Okay, okay, I know I'm a little late to this but you know what? I want to talk about it. I've never been a fan of Machine Gun Kelly's work, I'll start with that. I've liked him when he's been featured in other things, but his original work has never been my vibe really. He's obviously always leaned more toward rap, and that's never been my scene. Can't say it never will be, but it has yet to be for the most part.
However, as I'm sure most of you already know, on September 25 of this year, MGK released his first pop punk album, Tickets to My Downfall. That's so up my ally, so I got curious and looked it up after hearing so many people raving about this change for him. The first song I heard was "forget me too", featuring Halsey, and I absolutely loved that one. I cannot get it out of my head, and I really like the almost Paramore vibes Halsey brought into the mix. Plus I kind of love the angsty, post-break up, you're still attached but trying to fight it vibes. While we're on the topic of Paramore, I really like his cover of "Misery Business." There's something about his voice on that cover that's just perfect. That is a bonus track on the album, for those wondering. There's actually six bonus tracks, but we're not going to get into all of them. We have a lot of ground to cover with this album anyway. I do want to quick mention, "Bodybag" which features Yungblood and Bert McCracken from The Used. I straight up didn't know the song existed until I was discussing this album with a friend while working on this review and discovered its on a bonus edition that I did not purchase. And excuse me....MGK, WHY did this track not make it on the main album? Its super catchy, their voices flow incredibly well and its actually got a handful of depth to it. That is one slight issue I found with this album. While its all very catchy, and hits most of the typical pop punk points, I found it was lacking a bit of depth. Throughout the album, it very much so felt like MGK was stuck in quarantine, listening to a lot of pop punk and just went, "Huh, you know what? I could totally do this." And made a pop punk narrative. Which is by no means a bad thing in any way. Fiction is its own artform, and its not something that's always discussed when it comes to music. We always think of personal experiences, not just getting inspired and writing about something you've simply just created. That's an artform in and of itself, but one of the things I love about pop punk and emo music is the emotion. It could just be the place I'm in mentally right now, but I didn't really connect with most of these songs. I found them catchy and fun, and I see the effort and talent, but it feels very much like, "Look at me, I'm emo and edgy now." Several songs gave me that vibe or the "I got my heart broken and I'm going to get drunk and cry about it" energy. Which is most definitely a common theme in pop punk, its crying about your emotions, trying to drown it in various things, or bitching about your home town. Don't pretend you didn't just smirk at that, because I know I did and we all know its true. It definitely sounded like he had a lot of fun making this album, and I love that. Music should be fun to create, and I love that he's branched out. The fact the MGK is able to genre jump and go from rap, to featuring in rock and metal, to making a full pop punk album really show cases his talent a lot. This is definitely one of those albums you throw on in the car while you're out with friends, or as background noise while you clean the house. Its not something you sit down and relate to really, but it doesn't have to be. My favorites honestly are "forget me too", and "concerts for aliens." I already explained "forget me too", but "concert for aliens" not only just felt like he had fun writing it, but has one of those lines you sit there and relate to. "I know that I'm immature but at least I'm not a god damn failure." Its a bit of a simple song, but it fits that millennial vibe of trying your damnest, yet still feeling like you're never quite hitting the mark. You're going through the motions and doing pretty much the opposite of what people want you to do. Plus it had some Blink-182 vibes to it, which is a must for pop punk. Over all, I really approve of this album. I honestly would have never imagined there'd be a day where I'd enjoy an MGK album, but here we are. The day has come. So tell me, what are your thoughts on the album? Or just genre jumping in general? Do you love it when artists try and branch out, or do you think they should stick to their lane? While you're at it, let us know your favorite songs on the album. You can check out Tickets to My Downfall wherever you get your music.
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Immortal Music is nine years old, and I've actually been doing reviews for about ten and a half, technically speaking. Not all of them have made it to the internet, and that's probably for the better in all honesty. But with that in mind, due to how long its been, my opinions have changed on some albums. Some I hated back in the day, I love now, and some that I was borderline obsessed with now fall to the way side for me.
Lately I've reconnected with some friends who share my love of music, and in all honesty, I think that's exactly what I needed in my life. One topic that has come up frequently with them is My Chemical Romance. One day we got on the topic of their last album, Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys. As you can tell by the title, I wanted to revisit this album, because I solidly remember listening to that album for the first time and being very disappointed in it. This album is about to have its TEN YEAR anniversary. Please let that sink in. Also please tell me that shocked someone else as much as it is still shocking me. I had a hard time finding my original review, in the depths of the website, then had my mind completely blown, if that wasn't already obvious. This album came out November 22, 2010. I SOLIDLY thought it was 2012, roughly. As it turns out, I'm just forgetful as fuck, because I originally reviewed the album on June 9, 2011, and I gave it such a crappy review. I gave it a two star rating, started the whole review by saying, "I found Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys to be a huge disappointment. Given, The Black Parade is a hard album to follow, but they could have done ten times better with this one." I also remember verbally saying "If Simple Plan would have done this album, I would have liked it." I actually thought I put it in the the review, I apparently didn't though. I just have one thing to say now....WHAT THE FUCK WAS WRONG WITH ME BACK THEN? Eighteen year old me clearly had zero idea what she was talking about, and it baffles me that this was near the start of my career and yet I still somehow did decently for myself for a while. I digress, excuse me. This is clearly going to be a long one, buckle up. If you've been around for a while, you know I either say very little or way too much. Part of my charm, right? That's what I'm going to keep telling myself. ANYWAY. So I only gave credit to two songs back then were, "Sing" and "The Only Hope For Me Is You." Which I still absolutely love, but my reasonings back then were so plain and basic. I said "Sing" was just catchy -what the fuck was wrong with me? Just catchy? Hell no, its so much more than that, and I'm positive its incredible live. Its basically a song of unity, but I just said it was catchy. Seriously, why didn't anyone call me out on that? "Sing" is still absolutely one of my favorites off of Danger Days, I just apparently have matured in ten years and learned to actually appreciate it for what it was. But I'd also say Destroya is a favorite, and actually for the catchy beat this time, "Planetary (GO!)" as well. I honestly don't think there's a song on the album I don't like now. I do gravitate the most toward "Sing", that I will say. Maybe that's basic, but its genuinely a great song. Is this album my favorite from MCR? No, and frankly, it probably never will be. Is it as awful as I said it was nine years ago? Absolutely not. Its a solid album, and because of its differences from any other work they've ever released, now I'd actually say its a showcase of their true talent. Also if you're wondering, my favorite MCR album is Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. I don't know why I felt like doing this, I just did. I've really been thinking of making this a series, where I revisit old albums I reviewed and seeing how my tastes have changed over the years. There's albums like this one where I'm sure they grew on me, and I went from borderline hating them, to absolutely loving them. Vice versa as well, I'm sure. Phases with music are absolutely a thing. If you guys are interested in that, please actually let me know. Your interactions and encouragement really do impact my motivation to actually write. Also, while you're at it, let me know your thoughts on the Danger Days album? Did you love it from the start, or were you more like me where it had to grow on you? Let me know! You can comment below, over on Facebook, or randomly on Instagram, if you feel so fit. |
InformationAll reviews have the date they were written, the album title, and the band's name, with the exception of Life Starts Now by Three Days Grace and Dear Agony by Breaking Benjamin. Those dates were guessed at, as they were written well before the website began. Archives
February 2022
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