly I don’t think I’ll ever be able to listen to another seventeen song again without crying. All in all, it was one of the best nights of my life and if it wasn’t for my best friend who bought the tickets and surprised me with them and her mom who drove us up the whole long way. Highlight of my summer.

#i say honestly a lot #god this is long #took me like 3 hours to write and i had to watch fancams to remember stuff #i love seventeen so much you guys honestly u dont udneratand #i cried like 3 times the other day #bc of them #seventeen #diamond edge #toronto #2017 #svt #17 #my post #long post

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justanothercinemaniac · 7 years

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Epic Movie (Re)Watch #128 - The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Spoilers below.

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: Blu-ray

1) This film is a classic of American cinema. If you ever want to learn how to tell a slick story, watch this film. Because outside of one or two musical numbers, there is nothing in here that doesn’t need to be. It is all entertaining and slick.

2) Judy Garland’s iconic performance as Dorothy Gale.

In the original tale Dorothy was a pre-adolescent eight year old, where as Garland was 16 upon playing Dorothy. They had to have her in a tight corset to keep her boobs under wraps. Now that I’ve said that fun anecdote...

Garland is pretty great as Dorothy. She is able to perfectly capture her childlike wonder, heart, and innocence in a way which makes the audience feel like a kid. It brings us into this world of youth and fairytales through a compelling and fun character. Dorothy comes off as compassionate and loyal, and while a bit of a damsel towards the end we understand that she is just a child who is thrust into this world and desperately is trying to get back home. Garland is perfect in the role and the film needs her to be as iconic as it is.

3) The decision to have various characters and lines (“Well your head ain’t made of straw you know!”) be echoed in Oz gives the film a sense of magical realism (a literary genre or style associated especially with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction). I would not go far enough to call the film an example of that genre, but it definitely has some of those elements.

4) “Over the Rainbow”

Without a doubt THE most iconic song in the film. In my opinion there are two songs from cinema which perfectly capture a child’s imagination: “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and “Over the Rainbow” from this film. The song was almost cut from the film, with studio heads fearing it would bore kids! Can you even imagine? The film’s light melody and childlike innocence is what truly carries it. It connects with anyone who has ever longed for someplace better, for a far off land filled with adventure and intrigue. Garland’s vocals do the beautiful composition amazing justice, making the two inseparable. Honestly, it’s THE moment from the film and the movie hasn’t even gone to color yet!

5) The relationship with Dorothy and Toto is wonderfully strong. I wonder if there’s a backstory to that. Like maybe Toto was a gift to her from her late parents or something like that. Either way, any dog lover will appreciate it.

6) The fact that Professor Marvel (played by Frank Morgan, who later plays the titular Wizard) is a total phony doesn’t have so much weight the first time you watch this film. It does however become wildly important after the film’s end. Also the fact that Dorothy is so quick to believe speaks wildly to her youthful innocence.

7) It took me a while to realize why Dorothy is so desperate to return home when she has a whole song about wanting to be elsewhere, and only recently did I realize why. She thinks her Auntie Em is sick! Professor Marvel told her that her running away made her sick and heartbroken, and it is this belief and love for her family which drives her through the rest of the film.

8) Dorothy looking out the window in the middle of the twister has some wonderful sight gags.

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9) The transition from a sepia tone world to a color one is remarkably seamless. Credit to the director, cinematographer, and editor(s?) who worked on this film for that. Bravo.

10) One of the reasons the film is such a classic is largely because of its wonderful imagery. All of Oz is wonderful fantasy, using the brightness of technicolor to its full advantage and creating a storybook world that appeals to the eyes of children and adults everywhere. The entire color palette is like that of a rainbow, something very fitting considering the main song of this film.

11)

Glinda [upon meeting Dorothy]: “Are you a good which, or a bad witch?”

Oh, if only it were that simple.

12)

Glinda [after she hears Dorothy’s opinion that all witches are ugly]: “Only bad witches are ugly.”

Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, dude.

13) While watching this film I kinda thought Glinda was being a little TOO chipper, and that the ready celebration of death was a bit odd. Then I remembered a fan theory which painted the supposed Good Witch of the North as the villain. Read at your own risk of childhood ruining.

14) I don’t love this film as much as others, although I do admit its pretty damn great. So it’s at risk of offending the purists out there that I say I think the whole Munchkinland song goes on a little too long. Also some of the Munchkins - probably because of their costumes - freak me out. Mainly the Lollipop Guild.

15) THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST!!!!

