#since ep. 1 - through each other's influence and through their own will :)
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As usual with final episodes, I'm too emotional and happy to form coherent thoughts so this is just the notes I took down while watching ep. 12 of Last Twilight. No explanations or romanizations, just vibes and feels ✌️
1/4
ไนท์->พอใจ: โทษที่นะเธอ
พอใจ->ไนท์: เป็นไง เค้าสวยไหม (not sure if I heard it right or not but this is the only time the entire episode where I heard her use any pronoun for herself while talking to Night)
WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS MORK!!!
The bag of the bookshop reads 'hope' in Braille (tried Thai Braille but it's not, it's Latin-based) and underneath it- 'READ EVERY DAY'
whatever happened in 2/4- I didn't take anything down about it
3/4
so emotional at Khun Mhon's blessing for NightPorjai, and then the waterworks opened as soon as I heard Khun Mhon call herself แม่ while addressing Porjai and Porjai said ขอบคุณนะคะ แม่ -> Mork turns away to wipe a tear and I pause the video to get a tissue 😭
Namtan and Mark are so good 🥹🥺
I love how dedicated Porjai and Night are to Day and Mork's happiness that they not only keep trying to give them opportunities but even leave their own wedding! to rush Day to the airport!!
I fucking love Porjai 😂
the fam's so happy for MorkDay 🥹
honestly surprised to see Day regaining sight!
4/4
ไนท์->ภูมิใจ: เดี๋ยวปะป๊ากินให้นะคะ 🥹
and softly asking her if she wants some pasta too: อยากกินไหมคะ
IMMEDIATE WATERWORKS AT KHUN MHON TELLING MORK TO CALL HER แม่ 😭 I've been anticipating this and it's everything to me (he does call her คุณแม่ though, slightly different to Porjai calling her แม่)
Porjai is preggers again omg 🥹❤️
#hit me up if y'all want me to translate any of the thai here i'm currently floating somewhere up high#gmm really knows how to do the comfiest happy endings#plus i loved how rounded this episode felt in terms of the hope & 2nd chances theme and showing how much all the characters have changed#since ep. 1 - through each other's influence and through their own will :)#last twilight#i guess this technically qualifies as#local woman harps on about linguistics#even though i ain't explaining shit rn lmao#i'll write up an actual last language post for this show some time later
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Let’s talk about parallels between Wilhelm and Sara in Season 3 of Young Royals
Because there are so many! This is a continuation of sorts of this meta that I wrote about them being A and B plot protagonists in season 1 and 2. I don’t know that I would describe them exactly that way in season 3, but I do think their plots, character arcs, and themes are meant to mirror each other very closely this season.
One of my favorite things about the parallels between Wilhelm and Sara this season is that comparing them really makes you hold Sara’s friendship with Felice on the same level as Wilhelm’s romantic relationship with Simon (and Sara’s with August) which I think is so important. Both Wilhelm and Sara go through breakups over the course of the season (I think Felice’s reaction especially frames her friendship breakup with Sara similarly to a romantic breakup, which I love). And both of their arcs are about mending those relationships.
Sara and Wilhelm both need to experience the world outside of Hillerska before they can mend those relationships. Sara is able to glimpse some independence, even just through getting her license. The whole world is open to her now, as Felice says in ep 6. I don’t know that she would have been able to make her decision not to go back to August without experiencing that freedom. And Wilhelm also needs to experience the full force of what life in the monarchy would be like before he is able to decide to leave it. Because of this they also act as our window into the two different worlds outside of Hillerska, the palace and Bjarstad. They create the larger context in which we understand Hillerska this season.
I love that both of their journeys of personal growth are symbolized through cars. Wilhelm is always getting trapped with his mom or a member of the court in a fancy car; it’s where almost all of the monarchy’s most onerous instructions on how to live are delivered to him. So it’s huge when he leaves his parents in the chauffeured car at the end of episode 6 and goes to find Simon, Felice and Sara in Sara’s beat up used car. Meanwhile, Sara has traded in horses for the car. This is stated pretty explicitly when her dad asks her if she would like to work with horses and she declines, saying that she has come to realize that horses are simply traded by rich people as status symbols, and her dad suggests she get her drivers license since it will help with any job she wants. In seasons 1 and 2 Rousseau is pretty heavily associated with August, along with the pressures put on August and the other elite kids at Hillerska to conform to expectations (@bluedalahorse has written the Bible on that here), so the fact that Sara swaps out the horse for a car that can take her anywhere feels like a step away from both August and the prescriptive norms of Hillerska.
Sara and Wilhelm both reject what they saw as their destined future. This is obviously really clear for Wilhelm; he assumed he would be prince and then king after Erik died, and his greatest moment of character growth is when he decides he doesn’t have to fulfill that assigned role if it will keep him from being happy and living authentically. I love the scene where Sara talks with her dad about her fears that she will fail in the same ways that he did because she also has autism and adhd. This is a less clear-cut assigned destiny, but that fear of becoming a self fulfilling prophecy is equally overwhelming, especially because Sara has already let down someone she cares about in a way that’s not dissimilar to how her father breaks promises. The fact that she’s able to come to terms with her dad’s influence in her life, but realize she really is in charge of her own future, is really powerful. (I also think it’s such smart writing about the way disability and internalized ableism can really affect your self image).
In order to break free of those predetermined destinies, both Sara and Wilhelm need to see a father/mentor figure as more than black and white. Wilhelm needs to acknowledge that Erik wasn’t perfect, and did help contribute to some of the abusive traditions of Hillerska. Sara needs to recognize that even though her dad isn’t a perfect parent, she still loves him for the care he is able to show to her and wants to have him in her life. I love that both Wilhelm and Sara learn to hold multiple conflicting emotions about their loved ones. They can be disappointed by some of Micke and Erik’s actions, but they can still value their relationships with those family members and recognize them as complex, complete people.
They also both go on a similar journey with how they see August. Wilhelm comes to recognize that August is both a perpetrator and victim of the class system and Hillerska’s systemized abuse. Sara similarly realizes that August is an adult who needs to be responsible for his own emotions. She’s no longer interested in saving him from his complex feelings of guilt, and recognizes his potential to find self healing. Both of those new assessments of August grant him more maturity and complexity than earlier in the show. (They also reflect the way that August grows, in fits and starts, over the course of season 3. If there was a season 4 of the show, I think we would really see August respond to Sara and Wilhelm’s new attitudes towards him in a way that would fuel future character growth).
Viewing Erik, Micke, and August more complexly also allows Sara and Wilhelm to forgive themselves for the ways they are similar to those people. They are able to acknowledge the shame they feel around their actions, but also forgive themselves in the same way that they forgive others.
Both Sara and Wilhelm have specifically let down Simon in pretty big ways (Sara by secretly dating August, Wilhelm by perpetuating the royal family restrictions onto Simon). But they are able to recognize those mistakes and reconcile with Simon.
Wilhelm and Sara both leave the monarchy (Wilhelm literally, Sara by refusing a relationship with August), but they also leave a kind of prescriptive romance behind. Wilhelm says no to having to monitor Simon, to having to roll out his relationship in a certain way to please the court, and to having their future together mapped out and their decision around children made for them. Sara says no to a smaller set of requirements, but the traditional ways that August sees romance are so influenced by the monarchy (which is in turn so influenced patriarchy) that they are similar in some ways. Sara says no to having to do August’s emotional labor, to managing him so that he will fit the image of a good heir. She says no to waiting for him to visit on weekends while he does military service. She says no to this grand plan that he has. (This was @bluedalahorse’s point originally that she shared with me, and honestly I think it's so smart). Wilhelm chooses a romantic relationship that he and Simon are free to create together without rules; Sara chooses a friendship based on honesty and support. Both are valid options that give the characters a sense of peace and freedom. And they would not have been able to make those choices without all of the growth they went through over the course of the season.
I think Sara and Wilhelm's arcs compliment each other so well, and it was one of my favorite things about season 3. I loved watching both of them get to grow so much and end up in such a happy place.
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Helluva Boss Season 2 Ep 1 spoilers
Just some musings about Stella, Octavia and the family dynamics.
So after the glorious start of season 2 and all that amazing/sad backstory on Stolas and his family, I just had to rewatch episode 2 of season 1. Naturally.
And something Octavia said in response to Stolas at the end stood out to me:
Stolas: "I'm sorry sweetie... I thought you loved it here."
Octavia: "When I was a kid and my parents didn't hate each other."
This implied strongly that Octavia was unaware of any pre-existing animosity between her parents prior to Stolas' one night stand with Blitzo.
Also in the very beginning of the episode, when the timeskip happens, we skip from happy little Octavia to unhappy teenage Octavia. Back then, it seemed like her taste in clothes and music might come from the disruption of the household peace.
So now we get back to season 2, episode 1:
We find out that Stolas and Stella were in an arranged marriage that has been unhappy and unwanted from the beginning. They never liked each other. We also, more remarkably, see Stella openly mistreat and verbally abuse Stolas. (Later also implied that physical abuse happened as well, judging from Stolas reaction to her trying to slap him.)
We are shown even more family portraits than before, those of which show Stolas in his marriage with Stella, they both look extremely unhappy in it.
So how does that add up with Octavia remembering a happy family?
Stolas said he tried hard to make this work but it was never enough. For Octavia's sake, he tried. In all pictures with his daughter he is also very clearly genuinely happy.
But what about Stella?
We've seen that she still yelled at and belittled him in public without a care.
...well. My only assumption is that since Octavia wasn't around in those scenes, Stella tried to be at least somewhat civil around her daughter. Otherwise, I don't think any child would have been THAT oblivious to an already broken household. (I mean, yeah, that tends to happen too if you don't know anything else, but I don't think this was the case here.)
My assumption is that after that one night stand affair, Stella just completely stopped bothering to pretend in front of her daughter. (Since she had the "moral high ground", why bother being civil?)
But I think this was also not a sudden turnaround, but something that gradually seeped out from over the years.
As we can see from the portraits, they have always been cold to each other. Even in portraits with Octavia, Stella doesn't look quite happy to be there. She just endured.
It also seems very clear that she was never that involved in raising her child after she "popped out the egg". In the flashback, it's Stolas who goes to comfort Octavia after a nightmare, with Stella not wanting to get up. In Octavia's childhood drawings, we only see herself holding her father's hand. He was very obviously the one who organised the three of them going to LooLooLand when Octavia was a child.
I genuinely think Stella never wanted to be a mother. She was obligated to, and she did the duty she was forced into. Afterwards, she left it to Stolas, who was more invested in it.
So, Octavia's childhood nostalgia might be influenced by her mother never being much around, with Stolas doting extra hard on her. He compensated for Stella's absence with overbearing love, so that she never really felt the lack of it back then.
