lethaeomedusa

[lethaeomedusa]

this might be niche but Conor Curley from Fontaines D.C. when he used to wear his glasses on stage was so hot. Like a reversal of the ‘takes off glasses and becomes hot’ trope. I wish he’d wear them again

Good news is you’ll still sometimes see him rock those shades on stage these days!

[lethaeomedusa]

One day I'll take my time and make a Fontaines D.C. James Joyce reference post.

[lethaeomedusa]

it's amazing to be young not only feels like a worthy epilogue to romance and an answer to the questions that the album poses, but it also helps tie in this whole era to previous fontaines albums and themes which is <33 just my fav thing

so. these lyrics which basically make up the whole song–

sometimes i wake up and it's dark perform the ritual that puts me in the part but i sang them every word i had seems like they're never gonna understand that the cost / brings you down but it's amazing to be young

–automatically threw me back to no (a song which seriously feels so personal that it feels like a page torn out of my brain) from a hero's death:

you have heard and you have lost you're acquainted with the cost the one that comes with feeling deep you're still paying in your sleep, yeah

many (too many) uncut thoughts below about romance as a whole, the it's amazing to be young music video, dogrel themes, and general gush or idek what else

i do think a fundamental question of romance is dealing with what happens when you 'feel deeply' or its opposite, numbness. otherwise put: truth or/and delusion, acceptance or/and denial, when the reality of the world/your life/the people that surround you does not match up with what you desire. on that related note, i really enjoyed the snippet of desire the song in the it's amazing to be young music video. desire imo is a sort of linch-pin of romance the album for me ('desire' as a concept having the same ambiguity as 'romance' for me where it can be good or bad, the thing that drives you to action or the thing that makes you stuck in place).

the music video narrative continuing and making sense of the character stories we got in here's the thing and in the modern world, giving us a happy ending (!!!), was perfect. the character vibes and the convenience store (or pharmacy etc?) set-up reminded me a little bit of green day's jesus of suburbia music video [which i ADORED when i first watched it and which i see itself borrows from smashing pumpkins' 1979]. the general musical vibe of it's amazing to be young, as well as here's the thing, really threw me back to that 2000s alt (emo/pop punk/whatever) music [which may work as i believe the band has at varying points listed green day and smashing pumpkins as influences]. i think part of that is instrumentally, where the guitars+drums feel very fundamental (or 'basic' but not in a negative sense of the word). the other part is probably that it just put me in that frame of what music i listened to when i was young(er). the bass near the beginning of the song really jumped out at me as well as deego's backing vocals near the end and the sort of sparkly/twinkly sound throughout, the last being responsible for that dreamy time-transcending quality that this song and others like favourite also have (and of course which also speak to the the cure influence :)).

going from that, i think the song with the album works as a kind of coming of age – or maybe a sort of process of maturing and realizing you're young, or you can retain something of your youth, after all. the visual allusions to the dogrel album cover in the music video (the circus, the horse) really bring this home to me. there's something there in a bit of a meta way to me about honouring your artistic roots and where you come from (dogrel being the album about ireland while they were *in* ireland) but also something important thematically. curley and grian in an interview described dogrel (starting from a discussion of roy's tune) as being filled with a feeling of *inertia*, of being stuck and unable to act or change, and i think romance is an album where they come back to that in a big way.

of course, closer to the surface, the mv's storyline of finding your long-lost love at the circus is a lovely take on love and youth and freedom and acceptance as well. the song overall is a breath of fresh air and hope that contrasts with some of the cynicism and darkness that imo also characterizes youth, or rather growing up/coming of age. the song works to unearth and preserve the innocence and naivety of an even earlier youth. the band was inspired by carlos's baby daughter for this song, as for horseness is the whatness (another linch-pin song of romance for me with the beautifully simple closing ultimatum "you choose or you exist")... and can i just say there is something so wonderfully wholesome/reassuring about a group of guys being this changed by one of them becoming a father (which is quite related to roy's tune the music video now that i think about it). deego describes the song as starting as a "lullaby" or music box" and summarizes the music video with,

"youth is magical, and stories can become interwoven unexpectedly and feel like worlds colliding. That is youth, that is young love, and I think oftentimes that is romance."

anyway. i am so so so happy to have their four masterpiece albums (it is SO unbelievably rare for me to adore everything in a band's discography this much and no matter what happens next i am so grateful for the legendary run of dogrel-ahd-skinty-romance). and it's amaaaaziiiing (heh) to see how they revisit the same sorts of ideas over the years and how relevant they all feel. fontaines are asking the right questions about/of the world and i think they may have started giving some of the right answers.

