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Angry Grimace posted:I liked the Resistance and the 2nd Law, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. If the rest of the album sounds like either of those albums plus what we've heard I think its as good as you could have hoped for because Dead Inside/Reapers/The Handler are all excellent songs. I liked the Resistance too but it took a while to grow on me and was still my least favorite until T2L came out. Overall I'm happy about Drones, especially in the first half of the album. There are quite a few songs on here that I really like and see myself listening to a lot in the future. Also I like Revolt more than Aftermath and The Globalist which I'm sure will be an unpopular opinion. I think I'll chalk it up to me being a big fan of pop music. The song just sounds fun and catchy.
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Jun 2, 2015 22:32
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"Save Me" may actually be better than "Revolt".
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Jun 2, 2015 23:54
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TheSteelCurtain posted:I must say the second half of the album isn't as bad as everyone is making it out to be. Aftermath sounds like Dire Straits, and The Globalist is interesting. Its not "second half of 2nd Law" bad, sure, but its not great or even necessarily above "listenably good." Its certainly worse than the good material on Resistance/2nd Law. The album is like a B+ on the whole I think. The first 5 songs are bringing that up a lot though.
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Jun 3, 2015 00:44
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I haven't heard the leak yet. Maybe this afternoon. But for now, here's the Handler lyric video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF1DQr5dKW8 Creepy as gently caress. The production on all of these videos has been absolutely top notch. Also, it's officially "Behold... my trance formation". Oh, Matt 
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Jun 3, 2015 00:48
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The album actually gets a lot better with multiple listens, I must say it's their best since BHAR for sure. The Reapers, Handler, Defector trio is the high point. I actually like the title track as well, gives it a pretty haunting end.
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Jun 3, 2015 01:33
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Maybe it's the leak, but the mixing on Revolt is my biggest complaint. The vocals are undersampled and the "you can go" backup chants in the chorus are far too loud. edit: Just finished the album. That's some good poo poo, and the second half isn't as bad as some people made it out to be. Defector is awesome and Aftermath was surprising. The Globalist was kind of a blur that I need to listen to a couple more times. Drones is just a simple epilogue that most people, even diehard fans, will only listen to once or twice. the truth fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Jun 3, 2015 |
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Jun 3, 2015 01:39
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the truth posted:Maybe it's the leak, but the mixing on Revolt is my biggest complaint. The vocals are undersampled and the "you can go" backup chants in the chorus are far too loud. Yeah Drones is just an ending for the album, but it is pretty cool and totally unexpected. This album is definitely a step in the right direction, even if it is a little off the wall.
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Jun 3, 2015 02:10
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So... that countdown in The Globalist
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Jun 3, 2015 02:43
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The Globalist gets better each time I hear it, although I wish the heavy part was longer and the piano part shorter.
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Jun 3, 2015 02:54
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Okay I listened to the leak!  Song impressions going backwards, because why not?: Drones... well, okay Matt Bellamy, you can do a choral mass. Impressive, thanks. Now please bring back the epic piano-based album closers next time. The Globalist will take a few more plays for me to really get. I mean, I like all the individual pieces but I can't tell yet if they work together as a whole. Aftermath is the most 80s song that ever did 80s. For a bit, it actually sounded like Matt Berry's song "One Track Lover" from that fake-80s show (actually made in the 00s) Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? (edit: Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93FT-STxDGM) .. As for Aftermath, I really like this song! Revolt - gently caress the haters. gently caress them so much. This had me with a massive loving grin on my face throughout the whole song. It's goddamn wonderful. Defector was surprisingly a bit repetitive, and the verses are bizarrely tuneless. It's alright, but not as good as I'd hoped. Maybe it'll grow on me. As I've said before, the entire first half of the album blew me away as I heard each song, with the exception of Psycho which is still a bit of a plodder. Give me 5 more times through the album (at proper CD quality) before I can properly judge this album, but so far I think it sits comfortably above T2L, TR and Showbiz. Best songs: Reapers, The Handler, Mercy, Revolt, Aftermath Hedrigall fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Jun 3, 2015 |
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Jun 3, 2015 04:30
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I'm glad I'm not the only one that liked Revolt. Your top tracks are the same as mine except I'd swap Aftermath for Defector.
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Jun 3, 2015 04:39
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I loving love Defector. Like too much, maybe. I love this poo poo. So goddamn tacky but in a way that jives well with me
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Jun 3, 2015 06:49
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Mercy is still the worst song just because of how bland it is. Revolt is at least kinda fun.