His unhappiness probably later hits the peak because Octavia is growing up and no longer needs him so much as she used to. The only thing getting him through this marriage is "gone".
The same might be true for Stella. She was not as invested, but still trapped by her duties.
So once Octavia grew up, Stella turned to the things she wanted and is getting bolder in showing her distaste for Stolas who she held her own grudges against.
Stella wants a social life, she wants parties and she wants good sex.
(The latter she ain't getting, so she is (wrongfully) lashing out at Stolas. She is using him as a punching bag for being trapped in this marriage, even though he is in the same position.)
The "no divorce party" is their 25 year anniversary.
(seems like it's either not a thing in hell, or they are so publicly unhappy that no one thinks they seriously would celebrate that)
It's published in a newspaper, and Stolas is spitting out his drink when he sees it.
It's probably a new development of humiliation in their relationship.
My guess is that she never was quite this blatantly obvious about it to people other than her social circle. (While letting Stolas feel her hate in full in private.)
From Stella's own words it seems like she throws parties often, or at least as often as she can get away with.
Again, my guess is that those things have increased over the recent years and that Octavia is not present during those occasions she publicly bashes him.
Even tho she is quite literally loudly gossiping about him on the phone while Octavia sleeps.
This one has me torn because she could wake up at any moment and hear that?? On the other hand she is sleeping and clearly not hearing it. Do owl demons canonly wake up late and is that just a thing for Stella to use mornings to badmouth her husband? xD Who knows. Or maybe this just Stella already no longer giving a fuck. Maybe for Octavia, it was growing up and being able to see more clearly what was happening between them that already caused cracks in that childhood ideation of their marriage, where the affair was only the final blow.
I can only go off theories what Stella behaved like around Octavia before the big bang.
So far their relationship is somewhat between non existent and cold.
I would kinda like to see Octavia blow up at her mom like she did with her dad. I don't think there's even a canonical exchange of words between them. It's always Stolas caring for Octavia and Stolas and Stella being at war.
According to Stolas, she leaves with Octavia on weekends.
Where to? What for? (Well, probably only to hurt Stolas by taking away his daughter. ...does Stolas only have free days on weekends?)
It's probably not even that interesting. Despite taking Octavia, that doesn't mean she actually spends quality time with her daughter. Octavia is probably left to her own devices and ignored..... but I'm so curious!
So far Octavia was only seen blaming Stolas. I want to know how she sees her mother.
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Owned: The Bangladeshi Band Taking Alternative Rock by Storm!
An Interview with Owned Tama Sarker catches up with the band and discusses their musical journey of how the 4 individuals became a band.
Owned is an alternative rock band from Dhaka, Bangladesh, formed in 2007. The band currently consists of founding members A.K. Ratul (bass/vocals), A.K. Samee (drums), Fasihuddin Ahmed Itmam (guitars) and Pritam - Guitars. They released their debut album, "1", in 2014.
Owned is an alternative rock band known for their catchy melodies, heavy guitars, and powerful vocals. They have been praised by critics for their unique sound and energetic live performances. The band is currently working on their next single and is excited to share their new music with the world.
In a recent interview, the band members spoke about their music, their influences, and their plans for the future. They also shared some significant points about their band.
A.K. Ratul: "We want to make music that is both challenging and accessible. We want our music to make people think, but we also want it to be something that they can enjoy listening to."
A.K. Samee: "Our influences are pretty diverse. We all listen to a lot of different music, so it all kind of comes together in our own sound."
Fasihuddin Ahmed Itmam: "We want to be a band that is always evolving. We don't want to be stuck in one genre or sound. We want to keep pushing ourselves and trying new things."
Pritam: “Communicate and trust each other to create a strong band dynamic.’
"Music Unites Us to Be One"
The common thing that unites them is music. They all love music and are passionate about creating it. They believe that-
“music is the glue that binds them together and allows them to express themselves creatively.’
They had some initial coordination issues during their concerts and performances. However, they have since worked through these issues and are now a well-oiled machine. They believe that this is due to their strong work ethic and their commitment to making their music the best it can be.
They never feel like whatever music they produce could have been better. They believe that they put their heart and soul into everything they create, and that is all that matters. They are proud of their music and are confident that it will connect with people.
They manage to find at least 2 hours a week to practice, even though they all have busy professional lives. They believe that this is essential to maintaining their musical chemistry and keeping their skills sharp. They also believe that it is important to stay creative and to experiment with new ideas.
They discuss and decide on the tracks for an album or EP as a band. They believe that this is important to ensure that everyone is happy with the final product. They also believe that it is important to give everyone a say in the creative process.
Ratul plays a major role in the band's songwriting process. However, the band members all trust each other and work together to create the best possible songs. They believe that this is the best way to create music that is both unique and accessible.
Owned is a band with a bright future ahead of them. They are talented musicians with a unique sound and a strong work ethic. I am excited to see what they do next.
Read the full article
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How far they’ve gone – An interview with Far Away Stables
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“The next big thing? Undoubtedly so! 5 Stars” – Heavy Mag
“Between Rage and Serenity is a spectacular album that should not be slept on” – Sound Fiction
“An album that takes on an identity of it’s own, and has the potential to be considered one of the best within the genre” – Rouge Inc
5 Years ago, 5 boys from various areas from Western Sydney, all with different music experiences, had dreams on becoming a band and writing their own music. Ever since their humble beginning in 2012, with the release of their two EP’s ‘Behind the Bookcase’ (2012) and Atlantis (2014), touring both in Australia and in multiple countries such as USA and Canada, indie alternative band Far Away Stables has finally released their debut album ‘Between Rage and Serenity’, featuring 10 new songs, including their recent singles ‘Caldera’ and ‘Phantasm’. According to the band, this album represents who they are as a band and how they’ve grown over the years.
“We put a lot more into it because we’ve been through time and being in the band” Brendan Sheargold said. “We’ve grown and developed more so we have more to give”.
Since the album’s release, the band did 2 release shows in Sydney and Melbourne. I was lucky enough to not only see them perform live on stage during the Sydney show but also hang out with them beforehand.
The band arrived at the Red Rattler Theatre at 2:40PM to set up not only their instruments but also the stage and the merchandise stall. I was surprised on the amount of work they have to do beforehand. They have no huge staff, no big crew, they all have to manage everything on their own, including booking the location and the crew members that they could get their hands on.
“This is actual band life, folding up t-shirts” Mitchell Grace and Nicholas Palmer joked as they organise the t-shirts that was going to be on sale.
“Luckily for us, there is 5 of us instead of just 1. So a lot of delegating of jobs and everyone can do what they’re better at” Cameron Bury said. “Some of us are good with computers, some of us are good with other stuff. So it all gets delegated and everyone has a job or two in the band”
“It tough since you do everything yourself. But it’s fun because it’s rewarding” Timothy Byles said.
I sat down with Brendan, Cameron and Timothy and asked them about the production and the concepts behind their newest album. According to them, it was harder than before and so much pressure occurred when creating these songs.
“We had to write 10 songs and we had to have them the best we could possibly do” Brendan said.
“We for a while want to explore certain feelings that certain music gives us. We feel like rage and serenity are such contrasting feelings that you can encapsulate in any sound and this album is dedicated to showing of feelings in between” Cameron said.
When asked about their musical influences, they answered by saying its’ through the bands and music that they listen to and that inspired them to become musicians.
“After hearing Circa Survive’s first album, they inspired me to become a singer in the first place” Brendan said. “I listen to heavier music I guess and try to do a bit of screaming as it’s passionate and displays emotion”
“Any band that has picked up a guitar like Nirvana, Muse, Fall Out Boy, they inspire me when creating music” Timothy said.
There were a few reviews and comments saying that some of the songs in this album may incorporate themes of depression and anxiety. The boys somewhat agreed but it’s more drawn to what was occurring to each of them during the time of writing and hopefully others could relate.
“We all draw from experience on what we’re having in life and we feel like that the best way to write. It’s something to connect more and share with” Cameron commented. “Different parts of our lives go towards the song and all the emotions that we’ve felt are now felt in the song”.
“We’re not gonna be those bands that say ‘we write songs about depression because we think we can say anything about depression’. We’re no psychologist. We know nothing about depression” Timothy said.
Brendan, Cameron and Timothy explained that the idea of the album was to explore the concept of ‘duality’ and the different mental states of a person. They also shared the concepts that were behind a few of their songs. For example, Caldera is about using rage in the right ways, Phantasm is about that thing on your shoulder that’s always there, your ego, and Ambulphobia is about how we get our priorities wrong but we learn from our mistakes and one day learn to stop making them.
Seeing them preform that night showed how much they’ve grown together as a band. And the crowd dancing and singing through their performance, it’s clearly seen how far they’ve become. They truly deserve the success they’ve achieved.
The band told me a few exclusive information about their future plans in regard to their music career that I was told not to share. But the one thing that’s made clear, they want to continue doing what they’re doing and hopefully releasing a new record in the future.
“We want to have something that, I guess, intertwines, interlinks with all the songs Something that could tell a story” Brendan said. “We’re currently discussion on ideas on what story to tell [for the next record]. That is the plan”.
Between Rage and Serenity is now available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play, and Bandcamp.
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'Teraz Rock' Interview - english translation
A well know polish magazine about rock music 'Teraz Rock' (Now Rock) had an interview with Måneskin, and since one of the polish fans on FB shared pictures of the magazine, I decided to translate the interview, because I loved some of the stuff they said there! :D
As always, the whole thing is under read more. ;)
Maneskin is not only ‘Zitti e buoni’ and their winning performance in Rotterdam during the recent finale of Eurovision Song Contest. Italian band fits perfectly into the trend of rock restorers, and at the same time fights with the mental narrowness, prejudices and homophobia. On August 19th they will play In Park Kolibki In Gdynia.
I: You started by playing on the streets of Rome…
V: Unfortunately, there is not a lot of possibilities to debut in Rome. Rome is lacking the appropriate places, there are almost no rock shows. So we couldn’t find a place where we could show ourselves to the people. So we decided to play on the streets to gain the following, the listeners. We did that for good few months. And we had a lot of fun doing that. We think it really helped us, too. Because when you play on the streets, you don’t play for someone who came to listen to you. You need to attract people’s attention. So it was a great lesson on stage skills, to keep the attention. And we played many hours each day, so we also evolved as musicians, as a band.
I: Is it true that you had issues with police?
V, D, T, E: Yes, that’s true!! (laugh)
D: It was all because of this old lady, that lived on the first floor, near the place where we used to play. She snitched on us! And sometimes police came and tried to get us to leave.
I: They didn’t arrest you?
D: No, it wasn’t that bad.
