Friday, September 3, 2021

I Just Binge-Watched Centaurworld In 2 Days, Here's My Favorite Part

Last week on a whim I started watching Centaurworld on Netflix. This is a new show, and going by the preview pic alone I expected a bizarre Adventure Time kind of vibe:

 




I should mention I never really liked Adventure Time, so my expectations... were low. 

In a matter of seconds, though, I was yanked into the most riveting 3 minute intro. Completely unexpected, completely stunning... I was hooked. 

Now that I've watched all 10 episodes of the first season, I can confidently say that if you don't like Centaurworld after the first few minutes, walk away. This is not a series that takes time to hit its stride: it starts at its peak, maintains that level for about 5 episodes, then slowly declines in the final 5 episodes, though still with occasional moments of greatness. (At least for me, your mileage may vary.)

Centaurworld is a roller coaster of contradictions: it combines a beautiful, heart-wrenching emotional arc with fart jokes and absurdities. So while it does have that wacky Adventure Time vibe I was dreading (not judging, just not my jam) it also has enough depth and characters I instantly cared for to string me along 'til the end.

I'm not trying to convince you to watch Centaurworld, because it's definitely not for everyone. I just want you to watch the one-minute opening song with me, because it's haunting my brain in the best way, and I think more people should be talking about it:




You're OK
You're alright
I'll never ever leave your side
I will stay
I will fight
With you

You're OK
You're alright
I'll stay here through the darkest night
All the way
I will fight
With you


I played this for John, and after a second of stunned silence he demanded, "How is this song in THAT SHOW?!" Then he brought it up on Youtube and we listened to it three more times. :D

John's not the only one befuddled; here's the top comment on Youtube:




Yep. THAT.

If you're a Broadway fan you might recognize the voice from Rider's Lullaby, btw: it's Jessie Mueller of Waitress fame. I've never seen Waitress, but I do like to watch this Tony performance on Youtube from time to time for a good cry, so I love her. 

Centaurworld has tons more songs - I think nearly 30? - but only a few other stand-outs. My second favorite, "What You Need" by First Aid Kit, is another stunner:



That harmony, right? This episode was my favorite.


I hope this made your day at least 20% more beautiful, even if the first song made your eyes leak. I think we all could use a reassuring lullaby right now to remind us we're not fighting alone. ::hugs::

Anyone else watching Centaurworld? What do you think?

Or for everyone else, what's your go-to "good cry" songs? Link me up!



*****


  P.S. We had so many folks enter the Squeegineer give-away this month (turns out y'all really like dino mirrors) that we're picking 4 winners instead of just 2 or 3. So congrats to Angela B., Shannon E., Julie F., & Tricia H.! Please check your inboxes for a message from John, gang, so you can choose your prizes. We'll be making extra mirrors so at least 2 of you can choose a set, plus I added new options to the prize board, so be sure to check that out.

If you didn't win this round, remember you can enter now for my August drawing, it's free!




20 comments:

  1. Re: crying songs.... We have a local day in memory of soldiers killed etc. The radios always play suitable songs, some written about a particular person or fight, some more general and many of them very very sad.
    Also all of them are in Hebrew

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  2. OK, I may have to check that out. Hubby and I have been starting our Saturday mornings with a bit of cartoon viewing. (Currently, a lot of Rick and Morty.) Side note, I was first introduced to First Aid Kit when a Swedish guy I follow on Instagram posted a video with a rather haunting song playing in the background. I was so taken by it that I asked him what he was listening to, and it turned out to be their song The Lion's Roar. I'm such a fan of theirs now.

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  3. Oh man! That lullaby made my eyes leak big time! My go-to good cry song is "Be My Only Love" by Maureen McElheron from the Bill Plimpton cartoon "The Tune". Be My Only Love A love song the characters sing to each other when they think they have to leave each other.

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  4. I also watched Centaurworld on a whim. I wouldn't say I'm hooked, but I do need to know what happens next. Also if they leave the main character like *that* Imma be annoyed. (I admit a sneaking fondness for Waterbaby. I hope she shows up again.)

