On a fateful autumn day this last September I encountered a brand new band who had only yet released a nine song EP. They were mysterious, different, talented, and had some of the most specific and interesting branding I've seen from any other bands I've discovered so far this decade. That nine song EP quickly jumped up to one of my most played albums of the year, so naturally when they went on tour I simply had to be there no matter what and no matter where....but I never could have imagined just how amazing the experience would be. Here's my story of meeting the greatest band - that you WILL be hearing a lot more of and soon - on their debut headlining tour.

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One of the most underrated and overlooked songs on Tortured Poets may actually be one that has the most to mine....a simple and admittedly childish metaphor is actually far more than it seems once you really start digging into the depths of this song and what it represents in the narrative of the album. Celebrate ONE YEAR of Tortured Poets on The Lizard Review by analyzing one of my favorite songs from the album with me!

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelizardreview.substack.com/subscribe

One of my all time favorite time periods of music had it all...the best boy bands and girl bands in history, some of the most iconic female pop stars of all time, iconic producers, and legendary iconography. It ALSO had misogyny, villainous men topping the charts, and beloved female pop stars punching one another backstage at the VMA's. Nonetheless, I love y2k, flaws and all, and I decided to (attempt) to count down fifteen of my favorite songs from the era.

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Happiness is a butterfly...or is happiness a sunset? There will be happiness after you...or will it always escape from my hands into moonlight? Two different schools of thought on the same concept are presented by two of the most established and prolific female songwriters in the world - Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift. On the one hand, Taylor Swift writes a full narrative of the five stages of grief and how to get back to happiness after all of it in her song Happiness from Evermore. On the other, Lana Del Rey wonders if it's even possible to ever get back to happiness at all on Happiness Is a Butterfly from NFR. Let's examine BOTH of these songs and determine if either of these women are actually mentally stable enough to be giving anyone advice about anything...

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Many of you are aware of my ritual of watching the new episode of Severance every Friday while eating a sandwich...nothing has ever been more important to me in the history of the world...and now that season two has officially concluded, there was no new Severance and no sandwich to be had...so I decided to bring Severance and Sandwich to the Lizard Review for a little bit of a kiki on my personal experience with the show now that we're two seasons in, some opinions on the weirdoness of the fandom, and some interesting conversations about show's storylines and themes.

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In the past five years, the number of truly great, iconic, and timeless pop ballads has dwindled significantly in comparison to years prior...WHERE ARE ALL THE GREAT POP BALLADS?!?!?!?!?! Join me as I struggle to answer this question, clarify what is NEEDED in order to create one of these iconic pop ballads, AND as I count down my personal top five GREATEST pop ballads ever created.

Playlist on Spotify // Apple Music

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SZA is one of the most innovative, unique, and talented artists working in music right now and she also happens to be one of my favorite artists as well. In this episode, come along with me and learn the basic fundamentals of engaging with SZA's music in the best possible way you can. Take Beyonce's advice and remove the barriers of genre from your mind, and soon, you will find yourself realizing that genre really is just another word that means only what we decide it means...

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Friday only comes along every once in a blue moon...on THIS New Music Friday, we get into the brand new single by up and coming band Sunday (1994), as well as the new single from Selena Gomez featuring Gracie Abrams from the already ill-fated collaborative record being cobbled together with Benny Blanco. Plus, the new album from It Girl Tate McRae, and a shocking reminder from Marina that sometimes it's okay to leave before the party is over...

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Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of the magnificence of this holiday, I did a bit of a sister song lyrical analysis of TWO songs that I believe fully encapsulate the spirit of the day and that I also believe are intrinsically and inextricably linked together and have been since the dawn of time - one Paramore song, one Taylor Swift song! I also start the episode off by detailing a truly demented dream that I had and confess that I sincerely believe my dreams can tell prophecies. Typical Friday stuff.

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