Hey Chy,

Sorry it has taken so long to get back to reviewing your stories. I'm still very much enjoying every one of them, but life and work keeps getting in the way. I finally a bit of time, though.

Looking at the lyrics, these are definitely the most vague/opaque ones on the album. They gave me no clue as to what kind of story to expect, made me a little confused as to what the song was about actually. Then again, even the for more straight forward lyrics, you stories always turned into something different than I expected, so I probably shouldn't pay too much attention to the lyrics.

"I'm twenty-one, refreshing a YouTube channel over, the next time I remember myself. Lab rat, I think, and don't understand..." - In many ways, this opening fits the lyrics perfectly, because it definitely leaves me with an idea of something really interesting going on, but I have no idea what (though, at this time in the collection, I'm confident I'll find out through the story).

"...and the notification system can not be trusted." - I can definitely relate.

"Refresh, and nothing's changed. Refresh, and it's all the same." - I really like this part. In part because you managed to tie the story to the lyrics so well already. In part because it lets us know so much about the MC in just a few words.

"When I get in my car, I don't have to think about a destination or directions. I just pick streets that scratch the itch." - Interesting. I must admit that I'm not as invested with the MC and their life as I was in most of the other stories, but I'm very curious to see what kind of reveal we might get.

"By the time I pull up to a gate before the long driveway I've almost accepted the way I seem to have led here from some place inside my head." - I don't normally care much about commas, but I think there's one missing here after "driveway", and it made the sentence somewhat difficult to read.

"“I heart New Music Friday,” I tell him.
With a sigh, he returns to his shack and raises the gate."
- Okay, this is weird. In the "I really can't wait to see what's going on."

"It's like watching an episode of a favorite TV show that I've forgotten, but I remember each line of dialogue as it's said." - I love this description. I know exactly how the MC feels.

"...as if remembering unlocks a safety feature that makes us forget." - Argh! You're making my head hurt. Again, though, I really like how well this is tied to the lyrics. It has the same sort of "I almost get it, but not quite" feel.

"You'll remember it when you start forgetting all the others. And that's when it'll be our last chance to get you to record the next song." - Argh! More brain hurt.


Overall
All right. I'm writing this bit a couple of hours later than the rest of the review, because I had to think about this story a lot before making my final comments. I'm not sure all that time has helped any, though, but here goes.

I must admit, I feel ambivalent about this story. Part of me really wants clearer answers at the end. I get that the MC is part of some experiment and that the people they meet up with are (probably) all alterations of themselves. But the meaning of the experiment, the loss of memory caused by remembering too much... It feels like I'm missing some final clarification as to why all of this is going on.

Then again, I think part of why I want more clarity is because I've read so many of your other stories by now, and I can't recall any of them having this sort of open-to-interpretation ending. So I really didn't expect it.

Actually, this feels more like one of J.B's story-puzzles than your character driven short stories.

And there's also another part of me that really liked the story, and especially the ending. Partly because what's really more suiting for a story about confusion and mystery, than an ending that doesn't give the reader all the answers. And partly, there's just something satisfying about reading a story that makes you do the work, where you're forced really think about it.

And on top of that, I really, really liked the speculative element. The 152 songs in 152 weeks is in itself a pretty neat idea for a Youtube channel, and there's something hauntingly interesting about the mystery that drives the MC to listen to the mediocre songs and reacting to them the way he/she does.

I can see I'm starting to ramble now, because I'm still not sure how I feel about this story (or that I have any useful feedback for you. Sorry). I guess what I'm trying to say is that this was something very different. Different in a way that means that this will probably never be my favorite story in the collection, but also different in a way that I really enjoyed.


My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!" .