music: let them try to find the beauty in the bassline
(1)
thoughts on fringe, up to 3.12
a. Oh, Olivia. ♥
b. It's rare for me to actually identify with fictional characters, especially female ones, so it means a lot to me to have Olivia Dunham on my TV screen. She deals with her emotions in the exact same way as I do, rationalising it, deciding what she's allowed to feel and not allowed to feel and ultimately just shutting them down so that she can just get the job done. Her scenes with Peter have been breaking my heart, because she's trying so hard to talk to him, to trust him again, to feel something she can't feel anymore, and I just. I didn't realise until recently, but Olivia is my emotional viewpoint character for the show. Back when she was falling in love with Peter, I was, too, and ever since the Alt!Olivia thing I am not even attracted to Joshua Jackson anymore. I've been wanting to punch him, honestly, until the scene last episode where Olivia said to him, "I've been so wrapped up in what the other Olivia did to me, I didn't think about what she did to you."
c. I don't think Peter's been weaponised; I think that's mostly a lie Walter is feeding to himself to deal with the fact that he saw his son murder a shapeshifter in cold blood. I think it'd be more interesting to explore the idea that Peter's just angry -- the con man who let himself be conned, and his pride can't forgive it -- and parts of him that we haven't seen before are coming out. I mean, he does have this whole shady past that the show has totally ignored. Unfortunately, I think the show's going to go with the weaponised plotline, but this would have been a nice turn in character development.
c. I don't want the end of the world to be about a love triangle. I really, really don't. I subjected my poor sister to a rant about this, and then vinylroad got the sane version, but: the fact that Olivia has to save the universe by romantically appealing to a man, in direct competition with another woman, really undercuts all of the great work the show has been doing in terms of gender and giving Olivia agency. Discuss?
d. It took me ages, but I am finally falling in love with Nina Sharpe.
e. I have heard spec about a Peter/Alt!Olivia pregnancy thing, based on some of the Observer's comments in 3.11. If this is true, I will flip the shit. PLEASE MOVE AWAY FROM SOAP OPERA TERRITORY, SHOW.
f. On the bright side, alt!verse next week! Charlie! ♥
(2) I have stuff to say about other shows too, but I should be writing essays right now. If you want me to babble at you about White Collar, Community, Modern Family, Nikita, Being Human, or the Caprica finale, say so!
(3) And because I make music posts instead of dealing with real life --
YOUNG GALAXY: shapeshifting
Don't you love it when a band finally makes the album you've been waiting for since their debut? Yeah. Shapeshifting is phenomenal; it's a little shoegaze, a little dream pop, a little chillwave, with a cold electronic spaciness and haunting, epic lyrics, revolving around themes of transformation. Their female vocalist is amazing: her delivery is so emotionally precise and restrained. Hearing it is like having your heart flayed.
JENN GRANT: honeymoon punch
Okay, this album is utterly charming and catchy as hell. It's my happy place right now. It's kind of ... poppy folk, crossed with rock and tinged with electronica? Anyway, it's filled with energy, emotion, sweet, clever lyrics, and melodies that loop in your head. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't like this.
DESSA: a badly broken code
Dessa's music exists at this strange intersection between spoken word poetry, alternative hip-hop, a capella, smoky jazz, and r&b; it has this fragile organicity to it. She's a feminist and did her BA in philosophy, and both come through in her lyrics, which paint compelling emotional narratives about all sorts of relationships. Even if it's not your usual, give this one a try. ♥
P.O.S.: never better
I have spent ALL YEAR searching for an amazing rap album, and I finally found one! It fuses punk and hip-hop, and it's fucking fast, propelled by relentless beats creating stripped-down, tight song arrangements that don't waste a single word or note. And the lyrics are top-notch: nonlinear smatterings of striking images & turns of phrase that are like punch to the gut once they cohere.
ROISIN MURPHY: overpowered
I started listening to this album obsessively last September, and then I just ... never stopped. No matter how many times I listen to it, the sheen doesn't wear off. This is classy, classy electropop, with beguiling lyrics and chilly, sparse beats offset by the sensual warmth of Roisin Murphy's voice. If you like Annie when I uploaded her, you'll love this.
