Rec
đ”
Filed under: emotional songs about personal struggles and high-key poor mental health.
I just want to talk about this song, cause I feel like with it being a Japanese release/anime OST and the release roll out being around the same time as the AMAs Bye Bye Bye/Chk Chk Boom performance, Falling Up (and NIGHT) has been a bit overlooked.
Tower of God the anime? Itâs just alright. Nothing to write home about. But Stray Kids, especially HAN, have produced some of their best work doing the OP/ED for season 1. So much so that I wasnât sure this seasonâs OP/ED could be as good as TOP and SLUMP. SLUMP, especially. That one was truly special. Itâs 2024 and I still watch SLUMPâs The First Take video.
Honestly, Iâm not sure yet which between Falling Up and SLUMP I consider the better song. But Falling Up did give me the same feeling and put me in the same headspace emotionally as SLUMP. It successfully captured the feeling of not doing so hot but pushing through it anyway.
I can see and appreciate the character development from SLUMP, wherein it âs all about being afraid of getting left behind, whereas Falling Up is about choosing your own path and going forward regardless. Just keep walking and taking the next step. It reminded me of that one The Stormlight Archive quote -- the most important step a man can take. Itâs not the first oneâŠItâs the next one.
Also helps that the opening rift is very reminiscent of old emo and alt/rock songs. Stray Kids have a way of inhabiting that soundscape when not doing EDM or even pure pop, and thank God for that.
I just want to talk about this song, cause I feel like with it being a Japanese release/anime OST and the release roll out being around the same time as the AMAs Bye Bye Bye/Chk Chk Boom performance, Falling Up (and NIGHT) has been a bit overlooked.
Tower of God the anime? Itâs just alright. Nothing to write home about. But Stray Kids, especially HAN, have produced some of their best work doing the OP/ED for season 1. So much so that I wasnât sure this seasonâs OP/ED could be as good as TOP and SLUMP. SLUMP, especially. That one was truly special. Itâs 2024 and I still watch SLUMPâs The First Take video.
Honestly, Iâm not sure yet which between Falling Up and SLUMP I consider the better song. But Falling Up did give me the same feeling and put me in the same headspace emotionally as SLUMP. It successfully captured the feeling of not doing so hot but pushing through it anyway.
I can see and appreciate the character development from SLUMP, wherein it âs all about being afraid of getting left behind, whereas Falling Up is about choosing your own path and going forward regardless. Just keep walking and taking the next step. It reminded me of that one The Stormlight Archive quote -- the most important step a man can take. Itâs not the first oneâŠItâs the next one.
Also helps that the opening rift is very reminiscent of old emo and alt/rock songs. Stray Kids have a way of inhabiting that soundscape when not doing EDM or even pure pop, and thank God for that.
Oct 8, 2024
Related Recs
Rec
Oh, this song used to wreck baby Lyric. It's still kind of affecting 7 years later, in its feelings towards anxiety and the slow faltering of relationships, something that EDEN was just always good at from here onwards. The snare here is a couple different sounds layered together, including shattered glass, which was insane to my little baby music mind. I didn't know you could do that! It was so damn cool. It's a really slow song built around a sample from The Emperor's New Clothes, but give it time to build and it will pay in spades.
Jul 11, 2025
Rec
âYou can find me drifting slowly
Sinking beneath the sea
Try to catch my breath
A silent struggle drowned in my apathyâ
Iâve only recently gotten into emo music, and this is a perfect depiction of the resigned frustration so many people suffering from depression have. Not to mention an amazing switch up towards the end. Watched it in concert in Berkeley and the crowd surfing was insane.
May 28, 2025
Rec
Itâs such an uncompromising song, it tackles grief and the processing of it in a vulnerable but ultimately human way. The production (credit to Benjamin Booker & Kenny Segal) is unsettling but warm, like you know that it can only get better but you have to just sit and deal with the discomfort of your current situation in order to get there.
Thereâs a delicate piano melody that fades in and out of the mix alongside the faint hum of a guitar making what is in concept a experimental rap song into something different, the ârappingâ is more like spoken word poetry. Benjamin Bookers intro despite being repetitive due to his relaying of âI was only a dove, only in loveâ is made so powerful due to how worn out and whispery his voice is, like itâs a memory of a loved one haunting you.
