He/Him
So sad, so sexy: my life featuring Phoebe Bridgers
Alt Pop 2020 Rate | #38 Higher than a motherfucker, dreaming of you as my lover
- Thread starter Cutlery
- Start date
He/him
Clearly some of you girls aren't living your best lives, thriving.
Haim can lose some more songs.
Haim can lose some more songs.
Think you got her and Women in Music mixed up!
Kyoto being one of the five songs left from Punisher is so annoying.
I actually think the Haim song left are the strongest of their album? Everything else has been a mess.
I actually think the Haim song left are the strongest of their album? Everything else has been a mess.
Atheists hate her!
You will appreciate this.
Laughing together like our thoughts are harmonized
Been that way since '95
Give me direction when it is hard to fight
59
HIGH 10 (@Attis @Remorque @Trouble in Paradise @godspeed), 9.5 (@TéléDex @boombazookajoe)
LOW 1 (@Ana Raquel), 5 (Yours Truly)
It's me, I'm atheists! Just like that, HAIM becomes the second act to lose out half of their songs already. The last of the three 2019 singles released pre-WiMPIII, Hallelujah came a little over a month before Christmas, the end of the pre-pandemic year, with perfect timing for the band to recall what they're grateful for, look back to the pain and recognize how they have been healing from it. The song is very notable for the fact Este and Alana have verses of their own as lead vocalists, and it makes for a fitting dynamic as they sing of sisterhood, the level of empathy they have developed towards each other and outwards, as well as feeling at home in their own three-way company.
This wintery approach is highlighted by @godspeed (10) : " I don’t know if it is because I listened to this song so much during the late-fall/early-winter of 2019, but “Hallelujah” gives me kind of a Christmas-y vibe. Especially Alana’s verse weirdly enough. There’s just something about this time of the year that makes me think of the people who are not around anymore and how depressing this holiday can be now that the “magic of Christmas” is not enough to forget about all of the shit going on in your life, even just for a night. I don’t know if that makes sense". Yes. Personally, having lost my grandma very suddenly a month before Christmas 14 years ago completely changed the family dynamic from my mom's side and for many seasons we didn't celebrate the holiday much at all. But with the passing years, I think hope has made a home in our family again, slowly.
Others are less enthusiastic but respect the live-sounding ballad, like @R27 (7.5), who says: "I appreciate the song a lot, but I never seek it out.". But the Grinch is here and this time I kinda live for her! Right @Ana Raquel (1)?: "...It gets a point for not being the 6321784632th cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah I was fearing. That being said. This is the complete opposite of what I enjoy listening". I think I'll join you on that boat and sail towards the bops just this time!
He/Him
This is WRONG
he/him
@Ana Raquel I’ll see you in hell!
Some extras could bounce, but the real offenders left in the albums are Snakeskin and STFU.
Some extras could bounce, but the real offenders left in the albums are Snakeskin and STFU.
she/her
she/her
Some of the best songs are falling and people are calling for my 11 already?
What if I told you
I feel like I know you?
But we never met
It's for the best
58
HIGH 10 (@godspeed @Jonathan27), 9.5 (@Trouble in Paradise)
LOW 3 (@Ana Raquel), 5 (@Hurricane Drunk)
The album's namesake is the term that Phoebe has coined for the kind of super fan, whether a trust fund baby or one who's used up a year's worth of savings, that meets their indie fave on the road, on the street or backstage and wants to keep on talking and talking, despite them just wanting to go and rest or are in the middle of getting somewhere. Okay put like that it sounds overtly mean, but Bridgers is no stranger to being a punisher herself, in fact, the whole song is a tribute to her biggest musical inspiration and legend Elliott Smith and her poking fun that she would go on lengthy tangents about the weirdest things like the roofs of the place he lived in if she were to meet the late musician.
Besides, she also recognizes the power that as a performer, you hold over an eager audience that likely shares the same mental health struggles that let them connect with your work, and are therefore passionate about. It's just that it's sometimes good to never meet your heroes and, more importantly, to never put a public figure, no matter how much indie cred they hold, on a pedestal. They could always turn out to be a person with terrible morals, and on their side, artists should be able to reserve the right to not interact with asshole fans too, you know. My No. 1 fave is Björk who infamously never interacts more than what's needed with fans since a lethal incident in the 90s regarding a stalker fan that wanted to physically disfigure her with a mail-in bomb, so I have it clear in my mind I'd never do anything like being intrusive or pushy with a fave on the street or even at a M&G, signing, etc.
