Kidz bop songs

I'll admit I think Taylor Swift has many bops, but I'm honestly sick of every creator I enjoy going on and on about seeing her show, how expensive the tickets are, all that jazz. Call me a hater, but I just don't understand spending thousands of dollars, complaining about how expensive it is, and then talking about it for weeks afterwards. I guess all media is feeling like pop radio stations where they all play the same 7 songs and that's it.

It's been a few weeks since Eurovision and today I rewatched it again a final time for my annual rankings. My thoughts on this year's contest are mixed - Loreen had a good track, but I still had Finland as the winner right up to the end.
Now my opinions on the contest have changed considerably - what did I think for the final time?
This list is based on my own personal observations and listening expierence. This will be for the final only and not counting the countries who failed to qualify
26 - Serbia: Luke Black - Samo Mi Se Spada
I'm just going to go right out and say it - this should not have qualified. This barely makes a coherent song. Luke mumbling into the microphone, whilst unplugging his dancers who did nothing for 90% of the performance was just...it felt like he was not trying.
It's not even that the song was too safe or too risky. The song was barely a song. The performance was a risky one, but the set and production design was memorable. As Graham Norton on commentary for the UK said, it looks like a 'massive soap dish'.
Somehow, Serbia got 30 points. I genuinely thought this would be a Nil Pois performance.
25 - Albania: Albina and the Klemendi Family - Duke
This was one of those performances that was a headscratcher. It was not a sad song, but it was not a fun song either. It had no direction, and having 5 singers with no discernable lead was a massive negative for me. Too many cooks situation, for sure.
It also looked like nobody actually wanted to be there? Maybe the semi finals were too hard for them and they were drained? I don't know. I was not a fan, it was boring, and directionless. But it was still better then Luke Black.
Silver linings and all.
24 - Croatia: Let 3 - Mama SC
I...
I was lost with this song the first time around. Rewatching the performance I have to ask Croatia - did you submit a meme song? It felt like that anyway. Not much more else here.
Incredible outfits.
23 - Italy: Marco Mengoni - Due Vite
People are gonna be mad here.
Live performance? This song would be incredible. But I'm heavily against sad songs for the sake of sad songs. And I get the emotional toil Marco was going for and again, live this would have got a pop out of me for sure.
I was surprised he came 4th. I thought this was for sure one of the weaker songs of the night. Marco, I am sorry. I did see that pride flag you brought out at the beginning and I thank you for representing us, but I was not a fan of that song.
22 - United Kingdom: Mae Muller - I Wrote A Song
You wrote a song Mae that was a load of shit.
I'm sorry. As a Brit, I am truly sorry. But this was another performance I was surprised got points, but if you watched it live in person...I can see myself clapping similar to Marco. But the lyrics were unrecognisable at time, and the production was...
Too bright.
The dancers however (especially the super cute blonde one) had a lot of passion and clearly were into the performance.
21 - Poland: Blanca - Solo
You had a song without a solo.
A very catchy song, but no solo, so points deducted! Blanca can be one of the strongest characters in Street Fighter, and Blanca can also be one of Poland's babes who robbed the show.
Neither happened that night and I am a very dissapointed Street Fighter Fan and European Music fan.
20 - Lithuania: Monika Linkyte - Stay
As a Eurovision regular, I was expecting a top half performance. But this ultimately just sounded like a budget Adele.
Monika has an incredible voice, that's for sure. But at this point I was burnt out and listening to a sad song was not what I wanted. Maybe I am judging this in bias, but the backing singers however, were a big plus.
They seemed like a perfect fit for the ballad that was being played. So thank you Adele - I mean Monika!
19 - Portugal: Mimicat - Ai Coracao
Mimicat's cabernet sequel performance had potential. But ultimately it was a safe song. The samba beats, and the burlesque dance Mimi gave were of high energy, but it was nothing we have not seen before.
A few years ago, this would have been a heavy contender. At least for me.
18 - France: La Zarra -Evidemment
I will preface this by saying her music was not my cup of tea. But I did find it enjoyable! She has emotion, and she did liven up a stale crowd after one of the worst Eurovision acts in history (Luke Black), so she gets bonus points there.
Overall, it was just a tad bit too played down. This is a shame because France has been a HEAVY contender in recent years.
17 - Ukaraine: Tvorchi - Heart of Steel
The co-host of this year's Eurovision, after the war in Ukaraine prevented the winners hosting this year.
Tvorchi, for me, whilst a very visually cool performance, failed to bring what Eurovision is about - I did not feel that this was a song intended to showcase a country.
It just felt like a mass produced hip hop record to be brutally honest. Great dancing however!
Also MASSIVE props to them - minutes before they performed, their home town was invaded...that must have been tough.
16 - Cyprus: Andrew Lambrou - Break A Broken Heart
This is the first song I regret putting so low. If I saw this live...top 10. Easily. But this was another ballad in an ESC with about 26 ballads.
Exaggerating, I know, but roll with it.
Very impressive production however, and bonus points for having no dancers. This song feels like it should have maybe one or two kicking about, so kudos for breaking cliché!
15 - Austria: Teya and Salena - Who The Hell Is Edgar?
This was admittedly an incredible opening song.
But that was all it had going for it. This felt like every 2010s pop song ever combined. Besides that stupidly catchy chorus - the best chorus not named Cha Cha Cha - it had very little else going for it. The dancers seemed muted and the stage production was as simple as it gets.
14 - Armenia: Brunette - Future Lover
I saw rumours System of a Down were offered this year's spot...and I wish they did, because this performance - whilst pretty and attractive - evoked zero feelings within me.
The song itself is ethereal, beautiful, and incredibly well formed. It just did nothing for me to label it as a standout, and just misses a top half finish.
Great rap verse however!
13 - Estonia: Alika - Bridges
Again, not something I would reach for a ticket personally. But this was a beautiful song, and the self playing piano was a nice touch. It reminded me a little of one of my favourite singers - Amy Lee of the legendary Evanescence.
But Amy Lee she is not. She had no stage presence and if I was in the crowd, I would probably fall asleep here.
Incredible dress however.
12 - Slovenia: Jokers Out - Carpe Diem
This song had no right being slept on as much as it did!
I was bopping from beginning to end, and really enjoyed the crowd's energy - they bought into this song. I just wish they played a riskier song, as this was a little safe for my liking. The singer could have done more.
11 - Czechia: Vesna - My Sister's Crown
I was confused as to what song we were going to get here. I was expecting a full folk song, and what we got was a song in the style of Ex-Wives from the musical Six.
The dancing and stage show were a little sloppy, but the individual solos of each woman really helped this song through.
I want to see them next year, I have a feeling this is not the last we shall see of them.
10 - Spain: Blanca Paloma - Eaea
Looking back at this list, I may regret putting this at 10. It was aspheric, dreamy, powerful, and the performance was strong. From the red fabric veils, to the dancers, and the inspired singing.
I wish I knew Spanish because, this song was beautiful. Reminds me of a Spanish Christina Aggulera.
9 - Belgium: Gustaph - Because of You
In recent years, Belgium have been a non factor. But this song...I heard it, and it went straight on my playlist.
It was boogie time, and I did not even care! From my first time through to the final time, I knew this would be up there. Gustaph looks dressed like he is a Las Vegas entertainer, and then you get this boppy beat, and you can't help but jive!
8 - Norway: Alessandra - Queen of Kings
This was the best pop song of the night. Alessandra poured her heart out to an incredible backing track, and some insanely talented dancers.
Yass Queen (of the Kings)!
That being said, despite being a catchy and memorable, it just fell short of a few songs...
7 - Germany: Lord of the Lost - Blood and Glitter
I really did not want to put this here, but Lord of the Lost just...fell short.
I heard Electric Callboy was gonna be this year's contender and I was so excited! Instead, we got this Ramnstein inspired band. And the song was incredible...nothing wrong with it.
But perhaps it was the wrong song. The crowd seemed tired and the applause was not as loud as some of the other heavier acts in recent years like AWS or Blind Channel.
Nonetheless, still better then last year's.
6 -Israel: Noa Kirel - Unicorn
Just narrowly missing out on the top 5 is Noa. Unicorn was a banger. Probably my favourite Israel song in recent years, and Noa is a georgous woman who has a bright future ahead of her.
I was upset there was no Unicron's - points deducted!
The dancing was on point, and Noa herself had some incredible energy. Especially the dance solo. She could have danced that entire performance herself!
5 - Sweeden: Loreen - Tattoo
This song fell off hard in relistens, but I can see why it was so good.
From the visual design to Loreen's impeccable dress sense and nails, and the emotional carriage of the lyrics...she deserved to win, but there were better songs.
I can't help but think Loreen winning was to establish the fact Abba celebrate 50 years since they won Eurovision next year...maybe a Loreen and Abba Collab, as the two most famous Sweedish acts.
4 - Moldova - Pasha Parfeni - Sorele Si Luna
I am a little biased because one of the drummers/dancers was the exact image of what I see in a guy 😍. Horniness aside, this song was EXACTLY what Eurovision is about, which is why it is a top 5 song.
It is a banger, that combines Eastern European heritage and culture with the rich lyrics and sharp sound from Pasha. The drummers energetically bouncing about, and the little Flutist being the cherry on the cake...
Any other year, this would be my winner.
3 - Switzerland: Remo Forrer - Waterguns
It was just not his night. With a voice like his, and as young as he is, he will become like his idol James Arthur for sure.
I was blown away by his performance...I want more of him. I really do. The Swiss Sweetheart really wowed me, and I really wish him the best career because holy shit, I had goosebumps everywhere!
Keep at it Remo!!
2 - Australia: Voyager - Promise
I know Voyager and I was not upset they got elected this year.
Voyager are an incredible metal band, and this poppy, proggy, banger of a hit had EVERYONE talking. I don't think a single person disliked this song. It reminded me of Night Rider in the opening moments, and then goes into this rocky, symphony that is times chaotic, and with that breakdown...
I was just very pleased with this performance. And iirc, this is Australia's best performance since joining! This was a very very kind surprise.
Which means number one is...
1 - Finland - Karrija - Cha Cha Cha
In the absence of Electric Callboy not representing Germany, I was hoping for a rocky, metal like performance with lots of energy and a memorable chorus. We nearly got that with Voyager, but Karrija stole the hearts of everyone...myself included.
Starting off low and slow, leading into a metal like chorus with the harsh vocals coming out, and the Cha Cha Cha being screamed...it was a combination of Finnish metal and pop and it stole the show.
There is no doubt in my mind that he should have won this. None at all. It was perfect for Eurovision! And I am so upset for him, this was the star performance.
And when it goes back into the pop second half of the song...it was ingenious and I have never seen anything or heard anything like that.
Robbed. For sure.
And that is my list! Let me know what you think!