V: We were 16 back then. We just went all ‘We swear we won’t do it again!’ (laugh). We hid somewhere for 10 minutes….
D: Went around the block….
V: And played again (laugh).
I: You admited that at first you were shy. How did it happen that you gained so much self-confidence? Do you think one has to be self-confident if they want to show the world that they have something to say in music, in art?
V: It is important, but its more about feeling good with yourself and having fun doing what you do, rather than confronting the world. I think that if you lack confidence, you can’t fully enjoy creating, because you keep thinking ‘What the other will think about it?’. But everyone has to go through this phase. In my opinion, self-confidence is not something you’re born with. Everyone has the moments of hesitation and doubt. I have them too, still. And I think that’s perfectly normal. But you need to learn to appreciate yourself, accept yourself the way you are, because you can’t run away from yourself. We have whole life with ourselves, until the day we die (laugh).
I: Damiano, in one of the interviews you said ‘What we say, can change someone way of thinking’. Do you want to influence your audience? Artist like Chuck Berry or AC/DC just had fun on stage.
D: We also have fun on stage. But now, when we’re well known, we can get to many people, especially young ones. And there’s a chance, that if we say something positive to them, we could help them with their problems, that they can’t fight on their own. For example – like Vic said – we can help them gain more self-confidence and make them feel safer in the world around them. I’ll say this: if as a musician you have something to share with others, do it. But if you just want to have fun playing, that’s OK too.
T: Exactly.
I: Your behaviour on stage is often the reason for homophobic attacks. What would you say to homophobes here in Poland?
V: Fuck them!!!
T: Fuck them!
E: Fuck them, fuck them! (laughing)
D: Maybe not so vulgar.....
T: Fuck them!
D: For sure they should open up more, get rid of prejudices. Make a step forward. Free themselves from the old way of thinking. Let the others live however they want.
I: You debuted in 2017 with EP ‘Chosen’ with two of your own songs and few covers. Even tho you were so young, you already came off as mature musicians with a set style…
V: Thanks, but I don’t think so (laugh).
D: I don’t think we would agree with that.
E: We wouldn’t agree with that, definitely.
V: My bass playing skills definitely left much to be desired.
D: 'Chosen' definitely has its advantages, but… we were still looking for our sound back then. That EP is so much more different than our other albums. But it is a part of our career, our journey, and we don’t regret anything that has to do with it. We had a lot of fun recording it and… its something we did in the past and we’re happy that people loved it.
V: Still love it!
D: Exactly, still love it. Even tho we changed so much since then.
V: The most important and coolest thing about that EP is that even tho we were really young and our skills weren’t as good, you can still hear that we already had charisma and knew what we wanted. And even tho most of the EP consists of known songs, we changed them, played them in our own way, our own style. And that’s really cool because it shows us as a band with their own personality. Of course, now that we listen to that EP, we have lot to complain about…
D: We would do the songs much better.
V: But we like the attitude we already had back then. Even tho we were so young.
E: Our sound really changed since then, but you need to remember that when we we’re recording it, it was already a huge accomplishment for us.
D: That’s true.
I: On ‘Chosen’ Damiano sung in english. On your first album, ‘Il ballo della vita’ from 2018, you had songs in italian as well. Did your songs get more personal because of that?
D: I wouldn’t say that. We started writing songs in italian out of necessity. If you’re an Italian artist and want to reach Italian audience, you need, you have to sing in italian, because not a lot of people speak english there. Now it’s different, we managed to reach international audience, so we can make more songs in english. But we won’t resign from italian, we like to write in italian as well.
I: While recording ‘Il ballo della vita’ you made documentary ‘This Is Maneskin’…
E: They will never forget it! (laugh)
I: You can see there, that during that time you argued a lot.
D: We were young!
I: Did the conflicts threaten your band’s future?
D: No! We were just starting out...
V: Conflicts were inevitable. We were very young and suddenly tabloids were writing about us. And recording an album required a lot of work. And we never experienced that before, we had issues dealing with work in the studio. Because creating and recording together isn’t easy. You need to make many decisions, everyone has their own opinion. Now we’re more mature, we know how to deal with those situations. We can discuss with each other in a constructive way. We were much more childish back then and yeah, we fought sometimes. But even then nothing happened that could threaten our band.
I: ‘Il ballo della vita’ is a concept album of sorts. You have there Marlena, who, like you said, is personification of the concern a lot of you have – that we’re not able to be yourself…
D: The album was supposed to share a message to our fans. We wanted to tell them how important for us is the freedom to be yourself. The ability to love someone, that was chosen by our heart. Freedom to wear the clothes we like. Et cetera, et cetera… We realized that the album would speak to people more, and will be easier to understand, if we gave that idea a name. Of course it’s an idea that we still share to this day, just maybe a bit differently.
I: Your last album, ‘Teatro D’Ira Vol. 1’, you recorded live in studio. Did the way you worked on it was much different from the way you recorded ‘Il ballo della vita’?
D: Oh yeah! It definitely took us less time!
V: Definitely much faster. It was very exciting. We wanted to keep in studio the energy we have when we play concerts, which meant playing together. Which is of course much more difficult than recording separately. But we told to ourselves: let it be, we should at least try. And we loved the result.
D: You know, at first you work on the material in rehearsal room. And you’re full of energy. But then you come into recording studio, where you divide the song into parts, and you loose that power, that magic. So we realized that we should change the way we work, so we could keep the emotions from rehearsals.
I: ‘Teatro D’Ira Vol. 1’ is another concept album. You said its all about the rage, that plays the role of catharsis sometimes. Can you say something more about it?
V: Anger is mostly seen as something negative. And we think that classifying emotions as positive or negative is stupid. Especially in art. When you’re creating, anger can make you give more from yourself, say more. And that’s what our album is about, talking about the world of theatre. We show that something that’s seen as bad, can – especially in the world of art – become something good. And those songs, that are so full of rage, can bring relief to our listeners, which only confirms what I’m trying to say.
I: In the lyrics to 'In nome del padre’ and ‘Vent’anni’ you’re talking about mistakes you made in the past...
D: They are very different tracks, even if they seem to talk about the same topic. Vent’anni is all about our age, because we think it’s a very special moment in your life: you become an adult, but you’re still too young to be considered as such, and they don’t treat you seriously. We wanted to share that with our fans, because maybe they think the same. And In nome del padre is about the battle we had to fight, the mistakes we had to make, to get where we are today. Of course we’re still young, we still make mistakes. But I’m singing about the mistakes from the past, because they made us the way we are today. And I’m saying: don’t be afraid to make mistakes, because they are a part of your journey, your life. What’s important is how you react to those mistakes.
E: It’s not a mistake to make mistakes.
I: The next album, continuation of ‘Teatro D’Ira Vol. 1’ – is it already recorded?
D: No, no.
V: Indeed, our next album will be continuation of ‘Teatro D’Ira Vol. 1’, but we’re still working on it. We don’t want to record it in a hurry, we want to take our time making it.
D: We have a lot of songs already, but we want to have plenty to choose from. We want the album to have the most representative songs, the best ones.
#maneskin#måneskin#måneskin interview#maneskin interview#damiano david#victoria de aneglis#ethan torchio#thomas raggi#*mine
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Reiner & Mikasa: A Retrospective Pt. 1
Why their combined synergy is poetic in potentially saving Eren by the end of SnK?
(Disclaimer: This is purely an appreciation post for my two favorite characters, [BR]OTP-influenced but in no way disregarding any other characters’ importance in the series) **contains spoilers for recent manga chapters & Ep. 63 of AoT’s Final Season. Image heavy.
Ever since they were trainees, Eren has always looked up towards both Reiner and Mikasa, although he wasn’t willing to admit to the latter in front of her face directly. But, in a feeling of helplessness, he confided in Reiner. He aspired to be just like the two strongest people in his life at that point: Reiner and Mikasa.
They are the top two cadets of the 104th batch and are almost always evenly matched in the multiple times they’ve tried to take each other down if it wasn’t for Reiner’s stroke of luck and Mikasa’s hesitance. (Mikasa managed to force him out of his Titan form using her last Thunder Spear but wasn’t enough to kill him even when she said she wanted to)
(Oh yes, she & Levi gave him enough trauma for his PTSD and he has recurring nightmares of her. But he still respects them. Enemy to enemy. Enemy to ally.)
Yet together, there’s still a fighting chance for them to stop Eren because of their deep bond with him. (Armin is important too that ARM still has a huge role to play in the second wave of the final fight. Especially now that he’s realized OG Ymir’s role in all of this. I hope)
At this current timeline of the manga, we have reached the point where Reiner and Mikasa, the very two people that Eren looked up to, have to be the ones (amongst the few) who collectively work together to defeat him, who’s under the Founder Ymir’s influence & in a way, saving him from whatever hopeless vortex he is in.
I very much like to draw light to this short, quick exchange between Reiner & Mikasa on the plane heading towards Fort Salta’s direction. The above panel, which highlighted Reiner’s perspective and his empathy, says “The weight of that unimaginable power & burden would not be easy to endure and that IF he was the one who has the Founder, he’d want it to be handled by someone else and if he couldn’t handle that immense power, he’d want the power to be stopped.” Some fans claimed that Reiner was ‘projecting’ his own innate desire to die on Eren but Reiner has always been the opposite to Eren’s character. The other side of the same coin as Eren’s.
The below panel follows and it’s very interesting to note that if we look at Reiner’s gaze as he was speaking, indirectly Reiner is admitting that he’d want to be stopped by someone he knows could do exactly that and that person or his kryptonite is Mikasa. Ok, woman, this man’s weakness is you. It couldn’t get any direct than that rofl
Reiner was being very mindful (and respectful) of his implication as he is very aware on how delicate is Mikasa’s feelings when it comes to Eren. (Tbh, I also observe the unspoken understanding & mutual respect between these two) Eren’s her family & to directly call out to Mikasa to be more proactive in her actions would be inconsiderate of him despite the situation they’re in. Just like at the harbor, before the showdown with the Jeagerists, Reiner gave them the option to stay aside & not interfere, knowing full well he & the rest of the Marleyan survivors would be no different than headless chickens without the SC’s support. He didn’t force them, just like he didn’t impose his thoughts on Mikasa.
Then BOOM -- PATHS INTERMISSION. Brought to you by OG!Ymir through Young!Eren. Coincidentally, as if ‘someone’ out there wants to place weight on Reiner’s suggestion.