[lethaeomedusa]

—— and forgive me for babbling endlessly

It's more ridiculous that (I've just learned) people are accusing *some* music schools for not about teaching music theories and techniques but rather "selecting and producing rock stars", which to me seems like a mere conspiracy. (too many loopholes, I don't even know where to begin with.)

To be clear I didn't went to music school, but I did often sneak into the music course in my uni and from my own experience one can always learn *something* if they really want to. I don't know if things in actual music school went the same way but I doubt they would ever go that off...?

The idea of being completely indie and the reality of having to work with the industry seems like an enternal paradox. However, I sincerely doubt whether this dichotomy should ever extend to professional music study and music schools. (even if they focus on contemporary popular music.)

I've said this many times but still, there is an unnecessary amount of "grassroots/workingclass pride"(donno the formal word) in rock/alter rock culture, i.e. people often tend to be a lot harsher/mean to bands forming/coming from music colleges (e.g. Fontaines for going to BIMM) and honestly I don't think it's either fair or reasonable.

People need systematic training in order to be a long-term productive band. Even if the bands that originally came from other places will have to learn the samethings as those who attended music schools did. The only difference is that it won't be on their resume.

I think people are just ignoring that on purpose to idolize their favorite musicians' "talent" and at heart I feel this to be so weird.

Totally, we saw this with black midi and the BRIT School too— that's another institute that comes up often. I imagine you meant moreso the education side of things and the idea of 'authenticity' in rock, since a lot of these bands themselves grew up working class.

But you're right, alt and rock music communities are particularly notorious for this because 1) there's always been this anti-pop sentiment in the alt/rock communities because they think 'pop = the establishment' and schools like the BRIT school are better known for popstar alumni like Jessie Ware and Adele, so they figure music school is surely part of The Establishment (and they are 'alternative' to the mainstream so all schooled musicians shouldn't belong).

2) They somehow feel that the networking opportunities that a few years in a music institution allow you give you an unfair legup in the industry. Something like befriending the student who may go on to produce your first album, or a filmmaker that will work on your first music video, or meeting someone who knows a relevant venue's booker, can put in a good word for you at a record label, or something like that.

But what this ignores is that if you're in a music scene, you will get to know these people anyway. Might be harder if you're a bedroom musician and relying exclusively on social media virality, but music scenes are quite small and insular, if you hang around, you get to know people really fast. And at the end of the day, though musicians complain about having to talk to other people (creative folks are also notoriously introverts!), that's the only way you'll find the people that can help you. And only by talking to them and putting a personality and situation to a name/face, will they want to help and support you!! You can graduate music school all you like, but if you never spoke to anyone, you won't get anywhere.

I mean, black midi and The Last Dinner Party's first breakthroughs were getting noticed by fans while playing the Windmill in Brixton. For black midi, it was as simple as the fact that the Windmill were the only ones who replied to Geordie Greep's booking request emails. An A&R person from Island caught wind of the TLDP hype and saw them at the Windmill and immediately signed them. Like I said, you'll make those connections regardless of school.

This is also definitely not a new topic of discussion, it was 'born and raised in the school of keeping it real and playing your local pub' vs 'the hoity art school kids', it was Blur vs. Oasis before.