So here’s the real reason why I can’t stand season 7 of this show.
About once every couple years I throw GG a bone and give season 7 a rewatch and I don’t skip it like I normally do. Rewatching it now I remember why I hated it from the moment it aired. One of the things I truly love about Gilmore girls, and why I enjoy endlessly discussing it with others, is that rarely are characters completely good or completely bad. They’re just like real people- they make some bad choices based on what was taught to them and personality flaws, they care about others around them, and ultimately they’re just doing their best in life with varying results. Just when you think you hate Emily Gilmore, you see her lament alone at how poor her relationship is with her daughter. Just when you think Luke is fabulous, he loses his temper on an innocent old woman because he’s never truly dealt with his feelings around his dad’s death.
Season 7 feels like a Kidz Bop version of this level of nuance. I feel like the writers researched which characters fans liked and made them the “heroes” and researched which characters fans hated and made them the “villains.” Like why were Chris and Anna, so, so awful in season 7? And why was Luke suddenly a cuddly and affectionate teddy bear verbally expressing his affection for others all over the place? Logan could do no wrong until the writers decided they wanted Rory to finish the show single so they had him do that dumb proposal. All the nuance in these characters was lost. Anyone feel the same way?

hey creators! i recently came across a song called 'far from born again' by alex cameron- it's kind of a celebration/ode to independent sex workers. i was bopping around to it today and just wanted to share 😊 It's been out for a few years now, so maybe it's already well known 🤭 but it was my first time hearing it today and wanted to share it with u!
now it's got me thinking, what are songs u know that are by or about sex workers, in a positive way?

i had recently went to the crumb concert in roseville and they played a super new song when does it come out it bops.

