can we just quickly talk about the musical choices in stranger things?
and i don't even mean the classically curated 80s Kate Bush, The Police and so on (that shit slaps of course) but like
kyle dixon and michael stein are fucking geniuses for creating such beautiful tracks and i'm generally an absolute sucker for epic synth melodies oh my god. this one i linked is from both the scenes in season 1 where El saves Mike's ass after jumping from that cliff and in season 4 when she fights Henry in the lab. sends chills over my entire body every goddamn time
whoever is in charge for the stranger things soundtrack curation, please know i love you
music is literally so vital to every moving visual and it plays a major role in how the situations/scenes are perceived by the viewer so, this is a shoutout to whoever's in charge.
It’s so cute seeing other fandoms complain about their really good anime adaptations meanwhile s1 and 2 of Kuro are just… bad. Just an absolute dumpster fire. Like I’m seeing people complaining because some of the Hellsing characters were drawn slightly differently in Ultimate, I’m seeing BSD fans talk about how they ever so slightly tweaked this one panel from the manga.
Babygirl, they added a whole two and a half seasons of non-canon wacko nonsense. They added a naked dog-man. They spoiled a major plot twist of the manga. They took a hacksaw to like three whole characters personalities. They added the Alice in Wonderland OVA.
I just find it hilarious and very telling that Loki and Sylvie’s ‘romantic love themes’ are called “Pep Talk” and “Stop” and Loki and Mobius’ theme is literally called “Lokius.”
*feral* the show is so good, excellently paced and well-acted…. plus, it has all the stuff we enjoy the most:
whump, crime family, family drama, daddy issues (MAJOR!), mommy issues (MAJOR!), well-done action sequences, trauma, “protect the family” sense of duty mindset, lots of baking (by my poor blorbo charles as a coping mechanism), sibling issues, oldest son vs youngest son dynamic (- two brothers, who have both spent their lives competing for attention, approval, and freedom; in their own different ways -), conflicted tortured oldest son, did i mention major daddy/mommy issues and PLENTY OF THE GOOD OL’ EMOTIONAL WHUMP.
and oh their troubled mother is played by THEE MICHELLE YEOH !!!!!!! ✨MOTHER✨
ahhhh charles, his father brainwashed him, turned him into a ruthless killer and put him through so much trauma. my man just wants to have a normal life, bake pastries etc and reconnect with his mother and brother. like look at him (HE NEEDS A HUG AND SEVERAL CHURROS)
i am a sucker for this type of genre. 10/10 no notes. HIGHLY RECOMMEND MY FRIENDS, GO WATCH IT 🎉.
Since I posted some of my old fanart yesterday... if you're not familiar with Slayers, and thus have never heard its amazing music, do check it out.
It's largely by the same songwriter, Masami Okui, that did Utena's iconic opening (Rinbu Revolution) and ofc (TRUTH) and sung by a duo of her and Hayashibara Megumi (you know, the GOAT)
youtube
The entire OST pretty much slaps. there's only a couple of bad image songs in an absolute expanse of pure gold. GIVE A REASON, the opening to the second season, tends to be the reigning favorite. (I've a hard time pinning down my absolute favorite... of the original openings, it might be Breeze, but all three are so good. Of the entire catalog? Impossible to choose. Midnight Blue, Raging Waves, Within my Unlimited Desires, Gloria, Get Along... Impossible Choice)
welcome to my TED talk about the beauty of the loki soundtrack and how natalie holt is proving the theory that it’s all about mobius and loki (lokius):
obviously let’s start with the piece ‘lokius’ which we know my thoughts on but this sets up the overall theme of this discussion. in a general summary of my previous TED talk, i claimed that lokius is all about mobius since the piece is mainly composed of his musical theme and the fact that he was literally jealous and discrediting sylvie and loki in that scene. it was all about him in that moment. but they could have easily left this theme as is.
however, natalie holt goes on to repurpose and interpolate the ‘lokius’ musical theme throughout the season 2 soundtrack especially in the show’s finale which is the culmination of loki’s arc. loki and mobius’ relationship grew over season 2 to the point where the last person who ever saw and truly saw loki was mobius.
in the score ‘complex and many’ in loki and mobius’ final goodbye scene, it’s a variation of ‘lokius’ that plays, not anything else. no other score of this magnitude plays when he says goodbye to anyone else, not even sylvie. this is the pivotal emotional climax because loki and mobius’ relationship is the core and heart of the show and to his character. loki would not have been able to sacrifice himself nor have the compassion to do it without mobius. loki gave mobius the choice to live and find his glorious purpose but the show ends with mobius waiting, letting time pass, because he’s alone now just like loki. so he’ll wait for loki to return.
this brings me to the score ‘purpose is glorious’ the final montage sequence in the loki finale. it’s such a beautiful score and it plays over everyone finding their purpose except for mobius who the score cuts out right as we see him stand in front of his sacred timeline home watching his true self play with his children. everyone finds purpose except for mobius. but the piece takes from ‘lokius.’ everyone found purpose because of mobius and his love and care for loki, except for mobius. which is the tragic irony.
finally we talk about the final score in the show, ‘history is now’ which takes elements from ‘loki’s green theme’ and ‘lokius.’ don’t believe me? the underlying violins in the ‘history is now’ is like ripped right from the violins in ‘lokius.’ and ‘history is now’ is the final time we see loki and mobius. mobius letting time pass, loki accepting his glorious purpose.
so in conclusion, it’s always been about mobius and for mobius. it’s always been lokius’ story. even since season one. and the loki soundtrack ITSELF proves this. don’t believe me? just listen.
when olivia rodrigo said “the bitter taste of my fury, and all of the messes you made” and “i’m in the trees, i’m in the breeze” and when she said “i’m here, i’m there, i’m everywhere, but you can’t catch me now” and “i bet you figure i’d pass with the winter, be something easy to forget” and when she said “i’m higher then the hopes that you brought down” and “yeah, sometimes the fire you founded, don't burn the way you'd expect”