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Another twenty because I can already tell this will take a while.
http://i.imgur.com/zA35vij.png #70 - "Still Falling for You" by Ellie Goulding Spoiler: Girl knows how to do an excellent soundtrack single for a terrible movie. #69 - "Just Say" by KDA & Tinashe Spoiler: It isn't QUITE as good as 'Turn the Music Louder (Rumble)' and featuring Tinashe is basically asking for a flop to happen, but it pulses and beeps along rather determinedly nonetheless. #68 - "You're the One" by KAYTRANADA & Syd the Kid Spoiler: It was tough to pick a second single from 99.9% to join the other one yet to come - especially ahead of tracks featuring Craig David and AlunaGeorge - but this is one of the catchiest retro things heard all year. #67 - "Warning Call" by CHVRCHES Spoiler: Look, if it takes an appearance on a random video game's soundtrack, CHVRCHES will appear on these lists until they disband. #66 - "Cranes in the Sky" by Solange Spoiler: I do love the fur coat in the video, and I do generally really like the song, but I've yet to hear the click in my head that makes me agree that this is one of the best 10 songs of the year like Pitchfork seem vehement about. #65 - "Self Control" by Frank Ocean Spoiler: It's just quite cute really #64 - "Get Bigger / Do U Luv" by NxWorries Spoiler: Anderson .Paak is the best thing I've found this year and that's including this recipe for peanut butter brittle. #63 - "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)" by Dua Lipa Spoiler: In my head, this is the song I have to save myself from elimination with on season 11 of RuPaul's Drag Race. I'm not sure what I'll do but I'll enjoy it. #62 - "Distant Sky" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Spoiler: One of the saddest duets I think I've ever heard - if you didn't hear, his son died a year or two ago falling from a cliff face, and the way his voice strains when singing "they told us our dreams would outlive us, but they lied" is just a bit devastating really. #61 - "Higher" by Carly Rae Jepsen Spoiler: (yes I'm aware the mood of this countdown shifts drastically) The best song on Side B. #60 - "Dollar Days" by David Bowie Spoiler: I think it's probably my personal favourite from Blackstar but I've placed it a bit low for reasons I'm not entirely sure of. #59 - "Pneumonia" by Danny Brown Spoiler: Beginning of the music video looks like one of Dezzy's creative deaths. The song gets progressively louder and it's a lot of fun. #58 - "Middle" by DJ Snake & BiPolar Sunshine Spoiler: Was briefly torn on which of Snake's big singles this year to include in this but I definitely warmed to this one more than the Bieber track. A bit more laidback and unassuming. #57 - "Adore You" by NAO & Abhi/Dijon Spoiler: NAO seems like the ideal sort of artist that people on here would like if they'd give her the time of day, she's the right mix of fka twigs, Dawn Richard and AlunaGeorge and the album's pretty great. #56 - "Magnetised" by Tom Odell Spoiler: I don't like admitting to liking Tom Odell songs, so it's handy that it's only happened three times so far. #55 - "True Disaster" by Tove Lo Spoiler: EXCELLENT POP SONG ALERT. #54 - "Consideration" by Rihanna & SZA Spoiler: There isn't a vocal or word on this track that isn't fascinating to me. #53 - "What's It Gonna Be?" by Shura Spoiler: I sort-of envy anyone who bought 'Nothing's Real' without having heard any of its tracks before, because it's been a really trying and irritatingly slow build-up with roughly 7 of the tracks floating around already. Of the new ones, this was the best. #52 - "Thinking Bout You" by Ariana Grande Spoiler: One of those songs that gets better and better as it goes along. #51 - "I Can Feel It Coming" by The Weeknd & Daft Punk Spoiler: An awful lot better than 'Starboy'. And it's really annoying how 'meh' the album was. |
Into the top half, then.