Which in turn fades into billy woodsâ verse which reads more like poetry than a rap verse. Some of my favourite lines being: âThey called like "Come now, he doesn't have long to live", I dress slowly, Came back that night and took my baby out the crib so I could hold himâ or âLocked doors never had a key but you test the handle occasionally, God forbid it swing openâ âAttic stairs broken, don't go up there, From the windows i watch the diggers disappear in soft wet earth, Dinner served, i waited for my guests, long table set.â Itâs so bleak but perfectly describes the little moments of discomfort you feel when losing someone and I think it works perfectly combined with how minimalistic the production is.
The closing segment from ELUCID is a lot grander in scale and thematically darker, the production starts to get corrupted with static crackles slowly consuming each layer of the instrumental whilst ELUCID foretells the impending end. Itâs a sucker punch that catches you out but it works due to how the song is structured all the emotions caused by loss are only told about up until this point and ELUCIDs part represents the listener tackling them head-on. Itâs uncomfortable and youâll probably skip it on relisten (hell I often do) but I think itâs purpose is so powerful and as a whole the song is incredibly thought provoking.
Thereâs a delicate piano melody that fades in and out of the mix alongside the faint hum of a guitar making what is in concept a experimental rap song into something different, the ârappingâ is more like spoken word poetry. Benjamin Bookers intro despite being repetitive due to his relaying of âI was only a dove, only in loveâ is made so powerful due to how worn out and whispery his voice is, like itâs a memory of a loved one haunting you.
Which in turn fades into billy woodsâ verse which reads more like poetry than a rap verse. Some of my favourite lines being: âThey called like "Come now, he doesn't have long to live", I dress slowly, Came back that night and took my baby out the crib so I could hold himâ or âLocked doors never had a key but you test the handle occasionally, God forbid it swing openâ âAttic stairs broken, don't go up there, From the windows i watch the diggers disappear in soft wet earth, Dinner served, i waited for my guests, long table set.â Itâs so bleak but perfectly describes the little moments of discomfort you feel when losing someone and I think it works perfectly combined with how minimalistic the production is.
The closing segment from ELUCID is a lot grander in scale and thematically darker, the production starts to get corrupted with static crackles slowly consuming each layer of the instrumental whilst ELUCID foretells the impending end. Itâs a sucker punch that catches you out but it works due to how the song is structured all the emotions caused by loss are only told about up until this point and ELUCIDs part represents the listener tackling them head-on. Itâs uncomfortable and youâll probably skip it on relisten (hell I often do) but I think itâs purpose is so powerful and as a whole the song is incredibly thought provoking.
Apr 13, 2025
Top Recs from @melonicamelonica
Rec
My Lady Jane is a fun, entertaining, binge-able fantasy retelling of the life of Lady Jane Grey, queen for all of nine days. Sometimes, thatâs all you really need.
Sep 24, 2024
Rec
Great plot, great acting, great production design. I would be very surprised if this doesnât get its flowers come awards season.
Crimson Sky and the final conversation between Toranaga and Yabushige are some of the things that Iâll be thinking about for quite some time. Iâm not very familiar with Anna Sawaiâs work, but I loved her acting here. The tea ceremony with her husband is another one of her great moments thatâs sort of seared in my memory.
Crimson Sky and the final conversation between Toranaga and Yabushige are some of the things that Iâll be thinking about for quite some time. Iâm not very familiar with Anna Sawaiâs work, but I loved her acting here. The tea ceremony with her husband is another one of her great moments thatâs sort of seared in my memory.
May 28, 2024
Rec
Pretty fun and got the vibe of the games fairly well. I ended up finishing all episodes in one sitting.
The Westworld folks produced this, so while itâs no Westworld, you can feel Jonathan Nolan/Lisa Joyâs influence all throughout.
Not perfect but still one of the better video game adaptations (The Last of Us episode 3 is pretty hard to top). Plus the setting is a goldmine to tell more, better stories in future seasons or spin-offs.
The Westworld folks produced this, so while itâs no Westworld, you can feel Jonathan Nolan/Lisa Joyâs influence all throughout.
Not perfect but still one of the better video game adaptations (The Last of Us episode 3 is pretty hard to top). Plus the setting is a goldmine to tell more, better stories in future seasons or spin-offs.
Apr 16, 2024