Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope you’ve all had a good week.
This week was absolutely a relief after…well, this entire school year, really. I had my last three days of school, and except for a handful of finals (which I managed to do pretty well on! yay!), it was mostly just wrapping things up and saying our goodbyes.
And now it’s summer! I’m so happy!!
I had a pretty great reading week too! I got some free hardcovers in exchange for reviews from a program at my library, and I’ve liked all but one of them, so that’s a good sign. I still have one more left that I’m currently reading, and it’s great so far.
Other than that, I’ve been reveling in the fact that I get to sleep in again, enjoying both the warm weather and the rain we’re getting this weekend, and watching some good old David Attenborough nature documentaries. (What is it about clips of coral reefs that instantly calms me?)
Happy Wednesday, everyone! I’m ELATED that school’s over. Junior year online was awful, good riddance. I’m eagerly anticipating chucking all my math homework into the recycling.
And here I am with one of these album reviews that I only do once in a blue moon!
Ever since elementary school, St. Vincent has been a personal music hero of mine. From falling in love from tracks off of Actor, Strange Mercy and the self-titled St. Vincent, her music was a sanctuary for me during a time when, more than ever, I felt like an outsider. Her music shaped me, and seeing a confident queer woman quickly becoming the 21st century’s answer to David Bowie (and having her own line of signature guitars!!) was nothing short of empowering.
I lost a little faith in her after how much MASSEDUCTION disappointed me – the music was well-played, for sure, but the direction she went in just didn’t feel natural for her.
But I’m excited to say that I’ve completely forgiven her for MASSEDUCTION. I didn’t think I ever could, but Daddy’s Home is some of her best work to date, drawing inspiration from the early 70’s as she shifts into a darker, Young Americans-esque persona.
So let’s begin, shall we?
(NOTE: I’ll probably leave out reviews for “Humming (Interludes 1-3)” just because they’re only about 30 seconds long each)
ST. VINCENT – DADDY’S HOME (album review)
TRACK 1: “Pay Your Way in Pain” – 10/10
[JOYOUS SCREAMING]
The first track of the album and the first single released, this song was almost singlehandedly responsible for my regaining faith in St. Vincent. From the opening notes of the piano to Clark hitting the high notes, repeating “I wanna be loved,” this song is perfection, pure and simple. 100% a highlight of the album, but there’s never a dull moment with this one.
TRACK 2: “Down And Out Downtown” – 8/10
GAAAAH. This is just one of those songs where the music makes you feel like all soft and warm and melt-y, but in the best way possible. Clark’s voice truly soars with this one, and the tempo seems perfect for driving with the windows down. The drums are incredible too! What a perfect beat.
TRACK 3: “Daddy’s Home” – 9.5/10
Where can you run
When the outlaw’s inside you?
– St. Vincent, “Daddy’s Home”
VERY NEARLY FLAWLESS. What’s not to love about this song? Some of Clark’s best lyrics, in my opinion, and the most 70’s vibes concentrated into a song since…y’know, a song that’s actually from the 70’s. I’m almost convinced that she’s a time traveller. And I’m not normally very enthusiastic about saxophones, but the ones in this one SOUND SO COOL?? WHAT THE HECK
TRACK 4: “Live In The Dream” – 10/10
Next to “Pay Your Way in Pain,” this is, hands down, my favorite song on the album. It has a very Pink Floyd sensibility about it, like the music of “Us and Them” and the lyrics of “Comfortably Numb” got together, which, as you can probably guess, is appropriately depressing.
IT IS.
It’s hard to listen to, but somehow, I can’t seem to stop listening to it. This feels like what “Young Lover” could have been on MASSEDUCTION – a dark tragedy of near-death and overdoses, drifting in and out of consciousness. It’s harrowing and haunting, but god, it’s beautiful.
TRACK 5: “The Melting of the Sun” – 7/10
To quote somebody in the YouTube comments section: “I don’t remember this Schoolhouse Rock episode…”
Out of the three singles that were released before the whole album, this was my least favorite, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t adore it. (Definitely the best music video of the bunch, though.) It feels a little slower, but it’s no less catchy and immersive, speaking to a lifetime of comparing oneself to others.