And like, yeah I do concede that going to art school will always be a financial risk, and not everyone can afford to take that kind of risk (I couldn't! Submitted my applications to design college, realised I could not possibly afford what came after school if I did that, then turned around and quietly applied to computer science schools instead. Quite a common story). It's only getting more expensive to be an artist in any capacity on limited funds. We're seeing working class musicians getting priced out of art, or left in the field in very limited capacities. There was a post a while ago that resonated with a LOT of people:

This is a genuine concern and we need to be fighting to keep art accessible: subsidise grassroots venues, lower rents, make music education available to kids in school, have spaces like youth centres where kids can play after school. Have more programmes and funding for music for both children and adults. It's been pivotal to a lot of artists' careers. But that isn't to say that there are no working class musicians left, or that they can't aspire to more serious musical ambitions than playing to a 20-people bar down the road. That's quite patronising, isn't it?

What Blur vs. Oasis had also got wrong was that most of Blur were working class kids. (There was a time in recent memory when going to art school was not financial suicide.) But further, some folks are determined that their careers need to be in music. They can't just not try. And it's worth saying that not everyone SHOULD be, e.g., a doctor (sigh... I have written so many iterations of this post on my main, but I won't get into it here to keep it short). So kids take on loans, they win scholarships and art funding and grants. People have this idea that only super rich people will eventually go to art school, which isn't really true. (Tbh, while I obv didn't go to art school, I snuck into classes I fancied all the time. Didn't always enroll in them, but I learned and did make friends). It also harks back to this idea that surely only the aristocracy can afford such refined hobbies as art and music. The rest of us should know our place and not attempt to learn.

I wonder what people want art school kids to do with their degrees. They're always yelling about how useless art degrees are, but they also get mad when kids that specifically went to study art end up working in fields of art... like babes! This is literally what they went to school for. This should be the least surprising career path for them to take. What would you rather they do?

It also seems like a lot of people are in favour of meritocracy in music in theory only, but are also very willing to shit on anyone that got good by putting in the hours and slogging away to get better at their craft. The music industry (press and fans particularly) really do idolise and almost fetishise this idea of the natural-born instant talent who keeps it raw and real and 'never fuckin learned to read', #legend.

You're right, it's strange. In no other field, even other creative ones, would people deify the amateur professional. I also notice it seems to be way more of an issue to fans in the UK, You won't hear people dissing an American indie artist who graduated from Berklee in the same way.

[lethaeomedusa]

It's probably also an American thing, as I'm sure Vampire Weekend did get lots of criticisms for being a "college band"?

I've said this many times but still, there is an unnecessary amount of "grassroots/workingclass pride"(donno the formal word) in rock/alter rock culture, i.e. people often tend to be a lot harsher/mean to bands forming/coming from music colleges (e.g. Fontaines for going to BIMM) and honestly I don't think it's either fair or reasonable.

People need systematic training in order to be a long-term productive band. Even if the bands that originally came from other places will have to learn the samethings as those who attended music schools did. The only difference is that it won't be on their resume.

I think people are just ignoring that on purpose to idolize their favorite musicians' "talent" and at heart I feel this to be so weird.

Totally, we saw this with black midi and the BRIT School too— that's another institute that comes up often. I imagine you meant moreso the education side of things and the idea of 'authenticity' in rock, since a lot of these bands themselves grew up working class.

But you're right, alt and rock music communities are particularly notorious for this because 1) there's always been this anti-pop sentiment in the alt/rock communities because they think 'pop = the establishment' and schools like the BRIT school are better known for popstar alumni like Jessie Ware and Adele, so they figure music school is surely part of The Establishment (and they are 'alternative' to the mainstream so all schooled musicians shouldn't belong).

2) They somehow feel that the networking opportunities that a few years in a music institution allow you give you an unfair legup in the industry. Something like befriending the student who may go on to produce your first album, or a filmmaker that will work on your first music video, or meeting someone who knows a relevant venue's booker, can put in a good word for you at a record label, or something like that.

But what this ignores is that if you're in a music scene, you will get to know these people anyway. Might be harder if you're a bedroom musician and relying exclusively on social media virality, but music scenes are quite small and insular, if you hang around, you get to know people really fast. And at the end of the day, though musicians complain about having to talk to other people (creative folks are also notoriously introverts!), that's the only way you'll find the people that can help you. And only by talking to them and putting a personality and situation to a name/face, will they want to help and support you!! You can graduate music school all you like, but if you never spoke to anyone, you won't get anywhere.

