Author: Lauren Stamps

Will Wood has taken the place of my favorite music artist this past year, and if you take the time to listen to his most recent work, The Normal Album, you’ll totally understand why someone like me would be so enthralled with his music. I’ve even written a (admittedly pretty bad) blog about the him and his band before, which you can read here for a more in-depth look into why I love his music so much. So, I decided why not try to do a quick analysis on each song included on The (absolutely anything but) Normal Album before Will Wood releases his new upcoming one, In Case I Make It. These songs are so incredible and deserve MUCH more than a high schooler writing this with a deadline around the corner and an average of 4 hours of sleep. These will only be a quick surface-level overview of the themes and tone of each song, so I recommend you check these out for yourself and read more about them!

1. Suburbia Overture: Greetings from Mary Bell Township! / (Vampire) Culture / Love Me, Normally

In classic Will Wood fashion, the title of this track is long and convoluted. The song is split into three parts, each having it’s own title. However, I’ll be talking about the track as a whole here. The song is a commentary on the “ideal” white picket fence and nuclear family and how that, and modern culture as a whole, can be extremely toxic. Will Wood relates the middle-class Suburbia to a war zone as while discussing its malicious and vampiric aspects. Self-expression is exiled in this world of blind conformity, and the underlying misery is painted over with images of family barbecues and white weddings.

My favorite stanza from the song:

“…So give me your half-life crisis
I can tell that you know where paradise is
Where parasites don’t care what your blood type is
Only pheromones and serotonin decide…”

2econd-2ight-2eer (that was fun, goodbye.)

This funky song is definitely one of my favorites from the album. The main theme of the song is breaking free from the conformity the world pushes onto us and living life the “crazy” way you want, even if the world looks upon you with judgment. The song has heavy religious symbolism and discusses breaking free of its grip and the surrounding culture of it. In short, embrace being “a psycho, babe,” and live life without worrying about what boring people think of you. You only get one life, so live it to the fullest without shame.

My favorite stanza from the song:

“…Some days I’m glad that I am a madman and I’d rather be that than
An amicable animal, mild-mannered cannibal
But I’m more level-headed and clever than ever and I’m getting better one forever at a time
And if sick is defined by what’s different, well then pull the plug out and let me die…”

Laplace’s Angel (Hurt People? Hurt People!)

The title of this song is a reference to Laplace’s demon, a scientific proposition of causal determinism, which I’m not nearly smart enough to fully understand, but essentially says that all events in the future are caused by the events of the past. Hurt People? Hurt People! is an obvious reference to the saying of “hurt people hurt people,” suggesting that those who hurt others are deeply damaged themselves. Laplace’s Angel itself is a commentary on “bad people” as a whole and what really makes them “bad.” Are bad people defined by their actions? What about the reasoning of their actions? What about what’s behind the reasoning of their actions? If you were in the exact same shoes as the person you’re judging, what would you do, and would you judge yourself?

My favorite stanza from the song:

“…So if you wash your hands of where you’ve been until you flood the second floor
Neatly fold your skeletons but still can’t shut the closet door
The only ones in need of love are those who don’t receive enough
So evil ones should get a little more…”

I/Me/Myself

Okay, so you’ve probably heard this one before. This song recently blew up on TikTok and sparked tons of conversation about its meaning and even some controversy. Will Wood himself recently came forward to clarify the meaning of the song, so I’ll include his own words from his post on Genius.com.

“To boil it down, the song is about how I respond to my frustration with the limitations of the male gender role, the maladaptive ways I’ve coped with that frustration, and trying to figure out if this experience or any other regarding my gender can or should define me. It reaches the same conclusion that most of my work does – and that is that nothing is real and that if something is hurting us we have the power to cast it off.”

You can read more from his post here.  It does a much better job than I ever could.

This concludes part 1 of my analysis of Will Wood’s The Normal Album. It really is a wild ride to go on, and it’s definitely very high up on my favorite albums of all time list. I really wish I could do this album justice, and if Mr. Wood himself is reading this somehow, thank you SO much for the wonderful work of art! :]

Ah, The Ballad of Songbirds of Snakes. This book got me through my hospital stay and refueled my fleeting love for The Hunger Games series. I bought the book right when it released, but only got around to reading it this month. I was a little wary to read a novel where the protagonist was 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, of all people, but I fairly enjoyed it!