I wanted to share my story and read others. :) Mine’s a bit weird. I’ve been a fan since I was 14 (I’m 22 now, born in 2000 baby), so I’m clearly not part of the “main demographic” of fans. I knew some of the basic songs, of course, but funnily enough it was Little Deuce Coupe that got me interested. Not by The Beach Boys, though— on a 1990’s tape of KidSongs. Basically KidzBop of the 90’s. I heard these children singing this song and was like “damn, this is pretty good,” which got me into Shut Down, and later, the better stuff like Pet Sounds and even Smile. I’ve still got a lot to look into but happy to be here!

I posted this thought, briefly, on another topic. I’m writing this on the fly while slamming coffee, hope it’s coherent, but basically, I think FIFTY FIFTY’S Cupid might be the first true breakout SONG internationally for modern Kpop. Emphasis on “song.”
Full disclosure: I’ve been following Kpop for only around 8 or 10 years, depending on how you define “following.” So maybe there was another Korean song from the 70’s or 80’s that hit America hard, but I’m just not aware of it.
So the distinction I’m making for Cupid is that in other instances of songs or albums charting, it was predicated more on a 1) well organized, large and growing fan base acting in such a way to ensure a good placement. Often, this is planned well in advance. And/or the success was based on 2) the music video. The song was great, but combined with the video, the dance, and performances, the song became viral. I would put Gangnam Style into this category. When it broke out, I sent everybody the video. Everybody loved the video. They loved the horse dance. They loved how crazy Psy was behaving, and how cute Hyuna was. The video seemed baffling and random, and people enjoyed learning about how it was a commentary on how rich Koreans tried to flex in Seoul.
To me, the success of Blackpink, Twice, BTS, Stray Kidz, etc, and even to a lesser extent for groups like Dreamcatcher, Loona, and Ateez, among others, was predicated on a combination of 1 and 2. Their charting was based on a multi-media assault. Great videos… visuals… point dances and amazing performances… and a steadily increasing fan base and, in general, awareness among the public. And they were going after the international audience with BIG songs and broad concepts. Club bangers. Upbeat.
Not FIFTY FIFTY’S Cupid though. 1) They were a relatively unknown new group from a small company that appeared with almost zero fanfare. 2) Cupid is a small song with subtle charms, an ear worm perfect for repeated listenings. It grows on you. Basically, they released a STAYC or Red Velvet B-side. 3) Do people around the world know the members? What they look like? Their names? 4) Was it the video or point dance that sold them on it? I would say for the most part in answer to 3 and 4, No.
And I really wonder about where they go from here. No matter what happens, what they accomplished is huge. IMO it’s the first true indicator of Kpop going from a “how long will it be around” kind of fad, a topic of debate and curiosity, to an established world wide genre. Emphasis on established. Clearly, Kpop has been popular worldwide for a while now, especially in Asia, but Cupid is just different. Its chart climbing is almost solely based on the merit of the song itself, not the hot members, not a mind blowing music video, or a committed fanbase trying to exploit known holes in the algorithms.
That is all. Oh, one more thing, I like FIFTY FIFTY. Loving You needs to make a resurgence. I am hoping they do great. I love all idols but I will always root harder for underdogs from smaller agencies. Music and entertainment is an industry where people try to copy successful concepts and trends. I think FIFTY FIFTY could have a huge impact on the industry. They have basically proven a vocal focused groups can release a small, charming, conventionally structured pop song and make a HUGE impact internationally. I think it's very interesting.

edit: can't change title to add internationally...
I posted this thought, briefly, on another topic. I’m writing this on the fly while slamming coffee, hope it’s coherent, but basically, I think FIFTY FIFTY’S Cupid might be the first true breakout SONG internationally for modern Kpop. Emphasis on “song.”
Full disclosure: I’ve been following Kpop for only around 8 or 10 years, depending on how you define “following.” So maybe there was another Korean song from the 70’s or 80’s that hit America hard, but I’m just not aware of it.
So the distinction I’m making for Cupid is that in other instances of songs or albums charting, it was predicated more on a 1) well organized, large and growing fan base acting in such a way to ensure a good placement. Often, this is planned well in advance. And/or the success was based on 2) the music video. The song was great, but combined with the video, the dance, and performances, the song became viral. I would put Gangnam Style into this category. When it broke out, I sent everybody the video. Everybody loved the video. They loved the horse dance. They loved how crazy Psy was behaving, and how cute Hyuna was. The video seemed baffling and random, and people enjoyed learning about how it was a commentary on how rich Koreans tried to flex in Seoul.
To me, the success of Blackpink, Twice, BTS, Stray Kidz, etc, and even to a lesser extent for groups like Dreamcatcher, Loona, and Ateez, among others, was predicated on a combination of 1 and 2. Their charting was based on a multi-media assault. Great videos… visuals… point dances and amazing performances… and a steadily increasing fan base and, in general, awareness among the public. And they were going after the international audience with BIG songs and broad concepts. Club bangers. Upbeat.
Not FIFTY FIFTY’S Cupid though. 1) They were a relatively unknown new group from a small company that appeared with almost zero fanfare. 2) Cupid is a small song with subtle charms, an ear worm perfect for repeated listenings. It grows on you. Basically, they released a STAYC or Red Velvet B-side. 3) Do people around the world know the members? What they look like? Their names? 4) Was it the video or point dance that sold them on it? I would say for the most part in answer to 3 and 4 is "no."
Even now, their Instagram is at 709k, which is roughly half of Doyeon’s (Weki Meki, IOI). And I really wonder about where they go from here. No matter what happens, what they accomplished is huge. IMO it’s the first true indicator of Kpop going from a “how long will it be around” kind of fad, a topic of debate and curiosity, to an established world wide genre. Emphasis on established. Clearly, Kpop has been popular worldwide for a while now, especially in Asia, but Cupid is just different. Its chart climbing is almost solely based on the merit of the song itself, not the hot members, not a mind blowing music video, or a committed fanbase trying to exploit known holes in the algorithms.
That is all. Oh, one more thing, I like FIFTY FIFTY. Loving You needs to make a resurgence. I am hoping they do great. I love all idols but I will always root harder for underdogs from smaller agencies. Music and entertainment is an industry where people try to copy successful concepts and trends. I think FIFTY FIFTY could have a huge impact on the industry. They have basically proven a vocal focused groups can release a small, charming, conventionally structured pop song and make a HUGE impact internationally. I think it's very interesting.
edit: wanted to post this before Koreaboo or Rolling Stones prints a similar theory... Kpop history continues to be made in unlikely ways... sorry to the people who think my focusing on the significance of Cupid, in its little way, was a diss at other groups or to the people who came before FF...