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  5. It's on my watchlist. I was intrigued as soon as I first saw the trailer. If only there were more hours in the day just for watching the shows I want to watch. *Sigh*

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  6. Heres some other cute shows I've started watching lateley: Turner and Hooch on Disney +, Monsters at Work on Disney +, and Dug Days on Disney +. Dug Days is super cute and the episodes are only 10 min. And of course there are the Pixar shorts - a nice option when you don't have at a lot of time and need to head to bed.

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  7. My favorite song is "Baby Mine" sung by Alison Krauss. Yes, the Dumbo lullaby. First and only song that made me immediately head out to purchase a CD after the first hearing. Hope that this link works... https://youtu.be/kCjhm-qLERQ

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  8. I am going to check this out, another cartoon I cannot recommend enough is Over the Garden Wall. It is simply the best cartoon series ever made on the face of the earth.
    Adventure Time is not my jam either, but I do love some Flapjack and Garden Wall.
    My go to cry song is the opener from The Rescuers.

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  9. Waitress is as wonderful as that song….
    I hope that with the success of Hamilton on Disney+ that they’ll release more pro shot films. This would be a great one. I’m really looking forward to Come From Away out on Apple TV next week.

    But I digress… a song that always gets me is Rob Thomas’ Little Wonders from Meet the Robinsons…

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  10. If you liked these songs, you might (or might not) love Central Park on Apple+. The cast is, well, AMAZING (Daveed Diggs does a particularly amazing job, but also Leslie Odom and Josh Gad and Kristen Bell and Titus Burgess and... you get the idea). The songs are weird and wonderful as well. I will always hum "Weirdos Make Great Superheros" and "Imperfectly Perfect" to get through my day.

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    1. I just started watching Central Park last week and "Weirdos Make Great Superheroes" has been stuck in my head all week....off to listen again :)

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  11. This looks like a show I would have to watch for myself to see if I would like it or not, lol. But from what I'm hearing, it's great! (puns intended, btw)

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  12. Shape of My Heart by Sting makes me bawl a lot, thanks to the link in my brain to The Professional (shatteringly good and upsetting movie also known as Leon). The Highwayman by Loreena McKennitt (based on an already tragic, beautiful poem made even more so by LM's haunting voice). Pretty much most of the second act of Hamilton, in particular Burn.

    The version of Baby Mine from Dumbo never fails to make my mom cry.

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  13. In the past few days my go to song has been Kiss The Mountain by AURI

    "Silent bound by voices
    too long shackled under yoke of not enough
    Let me hear you roar, roar of everything you're for
    Scream out years your silence cost
    Catch a spark and light a beacon

    Calling mountains, calling fields
    Our hearts were never meant to kneel
    Fill a sentence your birth began
    Imagine you're already there
    A voice so feeble yet all-knowing
    I must heed and find my smile"

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl8fLG95-KA

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  14. Thanks for sharing these beautiful songs! Also wanted to let you know that the massager you mentioned on a previous post won Labor Day weekend for my family! My sister hurt her back and was in a lot of pain. We brought the massager and she got some relief... then, of course, everyone had to try it out and they were all so impressed. So thanks!

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  15. The one song that ALWAYS makes me cry is 'When She Loved Me' from Toy Story 2.

    'Edelweiss' from The Sound of Music is a close second.

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  16. Someone suggested a song from that show (Who is She? Reprise) as being very appropriate to one of my OTP.

    I still haven't watched the show (and that particular song was a little screechy for my tastes) but the lyrics were good and the fit was dead on for my fave character.

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  17. If you need a good sob, "Where the Lost Things Go" from Mary Poppins Returns. (YouTube it if you don't have time to sit through the movie.) Good grief waterworks.

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  18. Well, I'm sure glad school's not out yet and I'm working in the one room library today...because that song sure did set me off. LOL *I buried my mare (who I had gone on tons of adventures with) earlier this year.

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  19. Oh my gosh. First of all, this is a full-fledged Broadway musical disguised as a weird cartoon, with many theatrical performers (hello? Lea SALONGA?!) I too binge watched it in 2 days. Second, I mentioned to my 14yr old that I had come across this really interesting show with beautiful music and she was like, "That was on my to watch list!" so thank you... for giving me something to connect with my daughter over when we have struggled over the pandemic. I really appreciate this so much. Things have been kind of other side of the rift here and somehow this music made it better. Now I just want an album with the full-length versions of these songs to make it perfect.

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