However, after the Paths intermission, that might just be the first wake up call to Mikasa. It’s also interesting that once again we are reminded that no matter how fast or how hard Mikasa tried to chase after Eren, she’ll never be able to get close to him. She gave him her world yet he kept moving forward & leave her behind, chasing after his shadows as he keeps going down a path that no one else can follow. I think it’s interesting that The Paths looped her back to Reiner
The horrified expression on Reiner’s face in the panel below somewhat tells me that he knew his earlier implications are not just him grasping desperately at straws but it feels like there’s the ‘human’ side of Eren, still untainted by Ymir’s will, like he believes, who secretly wants to be stopped. He understood how horrible it is for Mikasa, especially with the look of absolute shock on her face to finally have the awful truth confirmed. (At this point, Armin is already past the point of holding back & will do whatever necessary to rip Eren out of the Founding’s form)
I would like to take the time to share my appreciation of these rich panels of Mikasa working closely with Reiner’s Armored (together with the rest of course). Mikasa doesn’t tell her feelings verbally but she always shows it on her face.
Oh yes, right after the above panel, she had to get out of the way but her face below explains the anger and the rage she felt when she saw the Colossal took a bite out of the Armored’s nape & toss its body away like it’s just point blank garbage.
She was desperately worried that Armin was taken, but at Levi’s behest, she trusted Armin with his orders and they forced themselves to move forward. But one can see she was about to go apeshit when she saw what happened to Reiner & his Armored.
While Reiner & Jean were having a Titanic bro moment here, which is also pivotal in my opinion as Reiner, once again felt he finally belonged amongst people who genuinely care about him Survey Corps Suicide Squad yo even after what had happened between them. (It was a symbolical scene as well where Reiner has to let go of his old bro, Bertolt to move forward with his new bro, Jean.) Mikasa swooped in & kill the random Titan form that was about to make Reiner its lunch. Can’t blame them, that man is a delicious footlong sub. This woman ain’t gonna share haha crack humor, people!
“If we fight, we win. If we lose, we die.”
Yes, the breaking point of one Mikasa Ackerman. This is a wholesome callback to Trost arc, the day before their graduation. When she found out that Eren died, she went apeshit & went on a “fuck this shit. i have nothing to lose anymore” mode. Jean, as usual, being the tough guy Jean, is angry that she’s putting her life on the line. Again.
But what’s interesting to me was the helpless look on Reiner’s face. He knows she’s super strong, he respects her so much for that & she’s buying them time and was more than willing to die first before everyone does BUT he can’t do much at that point because he’s at his last limit and Jean’s not letting his hand go either. Seriously, THIS is the woman you should marry, bro. She’s willing to die for you & everyone else. This woman is a damn keeper!
Although I am very sure, everyone’s ready to die for each other at this point.
Back to the original pondering: The Reiner & Mikasa saving Eren with/through Armin going directly against Ymir.
The Final Exhibition played a lot on this Eren vs Reiner with Mikasa being in the middle. Touched on this briefly before.
The Final Stand highlights the confrontation between The Founding/Attack against The Armored, with Mikasa being in the middle of the confrontation, tipping the scales of the outcome. Before, she assisted Eren against Reiner.
We are seeing her working together with Reiner to take Eren down right now. The definitive final question that would be answered soon was printed on the wall featuring Eren & Reiner’s exhibition panel: “Who’s the one that will disappear from this world?”
I just hope that the right one(s) persevere. Reiner & Mikasa are going to Bonnie & Clyde/ Cloak & Dagger / Cyclops & Phoenix that shit out
Read on their characters compatibility in Part 2
#snk meta#snk opinions#reiner braun#mikasa ackerman#BROTP#ReiKasa#Retrospective#snk spoilers#snk 135#snk final season#reiner x mikasa#snk#shingeki no kyojin#進撃の巨人 Attack on Titan#attack on titan#ship appreciation#aot
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Honestly the more I think about it, ep 5 was kind of a letdown (warning: long ass paragraphs, this is all just my personal opinion)
I still enjoy this game a lot but there’s some questionable writing decisions which I’m not entirely sure are intentional or not
A lot of this is due to the fact that there were so many unexplained delays
It has more chapters than any other ep so far, but a lot of it feels very pointless (did the middle part need to be all about touring the the festival?) and even though it's supposed to be the pom chapter, i still don't really feel like we don’t really get all that close to them, particularly rook and vil to a lesser extent. Even Epel’s relevance kinda disappears from the story after the middle part. Compare this to ep 1 which has 28 chapters and 5 main characters yet you get a good sense of who they all are and they have tangible roles to play. Part of this is due to the fact that there are more characters that are getting involved with each ep. I know people always go on about how twst is not an otome game to explain why mc has weak presence/influence but considering they're our only way to directly interact with the characters i think they should be utilized more
It also feels like a lot of points that were brought up before and during the ep that were never addressed. E.g. the dwarf mine monster (actual dwarfs show up in the ep so why was there no mention of it?), the fact that Pomefiore is the oldest dorm, Kalim mentioning that he enrolled in nrc late, Jamil hearing our conversation with Kalim, Epel being a poison apple, and so on. I don't want to think the writers forgot but...
Also this is sort of a personal opinion but I don't really like the fact that we're supposed to be on Vil's side? Like personally I myself don't really care about beauty, I think everyone has their own standards of beauty and that sometimes I just wanna look like a swamp witch lol. There's a lot of talk about social media influencers and body image and how it has a negative effect on self esteem and such, and I thought maybe we'd get a moral where we'd tell Vil that “hey you don't have to be so hard on yourself and base your self worth on what other people say.” Now obviously this isn't going to solve Vil's issues since he's a child actor and it's sort of engrained in him at this point due to the nature of the industry, but solving deep personal issues isn't the point of twst anyways, it's more about making a breakthrough I guess? I think it should be addressed that just because Vil puts a high standard on himself it doesn’t mean others have to follow it? And that the high standards themselves might not be something that should be met especially if they’re created to please other people (”please” might be the wrong word for Vil but I hope you get what I mean)
Like don't get me wrong I think it's cool that the game makes a good point about how striving to be beautiful isn't limited to one gender and that it's also strength and Epel's definitely working through some issues with toxic masculinity and his own self image, but on the other hand why should he go along with an ideal . I don't really like it when someone arbitrarily imposes their own will on others with no one questioning it, even if they do have good points. Guess I just feel there should be at least a small revelation similar to Epel's on Vil's part.
And now for the infamous ending... I personally expected rsa to win and I thought Rook being an idol otaku was pretty funny and it does fit with Rook’s M.O for him to do what he did, but the way it played out was really...it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I’ve seen some twitter posts speculating that the light element characters like Rook and Neige were meant to be portrayed as insensitive and callous since it’s a story from the villains’ point of view and what not, but I’ve also seen other posts speculating that it might be Yana Toboso’s bias to make the “good” characters look bad to make the “villain” characters more sympathetic. Kalim in ep 4 also inspired similar reaction but I think people sided with him more at that time. Now I don’t want to assume anything and I really hope that isn’t the case, but that kind of thing just invites controversy, which the fandom has a lot of already
Now this is all before we really understand what the game “Twisted Wonderland” is really about. The fact that there’s an unsatisfied feeling after each episode ends seems to be intentional considering the nature of the game. Maybe there will be some big revelation later in game that will make all of this seem silly and everything will make sense. Most games have these kinds of growing pains when starting out (FGO Rome anyone?) and writing for a mobile game is different than writing for a manga or novel, so hopefully the staff can learn something from this and maybe be more transparent about the game’s development. I’m sure this will all be forgotten by the time ep 6 or a new event comes, but until then...I’m going to be just a little disappointed.
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Pacing Issues in SHL/WoH
Rather I should name this issues that would be fixed with the correct pacing (ie a few extra scenes), but whatever. To preface ik the show had time and budget constraints, and ofc censorship, and love the show a lot. But these were a few areas where I thought a 4-5 min scene could also mostly fix things.
1. Wen Kexing's Fake Death:
That Wkx has to fake his death is obvious. Zhao Jing is hell bent on killing Wkx and the Ghost Valley, the most Wkx can do is set it up on his own terms to fake his death, which is why he returns to the Ghost Valley. There is also the fact that Wkx's death as the Ghost Valley Leader metaphorically marks the end of his kill-everyone revenge. Now when he comes back to take revenge, he does it in a righteous manner as the son of Zhen Ruyu avenging his parents death.
I would be remiss as a Sherlock fan if I did not compare this to Sherlock's Reichenabch Fake Death-- as he does not tell John, so does Wkx not tell Zzs.
That Wkx does not tell Zzs initially is understandable:
Zzs as we know is pretty injured. He has just come back from facing a lot of torture from the Prince, and already he had his Nail Problem ™. As we're told, Zzs needs to rest, and get into better health so that the nails can be removed.
Wkx's plan is at best risky-- how to be assured that only Chengling kills him? And not any of the hundreds present there? What if things go wrong, as they can at any moment? Zzs would at the least want to help Wkx, play a part-- which is dangerous for him as he's still injured.
So ofc in Wkx's mind it's best if he's not told until the plan is completed. Wkx makes sure to only tell those who are necessary to the plan, just like Sherlock does, telling only Molly, Mycroft and the Homeless network.
At this point we also know Gu Xiang did not know of the plan. As was pointed in another person's meta-- Wkx is a lone wolf, accustomed to relying only on himself and the bare minimum ppl required.
Moreover, there's the fact that Zzs was not supposed to be there during Wkx's death, just like John was not supposed to be there at Sherlock's death. In both cases John and Zzs suddenly pop-up and you can see that Wkx is anxious as he tries to keep Zzs away from him ("I lied to you Zhou Zi Shu" just like Sherlock says "I am a con man, it was all a trick").
When Zzs comes to take revenge, everyone other than him seems to know Wkx is alive. Why? The answer is that, as we see, Zzs probably ran away and was in hiding until he came to seek revenge at the Conference. Had he returned to the others, like Gu Xiang he would also be made to know of the truth.
This is the recurring theme of the show: the prey thinks all along that he's the Predator- similarly because of this unfortunate circumstance of Zzs being absent and then removing the nails, Wkx who thought he'd outsmarted everyone, really gets one upped by Fate.
Now, the last part that really ties this in is not explicitly stated at all, hence causing a lot of confusion and feelings about Wkx being OOC.
If only they had one 3-min conversation where WKX is like-- "where were you all this time, I was looking for you to tell you that I'm alive" and Zzs says something about preparing to take revenge, obvs not wanting to tell Wkx what really happened yet.
2. Side Character Deaths:
Episode 35-36 have a lot of deaths.
For Gu Xiang and Cao Weining, though the initial premise of their deaths is wonky (ie that no one was around to check on these new Intruders) the theme is apparent (that good people cannot survive in jianghu bc neither GX nor CWN once think of being cautious of the Gentle Wind Sect Leader). But still as viewers we can be asked to suspend our logic sometimes. Thier actual deaths are done beautifully.