She’s so freaking evil, I love it! The Wicked Witch of the West is one of the most iconic film villains of all time, possibly even more iconic than some legends as Darth Vader. Margaret Hamilton plays the Witch with DELIGHTFUL villainy! You can tell she’s having a lot of fun in the part and we as the audience are having fun because of it. The Witch is simultaneously both in line with the stories we hear as children while at times being truly threatening. Even as an adult there are times I go, “holy cow, this woman is EVIL!!!!!!” That is amazing to me. Hamilton was a fan of the books and was delighted to hear she was being considered for a part, and that enthusiasm just infects ever green skin cell of this baddie. Some stories are only as good as their villain, and The Wizard of Oz has an INCREDIBLE villain.

16) The Ruby Slippers.

In the original story the slippers were silver, but the filmmakers changed it to ruby in order to take full advantage of the technicolor process. These days the ruby slippers are such an iconic piece of film that there’s a pair in the Smithsonian institute. Just like everything else in Oz, it captures our imaginations totally and completely.

17) Follow the Yellow Brick Road.

Okay, but what happens if you follow the Red Brick Road? Am I the only one curious about that? Where does the Red Brick Road lead? Wonderland? Neverland? Cleveland? CAN WE GET A SPINOFF ANSWERING THIS QUESTION PLEASE!?!?!?

18) The Scarecrow.

(Let’s all take a moment to realize how relevant and awesome that line is in 2017.)

Out of the trio, the Scarecrow may well be my favorite. He is just so sweet and kind, despite of (or because of?) his naivety. Some fun slapstick comes about from his character, and...I don’t know what else. For some undefinable reason he’s just my favorite of the bunch!

19) This film does have some nice humor.

Dorothy [after interpreting the rusted Tin Man’s words]: “He said oil can.”

Scarecrow: “Oil can what?”

20) According to IMDb:

Ray Bolger was originally cast as the Tin Man. However, he insisted that he would rather play the Scarecrow--his childhood idol Fred Stone had originated that role on stage in 1902. Buddy Ebsen had been cast as the Scarecrow, and now switched roles with Bolger. Unbeknownst to him, however, the make-up for the Tin Man contained aluminum dust, which ended up coating Ebsen's lungs. He also had an allergic reaction to it. One day he was physically unable to breathe and had to be rushed to hospital. The part was immediately recast and MGM gave no public reason why Ebsen was being replaced. The actor considered this the biggest humiliation he ever endured and a personal affront. When Jack Haley took over the part of the Tin Man, he wasn't told why Ebsen had dropped out (and in the meantime, the Tin Man make-up was changed from aluminum dust to aluminum paste as one of its key components). However, his vocals remain whenever the song "We're off to see the Wizard" is played. Jack Haley's vocals were never used during the song, but were used for "If I Only Had a Heart" and "If I Only Had the Nerve." Ebsen's vocals are also heard in the extended version of "If I were King of the Forest," though the spoken segment has Jack Haley. Although no Ebsen footage from the film has ever been released, surviving still photos show him taking part in the Wicked Witch's castle sequence.

21) The various reprises of “If I Only Had _____” (A Brain/A Heart/The Nerve) are some of my favorite songs in the film. Not only is the tune itself sweet and memorable, but they each serve as slick simple introductions to each character’s core conflict.

22) Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! I don’t have anything to say about that line I just wanted to include it in my recap post.

23) Although the Scarecrow is probably my favorite of the trio, the Cowardly Lion is the funniest I think.

The idea of his cowardice allows for a great amount of physical humor and humor in his dialogue. He’s the comic relief in an already very funny and sweet cast.

24) Apparently the actors playing the trio of characters would often show boat and try to steal the scenes from one another, to the point where the director (or whichever director was working that day, as this film had a lot) had to shout at them to let Judy Garland be the star because it was her story.

25) Man, these guys get to the poppy field WAY sooner than I remember!

I also didn’t remember that it got resolved by “Deus Ex Glinda” just casting a magical spell to kill all the poppies with snow. Which is weird considering it should be one of the most memorable scenes in the film.

26) Frank Morgan - the actor who played The Wizard and Professor Marvel - also plays the sentry in Emerald City, the coach driver in the city, and a third guard in the city. Now that we know of The Wizard’s tricky ways, I wonder if all three of these are not meant to be the same character.

27) There are parts in the Emerald City sequence I find a little on the lengthy side, a little superfluous. The songs where all of Dorothy’s squad is getting treated well is fine, it’s short enough. But I totally forget about the entire “King of the Forrest” number any time I watch the film and honestly don’t think the film needs it. But that’s just me.

28) I think part of the Witch’s truly threatening nature is through the strong visuals this film uses. “Surrender Dorothy” is a particularly memorable sight, as black ash fills the sky of an otherwise happy place.