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Jun 3, 2015 08:59
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Revolt is absolutely ridiculous but I do think I like it.
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Jun 3, 2015 10:10
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Defector has already risen up to be my favorite track right now, especially paired with the JFK intro and coming hot off the heels of The Handler. Revolt is really growing on me after a couple listens. It's got this weird sing a long quality to it. Aftermath I'm still mixed on honestly. I wasn't totally impressed with the Globalist at first aside from the fact that they slipped the Helsinki Jam into it which I love. But subsequent listens made me realize there's a whole other narrative to it separate from the rest of the narrative of the album.
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Jun 3, 2015 13:02
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Does anyone else still get jarred by the verses of Defector? They're so tuneless.
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Jun 3, 2015 13:13
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Joooooones. Kiiiiilled by Joooones. By Joooones
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Jun 3, 2015 13:16
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I'm pretty sure the second half songs will come to grow on me after a few listens, but what really bothers me is that 8 of The Globalist's 10 minutes are calm. The majority of Citizen Erased is also calm, but the reason CE works so well is because it has one of the most intense quiet loud dynamics I've ever heard, the first chorus goes into the quiet verse naturally and the explosion of sound after the second chorus makes the song. Just having quiet->loud->quiet is not as fun as loud->quiet->loud->quiet, if anything The Globalist just made me love CE a lot more.
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Jun 3, 2015 13:52
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Popcorn posted:Joooooones. Kiiiiilled by Joooones. By Joooones HERE COMES THE JOOOOONES
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Jun 3, 2015 14:00
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The big loud part of globalist is pretty cool but is over very quickly  . Defector is pretty awesome, liking that fatass riff. It's got swagger. Also the album has a nice range of different bass distortions - always liked how much prominence bass has on muse songs and does it's own thing. I do feel like the drumming isnt as creative as it has been in the past. henpod fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Jun 3, 2015 |
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Jun 3, 2015 15:41
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first listen through: Mercy, Revolt, Aftermath, and Drones are garbage. It's like having 4 Guiding Lights. But if I get rid of those it's a pretty good album. Not nearly what Muse has been capable of, but let's be real... this is album 7. Every musician seems to drop off creatively, and I'm pretty grateful to just enjoy a handful of these songs. REALLY like The Handler and also Dead Inside. The Globalist is no Citizen Erased sequel, what the hell is Matt talking about. I really like it too until the later parts. E: oh yeah I haven't seen it mentioned, but a lot of The Globalist is the song Soaked but totally re-done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBdchwRWjIY Paperback Writer fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Jun 3, 2015 |
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Jun 3, 2015 17:43
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henpod posted:Also the album has a nice range of different bass distortions - always liked how much prominence bass has on muse songs and does it's own thing. I do feel like the drumming isnt as creative as it has been in the past. Yep. The bass does sound good on this album, and the drums are very meat-and-potatoes. It's a sucky album, as predicted, but I do like the way some of it sounds. The production is less syrupy and flamboyant than the last albums, which is a good thing, but the songwriting hasn't followed suit. FUN TASK: listen to the live version of Plug in Baby on the Newborn single. (It's on Spotify.) It sounds remarkably raw, ragged... unanthemic. We'll never hear Muse sound like that again. Paperback Writer posted:E: oh yeah I haven't seen it mentioned, but a lot of The Globalist is the song Soaked but totally re-done. Just like The 2nd Law, a lot of Jones sounds like other bits of music, including old Muse. Mercy is Starlight but with fewer chord changes and less charm. The Handler has the In Your World riff, and at 3:20 plunges briefly into the chord progression and vocal melody from the end of Showbiz. The feedback at the end of Drones sounds uncannily like the feedback at the end of Plug in Baby, which is weird because you wouldn't think feedback could ever have much of a fingerprint. (Maybe it's just the fuzz factory.) Defector is obviously Queen. You can sing U2 - "with or without you" - over the "you can revolt, you can revolt, you can revolt" bit of Revolt. Aftermath starts off Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms, but transforms into Everything I Do by Bryan Adams for the outro. The Globalist intro is Morricone (duh), but some of the incidental guitar work is totally Pink Floyd, and the bit before the big riff in Globalist re-uses the (cliched) chord progression from the Unnatural Selection chorus. Popcorn fucked around with this message at 18:10 on Jun 3, 2015 |