http://i.imgur.com/zA35vij.png #50 - "One Strike" by All Saints Spoiler: This was far better than any comeback single from All Saints had any right to be - but then the same was true in 2006 when they released the fifth greatest song of all time, 'Rock Steady'. They may only come back every ten years with an excellent masterpiece so get your seats prepared for 2026. #49 - "Raging" by Kygo & Kodaline Spoiler: I'm not quite sure how this is featuring an entire band because presumably everyone apart from the singer was just sat there going "yeah that's nice", but then what I've heard of Kodaline was trite and boring so never mind. This might be Kygo's best song yet. #48 - "Talk to Me" by Run the Jewels Spoiler: Ruining everyone's end-of-2016 lists by releasing their album on Boxing Day, Run the Jewels' third album came about with this first single. They've spent the time since the 2nd campaigning for Bernie Sanders, oddly, and look how well that went :( "Went to war with the Devil and Shaytan, he wore a bad toupee and a spray tan" might be the most defining quote about Trump. #47 - "BeFoUr" by ZAYN Spoiler: I know Pillowtalk was the biggest hit and was very good in its own right but this was my favourite of his album. It's all very well being the best part of a very good boyband, one of the most attractive men in the world, having a very nicely laid out Instagram feed and dating a supermodel but did he really have to release a strong solo album too? #46 - "Feel No Ways" by Drake Spoiler: I'm still in that awkward balance between "really liking one or two songs of his" and "not really understanding his God status" but that's fine because it's not as if I'm going without or anything. 'Views' was pretty decent though and this was its best track. #45 - "The Flute" by Petite Meller Spoiler: She still only seems to get media attention from the sorts of "SHE'S APPROPRIATING CULTURE!!!" clickbait nonsense, which is frustrating, because she's got a pretty good success rate of "releasing one song a year that's incredibly joyous and fun and catchy and briefly reminiscent of what happiness used to be". #44 - "Got It Good" by Kaytranada and Craig David Spoiler: Is this the best song whose title contains a portion of a Julie Goodyear catchphrase? Until Nicki Minaj storms back into 2017 with "TALK SHITE" you bet your ass it is! Craig David's had a good year (:hehe:) hasn't he? #43 - "Cold Little Heart" by Michael Kiwanuka Spoiler: Look, I know this is over ten minutes long, so I'll just leave it here and say "it's very nice" and we'll both look the other way and know that no one's going to click it here. #42 - "There's Alot Going On" by Vic Mensa Spoiler: Still waiting for the album... #41 - "Blood On Me" by Sampha Spoiler: He seems to be getting quite a lot of 2017 buzz (although I'm sure he appeared on a Drake album years ago so this is a bit slow now). This is a very good song. #40 - "This Girl" by Kungs vs. Cookin' on 3 Burners Spoiler: ba ba ba ba da ba ba ba ba ba ab ababababaa #39 - "Subways" by The Avalanches Spoiler: It's an animated video full of graphic innuendos set to a rather groovy song so yes that's all good #38 - "Real Friends" by Kanye West Spoiler: The Life of Pablo wasn't brilliant - at least by Kanye West Album Standards, so it'll still feature relatively highly in my albums list - but it did have four or five excellent songs and this was one. #37 - "Last Dance" by Dua Lipa Spoiler: The start of what was the beginning of The Year of Dua Lipa. #36 - "In Common" by Alicia Keys Spoiler: This album cycle seems to have been signposted by her refusal to wear makeup, which is rather a shame. 'Here' was a pretty strong comeback. #35 - "I'm In Control" by AlunaGeorge Spoiler: Their second album was really rather 'meh' but this was as great as - if not better than - any of the singles from their first album/with Disclosure. #34 - "Hurts" by Emeli Sande Spoiler: There isn't a queer in the world whose heart isn't set aflame by the claps and drums in this. Best heard whilst setting fire to an ex's car. #33 - "Woman" by Angel Olsen Spoiler: :flutter: #32 - "Kids" by OneRepublic Spoiler: Frontman Ryan Tedder usually saves his greatest songwriting for other popstars, so it was a bit of a surprise to see OneRepublic doing something actually worthwhile in 2016. A fantastic pop song. #31 - "Sorry" by Beyoncé Spoiler: It gave birth to the greatest mystery of 2016: who is Becky with the Good Hair? Is it Rebecca Adlington? Yes. |
if laura mvula doesn't feature i'm hacking GSA reviews
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Emeli Sande Hurts is really good
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RTJ :clap1: not sure which song off it is my favorite right now, but the one with the Danny feature slaps.
