halfcactus

First of all: Zhang Xincheng has been releasing tracks from his mini-album, culminating in a music video that I (unexpectedly) like a lot! The teaser caught my attention because it was giving sapphic vibes, so the part in the MV with "our unbreakable friendship" made me LOL.


Lyrics are by ZXC himself. While they are not the most poetic, they are sincere and uplifting. Both visuals and message remind me a lot of Reese Lansangan's St. Petersburg (about giving the listener the time and space to wander) and Easier (a song for her fan-community: I know I can’t change the world to make it better, no / I can’t heal the wounds / But I can proudly show you how I bruise).

St. Petersburg in particular is one I remember accompanying me when I felt sad and overwhelmed, so much that I have an embarrassing blog entry about it from 2016. (And I'm highly reccing the MV if you want the island + community + FOOD experience and a true sense of space and light, and not just the idealized aesthetic hehehe (it's pretty much a travelogue set to music)

+I've been listening to Easier a lot lately!




I spent September and October making lyric videos of ZXC's other tracks (all compiled here) and at this point I'm ready to retire my Youtube channel lol??? I've been feeling extremely non-fandom-y and lately I want to go back to personal journaling; my planner is nothing but boring and increasingly long daily to-do-lists now and I think it's affecting me. I need quiet time and visual stimulation!!!!!

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Time Concert: Old Friends

A list of ep2 things!

It is revealed that G.E.M. almost declined to join the show (at Jason Zhang's invitation) because she was nervous about having to sing covers; she attributes the success of her songs to the people who wrote and produced them for her, declaring her own singing quite ordinary. (+ She debuted early and never had the chance to play around with music or do covers, it seems.)

Ella is very consistent in her advice to just enjoy the time onstage. :') It's very sweet and it makes me glad to know that she likes performing!

Tank talks about how his older sister always fully supported his decision to pursue music (whereas their parents objected) until she passed away from heart problems. :( If I Become a Memory was written for her. And he talks about how Ella always made him feel safe and reminds him of his sister. Their siblingly dynamic is so sweet and cute!

ELLA, using her normal outside voice:
SO? NOT NERVOUS ANYMORE, ARE YOU? :D :D :D

TANK, embarrassed and long-suffering:
Can you lower your voice!!!

Personal Angel transforming from a song written for Hana Kimi to a very personal one about his sister, his friends, and all the people who've given him strength and watched over him. ;___; And Ella singing it with him because he still had stage trauma, and it turned out to be such a lovely duet, one I loved before knowing the context of their performance. I guess it makes sense for Ella to be so natural with harmonies since she used to be in a girl group, but her voice really is so smooth and unique. ;___;

Roy Wang (TFBOYS) telling Tank that Personal Angel had also given him strength. He has covered it before (Tank, smiling: "I saw.") and the covers helped him get fans.