TRACK 7: “The Laughing Man” – 7/10 (shhh didn’t skip a track there was just a humming interlude in between)
[quietly] ohhhh ok so these are the lyrics on the sleeves of my hoodie
Next to “Daddy’s Home,” “The Laughing Man” dives headfirst into the 70’s aesthetic, and hits the mark perfectly. Warm, sultry and slow, it feels like slipping in and out of a dream. I can’t put my finger on why I don’t like it quite as much as the others, but it’s lovely nonetheless.
TRACK 8: “Down” – 8/10
Now this was a welcome reward for finishing my AP World exam…
My second favorite of the pre-released singles! Rhythmic and catchy, this is almost as cinematic and raw as “Pay Your Way In Pain.” No doubt that I’ll be playing this one on repeat quite a lot. AND THE GUITAR SOLOS! THE CLASSIC ANNIE CLARK GUITAR SOLO!
TRACK 10: “Somebody Like Me” – 9/10(shh no worries there was another humming interlude)
Does it make you an angel
Or some kind of freak
To believe enough
In somebody like me?
– St. Vincent, “Somebody Like Me”
For some reason, the combination of the drums and the sample of laughing children at about 0:08 always sticks with me…
Even though the 70’s influence is clear, this feels like it could’ve fit just as well on Actor, Strange Mercy or even something as early as Marry Me. Delving further into haunting self doubt, Clark’s ethereal voice, combined with dreamlike instrumentation, backing vocals, and a steady drumbeat, this song just makes me feel so strangely good inside. I feel myself smiling as I’m listening right now…
TRACK 11: “My Baby Wants A Baby” – 9/10
But I wanna play guitar all day
Make all my meals in microwaves
Only dress up if I get paid
How can it be wrong?
– St. Vincent, “My Baby Wants A Baby”
This has to be one of her most personal songs in recent years; as the song progresses, we not only see her grapple with not wanting children, tenuous relationships, and moving away from self-reliance, but with being remembered only as “a woman in music.” It’s a classic tragedy, the injustice that is having “no legacy/Won’t have no streets named after me…they’ll just look at me and say/’Where’s your baby?'” There’s not a single lyric that doesn’t stand out in this one. LOVE IT.
TRACK 12: “…At The Holiday Party” – 6.5/10
(Did anyone else think that the title was a continuation of “My Baby Wants A Baby” just because of the ellipse at first? Like “My Baby Wants A Baby…At The Holiday Party?” No? Just me?)
Kind of like “The Laughing Man,” I can’t quite put my finger on why I don’t like this one at much, but it just doesn’t feel quite as potent as most of the others. I like the backing vocals and the steady beat, though.
TRACK 13: “Candy Darling” – 9/10
The perfect closing track to the album. Too short, but I guess that could be said about all of the songs on this album…
It feels like a bittersweet goodbye, a final descent into the dreamlike realm that the album consistently slipped in and out of. The musical equivalent of a hug goodbye and a kiss on the forehead.
(shh there’s one more interlude but that’s ok)
I added up my ratings for the 11 tracks I reviewed, and it averaged out to about an 8.5. Which…huh? That can’t be right…
Nah. This isn’t an official review, right? And nobody here cares about how I round things, right? So I’ll just bump it up to a solid 9. It’s only 2021, but I think I already have my favorite album of the decade. All at once haunting, cinematic, and warm, it’s everything that I missed from St. Vincent: fantastic guitar solos, a soaring voice, and dark and clever lyricism. I just wanna give this album a hug.
In conclusion, FIGHT ME, PITCHFORK.
Since there’s a whole album packed in here, consider this entire post today’s song.
That’s it for this album review! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well.
I’M OVERJOYED THAT SCHOOL IS NEARLY OVER FOR ME. Normally I’m excited, but this year in particular has been astronomically awful, so I’ll be very glad to see both junior year and online learning go out the window. And the weather’s warming up! Nearly summer!!