Love that Avalanches tune as well, never seen the video for it. How weird :joker: |
I'll post the top ten one at a time tomorrow because that's quite dramatic isn't it
http://i.imgur.com/zA35vij.png #30 - "Freedom" by Beyoncé & Kendrick Lamar Spoiler: I was really torn between putting Daddy Lessons, All Night or this in here because all are amazing, but I guess the Kendrick verse tipped this one over the edge. #29 - "When It Rain" by Danny Brown Spoiler: Uuuuuugh this is so good. The clock running throughout gives it a full descent into madness vibe and as usual Danny is on fire :clap1: #28 - "This Ain't Over" by Alex Newell Spoiler: I think this is a contender for the best vocal performance of the year tbh. The song begins with Rocky Horror lips and it's the most dominant genre in pop music right now but Alex's delivery, style and general joy tip it far away from being over-done #27 - "Black Beatles" by Rae Sremmurd & Gucci Mane Spoiler: I kinda assumed Mike WiLL Made It would be a passing fad and would be producing songs that peak at #89 by now but this came along. It didn't even need a meme, it's excellent #26 - "The Big Big Beat" by Azealia Banks Spoiler: Whether it's just been forgotten because it was released at the top of the year, or people are justifiably blacklisting her and pretending this wasn't iconic, is immaterial, because this was one of the house anthems of the year. Kinda sad watching the budgets for her videos dry up though #25 - "Strive" by A$AP Ferg & Missy Elliott Spoiler: Every year's "end of" list requires a Missy song quite high up and this was the best of them in 2016. Super catchy, motivational and funny. #24 - "You Don't Know Love" by Olly Murs Spoiler: Obviously everyone and their aunt is vying for that Taylor Swift "Style" sound now and it's a commendable effort because it's resulting in some fantastic bops. #23 - "False Alarm" by Matoma & Becky Hill Spoiler: Tropical house is generally wearing a bit thin now but any genre is capable of producing the occasional pinnacle. I'm sure acid jazz will have its moment soon. Becky continues to "appear on the occasional nice song" and do little else, bless her. #22 - "On Hold" by the xx Spoiler: Jamie xx's solo album was one of my favourite things about 2015 and the tracks with fellow xx bandmates on it were my favourites too, so for them to reform so soon and release a third album was just the tickets. The sample in this is catchy but the centrepiece is their classic dreampop duet sound. #21 - "Lazarus" by David Bowie Spoiler: Obviously one of the most striking videos/songs of the year so yes #20 - "Burn the Witch" by Radiohead Spoiler: When this was popped online I briefly hoped that 'A Moon-Shaped Pool' would be a hark back to the Bends days. It wasn't, of course, but it was a nice month or two of this growing more and more menacing. The video alone... more kids shows should be cartoon/plasticine replicas of The Wicker Man. #19 - "Heart Don't Stand a Chance" by Anderson .Paak Spoiler: Malibu sort-of reminds me of the feelgood nostalgia and well-produced magnificence of To Pimp a Butterfly, and this is one of the groovier cuts. #18 - "Drone Bomb Me" by ANOHNI Spoiler: I didn't quite have "Naomi Campbell crying whilst lipsyncing a now female Anohni (formerly Antony & the Johnsons) song about drone bombs in thigh-high boots" too high up my list of predictions for 2016 but oh boy it's one of the better revelations of the year. The song is gorgeously produced and Anohni's voice is chilling as ever. #17 - "Pink + White" by Frank Ocean Spoiler: Beyonce is somewhere in the background providing vocals on this but Frank's voice is centre-stage. #16 - "Real Love" by Florrie Spoiler: This should have been #1 for at least eight weeks. If Taylor pissing Swift had released it it may have been. Chorus of the year. :clap1: #15 - "Your Best American Girl" by Mitski Spoiler: I really had a thing for the guy in the video but then my head associated him with "looking a bit like Zachary Quinto" and for some reason that killed it for me. Luckily the song gets better each time I hear it. #14 - "Frankie Sinatra" by The Avalanches Spoiler: Oh god I'm so glad they came back :flutter: if you want a music video that best describes TiBB whilst BB11 was airing then this is it. #13 - "Tilted" by Christine and the Queens Spoiler: Never quite hit the top of the charts (or indeed the top ten) but not to worry; it