Todd In The Shadows

[The Jackal]

It makes you wonder why those chances have been relatively few and far between.

Some combination of being too lazy and not having the balls. And maybe writing articles instead of scripts for YouTube videos just isn't in his skillset. He did definitely get something published in the recent-ish past though.

Shall we place a bounty on this footage in hope that somebody finds it?

It's now private, as @Ninon42 points out. The link is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4dysyyEjHo

I managed to track it down though:

So to provide more detailed context, I believe this was uploaded around the time Lindsay Ellis left New York to move to LA. This would have been after they broke up, but I'm not sure of the exact dates. I believe she was still single then, and she hadn't met her current husband yet.

I think it's almost certain that this is for her and it was his way of saying that he'll always "be there" and that he's still holding the flame just in case she ever changes her mind and wants to get back together. I think he uploaded it to YouTube as a more subtle way of reaching out than sending it to her directly, which would have seemed a bit needier and more desperate. Not too long afterwards of course he moved to LA himself. Lots of YouTubers do that of course, so it's no big surprise, but possibly he also wanted to be closer to Lindsay - who knows?

In his 40s now (born 3 June 1984), making it twice as cringe and mid-life crisis-y.

Holy shit, he's 41 this year? Yeesh, no wonder he's thinking about quitting. He's been doing this since he was in his mid-20s. You're too fucking old to be gushing over Chapell Roan, Todd. Go get a real job, leave LA and settle down.

ETA: The original is here:

https://youtu.be/fqelqGa0vCA?si=fHYmUQfbxHjVYSL0

if anyone wants to compare. Pretty great song actually, but Todd doesn't have the chops to pull it off and it's pretty thin with just the keyboard for accompaniment.

 

[Boston Brand]

That's even more pathetic than I could have dreamed.

I don't care how could sticking your two inch pecker in her was Todd, no pussy is worth obsession for a decade.

 

[Ninon42]

Some combination of being too lazy and not having the balls. And maybe writing articles instead of scripts for YouTube videos just isn't in his skillset. He did definitely get something published in the recent-ish past though.

For the princely sum of $4/video (so $4/mo, as he's been doing one video per rent cycle for awhile now), you can read his Ramble On essays and be thoroughly disabused of any notion of him being a talented writer. They are also on kemono.party, but that site is super NSFW due to the porn ads and will give your computer the cancer-aids. He wrote a few short reviews for Billboard on their top 100 best of the 90s or minivan rock or something like that as well, more because he's friends with the EIC of billboard.com. Nice find on the video though!

I think it's almost certain that this is for her and it was his way of saying that he'll always "be there" and that he's still holding the flame just in case she ever changes her mind and wants to get back together. I think he uploaded it to YouTube as a more subtle way of reaching out than sending it to her directly, which would have seemed a bit needier and more desperate. Not too long afterwards of course he moved to LA himself. Lots of YouTubers do that of course, so it's no big surprise, but possibly he also wanted to be closer to Lindsay - who knows?

HIs cuckery for Lindsay knows no bounds, but the move to LA came when Zac Bertschy drank himself to death and his estranged troon wife Hope stole all his worldly possessions to pawn for testosterone money so his family couldn't have them. He claimed to be sick of NYC and yeah, the death of a friend can be the kick in the ass needed to make a big life change. But realistically, he didn't need to live in LA to make videos in profile and silhouette on the Internet; it's not like he's doing collabs or living in a hype house.

 

[UnKillFill]

Another year another year of "top 10" songs where I haven't heard anything on the list, haven't even heard the names of about half the artists, and where all 10 of the songs sound like the exact same bland whiny bullshit that pop music has been for about a decade now.

 

[The Jackal]

That's even more pathetic than I could have dreamed.

I don't care how could sticking your two inch pecker in her was Todd, no pussy is worth obsession for a decade.

I do feel a tiny, tiny bit bad about mocking him for something that clearly came from the heart and was maybe an expression of genuine pain. But in the end, he was the one who decided to make it public by putting it on YT so he only has himself to blame lol.

his estranged troon wife Hope stole all his worldly possessions to pawn for testosterone money so his family couldn't have them.

Jesus. You see, an experience like that would peak a normal person, but Todd's still desperate to get pats on the head for being a good little ally. He's beyond hope.

But realistically, he didn't need to live in LA to make videos in profile and silhouette on the Internet; it's not like he's doing collabs or living in a hype house.

No, it's retarded, but then the majority of YouTubers who move there really don't need to, it's just about being part of the clique. I still stand by my theory that part of the reason was that he wanted to get closer to Lindsay Ellis.

If Todd isn't a lolcow, then I'll at least say that 2024 was the year where Todd seemed to have lost much of what made him and his content interesting to me. Real sad to see.

He's kind of a fascinating edge case. In some ways he's absolutely not a lolcow. I was watching recently the series on YouTube from the guy who's roasting the whole 'Not So Awesome' document (https://youtube.com/@nettles5517?si=lmufCBxNS0fFtyBe) and IIRC Todd had the good sense to stay out of it completely, saying that he really enjoyed being on the site and he was grateful for the exposure. Stuff like that shows he's intelligent and reasonable to a certain extent.

But he's connected to so many people who definitely are lolcows, whether they're extensively covered on this site or not. And he also has the most basic bitch BlueSky SJW opinions which have infected every aspect of his content.

I feel like every time I think about this song, I'm on the verge of discovering a new reason why it ain't as good as Todd makes it out to be. I imagine that it physically hurt Todd to place it at number 6 on this list considering how much he gushes about it.

It's a pretty good track, good beat, good bars. But the thing is, Todd is fully invested in the Kendrick/Drake beef for some reason that I can't quite figure out. Possibly because he has a bullying streak in him like most people who share his views do, and he can't resist the opportunity to kick Drake while he's down.

