u/Neil_reddit09

literally the calmest euphoric song of all time, in absolute love with this idk why people don't care much about this single. with what she was sonically going for on virgin, the stripped back sound, she achieved it best on this song i think

this should've definitely been the first single off of the album, "what was that" just doesn't cut it for me

I was trying to find a good printable poster for Impossible Princess, which (excuse the pun) was downright impossible but i did manage to find this old photo of Kylie at a signing event with Japanese posters in the foreground. Unfortunately couldn't find any other image of these posters so I decided to recreate it! I know the random ass OBI strip may seem out of place or a bit much but I think it fills the empty space so much more effectively, just like the Japanese lettering on the og poster.

lmk y'alls thoughts on this one thanks!

though i agree Weezer posters in the past decade or so have had exceptionally beautiful art but they all feel so non-descript and random I couldn't help but stitch together one using a photoshoot they did in the 2010s with 'The Gathering' tour poster and IT JUST GOES SO WELL TOGETHER but also FEELS BLASPHEMOUS (because different eras) at the same time

hope y'all like this, and feel free to drop any of your favourite posters in the comments thx 🙏

Recently noticed that the songs released previously as singles have a version on album with distinct intros and outros so as to flow seamlessly between songs. Such a minor touch but made a huge difference in my listening experience!

Ohh Goddonna your mind 🥹

"she":

• We, the audience assuming Ava got head writer the job easy peasy in the first 10 minutes
• Ava quitting her job to work for Deborah
• Deborah thinking she could push Ava away easily

Disclaimers:

• I haven't watched S4 or S5 as of yet, so please no spoilers for those!
• Also, major spoilers for the shows "Better Call Saul" and "Veep" down below.

Been on a hacks binge and just finished the season 3 finale, and I am absolutely floored at how great an episode of TV this was.

Within a span of 36 minutes I was elated, on the verge of tears and clapping and cheering by the end. That is an achievement for a piece of media; to draw out a multitude of emotions in such quick succession, or at least that's my criteria.

I for the life of my COULD NOT have predicted those twists. As soon as Deb offered Ava the head writer role, I became delightfully complacent. But only like 10 minutes later, the revelation that Deb had betrayed Ava hit me like a ton of bricks. Ava confronting Deb about this betrayal is such a gut wrenching scene. After having been "matchmakered" serendipitously by Jimmy (love him so much, my favorite character btw) and after all they've been through together, Deb acting like Ava is dispensable to her, after this sudden commitment to "play it safe" and getting to the top at the expense of hurting the people closest to her. Deep down knowing that this very well might be bad for her, as she just clicks with Ava who brings out the best in her. I know Ava is quite codependent on her and has mommy issues, but that's a topic for a different discussion.

It is beyond me why Deb was implying that Ava was the crazy one for expecting the lead writer position, when SHE HAD HERSELF EXPLICITLY OFFERED HER THE EXACT POSITION, not "a writer" but specifically "THE HEAD WRITER". I know I know the catalyst for this was her conversation with the oldhead network exec guy. Her ambition fueled by the fact that she had been denied that opportunity in the past, the reason being she is a controversial WOMAN; the pursuit for what had been the "forbidden fruit" for so long -- essentially overrode every value and relationship she held near her heart. Again, it would've been one thing if she didn't offer the job to Ava, but initially offering it, lying about it and then gaslighting and disrespecting Ava for demanding what had been promised to her was a shitty, shitty thing to do.

And can we talk about the performances OHMYGOD??? The face Ava makes when Deb says "I'm willing to" [lose Ava], before immediately bursting into more tears. It just got me. I have no words. The absolute cherry on top being that solitary tear that ran down Deb's face, the moment Ava turned around and left. It was all just magnificent through and through. Ava's arc has just been a treat to watch.

Lastly, the last scene wherein Ava gets the leverage on Deb, finally having "clawed her way to the top", and stealing the blackmail tactic out of her playbook was SOOO SATISFYING TO WATCH.

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I noticed some interesting parallels to some of my other favorite TV shows, with perfect episodes. (TRUST ME I'M GOING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS)

Again, you have been warned for spoilers!

• The betrayal scene really reminded me of S1E9 of Better Call Saul, wherein our titular character Jimmy is betrayed by his brother, Chuck who has been ostensibly working alongside his brother to get a case settled, but Chuck (here, Deborah) starts to push him out (from the shadows using a scapegoat "bad cop" character (in our case the network executives)) to explain why Jimmy (in our case Ava) didn't get/isn't the right fit for a job. The betrayer in both cases being an older, authority figure who underestimates the capabilities of the protagonist, and think their reason for having done so is unquestionably correct, but is instead clouded by personal biases, as we the audience know. An absolute perfect episode of both shows.
• The scene wherein Ava says that Deb is going to "die alone", because she has basically no one in her life that permanent, implying that is because of Deb taking people in her life for granted. This mirrored the S3E5 of BCS where Jimmy says the same exact line to again, his brother Chuck, following the fallout of a nasty court battle between them.
• This same scene also indirectly parallels the series finale of Veep, in which our protagonist Selina Meyer, now having FINALLY become president via election after so long (here, Deborah FINALLY getting the Late Night Show she always desired) burned SO many bridges to get where she is, especially sacrificing even her closest confidante, her bagman Gary; scapegoating him for a scandal that could've put a dent in her career. While Deb's example is not THAT extreme, her "sacrificing" Ava (her ace, the reason why she is today where she is in the first place) after achieving that dream, just felt horrible to watch.
• Ava mentioning Deb's lonely death, (assuming she continues down this path of burning bridges with the people closest to her) is clearly reflected in the scene where a shell of her former self and morally bankrupt, albeit teary-eyed Selina, very detachedly glancing at her empty oval office to see how lonely she really is, after she has reached the top but at the expense of the VERY human relationships that got her this far.

