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Raving about all the bands I love

[mangoblue-cosmos]

Hello hello!

My name is Sam and this blog will be where I post about bands that I like. Its gonna be a mixture of English rock and punk and Korean pop and rock.

Alot of what you will find is gonna be just me showing off different purchaces of albums and merch and potentially photos from concerts. I'm not sure yet if I'll talk about the bands music itself but we'll see.

K-pop specific:

Rapper postition biased

Sister fan of anyone born in the 2000's

ig username: mangoblue_cosmos

[mangoblue-cosmos]

Rare Americans: SKIDS and the U.S & Canada '25 Tour

Oof, its been nearly two months since and I keep forgetting to post. The concert was amazing! I got a shout out during the Q&A for my shirt which was exclusive for their livestream concert back in 2021. I got a little confused at the venue since I was one of the first to arrive and there wasnt a good indication of which enterance was the right one. Managed to get barricade front and center which is always great! There was a kid next to me who has the coolest aunt. She fought hard and got him the setlist!

I got VIP for the event which included the badge and lanyard, bag, signed poster and shirt. I bought the cassette (cds were sold out), pins and the black SKID(S) vest (not pictured). The phone case is my own creation. I got the guys to sign my case and then took a photo to redraw it on the inside. Then I took some official art from the merch to create the logo. I have to give credit to Set It Off for signing a different case last year and implanting the idea in my brain.

For how simple it is the vinyl is very nice with different characters for the A and B sides. The cassette carries on the double sided black and white theme for its A and B sides. Special shout out to the worker who checked the case and found it cracked and got me a new one!

Of course I had to make kandi to pass out. I take it for granted that people get the concept of kandi. I made one for every song available on Spotify which ended up being a little over 100.

A lot of people were hesitant to take one when offered because they thought I was gonna charge them. I dont make these for profit, but even after learning that some lovely ladies gave me some money so I could keep being able to do so. It wasnt alot but what really got to me was how much they enjoyed the fact I put in so much work with no expectations. I really do just do it for the sense of community! A dad later on during the downtime before Q&A offered to buy me a water because I let his son get another bracelet after the first had broken. Little things like that make it worth it.

Lastly, a few weeks after the concert RA was set to release their movie SKID(S) with a livestream. During and after they were giving away free pizzas (an egift card). After the premier they had a small stream to read some comments and get peoples thoughts on the film. I really wanted them to read mine because how cool would that be!

Lo and behold they did! I was freaking out so hard about it I missed a bit of the beginning then of course the audio wasnt picked up clearly. Either way I was fighting back the excitement to get this video in the moment!

Genuinely love this band and cant wait to see what they drum up next!

[mangoblue-cosmos]

Xikers: House of Tricky: Watch Out

Fourth mini album and the last of the Xikers that I own. Ive been busy making kandi for Rare Americans and Ampers&one.

All three are signed from hello82, with Tricky and Hiker bought on sale for $15.99 and X bought in December for $31.98. Hiker is signed by Yechan and Tricky and X signed by Sumin.

The cd inserts are really cool with that full spiral pattern and the cd and photobook invert the colors of the album box.

Moving photobooks and stickers; I forgot the magnets again but they match coloring with the album boxes and better show the degradation of the spiral. And of course the group photo postcards. I thought X would be my favorite concept but Hiker actually won this time.

One thing I really like in these posters is the use of negative space. The previous albums had closer group shots. Something about the camera distance gives more story to the photos.

Last but not least, the photocards! Starting from the top pair is Junmin and Yujun from Tricky. Next is Seeun and Junmin from Hiker. And lastly Yujun and Minjae from X.

But of course since these are hello82 albums they come with exclusives, left to right: Sumin, Minjae and Hyunwoo. Getting these without obstructing glare was way harder than I thought it would be.

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With that, I've finished posting all the Xikers albums! Next post will be Rare Americans your merch then Ampers&one tour merch.

[bearsintreesofficial]

bears in trees make music to:

[mangoblue-cosmos]

...sing your heart out to. Thats right, that thing in your chest that pumps seemingly to the beat of each song as you experience the rollercoaster of life lived, conquered, and beat down by. You know, that silly little thing that falls deeper in love with you friends, spring rain and the worms you gently place back in the earth of your freshly planted tomatos. That squeezes tightly at every fleeting connection lost, the daunting feeling of being alone and in awe of new life. Which races excitedly with each new day and anxiously while you recite your script in the checkout line. Bears in Trees makes music to give your heart a voice.