I mean, black midi and The Last Dinner Party's first breakthroughs were getting noticed by fans while playing the Windmill in Brixton. For black midi, it was as simple as the fact that the Windmill were the only ones who replied to Geordie Greep's booking request emails. An A&R person from Island caught wind of the TLDP hype and saw them at the Windmill and immediately signed them. Like I said, you'll make those connections regardless of school.

This is also definitely not a new topic of discussion, it was 'born and raised in the school of keeping it real and playing your local pub' vs 'the hoity art school kids', it was Blur vs. Oasis before.

And like, yeah I do concede that going to art school will always be a financial risk, and not everyone can afford to take that kind of risk (I couldn't! Submitted my applications to design college, realised I could not possibly afford what came after school if I did that, then turned around and quietly applied to computer science schools instead. Quite a common story). It's only getting more expensive to be an artist in any capacity on limited funds. We're seeing working class musicians getting priced out of art, or left in the field in very limited capacities. There was a post a while ago that resonated with a LOT of people:

This is a genuine concern and we need to be fighting to keep art accessible: subsidise grassroots venues, lower rents, make music education available to kids in school, have spaces like youth centres where kids can play after school. Have more programmes and funding for music for both children and adults. It's been pivotal to a lot of artists' careers. But that isn't to say that there are no working class musicians left, or that they can't aspire to more serious musical ambitions than playing to a 20-people bar down the road. That's quite patronising, isn't it?

What Blur vs. Oasis had also got wrong was that most of Blur were working class kids. (There was a time in recent memory when going to art school was not financial suicide.) But further, some folks are determined that their careers need to be in music. They can't just not try. And it's worth saying that not everyone SHOULD be, e.g., a doctor (sigh... I have written so many iterations of this post on my main, but I won't get into it here to keep it short). So kids take on loans, they win scholarships and art funding and grants. People have this idea that only super rich people will eventually go to art school, which isn't really true. (Tbh, while I obv didn't go to art school, I snuck into classes I fancied all the time. Didn't always enroll in them, but I learned and did make friends). It also harks back to this idea that surely only the aristocracy can afford such refined hobbies as art and music. The rest of us should know our place and not attempt to learn.

I wonder what people want art school kids to do with their degrees. They're always yelling about how useless art degrees are, but they also get mad when kids that specifically went to study art end up working in fields of art... like babes! This is literally what they went to school for. This should be the least surprising career path for them to take. What would you rather they do?

It also seems like a lot of people are in favour of meritocracy in music in theory only, but are also very willing to shit on anyone that got good by putting in the hours and slogging away to get better at their craft. The music industry (press and fans particularly) really do idolise and almost fetishise this idea of the natural-born instant talent who keeps it raw and real and 'never fuckin learned to read', #legend.

You're right, it's strange. In no other field, even other creative ones, would people deify the amateur professional. I also notice it seems to be way more of an issue to fans in the UK, You won't hear people dissing an American indie artist who graduated from Berklee in the same way.

[lethaeomedusa]

well THIS was not in my 2025 bingo card

[lethaeomedusa]

blur: i am the top hat man and if i didn’t work at the british bank then maybe i could tolerate the youth of today lalalala

pulp: come closer… cause i’m going to tell you a secret… last friday night i had sex with your mother. (inhale) oh yeah. and let me tell you another secret… this coming thursday… im gonna do it again. alright.

oasis: i’m never going to die i’ll touch the sky and sex drugs and rock and roll will keep me alive

suede: is your boyfriend as bisexual as me

[lethaeomedusa]

i'm sorry every song's about you

[lethaeomedusa]

y’all are SLEEPING on catholic guilt waycest. specifically gerard because he’s much more connected to religion and also i need more ‘about to have a nervous breakdown’ gerard rep in waycest.

he keeps a rosary in his bedside table and after every time he has mikey in his bed, no matter what they do, when he’s gone or asleep gerard brings it out and prays with it.

the first time they had sex gerard dragged mikey off to midnight mass when they were done and didn’t meet mikey’s eyes once during the whole service. he couldn’t bring himself to go into the confessional. not when mikey saw him staring at it and it looked like his heart was breaking at the idea of the affection they shared being a sin to gerard.

hail holy queen is his go-to after sex. it eases his mind, even if mikey gives him a Look every time.

mikey once said grace before going to suck him off and it upset gerard so much it completely killed his boner.