Elvis isn’t dead, he just went home.
Exploratory scout DSX862-QQ1 was cruising along at approximately 80% of lightspeed on an outer spiral arm of the galaxy it was native to. Its mission, issued by the Greater Council Exploratory Committee, was to seek out new life, new civilizations, points of scientific interest, and potential future colonies.
80% of the speed of light was a tremendous pace, even for a craft built by a galactic community as ancient as the Greater Council, but its particle shield was more than up to the task, and it allowed the scout to scoop interstellar dust and hydrogen to refuel itself, slowly charging its drives for the next pinch-jump. Each jump would catapult the little craft a hundred light years forwards, followed by another sub-light cruise to analyse, recharge and listen. It wasn’t expected to find much out here. Life had evolved in the warm, bright galactic core, entire civilizations meeting within decades of reaching orbit of their respective home worlds. Resources were plentiful, many of them had been talking for centuries before meeting face to face, with only years of communications lag, instead of the decades or centuries between the species evolving further out, in the colder reaches.
Out here, on the arm, everything was cold. Even the search for possible colony sites and resources was more a formality, record keeping for the sake of the endless bureaucracy that infested the Council.
So, it had come as a tremendous surprise to the scouts simple intelligence when it picked up the ghostly whisper of a deliberate radio signal.
Pulses, blips, zaps, hisses, all were the normal background noise of the cosmos, but this was a firm BUZZ. Soon followed by strings and knots of beeps. The scout rotates, following its radio antenna ‘nose’ to lock in a direction towards the noise. It spooled up its pinch-drive, and jumps, a few lightyears, not enough to drain its energies, but just enough to allow it to triangulate. Then jump again, to get a third point. A fourth, a fifth.
A yellow star, a few billion years old, spectral and gravitational indications speaking of gas giants, rocky and icy bodies, and a potential habitable zone with a world skimming just along the outer edge of the habitable zone. The source of the signals.
The scout spooled its pinch-drive once more, preparing to make the thirty something lightyear jump to close with the noisy world.
It also began the process of waking up its Commander.
++++++++
Kevin Karl and the Karlsons wound down their last song of the evening, sweating under the stage lights and bathed in the adoration of the crowd. This was IT, the high they had all dreamed of, had chased through bars, opening acts, and finally, after just a few years, headline act of a whole show!
They’d bopped along to the other acts on that night, friends all, they’d been on tour together for weeks across the entire USA and would be playing two more shows before wrapping up for the year.
Off-stage, past the cheering, singing, breathless fans of rock and roll, brought together by the joy of the new genre that seemed to defy boundaries and break the locks of society. When they played, no-one saw the colour of their skin, Joeys scars, Mikes club foot. The band couldn’t make out individuals in the crowd. They saw humanity, united and beautiful, wrapped in the music they played.
One of the opening acts were gathered back stage, still bouncing, and their singer passed over a reefer cigarette. Kevin took a drag, feeling the smoke sooth his nerves as he passed it on, then he choked and laughed. “That was some show, could you feel them?”
The other singer, Jack ‘Wabbit’ let out a howl, “Hell yeah baby, felt like lightning, smooth lightning all through… wait, that gives me an idea for a song!”
He was off, crouching awkwardly as he pulled a pencil and notebook from somewhere and started scribbling.
Kevin chuckled, took a beer from Joey, and started walking towards the car. While far from brand new, it was big enough to take the band in relative comfort, while the instruments and gear followed in trucks. He climbed in back, sprawling across the bench, and closed his eyes. It was a thousand miles to the next venue, they were already running late to start getting organised, but he needed just a moment.
He was woken by a nudge. “Hey, Kev, you want a ride down to Jacksonville? Wabbit says his cousin has a plane, can take you both to Florida, rest of us will come down with the trucks, faster then the Catalina can get us there.”
Kevin blinked, groggy, but hanging on to getting to the next stop in comfort.
“Damn, yeah, I’m in! No way I’m passing up a planeride in comfort!”
++++++
The commander of DSX862-QQ1 listened to the sounds of the boisterous world her small ship had discovered. To say it was barely habitable was an understatement. Plenty worlds had higher gravity, but not the weather extremes this one had. Others had far worse weather but lacked the deadly pathogens that were detectable in the outer reaches of the atmosphere. Others still had some version or variation of every horrific threat this single world had, but never so many of them wrapped into one pristine appearing blue and green ball of life that seemed determined to survive by any means necessary.
She was impressed that life had evolved to multicellular levels at all, never mind to the point where it had achieved radio broadcast, powered flight and, if the latest scans were accurate, atomic power, weaponry, and the rudiments of space flight under development.
This world was only a few centuries from needing a first contact delegation, she could sense it.
If they survived. She’d seen plenty of far more peaceful civilisations wipe themselves out before achieving their full potential after all, and the light-delayed data her ship had gathered on the way in indicated that the primary species of this world **really** liked to fight one another.
Well, it wasn’t as if the Greater Council was perfect. A few hundred worlds, usually half at odds with the other half, or outright warring with the non-aligned groups surrounding them. Over what, she could hardly imagine, resources weren’t scarce, habitable worlds almost common, matters of religion seemed pointless to her.
Rather than be caught up in the endless squabbling, she’d worked to be assigned a scout ship, and only went ‘home’ when the databanks were full or the hull degraded.
She flipped idly through the signals her ship was pulling in. Mostly simple vocal signals, some barely encrypted, likely military, the rest completely in the clear. For a while there had been a simple video signal modulated as well, the computers now busy going through it to compile a useable language interface.
Her digit stopped, as one transmission caught her attention. There was a voice there, the words as yet unintelligible, but it was laced through, interwoven with, strung around a **sound**.
It wasn’t the first she’d heard of music from this world, nor even the first she’d heard following this particular set of musical rules, but there was something about **this** voice… It reached inside her, and she felt her soul reach out to embrace it.
It was memetic, the warning symbol now flashing on her display confirming what she already knew, but memetics were weapons, hazards, dangers to be filtered and avoided, while this?