But the others, that is, Tragicomic Ghost, Alluring Ghost, etc- Thier deaths are too quick and aren't given enough time. As for Xie'er and Zhao Jing, their deaths occur entirely offscreen.
For Zhao Jing we can say fuck the villain and let it go, but the rest of the characters the show spent a lot of time making us feel sympathetic towards-- giving no time to Thier deaths doesn't make us feel cathartic or fully give time to process them. A bit longer for each of them would have been wonderful, esp for Xie'er.
3. Wen Kexing's Sacrifice:
I have seen some criticism where it's said that Wkx sacrificing himself took away Zzs's autonomy over his death, which he has always wanted and has been a major character point. And they're right.
See, Wkx's immediate reaction on waking is understandable: given the choice to sacrifice yourself so that a loved ones lives, who wouldn't take it?
Also Wkx has cost Zzs his life, if he'd not done what he did, Zzs could have taken the treatment, gotten the nails out, and lived. Now, he will die. Wkx owes Zzs a life now.
Moreover, as Wkx would most definitely think: who does wkx have to live for if Zzs is gone? Other than Chengling, everyone else he loved would be dead-- the ppl he knew from Ghost Valley, Gu Xiang-- when Gu Xiang died he was ready to die at that point too.
But Zzs? He has so many to live for-- Chengling, all his disciples, Qi Ye, etc. As we know, Wkx thinks very highly of Zzs. He does not however consider, that the person Zzs wants to live most for is Wkx himself-- when Zzs tells him this in that World Armoury Cave, you can see the immediate regret on his face-- but what can Wkx do?
The thing is, at the end of the day Wkx thinks he owes Zzs this life, and that Zzs is more deserving and has more to live for.
Again all of this you'd really need to think about, and since it is one of the final, really important scenes, it's... Best if they'd shown all of this reasoning themselves.
What the show really needed here, was a scene where WKX finds out it is due to his own mistake that Zzs is going to die-- he would go berserk, and then probably also go through what I've described above. That scene would really help a ton.
4. The last scene of 36/ ep 37:
This one is the least to blame because I cannot Imagine the hoops the team had to go through to give us what they did.
The last frame of 36 is interesting, because it's very abrupt. I suppose they did it in the hopes of making audiences feel that it was incomplete and to go and look for another episode and stumble upon the Easter Egg?
That being said, it really is confusing what exactly is happening in the last scene or how Wkx survived-- there are many theories about how both parties need to be completely devoted to each other etc etc. And also the lip reading which makes things clearer. Story-wise it really is an issue, but taking in the outside elements I really do not blame the Show Team for what they did.
Also a side note to everyone despairing that WenZhou won't be able to travel the world like they wanted to-- they had previously said they'd love a reclusive lifestyle, so they are happy here, and they can also leave anytime!
So I assume in a few decades, maybe once Chengling dies, they can descend the mountain, travel the world for a good 10 yrs minimum (or if their aging is just unfreezed then they have like 30-40 years) to travel the world, go back to Wkx's peasant home and pay respect to his parents, and also meet GX and CWN's reincarnations!
So yeah in conclusion ™, a few added scenes really would have helped, and yes this is a critique ™ but i also understand the hurdles they'd have faced in terms of time and money budgets and censorship. This show does not exist in a void but is influenced by real outside phenomenons!
#meta?#meta#shl#woh#word of honor spoilers#word of honour#woh spoilers#woh ending#word of honor ending#woh ep 36#woh ep 37#critique#not really criticism#anyways i love the show#wenzhou#baby!#yup thats about it#i don't think there's anything i missed???#i hope not anyways#what i really want to make is edits but yega#yeah this is also me presenting theories on what could have happened
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SPONGKIFY: February
1. Fountains of Wayne / Adam Schlesinger (Band)
Discovering the power pop gem that is the band Fountains of Wayne during my semester break was quite a ride. Brace yourself. I have a lot to say about this.
Don't get me wrong—I was already aware of the band's classics during my childhood such as Stacy's Mom, Sink to the Bottom, and Hackensack—I do not live under a rock. But would you believe that drag made me realize I merely scratched the surface of their excellence?! I was watching a Trixie Mattel video about her celebrity doll collection where she showcased her Josie & The Pussycats dolls, and she mentioned how the music in that movie was written by Adam Schlesinger, the co-founder and songwriter of Fountains of Wayne. She also had a live video where she covered their song Hackensack as a tribute to Schlesinger's passing (RIP). All of this prompted me to rewatch Josie & The Pussycats (a movie that possibly radicalized me as a kid) and revisit its stellar soundtrack. I explored more and more of FoW's music and needless to say, I will definitely be seeing a lot of them on my year-end's Spotify Wrapped.
Their self-titled album Fountains of Wayne creates a picture of '90s American suburban life and its mundanities with tongue-in-cheek lyrics that read like anecdotes (courtesy of Schlesinger), even to those who are greatly unfamiliar with it such as me who grew up in a crummy urban apartment, forever intrigued with the enigma of suburbia. With the union of Chris Collingwood's (co-founder, vocalist, and songwriter) vocals and a variation of melodies peppier than most '90s alternative music and with heavier guitars than their pop pop counterparts, this record slid its way into my heart, and tagged along was its dorky but heartfelt appeal that reminded me of simpler times. Each song provides the sensation of watching a film but with the privilege of having both the movie and the soundtrack as one entity.
Oh, but that's not all. I also found out that Adam Schlesinger wrote for the movie Music and Lyrics (2007) starring Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant and That Thing You Do! (1996) starring Tom Hanks. He also wrote tracks such as Just a Girl by The Click Five and (co-wrote) High School Never Ends by Bowling For Soup. AKA, I was completely unaware he ruled my fucking childhood. I couldn't be sadder for his passing, but he will remain alive through his music.
(With Trixie Mattel's small town affection and style of fashion and music heavily inspired by '60s mod and power pop, I could see why she considers Fountains of Wayne as her favorite band of all-time.)
2. KATYA - Vampire Fitness (EP)
I'm gonna be honest, I'm not a big fan of most drag queens' music. They tend to go for the campy early 2010s electro-pop formula that either end up sounding like they sewed together Ke$ha's tattered scraps or they sloppily imitated iconic queer track "I Want Your Bite" by Cara Cunningham (formerly Chris Crocker). And tbh, I'm not really mad about it (even though I sound like I am so I'm gonna stop before I start sounding more and more like a homophobic bastard) since music is usually just a side gig for most queens. There are exceptions, of course—some do fall under this convention but they're GOOD, although I find that it's generally a hit-or-miss. This record, however, has KATYA written all over it. I have pretty high expectations on everything Katya does since she is so consistent with her character and style which, in my opinion, she greatly expresses on her own YouTube channel. Her "RuFLECTIONS" segment and her "RuUnion" with Detox were peak Lynchian weirdness (did I use that term right?) and pure Katya Zamolodchikova artistry, so I expected her music to be no less.
In this EP, KATYA (as she is mononymously known in her music career) pays tribute to her "motherland" and sings mostly in Russian. There is a clear influence from industrial goth, dark wave, and [shoots dart blindfolded] hyperpop PC music à la SOPHIE (RIP) and other aesthetics Katya basically associates herself with. As a known Russian bisexual transvestite hooker, Katya also does a Eurovision-style track featuring her best friend Trixie Mattel called "Ding Dong!" (an inside joke between the two) where the latter briefly recites a line from Silence of the Lambs (about Jame Gumb btw, aka gay icon).
A record packed with references on top of instrumentals that could possibly kill Prince Philip twice... [Elvira voice] Now this is my kinda ghoul!
3. Santigold - Disparate Youth (Song)
"Indie sleaze", aka a more fragrant term for the derogatory-sounding "hipster", is slowly making a comeback on the Internet and it's only a matter of time before it hits the mainstream (ironically). A lot of people are sensing a resurgence of millennial-isms, particularly hedonistic Project X-type parties, which I'm assuming is a result of how pent-up we've all felt during the pandemic. After all, we were supposed to have our own "Roaring '20s". And I, for one, am not immune to trends so I have this "bloghouse" gold on repeat, reveling in that nostalgia and making up for lost time—this along with M.I.A., Azealia Banks, Kid Cudi, MGMT, The Strokes, The Libertines (if you’re a Brit) and the like. I have a feeling Alexa Demie has something to do with this (iykyk). Maybe it's about time I start seeing pictures of American Apparel models in tighty whities on my dashboard.
#spongkify#music#music recs#february faves#fountains of wayne#adam schlesinger#my childhood#katya#katya zamo#katya zamolodchikova#drag#drag race#rupaul's drag race#santigold#indie sleaze#did not mean for these to be full blown reviews tbh#i just enjoyed fountains of wayne that much
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Getting To Know...
Helven.
Norwegian alt-pop artist Helven has just released her debut EP volume 1 via Jansen Records. Over the last few months she has shared the first taste of the EP in the form of singles ‘u my homie’ and ‘if I could be like you’ which have earned her early support across the blogosphere and a steady following.
Helven has a talent for fusing together honest, contemporary lyrics with inspiration from pop music of the past, capturing the experience of life as a 21-year-old woman in the 2020’s. Inspired by the many lessons her brother, who has autism and Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, has taught her, Helven is on a mission to wear her heart on her sleeve.
Each of the five tracks that make up volume 1 focuses on a different emotion that she has struggled to express in the past: envy, care, love, sadness and frustration. Attaching a particular feeling to the autobiographical stories she tells in her music has helped her find a true sense of self. Her message to her generation is simple. “In order to survive in this increasingly chaotic world we need to listen to our feelings more, and express them proudly.”
We had a chat with Helven all about her influences, volume 1, her plans for 2022 and more. Read the Q&A below.
Hi Helven! How are you? What have you been up to?
"Hi! I'm good, thanks! And thank you for having me. I've been busy working on the release of my debut EP and preparing for the release concert in Oslo, it's gonna be great!"
Let’s start at the beginning. What was it that led you to make music? Who were you influenced by growing up?
"I've always loved singing and writing songs since I was a child. Growing up I loved listening to my dad's vinyl collection, with artists and bands such as Frank Zappa, Patti Smith, Portishead, Grateful Dead and more. It inspired me to start writing songs on on my own and dreaming of becoming an artist one day.
"For years I was too scared to take a chance on making music properly as I worried I wasn’t good enough, so instead I decided to turn my attention to studying theatre. When the pandemic came and I was in my first quarantine, I opened my eyes to music once again, this time with real determination and with the goal of making it. I learned all I needed to learn in order to make demos and started mixing and recording some songs. Then I sent them out to different producers in Oslo, where I was moving to. The producer Andrew Murray Baardsen really liked the sound of it and we made the EP together. Then I got a record deal with 9AM Records on indie-label Jansen Records, and now it's finally out in the world!"
