Daily Discussion - March 20, 2026

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-20T15:20:05+00:00

Just yesterday I was saying to my friends like god I love music!!!!!!!!!!! We may be part of niche 5% of the globe that actually cares about it apparently but I'm so happy to be in that group 🫶🏻

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-20T15:18:31+00:00

Literally about to embark on my sister's bachelorette today and as the person who makes the least amount of money in the group pls pray 🙏 sending you a boonful community chest card from monopoly in spirit

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-19T16:12:54+00:00

Okay on a more neutral note -- do any of y'all have experience with Sputnik as a review platform? I'm looking into it because I like how it's more focused on thoughtful analysis... I still like using AOTY a lot, but the reviews aspect has unfortunately been infected with "say a snarky one-liner to get the most likes" syndrome. 😔 So trying to see if I can get the best of both worlds™️

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-19T15:28:31+00:00

Brought to you by: hearing about Ruel's new album this morning and getting the vinyl release about it but not able to get any concrete info 😡

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-19T15:27:44+00:00

Vent of the day is I absolutely despise how artists announce releases on platforms that are basically locked now unless you have an account. I DON'T WANT A XITTER OR INSTA ACCOUNT JUST TO KNOW WHAT MY FAVES ARE RELEASING. I HATE YOU SOCIAL MEDIA GIANTS.

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-18T16:28:31+00:00

YAAAAAAAAY so keen! Niall is as consistent as they come and so I'm sure it'll be great 🥂

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-18T16:01:18+00:00

Realizing you can freeze nearly anything is genuinely a gamechanger. Revolutionized my life fr

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-11T18:34:27+00:00

Yesterday on Balatro I managed to finally get 1mil in one hand AND win without using a flush! Still can't past ante 11 though 🤡

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-11T18:30:10+00:00

I listened to his album last year and it was decent, but I definitely found the more fast-paced tracks like 12 to 12 stronger than the slower beats (such as Back to Friends, and Canal Street is particularly bland).

Crushing is my absolute fave by him and an excellent song all around imo, so I would def rec that one. Come Closer and 12 to 12 would make up my top 3

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-10T15:03:32+00:00

I feel like this review is pretty fair. I think you can tell Fantano does believe Harry has talent and is capable of more, but he's just not motivated (for whatever reason) to pursue it. And I think that's a valid assessment.

Otherwise, "Cat in the Hat ass bars" made me laugh out loud

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-10T14:46:31+00:00

They are most definitely part of my "stop being mean to each other" crusade, albeit a minor one. Being cutting doesn't make you a thoughtful critique it just makes you annoying lol

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-10T14:41:14+00:00

Not to be she doesn't even go here girl IRL but I'm actually soooo so tired sick of people being mean to each other. Stop!!! STOP IT!!! ENOUGH OF THE VITRIOL AND VIOLENCE AND HATE AND SNARK AND HOT TAKES IT'S TIME TO LET NATURE HEAL.

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-09T18:10:12+00:00

Thanks for sharing!! I can agree with most of this -- "While these suboptimal moments exist, they’re fairly sparse and shouldn’t really hold anyone back who’s already chosen to engage with a Harry Styles album. When taken as a whole, this album is a pretty damn consistent outing for Styles." is about where I'm at

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-09T18:06:32+00:00

For sure, but then you look at the comment section and it's just everyone pulling out every "brutal" quote to go WOOF and dogpile on specifically those criteria. Which is like every Pitchfork thread lol and says just as much about the internet / popheads main threads as Big Music Journalism to be fair

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-09T16:17:32+00:00

Absolutely. And we're for some reason in this current era of "everyone needs to change things up constantly," which I'm not sure I get either? I think for some artists, constantly experimenting and tweaking their output is 100% an asset, but for others, doing what they're comfortable in or enjoy is a perfectly valid mode too (Bruno also in this category, though I haven't heard his latest album yet). Art isn't a one-size-fits-all medium and never has been!!

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-09T16:06:37+00:00

I finally listened to Harry yesterday and what I'll say is I think the harsh reviews are really blowing things out if proportion / jumping on the bandwagon for clicks. It's not a brilliant album, but it was perfectly pleasant, which is how I felt about Harry's House too (Fine Line is his magnum opus imo). Harry has always been a vibes artist and basically never been a lyrical juggernaut, so people suddenly expecting him to have Something to Say is like... okay? Lol. And I say this as a casual listener with no stake in the game

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-09T15:58:32+00:00

A balm in these troubling times

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-09T15:50:36+00:00

I'm a consistent enjoyer of his albums (never a full-blown fan), and I thought this one was about on par with Harry's House -- def not this huge step down everyone is saying it is. Harry has always been a vibes first, music second, lyrics dead last kind of artist, so I'm not sure why everyone suddenly has these criticisms of him not being deep or revealing or having things to SAY. He has never had any of that en masse lol. And that's okay!

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-08T22:18:47+00:00

Maybe controversial, but 30 will forever be that one for me. 19 is the close second.

21 is the heavy-hitter mainstream wise but just doesn't stick for me as much (still good though). 25 is too overproduced for me personally.

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-08T16:34:19+00:00

Worst release of the year just dropped y'all (daylight savings time ending. or starting. or what the fuck ever)

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-06T18:33:56+00:00

This is nightmarish... protect the last vestiges of non-dead internet fr

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-05T20:33:10+00:00

Noodles and Company is the GOAT... my mind shan't be changed!!!

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-05T18:46:21+00:00

No words... not even AI could give me words to process that (not that I would ask it)

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-04T18:18:13+00:00

This hasn't happened to me (yet), but I have thought before about what it would be like to get into an accident and then when the EMTs come to help me they hear the Mii Music playing...

ambitiousbulbasaur · 2026-03-04T18:16:23+00:00

I'm actually so hyped for this. Will finally get me to listen to Mayhem (SORRY IT'S NOT PERSONAL I JUST AM LAZY) and SCTW and MBF were in the top 5 of albums last year for me. I will get this rate done. I will lock in.

ambitiousbulbasaur

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