It spoke of pain, it sang of loss, and heartbreak and joy and unity and togetherness. It sent her thoughts on strange tangents where her actions saved worlds, brought together warning species, enabled peace…
She shook off the effects as the music faded out and a smooth voice mumbled something, before the next song started. That too, touched her, yet lacked the sheer power of the first, and she was able to shut off the recording with a shaky digit.
She fumbled the ships controls, aligning with the source of the original transmission. A rickety looking steel tower with several high-powered emitters inside a small building next to it. Clearly not the source of the music itself, merely a civilian broadcast station, the music an entertainment medium.
She turned her attention then, to discovering what, or who, had created such a wonder.
++++++
Kevin stared at the airplane. It looked fresh, but old.
“War surplus, picked her up for a song when she was gonna be dumped out in a desert!” Wabbits cousin was a skinny boy, barely out of his teens, but with the quick and sure motions of an expert when he touched his beloved machine. “I heard you guys playing last night, gotta say, it changed my mind about black folks. Always thought to myself, to each their own right? And the laws are that way too, it made sense, but man, the way you sang, how the band played, I wanted to meet you, to say, you got me to see more. Like how the world looks from way up high, we’re all just one piece of something, right? And I think the world might be less ugly that way. So, I said to my cousin, man, I want to help out, my folks left me a pile of cash, I have my baby here, and if you want, I’ll take you where you gotta go.”
He stopped, looking at the ground, and although Kevin was tempted to accept the offer on the spot, but the kid was offering to sideline everything to ferry around his ass?
“Well, damn, listen man, thanks, and I’m grateful you’re giving us a ride to Jacksonville, but lets take it easy right? See how you feel after the flight and if you want to come to the show, sure, I’ll get you in. I can’t pay for regular flights though, I’m already paying for my car! Besides, as much as I need to get down there and make sure everythings golden, I can’t go leaving my band behind every time!”
“Oh, right, no it’s cool, if they want a ride too its all good. I want to make a change, and helping you out helps me do that, right? If you want to talk money, heck, I could bankroll a few shows, take a percentage in return, but its not about the money. Man you changed me, in a good way. I think you could do the same for people like me! You, uh. I stopped hating, you know? Feels good.”
Kevin started to wonder if he shouldn’t have just curled back up on his car bench and stayed asleep. “Okay, I’m on board, if you want to take the rest of my guys too, that’s great, we all get to our next stop on time, you get a show, and if you still want to help us out, we can look at more shows after the tour. Sound fair?”
They shook hands. Pete, as he turned out to be named, started fussing with his airplane again, and removing what he termed ‘junk’ from the hold and other parts of the craft, which to Kevins untrained eye all looked vaguely important, but were ‘heavy’.
He boarded with his band, and Wabbit, who had his own guitar with him, and as the airplane started taxying, amidst the reefer smoke, and snippets of song Wabbit was working on, they settled down for the flight.
++++++
DSX862-QQ1’s commander was hampered in her efforts to locate the origin of the music she had heard by the lack of any real information link between radio and physical locations. There was undoubtably ground-based cable she couldn’t tap, but there was no evidence of a wide area data network, and given the technology of the ‘Humans’ she wasn’t surprised.
Just frustrated.
Nonetheless, she was able to identify the singer, and his ‘band’ who played the instruments that had so perfectly twinned with his voice. She wondered how a purely non-verbal species would have received his music. Would they have felt what she felt just through the radio signal? Something she would learn, in time. Her plan was simple, she’d locate her subject, and deploy a drone to follow him. Wherever he played, her drone would invisibly follow, recording his music in perfect fidelity.
She’d return home, and share his music. Something no-one had heard before, had never experienced, and perhaps, it would make them see, and feel, what she had when hearing it.
The ship pinged, it had located a small heavier than air craft that had a high probability of carrying her quarry. It was moving at less than a third of the local speed of sound, but was being strangely buffeted. The computer flashed warning symbols on sections of the craft. Simple, but not primitive, the craft was perfectly designed for the task it was meant to perform, very good engineering had gone into creating it.
Yet it was failing, structurally, air pressures flowing over it far in excess for which it had been designed, one of this worlds unique weather phenomenon threatening to rip it apart.
Amidst the horror of realizing she was about to witness the death of those individuals who had touched her very soul, she recognized the craft was operating in excess of two hundred percent its designed stress ratings.
It was a toughness that bought a few seconds of thought. Of decision, and rash, perhaps illegal, action.
Digits brushed controls, summoning a hum from the depths of her ship. The fuel capture system was not meant for rescue, in fact, using for anything other than non-living mass was considered a breach of several laws. First and foremost, it was a very focusable disintegration array, making it a terrifying weapon. Secondly, it could collect the energy released by the disintegration and funnel it into storage cells to fuel the engines.
Thirdly, and this was the illegal part, her scoutships sensors could record exactly how the disintegrated matter had been arranged, down to the subatomic level, and the array could be reprogrammed to then reverse the process to convert the captured energy back into the original thing.
Used on an interesting rock, this was fine. On a living being it was murder at best and non-consensual cloning at worst.
Her digit pressed down firmly on the energize symbol that appeared below her hacked override code.
++++++
The aircraft finally surrendered to the windsheer pulling at it, fragmenting in a shimmering cloud of metallic fragments that erupt in a fireball as unspent aviation fuel is ignited.
Of the passengers and pilot, no trace was ever found, their deaths mourned by millions, in part for the loss of young people who had given the world such wonderful music, but also the sense of loss at the music they would now never be able to play. A pilot who had changed his beliefs and committed himself to promoting the ones who changed him for the better, a brilliant young singer and songwriter, and a band who could touch souls, lost forever.
The great changes they had been about to unleash would not take place. Or at least, not take place as quickly. The seeds had been planted, as other young people took up their instruments, raised their voices in song, and set out to change hearts and minds their own way.
Over the course of the centuries before Humanity could reach the stars as a single family, a steady stream of visitors dropped by the musical ball of rock. To observe, to listen, to rescue, when the opportunity arose.