[mangoblue-cosmos]

Xikers: House of Tricky: Trial and Error

Third mini album and probably my favorite music wise.

This is the last one to have another second hand copy, again from the same website, Tricky album ver for $6. Signed Tricky and Hiker ver from hello82 with Tricky on sale for $9.59 and Hiker regular price $31.98 back in December. Both are signed by Seeun.

The cds in this album were more plain than the last two in my opinion and they went back to paper sleeves. Now with this one, I did start taking apart my spare photo book, originally to make pcs but instead decided to make collages. Those are a work in progress at the moment.

Like my other posts, the only thing missing from the second hand copy are pcs, everything else was included. (I did forget to include the other magnet which is my fault).

These little standees are adorable but I have no idea where I would put them, left is Seeun and right is Minjae.

I like the posters but I almost wish we got one of the more colorful outfit sets. They've so far had one poster with a darker theme and the other with a vibrant theme. Its just an odd choice to switch to.

On top of photo cards, this album also came with film strip photos and a member ID. Starting from the left fron the Tricky ver. we have Hyunwoo's film strip. The three pc's in the next column top to bottom are Jinsik, Yechan, and hello82 exclusive Sumin. Second half of pc's, this time from Hiker, top to bottom in Hyunwoo, Yechan, and hello82 exclusive Yujun. Finally, Junmin's film strip and Hyunwoo's ID card.

Hyunwoo and Yechan popped up the most but Seeun with his signatures wanted to make sure I didnt forget him. The concepts for this album are both really good but I like the chess outfits from Hiker the most. My top two songs for this album are Every Flavor Jelly and Supercalifragilistic. I could put those on repeat for hours.

[mangoblue-cosmos]

Xikers: House of Tricky: How to Play

Second mini album of Xikers, one Hiker copy bought secondhand from that same website for $11, one Hiker copy bought during a recent hello82 sale for $5.21, and a Tricky version bought in December from hello82 for $28.95.

Originally, I was content with only having one copy each but with how cheap the Hiker signed edition was I jumped to own it. Hiker version is signed by Minjae while Tricky version is signed by Hyunwoo. The secondhand copy has all inclusions minus pcs so I have some duplicate items.

These cds came in plastic cases with inserts of the group examining a mirror of their name while the cd itself has simple pixel patterns of stars and bubbles respectively.

The same pixel patterns are shown on the photobook covers. I really like the color scheme of this album. Something about the yellow and blue is just nice. Since I have duplicates, I might take apart the second photobook and make some collages.

These are the tutorial book pictures which are great for acting as pcs as a non pc collector.

I dont know why but KQ is really good at posters. I have yet to be dissapointed by any choices in layout and capturing the essence of each album type.

Some more inclusion pieces. The postcards are Jinsik for the top two and Hyunwoon while the polaroids are Yujun, Sumin and Seeun respectively.

Lastly the photocards. Since I got two hello82 albums, these came with US exclusives. The top row came from Hiker version with Sumin, Seeun and Sumin's exclusive.The bottom row came from Tricky version with Seeun, Sumin and Minjae's exclusive. This album series was very Seeun and Sumin heavy for me but Im not complaining as they are two of my biases.

Again concept wise I'm leaning more towards Tricky, its just my own aesthetic bias. My favorite song for this album is Do or Die though Koong isnt a bad song either.

[mangoblue-cosmos]

Xikers: House of Tricky: Doorbell Ringing

1st mini album of Xikers bought secondhand for $9/ea from a website that sadly closed down at the end of last year.

For $9, the only thing that was missing was the photocards so I have none from these albums. The boxes and photobook were in great shape.

The lucky cards are the same in both but otherwise each has the opposite color scheme for its inclusions. I really like how the cds look like they've been drawn on, its very cute.

For the polaroids I got Junghoon and Junmin.

And then the posters, you'll have to click on them for better quality. Concept wise for this album I really like the Tricky ver better. My favorite song from this album is Rockstar but all the songs are really good.

[mangoblue-cosmos]

Xikers

I am now the proud owner of every single main Xikers album. Every one except for Doorbell Ringing is also a signed edition by a single member.