P.S.: If you’re reading this review, I’m going to assume you’re already familiar with the Hunger Games series, so I won’t be explaining the events of the previous books or avoiding spoilers from them. You have been warned!

The book takes place sixty-four years before the events of the first Hunger Games novel, but it still very much so takes place in the future. In this book, we’re reminded just how far ahead Panem is. Even so far into the past, we’re still greeted with wonderful science-fiction elements as we were in the original trilogy and a glimpse of the ruins of what used to be North America. 

In short, the book tells the story of the 10th annual Hunger Games and Coriolanus’s involvement in them. This was the first time mentors were introduced, and they happened to be the graduating class of the Academy, which is essentially high school for the Capitol. We get introduced to how several aspects of the games were introduced, and most were proposed by Coriolanus himself. Even some the songs of the series were written and performed by another main character, Lucy Gray Baird.

Speaking of Lucy Gray, the two have a budding romance, and hearing the thoughts of Coriolanus, it can’t help but make you feel uncomfortable. From the very beginning, you can tell something is off in the wording of his thoughts, and it isn’t until later on when it sets in that something just isn’t right. However, the wholesomeness of young love really does shadow over it in the beginning, and I couldn’t help but wish the best for the two while ignoring the red flags.

I definitely wouldn’t be the first person to write that I found Coriolanus’s character FASCINATING. He’s written as the protagonist, and at first you can’t help but root for him. Sure, he starts out with little moments here and there that make you question his character, but it’s just a result of his upbringing, right? That’s the way you think throughout the book, and while I can’t say much here, watching his character devolve was exciting and heartbreaking at the same time. While reading, you forget what President Snow did and how he was in the original trilogy, which makes you forget that this is supposed to be a villain origin story. His character is complex and captivating, and I couldn’t help but hope that somehow everything would end up okay. 

Lucy Gray was by far my favorite character in this story, however. She was the tribute assigned to Coriolanus and instantly captivated both the audience in universe and and out. She was a member of the Covey and resided in District 12- The same district Katniss Everdeen would eventually be a citizen of. She serves as one of the biggest connectors to the culture of the Districts.

Overall, I loved the commentary that came with Snow’s character mentioned above and the lovely writing and imagery in the book. The callbacks to the original trilogy were wonderful bonuses, and the characters were all super engaging and fun to read about. I also ADORED the main antagonist, Dr. Gaul. However, my biggest gripes with the story has to be the pacing. It’s EXTREMELY slow at the beginning, and sometimes it just feels as if events are being thrown in to make the story more entertaining before the Hunger Games. That would have been more okay if the pacing of the story didn’t kick off and go a million miles an hour at the third part. It just felt very underwhelming, but it definitely make you think while reading, which is a great aspect to have in your writing.

I give The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 3/5 stars.

If you’ve talked to me in the past couple weeks, you know I’ve been obsessively talking about and playing one of the latest visual novel releases from Studio Élan, Heart of the Woods. So, what’s a better way of progressing my obsession than reviewing it on my monthly blog assignment?

Heart of the Woods is an LGBTQ+ romance visual novel that tells the story of four young girls meeting in unusual circumstances and fighting against an evil force trying to rip them apart. The main protagonist of this story, Maddie Raines, is the manager of a paranormal web-show hosted by her best friend, Tara Bryck. However, Maddie has bigger plans for her future than running a mildly successful web-show for years about something she doesn’t even believe in for the sake of her best friend.  So, she announces her departure from the show before her last big episode, and Maddie and Tara enter a largely unspoken grudge on the ride to a whole new country. The two instantly strike the player as opposites, and it makes you wonder how they became such close friends in the first place. Maddie is professional, logical, and cold, while Tara, on the other hand, is brash, positive, and energetic.

The pair arrive in Eysenfeld, a quaint, isolated village in Germany. An eager fan of the show had invited Maddie and Tara out to her small town to investigate paranormal happenings in the woods around Eysenfeld, calling it a “ghost-hunter’s paradise.” This fan, as we’ll soon come to learn, is Morgan Fischer. 

