u/Ok-Secretary-28

Hello! I have an odd request that I'm hoping won't get me razed too badly

Basically- Favourite Worst Nightmare is one of my favorite albums of all time. No skips, the energy on it is just absolutely insane with that beautiful break in the middle with 'Only Ones Who Know' into the single hardest track ever with 'Do Me A Favour'. It's SO good. Balaclava, D is for Dangerous, This House Is a Circus, If You Were There Beware, like holy fuck.

My intention isn't too complain about their other albums, as I know and respect that musicians will change their sound. But they just... don't do it for me like Favourite Worst Nightmare does. Not even close! It's driving me crazy!!

So I have twoish questions that I'm hoping someone with a better understanding of the band's history, as well as a broader music library, might be able to help me with.

I'm not a musician so I don't really know how to describe ~what~ in FWN does it for me, but I'd loosely say it's how high energy it is. ESPECIALLY on the drums.

So I'm curious- were there line-up changes in the band that influenced the sound? Am I correct in feeling that the drums are a lot different than their other works? There's also something about the guitar work that scratches my brain just right- the sequencing of the notes just feels a bit more dynamic maybe? Like it jumps around a bit more? I'm hoping someone a bit more musically literate can help me understand what sonically sets FWN apart from the rest of their albums.

I'd love some suggestions for other songs in their catalogue that you feel are most aligned with FWN. Or- if you know other artists that have a similar sound to that album, I'd love to hear some recommendations so I can get my fix!

There are obviously a lot of things you can point to in S5 that don't make sense, but I wanted to draw attention to some odd ones that I see as being under-discussed.

Who unplugged the radio tower in Ep. 1? We see Jonathan having to screw the cable back together and it seems impossible that it could've been undone on it's own. If we imagine they were sabotaged- how did someone get up there while the tower was still powered on? The only answer I can come up with is that someone who wouldn't actually have to touch anything could have done this- as in, a telekinetic.
Who did Max and Holly hear in the woods? We hear a twig snap- that happened. But there were no other kids in Camazotz yet. There are no creatures. It's just Henry and he's 'out' at the moment... right? Who else could be lurking out there? **This is a DIFFERENT moment from the time Derek followed them into the woods, pls stop saying it's Derek it's really not.
Genuinely how and why does Mike keep disappearing throughout the episodes? This one is sooo weird to me because they almost seem to emphasize that everyone is accounted for leaving the Wheeler house except for Mike. As the Wheelers and Byers leave after breakfast, we see Holly, Nancy, Joyce, Jonathan and Will all leaving out the front door- they even each get a line as though we're checking off each of them. After the door closes, we cut outside the house and Mike is already on his bike. It's like he teleported!
And 'Mike magically disappears' happens again in the last episode- how? I'm referring to the overhead wide shot of the group on the tower. Finn just walked off set and no one noticed? This one is a bit more widely called out but I wanted to mention it again just in connection with #3, since it's also notable to me that it happens both in Ep. 1 and Ep.8.

3+4. It's also just striking to me that Mike vanishes around these spots that are already kinda suspicious- the Wheeler's front door becomes a focal point as it becomes a 'gate' through which the Demogorgon enters and exits the house with Holly. Him vanishing at the radio tower right in front of the mysteriously broken box, too? Its so weeeiiiiirrdddd how consistently these errors match up with each other.

I also vaguely feel a connection between Max and Holly hearing someone in the woods and Will and Robin finding the 'Mandala' in the woods. It's not the same woods I don't think, but I was re-watching to see and had to laugh a little bit when Robin started yapping about 'Mandala' vs 'Mandela'.

The very subtle Mandela/ Mandela Effect shoutout has my head in my hands- like wait no let's go back to the concept of collective false memories. Who else remembers Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind being on the list of major inspirations for S5? That never quite manifested.

Unless...?

Favourite Worst Nightmare

Minor but also kinda Major Unexplained Moments in S5