6:30am headed to the waterfall about a 7 minute walk from my place.
I bring my headphones, and my Bongo, and my dab pen.
I'm currently in my trip for about 4 hours here when I leave for the waterfall at 6:30 am.
I put my headphones on, and the Sun peaks over the mountains. I starting playing the bongo to the beat of every sound I can hear in my favorites playlist. At each Corus of the song I got absolute insane hitting every beat, fast slow fast slow bopping my head just absolutely viben with the most biggest smile on my face as the sun is blasting me in the face with its gracious rays.
The sun leaves the rain comes I go harder like I'm playing for the rain to keep getting stronger. Then I saw a moose running towards my direction and nervously retreated with my bear spray in hands.
Yeah pure bliss 🤣

This isn't some complete list, I just provided a quick rundown of some Friday bands and folk seemed to find it useful so here's a few more. It's not exhaustive, probably terribly inaccurate, but might help you decide where to start with some lesser known bands. Feel free to add your own in the comments:
Thursday Halestorm hard hitting rawk
Skindred party vibes, bit of funk bit of metal
Jinjer hard female fronted metal, for fans of Arch Enemy and Spiritbox to an extent
Hundred Reasons old school pre-emo for fans of InMe
Punk Rock Factory pop punk covers of Disney songs, some laugh
Friday Architects are kinda like BMTH. Good, melodic, hard rock with a mixture of growls and singing. Listen to their latest stuff.
Within Temptation are a bit like Evanescence, melodic female vocals, operatic rock.
Pendulum are INSANE live, drum n bass with real instruments. Good if you like The Prodigy.
Neck Deep are great, boppy pop punk like Sum 41 and Blink 182.
As December Falls and Hot Milk are similar pop punk vibes but with female vocals.
Pup is straight up pop punk. Listen to "Kids".
The Blackout are anthemic early screamo, like Funeral For A Friend, the two vocals playing off each other.
VV is Vile Vallo. He was in HIM. Melodic male vocals, sad songs that predate emo.
Taipei Houston sounds a bit like Jack White.
On the heavier side you have Empire State Bastard, a supergroup who have only released one song, and Pupil Slicer have also got you covered for extreme metal. I think Ingested are similar vibes? Not sure.
GWAR will be good for over the top theatrics. If you remember Lordi from the Eurovisions a while back then it's a similar vibe.
Elvana is an Elvis tribute act except they cover Nirvana songs.
Nova Twins are funky bass based nu metal newcomers. Kinda.
Saturday alexisonfire used to be screamo with battling growl vocals vs clean vocals but have become more mellow as time goes on
Bambie Thug is sorta rap, sorta some dance elements, very magick themed imagery, for fans of Dana Dentata who played last year
Blackgold is proper old school nu metal but almost leaning towards pop rap, I get Goldie Looking Chain doing covers of Linkin Park vibes
Bob Vylan folk rap metal, very angry, political, fantastic
Sunday Bad Religion despite being around over 40 years some to be lowkey to a lot of people, proper fast old pop punk listen to 10 In 2020 to get their vibes, for fans of early Offspring
Hatebreed are GOAT hardcore with very positive messages listen to Perseverance, I Will Be Heard and Never Alone for their vibes
Crashface are like hardcore indy I guess, for fans of Idles or SLAVES (now known as Soft Play)
Dinosaur Pile-Up are sorta pseudo grunge, more Silverchair than Nirvana vibes, Back Foot is their big hitter but I vibe with Pouring Gasoline
Graphic Nature are Meshuggah esque doom math metal
Jazmin Bean kinda trap rap from what I've heard
Hawxx are like Halestorm but, imo, more rawk less catchy but more raw
Joey Valance & Brae, do you like Beastie Boys? Then you like JV&B
The Meffs proper oi oi punk but very good and very loud for a 2 piece
Set It Off have that early Panic, Fall Out Boy vibe but without the insufferable whining, just catchy bops

Since NCT’s expansion was announced, I’ve been thinking about how this removes one of the primary things they are known for: their limitless concept. And I do think this was NCT’s concept. At first I was wondering about how this might affect NCT going forward, but I ultimately came to the conclusion that the concept change/removal isn’t likely to have a change in the musical or visual elements of the sub-units going forward. At ‘worst’, we might have less options for NCT U lineups, but that unit meets up so rarely compared to the others and we’ re still waiting for the highly requested 00’er unit, so I think we’re safe for a few more years.
What I have also been thinking about is how NCT’s concept, whether it exists or not, didn’t really affect the musical or video aspects of the group. If I compared Cherry Bomb, Hello Future, and Moonwalk, both the songs and music videos are different enough that if it wasn’t for the presence of members in multiple units, you could probably convince a non-NCTzen that these were entirely different groups.
In comparison, look at Red Velvet. Their concept is a dual concept of red (brighter, more youthful?) and velvet (elegant, darker). Their concept very much affects their visuals, at least. Songs like Red Flavor, Queendom, and Feel My Rhythm are clearly meant to be red concepts (even if Feel My Rhythm seems maybe more “mature” than previous releases, I think that’s just a result of the members being older), whilst Psycho, Peek-A-Boo, and Automatic evoke their velvet side. And I’m aware that Red Velvet have the opportunity to explore more than say, pre-2019 Twice with their concept, but I would still argue it creates a limit that doesn’t exist for a group like NCT.
I also briefly want to mention EXO. Their concept is a storyline based concept where the members are aliens from an EXOplanet with superpowers. Now I do think that to some degree, EXO’s concept holds some control over their music and visuals. You can see it in songs with narration like MAMA and Power, the assigned member songs in Don’t Mess Up My Tempo, or the repeated references to the Overdose maze. But unlike Red Velvet, I don’t think it fully controls them. Somebody earlier mentioned that the MAMA EP sounds very second gen, but XOXO sees a switch to the more R&B sound of the third generation. And four years later, EXO would release their brightest title track with Ko Ko Bop.
So in a spectrum, NCT’s concept holds the least affect, EXO’s concept has partial affect, and Red Velvet’s concept has the most affect.

Let me preface with this: so far I’ve had a great time playing the game. It’s been fun and I like the chemistry between the Boss and the Crew 2.0. But if there’s one thing I miss it’s the music. I miss the bops of Saints Row 2-4. I miss being able to go to a music store in Saints Row 2 and buy more tracks. They all had really phenomenal soundtracks with a variety of choices and even introduced me to some new songs. The only song I know from this game isn’t available until the end so it doesn’t do me a lot of good and none of the other songs really grab my attention the way previous soundtracks have.