29) I will say though, even though I find the whole “King of the Forrest” song a bit pointless, it does have this nice bit:

Lion: What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage!

30) Probably the time the Lion is at his funniest is when the group is approaching The Wizard.

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Also The Wizard is kind of a jerk.

31) Dude, there’s a door just a few feet away. You DON’T need to go through the window!

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32) Where the heck did the Scarecrow get a gun? Where’d the Tin Man get a giant wrench?

This movie is weird. I love that.

33) The Flying Monkeys!

Another example of incredible imaginative imagery.

34) Okay so...why does the Witch want the slippers? I mean we have theories in all OTHER forms of Wizard of Oz media. They belonged to her sister, they have the power to jump worlds, she wants a little color in her wardrobe, but the film itself never gives a reason. She just WANTS them.

35) I always really appreciated the devotion the three friends had when going to rescue Dorothy. I don’t know, it just sort of moves me the friendship they were able to craft in such a short time.

36) So this scene with the guards singing:

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I did a production of Our Town YEARS ago and there was this girl in the cast who said she grew up thinking these guys were chanting, “Oreo! O-RE-o!” Which, you know, makes sense. That was funny enough on it’s own. Then Wreck-It Ralph came out...

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37) For some reason “Night on Bald Mountain” plays as Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man go to rescue Dorothy from the which. Because why not, I guess.

38) The fact that water melts the witch - while iconic - sort of comes from nowhere. Was there something earlier in the film that was supposed to foreshadow this? It’s very Deus Ex Machina.

39) The Wizard revealed!

A for effort dude.

40) The scene where The Wizard is handing out the gifts for everyone (a diploma for Scarecrow which works as a brain, the “heart” for Tin Man, a medal for lion) is very funny. Frank Morgan benefits from his fast talking yet sincere nature.

Scarecrow [after receiving his gift]: “How can I ever thank you enough?”

The Wizard: “Well, you can’t.”

And then I love this too.

Dorothy [after The Wizard talks about getting here in a runaway hot air balloon]: “Weren’t you frightened?”

The Wizard: “Frightened? Child, you're talking to a man who's laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe... I was petrified.”

41) I either don’t understand the lesson here or I do and I dislike it. Dorothy has this line of how if she ever wants something again, she’ll just look in her backyard because “there’s no place like home.” While I appreciate the sentiment of, “There’s no place like home,” the idea of home is not defined by the place you grow up in. It’s the place where you feel the most safe, the most comfortable, the place you miss when you’re not there. It’s usually defined by people, not location. Good people who treat you well. So while Dorothy does have that back in Kansas, the line about her backyard throws me.

The Wizard of Oz is a classic and for good reason. It’s colorful and vibrant imagery will stick with children of all ages, and through all its parts combined it just captures the imagination of childhood perfectly. It’s mostly pure, innocent, but not in a naive or babyish way. It’s an entertaining treat everyone should see at least once.

#The Wizard of Oz #Judy Garland #Margaret Hamilton #Frank Morgan #Wizard of Oz #Epic Movie (Re)Watch #Movie #Film #GIF

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3amwine · 6 years

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How I Get Through Depression with Kylie Minogue

I have been taught through the gay guidebook circa late 90’s, early 00’s that each homo should seek out a diva. This diva should resonate with you on a seemingly personal wavelength when it comes to her personal and professional tribulations. She should break through all the barriers and after years of struggle, should express all of it in song to not only speak to your tired soul, but to uplift you. The popular deities are outlined neatly throughout VH1’s Diva series throughout the years, but I, often persuaded by hipster tendencies early throughout my developmental stages, sought out a diva less frequently mentioned by my peers.

Kylie despite all her international success, is often described as not being able to conquer the American market. She is often referred to as being a Madonna equivalent, a title that was briefly emphasized during Madonna’s 2000 tour when she wore one of Kylie’s concert T-shirt. Although Can’t Get You Out of My Head is a song that most know and can sing along the chorus to, all her other efforts remain relatively unknown by American pop culture.

Kylie’s 11th studio album Aphrodite, which is the second album post- breast cancer, is in my book Kylie being Kylie. Although it reached moderate success and was certainly an improvement of her 10th album X, it still lacks a twist and falls short. X always had mixed reviews and there was not a single thread of unity throughout the album; a fact that I always felt, but forgave because honestly the woman just had to deal with breast cancer for chrissake. Aphrodite is hailed as a back to form for her, but in no way innovative and furthering the genre of pop that she had often experimented with. (Body Language in my book is when she is at her artistic peak of cohesive innovation.)

