I got my standard black vinyl yesterday and gave it a spin, and let me just say…Nectar of the Gods, Living Legend, and Cherry Blossom sound so full and rich in tone. The mastering is incredible this whole record has my heart!
thinking about how 1 week after BB was released I got blackout-shitwasted-drunk and first ended up not knowing who I was and where I was and then stumbling upon my childhood home crying my eyes out and screaming at the top of my lungs to my mother for not ever being there for me when I was growing up and how much I miss my dad even though he's 100% shit also how I don't care about anyone else except my sisters and that my only duty in life is to protect them
Beautiful is really aging good for me. It's so so beautiful It truly is one of my faves now. I love the message a lot & I'm still not over how beautiful & interesting the piano sounds, I could literally listen to the "raindrop piano " for hours, it's so beautiful
Also I want to appreciate Violets For Roses again, such a phenomal song
The whole album is aging good so far & Dealer is still that bitch
It always reminds me of the second chorus in Noir when she sings "I'm glamorous" and the first verse of Baby Blue Love. It's also quite similar to some of the vocals Lana does on Cruel World.
I think it means that all of the think pieces on whether or not she is genuine or whatever the media wants to say has been free publicity for her very successful music. The criticism she received early on only got BTD more attention and it’s STILL CHARTING nearly a decade later.
“your interest really made stacks out of it for me” = you being interested in ruthlessly questioning (and attacking) my identity and my art only made me more money, so thanks for that 😇
everyone is talking about YouTube rip this, YouTube rip that, yet Nectar of the Gods, Living Legend and Cherry Blossom all sound better on speakers than Arcadia and Black Bathing Suit
The way that Beautiful, Violets for Roses & Cherry Blossom slowly taking the top 3 spots as my most favourite from the album sending me-
I mean, my favorite songs from Blue Banisters has to change like every single day. That's how good this album is
Text Book: the interweaving of needing an actual father, a partner and how things change with time and are ushered out with time, poignant. which hits harder with the upbeat of the chorus reminiscent of the 60s. the motive overall is wanting some kind of stability that the world doesn't have and can't provide at least on a sociocultural viewpoint. the treachery highlighting the second verse makes the second chorus sound a bit more combative. intuitively, i think what she's trying to capture with the song is that society needs some kind of stable father figure
atmosphere's closest to like BTD imo, with the faint western atmosphere that fades into what could sound like a desert mirage / Paradise
Blue Banisters: the melody starts as if it's being sung as steps of a set of stairs. u could easily waltz to the rhythm to the prechoruses but then its like
the piano does a great job at pacing what intuitively sounds like a delicate, apprehensive heart beat.
Arcadia: she's got an entire world(s) around and within her, and with that, love and a curiosity for exploration, but she realizes that layers of the map won't welcome her and she banishes herself to where she can still be herself. the anthemic sounding chorus only highlights her despair and wanting to be accepted as a citizen after working so hard for so long, but realizing that the ideals that she raised herself on have dimmed and were mishandled.
The Trio - Interlude: highlights the faint Kill Bill atmosphere that text book faintly touches on. it's comedic and also foreboding.
Black Bathing Suit - the piano reminds me of something spiteful sprouting from embittered sadness. the melody shifts from uncaring to the chorus' assured ultimatum that if you couldn't look in between the lines from before, then u surely won't ever "get her" at all. someone can have the face of an angel but stench of a foul decaying soul and its effects on the inside, she emphasizes the need for a genuine beauty of the soul, but the world chooses to attempt to diminish her bc she doesn't look like a social media bratz model / isn't fulfilling the norm's vision of their fantasies
IFYLDNTM - somehow can be exaggerated but also rings true for an unhealthy dance between herself and the limelight, which her romantic relationships and even perhaps lesser reflect which makes the outro sound even more genius, something reminiscent of an oldtime movie. she wants to be seen for who she really is as a mere person, past the fame
Beautiful - the intro sounds like tired glass falling, that could parallel her patience for being what she thinks would be best/ caters to the other. sometimes u lose the essences of yourself doing that, but she reclaims herself in the saddest but most pleasantly sounding pleas. how she sings "like you", makes me immediately think, I could see the little things where your inner child/ innocence of soul (ref to like when we were kids under chemtrails over the country club) and beauty shine, why can't you see me the way I do you? it's heartbreaking.
Violets For Roses - there's a natural uplift to the song's tempo that could remind one of playing ring around the rosy, the musical sounding chorus reminds her past love that he (collectively/personally/symbolically) couldn't appreciate her in the least, and only saw what they could take from her (ref to bbs). she feels a lot freer where she can start feeling like herself again bc the emphasis, spotlight of the relationship fades out and turns into sunshine.
Dealer - the beauty of this song is the interwoven perspectives put into it, supplemented by another person singing in the song as well. the push and pull, and blowback are balanced and calmed by it's overall trippy production, as if being lulled to afterward-ed staying feelings of guilt and remorse
Thunder - the strings play an important role in conveying suspense. regattas in the wind that's why you're visiting, the party's lit and you have cut when it begins. there's an emptiness to the song that can be alluded to the differences of motives in their meeting. it can be forlorn as as glamorous as the circumstances are in at least the song are, both parties are left with nothing from the other, perhaps even more with tiredness than what they started with.
Wildflower Wildfire - most sim to Million Dollar Man, except she's the main player of the track, control is hers to have, and she turns all the wrong's she's experienced into lessons to not do the same as she's lived. restraint can be difficult when forgiveness seems so far away, but somehow, she centers herself and focuses all of that anguish into loving.
Nectar of the Gods - the nectar was just a glorified farce. the journey's end was anticlimactic and her soul sounds like it's singing, all confused what the fuck? all betrayed after everything she's done. as if the treasure she was looking for was actually just an ideal but said as something else.
Living Legend - right off the bat, the offering of something to someone you feel is living life the way you think is admirable. someone to look up to in this decaying world. she forgot about herself and followed them thinking that she could have that same level, but in doing so, she must've wiled and rushed things with the lack of thought. she betrayed herself in wanting to be better. she can't have them, but she's learned to do things her own way, honorably.
Cherry Blossom - powerful in how even if the song started as her singing to herself, it takes on more meaning in how she's softly compelled to pass on motherly love, knowing it's absence can really destroy someone. she gives love even if she was running on empty, and wants her child to be safe, bc she knows the dead ends in the maze. Angelina sim meaning to Angel; asking, guiding them not to lose their way.
Sweet Carolina - symbolic for actually being able to love new life, despite all the wrong that might've been painted on her. in a way, she's also gained a new kind of metaphoric sister. one of the most beautiful things I think we can do as humans is obtaining new information etc. and pass it to newer generations for the sake of care and advancement, and instead of her gatekeeping the lessons, she decides to take care of the future generation, bc she knows how much of a cruel world the world can still be.
The record coincides with how she said that if you do the work within yourself, you'll be better for it. and that, in turn, with how the world only chooses parts of her to nitpick, they're not seeing the larger picture of not just herself, but that priorities and higher perspectives are very much still very necessary in this hungering world.
and I’m almost certain that a part of her is referring to herself in Angelina as a messenger, to remind us not to forget the lessons we’ve learned. Start the album over after finishing it, and we get the first line of Text Book that parallels the motives of banisters as a way of support, safety and security. when you think about it, the banisters themselves need to be painted on again and again and that can be reflective of perspective, and learning amidst the changes that we go through in this life.
maysparkle liked a post in a topic by IanadeIrey in Blue Banisters - Post-Release Discussion Thread + Poll