This was supposed to be published earlier today, but WordPress was being weird, so I ended up having to reconstruct the whole thing from scratch. Oops. At least it’s here now.
I feel like I’ve prefaced almost every book tag I’ve done in the last year or so with this, but I feel like I always take too long between book tags, and…it’s been a while. They’re so much fun!! But, of course, a combination of work, NaNoWriMo, and prioritizing my book reviews and Sunday Songs has taken the forefront, so I haven’t been able to do quite as many. But I figured that I had some time today, and this one sounded like a super cute tag. I found the tag over at The Corner of Laura (she always finds the best tags! Go check out her blog!), and the tag was originally created by Kat @ Novels and Waffles. I love a good waffle, so of course I had to do this tag!! Very glad that there’s a waffle emoji for th
➽ Feel free to use any of the waffle graphics in this post, just make sure to credit Kat!
➽ Tag as many people as you want (or don’t want) to. No pressure here, folks! ♡
Let’s begin, shall we?
🧇THE WAFFLE BOOK TAG🧇
BELGIAN WAFFLES: A book that’s a total classic
I’ve read Slaughterhouse-Fivefor two separate classes for school in the past few years, and it never loses its punch. Such a unique book.
WHOLE WHEAT WAFFLES: A book that’s completely wholesome
I always take care to put trigger warnings in my book reviews, but A Psalm for the Wild-Builtwas such a gentle, pure book that I couldn’t even think of any. Becky Chambers is so kind to us.
EGGO WAFFLES: A book that fills you with nostalgia
I’ll always look back fondly at when I first read Madman back in middle school; beyond the beautiful art and the David Bowie references that 13-year-old me immediately latched onto, there’s something so comforting and pure about these comics.
CHOCOLATE WAFFLES: A fictional character that’s sugary sweet
Even without her selkie puppy eyes, Keltie from The Girl from the Seawould still be so adorable.
BLUEBERRY WAFFLES: A book that made you feel blue
A House Between Earth and the Moonwas just such a dismal book all the way through. The premise had potential, but it ended up being a chore to read, in my experience.
WAFFLE CONE: A book that’s a bit different
Considering that Magoniawas published in 2015, it was so refreshingly whimsical and weird for a YA book of that era.
MAPLE SYRUP: A series that you stuck with until the end
One of my best friends recommended The Aurelian Cycle to me, and it was fantastic all the way through!
WAFFLE IRON: Your favorite bookish accessory
My parents got me this super comfy Frankenstein shirt for my birthday last year! Out Of Print has the best bookish merchandise—got my Six of Crows and Little Prince socks from there too!
I TAGANYBODY WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE!
Today’s song:
listened to this album the other day, fantastic all the way through!
That’s it for this book tag! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
I’m running out of winter emojis for these wrap-ups…what else am I supposed to do when this month has been so consistently cold and miserable? Totally can’t tell how ready for spring and summer I am, can you? Nuh uh, no way…
The snow has made for some pretty beautiful scenery, though. I will say that.
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
February’s been a quiet month for the most part (although the high winds last week made me feel like I was in The Wizard of Oz, and not in a good way), which I alway appreciate. The great thing about taking mainly humanities classes is that midterms are a lot less stressful—most of my classes just have papers, so they’re far less daunting. And it’s been great to have comics and sci-fi as my reading material—even though my science fiction class has had its ups and downs, I loved re-reading All Systems Red and re-watching Blade Runner 2049 for homework.