Yes! Speaking of volume 1. What's the record about and what does it mean to you?
"For me it's about a journey through all the feelings that have been difficult for me to express. It starts with the song 'if i could be like u', about the feeling of envy and jealousy, and moves on to showing love and care for a friend in a hard time, or as we called each other; 'my homie'. Then it continues with the feeling and expression of your first love in the track 'my love my love'. After that the story develops into the fear of losing yourself and a question of 'when n where'. It all ends with power and love, despite how much they may say 'calm down'."
Please take us through your songwriting/creative process for the EP. What was your favourite part? And what did you find most challenging about it?
"I wrote and recorded the songs on my own in my bedroom, back home on a small farm in the south of Norway. Then we re-recorded it and mixed it in Luft Recordings Studio, Sandvika. The creative process for me was about learning more and more each day, making changes that enabled us to get to the core of the song, or in some cases, simply not changing anything at all. For example, on 'when n where' we recorded the vocals again in one-take, to get a deeper feeling of the melancholy and longingness in the song, but we ended up not changing anything on the original instrumental. That was a real challenge for me, feeling so vulnerable sharing it just as it was. But now it's maybe my favourite track on the whole EP."
Finally, what are your plans for 2022? Will we be getting volume 2?
"First we are going to have the release concert at Blå in Oslo. Then we are going to play some gigs throughout the summer. And volume 2 is in the making, so we will see! Thanks for the interview, and I hope you enjoy the EP and are having a wonderful day!"
Photo credit: Johnathan Vivaas Kise
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TharnType SS2 Episode 11
Why didn’t Type bring his bag with him? Why did he just throw it in the house and dip?
Type’s family dynamic is based on pettiness, and is so cute. You can tell Type doesn’t let his dad get away with anything. But, you would think that after seven years, Mr. Thiwat would get used to Tharn being around. As soon as Type is done hearing what his dad has to say he’s calling for his mom. It’s hilarious, and I could probably watch ten minutes of Type picking on his dad.
Why are they trying to convince me that Tharn is capable of cooking. The series should be called Tharn & Ghost!Type considering how often Tharn talks to himself. It’s a coping mechanism, I get it, but like.... If you would tell Type this, you wouldn’t be sad and lonely. And at this point it kinda feels like them not talking to each other is all stupid pride. Tharn says “I want you to make up with me,” as opposed to “I want to fix things between us.” Tharn and Type both did wrong to get them to this point, but it wasn’t so wrong that they shouldn’t talk for a month. I feel like this is so dramatic and super freaking petty. If the script made it seem like this was the straw that broke the camel’s back, I would believe it. But the script (to me) implies this is their first big almost break up fight. I know the both of them are drama queens, but this “cheating” situation has been blown out of proportion. Also, Tharn no longer believes Type cheated on him (or is no longer worried about it). “I want you to make up with me. You know it, too. That you’re the one who let him in.” So he’s more worried that Type let Fiat in, but refuses to pick up the phone and apologize for accusing him of cheating. The whole situation has a mind of it’s own at this point.
Tharn went all the way to his parent’s house for a bandaid. Pussy lol.
I love how even Thanya is like “Tharn stop being a bitch”. Then his parents are all like “good communication is what you need” and “even your mama made me super jealous once”. His parents are saying everything I said to him since episode 1 and I am living for it. I can see his dad wanting to roast Tharn “Is that all? If he said dude’s a patient, maybe you should believe him.” And I feel like Tharn is realizing how silly he’s been by not giving Type a chance to talk to him. Ghost!Type appears again.
I don’t know how to feel about Fiat feeling guilty. I’m happy Leo and Fiat can do their shit together, but that should be the end of their involvement with TT. Does Fiat not care that he was kidnapped? I really feel like that whole event should have been like “P’Type don’t want shit to do with me,” and leave it at that. Also, Phu and Cir need to stop leading people to TT’s condo. The face drop that Tharn committed to *chef’s kiss* cause I would be the same. Difference between me and Tharn: I ain’t nice, I would’ve slammed that door right in their faces. BUT ALAS, Fiat speaks for himself, instead of letting Leo do it for him. The apology does seem sincere, and Tharn seems to realize that his pride is getting in the way. Like Fiat’s show of maturity has influenced Tharn.
Type puts on his best grandpa shirt to see Khom. Does Type take the closest open beer to him, no matter where he goes? Isn’t that how people get syphilis? And now we see Type’s pride making a mess of their relationship. Khom is a real one though, he immediately debunks everything Type is complaining about.
Is the ordainment thing like a rite of passage in general, or like depending on where you grew up in Thailand, or strictly based on religious beliefs? This is also the fastest decision Type has made since asking Tharn to top him.
I figured Tharn was on his way to Type when he answered the phone in the car, but it was petty of him to say “I gotta go” like that. I would’ve broken down just like Type, but I would’ve also sent a “fuck you too” text. Someone pointed out that Type went through the five stages of grief during this five minute crying scene. (I just laughed at Type, slipping in the sand.) I know this is supposed to be sad, but like all the shit they put us through makes this so comical to me. But he made valid points. I would’ve been mad at someone making me love them for seven years just to Jimmy Neutron me too. Type cried for so long it got dark outside. It was like noon when this scene started. Are Vespas appropriate for beach AND road travel?
Type’s dad is so mad Tharn showed up! It’s easy to see where Type got his tantrums from. Type switches from disbelief to “imma whoop his ass” in nano seconds. This apology scene furthers my belief that this was blown way out of proportion. I know Type says they need to communicate more, but I get the feeling that this wouldn’t be Type’s first time telling Tharn to be one hunnit with him.
Type: I’d never do anything behind your back
Also Type: *kidnaps and assaults a nineteen year old*
Type: Let’s spend forever together.
At this point in the tale, so many of TT’s scenes together seem like MG couldn’t keep a straight face. Some of the laughs and giggles help the scenes, the rest of them seem like they’re breaking character to me. The change to me is like a whole reset. The acting in the series seems more like MG than anything most of the time, so for Type and Tharn to be so characterized during episode 9 and 10 really throw me for a loop. It almost seems like two different people, and nearly negate (bastardize? debunk?) the impact of episodes 9 and 10.
“I’m not used to it” Just how hard is Tharn fucking Type?
Since Ghost!Type is gone, Tharn resorts to talking to Sleep!Type. Gulf has to be asleep for real in one of these cuts.) I’m happy that Tharn is making the decision to follow Type, instead of imposing his opinion on him. Personally, I think Tharn trying to propose to him right after they get back together is POOR timing on his part. I can see how Type’s thinking has changed, but I do feel like they should’ve warmed up to this again. A thrown in the wind “So, eventually you’ll wear my ring, right?” I really don’t appreciate Tharn trying to run away again. They just talked about this like less than 24 hours ago. Type stating his emotions and plans about this is so nice though. After 10 episodes of his avoidance of the marriage, I’m glad he clearly spoke his feelings for once. And Type mentions not being able to give his parents grandkids, but I thought Type didn’t want kids. I know wants can change after years, but it kind of shocked me at first. Is this stated anywhere in the first season or is this a headcanon I actually thought was canon?
I really can’t believe Champ and Doc are out here playing games with each other still. Type has given Doc so many tips and advice. Khunpol HAS to be playing hard to get at this point. It’s cute, but also kiss already.
Type’s dad manages to be racist and homophobic. How familiar, reminds me of home. Did Type just tell Tharn he’d blow him? How bold.
Prediction for next ep:
Type’s ordainment and Tharn’s slaving about the resort.
Mr. Thiwat’s begrudging acceptance of Tharn
TT’s engagement (romance turned to 100)
P’Thorn’s wedding
Maybe the families meet?
#tharntype#tharn kirigun#tharntype 2: 7 years of love#type thiwat#mewgulf#maybe the best ep#but only because they actually talk#the wedding is the special ep#it has to be#hopefully they have a kid
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on my shelf: soundtrack to MA year 1 - summer
That was the most stressful semester of my life, which is saying something since it was my 10th uni semester. It was all still online which has its benefits, sure (no commute! sleeping in! not having to get dressed properly!), but even an introvert like me likes to be around people sometimes. It really feels like everyone, including the lecturers, has kind of lost it at this point. That's the only explanation I can find for the unusual amount of work thrown at us. Okay now that that's out of the way, let's get to the ~music~
BTS: "Butter" and "Permission to Dance" (2021)
Summery goodness from BTS following last year's Dynamite that's just fun to listen to, to figure out the pop culture references to, and to cheer on as they make the Hot 100 their playing ground (thanks in big part to very dedicated US/PR Armys). "Butter" features very cool, more minimal verses with an explosive, big chorus. It's filled with calm confidence. Learning the previous English song "Dynamite's" lyrics was pretty difficult, but "Butter" was even harder, even for native speakers, which just makes BTS' efforts all the more impressive. I immediately loved "Permission To Dance" and its very musical-theater, feel-good vibe. It just makes you feel happy! Here I found the rap line's vocal chops especially impressive - I love how BTS is constantly trying out new things in all their music, including the English singles.
ITZY: GUESS WHO (2021)
This EP is a lot like ITZY's usual output in its bold confidence and electronic sound, but it feels more refined and even a bit more experimental this time around. Listening from top to bottom, there's a good flow where the songs don't blend into each other and can stand alone, but don't rub against each other either. My favourite is closer "Tennis (0:0)", their calmest song yet. The instrumentation is more traditional (featuring some acoustic guitars) and very minimal, so the focus is on the group's vocals. The melodies would work in a louder song too, which just makes this stripped back sound stand out even more.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER: The Chaos Chapter: Freeze (2021)
Following on from the album series The Dream Chapter and the summer album minisode 1: Blue Hour, TXT introduced a new chapter, that focuses on the confusing and conflicting feelings of growing up and showcases yet more diversity in their sound. This album features a lot more input musically and lyrically from the members, like Huening Kai produced rock juggernaut "Dear Sputnik", and feels all the more richer for it. In general, the album moves between clear rock ("Dear Sputnik", "0x1=Lovesong"), pop ("No Rules", "Magic"), hip-hop and electronic influences, sometimes also mixing them to create interesting fusions, like on "Freeze". The one thing that stays consistent throughout is the angst, in all its various forms. It doesn't ever go full on overboard emo with it though, making it more palatable. My top 3 songs are "No Rules", "0x1=Lovesong" and "Ice Cream". They recently released a repackaged album including two new songs: "LO$ER=LO♥ER" (emo rock that made me very happy to hear since it's executed so well) and "MOA Diary (Dubaddu Wari Wari)", a super cute fan song.
