u/JustOtterlyConfused

Hi Stays! I wanted to share with you this photo I took a few days ago of this ad for THIS&THAT in the French metro!

The angle is not the best because I couldn’t stop (never stop in the metro please, especially in the middle of the lane hahah!), but I was both surprised and proud to see them here.

Don’t hesitate to share your photos of the THIS&THAT ad campaign in your cities/countries! 🥰

Hi mapmakers! I’m back with another question.

How many tributaries is too many tributaries?

I hand-drew these two rivers based on the Po and Tiber rivers in Italy. The hydrologic maps I used had a lot of tributaries for each river, but I’m scared it is too much for this map.

For some context, this is a map for an area populated by merchant city-states that rely heavily on maritime trade (and inland navigation).

The map I’m taking inspiration from (slide 3) does have a lot of rivers and tributaries, but I find it a bit too cramped.

What are your thoughts?

Hi everyone! I hope you guys are doing well here.

Following the warm welcome for my first map (by the way, thank you so much!), I’m back with a new WIP.

I’m still in the early stages of this map, but I’m unsure about how to place my coastline, and I can’t yap to anyone but you! So, I need to hear your thoughts!

The first picture shows the initial placement I made a few days ago; the second is the revised version I made today.

For some context, this coastline borders a gulf, with the sea at the “bottom” of the map. To the north (top), there’s a huge mountain range that won’t be depicted because it doesn’t really influence the population of this region (and I’m currently not in the mood to draw mountains lol).

The area will be populated by merchant city-states (image the Italian city-states during the Renaissance), and rely heavily on maritime trade.

I’d say I’m 85-90% sure to keep the revised version, but I’m still very open to your opinions! And if you think of anything I might have missed, feel free to let me know. Thank you!

EDIT: the 3RACHA podcast appears as the picture because I mentioned and quoted them! :)

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting on this sub, and at the moment I’m unsure if it’s truly a “harsh” opinion, but it could be sensitive depending on how we discuss it (and I hope, respectfully, for everyone, of course).

Before we start. I’ll mention groups, actually one in particular: this is not glazing. I’m only referencing them because they recently shared more insights into their process of creating music, which I find very enriching. This post is not an invitation to blindly praise them or criticise them without substance; rather discuss their views as insiders and music producers, and consider this in relation to how we consume music nowadays. If you have other examples of artists and, in particular K-pop artists, please don’t hesitate to share!

Also, keep in mind I’m opening this discussion as someone who:
- hasn’t been on social media for a year and a half, and has no idea what’s trending at the moment;
- doesn’t know much about the K-pop industry. I only listen to a few groups, and I’m not even sure if some of them are truly K-pop;
- mostly enjoys rock music, especially underground bands at the moment.

Let’s begin! And beware, it’s going to be lengthy because I’m a yapper! Thanks in advance to those who will read the entire thing, I promise it’s interesting :)

In their recent podcast episode, 3RACHA discussed songwriting, and, at some point, the process behind choosing title tracks with one question: what does a title track need?

To summarise their answers briefly, they had four criteria for a good TT: a song that hooks the listener, that feels familiar yet fresh (meaning it still fits one’s own colour), suitable for the stage, and with simple lyrics that don’t end up sounding corny/cheesy.

This last point about lyrics is especially interesting to me, as one of the main complaints I often see on K-pop subs is that lyrics tend to be repetitive, empty, and overly corny. And I believe it is a serious challenge.

To this, Chan mentioned that, the main trick in making songs (particularly title tracks) is to have lyrics that are easy to remember, without people becoming sick of them too fast. Changbin seemed to agree. He explained that his standards for good lyrics have evolved over time: initially, he thought good lyrics needed to be cool by fussing over details, with good words and metaphors (which are important for a rap songs, for example); now, he believes that lyrics (for a band song) should be simple enough for listeners, but yet, still convey the right message and theme.

Apart from highlighting how complex it is to produce songs, especially in the mainstream industry, I find it really fascinating that lyrics are often becoming more important than the beat (and I’m saying this as a rock fan who could listens to only guitar riffs for hours). And I’ve noticed the same in people’s reviews of new albums: the composition and production of a song are frequently overlooked in favour of discussing lyrics. But not the meaning of lyrics. The nature of lyrics.

Many people criticise short, meaningless, empty, repetitive lyrics. But why are we served this kind of lyrics? What makes producers think this is what the public wants?

My personal (short) answer is social media. But before I explain, I think Han offered a deeper insight, by picking up on something I’ve been thinking about for a while. He said:

”Something I feel is that listeners’ ears have changed too. Back then, even if the lyrics were long and hard, people memorised them all. From my standpoint as a fan, not just songs by artists I liked, but so many artists’ lyrics and melodies and such, I knew them. But now, even though lyrics have gotten simpler, almost everyone only knows the hook.”

I believe this is where the problem lies. With the rise and increasing influence of social media in our lives, we are no strangers to short, simple and, as some like to call it, “brain-rotting” content. People seem less interested in deeper meanings, and sitting down to listen to a song from start to finish (even less an album). They don’t bother to research lyrics’ translations or meanings, they don’t memorise them, apart from the 30 seconds they passively listen to on loop on TikTok.

Close to this idea Han also added that one shouldn’t chase trends too blindly (which I agree with); however, one cannot be too detached from trends either (which I also agree with). We can’t deny that, if you want your art to sell, you need to make it visible on social media. The only way to do so is by connecting with audiences through trending content.

I know what I am saying might seem like a broad generalisation, but from my perspective, anyone who spends time on subs like this one, discussing music (critically), doesn’t necessarily fit into this category. But, we’re not many. And currently, from my outsider’s view, it feels like this new way of consuming of music has become the norm. And as someone who loves music and art in general, I don’t think this is good news (and I could also link this to the use of GenAI in arts, but this post is already too lengthy).

I think we should prepare ourselves for an influx of “easy“ songs because, in our over-connected, social media-driven world, this is what grabs the attention: simple lyrics over a well-worn beat that can be listened to in just 30 seconds, on repeat. That’s what sells. And cash is, and will forever be, king.

I encourage you to watch the episode, as well as the first one of course, which explores 3RACHA’s past more deeply. I highly recommend this podcast if you’re interested in songwriting, music producing or even art in general. The guys are funny (as always) yet very mature and professional, which I particularly appreciate.

Thank you so much if you’ve read the whole thing. I know it was a lot, but I struggle being concise sometimes. And I really wanted to share about this and hear your opinions. Feel free to comment, I’d love to discuss this with you!

Hi everyone!
My previous post got deleted and after re-reading the rules I think I understood why so I’m giving it another try, hoping I won’t make another gaffe. Sorry by the way for that.

So here’s the map of the country I’m currently working on. I did this map a few months ago and I’m still very proud of how it came out. I mostly took inspiration from real coastlines (bonus point to whoever guesses which country it is!) that I rearranged for my needs.

Some lore: this is the eastern peninsula of a continent, mostly hilly and densely forested. It is also very misty (the name of the country comes from that) for worldbuilding reasons. Populations live near the deltas in most cases, but recently, because of the floods, many people are leaving them for the highlands.

Tool-wise, this is entirely done with Procreate and a free pack of mapmaking brushes I found. I edited the map with Affinity to add locations names. This is the “blank” version as I still need to review my conlang.

I’m not really planning on redoing this map because I really like it (and I’m scared to redo it after spending so much time on it haha!) but I would love to hear your thoughts about it, as well as your feedback and tips for future maps :)