I felt like my reading slowed down, but looking at the numbers, it really didn’t. School reading has started to make up a significant portion of what I read now that I’m in more English classes, but I’ve read a lot of interesting novels and graphic novels—Bitch Planet, Monstress, and now re-reading Kindred, to name a few. But I did read a bunch of great novels for Black History Month in my free time, and I’ve discovered so many wonderful books! I just finished The Fifth Season, and I’m kind of invested in the series now…
Other than that, I’ve been watching Only Murders in the Building (✨fabulous✨), Our Flag Means Death (not as funny as people made it out to be, but the last two episodes HURT), and Flight of the Conchords (THEY CALL ME THE HIPHOPOPOTAMOUS, MY LYRICS ARE BOTTOMLESS…[cough]), drawing, playing guitar, skiing for the first time in over a year (so much fun, but also so much soreness), and listening to new music from Black Belt Eagle Scout and Gorillaz. So much new music out (that’s on my radar) already…
READING AND BLOGGING:
I read 20 books this month! I feel like school reading has taken up a good chunk of what I’ve read this month, even if it’s been re-reads, but what I’m loving about college is that I’m reading more novels that I’m interested in (with the exception of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?…ew), so that’s a plus.
Happy Saturday, bibliophiles, and happy world book day as well!! You’d think I’d have a book-related post today, but…nope. No thoughts, only Spiritualized for the next 3-5 business weeks.
Normally, I wait for a few days to a week after an album’s release to review it, but…well, between my listening to it yesterday and my dad playing it the whole way through in the car yesterday evening, I’ve probably listened to it three or four times in its entirety already, so…
Spiritualized has been one of my favorite bands for around two years—even longer, if you count when I first heard “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space” for the first time and listened to it on repeat to fall asleep on vacation. Their music, if I had to describe it in one word, is all-consuming; J Spaceman has built a stunning career out of making a song into a vast cosmos of sound, making themes of heartbreak, addiction, and new love into the dictionary definition of larger-than-life. That’s what I’ve always loved about his music—his songs never feel like just songs, but experiences.
By the time I’d really gotten into Spiritualized, I’d accepted that I wouldn’t be able to see him live or experience a new album of his; he’d said in several interviews that And Nothing Hurt would likely be his last album. But in late 2021, we were gifted with the best kind of surprise: we would be getting more Spiritualized after all!! Now that it’s here, I can say with certainty that there isn’t a single bad song on this album. It’s probably impossible to re-achieve the genius of Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space or Sweet Heart Sweet Light, but Everything Was Beautiful comes very close, even at just seven songs.
Enjoy this album review!
EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL – SPIRITUALIZED ALBUM REVIEW
TRACK 1: “Always Together With You”– 10/10
This was the first single to come out of this album, and it singlehandedly provided all of the serotonin that I needed to get through the rest of 2021, so there’s that.
It’s not hard for me to say that this is easily one of Spiritualized’s best songs. Expansive and cosmic, I feel as though I’ve been lifted into the air and through the clouds every time I listen to it. I was texting my family about it when it first came out, and I jokingly called it “‘Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space’ but happy,” and as much of a joke it was, it feels true; “Always Together With You” feels like a more matured, more hopeful version of its predecessor, down to the morse code sounds and J Spaceman’s daughter (😭) saying the album’s title at the very beginning. Absolute masterpiece.
TRACK 2: “Best Thing You Never Had (The D Song)” – 8.5/10
Smoothly transitioning from “Always Together With You,” “Best Thing You Never Had” keeps up the momentum set up by the first track with classic Spiritualized elements—catchy guitars, a backing choir, and what sounds like a good-sized brass section. Just as spacey as ever, it’s the perfect song for rolling the windows down in your car, and it’s sure to cement this album as one of Spiritualized’s best.
TRACK 3: “Let It Bleed (For Iggy)” – 9.5/10
When I saw Spiritualized back at the beginning of the month, this was one of my favorites of the new songs they played. Now that I’m hearing it through my headphones, it’s one of my favorites off the album! Here’s where the momentum sustained by “Best Thing You Never Had” picks up once more, with another sweeping, all-consuming thing of pure beauty.
TRACK 4: “Crazy” (cover of Nikki Lane’s “Out of My Mind”) – 8.5/10
(so apparently this is a cover?? took me a while to find out…I guess because the original has a different title)
“Crazy” is one of my least favorites on the album, but it’s beautiful nonetheless. Even as a cover (I’ve only listened to the original once, so…), it’s indicative of the quiet, genuine tenderness that J Spaceman is capable of amidst all of the heartbreak and darkness that’s prevalent in so many of his other songs. Lovely.