Morgan is, well, different. She’s not interested in antiques, yet runs an antique shop (that no one shops at), claims to own a talking cat, seems to show little to no emotion, and the entire town of Esyenfeld treats her coldly and as if she’s some sort of stain on the town’s reputation. However, she has her quirky charms o her. Tara is quick to dismiss this, but Maddie is wary of her. Maddie instantly regrets coming on the trip. It’s unbearably cold, far away from home, and they’re even staying with who she believes is a lunatic.

If only there was something, or rather someone, who could convince her to stay a little longer…

Fast forward a bit, and you’ll soon meet Abigail, the ghost of a young woman trapped in the heart of the woods, as you may say. Maddie encounters her in the forest of Esyenfeld one day while trying to clear her head, and the pair quickly become close friends. Abigail had not spoken to another person in over one hundred years, so Maddie is wonderful company to her. Even after all that time, she is still mostly herself—meek, kind, and playful. Maddie is unable to hear or touch Abigail, but Abigail can understand her. Maddie finds out her name by bringing a book of baby names and reading them out one by one until the ghost girl confirms: Abigail. Maddie continues to read to her at an abandoned church every day, and the pair grows closer each visit. The two agree to keep Abigail’s existence a secret from everyone.

So, now that you know the basics of the game and its characters, let’s move on to the review!

Overall, I enjoyed Heart of the Woods a lot! Abigail and Maddie’s romance in particular was really intriguing, and not once was I bored with the story or characters. The game description calls it a “take on a fairy tale,” which is absolutely well executed. The whole story is magical, and the forest makes you feel as if you’re stepping into another world. The descriptive writing is phenomenal, and all the characters are fleshed out and feel like real people. (Except for, in my opinion, the main antagonist, but I’ll get to that later.) The music was also EXCEPTIONAL! I listen to the OST all of the time now, and I cried while listening to the ending song by In Love with a Ghost. (A very fitting guest appearance.) It just felt as if the team truly did put their heart and soul into the project, and I would heavily recommend it to everyone. It’s safe to say I’m super excited for my Maddie x Abigail keychain to arrive. 🙂

The pacing of the story starts off pretty slow, but I never saw that as a bad thing. However, the pace very quickly speeds up towards the end, and it felt almost as if the game was trying to shove as much into the last chapter it could. The multiple endings were based on one decision towards the end, and it felt quite forced. Maybe it was just me, but I felt very overwhelmed, and I believe it might have flowed a bit better if it was drawn out just a few thousand words more. Another thing I noticed was the varying quality of the voice acting. Some voices felt much more fitting and experienced, while others felt almost mediocre. However, all the voices were fine, in my opinion, and didn’t take away from my playing experience at all.

Now, my major issue with the story was the main antagonist. I can’t reveal who it is at risk of spoiling the game, but you’ll probably be able to guess. The villain was very one-dimensional, and while the reasoning for their power-hungry and violent character is explained through their “moonsickness” and desire for immortality, the game never really gave them any redeeming qualities or humanity at all. It’s possible this was to parallel old fairy tales, but I’m just the type to enjoy complex antagonists. 

Thanks for tuning in, and I hope you check out my next blog, whatever that may be. I hope you had a good read and that I encouraged you to purchase this wonderful piece of art for yourself!

CW: Depression and Suicide

“Last Words of a Shooting Star” is the tenth track on Mitski’s third studio album, Bury Me at Makeout Creek. The song uses the metaphor of a crashing plane to represent the narrator’s battle with depression and suicidal thoughts. The music itself is reminiscent of a plane crash, and it portrays the hopeless feeling and apathy that comes with struggling with mental illness and suicidal tendencies. The title represents how suffering can commonly be missed, and in this case, a plane crash can be mistaken for a shooting star. “Last Words of a Shooting Star” shines through as one of Mitski’s best examples of brilliant songwriting, and is, in my opinion, one of her best works. I chose this song because of its realistic representation of depression and the way it serves to help show those who aren’t inflicted the true nature of the illness.