[lethaeomedusa]

I was so overwhelmed when I saw "fights against the cynicism that can often overtake us in the modern world", giving that their last 3 album are all to some extend overtake by the exact thing. It's like that famous quote from Romain Rolland: "There is only one heroism in the world: to see the world as it is and to love it." It is exactly how I would describe Fontaines from A Hero's Death to Romance.

It's so cliche yet timeless because youth and romance has been the main topic for songs for such a long time. "love's such an old-fashioned word" and you know the rest. It takes courage and honesty to write that tune and I can't be more amazed. And I love how he describe Romance as two stories interwoven and two worlds collide because nothing really is more romantic than the possibility itself and the tiny unexpected things happened to our life.

“It’s Amazing To Be Young is a song that was written in the presence of a newborn child - Carlos’ child. It sounded more like a lullaby or a music box then, but with the same lyric- “it’s amazing to be young”. 

The feeling of hope a child can give is profound and moving, especially for young men like us. That sense of wanting to create a world for them to grow up in happily. It’s a feeling that fights against the cynicism that can often overtake us in the modern world. So we wanted to declare which side we were on - it really is amazing to be young. We are still free, and want to make that feeling spread. We want to protect it for the others around us, and maybe in doing that, can also help protect it for ourselves.

The video for this song was directed by one of our favourite collaborators Luna Carmoon. Luna has a very visual ear and found a way to bring out the world of our songs, somehow making the feelings more clear and more dreamlike at the same time. This video in particular has many special moments, but I think the way it unifies the different characters together is brilliant, because it embodies the message of not just the song but the album- youth is magical, and stories can become interwoven unexpectedly and feel like worlds colliding. That is youth, that is young love, and I think oftentimes that is romance.”

- Conor Deegan III

————

oh bless, they’re fighting cynicism. They’re fighting cynicism in young men in 2025. Love really is the answer, it’s not easy to keep fighting that good, long and lonely fight all so often! It’s good to have a gentle reminder in the form of such a beautiful soundtrack though, isn’t it? That’s a plus. I hope it’s not too big a stretch if I said it is exactly this that will fight youth cynicism. Hopelessness. Incel culture. It is amazing to be young. Cling to that feeling.

That! Is! Romance!!

[lethaeomedusa]

"My ma woke me up on a school night and got me out of bed and brought me downstairs. She'd just bought The Cure Greatest Hits, and she stuck it on the CD player and started dancing around the room. I think with the visual aid of her dancing, I understood The Cure."

- Grian Chatten on his introduction to The Cure

[lethaeomedusa]

I think watching some random actor's entire filmography just because you fancy them is actually so important. It teaches you that even the most successful artists start somewhere. That they experience ups and downs and career ruts and often have to do very weird projects at some point just because their rent is due. And maybe you discover that you don't even like that guy all that much lol

[lethaeomedusa]

Love Of Country by The Murder Capital and I Love You by Fontaines D.C. are two sides of the same coin.

The Lamentation, and The Accusation.

[lethaeomedusa]

The winner of the 2nd Annual Ultimate Incest Tournament is Gallaghercest!!!! 🎉🎉🥳🎉🥳

Once again our winner is a pair of blowjob brothers!!!! Congrats to Liam and Noel who I'm sure are here and are having celebratory sex as we speak they truly earned this win ☺️❤️ This was a fun year you all fought nobly for your ships you should be proud 🫡 Stay tuned here at loving-family-poll, at least one more tournament to come!! I haven't gotten to do a women only one yet 😉👭♀️

And remember: shipping incest rpf is always ok. it's beautiful and true <3

[lethaeomedusa]

Fontaines D.C. lyrics that give me chills

[lethaeomedusa]

please let me do it for you ➡️ i’ll ease the path ➡️ man do it yourself

[lethaeomedusa]

🤲