TRACK 5: “The Mainline Song”– 9.5/10
This is another Spiritualized piece that seems more like a journey than a song—all of the train sounds layered in only adds to that effect. With J Spaceman’s airy vocals and rushing instrumentals, it’s another song that seems to physically carry you somewhere else, watching the clouds rushing by. It doesn’t even matter that it’s chiefly instrumental—it’s an unmistakable highlight of the album.
TRACK 6: “The A Song (Laid In Your Arms)” – 9.5/10
Like “Best Thing You Never Had,” “The A Song” is a persistent, powerful march reminiscent of Spiritualized’s harder side. For Spiritualized, longer songs are a common sight, but at over seven minutes long, this song never loses its impact or momentum, delivering guitars and brass that crash against you like waves on the shore. Nothing short of a masterpiece—and another song that was phenomenal live!
TRACK 7: “I’m Coming Home Again” – 10/10
For a lot of Spiritualized albums, the final song is either a sweeping ballad or a mournful, soft ending. “I’m Coming Home Again” is neither of those—and it’s almost more powerful than some examples of both. It’s the longest song on the album at almost 10 minutes long, and like “The A Song,” never loses its momentum all that time. But unlike the former, it achieves its affect more in its consistent feeling of foreboding. It’s a haunting song—I have an oddly specific feeling that it would mesh perfectly in the second-to-last episode of a TV show, in a scene where the main character gets their revenge, walking away from lighting something on fire. From the first notes to the final strains of the choir, “I’m Coming Home Again” is a looming masterpiece, and an unexpected but perfect ending to a near-flawless album.
I averaged out all my ratings for each track, and it came to about a 9.4! Absolutely accurate to how I feel about Everything Was Beautiful—it’s hard to touch some of Spiritualized’s other albums, but this album establishes itself as one of J Spaceman’s masterpieces. It’s the perfect melding of the sound of 90’s Spiritualized with the hope of 10’s Spiritualized, and it makes for an album with a lasting, haunting, and eternally memorable effect. Thank you, J Spaceman, for another religious experience. 💗
“Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.” – Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
Since this is an album review, consider the entire album 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 you’ve all had a lovely week.
As usual, July has been sWELTERING here, so there have been several afternoons that I’ve felt like I’ve almost melted into a puddle. (Luckily, I’m still in one piece 😜) Somehow, I’ve read a bunch this week? Other than the fact that half of the books I’ve read have been a little bit shorter (in the 200 page zone), I’ve just sped through a lot of books. I’ve been on a fantasy kick for no apparent reason, but I’m only now being satiated by The Iron Flower. But, my library’s slowly reopening, and there’s now curbside pickup for holds without appointments, so I got to have my first library haul since the pandemic started!
Other than that, it’s been a nice week. I binge-watched all of Over the Garden Wall in one go on Monday night (shhh, each episode is only…10 minutes long…I swear…), made some slow progress on my puzzle, FaceTimed a close friend of mine (who I got to rant about Aurora Burning with), and watched What We Do in the Shadows. So other than the heat, I’ve enjoyed the first week and a half of July, I think.
As far as NaNoWriMo goes, I’m already halfway through my goal of 5,000 words for my short story, and I’m…around the middle? I think? There’s a period of several time jumps leading up to the climax (part of it involves watching a baby grow up, so…), but we’re…getting there. My hunch is that it’ll get to about 6,000 or 7,000 words once it’s finished. But I’m enjoying myself so far. 🙂
Oh, and before I get to everything else, big thank you to Beck @ SMELLFOY CAN READ? for the shoutout on her blog! 💗 (If you don’t follow her already, I highly suggest that you do. Her posts always make me laugh, and she has a formidable arsenal of gifs and quality memes.)
The Bookish Mutant 