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The following story is very long and contains gifs. Read at your own peril.

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And by that, I mean gratuitous GIFs.

Context? What’s that?

^

A’ight.

Ah, I feel so much better

Okay, I’d kind of lost track of Glee for a while. I’ve seen every episode, but I’d lost interest because last season had…well, it went wrong, somewhere. I’m not sure if it was because they chose to focus on certain characters instead of their ensemble cast approach, leading to their tried-and-true technique of plowing through story lines at a hundred miles per hour (an approach that I happen to love) taking a hit. Or maybe it was because the episodes focused more on the Top 40 songs over the characters. Or maybe some combination of both. But whatever the reason, Asian F has proven to me that there’s still magic in this old show’s bones.

Everything was spot on. The music was used wonderfully, the transitions between the dialogue scenes and the music (whether it be an actual performance an imagined one, or an imagined one segueing into an actual one) were spectacularly executed. I particularly loved Brit’s sudden flash mob, or Mercedes turning around and becoming Effie White. That was inspired.

The strongest part of the episode was Mercedes’ arc, which has been building up since season one—and really should have come to a head during season two—and the pay off was much deserved. Although the story line is by no means resolved it’s definitely taken a step forward, and I really hope that Mercedes’ new found found confidence isn’t just erased in the next episode, and I hope that her joining a new Glee Club actually matters in the long run.

Mike’s portion of the episode was my second favorite, and I thought the scene with him in the room with the mirrors was very powerful, with the two sides of himself—the guy that people expect him to be (represented by his overbearing father) and the guy that he is (represented by Tina, who’s looking fresh to death, as usual)—in conflict with one another. The moment sales into perfection when his mother shows up, and although it feels like it should be too cheesy, it really does work.

Kurt’s struggling with people’s perception of him, and is worrying that his mannerisms are going to be a bigger obstacle for his acting career then he previously thought. But he proves to have evolved somewhat from his season one self, by allowing Blaine to have the prize. I’m really liking this couple, even though they have a definite expiration date (Blaine’s a junior…somehow).

And lastly, Emma’s parents are…Ginger Supremacists. Yeah.

All in all, fucking great episode. The music was great. The dancing was great. The acting and the writing were both great. It was all just fucking great. I love it when a show suprrises me.

Music has always been a really big part of my life. I love it just like I love writing, the main difference being that I will never create music. Right now my iTunes house 1547 songs…and it’s not enough. There are just too many good songs, too many great lip-syncable ballads, too many epic guitar riffs, too many instrumentals, too many film scores, too many JRock and JPop songs, too many rock songs, too many club-bangers too many everything. I always feel like I don’t have enough music.

But during my time on this Earth, I have collected some favorites. I will list ten here, because that is the challenge. But there are many more. :]