However within a somewhat solid bland effort that is Aphrodite, there is a gem of a song that has never been recognized and heralded as a gay anthem. The second track, Get Outta My Way not only celebrates her skills as a performer, but utilizes an intricate storytelling method in which she reaches out to sad depressed gay men and gives them a solid push to continue moving forward.

On the surface the song is a story of a powerful woman who has been fed up and is ready to slap some sense into her lover for not recognizing what he’s been taking for granted, a very common theme throughout gay anthems. However for the purposes of my life, I am not interested in this “my boyfriend doesn’t appreciate me” business. It may seem like Kylie is talking to her dumb lover, but during my periods of devout depression, I know she’s speaking to me.

K: What's the worst thing that could happen to you?

Me: Everything Kylie, Everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong.

K:Take the chance tonight and try something new

Me: That would require a shower and for me to put my contacts in. I’m not ready to face that stupid world.

K:You're getting boring; you're oh-so boring

Me: Girlfriend I know, but legit I cannot get off this floor. I know I haven’t showered in two days.

K:And I don't recognize the zombie you turn into

Me: I know I need to shave too, but there’s no real point in shaving if I haven’t showered. Cleanliness is a priority for going outside, I’m staying inside. I know from many episodes of Hoarders that I need to stay inside for like two years before I start actually getting sick. My toilet is working. I’m not shitting in the middle of my living room.

K: Don't worry 'cause tonight I got you

Me: I trust you girl, but you’re not here. Well you are here spiritually, but physically you’re in Melbourne polishing your statue.

K: You can take a seat, do what you normally do

Me: That is super judgmental. I’m going through (insert origin of depression). Give me a break.

K: I'm about to let you see

Me: and?

K: This is what'll happen if you ain't givin' your girl what she needs

Me: Girl? I don’t care about you. You got your shit together, I never understood why you would be with a loser anyhow. Oh wait, are you talking to me? Like the spiritual me? Is the girl you refer to like the “girl” inside me? Have I been not feeding the spiritual goddess inside me? Is this why I’m feeling weak?

K: Leave you, move on to a perfect stranger

Me: Kylie I’m not self actualized yet. My spiritual journey began about seven hundred times and I never finished a single journey. I can’t really leave myself to self reflect. It does sound nice… Wait do you think this is a bad spirit situation? Are you not talking to me, but to like the ghost of some terrible spirit that is like fucking with my life because it cannot move on from this world? Should I go buy a bundle of sage?

K: You talk, I walk, wanna feel the danger

Me: I have always been there for you. I might’ve never made it to one of your concerts, but I have always defended your honor to the Beehive, the Butterflies and all the other tribes.

K: See me with him and it's turning you on

Me: Him? You mean money? Success? Confidence? Everything that is not me at this very moment on this bus?

K: It's got me saying Getting me back at the end of this song

Me: Yeah I miss me. I want me back. I want me circa five years ago back.

My experience of this inner monologue requires a proper viewing of her live performance during her Aphrodite Les Folies tour. Kylie has referred to herself that she is a showgirl and that not only does she proudly takes that title, but she holds herself up to that certain standard. She has never proclaimed herself as the voice of an angel. She does not take her difficult emotions and translates it into a vocal riff, she takes her hard times in true showgirl form and stomps on it.

Watching the performance we can confirm a couple of suspicions. She’s talking to a gay man. The images of men’s torsos projected behind her in bright bold colors and artful extensions of bodies reminiscent of America’s Next Top Model beckons all the memories of you as that one sad gay man in a loud club. She asks you to trust her. She has a top hat forcing you to judge her for a quick second and question her validity as spiritual guide. It’s black and sparkly. Are you basic? No, she says. Her voluminous skirt covered in black feathers is supported by the boning reminiscent of royal portraits in art history classes. She knows her demographic, her waist is cinched with a large gold situation, perhaps she wants you to remember she is a self actualized pop star in the arena of Dance music. Her hat isn’t a cheap party favor, she is the ringleader and as she says in her song you need to take a couple of seats and trust her.

Live performances are tricky for pop music fans. Most times they disappoint and utilize back-dancers and other visual cues to distract the viewer from actually appreciating a star’s voice. The beginning of the performance is no exception. You realize quickly that her Australian twang is auto tuned out to a soft sexy exasperation on her tracks. However on a second viewing you become more aware of her audience interaction at the beginning of the song. She puts London in their place by proclaiming they’ve “been good tonight,” as if she is the dominatrix mistress herself. When she begins the song with “What's the worst thing that could happen to you?” she needs to be strong and cheeky. It doesn’t need to be melodic, she needs to grab your attention by your balls if necessary.