WENDY: Like Water (2021)
Red Velvet member and vocal powerhouse Wendy released her first solo EP, after having recovered from a serious injury she suffered at the end of 2019. The songs suit her voice perfectly. There's a lot of ballads, but she makes them sound effortless, even in the highest notes, where her voice stays rich and full. She's able to convey the emotions needed sincerely, without being overbearing, a lot of it owed to the lyrical topics centering around themes like being there for each other, instead of very heavy, sad ones. In the musically lighter songs, like "Why Can't You Love Me", she's skilled in her playfulness, with an audible smile. Wendy's love for music and singing is tangible and makes the EP feel very comforting to listen to.
IU: A Flower Bookmark, Pt. 2 (2017)
I'd been wanting to go through IU's older music since her new album Lilac was released this year, and doing so, I got stuck on this EP of reworked covers. I don't know any of the original songs, but if I hadn't known they were covers I would've never guessed it just by listening. IU has a knack for making things distinctly her own - no matter what style or genre she's trying out, she'll fit into it perfectly while still being recognisable. This EP features a range of different styles, from different decades and artists, but it all flows together, like they were always meant to be here. My favourites are "Autumn Morning" (featuring an acapella intro), "Last Night Story" (reminds me a lot of late 80s German rock, like the song "Westerland" by Die Ärzte, but more fun), and the pretty and calming "Everyday With You".
LOONA: [&] (2021)
Loona have become one of my favourite groups, even more so as I've been getting to know their pre-debut solo and sub-unit songs. So I was very happy when they returned this year with all 12 members for the first time since 2019. Lead single "PTT (Paint The Town)" is similar in sentiment (and somewhat in sound too) to their 2020 lead singles with its fierceness. It gives space to welcome Haseul back too, even presenting her as a risen phoenix in the music video. At first I felt like the song "WOW" would've been better as lead single but then I couldn't get "PTT" out of my head for days every time I listened to it, so I had to admit it was the right choice. [&] feels like a mixture between what a lot of fans call "typical Loona" and the direction they went in on previous EP 12:00, especially on city-pop leaning closer "U R". My favourites are the bouncier "WOW" and "Be Honest", as well as "U R".
Some singles I loved:
Ji Jin Seok: "Come With Me" (2021)
-> a chill, K-R&B summer track featuring Ji Jin Seok's beautiful, calm voice
Epik High: "Rain Song" (2021)
-> perfect for rainy days. walks the line between sad and okay perfectly.
JOY: "Hello" (2021)
-> fun, upbeat song (actually a reworked cover!) that showcases Red Velvet member Joy's vocal colour perfectly. the album (also reworked covers) is lovely too, but I didn't listen to the full thing that much.
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200924 20 Questions With SuperM: The K-Pop Supergroup On Their New Album & Becoming ‘Like Family’ With Each Other
Last year, SuperM notched a huge win when their self-titled “mini album” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The K-pop supergroup -- which consists of members of EXO, SHINee, NCT 127 and WayV -- had generated a huge amount of buzz before releasing a single track thanks to its star-studded lineup, and with the No. 1 bow, SuperM was off to an explosive start.
With Super One, the group’s first full-length out Friday (Sept. 25), SuperM continues its positive momentum. The hopeful, hook-stuffed album allows all seven members of SuperM to shine, while also expanding the group’s pop aesthetic and finding the right balance between singing and rapping. Songs like “Wish You Were Here,” “Better Days” and lead single “100” demonstrate SuperM’s dexterity -- and even though it’s still uncertain when their global fans will be able to see the songs performed live, the collective sounds prepared to put on an eclectic, wide-ranging show with these tracks.
Ahead of their new album’s release, the members of SuperM answered 20 questions about their musical backgrounds, leaning on each other during the pandemic, the highlights of Super One and more:
1. What’s the first piece of music that you bought for yourself, and what was the medium?
BAEKHYUN: An Avril Lavigne CD. I really liked her music when I was young so I remember going to a CD store with my brother to buy her album.
2. What was the first concert you saw?
KAI: I remember I went to my first concert when I was 16 years old. This was Usher’s concert when he came to Korea. Seeing him perform onstage inspired me to work harder towards my dream to become an artist like him. I still can’t forget the energy and the vibe of people around me and remember wanting to perform on a big stage like that.
3. Who made you realize you could be an artist full-time?
TAEMIN: My mom was the first person actually. When I was very young, she saw how much I enjoyed singing and dancing and encouraged me to audition. Since then, I started moving towards my dream to become an artist and performer. She helped me discover my passion at an early age and encouraged me to do what I love, and for that, I’m forever grateful.
4. What’s at the top of your professional bucket list?
TAEYONG: I just want everyone I work with to be happy, and work together for a long time. This includes not just SuperM members, but also the rest of the staff and the team behind the scenes that make it all happen!
5. How did your hometown/city shape who you are?
MARK: I think everyone is influenced by their hometown and where they come from. It’s really special to be a K-pop artist and perform in front of fans in Canada, where I’m from. When we performed in my hometown during the world tour earlier this year, it was such a significant “homecoming” moment for me. Canada always has a special place in my heart.
6. What’s the last song you listened to?
LUCAS: The last song I listened to is Justin Bieber’s new song, “Holy.” It’s a great song to listen to when you are feeling tired. I listen to it on repeat when I’m on the move during the day and it puts me in a good mood.
7. If you could see any artist in concert, dead or alive, who would it be?
TEN: I would choose Michael Jackson, because I always regret that I didn’t get to see him perform onstage live. I look up to him as an artist, and I’d love to see him sing and dance live at one of his concerts.
8. What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen happen in the crowd of one of your shows?
MARK: Well, one thing that happens at every show is how emotional I get seeing the venue packed with our fans. Before going onstage, I always take a peek at the audience from behind the curtain, and it’s hard to describe the exact feeling in words but it feels surreal — too good to be true, almost. Especially for a standing audience, it’s not easy standing for hours straight in a tight space, but their energy never goes down. I never feel tired onstage because of them. It’s still pretty crazy to me to see and feel their energy every time. I miss them!
9. How has the pandemic affected the way you’ve created music in 2020?
BAEKHYUN: The process of creating music, writing and recording songs, was pretty much the same. However, planning the album promotion during pandemic was a little different, since everything had to be done online. We had to think of fun and unique ways to interact with our fans, from creating our own reality show to holding livestream, AR tech-based concerts. We have a lot more creative content in store for our fans, so stay tuned!
10. What was your reaction to SuperM’s mini album topping the Billboard 200 chart last year?
KAI: Everyone was super happy. We put our heart and soul into the album and worked really hard on it, so in a way, we were looking forward to the results. When we saw that the EP hit number one on the chart, it was one of the happiest moments of our career.
11. What’s the biggest difference, creatively speaking, between last year’s mini album and Super One?
TEN: The mini album was more about introducing SuperM and our SMP-style performances, whereas for Super One, it shows more of our different musical styles and really brings out the dynamic qualities that we possess as a group. So, to put it simply, Super One is the completed version/look of SuperM. Also, what was important for us when creating this album was to include a message of hope and deliver that positivity and strength to listeners. Music can really lift your spirits when you’re feeling down, so I hope people find healing and happiness while listening to our music. That would make us very happy.
12. Why did “100” make the most sense as a lead single?
TAEYONG: “100” is all about speed and energy, so it’s the perfect single to showcase SuperM’s power as the opening act of Super One. It also helps convey the message that we are always moving forward at full-speed, giving our 100% in all we do.
13. What’s one song on the album that you suspect will be a big fan favorite?
LUCAS: I think fans will like “Better Days.” It’s a nice ballad song for a great start to your day. It also contains a message of comfort and empathy to help get through these difficult times. We hope our fans can feel the warmth of this messaging through our vocals and fluid rapping.
14. How has the group bonded during what’s been a wild 2020?
TAEMIN: We’ve been through a lot and have always been there for each other through thick and thin so naturally, we’ve gotten very close. They’re like family now. We didn’t have to “try” to become close, it just naturally happened -- as if we were destined to be in the same group.
15. SuperM has been part of a massive year for the global expansion of K-pop. How does it feel to see so many K-pop songs, albums and artists setting records?
MARK: This makes me really proud. I remember growing up in Canada, a lot of people at my school didn’t know K-pop. It was mainly just popular among Koreans. Now, so many people all over the world know about it and K-pop is getting so much attention. I feel honored and proud to be a part of this movement. Bringing the two cultures closer together and building that bridge through music is such a historic moment, and I can’t wait to contribute more to it and create great music for listeners worldwide.
16. What’s your go-to song that you’ve been singing along to lately?
BAEKHYUN: These days, I have Eric Benet’s “Still with You” on repeat, so I’ve been singing this a lot lately. This was one of my favorite songs in high school, and ever since I started spending more time at home, I’ve been revisiting some of my old favorite playlists. They bring me back to that moment when I was in school, aspiring to become an artist.
17. What movie, or song, always makes you cry?
TEN: This always changes, but when I can empathize with the characters in a movie or connect with the emotions in a song, it makes me cry. I recently cried watching the animated film, Grave of the Fireflies. I watched this for the first time when I was young, but re-watching it as an adult touched me in a different way.
18. If you were not a musician, what would you be?
LUCAS: If not a musician, I’d probably be a firefighter – a job that saves other people’s lives is truly inspiring to me. But if not a firefighter, I’d definitely choose a career that make people happy, just like what I try to do now through music and performing.
19. What’s one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
KAI: I would tell my younger self to take care of yourself and stay healthy, because health is so important! I would also tell him not to be so hard on himself and enjoy the ride as a young teenager. This is the time for having fun and trying different things! Back then, I was so focused on my career and working towards my dreams that I didn’t spend a lot of time doing “regular teenager experiences,” which I wish I did more of!
20. What’s your message to fans who have been supporting SuperM -- and waiting for this album to arrive?
TAEMIN: It’s been almost a year now since our debut, and we are incredibly grateful to have so many fans cheer us on. We put our heart and soul into the album knowing that our fans have been waiting for a long time. While we’re sad that that we can’t meet them in person, we hope they can feel the positive energy through our songs and performances.
Jason Lipshutz @ Billboard
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Chartbreaker: LOONA Cracked the Code to a K-Pop U.S. Radio Crossover
The 12-member K-pop unit scored its first pop radio hit with “Star,” thanks to an intensive, years-long strategy.
LOONA member Yves didn’t believe it at first when the K-pop girl group debuted on Billboard's Pop Airplay chart last month with its snappy synth-pop single, "Star.""It sometimes feels unrealistic," she says over Zoom from a conference room in Seoul. Reality will sink in, she believes, when she and LOONA’s 11 other members can all travel safely to the United States and hear it on the radio for themselves.