Insomniac always picks bops that fit the character for their Spider-Man games. For Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, they’ll probably end up picking a song with a darkeangrier tone to fit the symbiote. I’m excited to see what that song is.

First time watcher, NO SPOILERS BEYOND EPISODE 50 PLEASE. I have NOT seen anything past the episodes listed in this post. And if I ask a question that gets answered later in the series, or make crazy statements that may sound stupid with hindsight of later events, kindly don't take the responsibility of answering those for me, as that would still be a spoiler to me, and I want to experience the answers in the show itself. Thanks for understanding and respecting.
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41. Gathering × Of × Heroes - 4/5 (It's crazy how rich Gon and Killua are. Just casually spending 20 million "Jenny" (why is the fictional currency just called by a female name?) like it's nothing. And that's not to mention the 800 million they made at Heavens Arena. Also, apparently Nen is able to visualize a whole 3 dimensional space around you through... A computer? How does THAT happen? I know you can infuse items with Nen and make them do specific things, but has the Hunter Association gone around and infused every public computer with Nen?? I DOUBT that. So what's actually happening here? Does the website somehow involuntality active the users Nen to visualize the bar? And if so... HOW does it do that?? It's a website, which is not a tangible thing. It can't have any Nen contained within it, and I don't see how it can forcibly activate someone elses Nen. Maybe the website's servers has the Nen infused and they transmit the Nen towards you when you load it... I don't know. Gosh. I was probably not meant to think this hard about it.
It's the Phantom Troupe, wowee. That's... A LOT of characters. I am certainly not going to remember them easily. The blonde guy (Shalnark) sticks out very oddly compared to the other male characters due to his huge, vertical oval eyes. This show has a strange contrast in general with character designs, since some will look really sharp and rough with "normal" sized eyes, while others will have the typical "cutesy" big eyed, button nosed, round anime design. Hell, the "big eyes" in this show far exceeds what is typical! I much prefer the former, but the latter works for female characters (Although Neon is REALLY pushing my limits) and kids. But Shalnark is an adult, yet he has the face of a child. He looks so weird! He doesn't appear at all like someone who would be a dangerous thief, unlike every other male characters in the Troupe. Neither do 2/3 of the female characters to be fair, but as I said, it works for them. I'm glad at least one of them, Pakunoda, was allowed look unique. She's got that long aquiline nose instead of a button. LOL.
Side note: The "ghost" that comes out of Neon's pen when she writes fortunes looks freaky)
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42. Defend × And × Attack - 4/5 (I really liked the background score for the opening in the Yorknew Marketplace. Also, HI LEORIO! Been a long time since I saw him. I figured that he wouldn't really have learned Nen. He has no reason to, he's not a fighter. Although it would be amusing to see what type he is and what abilities he'd manage to concoct. But he did learn Ren, so... Who taught that to him? Anyway, I love that the first thing he does when he meets up with Gon and Killua again is scam people. Stay classy. Still the funniest character. Also, the Phantom Troupe lady who attempted the arm wrestling challenge, Shizuku, looks so goofy. She has the massive eyes I talked about last episode, but her glasses only cover the lower half of them, and she's constantly cross-eyed. I think it's a funny look.
I really enjoyed that scene where Hisoka looks around at the other Phantom Troupe members, and stares down the boss. I don't know why, nothing really happened in it, I just enjoyed the creepy atmosphere and the score accompanying it. But more than that, I really enjoyed the conversation between Kurapika and Melody quite a lot. Specifically her backstory. But the effects of the cursed Sonata of Darkness melody is so strange. Basically, it's so cursed that your body will somehow just burn up from the inside, get all scaly and crusty (or whatever it is that happens, we never properly see the result) just from hearing it. But if you only hear some of it, it instead gives you "ugly" features? Since the way it "deformed" Melody was... Making her a midget, balding the top of her head, and giving her buck teeth. Those are some very oddly specific "deformities")
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43. A × Shocking × Tragedy - 4/5 (Well, THAT sure was a massacre. There was a giant pool of blood for crying out loud. Quite disturbing, to be honest. Those guys were all supposedly part of the mafia, so I guess I'm not supposed to feel too bad, but surely they were not all bad guys... And Baise passed away in the chaos as well, right by the hand of Shizuku. That was a brutal moment. I didn't get super attached to her as a character or something, but that was still cruel. Shizuku's Nen ability is pretty zany, though. She can conjure up a vacuum cleaner and suck endless amounts of mass and then just despawn it? Where does all the content go?
I don't have much else of substance to say. The mafia families keep attacking Uvo, and I'm given some information about the 10 Dons around the world and their "Shadow Beasts", but they only show up at the end. So, next episode better be amazing. "Worm" looks freaky as hell, though. Is that actually a human?!)
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44. Buildup × To A × Fierce Battle - 4/5 (Remember just a few episodes ago when this show refused to show blood on Hisoka's arm? Well, now they're letting us see characters get half their head bitten off and a bullet between the eyes. I'm not even sure why the title says "buildup". That wasn't buildup, that WAS the fierce battle. Uvo completely wrecked the Shadow Beasts. It was pretty disturbing. It's kind of annoying that they probably would have had a chance of winning if they were just a little more clever. First of all, Leech shouldn't have been so close to Uvo's face. Second, Rabid Dog should have attempted to dodge the "bullet" rather than block it with his hand. I mean, easier said than done, I guess. You can't exactly think rationally in extreme moments like that. I'm just saying that it would have been feasible to survive. Especially since the scene was slowed down to show what Rabid Dog was thinking fast, yet didn't consider moving! I was glad to see that Worm at least survived in the end, but then he died anyway.
Kurapika being able to restrain and yank Uvo with his chains was pretty awesome and satisfying, considering how highly he thinks of himself. He got humbled. Also, I don't think this was meant to be comical, but I found it pretty funny when Kurapika was monologuing about his chain restriction in his head while you can hear Melody in the background screaming at him to focus on the road. Made it feel like it was meant to be a parody of excessive monologues. LOL. Speaking of Melody, her relaxing flute music was great. It was genuinely calming even for me, the viewer!)