Im gonna make seperate posts for each album pair and talk more about specific inclusions.

[mangoblue-cosmos]

Bears In Trees: The Much Anticipated U.S. Tour

As promised heres some things from the Austin BIT concert. First obviously we have the tour poster.

And next, BIT's setlist and Mothés setlist. Thank You, I'm Sorry did not have a setlist available. The venue stage was fairly small and I was right up against it. It made capturing the whole stage harder and there were many a time I was worried Callum was gonna fall into the crowd (he walked in front of the instruments right at the edge, a few times literally inches from me).

I made a couple of bracelets for the concert but was limited in letter choice. Many of the sayings were taken from BIT's tumblr posts. For 'dumpster diver' specifically I used what I consider orphan beads, ones that cant make pairs, picked at random for the true spirit. Everything else was picked off of vibes.

Finally some video. Since tumblrs got a limit I'm sharing the final song of the set. I also had to cut it a bit after tumblr threw a tantrum. Pardon my voice, but if you aren't singing your heart out are you really enjoying Bears In Trees.

[mangoblue-cosmos]

Bears in Trees: How to Build An Ocean: Instructions

Last year Bears In Trees produced their first independent album. My sister and I have been fans since 2022-23 so obviously this was highly anticipated. My sister isnt big on collecting albums and leans more towards clothing. I on the other hand jumped to buy their audio bundle which included a vinyl, a cassette, and a cd.

The vinyl has this nice color splatter in green, blue and yellow on a clear white. On the back is the tracklist with a doodle relevant to each song. Each song is beautiful and range from high energy to melancholic.

The insert has a picture of the band members on one side and the lyrics for each song on the back.

For the release they had different color ways for the cassette to choose from. I really love teals and blues so thats what I went with although the picture makes it bluer than in reality. The cd utilizes the same tracklist design as the vinyl and photo behind the cd itself.

Later that year, BIT performed their first headlining US tour which we obviously went to. I'll post a couple of things from that concert in a different post later.

Bears In Trees actually have an account here on Tumblr if you wanna check them out, @/bearsintreesofficial!

[mangoblue-cosmos]

Mothé: I Don't Want You To Worry Anymore

I first listened to Mothé when they opened for Bears in Trees. They are a very infectious individual on stage and the music leans more towards alternative/indie rock and pop.

Since the venue was smaller, being BIT's first headlining American concert, I was able to talk personally with Mothé and get their vinyl album signed. The vinyl itself is a very pretty pale lime green.

An intersting note on the album sleeve is that half of the songs and lyrics are printed upside down.

What follows is a short video of the first song on the album and a few pictures of Mothé. (Sound warning for the last few seconds of video. I was right in front of a speaker.)

[mangoblue-cosmos]

82Major: On

First post is 82Major's 1st single album, On. 82Major are a 6 member boy group in the kpop genre that leans towards hip-hop style. There are two songs on this single, First Class that showcases the hip-hop influence, and Sure Thing which is more of the typical pop flavor.

I got this album at a local kpop store in Austin. The box is really nice and has this picture under the back flap.

For bigger inclusions you get the CD, a normal and mini photobook, a 'passport' that held the smaller inclusions and a mini poster. The poster has two versions depending on the song concept, the one I have is First Class ver.

Onto the smaller inclusions. Generically, everyone gets a baggage claim tag and stickers, however, I got bonus stickers on accident as they were stuck together.

For member specific inclusions, the bottom most is a boarding pass which on the back contains details of the 'flight' and a members name, Kim Do Gyun on mine.

Back to the top, 1 of 6 polaroids are available. Im still trying to ID mine 100% so if anyone's got ideas that would be great. Below that and to the side of the boarding pass are two transparent pbotocards, Nam Seong Mo and Cho Seong Gil respectively.

Lastly, the photocards (top right). So I got really confused on this part, most listings read as 2 of 6 for a total of 2 cards but theres two versions, First Class and Sure Thing, making the total 12 potential cards. So you can imagine my surprise at getting 4 photocards. The left two are Yoon Ye Chan's for each ver and the right two are Hwang Seong Bin's. I dont imagine at this point for any k-groups that I'll get super into photocard collecting.

Later on I'll make a list of K-groups and applicable biases.