You know, considering this genre gave us June Carter, Shania Twain, and the fact that everyone seems to love Dolly Parton who comes from the country adjacent genre of bluegrass, I have to call bullshit on Todd's claim.

And the Miley/Beyonce track isn't even explicitly lesbian AFAIK, it's just one of those 'it could be interpreted that way' songs. Definitely no way anyone who runs a big country radio station would give a fuck about that.

 

[Bonesjones]

Todd had the good sense to stay out of it completely, saying that he really enjoyed being on the site and he was grateful for the exposure. Stuff like that shows he's intelligent and reasonable to a certain extent.

I think he's just such a spineless wimp, he bends over backwards for approval. So scared of being disliked he's nothing more than a complete coward.

 

[The Token Ethnic]

Yeesh, no wonder he's thinking about quitting.

That comment might refer to Finn McKenty, who claimed he was quitting and only did it for the money, but there could be some truth in that joke.

 

[Random Internet Person]

He also had a video where he played Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground that was pretty good.

Well, you’re in luck!

 

[Random Internet Person]

Might as well post these before I see what he says about the Grammys.

 

[Lil Miku]

Todd is gonna have a fucking field day with Kendrick getting five Grammys for that shitty song that got shoved down everyone's throats.

 

[Ninon42]

I've changed my vote from cow-adjacent to cow.

 

[Random Internet Person]

I've changed my vote from cow-adjacent to cow.

What made you change your mind?

Todd is gonna have a fucking field day with Kendrick getting five Grammys for that shitty song that got shoved down everyone's throats.

Well, here’s all that he posted on BlueSky :

 

[theeviloneisyou]

Might as well post these before I see what he says about the Grammys.

View attachment 6935393


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Like many content creators before him, Todd has let politics destroy him.

 

[Boston Brand]

Like many content creators before him, Todd has let politics destroy him.

Politics and Lindsay Ellis' cunnie.

 

[Ninon42]

What made you change your mind?

He's always had his political biases and that's fine, this is America goddammit. But now the politics matter more than the music and the invisible line between musical historian/commentator and pontificator of bad political takes has been blurred too much. For me, it's been a gradual decline from paypig to "I'll still click his videos immediately upon notice" to "...please be funny. I'll watch it after a power-washing video or something." I doubt he'll mourn the loss of a former fan whose political beliefs diametrically oppose his own and that he'd hate irl, but it's a bit sad, like watching an old friend get sucked into scientology.

 

[Raging Capybara]

He's always had his political biases and that's fine, this is America goddammit. But now the politics matter more than the music and the invisible line between musical historian/commentator and pontificator of bad political takes has been blurred too much. For me, it's been a gradual decline from paypig to "I'll still click his videos immediately upon notice" to "...please be funny. I'll watch it after a power-washing video or something." I doubt he'll mourn the loss of a former fan whose political beliefs diametrically oppose his own and that he'd hate irl, but it's a bit sad, like watching an old friend get sucked into scientology.

What's so funny about that?

 

[Random Internet Person]

Personally, I view both of his top ten lists this years as kind of “meh,” overall. A part of me thinks Todd needs Bieber or Adam Levine.

Maybe you’re right. Those guys seemed like the Newman to his Jerry Seinfeld. And I guess there could be some humor in a one sided animosity (but if politics are involved, say goodbye to the humor with his crowd). At the very least, I’d take that over his recent amount of endless gushing and fanboying, which at least for the artists on his best of 2024 list just comes across as more sad, if not creepy.

Maybe that’s why he felt burned out for the past few years: he didn’t have either of those things to look forward to talking about. Maybe the best list relit the passion and drive in him?

 

[Ninon42]

Todd liked the Grammys.

Honestly, the results aligned with his likes so much that I actually looked up the showrunners of the Grammys to make sure he wasn't consulting with them lol. Someone on the there is a fan I bet. For the record, Ken Ehrlich Productions is responsible for producing the Grammys, led by their namesake, this guy:

LA, baby.

 

[S@credC]

I'm tired of this notion that people just thought country would somehow welcome Beyonce with open arms to country music. She's not doing anything like, say, Robert Plant or Neil Young or David Byrne. You can like those guys, you can hate those guys, but what you can't say is that when they went experimental, it was cynical. Beyonce going country was basically her wearing a new outfit. She didn't have to study anything. She just assumed if she showed up in the right hat and boots, that was her automatic ticket to being "in" country music.

That's why people didn't respond well to Beyonce doing "country", because she's a poseur.

Interesting you should bring this up in Todd's thread. I distinctly remember him not being impressed with Beyonce at the beginning of his career. So much so, I think he put two of her songs on his Worst of 2009 list ("If I Were A Boy" and "Single Ladies"). He was pretty consistent in that opinion until she released Lemonade. Then he decided she was actually Queen Bee all along. And he specifically pointed to Don't Hurt Yourself as to why. Which was odd, because the only thing he really had to say about why it was so great was because she threatened to leave Jay-Z in that song.

 

[Random Internet Person]

Interesting you should bring this up in Todd's thread. I distinctly remember him not being impressed with Beyonce at the beginning of his career. So much so, I think he put two of her songs on his Worst of 2009 list ("If I Were A Boy" and "Single Ladies"). He was pretty consistent in that opinion until she released Lemonade. Then he decided she was actually Queen Bee all along. And he specifically pointed to Don't Hurt Yourself as to why. Which was odd, because the only thing he really had to say about why it was so great was because she threatened to leave Jay-Z in that song.

I have to believe it had something to do with virtue signaling. Especially considering it was released in the summer of 2016, when it became clear Trump running for president was more than a joke.