just another shade of blue

I wasn't really thinking about being a Larrie when I talked about black and white thinking (although I think it fits and this anon demonstrates it), but the idea that people are either good or bad and that you can know that someone is bad based on very little information.

I am fascinated by the idea that Larry is either black and white or an article of faith. I know why you think that - lots of fans think that. But it's a wild way to treat a celebrity relationship - and to

The important thing to say about black and white thinking is that it's not just about an on-off quality. Obviously in the most basic sense you're either a Larrie or you're not a Larrie (although any attempt to define that would leave a lot of people in a border area). But it's treating that on-off quality as something that needs to be defended. To treat Larrie with black and white thinking is to be absolutely convinced that you're absolutely convinced right and treat everyone who disagrees with them as wrong.

I need you to know, from the bottom of my heart, with all the strength I have in my body, how little I care about Harry’s overall popularity.

I could be the only person in the entirety of Wembley all six days of his concert, and I would stand ten toes down, head held high, bopping to Aperture on loop.

I’m posting this mostly for posterity, for the moment when the tide flips (because it alway, always, always does) and people begin to see the vision, because it always happens. It happened with the floral Gucci suit. It happened with the long hair. It happened with SOTT. It happened with AIW. It happened with Harry’s House. Complaints on complaints on complaints about how he’s lost his touch, how he’s not as handsome as he used to be, how his sound is too different, how he’s trying so hard, how he’s in his flop era.

And then suddenly the madness! the tears! the desperation to get tickets! the insistence that you’ve loved this version of him all along! ALL WE WANT IS ANOTHER HS DISCO DANCE SUMMER! COME BACK MY LOVE!! I GET IT NOWWWWW!!!

And when it comes, you better bet your ass I’m going to reblog this ask over, and over, and over, and over with every new record he breaks, and every new award he wins.

And if that doesn’t happen? If he is in his flop era? If he finally, finally, finally becomes an obscure indie artist that no one wants to listen to? Catch me at Wembley, alone in the front row, relieved I didn’t even have to think about taking a day off from work to queue for tickets for once in my goddamn fangirl existence.

I feel like maybe the general public or casual listeners of Harry maybe aren’t as connected to this album/era because aesthetically it isn’t super vibrant and outwardly digestible. No sparkly jumpsuits, no colorful visuals, no seemingly easy to understand song meanings.

It sounds silly but sometimes my brain is so fried after a really rough day that all I want is that simple bubble gum pop song of a ‘Oops I Did It Again’ or ‘thank u, next’.

Maybe people are annoyed Harry’s not being the ‘typical pop prince’ right now that they can just listen to without anything deeper.

Just a thought!

(Also to be clear I’m not a hater- I love the album! 💕)

No, I really agree with you. There are so many people who had all of these expectations of what they wanted from him and the album. They want it to sound like HS1. They want him to grow his hair out. They want him to be sexier. They want easily digestible pop songs where they understand what he’s singing about. They want songs that speak to their personal experiences.

But this expectation to live up to an image created by other people is exactly what Harry talks about struggling with. Do you love me now? Do you? Do you? Do I let you down?

It’s fine if someone doesn’t connect to the music. That happens. But I would think people would respect that he’s making music he’s proud of, music that makes him happy.