1. Don’t Rain on My Parade (Glee Cover) - Originally from Funny Girl. This is one of those songs that is just a blast because you can really feel a sense of joy and elation when you listen to it. I haven’t seen the original production that this song hails from, but it seems as if the song echoes feelings of victory, of taking central stage. I also love it because it makes me think of Glee, and Rachel Berry’s journey to the spotlight, which is just an interesting arc of television. It’s one of those powerful girl songs, the ones that require a fair bit of vocal skill, and I love it.
2. Bring Me to Life - Evanescence. I have 31 Evanescence songs on my iTunes. This is because they’re one of my favorite bands, so I knew I had to have at least one of their songs on this list. I struggled for a minute to figure out which but I finally decided on a “classic.” Bring Me to Life was really the song that made me a fan. I remember hearing it on that shitty Dare Devil movie and just being like “Wow! Can we replay that scene?” (I had the same reaction to My Immortal). It’s one of those songs that is intense and catchy with the always-melodic vocals of Amy Lee and sexy back up from Paul Mccoy from the band 12 Stones. This remains one of my favorites, no matter what.
3. Dancing on My Own - Robyn. “I’m in the corner, watching you kiss her. Ooh. I’m right over here, why can’t you see me? Ooh. I’m giving it my all, but I’m not the guy you’re taking home. Ooooh. I keep dancing on my own.” This song speaks to loneliness, and the strength it takes to be alone, even for only a little while. This means a lot to me, because if there’s one thing I ANGST about, it’s being alone. I’m told the line “I’m not the guy you’re taking home” is actually “I’m not the girl you’re taking home” but it sounds like guy, and I like to think it is, because I can really relate to that. There was a big portion of my life where I felt truly isolated from everyone around me, and every once in a while I go back to that. But songs like these make me feel like, even if I have nothing and no one, I’m still human and I’m still me and even if I’m sad, it can pass. I’ll keep dancing on my own. 
4. Neodämmerung - Don Davis. Götterdämmerung is a German phrase literally meaning “Twilight of the Gods.” This makes the title of the song all the more fitting. It was an original composition written for the third Matrix film (lets set aside any opinions about the quality of that film for a moment) and the segment of the film that it makes its debut is just that; Twilight of Neo. The song is one of those amazing pieces with the chorus and the instruments, and it just screams fightfightfightfightfightfightfightwin. It’s great to listen to when you’re upset, or when you want to get things done because it has this menacing urge to it, this feeling that if you don’t stop this evil, it will never be stopped. 
5. Cemetery - Say Anything. Say Anything is another of my favorite bands, and as before I knew there had to be a song from them on this list. Say Anything is a band characterized by clever wordplay and self-aware lyrics against bitter irony, self deprecation, and wit. The lead singer/songwriter—a guy named Max Bemis—is, in my opinion, one of the greatest songwriting minds of our time. Pretty much anything he writes is dripping with emotion and satire, and for someone like me; it’s delicious. Most of his songs are fast, brutal, and dirty. But every once in a while he takes a moment to go real slow, to let the emotion take over and take on an almost acoustic feel. These moments are some of my favorite songs. I picked Cemetery because I like the themes (death, the afterlife, meeting in death) and I like the sheer Awweee potential of it all. This may or may not be played at my funeral.
6. Colors of the Heart - UVERworld. Colors of the Heart is a JRock song. As the genre implies, the lyrics are almost entirely in Japanese. So as such I can’t blather on about the themes or the lyrics, or the band’s songwriting ability. I can only tell you that this song is catchy as fuck. Let no one tell you that the Japanese don’t know rock’n’roll. I first heard this piece on a favorite anime of mine—Blood +—it was the second opening theme for the intro, and it was amazing. The song fit the creepy visuals perfectly, and the sheer catchiness of it all blew me away. I knew I had to have it.
   
7. And I Am Telling You, I’m Not Going (Jennifer Hudson Cover) - from Dreamgirls. Alright, I’m pretty gay. I’ve never denied that I love musicals, and the 2005 Dreamgirls movie is actually one of my favorites, if only for this song right here. I’m not going to debate who did this song better, Hudson or Holiday, I’m only going to say that I really, really, really love Hudson’s version. I love this song because it’s like a break up in three minutes. The character goes through anguish, denial, and rage. She pleads for him to stay then whirls around to demanding he stay because she is not going. It all happens in one song, and it’s just violently emotional, and Hudson—autotune or no autotune—sings her fucking heart out here.
   
8. Monster - Lady Gaga. Yeah, there had to be Gaga. This song is pretty much about a dude (the titular Monster). I honestly love it because it’s catchy, and the rhymes are nifty. Plus there’s just this truth, because everyone knows this guy or has dated this guy. The one who serenades, rips out hearts and eats them (well, maybe not so literally). Plus, it just reminds me of Raymond. xD
   
9. Good Enough - Evanescence. Okay, well when I said “at least” I really meant “two or so.” This is one of those Evanescence songs that does away with the guitar and focuses on Amy Lee’s piano skills and her wonderful voice. I always love these kinds of songs, but I love this one especially because it’s so different from the general style of Evanescence. It really takes what a lot of people hate about this band and subverts it. This song does not mope. It’s almost…dare I say…happy? It’s tone is somber but the message it delivers is acutely joyous. It seems as if it’s about falling for that guy, the one you can’t really say no too because he’s just…himself. It details the self-aware cynic falling for someone. The tone of this is just so different from all that’s come before, and I love it for that. It represents a change of pace, and I’m totally behind it.
   
10.  Admit It!! - Say Anything. Alright, there had to be another Say Anything song. You know it, I know it. This one is definitely not one of their softer moments. This song calls out every hipster cliche in the book. Every lyric is dripping with hostility and sarcasm and the ecstatic elation that one gets when they mock the unworthy. This song clocks in at six minutes, and there’s a section where the lead singer calls himself out, but then uses his philosophy to justify himself and what his band does. It’s beautiful, it’s epic, it’s awesome. I love this fucking song. :D