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45. Restraint × And × Vow - 3/5 (The Owl's entrance was pretty cool, and his round, goofy eyes were amusing (lotta thoughts about eyes lately). Too bad he barely put up much of a fight. That was disappointing. Especially since he was seemingly the smartest of the Shadow Beasts. He told the others not to underestimate the Phantom Troupe! Idiots. These Shadow Beasts were really not as powerful as cracked up to be. I guess it's to show how truly dangerous the Phantom Troupe is, though. Kurapika was able to punch Uvo hard enough to give him a nosebleed, so he must be pretty damn powerful himself. That was satisfying to see. Again, Uvo's being humbled. His uncontrollable rage upon rescue was hilarious. His pride was hurt, wah wah. Excited to see him hunt down and have an actual fight with Kurapika.
I love that Hisoka is simply so horny for fighting people that he joined the Phantom Troupe just to battle the boss. And he's willing to team up with Kurapika to double cross them just so he can do so. I'm VERY intrigued to see where this will lead. Hisoka and Kurapika teamup? He's got to be the "traitor" that tipped the 10 Dons off about the planned attack. As a final note, uh... Gee, how do I phrase this... Why the fuck are Gon and Killua black in the Hunterpedia segment??!!?!)
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46. Chasing × And × Waiting - 3/5 (No Hisoka/Kurapika teamup yet, but he's gonna return tomorrow, so... That's still interesting. And the ending when Uvo tracked Kurapika was very suspenseful. But everything else in the episode, while good, I have very little to comment on. I liked Kurapika being voted the temporary leader, I guess. And Uvo kissing Shalnark sure was a thing that happened. Gon, Killua and Leorio are now also gonna hunt the Phantom Troupe, so... More interesting stuff. Gon and Killua are still black in the Hunterpedia segment. After looking it up, turns out it's meant to be a tan due to the previous few segments being set outside. The color choice looks far more like plain black skin though, not a tan, or even a sunburn)
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47. Condition × And × Condition - 5/5 (The fact that Uvo and Kurapika both took the time to go to the outskirts of the city before fighting is pretty funny, because it means they obviously went together. Must have been an awkward trip. And it's also funny that we see Uvo taking a piss before the fight. He doesn't take it very seriously at all, which makes it all the more satisfying when Kurapika absolutely wrecks him. Deservingly so. And I enjoy the fact that Kurapika is a "heroic" protagonist who doesn't share the typical "If I kill them, I'm no better than them" ideology. It's a pretty tiring trait, since most of the time it's literally about evil people who cannot be changed or contained, like Uvo here. But that doesn't mean Kurapika enjoyed the act of doing it, he was clearly torn. Which makes this all the more interesting. And a badass fight.
Kurapika's "condition" doesn't really make any sense to me at all. Like, how does setting up a failsafe for yourself so that you'll be punished if you break a condition you make up on your own somehow enhance your abilities? This is why I don't think Nen is as awesome and unique as people make it out to be. There's a lot of rules and restrictions, but no explanations for "why" of them. WHY does such a condition enhance your powers? What's the in-universe reason for it? It just seems to be "because it does". Not very compelling to me, to be honest. Not that it made the episode less enjoyable, considering that it was awesome. Also, Gon and Killua are white again. Yay)
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48. Very × Sharp × Eye - 3/5 (Gon actually pawned his Hunter License?! That was surprising, and kinda sad, considering he can now NEVER get another one. What if he need it for more Ging clues? Wah wah wah wowowowow. Anyway, this episode is just "Gon and Killua go antiquing", but I enjoyed the laid back vibe of it, and Zepile was a nice character to meet. So overall, decent)
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49. Pursuit × And × Analysis - 4/5 (Holy crap, this is some suspenseful stuff. I loved Gon and Killua tailing the two Phantom Troupe members, but even moreso when they were caught. The zoom-in on Gon and Killua's eyes and their lightning fast bolt was a great visual. As was Killua bopping around the room, and his fight with Phinks, even though it was brief. I wish the series would have sequences like that which go on for longer, because that was epic. The only other fight of this calibre we've seen was the start of Gon and Hisoka's battle at Heavens Area. Not that the dialogue heavy battles are "bad", but sometimes an all-out brawl is a visual treat, and it's a bummer when it's so great, yet so short. But the Phantom Troupe capturing Gon and Killua is still super exciting, so this remains awesome. It was made even more suspenseful when I thought Gon was going to escape, but then Machi stopped him like she's The Flash or something! Honestly, 5/5 for the entire latter half of this episode.
Killua's father and grandpa are both now on their way to take care of the Phantom Troupe as well, so there's even more exciting things to get hyped for! The only less interesting part of this episode is the scene with Neon. Her role in the show felt to me like it was mostly just a way to forward Kurapika's journey towards the Phantom Troupe. Hell, the whole Nostrade family aspect felt more like a segway into that, so I don't understand why there's so much focus put on Neon and her father. It's not a LOT of focus, but it's some. She has a scene every few episodes. She did have that fortune-telling ghostwriting ability, so, there's gotta be SOMETHING important with her coming up, otherwise these parts would all be a waste)
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50. Ally × And × Sword - 4/5 (Wow, new intro- Dammit, IT'S JUST THE FIRST THEME SONG AGAIN! I'm being sarcastic, since I actually love the opening, but I've definitely developed a preference for the second version more. And this one only changes visuals once the chorus hits, but then the last part is the same one of Hisoka taunting Gon. Definitely feels like they could switch it up a little more, but I enjoy the individual Phantom Troupe spotlight regardless, so, whatever.
Heh, Killua averting Gon's "wow" from Hisoka to Shizuku was a nice save. How lucky that they met her a few episodes earlier. Seems she has memory loss, so I guess THAT'S an aspect of her character... Anyway, this is one of those episodes that is great, but I somehow don't have a lot to say about. It's only 2 scenes, so there's not a lot of different things happening for me to have many takes on. Best I can do is list the parts I enjoyed. And they include: Nobunaga showing genuine emotion for Uvo, Gon getting so angry he manages to win one armwrestling mach against him, Killua freaking out over feeling powerless, him and Gon's clever escape, and Gon's grin in the end when he claims Killua is the one who should keep HIM in check, not the other way around. But I basically just recapped the episode here, so, yeah. NEXT)