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Filed under: emotional songs about personal struggles and high-key poor mental health.
I just want to talk about this song, cause I feel like with it being a Japanese release/anime OST and the release roll out being around the same time as the AMAs Bye Bye Bye/Chk Chk Boom performance, Falling Up (and NIGHT) has been a bit overlooked.
Tower of God the anime? Itâs just alright. Nothing to write home about. But Stray Kids, especially HAN, have produced some of their best work doing the OP/ED for season 1. So much so that I wasnât sure this seasonâs OP/ED could be as good as TOP and SLUMP. SLUMP, especially. That one was truly special. Itâs 2024 and I still watch SLUMPâs The First Take video.
Honestly, Iâm not sure yet which between Falling Up and SLUMP I consider the better song. But Falling Up did give me the same feeling and put me in the same headspace emotionally as SLUMP. It successfully captured the feeling of not doing so hot but pushing through it anyway.
I can see and appreciate the character development from SLUMP, wherein itâs all about being afraid of getting left behind, whereas Falling Up is about choosing your own path and going forward regardless. Just keep walking and taking the next step. It reminded me of that one The Stormlight Archive quote -- the most important step a man can take. Itâs not the first oneâŠItâs the next one.
Also helps that the opening rift is very reminiscent of old emo and alt/rock songs. Stray Kids have a way of inhabiting that soundscape when not doing EDM or even pure pop, and thank God for that.
Oct 8, 2024
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Itâs such an uncompromising song, it tackles grief and the processing of it in a vulnerable but ultimately human way. The production (credit to Benjamin Booker & Kenny Segal) is unsettling but warm, like you know that it can only get better but you have to just sit and deal with the discomfort of your current situation in order to get there.
Thereâs a delicate piano melody that fades in and out of the mix alongside the faint hum of a guitar making what is in concept a experimental rap song into something different, the ârappingâ is more like spoken word poetry. Benjamin Bookers intro despite being repetitive due to his relaying of âI was only a dove, only in loveâ is made so powerful due to how worn out and whispery his voice is, like itâs a memory of a loved one haunting you.
Which in turn fades into billy woodsâ verse which reads more like poetry than a rap verse. Some of my favourite lines being: âThey called like "Come now, he doesn't have long to live", I dress slowly, Came back that night and took my baby out the crib so I could hold himâ or âLocked doors never had a key but you test the handle occasionally, God forbid it swing openâ âAttic stairs broken, don't go up there, From the windows i watch the diggers disappear in soft wet earth, Dinner served, i waited for my guests, long table set.â Itâs so bleak but perfectly describes the little moments of discomfort you feel when losing someone and I think it works perfectly combined with how minimalistic the production is.
The closing segment from ELUCID is a lot grander in scale and thematically darker, the production starts to get corrupted with static crackles slowly consuming each layer of the instrumental whilst ELUCID foretells the impending end. Itâs a sucker punch that catches you out but it works due to how the song is structured all the emotions caused by loss are only told about up until this point and ELUCIDs part represents the listener tackling them head-on. Itâs uncomfortable and youâll probably skip it on relisten (hell I often do) but I think itâs purpose is so powerful and as a whole the song is incredibly thought provoking.
Apr 13, 2025
to me itâs always been kind of a sad song but itâs also resoundingly hopeful
itâs not been the best year but itâs not been the worst, you know how it is- life kind of just happens.
i of course like the part :: âdonât cry⊠donât raise your eye⊠itâs only teenage wastelandâ
i graduate this spring and thatâs obviously a big milestone. being in high school is kind of uniquely miserable and beautiful at the same time. iâm glad to move on but itâs bittersweet
iâm trying to stay in the present while also remembering that this is really âteenage wastelandâ i.e: slums of adolescence.. what feels big now wonât ever matter again.
things might feel empty and really suck, but you gotta keep moving forward. i guess thatâs what i learned this year.
long rant over now đ§ââïž
Dec 31, 2024
i know it's august, but it's so easy for me to slip into a gloomy fall mood any time of year and as such, i've had this song on repeat.
i'm a big sucker for strong lyricism and this song is no exception. the fact that she takes you on this journey about the death of a relationship she's in by literally opening the song with "Pull the plug in September, I don't wanna die in June" is so poignant yet beautiful.
ALSO, the gunshot right after she says "I'll hang on 'til the chaos is through" is perfectly incorporated and really the cherry on top given the subject matter of the song.
if you're looking to feel the sonic embodiment of a lonesome autumn in the form of a song, give this track a listen.
Aug 9, 2024
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Great plot, great acting, great production design. I would be very surprised if this doesnât get its flowers come awards season.
Crimson Sky and the final conversation between Toranaga and Yabushige are some of the things that Iâll be thinking about for quite some time. Iâm not very familiar with Anna Sawaiâs work, but I loved her acting here. The tea ceremony with her husband is another one of her great moments thatâs sort of seared in my memory.
May 28, 2024
Pretty fun and got the vibe of the games fairly well. I ended up finishing all episodes in one sitting.
The Westworld folks produced this, so while itâs no Westworld, you can feel Jonathan Nolan/Lisa Joyâs influence all throughout.
Not perfect but still one of the better video game adaptations (The Last of Us episode 3 is pretty hard to top). Plus the setting is a goldmine to tell more, better stories in future seasons or spin-offs.
Apr 16, 2024
My Lady Jane is a fun, entertaining, binge-able fantasy retelling of the life of Lady Jane Grey, queen for all of nine days. Sometimes, thatâs all you really need.
Sep 24, 2024