After AP exams and finals, I tried to get back to writing, with varying degrees of success. I started that second draft of my big sci-fi WIP, but…I feel like I wasn’t in the right headspace, it just wasn’t coming off with the feeling I wanted it to have, and there was a pretty important plotline that was really convoluted. So I’m planning on scrapping what little I have of that draft and starting over. I think it’s for the best. Wish me luck…
Other than that, I read outside (finally warm enough!), got some comics and ice cream, rearranged the books on display at the YA section of my library during my shift (somebody had to dethrone the Sarah J. Maas), and listened to the rain on my window as I fell asleep. Hands down, the best feeling.
Oh, and speaking of rearranging the library displays…I check every week to see if there’s any Fargo DVDs in the TV section, and this week I found the first two seasons, so season 1 automatically went up on display…
somebody needs to make a compilation of every single “aw jeez” in all four seasons, ending with Oraetta’s super drawn out one
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you all well.
The last week and a half has been [ahem] something…I had three AP exams and a final all this week, so there was quite a lot of studying, sitting for hours on end, and pen stains on the sides of my hands this week. I feel pretty good about two out of the three exams, at least (@ ap bio why must you hurt me in this way), and I got a good score on that final, so I’m just hoping that the others pay off.
my last brain cell trying to comprehend the ap bio FRQs
I haven’t been able to read as much as I wanted to, but I had loads of fun re-reading the Six of Crows duology! The show made me want to go back and read them, and I love them even more than I did when I first read them.
And somehow I just surpassed 100 books! I’m almost halfway to my goal of 250 by the end of the year…
Other than the endless studying, I haven’t done a whole lot, but I had a bit of time to draw, and I’ve been listening to a whole lot of R.E.M., and as of Friday, the new St. Vincent album. (To both: GAAAAAAAAH AMAZING)
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week treated you well.
April’s over now, and I didn’t get to post as much as I wanted to this month, but…I had to study. For several things. And I have several more things to study for, so I’ll probably be back to a more fun schedule by the last week of May. But for now, AP exams loom. Should be okay, though. (I feel okay about World History and English, but Bio should be…interesting…) I had the day off on Friday though, so that was a nice break.
I’ve had a great reading week though! I finished a (mostly) good library haul, and most of them were in the 3-4 star range, save for two. I’ve got a good one waiting as well, plus a great hold on my Kindle that I’m currently getting through.
Other than that, I binged the rest of Shadow and Bone, watched Blade Runner 2049 (better than the original, but the bar is low…), and stuck my head out the window on several occasions just to smell the rain. I missed rain so much.
I didn’t get to blog as much as I wanted to this month, but I did have (and still have) lots of tests to study for, so you can probably expect a similar amount of activity next month as well. I got the SAT out of the way, though! Pretty proud of myself for that. I just got an email saying that the scores are coming next week, so…
And I’m so done with precalc. SO DONE. ONE MORE MONTH…
But other than that, I’ve had a pretty good reading month! I didn’t get to read as much as I wanted to, but I got to read a whole bunch of my most anticipated reads of the year, and found a whole bunch of 5-star reads! All of my preorders seemed to arrive in the middle of the month, I’m happy to say.
I watched a whole bunch of good stuff this month as well, movie and TV-wise; we watched Ex Machina and Shin Godzilla (hands down the scariest version of Godzilla, my mind will not be changed), I finished up Falcon and the Winter Soldier (hit or miss, but it got good in the end), and last but certainly not least, Shadow and Bone! I’m super excited about the latter; I finished it last night, and it was so faithful to the book, for the most part! I’ll try and do a review soon, because man, I have some Thoughts™️
Everyone’s favorite bisexual sharpshooter supreme
Also, this will come in later in the post, but I think I’ll start doing a fixture in these wrap-ups with songs or albums I’ve listened to over the course of the month, so see below…
READING AND BLOGGING:
I managed to read 21 books this month! Just barely, though…like I said, not as much reading time as I wanted to have (why, why, WHY did I take THREE AP classes this year), but I read so many amazing novels!
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope you’ve all had a good week.
