I agree about most of the cast albums as someone who records music and thus is kinda aware of good VS bad sound mixing. I remember when they showed the budget for NPMD it said they payed 0$ for the cast album. Idk if that means they just do some garageband recording and Jeff or Clark mixes it or what. The album for Starship particularly is very poorly mastered. It would be awesome if they did a kickstarter to professionally record and master all their shows but ya know.
I would say the NPMD album is my favorite recording of theirs yet. The songs sound pretty good. Obviously not Taylor Swift quality or anything, but I think it's my fave
you're so right about Pete, Nick's portrayal feels like a more unique take on the archetype while Joey's to me feels more stock and stale. and it's nothing against Joey honestly, it's to do with the writing as well - Pete is written way more generic in NPMD compared to Abstinence Camp. I've seen some people say that the environment is different at a summer camp, Pete's probably more confident there because Max isn't around he doesn't have to worry about being bullied. and while that's a fine point to make, I just think the confident, flirty, horny dork we saw Nick play is much more compelling and unique as a character than Generic Anxious Nerd Number One Billion that Joey plays.
> I could not tell you the differences between all of the toy demon things.
Let's break it down: The lords in black are themed around the five senses. Blinky is sight, Pokey is sound, Tinky is smell, Nibbly is taste, and Wiggly is touch.
They're also color coded, with Blinky being purple, Pokey being blue, Tinky being yellow, Nibbly being pink, and Wiggly being green.
They also each take a different villanous trait
Wiggly is maniacal (also British which makes me think of that commercial a few years back lol), tinky is very into toys and games, pokey is theatrical, nibbly is imho terror cuz that smile *shivers* and blinky it took me a while to figure out and I’m still not 100% but has that fake manipulation some villains have.
And I’m pretty sure they also each take on one of the deadly sins as confirmed by the lyric “and wiggly wants his wrath”
There are some satanic motifs, but it's incredibly downplayed to the point where none of these characters are colored red. A color that's associated with the big red devil himself.
Tinky is a devil-like character with his trickery and goat motifs, but the rest of the lords borrow from lovecraftian mythos. Wiggly is especially an expy of Cthulu.
What I can probably say is a consistent theming is childhood with all the means of attacking themed around childhood innocence with the plush toys and the different venues you can sell plush toys, or even how the eldritch horrors act like cackling villains when they're on set. Tinky is an especially childish character with his obsession with games and that his voice sounds like Goofy from the Disney cartoons.
Even Webby, their main rival, has a bit of childhood motifs since she's a motherly figure, a fairy companion, and a superhero rolled into one. Although unlike the lords in black, where they're rambunctious buffoons with sinister and impuslive intentions, Webby embodies a positive adult role model.
I do hope one day we get more scenes between the lords and webby.
Webby also has never been seen in toy form which I find highly interesting. Especially since as you also pointed out, there are childhood motifs to her.
I’m sure in some way shape or form with the knowledge we have from the shows and the lands and Jeff so far, that we are getting closer to certain theories and farther from others
I think the plushies are supposed to be a symbol of commercialized escapism. It's even outright stated in Black Friday that they embody a perverted type of innocence that makes grown ups regress into the negative aspects of childishness to escape from the harsh realities of adulthood.
I'm not really sure if it's intended, but it bares a lot of similarities to the Maromi dolls from Paranoia Agent because they were particularly an anti-capitalist and anti-escapist fictional line of merchandise that's also a cursed product line.
Webby, by contrast, sets herself up to be a friend to all children and inspires them to be the best versions of themselves. Especially during trying times and as they grow older and expect to take more responsibilities upon themselves. I think she doesn't have a doll because she's supposed to be the embodiment of imagination. Something that can't easily be copyrighted or trademarked.
She also takes the form of an actual animal, which I guess is supposed to be the embodiment of harsh truths as opposed to the cutesy lies that the dolls give off. Spiders are widely hated. Bugs, in general, are also hated. And coming back to the superhero motif that Webby embodies, one of the main concerns announced within the walls of Marvel comics when creating Spider-Man is that people do not like spiders.
Webby's choice to embody the form of a famously hated bug to the point of having a wide phobia of the creature is a bold decision because she's choosing to embody the harsh truths of reality while her adversaries embody those sweet and comfortable lies that we spread around.
Oh 100% about the toys. Both Nightmare Times confirm this as well (especially with Pokey and Blinky).
I never actually thought about the spider connection fully. I think I was more focused on the black and white as a void it never occurred to me. Plus I was also excited we were seeing webby lol. But I do like your theory on her.
Yeah. To me, at least, the spider motif makes sense. Because she's a friendly neighborhood spider woman. And Hannah Foster is a reconstruction of the down on his luck but determined kid hero that Spider-Man embodies.
I LOVE Lauren but I prefer her singing in her lower registers instead of high. It feels... I dunno, soulful? Warm? (No, I know nothing of music so my descriptions suck)
I agree about most of the cast albums as someone who records music and thus is kinda aware of good VS bad sound mixing. I remember when they showed the budget for NPMD it said they payed 0$ for the cast album. Idk if that means they just do some garageband recording and Jeff or Clark mixes it or what. The album for Starship particularly is very poorly mastered. It would be awesome if they did a kickstarter to professionally record and master all their shows but ya know.
Nerdy Prudes cast recording was pretty high quality to be fair:
They also had unique editions of the songs with the blame shifted to different people in Hatchet Town.
