iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Thanks for checking out my thread! One of my goals this year was to listen to a lot of music, and I'd daresay I succeeded. Long live music, may music live forever!

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Fish in a Birdcage - Mentors (12/20/24) No joke, I waited specifically for this album to come out before making this thread. If that's not a vote of confidence, I don't know what is. Fish in a Birdcage's songs are called Rules, and this album is Rule #35 - #46. (We got Rule 34 as a single. 😉)

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Tyler, the Creator - CHROMAKOPIA (11/28/24) This is a strong contender for album of the year. Tyler, the Creator goes to intimate and personal places in this album, without compromising his signature sound and style. It is expansive and yet singular, universal and yet private.

100

Kendrick Lamar - GNX (11/22/24) I debated including this one, because I don't listen to a lot of @kendricklamar.bsky.social. But I *do* listen to a lot of rap, and this right here is a GREAT album of rap music. I guess I need to listen to more Kendrick Lamar, huh?

100

Imogen Heap - What Have You Done To Me? (11/1/24) This isn't an album, but as any Imogen Heap fan knows, a single might as well be an album for how big of a deal it always is. This one is no exception. I do not exaggerate when I say: Imogen Heap is the cutting edge of music.

Nick Lutsko - Haunted (10/25/24) Look, I won't lie - I'm a poser, and I haven't actually listened to this album yet. But, c'mon, it's @nicklutsko.bsky.social. What am I gonna do, not include him? Look, you guys listen to it first, that way you get bragging rights.

100

Sammy Rae & The Friends - Something for Everybody (9/20/24) Another new artist for me, and another great introduction. Sammy Rae and co. take you out for a nice night on the town. They buy you dinner. They hold the door open. They even introduce you to Cool Doug! The title delivers.

100

AWOLNATION - The Phantom Five (8/30/24) This album was released with the news that it may be AWOLNATION's last. Fittingly, it is an homage to the band's every era, echoing elements from all their albums. Well, what can I say? I'm certainly going to miss screaming my head off at their concerts.

100

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Flight b741 (8/9/24) Every six months or so, these guys get together and put every genre they can think of into a blender to see what comes out. This time it's folk + rock + some surprises, and as always, it is a delight.

Glass Animals - I Love You So F***ing Much (7/19/24) A turn from their usual trippiness, this album is a little more strict in its alt rock and strongly evokes bands like Tame Impala. I didn't know Glass Animals could make this kind of sound, and I LOVE it.

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Childish Gambino - Bando Stone and the New World (7/29/24) Hey, didn't he tell us he was done with the label a while back? Well, I'm not complaining! I swear @donaldglover.bsky.social just gets better and better. There is no upper limit.

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Child 306 - AISLING GREEN KISSED THE FAIRY QUEEN (6/29/24) I was recently made aware of the great work of the enigmatic anadvora (this is ALSO Spider-Man's fault, long story) and this little story-EP is just delightful. If you like Ghost Quartet, you'll LOVE this.

Joywave - Permanent Pleasure (5/17/24) In recent years, Joywave's sound has gotten icier and more self-aware. This album feels like the marriage between the new and the old: insane, joyous beats, but language loaded with heavy undertones. It's *delicious.*

WILLOW - empathogen (5/3/24) I'm a born-again WILLOW fan (it's Spider-Man's fault, long story) and this album was my first new release since getting into her music. It made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me smile... It has it all! Including a Deluxe Edition!

St. Vincent - All Born Screaming (4/26/24) BABY WE ARE SO BACK. "All Born Screaming" is evocative of St. Vincent's older work, while at the same time being its own whole thing. Later in the year, she released it again in Spanish!

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Castle Rat - Into the Realm (4/12/24) I just learned of Castle Rat this year, and she's quickly becoming a new favorite. This album is a great introduction to her moody, heavy, industrial rock. She's on Instagram if you want more!

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Beyoncé - COWBOY CARTER (3/29/24) I'll be so for real with you: I'd never listened to a Beyoncé album before. It is no exaggeration to say that this single work instantly turned me into a lifelong fan. It has such a surprising, intimate conversation with its listener.

Elbow - AUDIO VERTIGO (3/22/24) Every Elbow album is like a big piece of candy, but I was especially excited for this one, and boy did it deliver. "Alternative rock" continues to be the "it" genre, in which anything can happen. "Her to the Earth" is a big favorite.

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San Fermin - Arms (2/16/24) Against all human odds, San Fermin keeps finding ways to get sadder. "Arms" is structurally simpler than some of their past albums, but the depth in the lyrics never goes away. Maybe listen to this one alone, while hugging a box of tissues.

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Olivia @deadcanons.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Goji - Year of the Dragon (2/10/24) Ambiance might be a strange place to start, but it's no joke that this @mumble.bsky.social album opened the year for me. I've used it to sleep, to relax, to write, to think... It's lovely. Not the only album the label dropped this year, either!

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Hate this limbo I'm stuck in between Twitter and here 😞

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Olivia @deadcanons.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

Today is my birthday, but more importantly, today is the birthday of two excellent albums of exceptional, timeless music: Shakira's "Laundry Service," and Aesop Rock's "Spirit World Field Guide." If you'd like to pour one out for me, find some time to listen to one of these today.

020

Now all that's left to do is, finally, what the Princess wants. Now our belief in her can be something other than a chain. And that's the end of the game! Just kidding. No it isn't. Happy Halloween. Go play Slay the Princess. store.steampowered.com/app/1989270/...

000

Now that we have admitted the truth, the illusion of false belief is shattered. It is time to go. So great is the shackle we have broken that even the Narrator is in support of our cause. This is worth the cost of his world. There is no such thing as "happily ever after."

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...The torture goes on for some time. Finally, there is only one torch left. And maybe we remember the one detail in all of this that actually matters: what does *the Princess* want? We are given the chance to ask her again. And this time... she has an answer.

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The Narrator also realizes how serious this is. This is no longer about Slaying the Princess; the Smitten has changed the fundamental nature of reality. He's created a "happily ever after" that we can never leave. There is nothing "happy" about an ending that won't end.

(This reveal is actually foreshadowed to a categorically insane degree. Replaying this route is like getting slapped around by Black Tabby.)

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In so doing, his beliefs became reality. The prison became a castle. The Princess became a doting wife that hangs on the Smitten's every word. The stairs go up instead of down. What he fails to realize is that the Princess is still a prisoner. She is HIS prisoner now.

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The Paranoid is right. It DOES all make sense now. The Smitten believed the Princess was perfect for us, but belief can't change the fact that she doesn't want to stay. So the Smitten tore himself out of our chest to speak to the Princess directly.

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Then she does something strange. She turns and starts speaking over her shoulder. In fact, she's been doing this regularly since we sat down at the table. The Paranoid realizes: she is talking to the shadow. And the shadow is none other than the Smitten.

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Even the Narrator is uncomfortable with how events have turned. He, too, tries to focus on the bright side, bargaining with memory. Eventually, the Princess does the unthinkable: she admits that something is wrong. Instantly, a torch on the wall goes out.

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The food is good, but it doesn't fill us. We keep eating. The food gets worse. It still doesn't fill us. ...This is a long, agonizing sequence. Both ourself and the Princess are obviously in pain, but we both keep trying to salvage the situation regardless.

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The Princess sits at the end of a long table, a strange-looking shadow cast off the back of her chair. We start eating dinner. She still only wants to make us happy, to the exclusion of all else. Everything's changed, and yet it's still just the same as last time.

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