made a strong impression and her album has been dominating 2016. This song is perfect. #12 - "Chill Out" by Ray BLK & SG Lewis Spoiler: OK so I wasn't expecting her to actually win the Sound of 2017 but I'm ecstatic about it. This song is ****ing gorgeous. I know the term "the next Lauryn Hill" gets thrown about all the time but this - and her mini album 'Durt' - is one of the purest and most exciting prospects in years. (Plus the video has African trans women petting rabbits so that's amazing as well). #11 - "If I Knew" by Bat for Lashes Spoiler: With every Bat for Lashes album cycle comes a ballad that makes me want to cry and this is that song. The album tells the story of a bride whose fiance dies on the way to their wedding, and she goes on the honeymoon without him. As well as probably being the premise of Darkwood Isle this year, it's also rather beautiful. and it's just occurred to me that I've completely forgotten to put any Bon Iver in this list but I'm sure that won't really upset anyone here |
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the new bon iver is pretty good, but i can't really take it seriously with the moronic titles. so self important.
not even sure what the standout from it is. maybe "00000 million." even typing it out is absurd. |
Right let's get this bit over with.
http://i.imgur.com/zA35vij.png #10 - "Best to You" by Blood Orange & Empress Of Every year seems to have a really 10/10 Dev Hynes track and this was the 2016 edition of that legacy. The whole album is pretty much as solid and enjoyable as this but I had to pick one song!!!! |
#9 - "Glowed Up" by KAYTRANADA & Anderson .Paak One of those songs that, for me, I instantly disliked but then found myself humming it and wanting to go back and watch the video again. A little bit extra-terrestrial sounding, and the completely different outro takes me by surprise each time I hear it |
#8 - "Formation" by Beyoncé That week back in February where she dropped this just before the Super Bowl was one of the most exciting weeks in music in a long, long time. Lyrically excellent, vocally powerful and the beat is super catchy. Did the hot sauce cost Hillary the election, though? |
#7 - "Blessings" by Chance the Rapper Just really infectious and has so much going on in it that something new grabs my attention with repeated listens |
#6 - "Never Be Like You" by Flume & Kai Going to forever bug me that this was huge in Australia and America but made absolutely no impression over here. Guess we were too busy enjoying Jonas Blue in Spring... smh. Actually well-crafted, original and featuring a great vocal from Kai who I hope doesn't turn out to be a one-hit wonder. |
#5 - "Somebody Else" by The 1975 The best musical turnaround of 2016 came from the 1975, whose debut in...2013, was it? Was one of the most insufferably bland debut albums in a long time. They may have adopted a touch of pretense with the newer album title and the 3 minute intro on this video, but that's just fine if they're going to follow it up with gorgeous pop music. |
#4 - "I Need You" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds The whole album is a little difficult to stomach because it deals with the (widely publicised) death of his teenage son a few years ago, but the pain in his vocal on this track in particular is what gut-punched me the most |
Bat for Lashes to soundtrack Darkwood Isle?
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#3 - "Kiss It Better" by Rihanna I know it's quite a bold claim to make, but I'll make it: this is the greatest song Rihanna has ever released. It's straight from the turning point of the 80s and 90s when heartbreakers were being released by Chris Isaak and Alannah Myles and is just effortlessly sexy. |
#2 - "Into You" by Ariana Grande Really deserved a better video. There should have been insane hair-whipping choreography to this. At least Don Benjamin is pretty. |
#1 - "Ultralight Beam" by Kanye West (and roughly 84 other people) This honestly gives me chills every time I hear it. It was going to take a lot to top this when it surfaced back at the start of 2016 and nothing ever did. Chance's verse is excellent, Kelly Price's vocal is transcendent, and then there's the choir throughout that make you question if you do actually believe. |
:clap1:
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Plowing on. These aren't ranked bc there's only ten of them.