The chairs seen throughout the performances can be passed off as visual gags and a reference to the times she asks you to take a couple of seats throughout the song. During my periods of devout depression I sometimes view them as seats at the table. There are so many times throughout my life that I find that my depression creeps in when I so desperately want a seat at the table. At the start of the second verse she reassures you, she knows of and has experienced insecurities. You’ve been coming up short she half speaks/sings in the performance as she points to a dancer through a chair.

During the bridge of the song she sings a soft cry of emotional release. What the recording of the song takes away is the fact that the emotional release is due to a re-confirmation of self assurance. If you’ve only heard the recording of the song you can easily miss it, it’s a quick couple of seconds in the background before you become entrenched in the repetitive lyrics. However in her live performance you become fully aware that it’s a full blown Braveheart battle cry. She first bellows out her anger and frustration as she finds inner strength. Then she follows that with a softer I’m getting my shit together, here’s a sign of my composure ooh.

It’s at this point you realize what she’s been telling you from the get-go. All these things that beat you down are dismissible. Why do you think she’s been brushing you off dismissively the whole entire song? Was she flicking away a moth from her feather skirt? No. She’s been telling you that all these things that’s been weighing you down are useless. I’ve told you to sit down, but don’t listen to me, Stand up. Stand up, stomp down and flick away the negativity.

The line Getting me back at the end of this song always stood out for me. Is she saying that she will go back to that guy who has taken her for granted all this time? However if we were to take that line literally this is what we end up with:

No, I ain't goin' home But I won't be alone Now I've showed you what I'm made of Now I've showed you what I'm made of

We did our battle cry, we’re ready for battle she says. We need to show the world that we deserve a seat at that table and that the depression caused by the sadness of your insecurities is that dumb guy who only realizes you’re great only when it’s too late.

#kylieminogue #depression #gayinternet

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ensemblebxl · 7 years

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20 essential Moodymann tracks selected by Kong & Gratts

Catch Kong & Gratts warming up for KDJ this Saturday at Stereo Club in Brussels. In anticipation, both ensemble residents made a personal Moodymann top 10 for you. Read on below - in no particular order.

KONG

Moodymann is everything I love about house music: soulful, raw, enigmatic, unconventional, from Detroit, … I remember hearing Shades Of Jae for the first time as it was yesterday and when I started listening to his albums, I was completely hooked to his sound and vision. Visiting Detroit a few years ago stimulated my fascination for him (and the complete Detroit scene) even more. In 2014 I was booked to warm up for him for the first time at a Deep In House party in Brussels, in a back to back session with Antwerp’s finest Eklektiker. We were asked to play 3h and the room quickly filled with enthousiast punters. Eventually Moodymann was one hour late, which created an incredible anticipation in the audience. I will never forget the amount of energy that went through the room, definitely one of my highlight sets. Full recording is online by the way.

1. Moodymann - Dem Young Sconies (Planet E)

What a torpedo when you throw this to a dance floor. The power this beast holds is huge. Amazing sampling of the Belgian synth-pop tune ‘That’s The Game’ by Wet by the way. I often play them together in the mix, works well in both directions.

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2. Moodymann - Mahogany Brown (Peacefrog Records)

This is the theme tune of his second album Mahogany Brown from 1998. I’m simply in love with this track. It’s so well crafted and designed, I can keep on listening to it. Check his track ‘Black Mahogany’ from 2004. It’s another variation on the same theme, equally good.

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3. Larry Heard - Another Night (J.A.N. re-edit) (Track Mode)

When Kenny and Larry, two of my biggest heroes, appear on one release you know magic has happened. Moodymann gives this beautiful Larry Heard tune that little something extra, not much more than a cherry on the cake (some extra Detroitesque details here and there), but nevertheless a very sweet one.

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4. Kenny Dixon Jr. - January (Soul City)

Moodymann released most of his music on his own label KDJ, on Carl Craig’s label Planet E and on Peacefrog. One of my most favourite MM records got released on Soul City though, the red coloured Mike Banks imprint. He only did one release on Soul City, under his real name Kenny Dixon Jr. It holds four classic deep house gems that I often play in my sets. Prices are high for this one, but it’s a good investment that will never lose value.

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5. Rick Wilhite - What Do You See? (Moodymann remix) (KDJ)

Fellow Detroiter Rick Wilhite is a good friend of Moodymann and this EP is a good example of the Detroit house scene power. It got released in 1996 on KDJ and has two tracks by Rick Wilhite being remixed by Theo Parrish, Moodymann and Rick himself. I got my copy when Rush Hour re-issued this in 2009, always works on any dance floor.

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6. Moodymann - Come 2 Me (KDJ)

From his latest album, released in 2014, with Nikki-O on vocals. A kinda of super sexy slow burner. ‘Take Me By Surprise, Like A Thief In The Night’.