“All of this turbulence wasn’t forecasted
Apologies from the intercom” 

The first line reinforces the metaphor of the plane crash. The narrator never wished to be born, and she never predicted the pain she would go through in life. The apologies from the intercom represent how the world and society are at least partially aware of the problems it causes, but when they apologize, it’s empty and said too late— the plane is already crashing.

“And I am relieved that I’d left my room tidy
They’ll think of me kindly
When they come for my things”

The next line establishes that she is planning to take her own life. She’s relieved that her room is tidy, so once her family and law enforcement come to gather her belongings, they will see her as a clean person and not a slob or bother to others. She hopes to be remembered well because of this. The narrator is so numb, that’s all she can think about— not the impact her death will have on her loved ones, but rather how she’ll be perceived soon after she’s gone.

“They’ll never know how I’d stared at the dark in that room
With no thoughts
Like a blood-sniffing shark”

The song soon tackles the empty feeling of depression and the reality of living with it. Once she’s gone, people will never know the time she spent withering away in her bed, staring in the dark, and tuning out her mind. The “blood sniffing shark” simile draws a parallel to the myth that sharks will go mad at the smell of blood and how the narrator’s mind is becoming similar: obsessive and desperate for an escape.

“And while my dreams made music in the night
Carefully
I was going to live”

The song here, instead of having “I was going to live” be an uplifting lyric, portrays through music that it isn’t. The tone goes down, possibly paralleling the song’s “plane crash” metaphor. She’s not excited that she’s decided to live for the time being, but burdened.

“You wouldn’t leave till we loved in the morning
You’d learned from movies how love ought to be
And you’d say you love me and look in my eyes
But I know through mine you were
Looking in yours”

The song also tackles the narrator’s unfulfilling relationship and the negative impact it has on her mental health. She feels as if her relationship is rehearsed and disingenuous. She believes that her lover is treating her kindly just so they’ll feel better about themselves and have a place in society. She can’t feel truly happy in a relationship she doesn’t believe to be real. This could either be an actual representation of what her relationship is like, or a warped version her mental illness had told her was true.

“And did you know the liberty bell is a replica
Silently housed in its original walls? 
And while its dreams played music in the night
Quietly
It was told to believe”

The narrator then goes on to compare her life and herself to the Liberty Bell, which is well known to be a replica of its original. What it stands for is resilience through hardship, but since it’s been replaced, that message could be considered invalid and a lie. It could also be interpreted that the Liberty Bell was broken by its own “music,” and Mitski has talked at length about her struggle with becoming a musician. People encouraged her dream and told her to believe she’d be big one day, but they never fully meant it, and once she was older, warned against following her aspirations.

“I always wanted to die clean and pretty”

This line helps show the apathy the narrator has for her own life and death. She cares more about the state of her body being found than her actual death, and it is a common fear for those with mental illness to look “ugly” when their body is discovered.

“But I’d be too busy on working days”

The next line could hint at how the narrator is overworked to the point where she is driven to end her life or uses this as an excuse to put off her plans. 

“So I am relieved that the turbulence wasn’t forecasted
I couldn’t have changed anyway”

In a way, the narrator is glad that she wasn’t warned of the pain in life because she believes she would have been miserable and depressed regardless because of her illness. She’d rather it be a surprise when she’s older rather than burdening her child self with that knowledge.

“I am relieved that I’d left my room tidy
Goodbye”

This lyric portrays how the narrator ultimately gives into her suicidal thoughts and lets her plane crash. She wishes those she loves goodbye and ends her life. Mitski ends the song on a unsettling note, not only with the ending the lyrics insinuate, but with the droning hum the song fades out with, reminiscent of a plane crash. 

This brings about the question of what we should do if we see a friend or loved one listening to songs of this subject matter. Of course, listening to songs like this doesn’t mean someone is planning to hurt themselves, but if it’s a constant pattern, try and talk to them about it. If you believe someone needs help, reach out a hand. You may never know when someone is struggling. If you relate to these lyrics strongly, I’d recommend talking to a friend about your thoughts, or if you believe it’s necessary, get in contact with a professional. If you’re in crisis, please use the information listed below. You are loved, and things really do get better, even in the bleakest of times.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
1-800-273-8255

Crisis Text Line:
Text HOME to 741-741