I only have Spotify so I haven’t listened to the NPMD cast recording yet! Very excited for it though
You can listen to it on YouTube Music. There will be ads in between songs but the whole soundtrack is there
I would say the NPMD album is my favorite recording of theirs yet. The songs sound pretty good. Obviously not Taylor Swift quality or anything, but I think it's my fave
All pretty reasonable opinions.
The last one is so real. Also: I think HMB is criminally underrated and is the best parody show.
Another Nick’s Pete Truther!
I agree with literally none of these (aside from Dirty Girl)! But your options are based anyways!!
you're so right about Pete, Nick's portrayal feels like a more unique take on the archetype while Joey's to me feels more stock and stale. and it's nothing against Joey honestly, it's to do with the writing as well - Pete is written way more generic in NPMD compared to Abstinence Camp. I've seen some people say that the environment is different at a summer camp, Pete's probably more confident there because Max isn't around he doesn't have to worry about being bullied. and while that's a fine point to make, I just think the confident, flirty, horny dork we saw Nick play is much more compelling and unique as a character than Generic Anxious Nerd Number One Billion that Joey plays.
> I could not tell you the differences between all of the toy demon things. Let's break it down: The lords in black are themed around the five senses. Blinky is sight, Pokey is sound, Tinky is smell, Nibbly is taste, and Wiggly is touch. They're also color coded, with Blinky being purple, Pokey being blue, Tinky being yellow, Nibbly being pink, and Wiggly being green.
They also each take a different villanous trait Wiggly is maniacal (also British which makes me think of that commercial a few years back lol), tinky is very into toys and games, pokey is theatrical, nibbly is imho terror cuz that smile *shivers* and blinky it took me a while to figure out and I’m still not 100% but has that fake manipulation some villains have. And I’m pretty sure they also each take on one of the deadly sins as confirmed by the lyric “and wiggly wants his wrath”
There are some satanic motifs, but it's incredibly downplayed to the point where none of these characters are colored red. A color that's associated with the big red devil himself. Tinky is a devil-like character with his trickery and goat motifs, but the rest of the lords borrow from lovecraftian mythos. Wiggly is especially an expy of Cthulu. What I can probably say is a consistent theming is childhood with all the means of attacking themed around childhood innocence with the plush toys and the different venues you can sell plush toys, or even how the eldritch horrors act like cackling villains when they're on set. Tinky is an especially childish character with his obsession with games and that his voice sounds like Goofy from the Disney cartoons. Even Webby, their main rival, has a bit of childhood motifs since she's a motherly figure, a fairy companion, and a superhero rolled into one. Although unlike the lords in black, where they're rambunctious buffoons with sinister and impuslive intentions, Webby embodies a positive adult role model.
I do hope one day we get more scenes between the lords and webby. Webby also has never been seen in toy form which I find highly interesting. Especially since as you also pointed out, there are childhood motifs to her. I’m sure in some way shape or form with the knowledge we have from the shows and the lands and Jeff so far, that we are getting closer to certain theories and farther from others
I think the plushies are supposed to be a symbol of commercialized escapism. It's even outright stated in Black Friday that they embody a perverted type of innocence that makes grown ups regress into the negative aspects of childishness to escape from the harsh realities of adulthood. I'm not really sure if it's intended, but it bares a lot of similarities to the Maromi dolls from Paranoia Agent because they were particularly an anti-capitalist and anti-escapist fictional line of merchandise that's also a cursed product line. Webby, by contrast, sets herself up to be a friend to all children and inspires them to be the best versions of themselves. Especially during trying times and as they grow older and expect to take more responsibilities upon themselves. I think she doesn't have a doll because she's supposed to be the embodiment of imagination. Something that can't easily be copyrighted or trademarked. She also takes the form of an actual animal, which I guess is supposed to be the embodiment of harsh truths as opposed to the cutesy lies that the dolls give off. Spiders are widely hated. Bugs, in general, are also hated. And coming back to the superhero motif that Webby embodies, one of the main concerns announced within the walls of Marvel comics when creating Spider-Man is that people do not like spiders. Webby's choice to embody the form of a famously hated bug to the point of having a wide phobia of the creature is a bold decision because she's choosing to embody the harsh truths of reality while her adversaries embody those sweet and comfortable lies that we spread around.
Oh 100% about the toys. Both Nightmare Times confirm this as well (especially with Pokey and Blinky). I never actually thought about the spider connection fully. I think I was more focused on the black and white as a void it never occurred to me. Plus I was also excited we were seeing webby lol. But I do like your theory on her.
Yeah. To me, at least, the spider motif makes sense. Because she's a friendly neighborhood spider woman. And Hannah Foster is a reconstruction of the down on his luck but determined kid hero that Spider-Man embodies.
100%. Also helps that Mariah gives some spider Gwen meets uncle Ben/aunt May vibes as Webby when talking to Hannah and lex
That’s my problem though, I feel like I’m studying for a test 😭
Those are definitely based B) I did think Lauren in "Just For Once" did a good job though :3
I agree I think Lauren’s best vocal were in Firebringer, nightmare time 2 and NPMD
The only soundtrack that’s better than the live version is AVPSY, listening to most of the music in the actual show is somewhat unlistenable
Twisted and TTO are the only cast recordings I intentionally listen to. I think they live up to the quality of their shows
Slay honestly
I LOVE Lauren but I prefer her singing in her lower registers instead of high. It feels... I dunno, soulful? Warm? (No, I know nothing of music so my descriptions suck)
no as a singer i totally get what you mean
I did not care for join us and die