http://i.imgur.com/GHK4P4t.png "Voodoo In My Blood" by Massive Attack & Young Fathers Getting a celebrity in your music video isn't a terribly notable feat in itself in 2016, so it's best to aim for the unexpected: Rosamund Pike (most recently of Gone Girl fame) here is chased through an underpass by a robotic ball that controls her body. It's a captivating video and - minor eye-stabbing aside - oddly satisfying too. Her hair at the end makes her look like a horror villain. "Kill v. Maim" by Grimes A few of these are videos for music released in 2015 but oh well. Depending on who you ask, some would say this is what Tumblr thinks it's like and others would say it looks a hell of a lot of fun. A great mix of comic book heroes, gothic costume and standard romp. "Angels" by Chance the Rapper & Sabi Speaking of comic book heroes... it feels like a long time since rappers made music videos that were actually fun rather than long adverts for luxury designers or bleak social commentaries. A great advert for Chicago, mind. "Pull Up" by ABRA I've admittedly only watched this video since Popjustice championed her about half a year ago - apologies if it turns out she's actually amazing - but this video should've really inspired me to look at more. It's a neon-lit heaven, if heaven can really include someone using the toilet in a Ghostface mask. "What's It Gonna Be?" by Shura The classic high school setting is familiar here but the choices of fashion, romantic affection and general "happy ending for queer people" are (sadly) new and refreshing. Really fun, quite sweet and the song being excellent helps. "Subways" by the Avalanches All of their videos have been excellent - but then that's been true since 1999 (this may be the greatest of all time) - but this animated train ride full of innuendo just about pips the rest to this list. Plus it was my avatar for a while, so... "Formation" by Beyonce yes it's an obvious pick i know but you don't just release videos like this and then let shaun from tibb ignore it on those review threads that like 8 people read "Daydreaming" by Radiohead Didn't really grab me as a song until this video was released, and the fact it's directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master, There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights) helps cement it as one of the year's greats. A relaxing yet disturbing trip through hundreds of random doors. "Gosh" by Jamie xx Also a 2015 song but shhh. Romain Gavras has been making stunning and all-time great music videos for the likes of M.I.A. (Born Free/Bad Girls), Jay Z/Kanye (No Church in the Wild) and Justice (multiple) for a while now but this may be his greatest video to date. Visually striking from the first second, and the choreography - particularly the scene of everyone running towards the Eiffel Tower - is brilliant. I know I said these weren't in order but this is a clear #1 for me. "Lazarus" by David Bowie Oops forgot the 10th. If he hadn't died I might have made a joke about this being Scott in 40 years when Grindr finally shuts down. Instead it's just a music legend facing death in a brave and novel way. Pfft. |
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(I think I actually prefer the Since I Left You video to Frontier Psychiatrist though, even though I prefer FP as a song)
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Yeah both are brilliant :love:
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I'm picturing Scott malnourished at the moment because I haven't finished this yet (sorry! work! rarely use my laptop! etc!) so i'll try and get these done before January ends because it's quite clearly 2017 now isn't it
http://i.imgur.com/7tAXlGG.png I appear to have listened to 93 albums in 2016. Which is quite a good number but probably missing an awful lot of those that've been picking up praise in many other places. Apologies to the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Jenny Hval and Young Thug... didn't find the time, soz. Of the 43 that don't make my top fifty, the ones that came closest were (51st-61st) Justice, Azealia Banks, Empire of the Sun, The Weeknd, NxWorries, KING, one of Frank Ocean's, AlunaGeorge, The Naked and Famous, AURORA and the Kings of Leon. I'd apologise to them but they either made albums that were average or just not good enough. In fact if you just want a list of scores I gave to the ones that didn't make the cut, then here: Spoiler: 2016 was a great year for albums. Here's the first ten I really liked. #50 - "SremmLife 2" by Rae Sremmurd http://cdn-images.deezer.com/images/...000-80-0-0.jpg So obviously there was Black Beatles, which everyone knows. But after listening to their debut album I didn't have a lot to anticipate about this one. It's not a classic, clearly, but it's surprisingly solid and has a number of great tracks: Set the Roof is great fun, Real Chill lives up to its name and Came a Long Way is well-produced. #49 - "HERE" by Alicia Keys http://is3.