As always, let me know if you snag anything, and tell me what you think. ♥ I have another couple of albums I want to upload, stuff that I was listening to in the fall, but I don't want to overwhelm you. (cherise, I know your M.O., you'd better not try to download all of these. :P)
(4) The world needs more happy things like the Inception Anon Love Meme.
thoughts on fringe, up to 3.12
a. Oh, Olivia. ♥
b. It's rare for me to actually identify with fictional characters, especially female ones, so it means a lot to me to have Olivia Dunham on my TV screen. She deals with her emotions in the exact same way as I do, rationalising it, deciding what she's allowed to feel and not allowed to feel and ultimately just shutting them down so that she can just get the job done. Her scenes with Peter have been breaking my heart, because she's trying so hard to talk to him, to trust him again, to feel something she can't feel anymore, and I just. I didn't realise until recently, but Olivia is my emotional viewpoint character for the show. Back when she was falling in love with Peter, I was, too, and ever since the Alt!Olivia thing I am not even attracted to Joshua Jackson anymore. I've been wanting to punch him, honestly, until the scene last episode where Olivia said to him, "I've been so wrapped up in what the other Olivia did to me, I didn't think about what she did to you."
c. I don't think Peter's been weaponised; I think that's mostly a lie Walter is feeding to himself to deal with the fact that he saw his son murder a shapeshifter in cold blood. I think it'd be more interesting to explore the idea that Peter's just angry -- the con man who let himself be conned, and his pride can't forgive it -- and parts of him that we haven't seen before are coming out. I mean, he does have this whole shady past that the show has totally ignored. Unfortunately, I think the show's going to go with the weaponised plotline, but this would have been a nice turn in character development.
c. I don't want the end of the world to be about a love triangle. I really, really don't. I subjected my poor sister to a rant about this, and then vinylroad got the sane version, but: the fact that Olivia has to save the universe by romantically appealing to a man, in direct competition with another woman, really undercuts all of the great work the show has been doing in terms of gender and giving Olivia agency. Discuss?
d. It took me ages, but I am finally falling in love with Nina Sharpe.
e. I have heard spec about a Peter/Alt!Olivia pregnancy thing, based on some of the Observer's comments in 3.11. If this is true, I will flip the shit. PLEASE MOVE AWAY FROM SOAP OPERA TERRITORY, SHOW.
f. On the bright side, alt!verse next week! Charlie! ♥
(2) I have stuff to say about other shows too, but I should be writing essays right now. If you want me to babble at you about White Collar, Community, Modern Family, Nikita, Being Human, or the Caprica finale, say so!
(3) And because I make music posts instead of dealing with real life --
YOUNG GALAXY: shapeshifting
Don't you love it when a band finally makes the album you've been waiting for since their debut? Yeah. Shapeshifting is phenomenal; it's a little shoegaze, a little dream pop, a little chillwave, with a cold electronic spaciness and haunting, epic lyrics, revolving around themes of transformation. Their female vocalist is amazing: her delivery is so emotionally precise and restrained. Hearing it is like having your heart flayed.
JENN GRANT: honeymoon punch
Okay, this album is utterly charming and catchy as hell. It's my happy place right now. It's kind of ... poppy folk, crossed with rock and tinged with electronica? Anyway, it's filled with energy, emotion, sweet, clever lyrics, and melodies that loop in your head. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't like this.
DESSA: a badly broken code
Dessa's music exists at this strange intersection between spoken word poetry, alternative hip-hop, a capella, smoky jazz, and r&b; it has this fragile organicity to it. She's a feminist and did her BA in philosophy, and both come through in her lyrics, which paint compelling emotional narratives about all sorts of relationships. Even if it's not your usual, give this one a try. ♥
P.O.S.: never better
I have spent ALL YEAR searching for an amazing rap album, and I finally found one! It fuses punk and hip-hop, and it's fucking fast, propelled by relentless beats creating stripped-down, tight song arrangements that don't waste a single word or note. And the lyrics are top-notch: nonlinear smatterings of striking images & turns of phrase that are like punch to the gut once they cohere.
ROISIN MURPHY: overpowered
I started listening to this album obsessively last September, and then I just ... never stopped. No matter how many times I listen to it, the sheen doesn't wear off. This is classy, classy electropop, with beguiling lyrics and chilly, sparse beats offset by the sensual warmth of Roisin Murphy's voice. If you like Annie when I uploaded her, you'll love this.
As always, let me know if you snag anything, and tell me what you think. ♥ I have another couple of albums I want to upload, stuff that I was listening to in the fall, but I don't want to overwhelm you. (cherise, I know your M.O., you'd better not try to download all of these. :P)
(4) The world needs more happy things like the Inception Anon Love Meme.