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Jun 3, 2015 18:05
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Popcorn posted:FUN TASK: listen to the live version of Plug in Baby on the Newborn single. (It's on Spotify.) It sounds remarkably raw, ragged... unanthemic. We'll never hear Muse sound like that again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JUE3-mZVy8 I lament this transition: From here in 2004: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuUwQW2KvVw To here in 2008: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEvAU7H81uI It's just a totally different experience. I can't really articulate why I'm not a big fan of the newer versions aside from finding the vocals flat. The Fury live performances have gotten a little better since then, but for me the song has collapsed following the advent of clean Muse. Oh well. I'd still love to see it in person. KillerMojo fucked around with this message at 18:51 on Jun 3, 2015 |
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Jun 3, 2015 18:47
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I love it. At the very least it's better than TR and T2L. Bad: Revolt Getting worse with each listen: Aftermath Meh: Mercy, The last part of The Globalist. Pretty good: Psycho Everything else is amazing. The Handler might be one of my top 10 songs ever, by anyone. I've only had time to listen to the whole thing 3 times through. I think after Reapers and The Handler my expectations were just way too high and I was more disappointed than I should have been with the 2nd half of the album. That said, I can't get into Revolt no matter what. It sounds so familiar to me but I can't pinpoint what it reminds me of. I don't really listen to pop music so I can't use that as a frame of reference. It's just so generic-sounding to me. Aftermath the same thing -- I don't mind slow songs, but it could be anyone, it doesn't even sound like Muse to me. And Popcorn, why are you in this thread? Are you clinging to a hope that Muse will suddenly wake up one day and revert back to the band they were 15 years ago? I'm not bashing your opinions, I just don't understand your motivation - surely there's some other band out there that you can actually get enjoyment from instead of constantly complaining about? Also, just saw the lyric video for Defector - Ah, I'm loving that song more and more.
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Jun 3, 2015 19:20
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Revolt sounds like The Killers imo
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Jun 3, 2015 19:25
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Is it bad that I really like the title track? I think it shows off Matt's vocal abilities perfectly and is an awesome ending for the album.
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Jun 3, 2015 19:27
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Revolt sounds like The Darkness could play it with minimal changes.
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Jun 3, 2015 19:48
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electricHyena posted:
Popcorn posted:Discussing stuff is fun even when the stuff you're discussing isn't.
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Jun 3, 2015 22:20
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Hedrigall posted:Defector was surprisingly a bit repetitive, and the verses are bizarrely tuneless. It's alright, but not as good as I'd hoped. Maybe it'll grow on me. I'm definitely with you on that; it just seems to keep going and going. You could easily cut out like 2 minutes of the song and lose nothing. Some good hooks and riffs in there, but where's the structure? Same 4 chords all the way through, too. It's even more repetitive than "Mercy". Granted, repetitive is not always bad. But these are examples of it being bad. And at risk of being repetitive myself, WOW the lyrics are bad on this album. It just seems like a collection of blunt, generic statements that don't go anywhere. "Youre a handler. I'm a defector. I'm free. I'm gonna make you a psycho." etc. Not listening to the full leak yet because at the rate they're releasing lyric videos I've almost heard the whole album anyway. Just gonna wait to stream it next week.
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Jun 3, 2015 22:59
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TheSteelCurtain posted:The Globalist gets better each time I hear it, although I wish the heavy part was longer and the piano part shorter. I just don't think the Globalist had any real reason to be 10 minutes long. That's basically my entire complaint with the song; either part is fine, really, its just not saying enough to need 10 minutes. Angry Grimace fucked around with this message at 23:30 on Jun 3, 2015 |
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Jun 3, 2015 23:27
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I guess they really are doing a lyric video for every song on the album! Here's JFK/Defector: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzbFxLNpguM And if you missed it with all the leak talk, the ultra-creepy video for The Handler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF1DQr5dKW8
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Jun 4, 2015 01:54
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Hedrigall posted:I guess they really are doing a lyric video for every song on the album! Here's JFK/Defector: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzbFxLNpguM Best lyric video and song obviously goes to The Handler.