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7. Moodymann - Music People (KDJ)

The B-side of ‘I Can’t Kick This Feeling When It Hits’. Particulary love that little funny melody in the intro of the track, before he brings the ‘Welcome To Our World’ sample of Mass Production.

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8. Moodymann - Backagainforthefirsttime? (Peacefrog Records)

Had to include a track from ‘Silence In The Secret Garden’, my most favourite Moodymann album (and cover art). The crying baby gives it an uncanny vibe, a recurring mood on this album and an overall quality of his music.

SILENCE IN THE SECRET GARDEN by MOODYMANN

9. Amp Dog Knight's - I'm Doing Fine (Mahogany Music)

Amp Fiddler on Moodymann’s other label Mahogany Music, with the boss himself on production. Soothing jazzy house. It samples Syl Johnson’s ‘Is It Because I’m Black’, needless to say the African-American roots of house music is a strong subject for him.

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10. Dewayne Davis ‎– It Shows (Extended Mix by Kenny Dixon Jr. & Norma Jean Bell) (Pandamonium)

Moodymann’s work with Norma Jean Bell is another highlight in his discography. Wanted to put a lesser known track here, one that is still for sale at a reasonable price and will always perform well on the floor.

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GRATTS

Moodymann has been one of my favourite artists since I first discovered him as a young teenager. The mystery, the records, the imagery, the personality, the spoken words, the odd catalogue numbers on his KDJ imprint, the untitled tracks, alternate versions and B-sides… it all fascinated me a lot. For every gig, I seem to be able to dig out a KDJ record that will fit the occasion, his music often makes it into my dj-sets. Arguably a lot has changed since I first heard about Kenny Dixon Jr. I’ve seen him play countless times since, in very different circumstances, and with his rise to fame some of the mystery vanished. But in all honesty, I’ve yet to hear a bad set from the man and he always adds something interesting to the table. I’d choose KDJ in a shit mood over almost any other dj any day. Making a top 10 of Moodymann favourites wasn’t an easy task, but here’s an attempt.

1. Moodymann - Long Hot Sex Nights (Feat. NJB) (KDJ)

First Moodymann I ever possessed. I actually bagged it from the guy that I bought my first pair of Technics decks from. I remember him saying he’d never expected a fifteen year old kid to be into this record. Such an amazing live groove that I will never get sick off. One thing’s for sure, I certainly wasn’t around when the “original version (was) done live 12/3/94 at Jimmie D's Supper Club” in Detroit.

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2. Moodymann - Your Sweet Lovin (KDJ)

First heard this track on the Forevernevermore album on Peacefrog, my second ever Moodymann purchase. (I got it from ‘33’ record store on the second floor of my favourite bar Apero in my hometown Leuven.) The whole album is one long trip that made a huge impression on me. I must have listened to it a thousand times. ‘Your Sweet Lovin’ was also released on KDJ 23-A, which is the version that I’ve played out a lot over the years.

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3. Moodymann - Me And My Peoples Eyes (Instrumental) (Peacefrog Records)

Probably my most played out Moodymann track of all time. Though I could have easily picked the B-side ‘Don't You Want My Love’, another firm favourite, instead.

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4. Moodymann - I Feel Joy (KDJ)

Timeless house music. Those chords, that scat! I have this one the ‘Inspirations From A Small Black Church On The Eastside Of Detroit’ record. (It also includes Theo Parrish’s seminal ‘Lake Shore Drive’ with that clever Tasha Thomas sample.) True story: my copy of this used to be warped as fuck. After reading about it online, I tried straightening it in the oven. IN THE OVEN. Yes that’s right, those people that blindly trust silly online tutorials, they exist. Thank god I managed to track down another copy a few years afterwards. (Although I still couldn’t deal with binning the warped and partly burnt one - it’s probably still lying around the house somewhere (sorry)).

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5. Moodymann - Silence in The Secret Garden (Peacefrog Records)

This track goes places. Nearly 10 minutes of KDJ perfection. Takes balls to play this one in all its glory, but when you do, it pays off. Raw as fuck and cheap as chips.

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6. Moodymann - Joy Pt. II (KDJ)

Breathtaking jam that truly encapsulates everything that Moodymann stands for to me. And a bit of an epic tune when dropped at the right moment.

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7. Moody - It's 2 Late 4 U And Me (KDJ)

Moodymann becomes Moody for the first time for this ‘Ol' Dirty Vinyl’ EP. This one is for all the underground haters who don’t like the more recent, new skool Moodymann output. While I agree that some of it is indeed a bit underwhelming, this one is nothing but lush. It features Amp Fiddler on keys and his brother Thomas on bass. I haven’t found out who’s on vocals, anyone?