This week has simultaneously felt momentous and relaxing, what with finishing the SAT and getting my first dose of the COVID vaccine all in one day. But my classes let up on the homework after last week and I had a day off after the SAT, so I had a bit of time to relax and gather my thoughts.
I finally got around to all of my Barnes & Noble books I bought over break, and they were all great! I just finished Rule of Wolves too, and what more is there to say than [AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH]
I got another preorder in the mail yesterday (Victories Greater than Death), so it’s shaping up to be a good reading week next week!
Other than that, I did some more library volunteering (is there anything more meta than shelving your own hold?), drew some more, and watched Ex Machina. The latter of which, I have to say…good sci-fi really makes you think, and this movie ABSOLUTELY did. Highly recommended. (Also, seeing bald Oscar Isaac was so surreal on its own…)
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week treated you all well.
As you *probably* noticed, I was fairly absent posting-wise this week; I just had a whole lot of homework this week getting back from break and preparing for all my exams. It’ll probably be a similar story until the end of May or so, but I’ll just post whenever I have time. So the schoolwork was kind of exhausting.
But at least I had a great reading week! I’m nearly finished with last week’s library haul, and I even managed to find a 5-star read in the mix! Between that and everything I bought over break, I’ll have lots to review soon.
Other than that, I’ve gotten to draw a little bit more, and we watched Godzilla vs. Kong last night, which, faulty science notwithstanding, was a whole lot of fun. I’ve been outlining my sci-fi WIP on and off (which has caused a lot of weird google searches), but I’m getting excited to be back in that world.
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles, and happy Easter, if that’s your thing! 🐣
I’ve been on Spring Break this week, and I enjoyed myself most of the time. I had a lot of fun blogging more frequently, and I had time to read a whole bunch! (Heads up – I’ll probably be a lot less frequent in the next few weeks because I’m going back to school…) I stopped by Barnes & Noble and got some books, and from that, my library haul, and the Rule of Wolves preorder that just came in the mail, I think I’m set for the next two weeks or so…
Other than that, I’ve been watching more Falcon & The Winter Soldier and Avatar: The Last Airbender, listening to a lot of Spiritualized and the new St. Vincent (SNL!!!), and eating a lot of chocolate this morning.
And also!!! I hit 400 followers this week!! Thank you all so much for supporting me, love you all 🥺
I refuse to believe that it’s almost April…one year since the original quarantine, nope…
GENERAL THOUGHTS
March has been…an interesting month, I guess. Definitely had its ups and downs, and it was super cold. It’s usually a really snowy month here in Colorado, and we got dumped on in the middle of the month…not quite the #Snowmageddon that everybody was saying it was going to be, but we got about two feet at my house. A lot, but we’ve had worse…
School’s been a bit rough, but I’m at least glad that everything had time to wind down before Spring Break. I have my SAT test coming up in April and my AP exams in May, so heads up, I’ll probably be less active in the next two months.
Other than that, I’ve definitely made some great progress! Mostly with my writing; I wrote my short story for the writing contest, shared it with family and close friends, got some feedback, AND I SUBMITTED IT ON MONDAY! AAAAAAAAAAAH
I also started on Falcon & The Winter Soldier (I didn’t like episode 1 very much, but 2 got better), watched the Snyder Cut, and drank lots of tea and hot chocolate. Here’s hoping that April will be a bit better. Not that March was awful, but I could’ve done without…y’know, precalc. I’ve been listening to the new Julien Baker a lot too, as well as more Mother Mother, thanks to a playlist my friend made for me.
Also, I rewatched Fargo in its entirety. I’ll admit to curling into the fetal position and sobbing several times.
[aggressive tissue-blowing intensifies]
And I’m SO CLOSE to 400 followers! I LOVE YOU ALL 🥺
READINGAND BLOGGING:
I managed to read 23 books this month! (24, if you count reading a certain B.P.R.D. twice.) I’ve definitely had a great reading month; I re-read a few favorites, and I discovered several awesome reads! And I had very few books that I didn’t like, so that’s a plus. Here’s everything…
The Bookish Mutant 