Only a handful of Korean acts have experienced that singular thrill. Despite K-pop’s strong physical sales, booming streaming numbers and titanic influence on social media (LOONA alone has 1.6 million Instagram followers), it has long struggled to gain traction on American radio, an institution that doesn't play a lot of non-English pop songs. So Korean artists looking to break through on U.S. airwaves typically adapt to the market with strategic label partnerships, Western collaborations, and English-language singles — and LOONA has adopted the lattermost option with “Star.”
youtube
Before LOONA ever attempted to cross over, though, the group — whose members range in age from 18 to 24 — promoted each member individually before debuting as a 12-member unit under its Korean management company, BlockberryCreative. In an atypical move, the members of LOONA were announced over a two-year period: each month, a new face was revealed to the public — hence its Korean name, 이달의 소녀, which translates to "girl of the month" — along with a solo single. Throughout this ambitious pre-debut process, three official subunits were formed (1/3, ODD EYE CIRCLE, yyxy), and an elaborate fandom was created called the LOONAverse.
As Heejin, Hyunjin, Haseul, Yeojin, ViVi, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves, Chuu, Go Won, and Olivia Hye were introduced, the spectrum of LOONA's sound only grew more diverse, from the saccharine bombast of Chuu's "Heart Attack" to Kim Lip's hazy R&B to the future bass intensity of JinSoul's "Singing in the Rain” to the Grimes features on yyxy's synth-heavy "love4eva." Meanwhile, the anticipation for the full group to finally arrive grew more feverish.
"We were happy to be the main characters," Chuu adds. "It took a long time to debut as a whole, but I'm proud that we've created our own unique characteristics."
Looking back, Heejin, who joined the company as a trainee at 15, says she was initially worried about the unusual process. "At first, there were lots of concerns, wondering if this project will be able to gain attention from the public since it was something very new," she says. "Now, I’m very proud of my [solo] album and the fact that [our projects] became what makes LOONA so special."
The intensive launch strategy culminated in August 2018 with the release of LOONA’s first official single, the hyper and hooky "Hi High." While the LOONAverse was a creative concept and fictional world built with the group's fans, Orbits, in mind, LOONA has done fairly little press in the U.S., aside from a 2019 performance at KCON LA. Without much name recognition in America beyond Twitter and no support from a major label — but a strong belief in the crossover potential of “Star” — BlockberryCreative doubled down on an expansive global strategy.
That plan started with the launch of a digital initiative last October called "Map of Orbits," a website where LOONA's fans could register to become a star in the group's galaxy, with thousands of stars surrounding LOONA's moon. From there, BlockberryCreative prioritized local promotion, investing in digital advertisements and a billboard in Los Angeles in support of LOONA's third EP, [12:00] (pronounced "midnight"), which hit No. 112 on the Billboard 200 last October.
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Gossip Girl Reboot, Ep. 2 Reaction / Review
This was posted on reddit first, crossing posting it here since I’ve chosen to review the ep’s and post on tumblr as well. So, this post is geared more towards reddit as a whole, this was posted a day after ep 2 aired.
i don't have a favorite character rating but #teamaki, yeah, the acting is awkward but it's getting better and it's not like it's the only bad acting in the show. i like the character either way.
now
people are so extra with zoya and obie and are looking at julien with the rose colored classes. yeah, obie shouldn't be dating zoya but let's not act like julien gave her all and everything to him. from the conversation with zoya in ep 1, his general feelings, audrey calls it out (maybe because she always feels that way)
She admits it at the end, she wouldn’t do the things he wanted when it came to his interest, he’d want to do random and fun things and she’d blow him off...how is this mart of someone fully invested in their other, no, she was invested what he did for her and how he made her feel. She misses him because in their other breaks he’d always come back. We saw a dying relationship and ppl can assume a lot about him but make 0 assumptions when it comes to her.
And then y’all expect Zoya to turn down the one person who’s actually nice, doesn’t ice her out and shares interest? What I want more than anything is for Zoya to find her own friends & her romantic interest, just one episode where her life isn’t an extension of Julien's. Idk wut, maybe she can go off on a find out gossip girl adventure. Idk something.
Then this talk about sisters and sister hood. Yeah, they’re blood related but what sisterhood is there? You say that’s is wrong for Zoya to do that to her sister but what about what her sister did to her? Even in this ep, she wants Obie so instead of idk driving Zoya away from him, she attacks her lil ‘sis’ over her long time boyfriend. She continues to let her friends talk bad about the girl. We can talk sister hood when she gives the mean team a good “learn me or leave me” when it comes to Zoya
At the of ep 1 Zoya says, she’s not playing the game. She’s grounded in fear of losing her scholarship, has already lost her dads trust. So she does that, she keeps her head down and doesn’t bother anyone but it’s the mean team to prompt Julien to after Zoya and she does. She’s minding her business at the even and Julien is the one to storm over and cause a scene. And it’s all about her, she’s scared of her dad finding out without any care that Zoya has lost and what she has left to lose. Of course she doesn’t care about Julien personal problems? When did Julien care really about hers? Then, she wants to sneak away and have fun and because she’s mad Zoya won’t run off and hide like a hood little girl, she once again collabs with GG, brings in the dads and fucks her sisters life up, AGAIN. Yeah, she changed her mind at the end but too little too late. Her come to jesus moment was great but the relationship she wanted/wants it very much damaged.
So yeah, Zoya dating the one person who has empathy for her is not as bad as the older sister who consistently let her be talked down, about and two, plotted with GG and didn’t even ask her if she was okay because, she didn’t mean it, it’ll blow over. Even in the very last apology when Zoya was about to leave, you could see that she had 0 faith in Julien, not only as a sister but as a person.
Which leads me to saying that Julien is probs the most interesting character of the show. She’s lovable and flawed and she is good but she as of right now, she’s mean at worst and horribly complicit at best because right now her career is a bit more important but her 14 year old sister doesn’t deserve the headache of navigating her with her. But I do love Julien because she has layers and I think by the end, she’ll be able to have her influencer career without compromising herself. That does lead us to the the chairmen and co-chair of the mean team.
Monet and Luna weren’t around as much but I do think...I do think...that if Julien goes nice, they’re gonna go super nasty. They have access to her life which mean access to that video if Julien didn’t out right delete it or they find out about it and snooping. They’re her friends but unlike her, they don’t have a much of a Conscious so far of right and wrong and they’ll strike anyone down. I think if we have wild cards, they’re it. If Julien really does go down a new path, learns more to fight for what matters and understand the real her is just as likable, the mean duo will not accept and will try and bring her down. They have their own meaning of friends with benefits.
My dude Obie, I can’t say much. I don’t think he’s as Malicious as y’all make him out to be but he is a bit callous and naïve...which could be worse tbh. I think he does want to do good but he only knows Performative good to counter-act his parents. I do want him to get with someone else but I do hope he learns what true activism means through Zoya and understand how much of a difference he could make if he really put his mind to it. I also want him to learn get out quick, because he wasn’t just looking for a reason to end things but one to stay and Julien didn’t give him that.
Audrey, I like the stuff with her mom. I like the little bit more depth we got, she slept with Max maybe but Aki made out with him, who am I to judge? I hope her mon can step up in the future but I don’t think it’ll be easy and hopefully they explore it more. Not just tease us. Her mom needs therapy but I think I'm a bit invested in her too.
Max, I love max but the dude is Pretentious ~ above earthly love ~ low key a shitty friend and talks in metaphors whenever he has the chance BUT he does it well. I don’t see him with Aki but I want it! I do see him going harder after Audrey but I think he was a bit shocked for all his flirting that he was into the kids with Aki. I think he lives to play with people. I don't know if he really likes Audrey but he does want to bang her, a lot, a lot a lot. I don't think he really wanted to sleep with Aki but he did like playing with him and he could pick up the fact that Aki might be feeling him. I don't think the interest was really, real until Aki kissed him at the pool, home boy was shocked and was like oooo maybe something is there but his focus is on the teacher. And I also think the not in a million years thing had his gears turning too. You tell him it can't or won't happen and now he wants to make it happen.
Aki, my baby, my voice of reason. What makes him great as a person, makes him not great for Audrey when it comes to emotional stuff. He means well and I get where he's coming from with wanting Audrey to understand her mom but she did need a partner. The thing she loves about him is the thing that makes it hard. I don't know how Aki was brought up but I feel like this plays into it, she's always comparing him to a therapist. I wonder if his parents a bit more emotionally cold or curt or just very analytical people. But, like he's been lovely since ep one, the only one of the group to sort of defend Zoya or Julien wanting to know her / keep her secret. (What secrets does he have?) And in ep 2, he really was like 'ya'll fucked in the head' to the mean team. I know some consider him boring because he doesn't speak up often but when he does speak up, he got something to say. I want the show to use him in a way to stir drama just by being friends, his character doesn't have to have a dramatic effect and he could get his own little subplot that's tied into the show but like, my can't become some douche. (If he does, only for a bit.) Now, I don't see Max being endgame for him AT ALL. If it's between the two, Max would go for Audrey for sure while leading my boi on in ways, he could even really start to like him but endgame no. I'd love to see a scene with Max does get jealous of Aki with another dude, in a romantic way or the dude could be hitting on him, I think Aki would be able to humble him just a bit because no one really seems to know what he's thinking. In the end, idk who he ends up with but I want him to find someone who will do my dude right and he should get some non-shitty friends who'll listen to his problems. (Still not over that Max)
The teachers while being shown more, don't have much of a presence. It's mainly Kate and the goofy one for extended scenes. KATE MY GOOD SIS. NO. Please, I want this to be the point where she loses GG somehow and someone takes over or maybe another GG pops up, can market better and isn't willing to have a faltering moments. I want it to spiral. Spiral hard. Also, sexy teach said not on my watch ezra! I stan him. Teachers are still fun for me, they make me want to never teach at a dumb rich private school.
Also, fuck the dads within reason. Esp, Julien's dad but only because we got to see Zoya's more and he is kinda in the right about most of the stuff but not the sister stuff. You can tell he's doing his best to instill morals in his daughter esp when he knows she can fall to outside influences.
Overall, I'm still enjoying it, I'm invested. I see room for growth for all of the characters (maybe not the teachers) and I want to see it play out. It does feel a little rushed but I think they're finding their footing and they have some big things to pull. But's not horrible and if they just play the drama bit longer and then conclude, it wouldn't feel that way. Maybe one more episode or half an episode could've been added to the Zoya-Obie-Julien story line to fully flush it out but I like the ending. Not sisters, not friends but cool with each and possibly re-build, at worst they just don't interact. I noticed some cool things with the promos but I need to confirm when I can find the one for 3.
Sorry if it went from all lower case to proper-ish, I had to switch to my phone and it auto-does it.
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