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8. Norma Jean Bell - Nobody Is Gonna Love You (2 A.M. Instrumental) (Pandamonium)

The 2.A.M. version of ‘Nobody Is Gonna Love You’ (which also appears on NJB’s 2001 Peacefrog album ‘Come Into My Room’ simply as ‘Nobody’) is as vivacious, sexy and high-spirited as they come. With an all-star team like Moodymann, Kelli Hand and Norma Jean Bell behind the production, it comes as no surprise.

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9. Moodymann - The Thief That Stole My Sad Days (Ya Blessin Me) (Peacefrog Records)

This version off the Forevernevermore LP is the one I like the most, probably again because of nostalgic reasons. The track has appeared in various incarnations on different releases (see also KDJ 23 for example).

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10. Moody - Hello 2morrow (KDJ)

Fabulous, well crafted, almost pop music. This track has been known to stay in my head for days at a time. Now sing it: “hello tomorrow, goodbye yesterday!”.

#Moodymann

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airadam · 7 years

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Episode 94 : The Illest

"...yo' ass lie like the president!"

- Ice Cube

This month marks twenty years since the death of Biggie Smalls - and yet it somehow doesn't feel like that long ago. The B.I.G man's influence still looms large over the culture and this show is no exception. Several Biggie tracks and others inspired by him dot the episode, alongside choices from the discographies of the late Phife and Nate Dogg. Besides those, a few classics and some fairly modern gems you may have missed!

Catch me DJing at Eastern Bloc Records on April 22nd for Record Store Day and then stay out for their big party in the evening! Just over a week later, check DJ Andy Smith at Whiskey Jar for a Sunday night session :)

Twitter : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Ice Cube ft. Chris Rock : You Ain't Gotta Lie (Ta Kick It)

The way things are right now, I should do a whole mixtape strictly on the subject of lying! Chris Rock was an inspired choice to guest on this track from "War & Peace Vol.2 (The Peace Disc)" for the adlibs, while Cube just goes in with venom on an assortment of unnamed dishonest people. Production comes from Chucky Thompson of The Hitmen, and it does have a little of that Bad Boy flavour - you could imagine someone like The Lox on this beat back in the day.

Da Beatminerz : Bentleys & Bitches (Instrumental)

Tough beat right here from instrumental version the "Brace 4 Impak" LP (can't believe it's 16 years old this year!) - definitely an album to have in the collection if the ruggedness is what you seek.

ODB : Hippa To Da Hoppa

Two short verses of battle rhymes in Dirty's own truly inimitable style :) I don't play much ODB here somehow, but he was an MC unlike any other. This isn't one of the most often heard tracks from "Return To The 36 Chambers : The Dirty Version", but it popped into my head as one to bring out this month. The beat was one that RZA had in his archives and that Dirty had mentally bookmarked for himself when the time was right.

Lords Of The Underground : Chief Rocka

I was well pleased to be able to cut this in and have it rhyme with the hook of the preceding track! A classic Hip-Hop single out of Newark, New Jersey, with K-Def on production. This is the video version, taken from the 12" single, with the original of course being available on the "Here Come The Lords" LP. This tune is quality all the way through, but we don't quite make it to the end of the third verse, because it made sense to loop up a notable Mr.Funkee line and then come in with...

The Notorious B.I.G. : Machine Gun Funk

...a track which happens to use it as a hook! The 1-2-3 combo on "Ready To Die" of "Things Done Changed", "Gimme The Loot", and "Machine Gun Funk" is phenomenal, but this is still an underrated cut in my opinion. Easy Mo Bee contributed an absolutely cracking beat, and Biggie's rhymes are enough for his son to rate this as maybe his favourite from the catalogue. Pure fire.

Mary J. Blige ft. The Notorious B.I.G. : Real Love (Remix)

If you weren't around at the time, it's hard to communicate how revolutionary this was. Hip-Hop and R&B were very separate things back then, and it was people like the Harlem DJ Ron G with his innovative and influential blend tapes who showed the possibilities of combining the two. When Puff Daddy (now P.Diddy) went to Uptown Records, he masterminded producing that kind of combination to the studio, and the "What's The 411? (Remix)" album is one of the most well-known examples. Ron G is actually on the intro to this track (just before the part I start playing from), but Puffy and Daddy-O (of Stetsasonic) are credited with the Hip-Hop-heavy production, blending several classic samples together to give Mary a fitting backing - which also works brilliantly for Biggie, when he comes in.