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/.../200x200bb.png I think with a little bit of trimming this could've been an excellent comeback, but as it stood it was just a little too long. Some strong retro R&B on her singles "Blended Family" and "In Common", and a politically charged album in a year of many, many politically-charged albums meant it was never destined to stand out but it's got its own merits. #48 - "Mind of Mine" by ZAYN http://t04.deviantart.net/zNHMW_KSmg...ed-d9wqyur.jpg Obviously having great singles is a good start for a pop album, and 'Wrong' with Kehlani, 'Like I Would' and 'Pillowtalk' are all just that. But it's strong elsewhere too: buzz tracks 'It's You' and 'Befour' are both solid, and the album is well-crafted and a hell of a lot more musically diverse and challenging than the direction his bandmates were headed in (both together, and in their apparent solo efforts - none of which have come close to beating Zayn's yet). #47 - "Living Life Golden" by Elliphant http://d2752rta4dscqv.cloudfront.net...1badb1c9bf.jpg OK so the album cover is pretty terrible, and the idea of a white girl singing in the voice that she has is going to alienate her from a lot, but if you're going to get behind a popstar that tackles current music trends head-on and emerges with at least five excellent singles - Love Me Badder, Where Is Home, Spoon Me, Step Down, Love Me Long - on a debut album, then this is a good place to start. MŘ may have usurped her crown (which is a bit rude really considering she's on this album too) but there's room for more than 1, surely? #46 - "Always Strive and Prosper" by A$AP Ferg http://d2752rta4dscqv.cloudfront.net...7e442f2a81.jpg It takes a LOT to make me like a song with Chris Brown on it, but A$AP Ferg's album achieved it with 'I Love You'. Big Sean, Missy Elliott, Skrillex, Future and ScHoolboy Q all assist in producing a smorgasbord of A$AP Mob wonder. #45 - "Cloud Nine" by KYGO http://cdn-images.deezer.com/images/...000-80-0-0.jpg He got in a bit of trouble with accusations of plagiarism on the few tracks that we hadn't already heard through smash singles of 2014 and 2015 - you tell me if his intro is the same as this infamous one. But you don't assemble this collection of songs and have people write it off as a 'bad album'. It's not going to be a new experience for many but if any had escaped the past five years without hearing his trademark sound then now would be a good time to dive in. #44 - "i like it when you sleep for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it" by The 1975 https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1647/...80582e66_o.jpg I was not a fan of their debut. It seems so long ago now, because the change in music style on this is staggering. It is still far too lengthy, of course [/things Smithy wouldn't say] but there is so much to enjoy about this that it's silly. Writing the album title has taken it out of me to bestow any more love for now, though. #43 - "Nightride" by Tinashe http://is1.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/.../200x200bb.png It seems like I've been saying forever that I don't quite know where to place Tinashe. Of course this could be interpreted as a compliment if you're trying to pride yourself on your unpredictability and originality but she's often a popstar of "almosts". And comparing her to contemporaries always has an unfortunate tendency to place her second best. But if you were to stumble across 'Nightride' out of nowhere, you would find a gorgeous voice doing satisfying R&B. #42 - "55" by The Knocks https://files.musicmp3.ru/bcovers/alb97736.jpg I stumbled across them purely through chance - but it's been three or four years in the making. Albums of course aren't quite the best format for groups like the Knocks, because this is essentially a collection of marvellous singles, but I'm too entrenched in my ways to consider listening to music in any other format. A star-studded list of features - Carly Rae Jepsen, Wyclef Jean, Alex Newell, Fetty Wap - build a pretty impressive debut. #41 - "Boy King" by Wild Beasts http://is2.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/.../200x200bb.png The last three albums they released (I can't say I'm aware of their debut) all seemed to follow a similar musical direction that, whilst a lot stronger in terms of songwriting than this, grew a little tiresome. Boy King sees them rock up a bit, and the results are odd, but fun. Still a lot worse than Smother/Present Tense though. |
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