The jaw-dropping twists in this episode of Hacks were just phenomenal and are really rivaled only by the likes of BCS S6E7 "Plan and Execution", for me which is another 10/10 episode of TV.

TLDR; Easily one of the best TV episodes I've watched. Thankyou for reading through this unhinged 2 am rant but I FEEL SO ALIVE RIGHT NOW ASDFGDBHW

Would love to know what you all think!

Juliana as well as Iono's backgrounds scratch a very specific itch in my brain 😩

very proud of this assortment, was elated after I finally pulled Juliana!!!

Also stupid question but is the ipod storage capacity affected by the battery? Cause I'm seeing batteries for same generation but for different storage capacities.

After plugging ipod into a wall charger it seemingly charges for a bit and "charged" message flashes on startup, but after going into the menu it displays low battery. Anyone have an idea as to why this might be happening?

Seviper is so goated I adore the design and overall vibe of it

With the arrival of my final CD today, I can confidently say that I have completed my collection after (a little more than) a year; started in March of last year -- all because I filled up my designated shelf lol

This may seem a little less considering the timeframe of my collection, but had like 90% of these imported internationally (which often took months), as CDs aren't big in a 3rd world country such as mine. This collection also shows a heavy skew towards pop, and not very many different artists as I tended to buy in lots. But again, these are albums and compilations I absolutely adore!

Having experienced the joy of collecting physical media, I would love to expand my collection in the future as my music taste evolves more and more, but this is it for the foreseeable future.

I have managed to nab most of my 10/10 albums; the top 3 and top 10 + honorable mentions (slide 3 and 4 respectively) are as follows:

1. Imaginal Disk - Magdalena Bay: I haven't heard a better album PERIOD, just a magnificent, otherworldly experience.

2. Behaviour (FL) - Pet Shop Boys: Brilliant, lush, intelligent synthpop with a sheen of poignancy; deeply moving.

3. Pinkerton - Weezer: Incredibly cathartic and honest, one of the best explorations of sex and relationships from a male POV and not to mention, highly replayable. This album inspired me to learn guitar!

4. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You - Caroline Polachek: Beautifully crafted melodic compositions, excellent vocals with immaculate lyricism and art direction.

5. Very - Pet Shop Boys: Pop music at its finest; VERY danceable and PSB's finest effort to date, considered among the best in their incredible discography along with Behaviour (which it complements greatly).

6. Brat Remix - Charli xcx: This album ruled 2024 for a reason; one of the latest musical monoculture moments, as far as my memory serves. Oh and also this album came at a pivotal time in my journey as a music listener as well as at the time when I feel I was happiest in life.

7. Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen: Legendary album from a legendary artist; just pure class from start to finish. Thunder Road, BTR, and Jungleland have my eyes numb and my vocal chords inflamed from belting out each and every lyric by the time this album ends.

8. E•MO•TION - Carly Rae Jepsen: Another bulletproof pop album, with its nods to 80s synthpop without being too pandering or derivative. Prismatic, peppy and poignant when it needs to be, this is THE pop album of the 2010s.

9. Yes - Pet Shop Boys: An underrated (and yet another PSB) pick, but has some of my favourite songs OAT ("Did You See Me Coming?" holding that honor primarily), but in general has great electro pop hooks and trademark intelligent lyrics you would expect from PSB.

10. Erotica - Madonna: Best Madonna album idc; one of the best explorations of sex and relationships but from a female POV, with great hooks and wonderfully cheeky, but earnest lyricism. Though I hate how people overlooked this album when it came out and focussed on the controversies instead.

Honorable mentions being:

11. White Album - Weezer: One of the first albums I think of when I think of summer. Second best Weezer album afaic, loaded back to front with bangers. And not to mention, those guitar solos.

12. Ray of Light - Madonna: TIMELESS, TRANSCENDENT, BOUNDARY PUSHING, in every sense of those words, especially sonically. She is the queen of pop for a reason.

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My setup although, isn't much to write home about as it is just a Sony Psyc series CD walkman that functions well with some good quality wired headphones and a portable speaker.

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Thanks for reading this far, I loved sharing this with all of you!

Please let me know your faves from this collection and I would love any and all of your recommendations!!!

long live STS Lucario, probably one of my favourite arts ever

edit: I meant CLINCHED y'all 😭😭😭