These reflections are set in a soft, distant, hazy piano atmosphere and a vocodered vocal effect that is the main thing that draws me into the song, as the effect is quite pleasing to these ears. @Ana Raquel (3) would like to digress, however: "It starts SO WELL with a haunting melody. And then it goes nowhere". I bet that the lullaby-esque atmosphere didn't help the song's case at all ddd. But I also sway to the classic strings after the first chorus, they're neat.
@godspeed (10) is walking up and down the street: "There’s a lot to appreciate on this song but I think what I love the most about it is the way Phoebe Bridgers’ vocals are subtly processed and sort of fade into the quiet, splendidly layered and moody production. To me, “Punisher” sort of feels like you’re wandering without a goal through empty city streets on a damp and cold winter night with a lot on your mind (probably mainly because of the opening lines)". Her habit of spending 3 hours at stores old and new and not buying anything is a vibe. A young mall walker/sightseer in the making if I ever saw one.
he/him
This Phoebe cull is not it.
Respectfully I am never participating in a rate with @Ana Raquel again.
Can't believe that I'm nervous
Face-to-face
All our problems on the surface, is it worth this?
57
HIGH 10 (@klow), 9.5 (@Oleander)
LOW 5 (@godspeed), 6 (@Candy Perfume Girl @Phonetics Girl)
Straightforward is the name of Don't Wanna's game, and it plays like a rock classic with good melodies, a memorable chorus, and a catchy unmistakable drum beat that intentionally borrows from Prince's 80s hits as well as Tom Petty's 1994 album, Wildflowers. These set the scene for the been there done that times when you're on and off dating someone but in the back of your mind, have this desire to make things official and commit to a relationship, but is that really what the other person wants? Every interaction seems to mean you'll change your mind on whether to pursue something else with them or stay as casual friends with benefits or what have you. Is it the most compelling songwriting in the album? No. Does it bop? Absolutely.
This easy listening (complimentary) experience is noted by @Trouble in Paradise (9), which made it natural to stan: "On my first listen to WIMPIII this was my immediate favorite, but as times gone on I feel its big pop sheen lightening. Still a bop though!". As a counterargument, @godspeed (5), who has been featured in either the high or low scorers for a record-breaking six eliminations including this one, explains that Don't Wanna is: "HAIM by the numbers. Not necessarily a bad thing but on this album, it surely is disappointing". If these are their numbers, you better start calling me an arithmetician! Mine tell me this is within my top 4 from the album, so it's sad to see it barely above the bottom third of the rate's songs.
The silly music video features HAIM's favorite activity, second only to Tik Tok dancing, which is walking, this time in a nearly-empty parking lot. Queens of turning it into a competition and by the end Este is outrunning them riding a vintage Porsche.
Face-to-face
All our problems on the surface, is it worth this?
57
HIGH 10 (@klow), 9.5 (@Oleander)
LOW 5 (@godspeed), 6 (@Candy Perfume Girl @Phonetics Girl)
Straightforward is the name of Don't Wanna's game, and it plays like a rock classic with good melodies, a memorable chorus, and a catchy unmistakable drum beat that intentionally borrows from Prince's 80s hits as well as Tom Petty's 1994 album, Wildflowers. These set the scene for the been there done that times when you're on and off dating someone but in the back of your mind, have this desire to make things official and commit to a relationship, but is that really what the other person wants? Every interaction seems to mean you'll change your mind on whether to pursue something else with them or stay as casual friends with benefits or what have you. Is it the most compelling songwriting in the album? No. Does it bop? Absolutely.
This easy listening (complimentary) experience is noted by @Trouble in Paradise (9), which made it natural to stan: "On my first listen to WIMPIII this was my immediate favorite, but as times gone on I feel its big pop sheen lightening. Still a bop though!". As a counterargument, @godspeed (5), who has been featured in either the high or low scorers for a record-breaking six eliminations including this one, explains that Don't Wanna is: "HAIM by the numbers. Not necessarily a bad thing but on this album, it surely is disappointing". If these are their numbers, you better start calling me an arithmetician! Mine tell me this is within my top 4 from the album, so it's sad to see it barely above the bottom third of the rate's songs.
The silly music video features HAIM's favorite activity, second only to Tik Tok dancing, which is walking, this time in a nearly-empty parking lot. Queens of turning it into a competition and by the end Este is outrunning them riding a vintage Porsche.
Be prepared because our first 11 is due next... alongside a culling of extras.