[Buckwild] Sadat X : The Lump Lump (Instrumental)

Classic boom-bap from 1996, Buckwild's bumping instrumental for the Sadat X track discussing... adventures about town. This was a quality single from the "Wild Cowboys" LP - remember when a tune like this could be a club banger?

Curren$y ft. Nate Dogg & Nijay Sincere : Let's Get It Crackin'

This has one of those hooks that just sticks in your head - Nate Dogg can do that to you. Just know that you cannot sing like him :) Anyway, this is kind of an interesting one; you may be familiar with Curren$y's recent career, the "lifestyle rap" and the sonic flavours that come with it, but this 2010 single sounds more like a move for the clubs and the radio - not necessarily a bad thing at all. He's firmly midtempo here over the DJ Taylormade beat with Nate supplying a hook that may not be catchy, but one that works for sure.

A Tribe Called Quest : The Donald

RIP Phife Dawg...aka Don Juice, apparently! Dancehall-accented tune with some nice turntable work (courtesy of DJ Scratch) for the sureshot combination of Tribe and Busta Rhymes on this closer from "We got it from Here...Thank You 4 Your Service", the final ATCQ LP. One of the only things I've heard in months that involves the name "Donald" and doesn't make me want to be sick!

Lexxus : Stress

I'm kind of mad I had to buy the "Mr.Lex" album a second time (on CD) because so many tracks aren't on the vinyl. Still, big tune here with Bobby Konders on the digital production! Lexxus only has two albums, but his singles discography is deep if you like what you hear.

Large Pro : Off Yo Azz On Yo Feet

The live guy with glasses just keeps on going. His latest LP, 2015's "Re:Living" was a concise eleven tracks, with this being one that just stuck in my head. Self-produced, of course, with the snare smacking away relentlessly in the mix. Lyrically - I guess it's motivational music, after a fashion? The hook certainly leaves no doubt about the message :)

The Alchemist : The Thirst

Thinking about it recently, I realised that in this post-anthem world with an explosion of music availability, Alchemist has quietly worked his way into the pantheon of greatest all-time producers. A nice dark beat from the first "Rapper's Best Friend" beat compilation.

Mega Ran : 10 Gamer Commandments

Random aka Mega Ran is best known for his skill at blending of video game culture and Hip-Hop, and he gives just a piece of it on this cut from his "Notorious R.A.N - Ready To Live" tribute album. Twenty years after the passing of Biggie, Mega Ran reworks some of his tracks in tribute, and this bonus track is of course his flip of "Ten Crack Commandments"; a step-by-step booklet on how to conduct yourself in the gaming world ;)

Kaytranada ft. Craig David : Got It Good

A year ago we heard a Ras Kass track based on this instrumental, but I thought it was worth giving you the original! Coming strong for the crown of best producer to come out of Haiti, the Canadian-raised Kaytranada made some serious noise among those who know last year with the "99.9%" album, and this was a standout cut for me. The highly underrated Craig David supplies a smooth vocal performance at the high end while the beat bumps along at the bottom - great blend.

Omniscence : Golden

North Carolina coming through! The likes of Bandcamp is a godsend for allowing independent releases to be easily obtainable by the fans, and after putting out stuff like the previously-unreleased "The Raw Factor" digitally, Omniscence then moved on to bringing new material onto the platform. This piece from "The God Hour" has some bump but the gentle keyboard work is a fitting backing to Omni's two contemplative verses.

Geto Boys : Leanin' On You

A group often missed when we discuss Hip-Hop legends, Houston's Geto Boys went through lineup changes early in their life, then settled for a while before changing again, and finally coming back together with what most consider the canonical MC lineup - Scarface, Willie D, and Bushwick Bill. Here, we take a reflective track from their seventh LP, "The Foundation", with each MC taking a turn to describe a missed person or a struggle in their own lives. The production comes from someone you may not associate with this style, and also may not have thought about in a while - Mr.Mixx of 2 Live Crew, a pioneer of the Miami Bass sound. This certainly has some heft in the mix but rather than the accelerated beats that he made his name with, this sample re-work is slow and somewhat solemn, perfectly matching the lyrics.

Oddisee : Brixton

A bit of an old one (2010) from Oddisee's "Traveling Man" instrumental album; I don't know if he made this beat in Brixton or just took inspiration from there, but it's quality as usual. I'll likely play you something from his new album "The Iceberg" in the coming months.

Willie Evans Jr. : Nerd English

Finally, we come all the way back to the theme from the episode opener! A very amusing but sincere track about keeping it all the way real, staying in your lane...however you want to put it :) It reminds us that trying to be something we're not is stressful, hard work, potentially trouble, and just generally undignified. A solid tune from the "Introducin'" LP that always makes me smile.

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

Check out this episode!

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