#jules shitposts

izuku: um, kacchan... i’m a boy

katsuki: ok, whatever nerd

izuku: oh, also i don't have a quirk

Uhh

okay so first of all, happy brthday to phrazes for the young. i can’t believe it’s been 10 years already!!! phrazes for the young is a great and very underappreciated record and i like how the album managed to gather some sort of a cult following during these years. and even tho julian doesn't seem too proud of it, i’m happy that he made it and i don’t think he fully regrets making it either. after all it helped him figure out what he actually wants to do, and it does feel like beginning of of the voidz since the songs are made of a lot of layers like voidz songs especially on tyranny!

now let's talk about the song! i always love talking about this song because i rarely see fans mention it. whenever you ask julian’s fans abt their favorite songs from phrazes, most of them are going to mention river of breaklights or glass or maybe left and right in the dark and it’s understandable because these songs are truly great. but out of the blue is equally great. the song has everything i like about julian's songs: simple yet very beautiful and touching melodies, clever and cynical lyrics with clever twists that tell a story, his deep voice and a catchy and uplifting chorus.

let's start with the beginning. one of my favorite parts in this song is the carnivalesque and fun yet somehow creepy (??) intro. it's one of the best intros ive ever heard honestly and sometimes i can't finish listening to the song because i keep replaying that part!! (you can hear it here). when julian starts singing, his voice sounds very deep and i LOVE it. i really love how he keeps repeating the same lyrics to give the listener an idea on how his feelings of frustration keep evolving and it also paints a great image which is something he's really great at. 

the chorus is one of the catchiest choruses julian has ever written which is probably one of the reasons why he doesn't like this song... but it really showcases his songwriting abilities.it's super interesting how the same man who wrote one of the greatest rock albums of the 2000s can also write such catchy and pop sounding songs with ease!!

this part after the “take all your dreams” part is also very interesting. can you hear how he keeps adding layer after layer? you can also hear this in tyranny, and i really like it because it adds depth to the song and makes it much more interesting and fun to listen to since you can hear a new layer everytime you listen to this song! (here)

this outro right here is what sold the song for me initially. this is what julian does best: writing beautiful melodies. this part makes me so emotional. its sweet and kind of nostalgic with a tinge of hope and i love how different it is from the intro. its really cool how the song progresses!! (here)

now let's talk about the lyrics. overall phrazes is one of his best albums lyrically. it's really poetic and clever and it has some of julian's best lyrics and most of them are personal which is something i really appreciate and this song is no exception. this song is one of the few songs in which julian talks about his experience with  media and fame. he's telling us how frustrated and angry he was and basically making fun of the "cool" image the media painted of him and the strokes back in the day. his feelings of anger and pain can be the result of many things. his relationship with the media and music critics but also his bandmates. the song was written during the fioe tour. it was a hard time for the band. there was a lot of tension and they eventually went on a hiatus and it was basically a big mess :/ (and things got even worse afterwards, thank god they’re doing better now). i also think it has something to do with his alcoholism. the line "and the ones that i made pay were never the ones who deserved it" is probably about how aggressive he was while drunk and how he took out his anger on his friends and bandmates even tho they weren't the reason behind his sadness and frustration. which actually leads us to the chorus!!

“how can you be/so perfect for me/why can’t you ignore/the things i did before”

it's almost like he can't believe he finally found someone who loves him and who's willing to support and help him become better: his wife. however, he’s still afraid that she might remember him as the aggressive and troubled alcoholic he was and not let his past die. he’s also making fun of the media. in here for example, when he says: “yes i know i’m going to hell in a leather jacket” (which is such a cool line), the strokes were associated with leather jackets. hell there’s even an interview in which the interviewer writes a super long paragraph talking about albert’s and fab’s jackets. the media created this image for them and only cared about that image, even more than the music at one time. also the line “at least i’ll be in another world while you’re pissing on my casket” is one of my absolute favorite lines in this song. it’s really ironic how the same people who overhyped them even before their 1st album came out, and created this entire image and scenario and world for them to exist in, are now criticizing them because they didn’t live up to that hype. these lyrics are just so witty and i love that! also i think it's worth mentioning that 9 years later, julian would say the same things in lazy boy. the lyric "jackets are the eyes to the soul" is taken from the same article i was talking about earlier (he also talks about his past self in that song). 

“all that I can do now is sing a song of faded glory/ and all you got to do is sit there, look great, and make them horny/ together we’ll sing songs and tell exaggerated stories/ about the way we feel today, and tonight and in the morning”. these lyrics are also very obvious. they are about how music journalists were trying to paint them in a specific image to fit their story and expectations, and then would attack them when they don't realize these unrealistic and stupid expectations. another fantastic part of the song.

 he ends the song with trying to accept that he can't do whatever he wants to do and just pretend that this is the way it is fo everyone even if it pains him to not bring his plans to life. this was something he talked about before :(

“and take all your fears/ and pretend there all true/ and take all your plans/ and pretend they fell through/ and that's what it's like for most people in this world” this is how he ends the song. it's sounds like no matter how much he's trying to accept it, he still sounds very crushed and disappointed. this part makes me really sad :/ (thankfully he now has a band in which he can whatever he wants).   and also the last line "before they come knocking on my door now"... it's really depressing how the media and music industry are so cruel to those who refuse to play by their rules and bend to their will and so many artists were victims of that, sadly. and what i really love about this part is how its sung over the beautiful and hopeful outro. julian is really really good at writing cheerful and uplifting songs with depressing and pessimistic lyrics. even the chorus has a tinge of regret and fear in it. (also i want to point out how a very depressing and sad song like human sadness has more hope in it than this song like...his mind honestly).

izuku: um, what are the options?