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Jun 4, 2015 13:24
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I've given the entire album 4 full listens now and I'm really not impressed. It's definitely better than T2L but honestly that's not hard pull off. The Handler is the only song I'd consider good. Even then, I don't see myself listening to it a year from now. Everything up to and including BH&R I'll still be listening to decades from now. Hell, even the title track and MK Ultra from TR still find their way into my regular rotation on occasion. Looking back through the thread, I've seen a lot of words and phrases repeated."Interesting", "Fine", "After a few more listens", "Pretty cool", "Not bad"........ To me that isn't the way I want to have to describe Muse songs. Stockholm Syndrome is heavy as gently caress and amazing, Plug in Baby is awesome, Citizen Erased is one of the best songs of all time and Sing for Absolution still sends shivers down my spine when I hear the live recording from HAARP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDy5ipaSwBs Muse is one of my favourite bands of all time so it's really sucked to see them change so much over the last 10 years. None of there new stuff is memorable at all and just seems to lack the old Muse spark. That's just my opinion though and I have nothing against people who like their newer stuff. I haven't seen them live since The Resistance tour and if they stop by Toronto I'll probably get tickets and pray to hear some classics mixed in with new material. electricHyena posted:And Popcorn, why are you in this thread? Are you clinging to a hope that Muse will suddenly wake up one day and revert back to the band they were 15 years ago? I'm not bashing your opinions, I just don't understand your motivation - surely there's some other band out there that you can actually get enjoyment from instead of constantly complaining about? As Popcorn said, even if we don't enjoy their new stuff we still might enjoy discussing it with fellow Muse fans.
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Jun 4, 2015 13:47
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johnsonrod posted:Looking back through the thread, I've seen a lot of words and phrases repeated."Interesting", "Fine", "After a few more listens", "Pretty cool", "Not bad"........ While I agree with the sentiment, the earlier stuff definitely took me a few spins to 'get', but once the hook was set... johnsonrod posted:As Popcorn said, even if we don't enjoy their new stuff we still might enjoy discussing it with fellow Muse fans. Yeah it's the fan part that I think some aren't totally convinced on. Read the post history. Not that it matters, it's about having fun
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Jun 4, 2015 16:02
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To call Defector as sounding like Queen is pretty lazy. Like they have some overbearing claim to any high pitched vocals and thunky guitar anthem. Muse have done enough songs in that particular style that its their own thing. And pretty much any band in recent times by their 7th album is into some derivatives, I dont think Muse would be any worse offenders beyond the obvious drop since BHaR. Do I like it? I've fine with the sentiment, and its OK as an album track. Its only fair to compare it with the like on Absolution and BHaR, so how does it compare to Soldiers Poem and TSP. Those I liked more on subsequent listens. I just wish they'd stuck with generic and less cringy lyrics. If there's one good thing this album has done, it has brought Soaked to my attention. I never heard it before.
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Jun 4, 2015 16:45
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Fat Turkey posted:If there's one good thing this album has done, it has brought Soaked to my attention. I never heard it before.
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Jun 4, 2015 17:00
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Paperback Writer posted:Heh, glad to help. If memory serves right it surfaced during The Resistance era and Matt let Adam Lambert have it for his album. It's funny because no one really seemed to even care and it was a nice song but not that remarkable, but it puts these new ballads to shame. Seriously, wow. I had listened to it in that era and thought it was good. Comparing it to the ballads of the last couple albums it's on a different level. Such a deliciously Musey bridge.
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Jun 4, 2015 18:34
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I'm going to say this is better than the last album and maybe the one before it, because it seems to somehow have a sense of fun to its stupidity, whereas the last ones felt like they were being held hostage to something, I'm not sure what. There is somehow, perversely, a sense of maturity here - I feel like this is an album Muse really wanted to make, even if it's not the album some of us wanted them to make. I also think it hangs together better as a coherent vision. Despite being made up of other songs, it has more of its own identity than Resistance or 2nd Law. it's sonically dark, stark even, which creates an interesting contrast with the characteristically flamboyant songwriting. ... it's still not a good album, though. The catchy bits are too absurd to really enjoy, and the other stuff is just boring.
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Jun 4, 2015 18:42
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johnsonrod posted:To me that isn't the way I want to have to describe Muse songs. Stockholm Syndrome is heavy as gently caress and amazing, Plug in Baby is awesome, Citizen Erased is one of the best songs of all time and Sing for Absolution still sends shivers down my spine when I hear the live recording from HAARP. I'd never heard this before, it's amazing...
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Jun 4, 2015 18:49
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Admoon posted:I'd never heard this before, it's amazing... They also didn't include Citizen Erased and Bliss 
Paperback Writer fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Jun 4, 2015 |
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Jun 4, 2015 20:43
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